Chapter 30 - Incident(4)

As the group walked to the Akimichis, they all felt like they were getting more attention they have ever had in their entire life with the exception of two. The two Naruto and Inoichi. Inoichi felt bad for the boy but what he did to his daughter still pissed him off somewhat so he stopped caring for now. Naruto, on the other hand, was enjoying himself as he talked with Choji and Shikamaru. Ino just listened quietly and would occasionally join in or simply glare at Naruto.

The boy's conversation shifted quite a bit. It went from what they usually do in their free time to games to how to sleep to books to food. They stayed on the food topic quite a bit as Choji and Naruto was extremely excited the entire time and exchanged food names and places. All in all, it was starting out to be a good day for Naruto. Eventually, they shifted to movies where the guys pitched in some movie names. Although Naruto himself never went to watch a movie, his transformed clones have and sometimes when they would refresh, the memories would be stored in Naruto's mind. Normally he would just discard them to the back of his mind but only for today did he actually put them to use.

At one point in the conversation, Naruto said a movie name called Lover's Plight. It was a really good romance movie where a pair of lovers made a promise that they would marry no matter how long it took them. Soon, the woman had to leave for better work while the man stayed in order to keep their house. She promised that she would be back and that even if it took years, she will wear the ring that only he gave her. After twenty years, the man still waited. He went to work where he would be paid highly due to his ingenuity but the money never really was used. The necessary payments like mortgage payments, electricity, water, food were pretty much why his money was used.

Other than that, maybe the occasional new clothing or new carpets and furniture. He lived a simple life and he loved every second of it. Especially with his two dogs by his side at all times. They were also one of the reasons why he would use money at all. So he was quite rich and even in his early forties, he was quite handsome and young-looking. Even when some women approached him, he would always reject them because he already had someone.

One day, his best friend came rushing to his house in the evening. The dogs heard it and started barking while the man calmed them down and went to his best friend. If the man had to describe his friend's face, he would say that it was most angry he was ever looked. In fact, his usual tranquility wasn't there at all.

MC: "What's wrong?"

BFF: "It's her."

This made the man excited and a little confused. A true genuine smile appeared on his face that hasn't appeared much in a few years. He asked his best friend to give him more information but he looked hesitant. Hesitant might be the wrong word to use because he downright did not want to tell him at all. Stupid, he called himself. Oh, how he wished that he was a little less impulsive but what he knew was just exasperating. Even though he knew that he would regret what he will say today, his friend had to know the truth. And so, he told him.

Now, the best friend had to watch someone who he considered his brother lose the bright light in his eyes. Every word he spoke would hack at this sunshine-like smile and you could see that his last bit of innocence that he had was going away in his very eyes. The man was special. Not everything always worked out for him but it was his optimism that kept him going. This optimism led him to his house, his dogs, and his best friend but at this moment, it was withering.

By the end of the conversation, even the man's dogs knew something was wrong. They whɨnėd and made noises as they cuddled with him. Emptiness could be seen from his expression but he was calm. Not calm as in a good mood but rather in the form of silent rage. He knew how to control his emotions and from what his parents always taught him is that he should always use that negative energy for something productive. Negativity begets more negativity so instead of being one of the reasons why the world is killing itself, he should contribute instead.

And so, he did. Next day, he showed up for work and he gave it his all. His colleagues and friends had no idea why he was acting the way he was but it was not something that they worried about much because they had their own things to do as well. He kept going and going until one day he just collapsed in the office. Every worker was feeling panicked and they picked him up and rushed to the hospital. Doctors said that he had a high fever and that he was utterly exhausted. Not to mention malnutritioned.

Every day a person would visit him and see how he's doing but it was a young woman that was consistent with her visits. She could be considered young to him as she was in her mid-thirties while he was only forty. He would see her so much that one day when she didn't come, he felt sad. In fact, he felt his heart break a little because he thought he became abandoned again. Then, the door opened in a rush and came a sweating woman who was apologizing for being late.

He felt moved at the fact that a woman could care for him as much as she did and so he asked a question.

MC: "Will you go out with me?"

(N)Woman: "..."

MC: "I mean if you don-"

(N)Woman: "Yes. I would love to go out with you." She said with a smile as she held his hand. Once he got out of the hospital, he went straight home to meet his dogs. When he went home that day, two big furry balls jumped at him from the door and the woman beside him giggled at the sight.

Days. Months. Years. Time passed quite quickly.

Four years later from that day in the hospital, the man now has six-month-old twin daughters in both his hands. They would be staring at him and making baby sounds that would make the man smile. His wife would lay next to him, watching her man have that same happiness he had four years ago. Then one day, the doorbell rang and he opened the door. Seeing the person in front of him, he recognized her. His very source of pain.

That's where the movie ended. The group was so taken in by Naruto's vivid description that they didn't know that they already arrived at the Akimichi house. Inoichi was the first one to wake up from his stupor and then looked around, only to see the familiar area that has never really changed except for the decorations. Ino and the others also woke up from their minds but they felt more intrigued by this movie that Naruto mentioned. Ino especially.

From the entrance, Choji led the entire group to the Eat-Out festival. Ino only came for the free food and out of boredom while Shikamaru came for the support. Probably only Naruto and Choji came for the food competition.

?: "STOP!"