DISCLAIMER- I do not own naruto.

Pairing- Ino/Shikamaru

Title- And so she did

The funeral was on a Wednesday. A day that was dark and windy and filled with the grief of many. Huddled masses stood in front of the empty casket, not caring that there was no body in it. The body was to be burned so no one could learn the secrets of the Yamanaka clan. Ino stood in the front row; her look of indifference clashing with her grieving mother whose body racked with sobs as she held onto various members of the clan like a life support. Tsunade stood on a hill overlooking the crowd. Preaching to all about what kind of man he was.

"Yamanaka Inoshi was an honorable ninja who died honorably. He had many friends…"

Ino listened to the speech half heartedly, the words becoming drowned out by the numbness of her heart. At first it was a gentle ache. One that made her chest tightens and constrict but she ignored it. The pain only grew over time; the gentle ache transforming into full blown pain that would probably never lessen over the passage of time. Through this pain Ino shed no tears. After all this was the life of a ninja. It was the life her father had chosen and one she too had chosen. Who was she to cry? And so she didn't.

The days passed by in a blur for Ino. If she wasn't on a mission she was training. She was determined to never end up like her father; to never show any weakness. The ache in her heart had went away replaced by a numb void. Only when some one would offer their condolences for her father would her heart tug painfully. So painfully that it was almost too hard to bear. But what Ino hated the most were those glances. Those glances of pity that followed her everywhere she went. Ino promised herself that she would never acknowledge those glances; never give them the satisfaction of knowing that those glances broke her heart a little more each day. And so she didn't.

Now unlike most people Shikamaru could easily see through Ino's self induced defense mechanism. He saw Ino die a little each day and curse herself for it. Then again Shikamaru wasn't like most people. Though lazy he cared about his friends and hated to see them hurt. Physically as well as emotionally. So it hurt him when she pushed him out of her life. He guessed it had something to do with him seeing her as more than a friend. Shikamaru had tried to give her space but it had done more harm than good. He had decided that it was time he took matters into his own hands.

He had found her in the training field beating a wooden post, as she usually did these days. She didn't bother to stop her assaults on the post as Shikamaru entered the field. She didn't need to; she would know his presence anywhere. So what a surprise to her when she found herself unceremoniously pulled from the training log and marching down the narrow path behind the lazy ninja.

"Shikamaru, where are you taking me?" Her voice was neither bitter nor pleasant.

"Somewhere you obviously need to go." He muttered. Followed by a noise that strangely sounded like the word 'troublesome'. Ino knew she could have stopped him anytime she wanted to but curiosity and the feeling of his warm hands against hers stopped her.

They had only been walking about fifteen minutes before they came upon a field littered with tombstones. Ino felt the fear rising inside of her but she forcibly pushed it back down. She would not show weakness; not here. And so she didn't.

They stopped in front of a grave that was very similar to the others. The only difference was the name on the tombstone. Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pocket, watching as Ino read the name on the tombstone.

"What do you see" Shikamaru asked nonchalantly

"I see a grave, can we go now?" Ino said turning away. She started to walk away but was stopped by a firm hand on her wrist. Turning her back around to face the tombstone, Shikamaru repeated his question.

"What do you see?"

Ino paused for a second. Her answer seemed to come out before she could stop it. "I see a man who left his wife and his daughter with no care to how they would feel after his death."

Shikamaru stared at her, noting that her eyes were glistening. He couldn't stop now. This had to come out sooner or later and he would rather it be sooner. He stepped forward so that he was standing right next to Ino.

"You know it's ok to resent him, to be angry with him."

Ino turned away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do Ino. It's ok to be angry at him for leaving you. I understand how you feel."

Something snapped inside her, releasing something ugly, something she didn't even know she was harboring. "You understand. You understand! How could you understand how it feels! How it feels to-" she stopped herself and looked downward. As if continuing her sentence would condemn her.

"How it feels to what Ino. What!" Shikamaru prompted

"HOW IT FEELS TO KNOW THE ONE MAN YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD ALWAYS TRUST BROKE HIS PROMISE! TO KNOW THAT THAT MAN IS NEVER COMING BACK! EVER!"

For a moment there was a thick silence. The air stilling as the sky darkened. There it was. Her weakness. Out in the open for everybody to see. The weakness she had tried so hard to contain. That's when she felt it. That's when she felt strong arms encircle her; protecting her from the cold afternoon air.

"Ino" Shikamaru started his tone gentle and soothing "It's all right to be angry and sad but you can't let it consume you. Your father did what he thought was right at the time. He valued the lives of his team mates and though the thought of never seeing you or your mother again probably terrified him, he knew that he would never be able to handle the guilt if he didn't. He was the leader and felt that it was his responsibility to get everyone through the mission safely. I know I would do the same thing if I was in his position. You have to try and forgive him. You have to remember the sort of man he was and what sort of father he was to you. Do you think your father really wanted to leave you?"

And just like that all the memories she had tried to escape came rushing back to her and she knew she could hate him no longer. She could never hate her Daddy! What would he say if he could see now? Big hot sweltering tears trailed down her face. She hadn't even noticed that she had begun to cry.

Shikamaru stroked her hair as she sobbed into his shoulder. "Just let it out Ino, just let it all out." He whispered.

And so she did.