Run Away and Pursue

Ch. 6 "A Thanksgiving Day."

I don't own Naruto, but I wish I did.

Thanksgiving.

A day of celebration and thanks.

Naruto knew he should be enjoying it.

His parents had arrived with gifts for Keiji and a local restaurant had prepares and delivered a Thanksgiving feast for the family. The hotel even had set a table and chairs up in the suite.

Now, the family was sitting around with plates full of food and was eating and talking.

Except for Keiji.

He sat next Naruto and was pushing a glob of mashed potatoes around on his plate, silent and frowning.

"Something wrong about the food, son?" Naruto asked, hoping to at least receive some sort of response.

Keiji just shrugged and shoved a spoonful of potatoes into his mouth.

"If you don't, we can always get something." Naruto's adopted mother, Ayame, spoke lightly, but the concern was no hidden. "I bet there's a burger place open somewhere. Or a ramen shop."

Naruto tried warning his parents that Keiji was not the same little boy that they were accustomed to, but knowing it and seeing it were two different things.

"It's okay, Grandma. It's fine." Keiji looked up from his plate and offered one of his smiles.

Naruto knew his mother melt.

"You sure?" she inquired as Keiji nodded, looking down again. "Because I can—."

"Mom. He's alright." Naruto cut in.

He was weary.

Weary from the strain of holding back his emotions that had been pouring through him since he found out that Keiji was alive.

From the sleepless nights and the hours spent to trying to find information on Hinata Hyuuga.

She had said she had a past that might be catching up to her.

If someone from that past was trying to harm her, Naruto planned to find out whom. He planned to stop whoever it was.

Unfortunately, an early morning Internet search had turned up into nothing.

"I don't know about everyone else, but I can't eat another bite!" Senna's voice was overly bright as she carried her plate to the room service cart that stood against the wall. "But, if it's some pie, then I'm up for it!"

She looked thin. Too thin, and Naruto's stomach knotted with concern.

"You should more, sis."

"And have no room for pie? I don't think so!" Senna shot his a warning look, and he knew what she meant by that.

Don't you dare give mom and dad something else to worry about.

She was right, of course. The day was emotional enough without adding more to it.

"I'm done. May I be excused?" Keiji spoke into the pause and Naruto was tempted to say that he needed to stay at the table until everyone was done eating.

He didn't.

What would've been the point?

A silent morose child at the table wasn't the most joyful way to spend Thanksgiving.

"Sure." Naruto sighed as Keiji readied himself to stand.

"Can I turn on the television?"

Naruto tensed. He wished to say yes, but the news about their reunion was everywhere. He didn't want Keiji to watch it without his supervision.

"Sorry, buddy. Not right now."

"Then I guess I'll go study my multiplication tables." Naruto could tell that he had deflated Keiji's balloon.

"Study on a Thanksgiving weekend?" Naruto's adopted father, Iruka Umino said, pushing away from the table and stretching. "I think we can do something more exciting than that!"

"Like what?" Keiji stood up.

"You ever play Shogi?"

"No."

"Then I'll teach you." Iruka chuckled when Keiji made a small face.

"You will?"

"Of course. You're my grandson, and I've taught every one of my kids and grandkids to play." Iruka winked at Ayame who was shaking her head. "Guess what the best part is?"

"What?"

"First game you win against me, I give you ¥2500."

"Really? That much?" Keiji's eyes were huge, his pale face was pink with excitement.

"Really. Now go and clear a spot in the bedroom, and I'll go and get my Shogi set from my room."

"All right!" Keiji rushed away as Iruka smiled.

"Works every time."

"What?" Senna walked over to the cart and grabbed a slice of pecan pie.

"Shogi. Sitting across the board from each other really gets communication flowing."

"Yeah," Senna rolled her eyes, smiling, as she forked herself a piece of pie. "And offering money is a good incentive to get a kid to play. Nice, dad. That's ¥2500 out of your pocket."

"Whatever works." Iruka shrugged as he walked out of the room, laughing. "I'm going to get that board. Save me some pie!"

Senna shook her head as she sat down on the couch, taking in one more fork of pie. "Leave it to dad to go simple."

"Simple but effective. I remember him breaking out that Shogi game a lot when I was a teenager." Naruto smirked. "Especially whenever Shikamaru came over. He would always lose."

"Yeah, and he brought it to the hospital when I was going through chemo."

"I'm glad he hasn't used it on me." Ayame removed the last of the dishes from the table and wiped it.

"Have I told you how much I appreciate you and dad coming over?" Naruto pulled his adopted mother into a bear hug.

"About the same number as my age." Ayame tapped his cheeks. "We wouldn't be anywhere else."

"But you were planning a big family meal with the rest of the gang."

"And the rest of the gang would have given anything to be here instead. They all understand and they're looking forward to seeing Keiji, when he's ready." Ayame wiggled from his hug.

"If he ever is ready." Naruto glanced at the open bedroom door.

"He will. Just—."

"Give him some time. I know." Naruto muttered. "I'm going to check on him."

He knocked on the bedroom door before he entered.

He was surprised to see Keiji slam the phone back to its receiver.

"I thought you were getting a spot ready for your chess game with Grandpa?"

"I already did." He gestured to the smoothed bed comforter. "See?"

"And then you were going to call a friend?"

Or had he been dialing his home number; maybe hoping to speak to the woman who'd been calling herself his mother for five years?

Sakura Haruno was a liar and a kidnapper, but she was the only mother Keiji could remember.

"I wasn't calling friend."

"But you were calling someone. Want to tell me who?" Naruto crossed the room and placed a hand on Keiji's shoulder, refusing to pull away when he twitched.

"No."

Should Naruto back off? Insist?

He wasn't sure, and it irritated him. "How about I guess?"

Keiji didn't answer. He just kept looking down at the hotel carpet.

"Were you calling," Naruto couldn't say 'your mother.' That would give Sakura more credibility than what she deserved. "Sakura?"

Keiji stiffened at the name, but he shook his head.

"Are you sure? Because if you were, it's okay." Naruto's hand was trembling a bit. "I understand if you miss her."

"I don't."

"Keiji—."

"I. Don't!" Keiji repeated with more emotion than the he had shown since the reunion. "Okay?"

"So you weren't calling her?"

"No." Naruto could tell that Keiji was getting angry.

"Look, son—."

"I was calling information. I wanted Ms. Hyuuga's phone number." He mumbled.

"You were calling Hinata?" Naruto felt somewhat relieved.

"I was trying to." Keiji shrugged Naruto's hand off. "But her number isn't listed."

"Even if her number was listed, it wouldn't be appropriate for you to call her. She's your teacher, Keiji. You can't just call her at home any time you want."

"It wasn't going to be anytime. It was only supposed to be this time." Keiji muttered. "I wanted to make sure she was okay."

"I told you she was."

"And mo—Sakura told me you were dead, but you're not." Keiji said, and Naruto had no response to that.

He could tell Keiji that he would never lie to him, but Naruto doubted his son would believe it.

He could say that Sakura was sick and that's why she did an awful thing, but he thought that was something Keiji was not ready to hear.

"I can't give you any more than my word on this." Naruto finally said. "Hinata really is okay, Keiji."

"Do you think she'll be at school Monday?"

"I'm not sure." He wasn't even sure he wanted his son to go back to school.

Home schooling sounded good. A private tutor.

Bars on the windows and bolts on the doors.

Just like prison.

"I need to find out. She was supposed to help me with my assignment."

"I can help you."

"I have to do it at school." Keiji pushed him away. "We do a math assignment every day, and Ms. Hyuuga always helps me."

"Keiji," Naruto looked at his son's eyes and saw the confusion, anger and hurt there and reached for the phone. "I'll call her for you."

"You have her number?"

He did, and he almost dialed it many times already.

Almost.

Had she done what he expected her to do?

Packed up and left?

If she had, would he be able to track her down?

Offer her protection and the support she needed, but refused to accept?

"Yes, I'll call to see if she's alright. Then you go and play Shogi with Grandpa, and stop worrying about Hinata, okay?"

Keiji mutely nodded.

Naruto pulled out a piece of paper the Sherriff had given him the other day and dialed the number written on it.

One ring.

Two.

Naruto didn't really expect Hinata to answer and was preparing to hang up when the line clicked.

"Hello?"

"Hinata? It's Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto?" She sounded groggy and asleep. "What's up?"

He imagined her lying on a couch, her midnight black hair spilling around her shoulders, her eyes still shadowed with dreams.

"I thought I'd call you and see how you're doing."

"Give me a minute to wake up, and I'll let you know." She yawned and Naruto couldn't help but smile.

"Sorry. I should have realized you were sleeping."

"Why? It's three o'clock on Thanksgiving Day." She sarcastically stated. "Most people are feasting with family, not sleeping."

"Most people weren't shot last night."

"Barely. Shot, you mean." She implied and Naruto laughed.

"I guess you decided to stick around for a while longer."

"I haven't been awake long enough to decide anything, but last night I was thinking that sticking around and facing my problems might be better than running from them." She slowly responded.

"Glad to hear it."

"Don't be too glad. I haven't made my mind up yet." She scoffed.

"Is she okay?" Keiji asked, hovering near Naruto's elbow and was shaking with anxiety.

"Tell Keiji I'm fine." Hinata's tone became soft. "As a matter of fact, I'll tell him myself. Pass him the phone, please."

"Thanks." Naruto handed Keiji the phone and tapped his fingers against the wall as Keiji began chatting enthusiastically.

About school.

About math.

About the turkey he barely touched and the pie he wasn't sure he wanted to eat.

About the Shogi game he planned to win once his grandfather taught him how to play.

He was chatting about everything and anything, as if he bottled up his words during the past few days and was in desperate of pouring them out.

Finally he took a breath and tilted his head to the side, listening intently. "So will you be at school this week?"

He was silent as he listened to her answer and Naruto could see the disappointment in his face. "All right. I hope you can come, but I understand if you need to get a little better first. Maybe me and my dad could bring you something to eat in a little while. That will help you."

He turned to Naruto. "We can, can't we, dad?"

"You're supposed to play Shogi with Grandpa." Naruto simply said.

"The game can wait a couple of hours if the boy has something to do." Iruka walked into the room and set a Shogi set on the bed.

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Keiji conjured up the same sweet smile he had offered to Ayame. "You want us to come, right, Ms. Hyuuga? Okay. I'll tell him. Bye!"

Keiji hung up the phone without giving Naruto a chance to speak with Hinata again.

"Ms. Hyuuga said it's up to you whether we bring her some Thanksgiving food, but you want to, right dad?"

"Well," Naruto looked into his son's eyes and didn't have the heart to say no.

Besides, visiting Hinata might give him a chance to get more information about her life before Sendai. Once he had that, he would be able to stop the guy who was trying to kill her.

"Sure."

"Yay!" Keiji jumped. "She said turkey sounds good, and pie sounded even better."

"Everything okay in here?" Senna peeked into the room. Her face pale and her eyes deeply shadowed.

"Ms. Hyuuga doesn't have anyone to spend Thanksgiving with." Keiji answered before Naruto could respond.

"Ms. Hyuuga?"

"Hinata." Naruto frowned when Senna smiled.

"The dark haired with beautiful lavender eyes? The one you went to visit at the hospital?" She raised a brow. "That one you talked feverishly about until four this morning?"

"I wouldn't use the word feverishly, but yep."

"Well why don't you invite her over for a second Thanksgiving meal?" Naruto could tell that Senna was teasing him.

"Because she's recovering from a gunshot wound, and I don't think she wants to leave the house."

"We're going to bring her something instead. And then I'm coming back and beat Grandpa in Shogi." Keiji almost bounced out of the room.

Naruto followed him, feeling lighter than he had in years.

Over the past few minutes, he had seen a glimmer of the old Keiji. He had gotten a peek at the little boy he was afraid he had lost forever.

That gave him hope; and he knew hope was valuable commodity.

It took a few minutes to find a container to carry the food in it and a few minutes longer to convince his parents that being thanked by two more family members wasn't something that Hinata would want.

His adopted mother still insisted to write a letter of thanks on one of Keiji's notebook paper and tucked it into Keiji's back pocket.

The hotel lobby was empty as Naruto and Keiji made their way to the entrance.

A few cars dotted the parking lot and the street in front of the hotel.

Life in Sendai was different than the fast-paced Tokyo scene.

Quieter.

Slower.

Naruto wasn't sure if he liked it, but for Keiji's sake, he would stick it out for a few months.

Maybe even longer.

Whatever it took to help his son heal, that was his new motto.

If that meant moving his P.I. firm to Sendai.

"In you go, sport." He opened the car door and waited as Keiji jumped inside.

He closed the door and went around the car.

A shadow moved in his periphery. It was a subtle shifting that made him tense.

He turned quickly, trying to catch sight of whatever it was that caught his attention.

There was nothing, but Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that something or someone had been there.

It crawled up his spine and made the hair on the back of his neck stand as he got in the SUV.

Maybe he should search and see if there really was someone watching; but that would mean leaving Keiji behind, alone in the car.

That was something he wasn't willing to do.

He pulled onto the road, glancing in his rearview mirror to make sure he wasn't followed.

The road was still empty.

Whatever he saw was gone now.

Which made perfect sense.

After all, he was a curiosity to the people in Sendai and anyone could have been staring at them.

More than one person probably had been.

So why did feel different than the other times when Naruto caught people looking and pointing as he and Keiji walked by?

Why did the shadowy movement feel sinister?

Why was Naruto still glancing at the rearview mirror, making sure the road was empty?

And why did he have a feeling that whatever he saw was a harbinger of something that would put his life in danger in the future?

A warning that Keiji was as vulnerable as he had been five years ago and just as easily to be taken again?

Naruto grimaced, flipping the radio on and trying to forget the unpleasant thoughts from his mind.

Keiji was safe.

There was no reason to believe otherwise.

No reason, but he couldn't shake the feeling that danger lurked nearby off.

That one minute of inattention, one moment of carelessness, and the dream could turn into a nightmare again.

His hands tightened on the steering wheel and he forced himself to relax.

He had to keep it in his head that Keiji was going nowhere or else he would lock himself and his son in a house somewhere and never come out.

Or he would run like Hinata once had.

Like she might do again.

Who was after her?

Why?

They were the questions that were relayed in his mind when he drove back to the hotel after he had dropped Hinata at Kurenai's house.

Hopefully soon, he finds the answers because Naruto had a feeling that the danger stalking Hinata was going to strike again.

And when it does, she might end up with more than a bullet in the shoulder.

She might end up dead.

Yay! Thanksgiving!

Well this is going to take three chapters to finish this "Thanksgiving" Day the characters are having.

Comment if you want me to publish the other two on my next update~!

I'm glad that a bunch is liking this story.

Because of the structure, I was iffy on whether people were going to like this at all.

But thanks for proving me wrong!

I hope that you guys are following (or at least understanding) the story and the character's lives.

Thanks for reviewing and Reading~!

Leave me some sugar~!

xD