Chapter 2: Pictures and memories
Ino woke to the sun shining, and a cool breeze drifting in through the window. It looked like it was going to be another perfect day today. Stretching and yawning, she fought to shake the last bit of weariness from her mind. She had stayed up far later than she had intended last night, thinking about everything that happened yesterday. For some reason, she couldn't help but feel like she was missing something, but what?
"Ino, pumpkin? Time to wake up!"
Ino frowned, was she still eight years old to her father?
"I'll be down in a minute, Dad."
Ino plopped down in front of her mirror again, staring at the pictures. She stared at the picture again, the subject completely oblivious that it had been taken. Carefully she plucked it from its hiding place along the bottom edge of the frame and held it closer. She should say something to him today, if he bothered to come in the first place.
"You'd better show... For all the effort I put into you."
****
The plan is risky, Shikamaru thought to himself. For the eighth time this morning he had tried to convince himself that the whole thing was foolish and doomed to failure. He should just enjoy sleeping in, wake up around noon, find a cheap gift and head over to Ino's around four, when things should be picking up.
"Girls are such a pain..." He moaned to no one in particular.
"This is true," said his father from the doorway, "But they're worth it... Most of the time that is."
Shikamaru frowned, "Teh, you have no idea."
"I think I know more than you think, boy." Shikato squinted and peered out the window. "Awful nice day today, you should probably get moving soon, or it's going to pass you by. Then it's only your fault for missing it."
"I know, I'm on my way..." Shikamaru packed his things together, making sure to grab his wallet off his dresser. "I'll be back late, Dad."
"Enjoy your youth!" His father was grinning foolishly, "Just don't make too much noise when you get back."
Walking outside into the warm sun Shikamaru felt for the first time how tired he actually was. Had he really stayed up all night for a girl?
"Girls really are a pain..." He again intoned.
"That coming from a guy who doesn't have one..." a voice mocked from behind.
Shikamaru nearly leapt out of his skin. He had to be overtired to have allowed Chouji to sneak up on him like that. Usually the only thing Chouji was able to sneak up on was a bag of chips.
"What are you doing up so early?" Shikamaru asked.
"I could ask the same..."
"But you're at my house."
"This is true," Chouji relented, "I admit it, I was bored, and figured you'd be up. What time were you planning on going over to Ino's?"
"Not till later, I still have to get the gift." Shikamaru said. The two walked down to the main road and started the trek towards the village commons area. The weather was beautiful, a few light clouds drifted across the sky and a warm breeze brushed up against them as they walked.
"It was a perfect day for a nap," Shikamaru thought to himself, "How troublesome..."
"What are you getting her?" Chouji asked, his innocent tone bordering mocking.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "What are you getting at? I'm not giving her a gift."
Chouji looked confused. Shikamaru sighed, "Look, I have a bit of a plan Chouji, I might need your help on this one. We've got to keep it from Ino though, she'd kill me if she found out."
Chouji's eyes lit up, it was certainly turning out to be an interesting morning.
****
By the time the pair made it to town Shikamaru had laid out the basics of his plan, and what he expected to happen.
"So, can you help me?"
Chouji had lost his smile, the whole thing seemed wrong. But Shikamaru was his friend.
"Yeah, what do you need me to do?"
Shikamaru put his hand to his brow and looked carefully in a shop window; it was one of these, wasn't it? "I just need you to cover for me when I leave. And make sure that no one interrupts them once it starts." Shikamaru felt uneasy about leaving the last stage to chance, but he really didn't want to be there for the last parts. It would be far too troublesome to baby-sit like that. And it would be hard for him to watch.
Chouji nodded, "I can do that. Hey, I'm going to go get some lunch, do you want to join me?"
Shikamaru shook his head, "Nah, thanks but I have to find this thing and find a way to get it to Sasuke before the party starts. That'll be a job and a half in itself."
Chouji smiled, "Alright then, I guess I'll see you later then?"
Shikamaru was staring into another window, was it this one?
"Shikamaru?"
He started, "Huh? Sorry Chouji, I'm a little out of it. I'll see you later at Ino's."
The two waved and Chouji walked off. He turned around and watched his friend from a distance, it was almost too cruel to see him like this.
"Chouji? What're you doing here boy?"
Chouji turned and smiled, "Dad! I was just about to go get some lunch. Want to treat me?"
Chouji's Dad laughed heartily, "Sure, c'mon, I know a good place!"
****
"Hey Dad," Chouji asked between gulps of food. "I need some advice."
His father looked up from his third plate. "Well, the barbeque is usually a good bet for thirds, but you may need something a little lighter before desert. Maybe some ramen, or miso?"
"No, no!" Chouji laughed, although miso did sound pretty good for thirds, "It's about a girl. Sort of."
Chouji's father put down his chopsticks and eyed him carefully, "Are you serious?! That's great! If there's one thing I know its women. And barbeque. But mostly women."
Chouji frowned, "Well, it's kind of complicated. If you had a friend who was about to make a mistake about a girl, do you interfere or do you let them do what they want?"
"Shikamaru has a girlfriend?!"
"No, well, no not really. He's convinced she likes someone else, and he's trying to push them together rather than take a shot himself. The thing is, I think he has a good shot of getting her attention if he just tried."
"Hmm..." Chouji's Dad took a moment, "I think you already know what to do Chouji, you just want me to agree with you. You should know your best friend better than anyone else, so you'll know what to do. You're a good friend Chouji, to look after Shikamaru like this."
Chouji smiled, and thought to himself. His Dad was right, he did know what to do.
"Thanks Dad!"
"Anytime!!"
The two boisterously returned to their third and fourth helpings.
****
Shikamaru looked carefully at the pendant, he was almost it was the right one. He wondered if she would remember it after all this time, it had to have been four or five years ago.
Ino and Shikamaru were waiting for their parents outside of the restaurant. They it was still early in the evening so most of the shops were still open, the window displays lit up brightly with Christmas lights.
"What's taking them so long...?" Shikamaru complained. It was cold out, they were going to catch colds at this rate.
"Wow!! Look at this one!!" Ino was gazing into a jewelry shops window. Shikamaru plodded over to see what she was going on about. It was a relatively simple pendant, a silver chain with a small but beautiful stone. It was a deep blue, about the same hue as her eyes, and she was absolutely drooling over it.
"Teh, something like that probably costs a fortune Ino. C'mon lets go back inside, before we get sick or something." Shikamaru shivered again, he hated the cold.
Ino turned and stuck her tongue out at him. "Hmph, you have no taste that's all. Someday I'll have a rich boyfriend and he'll get me things like this all the time! That's the kind of stuff a boy should get a girl he likes!"
Shikamaru checked his wallet, it'd taken a while to save up this much, it was going to be a shame that he wouldn't get to see her face when she saw it... Maybe it would be better if she didn't remember.
****
Ino was quite excited, the first guests were arriving and it was the perfect day for a barbeque outdoors. She had hoped that they hadn't wasted their luck with weather with Shikamaru the other day. She was glad that things had turned out well, and she was especially proud to have caught the great Shikamaru off guard. She'd have to lord that over him later, she was sure he probably spent the night wondering how Ino had pulled off such a brilliant plan.
"Happy birthday Ino!" Chouji exclaimed from the doorway. He had a brightly colored package with him; Ino just hoped it wasn't his favorite brand of chips again. That had been a... interesting gift.
"Thanks Chouji!" She gave him a little hug and relieved him of his gift. She made sure to shake it a little before placing it with the others. It didn't rustle like chips, maybe he'd gotten her an actual gift this year? "Where's Shikamaru?"
Chouji's smile drooped a bit, "He'll be a little late I think. But he'll be here!"
Ino frowned, "That lazy jerk better not miss my birthday! After all the trouble I went through to have his yesterday!!" She cursed the weather silently, it would be just like him to go off and take a nap somewhere on such a nice day like today.
"Ino, can you come here a moment?" Ino's mom called from inside the house.
"Sure Mom! I'll be back in a few Chouji!"
****
Chouji smiled and walked back out the front door. He had made it in time, Shikamaru wasn't here yet. Chouji ran back down the road towards town and waited for a few minutes. A couple streets down he saw Shikamaru walking, present in hand.
"Perfect." Chouji thought to himself, "I'll only get one shot at this, it better work."
He ducked into an alleyway and took out a bag of chips.
****
Shikamaru sighed, he hadn't seen Sasuke anywhere in town. Was he even going to be there? It'd be just like him to not come, Shikamaru thought to himself, he doesn't care about her feelings at all.
Just then Sasuke walked up alongside him, en route to Ino's. Shikamaru started for a second, but it made sense that Sasuke could creep up on him like that. It was still disappointing though, he'd have to talk to Asuma about working on his tracking and awareness later.
"Hey, Sasuke."
Sasuke looked over at Shikamaru and nodded slightly.
"Are you going to Ino's?"
Another nod.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, Sasuke never really was one for small talk... "Girls are such a pain aren't they? Spent all day trying to find a gift. What'd you get her?"
Sasuke glanced over at Shikamaru and dug one of his hands into his pocket producing a small gift. Shikamaru eyed it carefully and made a couple quick signs. With a barely audible poof he changed the wrapping of his present to the same design as Sasuke's.
Now for the hard part, he thought to himself.
"Hey, that's a great looking gift! Did you wrap it yourself?" Shikamaru felt like an ass. "Can I see it for a second?"
Sasuke stopped in his tracks and eyed Shikamaru for a second. He handed the gift over and shook his head. Shikamaru felt a bead of sweat drop down his brow.
"Wow, this is great work, hahah!" Sasuke turned around visibly disgusted, and kept walking. Shikamaru swapped the presents and handed his back over to Sasuke. Sasuke took it back without looking and stuck it back in his pocket. Shikamaru nearly fainted as he placed Sasuke's gift into his own pocket. He could hardly believe that he had managed to pull it off.
Girls were such a pain...
Shikamaru dropped back a few steps, and let Sasuke round the corner first. He really didn't want to see the Ino reaction to Sasuke's arrival. He turned around and walked back towards the town. This day had been hard enough as is.
He stopped over at a nearby playground and sat down under a tree. A breeze picked up, making him feel drowsy. He looked at the time on a nearby clock, it was still a little early. He could afford a small nap for all his hard work today. His eyelids feeling heavy, he took Sasuke's gift out of his pocket.
"I wonder what you got her..."
Within seconds Shikamaru was fast asleep.
****
Ino answered the door and looked confused. "Didn't you already come in Chouji?"
Chouji grinned broadly, "Yeah, I, um, forgot something!"
Ino shook her head, "You're hopeless Chouji..."
That just made him grin wider.
****
The party went off without a hitch, and people began to head out a little after the sun set. It was, after all, a school night of sorts. Everyone was expecting a hard time on Monday as well, what with the Chuunin exams coming up soon.
Ino sat down with a piece of cake and gave a small sigh.
"Where is that jerk..."
Chouji walked over, "Is it okay if I join you?"
"Hey Chouji, sure."
"You seem a little upset, something wrong?"
Ino shook her head. "No, its okay. Just was expecting a few more people."
Chouji nodded, Sakura and Sasuke hadn't come, and neither had Shikamaru. Chouji knew that Ino and Sakura had been fighting a lot lately, and were in a bad situation because of Sasuke. He wondered what it would be like to have Shikamaru suddenly break up their friendship because of a girl. It certainly couldn't be a good feeling. Shikamaru's absence had surprised him though. It wasn't like him to not see things through, though in this case it had worked out pretty well that he hadn't. Chouji felt badly for Ino though, she seemed genuinely upset.
"Why didn't he come Chouji?" Ino looked like she had tears in her eyes.
"Sasuke is Sasuke," Chouji started, "He's never been very polite or –"
"No, I mean Shikamaru!" Ino shook her head, "I was there for him yesterday. How could he have forgotten...?"
Chouji smiled, "He didn't forget. This is for you. I think he wanted to give this to you himself but he was too embarrassed."
Chouji handed over the small package. Ino wiped a few tears away and opened it.
"Is this..." Ino took the pendant out of the box, amazed. It was beautiful, just like she remembered. How could that idiot have...?
"Where is he Chouji?" Ino had a scary look in her eyes, "And don't lie to me, or you won't live to regret it."
Chouji nearly wet himself.
Within seconds Ino was running out the front door and down the street. It was a long run to his house, but she was determined. Shikamaru had a lot to explain...
****
"Hi Ino, Happy Birthday!" Shikato was a little surprised to see Ino here, especially as it was starting to get dark out. "What can I do for you?"
Ino was out of breath, having run several miles to get here. "Where's... Shikamaru..?"
Shikato was confused, "I thought he was at the party? He's not here..."
Ino's head drooped, "Sorry to bother you..." She turned to walk away.
"Is everything alright Ino?" Shikato was a little worried.
"If you see him, tell him I stopped by..."
Ino began the long walk back home. How could he have remembered something so small, from so long ago... What was he thinking spending so much? A few blocks away from her house something caught her eye. There, passed out against a tree, was a sleeping figure. She could hear it snoring from here.
"Are you serious...?" Ino thought to herself.
She walked up to the figure, and sure enough it was her missing teammate. He was fast asleep against the tree, a bag of chips in his hand. She took the bag in her hand, it looked like the brand Chouji was always eating. That lazy bastard HAD fallen asleep! Ino could feel her anger rising, but it was immediately displaced by a smile.
"Sorry... Ino..." Shikamaru was murmuring in his sleep.
Ino shook her head, "I guess the dream version of me is giving you a hard enough time."
She squatted down across from him, watching him sleep for a minute.
"I wanted to thank you for the gift, Chouji told me everything. You should have known better, you underestimated me! You underestimated him too, he's a better friend than you know."
He looked a little like he did in her picture, his face a little older now, his features a little more handsome. She took out the pendant and put it on,
"Why did you get this for me? I don't really deserve a gift like this, especially not from you. I guess I'm guilty of underestimating you a little bit. Maybe I shouldn't waste so much of my time on someone who doesn't even see me, but I guess that's just me being a bit selfish. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should have a little more confidence in yourself. I'll make a deal with you... If you ask me, I won't say no... You've got a ways to go, but you're already a better guy then I deserve. I guess I'll try a little harder too."
Shikamaru murmured something incoherent and slumped to the side a bit.
Ino giggled a little, and then took on a serious face, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to go any easier on you. Now that I've seen what you can do when you're motivated I'm going to expect nothing less. If you think I'll let you get by as a lazy bum for the rest of your life then you're sadly mistaken. You're quite a troublesome teammate, aren't you?"
Shikamaru stirred a little in his sleep. Ino leaned in and gave him a small kiss on his forehead. She stood up and walked back to her house, smiling the whole way.
****
Chouji could still hear her voice,
"You will tell him nothing, other than that you did what he asked. Got it? If you tell him I know..." There was murder in her eyes.
Ino really was the scariest person he knew.
"Welcome home!" Chouji's dad called from the dining room. "You're just in time for dinner!"
Chouji smiled and sat down at the table with his family.
"Oh, how did that thing turn out?" his Dad asked between mouthfuls.
"I think it'll turn out okay." Chouji said with a grin.
"If she doesn't kill him..." He thought to himself.
****
Shikamaru woke up in his bed, confused.
"Such a troublesome son, forcing his poor father to pick him up so late in the night." Shikato complained from the doorway. "And without a word of thanks in exchange..."
Shikamaru sighed and fell back into his pillow. He missed everything... He'd have to ask Chouji if it all worked out okay in the end.
"You'd better get some sleep. Asuma wants you to come by early tomorrow for some special training. Aren't the Chuunin exams coming up soon? Were you thinking of taking it?"
Shikamaru growled, "Chuunin exam? Being a genin is troublesome enough..."
****
Ino had taken all of the pictures off her mirror and was rearranging them. She took the one of Sakura and her down; it was too painful to look at right now. Her Sasuke was once again proudly placed at the top in easily the most visible position, and right next to him was her Shikamaru.
End
Authors Note: Phew, wow that one took a long time! It's a little longer than the previous installments, so I hope it was worth the wait! It has been a labor of love though. Getting the whole thing to come together required a lot more careful thought than I had initially planned. I wanted to maintain realism and continuity, so I hope that comes across with the end result. In closing, to everyone who has enjoyed this story I'd just like to say thank you for all your kind comments and thank you for reading!! And if you were wondering, no the story doesn't end here, this is just the end of the first part. There will be a part two sometime in the near future! Look for it to pick up around where the manga is now in terms of storyline. Thanks again for reading!
Ino woke to the sun shining, and a cool breeze drifting in through the window. It looked like it was going to be another perfect day today. Stretching and yawning, she fought to shake the last bit of weariness from her mind. She had stayed up far later than she had intended last night, thinking about everything that happened yesterday. For some reason, she couldn't help but feel like she was missing something, but what?
"Ino, pumpkin? Time to wake up!"
Ino frowned, was she still eight years old to her father?
"I'll be down in a minute, Dad."
Ino plopped down in front of her mirror again, staring at the pictures. She stared at the picture again, the subject completely oblivious that it had been taken. Carefully she plucked it from its hiding place along the bottom edge of the frame and held it closer. She should say something to him today, if he bothered to come in the first place.
"You'd better show... For all the effort I put into you."
****
The plan is risky, Shikamaru thought to himself. For the eighth time this morning he had tried to convince himself that the whole thing was foolish and doomed to failure. He should just enjoy sleeping in, wake up around noon, find a cheap gift and head over to Ino's around four, when things should be picking up.
"Girls are such a pain..." He moaned to no one in particular.
"This is true," said his father from the doorway, "But they're worth it... Most of the time that is."
Shikamaru frowned, "Teh, you have no idea."
"I think I know more than you think, boy." Shikato squinted and peered out the window. "Awful nice day today, you should probably get moving soon, or it's going to pass you by. Then it's only your fault for missing it."
"I know, I'm on my way..." Shikamaru packed his things together, making sure to grab his wallet off his dresser. "I'll be back late, Dad."
"Enjoy your youth!" His father was grinning foolishly, "Just don't make too much noise when you get back."
Walking outside into the warm sun Shikamaru felt for the first time how tired he actually was. Had he really stayed up all night for a girl?
"Girls really are a pain..." He again intoned.
"That coming from a guy who doesn't have one..." a voice mocked from behind.
Shikamaru nearly leapt out of his skin. He had to be overtired to have allowed Chouji to sneak up on him like that. Usually the only thing Chouji was able to sneak up on was a bag of chips.
"What are you doing up so early?" Shikamaru asked.
"I could ask the same..."
"But you're at my house."
"This is true," Chouji relented, "I admit it, I was bored, and figured you'd be up. What time were you planning on going over to Ino's?"
"Not till later, I still have to get the gift." Shikamaru said. The two walked down to the main road and started the trek towards the village commons area. The weather was beautiful, a few light clouds drifted across the sky and a warm breeze brushed up against them as they walked.
"It was a perfect day for a nap," Shikamaru thought to himself, "How troublesome..."
"What are you getting her?" Chouji asked, his innocent tone bordering mocking.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "What are you getting at? I'm not giving her a gift."
Chouji looked confused. Shikamaru sighed, "Look, I have a bit of a plan Chouji, I might need your help on this one. We've got to keep it from Ino though, she'd kill me if she found out."
Chouji's eyes lit up, it was certainly turning out to be an interesting morning.
****
By the time the pair made it to town Shikamaru had laid out the basics of his plan, and what he expected to happen.
"So, can you help me?"
Chouji had lost his smile, the whole thing seemed wrong. But Shikamaru was his friend.
"Yeah, what do you need me to do?"
Shikamaru put his hand to his brow and looked carefully in a shop window; it was one of these, wasn't it? "I just need you to cover for me when I leave. And make sure that no one interrupts them once it starts." Shikamaru felt uneasy about leaving the last stage to chance, but he really didn't want to be there for the last parts. It would be far too troublesome to baby-sit like that. And it would be hard for him to watch.
Chouji nodded, "I can do that. Hey, I'm going to go get some lunch, do you want to join me?"
Shikamaru shook his head, "Nah, thanks but I have to find this thing and find a way to get it to Sasuke before the party starts. That'll be a job and a half in itself."
Chouji smiled, "Alright then, I guess I'll see you later then?"
Shikamaru was staring into another window, was it this one?
"Shikamaru?"
He started, "Huh? Sorry Chouji, I'm a little out of it. I'll see you later at Ino's."
The two waved and Chouji walked off. He turned around and watched his friend from a distance, it was almost too cruel to see him like this.
"Chouji? What're you doing here boy?"
Chouji turned and smiled, "Dad! I was just about to go get some lunch. Want to treat me?"
Chouji's Dad laughed heartily, "Sure, c'mon, I know a good place!"
****
"Hey Dad," Chouji asked between gulps of food. "I need some advice."
His father looked up from his third plate. "Well, the barbeque is usually a good bet for thirds, but you may need something a little lighter before desert. Maybe some ramen, or miso?"
"No, no!" Chouji laughed, although miso did sound pretty good for thirds, "It's about a girl. Sort of."
Chouji's father put down his chopsticks and eyed him carefully, "Are you serious?! That's great! If there's one thing I know its women. And barbeque. But mostly women."
Chouji frowned, "Well, it's kind of complicated. If you had a friend who was about to make a mistake about a girl, do you interfere or do you let them do what they want?"
"Shikamaru has a girlfriend?!"
"No, well, no not really. He's convinced she likes someone else, and he's trying to push them together rather than take a shot himself. The thing is, I think he has a good shot of getting her attention if he just tried."
"Hmm..." Chouji's Dad took a moment, "I think you already know what to do Chouji, you just want me to agree with you. You should know your best friend better than anyone else, so you'll know what to do. You're a good friend Chouji, to look after Shikamaru like this."
Chouji smiled, and thought to himself. His Dad was right, he did know what to do.
"Thanks Dad!"
"Anytime!!"
The two boisterously returned to their third and fourth helpings.
****
Shikamaru looked carefully at the pendant, he was almost it was the right one. He wondered if she would remember it after all this time, it had to have been four or five years ago.
Ino and Shikamaru were waiting for their parents outside of the restaurant. They it was still early in the evening so most of the shops were still open, the window displays lit up brightly with Christmas lights.
"What's taking them so long...?" Shikamaru complained. It was cold out, they were going to catch colds at this rate.
"Wow!! Look at this one!!" Ino was gazing into a jewelry shops window. Shikamaru plodded over to see what she was going on about. It was a relatively simple pendant, a silver chain with a small but beautiful stone. It was a deep blue, about the same hue as her eyes, and she was absolutely drooling over it.
"Teh, something like that probably costs a fortune Ino. C'mon lets go back inside, before we get sick or something." Shikamaru shivered again, he hated the cold.
Ino turned and stuck her tongue out at him. "Hmph, you have no taste that's all. Someday I'll have a rich boyfriend and he'll get me things like this all the time! That's the kind of stuff a boy should get a girl he likes!"
Shikamaru checked his wallet, it'd taken a while to save up this much, it was going to be a shame that he wouldn't get to see her face when she saw it... Maybe it would be better if she didn't remember.
****
Ino was quite excited, the first guests were arriving and it was the perfect day for a barbeque outdoors. She had hoped that they hadn't wasted their luck with weather with Shikamaru the other day. She was glad that things had turned out well, and she was especially proud to have caught the great Shikamaru off guard. She'd have to lord that over him later, she was sure he probably spent the night wondering how Ino had pulled off such a brilliant plan.
"Happy birthday Ino!" Chouji exclaimed from the doorway. He had a brightly colored package with him; Ino just hoped it wasn't his favorite brand of chips again. That had been a... interesting gift.
"Thanks Chouji!" She gave him a little hug and relieved him of his gift. She made sure to shake it a little before placing it with the others. It didn't rustle like chips, maybe he'd gotten her an actual gift this year? "Where's Shikamaru?"
Chouji's smile drooped a bit, "He'll be a little late I think. But he'll be here!"
Ino frowned, "That lazy jerk better not miss my birthday! After all the trouble I went through to have his yesterday!!" She cursed the weather silently, it would be just like him to go off and take a nap somewhere on such a nice day like today.
"Ino, can you come here a moment?" Ino's mom called from inside the house.
"Sure Mom! I'll be back in a few Chouji!"
****
Chouji smiled and walked back out the front door. He had made it in time, Shikamaru wasn't here yet. Chouji ran back down the road towards town and waited for a few minutes. A couple streets down he saw Shikamaru walking, present in hand.
"Perfect." Chouji thought to himself, "I'll only get one shot at this, it better work."
He ducked into an alleyway and took out a bag of chips.
****
Shikamaru sighed, he hadn't seen Sasuke anywhere in town. Was he even going to be there? It'd be just like him to not come, Shikamaru thought to himself, he doesn't care about her feelings at all.
Just then Sasuke walked up alongside him, en route to Ino's. Shikamaru started for a second, but it made sense that Sasuke could creep up on him like that. It was still disappointing though, he'd have to talk to Asuma about working on his tracking and awareness later.
"Hey, Sasuke."
Sasuke looked over at Shikamaru and nodded slightly.
"Are you going to Ino's?"
Another nod.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, Sasuke never really was one for small talk... "Girls are such a pain aren't they? Spent all day trying to find a gift. What'd you get her?"
Sasuke glanced over at Shikamaru and dug one of his hands into his pocket producing a small gift. Shikamaru eyed it carefully and made a couple quick signs. With a barely audible poof he changed the wrapping of his present to the same design as Sasuke's.
Now for the hard part, he thought to himself.
"Hey, that's a great looking gift! Did you wrap it yourself?" Shikamaru felt like an ass. "Can I see it for a second?"
Sasuke stopped in his tracks and eyed Shikamaru for a second. He handed the gift over and shook his head. Shikamaru felt a bead of sweat drop down his brow.
"Wow, this is great work, hahah!" Sasuke turned around visibly disgusted, and kept walking. Shikamaru swapped the presents and handed his back over to Sasuke. Sasuke took it back without looking and stuck it back in his pocket. Shikamaru nearly fainted as he placed Sasuke's gift into his own pocket. He could hardly believe that he had managed to pull it off.
Girls were such a pain...
Shikamaru dropped back a few steps, and let Sasuke round the corner first. He really didn't want to see the Ino reaction to Sasuke's arrival. He turned around and walked back towards the town. This day had been hard enough as is.
He stopped over at a nearby playground and sat down under a tree. A breeze picked up, making him feel drowsy. He looked at the time on a nearby clock, it was still a little early. He could afford a small nap for all his hard work today. His eyelids feeling heavy, he took Sasuke's gift out of his pocket.
"I wonder what you got her..."
Within seconds Shikamaru was fast asleep.
****
Ino answered the door and looked confused. "Didn't you already come in Chouji?"
Chouji grinned broadly, "Yeah, I, um, forgot something!"
Ino shook her head, "You're hopeless Chouji..."
That just made him grin wider.
****
The party went off without a hitch, and people began to head out a little after the sun set. It was, after all, a school night of sorts. Everyone was expecting a hard time on Monday as well, what with the Chuunin exams coming up soon.
Ino sat down with a piece of cake and gave a small sigh.
"Where is that jerk..."
Chouji walked over, "Is it okay if I join you?"
"Hey Chouji, sure."
"You seem a little upset, something wrong?"
Ino shook her head. "No, its okay. Just was expecting a few more people."
Chouji nodded, Sakura and Sasuke hadn't come, and neither had Shikamaru. Chouji knew that Ino and Sakura had been fighting a lot lately, and were in a bad situation because of Sasuke. He wondered what it would be like to have Shikamaru suddenly break up their friendship because of a girl. It certainly couldn't be a good feeling. Shikamaru's absence had surprised him though. It wasn't like him to not see things through, though in this case it had worked out pretty well that he hadn't. Chouji felt badly for Ino though, she seemed genuinely upset.
"Why didn't he come Chouji?" Ino looked like she had tears in her eyes.
"Sasuke is Sasuke," Chouji started, "He's never been very polite or –"
"No, I mean Shikamaru!" Ino shook her head, "I was there for him yesterday. How could he have forgotten...?"
Chouji smiled, "He didn't forget. This is for you. I think he wanted to give this to you himself but he was too embarrassed."
Chouji handed over the small package. Ino wiped a few tears away and opened it.
"Is this..." Ino took the pendant out of the box, amazed. It was beautiful, just like she remembered. How could that idiot have...?
"Where is he Chouji?" Ino had a scary look in her eyes, "And don't lie to me, or you won't live to regret it."
Chouji nearly wet himself.
Within seconds Ino was running out the front door and down the street. It was a long run to his house, but she was determined. Shikamaru had a lot to explain...
****
"Hi Ino, Happy Birthday!" Shikato was a little surprised to see Ino here, especially as it was starting to get dark out. "What can I do for you?"
Ino was out of breath, having run several miles to get here. "Where's... Shikamaru..?"
Shikato was confused, "I thought he was at the party? He's not here..."
Ino's head drooped, "Sorry to bother you..." She turned to walk away.
"Is everything alright Ino?" Shikato was a little worried.
"If you see him, tell him I stopped by..."
Ino began the long walk back home. How could he have remembered something so small, from so long ago... What was he thinking spending so much? A few blocks away from her house something caught her eye. There, passed out against a tree, was a sleeping figure. She could hear it snoring from here.
"Are you serious...?" Ino thought to herself.
She walked up to the figure, and sure enough it was her missing teammate. He was fast asleep against the tree, a bag of chips in his hand. She took the bag in her hand, it looked like the brand Chouji was always eating. That lazy bastard HAD fallen asleep! Ino could feel her anger rising, but it was immediately displaced by a smile.
"Sorry... Ino..." Shikamaru was murmuring in his sleep.
Ino shook her head, "I guess the dream version of me is giving you a hard enough time."
She squatted down across from him, watching him sleep for a minute.
"I wanted to thank you for the gift, Chouji told me everything. You should have known better, you underestimated me! You underestimated him too, he's a better friend than you know."
He looked a little like he did in her picture, his face a little older now, his features a little more handsome. She took out the pendant and put it on,
"Why did you get this for me? I don't really deserve a gift like this, especially not from you. I guess I'm guilty of underestimating you a little bit. Maybe I shouldn't waste so much of my time on someone who doesn't even see me, but I guess that's just me being a bit selfish. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should have a little more confidence in yourself. I'll make a deal with you... If you ask me, I won't say no... You've got a ways to go, but you're already a better guy then I deserve. I guess I'll try a little harder too."
Shikamaru murmured something incoherent and slumped to the side a bit.
Ino giggled a little, and then took on a serious face, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to go any easier on you. Now that I've seen what you can do when you're motivated I'm going to expect nothing less. If you think I'll let you get by as a lazy bum for the rest of your life then you're sadly mistaken. You're quite a troublesome teammate, aren't you?"
Shikamaru stirred a little in his sleep. Ino leaned in and gave him a small kiss on his forehead. She stood up and walked back to her house, smiling the whole way.
****
Chouji could still hear her voice,
"You will tell him nothing, other than that you did what he asked. Got it? If you tell him I know..." There was murder in her eyes.
Ino really was the scariest person he knew.
"Welcome home!" Chouji's dad called from the dining room. "You're just in time for dinner!"
Chouji smiled and sat down at the table with his family.
"Oh, how did that thing turn out?" his Dad asked between mouthfuls.
"I think it'll turn out okay." Chouji said with a grin.
"If she doesn't kill him..." He thought to himself.
****
Shikamaru woke up in his bed, confused.
"Such a troublesome son, forcing his poor father to pick him up so late in the night." Shikato complained from the doorway. "And without a word of thanks in exchange..."
Shikamaru sighed and fell back into his pillow. He missed everything... He'd have to ask Chouji if it all worked out okay in the end.
"You'd better get some sleep. Asuma wants you to come by early tomorrow for some special training. Aren't the Chuunin exams coming up soon? Were you thinking of taking it?"
Shikamaru growled, "Chuunin exam? Being a genin is troublesome enough..."
****
Ino had taken all of the pictures off her mirror and was rearranging them. She took the one of Sakura and her down; it was too painful to look at right now. Her Sasuke was once again proudly placed at the top in easily the most visible position, and right next to him was her Shikamaru.
End
Authors Note: Phew, wow that one took a long time! It's a little longer than the previous installments, so I hope it was worth the wait! It has been a labor of love though. Getting the whole thing to come together required a lot more careful thought than I had initially planned. I wanted to maintain realism and continuity, so I hope that comes across with the end result. In closing, to everyone who has enjoyed this story I'd just like to say thank you for all your kind comments and thank you for reading!! And if you were wondering, no the story doesn't end here, this is just the end of the first part. There will be a part two sometime in the near future! Look for it to pick up around where the manga is now in terms of storyline. Thanks again for reading!
