Day Three

Ino definitely hated gym.

Gym was never exciting enough for her. She had always wanted to go out for sports, but thanks to moving she couldn't stay around long enough to be anything worthy enough for the team. So guess where she was always stuck? Boring. Old. Gym.

There were a few recognizable kids she knew though. Shikamaru, obviously, was in that class. Of course he would take the easy way out for getting PE credits, being the lazy bastard he was. Sakura was there, as well. She hadn't ever been too interested in sports teams, she had said. And then there were a few familiar faces from other classes of hers: Temari, Kankurou, Gaara, Hinata, and Shino. Then there was a boy Naruto, who Sakura had pointed out earlier. Naruto was always acting up in this class, she had said, since he was so mad about not making the football team, while is rival Sasuke did. Rivals!? Ha! Ino sneered at his vision. There was no way Naruto could beat a god like Uchiha.

But if he could, damnit, she'd definitely acknowledge him for it.

"All right, kids," the coach walked into the gym, flashing a wide smile, "Let's get working! Get into stretch block!"

Coach Gai was one of the weirdest coaches Ino had ever come across in her entire life. He always rambled on about youth and that nonsense, and he had the ugliest hairstyle ever!

"Coach!" A boy ran into the room… a boy who looked disturbingly like their Coach. Ino stared at him in disbelief. Was he a new student too? Wait, no… no one in there right mind would dress like that without previous influence… who was this kid?

"I see you're surprised," Sakura laughed beside her. Ino instantly threw her a look that mixed question in with her disturbed face. "That's Rock Lee, he's a senior. He has PM off so he likes to hang around in the gym with Coach Gai."

"….why!?"

"Some kind of idolization," Sakura shrugged, "You know, he's a cross country star. He's the fastest kid in the country, they say."

Ino shook her head, not having really listening anymore since she was still amazed about the fact the someone would idolize Gai enough to the point they would stoop so far as to look like him.

"We'll be playing volleyball today! Split up into two teams. Lee! Get the equipment!" Lee saluted to the coach and ran to the storage room. Ino stood up and rested her hands on her hips.

"Ahhh, I hate teams…" Ino shook her head, "I never get picked since I'm the new girl."

"Be on my team. Naruto's probably going to pick me first for his, if he can call captain quick enough. I'll talk him into picking you too," Sakura smiled. Ino thanked her as some of the others started fighting over who'd be captain.

"I want to be captain!"

"You can't play volleyball for shit! I'll be captain!"

Shikamaru groaned from the side, "Man, the captain isn't even any different than their team mates. Why does it have to matter so much?"

Gai walked up behind Naruto, who was about to bitch-slap Kankurou, and picked him up by the collar of his shirt. Naruto squirmed and squirmed until he finally gave up, crossing his arms in fury, "All right, calm down," Gai laughed, "Captains are Naruto and Temari. Pick your teams quick!"

As promised, Naruto picked Sakura in a heart beat. Temari rolled her eyes, muttering something about him being so predictable, but then made a cat-like grin and picked Shikamaru. The latter groaned, muttering a famous word, and walked up to Temari. Ino blinked at the two when Temari had done this. Something about the way she looked at him just made her grumble a bit inside.

"Ino, your serve!"

Sakura tossed her the ball, and Ino caught it, panting. They were down 5 to 4. Temari had proved to be a worthy opponent; she nailed everything that came at her. So I'll aim away from her… where's a good weak point?

Ino scanned the opposing side, then laid eyes on Shikamaru and smirked. He was too lazy to actually try and hit the ball. Everything he did proved it: hands shoved in his pockets, gaze directed in no certain direction, shoulders stumped in a classically lazy way. He was the perfect target.

"Heads up!" She aimed and served, sending the volleyball soaring across the gym. It was only seconds before it came into contact with his face that Shikamaru realized it was aimed at him.

"Shit!" He dodged to the side, and the volleyball violently hit the floor behind him. He shot a look at Ino instantly, eyes widened as if to say 'are you crazy!?'

"Point, team Naruto!" Gai yelled, and Lee added a point to the scoreboard, "Next point wins!"

Ino was tossed the ball again, and she bounced it against the ground as she decided on her next move. Should she go for the same plan? I don't know… I could mix it up a little. That Gaara kid looks about as disinterested in this game as Shikamaru… and Temari's probably expecting me to hit it at Shikamaru again… she smirked, Screw it!

She tossed the ball, hitting it with an over hand serve that bulleted across the room, headed for the same destination. But Temari didn't come to his rescue like Ino had thought. Instead, this time Shikamaru readied his hands and bumped the ball with perfect timing, sending it over the net with no hassle. Ino ran for the net, shoving Naruto out of the way to bump it back.

Temari finally caught on and scowled at her through the net and moved to help Shikamaru. He shook his head and shoved her aside, bumping the ball again. Ino laughed on the inside, maybe he wants to prove something.

Ino exchanged looks with Sakura, and both of them smirked. When the ball was returned to them, Sakura got directly under it and set it, sending it to Ino. She jumped and spiked.

"Team Naruto wins!"

Shikamaru instantly relaxed back into his lazy pose, staring off into space and acting like nothing had happened. Ino laughed at him, or maybe he just wanted to get it over with.

"All right, that's all for today. Lee, help me pack up the equipment. The rest of you go back to the locker rooms."

On the way out of the gym, Ino brushed past Shikamaru. He looked down on her, scowling, before they parted directions and he disappeared into the boy's locker room. Ino frowned a little, but snickered. I'm sure he needed that.

"Nice thinking out there."

Ino paused halfway while taking off her shirt in the locker room. She looked over to her side, where she found Temari leaning against the lockers, arms crossed. She was still clad in her gym uniform. Ino blinked, took her shirt off and reached for her regular one, "Thanks… I guess."

"It's weird, no one's ever thought of that before. I guess they all thought Shikamaru was just putting on an act."

"Really," Ino replied, almost sarcastically, pulling her shirt on. She walked over into the bathroom area, inspecting her hair in a mirror.

"You best watch your back." Temari appeared in the mirror. Ino turned around to face her directly and cocked an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Shikamaru," She glared, "Is mine."

Ino laughed, "Ha! You haven't really heard much about me, have you?" She shook her head, "I'm navy brat. My family will move before anything could happen between me and any guy."

But her words weren't enough to make Temari back down. She only glowered at Ino. "You better hope you do, because if something does happen, you can be sure that things won't be pretty."

Ino narrowed her eyes, "You know, I don't like you," she walked away, grabbed her bag, and turned back around, "And on another note, Shikamaru's a long time friend of mine. We knew each other as babies and our fathers are pretty close."

She walked out the door, leaving Temari to stand there in amazement.

"Hey, Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru looked over his shoulder, seeing Ino running up to him from the locker area. He scowled at her, but didn't move. It was too troublesome for him.

"Aww," She caught up to him and grinned teasingly, "Are you mad because I kicked your ass in volleyball."

"No one had ever dared to actually pull me into the game," He narrowed his eyes, "You're lucky you're new, or I'd have…"

"What? Stare at me to death?" She giggled.

"You don't know what kind of hold I've got on kids here."

"Shikamaru, just stop," She smiled, "You can't threaten me."

He did stop, and Ino latched onto his arm, "So you'll show me to our last class today, right? I still don't know my way around too well."

"Yeah, yeah," he scratched his head and sighed, "I suppose I've got to."

The bell rang, and she followed him down the halls, always still hanging onto his arm so she wouldn't be lost. All the while she thought about what her mother had told her about the past, when they were babies. Did he know that they used to be friends?

She sighed, it's not like it really made a difference. Anything from that long ago couldn't last fourteen years. It's so disappointing, she thought, he's a great guy, if only he wasn't so lazy… and I, of course, won't be around long enough to be with him. Even if something did happen, it'd be over when I moved again.

"You can let go now," He said, "We're in the classroom."

Ino sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, causing him to flinch. She didn't notice or care that he had, she just closed her eyes and thought about the disappointments of unrequited friendship and love that she had been through so many times before.

Still not so fluffy, eh? Don't worry; right now they're set in mid-September-ish… we've still got birthdays, homecoming, and any other nonsense I can come up with!

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Save the foxes, people.