It's All an Act
By: Sasha
Rating: PG13 for innuendo and some cursing.
Pairings: ShikaIno, SasuSakuNaru (!! I"m such a hentai...)
Summary: The late teenage years have produced some strange couplings in Konoha, the strangest being Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. Ino pushes herself to forget her crush on Sasuke and ends up in one twisted rumor containing her and Shikamaru as a couple. Who spread the rumor and what will both Ino and Shikamaru do about it?
A.N. This is my first Naruto fic. There's a couple of spoilers, most
likely after manga chapters 170, but it's not major. This takes place sometime
in the future when they're all about 18/19.
Chapter One – Rumors Spread Like Wildfire
She hummed while choosing a variety of flowers
for a bouquet. There was nothing else to do so she worked, her summer being
spent in the family flower shop.
"Ino! Have you finished the Haachi order? Kodoma is here to pick it up!" her
mother called from the front of the store. She rolled her eyes. Her mother
didn't understand that sometimes she didn't want to be here, that she'd rather
be out doing missions and training, but her mother insisted that she learn the
family business in case a kunoichi life wasn't for her.
"Yes, 'kaasan. I'll be right out," she called, grabbing the basket from the
large refrigerator in the back storeroom where she was working. Pasting a huge
smile on her face, she walked to the main part of the store and graciously
presented the order to the elder Haachi.
"Thank you, child," the elderly man said as he took the basket from her. She
bowed.
"You're welcome, ojiisan. I hope you like it. I picked all the flowers myself,"
she said. He smiled and nodded.
"Wonderful work as always, Ino. Shouldn't you be doing missions?" he asked
curiously. She looked at her mother for a brief second.
"There are enough genins and chuunins around to do that work. I've decided to
help out my family," she answered. It was a lie and she was sure her mother
could see right through it, but what else could she say?
"What a dedicated and hard-working daughter you have," he directed towards Mrs. Yamanaka. He waved and exited the store, leaving Ino and her mother in silence.
The clock ticked and Ino stood there for a moment, wondering what to do.
"Go train. Ask Tsunade-sama if there is any work for you. I know you're unhappy
here," her mother said quietly before heading up the stairs. Ino still stood
there.
Finally… she thought, taking one quick look around and placing the "closed" sign
in the window. I wonder what the lazy bum and the fatass are doing.
Shikamaru sighed. The clouds had been floating lazily around, set against a
brilliantly blue sky. He wished he could be sleeping on one of those incredibly
fluffy looking clouds. I'd never have to lead another mission, he thought
happily, closing his eyes.
Ino walked around having no place to go. It was true what she said to the old
man. Well as least some of it was. Tsunade-sama had no missions to give out; she
checked with the hokage two days ago. She sighed loudly. May as well go train.
"Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" Naruto chanted, dragging
Sasuke to the Ichiraku. His quieter companion didn't complain and just followed
as the blonde dragged him.
"Eh, Sasuke, what are you getting?" Naruto asked, impatiently stepping from one
foot to the other. The Uchiha boy looked at the list posted on the wall.
"Same as usual," he replied. Naruto grinned. "Me too!" he yelled, narrowing his
eyes at the slowly working owner.
"Hurry up old man! We're hungry," he complained. The owner rolled his eyes at
his eyes at the blonde. For teenagers, they sure were annoying. "Miso ramen!
Miso ramen!" Naruto sang, taking a seat. From where he was sitting, he could see
out to the street. Sasuke quietly took the seat opposite from him.
"Ne, Sasuke, it's Ino-chan. Should we invite her to join us?" Naruto asked,
conspiratorially stage-whispering. The other boy just shrugged disinterestedly.
The blonde snickered.
"Ino-chan! Join us for some ramen!" he called loudly. The waitress bringing the
boys their ramen almost dropped the two bowls she was carrying.
Ino's eyes snapped upwards to meet cornflower blue, then brown. Sasuke was there
too, staring at her like he wanted to kill her. Ino felt her heart plummet to
her feet. She smiled and shook her head.
"I just ate a while ago. No thanks! I'll see you guys around. I'm going to
train," she replied, flashing them a v-sign and waving as she left.
"Eh, and I was going to con her into paying for us…" Naruto said dejectedly.
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Ch, you've never had to pay for your own ramen. It's time you started," the
Uchiha boy said before breaking his chopsticks apart. Naruto scowled, then
smiled slyly.
"You'll pay for me, right Sasuke-kun?" he asked flirtatiously. If he played it
right, he would be able to get the taller boy to pay for his meal.
"Depends on what I get afterwards," Sasuke replied blandly, leaving it open for
all kinds of interpretation. Naruto grinned and blushed.
"Hentai…" he mumbled before devouring his ramen.
Ino came to the field where she trained. She
could see all the marks in the dirt and grass, from training sessions where she
had thrown around her teammates and had been thrown around by them. She
shrugged. She could still train on her own. Walking down the hill, she spotted
Shikamaru lazing around on the better part of the grass.
"Wake up you bum!" she called. Shikamaru twitched and opened one eye.
"I wasn't sleeping," he answered, shutting that eye and crossing his arms over
his chest. Ino took a seat next to him.
Neither said anything for a long time and then Ino suddenly spoke.
"What do you think about when you lie around and stare at the clouds?" she asked
quietly. He opened both eyes and pushed himself up slowly.
"Nothing really. Just like how nice it would be if I could be sleeping on those
clouds," he replied.
"Oh," she said softly. She turned to him, suddenly wanting to know something
else. "Do you think I'm annoying?" she asked. Shikamaru looked like he didn't
know what to say. Stupid girls and their stupid questions, he thought.
"Does it matter if I do? Or are you just wondering if Sasuke thinks you are?" he
threw back at her. Ino groused.
"I want to know what you think," she said firmly, plucking at the green grass
between them. Shikamaru looked skywards. Kami-sama, give me strength, he thought
exasperatedly.
"No, not really. To me, you're just Ino. What else am I supposed to say?" he
asked, confused.
She turned to face him with tears in her eyes.
"You're supposed to tell me the truth. We're teammates. We're friends," she said
shakily. He had no idea what to do.
"You just want to know what I think because you think all boys think the same. I
don't know if Sasuke thinks you're annoying. Does it really matter anyway? You
know that there's something odd going on between him, Naruto and Sakura. Why do
you still care?" he asked. That took a lot out of him. He was never one for that
many words.
Ino stared back at him, the tears making it hard to see her teammate clearly.
"Everyone just says that I'm 'Ino' and nothing more. I asked you a question and
you walked around it, same as always," she said before standing shakily. "If I
ever want a question unanswered, I'll come to you," she said bitterly.
Shikamaru's eyes widened, he could never figure her out, despite his IQ.
"Wait…" he said, standing. Ino stopped. He walked up to her and stood in front
of her, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.
"You're strong and quick witted. You're a good fighter and a reliable teammate.
Yeah, sometimes you're annoying. But if it's any consolation, you're one of the
least annoying females I know," he said. Ino swiped at her eyes. He must have
really meant what he said if he had to stand and stop her. She giggled.
"You're a good friend, Shikamaru!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his
neck. His eyes widened and he sweatdropped. Do one nice thing and get glomped
by a girl. Geez… he thought tiredly, cautiously lifting a hand to pat her on
the back.
"Come on. Let's look at clouds," he said, suggesting anything just as long as
she'd let go. She smiled.
"Lead the way," she said, still hanging onto him. Shikamaru groaned. He made a
mental note to never compliment another girl, even if his life depended on it.
He took a seat and Ino joined him. His eyes flickered between clouds.
"Look," he pointed. "That one looks like Chouji eating chips," he said, lying
back. Ino laughed.
"You've got a weird perspective," she said, staring at the white fluff, trying
to see the connection. She shrugged and lay down beside him, resting her head on
his chest. Shikamaru wanted to push her off, but strangely, what she was doing
was okay with him. Besides, he was too lazy to push her big fat head off him. He
mentally snickered.
They both fell asleep like that. Together, in the field, with Ino's head on his
chest.
"Sasukeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…" Naruto called. The taller
boy narrowed his eyes at his teammate.
"What, dobe?" he asked. Naruto scowled.
"Teach me how you do that thing…" he trailed, blushing suddenly. Sasuke smirked.
"When we get home. First we need to find Sakura. It's not the same without her,"
he said. Naruto had a huge grin on his face.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Gonna get lai-" he started to say before a small female hand
clamped over his mouth.
"Finish that sentence in public and I'll make sure you'll never be able to do
anything ever again," Sakura said, kissing his cheek. Naruto scrunched his
nose. Sakura giggled.
"He's so cute when he does that, ne, Sasuke-kun?" she asked, hooking her arm
through the raven-haired boy's. He shrugged.
"Annoying is a better word," he replied, dragging Sakura with him, leaving
Naruto gawking in the street.
"You better not start without me!" he called two seconds later. He was so slow
sometimes.
Naruto jogged to catch up. He paused when he looked down the hill. His eyes
widened and he grinned maniacally. Blackmail! he mentally exclaimed,
rushing down the path to tell Sasuke and Sakura.
By the next day, the news had spread all over
town. Shikamaru and Ino were a couple. Of course, they were they only two who
didn't know.
Hinata giggled. "I-I think it's sweet. Shikamaru is a nice guy," she said
softly. Kiba gave her a strained look.
"Nicer than me?" he asked. Hinata shook her head. "You're both nice," she simply
said. Kiba hung his head a little lower and Akamaru gently nipped at her owner's
chin to cheer him up.
"Love is a sparkling triumph!" Lee said excitedly. Kiba sweatdropped. Neji's
eyes narrowed.
"I swear, sometimes you're so stupid," Neji muttered. Lee gasped, his mouth
making an 'o'.
"We should be happy for them. We're their friends. It's about time Ino got over
Sasuke," Chouji said from one corner. They all turned to face the chubby boy.
They all nodded. The Akimichi boy was right after all.
"So then what do we do? Do we treat them normally? Do you think they want to
keep it a secret?" TenTen asked. They all shrugged.
"We'll wait for them to tell us," Shino said, pushing his glasses up. The rest
of them agreed.
-----------------------------------
"Ino! Come down here for a moment. I'd like to talk to you!" Ino's mother called, jarring the girl out of sleep.
-----------------------------------
"Shikamaru, get your lazy bones down here at once! We need to talk," Mrs. Nara called to her son. The chuunin groaned. What was so important that his mother had to wake him up before noon?
-----------------------------------
Ino rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and came
down the stairs. Her mother was waiting for her at the kitchen table, sipping
tea.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked through a yawn.
-----------------------------------
Shikamaru threw off his quilt and stretched. If
he didn't get downstairs soon, his mother would come up and yank him out. Why
are we Nara men so whipped? he wondered, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah?" he asked as he walked down the stairs. His mother was waiting for him at
the bottom.
"I was just about to come up to get you," she said. Shikamaru shivered.
Whoopah! so whipped.
-----------------------------------
"Why didn't you tell me that you were seeing this Shikamaru boy?" Ino's mother asked. Ino's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.
-----------------------------------
"You have a girlfriend. How come you didn't tell me you're going out with that Ino girl?" his mother asked, smiling. Shikamaru's eyes widened to the size of saucers and his upper lip curled in horror.
-----------------------------------
"WHAT?!?!" both teens yelled. They only lived
about three or four blocks from each other, but their combined yells managed to
fill the blocks in between, causing everyone in Konoha to stop what they were
doing. Even Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura stopped a late morning romp.
"You're such an idiot," Sasuke said, grabbing his shorts off the floor.
"Eh?" Naruto asked. Sakura rolled her eyes this time, searching for her
clothing.
"You weren't supposed to tell everyone! What if they wanted to keep it a
secret?" she asked, slipping into her dress.
"But, I, DAMMIT!" he yelled in frustration. Learn to keep mouth shut, his
mind suggested. Easier said than done.
-----------------------------------
"I'm happy for you, Shikamaru. You need to concentrate on finding yourself a wife and settling down," his mother said, pulling him into a hug.
-----------------------------------
"I'm disappointed that you couldn't tell me
sooner, but I'm happy if you are. I hope he makes your days bright. It would be
nice to see you smile more," Ino's mother said as she kissed her daughter's
forehead. "Will he be the one you marry?" she asked.
Another round of "WHAT?!?!?!" followed from both Ino and Shikamaru.
A.N. SO??? I tried to lighten the mood after Ino's little meltdown in the field. I'm sucha hentai. I don't know why, but I really like SasuSakuNaru. Anyway, reviews are what motivates me. Send 'em in. If they're flames... I'll get Orochimaru to kill you, resurrect you and kill you again!!!