My Boss The Genius

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PART SIX

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The hospital was blissfully quiet, only the faint sounds of beeping machines and shuffling feet heard past Temari's heels clicking against the floor. Shikamaru was walking with a steady gait beside her, the corners of his lips turned down in their customary frown. There was a wrinkle in his forehead that Temari knew meant he was thinking hard about something, but it was the dark shadow in his eyes told her his thoughts were not pleasant. They reached an unassuming, ordinary door in the middle of the hallway. It had a window on the top half, meant for nurses and doctors to check in on the patient inside. Temari supposed it was also for guests who were reluctant to walk in, reluctant to face the reality that someone they loved may be dying in that room. She wondered if that was what it was to Shikamaru, who paused for just the slightest second as he was faced with it. The moment passed as quickly as it came, however, and he pushed the door open.

"Daddy… daddy stop that! I can feed myself, I'm not a child!" Ino protested hotly as she reclined on the hospital bed. Her father, Inoichi Yamanaka, was a tall man with the same long, beautiful blonde hair as his daughter's. There was a harshness, a coldness that radiated from him when he and Temari first met, but that all fell to pieces once he saw his only daughter, his only child, lying still on that hospital bed. Now he was the picture perfect doting father, attempting to make train noises as he pressed the spoon of bad hospital porridge closer to her mouth.

"Ino, princess, just one? For daddy?" he pleaded as she jerked her head away, her eyes flashing and a growl rising from her throat. Chouji was sitting on the wall opposite to the two Yamanaka's, munching on his trademark potato chips and letting the scene play out to his amusement, while Shikamaru's dad – Shikaku, as she found out later – smirked from the seat beside him.

"Eat your porridge, Ino," Shikamaru drawled from the doorway, and her head shot up at the sound of his voice. A smile brightened over her lips, and Temari's heart panged.

"Shikamaru!" she exclaimed cheerily, before her face fell into a growl. "Where the hell have you been? I am lying, horribly injured, in this hospital bed and you don't have the decency to be on time to visit me?" Her screech echoed through the room, and they all winced at the soprano tones of her voice. Temari supposed that Ino didn't know they were late because her boss had holed himself up in his office, speaking at length to Sasuke and Naruto. The FBI agents had been around the office a lot, and she had a sneaking suspicion they were collaborating on the search and capture of the shooter, Hidan.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall and stuffing his right hand into his pockets. "Traffic was bad," he offered as an excuse, and Ino's eyes narrowed further.

"You don't own a car," she reminded him pointedly. He shrugged.

"Train traffic, then."

"The hospital's walking distance from your work."

"There were lots of people on the street."

"JUST ADMIT THAT YOU'RE A LAZY BASTARD!"

Shikamaru smirked. "Now, now Ino. Be nice, or I won't give you your present," he teased, dangling a coffee cup in front of her, the side emblazoned with the Cocoa Bean Café logo. Her face brightened, and she smiled sugar-sweet, fluttering her lashes cutely at the genius lawyer.

"Shikamaru!" Inoichi exclaimed, appalled. "You can't bring outside food into the hospital!" He was promptly ignored by his daughter, however, who snatched the coffee cup out of Shikamaru's hands as he stepped forward to her bedside. She took a sip of it and melted in junkie happiness (that girl really was addicted to coffee). Her head lolled to the side, cuddling into Shikamaru's chest and she stared up at him as if he were her personal messiah.

"Decaf cinnamon dolce double-blended Caffe Americano drizzled with caramel," Ino told the room at large dreamily, taking another sip of her ridiculously long-named coffee. Shikamaru rolled his eyes at her overdramatic-ness, but a grin tugged at his lips and his hand was playing with the ends of her hair, wrapping the white-gold strands around his fingers. And Ino had not pulled away, rather comfortable as she rested her head against him.

It was magical, Temari decided as she watched them, the way they were around each other. There was no awkwardness, no sense of separation. She moved her head, he shifted his stance to accommodate her. He reached up to touch more of her hair, she brushed it back to let him. The instinct with which they reacted to each other was both surreal and serene, impossible and beautiful all at once. It made her heart ache as she wondered if that would ever happen to her someday.

But not with Shikamaru. Never with Shikamaru, Temari realized as she saw his hand brush reassuringly over Ino's shoulder. It was a gesture of comfort, not for Ino, but for himself. Because he wanted to reassure himself that she was alive, that she survived the bullet, that she was here and she was happy with him. His dark eyes were bright and flickered with amusement now, the shadow gone. They had been chased away by Ino's laughter, by her nagging and her white-gold hair and the sky-blue of her eyes. Temari knew that, she understood what the florist was to her genius boss.

But it still hurt.

"How's your cheek, Temari?"

"What?" she asked, blinking in confusion when she was pulled back to reality. She looked over at Ino, who was smiling at her, gesturing to the white, square bandage on her cheek. Unconsciously, Temari reached up to touch it, remembering how she had sat in a small check-up room in the hospital, a nurse fixing it up while doctors raced across the hallway towards the ICU. "Its fine," Temari replied, letting her hand fall listlessly to her side, catching sight of the bandages wrapped around Ino's shoulder, the care with which the paler blonde moved in fear of upsetting the stitches on her side. "You should be more worried about yourself."

Ino shrugged, smiling at her. "The only reason I'm still here is because of you," she reminded the Australian, chuckling. "You took a bullet for me." Temari flushed red, her eyes flickering to the side.

"It was just a graze," she protested mildly, crossing her arms.

"But it still saved my life," Ino replied gently, seeing how flustered the normally calm woman was becoming. "Thank you."

"Ah… you're welcome," Temari said, seeing the pointed look Shikamaru was giving her. Ino wasn't going to let go of the issue if she kept denying the other blonde's gratitude. It was best to just accept it and continue on her way, she supposed. It was a bit hard too, though, when Inoichi stood up to shake her hand with both of his, bowing at the same time as he spouted gratuities. It was almost enough to distract her from Shikamaru's phone ringing, which normally wasn't a cause of concern. But when he looked at the caller ID, the neutral line of his mouth turned into a frown. He picked up.

"Hello?"

Temari couldn't hear any mumbling from the caller, but she could tell it wasn't good news when Shikamaru's eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. He untangled his fingers from Ino's hair, letting the strands slip from his fingers as he strolled to the door, still listening to the person on the other end. By now, everyone had his attention, watching suspiciously as he stopped near the door, as if he would have use for it soon. Temari felt a sinking in her chest, a sensation she was sure was mirrored in Ino as well when the florist looked downright anxious.

"Yeah. Uh huh. I'll be there in ten minutes. If either of you move before I get there, I'll kick both your asses got me?" He hung up abruptly, muttering, "Troublesome," as he did. The lawyer turned to Ino, but the excuse he was going to give her for his departure died in his throat when faced with her narrowed, angry eyes. "Ino…" he said softly, almost warningly.

"Don't," she snarled curtly, crossing her arms. "Don't you dare tell me that was Naruto on the phone, Shikamaru, don't you dare!" He sighed, walking forward again to her bedside and trying to touch her, trying to say her name and explain. But she slapped his reaching hand away, scooting to the opposite side of the bed, trying to put distance between them. "You promised, Shikamaru!" she yelled at him. And despite her anger, Temari could see the pinpricks of tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

"Ino, they shot you!" Shikamaru yelled right back. "What do you expect me to do; nothing?"

"Yes!" Ino said hoarsely, her hands quivering as they swept quickly along her eyes. "Let Sasuke and Naruto handle it, you know they can." Shikamaru's fists clenched at their sides, scowling outright now as he was locked in a stare with the florist. The tension was palpable, but only served to confuse Temari. Everyone else in the room seemed to understand, though, the way they solemnly watched the two arguing.

"It'll be better if I was there to coordinate," he insisted.

"Like hell!" she scoffed. "You think I don't know that you're going to join them instead of staying at the base? I may not be a genius, Shikamaru, but I'm not an idiot either!"

"I never said you were an idiot."

"You implied it!"

"This is ridiculous, I'm going." He turned to leave, walking to the door briskly. Temari heard the machines in the room beeping faster. Ino was panicking.

"Shika, no!" she exclaimed, scrambling forward and upsetting the tubes and wires connected to her body. Several machines started going off as their sensors were disrupted, catching Shikamaru's attention and making him turn back around. Ino had gotten off the bed, looking resolutely in his direction. Temari could tell from the look on her face that she wanted to drag him further back into the room and keep him there.

"Damn it, Ino!" he growled, trying to get her back into her hospital bed. "Stop being so troublesome." She fought back, trying to avoid being placed back onto the bed, in hopes that would deter him long enough for Sasuke and Naruto (especially Naruto) to get impatient and start their mission or whatever without him. Inoichi tried to help, reaching over the bed for his daughter.

"What the hell is going on?" Sakura asked as she walked in, her eyes narrowed until they widened at the sight of Ino out of bed. "Ino, what the hell are you doing? Get back on the bed!" She rushed forward, trying to pry Ino's fingers off of Shikamaru's arms. The blonde struggled the entire way, gnashing her teeth at them. "Stop moving, pig!" Sakura shouted. "You're going to open your stitches!"

"No!" she cried as her dad got a good hold on her, dragging her on the bed. Shikamaru escaped her grasping hands, pulling back quickly and letting Sakura step into his spot. "No, Sakura don't let him leave!" She struggled violently in her capture, ignoring the blood spotting on her side and shoulder. Shikamaru noticed it, a grimace to his face. Temari could tell he was tormented, wanting to stay and make sure Ino was going to be okay, but he knew that he needed to go. So he turned to the door. "NO!"

"Damn it!" Sakura cursed, grabbing a needle on a table near the bed as Ino's wounds got worse. She jabbed it into Ino's neck, the liquid pushed quickly into Ino's system. It was a sedative of some sort, quick and efficiently knocking the thrashing woman out. She fell limp in her father's arms, and Sakura immediately started to tend to her wounds. Shikamaru saw none of it, already out the door and down the hallway. She suspected he didn't want to stay around and see what kind of damage he aggravated Ino to inflict on herself.

Temari stepped out of the hospital room, joining Chouji, Inoichi, and Shikakau as they were also shooed out by the pink-haired doctor. "Where is he going?" she asked Chouji. The large man sighed, no longer munching on his half-full bag of potato chips. There was a sombre note to his tone as he answered her.

"He's going to get revenge."