Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto.
Credit to Miroki for the idea.
A ShikaIno request for Princess Io. Sorry it's so late.
"Shikamaru!" Ino shrieked, frantically running from counter to counter in the kitchen. "Feed Kiseki-chan! It's past time!"
Shikamaru stared over at her, eyes fixed directly at her face as his lips formed into a miniature pout, one that went unnoticed by his wife. Slowly, he trudged across the room picking up the small bottle. Ever since they had this baby, Ino had been much more energetic, more careful and more...paranoid. She often bolted up in the middle of the night, rushing to the nursery where their new baby daughter was to be found. Each time she did this, Shikamaru would be forcefully shaken out of his much desired and much appreciated cycle of sleep. As of yet, it seemed as if all the lazy ninja would do in the night was lay in bed, eyes open, treasuring both the silence and the small moments of peace he shared with his wife until she scrambled out of bed to check on their daughter.
After all, Ino was not one to be toyed with. The doctor had warned Shikamaru that after having her baby, she would be experiencing some little emotional outbursts. When told this, the doctor simply frowned at Shikamaru's sudden change in expression, tossing him off as uncaring and lacking in what it takes to be a good husband.
Raising a brow, the ninja merely sighed, eyes half closed, wanting to escape, to fall into a deep slumber. Everyone knew that Shikamaru was anything but a neglectful husband and that although remarkably lazy, he treated Ino the way she wanted to be, he loved her after all, and if anything, he spoiled her completely.
It was the doctor that had no idea.
He had no idea of what Ino was capable of and what poor Shikamaru had valiantly endured for nine agonizing months.
Shikamaru cringed remembering.
One minute, she'd be smiling, whispering to him how much she loved him and the next, she'd be yelling at him to buy her chocolates. If not chocolates, then it was any other random food her mind could think of.
It was troublesome to walk from store to store, but it couldn't be helped. It wasn't her fault.
This doctor was obviously was not aware of what Ino's 'little' mood swings could do.
Ino's 'little' mood swings could be closely equated to rabid earthquakes, the type that could swing a person mercilessly from one continent to the other.
This was what Yamanaka Ino was capable of.
After feeding his daughter, who seemed to have no interest in anything but naps, Shikamaru retreated back to his room, where his wife came to join him moments later. She was finally done running from place to place for today. Or so, that's what he wanted to believe.
Shikamaru now lay in bed, eyelids half closed; staring intently at the door his wife had just rushed through, calmly pulling his arms back behind his head, serving as an extra pillow until he was called by his wife.
"Shika!!!" She called.
Shikamaru continued to gaze at the door. Detecting no real concern in her voice, he was almost tempted to shift to his side. After spending a few seconds contemplating what a few extra seconds of relaxation could give him, he shook his head and rose from the bed.
Slowly, he walked into the nursery. "Ino…?"
He made a few steps towards his weary wife and slid an arm around her shoulders lazily.
"What is it?"
She looked up at him and then stared down at the baby in the cradle. "She's not crying."
Shikamaru gazed at her with a blank look. This, however, did not fool Ino. She saw the small hint of question in his eyes.
"She hasn't cried at all since we got back from the hospital. …Babies cry. Is there something wrong with—"
"She's alright."
"But-"
"Ino, look at her."
Looking up at her husband's face, she slowly turned her head to face her child.
The baby stared up at her with a lazy look on her face. Her deep brownish black eyes were slightly open, and her tiny legs lay effortlessly across her tiny blanket while her arms were up on both sides of her face. She had a tiny patch of black hair on her head, now messied from her constant naps.
Ino continued to stare at her, and almost on queue the tiny baby yawned. Her mother almost swore she saw her tiny little hand go up against her mouth in attempt to stifle it.
Shikamaru stared over at his wife whose mouth was now slightly agape. He couldn't read the look on her face as of that moment. Immediately, he caught how the corners of her lips slowly formed a tiny smile. She understood.
"…She's like you."
"Eh?"
"Kiseki-chan. She's just like you. She's not doing anything because she's lazy, isn't she?"
The lazy ninja scratched his head and responded with a small smile. He saw the exhaustion she was hiding behind her blue eyes and detected the tired tone in her voice. He knew her hiding it was a way of her trying not to worry him. Not that it worked, anyway.
"Ino… Get some sleep."
"But she might—"
Shikamaru scowled a bit, groaning softly at his wife.
"You said yourself that she's like me. Do you really think she'd do anything? It's troublesome to stand here."
Ino smirked up at her husband and playfully pushed him away. Shikamaru looked down at his wife and saw a glimpse of vitality return to her tired eyes.
Making another tired sound, he made his way to his wife, leaning on her for support.
Ino smiled softly, understanding the unspoken message from her husband. "Okay, okay. I'll go to bed."
Before heading after his wife, he turned back at the cradle to look at his daughter. She looked up at him and yawned again.
"Kiseki."
Her eyes met his.
Slowly picking her up, he chuckled slightly and remembered how he and Ino picked out her name.
Though no one could tell, Shikamaru was sitting nervously in the waiting room, fiddling with his fingers muttering something incomprehensible when he heard noise coming down the hall.
"You're serious? Ino's in the hospital? She's pregnant? When did she get pregnant?"
Sakura sighed exasperated at the blonde boy in front of her. Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"She's been pregnant the last nine months."
"Ehhh?!?By who?!"
"Naruto! You idiot!" The pink haired girl screamed, arms set firmly to her side in the hopes of diminishing her annoyance, "Who do you think?!"
Naruto frowned, eyes closed and head down, crossing his arms backing up closer to Hinata.
"Ano... Naruto-kun… Shikamaru-san…"
"SHIKAMARU?!"
He bolted down the hall way to meet up with the lazy ninja who was now, comfortably, against the bench, arms behind his head, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
" Shikamaru!!! Are you really the father?!"
Raising an eye at Naruto, he sighed, and continued to gaze up at the ceiling.
"Eh?" Naruto paused for a second and leaned his head back as far as he could without falling. "What are you looking at?"
"…Nothing."
Scratching his head a bit, Naruto took a seat next to Shikamaru.
"…You got her pregnant?"
Scowling, Shikamaru persisted in staring up at the ceiling as if he was out watching the clouds slowly pass by.
Clouds.
"I can't believe it!" He continued, "You?! Shikamaru?! The guy who thinks everything is so troublesome?!" Smiling, he leaned his arm behind the lazy ninja, smacking Shikamaru on the back thrusting him out of his thoughts.
Narrowing his eyes a bit, Nara Shikamaru opened his mouth to speak.
"You! The guy who doesn't do anything but stare at clouds all day?! And Ino?!" And with that, Naruto began to laugh.
'Geez. Is it that hard to believe?' Shikamaru thought as his lips formed into a frown, 'This turned into something troublesome… when's she going to-'
"Miracle! It's a miracle!!" This time, Naruto shook him. "A miracle!" He said smiling widely.
A tiny sound escaped from the mouth of his daughter. He was immediately driven back to reality and by the time he looked down at his daughter, little Kiseki's face was already scrunched up in another yawn. She also began snuggling into her father's chest, attempting to use it as a makeshift pillow. He had the daughter he hoped for.
'Shika? What do we name her…?" Ino asked tiredly, fixing the messy patch of hair on her baby's head. Smiling slightly, she turned to face him. "You know, it's surprising we got this far. Considering how troublesome you think everything is—"
"Kiseki." Shikamaru whispered.
"What...?" Ino whispered, leaning her hand against the newborn baby's face.
"Name her Kiseki. It means miracle, ne?"
Ino smiled softly. She understood exactly what he meant.
"Kiseki."
That's right. Shikamaru and Ino had named their daughter Kiseki; miracle.
"Shika??" Ino called, "What are you doing?"
He looked up towards the hallway. Carefully, he laid his infant daughter back into her crib, where she immediately closed her eyes. Her tiny hand still grasped her father's index finger.
Kissing her on the forehead, his mouth slowly formed into a smile.
Opening the door to his bedroom, he was greeted by his wife, who was staring at him confused.
"Shika?" She questioned as he sluggishly joined her in bed. "What were you doing in there? Did Kiseki-chan start to fuss?"
"Mmmuh…" He groaned, hugging her close.
Ino giggled. "Shika!! Come on! Tell me!"
Muttering a bit, he pulled her closer, leaning her against him. "Troublesome…"
Pouting a bit, she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek before giving up and closing her eyes.
With that, opening one eye, Shikamaru looked down at her and paused for a moment.
That's right. A miracle. My two little miracles.
So what'd you think? Yes, I'm alive. I'm sorry for my lack of …activity here on I've had terrible writer blocks… and I've really been wanting to write. Anyway, I've been in a ShikaIno mood lately, so I might be writing more of these. Please review!