Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto, I Just Love It
Chapter 29: No Such Luck
"I'll tell you what happened in the car, but we need to start looking for him now."
Minato nodded his head, then stood up "You're right, we'd better start looking, lets drive around all the nearby neighbourhoods and check all the parks as a start."
Once they'd gotten into the car and the engine was on, Kushina began to tell him what had happened on Saturday. "Well Saturday morning was fine, we slept in, then made pancakes for breakfast and ate them while watching his favourite cartoons. The afternoon slowly crept by and that was when he asked me if we could go to the park. I said yes and we walked over there together. A couple of his friends were there so they started playing a bunch of fun little games, while me and the mums were chatting and watching them on the benches. It was about an hour in when I checked the time and realized that I had to get the dinner on, so I called for Naruto and told him we had to leave. He was having so much fun and begged me to let him stay longer while I left and made the dinner. I relented, telling him he could have one more hour before coming back home. He knew the way home, and the walk from the park back to the apartment was really short, so I had no worries about him walking back alone. When he did get home dinner was all ready and set so we sat down at the table ready to eat and that's when I noticed that something was wrong, there was a sad expression on his face, so I asked him what was bothering him."
Flashback
"Naruto, what's wrong, did something happen at the park, did someone say something mean?" Kushina asked concerned.
Naruto shook his head silently, as he slowly pushed a mouthful of potatoes into his mouth, not that he was really hungry anymore.
Kushina looked at him with a worried expression on her face as she said "If something's bothering you, then tell me, I can help you Naruto."
There was a long pause, but then Naruto slowly said "I just... It's just I was wondering why you didn't call the police on Kinoshita, he did a lot of bad things, so why didn't you make the police put him in jail."
A shocked expression spread across Kushina's face and she froze for a moment before she quickly said "I thought we were over that Naruto, we don't need to talk about him anymore he's not a part of our lives."
"But"
"No but's Naruto, just eat up" she said hastily, trying to close that messy subject as quickly as possible.
"You still didn't answer me" Naruto replied, his brow furrowing as he stared squarely into Kushina's eyes.
"I don't have to answer you" she replied frowning back at her son.
"He hurt me and he hurt you, so why can't you make him get punished by the police, I just don't understand." Naruto said angrily, his voice raised and a few tears springing from his eyes.
"Naruto" her voice was softer now "I'm sorry, but don't think Kinoshita won't get punished for what he did. Karma will come around and kick him in the butt, it always does so don't you worry."
"That's not good enough" Naruto shouted, as he angrily wiped the tears off his face, "Call the police right now, it's not too late, please Mummy, please."
A worried expression spread on Kushina's face as she looked towards her teary-eyed, red-faced son. "Naruto, I don't understand where this is coming from, it's been months since the whole thing with Kinoshita happened and you haven't said anything. Why now? Has he come up to you, has he said anything?"
Naruto hesitated than shouted "No"
Kushina looked at him warily, not able to determine whether he was telling the truth or not. "Naruto, if he came up to you, you have to tell me, I won't let him threaten my son and I sure as hell, won't let him hurt you again. So I am going to ask you again, and I need you to tell me the truth, did Kinoshita come up to you today, or any time for that matter since?..." She asked fiercely.
"No" Naruto said looking his mother straight in the eye.
"Because if he did, then I will call the police and I will make sure he'll get punished as harshly as possible. I won't let him hurt you Naruto, no matter what it costs."
"No, he hasn't come up to me" he repeated, the anger he had before seeming to have subsided into sadness.
"Then why ask me about the police now?" Kushina asked.
Naruto looked away from her as he mumbled "When I was at the park, I saw him walking down the street, he didn't see me but seeing him just reminded me of what he did and how much I hated him and I just wanted to see him sad in jail, not free like everyone else."
"I'm sorry Naruto" Kushina said softly.
I'm sorry Mummy" Naruto replied sadly.
"For what? This isn't your fault Naruto" Kushina replied gently.
Naruto avoided her gaze and with a wobbly voice quietly asked "Can I please get down from the table I'm not hungry".
Kushina nodded her head and Naruto leapt from the table, all but running to his bedroom and shutting the door behind him.
Damn him, she thought angrily, as she pushed around the food on her plate, no longer hungry either. Even now, months after when everything was going well, he latched onto them sending them pain. She had thought, they'd ridden him but Naruto had just proved otherwise.
Looking towards Naruto's bedroom she turned in that direction and then turned back around deciding to give him a bit of space. He had seemed so angry and so upset and he had every right to be, he was right Kinoshita should have been legally punished for what he had done, he should have been dealt with by the police but he couldn't because more importantly than her desire to see Kinoshita punished she desired Naruto to be safe, secure and happy with her and Minato by his side.
Half an hour later, after having tidied up the dinner stuff she walked over to Naruto's bedroom, stepping inside the room. He was snuggled up in his bed looking to be asleep, with Kyuubi tightly in his arms beside him. "Naruto, Naruto" she called out softly as she sat down at the edge of the bed, stroking his blond hair gently.
She couldn't tell if he actually was fast asleep or just pretending but she began to talk very softly anyway. "I'm sorry Naruto if you feel angry that he isn't being punished, I'm angry too but trust me it's for the best. And I am sorry if you feel scared, scared that he's still around but I'm here, and Minato's here, so you don't have to worry we'll always protect you. We will keep you safe I promise" Kushina said as she bent down kissing him on the forehead.
"I know" Naruto whispered as he slowly opened his eyes, "I've never doubted that".
Kushina smiled warmly as she said "So you were awake?"
Naruto nodded his head with a small smile on his face as he quietly said, " I am tired though, but before I go to sleep can you tell me a story, Mummy."
"Of course" Kushina replied warmly as she snuggled up beside Naruto who had sat up, so that his back was against his pillows and bed frame and shifted over in his bed to make room for Kushina.
Kushina sat down beside him, wrapping her arms around his small body and placing one more kiss on his forehead before starting the story."I love you Mummy" Naruto whispered sweetly as he rested his tired head against her chest.
"I love you too, sweet heart" she murmured before starting her story.
Present Day
"I can't believe this, why didn't you tell me this before? Why did you hold onto this until now? You should have called me and told me as soon as Naruto had gotten down from the table" Minato said clearly agitated.
"I thought I handled it" she murmured.
"Well obviously not."
"What could you have done that I didn't?" Kushina asked defensively.
"I don't know but it's Kinoshita, he was talking about Kinoshita, so you should have told me." Minato said tensely.
"I'm sorry" she said apologetically "I'm sorry, I just wanted to forget. When Naruto brought him up again and the whole police issue, it brought back bad memories and the pain that came with it, that I was trying so hard to get past. I didn't want to bring that up with you again and I didn't want to discuss what we already knew, that would have been exhausting. Anyway, like I said I thought I handled it and therefore saw no point in worrying you needlessly.
Minato's voice softened and he touched her arm tentatively, "You're right, I have no reason to be mad at you, I'm sorry. I'm just pissed off that once again that bastard's messing with our life. It seems to me like Naruto ran away because of Kinoshita. He told you that Kinoshita didn't approach him, but after his outburst at the table the other day and him running away, I would say otherwise."
Kushina nodded her head, keeping her eyes on the streets as she looked desperately for Naruto.
"I can't believe this" Minato said angrily. " I warned that bastard to stay away , but he didn't listen."
"So you think Kinoshita went up to Naruto and threatened him to leave?" Kushina asked nervously.
"Yes I do" Minato said grimly. "and that bastard's going to pay for that and all the other things he's done."
"That's what I thought at first but what I don't understand is why Naruto would beg me to call the police on him because of all the bad things he'd done and then when I said thatI would call and make sure he got punished if Kinoshita had approached him, that he would lie and say Kinoshita hadn't gone up to him. If anything I would expect him to lie and say he had just so that Kinoshita could be punished by the police like Naruto had wanted."
"That's true but he is only a young boy, he probably got scared of what Kinoshita had said and denied it. I mean his first thought was probably to tell you but he was scared,so instead of telling you what had happened he just begged for you to call the police. Then when you said you would fear probably overtook him, because Kinoshita had probably said he'd do something horrible if he told the police."
"I promised him we'd protect him always and yet now he's god knows where, feeling god knows what, I just feel so helpless, so sick." she murmured distressingly.
Me too Minato thought but he didn't say that instead he just said "We'll find him, don't you worry, we will find him and everything will be ok."
And so they drove around in the car looking for the small blond haired, blue eyed boy. The drove through the neighbourhoods weaving through all the different streets and blocks, they stopped at the parks, getting out and walking around whilst shouting his name. They drove past all his friends house knocking on their doors, and making the excuse that he had lost something if one of the parents opened the door and wondered why they were on their doorstep.
When they got to Shikamaru's house and his mother opened the door, Kushina used the same excuse as she used before about his lost ball. But this time when his mother had said she hadn't seen it, instead of leaving, she brought up the park, hoping to see if Shikamaru's mother Yoshino Nara might have a piece of the puzzle she needed.
"Yoshino, I was wondering that day at the park on Saturday, afterwards Naruto came home and he seemed quite upset. I left early to make the dinner and so I was wondering if maybe you knew what upset Naruto, whether it was an argument with his friends, his lost ball or I don't know a stranger coming up to him."
"Oh, sorry to hear that, everything seemed fine to me they were all happily playing hide and seek...Actually come to think of it, in the middle of their games Naruto found a really good hiding spot and was hidden for a long time. They couldn't seem to find Naruto and when Naruto finally came out of his spot he looked really sad, I think it might have been because they took forever to find him and he'd probably thought they'd forgotten about him. After that he played one more game with them but I think he was still in a mood, you know how kids get in games, he was probably upset that he found such a good hiding spot and yet nobody had acknowledged it. After that last game, he quietly said goodbye to everyone then walked home."
"Yes that must have been it, thank you Yoshino, sorry for disturbing you and have a good day" Kushina said politely despite how horrible she actually felt as she walked away. "That piece of the puzzle didn't really help." she murmured quietly to Minato.
"Not really" Minato mumbled "although maybe it was at that point that Kinoshita had approached Naruto, that would explain why he came out so sad looking."
"Hmmm, maybe but it still doesn't help us find out where he went."
After cautiously going to Sasuke's house, they sat in the car pondering on where else to look for him.
"We've checked everywhere nearby and all his favourite places and yet still..."
"He had money, so maybe he went somewhere on the bus" Minato suggested "but what faraway places does Naruto know?"
"I can only think of two places, the shopping district area and that lovely place we had our picnic?"
"Then we look there" Minato said as he started up his engine "but first I have to fill up on gas."
Three and a half hours later as they had driven to those two places, checked them thoroughly and driven back unsuccessfully, they were back to square one.
"This is ridiculous" Kushina said angrily, as she pulled out her phone from her pocket. "It has been hours and hours and hours and we have looked everywhere for him, yet we still cannot find him, I'm calling the police!"
"24 hours Kushina, that's what we agreed on that's what we discussed." Minato said firmly as he eyed the phone in her hands
"I don't care" she said her voice sounding desperate and loud, "I don't care, I just need to find him."
Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this chapter =D
Next chapter will be a little different because it will all be in Naruto's Pov.
