Disclaimer: Don't own it.

A/N: This one turned out weirder than I expected.. And a part later in this one kind of reminded me of a scene in Disney's Aladdin. Maybe you'll notice it too? Heh, didn't mean for it to happen but oh well. Enjoy.

Rapunzel, Rapunzel

Ino was lost in her slumber in a bizarre dream. She was never able to control her dreams, unfortunately.

But in her dream she found herself as a gorgeous princess, which didn't bother her all that much. The filaments of her long blonde hair had grown almost three times longer. She brushed it with a delicate golden brush as she leaned against her fancy bed of pink sheets and canopies of sheer fabrics.

Her dress was a maroon shade, still beautiful in simplicity. It fell to her feet so they were no longer visible to her. She looked across to her mirror. There was depression in her eyes. She was trapped in this horrid tower for what seemed like decades, centuries, ages. The right prince had never arrived to save her from the lonesome and boring prison. All she could do was brush her hair, weep, and watch the clouds pass by.

Ino's depressing thoughts were interrupted when she thought she heard a chant with her name included.

"Ino, Ino. Let down your hair."

Ino, surprised, hastily brought herself to the opposite end of the locked room. She pushed aside the luxurious pink drapes and let her feet lead her to the balcony. The first thing she noticed was the clear blue sky, no cloud in sight. Then to the ground, numerous feet below her, she anticipated to see her prince charming. But what she saw instead was someone in contrary to her prince.

"Shikamaru!" She hollered as she spotted the boy below her. He was dressed in a gray medieval prince ensemble, his hair up in his usual pineapple bob.

"Ino, Ino. Let down your hair." He said again, as if scripted and tired.

"Shikamaru, cut it out."

"Quit stalling idiot, don't you want to get out of this tower?"

Well this isn't how the fairytale goes.. Ino grumbled to herself internally. But she decided to cope with it. Reluctantly, she threw her hair over the balcony like a rope. She eyed Shikamaru, waiting for something to happen. The next thing she knew, Shikamaru clutched onto the chunks of golden hair. Ino never experienced such physical pain in her dream before. She cussed to herself. It was until Shikamaru gave a bigger yank when she shrieked.

"Careful with the hair!" She screamed.

"Hey..! At least I'm not Chouji," Shikamaru snapped.

"True," Ino sighed in annoyance, "But hurry. You're giving me a headache."

Sooner or later, Shikamaru reached the edge of the balcony and lifted himself to get climb over it. Ino massaged her temples. She waited for something to happen, since nothing was, and turned to Shikamaru.

"Now what?" She asked impatiently. She really yearned to escape this prison of solitude.

"Um," Shikamaru pondered for a bit. "We fly."

"Fly?" Ino was dumbfounded and slapped her forehead, "Why didn't you just fly up here instead of trying to make me go bald!"

Shikamaru shrugged. Compared to the real Shikamaru, Ino thought this was the dumbest person she's met.

"Because," Shikamaru started, "The horse wasn't here yet."

"You have a horse?" She questioned.

Shikamaru placed two fingers to his lips, whistled, and waited. Finally, a horse with crimson wings made itself visible at the balcony. Things were happening pretty fast to Ino.

"What the hell is that?" Ino asked in pure disgust. The horse was of a puke green color, with purple blotches and patches. Its mane and tail were orange, and it had buck teeth. For a horse, it seemed like it had the worst posture for its body looked demented and its head hung low. The only thing a least bit beautiful about this horse was its blazing scarlet wings. Ino burst out in laughter.

"That is the ugliest thing I've ever seen," She criticized.

"You'll be the saddest thing you've ever seen if you don't hop on," Shikamaru informed her as he lifted himself onto the back of the horse. His hand was held out like a gentleman for her to take and board the horse.

But Ino declined and shook her head. First of all, she was offended with Shikamaru's warn, and second, she was never going to let herself get on that horse.

"I don't trust that thing," Ino concluded as she wrinkled her nose.

"Do you trust me?" Shikamaru still held out his hand for her.

Ino had to face looking at Shikamaru's pleading eyes. He had really gone all this way to save her, and she wasn't going to take it? It took her a while to respond since Shikamaru and his horse began to turn away. When their backs were fully turned at Ino, and were a few feet away, she held out a reaching hand.

"Wait!" She yelled. "I do trust you, Shika."

She didn't know whether or not the dream Shikamaru knew it already, but she wished the real Shikamaru would.

"Come again?" Shikamaru yelled back.

"I said I trust you!"

Shikamaru directed his horse to turn around. A grin was rested on his lips. He approached Ino, once again.

"A prince never leaves his princess," He said.

"Yeah, well, you basically did just then. And who made you my prince, and me your princess?"

"Our ruling parents who arranged the marriage." Shikamaru held out his hand yet again for her to reach for.

Ino blinked a couple times and smiled uneasily.

"Haha, that's funny." She said cynically.

"Just get on the horse, you can save that sass for later," For probably the third time, Shikamaru held out a supporting hand. Ino hesitated, but seized it.

The moment her hand touched his, her dream was changed. The clear blue sky now turned a darker shade of indigo. Little luminous sparkles filled the sky and there was a full moon. Ino's maroon dress was now a snowy white shade, Shikamaru's suit was now a shade of blue like the dark sky's. Even the horse's ugly pelage altered into a beautiful white one, with a silky white mane and tail. It held its head up high, and buck teeth were nowhere to be found. Its crimson wings had also turned a charming tone of gold. Ino stiffened as she stood at the edge of the balcony, perplexed at what had just happened then. But she found it pleasing. Ino never experienced riding a horse so she struggled to lift herself onto it. But the support of Shikamaru helped her.

The horse remained at the balcony. Ino's hands waited at her sides as she sat behind "her" prince. But when the horse's golden wings began to flutter and lifted off for flight, Ino flung her arms around Shikamaru in fear. Shikamaru smiled at this.

"You don't have to be scared," He assured her. Shikamaru wouldn't let Ino fall.

They were in flight, now. They rode across the starry, angelic night sky. Shikamaru concentrated on directing the horse. The view was nice. When she turned her head around, she could see the castle she had just escaped from in a distance. It was probably the size of a grain of rice. Further she could see that it looked like they were soaring to the moon. She felt more relaxed even if her hair tickled her face. Everything was so and unusually quiet, her arms were around Shikamaru's, and the beautiful sights she witnessed were breathtaking. Ino's arms were kept around him, now in excitement and joy, not fear. She realized that she could receive all these gifts, just by trusting him.

After a long time, Ino said dreamily as she smiled lightly, "Hmm, I'm not scared. You're here with me."

Shikamaru smiled too, even if it took her a while to respond. It was better to hear it late than never.

In reality, Ino held her pillow up close with her arms wrapped all the way around it. The blonde princess smiled as she neared the moon with her prince charming.

A/N: Do you see what I mean with the Aladdin relationship thing? When Shikamaru asks if she trusts him.. When Aladdin asks Jasmine if she trusts him before they ride the carpet. Yes, it's a coincidence, I didn't realize it until after I read it.