CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: A NECESSITY

The door clicked shut and I had to grab Akamaru by the collar in an attempt to stop him from making everything in the apartment smell like wet dog. Figuring out that drying Akamaru was a two-man job, I called for Shika. "I need help, and grab the largest towel you can find!" He walked out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other. He didn't even try to protest like he always used to, he only made a face and started looking for a towel.

"So, do you mind telling me why you're so cranky this morning?" He hopped up on the kitchen counter and took a bite of his toast. "Sasuke called and woke me up." I hadn't expected that to be honest. "What's the deal with you and Sasuke anyway? You never explained it with words, you know." He grunted as he took another sip from the coffee. "Well, I thought we were fuck buddies you know. Really good sex by the way, he can do this crazy thing with his hips when he's on top." I almost choked on the coffee and managed to burn my tongue. "Dude, TMI. But why are you in a piss mood after the call?" He put the mug down and sighed, he started to explain as he put his hair up. "He wants me to meet his family, come to a family dinner or some shit. And I really don't want to sit at a dinner table with the Uchiha's, like, could you imagine it?" I cringed at the thought of it; this explained everything. I started to scratch my head as I pondered out loud. "So, if I get this straight, you just want to be fuck buddies, and he wants you to meet his family. You know, I think he's serious about you." He snorted at me. "Go figure."

"While we're still at the topic. Have you and a certain someone done more than tonsil hockey?" Shika stopped chuckling when he found out that I had managed to choke on my coffee, he smacked my back a couple of times just to make sure I was alive. "I'm curious." After clearing my throat and hitting my chest I couple of times I managed to choke out a couple of words. "I didn't see that one coming." He only chuckled at me when I stole his cigarette and tried to explain the weird relationship Naruto and I had. "A blowjob and some groping, but that's about it." Shika just sat and gaped at me for a while. "Are you serious? And let me guess, he was the one getting blown?" I only rolled my eyes at him. "Have you seen the guy? I'm afraid to scare him." I could hear him sigh beside me. "Let me get this straight. You haven't gotten any since Ino?" I didn't have to answer him on that question. "You haven't gotten any in six freaking months? What are you guys doing when you're spending time together?" it was moments like this I wanted to sock him in the jaw for being more sexually active than a bunny. "We play Xbox or watch a movie. We don't see each other much outside of school."

After pouring another cup of coffee Shika continued his interrogation. "I know you're in love with him, don't even try to deny it." He rolled his eyes at me when I tried to protest with his use of words. "And by the way he look at you when you're not watching; he feels something towards you too." My brain short-circuited for a second before I could stutter something out. "W-what" he glanced at from the corner of his eye snorting. "The only time I actually see him is at school with you, and I don't think he notices me observing you love birds. So yeah, I've seen the way he looks at you." I gave him a skeptical glance, for all I know he could be talking out of his ass. "I'm serious, it's cute. Sasuke, of all people, is wondering why you guys aren't a couple."

"There is one more thing that I don't understand." He started to crack his neck while pondering. "Why haven't you visited him yet." My inner spirit dropped as soon as he finished the sentence. "I understand if it's hard for you to see him in his state, but personally I think it's because if you go see him, everything will become more real." This was one of those moments where I was positive he had free access to my brain. There wasn't a thing he was uncertain about when it came to me; he just wanted to get his suspicions confirmed. "As usual you're right. Completely right." My voice was starting to get less and less enthusiastic as the conversation prolonged. "You need to stop blaming yourself Kiba." The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed, as he got serious, it was starting to get uncomfortable. "You've been kind of depressed the last couple of weeks you know. Not just a bit sad, but depressed. And I don't like it, at fucking all." I understood why he was worried, I didn't want to worry him, but I couldn't stop my feelings from getting the better of me. "Sorry." It was obvious that he was getting annoyed with me form all the sighing. "Don't apologize for being depressed. I just want you to be happy again, you know?" the way his eyes conveyed concern was heartbreaking. My voice was starting to sound gruff from the constant desire to bawl my feelings out to Shika. "It's just that, I didn't look after him like I should have. And lately I've been wondering if I did something that may have caused him to flip." Shikamaru was about to protest when I continued rambling. "I blacked out. I can't remember a fucking thing that happened that night." I put the smoke out not wanting to aggravate the nausea that was making me want to barf. "What if I forced myself onto him? What if I said something really bad? What if I raped him?" the fear of not knowing if I raped or abused him made me tear at my hair in distress. The next thing I knew Shika was hugging me tight. While he patted my back, he spoke comforting words in a way only he could as my oldest friend. "You didn't rape him, I know how you can be at your worst while drunk, you can be grabby and horny, but you're not a rapist." I wanted to tell him that he couldn't possibly know that, but as I tried to say something it felt like I was being choked by a sudden lack of oxygen in my lungs. "You don't even know if that's the problem, he might have gotten unstable or something, maybe even psychotic." I didn't even question the last one; I knew that no matter how much he explained the word, I wouldn't understand it. "I think a good place to start, is visiting Naruto. It might not be as scary as you expect it to be."

My teeth gritted in frustration as I had a staring contest with the cell phone, I didn't want to make the call. It was scary, and I had no idea how she would react when the person that put her son in a hospital, called out of the blue asking if it was okay to visit him. Everything was jumbled, weird, fucked up and didn't make sense. I couldn't predict how she would react, it could either go very well and I would be allowed to see him again, or it could go really bad, resulting with his father slaughtering me and dumping my body in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Stop procrastinating." The vein on Shika's forehead looked like it was ready to burst. I understood that he was starting to get annoyed; I had probably been staring at the phone for an hour or so. "I'm scared." I didn't have to look at him to know that he was rolling his eyes at me. "Well, either you call her, or I will." The thought of Shika actually calling Kushina was actually kind of terrifying, to be completely honest. Out of the corner of my eye I could see that he was following through with his threat. I snatched the phone from him in panic just to hear a familiar voice when I put the phone to my ear. "Hello, Kushina Uzumaki speaking." I more or less choked out a hello, only getting a small laugh in response. "Is it that you, Kiba?" Shikamaru didn't even try to not laugh at me; I figured I was about as red as a tomato."Yeah, I'm not interrupting anything am I?" I could feel my heart slow down when realizing how calm and friendly she sounded. "Not at all, I haven't heard from you in a while, are you okay?" I almost didn't notice how her voice suddenly changed; after all, she missed her son more than I could ever do. "I'm fine, I've had some ups and downs, but I'm good." Hoping she wouldn't see through my lie I continued. "I was just wondering how he's doing." There was a little pause before she spoke. "He's stable, there haven't been any problems since he was admitted. We're just hoping he will wake up soon, then we will know if there is anything wrong." It felt like my heart was skipping a couple of beats, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "That's fantastic."

The conversation was going surprisingly well, we were talking as if nothing was wrong, or she made it seem like it. The way she spoke to me made me feel like we had known each other for years. And now, I was just waiting for reality to slap me across the face, with the fact that she really hated me after what had happened.

"Do you miss him?" she suddenly changed the subject like it was nothing. I was at a loss for words. "Yeah," I stuttered.

"Have you thought about visiting him?" The hopeful tone in her voice both surprised and confused me at the same time. "Uh, yeah." I felt ashamed that I hadn't done it yet. "I have."

"I know he would appreciate it." At this point I was starting to run out of cigarettes, it was so mentally draining to talk about, but I needed to get it out. "I guess you're aware of it. Since we moved here, he hasn't gotten any new friends to put it like that. But, he has you now." I was unsure if she wanted me to be happy or sad over the statement. It was heartbreaking to hear. "He hasn't spent so much time outside of the house with friends in a three years." Hearing those words was like a stab in the back at each syllable. "I don't know if you had a disagreement of some sort, but I hope you will continue your relationship when he wakes up. You're really good for him Kiba. Don't give up on him." After letting the words sink in, I realized that Kushina didn't despise me after all that had happened to her son. She was relying on me to be there for him. It was so uplifting and reassuring to hear, I could still be his friend without having his parents hate my guts. I decided to put that aside. But yet, I still didn't know if Naruto hated or loved me. I still wasn't sure that I was the reason behind the whole accident. I needed him to tell me that we could remain friends; I had to know if he could look at me without disgust in his eyes. "I won't give up on him."

"What did she say?" Shikamaru walked out of the bathroom with only a towel covering up his privates. I tried to take a sip of the coffee only to find out it had gotten cold and bitter. I answered him while wrinkling my nose in discomfort. "She hoped that I would still be his friend considering what happened." The 'I told you so' look was plastered all over his face. "And she hoped that I would visit him, so I told her I would stop by today."

Shika was pleased as usual when things went according to his plans; he still hadn't stopped smiling at me like an idiot. "Stop looking at me like that asshole." He snickered at me as he plopped down in the couch next to me, only dressed in a pair of boxers.

"You're scared out of your wits." It wasn't a question; it was a statement. He turned to look at me with a cigarette hanging between his lips. His eyes displayed concern. "I'll most likely faint by the sight of him."

I was drumming my fingers against the steering wheel, along with the rhythm of the music. "Relax Kiba." Shikamaru looked bored as ever while blowing smoke out the window.

I didn't feel like talking, so instead I turned the volume up.

Doubt was starting to creep up on me, making me start to rethink the whole visiting idea. I hoped he wouldn't have a lot of tubes or wires attached to him. So to speak, hospitals wasn't my favorite thing in the world, after a lot of traumatizing experiences involving fainting and vomiting, the mere thought of a hospital gave me the creeps.

Shika must have understood the whole 'what the hell have I gotten myself into' situation we were in, as he only handed me his cigarette telling me that I needed it more than him.

"Emh." It was the third time I cleared my throat, but the receptionist didn't even flinch. "Excus-" she cut me off by answering the ringing phone. I could feel my anger multiplying by the second. After several minutes with my foot almost making a hole in the floor, she finally hung up. She turned towards me while smacking that annoying gum of hers. "How can I help you?" the sarcasm in her voice was obvious as she rolled her eyes. I had to repress the urge to snap her neck as I spoke. "I'm here to visit a patient, his name is Naruto Uzumaki." She started looking through some files at her computer. She suddenly turned to me, sizing me up with something I guess you could call a smile. "What's your name young man?" she looked at me as if I was a criminal. "Kiba Inuzuka." She didn't ask about anything else. After a while she looked up from the computer with something I guess you could call a smile. "I've just paged doctor Uzumaki Namikaze, just wait here in the lobby." The idea of Minato walking through the door at any second was making my stomach flip a couple of times, and not the good kind.

"Kiba!" the sudden call of my name wasn't expected, out of reflex I stood up too quickly making myself see stars. The charming laughter that could be heard through the whole lobby could only belong to one woman. After rubbing my face a couple of times, I turned to the pretty red head and gave her a hug. "Long time no see, Kushina."

I was positive that Kushina was giving me a tour throughout the whole hospital; we had been walking for at least twenty minutes or so. For all I knew, we had been walking in a circle, everything looked the same to me. "We're almost there. This is the reason I'm escorting you, he's in a ward at the seventh floor. It's a pain in the butt to find." The whole escorting thing now made sense, I would never in this life time be able to find it alone. "Is there a special reason for him to be in the seventh floor?" she turned to look at me with a small smile. "Minato pulled some strings, it's the same floor he works in." that wasn't expected either. But nevertheless, he was his father after all. After what I had experienced earlier, he was the over-protective parent type. On the other hand, the thought of being in the same floor as Minato gave me goose bumps; I prayed to whatever kind of God that was out there, that I wouldn't meet him, not today at least.

She abruptly stopped by two big double doors giving me a big smile and a pat on the back. "Second door to the left, but stop by front desk first."

My back was completely soaked with cold sweat as I pushed through the door. I found myself standing in a hallway with doors on both sides, I could see a woman sitting behind a window at the end of the hallway.

"Hello" the lady slid the window open and gave me a big toothy smile. I was kindly surprised at that. "Hello young man, how can I help you?" I felt like an idiot, just staring at her for a couple of seconds before speaking. "Ehh, I'm here to visit Naruto." She typed something in to the computer, then looking back at me. "So you're the boyfriend Kushina told me about." Everything froze for about a minute. "You are Kiba Inuzuka, right?" the only thing I managed to croak out was a "yes". She gave me a lovely smile and pointed towards a door. "He's in there. If there is anything you need help with, just give me a shout. It can be difficult to visit coma patients, so if you need anything at all. Don't be shy"

The room was so fucking white. There were no curtains, only one fucking window, and nothing on the walls. It felt like I was in a movie and Morgan Freeman would be walking through the door any second, and talking to me as God, telling me to calm the fuck down.

I could only see the silhouette of a bed behind the only curtain in the room. Pushing it aside with shaking hands and a heart almost through the roof, I could see him lying peacefully asleep.

I wiped my wet cheeks and snotty nose with my sleeve, and trying to clear my voice. "Hey you." It sounded like a hiccup.

The sudden blaring sound of the ninja turtles theme song scared the living shit out of me. I didn't even bother with a hello, just started to cuss out Shikamaru for everything that was wrong in this fucking world. "I haven't seen you in a year, and that is how you talk to you mother?"

It was like someone had sat fire to the building. "I don't know how you got this number." I spat through my teeth. "But don't call me again. Do not come to my apartment, and just fucking disappear from my fucking life." The next thing I did out of anger was opening the window and throwing my phone out.

I muttered several curses under my breath as I sat down beside the bed. "Sorry about that." I swallowed down the sobs the best I could. But it was fruitless. "I miss you so fucking much." I reached out and took his hand in mine. "Every fucking day." The tears didn't stop, but I couldn't stop them. It started to get impossible to breathe with all the hiccups and sobs, so I just sat there gasping for air, bawling my eyes out. "I just fucking need you to wake up and not hate me." The beeping from the heart monitor kept on beeping steady as I continued to try and voice my feelings. "You've been the highlights of my days, my happiness, my reason to get up and go to school everyday." I took a deep breath before I continued. "And without you, I've been slowly falling apart. The only thing keeping me on my feet is Shika." I chuckled, poor guy having to keep tabs on me 24/7. "I like you, so God damn much." I wiped my snot with my sleeves. "I don't know what made you freak the fuck out, but it's okay. As long as you come back to us." The words came out as a stuttering mess between sobs and gasps for air. "You have people that love you so fucking much." My eyes clenched shut. "And as you might have figured out a while ago, I know." I tried to keep my breathing steady and put on my brave face. "I know that you are having a tough time with yourself. I've seen the scars." My voice completely broke at the last word. "I've seen the pill bottles, and I've heard about doctor Hatake." I hadn't noticed that I was rubbing circles into his skin with my thumb. "But I'm still here you know? I want to try and help you get better, because I love you." The 'I love you' hadn't meant to slip. "I don't want you to be ashamed of who you are, or what you have been through. Because all of this shit will make you the strongest person I've met." My breathing had started to return to normal, but the tears were still going strong. "I don't want you to hide yourself from me, I want you to talk to me about your deepest fears, your dreams for the future, and all that crap. And that's because I care so fucking much about you." The whole putting it all out there, was incredibly tough. "I need you to wake up. So I can kiss you, and hold onto you when I fall asleep during movies." The hiccups were coming in waves. "I'm going to be here for you when you wake up, don't worry."

A/N: Hey guys, this took a bit longer than expected. I'm so sorry.