Okay here's that chapter I promised; a little late, but here never the less. Enjoy!!!!

XkeyokoX

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Recap

By now she had reached the street that would take her to the gates. She jumped down into the street because there weren't a lot of people here and decided to slow down to a jog. As she came out of the street, into the opening that was in front of the gates, she slowed her pace down to a walk. She saw Shikamaru who waved over at her. She waved back and walked towards him.

Well at least he isn't mad.

End Recap

"Well it's about time you showed up." Shikamaru said as Ino walked up to him.

"Sorry, I got a little tied up."

"Whatever. Let's just get going." Shikamaru said and turned around.

So he is mad…

They headed out of the gates with Ino just behind Shikamaru. They went for about 10ft when he said over his shoulder, "It's going to take us three days and two nights to get there; which means, we'll be there around noon on the third day. We're supposed to go straight to Garra once we get there. We'll take a lunch break and stop at dusk to sleep for today and tomorrow. Does that sound good?"

"Yup."

"Okay, let's go." And with that, Ino and Shikamaru sprinted off into the woods. As the sun started to disappear for night to come, they stopped by a river with a grassy bank to set up camp. Shikamaru went fishing for their supper as Ino went to gather wood for a fire. Shikamaru was successful in catching two fish which he cooked after Ino got the fire started. After they ate, they rolled out their sleeping bags and doused out the fire. Ino was gazing up at the stars when she whispered, "Aren't they beautiful?"

"What?"

"The stars, Shikamaru", Ino replied a little louder with some annoyance in her voice. "Aren't the stars beautiful?"

"I guess?"

sigh "Never mind."

"Troublesome", Shikamaru mumbled under his breath.

--The Next Day—

As soon as the first rays of light hit across the land, both Ino and Shikamaru were up and ready to continue their journey. They found a small stream that they stopped at for lunch. There was a bunch of berry bushes and mushrooms in the area for them to gather and eat. After about twenty minutes of rest, they got up and refilled their water jugs. Close to three o'clock, they were at the edge of the desert. A few miles off, there is an oasis that they stopped at for the night. There, they eat the left over berries and mushrooms that they had gathered earlier. There were a few palm trees by the oasis where they could get some coconuts. Ino fell asleep under one of the palm trees as Shikamaru laid down next to the edge of the water. About half way through the night, Ino got an unexpected hit to the head.

"OW! WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT!?!?!" Ino screamed as she grabbed her head where a coconut had hit her and sat straight up.

"What?!? What happened?!?" Shikamaru shouted as he ran towards Ino. After his eyes adjusted to the dark, he realized what had happened. "You have got to be kidding me." He groaned as he shook his head and headed back to where he was sleeping.

"What do you mean 'You got to be kidding me? That really hurt!" Ino complained as she rubbed her head.

Shikamaru just gave her a look a pity and turned back toward his stuff. He went over to his bag and took out a small wash cloth. He went to the edge of the water, dipped the cloth in, take it out and rung out the excess water. He walked back toward Ino and sat down by her. He removed her hand from her head and placed the cloth where her hand was. She winced from the pain but start to relax after a few seconds as he held the cloth there.

"Here, lay down." He said and pushed her gently back to the ground. Does that feel better?"

"Yeah, much better thanks." She said softly. After a moment or so she said, "I can take it from here," as she tried to move his hand away.

"Oh no you don't," he said firmly as he placed her hand back to her side. "I'm staying right here until you fall asleep."

She opened her eyes a bit and smiled weakly, "Thanks Shikamaru."

"No problem," he murmured softly.

--The next morning—

Ino woke up to a bright shine of light. It took her a moment to remember where she was and why. Seeing that she had overslept, she threw open her sleeping bag and sat up. As she was about to get up, something fell in her lap. In was a wet wash cloth. That's when she remembered she was hit in the head yesterday by a falling coconut; which also explained why she was out in the bright sun. It seemed that Shikamaru had moved her out from under the tree and over to the side of the oasis.

Shikamaru…Wait. Where is Shikamaru?

Ino glanced all around her but still couldn't find him.

Where did he go? He wouldn't leave me here…right?Ohh no, what if he did leave me here! Am I supposed to just stay here? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH what do I do!??!?!?!

Can you keep it down, I'm trying to sleep!

Oh, yeah, sorry….Hey! It's you!!!

So...

So! You can tell me what to do!

No I can't.

What! Why not?

What would be the fun in that?

Are you saying you like to see me suffer?

Maybe, maybe not.

WHAT! I CAN'T BELI-

"Ino?"

"Huh?" Ino turned around and looked up into a confused and skeptical face that belonged to Shikamaru. It appears that while Ino was having that little chat with herself, all of her emotions were being displayed out on her face. Now it turned beat red.

'Hey, Shikamaru. What's up?" She said anxiously.

"I don't you tell me Ino."He replied with uncertainly.

"Umm…Well would you look at that." She said, turning away from him and pointed of into the distance. 'I think I can see the village from here."

"Right? Well, I guess if you're ready to go, then let's get a move on. We've already lost too much time."

"Okay!" Ino jumped up and started putting away her stuff. After a few minutes she was ready to go. Let checked to see if the had enough water and set out to the village.

TBC