Switched

Something was off.

He and Chouji looked at each other, an automatic reaction when the two of them came across something utterly puzzling.

"S-Shikamaru-kun, Chouji-kun, what's wrong?"

Shikamaru frowned at the figure of Ino in front of him, her hair tied back into a low ponytail and her shoulders hunched inwards. She was looking at him and Chouji like a little lost puppy, and it was very unsettling.

"Ino, are you okay?" Chouji asked unsurely. Ino seemed a bit surprised at the question, but nodded.

"U-um… yes, I'm okay. A-are you okay?"

Shikamaru's frown deepened, and he and Chouji exchanged another unsettled look. He thought perhaps the initial stutter was just a coincidence, but the subsequent stuttering was not normal. In addition, Ino's clothes covered her stomach and legs and her hair wasn't tied in its usual high ponytail. There was none of the loudness associated with the girl he had come to know as Yamanaka Ino. Either this person was an imposter or…

"Want to get yakiniku?" Shikamaru asked suddenly. Chouji looked at him, a bit confused at the sudden question. He looked at the shy Ino again, and then shrugged.

Shikamaru is up to something. Best to just let him work, Chouji thought. He ripped open a bag of chips and started digging in. It didn't escape him or Shikamaru when they saw Ino's confused expression. She looked like she wanted to ask Chouji something, but seemed to think better of it afterwards.

"Let's go," Shikamaru said, leading the way. Chouji followed behind him as per usual, munching on several chips at once, and after him came Ino.

It was obvious after the first few minutes of walking that Ino wasn't planning on taking the lead anytime soon or even keeping pace with her two male teammates. Shikamaru found himself walking leisurely next to Chouji, with Ino just behind the two of them in the middle, and Shikamaru was quite disturbed. Normally, Ino would walk in front of them, leading the way, head held high with a slight sway to her hips to entice any passerby's.

But now she was hiding in his shadow, and he didn't like it.

"Ah! Shikamaru!"

The shadow nin looked to the side, where Sakura was waving at him. His eyes zeroed in on the scroll she held pressed against her arm and her side. Team 10 stopped to wait for her to catch up to them. Shikamaru felt Ino bump gently into his back from the sudden stop, and her whispered apology subsequently afterwards. The apology made Shikamaru scowl. Ino never apologized for anything.

By the time Sakura reached them, Shikamaru had a pissed off expression on his face, making her a little cautious of approaching. The strategist was always very easygoing, but even Sakura had heard the stories of his rare but terrifying anger. "Tsunade-sama asked me to give this to you," she said simply, holding the scroll out for him to take. He glared at it, obviously not looking forward to whatever paperwork the Hokage was brushing onto him.

"Thanks… I think," he muttered, and Sakura grinned.

"Where's Ino? Wasn't she supposed to be with you guys today?" she asked. Shikamaru and Chouji looked at each other, before they parted to reveal a fidgeting Ino behind them.

"Hello Sakura!" Ino said, smiling shyly. She walked forward to clasp Sakura's hands, obviously more comfortable with the pink-haired girl.

But Sakura didn't look as comfortable as her friend. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed suspiciously when he saw Sakura's eyes widen in shock. Recognition spurred in her face, and something like fear started to surface. "I-Ino!" she exclaimed. She saw Shikamaru and Chouji staring at her and cleared her throat awkwardly. She could feel the heavy weight of Shikamaru's inquiring gaze, and it made her hands shake a little. "I've been looking everywhere for you!" Sakura said, feigning relief. "I have something I need to talk to you about; it's important."

Ino blinked a little in surprise. Her head turned back to look at her teammates, like she was asking permission to leave. It was strange for her to do that, since Ino barely asked permission for anything. They'd run into Sakura before during their walks to yakiniku, and Ino was never shy about grabbing her best friend and running off to some fashion store with some big sale happening. Her teammates were used to being left in the dust, but it never bothered them. Ino was Ino; you either adopted her pace, or you got kicked out of the race.

But now Ino looked at the two of them imploringly, as if they had any say in what she was allowed to do, and Shikamaru hated it. He looked at Sakura, who tried to be patient, but the way her feet kept shifting gave her away. Something was up.

"What's going on?" he asked, his eyes narrowing at the pink-haired kunoichi. She smiled unsurely at him.

"What do you mean, Shikamaru?" Sakura said. "It's nothing you have to worry about. I just… ah… it's not a big deal!" Shikamaru raised a brow at her.

"You just said it was important." Sakura laughed uneasily.

"I just thought of it now! I thought it was important because I just remembered it," she said. Shikamaru smirked at her, and she knew that smirk. It was the smirk of victory; one that graced his face whenever he won a game of shogi.

"But weren't you looking everywhere for Ino to talk to her about this supposedly important thing?"

Sakura grit her teeth, her pseudo-innocent expression melting into one of anger. This damn lazy genius, she thought. Ino looked worriedly between the two of them, her hands coming up in a placating gesture. "Please don't fight!" she said. Sakura grasped her wrist, trying to tug her away.

"Just give me a minute with her!" Sakura growled. Ino gasped a little as she was tugged towards the pink-haired girl. A rough hand clapped her shoulder, and she blushed as she felt the warm heat of Shikamaru's body as he stood behind her, his eyes narrowed into slits as he pulled Ino towards him. Chouji stood between them, his voice rising as he tried to calm the two of them down.

"Calm down you guys!" he said. "People are starting to look." Ino 'eep'ed and sunk into herself, but doing that inadvertently caused her to shrink into Shikamaru's chest. When she realized it, she tried stepping forward to leave his personal bubble, but made a noise of surprise when Shikamaru's arm laid itself across her collarbone, preventing her from moving out of his bubble. Sakura was livid from where she stood in front of Ino.

"Stop manhandling her!" she shouted. "Or I'll kick your ass! Shannaro!"

But Shikamaru just gave Sakura a bored look. "If Ino has a problem with this, she can kick my ass herself. Right, Ino?"

Ino gulped in fear as Shikamaru's head dipped down to stare her in the eyes. He noticed the blush that spread over her face, and the way her hands quivered as they gripped at his arm. For a moment, everything went silent, and the only thing he could see was the blue of her eyes. In a situation where Ino wasn't acting strange, something like this position would have never been possible. And it occurred to Shikamaru that he'd never seen Ino from this angle before, because normally she'd kick his ass if he touched her without her consent.

Irrationally, he thought she looked… cute.

In between Sakura's bouts of verbal rage, Shikamaru lifted his head and stepped back, letting Ino go. Sakura quieted when he did, looking at him puzzlingly. The genius turned towards his best friend and jerked his head in the direction of Ichiraku Ramen. They set off together, backs turned to the two girls. Shikamaru raised his hand in farewell while Chouji finished his bag of chips.

"That's not our Ino," Shikamaru shouted at Sakura, his hand still raised and his back still turned, "so the next time we see you, our Ino better be with you!"

(The next time he saw Ino, she flew into him with her foot, and Shikamaru thought, "Ah, our Ino is the best Ino after all.")

A/N So this was basically something kind of fun I decided to write after watching the RTN movie. I thought RTN!Ino was quite adorable, but after I saw her I knew I preferred the normal Ino more. It occurred to me that Shikamaru probably thinks the same way. He won't exactly complain, because Ino is Ino no matter what universe she's from, but there's a charm to normal Ino that I think we've all come to love.

RTN!Ino is too complacent for Shikamaru. He needs someone to keep him on his toes. :p

miruutan