Third person pov
"I'm so sorry, Arron." Shikaku sighed, running his hand down his face. The girl flinched away, earning another sigh. Shikaku was stressed. Who wouldn't be? They knew nothing about this girl or her origin, only that she'd been through something no living being should have to go through. She was terrified of everything, and now it was going to be even harder to get her to trust them.
"I think we should leave her alone." Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck. Arron hadn't moved from where she'd sunk down to her knees. She'd curled up in a ball, sort of like a turtle. It reminded Shikamaru of the game leap frog, when one person would curl up so the other could jump over.
"He's right, dear. And I'd like to have a word." Yoshino sniffled. She was more than a little pissed at Shikaku for allowing this, but they also needed to decide where she'd be staying. They couldn't leave her in a room by herself. Not yet. Yoshino knew they had a cot, and the bedroom she shared with her husband was large enough to accommodate all of them.
Arron visibly relaxed when Shikaku and Yoshino left the room. She'd always been sensitive to other's chakra signatures. She supposed that it could be because of her clan, although she didn't remember them all that well. She'd been eight when she was taken from them, and it was all her fault. If only she'd made it out like her parents told her to. This was all on her. She wasn't fast enough to get away.
"I can leave if you want." Shikamaru's voice was quieter than it usually was with her. "I'm sorry that all happened, though. I didn't know it was going to happen like that, and I'm... that must have been pretty scary I guess. The whole thing was a drag. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."
Arron peeked up, her eyes widening when she saw Shikamaru walking away. He had stopped those men from taking her! She had heard him tell them to stop. He had saved her. He was good, just like she'd thought. She'd been completely right. But now he was going to go away, and that meant the bad men could come back and take her. If he wasn't here, she was in danger. She had to stay with him or something bad would happen to her again.
She uncurled herself, jolting to her feet despite how much it hurt to move. Shikamaru turned around, his eyes widening in surprise as she shuffled in his direction. She refused to look at him, her eyes on her hands, which where knotted together anxiously. Her eyes darted left and right, and she jumped when there was nothing to jump at. He moved to steady her, but stopped. She didn't like being touched.
"Do you want to come?" He asked, trying to act like she was a normal girl from his class, and like she wasn't all messed up. She didn't look at him, stopping a couple feet from him. He stared at her for a moment. Her legs were shaking more than the rest of her body, but she didn't fall. She stood and waited. Shikamaru hesitated, but he continued into the kitchen.
Arron followed as his silent shadow. He could hear the bottoms of the pajama pants she wore sliding on the ground as she pushed herself to move. He hoped she wouldn't trip. He knew those bottoms were far too big, but it was the smallest thing they had. He also wasn't sure what he would do. Would he catch her, or let her fall? Surely he couldn't just let a girl fall, especially one so injured. But touching people scared her...
"You can sit here if you want. I'm just going to do some homework. I'm super behind since I don't usually do it, but I don' t want mom to force me. That would be troublesome. It's a real drag whens he looms over me to make sure I finish it." He knew he was blabbering, but it's not like Arron was going to say much. "You look about my age. Did you ever go to school?"
A shudder wracked through Arron's body as she sat down. She looked at Shikamaru, who pulled his backpack off the counter. He hadn't touched her or said anything bad. She had definitely been right. He was good, unlike these other people. She was glad she had someone now. Someone to protect her from all the bad people. They wanted to hurt her. She knew it. She could feel it. Everyone wanted to hurt her. But Shikamaru was like Trexx. He was going to help her. He was her friend.
Shikamaru wasn't surprised when he got no answer to his question. He sat down next to her, careful not to bump her. She didn't flinch away as he moved around, instead watching him take out his paper and a pencil. He seemed upset about having to do this... homework. She remembered homework. She missed it, really. She would do all the homework in the world if that meant she could be safe forever and ever.
"It's nothing important. Math." Shikamaru let out a sigh. "What a drag."
"Twelve."
Shikamaru's head snapped up, his eyes wide with surprise. He looked at Arron, but she was looking down. She seemed to do that a lot, but he didn't blame her for that either. "Twelve?" He repeated, his mind reeling. "Is that... how old you are?"
She gave a small nod, one of the few answers he'd gotten to his questions. He nodded slowly, smiling a little. He didn't respond verbally though, instead turning to his homework and starting on it. They sat in a silence that wasn't awkward, but that wasn't comfortable either. He had been right, she was his age. He was glad she was talking a little. Her voice cracked a lot though, which probably meant she hadn't used it in a while.
Arron took in a few deep, shuddering breaths. Her mouth felt incredibly dry, but she felt safe because she had a friend. If Shikamaru was here, nobody could take her away or hurt her, because he could stop them. He was her friend. They were friends. He wasn't going to hurt her.
With him, she was safe.