"I swear, if you don't stop moving, I'm going to cut it off!"
Shikamaru turned his head to give Ino an unimpressed look.
"You wouldn't", he said, the statement being more of a question, then reached up and pushed her hands, that were busy trying to disentangle a black knot of hair, away.
"Seriously", Ino sighed, while watching him easily remove the comb from its nest, after which he continued to brush his hair, all need of her help forgotten, "If didn't know any better, I'd say you're just putting on an act, because it's so very convenient to have me clean up after you."
On top of covering for Sakura in the emergency-room, Ino had just spent several hours in the head-medic's office debating who would have to come up for the costs of renovating the room Shikamaru had deliberately redocrated, and in the end lost the argument. She knew that it wasn't fair to let her frustration out on him, but right now she couldn't care less.
"I'm sorry", he mumbled, once he was finished with his hair, and curled up next to where Ino was sitting on his bed, placing his head on her lap. With his hair open falling around his face he looked more like an eight year old girl than the eighteen year old boy he was, Ino thought.
"I have to go home now", she explained „and get some sleep. And so should you."
Shikamaru nodded, obediently, and with Ino's watchfull eyes over him, crawled under his blanket.
"And promise me you won't do anything stupid again, yes?"
"I promise...", he replied and than, with an annoyance showing in his voice that almost made him sound like his old self added "You don't have to talk to me like I'm a little child, you know?"
"There you are", she said trying to sound as little belittling as possible.
"You had me worried for a second."
Shikamaru looked up, wide eyed, and absolutely unwilling to leave his hiding-place.
"He's coming", he whispered.
"Who is?", Ino sighed, and, after yet a few failed attempts to get Shikamaru out of the wardrobe, climbed inside the cabinet as well, crouching infront from him.
"One was taken", Shikamaru continued, counting along with his fingers, "one is dropped."
"What are you talking about?"
„But takes more then one. On each side", he tried to explain and held up both his hands, palms facing towards each other, in an attempt to illustrate the matter.
"You're not making any sense..."
"He's waiting in the inbetween, where they cross and -"
"Shikamaru! Stop it, you're freaking me out!", Ino cut him off. She grapped his wrists firmly and pulled him back into the room. There he stood and stared at the hands, that were still holding him, as if he might run off the second they let go. His eyes followed the arms that were attached to those hands and led to a person, which, after a consinderable time of consideration, he decided was most likely and truely Yamanaka Ino, who looked mildly annoyed.
"It must be awfully troublesome to look after me", he contemplated and watched, his lips pressed together and brows forrowed in an expression of critical observation, as Ino's face changed, watched how it lost its strict, wilfully adult composure and seemed to melt, with tears running down her cheeks, leaving mascara-black trails behind them.