The Shadow's Fox

Chapter 6

Hey guys. So here's another chapter. This one's a bit on the shorter side, but it does have a purpose. Hope you enjoy.

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Naruto looked through another shelf, but frowned and moved to another. He just couldn't find anything that he thought Shikamaru would like.

"Naruto?"

He turned and smiled when he saw Hinata. "Hey, Hinata."

"What are you doin?"

Naruto looked back at the shelf. "I'm trying to find an anniversary gift for Shikamaru, but I can't seem to figure out what he'd want."

"Anniversary?"

Naruto smiled at her. "Yeah. Today, Shikamaru and I have been together for a whole year."

Hinata smiled. "That's wonderful. I can help you, if you want."

"That would be great," Naruto sighed out in relief.

Shikadai fussed and squirmed in his carrier that Naruto had on his back.

"Hey. It's ok, Shikadai," Naruto said as he tried to reach around and rub the boy's cheek. He really didn't like the carrier being on his back, but that was how Yoshino said it's supposed to go.

"Here," Hinata said as she plucked the boy out of the carrier and placed the boy in her arm, tickling his stomach with her free hand, making the boy smile up at her. "How old is he now?"

"Around three months," Naruto replied as he repositioned the carrier. He didn't care if it was supposed to go on his back or not, he was putting it on his chest. He then reached in his pocket for a bottle. "It's about time for his feeding, and he usually only wakes up for that or his diaper being dirty," he said as he held out the bottle.

Hinata smiled and took the bottle, placing it in the boy's mouth, who quickly started chugging it down. "You've changed a lot, Naruto," she said as she looked back up at him.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Naruto asked as he turned his attention back to the shelf in front of him.

"You've always been so quiet, kind of reclusive, but ever since you got with Shikamaru, you've started opening up to people."

Naruto smiled at her. "Yeah. I'm really grateful for Shikamaru. Honestly, if it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be here right now."

Hinata frowned. "What's that mean?"

Naruto looked down sadly, but with a smile on his face, laughing a bit. "I was really unhappy with my life. No one wanted me around, and even store owners didn't want me to buy their stuff. I went hungry a lot of nights, even after I got older. I felt like a waste of space, and that everyone would be better off without me."

Hinata gasped, realizing where he was going with this.

"I... I almost killed myself. It was after one of my shopping trips. I bought a few things, but got attacked on my way home. They beat me, called me names, and then destroyed a lot of my food. I couldn't stand it anymore. So, when I got home, I laid down on the couch, pulled a kunai out, and put it up to my throat, fully intending to end it there."

"Naruto," Hinata said sadly.

He finally looked up at her. "The nine tails stopped me from doing it, but it was Shikamaru stopping by that dissuaded me. If he hadn't, I might have ignored Nine Tails and done it anyway.

'Brat.'

Naruto chuckled. "Shikamaru brought me some food over that night, and it gave me a little hope that maybe someone cared about me, and then two weeks later, I ran into Shikamaru again at the store. The shop owner yelled at me, Shikamaru defended me, then took me to his home and I had been living with them ever since, until me and Shikamaru moved into our new apartment."