Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Shikamaru is only four years old. Four-year-olds aren't supposed to be this observant. The kids around him are proof enough. No one comments on it, however. They don't find him strange.

Had he been born to a different clan, maybe, but since he is a Nara, all signs of early high intelligence are praised, expected even. Granted, he sleeps more than he does anything else but his kaa-san's scowl and his tou-sama's laugh reassure him that's to be expected, too. When he isn't napping, Shikamaru watches. He watches the clouds most of all. They are peaceful, free - something he knows he won't be for long.

Adults are stressed all the time. Angry. Impulsive and rash. Worried. Eternally in conflict with the world; with themselves too. He doesn't look forward to growing up. Not really. If it were up to him, he'd remain a kid forever.

But it's not, up to him, that is.

So, Shikamaru resigns himself, but latches onto his childhood. It's a passive sort of rebellion, a quiet stubborness that's more Nara Yoshino than Nara Shikaku. He is his mother's son when he refuses to train more than he is his father's.

Shinobi training starts early on in life. Most children don't even realize it. Everything is supposed to push them into joining the Ninja Academy. From bedtime stories about ninja saving the day to games designed to build up strength, develop speed and hand dexterity. His parents pretend that isn't what they are doing while Shikamaru pretends to believe them.

Clan heir.

The word is troublesome. It comes with responsabilities. And responsabilities are troublesome. He doesn't want to be the clan heir and tells people as such. Mostly his many cousins, asking them to take his place.

Shikamaru earns himself scolding for that one. His father placates his mother, pulls him aside and explains things in such a simple, reasonable way that he has no other choice but to understand.

"If you weren't the clan heir, you wouldn't be our son."

He doesn't want to be anyone else's child. So, he bows his head and he apologizes and he hugs both his parents tightly. He refrains from being lazy for aproximately two days before Yoshino finds him napping under the shade of a tree one sunny afternoon.

And nags him awake.

He blinks, disoriented. He can hear his kaa-san's voice but the face staring him down is unknown. Short, pale blonde hair frames it while a butterfly hairclip keeps it all together.

Shikamaru is left staring into the bluest eyes that he has ever seen. Something is amiss about them, he can tell.

They are too intelligent. Too vigilant. Too aware. Too...

"I'm Yamanaka Ino." she tells him, effectively breaking his train of thought. "Yoroshkune, Shika-kun."

Under normal circumstances, he would have mumbled an "hai, hai", rolled over and resumed his sleep. Alas, he couldn't do that. Not to the Yamanaka heiress. Her father and his father were friends. If he were to view the world through adult lenses, he'd conclude that they were supposed to befriend each other, too.

Or at least try.

It was more than duty that made him sit up and shake the hand that was extended, however. For the first time, he felt as though he had finally, finally met someone like him. "Nice to meet you, too."

Ino was troublesome. More so than any other person he knew. Not only could she keep up with him in terms of intelligence, but she was turning out to be a prodigy.

Unlike him, the blonde seemed possessed by the God of Never-Ending Determination. When she wasn't training, she was studying. And when she was doing neither, she was going around making friends. How she had this amount of energy was beyond him.

Shikamaru didn't think it was healthy. Moving around so much. Doing so many things. Trying to be there for everyone. Did the word 'tired' even exist in her vocabulary?

Somehow, he doubted it.

There were three things he used to care about. Shogi, sleep and his parents. Ino was the wild card he hadn't seen coming. Caring about someone so troublesome should be illegal.

He worried more for her than he did for his own father; an active shinobi who went on missions and risked his neck.

Caring for Chouji, the son of Akimichi Chouza, another friend of Shikaku's and incidentaly his former teammate, was easy. His only concern involving the red-haired boy was food poisoning. Ino had scared away the bullies, leaving no other reason to worry.

Chouji was easy-going as long as you didn't call him 'fat'. He slept a lot, too. He was friendly and kind, much kinder than he was, truth be told. Chouji wanted nothing to do with killing or being a shinobi. He disliked conflicts, period. However, he joined the Ninja Academy with no complains whatsoever.

"I'd do anything to protect my family and friends."

Chouji was the yang to his yin, so to speak. Their friendship was strong, one of the few things Shikamaru believed in and valued. Ino was like him where it mattered...and different just enough that she got on his nerves.

And though having her around was a drag...not having her around was even more so.

She understood him, even when she nagged. Especially then. All of it seemed rehearsed, as though she was doing it because she had to, not because she actually believed in what she was saying.

Shikamaru didn't care much for flowers. Sure, they were pretty to look at and some even smelled nice, but they were also fragile and had little practical use.

"What is it called?" he asked, touching gingerly the petals of some blue flower.

The only time Ino was relaxed and standing still was around flowers. For that reason alone, he had grasped her wrist and demanded she taught him about things he otherwise wouldn't have given a second thought to.

She glanced in his direction, a smile curling her lips upwards. "Forget Me Nots."

He chuckled. "Aa, you don't need to explain the meaning of this one."

Ino's nostrils flared.

"Baka, flowers have more than one meaning!" she scolded him.

He might as well humor her.

"What meanings other than the obvious does it have then?" He might as well humor her.

Just like that, the six-year-old's initial annoyance vanished, making room for a softer expression. "True and undying love..."

Shikamaru refrained from saying how all flowers seem to mean love.

"Growing affection between two people, fidelity and loyalty in a relationship despite distance and challenges, a connection that lasts through time..." she trailed off, suddenly aware of his proximity.

He tucked the blue flower behind Ino's left ear. "It brings out your eyes." he stated simply.

She blushed, red in the face.

"Thanks..." then, she blinked and put her hands on her hips. "Any more flowers you'd like to know about?"

Shikamaru hated arguing nearly as much as he hated being woken-up. Arguing was pointless, a waste of time. Arguing was for people who didn't possess the vocabulary to carry out a decent conversation. Arguing was for ill-tempered persons.

He and Ino weren't supposed to argue. Friends shouldn't resort to yelling to get their point across. Most seven-year-olds were volatile and talked before thinking but he and the blonde were different from the rest.

Shikamaru knew he was right, though. He didn't regret looking out for Ino, not when everyone seemed determined to push her towards certain death, little by little.

She wasn't ready to graduate yet. What was Iruka-sensei thinking. Wait, scratch that, what was her father?

He could already see it. The scenario played out in his mind like a horror movie. Genin at seven, chunin by nine, jonin at twelve and dead before eighteen.

His father, his father told him that the three of them, him and Ino and Chouji would be a team. That they'd have each other's backs. Without Ino, things wouldn't be the same. He didn't want to be teammates with one of her relatives.

And he most certainly didn't trust anyone else to protect Ino's body during the mind body switch techinque. That was his troublesome job.

Ino was his troublesome future teammate.

"Shikaku..." the familiar voice of his wife called out to him.

He rolled over on the grass but otherwise didn't move from his spot. "Mhm...what is it?"

"Our son..." she continued in a confused whisper. To labell her behavior as strange would be an understament. His wife was anything but confused and uncertain.

"What about him, Yoshino?" he drawled out, patiently.

"He is scowling."

Shikaku's mind had already thought of possible alternatives as to why Shikamaru was in such a sour mode as of late. Of course he had noticed but he had chalked it up to children being children. Even geniuses got upset for silly reasons sometimes.

"Did you wake him up recently?" he inquired.

Yoshino shook her head negatively.

The Jonin Commander snapped one eye open. "Did you nag at him more than usual?"

He earned a well-delivered uppercut to his ribcage for that one. Shikaku grimaced slightly. His wife was still a force to be reckoned with.

Not that he had expected anything less.

"Why does it have to be something of my doing, the cause?" Yoshino demanded, clearly offended.

That wasn't his intention.

"I was merely luring out all possible scenarios, dear. My apologizes if I upset you." Shikaku replied smoothly, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

The gesture seemed to placate his wife and that spoke volumes of how much she worried for their son.

"He hasn't been sleeping lately, Shikaku. Not as much as he usually does. It's like, he doesn't even nap anymore!" his wife went on to explain.

He blinked. Well, that was certainly worthy of concern. "I thought you of all people would be glad about that." he remarked honestly.

"I'd rather have Shikamaru asleep and happy for the majority of his life than awake and miserable." Yoshino's eyes softened.

He fell a little bit more in love with her whenever she said things like that.

Suddenly, it clicked.

"I haven't seen Inoichi's daughter lately."

His wife caught onto what he was trying to say immediately. "Come to think of it, Ino-chan hasn't visited in quite some time." A pause. "You don't think...?" she trailed off.

Shikaku gave her a flat look. "Actually, I do. Kami knows how much sleep I lost on the days you were ignoring me."

He could tell that Yoshino was secretly pleased by the admisson.

"Shikamaru is only seven-years-old, Shikaku." she argued.

"A seven year old who misses being paid attention to." he retorted. "I say we invite Ino-chan over and let them work it out."