TITLE: Your Butterfly
CHAPTERS: 1
WORD COUNT: 1,050 words
PAIRING: Shikamaru+Chouji
SUMMARY: Friendship is a very beautiful thing. Because they'd promised each other that they'd be there, forever.
RATING: PG.
DISCLAIMER: Naruto is Kishimoto Masashi's work, not mine. And I think Chouji looks much better with those butterfly wings and a skinnier self after he took that red pill against Jiroubou, no?
Friendship is a beautiful thing.
No matter how you may appear in terms of height, weight, skin colour, physical features – no matter how you look, if you have a true friend who looks beyond all that and values you for who you are, then that's more than enough.
If you have a true friend who believes in you and your potential deeply, despite the circumstances that may be and the ill other people speak of you behind your back, then that's more than enough.
If you have a true friend who loves you far more deeply and truly than any lover can and will – so much so that he or she is willing to put his or her life on the line for you, then that's more than enough.
And even as Chouji, aching from the pain the side-effects of the forbidden pills brought about, stumbled away from where Jiroubou lay, all he could think about was fulfilling his promise to Shikamaru and the others, to catch up with them once he had defeated his opponent.
Hence, when he saw the markings – messages from Naruto and Kiba, and a simple arrowhead – etched into the bark of a tree, he could only stand there and shed tears of gratitude, thankful that he had such good friends who believed in him.
Especially Shikamaru. For their bond reached farther and deeper than what words could cover, such that they didn't need any words between them at all.
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"Oh! Aren't you…"
The voice startled Chouji from his thoughts, and he turned around to see a ponytail-adorned face staring at him delightedly from beyond the handrails of the steps that led to the rooftop where he and his father currently were.
"Aren't you the boy from just now? What happened? Weren't you playing ninja games with the rest?" Chouji wondered, even as the boy strode forward and stood in front of him.
"It got too troublesome for me, so I quit." The lanky boy shrugged. "'Sides, the weather's so fine today, it'd be a waste if I don't look at the clouds. Mind to move over?"
Chouji nodded and watched as the black-haired youth sat down next to him on the wooden surface and proceeded to lie down face-up, hands under his head and gave a contended sigh. The three of them stayed like that for a while, Shikamaru closing his eyes and the brown-haired boy staring at the grey concrete awkwardly, eyes downcast.
"Wanna lie down with me and watch the clouds?" Shikamaru turned to face Chouji, with a smile on his face. "You should, y'know, be lazy together with me."
The surprised look on Chouji's face was quickly replaced with a grin. "Sure!"
A few minutes of silence followed as the two of them just lay there and stared at the blue sky, Chouza looking at them with a smile on his face.
"My name's Shikamaru of the Nara clan. Yours?"
"Chouji of the Akimichi clan – Akimichi Chouji!"
"Chouji eh… shall we be friends? I have a feeling that we'll get along very well together."
"F…friend?" Chouji had never expected that someone would have wanted to talk with him, let alone be his friend. His previous playmates had constantly teased him, jeering at him and calling him "fat ass" amongst other things, which had led him to feel rejected and isolated.
Which was why he couldn't believe himself when he first heard Shikamaru's words – he didn't want to get his hopes up unnecessarily.
"But those clouds are sure pretty, aren't they? Just drifting lazily in the blue sky… I wish I could be like them." Shikamaru yawned, either not noticing Chouji's hesitation, or being obtuse on purpose.
"Then I'll be your butterfly and carry you on my back, so that you'll be able to reach the clouds!" came the quick, earnest reply from Chouji, whose eyes were wide and brimming.
Shikamaru snorted. "And what'll I be, eh? The deer that treads about in the forest and stares longingly at the sky, wishing he could fly?" The two of them couldn't help but laugh at each other's remarks, and after a while they just lay there, comfortably silently, looking up at the blue sky and grinning at each other.
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Chouji remembers that from that day onwards, he and Shikamaru were virtually inseparable, be it during lessons, training or just lying on the grass fields and staring up at the clouds in the sky.
It had been the start of a beautiful friendship; one that Chouji was very grateful and thankful for. He would make many more friends later, like Naruto and Kiba, but none of them came as close to being as special as Shikamaru, his very first, was.
The pain in his body flared up, however, jolting him back to reality, and he fell to the ground, gasping as he clutched his throat, which felt like it was being slit. His body felt as if it were on fire, due to the cellular destructive effects of the pill.
Chouji struggled, though, and managed to pull and prop himself up against the tree, leaning on it and panting heavily, his eyelids growing heavier with each second. Grasping the rough bark, he tried to force himself to his feet, but could only bring himself up halfway before his knees gave way and he slid down, too weak to lower himself down properly.
So… this is as far as I go, eh. Chouji thought sadly, even as butterflies began to dance before his eyes in a storm of them, azure wings glowing under the afternoon sun, quivering in the breeze that was blowing.
The brown-haired ninja closed his eyes, and took one deep breath.
Sorry Shikamaru… I can't catch up with you guys. I can't be your butterfly after all.
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A sudden jolt of panic hit Shikamaru, even as he leapt from tree branch to tree branch, and his eyes widened, body shuddering. Chouji…
From behind, Neji called out. "Shikamaru? Something wrong there?"
"N-nah, I'm fine. Don't let your guard down!" The lanky youth turned back to face the front, gritting his teeth. Chouji… whatever happens, please don't die…
And a blue butterfly settled on Chouji's hair, even as he lay in the shade of the tree, a small smile on his face.