Not Alone

Chapter 14

     He made his way over to Ichiraku Ramen and plopped himself down, ordering one pork belly ramen. As he waited on his food, he felt two people sit on either side of him. Looking over, he saw Shikamaru and Choji.

     "No offense, Naruto, but it looks like you just rolled around in the dirt. What happened to you?" Choji asked, Shikamaru eying Naruto. Naruto hated when he did that. Shikamaru was observant, but his gaze always made Naruto uncomfortable.

     "Ah, I was training with Kakashi!" Naruto said, eyes sparkling as his Ramen finally appeared in front of him.

     "With Kakashi? But we just saw him in the window of the barbecue place, didn't we, Choji?" Shikamaru asked, his gaze now absolutely set on Naruto. Choji nodded, and Naruto cursed himself mentally.

     "Ah, well, we finished a while ago! He did anyway, but I stayed and tried to get the hang of the Jutsu he was teaching me! But I couldn't get it, so I came here to take a break instead." Naruto said, praising himself on his lie. Shikamaru arched his eyebrow before deciding to let it go and eat the ramen in front of him.

     "We can help you if you want, Naruto!" Choji offered, and Naruto cursed again. 

     "Nah! Don't worry about it; I'm going to go home after this anyway. I'm kinda tired!" He said, praying that the two of them would buy it. Choji finished up his ramen and nodded, Shikamaru not far behind. Naruto got up, and the three said their goodbyes, and Naruto began walking back to his training center.

     Naruto sat back down and started working on the seal. Soon enough, his chakra was depleted all over again, and he wasn't even close to mastering the Jutsu. Exhaustion took over his body; he flopped against the ground and panted heavily. Then he felt a hand lift his head and place a bottle of water on his lips. Without thinking, he drank the cool liquid and rested for a bit.

Until it registered that he should be completely alone, darting back up, he looked at the person and saw those familiar uninterested eyes.

"S-Shikamaru! What the hell, why are you here?!" Naruto shouts, jumping up only to fall back down. A small sigh left Shikamaru's lips as he leaned back.

"Next time, don't say you're going home, then go the exact opposite direction of your house." He says, making Naruto mentally facepalm.

"So, what's that thing you were working on anyway?" Shikamaru said, leaning over to look at the scroll. Immediately Naruto knocked him over to the side.

"No! I-It's nothing, just, um, a scroll I have to deliver!" Naruto said in a panic, making Shikamaru raise an eyebrow at him.

"A scroll that you opened, to deliver?" He said.

"...Yes, I was just checking it through to make sure it didn't have anything... weird," Naruto said, cringing at how bad his lie was.

"A scroll you have to deliver, where?" Shikamaru asked, totally not believe the utter crap that Naruto was spewing out of his mouth.

"To the... Hidden Sand..?" He said, wanting to kill himself right then and there.

'Really? The hidden sand? You could've said anything else,' Naruto thought, the thought of just disintegrating seeming quite appealing at the moment. When had he become so bad at lying?

"Uh-huh. You know I don't believe-" Shikamaru started before Naruto interrupted him.

"Yeah yeah, I know I get it, alright?!" He said, flopping on his back once more

"I just really don't feel like sharing right now," he said, putting a hand over his eye. He wanted to sleep; he was tired; he wanted Kurama. There was so much he wanted. He wanted parents, love, any form of acceptance. Why was Shikamaru so interested in what he was doing, anyway?

'He's probably faking it like everyone else,' Naruto thought, his constant loneliness seeming to grow stronger at the moment. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Naruto's sad expression until he remembered what Ino had said. Sakura told her that Naruto had had panic attacks. Immediately in the hope of preventing that from happening, Shikamaru put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto snapped out of it and looked up.

     "Naruto, I know you; I've known you ever since we were five. I also know that you tend to take on all your burdens on your own and act like your fine. Your little acts may fool everyone else, but we both know I'm too smart to be fooled by your acts. I'm your friend; we all are, so don't go around carrying all your burdens and thoughts on your shoulders alone. We're your friends, I'm your friend, so don't feel like you need to keep anything from me, from us." Shikamaru said, keeping a close eye on Naruto's breathing to make sure it stayed still and calm.

     Naruto stared at him, his emotions everywhere and his mind blank. Tears formed in his eyes and slid down his cheeks. He had friends this whole time; he had friends. He had people to talk to. That constant doubt in his mind vanished as he leaned forwards into Shikamaru's arms.

     "Huh? Wait, no, don't cry! Jeez, Naruto, you're so emotional," Shikamaru said before rubbing circles on Naruto's back.

     "You're not alone, so don't go around acting like it. I won't tell anyone about this hideout or whatever this is. On one condition," Shikamaru started. Naruto looked at him, ready to do whatever he asked.

     "I want you to tell me what you're working on."

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Wow, okay, that's a late post. In all honesty, this chapter was ready to be paid about two weeks ago, and I thought I posted it. Aha, sorry! Also, I was healing fine from the hospital and was finally able to go home; thank god, I hated that place. But anyway, thank you all for your patience, and I'm sorry for the stupidity on my part; thanks for reading byeee!❤️❤️