Disclaimer: I own nothing except my precious manga!

A/N: I wrote this about a year ago and decided to finally post it.^^ Hope you enjoy!

Rating: Teen for sensitive subject matter.

Song to listen to while reading: Tsuki wo Nusumu by Hajime Chitose

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A Friendly Gesture

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The first time I'd seen him was at the river's edge. An area about ten minutes away from the local high school; Konoha High. It's an area away from the constant noise of the city that I often go to; simply to relax and look at the clouds without a care in the world. But that day I wasn't alone when I arrived.

Someone was sitting in my spot under the mulberry tree.

A boy sat at the root of it, watching the butterflies that gathered under the shading of the tree's leaves. I watched silently from the small grassy slope as he reached up to try and coax one into his cupper hands. I though surely that the small insect would fly away from him due to its cautious nature, but to my surprise, it didn't. Its wings fluttered as it walked itself into his hands.

The boy's cheeks rose at the corners of his face. He was smiling.

I decided not to go with my first thought of telling the guy to move out of my spot since he was obviously enjoying himself and instead joined him under the tree, greeting him with a "hey" as he looked unsurely at me. By the way his body tensed and went rigid, I guessed that he thought I'd hit him or hurt him in some way.

"Mind if I join you?" I asked.

"N-no," he stuttered, shaking his head.

As I sat down, he scooted a great deal away from me. I'd probably do the same thing if some strange guy I didn't know sat next to me. But I don't think that's the reason why he did it. I think he was scared.

I reclined back and folded my arms behind my head, looking up at the sky.

"I come here a lot," I said, "I come here to look at the clouds and just forget the stresses of the day."

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, checking to see if he'd respond in some way. He still had that look in his eyes. The one of timidity and fear.

"This is the spot I usually come too. It's nice and shady with just enough opening from the tree to look at the clouds without having to strain yourself, I can see why you chose it."

I don't know why I'm so eager to talk with this guy. This is so out of character for me.

I glanced at his still cupped palms. The butterfly was still there. It was flicking its small sucked out, tasting his hands.

"You must be a really nice guy, that butterfly's not scared of you at all." I noticed his shoulders relax a little bit. He must be feeling a little more comfortable.

Minutes pass by and all I do is look at the clouds, the other boy still in my company.

"D-do you live around h-here?"

I raised an eyebrow and blinked.

"So you do talk." I said jokingly

His brown eyes widened.

I closed my eyes briefly with some weird-ass smile on my face. I guess you could say I was a little happy he finally said something. "Yeah, about a mile from this place."

He nodded, registering what I just said.

"By the way, I'm Shikamaru."

He seemed taken a back by my introducing myself, nonetheless he smiled, like he did when playing with the butterfly, making his cheeks spread to the sides of his round face.

"I'm Chouji."

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Since that day, Chouji and I had found ourselves running into each other more often at that same place; the river's edge. He'd share his chips with me but wouldn't dare think of letting me have the last one. We would nap after we splurged on his snack supply. But most times we talked. We talked about interests, hobbies, likes and dislikes, sports, and all the other stuff boys our age were occupied with. I learned that he went to Konoha High School, the same school I attended.

I wondered why I never saw him around in the halls, at lunch, or in between classes. So I asked him.

I knew he tensed up by the influx of new wrinkle rows on his dark green sweatshirt.

"I'm mostly in the library." He explained.

I quickly concluded that the reason he spent most of his time in the library was because he was hiding from someone in the halls.

"I should come hang out in the library with you sometime Chou."

He shook his head.

"I'm mostly doing homework, so it would be really quiet-"

I cut him off. "I like quiet, and if I get bored I'll just go to sleep." I turned on my side, looking at him. "How's that sound?" I inquired.

"It…it sounds good."

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I decided to visit Chouji in the library today. But strange enough, he wasn't there. I searched the first floor and the second floor relentlessly. Even with all my efforts, I couldn't find him anywhere. I figured he'd probably gone to his Biology teacher's classroom to finish his Genetics project that was due at the end of the week, so I didn't pay much attention to his absence.

It's no big deal; I'd just see him later at out usual hang out spot.

For the second time since Chouji and I had first met, the air around Chouji and I was thick. It was so dense that I thought I could suffocate from the unease.

Chouji would often kick the dirt or fidget with his jacket sleeves. I didn't say anything at first, but the constant acts of nervousness began to irk me after the tenth kick of dirt.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that something was bothering him. I thought about prying and asking him what was up, but I decided against it. It became apparent to me that it would be best if he told me on his own.

He stopped fidgeting and looked out at the river. "I hate school." He said.

I didn't say anything. I let him speak.

"I'm always taken advantage of, laughed at, and…" He paused, looking down at his faded brown converse, "…bullied."

So I was right. That's the reason why I don't see him anywhere.

"It's always the same group of seniors. It gets so bad to the point where I feel like I can't take it anymore…and…and I feel like ending it all."

He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. "I tried once." He pulled up the left sleeve of his sweatshirt. From the juncture at his forearm to his wrist, all I could see were cuts. Some small nicks and some sizeable gashes.

The one that caught my attention was the large scarring slice on his wrist. He regarded it momentarily, looking thoughtful. "My dad found me unconscious in the shower. I had to be hospitalized." He paused. "When I woke up I was angry and relieved at the same time. I was relieved because I was still alive and yet angry because I wasn't dead, and I'd have to go back to school and be tormented by them again."

I thought about every word he said, going through each single one to make sure I had understood everything before I spoke. I had to be careful.

"It's easier to die than live and face your demons." I paused and breathed deeply. "But if you died, think about the people who'd miss you. Your dad would be heartbroken and wouldn't know what to do without you. Your teachers, especially your Biology teacher, would miss you because they would have lost a brilliant and loveable student. And me… I'd miss you because you're the first person I can truly call a friend."

He was quiet for a while after I finished speaking. He was absorbing all that I'd said.

"Thank you, Shikamaru."

He started divulging about lots of other things as we sat beneath the tree. He told me that I was his first friend too. He also told me that because of my reaching out to talk to him and be friendly with him, had stopped him from digging up the small pistol he'd hid there that morning we first met.

All of the days in my freshman year of high school, my health teacher would always tell the class how being friendly to someone could brighten their day and make living a whole lot easier for them to do. I would always shake it off and regard it as troublesome because I didn't think saying "hi" to a person could make a difference in their life. But after I befriended Chouji, I realized something.

Everything she said was true.

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The End

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I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are welcome!^^