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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.

Chapter List
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Concern of Another

Naruto Uzumaki waited patiently at the kitchen table. He had finally finished his homework and was now waiting for his father to return home so he could check it. Being a principle at another school, Minato Namikaze wanted to make sure his son was doing his work right.

They had just finished with supper when the blonde’s father had gotten a phone call and he immediately rushed out the door, telling his son that he’d be back later.

Naruto didn’t like the look on the older man’s face.

Since he worked with kids who had really rough pasts, it was a normal occurrence that he’d get a call about one being killed or running away, and Minato was adamant about being there to try and help the parents or guardians through the tough period.

Naruto wondered who he had gone to help. He sometimes wished he could go, wanting to help out in some way, but his father had told him not to worry about it and very rarely told him anything about what had just transpired. He figured that maybe his father was just trying to protect him, but the blonde teen wanted to know.

He yawned, laying his head on his folded arms. The clock was reading about ten at night; his father had been gone for a few hours. It was rare for him to be gone for this long.

Sighing deeply, Naruto closed his eyes, slowly starting to doze off when he heard the door to the house open and close. He raised his head, smiling brightly as his tall father walked into the kitchen.

Minato looked at his son and the smile faded from the teen’s face. His father looked worn, a deep frown on his lips and his blue eyes, normally just as bright as his son’s, had dulled to almost a midnight blue.

Naruto knew something bad had happened.

The older blonde slowly walked to the table and sat beside his son, looking into his eyes with a sad gaze.

Naruto raised a golden eyebrow. “What is it, Dad?” he asked, softly.

Minato sighed, dropping his gaze a moment. “…Shikamaru Nara.”

The teen’s cerulean eyes widened slightly. “What about him?”

His father placed a hand on his shoulder. “He… he came very, very close to overdosing on drugs tonight.”

Naruto kept his orbs on his surviving parent for a moment, before dropping them to the table. “…Did he… die?”

“No, but… the next twenty-four hours will be crucial.”

Slowly, the teen nodded, keeping his eyes down. A familiar cold spike of fear ran down his spine, something he hadn’t felt since he was a child.

Despite what the others thought, Naruto didn’t hate Shikamaru. Maybe he had been mad at him for a while, but he realized too late that he had no real reason to be. By the time the blonde found out the truth, the Nara had disappeared and he had no way to tell the other how he really felt.

Minato lightly squeezed his son’s shoulder. “Are you all right, Naruto?” he gently asked.

Naruto didn’t know how to answer, so he merely gave a small shrug. He shouldn’t be “all right,” but he didn’t feel panicked either.

His father patted him on the back. “Why don’t you get ready for bed? I’ll check your work over and leave here on the table for you.”

The teen numbly nodded and left the kitchen without another word.

‘Shikamaru could die.’

It was the only thought in Naruto’s head as he made his way to his bedroom. Those three words echoed in his head as he undressed and put on his pajamas. Even when he was brushing his teeth, the small sentence danced around the room as if he was saying them aloud. He climbed into bed and lied on his back, staring at the ceiling.

‘Shikamaru could die.’

…die…

Something clenched around Naruto’s chest, tears coming to his eyes as the words finally sank in. The Nara had a good chance of passing on from this life within the next day, and the blonde would never see him again. He would be gone… forever.

He turned onto his side and grabbed the stuffed fox he kept under his pillows, holding it tightly. It usually brought the teen comfort, but didn’t seem to be doing any good this time.

Confusion began swirling around his mind. What was this feeling inside his chest? Why did it make him feel like crying? Was it… that he didn’t wish for the Nara’s death? Well, that Naruto could understand, but to want to lie there and pray all night that the other would live…. That would be a bit extreme, wouldn’t it? It’s not like the two had ever been that close. Besides the time they had bumped into each other on the street, it had been over a year since the blonde had even talked to Shikamaru.

Why were these feelings inside so strong?

It didn’t make any sense!

Naruto sat up, wiping away the few tears that had managed to escape his eyes and got out of bed. He hadn’t been lying there for more than ten minutes, but he knew he couldn’t analyze this on his own. If he waited any longer, his father would be in bed and he’d have to wait until morning.

The blonde was never known for his patience.

Still clutching his beloved stuffed fox, an old, dirty toy that had been given to him by his late mother, Naruto walked to his father’s room, seeing that the kitchen light had been turned out.

The door was open and light streamed into the hallway. The teen quietly stepped up to the doorway. His father was sitting at his desk, doing his usual paper work.

Naruto hated interrupting him while he was busy and leaned against the doorframe, hugging the fox close, staring at the floor. He wondered where Shikamaru was, what kind of condition he was in. Did they have him on life support? Was he holding onto life by a mere thread?

…Had he already passed on?

He held onto the fox tighter, trembling at the thought. Why did it scare him so much?

“Naruto?” his father voiced, cutting into his thoughts.

The teen’s blue eyes snapped to the older man as he stood, looking at him with concern.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Naruto shook his head, looking away, raising the fox within his arms to cover his heart, as if it could help chase away the feeling of dread spreading quickly throughout his mind and soul.

Minato walked up to his son, placing a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

The teen looked up at him a moment, his father being about a head taller than him, then averting his gaze again. The strong feeling inside his chest grew, forming a lump in his throat and tears in his eyes.

He didn’t want it.

“Naruto?” his father asked, giving his shoulder a light squeeze.

The shorter blonde looked up at him again. He took a couple deep breaths, trying to quell the terror growing steadily around his heart, swallowing the lump in his throat that threatened to choke him.

“…I don’t want Shikamaru to die,” he whispered. Those words shattered his restraint and tears began falling from his eyes.

Minato wrapped his arms around his son, holding him tightly as he cried. It made his heart break to see his only son like this and he whispered to him, trying to comfort the upset teen, rocking him gently like he used to when he’d been a baby.

It was a while later when Naruto had calmed down enough to at least stop the onslaught of tears and he could breathe again.

The taller blonde sat him on the bed. “Are you all right now?”

The teen shook his head. “Not really, I mean….” He sighed in frustration, his lip quivering. He focused his bloodshot eyes on the stuffed animal still in his hands. “I’m not sure what I mean, Dad. I… don’t understand what I’m feeling and it’s… kinda confusing.” His father ruffled his hair, making the younger man glare up at him.

Minato smiled. “Can we talk about it after I take a quick shower?”

Naruto tried to smile, but his lips only curved up into a sad smirk. “Sure.”

His father nodded. “I’ll just be a little bit,” he said as he walked into the bathroom, leaving the door open a crack.

The blonde teen stared at the wall, a few stray tears falling from his blue eyes. He was glad his father was there. Even though it was late and they both had to get up in the morning, he was willing to talk to his son.

For a while, when Naruto had been a child, he had been separated from his parents. They refused to tell him exactly why, even to this day, but it had not been a fun experience. He lived in several orphanages and foster homes until he was nearly twelve. People had him believing that he was an orphan or that his parents didn’t care about him and dumped him off with someone else.

It was the loneliest time of his life.

A loud ringing filled the room, making the young blonde jump, nearly falling off the bed. He looked to see his father’s cell phone lighting up on the desk and he sighed, trying to calm his racing heart.

“Could you get that, Naruto?” Minato called over the roar of the shower.

Naruto quickly dashed to the loud object, noticing the name on the face read “Nara.” He flipped it open and placed it up to his ear. “Hello?”

“Uh, hi,” replied a deep, hoarse voice. “Is Minato there?”

“He’s in the shower. I can take a message, if you’d like.”

“…Sure. Uh,” there was a sigh on the other end, “tell him the room number is twelve thirty-one.”

Naruto scrambled for a pen and grabbed a piece of paper, hoping it was not an important document and jotted down the number. “One, two… three, one. Okay, got it. I’ll be sure to let him know.”

“Thanks.” The man on the other side paused for a while, and the blonde thought he’d hung up. “Is this Naruto?” he suddenly asked.

“Uh, yeah.” Even though the other couldn’t see him, the blonde scratched the back of his head nervously. It had just clicked that he was talking to Shikamaru’s father.

“…What are you doing up?” His voice was gentle, and the teen could have sworn he was smiling. “Isn’t it passed your bedtime?”

“Well, yeah, but I… uh, I couldn’t sleep.”

The man on the other end seemed to consider this. “Try to get some sleep tonight, Naruto. You’ll need your strength.”

A smile spread on the blonde’s lips. “Thanks, Mister Nara. I’ll try, but only if you do the same. I mean… I’m sure it’s going to be a long day.”

There was a long pause before a barely whispered, “Thank you, Naruto.” Silence then reached his ear as the Nara hung up.

Slowly, Naruto took the phone from his ear and closed it again. His eyes locked onto the paper he had written the numbers on and read them over and over, burning them into his memory.

That was the number to Shikamaru’s hospital room. He was sure of it.

Why he was excited to have it, Naruto would have to ask his father. His heart gave an uncertain leap as the water in the bathroom stopped running.

‘Now or never….’

~ ~ ~

Naruto couldn’t concentrate at school the next day. Besides having the unnecessary amount of sleep, his father helped him come to a realization the night before that kept his focus on only one thing, or individual; Shikamaru Nara.

Before he knew it, the bell rang for lunch and the blonde found himself at his locker, putting his books away. His boyfriend, Sasuke Uchiha, interrupted his thoughts as he came up to him. The two didn’t have the same morning classes but always ate lunch together.

“Hey, Naruto, did you hear?” Sasuke asked, his usual smug smirk on his lips.

The blonde gave him a glance, continuing to place his books into his locker, taking great care that they wouldn’t fall out. “What?” he asked unenthusiastically.

“Shikamaru nearly killed himself last night; ‘nearly’ being the key word. I hope it works next time.”

Naruto slammed his locker shut with more force than necessary. He glared at his boyfriend as the other raised an eyebrow at him. “Why do you hate him so much, Sasuke?” he nearly spat.

“Because he’s a loser,” Sasuke stated, as if it was obvious. “The guy was a hooker and a druggie for nearly a year. I have no respect for anyone like that.”

The blonde huffed and walked away, heading for the courtyard, their usual route to the cafeteria.

“What’s wrong with you today, Naruto?” the raven-haired teen asked, catching up.

“I’m starting to wonder what’s wrong with you,” Naruto said, anger beginning to boil deep in the pit of his stomach. “So Shikamaru made some bad choices, does that automatically make him a bad person?”

His boyfriend shook his head. “Man what is with you? You’re acting like you care about him.”

“Maybe I do,” the blonde replied, stepping out the door and into the sunlit courtyard of the school, “or maybe I just think that everyone deserves a second chance, not matter how much they’ve screwed up in the past.”

“Naruto, Shikamaru had a second chance and he blew it!” the Uchiha argued. “I don’t get why you’re defending that drug addicted whore.”

The blonde whipped around, glaring daggers at his boyfriend. “Don’t call him that!” he shouted. He sighed to calm his anger a bit, then continued in a softer tone, “Don’t lie to me, either. Even before he left, you never liked Shikamaru.”

“Of course I didn’t!” Sasuke snapped. “He was trying to steal my boyfriend!”

Naruto’s eyes widened. “What are you taking about, Sasuke?”

The other teen rolled his eyes. “Come on, don’t tell me you never noticed?” At the blonde’s vacant stare, he continued, “You can’t tell me you didn’t notice those smiles he gave you? I saw that look in his eyes, Naruto, and it looked like he wanted to eat you up. I wasn’t just going to stand around and let someone else ogle the guy I was dating! And the way he touched you pissed me off even more!”

The blonde blinked. “Touched me?”

“Yeah. I’d see you two talking with other people and Shikamaru usually was using you for an armrest or a pillow, those times I caught you sleeping in the courtyard. He was making moves on you and I had a hell of a time putting a stop to it!”

Something clicked within Naruto’s overloaded brain and his anger was starting to boil into fury. “You? Don’t tell me you drove Shikamaru into away from us!”

Sasuke shrugged. “I had a little help from Neji.”

“What the hell does Neji have to do with this?!”

The Uchiha glared. “Neji was feeling just as threatened by Nara when he started dating Kiba. We noticed we had the same problem and did something about it!”

Naruto looked shocked at him a moment, before being able to collect his thoughts. “You… you dumb ass!” His boyfriend’s eyes widened a little, the blonde glaring at him again, his rage making his hands shake. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe Shikamaru turned to drugs because you scared him away from everything else!”

Sasuke scoffed. “Like I give a flying fuck about that druggie.”

The blonde growled. He felt so angry and betrayed… and stupid for not seeing this a lot sooner. He should have realized that it hadn’t been long after he had started dating the Uchiha that he and Shikamaru had begun to grow distant. He cursed his ignorance and clenched his hands into fists. “I guess that settles it,” Naruto said, causing a dark brow to rise on the other. “We’re through, Sasuke!” He turned and began to storm away.

“I’ve heard that before,” Sasuke called after him and the blonde whipped around, marching back up to the raven-haired teen.

“This time I mean it!” he spat, ignoring the many times in the past the two had fights, but always made up in the end.

The Uchiha smirked again, and it made the blonde’s blood boil. “I’ll give it a week. Then you’ll come crawling back, just like you always do.”

“I will not!”

“Well, where are you going to go?” the raven-haired teen mocked. “Going to go run into the arms of the druggie? He’d probably be good in bed, seeing as he is a whore.”

There was a loud smack as Naruto’s fist slammed into Sasuke’s jaw.
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Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again