My teeth hurt like hell. T.T I have to get braces soon, so i got the little rubber bands placed in between my teeth, spacers, and they really hurt, and one of them feels like it'll fall out soon. I had noodles and scrambled egg with soysauce paste...not much nutrition, but it's pretty much all i could eat then. (cries) ooowwwww...

I'm turning this in for language arts class. :D i gotz an A plus woot!! (if i turn this in tomorrow)

Is it just me or are these chapters getting shorter? (sweatdrop)

12.

Their sandaled feet made quiet shuffling noises on the dirt road as Ino and Shikamaru made their way to the store. For a while no words were exchanged between them, but then Shikamaru spoke up, out of the blue.

"You know, Ino, you should take it easy on him."

Ino turned to look at him. "Who?" she asked.

"You know who," Shikamaru replied.

"Mm," Ino mumbled, looking down.

"Just...y'know, take it easy on Chouji. You've been snapping at him for no reason lately. It makes him feel really bad, and he thinks he did something wrong."

"O-okay."

They resumed walking in silence. Ino folded and refolded the large canvas tote they had brought along to hold the purchases they would soon be laden with later on. Naturally, Shikamaru noticed the un-Ino-like behavior.

"Something wrong?" he inquired.

The girl sighed. "Well, honestly, I don't really mean to be like that to Chouji. It's just that..."

Shikamaru waited patiently as his teammate tried to find her words.

"Sakura's going out with Lee now, so she can't really compete with me for Sasuke now, and she's like my biggest rival, really, so I've just got the really big chance to finally at least get a date with him...and..." She paused, again, lost for words, but Shikamaru understood.

They remained quiet as they reached their destination, the supermarket. Shikamaru wheeled along the cart when they got inside and Ino recited the list again out loud.

"Mold remover, scrubbing brushes, and rags. Right, um, they should be...somewhere over there, I think," she declared, somewhat to herself. She led the way, and Shikamaru trailed behind.

"I don't know what you girls see in him," he drawled, as Ino dropped a couple of bottles of mold remover in the cart. She looked up in astonishment.

"You mean Sasuke?" she asked in a shrill voice full of astonishment.

"Yeah."

"He's like, the cutest boy in the whole of Konoha!" she screeched. Shikamaru winched and stuffed his finger in his ear to help block out the sound. When his ears stopped ringing he retorted, "But he cares about no one except that brother of his that he wants to kill so much."

Ino contradicted, "No way! That's not true!"

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, well," the blonde stuttered, "if he had someone to care for, he would, I bet! I mean, really, Shikamaru, he lost his whole clan because of his brother! Anyway, if he had a girlfriend, possibly me, he'd be sure to care for me." She became starry-eyed as well-rehearsed fantasies played in her mind. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and wheeled the cart into the next aisle.

Ino dropped a package of rangs into the cart and turned to Shikamaru.

"Hey, is that it?" she asked. He shrugged, causing Ino to roll her eyes and reply to her own question, "Yeah, I think so."

Food items were on the right side of the store, right in front of the main doors, while the other merchandise was on the other side. THey walked past the many aisles of food, packaged and fresh, till they reached the paying counters.

While the unenthusiastic woman scanned their items, Ino suddenly wandered away, leaving her teammate behind, slightly vexed. Shortly, she returned, dropping a bag of chips on the counter just as the last item was scanned, and the cashier, who groaned loudly, was just about to calculate the total and tax.

"I thought you were on a diet?" Shikamaru asked.

Ino replied, "I am. This is for Chouji."

Then Shikamaru smiled so warmly Ino could have sworn she felt her chest constrict sharply and her heart skip a beat. She gasped and reflexively wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"You okay?" the boy asked, concerned.

"Y-yeah," she mumbled. Realizing what she was doing, she chuckled nervously and lied, "Stomach cramps."

Shikamaru looked skeptical, but he did not question further and turned to the cashier to pay. Meanwhile the blonde found herself extremely confused. What was that feeling she just felt? She'd never experienced it before; it was completely new. It troubled her greatly.

"Hey, Ino." Shikamaru's voice wrenched her out of her thoughts. "Ino, the bag?"

"Oh, right, " she said, embarrassed, and gave him the canvas tote.

Shikamaru dropped their purchases into the tote, placing the chips carefully on the top so they would not be crushed, and slung it over his shoulder. That left his hands with freedom to push the shopping cart back in their designated area.

Ino was still wondering on the way home. The awkward silence prevailed from before. When they returned to the house, Shikamaru picked up the chips and gave it to Ino. He smiled encouragingly.

"Thanks, Ino," he said, and went inside the house from the front door.

The girl glanced down at the bright foil bag advertising the "delicious BBQ flavor". She was supposed to give it to her teammate, Chouji, but something felt strange. She pushed the feeling away for it to be replaced with sudden shyness as she rounded the corner of the house to approach the back door to the basement.

Entering the dim coolness, compared to the bright and hot summer weather outside, she called out, "Chouji?"

The chubby boy appeared with a welcoming smile. "Oh, you're back, Ino!"

"Yeah, um..." She held out the bag of chips to him. "Here."

He broke out into a big grin and received the bag of his favorite snacks. "Thank you very much, Ino!" he said enthusiastically.

"You're welcome," she smiled back in reply.