"You need to try Muay Thai."

Naruto wipes his forehead of sweat. "No thanks man, I don't drink."

"What? No, kid. It's Thai kickboxing. You gotta try it."

Hobbies. His last manic episode, he could still remember how excited he was so try something like that. He thought, better make his time without Hinata count.

She wasn't there to tell him 'no'.

Plus, he's not manic anymore.

The guy at the gym had to be certifiably insane. He had crazy long grey hair and been mildly obsessed with Naruto since his first class.

"What kind of training have you had kid? What kind of fighting style do you have?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I grew up in a boys home in Hell's Kitchen."

Jiraiya laughed. "That'll do ya."

Naruto's first class of Muay Thai had actually been nothing like he expected.

Guys in varying ages and fitness levels were already stretching when he got there. Some of them even had the special, Muay Thai booty shorts he didn't learn about until later.

Then, they started jump roping. Which he felt kind of dumb about.

But not a silly as shadow boxing made him feel. Nobody else seemed to question it, so 'when in Rome' or whatever.

They did beginning drills and complicated drills. Then they did sparing.

It felt like everything good about a manic episode. He felt like some deep ingrained primal instincts came out. There was a part of it that almost scared him, like the little kid that always got the shit beaten out of him. But he wasn't little anymore. Plus, in Muay Thai, you can throw elbows.

Jiraiya wasn't even teaching his class but shit his pants after watching Naruto spar.

"You're a fucking natural kid. Un-fucking-believable."

"Ugh thanks." Naruto laughed, running his hands through his sweaty hair.

"We gotta get you a bag kid. Two hundred kicks a day. Each leg. We gotta get you on a training program. You gotta buy my protein powder. What kinda food you eating? You gotta start cutting-"

"Cutting?" Naruto blanched. His arm was wrapped still and most of the rest of his marks were camouflaged-

"Cutting weight!" Jiraiya slapped him in the stomach.

"Oi, did you just call me fat?"

"Too fat if you wanna fight anyone good."

Naruto's brain wasn't moving fast enough for him to keep up with Jiraiya. "Who am I fighting?"

"Nobody yet." Jiraiya laughed. "You got a long way to go kid. But you've got a lot of potential. You're not too old yet. You have a career in fighting, low level at least."

Shit.

He's been in a lot of fights, sure, but Naruto never suspected that he could actually be good at something.

The word career posed a problem though.

He showed up to work early Monday morning, so he could talk to Kakashi in office before his team went out canvassing. He wasn't usually in that part of the building, it was for administration and stuff like that.

So he was surprised to see someone he actually knew there.

"Shikamaru!"

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing here?" His normally relaxed friend looked alarmed.

"Chill, chill, chill, I work here. Do you work here?"

"Yes."

"Kakashi just offered me a job on the side of the road. Fifteen dollars an hour! Can you believe that?" Naruto practically bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Fifteen… yeah…" Shikamaru shrugged. "Did you need something over here?"

"Yeah, I was waiting to ask Kakashi a question."

"He's coming in late today. As usual. What is it?"

"Oh, well, um I started this class, it's a kicking boxing class. Muay Thai. But I wasn't sure if I could actually compete or anything, if I'm allowed to do that with this job. Ya'know."

"Canvassing is usually for college kids. If you're not having a kegger on the weekend, you've already got a leg up on the competition. And if Kakashi hired a dude with face, neck and hand tattoos, I think he'll be unbothered by Korean wrestling."

Naruto frowned at the insults. "It's Thai. Muay Thai. It's in the name."

"Whatever. Hey wait - holy shit. You know Konohamaru Sarutobi?"

"Little spoiled shit head?" Naruto asked. "He's usually on the team that canvases in Queens."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's the shit head. Anyways, he's a legacy kid, his family's been in politics for awhile, he got his job on recommendation from his grandpa. To cut to the chase, his family is real worried about him walking around, canvassing and stuff."

"In Queens?" Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I'm gonna switch your route to match his. Get his family off my back."

"Wait, the only reason I got hired is cause I knew my neighborhood-"

"Don't worry," Shikamaru huffed. "I'll get you a raise. See if I can do any better than fifteen."

"Dude, what the hell I thought fifteen was good?" He asked, affronted.

Shikamaru snorted. "Don't ask anyone inside what they make then."

Naruto was thoroughly soured now. "Fine then, mother fucker." He muttered, turning around. "Cool to see you then. Maybe catch you later?"

"Sure thing." Shikamaru moved to continue down the hallways but stopped.

"Hey, Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders and sighed like he really didn't want to say something but was forcing himself to anyways.

"I heard. About you and Hinata."

..."Oh."

He wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say about that.

"Ugh, glad you're doing alright."

"Thanks man." Naruto smiled.

It fell as soon as he turned back around.