Chapter 2: Persuasion
"Huh?"
Ino's smile froze. She immediately planted her hands on her hips, her eyebrows shooting up. "Hey, hey, hey, Shikamaru! Did you eat something bad, or did Choji's expired chips finally poison your brain? Can't you see I'm busy? 'Come with me?' Where to? To find you a good napping spot?" The rapid-fire questions were delivered with the full force of a Yamanaka heiress.
Alex didn't answer right away. He looked down at the small daisy in his hand, which was starting to wilt from his fidgeting, its white petals curling at the edges.
The flower shop was unusually quiet in the afternoon, save for the faint sounds of the village and the occasional soft chime of the wind bell.
He looked up, his gaze cutting through the sweet-smelling air, directly meeting Ino's aquamarine eyes, which were filled with a mixture of annoyance and confusion.
"To the training grounds," he said. His tone was as flat as if he were commenting on the weather, yet his words hit the quiet shop like a stone dropped into a calm lake. "Not to play ninja. For real training. You, me, and Choji."
"Tra-training?" Ino looked as if he'd just told her pigs could fly. Her pretty eyes went wide, and she forgot to take her hands off her hips. "Shikamaru? You want to go train? And you want to drag me and Choji along?" She reached out as if to check his forehead. "You've definitely got a fever! You should go see a medic-nin!"
Alex tilted his head slightly, avoiding her hand. He wasn't smiling. His face held a seriousness Ino had never seen before, an expression that carried an almost heavy, oppressive weight.
Seeing such a look on the eternally lazy Shikamaru was so jarring it made Ino's heart skip a beat. Her initial indignation melted away, replaced by pure, baffled suspicion.
"Asuma-sensei," Alex's voice dropped, enunciating the name clearly. He saw the flicker of admiration in her eyes at the mention of the handsome and dependable Jonin.
He paused, his gaze sharp, catching every minute change in her expression. "Ino, have you ever thought about it? What if, one day, Asuma-sensei faces an enemy he can't beat? What if he gets badly, terribly injured? What if... he dies? And the three of us," he gestured to her, then to himself, "are right there, but we can't do a single thing. It would be... like if someone tried to smash this vase you've arranged, and you couldn't even protect a single petal. You could only stand there and watch it shatter. How would you feel?"
The color drained from Ino's face. Her eyes followed his gesture to the vase of vibrant irises she had so carefully arranged. Smash it?
She instinctively bit her lower lip, a flicker of genuine panic and helplessness crossing her aquamarine eyes for the first time. The hypothetical was too sharp, too... real.
In the shinobi world, death was never far away. She remembered her father coming home late some nights, a deep, heavy exhaustion etched into his features that he couldn't quite hide.
"Shikamaru... what are you talking about?" Ino's voice trembled slightly as she tried to use a forceful tone to mask her sudden fear. "Asuma-sensei is so strong! How could he possibly..."
"Asuma-sensei is strong," Alex cut her off, his tone ironclad. "But the enemy could be stronger. Weirder. More ruthless."
He took a step closer, locking his eyes on hers, giving her no room to escape. "Ino, think about your Mind Body Switch Technique. Right now, could you accurately hit a fast-moving target from ten meters away? When you use it, can you guarantee your own body is completely safe? What if there's more than one enemy? What if Asuma-sensei needs you to provide cover, but your spiritual energy can't even last for one minute? When that time comes, what can you do besides cry?"
Every word was like an icy needle, precisely striking the weaknesses Ino was unwilling to face, the ones she had never even deeply considered. Her prized family jutsu, under Shikamaru's merciless analysis, suddenly seemed so immature and fragile.
An image flashed through her mind against her will: Asuma-sensei, covered in blood, while she lay paralyzed on the ground, her spiritual energy depleted, able to do nothing but scream in despair... The thought sent a chill down her spine.
"I..." Ino opened her mouth, but her throat was painfully dry. Shikamaru's gaze was terrifying, as if it could see right through her. The mix of shame from having her pride punctured, fear of an unknown danger, and worry for Asuma-sensei churned violently inside her.
Alex watched the fierce struggle in her eyes and knew he had pushed enough. He softened his tone, but the weight behind his words remained. "It's a drag, I know. Lying in the sun is way more comfortable, right? Eating chips and watching the clouds is easier." He gave a self-deprecating smirk before his expression became as hard as iron again. "But some things are worse than being dragged into trouble. Like watching someone important fall right in front of you while you can't do anything to stop it. That feeling... is worse than death."
He delivered the last line softly, but it was laced with the bone-deep despair of Alex who had faced the end of the world.
The thick fragrance in the shop seemed to solidify. The wind bell hung silent. Ino stared at Shikamaru, at the bottomless depth in his eyes, a gravity and resolve that was completely at odds with his age.
This was no longer the lazy Shikamaru she knew. This was like a sharp blade, hidden in a plain scabbard, finally revealing a glint of cold steel.
"You... you jerk, Shikamaru!" Ino suddenly ducked her head, sniffing loudly. When she looked up again, her eyes were a little red, but they burned with a stubborn, bright flame. "Trying to scare me like that! Who... who says I can't protect Asuma-sensei! It's just training! Fine, I'll go! Who's afraid of who! If I catch you slacking off, I'll use my Mind Body Switch on you myself!"
She stomped her foot, as if to crush all her anxiety and frustration. Tearing off her floral apron, she tossed it carelessly onto a nearby flower stand. "Wait for me! I'm gonna go tell my mom!"
Watching Ino's whirlwind figure disappear into the back of the shop, Alex allowed his tense shoulders to relax, just a fraction. He looked down at the white daisy in his palm, now completely crushed, its juices staining his fingertips green.
"The drag... is only just beginning," he murmured to himself, flicking the last of the petal fragments from his fingers.
Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air and the unshakable resolve in his eyes.
The wheels of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, forcibly turned by this soul from another world, had begun to move down a new path—one covered in thorns, but one that led toward hope.