Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Gambare Shikamaru ❯ Communication Skills ( Chapter 2 )

A few days ago, I checked my fanfic.net email and was surprised by reader reviews. I didn't know reviews got sent to email addresses (silly me). I didn't know I actually got reviews. I AM pleasantly surprised though. Although I did not receive a lot of reviews, the quality of the reviews I DID get were superb. Quality really is more important than quantity.

^_^ Arigatou gozaimashita *nods*

Who knew people actually read my fic? LOL

I noticed that for some reason, the structure of the previous chapter was altered when it's posted on fanfic.net. The breaks in paragraphs that I made weren't displayed and some of the paragraphs weren't indented. If it made reading complicated, I apologize.

Otanoshimi ni kudasai

*nibbles dinner*

p.s.

I decided to write this chapter in past tense for the hell of it and this chapter will probably need to be edited. When I'm up to it, I'll post edited chapters.

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Ch.2 Communication Skills

It's been an hour and Shikamaru was still in the bathroom. Ino understood that being a jounin is very taxing but there are only so many hours in a day. They have too many other responsibilities that they must attend to. The reality is, there just isn't enough time to be used for him to be soaking away the rest of his day in the bath.

"Shikamaru~?", Ino called out in an irate tone as she knocked on the bathroom door, "Come on Shikamaru! I still need you to deliver flowers to customers!" she reminded him.

She stopped knocking to listen for a response and there was none. She resumed her knocking, louder this time, with each pound on the door insinuating her temper is short in supply.

There was no reply from the man in the bathroom.

Ino's fiery temper revved up when she thought about the nerve of that man.

"Shikamaru?! Get out of the bathroom now! You better have drowned in the tub if you're not going to answer me because I'm going to kill you if I have to go in to drag you out!" she punctuated her threat with a particularly loud punch to the door. Once again, she quieted down to listen for a response.

All she heard was silence from the bathroom and the faint chirping of birds outside.

Now Ino was really angry. How dare he not obey and be intimidated by her? Even worse than that, since when did he develop enough balls to ignore her? Naked or not, she decided, she was going in.

"Shika? I'm opening the door! You better abandon all hope now!", she declared while cracking her fists.

She turned the doorknob and shoved the door open forcefully. She was fully prepared to yell his ears off and deliver some violent retributions. There were satisfying mental images in her head of how she was going to make him repent. But, all that anger dissipated like clouds when she was greeted by an adorable sight of her husband, who was in deep sleep while in one of his stranger positions.

Shikamaru was sitting nakedly in the bathtub with his upper body slung over the edge like he was some giant cotton-filled stuffed animal. Even though she could tell that position was painful, leave it to Shikamaru to somehow manage to sleep that way. She stood there quietly to stare at him in his unguarded condition. In his unconscious state, the extent of his exhaustion shone through and her heart ached for him.

Ino's eyes roamed the visible part his body that wasn't blocked by the bathtub. She admired his broad shoulders, his large calloused hands that always touched her so gently, and she visually caressed the toned muscles of his arms that his occupation forced him to develop. She knew all of his old scars on his otherwise flawless pale skin and didn't fail to notice the appearance of new ones either. She felt her heart skip a beat. Shikamaru really is a sexy guy. Why couldn't she have noticed this sooner in their relationship? It would have saved her from years of Sasuke-induced heartache and all the pointless attempts at trying to catch his eyes.

Ino was frightened by the ferocity of the feeling of protectiveness that raged within her. She wanted to pick up Shikamaru, wrap him in a towel, and run to their bedroom with him in her arms. She wanted to stick him in their bed, crawl in, and snuggle him forever and keep him there so that new scars would never appear on his skin again. But she could never bring herself to do something as embarrassing and insane like that. Instead, Ino extended a hand and playfully prodded him in the shoulder with a finger.

The skin between Shikamaru's eyebrows creased in irritation but he was otherwise still asleep. Ino smiled tenderly at his sleeping face and got on her knees to lean in closely.

"Shika-chan…" she said with her voice filled with affection.

She lifted his chin and gently pressed her lips against his firm pouting ones. Shikamaru felt the warm familiar pressure against his lips and started to stir.

"I…no?", he croaked out before he managed to open his painfully stinging and sleep deprived eyes.

"Mou…Shikamaru-tara~ I thought I was supposed to be the princess in this relationship, Mr. Sleeping beauty~"

Shikamaru could hear the gentle humor in her voice and was greatly comforted.

Ino stuck a hand in the bath water and sighed at him.

"The water is cold." She stated.

"So it is~", he responded like he hadn't noticed that himself.

Ino rolled her eyes and poked him harder in mild irritation.

Shikamaru decided that he needed to sit up so he flinched a muscle experimentally. He was punished for his insolence by ripples of soreness that washed over his abused muscles in waves. He let out a groan. Then, he felt Ino's small hands on his shoulders. She helped support his weight and carefully assisted him in into a sitting position. It hurt, but a lot less than what would've been had he sat up on his own.

Ino's hands slid from his shoulders to the back of his neck where she started to gently loosen the knots of tension with her fingers.

"Where you asleep the whole time?" she questioned with an amused look, "Your skin is still yucky and your hair is still up. Didn't you do ANY washing?"

The only answer Shikamaru gave her was the transformation of his expression from mildly grumpy to ultra grumpy. Ino was used to such a reaction and decided that it was futile to try to talk to him when he was in one of these moods so she continued her massage for him in silence.

Under Ino's ministrations, Shikamaru's head started to dip forward in relaxation and that was when his line of vision fell down to his lap. He sat up straight in surprise. He had forgotten that he was still buck-naked. With the speed of a jounin, Shikamaru reached out and snatched a small towel hanging on the wall, which, he used to drape over his lap. Thankfully, he didn't think Ino noticed.

He closed his eyes when his darling wife started to untie his hair band. And when Ino started to comb through his hair with her fingers, Shikamaru's habitual frown lessened significantly. He let out a happy sigh and let his shoulders relax.

Ino grabbed a brush and continued to rid his hair of any tangles.

"What will you do without me you lazy bum……..", she said more to herself than to him.

"My mom says `absolutely nothing'", he replied as a matter of fact.

"Probably so you lazy bum." She scolded.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. Energy expenditure should be the last resort because energy comes at a high cost." Shikamaru allowed himself to smirk smugly.

Ino put down the hairbrush and stood up dramatically.

"Oh why DID I marry a lazy, unambitious, plain looking guy with the personality of an old man like you?~" she bemoaned with exaggerated regret.

His smirk was replaced by a look of surprise, then hardened scowl. He seethed inside. `Next she's going to say she should've waited for Uchiha instead of marrying me', he thought bitterly.

Ino's eyes widened in bewilderment at his reaction.

"Shika-chan…I married you because I ….really really…really `like', no… `love' you…" she blushingly confessed a bit unwillingly. She quickly planted a reassuring kiss on his forehead before straightening back up. `Was Shikamaru actually mad?', she wondered, `No way! Shikamaru never gets mad!'

"Anyways!" Ino waved her brush at him, "Hurry up and take a shower!", she commanded.

Shikamaru was back to his lazy relaxed self when he flopped onto his back and gave her a cocky grin.

"I don't want to. You wash me." He suggested.

Ino twitched in annoyance.

"You're a grown man! Wash yourself!"

Shikamaru yawned loudly.

"I'm too tired and the tub is so comfortable.", he said lethargically. After saying that, he closed his eyes and seemed to be asleep again.

Ino angrily clubbed him in the head with her brush, which didn't even faze him due to his experience with years of physical abuse by her hands. Eventually, after glaring at his sleeping face for a while, she put down her hairbrush in defeat. She was beginning to realize that if she didn't help wash him, he just might lay in the tub forever.

"OK OK I"LL WASH YOU!", she yelled in his face.

The winds of change is in the air. Since when has Ino ever given into Shikamaru's demands? Shikamaru sat up with a grin on his lips and pulled the plug on the bathwater.

Although she gave in to his immaturity, Ino was still going to lay down the laws.

"We're taking a shower.", she instructed. No way was she going to vegetate with him for hours. "And you better not ogle at me anywhere!", she warned nervously with her hands hovering near her own clothes.

"Hai hai~", Shikamaru replied in a bored tone.

" `Hai' ONCE is enough!" It was her turn to be cranky.

"Mendokuseeeee you sound like my mom." He grumbled.

Ino gave him a humph. "AAARAA~ I can't help that you have an Oedipus complex!", she mocked.

Shikamaru was too lazy to argue back at her.

"Hai hai~ I mean hai! It's all my fault.", he answered in a placating voice.

Ino really couldn't say much more after he took all the blame so she turned her back to him and proceeded to remove her clothing.

Shikamaru looked down at the towel across his lap with an air of uncertainty before finally deciding to take it off. It would be kind of stupid to shower with one hand holding a towel to his groin and probably even more foolish looking if he wore swimming trunks. He turned on the water and adjusted it until it was the right temperature, then, he switched it to shower. He stood up to pull the shower curtain across but found himself enchanted by Ino's nubile backside.

He felt like a lecher but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the arousing shape of her figure. His eyes followed the contour of her physique, down to her small waist that fit in his arms perfectly, to the gentle flair of her rounded hips. Then, Ino turned around and he was caught like a deer in headlights. What made it even worse was that Shika Jr. liked what he saw too.

Her face immediately changed to a bright scarlet. Shikamaru thought that was beautiful too. Unfortunately, what Shikamaru likes, Shika Jr. likes even more.

`Over 200 points of IQ don't fail me now!', his brain screamed.

"Uhhhh…" came out of his mouth.

Ino quickly covered her breasts and bowed her head. The mood in the area immediately became dangerous. Shikamaru could sense the rising chakra in her. Her shoulders trembled violently. His destiny was sealed. Shikamaru looked out the only window in the bathroom, which happened to have a perfect view of the backyard.

"The clouds are nice today…."

There was a flash of bright light when Ino punched him in the head. Apparently, she was really shy and self-conscious with nudity.

"YOU PROMISED NOT TO OGGLE!", she screamed at him. Her face was red and swollen and her clear blue eyes swam with unshed tears of embarrassment. Shikamaru still thought she looked beautiful. The blinking stars before his eyes only served to make her look more angelic. He barely felt the growing bruise on the side of his head.

`We're not comfortable with nudity and we've only made love a handful of times since our marriage a month ago; five times on our wedding night, then only once more after that night when we got drunk off a wedding present from Hokage-sama. What kind of newlywed couple are we?!', he thought angrily with a large measure of frustration.

"…….Gomen…..I didn't mean to leer." And he was sincere. Too bad Shika Jr. wasn't apologetic at all.

Shikamaru quickly turned away and grabbed the shampoo bottle from the rack. He kept his back to her so that she wouldn't notice his state of physical arousal but Ino misunderstood his actions and thought he was angry.

He was shampooing his hair furiously when he heard Ino exhale loudly from behind him. `I guess she's not angry anymore', he thought. Dare he hope? There was the soft rustle of the shower curtain and then there was an extra pair of hands in his hair.

"Ino?", he questioned.

"I'll wash your hair and back. You wash the rest of yourself.", she said in a voice that allowed for no dissenting opinion.

He immediately grabbed his sponge and started to lather up his chest. He wished the feel of her fingers stroking his scalp wasn't so sensual. He was going to have major problems with washing his private region. Male bodies are so damn troublesome sometimes. Then her hands left and he was both relieved and disappointed. He bent slightly to wash lower down when the soft pressure of a sponge told him Ino was ready to scrub his back. It felt nice to be washed by someone else but he would've preferred having her hands run up and down his body rather than the sponge. Of course he wasn't going to tell her that. Not even if his life depended on it.

Meanwhile, Ino was confused by Shikamaru's silence but she wrote it off as him being too lazy to chat. Or maybe, he was still angry about that punch she gave him. But if that was the case, why was he breathing so hard?

Shikamaru felt a bead of liquid drip off his nose. He wasn't sure if that was water from the shower or his sweat because he was now fully aroused. While cleaning himself, his brain was already working out an escape plan that would allow him to get away from Ino before she noticed what a pervert her husband was. But a half of him, the part that needed physical gratification, told him to turn around and let Ino know how much he wanted her. Their bodies were hot and slick with soap and water. If this wasn't the time, when was it? He could turn around now and trap her against the wall. He would kiss her and let her know how much he loves her and if she was in the mood, they can spend the rest of the afternoon in bed learning the pleasures of each other's flesh. He was just about to turn around when Ino spoke up.

"I'm done! You're about done too! Just rinse yourself and hurry out ok?"

"……………", he nodded.

Ino stepped out of the shower, wrapped a fluffy towel around herself, and shut the door in an unlady-like manner behind her when she walked energetically out of the bathroom.

"……………………& #8230;." Shikamaru slapped himself. "How troublesome."

And so he quickly washed the soap and shampoo off himself and stepped out of the shower also. He pulled on his boxers and winced a bit as the fabric chafed against his sensitive member. This wouldn't do. He started to think unsexy thoughts: Uchiha Sasuke, the troublesome guy who was his first chuunin mission. Haruno Sakura, the annoying bossy woman who made Ino cry a week straight by breaking off their friendship when they were eight. Ino….no he couldn't think about Ino now.

There was that pounding on the door again.

"SHIKAMARU!!!!!", Ino raged.

"Hai hai warukatta~", he said sounding bored.

Sometimes Shikamaru wonders how he ended up with such a bossy woman when he was so careful to learn from his father's mistakes. Whatever happened to his life's plan? But he really was too childish when he plotted out how he wanted to live his life. He had wanted to marry a woman who wasn't too beautiful or too ugly. The fact that she must not be overbearing definitely came without saying. But he was too cocky and didn't realize human emotions didn't work in accordance to life plans. Thus, he ended up with Ino. But maybe Ino was a plain looking woman. He didn't know. She always looked beautiful to him. It's like a disease or some horrible debilitating blind spot. She can be unreasonably domineering, stubborn, selfish, and violent but he still only saw all the good in her.

The bathroom door trembled with each pound on the other side. Bits of plaster came off the wall. The door really couldn't take much more of the brunt of her anger. At least it wasn't his head.

"SHIIIIIKAAAAMAAARUUUU!!!!!!!"

"HAI HAI~"

He pulled on his pants and looked at the door again. The hinges were loose. If she hit it a few more times it was going to fall off the wall. Shikamaru pulled on his comfortable fishnet shirt and opened the door. He was immediately punched in the chest.

He gasped, " I….no…."

Ino blinked at him, no longer angry. "Oh sorry Shika-chan! I didn't know you were going to open the door right then.", she told him with a smile. "Here", she handed him a piece of paper. He looked at the paper confused.

"What is this?", he questioned while rubbing his chest. He hoped his sternum wasn't cracked. She smiled even more sweetly and he felt a sense of forebode.

"These are the orders people have placed on my flower arrangements. They're already finished and labeled. All you have to do is deliver them.", she told him.

Shikamaru's eyes closed slightly, making him look even sleepier.

"Does it matter that I don't want to?", he asked hopefully. There was always the chance.

"Not in the least bit." And did she sound cheerful or what.

"But I don't want to", irritation was creeping into his voice, "I'm tired."

"But anata….", her voice was saccharine sweet, washing over him like honey. She was gently stroking his arms.

"That doesn't work on me Ino. It never has.", he told her, sounding even more bored than before. He can lie without any trace of a giveaway.

Ino's sunny smile disappeared as dark clouds came over her face. "You were in the bathroom for over three hours." Her voice was soft and low, "had you gotten out of the bathroom two hours ago, you would've been done with the deliveries already." And there was the killing blow.

Shikamaru promptly gave up.

"OK OK MENDOKUSEE ONNA!" He stuck the paper in his pocket and stomped downstairs.

"Itterasshai~", Ino called out from the top of the stairs in a singsong voice like a good wife should.

Shikamaru muttered a bit before grudgingly replying, "Ittekuru". He would've slammed the door on his way out, but that required extra effort so he didn't.

It really wasn't fair. He had to do everything. Today alone, he was worked more than any man should ever be. Ino had kicked him out of bed four in the morning so he could tend the deer on his family land. Then at 5:30 a.m., he stopped by Ino's maiden home to get some flowers for deliveries. Then at 6:30 a.m., he left Konoha with his fellow squad to capture a missing-nin and didn't get home until 2 p.m. He had THOUGHT he would get some rest but who knew Ino would kick him out of the house again to do more flower deliveries at 6 p.m.?

"MENDOKUSEE!!!!!!!"

He knew he should've failed the chuunin exam when he had the chance and lived the rest of his life as a plain ninja. Then he noticed that nice patch of grass near the side of the road. A little nap wouldn't hurt. He hurried to the soft spot and stretched out on it. He gave a tired sigh and completely sank back into nature's cushion. He wondered vaguely if his behavior was passive aggressive. Then, his thoughts were of happier days filled with clouds and hours of nothing to do.

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Later on that week, Ino would complain to some girls on how Shikamaru is utterly unromantic and that he didn't even kiss her when they showered together. That would be the actual start of the story……..

TBC (eventually, when I'm properly motivated)

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Hn? You're still here?

*SIIGH* Finally….Owarimashita…chapter 2 at least. I hope readers (if you're out there), will find it enjoyable. I know just how poor Shika feels. I feel overwhelmed with work too. >_<

Dang this chapter is even longer than the first. Dang….no wonder it's so early in the morn..time to go to bed.

I hope this chapter isn't less believable than the first because the single reoccurring compliment from people was that it was realistic. But is it just me or does the mood of ch.2 feels different from ch1?

Until next time then.

ShikaIno forever!!

p.p.s

I forgot to mention this again but just in case there are actually people who didn't realize this, I don't own the Naruto series. If I did, there'd be a lot more shikaino going on in the show.