Shikamaru's POV…

"Thank God that's over…" I straightened my shirt out after backing off Tenten.

"You're telling me," she said, awkwardly glancing at Neji. "But I see why you did it."

"Yeah," I answered, though half regretting that I did it. "Thanks for agreeing to help me with that. You sure Neji won't wring my neck tonight?" She laughed.

"Of course not! He knows, so you will wake up tomorrow with all limbs in tact, I assure you. And also, no problem, we have all wanted you and Ino to get together sometime, so of course I helped you, you 'genius'!" She bopped me jokingly on the head. I laughed until I realized something.

"That look on her face when she ran off the floor…" I said. Tenten's face dropped also. "I don't think she was as jealous as she was…heartbroken." I began to really regret what I did now.

"You're right," nodded Tenten. "There's only one option then."

"Open to anything right now," I said.

"Go after her. No more communicating from afar. You're going to stop all this tonight, ok? Now go to her." Tenten was ordering me like a mother scolded her child. But unlike the child to a mother, I knew Tenten was right.

"But where did she go?" I asked her.

"Terrace steps. Saw her run around the wall of the balcony for some reason." I turned to see Neji behind me. I gulped.

"…Thanks." I said fast before bolting away. For some reason, I wasn't about to face Neji after grinding on his girl, even if it was to get another girl. I left them on the dance floor and God knows what they did after I left them.

I burst through the doors to the terrace dramatically. However, had I known that the terrace was as quiet and romantic a place as it was then, with couples at tables lit by candles, I would not have been nearly as loud. All heads turned to look at the maniac tearing through the doorways who was me.

"Um…sorry! Have a nice night!" I bolted down the stairs and hooked a right. There was an alleyway. It was small, yet just perfect for someone to fit into if they just wanted privacy. But no one was there.

If Ino wasn't in that one, she'd surely be in the other. I ran forward until I got to the left alleyway.

I slowed down as I reached closer. It would be best not to be loud, as I didn't want her bolting away if she was in there, or spooking her. I could hear some stifled whimpers and sobs. What on Earth is she…?

I slowly rounded the corner, and was taken aback from what I saw. Ino was indeed in there, though she was not aware of my presence just yet. Her back was turned towards me and I could just see her quivering. The shawl she had been wearing earlier that had been covering a large portion of her arms was now on the ground and…was that…blood?

What I saw next seemed like the only thing I could see. I saw her lift up her left forearm slowly, to see that it was bleeding. It had a large bloody slit through it, and the blood was flowing as if there was no tomorrow. Then with her right hand, Ino brought something to her arm, ready to streak it. It was a razor blade.

From there, I could not watch any further without dying.

"Ino, stop!" I ran towards her and took her by her upper-arms and turned her to face me. Her face was as shocked as it was tear-stained. The razor in her hand dropped and when it hit the cold hard ground, the bladed head broke off. (AN: If this were a movie, that last sentence would have happened in slow motion.)

"Shika…Shikamaru?" She stuttered in her sobs. My expression filled with horror, I looked down at her arms. It was quite obvious that she had been doing this for at least a week. There were new scabs, and the open cuts leaking blood that kept dripping down her arms and now onto my hands. What is she doing to herself? But mostly…why?

"Is it…is it because of me?" I asked, beginning to tear up myself at the sight of seeing Ino like this. Ino looked away from me at this question. She didn't need to answer truthfully, but her expression said it all.

"I really don't want to say yes…I really don't…" She said before trying to struggle from my grip. I kept my firm grip though.

"Is it because of what happened, Ino?" I asked with more clarity so she would answer me. Ino slowly opened up her eyes and looked at me.

"…Yes." She said softly. Upon hearing this, I dropped my grip on her arms and instead wrapped mine around her. I hugged her close, not caring whether or not I got blood on Alberto's clothing. Ino buried her face in my chest as she cried some more. "I'm so sorry…" I hear her muffle into my shirt. "It's all my-"

"No." I said into her hair. "It was my fault, Ino. I was the stupid one. I shouldn't have gone with Temari that day. I shouldn't have tried to spy on you. And I should have given you the time of night to explain. There's no need for you to be sorry, Ino. I'm the one who should be sorry. And if you hate me, I completely understand." I spoke slowly and hugged her closer. But she took her head off my chest and looked up at me.

"No, Shika. It was my fault. I…never meant those things I said to Sasuke. I was just mad at what happened. I was hurt, you know? And you happened to be there of all times, and I tried to tell you, but like any normal human being you walked away… and I obviously just couldn't take it any longer." She held out her bloody arms. My eyes widened. In the moonlight, they were even more vivid and red than before. I instantly felt like my insides dropped. Ino had done all that damage to herself because of something I had done to her.

"But Ino," I said, stupidly touching one of her cuts, making her flinch. "Sorry," I said quickly. "But had I known you would have resorted to something as dangerous as cutting, I would have helped you, regardless of whether I was mad or not. This," I held up one of her arms gently. "Is more than you and me. This is your body, Ino. Your life. I don't want to see you tear them apart over some meaningless little feud."

Ino was now looking me in the eye as her tears began to retreat. "What do you mean?" She asked. I looked at her, then a small grin curved up in the corner of my lips. The situation shouldn't have called for it, but I knew what she was getting at.

"I think you know what I mean," I said. Now Ino smirked.

"I want to hear you say it." She said. She was toying with me.

"Fine by me," I shrugged. I instantly pulled her to me and kissed her. Not exactly the common picture you would see in a romance novel, the heroine covered in blood and tears, and the man wearing tacky clothes that belonged to a strange guy with an odd name, kissing in an alleyway.

But it felt good. And I knew what it was. When we released and embraced, I could tell Ino did too.

"I love you, Ino," I said.

"I love you too, Shika." She said back. "And for the other thing…I think we were both stupid."

"Were we ever…" I said back. A silence paused as we thought about the kiss that just took place.

"By the way," I said as we were still hugging.

"What?" she asked.

"Don't think this will get you out of me sending you to a rehab for those cuts." I teased her. She giggled and our embrace broke.

"No worries," she said looking down at the razor that lie broken by our feet. Then she looked up at me and smiled. "I don't think I'll be needing these things anymore anyways."

And with that, she kicked the razor to the dark corner of the alleyway, us hearing a snap of plastic as it hit.

THE END

Did you like it? I really hope so. I seriously put my heart and soul into this particular chapter, so PLEASE I BEG OF YOU don't make fun of it or say its fluffy and cheesy! And don't worry, I'm going to make and "Afterward" chapter soon, so it's not completely the end. Look out for it this weekend!