Nara Shikamaru was a quiet child.

Wait, scratch that.

Nara Shikamaru was a lazy child.

Hatake Kakashi contemplated the young boy sitting in the middle of the Uzumaki living room, appearing almost catatonic; watching silently as the ever-energetic Naruto played around him. At the ripe old age of four, the youngest Nara had yet to utter a single word and seemed content with using grunts and bland stares as appropriate responses. Really, the silver haired nin had to admit as he observed the almost vacant expression on the dark haired boy's face, he was a most unlikely choice of companion for a kid like Naruto. In fact, now that Kakashi thought about it, the Nara clan on a whole was odd.

In a world where death was around every corner, it was common for a ninja family to have multiple children, especially clan heads, and at young ages. Highest numbers occurring in families that expected sons to carry on the clan. The Yamanaka had two sons and one girl. The Akimichi had three sons in quick secession. The Uchiha Clan Head had just been gifted with a second son a few years back in case their genius eldest died before he could birth the next leader. Even the Inuzuka, who held more weight in the birthing of daughters, had not stopped until they had just gotten a son, obnoxious brat that he was.

And yet it seemed the Nara didn't hold to that tradition. Each generation clan head only seemed to leave the next to a single child, or in the rare case two, be it male or female. They were also a clan that held themselves apart from most of the village; preferring to make close, life-long friendships and alliances with select few other ninja families within the village. And it seemed like the latest generation had chosen to make such a connection with the newest Uzumaki family. They chose to stay in the background of ninja society; working hard at keeping the peace and taking care of their herd of deer and while they appeared to be a clan of mediocre ninja at best, they all some how managed to rise to high-ranking positions, complaining all the way.

Kakashi tilted his head in hidden curiosity as Shikamaru –or "Shika-kun" as Naruto called him- seemed to snap out of his self-induced trance to start a rousing game of ninja with the spunky blond. He'd have to watch the dark-haired boy closely, knowing full well that there was more to him then what was plain to see.

The last Hatake finally turned his attention away from the sight of the two romping boys and focused it on the girl-mother sitting at the kitchen bar, working attentively on what appeared to be a mix-matched patched together square of fabric, her nimble fingers working in a continuous up and down motion in which there was a pause between the two where she pushed the shiny silver needle back through the other side. It was something that the Med-nin had been working on for some time in order to perfect her quick suturing skills for fieldwork. At first it had amused him, giving him a little chuckle every now and then at her expense, but now it was another source of curiosity for him. It was clear that the patches she used were not just random scraps that she had found just lying about. Obviously they had a special meaning of some sort.

Or that was going to be one reall~y fugly piece of stitch-work when the chuunin was finished.

Mentally shaking the thought off, Kakashi lazed over to where the girl was sitting.

"So," he said, leaning against the counter and catching her attention, "how was Naruto's first birthday party? Did he do fine when he realized you weren't staying with him?"

Chizuru sighed as she set her patchwork down, glancing over to where the two boys were rolling around together on the floor, before she answered in a low voice.

"We had known for a week before that I wouldn't be able to go help chaperone Shikamaru's birthday party, so for the first couple of days Naru was uncomfortable with the idea, but after Yoshino-san and I assured him that both she and Shikaku were going to be there, he was fine with it."

Kakashi nodded his head in understanding before asking, "And during the party?"

At this the white-haired girl frowned, making her look, in Kakashi's opinion, more like a kawaii little girl than anything else.

Made him want to pinch her cheeks.

"Apparently there was a little problem with one of the parents who was helping out."

At this Kakashi visibly perked up, "Oh? What kind of problem?" hey, he liked drama as much as the next nin.

"From what Yoshino-san witnessed, apparently one of the mother's who was helping to chaperone the party decided Naruto didn't need a piece of birthday cake. Or ice cream."

The silver haired ANBU arched his single fine eyebrow at this, urging her to continue.

Sighing she continued, "Shikamaru didn't seem to like it very much, from what she told me, and made a fuss—well, as much of a fuss as he's capable of making—and refused to have any cake until Naruto got some too. Then after the cake was done Yoshino-san said that the two disappeared and Shikaku-san didn't find them until he and Yoshino-san were cleaning up. Shikaku-san found them curled up under the table together, asleep."

Kakashi arched his one visible silver brow and settled his single probing black eye on the young Nara in the living room. It seemed that he would be paying much more attention to him than he'd previously thought. But that was for another time.

"Hm. Seems that the people are having a hard time following the Hokage's mandate. Must have been a civilian," he finished with false cheer.

At this Chizuru snorted in a very un-ninja like manner, never taking her pomegranate eyes off the two boys.

"How hard can it be for them to treat a little boy like a little boy? He's done nothing to these people," she finished in a harsh whisper.

The Hatake dropped any pretense of light-heartedness with the last of her words and the unrelenting gleam in her eyes, "Depending on who they lost in the Attack, it can be very hard for them. Having to live with a constant reminder let alone forced to act as though they don't know unless they're looking for a quick death is painful. Having no outlet for their emotions is hard. It makes them fester until all that's left is hate. Losing someone you love does that to a person. I think those that lost no one seem to forget that."

Kakashi felt his heart thump once in warning before it settled back to its even pace, and reminded himself that he was not on the battle field, and that the petite girl before him, a chuunin no less, was not his enemy as he found himself the focus of a pair of deep bloody eyes filled with a heartache and bitterness he hadn't known was containable.

"They also seem to forget that they weren't the only ones who lost someone."

The sound of childish laughter was all that filled the room for a moment.

"And it isn't hard for me."


Later that night Chizuru tucked the two little boys into Naruto's frog-print covered bed, the blonds' two normal bedmates, a cheerful frog and a super-softy fox were spending the night on one of the many toy shelves.

"But Mommy, we'rw not tired now."

The white haired teen smiled. The kid's statement would have been more believable had he not yawned at the end.

"You two had a long day together, Naru-chan. And Yoshino-san is going to be picking you up early tomorrow so you can spend the day with Shikamaru-kun."

Naruto smiled brightly, easily distracted from the thought of protest at the reminder of the fact that he was going to spend the whole day with his best friend.

"Ok."

The young mother smiled gently back before kissing both boys softly upon the forehead and quietly leaving the toddler's room, turning the light off as she went.

Despite Naruto's claim to not-tiredness, the boy was out in a matter of seconds, his slight snores filling the dark room with their nasally music.

Nara Shikamaru, on the other hand, was not.

The silent boy was steadily watching his friend sleep; his dark eyes filled with rumination. In Shikamaru's mind, he (Shikamaru), was a very simple boy. He did not talk because he felt that there was nothing important to say; he also wasn't a picky eater because, really, like his okaa-san wouldn't make him eat it anyways right? He liked simple joys such as watching clouds go by, napping and playing in the sandbox. As you can see, Shikamaru had a great love of all things simple and easy, therefore he saw his friendship to Naru-chan as completely logical. I mean, who was more easier or simple to get along with? None of those icky girls, that's who. Always wanting to play house and make him the husband who has to go to work while they played with dollies. Or that whiny Uchiha boy who always wanted to play ninja's and hit really hard and got irritated when he didn't talk. Nope, his Naru-chan was simplest and the easiest kid his age to get along with. When they played in the sandbox, Naru-chan did most of the work and Shikamaru never had to worry about talking because Naruto had more than enough words for the both of them. And Naru-chan never hit hard when they played ninja. Plus he wasn't an ookie girl, which was a huge positive in Shikamaru's eye.

So when the boy he deems perfect for being his only and bestest friend in the whole village gets treated badly Shikamaru can't help but feel a bit…protective.

Frowning softly the silent boy thought back on the events earlier in the week.

Flashy flashy…

Shikamaru had been bored out of his mind all afternoon. Not to mention slightly irritable with the sounds of numerous kids he barely knew (and didn't want to know) shrieking all around him the entire time. He was tired, wearing a stupid hat, blind from all the pictures his okaa-san was taking, and just wanted to take a nap. Preferably with Naru-chan.

Sigh, and it wasn't even time for presents.

As you can imagine, Shika-chan was not a happy boy.

And he was about to get even more unhappy.

They were all sitting around his low dinning room table, all being the kids his mother had taken the liberty to invite, while some blonde lady (not pretty blonde like Naru-chan's mommy) dished out ice-cream and cake. The medium sized gathering of three and four year-olds could barely contain themselves on their pillow seats.

Shikamaru just wanted the damn woman to hurry up so he could open the stupid presents and go take a nap. Again, preferably with Naru-chan.

He sat patiently as the too loud woman placed a cheerfully decorated party plate containing both a slice of vanilla with vanilla frosting cake and a scoop of-- surprise, surprise-- vanilla ice cream in front of him then moved on to do the same for a loud, annoying kid and moving on.

She had completely skipped his Naru-chan all together, who held the coveted spot of sitting next to the birthday-boy at the head of the table.

Shikamaru was not pleased.

Frowning slightly as the strange woman finally made her circuit around the table and announce that it was time for the singing of the happy birthday song, Shikamaru barely glanced at his slightly confused friend before sliding his plate over for Naruto to have.

"Oh no Shikamaru-chan! That's your cake and ice cream sweetie," the blonde, overly loud woman said cheerfully, yanking the plate back across the table and sending a glare at his best friend.

Feeling more than seeing the little blond's heart-broken expression, Shikamaru had finally had enough. He was tired, there were tons of kids he didn't want to play with in his house, and all he wanted was a nap with his Naru-chan.

"You didn't give Naruto cake or ice cream."

At the sound of the Nara heir's first words, a slightly shocked silence settled over the room.

Had he really just spoken?

The blonde woman, not knowing if she had heard him right, simply said, "Eh?"

Glaring at the annoyance of having to repeat himself, Shikamaru said more forcefully, "You didn't give Naruto any cake or ice cream. So I'm giving him mine." And with an air of 'that's that' Shikamaru slid his plate back over.

As the woman spluttered for words under the stares of parents and toddlers alike Yoshino gracefully stepped forward to gently take the cake knife from her hand saying politely, "I can take it form here, Yamanaka-san," turning from the woman to smile brightly at the children. "Who's ready for the birthday song?"

As the bright voices of children took up the song, Yoshino placed a plate in front of her son and patted Naruto encouragingly on the head.

Naru-chan turned and sent a bright smile at his best friend, "Thanks Shika-kun!" and leaned over to give the slightly older boy a kiss on the cheek.

And, though he'd only EVER admit it to himself EVER, to Shikamaru, that was the best present of all.

End flashy, flashy

After he had eaten his mandatory cake, and opened all those stupid presents, he had waited for no one to be looking and pulled Naruto under the table with him for a nap, not caring what everyone else wanted. It was HIS birthday after all, and he wanted to nap with his best friend.

And so here he lay, watching as the younger boy slept soundly next to him. He really didn't understand why people had to be so difficult when it came to the blond boy. Sure he could be loud and overly enthusiastic at times, and he did have a tendency to get hurt over the most miniscule things (not that Shikamaru's best friend was a cry-baby, he was just slightly more sensitive than others), and he had an irritating habit of snuggling up against him when they were napping or sleeping together, but it didn't deserve the mean looks and mutters that he got when they were out and about.

The Nara heir frowned at the thoughts running through his head. It was too much thinking for him. Really, he was only four; it was his duty to not think about stuff. Like when he let Naru-chan bury him in the sand box, or when they decided to slide down the spiral staircases rail.

Sighing deeply, he closed his eyes, and let everything drift away, like wisps of clouds slipping across the sky.


The night was still. The air calm and breezeless. The world was so quiet one could almost hear the heartbeat of the warm earth beneath them. Long shadows cast by the bright full moon were flat and deep.

But not deep enough to conceal the body moving swiftly within them.

From shadow to tree, they leapt nimbly from branch to run up a battered metal wall until they reached an overhanging metal balcony.

Silently, ever so silently, they crept to large window. With an absentminded but deft movement it was unlocked, and soundlessly they were inside.

With the light of the moon it was easy to see their target in the dark of the room, decorated for the child it housed within. Moving with the skill of a seasoned professional the intruder glided and toed around blocks, bears, shoes and carelessly discarded clothing until their dark shadow was cast over the two small children within the bed, their would-be protectors sitting mutely and helplessly upon the shelf, staring with wide, unblinking eyes.

Silently, the trespasser observed them, raising an unseen brow at the sight of the smaller blond child's head resting in the hollow of the dark haired boys shoulder; his arm wrapped around his waist.

But that wasn't why they were there. Rounding the bed til they were on the blond boys side, the interloper leaned soundlessly over the child; observing him with unblinking eyes. He looked healthy for a boy of almost four. True, he was small for his size, and the watcher assume that the boy would be for quite some time. The years of going with little food and constant neglect had left their marks upon him, no matter how brief the contact. But he was healthier. More filled out. Showing no signs of stress or abuse. Happier.

A soundless, almost non-existent displacement of air, and the sharp blade of a kunai was pressed mutely against vulnerable, exposed skin.

Right beneath the edge of the observers porcelain mask.

Slowly, ever so slowly and cautiously, they traced down the arm wielding the weapon until they reached the dead red eyes of the boy's young adopted mother.

"Good evening, ANBU-san. Would you mind visiting at a more appropriate hour? As you can see, the children are asleep. If you have pressing matters to discuss, I'm sure you and I could find a more felicitous setting for such things."

For long moments the two stared at each other before the ANBU operative nodded in understanding to both the request to leave and the threat. Turning without a word, they headed back out the way they came, pausing only in notice of the almost invisible seal peeking out from behind a stack of dolls on the shelf next to the window, from its place stuck to the wall.

Chizuru watched as her unwanted visitor made their exit, being polite enough to close the window and relock it on the way. For a few breathless moments she kept watch before turning back to Naruto and Shikamaru still sleeping in the bed. To be safe, she ran a careful diagnostic check on the boys, just to make sure. Finding nothing, she stared down at them, a slight smirk tipping up the corners of her lips. They'd be so mad that they didn't wake up when a ninja had broken into the room. Not that she'd tell them that. No that was her little secret. Looking down at the poor smothered Shika-chan, the teen mother carefully and gently wedged her boy off him, giving the mini Nara a few centimeters of breath room before tucking the two back in and leaving the room. She had a few more hours before she had to wake up. A girl needed her beauty sleep.

The girl felt no need to inform the Hokage about the incident.

He was the one who had sent the shinobi, after all.


From his vantage point four rooftops and six trees away, the ANBU watched as the Uzumaki household returned to sleep. He felt slightly amused at the events that had taken place. Honestly, he should have noticed the warning seals on either side of the windows. An admittedly clumsy mistake after being so long without real practice. But in his defense, he hadn't spent much time in Naruto's room. He had been quite surprised at Chizuru's appearance. A somewhat green Chuunin medic with the speed and skill to sneak up on an ANBU, even a slightly rusty one, before they even knew she was there, was something that didn't happen too often. More like never.

Unless, of course, she really wasn't a Chuunin but actually a highly trained higher ranking ninja just pretending to be a lower ranking one to throw people off.

....hmm....

Ahh well. He had a report to make, and some light reading to catch up on.

Feeling much better at that happy thought, the man in the mask poofed in to nothingness.

As though he had never been there.


back in the silent boys room, Shikamaru frowned, then twitched into wakefulness. Something, had woken him up. Glancing fuzzily around, he foggily recognized the usual toys and things. Finding nothing wrong he look over at his sleeping friend. His frown deepened into an irritated scowl.

Grunting softly to himself, the half awake boy scooted closer to his Naru-chan, nudging his heavy head back on to his should and pulling his limp arm back over his chest, letting out a gusty sigh before nodding back off.

Really, how was he expected to sleep without being clinged to?