Naruto Oneshots + Imagines

Love Strategist (Shikamaru x Ino)

Shikamaru Nara hates going on missions without his best friend, Chouji Akimichi. The large man lightens the mood and makes Shikamaru laugh. Additionally, he's a comforting and reassuring presence when things go wrong, and he contributes a lot. Not having him there bothers Shikamaru greatly as he treks through the land of snow with his other teammate, Ino Yamanaka, by his side.

Another reason he hates not having Chouji on missions? Because, more often than not, when Chouji isn't there, Shikamaru ends up being paired with exclusively Ino- who he is embarrassingly, stupidly in love with while she is none the wiser and insists on chasing after guys like Sasuke who want nothing to do with her. Just as his father predicted, Shikamaru has fallen in love with a stubborn, headstrong, beautiful woman.

Shikamaru wishes his father had been wrong.

Of course, Chouji just had to come down with the stomach bug that's been going around right before they were about to leave. Shikamaru and Ino managed to complete the mission by themselves, but with Asuma dead and without Chouji there to act as a familiar buffer between the two of them, things are... Awkward.

Shikamaru feels uncomfortable... And a little sick, too. Part of him thinks he must've caught the bug if his current nausea and hot head are anything to go by. Even with the snow falling on them, he's burning hot.

"Shika, are you good?" Ino suddenly asks. Shikamaru glances over at her. They're walking side by side, and much to his dismay, Ino is somehow even more beautiful than she was yesterday. The hood of her winter cloak is down and revealing her long, blond hair. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose are dyed red from the cold. Long, blond lashes adorn her baby blue eyes, and said lashes are littered in the snowflakes that continue to fall from the sky. Shikamaru's heart throbs. "Hey, did you hear me?"

"Oh," Shikamaru says. He tries his best to swallow his nausea to no avail. "I'm fine, don't worry about it. Just tired."

"If you say so..." Ino trails off, clearly not convinced but also not wanting to press him any further.

Shikamaru lets out a sigh of relief, only to find himself dropping to the ground and vomiting into the snow after a few more seconds of walking. Ino immediately kneels by his side and puts a hand on his back, her expression laced with concern.

Shikamaru can't stand it. He can't stand how beautiful she is, can't stand how smart she is, can't stand how caring she is. Admiring and loving someone so strongly makes him want to fly into the sun and get burnt into a fucking crisp. Alas, he doesn't have the ability to fly, so he's stuck on the ground with Ino rubbing his back as he pukes his guts out.

"Shikamaru! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," He lies through gritted teeth.

"You're puking, and you're burning up," Ino frowns upon putting a hand on Shikamaru's forehead to check his temperature. "You don't look fine!"

"Get off my back, would you?" Both because he doesn't want Ino to baby him and because there's nothing left in his stomach for him to get rid of, Shikamaru wipes his mouth on the back of his hand, stands up, and continues walking. "I said I'm fine."

"Jeez, what's up with you? You've been really on edge these last few days," Ino presses as she follows after him. "Is it because you're not feeling good?"

"Do I really need to tell you again?" Shikamaru snaps, to which Ino blinks in surprise. He feels somewhat guilty, but at the same time, she can't be allowed to figure out the truth. It'll ruin their friendship and everything else that their team has worked so hard to build. "I said I'm fine, Ino, drop it."

"Shika, you're clearly unwell!" Ino grabs Shikamaru by the shoulder and forces him to stop in place. "You need to rest."

"I hate to pull rank on you, but I'm the one in charge here in case you've forgotten, Ino," Shikamaru argues back and pushes Ino's hands away from him. "And we need to make it back to the village as soon as possible to give the mission report to Lady Tsunade."