Hide and Seek

Naruto held his hands firmly over his shut eyes as he felt himself being turned around and around by the two sets of small arms. After they stopped turning him, he could hear feet scampering off through the grass as he began counting down out loud backwards from twenty.

20…

19…

18…

17…

16…

He could hear laughter suddenly in the distance and his excitement grew.

15…

14…

13…

12…

11…

10…

9…

A quick shriek of his friend alerted him to what direction he should turn to.

8…

7…

6…

5…

4…

Now all that reached his ears was silence.

"THREE-TWO-ONE!" he rushed the last part and pulled away his hands and opened his eyes. "READY OR NOT!"

He looked around as a smile came over his face. He thought he had known which direction he would go in, but looking around now, he was uncertain. He tentatively took a step forward, straining his ears for any little sign that would give him a clue. The sun was shining brightly in the clear blue sky and a warm breeze was blowing against his face, and he was enjoying the way it tossed his blonde hair back and forth upon his head. He listened again as he looked toward a small potting shed in one corner of the yard.

Naruto carefully walked toward it, confident that a certain someone would be hidden around or behind it. He slowed his pace, taking short steps, trying to be as quiet as possible. Positioning himself slyly at the corner of the shed, he stood silently ready…he jumped out, waiting to hear a shout of surprise from the person behind it. However, it never came; there was no one there. He stared, confused for a moment before he heard laughter from behind, to which he quickly spun around.

A row of hedges along the far end of the yard caught his eye, and the young blonde dashed off toward it with a triumphant grin spreading across his face. To him, it seemed to be taking an eternity to cross the yard; it seemed exponentially larger than he had remembered. As he got closer and closer to the hedges, he could see the branches trembling and he thought he could hear muffled laughter.

He began running harder and faster, crossing eternity as he felt his feet dig into the ground with each step until finally he found himself arriving at his destination. With a deep breath and a pause, Naruto leapt through the hedges, swiping the greenery from his hair and clothes wildly as he appeared on the other side. Immediately, the blonde kept the element of surprise as he swiftly looked about him, shortly eyeing the raven-haired boy who lie on the other side.

"SASUKE!" he cried out triumphantly upon seeing his astonished friend.

The Raven screamed in what seemed like a harmonic mixture of perfect delight and sheer terror as he lifted himself up as fast as he could and bolted away in the opposite direction, making a break for the safe zone. Instinctually, Naruto followed in hot pursuit, rapidly gaining ground on the boy in front of him.

He was so close…so close that he felt he could almost reach out in front of him and grasp Sasuke's blue t-shirt. His hopes rose to no avail as he outstretched his fingers toward him, finding himself unable to even touch a single thread of the shirt. They ran on, and as they did, time seemed to slow across the lawn which now grew endless. It stretched beneath their feet, leading off to what seemed could only be the great beyond. The sun sunk lower in the sky, casting an orange glow across the world above them as it fled behind the trees. Naruto looked back down from the sight which beheld his eyes, only to realize that there was no one in front of him now. Stopping, he looked in all directions and further across the yard until he finally found Sasuke, who slowly turned around to face him from the back porch of the house. A solemn expression crept its way onto his face as he looked upon Naruto with what he could only understand was sorrow. Regret. Agony. Naruto was frozen in place and could only watch his friend stare back at him, petrifying him in the midst of his sorrowful gaze.

"I have to go now," Sasuke said, his high-pitched, childlike voice traveling easily across the gulf that divided them. "I can't stay out…I have to go."

"NO!" Naruto shouted, "Don't…Sas…"

The words caught in his throat, and choked him harder than anything else in the world as he looked to him once again, only to see that Sasuke had aged to his twenty-one year old self.

"I have to go, Naruto," he said, slipping into the unnaturally dark shadows of the porch which began to consume his being. "I have to go…"

Naruto's eyes shot open as he whipped his arms around in the air, feeling his body shoot upwards to sit up in his bed. For a small moment he was utterly confused as to where he was. He shot his eyes over to the clock as he continued breathing heavily, feeling as if a huge weight were pressing down upon him. It was overbearing, and it was almost crushing him. He felt his entire body implode before putting his hands over his face, violently wiping away the mysterious wetness caused by the tears which he couldn't remember falling.

"Why did you have to go," he whispered, finding his mouth incapable of closing as his face tightened. "Sasuke...I miss you."

Hinata sat across from Naruto at his kitchen table. The blonde looked haggard. He hadn't shaved or taken a shower yet that day, and he had dark circles under his eyes. She had brought sandwiches from a local deli over for them to have for lunch, but now, neither seemed very interested in eating.

Naruto seemed listless and devoid of energy as he kept his weary eyes fixed on the table. At first he had made an attempt to eat the food in front of him, but he had quickly stopped pretending. Hinata noticed at once, becoming so concerned that her appetite soon receded as well.

"Naruto," she said tentatively, looking down at his level to capture his eyes. "I'm so worried about you."

"I'm fine, Hinata," Naruto mumbled, bringing his hand up to wipe his face, audibly becoming annoyed but trying not to let it show. He knew that she was just looking out for him, but he questioned whether or not he really deserved her favor.

"No, Naruto. You're not fine," she continued. "You haven't eaten anything today, you look more tired than I've ever seen you, and I'm scared because I feel like if you passed me on the street, you wouldn't even notice me saying hello to you."

"I'm just exhausted," Naruto said, pitifully trying to sound cheerful now. "Really, it's nothing. I'm all right."

As he said the words, the pang of guilt hit him immediately, though he desperately hid from it. He questioned when he became a liar, especially to Hinata. It felt even worse now that even she was beginning to doubt him. She had been there for him for so long, never once questioning her faith that he could always take care of himself. Now, she seemed to be doing just that, and it shook Naruto to the core to know that apparently he had crossed that line with her. And since he did, he wondered if he really was as ok as he made himself out to seem.

It took every ounce of his already strained concentration to hide from the lie which he had fabricated for himself. The horrible truth which he hoped never to see, though it was in plain sight. He became unhinged by the very idea, and it proved to quickly become too much for him.

"Naruto, please," she said. "We just want to help you."

She reached out her hand across the table to take ahold of his hand, and as she did so, he pulled his back without thinking. Realizing what he had done, he immediately regretted his action. He crossed his arms in front of his chest to try and wave it all off.

Hinata then withdrew her arm and sat quietly, watching the blonde across the table for several minutes. He sat still, keeping his arms crossed as he looked everywhere but at her.

"Naruto, don't shut me out. Please…please don't blame yourself for what happened to Sasuke…that wasn't your fault."

Naruto looked down at the table, at his arms, at the uneaten sandwich…anywhere but at his friend. He could still see her from his peripheral vision. He found himself nearly wishing she hadn't come over, and the fact that he thought such a thing made him feel sick to his stomach. At the same time, he felt incredibly uneasy that she was pushing him into a corner. A place where he dared not venture.

He knew that he was the reason Sasuke was no longer there. He knew that it was his truth. His reality. No matter how many people told him otherwise and no matter how many times they told him…he knew.

After frighteningly deciding that she wasn't going to get any further with Naruto, Hinata eventually got up and cleaned up the kitchen a little before finally departing. Naruto had thought that her departure might bring him some relief, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. He felt even more empty and alone than ever before. Hinata was always his rock, and even she had gone. Naruto felt as if he were now adrift on a wild, stormy sea.

He was uncertain of how long he remained seated at his table after Hinata had gone. The sun had drifted across the sky and was now casting long shadows through the half opened blinds on the windows. He was compelled a while later to rise and he mechanically went to his bedroom, lying down across his mattress. Looking over to his nightstand, he sighed as he reached out and pulled open the drawer on the piece of furniture. He then only hesitated a moment before pulling out the nearly full bottle of Glenlivet 12 that he had stashed there for convenience. It just got too annoying to keep putting it back on a shelf every time he wanted to drink it.

He sat up and took a long drink from the bottle and then set it back down onto the nightstand. The whiskey burned unbelievably this time as it went down. He lay down on his back onto the bed, trying to force himself into not thinking for a while. A completely empty mind was the only solace he could rest in

at this moment.

After some time had passed, the blonde heard someone knocking at the front door of his apartment. He lay still, thinking maybe he had imagined it. But then he heard it again. A moment later he received a text message and he picked up his phone, which was next to him on the bed. The message had come from Shikamaru.

Hey, you around? I'm outside your door.

Out of a feeling of sheer obligation, Naruto pulled himself up off of his bed and made his way out to the front door. The whiskey he had consumed was already making him feel lighter. He had drank more than a shot's worth at once and combined with the fact he had barely eaten anything all day, it had taken effect almost immediately.

He pulled open the door and there indeed stood Shikamaru. The two looked at each other for a moment of simple silence.

"May I enter?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sure," Naruto said, stepping aside and pulling the door open wider so his friend could come in.

Shikamaru removed his gloves, coat, and scarf and placed them onto a chair that was near the door. Naruto sat down on the couch and Shikamaru sat in a chair that was angled off the corner of the couch. Together they sat in the immaculately clean apartment, simply and elegantly adorned with modern furnishings.

"How are you, Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.

The blonde shook his head slightly at the question. He was already tired of answering that question today.

"The same as always," he answered flatly.

"That bad?" Shikamaru persisted, causing Naruto to look over to him, his annoyance growing by the very second. "Look Naruto, I know you aren't in a good place right now, but it will get better in time."

"Heh," Naruto laughed dismissively, getting up and walking to the kitchenette on the other side of the open space, reaching up into the cabinet above the stove.

Shikamaru's eyes twitched in annoyance for a moment at Naruto's reaction.

"I'm concerned about you. Your behavior has changed dramatically over the past few days, and I'm worried. And when we stopped at that bar after Sasuke's funeral, you were like a different person."

Naruto retrieved two glasses from the cabinet, placing them both on the countertop after filling them with water from the sink. He paused for a moment, looking up to the wall in front of him, trying to numb the sting of Shikamaru's eyes burning the back of his head.

"I'm still me," Naruto said, trying to keep his irritation in check as he turned from the counter, staring his friend down as if he were a detective in an interrogation room.

"How much do you drink?" Shikamaru said plainly. "And how often?"

The blonde maintained his friend's gaze as he slowly brought the glass to his mouth, taking a long sip of the crystal liquid.

This isn't happening Naruto thought to himself. This cannot be happening.

"You can't hide these things from your friends, Naruto," Shikamaru continued. "We care about you too much not to notice."

Naruto again felt as if he were being backed into a corner, unable to escape and unable to say anything to defend himself. His anger and annoyance at what he saw as his friends' interference in his life was threatening to spill over. He looked back down at the glass of water he held in his hand.

"Don't become enslaved by something that only numbs pain, like Sasuke did," Shikamaru implored. "Let us help you get through this."

Naruto slowly looked back up to Shikamaru, a whole new expression painfully surfacing on his face. He was angry. Very angry. Shikamaru pulled back slightly as if he were in an isolated pen with a lion.

"How…how dare you," Naruto growled as he stood up from leaning on the counter, and walked to Shikamaru, towering over him as he became only about a foot away from where he was sitting. The raven reacted as if being backed into a corner.

"Don't you ever…say that again." Naruto growled.

"Naruto, I—"

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT HIS MEMORY LIKE THAT!" Naruto shouted, breathing heavily. He clenched the glass in his hand hard, and the blonde's arm tensed up, slightly aiming at Shikamaru before he growled again and threw the glass to the floor, watching it shatter into thousands of shards. For a moment, they were both still before Naruto calmed down with a deep breath.

"I don't want to fight with you Shikamaru. I…I think you should go now."

Shikamaru only sat there, regaining his composure from Naruto's violent outburst. He looked at his friend deeply into his blue eyes.

"I'm sorry I upset you," Shikamaru stated, rising from the chair he had been sitting in, "and I'll go for now, but I won't be far away."

Naruto looked down at the floor and ran his hand through his blonde hair as Shikamaru put on his coat and went to door where he paused and turned to Naruto.

"Silence is what you need right now, I know," he said, turning to face his friend one more time. "But the silence won't save you."

Shikamaru turned back to the door, opening it and walking outside, letting the door fall back to its resting place.

Once he had gone, Naruto sighed deeply, pressing his hands to his eyes and holding them there for a moment. Then, he began to slowly walk toward his bedroom, almost as if he were being drawn there by an invisible cord.

Passing the kitchen, he looked toward the glass of water he had originally poured for Shikamaru. There it sat on the granite countertop, its water peaceful and undisturbed. Naruto shifted his gaze back to the living room, where he had smashed his glass to bits. He stared painfully at the water spreading through the creases in the dark hardwood floor before scoffing, leaving the mess alone as he made his way to his bedroom.

He picked up the whiskey bottle and took another long drink from it, drinking until the burn became too much. At that moment, he pulled it back from his mouth, wiping with his sleeve the drips which were left on his chin. He held it in his hand and went into the bathroom to take a shower, with the idea in mind of going to the bar. As he waited for the water to warm, he took another drink of the Glenlivet and then set the bottle down on the bathroom countertop.

Naruto had finished showering and had managed to dress himself in his growing intoxication. He had just put on his shoes and leaned back against the back of the couch, trying to focus. He took another drink of whiskey, noticing that it was now nearly empty.

Time to go he thought hazily to himself.

He checked his phone for the time and it was getting late now, later than he had thought. He made an attempt to get up, but didn't quite make it. Another twenty minutes had passed when he checked the time again.

The bottle was then raised to his mouth one last time, the very last of it making its way down his throat. The bottle became suddenly heavy and Naruto's arm dropped to the couch, where he released his hold on the object. It slowly rolled to the edge and then off, making a dull thud as it fell to the carpet below. He looked at his phone again and found another ten minutes had elapsed.

Finally dragging himself up, he grabbed his coat and stumbled his way out of the apartment and to his intended destination.

At around 2:30, Kiba had finally finished closing down the bar and he was now coming out the back door to go home. There were three parking spaces behind the bar for employees to park at, and Kiba's black Honda Civic Si was the only car there, parked in the space closest to the building. The night was frigid and the stars were sparkling down from the cloudless sky.

Kiba was just locking the door when he heard a faint sound from behind him. He froze to listen more intently.

"Hey….Kiba…." he heard a hoarse voice say as he immediately spun around, his hand instantly coming to rest on the pocket knife he kept clipped to his jeans.

After focusing a moment, he saw that it was none other than Naruto who was leaning against the Civic, with one arm propping himself up, his head rolling forward. Kiba watched in silence and the blonde made to take a step toward him, but then collapsed down into the snow which lie in front of Kiba.

"Shit," Kiba whispered to himself as he rushed over to the fallen figure.

He grabbed ahold of Naruto's shoulders and turned him over onto his back, leaning his head down toward the blonde, actively looking for any signs which would indicate a medical emergency. He was relieved a moment later to hear the blonde breathing regularly.

"Naruto," Kiba said realizing that Naruto was completely drunk, senselessly mumbling inaudible, incoherent words into thin air. "Can you hear me?"

He shook Naruto slightly but didn't get a response. He thought a moment about what best to do but didn't take long to reach a conclusion.

"Since you're unconscious, I can't get you home any other way. Looks like you're gonna have to trust me on this one," Kiba said as he reached around and pulled the blonde's wallet from the back pocket of his jeans to check his ID for his address. "I hope you keep this up-to-date."

Kiba then put Naruto's arm over his shoulder and took hold of it with his own hand, slowly getting up. He put his other arm around the blonde's waist and attempted to guide him over to the passenger side of the Civic.

He pulled open the door and then gently lowered Naruto down into the seat, lifting his legs and putting them inside the car as well. He pulled the seatbelt down and fastened it across Naruto's lap and then shut the door and walked around to the other side of the car to get in.

He turned on the engine, put the transmission in neutral, and let out the clutch. He checked Naruto's ID once more and put the address into the GPS, setting the wallet into the compartment on the car's center console. He released the e-brake, put the car into gear and backed out of the parking space, driving off guided by the GPS.

A short while later, they arrived at Naruto's apartment building, and Kiba parked as close as he could to the entrance. He shut off the engine and looked over to Naruto.

"You awake yet?" he asked, then receiving no response, laughed again. "Ha, just kidding."

He reached over to unlatch the blonde's seatbelt when a thought occurred to him.

"Yeah, guess I'm going to need a key to get you inside," he said aloud to himself. He turned and reached over to examine Naruto's coat. He checked both side pockets as well as the inside pocket but found nothing. He then pulled the coat back tentatively and looked down at the blonde's pants. He noticed a slight protrusion in the right hand pocket.

"Where else would they be?" he asked, another slight laugh coming from him. He then reached over and pulled the keys from the blonde's jeans before pausing to look around at the nearly barren parking lot.

"This must look so sketchy…" he said as he placed his full attention back to the unconscious blonde.

Kiba then got out of the car and went back around it to pull Naruto out, again with his arm around Kiba's shoulder. He then walked him outside and located the apartment, managing to figure out the right key to open the door. They went inside, and Kiba pushed the door shut behind him. He felt around the wall for a light switch and turned it on.

"I'mmm sooooo tirrrrred," Naruto slurred, momentarily showing signs of life.

"I know," Kiba said. "Won't be long now."

Kiba took a moment to observe the apartment, particularly the broken glass and water which covered the floor in the living room near the couches. He looked at it sadly before diverting his attention back to Naruto, who was slurring garbled words.

After locating the bedroom, he sat the blonde down on the edge of the bed, pulled the covers back, and then took Naruto's coat off of him and also his shoes. He then gently let him fall back, his head coming to rest on the nearest pillow. Kiba pulled the covers up over him, and once he was finished, he sat on the edge of the bed, quietly thinking for several minutes and making sure that Naruto would be okay.

Once he was assured nothing was wrong and Naruto just needed to sleep it off, he stood up to go, but a picture frame that was face down on the nightstand caught his eye.

Curiosity got the better of him and he picked it up to see it was a photograph of Naruto and another boy, with black hair and eyes. They both looked happy and Kiba smiled. He set the frame back down on the nightstand upright and then glanced over to Naruto again before turning and leaving the room. In the other room, he found an envelope on the kitchen counter and picked it up. He turned to go, but noticed a glass of water sitting quietly on the countertop. Shrugging, he lifted it up to his mouth, tipping the bottom of the glass higher and higher into the air until all of the contents poured down his throat. Afterwards, he placed the empty glass into the kitchen sink before he left through the front door, pulling it shut behind him. He locked the door and then dropped the key in the envelope, sealed it, and then pushed it underneath the door back inside the apartment.