Author Note: Oh my geesh, look at this monstrosity. I knew it would be long, but not this long. Anyway, I'm sorry it took me so long to write this! An extended oneshot, as per request. I'm kind of not satisfied with it, but I've been working on it for so long, I'm just glad to be done. Enjoy?

Shikamaru returns home with little fanfare.

Not that he was expecting much, really. It's been three years since he's set foot in Konoha, and it's refreshing not having sand in his hair and perpetual sun in his eyes. Oh, how he's missed his clouds. A slight breeze ruffles his loose shirt, having taken off his flak vest a few hours ago, and he smiles into the wind as familiar fragrances assault his senses.

Naruto slaps him a good one on the back, a welcoming of sorts, and grins as he invites him out to Ichiraku. Provided he's paying, of course. Shikamaru simply smiles, and gives a nod to an impassive Neji. The Hyuuga's not smiling, but he's not scowling either, so Shikamaru takes that as a good sign. Lee asks how the Kazekage's doing, and the shadow-nin answers he's doing well. Kiba gives a feral grin and begins to wonder out loud what it's like to be banging the Kazekage's—but a quick jab from Chouji shuts him up promptly. Good thing too, because Temari was beginning to reach for her fan strapped to her back.

Chouji muses he must be hungry from his trip and suggests a visit to their favorite barbeque restaurant, but Shikamaru immediately declines. The others are stunned at his refusal of his best friend, but Shikamaru merely states that it's midafternoon and he has somewhere to be. While they stare at his retreating form, Temari following close behind, Chouji smiles to himself.

Temari asks where they're going, and Shikamaru only says that he'll take her to the inn later if she doesn't remember where it is. Irritated, she barks that she remembers fine where it is and if he wants to get rid of her he can just say so. Shikamaru gives a weary sigh and answers that she can come if she wants, but it's nothing that will interest her. Temari obstinately trails after him, silently fuming and wondering what was so important it couldn't wait until they were settled into their sleeping arrangements before running around the village. Her pack is heavy and she's been carrying it for hours.

To say Temari is shocked at their destination is an understatement. The schoolyard before them is teeming with hyperactive children and snot-nosed brats, and she's suddenly very uncomfortable. She turns to Shikamaru for answers, but he's too busy scanning the crowd to see the questioning look on her face.

Suddenly, a high-pitched squeal rents through the air, and a small girl is bouncing through the group of schoolchildren toward them. Temari takes a step back in fear. She chances a look at Shikamaru and notes with disbelief the smile that's spread over his face.

"Shikamaru-niichan!" shrieks the little girl barreling in their direction, and Shikamaru kneels down to scoop her into his arms. She cries out in joy as he throws her into the air and twirls her about. Temari narrows her eyes in confusion at his sudden display of affection towards this blonde-haired child, but when she sees his old teammate standing not far off, everything makes sense.

Ino seems a bit put off to notice Temari standing by his side, but doesn't say anything as she approaches. She gives Temari a courteous nod, and shifts her gaze to her daughter in Shikamaru's arms, a grin growing on her lips. The child is now currently smashing Shikamaru's cheeks with her chubby hands and giggling the whole time.

"Oh, Erino, don't do that," Ino cooes to her daughter, lifting her out of Shikamaru's hands and away from his face.

The girl, Erino, pouts, her chocolate-brown eyes softening in disappointment, but suddenly perks up at a thought. She scrambles out of her mother's arms and squeaks, "Shikamaru-niichan! Look what I can do!"

And without warning, her shadow begins to grow and lengthen, seemingly leaping off the ground to become a corporeal form, waving slightly in the hot spring air. Erino's hands are immobile, her shadow moving to her every whim without the use of hand seals, and she beams. Shikamaru is only somewhat taken back at her display, but Temari's eyes grow wide and then she really understands.

"How…?" he begins.

"Shikaku's been teaching her," explains Ino, taking Erino's hand in her own, causing the shadow to flicker and return to its normal state, "but not anymore," she adds quickly.

Shikamaru nods, his face unreadable. "How's Inojiko?"

Another smile filters across her face. "Doing well. He and his team are out on a mission now. They should be back tomorrow."

"I'll come see you guys later," he speaks, but Ino cuts him off.

"Today's not a good day," she says quickly, throwing a glance at Temari. "Why don't you take Temari out to dinner? We can catch up another time."

Shikamaru seems very startled by her words, his narrowed eyes blinking in confusion. He mutters something to himself and makes as if to reach for Ino's arm, but she moves away swiftly, tugging Erino along.

"Say goodbye to Shikamaru-niichan," Ino tells her daughter, and Erino does that, a frown marring her pretty angel face at the prospect of leaving Shikamaru.

"Bye, Erino," he waves at their retreating figures, turning sharply and stalking off. Temari gives a lasting look at Ino and her daughter before scrambling after Shikamaru.

He's tense, she can tell, so she doesn't say anything, feeling partly responsible for what just occurred.

"I'll take you to the inn," he says gruffly, not meeting her eyes.

The night, after he shares a meal with Chouji and Temari, his parents are shocked to see him trudging home, dragging his feet and reaching for a cigarette. His mother plucks the unlit cig from his mouth, tells him she's glad he's home, and watches him lumber up the stairs to his room. His father shakes his head, the both of them knowing where Shikamaru usually spends his first night home, and wonders what he did wrong this time.

"Eh, he doesn't know nothing," says Inojiko as he wakes up in his own body. He shifts up off the cold, hard ground and clambers to his feet slowly. He's been out of his body for more than thirty minutes, a feat not many Yamanakas can perform at his age, or so his mother's told him, but it takes a large toil on his twelve-year-old body.

"Doesn't know anything, Jiko," Zashino corrects him, still on his knees from when he was watching Inojiko's body. The night is cloudless, a full moon shining down upon them.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Jiko waves off his friend's words. The other boy grunts, rolling his pale, lavender eyes in annoyance.

"Stop it, you two," Haruhi chastises both of them. From their position, she can't see much outside the fort, so she motions for Zashino to activate his Byakugan. "Where's Mometsu-sensei?" she asks.

Zashino quickly scans the area. "He's outside the fort already, behind the tree-line. He's making the signal."

"Time to get outta here," Jiko states with a quirky smile. "No sentries?"

"None," confirms the Hyuuga.

Jiko hefts his pack full of stolen paperwork over his shoulder and runs to the wall, looking over it in glee. Without a second thought, he hurls himself over the wall.

"Ugh, showoff," Haruhi mumbles. She stalks over to the wall and looks over. Jiko stands at the bottom of the twenty-foot drop, waving a hand and eagerly motioning for her to join him. She rolls her eyes at his arrogance. No doubt he used a shadow to break his fall, but Haruhi doesn't have special family techniques at her disposal. She throws a leg over the wall and steadies her foot against the cold stone, using chakra to keep her planted on the wall. Zashino does the same, both of them taking their time, and Jiko is bursting with impatience when they finally step onto the cold ground.

"Took you long enough," he says in irritation, hopping to get to the tree-line and their sensei.

"Nice job," Mometsu-sensei tells them in his gruff voice. He's a hard man, having lived the rougher life of a jounin shinobi, but his practicality and no-nonsense attitude has saved his genin team's lives more than once. As a special infiltration genin team, their missions are much more involved and advanced than the usual D-rank missions the other newly-made shinobi were usually given. But years of preparation and discipline since age five have more than prepared them for this life. Zashino, two years younger than Jiko and Haruhi, is an exception, his Hyuuga genes and parental influence sending him exceling through the training regimen much quicker than other children. He was young, but his skills more than made up for his age.

"You have the papers?" their sensei asks.

Jiko gives a grin and lifts his pack. "Right here," he says.

"Let's head home then."

They camp that night in the forest, half a day's journey from Konoha. The ground is hard and the night is cold, but Jiko's having the time of his life. An accomplished mission, a journey with his best friends and sensei—there's nothing better than this, he thinks.

The next day sees them in Konoha, heading towards the Hokage's office to report on their mission. On the way, Jiko sees a familiar face and calls out.

"Oh, you're back, Jiko?" asked Chouji, waving a meaty hand.

"Hey, Chouji-niichan!" He nods. "Yeah, that mission was a breeze," he says, waving his hand nonchalantly. Zashino and Haruhi grunt in disagreement; Zashino has several bruises where he wasn't quick enough to dodge an enemy's blow, and Haruhi's chakra is still very low from overuse of her jutsu that allows her to amplify sound. Chouji steps in line with them and Jiko asks, "So what's new in town?"

Thinking a moment, the larger shinobi tilts his head upwards. "Well, Yakiniku Q recently had a special event going on, so I went there a lot last week. What else? Hmm, Zashino, your aunt Hanabi recently got promoted to jounin. Oh, and Shikamaru's back! Won't you be glad to see him, Jiko?"

Jiko halts in his steps for a brief moment. Haruhi and Zashino turn back to notice a brief look of turmoil cross his face, but it's gone in a flash.

"Oh, yeah, that's great!" he announces swiftly, running to catch up with his teammates, plastering a smile on his face. Mometsu-sensei gives Chouji a look, and tells his genins to head over to the Hokage's office first. He'll catch up later.

Haruhi exchanges a look with Zashino, but Jiko pointedly ignores his sensei's statement. They head to the Hokage's office, give their report and confiscated documents, and Jiko's quick to leave his team and head to the training grounds.

After several hours of stretching his shadow, he plops himself down on a log and sighs. His shadow-bending isn't nearly as effective as his younger sister's, and she was only six! How could she manipulative the forms so easily? Wasn't he the older brother that was supposed to teach his younger sibling how to use their inherited technique? Invading minds was his forte, but his sister exceled in making darkness dance. While he was the genius, with intellect surpassing everyone his age, his sister was the prodigy, grasping shadow jutsus as easily as if she were a shadow herself.

Haruhi pops out from nowhere and joins him the on log, asking why he was so moody all of a sudden. Zashino makes his appearance as well, activated Byakugan telling Jiko exactly how they found him.

"Nothing," he replies sourly.

A frown dances across Haruhi's face and she bumps him in the shoulder with hers. "This doesn't have anything to do with what Chouji-san said earlier, right?"

Jiko scrunches his face. "What? That's Zashino's aunt is now a jounin? Of course not!"

"No, you idiot," exclaims Zashino, slapping him upside the head. "That's Shikamaru-san's back."

"Ha, whatever!" replies Jiko. "Why would that bother me?"

"I don't know," Haruhi mutters. "Why does anything bother you? You're the genius, you tell us."

They sit in silence for a few moments. Jiko contemplates telling them the obvious, something he figured out years ago, and struggles between harboring his thoughts or spilling them. Groaning, Jiko lowers his hand into his palms, dreading having to spell it out for his friends. It was as if speaking about the subject were taboo, as if breaking the silence surrounding the issue would alert the authorities and he would soon be headed to the interrogation offices of Konoha. At least his grandfather would take some pity on him.

He takes a breath, and explains his deepest fear to his friends.

It's a nice day, Ino thinks, as she walks the familiar path to the academy. She meanders through memories of her own younger days at the school, and a small smile hatches on her face. To be young again! To chase after Sasuke-kun, and struggle through ninjutsu she could now perform without thinking, and train with Asuma-sensei and Chouji and—

She abruptly stops her train of thought. Her mood is decidedly dampened upon remembering the spectacle from yesterday, when Shikamaru seemed so happy to twirl her daughter through the air and let her pinch his cheeks, and yet stood so nonchalantly with that Sand kunoichi practically hanging off his arm.

She thinks back to the lonely night she spent merely hours ago, and thinks that maybe it means something that he always came to her bedroom the first night he returns home. He probably would have yesterday, had she let him, but the sight of that blonde Sand girl twisted something in her stomach and she spoke without thinking. And now—she shakes her head.

The academy looms ahead. Children are already running wild outside the school grounds, and Ino weaves her way through the scampering kids.

When she sets eyes on her daughter, her dampened spirits return tenfold.

"Erino, what's wrong, sweetie?" she croons as she wipes the tear-streaked face of her daughter.

At this, Erino merely begins to sob even harder, and Ino lifts her into her arms. "Are they bullying you again?" she asks, heading home. The other children are dispersing, and Ino has to get Erino to her parents' house so she man the flower shop for a few hours.

Erino nods into her shoulder, wetting her mother's purple shirt. Ino inwardly cringes, and begins to hate Shikamaru a little more.

The other girls at the academy are cruel. Erino is a prodigy, not surprising given who her father is, and top of her class. Though they are young, the other girls are vicious and, knowing they cannot beat Erino physically, tear her down the only way they know how: by rubbing her lack of a father in her face. The other children have mostly civilian fathers, men that have never known the dangers of an exploding tag or a kunai to the throat, and they exploit that fact every chance they can get.

It's led to a few incriminating questions that Ino's been able to dodge for a while, and she notices Jiko's hardened expression in the background whenever such conversations come up, but she knows she can't hold out for long. If Erino's anything like her brother, she'll figure it out soon enough.

And Erino's not without a father figure—her grandfather, and even Shikaku to some degree, has filled the role quite nicely, but that hasn't stopped the young girl from wondering. Ino sighs, and notices that her daughter has quieted, but the sadden expression on her face hasn't left.

She wraps her arms tighter around the girl in her embrace and hurries to her parents' house. One look at Erino is all that's needed, and Ino's mother takes the young girl from her and rocks her gently. She croons little noises of encouragement to the girl and takes her into the kitchen for some sweets. Inoichi growls something low in his throat, kisses Ino on the cheek as she heads out the door, and promises to wring that Nara boy's neck next time he sees him. Which, according to what Inoichi's heard in the village, isn't so far off.

"I'll be back," he announces gruffly into the kitchen. He doesn't wait for a reply as the door slams behind him.

The Nara's home isn't far from his. He's been there so many times, he could walk blind through the streets and still arrive safely at his destination. Inoichi doesn't bother knocking, being a frequent visitor, and enters the kitchen to see Shikaku standing over a pot of tea.

Shikaku gives a nod of greeting. He isn't surprised to see his friend.

"Where's the wife?" Inoichi asks. There are matters he wants to discuss without a mother's protectiveness getting in the way.

"Out with the deer." Shikaku pours a cup of tea, and offers it to his guest.

Inoichi takes it with a nod and cuts straight to the point of his visit. "I hear that fool boy of yours is back."

"He is," Shikaku grunts, taking a sip of his tea. He knows Inoichi's feelings toward his son, and he can't blame him.

It's a strange grandparenthood they've come upon. Everyone was shocked when Ino and Shikamaru agreed upon Jiko's conception. It was an unusual request from the Hokage, but as shinobi of Konoha themselves, they couldn't refuse their children from doing as the Godaime asked. The Naras, of course, took it much harder, considering that because Ino and Shikamaru weren't married, Ino's child would never formally be acknowledged as their grandchild.

Jiko was born for Konoha, to grow trained to defend it. His birth made sense, was sanctioned, deliberate. He was a wonderful boy, even if he wasn't called their own. Erino, however, Shikaku's sweet Erino with her honey locks and chocolate-sweet eyes, was born of straight out of Shikamaru's stupidity. He and Ino had a complicated friendship-love relationship, that apparently included sleeping with each other on occasion, and Erino had been born of a few nights shared between the two.

When Shikaku learned that Ino carried another child by Shikamaru, this time conceived the traditional way, he was furious at his son for denying him another grandchild. Shikamaru had left for a three-year ambassadorship to Suna, and Ino had chosen not to inform him of their daughter until after the birth. Even then, the fool boy had not married her and given Shikaku his grandchildren.

Shikaku took what he could, however.

Jiko showed promise with the shadow ninjutsu at a very young age when his shadow flickered and moved of its own accord. Shikaku insisted on training, if only to learn to control it, and Ino relented, knowing the dangers of an out-of-control shadow. Unfortunately, Jiko caught on quickly enough that his training didn't move beyond the basics, and his forte seemed Yamanaka mind control anyway.

Erino, however, exceled where her brother did not. She breathed shadow ninjutsu as if she would slip into the darkness itself one day and never return. She craved to learn more than necessary, and Shikaku couldn't deny her. So Erino molded her shadow each day, and the speed at which she mastered the ninjutsu had been unheard of for years in the Nara clan.

It was a pity, though, that Ino forced her to stop. People were beginning to talk, more so than usual, and Ino had to end it before something got out of hand. Erino took to the mind control ninjutsu less steadily than the Nara techniques, but she learned it soon enough.

It's not like the identity of Erino's father is a secret though. Everyone knows; it was so obvious. What kept the whispers at bay were Shikamaru's long absences and the harsh glances of Inoichi and Shikaku whenever anyone was brave enough to speak of the matter.

In truth, the Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Nara clans had been bonded for so long, marriage between the clans was a frequent occurrence. Ino herself was such an amalgamation of the three clans that being a Yamanaka was merely a formality. Jiko and Erino's affinity to the Nara techniques could be explained by nothing more than Nara blood from generations past flowing through their veins.

A pity no one believes it though.

Inoichi downs the entirety of his tea in one large gulp, and slams his cup on the table, nearly shattering it. Shikaku narrows his eyes. Yoshino won't be happy if one of her teacups goes missing.

"What happened?" Shikaku dares to ask.

Inoichi explains the situation with Erino, cursing Shikamaru more than once.

"I don't understand that idiot boy—why won't he just marry her? What's so important in Suna that he leaves his children fatherless in Konoha? His children! Two of them! If it were only Jiko, I might understand, but there's Erino as well. And don't tell me that fool doesn't love her, I've seen how he smiles when he holds her."

"I don't know," Shikaku speaks truthfully. "I don't think he knows either."

There comes a sudden knock at the door. Shikaku stands to answer it, pulling back the door to reveal a chuunin messenger with a missive. He takes it wordlessly and rips it open, scanning the sheet quickly.

"We've been summoned," Shikaku says. "You, me, and Chouza. A mission to Cloud."

Inoichi stands with a grunt, thankful for the distraction. Maybe Shikamaru will be gone when they get back, saving the young shinobi from death by his hands.

Shikamaru trudges home, weary from a long day at the Hokage's office. He breathes in deeply from the cigarette in his mouth, savoring the nicotine filling his senses, and puffs out a cloud of smoke to waft around his face. He slinks into his house, noting his parents' absence, and drops heavily onto a couch.

He throws an arm over his eyes and continues to puff at his cig, feeling crankier than usual. Normally he's happy to be home, free of Suna's cloudless skies and harsh, dry air, but lately something's been pricking him in the side and he doesn't want to deal with it.

It's Ino, he knows. He misses her, the gentle, teasing smiles she sends his way, the light fall of her blonde tresses as he runs his fingers through her hair, and especially the way she feels writhing underneath him as he lavishes kisses down her neck.

It's been three years since he last made love to her, and three years since he's been with a woman. He could marry her, he thinks, and be done with it all, but there's always that something holding him back.

He stands from the couch and makes his way into the kitchen, looking for something to eat. The front door opens and he muses that it must be his mother coming home, so he doesn't bother to turn around. Rummaging through the fridge for something decent, he doesn't pay attention to the footsteps sounding behind him, but when thin arms circle around his waist from where he stands in front of the fridge, he immediately stops what he's doing and runs his hands over the limbs holding him taut to a female body.

"I thought you were mad at me," he says at last, still not turning to face her, and savoring the feel of her body flush against his.

"I was. Am," Ino corrects herself, pressing her face into his back, pushing herself as close to him as she possibly can. She breathes in deeply, relishing in his masculine scent she hasn't known for three years, and sighs into his back as she holds him tighter.

"But you're here now," he says, pulling away and turning to face her, noticing the grimace on her face as he moves away. She reaches for the cigarette in his mouth, frowning, and crushes it against the kitchen counter. It's bound to leave a stain his mother won't like.

She takes his face in her hands and pulls him down to her, their foreheads touching, lips grazing each other as she whispers into his parted lips, "I miss you," before mashing her mouth to his. And suddenly his hands are grasping at her hips to bring her closer to him and her hands are traversing the expanse of his chest and her leg is hitched over his hip and he's reveling in the softness of her thigh and the stain on the counter is completely forgotten in their heat.

He pauses, pulling himself away with the greatest of regrets, speaking, "My parents—" before she cuts him off with a brief, "Shikaku's left on a mission, your mom's at my parents' house," and it's all the incentive he needs. The words are barely out of her mouth before he latches his lips to her own again, hungrily pawing at the skin underneath her shirt, and pulling their tangled bodies towards his room.

They land in a heap on his bed, throwing off clothes in their haste. They come together so easily, Ino sliding easily against his skin, and Shikamaru's reminded of how much he misses this.

In the aftermath, he pulls her close to him, her skin slick with sweat, and breathes her in. He wishes it could be like this always, with her snuggled close to him, but he's afraid, terrified of what it means for the both of them. They already have children, two beautiful kids, and he loves them more than the world. But like Asuma, his devotion to duty is stronger than his need to love and be loved, and should he be called to give his life for his village, he does not want to leave behind a broken and shattered family. So he distances himself from what he yearns for most, and thinks it for the best.

"Ino," he begins. "I have to return to Suna and—"

"I know," she interrupts him, because she doesn't want to hear how the sentence ends. She traces the outline of the muscles on his chest, and doesn't say anything more.

"You don't…you don't mind, do you?" he asks, shakily.

She smiles, but she doesn't look at him. "No," she replies at length. "I'd rather have a small part of you than none at all."

And it breaks his heart that she's reduced to savoring scraps of his love, instead of tasting the full spectrum of his affection.

Before he can say anything else, she stands from the bed and reaches for her clothes.

"I've got to go. The kids are waiting for me."

She leaves him without a second glance, and he wordlessly watches her walk out.

Shikamaru looks particularly tired today, Temari notices, but doesn't ask why. She's got an inkling, and it's nothing she wants to dwell on.

They've only been on Konoha three days so far, and yet he seems as if he's tired of being home already. Temari furrows her brows as they leave the Hokage's office building for the day, imagining that he should be stoked to be home. It's the first time she's accompanied him home at the end of a three-year ambassadorship, and she wonders if that's the reason he's so gloomy. Maybe she shouldn't have accepted his offer? She shakes her head and doesn't push the thought further.

They part ways after ambling through the village streets. It's getting dark, the afternoon air beginning to resound with the noise of evening insects, fireflies lighting up the way before them. Shikamaru gives her a nod before turning towards his home, and Temari's eyes follow him until he's a blur in the distance.

She makes her way to the inn, but as she nears the entrance, her feet refuse to stop, and she finds herself walking steadily away from her original destination.

To her surprise, she ends up a few feet away from where Shikamaru brought her their first day in Konoha. The playground, now devoid of children, seems eerily quiet. A swing moves in the cool breeze of the evening, pushed by phantoms of children aged early through their profession, and the creaky noise it gives off does nothing for Temari's nerves.

"Are you lost?"

Temari swivels on her heels, a curse spilling from her lips. Before her, Sakura takes a wary step back, her hands clutching tighter to the vase in her hold.

"Sorry," Temari mumbles, shaking her head. "You startled me."

"Ah, sorry," Sakura says, tilting her head. "Are you trying to find the inn? You're a bit far from it, actually."

"Oh, no, I…" What was she doing? "I was just taking a walk. To clear my head," she adds for some reason. Inwardly, Temari winces. Did she really need to say that last part?

"Oh." Sakura gives a small smile and asks, "How are you enjoying Konoha?" She starts to walk off, and Temari gives in to the urge to follow her.

"It's…very different from Suna."

The pink-haired girl laughs. "I imagine. How are Gaara and Kankuro?"

"Doing well. A little too well. I find myself wanting to tear Kankuro's head off far more often than usual."

Sakura gives off another hearty laugh.

"Sakura," begins Temari suddenly. "Can I ask you a question?"

They turn down another street, and Temari can only wonder where the other girl is heading.

"Sure."

"How would you feel about living in Suna? I mean, after being in Konoha your whole life, what do you think it would be like?"

Pausing, Sakura looks off into the distance, her mouth parted in the slightest bit as she was lost in thought. "I think," she pauses to find her words, "it was take some adjusting to."

"Would it be very hard?"

"Would it be hard for you to adjust to living in Konoha?"

Taken aback, Temari thinks for a moment, and concludes that yes, it would be hard. But not impossible.

The pink-haired kunoichi stops, and looks up at the sign above their heads. Yamanaka Flowers, it reads. Temari inwardly groans.

"This is my stop," Sakura says. "You can find the inn from here?"

Temari, looking around a moment, nods. "I think so." She leaves Sakura at the entrance to Ino's shop, and doesn't look back.

Sakura takes a fleeting glance at the blonde's back, and turns to enter the shop. The bells twinkle as she pushes the door open, and from the front of the shop, Ino turns her head.

"Hey," says her friend. "Who was that out there?"

"Temari," Sakura answers.

"Oh," Ino replies, a fog having fallen on her spirits.

"Here." The vase in Sakura's hands has gotten heavy, so she places it upon the counter.

Ino perks up immediately. "Oh! You didn't have to bring it back!"

"I know it's your favorite vase, of course I had to bring it back. Thanks for letting me use it though. Those hydrangeas were beautiful."

"Weren't they?" Ino gushes, lifting the vase to settle it behind the counter.

Sakura hesitates. "Ino," she starts.

"Yeah?"

"How are you and Shikamaru?"

Ino frowns. "Ugh, you too? That's all everyone wants to talk about these days."

"We're just curious. And maybe a little bit worried."

Ino busies herself with a peony plant on the counter and lets out a sigh. "I don't know."

"Have you seen him?"

Memories of her moment of intimacy with him a few days ago filter through her mind. "Yeah."

"And?"

"And what? Nothing's changed. He's still going back to Suna."

Sakura frowns. "He said that?"

"Yeah, he did," Ino pouts, and that's all she says on the matter.

Sakura seems affronted by Ino's silence, but she understands the precarious situation, so she doesn't prod for more.

Erino takes her time with her shadows. They are her friends where she has none, and their constant presence is enough to soothe her after a harrowing day at the academy.

It's not that she doesn't like going to the academy. Iruka-sensei seems to like her well enough, given that he knew her parents, and if he spends extra time on her because she actually pays attention in class, well then, that's not her fault is it?

Most of the boys don't give her a second glance, which is fine with her. They could care less what Iruka-sensei thinks, and boys are gross and nasty at this age anyway. That one Aburame kid chased her around with a caterpillar once, and she's yet to forgive him.

The girls are another matter. They poke and prod at her for the littlest things. Mayu, the ringleader, has already pulled out one of her braided pigtails that day, and Tenten-sensei had to fix it for her. Erino gave her a soft thank you, and turned to leave before she could see the worried look on the teacher's face.

Standing in the shadow of a large tree in the schoolyard, Erino brings a shadow to formation, and it wavers before her, a friendly form that begins snaking its way up her outstretched arm. She gives a little laugh as the shadow trails up her arm to writhe around her neck and up through her hair.

"Ew! What a freak!"

Erino turns sharply, and the shadow disperses.

Mayu stands a little ways away, a group of other girls hanging behind her. She scowls, and tugs at her black hair, shivering at the thought of playing with shadows.

"No wonder you don't have a father. Who would love a freak like you?"

Angered, Erino summons another shadow with a flick of her hand, and it surges forward to the group of girls. They scream as they scatter, whimpering as the prospect of being touched. Mayu herself stumbles as she runs away, and the shadow barely grazes her ankle. Crying, the black-haired girl screams for help. Erino smiles, because she knows Mayu hasn't even been able to mold chakra, let alone master a clan technique.

"Erino-chan!" says a scolding voice.

The blonde freezes at the call, and her shadow evaporates into the air.

"Erino-chan, you know better than to scare the other girls." Iruka-sensei stands with his hands on his hips, sighing. Hanging her head, Erino doesn't say a word, eyeing a smirking Mayu behind their teacher. Erino opens her mouth to protest, to explain that the other girls were ridiculing her, but Iruka-sensei has already told her to go inside for the rest of recess and turned away to gather the frightened girls behind him.

Erino bites her lip and runs back inside the academy, trying to keep her tears at bay.

Later that day, she wanders through the village, wondering if she'll always be ostracized for not having a father. What does it matter anyway? Naruto-niichan doesn't have a father and everyone likes him just fine.

She's kicking a rock in her path when Chouji calls out her. Her face lights up and she scrambles to give him a hug. He asks why she looks so sad, and she wearily tells him what happened at school. She sighs, gives him deep look with her sweet, dark brown eyes, and asks him a question.

"What?" he says, blinking at the abnormality of her request.

"I said, will you be my father?" she repeats. Chouji-niisan already has two boys of his own, so wouldn't he want a girl?

"What about your mom?"

Erino blinks. She hadn't really thought this through. She just wanted someone there so Mayu would stop taunting her so.

"Besides," Chouji continues, "I don't think I'm the right person for the job." He gives her a sympathetic smile and pats her head, blonde hair with dark highlights bouncing underneath his thick hand.

Huffing, Erino pouts, her small cheeks puffing out in annoyance. Chouji laughs at her adorable face.

"Well, who should I ask then?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out soon," Chouji answers, and gives her another pat. Erino swats at his hand, and runs out from underneath his grasp to find someone else to bother.

"When will you stop being so stupid, Shikamaru?" Chouji asks at Erino's receding figure.

If Shikamaru could lie on this hill for the rest of his life, he muses, he'd be content. There are only clear blue skies and fluffy clouds to tempt his eyes, and no call to duty to tug at his soul and tear him in two directions. He can feel the tall grass billowing in the gentle breezes, hear the sounds of children running through the village. It's so peaceful that he can sink into oblivion without any qualms.

Something stirs beside him, but he doesn't open his eyes. It's not life-threatening, he concludes quickly, and thus not the effort. Something pokes his cheek, and he furrows his brows, but his eyes remain closed. A few moments of unmovable peace, and his cheek is subjugated to incessant prodding again. He groans and attempts to turn over. Who's bothering him and what do they want?

"Shikamaru-niichan…what are you doing in Mommy's bed?"

Mommy's bed? he thinks. I'm not on your mommy's bed, I'm on my hill—

He eyes fly open and he jerks himself into a sitting position. Beside him, Erino gives a squeak as she's nearly thrown off the bed. Shikamaru quickly takes in his surroundings. Unfortunately, he's not on his favorite hill, but nestled in the covers on someone else's bed. Ino's bed. He groans and rubs his face, pushing unbound strands of hair out of his eyes.

"C'mon, Erino, you're going to be late for school," comes a voice from the door.

Shikamaru removes his hands to stare at the owner of the voice, and can't help but moan inwardly. Jiko stands at the doorway, hand on the doorknob, a smirk on his face.

Erino gives a noise of assent, and jumps from the bed, reaching for a piece of paper on a nearby desk.

"Bye, Shikamaru-niichan!" she sings out as she runs through the door.

"Yeah," Jiko grins, "bye, Shikamaru-niichan." His emphasis on the title attached to Shikamaru's name sparks irritation in the jounin, so he pitches a pillow toward the younger shinobi who barely closes the door in time. A laugh is heard from outside the room, and Shikamaru heaves himself off the bed, searching for his clothes.

What was he still doing at Ino's house, in her bedroom of all things? He's better than this, usually rising much earlier before even Ino, and slipping out their home before his presence was discovered by his children. He thinks back to last night, when in his desperation, he sought Ino out again, unsatisfied with how she had left his home a few days before.

He waited outside her apartment complex, until the children had finally succumbed to slumber, and snuck through her window as he had many times before. She herself had just slipped into bed, the first vestiges of sleep grasping at her consciousness. She nearly screamed when she realized someone had invaded her home and scrambled for the kunai on her bedstand.

Shikamaru, much quicker than Ino, slipped a hand over her mouth and whispered into her ear, "It's me."

She immediately relaxed at his words, but remained alert. "What are you doing?" she breathed, low.

He kissed her then, instead of replying. Shocked, Ino barely registered what was happening before he pressed her down further into her bed, straddling her waist. He continued to lavish her with kisses, and he could feel her resolve crumbling beneath his wandering hands.

"Shikamaru," she said suddenly, trying to hold him off. "The kids are here."

He nuzzles his face into the crook of her neck, fanning his breath over her pulse point. "That's never stopped us before," he mumbles against her skin, and it's all she can do it muffle a moan as his hands descend beneath the waistband of her shorts.

Fully clothed, Shikamaru swiftly leaves Ino's apartment, making his way through the village to the hokage's office. Everyone takes in his disheveled appearance and late entrance with curiosity, but no one voices any thoughts. Temari has the grace to merely eye him warily, and surprisingly says nothing.

There's little to do that day. Most of the needed discussion about the affairs between the two villages has already been deliberated, and the last of the issues needing attention is swiftly dealt with. It's only been several hours since he entered the building, but Shikamaru is more than glad to leave early. With everything taken care of, he has only two days left in Konoha, and there are important personal matters to deal with.

After finding Chouji and heading to a new restaurant for lunch, Shikamaru grills Chouji over minute details to Ino and his children's lives. To his relief, there's been a noticeable lack of male companions in Ino's life, and his children are progressing through the academy nicely, Jiko having graduated a year ago.

"She's waiting for you, you know," Chouji manages to spit out between bites of kushiyaki.

"I know," he says, and that's the worst part. He picks up a skewer of meat and merely stares at it. Chouji puts down his food and levels a serious look at his friend.

"Why do you have to go back? There are plenty of other people who can go to Suna!"

"No, it's…complicated," Shikamaru speaks after a while.

"I don't think so," Chouji replies, resuming his eating.

He parts ways with Chouji after hardly eating a bite, and shoves his leftovers into Chouji's eager hands. He mumbles that he'll see his friend later, and ambles through the village toward his favorite cloud-watching hill. Several passersby recognize him, and he greets them all in turn. No one dares asks about his family—his and Ino's family, and their two beautiful children—which is all well, because there's not much he can say on the matter. He shakes his head at the thought, and the prospect of leaving Konoha, no matter how bittersweet, is a relieving one.

He meanders through a small wooded area to his hill, and is nearly impaled by a wayward kunai. His shadow rises from the hard ground, and snags the kunai mid-flight. Grabbing the kunai, he walks forward and lifts his head to greet his would-be attacker. He pauses when he sees the owner of the kunai, and stands immobile at the image of his son before him.

"Sorry," Jiko says into the tense silence.

Shikamaru looks down at the kunai in his hand, and notices the Nara clan symbol etched onto its smooth surface. He tests the edge against his thumb, and it draws blood.

"Sorry," Jiko says again, drawing Shikamaru's eyes back to face, to his blue eyes and dark brown hair, "about this morning. Mom already left, and Erino was looking for her paper for school. I didn't know you were there, or I wouldn't have let her in."

There's nothing resembling Jiko's cocky tone this morning, and something about Jiko's slumped posture makes Shikamaru's gut wrench. "No, it's fine. I shouldn't have been there."

Jiko seems to cringe at Shikamaru's words, and Shikamaru wonders what he said wrong. "You mean, you should've have still been there, or shouldn't have been there at all?"

He thinks he can hear a hint of hope in the boy's words, but Shikamaru isn't sure. Jiko's attitude is so much different than three years ago when as a nine-year-old boy he clung to Shikamaru's every word. "Inojiko," he starts to say, and he notices the look of surprise coming off the boy's face. No one's called him Inojiko for the past three years, and it's only an absent father who wouldn't know that. "Inojiko," Shikamaru begins again, patiently, "it's not what you think."

A look of defeat crosses Jiko's face briefly, but he's soon schooled his features to be impassive. It's gone before Shikamaru can blink.

"Yeah, okay," Jiko replies. "I think I get it now."

Shikamaru stares at the boy, the kunai still wrapped in his hand.

"It's fine. If you don't want to be my father, it's cool." Jiko turns his head with a shrug of his shoulders. "Whatever you have in Suna must be a lot more important that anything you left behind in Konoha. We've been fine without you so far, and we'll be fine when you leave again." He takes a leap into the trees, and with one last glance at Shikamaru, speaks coolly, "You can keep the kunai," before dashing away.

As the sounds of Jiko's flight recede, Shikamaru clutches the kunai in his hand tighter, blood spilling from his hand and seeping into the carving of the Nara clan symbol.

Yoshino gasps as Shikamaru enters his home, hand bleeding freely and trailing blood from the front door to her kitchen. She reaches for his hand and a bandage and pries the bloody kunai from his grasp.

"What happened?" she dares ask her jaded son.

"I was careless," he gives in the way of a reply, and she throws him a curious look ranging from shocked to reprimanding, because she knows that being careless translates to being dead on the battlefield and her son hadn't been a genin in a long, long time. If she noticed the bloody Nara clan symbol on the confiscated kunai, she didn't say anything, because no Nara over the age of twelve still carried those blunt training weapons around and they certainly never sharpened them enough to create such a wound.

Shikamaru allows his mother to bandage his hand wordlessly. Afterward, with a sharp look from Yoshino, he trudges to his room and tries to ignore the lingering smell of Ino on his sheets. He wishes he were anywhere but Konoha, and closes his eyes to picture the burning desert of Suna. It doesn't comfort him.

He manages to fall asleep, soothed by the familiar and comforting fragrance his old teammate left on his covers, and enters a dreamless sleep. Not more than twenty minutes later, his mother barges into his room, a chuunin messenger at her back, telling him there's an urgent matter only he can handle at the academy. He immediately thinks of Inojiko and how the boy had left him in a distressed state, and can only imagine what trouble Jiko must've caused.

He grills the messenger for answers, but the other shinobi knows nothing, and Shikamaru can only grit his teeth as they make their way to the academy. They alight from the rooftops, and the messenger leads the shadow-nin to a classroom.

It's not Jiko causing trouble, Shikamaru comes to realize soon. A piercing scream echoes through his mind, a telepathic call that resounds in his head, and everyone in the room falls to their knees at the shrillness of the cry. Shikamaru clamps his hands over his ears in a futile attempt to block out the sound, but to no avail since the high-pitched scream is a not a vocal one, but a mental transmission.

The other students in the classroom are trapped in a shadow jutsu, physical forms of shadows squeezing their small bodies and trapping them to the floor. Many of them are crying, whimpering as the telepathic wailing continues to rip through their minds. Through the pain in his head, Shikamaru sees Erino huddled in the middle of the room, head buried in her arms as shadows extend from her form. Ino stands not far behind, herself trapped in Erino's shadow jutsu, and no doubt trying to soothe her daughter telepathically as well, but nothing seems to be working. As Erino's crying reach an even higher pitch, the shadows around the room begin to squeeze tighter, and Shikamaru realizes the children will suffocate to death unless he does something.

Moving quickly despite the sharp pain from Erino's cries, Shikamaru manages to make his way close to Erino's huddled form, and takes her into his arms. His own shadow extends over Erino's, merging together and loosening the death hold on the room's occupants. In her state of distress, Erino turns to him and clutches his shirt, burying her tear-streaked face in his chest. She's still wailing, but the cries are vocal now, and Shikamaru pulls the shadows close to their huddled bodies, coming to cover them and cocooning them in a comforting shell, away from the others.

"Erino, what's wrong?"

She cries harder then, and gives off a particularly gut-wrenching sob. Shikamaru's heart clenches, and he frowns at his weeping daughter. He asks again.

After a moment, she pauses in her crying to utter, "Shikamaru-niichan, why don't I have a daddy? Why doesn't my daddy love me like the other kids'?"

For a moment, Shikamaru swore his heart seized up, the understanding of the brokenness of his family coming crashing down upon him. He holds her tighter to his chest as she continues to sob, and he whispers into her hair, "I do, Erino, I do love you." She doesn't hear him, but he doesn't mean for her to anyway.

When she finally quiets and her sobs subside, Shikamaru lets down the shadows surrounding them from the rest of the world and stands with his daughter in his arms. Most of the children are gone, shepherded away by their parents, as well as the messenger. Iruka-sensei stands uncomfortable in the corner of the room, eyeing Erino cautiously, while Ino shifts from her position against the wall and rushes to their side. Erino, seemingly exhausted, has closed her eyes and snuggled into her father's embrace. Ino holds out her arms and reaches for the girl, but Shikamaru shrugs away her hands and silently marches out of the academy toward Ino's home.

Ino follows behind him, glancing at his figure with a look of distrust in her blue orbs, but says nothing the entire trek home. Erino, having truly fallen asleep, is deposited onto Ino's bed once their arrive, and Ino wordlessly climbs next to her daughter and lies beside her. Brushing the messy bangs out of the young girl's face, she traces a finger down her plump cheeks and presses a kiss to her forehead. Shikamaru leans stoically against the opposite wall, eyes roving over the two blondes on the bed.

After several quiet minutes, he asks what occurred at the school. Ino throws him an uneasy glance, but blinks her eyes away and returns her gaze to the slumbering child snuggled into the crook of her arm.

"They bully her," she answers at long last, "about not having a father."

It's a ridiculous thing to be teased about, Shikamaru protests, but Ino merely shrugs the best she can while laying down on a bed with a child latched onto her side. They say nothing more. Ino doesn't voice the notion that Erino will probably be kicked out of the academy no matter who her parents are, and sighs as she extracts Erino from her arm and slides out of bed. She moves into the kitchen to begin preparing dinner, and Shikamaru follows like a lost puppy with a pensive look on his face.

Between the noise of banging pots and Ino rushing from the fridge to the sink, Shikamaru voices into the warm, kitchen air, "Marry me."

"What?" sputters Ino, nearly dropping the bowl of newly-rinsed bok choy onto the floor. She places the bowl on the counter near the pot of water boiling on the stove and turns to him.

"Marry me," he repeats again, irritated because he knows she heard perfectly well the first the time.

A look of skepticism flutters across her face and she makes a noise of disbelief at so bold a proposition. She returns to her bok choy and calmly places it into the boiling water, content to ignore Shikamaru and his impromptu proposal.

"Well?" he prods when it's clear she's not going to answer.

He spends another maddening five minutes watching her go about dinner, completely oblivious to his impatience.

"Are you going to say anything or not?!"

"No," she answers calmly without turning from the stove.

"No?" he mutters, shocked. He shouldn't have been, really.

"No. I'm not going to marry you because you finally feel like being a father to my children now."

"What?"

"I said no, Shikamaru! For a genius, you don't seem to understand this concept very well." She faces him, a ladle in hand, brows furrowed. "I'm not going to marry you because you feel obligated to this family. We've done fine without you, and we will continue to do so even after you're gone."

The similarity to Inojiko's words strike him. He opens his mouth to argue, but the sound of the front door opening cuts him off.

"I'm home!" Jiko calls out from the door, slipping off his shoes. He lifts his head, and his eyes lock with Shikamaru's.

"Welcome back," Ino replies, stirring her pot.

The sight of Shikamaru in his kitchen surprises Jiko, so he stays quiet and hurries to his room. His mother looks up from her cooking, unused to his silence, and flicks her gaze to the man in her kitchen.

"I think it's time you left," she says to her old teammate.

"Think about what I asked," Shikamaru speaks.

"I don't need to. I already gave my answer."

"You'll change it, I assure you."

She laughs, a high-pitched, rude sound cascading over his hearing. "And how are you doing to do that in two days before you leave for Suna again? Don't be a fool, Shikamaru."

From the hallway, Jiko stands immobile, out of his parents' view, and listens quietly.

"No," says Shikamaru softly from his position at the front door. "I'm done being a fool."

When the door slams, Jiko tries to quell the uprising of hope in his chest.

Beside him, Chouji nearly chokes on his chips. When he asks Shikamaru to repeat what he said, his friend merely sighs and states calmly, "I'm not going back to Suna."

Chouji demands an explanation, something akin to hope shining in his eyes, and Shikamaru smirks and says that there are more important things in Konoha. Chouji leaves him at the entrance to the Hokage's office, and Shikamaru raps sharply on the door. After a gruff acknowledgement, he strides in.

Tsunade raises a brow and waits for him to speak.

"I'm not going back to Suna."

The Godaime is thoroughly surprised.

"Six years is enough time for me as an ambassador. You'll have to find someone else to go back."

"Why?" she inquires.

"There are matters I need to deal with here."

Smirking, Tsunade digs through her drawers for paperwork. "About time," she mutters, much to Shikamaru's confusion. She rapidly scribbles something down and slides it over for him to sign. He does so quickly, and Tsunade takes the paper and shoves it back into the drawer.

She levels him a deep glare, and Shikamaru begins to shrink beneath the weight of her gaze. After a moment, she breaks out in a lopsided grin, and tells him, "Go take care of your family."

Shock washes over him, but he soon regains his composure. He smirks back, and hurriedly makes his way out of her office.

"What?!" Ino screams as her grip on her favorite vase loosens, sending it careening to the ground. It shatters into pieces all over her floor, but she's far more worried about Sakura's words than a broken ceramic vase.

"Ino! Are you okay?" Sakura exclaims, shooing her friend away from the dangerous pieces of pottery on the floor and grabbing a broom.

Ino lunges for Sakura arm and pulls her away. "What did you say?"

Sakura looks at her strangely and echoes her previous words. "Tsunade-shishou told me that Shikamaru resigned as the ambassador to Suna this morning."

Groaning, Ino released her friend and sat down on a nearby chair. That's what she thought Sakura said.

"What? What's so wrong with that? Aren't you glad?"

Breathlessly, the blonde spills her recent occurrences with Shikamaru to her friend, not glossing over her desperation to be physical with him, and ending with his proposal. She buries her face in her arms and bemoans her bad fortune.

Sakura takes a seat beside her and lifts a hand to her back, rubbing soothing circles to calm her down. She can't imagine being in her friend's place.

When Ino returns home that day, frustrated and irritated, she nearly rips Shikamaru's head off when she sees him standing beside her apartment door. She thoroughly ignores him as she unlocks the door, and attempts to slam it closed before he can slip inside. Much to her chagrin, she doesn't succeed, and the bane of her love life manages to weasel his way into her home.

She screams at him, pounding her fists against his chest and venting her anger, and tries to force him to leave. She attempts to shove his motionless body out the door, but she's has no purchase against his strength, and he stands there humored as she throws her weight futilely against him. He grabs her wrists to hold her still, and pulls her close to him and encircles her in his arms.

She's stiff in his embrace, barely willing to breathe, and fights the urge to cry and snuggle closer to him. She blinks to clear her eyes, and wishes he would leave her and her emotions alone.

He pulls back, and her tears begin to fall. She ducks her head to hide her shame at her weakness, and he, shocked, lifts a hand to wipe the tears away. She swats his hand from her face and shrugs his arm off around her shoulders.

"Don't," she whispers, moving away from him and trying to stop her tears. "I don't need you doing this. I don't want you in Konoha, I don't want you near my children, I don't want you around my home, I don't want to see you, I don't want you to keep breaking my heart!" Her voice gets higher as she speaks until it finally breaks at her last words.

"Ino." He moves to take her into his arms again, and surprisingly, she doesn't push him away. She tucks her head into his chest and sobs. "Let me make this right."

"No," she pronounces, words muffled against his shirt. "No, I don't want your pity." She sniffles.

Shikamaru furrows his brows. "This isn't pity." He lifts her head, his eyes boring into her clear blue ones, and presses a kiss to her lips. It's gentle, and soft, and so loving that Ino only cries harder.

He wipes away her tears and presses his lips against her wet cheeks, letting her weep until she's dried out. He speaks into her ear, "Let me love you like I should have twelve years ago. Let me do things right for once."

And he slips his hand into hers and wraps an arm around her waist and holds her close.

With a loud cry, the three Kumo genin suddenly find themselves hoisted in the air, ten feet off the ground, suspended in a woven net tied to a large tree branch.

"I cannot believe they fell for that," Zashino mutters, stepping out of the bushes with Jiko and Haruhi close behind.

The Kumo genin start spewing curses and thrash about in their prison, and the net begins to sway precariously. Jiko's team had heard the Kumo cell coming about ten minutes before, thanks to Haruhi's sound amplification jutsu and Zashino's Byakugan, and had hurriedly constructed the trap before the Kumo shinobi had even stepped foot into the clearing.

While one Kumo shinobi threatens to start war with their village, Jiko calls out, "Aw, c'mon! How do you expect to be promoted to chuunin if words are all you have?"

"Let me down, and I'll show you what else I can do, Konoha trash," the genin shouts. He grins suddenly, recognition flashing across his features. "Hey, you, there in the middle with the stupid ponytail."

Jiko grits his teeth.

"Yeah, you, pretty boy. Nice blue eyes." He gives a smirk, which disappears quickly when a kunai sails his way. He shouts in pain as his teammates flail to avoid the weapon, an arm catching him solidly in the stomach and knocking the air out of his lungs.

It's Jiko's turn to smirk now.

Once he regains his composure, the Kumo genin attempts to harass him again. "I think I know you. You're that Nara boy, aren't you?"

"And if I am?"

"What was your stupid name again? Jimo? Jijo? No, I remember now! Inojiko, right, Konoha trash?"

And suddenly, before Haruhi and Zashino can blink, a large shadow extends off the ground to smother the Kumo genin. Jiko's teammates take a step away from the anger radiating off him, a rare fire burning in his blue eyes.

No one calls him Inojiko except his father.

Author Note: And that's the end! :D Hope you liked it. And Zashino being a Hyuuga? You know that means there's going to be a NejiTen oneshot about this subject. Eventually.

Let me know what you thought.

Thanks for all the reviews everyone! And to those asking for more, I hate to say it, but I'm done with this fic. I made it long purposefully so it'll satiate you guys, but apparently it's not enough. Unfortunately, I don't plan on adding more to it. There wasn't even supposed to be a second chapter, but a few reviewers asked nicely, and I delivered on that front. So be content with what you're given! I know I left a lot of things open-ended, but that's how I'm going to leave it. If you've any questions, let me know.

Peace.