People have often said that the truth will set you free, but sometimes it makes everything else that much worse, even more so, when you find out how deep the rabbit hole really goes and everything that was buried underneath. You enter a state of light shock, where everything that you thought you knew about a person disappears and you start questioning everything about them. Fugaku was past the point of lying. To himself and to others. The face of relief that appeared on his face when everything got out was something that he had been waiting for a long time.
Now all that was left was to fix the damage done to the people involved. But some people didn't want to be helped. They were past that point and their primary goal was destruction. It was time to set things right.
Naruto tried to catch his breath as he stood in front of the door. He knocked on it rapidly.
"Shit! I can't believe I was'out of range'. I'm so changing phone providers!" It wasn't exactly his fault that the calls couldn't connect, but despite that he blamed himself.
He knocked a few more times.
"Come on, Sasuke! Open the door!" His wish was granted and the door of the apartment slowly opened.
"N-Naruto..." Sasuke stuttered as he stared at the sweating teen. His words were cut off as the blond boy jumped forward and wrapped his arms around him.
"Sasuke!" the boy cried as he kept squeezing him. He had missed the feeling more than anything and could hardly contain his happiness.
The raven haired boy hugged back for a moment. It felt strange, his heart skipped a beat.
"Naruto..." but then he remembered. It didn't feel right; he pushed the boy away.
"Hm?" Naruto felt confused but he was still half smiling, staring at his love. He quickly realized what the problem was and why Sasuke might have been angry. "Oh, sorry." he said scratching his head "My phone went out of range and none of the calls would connect from this far." It was the truth but in that moment if sounded like the biggest lie ever. A loud smack was heard as Sasuke slapped Naruto across the face. It wasn't a light one to make him seem like an idiot, it was with all his might to get him to know he was the biggest moron there was.
"Sas-"
"Shut up!" the boy yelled in anger, his face turning slightly red.
"How fucking dare you?" he continued to talk, his voice shaking
"How fucking dare you just show your face here, after all that!" he moved his arms and it looked like he was about to hit him again. Naruto was holding his left cheek with his hand, confused. At this point all he could do was listen.
"Do you even know how many times I've called you? How many times I couldn't fall asleep because I thought that you'd come home at any moment? I never knew where you were. Do you even know how much that hurts?!" his stare was breathtaking, that of anger and hurt.
"I..."
"Where were you?! You couldn't leave a fucking note?"
"It all happened so fast." he tried explaining "I didn't know what to do at the time. I wanted to find a way to take revenge so I went to-"
"Revenge?!" the boy shoved him backwards a bit "For what, for me?"
"Y-yeah!"
"I don't want revenge!" he yelled and this time, he was sure that at least one neighbor heard him. He looked away, unable to keep eye contact. "I don't want revenge." he repeated "All I wanted was you. Here, with me." Naruto took a step closer in order to hug the boy, but got quickly shoved backwards again. "Get out!" he shouted.
"W-What?" Naruto was puzzled.
"I could have been dead and you wouldn't know shit!" Naruto never thought about it before, but he was right. He was so focused on revenge he never once thought about it. Suddenly Jiraiya's words made more sense.
"Get out." Sasuke repeated as he trembled not even wanting to look at Naruto. When he wouldn't move, he shoved him again, the boy didn't resist. He was pushed back into the hallway as the door smacked shut.
Stunned for a moment, he stood in silence. He thought about letting himself in, seeing how he had the key, but that wouldn't have been a good idea. Sasuke needed time, that much was obvious and Naruto needed to do what was right, no matter what.
A few minutes later he was standing in front of a different door. One that had a big number four on it; a place on Konoha Avenue. The small name tag on top of the doorbell read 'Hatake'. With dedication, he extended his hand, and rang the doorbell. It took only a few seconds, enough for him to take a few deep breaths and think about exactly what he's going to say, that the door opened and the wicked man was standing before him casually.
"Yes?" the man said, looking at the blond teen, like he was expecting him, like he could read his mind but was mocking him for the sheer fun of it.
"You..." Naruto started to say "you ruined everything!" he cried out. Before the man had time to react, Naruto was already inside the man's apartment, holding him by the shirt and pressing him against the wall.
"Because of you...because of you we had to suffer so much!" with angry eyes he stared at him. Sure, thoughts of punching the man senselessly had occurred to him, but deep inside he knew he wouldn't be a match for him.
"Why'd you do it, you bastard? Why?!" Kakashi took Naruto's roars well, for he hasn't even moved before now. He grabbed the teen's arm and twisted it. The boy had no choice but let go or he was in danger of having his wrist broken and he knew the man was capable of doing it.
With one leg, Kakashi closed his apartment door, no need to gain the attention of neighbors. After shoving the teen away, he walked into the living room, where he turned off the TV; throwing the remote onto the sofa.
"You want to know why?" the man said, facing Naruto, who was now standing a foot step or two away from him, with his fists clenched.
"Because I could." The teen's eyes trembled as he grit his teeth. He expected the kind of answer, after all, his opinion of the man was that of a monster. "because I wanted to." Kakashi continued.
"Because of Fugaku Uchiha, right?" The man snorted at that question.
"And what if it is because of him?" he questioned back.
"This has nothing to do with Sasuke or me, so why get us involved?"
"Revenge!" the man cried out and squeezed his own fists in anger. Had Naruto just struck a nerve? If so, he felt a bit of pride in that.
"They took everything from me! Everything!"
"You could have declined the offer, but you didn't."
That was the part that made the man laugh. It was like an unfunny joke that Naruto was no apart of. Yet.
"Is that what Fugaku told you, huh?" he continued to chuckle. "Yes. I was bribed." he continued and flapped his arms. It didn't feel like he just admitted a deep secret. "because of your father." he pointed a finger at the blond one.
"That's a lie!" he yelled at the man. "You were in the position of taking charge of my fathers company, he trusted you!" There it was, the man's laugh again.
"Ah, yes. Jiraiya told you that bit too, did he?" Naruto didn't answer. "I'll take that as a yes. What you don't know is that my position wasn't permanent. I was never trusted. I lacked 'team work' as Minato put it. I was on the verge of getting sacked."
"You could have just gotten another job."
"You think it's that easy? It's not!" he cried "It would have taken months if not longer and I couldn't wait that long."
"Rin..."
"So you know about that too..." Kakashi took a beer can from the table and took a long sip, then stared at it.
"She was pregnant and it wasn't going well."
That was the bit of information that Naruto didn't know and Fugaku never mentioned it. Right then he thought what else the man left out of his confession.
"Fugaku offered me a deal and I took it. After that, it all went to shit."
"The accident." Right there Naruto caught a glimpse of sadness in the man, something he didn't think he would ever witness.
"A driver cut me off...I lost control and...boom..." he shrugged. It must have been painful to remember that moment as the can in his hand was getting lightly crushed. Still, he played it off like it was nothing.
"Your father didn't do anything. I don't blame him, I did betray him after all. But Fugaku..."
Just a few hours earlier Fugaku had had his confession and he told the story. He felt guilty of bribing Kakashi, even if the man did accept the bribe of his own free will. The accident was brutal, the gray haired man got away with only a few bruises and a broken arm but Rin, his wife, his pregnant wife, wasn't so lucky. The crash not only put her in a coma but also caused a miscarriage, losing their child. Fugaku did the best he could to get her in intensive care, but that's all he could do or wanted to do.
"It was a boy." Kakashi said and looked at Naruto "I didn't see the car coming because I was angry. At Minato, at Fugaku, at myself." he took a sip from his beer. "After that I got a shitty teachers job. Because I knew how to deal with people, Fugaku thought it was perfect."
"Because of what happened to your son, you figured to get even with Fugaku by harming Sasuke?" Kakashi nodded with a grin, he seemed almost proud.
"He hired me to 'protect' Sasuke. Can you believe it?"
The boy stared at him, gritting his teeth.
"Then what was I?"
"Oh. Collateral damage." he brought the can back to his mouth but it suddenly flew across the room as Naruto slapped it out of the man's hand.
"You disgusting bastard!" Kakashi stood calm, looking at the boy. To him he wasn't more than just a puppy.
"So, now I told you everything. What are you going to do now?"
"I'll...I'll..." the words wouldn't come out. Maybe it was because he had no words. Just when he wanted to tell the man his so called secret, to gain a leverage, the man beat him to it and admitted everything. What now?
"I'll expose you!"
"To whom? The media?" then he shoved the teen away from him "and tell them what exactly?"
"I'll tell them how you hurt Sasuke! How you blackmailed both of us!"
"And where is your proof?"
For one reason or another everything went silent in that moment. The cars outside suddenly made no noise. The clock's hands were silent as the night but the beating of the boy's heart, was as loud as ever. It was the one piece of the puzzle that he didn't think of all this time. He had no proof. Even if Sasuke would admit it publicly, he had no evidence and even the bruises on the blond teen have disappeared by now. Naruto grabbed his own neck, like he was trying to feel if it still hurt. He felt no pain.
Kakashi moved to his desk and from the drawer took out a photo. He threw it to Naruto, who caught it instantly, driving him out from his trance.
"Remember this?" the man said. It was the picture of the two boys, kissing in front of the school gates. "I have all the proof I need to do as much damage as I wish. Where's your proof?"
"I don't have any." Naruto admitted to himself.
"I want this to stop." the blond teen said.
"Oh no." the man said back, walking closer to the boy "it won't stop. I won't let it."
"Please." Naruto said quietly as he stared forward but his vision not focusing on anything specific.
"What was that?" Kakashi said sarcastically, pretending he didn't hear the boy "My my, how the might have fallen. You come in here like a rapid dog, but you turned out to be just a sheep in wolves clothing." he mocked him and enjoyed every moment of it. Naruto dropped the photograph onto the floor and slowly turned around, heading for the hallway. He closed the apartment door behind him and walked a bit further before he stopped in place.
"I failed..." he thought as he crumbled to the floor. He was on his knees, pressed against the wall as he couldn't do anything but silently weep.
"So that's how it is, eh?" Shikamaru said over the phone. He sighed a little.
"Yeah." Sasuke answered. It was a really weird time for him. He needed rest and over thinking everything wasn't helping him at all. The fact that Naruto came back out of the blue, appearing like a ghost, shook him up pretty bad. As much as he was glad to see him, a large part wasn't glad at all. That was the part that hated him, that felt betrayed and abandoned.
"I don't know what came over me, but I just couldn't stand there and pretend that everything is alright, you know?"
"You did what you thought was right."
"So I did the right thing then?" Shikamaru didn't answer that. He probably didn't know what to say. At least that's what Sasuke told himself.
"So what are you planning to do now?"
"I don't know." Sasuke laid onto his bad and was staring at the ceiling. "How much of it did you hear anyways?" he continued.
"Pretty much all of it. You two weren't exactly chatting quietly."
"Yeah." Shikamaru had heard everything. From the moment Naruto started continuously knocking on the door, to when Sasuke slammed it shut. It was an awkward moment when he came out of the bathroom and the raven haired boy remembered that he had a guest. Sasuke did take up on Shikamaru's offer and the boy didn't seem to mind either, as long as it was after 9 in the morning. Shikamaru did most the talking, but if the topic was right, Sasuke would take the lead, not even noticing and getting deep into it. His friend was a great listener too, never once making excuses that he had to run off somewhere or that somebody was on the other line. He always gave Sasuke his full attention, at times even calling by himself to see how he was doing.
It was Tuesday evening when Shikamaru broke out the question.
"There's a festival starting tomorrow night at the old shrine in upper Konoha. You want to go?"
"Festival?" Sasuke asked curiously "the two of us?"
"Why not? Should be nice, I'm a sucker for great food and you could use the outdoors." Sasuke chuckled a bit and smiled on that thought.
"Hmm..." he thought about it for a moment. The truth was that he really wanted to go as he never attended one before, but he was also worried.
"You worried that Naruto would be there?"
"Well...I mean..." he took the words right out of his mouth. They shouldn't see each other for a while, the confrontation was a bit all too sudden.
"Don't worry." Shikamaru comforted the teen "He won't be there."
"How can you be so sure?"
"He wouldn't attend these things alone. If he'd knew you'd be there then yeah, he would show up."
"So we don't say anything to him?"
"Well." Shikamaru paused. Sasuke could hear the rhythmic pattern of the boy's fingers on the desk "I think you two just need a break. So, I won't tell him anything, and I have no doubts that you'll do the same."
"Alright." Sasuke finally agreed "I'll go."
"Great!" Shikamaru cried "then I'll pick you up tomorrow."
They talked for a bit more and after that Sasuke made an excuse, saying he needed to go to the store before it closes. After they said their goodbyes and hung up, the boy stared at his phone.
"A festival, huh?" he said to himself and looked up to the ceiling light. He smiled from the edge of his mouth.
It was the next day that Sasuke waited for the evening to come and finally it did. Dressed in a warm jacket with a beige colored scarf, he waited for Shikamaru at the entrance of his apartment building. It only took a short cigarette break before the teen arrived.
"Yo!" he greeted the raven haired boy "Been waiting long?"
"Nah, right on time." the two shook hands and went on their way.
Winter was on it's way and it showed as well, but they were lucky, there was no strong cold wind that evening and with their warm clothes they practically didn't notice the weather at all. In upper Konoha by the shrine, various stands were put up and people walked among them. The smell of warm snacks was in the air. A lot of them had sweet smells and tastes. Shikamaru helped himself to a few warm chestnuts from the small bag, Sasuke just drank lemon tea. The place was well lit with various colored lights, giving it an almost magic atmosphere. A lot of couples were there too, easily noticed by them holding hands with each other. It was something Sasuke perhaps secretly wanted but would never express it fully. In a way he felt jealous a bit, as he always looked away at the sight of a young pair.
He found out a lot of things that night, about Shikamaru, about himself as well. Showing affection and any kind of warm emotion wasn't really his thing. He had pride but lacked self confidence. That much was sure to him. Shikamaru was just easy going, not worried for a second when others gave them questionable looks; just two guys at a winter festival.
Time flies when you're having fun. Shikamaru looked at his phone, noticing that it was almost 11.
"Come on." he said to Sasuke and lightly pulled his jacket sleeve.
"Huh? Where?"
"I want to show you something." Sasuke followed quietly as the teen led him just a bit away from the shrine and all the stands, to the viewpoint from where you could see the entire city bellow.
"Whoa." The raven haired boy glanced down at the streets. Thousands of lights shined and in a matter of seconds, most of them turned off.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Just watch." Shikamaru pointed at the sky. It was a night with the clear sky and the stars shined like diamonds and there were so many of them. The teen looked at his phone again. It was now exactly 11pm. Somewhere from the center of town flew from the ground up into the air and exploded. Fireworks. Different colors, different sizes, exploding into different shapes, not knowing what was coming next.
Sasuke stared at them with a slightly opened mouth. It was beautiful. Right there, he felt something. The cold feelings inside of him were gone and now replaced with a certain warmness that felt like it would stay for a while. Shikamaru watched the boy and smiled. It felt good, it really did. Sasuke turned to his friend, his face red and a loss for words. He was trying to form a sentence but Shikamaru beat him to it.
"No need to say anything." he grinned and lightly jabbed Sasuke in the arm "I just thought you'd enjoy it." Sasuke chucked.
"Thank you." he said "it's beautiful."
"I know." the boy replied and leaned on the fence with his back. There was a moment of silence between them, and the only thing they could hear was the sound of fireworks in the distance still going on.
"You're thinking about him, aren't you?" Shikamaru asked suddenly. It took a moment but Sasuke answered.
"Yeah." he said it like he was surprised himself. Inside him, his heart beat ran wild.
"You still love him." he didn't ask. He didn't need to.
"Yeah." the teen nodded lightly.
"Yeah." Shikamaru grinned and from his pants pocket took a pack of cigs and lighted one, took a few drags and then handed it to Sasuke "Just like I thought." he continued. He got a curious look in return as the raven haired teen took the cigarette.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean..." he looked up to the sky "you two are made for each other. Your personalities aren't exactly the same but it clicks, you know? You can be angry and feel hate and disappointment but in the end you can still kiss his lips and work it out."
"How poetic." Sasuke smiled from the edge of his mouth.
"Am I wrong?" There was a hesitation in the boy's answer.
"I guess not."
"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love." Now this was poetic.
"I'm going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else, alright?"
"Sure." The boy nodded and Shikamaru took a short deep breath.
"When I met Naruto, he was a goof ball. He was loud and hyperactive. But then at times-" he looked at Sasuke "He was angry. He was sad. He was alone. He hid all that behind a wall of laughter and smiles. He fooled others but he didn't fool me, even when I was ignorant and tried to ignore it, I could always see past it. For a long time, he was the only friend he had." Shikamaru scratched the back of his head and looked up at the sky again "Then he met you."
"M-me?"
"Yeah. First time I saw you, I knew you felt the same only you didn't hide it behind a smile. You threw on a poker face and tried to ignore it and then it was obvious."
"W-What was?" his mind drew a blank, but the answer was so obvious.
"That you two would be together." Shikamaru grinned and slightly shook his head "man, the way he talked about you. It almost gave me an impression that you were some sort of superhero. He must have told the same things about four or five times in one day. He made me promise I'd never tell you. Oh well, to late now, isn't it?" he laughed-
Sasuke remained quiet.
"He talks in his sleep and and he really likes tomatoes and he exercises frequently." Shikamaru was mimicked Naruto's way of talking and laughed afterwards as Sasuke blushed.
"He can be stupid at times, I won't deny that, but his heart is in the right place, you know? When he left...I didn't know about it. If I'd known before I would have gladly helped to sort out the situation." The boy stepped closer to Sasuke and looked in his eyes "But because he did, never telling anyone, not even knowing what he'll do when he got there, shows how much he cared. Believe me when I say-" He nodded staring at Sasuke and the boy staring back "He'd die for you and gladly switched places just so you wouldn't get hurt. You've got me to talk to, but he...he doesn't have anyone now and I know for a fact that he'd give anything for you to forgive him. Remember, forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future."
Sasuke's grip loosened and the cigarette fell from his hand. His eyes began to tremble, he used his hand to cover his face, keeping quiet, trying not to start crying. He didn't want to. He always felt embarrassed to do so and now, he felt like a monster.
"Ah, shit..." Shikamaru looked to the side. Hating himself for having to say all that, but he really felt like it needed to be said. He moved Sasuke's hand out of the way, showing that there was no need for him to feel any shame. After that, he leaned in and wrapped his arms around the teen. It's not something he normally did, but it showed that Sasuke really needed it at that moment more than ever. It took a good few seconds before Sasuke lightly put his hands around Shikamaru. It was awkward but it felt so good. It felt good to finally be held by someone. To feel the warmth of another human being and in that moment making him realize he wasn't all alone and not all was lost.
"T-Thank you." the raven haired teen said quietly. Just as Shikamaru was about to pull away, Sasuke's grip hardened.
"Please. Just a bit longer." Shikamaru didn't say anything but instead granted the teen's wish.
The fireworks in the distance stopped shining and it got quiet.
"By the way." Sasuke said after a while.
"Yeah?"
"Since when do you smoke?"
The two of them laughed as the heavy mood, lifted and they both felt releaved.
For you I'd walk a mile, but for a friend I'd walk a thousand more. Shikamaru was a true friend if there ever was any. He did not stand by and merely watch his friends suffer. Instead he stood by them and did what he could to help them out. He put his laziness aside and instead used his intelligence. He was kind and loyal. His friends, like his family; precious and priceless. As long as you didn't wake him before 8am.
He was determined to help out Sasuke and Naruto. He was a man with a mission, at least that's what he felt like whene walking through the streets of Konoha at 8.30 a few days later, making his way down Leaf Street and stopping at the house numbered 1312. He went past the steel gates and made his way upstairs and knocked on the door. He didn't get an answer. He knocked again, this time a bit harder. The sound of the knocking echoed around the neighborhood. He looked left and right just to see if anyone was looking or if he might have woken anyone up. The place was a ghost town. Since it was the winter holidays, there was no school. Rarely did anyone stay at home for the holidays in this place.
As he had no luck with the knocking, he rang the bell a total of three times.
"Don't tell me you're still sleeping." he said to himself and grabbed the door knob, twisting it open. To his surprise, the door wasn't locked. Feeling confused to why the door wasn't locked, he looked left and right once more then made his way in. He entered the house and closed the door behind him. Finally he was in a warmer place. At the entrance, there was no sign of shoes or slippers, so Naruto could be both in and out for all he knew.
"Naruto?" he called out to him going down the hallways of his house. He turned right into the first room, the bedroom, only to reveal that it was a complete mess. The mattress was turned around, pillows were on the floor and the posters were torn down. "What the..." he said out loud. The place looked like it was robbed.
"Naruto!" he called out but there was still no answer. Moving up the hallways he noticed a few marks on the walls. Signs of anger inflicted upon them. The kitchen was no different than the bedroom. Plates smashed, a chair overturned.
"Naruto!" he now shouted loudly. This time, a moan was heard in return. Shikamaru quickly moved his forward to the bathroom where he found what he was looking for. Turning on the lights, his eyes widened at the scene.
"Aw jesus, man!" he cried. It was Naruto, wearing nothing but his boxer underwear and his winter motorcycle boots, sitting sideways in the bathtub, with his legs dangling over the edge. There were beer cans, cigarette buds, cigarette boxes and whiskey bottles all around the floor and in the tubs with him. The sight of him was terrifying. His hair was messed up in all directions, his face slightly bruised and unshaved. The knuckled on his hands gave sight that they were bleeding before but have already started to heal. On top of all that, he was shivering.
"Ah jeez..." Shikamaru looked away for a brief moment covering his mouth and nose. It's been days since Naruto came back, and by the looks of it, he just drank and ate nothing at all.
Just then, he moved his head upwards and looked at his shocked friend.
"Shika...maru?" he spoke. His eyes looked empty and his face was pale.
"Hey." the boy moved towards Naruto, lightly slapping his cheeks "hey, you okay?" the cheeks were wet. He had been either crying or spilled whatever he drank onto himself. Shikamaru grabbed the blond one's hand and helped him out of the tub, carefully avoiding the broken whiskey bottles. The teen was mumbling something but he couldn't understand him.
Slowly he walked him to the other bathroom, to the shower, where he turned on the cold water and pushed him in.
It took a few minutes before Naruto was able to stand on his own, supporting himself with his hand on the wall. Shikamaru then turned on the hot water, so the boy wouldn't freeze or suffer a heart attack. The blond one looked down at his feet and watched the dirt get washed away from him.
"I...failed." he said quietly. Shikamaru only sighed and crossed his hands as he leaned onto the opposite wall.
"I failed, Shikamaru." he sobbed and let the water run down his face to hide any upcoming tears. "how could I've been so stupid." he punched the wall in front of him "stupid, stupid, stupid..." he repeated and kept punching, but Shikamaru grabbed his hand and stopped him.
"Hey hey hey, stop that!" he said to him "hurting yourself won't solve anything." Naruto didn't answer. A few minutes under the shower cleaned him up and got him a little bit more sober but despite all that, he was still like a zombie. Shikamaru brought him some fresh clothes from the wardrobe and left Naruto to change.
A moment later he finally came out and by the looks of things it seemed that he had calmed down.
"When did you last eat?"
"I don't remember...yesterday I think." The blond teen scratched his head. Shikamaru didn't know if the expression on Naruto's face was embarrassment or not. He remembered what all he did by now, there was no doubt about that. The boy grabbed Naruto's shirt sleeve and dragged him into the kitchen. He opened the cabinet to find the supply of different flavored ramen.
"I should have expected that..."
"I don't want any ramen." Naruto protested.
"Well you don't have anything else." Shikamaru replied pointing at the cabinet. He put water to boil and then sat down at the table across from Naruto.
"We need to talk about this."
The blond one didn't reply.
"I already know everything."
"Sasuke told you?"
"Well I overheard a lot when you came around the other day, showing up from nowhere." He only nodded.
"Where were you anyways? What the fuck got into you, just leaving like that?"
"I went to see Fugaku." Now he lowered his head "Sasuke's father."
Shikamaru jerked his head backwards in surprise "Wow..." he replied "seriously? Did it work?"
"Well..." he sighed "he stopped being a bigot about it, but..."
"But?"
"Everything he told me is practically useless."
"Useless? Useless how?" Shikamaru listened carefully, maybe there was a way he really can do something and end this once and for all. Naruto scratched his unshaved face trying to find the correct words.
"After I left Sasuke's place, I went to see Kakashi. I...confronted him with the stuff I found out about him. About his past."
"What happened?"
"Nothing." he shrugged "I said that I'll expose him. He said I had no real evidence to support my claim. Or evidence that he really did do anything to Sasuke. At the time, when I left, I didn't really think of that. In the long run, I guess I was just running away really..."
Shikamaru didn't want to admit it, but he agreed with what Naruto said. He didn't have any proof. Without it, they couldn't go to court and get the bastard behind bars. Naruto on his own wasn't a real threat to Kakashi, no matter what he knew. On his own anyways.
"Wait!" Shikamaru cried, Naruto raising his head. "You said Sasuke's father told you all of this, right?"
"Yeah?"
"So maybe he's can get through to Kakashi if you couldn't."
The blond one remained quiet, thinking it all over, detail by detail. Fugaku hired Kakashi and that's how all of this got started. If there's anyone that could get a bit of levrege it was him.
"You're right." he mumbled "but what do we do?"
"Call him." Shikamaru spreaded his hands.
"I don't have his number." he shook his head "we can call Itachi though, his brother."
"Alright." the boy nodded. They were onto something and he wanted to get it done fast, before anymore damage could be done by just waiting.
"Where's your phone?"
Naruto tapped the pockets of his pants but it wasn't there.
"I don't know." he answered. It seemed that he was still reluctant to make a call. Maybe he was angry at himself, or just too ashamed to admit that he needed others to do what was trusted upon him.
"I'll go look for it." Shikamaru stood up and turned off the oven warming the water for the ramen. Heading into the torn apart bedroom, he lifted the mattress, moved the pillows and finally he found the phone on the floor. He brought it back to the kitchen, where Naruto already helped himself to the ramen.
"Call him." he placed the phone in front of him on the table.
Naruto hesitated at first, almost wanting to finish the ramen first before making the call. He grabbed the phone, searched the number and started at it for a good few seconds.
"Do you want me to call him?"
"No." he replied immediately. "No, I'll do it. It's just..."
"It's hard I know, but the longer we wait, the worse it can get." The blond boy bit his lower lip and pressed the green call button. Taking a deep breath, he waited for a response.
"Naruto." said the voice on the other end.
"Itachi..." He looked at Shikamaru, who just nodded, pushing him to do what's right.
"Hello?" Itachi tested the connection due to Naruto's silence.
"I...need your help, Itachi."
"What is it?"
"The whole Kakashi thing...it didn't work. He said we had no real evidence to support our claims. He wouldn't bite."
Naruto heard Itachi swear on the other end, but couldn't quite make out what it was.
"I'm coming over." the line went dead. Naruto lowered his phone, looking at the screen.
"Well?" Shikamaru asked impatiently.
"He said, he's coming over."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Not if he tried to punch me again."
The teen blinked rapidly a few times "He punched you?"
"It's a long story."
A dreaded hour and a half later, the front door of Naruto's house opened widely and Itachi walking in, not even stopping to take off his shoes. At first he turned to Naruto's room, seeing it torn apart like that made him wonder what had happened.
Shikamaru poked his head from the kitchen to see the man standing in the hallway. He noticed him.
"You...Who are you?"
"Uh, Shikamaru. A friend." Itachi made his way to the kitchen and seeing Naruto leaning onto the table, sleeping.
"Hey!" he raised his voice, waking him up. "I can't trust you to do anything, can I?"
Naruto came to his senses, staring at the man. His eyes avoided eye contact. In that moment he felt inferior to the man.
"I'm sorry." he mumbled "I tried, but..."
"Not hard enough it seems."
"Hey-" Shikamaru jumped in "ease up on him will you? He didn't have it easy either."
Itachi looked at the boy then at the sink where there were empty beer cans and bottles.
"Oh yeah, drawning yourself in booze. Just like my father." He crossed his arms "I didn't think you'd be so pathetic."
Naruto didn't answer. He took the insult. It was accurate.
"What do we do now?"
"You, do nothing. Everything is being taken care of right now."
Naruto and Shikamaru looked at each other.
"What do you mean by that?"
There are things that we don't want to happen but have to accept them, things we don't want to know but have to learn and people we can't live without but have to let go.
Sasuke laid on his bed listening to the raindrops outside. It was so peaceful, so calming. He didn't want to fall asleep, he was afraid he'd wake up and the moment would be gone. He had decided to enjoy every minute of it. To unplug himself from the rest of the world and think of a peaceful place to lock himself into and if possible, stay there forever.
There came a light knock on the door. It wasn't forceful but determined enough to gain his attention. He walked to the door and opened it, not knowing who was on the other side.
Slowly, the door opened, revealing a man standing at his doorstep. Sasuke's eyes widened and his jaw dropped just a it.
"Hello, Sasuke." Fugaku Uchiha, his father, was standing in front of him. His expression wasn't angry or annoyed like usual. It felt different. The way he was staring at the boy created a slightly uneasy moment.
"F...father." the boy mumbled.
"Yes." the man answered and nodded. "May I come in?" he asked politely.
"Y...yes, yes of course." the boy moved out of the way and the man stepped in, making sure to take off his shoes once inside.
He followed Sasuke to his room; it was clean and welcoming.
"Please, sit." he offered the couch to his father "um, anything to drink?" he asked nervously "tea?"
"Tea sounds fine." he nodded and sat on the couch.
The boy quickly made his way to the kitchen to prepare it. As the water warmed up he leaned onto the counter, his hands shaking.
"What is he doing here?" he thought to himself "What does he want? Why is he being so god damn polite?"
It was a first that he felt this way. Ever since the coming out, he has never been the same. He was cold, distant. It was a very difficult time, one which Sasuke sealed into the back of his brain, trying to forget it. Now it seems that the past has come back to have a talk. He tried to invission a scenario of how the conversation might go, but he was drawing a blank. The raindrops weren't so calming anymore.
The water boiled and he poured it in a cup, grabbed some tea bags and brought it to his room. Upon him entering, he noticed the man sitting on the couch, holding a framed picture in his hands. It wasn't just any picture, but the one of him and Naruto. His stomach squeezed.
"This boy..." Fugaku spoke "Naruto...you have feelings for him?"
Sasuke stepped closer and placed the plate on the coffee table in front of him.
"I...well..." The man looked up. His expression brought Sasuke back years ago. He felt like he was eight years old again, trying to lie to his father that he wasn't the one who broke the neighbors window playing soccer.
"Yes." he said taking in his breath.
Fugaku nodded.
"He came to see me, this boy."
"He did what?!" Sasuke cried.
"He was very determined to prove that I was blind, unable to see past what I did not understand. I...threw my drink at his face and told him to get out. But none the less, he stayed, still kept trying to let me know how shallow I really was."
The man put the picture down on the table. "Please, sit."
Sasuke discretely tried to catch his breath as he sat down next to his father. He didn't sit too close. He was confused and he had every right to be.
"When your mother passed away. I was very angry. I blamed myself. Somewhere along the way I lost myself and I believed that was I was doing was right." he squeezed his fists as hard as he could "I know that the things I did, the way I behaved was wrong. You are free to believe what you will, but I thought I was right all this time. I pushed Itachi and you so far away that we all felt like strangers in a way."
"Father-" Fugaku extended his finger, wanting to finish saying what he started, though even Sasuke could see that it was tearing him apart inside.
"I tried to arrange marriage for you because I thought that in the long run it would make you happy. When you came out and said how you felt, it broke my heart..." Sasuke lowered his head and looked away from his father for a moment. Now he felt guilty once more. "I was cold to you, a monster pushing you away...and I had no right to do that. It's not what you would have wanted. Not what your mother would have wanted." he turned to his right, facing his son who was holding in all that emotion.
"I know what happened, son. I know how you got hurt." Sasuke gasped. It struck him like a needle piercing his heart. The shell he'd been building around him suddenly got a large crack in it. Fugaku extended his hands and touched Sasuke's warm cheeks, trying to get him to look at him back.
"I promise you that I won't let anyone else ever hurt you again. I took care of everything. I will be there for you."
The raven haired boy lightly sobbed, looking at his father. He was at a loss for words, his body shook uncontrollably.
"I...I don't understand." his father's palms were warm. His expression turned to a kind smile "Why...after all this time. Why?"
Fugaku turned his head to the framed picture on the coffee table.
"He let me know how wrong I really was. You two...are made for each other. The way he cares about you. The words he spoke. It made me ashamed that I could have never said them." He squeezed Sasuke's cheeks a bit tighter and took a quick deep breath.
"If you trully love this boy, then be with him. I want you to be with him. You are my son and I'll love you, no matter what."
The man fought hard to keep his emotions from bursting out, gritting his teeth behind closed lips, showing a honest smile, regretting that he didn't do any of this sooner.
"F...Father..." Sasuke's eyes were watering up and he was shaking.
"It's okay to call me dad." His arms moved to his son's torso and pulled in for a hug.
Sasuke gasped and the shell now completely broke. Tears ran down his cheeks as he struggled to stop them, his own arms grasping around his father.
"No need to fight it, boy."
"An Uchiha...doesn't cry." Sasuke mumbled sobbingly.
"It's okay, son. It's okay to cry. Grown men also cry." the teen couldn't hold it anymore, as he did in fact cry. He stopped fighting it and grabbed hold of his father tightly. This feeling of having support other than Naruto's, the feeling of having a family again was long awaited. His layed down his head into his father's lap and Fugaku patted him on the head, tears of happiness falling silently. He felt no shame in crying, only pride. He was proud at his son.
Acceptance, tolerance and forgiveness are life-altering lessons that both of them learned in that moment.
The support of the family, the kiss of your lover, a helping hand from your friends. Everyone deserves to be loved, everyone deserves happiness, everyone should be accepted. Finally, for the first time in a long time, things felt like they were going to be alright.
