Stolen

Arriving at the tower, Yoshino and Shikaku were met with Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura, Sai, the Hokage and two strangers, one woman and one male teenager.

The woman was short, had black hair and bright green eyes. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary with her, but they both knew that appearances could be deceiving. It was the boy that really caught their interest. He was tall, slouched and had a bored yet exasperated expression. His brown hair was tied up, making him resemble a bit of a pineapple. There could be no doubt in the two that this was their stolen son, their Shikamaru.

And this meant that the woman was a threat, however strangely the current conversation was going.

“I’m telling you Shika, I left my undergarments at home! What do I do, Shika, what do I do?” the woman wailed.

Shikamaru sighed for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day. “No, Mama. I packed them for you before we left. I knew you would forget, so I also packed your toothbrush, mirror, wallet and most other things. Honestly, Mama, you are so troublesome.”

The two hidden bit back a gasp at the word.

“Aww, Shika baby! What would I do without you?” Asahi leapt at her son.

Shikamaru smiled fondly and braced himself for impact, “Probably forget how to live and die alone in a ditch because you forgot which road to take.”
She leant back and slapped his head. “Respect me! I am your mother. I know a great many embarrassing stories to blackmail you with, baby. I can take away your life with a smile!” she laughed at the horrified looks the others were looking at her with, beside her son’s amusedly exasperated one. Yoshino and Shikaku looked at her with anger. “I was there when you cried, when you said your first ‘troublesome’. I was there when you decided that I was the coolest person in the world. I was there when you were scared and needed your mama. I was always there baby, always. . . .”

With that she collapsed into tears. Shikamaru sighed fondly and hugged her tightly to his chest, whispering, “I know mama, I know.”

He carefully moved into a position that allowed him to face the others and keep his mother comfortable. “I’m sorry about her, she forgot to take her medication today, so she’ll be extra emotional for a while.”

Watching the other woman’s minor breakdown, Yoshino felt like crying herself. That was meant to be her. Her crying with her baby comforting her. Her baby rolling his eyes and laughing with her. Her with all the best blackmail stories. But this woman stole it from her. She stole it all. And she was going to make her pay.

Shikaku could feel his wife plotting away beside him. Could feel her anger and hatred. He felt it too. But they needed to be careful. With that thought in mind, he walked forward and introduced himself. “Hello. My name is Shikaku and I’m going to be one of the investigators. Yoshino, my wife, is going to be the other one. It’s very nice to meet you,” he held out his hand to his son, who took it carefully. He smiled at the firm grip, before turning around and meeting his wife’s eye. She smiled back and offered her hand to their son as well, her smile turning into a grin when he accepted.

After introductions were done, with very cold greetings toward Asahi, the investigations began.

“Asahi, we’ll do you first.”

“Sure.”

“Okay, what’s your name?”

“Asahi.”

“No last name?”

“None that matter.”

Shikaku narrowed his eyes. “We would like to know anyway.”

“I said, none that matter.” Asahi’s smile was full of teeth.

Behind her, Shikaku could see Yoshino making a note. They would definitely be revisiting this in the future.

“Your age?”

“Twenty-nine.”

“Bit young for being a mother a sixteen-year-old, isn’t it?”

“Perhaps.”

“Your original village?”

“I had no original village, only Umagakure after I found Shikamaru.”

“Found, you say?”

“Well . . .”

“Answer honestly.”

“I was on my daily run when I saw this man handling my poor Shika very badly, upside down and held by the feet! Can you believe it?”

“No. Continue,” Shikaku said through gritted teeth.

“So, I walk up to him and ask for the baby, but he says no! I mean how dare he, he obviously didn’t want my baby, though Merlin knows why. He’s absolutely adorable!”

“Mama, please try to stay focused.”

“Alright, Shika baby. Yeah, so I fight him, and obviously I win. I took Shika from him and started looking for his parents, but I couldn’t find them. They must have been so worried, or dead.”

The Nara’s looked down at that.

“Then I decided to keep him, and we moved to Umagakure and lived there ever since.”

“Why did you call him Shikamaru?”

“Well, he told me that was his name. He said it so cutely too. You should have seen him!”

“I see. What are your intentions here?”

“Well, I intend Shikamaru to have the best ninja training ever and become famous and carry my groceries and rub my feet and look after me and me look after him and him to find a nice girl where he will give me loads of grandbabies for me to spoil rotten. Then I intend to die with my adorable son by my side surrounded with grandbabies. You hear me baby? Lots of children. At least ten.”

“Yes, Lady Mama, whatever you say, Lady Mama.”

“Thank you, baby. And don’t think I didn’t notice that sarcasm young man.”

They all saw Shikamaru wince.

“Back to the investigation. What is your most prized possession?”

“Why, my baby of course.”

Yoshino muttered mockingly, “Yeah, of course.”

Then she smiled brightly again. “Your turn is up, Shikamaru. Just come sit here.”

Giving his mother a smile, he moved to where the woman was pointing.

“What’s your name, honey?”

Frowning slightly at the endearment, he answered, “Shikamaru.”

“No last name? None at all?”

“No. My mother doesn’t have one, so why should I?”

“Oh. No reason. Your age?”

“Sixteen.”

“Original village?”

No, he decided. He was not imagining the hopeful tone the woman was using.

“I don’t know. I only remember Umagakure.”

“I see. What are your interests here?”

“Exactly what mama said. But I also intend to spend most of my days cloud-watching.”

Yoshino and Shikaku smiled warmly. “That sounds wonderful.”

“With my mother,” he ended, eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion.

“Oh.”

Shikamaru was now certain that the couple did not like his mother for some reason. The subtle glares and scowls in her direction only cemented the thought. But for what reason? What had she done to them? He would be keeping an eye on these two in the future.

Shikaku turned to the Hokage, trying to suppress his eagerness.

“They are no danger to the village. The citizenship should be approved.”

The man nodded. “Good. I shall prepare a house for you. In the meantime, I would like for you to live with Yoshino and Shikaku.”

Their eyes widened, before settling into a smile.

Asahi jumped up, dragging her son with her as she walked out the door.

“That’s great! We’ll be such great friends. Let’s go!”

But Shikamaru stopped moving, dragging his feet to slow her down. “Mama, you have no idea where we are going. And we still have our bags to think of. Honestly, you are so troublesome.”

“Don’t you ‘troublesome’ me, young man! I’ll show you troublesome!”

“Now, now,” the Hokage interjected. “There’s no hurry. These four behind me will carry your bags and Yoshino and Shikaku will show you the way.”
Shikamaru bowed, elbowing his mother into the same position. “Thank you for your generosity.”

Yoshino’s face erupted into a grin. “So polite. There’s no need to be so formal. We’re going to be living together, after all.”

He nodded, and the group made their way over to the Nara compound. Yoshino showed them their rooms, and with a soft ‘settle in and make yourself at home’, left them to their own devices.

“It’s gonna be great here. I just know it,” Mama said joyfully.

“Hmmm.”