I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. Kishimoto-san does. If he gave me the Naruto franchise, THEN I'D OWN NARUTO!

Don't sue meh. ( ̄▽ ̄)ノ


The Alphabet with NaruHina!

R is for Rough

She stole his immediate breath away. Hyūga Hinata in the flesh. Naruto kept his gazed trained elsewhere lest he make a mockery of himself for staring too long. He wanted homeroom to be over, please be over! The bell barely had a split second to ring before the blonde boy jets off to his next class.

This was going to be a long school year.

He made sure to avoid her at every turn which proved to be hard when they shared three major classes together, not including homeroom. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and soon summer break came and went and he still tried his hardest to avoid Hinata. What was he supposed to say to her? Working in the local grocery store allowed him to meet all kinds of people who lived in Konoha. Naruto had often seen Hinata, and every time he hid himself away. He was ashamed. There was a moment during the second month of school where the pair bumped into one another. Naruto was quick to apologize, the embarrassment causing him to practically run away. The mortification of having to one day speak to her weighed on his soul. He knew she hated him; he hated himself for the stupid things he did as a child. It was the reason he had no friends, the reason why he often rode his moped home and spoke to Kurama when nobody was looking.

It was after school now. The halls were barren of students. Few classrooms with club members roamed about but nothing of that sort ever interested the blonde-haired boy. Naruto turns down a hall and stops at the scene before him. It was one of his classmates surrounded by three upperclassmen. He was tall and chubby with frizzy brown hair pulled into a ponytail. Akimichi Choji was his name.

"I'm telling you that's all I have..!" Naruto hears him plead.

"Nuh uh fatso. We know you have more and if you don't cough it up-" The sound of knuckles popping added to the wordless threat. Choji suddenly looks at Naruto, begging for help out of his situation.

Naruto sighs. Boy, was high school rough.

"Oi..knock it off." The three bullies all turned to face him.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Ain't he that Uzumaki kid?"

"Yeah, I heard his father was a crook.."

Naruto dropped his book bag and took a stance as the three bullies approached. They were stupid if they truly thought that a bigger number of them meant that he could be defeated. Naruto was a master in taijutsu. He could defend himself against plenty; including that of high school bullies. It took little effort. The first punch knocked one of the bullies clean cold, a kick to the ribs sent the second flying into the third, and an intimidating stare was enough for them to scramble and run away.

Naruto picks up his bag, dusting himself off and walks away.

"A..a-arigatōgozaimasu..!" Naruto looks over his shoulder at Choji who appeared to be okay. He shrugs, the encounter meant little to him. He simply hated bullies.


It was Monday afternoon. The cafeteria was buzzing with students as they conversed and ate their food amongst friends. Naruto sat secluded in a corner enjoying a hot bowl of instant miso soup ramen. His mother would flip if she learned that he wasn't eating the bento she had prepared for him. He had work after school today so he was sure to eat it then. A food tray is suddenly placed across from him. Naruto, mid slurp, looks up as Choji sat down with another one of his peers who he easily recognized.

His swallows his food and greets him. "Shikamaru?"

"Naruto. It's been awhile." Shikamaru replies in an even yet slightly bored baritone. An awkward moment passed. Shikamaru sighs and tips his head in Choji's direction. "I heard about what you did for Choji. Well apparently it's a rumor but I don't typically care for those,"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. There were rumors going around about him?

Just great.

"I just wanted to say..thanks. We don't have many people looking out for us." Shikamaru then offered a closed fist. A fist bump, eh? Naruto looked from his hand to his eyes to determine if this were all a plot. He didn't have friends for a reason and here were two from his childhood asking to rekindle what they once had.

His chest tightened at the thought.

They weren't there. He reminds himself. He's not them.

Naruto curled his fingers into a fist and grazed his knuckles against Shikamaru's. The gesture spoke a lot apparently because next thing he knew, Choji whooped and began talking about hanging out at a new restaurant his father just opened.

Shikamaru smirked, enjoying the idea and offering a night of drinks if Naruto were up for it. It was such an odd sight, an odd feeling. He didn't deserve to have friends, that was what he told himself all these years. A smile pulled at his lips. A chance was being brought to him. Maybe the universe was looking out for him after all?

Shikamaru went to a private school in the hills but lived within the neighborhood. Choji was homeschooled but close with the Nara family so he'd often hang out with them. Naruto was close with Shikamaru but time can pull people apart and yet, time had brought them back together. He didn't deserve happiness. Not after what he did; what he did to her.

But a part of him wanted to ignore all that and enjoy the presence of other people.


helllooo! sorry folks, school just started again and college is beating me up. new character introductions! shika and choji will be reoccuring in this story. thanks for reading! lets get to 8k reads. please R&R, flames are welcomed i suppose. thanks for supporting me!

background facts;

i know kishimoto wanted to make sasuke naruto's best friend but *i* strongly believe that shikamaru was his true friend. hell, he led the sasuke recovery team and barely knew him. he's also naruto's advisor and imo, the advisors to the hokage are like family. i love shikamaru, i plan on writing him as canonically accurate as possible.

much love,,