Nara Shikamaru didn't have it as bad as the others. At least, that's what he'd assumed. But, something about his childhood started to seem… wrong as he started to grow up.
Looking back, it was a surprise he didn't turn out like Sasuke.
Maybe it was because his father was lazy, so, by the laws of personality development and all that jazz, he'd become lazy as well.
It could have been the deer, too. He'd had to feed them every morning, after all, and the way he'd have to run after the fawns had left him exhausted (Now that he thought about it, it could've been his mother's way of getting him exercise).
Nara Shikamaru was a genius, even more so than Hyuga Neji and Hatake Kakashi were called.
At one he'd said his first words -'troublesome' (Story goes his mom had chased his dad all the way around Konoha while threatening him with her slipper).
At age two he'd started to walk and at age three he'd learned to read and write hiragana. By the time he turned four, he'd grasped the concept of kanji and even learned the how to use katakana.
Even though the spiky haired boy had been on the earth for five years at one point, he'd been speaking in full sentences.
Shikamaru had even taught himself to play shoji by watching his father, though this only seemed to enrage his mother even more, seeing as instead of wanting to spend time with her he'd sneak into the shoji room and pull it out, setting up random situations on the board and finding a way to solve them.
He'd gone into the Academy with everyone else in his grade, too, since it'd be troublesome if he applied early. Besides, he needed to graduate with Ino and Choji, clan rules.
Anyways, it'd all been pretty fun, that was, until Danzo showed up at his door.
Shikamaru had watched from outside in the yard, where he'd been poking at a caterpillar in his spot.
Any other place just wasn't as comfortable and he really didn't want to kill it. The green blob wasn't moving, though, and he didn't want to squish it.
That'd just be too troublesome.
He'd have to move the guts and slime and Choji would see – since the Akimichi compound was close by and the said boy was outside – then they're have to talk about why he'd killed it and…
Shikamaru scrunched up his nose.
That was all just too much work. The only thing he really wanted to concentrate on was shoji, but the room was off limits since he'd needed to get some vitamin D or whatever.
His mother had put her hand on his hip the way she did when she was annoyed – or scared, as Shikamaru soon found out – and let out a huff of air.
"We all know what you did to the poor boy," she hissed, "Just because you wiped those kids minds doesn't mean us adults don't know what you've done, or what you're doing."
"The roots strengthen the tree," Danzo grumbled.
"Not if they're ripping all the buds off to make the darn fertilizer," Yoshino snapped, "No means no, and if you so happen to lay a hand on his head, not only with this clan be after you, but all of its alliances as well."
Even Shikamaru knew what that meant.
The Yamanaka's and Akimichi's might've been the most known ally's to the Nara clan, but there were so many others.
The Sarutobi clan would risk their life for the shadows users – Hokage-sama included, and since the Inuzuka's were fiercely loyal to the man they followed, they'd be the man's enemy as well.
The Aburame's would then come into play if the Inuzuka's attacked, as they had a big alliance with them. If that many people stood against one man, then Hyuga's would participate as well.
It'd be a once sided battle: every clan against a single organization.
Danzo would be doomed.
The said man scowled and turned around, stomping away. He stopped right next to Shikamaru and looked the boy's mother dead in the eye.
Yoshino stiffened and took a step towards her son. "If you so much as breathe on him, I will personally tear you limb from limb and beat your head in with my ladle."
Danzo's face twisted up into an even sourer look, if possible. He swatted the caterpillar in front of Shikamaru away with his cane and continued on. "You'll regret this," he called.
"Not as much as you will," Yoshino shouted, watching him go. Once he was far enough away she rushed over and snatched her son up, tugging him towards the compound.
The next week he wasn't allowed outside, except for when it was at night. After all, no one would dare mess with a Nara when everything around them was covered in shadows.
