Lust Addiction: Chapter 3
"Ino-chan, I'm…I'm sorry." Chouji apologized as Ino came back into the room.
"It's alright…" Ino consoled him, tapping him lightly on the head, like she used to do when he was just a boy. Chouji smiled with contentment. When Ino was enraged, he was deathly afraid of her, but when she was nice to him, it made his heart gleeful and joyous.
"So, Shika left already?" he asked.
"Yeah… Hey I'm gonna jump in at Sakura's, ok? I'll meet you tomorrow at seven. Don't be late or else." Ino said, rubbing her hands against her pants and rising.
"Bye, Ino-chan." Chouji affirmed as Ino came in for a quick hug and left.
As Ino walked along the sidewalk, her mind kept wrapping around Shikamaru's strange behavior. After all, he was acting pretty questionably.
Ino came to Sakura's house and knocked on the door. "Hey, Saku," Ino greeted, smiling at her cotton-candy pink-haired friend decked in an oversized T-shirt and some black and pink short boxers with cute smiley faces all over them.
"Ino!" Sakura exclaimed enthusiastically, pulling her in for a tight embrace.
Ino giggled and they went into Sakura's room. Ino plunked herself on Sakura's bed with a deep sigh as Sakura resumed her spot of the carpet where she was painting her toenails and reading a romance novel. A composition by Yiruma began to play and Ino smiled at the sweet melody; it was one of her favorites.
"So, what's up?" Sakura asked.
"Oh…nothing really. I got my first kiss today…" Ino replied with an intriguing smile and an arched eyebrow.
"What?!?! Oh my god, Ino! Who with?" Sakura asked with a twinkle in her eyes, diving for details.
"Um…Shikamaru."
"Oh? That's odd… sort of a disappointment." Sakura replied with less interest.
"Yeah, well, like I said, it was nothing really… it was actually part of a deal for him so that he could stop smoking. He made me do it." Ino said, leaving out the part about the whole thing being her idea anyways.
"Why did you agree? Ino, that's so stupid." Sakura reprimanded.
"Well, he's my friend and I care about him. Besides, I hate anything that has to do with smoking and I don't want to end up hating him for a dumb habit like that."
"Do you like him?" Sakura asked.
"No, not really… well, kinda…it's weird." Ino said and then gazed off into space, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.
"Hey, you look kind of pensive today… What's bothering you?" Sakura asked, a bit concerned.
'She knows me like the back of her hand.' Ino thought and said, "Um, when Shikamaru left today, he looked a little irritated––at me––for what reason I don't know. But when I went to, you know, kiss him the second time, he just cast me to the side and fumed off. It was kind of disconcerting."
"I wouldn't worry about it. You guys have been fighting for god knows how long, and you're still fine."
"That's really comforting." Ino said sarcastically and laughed.
"What was the kiss like?" Sakura pried, scared for the worst.
"Um… at first it was extremely awkward; I felt like running away and slapping myself senseless. But then, when we touched, it got all hazy––but a good kind of hazy. Where we were and the fact that our lips were touching completely slipped my mind. It felt good I guess, I don't know. It was my first kiss." Ino replied, disappointing Sakura.
"Aww…" Sakura said, and sighed. "Like it'll ever happen to me."
"Sakura, you are so beautiful. There are people out there who would love to be with you. I mean come on, I swear, if I was a guy, I'd totally be following you around just trying to get a whiff of your scent and trying to impress you all the time. I would make you my target. We'd fight every single day, but in the end, I'll still love you."
"That's touching." Sakura said with mocking sentiment and laughed.
"Yeah. People like Naruto. That fool still chases after me." Sakura muttered lightheartedly.
Ino laughed and said, "I started growing tomatoes for Sasuke, but Chouji ate them all."
"Ugh!" Sakura said, abruptly jumping to her feet. "Don't even mention his name. I'm done trying with him." she said with a look of revulsion.
"So does that mean you're dropping out of the race?" Ino asked humorously.
"Heh. What race? Every day I seem him and every day he ignores me and looks at me in a way that tells me that I'm useless. There was never a race."
"But I thought you loved him…" Ino questioned, trying to stop from laughing out loud at Sakura's seriousness.
"Bah! Love? What love? I can't' get the bastard to look at me much less love me."
"So, does that mean he's all mine now?" Ino asked comically.
"Yeah, if you'd like to think that. You're never gonna get anywhere. Trust me. Anyway, I'm thinking about seeing Gaara now, so obviously I really don't care."
"Gaara? A little freakish, don't you think?" Ino asked curiously.
"Nonsense, Ino." Sakura said and smirked. "That's just how I like 'em."
"Sakura, you're something else, you know that?"
"You got a problem with it? That's just me, so deal with it."
Ino smiled at her friend and laid down on the futon and sighed deeply, her thoughts converging into a massive, incoherent mess as she stared blankly at the ceiling. Sakura left the room and Ino closed her eyes and turned on her side.
Ino felt warm fingers intertwine with hers and hold her up against the wall. She felt tepid, warm lips caress her skill as they kissed gently along her neck. She felt his breath along her spin, making her tremble with delighted excitement.
'Sasuke!' Ino thought elatedly as she spun around, but was shocked to see a man different from the one she normally fantasized about. Her face spelt bewilderment.
"Ino, don't give me that look," said Shikamaru.
Ino felt violated, vulnerable and disoriented and looked around scared and hugged her arms around her body protectively.
"Huh. I see. That's how it is then." Shikamaru scowled impatiently and shook his head disappointedly but also deridingly as a pulled out a cigarette, lit it up and blew the smoke slowly out of his lips.
"I knew this would never work." he said, puffing out smoke as he walked away and faded into dark oblivion.
Ino opened her eyes and frowned in repugnance. Grunting, she sat up, rubbing her head sleepily and saw Sakura sitting in the corner with her pink bunny slippers on, a romance manga in her hand and a bowl of juicy red cherries.
"No! Hibino! Why? You idiot!" Sakura screamed spontaneously at the book as if they were going to act on her will. "She loves you, goddamn it! Baka!" she reproached the make-believe character harshly.
Ino glanced at the clock, ignoring the erratic comments of her boy-crazy and romantic friend. "8:30 already?" Ino asked herself, surprised.
"Oh I didn't realize that. I have so much work to do…god why is he so stupid?" Sakura commented, her thoughts fading back to manga.
"I'm going to head home. I don't want my dad worrying about me." Ino said.
"Oh please. Your dad could care less." Sakura said paying little attention.
Ino gave her a look and said, "Oh well. I'm tired. See ya tomorrow, hun."
Sakura blew a kiss at her as she walked out into the dark abyss on the other side of the door and said goodbye for the night.
Ino walked briskly against the chilly gusts of wind and turned into her street. As she was about to walk into her house, her entire dream flashed in her head, compelling her to turn around and go in the direction of Shikamaru's house, just across from hers. Sighing impatiently, Ino pivoted on her foot and scurried reluctantly across the street to Shikamaru's window on the far side of the house and stealthily slid it open and leapt through, landing softly of her feet. She didn't exactly understand why she was sneaking in her teammate's room, which was utterly bombarded by numerous scrolls, books and clothes strewn carelessly about and sloppy evidence of the imperfect yet brilliant inner workings of his complex mind.
Tip-toeing inaudibly across the floor so as not to disturb the snoring Shikamaru deeply submerged in sleep. Ino picked up one of Shikamaru's pants of the floor but it jingled annoyingly with coins as she scavenged. Ino looked at Shikamaru, checking to make sure that he was asleep, but as she peered closer, she made out the wryly familiar box of menthols in his pants' pocket. Leaning cautiously on the bed, she slowly tried to pull out the box. She almost took it out when Shikamaru breathed deeply and tossed his body to one side, incidentally trapping Ino underneath his warm arms.
'Shit,' Ino thought, trying to escape, but luckily was able to slip her arm out and also withdraw the stubborn box of poison and slid it in her back pocket. Ino began to walk, feeling pretty haughty when she tripped and collapsed heavily to the floor.
'Damn it!' she thought as she glared accusingly at the culprit, an inkwell that fell along with her and spilled generously onto his scrolls.
Shikamaru grunted loudly and shifted, making Ino half-scared that he woke up. Ino got back up and walked to the window and right when she was about to jump out, Shikamaru yelled with rebuke, "Ino! What are you trying to do?"
Embarrassed, Ino bit her lip and turned slowly to explain herself but remarkably seemed fast asleep even though his brows were knitted harshly; Ino knew that she was spared.
"Stop it! Don't leave! You don't know what you're doing. Chouji needs you. I need you… ugh!, you infuriating, troublesome girl!" Shikamaru muttered exasperatedly before turning again in his bed and with a mocking yet amusing smile, Ino jumped out of the window, closing it behind her. She went back home and feeling terribly exhausted, Ino threw the menthols on her bedroom floor, cast off her clothes and slipped on a nightgown, loosened her cornsilk strands of hair and plunged onto her bed and wrapped herself in her sheets, succumbing to the shadow of sleep that hung heavily on her eyelids.
Author's note: Hello! ^^
Ok, guys, I know that this chapter was a little crappy and lacked in action, but the good stuff is coming! I promise! It's been difficult for me to try to get these written and uploaded because of school. :\
Anyways, bear with me! Thanks!