It All Started With A Smell

Oh

Shikaku's POV:

When he returned from his mission he had expected to find his son at home, or at least somewhere in the village but his wife informed him that Shikamaru had not returned. It wasn't the boy's first overnight mission, so he didn't feel the need to worry. That was, until he went to the Hokage's office to report in. She was ordering the first and second medical relief squads to find Shikamaru's team and bring them back to the village. It took him twenty minutes and raising his voice to gain their attention before Shizune informed him of what was happening with his son. They had been gone for two days, which, given that it was a retrieval mission, was not a good sign. Shizune had accidentally let slip that whilst on a mission herself her two teammates had engaged the enemy and were now hospitalised. Hearing that made him feel as though he had swallowed a boulder the size of Choza.

The moment he heard that the boys had been found he went to the hospital to see how his son was. He made sure to also find out about Choji, since Choza was still on a mission and wasn't due back for a number of hours. It was relieving to find out that Shikamaru had only broken a finger but two of the other boys were not so lucky, including Choji. They went to Choji's room but were not allowed to enter. Instead Shikaku made sure that the Nara's medical book was given to the Hokage as fast as possible.

They waited anxiously for information, on Choji and Neji, on how Kiba and Lee were, and lastly, whether or not Naruto was safe. The blonde was still out of the village, from what the boy from the Sand had said, fighting Sasuke. They eventually received good news about Kiba and Lee and Shikaku could see the tension leave Shikamaru's body just a little, until the nurse told them that Naruto had yet to return. The younger Nara's shoulders tightened worse than before, his face sunken. The only thing Shikaku could think to say was that when Kakashi found Naruto he was bound to send word back to the village. He chose not to add that Kakashi was more likely to do so if there was risk of the seal breaking. When they did receive word it was not good. Kakashi had sent one of his ninja hounds, Pakkun, to inform them that they needed to get medics ready since Naruto was dead.

Anyone who knew anything about Jinchuriki knew that Naruto might come back from such a thing. If the Nine-Tails risked dying along with Naruto than it would do everything it could to keep him alive. However, if it could escape it would. He turned to tell Shikamaru that there was a chance that the thing inside Naruto might save the boy but he stopped.

Parenting was a balancing act, and at that moment Shikaku felt as though he was wobbling dangerously. When his son graduated from the academy he had known that he had to stop protecting Shikamaru from everything. With some things it was alright for Shikaku to hide Shikamaru behind him, guard him, such as how brutally the villagers treated Naruto when they were younger. However, with other things, things that ninjas often encountered, Shikaku knew he was not able to protect him from. Looking at his son now though, he wished he could still protect Shikamaru from the pains of a ninja.

He knew the first loss close to Shikamaru was going to hurt more than most others but the way he reacted was more than Shikaku had expected. The boy looked broken, lost. His face was pale, drawn, his eyes wide, and his mouth open. Shikamaru started to shake, stumbling back. If given the option he had no doubt that Shikamaru would trade his life for Naruto's. It pained him to look at his son as he pulled at his hair, gasping for breaths through his tears. He looked...

Oh!

Shikaku's mind went blank as he processed what should have been so clear to him. There had been signs for months, perhaps even longer. Shikamaru talked about Naruto more than he realised. The 'hypothetical' question of how Shikaku would react if his son had a crush on Naruto. The way Shikamaru had carried the blonde so carefully to the hospital after the invasion and... just the other day. His reaction to discovering Naruto was a Jinchuriki had not been what Shikaku had expected. He had been offended and angry for Naruto. He was disgusted that someone would do that to someone he loved!