Survival of the Fittest

Note: dumdee dumdee dum...me bored...XD Don't forget to REVIEW! REVIEW!

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Shikamaru's feet were frozen to the ground, while his mouth was hanging open in shock. The whole room was...so trashed that it was impossible to recognize it. And the glass...all those sharp shards of pain and horror...was lying upon the floor drenched in a dark red pool. He took in a deep breath and leaned forward to get a better look.

"Blood...so much blood upon the ground..."

What could have happened? Did someone come in and attack Ino? Whose blood was it? Shikamaru couldn't help but feel sick inside. He couldn't stand it if Ino was hurt...it was his fault. If only he had stopped Kin from saying all those lies about Ino...none of this would have happened.

"Ino? Where are you?" he asked softly. Shikamaru gave the room a shrewd and calculation glance. She had to be here...there was no other way out...was there? He automatically turned towards the window...as if he thought he would see Ino jump down the balcony.

His eyes flashed with realization, while he trudged carefully through the room. The only place she could have gone...the balcony. During one of their missions...Ino had this obsession with watching the stars...the moon...and the sun. When he asked her why...all she said was, "It's the only place I feel safe in...this is where I belong."

Shikamaru slowly pushed open the door that separated the balcony from the room. He stopped shortly when he noticed Ino. She was soaked in blood and had a piece of glass in her hand. Her eyes were wild with pain and sorrow.

He hesitated for a second before stepping through the door. However he regretted his hasty actions almost instantly. Ino had jumped up in surprise and was staring at him with a predator's intensity. Shikamaru suppressed a shiver. Ino was holding the shard so tightly her hand was bleeding profoundly.

She stared at him without any sign of recognition. Something was wrong with her. Shikamaru had never once seen Ino behave like this. She was strong...but now...she was...was just...different.

"Ino...put that down," he said motioning towards the shard. When Ino didn't move he added, "Come on...just put that down so no one could get hurt."

Ino shot him a disgusted look. All the pain...the hatred...the sorrow that she's suppressed all theses years finally snapped. She had enough with holding back her emotions.

"No..." she replied almost too calmly. "I don't want to..."

Shikamaru looked at her nervously. "Ino...you aren't feeling well right now...you need some rest," he said eyeing the shard nervously. "Your hand..." he stuttered, pointing at her blood soaked hand.

Ino looked down as if she hadn't noticed the cut before now. She shrugged it off. "You think this is bad? Well how about this?" she snapped slashing her left arm. "I had enough with you and your damn sentiments. All of you!"

"There's so much pain...I can't get it out," she whimpered softly. "It's burning inside of me...can't stop it...can't control it." She slammed her fist against the fence. "I hate you! Why can't you just leave me alone!" she cried furiously.

"You all hate me...from Sakura down to Naruto. No one cares about me! You wouldn't give a damn if if died would you?" she screeched causing the hair on his arms to stand on end. "Answer me! Why?!" she whispered breaking down into tears.

"Ino...I don't hate you," replied Shikamaru sincerely. "You're my friend...and teammate..."

"Oh really?" she snapped staring at him straight in the eye. "Then how come none of you bothered arguing with your bitch of a girlfriend when she dissed me?" she retorted coldly. "It's obvious who you care about more..."

Shikamaru decided that the wisest thing to do at the moment would be to remain silent. It was true that he cared about Kin...after all she was his girlfriend. But...Ino...he cared about her too. They were friends...and have been through so much together. Ino was always the strongest one on their team...and the most energetic. She always had great ideas and a bright attitude.

But now...he finally understood her...finally figured out what lay beneath that cool facade of hers. It was her soul...that bore the scars that had been thrown at her. It had been her pride that held her together...and today...Kin had destroyed it.

"I care about you and Kin," he said evenly. "Ino I'm not going to warn you again...I want you to put that shard down. NOW!" his voice cracked like a whip.

Shikamaru slowly walked towards Ino. It seemed like as if it took forever for him to reach her. He was offering her a escape from her pain...a retribution.

Ino flinched while staring at him with fearful eyes. "Stay away from me!" she demanded backing up against the railing. She held the shard protectively in front of her.

"If you don't back up now...I...I will...kill myself," she said shakily, her eyes fixed on Shikamaru. "I mean it..."

Shikamaru shuddered once again. The person that stood before him wasn't the person that he knew...she wasn't Ino. Something was wrong with her. It was all Kin's fault! She had pushed Ino beyond the edge and it was going to be damn hard to bring her back.

He hesitated for a moment...giving himself time to calculate the distance between them. Then he pounced for the shard...straining to pry it out of Ino's fingers. "Ino! Let go!" he heard himself yell.

Ino screamed in fury and fear, while they rolled across the ground.

Shikamaru grimaced in pain when the glass cut into his fingers...however he didn't loosen his grip. "When in the hell did you get so strong?" he said looking shocked. Ino's' grip was so tight...it was practically impossible to force her to release it.

Although he knew he was going to regret it later, he pushed Ino up against the wall and slammed his knee into her stomach. Ino groaned and bent down in pain...while loosening her grip...just enough so he could pry it off.

Ino recovered almost instantly and threw a punch at his face. Shikamaru turned a second too late and the punch made contact. He grunted in pain while the glass shard flew through the air and landed on the bed.

Both he and Ino dove for the shard...however Shikamaru was faster. "Got it," he whispered softly, while he grabbed Ino's arm and pinned her down.

"Let go of me!" she screamed struggling futilely against him.

"Shut up!" he snapped, roughly placing his hand against her mouth. "Ino snap out of it!" he commanded, trying to shake some sense into her. "What is wrong with you?!" he demanded furiously.

Ino stared at him with tear stained eyes, and whispered, "I...want...to die...there's no point in living..."

Shikamaru gapped at her in shock before he felt something hard collide with the back of his head knocking him unconscious. Before the darkness enveloped him...his lasts thoughts were...

"Ino...please...don't...go....I...I...need you..."

~*~

Note: How was that? I was watching the news the other day sadly...they don't have cable at hotels *pouts* neways me saw this episode on suicide and decided that it would be a pretty fascinating chapter...

Oh well...me bored...IM me if you like...

Don't forget to read:

Pain of Love:

Sasuke has left the village to join the Sound Ninjas. Would he be prepared to live a life as a missing-nin? What would happen if Sakura is a hunter-nin whose mission is to destroy him? Would love overcome duty? Or would this be the end of Sasuke?