The three of them stared at the charred, soggy, unappetizing… thing… that had once been a choice cut of pork, lovingly seasoned, and coated in the delicate, flaky breadcrumbs for which Konoha cuisine was famed.

They looked at each other; Hibari, once the very picture of excitement, looked to be almost on the verge of tears. Chouji was not sure if they would be coming from a place of sadness or one of rage. Naruto looked equal parts guilty and thoughtful, and he could sympathize.

Their eyes went back to the scene in front of them.

Silence reigned.

Chouji cleared his throat to try and break through the miasma of awkwardness, "Well, it's a start?"

Two heads swiveled to look at him, but nothing was said.

He shrugged at them, "A big part of learning how to do something is figuring out what doesn't work?"

They pondered this for a moment; Naruto had shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket and was staring at the object formerly known as pork as though it had insulted the memory of his mother, while Hibari had opted to rest one hand on her chin and gaze blankly into the middle distance.

She poked the result of their experiment tentatively with a chopstick, as if afraid to come too close to it, then nodded decisively as her suspicions were confirmed.

"Too much oil."

Chouji made a considering noise but otherwise held his tongue, curious to see what the two of them would come up with.

Naruto sauntered over to the table and then crouched down so that he was at eye-level with the dish, "D'you think it needed more heat? To cook off the oil?"

"Oil doesn't cook off; that's the sort of thing you'd get with water," she said, in an absent tone, "but I think heat is the problem, in a way."

Naruto glanced at her, "What do you mean?"

Her probing chopstick vanished from sight as she straightened up and began to pace while she spoke, "When you fry something the oil is much hotter than what you're frying, but when you add it to the pan that difference in heat causes the oil and the pan to cool. It doesn't last long because the heat from the rest of the pan and from the flame underneath make up for the difference. That's why you need to preheat your pans, and why heavier pans need longer but hold their heat better when frying."

Naruto raised his hand, "Hibari-sensei, we didn't use a pan, just my jutsu. Is that why it got all drippy?"

She had resumed gazing into the distance, "I think so. Air isn't metal, so it wouldn't hold heat as well. Maybe less oil and a stronger fire… we'll need to experiment." Hibari clapped her hands suddenly, "But not right now! I have to open the shop back up, the rush'll be soon."

Naruto didn't seem to know how to react to the intrusion of civilian-style responsibility into what was, to his mind, meant to be an afternoon of fun, but this was something with which Chouji was quite familiar. His clan ran many restaurants, after all.

"Hibari-san, is there a time when it would be convenient for you to meet and continue our trials?"

Seeing her slight hesitation and side glance toward the results of their last trial, Naruto jumped in, "Yeah, Hibari-sensei, we need your help!"

You wouldn't think a man well into his twenties would retain the ability to use puppy-dog eyes with such effectiveness, but here they were. Hibari caved in what felt like no time at all.

With a laugh, she said, "Alright, alright. Three days from now, at sunset; we can try again then." Then, with a wink, "Now, come buy some lunch. You owe me for that steak."

Chouji and Naruto dutifully did as ordered.

It was delicious; it was not particularly healthy, and even as he ate and sang his praises loud enough to attract passers-by to the stall he found that his conviction in the rightness of their cause had grown. Everyone deserved to be able to eat this way every day without fear of compromising their health!

He and Naruto departed the shop in order to make way for the rush of patrons from a nearby textile warehouse and then parted ways shortly afterward, with a promise to meet again in three days time.

His dreams that evening were of a grateful world, filled with healthy fried foods, and his sleep was peaceful.