Alright, so this chapter was extended just a tad from my original whole work. I added in most of it just now for the sake of length, and I think it complemented the plot nicely. Even so, it didn't turn out very long, but next chapter will be a little more exciting. Well, without further ado, here we go!


Teddy couldn't bear to stay there any longer. He knew just where that conversation was going. Although he hadn't actually heard what Chouji had to say, he'd rather live in blissful ignorance than spiral into the harsh reality that Chouji had rejected him. It wouldn't be complete rejection if he just moved on to Ino anyways.

Chouji hadn't said he didn't like him, but Teddy wouldn't let himself hope. He knew just what was supposed to happen if it was all an attempt at sadistic humor. Chouji and Shikamaru would be laughing it up on their little hill while Teddy went home and bawled his eyes out like a little girl. Ino would be up there too, probably laughing along with them. Teddy assured himself that that was not happening.

Even when the tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, he told himself that he was above that. The first couple tears couldn't even change his mind. Only when he was sobbing in front of his door did he actually admit to himself that he was genuinely hurt.

"How can this be heartbreak if Chouji hasn't even said anything yet?," he thought to himself. His cheek twitched as he physically slapped himself for being so stupid. Although the tears had stopped falling, Teddy felt that familiar knot in his stomach. If this is what he gets from two days of being noticed, he had to say that he was by far better of invisible.

Slipping back into his apartment, he ripped the small hinge behind the door to disarm the traps before running to the bed and curling up with a pillow clutched tightly against his chest. Slowly but surely his breathing slowed and began to melt into a slow beat as the mindless rhythmic pulse of sleep overtook him.


"Chouji, I think we need to talk."

Chouza pulled up a chair next to his son who was playing with his rice porridge like a discontented toddler; very uncharacteristic for an Akimichi. "What's wrong, son?"

"Dad, it's nothi-"

"Now don't tell me it's nothing," Chouza interrupted. "Because it's obviously something."

Chouji couldn't find anything to say to that, so he just sat there in silence. He even stopped fiddling with the bits of rice in his porridge.

"Is it Teddy?," Chouza finally asked.

"Dad, how did-"

"I'm your father, Chouji," he explained. "I can tell when there's something wrong. Plus, I'm not blind. I could see how much you liked him."

Chouji was thoughful for a second. "Not like it matters now," he sighed, finally venting his story.

"Chouji," Chouza said seriously. "You and I both know that you're kind and caring. I think that anyone who can overlook that doesn't deserve you."

Chouji snorted. "Well, I don't think they can see that kind and caring behind this." He gently rubbed his armor plated belly sheepishly. His father never approved of him complaining about his weight, and he'd usually kept quiet about it in his youth. Even now, old habits die hard.

"You know that's not true, Chouji," his father told him. "Not everyone looks at us that way." When Chouza said, "us" the point really hit home. "Chouji, I'm sure you two will be fine."

"How can you say that, Dad?," Chouji snapped. "I don't even know why I'm still moping over this. It's not like anything's happening between us anymore."

"Now Chouji," Chouza scolded gently. "You and I both know that Teddy wouldn't totally agree with that."

Chouji couldn't find anything to say to that. The confused look on his face conveyed the unspoken question though.

"I saw the way he looked at you too, Chouji," Chouza confessed. "I could see that you two were honestly happy together, and it just doesn't make sense that he could drop that sort of feeling like that." He snapped his fingers and held his hand in the air before fiddling with the mane of his headdress. "Whatever it is, I'm sure you'll make things right, Chouji."

When his dad stood up, Chouji couldn't help but jump up and catch him in a back-breaking hug. "Thanks, Dad," he mumbled into his father's chest.

Chouza was a little embarrassed at first, but then finally hugged back. He could feel the tension dissolve in the room as he patted his son on the head.


"Shikamaru!," Chouji panted as he jogged over to his friend. He'd nearly sprinted across town three times just to find his friend. In all of his flustered confusion, he never thought to check the most obvious place; the hill. "Have you seen Teddy?"

Shikamaru just stood there gaping at him with a bag of chips in his hand. Since Chouji hadn't been there for nearly a week, Shikamaru had began to crave chips. "This again, Chouji?!," Shikamaru groaned.

"I know what you're thinking, but-" Chouji thought for a second. There was no way in hell he could know all of what was going on his friend's mind. "I mean, I know part of what you're thinking, but it's not... really... what you think?"

"Chouji!," Shikamaru scolded. "You just confused yourself. Just relax, you're making this entire thing more troublesome than it needs to be." Shikamaru started in a slow walk towards a building before jumping nimbly up its side. Chouji recognized the place immediately. It was where they'd watched the clouds together for the very first time.

Chouji followed Shikamaru up to find him sprawled out against the steel gerder support that they used as a bench as children. "So you've finally figured it out, huh?"

"Figured what out?," Chouji asked. He thought he had this all down pat, but he always found himself second-guessing around Shikamaru.

"You and I both know that you still like Teddy," Shikamaru explained. "I was just waiting for you to get over your whole self-pity thing and sort this whole mess out yourself."

Chouji blushed. "Well, I had a little help from my dad..."

"Same difference," Shikamaru sighed. "I want you to know though, that whatever you do, I'll back you up, Chouji."

The way Shikamaru said that shocked Chouji. He'd heard that tone only once or twice before, but he knew it perfectly well. The confidence and strength in Shikamaru's voice meant that it was one of those rare and serious emotional moments. "Shika, you... I don't know what to say," Chouji stammered. His words were caught up in his infinite gratitude.

"Then don't say anything. I don't want to know what you and Teddy do together, and frankly, I think it should only be between the two of you, but I want you to know that I'm not going to hold you back in that relationship," Shikamaru said with a hard glare towards the skies. It was enough that he was being serious about this; you couldn't ask him to look Chouji in the eye too.

"Does that mean I have your blessing, Shikamaru?," Chouji asked tentatively.

"I... I guess it does."

Chouji couldn't resist; he scooped Shikamaru up into a big bear-hug. There was nothing but elation and the warmth of friendly love in the embrace, but it felt as good as any Chouji ever had.

"Ch-Chouji," Shikamaru grunted. "You might break my ribs..."

Placing his friend down gently, Chouji blushed. "S-sorry, Shika..."

Shikamaru rolled his shoulder and cracked a loose joint, but didn't look any worse for wear.

"So you never answered my question..." Chouji reminded with a little more enthusiasm. He couldn't wait to break the great news to Teddy after he patched up this mess. Maybe this is where things would start to turn around.

Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his noes and inhaled sharply through his nostrils. "I was hoping you wouldn't remember that..." Shikamaru groaned. Chouji's good mood seemed as though it was never meant to last.

"Why? What happened?!," Chouji blurted. His mind flicked through all of the possibilites for Shikamaru's aversion to the subject. Illness, injury, maybe hospitalization. Whatever it was, it had to be unpleasant.

"Well... he sorta left on a mission this morning. I saw him at the gates with at least a week's worth of provisions," Shikamaru sighed.

Chouji's heart sank at the announcement. Not only would Teddy be gone almost indefinitely, he would also be in danger of loss of life and/or limb; neither of which pleased Chouji in the least. "When's he expected back?"

"It's a B-ranked mission, so anytime from a couple days to... a month or two?," Shikamaru confessed.

When he sensed his friend's pain, Shikamaru couldn't help but have a pang of sympathetic distress too. "Chip?," Shikamaru offered with a gentle rustle of the bag. The sound of more ruffling and a crisp crunch as Chouji took his first bite set Shikamaru's mind at ease.

As long as Teddy came back soon, Shikamaru knew that his friend would be okay.


"Nice going Chouji!," Ino sneered from behind him. Chouji didn't even bother looking up from the empty bag of chips in his hand. "Could you be any more stuck up? I bet you haven't even tried to talk to Teddy since he got back."

"Yes, I have," thought Chouji. It hadn't exactly been a walk in the park getting to Teddy. By his reckoning, Chouji figured that he had inexplicably bad timing or Teddy was avoiding him. Teddy had finally come back after two agonizing weeks, but he'd spent another week in Konoha's medical center. When Chouji found out, he naturally went to visit, but Teddy had already checked out. Since then, he'd been trying frantically to spot Teddy in crowds, tracking him down through other people, or just combing the city streets; none of which seemed to yield any results. Chouji had even gone to visit Teddy's apartment every day. There would never be any answer, but he could've sworn he heard a creak in the floorboards once or twice.

Though Chouji had gotten the entire situation down in his mind, he had to admit through some flawed logic, Ino had a point. All she knew was that he still hadn't been able to talk to Teddy, so it was not so far-fetched to believe that he was the one doing the avoiding. Things would've gone by unnoticed but, as usual, Ino had to get involved in things and rumors spread. If everything he heard was true, Teddy was probably stockpiling explosive tags right now and gathering a small squad of ninja to take down the Hokage. Chouji sighed as he continued to ponder on the reality of the situation.

When it boiled down to it, all of this was really his fault that Teddy was like that. If he could've just owned up to his feelings right then and there on the hill, none of this mess would've happened. The only thing that saved Shikamaru from the blame was the intense guilt Chouji felt for his part in the mishap.

"Hello!," Ino shrieked. "Are you going to fix this or just let Teddy stay all depressed like this?"

Chouji looked over and saw her gesturing to a sad figure plodding across the street. Teddy was really a pitiful sight right now; disheveled hair, mis-matched clothes, hunched shoulders, and he had to be at least a few pounds skinnier.

"Plus, I don't know where you've been, but Kiba seems to be warming up to him pretty nicely too," Ino warned.

"Good," Chouji finally spoke up. "Better than letting Teddy waste him time on a jerk like me..."

"When will you get over yourself, Chouji?," Ino barked. Coming from her, that was a real insult. "I know what happened, and you could've just fixed this entire thing with a 'sorry' and kissed to made up, but you just left it alone, and now look at him! You and I both know how stubborn Teddy is; once he gets an idea in his head, he can fool himself into thinking anything!" Chouji knew that was true. He had to spend the greater part of an afternoon trying to convince Teddy that cucumbers didn't grow on trees.

Ino was obviously right. He had to do something about this. "Fix him!," she yelled as she pointed in his direction.

"H-how?!," Chouji blurted, suddenly alert. "I don't even think he'll talk to me anymore, let alone let me 'fix' him!"

"I don't know, and I don't care, but if I have to look at him moping any longer I'm going to get wrinkles!," she hissed. "Go!"

She gave him a firm shove which shouldn't've sent him as far as it did. He staggered to get his balance, and then started toward Teddy. "Kami, help me," he mumbled as he strode over to him.

When Chouji was less than a couple yards away, Kiba swooped in and took Teddy's side. "Hey, Teddy," Kiba greeted. "Whatcha up to?"

Chouji fell back to listen in secrecy. He jumped easily onto a nearby roof where he watched their conversation unfold. "Not much," Teddy sighed. His voice cracked a bit from the weight of his sorrow. "I don't think I even remember why I'm walking around."

"Well, you could come hang out with me and Akamaru," Kiba suggested. Akamaru whined to Teddy, pleading him to accept.

"I... I dunno," Teddy stammered. "I think I should probably just go home..."

"Aw, c'mon, Teddy!," Kiba begged. "Why not come over, we could grab a bite to eat at that barbecue place you like."

Chouji's blood boiled at the thought of Kiba in his seat at their table. He could hardly control himself enough to keep his kunai in his pack.

"...No, I don't think so Kiba. Maybe some other time," Teddy replied. Chouij's heart sang at the rejection.

"C'mon, Teddy," Kiba begged a little harder. "When are you going to get over Chouji? When he was the last time he even talked to you? I don't think he's going to come running back anytime soon." Chouji would beg to differ.

"...Kiba, I'm going home," Teddy stated with a hint of finality. Chouji could clearly see that Teddy wasn't in the mood to be messed with, so he hoped for Kiba's sake that he'd just let it go.

"Teddy, just because Chouji didn't want you doesn't mean I don't," Kiba pressed, stepping in Teddy's path. "If he just opened his eyes, he would see what a wonderful person you are."

"Kiba, I'm serious," Teddy growled. "Just drop it."

Kiba's brow furrowed as he glared at Teddy. "No, I don't think I will," Kiba stated. "What does he have that I don't?" Akamaru whined and set his ears back in clear disapproval. Kiba seemed to be ignoring his friends pleas to stop though, since he didn't even bat an eyelash at the dog's barking.

"He knows when to back off!," Teddy hollered. "Will you just let it go Kiba?!" Teddy looked ready to tear his head off, and Chouji could see from where he stood that Teddy's hands were balled up into fists. Chouji also noticed his shoulders shaking. As he studied his face, he could swear he saw the twinkle of tears getting ready to fall.

"Not until you give me a straight answer!," Kiba bellowed. It didn't seem to have much effect on Teddy in his state, so it wasn't really a surprise when Teddy shoved past Kiba and started away.

"Where are you going?," Kiba growled as he grabbed Teddy's wrist and pulled him back roughly.

"Let go, Kiba!," Teddy warned. The warning glint in his eyes didn't phase Kiba though, and he glared harder when Kiba didn't budge. "I said: Let go." Realizing the situation wasn't going anywhere, Teddy broke Kiba's hold and tried to bolt away, but was stopped when Kiba shoved him into the wall of a building.

Chouji couldn't bear to just sit by and watch anymore. His blood was beyond boiling now and he was shaking with anger from head to toe. If anything happened to Teddy, Kiba would pay dearly.

He found the two of them struggling against the building, and he barreled past Akamaru to Kiba in one stride. Taking Kiba roughly by the sweatshirt, he hurled him clear across the street.

"Kiba, don't ever touch Teddy again. Do you understand?" Chouji glowered warningly as he set himself between the two. Pushing Kiba from his mind, he remembered Teddy. "Teddy, are you... Teddy?"

Teddy was already down the block and around the corner before Chouji could even start to follow. There was no way he was going to give up this chance to talk to Teddy though, so he sprinted behind him as he followed to his apartment.


I really liked writing that bit with Chouza and Chouji. When I found out Chouza dies, I was actually really sad. Anyways, hope you liked that chapter and be sure to read the next one! Reviews are greatly appreciated. Flames are discouraged, but constructive criticism is welcomed.