Ino could hardly believe her ears. Her mouth seemed to only be able to spout incoherent words. In her frustration, she turned to Shikamaru for help.
Shikamaru merely sat motionless in his seat, head in hands, fingers slightly massaging his temples.
Finally, Ino managed to sputter, "Wh-what!?"
"Tsunade-sama...Marriage is an important issue, and we are only 20. Is there any better solution?" Shikamaru muttered.
"I'm sorry but this is the best solution. Any other form of rejecting the proposal might offend the elders of Suna. I've already sent a message back that you, Nara Shikamaru, already have a girlfriend whom you're going to marry very soon." Tsunade smirked, leaning back in her chair.
"But-but..." Ino found her voice but was stopped by Tsunade's raised hand.
"I know what you both are thinking, but it would be best to be thorough in this. I don't want any Suna spies to report back with the information that Shikamaru's marriage is a hoax. It would be undesirable for us to start war with Suna over this conflict." Tsunade's grim expression stated clearly, there's no way out of this.
The room was silent for about 3 minutes, when Ino whispered, "Why me?"
"You are the closest female friend Shikamaru has, and Sakura has kindly informed me that you are single at the moment. Hence, it would be the least suspicious if you and Shikamaru have a relationship. You two are NOT at liberty to reveal any of this information to anybody." Tsunade glared at them before adding, "oh, by the way, both your parents have already given their consent." She grinned sheepishly at the couple.
"EEHHH?!"
Both Ino and Shikamaru looked at each other, both thinking the same thought. How in the world did Yamanaka Inoichi, Ino's father agree to this?!
"Well, it seems to be no trouble from your families. Both the Yamanakas and Naras were so agreeable to the marriage, albeit there had to have some minor persuasion to convince Inoichi..." The hokage smiled.
Tsunade gave the two young jounins a minute to ponder over their current situation before launching into a serious discussion about their assigned mission.
"Okay, as I have told both of you, this is a mission you both have to accept. In this mission, both of you have to become a married couple, the key to declining Suna's proposal without instilling conflict. I know it is unfair for you two, so I have decided on a contract marriage." Tsunade clasped her hands together and leaned forward on her desk.
"Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino, both of you will have to get married within the next month and stay as a married couple...for three years. I will let you both sign the divorce papers now, which will be legalised after three years. Should the both of you wish to remain married after that period, this divorce document will have to be destroyed personally by either one of you then. Got it?"
"And this shall be a secret between the three of us. None of your parents know about the contract, so please do not leak out any information, understood?" Tsunade ordered.
Shikamaru responded by dropping his head, hitting the desk in the process, while Ino promptly stomped on his right foot before giving a nod to the hokage.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"I'm home." Shikamaru muttered. He lazily shook his shoes off and dragged his feet to the couch.
When Nara Yoshino found her son, he was fast asleep on the couch with one arm slung over his eyes. She had half the mind to wake him up to feed the deer that their family owned, but decided that he must have been exhausted.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Shikamaru awoke with a start.
Must have had a nightmare...but it felt so real...
Rubbing his eyes, Shikamaru slowly sat up and looked around him. What he saw shocked the wits out of him.
"I-Ino!?" Shikamaru stammered.
Ino sat on the next couch, eyeing him and suppressing a chuckle after watching his perturbed expression.
"Shikamaru-dear! You're awake. Just in time for dinner." Yoshino called from the kitchen.
He could hear squealing and giggling coming from the kitchen, which he assumed was his mother and Mrs Yamanaka.
"They're going to discuss the wedding over dinner tonight...Daddy's the only one who seems grumpy." Ino said quietly, rolling her eyes before sighing.
After ten minutes, Shikamaru had already done some quick washing up and was already seated at the dining table, the seat beside Ino, and opposite Inoichi. He gulped.
For the rest of the discussion, Shikamaru tuned the chattering out and concentrated on chewing his food. Oh how he wished he could just go out and lay on the grass and watch the stars.
Beside him, Ino had her own thoughts running through her mind. How would their marriage work? How awkward the next three years will be... What if she met Mr. Right before three years was over? Would she have to let the opportunity slip her by?
She glanced at her parents and the Naras, planning excitedly for the merging of their clans, and thought to the secret contract that she and Shikamaru had signed without their knowledge. How would her parents react three years down the road when she will put a stop to her marriage to Shikamaru?
Well, the both of them will have no choice but to follow through with the secret mission they were burdened with.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The next two days were immensely "troublesome", according to Shikamaru.
Listening to his mother's nagging was a pain in the neck, and throw in Ino's constant whacks on the head and stomach for being such a "lazy ass" , he could barely take it anymore.
"Shikamaru! Stop behaving like a five year old and come here and contribute to YOUR wedding preparations!" Yoshino barked.
The Nara-Yamanaka wedding had been scheduled at the end of the month. "Tsunade-sama wants it as soon as possible!" Yoshino had stated at Shikamaru and Ino's protests.
News had spread quickly around Konoha, the merging of the Nara and Yamanaka clans, courtesy of the excited Mrs Nara and Mrs Yamanaka. Tsunade couldn't have been more pleased.
Shikamaru got up from his spot on the roof and trudged down to the living room, where he lazily dropped himself onto the couch beside Ino.
"Ino dear, I have something for you." Yoshino drew out a dark purple velvet box from her pocket and opened it to reveal a simple diamond ring with small sapphire stones surrounding the diamond. "This will be your engagement ring," Yoshino smiled before adding, "It was passed down through generations in the Nara family, and now it's yours."
Ino gasped in surprise, hands reached out to accept the box when Yoshino drew the box away from her. "Shikamaru, put it on for your wife." Yoshino grinned at her son.
Ino's eyes widened while Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Fine...Troublesome..." Shikamaru muttered, taking the ring out from its box. It was best not to incur the wrath of his mother now...He eyed Ino's flushed face and down-cast eyes, before grabbing her left hand and gently slid the ring onto her finger.
Yoshino then got up with Mrs Yamanaka and left for the kitchen to giggle and gush over the couple.
"I'm sorry I'm no Sasuke." Shikamaru teased, uncomfortable with the silence.
Ino's eyes narrowed dangerously, "That was a stupid crush years ago, you ass."
"What happened to your latest boyfriend, Ino? Why are you single?" Shikamaru wondered.
"We didn't suit." Ino's glare clearly told him to stop probing.
As the day progressed, Ino's belongings have been shifted to the Nara's house. Shikamaru had been the one carrying all of Ino's belongings up to his room although Ino was fully capable of helping.
She's not even my wife yet, but I'm already whipped...
Carrying boxes of Ino's make up and clothing was acceptable, but carrying her underwear...Shikamaru had silently cursed and glared at his fiancé, who continued smiling innocently and sweetly at him.
Guess I'm sleeping on the couch tonight...