Okay! Sorry for much delay, I've been super busy, and as I'm writing this I have really bad chest pains… sorry for the wait!
Chapter six: Storm
"Idiot."
Sakura knelt on the edge of her bed, comforter encasing her shoulders. It was mid November, about a month and a half past Yukiko's quote unquote "first date" with Gaara; and Yuki-chan had been seeing more and more of him ever since then. Even Shikamaru and Ino seemed to be drifting away, leaving Sakura alone: alone and man less.
Warm salty tears fell from her cheeks; the glass catching the drops one by one.
"…When? When will I see you again?"
She choked and rubbed her face, reddened from crying. Gazing at the photo once more, she pressed it too her chest.
"Naruto-kun."
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"It looks like it's going to rain," Sakura noticed out loud. After a long hard cry, she felt obligated to take a walk, and her walk was nearing its end.
The sky was an awful dark gray, and the wind was blowing rapidly. It had been partly cloudy when she had left, and she had enjoyed her walk. She had somewhat of an intuition of rain when she had left, so she had taken her umbrella. No use now, because Sakura was roughly a block away from home.
Sakura was surprised by the weather: November was usually cold, windy, and most often wet. She was feeling much better contradictory to the weather, and she was also glad that she had decided to start her walk when she did.
The pink haired youth wore a white turtleneck under her usual dress, pants instead of shorts, and a thick black and gray scarf was wrapped around her neck.
Sakura had passed many buildings – having decided to remain in the walls of Konoha. She hadn't known exactly where she was going, she just sort of ambled aimlessly through the streets, and now she was almost home.
Sakura gazed up at the sky once more: any time now.
"Hey Sakura-chan!"
Sakura cut off her sky gazing and looked down, "Ohayo, Ino-chan. Shikamaru-kun."
"Yo," he said with the usual nonchalant tone. The three stopped in their tracks to converse.
"Sakura, Yuki-chan suggested that tomorrow all three of us girls should go out, how 'bout it?"
"Fun," Sakura said sincerely and briskly, "I'll be there… whatever it is. What about the time?"
"Probably six," Ino answered, twirling her stray hair with her index finger.
"Right," she answered happily, "By the way, are you two out for a walk?"
"Yeah… what about it?"
"You might need this," Sakura extended the umbrella in a friendly gesture, Ino took it from her and extended it to Shika.
"Thanks – here, you hold it," she said, shoving the umbrella in his face.
"Why do I have to hold it?" he whined.
Ino smiled maliciously forcing her voice into a threatening tone, "because I said so, you silly!"
Shikamaru knew that tone of voice; it sort of reminded him of his mother's voice, in a very creepy and sickening way. If he wanted to make it home alive…
Shika obediently took the umbrella from her hands, muttering something about troublesome women under his breath. All he got for it was a pat on the head: something a kin to what an owner of a dog would do if the dog had been good.
"Great, I'm her pet now," he groaned inwardly.
"I'd best be going, have a nice walk!" Sakura addressed them, and left the two standing alone.
"Even more great, I don't have anyone to save me from Ino's wrath."
The pair began to walk again.
"Why is it that whenever women go out they always go out in threes?"
Ino gave him a funny look, "What do you mean by tha-wait, did you feel that?"
"Feel what?"
"There, again," she retorted. Shika gawked at her as if she were going insane, "Shika-kun, put up the umbrella!"
"It's not even raining," he told her.
"Put it up!"
"No! You make me hold the stupid thing," he said wavering the pink ducky umbrella around in the air, "and now you're wanting it back. Make up your mind, woman!"
"Nara Shikamaru, don't f# with me today. PUT UP THE DAMN-"
The rain came and interrupted Ino in mid-sentence as if someone poured a very large, never ending bucket of water over the whole village. Within seconds, the two were soaked to the bone.
"-Umbrella," finished Ino, defeated. She snatched it from Shikamaru's hands and stared at it.
"Why didn't you do that in the first place!" he snapped.
"Well why didn't you put up the stupid thing like I had asked you to, you lazy idiot?" She huffed. The rain streamed down her face as the sky relentlessly poured. She sighed, "well it's useless now, let's go home."
She started walk away, tossing the umbrella over her shoulder without a second thought.
"That could have hit someone, you know!" Shika scolded, as they ran towards Ino's house. Back where the pair had argued, a man lay unconscious next to a very familiar looking umbrella.
"Don't worry, I'm sure no one got hurt," she reassured him.
The wind picked up, sending a chill through the couple, and the rain grew even heavier as Shikamaru and Ino came closer to the shelter. A few minutes later, they reached their destination – cold, wet, tired, and panting.
Ino held herself up by pressing a palm against the wall of the house's exterior, she gasped in another breath of air, and then turned to Shikamaru, "Do you want to come in?" she asked him. They were once again standing in the doorway of Ino's house.
"This seems oddly proverbial," she thought.
"I'll be fine," he told her.
"YAAARGH!"
"Huh?" the pair questioned simultaneously. Both turning around to see what, or who had yelled.
A man was being dragged along by the wind while holding a rather familiar looking umbrella. It started to hail, and the icy stones hit him square in the head and knocked him unconscious.
"Is that Sakura's- oh brother," thought Ino. She turned to Shika once more.
"Well?"
"Shika took one more glance at the unconscious guy, and the picture of himself lying on the street in Konoha bleeding all over the place and being impaled by giant balls of ice. The image didn't agree with him too well…
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to stay until the storm passes," he affirmed, and the two walked inside.
"I think I have some of my dad's old clothes you can borrow. Stay down here," she told him. Ino ran into a room, came with a towel, and flung it to Shika, " use this to dry yourself off – I'll be right back," and with that, Ino disappeared up the stairs.
"What a mess," he said out loud, wiping his face with the towel. Shikamaru walked over to the window, and leaned on the ledge.
"I could just leave right now and completely avoid a bad situation with Ino altogether." "Besides, statistics show with previous events with her that I'm bound to be smacked…"
"KAAAA-CHAAAANNN!"
Shika perked up as the man from before flew across the view of the window, and smacked into a street pole.
"Okaaaay, Ino doesn't hit that hard," he mumbled as he watched the unconscious guy go flying away once more. Sighing, he pulled off his soaking shirt, and set it on the table. Shika nabbed the towel once more and rubbed it over his head, loosening the grip of the hair tie. He completely yanked it out, and his damp hair fell to his shoulders, many strains plastered against his red cheeks.
"Eeeeek!"
"Mou?"
THWACK!
"OUCH, DAMNIT!" Shika howled, holding his cheek in his palm. He turned to see a very angry Ino glaring at him, flushed from embarrassment.
"YOU PERVERT!" she shrieked, "HENTAI! SUKEBE!"
"You're-OUCH-the one-OUCH-who walked in on-OUCH-me!" he sputtered between punches.
"I'm going to change now and don't you even think about peeping on me, you letch!" she snapped, tossing a set of clothes in his face and stomped away angrily.
"What the hell was that for," he moaned, pulling the sage green shirt over his head.
"I can't believe him! Undressing in front of me like that! He's got nerve if he's trying to pull something," she huffed, peeling off her shirt and untying her hair, "Still, for such a lazy baka, he has quite a lot of muscle." She mumbled under her breath, blushing slightly, "And I've never seen him with his hair down before… he's kinda… cute."
Ino sighed once more, and pulled off her jeans, dropping them into a corner. Once her pants were off, she unlatched her bra, and let her eyes wander to-
"KYAAAAA!"
Not even a few seconds passed and the door burst open.
"Ino, are you all right? I heard-" Shika stopped in mid-sentence as he gaped at the sight in front of him.
Ino was standing half-naked, facing him, bra dangling from her hand. He covered his cherry red face to prevent himself from angering her any further, although he was in some pretty deep shit. And to also prevent any more naughty thoughts coming into his head, alas the image of Ino standing bare-chested in her purple panties was already etched into his memory for life.
She screamed once more, than turned to the wall and screamed, and then finally covered herself the towel.
"W-what's the problem? Are you alright?" he stuttered, still covering his eyes.
"S-P-PIDER!" she screamed once more, "SQUISH-IT, SQUISH-IT, SQUISH-IT, SQUISH-IT, SQUISH-IT!"
"Can I look now?"
"SQUSHIT!"
"I'll take that as a 'yes'" he said calmly. Prying his fingers slightly, he noticed that she was wrapped in a towel, and in a fetal position. He sighed in annoyance, grabbed a piece of paper from her desk, squished the eight-legged parasite, and chucked it out her bedroom window.
"Spider eliminated. Now how may I be of service next, princess?" he said sarcastically.
Ino opened her eyes and looked up at a frowning Shikamaru. Narrowing her eyes, she stood up in a huff, and pulled back her hand. Shika then realized what he was in for, though he was positive it was bound to happen no mater what he did.
"Aw F-"
SMACK
"Stupid, troublesome bitch. I help her and what do I get?" Shikamaru mumbled to himself, rubbing the handprint on his face tenderly. He was back on the couch downstairs, waiting for Ino to change in her now spider less room.
"At least I hope its spider less, bug less, whatever. Just as long as she doesn't hit me again…" He leaned back into the sofa, cradling his sore face, "maybe the storm has settled, maybe I can finally get out of this hell-hole…"
He eased up a little, and cocked his head towards the window.
"FREEDOM!" The man who was hit by the very familiar umbrella, stood outside and formed a victory pose. A gust of wind sent a piece of paper smack into his face.
"NOOOO! IT'S DARK AND SLIMEY AND DARK AND MOMMIEEEE!" Shika watched the guy run out of the view of the window.
"Shit, it's still storming…but maybe it's not that bad…"
Shikamaru got his butt off the couch and hobbled over to the window.
"It doesn't look too bad…" He marveled at the pouring rain and howling wind. "Well anything is better than-"
BAM!
"Eep."
Guy with umbrella smacked into the window, scaring Shikamaru out of his intelligent wits. Guy with umbrella swiveled down the window pain, drool stain left on Ino's window.
"Okay, bad idea…"
"What's a bad idea?"
"Nyuhh?"
Shika turned his head towards Ino's voice. He gaped yet again, Ino was in her pajamas: purple- any other color was out of the question for Ino, it had always been her favorite. The fact that her hair was down may have also had a small effect on his staring.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, brushing back her damp hair incitingly.
"Er…" "Hungry for what! She didn't even pull the seduction technique, and I'm still ensnared…"
"Er… no, I'm find," he said. It was then that his stomach growled, and reminded him that he forgotten to eat lunch today. It was easy to forget when your parents weren't home.
"And her parents aren't home either-ACK! Bad thoughts! Nooooo!"
"Well, yeah… me too. Y'know, I was just wondering about you… if you were okay," she said, slightly flushed. Her stomach growled even louder than his did.
"Let's sit down," she said in a singsong voice.
"Right behind you."
The pair sat down on the couch. Ino exhaled.
"So."
"So…"
GURGLE
Both stomachs growled in perfect harmony. The two looked at each other once more.
"I can cook… what about you?" She asked him.
"Rice… and sometimes I burn that…" he fessed.
"Well, c'mon then," she said, and hopped off the sofa, pulling him up with her. And the two made their way towards the kitchen, "though I still don't see how you can burn rice… you just stick it in boiling water."
"You use water?" Shika asked. Ino looked at him; his face was completely serious.
"You…really, didn't know… that you're supposed to use…water?" She asked, sniggering slightly.
"What? Is everyone supposed to know that you use water to cook rice."
"Ha… ha AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"W-what are you laughing about?"
"HA HA HAAHAHAH!"
"IT'S NOT FUNNY!
"YES IT IS!"
"LET'S JUST EAT!"
"Fine… but don't burn the rice! HA!"
"Sheesh…"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Itadakimasu."
Shika and Ino sat before the steaming food in front of them. Ino had cooked almost all of it, and Shikamaru, much to her surprise and to his own, actually did not burn the rice (although the knowledge of adding water may have helped: just a little…).
The pair didn't make haste to dig in – the meal was had completely vanished off the table and into their stomachs within the half hour.
"Oh… that was good," Shika moaned contently. "Wow, she's cooking for me, and now," he paused in thought as he watched her gather the empty plates, "she's cleaning. She's like my little housewife…did I just? Bah… troublesome."
Shika pushed himself off the table to stand, "I'll be in the living room if you need me."
"Actually," she said brightly, "I'm done. Mind if I come join you? Unless… you don't want company."
"Do whatever you want… it's your house," he replied, parking himself on a seat. Ino smiled and plopped down right next to him.
"It's hard to believe how far we've come," she started to say, "I mean. You're a chuunin, almost a jounin at that. It's also hard to believe that Yukiko some how managed to weasel her way into Gaara's heart."
"She has the ability to do that to just about near everyone she meets," Shika commented.
"You're right," She agreed, "still. Most people could doubt that he even had one."
"You dummy, if you don't have a heart, you'll die."
"I know that, Shika! Don't get all smart and technical on me!" She fussed, leaning back into the cushions.
"Geeze… why does he have to be such a stiff? All this arguing makes me tired…"
"Fine," he said calmly, "Then again, I thought you liked smart people. Isn't that Sasuke smart!"
"Fuck. I just made myself sound jealous, didn't I?"
"Hmm?" Ino questioned, overwhelmed by a wave of fatigue. She stifled a yawn, and leaned in more to the cushions. "Are you… jealous?"
"Me?" he questioned in a very exhausted voice, "Of that guy? No way. Honestly, you and your questions… troublesome."
Ino felt another rush of tiredness, "Well… just so you know… I don't like him anymore… not… since…"
"You don't?" he asked, letting his curiosity get the better of him.
"Would I lie to you… silly?" she asked both slyly and sleepily, "I'm over him. He's a total jerk wad, so cold and distant. What I really need is…"
"What?" he asked her. He turned his head: her eyes were closed, her breathing slow.
"Ino… how could you fall asleep?" he questioned aloud. He smacked himself in the face, and then his shoulder felt heavy. He turned his head again to meet a face full of hair – she had fallen asleep on him.
"Troublesome," he said blushing slightly. She apparently wasn't faking it, her breathing was too slow for her to be awake.
"What am I going to do with you?" he said playfully.
"Nyaah…"
Thwump
"Crap."
Ino in her sleep and with one swift movement tossed herself onto shika's lap, nuzzling into it.
"This couldn't get anyworse."
"Nyaah…"
Thwump, bump, CRASH!
Another set of movements and the couch lay folded down like a bed, Ino now partially sprawled over him, and more nuzzling.
"I just had to ask, didn't I?" he questioned out loud. Sighing, he lay their motionless, plotting out his motives.
"Option 1: Try to move, wake up Ino, attempt to explain what happened, get called a pervert and get mashed into a pulp. Option 2: wait until morning, Ino wakes up by herself, chastises me for being a pervert and taking advantage of her the whole night, get called a big pervert and get mashed into a pulp, and spend the night with Ino…" he said, and then realized, "spend the night… I am going to get killed for this – either way. Well, then I'd rather have it this way."
He smiled to himself, and caressed her blond locks. Allowing himself to drift to sleep.
"I…care most about you, and I'll take a beating for it."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Is it still raining?"
Gaara sat relaxed on a chair, In Yukiko's kitchen. She had invited him over for tea, and the storm had kept the two at her house. It had been a very nice time with them just alone, together.
"Yeah," she called back, and pulled away from the windows, "Hard to believe it's lasted this long. It looks like it'll let up in no time though."
"Ever the optimist as usual," he said very nonchalantly. He gazed intently at the window once more as she pulled up a chair next to him.
"Of course. You need an optimist like me. Besides, how else do you expect to get home and get a good nights sleep," she said brightly.
"I don't sleep, remember?"
"Oh! OMIGOSH! I'M SORRRY!" she squealed, standing and bowing, "Imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorryim-"
"Calm down," he said, reverting to a slight forgiving expression from his usual dean-pan one, "It's not your fault that I can't."
"Yes, but I had to go and be stupid and remind you of it!" She complained.
He sighed, stood up, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Stop punishing yourself, okay? You're not stupid, stupid… wait, that's not what I meant to say…"
"Gaara-san." She said, eyes shining.
"What?" he asked sourly, turning to her. Her only response was a very large smile. And then, he some how found himself smiling back.
In the middle of the storm.
Fin! Sorry this one was a little short, my chest still hurts really bad… please review, JA NE!