I am still alive. I am so so so sorry for the late late late update. Going to school full time and work has been a total hell for me. I had projects and exams and other craziness that needed to be taken care of. I sincerely apologize. I'll try not to let it happen again.

Grey bars were right in front of him. He was in a small cage. All around him were daisies. The cage he was sitting in was in the middle of a large field. The sun was shining brightly; not a cloud was in sight. Birds flew across the skies freely.

"Why am I in the box?" Shikamaru asked himself as he tried to feel his way around. He looked up; he saw a figure in front of him. His eyes were blurred; he couldn't make out what it was. He kept trying to focus his eyes into view. Then suddenly he was able to see. It was a figure of two people, one wearing violet and the other wearing black.

"Ino… Sasuke." Why are they sitting there? They were having a deep conversation. Shikamaru couldn't make out what they were saying. He yelled to Ino, she wasn't listening. He yelled to Sasuke, he wasn't listening. He tried to yell out to both of them, no sound came.

Ino suddenly stopped talking. She looked back to Shikamaru. She gave him a warm, sweet smile. She turned to Sasuke. "Hold on a minute." She told him as she got up and walked to the cage. She knelt down and opened the door. Shikamaru crawled out and stood up. "Thanks, I don't like being in cages."

She turned to leave. "I know." She grabbed his hand and ran down the street, leaving Sasuke with the flowers.

Shikamaru and Ino walked down a deserted path. The sky had changed to a dark blue, like the sun had finished setting. A large banner hung in the middle of the street. There was a picture of a Ferris wheel.

They continued walking. Shikamaru would talk to Ino, but she ignored him. He turned to look at her, but she was halfway into a dark house. He followed after her. The house was deserted and pitch black. He felt around for a light switch. He ran into a hanging string and pulled it. The light came on.

Shikamaru turned around to find Ino. He saw a dark man. He couldn't make out whom he was. Rats came scurrying across the light over his feet. He watched them run by without moving. He looked up, the figure was moving closer and closer. Its arm reached out and grabbed his.

"No!"

Shikamaru woke up and sat straight up. He wiped the sweat of his head, and breathed in slowly, calming himself down. Second time with Ino, what's the deal?

He got up and walked to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of cold water. He went to the bathroom and splashed water on his face. What is my deal, man? He wiped his face and made his way to the window. The clouds were covering the sky, and there was a slight rumble of thunder in the distance. Another storm. Two days in a row. The storms seemed to be getting worse.

The rain started to pour down as thunder and lightening worsened. After the dream that Shikamaru had, he wasn't able to get back to sleep. He sat by the window and watched the rain as it came down, letting his mind wander off. Tap tap tap.

Face.

"Whoa, what the hell!" Shikamaru leaped back in surprise. He looked closer to the window, and saw none other than Ino standing outside with an umbrella. He quickly opened the window. "What are you, stupid? What are you doing here, and at the middle of the night? What is wrong with you?"

"Geez, if I had known you were going to react that way, I'd have thought twice before knocking." Ino took his hand and climbed through.

"You couldn't use the door?"

"I got scared again, and since I'm by myself, I figured I'd come here. I saw you at the window, so I decided to surprise you. Surprise." Shikamaru was not amused. "What really goes on in that head of yours?" He sat down on the bed and shook his head, trying to calm his heart.

Ino sat down next to him, and gave him a sweet smile. "I'm sorry. Really. I remembered the other day when it was raining, and I stayed the night here. Then this lightening hit close to my house, and it scared me pretty bad. You were the first person I thought of to run to." She lightly put her head on his shoulder.

Shikamaru let out a small laugh. "I'll get you some socks." He got up and walked to his dresser. He rummaged through the drawer trying to find a pair of socks. Folding underwear and socks were too troublesome for him, so like every other man he knew, he dumps them in a drawer. Most of the time he wore his sandals so it didn't bother him that much. After finding the pair, he turned to walk back to the bed. Ino was combing through her hair, trying to get the knots out. She looked so concentrated, she didn't notice that Shikamaru sat down next to her.

"So you were thinking of me, huh?"

"Oh, don't flatter yourself."

"I'm not flattered."

"What are you, too good or something?"

"Not at all. I was trying to make conversation."

"…"

"What?"

"Nothing. There's just something about you. I can't quite put my finger on it."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You really do seem different. Maybe it's because you're finally growing up."

"Right."

Ino lied back into the bed. She patted the empty side next her, motioning for Shikamaru to do the same. He gave her a quizzical look, but followed suit. She looked to him and gave him a cheesy smile. "Not sleepy?"

"Nope."

"Good, I'm in a mood to talk." She heard a groan. She couldn't help but laugh inside. "Women always want to talk. Why?"

"Hey, would you rather sit here in complete silence, in the dark, staring into the ceiling? Hardly comparable to cloud-watching, don't you think?"

"Point. What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know."

A few moments went by.

"Shikamaru, what are you thinking?"

"I'm not thinking anything."

"Liar. Come on. Just talk to me."

"Okay. I was thinking about a dream that I had earlier."

"What dream?"

"I don't want to talk about it, it was just a dream."

Ino was feeling herself get tired. She turned to her side and rested her head on Shikamaru's shoulder. He tightened at the sudden change of position. He could smell the sweet scent of peaches from her hair. He'd always liked that smell.

"Shikamaru."

"Yeah."

"Can I stay the night?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks. You'd make a great boyfriend."

"Whys that?"

"You have a nice body. Very comfortable to put my head on."

"…"

"I'd be happy if you were mine."

With that Ino was asleep, and Shikamaru stayed awake a little bit longer, thinking about what Ino had just said. He put his arm around her shoulders, and fell into a peaceful sleep.

That was my chapter 4. Again, sorry I took so long to write it. I'll do better next time.

ShikaIno- what's up girl!! Email me!!