Hi everyone! And hey 'ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36', 'Yoky2cool4u', and 'Haylin-chan' for your reviews. Hehe, I was smiling like this :3 when I was courageous enough checked my email, then this X3 when I read your reviews! As for Yoky2cool4u's comment, Temari's role will be brought up in the next chapters (I'm not quite sure myself exactly when)
Anyways, I think my summary is kinda misleading compared to the initial idea I have for this story (which is revealed in this chapter). Hahahaha so I guess I have to change that and the rating as well. (hint hint~) Actually, I'm quite torn whether changing the genre of this story: Romance/Humor or Romance/Drama? Why can't it be Romance/Humor/Drama?
Now onto the show, err, story!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Just this story.
Chapter 2
It was moderately hot and harsh winds dominated that afternoon. The sound of leaves rustling could be heard practically everywhere in the village. Civilians were up and about hours ago, already busy with their everyday routine. It was yet another typical day in the bustling village of Konoha.
With no missions and no documents piling up on his desks (or so he thought), Shikamaru spent his "free time" doing his favorite hobby: watching clouds. With his hands serving as pillows, his eyes wander off to the sky.
No one really knew what was so fascinating about clouds nor had considered to spend time to actually watch them drift away, but Shikamaru knew better. With all the things happening around them, he had taken the pleasure of relaxing in watching clouds. Or rather, he made it that way. As lazy as he was, it was only a matter of time before he found leisure in this strange habit. It took only little energy to watch the clouds but it certainly brought him to a state wherein he could lounge around and rest.
He was alone on the rooftop; one of his favorite spots, but also one of the easiest places he could be found. He did not have control over his time anymore, and with little interval from his previous work to his supposedly present to-do things now, he still managed to escape. With his 200 IQ, even the slightest probability could be possible.
So he plotted his escape route in his mind; considering where he was, the people he was talking to, and to his cloud watching spots. He came up with over a hundred of fool proof plans and chose the best one.
Shifting his weight, he laid on his side trying to cover his eyes from the sun with his arm. Finally, some peace and quiet.
Or so he thought.
A loud thud came from behind him but before that…
"Oy! Shikamaru! What are you doing here lazying about?"
He forgot that he has that variable in his life.
That troublesome woman, he muttered between his teeth.
Aside from his mother, he knew someone else who had enough energy to scold him around. Knowing who his perpetrator was, he closed his eyes, ignoring her and trying to feign sleep.
As if she knew what Shikamaru was thinking, she said with a teasing tone, "Ah! Don't tell me you've been slacking off from your work! Wait until your mother gets to hear thi—"
"Stop acting childish, Ino. Don't drag my mother into this." Shikamaru sat up, making sure he annoyed her with how slowly his movements were.
"You know that I'm only kidding, Shikamaru, but won't that be funny? Well, at least for my part. Besides, she might actually get your butt moving and actually do your work. Yoshino-san is your mother after all,"
"Troublesome. So? Why did you come here for? You already cut off my break time in half with your silly bickering."
She looked at him and took in his lazy appearance; his arms resting on his knees, his back slouched, and his face obviously scowled with annoyance. He never seized to look so handsome without putting any effort at all.
Putting all those girlish thoughts aside, she scowled back, "Come on, Tsunade-sama sent me to look for you… right after she knew you were missing. You were supposed to pick up some documents at her office, you know?"
Shikamaru sighed at that reminder of his previous work and lowered his head. "Ahh. I will surely get a shitload of scolding from her. You women are just so troublesome."
"What did you say?"
"N-nothing. I was just wondering why you were sent out to look for me,"
"Oh, yeah. Tsunade-sama said she has a mission for us,"
"A mission, huh? That's even more trou—"
"One more time I hear that word from your mouth, Shikamaru, and I swear you'll never speak of it anymore!"
"…As I was saying, let's hurry and look for Asuma-sensei and Chouji,"
"No need for that. The Hokage appointed only the two of us for this mission. It must be fairly easy sending only the both of us," she tossed her fringe away from her face. Ah, he knew that mannerism of hers. It was a foolish attempt to cover her nerves. He deliberately ignored the fact that he knew she was anxious about the mission and replied methodically,
"A mission without Chouji and Asuma-sensei? This is more—"
Ino shot a death glare at him before he could utter the first syllable of his favorite word.
"Now hurry and let's get this troublesome mission over with!" She jumped off from the seat and ran to the direction of the Hokage Tower, leaving behind a very unenthusiastic Shikamaru.
"Troublesome…" he muttered before he followed suit.
They reached their destination in no time, much to Shikamaru's dismay but it was better to deal with this now and finish it off quickly he thought. Ino knocked on the door of the Hokage's office and waited for her to let them enter. After she did, Ino opened the door and walked to the center of the room and there waited for the mission briefing.
"Took you long enough to find him," Tsunade said. Ino and Shikamaru could hear the anger in her voice. Shikamaru looked at Shizune, who was standing next to the Hokage. She was frowning, no surprise there considering the foul mood Tsunade was in. He inwardly sighed, trying not to show any annoyance on his face to make the Hokage angrier.
"With things already troublesome, I will tell you the details of the mission,"
'What's with these women using my word this morning?' Shikamaru thought.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama. We're very sorry we are late," Ino quickly apologized.
"Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, you two are given an espionage mission in Yugakureand will dispatch at noon. Having a spying mission, the two of you are to pose as a newlywed couple."
Wow, there goes the bomb.
Ino gasped at her master's orders, while Shikamaru frowned.
"As for the other details, refer to this scroll." Tsunade took out a scroll on one of her drawers. Shikamaru walked over to her desk and pick the scroll from her.
"We only need to gather information about the target and killing is definitely not one of your options." She directed this order to Shikamaru, obviously the team leader of this two-man cell mission. She then glanced to the two shinobis in front of her, continuing her little speech, "Knowing the two of you and your jutsu, this mission is just a piece of cake." Tsunade reclined on her seat. Shizune took this as her signal and walked towards Ino.
"Ino, please take this. This will greatly aid your mission's chances of success, but having Shikamaru with you already guaranteed us that," Ino nodded.
"There's a scroll in there for your further instructions." Shizune added before turning to Shikamaru.
'Okay great. Added pressure…' Ino thought.
"And here are your things, Shikamaru. I bid you good luck with your mission,"
Shikamaru muttered his thanks as he took the bag from her. As Shizune walked back to Tsunade's side, the Hokage spoke again, "With all those things said, you may leave now. I accept only success from you two. Especially you, Ino." At those final words, the Hokage eyed Ino rather intensely. The kunoichi in the spotlight could only stare back and gulped.
She and Shikamaru then nodded and left the office to go to their respective homes to prepare themselves for the mission.
"Let's meet at the gates of Konoha after an hour." Shikamaru ordered before they went separate ways.
Once Ino was in her room, she let out her breath she was unconsciously holding. She took out the scroll from her side pocket and opened it to read the contents.
"Yamanaka Ino, here are the specifications of your role in this mission. Your codename will be Nadeshiko. A young woman, 18 years of age, married to a young merchant named Uruki. The following list will be the basis of your actions once you entered Yugakure:
1. You must act ladylike and polite. Watch carefully with your tone and words towards everyone in the village and especially to your husband. AVOID any unnecessary arguments unless planned;
2. Change into your mission clothes and wear your wedding ring at all times. Make sure you embedded the image of a decent-looking housewife and AVOID any suspicions. No one will suspect someone so feminine inflicting harm to others;
3. As a housewife, have the knowledge of cooking, cleaning, and taking care of your husband. Enough said;
4. Gather information about the target's purpose and plans of invading the Hidden Village of the Sand. Once finished, you two are therefore to go back immediately and report your findings without raising suspicions. And lastly;
5. The results of this mission will be the basis of your recommendation as the Head of the Intel Division. Failure is not an option."
Ino dropped the scroll from her hands and slumped on the floor. She couldn't believe what the Hokage wanted them to do or wanted her to do to be more precise! She had known from her father that information was very crucial to the village, but gathering these never had been too… troublesome! She looked at the scroll on her side and picked it up. "And is this scroll for real? How was this written in such a joking way anyway? Really! Whoever wrote this needs some formal writing lessons to attend to!" and with that she threw the scroll in question at her wall.
Breathing hard, Ino tried to gather herself and what better way to do that was a nice, cold shower. Considering their departure, however, she had to keep it short. Without wasting any second, she grabbed her towel and removed her hair from its usual ponytail.
After relieving some steam off, Ino picked up the bag Shizune gave her in the Hokage Office and opened it. Once she realized the contents of the bag, another trip to her bathroom sounded so inviting. Spread on her bed was her mission's clothes, which composed of a couple of t-shirts and ankle-length skirts that both came with different and matching colors.
"So THIS is one way of becoming ladylike? What's wrong with my normal clothes?" she sighed at the clothes the Hokage had prepared for her. "But a mission is a mission."
After drying herself, she changed into those conservative ugly clothes. She glanced herself on her mirror and noticed something way off yet somewhat… good? She was about to set her hair up in her usual high ponytail, but seeing her outfit and her hair sprawled behind her kind of did match. Except her long fringe. She rummaged through her cabinet and found her previous favorite hair accessory: her purple headband. She put it on, sliding back all the hair away from her face, and took one final look at her appearance.
She gasped. She looked very different in a very, very good and simple way. She never thought she would look this… decent without spending a lot of time fixing on her looks, but she did. She could not help but let out a giggle.
Now done with those, Ino hurried to pack the rest of her mission's clothes and some necessary supplies into her backpack. Glancing one last look to her room, she left the room after she grabbed a cloak from her closet.
After writing a goodbye note to her parents, Ino went her way to the gates of the village. On her short trip there, she wore her cloak, having decided to herself that no one should catch her looking like that. She did not like the idea of people asking and her explaining everything or anything to them.
Upon reaching the gates of Konoha, she did not find Shikamaru. Great, I have to wait for him looking like this.
She stood by the gate waiting for her lazy teammate and in a few minutes, her husband. She shuddered at that thought and felt her face burning up. "Calm down, Ino. This is just a mission… with Shikamaru as your husband…" blushing even more, she shook her head, "Right! An important mission that will dictate my career as a kunoichi!"
Without her noticing it, Ino had caught the attention of Kotetsu and Izumo. The duo watched her having a one-on-one conversation with herself. Intrigued by the scenario before them, Izumo rose from his seat and approached her.
"Uhm… Lady? Is everything okay? Are you waiting for someone to come home from a mission or what?" he asked as he stopped a few steps away from her.
Hearing this, Ino had realized she had drawn attention to herself. She slowly turned around to face Izumo and decided to answer for the heck of it. Besides, she needed some practice before the actual mission.
"I'm so sorry, Izumo-san." She bowed, "I'm just waiting for Shikamaru. Have you seen him anywhere? He was supposed to be here by now…"
To say that Izumo was dumbstruck was an understatement. He knew he was looking at Yamanaka Ino but what he was hearing was someone else. This girl in front of him, talking to him, had a low sweet voice and the Ino he knew, or what he heard from others, was a loud-mouth kunoichi who wore a rather too revealing outfit.
"I-Ino?"
Great! It worked! "Yes, Izumo-san. It's me, Ino. What seems to be the problem? Are you feeling unwell? You don't look so good…" she pursed further, rather too sweet to even consider it flirting.
"Oh. I mean no offense, Ino, but you seem different today. But different in a good way that is! Ha ha ha!"
"So you're feeling well then? That's good." She kept it simple and smiled a little in the end even though she wanted to land a punch or two on his face right then and there.
"Ah, yes! Thanks for your concern. And as for Shikamaru, we haven't seen him this morning," after that, Kotetsu appeared beside the dazzled Izumo.
"Oh that reminds me. We received a notice from the Hokage that you and Shikamaru will go on a mission today. Good luck you two!"
Ino returned with a forced small laugh, obviously not wanting to comment anymore.
Where the hell is that idiot?
Shikamaru was leaning on a wall of a nearby building, watching the entire scene with interest. He heard every word exchanged between the three. It did not take him a lot of guessing that Ino was using the older shinobis to practice her cover.
Smirking, he approached the three. Maybe this mission is not that troublesome at all.
But once Ino sensed his presence, she instantly went berserk.
"Where the hell were you? If I was not mistaken, you were the one who told me that we were to meet here in an hour!"
'Or that I was wrong.'
"Sorry, sorry. I had other things to take care of unlike some of us."
"I'm not really leisurely spending my time unlike some lazy guy here."
Shikamaru shrugged, "I guess. Well, let's go. We don't want to waste any more time standing here. Besides, I want to finish this mission as fast as we can. This is just too bothersome as it is,"
That struck Ino and immediately back down from their argument, "Y-Yeah, you're right. We'll be on our way now, Izumo-san, Kotetsu-san,"
Izumo and Kotetsu watched the duo as they disappear from their view.
"Do you think they can pull it off?" Kotetsu asked.
"What do you mean by that? Their teamwork is one of the best in the village!"
"No, I'm not talking about that. Well, given your initial reaction to Ino's actions and, err, choice of clothes, I doubt that you have read the latest report from the Hokage this morning."
"Why? What's so special about their mission, anyways?"
"Just read the damn report," said Kotetsu as he gave him the said report and went back to their post. As he was about to sit down, he heard a loud yelp from his partner and –
"Lucky bastard!"
The two reached the open gates side by side, looking forward to the road that will lead them to Yugakure after a tiring 3-day travel. There was a comfortable silence between the two, already assessing their mission. It was then Shikamaru who broke the silence as he took a step forward, "Nice practice there, Ino." He turned to look at her then, "Or should I call you Nadeshiko now?"
He flashed her a smile that turned into a playful smirk which Ino truly believed if it were not for her strong, slender limbs she would definitely ended up sprawled on the dirt. Instead, she could not help but blush and gape at him. But when his lips pressed into a thin line, still with a hint of playfulness, Ino knew she had to response or else no lie could cover her undeniable feelings towards him.
"Hell yeah you do," said Ino when she finally found her strength to compose herself, having to close her mouth and stand proudly, and taking few steps away from him. When she knew she was in a safe distance away from him, she twirled around to him and said, "U-ru-ki-kun" She even ended it with a wink.
So, did you tally how many times I used troublesome in this chapter?