Shikamaru walked aimlessly along a street lined with huge cherry blossom trees, smoking a cigarette. A fierce wind came, blowing thousands of flower petals in his path. He sneezed. (No, he was not allergic to pollen. The emotions he felt inside just wanted to ignore every happy thing.) Overhead, the clouds parted, revealing a bright, full moon. Moonshine illuminated the lonely street. A feeling of eternal loneliness entered his very soul that he stopped to admire the milky white moon. It seemed to beckon to him, telling him that she was a lot lonelier than he was. Indeed it was true. The moon just hung there all by itself. Every evening she attended to her sorrow-filled vigil. She had seen much of the world's cruelty at night. She seemed to send him the message that she knew troubles heavier than his. But Shikamaru it was probably just his mind playing tricks on himself. Shaking his head, he went on his way.

As he walked nearer to the hot springs area, he stopped. He was no longer alone. A girl was leaning on the bridge, examining the deep pools of water beneath her. She was all clad in black, save her long, blond hair which was flowing freely on her back. A strong gust of wind blew but the girl did not stir. The cigarette on his mouth died. He threw it away and trampled it underfoot. Shikamaru walked towards the girl slowly.

"You're still here?" He asked, taking a stone and throwing it into the water. It bounced three times before sinking. Satisfied with the result, he rested his arms on the rail and nodded at her. "You've been wearing that dress since morning. It's kind of weird that you didn't change - or brush your hair for that matter."

She only shook her head and forced a weak smile. Shikamaru could very well see, even in the darkness, that her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her cheeks were stained by tears.

"You're weird today." He continued. "You didn't even wash your face."

She, however, did not laugh or even make a move to slap him. Instead, she said in a shattered voice, "You act as if nothing happened. Why?"

"Why?" He took another cigarette and lit it. "It's because I chose to."

"You chose to?" She looked up at him, surprised. "You're making me jealous."

He grinned slyly and blew a puff of smoke. They watched it float up, up, up until it dissolved into nothingness. His eyes went back to the water, examining his and her reflection.

"Why did you choose to not feel the pain?"

"Not feel the pain?" He gave a bitter laugh. "That very thought is unthinkable, even for someone as lazy as me. I can feel the pain. In fact, it's still in my heart, choking it. If I didn't feel the pain then I'd be numb like that Uchiha guy." He looked at her warily and expected a slap but,surprisingly, she didn't even move a muscle. He smiled but soon returned to his usual demeanor. "I can feel it, alright. I'm just not showing it. You girls are troublesome in that way - you're too emotional. It makes all the difference."

"Because you're a boy and I'm a girl? Is that what you're trying to point out?"

"Well... Maybe. As I said, you girls are troublesome in that sense."

"Oh..."

She looked down below. Her eyes reflected the water underneath. It gave a magical touch to her sad, sad face. Shikamaru could not help but look. In the deathly stillness of the unusually cold evening, anything lovely seemed out of place. Ino noticed this and looked accusingly at him. Her gaze was like one that a victim's family member gives to the murderer, cold and piercing.

"Why are you staring?" She turned her eyes back at the water. "It's rude, don't you know?"

He averted his gaze. "Sorry."

"That look you gave me..." She said slyly after a few minutes of contemplation. She turned to look at him again, this time with a smile. "It's intriguing."

His cheeks turned crimson at the mention of the last word. He immediately turned his back on her. "What?"

"Oh... Did I make you blush? I'm sorry." She laughed. Shikamaru smiled in delight. He missed the laugh that sounded like the tinkling of many bells. "Thanks."

"What?" He was very puzzled indeed. "Why are you thanking me? Tch. Girls are so hard to understand."

"You've made me quite happy." She answered. "Thank you."

He grinned. "Sheesh. I wasn't trying to make you happy or anything but at least it made you smile."

She let out a sigh and quickly changed the subject. "It's so hard to imagine that Asuma-sensei is gone now. Death is such a lonely word..."

"Well, he wasn't alone when he died, you know? He had the three of us around."

"I miss him so... It was just like yesterday when we met him for the very first time. He was smoking constantly. I can't believe that that was almost two years ago." Ino smiled at the pleasant reminiscing. "He was always there and then he goes just like that. It was all so fast and I couldn't even do anything after medical training. I'm so weak."

"Well... We couldn't do anything too, so that makes the three of us."

"It's all so sad." She continued, as if she heard nothing of what he said. "I wish the baby would be a boy so that there'd be someone to remember him by."

Shikamaru pointed at the star-streaked sky overhead. "Do you see that star?" He knew how much his female teammate like star-gazing. Maybe it was the best way to comfort her poor heart.

She nodded, looking up at the direction where he was referring to.

"It's so bright, isn't it?" He put his hand down. "I seriously believe that he's there, sitting in that far-away star while smoking and looking at us. He's smiling there and... He might even be laughing at you right now saying, 'How crazy Ino has been over me, crying like that! What a baby! She must've bawled her eyes out! Aww, poor thing... She's lost her head...'"

"Excuse me!" She looked at him, arms akimbo. "You're the one he's laughing at while saying, 'Look at that lazy bum of a student smoking just like me! He must've idolized me so much! Gosh! I regret my leaving them.'"

"Either way, he'd be laughing his head off just the same."

"You think he's happy?" Ino asked, still looking at the distant star. "It just came to me. I mean, sitting there with no one."

"I guess he is." Shikamaru stared automatically at the moon. He knew that, even though the night was often filled with indescribable horrors, some comfort and joy still existed in the darkness. "Remember the days when we still trained under him? Whenever we learned a new technique, he'd be smiling at us. He was just content by just watching us have fun, even from far away. Asuma-sensei would be happy to just see us here."

"You think so? I bet he'd be happier when the baby comes out."

A gust of wind blew, bringing with it vast quantities of swirling cherry blossoms. Shikamaru no longer sneezed. He stole a quick look at Ino. Her hair was blowing behind her, giving her a sort of angelic aura. Just then, the clouds parted once more, revealing the moon. They immediately stopped talking and just looked at the scenery before them. The rows of houses were completely bathed with moonlight. Flowers in a nearby field danced in time with the breeze, as if a fairy came and touched each one of them in turn. Overhead, the stars twinkled in vast, innumerable multitudes. Somewhere in the silence of the exquisite evening, a wind chime sounded. All of it seemed so ethereal.

"Moonshine..." Ino whispered, more to herself than to him. "Isn't it magical? It seems to lift all your sorrows, taking them away. It's so refreshing... I feel so light and peaceful right now..."

"You're sure it's the moon that's making you feel that way?"

"What's that? Of course it's the moon. What else could it be?"

"Well... Let's see..." He took the cigarette from his mouth and trampled it underfoot. "It could be anything. The flowers, the trees, the wind, or... Maybe even a person."

"A what?"

"A person... A friend, I mean." He stammered and lit another cigarette. His hands shook too much that it took him a few tries just to light it. "You'd better go home. Your dad would be waiting for you. I bet he hasn't slept a wink."

"Of course he would be worried. Well, if you want me to go that much. Goodbye to you, then." She waved at him sweetly. "Good night. You should also be inside. It's getting awfully cold these days. Unusual weather we have today... It's going to be winter soon. You should go home. Your mother has something to say, for sure."

"Whatever..."

Shikamaru watched her as she walked away, growing smaller and smaller as the distance between them grew. Twice, she turned around and he waved to tell her that he saw her action. She smiled back pleasantly and went on her way. A few seconds later, she was gone, swallowed by the darkness.

"She doesn't understand, does she?" He murmurred, looking at his reflection in the water. "Well, who cares? Girls are troublesome, aren't they? She'll know in due time."

Shikamaru stood up straight and stretched, yawning. He walked away towards home. A light breeze, in contrast to the previous one, was blowing. The clouds covered the moon again. By now, the skies had turned from a shade of dark blue to a dark shade of orange. A ray of light shot out from the horizon and, from somewhere, a rooster crowed. It was morning.