My first (published) little drabble. I can't get enough of ShikaIno :3

Not my first language so, please, be gentle (UwU)

(Reviews are VERY appreciated - constructive criticism and error pointing are O-K!)

Enjoy ~ Phy

The night had fallen, like a veil, covering the whole town as the last of the citizens in the street ran for the comfort of their homes. It was mostly a matter of being safe, if you thought about it, since Konoha's once well-lit alleys and dead ends shared the same problem now: they were no longer pleasant public spaces where people met to talk, walk and enjoy the afternoon.

Since the beginning of the War, which people wanted to believe would be the last of its kind, the Hidden Town of Leaf had become the last refugee for smaller groups of stray loners and long-time families, hoping to keep their houses, fields and relatives away from the danger outside.

The blonde haired shinobi had been given a smaller task for most of the day: collecting by passers (mostly lost children and elders which had lost their travelling group) and leading them to shelters all over Konoha. It had proven to be quite the saddening experience. Even with the help of Chouji, who tried his best to cheer her up and motivate the Yamanaka, gathering the poor lost souls throughout the day and facing the misery and sadness of War had left her exhausted and depressed. She, herself, had no family to come home to. Ino still remembered how helpless she felt, several years ago, when she had become an orfan herself.

But she was 21 now, and this was a different war and a different Ino.

Coming home to an empty house after such a long day was devastating. She had left the group she worked with that day a couple minutes ago, wishing them luck as they departed for their nightly duty. Chouji was one of them. She feared constantly for her childhood friend's life. Still, and even though she was glad they had dismissed her for the night, Ino wasn't sure whether she preferred staying home alone or patrolling the dangerous, cold streets with them. At least she'd have company. She missed not being lonely.

Come to think about it, she'd been lonely for the past few years.

After the last war, Chouji had become leader of a team, working fulltime with three little genins (he'd been so proud) until the next big conflict came down on them.

Ino herself had been awfully busy leading one of the highest-ranked kunoichi (female shinobis) squads in and out of battle; she and the girls had trained abroad for some time before the war and rarely travelled to Konoha. It helped her get her mind out of loneliness.

But now it was time to fight, and face the quiet, tiny apartment she just entered.

As the lights went on, something which had been neatly placed aside in a little corner of her mind forced itself into her brain.

"… Shikamaru." the jounin held her breath as she stopped by the entrance hall, dirty backpack in her hand and eyes wide-opened.

The face she had been repressing for months now was right in front of her, just a few feet away, and he raised his neck just enough for her to be able to see the bruises. Bruises, cuts, dirt and an awful lot of bloody wounds. The Nara prodigy had a focused look on his face and a concerned frown as he looked up to meet Ino's gaze with his own. He was sitting, no, kneeling in the middle of her living room, one hand pressing what seemed to be a bloody gash on his forearm.

" I had nowhere – I had nowhere else to go." for once in her lifetime, Ino heard Nara Shikamaru stutter. His voice was husky and dry; he was panting, probably just got there. Ino had to repress the huge urge to cry as she paced towards him in a hurry "I got in through the – "

"Don't." her voice came out in a whim, like a short gasp for air, and she fell to her knees beside him. She looked at the raven haired man, studying him from head to toe as quickly as she could. "Don't move now. You got an ugly looking wound just above your wais – Shika!" his body dropped suddenly as she moved just in time to hold him. He was burning with fever. Ino grabbed him tightly, cringing anxiously when he let out a painful groan. She had a hundred questions to ask him right now, but none of them would heal those wounds.

Ino Yamanaka immediately got to work.

It took about an hour to stabilize his condition. He felt heavier, so much heavier than she remembered, as she dragged him to an improvised bed by the sofa - every time she tried to make him move onto it, the painful groans and whimpering came. The moment he started to doze off into unconsciousness was the point she realized there was no more moving around.

"Hang in there" she muttered as she whipped his forehead with a wet towel. Her hand rested on his skin for a few seconds before he opened his eyes, slowly, meeting her concerned stare. A small smile of relief formed on her face, red cheeks from all the strain of carrying him. "I think you slept for a few minutes there, baka." Shikamaru let out a faint sigh and tried to move his torso, slowly, avoiding her eyes as he switched around. His dirty fingers felt their way along the small pieces of tissue she'd covered his wounds with. He tried not to look slightly shocked to notice she had taken his jounin vest off and ripped most of his mission clothing to treat the bloody gash on his abdomen. His arm was also heavily covered in gauze and what seemed like a (foul smelling) ointment.

"Mendokuse" he muttered his ever-so-frequent catchphrase between sighs of fatigue. Ino let out a small chuckle. It was good to hear his voice, his normal half-assed tone. "… I didn't mean to break into your house."

"Don't be silly!" she hit him lightly on the unharmed arm, frowning angrily at him. To her surprise, he just looked away once again. This was new. Her best hope for an answer would be a bothered, witty remark about how troublesome she acted most of the time, and even though he was hurt she'd seen him in worse shape. Then again, she hadn't seen him for way too long. "... What happened?" she tried to focus on dressing the smaller wounds while she waited. His expression bothered her deeply.

"What do you mean what hap-"

"For God's sake, LOOK AT YOU!" the sudden burst made him stare at Ino with the slightest hint of confusion on his eyes "You go missing for months, we have NO information about your whereabouts whatsoever and you don't even MIND coming home between missions?! Your mother has been worried sick!" the flow of words hit him like a slap. "Chouji went ballistic the moment he realized you had been in town last month and didn't even BOTHER to tell us! He was devastated!" she stopped for a few seconds, breathing heavily. Her voice was shaking "I was devastated."

Shikamaru had started muttering something under his breath when he realized she was crying. He was dumbfounded.

"… Oi, Ino, it's not – it's not that simple!" the Nara's voice rose slightly to match her tone.

With a slight tug, she tightened the gauze around his arm and ignored his whimpering as the tissue pressed against the bloody wound, getting up in a spring and tramping away with heavy, angry loud steps.

"Get some sleep. You have a fever." she ignored how he blinked helplessly at her from the distance "I'll come check on you later" and with that, she shut herself in her bedroom.

She'd been so lonely.