Chapter Four: Know Each Other Better?

Even though he says he's fine, I could see sweat beading up on the Nara's forehead. I feel really bad for eating a lot. Guess I've to watch my weight. I mentally shook myself. Anyway, this is not going to be a normal thing. It's just this once.

"We're here." Nara panted as he stood at the gate. It was rather large wooden gate in front of what seemed like a courtyard. I looked up.

"Big house." I observed and he nodded, "Yeah, my dad's kind of the head of the clan so yeah. Big house." He gestured for me to open the door with his head, and I did as I was told, pushing with all my might. As I did, I heard footsteps running on wooden planks.

"Shikamaru! Is that you?! Why are y-" The voice stopped when the owner saw us. A woman stood at the opening of a house filled with warm light. I felt the boy wince under me, "That's my mom." He muttered.

She came over quickly to inspect us, "What happened to you?" Immediately, she noticed me and smiled, "Hello, what's your name?" I returned her smile, "Mononoke."

The woman nodded, "Ah, you're the girl Shikamaru had talked about. I'm Yoshino. Now come, both of you are filthy!"

I looked at Nara when she said that he talked about me but he wouldn't meet my eyes. Instead, he lets me down and supported me by placing my shoulder across his neck and he supported my back.

"You're really troublesome, you know that?" I heard him say softly but apparently his mother heard that and whack him on his head, "Now, that is rude! You don't tell a girl that! Besides she's hurt!"

"It's okay, ma'am. Shikamaru did help me get here on his back. He's wounded too." I said quickly, trying to make up for him. I felt his eyes on me. I knew why. It was the first time I said his name. Usually I just called him Nara. He would do the same but since I had no last name, he was stuck with 'Mononoke'.

Yoshino turned to smile at me, "Well, it's only proper if he speaks nicely to a girl sometimes." I smiled back, a little startled at her sudden change of attitude. Wow, this is a woman with an edge. Nice.

"Shikaku!" She called out, "We have a visitor! And help your son get cleaned up!"

A man walked out from the kitchen, sighing whilst rubbing his neck, "Yes, dear.."

I marvelled at the fact that Shikamaru was the exact copy of this man, even though he had scars and a goatee, which made him look pretty badass if you think about it.

When he looked up and saw me, he faltered slightly. Quickly recovering, he assessed our situation, "Yeah, these two looked pretty banged up." Gesturing to Shikamaru, he nodded, "Come on, son. Leave your friend to your mother while I get you patched up."

Shikamaru turned to me and sort of hesitated when his mother came closer to take me. Wanting to snap him out of his thoughts, I grinned at him, "You stink." He snorted, going back to normal, and handed me to his mother, "You're just as bad."

I saw the adults exchange glances but Yoshino-san quickly whisked me away to a bathroom close by before I could wonder why.

As she washed my wounds for me, she tutted at the dirt and grime on me and my clothes, "This wouldn't do. You need a change of clothes." I tried to protest but she wouldn't hear of it, "I'll go fetch some of Shikamaru's. I know he wouldn't mind. You clean up first, alright?"

And off she went. I don't think it would matter if he did mind, I laughed to myself. Since she left me alone, I decided to peel away my dirty underwear and shower quickly before she comes back. Yoshino-san had left me a towel to wrap myself in. After I was done, I sat there for a second before Yoshino-san came in again, with some clothes in her arms.

"I'm not sure if you mind, but you can wear Shikamaru's boxers. It's better than being without your undies." She said as she handed me his clothes. I felt my face grew hot when I thought of wearing even his underwear. It's pretty weird but comforting at the same time. It's a strange thing to feel.

Yoshino smiled at me as she gathered my clothes, "I'll wash this for you." I thought she was about to leave but she set my clothes aside and sat in front of me, "Does your parents know about this?"

"I don't have any parents." I explained softly, "My guardian had to go on a mission so he's not around."

The woman looked slightly surprised at this but nodded in understanding, "Does your guardian treat you well?" I grinned at her question, "He's like a big brother to me. He makes sure that I've got enough money for food and stuff before he leaves."

Smiling, she inclined her head slightly, "Wow, that sounds nice."

"Mhmm."

"So you mean if nothing happened to you, you'd stay at home alone?"

I dipped my head in agreement, "Yeah."

"For how long?"

I shrugged, "I'm not sure. Sometimes his mission last for three days, sometimes a week."

Yoshino-san hummed in wonder, "I see. Well, you can stay here for the night. Or until when your clothes get dry." I smiled with relief, "Thank you for everything, Mrs Nara." She waved her hand and smiled as she took my soggy clothes away, "Please, just call me Yoshino. Mrs Nara makes me feel so old."

I waited until the door was closed before turning to look at the clothes on my lap. I felt my cheeks heat up again but I scolded myself for being silly. It's just for the night. I can't be expected to walk around naked until my own clothes are dry. These will have to do.

But it's still embarrassing when I slipped on his underwear and wore his clothes. I shook my head, my shoulder length silver blue hair slapping me out of it. This is nothing! They're just clothes. Clothes strong with Shikamaru's scent. Which was sort of pleasant.

Oh, who am I kidding! I groaned as I opened the door.

I came face to face with a stomach. I blinked in surprised and watch Shikaku-san squatted down in front of me, "Well, it seems you've got it worse than the kid. Come on. Let's get you sorted out." I nodded and stumbled along as he turned and walked across the half opened corridor.

(I guess you can call it that. I don't know my houses haha but you know there's this part of the Nara's house where they play shogi and all and along the corridors are the screens to a few rooms eg: living room, bedroom. YEA.)

I looked over to the side and saw a small garden with a small fountain gurgling happily nearby. There were a lot of plants around and I recognized a few as medicine that Kakashi taught me about.

Shikaku-san slide a screen opened and gestured for me to enter, so I obliged.

Inside was pretty bright and I could see a few large shelves occupying the place. Scrolls and books filled them while one of the shelves held bottles with labels on them. On one side was a table with a few scrolls and papers piling around. In the middle of the room, to my embarrassment, was the owner of the clothes I was wearing. He sat there with his face, arms and his right knee covered in plasters and bandages but he looked pretty alright.

Shikamaru blinked at the sight of his clothes on my body but he didn't say anything about it. Instead, he watched as his father sat me down beside him and I tried not to catch his eye. I felt my face grew hot as he continued to watch me.

"Is my clothes okay?" He finally asked and I nodded, "Yeah. They're pretty comfy." He nodded before we turned back to look at his dad.

Shikaku-san was bundling a few leaves of some sort into a wool bag and came towards me. "These are for your leg." He explained as he placed the bag on my open wound which had started to bleed again some time ago. I sucked in a breath when the bag touched the wound. It was surprisingly cool.

Nevertheless, the Nara leader placed it there and began to wrap my leg. Soon he began to assess every wound I was inflicted. He made me lift up my shirt to see if there were any bruises underneath. But thankfully he did so after he told Shikamaru to get the both of us a glass of water, in which the boy grumbled but went out and to do it anyway.

"You're in a pretty bad shape." He stated as he rubbed an ointment at a bruise under my ribs, "But, Shikamaru had told be what happened. Don't worry, I'll handle it tomorrow."

I looked at him in surprise, but he continued calmly, "It's not right for kids to be bullied like this. It was an unfair match too. Five against one is a cowardly move."

"But Shikamaru helped too." I said, defending him for no reason I could think of. Shikaku looked up to me with a kind look, "They were planning to do it at first. If Shikamaru wasn't there, it's even more unforgivable. They're five boys. You're one girl." I nodded solemnly and he smiled, "Don't think too much about it. I'll make sure they won't do it again."

I raised my eyebrows suspiciously at him, "What are you going to do?"

He laughed at my wariness and before he could continue, Shikamaru came in with two glasses of water. I accepted one thankfully and he gave the other to his father, who just took a sip before he glanced at me again, "I'll be talking to the Hokage about this. But I have another question for you." I watched him curiously, wondering why he'd drag the old man into this and his sudden change of the subject.

"Not to be rude, but I was wondering. What is that on your chest?" I blinked in surprise. I hadn't thought he saw it. And why would he only mention it now? I shrugged, "I'm not sure. It's just there."

He sighed and motioned for Shikamaru to sit, "Well, I'll accept that for now." Turning back to the both of us, his face grew serious, "Now, after what have transpired today, I've made a decision." Clearing his throat slightly, his eyes fell on me.

"I'm going to take custody of you."

I cocked my head, unsure of what to make of it, "What do you mean?"

His face softened, "Well, let's just say I'm going to take you in, to take care of you. So you'll be staying with us."

I tensed slightly at his sudden offer, untrusting, "But why?" The scarred man scratch his head lightly as he replied to my remark, "You're just a kid, with no parents and an frequently absent guardian, I don't think it's safe or healthy for you. And the kids saw a... different side of you. I just want to make sure you're protected."

"But Kakashi takes care of me just fine! And he will sort it out when he comes back!" I insisted, unsure of why this stranger would stretch his neck out to help me.

Just because I trusted Kakashi doesn't mean I trust other people easily. After following Kakashi on a few of his less dangerous missions, I saw how scary and confusing the world was. That's when I made sure to not put my faith in people so simply.

Shikaku sighed, "So, they left you in the hands of Sharingan No Kakashi. It's a surprise, since he doesn't like responsibilities much."

Suddenly another person who is alike me popped in my mind, "How about Naruto? He's the same! He doesn't even have a guardian! Why don't you help him instead?"

"Naruto is... slightly different." He decided but I couldn't accept it. "How? He's a kid like me too! What's so different about him?" Shikaku-san smiled a little wearily at me, "There are orders. That's all I can tell you."

I snapped my head away, refusing to look at anyone. Adults just make things so complicated.

"Alright then." Shikaku said and I turned to look at him, a sad smile on his face, "I can't really understand why you resist my help. But I'll respect that. I'll settle this matter for you for now." I nodded but before we could go on other stuff, I heard a voice piped up beside me, "Why did Mononoke's eyes turn gold anyway?"

I blinked. My eyes turned gold? When? All attention was on Shikamaru now as he looked slightly bothered, "It doesn't makes sense how her eyes suddenly change colour." But his father could only shake his head, "That's what I'm worried about. If the other kids told their parents, there would be trouble. It's going to be a pain to settle that."

I let out a small laugh and father and son glanced at me, "You're both so alike. It's funny." I observed. Although Shikaku chuckled, Shikamaru, on the other hand just complained, "You're such a drag."

Shikaku got up to slide open the screen and ushered us out, "Go and have your dinner. I need to do some work."

Obediently, we let ourselves out and the screen shut behind us. I started to walk but Shikamaru just stayed in his spot. I noticed the sudden change and looked back, "What's wrong, Shikamaru?"

He smirked slightly, "You called me that again."

I raised an eyebrow, "Call you what?" He shrugged, "You used to call me 'Nara'." I frowned slightly at his comment, confused at his observation, "Is that wrong?" He shook his head, "No, it's just that it's better than 'Nara' all the time." Then he began to walk away, his hands in his pockets, "Come on, I heard your stomach growled a couple of times in there."

"Did not!" I defended but on cue, a small growl was heard over the silence. I felt my face flushed when my darn stomach responded and he smirked at me. Scowling, I followed him. "Shut up.", I said hotly even though he didn't even opened his mouth. He just shrugged, his smirk not fading, "Whatever."

XxxXXxxXX

"So where am I going to sleep?" I wondered aloud as Shikamaru led me into his room. The boy sighed and grumbled about how troublesome everything was as he pull open a screen on one side of the wall, revealing futons piled inside a small wardrobe. I had assumed he was pulling it out for me so I went over to help him.

After settling everything, he lay down on the fluffy futon. I sat on the opposite side of the futon, waiting for him to get up. Apparently, he was doing the same thing. I guess he realized what I was doing and he groaned, "You're taking the bed." I frowned and shook my head, "I'm a guest. I'll take the futon."

"I don't want to get up." Shikamaru admitted as he turned, making himself comfortable.

"Fine, I won't either." I stubbornly announced and lay down beside him. He sighed in defeat, "You're so troublesome." But laziness got the better of him, so both of us were lying on the futon, leaving the bed empty. I pulled the cover to my chin and snuggled into the soft pillow.

It felt nice to have someone's body warmth near my back again. Kakashi always let me sleep in his bed because there's only thing comfortable to sleep on in his house. Besides, he doesn't have guests over often. It's Kakashi we're talking about. But it's a good thing too, because I always get nightmares and he's always there to hush me back to sleep. He wasn't used to me waking up screaming in the middle of the night at first, but slowly he began to get used to subdue me after a freak out session.

But if Shikaku-san is really going to take me in, who's going to calm me after a nightmare?

Pushing those uncomfortable thoughts away, I quickly fell asleep.

XXxxxXXXX

I felt my heart began to race as deep sleep began to drift into a dream, then into a nightmare. I groaned as I felt shivers down my spine. Suddenly, fear woke me up and I gasped a little as my eyes flew opened. I took in a few deep breathes.

"H-hey, you okay?" A voice asked beside me, slightly spooked. I turned to look at a worried Shikamaru. His concern made me feel glad and uncomfortable at the same time. I forced a smile, "Y-yeah. I-I got a n-nightmare. That's all." He watched me as I chuckled nervously, licking my lips, "S-sorry, that I woke you up."

"No, it's alright." He said and tried to make himself more comfortable by shifting back into the futon.

"Shikamaru?" I called softly, my heart still hammering in my chest. His dark eyes turned to me curiously and he hummed in wonder.

"C-Can I touch your hand?"

He blinked at my request. Oh no, he's going to think I'm a troublesome cry baby. I quickly stuttered, "I-it's okay if you don't want to, but Kakashi was always there when I had nightmares, s-so-"

He didn't say anything until he settled to face me, looking at me, "No, it's okay. I get nightmares sometimes too."

I felt relief washed over me as I felt his warm fingers touch the back of my hand.

Immediately, I felt my heart began to beat slower and I relaxed. I thought that he would sleep but Shikamaru asked me a question, "So what do you do if Kakashi's not around?"

I smiled sadly, "Then I wouldn't go back to sleep. I would probably train or read a book. Sometimes I even sit on one of the Hokage's heads, waiting for the sun to come out."

"So which one do you like to sit on?" He asked again, which was weird because he usually wouldn't care much. But I replied anyway, smiling a little as I thought about it, "The Fourth, of course. He feels nicer than the others."

He nodded, then it seems like he's satisfied because he finally closed his eyes and went back to sleep. I smiled and followed him into dreamland.

Aww, goodnight kids~~ So you guys, do review and tell me what you think about these two nuggets~ :3 Oh and if you guys like, I can give you some tidbit trivia about Mononoke and stuff at the end of each chapter. IF YOU GUYS WANT TO. YOU GOTTA TELL ME IF YOU WANT TO. WORK WITH ME, PEOPLE.