+AU

Five year old Shikamaru frowned as he watched the blonde boy. He looked about his age, but people were hitting out, kicking out, spitting, and glaring as he scurried past. He didn't understand what he was seeing, he'd never seen this before. All the kids he knew were happy, healthy, and well taken care of. This boy looked scared, and dirty. He was clutching food scraps from what looked like a trash can.

"Mommy?" He asked. "Why are they doing that?"

His mother looked down at him, startled, then followed where he was looking. Her lips pursed in disapproval, but she didn't move to step in and stop it, didn't try to help. Instead she watched as a kick connected, causing the boy to flinch and hurriedly gather up what he dropped before scurrying around the corner. He didn't make a sound. "Because he's dangerous, Shika. I want you to stay away from him." She finally said after a minute.

He frowned. He didn't look dangerous, he looked like he needed help. "Why?" He asked simply.

His mother looked down at him, surprised. After a moment, she looked uncomfortable. "Because he is, I can't tell you why. Now come on."

"But... he's just a kid." Like me.

She sighed and took his hand, pulling him along so they could finish their business and go home.

That night, he told his father about what happened, after their evening training session. When the shadows were nice and long. For a moment, his father looked angry, then he just looked exhausted. (Which was saying something for Shikaku Nara.) He simply asked his son to describe the boy.

After a moment, he answered slowly, picking his words with care. "His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He went missing about a year ago, but nobody knew until about a month ago. The Hokage has had people looking for him ever since." Personally, he suspected Danzo had something to do with both him getting kicked out, and them not finding out about it until so recently. "We'll go back to that street tomorrow and see if we can't find him again, alright?" He decided. It was too dark now, he was just going to have to hope that Naruto was still nearby the next day, and that nothing happened in the night.

He'd been angry when he learned of it. He'd petitioned to take the boy in when Minato died, only to be denied by those blasted advisers and the Civilian Council, using the power they'd grabbed in the power vacuum left by Minato's death. Their concerns had been that they didn't want the Village Jinchuuriki to be under the sole influence of one clan. Well, that was their argument. He was pretty sure Danzo wanted Naruto for himself, and figured it would be harder to get him if he were protected by a clan.

(There was rumor that Kakashi was responsible for the reconstruction that needed to be done on the Tower not long after he got back from a mission and would have heard the rumors. He'd been kept busy with missions ever since, even though they probably would have found the boy by now if he was able to send out his hounds. Shikaku didn't think the young Jonin had spent twenty-four hours in the Village since the news broke over a month ago. He hadn't taken it well in the beginning when he was forbidden from even seeing the boy, let alone adopting him (not by the Hokage. The Hokage had been all for Shikaku or Kakashi taking Naruto in, even if Kakashi's age made him wary). He'd been kept busy with high-ranking missions ever since so he wouldn't have time to seek the boy out despite his orders to stay away.

His only solace had been the promise that he would be able to teach the boy when he graduated the Academy, when he went missing...)

When he went missing, the Shinobi were ordered to keep an eye out for him and alert the Hokage the second he was spotted. He would have sent out tracking teams, but after almost a year, any trails potential kidnappers might have left would have been long destroyed by time, the weather, and Shinobi foot traffic. But if he was in the middle of a busy street, in the middle of the village... he highly doubted that the street was completely empty of Shinobi. On duty or off. There were probably passing ANBU nearby, and maybe a patrol officer or two from the Uchiha Police Force. He was willing to bet that there were at least five other Shinobi there... besides his wife.

His wife who hadn't said a word to him about it. Hadn't flagged down a passing patrol. Hadn't stepped in and taken care of the boy herself. In fact, none of the Shinobi there did. But she hadn't even said anything to him about it. Instead, he heard about it from his five year old, not-quite-so-innocent anymore, son. Who, for all his Nara levels of intelligence, didn't understand what he'd seen, or why adults would be treating a kid like him that way.

Tomorrow, tomorrow Naruto would be brought home where he belonged. He was going to ensure that there was nothing the idiot advisers could do about it, or that old war-hawk, either. Once Naruto was home with him, then he would inform the Hokage where he was, and Kakashi. As far as he was concerned, those were the only two who had any right to know where the boy was. They were the only ones that cared about the boy for what he was. A five-year old little boy.

He was brought out of his thoughts by a young voice. "Mommy told me to stay away from him, that he was dangerous." Shikamaru watched the emotions play across his fathers face. Finally, it settled on a calm rage.

"Did she now?" He murmured. He glanced at the time. "Bed time, kiddo. Come on." He said and got up, pulling his son into his arms and carried him to bed.

Shikamaru was blissfully unaware of the argument that took place in his parents room that night. Or of why his mother wasn't there for breakfast the next morning, or that she wouldn't be there for the next week until she got back from the easy C-rank she took to get out of the village for a while. He would wonder, in the coming months, why things were strained between his parents, but would put it out of his mind with his fathers reassurances.

The next day, true to his word, Shikaku took his son back to that street where Naruto had last been seen, and started asking around with the store owners and employees. From what he was finally able to gather after three hours of questions and half-answers, was that Naruto had moved into the back alley behind the bookstore and the bar about a year ago, and any attempts to chase him off only worked for about a week before he was back.

Shikaku repaid their kindness towards the boy by slapping a seal and note on the doorframes, signalling to any passing sensor on patrol that the occupants were to be picked up and taken to Ibiki for questioning. The note was for Ibiki's eyes only. If them being hauled in meant that their entire business was now under investigation, well, that was just being thorough.

How could somebody look at a four year old and not try to help? Not offer food, clothes, shelter? Maybe he's being a bit hypocritical since he's killed his fair share of children this young during his time as a Shinobi, but he didn't leave them to suffer like this. It was quick... he was doing his job. Ah, maybe becoming a father himself has made him go soft.

Oh well, it's not like he gets out of the village much anymore to take those kinds of missions, anyway. But how do you look at a kid like Naruto, who was pretty cute from what he remembered... what little he'd seen of the boy before he was given to the orphanage, and try to chase him away, instead of trying to help? He just didn't understand his village. He thought they were supposed to be better than that.

When they went into the alley, he made a point of making some noise, he didn't want to sneak up on him and scare him, but not too much. He had no doubt, living behind a bar for a year gave Naruto plenty of reason to avoid people that made a lot of noise and bumbled around. Drunks didn't exactly have much control of their bodies, after all. And yes, he was thinking from some experience.

Sure enough, half-way down the alley, a small head poked out from behind a dumpster, one wary blue eye was all that was visible. He sucked in a breath at seeing it. Children shouldn't look like that, it wasn't right. Slowly, he sat down on the ground, not caring about the dirt and who-knew-what else that he might be sitting in, although he made sure to avoid the questionable puddle nearby. Shikamaru knelt down beside him, staying quiet.

"Hello, there." He called, and the eye blinked before switching it's gaze from him to Shikamaru for a moment. "This is my son, Shikamaru." Shika waved, and a small hand appeared after a moment to wave back. "My name is Shikaku, what's yours?" He continued.

It took a long moment, but finally a small voice answered. "Naruto." The voice was rough, like it's owner didn't speak much. Mentally, Shikaku added testing the boys speech levels to the list of things to do with him.

The Hokage had originally planned to enroll the boy in the academy later this year, with his age group, but Shikaku was thinking that might not be possible for another year or two. The boy would need to be eased into normal human interaction. His mental development probably wasn't at the level it should be, either, for his age. On the other hand, he was probably more mature in other ways than the other children his age, a by-product of living on the streets, and having to provide for and defend himself, from such a young age.

"That's a nice name, Naruto. Would you like to come out here, where we can see you? We would just like to help." He carefully watched what little he could see of the boy for any signs that those words had been used before, used to hurt him, used to take advantage of him. After a moment, he realized that Shikamaru's presence was probably helping Naruto form his opinion of him.

It took a while, but finally Naruto started to come out from behind his dumpster. In that time, Shikaku spoke quietly with his son and pretended he wasn't paying too much attention, in an effort to make Naruto more comfortable. He also sensed Kakashi land on the edge of the rooftop above them, and his nose picked up the faint scent of lightning and fresh blood. Kakashi must have come home from his latest mission right in time for the villagers from the stores to be brought in, and probably heard rumors that he was the one to order it. A quick conversation with the right person would have probably made him curious enough to come check it out.

He subtly signaled for Kakashi to stay there, and was relieved when he was obeyed.

Barely.

He could feel Kakashi's Chakra coil in excitement, fear, apprehension. No doubt the younger man wanted nothing more than to wrap Naruto, his little brother, up and never let go. The past five years had been hard enough on the Jonin even knowing that his brother was safe in the village, that he knew where he was, even if he couldn't go see him. For him to disappear...

He shook himself out of his thoughts and watched Naruto closely, doing his best to be non-threatening. If he tried to bolt, it wasn't like he could go far, but he didn't want to risk that, as it would be easier all around if Naruto came with them on his own. It would be hard to gain his trust if they had to force him to come, and he didn't think Kakashi could handle it if Naruto fought them. For that matter, he wasn't sure if he could handle seeing those blue eyes (so like his fathers!) turned on him in distrust. It was hard enough seeing the wariness in them right now.

He was surprised when Naruto came closer than expected, and stood, rocking on his heels. Shikaku's eyes roved over his tiny body, cataloging his physical condition. He was covered in dirt, grime, and who knew what else. His hair was long and matted, caked with mud, blood, and questionable substances from his living area. He was dangerously thin, and had extensive bruising just visible beneath all the dirt covering him. They were all on his face, around his throat, and over what was visible of his chest through rips in his shirt. He looked a couple years younger than he actually was, due to lack of proper food for the past year. His eyes narrowed slightly and the shadows writhed with his anger when he noticed the fresh cut above his lip, something did happen last night, after all.

(He briefly wondered why the Fox hadn't healed him yet, he knew that Kushina didn't stay injured for long before being healed. For that matter, his incredible healing factor as an Uzumaki should have taken care of it already, as well. It wasn't a big cut, after all. Although the bruising looked extensive.)

Once Naruto was settled and more comfortable within the Nara compound, he was going to have to get one of the clans med-nin to look at him. Probably see if Inoichi could come over to speak with him at some point. He was thinking about retiring from T&I and specializing in child psychology, anyway. A seal-master should probably be called to make sure nothing happened to the seal in the past year, as well.

He quickly wiped his face clean of any signs of anger, not wanting Naruto to pick up on it and think he was angry with him.

A few moments later, he sensed the Hokage settle on the rooftop next to Kakashi, their Chakra curled in anticipation and excitement.

"Hey, there, buddy. Thanks for coming out." He said quietly, ignoring the new audience. "Can you tell me what you're doing out here?" He asked, and Shikamaru glanced at him, confused.

"Live there." Naruto pointed at the dumpster after a moment.

"Why?" Shikamaru asked, the same thing he'd asked his mother the day before. He was confused. Why was he living here? He didn't see a bed, or roof. He didn't see anyone else around, either. So why would he stay here?

Naruto blinked at him. "Nowhere else to go." He muttered quietly. Miss told him to get lost, so he got lost. But he didn't know what to do after that, his attempts to go back had been met with hits and more yells for him to go away, so he'd wandered for a bit until he found this alley. The people nearby tried to chase him away from here, too. He went somewhere else, but the same thing kept happening, so he eventually settled back here and stayed, no matter what the others did. It wasn't like he could go anywhere else, so why bother leaving here?

Shikamaru turned big, confused eyes on his father, begging him to fix this somehow. He smiled at both boys. "Why don't you come home with us? We can get you something to eat, get you cleaned up? You can stay as long as you like." Hopefully, that would be forever, or as close to forever as one could get in the life of a Shinobi.

He held out his hand slowly, invitingly. He hoped Naruto would take it, and take it soon. He was starting to get uncomfortable, sitting here. It's not like he hasn't sat or slept in worse places over the years, but still.

Naruto glanced between him and Shikamaru a few times, trying to decide. The anticipation from the roof-top rose to new levels, momentarily distracting Shikaku. Finally, the boy came closer and took Shikaku's hand, prompting a gentle smile from the Nara clan head and pure relief to flow through three Chakra signatures. Kakashi and the Hokage disappeared from the rooftop, and Shikaku had no doubt the two of them would meet Shikaku at the compound.

Not letting go of Naruto's hand, he got up, took his sons hand in his other hand, and started walking back to the compound, Shikamaru trying to talk to Naruto the whole way. He could already tell that Naruto had a pretty decent vocabulary (he wondered what Naruto's vocabulary of swear words would look like), but didn't really know how to use them in proper sentences, he had little to no concept of grammar. Not too surprising for his age, but something to start fixing over time.

No matter, Naruto was back where he belonged, now. He was back with people who cared about him.

Walking into his house, he wasn't surprised to see the Hokage and Kakashi already inside. What did surprise him, was that Kakashi was in the kitchen, cooking. For a second, he wondered if he was going to come back from cleaning Naruto up and finding him decent clothes to see his kitchen on fire. Then he remembered that Kushina had made sure Kakashi could cook. He was actually a pretty good cook. Especially if he was making Kushina's special Ramen recipe, which from the smell of it... He grinned in appreciation for a second.

"No, come on in and make yourselves at home." He drawled, amused. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow and went back to what he was doing. Thankfully, he hadn't brought his pipe out, knowing how much Yoshino hated it when her husband smoked in the house. Naruto hid himself behind Shikaku's pant leg, not knowing who these two men were. He looked down and smiled, touched and pleased by the trust Naruto had just shown. "Naruto, this is Kakashi, and that's Hiruzen. They're Shinobi with the Village, and very important ones, too." He said quietly, introducing the two of them. They waved at the little boy, who hesitantly waved back. "Come on, lets get you cleaned up, then we can enjoy what Kakashi's making. It smells good, doesn't it?" He asked, and Naruto nodded quickly.

"Come on. Shikamaru, if you want to stay here and help Kakashi?" He told his son, who nodded his agreement and went to pull out the stool he used whenever his mother made him help.

Twenty minutes later, a much cleaner Naruto was sitting at the table with three of the villages deadliest Shinobi, and Shikamaru. Shikaku could tell that Kakashi was upset at the sight of the bruising and the split lip, not that he let it show on his face. It was only clear through his Chakra.

Hiruzen looked somewhat amused. It was clear that Shikaku had either gotten frustrated, or just decided not to bother, because Naruto's hair was shorter than it was when they went upstairs. Then again, if he'd had to be the one washing that filthy head, he probably would have cut it, too.

"Hello, Naruto. Are you feeling better now that you're clean?" He asked, happy to have the boy here, and to see that he was alright.

Naruto's eyes blinked up at him, and studied him for a moment. "Yes, sir." He leaned back as Kakashi finished serving everyone Kushina's special Ramen. For a moment, he watched, and then Shikaku seemed to notice and reached over to help him. The chopsticks were awkward in his hands, having never used them before, so Shikaku got up to get one of the forks they still had from when Shikamaru was still learning to use chopsticks. It had actually taken him quite a while to get the hang of it.

By unspoken consent, the adults talked about everything and nothing during the meal. They would save the serious discussions for when Naruto and Shikamaru were out of the room.

"Shika, why don't you go get started on your chores. Take Naruto with you." Shikaku finally said once the bowls were all empty.

Shikamaru grumbled and complained like a true Nara, but he went, grabbing Naruto's hand on his way out. "Come on, we'll probably have more fun out there than in here while the adults talk." He said, and Naruto went along with only a glance behind him.

Once they were gone, the adults sat back and sighed. "He's finally home." Shikaku murmured. "Now, to deal with the advisers." He leaned forward in his seat, eyes narrowed while the other two scowled at the mention of those two interfering busybodies.

Five years later

"Come on, Shika! We're going to be late!" Naruto called to his brother from the entryway.

Shikamaru finally ambled in and sank down to pull his sandals on with a yawn. "Troublesome. Where do you even get all of your energy?" He complained, finally standing.

Naruto rolled his eyes before grabbing his hand and dragging him along behind him. Today was the day of the first survival exercise they would have in the Academy, and Iruka-sensei had said that they weren't going to wait around, so if you were late, then too bad!

He didn't want to miss this! There wouldn't be another one until next year!

He almost burst out into a dance when he and Shika burst into the room right when Iruka called his name for attendance. They weren't late! They could still go! His victory celebration was halted by Shika's impatience.

"So troublesome." He grumbled while dragging his brother towards the seat saved for them by Choji.

Naruto could only grin at Iruka when the teacher gave him a flat look.

Iruka hadn't really... appreciated his presence at first. Oh, he didn't outright hate Naruto like many did, and he refused to let his personal opinion get in the way of doing his job, so he treated Naruto like just another student (unlike the two teachers before him), but it was clear that Iruka didn't want to have to be near Naruto more than necessary.

That eventually changed, of course, and Iruka even accompanied Kakashi and Naruto on a trip outside the village once when Naruto was eight.

Nobody said anything, but Naruto knew the village Elders and Council had raised a fuss over Naruto being adopted by the Nara clan, and an even bigger fuss when Kakashi took Naruto to that festival in the Land of Fire's capital. (He didn't know what all the fuss was about, either. What was it their business where he lived or where he went? Yeah, he knew there was something big that none of the adults were telling him, but he'd been promised an explanation when he graduated, so he supposed he was just going to have to be patient...)

Naruto had never been to a festival before, he'd seen the one on his birthday, of course, but always from a distance. His experiences early on with the general public meant that he tried to avoid crowds at all cost, especially crowds in Konoha! So, when Kakashi approached Shikaku about wanting to take Naruto with him, it hadn't taken much for the Clan Head to agree, provided that somebody else go along to help Kakashi keep an eye on the mischievous bundle of energy that was his youngest son. They wouldn't want Naruto sneaking into somewhere he shouldn't be and causing problems between the Daimyo and the Village, after all.

(Even still, Naruto maintained that he knew nothing about the 'rabbit invasion' on the Fire Palace. Honestly, he had no idea how all those rabbits got in, or even where so many rabbits came from! Yeah... and Shikaku was the Hokage.)

"Alright, class. Now that we're all here..." He shot a small glare towards Naruto, who beamed brightly. "Here are maps of the area we are going to be in for the next week, I suggest you try to memorize it, anything can happen to that map, and if that happens I will not be giving you a new one." He instructed as he passed out the maps, and then instructed everyone to put their bags on their desks so he could check them for the right equipment.

Any bags that were lacking in essential equipment were deemed not good enough, and Iruka helpfully informed the class that he had extra supplies on hand to supplement what they'd failed to pack, but that next time they had a survival trip like this, they wouldn't be so lucky and would have to rely on the generosity of their classmates.

Unsurprisingly, it was Sasuke Uchiha's fangirls that didn't have everything they needed, and the nonessential items they packed (like conditioner, perfume, makeup, and nice clothes that would only get ruined out there) were taken out and put in a plastic bag that Iruka labeled with the right name and locked in his desk. Most of the guys had everything, and even a few extras of some things. (Iruka sighed, but didn't say anything when he noticed that Choji mostly packed nothing but food or cooking equipment, with barely any room left over for a change of clothes, blanket, and sleeping roll).

Next year, after the kids started working with real blades and not wooden practice ones, Iruka would make sure that some extra weapons were packed in their bags, but not this year.

"Alright, very good. For the most part, we are all very well prepared." He praised the class, making sure to look at those who didn't pack everything he'd told them to pack, and instead packed useless or unessential items. "Let's go, we need to be at the campsite in an hour." He called, and held the door open for the students to file out. Instead of leading them out the front of the building, he led them out the back, towards the training grounds assigned to the Academy.

The camp area they were going to was beyond the training grounds littering the Village outskirts, and even a little bit into the nearby mountains the Village was nestled in between. It was pretty far into the Forests that the Village called home and gave it it's name, but it was close enough for children to reach easily enough, especially children who worked out and exercised regularly during Shinobi training.

He didn't tell them this, but a couple of Jonin volunteers would be watching over them during the trip, just to be safe. One never knew what could happen, and there was always the chance that enemy Shinobi happened to be waiting nearby for some reason. And yes, Kakashi happened to be one of those volunteers.

On the second day, Shikaku appeared beside Kakashi, and watched the kids for a few moments.

Choji, Naruto, and Shikamaru were standing by the fire, seeing to it that their lunch didn't burn, the rest of the students were with Iruka setting, taking apart, and resetting various traps for hunting small game.

He snorted, not at all surprised that those three weren't taking part in the lesson. Naruto and Shika he had taught that very thing, ensuring they could set those traps in their sleep, and Choji was an Akimichi. He probably learned how to set traps and hunt before he could walk. They took food very seriously, after all, and that included knowing how to get food when yours ran out.

Also... Naruto's prank traps were a hundred times more complicated at their simplest form.

"How have they been?" He asked quietly, the house was quiet without the two boys around, especially since his wife had taken the opportunity of the boys being gone to go on an A-rank mission. Even Shikamaru, as lazy as he was, made noise during the day, and with Naruto, well... enough said, really. The kid was one bright ball of energy, he certainly brought new life and energy to the Nara Clan compound.

When he first took Naruto in, most of the clan objected, but he merely told them to look at the kid, really look at him, and then come back to him with any objections.

Being the highly intelligent people they all were (being Nara), it didn't take much for them to spot what he wanted them to see, and most of them stopped complaining. Those who still objected, didn't take long before they were drawn in by the small blonde child. His wife, predictably, took the longest to calm down and accept him as a member of her family. Their marriage was still recovering from the tension between them during those months, but they were recovering.

"They've been good. So far, Naruto and Shikamaru have already known everything Iruka-sensei has to teach about survival, so they've mostly been helping with the others. They're having fun, though." Shika could hear the grin in Kakashi's voice.

"Naruto was bouncing off the walls about this trip since it was announced." Shika sighed. "I'm glad he's enjoying himself." He murmured.

"He's come a long way, hasn't he?" Kakashi asked, watching his little brother fondly, thinking of the scared street-rat he used to be, not five years ago.

When Shikamaru (and the rest of their age group) entered the Academy at age six, Shikaku and the Hokage had several long discussions about what to do with Naruto. The Hokage wanted him to be with other children his own age, but Shikaku was adamant that the boy wasn't ready yet. He was still struggling to learn how to read, he was still learning basic social skills, and he still cowered at loud noises or when strangers moved suddenly. It took over a month after being brought to the Nara Compound for him to understand that he could sleep in the bed! And eat the food! And he wasn't going to be hit if he spoke to the other children in the compound! (Needless to say, they were almost sorry the orphanage matron had already been quietly executed after a long stay in T&I.)

Frankly, the Nara med-nin Shikaku had asked to look at him backed up Shikaku's claims of the boy not being ready to attend the Academy, as did Inoichi. Physically, even a year later, he was still recovering from the near starvation, everyone was of the opinion that the Kyubi was the only reason the boy survived as long as he did, otherwise the lack of food and regular beatings from the adults would have done him in long before Shikaku found him. Mentally... as far as interaction with people was concerned, Inoichi was concerned by how his previous treatment affected his development, not to mention the nightmares he routinely woke the Clan Heads household up with, especially after the first week, when it started to sink in that he was somewhere safe.

As a result, Naruto didn't enter the Academy until a year late, but Shikaku had managed to use that extra year to get him qualified to join his age-mates, instead of being placed in the class below them.

"Yes, he had." Shikaku muttered, proud of the progress his son had made over the years. He was glad Shikamaru didn't listen to his mother about forgetting about that scruffy kid he saw on the streets, he was glad he went to find Naruto himself instead of going through 'proper channels', as the Village Council called it.

Naruto was home, and that was where he would stay.