Hello People,
Not much to say here. Just thank you for the kind reviews. As usual they fuel the muse! Usual disclaimer and all.
Enjoy!
gave a kick
She awoke as the rays of light streaming in through the clumsily closed curtains hit her eyes. She always kept the curtains half open, because the light always woke her up, only allowing herself to close them thoroughly when she knew she could sleep in with no worries, and for some reason she hadn't done that last night. The second thing that hit her was a splitting headache and mild nausea. A classic hangover. Best thing to do would be to take some aspirin and sleep it off. But before that, she would get up and close those damn curtains, pitch black darkness was bliss for peaceful sleep.
"wait a minute! Hangover?"
"silly girl, have you forgotten of all the incredibly intriguing situations you got yourself into yesterday?"
Her inner was speaking to her again, and any confusion she might have had was cleared when she heard a deep manly sigh beside her and an arm laggardly settling itself around her waist, pulling her closer to it's source . She did her best not to jump or yelp.
"Oh shit, I had sex "
"and with Shikamaru nonetheless…"
"oh that's right."
She slowly turned her head to the right to gaze at the man fast-asleep on her bed.
Looking lazy as ever even in sleep, his hair was loose from its habitual ponytail and his well toned back and scars were brought out by the rays of light hitting him here and there. She couldn't help but let a grin tug at her lips, when had he become so handsome? And so sexy for that matter?
She turned her head back to stare up at the ceiling. Slowly, dread began to fill her, the hangover nausea particularly heightened by the nervousness. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. One part of her would have preferred it if he had risen before her and shown himself out of her apartment. She wouldn't have been mad about it. Yamanaka Ino was a quintessential feminist. She didn't care about the protocols of courting or relationships anymore, specifically because the ones she had been through had left her either torn to pieces or wanting to strangle the men, so why bother? Years of unrequited crushes would do that to a girl.
But she had lied, She hadn't had as many one night stands as she had bragged about to Shikamaru yesternight. But right now she felt awkward and flustered. She didn't feel quite ready to face him. Bracing herself back to reality and clearing her straying thoughts she tried to focus on the fundamentals of the situation at hand. She was still a bit drunk when she had made that bargain with Shikamaru yesterday, though honestly she'd enjoyed every minute of it. She was surprised at how amazing it had been, she hadn't expected that kind of thing from the lazy genius. But on the other hand it wasn't surprising, he'd dated Temari for quite a while and surely acquired a lot of tricks and experience from that.
If she recalled correctly they had agreed to have a one night stand, no strings attached. Both making it very clear that no emotions would be involved, and she was fine with that. She just didn't know why she felt this strange tugging at her heart strings, a hint of butterflies invading in her stomach. Especially when he pulled her closer into his embrace and nuzzled his nose into her hair. She found herself beginning to return the gesture just when…
"mmm... smell so nice, Tema".
Indignation washed over her. She was fine with everything else, but being confused with his ex, even if in his sleep…was insulting. That was it. Pushing aside her shyness she abruptly shoved his arm off her and began to nudge his shoulder.
" oi…Shikamaru… wake up"
He groggily opened his eyes, clearly not completely conscious yet.
" wassa problem?" he managed to grumble.
" It's time for you to go." She answered wrapping the sheets protectively around her body and exposing his in the process.
" troublesome…too early, go back to sleep troublesome woman." He mumbled, this time throwing the full weight of his torso over hers and trapping her in a bear hug, nuzzling his head between her breasts with a content look washing over his face, already drifting back to sleep.
At this point Ino was at a loss of words. She was enjoying this cuddling act of his, but knew that she had to stop it, because he had just confused her with Temari, and she wasn't going to let it slip. Besides, if she wanted to keep this as just casual sex she had to set the boundary immediately.
She pushed him off her rather violently, shoving him to the edge of the bed, causing Shikamaru to brace himself onto the bed spread in order not to fall off.
" What the hell Ino!"
" Oh I see you remembered my name."
"urgh, why do you have to be so violent? What time is it anyways?"
She was dumbfounded. Not knowing whether he simply didn't register her question or if he had just chosen to ignoring. This further irked her.
"early, and quite a convenient time for you to be leaving in order to avoid any questioning from any one you might encounter on your way home, particularly your mom."
He yawned and then blinked several times as if doing that would will the sleep away from his eye. He then squinted at the light seeping in through the window.
" You're right, I should go…" It was barely a whisper, his eyes still fixed on the window.
" Yes, please do." There was a bitter edge to her voice.
He got up, completely butt naked. It seemed he had no qualms about exposing what she had seen to clearly last night. She in return blushed, turning her gaze away. He turned around, now with his bottoms on, directing his eyes in her general direction.
"neh, Ino what was that about remembering your name you said earlier?"
She fixed her gaze on him, his eyes already on hers. Ino sighed inwardly. She realized how painfully clear it was that he had become a real man. There was no denying it, so mature, so far from that teenager who proclaimed himself the village's number one coward. She in turn felt like a little girl again, and she didn't understand why, his gaze was smoldering. Yet , being the good kunoichi she was, decided to play it off as best she could and deal with the consequences later, alone. Even if she was pissed at being confused for Temari.
" Oh just get out already Shikamaru…"
His brows lifted in surprise.
"Did I do something wrong?"
She did not feel like prolonging the awkward moment, and decided to rush him and cut the conversation short.
" Just leave it Shikamaru, go on your way, and make sure nobody sees you. Especially your mother."
He knew better than argue with Ino, especially in the morning. So he simply nodded abruptly in response and made his way out of the bedroom, presumably seeking the other articles of his clothing which were strewn all over the living room and kitchen floor. There was no further exchange of words between them, as she heard her front door opening and closing with a sure 'click' soon after. Feeling the signature of his chakra distance itself.
Ino kept staring at the open door of her room, she felt disappointed for some reason. She didn't feel used or abused. OH but she was still pissed, how dare he confuse her with that sand harpy?
"Mental note : will never do this again."
"Oh please, you know you want to. Let's see how long this lasts hehe"
" SHUT UP YOU, I've had enough of you."
Her Inner didn't retaliate, and she was glad that it at least knew when it really needed to shut up.
She found her emotions to be in a muddle. But, had she expected more from all that build up last night?
She soon decided it would be better to ignore these emotions now and deal with them later and so she took a hit of aspirin, going back to bed and unconsciously sinking her head onto the pillow which curiously exhumed the scent of pine and grass. Soon letting the sandman swift her away thereafter.
())()()()()()
It had been three weeks since she had last seen him. Between manning the flowershop, taking some extra-shifts at the hospital, helping out at the academy and some low ranked missions she had been quite busy. She'd seen Chouji a couple times and he'd told her that Shikamaru had been sent on missions and was dealing with lots of paperwork regarding the war at Tsunade's command. She hadn't gone looking for him, and wasn't to anytime soon.
She had thought about him constantly for the last three weeks, especially during the quiet afternoons in the flowershop. Her inner had been way too opinionated about it, much to her chagrin. Whenever she couldn't stop she would remind herself of his assholicness and put a stop to it, even if it was only temporary.
On that particular afternoon, on her way home from the flowershop she bumped into Sakura, who she had purposely avoided at the hospital for the last three weeks. Sakura knew that Ino owed her some kind of explanation for the whole drama she had made that Friday night three weeks ago, but Ino really didn't feel like talking about it. No one knew about her one night rendezvous with the shadow-nin and she preferred it that way. So when she saw Sakura a bit ahead she shuddered inwardly.
"Pig! Long time no see!"
The pinkette rushed over to where Ino stood.
She decided to play it casual.
"Hey..forehead. How's it going?"
Sakura gave her a confounded look.
" Me? I wanna know how it's going with you! Three weeks ago you dragged me to some dump and made me endure a walk home with Lee because apparently you had to tell me something extremely important. So what was it?"
Ino hesitated, should she fess up and tell Sakura the truth? She really felt the urge to brush off her behavior that night as PMS, but Sakura was her best friend. She could tell her everything and she knew her secrets would be safe with Sakura. What she feared was how Sakura would react to what she had to say.
" Listen forehead….It's a long story. But what I can tell you I got home safe, hehe."
She said twiddling her fingers and suddenly finding her feet incredibly interesting.
" Did that bastard Kiba take advantage of you?" she replied in alarm.
Ino's head instantly shot up with a look of indignation.
" No Sakura! What do you take me for? Like I said, I was fine."
" You're not pregnant right?" there was even more alarm in the medic-nin's voice.
" of course not!" Ino answered incredulously.
"I thought she'd know me better than that…"
" fine pig, You're not telling me something and I know it, but if you don't wanna say it I cant force you. When you want to I'm all ears"
Relief washed over Ino, appraising the pinkette with a genuine smile.
" Don't worry forehead, you know you're my number 1 confidant right?"
Sakura returned the smile.
"course I do you dumb-blonde!"
Ino thought it best to be on her way and bid her farewells to Sakura.
The Pinkette on the other hand, already knew something was up, something big.
She knew Ino very well and she knew even better that the blonde had been taking extra shifts at the hospital, and had not even bothered to drop by for a simple hello, or even ask about her. The uneasiness in her voice just a second ago was nearly tangible.
Since Ino assured her that she was fine, she shrugged it off for the time being. But she would get to the bottom of it sooner or later.
()()()()()()()()))()
He stared grudgingly at the piles of paperwork in front of him. Would it ever end? This was so troublesome, beyond troublesome in fact. For the one thousandth time in his shinobi career, he questioned the reason for becoming one. Curse that 200 point I.Q. he had. He tossed a report about tax incentives he'd been reading aside.
It was 7 p.m., way past his time to leave. But he knew Tsunade would give him an earful if he didn't finish going through them sooner or later.
He grabbed for the next report on top of the pile, reading the caption on the front of the folder.
" Recapitulation of Chuunin exams. YEAR XXXX."
Curiosity got the best of him and he flipped the folder open, looking for the official exam description.
Suna Appointed officer: Suma no Temari
Konoha Appointed officer: TBA
He didn't know whether to be relieved of disappointed at what he read. He knew he wasn't completely over the sand-kunoichi. She had been his first love, his first of many things and the way they had ended things still made him feel humiliated.
He poured his heart out to her and got kicked in the face for it. He supposed he had learned his lesson. Good news was that another portion of his mind, even if just the more primal portion of it, had been having constant flashbacks of the heated encounter with his teammate three weeks ago. Ino had really…bloomed.
There was no other way to put it. Even if it ended on a bitter note (and he really had no idea why it had.) it had been amazing. It was like merely her kiss had washed away all the negative feelings and bad memories plaguing him mind that day, the other things they did made him feel like he had been on top of the world, no wonder he lost control and made that bold offer for one night. She was like some kind of ….remedy, a mood booster.
He leaned back on his office chair, crossing his arms behind his head.
He recalled the celebration that team 10 had when he had been promoted to chuunin years ago and the berating he had overheard her give Chouji about being fat and dieting. At the time he remembered reassuring Chouji that a curvier figure in a woman was more appreciated by men than a skinny one.
Ironically her figure had become quite curvy since those days, she had grown into a full woman. She had no excuse to call herself a girl anymore.
As a teammate he was proud of how much she had grown as a Kunoichi, her fierce courage and determination during the war shined. She had also grown as a person, less whiny, more mature, taking more responsibilities and the audacity to go live on her own. Her father wasn't happy about it at all.
Shikaku often asked Shikamaru about Ino. Probing about her life for Inoichi, he concluded. Gossipy old man… Inoichi had always kept tabs on Ino and the boys that came around her, with the exception of Chouji and Shikamaru. He was especially overbearing the day Ino's bandages came off. Any boy who had knocked on the Yamanaka door or come into the flowershop with conversation that he deemed too friendly was given a deathly glare and promptly shooed away if he was around. Shikamaru suddenly shuddered at the thought of what would happen if Inoichi ever caught wind of what he had done to his daughter a few weeks back. He felt a bit hypocritical, because during their earlier chuunin days, he and Chouji were the first ones to act protective of Ino if any jerks came hovering around her.
He knew he was a bit of a sexist but he couldn't help it. Something so beautiful and delicate was not meant to be put through the roughage men went through.
His ex had proved him wrong about it many a time. If any jerks hit on her in front of him, she was swift to deal with them and send them running off. He always did feel a bit emasculated in her presence.
He knew Ino was perfectly capable of standing up for herself. But even Asuma had been over-protective when it came to those instances.
He recalled another incident during a mission which had taken place shortly after Chouji and Ino had made Chuunin.
()()()()()()()()()()(
Team ten had been appointed to a B-rank reconnaissance mission in Iwagakure.
There had been reports of strange disturbances and disappearances in the village's outskirts, possibly Akatsuki activity. Tsunade had assigned Shikamaru as the team leader, and had specified that Ino would be required to go undercover or infiltrate minds if necessary. They were not to break cover at any cost since Iwa had no idea that they would be there, and the last thing Konoha needed was another conflict. Neither Shikamaru nor Chouji had liked it, Ino would be exposed and on her own. They would only be able to watch from the shadows and act if absolutely necessary. She on the other hand was elated to finally be given a central role in a mission, bragging about it all the way from Konoha to Iwa.
Everything had run smoothly in Iwa. Ino dressed up as a civilian and walked around areas where disturbances had been reported. They stayed for a month.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened. He had to admit that he slacked off a bit towards the end.
On the last day, Ino had decided to give it one last try and patrol the area on her own, from his calculations and observations. There had been no likelihood of anything dangerous happening, Chouji had even begun to complain that the mission was futile and he missed Konoha's food and Shikamaru had begun to agree with him.
At the time he agreed that the mission was futile but what he missed was Temari.
Three hours passed before he found the need to go looking for her with Chouji. The perimeter was large, but three hours seemed excessive for a ninja.
When they came upon Ino in one of Iwa's many alleys, they found her breathing heavily and in bloody condition. At her feet lay the body of a surly man with a Kunai imbedded deeply in shoulder, and upon closer inspection a ninja, a defector…not Akatsuki though.
Shikamaru inspected Ino with his eyes thoroughly, worry evident in his actions. She was so bloody that he didn't know which was hers and which was the enemy's. But she was still standing. Chouji stood dumbfounded. Neither had ever seen her in such state, not to mention her ripped clothes. Ripped at the neckline, nearly exposing her breasts. Scratch marks on her arms and shuriken cuts on her legs and skirt.
All indications led to the conclusion that this man had tried to rape her.
The rage Shikamaru felt at the time could only compare to few other instances.
He had also felt impotent. The rogue-nin had a kunai shoved deep into his neck but was still breathing. He was quick to remedy that by slowly choking him to death with his shadow-binding technique. He could feel Chouji was infuriated as well, rushing to Ino's aid, making sure she had been ok.
Shikamaru finished off the rogue-nin and quickly rushed to the kunoichi's side as well, wanting to know what had happened.
She wasn't moving, her arms limps beside her, staring at the now dead body of her assailant. A silent fury in her azure eyes.
" He was causing the disturbances…the disappearances, the dismembered bodies….It was all him. Not Akatsuki. I think were done here. Let's go home…"
Her words were incredibly firm compared to her physical state. Shikamaru and Chouji weren't having any of it though. Chouji quickly covered her shoulders with his cloak, it was not an offering it was more like an order. She hadn't protested, grasping at it and wrapping it around herself.
"Are you gravely injured Ino?" he asked.
"Nothing lethal Chouji, I'll heal myself once were back to the hotel, thanks"
She offered him a smile.
An eerie site. A beautiful girl, covered in blood with torn clothes smiling.
Shikamaru wasn't having it. He needed to know more, even if he killed the bastard the wouldn't forgive himself if something else had happened her. He wouldn't stand the guilt that would plague him, he had gone through that during the Sasuke retrieval mission and had promised he would not anyone die or get hurt like that on his watch.
"Ino, exactly what happened?" He confronted her grasping her at the shoulders, worry and alarm lining his face.
She shrugged his hands off and backed away.
"Please Shikamaru, I'm fine, STOP IT. I'll live. I'll give you a full report once we get back to the hotel."
When he kept staring her down, irritation lined her own brows and she huffily said:
" I said I'm fine! Can we go please? I'm still bleeding."
Once back at the hotel, with wounds tended to, she came into the boys' room.
Sat down and told them that she had found the criminal because she had probed his mind in a bar. She received a scolding from Shikamaru for leaving her body unprotected like that, but carried on with the report. Her original plan was to alert the two of them somehow in order to catch the man. But he before she could do that, he caught up with her. She admitted to being overpowered and struggling against him for a while, but eventually overpowering him and stabbing him in the jugular.
Both of her teammates were tense throughout the whole report. Both reprimanding her for risking herself like that. They both cared deeply for her, and so did she, their bond as a team was deeper than a lot of other teams, their bond was special.
When she was done, Shikamaru asked one last question.
"Ino did he…?" He found it hard to say the word. He felt Chouji tense next to him.
" You mean did he rape me?" she answered forthright.
He gulped at that and tried to sound as composed as he could.
" Yes Ino… did the criminal rape you?"
She looked him in the eye. He swore he saw a spark of tenderness there directed at him. She smiled at him, which he hardly thought appropriate taken the circumstances.
" No he didn't Shika. I didn't let him. You don't have to worry about things like that."
That was the end of it. She healed herself and they made their way back to Konoha soon after. Shikamaru was impressed at her mature attitude about the situation as well as at the fact that she took the enemy out alone. She really was becoming self-reliant. That didn't mean that Chouji and himself wouldn't stop taking extra care with her when needed. She was a woman, and it would never get around his head that a woman should be left to fend for herself. Even if she had just proven him wrong. Rape was a harsh reality in the ninja world. Many Kunoichi were prone to suffer rape as torture in the instance of capture. Of course Konoha-nin didn't stoop to that, they were civilized.
Once back home, having given the report to Tsunade. The fifth seemed satisfied with the outcome. She nonetheless scolded Ino for being reckless, but at the same time congratulated her for being so efficient in pin-pointing the criminal. She was becoming an espionage expert.
And that had been that.
)()()())()()())()()
He shook himself out of his little trip down memory lane. The chuunin-exam pre-briefing still sitting open on his lap. He really didn't feel like offering himself as the konoha-official for the exam. Cross that out, what he really didn't feel like was having to look her in the face again. Deciding he would deal with that later, he closed the folder and tossed on his desk. He'd figure it out tomorrow. He grabbed for the next folder on the heap.
" Konoha Autumn festival"
" What the hell do I have to do with that?" he grumbled to himself.
The Konoha Autumn festival was a celebration that had recently been reinstated, a tradition like many others that had been pushed aside in times of war and conflict. Since Konoha was now apparently at peace, it was back. Your basic street festival, with games, stands, shows dancing around a huge bonfire and other konoha traditions.
Not his type of thing, but he figured he'd be forced to go. Be it because his mother would nag him to, or Chouji would coerce him to come along so he could try all the food at the stands.
"troublesome….."
Soon after, he left the office, flicking the lights out. Leaving the building and making his way home, to the Nara compound across town. He could have glided there, but decided to walk. That way he could enjoy a cigarette and take in some fresh air, and get try to get Temari out of his head. Just seeing her name on that damn piece of paper had gotten him started all over again. He was too proud to admit it, but his heart had been broken. It had been months since he last saw her, he needed to forget her. Chouji could help, but strangely he found himself longing for someone else's company.
()()()()()()()())())())()))())
Ino had gotten home feeling very awkward about her encounter with Sakura that afternoon. She felt guilty for not telling her the truth after putting her through a walk home with Lee. The poor guy was a nice person, a true friend, with the noblest intentions and a heart of gold. But listening to him go on about the blooming of youth for more than 5 minutes had to be listed as some kind of mental torture. But who would have the heart to tell him to SHUT THE HELL UP, not many…
She was feeling a bit better though, she at least knew the pinkette wasn't pissed at her. She also knew that she would have fess up about what happened that night at one point. So she decided to set her mind to something else.
Cooking herself some dinner. Home made sukiyaki! She gathered all the ingredients in an orderly manner on the kitchen counter. As she was about to start slicing the cabbage she heard a knock at her door.
She dropped the cabbage on the cutting board, still holding onto the knife.
She knew who it was. There was no confusing that chakra.
"Ino, open up. I know you're in there. Troublesome…."
In a flash she was at the door. Unlocking it and opening it up just a smidge, she poked her head out, knife in hand too.
The Lazy genius stood there in his carefree pose, hands in his pockets, still in shinobi uniform.
" What do you want Shikamaru? I didn't invite you over if I remember correctly."
She made sure to keep her tone and face firm. Even if her eyes just wanted to soak him in. He looked so sexy when he had that calculating look.
" You gonna let me in Ino or are you gonna stab me?" He didn't move from his position, though a cocky grin graced his features.
She blushed, but decided now was the time to be mature. She found it much easier to be forward when alcohol was coursing through her veins.
"give me a second."
She shut the door and made her way to her room looking for something to cover up. When she was at home she liked to be comfortable. Ino's comfortable meant walking around in underwear, and that's all she had on now. She grabbed for the first robe she saw in view, wrapping it around herself and tying a tight knot at her waist to keep it in place. Just because they'd had sex didn't mean she would reward him by parading around the house in her bra and panties. That would be like inviting him to bed again. She opened the apartment door fully, he was still there leaning against the doorframe. And she didn't miss the way he eyed her body up and down.
"come in."
" tch. Thanks." He pushed himself off the doorframe and walked past her and pausing in the middle of the living room to admire the display of bowls, vegetables and bottles of ingredients on the kitchen counter.
"dinner for one?" He broke the silence
Ino was still standing next to the door. Closing it and locking it instantly.
She skimmed her hands over the robe she was wearing unconsciously. Making sure it was still in place. The look he gave her earlier made her feel like he was undressing her with his eyes. After what had gone down, she couldn't help but feel self-conscious around him now.
" I was about to start cooking, but then you showed up. So what's on your mind Shika?"
He turned away and made his way to her prized couch plopping down on it and making himself comfortable.
" Nothing much, I just thought I'd drop by and see what you've been up to these last weeks"
She would play this off smoothly. There were millions of thoughts racing through her mind at the moment and her inner was screaming at her to top it all off. After all, they were friends and teammates. So she decided to follow that line of thought and ignore the rest.
" Oh, the usual you know. Shifts at the hospital, work at the Flowershop, training. What about you? Chouji mentioned you were real busy too. Missions and office work. Tsunade-sama's keeping you busy huh?"
As she spoke she made her away around the kitchen entrance and picked up the knife and cabbage she had been about to chop before his sudden arrival. Just then she noticed he had followed her into the kitchen.
She turned around to face him, smiling sheepishly with the cabbage in her hands.
"You hungry by the way? There's more than enough for two. Though I couldn't promise the same if Chouji had come along with you, hehe."
She placed the cabbage on the chopping block and started chopping away.
He stood behind her, leaning against the opposite counter, hands in pockets once again. Acting like his casual self.
" I've never seen you cook before Ino. Feeling domestic all of a sudden?"
That was a jab at her, but she continued to keep her cool. He continued:
" Anyways, Kurenai's due in a few weeks."
" I know Shika, I've seen her around the hospital, even checked up on her last week. Baby's perfectly healthy and she's very happy, I hear Sakura will be making the delivery but Kurenai-san asked Hinata and myself to be present as well. Moral support you know?" She continued, chopping the lettuce at the same time.
" I think I'll take up your offer on dinner, It would be rude to sit here and watch you eat all by yourself." He changed the subject.
" Oh..great." She was inwardly hoping he would refuse her invitation. But felt the wanton vibe he had been giving her earlier subside as they resumed conversing like old friends. Maybe it was possible to come back to normal. She was glad he hadn't brought up their sexual encounter so far and was beginning to feel a bit more at ease around him.
" Do you need help with that?"
" lazy Nara offering to help in the kitchen? That's new of you! But if you're up for it, it'll cut the process in half. " She gave him a mocking look, but there was tenderness there too.
He got up off the counter and moved closer to the kitchen counter. He shrugged off his flak vest and rolled up his sleeves, washing his hands and placing himself beside her. He curiously observed the ingredients laid out over the counter and the half-chopped cabbage in front of her. She noticed from the look on his face that he was new to all this. The only thing he ever handled that could compare to a kitchen knife was a kunai... so she would have to teach him.
"um, you can finish chopping the cabbage, I'll get to making the sauce."
He obliged, picking up the chopping knife. Though nothing followed.
She was mixing the sake with the soy-sauce but stopped as she noticed that Shikamaru was trying to strategize on how to go about chopping the cabbage.
She sighed, putting the bowl in her hands down and heading over to her helpless teammate.
" leave it to a genius to waste time strategizing over a chopping board…hopeless."
" Why don't you let me help you with that Shika?" She interjected.
He obliged, taking a step back as she positioned herself in front of the chopping board. Grasping the cabbage firmly and picking the knife up. She placed the knife at the edge of the vegetable and securing her hold on it, began chopping away. She paused and gave Shikamaru a sidewards glance.
" You watching genius? I'm about to teach you a lesson here. Chopping 101."
He had been quiet the whole time, standing behind her. When she glanced at him, she noticed his eyes quickly reverting from her bum to her face.
"maybe not so back to normal after all"
He snapped out of his personal reverie and popped his head over her shoulder.
She tried to ignore what she had just caught him doing and decided to carry on.
His face was really close to hers, but when she gave a discrete glace his way she saw his eyes were trained on her hands and the objects they held.
And so she resumed the chopping.
" see Shikamaru? You're supposed to hold the cabbage like this so it doesn't roll around when you're chopping. You want it to be stable. The knife has to be held with a certain amount of grace, treat it like an extension of your arm. So here we go.."
She chopped a few more slices off expertly. She turned to him again and was startled at how much closer his face was to hers, much closer than before. But his brows were furrowed in concentration. Concluding that he must have got the idea of it now she let go of what remained of the cabbage and made to put the knife down, just then she felt his hand rest atop hers securing her grasp on the knife, and then grabbing her other hand gingerly and placing it back on the cabbage.
"once more Ino, just so I can understand the movements a little better. It looks more troublesome than I thought"
She was blushing profusely now, but refused to turn around and let him see that.
So she followed through, but this time her mind was straying due to the close contact between them and the heat emanating from his touch on her. She pushed the cabbage towards the knife and made to chop. And then it all happened in slow motion, she felt a sharp sting on her index finger.
" Ouch!" She brusquely pulled away from Shikamaru, dropping everything in the process and rushing to sink. She'd cut herself! What a dobe! After bragging about all that expertise…sigh
" You really are a mess Yamanaka. You really think he came here for a cooking class?"
Her finger was oozing blood, she'd cut down too hard. And it was ALL HIS FAULT. Taking her concentration away like that.
"che, Ino let me take a look at that" He came up to her and took her bloody finger between his own hands, inspecting it closely.
" Lucky, it's not too deep. Just needs to be cleaned properly to avoid infection."
He actually looked worried, his brows furrowed.
" I KNOW that Shikamaru! I've had extensive medical training."
He interrupted her mid-sentence as she felt him pulling her towards the sink and placing her bleeding finger under running water. Strangely gentle of him.
A few years ago he would have told her to suck it up and think of people who actually were gravely injured, making her feel shallow.
" I thought you weren't good with blood…" she questioned.
"In this kind of situation I have no other choice do I?" he retorted, eyes still fixed on her bleeding finger.
" Hey, don't play that card with me! I would have been perfectly fine by myself!"
Ino tried to pull her finger away from his grasp, but he wouldn't let go.
"Let me help you troublesome woman." He sounded frustrated.
Ino found it futile to keep bantering with him, and let him tend to her cut.
When he turned off the water, her finger was still oozing blood, which got on her robe and all over his hands.
" Shit, it's deeper than you concluded you bum!" She looked up at him indignantly and was surprised to see him bringing her finger closer to his face once again.
" Shikamaru! Let me take care of it, I don't wanna get blood on the food! It's becoming highly unsanitary and…"
She instantly shut her mouth when he slipped her bloody finger into his mouth and began to suck at it. A tingling sensation began to spread in her lower belly, she could feel his tongue encircling her finger and then sucking at it in a slow and torturous way. Just like he had done elsewhere on her body that night.
She was blushing profusely and he caught her at it. An arrogant yet oh so sexy grin graced his face, all the while his eyes looked on hers. She knew she had that stupid overwhelmed look plastered all over her face. A part of her was angry at the control he suddenly had over her body. Involuntarily she let out a nearly imperceptible moan, but the light that flashed through his eyes made it clear that he heard it.
And just like that he gave it one final gentle suck and pulled it out of his mouth.
" You know Ino….even if you act outstandingly bitter a lot of the time, you taste really incredibly sweet." His tone sounded conceited, but she trembled at the last part of his comment. He was making allusions to their heated encounter.
"Get back to your senses woman, you're not letting him do this again!"
She widened the distance between them abruptly. Wrapping her gashed finger protectively with her other hand.
" What are you now? Some kind of vampire?"
His grin widened and his eyes were trained on her. Making her feel incredibly self conscious again.
She didn't know what to say or do at this point. Her body wanted him, it was begging her to jump him NOW, but the logic part of her was screaming NO.
"remember who he confused you with when you allowed him into your bed."
" I think you should just go home Shikamaru, you're not acting like yourself tonight and I think you need to cloud-watch it of sleep it off. We can talk again when you feel like your old self." The blonde tried to sound as strict as possible.
He scowled at this. She could swear she saw a look of confusion mixed with the scowl.
" You're right. It was stupid of me to come here like this. I should have known better. I'm sorry Ino."
That was all he said, as he grabbed his flak jacket and was out the door faster than a sound-nin.
All her hunger for dinner was gone, and it was straight to bed from there.
Maybe it really had been a VERY bad idea to sleep with Shikamaru.
()()()()()))())(
The next morning she was woken up in a rude manner. Someone was almost knocking down her bedroom window.
" what the hell?"
She got out of bed, and headed to window with Kunai in hand, ready to stab the shit out of whoever had dragged her out of bed at 4 a.m.
When she tore the curtain open, she nothing but a scroll. It looked like a mission scroll…
" another mission huh?"
)()()()()()()()(
Hi All!
Another long-ass chapter…I know. But I myself enjoy long-ass chapters. Cuz I never want it to end! Anywho, not much to say here. Except your cristicism and opinions are always welcome. Be they constructive or praise.
Thank you my lovelies,
Good night!