18+ Oneshots

15 - Naruto/Kakashi - Mask Off

Naruto sat in apartment, idly stirring his ramen as he thought. Hinata had used to treat him so fondly, and he wondered what could've happened had he realized why she acted like that around him before now.

But it was too late for wondering.  She'd accepted her father's proposition that she be married off to a distant cousin, as was common in clans with kekei genkai, and had recently left town to where her fiance's branch of the clan lived. At the very least, he hoped she was happy and that she'd have strong children and earn the love of her distant father.

Feeling more isolated than usual, Naruto grabs a bottle of sake from a cupboard. He didn't like to drink when sad, too concious of what a bad habit he'd form if he did that, but it couldn't hurt to have a little sleep aid tonight.

Finishing his ramen, he took his bowl to the sink and grabbed a small sake cup. He carries the bottle and cup outside, using his chakra to effortlessly walk up the walls to the roof.

He focuses on the sky, how beautiful it was, and pours himself a drink.

"At least I'm never truly alone with you here Kurama." Naruto muses, when the fox inside him whines about him drinking.

"I don't know why you bother with that nasty stuff. Can't you just go out and pick a girl if you're lonely? With your status as a ninja, even if you aren't Hokage yet, you should have no problem getting a bride from a lesser family."

Naruto scrunches his face and flaps his hand dismissively, drinking the sake down quickly.

"That's too weird. And I don't think an arranged marriage would help me anyway. I kinda..  well..." He pauses, pouring another glass. "You can't solve being lonely, I just wanna let off some steam. "

Kurama huffs, a sound usually accompanied by eye rolls Naruto knows, and he grins at how petulant his demon companion could be. He knew he couldn't really hide from Kurama his complex feelings on social isolation, lack of family and how long he was worried it would take for anyone to love him. But that didn't mean he had to admit to any of it.

He downs this cup of sake quicker, mind getting pleasantly fuzzy and the pressure of romance and loneliness lifting off his mind.

"I wonder if anyone I know would be up for something like that." Naruto wonders aloud to himself, eyes drifting unsteadily across the faces carved into the cliff.

"Sakura and Sasuke would rather kill me, shikamaru and his gf would rather die. Choji...? Nah not my type. Sai or Ino?" Naruto shudders and shakes his head. "Hinata's gone, Bushy Brow would follow me around forever like Bushy Brow Sensei follows Kakashi Sensei.."

Naruto's eyes light up. "Kakashi Sensei is a pervert!" Kurama groans and decides he's going to sleep for the next month to avoid seeing or hearing any of this. "Everyone suspects him of having feelings for me!"  

"He's kinda cute.. and he's probably had experience..Hmm." He thinks a moment, drunkenly swaying in place. "That also means I could see under his mask!! That would be so cool!" He stands and holds his cup up as if toasting himself. "I'm gonna go find Kakashi Sensei!"

. . .

A drunk ninja was still a ninja, and while Naruto didnt have the drunken fist abilities, he was still swift and able to avoid trouble on his way to Kakashi Sensei's room at the Hokage Mansion.

Landing unsteadily on a tree branch outside Kakashi's window, he sways and peers inside. Kakashi Sensei is curled up on his bed, nose buried in a book. Naruto closes his eyes, trying to focus on why he's there and figure out how he wants to approach this because fuck me, I'm lonely wasn't gonna be a good opener.