Ino and Shikamaru were sparring, though to any passers-by it would have looked as if Ino was trying to murder Shikamaru. In a way, she might have been—he was really pissing her off. "Just give her—" Ino's foot swung out, trying kick the other ninja, but Shika had already dodged it and was in the process of countering "—another chance!" He grabbed her fist and used it to push her away, trying to get her into his shadow. "No. You know me. Sakura is too unsure and I don't feel like putting in the effort. It is too troublesome." Ino jumped as soon as her feet hit the ground, putting her in an open space—and far away from Shika's shadow. She smirked at him, and prepared to launch a new attack. Raising her hands to form seals, she laughed—he was caught and couldn't escape—but the tlaugh caught in her throat as her hands froze. He had her, somehow, because when she looked at him she realized they were in the exact same position. "Ok, WHERE IS IT?" Ino was furious—she had really thought she had won the round. Shikamaru gave his trademark smirk. "Heh. Look carefully." Her blue eyes scanned the area around him—his shadow bind did not allow her to turn her head—and finally saw it, the faintest hint of a shadow stretching out behind him, swinging into the forest. She could only assume he had anticipated where she would jump and, waiting until she thought it was clear and landed, snaked the shadow out behind her and caught her while she was gloating. She looked again at his smirking face and got so angry. "OK. You WON. Now let me out." But as she watched his arms drop to his sides, his hands shoved into pockets, she felt her own arms being forced to do the same. "Not just yet, Ino. Let's talk." He sat down in the grass, which of course meant she sat in the grass as well. Ino could feel her rage growing. "Why should I give Sakura a second chance?" Ino paused, thinking through her reply. It was hard to concentrate because all she was really envisioning was clobbering Shikamaru. "Shika, you must remember what it was like to want that first kiss, and know that it was a big deal, and want it so much that you build it up until it is something bigger and better than anything in real life could ever be...Sakura has done that, only to such an extreme that I think her ideals of a first kiss and her first time making love are something that she can't give up anymore...she just needs time. And patience." A heavy sigh was Shikamaru's response. He propped his elbow in his knee, resting his chin on his hand. It was slightly comical to see Ino move into the same pensive position. "Ino, I would love nothing more than to give Sakura a third chance. And a fourth. And a fifth. You know that. But I think you forget that, for all of my apathy, I do still have personal feelings. I can't give up the feeling that she is still longing for Sasuke, and I know I cannot compete with him. I...I don't want to get hurt." Ino remembered this side of Shikamaru from when they had dated. It was true—he had gotten so good at putting up his careless-attitude front that it was easy to forget that even he had feelings—and a strong aversion to pain. Particularly of the heart-broken type. "Shika...I can't promise you that Sakura won't hurt your feelings. After all, you are just in the beginning stages of getting to know one another romantically. But I can say this...she is just as scared of being intimate as you are of being hurt, and if neither of you are willing to take the risk, then you both will be doing this forever with everyone you date." Shika hated when Ino was deep and able to pinpoint exactly what was scaring him. Her intuition was scary—she always knew what everyone was thinking and feeling. He looked up—the sky was a beautiful blue and full of fluffy clouds—he favorite kind of day. Laying back, he folded his arms behind his head and looked at the clouds, thinking over what Ino had said. "Um....Shikamaru? Will you let me out of your jutsu now?" He had actually forgotten Ino was still there, though now that she had spoken he could feel the tugs on his chakra. He had been practicing for years and now knew how to conserve his chakra and drag out the shadow bind technique. Ino had never been a fan of sitting around, lazily looking at the beautiful world they lived in. Shika decided that now was a good time for her to learn. "Shikamaru, I don't know what you are thinking, but I strongly suggest you release me. You know what I am capable of when I am angry and you had better believe that if I get much angrier, mister, you had better be ready to run, 'cause I'm going to pfhisebrf fnsieohfa dhoiewnf." Ino couldn't speak because Shikamaru had covered his mouth with his hand, which forced her hand to cover her mouth, stifling her wrathful threats. - - - - - - The knock came at the door. It felt like deja-vu for Sakura. She stood, again dressed in clothes borrowed from Ino, again nervous, again unsure if this was a good idea. The difference though, was that now she knew who was knocking and she knew that more was at stake. She absolutely could not blow it because it was her last chance. She found that the upped stakes fueled a bit of her competitive side. Knowing it was her final chance, she was geared up to not fail a third time. Smoothing the front of her dress, she opened the door. Apparently Shikamaru was not taking chances, either. He had cleaned up for her, putting on an actual suit (though nothing too formal, after all, it was Konoha's most notoriously lazy shinobi), combing his hair out and wearing it down, and clean shaven. With his hair down, he looked more serious, and older, Sakura realized. And beautiful. It gave him a feminine edge, with black hair tumbling over his shoulders in slight waves. He had obviously put a lot of effort into it, for it was usually in a wild, spiky and unkempt ponytail. They took a moment, each appreciating how the other looked. And then there was a moment, the briefest second, where the lights from the street hit Shikamaru just right, and to Sakura, his eyes flashed green. Green like her best friend's eyes. It reminded her of that afternoon, of the practice, and something inside of her stirred. She could hear Ino speaking to her. The thought of Ino, the presence of the girl in Sakura's mind, gave Sakura courage. "Shikamaru...I know that we've had a couple of rough starts, but—" "Please, Sakura. It is ok. It is in the past. We are starting over now, so there isn't a need to talk about it." Sakura blushed prettily. "That wasn't what I was going to say, Shika, but thank you." She stepped toward him, getting close, until she was a fraction of an inch away from his body, barely not touching him. She raised her eyes up, looking in his face. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "I was going to say, we've had a couple of rough starts, so I think that we should start this date...differently from the others." Sakura raised her hands, resting one on Shikamaru's chest as Ino had told her, the other one grazing his neck and then grabbing his collar, tugging it a little. Her heart was beating as quickly as a hummingbird's wings, but it was too late to go back. She had started this and she could feel Ino in her, encouraging her. This was it, really, and she was in control of the situation. She was ready. "S-so—" Shikamaru's voice cracked a little, making Sakura smile. She could feel his heartbeat underneath the palm of her hand, soothing her a bit—he was just as nervous as she was, it seemed. "—w-hat....what should we do differently this time?" Sakura pulled his collar, bringing his lips onto hers, answering his question. She felt him inhale sharply at the kiss, because although she had made her intentions clear, she was sure that her actually following up had surprised him. It took him a moment, but then he was kissing her back. He moaned a little and moved his hand into her thick pink hair, intensifying the kiss. His other arm reached low around her, pulling her up and into him. As their lips moved and explored with hunger, Sakura couldn't help but notice the difference between kissing him and kissing Ino. His lips were tougher, in a sense, not soft and pillowy like Ino's. He was fast paced, almost devouring her, whereas Ino had been sensual and methodical. Sakura realized that she preferred Ino's kiss to Shikamaru's, but she knew it was a first kiss, with a lot of tension built up, and that later (she hoped) it would get better. With that decision, she melted herself a bit, molding her body to Shikamaru's, pressing closer to him. She wound his hair into her fingers, feeling the softness of it, luxuriating in its silky texture. Finally Shikamaru broke the kiss, pushing her back a little roughly, his hands on her shoulders. He was panting a bit and his eyes looked wild. Sakura felt a rush inside of her, knowing that she was the cause of his dishevelment, but she still wanted more, wanted to be kissing him again. She looked pleadingly into his eyes, and he caught it. "No...not anymore, at least not right now." "Why not?" Shikamaru laughed, deep and throaty. His voice was husky still. "Because if we continue...I, uh...I will be in no condition to go to dinner." His eyes glanced downward, directing her eyes to the large bulge in his pants. Sakura gasped and blushed—she had forgotten in the heat of the kiss that Shikamaru was a boy, a boy who had not been with a girl in at least a couple of weeks since they had started their almost-dating. "Fair enough." She giggled, watching him try to compose himself. "Just let me know when you are ready, and we shall head out to dinner, ok?" - - - - - After that night, Shikamaru and Sakura were inseparable in their spare time. After training, they could be caught walking through Konoha hand in hand. However, they were never out walking about for long. Usually they were in Sakura's apartment, making out. The joys of kissing had lit something inside of Sakura, something she could not quench. They kissed the minute they were inside of her door, pressed against walls. They kissed on her couch. They kissed in her kitchen. And before long, they kissed in her bedroom. All the kissing left little time for friends, and although Ino was happy for her friend, she really missed her as well. Ino had tried several times to catch Sakura leaving Tsunade's but she always was slower than Shikamaru. She would see them, happily laughing and strolling, and felt like she couldn't interrupt. During training, Ino began to feel a bit of resentment toward Shikamaru. She knew it had been hard for him when she and Chouji had begun dating because the chemistry was off again for their team. But eventually they had worked through it. But now Chouji was gone, and Shikamaru and Sakura had been her friends. Now they were absent from her life, and every time she noticed them together, she felt pangs of irritation and anger. She was not the only one who noticed the new couple. Everyone from their graduating class knew about Shikamaru and Sakura. They laughed a lot, many joking because in all truthfulness, no one had expected those two together. Kiba and Naruto would laugh endlessly, making crude jokes until Sakura would let go of Shikamaru long enough to bash the hell out of one of the loud-mouthed boys. Ino hated thinking she was the only one who was becoming bitter over the new-found love. But she wasn't. Cold, black eyes had noticed the new couple, and they filled with jealousy.
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