I got caught up with RL, thus the extremely late updates. It took a century, gomen!

Disclaimer: I owned Naruto until I woke up from my dream. Naruto © Kishimoto Masashi.

The Boy in the Picture

Chapter 4: Out of Hand

© eiirisa

Naruto wasn't walking home with Sakura today. She had left early because her mother needed some help cleaning up the store room after the yard sale yesterday. As he was about to step out of the vicinity, he was pulled back inside by the collar.

"What the –" Naruto almost fell on his back when he realized who the culprit was. "Hey, Gaara, what's wrong?"

The red head cautiously sneak a peek of what's waiting for him at the entrance. It was a black limo. His chauffeur. Gaara was obviously trying to avoid it.

"I've been considering staying at your place," he blurted without looking at the blond. "Again."

"How serious is it this time?" Naruto had to ask. "Is it for real?"

"I overheard dad discussing it with Temari the other night on the phone when I was about to make a call," he replied. Gaara's house phone lines were connected to one another. So spying on a conversation happened almost all the time. The wonders of intercom. "It sounded serious to me although I only heard a fragment of it before Kankuro came to get some stuffs."

"And you were convinced?" To Naruto, it sounded like how it happened before, only that the discussion happened in the study room. "What if they just wanted you to hear that? Make it looked real?"

He almost wished it happened for him. That Tsunade and Iruka was discussing about his dad before he reached home. Making him believe it was true, although it's not. And in the end it would just turn out to be a test for him. Or a mere prank.

"There's no mistaking it this time," he frowned. "Because Kankuro has no idea about it and Temari was like avoiding talking too much to us after that."

"Hey, then that would mean, maybe she was the one with the arranged marriage," Naruto's crazy speculation came up. "It does sound like she's in denial. Don't you think?"

"No. We'll talk later," Gaara pushed him towards the hallway. A man in black and sunglasses was heading towards the building. "We got to make our move now."

"The back door," Naruto uttered as he sprinted away, followed by Gaara.

"There you go!" he shoved his best friend a huge bowl of hot ramen. "Naruto Special without MSG added!"

"Sure," the guy almost snorted because the ramen did indeed contain MSG. "Just-add-water."

"Geez, just eat up okay?" his cover was blown. Gaara has no liking for instant foods and that was why Naruto poured the cup into a decent bowl. "Itadakimasu! So what was your dad telling Temari again?"

"Like, 'will Gaara accept it?' " he repeated what he heard as he broke his chopsticks apart. "And dad went, 'he has to' that sort of thing and then he said, 'the family is coming by this Saturday'. It's such a typical omiai(1)."

Silence. Naruto was blowing his ramen as he spaced out at the recent information and Gaara was starting to eat a meatball first.

"Ah!!!" the host broke the silence. "Our bowling outing! It's this Saturday too!"

"Don't worry," Gaara chewed. "Saturday bowling is on."

And they continued their MSG-added meal happily. Half way through, Gaara stopped eating and put his bowl down. Staring at it.

"You're full?" Naruto was secretly wishing he'll finish it for him.

"Naruto, about just now... on the roof," Gaara sight was still on the bowl. "Sorry. I didn't want to hurt your feelings… calling you an orphan like that."

"Nah, forget it," Naruto looked away. "I actually do know how you're feeling. That thing about someone you never knew exist, suddenly steps into your life…"

"I don't think it's enough of an apology. Because your reaction was sour when I said those things…" Gaara shoved the bowl at him. "Here."

"You know, I've been waiting for you to do that," he beamed. "Apology accepted!"

"Don't mention it," Gaara was happy to let it go. "Uh, kimochi warui…"

"Eh???" Naruto was surprised. "Was it the ramen?"

"I don't know," he held his stomach as he stood up. "I'm borrowing the toilet."

"Okay," he finished up the whole bowl and immediately checked the ramen cup for expiry dates. He never had an upset stomach from expired foods. It was part of his immunity and that made him failed to check stuffs before serving to others.

"Yokata," he was relieved to find out that the cup expires next year. But now he blames the MSG because that might just be the reason that sent Gaara to the toilet. He was hoping it wouldn't turn out to be food poisoning as he returned to the living room.

"Ah, tadaima, Naruto," Iruka was at the entrance, along with Tsunade. Their face looked like they bear news for him.

"Naruto, I have something to tell you," Tsunade came up to him. "Sit down."

I thought so.

"Your dad called us today," she was being direct. "They… he… he wanted you to be with him as soon as possible."

"This Saturday," Iruka completed the information because it looked like Tsunade couldn't bring herself to say it. "This coming Saturday."

"You guys are willing to give me up?!" Naruto who was still standing, couldn't help but snapping. "Don't I have a say in this? Am I some sort of a lost and found item that needs to be redeemed by the owner?!"

"Naruto," Tsunade shot him a glare. "We've talked about this, didn't we? I thought you understood the situation?"

"No, I don't!" he glared back. "In fact, I've been thinking about this the whole day and you guys know what? I don't!"

"Naruto!" Iruka stepped forward. "Watch your tone!"

"It's not fair!" Naruto stepped back. If he could get away from them now, he would but at the same time, they are all he got. But then they were trying to let him go and that hurts him the most. "I don't want to go anywhere! Why can't you let me stay?!"

As Naruto turned around to head to his room, he bumped into something.

"Ouch!" He rubbed his head only to realize it wasn't something. "Gaara?"

It was someone.

"Oh, how are you doing, Gaara?" Iruka tried to make the situation lighter but obviously Gaara might have heard the whole argument. "Nice of you to visit us."

"Were… were you listening?" Naruto gulped, not meeting Gaara's straight stare.

"I've told you of my troubles," Gaara kept his voice low and indeed he sound disturbed. "And yet you put a smile on your face and pretended you were never bothered about leaving to another family. Am I not your friend you can tell your troubles to?"

"It's not like that, Gaara," but indeed it was. "I…"

"How long have you known about this?" Gaara grabbed him up his collar, bringing him up face to face. "Did you purposely plan Saturday bowling as your last day? Have fun with us and leave without a word? Like disposable friends?"

"No. No!" Naruto was helpless. He felt so miserable. "I was… I was going to tell but…"

"Yeah, tell it to our face the last minute," he shoved him away. Naruto fell hard on the floor. "You're pathetic. Forget what I've told you cause my life and problems has nothing to do with you, and neither does yours have to do with mine. You wanted it like that, didn't you?"

"Gaara, listen…" he got up on his feet and held his best friend by the arm.

"Saturday bowling is off," he shook the grip away like some kind of a filthy insect. Gaara picked up his bag and barged off the house. Cancelling his stay altogether.

Naruto watched him vanished behind the gates and what's worse was, he couldn't even do a thing about it.

"Sorry to have witnessed that," Iruka felt sorry for what have happened. "But not to worry because - "

"I'm losing everything, right?" he suddenly interrupted in a small voice with his eyes staring down the floor. "And I have less than three days…"

"Naruto…" Iruka sighed.

"I'm scared…" he admitted. "What if he's not anything like the man in my dreams? The father I've always wanted? I don't want to go."

"Oh, Naruto," Tsunade came towards him and held her in her arms. "Don't be scared, my child. I know you have many questions in your head, millions of them racing around unanswered."

By this time, Naruto was quietly sobbing. He just lost a friend and he was about to lose his family too.

"He… Your dad is really anxious to see you and welcome you to his family," she held on him tight as if he was slipping away in his fears. "He's a good man and he wants to be part of your life. Be there for you like how a father should be."

"If he wanted to see me so badly, then why didn't he come and get me on his own?" Naruto was choking at his own words. He was sobbing more now. "Looks like he cares a lot."

"He's currently outstation right now," she explained. "And he will return by Friday night. I promise you, he's the father you've always wanted to have."

"I doubt it," he released himself from the hug and went straight up to his room. Wiping his tears away.

"He's confused," Iruka blurted when Naruto closed the door behind him. "Should we tell him that his father is - "

"Keep it to you for now," Tsunade walked towards her room. "This would be interesting."

Iruka understood what she meant.

Omiai: An arranged introduction to a potential marriage partner.

Thank you for reading!