You could tell a lot about a person if you watched them eat their food, and Chouji found he liked watching people eat as much as he liked doing the actual eating himself. It only fit that he ate out all the time- and he got to watch other people eat.
But he liked watching Naruto the most.
He and Shikamaru had been sort of acquaintances with him back in the academy days, and Chouji found he had loved spending time with the rambunctious blonde as they argued over the simplest things and stupidest ideas- because that was just Naruto.
There was something in the blonde that craved the mundane even as much as he loved to stir it up.
And boy did he ever stir it up.
But it was there, in his movements and gestures as he ate.
He had never really seen the blonde eat back then- him always disappearing at lunch if he hadn't yet played hooky, and even then they separated paths when they escaped the rigid classroom prison together. They always separated paths.
And now their paths had converged.
And he could watch.
Naruto always gulped down his food at rapid speed; as if afraid that someone would steal it away or that the next day he wouldn't get any so he had to eat as much as possible now…and Chouji guessed that some part of that was true.
But as Chouji was used to rapid eating, because he had grown up in his house, he found he could catch the small things that people overlooked because they were too shocked by the bottomless pit he called a friend as they ate in sociable competition.
Naruto savored every slurp and bite and drink.
And Chouji meant savored in the most extreme sense.
Naruto focused with the intense satisfaction Chouji imagined a dying man gave water. He made certain to repeat the exact same actions over and over again.
He delightedly broke apart his chopsticks, grinning unashamed at the old man and his daughter waitress.
He rubbed the wooden utensils together to rid them of splinters, feet kicking at the air below his chair since he was too short to touch the ground from his perch.
He chirped a joyful "Itadakimasu!" before he took the first mouthful of noodles to his lips, precisely sliding the chopsticks down to eliminate the splashing broth that most customers were victim to, and closed his eyes in pleasure.
He always slowly slurped the first bite, as if to make sure that is was as good as it always was- even though he had been coming here since his student days, even though the blonde only always came to this one establishment, and even though he knew that the host prepared the best made ramen in Konoha (Chouji would know, he had eaten elsewhere until Naruto got to him).
Naruto always grinned after that, and then the battle of how fast he could get those stubborn noodles in his mouth commenced. But after every slurp, his cheeks would remain curiously convex, holding the food in his mouth because it was too big to swallow all at once, and then he took little swallows.
Chouji could only think of the hoarding squirrel when Naruto did this, for whatever other reason than fear of food being taken away did animals store excess food in their cheeks to continue eating it safely in smaller intervals when no one could take it away?
He continued in this weird way of his, slurping up more than he could possibly swallow and then swallowing small amounts and then slurping up some more and then swallowing…
He would always tilt the bowl when he was done, making dutifully certain that all the noodles and chunks of meat and maybe those tasty vegetables were accessible to his chopsticks or his lips, and then he would make sure he swallowed every single drop.
And then when the blonde was finished he would lean back slightly, his small shoulders bowing comically and his face a dreamy expression of satisfaction he had only seen on his family when they had consumed a glorious feast. He would contently pat his stomach, and Chouji got the distinct impression that, even though he was comfortably full, he did it more to show his appreciation to the kind shop owner than anything else.
The blonde would sit there after the meal, not rushing off to do some other thing like he often times would or shouting out to get some attention as usual. Instead he leaned happily against the counter, his hands absently fiddling with his used chopsticks and his grin avid and eyes sparkling as he watched the old man behind the counter prepare more food and deliver it with a smile.
A smile that was always sent his way as well.
There would be little moments of humor between the owners and Naruto, where his blonde friend would sneakily use his chopsticks to snatch another piece of cooked meat off the preparation counter…or when the serving woman (the old man's daughter if Chouji guessed from their bone structure) would laugh at the blonde and ruffle his spikes despite vehement objections until he fell off his stool due to his overreactions.
But they would all smile, and treat him some more, little tidbits that were his namesake and stray pieces of affection.
Chouji smiled somewhat sadly as he watched this.
He remembered days at the academy when he was alone and pushed aside because his skills weren't up to par. And he remembered the start of his friendship with Shikamaru. He knew his friend and worked with him, could read him like he knew himself and he knew his father was proud.
Otousan always told him he was a kind heart, and that was what would attract the best friend in the world to him.
But Chouji saddened as he watched the blonde eat.
Because Chouji had been shunned he hadn't been searching for a friend with the other shunned.
In fact he had scarcely noticed the blonde. He half smiled as he watched him repeat his ramen eating ritual. His eyebrows rose as the blonde stopped and grinned jubilantly at him before resuming and finishing his bowl of the Ichiraku ramen.
He watched the blonde smile and hum happily as he played with his chopsticks, listened to the rather catchy trill of notes as Naruto watched the store owner make more ramen with a grin on his aged face.
Akimichi Chouji knew that Naruto didn't have very many he could consider friend, and he was ashamed to admit that he hadn't done anything about it. But Naruto was proving himself to be a great friend now that he was away from the academy and not simply the dead last in everyone's eyes.
Chouji supposed it was easier to befriend the blonde when he wasn't running away from Iruka or the other sensei that were indulgent enough to join Iruka on Naruto chasing escapades. (Chouji grinned at some of the things he remembered Naruto accomplishing even though he was the dead last at the academy.) And Naruto just seemed to put himself out more now that they weren't in the regimented structure of the academy where you were judged on what everyone else could do.
And now Naruto was proving that he was the number one ninja at surprising people, and he could never be measured based on someone else's ideals. Chouji just wondered if Naruto would always eat in such a distinct way with other food, and thought about inviting him to a family barbeque…
That would be interesting…
And he wondered if his family would see Naruto the way he did. With his hoarding habits and almost panicked eating but then his absolute peace with having his belly full and the possibility of more food in front of him.
He supposed it took another eater to see it. And no one really was friends with the blonde before to bother seeing it- who would pay attention to the dobe, the class clown, the idiot orphan who had no family and no prestige?
And it saddened Chouji because the dobe, the class clown, the idiot orphan who had no family or prestige had been paying attention to all of them and hadn't made any friends because they were all pushing him away.
He was still recovering from his massive chakra loss, the comforting weight of his body still missing and leaving him feeling strangely vulnerable without the arsenal of his family jutsu.
The new Hokage, Tsunade no godaime, was discussing his training and possible ways for his family jutsu to be altered in case he couldn't gain back his weight to the extent that his family was known for…and it was uncomfortable. Chouji had grown up with his family jutsu, and now that he had to learn more to make sure he could defend himself was mind rending.
Not to mention he was trying not to think about losing his family jutsu permanently.
He sighed and looked up in surprise as someone say near him. The blonde hair of Naruto matched his bright grin as he held out an open bag of chips. Chouji felt his shock trickle away into calm acceptance, because Naruto was prone to doing things that were surprising and insightful like that.
And as they shared the bag of chips he was startled by the quiet companion at his side when the bag was thrust into his hands. Naruto stood up, made a show of brushing off his orange khakis and stretching with a fang bearing grin before he cheerfully exclaimed; "Ne, Chouji, I'm waiting for you to get better so we can spar! So hurry it up will you?"
And he was gone.
And he left a shocked Chouji to look down into the chip bag and smile as he saw only one chip left not even a crumb beside it…the last of the bag.
But now that Chouji was friends with the blonde he was able to watch him eat, and despite all the little signs of previous destitution and starvation there was just something about Naruto eating…it just screamed contentment.
When Chouji thought about it…he rather liked the way Naruto ate.
It was just another thing that simply screamed Naruto.
Owari
I am sorry this was a little more au, but it couldn't be helped. But I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. it was a little longer than is my usual for these so, be HAPPY! Lol.
PS; depressed over here. Went and sorted out a favorites list by reviews and saw a person with over three thousand…how does that work? Hint hint; more reviews please? and a
BIG THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO DID REVIEW!
It is very much appreciated
PPSS: Did any one catch 'Team 10'...Chapter ten? Eheheh? Pretty neat eh? lol.