Together

Chapter One

Support

Himawari carried the bag full of ramen cups up the stairs to her apartment building, hoping it would cheer up her brother. They hadn't had ramen in a while and it would be nice to sit down and eat together. She usually went straight to bed after she got off work, her long days at the hospital wearing her out. It was alright considering she loved her job, but getting off at eleven pm and starting her shift at seven am the next morning left no time to spare for anything except sleeping. That meant five days of the week Boruto was left all by himself.

She hated it, knowing he was lonely, but it wouldn't always be this way. Himawari hoped and believed that once she saved enough money to buy a house, things would be different and she could cut her hours back. Once she reached her apartment she unlocked the door and stepped inside. The lights were off as usual and she held back a sigh. The blond was awake, he always was to make sure she got home safely. However she had told him over and over not to sit in the dark all the time. Every morning she would leave with the curtains opened and the house lit only to come home to find it dark and the curtains drawn.

It was a topic that would turn into an argument, most things did, but she didn't want to do that tonight. Himawari was tired and hungry and she just wanted to spend time with her brother. She flicked on the lights and gasped at finding the apartment trashed, furniture knocked over and items scattered about. She slowly walked into the kitchen, setting the bag of ramen down as anger and sadness filled her heart. Boruto had another one of his fits. Why did he do this? Why was this what their relationship had become? It had been over two years and it felt like things would never get better, only worse.

"Boruto!" She yelled, but didn't wait for the blond to answer. She stormed her way over to his room and opened the door. Switching on the lights, she found him sitting on the floor in front of his bed.

"You don't have to yell, I'm not deaf." Boruto grumbled. His hearing was perfectly fine, better than other people's in fact.

"What set you off this time, huh? That you had to go and wreck everything?" She demanded. "We've talked and talked and talked, I've asked and pleaded, but you . . . you keep acting like this."

"Like what? Like what, Himawari?" He asked and turned his head towards her, his own voice rasing.

Himawari clenched her fists. "Like a brat! Like a complete and utter jerk! I don't deserve to be treated the way you treat me, I've done nothing but try to be there for you. And yet we keep having the same conversations and nothing changes."

Boruto gritted his teeth. "No one asked you to do anything. I never asked for your help. I never asked for anything!"

The younger Uzumaki took a deep breath, trying to get through to him. "I'm tired. I'm tired of constantly fighting and seeing you be miserable. You cut off all your friends, you never leave the apartment, it's not healthy. I just want you to be okay . . . I want you to be happy and for us to . . . to be like we used to . . . I want my brother back."

The blond scuffed bitterly and turned his head away, chest feeling tight. "Yeah, well I'm tired of a lot of things too. Do you think I want any of this shit? I'm not miserable by choice." He spat. "Be like we used to . . . be like I used to . . . how fucking dare you. There is no going back, so stop dreaming. I'll never be the same again no matter what I want! I'm stuck like this for the rest of my life! And you have the nerve to ask me to change? You-"

"Your attitude has nothing to do with being blind!" Himawari cut him off. He was trying to turn this around, pass the blame that he never took for himself. She wouldn't let him make her feel guilty. Not anymore. "I'm done with your tantrums and your pity party. I can't take this anymore." She said, voice growing quiet as tears filled her eyes. She wasn't going to make excuses for him anymore, she wasn't going to justify his actions when he didn't care about her feelings. "You need help . . . the kind that I can't give you."

Boruto didn't expected that last bit, wondering if this meant she would kick him out. A large part of him hoped she did. Then she would be free of him and have a chance for that happiness she always went on about. He kept quiet as she walked away, crossing the hall to close her bedroom door behind her. He knew he should go apologize, everything she said was right . . . she was always right. He treated her like shit when she put her life on hold to look after him. It was scary how much their relationship had changed in just two years. It hurt and while he didn't enjoy hurting her, it always turned out that way. He would lose him temper . . . something that happened easily compared to in the past.

He was filled with so many emotions that he kept bottled up. There was so much he refused to let out and ignore, but anger wasn't one of them. It was his outlet and he had plenty of it to spare. He was mad at the world, mad at his life, mad at himself . . . even his sister couldn't put up with him forever. He was waiting for that breaking point so he could take her off the list of his regrets. Boruto didn't know how to change, he didn't know where to start when he couldn't navigate his own feelings, but he knew at least he could stop being a burden to Himawari. If he got her to kick him out then maybe he could focus on himself rather than worrying about how much she was pushing herself. Or maybe he would continue his downward spiral without taking her down with him.

…

A week after their argument, Boruto was standing in the living room as his sister rushed around. She hadn't reached the end of her rope like he thought and instead was taking a different approach. Now he was being dragged against his will to some support group. The blond wanted to throw up. What the hell was she thinking, what sane person would stick a blind man in a room with other blind people? What were they going to do, compare their blindness? Talk about how it felt to see nothing but darkness? Boruto wasn't interested, not one bit. However Himawari wasn't giving him a choice. She literally smacked him upside the head and ordered him to go. She was done being nice.

While it was good to witness that old fire in her again, he didn't like that it was directed at him. She was determined and rearranged her work schedule so she could drive him there and pick him up. He didn't see the point and didn't want whatever help this would offer, if she was going to force him into therapy then he'd rather go to a proper shrink. Why did other people have to be around? Was she hoping he made some friends? Boruto snorted at the idea.

"Alright, I've got you all set." Himawari said as came over and placed a shoulder bag strap over his head to lie diagonally across his torso. "Snacks, juice, an extra pair of sunglasses and your cell phone."

Boruto pushed up the pair of black lenses to stare down at her, making a face at the sound of her peepy voice. "I'm not five and we're not going to a playdate. I don't need all this junk."

"Well you're going to take it so suck it up, you big baby." She said and pulled his sunglasses back down. Then she took his arm, placing that wretched thing in his hand.

The blond shoved it back at her with a scowl. "I don't want that stupid cane." A constant reminder that he was handicaped.

"Stop being difficult! You know you can't get around outside without it, especially in new places. Don't make me duct tape it to you."

He didn't doubt she would, grumbling as she pressed it into his hand again. "Damn it. I wouldn't need it if you weren't making me go out in the first place." Support group . . . what a load of bull. He tightened the black cord around his wrist and then held the cold metal properly, the white retractable device extending when he pressed a button. "Let's get this over with."

They left the apartment building and got into the younger Uzumaki's car. Once they were buckled in, Himawari drove them to the care center where the meeting was being held. She heard about the program at work and decided to sign her brother up for it. The mediator for the group was one of the best and she was more than willing to pay the fee, this was her only hope of knocking some sense into Boruto. The blond was dreading it the more time passed and noted it was a pretty good distance away. He wished she wouldn't go through the trouble of doing this, of dealing with him. He was the older brother, it was his job to take care of her . . . now she was stuck taking care of him.

It pissed him off. He used to be so dependable, so active, so . . . . . he used to be a lot of things. Now he wasn't jack shit and mooched off his sister while she worked her ass off. The whole situation was one of the things that set him off, he didn't want to be so helpless. When they pulled into the parking lot, Himawari came around to his side after she cut the engine. He took her arm after he got out of the car and let her lead him inside. The place smelled like lavender and the scent lessened his irritation a little, smoothing out his furrowed brow. At least it didn't stink. He could hear people talking and moving around them and hoped this group wouldn't end up being a large one.

They walked down a hallway and then rounded a corner, stopping a couple feet down. Himawari told him that this was the room and opened the door to his left. Apparently they were early and no one else was there yet, his sister being annoyingly considerate. He let go of her arm and walked in with his cane moving back and forth across the wooden floor. Boruto maneuvered his way around the room to get an idea of the layout, chairs gathered in the center. He felt around the circle and counted nine of them in total. That was definitely not a small group.

Himawari watched him for a couple minutes before she had to get going, her pager already starting to beep. Boruto told her to go ahead and ditch him before the sound got on his nerves. She captured him in a hug and said to call her if he needed to, but not if it was because he wanted to leave. He huffed, telling her to scram. He would be fine on his own and she worried too much. The blond heard the door close behind her and soon the room felt that much bigger. It always got like this when he was alone, the darkness seemed to stretch on forever.

Boruto sat down in one of the chairs and retracted his cane. Then he put it in the bag his sister had packed, hand brushing up against a juice box. He rolled his eyes as a smile tugged at his lips, giving in and taking out the kid's drink. He set the bag on the floor and tore off the straw. After feeling for the puncture point with his finger, he gently stabbed the straw through and sipped the apple juice. Not a minute later the door burst open causing him to jolt in his seat. Two pairs of feet were rapidly approaching, so fast that they couldn't have been blind.

"Hey-" A soft, cheerful voice rang, cutting off abruptly along with the movement in the room. Then the voice whispered, "oh no. Who is that?! Inojin, hide me."

"M-me?" A more timid voice whispered back. "No way. We both should hide."

Were someone's kids running amuck? Boruto decided not to get involved and pretend he couldn't hear them.

Inojin fisted the hem of Hoki's shirt, frowning at the pair of sunglasses staring right at them. "H-he's looking at us . . . creepy."

Hōki fussed with his mask, fearful Boruto was judging him. "Y-you should talk to him." He suggested quietly.

"Me?" Inojin squeaked.

"Well I can't do it!" Hōki huffed, stomping his foot.

"I knew I shouldn't have left home today . . ." Inojin stressed and started biting his nails.

Boruto sighed, wondering how he ended up on babysitting duty. He picked up his bag and took out two plastic bags, not knowing what was in them and not caring. The snacks should keep the kids occupied for a bit until their parents showed up. "Here. You can have these."

"Is that snacks?" Hōki asked his friend, staring at the bags. "Is he… being nice?"

"We don't take things from strangers, Kawaki said so, remember?" Inojin reminded, even if the treats did look tempting.

It seemed like they would go back and forth all day if Boruto let them. "If you don't want any then I'll just eat them all myself."

"Hmm. I don't know, he's kind of cute, maybe he's safe." Hōki shifted a little closer to where the blond was sitting. "But… he is a stranger."

Inojin shuffled right behind him, hand still holding onto his shirt. "Y-you first."

This is ridiculous, Boruto inwardly complained. This was why he wasn't good with children.

The door opened once more and Inojin and Hōki turned to see Kawaki walking in, catching them red handed. "The fuck are you two doing?" His much deeper voice rang through the room. "And who is that?"

Boruto hoped that was their father or older brother, someone to round them up. "They wandered in here." He explained and set the bags in his lap, resuming drinking his juice.

"Kawaki, this stranger is lost." Hōki explained in confusion. "He offered us snacks but we didn't take them. Like you said."

"Yeah." Inojin chimed in.

"Looked like you were about to." Kawaki snorted and then looked over to Boruto. "Anyway, they didn't wander in here on accident. We're part of a support group that meets here."

"Every Monday and Thursday?" Boruto questioned. "That's what I'm here for too." Unfortunately, but the fact that those kids were here was concerning. "Aren't they a little . . . young for this kind of thing?"

"Hey!" Hōki huffed but quickly hid behind Kawaki, Inojin following suit. "What is he trying to say?"

"Are you blind?" Kawaki asked a little harsher than necessary, but he was curious of the shades and the misunderstanding.

Boruto on the other hand was starting to suspect this wasn't a support group for blind people after all. "As a matter of fact, I am." Not that he needed to be reminded. Great ice breaker, he was sure they would all end up being buddy buddy. "Newbies never show up early, huh?"

"Shit." Kawaki sighed and then pushed the guys from behind him. "Now apologize."

"What?" Hōki frowned, brows furrowing as he grabbed hold of Kawaki's shirt and peeked back at Boruto. "Are you… you're really blind?"

"Last time I checked." Boruto answered. So maybe they weren't litteral kids, but they sure sounded and acted like children.

Inojin peeked around Hōki. "Test him." He whispered, none the wiser that the blond could easily hear everything they were saying.

"Don't be ridiculous." Kawaki scoffed. "Let's sit down and introduce ourselves."

The three chairs to his right were claimed and the smell of cologne filled Boruto's nose. He kept his head straight, starting to realize he was out of his element. What now? Friendly chatter? He didn't know if this group thing would be easier if he played nice or if he just ignored everyone.

In the end he passed the two bags to whoever was sitting next to him. "For the little ones."

Kawaki accepted the snacks and passed them to Inojin and Hōki who took them excitedly. "Thank you. But, they are adult kids, just so you know."

Adult kids, that sounded about right. "Noted."

"About your age, I would say." Kawaki mused as he stared at the new person next to him. "Do you always wear shades? Makes it hard to tell what you really look like."

What did it matter what he looked like? And he doubted the other two were as old as he was, even if they were childish at heart. "I'm twenty eight."

"Twenty eight?" Kawaki asked in surprise. "Shit, I figured you were younger than them."

"Ha Ha, you're still the oldest in the room." Hōki snickered. "I'm Hōki, and I'm twenty five!"

Inojin gathered his courage, introducing himself to the stranger. "M-my name is Inojin. I'm twenty four."

They were still older than Boruto would have guessed, but he figured even that young they could need a group like this. He certainly didn't. "Boruto."

"Are you defensive about the shades? You just ignored me completely." Kawaki muttered, kicking back in his chair and sighing. "If you don't want to take them off just say so."

Boruto went back to his juice again and focused on draining the box. He wasn't defensive, but he didn't feel like explaining himself either.

"Don't make him uncomfortable." Hōki said, swatting Kawaki in the chest. "You should be nice. He's totally your type."

"Fuck you." Kawaki scoffed and rolled his eyes.

Boruto almost choked, coughing as he tried not to get juice everywhere. What kind of group was this?

"Want me to ask if he's gay?" Hōki whispered and Kawaki had half a mind to knock him out.

The blond put the empty juice box in his bag and crossed his legs at the knees, wishing he could look at the clock and see how much longer he had to put up with this. The door opened again and this time he heard the sound of a wheelchair.

Metal rolled in and made his way to the empty gap between two seats. "Hey gang. Glad to see you all made it here safe."

"Hey Metal! We got a new member, Boruto." Hōki explained as he waved excitedly and then whispered, "Kawaki has the hots for him."

"He has snacks." Inojin added on.

"Hōki, he's blind. Not deaf." Kawaki grumbled. It was a good thing he had a soft spot for the people in this support group.

Metal blinked a few times before looking at the blond. "I see . . . welcome to the group. We're good people, so don't worry about fitting in. There's no judgment here."

Boruto nodded, but wasn't really interested in fitting in. He was here because he had to be.

The door slammed open. "What's up bitches?" A new voice boomed, throaty but loud. "Y'all won't believe what happened to me today!"

"Ooh, Ooh, I'll take a guess!" Hōki bounced in his seat, raising his hand.

"Don't bother. It's obvious. He relapsed." Kawaki mumbled. "It doesn't make it okay just because you came out ahead, Iwabe."

Metal frowned, sharing a look with Inojin. He had been doing so well too, but sadly he was one of the ones who had a harder time staying on track. Metal could relate though since he hadn't experienced the most positive weekend. When you're down, sometimes you tended to stay that way.

"Don't be an ass, Kawaki. I was gonna ask everybody to dinner on me tonight. But now… you're not invited." Iwabe turned his nose up as he walked over and plopped down on the chair next to Metal.

"That's mean, Iwabe. You know Kawaki isn't really an ass on the inside." Hōki defended.

"Just on the outside?" Boruto blurted out with a raised brow. He didn't mean to jump in, but the adult kid was throwing insults on the down low. They all seemed pretty close.

Kawaki gawked at Boruto in disbelief, trying to figure out where he came from all of a sudden. Hōki just laughed so hard he started snorting and slapping his leg.

"Yes, no, I… I mean… Inojin, you tell him." He continued to giggle and Kawaki felt his temper flaring.

Inojin mulled his lips together, trying to keep his own laughter contained. "He . . . pretends."

"Damn pretender." Iwabe cackled and Kawaki scowled at him.

"Shut the fuck up before I kick your ass." Kawaki growled and pulled the stress ball out of his pocket to take his frustrations out on it.

The door opened yet again and Metal quickly used the distraction. "Oh look, the girls are here."

Sumire held the door open for Sarada before following her in. They took their seats next to Iwabe, leaving one open beside Boruto and another on Metal's left.

"Hey guys. Who's the new guy?" Sarada asked as she crossed her legs and pulled her sleeves down over her hands, clutching them.

"Boruto." Metal took the liberty of introducing. "And this is Sumire and Sarada." He said and then mouthed, "He's blind."

Sumire's eyes widened and she took another look at the blond man. Everyone here had their own problems and issues, but she never expected someone like him to join. It wasn't a bad thing and she welcomed the diversity, however it was certainly odd.

"Kawaki is mad because he has a crush on Boruto, but sadly the feeling isn't mutual." Hōki explained with a sigh and patted Kawaki's shoulder. "It's okay, you'll find somebody one day."

"I'm the one who shouldn't have showed up today." Kawaki groaned and worked on the squishy ball faster.

It was becoming clear that Boruto was put in a group with all kinds of personality types and he wondered how the hell he was going to pull this off. Himawari wouldn't force him to come to every meeting, right? The door opened for the umpteeth time and hopefully the last. He didn't sign up for any of this, his sister did and he really wished she hadn't. The more time that passed and the more people that came increased his irritation. This was a bad idea, it was too many people and he wanted to leave.

What was Himawari thinking? What kind of support was he going to get from this? They were obviously tight knit and had a good dynamic going, what purpose did he have in being there? He might have stopped socializing and making connections with others, but he could still see strong bonds when he was faced with them. They were all close friends. Two sets of footsteps came over and completed the circle. One filled the empty chair next to Metal and the other sat down right next to Boruto.

Shikadai looked around at familiar faces, finding everyone accounted for along with a newbie. "Boruto Uzumaki." He addressed the man to his left. "I talked with your sister on the phone, it's great to have you. I'm Shikadai."

Boruto figured he was the mediator. He definitely had that air about him and knew his sister had gotten him into this mess. "Yeah . . . thanks."

"I'm Chocho!" A female voice spoke up energetically. "You can call me Cho if you want. I'm our group's bodyguard. If you have any problems, let me know and I'll knock them out."

"Did everyone else already introduce themselves?" Shikadai asked.

"Yes. It's been a shitty meet so far thanks to Hōki." Kawaki said, still working the ball in his hand.

Hōki sighed and waved Kawaki off. "He's just having an episode because Boruto's not gay."

Shikadai shook his head with a smile, there was always something going on. He chose not to comment and let the blond take matters into his own hands if he was able. If not, he would step in although he doubted he would need to. From what his sister said, Boruto had quite the temper. Losing his cool would give him the opportunity to make progress. It worked with Kawaki after all, he was the toughest person Shikadai had ever dealt with. He would be an interesting addition and hopefully help the group grow while he did the same. Boruto couldn't care less about the comment regarding his sexuality, but the sound of Kawaki squeezing that ball was starting to set him on edge.

It had a subtle squeak, one that probably wouldn't bother anyone else. However Boruto wasn't like everyone else. He had put up with it ever since the man had brought it out in the first place. He didn't show any signs of stopping and the blond didn't have the patience to wait for him to. Damning the consequences, Boruto reached over and placed his hand over Kawaki's to make him stop.

Kawaki's squeezing came to an abrupt halt and he stared down at the smaller, warmer hand laying over his. His grey eyes rose to stare at dark shades and he grimaced. "What?" He asked, unsure why he was being touched and why he was so mad he couldn't see the eyes behind those glasses.

"You're driving me nuts." Boruto told him and then removed his hand.

"So, he is gay?" Hōki wondered aloud while scratching his head.

"Driving you nuts?" Kawaki huffed. "How?!"

The sudden raise in volume made Boruto turn his head towards the other man. "It's squeaking right in my ear." He grunted.

"Everybody shh, the magic is working." Hōki whispered and Inojin watched on in amazement.

"Do you see the shit I have to put up with?" Kawaki pointed back at Hōki and only then realized the blond couldn't see anything. He sighed, feeling his anger dissipating. "It helps me calm down."

Boruto knew what a stress ball was, but he had never heard one so noisy. "Maybe get one that doesn't squeak."

"Feisty. I like it." Sarada mused, her mood brightening as she watched the group drama. This was the one place she felt she could smile.

"Reminds me of someone else I know." Sumire said with a pointed look at the raven sitting next to her. "The feisty ones always shine the brightest."

"Don't you start." Sarada blushed, eyes narrowing as they cut to the side. Sumire was always too much for her. The lavender haired girl simply grinned in response.

"It doesn't squeak." Kawaki argued, ignoring the girls.

"Hate to break it to you, but it does." Boruto insisted.

Metal leaned over a little towards Iwabe to ask for a third opinion. "Does it squeak?" He never really paid attention to it.

"Uh… I mean I don't know about squeak… more like a… whoosh." Iwabe tried to explain.

"You're just hearing shit." Kawaki scoffed and then glared down at the ball in his hand before beginning to squeeze it slowly. Was there a squeak?

Boruto was about to make another comment when it hit him. The whole group was watching their little spectacle and while he didn't care what other people thought, he didn't want to be the center of attention. The blond let it go for the moment and waited for Shikadai to do something. Wasn't he the leader of the group? Surely he didn't let everyone ramble on and on about nothing all day. Weren't they supposed to be talking about support or some shit? Unknowingly to him, this was the norm. Shikadai often let them control the conversation. This was their time, this was their place to say whatever they needed to say without someone tuning them out or silencing their voice.

Mondays were always filled with chatter, but this group wasn't like the others at the care center. Shikadai had a different approach and did many things with the group other than sit around and talk. He couldn't wait to turn Boruto's misconceptions around like all the others in the past. Soon the conversation shifted and they went one by one telling everyone how their weekend went, some good, some decent, and some not so good. Metal was struggling with staying motivated and Iwabe had relapsed, the Nara giving him a firm and scolding look at the information. Boruto learned that Iwabe was a gambler fighting against his impulses to roll the dice.

Sarada and Sumire didn't go into any details about their individual issues, but said things had been getting better. Chocho was more than happy to retell a little of her story for Boruto's sake, proud to be five years sober as she continues to battle her addiction. Inojin simply nodded when he was asked how his weekend went although he opened more when Hōki started talking about the sleepover they had. Kawaki said his weekend had been whatever to which Shikadai pressed for a real answer. After he said it was fine, everyone's attention moved on to Boruto. He could feel their eyes on him and he didn't like it.

Given that other people got away with one worded answers, he said it was alright and left it at that. Time had surprisingly gone by quickly and Boruto was caught off guard when Shikadai started wrapping it up.

"Good work today, everyone. Let's try our best the rest of the week." He encouraged. "Don't forget to vote in our group chat to decide what we'll be doing Thursday." The next part was directed at Boruto and spoken at a lower volume. "I'll stay behind to help you set it up."

The blond thought the other man was sly, saying he was going to help without giving Boruto a choice about joining the group chat in the first place. The others said their goodbyes as they filed out and it wasn't long after that that Himawari showed up. She jumped on the chance to help Shikadai set up the chat on his phone, making sure the app they used would read out the text messages and activate talk to text. Boruto didn't take any part in the affair and was perfectly content staying out of it. Once everything was set up, they finally left and got in the car. His sister assaulted him with questions the whole ride back to the apartment and he couldn't understand why she was so excited about it.

The support group was supposed to help him change for the better? It still sounded as unbelievable as before he attended the meeting. The group was cute and all, but it just wasn't for him. Boruto prefered to be on his own anyway . . . if only Himawari would see that. He couldn't be fixed, he couldn't be repaired and polished all shiny and new. He was stuck and as much as he hated it, he had accepted the fact. It was time she did too. She had to go back to work after she dropped him off and he was glad to be back in the familiarity of the apartment. He didn't hesitate to get rid of his wretched cane, begrudgingly hanging it by the door where it belonged. He had tried to hide it before, but Himawari always found it in the end.

Truthfully he was worn out and decided to lie down for a nap. Two days a week he would have to be dragged away to that circle of strangers, but little did he know it would change his life forever.