The Magnificent Chouji!
Oh yes, you read that right! The Magnificent Chouji! Can Naruto help him see how great he really is? A story of friendship and caramel.
Words in italic are thoughts.
Reviews are my bestest friends! If you like the story let me know (please?)! It's a one-shot so I'm sorry about that but you know, short and sweet and to the point!
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Chouji woke up and stared at his ceiling. A new day, hopefully another chance to redeem himself. Perhaps if he could keep away from the snacks today? No, it just wasn't him. He couldn't just not eat.
If only losing weight was easier. So many people insulted him for his size and he was sick of it. Just because he was fat didn't mean that he was the fat. He was a person with a personality and feelings underneath.
Too bad no one could see that. Chouji sighed and reached for the bag of chips that he knew was by his bed. Maybe if people didn't insult him as much he wouldn't eat so much.
He wouldn't need to be comforted by the food in that case. Such a nice thought…"CHO!!" "Eh?"
Chouji sat up in bed in time to see a very recognizable orange blur zoom through his open window and into the room. "Naruto?" "YES!! YOU KNOW, THE ONE AND ONLY FANTABULOUS ORANGE NINJA HAS COME TO SEE YOU!!"
Chouji scratched his head. Why would Naruto have come to see him? There were so many better things to do.
"Why?" Chouji asked simply, truly curious. Naruto came over from where he was sitting on the back of a random chair and instead crouched on the bedpost and leaned until he was just inches away from Chouji's face and grinned.
"Why not? Either way, what's this I hear about you being unhappy with yourself?" "Huh?" Chouji blushed; he didn't think anyone would have noticed. Or cared. "You know, you being all mopey and having the no-one-cares-about-me look on your face?
I came to see if I could do anything about that!" Chouji, uncomfortable from the attention, shifted his position and pondered about what he could say to that. "Umm, thank you Naruto?" "OF COURSE! That's what friends are for!" Naruto practically shouted in Chouji's ears.
Chouji smiled, he was already feeling better just knowing that someone had noticed and cared. Chouji noticed that Naruto was holding a brown bag that looked like a shopping bag in his left hand. It smelled faintly of…caramel?
"So, what's in the bag?" Chouji inquired. "Caramels of course! I know they're your favorite and all. I thought it might cheer you up." Silly Naruto, you didn't need candy to cheer me up! You cheered me up just by being here.
Chouji just grunted in reply and made a grab for the bag. Naruto burst out laughing and Chouji paused. "Ever heard of please Cho?" Naruto threw him the bag.
"Don't worry, I was gonna give them to you anyways!" Chouji smiled and dug into the caramels. So delicious. Naruto was right. They were his favorite and especially this kind. So creamy… Yum.
"Thanks Naruto!" Chouji managed to say, his mouth full of the sweets. "No problem! I'd do anything to make sure my friends are happy! Hey Chouji, you know what?"
Chouji smiled again, grateful to the bright orange ninja for being his friend. "What?" "Well, you need to have more self confidence so from now on you should be called THE MAGNIFICENT CHOUJI! I already talked to your team about it and they agreed to it!"
How? Chouji wondered what exactly Naruto had done to get them to agree. He must have been exceptionally persuasive. Or threatened to force them to pay his for his ramen for the next couple of years. Or maybe, he had ...
"Hey, Magnificent Chouji! I didn't do anything, I swear! I just brought it up and they were cool with it! Seriously!" Chouji wanted to believe him. Perhaps people really did see beyond his size, Naruto certainly did anyway. Maybe in time the insults would stop.
The Magnificent Chouji sure sounds nice. Chouji dropped the bag of caramels onto his bed and pulled Naruto into a bone-crushing hug. "Thank you Naruto… for being my friend…and for the caramel." He felt a warm tear of joy sneak out of the corner of his eye and wiped it away. He felt Naruto smile into the embrace and hug him back. "Anything for the Magnificent Chouji. You know, you deserve it all…"