"Shika…what about my wedding?" I had just heard that Shikamaru will be leaving on my wedding day. I'm supposed to marry Sai in a week and Shikamaru was just given a mission to the sand, he will be gone for a year. The mission at the moment isn't the problem, its not too risky or dangerous, it will be in a village that we are allied with and it is pretty straight forward.
"Ino…as troublesome as it is I don't have control over when my missions are." He said as he put his arms behind his head in his usual manner. Currently we were on his favourite cloud watching hill with Choji, we had just finished lunch and were taking some time to relax before taking advantage of the little free time we have with each other. It isn't every day that we are able to see each other anymore so we do what we can when the opportunity arises. Usually our significant others are here as well but Temari, Shikamaru's girlfriend is in Suna and Karui, Choji's wife, yes he got married first out of the three of us, is currently on a week-long mission. Lastly Sai doesn't always like to join in on these excursions, he much rather train on his own.
"Shikamaru, there must be SOMETHING you can do! The Hokage knows it will be my wedding day, did you ask for this?!" I was getting irritated, the Hokage never did these sorts of things unless she had a good reason but he is only going to Suna for a simple mission that anyone can do. The only logical explanation is that he ASKED for this!
Shikamaru sigh in frustration, "Of course I didn't ASK for this Ino. They need me to leave that day to make it on time for the meeting with the ninjas from the village in the clouds. It is a part of my mission and that is when they will be there, I can't go by just my schedule." He lazily sat up and gave me a serious look, "Look Ino, if I could help it I will try my best to be there. I never planned to miss it Ino."
Looking into his eyes I knew he was telling the truth. He would never purposefully hurt me but I needed to know, "Promise me, Shika." I held out my pinky finger and after a moment he linked his with mine.
"I promise."
Shikamaru's POV:
It's been a few days since I made that troublesome promise to Ino. I've been working my butt off to convince the Hokage to allow me to wait until the evening to leave for my mission. She's worried that I won't make it on time but I told her all I have to do is miss one night of sleep to get there with plenty of time. Eventually she agreed and this just happened so I went off to inform Ino about the news. Like always when she was off work from being a ninja she works for her parents in the flower shop.
I walked through the door to hear the familiar sound of the door chimes ring. Ino was facing the other way when I came in but when she heard the sound she turned to see me and smiled brightly, "Oh hey Shika! What brings you here?"
I sigh, I wanted to tell her but was also afraid of her reaction I don't do well with crying girls, especially Ino, whether it is in happiness or not, "Looks like I'll be here for the ceremony but after that I need to leave."
Nothing could have prepared me for her reaction, she ran up to me and grabbed me in a hug and was clearly crying, "Oh my god! That's great Shika! Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me!"
I smile slightly as I hugged her back and slightly rubbed her back, "I'm glad I can be there for your wedding, Ino. After everything we have been through together I couldn't imagine not being there for this."
She pulled back from me and smiled, the teary eyed smile that always threw me for a loop, "You never break your promises."
Flashback…(Shikamaru's POV):
As genin most of our days consisted of training unless we were sent on a mission. When finished we would go to get barbecue and just hang out together as a team but also as friends. We just became genin not too long ago, which means we are still getting used to each other's techniques, fighting styles and jutsus. We've started planning strategies as a team of how our signature jutsus can work together. This meant that someone had to watch over Ino's body during our fights when she was using her Mind Transfer Jutsu, Choji couldn't do it because he would needed to be able to move around during the fight, Asuma-sensei refused saying it was inappropriate and that even if he could it would also mean we would be down a man and that we wouldn't always have our sensei with us for all of our missions which left me…. As troublesome as it is I am the only one that could possibly do the job of protecting Ino's body when she is doing her jutsu. I can defend both of us without having to move unless completely necessary, our families are close so despite having to hear a lecture from Inoichi which is a complete drag it would make the most sense if I were to be the one to do it.
Currently Ino and I were given the task by our sensei to prepare for such an event that I would need to catch her or the signs we would need to know to communicate with each other about when it will happen. This will most likely be verbal communication but if we want to catch the enemy off guard or if we are unable to talk for whatever reason we would need non verbal cues as well. We were at the training grounds practicing with Choji as our 'target', which he reluctantly agreed to. I would act as if I was using my shadow possession jutsu and Ino would use her mind transfer jutsu on Choji. Before we even got started Ino continually questioned my ability to catch her in time and gently enough to catch her fall and prevent bruising.
"Ino, you should know by now that I wouldn't just let you fall. Your father told you how to control which way you leaned to help you fall towards me right?"
She nodded, "Yes but shikama-" Before she could finish Choji came over to us.
Once Choji was beside us he turned to Ino, "Ino come on Shikamaru wouldn't let you fall. Can we just get this over with, I'm not too happy about having to be the 'target' here you know."
Ino sighed then her faced became determined, "Fine." She crossed her arms against her chest, "But Shikamaru, you have to promise me you will catch me! Not just this time, but every time and if you don't and break that promise I will forever be on your ass about it."
I groaned, when has she ever NOT been on my ass about something anyway? "Alright I promise, now let's do this." We linked our pinky fingers to represent my promise to her, Choji went back in place and we situated ourselves.
Ino performed her jutsu perfectly and I was easily able to catch her and from that day forward I was always able to catch her because I could never just let her fall…
Back to Present Day…Ino's POV:
It's the day before my wedding, Sai and I have been staying away from each other for the last couple days wanting to make our day even more special by not having seen each other and then finally reuniting when I walk down the aisle. People from my past would probably tease or question me about Sasuke if they would see me now, ready and waiting to marry someone other than the Uchiha but I never really loved Sasuke, before he left he was so cold and quiet, there's nothing wrong with a shy or introvert guy but he just had this aura around him that made me think he didn't care for anything or anyone around him. The only reason why I flirted with him and fought Sakura was because she decided to ruin our friendship for this guy even though I would have never thrown away our friendship for him. Sakura took her crush to a whole new level with her severing our friendship and when she decided to tell me this I decided not to argue, she wouldn't believe me if I said I wasn't that into Sasuke.
Thinking about it now Sai can be very similar to Sasuke in some ways, he's not very emotional nor is he social. After helping him out I have come to understand him more and that was the beginning of our relationship. As I think more about our relationship and our journey to where we are now I realize that we aren't that close…
I shake my head pulling myself out of these thoughts, 'It has got to be cold feet. I love Shik-Sai! I love Sai!'. I couldn't believe my thoughts, what has gotten into me? I decided to keep my mind off of things and went to see if I could find Tenten or Hinata to hopefully help me out with some of the finally preparations for tomorrow, everything needs to be perfect.
Shikamaru's POV:
Tomorrow is Ino's wedding day, Choji and I were walking around town talking about my mission tomorrow, nothing specific but just regular stuff when you are about to leave for an extended amount of time. I promised to write to him to keep up with what was going on in the village, and with Ino. We always made these types of plans with one another when just one of us was going on a mission alone for a long period of time.
We kept walking until we came up to our regular training field and sat on a bench nearby, "Shikamaru" I turn to Choji as he spoke, "Do you think Ino marrying Sai is the way it is supposed to be? Don't you think she should have ended up with you?"
I groan and sit back on the bench, "What a drag. Choji how many times do I have to tell you, the feelings I had for Ino are no longer important. I have moved on and she is with Sai, she would never see me in that type of light. I'm just happy she's happy and though it kills me to see her with another I could never deny her happiness."
It never surprised me that Choji would bring this up, he knew since we were kids that I had feelings for Ino, he realized it before I even did. Surprisingly he also encouraged and preferred it if we got together instead of being with others, he wanted us to be happy and he seemed to believe we would make each other happy. I couldn't understand why he would bring this up now…She's getting married tomorrow and I'll be damned if I'm the one to ruin her special day. Even though Sai is not someone I would want Ino with I knew that if she was happy I couldn't deny that. Since we were kids we, Choji and I knew Ino never actually liked Sasuke but we knew why she acted as troublesome as she had, which leads me to question what she sees in Sai because it can't be the fact that he is so similar to Sasuke.
"Shikamaru…I know you both have someone now but are you truly happy? It's never too late to express your feelings. I know you don't want this to ruin our team or affect our friendships but I really don't think it would. We are already so close nothing could break us apart. Think about it, tomorrow is her big day after that you may never get the chance again, you wouldn't want to be the one destroying a marriage if you wait until after they are married."
Deep inside I knew Choji was right but how could I tell her, she's about to get married I'd be ruining her special day by bringing these feelings up now. She's happy and that's what I need to keep thinking about, I can't ruin it for her. I've accepted that I have missed my chance though I am happy that we will always be best friends and I don't know what I would do if I lost that.
I decided to ignore his comments, "You wanna go to get barbecue, my treat?" That did the trick to change the subject, though I am going to regret offering to pay I couldn't have Choji on my case about this whole thing. We made our way to our favourite barbecue spot and got a booth before ordering.
"Don't think we aren't done with the conversation Shikamaru, Temari is great and all but Ino has always had your affection so why not accept it and confess to her before it's too late." Choji had this smug smirk on his face that I only see when he knows he's right against me.
I wish I could wipe it off his face, "What a drag…"
The next day…
I'd be lying if I said Choji didn't get in my head with all of this love for Ino mess. After we went our separate ways yesterday I couldn't get her off my mind, this is possibly the worst thing to happen on this day. She should be celebrating her love for Sai not worried about her feelings for me so I will not be saying a single thing to her even though it will drive me crazy. I tried to keep my mind off of it and think about Temari, about how unfair this is to her. She doesn't know about my feelings towards Ino and if possible I hope she never finds out, I would rather avoid her and her brothers rage if they found out that I don't feel for her as strongly as she feels for me.
I was in my room looking at myself in the mirror, it was so troublesome to get dressed up to know that I would only be throwing it all off and rushing to leave on my mission not long after. Unfortunately I would do anything for Ino no matter how troublesome. I heard a knock at my door and turned to see my mother also dressed and ready for the wedding, "Well looks like I don't need to yell at you for once. Too bad Ino wasn't marrying you then I would have no worries for your future." I huff in annoyance, "Not you, too." My parents were also on the Shikamaru and Ino train. They knew since I was quite young that I was in love with Ino and since my little crush started when I was young I had no clue how obvious I was being about it back then.
She glares and puts her hands on her hips, "What exactly do you mean, 'not you, too'! Don't you start with me Shikamaru Nara a mother knows best! You completely missed your chance with an amazing girl and you're still letting her slip through your fingers. Plus she puts up with you and has done so for so long now how could you deny such loyalty and beauty."
This isn't anything new, my mother gets offended and nags me, even now that I am an adult she thinks she could tell me what to do. This type of thing makes me anticipate moving out and marrying someone just to get her to quit. "Can we just go now, I want to make sure I am on time for the ceremony and I still need to drop off my stuff for my mission."
In exasperated defeat she raise her hands in the air but nodded and we made our way out the door. She followed me as we made our way to where I would meet my team for the mission, I will be leaving my bag at the location and once the ceremony is over I will be meeting the team there and we will leave but of course not before changing out of these clothes. Once we arrived and I set my bag in a safe place we headed to the building where the ceremony would take place. It was beautifully set up which I wasn't surprised about, it being Ino, she probably needed everything to look perfect.
My mom had went off to find my father who had to come separately due to a meeting he had before this. I see that she had found him talking with Ino's parents. I went to find Choji and found him hanging out in the hallway that led to the different dressing rooms I walked up to him and watched him smirk, "Wow Shikamaru, I'm surprised you bothered dressing up considering you will be leaving for you mission right after the ceremony."
I rolled my eyes at his comment, "I didn't want to hear my mother or Ino complaining for the rest of my life about how lazy I am and how 'disrespectful' I am to show up to a friends wedding in my regular clothes."
Suddenly the coordinator of the wedding came calling everyone in the hallway into the main area where we will watch the ceremony. Choji and I stood in the back, our parents have reserved our seats but we decided to hang back for a moment before the ceremony began. As we waited I looked around while Choji expressed how beautiful everything was and how he couldn't wait to see Ino and that she must be stunning in her dress. As he spoke my mind wandered as well as my eyes, I looked around and as I did so I started to think about Ino again, her beauty, her confidence and her kindness and care for her comrades.
I remembered all the good times with her. I thought about when we were kids and would have sleepovers, how she always insisted on sleeping beside me. How she would cling on to me when we were young and she was sad. I remember when we would play in the back yard and how he favourite game was chase, to my dismay she constantly wanted me to chase her and loved to be caught. I remembered the smile on her face. I thought about when we first got put together on a team as genin and her 'disappointment' in being on the same team as Choji and I and not with Sasuke. I remember how hard she fought and her determination in the chunin exams. I remembered her loyalty and fate in Choji and I as she cheered us on in our matches.
Unfortunately along with all of the sad memories I also remembered many hard times. When the girls our age decided Sasuke was the top bachelor in our village and how Ino expressed how she felt left out because she didn't think the same way so she pretended to like him as well instead. How she came to me, ME, of all people when Sakura ended their friendship over a simple rumour about how Ino liked Sasuke as well. I remembered the first time we failed a mission and she blamed herself, how when we had a first experience with a mis-ranked mission and was up against an extremely dangerous shinobi who nearly killed her and the fear she had afterwards. After that day when we would go on missions Ino would have nightmares while we slept in our tent and the only thing that helped was her sleeping next to me. When we each had our first kill she worried for all of us, we all tried our best to avoid the scenario but we did if we had no choice.
In addition to all of these things I remembered catching her as she fell using her jutsu, how she felt in my arms, how it felt holding her when she cried. Despite not being the best with crying girl, I always tried my best to make her feel better and I slowly got better at doing so. Among all of these memories one of the ones that stuck out to me most was when she would smile at me. It always amazed me how bright and cheerful her smile was. I always wanted to see that smile on her face and even as a young child I appreciated when I was able to get it out of her. Our families always teased us about our relationship growing up. I would hear them saying things on family excursions and get togethers but for the most part Choji, Ino and I ignored them because to us we were just best friends.
"Shika!" I snapped out of the trance I was in to realize Choji must have been calling out to me, "Buddy I've been trying to call out to you. The ceremony is about to start we need to go to our seats so they can begin."
I look around and realize everyone was heading to their seats and the music for Ino to walk up with was beginning to play. I looked to my best friend and gave him an apologetic look already feeling horrible about what I was about to do, "Sorry buddy. I can't do this, please tell Ino I'm sorry." I didn't wait to see his reaction I quickly left the building and made my way to my team who had probably just got there and were getting ready to go as soon as I got there.