Disclaimer: Naruto not mine. Borrowing. No money involved. So there.

Warning: Possible spoilers for manga chapters below 198. Again, not that spoilers are usually detectable unless you already know what happened. He-he

Chapter 2: Latency

Waking up was like that. One moment she knew nothing, the next, as various sensations turned into perceptions, she did. She now noticed that the luminous sheath over her eyes were merely her own sun-touched lids. The stiff white sheet wrapped around her was uncharacteristically coarse----it might be the new one brought out by her mother last week that was yet to be softened by repeated washings----but she rubbed her nose against the fabric and burrowed her head in between two fluffy pillows. The oddly familiar, but somehow inappropriately placed, smell came from there, and it was decidedly masculine...

Green eyes opened wide, focused on a totally unfamiliar ceiling of white painted plaster. Puzzled and slightly frightened, she inspected the neat, spacious room that seemed to have been stripped to bare essentials; four-poster bed, pristine white sheets, a forbidding chest of dark, heavy wood, a side table, a plain lamp. Windows spanned a couple of walls, through which the indirect rays of the young sun bathed the room, and on one of the sills sat a framed picture of Team 7.

It belonged to Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura started at the thought of her old teammate's name. With the usual associated pain mixed fear, roiling to a brief surge as she remembered his destination for the next few days. Automatically, she grasped onto his request to trust him, and the cell of Leaf ninjas with him, to come back with mission accomplished, and her anxiety alleviated a bit.

Her next glance went to the clock radio at the bedside; it blinked a "9:38 am," which she more or less expected, judging by the amount of light in the room. He probably left for his extremely dangerous mission at the crack of dawn.

It was something she had yet to get used to. Friends and acquaintances, now mostly considered adults like her, were receiving more and more of high-ranking missions; some had been for years already. But today he was gone on a suicide mission, and there she was lying alone on his bed, imagining the worst, dreading the possible, hoping for the improbable.

Alone in his bed. Alone... There was a peculiar wrongness in that.

Realization came swiftly to her half-asleep brain after that. The crash of remembering all that had passed last night stunned her stupid. Eyes wide, heart fluttering, anxiety threatening to escalate into full panic, she sat up and grabbed the sheets to her chest. Taking deep, calming breaths, attempting to suppress the confusion of thoughts cavorting about in her chaotic mind, she looked objectively at her state on the mirror hanging by the door.

"Oh, shit," she muttered, anguished and trembling. "What the hell did I do this time?"

Dammit, you didn't do it alone! retorted her inner self indignantly.

Carefully, she drew the crumpled sheets an arms-breadth from her and sighed as she ruefully accepted her lack of clothes. In fact, her garments were neatly folded on the table----right next to a pile belonging to Sasuke.

Not quite knowing what to think, Sakura rose to her feet to stand at the bedside. Her knees buckled, and she clutched at the high mattress to steady herself. The blanket she had wrapped around herself trailed after her, and, as it slipped off the bed, revealed a dark, rust-colored stain on the otherwise immaculate bedspread. Bemused, she stared at it, knowing there was something important she had to remember about it.

Gingerly, she tiptoed and sat on the high bed. The blood was from her hymen tearing, she thought. What else about it was important? She shrugged and smiled rather wryly. Well, there's that little thing about the end of her virginity, she thought.

She continued to stare at the stain, pondering on that realization. When she was younger, she would probably have been thrilled to know that it would be ultimately Uchiha Sasuke who would claim her maidenhead. That particular notion was romantic, bittersweet, the stuff fairytales are made of; thus, she decided she didn't quite know what to think. Briefly, irrationally, she wondered if Sasuke had some experience before, unlike her----it certainly felt like he knew very well what he was doing last night!

At that, Sakura burned a bright crimson. The reason of which, she suspected, was not restricted to plain embarrassment.

"Kami-sama..." she moaned as she collapsed back onto the bed, burying her face on her shaking hands.

Hell yeah! Thank them all!

And she blushed some more.

When she asked him to hold her one last time last night, she didn't exactly mean it that way... No wonder he sounded so miserable! He didn't want to do it, naturally, and yet he did. He did it for her...

Because he believed he owed her.

Isn't that the very reason he was marching to his death today? He felt he owed Chouji for rescuing him during that time he went with the Sound nins to join Orochimaru. In his place, Sakura would probably feel the same, do the same, and she had to respect his choice. Sasuke owed Chouji for being one of those who saved his life, at the risk of his own, but Sasuke also owed Sakura for reminding him that he was alive----at the risk of her own sanity. What he did for her last night was probably harder for him than taking on every seriously, inexorably deadly mission in place of the five ninjas who gambled their lives for him who didn't deserve it...

What happened last night profoundly confused Sakura at first. He told her he couldn't give what she wanted ever, and yet, in the same night, did something completely contradictory. But now, she understood.

She buried her face on his pillow again and began to sob.

Sasuke was right. He couldn't give her what she wanted.

He didn't.

The mission to the Southern Crack country was projected to last for a fortnight. Sakura had thought that period of time would feel like a year. Before she knew it, half of it passed quickly, occupied by the usual B or C missions. She also took over Lee-san's class at the Academy for a couple of days since the beautiful green beast went down with the flu.

Six days since he left, Sakura found herself with nothing to do. Desperate for something to occupy her mind, she left her parents' home after lunch, where she had been staying for the weekend, even though she had no particular place to go to. Eventually, she found herself in the marketplace, where she decided to buy grocery for the coming week. It was mid-afternoon when she finished shopping, and she was on her way to her pad.

After meticulously arranging her groceries, she checked her answering machine for recorded messages; she had a few. One was from Ino, inviting her over for supper, so Sakura made her way to the Nara household at sunset.

It was Shikamaru who answered the door.

"Good evening, Sakura," he greeted her ironically. "Your timing is impeccable. I was running out of chakra, and I think she's serious about her threats this time."

"Glad to be of service," she replied gravely as she stepped in. "Somehow, I knew this day wouldn't end the way it started: boring."

"Thanks," replied her host drily.

"Was it the castration threat this time?"

"No, she's not that far along. For now, she's contented with fantasizing about weaving a tatami mat with my guts."

Sakura laughed then. "Ino's always been into the arts and crafts."

"Is that you, forehead-girl?" asked a voice from within.

"Yeah, it's me, Ino-pig," Sakura called out as she found her way into the kitchen. "How are you, dear?"

"Pig-headed, naturally," muttered Shikamaru.

"Pissed off," came the reply. "That useless bum of a husband I have accused me of gaining too little weight for my baby's gestational age."

"I only pointed out the deviation."

"I didn't need to know that! Besides, it's not as if you're the one who goes to the doctor every two weeks."

"I can read, though."

"And he tells me it's because of all the throwing up I did. Is that supposed to be my fault, too?"

"I didn't say that," clarified the besieged man quite calmly.

"But that's because you're too lazy to open your mouth."

By then, Sakura had reached her best friend's side and had given her a kiss and a hug. "Would you need any help cooking?" she asked to head off further wrangling.

"Nah, I'm almost done, anyhow. Sit down like a proper guest. And take Shikamaru with you. He's been underfoot all afternoon in my kitchen, and I've just about have it."

Sakura merely chuckled and did as she was told, dragging the compliant Shikamaru with her. She grinned at him as they sat down, her taking her accustomed place at a scruffy old beanbag imported from Ino's old room, him taking his at his sofa, feet up, arms pillowing his head.

"I noticed that exchange lasted only 45 seconds," she commented. "I see the genius had been working overtime to exploit this learning experience."

"Necessity," he answered. "Dying this age is a bit premature."

"People learn what they need," seconded Sakura. "All the same, Hokage-sama's marital counseling seemed pretty grueling to me."

"Do you mind?" the special jounin complained tartly. "Not feeling awfully reminiscent right now."

"I thought it would be the sort of thing your genius mind would hang on to."

"Did Ino send you here to torture me?"

"Tell me, so far have you found those sessions useful in your little favors for the Hokage?"

At that point, Shikamaru just stopped his ears.

Shikamaru was touchy about his so-called genius. When they were younger, he had always complained how it never made him "kick-ass" anyway, just gave him more work than necessary. Worse, the first time Asuma tried to get him into the Strategy & Tactics in the Field Operations Sect of the ANBU, he threw it at Shikaramaru as "you're the only one who can do it," and had trapped him effectively with the responsibility. They cornered him into the job even before he passed the jounin exam, so for a while his duties were simply known as the Godaime's "little favors."

It was also, in a way, a barb relating to how Shikamaru and Ino first came clean-----with themselves. Almost everybody around them had already noticed their complicated little games of pseudo-hostility. Even the occasionally visiting Jiraiya practically crowed at the inspiration he was getting; he said something about sexual tension cackling in the air but failed to expound when Naruto distracted him with an inquiry regarding brassiere sizes and implications. Chouji, at that time already expecting a son, knew their situation front, back, and flipped side to side. It was him who connived with Tsunade to make Shikamaru a little bit busier. It was him who put holes into Shikamaru's cover-ups and excuses. It was him who goaded Ino into a jealous fit. Things went downhill from there (up?). It was a splendid little soap opera/sitcom that quite a number of Konoha nins enjoyed. It was cliche, but it worked.

They waited a couple of years for Shikamaru to finally get it into his head to even try passing the jounin qualification trials. (What's the point? He was already working and earning like a jounin.) After passing the test on his first haphazard try, Shikamaru's secret job became official, and he was able to give proof of a stable income and a prestigious career to Ino's parents. (They've known him since childhood; their reservations were justified.)

All in all, his job was not at all so-so, and anyone who'd ever think of Ino as a so-so woman was probably wrong in the head. He found it irritating to be reminded that his so-called "genius" had shattered his childhood dreams of a lifetime of mediocrity.

Sakura was fond of her best friend's husband. However, she was, after all this time, still adjusting her thinking since that day she found out that the underachieving shadow specialist was a true, verifiable genius, after years of thinking that she was the smartest genin in their graduating class. Because of this, she took every occasion to tease him about it. Hopefully, it also reminded him that none of his intellectualization of his feelings ever did work; that could only show that his love for the energetic, at times explosive, kunoichi transcended even his immense intelligence.

"Seriously," Sakura said, when he finally dropped his hands. "How are you hanging on? Is she still belligerent about the restrictions the doctor imposed?"

"She's more mellow these days," Shikamaru answered with a shrug. "I'd live. The doc doesn't consider occasional kunai-throwing as strenuous exercise though; that worries me."

Sakura laughed, and he smiled reluctantly. They exchanged bits and pieces of news in the manner of friends, as they waited for Ino to finish her preparations. Eventually, they lapsed into silence, each occupied with their own thoughts.

"It's not as bad as they're projecting it to be," Shikamaru said out of the blue.

"What?"

"You're worried about Uchiha, aren't you?"

"Oh. Yeah. Well, Sasuke told me you didn't think so."

"I was part of the planning, wasn't I? I have several back-up plans in store before the cell would have to face failure----or resort to suicide. Since you're always ragging about that genius thing, trust on that then."

"Thank you," she said simply.

Shikamaru stretched briefly, yawning. "Having said that, would you mind spending the night with Ino?"

"No problem." She paused. "Ne, Shikamaru. You're receiving reports on their progress, aren't you?"

"Well..." He nodded.

"How...?"

"So far, so good. We'll see."

"Did you tell her that you'd be out tonight?"

"No."

"Good luck."

He gave her a sour look. She was about to tease him again to disperse some of her anxiety, but then Ino called them to the table. Neither dared disobey.

That Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura were fierce rivals for Uchiha Sasuke's attention and affection, everybody knew. That they were best friends, everybody knew also----in fact, the two pieces of information always went hand in hand. The irony of the situation seemed to tickle the usual rubberneckers even more than their antics as pubescent girls flirting outrageously with an even more outrageously indifferent boy did

Back then, Ino would daydream of scenarios similar to the one currently unfolding before her, of her to-die-for husband welcoming Haruno Sakura as guest, of her triumphantly toting around her prize. Back then, Ino wouldn't have imagined having anybody other than Sasuke as the said trophy to induce drooling, fits of rage, or both from her rival. Since she had realized, through the years, that Uchiha Sasuke wasn't exactly the marriageable type, he wasn't the one sitting beside her now. Of course, Nara Shikamaru wasn't really the marriageable type either----a minor issue, considering she would indeed die for the insufferable bum. She felt no triumphant or spiteful feelings of superiority. Ino had outgrown those years ago.

She licked her lips as Saukra entered their modest dinning room with Shikamaru. For some reason, she wanted the pink-haired kunoichi's approval. Why, it was almost like practicing for the in-laws! Yes, Ino did have insecurities. She did want a fellow woman's assurance: yes, dear, you are a formidable kunoichi, but that doesn't automatically render you out of place in this kitchen, it doesn't label you an ineffective homemaker, doesn't mean you can't learn this, too. Yes, you've had vain, stuck-up moments when I wanted to skewer you with the nearest weapon available, but you're my best friend and I love you to bits.

Only when both her husband and guest were seated did Nara Ino settle herself on the table. She did not miss the appreciative smile that lit Haruno Sakura's face at the sight of the dinner table Ino had painstakingly prepared. Of course, though presentation was what lured the eye of the beholder, the ultimate test was that of taste. She watched as the pink-haired kunoichi filled her plate with various viands, clucking now and then to prod her to take another spoonful of this, a bit more of that. When Sakura finally lifted the chopsticks to her lips, Ino kept a sneaky gaze in place, mouth unconsciously slipping ajar. But then, she missed the actual putting-of-food-on-the-tongue event she had been waiting for when she caught her husband's lazy eyes upon her. Her jaws clamped shut instantly, and she glared at him to regain lost dignity. He rolled his eyes in a bored manner, but that didn't fool her at all. She was sure she saw his nostrils flare slightly! Laughing at her, was he? Why, she ought to...

"This is great, Ino," said Sakura, sighing after she downed nearly a quarter of her iced tea.

Abandoning her homicidal urges, Ino turned to her friend, lighting up with a girlish smile. "Why, thank you," she said. "It's the first time I've tried this recipe."

"You know, I was surprised to find out you were studying how to cook just recently. I mean, I've always thought of you as the homemaker type, you know."

"Yeah, I've dabbled in cooking before----nothing serious. My baby would have to have the best, though. And this way, I can scold Shika when it's his turn to cook and actually know what to scold him for."

"I didn't know you cook either, Shikamaru."

"It's my recipe."

"It's his mom's," Ino corrected. "She served this one time we were over, and when I asked her for the recipe, she told me I could squeeze it out of Shikamaru. Can you believe the bum was actually trained by his mom to cook, bake, sew, and almost everything else? I was surprised then, too."

"Good for you, Shikamaru!" said Sakura encouragingly, green eyes wide with enthusiasm.

"But then, I learned what his mom meant by having to squeeze things out."

"I see. Laziness."

"Right." Ino rolled her eyes.

"I already do almost 90% of the household chores," muttered Shikamaru.

"Oh, yes." Ino grinned rather ferally. "And there's an underlying reason to that, if I recall."

Her husband appeared to consider several responses to her statement. In the end, he clamped his mouth shut and said nothing more. Ino was considerably disappointed by that.

Sakura could have noticed this, for she changed the subject.

"Isn't it funny," she said somewhat reminiscently. "I remember when we were younger in the baths. We'd overhear the young women talk about their in-laws and all that. You seem to be getting along fine with yours, though."

"Well, our parents did grow up together," Ino answered. "It's that sort of thing."

"Not surprised," muttered Shikamaru.

Sakura laughed at that. "You seem sore about the whole business. What's the matter? Ino-chan and your mom double teaming you?"

"Harumph."

"It's certainly better than competing, I'd bet," Ino commented ruefully. "My mother and Shika seem to be trying to outdo each other in making my life miserable all the time. I feel like a caged animal. Grar! When he goes for missions, mother actually insists I go home. Can you believe that? I'm not an invalid! Geesh..."

Sakura's expression was thoughtful. "You can try calling me. If I'm free, I'd stay with you, and maybe that'll satisfy your mom."

"Maybe," Ino said dubiously.

"In fact, tonight and tomorrow I'm free. I'll stay with you, and we'll see how your mother reacts after the fact."

Ino blinked. "Sometimes, you can be weird, Sakura-chan. But why not?" She pursed her lips towards the general direction of Shikamaru. "Where do we put him then?"

Sakura was nudging Shikamaru. Ino watched as her husband sighed laboriously and spoke. "I have a meeting tonight," he said.

"Is that so? Ok."

The man didn't speak at first. He seemed to be waiting for something.

"Well?"

"You're not angry yet."

Angry? Ino frowned at him. "Why should I be?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "That's what I've been telling him," she said.

Shikamaru merely sighed again, not taking the trouble to argue. Ino found her self grinning impishly. "Actually, I would be before," she confessed. "I thought Hokage-sama was hogging my Shika-kun."

"Was she?"

"Not really. Can you believe the slacker here actually runs from her? I'm not surprised the Godaime cracks down on him often."

"Doesn't he do that to you, too? Running away, I mean."

"But I'm his wife; it's expected. Besides, it's all even. I do the running away at night, you know."

"Very droll," commented Shikamaru dryly.

"And you know why the Hokage insisted on those family planning classes?" she continued eagerly. "She learned about those midnight hide-and-seek games accidentally."

"It's fun to be shinobi, isn't it?" Sakura said slyly.

"Sure is. Of course, the fact that he's a special jounin in tactics and field operations did complicate things a bit. I can't believe Hokage-sama forgot to put that into consideration when she set up the family planning lessons."

"Ino..." began Shikamaru. She noted the warning in his tone with satisfaction.

"But it was your fault, Shikamaru. You shouldn't have executed one of your cat-and-mouse games during that time of the month. And you can't really expect me to be able to stop your massive brain from seducing me, can you?"

"Inoooooo!" groaned the jounin in mortification.

Sakura finally laughed, pink circles appearing on her cheeks. Ino mentally gloated over her double victory. Teasing Shikamaru was wont to embarrass Sakura. It was entertaining for all parties, and Ino never got offended whenever Sakura suddenly ran out of their house, face in flames.

"It's troublesome," muttered Shikamaru. "Basal body temperatures and all that crap."

"Are you hinting that Ino-chan's pregnancy is unwanted?" Sakura asked with mock severity.

"Unplanned. There's a difference."

"Oh. I sort of hoped you took pity on the unsuspecting world and had decided to spare it the horror of unleashing your legions upon it."

"Now, now, Sakura-chan," protested Ino. "I'll be the one carrying those so-called legions. Watch it, or I might get jinxed."

"If you're having trouble with that form of birth control," asked Sakura. "Then why don't you just use contraception?"

"Oh, I don't know with Shika. He keeps on ragging about it being unnatural."

"Unnatural?"

"Yes, you fools," said Shikamaru. "Unnatural."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean the very idea of contraception is incompatible with sex."

"Huh?!"

"It subverts the purpose of the process."

"..."

"Listen to me," he said. Ino couldn't believe he was actually baited into such a discussion. "Contraception does what? It contras conception. What's sexual intercourse? Brings male seed to the female seed right? What for? Formation of new individual. What for? For the survival of the species. See? That's why it's called sexual reproduction. Reproduction!"

Ino rolled her eyes at Sakura slightly. "You know what, Shika," she said.

"What?" he asked her warily.

"You really are smart, aren't you?"

"And...?"

"And what?" his wife turned innocent eyes to his. "That was a compliment. The confident air you...um, exude while debating with Sakura-chan makes me swoon."

"And?" he repeated.

"All I'm saying is... wow. You think all that while making love?"

"..."

"So basically," Sakura interrupted hastily. She seemed eager to leave that line of thought unexplored, Ino noted. "By principle, you don't want to oppose nature, so you'd rather cheat your way around it."

"Don't call it cheating," he answered rather crankily.

"Well, isn't it? You still subvert the process of coitus by choosing to lie together during times you're sure she isn't fertile."

"No such thing as surety in this thing."

"Oh, great," Sakura said sarcastically. "You just get lucky then."

Shikamaru ignored that. "It's not cheating. We choose the time when she's least likely to conceive, but the process is still intact, functions as it should. We don't change anything. Sex is for making babies, and that's that."

"Actually, I think he's just too lazy to take precautions," remarked his wife.

"Who's side are you on, anyway?" he demanded indignantly.

"Not taking any," she answered smoothly. "But, Shikamaru, I have a question. You don't make love to make babies, do you? Why is it pleasurable in the first place if it's not meant to be enjoyed?"

Shikamaru bravely argued on for his stand. "I didn't say that. Besides, who knows if animals enjoy it? Look, a female has to prepare her body for conception; energy is required for that. However, that organism has to keep itself alive, too. That's why there are only specific times when a female is capable of being impregnated. Reproduction demands such resources that there must be some form of gratification involved—something tangible—to entice this organism. In animals, it's the simple relief from.... from the heat."

"Oh my." Ino pursed her lips in morbid fascination. "I'd know if a cat is in heat by her sound, but a fish.... or a worm and a cockroach!"

Her husband twitched in discomfort. "I was going to say that reproduction's programmed in ones brain. Obviously, brains aren't really needed that much. Example: plants. My point is, every organism is driven towards its survival—as well as the survival of its species. There's a balance point between the two."

"I wasn't talking about animals. I was asking about you."

"I'm not stupid. I won't fall for nature's tricks. Humans have higher reasoning."

"I'm sure that's why the world's overpopulated right now."

Shikamaru, not in the least nonplused, continued with a shake of his head. "It's probably why gratification is very much involved in human reproduction, in varying levels. The more primitive aspects of our selves override our higher reasoning that logically knows that sex equals kids. That doesn't mean the opposite doesn't happen. People can control themselves, you know."

"That's an interesting point to explore," his wife commented archly.

At that point, Sakura suddenly rose from her seat, rousing Ino from her teasing mood. Her best friend was extremely pale. When she spoke, her words came out half-strangled.

"I-Ino-chan. I have to go for a while."

"Huh?" Ino watched her in surprise.

"I have to look at something," Sakura explained pleadingly. "I forgot something very, very important."

"Ok, then."

"I'll be back soon," she promised distractedly.

Then, the pink-haired shinobi was gone.

"I think we scared her away," said Ino, assuming a slightly repentant expression.

"You did it without my help, woman."

"She'll be back. At least, I hope so."

Shikamaru's countenance was decidedly pious. Ino had a momentary urge to punch his teeth in.

"You know, I've been thinking."

"Again?"

"Don't be snide. I think Sakura-chan's good for you. She's smart and she's intellectually stimulating." Ino sighed. "I know, you didn't marry me for my brain, Shika-kun. Don't mind me if I get a little jealous around women sexier than me—who happens to be almost everybody else nowadays—once in a while." She paused, feeling somewhat profound and martyred at the same time. "Say, hon... Be truthful. D'you think I'm getting too fat?"

Shikamaru just groaned.

draft finished: 14:20 040104 Araw ng mga Hangal

AN: On Shikamaru and Sakura's discussion on sexual reproduction, er, I understand if you skipped it. And you won't have missed anything, anyway. Ehehe. My Alphareader and Muse, Midnightcrow, already warned me that it's too technical and that it makes Shikamaru seem too talkative. She's right, she's right. However... (sweatdrops) I just enjoy reading that part too much. I'm pretty weird, see. Please, excuse my little idiosyncrasies.

BTW, many thanks to Midnightcrow, Seiyo, and Luckychan for pre-reading this chapter. They also read the prologue and the 2nd chapter, but I neglected to mention it. Sorry.

On comments on chapter 1: mikki, Hao'sAnjul, agent vash, diana2megr I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. animEvivvErz thanks for pointing out the tension between Sakura and Sasuke. I'm glad it worked. LOL. Backstories are fun, Visions, I can never resist putting them in that sometimes it skews up the flow of the story. Ehehe. The last scene in particular was edited and polished extensively. I tried very hard to keep it from becoming romance (which, being a SasuSaku fangirl and a naturally cheesy person, was challenging). Glad it worked. =) Neptune47 Ahahaha... (blushes) I'm getting scared. LOL Seriously, though, thanks for the extensive feedback on the characterization. I like writing characters who've evolved because I think Masashi Kishimoto's big on that. Most characters are given space to change somewhere in the story. Once I read a fic where Sakura & Ino were portrayed immature, as opposed to a nicely evolved Hinata. Hinata's my fave character, but I got pretty upset. Hehe. Enough of my prattle. And I'll be more vigilant on the typos.

Thanks for taking the trouble to comment, minna. It always helps.

Chapter 3's tentative release: 091204