Chapter 8

Shikaku Interlude

Shikaku came awake instantly when he felt the woman beside him stir but instead of opening his eyes he kept his breathing and heartbeat calm; he wanted to see what she would do.

The body beside him stiffened when she became conscious of her surroundings, but Midoriko relaxed after a moment of disorientation. With careful movements she sat up and detangled her long hair from below the pillow and Shikaku's arm. She really tried to be silent when she moved out of the bed and into the en suite but she was a civilian and so the shinobi's hearing easily homed in on the light pitter patter against the wooden floor. A few moments after she had vanished in the bathroom he could hear the toilet going and then the shower.

For a moment he was undecided if he should get up and join her or stay in bed for a bit longer, his body felt relaxed and surprisingly refreshed for the amount of sleep he had gotten. The decision was taken from him when the shower stopped and Midoriko used the same weird chakra signature that she had used the day before to dry her hair. Shikaku noticed that she was uncommonly quiet for a civilian and listened amused as she slowly moved into the bedroom before making her way to the wardrobe. His hearing told him that she was taking out some underwear and one coat hanger, probably a dress before she vanished back into the bathroom.

Still feeling lazy Shikaku moved his hands behind his head and lazily let his eyes wander through the bedroom while he contemplated what he would have to do today. Because he hadn't expected Midoriko to agree to a fast tracked marriage he hadn't taken time off of his afternoon duties and so Shikaku had a meeting with Ibiki today that he really shouldn't miss. At least it was Tuesday and that meant that he would have the following three days off of meetings with various members of Konoha's elite… well baring a catastrophe or another war.

Shikaku let out a deep sigh while his mind simultaneously worked out the coded intel they had intercepted on Nagi Island and the new defensive drill for the ANBU rookies that the ANBU General had been bothering him about. His mind had just put the final details in place when the door opened again and Midoriko came out.

Shikaku let his half closed eyes glide over her form and appreciate the vision before him. His new wife wore a mint green dress with dark green and white details all over it. Her hair was braided this time, in what probably was a very complicated hairstyle. Her hair was loosely pulled back and fell in soft waves down the middle of her back and down to her calves.

When her eyes met his she gave him a small smile and a tiny good morning before she came closer to his side of the bed and after a moment of uncertainty sat down beside him. Shikaku finally moved and let the cover slide down his naked torso when he sat up in bed.

"Good Morning," the Nara head answered back.

This was followed by an awkward moment of silence while they tried to figure out how to act around each other.

Shikaku watched Midoriko's reactions and waited for her to give him a sign how to initiate contact without coming on too strong. They may have consummated their marriage last night and she had given him a lot of positive signals beforehand but he didn't delude himself into thinking that he suddenly had the right to touch the woman in front of him without her express permission.

When Midoriko bit her lip and started to lean into his form with intent eyes on his lips, he took this as open invitation. The moment she was close enough his arms encased her body and tugged her closer, though instead of kissing her he placed a few gently pecks on her cheeks, ear and braided hair.

At her confused gaze he chuckled. "As much as I would like to kiss you, I won't subject you to my morning breath on the first day of our marriage."

The Nara could feel her amused huff against his neck before she leaned into his body and seemed to search for heat. One of her cool hands was placed a bit above his hipbone while the other grabbed his biceps and unconsciously traced his muscle definition. Feeling too content to get up Shikaku increased his hold before he let himself fall back into bed so that both were lying down again.

Midoriko Interlude

Midoriko's lips twitched while she was once more horizontal; she had a feeling that the laziness of the Nara Clan really hadn't been exaggerated… not that she was complaining. She closed her eyes once more while she took in the scents around her. It smelled like her body lotion, musk and body odor, the combination was a bit too strong and too sweet but the warm body underneath her felt good and she really couldn't be bothered to get up and open a window right now. Not really tired but perfectly alright with relaxing and doing nothing for the time being Midoriko's mind began to wander. It was still a bit surreal to her that she was now in Konoha… and married.

God she was married.

The black haired witch couldn't really describe what she was feeling, or more like she wasn't sure if what she was feeling was appropriate or normal in a situation like this… but truth be told, she had no idea what kind of reaction could be considered appropriate.

Midoriko felt… relief and curiosity. Strange because one could think that she would be anxious and melancholic about her loss of freedom. But no, Miss Potter had to be an exception… well Mrs. Nara now. It seemed as if her wonky luck had really come through for her this time.

She was called out of her strange thoughts by the feeling of her five strand braid being moved, Midoriko moved her head slightly so that she could watch Shikaku curiously finger her hair style.

"Isn't that a lot of work?" his deep voice asked mildly curious.

"Not really… I will show you tomorrow. I had to learn how to braid this style only once, my mind still remembers how it is done and so I just concentrate on the end result and my mahou reacts to that."

"… you can braid your hair with your mind and chakra?" Shikaku asked in disbelief while he stared at her.

Midoriko snorted while she rubbed her nose on the stubbles on his chin. "Basically… yes. That's it."

"A hair braid jutsu… Ino would probably kill for something like that," Shikaku mused out loud.

"Ino?" Midoriko asked curiously, that was a woman's name wasn't it?

"The daughter of one of my best friends and Shikamaru's teammate," her husband elaborated.

"Ah," Midoriko mumbled, suddenly feeling foolish and burrowing her head in his neck.

Shikaku squeezed her slightly before saying, "I have never cheated, and won't begin now."

Midoriko closed her eyes, now really embarrassed before she nodded and said, "Sorry… it's just… it's not so uncommon in my homeland that the family heads have one or two mistresses on the side."

A nearly inaudible snort escaped Shikaku before he answered amused, "That would be too much work."

Midoriko's eyes became wide and she snorted loudly before starting to laugh.

"You are really lazy huh?"

"If I can get away with it."

The witch just hhmed understandingly and traced one of his pectorals before bringing herself into a seated position once more, though this time she was straddling Shikaku's boxer clad hips while her hands came to a rest at his lower stomach. She smiled down at him while she took in the picture he was making. Shikaku was relaxed, one hand now behind his head while the other still held her braid, his skin was a shiny brown against her own skin. This was her husband from now on… she could definitely learn to live with that.

Impulsively she leaned down again and kissed him close mouth on the lips, just a tiny peck before getting off him and saying, "I have no problem with being lazy from time to time."

Shikaku's eyes followed her while she leisurely made her way to the door and vanished into the hallway.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Once outside the master bedroom Midoriko paused for a moment. The long corridor wasn't especially well-lit but she could still see and especially feel the slightly cold dark wood underneath her naked feet. By the look of it, it was pretty new, there was not one board that creaked or gave a bit because of her weight, there were also no scratches in the surface, as if the house hadn't seen a lot of living yet. Curious the green eyed witch lifted her hand and touched the wall while she took in her new home and it's décor.

The day before she had already noticed that the whole house was two floors high and had a distinct U shape, the side wings were also a bit shorter than the main building. It was mostly built out of wood, and everything had a fresh and unused feeling to it. During the short tour Shikaku had given her, Midoriko had noticed that the ground floor was clearly meant to host a lot of people if needed. With the exception of the kitchen area and the bathroom walls it was all one big room that was divided by deceptively fragile removable screens.

The master bedroom on the other hand was situated at the end of the left wing on the first floor. All rooms on the upper floor were connected through a single corridor; the walls in it were painted a plain beige color and the calming color was only interrupted by minimalist grass and wood paintings along it, whoever had done that was certainly a master. A simple staircase in the middle of the main part of the house connected upper floor with the ground floor.

With moderate steps Midoriko made her way down only to stop and stare. How had she missed that yesterday? The room screens had all beautiful deer and wood scenes on them. The black haired witch smiled while she wandered closer to one of the screens. It showed a female deer and its fawn while they were grazing, Midoriko couldn't help herself and lifted her hand to gently trace the paintings delicate outlines. The moment she touched the paper she recognized that something very similar to magic ran through it, no matter how fragile this construct looked Midoriko was sure that it was a lot more solid than one would have thought. Turning around the black haired witch let her eyes wander over the rest of the first floor. The whole building was modeled like a traditional higher class home of Japan though it had a few exceptions that clearly differentiated it from the homes she had seen in that country

Number one was that the room proportions were exceptionally bigger than what was standard in Japan, number two was that instead of the tatami mats wooden parquet spanned most of the house, only a few designated areas held tatami mats and then there was the third reason that made it abundantly clear that this was a ninja household. At first Midoriko hadn't been able to really put a finger on what it was but after she started to wander around and the black haired witch noticed that it was possible to have strategic views on all entrances from nearly wherever she stood. Additionally there were multiple cupboards and cabinets beside the ceiling length room screens that would give a decent amount of cover from said entrances. And finally there was the high ceiling that was the most unusual change in the Nara clan house, it reminded her more of the relatively high ceilings of old European flats, the additional room probably gave the fighters more space to maneuver. The building still looked somewhat strange and foreign to her but that was probably because she had grown up around European styled architecture, she was sure that she would soon adjust to the Asian one.

Satisfied with her findings Midoriko turned her attention back to the kitchen, only to find her husband leaning against the staircase.

"May I ask why there are deer everywhere?" she asked over her shoulder when her eyes wandered back to the picture on the screen.

"The Nara Clan always had a strong connection to them, we have been taking care of deer herds for several generations now… we use their antlers for medicine… almost everything of them is used by the clan."

Midoriko's smile widened a bit before she laughed somewhat nostalgic, more to herself than to her husband she said, "Fate has a strange sense of humor… or somebody up there wants to give me a hint." The last part was said in a dry tone.

"What do you mean?"

"The spirit form of my father was a big stag… and my Patronus charm takes on the same form … I have always associated deer with safety and security… I think I will take this as a good Omen."

Shikaku raised his eyebrow a fraction; he had understood only about half what she just said, but Midoriko didn't elaborate further. Filing this away for later Shikaku gestured in direction of the kitchen.

They continued their conversation from the day before while eating leftovers for breakfast. This time it was Shikaku who talked most of the time, and Midoriko listened attentively. They nearly sat two hours at the wooden table while the Nara explained about the structure of the Nara Clan, mentality and their duties inside the village.