A/N: This is where things begin to turn around. Something mind jarring finally happens and one of them wakes the hell up to the possibility of being with the other. If not to be with that person forever, then to protect them from the potential of a horribly unsatisfying future. A future with someone who loved you desperately was certainly better than one with someone that only wanted you for their own benefit right?

Chapter 12

Ino decided it was difficult to live in the dark. Power was an essential feature to a home as well as water and both were no longer working. She felt more than a little gross as she rolled out of bed and smacked her parched lips together sleepily. The last time she had showered was the prior morning and she desperately needed to wash away everything. She had gotten next to no sleep that night. Her apartment was frigged and it was just too quiet. It felt so empty and hollow and lonely, just like her.

She swallowed thickly against the tears. She had plenty of time the prior night to cry as she drove the three hour trip back to her apartment with her whole life packed in a single suitcase. That was how she would be living soon; out of a suitcase in her car like some sad hobo. Well, hobos didn't always have cars so she figured she was somewhat fortunate.

She had two weeks remaining before her eviction and still yet was expected to endure another two month of Shikamaru's negligence after those weeks. She just couldn't do it. She was resigned to her fate. She would sooner suffer out on the streets than under Shikamaru's roof.

Never had she thought that something like this would happen to her. She was a strong woman and never before had a man taken her apart so fully with such little effort and time. Only a month ago she had fallen into his trap and she was finding it hard to escape. Even now she wanted to be in his presence despite how much she was hurting.

She wondered if he had noticed her absence yet. Would he be upset with her like the last time she had left? That time, she had felt the anger radiating off of him so strongly that she had to flee. How would he react this time, especially now that she wouldn't be coming back…?

Would he chase after her? Why would he? He had no reason to. She meant nothing to him. She was a bauble on his arm. Actually, that hadn't really panned out as she had predicted. He had expected her at his office more than at social gatherings, but then again there had only been the Halloween party so far. Thanksgiving was coming up next week. He would probably take Temari with him to that gathering.

Ino decided to move about and attempt to accomplish something that day. Maybe another desperate attempt to find a job would do to sooth her troubled mind, but where could she shower? Thinking on that current thought, she set about to open the blinds in the apartment to illuminate the area with sunlight. It couldn't possibly be past nine or ten in the morning at that point.

Ino quenched her thirst with a bottle of water and brushed her teeth in the kitchen sink before setting about to get dressed. The gym would have showers that she could use, and luckily for her the membership she had was valid until the end of that year.

"Thank goodness for small miracles," she muttered to herself as she braided her hair quickly before throwing the long plait over her shoulder.

All she had to do now was get her shoes on, gather together her shower items and a spare change of clothes and she could be on her way. However, a knock sounding on the other side of her door drew her attention and accelerated her heartbeat.

"Shikamaru?" she breathed out softly, rushing to the door a little more quickly than she would have liked.

She couldn't help it though, what if it really was him? What if he was waiting on the other side of her door to take her back with him? What if he couldn't live without her like she couldn't live without him? What if…?

Ino's heart was pounding recklessly in her ears as she grasped the doorknob and twisted the handle before yanking open the door quickly to reveal who was on the other side…

"Ino?" Shikamaru called into the emptiness of the room across from his.

The door was ajar and it didn't seem like the petite blond was present. She seldom woke before him so her lack of presence was unfamiliar. He could understand why though. He hadn't been treating her very well the last few days. Not since she hadn't shown any feeling toward him as he asked her about the situation with Temari. He had withdrawn from her to the point of being belligerent. He hadn't been able to help it, however. He was just so heartbroken. If she was just never going to love him back then he wished she would just leave, instead of tormenting him with her presence. He really had not thought things through before he had staged this intervention.

It looked as if his wishes had been answered. She wasn't present and he didn't know if she would be ever again. So why then did he feel so hollow inside?

Shikamaru clenched his jaw tightly against the urge to rage. What did he care if she wasn't there?! What did he care if he would most likely never see her again?! She made it abundantly clear that she had absolutely no romantic interest in him whatsoever. Why couldn't he just get over her?!

With an enraged growl he slammed his fist through the plaster of the nearest wall, but it didn't make him feel any better as the tears forced themselves down his cheeks against his will.

"Fuck!" he shouted angrily as he hid his face away with the palm of the hand that wasn't still buried in the wall.

This was it; this was all he was going to give her. This was the last time he was going to think about her. If she didn't want him then she didn't want him! There was just nothing that he could do about it. He couldn't force her to love him back no matter how desperately he wanted to. He couldn't hold her against him no matter how much his body craved it. Their past didn't matter and neither did their present because there would simply be no future for the two of them.

Shikamaru crouched down on the floor and covered his mouth with his damaged hand, releasing everything that he had for her and willing the love he felt for her to leave with the sound of his hollow scream.

With a shaking breath, he stood back upright. One last lingering glance at her empty room and he went about the old routine he had established before allowing Ino to come into his life. It was less troublesome to pretend it had just never happened.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Ino gave little care to the brazenness of her words as they were directed at the green eyed woman known as Temari. Of all the people to knock on her door this early in the morning, Temari was the last person that she had expected.

The other blond gave no answer as she forced her way into the apartment with an uninterested look. Ino couldn't help but to gawk at her. The audacity of this woman, to come into her apartment, to invade her personal life when she had already staked her claim on the man that she loved, was simply overwhelming. Ino had to restrain herself not to resort to a childish cat fight. The other blond most likely had connection and could see her life more ruined than it already was.

"How did you figure out where I live?" Ino demanded with a startled yet hateful expression.

"You're job application," Temari answered without looking at Ino, her eyes taking in her surroundings with an almost disgusted look.

Ino watched with an expression of reserved hatred as Temari walked about her small apartment with a disdainful look on her face, "I really don't know what he sees in you," she mumbled to herself, "You are just so pathetic."

That was it, "Get the fuck out," Ino snapped, her presence bearing down on the fuller blond as she grabbed onto her arm and yanked her back toward the front door.

"Not until I have made myself completely clear," Temari snapped back, bracing her feet and pulling her arm free of Ino's grasp.

Ino continued to her door and opened it again with an indignant expectant expression. She glared viciously at the other girl as she waited impatiently to slam the door in her face. That was the first thing she should have done upon seeing her, but Ino had just been so stunned.

Temari sauntered up to Ino with an obnoxiously confident smile on her face, "I want you to stay away from Shikamaru," she ordered firmly, completely expecting her wishes to be obeyed.

"You didn't say please," Ino retorted, grinning back smugly as Temari's green eyes sparked angrily.

"Do you want me to make all of this go away for you?" she threatened.

Ino reigned in her next response. Temari didn't need to know that she was already about to lose everything she held dear, including Shikamaru. But what was she really here for? If Shikamaru truly belonged to her, then why did she feel the need to come to Ino's home and threaten her?

Ino's silence was answer enough for Temari as she tilted her head haughtily and proceeded to exit the apartment.

Before she could make it too far, Ino called out, "Why are you doing this? It's not like he's a major catch or anything," maybe she could figure out what the green-eyed girl's angle was.

"You really don't know anything about him at all do you?" Temari snapped, falling for the bait, "He is the most eligible bachelor to date. Do you know just how wealthy he is? If we were to marry, we would be the power couple of the century. His wealth could help ensure our hotel chain and aid in further developments for my family." Temari looked at her with indifferent resentment.

"So you don't love him?" Ino continued, her resolve firming at Temari's validation.

"Business isn't about love; it's about conquest. But a simple, uneducated person such as yourself wouldn't understand," her last barb rang hollowly throughout Ino's mind as the green-eyed woman left with a dismissive sound.

It didn't take Ino long to decide what to do at this point. She would not let some bitch take away what she held so close to her heart for her own personal gains. It was funny how it took something as jarring as the idea of losing him to a woman that would not truly love him to make her move toward action.

Surprise didn't begin to describe the way that Shikamaru felt as he walked into his office after lunch to see Ino organizing papers in his filing cabinet. An overwhelming sense of relief washed over him and, with the emotionally taxing morning he had gone through, her presence nearly brought him to his knees. As it stood, he was unable to hide the relieved expression that overtook his features and when she turned to look at him with eyes as blue as the sky his breath caught in his throat.

"You're next meeting is at one thirty?" she informed with an apologetic smile on her lips.

"Cancel it," he said, "go out to lunch with me," it wasn't a request, but Ino took no offense to being ordered around by the dark man before her.

"Didn't you just come back from lunch?" she asked him with a knowing smile.

"Yes, but I'm feeling hungry again for some reason," he said with a come-hither grin, leaving Ino to interpreted the double meaning behind his words.

A/N: All better now! I am feeling satisfied with how this is turning out. I do apologize to the ShikaTema fan base out there. I have never been one to bash other people's ships, but I really don't like her character at all… Did I just make everyone hater her even more? Hahaha! And I fooled all of you! You totally thought that Shika was going to go after her! Well girl power to Ino for sucking up her pride and just doing what her heart tells her is right! The story is beginning to draw to a close. I had never really planned out much more after this point. I suck at making conflict in stories and my plots are always terrible. I really only write most of the time for the love scenes… I think after I finish this I will just write some one-shots for my Naruto OTP. If you got anything interesting that you might like in a one-shot let me know and I may try to write for it. Please review if you love this chapter!