The Right Way Around

by CopyCat-AO3

SUMMARY: Naruto has been kidnapped by Madara and held hostage after years of battle. Naruto and Kurama create a seal within the mindscape to escape not only his cell but also their time. They intend to go into the past to fix everything and stop Tobi and Madara before they can start collecting the bijuu and starting the Fourth Shinobi War. - This is another time travel fanfic. yada

4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Chapter Four Summary: Naruto, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Kiba cuteness. A surprise at the end. Notes: Hello! OMG I can't believe this story is already over 300 with hits! T-T I love you guys. And those of you who have been commenting give me life! Your comments motivate me and are a great encouragement. Thank you so much for reading my story. I hope you all continue to enjoy it. Within 24 hours I'm posting yet another chapter! Hahaha... what is this story doing to me? This chapter is a couple pages shorter than the previous one. So I'm sorry about that. But it's only 2 pages shorter, still love me? I don't think there's any important warnings for this chapter. Brief mention rape/non-con during Naruto's therapy session. Hrm, think that's all I've got for now. Oh! So now I've officially put this story on here, Wattpad, and ! So if you see it there, it was me! XD ON WITH THE SHOW! Chapter Text Over the next week, Kiba visited Naruto the most, hanging out with him for hours and bringing him food. Tomoko and his doctor were thrilled that he was willingly conversing and eating with someone. Akamaru was usually with Kiba, though there were a few times he was not present and it was just Kiba and Naruto, alone, together. When Akamaru was there he was always with Naruto, either curled up in his lap, flopped on his head, or curled up on his chest. And yes, when Kiba visited he was, in fact, skipping class without approval. And no, there were no fuck's given. The second person to visit the most was Kakashi. He would spend a few hours every day simply spending time with Naruto, sometimes in absolute silence, comfortable silence though. Pakkun would be summoned every other visit. And the little pug took an instant liking to Naruto. Aside from the fact the blond was completely lovable, he pet and touched Pakkun's soft paws and that sealed it for Pakkun. Shiba had also met Naruto, and like Pakkun, took a liking to the boy. So much so that he would lecture Kakashi or scold him if he teased Naruto too hard. Naruto seemed relaxed and comfortable with Kakashi and his ninken. While he became very nervous around other adults. Though Inoichi didn't seem to bother him. Which made sense because the Yamanaka was a very calm, easy-going person. The whole reason Inoichi was even working with Naruto was by special request from Tomoko and the Hokage. And once he started he vowed to stick with the kid until he was stable again. He would not let that boy be abandoned again . And Kakashi completely agreed, he would not leave Naruto alone again, he would honor his sensei and honor his promise. Kakashi would be there for Naruto. After that, it was Shikamaru and Chouji who visited most. Usually only after class had ended. There was the common occurrence of Shikamaru ditching halfway through the day, or the first half of the morning to visit Naruto. But, he was the king of not giving a fuck. Chouji brought him snacks, which usually meant that he would be eating a snack and then would give Naruto some. Shikamaru would stay longer than Chouji, he was in the process of trying to persuade Naruto to play shogi with him. So far, Naruto has declined every effort. Shikamaru was stubbornly unyielding in this, he would not budge. He knew there was more to Naruto than all that surface knuckleheaded, loudmouthed behavior. Ino and Hinata were denied visiting access to Naruto, let alone the hall he was in. Sakura never tried to visit, she mainly tried to get close to Sasuke, per usual. Shino visited Naruto a couple of times, though it was pretty awkward as they weren't particularly close and knew very little about each other. Well, Shino didn't know Naruto very well. But Naruto had gotten to know Shino over the decades. He hoped the shy bug boy would come to visit him again. It was a balmy Saturday afternoon when both Kiba and Shikamaru popped around the corner of the curtain to find an empty bed. They stopped dead in their tracks, eyes so wide they almost looked like googly eyes. Naruto wasn't in his room! NARUTO WASN'T IN HIS ROOM! Had he finally snapped and taken off?! "Where is he?" Kiba's words rushed out of him like he was a deflating balloon without the squeaking or whistling noises. He looked around the room with a wild look of panic in his eyes. "Shika… where the fuck is he?" Shikamaru moved to the bed, pressing his hand to the open sheets to feel for body heat. Cold. He left long enough that the sheets had cooled. "I...I don't know.. Should..we tell someone?" A door opened diagonally from them and a towel-clad Naruto stepped out. He blinked, then blinked a couple more times, then blushed furiously. "Uhh.. h-hey guys.." He was standing there with nothing but a towel knotted around his slender hips, and a smaller towel draped over his head. Kiba flushed red all the way to the tips of his ears and spun around, covering his face with his eyes. Ohhhh sweet rib eye... why me!? Shikamaru honestly just blatantly stared at the blond. No remorse, no shame. He still proudly donned the crown as King of No Fuck's Given. A slight grin quirking up the right corner of his lips. His skin looks so soft... Shikamaru shook his head and glanced at Kiba, laughing at the others unmistakably flustered reaction. Kiba was never living this down. Ever. Naruto blushed a deeper pink from Shikamaru's blunt staring, then, even more, when Shikamaru laughed at Kiba. He cleared his throat and shuffled over to the dresser that was in the room. He rummaged in it for a pair of heather grey boxer briefs, baby blue cotton pants, and a short-sleeved white cotton shirt. He removed the towel from his damp hair and went to take the towel off. He paused, feeling two sets of eyes on him. Slowly he peered over his shoulder only to jerk back in surprise. "AH! Why are you staring at me?!" He was met with two sets of dark-colored eyes staring intently at him. Both boys flushed red and promptly turned their backs on him. "Sorry!" They both cried out in unison. After about a minute Naruto cleared his throat, murmuring bashfully. "Okay... you c-can turn around n-now..." He shifted from one bare foot to the other nervously. Shikamaru turned back around without hesitation. Kiba did it a bit more slowly, peeking around himself to make double sure Naruto was fully clothed. "So...we...were thinking..." Kiba started then glanced at Shikamaru. "Maybe we could go out for lunch?" Shikamaru volunteered, finishing Kiba's sentence. "Your pick." Shikamaru gave a languid grin. Kiba nodded, that wolfish smile gracing his features. "Yep! Anywhere you want, we're paying!" He grinned big, crossing his arms over his chest. Naruto looked between the two and lifted a shoulder anxiously. "You..you mean... le-leave the hospital..?" He chewed on his bottom lip clearly uncomfortable with this idea. He'd been there for nearly 20 days now. That room had become his safe haven. He had yet to even step out into the hallway. Much to Naruto's relief an ANBU popped into existence next to him. Okay, Naruto flinched back into a defensive stance, ready to gouge the ANBU's eyes out, his hands even raised in clawlike poses. His blue eyes flashing a feral purple before he realized it was just one of his many guards. And that was when he became relieved. The ANBU was used to Naruto's defensive reactions and simply waited until he recovered before acknowledging Shikamaru and Kiba. "Uzumaki-san is not allowed to leave the hospital at this time. Please feel free to bring him something to eat. But he is not leaving." And with a barely seen shunshin, the ANBU was back in the shadows. Kiba's lip curled in a sneer. He didn't like that ANBU. There wasn't any particular reason. He just didn't like him. How dare he deny Naruto's freedom . Shikamaru nudged Kiba in the side, shaking his head a little before responding. "What a drag... Guess we'll go get something." He heaved a sigh, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Craving anything specific Naru-kun?" Naruto hadn't really been paying very close attention to what was going on. But Shikamaru's question and friendly use of his name snapped him right back into reality. He blushed and smiled warmly at his friend. "Uh-uhm.. We-well..." He fidgeted and looked down. "If it's not too much trouble... w-would you guys mind getting some O-okonomiyaki?" Both boys raised their brows in surprise. They thought for sure Naruto would want ramen. This seemed completely out of left field. They were happy to oblige though. "Okonomiyaki it is!" Kiba grinned, winking at Naruto then immediately blanching as he realized what he just did. "I'll meet you out front Shikamaru!" And on that note, Kiba quickly bolted out of the room. Naruto barely had time to process Kiba winking at him, staring after the other in shock. That had to have been a figment of his imagination. There's no way... Just no way that Kiba would've winked at him . Shikamaru was chuckling to himself. the blackmail material Kiba was providing Shikamaru with was pure gold. "We'll be back soon, Naru-kun." he nodded his head at the blond, smiling at him. "Don't go anywhere." His shoulders rolled forward and he slumped off at a lazy pace to meet up with Kiba. Shaking his head in confusion, watching Shikamaru follow after Kiba. Those two were so weird... "AHH!" Naruto cried out in surprise, falling back on his ass. Kakashi was braced in the window, one hand holding the top of the window frame as he stayed crouched. He gave a two finger salute/wave. "Yo!" Kakashi hopped into the room, holding out a hand to help Naruto up. He eye-smiled at him. Sneaky asshole... With a dramatic roll of blue eyes, Naruto put his hand in Kakashi's and was hoisted up with one easy pull. Naruto kind of wondered if Kakashi had to put any effort into that cause the man didn't even twitch. How underweight was Naruto? "Why do you enjoy my pain, Kakashi-san?" Naruto whined, rubbing his now sore bottom. Kakashi chuckled, his eye-smile becoming genuine. "Maa, Naru-chan your pain is the last thing I'd enjoy." He ruffled blond locks, a teasing glint in his eye. "Oh, yeah, sure.. totally.. mhm.. I completely don't believe you!" He tugged the skin under his left eye down just a little with his middle finger and stuck his tongue out. "Mmm!" Then huffed back over to his bed. Kakashi could only give a mirthful laugh, elated to see that Naruto was willing to banter and bicker with him. The more he got the little blond to do it, the happier Kakashi was. He could see that sassy, sarcastic, shockingly witty, and playful ball of sunshine hidden underneath all that pain and trauma. And it had become his current life goal to bring out that ball of sunshine any chance he got. He followed Naruto. "Maa, maa Naru-chan!" Kakashi actually gave a playful whine. "Don't be so mean!" He sniffled in mock tears. "I came earlier than usual didn't I?" He did his best to pull a puppy-eyed look with just his one dark-grey eye visible. Naruto looked at Kakashi with a 100 percent pure, unfiltered deadpan. His voice matching his expression. "Seriously? That only works on me with Pakkun." He smirked like he'd won this round of banter, puffing his chest out a little. Kakashi gasped. "What?!" He cried quietly. "My own summon has out-puppied me!?" He gave an overly dramatic and joking wail and collapsed onto Naruto's bed before the blond could attempt to sit. Naruto paused, staring in shock and awe at his future sensei being so, well, fucking funny and almost adorable! Shit... Naruto cracked and started laughing. The melodious, full, warm sound filling the room, pouring out the window, and out into the hall. Kakashi preened in silent victory. Much to Kakashi's horror and Naruto's sheer delight, a pair of snickers could be heard by the door to the room. Kakashi slowly lifted his head from the bed, crawled to the foot, pulled the curtain back and promptly blanched. Why did it have to be them? Now the three top pranksters have...ammo...from ME! It was fine when it was just his sensei's adorable son. But all three of the prankster demons? Sage save me. Shikamaru and Kiba smirked at the jounin, eyes shimmering wickedly. "Konchiwa Kakashi-san." How very creepily in sync, informal and bratty of them. Demon brats. Kakashi had no way to come back from this. Nothing to deflect the attention from him. He was caught. And he knew it. So would he resort to his tried and true method of ignoring a situation? Why yes, yes he would. And with that, he hopped off the bed, pulled out his notorious orange book and sat in the window to read. He knew Tenzō, the only ANBU still stationed in the room, respected him and feared him too much to use this against him. At least...Tenzō better not. Then again, Tenzō had a lot of revenge to enact on his precious senpai. Naruto lifted a brow, watching his future sensei and best friend hide behind his little porno book. He smirked, shrugged at the other two boys and snickered. Shikamaru and Kiba snickered as well, walking over to the bed and pulling out the takeout boxes. "That's quite the spread boys." Kakashi pointed out, peering over the top of his book. There was enough there to feed 6 or 8 people. Kiba and Naruto would eat most of it, Shikamaru tended to get bored with eating or just too lazy to feed himself. Kiba looked up and bared his teeth. "You don't get any. It's for Naruto!" He growled a little. Shikamaru lifted a brow, watching his friend in amusement. Naruto blinked, staring owl-eyed at Kiba. The Inuzuka abruptly realized everyone was staring at him. Shikamaru was staring in pure mischievous amusement, Naruto in awe and confusion, and Kakashi with a knowing smugness and an underlayer of ardent protectiveness. Kiba blushed vividly, coughing to try and cover up his embarrassment and awkwardness. Kakashi returned his attention to his book. Shikamaru did not help his friend, at all. Let him suffer. Naruto, being the sweetheart that he was, cleared his throat and moved next to Kiba, murmuring softly. "So what all did you get, Kiba-kun?" He smiled up at his friend. He never realized Kiba had been taller than him when they were 12, he continued to be taller throughout their lives too. Kiba jumped minutely when Naruto appeared right next to him. The blond's softly spoken words spiking a thrill of tingles up Kiba's spine. He swallowed, looking down at him. When did Naruto get so short? It's kinda cute... "A-ah! We got..uhm.. Regular Okonomiyaki, Yakisoba Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Monjayaki, and uhm.." He blinked, looking through the bags. "Where'd it go.." He muttered, digging in the bags more until he shouted in triumph. He thrust the small box forward with a big proud grin. "For you." Naruto blinked at the box, then looked up at Kiba, a tiny smile lifting the corners of his lips as he accepted the box. He sniffed at it, it smelled wonderful, sweet and savory. Immediately curious Naruto opened the box, staring at 4 medium sized rounds of dough with a dark amber sauce poured over them. "Dango?" He asked curiously, looking at Kiba. Kiba held up his arms in an 'X' in front of him. "Nope! It's Yaki Manjuu!" He grinned bright, nudging the box to Naruto a little more. "They're wheat flour dumplings that've been fermented in sake and topped in a miso-based sauce." He beamed at the boy, knowing Naruto loved miso. Naruto made an 'O' with his mouth. "Smells delicious." He smiled, using the little but sturdy skewer to poke one of the dumplings, bring it to his lips and taking a decently sized bite. He paused, expression blank as he took note of the flavors before moaning around the bite, eyes rolling back and closing as he munched. The moan was far more suggestive and intimate than Naruto had meant to do. But it was sooo good! Kiba was blushing again. Naruto was right bloody next to him, so the kid pretty much moaned in Kiba's ear, considering the Inuzuka's enhanced senses. He quickly averted his attention to the rest of the bags, clearing his throat several times and shifting uncomfortably. Okay, while Shikamaru is normally unshakable and not phased by much. That moan twisted something darkly pleasant in Shikamaru's lower abdomen. He swallowed thickly around a mouthful of Takoyaki, the ball of chewed food painfully sliding down his throat. His cheeks had dusted pink and he was wondering why it had gotten so hot in the room all of a sudden. Kakashi's head jerked up with the moan, his one eye widening. That sound should never leave a 12-year-old boy. Then his eye narrowed knowingly at Naruto's two friends. Those little perverts. He smirked, tucking that away for leverage. Naruto finished the Yaki Manjuu happily, some of the miso sauce smeared on his bottom lip and the right corner of his mouth. Both boys zeroed in on the sauce. Their mouths and throats impossibly dry. Kiba's lips parted as he leaned down and in towards Naruto, his breath caught as he stopped himself halfway. His eyes widened. "I HAVE TO PISS!" He turned on the balls of his feet and swiftly disappeared into the bathroom across the room. Shikamaru's eyes had narrowed threateningly at Kiba when he watched the other lean into Naruto. He wouldn't! Relief washed over him as Kiba bailed. Taking the opportunity given to him Shikamaru circled around the bed, stopping in front of Naruto. "You're such a little pig..." He murmured affectionately, bringing his right thumb up to wipe the sauce from Naruto's lip and corner of his mouth. He looked at the shiny amber liquid, then at Naruto, and while holding eye contact he brought his thumb to his lips, licking the sauce clean from the pad of his digit purposefully. Naruto had barely noticed Kiba leaning in until the other boy had shouted and darted off. Tilting his head with an adorably confused expression. Shikamaru quickly garnered his full attention though. His breath caught sharply in his lungs as his wide, stunned blue eyes watched Shikamaru in avid fascination. His lips parting when Shikamaru's thumb swiped over his bottom lip, cleaning him of the sauce. Naruto's cheeks lit up bright pink. Kakashi's jaw fucking dropped. For how gutsy Kiba was he sure couldn't handle flirtatious or intimate moments. But Shikamaru? He would have sworn that little pineapple haired pervert was a devoted reader of Icha Icha Paradise. That was some next level smoothness. Kakashi almost applauded the boy, almost. He was a bit disturbed a 12-year-old boy even had that level of suave in his repertoire. Then again, he was a Nara. With a smugness that had never been seen on Shikamaru, he rolled his shoulders back, chin tilted up slightly. Blushing suits him... He grinned, moving to grab his Takoyaki, picking up a ball with the provided short skewer, holding it out to Naruto mere centimeters from his lips. Kiba came out of the bathroom just in time to see Shikamaru feeding Naruto the first Takoyaki ball. He bristled, hackles raised as he saw Naruto blush from it and shyly popped the dough ball into his mouth. Kiba clenched his jaw, shoved his hoodie off his head to give himself a little more air. He moved back over to his friends, cut in front of Shikamaru to grab his food. He smiled at Shikamaru with a shit-eating grin. His expression vividly showed his feelings of 'sorry, not sorry'. Kakashi still watched them over the edge of his book, not even reading anymore because this whole situation was comedy gold. As well as provided ample revenge material. He wondered if the two boys knew what they were doing and that they were crushing on the knucklehead. And what about Naruto? Was he aware they were flirting with him? Did he care if he did know? "Why are you guys being so nice to me anyways..?" Aahh, apparently Naruto was clueless. How precious. "I mean.." Naruto winced. "I didn't mean it to sound like that.." He huffed nervously, fidgeting with his empty Manjuu box. "I just... what I'm trying to say is..." He groaned, looking down at the empty box in frustration. Kiba smiled, touching Naruto's shoulder. "We're being nice to you because we wanna be. I had forgotten how fun it was to hang out with you." He shrugged, squeezing the others bony, small shoulder. "I really enjoy spending time with you Naruto." Black eyes met sparkling blue, Kiba's breath caught. Shikamaru wasn't letting this moment happen. No way! "You're a lot more interesting and fun than you give yourself credit for, Naru-kun." This pulled Naruto's attention from Kiba to him. Good. "And you're smarter than you realize. It's a different kind of smart than other kids.. But it's...really cool." He smiled warmly. "That's why I keep asking you to play shogi with me. I think it'd be fun. You're unpredictable enough that I think you could easily challenge me." Both boys blinked when they saw Naruto's eyes line with tears and give a small whimper. "Naruto... are you okay?" Kiba asked softly, concern filling him. Shikamaru nodded, also wanting to know if the other was okay. Naruto whimpered again and stepped back, looking away from them. "Ye-yeah.." His voice cracked with emotion. "Th-thanks guys...for...for giving a shit about me.." He choked on a held back sob, lowering his head to keep his face out of sight as he turned away some. Kakashi tucked his book into his flak jacket. "Naruto.." His smooth, deep voice soothed and grounded Naruto as the silver-haired jounin slid from the window and moved over to the blond. One fingerless gloved hand wrapped around the back of the blond head, Kakashi's chest soon felt the soft thump of Naruto's forehead landing against it. Kiba and Shikamaru wanted to comfort their friend as well, but they weren't willing to take the hit to their manly pride by making Kakashi and Naruto's hug into a group one. So they stood by the other two awkwardly. Kiba nutted up and reached out to place a hand on the back of Naruto's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Shikamaru side-glared at him because he had been about to do that very thing and now it'd be considered copying the stupid Inuzuka. Instead, Shikamaru rested his hand dead center on Naruto's back and rubbed soothing circles. The moment was broken by the sound of a throat being cleared. The group of four, startled by the sound, jumped away from each other, turning towards the room door. All eyes landed on a very amused Inoichi. "Am I interrupting?" He smiled, his tone teasing. All of them blushed brightly, Kakashi being the only to have his blush hidden by his mask. Kakashi promptly tugged out his book and shuffled back to the window, perching there. Kiba grabbed some food and shoveled it into his mouth. Shikamaru tucked his hands into his pockets and assumed the Nara Standing Position. "N-no...they were just being nice." Naruto stuttered out, shifting to formally greet Inoichi with a slight bow. "Yamanaka-san, is it time for my session?" He glanced up at him. Inoichi nodded. "I thought, today, we could take a walk in the courtyard." He smiled, stepped aside and held out his arm for Naruto to step outside of his hospital room. Kiba and Shikamaru tensed, looking at each other. "We'll be here when you get back," Shikamaru assured his friend, giving a small Nara smile. Kiba nodded in agreement with Shikamaru, grinning. Naruto smiled. "Thanks, guys..." He gave a little wave and left the room with Inoichi who glanced back at Kakashi, brow lifted at him, a sure sign the pale blond would be interrogating the jounin on why he had been in an embrace with Naruto. Kakashi was not an affectionate guy. Not openly anyway. Kakashi shunshinned out of the hospital room and directly in front of Naruto and Inoichi. "Can't leave without your session buddy now can you?" Kakashi eye-smiled before quickly summoning Shiba. With a poof the punk-like dog came into existence, looking bored at Kakashi. Until he got a quick whiff of Naruto's scent, turned promptly to face the boy and gave a big grin. "Naru!" Shiba propped his front paws on the boy's chest and started licking his hands as Naruto happily greeted him. Kakashi rolled his eye. "It's time for his session Shiba." The ninken looked back at Kakashi with a bland look of 'a-duh'. Turning his attention back to his new favorite human he lowered to all four paws and stood next to Naruto. "Ready when you are." He looked up with a supporting steadiness to him, winking at the young human. Naruto smiled, "Thanks Kakashi-san." He shifted his feet before moving forward to follow Inoichi to the courtyard with Shiba at his side. * Around 20 minutes into Naruto's session with Inoichi a male nurse entered the courtyard. Naruto was sitting on a patch of moss and grass, Shiba curled up in his lap as best as the ninken could manage seeing as he was bigger than Pakkun. Naruto was crying quietly, hunched over with his fingers curled in Shiba's fur. Inoichi was listening, taking notes as Naruto spoke. "Th-the man... he..." Naruto whimpered, closing his eyes. "He'd been...to-touching me...for a while now..." It had taken 20 minutes of surface issues to get into the deeper, heavier subjects. Inoichi controlled his outward reactions, keeping his face smooth and calm, continuing with the plan to have everyone remain incredibly calm and non-threatening to Naruto. Inside though? Inoichi was thinking of all the ways he could mentally torture and destroy the revolting, loathsome man who dared to touch such a young boy. It would be a marvel if Naruto was ever able to have a stable relationship. Let alone want a relationship. And it would be even more of a miracle for him to be intimate with another human, especially romantically. This was very worrisome. "Excuse me... I don't mean to intrude, but it's time for Naruto's afternoon shot." The male nurse gave a tense smile, his black eyes locked on Naruto. The blond looked up, wiping his cheeks off quickly, sniffling. "O-oh.. r-right.." He stood up after setting Shib aside. Shiba was eyeing the nurse with a narrowed gaze. He did not like this nurse. The nurse nodded, rolling up Naruto's sleeve and wiping the chosen injection site with an alcohol swab. Wary blue eyes couldn't seem to break the contact with those endless dark depths no matter how hard he tried. "My name is Shusuke, by the way. I'll be helping Tomoko out instead of nurses Azusa." His voice low, something dark hidden in the words. He offered another tense smile. "Azusa has become ill and has to take some time off." Naruto nodded numbly, wincing when the needle punctured his arm. Shusuke pushed the plunger, emptying the full syringe into Naruto's system. Pulling the needle free Shusuke capped it again and lowered his sleeve. "All done." He paused from moving away and murmured. "I'll stay by the doors to the courtyard in case you need help getting back to your room." He looked at Inoichi and nodded to him stiffly before heading off. Inoichi lifted a brow, having closely watched the entire interaction. Something about that nurse was off, he just couldn't put his finger on it at the moment. That was going to bug him. He regarded the ninken, Shiba looking back at Inoichi, muttering just loud enough for Inoichi to hear. "Don't like him. He smells...off." Shiba stood up, waiting for Naruto to sit back down so he could curl back up. Naruto plopped back to the mossy grass, happily accepting Shiba back into his lap. He swayed a little. "So weird when it kicks in.." He chuckled lazily, eyes lidding themselves. Inoichi laughed quietly, shaking his head. "Now, back to what you were saying..." He trailed off watching the boy. Naruto looked up with a sharp inhale, giving a sheepish look. "Was kinda hoping you'd forget that.. heh.." He swallowed, looking down. "It'd been going on for..." He blinked, knitting his brow. "least...half a year..?" Shiba bared his teeth, he'd bite the fucker's dick off if that man ever tried to get near Naruto again. Inoichi was quiet for a moment before speaking. "How come you didn't tell anyone what was going on?" His voice was gentle, not holding it against Naruto one bit. "I..." He blinked. In his time he was a hostage, a prisoner. Maybe he shouldn't have said it was going on that long? He thought back to how he was when he had been 12 in his timeline. "I didn't think anyone would care...or believe me..." That was pretty accurate and true too. With a frown Inoichi set aside his pad of paper and pen, leaning forward to rest a hand on Naruto's head. "There are people who care, Naruto. I am one of those people." The Yamanaka smiled warmly. "And I am here for you." Naruto sucked in a harsh breath, eyes wide as he stared up at Inoichi. His eyes lined with tears and he bit into his lower lip. Shiba leaned up, licking Naruto's cheek. Without warning a sudden flash of searing hot chakra burst from within Naruto and out across Konoha, flooring anyone weaker than the power permeating the wave of chakra. Even Inoichi slammed back against his seated spot on a bench, gasping for a breath of air, though the air itself felt heavy, thick with the fiery power. Shusuke rocked back against the wall, his hands slapping behind him to help keep him standing. He was also left gasping and trying not to buckle under the weight of it but inevitably ended up sliding down to the floor under the pressure. Kakashi stumbled from the window, landing on one knee, panting heavily. Both Kiba and Shikamaru crumpled under the weight of the chakra blast like tissue paper. Across Konoha shinobi, ANBU, and even the Hokage and Danzō all struggled under the intensity of the tidal wave of chakra that blasted from the area of the hospital. Naruto collapsed against the grass unconscious. * A loud animalistic roar echoed through the ruins of Uzushiogakure, birds taking flight from their perches. The lithe body of a human clawed at the bank of the river cutting through the ruins. Sharp, claw-like nails digging into the soil. Long, silky, impossibly red-orange hair cascading down a svelte back, curtaining along the sides of the person's face, hiding it from view. Heaving gulps of air the form continued to claw and crawl its way to the ruins before pushing itself up. Groaning in pain, the person's clawed nails bit into the stone of a destroyed building. Every limb and muscle trembling. Slitted red eyes constricted as they took in their surroundings. "NARUTO!" Their voice was deep, sultry, but rasped from lack of use, as though they had never spoken before. A low, impossible growl reverberated through the ruins. One clawed hand shoving annoying red locks from a heart-shaped face with a sharp chin, angular jawline, and high cheekbones. Those shocking almond shaped red eyes rested in perfect symmetry, sitting below trim naturally arched eyebrows, thick black eyelashes framed piercing eyes and made the bright red all that more vibrant. Their nose straight, coming to a gentle point above soft, full lips with a porcelain doll cupid's bow. Their sun-kissed skin had a healthy glow that contrasted perfectly with the vivid hair that had textured layers framing their face, jaw, and neck. The long locks of red-orange hair had a natural ombre where it started crimson at the root, then shifted into red-orange around their shoulders only to transition into a fiery yellow near the middle of their back to the ends of their hair nearly to their knees. Their ears were pointed enough to be noticeable, but still short enough to be hidden by the silky hair. A slender neck connected with lithe shoulders and lean muscled arms. Slender collarbones accented the long neck, the clavicle pointing to the gracefully thin and lean muscled chest. His slender waist holding an abdomen donning a four pack and softly defined adonis lines. Thin hips lead to slender legs that matched proportionately to his arms. Kurama stumbled from the ruined building's wall, shaky on his now very human legs. "NARUTO!" He yelled again, tripping over a broken off piece of wall. Growling at it a clawed foot kicked the annoyance a good 50 yards from where the fox stood. He lifted a brow, looking down at himself. "...and I'm naked..." He sighed longsuffering. "Thanks, dad." He rolled his eyes, referring fondly to Hagoromo as his father. "Least I didn't get ripped off in the equipment department." He grinned wickedly. "Now where is that gaki... Actually...where the fuck am I?" - A/N: dun dun DUUNNN! KURAMA HAS LANDED BITCHES! - My beautifully handsome boy... T-T Gah I adore him. Anyone else loving Shiba being totally attached to Naruto's hip? I'm sure Pakkun is thrilled someone's finally touching his adorable wittle pawsies. Welp! Don't forget to hit the kudos if you haven't by now. 3 Also, drop a comment! What did you think of this chapter? Actions ↑ Top ←Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Bookmark Comments (11) Kudos shinaoi, Gogeta40, Zackpumpkinqueen, BigMan123, Silver_Fox45, Vivi_lol_23, Mimusy, Raven_01, Zzena1993, Nineree9090, CaitSnow, one_piece_lover, Rocks_314, AGlassFlowerNeverFades, SiuMpf, LeenaTammy, The_Randomer03, Crscelest, Darkky, Est3, TaniaLeticia, partyxrose, Mabellcake, Teranami, ThatOneShyGuy, EsquiloVerde, Lucifer6941, Skylla64, Harryblack2002, AlisiaSaVina, Sarlaya, Solis_Nox, 2StepsBehind, ClydeCrevan, Fenie, nightmarem9, Souya_Kawata, Y0DiA, MrSlimey, InWonderlandWithYou, Bumblebee_38, BloodElf4203, Loky13245, MariCilla, Mid_zu_and_Katsu_go, maggrocks78, nvember, Yaoilover1992_2010, Sarcasticpepper, mcgiff96, and 169 more users as well as 306 guests left kudos on this work! Comments Post Comment Comment as Might_O_Guy (Plain text with limited HTML ?) Comment Summary: Naruto, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Kiba cuteness. A surprise at the end. Notes: Hello! OMG I can't believe this story is already over 300 with hits! T-T I love you guys. And those of you who have been commenting give me life! Your comments motivate me and are a great encouragement. Thank you so much for reading my story. I hope you all continue to enjoy it. Within 24 hours I'm posting yet another chapter! Hahaha... what is this story doing to me? This chapter is a couple pages shorter than the previous one. So I'm sorry about that. But it's only 2 pages shorter, still love me? I don't think there's any important warnings for this chapter. Brief mention rape/non-con during Naruto's therapy session. Hrm, think that's all I've got for now. Oh! So now I've officially put this story on here, Wattpad, and ! So if you see it there, it was me! XD ON WITH THE SHOW! Chapter Text Over the next week, Kiba visited Naruto the most, hanging out with him for hours and bringing him food. Tomoko and his doctor were thrilled that he was willingly conversing and eating with someone. Akamaru was usually with Kiba, though there were a few times he was not present and it was just Kiba and Naruto, alone, together. When Akamaru was there he was always with Naruto, either curled up in his lap, flopped on his head, or curled up on his chest. And yes, when Kiba visited he was, in fact, skipping class without approval. And no, there were no fuck's given. The second person to visit the most was Kakashi. He would spend a few hours every day simply spending time with Naruto, sometimes in absolute silence, comfortable silence though. Pakkun would be summoned every other visit. And the little pug took an instant liking to Naruto. Aside from the fact the blond was completely lovable, he pet and touched Pakkun's soft paws and that sealed it for Pakkun. Shiba had also met Naruto, and like Pakkun, took a liking to the boy. So much so that he would lecture Kakashi or scold him if he teased Naruto too hard. Naruto seemed relaxed and comfortable with Kakashi and his ninken. While he became very nervous around other adults. Though Inoichi didn't seem to bother him. Which made sense because the Yamanaka was a very calm, easy-going person. The whole reason Inoichi was even working with Naruto was by special request from Tomoko and the Hokage. And once he started he vowed to stick with the kid until he was stable again. He would not let that boy be abandoned again . And Kakashi completely agreed, he would not leave Naruto alone again, he would honor his sensei and honor his promise. Kakashi would be there for Naruto. After that, it was Shikamaru and Chouji who visited most. Usually only after class had ended. There was the common occurrence of Shikamaru ditching halfway through the day, or the first half of the morning to visit Naruto. But, he was the king of not giving a fuck. Chouji brought him snacks, which usually meant that he would be eating a snack and then would give Naruto some. Shikamaru would stay longer than Chouji, he was in the process of trying to persuade Naruto to play shogi with him. So far, Naruto has declined every effort. Shikamaru was stubbornly unyielding in this, he would not budge. He knew there was more to Naruto than all that surface knuckleheaded, loudmouthed behavior. Ino and Hinata were denied visiting access to Naruto, let alone the hall he was in. Sakura never tried to visit, she mainly tried to get close to Sasuke, per usual. Shino visited Naruto a couple of times, though it was pretty awkward as they weren't particularly close and knew very little about each other. Well, Shino didn't know Naruto very well. But Naruto had gotten to know Shino over the decades. He hoped the shy bug boy would come to visit him again. It was a balmy Saturday afternoon when both Kiba and Shikamaru popped around the corner of the curtain to find an empty bed. They stopped dead in their tracks, eyes so wide they almost looked like googly eyes. Naruto wasn't in his room! NARUTO WASN'T IN HIS ROOM! Had he finally snapped and taken off?! "Where is he?" Kiba's words rushed out of him like he was a deflating balloon without the squeaking or whistling noises. He looked around the room with a wild look of panic in his eyes. "Shika… where the fuck is he?" Shikamaru moved to the bed, pressing his hand to the open sheets to feel for body heat. Cold. He left long enough that the sheets had cooled. "I...I don't know.. Should..we tell someone?" A door opened diagonally from them and a towel-clad Naruto stepped out. He blinked, then blinked a couple more times, then blushed furiously. "Uhh.. h-hey guys.." He was standing there with nothing but a towel knotted around his slender hips, and a smaller towel draped over his head. Kiba flushed red all the way to the tips of his ears and spun around, covering his face with his eyes. Ohhhh sweet rib eye... why me!? Shikamaru honestly just blatantly stared at the blond. No remorse, no shame. He still proudly donned the crown as King of No Fuck's Given. A slight grin quirking up the right corner of his lips. His skin looks so soft... Shikamaru shook his head and glanced at Kiba, laughing at the others unmistakably flustered reaction. Kiba was never living this down. Ever. Naruto blushed a deeper pink from Shikamaru's blunt staring, then, even more, when Shikamaru laughed at Kiba. He cleared his throat and shuffled over to the dresser that was in the room. He rummaged in it for a pair of heather grey boxer briefs, baby blue cotton pants, and a short-sleeved white cotton shirt. He removed the towel from his damp hair and went to take the towel off. He paused, feeling two sets of eyes on him. Slowly he peered over his shoulder only to jerk back in surprise. "AH! Why are you staring at me?!" He was met with two sets of dark-colored eyes staring intently at him. Both boys flushed red and promptly turned their backs on him. "Sorry!" They both cried out in unison. After about a minute Naruto cleared his throat, murmuring bashfully. "Okay... you c-can turn around n-now..." He shifted from one bare foot to the other nervously. Shikamaru turned back around without hesitation. Kiba did it a bit more slowly, peeking around himself to make double sure Naruto was fully clothed. "So...we...were thinking..." Kiba started then glanced at Shikamaru. "Maybe we could go out for lunch?" Shikamaru volunteered, finishing Kiba's sentence. "Your pick." Shikamaru gave a languid grin. Kiba nodded, that wolfish smile gracing his features. "Yep! Anywhere you want, we're paying!" He grinned big, crossing his arms over his chest. Naruto looked between the two and lifted a shoulder anxiously. "You..you mean... le-leave the hospital..?" He chewed on his bottom lip clearly uncomfortable with this idea. He'd been there for nearly 20 days now. That room had become his safe haven. He had yet to even step out into the hallway. Much to Naruto's relief an ANBU popped into existence next to him. Okay, Naruto flinched back into a defensive stance, ready to gouge the ANBU's eyes out, his hands even raised in clawlike poses. His blue eyes flashing a feral purple before he realized it was just one of his many guards. And that was when he became relieved. The ANBU was used to Naruto's defensive reactions and simply waited until he recovered before acknowledging Shikamaru and Kiba. "Uzumaki-san is not allowed to leave the hospital at this time. Please feel free to bring him something to eat. But he is not leaving." And with a barely seen shunshin, the ANBU was back in the shadows. Kiba's lip curled in a sneer. He didn't like that ANBU. There wasn't any particular reason. He just didn't like him. How dare he deny Naruto's freedom . Shikamaru nudged Kiba in the side, shaking his head a little before responding. "What a drag... Guess we'll go get something." He heaved a sigh, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Craving anything specific Naru-kun?" Naruto hadn't really been paying very close attention to what was going on. But Shikamaru's question and friendly use of his name snapped him right back into reality. He blushed and smiled warmly at his friend. "Uh-uhm.. We-well..." He fidgeted and looked down. "If it's not too much trouble... w-would you guys mind getting some O-okonomiyaki?" Both boys raised their brows in surprise. They thought for sure Naruto would want ramen. This seemed completely out of left field. They were happy to oblige though. "Okonomiyaki it is!" Kiba grinned, winking at Naruto then immediately blanching as he realized what he just did. "I'll meet you out front Shikamaru!" And on that note, Kiba quickly bolted out of the room. Naruto barely had time to process Kiba winking at him, staring after the other in shock. That had to have been a figment of his imagination. There's no way... Just no way that Kiba would've winked at him . Shikamaru was chuckling to himself. the blackmail material Kiba was providing Shikamaru with was pure gold. "We'll be back soon, Naru-kun." he nodded his head at the blond, smiling at him. "Don't go anywhere." His shoulders rolled forward and he slumped off at a lazy pace to meet up with Kiba. Shaking his head in confusion, watching Shikamaru follow after Kiba. Those two were so weird... "AHH!" Naruto cried out in surprise, falling back on his ass. Kakashi was braced in the window, one hand holding the top of the window frame as he stayed crouched. He gave a two finger salute/wave. "Yo!" Kakashi hopped into the room, holding out a hand to help Naruto up. He eye-smiled at him. Sneaky asshole... With a dramatic roll of blue eyes, Naruto put his hand in Kakashi's and was hoisted up with one easy pull. Naruto kind of wondered if Kakashi had to put any effort into that cause the man didn't even twitch. How underweight was Naruto? "Why do you enjoy my pain, Kakashi-san?" Naruto whined, rubbing his now sore bottom. Kakashi chuckled, his eye-smile becoming genuine. "Maa, Naru-chan your pain is the last thing I'd enjoy." He ruffled blond locks, a teasing glint in his eye. "Oh, yeah, sure.. totally.. mhm.. I completely don't believe you!" He tugged the skin under his left eye down just a little with his middle finger and stuck his tongue out. "Mmm!" Then huffed back over to his bed. Kakashi could only give a mirthful laugh, elated to see that Naruto was willing to banter and bicker with him. The more he got the little blond to do it, the happier Kakashi was. He could see that sassy, sarcastic, shockingly witty, and playful ball of sunshine hidden underneath all that pain and trauma. And it had become his current life goal to bring out that ball of sunshine any chance he got. He followed Naruto. "Maa, maa Naru-chan!" Kakashi actually gave a playful whine. "Don't be so mean!" He sniffled in mock tears. "I came earlier than usual didn't I?" He did his best to pull a puppy-eyed look with just his one dark-grey eye visible. Naruto looked at Kakashi with a 100 percent pure, unfiltered deadpan. His voice matching his expression. "Seriously? That only works on me with Pakkun." He smirked like he'd won this round of banter, puffing his chest out a little. Kakashi gasped. "What?!" He cried quietly. "My own summon has out-puppied me!?" He gave an overly dramatic and joking wail and collapsed onto Naruto's bed before the blond could attempt to sit. Naruto paused, staring in shock and awe at his future sensei being so, well, fucking funny and almost adorable! Shit... Naruto cracked and started laughing. The melodious, full, warm sound filling the room, pouring out the window, and out into the hall. Kakashi preened in silent victory. Much to Kakashi's horror and Naruto's sheer delight, a pair of snickers could be heard by the door to the room. Kakashi slowly lifted his head from the bed, crawled to the foot, pulled the curtain back and promptly blanched. Why did it have to be them? Now the three top pranksters have...ammo...from ME! It was fine when it was just his sensei's adorable son. But all three of the prankster demons? Sage save me. Shikamaru and Kiba smirked at the jounin, eyes shimmering wickedly. "Konchiwa Kakashi-san." How very creepily in sync, informal and bratty of them. Demon brats. Kakashi had no way to come back from this. Nothing to deflect the attention from him. He was caught. And he knew it. So would he resort to his tried and true method of ignoring a situation? Why yes, yes he would. And with that, he hopped off the bed, pulled out his notorious orange book and sat in the window to read. He knew Tenzō, the only ANBU still stationed in the room, respected him and feared him too much to use this against him. At least...Tenzō better not. Then again, Tenzō had a lot of revenge to enact on his precious senpai. Naruto lifted a brow, watching his future sensei and best friend hide behind his little porno book. He smirked, shrugged at the other two boys and snickered. Shikamaru and Kiba snickered as well, walking over to the bed and pulling out the takeout boxes. "That's quite the spread boys." Kakashi pointed out, peering over the top of his book. There was enough there to feed 6 or 8 people. Kiba and Naruto would eat most of it, Shikamaru tended to get bored with eating or just too lazy to feed himself. Kiba looked up and bared his teeth. "You don't get any. It's for Naruto!" He growled a little. Shikamaru lifted a brow, watching his friend in amusement. Naruto blinked, staring owl-eyed at Kiba. The Inuzuka abruptly realized everyone was staring at him. Shikamaru was staring in pure mischievous amusement, Naruto in awe and confusion, and Kakashi with a knowing smugness and an underlayer of ardent protectiveness. Kiba blushed vividly, coughing to try and cover up his embarrassment and awkwardness. Kakashi returned his attention to his book. Shikamaru did not help his friend, at all. Let him suffer. Naruto, being the sweetheart that he was, cleared his throat and moved next to Kiba, murmuring softly. "So what all did you get, Kiba-kun?" He smiled up at his friend. He never realized Kiba had been taller than him when they were 12, he continued to be taller throughout their lives too. Kiba jumped minutely when Naruto appeared right next to him. The blond's softly spoken words spiking a thrill of tingles up Kiba's spine. He swallowed, looking down at him. When did Naruto get so short? It's kinda cute... "A-ah! We got..uhm.. Regular Okonomiyaki, Yakisoba Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Monjayaki, and uhm.." He blinked, looking through the bags. "Where'd it go.." He muttered, digging in the bags more until he shouted in triumph. He thrust the small box forward with a big proud grin. "For you." Naruto blinked at the box, then looked up at Kiba, a tiny smile lifting the corners of his lips as he accepted the box. He sniffed at it, it smelled wonderful, sweet and savory. Immediately curious Naruto opened the box, staring at 4 medium sized rounds of dough with a dark amber sauce poured over them. "Dango?" He asked curiously, looking at Kiba. Kiba held up his arms in an 'X' in front of him. "Nope! It's Yaki Manjuu!" He grinned bright, nudging the box to Naruto a little more. "They're wheat flour dumplings that've been fermented in sake and topped in a miso-based sauce." He beamed at the boy, knowing Naruto loved miso. Naruto made an 'O' with his mouth. "Smells delicious." He smiled, using the little but sturdy skewer to poke one of the dumplings, bring it to his lips and taking a decently sized bite. He paused, expression blank as he took note of the flavors before moaning around the bite, eyes rolling back and closing as he munched. The moan was far more suggestive and intimate than Naruto had meant to do. But it was sooo good! Kiba was blushing again. Naruto was right bloody next to him, so the kid pretty much moaned in Kiba's ear, considering the Inuzuka's enhanced senses. He quickly averted his attention to the rest of the bags, clearing his throat several times and shifting uncomfortably. Okay, while Shikamaru is normally unshakable and not phased by much. That moan twisted something darkly pleasant in Shikamaru's lower abdomen. He swallowed thickly around a mouthful of Takoyaki, the ball of chewed food painfully sliding down his throat. His cheeks had dusted pink and he was wondering why it had gotten so hot in the room all of a sudden. Kakashi's head jerked up with the moan, his one eye widening. That sound should never leave a 12-year-old boy. Then his eye narrowed knowingly at Naruto's two friends. Those little perverts. He smirked, tucking that away for leverage. Naruto finished the Yaki Manjuu happily, some of the miso sauce smeared on his bottom lip and the right corner of his mouth. Both boys zeroed in on the sauce. Their mouths and throats impossibly dry. Kiba's lips parted as he leaned down and in towards Naruto, his breath caught as he stopped himself halfway. His eyes widened. "I HAVE TO PISS!" He turned on the balls of his feet and swiftly disappeared into the bathroom across the room. Shikamaru's eyes had narrowed threateningly at Kiba when he watched the other lean into Naruto. He wouldn't! Relief washed over him as Kiba bailed. Taking the opportunity given to him Shikamaru circled around the bed, stopping in front of Naruto. "You're such a little pig..." He murmured affectionately, bringing his right thumb up to wipe the sauce from Naruto's lip and corner of his mouth. He looked at the shiny amber liquid, then at Naruto, and while holding eye contact he brought his thumb to his lips, licking the sauce clean from the pad of his digit purposefully. Naruto had barely noticed Kiba leaning in until the other boy had shouted and darted off. Tilting his head with an adorably confused expression. Shikamaru quickly garnered his full attention though. His breath caught sharply in his lungs as his wide, stunned blue eyes watched Shikamaru in avid fascination. His lips parting when Shikamaru's thumb swiped over his bottom lip, cleaning him of the sauce. Naruto's cheeks lit up bright pink. Kakashi's jaw fucking dropped. For how gutsy Kiba was he sure couldn't handle flirtatious or intimate moments. But Shikamaru? He would have sworn that little pineapple haired pervert was a devoted reader of Icha Icha Paradise. That was some next level smoothness. Kakashi almost applauded the boy, almost. He was a bit disturbed a 12-year-old boy even had that level of suave in his repertoire. Then again, he was a Nara. With a smugness that had never been seen on Shikamaru, he rolled his shoulders back, chin tilted up slightly. Blushing suits him... He grinned, moving to grab his Takoyaki, picking up a ball with the provided short skewer, holding it out to Naruto mere centimeters from his lips. Kiba came out of the bathroom just in time to see Shikamaru feeding Naruto the first Takoyaki ball. He bristled, hackles raised as he saw Naruto blush from it and shyly popped the dough ball into his mouth. Kiba clenched his jaw, shoved his hoodie off his head to give himself a little more air. He moved back over to his friends, cut in front of Shikamaru to grab his food. He smiled at Shikamaru with a shit-eating grin. His expression vividly showed his feelings of 'sorry, not sorry'. Kakashi still watched them over the edge of his book, not even reading anymore because this whole situation was comedy gold. As well as provided ample revenge material. He wondered if the two boys knew what they were doing and that they were crushing on the knucklehead. And what about Naruto? Was he aware they were flirting with him? Did he care if he did know? "Why are you guys being so nice to me anyways..?" Aahh, apparently Naruto was clueless. How precious. "I mean.." Naruto winced. "I didn't mean it to sound like that.." He huffed nervously, fidgeting with his empty Manjuu box. "I just... what I'm trying to say is..." He groaned, looking down at the empty box in frustration. Kiba smiled, touching Naruto's shoulder. "We're being nice to you because we wanna be. I had forgotten how fun it was to hang out with you." He shrugged, squeezing the others bony, small shoulder. "I really enjoy spending time with you Naruto." Black eyes met sparkling blue, Kiba's breath caught. Shikamaru wasn't letting this moment happen. No way! "You're a lot more interesting and fun than you give yourself credit for, Naru-kun." This pulled Naruto's attention from Kiba to him. Good. "And you're smarter than you realize. It's a different kind of smart than other kids.. But it's...really cool." He smiled warmly. "That's why I keep asking you to play shogi with me. I think it'd be fun. You're unpredictable enough that I think you could easily challenge me." Both boys blinked when they saw Naruto's eyes line with tears and give a small whimper. "Naruto... are you okay?" Kiba asked softly, concern filling him. Shikamaru nodded, also wanting to know if the other was okay. Naruto whimpered again and stepped back, looking away from them. "Ye-yeah.." His voice cracked with emotion. "Th-thanks guys...for...for giving a shit about me.." He choked on a held back sob, lowering his head to keep his face out of sight as he turned away some. Kakashi tucked his book into his flak jacket. "Naruto.." His smooth, deep voice soothed and grounded Naruto as the silver-haired jounin slid from the window and moved over to the blond. One fingerless gloved hand wrapped around the back of the blond head, Kakashi's chest soon felt the soft thump of Naruto's forehead landing against it. Kiba and Shikamaru wanted to comfort their friend as well, but they weren't willing to take the hit to their manly pride by making Kakashi and Naruto's hug into a group one. So they stood by the other two awkwardly. Kiba nutted up and reached out to place a hand on the back of Naruto's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Shikamaru side-glared at him because he had been about to do that very thing and now it'd be considered copying the stupid Inuzuka. Instead, Shikamaru rested his hand dead center on Naruto's back and rubbed soothing circles. The moment was broken by the sound of a throat being cleared. The group of four, startled by the sound, jumped away from each other, turning towards the room door. All eyes landed on a very amused Inoichi. "Am I interrupting?" He smiled, his tone teasing. All of them blushed brightly, Kakashi being the only to have his blush hidden by his mask. Kakashi promptly tugged out his book and shuffled back to the window, perching there. Kiba grabbed some food and shoveled it into his mouth. Shikamaru tucked his hands into his pockets and assumed the Nara Standing Position. "N-no...they were just being nice." Naruto stuttered out, shifting to formally greet Inoichi with a slight bow. "Yamanaka-san, is it time for my session?" He glanced up at him. Inoichi nodded. "I thought, today, we could take a walk in the courtyard." He smiled, stepped aside and held out his arm for Naruto to step outside of his hospital room. Kiba and Shikamaru tensed, looking at each other. "We'll be here when you get back," Shikamaru assured his friend, giving a small Nara smile. Kiba nodded in agreement with Shikamaru, grinning. Naruto smiled. "Thanks, guys..." He gave a little wave and left the room with Inoichi who glanced back at Kakashi, brow lifted at him, a sure sign the pale blond would be interrogating the jounin on why he had been in an embrace with Naruto. Kakashi was not an affectionate guy. Not openly anyway. Kakashi shunshinned out of the hospital room and directly in front of Naruto and Inoichi. "Can't leave without your session buddy now can you?" Kakashi eye-smiled before quickly summoning Shiba. With a poof the punk-like dog came into existence, looking bored at Kakashi. Until he got a quick whiff of Naruto's scent, turned promptly to face the boy and gave a big grin. "Naru!" Shiba propped his front paws on the boy's chest and started licking his hands as Naruto happily greeted him. Kakashi rolled his eye. "It's time for his session Shiba." The ninken looked back at Kakashi with a bland look of 'a-duh'. Turning his attention back to his new favorite human he lowered to all four paws and stood next to Naruto. "Ready when you are." He looked up with a supporting steadiness to him, winking at the young human. Naruto smiled, "Thanks Kakashi-san." He shifted his feet before moving forward to follow Inoichi to the courtyard with Shiba at his side. * Around 20 minutes into Naruto's session with Inoichi a male nurse entered the courtyard. Naruto was sitting on a patch of moss and grass, Shiba curled up in his lap as best as the ninken could manage seeing as he was bigger than Pakkun. Naruto was crying quietly, hunched over with his fingers curled in Shiba's fur. Inoichi was listening, taking notes as Naruto spoke. "Th-the man... he..." Naruto whimpered, closing his eyes. "He'd been...to-touching me...for a while now..." It had taken 20 minutes of surface issues to get into the deeper, heavier subjects. Inoichi controlled his outward reactions, keeping his face smooth and calm, continuing with the plan to have everyone remain incredibly calm and non-threatening to Naruto. Inside though? Inoichi was thinking of all the ways he could mentally torture and destroy the revolting, loathsome man who dared to touch such a young boy. It would be a marvel if Naruto was ever able to have a stable relationship. Let alone want a relationship. And it would be even more of a miracle for him to be intimate with another human, especially romantically. This was very worrisome. "Excuse me... I don't mean to intrude, but it's time for Naruto's afternoon shot." The male nurse gave a tense smile, his black eyes locked on Naruto. The blond looked up, wiping his cheeks off quickly, sniffling. "O-oh.. r-right.." He stood up after setting Shib aside. Shiba was eyeing the nurse with a narrowed gaze. He did not like this nurse. The nurse nodded, rolling up Naruto's sleeve and wiping the chosen injection site with an alcohol swab. Wary blue eyes couldn't seem to break the contact with those endless dark depths no matter how hard he tried. "My name is Shusuke, by the way. I'll be helping Tomoko out instead of nurses Azusa." His voice low, something dark hidden in the words. He offered another tense smile. "Azusa has become ill and has to take some time off." Naruto nodded numbly, wincing when the needle punctured his arm. Shusuke pushed the plunger, emptying the full syringe into Naruto's system. Pulling the needle free Shusuke capped it again and lowered his sleeve. "All done." He paused from moving away and murmured. "I'll stay by the doors to the courtyard in case you need help getting back to your room." He looked at Inoichi and nodded to him stiffly before heading off. Inoichi lifted a brow, having closely watched the entire interaction. Something about that nurse was off, he just couldn't put his finger on it at the moment. That was going to bug him. He regarded the ninken, Shiba looking back at Inoichi, muttering just loud enough for Inoichi to hear. "Don't like him. He smells...off." Shiba stood up, waiting for Naruto to sit back down so he could curl back up. Naruto plopped back to the mossy grass, happily accepting Shiba back into his lap. He swayed a little. "So weird when it kicks in.." He chuckled lazily, eyes lidding themselves. Inoichi laughed quietly, shaking his head. "Now, back to what you were saying..." He trailed off watching the boy. Naruto looked up with a sharp inhale, giving a sheepish look. "Was kinda hoping you'd forget that.. heh.." He swallowed, looking down. "It'd been going on for..." He blinked, knitting his brow. "least...half a year..?" Shiba bared his teeth, he'd bite the fucker's dick off if that man ever tried to get near Naruto again. Inoichi was quiet for a moment before speaking. "How come you didn't tell anyone what was going on?" His voice was gentle, not holding it against Naruto one bit. "I..." He blinked. In his time he was a hostage, a prisoner. Maybe he shouldn't have said it was going on that long? He thought back to how he was when he had been 12 in his timeline. "I didn't think anyone would care...or believe me..." That was pretty accurate and true too. With a frown Inoichi set aside his pad of paper and pen, leaning forward to rest a hand on Naruto's head. "There are people who care, Naruto. I am one of those people." The Yamanaka smiled warmly. "And I am here for you." Naruto sucked in a harsh breath, eyes wide as he stared up at Inoichi. His eyes lined with tears and he bit into his lower lip. Shiba leaned up, licking Naruto's cheek. Without warning a sudden flash of searing hot chakra burst from within Naruto and out across Konoha, flooring anyone weaker than the power permeating the wave of chakra. Even Inoichi slammed back against his seated spot on a bench, gasping for a breath of air, though the air itself felt heavy, thick with the fiery power. Shusuke rocked back against the wall, his hands slapping behind him to help keep him standing. He was also left gasping and trying not to buckle under the weight of it but inevitably ended up sliding down to the floor under the pressure. Kakashi stumbled from the window, landing on one knee, panting heavily. Both Kiba and Shikamaru crumpled under the weight of the chakra blast like tissue paper. Across Konoha shinobi, ANBU, and even the Hokage and Danzō all struggled under the intensity of the tidal wave of chakra that blasted from the area of the hospital. Naruto collapsed against the grass unconscious. * A loud animalistic roar echoed through the ruins of Uzushiogakure, birds taking flight from their perches. The lithe body of a human clawed at the bank of the river cutting through the ruins. Sharp, claw-like nails digging into the soil. Long, silky, impossibly red-orange hair cascading down a svelte back, curtaining along the sides of the person's face, hiding it from view. Heaving gulps of air the form continued to claw and crawl its way to the ruins before pushing itself up. Groaning in pain, the person's clawed nails bit into the stone of a destroyed building. Every limb and muscle trembling. Slitted red eyes constricted as they took in their surroundings. "NARUTO!" Their voice was deep, sultry, but rasped from lack of use, as though they had never spoken before. A low, impossible growl reverberated through the ruins. One clawed hand shoving annoying red locks from a heart-shaped face with a sharp chin, angular jawline, and high cheekbones. Those shocking almond shaped red eyes rested in perfect symmetry, sitting below trim naturally arched eyebrows, thick black eyelashes framed piercing eyes and made the bright red all that more vibrant. Their nose straight, coming to a gentle point above soft, full lips with a porcelain doll cupid's bow. Their sun-kissed skin had a healthy glow that contrasted perfectly with the vivid hair that had textured layers framing their face, jaw, and neck. The long locks of red-orange hair had a natural ombre where it started crimson at the root, then shifted into red-orange around their shoulders only to transition into a fiery yellow near the middle of their back to the ends of their hair nearly to their knees. Their ears were pointed enough to be noticeable, but still short enough to be hidden by the silky hair. A slender neck connected with lithe shoulders and lean muscled arms. Slender collarbones accented the long neck, the clavicle pointing to the gracefully thin and lean muscled chest. His slender waist holding an abdomen donning a four pack and softly defined adonis lines. Thin hips lead to slender legs that matched proportionately to his arms. Kurama stumbled from the ruined building's wall, shaky on his now very human legs. "NARUTO!" He yelled again, tripping over a broken off piece of wall. Growling at it a clawed foot kicked the annoyance a good 50 yards from where the fox stood. He lifted a brow, looking down at himself. "...and I'm naked..." He sighed longsuffering. "Thanks, dad." He rolled his eyes, referring fondly to Hagoromo as his father. "Least I didn't get ripped off in the equipment department." He grinned wickedly. "Now where is that gaki... Actually...where the fuck am I?" - A/N: dun dun DUUNNN! KURAMA HAS LANDED BITCHES! - My beautifully handsome boy... T-T Gah I adore him. Anyone else loving Shiba being totally attached to Naruto's hip? I'm sure Pakkun is thrilled someone's finally touching his adorable wittle pawsies. Welp! Don't forget to hit the kudos if you haven't by now. 3 Also, drop a comment! What did you think of this chapter? Actions ↑ Top ←Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Bookmark Comments (11) Kudos shinaoi, Gogeta40, Zackpumpkinqueen, BigMan123, Silver_Fox45, Vivi_lol_23, Mimusy, Raven_01, Zzena1993, Nineree9090, CaitSnow, one_piece_lover, Rocks_314, AGlassFlowerNeverFades, SiuMpf, LeenaTammy, The_Randomer03, Crscelest, Darkky, Est3, TaniaLeticia, partyxrose, Mabellcake, Teranami, ThatOneShyGuy, EsquiloVerde, Lucifer6941, Skylla64, Harryblack2002, AlisiaSaVina, Sarlaya, Solis_Nox, 2StepsBehind, ClydeCrevan, Fenie, nightmarem9, Souya_Kawata, Y0DiA, MrSlimey, InWonderlandWithYou, Bumblebee_38, BloodElf4203, Loky13245, MariCilla, Mid_zu_and_Katsu_go, maggrocks78, nvember, Yaoilover1992_2010, Sarcasticpepper, mcgiff96, and 169 more users as well as 306 guests left kudos on this work! Comments Post Comment Comment as Might_O_Guy (Plain text with limited HTML ?) Comment Summary: Naruto, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Kiba cuteness. A surprise at the end. Notes: Hello! OMG I can't believe this story is already over 300 with hits! T-T I love you guys. And those of you who have been commenting give me life! Your comments motivate me and are a great encouragement. Thank you so much for reading my story. I hope you all continue to enjoy it. Within 24 hours I'm posting yet another chapter! Hahaha... what is this story doing to me? This chapter is a couple pages shorter than the previous one. So I'm sorry about that. But it's only 2 pages shorter, still love me? I don't think there's any important warnings for this chapter. Brief mention rape/non-con during Naruto's therapy session. Hrm, think that's all I've got for now. Oh! So now I've officially put this story on here, Wattpad, and ! So if you see it there, it was me! XD ON WITH THE SHOW! Chapter Text Over the next week, Kiba visited Naruto the most, hanging out with him for hours and bringing him food. Tomoko and his doctor were thrilled that he was willingly conversing and eating with someone. Akamaru was usually with Kiba, though there were a few times he was not present and it was just Kiba and Naruto, alone, together. When Akamaru was there he was always with Naruto, either curled up in his lap, flopped on his head, or curled up on his chest. And yes, when Kiba visited he was, in fact, skipping class without approval. And no, there were no fuck's given. The second person to visit the most was Kakashi. He would spend a few hours every day simply spending time with Naruto, sometimes in absolute silence, comfortable silence though. Pakkun would be summoned every other visit. And the little pug took an instant liking to Naruto. Aside from the fact the blond was completely lovable, he pet and touched Pakkun's soft paws and that sealed it for Pakkun. Shiba had also met Naruto, and like Pakkun, took a liking to the boy. So much so that he would lecture Kakashi or scold him if he teased Naruto too hard. Naruto seemed relaxed and comfortable with Kakashi and his ninken. While he became very nervous around other adults. Though Inoichi didn't seem to bother him. Which made sense because the Yamanaka was a very calm, easy-going person. The whole reason Inoichi was even working with Naruto was by special request from Tomoko and the Hokage. And once he started he vowed to stick with the kid until he was stable again. He would not let that boy be abandoned again . And Kakashi completely agreed, he would not leave Naruto alone again, he would honor his sensei and honor his promise. Kakashi would be there for Naruto. After that, it was Shikamaru and Chouji who visited most. Usually only after class had ended. There was the common occurrence of Shikamaru ditching halfway through the day, or the first half of the morning to visit Naruto. But, he was the king of not giving a fuck. Chouji brought him snacks, which usually meant that he would be eating a snack and then would give Naruto some. Shikamaru would stay longer than Chouji, he was in the process of trying to persuade Naruto to play shogi with him. So far, Naruto has declined every effort. Shikamaru was stubbornly unyielding in this, he would not budge. He knew there was more to Naruto than all that surface knuckleheaded, loudmouthed behavior. Ino and Hinata were denied visiting access to Naruto, let alone the hall he was in. Sakura never tried to visit, she mainly tried to get close to Sasuke, per usual. Shino visited Naruto a couple of times, though it was pretty awkward as they weren't particularly close and knew very little about each other. Well, Shino didn't know Naruto very well. But Naruto had gotten to know Shino over the decades. He hoped the shy bug boy would come to visit him again. It was a balmy Saturday afternoon when both Kiba and Shikamaru popped around the corner of the curtain to find an empty bed. They stopped dead in their tracks, eyes so wide they almost looked like googly eyes. Naruto wasn't in his room! NARUTO WASN'T IN HIS ROOM! Had he finally snapped and taken off?! "Where is he?" Kiba's words rushed out of him like he was a deflating balloon without the squeaking or whistling noises. He looked around the room with a wild look of panic in his eyes. "Shika… where the fuck is he?" Shikamaru moved to the bed, pressing his hand to the open sheets to feel for body heat. Cold. He left long enough that the sheets had cooled. "I...I don't know.. Should..we tell someone?" A door opened diagonally from them and a towel-clad Naruto stepped out. He blinked, then blinked a couple more times, then blushed furiously. "Uhh.. h-hey guys.." He was standing there with nothing but a towel knotted around his slender hips, and a smaller towel draped over his head. Kiba flushed red all the way to the tips of his ears and spun around, covering his face with his eyes. Ohhhh sweet rib eye... why me!? Shikamaru honestly just blatantly stared at the blond. No remorse, no shame. He still proudly donned the crown as King of No Fuck's Given. A slight grin quirking up the right corner of his lips. His skin looks so soft... Shikamaru shook his head and glanced at Kiba, laughing at the others unmistakably flustered reaction. Kiba was never living this down. Ever. Naruto blushed a deeper pink from Shikamaru's blunt staring, then, even more, when Shikamaru laughed at Kiba. He cleared his throat and shuffled over to the dresser that was in the room. He rummaged in it for a pair of heather grey boxer briefs, baby blue cotton pants, and a short-sleeved white cotton shirt. He removed the towel from his damp hair and went to take the towel off. He paused, feeling two sets of eyes on him. Slowly he peered over his shoulder only to jerk back in surprise. "AH! Why are you staring at me?!" He was met with two sets of dark-colored eyes staring intently at him. Both boys flushed red and promptly turned their backs on him. "Sorry!" They both cried out in unison. After about a minute Naruto cleared his throat, murmuring bashfully. "Okay... you c-can turn around n-now..." He shifted from one bare foot to the other nervously. Shikamaru turned back around without hesitation. Kiba did it a bit more slowly, peeking around himself to make double sure Naruto was fully clothed. "So...we...were thinking..." Kiba started then glanced at Shikamaru. "Maybe we could go out for lunch?" Shikamaru volunteered, finishing Kiba's sentence. "Your pick." Shikamaru gave a languid grin. Kiba nodded, that wolfish smile gracing his features. "Yep! Anywhere you want, we're paying!" He grinned big, crossing his arms over his chest. Naruto looked between the two and lifted a shoulder anxiously. "You..you mean... le-leave the hospital..?" He chewed on his bottom lip clearly uncomfortable with this idea. He'd been there for nearly 20 days now. That room had become his safe haven. He had yet to even step out into the hallway. Much to Naruto's relief an ANBU popped into existence next to him. Okay, Naruto flinched back into a defensive stance, ready to gouge the ANBU's eyes out, his hands even raised in clawlike poses. His blue eyes flashing a feral purple before he realized it was just one of his many guards. And that was when he became relieved. The ANBU was used to Naruto's defensive reactions and simply waited until he recovered before acknowledging Shikamaru and Kiba. "Uzumaki-san is not allowed to leave the hospital at this time. Please feel free to bring him something to eat. But he is not leaving." And with a barely seen shunshin, the ANBU was back in the shadows. Kiba's lip curled in a sneer. He didn't like that ANBU. There wasn't any particular reason. He just didn't like him. How dare he deny Naruto's freedom . Shikamaru nudged Kiba in the side, shaking his head a little before responding. "What a drag... Guess we'll go get something." He heaved a sigh, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Craving anything specific Naru-kun?" Naruto hadn't really been paying very close attention to what was going on. But Shikamaru's question and friendly use of his name snapped him right back into reality. He blushed and smiled warmly at his friend. "Uh-uhm.. We-well..." He fidgeted and looked down. "If it's not too much trouble... w-would you guys mind getting some O-okonomiyaki?" Both boys raised their brows in surprise. They thought for sure Naruto would want ramen. This seemed completely out of left field. They were happy to oblige though. "Okonomiyaki it is!" Kiba grinned, winking at Naruto then immediately blanching as he realized what he just did. "I'll meet you out front Shikamaru!" And on that note, Kiba quickly bolted out of the room. Naruto barely had time to process Kiba winking at him, staring after the other in shock. That had to have been a figment of his imagination. There's no way... Just no way that Kiba would've winked at him . Shikamaru was chuckling to himself. the blackmail material Kiba was providing Shikamaru with was pure gold. "We'll be back soon, Naru-kun." he nodded his head at the blond, smiling at him. "Don't go anywhere." His shoulders rolled forward and he slumped off at a lazy pace to meet up with Kiba. Shaking his head in confusion, watching Shikamaru follow after Kiba. Those two were so weird... "AHH!" Naruto cried out in surprise, falling back on his ass. Kakashi was braced in the window, one hand holding the top of the window frame as he stayed crouched. He gave a two finger salute/wave. "Yo!" Kakashi hopped into the room, holding out a hand to help Naruto up. He eye-smiled at him. Sneaky asshole... With a dramatic roll of blue eyes, Naruto put his hand in Kakashi's and was hoisted up with one easy pull. Naruto kind of wondered if Kakashi had to put any effort into that cause the man didn't even twitch. How underweight was Naruto? "Why do you enjoy my pain, Kakashi-san?" Naruto whined, rubbing his now sore bottom. Kakashi chuckled, his eye-smile becoming genuine. "Maa, Naru-chan your pain is the last thing I'd enjoy." He ruffled blond locks, a teasing glint in his eye. "Oh, yeah, sure.. totally.. mhm.. I completely don't believe you!" He tugged the skin under his left eye down just a little with his middle finger and stuck his tongue out. "Mmm!" Then huffed back over to his bed. Kakashi could only give a mirthful laugh, elated to see that Naruto was willing to banter and bicker with him. The more he got the little blond to do it, the happier Kakashi was. He could see that sassy, sarcastic, shockingly witty, and playful ball of sunshine hidden underneath all that pain and trauma. And it had become his current life goal to bring out that ball of sunshine any chance he got. He followed Naruto. "Maa, maa Naru-chan!" Kakashi actually gave a playful whine. "Don't be so mean!" He sniffled in mock tears. "I came earlier than usual didn't I?" He did his best to pull a puppy-eyed look with just his one dark-grey eye visible. Naruto looked at Kakashi with a 100 percent pure, unfiltered deadpan. His voice matching his expression. "Seriously? That only works on me with Pakkun." He smirked like he'd won this round of banter, puffing his chest out a little. Kakashi gasped. "What?!" He cried quietly. "My own summon has out-puppied me!?" He gave an overly dramatic and joking wail and collapsed onto Naruto's bed before the blond could attempt to sit. Naruto paused, staring in shock and awe at his future sensei being so, well, fucking funny and almost adorable! Shit... Naruto cracked and started laughing. The melodious, full, warm sound filling the room, pouring out the window, and out into the hall. Kakashi preened in silent victory. Much to Kakashi's horror and Naruto's sheer delight, a pair of snickers could be heard by the door to the room. Kakashi slowly lifted his head from the bed, crawled to the foot, pulled the curtain back and promptly blanched. Why did it have to be them? Now the three top pranksters have...ammo...from ME! It was fine when it was just his sensei's adorable son. But all three of the prankster demons? Sage save me. Shikamaru and Kiba smirked at the jounin, eyes shimmering wickedly. "Konchiwa Kakashi-san." How very creepily in sync, informal and bratty of them. Demon brats. Kakashi had no way to come back from this. Nothing to deflect the attention from him. He was caught. And he knew it. So would he resort to his tried and true method of ignoring a situation? Why yes, yes he would. And with that, he hopped off the bed, pulled out his notorious orange book and sat in the window to read. He knew Tenzō, the only ANBU still stationed in the room, respected him and feared him too much to use this against him. At least...Tenzō better not. Then again, Tenzō had a lot of revenge to enact on his precious senpai. Naruto lifted a brow, watching his future sensei and best friend hide behind his little porno book. He smirked, shrugged at the other two boys and snickered. Shikamaru and Kiba snickered as well, walking over to the bed and pulling out the takeout boxes. "That's quite the spread boys." Kakashi pointed out, peering over the top of his book. There was enough there to feed 6 or 8 people. Kiba and Naruto would eat most of it, Shikamaru tended to get bored with eating or just too lazy to feed himself. Kiba looked up and bared his teeth. "You don't get any. It's for Naruto!" He growled a little. Shikamaru lifted a brow, watching his friend in amusement. Naruto blinked, staring owl-eyed at Kiba. The Inuzuka abruptly realized everyone was staring at him. Shikamaru was staring in pure mischievous amusement, Naruto in awe and confusion, and Kakashi with a knowing smugness and an underlayer of ardent protectiveness. Kiba blushed vividly, coughing to try and cover up his embarrassment and awkwardness. Kakashi returned his attention to his book. Shikamaru did not help his friend, at all. Let him suffer. Naruto, being the sweetheart that he was, cleared his throat and moved next to Kiba, murmuring softly. "So what all did you get, Kiba-kun?" He smiled up at his friend. He never realized Kiba had been taller than him when they were 12, he continued to be taller throughout their lives too. Kiba jumped minutely when Naruto appeared right next to him. The blond's softly spoken words spiking a thrill of tingles up Kiba's spine. He swallowed, looking down at him. When did Naruto get so short? It's kinda cute... "A-ah! We got..uhm.. Regular Okonomiyaki, Yakisoba Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Monjayaki, and uhm.." He blinked, looking through the bags. "Where'd it go.." He muttered, digging in the bags more until he shouted in triumph. He thrust the small box forward with a big proud grin. "For you." Naruto blinked at the box, then looked up at Kiba, a tiny smile lifting the corners of his lips as he accepted the box. He sniffed at it, it smelled wonderful, sweet and savory. Immediately curious Naruto opened the box, staring at 4 medium sized rounds of dough with a dark amber sauce poured over them. "Dango?" He asked curiously, looking at Kiba. Kiba held up his arms in an 'X' in front of him. "Nope! It's Yaki Manjuu!" He grinned bright, nudging the box to Naruto a little more. "They're wheat flour dumplings that've been fermented in sake and topped in a miso-based sauce." He beamed at the boy, knowing Naruto loved miso. Naruto made an 'O' with his mouth. "Smells delicious." He smiled, using the little but sturdy skewer to poke one of the dumplings, bring it to his lips and taking a decently sized bite. He paused, expression blank as he took note of the flavors before moaning around the bite, eyes rolling back and closing as he munched. The moan was far more suggestive and intimate than Naruto had meant to do. But it was sooo good! Kiba was blushing again. Naruto was right bloody next to him, so the kid pretty much moaned in Kiba's ear, considering the Inuzuka's enhanced senses. He quickly averted his attention to the rest of the bags, clearing his throat several times and shifting uncomfortably. Okay, while Shikamaru is normally unshakable and not phased by much. That moan twisted something darkly pleasant in Shikamaru's lower abdomen. He swallowed thickly around a mouthful of Takoyaki, the ball of chewed food painfully sliding down his throat. His cheeks had dusted pink and he was wondering why it had gotten so hot in the room all of a sudden. Kakashi's head jerked up with the moan, his one eye widening. That sound should never leave a 12-year-old boy. Then his eye narrowed knowingly at Naruto's two friends. Those little perverts. He smirked, tucking that away for leverage. Naruto finished the Yaki Manjuu happily, some of the miso sauce smeared on his bottom lip and the right corner of his mouth. Both boys zeroed in on the sauce. Their mouths and throats impossibly dry. Kiba's lips parted as he leaned down and in towards Naruto, his breath caught as he stopped himself halfway. His eyes widened. "I HAVE TO PISS!" He turned on the balls of his feet and swiftly disappeared into the bathroom across the room. Shikamaru's eyes had narrowed threateningly at Kiba when he watched the other lean into Naruto. He wouldn't! Relief washed over him as Kiba bailed. Taking the opportunity given to him Shikamaru circled around the bed, stopping in front of Naruto. "You're such a little pig..." He murmured affectionately, bringing his right thumb up to wipe the sauce from Naruto's lip and corner of his mouth. He looked at the shiny amber liquid, then at Naruto, and while holding eye contact he brought his thumb to his lips, licking the sauce clean from the pad of his digit purposefully. Naruto had barely noticed Kiba leaning in until the other boy had shouted and darted off. Tilting his head with an adorably confused expression. Shikamaru quickly garnered his full attention though. His breath caught sharply in his lungs as his wide, stunned blue eyes watched Shikamaru in avid fascination. His lips parting when Shikamaru's thumb swiped over his bottom lip, cleaning him of the sauce. Naruto's cheeks lit up bright pink. Kakashi's jaw fucking dropped. For how gutsy Kiba was he sure couldn't handle flirtatious or intimate moments. But Shikamaru? He would have sworn that little pineapple haired pervert was a devoted reader of Icha Icha Paradise. That was some next level smoothness. Kakashi almost applauded the boy, almost. He was a bit disturbed a 12-year-old boy even had that level of suave in his repertoire. Then again, he was a Nara. With a smugness that had never been seen on Shikamaru, he rolled his shoulders back, chin tilted up slightly. Blushing suits him... He grinned, moving to grab his Takoyaki, picking up a ball with the provided short skewer, holding it out to Naruto mere centimeters from his lips. Kiba came out of the bathroom just in time to see Shikamaru feeding Naruto the first Takoyaki ball. He bristled, hackles raised as he saw Naruto blush from it and shyly popped the dough ball into his mouth. Kiba clenched his jaw, shoved his hoodie off his head to give himself a little more air. He moved back over to his friends, cut in front of Shikamaru to grab his food. He smiled at Shikamaru with a shit-eating grin. His expression vividly showed his feelings of 'sorry, not sorry'. Kakashi still watched them over the edge of his book, not even reading anymore because this whole situation was comedy gold. As well as provided ample revenge material. He wondered if the two boys knew what they were doing and that they were crushing on the knucklehead. And what about Naruto? Was he aware they were flirting with him? Did he care if he did know? "Why are you guys being so nice to me anyways..?" Aahh, apparently Naruto was clueless. How precious. "I mean.." Naruto winced. "I didn't mean it to sound like that.." He huffed nervously, fidgeting with his empty Manjuu box. "I just... what I'm trying to say is..." He groaned, looking down at the empty box in frustration. Kiba smiled, touching Naruto's shoulder. "We're being nice to you because we wanna be. I had forgotten how fun it was to hang out with you." He shrugged, squeezing the others bony, small shoulder. "I really enjoy spending time with you Naruto." Black eyes met sparkling blue, Kiba's breath caught. Shikamaru wasn't letting this moment happen. No way! "You're a lot more interesting and fun than you give yourself credit for, Naru-kun." This pulled Naruto's attention from Kiba to him. Good. "And you're smarter than you realize. It's a different kind of smart than other kids.. But it's...really cool." He smiled warmly. "That's why I keep asking you to play shogi with me. I think it'd be fun. You're unpredictable enough that I think you could easily challenge me." Both boys blinked when they saw Naruto's eyes line with tears and give a small whimper. "Naruto... are you okay?" Kiba asked softly, concern filling him. Shikamaru nodded, also wanting to know if the other was okay. Naruto whimpered again and stepped back, looking away from them. "Ye-yeah.." His voice cracked with emotion. "Th-thanks guys...for...for giving a shit about me.." He choked on a held back sob, lowering his head to keep his face out of sight as he turned away some. Kakashi tucked his book into his flak jacket. "Naruto.." His smooth, deep voice soothed and grounded Naruto as the silver-haired jounin slid from the window and moved over to the blond. One fingerless gloved hand wrapped around the back of the blond head, Kakashi's chest soon felt the soft thump of Naruto's forehead landing against it. Kiba and Shikamaru wanted to comfort their friend as well, but they weren't willing to take the hit to their manly pride by making Kakashi and Naruto's hug into a group one. So they stood by the other two awkwardly. Kiba nutted up and reached out to place a hand on the back of Naruto's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Shikamaru side-glared at him because he had been about to do that very thing and now it'd be considered copying the stupid Inuzuka. Instead, Shikamaru rested his hand dead center on Naruto's back and rubbed soothing circles. The moment was broken by the sound of a throat being cleared. The group of four, startled by the sound, jumped away from each other, turning towards the room door. All eyes landed on a very amused Inoichi. "Am I interrupting?" He smiled, his tone teasing. All of them blushed brightly, Kakashi being the only to have his blush hidden by his mask. Kakashi promptly tugged out his book and shuffled back to the window, perching there. Kiba grabbed some food and shoveled it into his mouth. Shikamaru tucked his hands into his pockets and assumed the Nara Standing Position. "N-no...they were just being nice." Naruto stuttered out, shifting to formally greet Inoichi with a slight bow. "Yamanaka-san, is it time for my session?" He glanced up at him. Inoichi nodded. "I thought, today, we could take a walk in the courtyard." He smiled, stepped aside and held out his arm for Naruto to step outside of his hospital room. Kiba and Shikamaru tensed, looking at each other. "We'll be here when you get back," Shikamaru assured his friend, giving a small Nara smile. Kiba nodded in agreement with Shikamaru, grinning. Naruto smiled. "Thanks, guys..." He gave a little wave and left the room with Inoichi who glanced back at Kakashi, brow lifted at him, a sure sign the pale blond would be interrogating the jounin on why he had been in an embrace with Naruto. Kakashi was not an affectionate guy. Not openly anyway. Kakashi shunshinned out of the hospital room and directly in front of Naruto and Inoichi. "Can't leave without your session buddy now can you?" Kakashi eye-smiled before quickly summoning Shiba. With a poof the punk-like dog came into existence, looking bored at Kakashi. Until he got a quick whiff of Naruto's scent, turned promptly to face the boy and gave a big grin. "Naru!" Shiba propped his front paws on the boy's chest and started licking his hands as Naruto happily greeted him. Kakashi rolled his eye. "It's time for his session Shiba." The ninken looked back at Kakashi with a bland look of 'a-duh'. Turning his attention back to his new favorite human he lowered to all four paws and stood next to Naruto. "Ready when you are." He looked up with a supporting steadiness to him, winking at the young human. Naruto smiled, "Thanks Kakashi-san." He shifted his feet before moving forward to follow Inoichi to the courtyard with Shiba at his side. * Around 20 minutes into Naruto's session with Inoichi a male nurse entered the courtyard. Naruto was sitting on a patch of moss and grass, Shiba curled up in his lap as best as the ninken could manage seeing as he was bigger than Pakkun. Naruto was crying quietly, hunched over with his fingers curled in Shiba's fur. Inoichi was listening, taking notes as Naruto spoke. "Th-the man... he..." Naruto whimpered, closing his eyes. "He'd been...to-touching me...for a while now..." It had taken 20 minutes of surface issues to get into the deeper, heavier subjects. Inoichi controlled his outward reactions, keeping his face smooth and calm, continuing with the plan to have everyone remain incredibly calm and non-threatening to Naruto. Inside though? Inoichi was thinking of all the ways he could mentally torture and destroy the revolting, loathsome man who dared to touch such a young boy. It would be a marvel if Naruto was ever able to have a stable relationship. Let alone want a relationship. And it would be even more of a miracle for him to be intimate with another human, especially romantically. This was very worrisome. "Excuse me... I don't mean to intrude, but it's time for Naruto's afternoon shot." The male nurse gave a tense smile, his black eyes locked on Naruto. The blond looked up, wiping his cheeks off quickly, sniffling. "O-oh.. r-right.." He stood up after setting Shib aside. Shiba was eyeing the nurse with a narrowed gaze. He did not like this nurse. The nurse nodded, rolling up Naruto's sleeve and wiping the chosen injection site with an alcohol swab. Wary blue eyes couldn't seem to break the contact with those endless dark depths no matter how hard he tried. "My name is Shusuke, by the way. I'll be helping Tomoko out instead of nurses Azusa." His voice low, something dark hidden in the words. He offered another tense smile. "Azusa has become ill and has to take some time off." Naruto nodded numbly, wincing when the needle punctured his arm. Shusuke pushed the plunger, emptying the full syringe into Naruto's system. Pulling the needle free Shusuke capped it again and lowered his sleeve. "All done." He paused from moving away and murmured. "I'll stay by the doors to the courtyard in case you need help getting back to your room." He looked at Inoichi and nodded to him stiffly before heading off. Inoichi lifted a brow, having closely watched the entire interaction. Something about that nurse was off, he just couldn't put his finger on it at the moment. That was going to bug him. He regarded the ninken, Shiba looking back at Inoichi, muttering just loud enough for Inoichi to hear. "Don't like him. He smells...off." Shiba stood up, waiting for Naruto to sit back down so he could curl back up. Naruto plopped back to the mossy grass, happily accepting Shiba back into his lap. He swayed a little. "So weird when it kicks in.." He chuckled lazily, eyes lidding themselves. Inoichi laughed quietly, shaking his head. "Now, back to what you were saying..." He trailed off watching the boy. Naruto looked up with a sharp inhale, giving a sheepish look. "Was kinda hoping you'd forget that.. heh.." He swallowed, looking down. "It'd been going on for..." He blinked, knitting his brow. "least...half a year..?" Shiba bared his teeth, he'd bite the fucker's dick off if that man ever tried to get near Naruto again. Inoichi was quiet for a moment before speaking. "How come you didn't tell anyone what was going on?" His voice was gentle, not holding it against Naruto one bit. "I..." He blinked. In his time he was a hostage, a prisoner. Maybe he shouldn't have said it was going on that long? He thought back to how he was when he had been 12 in his timeline. "I didn't think anyone would care...or believe me..." That was pretty accurate and true too. With a frown Inoichi set aside his pad of paper and pen, leaning forward to rest a hand on Naruto's head. "There are people who care, Naruto. I am one of those people." The Yamanaka smiled warmly. "And I am here for you." Naruto sucked in a harsh breath, eyes wide as he stared up at Inoichi. His eyes lined with tears and he bit into his lower lip. Shiba leaned up, licking Naruto's cheek. Without warning a sudden flash of searing hot chakra burst from within Naruto and out across Konoha, flooring anyone weaker than the power permeating the wave of chakra. Even Inoichi slammed back against his seated spot on a bench, gasping for a breath of air, though the air itself felt heavy, thick with the fiery power. Shusuke rocked back against the wall, his hands slapping behind him to help keep him standing. He was also left gasping and trying not to buckle under the weight of it but inevitably ended up sliding down to the floor under the pressure. Kakashi stumbled from the window, landing on one knee, panting heavily. Both Kiba and Shikamaru crumpled under the weight of the chakra blast like tissue paper. Across Konoha shinobi, ANBU, and even the Hokage and Danzō all struggled under the intensity of the tidal wave of chakra that blasted from the area of the hospital. Naruto collapsed against the grass unconscious. * A loud animalistic roar echoed through the ruins of Uzushiogakure, birds taking flight from their perches. The lithe body of a human clawed at the bank of the river cutting through the ruins. Sharp, claw-like nails digging into the soil. Long, silky, impossibly red-orange hair cascading down a svelte back, curtaining along the sides of the person's face, hiding it from view. Heaving gulps of air the form continued to claw and crawl its way to the ruins before pushing itself up. Groaning in pain, the person's clawed nails bit into the stone of a destroyed building. Every limb and muscle trembling. Slitted red eyes constricted as they took in their surroundings. "NARUTO!" Their voice was deep, sultry, but rasped from lack of use, as though they had never spoken before. A low, impossible growl reverberated through the ruins. One clawed hand shoving annoying red locks from a heart-shaped face with a sharp chin, angular jawline, and high cheekbones. Those shocking almond shaped red eyes rested in perfect symmetry, sitting below trim naturally arched eyebrows, thick black eyelashes framed piercing eyes and made the bright red all that more vibrant. Their nose straight, coming to a gentle point above soft, full lips with a porcelain doll cupid's bow. Their sun-kissed skin had a healthy glow that contrasted perfectly with the vivid hair that had textured layers framing their face, jaw, and neck. The long locks of red-orange hair had a natural ombre where it started crimson at the root, then shifted into red-orange around their shoulders only to transition into a fiery yellow near the middle of their back to the ends of their hair nearly to their knees. Their ears were pointed enough to be noticeable, but still short enough to be hidden by the silky hair. A slender neck connected with lithe shoulders and lean muscled arms. Slender collarbones accented the long neck, the clavicle pointing to the gracefully thin and lean muscled chest. His slender waist holding an abdomen donning a four pack and softly defined adonis lines. Thin hips lead to slender legs that matched proportionately to his arms. Kurama stumbled from the ruined building's wall, shaky on his now very human legs. "NARUTO!" He yelled again, tripping over a broken off piece of wall. Growling at it a clawed foot kicked the annoyance a good 50 yards from where the fox stood. He lifted a brow, looking down at himself. "...and I'm naked..." He sighed longsuffering. "Thanks, dad." He rolled his eyes, referring fondly to Hagoromo as his father. "Least I didn't get ripped off in the equipment department." He grinned wickedly. "Now where is that gaki... Actually...where the fuck am I?" - A/N: dun dun DUUNNN! KURAMA HAS LANDED BITCHES! - My beautifully handsome boy... T-T Gah I adore him. Anyone else loving Shiba being totally attached to Naruto's hip? I'm sure Pakkun is thrilled someone's finally touching his adorable wittle pawsies. Welp! Don't forget to hit the kudos if you haven't by now. 3 Also, drop a comment! What did you think of this chapter? Actions ↑ Top ←Previous Chapter Next Chapter → Bookmark Comments (11) Kudos shinaoi, Gogeta40, Zackpumpkinqueen, BigMan123, Silver_Fox45, Vivi_lol_23, Mimusy, Raven_01, Zzena1993, Nineree9090, CaitSnow, one_piece_lover, Rocks_314, AGlassFlowerNeverFades, SiuMpf, LeenaTammy, The_Randomer03, Crscelest, Darkky, Est3, TaniaLeticia, partyxrose, Mabellcake, Teranami, ThatOneShyGuy, EsquiloVerde, Lucifer6941, Skylla64, Harryblack2002, AlisiaSaVina, Sarlaya, Solis_Nox, 2StepsBehind, ClydeCrevan, Fenie, nightmarem9, Souya_Kawata, Y0DiA, MrSlimey, InWonderlandWithYou, Bumblebee_38, BloodElf4203, Loky13245, MariCilla, Mid_zu_and_Katsu_go, maggrocks78, nvember, Yaoilover1992_2010, Sarcasticpepper, mcgiff96, and 169 more users as well as 306 guests left kudos on this work! Comments Post Comment Comment as Might_O_Guy (Plain text with limited HTML ?) Comment Summary: Naruto, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and Kiba cuteness. A surprise at the end. Notes: Hello! OMG I can't believe this story is already over 300 with hits! T-T I love you guys. And those of you who have been commenting give me life! Your comments motivate me and are a great encouragement. Thank you so much for reading my story. I hope you all continue to enjoy it. Within 24 hours I'm posting yet another chapter! Hahaha... what is this story doing to me? This chapter is a couple pages shorter than the previous one. So I'm sorry about that. But it's only 2 pages shorter, still love me? I don't think there's any important warnings for this chapter. Brief mention rape/non-con during Naruto's therapy session. Hrm, think that's all I've got for now. Oh! So now I've officially put this story on here, Wattpad, and ! So if you see it there, it was me! XD ON WITH THE SHOW! Chapter Text Over the next week, Kiba visited Naruto the most, hanging out with him for hours and bringing him food. Tomoko and his doctor were thrilled that he was willingly conversing and eating with someone. Akamaru was usually with Kiba, though there were a few times he was not present and it was just Kiba and Naruto, alone, together. When Akamaru was there he was always with Naruto, either curled up in his lap, flopped on his head, or curled up on his chest. And yes, when Kiba visited he was, in fact, skipping class without approval. And no, there were no fuck's given. The second person to visit the most was Kakashi. He would spend a few hours every day simply spending time with Naruto, sometimes in absolute silence, comfortable silence though. Pakkun would be summoned every other visit. And the little pug took an instant liking to Naruto. Aside from the fact the blond was completely lovable, he pet and touched Pakkun's soft paws and that sealed it for Pakkun. Shiba had also met Naruto, and like Pakkun, took a liking to the boy. So much so that he would lecture Kakashi or scold him if he teased Naruto too hard. Naruto seemed relaxed and comfortable with Kakashi and his ninken. While he became very nervous around other adults. Though Inoichi didn't seem to bother him. Which made sense because the Yamanaka was a very calm, easy-going person. The whole reason Inoichi was even working with Naruto was by special request from Tomoko and the Hokage. And once he started he vowed to stick with the kid until he was stable again. He would not let that boy be abandoned again . And Kakashi completely agreed, he would not leave Naruto alone again, he would honor his sensei and honor his promise. Kakashi would be there for Naruto. After that, it was Shikamaru and Chouji who visited most. Usually only after class had ended. There was the common occurrence of Shikamaru ditching halfway through the day, or the first half of the morning to visit Naruto. But, he was the king of not giving a fuck. Chouji brought him snacks, which usually meant that he would be eating a snack and then would give Naruto some. Shikamaru would stay longer than Chouji, he was in the process of trying to persuade Naruto to play shogi with him. So far, Naruto has declined every effort. Shikamaru was stubbornly unyielding in this, he would not budge. He knew there was more to Naruto than all that surface knuckleheaded, loudmouthed behavior. Ino and Hinata were denied visiting access to Naruto, let alone the hall he was in. Sakura never tried to visit, she mainly tried to get close to Sasuke, per usual. Shino visited Naruto a couple of times, though it was pretty awkward as they weren't particularly close and knew very little about each other. Well, Shino didn't know Naruto very well. But Naruto had gotten to know Shino over the decades. He hoped the shy bug boy would come to visit him again. It was a balmy Saturday afternoon when both Kiba and Shikamaru popped around the corner of the curtain to find an empty bed. They stopped dead in their tracks, eyes so wide they almost looked like googly eyes. Naruto wasn't in his room! NARUTO WASN'T IN HIS ROOM! Had he finally snapped and taken off?! "Where is he?" Kiba's words rushed out of him like he was a deflating balloon without the squeaking or whistling noises. He looked around the room with a wild look of panic in his eyes. "Shika… where the fuck is he?" Shikamaru moved to the bed, pressing his hand to the open sheets to feel for body heat. Cold. He left long enough that the sheets had cooled. "I...I don't know.. Should..we tell someone?" A door opened diagonally from them and a towel-clad Naruto stepped out. He blinked, then blinked a couple more times, then blushed furiously. "Uhh.. h-hey guys.." He was standing there with nothing but a towel knotted around his slender hips, and a smaller towel draped over his head. Kiba flushed red all the way to the tips of his ears and spun around, covering his face with his eyes. Ohhhh sweet rib eye... why me!? Shikamaru honestly just blatantly stared at the blond. No remorse, no shame. He still proudly donned the crown as King of No Fuck's Given. A slight grin quirking up the right corner of his lips. His skin looks so soft... Shikamaru shook his head and glanced at Kiba, laughing at the others unmistakably flustered reaction. Kiba was never living this down. Ever. Naruto blushed a deeper pink from Shikamaru's blunt staring, then, even more, when Shikamaru laughed at Kiba. He cleared his throat and shuffled over to the dresser that was in the room. He rummaged in it for a pair of heather grey boxer briefs, baby blue cotton pants, and a short-sleeved white cotton shirt. He removed the towel from his damp hair and went to take the towel off. He paused, feeling two sets of eyes on him. Slowly he peered over his shoulder only to jerk back in surprise. "AH! Why are you staring at me?!" He was met with two sets of dark-colored eyes staring intently at him. Both boys flushed red and promptly turned their backs on him. "Sorry!" They both cried out in unison. After about a minute Naruto cleared his throat, murmuring bashfully. "Okay... you c-can turn around n-now..." He shifted from one bare foot to the other nervously. Shikamaru turned back around without hesitation. Kiba did it a bit more slowly, peeking around himself to make double sure Naruto was fully clothed. "So...we...were thinking..." Kiba started then glanced at Shikamaru. "Maybe we could go out for lunch?" Shikamaru volunteered, finishing Kiba's sentence. "Your pick." Shikamaru gave a languid grin. Kiba nodded, that wolfish smile gracing his features. "Yep! Anywhere you want, we're paying!" He grinned big, crossing his arms over his chest. Naruto looked between the two and lifted a shoulder anxiously. "You..you mean... le-leave the hospital..?" He chewed on his bottom lip clearly uncomfortable with this idea. He'd been there for nearly 20 days now. That room had become his safe haven. He had yet to even step out into the hallway. Much to Naruto's relief an ANBU popped into existence next to him. Okay, Naruto flinched back into a defensive stance, ready to gouge the ANBU's eyes out, his hands even raised in clawlike poses. His blue eyes flashing a feral purple before he realized it was just one of his many guards. And that was when he became relieved. The ANBU was used to Naruto's defensive reactions and simply waited until he recovered before acknowledging Shikamaru and Kiba. "Uzumaki-san is not allowed to leave the hospital at this time. Please feel free to bring him something to eat. But he is not leaving." And with a barely seen shunshin, the ANBU was back in the shadows. Kiba's lip curled in a sneer. He didn't like that ANBU. There wasn't any particular reason. He just didn't like him. How dare he deny Naruto's freedom . Shikamaru nudged Kiba in the side, shaking his head a little before responding. "What a drag... Guess we'll go get something." He heaved a sigh, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Craving anything specific Naru-kun?" Naruto hadn't really been paying very close attention to what was going on. But Shikamaru's question and friendly use of his name snapped him right back into reality. He blushed and smiled warmly at his friend. "Uh-uhm.. We-well..." He fidgeted and looked down. "If it's not too much trouble... w-would you guys mind getting some O-okonomiyaki?" Both boys raised their brows in surprise. They thought for sure Naruto would want ramen. This seemed completely out of left field. They were happy to oblige though. "Okonomiyaki it is!" Kiba grinned, winking at Naruto then immediately blanching as he realized what he just did. "I'll meet you out front Shikamaru!" And on that note, Kiba quickly bolted out of the room. Naruto barely had time to process Kiba winking at him, staring after the other in shock. That had to have been a figment of his imagination. There's no way... Just no way that Kiba would've winked at him . Shikamaru was chuckling to himself. the blackmail material Kiba was providing Shikamaru with was pure gold. "We'll be back soon, Naru-kun." he nodded his head at the blond, smiling at him. "Don't go anywhere." His shoulders rolled forward and he slumped off at a lazy pace to meet up with Kiba. Shaking his head in confusion, watching Shikamaru follow after Kiba. Those two were so weird... "AHH!" Naruto cried out in surprise, falling back on his ass. Kakashi was braced in the window, one hand holding the top of the window frame as he stayed crouched. He gave a two finger salute/wave. "Yo!" Kakashi hopped into the room, holding out a hand to help Naruto up. He eye-smiled at him. Sneaky asshole... With a dramatic roll of blue eyes, Naruto put his hand in Kakashi's and was hoisted up with one easy pull. Naruto kind of wondered if Kakashi had to put any effort into that cause the man didn't even twitch. How underweight was Naruto? "Why do you enjoy my pain, Kakashi-san?" Naruto whined, rubbing his now sore bottom. Kakashi chuckled, his eye-smile becoming genuine. "Maa, Naru-chan your pain is the last thing I'd enjoy." He ruffled blond locks, a teasing glint in his eye. "Oh, yeah, sure.. totally.. mhm.. I completely don't believe you!" He tugged the skin under his left eye down just a little with his middle finger and stuck his tongue out. "Mmm!" Then huffed back over to his bed. Kakashi could only give a mirthful laugh, elated to see that Naruto was willing to banter and bicker with him. The more he got the little blond to do it, the happier Kakashi was. He could see that sassy, sarcastic, shockingly witty, and playful ball of sunshine hidden underneath all that pain and trauma. And it had become his current life goal to bring out that ball of sunshine any chance he got. He followed Naruto. "Maa, maa Naru-chan!" Kakashi actually gave a playful whine. "Don't be so mean!" He sniffled in mock tears. "I came earlier than usual didn't I?" He did his best to pull a puppy-eyed look with just his one dark-grey eye visible. Naruto looked at Kakashi with a 100 percent pure, unfiltered deadpan. His voice matching his expression. "Seriously? That only works on me with Pakkun." He smirked like he'd won this round of banter, puffing his chest out a little. Kakashi gasped. "What?!" He cried quietly. "My own summon has out-puppied me!?" He gave an overly dramatic and joking wail and collapsed onto Naruto's bed before the blond could attempt to sit. Naruto paused, staring in shock and awe at his future sensei being so, well, fucking funny and almost adorable! Shit... Naruto cracked and started laughing. The melodious, full, warm sound filling the room, pouring out the window, and out into the hall. Kakashi preened in silent victory. Much to Kakashi's horror and Naruto's sheer delight, a pair of snickers could be heard by the door to the room. Kakashi slowly lifted his head from the bed, crawled to the foot, pulled the curtain back and promptly blanched. Why did it have to be them? Now the three top pranksters have...ammo...from ME! It was fine when it was just his sensei's adorable son. But all three of the prankster demons? Sage save me. Shikamaru and Kiba smirked at the jounin, eyes shimmering wickedly. "Konchiwa Kakashi-san." How very creepily in sync, informal and bratty of them. Demon brats. Kakashi had no way to come back from this. Nothing to deflect the attention from him. He was caught. And he knew it. So would he resort to his tried and true method of ignoring a situation? Why yes, yes he would. And with that, he hopped off the bed, pulled out his notorious orange book and sat in the window to read. He knew Tenzō, the only ANBU still stationed in the room, respected him and feared him too much to use this against him. At least...Tenzō better not. Then again, Tenzō had a lot of revenge to enact on his precious senpai. Naruto lifted a brow, watching his future sensei and best friend hide behind his little porno book. He smirked, shrugged at the other two boys and snickered. Shikamaru and Kiba snickered as well, walking over to the bed and pulling out the takeout boxes. "That's quite the spread boys." Kakashi pointed out, peering over the top of his book. There was enough there to feed 6 or 8 people. Kiba and Naruto would eat most of it, Shikamaru tended to get bored with eating or just too lazy to feed himself. Kiba looked up and bared his teeth. "You don't get any. It's for Naruto!" He growled a little. Shikamaru lifted a brow, watching his friend in amusement. Naruto blinked, staring owl-eyed at Kiba. The Inuzuka abruptly realized everyone was staring at him. Shikamaru was staring in pure mischievous amusement, Naruto in awe and confusion, and Kakashi with a knowing smugness and an underlayer of ardent protectiveness. Kiba blushed vividly, coughing to try and cover up his embarrassment and awkwardness. Kakashi returned his attention to his book. Shikamaru did not help his friend, at all. Let him suffer. Naruto, being the sweetheart that he was, cleared his throat and moved next to Kiba, murmuring softly. "So what all did you get, Kiba-kun?" He smiled up at his friend. He never realized Kiba had been taller than him when they were 12, he continued to be taller throughout their lives too. Kiba jumped minutely when Naruto appeared right next to him. The blond's softly spoken words spiking a thrill of tingles up Kiba's spine. He swallowed, looking down at him. When did Naruto get so short? It's kinda cute... "A-ah! We got..uhm.. Regular Okonomiyaki, Yakisoba Okonomiyaki, Takoyaki, Monjayaki, and uhm.." He blinked, looking through the bags. "Where'd it go.." He muttered, digging in the bags more until he shouted in triumph. He thrust the small box forward with a big proud grin. "For you." Naruto blinked at the box, then looked up at Kiba, a tiny smile lifting the corners of his lips as he accepted the box. He sniffed at it, it smelled wonderful, sweet and savory. Immediately curious Naruto opened the box, staring at 4 medium sized rounds of dough with a dark amber sauce poured over them. "Dango?" He asked curiously, looking at Kiba. Kiba held up his arms in an 'X' in front of him. "Nope! It's Yaki Manjuu!" He grinned bright, nudging the box to Naruto a little more. "They're wheat flour dumplings that've been fermented in sake and topped in a miso-based sauce." He beamed at the boy, knowing Naruto loved miso. Naruto made an 'O' with his mouth. "Smells delicious." He smiled, using the little but sturdy skewer to poke one of the dumplings, bring it to his lips and taking a decently sized bite. He paused, expression blank as he took note of the flavors before moaning around the bite, eyes rolling back and closing as he munched. The moan was far more suggestive and intimate than Naruto had meant to do. But it was sooo good! Kiba was blushing again. Naruto was right bloody next to him, so the kid pretty much moaned in Kiba's ear, considering the Inuzuka's enhanced senses. He quickly averted his attention to the rest of the bags, clearing his throat several times and shifting uncomfortably. Okay, while Shikamaru is normally unshakable and not phased by much. That moan twisted something darkly pleasant in Shikamaru's lower abdomen. He swallowed thickly around a mouthful of Takoyaki, the ball of chewed food painfully sliding down his throat. His cheeks had dusted pink and he was wondering why it had gotten so hot in the room all of a sudden. Kakashi's head jerked up with the moan, his one eye widening. That sound should never leave a 12-year-old boy. Then his eye narrowed knowingly at Naruto's two friends. Those little perverts. He smirked, tucking that away for leverage. Naruto finished the Yaki Manjuu happily, some of the miso sauce smeared on his bottom lip and the right corner of his mouth. Both boys zeroed in on the sauce. Their mouths and throats impossibly dry. Kiba's lips parted as he leaned down and in towards Naruto, his breath caught as he stopped himself halfway. His eyes widened. "I HAVE TO PISS!" He turned on the balls of his feet and swiftly disappeared into the bathroom across the room. Shikamaru's eyes had narrowed threateningly at Kiba when he watched the other lean into Naruto. He wouldn't! Relief washed over him as Kiba bailed. Taking the opportunity given to him Shikamaru circled around the bed, stopping in front of Naruto. "You're such a little pig..." He murmured affectionately, bringing his right thumb up to wipe the sauce from Naruto's lip and corner of his mouth. He looked at the shiny amber liquid, then at Naruto, and while holding eye contact he brought his thumb to his lips, licking the sauce clean from the pad of his digit purposefully. Naruto had barely noticed Kiba leaning in until the other boy had shouted and darted off. Tilting his head with an adorably confused expression. Shikamaru quickly garnered his full attention though. His breath caught sharply in his lungs as his wide, stunned blue eyes watched Shikamaru in avid fascination. His lips parting when Shikamaru's thumb swiped over his bottom lip, cleaning him of the sauce. Naruto's cheeks lit up bright pink. Kakashi's jaw fucking dropped. For how gutsy Kiba was he sure couldn't handle flirtatious or intimate moments. But Shikamaru? He would have sworn that little pineapple haired pervert was a devoted reader of Icha Icha Paradise. That was some next level smoothness. Kakashi almost applauded the boy, almost. He was a bit disturbed a 12-year-old boy even had that level of suave in his repertoire. Then again, he was a Nara. With a smugness that had never been seen on Shikamaru, he rolled his shoulders back, chin tilted up slightly. Blushing suits him... He grinned, moving to grab his Takoyaki, picking up a ball with the provided short skewer, holding it out to Naruto mere centimeters from his lips. Kiba came out of the bathroom just in time to see Shikamaru feeding Naruto the first Takoyaki ball. He bristled, hackles raised as he saw Naruto blush from it and shyly popped the dough ball into his mouth. Kiba clenched his jaw, shoved his hoodie off his head to give himself a little more air. He moved back over to his friends, cut in front of Shikamaru to grab his food. He smiled at Shikamaru with a shit-eating grin. His expression vividly showed his feelings of 'sorry, not sorry'. Kakashi still watched them over the edge of his book, not even reading anymore because this whole situation was comedy gold. As well as provided ample revenge material. He wondered if the two boys knew what they were doing and that they were crushing on the knucklehead. And what about Naruto? Was he aware they were flirting with him? Did he care if he did know? "Why are you guys being so nice to me anyways..?" Aahh, apparently Naruto was clueless. How precious. "I mean.." Naruto winced. "I didn't mean it to sound like that.." He huffed nervously, fidgeting with his empty Manjuu box. "I just... what I'm trying to say is..." He groaned, looking down at the empty box in frustration. Kiba smiled, touching Naruto's shoulder. "We're being nice to you because we wanna be. I had forgotten how fun it was to hang out with you." He shrugged, squeezing the others bony, small shoulder. "I really enjoy spending time with you Naruto." Black eyes met sparkling blue, Kiba's breath caught. Shikamaru wasn't letting this moment happen. No way! "You're a lot more interesting and fun than you give yourself credit for, Naru-kun." This pulled Naruto's attention from Kiba to him. Good. "And you're smarter than you realize. It's a different kind of smart than other kids.. But it's...really cool." He smiled warmly. "That's why I keep asking you to play shogi with me. I think it'd be fun. You're unpredictable enough that I think you could easily challenge me." Both boys blinked when they saw Naruto's eyes line with tears and give a small whimper. "Naruto... are you okay?" Kiba asked softly, concern filling him. Shikamaru nodded, also wanting to know if the other was okay. Naruto whimpered again and stepped back, looking away from them. "Ye-yeah.." His voice cracked with emotion. "Th-thanks guys...for...for giving a shit about me.." He choked on a held back sob, lowering his head to keep his face out of sight as he turned away some. Kakashi tucked his book into his flak jacket. "Naruto.." His smooth, deep voice soothed and grounded Naruto as the silver-haired jounin slid from the window and moved over to the blond. One fingerless gloved hand wrapped around the back of the blond head, Kakashi's chest soon felt the soft thump of Naruto's forehead landing against it. Kiba and Shikamaru wanted to comfort their friend as well, but they weren't willing to take the hit to their manly pride by making Kakashi and Naruto's hug into a group one. So they stood by the other two awkwardly. Kiba nutted up and reached out to place a hand on the back of Naruto's shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Shikamaru side-glared at him because he had been about to do that very thing and now it'd be considered copying the stupid Inuzuka. Instead, Shikamaru rested his hand dead center on Naruto's back and rubbed soothing circles. The moment was broken by the sound of a throat being cleared. The group of four, startled by the sound, jumped away from each other, turning towards the room door. All eyes landed on a very amused Inoichi. "Am I interrupting?" He smiled, his tone teasing. All of them blushed brightly, Kakashi being the only to have his blush hidden by his mask. Kakashi promptly tugged out his book and shuffled back to the window, perching there. Kiba grabbed some food and shoveled it into his mouth. Shikamaru tucked his hands into his pockets and assumed the Nara Standing Position. "N-no...they were just being nice." Naruto stuttered out, shifting to formally greet Inoichi with a slight bow. "Yamanaka-san, is it time for my session?" He glanced up at him. Inoichi nodded. "I thought, today, we could take a walk in the courtyard." He smiled, stepped aside and held out his arm for Naruto to step outside of his hospital room. Kiba and Shikamaru tensed, looking at each other. "We'll be here when you get back," Shikamaru assured his friend, giving a small Nara smile. Kiba nodded in agreement with Shikamaru, grinning. Naruto smiled. "Thanks, guys..." He gave a little wave and left the room with Inoichi who glanced back at Kakashi, brow lifted at him, a sure sign the pale blond would be interrogating the jounin on why he had been in an embrace with Naruto. Kakashi was not an affectionate guy. Not openly anyway. Kakashi shunshinned out of the hospital room and directly in front of Naruto and Inoichi. "Can't leave without your session buddy now can you?" Kakashi eye-smiled before quickly summoning Shiba. With a poof the punk-like dog came into existence, looking bored at Kakashi. Until he got a quick whiff of Naruto's scent, turned promptly to face the boy and gave a big grin. "Naru!" Shiba propped his front paws on the boy's chest and started licking his hands as Naruto happily greeted him. Kakashi rolled his eye. "It's time for his session Shiba." The ninken looked back at Kakashi with a bland look of 'a-duh'. Turning his attention back to his new favorite human he lowered to all four paws and stood next to Naruto. "Ready when you are." He looked up with a supporting steadiness to him, winking at the young human. Naruto smiled, "Thanks Kakashi-san." He shifted his feet before moving forward to follow Inoichi to the courtyard with Shiba at his side. * Around 20 minutes into Naruto's session with Inoichi a male nurse entered the courtyard. Naruto was sitting on a patch of moss and grass, Shiba curled up in his lap as best as the ninken could manage seeing as he was bigger than Pakkun. Naruto was crying quietly, hunched over with his fingers curled in Shiba's fur. Inoichi was listening, taking notes as Naruto spoke. "Th-the man... he..." Naruto whimpered, closing his eyes. "He'd been...to-touching me...for a while now..." It had taken 20 minutes of surface issues to get into the deeper, heavier subjects. Inoichi controlled his outward reactions, keeping his face smooth and calm, continuing with the plan to have everyone remain incredibly calm and non-threatening to Naruto. Inside though? Inoichi was thinking of all the ways he could mentally torture and destroy the revolting, loathsome man who dared to touch such a young boy. It would be a marvel if Naruto was ever able to have a stable relationship. Let alone want a relationship. And it would be even more of a miracle for him to be intimate with another human, especially romantically. This was very worrisome. "Excuse me... I don't mean to intrude, but it's time for Naruto's afternoon shot." The male nurse gave a tense smile, his black eyes locked on Naruto. The blond looked up, wiping his cheeks off quickly, sniffling. "O-oh.. r-right.." He stood up after setting Shib aside. Shiba was eyeing the nurse with a narrowed gaze. He did not like this nurse. The nurse nodded, rolling up Naruto's sleeve and wiping the chosen injection site with an alcohol swab. Wary blue eyes couldn't seem to break the contact with those endless dark depths no matter how hard he tried. "My name is Shusuke, by the way. I'll be helping Tomoko out instead of nurses Azusa." His voice low, something dark hidden in the words. He offered another tense smile. "Azusa has become ill and has to take some time off." Naruto nodded numbly, wincing when the needle punctured his arm. Shusuke pushed the plunger, emptying the full syringe into Naruto's system. Pulling the needle free Shusuke capped it again and lowered his sleeve. "All done." He paused from moving away and murmured. "I'll stay by the doors to the courtyard in case you need help getting back to your room." He looked at Inoichi and nodded to him stiffly before heading off. Inoichi lifted a brow, having closely watched the entire interaction. Something about that nurse was off, he just couldn't put his finger on it at the moment. That was going to bug him. He regarded the ninken, Shiba looking back at Inoichi, muttering just loud enough for Inoichi to hear. "Don't like him. He smells...off." Shiba stood up, waiting for Naruto to sit back down so he could curl back up. Naruto plopped back to the mossy grass, happily accepting Shiba back into his lap. He swayed a little. "So weird when it kicks in.." He chuckled lazily, eyes lidding themselves. Inoichi laughed quietly, shaking his head. "Now, back to what you were saying..." He trailed off watching the boy. Naruto looked up with a sharp inhale, giving a sheepish look. "Was kinda hoping you'd forget that.. heh.." He swallowed, looking down. "It'd been going on for..." He blinked, knitting his brow. "least...half a year..?" Shiba bared his teeth, he'd bite the fucker's dick off if that man ever tried to get near Naruto again. Inoichi was quiet for a moment before speaking. "How come you didn't tell anyone what was going on?" His voice was gentle, not holding it against Naruto one bit. "I..." He blinked. In his time he was a hostage, a prisoner. Maybe he shouldn't have said it was going on that long? He thought back to how he was when he had been 12 in his timeline. "I didn't think anyone would care...or believe me..." That was pretty accurate and true too. With a frown Inoichi set aside his pad of paper and pen, leaning forward to rest a hand on Naruto's head. "There are people who care, Naruto. I am one of those people." The Yamanaka smiled warmly. "And I am here for you." Naruto sucked in a harsh breath, eyes wide as he stared up at Inoichi. His eyes lined with tears and he bit into his lower lip. Shiba leaned up, licking Naruto's cheek. Without warning a sudden flash of searing hot chakra burst from within Naruto and out across Konoha, flooring anyone weaker than the power permeating the wave of chakra. Even Inoichi slammed back against his seated spot on a bench, gasping for a breath of air, though the air itself felt heavy, thick with the fiery power. Shusuke rocked back against the wall, his hands slapping behind him to help keep him standing. He was also left gasping and trying not to buckle under the weight of it but inevitably ended up sliding down to the floor under the pressure. Kakashi stumbled from the window, landing on one knee, panting heavily. Both Kiba and Shikamaru crumpled under the weight of the chakra blast like tissue paper. Across Konoha shinobi, ANBU, and even the Hokage and Danzō all struggled under the intensity of the tidal wave of chakra that blasted from the area of the hospital. Naruto collapsed against the grass unconscious. * A loud animalistic roar echoed through the ruins of Uzushiogakure, birds taking flight from their perches. The lithe body of a human clawed at the bank of the river cutting through the ruins. Sharp, claw-like nails digging into the soil. Long, silky, impossibly red-orange hair cascading down a svelte back, curtaining along the sides of the person's face, hiding it from view. Heaving gulps of air the form continued to claw and crawl its way to the ruins before pushing itself up. Groaning in pain, the person's clawed nails bit into the stone of a destroyed building. Every limb and muscle trembling. Slitted red eyes constricted as they took in their surroundings. "NARUTO!" Their voice was deep, sultry, but rasped from lack of use, as though they had never spoken before. A low, impossible growl reverberated through the ruins. One clawed hand shoving annoying red locks from a heart-shaped face with a sharp chin, angular jawline, and high cheekbones. Those shocking almond shaped red eyes rested in perfect symmetry, sitting below trim naturally arched eyebrows, thick black eyelashes framed piercing eyes and made the bright red all that more vibrant. Their nose straight, coming to a gentle point above soft, full lips with a porcelain doll cupid's bow. Their sun-kissed skin had a healthy glow that contrasted perfectly with the vivid hair that had textured layers framing their face, jaw, and neck. The long locks of red-orange hair had a natural ombre where it started crimson at the root, then shifted into red-orange around their shoulders only to transition into a fiery yellow near the middle of their back to the ends of their hair nearly to their knees. Their ears were pointed enough to be noticeable, but still short enough to be hidden by the silky hair. A slender neck connected with lithe shoulders and lean muscled arms. Slender collarbones accented the long neck, the clavicle pointing to the gracefully thin and lean muscled chest. His slender waist holding an abdomen donning a four pack and softly defined adonis lines. Thin hips lead to slender legs that matched proportionately to his arms. Kurama stumbled from the ruined building's wall, shaky on his now very human legs. "NARUTO!" He yelled again, tripping over a broken off piece of wall. Growling at it a clawed foot kicked the annoyance a good 50 yards from where the fox stood. He lifted a brow, looking down at himself. "...and I'm naked..." He sighed longsuffering. "Thanks, dad." He rolled his eyes, referring fondly to Hagoromo as his father. "Least I didn't get ripped off in the equipment department." He grinned wickedly. "Now where is that gaki... Actually...where the fuck am I?" - A/N: dun dun DUUNNN! KURAMA HAS LANDED BITCHES! - My beautifully handsome boy... T-T Gah I adore him. Anyone else loving Shiba being totally attached to Naruto's hip? I'm sure Pakkun is thrilled someone's finally touching his adorable wittle pawsies. Welp! Don't forget to hit the kudos if you haven't by now. 3 Also, drop a comment! What did you think of this chapter.