"You demon brat! Why'd you come here," an angry merchant shouted at a young blond boy. Gathering the attention of Shikaoi who noticed the hateful gazes of the ignorant villagers.
His brother, Shikamaru and their friend, Choji — who were walking next to him — stopped in confusion.
"Naruto?" Shikamaru whispered to his twin and best friend dubiously.
The angry merchant threw the fox anbu-styled mask at the whiskered child. "Take it and get lost," the merchant demanded.
The blond boy didn't notice his classmates and shouted at the villagers before running off.
The Nara twins looked at each other wondering the same thing, 'what is wrong with people?"
Shikaoi had figured out that the memories he had weren't the complete story, and he had managed to speculate that, although he had these memories, they aren't actually his memories.
He had an idea why the villagers ostracised Naruto, but he didn't understand what the other boy's birth had to do with anything. It is not the kid's fault that the kyubbi attack happened on his birthday. How could the villagers be so stupid?
Later that day, the twins were observing Naruto as the other children ran around the playground. They noticed the parents that were picking up the other children were just as cold towards the whiskered blond as the other villagers. The boy stared longingly at the sight of parents picking up their children.
"Shikamaru! Shikaoi!" Their father called.
"Hai," the twins replied in unison, rolling their eyes at their father's chuckle and running to Shikaku.
The clan head reached for his sons' hands to lead them home when Shikamaru said, "dad stop," pulling away from their father, his twin doing the same.
"What? My sons are now embarrassed to be seen with their old man," Shikaku asked.
At dinner, Shikamaru asked their father what the twins had been wondering all day.
"Dad, why do people hate Naruto?"
Their parents paused looking at each other. Shikaoi straightened, focussing in on the conversation.
"Does it have to do with Naruto's birthday being the same day as the kyubbi attack?" Shikaoi interrupted before his father could reply to his brother's question.
For a moment their parents froze in bewilderment. Shikaku quickly composed himself and asked his son in a slightly strained voice, "what gave you that idea Shikaoi?"
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes at their father, "that isn't a no."
Shikaku switched his attention back to his elder son. "Shikamaru, what do you think of Naruto?"
"Me? Troublesome. He is loud and annoying, but he is funny. I don't hate the guy, but we aren't close or anything," Shikamaru said.
"Shikaoi?" Shikaku questioned his other son who had sunk into a thinking stance not unlike his twin's.
Shikaoi straightened once more and looked his father in the eyes and replied, " I think the villagers are idiots that can't tell the difference between a kunai and a sealing scroll."
The silence at the table was deafening and Shikamaru wondered what could cause their mother to go white like that and surprise their father that much.
Shikaku's eyes still hadn't gone back to its normal size.
Shikaoi gazed out the window contemplative and said, "why would the villagers call the Yondaime a hero, but mistreat his son?"
Shikaku didn't have an answer and all Shikamaru could say was, "what a drag."