"Take care of my body, Shikamaru."
If someone had asked him, Shikamaru couldn't have said what prompted him to check the east cell block that morning. If questioned, he might have grumbled that it was a feeling, a troublesome emotion that wouldn't go away. Yet now, as he raced past the prisoners, as a woman's screams fill his ears and the corridor, Shikamaru knew.
"Let me go! Stop it! Let me go, you fucking bastards!"
There were only ten women in Kobe 59, only six of them screamed and only one screamed like that.
"I kill you! I swear to god I'll FUCKING KILL YOU!!" That was Ino alright. When in doubt, threaten death. It had always worked of Shikamaru and Choji
"Stop it! Help me! Help me somebody!"
Why had she come here of all places? The East Cell Block was reserved for the dregs of the dregs of society, rapists, murderers, thieves, people Orochimaru wanted for their killing sprits.
"I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you! Help me! Somebody, please! SHIKAMARU!!!"
"Take care of my body, Shikamaru."
And then he was there! There was actually an entire system of lighting in this particular cell but, light deprivation being one of Orochimaru's favorite forms of torture, only one had been illuminated. Shikamaru pounded the fuse, showering the room with light. He would need shadows for this work.
There were about thirty prisoners in this cell and ten of them surrounded Ino. One held her head down close to the flood. Two more held down each struggling arm and another pair had her legs spread open wide. The last stood in front of her, oblivious to Shikamaru's entrance, trousers dropped, knife in hand and dick erect. Shikamaru killed him first and then the other holding her down. Ino had fainted when she saw him and when the other's realized what had happened, he killed them as well. Unlike Ino, Shikamaru had had ample opportunity to hone the shadow neck bind technique that made his family famous and he'd built up his chakra enough to dispose of her attackers quickly and efficiently. It was only then that he looked at her.
Ino lay unconscious on the hard stone floor. Her feet her bare and her long blonde hair had fallen out of its tight pony tail. Poor Ino. She'd always been so proud of her long silky hair. The worst day of her life, she'd once told him, was the time she had to cut it of in a battle with Sakura.
I spent five years on this hair. She had sighed, how long do you think it will take to grow back?
It didn't take long but now it would have to be cut off again. What once was immaculately maintained to the point of obsession had become dirty, matted and impossibly tangled/ He doubted they would have let her brush it anyway.
Her clothing was obviously stolen, a short robe, rather like the one Sanna wore, and a short faded blue skirt. Her breath came in short spurt and Shikamaru was suddenly aware that he needed to get Ino out of there. Someplace Safe.
But there was no safe place in Kobe 59. The prisoners had seen them come in and would see them come out and, while they had no great love for Orochimaru or those who carried out his orders, they had no great love for Shikamaru either, and would betray him in a second for little more that a slice of bread. But they couldn't stay and wait for discovery. The safest place he could think of was the room Orochimaru had given him. Of course, it would be the first place they looked for her but at least they could be alone to plan their next move.
They hadn't starved her but the ease with which Shikamaru lifted Ino into his arms told him that she hadn't regularly been feed. But her body heat against him said that there was no real cause for concern. Ino was a trooper. She would not die here, not if he could help it.
When Ino awoke, she had no idea where she was. As she glanced around the room, trying to gauge the situation, Ino Yamanaka became acutely aware of two things. One, she was on a soft white mattress in some sort of apartment and two, someone was watching her!
"Shika…" He was the last person she expected and the one she'd most wanted to see. He'd not changed much since she last saw him, perhaps he'd grown taller. What did it matter what he looked like! He was here, sitting on the kitchen counter with a cool smile playing around his lips, "Shikamaru!"
Ino leapt up, tossing the sheets aside, and threw her arms around him!
"Opp! Ino!" Shikamaru grunted. She'd knocked the wind out of him. Ino had always been good at exuberant displays of affection, "It's good to see you, Ino."
"It's good to see you, too!" Ino laughed. It was the mother of all understatements, she knew, but even after everything that had happened, it simply wouldn't do to just come out and say she loved him. Instead, Ino let him go and surveyed her surroundings more intimately. They were a more comfortable habitat than she'd seen in a long time. It wasn't possible- they couldn't be-!
"Where are we?" She asked excitedly, God, if we're in Konoha, I will tell him I love him!
"Kobe 59." Shikamaru said sadly, "There're still bars on the windows and enemies outside the doors. Sorry, Ino."
"It's alright." She said, and sighed so that he knew it wasn't, "Where's Choji?"
Shikamaru said nothing and stared down at the floor. He closed his eyes briefly and Ino blood ran cold. Sasuke's words came crashing into her memory.
"Akimichi Choji isn't taking it so well. This morning, he was dying of scurvy."
"Oh God…" She whispered, her eyes growing wide in fear, "Oh God, Shika, please… He didn't- he's not- Please! Tell me he's not-"
"He's not dead." Ino couldn't help it. She hugged him again and held him close. It was all Shikamaru could do not to kiss her. Instead he inhaled deeply, imprinting her scent in his memory forever. He had to tell her.
God… He thought, She's gonna hate me.
"He's not dead." Shikamaru repeated, hoping he was right, "He was released."
Ino looked up, the import of those words as well as Shikamaru's comfortable surroundings suddenly taking horrible effect. But- It can't be true! She thought, wildly, it's not true! He wouldn't- He- Oh god, Shika, tell me it's not true!
"Released?"
"I-" Shikamaru inhaled slowly, bracing himself, She's gonna make this hard, isn't she? Just tell her, you coward; just do it- "I joined Orochimaru-"
She pulled back in horror, her steps faltering as she tried to get away from him. The hurt and shock and disbelief in her eyes and then flashing anger, he thought he might die under that stare. "You betrayed Konoha!" Ino hissed in fury.
Shikamaru stared at the floor. "I don't deny it."
"You betrayed Asuma!" She shouted at him, tears squirting angrily from her blue eyes. This was the worst thing they couldn't have done to her. They'd taken her friends, her freedom, her virginity and now…now Shikamaru…now the man she loved was on the same side as- as-
"Shhh!" Shikamaru hissed, "You want them to hear you!? You want to be captured?! Orochimaru-"
"I DON'T CARE!" Ino screamed, "I don't care if they do hear me! I- I can't even look at you! You're worse than all of them! You're worse than Orochimaru! You're worse than SASUKE!"
Four words. Four thousand arrows through his body at once. Sasuke. He was worse than Sasuke, the one person Ino hated most in the world. It hurt- It physically hurt to know exactly what she thought of him. He couldn't look at her, couldn't face the hate in her eyes.
"Shika…" Ino whispered, "Why?"
"I'd do it again if I had to." His voice was soft but resolved, "He was dying, Ino. My best friend- dying. I couldn't let that happen…I couldn't let him die. Don't think I don't care about Konoha. Don't think I don't hate myself for betraying Asuma. I'd die for Konoha but I won't let Choji. Or you."
She said nothing. The sound were cruel men indeed, to trade one life for another. Shikamaru had given up more than she had. He'd given up more than freedom to save Choji's life, he'd given up his home, his values, everything except him life. Anger had passed and Ino was suddenly filled with a great and terrible anguish. She didn't see how they could move on from this. If only they had started earlier…if only she'd realized from the start that she loved him, would it hurt as much? Or would it hurt more? If only things had worked out differently.
Her silence was killing him. He had to know what she was thinking but no- it didn't matter was she thought of him. It didn't even matter what happened to him, just as long as Ino stopped hating him long enough to escape. Then Shikamaru could die quietly, comforted in knowing that she was safe.
"Ino… you can hate me if you want to but I-"
"I don't hate you." She said softly and Shikamaru looked up, marveling at the incredible sadness in her voice, "I couldn't… hate you. I-I take back what I said about you. I didn't mean it. You're not- You're not like- like Sasuke…"
"I know how he hurt you." Shikamaru said, "I'm sorry. I couldn't protect you."
"Don't worry about it." Ino looked away, inexplicably embarrassed, "I'll be alright…"
It was a lie, he could tell, but then… she had earned her lies. God but Ino was beautiful. She was one of those women who was always beautiful, no matter what clothing or situation you put her into. But Shikamaru had never seen Ino like this. So vulnerable, so incredibly sad. Her skin was deathly pale and a bruise was beginning to darken around her eye. No, that couldn't be Ino, brave fearless Ino, barely standing, shaking in the corner. She looked…she looked, for the first time, as if she needed him.
No time seemed to pass between Shikamaru standing there, looking at her, and his arms wrapping tightly around her shoulders. Ino thought vaguely that she should say something but all she could do was gaze up at him. Shikamaru said nothing, he did not look at her but she could feel his breath pass through her, in and out as though they were the same person. She inhaled deeply and he smelt so warm, so safe. She pressed him closed against her and he smelt like home.
"Shikamaru…" She whispered, "Don't let me go. Please…Don't ever let me go."
Shikamaru did not answer but relaxed his grip. Ino looked up at him, her eyes pleading, her lips trembling…trembling…trembling until he couldn't stand it anymore. He pressed him lips to hers and she responded in kind, kissing him until they had to break apart for air. Her mouth was dry as desert sand but Shikamaru drank her in like white wine, savoring her taste. Ino did not want to let him go. She pressed her palm firmly against his cheek, pulling him closer to her.
"Ino…" He whispered, the moment she release her grip, "Ino, I love you."
He hadn't meant to blurt it out like that, but Ino didn't seem to care about his words. Instead, she drew him closer, kissing him over again and again.
"Shika…" She murmured, "Shika, please. Please hold me, Shika. Shikamaru."
Then, with sudden and unending clarity, she knew what she wanted. She'd been so blind before this, so confused, but now Ino knew. For the first time in her life, Ino Yamanaka knew what she wanted. She wanted him. She wanted Shikamaru Nara inside of her. More than anything, more than home, more than safety, more than freedom even, she wanted him.
Ino said nothing of her desire to him but her fingers found their way down to his belt and began to arduous task of removing it. Shikamaru opened his eyes and took a step backwards.
"Ino."
"What?" Her eyes were pleading and her arms out stretched, "Please, Shika, I love you. I want to be with you, a part of you."
How long had he waited to hear those words from Ino? Two years, more than that, to hear her say those words. But… People do desperate things in prison. They do things that would be fundamentally wrong on the outside.
Ino had spent over a year in solitary confinement. She had suffered innumerable indignities and torture. She'd been raped. The psychological damage was immeasurable. Right now, she wanted the familiar. Him. Shikamaru knew this. She wasn't in her right mind, it would be cowardly of him, thoughtless, to take advantage like this. He'd already gone too far. And then there was…
He knew it did him no credit, to think that way. It was one of those stupid, masculine, testosterone driven things that he was occasionally prone to. He didn't blame her- How could he?- but… there was something in knowing that someone else, particularly that someone else, had been inside of her, he couldn't shake it. It was ridiculous but… It is a fool who looks for logic in the human heart. Who was it who said that? The fourth hokage? Or had Shikamaru just heard it in a movie somewhere? He couldn't remember.
"I can't."
"Why?"
"It isn't fair to you."
"It's Sasuke, isn't it?" She'd let him go and Shikamaru turned. He couldn't look at Ino anymore. Her eyes, the interminable sadness and understanding in them… She'd read those same psychology books as he had. He wanted her so badly and yet-
"When I look at you…" The words tore from his mouth like water from the floodgates, "I see him."
"Don't." Ino's voice was soft. Shikamaru felt her soft, warm little had enclose around his and he didn't pull away, "Sasuke meant nothing." She spat the name out with hatred, "He was nothing. As far as I'm concerned, it didn't happen. I'm a virgin."
"Ino…" He turned, not daring to believe it.
"Shhh…" Ino brushed her lips against him and whispered, "When you look at me, don't see him. He's not there. I love you. I see you, only you."
"Only me?" He smiled slightly and took her back into his arms.
"Only you." She whispered, "My Shikamaru."
Shikamaru's mattress was much softer and more luxurious than the hard prison cot she'd been strapped to for eighteen months. Ino wondered if Ginna was still tied to it but no. No, she wouldn't think about that room or what happened inside of it. It seemed so long ago, anyway, when she was with Shikamaru. He was so warm, so gentle, where as Sasuke-
Don't. She told herself firmly, don't think about it. When he- When Sasuke raped me…Ino had promised herself that the name would never frighten her, when Sasuke raped me…I tried to escape, at least in my mind. I thought of other things, other people. I won't do that now. I'll stay here with Shika and I'll keep my eyes open so I can keep my promise. I'll see him. Only him.
"Shikamaru." He smiled when she spoke his name and brushed the hair away from her eyes. He wondered if he could trust her, hell, if he could trust himself to be quiet enough to avoid detection.
Someday, He promised himself, unless Ino tells you different, you can make love to her as loud as the hell you want.
He prayed to god Ino wouldn't tell him different. When all this was over and Ino returned to Konoha, would she love? The chances of Shikamaru himself returning to the village were slim to nil, but if he did and she didn't love him…Shikamaru didn't know what he'd do. She said she loved him, she probably thought she did, but Ino-
A swift kiss reminded him not to think so much. Ino was there, smiling beneath him. Her eyes were open, the only piece of sky Shikamaru had seen without bars across it in a long time. She was looking at him, whispering his name.
Oh well. He thought, I'm gonna die anyway.
"God, I love you." Shikamaru told her.
Ino smiled up at him, "Show me."
Ino gasped in pleasure as his fingers began to deftly peel away her clothing, that lazy boy Shikamaru would be so good at this? They hadn't even gotten to the go part yet and still he was attentive to her every need, even before it registered in her mind. Her alternated between kissing her and working on removing her shirk and occasionally Ino would reach up and trace her fingers along the lines of his well defined abdomen.
How on earth did I miss those? Ino sighed as they vibrated against her fingers. Certainly Shikamaru was no body builder but he'd removed his shirt often enough in training-
The sudden halt of Shikamaru's fingers brought Ino out of her musings. Shika's eyes rested on her breasts and his features set into a frown. Ino glanced down quickly and saw the reason his brown furrowed. A simple line of small cuts around her left breast. A gift from Sanna/Ginna, to memorialize every time Sasuke raped her.
Shikamaru couldn't know what the marks meant but he knew that they weren't there before and Ino could feel the white hot rage coursing though his body. He was beautiful in anger, but the look on his face told her he was ready to kill some one. Much as that might please her, right now, Ino wanted him here with her.
She reached up and put her hand on his cheek, causing him to look into her eyes. "Shika…" She reminded him gently.
Shikamaru said nothing but at her, his features softened. He lowered himself down and kissed her on the lips and then the cheek and down passed her neck, finally kissing each scar around her breast and the other one as well.
Ino sighed happily and whispered his name over and over again. He was messing about with her skirt then and Ino sat up, kissing him softly. Shikamaru did not seem perturbed at having his progress impeded and Ino made up for it but unbuttoning the bedraggled apparatus herself. She was about to pull it down but Shikamaru stopped her, whispering;
"Let me. I want to see all of you."
She smiled as he stood and surveyed her naked body in beautiful entirety. His eyes rested on her face in cool contentment but those hazel orbs darkened as they traveled down the rest of her. Her skin was paled from the long months of confinement and the marks of that confinement were achingly evident. She was still beautiful, nothing could change that but her hair was matted and tangled and the bruises from when she'd been beaten were beginning to darken. Black and blue patches marked Ino's wrists and ankles where they'd been bound to the bed and small scars from someone's knife made his blood boil and the of shame came rushing back to him. But her eyes, Ino's sky blue eyes comforted him. Those smiling orbs that reminded him that she was there, alive with him, and speaking his name.
"Shikamaru."
"Ino." He whispered back to her, bending low to kiss her soft pink lips, "My Ino."
Ino gasped with delight and Shikamaru had to kiss her hard to make her be quiet. She felt he would have to kiss her over and over again to keep her silence. Not that she minded. Shikamaru's kisses were like Air to her now and his whole body a cool oasis of water in the desert.
Shikamaru kissed her to keep himself quiet as much as anything. Never before had he felt so exhausted and yet so blissfully fulfilled at the same time. Ino had reached her peak about a second ago, he could tell from the way her fingernails dug painfully into the back of his neck and the scream he swallowed kissing her. He could feel his own coming on-
"Aww! Ino-" Her hand shot up, covering his mouth and muffling the scream that he'd held in for so long. It was a few moments before his mouth relaxed and he opened his eyes to see Ino smiling up at him.
"Hypocrite." She whispered smugly.
"Shut up." He whispered back and kissed her, rolling over next to her on the mattress.
"I love you, Shikamaru." Ino told him, "But you have very dirty sheets."
Shikamaru smiled, "Whose fault is that, troublesome?"
Ino sighed and snuggled in closer to him. "Mine." She said with a smile, "I do love you, Shika. Believe it."
He looked at her then and tenderly brushed a troublesome clump of bangs out of her face. "I believe you, Ino." He said, kissing her lightly on the forehead, "And I love you too."
Ino pressed in close to him and in a few minutes she was asleep, but Shikamaru remained away for some time, listening to her soft breath go in and out and promising himself over and over that he would never let anyone hurt her ever again.
Shika and Ino reunited! Was it worth the wait? Its all coming to a climax (no pun intended) now. Big things in chapter 8