AH. HELLO EVERYONE!
This is the newest chapter for The Prettiest Girl! I hope you liked it :*
You know, there's indeed something that makes this chapter different from the rest : it's the first chapter to be proofread by my dear friend, DoubleRainbowRainbow ! (thank you very much :*)
OH! And thanks for everyone who have reviewed so far! You people have given me lots and lots of insights and ideas during the process of this story :)
ENJOY!
He wasn't too keen on the idea of having an arranged marriage with a girl he never knew and have never heard of faraway in Konoha in the first place. At that moment, he was just fresh out of a relationship with Mabui and he was not ready to get on that horse yet. Secondly, he was not ready to give up the rest of his life while stiil wondering if his feelings for Mabui were real or just for a sister. Even so, A used those facts instead to convince him into agreeing for the marriage. He was almost like a predator that had been watching its prey until it came out of its nest. In Darui's case, his nest was his relationship with Mabui, and as soon as he broke up with Mabui, the Raikage jumped on him. A had a variety of reasons, but the one he had been thinking over and over on was the fact that Darui was his only successor worthy of the Raikage title. Darui was one of the most easygoing men, but he always carried his order to the end. There isn't one moment in his life when he strayed away from his superior's order, but at this matter, A was so insistent that he felt that even if he wanted to, Darui had a feeling that A wouldn't even let him refused. It had been an order from the very start.
The Fourth Raikage was not much of the smiling type, let alone the beaming type, but he was definitely beaming at him when he gave him a letter with Konoha stamps on its envelope. It was just delivered that very morning, he told him. Darui skimmed through it and came to an understanding that it contained Konoha's positive response regarding the appeal for alliance through marriage from Kumo. The approval itself was not reason enough to make A beaming though, it was the identity of his to-be bride.
"Yamanaka Inoichi's daughter!" A exclaimed, satisfaction was thick in his voice. "Can you believe it? They give us a Yamanaka! The heiress of the clan, at that, a very talented one."
"That's awesome, boss." Darui agreed mindlessly with the older man. A shifted his look to Darui's apparent less-ecstatic expression and he changed back into the strict Raikage he always is. It was almost like the beaming Raikage Darui had seen a second ago never appeared.
"I want this marriage to be secured, am I understood?" He told him sternly and Darui nodded, again, mindlessly.
"A Yamanaka will be a great asset to this village. Your black storm combined with the ability of a mind walker would very much be a use to us in the future. We might look at our next jinchuuriki here." Darui winced at A's comment. The fact that his child was already projected to be the next jinchuuriki is not something he really wanted to hear.
"I understand." He said, despite whatever it is running in his mind.
"We still have five years and that marriage can be cancelled at anytime and we will absolutely have nothing to do about that. However, in these coming five years, I hope that you prepared yourself and clear your unfinished problems." He looked at him meaningfully and Darui knew A had implicitly referred to his relationship with Mabui. He basically told him to move on, and just like the true shinobi Darui was, if it was his superior's order, then he will move on as ordered. Five years were still quite a long time and it seems so far in the future though, so Darui didn't think of it much. The name of Yamanaka Ino was nothing but a faceless, empty name in his ear. He carried on with his mission as usual and the whole talk was almost forgotten.
Or at least, until that one day when a band of Konoha ninja went to Kumo for a mission and a pale blonde girl called his name amidst his walk. He was just back from a mission and was about to report to the Raikage office until that voice called him. He turned his head and their eyes met. He knew right away that this was the face that matched the faceless name in his memory. He didn't know what exactly told him; maybe it was that curious look in her eyes, maybe it was her blushed cheeks, but something told him that this was her. This was his betrothed.
As that certain pair of cerulean eyes bored into his, Darui instantly felt like an old man. She was so young, so carefree, and so oblivious of what's going to hit her within the next few years. She was definitely not the shier type since she boldly gave him a head to toe glance over, as if judging him. It was nothing but silence before she finally cracked a smile at him.
"Hello, Darui-san. I'm Yamanaka Ino." She extended her hand and he hesitantly shook it.
"Hi." Her hand was very small as his hand easily encased it as they shook hands.
She was just a kid! His mind screamed.
"We might have not known each other but I know all about you." She said confidently. "It would be the first time we met though."Darui couldn't help but to feel a little bit guilty that he hadn't done his homework like she did. However, five years are a long time, and she was just entering puberty around this time and puberty was always, always the time to rebel, to go against the rules and she could change her mind, anytime. There's no need for him rushing things.
"Nice to meet you," Her jolly voice broke his train of thoughts and Darui couldn't tell whether she was sincere or not. She didn't give Darui a chance to say the same because she quickly continued, "It seems like my team's already waiting for me." She looked back and Darui followed her line of vision. A man and two boys her age were standing not so far as she waved at them. She turned back to him once again and gave her another of her girlish smile.
"So. See you in five years?" Her tone had been humorous, as if they were going to meet in five years for a shopping date, or for a trivial appointment, or anything that is not marriage. She was just a small kid however, the thought of marriage didn't scare her yet, or even more, maybe she hadn't fully understood what marriage is. Darui let out a small smile.
"I guess so."
"Great. See you, then." She said before running toward her companions. Darui watched her and he could still vaguely hear her conversing with her teammates.
"Who's that?" The fatter boy asked her.
"No one." She answered lightly as they walked away.
XXX
He could hear her soft sigh as she snuggled closer to him. It wasn't hard to tell that she had been thinking about something, and Darui hesitated to question her more than once. He didn't want her getting ideas, didn't want her to regret her choice to submit to the arranged marriage and left him. It had been a week since their first kiss, and he found himself glued to her almost all the time. Atsui mentioned that they look like newlywed already, but he shrugged him off. He enjoyed her company and Ino seemed fine with it.
"What are you sighing at?" He finally asked her, couldn't resist the temptation. Ino looked up at him and gently caressed his face. It was weird, how familiar those soft hands were with him now.
"What if you couldn't love me and we're trapped in a loveless marriage forever?" She asked him. He knew it's not just him she's worried about; she's second guessing her ability to love him in the future as well.
"I guess that's the whole deal with arranged marriage. Love is but a bonus." He finally came up with an answer. He didn't exactly lie with that answer; Darui knew that no matter how much they act all lovey-dovey at the moment, it wasn't based on love. They were trying to find love by going through the motions instead of the other way around. He enjoyed her company very much, but did he love her? To come to that conclusion was a little bit extreme, even for him. However, Ino was not happy with his answer because she shifted away from his cuddle.
"Won't you regret leaving Mabui for a loveless marriage?" She asked. Darui winced at the mention of Mabui. Things were over with him and Mabui since ages ago and the fact that Ino brought it up like some insane jealous girlfriend didn't sit well with him.
"I'm not leaving Mabui for the marriage. I've told you why we broke up." He said and Ino looked at him before letting out an apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry that I put this on you." She sighed and then she looked up to watch the starry sky above them. "It's my fault."
"It's okay." A part of him was itching to ask if she left someone for the arranged marriage, but his answer came even before he asked.
"I hurt a lot of people for this marriage." She said; her tone was as distant as her gaze. "I sacrifice so much … and if things turned out bad …"
"Does it look like it's going to turn dull?" He asked her, feeling a little offended. Ino immediately shook her head and turned her head to properly see him.
"Oh no. Not at all. You're kind and very easy to get along with." She let out a small smile. "A great kisser, too."
Darui grinned at her remark.
"I shouldn't bother you with such … trivial matter. Hey, do you mind if I left first?"
"I'll take you home."
"There's no need to." She smiled. "I'm going to see C first."
A pang of jealousy stabbed him right in the heart when she mentioned his partner's name. Ino had been associated with a lot of men in her life. Damn, even the Kazekage is chasing after her. However, Darui felt the most insecure when C came into the picture. Parts of him didn't want them to get along well, didn't want them to be friends.
His change of expression was easily read by Ino as she gently held his hands. He looked at her, exchanging glances with the calming, soft cerulean eyes. She was smiling, as if to reassure him that it's okay.
"Don't go." He told her.
"We can arrange another date tomorrow morning." She said. "Breakfast?"
"No. Don't go." He repeated, but couldn't bring himself to say that he didn't want her to go anywhere near his partner.
"I wonder why?" Her tone was astonished, but her expression stayed the same; the one with a calming smile pasted on her lips.
"Just don't." He said, and before she could reason with him for some more, he landed a kiss on her lush, smiling lips. Darui mentally let out a sigh of relief as she gave his kiss a welcoming response; at least he was better at this. He was better at physical contact rather than confusing talks about feelings and emotions.
"Fine, I'll not go." She told him amidst the kiss. He grinned inwardly.
See, he was better at this.
"Good."
XXX
When a set of cerulean orbs peeked at his door that night, he couldn't help but to feel a little bit happy. Ino let herself in as she strode across the room. She checked his temperature by touching his forehead before finally sitting next to him on his bed.
"Are you feeling better?" She asked, there was worry at the edge of her voice.
"Yeah, thanks to your awful herb … liquid." Shikamaru said. Ino smiled at his remark.
"And probably Temari's caring nursing?" She teased him.
How in the world she knows about Temari's frequent visit, Shikamaru didn't know. She's barely home at all now that she's into this new whole thing with Darui. However, asking that question would make Ino feel smug and Shikamaru didn't want to give her that joy.
"Hmm." He responded neutrally as he turned away from her. Ino chuckled.
"You should thank me for this. I am the one who managed to bring you two closer."
"How troublesome." Shikamaru said without really meaning it. "Speaking about Temari, you should probably consider her brother's feelings too."
Ino let out an exasperated sigh. "What do you think I should do?"
"Man up and reject him like you always did to all those boys that didn't pass your standards?" He offered. Ino and her standards was forever a mystery to him, to be honest. There were times when he saw her date a total jerk who didn't even deserve to be with her, but there were times when she refused a total gentleman and when he asked about it, she said that she had her standard. Ino let out a loud sigh, breaking his train of thoughts.
"You think I haven't done that already?"
"You have?" There was a long silence on her end.
"Well, maybe not as blunt as when it was with those other boys." She finally admitted. "Gaara's different from those boys. I can't just do that; I look at him and I see how fragile he is."
Shikamaru would scoff loudly but he knew Ino would scold him for that so he restraint himself.
"Temari said the exact same thing." He turned his head to get a better look at her. He had lost count on how many times he had the thought, but it always struck him each time: She looked so beautiful under the moonlight.
"I love it when you make a Temari reference." She grinned playfully. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.
"Women." He grunted.
"I'm sorry." She said. "Anyway, what did Temari say?"
"She said that she's afraid that Gaara will be obsessed with you. Gaara and obsession wasn't a great combination in the past, you see."
Ino was lost in her thought. "…Yeah."
Shikamaru personally thought that Temari was exaggerating. Gaara? Obsessed over Ino? Please.
From what he understood – which is from Ino's story-, Gaara accidentally saw her picture on some random files which somehow activated a part of forgotten past in his memory and suddenly he's obsessed with Ino?
He didn't even know her.
"You don't think so, do you?
"No." Shikamaru answered. "He just remembered you for what, a second ago and he's already obsessed with you? I think it's just a misunderstanding or some kind." Shikamaru scratched his head."Also, I think he's mature enough to take this. He's a Kazekage, Ino. A leader of a village." Ino let out an exasperated sigh as she finally laid down next to him. Shikamaru stopped breathing for a second the moment lavender and milk filled his nose.
"Scoot, scoot." She told him in the process. Shikamaru growled. The bed he was lying on was a queen size bed; it was indeed too big for one person, but a little bit too small for two people.
"This bed is made for one person, Ino. You can …" He tried to reason but Ino didn't seem to be wanted to be rebutted.
"Scoot." She repeated once again. Shikamaru sighed and muttered about how troublesome it is as he gave her some more space next to him. Ino made a small frustrated growl as she turned to look at him better. Shikamaru knew that even if he didn't ask, she would blurt it all out loud soon enough. He had expected her to complain about the marriage, to complain about Kumo, to complain about anything. He didn't remember when the dynamics between them change. He used to be the one who always complained about everything, but now he's the wiser one.
Oh wait, she never was the wiser one. She's always the bossy one, and now she complained a lot too. Shikamaru figured out that he's not becoming wiser either, he's just becoming more submissive to her. He sighed inwardly, he didn't know if it was good or not and it's too troublesome to think about it either. When Ino finally opened her mouth, she revisited an old wound that was supposed to have healed since long ago.
"I wish Asuma-sensei were still alive." She was always, always very fond of their teacher. Ino even goes as far as telling Sakura that the pink haired girl could have a thousand Sasuke in her team as long as Ino has Asuma as her sensei.
"How troublesome." Shikamaru had moved on from Asuma's death for a while now, but he had to say that he could never be comfortable with the topic. "He wouldn't like it if he saw you sulking around over a dead man." Ino let out a snort and looked at the white ceiling above them.
"I miss him." Ino said. "He always knew the right thing to say to me."
"He spoiled you a lot." Shikamaru agreed.
"Do you know I had the biggest crush with Asuma-sensei back then?" She turned her body to face him, the look of her big, wet eyes burned into the side of his face.
Shikamaru frowned. Ino admired, adored, and respected Asuma, he knew that. But having a crush? No. That was completely new to him.
"Really?" He asked nonchalantly. Ino nodded slightly.
"It was just a little bit after I made chuunin. I knew that he was already with Kurenai-sensei at the moment, but what could I do?" She said; her tone was distant. She was looking at his direction, but Shikamaru knew she wasn't looking at him. She was looking at the past.
"I knew I wanted him for sure. If he were still alive, things wouldn't have been this complicated." Ino said. "I would fight for that."
"Even if it means breaking his marriage with Kurenai?"
"…" Ino didn't answer for several moments before she softly spoke up. "I was thinking about becoming his mistress."
Shikamaru made a low growl of disgust. Ino was always like that, very stubborn, persistent. She had to get what she wants, no matter how dirty the work. Asuma once reprimanded her about this tendency of her but she said that that was the core essence of being a shinobi that everybody seems to forget. Shinobi was never about dignity and clean play. Yep. Ibiki definitely had got to her.
"That was stupid thinking, anyway, and I'm glad I didn't follow it through." She cleared her throat. "The point is, at that time, I knew for sure what I felt. I knew who I wanted to be with."
Shikamaru glanced at her. It was obvious that she was seeking comfort from him. She was trying to make him the substitute for the dead Asuma who always consoled her and told her things are going to go her way in the end because no matter how everyone -including Asuma himself- hated it, life somehow always took their vote on her way. And Shikamaru was the closest person to Asuma she could ever relate to. Chouji was nice and might be a better choice for this kind of things, but he was not Asuma's favorite students. Shikamaru was. He mentally cursed the new burden that had been laid upon him. He didn't want to soothe Ino, didn't want to tell her that her marriage will go flawlessly, because he didn't hope so.
"Women." He grunted. "If you keep having second thoughts about the marriage, why don't you just simply go back to Konoha?" He asked with an annoyed tone.
"I don't have second thoughts about this marriage. I'm on it a hundred percent." Ino said stubbornly. A twinge of jealousy stabbed his heart at the word. She didn't want to go back; she wanted to leave him and didn't even have any second thought about it.
"I just regret that I go along with it because I don't know what else to do." She said.
Ha. That's weird. The bossy Ino who's always in the constant need to be in control didn't know what to do. She was always trying to navigate where his and Chouji's life should go, never grew weary with playing their second mother all the time, and yet she herself couldn't decide where she wanted to go in the end.
Deciding for other people was always easier, indeed.
"You're over Sasuke now?" He asked. It didn't take their lifelong friendship for him to tell that Ino spent more than half of her life dreaming Sasuke as her prince charming. Ino shifted uncomfortably against the mattress.
"I don't know. All I know is that I don't love him as much as Sakura does." Ino said. "That would be unfair, right? Being together with a person you don't love all that much at the expense of someone else' suffering?"
Shikamaru couldn't find the correct response for her remark. Ino told him about all the drama that was going on between Sakura and her in the library that day before she was leaving for Kumo. For him, it would have been such a painful, ironic story about love and friendship that is worth turned into books and movies had it been someone who's not Sasuke at the end of it. He could totally understand why those girls fawning over him when they're all still merely somewhere under twelve years old. Sasuke was their top of the class, the most handsome, and his detached personality made him cool and elite. But this was five years later and Sasuke was an ex- international criminal who had violent and cruel tendency. Ino definitely deserved someone better than that, but she was crying at that moment and Shikamaru didn't want to share that particular opinion of his. What good would it bring? They had enough of fighting over Genma, and now Sasuke?
"How's Sasuke anyway?" She asked, her tone was detached, but Shikamaru knew her well enough to know that she's very curious.
"Fine, I guess? I don't mingle with Sasuke a lot."
"You don't mingle with anyone a lot." She narrowed her eyes and looked at him critically. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, Ino was going to nag about how his life should be in a few seconds.
"You can't always get past through the day by sleeping around and watching clouds."
See, he was right.
"The core essence of shinobi is solitary, BUT networking is important too … Shikamaru, are you listening?" She checked on him as his gaze was starting to get distant.
"Yes, I'm listening." He replied obediently. Years and years of experience from his mother and Ino's constant nagging had made him a professional on how to face it the best way.
"You should connect with others more, because we can never choose our teammates."
"I'm sorry." He said. "I'll try my best next time." He figured that the fastest way to end her nagging was by agreeing with her. Ino sighed contently at his answer and Shikamaru grinned. He was secretly relieved that the topic of Sasuke was no longer brought up.
"Shikamaru?" She called out to him after a long silence when he already thought that she's already falling asleep.
"What?" He was half-annoyed because he was a minute away from a deep slumber and Ino had to want to talk to him some more.
"I've always imagined that ending up with you will be so easy." She said and his heart jumps at her remark. He seriously hoped that Ino didn't hear how loud his heart beat just now. Ino, at the other hand, didn't notice and kept on her chattering.
"Our parents would surely approve. The marriage would be traditional and we will have lots and lots of kids."
"I'll settle with two, thank you." He replied and Ino chuckled.
"I imagined that you'll say that, but then you'll eventually bend to whatever number it is I want and so we will still have lots and lots of kids."
She had a point on that.
"We'll repeat the history. We'll reenact the dynamic of your parents' lives." She said and Shikamaru felt like he couldn't bear another second of her imagination, because that was what he had pictured for years.
"It would be weird and awkward the first time we did it. Not because we're inexperienced, but because we've known each other for so long it's like doing it with your own sibling."
He didn't want to listen to her anymore because he knew that she wasn't projecting anything in the future, it was just an empty imagination she had no intention of making to be true.
"That was very imaginative." He commented surly. Ino never noticed, however, she smiled instead.
"Right? It's so close yet so far. It's like it's within our grasp but we know that it could never happen." Ino said. "It's a mirage in a desert."
"Why?" Shikamaru asked. "Why can't it ever happen?" He repeated. He didn't want to sound desperate but he was. Then again, Ino had this super ability to read everyone's mind and behavior but when it comes to him, she was the thickest person in the world.
"Don't you feel it too? Because I love you so much as a brother I've never had, it's not possible to love you the other way."
He was grinning at her, but he was trying with all his might to fight back the urge to yell at her, to scream at her, to tell her that he loved her THAT OTHER WAY.
"How troublesome." He muttered.
"Besides, there's no way we'd be together when Temari is in the picture." Ino said playfully. "I may have gone all day, but I know she dropped by here a lot, under the guise of visiting the sick you." She was teasing him, completely oblivious that she had ruined the moment.
"Stop talking about her." He told her, annoyed.
"So scary." Ino giggled. "Hey, shall we make a double wedding? It would be …"
"Ino. Please." He gripped her wrist to her surprise. Her eyes widened as their eyes met. That very moment when their glance was exchanged, it's almost like there were information he sent for her to know. That moment, she knew.
She knew that she had just innocently broken his heart and was about to pour salt over his wound with bringing Temari onto the topic.
Shikamaru knew she knew, because of a sudden terrified look in her face. One she always wore when he, Chouji, or Asuma was hurt. He let go of the grip and before she could say anything, he got up from the bed and wore his slippers.
"I'm heading to Chouji's room." He squeaked and left for the door.
Ino never called him.
XXX
She was tired of hurting everyone she didn't want to hurt. First, it's Sakura, then Kakashi, then Gaara, and then Shikamaru. All for the sake of what? A huge part of her wanted to blame Tsunade for signing her into this mission. She would have still been laughing in Konoha had the arrangement never happened. She'd see Shikamaru as brother until he finally found the gut to tell her his real feelings in his own word not by those hurting, painful eyes Shikamaru gave her last night. He'd shed some light in her and then they'll live exactly just how she'd imagined it. Not even in a thousand years she'd even think about the possibility of getting together with Kakashi. That man would just be the mysterious sensei of Sakura and it will stay that way for the rest of her life. Genma's proposal would possibly be the center of her small world at that moment, she would have a very hard time deciding whether she would want to spend her life with the most charming man she's ever met or to save herself from Konoha's number one womanizer. Or maybe there would be another man, Shino or Kiba, maybe. Those two had obviously great chemistry with her.
She hated herself so much at the moment and when she was in a state of self-loathing, she knew it was good not to interact with anyone. She cancelled her date with Darui, telling him that she didn't feel well and stayed at her room, sulking and brooding. She knew the exact and only person she had to see, which might not make her feel better, but will cure her out of this self-loathing state. She was reluctant to go out to find him, but she immediately knew she needed help when she stood in front of the mirror and a messy-haired, grim faced blonde stared back at her. She couldn't look this way forever, her vain side told her. She needed immediate help from her mentor. Ibiki, while won't be able to soothe her with comforting words, will be able to give her the cold hard facts, the possibility, the right path she needed to walk on. Ino sighed and went out of the room, hoping that he would stay around the house, even though she knew that it was almost impossible that he'd be at home during the day. The house was empty, Shikamaru, who usually lazed around the house all day, was gone. He was avoiding her. Ino took a bath, and prepped herself to look as prim as usual before meeting the warm afternoon air in Kumo. She was on her way to the library, because what she needed was quiet moments with books which will undoubtedly take away her mind off of her current problem.
Except, her problem came to her first before she could even reach the library.
"Ino." A voice greeted her and she didn't need to turn her head to see whose voice it was. She did anyway, and she followed it up with a small smile as she greeted him back.
"Good afternoon, Gaara-kun." She wanted to run away from him like she did for the past few weeks, because she couldn't handle the fact that she had to refuse him. She was no beginner in rejecting men department, but Gaara was just ... It felt so wrong to hurt him. However, despite her mind screaming orders for her to make some trivial excuses and ran away, she froze and waited for the red-haired man to catch up with her.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Nowhere." She lied.
"I'm going to this sushi place Omoi-san was telling me about. Will you go there with me?" He asked her.
"Who else going to be there?" She asked.
"I was planning to eat there alone." He said. She knew she should make up some excuses and refuse the offer. However, this was why she had been avoiding Gaara for days, she didn't want him to make her requests because she definitely couldn't refuse him anymore, and that was why she solemnly nodded.
"That sounds great." She said, trying to muster up the best smile she had. "Let's go."
Gaara nodded in satisfaction. "Great. Let me lead the way."
The silence during their walks, while Gaara's expression gave away nothing, was excruciating on Ino's side. She was starting to feel guilty to Darui for cancelling their date and going on a sushi restaurant with Gaara in the end. And what if Gaara brought up the ditch-kumo-and-come-with-me-to-suna topic once again? How should she react?
"I was wondering," Gaara suddenly broke the silence between them. "Do you love Darui-san, Ino?"
"Gaara-kun, can we don't talk about that?"
Yep. Running away was her answer. She hated how she started to take on Shikamaru when it comes to approaching problems, but she was scared and tired of hurting people. Now that she thought about it, even Shikamaru only ran from menial tasks, he did brilliantly on all the other important ones.
She was the only coward here.
"Why?"
"Can I be honest with you?" Ino asked as she eyed his curious face. Gaara nodded slightly.
"If this mission never came up, marriage wouldn't even cross my mind at the moment." Ino sighed. "So, even that, let's say that I bailed on this one, I'm not going to agree to your appeal of marriage, Gaara-kun."
It couldn't be any blunter than that, right?
"Besides … why do we have to be couples? Let's just settle on friendship." Ino said.
"Friendship?"
"Yeah. Like you and Naruto, you guys are tight, right? Why do we have to be couples?"
"Because …"
"No reason, Gaara. Friends can do it all as well, we can always hang out together, send letters to each other. We don't necessarily have to be couples to spend a lot of time with each other."
Ino cheered inwardly as she saw his stunned expression.
"Let's get to know each other better, Gaara. But as friends, okay?" She smiled.
"… What if I fell for you even deeper after that?" Gaara asked quietly. "You'll be married to Darui by that time."
She was thinking of the idea about matchmaking Gaara with some girls to throw him off from her but it only reminded her of Shikamaru and Temari and it gave her headache just to think about that.
"Well, we'll never know the future. Let's just do what feels right at the moment. For me, it's being friends and try to get to know each other better."
Ino knew that Gaara knew that she was evading the question, but he didn't say anything. Ino extended her hand over the table.
"… You are my friend, right? Friends shake hands all the time."
It was just like what she said at the past and at that, Gaara cracked a small smile.
"Friends." He shook her hands.
XXX
"You shouldn't be eating so much, Chouji." Chouji knew that voice and that sentence so well he could identify the owner without even looking at her. A second later, Ino sat in front of him, uninvited, her hair was a little bit messy, but he's not going to tell her because she's going to fuss forever about it.
"It's my first real dish of the day." He told her and Ino narrowed her eyes at him menacingly.
"Are you saying that you've been snacking all day?" The way she said it made him feel like he's a boy caught doing naughty things.
"It was just …" Seven orders of dango, three whole cakes, and countless bags of potato chips. "Some snacks." Chouji was never a liar, but over the years, experience had taught him that when it comes to what he eats, it's always better to spare Ino the details.
"I can always make a diet program for you, Chouji. It wouldn't even be that hard." Ino offered nicely to his surprise. He seriously expected some seven-minutes long lecture about healthy diet from her.
"Umm…I'll tell you if I'm interested." The silence after that was unsettling. Ino practically stared at him eating and while usually it's not bothering him, his gut tells her that there was something wrong with her. Spending his last 10 years with her had made him has that kind of instinct.
"Is something bothering you?" He asked her. Ino shook her head.
"No, not really."
"Okay." He continued on chowing down his food. Pushing her would be no use. Ino wouldn't tell a story if she didn't want to tell one.
"What's so special about being couples?" Ino suddenly started the topic.
"Commitment?" He tried. That was what he had in mind when Ayame came to mind.
"Interesting." Ino nodded at his answer, giving it some thoughts.
"Don't you think it's selfish, telling people you love not to, well, love other people?" Ino gestured a quotation marks at the word 'love'. Chouji sipped his miso soup gratefully.
"I don't know, Ino. I don't think I'm the right person to talk about this kind of things."
Ino growled loudly.
"No one was ever the right person to talk about this." Ino snorted. "Darui's my betrothed, Ibiki's too dark, you are too nice, C's too self-involved, and Shikamaru …" Her word trailed off as she moved uncomfortably on her seat.
"What happened between you and Shikamaru?" Chouji finally asked.
"What do you think happened?" She asked back, her eyes rolling.
"Did your joke went too far?"
"It could be that. There are things I wish I didn't say." Chouji nodded.
"You should say sorry, then." Ino shook her head.
"It's not that easy."
"It's that easy with Shikamaru."
"I know that he likes me." Ino said very quickly all of a sudden. This took Chouji by surprise because he thought Shikamaru would choose a better time to tell her his feelings.
"He didn't tell me, but I know. And …What about you?" She asked.
"No, Ino. I don't harbor feelings for you." Chouji said as he secretly weighing the options of ordering one more bento, but was too afraid that Ino would jump and lecture him for hours.
"You're happily in a relationship with Ayame, of course I know you didn't harbor feelings for me." She winced. "I mean, did you know all along?"
"Of course." Chouji nodded.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ino asked, frustrated. "This really took me by surprise."
"Why should I tell you? And for your information, his affection for you is really obvious, you see. I'm surprised that you're surprised."
"I thought he was with Temari … I didn't know …" She said quietly.
"You really are the thickest person in the world when it comes to Shikamaru." Chouji nodded, remembering Shikamaru's quote long ago. He used Ino's confusion to quickly –and as casually as possible- order another bento and it worked. She's too deep in thoughts to notice.
"A lot of things made sense after that, and …"
"Do you like him too, Ino?" Chouji couldn't help but to sound excited. Ino shrugged her head and glared at him.
"I'm betrothed to Darui, Chouji." Ino said in a reprimanding tone. "Your mission is to make sure my betrothal went well, not to play matchmaking me with Shikamaru."
"Well, if …" Chouji scratched his head. "If this is in a totally different situation. Do you like him too, Ino?"
"Okay. It's the what if situation then. I love him the same way I love you. As a brother."
"You don't like him?"
"I don't know. Mixed feelings, maybe. I probably indeed am will be starting to … look at him the different way. Wait, is that a whole new bento?" Ino winced as the bento was delivered to the table.
That was good enough.
"Yes this is a whole new bento."
Ino and a dilemma is something that Shikamaru could always work with.
Ino was taking a deep breath and looked like was about to start to berate him when a blonde haired guy approached them. His stoic expression made him looked like he's in a bad mood all the time.
"Hi, C." Chouji greeted him and C nodded at him briefly.
"Here's a letter for you, Ino." He said, handing Ino a brown colored envelope. Ino looked surprised by both his sudden presence and the letter.
"Hello, C. Thank you." Ino said as she took it from him. "So now you're playing messenger boy, huh? Sit down here, please join us."
"I can't. I'm busy." He quickly dismissed the idea.
"You're always busy." Ino whined. "Take a breather, have a drink with us. My treat."
"I have to go back to the hospital and take care of some business. Some other time." C said and then he left without letting Ino said anything more. Chouji looked at her friend.
"It's nice to see you making friends so quickly here already." He said sincerely. Ino smiled.
"Yeah, when Neji and the team left, Darui was constantly on missions. So, yes, I hang out with him. A lot." Ino told Chouji as she examined the brown envelope. "It gets lonely and C is a medic nin and as stoic as he is, he's also very smart and knowledgeable. I really enjoy his company. Hmmm, this letter hasn't been opened."
"I'm glad that you're happy now. Especially now that your birthday's almost coming, I think there will still be a lot of people coming to the party even if we celebrate it here in Kumo."
"To be honest, I will be happy enough with celebrating it with Shikamaru as always." Ino said idly, opening the letter gently. Chouji chuckled.
"Won't it get awkward this year?" He was trying to tease her but Ino's expression changed as she opened the letter. Her expression was flabbergasted as she quietly put the paper back to the envelope and put it on her pocket.
"What's in the paper?" Chouji asked her. Ino shook her head.
"I have to go."
XXX
"So …" Her expression was hesitant when she said that. "I was wondering if I could spend my birthday in Konoha." When she was done saying that, her eyes immediately darted back to his eyes. A frowned at her request.
"It will just be for two weeks." She added hastily. "I'll be back before you know it and focus on the wedding then."
"That's a month if you included the travel."
"Can I?" There was something about her tone that made him feel like a father somehow. It was as if she was asking if she could go to some kind of night festivals or things like that. A gave it a thought. Reports had told him that Ino and Darui was in a very positive relationship as of lately and he couldn't say that he was unhappy with that.
"Can I?" She repeated.
"You can. But no more than a week, Ino. There are preparations that needs to be made here."
"I will do my best as soon as I get back."
"Take Atsui and Samui as your escort. I'll summon them later. You'll leave first thing in the morning."
A was experienced enough to read people expression to know that Ino didn't want Atsui and Samui to escort her. However, she didn't say anything and only nodded quietly.
"Or would you like Darui to escort you?"
"Anyone who doesn't inconvenient you is fine, Raikage-sama." She said respectfully. Ah, manners. Her best trait of all.
"I was actually going to assign Darui to this S-ranked mission, but I guess we have other capable jounins of doing that. You will be escorted by Darui tomorrow."
"Thank you very much, Raikage-sama."
"Now leave. I have tasks waiting for me." He said. Ino nodded immediately and leave for the door. When she was stepping outside the room, apparently Chouji was already there waiting for her.
"I got worried that you were going away so quickly." He said.
"I'm so sorry." She said, smiling at him as they walked side by side to the exit of Raikage tower.
"So, what happened?"
"We're going home tomorrow, Chouji." Ino said. Chouji looked pretty surprised at the news.
"So quickly? Are you … cancelling the arrangements?"
Ino snorted. "God no, why would I do that?" She let out a forced chuckle. "It's just for a short time."
"Ino, what's in the letter?" He asked, starting to get really worried.
Ino looked at him and gave him a rare smile that even Chouji hardly ever seen.
"Kakashi's awake."
HAHAHA, what do you think? Good? Bad? Pleas share your thoughts on the review because I love me some ideas, some thoughts, and generally things to think about regarding the story :)
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