I've been thinking about this fic nonstop for the past week. (Yes, I've been working that long!)
Just to give you a little heads up here; Shikamaru's a jounin and Ino and Chouji are both Chuunin, All of them are around 18-19. Niomi is my own character, I even spelled it weird for originality!
I apologize for anything you don't like, this is just the way my twisted mind sees things. Enjoy!
Jealousy
Chapter 1-
It was about noon and Shikamaru lie in his usual spot on his cloud-watching hill, participating in his favorite pastime. The air was warm, with only a slight breeze blowing, the day could not have possibly been more perfect, and he couldn't be more happy.
The clouds are nice and fluffy, no missions, no mom, no chores, no nothing. Nothing could possibly ruin this day.' He thought, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air and relaxing into the grass more...reveling in his fortunate solitude.
…Until he noticed the shadow looming over him, blocking his view. He focused his eyes on his intruder. Or intruders in this case.
'Fuck.' Was his only thought as he gathered the identity of this person above him.
"Shikamaru! What the hell are you doing! We have a mission brief in 15 minutes! What are you still doing out here!"
"Did you get the notice this morning?" Chouji asked, shoving the last handful of a bag of chips into his mouth.
Shikamaru rolled over and lifted his head to face his two former gennin-mates. "Nope. I've been out here most of the morning." He grumbled.
"I swear, I don't know how you handle being a jounin, you're so lazy." The blonde girl sighed, crossing her arms in aggrivation.
"Well, we should start heading over there guys. We don't want to keep the Hokage waiting." Chouji said, turning to leave.
"How about you guys go, and tell me about the mission afterwards, I'll be right here." Shikamaru replied, starting to settle back into his place on the ground.
A vein protruded from Ino's forehead. "Oh no you don't." She said, grabbing him by the collar of his flak jacket and dragging him back in the direction of the village, ignoring his protests and complaints.
"Ah, I see you actually decided to show up. Right on time." The Hokage said, turning in her seat and closing the large book on her lap, replacing it below her desk and clasping her hands on the desk before her. "I have an extremely important mission for you, in the country of rain. This is different than any of you are used to and I hope you're ready. This is an assassination mission."
Ino felt a pang of fear, but tried desperately to hide it, her teammates seemed to be fine.
"Assassination? Of who? Konoha hasn't taken an assassination job in years." Shikamaru said casually, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"He is an extremely powerful individual who has been hiring foreign ninja to kill members of our own fleet for the past few months. A spy has uncovered the list of attempted nin and future targets, and we're determined to halt these attempts at the source. Actually, this mission is centered around Ino and her mind ability, you two are to be sent as back up, I chose you because you all work so well together. This information was brought to us by a woman who has been involved with the target for a while, when we told her of you ability, she requested that Ino take over her body to kill the target, as she does not want any memory of the act. Shikamaru, you will, technically be the team leader, but will have to give Ino free reign when she enters into the climax of the mission."
Shikamaru nodded and glanced at Ino, who seemed to be fidgeting a bit more than usual, he was interrupted by the door opening and closing behind him.
The group turned to face a beautiful woman with brown hair and a full figure striding towards them, she stopped before them and introduced herself, bowing slightly. "It's my esteemed pleasure to meet all of you, I am Niomi, the wife of Tsugaya, the object of your mission."
"Wait a minute. " Ino blurted out. "You're his wife!"
Niomi lowered her head. "Technically, yes. But the man that you are going after is no longer my husband, he's….different. He's become a monster, obsessed with the thought of killing nin, the ones he thinks are the cause for his father's death. He was killed during a raid three years ago, an innocent bystander. I would rather him be stopped now than continue living like this. It would make me happier than anything." Ino nodded and Shikamaru placed a hand on the cowering girls' shoulder, trying to reassure her.
"I don't expect you to understand how I feel, but this man you'll see isn't the one that I love anymore. Tsunade-sama and I have come up with a plan to complete this mission. I assume that you are Ino-san, you are a great asset to our plan. Nobody would be able to get closer to him than me. Still, I do not want to be the one to kill him, outwardly he is still my husband. You will take over my body and complete the task for me." She said, her voice unwavering.
Tsunade cut in, breaking the tension. "Like I said, this is a crucial mission for Konoha, many of the future targets are here. Now, the rest of the details are in the mission description downstairs, go ahead and prepare, you leave tomorrow morning."
The group nodded and turned to leave.
"Ino! Wait, I would like to talk to you in private for a moment, please. The rest of you can go on ahead."
Ino turned slowly, giving a reassuring glance to her teammates as they closed the door behind them.
"Yes, Hokage-sama?"
Shikamaru and Chouji stood outside the building for quite a while, waiting for their teammate. After a few moreminutes, Chouji glanced at his watch. "Well, I have to get home, dinner will be ready soon and I have to prepare. Are you going to stay and wait?" He asked, beginning to walk back towards his home.
"It's troublesome, but I guess I will. She'd be mad if we both left." He replied casually.
CHouji made a sacractic smirk and began to leave, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."
"See ya, man."
It was another ten minutes before he heard Ino shuffle down the stairs, he turned to greet her, only to see her features sullen and depressed, a look very rare for the Ino he knew.
"So…what did she have to say?" He asked curiously, still a bit taken aback at her expression.
Ino's eyes shot up to meet his, not realizing that Shikamaru was even there. She forced out a smile. "Oh, nothing important, just details and stuff. You didn't have to wait for me, I coulda made it alright on my own." She scoffed, shuffling by him.
'Something is weird, she's bothered by this mission.' He thought, watching her leave him behind. "I'll walk you, I have nothing better to do anyways." He said, catching up to her on the road.
"Boy, you really know how to make a girl feel important, Shika." She joked.
"So, are you okay, I mean, with this mission? You seem a little bothered."
Ino grinned fakely. "No, I mean, it is my first of this kind. Still, I know that my father did a lot of this kind of stuff in the spy unit. Tsunade said she'd refer me into it if this mission is successful. I guess I'm just nervous."
"You could refuse it, if you don't want to do it, you know."
They had reached her house and Ino stopped at her doorstep, turning to face him.
"There's no way that I would turn this mission down, it's important to me." And wordlessly, she pressed her lips to his cheek, and disappeared through the door.
Shikamaru just stood there on the stoop for a minute or two after the door clicked behind the blonde kunochi, letting the event set in. His cheeks blushed and he turned back in the direction of his own house, his walk a bit lighter than it had been in a while.
Ino lie on her bed, gazing at the little picture on her nightstand. Within the tiny frame was a photo of team 10, right after Shikamaru had made jounin.
/flashback/
"Ino, I want to stress to you just how important this mission is. Some people very close to you are on the targeted list, including Nara Shikamaru."
In had felt a pang go down her spine again, disbelieving of what she heard.
"It's true, the target knows about Konoha's top strategist, along with Huuga Neji, Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee. All of them were mentioned in the list. I want you to know just how vital of a part you play in the future of all of these men. Also, after the mission is complete, Niomi has requested that she be left behind, I expect she doesn't want to return and to stay with her husband."
"I understand."
"I know that this is your first mission of this sort and I just want you know that you will compete it at all costs, it will be vital for your induction into the spy unit as well."
Ino stood silent for a minute, then raised her head to answer. "I will, Hokage-sama."
/end/flashback/
A tear squeezed out of her eye as she thought of her genius teammate. The time had long past since she had given up hope on her previous crush, Uchiha Sasuke, and she was beginning to realize her hidden feelings for her childhood friend.
'I've got to complete this mission. I won't let anything happen to any of them. I won't let anything happen to…him.' She thought, before dozing off.
The following morning started off without a hitch, everyone showed up on time and prepared. Ino remained silent again, making her teammates concerned again, it took a while to convince them she was alright and had only skipped breakfast from lack of time. Tsunade met the party at the gate, sending them off with the best of luck. "Remember, there is always the possibility of an ambush, so be on alert while Ino is completing the mission. Protect her body at all costs and be cautious of anyone." She warned. Shikamaru nodded and jumped into the nearest tree, signaling for his team to follow.
Niomi rode horseback while the other three nin walked (or ran) alongside her, on the ground or in the trees.
They traveled quickly and reached the halfway point early and took a longer break for lunch.
Chouji and Niomi laughed at a few silly jokes made by Shikamaru, Ino only grinned. They ate a small portion each, not wanting to run out of food. Later, Shikamaru took a quick nap and Chouji busied himself with a map, and Niomi pulled Ino closer to talk.
"I wanted to discuss your plan with you…I mean…once you take my body over. Have you planned anything yet?"
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you a bit also, to learn some things about your husband. What should I expect, coming home to him? Is there anything I should know, do or say?"
"Well, he thinks I'm visiting my sick father in the sand country, if that makes a difference. But about my husband...He's a very….physical being now. Chances are, that he'll throw you…er, me up against the wall, rather harshly and begin trying to sleep with 'us'. That you can definatly expect, since I've been away for more than a week. Don't worry though, you won't have to do anything, he'll mess around for a while before he actually gets down to the most intimate part. Unfortunately, you'll just have to sit back and let him for a while till then. Chances are that someone will come in with a report and they'll keep coming until he tells them not to disturb him anymore for the night, that will be your cue, you're safe from there on." She said.
"Right. Did you have any preference that you would like me to consider? I mean, when I do it..." Ino asked meekly.
Niomi hesitated and thought for a moment.
"No, I don't care how it's done, I just want it to be quick. I don't want him to linger in death for too long. I couldn't bear it if he was made to suffer." she whispered, a tear streaming down her cheek.
Ino nodded, a concerned look on her face. She reached out to grasp the girls' hand when she felt someone grasp her own shoulder.
Shikamaru loomed over her, shaking his head, telling her to leave Niomi alone and let her cry.
He knelt down and firmed his grip on her shoulder. "We'll need to leave soon, if we want to get there by nightfall." he said as quietly as possible before releasing her and walking off to join Chouji with the map.
"Niomi-san? I'm sorry, but we really should be moving on now. We want to get to the camp before nightfall." She said consolingly, helping her to her feet.
Niomi smiled at the blonde as she mounted her horse, gazing at her lovingly. "Thank goodness it's going to be someone like you, Ino-chan."
They continued their pace towards the camp where their target was staying for the night. Upon arriving, Shikamaru chose a small clearing for them to hide well enough to protect Ino's body and make a quick getaway if needed.
They all sat and rested, waiting for the right time, no one saying a word.
"Alright," Niomi broke the silence with her gentle whisper. "The guards should be letting up by now, it's a good time." Everyone nodded and moved into position, Ino directly in front of Niomi, ready to make the transfer.
"Before you go…I just want to apologize for anything my husband might do to you during this mission. He used to be gentle, but now…" She trailed off, beginning to tear up again.
"I understand. I'm mature enough to handle it, I promise. Shikamaru?"
Shika turned to meet her terrified gaze, concern spreading across his features in response.
"I…just…Take care of me, okay? I want a body when I come back, you hear?" She said, forcing another smile out.
She faced Niomi again and formed the seals.
"Ninpou, Shintensen no Jitsu!"
Both of their bodies slumped to the ground, each caught by one of the waiting ninja. After a minute, Niomi's body twitched and rose from the ground, animated like a corpse.
Ino/Niomi patted herself down and ran her hands over her curves, examining her new 'home'.
"She's so light, even with these." She said, cupping 'her' breasts. Ino felt a slight pang throughout her body. "Yet, she aches all over, like she's covered in bruises or something, but I don't see anything. Between my legs is throbbing in pain." She said, almost horrified at the words coming from her mouth.
Shikamaru blushed slightly but shook it away, taking on a serious tone.
"I don't like this. Be extremely careful, Ino. I don't want to even think about how she got to feel like that. Take care of yourself." He said obviously concerned, and holding Ino's lifeless body to his chest.
"Yes, Shikamaru's right. This guy doesn't exactly sound like the model husband. Be careful." Chouji added.
Ino touched both of her friends on the shoulder, reassuring them and took off into the night, heading for the camp.
An hour had passed now and Shikamaru had taken to twiddling his fingers, his signature movement when he was nervous, yet he still held onto Ino's limp body tightly, barely letting it hit the ground. Chouji noticed and placed a reassuring hand on his friend's forearm, halting the nervous movement. "She's fine, look." he pointed down at the girl's contented expression. "Not bleeding anywhere or anything, right?" He said, almost jokingly.
Shikamaru smiled slightly, raising his head and adjusting Ino's weight in his lap.
"You still haven't told her, have you?" Chouji chuckled, sitting down across from his friend.
Shikamaru also laughed. "Naw, I just can't seem to get the words right. Or the timing. I don't know how long it'll take me at this rate."
"Well, if a genius can't find the right words, I think all us men are doomed." His friend said, leaning back onto a nearby tree.
Shikamaru smiled and looked back down at the girl in his arms, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
'Maybe when you get back into your body…I'll…' His thought was halted by a trickle of blood emerging from her closed lips, followed by the appearance of a large, red mark on her neck.
"I-Ino!" Shikamaru gasped, wiping the blood away, glancing at Chouji, who was rushing over.
'I hate this! I feel so helpless, all I'm suppost to do is sit here and wait! Fuck that!' "Chouji! Take her! I'm going to go see what's going on down there!" He said, handing the girl over to his friend. When her form had left his arms her turned and began to sprint in the direction of the camp, only to come face to face with the sharp point of a kunai.
"Nara Shikamaru? What a surprise, I didn't actually expect you to come to me. The master will be very pleased." And the nameless ninja lunged at him, kunai barely missing his neck.
Shikamaru took out his own kunai, preparing for the fight.
'I'm coming, Ino!'
I'm sorry for ending so abruptly, but I needed to go to bed, Unfortunatly, I won't be updating for at least a week, I'll be in CALIFORNIA!
Still, that doesn't mean you att get to slack! I ecpect at least 15 reviews by the time I get back!
Next chapter is going to be good too! REVIEW!