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Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again	By : PrplGrl Category: Naruto > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1209 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Father of Mine

With tears in his eyes, Shikaku smiled.

Shikamaru’s disappearance had been sudden. Shikaku and his wife, Yoshino, were worried earlier on, after Yoshino had come across the narcotics hidden in their son’s room. When he never came home that day, however, their worry had nearly escalated into panic.

Getting leave from work, Shikaku spent all his time scouting the entire city. His friends, Chouza Akimichi and Inoichi Yamanaka, searched alongside him, to which he was grateful.

Neither of them slept much during the following months, as all the leads that were found led to dead ends. Shikaku had been surprised to find that nobody at the school had really had a conversation with his son for quite some time. Most of them had just shrugged when asked about Shikamaru and said he was not a close friend.

It seemed Shikamaru didn’t have any friends.

Chouji Akimichi, Chouza’s son, even admitted that the two had a falling out, and hadn’t spoken to each other for months. That surprised Shikaku; Shikamaru and Chouji had been extremely close for a long time. He found it odd that his son had never told him.

Two months passed without any luck, and Shikaku had to return to work, although he still went out as much as possible looking for his son. He and his wife put out a reward regarding any information on Shikamaru, but were unsuccessful. Posters hung all over the city with a picture of their missing son, promising a handsome bounty if anyone found him.

Shikaku and Yoshino hoped he would be found… alive.

Their friends and family warned them, and Shikaku knew the chances as time wore on that finding Shikamaru living were getting smaller. Working for the Konoha Police, the Nara had seen it before; drug addicted teen runs away from home, lives on the streets, and is usually found dead a few months later. The reason for the death varied from suicide to drug overdose, and every time a unidentified teenage male body was found, Shikaku found himself wondering if it was Shikamaru.

Over time, worry had escalated to fear.

Whenever the phone rang, both Shikaku and Yoshino hoped it was their son, lost and wanting to come home, but the question always lingered in the back of the policeman’s mind; what would he say to his son?

He wasn’t sure if he should yell at him for being stupid and taking the dangerous narcotics, or hold his only child and never allow him to leave the house again.

After five unsuccessful months, Yoshino became very depressed and had turned to alcohol. At first, she claimed it was just a way to calm her nerves, so she could sleep at night. It soon intensified into alcoholism. She would scream at her husband, listing off reasons as to why Shikamaru left, and it was all Shikaku’s fault.

Shikaku had already believed it to be true, without his wife’s nightly tirades. He thought he might have stressed some things too much with their son, causing him to want to runaway.

He was becoming overstressed, and his friends could tell. Without Chouza and Inoichi, Shikaku knew his wife would have divorced him and probably died from alcohol poisoning, while he would have been shot out on the street, searching for his missing son in the early hours of the morning.

Inoichi had sat down with Yoshino and told her how much everyone was worried about her, as Chouza kept Shikaku company; trying to calm down the overstressed, sleepless policeman.

Within a few weeks, the couple had reconciled and continued their search of Shikamaru.

By the time the ten-month anniversary rolled by, they had all but given up on finding their son alive. They were waiting for a call from the coroner’s office, or from Shikaku’s chief confirming that Shikamaru’s body had been found.

Their hopes were not very high in the alternative.

At work, Shikaku and his comrades were assigned to raid a building not too far out of town. It was said to be owned by the Akatsuki, a well-known band of criminals who had, so far, eluded capture for their various crimes and were said to be running several prostitution rings throughout the entire country, not just within Konoha.

Their target was the brilliant, feminine Deidara. They were ordered to raid the building and take everyone alive, including the elusive blonde.

Shikaku was actually glad for the distraction. He decided not to worry about his son or his wife and just focus on his job. It felt good to forget about it for a while, giving his stress filled mind a while to relax from situations months old.

Following carefully planned orders, the Nara went in with Chouza; Inoichi entered the building from the other side with a fellow cop Genma Shiranui. They successfully captured Deidara and most of his whores. One blonde haired feisty young woman blurted out that the best “entertainer” was at the other end of the building. Shikaku followed up on that lead and nearly ran into Genma as he exited a room.

“Nara!” he said, surprise in his voice. His eyes widened a moment and flickered to the door behind him, before settling on his usual relaxed expression.

Shikaku found that odd. “How’s this wing?” he asked, looking down the hall a moment. “We’ve got the rest in custody and are on their way to be booked. One of the whores said there was another one on this end of the building. Did you secure the subject?”

Genma’s posture straightened a bit. “Yes, sir, Yamanaka is apprehending the subject now.”

The Nara nodded. “Good, I’ll take little slut down to be processed.” He began walking around the slightly shorter man, ignoring his words.

He spoke quickly, trying to grab Shikaku before he could reach the door not two feet away. “We can handle that, sir. Don’t—”

Shikaku entered the room, his eyes immediately falling on a teenage boy cowering on the bed. He was wearing a long, purple kimono, which had fallen off one shoulder, exposing familiar tan skin. His hair was down and hid most of his face, but the Nara would have recognized that boy anywhere.

His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but he found his mouth and throat to be completely devoid of any moisture. He swallowed and tried again, his voice barely above a whisper. “Shikamaru?”

The boy turned away and Shikaku knew this was his son. It had to be.

He began walking toward the bed, but Inoichi had stopped him. He heard the words being said to him, but they merely floated around his mind. It took the elder Nara a few minutes to process all that his comrades had said. Once they had, he knew they were right; the teenager on the bed had to be arrested.

Shikaku sighed heavily, his voice stronger than he felt. “…I’ll do it.” Ignoring his blonde friend, he walked up to the bed and looked down at the boy. His heart began to swell.

This was his son.

“Shikamaru Nara.”

The purple clad teenager slowly looked up at his father and Shikaku could not stop the tears forming in his eyes if he wanted to, a small smile appeared as a wonderful feeling spread throughout his body.

Shikamaru was alive.

“You’re under arrest.”

That’s how he hoped it would be.

~ ~ ~

“I didn’t want to question it,” Shikaku stated, sitting at the table beside Yoshino, Chouza across from them.

He had watched his son ascend the stairs with a sad expression. He had never gotten used to telling people someone they cared about was dead.

“Shikamaru just seemed so… happy,” he continued, his wife grasping his hand, “and I didn’t want that happiness disturbed. I haven’t seen him like that in a long time.”

“Even before he ran away,” Yoshino added, “he always seemed depressed, but would never talk about it.”

Chouza nodded. “I know dealing with teens can be difficult; Chouji can be tough to handle sometimes, especially if he’s fighting with Inoichi’s kid.” He leaned across the table, looking seriously at the Nara’s, lowering his voice. “But you do know that he’ll have to be tested, right?”

Shikaku closed his eyes and nodded slowly. With Shikamaru’s closest friend having died of a drug overdose, it was almost certain that his son had picked up the habit again. Why their only child would go back to it, Shikaku would never know.

Yoshino tightened her hold on her husband’s hand. “I hope he wasn’t that stupid,” she muttered.

“Me too,” Shikaku answered, “but there’s always that chance. The word around that block is that Sai was heavy into drugs. There’s also a rumor that he was… an ‘entertainer’ working for a member of the Akatsuki.”

His wife shivered. “I wish you guys could catch those bastards. I mean, how sick can you be? Enlisting children to whore for you while getting them hooked on drugs. It’s disgusting!”

Shikaku was about to agree with her, when a loud ‘thud’ resounded over their heads. They looked up at the ceiling, then at each other. A feeling of dread began to pool in the pit of the male Nara’s stomach as he looked at his wife.

Shikamaru’s bedroom was above them.

“I’ll check on him,” Shikaku announced, releasing his wife’s hand and heading up the stairs. His heart began to beat frantically within his chest as he walked up to his son’s door. He got the distinct feeling he wasn’t going to like what he found.

Pushing back the feeling, Shikaku gently knocked on the door. “Shikamaru?”

There was no answer and he couldn’t hear anything on the other side. Knocking harder, he spoke a little louder. “Shikamaru, are you all right?”

Silence was his only answer.

Slowly, Shikaku turned the knob and opened the door. His eyes first fell on the bed a little confused to find it empty. He then looked to the floor and he felt his heart fall into his stomach, finding his son sprawled out on the polished wood.

“Shikamaru!” he cried, running over and turning his son over to lie on his back in his arms.

Shikaku lightly slapped the teen’s cheeks. “Shikamaru! Shikamaru, wake up!”

‘Why won’t he open his eyes!’

He glanced down to his son’s hands, noticing a syringe and a rubber hose still within his grasp.

The older Nara’s heart skipped a beat. “Oh, no.” He looked at the desk and saw a tiny, empty bottle sitting beside a box. He grabbed the bottle, cursing when he found it was without a label, and shoved it in his jacket pocket.

“Shikamaru!” he tried one last time to rouse his son and was unsuccessful. “Oh shit!” He could feel the teen’s breathing begin to slow a little and he immediately picked up his son, cradling him in his arms like a newborn child.

“Chouza!” he screamed, carefully, but swiftly walking down the stairs. “Chouza, get the squad car!”

The large policeman appeared at the base of the stairs, his eyes growing wide for a moment, before he bolted out the door.

“What’s going…. What’s wrong with Shikamaru?!” Yoshino asked, appearing from the kitchen.

Shikaku headed for the door, his wife right behind him. “I’m not sure,” he responded. “It’s possible he tried to overdose.”

“What?!”

“Come on!” he said, walking into the cool evening air, Chouza just opening the back door to the running squad car. “We’ve gotta get him to the hospital.”

Shikaku squeezed into the back seat with his prone son, Yoshino sitting in the front, Chouza quickly making sure everyone was secure before hitting the lights and sirens and tore out of the driveway.

“Come on, Shikamaru,” Shikaku whispered, still trying to rouse the teen. “Open your eyes, son.” He could feel his eyes begin to water, as his only child didn’t respond. ‘Please,’ he silently prayed, ‘please, don’t take my son away from me.’

“Shikaku!”

The man looked up at Chouza’s booming voice. “What?”

“What did Shikamaru take?”

He looked to see the radio microphone in his large hand and Shikaku realized he was calling ahead to the hospital. “I don’t know. I’ve got the bottle, but there’s no label on it.”

Chouza nodded and relayed the information, Shikaku focusing on his son again.

‘His face looks so peaceful,’ he thought. He remembered a time, long ago, when Shikamaru was just a toddler that he used to fall asleep like that; curled up on the couch, using his father’s thigh as a pillow. He thought it was too cute. Yoshino had taken some pictures.

‘I should look for those.’

Shikaku then realized that he hadn’t held his son since he had been a mere child. He gave his wife kisses and hugs, but he hadn’t even patted Shikamaru on the shoulder in the longest time. He wasn’t afraid of physical contact; maybe he thought his son was?

He was fairly certain Shikamaru had grown away from touching anybody since that fight he’d had with that Inuzuka boy. Perhaps, though, it had more to do with the beatings he’d received.

Shikamaru never said anything, but Shikaku worked around victims like that everyday. He could spot when his son limped a little or flinched when he sat down for dinner, even the occasional black eye hadn’t gotten past his father.

Shikaku once confronted him about it, but his son was adamant about not saying any names and insisted it was no big deal; he didn’t want his “policeman father making a big fuss over something so trivial.” He never brought up the subject again.

Maybe he should have.

Shikaku could see so many mistakes he had made in the past and wished for a way to correct them. He should have been closer to his son, should have helped him more; the list was endless.

“How is he?” Yoshino’s uncharacteristically timid voice said, breaking his thoughts.

Shikaku looked up at his wife and then gazed at their son once more, this time as a police officer.

Shikamaru’s skin had paled quite a bit, his breathing was slower than before and his heartbeat was becoming sluggish.

The Nara shook his head, eyes glancing to the other officer in the car. “What’s taking so damn long?! We should be there by now!”

“Easy, Shikaku,” Chouza commanded, gently. “We’re almost there.”

After another three minutes, feeling like three hours to the Nara’s, the squad car pulled up to the emergency entrance of the hospital. A stretcher and group of doctors and nurses were already huddled outside.

As soon as the car stopped, Shikaku’s door was opened and he climbed out, two other nurses helping him pull out his son and place him on the stretcher.

They started jogging into the building, Doctor Tsunade immediately checking Shikamaru’s vital signs. “What did he take?” she asked quickly, not looking at the Nara’s.

“No idea,” Shikaku repeated, grabbing the bottle from his pocket. “I think this is what he took, though.”

She grabbed the empty container and tossed it too a nurse. “Take that to be tested now!” The person nodded and took off.

The group rounded a corner and Shikaku and Yoshino were forced to stop as their son was pushed through double doors, where the team inside began scrambling around frantically.

A nurse they recognized as Tsunade’s personal assistant, Shizune, walked up to them. “Why don’t you sit over there,” she suggested softly, pointing to the waiting area. “Lady Tsunade will update you as soon as she can.”

Shikaku wrapped his arms around his wife’s trembling shoulders a moment. “I’ll check him in,” he whispered. She nodded against his chest and sighed heavily, wiping the tears from her face and walking away.

Shikaku also released a long breath and walked up to the desk to fill out the necessary paperwork. His eyes kept glancing to the double doors, where he could see his son being fussed over by the various nurses and doctors.

Shizune came jogging down the hall with a file in her hand as the Nara began writing. She opened the door and Shikaku could hear Tsunade’s shrill voice.

“I’m getting no pulse! Start resuscitation now!”

Shikaku dropped the pen.
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Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again