11. What If
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not going back home!" Ino slammed the door in his face before he could squeeze a foot between the doorframe and the door, but considering how he felt the vibrations from that door slam, Shikamaru internally thanked himself for being slow at that moment.
"Are you kidding me, Ino?" Shikamaru roared as he kicked the door in pure frustration. "Can you stop being so stubborn and ffffff—!" He stopped himself from cussing out of pure habit. Mother engrained in his brain not to cuss in front of the ladies—"it's not attractive, and it insults women," she says. When Asuma and Choji were around, sure, he'd cuss, but when Ino came around, he had a virgin mouth.
After a deep breath, Shikamaru continued in a calmer tone, "Can you please listen to me?"
The past couples time he tried to convince her to come back home, Ino usually ignored him, so it surprised him when Ino appeared at the window with a scowl. She yelled, "No!" then snootily proceeded to flip the 'open' sign to 'closed' then left, leaving Shikamaru to stand by the door and rage to himself.
Ino, of all the people who were donkey stubborn, had to be the one to decide she never wanted to go back to Konoha. Shikamaru, of all the people who lacked the talent of persuasion, had to be picked to convince Ino to return. Tsunade must be playing a mean trick on him….
Shikamaru huffed, pulled his emergency cigarette out of his back pocket and sat down on the tiny stairs that led up to the entrance. He twirled his unlit cigarette between his fingers as he contemplated the different methods of convincing Ino into coming back home, or just knocking some sense into her. He favored the methods of the latter. Tsunade never mentioned anything about knocking his teammate upside the head a few times.
"Did Ino lock you out again?" Jin stood in front of him with an armful of groceries. "This has to be the third time this week."
"Yeah, well…" Shikamaru didn't finish his sentence. He flicked the unused cigarette across the alleyway.
Jin watched the cigarette tumble and roll down the alley. "Trying to quit?"
"Yeah," Shikamaru sighed as he leaned his head against the building and looked up at the patches of blue and white. "My mother doesn't support my habit, so I'm quitting for her." And Ino bit his ear off about the consequences of smoking, but he never really paid attention to Ino, who just picked on his habit because she already dissected every single "bad habit" he had previous to smoking.
Quitting the mission didn't seem like a horrible idea either….
Jin set his grocery bags on the ground and sat down beside Shikamaru, who inched over to make room for the older man. "My son used to have a horrible smoking habit. He cut down for his son who has asthma, and he had trouble breathing during missions, but I guess it doesn't matter since he died recently on a mission."
The subject of Jin's son threw Shikamaru's thoughts off. How was he supposed to respond to the news of his son recently dying? Someone needs to write a book about proper talking etiquette with a full chapter about what to say and what not to say when someone mentions a loved one dying. Shikamaru made a mental note to talk to his mother about that.
Shikamaru said the first thing that came to mind. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, kid." Jin chuckled. "I'm proud of him. He had a good life before he died. His son is eight." With a small playing on his old lips, the older man held his hand up to show Shikamaru how tall his grandson was. "He's a student at the academy. You know what I'm talking about, right?" Shikamaru nodded. He knew exactly what Jin talked about. Those were the good days when he could be lazy. "From what his teachers say, he has some talent—takes after his father, I bet."
"His mother isn't a shinobi?"
Jin shook his head. "No. His mother isn't the greatest person I know. She's a stripper out by Pretty Ladies, or whatever the hell that place is called." Shikamaru gulped down a heavy lump when Jin mentioned the name, remembering the time when that woman warmly invited him to come visit her. "I'm glad Shouji divorced her."
"What happens to your grandson?"
"Since his mother isn't 'fit to be a mother', he's staying with my wife and me." Jin's face brightened and his posture straightened as he spoke about his grandson. "Naoki is the best kid! He's such a sweet boy. You really need to meet him." Shikamaru smiled at his feet, trying to picture meeting Jin's grandson. He quickly shook the thought from his mind, knowing the time restraint Tsunade put him on. He had to grab Ino and haul ass out of Cloud.
"I'd be more than happy to."
Jin smiled at the younger man before placing a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder to push himself on his feet, groaning when his timeworn knees cracked in protest. "You'll have to excuse me, I have to get these inside before I have hungry employees pestering me about food. I'll see you later, right?"
"Most likely," Shikamaru grumbled, back in his dispirited morale.
"Don't give up on Ino. It may not seem like it, but Ino does need you."
"Really?" Shikamaru almost laughed. "It seems like she's fine on her own!"
Jin sighed and leaned against the door, mumbling to himself about how he should've kept sitting down. To Shikamaru, he said, "Ino does need you, and even though she doesn't realize it now, going back home will do her some good, so you, boy, need to keep pushing a little harder. It may not seem like she's taking in what you say—"
"She's completely ignoring me." He knew Ino better than anyone in this freaking village.
"Small steps, Shikamaru."
Just the thought of trying to convince Ino to return home made Shikamaru want tear out his hair by the roots. "How am I supposed to bring her home when she's so persistent about staying here?"
"You're a smart man. You'll think of something. Oh, here, you might want this." Jin handed Shikamaru a juice box. A juice box? Really? He was eight when he stopped drinking from juice boxes. They were small and never satisfied his thirst. Jin winked at him when Shikamaru gave him a puzzled look. Before the shinobi could question Jin, he retreated indoors and the door behind him, once again, leaving Shikamaru outside like a homeless mutt.
Shikamaru stabbed that juice box with the straw and sucked the life out of it.
Ino curled over the toilet, gagging on air and sometimes spilling the little breakfast she ate that morning. She gasped for breath as the relentless gagging spells limited her breathing.
Sachiko sat on the edge of the bathtub, keeping Ino's lengthy hair from falling into the toilet or getting in the way of the spilling water Ino vomited. Ino felt Sachiko's fingers run through her golden locks as she leaned over to give one last heave into the toilet.
"Ino, you should really stay home," Sachiko advised. Her hand rubbed up and down Ino's tense back in an attempt to soothe her twitchy body. She took a dry towel and dabbed the sweat drops forming on Ino's hairline and neck.
"No, I'm so close to getting enough money for my own apartment. I can't take any sick days." Thinking the horrific moment stopped, Ino leaned away from the toilet bowl.
Sachiko let Ino's hair fall from her fingers. "You'll work yourself to death to keep up with rent if you get an apartment. You can't just think about rent alone; what will you sleep on once you get your stupid apartment? What will you eat?"
Ino didn't think about that. She just wanted her own place as soon as possible and the ideas of furniture and food escaped her mind, but Ino wouldn't confess that to Sachiko. "I'm not living here for the rest of my life," she said, brushing away a strand of hair that ventured to the corner of her mouth.
Sachiko's eyes bore into the side of her face. "I bet you had a great life back home. I bet you had a good job, family, and friends back in Konoha." Ino's stomach flipped at the remark of Konoha. "From the stories you tell Minako and me, Konoha doesn't sound awful." Konoha definitely isn't a horrible place. "Now that we're on this subject, I've always wondered why you left."
Because she didn't want to go home with her secret hanging over her head like a dark, rainy cloud that hovered over Amekagure—ever present.
Ino wished her gagging returned to interrupt Sachiko's questions and accusation, but with Ino's luck, the spells never returned, leaving Ino to respond to Sachiko's questionnaire. What could she say that couls satisfy Sachiko's curiosity?
"I just wanted a new start." It was the truth.
"You gave up a supposedly great life back home for a shitty one like this? Everyone knows you're miserable here."
Ino stood up. "I have to go to work."
After her bar shift ended, Ino trudged up the stairs, flipping through her tips, counting each bill slowly and checking whether she accidentally stuck two bills together or not. With a defeated sigh, she shoved the money into her pocket. She didn't make enough money to rent one of the apartments down the street from the Blue Pub, which were the cheapest she found when she surfed the newspaper for open apartments.
If she worked one or two more nights…then maybe, she could raise the right amount of money for a place of her own. Now, after a busy shift as a waitress and a hard, harassment-filled shift as a bartender, Ino craved sleep more than anything.
Ino swung her bedroom door open and kicked it shut, not bothering to flip the lights on since she would flop on the bed and pass out. Her foot, however, remained on the ground despite all the exertions Ino gave; nothing made her foot budge. Her other foot involuntarily took a step, then the other took a step, followed by the other foot. She knew this trick better than anyone did.
"Damn it, Shikamaru. I've told you I'm not going back."
The lamp on Sachiko's nightstand turned on. "You have to sooner or later," Shikamaru said, taking a step towards Ino, making her mirror his movements despite all her struggles against the jutsu. She knew it was inevitable; no way could she break Shikamaru's technique…. "Ino, you have to listen," he whispered, taking closer steps towards Ino until they stood two steps away from each other. Ino locked her eyes on Shikamaru's feet, boring holes into them with a goaded glare. Her hands clenched and unclenched at her side—the only thing she could do.
If he laid one hand on her…
"Everyone misses you, you know." She felt his hot breath hitting her forehead, sending uncomfortable vibes down her spine and making her stomach flip in anxiety. "Your mom, your dad, Sakura…"
Hm, Sakura… Ino smiled when he mentioned her pink haired friend, her partner in crime. Not once in the four months she resided in Cloud did she think about Sakura. After all these months, Ino wondered, maybe something exciting presented itself to Sakura. For a brief second, she wondered how Sakura and Naruto were doing after almost a year of dating and in the same second, Ino wondered what present she should send them for their anniversary.
"Tsunade is worried, too."
Ino chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. "Tsunade doesn't give a damn about me. I'm useless to her."
"Then tell me why I'm here busting my butt to bring you back home."
Ino shrugged. "She's concerned about my father's well-being. If he knows I'm missing, he'll never work until I'm found," she said, leaning away when she noticed Shikamaru leaning into her. She stepped back, finally realizing he released his jutsu. "But really, why bother bringing me back? I'm not worth it. I'm useless as a shinobi, and I'm pretty sure everyone's live are going swell without me. With that said, I'm staying here."
Ino continued to stare at Shikamaru's black, worn out sandals. It was one of those moments where she wanted to run away and lock herself in a room, exiling herself from the world. Shikamaru needed to go back home and leave her alone.
It was true that Ino missed Konoha, but that didn't mean she wanted to go back home. Returning home meant unwelcome questionnaires, and if anyone thought her disappearance as a threat to the village, they could have her own father tap into her head…. Ugh, that's the last thing she wanted.
Shikamaru's voice came in a low hum, forcing Ino to listen carefully. "What happened to make you like this?" He whipped a hand in her direction, gesturing to Ino's body.
What the hell did he mean by that? She glanced down at her body. Yes, she needed a tan, and maybe she needed to lose some weight considering her stomach slightly protruded, and her scars aren't that attractive, but they were all invisible underneath her clothes. There was no need for scrutinizing. Ino sighed and turned, booking it for the door.
He cursed Ino for noticing he released his technique. She turned to run for the door, and he went with the first thing that came to mind, he tackled her. Ino's hand wrapped around the doorknob when he grasped her small wrist and pulled her into his chest as he lost his footing and collapsed to the ground, bringing Ino down with him.
Ino froze for a moment, growing rigid and tense as Shikamaru's arms tightened around her body. She began to move, pressing a hand on the floor to push her body up from the floor. Shikamaru loosened his hands around her, tentatively letting her go. As she kneeled, her fists started to fly, pounding Shikamaru's chest and face.
"Don't touch me!" She wailed, slamming hard fists in his chest. Shikamaru gasped for air between Ino's rapid punches. Warm drops of tears dropped onto his cheeks and neck. Tears streamed down Ino's thin cheeks as she continued to punch. Her jabs to his chest weakened, but they persisted to come.
"Ino," he whimpered, wincing at the sudden punch to his jaw. "Calm down." He sat up and attempted to encase the sobbing girl into his arms. She shoved his arms away and laid another jab to his face. "Since when did you punch so hard?"
Her crying declined into whimpers and incoherent whispers. "Why me?" she chanted.
"Ino?"
"What?" she sniffed.
Shikamaru had no idea what to tell her. Convincing her to come back home at this time would land him in the hospital, and he didn't want any more waterworks. Shikamaru didn't answer, just crawled over to her and encased her hand into his. She inhaled a sharp breath at the contact, and he was grateful when Ino didn't punch him in the face for it.
"I—you can stay."
For once in his life, he remained patient as he waited for Ino's response. Her silent tears ceased as the shock claimed her. Ino opened her mouth to say something, but she quickly closed it and after a long internal debate, she plunged into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest. Shikamaru winced slightly.
"Thank you," Ino's muffled voice said.
Shikamaru hesitantly combed her fingers through her hair. "However, until you decided to come back home, I'm staying here."
Ino sighed. "I knew this was too good to be true."