Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto. Sadly.
Sakura spun around in front of the mirror, biting her lip anxiously.
"Well?"
Ino cast a glance at her friend from where she sat at the window. The dress Sakura currently wore was her mother's wedding dress, altered to a simple, sleeveless style with a tapered waist. The skirt flowed straight down from the waist before flaring slightly around the ankles for easier movement. The dress couldn't have been better suited for Sakura, but she seemed to be slightly unclear on that point.
"Sakura, I've told you three times already, it looks gorgeous. Honestly, I don't know why you're so worked up about this."
Sakura shot a glare back at her friend. She walked over to where Ino had turned back to look out the window and hit her on the shoulder, causing Ino to whip around, startled. "What was that for?"
"For not paying attention!" Sakura turned back to the mirror, fingering the neckline of the dress nervously. "Everything just has to be perfect."
Ino let out a drawn out sigh. "Sakura. You're being a little ridiculous about this. And I of all people would know. Seriously, Naruto would probably be just as happy if you showed up in a paper bag."
That offhanded comment was met with an even more ferocious glare.
"You know what I meant!" Ino protested huffily. "I just mean that he'll be happy, regardless of whether everything if perfect or whether it's a complete disaster, because he's marrying the girl he's been in love with forever."
That reminder seemed to calm Sakura somewhat and she sat down on her bed, careful not to wrinkle the skirt of the dress.
"I'm marrying Naruto." She whispered, her voice trembling with exhilaration and trepidation.
Ino gave her a small grin in response. "You did accept the ring."
Sakura covered her mouth with her hands, propping her elbows on her knees, but it didn't disguise the smile that reached all the way up to her eyes. "Yeah, I did."
Ino looked at her best friend. She was practically glowing in the dress that she would be getting married in, as she stared at the ring on her hand with a pensive smile.
Images of a crying little girl, flowers and a red ribbon flashed across Ino's mind for a moment, and the feeling of motionlessness overtook her all at once. All at once, life was rushing right past her and, once again, she was standing in the middle of it all. The lone spectator, it seemed.
When had they grown up this much?
"So did you talk to him?"
Ino tilted her head, blinking at Sakura with feigned confusion. "Naruto? What would I need to talk to him about?"
Her attempt at diversion didn't hold up underneath Sakura's skeptically questioning gaze. It was the one that distinctly said "I-know-you're-not-that-stupid-Ino-pig-now-tell-me."
"Almost." Ino admitted reluctantly, twisting a strand of blonde hair around her index finger anxiously. The recollection of their close encounter in the tea shop was still making her stomach do flips. "We were in the middle of talking yesterday when we heard the commotion from Ichiraku's."
"Oh." Sakura's eyes widened slightly as she realized her role in ending that conversation. "Well, are you going to try to talk to him again?"
"Do I really have a choice?" Ino sighed. "Now that I've started, I can't very well just act like we never had the conversation in the first place. Genius boy certainly won't forget about it." She scowled slightly. "I swear, he has a memory like a steel trap."
Sakura shrugged as she stood and began to rummage through her dresser drawer, picking out a few pieces of jewelry here and there. "No time like the present."
"Now?"
Sakura ignored the incredulous look that Ino shot her. "Go find him now. The longer you wait, the worse it's going to get."
"But…" Ino protested weakly, "the wedding! I know it might be a while away, but I'd hate to be another source of anxiety…"
"So you would rather just have this tension between the two of you in the middle of the wedding than have it at least resolved?" Sakura finished.
Ino wrinkled her nose, but she stood and moved to the door nonetheless.
"Maybe I should create problems, Billboard Brow." She stuck her tongue out.
Sakura responded in kind as Ino walked out the door, calling down the hall after her. "Stop being a chicken, Ino-pig. I expect to hear results the next time I see you!"
Ino admired the irises that were blooming along the path to the Nara residence. The bright purple stood out in contrast to the simple earth tones of the surrounding buildings, making them seem all more vibrant as a consequent.
Really, though, the sight of them was just a distraction from the growing heaviness inside of her as she approached the location where she might find Shikamaru. It seemed that broaching the subject in the first place, even though it was a step in the right direction, hadn't really made this process any easier.
She stopped in the middle of the path, hesitating. It was the middle of the day. What if Shikamaru's mother was home? Or worse, Shikaku? If he was there to witness that conversation, Ino was positive her father would know about it in short order.
And what would he think? Certainly, the Nara and Yamanaka clans had developed close ties over the years, but would he approve of this? Worse still, if things went badly, would she be the one solely responsible for ruining relations between the two clans?
That was not a particularly encouraging thought.
Fortunately enough, her problem was solved for her.
"Oi, Ino."
Shikamaru approached at his usual leisurely pace, as though they had nothing important to talk about. Ino resisted the urge to mess with her hair nervously, settling instead with an annoyed expression, crossing her arms impatiently.
"Hurry up, old man! I'm not going to stand here all day."
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, stopping in front of her. "And here I thought we might actually stand a chance of having a civilized conversation."
Ino scoffed. "Based on what prior evidence?"
"Hmm." Shikamaru smirked. "Fair enough."
"Now." Ino found the words coming out of her mouth before she even had time to think, which may have been for the best. "You still have a bit of explaining to do from where we left off in our last conversation."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything and started walking back the way Ino had originally come. Ino had no choice but to follow him.
"You can't just decide not to answer!" She protested, catching his arm to stop him. "I need to know."
Shikamaru stopped, but he didn't remove her hand from his arm. He seemed fixated on some point in the distance, and when he didn't answer immediately, Ino redirected her gaze to match his.
Against the cliffs that surrounded Konoha, the old Hokage monument stood bold against the new construction of the village, like a last testament to the old peace of their Academy years. Below, the Hokage's residence sat in its stately authority. Ino could still remember the first time she had stared up at the monument, so young and full of hope. She wondered what Shikamaru thought when he stared at those faces, whether he saw peacemakers or the orchestrators of war. Anymore, Ino wasn't sure which she saw.
"I have something more important to discuss first." He finally answered, his gaze still locked on the spectacle. "I'm leaving."
Ino's hand on his arm tightened reflexively. He had to drop a bomb like this on her now? What was she going to do? She hadn't even told him yet and now… now, he was leaving? "What? You can't just…"
"Temporarily." He added, shrugging slightly. "Tsunade-sama's assigned me to a team for an A-rank mission that will take at least two weeks."
Ino slapped his arm hard, turning away from him with exaggerated irritation. "Baka. You don't say something like that without qualifying it!"
Her anger was met by a derisive snort, and though she couldn't see his face, she could practically hear his smirk widening as he spoke, which only made her more frustrated.
"You act like you'd be worried or something. Che. You were troublesome before, but recently you've just been acting downright crazy."
That was more than enough to set Ino over the edge. Even though it hadn't at all been Shikamaru's intention, all she got from his response was a short dismissal of everything she was and what she cared about.
She whirled on him, much to his surprise. "Fine, I won't worry then, baka! Go off and get yourself killed if you want! Why would a crazy person care? It obviously doesn't matter to me."
He tried to open his mouth to respond, but she cut him off. The words wouldn't cease flowing now that she had let them loose.
"Not that you care anyway. Goddamn geniuses don't think about anyone but themselves, always doing whatever reckless thing pops into their head, regardless of who might get hurt. And Kami forbid that you spend a second thinking about your teammates—"
Even as the words left her mouth, she realized she had overstepped her bounds. Shikamaru still carried wounds deeper than practically anyone realized and she had just opened them fresh to the world.
They had spoken once about his first failed mission as a Chuunin; even years later, he regretted not being able to bring Sasuke back and the lives that were almost lost. He blamed himself for every injury that occurred, for not stepping up to be the leader that he felt he needed to be. And that was not even to mention the torture he had gone through after Asuma-sensei's death.
And Ino had just dismissed those like they were nothing, shoving them back in his face with all the graceless idiocy of a stupid emotional girl.
She took a reflexive step backward, covering her mouth with her hands in horror. "Shika—"
She went silent when she looked up at his eyes, which had gone cold as stone, shining with uncontained anger as he stared back at her.
"Shut the hell up, Ino."
The words hit her as hard as if he had slapped her. She reeled, unable to yell or apologize or even let loose the tears that were congregating on her eyelashes. All attempts at talking forgotten, she turned and did the only thing she knew how to do in this situation.
She was out of Shikamaru's sight before he even had time to think over what he had said to her.
The genius slammed his hand into the side of the nearest building, ignoring the pain that radiated up his arm. He shook his head slowly, closing his eyes to the world as if that could block out the source of his exasperation.
"Goddamn woman."
As much as he wanted to run after her, he stopped himself, realizing that anything he did at this point would only make things worse.
Two weeks. Two weeks, and this might blow over, so he could stop being a coward and finally get things settled.
A/N: Well, I actually don't have much to say today. How odd. Anyway, you, my readers, are fantabulous and all of your reviews are so very much appreciated. You have no idea. Hope you all have an absolutely wonderful day and thanks so much for reading! ^_^
- Senka