He walked over to her, like she motioned him to and sat down in the armchair next to her. He was fully dressed, wearing his best shirt and pants. Shikamaru was trying his best to look as if he belonged with Ino. He knew he didn't, and it pained him to admit it. He knew that he had gotten lucky with her, not the other way around. He certainly wasn't a pretty boy, or above average in any other way. It seemed that even his mind was lacking around her lately. Ino didn't see it that way.
She watched him sit down, his expression changing from optimistic to miserable in less than the time it took for him to be seated. She didn't know what was bothering him, but she was damn well sure that it wasn't going to last long. Not if she could help it. It wasn't just Shikamaru's change in mood that was bothering Ino, something else was itching at the back of her mind, frustrating her. Before She and Shikamaru began their conversation, Ino was lost in a troublesome daydream. It was a distant memory, from when she and Shikamaru were little kids. Ino crinkled her nose, remembering what was bothering her.
"Shikamaru… you never actually told me, what I was doing wrong before." Ino frowned at him, waiting for him to look at her. Fear had settled once again in Shikamaru's heart. He didn't know what she was talking about, which gave him little room to answer. He racked his brain, searching wordlessly. He eventually gave up, hoping he wasn't falling into a trap.
"What do you mean?" He chanced a darting glance over at Ino. She smiled gently at him, washing away any cause for concern.
"When you helped me with my hair a long time ago… you kept telling me that I was ruining it, somehow. But you never told me why." Ino smirked a little, remembering how bratty her younger self was. Shikamaru's face went blank as the memory of that day flooded back to him all at once.
It was his fourth birthday all over again…
"Happy birthday you two." Shikamaru watched out of the corner of his eye as his mother turned towards the little blond next to him, handing her something. He noticed that she had a nice smile. Why anyone would smile like that around his mother, he didn't know. Next was his turn, receiving an identical package. He could see that she was watching. Then, she smiled at him as Shikamaru opened his gift. He propped himself on to one elbow, resting his head in the palm of his hand. He wanted to be comfortable, and yet keep this little girl in view at the same time; her smile was almost contagious. He began to lazily remove the wrapping from the tiny package he was given. Shikamaru noticed that she was leaning closer to him.
"What did you get?" The little blond asked cheerily, looking around at the rest of the party. Shikamaru followed her eyes over to the bank of the lake, settling on what had to be her parents. She looked like a spitting image of her father. The same golden hair, the same sky blue eyes. Yet, there was something different about them. He narrowed his brown eyes trying to pinpoint the difference. Then it hit him; her smile. His mouth was a firm line, stern looking and intimidating. But hers, Shikamaru compared, was soft and free and beautiful. His eyes focused on the girl's mother. She was the same.
"It's a hair band." Shikamaru finally answered her. She looked back over at him. Shikamaru was busy tying up his long hair into a stiff ponytail. He was aware of her eyes on his face, staring at him. Shikamaru appreciated the gift; his hair had been bothering him, getting in his eyes. Besides, pulling back your hair was a very masculine thing to do. Shikamaru approved, knowing his father would too. By this point, the little girl had managed to open her own gift, which Shikamaru noticed was a hair band just like his. It was black, the same as his white one. She grinned as she too tried pulling back her hair. What would she look like? He watched her wonderful smile vanish as she struggled with her hair. She just couldn't collect enough of it to tie up; he could see it was too short. Shikamaru noticed her hand brush the flower clip pinned to her hair. Too bad it had to go, it really suited her.
He smirked at her, making up his mind; he'd have to help her. He got up, standing behind her, gathering up her hair in his hands. It was warm from catching the sun's rays and soft. No wonder she had trouble getting it up, it was like silk! But Shikamaru was determined to give her what she wanted.
"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.
"Th-thank you." Little Ino blushed at Shikamaru as he sat down next to her.
"Oh… and you won't be needing this anymore with your hair up.'" He said removing Ino's flower hairpin, pocketing it. She frowned a little as she stood up. Shikamaru felt the warmth vanish with the girl's smile. He didn't like it; she looked so much nicer when she smiled. He sighed as he too got up from the comfortable grass, stretching in an exaggerated manner. Shikamaru gazed up at her, 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?" the little blond tilted her head toward Shikamaru, her brow creasing together, frowning.
"You're still doing it." Shikamaru smirked back, 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 causing Ino's frown to darken.
"What did I do? Just tell me already!" Her hands curled into tiny fists, Ino's face red with anger. Shikamaru's smile faded, a look of shock washing over his eyes. 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. With that the girl turned on her heel and marched over to where her parents were. 'Troublesome." Shikamaru exhaled sharply, lying back down on the grass, watching the girl walk away. 'Ahhh…' Shikamaru thought as he closed his eyes. 'It's too bad about her smile.'
Shikamaru immerged from his forced daydream, grinning at Ino. He was surprised that he had remembered anything about that day. He silently thanked his memory for storing it for all those years. He compared the present day Ino sitting next to him and the Ino of the past. He smiled fondly at her, deciding that her personality hadn't changed at all. She was still the same confident, smiling girl he knew before. But really, maybe that wasn't true at all. She was different; they both were. Even her smile was different.
"I'll tell you what I meant.'" Shikamaru broke the silence. Ino had been patiently waiting for him to fill in the blanks of her incomplete memory.
"Good, I'm curious." Ino stared at him, smiling wide.
"It's nothing important really, and it was such a long time ago… but still, you asked.'" Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders, smirking slightly. 'You were ruining the look by frowning." He looked up shyly, not sure how Ino would react. He was still not used to her being so gentle. If he had made that comment before, she would have knocked him on his ass for sure. But he was a little braver than he was before; perhaps Ino wasn't as dangerous as she let on.
"Oh." Ino hung her head sadly; Shikamaru tilted his head, watching her.
"Hey… what's the matter?'" He frowned, matching her. 'That was a compliment you know. You have a very pretty smile." Shikamaru lifted the corners of his mouth into a lopsided grin. He hardly ever showed his teeth while smiling, but this time was an exception. She marveled at him, admiring his own bright smile.
"You know Shikamaru Nara, you have a wonderful smile too." Ino leaned in, kissing his cheek. The same cheek reddened, spreading a faint wash of blush over his skin. He sighed, closing his eyes. No matter how he sliced it, he just couldn't agree with Ino.
He knew better than anyone that he was going against nature just holding her hand. He cringed thinking about what other people would eventually say about them. This was exactly the thing Shikamaru was trying to avoid. He wanted to fall in love with an average girl, and live an average life. He knew that Ino deserved someone like her, extraordinary. Was it fair of him to hold her back? Was it fair of him to selfishly hold on to her when she could do so much better? One side of his mind fired angry protests, barking at him that he was worth it, screaming at him to stop doubting himself. Miraculously, she loved him. He smiled bitterly, admitting at least that much.
Ino swept a gentle hand to the back of his neck, kissing under Shikamaru's jaw line. Shikamaru allowed her to sit in his lap, straddling him. Unfortunately for Ino, they were both already dressed for their mission, or she would have pushed things a little further than just an innocent kiss. He placed a firm hand on her waist, his thumb finding her navel. Shikamaru's mind was protesting again, but this time against his body. The logical half of him told him to get going; they had a mission to do. His body however, had other plans, which were becoming steadily more clear to both Shikamaru and Ino.
"Ino, I… can't believe I'm actually saying this, but… we have to stop. The mission comes first." Shikamaru scowled angrily, rolling his eyes. Make no mistakes, Shikamaru was grateful for this mission; it was the boost they both needed. It was a friendly 'push' in the right direction for them both. But at that moment, he cursed it, wanting nothing more than to press Ino against the wall and… well, you know.
"Hmmm…"' Ino huffed a low sigh, 'I guess you're right, sorry. You're always right." Ino gave him a small smile, gently lifting herself off of him. Shikamaru mumbled a stream of inaudible curses under his breath, unhappily rising to get up.
"I know it's a drag, but we can't go around acting like a pair of hormone whipped teenagers. People aren't going to believe we're a married couple like that.'" Shikamaru smirked at Ino. 'Do you think we can keep it together and act grown up for a little while?"
"Well if that's what you think adults are like, that's pretty sad.'" Ino frowned, shaking her head. 'I hope you don't really believe that's what being an adult means." Her mouth pressed into a hard line, imagining herself a few years older. She tried to picture it, but couldn't. She knew that people changed with time, grew apart and settled down. She wouldn't let that happen. She would never let the passion she felt for Shikamaru die, never. Surprised, Shikamaru grinned at Ino's reaction. He didn't expect her to be so upset by the simple statement he made.
"Hey now, that's not what I meant… you troublesome woman." Shikamaru playfully pushed Ino with his fist, making her stumble a little bit as they approached the door.
"Lazy bum…" Ino growled back, taking his hand as they left their hotel room behind them.
The market square of the Village Hidden in the Waterfall buzzed noisily as people gathered in the late morning air to purchase various local goods. It was a popular stop for tourists on their way to and from surrounding nations. It was also known far and wide as being the most lovely of the Hidden Villages, with it's giant cascading waterfalls and ancient gardens. This was part of the reason it was hailed as being the perfect location for honeymooners. But the real reason behind that title was really because of how recluse the Village was.
It was a private place little known about, with two sections divided by a surrounding wall of waterfalls. The inner village was nearly impenetrable. Only select guests with permission from the village council could gain entry to this second section. If Ino hadn't slipped in the shower before Shikamaru could finish reading the letter, he'd have known about the policies regarding entry to the inner village.
The envelope had been from lady Tsunade herself, sent by courier to their hotel room. It was a crucial letter that only responded to a person's chakra, specifically Shikamaru's. The Hokage had been careful to place a seal on the envelope before sending, making it impossible for outsiders to open it. Her plan was perfect, thought out down to the last detail. It was fool proof if all went according to plan.
But of course Tsunade didn't plan for one key thing: love. Why should she have? Everyone in Konoha knew how much Ino and Shikamaru hated each other. It had been obvious since day one. They could barely stand being in the same room together, let alone the same team! That's why Tsunade chose them specifically for this mission. She had no doubt in her mind that this assignment would be a success. They would have the least chance of accidentally falling for each other while alone together on a mission. That's what she had thought at the beginning.
As she spent more time briefing them on exactly what to do and how to act, her confidence in them slipped more and more. Had she been wrong about them? They certainly didn't seem like they hated one another. In fact…
But Tsunade quitted her mind of troubling notions like these and many other things. She was sure that it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. She even laughed it off as just 'youthful awkwardness'. Nothing to be afraid of, they couldn't possibly like each other… could they?
But her uneasiness grew as time spent with Shikamaru and Ino ticked on. Subtle things became more and more clear. The little things she hadn't picked up on earlier were startlingly obvious after the pieces of the puzzle began fitting together. Sideways glances, awkward fidgeting, shy compliments; all of these things could easily be brushed off on their own. But something didn't seem right. The other reason the Fifth had chosen Ino for this role, was her ability to use mind style jutsu. Her family had mastered the art of espionage and could play any part thrown at them; they were crafted actors. At first, Tsunade had been impressed with Ino's professionalism, quickly stepping into the rold of Shikamaru's wife. The Hokage marveled at her ability to act the part, even going so far as to physically show affection in front of her. Everything was flawless, even the blush on Ino's face.
That was what hit Tsunade. Blush? Being a master healer and expert in Medical no Jutsu, lady Tsunade knew the human anatomy better than any ninja in the world. You could fake a lot of things, and Tsunade was sure that the Yamanakas were skilled ninja in mind style jutsu. The mind was a powerful thing, able to control chakra flow, pain tolerance and even a person's heart rate. She knew all of this, and yet one thing kept her from quitting this thought, blush. Ino had been flawless, perhaps a little too flawless in her act. There were many things the human mind could control; blushing wasn't one of those things. When Ino's face had reddened, it was an involuntary reaction that happened automatically within her body. Like a person's heartbeat, this process happens all on it's own, with no help from a person's willpower.
Several things about them just didn't add up. Little things that other people would have missed were starting to pile up. But the worst part of all was her timing. By the time she had connected the dots it was too late. The mission had already begun long ago with Shikamaru and Ino walking further and further out of reach. Tsunade was famous for having the worst luck, even as Hokage.
