The Virtuosic Fool
Chapter 5: Aye.
"Shut up!" he told her, "Kami! Damned annoying!" his hand slid down her face slowly and rubbed across her mouth. Ino rolled her eyes, of course he would try to put the moves on her.
She turned around huffily and glared at Kankuro. Honestly, the boy seemed to be nearly as sneaky as Shikamaru. "Is there a reason you had to scare me like that?"
Kankuro smiled at her brightly and shrugged, "I found you didn't I?" he crossed his hands behind his head and rocked forward on his toes. "Shouldn't you be thanking me right about now?" he laughed as she raised an eyebrow as if to say, Who said I needed finding? "Don't even try to play it off, you were lost."
Ino's eyebrow dropped and she glared at Kankuro again. He grabbed her arm and pulled her along the alleyway, she tried to shake him off but he held her tighter. "Don't be mean princess; I'm just trying to help you."
Ino shook her arm, trying to free it from his grasp while she said, "Don't call me princess, you pervert."
Kankuro shot her an icy glare, "If you don't shut up someone is going to think I'm harassing you." Ino smiled at that and said, "You think so?"
Kankuro only glared at her as he tugged her along. Of course, all the hot girls turned out to be bitches. Kankuro sighed and turned in her direction. "You really were lost, the hotel and the restaurant are in the opposite direction."
Ino blushed and looked at her feet. "I would've found it eventually." She looked back up at him with a frustrated glare.
"Taku." Kankuro said, a hand rubbing at his cheek absently, "I see why he thinks you're irritating."
Ino let out a dry laugh, "He thinks every girl is irritating, I'm not any different from your sister." Ino never thought those words would be coming from her mouth.
Kankuro glanced at her with his eyebrows raised and a frown on his handsomely un-handsome face, oddly similar to Shikamaru. She mentally sighed, she hated when men were so... manly. Beautiful in the un-beautiful way, similar to pug dogs. Why couldn't all men either be drop dead gorgeous or pity-inducing ugly?
"I don't think you're like my sister at all." Kankuro said, smirking and shaking his head at his thoughts.
Ino nodded, exasperated, "Of course you don't, you're not Shikamaru."
Kankuro cast her an appraising over the shoulder look, "I'm fairly sure he doesn't think you're like Temari either. You and Temari are polar opposites, the only thing you have in common is your abrasive attitude- and every female has that."
Ino rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Exactly, every girl. I'm no different."
Kankuro smiled to himself, a crooked smile that reminded Ino of Kiba, oddly feral and totally hot. "I think we have to agree to disagree on that. You're not like any other girl I've ever met."
Ino stared at him, mildly amused that he'd actually said that. "Oh come on, that was just ridiculous."
Kankuro gave her a skeptical look, "I hear from a certain teammate that if any gay guy had told you that, you'd have gone berserk."
Ino stopped, a confused look spreading across her face. "What?" That had come from nowhere, and made absolutely no sense.
As Kankuro shut his mouth his teeth clicked together, "Nothing, never mind."
Ino glared at him, certain that there was something more to what he said, but deciding not to bother with it. It wasn't worth losing her precious energy over, besides she felt she'd just get more confused after pushing him to elaborate.
Ino glanced around her, taking in the scenery now that she had someone to keep perverts from successfully capturing her in their freaky hands. The stars had appeared about a half hour ago and sky was covered in a sparkly blanket that Ino wouldn't have minded seeing every night. The ninja city was calming down for a peaceful night of rest, aside from those who were Jonin and priming for a late night out on the town. A few drunken nin were already stumbling back to their apartments, no doubt they had been drowning themselves in their sorrows.
Ino smiled, it was a lot like home. She rather liked the ambience that a night in the desert set, the warmth the air held, the way she could see every star in the noir sky. It was definitely romantic, suddenly she was reminded of Temari and Shikamaru. She looked to Kankuro, a question on her lips and her eyes bright. "Anything happen with Shikamaru and Temari?"
Kankuro looked at her, his brow creased low in confusion. "Uh, no they were just acting like themselves. Why? Was something supposed to happen?"
Ino let out a tired sigh and brushed a hand down her face, "No. I'm just interested in getting Shikamaru a girlfriend."
Kankuro sputtered a laugh at her, his shoulders hunched forward. Ino glared at him, ready to defend herself should he be laughing at her. "What?" she asked sharply.
As he righted himself he ran a hand through his hair - with an amused expression, before ruffling it. His eyes sparkled as the club lights reflected in them. "He seems the type to be able to get girls on his own." He'd better watch his mouth, no need to spill secrets that weren't his to tell.
Ino yelped at that, "I know right? It's not like he doesn't! He has plenty of girls back home! He is a normal teenage boy isn't he? Why doesn't he act on the opportunity? Don't you get those urges?" Ino asked him loudly, people within a fifteen foot radius all stopped and stared as he embarrassedly pulled her into his side and covered her mouth. He laughed at her awkwardness; it hadn't been long ago that he had been just as bad as her.
She stared at him, her mouth hot from all the air she blew out into his hand. He kept laughing, an almost silent laugh that Ino found oddly irritating. If he was going to laugh then he might as well do so outright. "What?" She asked, her words muffled by his large palm. Big Hands. Her icy blue eyes glared at him, and he looked into them with mirth shining in his own black eyes. Ino was surprised by the way they looked so glassy.
"Would you shut up?" He smiled, so she'd know he didn't mean it cruelly. "Gah, you are too sweet." Ino didn't miss it, sweet was a nice word for innocent.
Her face flushed red as a tomato. "Are you kidding me?" He couldn't help but laugh at her angry expression. It was good while before he was able to talk again, and Ino glared at him with a stare that grew with each passing second.
He stopped and looked at her with a soft expression; it caught her off guard and slightly frightened her. Who knew what that look meant? Its unpredictability always managed to frighten her, usually that look was followed by a soft kiss or confession. As she thought of it again on all the men back in Konoha, whom she knew were prepared to propose to her should she want it, she wanted nothing more than to run away. She hated turning people down.
She's scared? Kankuro asked himself, amused at the mild expression of fright on her face. He rose a hand to her face and brushed a few hairs away that had been caught between her lips. "Girl, you are so beautiful. You know that?"
Her face flushed two shades deeper, almost purple now. Kankuro smiled, well done. "I know that." she said, her voice shaking, "No one knows that better than I do."
Kankuro's smile remained as he hooked his arm through hers, before placing his wide hand on her lower back. Big Hands. Ino thought, before shaking her head absently. "It's okay to be a bit touched; I have to admit that most girls are when I compliment them." He shrugged modestly, "I am the Kage's brother after all."
Ino glared at him, "I am not touched."
He chuckled at her unintended pun, tapping his fingers on her lower back. She shifted uncomfortably and squirmed beneath his ministrations. His face remained straight; something that suddenly reminded Ino of their rather large age difference. Five years was rather impressive, no doubt he'd had his fair share of female companions. He was experienced. He probably didn't even think about twice his touch on her.
With that thought Ino's blush renewed itself across her face, he was probably active.
Aye.
His hand rubbed against her back soothingly and he tried not to smile as he saw her flush travel from her cheeks to her ears and neck. He bit back a laugh as she suddenly asked, "How old are you again?" It seemed she had finally realized that he was not a clumsy teenager. Her voice was slightly hoarse as she questioned him and he smiled at her consolingly.
"Twenty-one, why? I can legally drink now. Not that I wasn't before..." he said trailing off as he rubbed at the back of his neck sheepishly.
She nodded quietly, her thoughts elsewhere. Elsewhere being; Has he had sex yet? she wanted to bash herself over the head as those thoughts kept flooding to the forefront of her mind. Of course he has, he's freaking twenty-one! Guys aren't like girls! They get rid of it as fast as possible remember? And as she thought of that the crushing realization that he was taking her to her hotel room became unable to ignore.
What does he expect? He doesn't expect anything does he? her face went white at that thought before her conscious rang through consolingly, Of course not, you dumb bitch, he barely knows you.
He stopped suddenly, "I think we'll be there soon."
She looked around, not recognizing the scenery. "Really?"
He smirked at her; he loved how she had gotten so caught up in their age difference, as if it actually made a difference. She had been blushing and squirming beneath his hand for the past ten minutes and he couldn't help but wonder if it was because she had thought of him as her superior. Which he undoubtedly was which undoubtedly made things between them so much hotter. Not to mention, he was fairly sure she was completely innocent. Completely.
He looked around, dropping his hand from her back and grabbing her arm nonchalantly. He nodded, pulling her closer to him. He tugged her behind him before crouching low to ground and tossing her on his back. "Yeah, pretty sure." she squealed like the pig she is as he jumped from the ground to the rooftops. Her hands clawed at the back of his shirt and he stifled a shudder at the goose bumps that rose beneath her fingernails.
She poked him in the back of the neck with one said fingernail. "Put me down now." Her voice was cold, and he turned his head to catch her expression. Her eyes were shut tight as her face burned brighter than it had all night, Kankuro could feel the heat through the back of his shirt and bit his lip.
"Now why would I do that princess?" his voice was soft and the warm wind carried it back to her as a whisper.
"Because I said so!" Ino said, her teeth gritting together in annoyance. She realized she was totally out of her element. She hated that, she hated blushing, she hated not having the upper hand, she hated not being in control. She hated Kankuro.
"I hate you." Ino said, her voice quiet. She could feel his broad shoulders shake as she tried to squirm out of his grasp.
"Darling, you're just getting a taste of me." He said, caressing her bare leg that was wrapped around his waist.
Ino's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what was happening. The burning from her face suddenly traveled throughout her entire body. Her sunburn ached on her cheekbones and shoulders, while the rest of her throbbed in embarrassment. She wanted to duck and cover, cower away from all the blushing Kankuro had managed to wrangle from her, and cower from what that blushing meant. She leaned her head against the crook in his shoulder. Suddenly at a loss for words.
He had her right in the palm of his hand.
"I hate you." She repeated, into the back of his neck. He smelled like sweet apples.
His fingers danced up her legs, sensually tickling her. Her pulse danced beneath his fingers, and he smiled, relaxed. Three words ended in reactions that would only cause her to dig her own grave. With that realization she kept her mouth shut.
She did hate him though, and she felt compelled to tell him. All too aware of the repercussions those words had in real life, she spoke them, this wasn't real life and his reactions were that of an experienced and playful lover. All that Ino had ever wanted. "I hate you." she whispered in his ear, smirking as he cocked his jaw in agitation as her breath ran across the side of his face. Temptation clouded her brain, a flirtatious high rang through her veins. She'd remember every moment of this in the morning. She couldn't wait to tell Sakura.
His fingers danced higher on the back of her thighs, until they rested directly beneath her bum. Sweet geezers, this is putting the moves on me. Angry and flushed at his guts, she gently bit at the back of his neck. What are you doing? she asked herself, her eyes shut tight. You're just provoking him. She couldn't help but smile as his fingers clenched high on her thighs, pulling her closer to him. She liked this game.
"You'll pay for that, later." Kankuro said gruffly. Ino stared at him, eyes wide and her mouth propped open.
"How exactly?" she whispered innocently.
Kankuro let out a deep chuckle, exactly where he wanted her.
Across town, Shikamaru slept on the rooftop of their hotel. Temari splayed beside him, her legs cross in front of her and her arms behind her head. She watched the skyline for shooting stars, as Shikamaru dozed beside her. It was getting late, and Temari vaguely toyed with the idea of waking him up, before brushing it away. She wanted nothing more than a few relaxing minutes of silence in his company; he had the uncanny ability to be utterly comforting while doing nothing. Temari thought it was due to the fact that neither was sure who owed who anymore, and so they just acted immediately should the other be in trouble.
But who was she kidding? It was never about owing one another.
Shikamaru's hand suddenly shot through his hair, pulling it out of it's ponytail and around his shoulders. "There's one." he pointed off somewhere into the deep azure sky and Temari smiled.
"So you're awake now?" she whispered, her voice catching.
Shikamaru glanced at her, "I was never asleep."
Temari's brow lowered on her face as she laughed, "You could've fooled me. You were snoring."
Shikamaru scoffed, turning back to the night sky. "I never sleep away from Konoha. I'm always on my toes."
Temari laughed as she angled her body towards him, giving him her full attention. "You'd better be. You never know when us Sand nin will decide it's time for another war." she joked lightheartedly. Her voice was quiet and softly feminine. It was this side of her that Shikamaru always found to be especially troublesome. He was in deep shit.
He let out a muffled groan, turning to her with a wicked smirk. "See, I wish we could all just live in peace." His hair fell around his face and Temari was shocked by how much he looked like he belonged in the deeply colored backdrop, by how much he looked like he belonged in Suna.
"Why? So you can sleep all day and get fat?" She pushed on his stomach, totally prepared for the hard stomach that got her mind racing on what he would look like with his shirt off. Six pack? Eight pack? Dear Kami, she needed to stop.
One of Shika's eyebrows rose, "Yes. I doubt I'd get fat though," he said scratching at the back of his neck, "I wouldn't want to wake up to eat."
Temari sighed exasperatedly, "Do you know how good you would be if you tried?" she watched him from her peripheral. "You'd be amazing. Naruto would have to fight to be Hokage."
Shikamaru closed his eyes and rolled onto his back, "Why would I want to be Hokage? It's all paperwork and sitting behind a desk. There's nothing promising in that."
Temari closed her eyes briefly, "Don't you want to be the best? Geniuses usually don't like to trust others with something they could do better on."
Shikamaru laughed at that. "I don't delude myself. I might be a genius and all that with a bag of chips, but Naruto's the people person. In my opinion, that's what's most important in a Kage. I'm more suited for my father's job, as an advisor."
Temari looked at him like he'd grown two heads, "Naruto? A people person?"
Shikamaru smiled, "Okay, so maybe not a first glance. Have you ever met someone who wasn't totally ready to follow him into battle though?" Shikamaru shook his head, "Not to mention the half the village is totally in love with him."
She scoffed and shook her head, a smirk on her face. "It should be you they're in love with."
Shikamaru's wicked curve of the lips tightened. "Like you are?" he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Naruto deserves it, he never ceases to catch me off guard. And that's saying something."
Temari looked at him, her expression playful. "If the village was in love with you like I am, then I'd be very afraid of your wellbeing." she laughed at his confused expression.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he said, turning his attention back to the horizon, he could vaguely make out different groups of Shinobi jumping from rooftop to rooftop together.
"Figure it out for yourself cloud boy." She answered a smile in her voice.
Shikamaru shook his head and raised a hand to his face, before softly running it over his features. He sat up and looked around, slightly groggy. He caught sight of a figure in the distance, jumping rooftops towards them, his profile slightly familiar. "Hey, is that your brother?"
Temari looked up. "Huh?" She looked in the direction Shikamaru was nodding and frowned as she asked, "Yes, but what that on his back?"
Shikamaru shot up from his reclining position on the rooftop and refrained from jumping towards them. "Kankuro?" he called out, the Jonin nodded but said nothing. He slid his hands lower on the leaf Chunin's thighs as he neared his sister and her own leaf Chunin. No need to cause a ruckus.
On his shoulder Ino shifted uncomfortably, her even breaths caused goose bumps to raise on his neck as she mumbled incoherently about lipsticks in her sleep.
Shikamaru frowned as he noticed what it was exactly on the Jonin's back. Ino was asleep, her arms thrown over the broad shoulders of the older man. Her face pushed up unattractively in the crook of his neck. Her hair flew behind her, knotted and stringy from the long journey it had made without a brush. His eyes unconsciously flew to the hands holding Ino to the back of her allied comrade, and he tried not to let his thoughts get the better of him.
Kankuro smirked as he noticed the direction of Shikamaru's eyes, it seemed that a ruckus was in the cards. He couldn't do much about it.
"Shh," Kankuro said quietly, "She just fell asleep."
Shikamaru frowned heavily at his superior, "She let you take her like that? Was she drunk?", he thrust his hands in his pockets. Temari stood up from her reclining position beside him, and frowned at her brothers blatant provoking. He wore an arrogant smirk on his face, and his fingers tapped happily at the purple nins small thighs.
When had a pissing contest been called?
And since when did Shikamaru participate?
Kankuro pushed past them, on his way to the staircase at the corner of the rooftop. "No she wasn't drunk, and yes she let me take her like this."
Shikamaru followed him, not ready to let him take his teammate to her room alone. He didn't respond, unable to form a retort. Ino had let him? Something had to be off here, Ino hated perverts like Kankuro. He had to have missed something. Ino must've been half asleep when Kankuro had found her.
Kankuro could've been anyone if that were the case, he could've been a freaky nin in disguise. Ready to do freaky things to her.
Ino would get a talking to from him in the morning.
They were in a foreign land for Pete's sake! She should have some common sense.
On Kankuro's back Ino opened her blue eyes warily, "Shikamaru?" she called. Kankuro cursed the world.
Shikamaru was suddenly in her field of vision, a slightly angry look on his handsome face. "I'm right here." he said, he glanced at Kankuro. "I'll take her from here."
Temari wanted to protest but knew better, who was she to get between Shikamaru and his unruly teammate who couldn't take care of herself? No one. She sighed unhappily, why was it always the white blonde who brought out the responsibility in him?
Kankuro glanced at him, not wanting to let go of the girl on his back. He'd wanted to tuck her in. On his back Ino mumbled her 'ok' to Kankuro to put her down. He did so, unwillingly but ready. He steadied her as she swayed on her feet and she looked at him with a slightly embarrassed smile, she blushed again looked at her feet as she walked towards Shikamaru.
He rose and eyebrow at her but said nothing as she grabbed onto his arm, already nodding off into his own shoulder. He watched her for a moment before hoisting her up and into his arms, she mumbled something of a protest but snuggled into his regulated flak jacket. She smiled as she caught a whiff of his scent, grass and sunshine. He reminded her of home.
Kankuro stared unhappily at the Leaf Chunin before walking towards him and whispering so quietly that Temari couldn't hear. "Remember this Shikamaru, you're not me." He backed away slowly and frowned at the glaring leaf Chunin. Shikamaru ran the repeated words through his head before coming to the same conclusion. He definitely wasn't Kankuro, he admitted it with a sorry expression to himself and brushed past the Sand shinobi much the same way he had done so earlier in the day.
As he reached the stairs he turned to face the two Sand shinobi, Temari waved and he nodded, he looked to Kankuro who had crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. Respectfully, the leaf shinobi returned it.
Indeed, he wasn't Kankuro.
He set Ino her bed after feeling like a perv as he dug through her pockets to retrieve her key. She mumbled quietly in her sleep and Shikamaru watched her, she mumbled once more before he walked towards her. He shook her shoulder, briefly waking her before looking into her eyes and saying, "We're having a talk tomorrow."
She swatted him off and closed her eyes once more, returning to her peaceful slumber.
Shikamaru closed his eyes and shook his head in fleeting annoyance. He wondered if he should even go back to his own room. He didn't want to miss her in the morning, which he definitely would if he went back to his room, she was an early riser and he... was not.
He decided to just park it on her couch, and so he peeled off his layered tops, flipped on the TV and decided to not let Ino leave the hotel until very late in the afternoon.
A/N: So, thanks to a few certain reviewers (mainly KNGrulz) who told me that my story didn't need any fixing, I've decided. 'What the hell?' I'll just fix it as I go along. No need to lose what I've already written right?
Anyways guys, please review. Last chapter I didn't get as many, and I think that affected my will to write. :) I love you all so much for supporting me! Keep reading, and I'll try to update within the next few days! :D