Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Gambare Shikamaru ❯ A Battle Between Shinobis: Shikamaru On The Offensive ( Chapter 6 )

This is a long chapter. Long enough to be two chapters actually but I decided to post the entire thing as one chapter. Hopefully, this will appease those who think I update too slowly. (gomen gomen but I have a lot of stuff to do over the summer)

Naruto will belong to me when I take over the world but that's going to take a few years. All reviews are greatly appreciated and motivates my lazy ass to use my spare time to write instead of……..something else LOL.

Ch. 6 A Battle Between Shinobis: Shikamaru On The Offensive

It was late morning with the sun shining cheerfully, giving the weather a deceptively warm appearance although the temperature was actually rather tepid. Normally on mornings like this, assuming there were no missions, Ino would be found bustling around in her beloved yard, tending her prized flowers like they were her cherished friends. But today, the woman normally so full of life and the energy of youth was like a shell of herself-sucked dry of every drop of pep she had in her.

Instead of darting around busily and exuding her contagious vibrancy to anyone near her-glassy, red-rimmed eyes watched with disinterest as the curls of thin mist rose from a large mug of tea before disintegrating into the surrounding air.

She sat alone in the kitchen, sipping cautiously at the hot drink every now and then; not enjoying the tea for its flavor but rather for the caffeine it provided.

Too tired to cover her mouth modestly like she normally would, Ino let out another wide-mouthed yawn. She wasn't worried about looking rude in front of anyone since the only other person in the house was still asleep.

Yawning again, she rubbed away the moisture that the action provoked from her sleepy eyes. `Stupid Shikamaru', she thought. `I spend all night working to improve our relationship and you're the one that gets to sleep in.'

Ever since she received the "Super Secretive Top Secret Scroll" from Tsunade-sama, Ino had been trying to find some personal time that she could use to study the content of the so-called spells. While she wasn't so gullible to believe in magic, curiosity proved to be too great a force to resist.

After some deliberations, she finally decided to risk embarrassment and make use of her excess time by trying out some of the charms mentioned. It wasn't like she had any missions to prepare for anyways. The lack of missions was leaving her more free time than she knew what to do with.

Besides, the scroll was delivered to her intentionally by Tsunade-sama and it just wouldn't be right for her to ignore a gift from the protector of Konoha-especially since it's no common occurrence for one insignificant ninja to be noticed by the Hokage when there was a village filled with them.

Since she had made up her mind to go through with it, Ino had decided to put aside her skepticism and give the hocus-pocus mumbo-jumbo a try. All that was left for her to do was to find the right time to carry out her plan in secrecy. And as usual, simply because she had a delicate procedure to prepare for, the universe took it upon itself to hinder her progress from the very beginning.

It was at the most inopportune time that she received Tsunade-sama's enchantment guide for, the past few days have been Shikamaru's time off from work, which meant he had been longing in the house every minute of the day-effectively barring her from performing any of the tasks that the scroll required of her.

Finally, a potentially disastrous mix of the incongruent elements of curiosity and desperation got hold of her. This confusing tangle of indecipherable feelings forced her to utilize the only hours in a day that she knew Shikamaru would be indisposed to carry out her sly deed. It was between the hours of midnight and early morning, while Shikamaru was engrossed with sleep, that Ino used to complete the very first love charm on the list-a voodoo doll that supposedly had the ability to draw out his latent sense of romance through the use of message-laced dreams.

Whether or not the mini-Shikamaru doll actually did its job as a dream-delivering messenger, it was truly a work of artistic flair that was fueled by the sentiment of loving devotion on her part.

Ino was surprised at her profound affection for the Shika doll upon its completion. She caught herself grinning stupidly at the adorably cranky expression that she had carefully drawn onto the doll's round head while she fiddled with the mini outfit made out of construction paper until it looked just right. It took real effort and devotion to craft, not to mention that it cost her a night of sleep. The work she did last night was truly a `labor of love' and for that, she would gladly forgo something as insignificant as sleep.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&am p;&

Shikamaru forced the creepy looking doll into his back pocket before heading down the stairs. Deciding that it was best not to procrastinate anymore, the unspoken war between him and Ino was declared to begin that day.

She provoked had him first with the peculiar doll and now it was his turn to fight back in a way that would unsettle her equally, if not hopefully more. The art of war demands that a crafty strategist be able to turn his enemy's design to his advantage. And while it is known that "all is fair in love and war", sometimes, the line separating the two is dangerously ill-defined.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&am p;

Ino sat there with a bland expression and her eyes fixed on her cup. She had immersed herself too deeply in her thoughts and realized she couldn't free herself from it. Using her stirring spoon, she tapped the side of her cup unhappily.

So what if her love for Shikamaru was forcing her to act in a deviant manner? Sure it was a bit weird to spend an hour grinding chicken bones into powder, nor was it very normal to roam the forest for rare herbs in the middle of the night. Maybe it was wrong of her to get her last ingredient by sneaking into Inuzuka's yard to steal a tuft of dog fur-by yanking it off an unsuspecting Akamaru.

She was a girl in love and women in this state of mind and heart couldn't be held responsible for their actions. Right? Anyways, if anything should go wrong, she'll blame Shikamaru because she knew without a doubt that it was all his fault somehow.

While rehashing the events of the previous night, the slender stirring spoon she had in her hand was slowly slipping out of her loose hold. Right before the silver utensil fell from between her fingers, her hand was enveloped by a pair of warm, work-roughened hands that squeezed gently to readjust her finger's grip on the spoon.

"Eh?" She craned her head to look behind and saw Shikamaru gazing down at her with a disturbingly cheerful smile that looked unnatural on his face.

"Ohayo Ino-chan." He said before leaning down and giving her a kiss on the lips.

As if that alone wasn't abnormal enough, she felt his tongue lick across her lips before parting them to deepen the kiss. In her state of astonishment, she vaguely noticed that Shikamaru tasted like the fresh mint of the toothpaste and something else that was distinctly him.

Her eyelids slid down halfway in a daze as his tongue-filled kiss started to make her mind go hazy. But as the world worked, all good things must come to an end. The wonderful feeling of his hot satiny tongue playing with hers couldn't last forever and when the surprising kiss ended, their lips parted unwillingly-pursing towards each other for more contact even as they pulled their heads away.

And he had called her "Ino-chan".

"Uhhh……." Ino struggled to make words work for her. "Good Morning." She managed to exhale weakly.

Shikamaru pretended not to have noticed her flustered look, the faint rising pink on her cheeks, or the way she gazed at him like he was something divine. He was on top of his game and thought it would be best if he continued to keep her off balance. So, he decided to corner her with his next move. "Ino-chan, can you tell me what this is?" He reached a hand behind and brought forward the tissue-made voodoo doll.

`How did he find that?!' A voice in her screamed.

"Uhh…um…ummm…" Her mind, still muddled from the sensual kiss, raced frantically to make up a believable story. The nervous darting around of her eyes made her anxiety obvious to the observant Shikamaru who was secretly enjoying her discomfort a bit too much.

`Why can't I have an insanely high IQ also?' Ino wailed in her head. Alas, her brain of normal intelligence failed to produce an usable lie and Ino, who no longer knew how to progress in the situation, decided to feign ignorance and hope for the best. "What doll?" She finally asked innocently. The moment those words left her mouth she started to slap herself mentally. It was a good thing that she rarely lied because she wasn't good at it. What's the point in lying if you were so bad at it that people knew what you said was false the moment you formed the words?

Shikamaru stretched out an arm and dangled the doll that was created in his likeness by a leg. "This doll. Honey, don't you think it looks familiar? Like someone we know?" He asked, still careful to keep his voice light-hearted without sarcasm. In order to make his point, he held the doll barely an inch away from Ino's face and swung the poor puppet left and right by its leg like it was a hypnotizing pendulum.

Ino didn't even notice the doll. Her brain was still choking on the fact that Shikamaru had called her "honey".

Evilly, Shikamaru decided to take his act of the concerned loving husband to a higher level. "Ino-chan…" He said in a grave voice before he grabbed a chair and pulled it out so he could sit next to her. "I know I've had a rash of missions recently…….you've been terribly lonely without me haven't you?"

"…..Eh?"

"Has doll making been a good stress reliever for you? I hope having a doll of me has made your lonely nights easier." After saying that, he gave her an overly understanding smile; the type that he knew would grate on her nerves.

"…..Ehhhh?!" Ino couldn't help but get the feeling that there was something going on but she hadn't caught on to what yet. It felt like he was….patronizing her. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

The moment her mood seemed to have made the transition from confusion to anger, Shikamaru reached out and pulled her from her chair into his lap. "My poor sweet Ino-chan…" He whispered into her hair while his arms tightened protectively around her. "You're so tiny and fragile that you practically disappear within the embrace of my larger body….."

"EHHHHH?!!!!!" She cried out bewildered and even louder than before.

He nuzzled her even as she flailed her arms angrily. He acted deaf when she squawked shrilly into his ears. And when she started to struggle in his arms, he gave her another kiss.

Ino hoped that she had enough time to cover her flowers with a tent before the fires of Armageddon rained from the sky. She was trying to decide on what type of tent she should buy when she felt her husband lick her behind an ear. "EEEEEK!!!" She squealed out in a panic. The pale skin of her cheeks immediately darkened to a dangerous shade of red.

"Ino-chaaaaaan~ You smell so good……." Shikamaru crooned to her before giving her earlobe a nip with his teeth.

Yes, Ino admitted to herself. She had wanted Shikamaru to show his feelings and to be open with what was on his mind. She wanted him to kiss her more often and dare to hold her hand in public; like the couples in the movies she watched too much. But this Shikamaru was scary…..as well as sexy. It must be the herbs she slipped in his soup, or the chicken bone powder in the mini-Shika, or the combination of all she did without his knowledge. She should be glad that following the instructions of the scroll gave her the result she wanted-Shikamaru was being sweet, cuddly, and attentive. This should be her moment of victory. She should be celebrating, but, this new and improved Shikamaru felt so alien to her. Guilt was also starting to creep into her heart. Maybe it was a bad idea to change him into something he wasn't. He was already a great guy…..maybe she was too unreasonable with her expectations…..

Ino felt his arms move slightly from their place around her waist. Then, one of his wide hands crept up her stomach and cupped her left breast firmly. "Huuuuuhhhhh……………." She inhaled noisily from between her lips that were parted in shock. `They were in the kitchen! He wouldn't really start anything would he? Not in the kitchen right?'

Shikamaru pressed his chest against her until they were intimately close to enjoy her scent. "Mmmmm…." Came his satisfied groan.

Blushingly, Ino decided that maybe the kitchen wasn't a bad place after all.

"Lets go salsa dancing."

"WHAT?!" Ino shifted from her place in his lap to stare at him incredulously. After all his prelude of snuggling and kissing, he was working up to THIS? It wasn't the kind of offer she expected. "Salsa dancing?" She asked and looked at him skeptically. "Since when do you know how to salsa?"

"Keh…..My parents go salsa dancing all the time. I've had the misfortune of being forced to watch them dance a few times and I involuntarily memorized the moves." Shikamaru told her.

"But you're never actually done it before, right?" She tried to confirm.

He shrugged slightly. "Yea…but we're ninjas. We have good reflexes and I have the method memorized. I'm sure we'll pick it up easily." He said confidently.

Before Ino could protest some more, he had already started to carry her up the stairs. All her loud effort in trying to reason with him was tuned out. Shikamaru carried her into their bedroom even as she babbled incoherently.

"Hurry up and get changed ok? I'll go borrow something to wear from my dad." He told her before plopping her down on their bed. There was a commanding air about him-The same authoritative force he usually only revealed to the squad under his command. This energy was what made Ino obey what he asked. When he saw that Ino indeed was looking through her closet for something to wear, he left the bedroom and closed the door on his way out.

Once the door was closed, Shikamaru sighed and leaned against it tiredly. Ino had no idea that on the other side of the bedroom door, the love of her life was starting to wonder if his plan of retaliation was such a good idea after all.

`This "fighting fire with fire" thing is so bothersome,' He thought. `I hope my calculations are correct.'

&&&&&&&&&&

Shikamaru was annoyed at how much time Ino was taking. He was the one who had to run to his parent's home, get changed, and then run back. And yet somehow, Ino was the one who was still trying to get dressed.

His eyes wandered to the appealing couch in the living room. If Ino was going to take so much time, he might as well take a nap. Shikamaru eagerly hurried to the couch and let himself fall backwards on the comfortable furniture.

When Ino finally came down the stairs in a flashy, red, one-piece dress, she found Shikamaru sprawled on his back and snoring softly from his place on the couch-His head was on top of the armrest with a leg draped over the back of that couch while one of his arms dangled limply from the couch seat.

She giggled at the sight. Maybe the `new and improved' Shikamaru wasn't that different from her old Shikamaru. "Sorry for taking so long…I had some trouble in deciding what to wear." She explained.

His mouth was slightly ajar and he breathed heavily through it. There was no sign that he was waking up or if he even heard her.

"Shiiiiikaaaamaaaaruuuuu~" Ino dragged the syllables of his name in exasperation. "Wake up!" She poked him viciously beneath his collarbone.

"Hnnn…..hnn….whaaa?" He mumbled as he started to stir.

Ino frowned at him. `Is it really a good idea for a ninja to sleep so deeply?' She wondered with a bit of worry.

Shikamaru rubbed his face and cracked open an eye to peer at her from between his fingers. "Whoa…." He exclaimed when he saw what she was wearing. Both his eyes were opened now.

Suddenly, Ino started to feel strangely shy under his scrutiny even though she knew him as intimately as it was possible for two people.

He took his hand away from his face and sat up straight to stare some more. "You look so….whoa…."

The stupefied expression he had was infinitely flattering for Ino.

His eyes slid fluidly up and down her body, following the lines of her silhouette that were excitingly curvy within her spaghetti-strap dress that hugged her physique. "When did you buy this dress?" He asked, eyes resting on her breasts momentarily before turning its focus back to her face when he remembered there was such a thing as respect.

"I've had it for a long time…….spur of the moment shopping…" She replied, shifting her weight from foot to foot bashfully.

"How come I've never seen it before? Not that I'm saying you can't buy things without telling me. I'm just curious."

Ino held his gaze with eyes that conveyed a trace of sadness. "We never go out together…so I haven't had the occasion to wear this." She confessed.

Shikamaru stood from the couch and pulled Ino to him. " Lets change that today." He murmured timidly.

&&&&&&

Damn his inner self that was having a moral crisis. His sense of guilt was badgering him on whether or not he really wanted to go through with his plan. Neglecting one's wife didn't exactly make one the greatest husband ever. Maybe Ino was justified in trying to change him. Perhaps, it wouldn't be so horrible to at least TRY to be the kind of man Ino wanted him to be. If it would bring her happiness…………

&&&&&&

Ino laid her head against his chest and enjoyed his warmth against her cheeks. The steady beating of his heart and the sound of air entering and leaving his lungs were strangely comforting, lulling her into blissful serenity. Shikamaru always had a calming effect on her……….when he wasn't driving her into a mad frenzy that is.

`Tsunade-sama banzaiii~' Ino thought happily. She owed everything to her Hokage-sama.

&&&&&&

They rushed out of the house; giggling like children and racing each other down the street like wild wolves. Neither of them remembered that they hadn't had lunch yet and Shikamaru probably didn't even have breakfast. But the symptom of hunger never came for they were feasting on the joy that can only be shared by soul mates deeply in love.

Shikamaru ran ahead of Ino, the dark jacket of his suit fluttered with the oncoming wind as he charged on-showing an amount enthusiasm he didn't know was possible for him. Even as a kid he didn't bother with playing outside like the other children. He never had the energy for it. But now, he felt like the most alive person in the world. `So this was what made life worth living.' He thought. This was the happiness that everyone sought after-the prize that is only attainable if you could endure the string of troublesome things that life uses to challenged your existence.

Shikamaru continued to race, challenging Ino to catch him when she was at a disadvantage. The tall heels of her shoes hindered her ability to run but she wasn't deterred. His challenge had aroused the competitiveness in her.

She dashed after him, fleet-footed like a nymph-slender legs moving rapidly as her heeled feet hit the dirt ground with steady thuds. When she was barely three feet away from Shikamaru, her hands reached out to grab him. She had almost caught him by the shoulders when something gave out under her right foot and she fell heavily. The delicate shoe of her right foot had finally given out during the abuse that was rigorous exercise. Under the heavy strain of running, heel had snapped clean off the sole.

"INO?!" Shikamaru immediately turned when he sensed something was wrong. He hurried to her and slipped his hands under her arms to lift her off the ground. "Are you ok?" He cupped her face and stared into her eyes with concern.

Ino gave him a pitiful expression-eyes that were the color of deep ocean blue were misty with distress. Her entire demeanor was that of someone who was mistreated.

Catching both Shikamaru and Ino off guard, Shikamaru did something completely uncharacteristic that he learned from his mother. He licked his thumb then used it to clean the streak of dirt off Ino's left cheek before the corners of his lips turned down into a disapproving frown.

"That's why I don't like high heels. They're not practical and they're dangerous. They're also bad for your back-" He paused in the middle of his scolding when Ino grabbed the hand that was rubbing her cheek by the wrist.

The persona of someone who needed care and protection melted away into a conniving smirk. Ino drew near until their noses were touching. "Caught'cha." She told him.

`Even at a disadvantage, a ninja should always be able to use his folly to defeat enemies who underestimate.'

Shikamaru lost the race.

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(This was supposed to be the next chapter but I merged it for your convenience XD)

From the moment Shikamaru walked into the club with Ino on his arm, fellow patrons immediately took notice of the seemingly incompatible couple. Men with and without dates watched the exotic blond-observing how her hair swayed with each step before eyeing her hips that echoed the movement. They sighed at her ethereal beauty and they sighed because she was unattainable.

She was graceful without any apparent effort and radiated a different type of aura that made her stand out from the nameless crowd. The blinding blaze of her allure was so incredible that she drowned out the inconspicuous glowing embers that were other people.

After feasting their eyes on the unaware belle, those men turned their attention to the lucky bastard she came in with. Filled with disdain, those men gave Shikamaru the look over and wondered what the hell the woman was thinking. Arrogantly, they compared their own attributes to the simple looking man of plain-featured face and common black hair that was tied up into a messy tassel. Most of them thought their own looks were superior but grudgingly admitted that the man did look formidable with his height and compact muscles. The slight hunch of his shoulders that implied his aptitude in throwing heavy punches kept the men from introducing themselves to the woman.

&&&&&&&&&

Ino looked around uncomfortably and continued to hold onto Shikamaru's arm. The foreign music and the flashing lights of different colors were a new experience for her. She had never gone clubbing before and her casual acquaintance with salsa dancing was from what she saw on T.V. Her only real experience at any type of dancing were her victory dances that she liked to indulge in after winning a competition.

Shikamaru put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her when he noticed her uneasiness. "Don't worry baby. I'll teach you how to dance." He said before he started to usher her towards the polished dance floor.

The flat bottoms of Ino's shoes scuffled with the floor as she was steered unwillingly by Shikamaru's guidance. No one knew her ostentatious shoes were not always flat-soled. When one of the heels had broken off from a darkly rubescent shoe on the way to the club, Ino had snapped off the other heel in adaptive ease. Nothing as insignificant as damaged shoes was going to stop her from partying away with Shikamaru.

"Ne…Shikamaru…" Ino raised her eyes to his face questioningly. "Is it really safe to come to this club since it's outside of our village? Should we be in a club that is filled with Fire Country civilians?"

Even though Shikamaru was the one that was habitually reclusive, he was completely at ease. "Don't worry Ino-chan. We won't let anyone know we're ninjas. Besides, my parents come here often so it's safe." He reassured her.

&&&&&&

Unbeknownst to the two, a few other members of the Konohagakure village were also in the club. Jiraiya, Asuma, and Kakashi were at the bar, enjoying a drink when they saw Ino and Shikamaru enter the club looking impeccably dressed.

"Whoa! Look at the woman in red!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he leered shamelessly. "She's definitely going to inspire my next novel!"

"Hnnn…?" Asuma looked up from his vodka. He used his tongue to maneuver his cigarette to a corner of his mouth before he took another sip of the clear liquid.

Jiraiya was still busy prattling on about the otherworldliness of this woman's supposed beauty when Asuma decided to confirm the ero-sennin's descriptions himself. His eyes turned to where Jiraiya was pointing excitedly and saw a voluptuous woman with long blond hair and a curvaceous body who was standing on the dance floor in a hesitant posture.

"Hnnn…….." He sucked the burning curls of smoke from the cigarette into his mouth. "She's pretty hot I guess. Real nice body." He admitted-the smoke rolled out of his mouth in waves.

Meanwhile, kakashi sat there with a bored expression-contemplating whether or not he should let the other two know who it was they were checking out.

"Maybe she'll dance with me…" Jiraiya pondered aloud.

Asuma was quick to pour cold water on Jiraiya's eagerness. "Why would a sweet young thing like her want to dance with a grandpa like you? With all due respect of course, Jiraiya-sama." He said.

"Why not?' Jiraiya protested. "I'm aging handsomely, I'm stronger than all the young'uns in this room, I'm a legendary sennin, I'm rich-"

"From selling porn." Asuma interrupted. "I doubt any woman would find that very appealing."

Kakashi, who had been silent until now, finally decided to join in on the conversation. "Jiraiya-sama, as a loyal reader of your novels, you know the last thing I would want is for you to stop writing…. BUT, have you ever considered that your choice of artistic expression might be a contributing factor to why Tsunade-sama won't take your affection seriously?"

Jiraiya was still staring at the woman. "I think I'll buy her a drink….." The sennin mumbled to himself. He hadn't heard a word of Kakashi's comment.

Kakashi only raised his brows slightly at the brush-off before he went back to the glass of apple juice he was nursing. Jiraiya and Asuma had wondered why he would come to a bar to drink apple juice but in the end, they chalked it up as Kakashi being his strange and mysterious self.

Turning his bar stool so he could face Kakashi, Asuma gave the man a curious look. "For a man who dares to give someone at least twenty-plus years his senior advice on women, are YOU still single?" He asked in a disparaging tone.

"Why? Are you offering?" Kakashi's revealed eye looked neutral but Asuma knew he was smirking behind the mask.

"You're sick, you know that?"

"All ninjas are a little sick in the mind, my friend." Kakashi replied as he used a hand to lift a corner of his mask so he could get a mouthful of his juice.

Jiraiya finished what he had in his glass and ordered himself another alcoholic drink. "You two can have your man on man sex but I say, give me a woman any day."

"What?" Asuma bit down on the part of the cigarette that was in his mouth. "He was joking!" He growled through his gritted teeth.

"Was I? Asuma………kun~" Kakashi gave him a wink with his normal eye.

"Ugh, this is so troublesome. Lets end this conversation." Asuma turned his bar stool back to the bar counter where his drink sat.

"I can tell why they made Asuma, Shikamaru's teacher." Kakashi said to no one in particular.

Jiraiya was still staring at the woman in red and paid absolutely no attention to the man she was with. His selective vision only allowed him to see beautiful women, not the men who were around these beautiful women. "I wonder if she would mind starring in my next novel….."

Kakashi dug around in his clothes, fishing for the right pocket that held his wallet. "Hn..yea…pretty girl." He said distractedly. "Shikamaru is a lucky man."

"……What?" Asuma stared at Kakashi.

Wearing a satisfied smile behind his mask when he found his wallet in his Jounin vest, Kakashi decided to answer Asuma's half-formed question. "Hn? Oh yea, that's Ino. And Shikamaru is with her."

"ARGH!" Asuma let out a horrified cry. His cigarette fell from his lips and into his drink where the burning cinders ignited his glass of vodka. "That was so wrong!" He rubbed his eyes, ignoring the glass of fire in front of him.

The bartender uninterestedly reached over and took the glass of flame away.

Asuma was still ranting. "I need to wash these dirty eyeballs! I can't believe I checked her out! She's practically my daughter!"

"I don't care whose daughter she is. She's totally hot!" Jiraiya declared.

"I need a cigarette…." Asuma whimpered to himself as his lighter-holding hand shook with either shock or nicotine withdrawal. "I need…I need…." He finally found his crumpled pack of cigarettes and took it out of his pocket. When he checked the pack, his eyes widened in horror. There was only one cancer stick left. Throwing caution to the wind, he quickly lit the last stick and took a few quick puffs.

Kakashi easily ignored Asuma's neurotic behavior and paid the bartender for his drinks. He stood from his seat and paused. "Oh, by the way," He tapped Asuma on the shoulder and pointed. "Shikamaru is salsa dancing. I have to say, he's pretty good. Good enough to go pro should he decide ninja-hood isn't for him anymore."

"WHAAT?!" Asuma whipped his head around for a look.

Mildly interested, Jiraiya also turned to look.

And there was the infamously lazy Shikamaru, dressed in a neat black suit, gyrating on the dance floor like there was no tomorrow.

Using his tongue, Asuma folded the last cigarette of the pack that was currently held between his lips and swallowed it.

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Shikamaru moved with a different kind of grace-the kind that had an undercurrent of strength beneath the fluid movements. The sinews of muscles rippled underneath his skin as he moved his entire body to the tempo of the Latin American music. His movements had prowess and it was starting to attract the attention of other women but he paid them no heed. His eyes were trained on Ino alone, beckoning her to join him. Entranced by his hypnotic performance , all Ino could do was stare in amazement. She faintly registered that other women were eagerly talking about her dark-haired Shikamaru.

His legs lashed out and moved in the proper steps to execute the complicated sequence. Lips curving into a promising smile, his dark eyes of swirling emotions made her unable to look away. "Ino-chan…" He called out to her before he rotated his hips teasingly.

Ino thought she was going to die from shock and mortification from the way Shikamaru was treating her. This can't possibly be her Shikamaru. The spell had overdone it. She was backing away red faced when Shikamaru grabbed her by the hand and pulled her against his chest.

"Dance with me, Ino-chan." He commanded in a soft voice.

"Bu-but…I do-don't" She stuttered.

"I'll teach you." He told her as his hands found themselves on her hips. Ino, not giving up yet, made another attempt to pull away but Shikamaru stopped her by sliding his hands further down and giving her rear a squeeze.

Ino's eyes widened, her full lips parted in a surprised `O' as she stared vacantly at a far off distance.

`I think I broke her brain.' Shikamaru thought as his lips involuntarily turned upwards into a satisfied smirk. `Phase one complete.' He told himself.

Ino's mind was still struggling to process the absurdity of the current situation when Shikamaru took advantage of her shock and closed the remaining distance between their bodies. Groin against groin and chest against breasts, Shikamaru gently pushed at Ino's hips to teach her how to sway them enticingly.

With Shikamaru's hands on her firmly, she was forced to move in unison with the pace of his dance. `What the hell is going on?!' Her mind screamed, struggling to form coherent thoughts. Another voice in her head spoke up. `Don't try to figure it out.' The voice said. `Ignore your brain and just enjoy it! You've always wanted to go dancing with him, so DANCE!' "You know what? You're absolutely right!" Ino replied loudly to that inner voice.

Shikamaru, who had no idea about the private conversation she was having with herself, gave her a confused look at her outwardly random outburst.

"Come on Shika!" She cried out in an elated voice. "Dance with me! I'll lead!" She struck a gallant pose.

"Eh…?" Shikamaru backed away and looked at her dubiously.

Ino confidently tried to do a twirl but she ended up smacking the back of her head against Shikamaru's chin, causing the poor man to lurch backwards.

&&&&&&&&&

Jiraiya watched Ino. "You know," he finally said. "for a woman this beautiful who also happens to be a ninja of the leaf, she has surprisingly little grace."

Asuma sighed and shook his head at her clumsiness while Kakashi nodded in agreement with Jiraiya.

&&&&&&&&

Shikamaru gritted his teeth bravely when Ino accidentally stomped down on his foot because she couldn't keep count of the steps. With masculine dignity, he pretended not to have felt her elbow him below the sternum during a badly calculated side step. But when she kneed him in the groin with an over-spirited prance, he had to drop all pretenses of indifference and cringe in pain. `This is my punishment for thinking I can play Ino's game.' He thought through the fog of the throbbing pain in his crotch.

&&&&&&&&

Jiraiya, Asuma, and Kakashi raised their glasses in the direction of where Shikamaru was doubled over in agony. `Poor guy…' They all thought with a sense of camaraderie among all men. He certainly deserved their respect if he dared to marry a woman like that.

The foolish…foolish heart.

&&&&&&&&

"STOP!" He cried out desperately before he managed to avoid a blow to his face from Ino's wildly swinging arms. "This is salsa, not karate!" He yelled at her.

Ino stopped what she was doing and gave him a confused look. "I know! That's why I'm dancing!"

He was about to tell her exactly what she was doing before he thought better of it. He's already been injured enough that night. "Lets just go home ok?" He suggested, forcing his wince of pain into a shaky smile.

"But I'm having so much funnnn…." Ino whined since she was unwilling to end the night so early. Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she glanced around the room. "Besides, there's still a ton of people here!"

"If we go home now, I'll teach you how to tango. That sound good to you?" Shikamaru tried negotiating with her.

Ino regarded him with a disbelieving look while trying to assess how genuine his offer really was. She was quiet when she stuck out her lower lip cutely and tilted her head slightly in consideration. "Well…….ok I guess." She finally agreed.

`Oh thank kami-sama' Shikamaru thought, relieved.

"Hey Shikamaru?"

"What is it?" He asked.

"How come you're such a good dancer if you've never danced it before?"

He shrugged and pulled her close by the waist, leading her towards the exit. "Because I've seen my parents dance." He said as a matter of fact.

Obviously, Ino wasn't satisfied with his explanation because she continued to press on with more questions. "But how come you can dance perfectly when you've only seen other people dance?"

Shikamaru released Ino's waist to open the door for her. "Intellectually, I already know the general schematics of the dance. All that was left was for my body to carry out the moves, which isn't all that difficult a task. We're ninjas. We're supposed to have fast reflexes and mastery over our movements. Basically, all I did was make my body perform what I knew in my mind." He explained to her.

"Uh-huh……." She replied, sounding introspective.

"Can't you do the same?" He asked her innocently out of ignorance.

Ino rolled her eyes and walked out the door without replying. `We're not all geniuses like you, baka." She thought.

&&&&&&&&&&

Wanting to change out of her outfit, Ino headed straight for the bedroom the moment they got home. Skipping up the stairs, she wondered in the back of her mind why Shikamaru seemed like he had something on his mind. He was oddly reticent on their way home, especially after his outlandish display of extroversion in the club.

From her drawer, Ino pulled out her home clothes that she wears when she's not going anywhere. After tossing the plain tank-top and shorts carelessly onto the bed, she tried to unzip her dress. She was arched backwards, fingers swiping at the out-of-reach zipper of her dress when she heard Shikamaru open the door.

"Shiiikaaaaa~" She called out to him while reaching at her back and hopping around impatiently. "I need some help!"

The quiet thump of the bedroom door closing wasn't surprising for her, but an extra sound of something turning made her stop what she was doing. Ino heard the solemn click of the lock bolting the door shut and it made her turn around.

She saw Shikamaru standing at the door with his hand on the lock and shot him a perplexed expression. "Since when did you start locking the door?" She asked. It wasn't necessary because they had no children and no one in their right mind would rob a house located in a ninja village.

Shikamaru raised his slightly bowed head. The intensity in his eyes made Ino forget the rest of what she wanted to say. "I said I was going to teach you the tango, did I not?" He spoke softly in his tenor voice, causing a chill to wash over Ino who was caught off guard.

"Um….yeaaaa…" Her eyebrows furrowed in consternation. She didn't know what Shikamaru was leading at. For some reason, the room was filled with tension and the strange crackle of energy made the hair on her arms raise.

It was an eerie smile that he wore on his face-the kind that held unspoken promises hanging from curve of the lips.

"Ino-chan…." He intoned seductively. "Let me teach you how to tango….."

Shrugging his shoulders back, he peeled off his black jacket with his hands.

Banzai: Long live, or like "three cheers for-"

-Chan: Used affectionately.

Kami-sama: God

SHIKAINO FANS UNITE!! I finally finished this chapter! It's so darn long!!! I SHOULD HAVE cut it into two chapters!

Possible lemon in the next chapter……..if I can overcome my embarrassment (fat chance LOL) and if Ino will let Shika. #BLUSHING#

I hope you guys liked this chapter. I hope there are still people reading this fic. (I dunno #shrugs#)

To those of you wondering about my other fics, yes I DO plan to finish them. Just very very slowly….gomen nasai~ yurushitekure ne?

To Tea Leaf: About the previous chapter, yea, I was going to switch between Shika and Ino too but then I realized that chapter was getting WAY TOO LONG and I needed to end it fast cuz I wanted to go to bed LOL so instead, I cut out the Ino part and made it part of this chapter (now this chapter is way too long LOL)

If you liked this chapter lemme know k?

Oh btw, before anyone starts screaming about Shikamaru's OOCness, remember, he's SUPPOSED to be under the control of a voodoo doll. XD

Ugh this chapter was so sappy that I needed waffles to go with it. How horribly embarrassing.