A/N: I know the meta answer to "why is everyone an only child" is because they don't want to inflate the cast that much. However, realistically, in a population that dies young and is reliant on carrying on bloodlines for certain techniques, you'd think most families would have 2-3 kids. So then I decided to go for a darker implication… what if Shikamaru wasn't an only child? What if Danzo uses the children of clan leaders to keep their silence? And this dark little clusterfuck of a story was born.

While this story is not set in the same universe as my other story, I'll most likely be reusing some minor OCs so I don't have to reinvent the wheel. For fun, I've made Ensui Yoshino's younger brother this time around. He's the annoying BIL that Shikaku would love nothing more than to hit, but Yoshino won't allow it.

And in case it needs to be said… I headcanon that the major/large clans are large enough to practice clan endogamy. Meaning they mostly marry within the same clan, with the occasional outside marriage. Yoshino was born in the Nara clan the same way Mikoto was born in the Uchiha clan.

Cheers, hope you enjoy xoxo

Shikaku's eyes snapped open the moment he heard the main door slide open.

Yoshino was kicking the covers off next to him. "Shikaku -!"

"Get the kids!" He gruffly told her.

Already he was grabbing his kunai from the night table and dashing out of their bedroom. Whatever intruder was in his home in the middle of the fucking night was about to regret the day they were born. Shikaku really did not care if someone made an assassination attempt on him. He dared them to try. Other villages had certainly tried over the years and the result was always pathetic and a little amusing. But in his home? Where his wife and children slept? That was taking it a bit too far and he was pissed.

"Shikaku, wait!" Yoshino hissed at him.

He waved her off. "Get the kids, I don't want them to see this."

His heart was pounding in his chest, adrenaline flooding through his veins. His mind already planning out a hundred different ways this could go. Coming to a man's home in the middle of the night wasn't just a threat to him, but to those he held dear. It was a threat that said I can kill your wife and children any time. It was a threat he needed to eliminate once he learned where it was coming from. Shikaku's home was in the shadows and he used them to conceal himself from the intruder. He crept around the corner -

Only to find his so-called intruder was barely three feet tall. The best scenario of all the possible outcomes. It was just one of his kids sneaking around in the middle of the night. They had gotten lucky Shikamaru slept like the dead. Once he went down, nothing could wake him. Apparently that luck had run out with their second child. The adrenaline immediately drained from him and he was left feeling bone-achingly exhausted instead. This kid was going to be the death of him.

Kojika was glancing around as she took a tentative step outside onto the engawa. She knew damn well she wasn't supposed to go outside without one of her parents.

"And where do you think you're going?"

She startled from the sound of his voice, stumbling and falling onto her bottom with an "ooof."

Shikaku turned to find Yoshino standing behind him in the hallway, an amused smile tugging at her lips. Her night robe half hanging off her shoulders from where she quickly pulled it on.

"I did try to warn you."

"New habit?" He regretted not being around more. This was his first night home after being away on a month long mission. Yoshino was often left alone with the kids while he was gone, or more and more frequently, tied up late at the Hokage Tower doing paperwork. He supposed at least he saw the kids those nights. That was more than he could say when he was in the field.

"Mhmm, she thinks it's a game."

"I want to play with the deer." Kojika fixed him with her best pleading doe-eyed look as she stood up.

Shikaku knew he was in deep trouble then because she looked exactly like her mother when she did that. He could never say no to Yoshino. When she had fixed him with her doe eyes about four years ago and said "I want to have another baby"… well the result was standing in front of him, trying her best to deprive him of some much needed sleep.

"The deer are in bed, like a certain little girl should be."

She tossed her head back and gave a dramatic sigh. "Not tired."

No, but she would be cranky in the morning if she didn't get a good night's sleep.

"Come on little fawn, let's go back to bed." He hoisted her up where she buried her face into his shoulder, failing to hide a yawn. He chuckled. "Not tired, eh?"

He slid open the door to Shikamaru's room to peak inside and find him peacefully sleeping. Kojika was starting to drift off by the time he placed her in her room.

"Sweet dreams," he murmured as he soothed her hair and kissed her forehead goodnight.

With everyone accounted for, Shikaku wearily dropped back into his bed.

"You know," Yoshino said, propping herself on her elbow as she turned to face him. She had a soft expression in her eyes. "I've been thinking lately that I want to try for a third."

"Right now?" He groaned. Bloody women weren't letting him sleep at all tonight. Back in his twenties he would come home still energized at the end of a mission and would have gladly rolled her over right then and there. At thirty-two, it was taking all his energy to keep his eyes open. Shikaku mentally calculated how long until he could reasonably retire. Another ten years?

Yoshino's tinkling laugh was like music. "No, you look ready to pass out any minute. Just something to think about."

"Nothing to think about. If my incredible wife wants to give me another child, we'll have another one."

"Really?"

"Mhm."

As far as he was concerned, so long as Yoshino was healthy he was content with however many she wanted to have. If Yoshino wanted to have three of them, then they'd have three of them. Couldn't be much harder than wrangling an over-eager genin team. Yoshino was far more strict than any jonin leader he had seen. Not that he was stupid enough to tell her that.

"Although if you can make one that sleeps through the night next time that would be great."

She slapped his arm. "They're half yours."

"Yeah, Shikamaru is mine. The other one is all you."

He fell asleep with his wife curled into his side, her head nestled into the crook of his neck. One of the best ways to fall asleep in his opinion. When the light filtered through the curtains the next morning, she was long gone. Most likely keeping their daughter occupied. Early risers, the pair of them. Not that he could really talk.

The thing about being a shinobi was that it ruined his ability to sleep in. Even on a Saturday. It was rare he was in the village on the weekend and didn't have some emergency pulling him into work. Shikaku was so used to the routine of getting up early to get in a bit of training and then being in the office by eight that his body naturally woke up at the crack of down. He was content to rest his eyes, hovering on the sweet edge of unconsciousness for a little longer.

Until he felt tiny knees digging into his spleen. Shikaku lazily blinked his eyes open.

Kojika was staring down at him, an all too serious expression on her young face. "Mom says to get up if you want breakfast."

"And what if I don't get up?"

"Then she says you can make it yourself."

That sounded more like Yoshino.

He took his time getting up, shuffling into the kitchen as Kojika all but dragged him by the hand.

"- and I want to go to the park, can we? Please?"

"Sure thing." He absent-mindedly ruffled her hair as he sat down at the table. Yoshino handed him a cup of green tea.

"Shikamaru's still not up?" Yoshino muttered to herself. "This is the third time I've woken him. Honestly! Koji, go get your brother. And make sure he doesn't go back to sleep this time."

"Should we be concerned?" Shikaku asked.

Yoshino snorted. "I've taken him to the doctors. Nothing's wrong with him, he's just lazy."

"It's Saturday, let the boy sleep in."

"Yes, after his exhausting week of napping through classes and then cloud watching at the park," Yoshino sarcastically replied. There was fire in her eyes as she expertly flipped the omelet in the pan with a snap of her wrist. "I ran into Iruka yesterday at the market. We had a very enlightening chat."

Shikaku winced. He was going to let Yoshino handle that one and he could be the fun weekend parent.

"At the rate he's going, he'll be lucky if he ends up a chunin guard for the front gate, lazing about like those two I see."

It must be nice to just leave work and not have to bring any of it home with them. Just show up, do the assigned shift and then clock out at the end of it. Leave the decision making to someone else. Shikaku wondered where he could sign up for that level of responsibility instead. As jonin commander he was always working, even when he was home he was thinking of ongoing missions and planning for new ones.

"Izumo and Kotetsu might have the right idea."

Shit, he said that out loud. Yoshino was giving him an unimpressed look now.

"Come on, it's different being in a classroom and being in the field. Some of the best students are terrible shinobi and some of the worst students are excellent shinobi. Let him enjoy his youth. It might help him to appear less than impressive now."

"He still needs to pass," Yoshino finally relented. "If he fails and Ino and Choji get assigned a different teammate, you'll be the one explaining what went wrong. Speaking of which, we should really have them and their parents over one night for dinner."

"If you really twist my arm about it - " Shikaku joked. It had been a while since the three families had gotten together. While he was good friends with Inoichi and Choza, it wasn't easily replicated in their children or wives.

"Like this?" Yoshino innocently asked, grabbing his arm and twisting it until it was almost at breaking point.

"Bloody hell, woman! That hurt!"

Shikamaru walked into the dining room, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He glanced warily between his parents. "What's going on?"

"Mom's just beating up your old man again."

Shikamaru looked less than impressed. "Really Dad?"

Yoshino lightly smacked Shikaku's arm. "Don't tell him things like that, he'll think you're serious."

"Then stop hitting me!"

"Shikamaru, did you finish your homework last night?" That was a trap if he ever heard one.

"Yeah?"

"I was speaking with your teacher the other day at the market. It's funny, he said you and Ino really think alike. You even word your answers the exact same way."

"Ah - " Shikamaru's eyes went wide and he looked a bit like a deer caught in a bright light. Shikaku didn't know what would hurt him more. Admitting he and Ino had anything in common or admitting to his mother he was slacking off and copying Ino's answers.

"You better not be copying Ino's homework."

Shikaku held back a grin as Shikamaru tried to worm his way out of trouble. He did take pity on his son when Yoshino assigned him more chores than usual as punishment.

"I was thinking we should spend time together," Shikaku said. "Do a bit of training. It's not often I have the day off."

Yoshino gave him a look that she knew exactly what he was doing. He innocently smiled back at her because he knew it was working. Besides, she wouldn't pass up the rare opportunity to have both kids out of the house and some much needed personal time.

Fulfilling both promises at once, Shikaku took the kids to the park. He kept an eye on Kojika at the playground while he corrected Shikamaru's shadow paralysis in a field nearby. Yoshino had been teaching him the basics and the intention was for him to help Shikamaru with the more advanced techniques once he made chunin.

Kojika did a cartwheel as she rushed over to them and Shikamaru caught her midway through with Shadow Paralysis, holding her upside down for a few seconds.

"Let go of your sister!" Shikaku scolded him. Both kids knew that he didn't lose his temper often, but when he did they listened. "It's rude to use a jutsu outside of sparring, and you should never use it on a civilian. I better not catch you using it on your sister again."

"Fine," Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but released her. "You always baby her."

"That's because she's three. Do you want to be treated like a three year old?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Maybe? She doesn't have as many chores and doesn't have to go to school."

"You have more responsibilities, but you also have more freedoms. She can't go off on her own and needs to be watched."

He let out a dramatic sigh. "She's troublesome."

"Maybe." Shikaku didn't have any siblings. His mother had complications in childbirth and the doctors had warned she might not survive a second. He hadn't really thought anything of it as a kid. Inoichi and Choza were as close as brothers to him. However now that his parents were dead, he wished he had more family on his side. "But one day your mother and I won't be here and you'll be grateful to have a sister."

Shikamaru grumbled, but Shikaku knew that for all his complaints that he did care about his sister. And it wasn't much later that he saw Shikamaru gently correct Kojika when she was trying to skip stones on the lake.

"Come on Koji, you need to find a flat stone," he said, showing her the one in his hand. "Like this."

Following Shikamaru's movements, she flicked it across the water, skipping it twice before it sunk. She pumped her tiny fists in the air, jubilant over her success.

"Now you want to focus your chakra, so you can make it spin more. Watch." Shikamaru sent his own, skipping it several times. "Dad, how many can you do?"

Shikaku chuckled, picking up a smooth, flat rock and sending it skipping over two dozen times across the lake.

"Okay, you win," Shikamaru sighed, "I can't do more than ten."

That evening, Yoshino was curled up on the couch, reading a book. Shikaku set up the shogi board at the kotatsu in the living room, indicating for Shikamaru to join him.

Kojika sat on his lap, tiredly watching the game. He talked through Shikamaru's moves so she could try to follow, asking her what she thought he should do. She didn't have the attention span yet to play a full game or do more than a few maneuvers with his help. Shikamaru was at least starting to put together strategies and put up a good game.

It was the perfect day off. Shikaku enjoyed these peaceful moments with his family. He put in long hours at the office, but it was worth it knowing he could raise his family in peace. Shikaku had been a genin at the tail end of the second war and had seen the height of the third as a jonin. It was something he never wanted his kids to experience. For the first time in decades, they had been able to raise the graduation age to twelve and keep it that way. While Shikamaru was required to follow in his footsteps and one day lead this clan, Kojika had a little more freedom with being second born and female. She could even attend the civilian elementary school. He was glad he could give them a better life, an easier one. That was how it should be.

Perhaps once the kids were in bed he would find out how serious Yoshino was about having a third. He leaned against the back of the couch, feeling her leg rub up against his side.

"A couple of the guys are going to the Rusty Kunai," Yoshino eventually said. She poked his back with her foot. "You should probably make an appearance. Clan head duties and all that."

Shikaku groaned. "Do I have to go see those fools?"

She gave him an apologetic smile.

"I'll go once they're in bed." It wasn't often he got to do the bedtime routine.

His day off meant it was a good time to check in on clan affairs. Fortunately this was one burden he could share with Yoshino. Her grandfather was one of the clan elders and a shrewd politician. Between Enchu and Yoshino, Shikaku trusted that his clan was in good hands.

Shikaku found the bar that several of his clansmen frequented on their nights off. This was much easier - and more enjoyable - than forcing them to attend stuffy old clan meetings like his father once did. He grinned when he saw a cluster of them at a booth. Suzaku waved him over.

Born in the same year, Suzaku was his first cousin on his father's side. Then there was Hideki who had married Suzaku's sister. There was Makoto and her sister, Seiko who were there along with their husbands. Kaen was there with his teenaged sons Daen and Maen. Finally rounding out their little party was Ensui, Yoshino's younger brother.

"What's the occasion?" Shikaku asked. "I never see you lot out unless I force you."

Suzaku was surprisingly jubilant as he answered. "Hideki and my sister are expecting."

"Congratulations. Fatherhood's a joy," Shikaku tiredly said. "Especially around three am."

With peace and stability lasting the past six years, Konoha was starting to experience a much needed baby boom. It wasn't exactly easy to start a family when you were off on the war front for weeks or months at a time. Nor was anyone particularly keen on leaving behind a widow and small children. Shikaku couldn't blame them there. The Nara birth rates were finally exceeding its death rates and the clan was actually growing for the first time in years. The clan elders were finally content and off his back about it.

There was a low siren indicating for everyone to get back to their homes. Shikaku frowned as he rushed out of the bar. It wasn't a full evacuation however that could easily change.

All around them, shinobi were helping to close down the restaurants and guiding civilians home. The once lively and bustling street was quickly deserted.

Shikaku pulled Suzaku and Hideki aside. "Get everyone to my house, Yoshino will do a headcount. You know the drill if this moves to the second level. Let me know if anyone is missing. And if you can do me a personal favour-?"

"Name it."

"Keep an eye on Yoshino and the kids for me. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Shikaku took off over the rooftops towards Hokage Tower. Everyone had their orders in an emergency, including him. As jonin commander, Shikaku was to be debriefed on the situation and start organizing the jonin assembly.

He could see smoke billowing up from the Uchiha district and diverted course. Shikaku suspected this was the source of the problem. There had been growing tensions between the Uchiha and the village for months. Shikaku wasn't sure what had happened in his absence, but feared things had finally reached their breaking point. He landed on the rooftop of one of the buildings, surveying around him. Danzo Shimura was on scene, directing a team of ANBU.

Shikaku had seen a lot of disturbing sights in his life. He had seen the worst of the third shinobi war and had seen his village go up in smoke as they tried to contain the nine tails fox. But there was something that unnerved him about this scene. He saw a young mother, her body wrapped protectively around her baby even in death. He saw an elderly couple he knew ran the teahouse over in the north district. A pair of children he had seen playing ball with Shikamaru and his friends that morning.

The vast majority of these people weren't shinobi. They were civilians and children. From the looks of it, the entire clan was laid out on the street. Hundreds of people slaughtered.

How could this happen? How many nights had he spent working on a plan to unit the Uchiha and Konoha and avoid any bloodshed? He had been close to working out a solution with Fugaku when he was sent on a month long mission. He felt disgusted that there was so much needless bloodshed. His blood boiled at the thought of so many innocent people killed. This was the last thing any of them had wanted. Who would do such a thing?

He looked up, making eye contact with Danzo and a cold chill went down his spine.