Story 5: Another Girl

Summary: Ino is very confused. Shikamaru keeps disappearing off to the Sand Village, and no one will tell her why. (ShikaTem and one-sided Ino-Shika)

Genre: Romance / Comedy

AN: This isn't that funny, maybe amusing… but hopefully it'll still be reasonably enjoyable. Please read and give feedback. It makes me happy. Preview for the next one at the bottom (another ShikaTem).

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I'd be too busy making the filler better to write fanfiction.

Another Girl

The unstoppable formation Ino-Shika-Chou was one member short. Shikamaru had left Konoha, supposedly on some great Chuunin level mission. Ino didn't believe it.

Every one of her friends said the same thing. Even Asuma-sensei seemed to be in on the conspiracy. Well, Ino wasn't as gullible as they all seemed to think she was. Also, Sakura was being excessively nice to her at the moment. It was very unnerving.

"Ino! You want to come and get something to eat with me?" Sakura shouted from a little way down the road.

"Sure," Ino replied. It's not like there was anything else to do. She had completed all her missions for the day and Chouji had gone for barbecue with his dad. Sakura was obviously pining for her absent team members, because she took Ino to the Ichiraku Ramen. But she had offered to pay, so who was Ino to complain?

"So, do you know where Shikamaru's really wandered off to?" Ino asked, a piece of chicken poised elegantly between her chopsticks. Sakura didn't even miss a beat.

"Tsunade-sama gave him a-"

"Chuunin level mission," Ino finished. "That's what everyone keeps telling me." Ino sighed deeply, staring into her broth. Sakura smiled sweetly.

"You're paranoid, Ino. Everyone's telling you that because that's the truth." Ino looked sideways at her under hooded eyelids.

"He left the village alone. And he didn't once say it was troublesome. I know Shikamaru… any mission, especially a difficult one like Chuunin might be sent on, he says 'this is so troublesome' at least three times before he leaves the village." Sakura smiled at Ino's impression of Shikamaru, but she just laughed off-handedly in response to the question.

"He'll be back soon enough, and then you can ask him yourself."

"Where is this mission?" Ino asked. Sakura hesitated for a second, then smiled again, her eyes crinkling up into half-circles under her pink eyelashes.

"I think it's in the Wind Country." Ino sighed again, turning back to her Ramen.

"One of these days, I'll find out where he's gone."


There was a sandstorm outside. The wind kept on battering the door of the room. Not that that seemed to bother the two inhabitants of said room. A sexy blonde with amazing legs was startlingly close to a dark-haired boy wearing a fishnet shirt. They were… well, lets just say they were joined at the mouth and leave the detailed descriptions for some other time.

"What about that girlfriend of yours?" said the blonde, breaking away and sauntering sexily over to a table to get them both cups of tea. The dark haired boy watched her being sexy. She does it so well… just an effortless grace to the way she moves. Her perfect, soft, silky blonde hair was tied up into four bunches, each of them sticking out at odd angles, but still managing to look tamed. She turned her profile towards him, and looked at him sideways with dark eyes, partially hidden by lustrous black eyelashes.

"She's not my girlfriend," he replied, leaning back on the sofa and folding his arms behind his head. The blonde poured the tea whilst still looking at him, a predatory glint in her eye.

"She seems to have illusions to the contrary," she said, returning to him and handing him the cup of tea. The boy just laughed.

"She's nothing compared to you… Because she's on the same team as me she thinks she owns me or something," he said. The blonde sat back down beside him and pressed her form close against him. One hand idly drew circles on his chest, her long, perfectly manicured nails tickling him slightly through the fishnet top. She moved her face closer to his and kissed his cheek. Her nose brushed lightly against his cheek, and her breath made his skin tingle.

"She had better be nothing more," she purred, her mouth very close to his ear. The boy smiled nervously, more because she was a dangerous opponent if he ever did cross her.

"I assure you," he said sipping his tea to wet his suddenly dry lips and throat. "She's just my teammate." The blonde smiled and leant her head on his shoulder as he drank his tea.

"Good," she replied.

The tea didn't last very long, and as soon as he put the cup down, she placed a hand under his chin and turned his face towards her. He didn't resist as she kissed him. Well… would you?


Ino was collecting her missions for the day, with Asuma and Chouji. She listened with growing impatience as the Hokage reeled off a list of extremely boring, pedestrian missions for them to accomplish.

"Tsunade! Why can't we go off on interesting missions like Shikamaru?" she asked.

"Because you're still Genin and Shikamaru's a Chuunin," Tsunade said, after a moment's hesitation. Ino didn't miss the look that Asuma had given to the Hokage though. Something was definitely going on and Ino didn't like it.

Once their missions were collected, they left. On the way out they ran into Kurenai and her three Genin subordinates, standing talking to Sakura. They stopped when they saw Ino. Hinata smiled cutely at her, and Kiba raised a hand in greeting.

"How's it going Chouji, Ino…" he said to his fellow Genin.

"Not too bad," Chouji said, smiling amicably.

"Missing Shikamaru a bit," Ino said, planning on asking the other team members where Shikamaru had gone.

"Oh yeah… I heard he'd gone to bang--" Sakura cut him off sharply, jumping to stand between him and Ino.

"Himself into shape," she finished, laughing nervously. "He's gone to bang himself into shape." Kiba looked at her with a bemused expression on his face.

"That doesn't even make sense," he muttered. Sakura hit backwards, catching him hard in the stomach. He jerked and coughed loudly, but bit back any retort. Sakura just laughed again.

"That's it!" Ino shouted, pointing a finger in Sakura's face, her own face contorting with rage. "If none of you will tell me where Shikamaru's gone, then I'll have to find out some other way!"

"Calm down, Ino…" Chouji said, trying to keep a safe distance from her before she directed her rage towards him. Without Shikamaru there to extend his shadow, Ino could be a mite unpredictable. Ino didn't say anything, she just stalked off down the corridor. Asuma sighed and rolled his eyes, following after her. Chouji, seeing no other option, also set off in pursuit of his irate teammate.


Shikamaru returned to Konoha with a grin on his face. Ino had heard he would be returning and was waiting for him, making sure that she was the first one to see him when he returned. She practically charged at him when she saw him sauntering through the village's gates.

"Shikamaru!" she shouted enthusiastically. "Where have you been?" she said, gripping him in a hug. Shikamaru stood stiffly, his arms flailing out beside him as he tried to fend Ino off.

"I've been in the Wind country," he said, managing to pry Ino away.

"I was so worried about you! They said you were on a dangerous mission!" Ino said, her face a picture of relief.

"It was fine, in the end… nothing too troublesome," he said, shrugging and moving away from her into the village.

"Shikamaru! I know you weren't on a mission." He looked at her, his eyes half closed under lazy eyelids.

"Huh?" he replied.

"You've been disappearing off a lot recently," she said. "I miss you when you're gone, Shikamaru. You know, if you stay in the village more--" she moved closer to him, flicking her pony tail and batting her eyelids. "I could make it worth your while." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Ino… I've told you before. You're just my teammate." With that he sauntered off, leaving a very angry Ino behind him.


Ino had trailed around the village talking to everyone she knew, but it seemed that, while some were initially ready to tell her, there was always someone else who butted in, preventing them from saying what they were about to say. Too many times, it was Sakura, and the pink-haired Kunoichi was getting on her nerves. She went to see Shino, when he was on his way back from training with his team.

"Did he not tell you?" asked Shino. "He is in a rel-"

"Relative crisis!" said Sakura, appearing from nowhere. "His aunt and uncle are arguing all the time… you know how it is, haha." Ino glared at her, but Sakura just kept laughing awkwardly.

Later, she ran into Rock Lee, Hyuuga Neji and Tenten.

"He's been off in the Sand village, enjoying the springtime of youth by making passionate lo-" Said Rock Lee

"Allies among the Sand ninja. Making passionate allies," said Tenten, with a pointed look at her teammate.

Why would no one just tell her where Shikamaru was going and what he was doing there? She could handle it. He had been to the Sand village three times in the last two months. There had to be something other than making allies, or 'performing some secret Chuunin-level mission'.


Temari was coming to town. She had been given a couple of weeks off from the Sand village to come to Konoha. Shikamaru was waiting for her at the gate, but he had the feeling that another young blonde lady would show up before the beautiful woman that he had fallen in love with made her appearance.

Ino was troublesome. She had been asking everyone where Shikamaru kept going, but some of his friends had so far managed to protect her, in order to spare her feelings. Now that Temari was coming to town, continuing this was going to be very difficult.

On cue, almost, Ino appeared behind him, her grin wide, her hair loose for a change, and her voice high-pitched.

"Shikamaru!" she squealed.

"Jeez Ino, could you keep your voice down you almost perforated my eardrums. You're so troublesome." Chastised, Ino paused, looking a little bit confused.

"Sorry," she said. She recovered herself, twiddling with her hair as she sidled closer to Shikamaru. "I heard you were here to meet that Sand ninja, Temari." Shikamaru looked at his teammate and felt sorry for her. She had been pawing over him for months now, but he just didn't feel the same way about her. She lacked something, which Temari had in abundance. It was probably her legs. He decided it was time to put Ino out of her misery and stop lying to her and pretending.

"Yes," Shikamaru replied. "She's my girlfriend."

"Is she coming to-" Ino started, before what Shikamaru said sunk in. "Your WHAT!" she screeched, her voice almost pitching into ultrasound. Shikamaru ducked away from her, covering his ears against the shout.

"My girlfriend," he repeated when she was quiet enough to hear him. He shrugged, and she looked furious. He could almost see the smoke pouring out of her ears.

"But Shikamaru! How could you find someone else!" He looked at her and sighed. This woman was so troublesome, and he'd had about as much of her as he could stand.

"Because you're an annoying boar who has no idea what men want from a woman," he said. Ino was stunned for a moment, then her eyebrow twitched expressing her displeasure. "I'm not a fool, Ino. I don't take what I don't want…"

Her fist connected with his face and Shikamaru was sent careening away from her. He hadn't expected the punch, so its full force sent him flying into the posts at the side of the gate. Ino stalked over to him, her face red and veins popping out all over her head. Her hands were curled tightly into fists as she prepared to hit him again.

"Hey! Little girl!" a voice came from beside her. Ino whipped her head around, her furious blue eyes landing on a slightly taller blonde girl. "Stay away from my boyfriend," the Sand ninja purred, whipping her fan around and sending Ino flying off into the village, screaming words that polite girls don't use. Temari raised an eyebrow and looked back to where Shikamaru was nursing a bump on his head.

"You ok, weakling?" she asked, smirking. He looked at her with an idiotic smile on his face as he stood up and walked towards her.

"Did I ever tell you you're especially hot when you fight?" he said. Temari grinned, her eyes crinkling up and she laughed. She put her fan back into its belt at her back and took Shikamaru by the arm.

"Yes, but I like to hear it often."

"You're also scary," he said, his voice a little quieter. Temari was still grinning as she led him away.

"And that makes sure you never cross me," she replied, her voice light and casual. Shikamaru just laughed nervously. Women really were troublesome.


PREVIEW

Story 6: 'You're Gonna Lose that Girl': Temari's hot, but it turns out she's also a real flirt. Shikamaru wants her, but is he up to the competition? (ShikaTem)