A/n: Hey everyone! Been a while again, huh? I really wish I was able to update more frequently, but I do try my best! So I'm back...with a rewrite, of one of my favorite stories that I've written to date! Like I said before this story will focus a lot on body positivity, learning to love yourself, and all kinds of other emotional things. It's basically a story that is centered around coming to accept yourself for who you are, and being proud of it. Which, in my opinion, we need more of! It gets a little old reading about the same perfectly unflawed character over and over again.
Chouko is definitely one of my favorite characters I've created. She's a mess...in a good way if that makes sense. She's a lot like me in how our personality can be bold one minute and then timid the next. I have a lot of ideas and plans for this story that I've been thinking of forever. Naruto is always going to be a big part of my life and childhood and despite its flaws, I still love the series and come back for the characters time and time again.
There will be things that I'll change as I see fit, such as Neji dying because holy shit what a pointless death and I'm still bitter about it. He deserved to live a happy life with TenTen and Lee and he was robbed of it! Sakura also won't be reduced to a damsel in distress in this story - none of the girls will. Seriously, everyone female in the series was so bland and was only used to pump up the male characters, and where's the fun in that?
I'm also going to try and do stories based off the movies every now and again. Those will take time though, obviously.
I don't like any of the pairings in Naruto that are canon.
All of them are so...bland.
WARNING: This story will involve gay relationships. If you read that as everyone is going to break out into a big, gay, orgy, then you need some help, immediately. Go read a harem if that's what you want. Do something. I swear half the people on this site use gay/lesbian relationships like a fucking kink or fetish, and it's annoying. So I repeat that this story will have gay relationships. No, not gay as in "fucking", which the majority of this site seems to think gay/lesbian relationships are...but gay, as in two people of the same sex who love each other, and are not going to fuck because they are underage and that's a big no-no. So if you don't agree with homosexual relationships, or only like homosexual relationships when they are fucking
This story is not for you.
How dare you take the bland couples that Kishimoto created and turn them into something better, and actually worthwhile! What can I say? I'm a monster. Let's be real here people...Naruto was super gay for Sasuke. Sasuke was super gay for Naruto. Why do you think Sasuke keeps abandoning his family? It's so he can meet up with Naruto for a romantic rendezvous, obviously. But it's cool, Hinata spends that time with Kiba, and Sakura rescues Ino from her incredibly dull life with Sai.
Everyone lives happily ever after.
Please note that Chouko and Shikamaru's relationship is pretty much non-existent right now. The relationship between Shikamaru and Chouko are mutual friends, who really connected through Choji. At the moment, there are no rotating feelings between either of them, not even a crush. It's still early, and I don't want to rush these kids into a relationship in three chapters. I want to gradually build it up so that when it happens it makes sense and it's satisfying.
Also, there is for future reference there is no relationship between Chouko and Kakashi. You can read it as her having a crush on him or whatever, but there won't be anything like that. If anything, the two have a very playful and sibling-like relationship, with Kakashi being something akin to an annoying older brother in her eyes, that she begrudging admires. Just a lot of teasing moments that I can't help but write because I find it adorable.
Sue me.
A warning to anyone who may take interest in this story is that I am in no way a professional writer; I simply write for fun. I am human and I make mistakes but at the very least, I will try my best to correct them.
Summary: Chouko has spent her life drowning in self-doubt and self-esteem issues. And yet, no matter how many times the world kicked her down - she always got back up again. There comes a time in life where you have to step out of the shadows and into the light, and Chouko is finally ready to make that step.
"The wings of transformation are born of patience and struggle." - Janet S. Dickens
Nara Shikamaru sat in his usual spot at the academy, perfectly squished between the loud-mouthed Yamanaka and his best friend, Akimichi Chouji, snacking away on barbecue chips while listening to Ino ramble on about pointless nonsense that neither cared about. Shikamaru carried the same tired expression on his face as he always did. It was squad assignment day where they would meet their teammates and Sensei for the first time; Shikamaru found it pointless since he already knew who would be assigned to what squad and why. Ino, Chouji and himself would all be assigned to a squad lead by a member of the Sarutobi clan as per tradition. Ino was bound to make things troublesome for the three of them whenever given the chance.
Honestly, Shikamaru would have rather been back at home, but instead, he was listening to Ino and Haruno Sakura argue back and forth about who would be paired with Uchiha Sasuke - it was Sakura, that much Shikamaru could guarantee.
Ino wouldn't be happy about it.
What the hell did those two - all of the girls - even see in a guy like that? Someone so rude and crass. In all the years they've attended the academy together he's barely even acknowledged them and yet, every girl in the vicinity wanted to marry him for reasons unknown to Shikamaru.
Well, maybe not everyone.
There was the Hyuuga girl, Hinata, but everyone and their mother could see she was head over heels in love with Uzumaki Naruto. Shikamaru felt pity for the girl seeing as Naruto has no interest in her, so her feelings would most likely never be returned, maybe in an alternate timeline. Shikamaru puffed out a sigh and looked elsewhere around the room for someone of interest and found them on the left side room with her face and body slouched against the desk.
Akimichi Chouko, that's her name. The distance cousin of Chouji and one of the quieter girls of the class...sometimes. Akimichi Chouko is a light-skinned girl that is pear-shaped, leaning to be heavier on the bottom, with chubby arms and legs, and a pudgy stomach. She has wild, ginger hair that is a mess of spikes that looks rather boyish and piercing rounded silver eyes. Like most members of the Akimichi clan, she too had markings on her cheeks, in the form of pink upside down triangles.
Chouko wears a pale yellow kimono top that is decorated in white flowers and cherry blossoms with black trim that has yellow butterflies sewn into it; her clan symbol; can be found on the back in white. She wears a khaki apron skirt that falls to her knees, and underneath long black spandex and the typical ninja shoes. Her arms from her elbows all the way down to her wrists are wrapped tightly in bandaging that fade into a pair of black fingerless gloves. She wears a weapon pouch on each of her legs and her headband is tied around her waist like a belt. Lastly, she wears a hachimaki around her forehead with the kanji for butterfly.
Shikamaru thought she was one of the cuter girls in their class while many others would call him insane. From what he gathered she liked to be alone with the exception of one obnoxious blond who brought out the best (worst?) in her, usually staring out the window or doodling on a piece of paper. She didn't bother anyone and in return, no one bothered her (minus two annoying fangirls) and she seemed happy that way, even now as she looked out the window, watching the clouds pass by. Shikamaru couldn't help observing her because she was kind of like a puzzle. He never knew what to expect with her, especially when it came to her sudden switches in personality and spur of the moment bold decisions that she always seemed to regret and mull over later.
She was...complicated, but not so much in a bad way; the opposite, in fact.
Almost as feeling his eyes on her Chouko turned around and met his eyes. Shikamaru froze. What did he do now? She had already caught him so looking away would be pointless, but he didn't feel like making conversation either.
What a drag.
As he was about to make some sign of acknowledgment she smiled at him, waved, and turned back to what she was doing. Shikamaru blinked. If that had been any other girl like Ino or Sakura they would have gotten mad at him for staring or called him out on it. Then again, Chouko wasn't like that. She wasn't one for stirring up drama or one who got a kick out of it. She was just...different.
Shikamaru's lips curled into a smile and he turned his attention back the front of the room.
She was definitely interesting. Someone to keep track of.
Sheep.
Bunny.
Duck.
Some kind of weird dog?
Chouko huffed out a sigh. She was sitting in her favorite desk on the left side row that sat near the front, but far enough back where she could stare out the window and see the clear blue sky and greenery of the forest. Whenever she was bored in class she would look outside the window and the sky and make shapes and cloud out of the sky, sometimes games if she were bored enough. In truth, it was just a way to distract herself from the reality of what was happening.
She was a ninja now. After today her life was officially going to change forever...for better, or worse. All morning she had been thinking about the team she'd be placed on and the Sensei they'd be given. She had been praying she wouldn't be put on a team with Sasuke's biggest fangirls Sakura and Ino, she didn't think she'd be able to live with that. They were too annoying. She even wondered if they wanted to become ninja just to be closer to Sasuke.
Chouko sighed and found herself being lured away from the comfort of the window. Why did it feel like she was suddenly being watched? Curiously she turned around and locked eyes with Shikamaru Nara. Shikamaru was probably the smartest kid in the whole academy, and the laziest one too. He had the brains to do anything he put his mind to, but no energy to actually do it. Still, she liked Shikamaru, she guessed. He was one of the few people who didn't just judge anyone based on their appearance or past, rather the way they acted and their personality.
She wouldn't mind being placed on a team with him but knew there was no chance of it happening. Chouji would be the one to go on to create the newest generation of the 'Ino-Shika-Cho', and that suited her just fine.
When he didn't look away Chouko smiled, waved, and turned back to continue her cloud gazing.
"Chouko! Hey Chouko!"
Chouko jumped as she felt her arm being sucked into a vice grip. She quickly relaxed when she caught sight of warm, sunshine blond hair and savory scent of tangy ramen. Uzumaki Naruto. Chouko sighed feeling any tension that was beginning to build leave her body as Naruto claimed the seat beside of her, leaning into her and happily babbling on a thousand miles per minute about anything that came to his mind.
Uzumaki Naruto, her very best friend. He was a radiant beam of human-sunshine in her dreary life. They met when they were small, and bonded over the fact that they were both outcasts in some form of way. When she was younger and smaller no one wanted to be friends with her because she was too slow, too shy, too weird - the excuse changed daily. The friends she did make quickly abandoned her...for stupid and selfish reasons. She would always spend her time alone watching the kids from afar wishing that she could be apart of their little world they created. There were only a few people who ever played with her that weren't Choji, which never really counted in her mind because he's family - family is supposed to do that, right? And by extension, Shikamaru, his best friend.
They were always kind to her but Chouko always felt out of place. She felt like a tag-along that nobody really wanted around and that they only accepted her into their little group because they had no other choice. Of course, now, she knows that's not the case, but it's hard to get those feelings out of your mind when your confidence and self-esteem is at rock bottom even if she tries to hide it behind a smile and false bravado.
Naruto, on the other hand, has always been dead last of the class. The kid who always got in trouble did poorly in school and spent his time pulling pranks. The village hated him and nobody liked him, nobody played with him, nobody respected him. He was all alone. It was as if that entire village had come together one day and decided to shun him, and Chouko never understood how someone could look at Naruto - look into those innocent baby blues - and say such hurtful things about such a kind and caring soul.
Of course, being associated with Naruto made had made her even more of an outcast. That was fine with her. Naruto was her friend, and the opinion of some snot-nosed adults and bratty kids with a stick up there ass would never change that, ever. Naruto had such a warmth to him that made her want to believe that anything was possible and that everything would be alright.
"What is it that has you in such high spirits today, Naruto? Are you really that excited to be assigned to a squad?" Chouko turned to face him while tucked a fist against her chubby cheek.
Naruto grinned. "Believe it! I hope I get put on a team with Sakura!" Naruto said, a dreamy smile coiling onto his face.
The blond glanced down to the first row where a raven-haired boy sat glaring at the space before him. Beside him, a pink-haired girl and blonde-haired girl were fighting over who would get the seat next to him; the grandest of prizes in a room full of hormonal teenage girls with no self-respect.
Chouko rolled her eyes. Sakura and Ino were extremely annoying. All they ever talked about was Sasuke this and Sasuke that, and frankly, she was sick of hearing it...but, the idea of being attacked by a mass of hormonal teenage girls, didn't appeal to her - not one bit.
"What does Sakura see in that jerk?" Naruto pouted.
Chouko sighed.
"She's young, Naruto," Chouko said. "Right now she doesn't fully grasp the concept of romance and only sees a pretty face. Ino, as well as all the other girls, play a part in it too." She pointed Naruto to the crowd of squealing girls. "It's like a race, you see, all of them are fighting to see who will be the one to claim Sasuke's heart, and in doing so some have even managed to trick themselves into believing that they actually love him, like Sakura and Ino. But they don't. None of them do. They'll realize this, eventually. Right now they're just young, competitive, and incredibly stupid and questioning themselves." She looked to Sakura's face that looked a little to pink "glaring" at the blond.
Chouko cast a glance at Naruto to see if he had heard anything she said, but he didn't. The boy was too busy staring at Sakura like a lovesick puppy. The ginger-haired girl shook her head and leaned back in her seat, wincing as it creaked. Slowly she sat up and folded her hands into her lap. It was funny because, in many ways, Naruto was the same as Sakura and Ino. He never really had a crush on Sakura, until he found out that she had a crush on Sasuke, and suddenly he was head-over-heels in love with her.
It was ridiculous.
None of them knew was love really was. They were all too young and had much more important things to focus on - like trying to survive, in a world filled with killer ninja who will jump at the chance to add you to their body count.
Morbid, but true.
"Huh, guess that does make sense."
Chouko jumped a bit and looked back at Shikamaru with a faint blush. "What do you mean?" She asked, a bit shocked to see that he was still awake and communicating. It was no secret to anyone that Shikamaru liked to spend his time in class snoozing or watching the clouds out of the window.
Shikamaru glanced at the horde of fangirls and then back to Chouko.
"About that." He said nodding towards them. "That's it's just a big game that no one's really aware of. I figured they were all drawn to his cool facade he's always putting on. Girls like that kind of stuff, don't they?" Shikamaru shrugged.
He never understood the appeal of the lone Uchiha, but then again, he never really cared all that much to look more into it, either.
"What can I say? Girls are pretty complicated." She laughed. "And no, not all girls like those kinds of guys, Shikamaru." Chouko tsked. "It's very rude of you to presume such a thing."
"How troublesome." Shikamaru snorted.
Chouko giggled quietly and turned back around. The anxiety she was feeling from earlier was slowly slipping away as she and Naruto traded banter back and forth, with Choji and Shikamaru occasionally cutting in.
It reminded her of when they were kids, and they would all play together. They were rare occasions...but she cherished the memories of them.
Maybe today wouldn't be so terrible after all.
It was about fifteen minutes later when Iruka-sensei strolled into the classroom.
Naruto had given Chouko a helpful poke to wake her from the slumber she had fallen into. Chouko woke with a snort, and drool dribbling down her chin. She was snapped awake hearing the laughter from her classmates, and quickly wiped the drool from her face and ducked her head from their vision to hide the rosy blush on her chubby cheeks. Chouko only half listened to everything Iruka-Sensei was telling them. All she cared about was learning about who she'd be grouped with, and she prayed to every God above that she wouldn't get stuck with someone like Uchiha Sasuke who rubbed her the wrong way.
He didn't bully her like the others have in the past, but his cold stares and blatant ego was enough to put her off. Though he would make a powerful asset being the strongest in their class, and one of the smartest; a powerful ally is someone you definitely want on your side.
"We tried our best to make sure the teams were balanced." Said Iruka. "Okay, the next team is Team Seven..." Iruka-sensei continued to read trailing off as he went over the names.
Chouko perked up.
"Haruno Sakura."
She blanched. Sakura was one of Sasuke's biggest fangirls. Her obsession with the boy was annoying, even if it was just a stupid game she wouldn't admit to with her dying breath. Chouko didn't like her all that much anymore. That and Sakura had never really excelled in much, that she has seen. She was pretty much average, though when she thought of it, she was pretty smart, and picked up on things quickly. She guessed she had potential, but it was being wasted over something as petty as a boy. It just might be that Sakura wouldn't be so bad to have as a comrade...but, she and Chouko have never gotten along much in recent years.
Chouko was someone that Sakura liked to put down to build herself up. Chouko tried to excuse it thinking that perhaps Sakura had her own deep-rooted issues and it was easier to take it out on her, but whenever she started to put down Naruto, that's when Chouko stepped in.
Make fun of her all you want but never Naruto. She wouldn't stand around and let him be bullied if she could help in some way. Even if the whole village was against him she would always remain by his side.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Chouko plugged her ears when Naruto started to cheer. When he had calmed down she unplugged them with a frown on her face. There was no chance of her being paired with Naruto now since the squads were always three-man cells with one female and two males. It was rare that a four-man cell was established, and even then there was usually only one female. So knowing that she wouldn't be able to grow as a ninja with her best friend had damaged her mood greatly. The idea of being teamed with Naruto was one of the main selling points of her wanting to become a ninja when she was younger and a lot dumber.
They're supposed to be ninja buddies, damn it!
'Now what? Naruto and I promised to become ninja together.' Chouko thought to herself.
She would have been ashamed of the pouty face she was making, had not her ninja dreams just been crushed.
Naruto frowned when he saw how crestfallen Chouko looked. He was excited to be on a team with Sakura, but it wouldn't be the same without Chouko. Naruto sighed and leaned against Chouko, something he had grown accustomed to doing since they were kids. Chouko had the perfect body for cuddling, and even though she denied it, Naruto knew she liked the closeness of another person, just like he did; it comforted them and made them feel not so alone in a world against them.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Sakura was the one cheering now. Chouko felt sorry for Naruto. He was paired with his biggest quote-on-quote "rival",and the girl of his delusional little dream who hated his guts with a burning passion.
Poor Naruto.
Chouko consoled her friend by running her chubby fingers through his thick, blond hair that was always so soft, and warm. It was like running her fingers through actual sunshine. She hummed lightly, ignoring those who stared at the two of them.
"And finally, Akimichi Chouko. The four of you will make a four-man cell. While it is uncommon, it's not unheard of." Iruka-sensei told them. "You'll have your work cut out for you and have to work hard while minding your Sensei, ya hear?"
They all gave some form of acknowledgment to which Iruka nodded. He looked back down at his clipboard with a frown. He was opposed to the odd team combination but knew better than to question the judgment of the Hokage. None of their personalities really clicked together, but academically wise, they all perfectly balanced each other out, and that lead to the decision for them to be the four-man squad.
He wished Kakashi the best of luck.
He sure as hell was going to need it.
"Eh, say that again?" Chouko couldn't believe her ears.
She glanced at Naruto who was beaming at her, and then over at Sakura who was glaring, probably upset that she wasn't the only female on Sasuke's team anymore, not that Chouko was interested in him. And then Sasuke offered her a meek glare before going back to ignoring her and the rest of their team.
"Oh boy, this is going to be an absolute disaster." Chouko groaned though her smile never cracked.
"Hey, hey, Chouko! Looks like we're teammates after all!" Naruto grinned sticking his thumbs up. "Let's do our best, okay?"
"Okay, Naruto, I'll do my best." Chouko smiled at him, returning the gesture.
Strike that. With a certain beam of living sunshine around, things just might be tolerable.
Just maybe.
When lunchtime had rolled its head around the group of Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru had all gone out to the balcony to eat their lunches. Shikamaru was sitting against the outside of the rail with one leg crossed over the other and his arm hanging limply over the rail. He was chewing on one of the riceballs that Choji's mother, Amaiko, had made for them while simultaneously listening to Ino rant and rave at the same time.
The girl was such a headache.
Ino deciding she had enough of the silence, jumped up from her seat and glared condescendingly at the two boys. "Alright! If we are going to be in the same group then you two are going to have to follow my lead. It's the only way this mess will ever work." She said in a bossy way that only Ino seemed to know how to do.
Shikamaru scoffed. "Yeah, yeah." He shook her off choosing to focus on his riceball instead. 'It's the only way it will work because she'll throw a murderous fit if she doesn't get her way.' Shikamaru thought to himself.
"Why don't you lead us to some barbeque Ino!" Chouji said with a mouthful of food.
"Hopeless!" The blonde cried.
Shikamaru was ready to object when the sight of a familiar ginger-haired girl below them caught his attention. Chouko. She was walking around looking extremely annoyed and exhausted. She was tossing an apple up and down as she walked along the road, her silver eyes roaming all around as if she were searching for someone.
Suddenly she came to a halt and sighed. "I take it back. This is unbearable." Shikamaru heard her say as she took a large bite out of her apple. "Some team. They can't even do something as simple as have lunch together." She groaned looking at the sky for a minute before her gaze fell back down onto the apple she had been previously eating.
A sour look crossed her face as she tossed it into a nearby trash can. She's not a fan of sour flavors the Nara boy noted to the part of his brain that was reserved for the odd Akimichi girl.
"Shikamaru! Have you heard anything I've said just now?!" Ino demanded with hands on her hips. She peered over his shoulder wondering just what had caused him to become so distracted. "What are you looking at?" She asked.
Shikamaru sighed and rolled his eyes. Why the hell did she care to know? It wasn't like it was any of her business to know such trivial things anyway.
"Hey! That's Chouko!" Ino yelled the obvious. "Chouko! Hey! Up here!" Ino yelled while waving her arms around in a comedic fashion.
"What the hell are you doing?" Shikamaru glared at her.
Chouko jumped a little, startled by Ino's yelling. She spun around and caught sight of the trio, easing her worry into a smile. "Ah, Ino, Choji, Shikamaru!" She greeted all of them in kindness.
"Wanna have lunch with us?" Ino asked with a forced smile.
What the heck was she planning in that thick skull of hers? He wouldn't admit it, but Shikamaru was a bit curious.
Chouko seemed to look around for a minute before shrugging. "Sure." She said and walked towards a tree near the balcony.
She wiped the apple juice from her hand and leaped upwards grabbing onto a sturdy branch that was sticking out. She looked at the balcony with a focused gaze, her body started to rock back and forth and before anyone could ask what she was doing she swung forward, grabbing onto the rail and hoisting herself over, landing with a surprisingly, delicate flip.
They all stared at her.
"What?" She blinked as her face drained of color. "Do I...have something on my face?!" Chouko asked panicking at the thought of her lunch being smeared all over her face - that would be so embarrassing!
It wasn't that. No one expected her...to be so nimble. The only one who didn't seem surprised at all was Choji, who smiled and complimented her on her landing.
"You could have just come in through the door like a normal person." Ino sighed and pointed to the door behind her.
"We're ninja Ino," She said with a bashful laugh. "Nothing we do is normal."
"She got you there." Chouji laughed stuffing another riceball in his mouth. Chouko grinned and at him and plopped down beside him. She leaned against him and rested her head against his shoulder as Choji leaned his head against her own. "Want one?" He offered.
"Ah man! Did Aunt Amaiko make these? Hell yeah!" Chouko grinned and greedily stuffed one of the delicious riceballs in her mouth. "So good! So much better than mine! I always make them too sticky or I always make them too sweet." Chouko gagged. "Aunt Amaiko's are always just right!"
'She can't cook.' Shikamaru added to his list of growing notes.
"I think your riceballs are pretty good, Chou" Choji said thoughtfully.
"You're too kind, Cho." Chouko sighed. "Never change."
"Rodger!" Choji saluted, before panicking as he almost let his riceball fall, making Chouko laugh.
Shikamaru smiled watching the cousins interact. One would think they were brother and sister with how close they were. It always amused Shikamaru with how different the two were, and yet, how alike they were. Maybe that's why he found her to be so interesting? That was probably it.
Ino spun around and faced the girl with a mischievous smile on her face.
This could only spell disaster.
"So, Chouko, how is your team doing? Mine is awesome!" She spoke through gritted teeth. "Are you all getting along with one another?"
Chouko didn't answer right away. Instead, she ate her riceball, extra slow, to annoy the prodding blonde. When she finished she cocked her head to the side and smiled. "That's so kind of you to ask Ino! But I think what you really wanted to ask is how Sasuke is doing, and how close Sakura is getting to him, right?" Chouko asked cocking a brown. "After all, you wouldn't want to lose the game, huh?"
Shikamaru and Choji laughed.
Ino's face turned red and her brows angrily knitted together. "That's not what I meant at all!" Ino tried to deny it but Chouko wasn't buying it. "And my feelings are not a game!" She fervently denied though they all knew the truth.
"Why don't you ask him yourself Ino? He's right over there." Choji pointed to the building across from them.
Sure enough, there was Sasuke with his back to them, eating what looked like a rice ball stuffed with tomatoes. Shikamaru glanced over at Chouko. She was glaring at the back of the Uchiha's head with needles made of piercing venom. The sight of such a harsh glare on her chubby face was...adorable, and almost made him laugh, but instead, he shook his head and went back to minding his own business.
Ino could learn a thing or two about that.
Chouko glared at the back of Sasuke's head with puffed out cheeks. At that time she had spent looking for him...and he had never left the building?!
Chouko scowled. "One idiot down. One Fangirl to go. And a loveable knucklehead to boot." She bitterly mumbled.
She was about to asked Choji for another of Amaiko's riceballs when she suddenly caught sight of Naruto creeping along the open road and to the open window that Sasuke had his back turned to.
"What the hell are you up to, Naru?" Chouko narrowed her eyes. She could practically feel it coming when Naruto suddenly jumped through the window and tackled Sasuke to the ground out of their vision.
Chouko sighed heavily while the others seemed taken back.
It wasn't unlike Naruto to do something this dumb. One day he was going to take his pranks too far...and somehow, she always got involved in the - not that she complained since sometimes they were pretty fun.
"Naruto! If you so much as scratch him you are on my enemy list forever!" Ino shouted though he hadn't heard.
It was a minute later when 'Sasuke' clumsily leaped out of the window leading the others to believe had won the fight. Chouko wasn't so sure. There was something off about 'Sasuke' that had her narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"He beat Naruto without even breaking a sweat," Shikamaru said leaning away from the railing.
"What did you expect? Naruto against my boy Sasuke? No contest." Ino stretched her arms out and smirked.
"You're wrong," Chouko said making them all turn and look at her. "That's not Sasuke." She groaned.
"What are you talking about? Of course, that's Sasuke!" Ino scowled at her, "You actually think Naruto could beat Sasuke?! Get real, Chouko! There's no way that deadbeat could put a scratch on Sasuke!"
Chouko shot Ino a glare and waited to 'Sasuke' to leave. When he was out of sigh she leaped the distance from the building to the other that Sasuke had been eating his lunch in. Of course instead of finding a beaten Naruto like the others had been expecting, she instead found Sasuke on the floor, all tied up and looking extremely annoyed that he had been tricked by Kohona's number one knuckle-headed ninja: Uzumaki Naruto.
Chouko blinked. "This...isn't what I was expecting." She said trying to bite back a snicker.
Sasuke was always acting too cocky and arrogant and that fact that he had fallen victim to Naruto's little prank really tickled her funny bone.
Sasuke glared at her and seemed to say with his eyes 'untie me now!'.
"You could at least say please." Chouko sighed and pulled a kunai out of one of her weapon pouches. She crouched down low beside Sasuke and gently slid her kunai underneath the rope, careful not to cut him. "So...how did he do this?" Chouko motioned to the rope that now lay slashed on the ground.
"Shadow Clones..." Sasuke admitted reluctantly.
Shadow Clones? What? The other day Naruto didn't even know how to make a single clone! Now he was making clones? When had this happened and why hadn't he told her? She felt hurt.
"I can help you find him if you want." She offered. It was better than sitting around and doing nothing, even though she kinda liked having lunch with Team Ten, even if Ino only wanted to squeeze information out of her about Sasuke.
"I don't need your help." Sasuke hissed at her. "I can find that loser on my own."
Chouko smirked, "You sure about that? Because I just happened to see Naruto run by disguised as you. Where do you think he'd be going like that, Sasuke? Perhaps to visit a pink haired girl head over heels in love -" She snickered as she air quotations " - with you, disguised as you?"
Sasuke twitched and seemed to think for a minute.
"Whatever. Just don't slow me down." He scoffed and took the lead.
"Aye-aye!" Chouko saluted.
"Chouko is crazy if she thinks that Naruto could actually beat Sasuke. He can't even make a proper clone!" Ino laughed and stared at the window waiting for Chouko to come out and announce she was wrong.
Chouko did come out, but not with the dejected face that she had been expecting but instead a cocky smirk that screamed 'I told you so!' that Ino wanted to smack off her fat face.
Sasuke was right behind her looking more annoyed than ever.
"S-Sasuke?!" Ino puttered.
"No way! Naruto actually beat him?" Shikamaru blinked back his disbelief. 'Observant', he added.
"I believed her." Choji said eating his last riceball, "No one knows Naruto better than Chouko."
Chouko flashed a peace sign at Ino and grabbed Sasuke by the wrist, "Naruto went this way!" She yelled pulling him along.
When Sasuke and Chouko were out of sight Ino let out a frustrated scream. "I hate her!" She yelled stamping her foot angrily, "She thinks she's so smart! How the hell was I supposed to know that wasn't Sasuke! AHHHHHHH!"
Shikamaru sighed, "What a drag."
It had taken some time but they were eventually able to track down Sakura who was sitting on a bench looking lovesick. Chouko took it as a sign that Naruto had definitely been there. She called out to the pink-haired girl who frowned when seeing her, and then twisting her frown into a scowl when she noticed Sasuke walking alongside her.
"Sasuke you're back!" Sakura beamed ignoring Chouko in favor of Sasuke. "Come on now, don't be so shy, you bad, bad, boy! So are you ready now? You know, mentally prepared? Because I am! I, uh, mean that I'm raring to go!..."
'This is...so pathetic. Better move along to make this less awkward for her.' Chouko cringed.
Sakura's face fell as Sasuke and Chouko walked right past her. "H-Hey! Wait a minute!" She yelled desperately.
Chouk nudged Sasuke who stopped and glared at her. Chouko rolled her eyes and pointed back at Sakura. She obviously wasn't going to tell her anything.
"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asked slightly annoyed by Sakura's persistence and Chouko's general presence.
"Oh, see, there you go changing subjects again!" Sakura smirked coyly. "You know why he is so annoying? It's because he wasn't raised right." Sakura said.
Chouko stiffened and glared coldly at her. She didn't like the direction this conversation was going.
"He doesn't have a mother or father. There's no one to teach him wrong from right. Think about it! All he ever does is just do whatever comes right into his head." She wagged her finger around. "If I did things like Naruto does then I'd get in big trouble! My parents would be furious, so of course, I don't do it. But if you don't have parents to tell you how would you know? He's selfish and bratty and he's all alone!"
Chouko felt rage fill her veins as she stomped towards the pinkette.
Talk shit about her? That's fine.
Talk shit about Naruto? May the gates of hell have mercy on your soul.
"Of all the horrible and nasty things to ever come our your mouth - this is the worst!" Chouko shouted grabbing Sakura by the front of her dress. "Not everyone has the luxury of having their parents like you do, Sakura! What the in the actual hell is wrong with you to say something so horrible?! You should know by now that this world is unpredictable and that anything can happen at any given moment, then how would you feel? And just who the hell do you think you are you judge Naruto!? You don't know anything about him or the things he has been through!"
Sakura's eyes widened. "G-Get off of me!" She shouted shoving Chouko away. The gingerette looking like a wild animal with her wide eyes and angry glare.
It honestly terrified Sakura.
"Alone. I still hate it. It's not about your parents scolding you. You have no idea what it means to be alone." Sasuke said through clenched teeth and balled fists.
'She hit a nerve. Not the best way to impress the love of your life, Sakura.' Chouko frowned watching the leaves drift by with the wind.
"What? Why are you saying that?" Sakura almost looked offended, as if Sasuke had said something wrong to her.
"Because," Sasuke turned and glared at her, "You're annoying." And with that Sasuke walked away leaving Sakura wide-eyed and broken.
Chouko sighed and stepped up to the girl while fighting down her own anger.
"You really don't know anything about Sasuke, do you? If you did you wouldn't have just said all that. All you've done is angered him and me. Do you even hear what comes out of your mouth, Sakura? Maybe you should try and think about other peoples feeling for once instead of your own. Is this stupid game you're playing that important that you're willing to put other peoples feeling to the side, for your own selfish desires?"
And like Sasuke, Chouko walked away leaving the pinkette to think about what she said.
It was later when Chouko and the rest of Team Seven met back at the academy. Everything was slowly melding back together, so Chouko had taken a seat on the far side of the room by the window. She hummed looking outside at the fat puffy clouds. She'd much rather be out there than in here, anything was better than this.
Chouko smiled as she caught sight of Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji walking away in the distance with Asuma-sensei at the lead. She was very familiar with Sarutobi Asuma, a father-figure to her in the absence of the one she had long since lost, not that she remembered much of him, to begin with. It was no surprise that he ended up being the leader of Squad Ten. He was the perfect fit, and honestly, she was a little jealous.
Chouko knocked loudly on the glass. It took a minute but eventually, the outside group stopped and looked around for the source of the noise. It was Choji who spotted her, waving his arms around in the air and shouting something that she couldn't hear while Shikamaru gave a lazy wave and Ino huffed, turning away and pretending she didn't exist. Asuma-sensei gave a nod of acknowledgment and a small smile.
Chouko grinned and waved them away.
"Naruto! Sit down!"
Chouko sighed loudly.
What were they arguing about now?
Chouko turned around in her seat and found Naruto stood in front of the door looking rather impatient with their Sensei's tardiness and Sasuke and Sakura looked annoyed in general. She couldn't blame them she guessed, their Sensei was three hours late.
Didn't Iruka Sensei say their Sensei was a Jonin? Shouldn't they know better?
"I don't want to!" Naruto whined. "How come our Sensei is the only one who's late? I'm ready to role, believe it! The other students have already met their Sensei and took off on some cool adventure, or something! Iruka-sensei is gone too!"
"We already know that." Chouko frowned. "But there isn't much we can do. It's not like we can just leave, ya know? Hey, Naruto, are you even listening to me?!"
Chouko groaned watching Naruto attempting to pull another of his pranks. Hadn't he learned by now? He always got caught, and always got into trouble. Sighing, she crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. He was going to have to learn one day that his actions had consequences.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Sakura demanded with hands pressed against her hips. "Naruto!"
"This is what he gets for coming late - surprise!" Naruto grinned and jumped from the chair he was standing on.
Did he really believe their Sensei would fall for that?
"You're asking for trouble. You know you shouldn't do that!" Miss-Goody-Two-Shoes scolded, but it was clear that she was just as excited as Naruto.
That was another thing that Chouko couldn't stand about Sakura, is that she was always putting Naruto down. It didn't matter how kind he was to her, she always brushed him aside and treated his as a lower-class citizen, and went out of her way to humiliate him.
"Our teacher is a Jonin, an Elite Ninja. You really think he'd fall for that?" Sasuke's hands were folded in front of his face, and his eyes were closed.
"Yeah! Sasuke's right, Naruto! You're so clueless."
"Hey, Sakura, do us all a favor and shut the hell up. You're clearly just as excited about all this as Naruto is. Stop trying to pretend that you're better than we are." Chouko scoffed. "Jeez, you're such a kiss ass, you know that?"
Sakura's face turned as pink as her hair. "No one asked you, tubby!" She yelled and pointed an angry finger her way.
Chouko winced causing Sakura to smirk. A fat joke. Really? Cheap shot. Chouko scoffed and folded her arms over her chest. She glared at Sasuke who she was sitting by her and jabbed a thumb towards Sakura.
"Oi, Sasuke, control your dog. She's getting out of control. If you don't I just might have to put her down."
Sakura let out a horrified screech as her face once again turned red. She looked from a laughing Chouko to Sasuke, who seemed to be amused, but of course, wouldn't let them see it. Instead, he scoffed and rolled his eyes.
"Not my problem." He said with a click of his tongue.
Sakura wanted to curl into a ball and die. Her inner-self was screaming at her to fight back, but she was too heartbroken by Sasuke's blatant rejection to do anything.
The door suddenly cracked opened and everyone froze while holding their breaths. As a masked man with silver hair popped his head inside of the room, the eraser that Naruto had placed on top of the door fell and smacked him on the head in a cloud of chalk dust.
Naruto was rolling on the ground with laughter. "Hahaha! I got him! He totally fell for it!" He chortled pointing at the masked man.
"I'm so sorry Sensei! I told him not to do it, but he wouldn't listen! I'd never do something like that!" Sakura said.
"Suck up." Chouko rolled her eyes. Sasuke bobbed his head in agreement.
The man cleared his throat and gathered their attention. "Hm, how can I put this?" The man mused, picking the fallen eraser up from the ground. "My first impression of this group? You're all a bunch of idiots."
Chouko felt a stabbing jab towards the little pride she carried and shamefully hung her head.
Things couldn't possibly get any worse
Chouko and Team Seven sat on the roof of the Academy. Chouko was squished uncomfortably between Sasuke and Naruto, while Sakura sat on the other side of Sasuke. Their Sensei was casually leaning against the rail in front of them with an apparent look of boredom on his surprisingly youthful face. Chouko honestly thought their Sensei looked to be rather young for a Jonin but knew better than to judge someone based on age. None of those things mattered in the world of ninja; ninja come in all different shapes, sizes, colors, and age, and each could prove to be more deadly than the next.
"Alright. Why don't you introduce yourselves? One at a time." The silver-haired man said in an almost bored manner.
"Introduce ourselves?" Sakura repeated. "How so? Like, what should we say?"
The man shrugged. "Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies, things like that." He said with a flourish of his hand.
"Doesn't sound too hard," Sakura said.
Chouko was definitely interested in learning more about her team. She knew a lot about Naruto, obviously, at least what he was willing to tell her. There were some things he hid from her, and it did hurt a little, but she knew he'd tell her when he was ready. What she did know is that he liked to cause pranks, and that trouble clung to him like a magnet and that for some reason, everyone in the village hated him.
Chouko found this to be odd. Naruto was definitely a goofball, but a harmless one. He'd never do anything to intentionally hurt someone or make them feel bad about themselves...so why did the village go out of their way to make him feel like an outcast?
What made Uzumaki Naruto so different from everyone else?
She knew a fair bit about Sakura. She knew that she hailed from no clan and that she and Ino and used to be the best of friends, as well as...Chouko frowned and shooked her head. Chouko always felt there was something more between the two until Sakura decided that she's "hopelessly" in "love" with Sasuke. It was funny since she never really showed any interest in Sasuke until Ino announced her crush on him. Then again, Ino never bothered announcing her crush on Sasuke until she heard the word, that Sakura liked him.
Other than that, she is pretty smart, and has shown decent control over her chakra, and picks up things pretty quickly. But, all that is thrown out the door when she'd rather spend her time ogling Sasuke.
As much as Chouko hated to admit it...she felt that Sakura could be a pretty strong shinobi one day if she ever decided to really put her mind to it. Chouko envied Sakura in many aspects. She was smart, beautiful, and always did better than her in just about everything, and it's in many ways one of the reasons she gets so annoyed when she sees her wasting her potential on a pointless feud.
...Or maybe, she just thinks back to when they were young, and the times they would play together and weren't constantly at each other's throats like rabid animals.
Chouko frowned and shook her head. People grow and change all the time.
Sometimes though, it is for the worst.
'Way to bum yourself out Chouko.' She thought with a sigh.
She glanced over at Sasuke who always had his fist tucked under his chin and a glare on his face.
Chouko as much about Sasuke as everyone else did, but everyone knew of his sad tale. She was aware of his Clan's massacre and figured this is why Sasuke was so cold to everyone and why he kept his distance.
She couldn't even begin to imagine what it fell like to be entirely all alone. Sure her parents weren't with her anymore...but she still had Kurenai-Sensei and Asuma-Sensei looking out for her; Kurenai and Asuma had been close with her parents and when they passed when Chouko was young, the two promised to look out for her. It did make her sad when she tried to remember her parents and couldn't...but she had two wonderful people looking out for her, and that's more than she could ever ask for.
"Why don't you go first, Sensei?" Sakura said, drawing Chouko back to reality.
Chouko nodded. "You should tell us something about yourself to show us how it works," she finished with a smile. Really, she just wanted to learn something - anything - about their Sensei. He seemed familiar but she just couldn't place a name to the masked face.
The man raised a challenging brow at them. "Me? I'm Hatake Kakashi." He said. "Things I like, and things I hate...I don't really feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future? Never really thought about it. As for hobbies, I have lots of hobbies."
Chouko's brow twitched.
"Well, that was totally useless." Sakura scoffed. "All he really told us was his name," Sakura whispered to the three of them.
Chouko reluctantly agreed with the pinkette.
"Your turn," Kakashi said. "You on the right, you first," Kakashi said to the blond-haired boy dressed in orange.
Chouko smiled encouragingly at Naruto and stuck up a thumb. He seemed to be excited to talk about himself, and honestly, it was too stinking adorable.
"Believe it!" Naruto said adjusting his headband. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen that Iruka-Sensei got me at the Ichiraku Noddle Shop! But I hate the three minutes you have to wait after your pour the water into the ramen cup..."
Chouko snorted. If there was one thing Naruto loved more than anything else it the world, it was ramen.
It was pretty much the only thing he ever ate.
"My hobbies include pulling pranks on the village geezers with Chouko!"
Chouko blanched. He could have...left that part out. She noticed Kakashi-Sensei's side glare and chuckled nervously as she mumbled out a half-excuse of an apology.
"And my future dream...is to be the greatest Hokage! Then, the whole village will stop disrespecting me, and start treating me like I'm somebody - somebody important!"
A smile stretched across her face when she looked at Naruto. The determination was burning brightly in his baby blue eyes. The village clown wanted to become Hokage...so people would finally show him some respect.
Naruto the Hokage...she liked the sound of it.
And she believed one-hundred percent in him.
She smiled at him and refocused her attention on Kakashi-sensei. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of dreams Sasuke and Sakura had.
"Alright, next." Kakashi nodded at Sakura. Sakura is a girl with long, pink hair, and bright green eyes, wearing a red dress.
'Someday I'm going to become a super strong kunoichi, Chouko! I'll become super famous, just you wait and see!'
"I'm Sakura Haruno! What I like, uh I mean the person I like...mmmm!" Oh, God. "Um, my hobby is, uh, my dream for the future!..." Sakura looked over at Sasuke and started giggling behind her fist.
Chouko frowned deeply. 'Whatever happened to that dream, Sakura?'
"And what do you hate?" Kakashi asked.
"NARUTO!"
"WHAT?!"
Chouko whipped around to face Sakura with an angry glare. "That was uncalled for, Sakura! You don't have any right to act like such a righteous bitch towards Naruto! He's only ever been nice to you which is something someone as self-centered as you don't deserve!" Chouko scowled at Sakura.
"Shut up, Chouko! You're only friends with Naruto because he's the only who likes you! No one else would be friends with the class fatty otherwise!" Sakura scowled back. "But you know that say about losers sticking together."
Kakashi sighed watching the two bickering girls. Chouko had turned red in the face and had balled her fist together. He half expected her to pounce, but she kept her composure - somewhat - it was obvious that the comment about her weight had upset her, but she didn't say anything, but her expression showed it all.
"Enough!" Kakashi yelled making the girls jump and end their bickering. "You now." Kakashi pointed at Sasuke. The raven-haired boy with obsidian eyes dressed in blue and white.
Like always he had his hands folded so they covered his mouth, and his eyes were fixed in a glare.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything." He said making the Haruno's face fall. "What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan and destroy a certain someone."
Sakura almost seemed turned on by Sasuke, while Naruto looked completely terrified. He probably thought Sasuke was talking about him.
Chouko felt sympathetic. She knew the person Sasuke was talking about had to be his older brother. Chouko frowned at the ground. Was revenge really worth it though? What happened when it was over?
The act of revenge wouldn't magically bring his clan back to life.
Chouko felt a bit nervous with everyone looking at her. For a minute, she gathered her courage, before locking eyes with her Sensei.
"My name is Akimichi Chouko! I enjoy going out for barbeque with my cousin Choji and watching the clouds with Shikamaru when invited, and I especially enjoy spending time with my best friend, Uzumaki Naruto!"
Naruto grinned widely.
"I hate obnoxious fangirls who have no regards for other peoples feelings." Her eyes flickered to Sakura. "My goal isn't really anything that special, honestly." Chouko blushed. "I just want to become a really cool ninja that people can look up to, and be inspired by. One day, I'd like to lead my own squad, or maybe I'll become Naruto's assistant when he's Hokage..." Chouko trailed off thoughtfully.
It would be nice, but she didn't know if she could handle all the work that came hand-in-hand with such a powerful position. It seemed like a position better for someone of Shikamaru's caliber.
"If I can even become half of the ninja that Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-Sensei are, well, then I really don't have any complaints." Chouko finished with a smile.
Naruto stared at her with wide eyes, Sakura pretended to not care as she held a far-off look in her eyes, and Sasuke said nothing, only stared at her out of the corner of his eye.
Kakashi stared at the girl before nodding, "Good. You are each unique and you have your own ideas. We'll have our first mission tomorrow." He said with a clap of his hands.
"Already?" Chouko asked. "It seems to soon to have one." She tilted her head.
"What kind of mission are we going to have, Sensei?" Naruto asked with a tilt of his head.
"It's a task that the five of us will do together," Kakashi-sensei answered simplistically.
Chouko frowned. Did their Sensei have to be so vague?
"Can you be less vague?" Chouko asked, "That doesn't really tell us much."
"A survival exercise," Kakashi answered.
The group collectively groaned. Well, Sasuke grunted, but it still counted in Chouko's book.
"I thought we were supposed to have a real mission, not more practice." Sakura glared, "We already did this stuff at the academy. That's how we got here."
"This is not like your previous training." Kakashi hummed.
There was an edge to his voice that sent shivers down Chouko's spine.
"So what kind of training is it then?" Naruto asked. Instead of reply Kakashi stared chuckling.
"What about that was funny?" Chouko frowned.
"If I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it~," Kakashi said in a sing-song tone.
"Oh yeah? Why is that?" Chouko challenged with a smirk of her own.
"Of the thirty-one graduates who just came here, only ten will be accepted as Genin. The others will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. In other words, this is a make it or break it pass-fail-test, and the chance that you'll fail is at least sixty-six percent."
Her breathe caught in her throat. Sixty-six percent chance of failure? Chouko felt her dreams ending before they even began.
"See? Didn't I tell say you wouldn't like it?" Kakashi said, with a closed-eyed smile. Cheeky bastard.
"That's crazy! We worked hard to get here! What was that graduation test for anyway?!" Naruto yelled.
"Oh, that? That was just to select candidates who might become Genin, or not." Kakashi shrugged.
"That's not fair!" Sakura scowled, "We worked hard to get here, Sensei!"
Again, Chouko found herself agreeing with Sakura. How annoying.
"That's how it is." Kakashi said, "I decided whether you pass, or fail. Be at the designated training spot at five in the morning, and bring your ninja gear. Oh, and tomorrow, you might want to skip breakfast - or else you'll puke."
Chouko groaned. This was not going to be easy.
The first official meeting of Team Seven had ended and Chouko felt exhausted of all her energy. All she wanted to do was go home and get some rest, and mentally prepare for whatever hell Kakashi-Sensei planned to put them through. She had even denied getting ramen with Naruto, and when seeing his heartbroken face, had promised to make it up to him in some way later.
As she walked the streets of Kohona her mind kept wandering back to what Kakashi-Sensei had told them earlier. Ten. Only ten of them would become Genin. There was a very high chance that she could fail. Then what? This is what she had set her mind to doing. If she failed now after coming so far, then she would surely disappoint the few people who believed in her, and that's the last thing she wanted.
She wanted people to be proud of her.
Chouko sighed and like always when she found herself in deep thought she looked to the sky. The swirlings cloud of pink and orange brought her an odd sense of comfort.
Whatever it was she had to endure she'd grin and bear it. She made the decision to become a ninja and she was going to see it through.
Eventually, this world would know her name, and no one would mock her ever again.
EndNote: The first chapter didn't change much because I didn't feel there was a need to completely change it all around, just add some new things to make it flow better.
I'm excited to begin working on this story again. Chouko is a very fun character to write :)