Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto declined my offer of $5 (all I have to my name), therefore, I am still Naruto-less….
Enjoy~!
Shikamaru woke up. He knew that Choji had told him to go back the next day, but he hadn't worked up the courage yet. However, today was the day! He just knew it! He pulled himself out of bed and went to take a shower. After the nice warm shower, he got out, picked out the perfect outfit (yes, it contained orange!) and dried his hair. He walked down the hall and entered the kitchen to find Choji.
"Dude, what's with the orange?" Choji laughed.
"It's Naruto's favorite color." Shikamaru said, walking around to get a bowl of cereal.
"So, you're finally going to go talk to him, huh?"
"Yeah, I finally have the courage to."
"And what are you going to say to him?" Choji asked, genuinely curious.
"I'm going to tell him exactly how I feel." Shikamaru said, a small smile adorning his face.
Choji smiled at his best friend, glad that he was going to find some happiness.
Shikamaru finished his cereal, and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He pulled on this shoes, grabbed his keys and his wallet, and began making the trek to the Sabaku mansion.
After making it to the front door, he knocked a couple times and waited. His nerves building with each passing second. Finally, the door was answered by Gaara.
When Gaara saw who was standing on his doorstep, he cracked a huge grin. "Why, hello Shikamaru! Naruto's at the police station, buy you're welcome to wait for him to come back."
"Thank you Gaara." Shikamaru said, stepping inside and sliding off his shoes. Suddenly, a thought hit him. "Why is Naruto at the police station?"
Gaara looked at him confused. "You didn't hear? The fire at Jiraiya's was no accident, it was arson. A Molotov cocktail to be exact."
Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Wow, really?"
"Yeah." Gaara confirmed, leading Shikamaru to the living room to wait for Naruto. Gesturing towards the couch Gaara asked Shikamaru to sit down, and he complied. "So, Shikamaru, I want to talk about your intentions towards Naruto."
Shikamaru did a double-take. "My intentions?"
"Yes, are you planning to enter into a relationship with him? Or are you just trying to get in his pants? Because either way, just know, the Sabaku family is a powerful one, and you hurt Naruto, you will find yourself in Hell." Gaara's gaze had darkened significantly.
Shikamaru felt fear creeping over him. Was this really the fun guy from the concert the other night? "Uh, I plan on entering a relationship." he said rather dumbly.
"Good." Gaara's face lit back into a kind smile. (bipolar much?) "I like you Shikamaru, I hope you two are very happy."
Shikamaru's brain started to catch up with the fear and soaked up all the words. "Hold on, isn't this the type of conversation I should hold with his parents?" he asked.
Gaara's face fell into one of sadness. "Well, normally, yes. But, considering his parents are dead, you are stuck with me."
"His parents are dead?" Shikamaru was shocked. Naruto always seemed so happy!
"Yes, they died when he was a baby. They sent him to live with his grandfather, but he was in no condition to care for a baby, so he was sent to foster care. He has lived in numerous homes, not all of them good, but no matter where he lived, he always stayed with his grandfather during the summer." Gaara said, a sentimental smile settling over his face towards the end of the speech. "It's really not my place to tell you about his past though. If you'd like to learn more, you should really talk to him!"
"Yeah." Shikamaru was imputing all this new information. It all seemed crazy to him. "When is he supposed to be back anyway?" he asked Gaara.
"Uh, the officer that picked him up didn't say." Gaara looked out the window. "Oh look, it started to rain."
Naruto had gotten a ride from an officer, and was dropped off outside the Sabaku Mansion. He was still in a bit of a daze from the Sakura attack. After the officer drove off, he sat down on the steps out front, not even noticing that it was starting to rain. After a bit, the light rain turned into a downpour, and Naruto still didn't move.
After a while, he felt the urge to move, but he didn't want to go inside that house where everyone would coo over him. He didn't deserve it. He decided to go for a walk instead.
Naruto stumbled down the street in the pouring rain, until he came upon the charred ruins of his grandfather's home. He walked up to it, lifting the police tape out of the way. He made his way up to the burnt porch, not caring that it could buckle under his weight. He went through what was once a doorway, and wondered around.
Once he reached the remains of his grandfather's room, he sat down and leaned against what remained of one of the walls. 'Look at all of this! All of this destruction!' He looked down, and realized he was sitting where his grandfather died. 'This is all my fault! My grandfather built this house with his own two hands! And now, now it's all gone. The house, and his life….and it's…it's all…because of….'
"me" he whispered to the charred hunks of wood. He began to sob again, uncontrollably. Tears ran from his eyes in rivers. He couldn't calm himself down enough to breathe. "WHY?" he screamed to the heavens. "Why did he have to die? Because someone was jealous of me? Why would anyone be jealous enough of me to kill my grandfather and burn down my house? I AM NOTHING!" he was talking to the air, to anything and everything, searching for an answer. "And now," he whispered, "I have lost the only person who loved me."
His tears finally slowed, and he lifted himself up and moved to the remnants of the kitchen. He was kicking the rubble around, when he came across a charred knife. Apparently, the flames were not hot enough to melt the metal blades. He reached down and picked it up, running his finger along the edge. A small cut appeared on his finger. He brought it to his mouth. 'Yup, still sharp.'
Keeping his grasp on the dirty blade, he made his way back to his spot in what was left of Jiraiya's room. Naruto sat back down and stared at the blade. "Maybe Sakura had a point." he said to the blade. "Maybe it's better if I just leave all this behind so I don't interfere with anyone's lives again! Maybe if I send myself to Hell, everyone could be happy! No one would have to worry about my feelings, or making sure I'm comfortable. No one would have to house me, or feed me. I wouldn't get in the way of other people's happiness!"
He lifted the blade, letting the rain run down it, cleaning off the charred bits. Lowering it back to his lap, he began to speak to it again. "I am nothing." he whispered, as if telling the blade a secret. Tears ran down his face, mingling with the rain. "I am nothing and no one could ever love me. All I do is make trouble!"
Naruto lifted the knife once more, placing the tip near his wrist. "I am nothing." he spoke softly as the blade entered his arm, slicing deep from wrist to elbow in one swift motion. He switched hands. Placing the tip on his other wrist. "I am NOTHING!" he screamed while using one swift motion to slice from wrist to elbow again. He dropped the blade and laid down on the floor, crying harder than ever. "I am nothing…"
*hides under table* please don't hurt me!
Wow, you have no idea how hard this was to write! I had to stop because thinking like this made me cry so damn hard….I hope it was worth it!
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