The shadow princess

Chapter 27

[Nara Shikaku P.O.V.]

In the end I told Yoshino the truth, that her daughter had died in battle. Even though I could easily keep it a secret since Shizuka was revived. Yoshino was stunned as she looked at our daughter, who was talking to her friends. "Why are you telling me this? You could easily keep it to yourself" she asked. I smiled as I caressed her cheek. "I don't keep secrets from you" I said. Yoshino hugged me and thanked me for telling her the truth. As I hugged her back I realized how much I grieved her passing and how relieved I am that my baby girl is still with me.
As the reconstruction of the village is slowly starting I walk around in search of my daughter. I'm being summoned to the fire daimyo and I want to bring her with me. I decided to take both Shikamaru and Shizuka with me in turns. Last time Shikamaru went with me so it's Shizuka's turn now. "Shikaku!" I turn to see Tsume. "Good afternoon" I say. "I was looking for you" she says. "Can I walk with you?" She adds. "Of course. I was looking for my daughter but you can walk with me" I say. "I wanted to talk about the relationship of my son with your daughter" she says. "What about it?" I ask as we walk. "I think it's getting pretty serious. I saw how upset he was when he found her body. When she died. I didn't think I was able to calm him down. That was until I said your family needed her body." Tsume says. "Hmm I was thinking the same thing. I saw his expression when he brought her to me" I say and sigh as we turn the corner. "They're young, but when the time comes and he'll ask her hand in marriage I will not object. Though I hope it'll be a few years" I say. "I do too" Tsume laughs.

I smile when I see my daughter. She's helping clearing the rubble. Even though she's working she's still laughing with Kiba. "It's nice to see them happy huh?" Tsume asks. "It is" I smile before walking over. I wrap my arms across my daughters shoulders and pull her against my chest. "Why don't you take a walk with me" I say. "I'm kind of busy Otosan" she says softly. "Still you have to walk with me" I say, chuckling before pressing a kiss on top of her head. Tsume grins but Shizuka walks with me. "What's going on Otosan?" Shizuka asks as we walk into the Nara forest. "For now I wanted to check on the deer" I say. "And later I'm taking you with me to the daimyo" I say. "The daimyo?" Shizuka asks surprised as she walks over a fallen trunk. "Yes. You probably won't be able to attend the meeting, but you can learn a lot" I say. "Thank you, I guess" she says softly. "I also wanted to talk to you about your relationship to that Inuzuka boy" I say. "What about it" Shizuka sigh. I take her hand as she jumps off the trunk. "I want to know your feelings about him" I say as I walk along. "I don't understand" Shizuka says as she walks over to the deer. "I know his are sincere. He brought your body to me and I saw how upset he was" I say. "I want to know if you feel the same way" Shizuka looks at me. "I'd risk my life for his"  she mumbles. I was afraid she'd say that. "The antlers are almost ready for harvesting" she says, petting the deer. "I know" I sigh. "I want you to be happy Shizuka. I no longer oppose the relationship. But you're young so please take it slow" I say, stroking the antler of another deer.

"Danzo?" Yoshino asks as I look into the fire. "Yes. I did try to persuade them toward Kakashi but without succes" I answer. Yoshino sighs. "Who knows what will happen if Danzo leads Konoha right now" Yoshino whispers. "We'll just have to wait and see" I sigh. Yoshino lays her head against my shoulder. "How did Shizuka do?" She asks. "Fine. She listened and learned. She asked the right questions on our way home. She's a smart kid. If she plays her cards right she might even surpass me" I say, pressing a kiss on my wife's head.  "How are you doing?" Yoshino suddenly asks, lifting her head from my shoulder. "Hmm?" I ask, a little surprised. "You held our daughters dead body in your arms Shikaku, besides that you saw someone dangerous becoming hokage today. It must have made an impact" she says and I smile. "Holding Shizuka like that was the worst thing I ever had to do. It felt like a piece of me had died when I saw her. What was even worse than that was the pain on Shikamaru's face. He tried to act tough but" I shake my head. "It was like I was losing them both" I sigh deeply. "And Danzo. We'll survive somehow. It's just temporary until Tsunade wakes up" Yoshino softly presses her lips against mine. "I'm sorry you had to go through that" I smile slightly. "It's fine. She lives. Let's go to bed huh?" Yoshino smiles and nods. I extinguish the fire and follow Yoshino into the tent. I can't help but smile as I see Shikamaru and Shizuka sleeping, as Shikamaru is holding his sister tightly. Even though he's sleeping his face is filled with worry. Shizuka is sleeping peacefully as her face is pressed against her brothers shoulder and she's holding his shirt in her hands. Smiling I take off my vest and watch how Yoshino pulls the blanket back to their shoulders. After I untied my hair I crawl onto our futon and take Yoshino into my arms as she crawls next to me. I kiss her softly and Yoshino sighs as she lays her head onto my chest. I press my lips onto her forehead. I can't help but look at my children before I finally fall asleep.