An Extremely Awkward Problem pt.5
Ino walked through the streets of Konoha slowly, trying not to attract any unwanted attention, it seemed Shikamaru’s body had affected her mind more than she thought, talking didn't appeal to her anymore. Through the crowd, he caught a glimpse of the Hokages’ office and wondered if Shikamaru would be back with her body anytime soon.
“He'd better be taking good care of me.” She mumbled to herself, entering the market.
She finished her trip to the market and walked back towards Shikamaru’s apartment, shifting the paper bag from hand to hand. She had only needed a few of the essentials and didn’t want to shop too much without Shikamaru, in case he wanted some food as well.
As she rounded the corner in the hallway of the complex, a blonde head of hair came into view outside the door.
She cringed when she got close enough to recognize the visitor.
Temari...
Ino had never liked Temari. There was just something about her that infuriated Ino every time her name came up. Maybe it was her cocky attitude, or tomboyish manner. Or it could be her trim, muscular figure and seductive eyes. …Or that it had been rumored for nearly a year that she had been ‘involved’ with Shikamaru during her frequent visits to Konoha for the Chunnin exams. She made a face at the thought of the body she now resided in being so close to that sand woman.
“Hey there, Nara. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d check up on my favorite lazy fire ninja.” She grinned, placing her hands on her hips.
“In the neighborhood? You have a mission or something? It’s too early for the examiners’ meetings.” Ino snapped, fighting the urge to tell her off as she reached for her key and turned the knob, standing in the doorway, trying to block her guest’s admittance.
Temari giggled. “Oh? And since when do we only get together on a professional basis? I thought we were close enough by now to pay each other little surprise visits.” She pinched his cheek playfully and Ino brushed her hand away, obviously annoyed.
“Well, I’m kinda busy today, actually. I just got back from a mission yesterday and…”
“Oh, come on now, you know I’m not as stupid as that, Nara.” She said, shoving her way past Ino in the doorway and sitting on the couch, leaning her fan against the wall beside her.
Ino sighed and grumbled her way over to the kitchen, putting the groceries away. She slammed the refrigerator door and came face to face with those seductive eyes she despised.
Slightly caught off guard, she stumbled away, to the other end of the small room, trying to put a little bit of space between them.
“So, Shikamaru. We gonna have some fun or what?” She grinned, reaching up to untie the ponytail atop his head.
“What are you talking about?” Ino said, dodging her attempt.
“You said you’d consider some fooling around the next time you saw me, I’m here to take you up on the offer.” She said, moving closer to him.
“Oh I did? Well, I changed my mind. Sorry you came all this way for nothing.” She said coldly.
Temari’s eyes narrowed. “What is wrong with you? Are you some kind of idiot? I’m right here, wanting you and you’re not even reacting at all. Was it so horrible the first time?” She said, her voice level beginning to rise. She stepped closer, so that she was only inches from her face.
Ino took her by the shoulders, bracing her away, but Temari broke free and crushed their lips together. Ino, disgusted, took her shoulders again, trying to force her off...the woman was frickin strong!
“Temari, I think it’s time for you to go.” She said through gritted teeth.
“Just once more…” She whispered, leaning in and touching their lips again. Ino turned her head, breaking the kiss.
Temari took a step back, her eyes bearing a mix of hurt and anger.
“It’s that girl. That blonde. You still….” She broke off, turning and heading back into the living room.
Ino followed, watching her gather up her fan and heading for the door.
“I’ll see you at the next examiners meeting then.” She said coldly, without looking back as she closed the door behind her.
Ino stared at the motionless door for a minute, the rage boiling inside her.
‘How long has Shikamaru been involved with her? What the hell was she talking about, the first time?’ She thought, the anger welling up, she clasped her fists, tightening them until it felt like they would burst..
‘Shikamaru has some explaining to do…’
XOXOXOXOX
Shikamaru walked through town at a slightly quicker pace than usual, wanting to get home and bathe as soon as possible.
‘I can’t stand feeling like this anymore, that filthy b*****d….’
…and to ask Ino to explain her missions to him. He didn’t like her keeping something this serious from him.
He gritted his teeth and quickened his pace.
He rounded the corner, onto his street and made contact with another person, running in the opposite direction. Both bodies hit the floor with a thud.
Shikamaru rubbed his head, and looked to the girl next to him, recognizing her instantly.
“T-Temari?”
She looked up to face him, she looked instantly mad upon seeing his, or rather Ino‘s face staring back at her.
“What?” She snapped, picking herself up and dusting off.
“Nothing…uh…what are you doing here?” He asked, brushing off his own purple outfit.
“Just paying a visit to your boyfriend. You’d best just stay out of my way, girlie…I’m not one to give up so easily.” She snapped again, beginning to walk off in the opposite direction.
Shikamaru watched her round the corner, until he realized what she meant.
‘Oh s**t…’
He took off in a sprint towards his apartment, fumbling with his keys and slamming the door open when he got there.
“Ino!” He called, but he didn’t see his body anywhere. He closed the door and began to enter the living room when he came face to face with his own eyes, fixed in a death glare. It quickly dispersed, however, and the eyes became lifeless and emotion-deprived.
“How was my mission? Harder than you thought, huh? Oh, Temari paid you a little visit.” Ino said flatly, shoving past him into the living room. She flopped onto the couch, her arms crossed and back ridgid.
“I know, I passed her on my way up here….You know, Ino, it’s not what you think…She come up here and tries...” He started.
“So, what was this ‘first time’ she talked about as she forced herself on you, or rather me?” She asked, refusing to move.
Shikamaru winced. “She did it again, did she?” He said, taking a seat on a nearby chair across the room.
“You bet she did, she kissed me and wanted to fool around, like the first time! What did you do?” Ino yelled, her eyes trying to fight back tears, but she didn’t know why she wanted to cry.
Shikamaru rested his head in his hands, thinking about how to tell his story. “It was right after I was promoted to Chuunin, after the Sasuke retrieval mission. I was sent to the sand country to thank them for their assistance.” He started. “I was there for only a few days, but they were partying the whole time, one of them had a birthday or something important like that. They were practically shoving the alcohol down my throat.”
Shikamaru paused, glancing at Ino, who was listening intently, a cold expression on her face.
“I was pretty drunk, and still a little distraught from the last mission, Temari and I took a walk to get some air, and before I knew it, she was on top of me in the grass….I say that nothing happened, but she’s convinced that it was some kind of special moment. She’s been like that ever since, trying to experience it again. She’s even tried to get me drunk again.” he chuckled, realizing too late the lack of humor.
Ino sat silent for a moment.
“You should’ve told Chouji and me, maybe we could’ve helped or something.”
“Chouji knows, I told him right after.”
“Oh….so you just decided not to tell me.”
“I didn’t think it concerned you, or that you would care.” He said seriously.
“Fine. I just don’t like secrets, they only cause problems, like this one.”
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I know of a secret you’ve kept from everybody. And I had to find out in a very surprising way. About your mission types….”
Ino’s eyes widened.
“You didn’t go on…one of…those? Did you?”
“You bet I did. Spy missions…you’d never know what they entail. I didn’t know you were even capable of something like that, Ino. And you kept it from both Chouji and me.”
Ino’s gaze dropped to the floor, shocked.
“I didn’t want you guys to know, I thought…”
“You thought what? That we’d think badly of you? Only when you try to keep this s**t from us! Sneaking around like that. Spy tunnels to avoid being seen, half-tied kimonos…it’s like you’re trying to live as another person.”
“Wow, you got the whole deal…” She whispered.
“No s**t, I did, disgusting crap…. How long have you been taking these kind of missions, Ino?”
“Since I was inducted into the spy unit last year, it’s part of the job.”
Shikamaru sighed, trying to keep his expression calm, Ino noticed him struggling and continued.
“But that’s not the only kind of mission I do, there are a lot of regular spy workings to be done too. We’ve all done things we’re not proud of, it’s part of being a ninja. I know my duty, so I take these missions. It’s not like I enjoy them, anyways.” She pouted the last sentence, turning her head.
Shikamaru thought about her words. It was true, he had done some things in his missions that he wasn’t particularly proud of, and there was no way he was going to go around telling people about them, it wasn’t right that he expect Ino to act any differently.
“It was probably better that I didn’t know about it…now I’m going to think about it every time you go off on a mission. It’s going to drive me crazy.”
Ino looked up to meet his gaze and blushed, a slight smile creeping to her lips. “You shouldn’t worry about it, we’re friends but we’re not dating or anything. There’s no reason for you to be jealous.”
Shikamaru matched her blush. “Jealous? Who ever said I would be jealous? I just don’t want to think about you seducing other men all the time, it’s…distracting.”
Ino blinked, then smiled evilly.
“Oh? Only other men? Does that mean you would like me to seduce you, Shika-kun?” She cooed, then giggled at his surprised expression.
“Not like it would do any good while I’m in your body, I don’t think that would turn you on at all.” She laughed, walking towards the kitchen, stopping at the entryway.
“Let’s make a deal, okay? I’ll try to avoid those missions, if you promise not to ask about them. And I’ll stay out of your business with Temari, if you like her, that’s your issue, not mine.”
Shikamaru rose in protest. “Whoa, wait a minute. I think we should get one thing straight, I don’t like Temari at all. She’s just an acquaintance. I don’t want you thinking anything of her and I, there‘s nothing there.”
Ino smiled, turning her head and heading into the refrigerator. “Hai, hai.”
Ino cooked them dinner while Shikamaru took a much needed shower, again trying not to think about how nice Ino‘s breasts looked covered in soap. He emerged in some of his own loose clothes, for a bit of a change and sat down at the table just as Ino was serving him. Their meal was strangely pleasant, sharing a few laughs and stories.
They felt closer now that the tension was gone.
“We need to figure out how to switch back though. I might go talk to my father and see what he knows.” Ino said between bites.
“Oh, I already did. I completely forgot. He said that you grandfather developed the technique and that the only way to reverse it is for your mind and body to be in sync. We need to perform the jitsu at the same time and hope for the best.” Shikamaru replied, shoving the last bit of his meal into his mouth.
Ino blinked.
“Great, then we can go try it out tomorrow! Then this will all be over and things will go back to normal!”
Shikamaru paused in getting up from the table.
Why hadn’t he ever considered that?
Switching back meant that Ino wouldn’t be there anymore, she’d go back home. They wouldn’t be together anymore like this.
Now that the time was here, he really wanted her to stay. It had been fun, even if they had only been together a little more than a week.
He glanced across the table at Ino, who had his lips pulled back in a smile and was getting up to start cleaning up the leftovers. She looked happy that they would be back to normal.
‘Well, if she’s happy, I should be too.’ He thought.
“Hey, Shikamaru? You wanna just share the bed tonight? You’re probably tired from that mission, and I don’t fancy sleeping on the couch.”
‘But it’s okay for me to sleep on it…’ he thought, but agreed. “Sure.”
They both slept soundly until morning, when they rose and started to head back towards their old training ground again.
After a few practice charka bending exercises, they took positions across from each other on the field, ready to attempt the transfer.
“You ready, Ino?”
She nodded but didn’t start forming seals. “Shikamaru?”
“What?”
“Um…I just wanted to say….that even if this doesn’t work….it’s been fun staying with you this past week.”
Shikamaru blinked then smiled slightly. “Yeah.”
Ino took a deep breath. She raised Shikamaru’s hands and began to form the seals, concentrating intently. Shikamaru formed the same seals simultaneously, but couldn’t seem to concentrate.
‘Everything’s going to go back to normal…’ he heard Ino say in his mind again.
‘No…I don’t want…’
They completed the seals….
‘s**t!’ Shikamaru closed his eyes and concentrated hard, ha didn’t want his feelings to affect the transfer.
“Mind-Body Switch Technique!” They both yelled.
Both bodies slumped to the ground, unconscious.
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