The Last Drink

The Weight of Memories

A young boy walked into a bar, the heavy scent of alcohol clinging to the air as he took in the dimly lit atmosphere. Music played softly in the background, a slow tune that touched his ears as he made his way to the bar. He glanced around and noticed a man sitting alone, his blonde hair catching the dim light, and his striking blue eyes staring into his drink. The man seemed about 26 years old, just a few years older than the boy, who was 21 himself. Feeling an unspoken connection to the man's solitude, the boy decided to approach him.

As he sat down beside the man, the acrid smell of cigarette smoke wafted over, stinging his nose. The man, noticing him, introduced himself. "I'm Naruto," he said, his voice rough, as if he'd spent the night drinking and smoking. They exchanged small talk for a while, but it quickly became apparent to the boy that Naruto wasn't just lonely-he was deeply, painfully depressed. Something heavy hung in the air around him, and soon, the boy would learn why.

Naruto began his story, his voice distant as if he were reliving every moment in his mind. He spoke of a girl named Hinata. "Her beauty... there's nothing that could compare to it," Naruto said with a sigh, his eyes lost in a faraway place. They had met on their first day of middle school. She had been sitting by herself, and Naruto, feeling a pull toward her even back then, sat down beside her. He could still remember the date - March 27th. They connected instantly, a bond forming so quickly that they had kissed that very same day, right in front of everyone. From that moment on, they were inseparable.

Naruto's voice softened as he recalled their time together. They walked through the school hand in hand, shared lunches, and were part of the same group of friends. Their love blossomed effortlessly, and it carried on into high school. They became each other's world. "Every night, we'd go out," Naruto said, smiling faintly. "I'd pick her up on my motorcycle, and we'd just ride for hours."

They shared big dreams for the future, plans they would whisper to each other under their special tree. It was a secluded spot, far from the village, their private retreat where they felt the world couldn't touch them. "That tree... it was ours," Naruto said, pausing as the memory seemed to wash over him. Under that tree, they had vowed to each other that they would be together forever. She had laid on his chest one day and said, "I will be your wife, and you will be my husband."

But as Naruto continued, his tone grew heavier, darker. The cracks in their perfect life began to show when they became seniors. Hinata's parents were going through a bitter divorce, and it began to take a toll on her. She couldn't stand the constant fighting at home, and so she moved in with Naruto. His parents loved her as if she were their own daughter, welcoming her with open arms during such a difficult time.

After they graduated, things seemed to get better. They got their own place, and Naruto proposed. "She said yes," he whispered, his voice shaking slightly. The wedding was planned for October 27th, and everything seemed perfect. They were excited, more in love than ever, and ready to start the rest of their lives together.

But then, the day before the wedding, everything changed. Hinata went to visit her mother, and instead of celebrating their wedding the next day, war broke out. The village was plunged into chaos as panic spread. People were fleeing, and Naruto couldn't reach Hinata-phone lines were down, and there was no way to contact her. Desperate, he set out to find her. But before he could, his friend Sasuke called with devastating news.

"Naruto, Hinata's dead," Sasuke had said.

Naruto froze, not believing what he was hearing. He grabbed Sasuke by the collar when they met, shaking him, accusing him of lying. But then, Shikamaru, another friend, confirmed it. Shikamaru had seen it happen. "They shot her, Naruto," Shikamaru had said, his voice hollow. "Right in the chest. She's gone." Shikamaru had been the only one who survived when he sent two others to find her, but they had been killed too.

Naruto's world collapsed. For seven days, he didn't eat, didn't sleep. He waited, hoping against hope that someone would tell him it wasn't true-that Hinata was alive. But that day never came. The only thing that kept him company was alcohol and the unbearable weight of his memories.

"I left," Naruto said, his voice flat now. "Moved to America. Thought maybe I could forget her if I stayed busy enough. Worked every day, tried to push her out of my head, but she was always there."

Years passed, and the war ended. Naruto finally returned to Japan. For a while, things were okay-until he ran into Hinata's cousin, Neji. When Naruto asked how he was, Neji casually mentioned that he was on his way to visit Hinata. Naruto's heart stopped.

"You didn't know?" Neji had asked him, confused. Naruto felt like the ground had been ripped out from under him. Hinata was alive.

Neji explained that after the war, Hinata had tried to find Naruto, but no one had told her where he had gone. She had waited for him, called for him, but after years of searching with no answers, she eventually gave in to her father's demands and married a man named Toneri. She was now pregnant with Toneri's child.

The next day, Naruto got her number and called her. They cried together for hours, both mourning the years they had lost. Hinata told him that she had never stopped asking for him. But she was married to a man she now loves and she was pregnant with a son she planned to name Boruto - the name they had once chosen together for the child they had dreamed of having.

As Naruto finished his story, the boy listening couldn't help but ask, "Are you going to do something? Does Hinata truely love Toneri? Couldn't you two run away and start over?"

Naruto stared blankly into his drink. "I don't know," he said quietly. "I just don't know."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the weight of Naruto's story hanging in the air. Finally, Naruto got up, muttering that he needed to use the bathroom. The boy nodded, sipping his drink, lost in thought.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out from the bathroom. Screams echoed through the bar, and the boy rushed toward the sound.

When he arrived, he found Naruto on the floor, with a bloody gun, lifeless, having taken his own life.