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."

Shikamaru looked up at his Sensei through teary eyes. Then he caught sight of the Medic Nin behind the man, watching the scene but doing absolutely nothing about it. That royally pissed him off.

"My friend is dying here, why are you just standing there gawking like this is some kind of show? Help him! I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up." Shikamaru broke down into more tears, and Asuma-Sensei knelt down and pulled Shikamaru a little ways away from Naruto, holding his student, allowing the two Medic Nin to do their job, keeping an eye on them to make sure they didn't do anything untoward to the blond under the cover of healing him.

There was a green light, from the medical Ninjutsu the medics performed, and they moved out of the way once they were done.

"We've done all we can here," said one.

"He'll need to remain under observation for 24 hours before he's able to be at home on his own again. If he doesn't have someone who is willing to take him in, he'll have to spend that time at the hospital."

Shikamaru instantly hated that idea. Based on the way that Naruto visibly flinched at the plan, he didn't like the idea either, nor did Pineapple think they'd treat the blond like any other patient.

"He'll stay at my place," Shikamaru decided. "My mother could help keep an eye on him if I have to suddenly go out on a mission, otherwise I'll keep a close watch."

Hearing this, Asuma-Sensei made the right choice not to decide on anything. He told Shikamaru that they would have a break from training and missions for the next few days, maybe a week, just in case Naruto became a difficult patient and needed more time to recover.

With that decided, Shikamaru moved out of Asuma's grip, removing his jacket to drape over his crush, and then very carefully scooped Naruto up from the floor. Before he left, he turned to the Medic Nin still standing by.

"Do I need to worry about anything in order to wash him?" he asked.

The two medics looked at each other before one answered, "He should probably avoid submerging for the next few days. However, due to the blood loss, he might be too weak to stand or sit up in order to shower on his own."

Shikamaru nodded, understanding the implication without anything else needing to be said. 'Basically, I have to give him a sponge bath right now to clean off the blood, and then wash his hair in a basin. When he gets stronger he can bathe normally.' It was then that the thought hit him. 'Wait, if I have to bathe him, that means I'll have to see him...' Shikamaru gulped hard at the image he created, as his face burst with heat.

Pineapple shook his head to dispel the lewd thoughts, and quickly left the bloody bathroom, leaving his clone to clean up the mess. He didn't waste any time getting to the Nara Compound, wanting to make sure Naruto was able to get the most amount of rest he could.

Upon entering his house, Shikamaru set Naruto gently on the floor of the Genkan against a wall, and removed his own shoes, before calling out to his mother, "Tadaima!"

Yoshino poked her head out of the kitchen, yet unable to see into the Genkan. "Okaeri, Shikamaru."

With shoes removed, Shikamaru scooped the injured boy back up into his arms and tried to sneak passed his mother, while also being gentle with his cargo.

"What are you carrying away while trying to be so sneaky?" His mother was too perceptive. He should've known she'd find him out immediately.

"It's Naruto," Pineapple said, so quietly his mother could barely hear, as he continued to make his way toward the stairs, and the relative safety of his room.

"It's who?"

"Naruto. I'm taking him upstairs."

Shikamaru made it to the base of the stairs, and was just stepping on the first, when his mother tapped his shoulder. Pineapple glanced over his shoulder to see his mother's angry/concerned face.

"I just washed these floors, young man, and now you're trailing blood everywhere. You better tell me where it's all coming from, or so help me..." her threat faded out when Shikamaru turned around, revealing the blond, bandaged and bloody, in his boxers still, with Shikamaru's jacket tossed over him haphazardly.

"He needs to get cleaned up, and then some rest, mom. Then I'll explain, troublesome woman."

Yoshino let him go, worry etched across her face. 'What happened to your boy, Kushina, Minato?'

(ᵔᴥᵔ)

Upon reaching his room, Pineapple put his Sunshine on his bed, not caring about the blood on his sheets, taking his jacket off the boy, and quickly went in search of what he needed to give the boy a sponge bath.

He returned a few minutes later with a bucket of warm soapy water, a soft cloth draped over the edge, and a second empty bucket. He set them down next to his bed, and left again to get a few more items, namely a third bucket of plain warm water, and some shampoo to wash the boy's hair with.

Once those items were retrieved, Shikamaru got to work. He dipped the cloth in the warm soapy water, and began washing Naruto's body, starting with his hands. He avoided getting the bandages wet, doing his best to get all the blood off.

Once he reached the blond's feet, he realized he had a problem. The boy was still wearing his boxers. Obviously, they had to be removed in order to finish the sponge bath, but the idea of doing such a thing, especially with the blond laying in his bed, made his cheeks heat up.

Pineapple shook his head, and heaved a sigh. "Troublesome. I have to get this over with, might as well just do it quickly."

With that, Shikamaru removed the blond's bloody undergarments, still somehow wet despite being out of the puddle for at least the last 20 minutes, if not longer. It seemed odd to the genius, so ignoring the heat on his face of looking at his crush's nether regions, he examined the blond, only to yell for his mother.

Yoshino burst into the room, to find her son holding bloody boxers in his hand, a naked blond on his bed, with blood caked between the blond's legs, and still more leaking out slowly.

"Mom," Shikamaru choked out. "Get a medic. Get dad. Get someone. Please."

His voice sounded so broken, and Yoshino hated the way it sounded, so she rushed outside and found a few of the Nara clan members wandering outside.

"Please, help me!" Yoshino pleaded. "I need someone to help me get my husband, and someone else who either is a Medic Nin, knows some Medical Ninjutsu, or knows someone and can quickly get them. This is an emergency. Please come to my house."

She had three Nara's following her into the house within moments, while another group went out to the village in search of Shikaku Nara to inform him of the emergency, despite not knowing the full emergency exactly.

The three Nara members came into Shikamaru's room, and when they saw the scene before them, two of them grabbed Yoshino and Shikamaru, and guided them to the edge of the room, and out of the way.

Pineapple was shaking, terrified that what he saw was what he believed it was evidence of.

Shikaku entered the room, and found his wife attempting to calm his semi-panicking son, while three clan members were examining someone laying on his son's bed, muttering to each other. As Shikaku neared his wife, he heard words that terrified not only himself, but also his wife and son.

"How could the other Medics have possibly missed this? It looks like this boy has been severely raped."

That was the last thing Shikamaru heard, before the sound of his blood rushing through his ears, and his own heavy breathing as he struggled to catch his breath, took up his entire attention, and before long, the world went dark.

。・゜・(ノД')・゜・。

A/N: Don't come after me with sharp objects, please!

I know this is the second cliffhanger in a row, but you gotta admit, good place to end, eh? See you next chapter, where we might find out how our little Cinnamon Roll is doing, and how our lovely Pineapple copes with the news. So far, not well. Until next time じゃあね！（╹◡╹）♡