Chapter Text
Harry paused for a moment before changing from getting three to two plates from the cabinet. Despite Shikaku's perpetual absence, Harry always left him a plate on the warmer, but he wouldn't do anything that might make Yoshino feel welcome. Having Yoshino saunter into his kitchen irritated him, but there wasn’t exactly anything he could reasonably do to stop Shikaku’s ex-wife from entering her former home. Shikamaru would be home soon, even if Shikaku stayed late at work, as usual. He hated seeing the little genius's sad face every time Yoshino ignored him in favor of stirring up trouble for Harry, and had been grateful she had been out of the village on a mission for the past week.
Yoshino's venomous voice broke him from his musings, "So you're the little civilian boy Shikaku has been stuck playing house with." Although they had seen each other before, they hadn't actually spoken.
"Evening, Maru-chan," Harry cut her off. He knew her better senses had heard Shikamaru's approach before he had seen the boy pause in the doorway to the kitchen. "Why don't you go wash up before dinner?" He made sure to give the youngster a warm smile, even as he hated the knowledge that Yoshino had made sure to start talking when she knew he could hear her. His heart clenched at Shikamaru's expression, but the best he could do for him was to send him away and hope Yoshino finished spitting her poison before he returned.
"Kay, Hari-san." The boy turned away with slumped shoulders, barely glancing at his mother before he left.
"I don't know where you came from but you don't deserve to be allowed in this compound, much less this house," Yoshino sneered.
Harry's hands trembled slightly, but he refused to rise to her baiting. He knew Shikamaru could still hear them, and no matter how vile Yoshino was, she was still his mother. Her comments hurt, digging into insecurities he preferred to pretend didn't exist. Especially as, despite being there for almost two months now, his place in the Nara home was too fragile for him to do anything but take it and hope she went away soon. He turned off the oven and stove top, moving the dishes to the counter. After setting glasses of water on the table for Shikamaru and himself, he made their plates and took them to the table as well.
"At least Shikaku isn't a complete idiot if he doesn't bother coming home to play family," Yoshino's eyes flashed.
Harry finally looked up in order to glare at her. "If you don't wish to join Shikamaru and I for dinner I would appreciate it if you would leave." He kept his voice as calm as possible and ignored her sudden onset of shivers, caused by his leaking magic. He felt both guilty and angry that Shikaku was so averse to his presence he hadn't spent a single evening with Shikamaru since Harry's addition to the house. The only reason he hadn't grown to despise the man was because he knew Shikaku walked his son to school every morning unless some sort of emergency came up. Of course he only knew that because Shikamaru liked to tell him about some of their conversations.
Yoshino snarled, but stormed out before Shikamaru came back to dinner. The meal was pleasant, and Harry enjoyed hearing about Shikamaru's day. Shikamaru was too old to be read a story before bed, so Harry appreciated spending quiet time cleaning up the kitchen and reading in the same room as Shikamaru after dinner while the boy did his homework and lazed about.
He was surprised when Shikamaru curled up against him when he sat down with his book, but he cuddled the boy close regardless. Eventually , he gently shook Shikamaru out of his doze. He couldn't keep the fondness from his voice if he tried as he said, "Time for bed, Maru-chan."
They got up and headed down the hall, but Shikamaru paused before entering his bedroom. "Hari-san?" Harry looked back, only to be surprised when he was half tackled into a hug that he automatically returned. "I wish you were my okaasan," the boy whispered before dashing into his room.
He gaped after the boy, blinking furiously to hold back his tears. He stumbled slightly as he made his way into the guest bedroom he had been assigned, barely managing to change into pajamas before collapsing into bed.
"You'll make a great dad one day." "You're so good with the firsties." "I wouldn't want anyone else for my son's godfather." Harry curled up as tightly as he could, the voices of his past whispering in his ears.
"It will be hard, but your family will be worth it." He drifted off to the remembrance of Luna's promise.
***
Shikaku blinked slowly at the Nara clansman leaning casually on the wall in front of his office door. It couldn't be urgent or the genin would have knocked, but his presence was a surprise. They walked towards the Nara compound in silence, until the buildings thinned out and they knew they were alone. "Yoshino stopped by your house this evening," the clansman spoke slowly.
Shikaku's eyes remained forwards, despite his instinctual desire to pin his clansman with his gaze. "Did she have a good visit with Shikamaru?" When his clansman didn't immediately reply, Shikaku's eyes narrowed, his expression turning grim.
"She did not speak with him. She seemed most displeased with Hari-kun's presence and left quickly." Although the tone was bland, Shikaku felt as though he was being judged. He sighed deeply and resigned himself to dealing with an upset son. He ignored his junior's side eye, but listened as he spoke again. "Shikamaru was sleeping soundly when I was relieved. Hari-kun was quite effective in soothing him."
Shikaku frowned deeply at the report. It wasn't that he wanted his son to be upset, but for Hari to be able to soothe him, they must be closer than he had thought. It wouldn't do for Shikamaru to get too attached to the strange man. After all, he was only staying because Ino had asked Shikaku to house him until a full mindwalk wouldn't damage the apparent civilian beyond repair. After a short dip into the man's mind, Ino had insisted that having the man stay at T&I was a very bad idea, and Shikaku was regretting not asking more questions about why. He wanted the man out of his house… even if he would miss the bento boxes that waited for him each morning… and Shikamaru's smiling recounts of their evenings when he took his son to school.
He grew more and more agitated as he finished his walk home in silence, his clansman peeling off when Shikaku didn't respond to his last comment. Shikaku showered quickly, hoping a good night's rest would bring clarity to the situation. He needed to find out why Ino hadn't done the full mindwalk yet; it seemed like enough time had passed that Ino should be able to. As he headed back to his room, he noticed near silent sobs coming from the guest room. He doubted there was any real danger, but entered cautiously just the same.
His heart raced as the scent of salt and iron hit him, but he refused to be distracted by the other man until he cased the room. The moment he had verified the lack of enemies, he slipped over to Hari's bed. The light blue sheet was marred by small spots of blood, and if not for the other's palm showing bloody crescents from his own fingernails, Shikaku's concern would have been even greater. Another sob, followed by a whimper in a language he couldn't understand brought Shikaku's attention to Hari's face, contorted in fear and streaked with tears. His chest clenched, and he didn't even think of stopping himself from reaching out to shake the other awake.
He regretted his action immediately as Hari flung himself out of the bed to cower against the corner almost faster than he could follow. He had a hard time seeing the young man who had smiled so sweetly when being introduced to him and his son in the shaking figure that looked like he expected to be hit any moment. He made sure to make noise as he shuffled around the bed, hoping the young man would return to awareness before he reached him. The way the other only tried to force himself further into the wall didn't give him much hope, however.
"Hari?" He spoke softly, dismayed to be in a situation where he didn't know what to do. He crouched near the other, searching for any hint the man was coming back to himself. After several minutes, he huffed before allowing a quiet "troublesome" to escape.
If not for his training he would have fallen back at Hari's shocking reaction. The man's face snapped up, green eyes glowing but not entirely aware. "Maru," Hari faintly growled, exploding into motion. Shikaku hadn't been expecting the man's reaction and found himself knocked to the floor as Hari flashed out of the room. Shikaku's heart clenched, fear for his son pushing him into immediate action.
He sent his shadows after Hari and shunshined to Shikamaru's door. He was shocked to find Hari already there, door open just enough to see Shikamaru safe in his bed, his shadows appearing to be frozen in the midst of reaching for him. The man was on his knees with one trembling hand on the doorknob, eyes still not fully aware although they drank in Shikamaru's sleeping form. "Safe, he's safe," Hari kept mumbling.
He struggled to understand the scene before him. He dropped his connection to the shadows, taking note of their inability to restrain Hari in order to follow up when the man was in a somewhat clearer state of mind. He wanted Hari to go back to his room so he could get some sleep before dealing with the questions the man's behavior had caused. He huffed again. "Hari?" He almost winced at the sharpness of his tone.
The other only hummed in reply, refusing to take his attention off Shikamaru even as his eyes slowly cleared. Shikaku's irritation grew closer to the boiling point. "Go back to your room."
"No." The man's toneless refusal was almost enough to make Shikaku lose his temper.
"Go. Back. To. Your. Room. Now." Shikaku bit out, his long day and knowledge of how soon he would have to wake to start the next frustrating him even further. Hari ignored him, finally allowing his hand to drop from Shikamaru's door handle. Instead of pulling the door closed, Hari sat in the doorway, eyes not once leaving Shikamaru. Shikaku couldn't understand the man's actions, and was tempted to remove him by force, the only thing stopping him was the strange protective energy he could sense from the other man.
Hari rose from his seated position into a half crouch, eyes finally off Shikamaru, only to be trained on the boy's window with deadly intensity. Hari slipped into the room and between the boy's bed and window so smoothly Shikaku was surprised. "Hari-kun," Shikaku was surprised yet again to hear one of the clansmen assigned to watch the house while Hari was staying call out. "Hari-kun, I'm going to come in now."
There was a pause, and Shikaku could have sworn the world held its breath. "Enter." Shikaku shivered at Hari's tone. Even with the oddness of Hari's arrival, he hadn't really considered the man dangerous before tonight.
Nara Megumi slipped through the window, immediately raising her hands in a peaceful gesture. Shikaku watched as some of the tenseness left Hari's body. "Shikamaru is safe here, Hari," she spoke softly. When Hari didn't react, Megumi took a deep breath. She glanced quickly at Shikaku with a wince. "No one is going to hurt him or take him away."
Hari tensed suddenly, and it took Shikaku a moment to realize why. Shikamaru's breathing had changed, he was waking up. Hari seemed to be vibrating in place, the protective energy Shikaku had sensed earlier rising in strength. "Hari-san?" Shikamaru whispered sleepily.
"Maru-chan." Shikaku almost couldn't believe how soft Hari's voice became. He watched his son take in the strange tableau and could see him come to a conclusion, although Shikaku didn't know what conclusion it could be.
"Did you have a bad dream, Hari-san?"
The barest hint of a smile graced Hari's face. "Have I told you recently how brilliant you are?" Hari whispered. He still hadn't moved from his protective position in front of Shikamaru's bed, but some of the tension left him.
"Not today, Hari-san." Hari choked out a half chuckle. "You know I'm safe here." Hari nodded, but maintained his stance. Shikaku could see his son thinking, and wondered at how much he had missed since Hari's introduction. "Do you want to stay in here tonight?"
"No," Shikaku snapped out before he registered that Hari had momentarily relaxed before his reply caused Hari's tension to return to the strength it had been just before Megumi entered the room. He glared at Hari, ignoring the twin glares from his son and Megumi. Those glares didn't matter right now. He had been foolish enough to allow a possible enemy of Konoha into his house without properly questioning Ino about him; he wasn't going to let the man any closer to his son.
"Get Inoichi," he spoke softly, knowing Megumi's teammate would hear and obey. He refused to look away from Hari, even as Shikamaru's eyes filled with tears.
"Hari-san," he winced at the wobble in his son's voice. Hari took a half step back and ruffled Shikamaru's hair, but returned to his protective position immediately.
"Don't worry, Maru-chan," Hari's soft tone belied the danger the other Naras could only compare to Killing Intent. "I'm sure bringing Inoichi-san will be a good thing."
Although the wait wasn't long, it felt like an eternity to Shikaku. Even knowing exactly how they got to this standoff, he didn't quite understand it. When Inoichi entered through the front door, Shikaku frowned, far too tired of surprises. When Inoichi's reaction to the standoff was to grab him by the arm and pull Shikaku out of the room, only his long friendship with the other man kept him from attacking.
"Shikaku," Inoichi sighed. Shikaku glared at his friend, demanding answers with his expression. "When I asked you to house Hari, I had thought you would be willing to get to know him. He wouldn't have been able to let his guard down in the Akimichi compound or my own."
"Why does that matter?" he snapped.
Inoichi sighed again. "All his friends and family are gone. Most dead, a few so far away he'll never see them again." Inoichi took a deep breath, hand raised to indicate he had something more to say. "Do you even know what your son said to him this evening? Did you ask your guards for any information before you called for me?" Shikaku frowned, disturbed to realize he had not. He hadn't even asked Megumi why she spoke to Hari or entered Shikamaru's room instead of stopping Hari.
When Shikaku didn't answer, Inoichi softened his tone. "He told Hari he wished he was his Okaasan." Shikaku could only gape at Ino's statement. "As I said, he has lost everyone, and most of them were taken by death. I would think in such a case, as innocent as Shikamaru's words were, they undoubtedly reminded Hari of all he's lost. Given the time, I would think Hari woke from a nightmare and needed to make sure your son, the only person he has formed what he knows is a reciprocal attachment to, was safe." He gripped Shikaku's shoulder. "Do you understand now?"
Shikaku covered his eyes with one hand. He was forcibly reminded of the many mornings Shikamaru had gushed over something Hari had done, or said. He remembered Shikamaru asking if he could invite his friends over to meet his Hari-san, just this morning, and the way his little shoulders had drooped for just a moment when Shikaku had told him 'not yet,' before the boy had straightened and gripped his bento box, one of the two sitting on the counter every morning, tighter. He had completely missed not only how easily Hari had settled into their lives, but how small parts had changed completely.
"You haven't even completed his mindwalk, and you sent him here instead of leaving him at T&I." Shikaku looked at his friend with no small amount of despair. "What do I do?"
Ino's entire face softened in a way Shikaku couldn't remember seeing before. "Let him watch over Shikamaru tonight. Join them at some meals. Get to know him." He paused, seeming to contemplate something before shrugging lightly. "I knew, and he knew I knew, that the easiest way to attach him to Konoha was to give him people here to care about. He could bring the entirety of the elemental nations to its knees. Now, for the safety of your son, he would." Ino gave Shikaku a moment to accept his shock before continuing. "Even if the whole village turned on him, even if he was forced to flee, even if Shikamaru himself turned on Hari, we might never see him again, but Shikamaru will always be protected. If we treat him well," Ino smiled, "we will have the best ally anyone could ever dream of having."