The disjointed click of tiles across the Shogi board was the only sound aside from the subdued bubbling noises of brewing tea. The tea house, filled with the smell of jasmine tea, was nearly empty, not surprising for a slow Sunday afternoon. Ino was still surprised, however, to have found him here at all.
Shikamaru seemed to be so absorbed in his strategizing that he failed to notice her entrance. The sight of him, lost in his own world, kindled a warm glow in Ino, and she fought down a grin just watching him. Ever since Asuma-sensei died, this had become a habit of his; rather than simply meditating on strategies, he spent hours agonizing over the Shogi board, his hands moving almost of their own accord like some feverish, uncontrollable tic.
Ino let the sight burn into her eyelids a few moments longer, admiring the singular attention he paid to the task in front of him, the way his entire bearing was tensed in concentration.
Reluctantly, she cleared her throat, stepping toward him purposefully. He didn't appear to have heard, because he didn't look up. Ino frowned, clearing her throat a bit more loudly.
This still managed to elicit no response. She scoffed and crossed her arms, staring at him fixedly. His head tilted ever so slightly toward her, his dark eyes cutting over to regard her with skepticism.
"Did you need something, Ino?"
Seeing his response as sufficient confirmation that she had his attention, Ino dropped down to occupy the chair across from him, folding her arms across the tabletop.
"We need to talk, Shikamaru."
His smile was so sarcastic as to almost be mocking, though he didn't meet her eyes. "That hasn't really been working out for us lately."
"Well, now it's got to." Ino replied, not bothering to mask her exasperation. The impatience in her voice must have been enough to command Shikamaru's full interest, because he set the tile he had been about to move back down where it had previously been and folded his hands in front of his face.
"Troublesome, but alright."
Ino hesitated, wondering where she should even begin. She settled on something which wouldn't quite broach the topic she had been tiptoeing around for weeks, but would at least satisfy a source of curiosity.
"Let's start with this. What were you doing at my house this morning? If you and my father think that such a lame excuse was going to fool me, you're less of a genius than you seem."
At this, Shikamaru leaned back in his chair, rubbing a hand across the back of his neck agitatedly. "Your dad had something he needed to talk to me about. It's not up to me to inform you. If you really want to know, ask him."
Ino slammed her hand on the table and stood, sending several of the Shogi pieces flying. "Shikamaru Nara, don't you start that with me!"
She leaned over the table, staring him down. "You may be afraid of what my father would do if he knew you told me, but you should be more afraid of what I will do if you don't tell me. You wouldn't be skating around the subject unless it was classified or unless it had to do with me. If it was classified, you wouldn't be sitting at my breakfast table talking about it, so it must have been about me. Now spill."
Shikamaru let out an exasperated sigh, and looked her in straight in the eye, about to offer an explanation, but when he opened his mouth, he faltered slightly. Ino wondered at the response for a moment, but then she realized how incredibly close her face was to his. The tip of her nose hovered literally mere inches from his own, and he was staring at her with that same strange expression from this morning, that odd, unguarded look of puzzlement.
Her anger wavered, and she was suddenly aware of every breath she was taking.
"Shika—"
"NARUTO!"
The familiar shriek brought Ino out of her reverie, and both she and Shikamaru turned to look out the door in the direction from which the scream had issued. They exchanged curious looks and, conversation all but entirely forgotten, rushed out the door to find the source of the commotion.
Not far down the road directly in front of Ichiraku's, an easily recognizable blond figure was lying face-up in the middle of the path, with a pink-haired girl frozen over him with a look of horror, mixed with tinges of guilt and apprehension, on her face. A small crowd was gathered around, brought out of the surrounding shops by the commotion. When they saw the hero of Konoha was involved, they found all the more reason to stay and watch the situation unfold.
Noticing the approach of Shikamaru and Ino, Sakura's mouth fell open in an attempt to explain, but she could only gesture uselessly at Naruto where he laid, completely unconscious, a growing lump forming in plain sight on his forehead.
Shikamaru was the first to reach them, and he looked between Naruto and Sakura with strangled amusement written across his face.
"What happened?"
Sakura was practically hysterical, and she looked desperately at Ino as she tried to spit out an explanation.
"He asked me to get ramen with him… I refused, but he insisted… he said I had to get this specific kind… then the next thing I knew, there it was… and he was grinning like an idiot, and he said something like 'I can't imagine how that got in there. Must be meant for someone else.' But then he picked it up and oh Kami, I was so surprised that I punched him! Oh Kami, Ino, what have I done?"
Ino stared at her best friend for a few moments, trying to make some semblance of sense out of the jumbled account. She was still on the "there it was" when a strange noise met her ears, and she turned to her left to find Shikamaru shaking with laughter. She opened her mouth to ask what was so funny, but then she caught sight of something glimmering in Sakura's hand and the chaotic explanation suddenly made perfect sense.
Ino's eyes widened and Shikamaru let out a genuine chuckle, shaking his head as he looked down at Naruto, who seemed to be coming around slowly.
"Oh Kami…" Ino stared at Sakura's palm, where a delicate gold ring glinted in the afternoon sun.
"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto said feebly, groaning as he rolled over onto his side and coughed weakly. Sakura remained frozen, staring at the object in her hand as though she hadn't even heard Naruto.
Shikamaru, still fighting off the remnants of his fit of laughter, held out a hand to help Naruto up. The blonde stood up unsteadily, swaying slightly as he regained his footing, looking at Sakura anxiously.
"Sakura-chan?" He tried again, taking a tentative step toward her. "Maybe I shouldn't have…"
As if she had suddenly noticed his presence, Sakura's head snapped up and her hand closed around the ring, her expression softening. "I-I…"
"I know it's kind of sudden, dattebayo. But I really love you, Sakura-chan. I always have."
Ino was so caught up in the moment that she didn't even realize she was holding her breath, waiting for Sakura's response to Naruto's sincere declaration, until Shikamaru touched her shoulder lightly.
"If you keep holding your breath, you'll pass out, and I'll be the one who has to deal with this troublesome mess." He murmured quietly, and Ino let out a breath, embarrassed.
Sakura flushed at Naruto's words, her green eyes flicking nervously between her hand and Naruto's face.
"I…" She opened the hand with the ring and used her other hand to grab one of his, molding his fingers so that they would support the ring, which she placed delicately back in his care.
For a moment, Naruto looked completely crestfallen, but then his expression wavered as he noticed the radiant smile that had suddenly come over Sakura.
"Well, I can't say yes unless you propose properly without me knocking you out."
Naruto let out a whoop of delight, not even bothering to slip the ring onto her finger before he grabbed Sakura around the waist and kissed her.
For a moment, Sakura pushed him away, a look of annoyance on her face. But then, grabbing the hand that was holding the ring, she pushed it onto her finger and proceeded to pull him back into a kiss that was even more passionate.
Ino covered her hands with her mouth, giggling with relief. She looked over at Shikamaru who, though he was shaking his head, was still smiling slightly as he watched the two of them.
"Who would have thought? The genius of the Hidden Leaf is a bit of a romantic." She taunted him quietly.
He turned, raising an eyebrow teasingly and giving Ino an exasperatingly wry grin. "Why would I ever be anything so troublesome?"
An uncontrollable urge came over Ino at that moment, of the same variety as the one which had gotten her into this whole mess in the first place. If a hand hadn't fallen on her shoulder at that very moment, Ino would have been sorely tempted to kiss that smug look right off of Shikamaru's face.
"Ino!"
As it was, Sakura had excellent timing –or very bad timing, according to the part of Ino's brain that seemed to be controlled solely by her hormones.
Ino grinned at her friend, throwing her arms around Sakura to hug her. "Who would have thought you'd be the first to be getting married, Forehead?"
Sakura laughed, pulling back to clasp Ino's hands excitedly. "Not me, Ino-pig. Now, come on. We have a lot of people to tell and even more planning to do."
She grabbed Ino's hand and began to drag her away, babbling about all the preparations that would need to be made, and who got priority as far as being informed of the impending wedding went. Ino gestured feebly back at where Naruto and Shikamaru were still standing, vainly attempting to get Sakura's attention.
Her desperate look was caught by Shikamaru, who gave her a casual shrug and a look that said 'I told you talking doesn't seem to work well for us.'
Ino sighed, but let herself be dragged away.
What was one more ruined attempt at understanding when it was added to the ever-growing pile of lost opportunities?
Inoichi was unsurprised when a knock sounded at the door late that night.
Ino had only been home briefly earlier, carrying with her the news of the village hero's impending wedding to the Hokage's apprentice. She had spouted the information as quickly as possible before rushing back out the door, hurried along by the bride-to-be herself. Inoichi didn't expect her to be returning any time soon.
The knock at the door was the same tired rhythm as the knock which had graced the door earlier in the day. Shikamaru Nara didn't offer much aside from a cursory greeting as he entered, taking a seat at the table once more.
Inoichi finished preparing himself a cup of tea before he sat down facing the boy. For a long moment, neither man spoke.
"I think we should be able to finish our discussion." Inoichi finally began. "Based on what we discussed this morning, there is very little left to be said."
Shikamaru clasped his hands in front of him, an almost imperceptible sign of agitation from the stoic Nara. "So you've considered what I had to say?"
Inoichi nodded slowly, setting his cup down carefully on the tabletop.
"I think you make good points, boy. And I've seen evidence that what you say is true, though my guess is good as anyone where that girl is concerned."
Shikamaru shifted slightly in his seat, speaking slowly so as not to seem overeager.
"So then you'll agree to it?"
Inoichi's eyes narrowed, and it struck Shikamaru in full force that this man, crippled though he might be, was fully capable of turning his mind inside-out if he so chose. He swallowed, but kept his gaze firm under Inoichi's scrutiny.
"I will agree. But keep in mind that my decision is not the deciding factor, boy. You still have quite a bit to prove."
Shikamaru nodded solemnly. "I know, sir."
Inoichi gave a genuine smile and stood. Shikamaru did likewise, bowing his head respectfully to the older man. He moved toward the door and had his hand on the handle before Inoichi's voice rumbled again from the other side of the room.
"And keep in mind…" His tone was not overtly hostile, but managed to maintain a threatening air nonetheless. "… you'd better think long and hard before you do anything that might hurt her."
Shikamaru's mouth quirked in a half-grin, recalling similar warning words from Ino that afternoon. Inoichi's wrath may not have been the only thing he had to worry about, but it was certainly something to take into consideration.
"Of course, sir."
A/N: Okay, I have to admit, this was one of my favorite chapters to write. The whole Naruto-Sakura proposal scene came to me kind of spur-of-the-moment, but it had me cracking up while I was writing it. I can just see things going that way between the two of them... ^_^ They have such an interesting dynamic as a couple.
And the plot thickens, no? Will Shikamaru and Ino EVER actually get to talk? Tune in next time to find out! (Rereading that last phrase, I definitely heard it in Rocky and Bullwinkle style narration. XD)
Anywho, reviews are loved, I plan to update again soon, and I hope you all are enjoying it!