It's a two-chapter update, y'all! You might miss Ch4 if you headed here first. lol

kono yaro - you bastard
kimochi warui na - that's disgusting
Tadaima - I'm home
Okaeri - Welcome home
Nii-chan - older brother

"Rikumaru!"

"He kept me company while you slept, my little fawn," Temari informed him, stroking the male deer's soft fur.

Rikumaru was probably the deer that was very close to Shikadai. He practically fetched her and Shikamaru from the gates of the Nara forest when they were going to formally introduce the new heir to the herd of deer they were taking care of. Same thing happened when they introduced Sayuri a few years ago. Needless to say, Rikumaru was considered their family pet of sorts.

"Can we play? Before going back home, can I play with Rikumaru first?" Shikadai almost pleaded even though he didn't exactly need to.

"Of course, love," she smiled and then giggled when Rikumaru nuzzled against her cheek. "No getting dirty, Rikumaru. He just changed his clothes."

Temari took easily to tending the deer, finding them to be quite the intellectual creatures that people almost always overlook since the animals were the elusive type. And besides, what Nara matriarch would she be if she didn't get along with the deer?

Whipping out her phone from the basket, she took a few pictures of Shikadai and Rikumaru running on the clearing. The boy looked so happy and carefree that a part of her wanted him to just stay this way and keep his head out of the shinobi world. Then again, they have roles to do and while they didn't force being a ninja on him, Shikadai wanted to be.

Nara Temari: Consider this a warning when I get back to Suna two weeks from now, kono yaro.

Sabaku no Kankuro: What did I do this time? I haven't seen any of you in about a month!

The older sister did not see merit in supplying a reply to his message. She'll let Kankuro worry his idiotic little brain over the better part of two weeks just to build up the suspense.

"Kaa-chan. Let's go back. Rikumaru and the others are already being called to feed," Shikadai said, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"Right." Temari stood and handed him his hair tie. "Now put your hair up. I don't want to be scolded by the Nara elders again. Once was enough."

"You got scolded by the elders?" he asked incredulously, tying his hair up in his usual flair.

"Y-yeah…I kept breaking your father's hair ties in public," she explained, cheeks slightly turning pink at the distant memory. "And you know Nara men can't be seen with their hair down in public."

"But why did you keep on breaking it if you knew?" he asked, taking the basket from the ground.

"Well, I didn't. Not until his hair tie broke for the third time and muttered something about it. Only then did I know that it was forbidden. Also, we weren't married yet so I didn't know anything about clan rules or whatever."

"But why?"

"He looks extremely sexy with his hair down," she said with a dreamy sigh, the pink tint on her cheeks intensifying to a soft red. She didn't notice the grimace on her son's face, or if she did, she ignored it.

"Kimochi warui na, Kaa-chan," Shikadai said, shaking his head.

"Oi, oi. Kaa-chan is a woman in love," she said, flicking his nose with a smirk. "At least be thankful I still love your troublesome father after all these years."

"Hai, hai. Wakata wakata." He followed her to the nearest trail going home when she started walking.

"You only need to affirm once," she said, rolling her eyes.

"I know. But sometimes it's nice to annoy you too, Kaa-chan," he grinned cheekily.

"Careful. My Tessen is strapped to my back, you know," Temari replied playfully.

"I'm not stupid to annoy you on a bad day," Shikadai shrugged.

"Mendokusai na kono gaki."

"Heh. Now you sound like Oyaji."

The kunoichi snorted and then chuckled. "I'm not surprised. You tend to pick up habits after spending years after years together. I'd like to think he improved his work ethic because he picked it up from me."

"Was he really so lazy back then?" Shikadai asked.

"Extremely. Far lazier than you are. He would spend his days lying down on top of a hill and watching clouds, instead of standing by his post when waiting for missions. At least you're doing something even if it's that silly video game of yours," she remarked.

"It's not silly. It actually improves brainwork and teamwork."

"So you say," she said non-committally. "If you want to improve brainwork and teamwork, then you train in the woods. It will help becoming a better ninja, you know. Like three birds in one stone."

"But it's peaceful now, isn't it?" he asked with a shrug, looking up at his mother. "I know ninja are trained to fight and protect the village, protect the weak. What's the point of becoming a ninja these days? Oyaji…You…you guys all fought in the war years ago and it's been peaceful since."

Shikadai stopped walking when his mother did and his gaze remained on her, looking for an answer to his question. It had been more than a decade since the last shinobi war and all the shinobi were in alliance right now and their alliance continues through the help of people like Kaa-chan.

For a while, he was scared that he was going to get a pinch on the ear for asking the question, or a verbal berating since he made it seem like it was a pointless thing to become shinobi when his parents are two of the key people who contributed to the peace that was reigning at the moment. But then he saw that his mother had a serious face on, not an angry one, thinking of the best way to answer his question.

Finally, Temari turned to look at her son and she squatted down so that they were at close levels. Leave it to her genius of a son to ask the most thought-provoking questions that would be easily answered if his father were here. Then again, she wasn't so bad herself so she would have to do at the moment.

"Shikadai, shinobi are trained to fight and protect, yes. That doesn't only apply to people and the villages. Or heritage sights, or monuments that tell of our history. They —we— can also protect principles like the Will of Fire and the Will of the Wind. We also protect the peace that we did great efforts to achieve. Your father and I…we wanted to be part of creating the generation who will uphold the principles of peace. We want and hope that you nor your sister see and suffer the costs of war.

"But, we are also realistic. The war that we fought…it wasn't the end of everything chaotic. It did not end the anger, the fear, or the worries of the people who are affected. It is the period that comes after, the part where we heal that does that. And we have to protect that. When Shikamaru and I dreamed of a new era, we realized that there will always be bad eggs in the generation, wild cards who may not agree with the world we created after the war. And these are the people we need to be ready for. These are the people we need to educate so that they may not get lost in the path of darkness.

"Yes, again, shinobi are trained to fight and protect. That has been the norm for ages, ever since we made use of the chakra that was given to us. What changes from time to time is the purpose of the shinobi, the purpose of what we do. Why do we become strong? So that when that time comes, we will be ready to fight and protect what's important to us. Our King.

"Do you…understand what I am trying to say?" she asked gently, after her little monologue, laying a hand on her son's shoulder.

Again, he was silent for a while, his thinking face on and Temari let her words sink into the mind of her child. The kunoichi stood up but not before placing a kiss on his cheek. "I think that one is a bit hard to understand, but there will come a time that you will and it's okay if everything Kaa-chan said makes you confused. We're here to answer all your questions. After all, we've been there and back a few times already."

"Okay…so I gotta find my King?" he asked, taking her hand as they walked back home.

"Yes, but you don't need to force yourself to do it. Sometimes, it just happens naturally and it will come to you so easily that you will wonder why you have to search for it for so hard."

"Papa!"

The tiny voice that squealed behind him made Shikamaru cease his walking and turn around with a grin on his face. He saw his mother carrying his daughter walking the same direction he was. It pinched his chest pleasantly when he saw the little girl, as she looked very much like Temari, save for her nose. Her identical sandy blonde hair was up in two pigtails, the same way Temari wore her hair when they first started dating.

He was thankdul for his time off this afternoon. Naruto was determined to finish sorting the papers this morning and reserved the rest of the day to spend time with his family, which meant he would get to do the same as well. Shizune-san was kind enough to take over for the meantime, seeing as the two patriarchs needed at least half a day out of the Hokage office. Besides, with Temari's efficient paperwork done in advance, they had time to spare before they needed to prepare for the Shinobi Alliance meeting.

"Yuri-chan," he greeted warmly and fondly, taking his daughter out of his mother's grasp. "Were you a good girl for Baa-chan, bambi?"

Sayuri pouted up at his father and crossed her arms, looking away from him. "Papa didn't come to see me yesterday. Bambi mad."

Shikamaru laughed and kissed his daughter's blonde hair which was up in pigtails. She was becoming a little tsundere, taking a bit after Temari in that department. "Hai, hai. Papa's sorry. But Papa was busy yesterday. I did see you when you were asleep, though. And Papa doesn't have work the rest of the day today."

Yoshino chuckled at the little exchange and gently grazed Sayuri's plump cheek with the back of her fingers. "Just in time, then. We, elders, will have a meeting this afternoon. I was hoping Temari was already home."

"She is. She arrived late last night. I guess she let Yuri stay with you since it was so late anyways. What's the meeting about?"

"It's regarding the new herd of deer that suddenly joined ours," Yoshino informed him.

"Oh? Another one? Well, we can't exactly turn them away, can we?" Shikamaru replied.

"Iie. But we need to assess their health and whatnot. We're a little behind supplies as we have been entertaining more and more deer that seek refuge in our forest. The shipment's not coming till next week so we need to stretch our materials till then. We still can't figure how they're getting in, though."

"I guess I'll need to discuss that with the rest of the clan in the meeting in two days. Let me know the outcome of your meeting later, please," the clan head requested.

"I will," she hummed before she took Sayuri again to give her one more cuddle and shower her with lots of kisses, which made the little girl giggle wildly. "See you soon, bambi."

"Hai, Baa-chan! Bye bye!"

Shikamaru grinned as her little chubby hand waved after Yoshino and he kissed her cheek endearingly. "Still mad at Papa, bambi?"

"Iie. Papa's home so we can play together. Where's Mama? Is Mama home?"

"Mama's home, Yuri-chan," he confirmed with a nod and he began to walk them home, greeting some of the clan members as they passed the roads of the estate. Shikamaru had to chuckle, though, whenever Sayuri would enthusiastically greet the members and ask them their names if she didn't know them. She was such a princess, not that he minded.

"Tadaima!"

Three of the main family of the Nara clan greeted their house, not really expecting a reply. However, they were a little bit surprised when they heard each other's voices. Temari's chest warmed at the sound of her husband's voice, expecting him to finish later in the day. Shikamaru was likewise surprised that Shikadai was home, as he expected his son to run off somewhere with his friends on the first day of summer.

"O-ka-e-ri!" Sayuri greeted back with a giggle, shimmying down from her father's grasp and running to the direction of Temari's voice. "Mama!"

"Yuri-chan!" Temari exclaimed and dropped down to her knee, catching her darling little girl in her arms and peppering her with kisses. Let it not be said that Nara Temari did not miss her babies whenever she was on liaison duties. "Did you miss Mama, bambi? What did you do with Yoshino-baachan?"

"Hai!" Sayuri said, tightening her grasp around her mother. "Baa-chan made cookies and Nii-chan ate them with me. Sometimes Papa came to play too and Nii-chan did his homework but Papa didn't come yesterday and made Yuri-chan mad. Gaara-oji and Kankuro-oji talked to me in Yoshino-baachan's phone thingy! Gaara-oji made me a sandy castle and Kankuro-oji made me a doll!"

Temari chuckled at the thought, kissing Sayuri's cheek once more. "Seems like you had a good time, bambi. Were you a good girl for Baa-chan?"

"Bambi is always a good girl," she grinned cheekily up at her mother and Shikamaru couldn't help but think how similar that grin was to his wife's own.

"Tch, right," Shikadai rolled his eyes, thrusting the basket to his father and tugging on Sayuri's pigtail very lightly, if only to annoy her.

"Nii-chan naughty! Mama, nii-chan naughty!" Sayuri frowned, crossing her chubby arms.

The mother shook her head but couldn't find the words to appease the situation. She was simply far too glad to be home after a few days out of the house. Sayuri slid down from her and she watched as the little girl ran after her brother and successfully tackled him from behind.

The look on Shikadai's face was priceless and she had to laugh as the boy pried his sister off him carefully. "Kaa-chan!"

"Yuri, that's dangerous. Please don't do that to Nii-chan," Shikamaru gently admonished. "Go to the playroom if you're going to play. Not around here."

He watched as Shikadai dutifully took his sister's hand and led her to the mansion's designated playroom. It contained various toys that were mostly gifts to their children, and it was where Shikadai and his friends have their sleepover whenever they get the chance.

Shikadai clutched his baby sister's hand firmly. The little girl was a little hurricane and it fell on him to clean up her mess if she decided to swirl up a storm if she were under his care. The boy was still thinking about his mother's words earlier, how he would naturally find a King to protect. Then, he looked to where his and Yuri's hand joined and considered the little girl to be his King.

For now, he couldn't do much since he was still in training and he was still learning in the academy but he was Nii-chan and even if he and Yuri get into arguments sometimes, she was worth the trouble she causes. Like Kaa-chan said, the essence of a shinobi stays the same but the purpose changes. Perhaps now, his purpose was to make Yuri-chan happy and be the best big brother he can be for her.

And somehow, he knew that since they were the children of their parents, Sayuri would come to consider the life of shinobi as a fitting one for her as well. Then, his purpose would change then. He would still strive to be the best Nii-chan, only he would help Kaa-chan and Oyaji in teaching Sayuri about the ways of the ninja, the peace their parents fought for, and the King she would decide to protect.

For now, he was content in letting Sayuri mess his hair up by tying silly, colorful bands and attaching girly hair clips. If it was the way to be the best Nii-chan for her, then so be it.

A/N: First of all, I would like to say thank you to every one who took the time to read. This has been my first chaptered fic about anything, so it means a lot that you guys deemed my work worthy enough of your time. Lol!

I would have to say that this story is a retaliation of sorts about what SP is doing with Boruto. They are completely throwing the kunoichi aside at the moment, kind of rendering them plain and simple. I know, the series is far too young for us to judge what it will do to the characters, and that the characters of Naruto and Naruto Shippuden are not the main focus of the new series. Still, I am an impatient person and I took this as an opportunity to interpret what I think is happening 'behind the scenes'. This story came to me when I read that Temari was so invested in becoming a proper wife of the Nara clan's head that she studied the clan's history, jutsu, and even created the semantics of the Kagemane no Jutsu upgrade which Shikadai used in the Chuunin exams. I kind of get the feeling they won't animate that or any of the new genin training with their mothers anytime soon, soo...

Anyways, enough of the rambling. I really hope you enjoyed this little story of mine. ShikaTema has been my OTP, probably my first OTP ever, and even if no one read my stories, I'll keep on publishing them for the sake of my own shipper heart. Hohoho.

Again, thank you for the reads, the faves, and the follows! I hope to see y'all next time. I have several more ShikaTema fics brewing up, most of them ShikaTema centric with added Shikadai on the side and sometimes, my OC Sayuri, too. I can't help but be in love with the Nara family, to be honest. It has been my dream since I shipped ShikaTema over a decade ago. Haha!