Chapter 1: Someone Better
Shikamaru was in a quandary, his mind going a mile a minute. He had never expected Ino to do anything like that, throwing him a surprise party, and he worried that his getting flowers was rather useless. He shook his head, she probably hated them, she works in a flower shop after all... She could probably have just gotten them herself. Shikamaru sighed. He was stretched out on his roof watching the stars, as he was wont to do on warm nights like tonight. The stars weren't talking though, and he was making no progress with his problem. He needed to come up with a better gift for Ino tomorrow, on her proper birthday. The question was what....
He folded his hands as he often did while playing shoji to help him focus his mind. There had to be something that she wanted more than anything else... Shikamaru reflected for a moment and sighed again. The only thing she seemed interested in was that damned egotistical Uchiha. He had no idea what she saw in him, he was a jerk to her most of the time, and ignored her the rest of time. "If I ever had a girl like her going after me..."
"You'd what?"
Shikamaru nearly screamed and had to brace himself to keep from losing his balance on the roof tiles. "Choji you bastard... Don't sneak up on me like that!"
Choji snorted/laughed and plopped down next to his friend. "So...?"
Shikamaru frowned, "So... what?"
Choji narrowed his eyes, "If you had a girl like her going after you...."
Shikamaru grimaced, "You're such a pain sometimes Choji... 'I'd never ignore her.' You happy now?"
Choji grinned, "Not until you give me her name."
"Fat chance."
"Watch it."
The two laughed, and Choji changed the subject.
"Ino sure got, you didn't she... So much for the clever genius, eh? Well, Asuma and I helped a lot too so don't go giving her all the credit." Choji smiled, "It was her idea though..."
Shikamaru straightened, uncomfortable all of a sudden. "What are you getting at?"
Choji laughed, "Nothing at all... Just thought you'd be killing yourself trying to figure out how she got the better of you."
"Do you know why she did it?"
Choji looked confused for a moment. "Well, my guess would be because she's expecting something nice in return. Any plans?"
Shikamaru frowned, "None, it's too much of a bother," He bluffed, "You have any ideas?"
Choji laughed again, "You're the genius remember? I'm just the pretty face."
The two laughed again and chatted idly for a while before Choji got hungry and decided to head home. Still left in an utter state of confusion Shikamaru decided to head back down so he could write down some ideas. Back in his room he decided to draw up a battle strategy, something he was always quite adept at.
"Okay, here is Ino." Shikamaru placed a shogi piece on the paper and scribbled down her name. "What does Ino want more than anything?"
He looked at the remaining shogi pieces. He picked up a King piece and sighed,
"Uchiha."
****
"What are you doing out this late, Choji?" Ino had decided to go out for a little walk and was rather surprised to see Choji not eating.
"Oh, Ino!" Choji grinned, "We were just talking about you!"
"We?" Ino looked around.
"Shikamaru and I, he's back home already."
"Oh," Ino grinned, "Did we get him? Was he surprised?!"
Choji nodded, "Never saw it coming, poor lazy fool."
Ino thrust her arm into the air, "Victory!"
Choji shook his head, "You're hopeless..."
Ino laughed, "It was awfully nice of him to get the flowers... He didn't have to do that."
"Well, you know him. He'd do anything for you..." Choji immediately regretted his slip.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Uh, nothing. You know, he always listens when you boss him around... That's all..." Choji was sweating, Shikamaru would kill him!
"I guess..." Ino frowned, she'd never really thought of it like that. She always saw herself as the most responsible one, keeping her incredibly lazy team on task. What if there were more to it than that though... What if...
Choji was terrified, she was thinking. He had to escape, "Well I'm off to home now, I guess I'll see you at your party tomorrow!"
Ino nodded absently, deep in thought, "Yah, I'll see you later Choji..." Choji quickly turned to run (as fast as he could anyways) but Ino spoke up at the last second. "Hey Choji."
Choji froze in his tracks, it was over!
"Does Shikamaru, well, does he like anyone? I mean, you're his friend right? Has he said anything to you about someone?"
Choji could feel his stomach tighten. He couldn't decide what to say. Should he lie, or use this as a chance to help his friend out. He thought for a moment, he had to be careful in his answer... He turned to face Ino, and nearly had a heart attack when he realized that she had walked right up to him to hear his answer.
"He, uh, he's never really said much, but you know, he never talks about that kind of thing... He's kinda quiet... And lazy..."
Ino's face seemed to darken slightly for a moment, just a moment, before jumping back into a half-hearted grin. "Yah, a lazy moron like him would never go after a girl. He'd just sigh and moan about it being too troublesome to put in the effort. Thanks Choji."
Ino started off, "See you tomorrow!"
Choji watched her walk away, a little less boisterously than before. He frowned, this situation would only end in his death, and he knew it, but it needed to be done. "He told me it took him at least four hours to get all the flowers together." She paused and seemed to chuckle to herself. "He said he was happy to do it though."
Ino turned back and smiled, "Thanks Choji."
****
Sometime around three in the morning, Shikamaru decided. The best thing he could do for Ino was to help her get what she really wanted, and what she deserved. Even if it was that jerk. After all, he was a great fighter, he had a quick, intelligent mind... He was probably the best looking guy in the village... And it would make her happy.
Shikamaru sighed, "That's the important thing. She should have someone who makes her happy."
He looked at the top of the page, and poured over his plan of attack for a third time. He had only one day to get Sasuke to agree to a date with Ino, or to have him at least say more than two words to her. Shikamaru figured that if he actually paid any sort of attention to her he'd probably fall for her on his own. I mean, what wasn't there to like about her. She was beautiful, strong-willed, loyal, and a surprisingly sincere and kind person at heart... How long had he known her now? Seven, maybe eight years? Damn Uchiha, he thought to himself, it was too bad that guys like him who could have anyone they wanted usually were content with no one, and guys like me... If someone like Ino were interested in someone boring like me...
Shikamaru shook his head to clear it, he must be getting tired. Realizing what time it was he sighed deeply, "How troublesome..."
****
Ino stared into the mirror, pictures posted around the edges. There were so many pictures of Sasuke taken in secret, mixed with others of her and her friends from a long time ago. There was Sakura and her at a sleepover, her personal favorite: one of Sasuke staring off into space, one of Asuma- sensei and her team, one of Shikamaru fast asleep under a tree... Her eyes paused on that one. She tried to remember when it was from, he looked a lot younger in that picture, not that he had really changed much. It must have been from when they were about eight or nine, when they used to spend more time together. Having fathers who were on the same team meant that they spent a lot of time together as children, particularly when their team was called on long missions. She remembered how she used to get so bored with him, because all he ever wanted to do was sleep or play dumb board games. As they got older she started hanging out with friends from school and less and less with Shikamaru. He didn't seem to notice really then, she wondered now if it affected him at all. He was never really vocal about his feelings, so she just assumed he didn't care.
She frowned, "Why are guys so hard to figure out."
First Shikamaru, then Sasuke. She glanced over to his picture. So perfect, but so aloof. She had never realized how rough a past he had until recently. To have his entire family killed off by his own brother; Ino shuddered to think about it. She couldn't really imagine what something like that would be like, to have to live with...
"Is it that he's just not interested in me, or that he's not interested in anything?" She asked herself. Even if she could get his attention, would he even care?
"Of course he is, I bet he's a nice guy, he's just got a lot of complicated things going on in his life. He's probably just slow to warm to people, and is a little shy..."
How would she even react if Sasuke responded to her? She wanted to think that they had so much in common, that all it would take would be a single conversation to prove that they were destined to be together, but... Well, things like that don't really happen, do they? Her eyes flicked back to the sleeping Shikamaru. He was kind of cute back then, she thought to herself, in a weird sort of way. She looked at the picture of her team from after the genin exams. He's still kind of cute, she thought to herself, for a lazy bum.
End Chapter 1
Authors note: Hello again! So, based on all your great feedback I decided to use Bothersome as the springboard for this particular storyline. I'm trying my best to keep everyone in character, and keep things close to within the storyline. Phew! In any case, please review, I do take each one to heart, and it was all these reviews in the first place that convinced me to keep going. If you like things, don't like things, or want to see more of things let me know! Thanks everyone! Next chapter will be up in a week or two!
Shikamaru was in a quandary, his mind going a mile a minute. He had never expected Ino to do anything like that, throwing him a surprise party, and he worried that his getting flowers was rather useless. He shook his head, she probably hated them, she works in a flower shop after all... She could probably have just gotten them herself. Shikamaru sighed. He was stretched out on his roof watching the stars, as he was wont to do on warm nights like tonight. The stars weren't talking though, and he was making no progress with his problem. He needed to come up with a better gift for Ino tomorrow, on her proper birthday. The question was what....
He folded his hands as he often did while playing shoji to help him focus his mind. There had to be something that she wanted more than anything else... Shikamaru reflected for a moment and sighed again. The only thing she seemed interested in was that damned egotistical Uchiha. He had no idea what she saw in him, he was a jerk to her most of the time, and ignored her the rest of time. "If I ever had a girl like her going after me..."
"You'd what?"
Shikamaru nearly screamed and had to brace himself to keep from losing his balance on the roof tiles. "Choji you bastard... Don't sneak up on me like that!"
Choji snorted/laughed and plopped down next to his friend. "So...?"
Shikamaru frowned, "So... what?"
Choji narrowed his eyes, "If you had a girl like her going after you...."
Shikamaru grimaced, "You're such a pain sometimes Choji... 'I'd never ignore her.' You happy now?"
Choji grinned, "Not until you give me her name."
"Fat chance."
"Watch it."
The two laughed, and Choji changed the subject.
"Ino sure got, you didn't she... So much for the clever genius, eh? Well, Asuma and I helped a lot too so don't go giving her all the credit." Choji smiled, "It was her idea though..."
Shikamaru straightened, uncomfortable all of a sudden. "What are you getting at?"
Choji laughed, "Nothing at all... Just thought you'd be killing yourself trying to figure out how she got the better of you."
"Do you know why she did it?"
Choji looked confused for a moment. "Well, my guess would be because she's expecting something nice in return. Any plans?"
Shikamaru frowned, "None, it's too much of a bother," He bluffed, "You have any ideas?"
Choji laughed again, "You're the genius remember? I'm just the pretty face."
The two laughed again and chatted idly for a while before Choji got hungry and decided to head home. Still left in an utter state of confusion Shikamaru decided to head back down so he could write down some ideas. Back in his room he decided to draw up a battle strategy, something he was always quite adept at.
"Okay, here is Ino." Shikamaru placed a shogi piece on the paper and scribbled down her name. "What does Ino want more than anything?"
He looked at the remaining shogi pieces. He picked up a King piece and sighed,
"Uchiha."
****
"What are you doing out this late, Choji?" Ino had decided to go out for a little walk and was rather surprised to see Choji not eating.
"Oh, Ino!" Choji grinned, "We were just talking about you!"
"We?" Ino looked around.
"Shikamaru and I, he's back home already."
"Oh," Ino grinned, "Did we get him? Was he surprised?!"
Choji nodded, "Never saw it coming, poor lazy fool."
Ino thrust her arm into the air, "Victory!"
Choji shook his head, "You're hopeless..."
Ino laughed, "It was awfully nice of him to get the flowers... He didn't have to do that."
"Well, you know him. He'd do anything for you..." Choji immediately regretted his slip.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Uh, nothing. You know, he always listens when you boss him around... That's all..." Choji was sweating, Shikamaru would kill him!
"I guess..." Ino frowned, she'd never really thought of it like that. She always saw herself as the most responsible one, keeping her incredibly lazy team on task. What if there were more to it than that though... What if...
Choji was terrified, she was thinking. He had to escape, "Well I'm off to home now, I guess I'll see you at your party tomorrow!"
Ino nodded absently, deep in thought, "Yah, I'll see you later Choji..." Choji quickly turned to run (as fast as he could anyways) but Ino spoke up at the last second. "Hey Choji."
Choji froze in his tracks, it was over!
"Does Shikamaru, well, does he like anyone? I mean, you're his friend right? Has he said anything to you about someone?"
Choji could feel his stomach tighten. He couldn't decide what to say. Should he lie, or use this as a chance to help his friend out. He thought for a moment, he had to be careful in his answer... He turned to face Ino, and nearly had a heart attack when he realized that she had walked right up to him to hear his answer.
"He, uh, he's never really said much, but you know, he never talks about that kind of thing... He's kinda quiet... And lazy..."
Ino's face seemed to darken slightly for a moment, just a moment, before jumping back into a half-hearted grin. "Yah, a lazy moron like him would never go after a girl. He'd just sigh and moan about it being too troublesome to put in the effort. Thanks Choji."
Ino started off, "See you tomorrow!"
Choji watched her walk away, a little less boisterously than before. He frowned, this situation would only end in his death, and he knew it, but it needed to be done. "He told me it took him at least four hours to get all the flowers together." She paused and seemed to chuckle to herself. "He said he was happy to do it though."
Ino turned back and smiled, "Thanks Choji."
****
Sometime around three in the morning, Shikamaru decided. The best thing he could do for Ino was to help her get what she really wanted, and what she deserved. Even if it was that jerk. After all, he was a great fighter, he had a quick, intelligent mind... He was probably the best looking guy in the village... And it would make her happy.
Shikamaru sighed, "That's the important thing. She should have someone who makes her happy."
He looked at the top of the page, and poured over his plan of attack for a third time. He had only one day to get Sasuke to agree to a date with Ino, or to have him at least say more than two words to her. Shikamaru figured that if he actually paid any sort of attention to her he'd probably fall for her on his own. I mean, what wasn't there to like about her. She was beautiful, strong-willed, loyal, and a surprisingly sincere and kind person at heart... How long had he known her now? Seven, maybe eight years? Damn Uchiha, he thought to himself, it was too bad that guys like him who could have anyone they wanted usually were content with no one, and guys like me... If someone like Ino were interested in someone boring like me...
Shikamaru shook his head to clear it, he must be getting tired. Realizing what time it was he sighed deeply, "How troublesome..."
****
Ino stared into the mirror, pictures posted around the edges. There were so many pictures of Sasuke taken in secret, mixed with others of her and her friends from a long time ago. There was Sakura and her at a sleepover, her personal favorite: one of Sasuke staring off into space, one of Asuma- sensei and her team, one of Shikamaru fast asleep under a tree... Her eyes paused on that one. She tried to remember when it was from, he looked a lot younger in that picture, not that he had really changed much. It must have been from when they were about eight or nine, when they used to spend more time together. Having fathers who were on the same team meant that they spent a lot of time together as children, particularly when their team was called on long missions. She remembered how she used to get so bored with him, because all he ever wanted to do was sleep or play dumb board games. As they got older she started hanging out with friends from school and less and less with Shikamaru. He didn't seem to notice really then, she wondered now if it affected him at all. He was never really vocal about his feelings, so she just assumed he didn't care.
She frowned, "Why are guys so hard to figure out."
First Shikamaru, then Sasuke. She glanced over to his picture. So perfect, but so aloof. She had never realized how rough a past he had until recently. To have his entire family killed off by his own brother; Ino shuddered to think about it. She couldn't really imagine what something like that would be like, to have to live with...
"Is it that he's just not interested in me, or that he's not interested in anything?" She asked herself. Even if she could get his attention, would he even care?
"Of course he is, I bet he's a nice guy, he's just got a lot of complicated things going on in his life. He's probably just slow to warm to people, and is a little shy..."
How would she even react if Sasuke responded to her? She wanted to think that they had so much in common, that all it would take would be a single conversation to prove that they were destined to be together, but... Well, things like that don't really happen, do they? Her eyes flicked back to the sleeping Shikamaru. He was kind of cute back then, she thought to herself, in a weird sort of way. She looked at the picture of her team from after the genin exams. He's still kind of cute, she thought to herself, for a lazy bum.
End Chapter 1
Authors note: Hello again! So, based on all your great feedback I decided to use Bothersome as the springboard for this particular storyline. I'm trying my best to keep everyone in character, and keep things close to within the storyline. Phew! In any case, please review, I do take each one to heart, and it was all these reviews in the first place that convinced me to keep going. If you like things, don't like things, or want to see more of things let me know! Thanks everyone! Next chapter will be up in a week or two!
