Shadow Dance

"He's across the street now," Said Sakura, glancing behind Ino's shoulder from their seated position in their regular booth, in their favorite small restaurant.

Ino groaned as she ducked low, using the booth for cover. She had been avoiding him for two weeks straight now, ever since their return from Suna. He was her best friend (besides Sakura), and she had gone there to see him get married. Of course she hadn't planned on being in the wedding, or apart of any ceremony, but when she was roped into it, she ended up belly dancing in front of the whole foreign village—only for it to end up looking like she stole the groom right in front of everyone. Ino's faced flushed as she remembered the kiss Shikamaru had brushed to her abdomen.

"He's gone now," Sakura broke Ino from her previous thoughts and she sat up, stealing a glance out the window, just to be safe.

"You can't avoid him forever," Hummed her rosette haired friend. "You're going to get a mission eventually."

Ino narrowed her eyes and practically hissed at her friend from across the table, "You have no idea what it's like to be embarrassed in front of a whole village of strangers!"

Sakura only chuckled, which increased Ino's anger. "And then to have to run from his fiancée like that."

Sakura sighed, "I wish I had been there to see it."

Ino glared in response.

"What?—I had to get most of the juicy details from Naruto."

Ino's eyes wandered down to the table, staring at her half empty cup. "Too many things were happening at once, I didn't know how to react."

Sakura now stirred her spoon in her teacup, "Clearly, otherwise I doubt you would have let her get a hit on you."

Ino felt her head pulsate at the memory of the attack, "I was too shocked, its not like it was my fault. She's the stupid-wench who asked me to do the stupid traditional belly dance!" Ino huffed. "How was I supposed to know he was going to grab me like that and…And…"

"Kiss you?" Sakura finished her challenging words for her.

A blush crept across Ino's face again and she turned her head and stuck her nose in the air. She reached for a strand of her pale blond hair and wrapped it around her fingers, avoiding her friend's gaze. "Whatever." She replied. "He was supposed to be getting married."

"Oh Ino-pig," Sakura tilted her head and laughed lightly, "You are so blind, you could never be a Hyuga."

Ino sat there, trying to decipher Sakura's words, while she continued to laugh at her. Finally, Sakura's laughing minimized, "He's been in love with you for years."

Ino felt her mouth drop open, "What?" She couldn't comprehend this. "Chouji was, but-"

Sakura smiled, "That's why he never said anything."

Ino felt like a rush of hot air was floating to her head as she blinked in confusion. "No, you're mistaken…"

Sakura smirked, "Anyone with eyes could see it, maybe that's why Chouji finally got over you."

Her best friend was in love with her?

"But Temari…?"

Sakura leaned back further from the table, "I'm sure he respected and cared for her. He probably knew she cared for him in return, and they got along, were similar, so if anything it was just probably more convenient to get married from there."

"You're wrong," Ino frowned and stood up from the table. If they continued to have this conversation, her avoiding Shikamaru was pointless. She didn't want to talk about this. It was hard enough evading her parent's questions about the event and stopping her father from going over to the Nara house.

She placed some money on the table and took her exit before Sakura could say another word. She glanced both ways crossing the street—to make sure Shikamaru wasn't visibly around to catch sight of her. Once the coast was clear, she set for home. She was too tired to talk or deal with anyone.

The walk back from Suna had been quiet with Chouji and Naruto stealing glances back and forth between her and Shikamaru. They had left in such a hurry, she was still wearing the silver and purple belly dance costume made from sheer, when they arrived home. When they returned the Hokage had wanted to speak to Shikamaru alone, and so it had been easy for Ino to slip away from him and elude herself from him for the rest of the night.

She didn't need to go out of her way to avoid him the day after. He hadn't stopped by or phoned. She had felt angry at first. As if she was used like a tool in escaping his marriage. She had wanted an explanation. But if anyone could dodge a question, it was Shikamaru—and he would have at least two back up plans if he thought you were persistent, so really, she wasn't expecting to get an answer.

So when she saw him the second day, standing on her door, waiting for her in the rain, she realized she didn't want an answer. She didn't even want to meet his gaze.

It was embarrassing enough that she had danced half-naked in front of him—for him. Why did they have to talk about it?

She found herself kicking the ground in frustration.

She should have never gone to Suna—to watch him get married. She knew before the wedding (and Sakura had probably had an idea too) that seeing him marry that woman was the last thing on earth she had wanted to do. She would rather have spent her time on a mission to the Snow Country in her normal uniform without a cloak. Yes, hypothermia sounded much more bearable in comparison.

But he had smiled, and asked her to be there for him. And she had swallowed up her pride, and for once been completely unselfish, and decided to be happy for him and attend.

She wasn't as stupid as everyone thought she was. After all, the Yamanaka clan were gifted and trained to deal with matters of the mind. She wasn't a tactics specialist like Shikamaru, but she was smart. She knew she had no chance with him. With the way she had acted when she was younger, always quarreling and fighting for the Uchiha's attention, and talking about physical appearances, of course Shikamaru wasn't attracted to her.

Even if she was prettier than the Sand ninja, she destroyed her chance with him before graduation from the academy. That's why she spent so much time flirting with other men, because the one she wanted, she couldn't have. She kept telling herself over and over, if she had been smarter when she was younger, if she had noticed how smart he was, how sexy his know-it-all grin was, if she realized when they'd play together that she would one day love him as a man, she would have had a chance. And she would bet the world he would have fallen for her too.

So now, for him to…Give her false hope…It was unacceptable. His reason for kissing her could have been a fairytale, or it could destroy her. And she wasn't about to be crushed further. She was going to stand tall and laugh it off and play dumb when she finally quit avoiding him and the situation.

She reached her street and froze two feet from her house, to see Shikamaru standing on her doorstep. His eyes were on the ground, but he lifted his gaze to look up at her when he heard her approach. He gave a half, small smile that never reached his eyes, "Are you done running from me now?"

She weighed her options, glancing at the door behind him, and back to him. She looked at the street from the corner of her eyes. But again, she was not a tactics specialist—she had nowhere to escape now.

She sighed and crossed her arms, "Don't blame me for your break up," the best offense was a good defense…or something like that…

Shikamaru shook his head and sighed, "You're never going to change, you're so exhausting."

Ino scowled; he had been chasing her for this? "Whatever," she grumbled and pushed past him to unlock her door.

"Damn it, Ino!" He grabbed her by her shoulder and spun her around to face him, "You are the reason I didn't get married!"

Ino blinked, "It wasn't my idea to do the belly dance!" She hollered in frustration.

Shikamaru narrowed his dark eyes at her, his mouth twitched before he recovered himself, "That's what you think this is about?"

Ino opened her mouth to argue, but less then a second he crushed his lips to hers, his hands held her face close to his, his thumbs caressing her face, while his body pinned her against the door.

And Shikamaru may be a tactics specialist, but he kissed like he didn't need to think at all—like he ran on pure, animal instinct. She let her arms whined around his neck, and her fingers scraped lightly against his skin there while her hips rubbed against his. She gasped when she felt his tongue enter her mouth, but his hands removed themselves from her face and grasped her hips as he pulled her even closer to his body.

His fierce kiss nearly bruised her, but she leaned in even more to him, faintly aware that the sound of keys were rustled by her ear, and she was being pushed through her now open door. She pulled her lips apart from his, "Shikamaru?"

He stared into her eyes, a smirk slowing tugging at his lips, "I've waited all our lives for you…You've been like my shadow…Right beside me, and yet out of my reach." His eyes wandered over her body briefly before returning to meet her gaze again, "I'm sorry Ino, I can't wait anymore." He shut her door without turning from her, and locked it.

He pulled her hands into his and looked into her eyes, pleading, "Will you stop running from me?"

Ino smiled, "I wasn't running," she stood on her tip-toes and kissed him slowly and sweetly, "I was just dancing."

Author: This wasn't exactly Tradition from Ino's point of view, but I thought it would be more fun to do a sequel from Ino's point of view. I dedicate it to everyone who reviewed Tradition. But mostly, to jadedXelement and JaliceLove, without their reviews, the idea for a sequel from Ino's point of view never would have been thought of.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I claim to own any characters therefore owned by Masashi Kishimoto.