Wow! I'm glad you guys liked this! Sorry about the cliffhanger...I have a tendency to lean towards those, I've noticed. ::digs toe into ground:: On we go!

Chapter 2: The 'Oh My' Complex

Ino,

I don't know why I'm writing this to you, since you'll never see it, but I had to get rid of all this...stuff. That's the best word I can come up with to describe it, you know? No, you probably don't. Oh whatever. Again, you'll never see this, so who cares if I think that you think that you won't know...see? This is why I don't write letters. I don't know how to articulate in writing. That, and using a pencil is such a bother.

Ino paused to laugh. "Typical Shikamaru," she said, shaking her head. "Ever the lazy human being, as always."

But, I guess I can set aside my own personal scruples (intelligent word, isn't it?) to do this, because, well, because I can't sleep. I've spent the past two hours staring up at the grains on the ceiling, and they aren't very fascinating, I can tell you. Don't try it.

The blonde girl laughed again. "For someone who doesn't like to write, you sure seem to be enjoying yourself."

Anyway...where do I begin? I hardly even know when all these feelings started...I'm not used to this, Ino. I like having one frame of mind for each situation I'm in, but with you, it's not as easy as that. I do know that whenever I'm close to you, I feel hundreds of things at one time, and it's like...I lose my bearings. I don't know which emotion to cling to, because there's too many to count. It makes me dizzy.

I hate being dizzy.

And, you know, I wish I could blame you for doing this to me, to accuse you of some trickery that's got me all bent over backwards, but I can't. I mean, how stupid is it to get mad at you for being yourself? Very stupid, if you ask me (which you didn't).

At this point, Ino's heart began to drum against her chest. In her haste, she brushed past the 'you'll never see this,' but she backtracked to the beginning and scanned over those lines again. Her heart beat faster. Oh my...he never did mean for me to see this at all...and I think I'm starting to understand why. Her eyes moved to the next part of the letter.

That's the thing, Ino. All those little quirks, like the way you flip your ponytail without knowing it when you walk, or the way you jump to conclusions before you know the full story, or how you sneeze when you get overexcited...they're the reel that's been pulling me in (fish metaphor...aren't I clever), and even if I try to move against the tide, it's useless (see that? I continued the metaphor, too. I deserve points for effort).

I know that I've always tried to act like I don't care one way or the other, and for a long time, that was true (although, in some aspects, I guess it still is. I'll always be sedentary at heart). But do you know why I couldn't sleep? (I'm going to tell anyway, so I don't know why I bothered putting that down).

I was thinking of you.

You know, sometimes I even allow myself to dream of what our future could be like, the two of us.

I see you puttering around in the kitchen (because you'll want to prove that you are a model wife, of course). You'll snap at me if I get underfoot while you're cooking, but then, you'll snap at me if I don't help, so whichever way you look at it, I'm going to get snapped at for something.

Our kids will be racing around breaking things, and I'll have to race around after them (because during all of this you'll still be puttering in the kitchen and taking great amusement at seeing me become flustered). There will be more snapping, more scolding, and chaos, chaos, chaos.

We'll be living in a mad house.

The Shikamaru of a few years ago would run away screaming (well, maybe not screaming) at the thought, but...oh I don't know, Ino. I've grown up a lot, and, well...I think I actually wouldn't mind. In all honesty, I...I can't see a future without you in it. Where would I be if I didn't have you to boss me around? I've gotten so used to that, Ino, that I've started taking advantage of the fact that you'd always be here. The truth is, oh, how do I say this without sounding like a walking cliché? The truth is, if there's no you, there's no me.

Well, the damage has been done, and I'm an official corndog, so there's no harm in saying the rest of it now.

I need you, Ino. I need your smiles, and I need your frowns, and your insults, and...all of it. Everything that makes you who you are, I want to hoard it all away like a dragon with his treasure (another metaphor-type thingie. I'm on a roll). I know it sounds selfish, but that's how I really feel. I don't want some air-brained loser to ever lay a hand on you. Someone like that doesn't deserve you.

But, do I?

I'd like to think that I do.

You need someone who understands you, someone who loves you with his whole heart.

I understand you, Ino. Better than you realize.

And you know what? I finally figured out what all these feelings are.

I love you.

Now it's time to sit back and wait for the apocalypse. Yes, plain, sensible Nara Shikamaru is head-over-heels ass-crazy in love (did I just write that?) with a loud, brash, perfect girl. You are perfect in my eyes, Ino. I wouldn't change a thing about you for the world.

So there it is. My little secret. I really wish that it didn't have to be a secret, but, such is life. Man, I really wrote a lot, didn't I? I think my hand is going to fall off. Yikes. I'm glad that I decided to do this, though. I feel a little better, well, enough to sleep, anyway. I guess that's all, then. This piece of paper will sit here on my desk (in the drawer, more like) and collect dust, but at least I did something. Things can go back to normal now, in theory.

Aw, who am I kidding? Nothing I do will erase the fact that I love you, Ino. Nothing. But, that's another story for another day (night). I think I'll go to bed. Bed was the reason I wrote this to begin with, after all.

I'm not going to bother signing this, as it's basically a letter to myself, though it has your name on it. And now I'm rambling, so I'm really going to bed. Really.

For what could possibly be the first time in her young life, Yamanaka Ino was rendered speechless.

She stared at the paper in her lap, not quite sure what to do, what to think...

Naturally, after a few minutes of sitting in complete shock, her mind kicked the 'Oh My' Complex into gear.

"Oh my," she whispered, "oh my, oh my, oh my."

Those were the only words she was capable of speaking in this state, and she repeated them over and over, not stopping until her mother called from the bottom of the stairs.

"Ino! Dinner!"

Dinner? What's dinner? I've never heard of that before...

"Ino? Are you coming?"

"Yeah," she croaked.

Okay, get up...that's good. Now, go down the stairs one at a time...very good. This is the perfect distraction now, yes? Yes it is. Just listen to your parents and talk about things that aren't about that...that other thing. Oh my...no, no, you aren't thinking about it. Stop. Cease. Desist. Oh...STOP IT!

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Ino's father stated bluntly, which startled the thoughts right out of her.

"What?"

"You're as white as a sheet." The big man turned to his wife. "Doesn't she look as white as a sheet?"

Ino's mother came around to where Ino was and examined her closely. "She does look pale, now that you mention it."

The blonde girl did not care for the commentary. It was cutting too close to dangerous ground, and the subject would have to be changed in a rapid manner if she were to avoid the inevitable interrogation that her parents would run her through, which would result in things being said that shouldn't be said because...just because.

"So! My training went really well today!" Ino chirped brightly as she began piling food on her plate. "Asuma says I'm improving!" Yeah, and that's why he told me never to go near sharp objects because he's afraid I'll take my eye out...

Her parents exchanged looks.

"He did, did he?" Her father asked with a raised eyebrow. Why don't I believe that?

Hmm...now would be a good time to act angry. "Yeah! Geez, dad. Wonderful to see that you have faith in your beloved daughter's ability! Humph!" She crossed her arms over her chest. Nice, Ino, nice. Good recovery there.

"I do have faith, pumpkin, but just not..." He trailed off when he received the death glare. "Er...never mind. Forget I said anything."

"Smart," said Ino's mother.

Ino laughed, and dinner progressed as usual, much to her relief. No more remarks were made about her appearance, which was even better. For the time being, the 'Oh My' Complex was held at bay, and she liked that very much. What she would do when she was lying in bed at night with no distractions, well, she wasn't about to think on that, either. The reality of the words on that page had not sunk in yet, and she preferred to keep it that way for as long a duration as possible.

The minute he came to the conclusion that the letter was indeed missing, Shikamaru took one look at his mother, turned around, and walked right out the front door without any explanation. Going all the way back to the Borderlands would take time and effort, but this was a matter of grave importance. Life and death, even. If anyone else saw that letter, he'd be in trouble. The possibility that Ino herself had her hands on it was too much for him to handle, and so he banished the thought.

I'm never listening to voices in my head again. That was the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life...

To be continued... (I've always wanted to say that...tee-hee)