"Good morning, Sakura-chan!" Ino chirped as her bittersweet best friend entered the little flower shop. The bubblegum haired girl made her way to the front counter in an uncharacteristically meek manor. Ino noticed this almost immediately, and abandoned her half made bouquet.
"What's wrong, Sakura?" Said woman shifted uncomfortably in place, never quite making eye contact with her blonde friend. Ino touched her arm, "What is it?"
Sakura finally piped, looking down at her feet, "I saw Shikamaru with Temari."
Ino's eyes bulged a bit and she paused before laughing lightheartedly, "What, you mean they were talking? Nothing wrong with that. She does visit here sometimes." Ino tried to again attend to her flowers and swallow her absolute hatred for the Sand Village blonde.
Sakura sighed, "No. I mean…they were…flirting."
At this statement, Ino dropped the lily she'd been placing and it felt like her heart had stopped. "They were, or he was?" Sakura bit her lip, hating to see her friend on the verge of tears at her doing.
"Well, I mean it looked like they were, but—" Sakura didn't get to finish because Ino had already hung up her shop apron and was headed out the door, a sea of blonde hair marking her trail.
She was out of breath by the time she'd made it to Shikamaru's apartment. It wasn't the running, but more likely the intense shock and anger that was running through her veins. She'd thought about what she would do on the elevator as she caught her breath. Oh, she'd love to spit on him, or throw something at him—preferabbly a fist—or wreck his apartment. It'd be so sweet. But she knew in reality, what she actually ended up doing would be yelling.
Her legs felt like wet noodles as she made her way to his door. She had to pound on it for a couple minutes before he actually opened the door. Probably sleeping, she thought. Finally, his face emerged and before she could stop herself she felt the sting of her hand against his cheek. It felt good—really good. He fell back into his apartment, gaining her access, and yelled, "What the hell, Ino?" She paced into the little living room, trying to gather her thoughts. She thought she remembered her words, but honestly it was an out of body experience. Maybe she brought up Sakura telling her, although she hadn't wanted Shikamaru to have someone to blame. She probably most definitely cursed at least once. Her brain finally caught up with herself as she felt her lips make out the words, "You have two options, Nara. Either tell me the truth that you were, in fact, flirting with that whore, and I can kick your ass now, or lie to me, and I can find out the truth and kick your ass later—harder. Now, don't lie to me, Nara Shikamaru!" He sighed, probably trying to figure out how to escape his incredibly stupid mistake of cheating on Yamanaka Ino.
Then finally, he spoke, obviously trying to suppress his guilt, "I wasn't flirting with her. She came on to me; I turned her away." She felt the anger bubble; he was so lying. She made her way to the door, too angry to even form words, but he ripped her away with his fists—hard. He was trying to make eye contact, but just couldn't; being a ninja made it clear that this was a sign of dishonesty. "I love you, Ino. Not Temari, or anyone else. You. I would never hurt you." He was leaning in now; he was actually going to kiss her! This was unbelievable. Who knows how many other girls his lips had touched? She had to stop him, so she whispered, "I don't believe you." The true wrath shone in his eyes and she felt his grip tighten on her arms. For a second, she thought he might truly hit her, but he let her go and flew out the door, slamming it behind him.
This was almost perfect; she was alone in his apartment: the most opportune time for sabotage. Almost perfect because of the part of her heart that felt bad. She hadn't even slightly considered he was telling the truth. She was abnormally exhausted from the rage boiling her blood, and collapsed over his kitchen counter. For a few minutes, she just needed to cool tile against her burning cheeks. She didn't feel like going home; she needed to discuss this soon. If they left it alone, it would build up. She slowly made her way to his bathroom, choosing to take a shower. She walked in, flicking on the light, and found a normal, tiled bathroom. A pair of Shikamaru's boxers was on the floor and she had to pause. She couldn't take a shower.
