A/N: This chapter jumps between povs a bit but they shouldn't be too confusing... And basically this entire chapter is just...

The deer: Little Nara, Ours.

Shinju and Fusae: Please don't. We have no idea what is going on.

Everyone else: There is something going on but we have no idea what it is.

The deer: A. Nara. Girl. Look.

Everyone: Nah.

Chapter 8: Connection established… and denied

"It is getting late again." Shinju told the deer. One of them had laid their head on her lap, preventing even more effectively her from leaving. "I have to go home eventually."

She had played a couple of more songs. Some from memory and with only a need to be adjusted to the ocarina scale, some she tried to improvise from familiar scores through that adjusting. Shinju had drunk more water and eaten two more granola bars, too. The sun was slowly starting to drop towards the horizon. Shinju estimated it was about seven o'clock. She really needed to get home. Why were the deer keeping her here?

Fusae was not wringing her hands together in nervousness but she was close to. There were still no signs of Shinju. After another hour of searching, she had contacted Aoba who had promised to look through the Uchiha compound and especially Uchiha Hatori's residence. It was entirely possible that Shinju had searched for familiar environment…

"Fusae-san?"

The woman startled and looked over her shoulder. Standing at the gate of Nara Compound was Shikaku. Even after all these years, Fusae had mixed feelings about the man. Irritation over denying of the contract, admiration over bravery to chase after love, acceptance over the happy family the man gained, resignation over being dismissed by the clan again. In the end, Fusae was nothing to the man. Just a stranger contracted to him and then to his brother. A widower who had born no heirs and then pushed aside in favour of the man's own family and the two brilliant children born into the clan. Fusae knew she had intentionally avoided Shikaku and even to this day did not know what he thought of her. Perhaps for the better, perhaps for the worse.

If things had been different, Shinju would've been able to live here. Shinju would've received education befitting of her station instead of cast adrift. Fusae was not blind. Kinoshita Mitsuru might've been a dedicated mother but she was still a single parent with most of her time spent at the Intelligence department and thus Shinju was left under Uchiha tutelage whenever she was not at school.

The girl was more Uchiha and Nara these days and Fusae could not fault her for that.

"Shikaku-sama, returning late today?"

"We are all busy these days." The clan head replied. "And you? I've been hearing about you rushing around the village all of the afternoon."

Ah, such a dilemma. Whether or not to tell him about Shinju's disappearance. Shikaku was a frighteningly intelligent man. Fusae could not even fantom how much he could piece together of the overall situation once getting started.

"One of my students is missing. She didn't turn up to lessons today and her mother is out of village. I have Yamashiro-kun helping me search but I'm running out of places by now."

"And where have you looked for her?"

"The route between Academy and her home, the shopping districts in between, the library, and parks and training grounds publicly accessible to everyone. Yamashiro-kun is checking the Uchiha compound in the case she ended up wandering to her mentor's house."

"What sort of familial connections does she have?"

"None. Her mother is the last Kinoshita still bearing the name and her father is not marked down in any records. Kinoshita-san herself was an orphan as well according to records." Fusae raised her hand rub between her eyes. All of it was true. She was not privy to Mitsuru's lineage and had heard enough whispers of the Kinoshita curse not to question the situation. Of course, she could speculate the connection between Mitsuru and the now late Uchiha Hatori but there was no proof. Absolutely none.

"And yourself?" Shikaku asked then. Fusae froze mid-motion and then raised her gaze to properly look at the man. He was inscrutable.

"Excuse me?"

"You obviously worry about your student a lot given you've been searching for her all day even though most would assume she'd simply be home sick. Would you say you and the girl are close?"

"I…" It was a possibility. Shinju often came to Fusae when she had questions but… that was only natural given her position as the girl's teacher. A part of Fusae sort of wished that she could be seen as a secondary maternal figure but it was something she didn't dare to entertain or truly hope for. Could it be possible that Shinju had come to the Nara Compound to search for Fusae?

"Kurome-san, you were here last night, did you happen to see an Academy aged girl arriving?" Shikaku was asking from the young chuunin at the Compound gate.

"Ten years old, black eyes, black hair. Usually left side of her face covered by the hair." Fusae was quick to supply them with a description. What was Shinju wearing yesterday? Ah. "Had a violet shirt and black pants."

"Doesn't ring a bell…" Kurome frowned. "I haven't seen any outsiders intending to come in… Wait, no. Nanto-kun covered me for an hour. He said afterwards that he saw a girl wandering in some sort of daze. He thought of going to ask if she was alright but then she took a turn left and disappeared."

That was more than Fusae could hope for.

"Thank you, Kurome-san." She sighed.

"Welcome. I hope you find your kid, Fusae-sama." Ah, the teen had eavesdropped on them.

"Not my kid." Fusae rebutted but didn't focus on the tease otherwise. The revelation of Shinju's state and direction was more worrying. Going left from the gates led eventually to the Nara Forest that was behind the compound.

"Let's go, Fusae-san." Shikaku prodded her from her thoughts. "If she went to the forest, the deer would've found her."

"And they would've either chased her off or then herded her towards the buildings."

"Or kept her in the forest." The man stated as he entered the compound. Fusae hurried to catch up with him.

"Kept-?!"

"It doesn't happen often and even I don't know the reasons for such behaviour. But unless your student does something to seriously harm the deer, nothing should happen to her either. But considering she has not been found this far, this is a possibility we must consider." Shikaku explained on the way through the compound towards the edge of the forest. Once there, another Nara was waiting. Fusae recognized him as Maen. The nineteen-year-old liked to watch the deer in the afternoons whenever he was in village. Now though, the young man was frowning towards the forest.

"Maen-kun, what is it?" Shikaku was immediately grabbing onto the unusual expression on Maen's face. The younger man turned to look at them and gave a slow nod.

"Shikaku-sama, Fusae-sama. I'm concerned about the deer." Maen began explaining. "They seem to be… patrolling the forest perimeter. Last night I saw suspicious shadows on the outer edge but they never entered the forest. In the morning they appeared normal when Shikamaru-kun and Shikako-chan entered to feed them but as soon as the twins left, the patrolling continued."

"Has this happened before?"

"No. According to Kyougi-chan it began last night. They've appeared calmer for the past few hours. Ever since…" There was hesitation.

"Ever since?" Fusae prompted.

"There was music. Some sort of flute playing." And right on cue, a song began to sound from the depths of forest. Fusae recognized the sound.

"That's an ocarina. Shinju-chan got one for birthday present few years ago and demonstrated in class." She said faintly, not even realizing the change in honorific she used. She was conflicted. Shinju was definitely in the forest. But why were the deer keeping her inside? And what were the shadows Maen had seen? Had they followed Shinju? Why?

She heard Shikaku saying something to Maen but she was already on her way to the forest, following the music and hoping it would lead her directly to Shinju. Shikaku followed her in.

The deer were indeed patrolling. At first glance it wasn't too obvious as they stopped occasionally to graze the underbrush or rub their growing antlers against the trees. They were covered in velvet that protected them during the five-month growing period. But overall, the deer were moving along the border. There weren't that many on the compound side so Fusae assumed there were more of them at the other side.

The deer let Fusae and Shikaku pass with only a long gaze following them.

The song changed and they were led deeper into the forest. Fusae frowned at the direction they were taking.

"Isn't this the route to the old oath stone?" After her marriage, Fusae had been taken to the Akimichi-Nara-Yamanaka memorial stone which was at the back of the compound where the three compounds intersected. There she'd given her oath to become a loyal member of the Nara clan and do her duties as expected of the future matriarch. Role which she never took on later. But she had discovered another stone in the forest. It was a moss-covered thing, next to which was on one side a tree shaped like a standing buck and on the other side a stone shaped like a resting doe.

She had never visited the place again but the route was burning in her memory.

"Yes." Shikaku was grave. "But the girl should not be there. Even when the deer have decided to keep people in the forest, they've never taken anyone to the old oath stone."

Fusae tried to swallow down her worry.

They arrived to the oath stone. Sun was setting and shining past the tree trunks. Shadows were long and the melody clear.

Shikaku took the lead and walked around the small clearing where the stone was, stopping to observe what he found on the other side. And there, leaning against a tree with her back towards the stone, was Shinju. There were two does lying nearby, with one of them having her head in the girl's lap. Three bucks stood between the trees, like guarding them. Other animals speckled the scene as well, most notably crows up in the trees.

A song ended and Shinju lowered the ocarina. She sighed and placed a hand on the doe's neck, half-heartedly pushing. The doe remained where she was.

"Why aren't you moving? I slept here last night, I've played songs for you, I've stayed put on your insistence for hours. I do have to get home eventually." The girl complained.

She received a snort from one of the bucks.

"Yeah, yeah, the forest is wonderful, I get it." Shinju muttered and took her water bottle from beside her. Instead of directly drinking from it, she instead extracted a marble sized glob of water and floated it out of the bottle, before tossing it into her own mouth like a candy. She then gave a considering look at the rest of the water before sighing. "If I don't attempt to leave, will you let me stand?"

That apparently was acceptable since the doe got on her feet and then stepped around the girl, blocking Shinju from seeing Fusae and Shikaku but did not hinder them from seeing her.

Shinju scrambled on her feet and floated the remaining water from the bottle. She grasped it and shaped it.

"Please stand back." The girl muttered when the water thinned and extended. It became a long ribbon that Shinju twisted around. The remaining does got up as well and retreated to the bucks' sides. They knew not to get in the way of practicing shinobi.

Fusae watched in awe. She'd had no idea that Shinju had progressed to elemental chakra control. Even Shikaku seemed impressed.

Shinju made some experimental swings with the improvised whip. But she was not looking at it. Instead, her eyes were towards the ground. And Fusae saw her shadow, specifically the shadow of the water whip, move at slightly different pace from her own movement. Slowed down.

The doe was partially in the way and Shikaku was closer and taller than Fusae so he probably hadn't noticed yet but.

"Shinju-chan!"

Shinju started and twirled around. Her water whip retreated into a ball, her shadow stilled and what little chakra she'd pooled into it in order to hinder its movement, vanished.

"Fusae-sensei… Nara-sama?" She uttered, berating herself for not being careful enough. She was at Nara grounds after all. She should've known better. But one little idle thought had set her on this path.

Water is Yin aligned, isn't it?

But there were two adults, Fusae was acceptable and rapidly approaching. She knew things already. Nara Shikaku though… troublesome. Shinju hoped he hadn't managed to notice anything. It was a slim hope. But not impossible.

"Shinju-chan, have you been here the whole time?" Fusae was kneeling in front of the girl now and dragging her attention fully to the woman.

"Yes… I just… woke up. I don't know how I got here." Shinju hesitantly admitted. "I didn't mean to worry anyone but… How late is it?"

"Very late. You've been missing since yesterday." Fusae replied and then, with a move that surprised Shinju, scooped the girl up in her arms and stood up.

"S-Sensei, what?" The girl squeaked.

"You've had weight on top of your legs for many hours, hindering your circulation. Additionally, you've not eaten properly for 24 hours. By some miracle you managed to stand up and not fall over but you are not walking back in your condition."

"I-…" Shinju tried to protest but was hit by a sudden dizzy spell. She pressed her face in the shoulder of Fusae's jacket and an unwitting whine escaped her.

"As I said, you blood sugar is low. You've managed to supplement yourself with chakra but given your age and the sudden need…" Fusae pressed a hand against Shinju's neck, lit with diagnostic jutsu.

"You two can join us tonight for dinner." Shikaku spoke up then. Shinju lifted her head and saw the man holding her schoolbag. "Yoshino knows to expect us."

"We shouldn't trouble Yoshino-san too much... but if she already expects us, it would be impolite to refuse." Fusae accepted the invitation on Shinju's behalf. The girl wanted to protest but honestly, she was too tired to do so. "I just have to inform Yamashiro-kun that I've found Shinju-chan."

"Aoba-senpai will know." Shinju stated. She pushed herself up and extended her arm. One of the crows landed on it. "Hitori-san will let him know."

"Of course, Shinju-hime." The small crow replied and took flight. Shinju hid her face again, this time in mortification. Hitori was her first summon. She had summoned him for the first time only a few days before the massacre and sporadically afterwards when the silence of the empty apartment had gotten to her. Hitori had been introduced to Mitsuru and Aoba both so they'd be familiar with each other.

Shinju's little 'fire bird' had appeared in the trees a bit after she'd woken up, presumably summoned by Aoba to find her.

"Well, that is one thing not to worry about then." Fusae stated. "I believe an honest assessment of your talents is in order though. That is customary for students who receive regular mentoring outside the standard academy classes."

"Okay…"

They had sudden dinner guests.

Surprisingly enough, the dinner was not awkward. Shikako expected it to be, given that Nakajo Fusae was Dad's ex-fiancée and Uncle Ikoma's wife. Shikako didn't know all the drama that had been involved but knew that in the end Fusae had withdrawn from the family and focused on her teaching career at the Academy. Shikako couldn't even remember ever calling her Aunt Fusae.

So this situation with Mum and Fusae…-sensei engaged in polite conversation with Dad occasionally joining in, completely baffled Shikako. It simply was not what she had expected. Tense silences maybe? Passive aggressive sniping probably? Not something this… normal. Kinoshita Shinju in the other hand was quiet and seemed to be low on energy. Shikako hadn't heard the proper explanation as to why Fusae-sensei and Shinju-senpai were joining them for dinner. One of the clansmen had arrived earlier to inform Mum on the situation and she had deftly increased the amount of dinner in order to accommodate for the two surprise guests. There had been some quiet complaining from Mum but when Dad arrived with Fusae-sensei and Shinju-senpai, all traces of it had been gone.

Even if the sight of Fusae-sensei carrying Shinju-senpai and Dad carrying Shinju-senpai's schoolbag was a weird one.

Shikako didn't know much of anything about Shinju-senpai. She was two years above her in the Academy apparently. According to what Fusae-sense mentioned, Shinju-senpai was being mentored extensively as well. Was she one of the prodigies of their generation then? Or just lucky?

And how an earth was she about to fall asleep in dinner table when even Shika wasn't managing that feat?

Shinju-senpai's hand suddenly shot out and grabbed the edge of the table, managing to stop her from nodding into her plate. The older girl took a deep breath and then rubbed her other hand across her face. With the hand and the hair, it was hard to see what she was thinking. Then she laid her hands neatly in her lap and bowed towards Mum and Dad.

"My deepest apologies Nara-sama, Nara-san, I did not realize how tired I was. I meant no disrespect towards you or this occasion and apologize for my inattention and rudeness." Shinju-senpai spoke. The cadence and the word choices spoke of her being well-educated in manners.

"That's alright. I've heard you've had quite the adventure." Mum was smiling at the girl.

"What happened?" Shika asked.

"I…" Shinju-senpai hesitated even when she raised her head. "I wandered around the village after school and then woke up in the forest with the deer."

"Specifically, she wandered around the village yesterday after school and woke up in the forest today after the school hours." Fusae-sensei sighed. Shinju-senpai gave her double thumbs-up, breaking the formality she had previously engaged.

"A full 24-hour sleep, isn't that a dream for Nara?"

Dad snorted. Shika made an affirmative noise that gained a disapproving look from Mom.

"Not if it messes up with your circadian rhythm, makes you miss eating times and thus leaves you so low on energy that you'll just fall asleep again." Fusae-sensei replied. Shinju-senpai visibly drooped, her head tilting and her hair falling to cover almost her whole face.

"Boo." The older girl said with flat tone but straightened from her momentary slouch and continued to eat, as if the moment of interaction had invigorated her. Shikako decided to be brave and ask about something. What would be a safe topic?

"Um, senpai… I heard you were being mentored. What sort of things have you learnt then?"

Fusae-sensei froze but Shinju-senpai just turned her attention fully to Shikako. The older girl took a moment to think.

"Well… It was a bit of everything. Chakra-control and taijutsu at first to expand on what was taught at the Academy. In general, a lot of things were similar stuff to Academy but a bit differently. Correction to shurikenjutsu that sensei hadn't caught yet, different taijutsu style so I wouldn't be reliant on Shorin-ryu. When Shimizu-senpai joined in, I got tested on elemental chakra nature and started learning some basic jutsu. Ichigo-senpai was good sparring partner as well even though I always lost." It was informative but very vague. Very ninja-like answer really.

"Not to mention that by your own admission you learnt the Academy Three in your first year and mastered them in your second." Fusae-sensei pointed out with a sigh but a bit of… pride? The woman seemed to really care about Shinju-senpai. Was she like Iruka-sensei was to Naruto? But why? Naruto reminded Iruka-sensei of himself but even then, the teacher wasn't very warm towards the boy yet. Shinju-senpai was… not like Naruto. She wasn't an orphan, was she? And she definitely wasn't an outcast if the few names Fusae-sensei had mentioned earlier in the conversation when describing the groupings in her class, was any indication.

"Shishou had old fashioned standards and senpai and her friend grew up in war-time." Shinju-senpai replied. "Not that it matters really anymore."

"Ah, that's right." Fusae-sensei nodded sombrely. Shikako wanted to ask but a warning look from Dad held her tongue about it.

"That sounds exciting." She said instead.

"It really was. Now I'm excited to see what okaa-san has to teach me." Shinju grinned but her shoulders were tense. Shikako decided not to ask more questions and instead just listened when Shika and Shinju-senpai talked about various board games. Apparently, Shinju-senpai had never played shougi but other games on similar board.

("There is this tactical game you can play on shogi board. You play at three columns and each player has three pawns. They players start at their respective starting rows and move one pawn in turn. The pawn can be moved back and forth as many steps as you want. When you move a pawn to meet your opponent's pawn, there is a 'lock' and sets you in advantage as the only direction your opponent can move that pawn is backwards. The winner is the player who makes the last 'lock' as the implication is that the loser is only capable of backing down against their own end and thus eventually lack the ability to move at all.")

Naturally Shika wanted to drag Shinju-senpai to teach him the variation properly. The adults allowed the children to leave the table and continued the discussion.

"Are you letting Shinju-kun go home tonight?" Shikako heard Dad ask Fusae-sensei.

"No, she will be staying with me until Kinoshita-san comes back from her mission. I'll help her tomorrow to get her homework done before school and after it help her gather anything she needs from her house."

Shikako frowned. That seemed to imply that Shinju-senpai's mother had been on a mission for a while. Had the older girl been alone at her house then? And no one noticed until today? Not even Shinju-senpai's mentor?

"You really care for her, Fusae-san." Mum mused. "Do you know Kinoshita-san well?"

"We were on the same class in the Academy. Watched Mina-kun flounder around Shina-chan. It was adorable." Fusae-sensei chuckled. Shikako tried hard not to let her mouth fall open. She failed. And as much as she wanted to continue listening the conversation, Shika was waiting for her.

There was a photo. A photo of Shikaku and Ikoma when they were young. Only teenagers maybe. And Shinju couldn't tear her eyes off it. Well, she had to. Before someone noticed her preoccupation. The clan head's daughter was approaching. Shinju did not know what had stalled Shikako but it wouldn't do for her to be spotted here. Being a child or not, Nara was still a Nara.

Ironic how it was like Shinju was treating this visit almost like an infiltration to a hostile territory. But she supposed she had a reason to. No matter how much others might disagree with them and think she'd benefit from the protection of a clan. The Nara intelligence was terrifying though and Shinju rather enjoyed her anonymity as long as she could.

She entered the room where Shikamaru was finishing setting up the board up to her earlier description. Hopefully she'd manage to stay awake the next hour and entertain the kids before it was time to leave.

The guests were gone. The children were set to sleep. Yoshino was getting ready for bed as well. Shikaku looked down at the shogi board with the unfinished six pawns' game. There were two locks. Practically the one who made the second lock had automatically lost.

A shadow appeared on the yard that was seen through the open shoji doors.

"Shikaku-sama, I've come to report." A young teenager gave a bow.

"Go on, Kyougi-kun." Shikaku gestured the seat opposite him. Nara Kyougi removed her shoes and stepped up to the engawa and then to the slippers set ready for her. She took a seat opposite Shikaku on the green zabuton pillow set on the tatami floor. "Maen-kun mentioned you were on the deer watch last night?"

"Yes. Maen-niisan had me keeping an eye on the border. I saw Kinoshita Shinju from distance. A buck and two of the does came out of the forest and led her in. She… it looked like she was under a genjutsu."

Shikaku sighed. "Fusae-san said as much. Maen-kun spoke of shadows at the edge. Did you witness them as well?"

"Briefly. They tried to come after the girl but the bucks began their patrol. At that point they retreated and I, too, had to leave my post."

"Thank you for this. And thank Maen-kun as well. This has been a valuable insight."

"By your leave, Shikaku-sama." Kyougi bowed. Shikaku waved his hand, dismissing the teen.

"Troublesome." The man muttered once he was alone once more. The situation was curious. Someone had set their sights on Kinoshita Shinju. So much that they'd subjected the girl on genjutsu yet had not immediately acted on it. And then the deer had deemed Shinju worthy of being protected and kept her in the heart of the forest, the old oath stone. The girl's mother was on a sudden mission but Fusae was stepping into that role which was… strange. Fusae had never shown interest in motherhood or childrearing. She had almost avoided the clan children and according to rumours had not been terribly close with her previous class, unlike with this one. Both Shinju and Fusae had been tight-lipped on the girl's mentorship. Moreover, Fusae had interrupted Shinju in her practise and Shikaku was not sure why that was. Fusae had seen something he hadn't and moved to intercept. With a sudden shout instead of actually moving and thus alerting the girl of her presence.

Why?

There was something really big missing from this picture.

A/N: Some OCs

Nara Kurome and Nara Nanto: From DoS, in the Sealing class that Shikako will hold. They are about nineteen here.

Nara Kyougi: From DoS. Mentioned in Bell Test to be a chuunin and gotten her name carved to memorial stone. About fourteen here.

Nara Maen: A canon character actually. Shown in the war arc. Very fond of the deer. Tokubetsu and 27 yr old in the war arc so... 21-ish here.

I'm thinking that Shikaku probably could deduce that Shinju is a Nara but... 1) plot reasons and 2) Fusae. Fusae was not pregnant at all, ever, otherwise Shikaku would suspect Shinju being Fusae's daughter. Ikoma does not factor at all in his mind because Ikoma was not the type to cheat anyone. And with both Fusae and Shinju hinting about her mentorship despite not actually saying much, makes him suspect the shadows were after Shinju because of that and deer simply being opportunistically protective. After all, Nara suspect no deer conspiracy.

The scene with Shikaku coming home with Fusae and Shinju? That just screams at Shikako "This could've been you!" Shikako ignores it though. Everyone is in deep denial. Except Fusae. She is the MVP of this chapter.

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