Work Text:
Shikamaru offered his hand for Kakashi to grab. He raised a brow when Kakashi crossed his arms and huffed. Shikamaru wondered if he knew how adorable the action made him look, regardless of how strange it still was to see one of his sensei as a child. If they ever found a way to return him to his actual age, Shikamaru would enjoy remembering the image whenever Kakashi was being particularly meddlesome.
“I'm not a baby.”
“I never said you were,” Shikamaru drawled, keeping his voice calm. “I just don’t want to lose you in the crowd, and Konoha has probably changed from what you remember.”
“I’d be able to find you,” Kakashi muttered petulantly, but still slipped his hand—rough with callouses where a child’s hand should not be—into Shikamaru’s own equally rough hand.
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” Kakashi’s head was swivelling as he took in the new sights around him. Now that he wasn’t terrified of this new time, Shikamaru supposed he was finally paying attention to everything. He turned when Kakashi made a small noise of distress.
“Alright?”
“What happened to the Police Force?” he asked, voice cracking. Shikamaru furrowed his brow, concerned by the genuine distress in Kakashi’s demeanor.
Then he realized that Kakashi didn’t know.
“Oh. Maybe… maybe we should wait to go shopping.”
Kakashi’s grip tightened on his hand, making him wince at the strength. There was definitely some chakra backing it. “No!” came the quick, almost nervous reply.
“Kakashi…”
“You can explain it to me later,” Kakashi muttered, looking ahead defiantly.
Refusing to meet Shikamaru’s eyes.
“Okay, then. The first thing we should do is find food. I don’t have enough food for two, and frankly it’s not really enough of what you need to be healthy, anyway.”
Kakashi gave him a judging look, somehow more scathing than anything he’d ever seen from his previously adult self.
“I know, I know. Don’t look at me like that.”
Dark eyes—and wasn’t that the real kicker, both eyes dark and searching rather than one lazy black eye and another a piercing red—scanned the bustling shopfronts. Shikamaru recognized a tense shinobi when he saw one. On-edge and ready for an attack at any time.
What had happened to make a six-year-old so wary?
That cautious gaze snagged on things here and there, and Shikamaru was putting together what had changed over the course of Kakashi’s lifetime. Shops have gotten bigger, new residential districts, streets more crowded than ever in this era of peace.
“What foods do you like?” Shikamaru asked, drawing those eyes back to him, trying to distract Kakashi from the smells, probably assaulting his senses, though the boy didn’t seem to be struggling in any way.
“… nothing sweet,” came the muttered reply. “I…”
Shikamaru waited patiently. He wondered how many thoughts were crashing through his young mind. If it was anything like what Shikamaru experienced—and he would bet it was, if the rumors of Kakashi’s intelligence were anything to go by—the sheer number of them would be threatening to drag him under. There was a reason Shikamaru enjoyed watching the clouds, and relished in any opportunity to give his brain a break.
“I like eggplant miso soup… and salt-grilled saury. I also don’t like tempura.”
Both savory and salty things, Shikamaru noted. And he probably disliked fried dishes in general, since that was likely a texture issue rather than a flavor one. He’d have to try and regulate that salt intake, maybe get some more fruits into the kid’s diet since he liked eggplant and that had a slightly sweet flavor, but that was far more helpful than Kakashi probably realized.
“Thank you, Kakashi,” Shikamaru acknowledged. He started mentally flicking through his options. He was grateful that he and Kakashi had similar tastes. When he pulled Kakashi into the shop, he watched as Kakashi tucked himself fractionally closer, only just hiding a flinch as Shikamaru reached for a basket for their groceries. Shikamaru wouldn’t have even noticed if he hadn’t been paying attention. The wide-eyed curiosity locked down behind a stone mask that would do his one as Anbu Hound proud. Shoulders straightened to a rigidity that Shikamaru recalled on fresh-out-of-Anbu Kakashi—he could probably place a ruler across them.
Shikamaru decided to drag the kid to the back of the shop first—as far away from the owner as they could get. It made Kakashi’s shoulders relax slightly, and he started looking around again with awed eyes.
“There’s… so much?” he whispered.
Shikamaru wished there was one thing Kakashi said that would allow him to forget how tragic his childhood was. “Yeah, I guess I hadn’t thought about that. We’re in an era of peace, and have been for almost two decades now. That means more food.”
“That’s nice…” Kakashi said softly. “I missed some of these foods from… from when my dad was alive.”
Trust was such a fascinating thing in Shikamaru’s eyes. For some strange reason, Kakashi was giving it to him, even though he had done nothing to earn it. “Well, pick whatever you like. I have enough savings to pay for it, and you’d really be doing me a favor with my own food choices…” he muttered. “Troublesome.”
Kakashi giggled. Giggled. Shikamaru, again and again, would have to remind himself that this was a child. When Shikamaru was his age, his biggest concern was finding ways to hide that he was sleeping during class.
He followed indulgently as Kakashi started wandering the isles. His hands hovered over each item, darting a glance toward Shikamaru until he got a permissive shrug. It was okay after the process repeated no fewer than ten times that Kakashi accepted that he was allowed to grab what he wanted.
They finished their shopping quickly after that, with the basket filled nearly to the brim. Shikamaru noticed how Kakashi began to tense again when they approached the counter, but he didn’t ask any questions. He could draw conclusions based on Kakashi’s behavior and the vague things he had said.
The owner didn’t say anything, just gave them a happy grin, asked about their day, and then sent them on their way. Kakashi’s brow was furrowed as Shikamaru guided him with a hand between his shoulder blades.
Two bags were perched in the crook of Shikamaru’s elbow, and he began herding them toward a furniture store owned by a nice elderly couple. Their son did most of the woodworking nowadays, but they were still in charge of the designs. It was simple and elegant. Practical. Shikamaru had a feeling he would have an easier time convincing Kakashi to take it than something with more… personality. He could have those delivered to the house, and then they could stop and get some basics for clothing. Pajamas, loungewear, casualwear, and some formalwear.
Furniture shopping went faster. Kakashi at that point was more sure that Shikamaru wouldn’t get angry at him for his choices, though he did catch how Kakashi had frozen up slightly when he caught sight of the owners. His eyes widened, shoulders not just tensing, but hiking up toward his ears. It was only after they didn’t acknowledge his presence that he relaxed, allowing Shikamaru to take the lead in placing the orders, but he did clutch at the end of Shikamaru’s flak jacket in a way that would be endearing if it wasn’t so concerning.
At a clothing store, a bored owner didn’t even look up from the magazine they were reading before waving them along. He droned about a sale on swimwear and then ignored them entirely. Kakashi wandered over to the children’s section, and Shikamaru could see his nose wrinkle slightly as he looked at some of the clothing.
Just about anything with words on it was apparently not an option. Good to know.
“See anything you like?” Shikamaru asked as Kakashi merely stood in one place, looking around with a general air of disdain.
“No.”
“Nothing at all?”
“No.”
Shikamaru snorted, ruffling silver hair before nudging him with a hand on his shoulder. “We can find more normal things. Not all of it is so…” he looked at a shirt reading “Ask Me About My Shinobi Disguise” with a cartoonish graphic of a shinobi, “… corny.”
Kakashi didn’t look like he believed him, but the kid did start looking for things in earnest. Shikamaru joined him, but mostly left him to his own devices. Kakashi’s fingers occasionally lingered over a piece of clothing before he quickly shook his head and flicked past it.
Shikamaru sighed, “Troublesome,” and walked over, looking at what caught Kakashi’s eye. Some of it was merely plain colors—in muted greens, tans, and browns—one had a cute drawing of a pile of dogs all sleeping with small, cursive text reading “Warning: I Cuddle” that make him snort a laugh, and the final one was a pale shade of purple that he’d never considered to be in Kakashi’s taste.
He grabbed them all.
“Hey!” Kakashi protested. “I don’t want those.” His eyes lingered on the shirts, though, looking at them with a mix of longing and embarrassment.
Shikamaru just leveled him with a bored look, shirts draped over his arm. Kakashi shuffled in place for a moment before deflating in defeat.
“They’re… childish,” he mumbled, face flushing pink behind his mask.
“You are a child,” Shikamaru chided gently. “Besides, everyone deserves to wear clothes they like. You don’t have to wear everything outside if you don’t want to. You could just wear it at home or to bed.”
“At home?” Kakashi breathed, eyes wide. Shikamaru’s brain quickly clicked the pieces together.
He gave the kid a soft quirk of the lips. “Yeah, kiddo, at home. So just pick what you like, okay?”
Kakashi nodded sheepishly, more brave in picking out his clothing. Shikamaru didn’t really understand the embarrassment—he’d grown up with Ino, who was one of the most confident people he knew—but he was glad to see his words had helped. A few shirts in the standard blue he was expecting landed in the pile, along with another dog shirt, and a few pastel colors.
Pants were far easier. If they fit well and gave him mobility, Kakashi didn’t particularly care. Same with the shoes, and Kakashi even found a few different masks that he could wear.
Necessities like underwear and socks, Shikamaru left him alone to pick out. He wandered over to the men’s section, mostly just to give himself something to do. He found clothes shopping troublesome, especially for himself. He was the type to find one thing he liked and then look no further, regardless of his mother or Ino’s attempts to get him to look at something else.
As he poked around, he considered if they needed anything else. In theory, Kakashi was still on the mission roster. Would he need to buy the kid kunai and shuriken? Or sealing paper? He remembered that adult Kakashi was decently adept at fuuinjutsu—he was in charge of sealing Sasuke’s curse mark, according to Shikamaru’s dad.
Figuring Kakashi was likely finished, and the fact that Shikamaru had somehow wandered into the women’s section while lost in his thoughts, he decided to head back.
When he spun, he collided with the kid.
Kakashi made a small noise of alarm, his arms filled with the clothing they’d chosen. Shikamaru rushed forward, shadows already hurrying ahead, but someone else caught him, causing the poor boy to tense.
“Hinata?” Shikamaru questioned, surprised to see the normally quiet girl out and about. Kakashi scrambled away from her, and it was the oddest thing to see anyone run from one of the kindest people Shikamaru met.
She gave Naruto a run for his money.
Well.
Most of the time.
“Shikamaru-kun!” she greeted, sounding truly happy to see him. She gave a slight bow and a gentle smile on her face. Her soft features were softened further by the action, and her hair framed her face in a way that made her look elegant. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, well,” he twisted and looked at the kid hiding behind him. Kakashi glared up at him, arms clutching his clothes. He looked like he would bite him if he said the wrong thing. “Would you like to introduce yourself?”
Kakashi wrinkled his nose, looking around Shikamaru’s legs skeptically. Shikamaru was slightly disheartened to see the usual cool mask make a reappearance as he stepped out from behind him. He gave a slight bow. “Hatake Kakashi.” Shikamaru snorted at the deadpan greeting.
“Oh!” Hinata gasped. She blinked quickly, and Shikamaru could relate to her stunned look. Unlike him, however, she didn’t feel the need to knock the poor kid out to make sure it wasn’t a trick. Instead, the girl crouched down low, hands tucked neatly between her knees as she smiled warmly.
“My name is Hyuuga Hinata. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hatake-kun.”
Kakashi gave a slow blink. The shadows around him curled slightly, uncertain. Shikamaru wondered if he could smell the sincerity that radiated from the girl across from them.
“How old are you?” she asked next, acting like Shikamaru wasn’t even there. He was slightly surprised to see the kid's shoulders loosen slightly, though his guard certainly didn't come all the way down.
Kakashi mumbled, “Six…”
Shikamaru watched in fascination. He wasn’t familiar with how to interact with kids, just mainly treating Kakashi with respect. That seemed to be enough.
He didn’t know what was happening right now. It was like Hinata's entire personality smoothed out, erasing any sharp edges she may carry. Her normally already gentle demeanor practically turned cloud-like.
“That’s wonderful!” Hinata said cheerily, clapping quietly in excitement. Shikamaru wondered how she knew to be mindful of Kakashi's hearing. “Are you in the academy?”
Kakashi looked at her dubiously. “No.”
“Oh? Really?”
“I already graduated.”
At this, her smile dimmed slightly, but it seemed to cradle her concern with pride. “I see. That’s very impressive, Hatake-kun.”
“Not really.”
“But it is! I didn’t graduate until I was twelve! And neither did Shikamaru-kun.”
“Yeah, but you’re in peace times.”
Hinata hummed, tucking her hair behind her ear. Kakashi tensed slightly as she raised her hand, but quickly relaxed.
Probably didn’t smell any violence on her. Shikamaru wondered if he would even if Hinata were trying to hit him.
“True. But I wouldn’t have been able to graduate early even in war times.”
Shikamaru frowned. He didn’t know how to feel about where this was about to lead.
“But you’re a Hyuuga,” Kakashi said, disbelief in his tone.
“I know.” Hinata activated her eyes quickly, and Shikamaru caught the quick scan she did of Kakashi’s body before deactivating them.
Clever.
“But I’m not very talented, you see, Hatake-kun.”
Kakashi narrowed his eyes. “Why aren’t you lying?” He looked up at Shikamaru. “Is she really weak?”
Shikamaru coughed, caught off guard by the question. He looked down to see Hinata looking up at him with an understanding smile, fully prepared for whatever he was about to say.
“She’s not,” he let slip. He barely caught Hinata’s eyes widening before he decided to focus on Kakashi, instead.
Kakashi scowled, “You’re not lying either.” He looked between the two of them. “So? Which is it?”
Shikamaru chuckled, looking at the girl in front of them. Her face was red, and she quickly pat her cheeks to try to get the heat to go away. He snorted, making her pout up at him.
“She thinks she’s weak, but she’s not.” He crouched down as well. “In fact, her range with the Byakugan is the farthest in her entire clan.”
“Really?” Kakashi asked dubiously. He looked at Hinata. “Her?”
“Don’t let her boggy clothes fool you. She could knock someone clean through a wall if she wanted.”
“S-Shikamaru-kun!” she protested. “I-I would never!”
“I wanna see,” Kakashi declared. Shikamaru’s eyes widened, and he turned to find a curious look on Kakashi’s face. “I won’t believe you otherwise.”
Hinata’s face was as red as if she’d been talking to Naruto, but her pout was far more open than she could ever bring herself to be around the blond. “You’re so mean, Shikamaru-kun.”
“Smart, you mean,” he corrected.
“I wanna see you two spar.”
Shikamaru froze.
Hinata giggled behind her hand.
Kakashi just walked to the cash register, knowing he’d already won the argument.
What a drag.
Shikamaru scratched behind his ear, looking at Hinata across from him. He’d never actually sparred against a Hyuuga before, and he knew that Hinata was far more clever than most people believed. She had some of the top marks in their class in academics, and could complete the chuunin exam without the need to cheat like they were apparently supposed to.
Meanwhile, despite his hesitance, Hinata stood like she’d walked fresh out of a palace, hands folded daintily in front of her and deep blue hair blowing in the breeze. Perfectly still otherwise.
Kakashi was standing off to the side of the training grounds, arms crossed with a calculating look on his face. The shopping bags were piled up next to him, but he did still look adorable in Shikamaru’s oversized shirt and an old pair of pants he’d managed to dig up.
“Begin!” he ordered.
Like he had any sort of authority.
Hinata easily fell into a standard Hyuuga taijutsu stance, Byakugan activating and focusing intently on Shikamaru. He’d always wondered how they managed to filter out everything else, especially someone like Hinata whose range was so large.
She could probably see all of Konoha easily, he mused, falling into a lazy stance. Hinata’s brows furrowed, eyes narrowing slightly as she analyzed his form.
Quick and light on her feet as a pouncing tiger, Hinata darted forward. Shikamaru was ready.
He dodged her strikes, paying attention to any openings.
Hinata’s biggest weakness was always that she didn’t want to hurt her friends. That included just about everybody in Konoha.
It was that reason that let Shikamaru dodge. He was no Uchiha. Time did not slow down under his gaze to let him observe. No, Hinata was hesitating.
“But I’m not very talented…”
“Come on, Hinata,” he goaded. He let his hand come up to bat aside Hinata’s arms, carefully avoiding her deadly hands.
Poking at her wouldn’t work like it would for the others from their class.
No, Hinata was more likely to fold in on herself.
“I know you can do better than that,” he said after managing to twist away and get some breathing room. He was already starting to pant, sweat gathering at his temples.
She wasn’t even breathing heavily.
What a drag.
“Come on, Hinata. Don’t you want to impress Kakashi?”
Hinata squinted at him, her eyes never leaving his face despite the fact that he knew she was probably scanning for traps. “I have no reason to.”
“Right. We all wanted to impress Kakashi at least a little bit as kids,” Shikamaru teased slightly, once again falling into a loose stance. “He was the coolest sensei after all. He was Sharingan no Kakashi.”
Hinata giggled, a smile growing on her face and causing her eyes to crinkle at the corners. “Does poor Asuma-sensei know about this?”
She darted forward, and Shikamaru was so focused on her hands that he completely missed her legs sweeping his own out from under him. The air got knocked out of his lungs, and he felt a gentle tap against his sternum. He looked down to see that Hinata had poked him with her index and middle finger. A killing blow for a Hyuuga.
Hinata gave him a gentle, happy grin, “And I win, Shikamaru-kun.”
He heard footsteps approaching and saw Kakashi come into his field of vision. He looked unimpressed. “That was just pitiful, Shikamaru-san.” The kid looked up at Hinata curiously. “Did you know adult me?”
Hinata startled, easily falling back into her elegant demeanor despite Shikamaru groaning as he pushed himself upright. She hummed tilting her head. “I guess you could say that. Kakashi-sensei was the sensei of some of my dear friends, and I suppose that could be considered you.” She gave the kid a smile that could probably easily subdue most shinobi and bring them to their knees, begging forgiveness for removing it from her face.
She crouched down again, breathing still even and hair only barely dishevelled from their spar. “But I didn’t know you, Hatake-kun. I didn’t know you graduated from the Academy, or that you were six years old.”
Dark eyes blinked, wide and disbelieving. “And you… don’t…” Kakashi trailed off, looking for him and relaxing as Shikamaru placed a hand on his head. “You don’t hate me?”
“Goodness!” Hinata gasped, and, really, only she could say that and sound genuine while also simultaneously not sounding sixty. “No, of course not! Why would I? You’re just a child.”
“Exactly. I’m the child of the White Fang? The one who started the third war?”
Hinata huffed, and Shikamaru watched as she gently reached out, pausing in front of Kakashi’s face. The kid’s eyes were astonished, blinking at the appendages like he’d never known gentleness.
The very hands that could just as easily subdue and kill cupped Kakashi’s face gently. Hinata’s face was stern, a motherly furrow in her brow and her mouth pouting. Shikamaru felt scolded and he wasn’t even on the receiving end.
Poor Naruto won’t stand a chance once he figures himself out.
“I absolutely do not blame you for anything your father may have done. You are a child, Kakashi-kun. You do not deserve whatever the village has done to you. You do not deserve their treatment of you. You are brave, kind, and simply brilliant. Do not let them tell you otherwise.”
Shikamaru’s eyes widened, pieces finally falling together. He’d suspected that Kakashi was probably treated poorly by the villagers, but the kid had only mentioned the senses.
The regular civilians probably didn’t even know about those.
And yet Hinata, gentle, kind Hinata, had caught on instantly.
Kakashi scowled, and Shikamaru watched him shove shaking hands into his pockets, yanking his face away harshly. “What do you know? You’re a Hyuuga.”
Hinata gave a small, sad smile, pulling her hands back close and tangling her fingers together. “I know, Kakashi-kun. But I know someone who went through something similar, and his strength has always inspired me.”
Shikamaru, using the hand on Kakashi’s head to ruffle his hair before letting that hand instead fall into the kid's back, interjected, “Don’t assume, Kakashi. Hinata hasn’t had it that easy, either. Civilians don’t understand her kekkei genkai and she was often isolated because of it. And the Hyuuga are rather strict.”
Kakashi swiveled his gaze to him, missing the surprised look that crossed Hinata’s face before embarrassment took over. “You shouldn’t just say that,” he scolded haughtily. “That’s private. What if she didn’t want me to know?”
Shikamaru reared back, blinking quickly. He quickly relaxed, considering the words with a small frown.
What a drag.
“You’re right, kiddo,” he sighed and turned to the Hyuuga watching their interaction with awe. “I’m sorry, Hinata, I shouldn’t have said those things. Especially since it didn’t seem like you wanted them said.”
She waved him off quickly, head shaking and sending her hair flying. “No, no! It’s okay! I know you’ve never really concerned yourself with those things…” she smiled faintly, like the memory was fond. “You found it troublesome,” she teased.
Shikamaru felt his face heat with something between embarrassment and shame. Especially as Kakashi looked at him critically.
Dark eyes swiveled back to Hinata. “You got bullied?”
She was startled. “Oh!” She considered it. “I suppose you could call it that. Children from non-shinobi families often found my eyes creepy. Most of the time it was just words, but they did occasionally push me.”
Shikamaru didn’t know that. “They would hit you?”
“Oh, no,” Hinata brushed it off with a slight chuckle. “Just shove me. Though there was one time I guess they got scared I was going to use my Byakugan and threw dirt in them…” she mused.
Like it was nothing.
“I… did not know that…”
“N-Naruto-kun would help if he saw…” she mumbled, a small grin crossing her features, a besotted look taking over. “It was nice that someone was willing to help even someone as helpless as I was.”
Shikamaru didn’t want to touch that with even his shadows from a healthy distance.
He also wasn’t going to acknowledge that he was one of those people who did nothing.
Because he saw it as pointless.
Because he didn’t want to get involved in other’s business.
And Hinata still saw his laziness as endearing.
Kakashi looked at him, and it was like he could sense Shikamaru’s guilt.
He could probably smell it.
The kid looked back at Hinata. “You’re strong,” he said, like it was as factual as the information that clouds were made of water vapor. “I don’t know why you think you’re not to the point you see it as truth, but you won even though you were holding back. This guy didn’t even get a chance to strategise.”
“Hey!” he said indignantly. The kid was right, though. He was so distracted trying not to get hit that he didn’t even have a moment to think.
Hinata bowed her head, a shy grin crossing her features. She reached out, hesitating over Kakashi’s head. The kid sighed dramatically—really, he probably shouldn’t be straying with a Nara—and tilted his head forward.
Hinata placed a careful, cradling hand on his head, grinning broadly enough that her eyes crinkled and her cheeks forced them into a squint. “Thank you, Kakashi-kun. That means a lot from someone as talented as you.”
Kakashi blushed. “You’re welcome,” he mumbled before walking away like nothing happened.
Hinata sighed at his back, melancholia mixing with something soft in her gaze. “I’m glad he has you. I’m glad he’ll get this do-over.”
Shikamaru considered her. “You don’t care that he’s stuck like this?”
Hinata tilted her head, wide Byakugan-marked eyes falling on him and making something zing up his spine in her seriousness. “Who says he’s stuck?”
She hummed, looking back at the kid who was huffily trying to carry the bags all by himself.
“Who says this isn’t him finally getting free?”