I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Yet another random idea. Rest assured, readers, I am already working on the next chapters of my other Naruto stories.

Not very prominent but you can consider it a romance if you want. Friendship, romance, pretty much the same thing in this fic. Didn't intend for it to be romance, but it's up to your interpretation.

Light It Up

"You smell like him."

"Hmm?"

"You smell like him," Ino repeated.

Shikamaru shifted his head on the pillow he had made out of his arms. "That's what Kurenai said," he murmured. "How's Chouji?"

"He's… okay, I suppose. At home with his family."

He slowly opened his eyes, finding himself to be facing Ino's back. Her hair had grown longer, he mused. It reached the small of her back. "Why aren't you at home with your family?"

"I'll get around to it. Eventually."

"Something's wrong with you lately, Ino. It's troublesome."

She was silent for a long time. Usually, Shikamaru would find the silence a blessing, but lately Ino had been closing up more and more, eventually lapsing into long periods of wordlessness. He couldn't relax and enjoy the twinkling patterns of the stars when she was like this. It was a wonder why she had joined him at all, especially since they were currently rooted out at the top of the Hokage Monument; Ino hated going through all the steps and she despised taking the shortcuts even more.

"Shikamaru…" His eyes narrowed; her voice was small and soft but he could hear it cracking.

Shikamaru sat up, levering himself on his elbows. Ino had curled up, drawing her knees to her chest. She had hidden her face in her knees. All of a sudden, she just looked so small. "This isn't like you, Ino," he said quietly, shuffling forward so that he sat next to her.

"Shut up."

He knew what she wanted, the reason why she was here with him. It wasn't because she had suddenly sprouted the urge to keep him company. Sighing, Shikamaru reached into his vest and drew out a small, crumpled packet. This was going to cost him; it would take a lot of favours to get another stock imported from Marsh.

Ino looked up at the familiar scent of burning tobacco. Shikamaru expected her to scold him for harming his lungs like that, just like she had with their sensei, but she surprised him by reaching for the lighter he had taken out and turning it slowly in her hand. "We got this for him last year," she said, her smile watery. "Do you remember, Shikamaru?"

He, too, focused his attention on the small silvery object. Ino's finger flipped its flame on and off. Shikamaru nodded. "Did Chouji tell you? We were going to engrave a pig on the back without tell-" He stopped when he was interrupted by a sob. His eyes widened. "Ino, what-"

"I miss him," she whispered. Her tears glimmered in the soft illumination offered by the moon's shed rays. "When I woke up this morning, I thought to myself, 'Oh God, he's going to run us through spars again'. But then I remembered… if I'd known this would have happened, I would have…"

"Nothing, Ino," Shikamaru stated. "Nothing's going to-"

"Bring him back, I know!" she cried. "Sakura keeps telling me. She keeps telling me how she wishes she could have done something to stop Sasuke from leaving, how she knows that whatever she can do won't be enough. But Sasuke's not dead, Shikamaru! If Sakura can't get him back, Naruto will. But nothing… nothing will give Asuma-sensei back to us."

(like the smoke he's gone, floating, branching into wisps, gone, gone, away)

"Ino…"

"Hey Shikamaru… have you ever felt like you could do anything if you just tried harder? When you look back, do you think that you could have done something else to do a better job of something?" She didn't wait for his answer. "I feel like that now… everyday, actually. Maybe if I had practiced harder, been more like Sakura, I could have…"

"Stop, Ino. Just stop it."

"I didn't get any on my hands, but… it still feels like I can't wash it off."

(red, red on him, on me, have to get it off, no wait, it's all I have left, no, no, keep the red)

Shikamaru's cigarette slipped from his lips, and he watched as it rolled down the roof, falling into one of his mother's shrubs. "Damn… she's going to kill me for that." He shook his head. "Ino, look, Asuma… he's gone, okay? I know this sounds corny but… he'll still be around even though he's gone, know what I mean? There's a bit of him in all of us. I think Kurenai is more than enough proof. You should really ju-"

She had leaned into him, and his arms had involuntarily cradled her against his chest. "Just shut up, Shikamaru," Ino muttered, burying her face in his vest. "Isn't it just too troublesome to try explaining to a pig like me?"

Shikamaru was speechless, but only for a moment. "Yeah. It is."

"… oi. Shikamaru."

"What?"

"Can you light another one?"

"You aren't paying for them by any chance, are you?"

"No."

He sighed and complained under his breath, but he lit another. For her. Ino closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "You really do smell like him."

"Same brand."

Her head lifted from his chest. "They're his, aren't they?"

Shikamaru grunted. "I save them for the special occasions."

She lowered her head again. "How many did you smoke for Chouji?"

"Four. Aren't all that many left."

"What about me?"

He was silent.

"Shikamaru…" Ino's voice trailed off there and her companion doubted he would ever know what she had intended to say. "Smoking's bad for you."

It was a relief to know that she was stabilizing… but he wasn't going to tell her that. "Whatever."

"It'll give you cancer," Ino added.

"Hn."

"But until that day, don't stop."

He glanced at her. "Evil, aren't you?"

She grinned. "And selfish. Don't change the brand either, or I'll slaughter you."

A pause. A long one.

"Troublesome."