I stood bouncing in place. My nerves jolted in my stomach and crashed into one another. I was biting the inside of my cheek with so much force, I didn't notice until I tasted blood. I was so damn nervous I skipped dinner last night and breakfast this morning.
"Ino, relax." Shikamaru mumbled with a sigh.
"Easier said then done," I mumbled while tugging at the ends of my ponytail.
"What's taking them so long, I'm hungry." Choji whined with drool coming out of his mouth.
"Choji, you just had breakfast. Once they arrive, we'll go eat." I scolded him but he didn't seem to care. I blew at my bang while crossing my arms in front of my chest. "Besides who can be hungry at a time like this."
"This is such a drag." Shikamaru mumbled while extending his arms behind his head. He leaned against the gate wall and stared up into the clouds. How he could just leave his attention to that amazes me. He was very calm and relaxed at the moment. I felt an instant pang of jealousy. Even Choji was pretty relaxed, besides the sound of growling hunger that came from his stomach.
Suddenly, I felt another pang of jealousy. Not from my teammates, but from the sand trio to approach soon. Temari will be in town, so Shikamaru will have his attention completely on her like usual. I wasn't sure how I would feel with her around. But, then again with all three of the siblings coming, we may all be hanging around each other more often. Which makes things worse. At least every time she was around, he would avoid us. Now I have to watch the two. Oh shit, then Gaara and Kankuro will be with us. How am I going to sit in a room with Temari and Shikamaru? How am I going to sit in a room with Shikamaru and Gaara? The last time I spoke to Shikamaru about Gaara… a blush crept on my face at the thought. I quickly looked towards Shikamaru and his attention was taken by the clouds above. Was that a one-time thing or did he have feelings for me? If only I knew.
"Ah, I see them. Finally!" Choji shouted too eagerly. Oh kami, I gulped as suddenly my heart dropped into my stomach. Here comes the moment of truth.
I turned to look ahead, where I can see three faint figures walking slowly. Temari's blonde, quad ponytails could be seen easily. Her large fan strapped to her back and her form fitting black dress. She really did have a body on her. Her figure was completey different from mine. While I was very thin with the body of a model, she had a thicker figure with bigger breasts and butt than me. She had the body of a kunoichi with a little more. She definitely filled the dress out... more than I ever could. Maybe that's why Shikamaru rejected me...
Kankuro's faint purple make-up could be seen from this distance as well. I rolled my eyes. Why he wore it? Beat me. I wonder what he looks like without it? Maybe one day Choji can get him to not wear it. I had a feeling he would be attractive. The other two siblings were, he had to be as well. Also wearing the hooded tunic, I've never seen his hair or body. What kind of body did that man have? Was he lean like Gaara or much more built? Was he skinny or chubby? He was probably incredibly attractive but no one knew it except his siblings. He's got to be one of those people.
Then, there was no missing it. His red blazing hair could be seen for miles. He approached closer and I felt a lump in my throat. Oh that soft tousled hair. It was even more mangled because of the wind. It shown a bright red with the sunlight hitting it. He looked so pale, yet he also shown in the light. I felt a pain from my heart and an itch from my hands. I wanted to touch him, oh I've missed him. But I was so angry with him. That bastard. How could he request me to be his guide? What is he up to?
Lost in my thoughts, I felt a familiar hand on my left shoulder. I looked over to smile at Choji as he smiled at me reassuringly. Oh, Choji's warm heart. He dropped his hand and there we stood. With I, in the middle, Choji to my left and Shikamaru to my right. How ironic it was when Gaara and his siblings arrived, with him in the middle, Temari to his left and Kankuro to his right. I never noticed the big difference in heights between Kankuro and Gaara. Kankuro was definitely giant, just like Shikamaru. Gaara has grown like Naruto, but he still didn't match anywhere near in height to his older brother or Shikamaru.
"Look what the sand dragged in." Shikamaru mumbled lazily with a smirk resting on his lips. The sand siblings stood in front of us and my mouth dropped open.
Oh, Gaara was still as gorgeous as ever. His expression was neutral, but his eyes were soft. The jade green was highlighted by the sun and surrounding leaf background. He stuck out so much here. His red flaming hair- a bright contrast to the green trees and grass. Oh he made me so love stuck, I wanted to punch him.
"Nice pun, I like it." Kankuro smirked back at Shikamaru.
"Kazekage-sama." Choji acknowledged with a bow and soon Shikamaru and I followed.
"Gaara's fine." He spoke and I froze in my bow. His voice… It's been so long.
"Alright, Gaara-sama." I snapped back from my bow, trying to act as calm as my teammates.
"Gaara." He reassured me and it felt like day one with him all over again.
"Gaara." Shikamaru nodded at him. "You guys hungry?"
"Famished." Temari smirked at Shikamaru and he smirked back. Everyone's smirking and I can only manage to blink. I need to get ahold of myself.
"To the usual?" I glanced at Shikamaru and he gave me a one-eyed smile.
"Yes!" Choji exclaimed as he began to lead us. We slowly began to fall in step behind him. Choji walked ahead with Shikamaru and Temari behind him. I walked between Gaara and Kankuro. My damn luck.
"Ino, have you lost weight?" Kankuro raised an eyebrow at me. His face looking surprised and concerned.
"I haven't noticed." I mumbled my lie. I have noticed my clothing fit a bit looser. But after Asuma's death things were harder. I am now finally adjusting, but my appetite didn't come back so easily.
"Eat more." I looked at Gaara when his voice broke in but his expression was ahead of us. He was more neutral and distant than usual. Then again, we didn't end on such good terms.
"Seriously though, Ino. He's right." Kankuro looked very concerned and it made me uncomfortable. It was strange having attention this way.
"I will, I will." I mumbled but a smile played on my lips. "Look at you being all worried, Kankuro. Proves you do have a heart." I nudged his arm and I gave a small laugh.
Kankuro grinned and rolled his eyes at me.
"Me? Heart? I don't even know what that is? Where do I get one?" He teased along and I rolled my eyes. At least I get along with one of the siblings. Why couldn't I be his guide? I looked over at Gaara and his eyes were on me. His expression neutral but his eyes were dark… but dark with what? He seemed a bit tense and I didn't understand. I stared into his jade eyes until he broke it and looked ahead. What the hell what that about?
We all sat in our usual booth as we waited for our servings of meat. I sat between Gaara and Kankuro and across there was Temari, Shikamaru and Choji. Choji's mouth watered in anticipation but everyone was quiet.
"Safe travels?" I questioned aloud not really looking at anyone. I just wanted someone to answer.
"Yes, thank you." I looked at Gaara with a bit surprised. I couldn't believe he was the one to answer me.
"It was a bitch though. Longest three days ever." Kankuro whined and I laughed.
"Tell me about it." Temari mumbled.
"Is the food here good?" Kankuro asked and before any of us could respond Choji jumped at it.
"It's amazing! Such wonderful barbeque. We come here after every team mission is completed. Whether we complete it or fail. Asuma would treat us all the time." Choji enthusiastically responded but the mood shifted after the last statement. I looked down at my lap at the mention of his name. Even Shikamaru and Choji seemed to be quiet.
"He was a very strong shinobi. It was an honor to have him work with me when he was in Suna." Gaara spoke disrupting the saddening silence. I looked at him with wide eyes and a questioning glance. Who is this? He acts as if nothing happened in a way, but I was touched by his nice words of Asuma.
"He's not the only precious person to fall under the Akatsuki's hands." I murmured in a whisper enough for Gaara to hear only. I kept his eye contact and his gaze softened. My heart instantly melted. Whoa, the impact from his look.
"Food's here." Shikamaru broke our staring contest and I looked up at him. He was watching me, I could see the dislike that laid behind his eyes. I ignored him when I smelled the food. Suddenly, I felt very hungry.
After the plates were set down, we dropped one in the middle to cook. As the meat cooked, I could see Choji eyeing it with water drooling down his sides. Oh, Choji. When the meat looked cooked, I quickly jumped to seize some before Choji could. He gave me a defeated stare.
"Oh no, you don't. Let our guests have some first." I hissed to him as I plopped a good serving of meat down on a plate. I then handed the plate to Gaara. "You'll like it. It's not sweet." I murmured to him.
"Thank you, Ino." He nodded at me and I froze momentarily. Oh shit, he said my name. That was a first in a long time. I smiled then looked over to find Kankuro eyeing me. "What?" I snapped and he just snickered while he reached for some meat.
I looked over to see Temari reaching for her own as well. I sighed, of course Shikamaru wouldn't be enough of a gentlemen to grab meat for her. I placed another plate of meat on the grill and I could see Choji's pools of drool from the corner of my eye. I could see he was very upset having to wait. Once the meat finished, Choji jumped for it and barely left enough for Shikamaru and I.
"Choji! I cooked it, you could have saved us more!" I exclaimed angrily and he just smiled contently.
"Shouldn't have made me wait." He replied haughtily before plopping meat into his mouth. I sighed and looked down to see the meat gone. Shikamaru began to eat and I glared at him.
"Don't lose your focus." He mumbled so matter-of-fact like. I glared at the both of my teammates before I plopped more food on the grill.
"If any of you touch this meat." I began to threaten pointing at everyone with my chopsticks. "I. Will. Kill. You." I hissed while snapping them together.
I heard an airy laugh and looked over to see it came from Gaara. The tilt of his mouth quickly vanished when I caught it, but I looked at his eyes. The jade were dancing with amusement and I raised a suggestive eyebrow at him.
"Is that a challenge in your eyes I see?" I hissed menacingly but playful tone.
"Never." He stated so briefly but I saw the twinkle in his eyes. Seeing Gaara be so… playful startled me. I almost forgot about the others around the table until I heard a cough. I went to glare at whoever ended this moment but saw it was Temari clearing her throat. She had her eyebrow raised at me but her expression looked angry. What's her problem? At least, I'm not all over Shikamaru in front of her.
I quickly turned my attention to the meat and plopped some on my plate. My mouth watered and I licked in my lips in anticipation. I, all too greedily, plopped a piece of meat in my mouth and groaned in response to the savory taste. Yes, food. It's been too long. I heard a muffled laugh and I shot my head to the right to see Kankuro eyeing me with humor.
"What?" I snapped but it sounded muffled with the meat in my mouth.
"You shouldn't talk with your mouth full." He mumbled with a snicker before plopping meat in his mouth. I was about to speak back until I heard the sound of more meat hitting the grill.
I turned to scold Choji for eating too quickly until I saw a pale hand placing the meat on the grill. I looked to see Gaara placing some as his plate was empty. A ridiculous grin played on my lips. He likes the food.
"Put more on there, Gaara-sama. I'm hungry!" Choji happily smiled at Gaara and he nodded briefly before adding more to the grill.
This was all so strange. Everyone was using first names. We all got along… well except for Temari giving me glares. Which I didn't understand. I mean yes, it's her younger brother and all. It probably didn't make it any better when I glared at her for lightly trailing her fingers up Shikamaru's arm while speaking to him quietly. She caught it and only sent me a glare as well. Either way, she still shouldn't be glaring at me. Though the weirdest part was seeing Gaara the Kazekage loosen up a bit around us. Just seeing him place meat on the grill was strange. I'm used to seeing him have other people do things for him. Can someone change so much in a few months?
I zoned back in when we were down to our last serving of meat. Temari, Shikamru and Kankuro held a conversation about diplomatic affairs. Gaara didn't speak but he nodded listening attentively. Maybe this mission won't be so bad?
As we all ate the last serving, Kankuro finished and wiped at his mouth.
"So who's the lucky person here to be my guide?" He smirked and I rolled my eyes. Arrogant ass.
"That's me." Choji answered with a smile.
"Great. That means I get to eat more food." Kankuro smirked and I tensed. I could see Shikamaru tense as well. Oh, hopefully Choji doesn't take offense to it.
"Why do you say that?" His face was full of sincere curiosity and I eyed Kankuro.
"I mean you're always eating, isn't it obvious? You probably know the best food around here." Kankuro had a smile on his face and I relaxed. It was a surprise really. With Kankuro's big mouth I was sure he would say the forbidden word. Maybe he already knew? But how? Oh, possibly Temari.
"I'm your guide, Temari." Shikamaru mumbled lazily with a yawn.
"Of course." Temari said with a bit of sarcasm to her humor. Only Shikamaru could see something in that woman.
"That means I'm yours, Gaara." I looked over at him and he raised his light colored eyebrows with fascination and… delight? Oh shit. "Your guide that is." I mumbled looking away from him. Gaara nodded returning to a neutral expression before getting up to exit the restaurant.
We all stood outside the restaurant. It was mid-day. We've been in there for hours.
"So you guys want to report to the Hokage now?" Shikamaru looked at them and Gaara nodded.
"Right this way." He stretched his arms behind his head and walked ahead of us. Choji and I walked behind him, while the sand siblings walked behind us. I could hear light whispering among them and I tried to listen carefully.
"You gotta tell her, Gaara." I heard Kankuro speak a little louder above a whisper.
"I know." He stated brief.
"Well do it soon." Temari hissed slightly then they finished talking. Tell me what? What could they possibly be talking about? How do I even know they're talking about me? Maybe they need to tell Lady Tsunade something...
We soon stood in the Hokage tower. Shikamaru, Choji and I waited outside while the siblings were talking to Lady Tsunade.
"Not as bad as you think, right Ino?" Choji smiled at me and I smiled back.
"Definitely." I looked over at Shikamaru and he was oddly silent. He looked out the window towards the clouds. That made me wonder…
"Shikamaru?" I asked him and he peeled his gaze away from the clouds.
"Yeah, Ino?" He mumbled. I could tell that he was upset that I interrupted his peace. I rolled my eyes.
"Have you ever taken Temari to your cloud watching spot?" Curiosity struck me hard. I wonder how much he has shared with her.
"No, I was planning to later." He mumbled looking back outside. Suddenly everything inside me dropped. I don't know why, maybe something to do with me being the only girl to sit in that spot. The thought of someone else taking my place made me angry.
"Why?" My voice came out angrier than I wanted it to.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing else to do today. You know to pass time." He stated it so matter-of-fact like. Does he even sense how I'm feeling?
"Pass time?" I looked truly questioning it.
"Yeah, they don't start their meetings until tomorrow, Ino."
Oh this was news.
"I'm taking Kankuro to my favorite food venders." Choji chimed in. I smiled at Choji. His heart was so big, he would share anything with anyone… except his food. Which isn't true, if you were truly starving he would. If he liked you, he would.
"Where are you taking the Kazekage?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at me and Choji looked at me as well. Shit I didn't think about that.
"I, uh, I don't know." I sighed defeated.
"Show him the flower shop, the hospital, the training grounds. Teach him about flowers, show him how the hospital runs, spar with him, take him to the academy… the options are endless, Ino." Shikamaru spoke and I was taken aback. There is a lot to do
"All in one day?" I looked at him with a raised eyebrow and slightly frightened expression. That's a lot to do.
"No, troublesome woman. They won't always be in meetings every hour of the week. Choose based on their time. We could always meet up and do things together." He added and Choji chimed in.
"Like eating breakfast, lunch and dinner together!" He exclaimed and I shook my head at him.
"We don't have the money to do that every day, Choji."
"We can have dinner at your place, you're a good cook so is your mom." The thought of having Gaara in the house with my parents made me nervous.
"Maybe we can cook at their place instead." I mumbled and Choji shot up.
"That works too." He sounded enthusiastic.
"Not everything's about food, Choji." Shikamaru sighed and I couldn't help but laugh.
So maybe, this won't be that bad. I might actually enjoy myself… maybe.
Yay, Gaara is back!
So my updates will be infrequent due to my job and not ever knowing my schedule. Luckily I already basically wrote the next few chapters so it won't be too long between each update. Anyways... thoughts, comments, suggestions? Review or PM me!
Until next time, loves! ;*