Sunlight Casts a Shadow

5

It was when he was nearing the bedroom that he smelled it.

The metallic scent of blood.

Shikamaru rushed into the bedroom, and when he found no sign of the blood, he quickly went into the bathroom.

That's when he found the blond, curled up on the floor of his bathroom, in nothing but a pair of naruto patterned boxers, laying in a pool of his own blood.

"Naru!"

Shikamaru didn't waste any time. He rushed to the blond's side, not even caring about getting blood on his feet or clothes, and knelt down next to the boy that had captured his heart so quickly.

"Naru, can you hear me?" Shikamaru called, placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

He gently rolled the blond over, careful of any wounds the boy may have, and discovered a deep wound in his abdomen, that was bleeding profusely. However, that wasn't all. There were many other smaller wounds surrounding that one, and as Shikamaru looked over the blond's body, he reached the blond's arms, and realized that on top of the wounds inflicted by a third party, there were some self-inflicted injuries on the boy's wrists. They weren't bleeding as bad as the others, most likely meaning they were possibly older, but they also weren't as deep.

'Why isn't the Kyūbi healing him already?' Shikamaru thought concerned. He made a clone and sent it off to get help, while at the same time grabbing a towel and applying pressure to the more serious injuries on Naruto's abdomen.

"Please don't leave me, Naru. I need you," Pineapple whispered, unsure whether the blond could even hear him or not.

"N-nobody... needs me..." said a soft, raspy voice. "No-nobody needs a m-monster... like m-me..."

Shikamaru looked down at the blond and was overjoyed to see he was the one speaking, although he didn't like what the blond was saying.

"Oh, Naru, you're awake! I'm so glad!" Shikamaru exclaimed. He didn't remove his hands from their task, no matter how badly he wanted to hug the blond. "What happened to you? We were supposed to meet up to hang out and go cloud watching together."

Naruto opened bleary, dull blue eyes that appeared almost gray, and slowly looked toward the Pineapple. "I-I wanted to go... but I... wasn't sure you'd still... want to spend time with... a m-monster like me... and then, when I was t-trying to make myself f-feel better, s-someone came up b-behind me and.... that's the last thing I remember until I heard your voice. What's going on?"

Shikamaru could tell there was more to the story, but he decided to let Naruto be for the time being, and explain what he knew upon first glance.

"You've been stabbed, Naru. I came to get you, and I found you lying here, and I was so worried that you were dead already... please don't leave me..." Shikamaru devolved into tears, which shocked the blond. He was used to the lazy genius who showed no other emotions besides laziness or boredom, with annoyance thrown in on occasion. Never had Naruto seen the Pineapple scared before. He didn't know what to do.

Suddenly, there was a rush of footsteps, and Asuma-Sensei, and a few Medic Nin appeared in the doorway led by Shikamaru's clone. The Medic Nin were shocked at the sight before them, and didn't get started right away.

"Shikamaru, I heard from your clone that something happened to Naruto. I tried to get Kakashi, but for some reason, I couldn't find any of Team 7, like they left on a mission or something. It's rather strange..." Asuma-Sensei trailed off after looking more at the scene before him: his lazy student leaning over a blood-covered blond, holding a blood-soaked towel to said blond's gut, with tears pouring down his cheeks. His eyes widened at the sight. "Oh dear Kami-Sama."