Shadows and Fangs - Epilogue chapter 2
Kiba rolled his eyes as he sat outside cleaning various kunai and shuriken – desperately trying to do it quietly! The children had watched a popular kid's show in the house the day before, and the stupid theme song had been stuck in head ever since, creeping back all the time. Shaking his head as he'd started humming it again, he absently twirled the now clean kunai between his fingers as he smelled a familiar scent, turning with a frown. Shikadai was supposed to be training his Ino-Shika-Cho formation today, so what was he doing back so early? Setting his task aside, he walked to the door to wait for him, raising an eyebrow when the kid didn't even look guilty to have been caught.
"Did you skip training again?" Kiba asked with a frown as he crossed his arms over his chest, sighing at the shrug he received in response. "We told you to take it more seriously, didn't we? Man, Ino must be tearing Shikamaru a new one right now…" he muttered as he already dreaded the next time he'd meet her.
"He can handle it," Shikadai dismissed as he walked around him.
"Hey hey hey, where do you think you're going?" Kiba enquired with a raised eyebrow as he moved a hand to stop him.
"To my room," was the reply he received, in a tone that was so obviously stating the obvious.
Kiba sighed at that – honestly, could he be any more like Shikamaru was at his age? "Hold on now. Seriously, you can't continue to ignore your training like this. What was it this time? Inojin was too pale?" Unfortunately, it wasn't unusual for their son to pick the most random excuses to get out of training.
"I just didn't feel like it. It's boring. And useless," Shikadai replied matter-of-factly with a long-suffering sigh. "We're not even at war. Who cares if we fight well together?"
"We weren't at war at your age either, pup," Kiba reminded him with a sigh. "And the world won't wait for you to grow up before throwing you its challenges. Teamwork can be the difference between life and death; you should never dismiss its value. Your formation is important," he insisted.
"Why do you even care? It's a Nara thing, it's not like that's really important to you," Shikadai argued with a frown, decidedly in a confrontational mood.
Kiba resisted the urge to groan at that, because honestly, he couldn't deny the attitude was from his side. "It's important because despite your rather flat opinion of the situation, one day it might save your life – am I allowed to care about that?" The only response he got was another shrug, and he shook his head. "You could also make an effort and watch your tone, I'm only your father," he added off-handedly, really hoping he behaved better with others – namely, poor Shino.
"No you're not…" Shikadai mumbled as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.
Kiba had been subjected to a fair number of punches and general beatings during his life, so was the lot of close combat fighters. But nothing, not ever, had hurt like this. He'd physically had to make himself remember how to breathe – and not in a good way like Shikamaru regularly caused him to. No, this was mind-blanking, stomach-churning, eye-widening physical shut-down. And in the middle of it all, there stood a contrary kid who started squirming as he really looked like he'd rather be anywhere but there.
"Go to your room," was all he was able to say once he'd found his voice again. He saw the boy open his mouth to say something but he wasn't ready to listen yet, so he pointed towards his bedroom. "Shikadai, I said 'go to your room'. Now."
It wasn't often that he grounded him, furthermore without the hint of a grin on his face, and by using his full name, so perhaps it made his seriousness undisputable.
"And don't think you're exempt from training – practice your shadow's extension," he added sternly. Shikadai did as he was told, arguably being happy about being sent away, to a certain extent, and Kiba let out a slow breath as he watched him go.
So it had finally happened. He'd tried to stay positive and convince himself that their son would never say anything like this, but…wasn't it always going to happen at some point? He'd already had to deal with the typical 'you don't really love me' accusations when he'd refused snacks or an extended bedtime, first with Mirai, then with Kao and Shisen, and of course with Shikadai as well, but he'd always been able to laugh these off, because every kid said that – even some adults did!
But a reminder that he wasn't his father? Even if it was said in that same vein of childish tantrum, how was he supposed to not let that break him down? Because underneath it all, that one was true, in the strictest sense of the word.
Yes, he'd always advocated that parenthood was first and foremost about dedication, not genetics, as was evidenced by his own father. But children couldn't be expected to grasp that yet. Unfortunately and obviously however, it didn't mean that their words hurt any less. He'd always thought theirs was a happy family. Now, he wondered if maybe their son thought otherwise. Mostly, he wondered what he could do to fix it if that was really the case.
Akamaru whined at him and he absently reached to stroke his head. The faithful dog just nuzzled his chest, showing his support before growling softly.
"You're right, it's my turn to cook tonight," Kiba said absent-mindedly as he looked at the time – and since the training session had likely been cut short by his adorable kid's absence, then Shikamaru would be along shortly. He wasn't sure how to tell him – if he'd tell him. It would anger him, he knew that. Hurt him, too, because realistically a part of him would always be self-conscious about the circumstances of Shikadai's birth. Kiba hadn't really made up his mind yet by the time Akamaru barked and wagged his tail happily shortly before they heard the front door open.
"Shikadai?" Shikamaru called, tone annoyed.
"In his room," Kiba called back, keeping his eyes on his task. "Grounded. And normally practicing stretching his shadow," he informed him.
Shikamaru nodded before sighing as he walked to get himself a glass of water, leaning against the counter next to him. "I'm surprised you didn't get a clone to drag him back to the training grounds like the last time," he said jokingly before sobering up with a shudder. "Ino was in a foul mood to begin with, and now Sai has a grudge against me because he figures it's my fault he's going to have it even worse tonight."
"Probably that time of the month," Kiba commented off-handedly before he could stop himself, chuckling. "The pup was in a defiant mood, so I preferred to ground him before he got anyone to forget it was a practice session," he then added as casually as he could, figuring that wasn't exactly a lie, just a summary.
He couldn't really say: 'oh, and by the way, he said I'm not his father, so, yeah, he's grounded until he's at least thirty, which is good, because that way we can also keep him from dating, right?'
…Could he?
"Honestly, I have half a mind to make him go apologize to Ino right now – it might teach him a thing or two about consequences," Shikamaru muttered as he looked at him. "Need any help?" he then offered as he gestured towards the food.
Kiba shook his head as though to dissipate his thoughts before offering him an easy grin. "Nah, I'm mostly done anyway – set the table, maybe?"
"Sure thing," Shikamaru replied easily as he leaned in to press a kiss to his lips before pushing himself off the counter and doing as asked. "Akamaru, could you go get Dai?" he asked the nin-dog with a smile.
Akamaru yapped an agreement and walked off towards the pup's room, raising a paw to lightly tap against the door – lightly, because doors shouldn't be scratched, Mrs. Nara had made it a point to explain that to him along with an impressively graphic description of what might happen to him should he forget that simple fact. (The nin-dog wasn't ashamed to admit that had been one of the scariest moments of his life – battles included.)
"I'm not hungry," said a quiet voice from the other side.
Akamaru whined and simply moved to open the door, trotting inside and stopping by Shikadai's bed to nudge him with his snout.
"I said I'm not hungry—go away, Akamaru," the boy insisted.
The nin-dog however wasn't about to give up, and he raised his front paws on the bed, gently turning him until they'd be face to face, upon which he licked his cheeks, tail wagging slowly as he tried to cheer him up.
Shikadai chuckled despite himself even as he half-heartedly tried to push him away and complained about the slobber and the dog-breath. "I have to go, right…?" he asked quietly as he fisted a hand in the soft fur. Akamaru's response was one last lick, so with a long-suffering sigh, Shikadai got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face before slowly going to the dining table, hiding behind Akamaru as much as he could. Stalling, he picked up the nin-dog's bowl from the counter and set it on the ground for him next to his chair before sitting down himself.
"You should really stop missing training, Dai, or you'll soon start falling behind – and in the long run, that'll also affect Chocho and Inojin, not just you," Shikamaru commented with a sigh as he set down a few dishes. "And you'll apologize to Ino and Chouji the next time you see them. To your friends as well, of course," he added sternly.
"Okay," the child mumbled as he kept looking down, not wanting another confrontation and wishing he were back in his bed.
Kiba joined them with the rest, absently noting that Shikadai had taken care of Akamaru's bowl and that he did look remorseful – which, horribly, made him feel both relieved and sad.
Shikamaru obviously noticed the somewhat tense atmosphere – it would have been difficult not to when Kiba didn't tease their kid once during dinner, and Shikadai didn't look up from his plate. This was further emphasized when Akamaru accompanied the boy to his room later on; while using Akamaru as a living plush had been common during his early years, as he grew up it was mostly when he was unhappy with something that he dragged the nin-dog along.
"So, want to tell me what really happened?" he asked Kiba once they were alone.
"I told you he was being feisty. We just had a little argument," Kiba maintained as he piled their plates.
"Kiba, come on…" Shikamaru insisted as he reached to grab his hand. "He couldn't look you in the eyes – he was close to tears. And I can recognize it when you're hurt."
Kiba looked down with a frown before shaking his head. "Then I think you can guess what your son said to put us both in such a state," he sighed tiredly.
Shikamaru frowned at this, briefly looking towards Shikadai's bedroom. Children could blurt out the most off-handed and painful things, but Kiba had usually always been able to brush these off with a grin. So what had he said this time that neither could let go…?
And then he realized Kiba had said 'your' son, not 'our' as he usually did, and he shook his head, refusing to believe it. "He said that?" he asked quietly, not able to bring himself to even say it, frown deepening at Kiba's nod. "I'm going to talk to him," he said with a shake of his head as he stood up.
"No," Kiba quickly said seriously as he stopped him, reaching to grab his arms to keep him in place. "No, I'll talk to him. After he's had time to cool down," he said decisively.
"But…okay…it's up to you," Shikamaru conceded as he saw his determined expression. "I'm sorry," he then said earnestly as he grabbed his face with his hands.
"Hey, it's no one's fault," Kiba dismissed with a soft smile as he moved his hands from his arms to his waist, pulling him closer. "Kids say hurtful things to their parents all the time!"
"You're an amazing father," Shikamaru insisted regardless against his lips. "And I'd be completely lost without you."
"That's mutual, but thank you," Kiba replied with a warm grin, letting out a breath and unwinding slightly for the first time since the argument. He could only hope that the night would be enough for Shikadai to mull it over on his side so they could put it behind them.
But there was one thing Shikamaru and Shikadai had in common above all else: he could never stay mad at them.
In the morning, the hurt was still there but he was able to brush it aside as he saw Shikadai's sorry state – he loved him too much to let a rift come between them, so he found himself grinning at him as usual. He was then however called in on an emergency in the middle of breakfast – which Shikamaru had managed not to burn, something that still happened one time out of three as he really wasn't a morning person. With a nod towards Akamaru, he leaned in to kiss Shikamaru, and then automatically moved to tap his forehead to Shikadai's.
"Don't skip training today, okay pup?" he said firmly, not failing to see the way his son's eyes widened.
Shikamaru watched them with a smile and pretended not to notice when the boy tried to camouflage a sniffle with a cough.
After all there was one thing he and Shikadai had in common above all else: how much they loved Kiba.
When Kiba got home that evening, later than usual, he was surprised to find Shikadai waiting for him by the door. "What are you doing outside at this hour?" he asked him with a raised eyebrow.
Shikadai shrugged as he looked away. "I…waited inside until I could smell you," he told him, chuckling as Akamaru promptly trotted over to lick his face.
"At what point did you?" Kiba asked in interest.
"Around Maen's house – I know because his pond smells moldy," was the child's response as he frowned. The use of potent smells around the village to pinpoint various locations was his own way of going around his limitations, a technique he'd developed and was rather proud of.
Kiba grinned proudly at this, reaching to pat his head. "That's a fair distance, you're getting better and better at this!" he praised him happily – besides, Maen's pond did smell moldy, and he'd already told him as much, repeatedly, which somehow hadn't exactly done wonders to improve their relationship.
Shikadai flushed happily at the approval but then frowned as he looked up at Kiba, looked at his usual warm grin, tried to find a trace of anger in him – and failed, miserably. Finally giving up with a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumped down. "Why aren't you angry at me?" he asked him point blank.
Kiba raised an eyebrow as he kneeled to look at him at eye-level. "Why do you think I should be angry at you?" he asked him back seriously.
The child sighed once more as he absently pulled on Akamaru to half-hide behind him. "Because I said something really bad to you…" he mumbled quietly after a long moment, the tip of his ears reddened and revealing his embarrassment.
"Yeah, you did…" Kiba agreed. "But you weren't completely wrong," he continued, noticing his son's eyes widen as he looked at him in confusion. "Was it hurtful? Yes, very much so. Am I disappointed? Yes, I can't deny that. But it wasn't entirely a lie." No, it was a half-truth he'd made the decision to live with, and it was the best damn thing he'd ever decided on.
"I still don't understand…why aren't you angry?" Shikadai asked him again, his arms' hold on Akamaru not letting up.
Inwardly, Kiba wondered how to best explain this to a child, but in the end, he knew that he should just be frank, as usual, and Shikadai was bright enough to keep it in a corner of his mind until he'd make sense of it on his own.
"I've always known that sooner or later, we'd have a conversation like this. I've been preparing myself for it since before you were even born," he began, thinking back on Hana's pregnancy. "The fact of the matter is, biologically speaking I'm not your father. No matter how much I wish it could be different, there's nothing I can do to change that. But," he quickly added, raising a finger to stop him before he could speak up his protests, "I decided the moment I first held you that I wasn't going to let it bother me. You're my son, and that's it," he said resolutely as he reached to pinch his nose between two fingers.
Shikadai made a noise of protest as he swatted his hand away and fixed him with a reproachful frown, soon looking away at his grin. Eventually, he bit his lips and stepped around Akamaru closer to him. "I'm sorry, Dad. I really didn't mean it, you know," he admitted in a quiet voice, fighting to keep his eyes from watering as he felt a hand ruffle his hair affectionately.
"I know," Kiba replied as he pulled him against him, grin widening as Shikadai was at that age where accepting your parents' affection was uncool but sometimes okay when no one was looking. And he'd be graduating in a couple of years, so he wasn't exactly a kid anymore, actually.
"It's not like I've never said some horrible things to my own parents!" he reasoned not-so-jokingly. And really, the worst part of becoming an adult was realizing that they were right (damn it). "Just…don't say anything like that ever again," he asked him seriously.
"I won't," Shikadai quickly promised earnestly, tightening his hold on him.
"Good," Kiba replied happily. "Now try not to skip training for some time, okay? Unlike me, Shikamaru was really angry," he instructed with a fond sigh, grin widening as he felt him nod against him.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at him as they walked in, and Kiba simply grinned back, knowing the message would be understood. He found it so loveable that Shikamaru would get upset on his behalf…but he knew he'd been right not to let him have that talk with their son. There had been no doubts in his mind that Shikadai would come around on his own and they'd resolve this.
He wasn't half-bad at this parenting business after all, if he dared say so himself.
Shikadai groaned loudly as he let himself fall back in the grass, completely annoyed with his loss and sending his cousin a very peeved look to communicate said annoyance.
"You know it's normal for me to win when it's about taijutsu or scents – and not just because I'm older!" Shisen reminded him with a shrug, holding Kimaru above him and dropping him on his chest with a grin.
Shikadai let out another groan as the (thankfully) still small nin-dog stepped on his stomach, and he reached for him as he sat up. "I know," he replied sourly.
"They're your back-up skills – like sensing is mine!" he reasoned as he sat down next to him, absently readjusting his forehead protector around his head – but he wore it sideways, like his father. Ever since he'd graduated from the Academy, a few months back, it had been harder to just spend time together like this because newly promoted genin were kept busy, but he managed to make time anyway, something he really appreciated.
"I know," the Nara repeated, annoyed despite himself. "But I want to get better at it."
"Why?" Shisen wondered as he cocked his head to the side, imitated by his canine companion. "You're not supposed to go hand-to-hand in combat, unless things go completely wrong!" he needlessly reminded him.
"I know!" Shikadai repeated for the third time, frowning at him before looking down and absent-mindedly scratching Kimaru's ears. "But it makes dad happy," he mumbled.
Shisen blinked, not needing more than a second to understand which dad he meant. "Everything makes uncle Kiba happy!" he commented with a wide grin.
As he yet again couldn't argue against his logic, Shikadai sighed once more as he looked at him, eyes stopping on the clan markings on his cheeks. He wasn't an Inuzuka, so he couldn't get the same markings as his cousins that basically told the world who they were related to – but sometimes, he really wished he could. "Hey, Shisen…do you ever wish you were more like the Yamashiro? For uncle Aoba, I mean…" he asked him quietly.
Shisen let himself fall on his back at this, wrinkling his nose at the smell of freshly-cut grass as he thought about the question seriously. "Probing people's mind in fun, but I like fighting with Kimaru better," he replied after a moment, grinning as the nin-dog jumped to his chest in response. "And I'm not good with precise chakra control, like you are – mom tried to teach me some basic medical ninjutsu, but that was a complete failure!" he huffed before turning back to him. "There're only a handful of prodigies around the world who're annoyingly good at everything, and neither of us qualifies – not even Kao does!"
Shisen may have been competitive like most Inuzukas, but more than that he had a huge sister complex and held her as his shinobi goal.
Shikadai chuckled at this, liking his 'to the point' view as usual.
The genin suddenly sat up, barely startling Kimaru as he simply jumped back into Shikadai's lap. "But that's okay, yeah? Because I'm an Inuzuka who can pick brains if there's no one else around to do it, and you're a Nara who can use his nose! I'd say that's pretty cool!" he finished with a proud grin, reaching to rub Kimaru's back as he barked supportively.
"Yeah, it's pretty cool…" Shikadai was forced to admit. Besides, that was the whole reason they were put into teams, right? To balance each other. And he was luckier than most, because he'd been training with his team his entire life. But still… "One last time?" he asked his cousin with perfectly faked disinterest.
Shisen grinned widely and jumped to his feet, resting his hands on his hips. "Sure, but don't start crying when I win again!"
As if Shikadai would ever give him the satisfaction!
So after he lost yet another bout of taijutsu sparring, he challenged his cousin to a ninjutsu battle, and very happily captured him with his own shadow to make him eat those words.
Ah, family…nothing like it!
The annual Kages' meeting was coming to Konoha that year, and to the children, simply put, it was awesome. Because during that day, their parents would be so busy they'd have no time to breathe down their necks, and school and training would be cancelled!
Or at least that's what they'd thought.
"They really do cancel school and training in Kumo when the Kages meet up, my mom said so!" Chocho assured them as they sulked at her for getting their hopes up before they came crashing down.
"Lucky them," Shikadai grumbled as he burrowed his nose deeper between his arms and waited for their professor to start his classes.
"Maybe we'll at least get out early?" Inojin ventured, ever the optimist. And he'd been proven right, too, when Shino let them go a full hour ahead of schedule. "We can meet our parents for training early!" he offered with a smile.
Shikadai frowned at him and shook his head. "My parents won't even be there, so it's useless!" he insisted before making his own way out. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed Professor Anko making a sign at Chocho and his friend immediately following her happily – meaning Inojin would likely head to the training grounds on his own.
Anko used to be one of the most feared kunoichi of Konoha, he'd heard, but she was a cheerful teacher now – she'd obviously found her true calling. He knew that she was his father's predecessor as the Allied Division HQ's commander, and that after she'd quit a few years back he'd been voted into her position – where he'd been awesome ever since, Shikadai thought modestly.
Actually, just a couple of months earlier, the Allied Division had also hosted a meeting, between the commanders of all five HQs. It had been funny – and strange – because his father had been almost nervous the last few days leading up to it, but of course he didn't need to worry and it went well!
He knew that as the Hokage's assistant, Shikamaru would be too busy with last minute preparations for the meeting to have time for training, and as commander of the Allied division HQ, so would Kiba because the HQ's units usually helped with security during big inter-village events.
But he made his way there anyway because the division was always full of shinobi from other villages stopping by and he loved hearing their stories. He hadn't told his parents, because he knew they'd worry, but once he'd be a bit older (and a chuunin, since that was mandatory), he definitely planned on joining the Allied division and transferring to another village, just to experience life differently for some time.
His nose picked up his father's and his nin-dog's scents quite quickly, and as he got closer to the building, he also noted other familiar scents – he didn't smell them often enough to put a name to them right away, but he knew he knew these people well. And indeed, as he made his way towards his father's office – with quite a few shinobis patting his back and greeting him on the way – he grinned happily upon seeing Gaara and Kankuro there.
"Hello Shikadai," the Kazekage greeted with a small smile as he motioned that it was okay for him to come in.
"Hey, if it isn't the little guy!" the puppeteer said happily as he gently tapped his shoulders.
Shikadai bit back his grin as he grumbled that he wasn't that little, and he was still growing anyway. But a look towards his father's raised eyebrow made him pause.
"Didn't you have training today?" Kiba asked him although they both perfectly well knew the answer to that question.
"But I knew you'd both be busy with work, so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal," he tried to defend himself.
Kankuro laughed at this, moving to sling an arm over Kiba's shoulder. "Aw, look at the little guy – he came to see you anyway, right? How sweet is that?"
Oh yes, discovery of the decade: children possessed the innate power of wrapping Kankuro of the Hidden Sand around their little finger without even trying. (Not that Shikadai didn't actively try – criminal mastermind that he was.) He didn't get to say more though as Gaara stood from his seat.
"You're not leaving because of me, are you?" Shikadai asked with a frown despite himself.
"Of course not," Gaara replied simply, giving him a reassuring look. "It's just time for us to make our way to the meeting room."
"We're having lunch at your house tomorrow though, so we'll meet again!" Kankuro cheered up the kid as he saw the beginning of a pout on his face.
Shikadai brightened up but forced himself to tone it down because over-eagerness was uncool – particularly in front of a Kage. "Okay."
"Come on," Kiba said indulgingly as he gently pushed him along. "Let's escort the Kazekage out."
Once they were outside, still on the HQ's steps, Kankuro frowned as he looked up at the cliff overlooking the village. "Um…Kiba? Were the faces painted up on purpose?" he asked his friend with a raised eyebrow.
Kiba followed his look and burst out laughing as he saw the state the Hokages' monument was in. His nose easily told him who was behind that, and he resisted the urge to slap a palm to his forehead. "I'm going to go with 'no' – and the Hokage might be a little late to your meeting, sorry about that!" he added towards Gaara.
And he wondered how Naruto was going to go about scolding Boruto for that, since it was a well-known fact he'd painted the Hokages' faces as well when he was a kid. Seriously, what were the sentries doing, letting a kid paint over these respected tributes on more than one occasion?
Well, at least, he figured that even if his own son regularly skipped his training, he didn't go around vandalizing their monuments so he shouldn't complain too much. (Although those lips painted on Kakashi's statue really added some character to it! He really hoped someone had snapped a picture, because if he didn't have his position as commander to consider, he'd be posing for one right now!)
Kankuro straightened up as Gaara nodded at them and they made their way towards the tower, confident the Hokage wouldn't be delayed for too long.
As he and Shikadai walked back inside, Kiba clucked his tongue as he checked the time. "Dai, I've still got more work to do. You can stay here if you want, just don't—"
"Keep anyone busy – I know, Dad," Shikadai finished easily around a yawn, pretending to be annoyed at the hand that moved to pat his head. They both knew where he was going to go wait anyway; it was always the same place.
With the medical ninjutsu unit.
The captain in charge barely looked up as he walked in, and then wordlessly returned to his brewing. "Dai," he said simply by way of greeting once he sat down next to him.
"Hey Izo. What are you doing this time?" he asked him quietly as he took tentative sniffs of the different ingredients laid out.
"Easy on the smelling – some of these could knock you out," Izo warned as he reached to pinch his nose without even turning his head to him – and most likely acting more ominously than was needed, knowing him. "I'm striving to improve my pain medicine."
Shikadai nodded as he pulled his shirt's collar up and burrowed his nose into it – truth be told, he was looking forward to having his forehead protector, so he could just wrap it around his neck and have something handy all the time to block other smells. "But it's already the best in the Alliance, dad says so, so what're you working on?" he asked innocuously, inwardly smirking at his pleased expression.
Generally speaking, people had always agreed that his grandfather, Shikaku Nara, had been a genius who could instantly see the big picture. And that his father, Shikamaru Nara, was a genius who thought dozens of move in advance.
Well, Shikadai Nara's genius resided in his ability to immediately understand people and know how to butter them up or on the contrary rile them up – control your opponent and you'll control the battle, after all, right?
Izo was from Iwa, and usually didn't speak much unless it was to discuss anything medical, but Shikadai actually liked that in a person – no time wasted on platitudes. Besides, he always showed him interesting things and even let him watch when he healed people unless they were on death's door – claiming that 'your father would bite me if I let you see something like that', with a most serious expression. (Honestly, Shikadai sort-of liked that people were afraid of his dad.)
"This isn't the kind of pain medicine I'd give the wounded who're brought to me while I heal them," Izo explained patiently as he continued his work. "This is for the battlefield. To keep someone fighting – or healing – even as they're falling apart."
Shikadai frowned at this, blinking in confusion. "But that would be dangerous, wouldn't it?"
"Depending on the severity of the wounds, yes – it might even be fatal," the medic-nin agreed. "But sometimes? It can save lives." The look on his face made it obvious he'd already been in such situations. "Sometimes it's obvious that a wound is fatal – but compared to just waiting it out, the alternative might be better."
"Which aspect are you trying to improve?" the Nara wondered after he'd thought about it – and he really hoped he'd never be in a situation where he'd need to make a choice like that.
"The balance between how quickly it's effective versus how long it'll last," was the calm reply. "Even an extra second can make all the difference with lives on the line."
Shikadai nodded as he watched him work quietly. At one point, he was interrupted by a shinobi who'd received a kunai injury, and the young Nara watched with raptured attention as he rapidly and efficiently treated his wound. He could tell the man had been poisoned because he could smell it, but Izo had just needed a second's look to realize, and he really admired him for that – because from where he stood, the wound hadn't looked any different.
Looking back on such moments years later, he knew that was when he'd decided his specialty as a shinobi would be medical ninjutsu.
Well, it can't be perfect all the time, can it? Children can be so mean in their blunt way...
Not sure when the idea of making Shikadai a medic-nin popped up, but now I can't imagine him as anything else! :)
In the final epilogue chapter, I plan on focusing more on the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio!