I don't own Naruto. I wonder why I'm writing this anyway... It's so bothersome... Sheesh.
Author's Note:
Yes! My second chapter! I'm enjoying this more than I thought. I really should write more often. This chapter came faster than expected because I was a little too free these few days, so expect the other updates to take a little longer.
Thank's to MysticMoon for being the first person to review my first ever chapter, and for helping me with my request in the last chapter.
This is my first story for , but please don't go soft on me just because of that. I strive for improvement, so any and all constructive criticism is appreciated. But no flames please, my innocent mind cannot tolerate such mindless acts. Thanks to all reviewers in advance.Girls, I hate them... I think
A Nara Shikamaru Fanfic by Yeo Kian Bung
Chapter 02: A Bothersome Hunt
"Today, my team... You will be doing something special..." announced the Jounin in a deep and mysterious voice. 'Special? It probably means tiring as well... Bah.' Shikamaru retorted in his mind. Chouji continued munching on his snacks, and Ino was expressionless save the vague redness on her cheeks that hadn't subsided.
The Jounin said no more and merely handed a piece of paper to Shikamaru and walked away. "Have fun."
The Jounin suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Oh, and Chouji, keep an eye on these two, will you? I don't want them messing around during training," he grinned as he gave a wink to the chubby boy, who started laughing again.
Shikamaru merely mumbled, "Bah. Damned sensei," and gave a sharp glance which spelled death to his chubby friend. Chouji shut up almost immediately, but he continued to giggle every now and then.
The trio looked at the piece of paper. At first sight, it seemed to contain gibberish. "What is this?" Ino was returning to her normal self again, although she continued to avoid eye contact with Shikamaru. "Is this some kind of a joke?" she complained, hands on her hips.
"No, wait. It seems to be a cipher," Shikamaru observed the characters in the piece of paper, his mind working furiously now. He sat down on the floor and closed his eyes, assuming the position signalling that he was in deep thought. "Psst, Ino. Get him a piece of paper and a pen. I have a feeling he's going to need them," whispered Chouji.
Ino nodded and dug into her storage pouch. She quickly pulled out the items and placed them in front of her genius friend. 'We'll leave this to him. I'm sure Asuma-sensei has prepared a part for each of us.'
Shikamaru's eyes snapped open a moment later. He saw the pen and paper on the floor ready for his use and picked them up without hesitating. He stated scribbling onto the empty piece of paper.
Both Ino and Chouji, curious to know what their friend was scribbling on the paper, peered over his shoulders; Ino from the left, Chouji from the other side. Ino's hair flowed onto Shikamaru's back as she observed her friend solve the seemingly-impossible puzzle.
Ino did not notice it as she was so engrossed in watching the scribbling, but Shikamaru felt the soft silken blonde hair flowing down his back, some touching his bare neck. 'Wow, it's so soft. And she smells so nice from this close too...' Right then, he made a mistake in deciphering. 'Damn, what was I thinking?! I hate girls, they're so trouble some.' He tried to snap himself out of it and concentrate on the puzzle.
Soon, he had worked out the entire cipher. Not really an awesome feat for someone with an IQ of 200.
The deciphered message read, 'Should Maiden's Eyelashes and Devil's Horns unite, a gift shall be bestowed from Akuri reversed'. The trio looked at the strange message.
"What is this?" Shikamaru groaned, "I've deciphered it and it still doesn't make sense..."
"Maiden's Eyelashes? I know what it is!" Ino shrieked in joy. The two boys looked at her, puzzled. "I have a whole bunch of them at home! Come on, let's go get them!" Ino started to run off to her house.
"Wait a second. I heard my dad talk about Devil's Horns before. It is merely a nickname for a special brew of chicken feet," Chouji interrupted the girl's stride. "I should be able to ask him to whip up a batch for us... You two go on ahead and get the plants; we'll meet back here in about an hour."
"No. We meet at Iruka's in an hour," announced Shikamaru. Both team mates looked at him, puzzled. "Hmph. It says there Akuri reversed. Try reversing the word Akuri."
Ino could not help but admire the boy's intelligence. "Well, let's get moving, guys!" she screamed in excitement. She started to run off without Shikamaru.
Just as Shikamaru was about to sprint off after the over-enthusiastic girl, Chouji gave a grin, "Well, I gave you your chance. Use it well," he gave a thumbs up sign, "go for it, Shikamaru!"
"Bah, just don't eat up our Devil's Horns, or whatever you call it," Shikamaru was a little annoyed, yet also a little grateful for his friend leaving them both alone. 'Yeah, maybe I make a move on her...' He shuddered at the thought and sprinted after the girl.
"Damn it, Ino! Slow down!" shouted the boy as he chased after Ino. Ino complied and slowed down to a fast walk. "Sheesh, can't you learn to relax a little?" complained Shikamaru as he caught up. 'Slow down so that I have time to look at you... What am I thinking?! Why would I want to look at that loud mouthed monster?!' He tried to keep a straight face as he walked beside Ino, but his eyes uncontrollably drifted towards the beautiful blonde beside him. He smiled as he remembered what had happened a moment ago.
"Heh heh. I guess I was a little too excited," grinned the girl. She turned and caught Shikamaru staring at her. The boy quickly looked away and pretended nothing had happened, his face turning red. 'I've never really noticed it, but he looks rather cute when he blushes...' Ino couldn't believe what just went through her mind. 'No way am I going to fall for that lazy bum, he's a good friend and that's all...' A war was going through her mind.
The rather awkward couple arrived at Ino's house a few minutes later and they went straight into the garden. Her parents were away for the week, so she was living alone at the moment.
"Come on, you lazy bum! Stop standing there and help me with this!" Ino yelled at the boy leaning at the fence, looking at the clouds once more. "Bah, you're so troublesome," Shikamaru groaned and proceeded to help Ino pick the Maiden's Eyelashes.
As he helped the girl pick the flowers, he unconsciously moved closer and closer to her. Ino jumped when she discovered that Shikamaru's face was just mere centimetres away from hers. She fell backwards onto the muddy soil that covered her garden, dirtying her clothes.
"Ack. I'll have to clean up after this," Ino groaned as she attempted to brush off the mud that stuck to her clothes stubbornly.
After they had collected what Ino decided as 'enough', Ino picked up the bunch of flowers to be presented to Asuma and started to walk towards her house. "Come on in, wait for a moment while I wash up," Ino lead Shikamaru to her room and ordered him to sit on a chair by the window.
Shikamaru pulled the bunch of flowers from Ino's arms and merely mumbled, "Bah, it's troublesome but I'll carry this since you're going to ask me to do it anyway."
'Shikamaru... You can be so nice sometimes...' Ino smiled as she entered the bathroom. Suddenly her head popped out at the door and warned in a shrill voice, "Don't you dare touch anything!" She disappeared again leaving Shikamaru looking at her blankly.
'Oh, I won't. It's stupid going through girly stuff anyway...' Shikamaru retorted in his mind. He scanned Ino's room and noticed a small frame beside her bed. It looked old, but was well taken care of. Hey, what's this..?' The boy thought curiously as he dragged himself closer to the frame. His eyes widened at what he saw.
It was a long time ago, but he remembered it vividly, for some reason. He was still a little boy at the age of seven. "Hey, Shikamaru!" a girl with soft pink hair spoke to him, "it's Ino-chan's birthday tomorrow, aren't you going to get her anything?"
Even at that young age, he was really lazy. "Bah, forget it, it's so troublesome..." he complained and walked off. Even as he said that he was thinking of what to get her. He was broke, and his mother wasn't going to give him any more allowance until the next week.
It was a good thing Shikamaru was rather good at origami. As soon as he got home that evening, he got to work without even having dinner. That was probably the first time he put in so much effort into something. At long last, way past midnight, his creation was complete.
"Oh, thank you Shikamaru!" cried Ino as she hugged him tightly, "It's so beautiful!" She was so happy at the present Shikamaru made for her - a small but beautiful heart folded from a piece of paper. On it was written, 'Happy Birthday, Ino! From Shikamaru".
He didn't expect such an insignificant little object to be cherished so deeply that it was kept for so many years. 'I'm special... to her? In what way?' Shikamaru's heart pounded on his chest as he wondered at the chances that she may like him. 'Her? Liking me? Yeah, right...' He tried to laugh softly and shrugged off the thought.
Ten minutes later, Ino got out of the bathroom to discover Shikamaru slumped at the windowsill, half asleep. Sikamaru could smell the her fragrance, only this time it was much stronger. The boy yawned and turned around, "Sheesh, why are you girls always so slow at dressing up?" He didn't really mind waiting for anything, least of all Ino, but he still couldn't resist complaining about everything.
In no more that a minute they were both heading towards Iruka's apartment, which was a ten-minute walk from Ino's house. Along the road they ran into team seven, lead by Kakashi.
"Hello, Sasuke-kun!" Ino greeted. Somehow, those words stung Shikamaru inside. He had nothing against the raven haired boy, who was the offspring of the Uchiha Clan, but he somehow felt very uneasy around the handsome boy.
Ino had said that she lost interest in Uchiha a long time ago, but her actions around her former crush somehow seemed to hint otherwise, at least in Shikamaru's eyes. He gets agitated whenever Ino was around Uchiha. He tried to shake off the thought but his eyes burned with jealousy. 'It this what it is like to be jealous? But why? Why am I jealous about Ino? God damn it, she's contaminating my mind!' Shikamaru slapped his forehead, irritated.
Soon, they arrived at Iruka's apartment and found both Asuma and Chouji already waiting for them. Miraculously, Chouji had managed not to eat the food he was carrying. Asuma quickly explained that Iruka was sick and that he had intended to visit him earlier, but he wanted to have fun first, so he set up this little test.
They went into Iruka's, stayed for about an hour or so, and left. Asuma congratulated the team on a job well done and couldn't resist teasing Shikamaru and Ino another time before walking off into the streets. 'God damn it, stop bothering my Ino,' he glared at his sensei for a moment before realising that he was at it again, 'M-my Ino?! God damn it... Why do I keep thinking about her?!'
That night, Shikamaru tossed and turned in his bed, his mind plagued by the image of the gorgeous blonde. 'Am I... in love? But Ino is my friend! How could I - ? Arrgh.'
He was puzzled. For the first time in many years, the genius tactician was puzzled. He knew this feeling - he had felt it for a long time, but he simply shrugged it off and ignored it, acting cool and expressionless while deep down, he had always loved Ino from the bottom of his heart.
He suddenly remembered his old gift in Ino's room and smiled. 'I wonder if she feels the same way?'
He touched his lips in reminiscence of the accident this morning. He didn't want to admit it, but he enjoyed every moment of it. Embarrassing it may be, that feeling will always have a special place in his heart.
'My first kiss...' he thought and smiled as he finally drifted off into peaceful slumber.
Chapter 02 End!Ending Notes:
So sorry for the stupid names (Maiden's Eyelashes and Devil's Horns... bah), it's late... and I can't think anymore (seems that everyone likes to write after midnight for some reason). Chakra... running... out... Arrgh... And I've gotta admit, the puzzle was a little stupid as well, but I had to find some way to get Shikamaru into Ino's house. Yeah, this one could be a permanent ending if I let it be one, but the... voices... in... my head... say... I must... continue... Arrgh!!! Expect an update in about a week. (Hopefully less - that is provided I don't use up all my chakra running around using my Byakugan for naughty purposes)
