Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Ice Picks and Hand Grenades ❯ Yellow Roses ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I don’t need no stinkin’ disclaimer!

CHAPTER SEVEN: Yellow Roses?

In a few seconds, this will all be over.

I have to keep thinking that. I have to keep myself sane for just a little while longer. Because if I don’t… I’m going to realize how stupid this whole thing is, and I’m going to bash my skull against the table until I die from internal hemorrhaging.

“Tsumu.”

“I call a rematch!” Neji pounds one fist on the table violently, rattling the remaining pieces from the board.

“I’m tired. Let’s do something else, ne?” I rest my cheek on the heel of my hand.

“I said rematch!” Geniuses piss me off. They always think that if they don’t win a game of Shogi it’s the end of the world. Besides, it’s been four games and he still hasn’t even gotten close… I don’t understand him.

I push out a sigh. “How troublesome.” My arm drops to the table, closely followed by the side of my face, hiding my eyes from the persistent fem boy across the way.

“Neji-i… it’s been ten minutes, can’t you guys play Shogi some other time? They’re waiting for us.” Tenten stands from her seat at the stairs, moving just close enough to give Neji’s clothes a good hard tug.

Neji narrows his brow, eyes full of hardened determination… or whatever. His hands move quickly, gathering the pieces and repositioning them in their respective places. “No way. Not until I beat him. Even if it takes all day.”

“I’m not gonna play you all day.” I stand up lazily, heading toward Tenten’s position at the stairs. “Go practice your taijutsu or genjutsu or whatever it is that makes you happy. I’m going with her.”

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

The lobby is a loud place. Even with Naruto gone, the chattering is almost deafening, especially since Ino and Chouji’s hookup caused quite an uproar in the female division of the group. Right now they’re hitting up all the details, oblivious that none of us male folk really want to hear about the goings on in certain unnamable bathtubs with certain unnamable foods…

And people say us guys are the dirty ones.

The rest of us, excluding Chouji, who’s blushing in the middle of it, are quite silent. It’s not like we can really discuss much else hearing what we’re hearing… I mean the imagery gets in your head in the most disturbing ways and completely makes you forget everything it was you were going to say. Even Lee is speechless. He tried to say something about, I can’t remember, his training maybe? But next thing you know there’s this whole thing about chocolate syrup on someone’s nipples and well, as you can imagine… he shut right up.

Ino’s been urging us to join in on the conversation for a while now. But myself, along with most of the others, I’m sure, are scared witless of the conversation and wouldn’t poke it with a ten foot pole. That is, until Kiba and Shino are yanked up in the least gentle manner possible and thrown into the madness…

“They’re dead meat…” Neji whispers, his gaze uncharacteristically sympathetic.

The two are shoved this way and that for a few moments before finally ending in a nearly forced kiss, Shino, of course, taking initiative. A few of the girls are squealing with delight at the end, as girls tend to do after this sort of thing. Neji, on the other hand, turns away. I wasn’t aware that Neji was a homophobe, but stranger things have happened.

“How sweet!” Ino purrs, giving the couple a firm hug from behind.

On the contrary. All this uber-feminine matchmaking bullshit is making me feel sick to my stomach. Next thing you know they’re gonna try stringing me and Neji together, and we all know how that’ll end. There will be fireworks, but no happy celebration, I can assure you.

Much to my surprise, the girly conversation dulls after that, and only moments later, it’s safe to regroup.

Shino and Kiba, however, have moved to the opposite corner of the lobby. Apparently to discuss something. Whatever it is, it’s none of my business.

“There’s only one more thing that’s bothering me.” Ino smiles wickedly, eyes suddenly locking in my direction. “Who in the world gave Shikamaru all those hideous hickeys? Unless he’s discovered some sort of creepy jutsu that lets him pop of his head, he didn’t give those things to himself.”

Dammit I wish I’d looked in the mirror this morning… or at least that Kiba had said something. Hell, he probably thought it was funny. Just like that bite mark he left on my shoulder. I had to have him bandage that damn thing.

He blamed in on his ‘canine-like instincts’… so I just called him a bitch.

My eyes wander away from my assailant, momentarily, landing unconsciously on the pair of men standing across the room. Shino seems almost angry about something, I dare not guess what. Kiba appears to be arguing back, and there is little space between the two of them. I’m slightly curious, to tell the truth. Shino reaches to take Kiba into an embrace, but Kiba seems hesitant, and pulls back, turning away quickly like a wounded animal. The stray hand slides, and instead of his arm, Shino gets a handful of a little something else… this is bad.

“ITAI!!”

Every set of eyes in the room snaps toward Kiba and Shino. Kiba’s eyes are wide, half glassed over and looking much like a startled deer. Shino hasn’t seemed to notice… or maybe he just doesn’t care.

“What the hell! How could you?”

Kiba’s body starts shaking terribly, his eyes refocusing on the man before him. “What’s it of your business if I want to go out and get fucked, huh? We’re not dating, Shino, so you have no say in who I fucking sleep with!”

I’ve never seen Shino’s face such a shade of red. The taller man grabs hold of Kiba’s collar, trying so hard to keep in control. Ack. What a horrible display of testosterone clashing with emotions. So wrong in so many ways… “Why would you let someone take your virginity just for the hell of it? Who was it? Tell me!”

“I did tell you! It’s none-of-your-fuck-ing-business, Shino!” Holy shit. If this gets out of the closet, I’m screwed beyond words. Shino looks like he could take down the legendary sennin single-handedly, and then still kick my sorry ass. “But I’ll give you a hint, Aburame, he’s a way better kisser than you’ll ever be… oh yeah, and he’s-“

“What are you saying, Kiba? You saying you love this guy?” Shino’s eyes take on a deadly glare, enough to make anybody’s skin crawl. Kiba stops, staring at the black haired nin for a long moment, eyes wide as though his mind had gone blank. “Wh-what if-what if I do? And I’m not saying I do, but-but it’s none of your damned business whether I like him or not!”

Wh-what? No way. Wrong. No. Kiba… shut up before you get yourself in trouble.

My feet move on their own accord, quickly removing me from the scene. “This isn’t my place.” I mutter, loud enough for those standing beside me to hear. This isn’t my place. No, my place is far away from here. I refuse to get caught up in this. I absolutely refuse!

It’s still raining, though I only vaguely noticed… not as hard, though. I instinctively fish my pack of cigarettes from my pocket and stick one in my mouth. But the damn thing won't fucking light. Before I know what I've done I chuck the small metal object like a shuriken. The lighter bounces from a tree some ten feet away right into the downpour on the street. Fuck it. I didn't need my lighter anyway. I don't need a smoke, and I sure as hell don't need to fucking calm down! I shove the pack of cigarettes back in my pocket, gritting my teeth slightly when I feel the top of the pack crush underneath my hand.

My feet carry me through the street very quickly, and often I find myself grimacing as puddles of rainwater are splashed up onto my partially exposed legs and mud squishes between my toes, effectively ruining my new sandals. It’s funny that only a day ago that would have actually concerned me a little.

My eyes stay fixated on the ground. I have no idea where I am. Not that it really matters.

“Shikamaru! Wait!” A feminine voice I’ve heard over a million times seems to call to me over the crowds of people. I stop, though I don’t think I quite have it in me to turn and greet her. It seems to matter little.

Ino grabs hold of my arm securely, as if she just expects me to take off running or something. No. I won’t do that… I lift my head a little, staring out straight ahead instead of at the ground beneath me. I might just look a little less pathetic this way. The last thing I need is for her to be sorry for me. After all, I don’t think it’s very Shikamaru-like to get bothered by something as simple as a few meaningless words. Heh. I’m supposed to just sigh and call it troublesome, right?

“Come on, Shika-kun, let’s get you out of the rain before you catch cold.” She tugs gently on my arm, leading me over to the covered booths on the main part of the strip. She gently urges toward some kind of food stand or another, basically the first place she can find with seats. I don’t bother pulling away from her or verbally protesting. I don’t know. I don’t think it’s in me right now.

“Hey there, you two. Anything I can get ya?” The shopkeeper smiles warmly, wiping clean a bowl with a simple white dishrag.

Ino smiles back, pulling her coinpurse from her side. “Whatever your house tea is, please.”

I feel eyes on me suddenly. When I glance up I find it’s just the man across the bar, and though I’m not really in the mood for anything, I suppose I should say something… “Oh, um… green tea. Plain.”

The man walks away quickly, disappearing behind a tan colored sheet that I can only assume leads to the kitchen.

“I get it, you know.”

“Get what?” I don’t bother looking at her.

“Don’t play dumb, Shikamaru. I kind of figured out you were with Kiba last night.” She smiles, though without vicious intent. That’s unusual for her. “I’m not stupid like you might think.”

“I never called you stupid. Infantile and nagging, maybe.”

“I'll pretend you didn't just say that, okay? You can talk to me, you know. I don’t blurt out everything I hear.” She turns, taking the tea offered to her. “Thank you.”

I shake my head. This is going nowhere. “I’ve yet to see proof of that.”

“Yeah?” She turns toward me again, more of an evil smirk crossing her lips than before. “I knew about you and Temari. I suppose you two never officially dated or anything, but…”

She-knew that? “What?”

“Oh, don’t worry, she gave it away a lot more than you did. Always being so flirty around you.” Her smile suddenly fades to a frown. "But for some reason...I'm glad you aren't with her anymore."

“Gimme a break, Ino. That’s ancient history.” I turn my eyes toward my tea, staring absently at the remnants swirling at the bottom, lazily. “Kids do shit like that. It’s nothing unusual.”

“I know. Remember my crush on Sasuke? That was childish if there was ever childish. I didn’t realize it… until he left. But sometimes it takes that kind of thing to make you see clearly.” She sighs deeply. I hate this depressing shit. It bothers me. “But I’m better now, and old enough to really know what I need. Even after he came back… it just wasn’t the same. I learned that you can’t have flowers without butterflies, you know?”

“What’s the point, Ino?”

“How much do you know about flowers, Shika-kun?” Ino places a few coins on the bar, turning her stool her arm rests lazily on the wood beside her.

“Only what I’ve caught from your ramblings over the years.” And truthfully, that’s not much. I don’t listen often.

Ino laughs, taking hold of my arm, gently. “Come on, let’s go to the flowershop.”

“Why?”

“To buy flowers, silly.”

I don’t like where this is going. I seriously don’t.

“Oh…” I turn my head toward my friend slowly when she calls, an irritated grimace on my features. “By the way, did you hear about Temari? She’s seeing somebody now, like officially…”

“That’s good.” I step past my friend. Unlike a certain someone, I feel other people’s business is really none of mine.

Ino trots up to me, grabbing hold of my arm in the process. “But the real juicy part is… she’s seeing a girl. Can you believe that? I mean I always thought she was kind of tomboyish but…”Blah, blah, blah… I have a feeling my ears are going to be ringing all night from this…

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

The smell of flowers is pungent, so strong that sometimes it makes me want to gag. And not only that, it seems all flower shops smell pretty much the same. Same as the Yamanaka shop in Konoha…

“Why are we buying flowers, Ino?”

“That’s simple.” She turns gracefully, smiling innocently with hands tucked behind her back. “To see how you really feel about Kiba.”

"Troublesome." I cover my eye with my hand. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“Not really.” With a single foot she turns back toward the flowers, carefully inspecting them. “It’s true that you freaked out back there about what he said, but you’ve been so deep in thought lately. I mean, you’ve been even more detached than usual.”

“So all I have to do is pick a flower?” I set a hand on my hip.

“Not just any flower. Pick the one that reminds you of Kiba, buy it and give it to him.”

“This all sounds pretty girly. Just ‘cause I like guys doesn’t mean I’m some kind of pansy ass feminine uke bitch(*). Thank you very much.”

She turns again, this time her face wearing a slightly irritated look. “It’s symbolism, thank you very much. And besides, he knows you’re friends with me, it shouldn’t come as a surprise.”

“But as if he’ll know the stupid symbolism behind some flower, Ino.”

“I’ll make sure he knows.” I can feel her smiling again. It sends a shiver down my spine. “I’m pretty crafty you know. After all, you don’t hang around a genius every day without catching onto strategy just a little. Now get going! I shouldn’t have to kick you in the ass to make you do everything…”

o.o.o..o.o.o.o.

What has Ino said about flowers? She talks so much, I really don’t remember…

I pace back and forth for a few minutes, wondering why in the nine hells I’m taking this seriously. Especially coming from someone like Ino. But flowers are just flowers, right? So what am I supposed to do? Pick something simple like a rose? I don’t know… she said to pick something that reminds me of Kiba… so I guess something too fancy looking is really out of the question. Maybe something amber or gold… nothing with too large a bloom… something that looks fairly wild. My eyes stop. Yes. That kind of flower. I lean in, carefully lifting the tag at the flower’s base. Ambrosia, huh? I wonder what this guy means?

Flipping over the tag, I’m quite surprised to see the answer right in front of my eyes…

Hmm… maybe not that one.

Yellow roses… I recall Ino mentioning those, once. I pick up the flower carefully, and instantly feel the pit of my stomach drop. I suppose, this one is exactly what I’m looking for.

“Here. This one.” Ino turns toward me, curiously, an awkward look in her eye as I hold up said flower.

“This one?” She raises an eyebrow, looking me up and down. “You sure?”

“Yeah. I’m sure.”

o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o

Maybe this whole time I was wrong… maybe I would have been better off going to those boring-ass meetings.

It’s not like I knew any of this would happen. I’m not psychic… but dammit, that doesn’t even seem like a good excuse. It’s still my fault. My fault I decided to have friends and sleep with Kiba. Nothing can ever be all in good fun. Not around here.

After leaving the flowershop, we all but run headfirst into Kiba. Maybe if any of us had been looking where we were going I wouldn’t mean that so literally.

I’ve never, ever seen Kiba’s eyes that wide before.

At least we don’t have to look for him… I suppose.

“Kiba, what a coincidence.”

“Yeah… well, I saw you ran off this way, so I went to find you…” I can’t help but notice the change in the color of his face, though his expression gives away nothing. “Hey, Shika, about what I said in there, I didn’t mean that, just so you know. I was just trying to piss off Shino and… damn, I know how it must have sounded.”

My expression doesn’t falter for a second. “You freaked the shit out of me.”

“I know, and I’m sorry, ‘kay?” He smiles, scratching away at his cheek.

“No hard feelings.” I sigh, deeply… that’s right. This dumb thing in my hand was supposed to be for him. “Here.”

Questioning eyes probe my actions for a moment. I guess it must seem pretty strange. Especially for me. He reaches out cautiously, taking the stem of the rose between slim fingers. His eyes instantly lock on the flower, obviously dumbfounded. I can’t say I blame him. I feel as stupid giving him the damn thing as he looks taking it. I’m sure Ino’s grinning like a madwoman from somewhere behind me, and gods know I’ll be hearing about this one for an eternity.

“Uh, thanks?”

“Yeah…” Fuck. Smooth as butter, Shikamaru… I turn my head away quickly. I hate this. Things aren’t supposed to be fucking weird.

And this silence is brutal.

“Shikamaru?” I let my eyes wander back toward my companion, even if it’s probably not a good idea. “It’s not okay, is it?”

“What?”
“Well, even after everything I’ve said here, I hate seeing you upset like this and I know it’s not okay now, but... I want to kiss you.” A slim forefinger and the base of a hand brushes across my cheek. Ino must be loving this… me… I don’t know… I feel… conflicted. “I don’t know, maybe it’s really just because this might be the last time… I can ever kiss you…”

I laugh, not necessarily meaning for a sarcastic tone to peek through. “You act like one of us is going away and never coming back…” I divert my eyes instantly. God, if this is like one of Ino’s sappy movies and his eyes lock into mine and tell me my speculation was right, I think I just might snap.

“No, not like that!” He returns my sarcastic laugh, pulling my shoulder into him the way Chouji and I sometimes pull each other before once again falling somberly quiet. “Well… it’s just that after you left I evened things out with Shino. He asked me to go out with him and I well, accepted.”

I pull half a smile onto my lips, but still refuse to make eye contact. “I told you you’d have no problem finding a loved one.”

The laugh he releases now is fairly lighthearted. His hands settle on my hips and pull me close enough so I can feel his breath on the side of my face, even though we aren’t quite touching. “I just said I’d go out on a date with him, anyway! It’s not love yet, that doesn’t just happen right out of the blue you know.”

“He’s been in love with you forever, I know you’ll be fine.” I finally gather the courage to look Kiba in the face. He looks completely unphased. “That’s more than I can say for myself. The way I’ve been fucking things up I don’t expect to start dating for a good five to ten years, despite what my parents are expecting… not that I’m complaining. Sure, it’ll earn me an earful, but like I’ll listen anyway-“

“Don’t say that.”

My eyes snap back toward my friend. What does he mean by that? “Don’t say what?”

“You know. Don’t say it.” He’s very serious about this… his voice has gotten very curt, his brow straining with an emotion very visibly similar to anger. And the worst thing of all is… I can’t say anything. I don’t know what he wants from me… I…

His arms wrap tightly around me, engulfing me in a pressure that’s almost too much to handle. It’s hard to breathe… “Ki-kiba…un…” He loosens his hold considerably after my protest, even lifting up one hand to brush away a few locks of my hair that somehow ended up falling in front of my face.

His smile is warm, now. Warm and comforting. I still don’t understand… and I hate it. One minute he seems like he’s ready to hit me, and now? I don’t know how to analyze this anymore than I have…

Still trapped in his arms, Kiba’s lips lower towards mine, and there’s really not much I can do. I can’t move my arms… or much else, really. Not that I’d resist him anyway… and his lips, they’re warm, just like I remember. And still inexperienced. I smile faintly at the thought, carefully taking hold of his hips, which I now realize, are almost as slender as mine. But not quite… and the thin, sinewy muscles stretched over them are so unbelievably subtle through his clothes.

If I’m not careful, I could get swallowed up by this. But why the hell should I care? Why should I hold myself back when this is the last time we’ll hold each other like this, the last time we kiss… it’s like some corny fucking goodbye, but… I don’t know… I guess it’s not my problem.

Maybe I want to get swallowed up in this.

I push my tongue through his lips very gently, peeking my tongue past his teeth just far enough to catch a little taste. I want to bury my tongue in his warmth, running my tongue across the roof of his mouth with just the right touch to make his entire body tingle. I don’t know what’s stopping me… but Kiba responds to me very well, angling his head to the side ever so slightly, lancing the underside of my tongue with his own. That’s the passion I crave… our tongues tangle within each other mercilessly, a sensual game of tug o war that both men refuse to forfeit. I attack his lips greedily, biting down just the way I know he likes it… suckling the corner of his lower lip until it comes back swollen and he fumbles absently to return to his senses. My eyes are growing hazy… I have to stop… or I’ll end up stripping him down and fucking him right in the middle of the street…

The street… that’s fucking right…

Every pair of eyes within visibility are staring directly at us, a few looking away abruptly at my gaze, others blatantly gawking. If I’d been thinking straight, I would have realized how inappropriate I was acting and gone elsewhere… but… I kissed him. In broad daylight on the market street.

“What are you looking at?” Ino nearly screams… bouncing up between us, though our arms still remain linked.

Shit… I unhook myself from my friend, turning away to stare holes into the ground. “Shikama…ru-kun…” Damn.

“My god!” Ino links an arm around my neck, tightly, pulling the two of us against her as close as she can without choking either of us to death. I don’t know… it would almost be welcome. “That was hot! I mean, I knew it would be, but damn! You really took that one home, Shika-kun!”

“Did I?” I pull myself from her grip, coldly. “Fucking troublesome…” I hold my ground, firmly, trying to detach my throat from my brain. “Fucking… fucking… troublesome.” No good. I don’t understand. I can’t voice the words… all that comes out… I turn on my heels, abruptly squaring my shoulders and forcing my feet to move.

That’s it… I have to go home, now. I can’t take this place anymore. I need to pack up my duffel bag, take a good long swig of sake, and get the hell out of this place… this place is doing things to me and I really don’t like it.

“Shikamaru!” I stop dead in my tracks… Kiba? No? Maybe… I turn on my heels, maybe looking back a little more enthusiastically than I should have.

No, not Kiba… weaving like a shapeless visage pulling from the crowd, Shino steps up to me, a determined gleam in his eye. I can do nothing but watch as he approaches.

Wh-what did he see?

The instant his eyes lock on mine, despite the eternally round sunglasses, I know exactly what's going on. I can't hide anything, anymore. Not from a jounin like him. I know that. I can't... I can't control my eyes. My throat burns, and my chakra is swelling in this weird way that I can't comprehend or suppress. I... I don't know.

"Shi-no..." I try to push some false confidence in my voice, but I can't stop it, it cracks right at the crucial point. No, no turning back.

Face to face with the devil himself, even a god would shudder in fear....

And I am no god.

sxkxsxkxsxkxsxkxsxk

(*)DISCLAIMER 2: Shikamaru has nothing against effeminate gays, ukes, or even the prospect of being uke. In other words, he's saying (harshly) that not all gays are effeminate. That is all.

A/N: Errm… okay, bad ending, bad ending, I know… but I really had to break it off here, otherwise the next chapter would be way too short, and well… I don’t want that to happen. So I leave you with a lame ass excuse for a cliffhanger… and cookies.

By the way, Chouji’s name means ‘butterfly.’ Hence Ino’s corny little analogy.

Also, for those of you who don't know much about flowers, yellow roses are a symbol of friendship. As for the ambrosia, well... if you're that bent on knowing you can look it up yourself. Heheh... I'm evil.

NEXT TIME:

It is very cliché to say that emotions come in waves, buckling and eddying with the currents in ways that seem random, and yet have a beautifully choreographed system, in all reality.

But the cliché does not end there.

In a wave of new emotions, it is easy to be swept out into the ocean. And sometimes, when the currents tug hard enough, it’s almost impossible not to be…
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