Summary: Because in a world of STD-infested Uchihas, six-foot teddy bears and oral resuscitations from Rock Lee, a little love goes a long way. ShikaIno

A/N: jin. toshikazu signing on again. ^_^ I know I was gone for a long while (sorry about that, school and Masashi Kishimoto's crappy continuance of Naruto held me back) but now I'm here and I promise that you'll be seeing me more often these following weeks. ^_^

Now I know I mentioned in my profile that I can't seem to come up with a ShikaIno because the growing number of ShikaTema hints are depressing me, but somewhere along the way I decided that heck, this world would be a better place with more ShikaIno love. This fic is inspired by Click Five's Just the Girl – old song, but I think it fits Shika and Ino really well.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Just the Girl.

Natsukashii

She's cold and she's cruel, but she knows what she's doing.

"Hey, Ino. Wanna hang out at my place tonight?" Sasuke asks coolly as he walks by and pauses to watch her retrieve her books from her locker.

"No thanks, Mr. Captain of the football team. I'd get an STD the moment my foot touches your floor." She replies loudly, never even taking her eyes off her locker to look at him. "I'll be better off eating dinner off the floor of a gas station restroom."

Everyone within a fifty mile radius hears her and snickers, while Sasuke, doing his best to hide his flushing face, rolls his beautiful Uchiha eyes and simply walks away.

"That was just mean." Shikamaru remarks, although he knows that he sure doesn't really feel the least bit sorry for Uchiha Sasuke.

It's Ino's turn to roll her eyes. "Whatever. That jerk was screwing Karin while he was dating my best friend. I'm never hanging out with him."

- o -

She pushed me in the pool at our last school reunion.

Splash! Chouji dives into the pool and everyone by the poolside gets wet.

"Isn't that swimsuit a little… revealing?" Shikamaru asks, careful not to look directly at Ino's skimpily clad body.

"Don't you like it?" Ino chirps as she leans in nearer, and suddenly Shikamaru can see her boobs up close. OhmyGodOhmyGodOhmyfuckingGod is the only thing running through his head as he gulps nervously.

"It's hideous, it makes you look fat, and purple is so not your color. It's hideous, it makes you look fat, and purple is so not your color. It's hideous, it makes you look fat, and purple is so not your color." He recites aloud repeatedly like a mantra to distract himself. The truth is, she looks so gorgeous in it that he has to struggle with himself not to get hard. Hey, he's a teenager, he's got completely no control of his hormones.

But when he sees Ino's face turning red in anger, he forgets about all about his boner and wishes that he had kept his mouth shut.

SPLAAAAAAAAAAAASH! Gluglugluglu! Shikamaru is shoved into the swimming pool and Yamanaka Ino's evil laugh is heard all throughout Konoha…

…because the pool is ten feet deep and Ino knows that Shikamaru does not know how to swim so he ends up having to be orally resuscitated by the life-guard on duty, Rock Lee.

- o -

She laughs at my dreams but I dream about her laughter.

"…and the best part was that it was too late when Gai-sensei discovered that there wasn't any tissue in the bathroom!" Ino chokes out, laughing hysterically with her friends."He was stuck there for two whole hours until the janitor came in to clean!"

"Shikamaru, why aren't you laughing?" Sakura says between chuckles. "Are you even listening?"

"Oh, he's probably figuring out how to solve that organic chemistry problem that Sir Kakashi mentioned during class yesterday." Ino says matter-of-factly. "Seriously, Shikamaru, are you still hoping to discover the cure for cancer?"

"The organic chemistry problem?" Kiba repeats. "No way. I don't think he's even heard that problem. I sat next to him in that class and he was sleeping the whole time."

"Dreamt of anything, Pineapple-head?" Ten-Ten asks.

"Hopefully you didn't dream about Sir Gai calling for tissue!" Sakura says, and everyone laughs again.

Yeah, he thinks, watching Ino crack at her best friend's joke. I dreamt about you laughing just like that.

- o -

Strange as it seems, she's the one I'm after.

"Heads. That means Truth, Shikamaru." Kiba says, grinning as he shows him the toss coin result. It's a head indeed, and now he must tell the truth and answer their question.

"So, who are those flowers for?" Naruto asks, sniffing the bouquet pink roses in Shikamaru 's hand.

"Wait, wait, let us guess for you." Lee announces. "Is it for Sakura?"

"No." Shikamaru answers.

"Good, because she's mine. Is it for Hinata then?" Lee tries again.

"No."

"Is it for Ten-Ten?" Naruto springs up.

"No."

"That's just stupid, Naruto, Ten-Ten is dating Neji. How about Temari?" Kiba contributes.

"That's even more stupid. She lives in Suna, Kiba." Naruto argues.

"Wait a minute…" Lee said. "You can't possibly… Is it for…Ino?"

Shikamaru keeps quiet.

The Lee's eyes widen even wider than the giant black balls they usually are. "Holy crap… I don't freakin' believe it!"

Because she's bittersweet, she knocks me off of my feet, and I can't understand but I don't want anyone else.

She's a mystery, she's too much for me, but I keep coming back for more.

She's just the girl I'm looking for.

She can't keep a secret for more than an hour.

"What did Naruto mean when he said you brought me flowers?" She demands the moment she gets inside the classroom.

"Ino!" Naruto protests. "I just told you not to tell him that I told you!"

- o -

She runs on 100 proof attitude power.

"What did Naruto mean when he said you brought me flowers?" She repeats, totally ignoring Naruto.

"He meant that I brought you these flowers." Shikamaru says, taking out the bouquet of pink roses he bought from her father at their flower shop on his way to school this morning.

"And you brought me these because?"

"Because even though I feel like I'm the stupidest person to ever walk this earth for feeling like this, there's just no denying the fact that for some troublesome, unknown and probably invalid reason, I think I'm in love with you, Ino."

She slams her hands on his desk. "If this is a joke, Shikamaru, cut it out. You know I'm not going to risk losing our friendship over something as stupid as love."

He does not budge.

She storms out of the room.

- o -

And the more she ignores me, the more I adore her.

She does not speak to him that day, and the day after that, and the day after that too, and so many other days that he has lost count. Still, he buys her flowers everyday, asking her father to place them in a vase in her room and not tell her that the flowers are from him.

Inoichi just looks at him with a raised brow, but every morning he proceeds to his daughter's room and puts a single pink rose on her vase.

- o -

What can I do, I'd do anything for her.

"Stop this madness, Shika." Chouji pleads in between mouthfuls of popcorn. "It's over. She's Itachi's girlfriend now. She chose him over you. Please, Shikamaru, stop."

Shikamaru tells his best friend to keep quiet by shoving more food into his direction. "This is a cinema and people are gonna get angry at you if you keep on talking."

But he does not stop from watching Ino and the STD guy's older brother (who must therefore also be a walking nest of STD's too) cuddle close together four rows in front of him and Chouji. He hates it that Ino is hugging him and he hates him even more than he is hugging her back, but he can't take his eyes off them. Rather, he doesn't want to take his eyes off her.

"What do you think are you doing?" Chouji asks/pleads, crumbs falling here and there and everywhere.

"I'm making sure that this Itachi guy is not going to do anything stupid."

"But you're just hurting yourself."

Maybe, he thinks. But then again, he didn't care. He would do anything for her.

"You're a masochist, Shikamaru, you know that?." Chouji says. "BUUUUURP!"

Because she's bittersweet, she knocks me off of my feet, and I can't understand but I don't want anyone else.

She's a mystery, she's too much for me, but I keep coming back for more.

She's just the girl I'm looking for.

The way sees its me on her caller ID, she won't pick up the phone, she'd rather be alone.

The sound of Click Five's 'Just the Girl' has been floating around the obsessively girly room for about an hour now, emanating from a ringing cellular phone which screen has the words Shika-kun Calling. But none of the four girls inside the room seems to be paying attention, because one of them (the blonde one) is too busy bawling out how her boyfriend – well, technically now her ex-boyfriend – dumped her for a blue-haired girl about half a century older than he is, and the rest of the three girls (the pink-haired one, the black-haired one and the brown-haired one) are too busy comforting her.

"…and then I walked into this restaurant…sob… and guess what… sob… they sat at the table at the corner and they were kissing! Waaaaaaaah! Why, why, why? What did I do to deserve this? Waaaaaaaaaaah!"

"Uh, aren't you gonna get that, Ino?" Sakura finally gathers enough courage to ask, pointing at Ino's phone.

She sees the name Shika-kun and she bawls even more. "Tell him to leave me alone!"

- o -

But I can't give up just yet, cause every word she's ever said is still ringing in my head.

It's two in the morning and her friends have left, but she's still awake, lying on her bed and sobbing her heart out. She hears her window creak, and when she turns to look at it she sees… him.

"Ino." Shikamaru quietly says.

"I told you to leave me alone." She squawks at him.

"You know I'm not gonna do that."

"If you're here to rub it in my face that Itachi two-timed me, go away."

"I'm not here to say anything."

"Then what are you here for?"

"Nothing."

"Fine," she says contemptuously. "Do what you want to do. I don't care." And she turns to her pillows again, resuming her mission of causing another Great Flood with her tears. Her eyes are swollen, her cheeks are puffy, her head is aching. It's soooo tiring to cry.

Suddenly, she feels his arms wrap around her in a quiet, comforting embrace. He doesn't say anything, he just holds her. He's warm and the night is cold, and for the first time tonight she feels like everything is going to be fine.

She closes her eyes and welcomes a night of peaceful sleep.

She's cold and she's cruel but she knows what she's doing.

The next day she's wearing her Charles and Keith sunglasses as she walks along the hallway, and she sees Shikamaru getting his books from his locker. He pauses to look at her, but she ignores him and she goes straight to her own locker to get her books.

Uchiha Itachi is already there, waiting for her.

"Ino. Let me explain. I wasn't there to – " but he doesn't even get to finish what he wants to say because he gets a bitch slap in the face. The awful sound makes everyone stop what they are doing and look at his direction.

"Don't you ever go anywhere near me again." Is the only thing she says before turning around and walking away.

Shikamaru looks at her again as she passes him by.

This time she gives him a small smile.

- o -

Knows just what to say so my whole day is ruined.

It's Valentine's day. Everyone stops to stare at him as he trudges to class dragging a white teddy bear even larger than he is. It's a sight to behold because Nara Shikamaru is five feet ten. He meets his teacher, Sarutobi Asuma, along the way. The man takes one look at the teddy bear his student is hauling and chuckles understandingly.

Shikamaru goes straight in front of her desk and calls her name."Ino."

She looks up and squeals when she sees the teddy bear. "That is so cuuuuuuuuuuute!"

"Your flower shop ran out of flowers to sell today. I'm sorry I don't have flowers for you."

"That's okay, Shika! Just tell me this bear is miiiiiiiiiiiiine!" she said, already jumping up and down.

"It is."

She runs to the bear and hugs it like a little girl who had just been given a new toy. The bear is half a ruler taller than Ino and its droopy head rests to fall on her halo of blonde strands. "Oh, Shika! Thank you thank you thank you! I love you!"

Her last words surprise him. "Really?"

She laughs. "Haha! I was kidding! I mean, what else do you say to someone who gives you a six footer teddy bear during Valentine's day?"

She continues saying something about naming stuffed animal Viktor Krum or something that sounded like that, but his senses are all a blur. His face turns red in anger. I was kidding. How could three simple words ruin his whole day?

"Oh, Shika, where on earth did you get this? I've never seen a teddy bear as big as this! Sakura is sooooooooo going to be je-"

"Shut up!" he cuts her off, turning around and stomping out of the room because he feels like his eyes are going to give up anytime soon.

And he sure doesn't want anyone – especially her – to see that Yamanaka Ino can make Nara Shikamaru cry.

'Cause she's bittersweet, she knocks me off of my feet, and I can't understand but I don't want anyone else.

She finds him right where she thought he would be, at the school rooftop. He's laying on the floor, hands at the back of his head, eyes closed. Pretending to be asleep again, the lazy bum.

She walks as quietly as she can towards him, but it's difficult to do when you're dragging a giant white teddy bear that is almost as heavy and so much taller than you are. Nevertheless, she reaches her destination and stands in front of him.

"Wake up." She says.

He doesn't move.

"Nara Shikamaru. I said wake up."

He lets out a groan of complaint but opens his eyes. The moment he does, she throws the giant stuffed toy at his feet.

"I don't want your teddy bear." She declares.

He ignores the teddy bear and looks at her with confused eyes. But he says nothing, does nothing. Not even when she lays down on the floor beside him.

"I don't want your teddy bear." She repeats. This time, though, she puts her arms around him the tightest, warmest embrace he has ever felt.

"I don't want your teddy bear, Shika. I want you."

His head turns slowly towards hers, and she sees his dark eyes search her own blue orbs, looking for that trace of honest sincerity that he has been looking for all his life."You mean that?" he hesitantly asks, afraid that the answer would be 'I was kidding' again.

She closes her eyes and smiles. "I do. And this time I'm not kidding."

He groans again. You're such a pushover, he tells himself. Of course she could be lying. Of all the people in this crazy world, he's the one who's supposed to know that Yamanaka Ino lies as easily as she eats chocolate.

But he stretches out to turn to her and tucks her head in his chest. Screw it, he thinks. Damn her if she's lying, but to him, he's heard everything he will ever need to hear in his life. That's the only thing that matters.

And before he knows it, his eyes are closed and he's smiling too.

- o -

She's a mystery, she's too much for me, but I keep coming back for more.

"You and me together?"

"Forever."

"You're not gonna two-time me like Sasuke did to Sakura?"

"No."

"You're not gonna date an older woman behind my back like Itachi did?"

"I won't".

"You're not gonna run off to Suna for Temari?"

"Never."

"Ever?"

"Never ever."

"Never ever ever never?"

"Ino?"

"Yeah?"

"Just shut up and kiss me."

"Okay."

- o -

She's just the girl I'm looking for.

Would you believe me if I tell you that the ending to this story is simply 'Shika and Ino lived happily ever after?'

You better do. It's what is meant to be. ^_^

A/N: Oh no. Another Uchiha-bashing episode. Again, I do love Fugaku and Mikoto's babies (especially Itachi!) but there just has to be a couple of villains in this fic and there are few people who are more villainous than these brothers. I'll make-up for this, promise.