The alarm rang, pulling him out of the dream he was having but ended up forgetting anyway. He turned it off and stretched his arms. He felt rested and  refreshed and his mood lightened. Normally he'd wake up already complaining about  what a drag mornings are but today was different. He didn't feel that way, not even a little bit. He wondered why and before he knew it his mind drifted off to the day he had yesterday.. with her. A smile crept on his face as he began reliving every minute he had with her in his mind. From the morning she came knocking on his door to the evening they parted ways.

He was never really a fan of her at first, since the Chunin Exams but that gradually changed.. But to actually fall for her was not what he'd planned or expected. Never in a million years but here he was, spending time with her, thinking about her yet again. He smiled at the thought. And with that so came other memories, some he ended up embarrassing himself. He still smiled and wondered what she thought of him in those moments.

"I wonder what she's doing now." He thought.

After a little while he got out of bed, did his usual morning routine and headed out. The weather seemed cloudy today, a clear sign that it's going to rain soon. He made his way to the training grounds where his team is probably waiting for him. Still he didn't rush, he took his time it's not like he was late anyway, if anything he could be the one to arrive before they do.

He finally arrived and as he'd predicted, he was the first to arrive. What a drag, he thought. He sat down leaning against the tree and his hands at the back of his neck. He just stared at the cloudy sky and found himself reminiscing about times she was with him. And how astonished she was at the waterfall. But he still wondered why she made that look afterwards.  She is a "don't-mess-with-me" type of person, at least that's how she seems on the outside, could it be that under all that is just a gentle girl in... pain? Maybe suffering from something? No, that couldn't be it. She doesn't seem like that kind of person.

"What're you thinking about?" A voice brings him back to reality.

"You guys finally made it." He responded as he stands up and stretches.

"Sorry for making you wait. But we still have to wait on sensei, though."

"What a drag." Shikamaru complains.

-------------

She was still glad she chose to come here to rethink how she was living, to finally be able to get rid of the dark memories that haunted her everyday and find peace again. Her mornings were so much better and today was even better than better. Yesterday was great. Shizuka was right, she thought. Spending time with people instead of secluding herself most of the time indeed was a good thing. Socializing was far better than being alone with her toxic thoughts. She smiled as her mind drifted off to the man she was with yesterday. She had misjudged him a little, she'd thought they were different individuals with just little interests in certain things but that wasn't really the case, they had more in common than she had realized. They even perceived the world the same but there were still topics they didn't agree on.

She'd thought of seeing him again today but decided against it when she remembered he had training today which gave her an idea, maybe she could use a little training too but that idea was quickly dismissed when she remembered she left her fan back home. She mentally slapped herself for it.

If he knew her situation he'd probably wish he were her. And that's when it her, maybe she could do something nice for him.. Just to thank him for yesterday. He won't get any ideas, will he?

"But it looks like you sleep here and I didn't see any other room with a bed in it. I told you not get any ideas. We are not sharing the bed!"

"I never said anything about sharing a bed. I'm gonna be sleeping on  the couch in the other room... You know, a simple 'Thank you' never hurt anybody"

"No!" She said to herself.

She didn't want to repeat the same mistake. She felt a sting in her chest as she remembered that night, she never even apologized to him. He had let her in his home and surrendered his bed and instead of showing graditude, she says hurtful things like that. She realized, she still regretted it. Maybe she could apologize even though he probably forgot about it. But she'd learnt her lesson so no, no more thinking that way. No more thinking the worst about people.

She went out. Hopefully she would find all the ingredients she needed to prepare her special dish. She rarely makes it due to the Sand lacking some ingredients but surely she would find them here.

The day went on and as it did, the clouds seemed cover what was left of the sunshine.

"There, that should do it. My medical ninjutsu is not as advanced as Sakura's but I can heal minor injuries like this one." Ino states.

"Thanks for that." Shikamaru says.

"It's not like you to space out like that. Is something wrong?" His sensei asks as he lights his cigarette.

"No. I just... Didn't get much sleep last night."

"I see. I guess that's it for the day then."

-----------

"What a drag. That has never happened before. *sigh* She proves to be more troublesome everyday."

It was more than a crush, more than a 'like' and he knew it. He was undeniably irrevocably in love.  It had been building up, ever since that day, that day in the Hidden Tree village. That moment before she woke up. It had been building up, he just failed to realize it before.

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Unravel-ken: It's finally reaching the point where I've been impatiently waiting for it to reach. haha. I have a feeling I'm really gonna enjoy writing the next part. Please vote, comment [they're really helpful.(^_^)]