Ruminant

Bonus: Little Sister AU - iii

Little Sister AU - III

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Summary: Where Shikaku's a very indulging father.

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3.

Shikaku had a clear idea about his youngest's personality.

After all, he spent more time with her than he did with Shikamaru when he was a babe. A few years after the war and death of the Yondaime, Shikaku's duties lightened enough that he could squeeze in his schedule a fixed time for a cuddle or two.

And well-

It was already rare for anyone in the clan to get a daughter - some theorized it was the excess Yin component in their chakra made getting a baby girl a hurdle - and after the Kyuubi's rampage, Shikaku didn't dare to take anything for granted.

(Especially when the clan took a hit after the deaths of many of their newborns and the subsequent increase of sterility in some of the clan members after the Kyuubi's insidious chakra spread in the whole village before it was sealed.)

(It was one of the reasons why they didn't take in Kushina and Minato's son, actually. The Sandaime's pronouncement of this played a part, yes, but they were Naras and if they truly wanted to, they could raise the kid without pinging any alarms. However, most of the clan were clever enough to put two and two together, and in general, they believed it was already quite generous in their side not to interfere on the kid's affairs and act on their own resentment even if it wasn't necessarily the child's fault.)

(Shikaku knew that they needed the time to heal their wounds and see Uzumaki Naruto as who he was instead of the Kyuubi sealed in his body. He didn't begrudge them of their grief, so he didn't push for custody since, with the clan's mindset, it could only worsen the boy's living condition. Even if he valued his relationship with Minato and admired his sacrifice for the whole village, Shikaku still had to serve the clan's best interests and could only change their perspective one step at a time - raising the few children that they have with a view that didn't hold unto the illogical prejudice of the adults they so admired.)

She was a very precocious child.

Spoiled and pampered by the clan who treated her like a treasure, Shikari was very adept in taking a mile from the inch she was given. With the exception of those that apparently had no eyes and see her unparalleled cuteness, almost no one would go against those chubby cheeks and haughty tone. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that all of them were wrapped around her pinky as her words in the clan eventually became law.

Shikaku remembered that period of time when his little girl started hating pineapples. He didn't even know what triggered her disdain and dislike of the fruit, but apparently, since in her perspective, most of the clan had hair resembling pineapples, it was up to them to adjust and bend over backward for to cater to her - regally demanding with chubby cheeks puffing up, for a clan-wide hairstyle change while she was at it.

Shikaku didn't take it seriously at first and indulged her whims by cutting his hair short, but he didn't expect that a few weeks later, all of the clan followed suit as she won over them one by one.

She was very clever too, targeting only key people with considerable influence - which meant the wives and mothers of his poor men - in order to maximize the effect with little to no effort.

Inoichi and Chouza still thought he was joking when they once asked the reason for the change, but he really wasn't.

The kid was like the littlest big boss in the clan compound and no one could go against her.

Shikaku honestly didn't know where she got that from. She resembled her mother, yes, which would have made tongues wag from some of the more traditional old farts if it wasn't evident that her eyes were all him, but-

He didn't mind.

Shikaku actually felt kind of proud by his daughter's overbearing manner even if the scheduled haircuts were kind of a pain.

He was worried though, for some time, that with her oddly aggressive personality, she wouldn't adapt outside the clan compound where people didn't have the kind of attachment that his clan members have, but he apparently shouldn't have worried.

Shikaku heard from the clan's gossip that their little girl acquired a...pet in the form of one of the Uchiha's prodigies, Uchiha Shisui, after her first outing without Yoshino as a chaperone, who according to Shikamaru's utter disgust (and barely hidden jealousy that made Shikaku grin), truly fit that description when he catered to Shikari's wishes like the best of them.

Yoshino made an attempt during dinner to correct their daughter's skewed worldview and explained how humans couldn't be pets, but well-

Shikari just hummed and smiled with dimples in her cheeks diffusing Yoshino's drive as they witnessed one of the rare instances where their baby showed happiness so blatantly.

Shikaku shook his head exasperatedly.

That kid sure knew how to play them well.

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Note: Headcanon - Nara Shikaku wasn't as warm or as proactive in taking care of Uzumaki Naruto in canon despite knowing the whole story because Kyuubi's chakra led to Yoshino having complications during her birth, thereby killing Shikamaru's sibling and Shikaku's child. It was the same with the Yamanaka's and other clans with the excess of Yin in their body, so they could only take a distant approach in the face of the Kyuubi jinchuuriki.

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A/N: I know I said that I'll make the bonus stories a separate novel so it wouldn't be confusing but it's...too much work for me at the moment. I'll get around to doing it once I get the motivation to do so. Just bear with me for this messy format for now orz.