Chapter Text
Hikari's place is not so bad.
Its definitely better than their house before.
After introducing them to Hikari, their new 'caretaker', Toji left and Hikari soon followed.
Shikamaru doesn't care.
He dragged his little bag to that Hikari pointed at before leaving, and since Hikari only pointed to this one, it probably means that he and Megumi is going to share the room.
Not that it bothers him, they're two years old, how much room can the both of them take up.
Opening the door, Shikamaru is not surprised to see it bare. Other than a mattress on the left, the only furniture in the room is a small coffee table.
He dropped his bag by the doof and immediately walked towards the bed and plopping down unceremoniously face down.
It smells like dust.
Turning himself over, he stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind reviewing everything that just happened.
Hikari is definitely his father's new lover. And Toji thought it was a good idea to bring his dead wife's children to his new lover's home to take care off.
She's rich too.
Based on his observation, she's should have a pretty successful career, and a pretty good family conditions too with her elegant mannerisms.
Shikamaru wonders how she meet his father though, and wonder if there's something wrong with her eyes.
Surely, no sane woman would want to have a relationship with that kind of man. His own mother is an anomaly and he never thought he'd meet a second one.
Even though Toji is his own father, Shikamaru is painfully aware of the man's true nature.
No woman would want to be in a serious relationship with him.
"Rin." Shikamaru turned his head towards the door.
Megumi stood there, pulling his own bag and Shikamaru's inside the room and closing the door.
Sometimes he really pitied this kid.
His mother is dead, his father is iresponsable and his twin brother... well, its Shikamaru, an old man in a toddler's body.
Shikamaru is an adult and can easily breeze through any situation but Megumi is not. Shikamaru is trying to be a normal child here, to at least show Megumi a little normalcy and help him share the burden but Megumi is having none of it.
He'd rather take on everything alone, be a big brother his 'little brother' can count on.
Shikamaru remembers how this personality of his came about.
Ofcourse it started with their father. And maybe he's also responsible?
Even back then, Toji's day won't be complete without bullying his sons.
Shikamaru is fine, he won't even fight back and let it happen, then he'll tell his mother what Toji did, and the Toji will be scolded but he'll do it again anyway.
Most of the time though, Megumi would see him being bullied by Toji and fight back in his stead, amusing the man even more.
Everytime Megumi asked him why didn't resist, he would just answer that it was troublesome.
And then... Megumi decided that he can't fight back, and needs to be protected instead.
Their mother would praise him for being a reliable big brother, while scolding Toji.
Shikamaru felt the other boy lay down beside him, clasping his hands in the process.
"It will be okay. " Megumi promised, probably to himself and also to Shikamaru.
Shikamaru just smiled and nodded, shaking their claspes hands in response.
--
After moving in Hikari's house, not much has change.
They are still left alone to their own devices but now they have someone bringing them food.
Shikamaru still wonders whether this is a normal thing in this world.
He soon found out that it was not and he can easily put his father in jail for this.
How did he found out you ask?
Of course through a computer!
Shikamaru is still in awe at the technology that this world have.
Back in the Elemental Nation they also have computer, but the one here is completely different.
The computer is connected to a thing called internet and the internet is an extensive network available all over the world. So many information is processed and stored daily on the internet and the best thing is it's accessible and free.
Shikamaru was surprised when he discovered this. All this information out in the public, he can easily devise a plan that could put Japan's economy in jeopardy with the information readily available online.
Not only that, because of the internet, informations can spread easily, making it a perfect way to do recon and even sabotage.
Shikamaru really fell in love with the computer in the study.
In the first week of their stay in Hikari's house, Shikamaru has been secretly using the computer to increase his current understanding of this world.
During that time, he only saw his father twice.
Megumi on the other hand spent the time doing chores and watching TV. Shikamari sometimes helps with the chores and joins him in the living room with the TV but he considered it as his nap time. Children's cartoon are really good and lulling him to sleep.
It took another week before Shikamaru's enthusiasm for the computer to receed and he's once again back to his lazy self.
That's the time he discovered the garden.
He remembered that one of Hikari's hobby is gardening and she really took a good care of this place. A win for Shikamaru.
Now his new favorite is back to cloud watching.
He breathing in the fresh air and the smell of flowers and grass, feels the sun warming up his exposed skin, his eyes filled with the endless blue sky above with a few sporadic clouds.
He would sometimes pull Megumi to cloudwatch with him, discussing the different shapes of clouds passing from above and arguing whether this one cloud is a rabbit or a fox. Then they would take a nap in the grass, only waking up when it turns chilly as the sun goes down.
His daily routine include being waken up by Megumi in the morning. Then after eating the breakfast that was left for them and freshing up, he would enter the study to play with the computer secretly.
A few hours later, before Megumi calls him for lunch, he would make sure to remove all the traces of use from the computer and eat with Megumi. He would then sometimes help his brother with chores, join him for a while to watch the TV or he would slip out towards the garden to cloudwatch and take a nap.
Shikamaru is very content with their lives right now.
Then a month later, Hikari went home early.
Both Megumi and Shikamaru were at the garden at that time, napping.
The heavy footsteps immediately woke up Shikamaru.
He lazily opened his eyes, and muttered troublesome under his breath as he saw the twisted expression on Hikari's face.
The woman also noticed them and she paused before walking over towards them.
Shikamaru knew that nothing good will happen whenever he saw that kind of expression on a woman's face.
And he was right.
"Pack your things. Your father will be picking you up soon. " She declared, making sure to keep her face stoic as to not show too many emotions in front of children.
Shikamaru appreciated that a lot.
He waited for her to leave before he shook Megumi awake and dragged him back to their room, explaining what happened.
Megumi kept silent, only his scrunched up brows show his confusion.
Shikamaru thought about enlightening him, but decided not to. Megumi is sure to ask question and he will not have answer to them.
Better have Toji explain it.
Looks like they're going to be homeless soon.