Hello, I finally had time to upload this! I would have done it sooner but I had a little scare with my grandmother and we had to take her to the hospital for a few days. But she is recovering now and here is the new chapter and I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.

Ino was in the flower shop taking care of arrangements and talking with customers. When it suddenly started to rain, not many people came in after that. Ino sat at the counter; bored out of her mind. But then her mind had drifted as she remembered that Shikamaru was out in the rain earlier. About three minutes ago, before the rain started, she suddenly felt something didn't feel right. The rain unnerved her as it seemed to be an omen since it was sunny at first.

"I hope Shikamaru is alright…" Ino thought as she saw that the rain stopped.

Then she saw Sakura outside of the shop, slowly walking past, as if she was in no hurry but had a dejected look on her face.

But she went to the entryway to call out to her, "Sakura!"

Sakura snapped out of her stupor; she looked up at her but her eyes weren't as bright as they usually are. They seemed dull, lifeless, and they seemed to be red and puffy.

Ino had hoped to get information about Shikamaru and if he was okay. But she was more concerned about how one of her best friends looked sad.

She led Sakura inside and brought a towel for Sakura to dry her hair, since she was a bit wet from the earlier rain. Sakura just received the towel and wordlessly started to dry her hair.

Ino, who was bewildered that her friend was silent, she was almost afraid to ask what had happened. But she had to know, so she asked in a worry, "Sakura, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Sakura went rigid at first, she stopped drying her hair, started to tremble and then finally, fell to her knees sobbing.

Alarmed, Ino knelt down next to Sakura and tried to comfort her but she didn't know what was wrong.

"You're shaking Sakura, what's wrong?" Ino asked while rubbing her back.

Sakura tried to answer but she couldn't stop crying to even form a coherent sentence.

Until finally, Sakura's sobbing became quiet sniffles and then she answered in a shaky, raspy voice, "Ino, it's horrible. Asuma-sensei…"

Sakura stopped to wipe her eyes and then continued, "Asuma-sensei has been killed by the Akatsuki…"

Ino's eyes widened, she was speechless; just a few hours ago the Niju Shotai had been sent out but mow they lost Asuma to the Akatsuki. Ino's eyes started to water as she was on the floor hugging Sakura. She was taught by Asuma as well with Shikamaru and Chouji for their own Ino-Shika-Cho formation despite the team placements.

Though she couldn't help but think, "Is Shikamaru okay?"

By the end of the day, every shinobi was notified of Asuma's death, especially Kurenai, who was devastated by the news given by Shikamaru.

The next day, the funeral was commencing in the morning and every shinobi was there to pay respect Asuma Sarutobi. Kurenai had placed a bouquet of flowers that Ino had personally made for her to place on the grave marker.

Among the crowd of shinobi, Konohamaru was crying as he shakily said in distress, "Asuma-oji-chan…"

Naruto had his hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Ino had her eyes to the ground but then she searched the crowd; looking for Shikamaru. She hadn't seen him since he left on his mission yesterday. She was standing near Sakura and Chouji and caught what Sakura whispered with Chouji.

"Where's Shikamaru?" Sakura asked.

Chouji answered, "When I went to his house, his mother said that he had already left."

Ino frowned and sadly thought, "Poor Shika…"

After the funeral, Ino had left to find Shikamaru, to see how he was. Since her mother was watching the shop, she could be out all day. So she looked for him everywhere, hoping to spot him. She went to the training grounds, she passed by Yakiniku Q and saw the woman who owned the restaurant and she said she had seen Shikamaru earlier but she didn't know where he went to. So she tried at his favorite cloud watching spots; in a clearing surrounded by trees, on top of the Hokage Monument and finally she ended up at the same roof top with the bench where he first opened up to her about his failed mission and where she first saw him cry. She sat on the bench and let out a sigh before laying herself down on the bench with her hands clasped together on her stomach. She watched as the clouds drifted overhead and her mind wandered back to Shikamaru and how he must be feeling right now. Soon enough, her eyes drooped a bit since she had been running around all day and then she slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.

Ino's dream…

Ino was standing in a familiar meadow and she saw her younger self picking wild flowers and enjoying herself. Then she saw that her younger self spot a little boy with a spiky ponytail, lying in the grass, hands behind his head and his eyes were closed. She smiled as her younger self run over to the sleepy boy and sat down next to him.

Ino wondered, "Is this a regular dream or is this a memory?"

She walked closer to the children and listened to what her six-year-old self was saying.

Young Ino said irritably, "Shika, I know you are awake so listen to me when I'm talking to you!"

Ino watched as the younger Shikamaru pouted but he opened his eyes anyway. Ino let out a small laugh as her younger self smiled triumphantly. Then she continued to listen to their conversation as young Ino ask, "Shika, why do you like to watch the clouds so much? They don't do anything except move slowly across the sky."

Young Shikamaru looked over at her first, then shifted his gaze back up to the clouds again and then answered, "Because I want to be like a cloud; they let the wind blow them through the skies without a care in the world. I'd like to live through life without stress, that's why I like watching clouds."

Young Ino looked confused and then inquired, "Why would you worry about that? We're only six and you don't have anything that would stress you out."

Young Shikamaru answered, "Maybe not right now but for the future when we're shinobi, I'd rather live it easy than spend every day of my life doing troublesome things."

Ino retorted, "If we are shinobi, you'd actually have to do some difficult things for missions; you wouldn't have time for a stress-free life. So why would you choose to be a ninja?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "I don't know, I guess it's because my Dad is one and I never gave much thought about other occupations."

Ino shook her head and rebutted, "You're just too lazy to even think about it."

Then they just sat in a comfortable silence until Ino quietly spoke again, "If you were a cloud, you'd probably be blown away. Do you mean that you'd leave in the future?"

Shikamaru sighed, sat up and then replied, "Why would I leave the village? It's my home and my friends and family are here."

Ino then said, "But say that you had to leave for long missions or maybe even dangerous ones. Would you come back?"

Ino looked at Shikamaru with big, pleading, eyes and Shikamaru sighed.

But then he answered, "Yes, I would."

Ino asked, "You promise?"

Shikamaru nodded his head, "I promise."

Ino then extended her pinky finger and said, "Then promise with a pinky swear, this way you can't back out of it."

Shikamaru sighed again but then agreed, "Fine."

He brought his pinky finger out and wrapped it around Ino's, sealing their promise.

Then she surprised him by hugging him and said, "And I promise that I'll wait for you when you do get missions if you do the same for me."

Ino watched the young Shikamaru blush as he said in embarrassment, "Okay Ino, I promise, now let go of me."

Then the meadow started to fade and then Ino woke up as it was already dark out but it wasn't too late.

With renewed determination, Ino got up from the bench set out to Shikamaru's house, since he should be home by now. She ran and ran until she reached his house and then knocked on the door after she caught her breath. After a few knocks, Shikamaru's mother, Yoshino answered the door.

"Ino… Dear, what are you doing here?" Yoshino asked.

Ino answered, "Yoshino-ba-san, I know it's late and I shouldn't be out but I want to talk to Shikamaru. Is he home?"

Yoshino looked sad as she replied, "Yes, he is with Shikaku in the back room. My poor son, he was quiet all day; but more solemn than usual."

Yoshino let Ino in and she found the hallway that led out to a pond but there was a room back there as well. As she quietly made her way to the room she heard Shikaku speak, "As your father, I'm proud of you. I know that you wouldn't be so reckless as to get yourself killed. I wouldn't want to attend my son's funeral."

She stopped and strained her ears to hear shogi pieces clacking on the board. Then she heard Shikaku say, "But… Asuma is dead."

Then there was a crash and she was surprised as she heard the shogi pieces and the board hitting the floor. And she also saw as the light that lit the room had gone out; leaving the room with only the light of the moon filtering through.

Then she heard Shikamaru ask in an angry tone, "What are you getting at?"

Shikaku replied, "I'm just speaking my mind."

She heard shuffling and she assumed that Shikamaru was standing.

Then she heard him say, "Your prattling is making me sick to my stomach! I'm nothing but a useless coward!"

Shikaku replied, "No…"

The she heard Shikamaru ask angrily, "Then what is it?!"

Ino stood there in the hallway, just out of sight and she anxiously waited for someone to speak.

Until she heard Shikaku answer, "Let it out."

Then it seemed to be deathly quiet for about five seconds before Shikaku continued, "Let out all the sadness, fear and anger that is building up inside you."

Then she heard slight shaky breathing and then Ino heard Shikaku say, "That's the first step…"

Then she saw Shikaku come out of the room and slide the door closed just as she heard Shikamaru's cry of despair.

Shikaku whispered, "I'll pick up the pieces."

Shikaku walked towards where Ino was standing and he stopped in front of her for a minute, before quietly saying, "He may not say so, but I think that he needs you most right now. Don't stay out too long."

Ino nodded and walked past him to go to her distraught best friend. She slid the door open, ran right to Shikamaru and wrapped her arms around his waist. His sobbing stopped, he went rigid and he saw that Ino was suddenly with him, hugging him.

Despite his tears he asked in a hoarse voice, "What are you doing here, Ino?"

Ino answered, "I had looked everywhere for you since you weren't at the funeral. I wanted to help you, so please don't go through this alone."

At first, Shikamaru didn't move but then he gripped Ino into a tight embrace and he buried his face into her shoulder. She felt Shikamaru tremble and his sobs were muffled into her shoulder but were still loud. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she had never seen Shikamaru like this; so broken and vulnerable. Then she felt his knees buckle so she lowered herself down to the floor so they could sit down.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that only that it came to the point where she was sitting on her knees but she started to feel a little uncomfortable. But she wouldn't move since Shikamaru was still gripping her so tightly but not to the point where she couldn't breathe. She rubbed his back slowly until she heard his sobs start to recede. He loosened his grip and he pulled away from her. The tears had left behind a trail and his eyes red. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and then slowly looked up at Ino. Ino wiped her eyes as well and adjusted so that she wasn't sitting on her knees.

Then she whispered to him, "I know that anything I say might not make you feel better. But I'm sure that you had done your best to help Asuma-sensei… He would have been proud of you."

He lowered his gaze and murmured, "My 'best' wasn't enough, and he's dead because of me."

Ino sadly retorted, "Shikamaru, you know that's not…"

"It is true!" Shikamaru cut her off.

Ino was shocked; in all of the years she's known him, not once had he raised his voice at her.

He continued, "If I had just thought of a better plan or if I had been stronger, he never would've died; I wasn't strong enough to do anything! I had to watch Asuma facing against the Akatsuki member that inflicted wounds on him. I was weak; I was of no use to anybody!"

Ino knows that it is something that that he needed to vent but the self-loathing that Shikamaru was expressing was increasingly getting to be too much.

Ino tried to say, "Shika-"

She was cut off again, "It is my fault, Ino! Asuma would still be here if it weren't for me! If it weren't for me, Asuma wouldn't have sacrificed himself! If I had been the one to face them, to get in close instead, Asuma would still be here! Everyone would be better off if I was the one who was killed!"

A deafening crack echoed throughout the room, Ino's hand had swiftly swept across Shikamaru's cheek causing it to turn red. Shikamaru was silent and looked bewildered, he slowly turned his head forward to look at Ino.

As angry tears threatened to leak from her eyes, she scolded him, "Shikamaru, that's enough. Don't ever say life your life is meaningless, because all lives matter. Was it fair that Asuma-sensei died? No. Was it your fault that he's dead? Of course not! But you and I both know what these missions are like and that the Akatsuki are not a group to be underestimated. I mean look at me; I could've died when Sakura and I fought against Sasori. It was only thanks to Elder Chiyo that I'm even alive. Asuma-sensei fought against them bravely and you helped back him up."

She paused to take a deep breathe to calm herself before continuing, "He had fought them because it was his choice and he wouldn't want you to beat yourself about this, right?"

Shikamaru looked down at the floor but she could tell that he understood what she was saying. Ino brought her hands to frame his face and tilted his head up for him to look at her.

Then she spoke gently, "Shika, you are not a coward; you are one of the bravest shinobi I know. You are far from useless because you can plan out every step to execute a plan flawlessly. If something stumps you, you are able to figure out the enemies' plan and can stop it effectively. Shika, do you really think yourself so insignificant that you don't value your own life?"

She could tell that he was listening intently because he was silent and didn't answer.

So she continued, "You don't think that you would be missed? That's not true; everyone would miss you. Your parents would, Chouji would miss you, you are his best friend, Sakura, Naruto, and every one of our friends would miss you."

The tears then started to trickle down her cheeks and she added with her voice breaking, "Especially me… I always worry about you when you are out on missions. If it had been you who was killed, I don't know what I would do. To me, you're irreplaceable and important that I feel that a part of me would be missing. So don't ever say that you don't matter, because you do matter. To everyone… to me…"

Then she brought her hands up to her eyes and was overwhelmed with emotion that she hid her face in them. She let out a few sniffles before she felt her hands being pulled away from her face. She looked at Shikamaru as he had brought his hands to hold her face and wiped the tears from her face.

He whispered soothingly, "I'm sorry; I was angry at myself and lashed out at you. You're right; Asuma wouldn't want me to be like this."

Then he wrapped his arms around her and brought her close to him in an embrace.

"Thank you, Ino, for being here with me," he added.

Ino returned the embrace as well as she could, given that they were both sitting on the floor. Then she pulled away a bit and gave him a small smile to which he gave a weary half-smile in return.

She saw that there was a bruise forming on his cheek and replied, "Your welcome, and I'm sorry for slapping you."

Shikamaru shook his head and disagreed, "No, I needed it."

Ino brought her hand to his cheek and it started to glow green, healing the bruise.

"You don't need the bruise, so I'll heal it," Ino offered.

Shikamaru mumbled, "Thanks, Ino."

Ino replied, "Anytime…"

Ino healed the bruise but her hand lingered on his cheek. They locked gazes, and at this point, even she didn't know what happened. Her hands framed his face and then she leaned in closer to him. Then she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against his for a few seconds until she realized what she was doing. She pulled away from him, let go of his face, and then brought her hands to her sides.

Flustered, Ino apologized, "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me…"

Shikamaru placed his hand under her chin to tilt it up. Ino's heart started to pound as she looked into his eyes and was reminded of her dream a few nights ago, only this was actually happening. They both closed their eyes and brought their lips together a second time. It was amazing to her; it felt right to kiss him and for him to kiss her back. They pulled apart after a few minutes to catch their breath.

Ino whispered, "Wow…"

Shikamaru smirked and jokingly asked, "Did I actually leave you speechless?"

Ino's blush intensified and she looked away from him in embarrassment. She heard him chuckle a little and then she felt her head being turned towards him.

"I'm kidding, Ino. Thank you for making me laugh," Shikamaru said with a small smile.

And then he added, "And…Thank you for coming here and being here for me."

Ino smiled as well and replied, "Your welcome, Shikamaru."

Then she went on to explain, "Shikamaru, about the kiss, I don't regret it. I kissed you because I wanted to."

She paused for a moment and then continued, "To tell you the truth, I've been having these feelings for you that seem to be more than just friendship."

He chuckled and then she turned to look at him with a questioning gaze, and he replied, "I feel the same way, I have the same dilemma where I couldn't stop thinking about you as more than a friend. But I didn't know how to tell you."

Ino smiled before asking, "So what do we do now that we know that we have feelings for each other?"

Shikamaru smirked and then answered, "Obviously, I'm supposed to ask you on a date next. But before that…"

His face looked stern and Ino immediately guessed what Shikamaru wanted to do.

"You're planning on revenge against Asuma-sensei's killers, right?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru nodded solemnly and added, "It's something that I need to do, Ino."

Ino sighed but then she said, "I won't stop you but don't… Don't get hurt too badly. Because if you don't come home like you promised when we were six years old, I'll never forgive you."

Shikamaru chuckled yet again, "I can't believe that you remember that promise."

Ino rebutted, "Of course I do; so you better keep it."

Shikamaru brought his forehead to touch hers as he replied, "I promise, I won't drift away like a cloud."

He gave her a kiss on the forehead and then pecked her lips before Ino got up from the floor.

Ino then whispered, "Good night, Shika."

"'Night, Ino," Shikamaru replied.

So Ino let herself out of the room and went through the front door and went home.

The next day…

She woke up early in the morning and tended to the flower shop and went about her whole day working. She had done all this until closing time and she had gone home again. Then before she knew it, it was time for bed. But before she went to sleep, her fingers were playing with the stud earring that she had received from Asuma along with Shikamaru and Chouji. Perhaps that the time had flown by because she didn't want to think of the lingering grief of Asuma's death. Then she slipped into a dreamless sleep at least until a few hours later where she was awoken by a knock at her window. At first, she was on high alert but then relaxed as she recognized the silhouette of Shikamaru because of his spiky hair.

She got out of bed and then opened the window to poke her head out of it and asked, "Shikamaru, what are you doing here?"

He replied, "I came to tell you that I'm leaving with Chouji and Sakura in a few minutes, and to ask you something."

Ino asked, "What is it?"

He seemed a little nervous before asking, "When I come back, will you go on a date with me?"

Ino smiled before she leaned in closer to Shikamaru and answered, "I'd love to, Shika."

She brought her lips to his and gave him a breathtaking kiss that left her dazed and then she pulled away to whisper, "Good luck Shika, and be careful."

He nodded and then he turned away from her with gear belt in hand and then took off over the roof tops towards the gates. She watched him until he was out of sight.

Ino looked on in worry and thought, "Please be safe, Shikamaru."

Well, that is the chapter, I always thought that Ino needed a dramatic setting for this. I know that this is a little OOC for the both of them but I felt that Ino needed to be there to listen to what he really feels. And also, this was the setup for when they progress their relationship. Please feel free to review and I'll update again soon. And I hope to update Leave the Pieces soon, so expect that later.