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Mind (Jutsu) Games
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Naruto › Het - Male/Female › Shikamaru/Ino
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
18
Views:
3,446
Reviews:
23
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Category:
Naruto › Het - Male/Female › Shikamaru/Ino
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
18
Views:
3,446
Reviews:
23
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Stargazing
Chapter 1 – Stargazing
The fire was slowly dying out even while Ino watched from her blankets where she curled not far away. Behind her, Chouji had fallen fast asleep as soon as his bag of chips was empty, and now snored steadily. On the other side of the fire, Shikamaru was looking up at the stars, and she again wondered if he was so focused on them because of them, or because he didn’t want to focus on anything else.
The little voice that had suddenly bloomed in her head these last few weeks piped up. Go to him.
Her mom said it was a voice of maturity, but that was mostly because it seemed to be saying that there was no hope with Sasuke, not after all that had happened recently. He was a very troubled young man, she now realized, but she had no idea of what was wrong or how to fix it.
Sakura, on the other hand, not only knew what was bothering him; she seemed to be one of the few people who could talk to him without setting him off. They were also teammates, along with that looser, Naruto, and so Sakura had gotten to spend unlimited amounts of time in Sasuke’s presence.
It annoyed Ino to no end that her rival was so close to her crush, but there was nothing else she could do. She’d thrown herself at him when occasion permitted, and she still made fun of Sakura at every turn, but it was a half-hearted effort at best. Maybe Sakura could heal Sasuke when he returned, and maybe she couldn’t. But Ino didn’t even have a chance, and she knew it. That was that. But what to do now?
Go talk to Shikamaru, the voice prompted again. She thought of at least a dozen reasons why she shouldn’t, but in the end, none of them held up to any kind of argument. And besides, anything was better than lying there talking to the voices in her head.
They had camped at a clearing with the fire just under the last large branches on the edge of the forest. Ino and Chouji were a little further under the boughs, but Shikamaru was out in the middle of the clearing, giving him a good few of the night sky.
He paid no attention to her as she moved her blankets over beside his, but she purposely made enough noise that he obviously heard her coming. Once stretched out on the lawn with her hands behind her head, she quickly found the three constellations she knew. They had been taught several more at the Academy, but she didn’t see the purpose in memorizing all of them beyond passing her test. Of the three she could recall, two were the big and little dippers, and she wouldn’t let herself forget those; a ninja never wanted to be without a way to tell her cardinal directions.
The other wasn’t a real constellation at all. It was one her father had made up when he was a child, and she herself had made it up as well even before he showed it to her. It was a great joke between them, and a pun on her name as well, because it was a pig. She thought of showing it to Shikamaru, but decided not to interrupt his musings.
Several minutes later, a cloud passed between them and the stars, and only then did Shikamaru speak. “Why did you come over here, Ino?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” she replied honestly. “You know how Chouji snores.”
He nodded and went back to stargazing, now that the cloud was past. After a lengthy pause, Ino asked what he was looking at.
“Nothing in particular. I just like trying to find pictures in the sky,” his eyes narrowed for a moment. “You see, just there? Doesn’t that look like a dragon? See, there’s it head, with those two bright stars as it’s eyes, and those stars wind around to make his body.”
Ino laughed. She did see it, and she finally worked up enough courage to share hers. “My dad and I both made up the same constellation, so it’s kind of a joke between us. It’s over there, see? It’s a boar. There’re the tusks, and it’s eyes, and it’s snout.”
“Wow. I can’t believe I never thought of that. It looks just like one.”
After that, they took turns pointing out their own, new constellations and making up increasingly ridiculous stories about them and their placement in the sky.
“A shuriken!”
“Akamaru.”
“Gai-sensei. See? There’s his shiny teeth.””
“Kakashi-sensei. And that’s his pervy book”
An hour later, Ino didn’t respond to one of his wittier (at least, he thought so) cosmic discoveries, and he glanced over at her. “How troublesome!” he mumbled to himself. She had fallen asleep and was breathing softly and shallowly. Sighing, he tugged her blanket up to cover her, rolled back over, and stared at the stars alone again until sleep finally took him as well.
~~~~*~~~~
That night’s pattern repeated itself for the rest of their journey, and Shikamaru found himself enjoying Ino’s company for the first time in a long while. When she wasn’t being bossy, she was actually really fun and kinda cute, in a ninja sort of way. He wasn’t really sure what to make of it, because once day broke, she went right back to being her normal, dictatorial self until after dinner, when Chouji’s snores were the only sound to be heard. Then she was almost meek, and far more shy than he’d ever seen her. He couldn’t figure it out, so he ignored it. It was too troublesome, anyway.
Two days out from their goal, they were camping in a sheltered nook near the peak of a mountain. They had just come over the top before the sun went down, and hurried to find a place to camp before darkness fell. It was cold that night, and they were all grateful for the roaring fire.
Chouji dozed off quickly once the food was gone, huddled in his blankets as near to the fire as he could safely get. Ino and Shikamaru were likewise bundled up, and there wasn’t much in the way of conversation on their side of the fire that night. It was simply too cold. Already there was frost forming, and by morning, there would not be a single drop of liquid that wasn’t ice. Shikamaru just hoped that Chouji had learned his lesson last time, and didn’t have any canned drinks in his pack. That had been a real mess to clean up, and had delayed them by several hours. But Chouji wasn’t stupid, just slow, and he’d made a promise not to do anything like that again. And they had all loosened the caps on their canteens to prevent freeze damage. All they could do was wait.
His mind was continuing along this train of thought when he suddenly felt something warm pressing up against him. He looked down only to find that Ino, fast asleep, had curled up along his side. For several long moments, he simply stared at her, debating whether or not to push her off. Finally he decided that he was too cold to care, and she was helping him stay warm, so why not leave her where she was? There was no harm in it.
And with that thought, he sniffed once, noting that his nose was numb, and then succumbed to dreaming.
~~~~*~~~~
Ino was the first to wake the following morning, and blinked her way to consciousness slowly, feeling a bitterly cold wind on her face, but a delicious warmth everywhere else. It was only then that she realized that there was another pair of legs tangled up with her own, and a pair of arms held her gently against a chest that rose and fell slightly with each breath. A chest that wore a Chunnin’s vest.
She blushed furiously as she grasped that it was Shikamaru she was half on top of, and immediately extricated herself from his hold. She debated taking her blankets with her, but quickly realized that they were far more tangled around him than she had been, and she didn’t trust herself to pull them free without waking him. Let the boy think she’d woken early, and let him have her blankets while she made ready the camp for breakfast.
By the time Shikamaru truly woke up, she had a good fire going and most of their water was melted . Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as he took his canteen and went off to relieve himself and wash, and Ino breathed a sigh of relief. Shikamaru returned shortly to kick Chouji out of his roll. The third member of their team left to attend to nature’s call, and Shikamaru was suddenly behind her with a hand on her shoulder. She heard him a moment before he spoke, so she didn’t jump as he whispered in her ear.
“Thank you for the extra warmth, Ino.”
She deliberately misunderstood him. “Well, I didn’t need the blanket after I had the fire going,” she hoped he didn’t remember anything else.
He smiled and stood, drawing his hand across her hair to her other shoulder as he drew away to get some food ready for breakfast.
Well, that was hardly an answer, and now she had to worry about how much he remembered verses what actually happened when she didn’t know what all had occurred herself. And all that worry in addition to worrying about the mission ahead. Grr. Boys are stupid.
~~~~*~~~~
“Have you got her controlled yet?”
“She’s listening to me, but I can only control her body when she’s not conscious. As she grows used to me, though, soon I’ll have her entirely.”
“Define soon.”
“Patience is a virtue, Master.”
“Meaning?”
“Soon, Master. Very Soon.”
----------------------------------------------------------------
For those of you reading this story for the first time, please thank readers before you for helping me figure out how to make italics appear, and other such problems usual for a first story. I hope you enjoy the story.
Have a great day, and good reading.
Crimson Iris
The fire was slowly dying out even while Ino watched from her blankets where she curled not far away. Behind her, Chouji had fallen fast asleep as soon as his bag of chips was empty, and now snored steadily. On the other side of the fire, Shikamaru was looking up at the stars, and she again wondered if he was so focused on them because of them, or because he didn’t want to focus on anything else.
The little voice that had suddenly bloomed in her head these last few weeks piped up. Go to him.
Her mom said it was a voice of maturity, but that was mostly because it seemed to be saying that there was no hope with Sasuke, not after all that had happened recently. He was a very troubled young man, she now realized, but she had no idea of what was wrong or how to fix it.
Sakura, on the other hand, not only knew what was bothering him; she seemed to be one of the few people who could talk to him without setting him off. They were also teammates, along with that looser, Naruto, and so Sakura had gotten to spend unlimited amounts of time in Sasuke’s presence.
It annoyed Ino to no end that her rival was so close to her crush, but there was nothing else she could do. She’d thrown herself at him when occasion permitted, and she still made fun of Sakura at every turn, but it was a half-hearted effort at best. Maybe Sakura could heal Sasuke when he returned, and maybe she couldn’t. But Ino didn’t even have a chance, and she knew it. That was that. But what to do now?
Go talk to Shikamaru, the voice prompted again. She thought of at least a dozen reasons why she shouldn’t, but in the end, none of them held up to any kind of argument. And besides, anything was better than lying there talking to the voices in her head.
They had camped at a clearing with the fire just under the last large branches on the edge of the forest. Ino and Chouji were a little further under the boughs, but Shikamaru was out in the middle of the clearing, giving him a good few of the night sky.
He paid no attention to her as she moved her blankets over beside his, but she purposely made enough noise that he obviously heard her coming. Once stretched out on the lawn with her hands behind her head, she quickly found the three constellations she knew. They had been taught several more at the Academy, but she didn’t see the purpose in memorizing all of them beyond passing her test. Of the three she could recall, two were the big and little dippers, and she wouldn’t let herself forget those; a ninja never wanted to be without a way to tell her cardinal directions.
The other wasn’t a real constellation at all. It was one her father had made up when he was a child, and she herself had made it up as well even before he showed it to her. It was a great joke between them, and a pun on her name as well, because it was a pig. She thought of showing it to Shikamaru, but decided not to interrupt his musings.
Several minutes later, a cloud passed between them and the stars, and only then did Shikamaru speak. “Why did you come over here, Ino?”
“Couldn’t sleep,” she replied honestly. “You know how Chouji snores.”
He nodded and went back to stargazing, now that the cloud was past. After a lengthy pause, Ino asked what he was looking at.
“Nothing in particular. I just like trying to find pictures in the sky,” his eyes narrowed for a moment. “You see, just there? Doesn’t that look like a dragon? See, there’s it head, with those two bright stars as it’s eyes, and those stars wind around to make his body.”
Ino laughed. She did see it, and she finally worked up enough courage to share hers. “My dad and I both made up the same constellation, so it’s kind of a joke between us. It’s over there, see? It’s a boar. There’re the tusks, and it’s eyes, and it’s snout.”
“Wow. I can’t believe I never thought of that. It looks just like one.”
After that, they took turns pointing out their own, new constellations and making up increasingly ridiculous stories about them and their placement in the sky.
“A shuriken!”
“Akamaru.”
“Gai-sensei. See? There’s his shiny teeth.””
“Kakashi-sensei. And that’s his pervy book”
An hour later, Ino didn’t respond to one of his wittier (at least, he thought so) cosmic discoveries, and he glanced over at her. “How troublesome!” he mumbled to himself. She had fallen asleep and was breathing softly and shallowly. Sighing, he tugged her blanket up to cover her, rolled back over, and stared at the stars alone again until sleep finally took him as well.
~~~~*~~~~
That night’s pattern repeated itself for the rest of their journey, and Shikamaru found himself enjoying Ino’s company for the first time in a long while. When she wasn’t being bossy, she was actually really fun and kinda cute, in a ninja sort of way. He wasn’t really sure what to make of it, because once day broke, she went right back to being her normal, dictatorial self until after dinner, when Chouji’s snores were the only sound to be heard. Then she was almost meek, and far more shy than he’d ever seen her. He couldn’t figure it out, so he ignored it. It was too troublesome, anyway.
Two days out from their goal, they were camping in a sheltered nook near the peak of a mountain. They had just come over the top before the sun went down, and hurried to find a place to camp before darkness fell. It was cold that night, and they were all grateful for the roaring fire.
Chouji dozed off quickly once the food was gone, huddled in his blankets as near to the fire as he could safely get. Ino and Shikamaru were likewise bundled up, and there wasn’t much in the way of conversation on their side of the fire that night. It was simply too cold. Already there was frost forming, and by morning, there would not be a single drop of liquid that wasn’t ice. Shikamaru just hoped that Chouji had learned his lesson last time, and didn’t have any canned drinks in his pack. That had been a real mess to clean up, and had delayed them by several hours. But Chouji wasn’t stupid, just slow, and he’d made a promise not to do anything like that again. And they had all loosened the caps on their canteens to prevent freeze damage. All they could do was wait.
His mind was continuing along this train of thought when he suddenly felt something warm pressing up against him. He looked down only to find that Ino, fast asleep, had curled up along his side. For several long moments, he simply stared at her, debating whether or not to push her off. Finally he decided that he was too cold to care, and she was helping him stay warm, so why not leave her where she was? There was no harm in it.
And with that thought, he sniffed once, noting that his nose was numb, and then succumbed to dreaming.
~~~~*~~~~
Ino was the first to wake the following morning, and blinked her way to consciousness slowly, feeling a bitterly cold wind on her face, but a delicious warmth everywhere else. It was only then that she realized that there was another pair of legs tangled up with her own, and a pair of arms held her gently against a chest that rose and fell slightly with each breath. A chest that wore a Chunnin’s vest.
She blushed furiously as she grasped that it was Shikamaru she was half on top of, and immediately extricated herself from his hold. She debated taking her blankets with her, but quickly realized that they were far more tangled around him than she had been, and she didn’t trust herself to pull them free without waking him. Let the boy think she’d woken early, and let him have her blankets while she made ready the camp for breakfast.
By the time Shikamaru truly woke up, she had a good fire going and most of their water was melted . Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as he took his canteen and went off to relieve himself and wash, and Ino breathed a sigh of relief. Shikamaru returned shortly to kick Chouji out of his roll. The third member of their team left to attend to nature’s call, and Shikamaru was suddenly behind her with a hand on her shoulder. She heard him a moment before he spoke, so she didn’t jump as he whispered in her ear.
“Thank you for the extra warmth, Ino.”
She deliberately misunderstood him. “Well, I didn’t need the blanket after I had the fire going,” she hoped he didn’t remember anything else.
He smiled and stood, drawing his hand across her hair to her other shoulder as he drew away to get some food ready for breakfast.
Well, that was hardly an answer, and now she had to worry about how much he remembered verses what actually happened when she didn’t know what all had occurred herself. And all that worry in addition to worrying about the mission ahead. Grr. Boys are stupid.
~~~~*~~~~
“Have you got her controlled yet?”
“She’s listening to me, but I can only control her body when she’s not conscious. As she grows used to me, though, soon I’ll have her entirely.”
“Define soon.”
“Patience is a virtue, Master.”
“Meaning?”
“Soon, Master. Very Soon.”
----------------------------------------------------------------
For those of you reading this story for the first time, please thank readers before you for helping me figure out how to make italics appear, and other such problems usual for a first story. I hope you enjoy the story.
Have a great day, and good reading.
Crimson Iris