A sigh ran through the air, as Shikaku slumped onto the sofa in his home office. His daughter held tightly in his lap, her little face buried into his flak jacket and his deer-hide vest. He could feel her shuddering as she cried into his chest; something she hadn't done for many years now. His teammates were downstairs soothing his wife, whilst he took cleared the air with his fawn. Shikaku tilted his head back against the sofa, to stare at the ceiling, a faint frown on his brow as he considered how to have this conversation. One of his hands cupped the back of his little girl's head, holding her tight to him as he thought. With another sigh, he looked down at her, contemplating the long hair in the same shade of chocolate as his, though in some lights it glinted a blood red. Her temperament was mostly his, with only the fiery fury of his wife mixed in. As much as most people saw him in his daughter, he saw his beloved wife. Fierce loyalty, insanely protective, and highly nurturing towards the people that mattered to her. Oh yes, Yoshino and Shikamaru were definitely two of a kind; and my god he would burn the world to ashes before one of them got hurt. That being said, Shikamaru's sobbing had dialed back to heavy breathing with the occasional shiver. It was time to talk.
"Shikamaru, I'm sorry for keeping this from you." Shikaku's voice rumbled around the room, genuine apology was carried in his low tones. "We never wanted you to find out, and think you weren't wanted; or worse, you left us. My child, your mother and I, you are our reason for living. If anything would happen to you..." Shikaku trailed off to swallow thickly. Emotional talks weren't really his forte. The bundle in his arms had shifted to look at him. Mahogany eyes sparkling from the tears, rimmed with red, watched him solemnly. She really was a pretty little thing, Shikaku mused. He'd need to get Ino and Choji to help him beat off her fan club when she was older.
"…If anything happened to you." Shikaku repeated. "We wouldn't survive. Sure, if I died your mother would be upset. Of course, she would, she loves me; but if YOU died, your mother would simply cease. You may not be from her body, but you are her life. Mine too. Please, never ever doubt that we love you, and we want you." Shikaku tightened his grip on his daughter and dropped his head to nuzzle sweetly against her hair. A delighted, love filled rumble filled his office, as Shikamaru leant into him before nuzzling at his jaw, forgiveness clear in her already. He was really glad she took after him when it came to holding grudges.
"A few years after your mother and I were married, some Iwa nin broke into the village, and managed to get most of the way to the academy. Your mother was out shopping near by and saw them. She raised the alarm and intercepted them. I've never been so glad that she kept up practicing her taijutsu and ninjutsu, despite retiring to marry me. Anyway, your mother engaged with the Iwa nin, and brought enough time for the ANBU to arrive, but she was injured. A redirected kunai from one of the Iwa nin ended buried in your mother's lower abdominal muscles, it was longer than the average knife and coated in a poison. It sliced your mother's womb and poisoned her. The medics managed to save Yoshino, but not her womb." Shikaku paused, his voice rough from emotion and talking. He looked up to see his wife and teammates slip into the room. His wife, with silent tears streaking down her face, was the strongest person he had seen. Shikaku watched as Yoshino slipped on to the sofa next to him, his brothers in arms sitting on chairs near by to safeguard the family at its weakest.
"I had family in the western world" Yoshino started; her voice surprisingly steady despite the hours of crying. She leant into her husband's side and wrapped her arms around her child. "Lily, I was particularly close too. I told her and her husband, James, what had happened. I had been sent to stay with them for a while as I wasn't the most… stable… after realizing I couldn't provide the Nara clan with an heir. Lily offered to carry a child for me. I said yes." She leant forward to lay a kiss on Shikamaru's forehead, sighing contentedly when she wasn't pushed away this time.
"We don't regret having you Shikamaru. We don't love you any less, you are ours and that's all that's matters little fawn." Shikakus voice picked up from his wifes. This was a point they needed Shikamaru too know. "We love you."
A whimper broke the silence, as Shikamaru wiggled to sit up. Her dark eyes, filled with old world intelligence, took in her parents' forms. The slight tensing as they prepared for her rejection, the tremble of stress and tiredness that filled their bodies. They wanted her. They meant it. Shikamaru flung herself at her parents, her small arms hugging them with as much tightness as they could muster. Apologies, words of love, and reassurance that she loved them and wouldn't leave them flowed from her. Really this whole family thing was a bit of a drag, but totally worth it, she thought to herself. Hopefully, this was all over and done with, she could focus on training… or rather, avoiding training.
A loud crack echoed around the clearing, as the two wizards and witch appeared, startling the animals in the clearing. The three looked around them curiously, it was rare that ninja and wizards interacted without it ending in a war. A war the wizarding world normally lost. The last documented time was 300 years ago. Since then the only connection Dumbledore knew of was Lily and her cousin, Yoshino, which brought them back to their mission. Bring the child back to the magical world. With this in the forefront of his mind, Albus started a surprisingly quick pace towards the village walls, rising just on the horizon, with any luck they could get in rescue their missing child and be home in time for dinner. At least that was his working plan. His minions, um he meant companions, thought it might take longer, so the quicker they get there the better. With a sigh, Albus kept walking, completely unaware of the silent ninja surrounding the trio; one of the ninjas sprinted back to the village, his white mask glinting in the light as he requested backup and informed the Hokage of the arriving village.
Unlike his headmaster, Severus was uncomfortable. His war developed paranoia, and his limited knowledge of ninja, made him certain they were being watched. Should the ninjas watching over them decide they weren't worth of getting to the village; well, he wasn't optimistic about their chances of surviving the ninja onslaught. With a quick bit of eye contact, Severus pushed his observations into the front of Minerva's mind. At least now he had someone else to watch their surroundings with him. Gripping his wand tightly in the folds of his robes, Severus widened his stride to make sure they got to the village before Albus started talking about plans. That was a one way ticket to never getting back home again. Almost as soon as he thought that, the Headmaster opened his mouth.
"I think the child will be pleased to be brought home! It must be horrible for her here, after all who sends children into battle. She is a child of our world, and its time these ninjas remembered that they cant just take from us."
"Really Albus!" Minerva interrupted him sharply. "She is of their world too. We will not be taking a child from her home and family! This is just a chance for us to talk to her, maybe we can convince her to come back with use. Otherwise, I think its wise we hire a team to guard the school this year. Maybe even a physical defense class. If He-who-shall-not-be-named comes knocking, a shinobi team would be a great deterrent." Her words were clear, if a little rushed, trying to appease their shinobi guard.
"Indeed, Minerva is right, Headmaster. Maybe hiring from the Hidden Leaf will help improve relations between our cultures. She was also right; this girl might not want to come with us. After all Lily, and Potter, knew they had no claim on the child. They were just surrogating for Lily's cousin after an accident left her unable to carry. The Nara's have had her since birth. We can not just take her." Unbeknown to Severus, the ANBU following them stiffened at the name of the clan whose child they were after. They all knew which child they were after; they also knew there was no chance they would get the kid. A raccoon-masked shinobi snarled silently at the threat towards his clans' heir, the shadows around him darkening as they reached to wrap around the trio. He would not allow anything to harm his (favourite) cousin.
"Ahh. We are here." Came from the oldest wizard, as the village gates rose in front of them. Between the impressive gates stood a figure draped in white, flanked by several of his elite shinobi.
"Welcome to my village, wizards. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Came a strong voice, causing the three to glance at each other, wondering if they had maybe bitten off more than could chew…