It All Started With A Smell

Chapter 12 - Troublesome Women

It seemed as though his parents had worked out their issues. His mother was back cooking dinners for them all and his father was actually spending time at home. It often confused him, their relationship. His father was a high ranking Jonin, whilst his mother was only at Chunin level. Not only that but she hadn't gone on missions in a number of years, making his father the stronger one. Shikamaru had often wondered if his father had consented to marriage out of fear. When he was younger he had even asked his dad if Shikaku wished Shikamaru didn't exist, so that he wouldn't be stuck with Yoshino. His father had informed him that even if he had never been born Shikaku would still be with Yoshino simply because he loved her. Shikamaru found that hard to believe at times. His mother was a scary woman. She had however hugged him tight after the invasion.

He had returned home after taking Naruto to the hospital and had collapsed in bed. It wasn't clear if he fell to sleep or fell unconscious, either way he was lost to the world. He had only been asleep for what felt like minutes before something lifted his top half off the bed. Instinctively he threw a punch. His attacker grabbed his wrist, pulling him into their body and holding them tight. They made shushing noises in his ear, stroking his head as their other hand held him in place. Slowly his eyes adjusted; using the light from the hallway he noticed long brown hair and fair skin.

"Mum?"

"I'm sorry I woke you up." His mother sniffed.

Is she crying? He thought, his arms coming up to hug his mother back uncertainly.

"Are you hungry? Do you need anything?" She asked, continuing to stroke his head.

"No. I'm fine. Just exhausted from the fighting."

He felt more then saw his mother nod before she let him go, lying him back down. Running her fingers through his hair she smiled down at him.

"Look at you, my handsome little boy is almost a full fledged man. You look so much like your father that if I hadn't given birth to you I wouldn't think there was any of my blood in you. If you wake up needing anything just yell out." She ran her fingers through his hair one more time before getting up, kissing him on his forehead and leaving the room.

He couldn't recall a time he had seen his mother act so gentle but perhaps the attack had shaken her more then he thought it would.

His mother hadn't mentioned her visiting him that night and neither had he. It wasn't so much that he was embarrassed, or annoyed, it was the fact that his mother had always been strong, frightening even. To see her worried like that had shook him. He worried that if he brought it up maybe she would return to that state and he wouldn't know how to help her. Instead they continued on as though nothing had happened.

"Dad, why did you wake me up so early?" Shikamaru complained as his mother put breakfast on the table. At least, he was fairly certain she was. He was having trouble opening his eyes. Word had reached his father that Jiraiya had been attacked whilst retrieving the Fifth Hokage. Shikamaru wasn't privy to the details but he did know that Naruto was travelling with Jiraiya. This had resulted in him getting little sleep the night before and now his father had dragged him out of bed at seven in the morning.

"We have to go to the Hokage Tower," His father replied, smirking when Shikamaru cracked one eye open in suspicion. "Jiraiya has returned with the Hokage."

"Naruto is back?" He did not suddenly look and feel awake, and he definitely added Jiraiya's name into his question. He absolutely did! Oh who was he kidding? Even with his sleep deprived mind he knew he sounded too eager and had only mentioned Naruto. His father raised an eyebrow, which wasn't good for him. The last thing he needed was for his dad to study him. So far he had kept his feelings a secret and he wanted it to stay that way. "It's good to know the idiot didn't get himself killed."