Chapter 10: An Actual Mission
Ino looked up as Shikamaru entered the room. They were both currently on a reconnaissance mission in Cloud. Missing nin had been spotted within the vicinity of the village, and she and Shikamaru were there to see what was going on. If the village was harbouring missing nin, then they needed to know why and what for. She hadn't been too concerned about the mission, as it was one typical for her. What gave her pause was the fact that her partner for it had been Shikamaru. Not that he wasn't good, it was just that Hyuuga Neji was usually assigned on these missions with her. His bloodline was excellent for seeing things most people didn't want to be seen, whereas Shikamaru's genius lay in his strategizing.
"Did you find anything?" she asked. Shikamaru nodded his head.
"I've found a couple of targets. We'll use them tomorrow," he said. He had been scouting the area for potential people that Ino could use her unique mind techniques on in order to gather some information. Ino was glad to hear that he found someone, as she was beginning to get a bit bored. She could play the part of a tourist very well, but after the first couple of days, it began to wear on her. She sighed, and couldn't help but think that Shikamaru was taking his sweet time on this mission. If Neji had been here, they would've already found the missing nin's contacts.
"It's about time, I'm getting bored," she said as he headed towards the bathroom. She flopped back onto the bed as he started up the shower. They were staying in a room at one of the local inns (one of the higher end ones – Ino liked her creature comforts) under the pretext of a married couple. It was a cover that she and Neji had used a couple of times, and they had a story all worked out. That wasn't the case with Shikamaru, and she wondered again at why she was paired with him for this mission. The lack of a cover story wasn't difficult, after all, they had grown up together, been on the same genin team, and knew each other so well that playing at being married was surprisingly easy. It was just, she was always paired with Neji, so why the sudden switch?
The shower turned off and Ino sat up as Shikamaru left the bathroom, dressed in sweats and a T-shirt. She didn't like being in the dark, and was determined to get to the bottom of this.
"Hey, Shika, you work in the missions office, any idea why I was paired with you and not Neji?" she asked. He just grunted, and Ino went on.
"I mean, not that you aren't a great ninja, it's just Neji and I could've had this thing wrapped up in a week. We've been here a couple of days, and we've barely started," she said, missing the way Shikamaru stiffened.
"Would you rather be with him?" he asked quietly. Something in his voice made Ino look at him. He had his back to her, folding his clothes.
"Well, no, I guess not," she said, thinking the question slightly odd. What did it matter who she was with as long as the mission was completed? Sure, Shika didn't have the same abilities as Neji, but he was a great ninja, and she was sure they would complete the mission.
"Then what does it matter?" he asked. Ino's confusion melted into frustration. It was always like this, why couldn't he ever just answer her.
"Come on, Shika, you know he and I are usually paired on these missions, so what's up? I know you know something," she said, her tone becoming demanding. Shikamaru sighed.
"There was a mission for a group of Ninja to Snow, and Neji was the best one to lead it. He went on that, and I was assigned to you as his…replacement," he explained. He failed to mention that it had been his call whether or not to send Neji to Snow, and since he knew that Ino was going to go on assignment, he made sure that Neji was somewhere else.
Shikamaru had been uncomfortably aware of the Hyuuga's attentions towards his long time friend ever since Hinata's party. It had been subtle (much like the Uchiha's affection for the heiress) but it had been there. Shikamaru didn't like it. Neji was no good for her, he was too stoic, and he couldn't imagine loud, obnoxious, annoying Ino as a welcome member of the Hyuuga family. She was too…bright, he thought, watching her as she brushed out her long, blonde hair.
"Humph," was all Ino said in reply to his explanation. She seemed to have lost interest in the topic, and they spent the rest of the night planning out their mission.
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The next week was relatively uneventful. Ino used her mind technique on the intended targets, and managed to find out some important information. She and Shikamaru would spend the evening discussing what they had learned and filling out reports. Ino decided that she liked having missions with Shikamaru. Even though he was considerably lazy, Ino felt more relaxed around him. With Neji, she was always concerned about not messing up and making a fool of herself. There was no concern with Shikamaru, she had known him so long, and he had seen her through some very difficult times – the break up of her friendship with Sakura, her tears when Sasuke had left Konoha, to name a few. Shikamaru knew her better than anyone, and she hoped that this was the reason that it was so easy to pretend to be his wife. She glanced at him as he left the washroom, rubbing a towel over his head to dry his hair, and then looked away, her cheeks feeling a little warm. This was ridiculous, she told herself, there was no reason why she should suddenly feel like this about Shikamaru, he was just Shikamaru, for god's sake.
"We'll leave within the next few days," Shikamaru interrupted her thoughts as he sat back on the bed. Ino was stretched out beside him, staring at the ceiling. She glanced over at him, raising one eyebrow.
"Why the rush?" she asked. She thought they would be here for another week, at least.
"I have to go to the Sand for a meeting," he said. Ino's eyes narrowed as she felt a flash of anger. Of course he had to go to the Sand, she thought, and snorted in disbelief. Shikamaru looked at her in surprise.
"What's your problem, I thought you would be pleased," he said. Ino glared at him.
"I don't think sacrificing the quality of our mission so that you can go see your girlfriend is a good idea," she snapped, before flipping over on her side. Shikamaru stared at her in bewilderment.
"Girlfriend? What girlfriend?" he asked.
"Don't play dumb with me Shikamaru, I know about you and Temari," she said.
"Me and Temari? There isn't anything between me and Temari," he said, baffled. He knew that Temari had been flirting with him, but hadn't thought anything of it. He wasn't that interested in starting a long-distance relationship, too troublesome. Ino flipped over and faced him, eyes narrowed in anger.
"That's rich," she said. Shikamaru felt his own temper flare, an unusual occurrence, one that only seemed to happen around Ino.
"What about you and Neji?" he snapped at her. Now it was Ino's turn to stare at him in bewilderment.
"Neji? What about me and Neji?" she asked.
"Come on, Ino, you can't honestly tell that you aren't aware of his sudden interest in you?" Shikamaru asked, his own eyes narrowed in a glare. Ino's face flushed, but not out of embarrassment.
"That's the stupidest thing you've ever said. Neji isn't interested in me like that, I would know if he were. He tells me things, unlike some people," she said. It wasn't entirely true, as Hyuuga Neji was the last person in the world to confide anything to anyone, and both Ino and Shikamaru knew it.
"Tch, you keep telling yourself that, Ino," he mumbled, lying down on his side with his back facing her. Ino almost growled.
"What is with you?" she asked, propping herself up and leaning over his shoulder to try and see his face, "You've been acting really pissy with Neji lately, and now suddenly you accuse me of having a relationship with him?"
"I never said that," Shikamaru snapped turning around suddenly. He flushed red when he realised that this put Ino's head right over top of his. Her blonde hair hung down around her face as she leaned over him and her eyes were bright with anger. She didn't seem to notice this at all and continued to harangue him.
"You just said he had a thing for me, and you seem to think that I know about it," she said testily.
Shikamaru blinked as he tried to remember what the hell had started this stupid argument in the first place, but it was hard with Ino's hair tickling his face. It smelled like flowers, he noted absently.
"Which is a load of crap. I know when guys are attracted to me, I have a great sense about these things," she continued, oblivious to the fact the Shikamaru's hand was reaching up to push her hair back. It paused at this comment, and he snorted.
"No you don't, idiot," he said. She glared at him.
"Yes I do," she insisted, her voice rising in pitch. Shikamaru's hand fell to his side, and Ino became quiet when she saw the inscrutable look on his face. He had been looking at her like that a lot lately, and she felt the heat rise up into her cheeks as she suddenly realized how good he looked, and how close they were.
"Tch, troublesome," the moment was broken by Shikamaru as he turned over to face the wall again, ignoring Ino, and willing the heat to recede from his cheeks. Ino stared at his back for a moment, confused and flustered, before turning herself around to face the opposite wall. The two stayed like that the entire night.
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The next few days were the worst Ino could remember in a long while. She and Shikamaru had argued before, but things had never gotten like this. It was if a wall had suddenly sprung up between them. She knew he was keeping something from her, something important, but no matter how much she nagged him, he wouldn't tell her what it was. That, added to her growing attraction for him (something that was entirely unexpected and unsettling) left her feeling confused and angry.
Since Shikamaru was being so closed mouthed, Ino decided that she would be just as silent as well. She possessed the remarkable talent of making her displeasure known even when silent, so Shikamaru was left in no doubt that she was still fuming.
The two finished their mission efficiently and with as little communication as possible. Ino, though she would never admit, missed the easy camaraderie that had been present before, missed the closeness she and Shikamaru had on this mission. Still, it was all his fault, if he wasn't such a stubborn ass, and just told her what was going on with him, they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.
They were walking back to Konoha when the silence between the two of them finally broke. Ino had been thinking about the mission, about their argument, about how there was good chance Shikamaru might leave for the Sand one day, and decide that Temari was worth the trouble of a long distance relationship, and then Ino would loose him forever. The thought of not having Shikamaru as a permanent part of her life was very…painful.
"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked, looking at her. Ino seemed upset. Not angry, like she had been the past few days, but sad, and he didn't like it. She looked at him with blue eyes that were surprisingly vulnerable, and he swallowed.
"Shika, are you sure you aren't going to leave Konoha for the Sand?" she asked quietly. Shikamaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Honestly, one woman flirts with him and he's suppose to be so in love with her that he would leave his home and everyone he cares about?
"Not for the reason you're thinking of. I may have to go for diplomatic reasons, but I won't be moving there to be closer to Temari, if that's what you're getting at," he said.
"Why don't you respond to Temari's advances?" she asked next, the troubled look not leaving her face, "I mean, she's attractive, strong, smart, very talented. Any guy would want her, but she's interested in you," she paused for a moment, and then looked at him, a sharp, penetrating look.
"Shika, are you in love with someone else?" she asked. Shikamaru almost choked on his own spit. How the hell had she come to that conclusion? Not that she was wrong, there was someone else. He wasn't as dense about his feelings as some people thought, and had known for awhile that his feelings for Ino had turned into something a little more than friendly. He wasn't going to tell her that, though, god knows how she'd take it. Unfortunately for him, something of the truth must have shown on his face, because her eyes had widened.
"You are! Who is it?" she asked.
"What does it matter? She'd never look at me like that anyways," he said, turning to stare at the road ahead of them.
"Is it someone we know? From the Rookie Nine maybe?" she quizzed him, watching his expression for clues. When he flushed slightly and shifted uncomfortably, she felt both elated and dejected. Elated, because it was someone from the Rookie Nine, which meant that he was in love with one of her friends, and would stay in Konoha. Dejected…well, she wasn't sure why she felt dejected.
"So it's either Hinata or Sakura? Hmmmm, I bet it's Sakura, every guy seems to fall in love with her at some point – Naruto, Lee, Kiba…" she trailed off, her eyes sad, and finished softly to herself, "everyone falls in love with Sakura, no one falls in love with me."
"I did," the words slipped out before he could stop them, and his heart stopped. He silently begged the powers that be for Ino not to have heard that, but they weren't listening. He watched in horror as she stopped and stared at him.
"What?" she asked softly. Shikamaru felt his cheeks heat up, and he moved past her, anxious to get back to the village before he could screw anything else up. It was too soon, she didn't see him as anything more than a friend. He had planned on trying to change that soon, starting by asking her to dinner, just the two of them, but now that was shot. He had just up and blurted out the whole truth right there. He resisted the urge to smack himself on the forehead.
"Shikamaru," she asked, catching his arm, "is this true?" Even as she asked, Ino knew that it was. Suddenly, everything made sense – his annoyance at her whenever she threw herself at Sasuke, the sudden hostility he felt for Neji, the strange way he'd been looking at her lately, the sudden flushed cheeks whenever she glomped him, as she was wont to do to her friends.
Nara Shikamaru was in love with her. Ino had no idea how to react to this, it was such a…shock. Before she could gather herself together, they had reached the village gates, and Shikamaru left with the excuse that he had to give the mission report and all the information they gathered to the Hokage. Before she could stop him, he was gone, and Ino was left standing there more confused than she had ever been in her entire life.
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Author's Note: I felt bad that the last chapter had no Sasuke/Hinata, so I rushed to post the next two. Chapter 11 has Sasuke/Hinata, I promise. Please bear with me.
