Sky rim channel on pandora is great for writing about dreams.

So I've decided that there's gunna be a few more chapters than I originally planned..just because this story pours out of me like a word fountain.

This is from Shihoko's perspective

Enjoy.

The image is blurred, but directly above her there is a bright light. She laughs as she reaches up to grab it, but a shadow falls over her and all is dark. She isn't scared though, she's had this dream plenty of times and what happens next just makes her happier.

"I love you."

The voice rumbles through her body, and she giggles as she is picked up and gently wrapped into a warm embrace. She opens her eyes widely as a large grin flashes before her. She is straining for some reason, her face tight. She is trying to remember..trying to find more: A blur of darkness, the smell of grass, and then nothing...it ends just as it does each time..

Shihoko sits up in her bed and pouts, her chubby fingers wrapping around her silky pink blanket. For a long moment she looks around her room but then gets off her bed, she walks to her window.

"Why does it stop?" She says quietly as she presses her face to the glass.

Outside birds fly around in circles, twittering softly to each other. Their songs make her smile and she repeats them as she pushes the window open. She watches the sun peek up over the buildings surrounding her home and then she turns on her heel, completely forgetting about her dream.

"Mommy!" She shouts as she runs down the small hallway, she bursts into the room without knocking and jumps onto the bed. Down the hall she can hear her brothers groaning, they're telling her to keep it down. She giggles as she softly pounces on her mother, and she gives her kisses to wake her up. "First day of school!" She shouts as she tries to disentangle her fingers from her mother's long yellow hair. "Wake up mom!" She whines as she starts to poke her mother's face, but it is five more minutes before her mommy sits up.

"Shihoko don't jump on mommy's tummy remember?" Ino says as she gives her daughter a hug, but Shihoko pulls away with a pout.

"Oh yeah," She says as she glares at her mommy's belly. "That stupid baby will get hurt." And then she stumbles off the bed to go wake up her lazy older brothers, she doesn't see her mother frown.

She busts through their door with a scowl on her little lips, and she places her hands on her sides in a pose reminiscent of her mother.

"Get up, you lazy bums!" She says as she walks towards their beds, she gives Ichiro a bop on the head when he reaches out and slaps at her. "We're gunna be late!" Isamu, Iruma, and Ichiro sit up and groan at her before wordlessly stumbling towards the rest room.

She stands between them as they all brush their teeth. Isamu is leaning against the wall with the brush hanging out of his mouth, his eyes are droopy and Shihoko pinches him harshly on the leg when he starts to snore.

"Don't fall asleep dummy head!" She shouts, and all three of them straighten up and vigorously brush their teeth. She squeezes between them to spit the foam from her mouth and then she hops to her room, where her mother has laid out her clothes for the day.

She frowns but shrugs on the pale pink dress, her white frilly socks itch her ankles, and the lace collar bothers her neck.

"Mommy I'm itchy!" She complains as she looks in the mirror. They are sitting infront of her mother's vanity in her room, and Ino is brushing her long blonde hair.

"You're fine."

Shihoko scowls and starts to brush her own hair, which is a beautiful shade of brown. She looks over at her mommy's hair and then back to her own and she bites her lip.

"Why isn't my hair yellow like yours and my bubbas?" She asks quietly, she's watching her mother in the mirror through her thick black lashes, and she sees her freeze in the middle of a brush stroke.

"Because that's how you were born."

"Why?" She asks curiously as she turns toward her, and her mother just smiles.

"Because that's how Kami made you."

Shihoko bites her lip harder and squeezes her hair brush, but she accepts that answer...for now.

She is holding her lunch kit infront of her body, trying to hide behind the small peice of tin. Her mother has her hand resting reassuringly on her shoulder, but Shihoko is scared. All of the kids in the class are staring at her, and some of them are smiling. She tries to hide behind her mother's long legs, but is gently pushed to the center of the room. When she looks back her mother is in the door way, and she is waving at her with a smile.

"Well what have we got here?" A tall man says as he approaches her, and Shihoko backs away from him trembling as he kneels infront of her. His face is scary and weird, and a long scar stretches over his nose, from cheek to cheek. He looks like a meanie.

His smile makes her feel a bit better though, and when he reaches out for her she doesn't scoot away. "Come on." He says softly.

Shihoko glances back at her mother who has closed the door, and is only visible through the small window. Ino nods to her daughter, but Shihoko turns to him with a scowl.

"My mommy told me not to talk to strangers." The whole class erupts with laughter, and Shihoko glares over at them all.

Beside her the tall man gives a small amused smile and says, "Well then, we will just have to be introduced then."

Shihoko stares at him as he stands and gives her a small bow.

"My name is Iruka Umino and I'm going to be your teacher from now on."

She bites her lip and copies his bow, "M-my names Shihoko Y-yamanaka."

This time when he reaches over to place his hand on her shoulder, she doesn't flee. She stands beside him and looks out at the whispering class, and she memorizes each of their faces.

"This is your new class mate, Shihoko," Iruka-sensei says loudly, all the children nod in response. "I expect that you will all make her feel welcome." And with that he ushers her forward to sit in one of the empty chairs near the side of the class, which is located by a large window over-looking the school yard.

She sits down quietly and nods when her teacher gives her a slip of paper. "Today class we will be reviewing our calligraphy and -" The rest of the class is a blur, everything that Iruka tells her is something she has already learned from her mother, or is something extremely simple. She sighs when they start to go over their alphabet, and drones out each syllable as she looks out the window.

They're sitting at the table after dinner, just her and mommy. Her brothers are already in bed (they're such lazy boys), and she twirls her fork around her left over vegetables.

"You're not leaving this table until you eat those carrots, Shihoko." Her mother warns. "You usually gobble those up..is there something wrong?"

Shihoko bites her lip as she accidentally flicks one of the carrots off of her plate, her mother raises an eyebrow.

"I have a question." She finally says after picking up her fallen food, she looks up at her mommy with big brown eyes.

Ino nods at her and gets up from the table, she places her plate in the sink and then returns to her chair while wiping her hands on her apron.

"Ask away." She says with a smile as she beckons for her daughter to come sit with her. Shihoko leaves her plate and climbs into her mothers lap before speaking.

"Why don't I have a daddy? Other kids at school always talk about their mommies and daddies...and they say I'm weird when I tell them I don't have one."

"Oh Shihoko," Ino breathes out, like she might have had this conversation three times before, but Shihoko only looks up at her with confused eyes. "Some people just don't have daddies..that's just the way it is."

Shihoko bites her lip and turns around to face her mom, who wraps her arms tightly around her.

"But those kids said-"

"Don't worry about those kids baby."

"Okay mommy." She sighs as she leans in and takes a big whiff of her mommy's hair.

But Shihoko does worry..because she wants to be like everyone else, she wants to have a daddy too.

It is the weekend and Shihoko sits beside her mother on the park bench, her brothers are off hiding somewhere where she can't find them. They are probably even napping so that they won't have to play with her. She huffs as she looks at the children playing on the swings, she really wants a turn but her mom won't let her go by herself.

"Mommy?" Shihoko says quietly as she pulls on her mother's sleeve, almond and teal share a short glance before her mother places her eyes back on the pages of the novel, which is resting on her leg.

"Yes Shihoko?"

Shihoko bites her lip and looks to the ground, then out to a man standing with two children, they are smiling and laughing.

"What is a bastard?"

She jumps when her mother suddenly grabs her arm and swings her around. Tears spring up in her eyes, why is mommy so angry? Her nails are hard on the little girl's arms, and she tries to pull away but they only dig deeper from her attempts. Her mother shakes her by the shoulders roughly.

"Where did you hear that word?"

Shihoko lets out a startled cry when her mother shakes her again, why is mommy so upset? What has she done to make her so mad? All she did was ask what bastard meant..

"Tell me, Shihoko!"

"When we went to the store the other day..a man said that we were bastards."

Shihoko falls to the ground as her mother releases her arms, and she stares up at her with wide eyes as she starts to cry.

"What's wrong mommy?" She asks as she sits up, she places her tiny hands on her mother's knee. "Is it something mean? Was that man being mean to us?"

"Yes baby..he was being very mean." Suddenly, her mother's eyes are dry and she is being tugged towards the empty swing set. "But don't think about that anymore, lets have fun."

Shihoko smiles and giggles as she sits into the seat, and she holds tightly onto the chains as she is pushed high into the air, but she won't forget what that mean man from the grocery store said...

At night when she is safely tucked into her bed, she lies awake thinking about the many times she has heard that word. Why do people say those mean things? She isn't a bad girl, and her brothers are good boys too. She frowns as she pulls one of her stuffed animals closer to her chest, her eyes finally shut after many more tears fall. Grown ups are so confusing...

The next day all four of the children are walking down the street. They are on their way to go see Baa-chan at the flower shop when Shihoko spots someone she knows. His spikey pony tail and slouchy shoulders are so familiar that he can't be confused for anyone else. His pictures are all over mommy's room after all, and granny Yoshino is his mommy, she has lots of pictures of him too.

"Nii-sama!" She shouts as she slips from Ichiro's grip. The boy shouts out and reaches for her, but she is already too far from reach. "Nii-sama! Nii-sama!"

Behind her, her brothers shout for her to stop, but she can't. She wants to talk to Nii-sama! She pushes her way through a crowd of people, ducking between their legs and weaving around their bags. She can see his hair over the crowd, and if only she can just make him hear her voice..

"NII-SAMA!" She shouts as hard as she can, her tiny hands cupped around her mouth. All around her people turn to look at her, some of them look really mean. They grumble and roll their eyes at her..and some of them say that mean word. Tears come to her eyes as she shoves through the people, why can't Nii-sama hear her? When she finally breaks free she can see him turning around a corner. She runs as hard as she can to catch him, and when she turns the corner he is just about to go into a really tall building. She is pretty sure her mommy once called it the hotagi's tower(or something like that), where uncle Naruto works.

"Nii-sama!" She calls out as she reaches for his pant leg, and when he turns to her she smiles. "Nii-sama why didn't you stop?"

"Shihoko.." Shikamaru says as he lets his hand drop from the door handle, he walks away from the glass doors and down the steps. "What are you doing here alone?"

"I saw you by Baa-chans!"

"You ran all this way? Where is your mom?" He asks as he reaches down to grab her hand. "Let's go see her, okay?"

Shihoko frowns at him and crosses her arms.

"Why don't you want to see me? Why do you only want to see mommy?"

The look of shock on his face slowly melts as he kneels down to her level, and his eyes soften as he reaches towards her.

"I do want to see you, Shihoko." He says quietly, and she rushes forward and hugs him.

"I want to see you too!"

She opens her eyes when she hears her name being called, and she waves at her three brothers as they run towards her.

"I found him 'Chiyo! Look 'Samu! I found Nii-Sama, 'Ruma!" She shouts as she pushes herself from his arms. She grabs his hand as he stands up and she leads him toward her brothers. They all scowl up at the man when they arrive.

"What were you thinking Shihoko?" Isamu says as he reaches to grab her, but she hides behind Shikamaru's legs. She sticks her tongue out at the triplets when they try to grab her.

Ichiro looks up at Shikamaru with a glare. "Why didn't you stop? Didn't you hear her calling for you?" He scolds as he shoves his hands into his pockets.

"Oh come on 'Chiro," Iruma drawls out, but his eyes flick sharply up at the older man. "You know he is just too busy for her."

Behind Shikamaru, Shihoko can feel him stiffen. Everyone seems to be so grumpy so to lighten up the mood she decides to play a game. She lets go of his hand and starts to run, and she can hear Nii-sama calling out for her to stop. She turns and smiles at him as she runs around the corner, and that's when she runs into someone's legs. She peeks open her eyes as she rubs her head, and her Baa-chan stands before her with her arms crossed.

"What do you think you're doing young lady?" Her grandmother says as she leans down to pick her up, Shihoko frowns and turns back towards Nii-sama. He and her brothers are walking towards them, they all look so funny scowling, but she knows they are all mad at her so she starts to cry.

"I just wanted to play with Nii-sama!" She cries and reaches for him, but he doesn't try to receive her.

"Shikamaru-San is a very busy man, Shihoko." Her grandmother scolds, but it sounds more like she is scolding Shikamaru than Shihoko.

"He doesn't want to play with you," Her brothers say in unison. "Give it a rest already."

"That's enough boys." A voice from behind them says, and everyone turns to see Ino standing there with a large grocery bag in one hand, and her other on her swollen stomach. "Get inside, all of you." She walks forward and grabs Shihiko's hand as her grandmother places her on the ground (before entering the shop with the boys).

Shihoko stands between the two adults as they stand silently, their eyes are locked and their bodies almost seem frozen before Shihoko pulls on her mommy's hand. "Mommy I want to play with Nii-sama!" She whines as she pries her hand from her mother's, she runs to Shikamaru and hugs his legs.

"Why don't you ask Shikamaru-Nii if he wants to play first."

She looks up at him with hopeful almond eyes, but from the look on his face she knows he will say no. "Will you play with me?" She asks quietly.

Shikamaru looks down at her and then gives her a smile that makes her heart flutter. "I will, but I have to go talk to someone first."

Shihoko frowns at him, but she decides that that is better than nothing. She flings her arms around his legs before skipping toward the Flowershop. "Thanks Nii-sama!" She shouts, as she walks through the door she misses her mother's disapproving glance.

It is almost dusk when they arrive at the park. Birds fly swiftly from branch to branch in search of their nests, while bats take off in their haphazard flights to gobble mosquitos. Shihoko squeals as she is pushed high into the air, her hair lifting up and blowing into her eyes. She looks back at the man pushing her before she jumps off, and when she lands she can hear him clapping for her. Not too far away Ino and her mother sit on a bench, while the boys practice some jutsus that they have learned at school.

Shihoko smiles and she runs towards Shikamaru, but instead of running into his open arms she runs past him with her tongue out. She laughs loudly as she is chased around the swing set, and she runs down the hill towards the trees to play hide and seek. She can hear him shouting behind her, but she thinks it's fun to run. Before she can make it to the woods she is plucked up from the ground and spun around, and they fall together onto the ground.

She looks up at Shikamaru with a big toothy smile, and his scowl melts from his face. She sits beside him and plucks some grass from the ground. He is breathing really hard from running, and he places a hand on his chest and sighs as she looks at him.

"Shikamaru Nii-sama?" She says in a quiet voice, her questioning tone lures his closed eyelids open, and he regards her with a charcoal eye.

"Hm?"

"Did you know that I don't have a daddy?"

His sharp intake of breath and panicked expression goes unnoticed by the little girl, she turns on her side and hands him a small dandelion that she just picked.

"Yea." He says quietly after a moment, his eyes are closed again but his eyebrows are furrowed.

"Some people call me and my bubbas.. bastards, what does that mean?"

The man beside her turns his head to her and gives her a long sigh, but he doesn't answer and that makes her pout.

"Mommy wouldn't tell me either..but...is it because I don't have a daddy? Kids at school make fun of me when I tell them I don't have one."

"They do?"

"Yea." She hums as she lays beside him, her little hand curling around his big one that is still clutching the dandelion. "But I was wondering something?"

Shikamaru lifts an eyebrow at her as she scoots closer to him, and she looks at him with as much seriousness as her five year old body can muster.

"What is it?"

"Will you be my daddy?"

Silence stretches between them for a long moment, and he pulls his hand from her grasp as he sits up. He twirls the dandelion thoughtfully between his fingers, " I can't."

"Why not?" She cries as she flings herself onto him, she grabs his shirt into her hands tightly. "Don't you love me? Is it because my brothers are mean? I'll tell them to stop! Please!"

"I'm sorry." He says as he stands up, he pulls her up to stand too. He tries to take her hand but she jerks it out of his roughly.

"Don't be sorry...be my daddy! I'll be good I promise!"

He looks down at her with sad eyes, and he gently reaches down to grab her shoulders. "I can't do that. It's too complicated for you to understand right now-"

"No! You just don't want me!" She cries as she runs away from him, she runs to her mommy and cries and cries onto her shoulder, where she eventually cries herself to sleep.

After that she doesn't see Nii-sama again for a long time..

So this is shorter than the last one...but it's weird writing in a child perspective...tell me if its good or not...leave a review or don't :D either way I'm glad your reading the story.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next to come I think may be another Temari chapter...then an Ino and baby chapter, then the boys...and then the finale will be Shikamaru's POV.

btw I know that I didn't call the Hokage tower by it's real name..because Shihoko is a child and would probably misunderstand those kinds of things..so yeah. Just letting you guys know.