It All Started With A Smell

Protection

Shikaku's POV:

He tried to sit and read but after one line found himself standing and pacing through the living room. He tried to look over a list of candidates for Jonin but again found himself pacing. Shikamaru hadn't been at the funeral. He hadn't expected that. He had thought to ask Naruto if he knew where the boy was but seeing the blonde comforting the last Sarutobi made him walk away. Naruto was needed more there.

Shikamaru was finally home but Shikaku was at a loss as to what to do. He could count the amount of times he was at a loss on one hand. The first was when Yoshino boldly asked him out, in front of his team, the second was when he was made the Leaf's ambassador around the time the Third Great Ninja War started. He had relied on Choza to calm him and make him think reason, and the third was when Shikamaru was born. Until he held his son he had had been bewildered and terrified. Now, he was in the same state. Shikaku had expected his son to be broken from the loss of his sensei but instead he appeared fine, perhaps a bit numb, but nothing else. If he saw some type of negative emotion from Shikamaru he would be able to judge how to handle him, what buttons to press to make him open up and grieve properly.

When he heard Yoshino struggling to get the front door open he went to help her with the groceries she carried. His wife held a puzzled expression as they unpacked the bags. It was only a matter of time before she said something. As he put the last item away Yoshino turned to him, folding her arms over her stomach.

"Naruto is outside."

"Is he here to visit Shikamaru?" Shikaku frowned. "Why didn't you let him in?"

"No, I mean outside the gate to the estate. When he spotted me he ran behind a tree. He looked... odd."

"What do you mean?" Shikaku watched Yoshino's frown deepen.

"I don't know. Misshapen perhaps. It was probably because he ran off so quickly. What do you think he was doing out there, Shika?"

"He could have been walking passed or he could have been looking for Shikamaru."

Yoshino sighed. "Maybe. But do me a favour and go look for him after dinner, just encase. And take a blanket for him if he is there."

"Yes, dear," Shikaku assured, smiling as his wife started making dinner.

He wasn't surprised when Shikamaru didn't join them for dinner. He was a little surprised that his wife made extra and put it into a disposable container. When she put it with a folded up blanket he knew who it was for. Once he had finished eating he gathered up the blanket and meal and went to see if he could find Naruto.

When he walked outside the gate separating the Nara estate from the rest of the village he spotted something yellow in the trees. Looking closer he could just make out Naruto's face. When the boy spotted him he put his hands together and his shape seemed to alter. Assuming it was a trick of the light he shrugged it off, walking closer to the tree the blonde sat in.

"Naruto," He called, waiting for the blonde to jump down from the tree branch, "What are you doing?"

"I, um," He looked down, "I was waiting to see if Shika was alright."

"You're welcome in the house, you know that, right?"

"I don't think I am." Naruto finally met Shikaku's eye. "I don't blame Shikamaru for seeing me as the cause of Asuma-Sensei's death. The Akatsuki are after me. They are a threat to the Leaf because of me. And Asuma-Sensei is dead-"

"Because of the Akatsuki, not you," Cur in Shikaku. "Did Shikamaru tell you he blamed you?"

"No," Naruto said slowly before sagging his shoulders. "He yelled at me when I tried to talk to him about Asuma-Sensei. I didn't mean to make him angry, I just thought he might want someone to talk to about what happened. I still think he does but I don't think that's me."