Arc I / Childhood
Arc I, Childhood: Irises / Purple
Synopsis: Chouza kind of understands why Shikaku is so fixated now.
The Akimichi clan is genial and unassuming and warm-hearted in comparison to the elitist and isolated clans that populate Konoha, and as a whole they are characterized most by their large statures and shinobi prowess - followed very closely by a passionate love of food.
Clan heir Akimichi Chouza is no different - in many ways, he embodies his clan, built stockily with a large appetite and gentle personality to match.
But Chouza is different, different because he possesses a surprising confidence, even from an early age. It is a paradox that every Akimichi suffers, that being beloved by Konoha as adults means a rough childhood filled with bullying and spite, as children are the cruelest when it comes to ostracizing someone for simply being different.
Chouza though, does nothing. He lets the cruel taunts roll off his back like water, because who needs them when he has his best friends?
Yamanaka Inoichi is quick to raise metaphorical fire and brimstone in his defense, while Nara Shikaku is content to sit in the sidelines and watch with calculating eyes. All three of them know, however, that the way Chouza's bullies seemingly trip over nothing, causing both humiliating and painful mishaps, are the Nara boy's work. The slight, smug smirk is all the proof Chouza needs, and he is perfectly confident and content in his peaceful world.
That peace is shattered only three times in his childhood.
The first is when the welcoming festival of the Hokage's child becomes a literal bloodbath, and all he can see for weeks are dead bodies and red blood. When he sees the announcement of wartime on the Konoha notice boards, there is a drop in his stomach when he finds his parents discussing the war in hushed tones at night, and he knows that his peaceful life will never be the same.
The second comes from the fierce, mouse-like girl that Shikaku takes an obsessive interest in. The girl, Tenten, is the first girl Shikaku has ever paid any attention to, and Chouza doesn't know what to think about all of this. Inoichi writes it off as a crush, teasing the Nara boy endlessly, but Chouza can see that Shikaku's interest is more than something so... so... so shallow. The glint in the sharp Nara eyes draws him to Tenten and away from Chouza, and the Akimichi fears that this may be another sign of his world breaking apart.
The third time is so sudden that Chouza doesn't have the time to think or be afraid of the impending change, but he doesn't regret it, because even though nothing will be the same, for once actually he likes it.
He isn't looking ahead as he tries to remember the hand-signs to the Baika no Jutsu, and when a smaller form crashes into him he is just surprised enough to stumble backwards and fall into the dirt, a heavy weight sprawled across him.
He groans in pain, disoriented from the sudden fall, and he opens his eyes to see blurs of brown and black and... purple?
"Kami-sama, are you alright? I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going! Are you hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital? Is there anything I can do? Someone I can call?"
"... ughh..." He can only manage a groan, head still spinning.
"You're bleeding!" he hears through the haze, and he feels the girl - at least he thinks it's a girl? - scramble off of him hastily. There are hands on his face, brushing something away, and suddenly his vision is filled with worried, wide brown eyes.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no... Baa-chan's going to kill me!" she whispers, eyes darting frantically over his face, and he finally is coherent enough to try to get off his back.
"Ugh... Sorry," he says instinctively, feeling small hands helping him sit up, and he blinks a few times, finally focusing on his unexpected attacker.
The first thing that pops into his head is how small she is. She isn't like that Tenten girl, who is short but toned, but the only word that comes to mind is delicate. The girl looks like a china doll brought to life, with eyes a little too large for her face and long dark hair pulled back into a fishtail braid.
"No, no, it's my fault!" she says crossly, a look of worry crossing her face. "Oh, and of course, you're an Akimichi... Baa-chan will kill me!" He watches, half in amusement and half in disbelief, as she scuttles around him, checking over him for more injuries. Eyes wandering away from the girl's form, his eyes are drawn to the bright flowers strewn across the ground - dozens of deep purple irises.
"Saa... it's fine, it was an accident," he says gently, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He stands up, and can't help but laugh as the girl's eyes widen more and more until he towers over her. "Are you alright?"
"Am I alright?" she repeats, staring up at him incredulously, "I should be asking you that question! You're the one bleeding from your head! Oh no, you might have a concussion, you have to go to the hospital-"
"I'm a shinobi, miss," he cuts her off politely. He touches the nick at his temple, the cut not even the size of his pinky nail, and smiles at her reassuringly. "I've had worse, don't worry."
She scrutinizes him for a heartbeat before grabbing his hand and tugging him off in some random direction, and he half-hears her say something about her baa-chan's place and patching him up.
His mind is instead focused on the flowers scattered in the street, letting the girl pull him along.
Chouza comes home later that day with a lighter wallet and a bandage over his temple, thinking back on the brilliant smile on Ito Ayame's face when she found him on her porch with a bouquet of irises, and decides that he kind of understands Shikaku now.
"In 'love' one has found, at last, a haven from aloneness." ~ Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving
A/N: A little piece about Chouza, because he deserves some of the spotlight too. (And because I have a so many romantic quotes I want to use but can't :P)
Ayame is an OC, but will remain a very minor character... I don't even know if she'll pop up in A&G, but we'll see :9
This is no indication of a Shikaku/Tenten pairing, but rather Chouza's speculations about the nature of Shikaku's interest in Tenten. Of course, A&G shows the interest isn't romantic in the slightest (or is it?) but keep in mind that Chouza doesn't know about Shikaku's suspicions.
Next update: Erm... sometime soon? But before the end of January for sure!