Wow… The clouds are nice…
Chapter 16- Hinata's Gift
After Shikamaru had left for the office, Ino was left all alone in the house with no one to talk to. As she sat alone on the sofa, she gazed at the lovers walking together outside, laughing and talking happily as if they had the perfect relationships. She still felt like Shikamaru was starting to pay lesser attention to her and more to his work. As she slowly bent down, there was a knock on the door. When she opened it, Hinata was standing outside in a cute ruffled dress, carrying a basket.
"Oh, Hinata! It's… It's just you." She sighed, "What brings you here?"
"I'm sure you were expecting Shikamaru." Hinata replied, "I'm sorry. But don't worry! For now, I've brought someone you can talk to while your love is away!"
"Huh?" Ino gasped, "Someone I can talk to?"
Upon opening the basket, out jumped a little white kitten with a big purple bow tied around its neck. It walked on the rug and purred as it cuddled itself on Ino's foot.
"Awww, how cute!" Ino said, adoring the creature. Slowly, she placed it gently on her lap and stroked its fur. "I hope Shikamaru wouldn't mind having a cat in the house…"
"Well, you do get very lonely when he's not here." Hinata answered, "Take it as a gift from me and Kiba."
"Thank you." Ino smiled, "I promise I'll take good care of her."
"Its name is Haku…" Hinata said, "Earlier, Naruto, Kiba and I were trying to think of a good name for her. Then, Naruto mentioned an old friend they had who passed away…
"And that's exactly how this little girl got her name!
"We also have a black kitten back in the shop! Naruto named him Zabuza!"
"Wow… That's pretty cute, Hinata!"
Then, suddenly Shikamaru came into the house, carrying a briefcase full of paper. He hurried through the living room and gave Ino a peck on the cheek. Because she was so jealous, by seeing the bag full of documents in his hand made her ignore this friendly little kiss on her cheek. She said nothing and looked down to the floor and waited for him to say something. But sadly, nothing happened. Shikamaru just took of his coat, tossed it onto the couch nearby and ran upstairs with his briefcase to fix the case in his room. More work. More jealousy and disappointment for Ino.
"What was that?" Hinata asked, being concerned. "He kissed you on the cheek, you'd usually blush and giggle whenever he'd do that, right?"
Ino sighed and sank herself into the soft sofa right behind her. "Hinata," she replied, "It's his first job of the year and he's going to be paid a huge sum of money if he wins this case…
"I know I'm supposed to be happy for him,
"Supporting him and cheering him on all the way…
"But I can't help but feel he's paying lesser attention to me. It's like he doesn't even see me anymore!"
SHIKAMARU (from his room): Ino! Could you bring me a cup of coffee please? I need to stay up all night…
HINATA: Well… At least he knows you exist!
INO: Hmph… This is so annoying, I can't stand it anymore!
Patting her on the back, Hinata said, "Shikamaru has you. But he's also got other stuff to take care of, you know. Love and romance isn't the only important thing in life! He also needs earn money for a living, right?
"And… Aside from that, if the two of you are planning to raise a family, you're gonna need lots and lots of funds! You need money for hospital bills, money for sending your kids to school, then college…"
"Okay, Hinata. That's enough. I get it now." Ino said, "But I really can't help myself. I feel like I want Shikamaru to look at me and only at me.
"I'm greedy when it comes to love, you know!"
Hinata couldn't say another word. She just stood there, staring down at Ino who was pounding a throw pillow on the sofa. After three minutes of silence, the door opened. Shino came inside carrying his leathery black suitcase.
"Hinata. I'm here to pick you up." he said, "Kiba's busy at the moment, so he asked me to pick you up today."
"What?" Hinata replied, "Kiba-kun is busy? He's been so busy for the past few days, it's like the guy doesn't even see me anymore!
"And here he goes asking poor Shino-kun to pick me up!
"It's like I don't even exist anymore!"
"Now you know how it feels…" Ino told her smirking, "Ah… The feeling of when your loved one is paying more attention to his work than to his girlfriend… Don't you just hate it?"
"Hinata, let's go." Shino said, "He wants you back at exactly 7 o' clock in the evening."
"Well, at least this one shows conceen…" Ino said, "Shikamaru's completely into the case… All he gave me was a peck on the cheek. Tch. That was so cheap."
SHIKAMARU (from his room): Ino! My coffee, please!
INO (very pissed that she can't take it anymore): Grrrr… Aaaagh! COME DOWN HERE AND GO MAKE IT YOURSELF!!! I SPENT THE WHOLE DAMN DAY CLEANING THE DAMN HOUSE, YOU KNOW!!!
"I really think we oughtta get going now…" Shino said, "I think things'll get messy around here…"
"Right. I'll see you, Ino-san…"
And out they went. Right after Hinata and Shino had left the house, Shikamaru stomped his way down the stairs looking very annoyed and stressed. As soon as he reached the first floor of the mansion, he looked at Ino with a very frustrated look in his eyes and groaned angrily at her. Ino looked back at him with the same angry look. Then, the fight began…
"You can't always expect me to do things for you, you know!" she said, "I'm your girlfriend, not your housemaid! Just 'cause I'm staying here with you doesn't give you the right to always boss me around like you own the place!"
"Well, Ino, like it or not, YES! I do own this place!" Shikamaru shot back, "You know, it's really annoying the way you always want me to pay attention to you. It's like I can't even do anything else anymore!"
"Yeah, but thanks to me, you have someone to clean the house, do the laundry, cook dinner, sweep the floors, clean the garage, wash the car and water the plants out in the garden!" she said, "If I weren't here doing all of those damn things, which I really don't wanna do by the way, your house would be such a mess! You can't live in this house without me!"
"Whaddya mean? I've lived years in this mansion, and I never needed anyone to clean this place up for me!" Shikamaru said, "In all those years, I've always managed to keep the house clean no matter how busy I was!"
"But it's certainly much cleaner now that I'm here, huh?"
"Well, you're not the only one who's done something for someone, Yamanaka Ino!" he said, "Without me taking you in here, you'd be cold and lonely at the streets, begging for money, jobless, homeless and most of all, HELPLESS! I rescued you from begging on the streets, so at least show some gratitude!"
"Gratitude? GRATITUDE!?" Ino said, "What I do for you… I don't do those things just because of gratitude, Shikamaru. I don't do them just because I want to thank you…
"I do those things… All of those things…
"Because I LOVE YOU!"
Then, she continued, "You're the one who needs to show more gratitude, mister!"
The flames were burning up… Only five more days 'til the big wedding… What's gonna happen next?
Find out… AFTER MY WRITER'S BLOCK IS FINALLY CURED… After a few more months, maybe.
I apologize. Ü