11

                                    

                                          
Shikamaru and Yoshino met up in town square around midnight, both sweating, fear shining in their eyes. They had been searching for the blond ball of sunshine since about 6 that evening, with no success. With every hour that passed, and every place that came up empty, Shikamaru was losing hope of ever finding the boy that was meaning more and more to him with each passing day. It hurt to know that he couldn't locate such a bright head of blond hair as fast as he thought he should be able to. It was also concerning.
                          
"Still no sign of him?" Yoshino asked as they met up. Shikamaru shook his head. "This is starting to worry me. Where haven't we looked yet? We checked his training grounds, the Nara Forest, the Hokage Mountain, and even that Ramen stand he likes so much. We asked all of his friends if they'd seen him, but had no such luck at all, and even asked the Sandaime if he had any idea where to look, but there wasn't any sign of him anywhere. What are we missing?"
                          
Shikamaru sat down in the middle of the street, crossing his legs and putting his fingers together in his common "thinking" pose.
                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
                          

Within moments, Shikamaru's eyes shot open, a look of abject terror taking over his face, scaring his mother as well.
                          
"He wouldn't..." Shikamaru mumbled, before realizing that, yes, in fact, he would.
                          
"What's wrong? Do you know where he might be?"
                          
"No time to explain! Let's run! Mom, get at least one medic nin, and meet me at Naru's apartment! Hurry!"
                          
Yoshino's own eyes widened in terror, and she nodded her head before hurrying off in search of help.
                          
Meanwhile, Shikamaru hurried to Naruto's old apartment. He wasn't sure what he'd find, but he was sure it wouldn't be a good thing. Of course, once he reached it, he felt a terrifying feeling of dread falling over him. It hurt, thinking the blond had done something so stupid once again.
                          
Before he made it to the house, a blur of orange and yellow came bolting out of the door, shocking Pineapple, and also making him relieved. For a second.
                          
Naruto stopped in front of Shikamaru, and the brunet realized that something was definitely wrong. While his sunshine had bright blue eyes that put the sky to shame, this person before him had blood red eyes.
                          
"Pineapple, if you love my kit, you have to come with me! He's dying!" The loud, grating voice didn't belong to Naruto, and hearing it call Naruto Kit immediately alerted Shikamaru to who it was.
                          
"Kyūbi? Is that you? What's going on with Naruto? How are you walking around like this?" Pineapple was confused.
                          
"No time to explain! Hurry!"
                          
That's when Shikamaru remembered the Kyūbi said Naruto was dying! Pineapple hurried up the stairs to Naruto's apartment and rushed in, being bombarded by the scent of blood.
                          
"No... no... don't tell me I'm too late..."
                          
Shikamaru rushed to Naruto's bathroom, where the metallic smell was overwhelming, and he found Naruto laying there, just like last time, in a pool of his own blood. Except this time, it was obvious that all the injuries were self-inflicted. He couldn't take it.
                          
Shikamaru turned Naruto over and grabbed hold of both Naruto's wrists, holding them in a near bruising grip to stop the blood flow.
                          
"You're not dying on me today, Naruto. Not today. I won't lose you. I just found you again. I can't lose you."
                          
There was a loud bang at the front door, and the voice of Yoshino, calling out for Shikamaru. He alerted them to his position, and when his mother and the medic nin arrived, he allowed the medic to get right to work. Pineapple took the time to hug his mother, crying out his pain in her shoulder.
                          
"I'm scared, Kaa-San... what if I was too late? What if he doesn't wake up this time?"
                          
Yoshino rubbed Shikamaru's back, comforting her boy while also sending up prayers that his worries don't come true.
                          
"I'm sure he'll pull through, alright? He's a stubborn boy, just like his parents, there's no way he won't make it. Alright? So don't worry so much. Just be there for him when he wakes up and that's all he'll need from you."
                          
。・゜・(ノД')・゜・。
                          
Shikamaru sat outside the hospital room awaiting news of Naruto. Despite how horribly they'd treated him in the past, the injuries were just too severe to allow a medic nin to treat them in the field and expect them to heal fully at Shikamaru's house, so instead Naruto was brought to the hospital.
                          
It had been several hours. Yoshino left shortly after Naruto was admitted, saying she needed to inform Shikaku of the new developments, and also saying she would tell Asuma about what happened so Shikamaru wasn't expected to be at training in the morning, or any time soon until Naruto got better.
                          
Ino arrived shortly after, with Chōji trailing right after her. They sat with Shikamaru, and comforted him, claiming Asuma sent them, but in reality they had heard what happened and wanted to make sure Shikamaru was alright.
                          
While they were still there many other members of the Rookie 9 arrived, including Sasuke and Sakura, although Shikamaru blew up at the both of them. He didn't appreciate their behavior, especially not when they started badmouthing the blond.
                          
"It's his own fault he ended up here," Sasuke sneered.
                          
"If only he were stronger, like Sasuke-Kun, he wouldn't get so depressed so easily."
                          
"You two don't know anything!" Shikamaru burst. He proceeded to tell them what all Naruto went through on a near daily basis, including what he had discovered so recently, and how that affected the blond.
                          
By the time he was done with his rant, nearly everyone around him were in tears, including himself. The only one that wasn't was Sasuke, because he's a stoic bastard.
                          
"Shikamaru?"
                          
At the sound of the nurse's voice, Pineapple raised his head and quickly leapt out of his seat, wanting to hear everything the nurse had to say.
                          
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Naruto's injuries were so severe, and the blood loss was so great, its questionable whether he'll ever regain consciousness again... I'm really sorry..."
                          
Shikamaru stood there, a smile on his face, before he finally collapsed to his knees, unable to believe his ears. He had just found the blond, and had just admitted his own feelings, and yet now the boy would be taken from him? How fair was that? It wasn't...
                          
Shikamaru tilted his head to the floor and began to cry, softly at first, but he grew louder and louder, until he reached a point where he was screaming.
                          
The rest of the Rookie 9 rushed over to see what the problem was, 3 simple words just about destroyed their worlds: "Naruto is dead..."