Chapter 31: The Marriage Begins 1: Shikamaru
Shikamaru
Asuma didn't come home with me and Sora, he drove us home then told me to get out, take Sora with me, then he left. I had a feeling he was going to spend as much time out of the house as he could, he hated the sight of me and he most definitely hated Sora. I could understand, this experiment and the outcomes had ruined his life. His friendship with my father Shikaku had been destroyed, most likely permanently, he was now married to me and our relationship would never be the same and he had lost his longtime girlfriend Kurenai. Maybe he had gotten it the worst with this situation but I just wished he would allow himself to calm down and see the joy of a daughter he had.
Once home, I decided to leave myself and take Sora with me to the park. She hadn't been outside like that at all, from the hospital to the house and back again.
"Sora," I said as I sat her down in the park. "This is grass." I sat with her and threaded my fingers through the green plants growing up from the ground.
"Grass," she repeated perfectly, not even stuttering. Her voice was that of a toddler girl that looked her size, though not her age at all.
I smiled and nodded. "Yes, grass. The color is green, this is green grass."
"Green grass." She pointed to my jacket. "Green?" It was green, just a different shade.
I nodded again, pleasantly shocked at her grasp of the color. "Yes, this is green too. It's a jacket. A green jacket."
"Green jacket. Green grass." She pointed at each. Then she coasted her head from side to side. "Green?" Her finger pointed to the leaves on the trees.
I picked her up and carried her over to the closest tree. "This is a tree," I told her. "This is bark, and its brown. This is the trunk of the tree. Those are branches and they are brown too. And those are leaves. They are green. All of it together makes a tree. Trees are plants. Grass are plants. Understand?"
Sora didn't speak so I felt I might have overwhelmed her but then there was a shout and I turned around. It was Naruto walking up, Gaara trodding behind carrying both baby bags slung to hang behind his back but with the twins in his arms too. I had to smile. It looks like Naruto has taken complete control over the situation.
"Hey Naruto," I said once he was close enough. "I was just teaching Sora some colors and plants."
"Grass and trees are plants. Grass is green, leaves are green. Bark is brown," recited Sora. She hadn't included everything I told her, such as trunks and branches and she spoke very simply, but her Japanese was correct and she wasn't stuttering.
Naruto gasped. "My Kami she's talking already!" He gave me a light punch in the shoulder. "She must be a genius like you! Mika and Miki don't even act like they want to talk."
I laughed. "Well maybe they're a little slow like you Naruto."
Naruto laughed, not taking offense, and said, "Miki is like Gaara actually. When I'm feeding him, he glares at me if I look at him. And he hasn't smiled since he was born, but Mika smiles all the time."
"Over there," Sora interrupted and was pointing towards the playground. "Wanna go over there."
"Say please," I told her gently. "When asking for something, say please."
"Over there please," she responded.
Naruto came with me as I walked over and Gaara followed quietly behind him. For some reason I was really liking Gaara like this, silent but yet fatherly at the same time. Six years ago if he talked it was only about blood, death and horror. But one fight with Naruto and all of that changed. Naruto had that affect on people and I had yet to find out why.
