Chapter 1 - How They Feel

Naruto:

More To My Life


“Aw man, why do I havta apologize? She started the whole stupid thing.” Shikamaru grumbled as he kicked a loss tin can on the streets to his teammates' house. His dad was making him apologize to Ino after a fight they had had after their training that afternoon. “Stupid sensei, telling our folks about this…” Since Ino's dad was close to Shikamaru's dad, he immediately called and the poor unaware boy got knocked upside the head for his actions. He only got in worse trouble since Ino's parents were out of town for the next week and she would be home alone. Shikamaru was suppose to go over each night to make sure she was safe and had everything she needed, but he didn't want to after they had fought. Though he didn't seem to have a choice in the matter.

“C'mon! Any healthy relationship has arguments to vent out any anger or to just let some stress go. Am I the only one who knows anything in this troublesome village?” he sighed heavily as he tried to remember what was such a big deal about their fight.

!*! Flashback… !*!

“Oh, SHI-KA-KUN!” Ino hummed in a sing-song voice.

“Yeah? What do you want?” he yawned as he looked at her through one open eye.

The team was having a cool down after their cool down under a tree on a hill near their training site. Shikamaru was resting with his back against the tree, arms behind his head. Choji was around the other way, laying on one side and using his hand as a pillow. Asuma was packing up and Ino had just sat down beside the lazy nin. To Shikamaru, she looked happy about something, which is always good since she can blow up like a volcano is she's really mad at the beginning of a conversation.

“You are coming over tonight, right?” she questioned her friend.

“Aw, Ino, you've been asking me this everyday since your folks left. Yeah, I'll be there, jeez.”

“But you didn't come over last night like you said you would! So I'm making sure you promise you are.”

“I am.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“You promise?”

“Yeah.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“For sure?”

“YES, OKAY?”

“HEY! Don't you yell at ME!”

“THEN YOU DON'T BUG ME! I SAID I'M COMING SO I'M COMING! LEAVE ME ALONE UNTIL THEN!”

“Sorry, but I CAN'T! We're on the same team and this happens to be our stop spot, GENIUS!”

“Well, if this is how you're gonna be, I DON'T WANNA BE NEAR YOU, LET ALONE ON YOUR TEAM!”

“Well, I NEVER DID WANNA BE WITH YOU IN THE FIRST PLACE! I WANTED TO BE WITH—”

“SASUKE, WE ALL FREAKIN KNOW!”

“STOP GIVING ME ATTITUDE!”

“THEN STOP TALKING TO ME! YOU SAID YOU DON'T WANT TO BE ON MY TEAM SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO TALK TO ME, SO DON'T! YOU'RE NOT ON UCHIHA'S TEAM, YOU'RE ON MINE! YOU'RE NEVER GOING TO BE ON HIS, SO GET OVER IT ALREADY! HE DOESN'T EVEN LIKE YOU THAT WAY!”

“(*gasp*) H-HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT!”

“I'M SAYING IT `CAUSE IT'S TRUE! IT'S SO OBVIOUS HE'LL ONLY HAVE EYES FOR SAKURA, SO GET—”

“No…”

“—OVER—”

“No…”

“—IT!”

“SHUT UP!” Ino grabbed his shirt collar and brought his face up to his hers. Both his eyes were open now and he didn't look so calm, “YOU HAVE NO IDEA! YOU DON'T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND, YOU DON'T EVEN FEEL LOVE FOR ANYONE BUT YOURSELF! YOU HAVE NO CLUE HOW I REALLY FEEL, SO YOU CAN JUST…SHUT UP!” She threw him against the tree and turned away after her voice cracked.

“…Ino…” He could tell he had hurt her, but she needed to know the truth. He had spoken to the Uchiha about the same thing because he was worried that Ino would get hurt and in the end, he was the one who hurt her over someone else's feelings. How did that make sense? He reached a hand out to her shoulder, but she caught sight of it from the corner of her eye and stood up abruptly. She shook her head back and forth rather stiffly and murmured out,

“D-don't come over…tonight.”

“What? Of course I am! To make sure you're safe! And if I don't, this whole stupid argument would've been pointless!”

”THEN LET IT BE!” she shouted in a drooping voice. You could tell she wasn't happy at all, “…I won't…open my door to you. See ya later Choji-kun!” Then she walked over to Asuma-sensei, said good-bye with a bow and ran home.

!*! End of Flashback… !*!

It wasn't even their worst fight. Not to him, anyway. But then again, they rarely ever fought, though they never ended in a similar manor to this one. Maybe he struck a nerve with Ino. Well, obviously! Telling someone the person they've liked for years doesn't like them, but their rival? That would only hurt, he concluded. The genius ninja sighed heavily upon arrival at Ino's house. He didn't live that far away to begin with, he just had to calm down a bit first.

As he reached the door, he realized he needed a new plan of entry. Using the old `knock-and-enter' technique was not going to work. Come one Shika', think! They're had to be another way to enter her house that only years of knowing her and visiting her house could result in an answer that couldn't get him thrown in jail. Think…think…think…He had nothi—oh! Now he remembered! Ino was old fashioned! She always kept a spare key under the mat! How could he forget? He looked down at the purple dirt-coated “Welcome! -the Yamanakas” mat and smiled. Thank goodness her parents didn't hate hi—or maybe they did. The key was gone! They must've taken it so they could enter the house once they got back in case Ino wasn't home! Darn it!

Okay, he needed a new plan…This could take a while…

Wait for it…

Wait for it…

Wait…

Wait…He got it! He remembered that the house spare bedroom had a busted window! The thing was always busted up in the bottom right corner for as long as he could remember. He had never tried to move it himself, so he thought it'd be worth a shot. He raced around to the back wall of the house and scaled it to reach the window of chance.

!*! Meanwhile, with Ino… !*!

“Hmm…it's so boring in this house now that it's empty. What is there to do!? Oh man…I sound like Shik—no! I hate him right now! I'm not gonna think about him! Instead, I'm gonna…let's see, I've tried the television and nothing's on, I've read everything, done all the crosswords in the newspaper, it's too late to do a mission…oh, I could try the radio…” So the blonde kunoichi got off the couch and approached the purple mini radio on her kitchen counter. As soon as she turned it on…

“…--ike to request a song, please.”

“Sure.”

“Could you play…”

!*! Back to Shikamaru… !*!

”GOT IT!” he cheered in the highest whisper possible. He just made it through the window with a soft gentle `thud' when he heard…

“AHHHH!”

“Whoa!” Shikamaru shouted, almost losing his balance but decided it might be smarter to see what was causing his teammate to squeal. He ran out the door and was three feet away from the family room when he heard her finish,

“I LOVE this song!”

“Arh! Leave it to Ino to squeal over a so—huh?” he was unable to continue his sentence when he heard the unmistakeable sound of Ino's sing-song voice.

“Yeah yeah, Oh, yeah…
I've got it all, but I feel so deprived
I go up, I come down
And I'm emptier inside
Tell me, what is this thing that I feel like I'm missing?
And why can't let it go?

There's gotta be more to life
Then chasing down every temporary high
To satisfy me
'Cause the more that I'm trippin' I'm thinkin'
There must be more to life
Well there's life but I'm sure
There's gotta be more…”

“…Ino…” he said under his breath in a very similar fashion to how he called her that afternoon. He had no idea she could sing so…beautifully! Well, he assumed it came with such a high and loud voice.

“I'm wanting more…

I've got the time and I'm wasting it slowly
Here, in this moment, I'm halfway out the door
Onto the next thing
I'm searching for something that's missing…


There's gotta be more to life
Then chasing down every temporary high
To satisfy me
'Cause the more that I'm trippin' I'm thinkin'
There must be more to life
Well there's life but I'm sure
There's gotta be more…

I'm wanting…more
(I won't waste…)
Waiting on something better than this
Why'm I feeling like there's something for me?

There's gotta be more to life
Then chasing down every temporary high
To satisfy me
'Cause the more that I'm trippin' I'm thinkin'
There must be more to life
Well there's life but I'm sure…

There's gotta be more to life
Then chasing down every temporary high
To satisfy me
'Cause the more that I'm trippin' I'm thinkin'
There must be more to life
Well there's life but I'm sure
There's gotta be more to life…

More…to…life
There's gotta be more…
More to…More to life…
More…to…life
There's gotta be…
There's gotta be more to life…
More to life…”

“…Wow!” To say Shikamaru was amazed was an understatement. He knew Ino was talented in other things then performing jutsus, but he didn't know how right he was and about what exactly. He had actually peaked around the corner around the end of the first verse and had been watching her as she sang. She was very into the song and seemed to be enjoying herself. It seemed that song was letting her release any built up or stored away feelings she had inside. And that made he let go of a breath he was unaware he was holding. That meant she might've calmed down a little. He had a chance. He took one more deep breath, exhaled again and walked out from his hiding spot.

“…Ino.” He said in his serious tough voice.

“Huh…SHIKA'? WHAT'RE YOU DOING HERE?” Ino scrambled back against the counter, turning off the radio by knocking it over.

“I came to check on you, like I promised I would.” Ha answered truthfully as he approached her.

“BUT…I told you not to come…” Ino answered with a dropping voice.


“Eh, so what? Since when have I ever listened?” he shrugged and stopped his steps in front of her. She wouldn't look him in the eye and held her hand in front of her face while a small blush appeared on her cheeks.

“What now? Why won't you look at me? Cheer up, for crying out loud! Don't be so troublesome.” He scolded, tracing her chin with his index finger and thumb, lifting her eyes up to meet his. He was caught off guard, and it was obvious. Her eyes…never had they looked so blue. Or maybe they never had because he never really got a chance to stare at them like he wanted. Her eyes reminded him of the clear blue sky he loved to stare at for as long as he could. He loved the pure color she held in her eyes, he almost got lost in them.

“Shika'…I asked you not to come.” She whispered as she placed her free hand against the counter behind her.

“No, you told me not to come. The only commands that associate with me are the ones I give. Got that?” he gave her a devilish grin. Her eyes widened and then averted his stare. He attempted to bring her face up again, but she slipped to the side and moved away from him.

“Ino, what's wrong?” he asked sounding concerned. She seemed really on edge and it was worrying him.

“…You…you h-heard me, didn't you?” she quivered, staring at the floor.

“Is that why you're so uptight? Yeah, I heard, and I—”

“I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME!” She shouted, losing her inability to look him in the eyes, but retaining her nervousness and blush.

“But Ino, you need someone to…”

“Right; someone! Not exactly you! I could've called Tenten or Hinata or…S-Sakura. It…doesn't always have to be you, y'know!”

“It's never me! What are you talking about? You never want me, Ino! You always want that Uchiha guy.” Shikamaru raised his voice slightly.

“Do I ever get him? No! Just like you so kindly pointed out! I'm always training with you, hanging out with you, talking with you. Heck, I might as well live with you! Shika', we're not always together twenty-four seven, but when it comes down to it all, I always choose you. I choose you over everyone else. For once I wanted something that you weren't apart of.”

“…W-why?” This news seemed to catch him off guard then ever before in his life.

“…Hmm…” she lost her strength to look him in the eye and looked down again. But the moment she turned away, Shikamaru came up right in front of her and had an arm around her waist. His right hand returned to it previous position under her chin. She instantly closed her eyes once she felt his presence approach her.

“Ino, open your eyes and look at me.” She did as she was told out of shock, his voice had never sounded so…what's the word...serious? Well, yeah, but there was something else to it. He was acting a bit forceful, but was it, dare she say, fear? No, it couldn't be…

“WHY?” Maybe it was…

`He looks so…troubled, so worried. What does he think my answer will be?' Her mind asked her, but she was unable to think or voice an answer to either question. She was awe-struck by his face. She couldn't remember a time where it held so much emotion. Even though he looked slightly perplexed, he looked so…manly, though it sounds weird. Her eyes were half open and she felt as though he was controlling her to answer.

“…Because…”

“Because why?” he asked huskily, losing his emotional strength while tightening his hold around her mid drift.

“Because…this whole time, I thought I loved Sasuke, when really I was trying to convince myself…”

“Of what?” he was growing impatient.

“That I didn't love you. I didn't want to lose you and I knew you didn't feel the same, so I tried to hide i—mmph!” Her sentence would forever remain undone for she would have no way to continue. Her teammate, her best friend, her love had claimed her lips' first kiss. She was too overcome with love that moment, the whole feeling rushing over her, that she didn't know how to respond to such force.

He let go after he loosened his stronghold on her hips and looked into those eyes he adored. Which happened to be thirty seconds after he hungrily kissed her rose petal lips.

“Ino…” he panted out after his wordless show of affection, “I really wish you had told me before. We could have avoided all that mellow drama.”

“What…do you mean?” she still didn't get it.

He just smiled at her naïtivity. He rubbed his looped arm up and down her back, feeling the tingles he caused swim up and down her spine through her dress' fabric on his fingertips. He smirked purely innocently, which Ino thought reminded her of him when he was much younger. It amazed her how he could go from mean and nasty to manly to chibi in less then ten minutes.

“Ino, Ino, Ino…ain't it obvious by now?” he asked, sounding very fake-sad since he tried to cover a chuckle.

“What is? You're not making any sen—ens—hey! HEY!” she began to panic as he used his fingers to tilt her head to the right slightly and put his lips against the curve of her jawbone. He kissed it lazily, then whispered very huskily with hot breath roaming over her ear's opening,

“Ino darling, I love you.”

Ino didn't get a chance to act shock or surprised because her newly discovered lover once again acted of his own accord and began to massage her neck with his lips. Ino felt as though she would have dropped to the floor if Shika' wasn't holding her so closely. She was putty in his hands, which he seemed very interested in sculpting right now. She shakily brought her hands up around his neck and clasped her fingers together. Suddenly, a sound she had never emitted before erupted from her throat. It was soft, yet sounded powerful. She had no idea what it was, but Shikamaru seemed to recognize it since she could feel him smirk against her skin.

Her body arched against him, her legs bending inward as if they had no bones or muscles within. She couldn't move her body according to her will or mind, only to her heart. So she tilted her head even further right, giving him a bigger canvas. Who could have known him coming to her house tonight would've caused such a magnificent change in their relationship? He began to place a very long trail of kisses, one not even a centimeter after the previous, down her skin to her collarbone. Then he made her shiver again as the tip of his tongue traced the bone through the skin. He slowly brought his head up to meet her heated gaze. Neither of them really knew what was going on or what they were doing; their bodies just seemed to be enjoying it.

He claimed her lips once again very similar to before. This time, Ino was able to respond due to the strange burning-urging feeling that had been rising more intensely from the moment he placed his arm around her. Her lips responded with the same amount of energy as she cupped his left cheek with her palm. The other arm now lied limp over his shoulder, except for her palm which clenched the fabric of his jacket. Not worrying if she would turn her head away anymore, Shikamaru dropped the hand he had under her chin and let it trace her front as it fell to snake up and down her side. She moaned again to his touch and both just pulled the other closer. They could fee their bodies getting into the moment, but kept it steady. A passionate growl escaped Shikamaru's throat that seemed to really please Ino.

Finally realizing that his girl had lost the feeling in her legs, he decided to change their location. He swiftly placed his headband laced arm under her where her thighs met her lower curves and lifted her up. Not knowing what he was going to do, she gave a squeal through their lips and twirled her legs and arms around him securely. He was somehow able to find the couch with eyes closed and shaky legs, for his own were about to give way to his rising feelings as well. He dropped down on the cushion, not really caring for the sofa. What he really cared about was connected to him in a way no one had ever been before or ever will. Only her.

Ino sat in his lap, now with her knees resting on the couch cushion. She began to use a little pressure as she pushed against his front with hers, making him lean against the top cushions of the couch. He obliged to her wish and rested his gently on the pillow. Her warm soft hands were rested gently around his hands until she let go. He seemed to groan in protest, until he realized what she was doing. Only used as a flirt trick, Ino undid her hair's ponytail. He peaked one eye open, wanting to see the rare sight, and found himself struck with awe. The silver moonlight glimmered in her hair as it floated out of her hands and smoothed out around her body. A few stray strands hugged her face, which to him, made her look adorable.

She caught him staring at her with one open eye and smiled. She let go of his lips to regain some of the air she lost and stared into his round caramel orbs. He was huffing and puffing and looked so vulnerable. It was really adorable in her opinion. And it was something only she had seen. Knowing guys, especially like Shikamaru, they don't like to show their weak spot or let anyone see them vulnerable. It's unmanly. Yet he actually was willing to show her. It really made her happy to know he was that comfortable with her when they only admitted how they really felt a little while ago.

“So…we're together?' she teased him in a clueless fashion.

“…I'd say so.” He tried to answer without sounding out of breath.

“Good.” Her eyes looked so gentle as she got off his lap. A sound that reminded her of Akamaru's sad whelp came from her man's chest and she couldn't help but giggle silently to herself so not to offend him. She placed her legs up on the couch beside her and rested her head on his shoulder. She could feel his pecs perfectly through the fabric of his shirt and jacket due to his breathing pattern. She never really realized how well built he was. It was very appealing to her. After both had calmed down a little, he placed his arm around her once again and rested his head on hers.

“I'm glad you came over Shika'-kun.” She whispered.

“Uh-uh. Just Shika'. I've gotten really used to that one. Besides, adding `-kun' makes it sound like your talking to that Uchiha kid. Speaking of which,” he lifted his head of hers in such a way that she understood meant asking her to look at him, “you're not gonna go chasing him anymore, are you?”

“No way!” She sounded as if it was beneath her, “Why would I go for someone lower ranked in my heart then the guy I've got with me right now?” Her smile confirmed she wasn't lying to him, which earned herself a true Shikamaru grin.

“Good answer.” He replied as he leaned down for another kiss.

And that's how their evening ended. He ended up staying the night with her in his arms. It was the best sleep either of them ever had. Ino's head was cuddled in his chest, using it as a pillow. Shikamaru's arm held her to him subconsciously the whole night. To think that heartache was the cause of their change in plans...

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