Hey guys! Well, if you thought last chapter was random, wait until you see this one! Tee-hee! This story has always been—wacky--in my head, and it's even wackier on the page! ::grins:: But I'm having a total blast writing it, and I hope you're enjoying reading it! All right, on we go!
Chapter 4: Not Your Average Daydream
Despite all the effort she made to keep busy, busy, busy, there is only so much a person can do before she collapses.
Ino washed the dishes.
She swept the floors.
She dusted every inch of every surface until she could see her reflection in them.
She even made her father his lunch for the next day.
Now that is desperation calling.
I need to keep moving--I can't stop, because if I do, I'll think about that—that—thing, and it'll be bad.
Of course, her mother threw a wrench into her plans when she, point blank, ordered her daughter to get her behind up the stairs and go to bed, now. When Ino's mother told her to do things, Ino always complied without question. Her father she could talk around by being cute, because her father was one of those fathers who adore their daughters no matter what they do, but her mother knew the game, and she never fell for it.
Never.
Therefore, Ino had no choice but to comply, and walked up the stairs as if she were heading towards her own execution.
As soon as she entered her bedroom, her eyes honed in on the letter, and all of the thoughts that she'd barred back came flooding through the gates like a monsoon.
He said he loves me.
Shikamaru.
Shikamaru said he loves me.
The same Shikamaru who I boss around, and beat on, and yell at...
He said he wouldn't change a thing about me...
"He's a masochist," Ino said out loud as she undressed, flinging articles of clothing unceremoniously about the room. "He likes pain. I mean, for cripes sake, why the hell would he say he loves me if I beat the crap out of him?"
That explanation suited her just fine, and for the moment, she allowed it to be the central focus of her thought processes. Actually, the idea of plain, sensible Nara Shikamaru as a closet masochist was so amusing that she started to laugh hysterically, and tried pulling a nightshirt over her head at the same time.
Not working.
The phone rang while she was disentangling herself from her shirt—still laughing, mind—and she reached out to grab it, knocking her jewelry box off the dresser in the process.
"Crap!" She yelped, the receiver in hand.
"What?" came the voice on the other end of the line. "Ino? Is that you? Hellooo!!"
Ino set the phone down quickly, yanked the shirt on, and picked the receiver back up.
"Sorry, sorry! I—uh—had a bit of a mishap over here."
She eyed the contents of her jewelry box all over her floor, and groaned. Dropping to her knees, she began gathering up necklaces, and earrings, and earring backs—which are the most impossible things to find when dropped—and other assorted knick-knacks that had been living in the box, while Sakura talked.
"Er—right. Anyway, can I crash at your place tonight? Naruto came over a little while ago, and he ended up falling asleep in my bed, and he looks too adorable for me to wake him, you know? So, that leaves me without a bed, and—yeah."
Ino raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't have a bed here, either. I mean, I'm not saying that I don't want you to come over or anything, because it actually would be nice to have some company, but you'll be on the futon. Don't you have a couch at home?"
"Of course I do, but it isn't a good idea for me to sleep on it."
One of the earring backs had gotten stuck in the carpet, and Ino began to pry it out. "Eh? Why not?"
Sakura made an indelicate noise. "Naruto sleepwalks."
"He does?"
"Yes. He does."
Ino switched the receiver to the other ear and went at the earring back with more force. "Lots of people sleepwalk, though."
This time, Sakura full-out snorted. "I'm sure they do, but 'lots of people' are not my boyfriend. Do you know what he did the last time I slept on the couch?" She continued without waiting for an answer. "I woke up and he was smack on top of me, fast asleep."
Ino did not think that was such a capital offence, but rather cute, and she said so. I don't think I'd mind waking up with a boy in my arms...
"Do you know where his head was?"
Uh-oh.
"No," Ino replied slowly. She could picture Sakura with the crazed look on her face that sprang up whenever she reminisced about her misadventures with the blonde-haired, blue-eyed object of her affection, and winced. "But I'm guessing it wasn't in a good place."
"HAH! It—was—on—my—chest. Or more like, in my chest. Seriously, I'm not even joking."
Ino choked back a giggle, but Sakura didn't notice, because she was on the warpath.
"It's Kakashi's fault! Him and that horrid Jiraya! Naruto never used to do this stuff before. I mean, I just found out that Kakashi's been showing him those books of his! Can you believe that? I swear, if I ever get my hands on that pervert, I'm going to mangle him! He's a grown man for crying out loud! He should know better!"
The blonde girl decided that it would be a good idea to cut Sakura off before she became too worked up, because bad things tended to happen when she was worked up, and Ino did not think Sakura would be happy if she ended up killing Naruto unintentionally.
"You're right," she agreed in a soothing tone. "Come on over. I'll wait for you on the porch."
Sakura took a few deep breaths. "Okay. I'll be there yesterday," she said, and hung up.
Ino grinned, placed the receiver in its cradle, and stood up, most of her jewelry back in the box. There were still a few random pieces missing, but she was sure they'd pop up eventually.
"Good," she told herself. "Now I can delay the inevitable for a bit longer, at least." Her eyes traveled to the letter again, and her heart began to thump. For whatever reason, she picked it up, brushing her fingers over the words. Her eyes became soft as she beheld Shikamaru's scrawl, and she continued to stroke the paper almost lovingly.
He really must care...I mean, I can only imagine how much effort it took for him to write this much. Although...he didn't plan on giving it to me...but...oh, what am I going to do? I can't give it back to him now. I don't...want to.
After she came to that conclusion, Ino immediately shook herself, and stuck the letter under her pillow. She didn't want Sakura to see it, or to even have any inkling of what was happening. Ino did not know where her own feelings stood, and she needed to figure them out before she went to someone else for advice.
"Shikamaru," Ino sighed. "You are so--troublesome."
Sakura arrived not five minutes after their phone conversation, a pink duffel bag slung over her shoulder.
"Thanks," she said after she'd given Ino a hug. "You're a life saver."
"Yeah, yeah," Ino waved that aside. She grabbed Sakura's hand and towed her up to her room. The futon that she'd gotten a few years ago was set up against the right-hand wall, and Sakura dropped the duffel bag on it before flopping down herself.
"I love this thing," she said blissfully. "I need to get one."
Ino grinned, sat next to Sakura, and switched on the T.V., which was situated across from the futon.
The first program that issued from the television was a sappy, romantic beach scene, complete with melodramatic music, waves crashing in the background, seagulls swooping overhead, and the happy couple, running...
Running...
Running...
Into each other's arms.
"Oh, I love you so much!" Said the heroine.
"I love you too!" Said the ultra-buff hero.
"Don't ever leave me again!" Said the heroine.
"I'll stay by your side forever!" Said the ultra-buff hero.
The tonsil hockey kiss.
More music, more seagulls, more crashing waves...
And the retching sounds of two girls seated on a futon.
"Oh puh-leaze!" Sakura muttered. "It so does not happen like that. The first time Naruto kissed me, our teeth were knocking together throughout the whole thing. It was awkward as hell. And the first time he told me he loved me, he said it around a mouthful of ramen, but only because I was on my rag that day and he was afraid I'd murder him if he didn't say it."
Ino laughed out loud. "Poor guy. I'd be afraid if I were strapped with you on your rag, too."
Sakura stuck her tongue out at her, and grabbed the remote out of her hands. As she flipped through the channels, Ino's mind wandered.
Hmm...I wonder if Shikamaru would ever chase me around on a beach...
She pictured Shikamaru, and then she pictured him slogging through sand.
No, I don't think so. Scary.
Very scary.
"Oh, look!" Sakura squealed. "It's I Love Lucy! This show is so funny!"
Ino looked.
Lucy and her friend Ethel were getting themselves into another mess, as usual, and just in time for Ricky to walk through the door.
"Lucy! You've got some 'splaining to do!"
"Aw, Riiicky!"
Sakura and Ino giggled, but soon after, Ino's mind wandered again. She began to daydream...
Black and white Ino stood over the stove, laboring over the dinner she was preparing for her husband, who would be returning from work soon. He always worked so hard, her Shikamaru, and she wanted everything to be perfect for him when he got home. She actually enjoyed being a dutiful wife, and there was nothing that pleased her more than to see her husband happy.
Her black and white son came into the kitchen and asked politely for a snack, which Ino got for him, of course, because he was such a good little boy.
"There you are, dear," she said, setting a plate of cookies and a glass of milk on the table.
"Thank you, Mother," the child replied, and seated himself.
The front door opened, and Shikamaru walked in, looking polished and refined as usual.
"Hello, dear," he said, and kissed his wife on the cheek.
Ino smiled. "I'll have this finished in a minute, dear. How was work?"
"Oh, not too bad. The firm was busy today." He looked at the child. "And how was your day, son?"
"Very good, father. Do you think we could play catch with my new glove later?"
"Of course, son!"
Ino smiled again. Her family was so perfect!
She remembered a part of the letter then:
'I see you puttering 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 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...'
The daydream changed. She was in the same kitchen, though everything was in color. Something boiled in a large, stainless-steel pot on the stove, which Ino stood over, a wooden spoon in hand. Her husband hovered behind her, tired and sweaty, trying to get a glimpse of the mysterious substance in the pot, but Ino waved the spoon at him.
"Shikamaru! Go away! You're irritating me!"
"But I-n-oo! I'm hungry!"
"I don't care! It isn't ready yet, and you pestering me won't make it be ready any faster!"
Shikamaru sighed. Ino could be so cruel sometimes, especially since he'd just come back from a mission and his stomach was getting close to eating itself.
Instead of one, pleasant child, their two unruly monsters tore into the room and demanded to be fed, but not before tackling their father. Nothing would satisfy them until he gave them piggy-back rides around the house, which he did grudgingly, his expression one of extreme discomfort.
Ino, meanwhile, could barely contain her laughter at the sight of her stoic husband catering to their children, and she made no move to help him. He could use the exercise, after all.
Shaking her head, she grinned, and continued to stir the contents of the pot while the sounds of roughhousing filtered in from the living room. There was a distinct crash, and a loud yelp that could only have come from Shikamaru.
"I-I-n-ooo!!"
"Ino? Ino? Are you alive?"
Sakura waved her hand in front of Ino's face, and the blonde girl blinked.
"What?"
"You spaced out for a while there. Maybe we should go to bed, eh?"
Ino thought that was a very good idea.
"Yeah. I guess I'm more tired than I realized."
Woah...that was...weird! It's that letter...putting strange ideas in my head...
Somehow, she managed to move from the futon to her own bed nearby, and snuggled beneath the down comforter, burying her face in her pillow.
"G'night, Ino," came Sakura's sleepy voice.
"Night, Sakura," she mumbled as she drifted off to sleep, one hand inching beneath the pillow to touch the paper...
The next morning Sakura and Ino woke a bit earlier than normal, Sakura because she thought it would be best to get back before Naruto woke ('he gets disoriented when he wakes up, and if I'm not there, he'll think he's in the twilight zone or something'), and Ino because Sakura was up.
She helped her friend gather the stuff she'd brought back into the duffel bag and walked her to the door.
"Again, thanks for letting me stay," Sakura said, and gave Ino another hug. "I'll give you a call. We're overdue for a shopping spree."
Ino laughed. "I believe you might be right."
"See ya!" Sakura called over her shoulder.
"Bye!"
Ino went back into her house and up the stairs to her room, trying to decide whether or not she wanted to sleep some more. Her bed looked so comfortable and welcoming that she couldn't resist falling back into it and was about to let her eyes close when she thought of the letter.
"I think I want to read it again," she said to herself, and reached under her pillow.
Her hand encountered nothing but sheet.
Eyes wide, she flung the pillow off of her bed.
Nothing.
Okay, don't panic. It may have gotten stuck in the covers...
Layer by layer, she stripped off every blanket and sheet from her bed, searching through each with meticulous attention.
Still nothing.
Now Ino began to panic.
She tore apart her entire room, searching in every nook and cranny at least four or five times, but to no avail. There was no trace of the letter anywhere.
"Where is it? Where is it?!" She screeched, her voice going up a few octaves. "I had it before I went to sleep! Where did it go?! Where??"
Luckily, Sakura returned home a few minutes before Naruto stirred, and she could not keep the smile from her face when she saw him on her bed, his hair even more disheveled than normal and his mouth open.
"Aww," she giggled as she unzipped her duffle bag. "He's so cute."
Upending the bag, its contents spilled out on the floor, and she went to put them away when her fingers brushed over something that felt like paper.
Naruto gave a snort, and sat upright, his eyes wild.
"What happened? Where am I? What—" He stopped when he saw his girlfriend on the floor, bent over what appeared to be a piece of paper. "Sakura-chan?"
She did not answer him right away. She was too shocked by what she held in her hands.
When she finally turned to face the bed, her eyes were wide and her jaw slack.
"Naruto, you're never going to believe this."
Uh-oh! Another cliffhanger! I'm sorry! ::waves red flag:: Don't hate me!
Can't decide if I want Sasuke to be in future chapters at mountain retreat/resort...hmm. Tricky. Ah well.
And Naru/Saku is not the main focus, although I adore 'em so.