the breakup call

chapter 1

I do not, unfortunately, own Naruto.

I'd recommend to read this with "Fix You" by Coldplay in the background. c:

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Her words were like daggers. Digging in to his skin, creating wounds, engraving scars. So heartless and nonchalant. No tears present.

It was how Sakura always preferred everything — quick and uncomplicated. Just like how she disliked cooking, because it took "too long", or the way she hated driving in the morning before work because oh god — traffic was "too long" to bear with. Everything had to be done quickly for her.

Quickly, just like the way she just indifferently blurted out the words, "I think it's best if we break up."

It was like his breath had been ripped out of his lungs and the air was thick and he was suffocating and he just couldn't breathe.

She'd entirely avoided his gaze because she knew, oh — she knew that his world was hollow without her presence and his willpower which bore the ability to move mountains, to realign the galaxies, was no more. It was broken.

He was broken, in to tiny, minuscule, fragments — specs of dust drowning in his ocean of sorrow.

Not once, in that moment, did she dare meet his gaze. She was fully aware of the wet, hot tears that brimmed his eyes and how his throat tightened, so much so that he uncomfortably croaked, "Why?"

"I-I just think it's about time, don't you?" she said, giving a half-hearted, dry, laugh. "There's only so many times you can try to fix a broken object before the broken pieces become unrepairable." She could very clearly hear the short, heavy sounds of his uneven breath. Sakura bit the insides of her mouth, refusing to show any sort of outward emotion.

"Cut the bullshit analogy, we're not objects, Sakura-chan! We're humans — I'm human! Why don't you realise what you're doing to me? Why are you always like this?"

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto. This is for the best, for the two of us." Her voice was soft-spoken, smooth like velvet, but tremulous. It was unsteady, disturbed and intertwined with an empty apology; she wasn't really sorry at all.

A heavy surge of rain drowned out the suffocating silence from the pair, both sheltered from the outrageous storm under the roof of Naruto's flat.

Naruto didn't question anything any further, partly as she wouldn't have the audacity to answer his question, and also partly because he just didn't want to know anymore.

Breaking the silence, she ascended from the leather couch she was so comfortably perched on, and wore the same, passive facade as she always did as she said, "I'll go pack my stuff. There's some boxes in our wardrobe, I'll use them."

She skipped over the word 'our' very quickly, almost hesitantly, forcing Naruto to almost forget they shared a whole life together for almost five-and-a-little-bit years. The ups, the downs, the peaks and the troughs, they shared everything.

Like, the rare, infrequent moments when Sakura had curled in to his lap, shaking, crumbling, quivering as he'd soothingly bury her head in the crook of his neck with her heavy breaths hot against his skin, and he would wonder how a lady so indestructible could crumble so easily against his loving embrace.

Yet, a moment like that hadn't happened for a long, long time. She'd grown to be entirely passive, not honest with her emotions, because she didn't want to hurt him. Sakura needed to remain strong, completely indestructible so that he wouldn't worry or fuss too much about her.

She clutched her purse very tightly to her body, tender lips pursed as her heels clicked against the wooden floorboards from the living room to their bedroom.

Naruto's eyes glued to the floor, refusing to watch her leave the room to pack her belongings. Where had they gone wrong — what did he do? Why, why did it always have to be him? Why did he have to screw up the only relationship where he had solely, entirely, fully, devoted himself to?

He didn't help her pack. He just watched her, move in and out of the apartment, lumbering unnecessarily heavy boxes from and to her car as she, on the other hand, eyed him as a subtle gesture in hope for him to help her. Except, he didn't.

Naruto refused to contribute to her departure from his life.

Slowly, Sakura walked back in to his flat, and didn't meander back to their bedroom to pick up the last box — because there were none left. She was finished. This was evident as she gave a cough loud enough for him to hear, as she stood near the flat door and kept her hands deep in her pockets.

Aware that she finished packing her stuff, Naruto stood up from his position and strolled with eyes still not dry and heart so heavy it weighed him down as he walked. He situated himself merely inches away from her, eyebrows furrowed.

His cerulean eyes watched her. They wandered from her very, very faint freckles, like specs of sugar splattered across her skin, to her small, meek hands that were hidden deep in her jean pockets.

A deafening silence overcoming the atmosphere, Sakura insinuated, "I should go."

Naruto nodded, as if there was no more he could do to stop her from leaving. He could have begged, pleaded for her to stay, but he didn't. Even that much, he knew, wouldn't be enough to make her stay.

"Yeah. Bye," Naruto croaked out.

Just as Sakura turned her back to him to leave, she turned around — and Naruto could have sworn he saw her eyes water — and said, "Thank you for everything, Naruto. I wouldn't have wanted to spend those amazing four years of my life with anyone else but you."

Naruto's heart shattered.

"Five years. And a half. Not four," he said, an undertone of melancholy evident in the hoarse sounds of his voice.

"Oh. I see, I'm sorry," she apologised, again, "Bye, Naruto."

He didn't bother to say bye back (though aware that that could have been the last time he'd see her for a very, very long time) before he just watched her close the door gently. Yet, the clicks of her heels could still be heard outside, running down the stairs of his flat in a hurry that could only emphasise how much she wanted to be away from his presence.

He didn't even see a single tear fall from her face as she left.

xxx

Naruto always heard breakup stories before. Most of them involved girls who left completely torn and broken, because the boy they were dating was a player and they thought, they irresponsibly and mistakingly, thought that there would be that small possibility that meant they could change the player.

It always ended the same, however; the boy would betray her, be unfaithful because that's just a player's nature, and they would consequently breakup.

Yet, the story that was more unheard of — but more possible than any of them — was the girl breaking up with the boy. Despite this being such a rare incident, it was "more possible than the rest of them", because a girl has emotional and physical power. They overrule the battle of the sexes with the ability to easily move and manipulate the hearts of boys and make them surrender emotionally. Girls were powerful, Naruto concluded.

That was why, when a girl broke up with the boy, he was left a mess without her. His world was no longer whole, merely fragmented and left to fix the broken pieces solely himself.

Since that day, that Friday afternoon, he hadn't seen or heard of Sakura, not even once. It had been three weeks, marking the longest time they'd been away from each without even a single call or text.

Even when Sakura was busy, working overnight at the hospital or even longer, she would grab her phone as soon as she would have a minute free and text him reminding him that she was okay, and not to worry, she just had an emergency to deal with. She would find every little moment to talk to him.

But Naruto was not over it, not a single bit.

His overconsumption of alcohol over those said three weeks had accumulated and waking up to a hangover everyday was no way in hell healthy — but that didn't stop Naruto. It almost encouraged him more. He needed it, he needed something, anything, to just drown out his sorrows in and if that had to be alcohol, then so be it.

Every ounce of him loved her so badly and so strongly that she made it impossible to forget about her — he was never, ever going to find someone like Sakura Haruno ever again, nor would he ever be able to forget about her. For five and a half years, she never failed to be the first and last thing that ran through his mind.

It felt so mentally exhausting; his mind went round and round in circles, trying to figure out what he did, trying to fathom how it all went wrong.

Over the three weeks that she had been absent from his life, her fruity, peach-like scent began to fade from his flat. It was like she never even existed anymore.

xxx

Hinata Hyuuga knew very well that it was too late, seventeen minutes past midnight to be exact, to be baking, but she just couldn't resist.

Regardless of the time, she used the spotty, blue and white scrunch on her wrist and put her hair in a messy ponytail in an attempt to gather her hair and not get it in her food.

Undeniably, she couldn't sleep. There was no particular reason for it; sometimes, she just had too many thoughts and in this case, it was the thoughts of missing home that overwhelmed her. She wasn't usually homesick, so this was one rare case.

Although she was very much in touch with her cousin, Neji Hyuuga (who was also coincidentally one of her closest friends), she wasn't really in touch with anyone else after she left home — particularly not her younger sister Hanabi. Although the bonds between Hanabi and Hinata were weak due to unexplainable matters in her family, she was, nevertheless, her younger sister and she did love her dearly.

The Hyuuga smiled to herself, intent on baking some chocolate chip muffins (Hanabi's favourite) to give to Neji, who could then pass them on to Hanabi.

But she also had another idea; she could give half of the batch to Hanabi, and the second half to Kiba. Yeah. She'd do that.

Kiba, being a veterinary surgeon, was away for a business trip and it had been a couple of days since she last saw him — it was the perfect way to thank him for his hard work (not to mention that it was a major bonus considering Kiba adored chocolate-flavoured desserts more than anything else in the world).

She considered giving some to Shino and TenTen too, but shrugged off that suggestion knowing that she would have to make far too great a batch for her to manage at such an hour.

She began the work, roaming around the kitchen, almost like a strenuous exercise, and followed the instructions which were stored mentally from years of practising. Every tip and trick she secretly knew from her personal experience was applied, she knew exactly how and what to do to ensure her chocolate chip muffins tasted fabulous.

Baking was indeed Hinata's profession; if she didn't have years of experience and accumulated knowledge, it would be slightly worrying, but she loved doing it and her bakery was the one thing that had never let her down in her life.

Placing the tray with the batter in to the oven, Hinata felt a surge of joy as she could relax on the couch, maybe watch some shows she pre-recorded and wait for them to slowly rise, and eventually bake to perfection.

And so, strolling to the couch with her lilac slippers snug on the base of her feet and rubbing against the rug, she sat down with a stretch and yawned.

However, just as she was ready to sit down, Hinata could hear the distant sound of her phone ringing, and she wondered why anyone would bother calling her at this time of night.

xxx

"Naruto, man, it's so good to see you!" Chouji greeted Naruto, "How have you been lately? I feel like it's been a century since we've spoken."

"How do you think the damn guy's been? He's a wreck. I bet he hasn't even seen the sunlight since Sakura left her," Shikamaru said, an eyebrow raised at the sight of his best friend. He certainly was not exaggerating; the bags under Naruto's eyes were the size of Mars and he stunk — of what, perhaps piss, or animal waste. Both, maybe.

Naruto grumbled at the sound of her name. Sakura, Sakura, Sakura.

It had been four weeks, and still no call, no text, no word of apology. Nothing. Just the sound of Naruto's sobs resonating through his flat day and night.

Luckily, Shikamaru called them all — Chouji, Naruto and Rock Lee — for a guy's night at a club, every one of them being completely aware of Naruto's situation and attempting to be comforting for their best friend.

They group were all sat round a table, sake and numerous other alcoholic drinks making up most of the room on the table.

Strobe, multicoloured lights illuminated their faces; an array of neon lights aligned the walls and lit up the imminent darkness of the crowded, claustrophobic nightclub.

The intermingled smells of sweat and smoke didn't bother Naruto. In fact, it kind of made him feel at home. After the breakup, personal hygiene (or lack of) was almost nonexistent, and he pretty much felt comfortable with the filth of the dingy club.

He was the first one to snatch the bottle of snake and pour it in to the glass, receiving raised eyebrows from the rest of his friends but a not-so-unexpected look from Shikamaru.

"Woah woah woah, it's a bit early in the night for that stuff. We got some talking to do since you're sober, Naruto," Lee said, taking the sake bottle and his glass away from his hands.

Naruto shot Lee a glare, slumping in his chair and mumbling, "I have nothing to talk about, so."

"What in the living fuck is wrong with you recently, Naruto?" Shikamaru argued, tone completely calm.

He gained no response from the blonde, who only shrugged off his question and eyed his precious sake with a hungry gaze.

"Why did you two break up? I thought everything was going really well," Lee questioned.

"Yeah, so did I," Naruto muttered, "Apparently not."

The group of men waited for Naruto to continue speaking, to at least say something more, but he failed to do so and remained passive while slumped lazily in his couch chair, so Lee decided to probe him further.

"Has she not spoke to you since that day?"

"No."

Chouji, Shikamaru and Lee all shared glances, eyebrows raised. Naruto was, at that moment, screwed up: the boys concluded.

Lee, who was protectively hugging the sake in order to keep it out of Naruto's grasp, slid it across the table to the depressed blonde.

"Here. I think you're going to need it more than any of us tonight." Although it went against Lee's morals, he understood when a boy had his limits, and he had to respect them.

"Have you tried calling her?" Chouji proposed, gaining a look of disapproval from the rest of the boys, except Naruto.

Naruto, quite clearly dumbfounded at the idea as if it was something he'd never thought of before, considered it.

Shikamaru shook his head skeptically, and slammed his hand down at the atrocious suggestion. "Chouji, that's the worst idea. Ever."

"Ignore him, Naruto. Don't call her, please," Lee agreed, nodding alongside Shikamaru.

"But why not, it's actually—"

"Naruto," Shikamaru retorted, "No. End of. Don't even consider it as an option." Shikamaru, being the intellectual person he was, knew very well the consequences of doing something like this — calling Sakura Haruno would, most certainly, mould Naruto in to the most desperate, hopeless ex-boyfriend known to mankind.

Moreover, it'd be proof that Naruto still hadn't moved on. He was still stuck in the same place, same position, for four weeks straight, and he couldn't let Sakura know that.

Shikamaru knew that the key to Naruto's happiness was not getting back together with Sakura, but rather, moving on from her. Over the years they were together, he watched Naruto; while he thought he was oh-so hopelessly in love with her, there had been countless times she had left him in tears, completely distraught. They had fought so many times, the boy lost count.

"Alright, well. Chouji and Lee are going to the dancefloor. I'll stay with you, Naruto, incase you projectile vomit all over the table, or something," Shikamaru informed him, eyes diverting to Lee and Chouji who were arising from their seats and sauntering away from them, the darkness blanketing their bodies as they were soon unseen and lost in the myriad of bodies.

Meanwhile, Naruto, who was busily chugging down the entire content of the sake bottle, seemed completely carefree and in paradise amongst the countless bottles of alcoholic beverages.

If a stranger, someone completely random from the street, took one glimpse at Naruto they could tell, he was a mess. His blonde mane, completely dishevelled and tousled, was stuck up in bizarre places — clearly unbrushed for at least two weeks — it needed a haircut; he'd grown out an odd beard, and had minimal energy for chatter. Naruto Uzumaki was a disaster.

How long this would go on for, Shikamaru had yet to figure out, but by the looks of it, his heartbreak wasn't going to end anytime soon.

"Naruto, I'm going to the toilet, don't do anything stupid while I'm gone," Shikamaru announced, chuckling at Naruto who seemed to be rolling his eyes.

"Whatever, dad."

Just as Shikamaru strolled away from the table, leaving Naruto completely isolated from the group, sparks triggered an idea.

The blonde dug his hand in to his pockets, clutched his phone and looked through his contacts — everything was a blur. The drinks were taking a toll on him.

He didn't care if the boys said the idea was stupid; he was going to call Sakura. Naruto was going to do it, regardless of their irrelevant opinions.

Instead of looking for her through his contacts list, he chose to just dial the number instead, seeing as Naruto had accidentally learnt her number off the top of his head from five years of being in a relationship with her.

Very stupidly, he punched the numbers through his phone without really checking it over, and had minimal knowledge of the fact that the person he'd be calling on the other end would not be the Sakura he was hoping for.

xxx

Hinata didn't really know whether to answer the call or not.

"Unknown caller," she read from the screen of her phone. Maybe it sounded absurd, but this was positively a scene from a horror movie and even though she didn't want to risk it, Hinata considered all of the options.

It could be Kiba, or Neji, or someone close to her, and if they were in danger, God knows what would happen if the Hyuga hung up the call out of her own fear.

So she stuck her phone to her ear and listened, breaths uneven in slight anticipation and anxiety.

"H-Hello?" she said, her voice cracking in what was most likely an overwhelming sense of fright.

Just as there was utter silence on the other end (besides the sound of what seemed like a booming bass and rowdy club music), and Hinata was ready to hang up, a voice cried out in desperation, "Sakura."

Confusion shot through Hinata like a bullet, before aware of the fact that this unknown caller (who was drunk, she presumed) had, in fact, called the wrong number.

"I-I'm so sorry—" His voice was breaking painfully, sobs drowning out his words and muffling his sentence. "I screwed up. I'm a fool. I'm hopeless. I know, I know — that's why you broke up with me, right?"

He didn't give any time for Hinata to answer as he continued whimpering in agony, "I love you, Sakura. I love you so much. I'm so fucked up without you. I've never felt so much pain in my life more than knowing I'm not waking up to a sunrise with you, every morning. I love you. I love you, i love you…"

Now, she could tell, the caller was expecting an answer — and so, Hinata gave it. "I-I love you too—" What was she doing? "—I'm sorry, I-I made a mistake. I don't know why I broke up with you, s-so.." Hinata could tell that, like she initially assumed, the man indeed, was drunk not to realise she was not the 'Sakura' he was wishing to call.

She hadn't noticed it up until that moment, but Hinata was quivering. Every inch of her body was trembling in grief after hearing the sobs overwhelmed in emotion through the phone, the caller so relieved to hear those precise three words, so comforted, euphoric.

He was speechless, she could tell. Completely distraught.

"A-Are you serious? Sakura-chan, are you serious? I-I…" he stammered, fumbling anxiously with his words in disbelief.

Hinata never really thought she'd be shaking, torn apart at the sound of a stranger completely broken because of a lovestruck heartbreak — because she knew that feeling all too well. The twinge of agony over a heartbreak, being left completely confined by no one but yourself and no one to speak those soothing, reassuring words to you that you just need to hear so desperately.

"I'm serious. I was wrong, and I'm sorry."

She was really, really stupid — Hinata very well knew that. If it had been anyone but her receiving the call, they would have told the poor guy to get over the girl and move on, but Hinata felt so bad. She pitied him. Hinata knew exactly what he was feeling — how he was so gut wrenchingly consumed in pain and his own bitter anguish. She couldn't just ignore him, or hang up, because that was simply who she was.

More sobs, louder this time, were heard through the phone. "I missed you, so damn much… I was thinking about you everyday, waiting for a call or a text, but nothing," he wearied, adopting an exhausted tone.

"I was thinking about you too, I was just, too scared to talk to you…" she squeaked, voice growing quieter as her sentence grew longer.

A silence overcame the call.

Hinata, breaking the awkwardness, said, "So, I should probably go, it's getting late—"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I must have woken you up. Thank you for picking up, Sakura-chan, it meant a lot to me," the caller rejoiced, "I'll speak to you soon!"

Hinata took a heavy breath — oh God, that was what she feared. If he spoke to the real girl and the truth slipped out… she didn't even want to think about the guiltiness that would shoot straight through her.

"Bye, Sakura-chan." His tone was unlike that of when he first called her, it was softer, more gentle, and he spoke in a subdued manner.

"Bye," she responded, hanging up instantaneously.

Hinata's knees gave in, descending to the floor, holding her head agonisingly as she tried to recall what on earth just happened in the last ten minutes.

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a/n: writing a completely down and depressed Naruto was hard, apologies if he seems out of character at some stages. also, apologies for the lack of naruhina in this chapter, I promises there will be much more in the future!

please do review, it means a lot c:

have a nice day! ~