This Shika x Ino fic is for Chacha! XD I hope you like it!
Monologue
Why did I have to pick that moment to walk in?
I mean, I was just walking home (a troublesome feat I assure you) and was coming to the intersection between the street heading to my house, the road from the Village market, and the Uchiha district when I saw a startling spectacle.
Yamanaka Ino was staring unseeingly at the couple in front of her. She had been shopping. Her face was a tightly kept mask but I know that she's just trying hard not to cry after seeing…
Her former best friend turned rival holding on to her one and only love's a.k.a Uchiha Sasuke's arm.
Her hands were trembling but her head was held up high. She really looked convincing and confident at the same time.
Haruno Sakura on the other hand was staring at the ground, her right fist clenched. She was dressed in casual clothes that actually looked good on her.
Oh, crap.
The two had become an item some weeks ago and was still going out secretly. Sakura wasn't really one to brag hence the secret assignations with her new boyfriend, just like now.
That explains the half-sorry and half-embarrassed expression on her face.
She hadn't counted on Ino's reaction yet. They were best friends since they were kids! And they broke it up after Sakura realized that they loved the same man… until now. Apparently Sakura had won in earning the Uchiha's heart.
It wasn't her fault anyway. She didn't count on meeting Ino here.
What about Uchiha Sasuke, you say? He's standing with Sakura's left hand draped at his arm and looking bored. This guy definitely hates being the center of women and fan girls attentions. Girls are too troublesome.
Apparently none of them had noticed me as they were all locked in the moment.
I sighed softly and leaned against the wall. I guess I have to wait it out and prepare to repair any casualties' namely broken teammate's hearts. I sighed again. This was too troublesome.
"Hey, wide forehead girl! What are you doing!" Ino screeched.
"Ino---"Sakura sounded even pained.
"Get. Your. Arm. Off!" Ino ordered, eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Why should I, Ino-pig?" the pink-haired girl rallied with equal speed.
Apparently we men weren't included on this conversation.
"Because you're not his girlfriend! And you're so not worthy of his time!"
"What made you think that? I'm way better than you! I hooked him up and you didn't!"
That last statement struck Ino like a slap.
Crap.
"Y-You're… together?" the blonde sad slowly, as if on a half-daze. She stared at them in disbelief.
"Of course we are…" Sakura said quietly "I'm so sorry Ino-chan…"
"No. Don't." Ino's hands loosened their hold on her shopping bags and her purchases tasted dust. She turned to run away in the opposite direction, her ponytail swaying gracefully behind her. Crap.
I sighed again. I said it once and I say it again.
Girls are troublesome!
"S-Shikamaru-kun, what are you doing there?" Sakura asked quietly, eyes brimming with tears. The two turned their attention towards me and I rolled my eyes.
"I'm walking home." I replied curtly.
"D-Did you see…?" her voice trailed off as she watched me walk past them. I nodded slightly and then knelt down to pick up Ino's groceries. Crap, I always end up doing this for her.
"I'm so sorry Shikamaru-kun…" she said softly "I didn't actually want for this to happen. I mean, I've already prepared myself but it didn't quite work my way…"
As much as I liked listening to Sakura, now wasn't the right time. Besides, what should I do with those explanations?
I got up and shrugged. "Not your fault." I said simply.
"B-But---"Sakura really needs to learn that EVERYTHING is not her fault.
Sasuke placed an arm on her shoulder and she stopped trying to dissuade me. I looked at them before nodding. It's time to bring these back to Ino anyway…
"Where are you going, Shikamaru-kun?" she asked as she watched me walk away towards direction that Ino took.
"To Ino," I replied instinctively. I know I shouldn't because she's really in shock but maybe, just maybe, she needs me. Hope swelled on my heart tinged with a bit of apprehension.
"Please try---"a raised hand stopped Sakura from continuing. I know what I'm going to do.
I leapt up the wall and started to sprint towards the direction of the eastern woods. Ino is most likely to head towards the most remote river inside the Village's walls. From staying with her for almost four years, I've already memorized her most common reactions and her favorite places.
She doesn't know I know where she usually goes to. It's a secret of course that I followed her one day and found her there. Then I left her alone.
A ninja doesn't hesitate, especially in times of danger.
But I am not Shikamaru the chuunin as of now. I am Shikamaru, Ino's friend.
Just a friend.
She needs someone else but I'll do what I can. It hurts a little to pretend that maybe she needs you. That maybe someday she'll see you, waiting.
I sighed as I hastened my speed. But it's impossible… she thinks I am her friend and so I am.
Nothing more than her lazy and bum-like best guy friend, Nara Shikamaru.
"Just a friend," I muttered under my breath as I arrived at the riverside.
The sun was already setting, sending orange and pink to paint the skies. The river reflected the magnificent scene of the huge cherry blossom tree and it's backdrop of the reddening sky. But there was something wrong in the picture.
Underneath the long and weeping branched of the cherry blossoms sat a blonde girl, crying.
Ino.
She rarely cries… and only within reasonable reason. In missions, problems, and love life problems… she doesn't. When she gets hurt so much, she doesn't.
But perhaps this hurt her so…
I felt a piece of my heart being broken away as I stood on the road, looking down on the sloping roadside and the river. Although I am this far, I can feel her pain.
I said before that a ninja doesn't hesitate.
For the first time in my life, I did.
I don't know why but I just did.
Ino needs Sasuke's touch. Ino needs Sasuke's words. Ino needs Sasuke.
She doesn't need me.
It's okay with me. I know my place in her heart.
I am her teammate, her friend, and her Shika-kun.
Just a friend.
Quietly I skidded down the slope and used all my cunning to stay undetected. Very quietly I scaled the cherry tree and sat on one of its branches, looking down on Ino.
She was sitting very close to the water, her teardrops lost in the mirror-like surface of the river. It was spring and cherry blossom petals floated on the river's surface. They caught her tears and carried them away.
I sighed softly and leaned back, closing my eyes. I don't like seeing Ino (or any girl for that matter) crying. It makes me feel helpless and I'm so hesitant to approach her.
"Shika-kun?"
My eyes flapped open and I immediately saw Ino looking at me with surprise written on her face. She had let her tears run unchecked and she never looked more beautiful than that moment.
"W-What are you doing here?" she murmured, her voice hoarse.
"Bringing these back to you." I said sheepishly as I got down from the tree and laid the shopping bags beside her. It felt awkward to intrude on her most private moment.
"T-Thank you. H-How did you---?" she started to ask but I laid a finger on her lips. My eyes locked on hers for a moment and the world stopped.
"S-Shika…" she murmured as I impulsively crushed her to my chest, holding her close. My heart beats hastened and I felt my world stop as I drank in the sweet fragrance of her.
"I admit I was hesitant. I ran after you. I think you don't want me to. But I will still go after you." I whispered in her ear and she trembled like a leaf. "Because I know my place in your heart…"
Her tears wet my shoulder and she let me hold her.
Ino, I am here, I wanted to say so much. I love you.
072105; 4.21pm