Authors Note: Once again I did not get this updated as soon as I would have liked to. True, I did not procrastinate for months, but I wanted to update a little sooner than this. I do have a reason for procrastinating a bit though. Recently, I was started to read a story by a younger author that was brand new to Fanfiction. She had just posted her first story and was really scared that people would not read it. My opinion was, it was really very cute and I sent her a review telling her that the story was very nice and I hoped that she continued. I wanted to see if she posted another chapter, so I waited and she did. It made me very happy to see that she decided to continue on with the story. Anyway, I just had to say something about it because it made me smile! A thank you to *TheMissMalave*, *mdtiger*, *RosieWinterMoon*, and *anemone* for the reviews.
P.S.- I don't own Naruto. If I did, you could just watch this in the anime or manga. Nevertheless, I am just writing this story. =)
What a Life
"Ino, come on, you were supposed to be here like 10 minutes ago. The sooner we help your mom with the flowers, the sooner we get to go and play with the others!" Sakura yelled from down the street. She was standing in the entrance way of the flower shop, but started to run toward me after she finished yelling.
The wheels on my wagon stopped screeching as I came to a stop. A calm breeze blew through the town. I looked back at the wagon, making sure none of the freshly picked flowers blew away.
"Sakura, it is still early. The other kids won't be at the park for at least another hour." I said as Sakura skidded to a halt in front of me. She put on her best impatient face and grabbed my free hand.
Once her hand latched to mine she moved quickly toward the shop, pulling both me and my wagon with her.
As I was pulled into the shop I noticed Mrs. Nara standing in front of a shelf of flowers. Shikamaru was standing beside her, looking bored and tired.
I let the handle of my wagon fall to the floor and walked over to them.
"They are the new daisies I picked yesterday. My mom and I just finished arranging them last night." I said as I pushed up on my tippy toes and pulled one of the flowers away for the punch.
Mrs. Nara smiled down at me, "They are beautiful Ino, after badgering Shikaku, I finally received some daisies to put on the table in the dining room. I was hoping you had something a little different this time." She looked around the shop and spotted my wagon.
"Oh those flowers are beautiful, will they be done today?" She asked excitedly.
"Sakura and my mom and I are going to arrange those today. We have to get those done before Sakura and I can go to the park. So, they should be done in a little while." I said thinking about the different arrangements for the flowers.
"How about this, I will come back in an hour, if you are not done arranging the flowers I will help your mom with the rest. That way Shikamaru can walk with you two down to the park, and I can be first in line to buy some of those beautiful flowers."
I smiled up at her as my mom walked into the store from the house. "Yoshiro, that sounds wonderful."
Mrs. Nara moved over to the counter where my mom was, leaving Shikamaru frowning next to me. "Good going Ino, now I have to go to the park too." He said slouching his shoulders and walking away from me.
Both he and Mrs. Nara walked out of the store. 'I wonder what his problem is.' I thought to myself.
An hour later Mrs. Nara and Shikamaru returned as promised. We already had nine arrangements made. Mrs. Nara wrapped herself in an apron and sat down beside my mother, they immediately started talking.
"Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru you three be careful. I want you all back here by dinner time." My mom said in a strict tone. "Okay Mrs. Yamanaka!" Sakura yelled back as she ran out of the doorway and into the street.
"Sakura wait up!" I yelled after her, grabbing Shikamarus' hand and dragging him down the road; dodging people as I tried to catch up with my pink haired friend.
When the three of us arrived at the park, the game was already in play.
I gentle breeze blew dust from the ground as we stood at the side of the seemingly empty park.
"Oh Ino, I told you we needed to get here sooner, now everyone is already playing without us." Sakura said in a sad voice.
"Found you!" said a voice from behind us. "I didn't even know you guys were playing."
"Naruto, we just got here. How could we play the game if all of you started playing without us?" Shikamaru said in a mocking tone.
Sakura and I giggled at Narutos' expense. "Okay everyone, come on out. Shikamaru is it now!" Naruto yelled and grinned at us. "You have to count to 50 Shikamaru."
Shikamaru mumbled under his breath, as he walked over the big tree and started to count. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5…"
I glanced at Sakura and then dashed away. 'I'll hide in the tunnel.' I thought. But when I got there, three kids were already hiding there. Frowning I ran to the next spot.
'Okay, then I will hide under the sliding board.' Sliding to the ground I crawled toward the slide, Sakura was already there. "Ino, hurry up and hide somewhere else. Shikamaru will find you."
Frowning, I stood up. "41, 42, 43…" Shikamaru said in the distance. "Darn it," I whispered under my breath.
Quickly, I rushed across the ground and leaped under a bush when I heard Shikamaru say "49, 50, ready or not here I come!"
Laying on the ground, I tried to steady my breathing. 'If I'm not quiet Shikamaru will find me. I will not lose to him again.'
I felt ice shoot down my spine and glanced over my shoulder. My nose hit Shikamarus' and I scream sprang from my throat.
Shikamaru continued to stare at me; then, without warning, he fell on his back and started to laugh. I stood up while he was rolling on the ground and glared at him.
"Why do you always find me Shikamaru? Can't you find someone else for a change?" When he kept laughing, I stomped off and yelled that I lost and everyone should hide again.
Long after the sun had set, Sakura and I giggled as we lay in the grass, looking up at the stars.
"Shikamaru, you always win. It almost was not fair, until I saw the look on Narutos' face. He was so angry." Sakura said, after the giggling fit was over.
The three of us glanced at each other again, before giggles erupted into the night air again.
"I'm glad to see the three of you are having a good time." My voice stuck in my throat as I sat up and saw my dad.
"Ut-oh," I said, and looked at Sakura, knowing we missed dinner.
"Shikamaru, your mom is still at my house. Why don't you walk Ino home? I have to talk to Sakuras' parents before I go home."
Guilt took over my mind, as Shikamaru and I slowly made our way back to my house.
"Oh man, my mom is going to be so mad. I will never hear the end of it. She is going to yell all the way home. This is so troublesome."
I listened to Shikamaru complain. 'I bet my mom was freaking out the entire time.' My shoulders felt heavier at the thought.
"They are going to be mad when we walk in the door. I will get sent to my room. When your parents leave my mom will have a long talk to me and tell me my punishment for upsetting her and missing dinner."
As I kept talking, weight added to my shoulders and dread seeped through my voice.
Shikamaru linked his arm through mine. "Well, we have to walk through the door together, so until my mom drags me away, I've got your back." He smirked and reassured me while we walked through the door.
Preparing for the worst, I sucked in a breath and closed my eyes I heard my mom yell "Ino!"
Shikamaru released my arm as my mom rushed toward me and wrapped me in a hug.
"I was so worried about you. Don't ever scare me like that again."
She sunk down to the floor and continued to hug me. Mrs. Nara pulled Shikamaru to her and hugged him too.
"Sorry mom, Mrs. Nara. We were at the park and when we finished the game we got caught up in the stars." I said into my moms' shoulder. Shikamaru chimed in with, "Yeah, we did not mean to upset you guys."
"It is fine, both of you are home safe and Inoichi should have dropped Sakura off by now. Just please, for the sake of my heart, don't do it again. Now, both of you missed dinner, how about we all go upstairs and heat the food up again?" My mom said as she stood up.
I looked towards Shikamaru as he put his hand on my shoulder.
"I cannot talk to you right now Shika." I said in an annoyed tone. "This report needs to be finished before the end of my shift."
"Ino, just go on a quick walk with me; I only need five minutes of your valuable time."
I cut my eyes from the report in front of me and glared at him. "Damn it Shikamaru, do you want me to get fired?" I put the report on the desk in front of me and pushed myself up from the seat.
Quickly, I rolled my shoulders and tried to relax the muscles in my tired body. 'A double shift may be too much.'
"Please Ino, no one in this place would dare fire you. You work way too hard to be fired," Shikamaru with a smirk as we moved towards the entrance doors.
The all too familiar feeling of sinking hit my stomach as the doors swung open.
I pressed my hands to Shikamarus' chest and pushed him back as a sea of people rushed through the door.
Panic and the scent of blood, sweat, and tears filled the room.
I clenched the fabric of Shikamarus' shirt between my fingers, paralyzed by panic in the room.
As fast as the panic came, it was gone again and the medic-nin within me took over.
I moved through the crowded room and climbed on the table at the front of the room.
"That's it, everyone calm down!" My voice carried over noise in the room just as the other medics walked in.
As the injured were taken into rooms and being healed, I talked to the people in the lobby.
"What happened? What is the cause of all this?" I questioned a woman, who was sitting in one of the chairs.
"Please, my son was taken back to a room. Is he okay? He went to help put out the fire and when I found him he was all burned. He was in so much pain, please help him." The tears fell from her eyes as Sakura walked into the lobby.
"Mrs. Suzume, your son will be just fine. The burns are completely healed up. He is in room 213 if you would like to see him." She said with a smile.
"There was a fire Sakura. All of this happened from a fire." I said in a sad voice. Looking around the room, I noticed that Shikamaru was gone.
A nurse rushed into the lobby and said frantically, "Ino, Sakura, Tsunade needs your help immediately!"
Sakura and I ran towards the emergency room where Tsunade was located. My shoes kept sliding on the smooth tiled floor. Upon entering the room, I noticed how badly off the patient was. 'How did I miss him earlier?' I thought.
"Ino, stop standing around and help!" Tsunade yelled.
I made my way to the table and pushed chakra into my hands, preparing myself for a long and tiring night.
Two hours later, Sakura and I walked to the entrance of the hospital. We both had already grabbed our bags from our lockers and were ready to go home.
"Wow, I knew this job could be tiring, but this is ridiculous." Sakura said.
I looked at her as we walked through the halls of the hospital, she looked like she was ready to pass out. 'I probably don't look much better.' I thought.
I swung my bag around to the front of me and dug through it. When I did not find what I was searching for I opened the bag and looked inside.
"Shoot, Sakura I forgot my keys in the locker room. Why don't you go ahead and get home, I'll go back and get my keys alone. Then, I guess I will see you tomorrow." I smiled as she looked back, unsure of whether to go ahead or not. "Really Sakura, its fine. You go get some sleep, then tomorrow we have the day at the hot springs, so I'll see you then."
She sent me a tired smile and said "That's right, hot springs tomorrow, I can hardly wait. I'll see you tomorrow then." Sakura turned around and started to walk away.
I waited until she turned the corner before rushing, as fast as my tired feet would take me, back to the locker room.
Ten minutes later, I stepped out of the hospital doors, and started walking home.
"There you are Ino, I was beginning to think I was going to have to go into the hospital and drag you out," said a voice behind me.
I turned to see Shikamaru leaning against the wall of the building.
"Shika, you how long have you been waiting for me?" I asked. "I have been here since all of those people came in from the fire. It seemed a little crowded in the lobby, so I waited outside." He paused. "I saw Sakura leave a few minutes ago; she was so tired she did not even notice I was here."
My heart beat quickened at his response. "You waited for over two hours, for me? You did not have to do that Shika."
He pushed himself off the wall and walked towards me. He intertwined his fingers with mine and we started to walk towards my house.
"Ino, you and I both know that if I would have left, and you would have walked home alone, you dad would have murdered me. Then the wedding would have to be called off and my mom would be mad. She would bring me back to life, just to yell at me. It would be too troublesome to deal with, do here I am walking you home."
My laugh filled the air. 'I am so tired, but somehow he can make me laugh.'
We stopped outside the door of my house. "Well, my job is done, good night Ino." He released my hand and started to walk off.
A moment of regret passed through me as I watched him walk away. Pushing the thought from my head I grabbed the keys from my bag and unlocked the door. After turning back around I found myself face to face with Shikamaru. "I forgot something." He said, and moved closer to me.
His lips pressed against mine. Butterflies flew in my stomach. After two years of being engaged to him, the butterflies were still there.
The kiss ended and I looked at him. My brain was reeling, no matter how hard I tried, I could not think of anything to say; I needed to say something, anything to give me a few more minutes with him.
He broke both my thoughts and the silence, "I will not see you tomorrow, since you are spending the day with Sakura. So, I guess I'll see you in two days." He smirked and turned to walk away.
"Shika," I said and he turned his head back to me. "Try not to be late, the next time you see me is kind of important." He turned back around without a word and walked towards his house.
I opened the front door and almost silently made it to my room. I fell onto my bed, ignoring the fact that I was laying on the blankets.
My eyes shut and my mind started to shut off. With sleep taking over one last thought ran through my head.
'Two days!'
Okay so that the end of Chapter 7. Sorry for the long update time. After I started reading the other story (I mentioned it at the top of the chapter), I started writing this chapter, then school started back and everything else in life stopped. School work took priority to everything, including sleep. Anyway, hope you like the chapter, any guesses on what is in two days? I know what is in two days… and I am so excited! Gotta write quicker!
Review please. Please, please, please, please with sugar and chocolate and cherries on top!
Blondegirl09