Even though she already knew from the bottom of her heart that he loved her, Ino's eyes widened softly at the man sitting in front of her as he confirmed it out loud. It was the second time in less than five minutes she felt her heart skip a beat. She nearly forgot to breathe as their eyes met.

They shared the small tub, bathing together out of both convenience and enjoyment. Ironically, Ino felt no urge to move her eyes away from his deep, penetrating gaze. They were both naked, and she had all the right to stare at his perfect body, but she didn't care. For it was his constant, honest stare Shikamaru was sending her that was truly naked.

He had been forced to strip away the emotional armor he usually wore, dropping his indifferent act. He found that not caring, however safe it may seem was cold. Before now, he was content with pretending; never showing anyone what he was truly feeling. Besides, what good was a brilliant strategy if everyone knew about it?

Not that long ago, Shikamaru had stopped lying to himself. It was much too convenient putting on a mask with the people he cared about rather than facing the things he'd never say. Before this mission, he had decided that he would tell Ino how he felt. However, promising to declare undying love to the most beautiful girl in Konoha and actually doing it were two very different things.

He would find himself getting unjustly angry with himself for not being braver as the months went by. Every time he saw her, the wounds of his delicate heart would re-open; tearing deeper with every fake, carefree look he shot her. He tried telling her on every single mission, only managing to work himself up, even hurting Ino by mistake the rare occasion. He would always punish himself after for being too weak to say anything and resorted to scowling miserably the whole day. It didn't help that his mother was being extra naggy of late and was just causing his spirits to dampen further.

His mother; Shikamaru's thoughts blackened in dark humor as he realized the ironic turn his life had taken. It was annoyingly curious how two women so similar in spirit and attitude could have such opposite effects on his mood. No matter what kind of state Shikamaru was in prior, any contact with his mother made him miserable, not eager to repeat it for a while. Ino however was like a wonderful dream that beckoned him to her. Shikamaru was never satisfied with the minimal contact he had with her on missions. Of course, she caused him even greater pain to be around, but Shikamaru couldn't blame her for that. Even so, he always craved more, catching himself going out of his way to do so. That's why he was so surprised with himself when he refused to visit her in the hospital after her failed espionage mission.

Part of him wanted to believe that she needed to rest, probably not wanting the commotion. The other, more logical half of his mind refused to take that excuse as an answer. 'You coward, you lazy… good-for-nothing coward!' The pit of his stomach churned into a twisted mess, agreeing with his accusing mind. It was true; he was losing confidence day by day. He knew that if he didn't confess his love for her soon, he would never do it. Fear was what sparked his boldness and readiness in the recent turn of events with Ino. He found himself following her lead, constantly looking to her for reassurance. If only he knew how unnecessary those precautious reservations were; Ino was just as unsure and tortured in love as he was.

As he spoke those words, Shikamaru instantly felt the dark, shallow feeling inside his heart lift. He sighed, tilting his head forward, smiling ever so gently at Ino. All Ino could do was sink into his gaze, longing for him to say it again. He didn't realize that she was starting to tilt towards him. Had he said it before? Was this the first time? No. Ino's heart gave a tiny leap as she recalled the first time he told her he loved her, in bed. Her ears turned a violent shade of red, matching her cheeks. It didn't occur to her before then how quickly their relationship had changed from innocent and friendly to tender and passionate. It seemed to Ino that the change was almost instant. But then again, that didn't seem quite right to her.

Maybe it was really the exact opposite; their relationship had actually taken an excruciatingly long time to bloom. Deep inside her heart, she had always loved him. But it was a thing fated to be clouded by petty arguments and fickle crushes. Of course the passion was still there, only channeled into something toxic that they both didn't quite understand. Shikamaru knew it too. The tension between them had started years ago; perhaps it had always been there. He had always admired her determined spirit, her proud eyes. Of course it was really his blind pride that stopped him from truly understanding his feelings towards her.

'Why did she make him so frustrated all the time? Why did he hate the very mention of Sasuke Uchiha's name? WHY?' He didn't remember ever having any meaningful contact with him, let alone getting into a fight with the kid. Somehow though, with every mention of his name, Shikamaru's previously calm demeanor would slip. He often found himself scowling out of pure annoyance, even going so far as to argue with Ino over him and every other boy she chose to admire. To Shikamaru, there was something wrong with all of them. How could a boy with an I.Q. of over 200 miss the true reason behind his animosity?

But he didn't really miss anything. He never missed anything. Of course he understood perfectly well 'why' he was feeling the way he was. The burning anger, the deep, unsettled feeling that never quite left him, the light airy way his head felt, the painful, hungry feeling in his chest, the way he couldn't seem to breathe around her. Yes, he had known for a long time what those things meant. He realized that he was falling in love with her more and more, day by day.

The fact of the matter was this; Shikamaru was just too stubborn to admit it. Not to Ino, not to anyone. Instead, he chose to suffer through it, hoping she'd one day release him from her talons. Shikamaru often thought about how appropriate this metaphor was. She really was like a regal thing, always flying free. It seemed to Shikamaru that there were two sides to Ino, the stunningly beautiful side, and the hidden, but equally prominent dangerous side. To him, she truly was like an eagle, magnificent, yet impossible to get close to without throwing yourself to her sharp talons. Perhaps it was out of this fear that kept Shikamaru from admitting his feelings. He was afraid to be cut by her, afraid of being turned down by the only girl he ever loved. Because Shikamaru knew, that if Ino was the eagle, he was the snake.

After they were done washing up for the day, Shikamaru playfully threw Ino over his shoulder, carrying her back out to get dressed. Ino didn't notice what was happening right away, she was too deep in thought beforehand. She was thinking about a time when she was very little. It was one of the first gatherings of the Ino, Shika, Cho families that she ever remembered. She was three years old then, and it was the day before her fourth birthday.

"Happy birthday you two." A tall woman with long black hair smiled down on Ino, handing her a present. She didn't recognize the woman at first, but smiled politely anyways. She had never been a shy child. Her parents dictated it, at a very young age to smile with the pride of the Yamanaka clan. Ino of course never let them down in that respect. Like clockwork, the smile appeared on her face, followed by a tiny bow of her head.

The woman smiled back at the little girl, turning to hand an identical package to the boy lying next to her. Ino stared at him curiously. He had the same kind of long black hair as the mysterious person standing over them. She smiled at him, watching the irritated expression on his face turn to annoyed curiosity. This direction of attention sparked interest in her own package. What was it?

Ino shifted her weight, re-crossing her legs in front of her. She watched as the boy slowly lifted himself on to one elbow, resting his head in the palm of his hand. She continued to watch him as he began to lazily remove the wrapping from the tiny package he was given. From what Ino could see it looked like a floppy, circular object of some kind. It was white and loose looking, a band of some sort. Her brow furrowed as she leaned in subconsciously.

"What did you get?" Ino questioned cheerily. She loved this sort of thing. She looked around at the rest of the party. Her parents were standing on the bank of the lake and the Akimichis were busying themselves with the buffet. She could see a little boy around her age loading his plate with just about every item of food he could. She smiled in his direction, giggling.

"It's a hair band." Ino looked back over at the black haired boy next to her, who was busy tying up his long hair into a stiff looking ponytail. Ino goggled at him, wondering at how a simple change like that could do so much. He somehow seemed older, as if his birthday had magically transformed him all in one day. Ino smiled widely at him, ripping at her own present excitedly. It was a black hair band, the same as his white one. Her grin widened as she too tried pulling back her hair. Would she look older too? But her smile vanished almost as soon as she attempted it. She just couldn't collect enough hair to pull into a ponytail; her hair was too short. She fingered the purple pin in her hair sadly.

Shikamaru watched the little girl, pulling his mouth into a lopsided smirk. He stared as she tried to gather up her blond hair, fidgeting with the ends. He smiled warmly at her, getting up from his spot on the grass, standing behind her. Ino tried again to no avail to tame her hair, letting it fall around her face once again. She slid her hand to the back of her head, not giving up. She stopped in her tracks; dead still as her hand met with something that hadn't been there before, someone else's hand. She let out a small yelp, scared. What was going on? Who was that? The hand grabbed the hair band from her limp one, pulling her hair tight with another unseen hand.

"There, see? It just takes a little practice." Shikamaru starting tying, carefully winding the band three times around the blonde's hair. He managed to get most of it up, regardless of the length. Ino's startled face softened into a shy grin.

"Th-thank you." Ino's face flushed as Shikamaru sat down next to her, observing his work.

"Oh… and you won't be needing this anymore with your hair up.'" Shikamaru lazily removed Ino's flower hairpin from her golden tresses, pocketing it absentmindedly. Ino eyed her favourite clip as it disappeared into the unknown of Shikamaru's pocket. She frowned a little as she stood to show her parents the effect of her new hair band. Shikamaru sighed as he too got up from the comfortable grass, stretching in an exaggerated manner. He gazed up from under half lidded eyes, shaking his head a little, frowning. 'Now why did you go and ruin it?" Shikamaru crossed his arms over his chest, cocking an eyebrow.

"What?" Ino tilted her head toward the boy, her brow creasing together. What did he mean? She frowned at him, confused.

"You're still doing it." Shikamaru smirked knowingly at her, stepping closer to Ino, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"I don't understand." Ino pouted, folding her arms tightly over her chest, and crumpling her face. Shikamaru winced jokingly at her.

"You just made it worse." He grinned widely at her, only frustrating Ino more. Her frown darkened as her temper slipped momentarily.

"What did I do? Just tell me already!" Ino's hands curled into tiny fists, her face red with anger. Shikamaru's smile faded, a look of shock washing over his face. This girl certainly was scary. The furious look on her face seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He didn't see it coming. 'She's unpredictable' Shikamaru thought to himself. He tried speaking again.

"You know… you're kinda touchy.'" Shikamaru sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. Ino didn't respond. Instead she turned on her heel and marched over to her parents, giving up on figuring Shikamaru out. 'Troublesome." Shikamaru exhaled sharply, lying back down on the grass as Ino stomped over to her parents. Somewhere in the distance, Yoshino's ears were ringing. She eyed her husband suspiciously. She glanced between her son and her husband, noticing a small glimpse of what the future would hold for her. Yoshino was starting to notice how Shikaku's bad habits were starting to rub off on her son.

Ino smiled at Shikamaru, who was busy pulling on a pair of pants. He smiled back, not quite looking directly at her. He allowed for a small smirk before facing her. She had been awfully quiet for the past few minutes, and Shikamaru was impatient for her daydream to end. He knew better than to wake her from it though, whatever she was thinking about seemed important.

Instead he turned around to pick up his bag off of the floor. Shikamaru was trying his best to look dressy. He heard a little pained gasp from behind as he turned around.

"What's wrong?" A look of ultimate concern flashed over his face, opening his eyes wide. He turned back around, catching his breath. Ino's face looked apologetic, but otherwise, she seemed fine to Shikamaru.

"Your back…'" Ino's voice was barely a whisper. But it revealed every ounce of guilt and shame she was feeling at the moment. 'Maybe I really am just a silly, troublesome girl." Ino hung her head sadly, staring at her feet. Shikamaru's face broke into an incredulous grin. His hand reached for his shoulder blades, feeling a few well-earned scrapes with his fingertips.

"What, these?'" Shikamaru stared over his shoulder into the mirror behind him. He didn't notice it before, but his back looked absolutely dreadful. It looked as though he had gotten into a violent fight with a rabid cat, and the cat won. There was massive, dark red lines trailing from his lower back all the way to his neck. Some unfortunate places even had little rivets of hardened blood where Ino had obviously anchored her cuticles. The worst part was just how obvious those wounds were; you could practically see where her hands had travelled. 'Hmmm… they do look kinda bad, don't they?" Shikamaru grinned sheepishly at his reflection, poking at his war wounds. Ino's mouth fell open in mortification.

"I am so sorry…" She buried her face in her hands, her ears reddening noticeably. Shikamaru's eyes softened for a fraction of a second before the evil side of his mind took over.

"Well I guess that means… that you owe me a favor." Shikamaru grinned devilishly at Ino, trying to lighten her mood. She laughed once through her hands, blushing further.

"You know… I couldn't help myself, I had to do something." Ino tried explaining as best she could, only making things worse in her opinion.

"Yeah, well I don't really mind. You can do whatever you like to me, while I do what I want with you.'" Shikamaru frowned at her. 'It's only fair really." His frown darkened a little as his mind contemplated the worse case scenario. In fact, now, he was practically scowling.

"Ino… was it really that bad?" Shikamaru peered sadly at Ino from under half lidded eyes, afraid of the answer. Ino looked stricken, her mouth hanging open in shock.

"How could you ask me that?'" Ino mumbled quietly. She looked equal parts miserable and embarrassed at the same time. She ran a couple fingers through her hair, nervously fidgeting. 'It was just… it was just too good. I could barely stand it!" Ino threw her confession at him, throwing her hands over her mouth, blushing. She closed her eyes tight, afraid of what was going through Shikamaru's mind. She knew he was probably smirking at her, ready to make fun of her.

"Oh.'" Shikamaru's ears reddened a little more. He didn't know what to say. 'So, you carved up my back… because you liked it?" Shikamaru grinned happily at Ino, placing both hands in his pockets as her walked over to her.

"Oh… my… god!'" Ino whined, mortified. She scowled angrily at him through the gaps between her fingers. 'You know… part of the reason was because it hurt a lot! You weren't exactly gentle you know." Ino glared at Shikamaru, placing a hand over her navel subconsciously. He stopped dead in his tracks, tilting his head to the side. He knew he had gone too far.

"Yeah… I'm sorry Ino." He spoke quietly, frowning bitterly at himself. Shikamaru rubbed the bridge of his nose with his middle finger, subconsciously moving away from Ino.

"You probably don't remember it, but I do…'" Ino started, grabbing his wrist as he moved away from her. 'Our fourth birthday…" Shikamaru stared at her. Where was she going with this?

"I don't know if I do or not… why?" Shikamaru waited, feeling the spark of curiosity ignite in his chest.

"Well, we both got the same present from your mother… right?'" Ino tugged the black band out of her hair, holding it out for Shikamaru to see. 'We each got one of these, so we could put up our hair. Do you remember now?" She smiled at him hopefully.

"Ah… I didn't remember which birthday, but yeah." He shrugged his shoulders, not catching on.

"Okay, but do you remember what you did?" Ino smiled at him, crossing her arms over her chest, waiting.

"No…" Shikamaru answered cautiously, narrowing his eyes. He knew from experience to be suspicious around women whenever they started a question like that.

"You tied up your hair the way you always do." Ino pointed to his ponytail, pausing to see if he was following. He wasn't.

"And?" Shikamaru frowned, touching his hair band self-consciously. Ino sighed, knowing she'd have to fill in the blanks for him.

"You could do it fine, but I didn't know how. You even helped me put mine up… do you remember that?" Ino cocked an eyebrow, watching his face change from confused to mildly embarrassed.

"I did?" he shot her a disbelieving look; obviously thinking of all the times they fought when they were little.

'Yes you did… and do you know what you told me?" Ino hedged, cocking an eyebrow at her companion. Shikamaru wasn't sure if he wanted to find out, he knew he was a pretty mouthy kid at times.

"No… I don't remember." He frowned waiting for Ino to yell at him, or even hit him if it was bad enough. He was so used to her reacting like that from past experiences. Sometimes, he considered her scarier than his mother. He didn't like the feel of things, their conversation felt like a trap.

"It just takes a little practice.'" Ino finally spoke, answering her own question. She smiled as he tried to get a feel for what she was referring to. 'That's what you told me." Ino blinked at him. Shikamaru smiled at her, finally remembering.

"Oh… I see." Shikamaru lifted the corners of his mouth into a crooked grin, catching on to what she was implying.

"That's right Shika-kun…'" Ino smiled, beckoning him with her hand to come closer. 'I think, the more we practice, the better we'll get. Eventually, you'll learn to do it without hurting me… and I'll try my best too. I mean, just look… I can tie up my hair without even thinking about it now." She smiled honestly at him while looping the band back through her hair, tying it in her signature style. He smiled back at her, wondering if she'd let him practice later on that day.