CHAPTER ONE
PROBLEMS

For the sake of the clan, you have to be braver, smarter, stronger…and most of all, you have to be willing to kill. Chouji knew his clan-mates had their doubts about him. He had heard them whispering the moment he was sworn in as the 16th head. By shinobi standards, Chouji was already an adult the moment he turned 15 years old. Now, after the Fourth Great Ninja War had passed and everyone had a chance to settle back in their normal lives, Chouji realized his seventeenth birthday was swiftly approaching. Ninjas lived incredibly short lives and Chouji felt he hadn't done anything to really show for it. He wasn't a hero, a genius or popular. He didn't realize until now that the approach of his birthday was beginning to depress him.

The hefty brunette didn't know what time it was, but could see light beginning to peak in from the curtains, illuminating parts of his bedroom. Chouji continued to lay on his bed, knowing good and well he should be out training. Suddenly he heard a knock on his door, and already knew it was.

"I'm up, I'm up," Chouji said as he pushed himself out of bed. He could feel his stomach nagging him about neglecting to eat as well. He pulled open his curtains to let a bit more light into his room before approaching the door. Chouji opened the door surprised to see Ino Yamanaka. The blonde was a former member of Team 10 and one of his best friends.

"Ugh, Chouji what am I going to do with you," she immediately said as she gestured to the fact he was still in his pajamas. "The Jounin selections are coming up and the hokage's been very passive aggressive about certain someone's not showing up to check out the mission postings- are you even paying attention?"

Chouji hadn't even realized he was staring at her, until she flicked his face. He didn't know why he hadn't realized before…but Ino had the body of adult versus how she was when they were kids. He supposed he never noticed because she was always there.

"You're hopeless," she told him as she flicked her blonde locks of hair from her eye. "Shikamaru's waiting for us. Don't take too long getting dressed." With that, she turned and walked away from him. Chouji stood there for a moment as he thought back to his conversation with his father many years ago. Marriage wise…for someone like him, was it even possible?

Once he was dressed, he hurried out of his house to see both Shikamaru and Ino waiting for him. He didn't know what they were talking about, but the conversation immediately stopped the moment he was in sight.

"About time," Ino laughed.

"I guess we should go see what the hokage wants," Shikamaru suggested with a heavy sigh. "Sometimes being an adult can be a drag."

"Only sometimes," Ino smirked before turning to walk down the path leading out of the Akimichi Clan's lot. Shikamaru and Chouji followed behind. Being an adult…was it that troublesome? Being an adult could be fun if you were able to do adult-like things. He told himself not to think about it, but the image couldn't get out of his head. Would someone like him…be able to experience something like that? He glanced down at his stomach remembering Asuma-sensei's words about dieting. Every diet he started ended a week later. He didn't have the discipline for it, but he found himself motivated once more.

Even when they made it to the Hokage's mansion and were placed in front of the mission listings, he couldn't help but wonder how someone like him would make a move. His eyes trailed over to Ino as he watched her flirt and joke around with the other chuunin who were applying as team captain. Only successful team captains will be evaluated for the jounin promotion. If Chouji were jounin, he wondered if that would be enough to impress girls. The chatter suddenly stopped as Sasuke Uchiha approached.

After the war, Konoha wasn't exactly sure what to think of him. He wasn't permitted to take the Chuunin exams, and Naruto chose not to until Sasuke was allowed. Chouji heard rumors Sasuke was bound to instantly become a jounin as a result from the chuunin exams. He didn't even think that was possible. Although he was glad he didn't have to compete with Sasuke. He already managed to get through the Chuunin exams…somehow.

"Chouji, are you going to pick something?" Shikamaru asked, instantly bringing Chouji from his thoughts. "If you wait around, all the easy missions are going to be taken."

Chouji narrowed his brows and snapped, "Why do you think I'd want an easy—." Shikamaru cut him short by gesturing to the list. The majority of the remaining missions were A and S ranked. Chouji heavily sighed. He knew what his friend was right. If Chouji wanted a flawlessly successful mission, he'd need to pick something easier. He saw escort missions as well as ones about protecting the border, and even search and retrieve missions…but nothing he appealed to him. He didn't think he could be a team captain. The idea of handling that kind of responsibility didn't sit right with him. Without another word, he turned left. He heard Shikamaru calling out for him, but didn't bother stopping.

Outside the clouds were dark and heavy, Chouji assumed rain was approaching. He saw young ninjas scurry past, probably playing some kind of game. "Hey," he called out to one kid, causing him to stop. "What are you guys playing?"

"Oh, we're playing War, mister," the kid answered with a toothy grin, before gesturing to his friends. "I'm the toad sage, he's the last Uchiha and he's the mother of ninja!"

"I want to Madara!" the other kid barked. "Why do I have to be the girl!"

"Because you have the longest hair," the first kid smirked, "Besides Kaguya was really strong!"

"Did either of you hear of Chouji of the Akimichi clan?" Chouji suddenly asked.

"Did he do anything in the war?" the kid with the role of Sasuke spoke up.

"Oh yeah, he did all sorts of things. He fought against the white zetsus and helped push back Madara's forces," Chouji beamed, but the kids weren't impressed. That is until the first child rubbed the back of his neck and smiled up at the rounder ninja.

"Hey, it was nice talking to you, mister. I'm sure that Chouji guy is pretty cool, but we have to finish our game," he announced and then the three children ran off. Chouji could overhear one suggesting rounding up more players, but he knew none of them would pretend to be him. If anything, someone would be Kakashi Hatake or Sakura Haruno.

Maybe what he needed was to become a hero. He needed to do something…productive, but thinking of a solution was impossible on an empty stomach. Unfortunately Chouji could see how this was becoming a vicious cycle. He would present himself with a problem only to end up at some restaurant eating his sorrows away. This time, he got his Korean Bar-B-Que to go and didn't bother going home. He wanted to find somewhere he could be alone and think.

The Bar-B-Que smelled delicious as he walked through the streets of Konoha and the box felt warm. Where to go, he wasn't certain. He spotted Kiba walking with what looked like Genin, probably to go on their latest mission. All of the guys were probably going to meet up tonight to talk about their meetings. Lately they've been playing cards while drinking sake. What was he supposed to say? That he chickened out? A heavy groan broke from his lips.

"Chouji!" he suddenly heard Naruto call out from behind. He glanced back and saw the blonde hurrying toward him. Chouji was sure Naruto was going to talk about some kind of mission he had taken on, but noting that the male was wearing his red sage coat, reminded him that Naruto was in a different category than everyone. He was a sage and a new sannin. It was often a rare occasion he had to go on missions. Naruto was the one who saved the shinobi world.

"Oh, you already got Bar-B-Que?" Naruto asked, before lightly laughing, "I was going to see if you wanted ramen, but oh well."

"I'm good for ramen," Chouji blurted out, causing Naruto to stare for a moment before a wily sort of smile slipped onto his lips.

"Wow Chouji, if you say so," Naruto grinned.

Chouji half expected a "fat" comment to come out. He could already feel his blood beginning to boil, but it never came. Instead Naruto challenged him to a race to Ichiraku.

Naruto was fast…Chouji blamed it on the fact he was a sage, and wondered what life would be like if he had mastered something as amazing as that. Although he had his butterfly technique, Chouji wished he could do more. He wanted to do something worthwhile. He wanted to feel like an adult. The more he thought, the faster he ate until the next thing knew, he had already eaten his bar-b-que, as well as four bowls of ramen. When the fifth bowl arrived, he sat there staring at the dish, unable to eat another bite. He wasn't full, but he didn't have much of an appetite either.

Naruto noticed and slowly finished slurping his noodle before asking, "Is…everything ok?"

Chouji noticed that the owner of the shop was watching nervously as well. Quickly he offered a smile and said, "No, it's fine. I've just um…I've had a lot on my mind." He took a deep breath, as he mentally prepared himself for Naruto's answer. However, when he glanced over he saw the blonde went back to eating his ramen! Chouji wasn't exactly certain how he contorted his face, but it was enough to make Naruto furrow his brows when he glanced over.

"Are you feeling alright?" Naruto asked, oblivious to the mental torment Chouji had been going through. Could he really ask Naruto what he thought about the whole being "an adult" thing? This was the guy who set aside everything to save the entire shinobi war. He was fairly grown up, so he wouldn't have these sort of frustrations.

"I think I'm going to go train," Chouji announced.

"Do you need a spar partner?" Naruto asked.

From the smile on the blondes lips, Chouji knew Naruto was going to volunteer himself. Fighting a friend was already difficult for him; fighting a sage would be even harder.

"No thanks," Chouji told him as he paid for his ramen. "I already have someone," he lied, knowing he couldn't tell Naruto he was intimidated by him. There were a few people Chouji never wanted to fight: Naruto, Sasuke, Rock Lee and Shikamaru. He immediately left the ramen shop and started making his way to the training field, while passing through the village. He stopped briefly in front of the Yamanaka flower shop, knowing Ino wasn't there, but that didn't stop him from wishing she would walk through the front door. No, he had to stop…they were part of a team.

Before he could make it to the training grounds, he felt a rain drop plop down on the top of his head. He looked up and saw rain pour down from the heavens. He rushed to take cover underneath a small overhang near the bathrooms located right beside the training field. There he saw Hinata Hyuga watching the sky. He could only assume she was waiting for the rain to stop as well.

"So, I take it you didn't have a mission either?" Chouji spoke up, trying to make the silence not as awkward. She glanced over at him, and shook her head before looking down at her hands. Hinata was a very nice girl, but she always seemed so depressed. Chouji wasn't sure why. Seeing as she didn't answer, he continued, "Yeah, I chose not to be a team captain. I wanted to brush up on my skills before taking on that kind of responsibility." Geez, how did he sound now? The war ended not too long ago and here he was claiming to be rusty on combat? Technically he was…Chouji wasn't sure how it happened, but he managed to waste so many days in a row doing nothing but eating. The days were beginning to blend together.

"I feel the same way," Hinata confessed. "Only, I want to be much stronger. I have fallen so far behind…"

"Tell me about it!" Chouji laughed, causing a whimper to break from her lips. His eyes widened when he realized she was crying. "I didn't mean it like that!" he quickly said as he moved to her side. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Everyone made a difference during the war…everyone, and what did I do? Neji-Niisan gave his life and all I could do is catch up to a skill that he already mastered when we were children," she cried. "I want to…do so much better. And…and I tried so hard. Every time I tried to help Naruto-kun, I fell short. No wonder I'm an embarrassment to my clan-."

Chouji suddenly grabbed her by both of her shoulders so she had to look directly at him.

"Hinata, don't say that!" he commanded, leaving her speechless. "You are from the Hyuga clan, which is one of the strongest clans in the entire village. You've mastered the byakugan, you're smart, you're very pretty and you're the nicest girl I know. So don't you dare put yourself down! Me on the other hand…" His voice trailed off as his grip loosened. His eyes shifted from her. "I'm a coward…I heard you stood before Pein…you stood before Madara and Obito…you did whatever you could even when death stared you in the face…"

"But Chouji-san, you stood before Obito as well," she began, but he soon interrupted.

"After putting my teammates in danger!"

His eyes burned as tears streamed down his cheeks. He couldn't stop crying as he thought back to the incidents of the war. Even when everyone joined forces toward the end, he felt that without Naruto's chakra he wouldn't have survived. Shikamaru and Ino worked hard to unite everyone despite the deaths of their fathers, and what did he do?

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, so he wiped away his tears and looked over to see Hinata offering the saddest expression he had ever seen.

"Chouji-san…I can't tell you how to feel…I cannot control your feelings, but I do know that you are kind," she slowly began. "But it is apparent that both of us want to be much stronger than we are today…so maybe we can help each other to achieve our goals?"

"Are you sure?" Chouji asked. Although he knew that Hinata wasn't the type to make fun of him, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Kiba found out.

"Mmhmm," Hinata answered with a nod, drawing him from his thoughts.

Chouji fell silent, which caused Hinata to frown as she slowly drew back her hand. Then that's when the brunette suddenly smiled. "Then let's make this our secret," he suggested, "And we'll surprise everyone."

She smiled brightly at him and he found himself smiling even harder than before. Then that's when Hinata looked toward the sky once more. "Ah, it seems to have stopped raining."

"Would you like to spar with me, Hinata?" Chouji nervously asked.

She blinked for a moment, but then smiled and nodded her head. Chouji felt happy for several reasons, his biggest was that for a moment he didn't feel like a failure of a man. He didn't find himself obsessing over wanting to be like Shikamaru or be with Ino. During that moment, Chouji felt like a shinobi who was ready to become a better him.

He never realized it before, but Hinata was very kind. She was nicer than any other girl he knew. She didn't make fun of him, nor was she put off by him asking to train with her.

"Wait Hinata," Chouji called out, causing the girl to look back. "What exactly is your goal? I mean, I know we both want to be stronger for our clans, but is there anything else?"

She thought for a moment, and then a smile of endearment crept onto her lips as a rosy hue slipped onto her pale cheeks. "I want to be strong enough to walk beside him. I want to be a pillar for his dream."

He couldn't explain it…but at that moment…while describing her dream she never looked more beautiful. He had always found Ino very attractive, but there was something about Hinata he couldn't quite place. Only, Chouji knew that there was no way Hinata was talking about him.

"I'm hoping for love too," he admitted. "One day at least, haha."

"I'm sure you will, Chouji-San," Hinata smiled.

The words "thank you" were not enough to express his gratitude. Although he always heard that one day he would find love…for some reason when Hinata said it, he believed her.

From the Author.

Thank you for reading this chapter! It's experimental nonetheless, but more chapters to come! Oh, and if you're a fan of my writing, please check out my (now-published) book's page "Gifted Chains" on facebook. I'm currently working on the second. Bye bye!