Such a lovely thing, the world of stories. And I am so glad you've all decided to get lost in my particular wonderland.

Happy Reading!

Naruto is not mine. Only the wonderland where we are currently playing in.

Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are.

Sakura woke up to something soft tickling her nose. Groaning, she swiped at her face and turned on her side, tugging the thick comforter over her head. Soft chuckles filled the room and she could feel the weight of the bed dip. Already dreading the worst, she cracked open an emerald eye and was greeted by the same lazy smirk that had haunted her dreams all night. Shikamaru smiled and snaked his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Sakura sighed happily and snuggled closer into his embrace. "Morning baby, "he smiled, stroking her hair. "Did you sleep well?"

"Mmhm," she smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and gently pressed her face into the hollow of his throat. "I think I like waking up this way."

Shikamaru smiled and leaned down to kiss her softly, his lips brushing hers in the lightest of touches. Sakura hummed in content, clearly enjoying it. Her brain completely fuzzy, she just curled into him more. Shikamaru hadn't been this nice to her in a long while and she decided to take everything she could get. Though, of course it never occurred to her that he was only nice right before he did something mean…

"Why are you here so early?" she yawned. Shikamaru just smirked and shook his head.

"I didn't know 11:45 was considered early."

It took a few seconds before his words finally registered in her brain. Sakura bolted upright; ripping her self from his arms and making the covers go flying.

"It's already 11:45! Shika! What the hell?" she screeched, and all the fluffy feelings immediately evaporating. Shikamaru just shut his eyes and fell back against the pillows with a loud sigh, not even bothering to watch as Sakura practically tumbled off the bed and into the bathroom.

He couldn't help but smile to himself as he listened to her ranting even over the shower. Sighing, he just stared through her open window at the clouds passing by overhead. It was a pastime he hadn't enjoyed in ages. Memories swept through him as he let his mind wander. Kami, how long had it been since he just stopped to take a breath and look around? Too long probably…his eyes drifted closed as a memory of a certain pink-haired kunoichi filtered through his head.

He and Sakura had been together for only a few weeks. They were still in the awkward phase and had just barely begun testing the waters of romance at the tender age of fifteen. Sakura had still been the shy and broody young girl and he had still been the indifferent rookie Chunin.

It had been about a month since Sakura's accident which everyone was still recovering from and she was also ridiculously stressed after a killer training schedule with Tsunade. Shikamaru thought it would be nice to get her to relax, even for just an hour. So, he had dropped by the Hokage's office, asked to borrow his girlfriend for the afternoon and dragged Sakura off to the highest building in Konoha, his favorite spot for cloud watching.

When she discovered where they were and had asked him what the hell were they doing, he just smiled up at her before tugging her down gently to lie next to him. She hesitated at first, but eventually gave in and stretched out next to him with a huff. Shikamaru smiled in triumph. After a while though, he could still feel her squirming beside him. From the tapping of her foot to the light drumming of her fingers across her stomach to the soft humming noise she made between her teeth, she just wouldn't settle down. Eyes still closed, he reached over with a hand and gently grabbed the one that was tapping an uneven beat against her belly, linking his fingers through hers, and successfully stopping the excess noise.

Sakura huffed loudly. "What are you doing?"

"You need to relax." He murmured. Sakura yanked her hand away from his grip.

"I am relaxed!" she hissed.

Shikamaru cracked open an eye to glance at her then closed it again, smirking.

"Of course you are. You're the most relaxed little-ball-of-stress I've ever seen." He joked. Sakura just sat up, resting on one arm as she glared down at him.

"I'm not stressed either! I'm fine, for Kami's sake, what did you even bring me out here for anyway? We're accomplishing nothing but wasting time and energy!"

Shikamaru opened both eyes again and was greeted by her sea-green glare as it hovered over him. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea. Still, he decided to push his luck.

"That's exactly the point Sakura. You need to be able to take a minute to breathe. If you can spare a little time to do nothing, than it'll refocus your energy and life will go a lot smoother." He explained patiently. Sakura was quiet for a minute before she ran a hand through her hair. It was easy to see how peeved she was. She sat up completely now, turning her body so that it was angled away from him. Her back was stick-straight and yet it was almost as if she were curling in on herself. Frowning, Shikamaru pushed himself up and scooted up behind her, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"What's up?" he asked quietly.

Sakura was quiet, not even turning her head to look at him, before mumbling that it was nothing. Shikamaru glanced down and saw how she was restlessly fidgeting with the thick gauze that was wrapped around her left arm from wrist to elbow. Which he also happened to know that matched the gauze wrapped around her entire torso, hidden by her clothes. The more she absently poked and prodded at it, the more little red-spots would appear. He quickly reached around her and grabbed her wrists. "Stop it Sakura." He said forcefully, keeping her arms apart.

The motion startled her and she immediately froze in his grip, staring at the hand that was wrapped tightly around her bandaged arm. "Let go of me," she said, her voice strained. Shikamaru shook his head, releasing one of her arms so he could wrap it around her waist and pulled her back against him. She sat in between his legs, back resting against his chest, his arms still wrapped tightly around her.

"Can't do that kid, you're a liability to yourself." he stated bluntly. Though he kept his tone light, there was still a heavy tension in his arms that kept hers locked to her sides. Sakura remained silent for a long time, before her body finally crumpled to a heap in his arms and she began sobbing quietly. Shikamaru sighed and loosened his grip a little so she could turn in his arms. She curled into him, pressing as close as she could and buried her face into his neck. He just held her, not saying a word, and let her cry. He wasn't surprised at her current mood. In fact, he had actually been expecting it. The entire village had been expecting it.

He held her close and stroked her hair, mumbling sweet nothings that he didn't even realize he was saying just to try and soothe her. Thinking back to the past six weeks, he remembered how he hadn't seen Sakura cry once since Tsunade-sama had told them about Naruto. Even two weeks later, when Kakashi-sensei took off on a mission without a word and her accident happened, she hadn't shed a tear.

When he had asked Tsunade about it, she just shrugged and shook her head. "My bet is that she's just holding everything in. It's not the best thing for her, but what can we do? She's trying to cope."

"Yeah, but sooner or later it might become too much…" he replied, glancing over at the limp form on the hospital bed. Tsunade nodded and turned to the door. "Just make sure you're there when it does become too much." She said quietly, sliding the door shut…

Shikamaru sighed and hugged her closer. 'I'm here.' he thought, 'and I always will be.'

Sakura's sobs had quieted and she was now almost completely limp as she leaned against him. His arms remained loosely around her waist, holding but not restraining. They were silent for a long time before she spoke. Her voice was raw from crying. "I just don't get why they didn't even ask me to go with them…Naruto…or even Kakashi-sensei." She whispered, pain laced in her tone. He remained silent, not really knowing how to respond to the question that they both already knew the answer to.

He made a vow at that moment. If he ever laid eyes on any of those three idiots again…their lives were forfeit. He would be sure to make everyday a living hell.

Her laughter suddenly cut through the tense silence. Even though it was dry and humorless, it still managed to break the edge off of the tension. She pressed her face into his chest and breathed deeply, taking comfort in his scent. He smelled like the forest after it rained, clean and crisp, yet there was also something there that was completely different and unique only to him. It was soft and relaxing, something she couldn't pinpoint, but always made her think of clouds and sunshine. She smiled softly at the thought and sat up straighter, bringing herself eye-level to him.

He watched her, and was almost awed by what he saw. In that moment, she looked so vulnerable and fragile, it was like the very wind could crush her. Her face was pale, yet her green eyes were wide and bright from her tears, and there was a slight tint to her cheeks. Add her bad habit of chewing on her lower lip and she looked like a little doll. It was very unnerving.

"I'm sorry Shika, you brought me out here to relax and I completely ruined it." She said, her eyes downcast. Shikamaru smiled and tilted her face up to meet his before brushing his lips against hers. She leaned into it, moving her lips softly against his and pulled away, her face coloring slightly. He laughed, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it. I think you probably needed this more than me. Now what do you say we go back to doing absolutely nothing."

"I don't think I know how to do nothing." She admitted hesitantly.

"Lucky for you, I can do exactly that." He grinned and pulled her down again, this time guiding her to lie more fully against him. Her head rested on his shoulder, tucked below his chin and her body seemed to melt into his side perfectly. He wrapped an arm around her waist, keeping her close, while the other gently linked fingers with her hand that rested against his stomach. He felt her sigh in content against him and smiled. A few minutes later, Sakura was completely relaxed and fast asleep on his chest.

Mission accomplished.

Shikamaru opened his eyes when he heard a loud curse and looked in the direction of the noise, coming from Sakura's closet. "Problem?" he asked, uninterestedly as he yawned.

"Wouldn't be, if someone had woken me up sooner!"

He rolled his eyes. The warm, fuzzy memory he had just dreamed already fading from his mind then minute her aggravated tones appeared. Really, there was something seriously wrong with women and waking up. They never went well together…even Kiba said so, and his girlfriend was probably the sweetest person in the universe.

There was another loud curse followed by a crash as Sakura stumbled her way out of the closet, finally dressed in a pair of black, form-fitting shorts that stopped just above her knees and an oversized, regulation Jonin turtleneck that looked oddly familiar. So that's where my clothes disappear to…she had decided to ditch the green vest that was usually required with the uniform today. Her bright, waist-length hair fell down her back like threads of cotton candy before she managed to pull the bulk of it into a decent ponytail. She grabbed her weapons pouch from the floor and strapped it to her thigh before shoving her feet into her sandals.

By this time, Shikamaru was finally pulling himself off of the bed.

"Next time, I'm going to let Tsunade wake you up herself." He yawned, shaking his head as he followed her out of her apartment. Sakura just glared at him and grabbed his arm, dragging him down the stairs. She caught a glimpse of the time in the shop across the street and cursed loudly.

"Damn it, it's already 12:14! We are so dead!" she shrieked, and took off down the street towards the Hokage's building, Shikamaru trailing her by a step.

Tsunade sat at her desk, her head resting on her palm as her fingers tapped impatiently against the wood. Her eyes kept darting back and forth between the clock and the door.

Sakura and Shikamaru were twenty minutes late.

Kiba slouched in one of the chairs, his eyes staring blankly at a spot on the floor. Genma was leaning against the open window to the right of her desk, staring out at the crowded streets, looking for a sign of their captain. His senbon clicked in rhythm to Tsunade's offbeat. Already Kiba could see the slight tick working in her jaw and the vein that was threatening to pop on her temple. He involuntarily flinched as her hard eyes darted to him and attempted a smile.

"I'm sure they'll be here any-"

"They're already twenty minutes late!" she yelled, slamming her fist against the desk. Kiba just sighed and glanced at Genma, who was trying to stifle a laugh from behind Tsunade. They were all going to be in hell when Sakura and Shikamaru finally showed up.

Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something, the door burst open with a loud bang, making everyone jump. Shikamaru and Sakura were framed in the doorway, bent over and breathing in short gasps. Well, Kiba thought 'that was one way to make an entrance.'

"I'm so sorry we're late Tsunade-sama! You see, I woke up late and –"

"Sit."

Sakura immediately shut up and slunk into the room, slowly lowering herself onto the seat next to Kiba, who looked like he was trying not to laugh at her. "Morning Captain." He grinned, giving her a mock salute. Sakura gave him a look that was enough to make the words he was about to say catch viciously in his throat. Shikamaru shut the door behind him and went to lean against the window-sill next to Genma. They all waited in silence for Tsunade to speak.

"So, she began through clenched teeth, "Tell me what happened last night. Were there any problems?" she asked.

Everyone suddenly looked to Sakura. As their captain, it was hers alone to give the report. Sakura sat up straighter and stared straight ahead at her mentor. Events from the night before flashed in her mind's eye and she steadily shook her head. "No, there were no problems at all. They agreed to come quietly and accepted all circumstances of returning." She said smoothly. Tsunade stared quietly into space for a moment, contemplating something before nodding her head.

"Good. Then that's that. Here's the information on what will be happening now that they've returned." Tsunade said, taking out a file from her drawer.

"I put them both on probation for the rest of the year. In the first month, they are nothing but civilians. If you even see them with a weapon, then you must report it." She explained as Sakura took the file and read along. "Then and only then will they be allowed to train again, under supervision of course, before they are reinstated as Genin."

Sakura's eyes narrowed. "And what kind of supervision would this be?" she asked. Tsunade held her gaze steadily.

"They are only allowed to begin training under the strict watch of an ANBU operative, of course."

Meaning you and your team, Sakura, my dear.

She smiled stiffly at the underlying meaning and almost shredded the papers in her grasp if Kiba hadn't pried them from her.

"Of course." she nodded, her voice strained.

Tsunade went on to explain what was happening and the group settled in for a long meeting. But, as the rest of her team listened with rapt attention to new intelligence and upcoming missions, all Sakura could do was keep thinking about the vicious knot that had twisted itself into a permanent place in her belly. Suddenly, she dreaded stepping out of the Hokage's office in fear of those who now roamed the streets of Konoha.

Around the same time that the First ANBU Captain and her squad were giving reports and intelligence to the Godaime, another commotion was starting up in the village. Already people were talking and just about the whole of Hidden Leaf was caught in the whirlwind.

Uzumaki Naruto, Sasuke Uchiha and Hatake Kakashi were back.

As the three slowly made their way through town, they met with many familiar people, most who greeted them with intense reactions. First they had seen Chouji and Asuma, who were actually happily surprised to see them. Rock Lee and Gai came bounding down a side street, knocking Naruto and Kakashi over in their excitement and Konohamaru and his genin team made quite a scene screaming at Naruto in the street for ditching them. All seemed well enough, until the three happened upon the Yamanaka flower turned down a side street and grinned at the familiar surroundings.

"I know exactly where we are!" he chirped, walking towards a shop in the center of the block with a yellow awning hanging above the door. Bright displays of flowers crowded the windows in an array of colors. Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi all walked through the door to be greeted by a loud, bright voice that came from none other than the bubbling blonde herself, Ino Yamanaka. Her head was bent over a piece she was working on and she put a hand up, telling them to hold on.

"Sorry! I'll be right with you, just wait a minute." She said as she adjusted a long branch into the huge display she was making. Naruto grinned and stepped foreword.

"Ino, it's so good to see you again!"

At the sound of the loud, scratchy voice, Ino's hand froze over what she was doing. Slowly, her eyes glanced up and were greeted by the familiar spiky, sunshine hair and the bright blue eyes. Looking past him she saw the tell tale black spikes and the infamous one eyed blank stare…

Ino stood up straight and slowly smoothed her apron down. She stared at the three men for a very long time, not saying anything, until finally, without a word she turned and walked into the back room, slamming the door behind her.

Naruto stood frowning as the door slammed shut. He opened his mouth to say something but was stopped by a firm grip on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Kakashi shake his head and nodded to the door.

"Leave it Naruto. We can't think that everyone would be happy to see us." He said. Naruto just huffed and pulled away, shaking his head.

"Let's just get out of here before someone else comes in." Sasuke muttered, already heading out the door after Kakashi. Naruto sighed and was the last one out, the glass door clinking shut behind him. However, outside he almost rammed into Sasuke's back. Muttering curses and preparing to shove the idiot standing in his way, he was suddenly stopped short when he saw a familiar face standing in front of Kakashi and Sasuke. He grinned and pushed past the two men, up to the hooded figure regarding them through dark, round sunglasses.

"Shino, what are you doing here?" he asked, grinning, and held out his hand to the taller man. Shino glanced at him for a long second before gingerly returning Naruto's handshake. He nodded to Kakashi and Sasuke and glanced through the glass doors into the shop beyond, noting that it was empty.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said quietly, dropping the blonde's hand.

Naruto just rolled his eyes and scratched the back of his head. "Well, we came to say hello to Ino, but she sort of just freaked and left without saying anything. I guess she was just surprised to see-"

"Excuse me then." Shino muttered, cutting him off as he moved past the bubbling blonde and his companions without another word. Naruto called after him but either Shino didn't hear him or was ignoring him. The glass door slid shut behind him and Naruto stood there, mouth still open in wonder.

"What is everyone's problem today!" Naruto yelled, suddenly glaring at the glass door.

He was definitely one of those people who hated being brushed off and it had happened to him twice already. Kakashi and Sasuke just sighed and dragged Naruto away from the shop. Though, as they passed the window, Sasuke did cast a curious glance in to see Shino knocking lightly on the door leading to the back room. Now that was an interesting development. He thought as he turned, pulling Naruto to the side to keep from crashing into a passerby.

Inside the shop, Shino leaned lightly against the wall next to the back door behind the counter and knocked softly. He could hear a quiet sob from within the room and tensed. Again he knocked and again there was no response. Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and pushed the door open. Immediately he could see Ino leaning over a table in the corner, breathing heavily.

Slowly, she turned to glance at him. Angry tear tracks stained her pale face and her sky blue eyes were a deep shade of sapphire. She turned away from him and went to fuss with a vase full of random flowers in the corner. She picked up a kunai from the table and quickly began sheering off the heads of whatever flowers she came across. He stepped further into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Ino" He started stepping towards her.

She stiffened, and it was then Shino noticed how hard she was gripping the kunai in her fist. A dark red stream was beginning to trail slowly down her arm and drip to the floor. He quickly stepped up behind her and grabbed her arm, coaxing her to let go of the blade.

"Ino, you're bleeding." He muttered absently, finally managing to pry the kunai away from her death grip and dropped it onto the floor in a hollow clatter. She let out another sob and hissed in pain, then suddenly turned into his embrace.

"Shhh…calm down…" he muttered into her hair, sliding his free arm around her waist. Ino was trembling in his arms and fisted her bloody hand into his jacket, creating a small red hand-print. Not that he cared.

"Do you know how much it's taking me…not to go out there and slit their throats myself!" she hissed, more angry tears pouring down her pretty face as she pressed closer against his chest. Shino didn't say anything but instead pulled her towards the stuffed chair in the corner. He took a roll of gauze bandages from his weapons pouch and sat down in the chair, settling Ino on his lap.

She was still ranting obscure curses and wiping her eyes while Shino just took her other hand and began wrapping it in gauze. Finishing it off with a knot, he waited out the rest of her storm patiently. Eventually her rants slowly subsided into soft sobs. She leaned her forehead against his shoulder, sighing heavily.

"Better?" he asked quietly. Ino shifted, and he felt the slight nod of her head. He raised his arm and softly ran it down the length of Ino's long, blonde hair.

"Do you want to tell me what all that was about anyways?" he tried. Ino was quiet for a minute. "Naruto and Sasuke are back."

"So I've seen. But why were you so angry? Not falling for Sasuke again are you?" he said, teasing. Though, when she sat up to glare down at him, she could hear the slight uncertainty hidden there, in his voice. She roughly smacked his shoulder, and crossed her arms.

"It's not that! I'm mad because those two idiots have no right to be here at all, yet here they are, traipsing around the damn village like they own the place!" she screamed, her cheeks flaring red at her anger. Shino just stared at her quietly, letting her rage settle before he asked,

"It's about Sakura, isn't it? You're worried about what's going to happen." He whispered. Ino stiffened, and her bright, summer eyes which were normally so emotional suddenly went blank. When she spoke it was through tightly clenched teeth.

"They weren't supposed to come back." She muttered. Her eyes beginning to water again as she stared blankly at his chest, however he knew what scene was flashing behind that faraway look…

He gently grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look at him and pulled her close, whispering into her hair softly as she began to cry. They weren't the loud, angry sobs that Ino was infamous for when she normally got upset. These tears went deeper, much deeper then surface pain, and were all the more desperate because of their silence. She buried herself into his embrace, and shook silently while Shino just held her.

"They don't deserve her…" she cried, wrapping her arms around his middle and hugging him close. "They're going to ruin everything."

Shino shushed her.

"I know." He sighed heavily. Like before, eventually her tears ceased and she leaned against him tiredly, attempting to tuck her head beneath his chin, and then huffed in frustration when she found she couldn't.

She sat up; adjusting her legs so she was straddling him and immediately her hands flew to the zipper of his jacket. "I hate this…take it off." She muttered, glaring down at him.

Her fingers were already working to tug the zipper down. With her other hand she pulled the thick hood back and away from his face, revealing his neat, spiky brown hair. Throughout the entire process, Shino didn't move to protest and even helped her shrug the thick coat off when she slid it off his shoulders and down his arms. It wasn't until she had tossed his jacket onto the table and reached for his sunglasses did he grab her wrist. Ino just stared at him with pleading eyes.

"Shino please, I need this. I need to see you." She whispered.

He stared up at her for a long minute. It wasn't often that the young Aburame took off his glasses, and Ino was the only one not in the clan to ever see his eyes, but still. It was also rare that he indulged her. However, looking up into her summer blue eyes at that moment…he sighed in defeat.

"Alright, but just this once." He said, repeating the same thing he always said whenever he allowed her to see his eyes, and reluctantly let go of her wrist. A triumphant smile graced her lips and she slowly pulled the glasses off to reveal those that were, in her opinion, possibly the most gorgeous eyes she had ever seen.

Much to popular belief, Shino's eyes weren't actually dark like everyone thought they were. They were a light, golden brown that swirled with a light green, making them a very vibrant shade of hazel. Shino looked up at her silently, suddenly feeling very out of place without his glasses, but he didn't pull away or try to grab them back. Just sat still and watched her.

Ino gently folded the glasses and leaned over to place them on the table with his jacket, away from harm. Then, slowly, her hands began to trace the sides of his face and slid up to his chocolate brown locks, running her hands through them. His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her even closer and his eyes grew heavy at her soothing ministrations until he had to look at her through half-lidded eyes. Ino smiled wider as she saw his bright eyes droop and then, without warning, she leaned down to gently brush her lips against his.

Shino sighed into that kiss, perfectly content and slid an arm up her back to tangle in her long, blonde locks, keeping her head there; keeping her lips pressed against his. Ino lazily trailed her tongue across his bottom lip, coaxing him to open up to her. One of her hands tugged sharply at his hair, causing him to gasp and she quickly took the opportunity to slip her tongue into his warm mouth, exploring a place she already knew by heart.

He moaned softly as he battled with her for dominance and eventually let her take control. If anything, she probably needed this much more than he did.

Her hands smoothed across his shoulders and cut a trail down his chest, creating the most maddening sensation as her fingers skimmed over the tight, mesh shirt he wore beneath his jacket. Already she could feel him against her and pressed closer to him, grinding her hips against his in a teasing rhythm. Shino gasped, breaking their heated kiss when she pressed harder against him and immediately his hands moved to her hips, holding her there tightly. Slowly, he arched up while pressing down on her hips and she moaned loudly, gasping at the jolt that shot through her body.

They stared at each other through half-lidded eyes and breathed through short gasps of air. Shino shook his head, which was suddenly going fuzzy from his heightened senses. The tiny beetles were practically buzzing under his skin from the contact with Ino.

"If we don't stop now then we're sure as hell not going to be able to later…" he panted, his eyes glazed over and bright. Ino just stared down at him admiring this new image of her boyfriend, star-stuck and out-of-breath, before a mischievous smirk appeared on her blush stained face.

"Who said anything about stopping?" she grinned, and without giving him a chance to think about it, immediately crushed her lips back to his.

Not the couple you were expecting? You're welcome to rant about it in that magic text box called "Review". Love you all.

- Serena