A/N: I've been really excited to work on both this and chapter 20 of my main Naruto AU, 'Surface Breaker', and I finished this first since it's shorter, haha, so I figured I'd throw this up for you guys to enjoy while I keep working away on SB!
Important Formatting Note: It wasn't until I was about to publish this chapter that I realized FFN doesn't support the strikethrough command (AKA crossing out text), which is a very important element in this chapter! lol. So I used asterisks instead because that's all I could get to work that didn't look too silly! Hopefully it's not too hard on anyone's eyes, but please LMK if it is! Sorry about that! X'D If you want to see what it's supposed to look like, feel free to check out the AO3 version here (take out spaces and add actual dot): archive of our own (d o t) org /works/27552421/chapters/96638787
Hope you enjoy! :D
When the last member of the Konoha 10 pads their way into the clubhouse (actually a treehouse cradled deep in the forest that makes up much of the Nara compound), Shikamaru releases a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.
Finally, they can get started!
He's been restless with nervous energy ever since yesterday—specifically, since his epiphany with Naruto. Everyone who knows Shikamaru knows that's not normal, and his best friends and his parents, especially his father, have been ridiculously curious (hell, Ino's practically been tearing her hair out (metaphorically, of course)), but they know better than to push. He'll tell them when he's ready. He always does. Until then, they trust him to do the right thing.
And oh, Shikamaru has plans, all right! There are just a few extraneous details to put out to pasture first.
He steps up to the front of the small room, gathering everyone's attention on him. He's not usually one for taking charge, especially not willingly, but this is a special circumstance if there ever was one. He'll let this be his one exception.
"All right. Now that we're all here, we can get down to business." He slowly looks around at them all. "I'm ninety-nine percent sure I know who our mystery word-giver is."
As expected, it's like a bomb goes off.
"R-really?"
"No way! Who is it?"
"Is it someone we know?"
"How long have you known?"
"How did you find out?"
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?"
Bark, bark!
"Everybody, stop!"
The room goes quiet instantly.
That's another thing about Shikamaru: he never yells. He hates expending that much energy, and on top of that, he feels there are less disruptive and more effective ways of getting people's attention. But in a select few cases, like this one, he deems it necessary, and it seems to have done the trick.
He sighs. Boy, he's really not cut out for this leader stuff… Well, at least the more hotheaded ones (namely Ino and Kiba) aren't trying to kick his ass—yet.
Taking a deep breath, he dives back in.
"I said I'm almost certain. There's still room for error, and there are some things I'd like to rule out and account for, so before I tell you…" he pulls out a box of paper and pencils and sets it on the small table in the middle of the room, "…I'm gonna ask you to write down everyone who was there when you got your words." Seeing their confusion, he explains, "I know we've talked about it before, but I just want everything in writing. That way, I can use the process of elimination to make sure I'm right. I don't want to be wrong and ruin everything this person's worked so hard for by giving the credit to someone else."
Especially if it's Naruto. That would practically be criminal.
It doesn't take more than a few seconds and a cursory glance or two between them before his friends are reaching to do as asked, passing paper and pencils across the room. Normally, some of them might grumble and complain that this is just like schoolwork, but not this time. They trust Shikamaru and his judgment. He doesn't put his effort into things he doesn't believe in, and they've never seen him put this much effort into anything before. Besides, they've been dying to know who's been putting these incredible words on them for months now, and if this is what they have to do to finally get to the bottom of it once and for all, they'll do it!
Their trust isn't at all lost on Shikamaru, and while he definitely feels the pressure (Is this what all leaders feel like? He feels pretty sorry for his Dad, then…), it also leaves him feeling pretty damn humbled. He won't let it go to waste either. If he's right about this, by the time they leave the clubhouse today, they'll have a plan in hand and, hopefully, if all goes well tomorrow, a new friend for life!
He already did his own write-up yesterday post-epiphany when he normally would've been sleeping through class (Iruka-sensei nearly keeled over from shock), but he still looks it over to make sure he didn't miss or forget anything. So far, everything checks out.
While he waits for his friends to finish, he absently traces the Genius across his temple and lets his eyes roam over their good words.
Naruto is a puzzle all his own. He blips onto a person's radar only when he wants to be seen. Otherwise, he's like a ghost or, well, a ninja. Sometimes his pranks make him the center of an entire morning's lecture, and other times, Shikamaru swears he's gone days without hearing a peep out of him. (All very good, honestly impressive traits to have in a ninja-in-training, he thinks.)
And yet, by silently giving out these good words, Naruto's said so much about himself and who he really is. He must have been observing them, watching them, admiring them for a long time—hell, for years at this point, maybe as long as they've known each other, and it clearly shows in the thought and care he put into each and every one of the words he chose.
Take his own word, for example. Anyone else would think it's for his book smarts alone, and okay, yeah, that's fair. But Shikamaru knows there's more to it than that. Ever since that day at lunch—hell, since this whole thing started—he's very quickly come to realize there's always more to it where Naruto's concerned.
This Genius was meant as congratulations on his test, yes, but also as a silent way to encourage him and celebrate quieter things that only someone who truly knows Shikamaru would know about, like his people-reading skills, situational assessment skills, his sense of right and wrong, and his ability to overcome his own shortcomings if it means taking care of someone else.
The others' words, too. They fit so well that it's almost like a missing piece to their souls. Anyone else might find it kind of creepy that Naruto knows them so well when they barely know him, but Shikamaru isn't just anyone. It takes a different kind of person, an incredibly special, insanely observant kind of person, to pick up on all the things about them that Naruto has, a lot of which they only show their families and the other Konoha 10, and use that intel for nothing but the crazy amount of good he has.
Honestly, when Shikamaru really thinks about it, it's freaking amazing. He wishes he knew more, though, like why Naruto chose them to bless. He's guessing it's because they're bullied like he is, and he wants to help in the only way he knows won't cause them trouble with the rest of the village.
That last thought conjures the image of a gut-wrenchingly lonely Naruto half-hiding behind the village gates, smiling softly as he gives the Konoha 10 all the good words he can, while the villagers loom behind him and paint more and more horrible ones on him like he's some kind of outsider. It makes Shikamaru's heart pang. Whether he's right or not after this…he still wants to do something for Naruto. With everything Shikamaru's seen and realized about him over the course of this adventure, he can't just go back to the way things were.
Of course, all this is provided he's even correct. He'll just have to wait and see.
One by one, his friends pass their papers up, and Shikamaru writes and tallies up the names that at least half the reports have in common on the large chalkboard set up at the front of the room.
Kenta - 6
Hibachi - 8
Unagi - 7
Kikyo - 5
Asuna - 7
Naruto - 10
When it's put in writing like this, there's almost no point in doing a count. This is exactly what Shikamaru needed to see for himself. He's never been one for variables. Even a one percent chance of failure can cause a mission to go south. He believes in nothing less than absolutes.
That said, even the half-percent still hanging on's gonna have to go if he wants to set his plan into motion.
"I'm gonna go down the list in numerical order from lowest to highest and start eliminations. Any questions?"
None. Good.
"Okay. Everybody who did not write Kikyo and Kenta's names, are you sure they weren't there?"
There's a thoughtful pause, and then come nine confirmations. Shikamaru strikes them out.
*Kenta - 6*
Hibachi - 8
Unagi - 7
*Kikyo - 5*
Asuna - 7
Naruto - 10
"Okay," Shikamaru makes a bit of a face here, and he's not the only one, "how about Unagi and Asuna?"
Unagi is best friends with Hibachi, the biggest bully in their year, and even though he doesn't always agree with what Hibachi says or does and how he treats others, he never makes a move to stop him either, joining in more often than not. That makes him just as bad, in Shikamaru's opinion.
Six replies come in, and Shikamaru crosses them out.
*Kenta - 6*
Hibachi - 8
*Unagi - 7*
*Kikyo - 5*
*Asuna - 7*
Naruto - 10
And then, there are two.
Shikamaru heaves a drawn out sigh while the rest of them scowl. They hate this guy so much… "What about Hibachi?"
Two confirming grumbles, and Shikamaru gladly hacks his name off the list.
*Kenta - 6*
*Hibachi - 8*
*Unagi - 7*
*Kikyo - 5*
*Asuna - 7*
Naruto - 10
"And Naruto?"
Dead silence.
His friends' never-say-die grins come with it, Neji's the most pronounced, and Shikamaru can't help but smirk right back. The hopeful anticipation that's been building inside him since yesterday can finally be released!
He circles Naruto's name once, twice, three times.
*Kenta - 6*
*Hibachi - 8*
*Unagi - 7*
*Kikyo - 5*
*Asuna - 7*
Naruto - 10
Knowing he's about to lose his friends to excited chatter (not that he can blame them, he's feeling pretty damn giddy himself!), Shikamaru raises his voice momentarily to keep their attention on him. "I'm glad you're excited, but I feel like I should tell you my other reasons for thinking Naruto's our guy."
This piques Neji's interest in particular. "'Other reasons'? What do you mean?"
Shikamaru slides his hands into his pockets. "To be honest, I've suspected Naruto from the very beginning, ever since he stalled on his way home when those jerks were picking on Choji." He sends a half-apologetic smile Choji's way, but his best friend just grins knowingly. He shrugs. "But you guys know me by now. I don't like to make a move without having all the facts." He meets Neji's eyes. "Everything that's happened since has only pushed me further toward Naruto, but these last two reasons are in a league of their own. They're what prove to me, without a shadow of a doubt, that it can't be anyone but Naruto."
He tells them all about his little lunch experiment a few days ago, calling special attention to, of course, how Naruto reacted. He goes into detail about how he's witnessed the villagers treat Naruto firsthand and ends with his theory that, before that lunch period, Naruto had never gotten a good word in his life.
By the time he's done, his friends are pale and quiet, stone-still. Anyone else would think they're just shocked out of their minds, but Shikamaru knows better. They are shocked, yes, but they're also pissed as hell. They're not blind or stupid, after all. He knows they've read the awful things that paint Naruto's skin, and he's sure they've seen Naruto be treated just as cruelly as he has—and just like he did that day at lunch, they're probably only fully realizing now just how sickening and wrong it all is. Especially because they don't understand why. Why the words are there, why Naruto is treated so badly. Hell, since that day at lunch, Shikamaru's barely slept over it, wishing he understood, wishing he had something to tell them, wishing he could do more to help. (Because if there's one thing he hates, it's being left in the dark about things he considers important. Which is just another reason he's started a little investigation in the shadows.)
He goes on to tell them what happened in class to get him his word two days ago and then about his run-in with Naruto yesterday morning. How every little thing that didn't make sense about this whole situation suddenly clicked into place for him the second he saw Naruto's blinding beam that turned into that sweet, secret smile he tucked into his scarf for safe-keeping. (And if Shikamaru's smile grows and voice gentles while he tells that last part, no one mentions it.)
Feeling calmer now, color returning to their cheeks and smiles lighting their faces, the rest of the Konoha 10 take a few minutes to think on what they've been told.
Over the years, Naruto's never been anything but nice to all of them. Sure, he's not always the quietest and his pranks can be annoying, but at his core, he's always been kind. That's why, in the back of their minds, they've always wondered why he's always alone, why he's always covered in injuries and some of the worst words they've ever seen, and why the adults and other kids are always warning them to stay away and picking on him like it's their job. They've never done anything about it because he's always smiling, never really seemed bothered, so they thought he must be fine...
They could strangle themselves for that. Combining what they know with what Shikamaru's just told them and their good word experiences…it makes them see Naruto in a whole new light. He's like the sun, drawing them all into his orbit and brightening their lives without even realizing. More than a few of them tear up from the sheer emotion of it all.
Hell, Shikamaru is the most emotional of all of them, tears threatening to fall as he beams up a storm, something that throws the rest of them for a loop. He's not as surprised as he feels he should be. He felt the same way yesterday when he realized Naruto was the one. He can only hope his beam is even half as bright as Naruto's was then.
He's so glad they understand now, too. He wishes he'd woken up sooner.
"You're absolutely right, Shikamaru," Neji speaks up at last, voice soft, but Shikamaru picks out the righteous fury underneath as easily as which strategy to use in shogi. "Those reasons alone would be more than enough to believe it's Naruto, but especially with his presence at every one of our blessings…" A smug smirk slides onto his face. "It seems you and I were on the right track this whole time."
Ino rolls her eyes, exasperatedly fond. "Geniuses…"
Lee raises his hand. "I, for one, am very happy to know that it is Naruto!"
"Me, too!" Sakura agrees, and similar calls follow after.
"Yeah, really!" Tenten laughs, shuddering. "Can you imagine if Hibachi had been the odd one out?"
Choji makes a face and whines, "Tenten, you're gonna make me lose my appetite…"
"I'm glad, too. However, all this does beg the question." All eyes snap to Shino. Unlike most people, they know to listen when he talks. "Now that we know it's Naruto, what will we do about it?"
Shikamaru instantly raises calming hands. "I've thought long and hard about that, and I have an idea, but I also don't think we should get ahead of ourselves." That earns him more than a few confused looks, and he can't blame them. "Remember, even if we don't know the reasons behind it, the rest of the village sees Naruto as beneath them, something less, something they wish would disappear."
Every face in the room turns stormy at the reminder, and Shikamaru can't help but smirk. This is why they're friends.
"Which is why we have to be very careful about how we move from here on out. Mainly because it could be problematic if any of our families aren't okay with us interacting with Naruto."
Sakura tilts her head. "'Interacting'?"
Shikamaru nods. "Mm hmm. I was thinking we'd thank Naruto tomorrow, and then, as long as everyone's okay with it, we'd invite him into our fold permanently."
The way absolutely everyone lights up like a supernova at the very idea warms his heart like nothing else. God, he loves them so much.
"Hell, yeah!" Kiba howls, Akamaru barking eagerly from his spot inside his jacket.
"That is a wonderful idea, Shikamaru!" Lee cheers, eyes shining.
"Yeah! I don't know how we didn't think of it before!" Tenten bolsters, excited fists curled at half-mast.
"This might be the best idea you've ever had, Shikamaru!" Ino half-teases, and Shikamaru smirks at the way he knows she'll be taking the kid under her Mother Hen wing.
Equally excited sentiments come from the others, so many that Shikamaru's honestly feeling a little flustered. He's not sure one of his plans has ever made them so happy.
"Do you—do you really think we can be his friend, Shikamaru?" Sakura asks, tentatively hopeful.
Shikamaru shrugs. "Provided our families aren't against it, I don't see why not. Naruto seems starved for friends," that's being generous, "so I think it'd make him really happy. And I don't know about the rest of you, but after everything he's done for us, I can't just turn a blind eye. Whatever's going on with him, it isn't right, and I won't take it lying down anymore." He jabs a thumb at himself. "From now on, if anybody messes with him, they mess with me, too."
The others are right there with him, no hesitation. "Yeah!"
Shikamaru eyes them all seriously. "And that's exactly why I need you guys to be sure about this. Regardless of how you feel or what's right, if you think you'll get in trouble with your families for making friends with Naruto, we don't have to. We can thank him tomorrow and then go our separate ways, helping him out at school where we can. If you're worried about even thanking him, I've thought up cover stories for each of us, so you don't have to worry or feel guilty about anything. I don't want to cause trouble for anyone, and I know Naruto would want that even less. I can pretty much guarantee you that's why he's remained anonymous this whole time." In some cases more than others.
They take about half an hour to talk amongst themselves, but in the end, the majority of them think their families will be fine with it (and if anyone complains to their parents, they'll just laugh in their faces).
Lee and Tenten, some of the last few deliberating, finally look at each other and shrug. "Our foster families won't mind!"
Sakura bites her lip, rubbing the pretty red ribbon Ino gave her between her fingers for strength. "My—my parents have always pulled me away from Naruto and said I should stay away from him, but…" curling tiny fists at half-mast, her face pinches with determination, "…I think—I think I can convince them! They've seen how happy his word's made me, and—and I really think they'll give him a chance if they hear about all the great things he's written on all of us!" She nods, a rare confident smirk painting her face. "Don't worry! They'll be fine!"
Shikamaru nods, satisfied. "Good. Keep me posted, though, just in case."
"Of course!"
The only one left now is Hinata, who's gone quiet and scarcely said a word this whole time.
She's nestled between Neji and Kiba on the small couch against the wall, Shino sitting at their feet. Besides Uncle Hizashi's room at the compound (she refuses to call it something as sacred as 'home'), she always feels safest at school or in this treehouse, surrounded by all her friends, her family. She's grateful to have them beside her right now.
Trembling, head bowed, teary eyes fixed on her knees, she coughs harshly into her hand and reaches up to curl a white-knuckled fist at her chest as she feels her throat start to close. She squeezes her eyes shut. She's been trying her best to use the calming techniques and breathing exercises Neji and Uncle Hizashi have taught her, but she can tell she's still on the verge of a panic attack.
The very notion of her father finding out she's not only interacted with Naruto, something she's been warned about over and over, but also become his—his frie—!
A tear or two falls as her throat closes up a little more, and she glares, frustrated with herself. She's holding everyone back! She's…she's the reason poor Naruto…!
Shikamaru and Neji lock eyes. They knew her asshole of a father would be the most troublesome obstacle.
Neji gently takes her hand and places it over his heart, Shino leans back against her legs, Kiba rubs her back, and Akamaru crawls out of Kiba's jacket to curl up in her lap. Sniffling through the breathing exercises she restarts with Neji out of sheer determination to regain control, she manages a tiny "I-I'm sorry…! T-thank you…!"
Shikamaru slowly kneels down in front of her, keeping his voice low and gentle. "You don't have anything to be sorry for, Hinata. You're just fine. I planned for this, remember? I have everything figured out. You can still participate in spirit with whatever we decide to do for Naruto. We'll just have Neji stand in for both of you. I know Naruto will understand. Neji and I will make sure your contribution isn't overlooked, I promise." He softens, guilt weighing on his heart. He wishes he could have eased her into this somehow. "It's not anyone's fault but your bastard of a father. It'll be okay. Don't you worry."
That eases some of the tension in her shoulders and the pressure in her chest, but it only strengthens her resolve. Once a good minute or two has passed, she's managed to fight off the panic attack almost entirely, mostly on her own, and Neji couldn't be prouder if he tried. Drying her tears with the handkerchief Ino hands over, she lifts her head, and they're all taken aback by the defiance sharp as kunai in her eyes.
"No."
She squeezes Neji's hand, scratches Akamaru behind his ears, runs her hand through Shino's hair, and threads her fingers through (a blushing) Kiba's. Her gaze softens when it finds Shikamaru. She loves and appreciates every single one of her friends so much.
"Whether or not I'm the heiress my father wants, I am still the next clan head. After everything Naruto's done for us, I can't turn my back on him just because I'm—" she squeezes Neji and Kiba's hands for strength and purchase, "—s-scared. I'd never be able to forgive myself. I want to thank Naruto, too. I want him to know how much he's helped me and Neji, all of us. He's…he's always seemed so lonely, and I want to help change that for him if I can. He deserves that much, the same kindness he's shown us." Biting her lip to steel her nerves, she lets loose a mischievous smirk, the kind she only ever shows around them (that sends Kiba's heart into overdrive every time). "My father can punish me all he wants. I'm not backing down."
Fierce pride radiates off everyone in the room, but none more so than the four boys surrounding her.
"Well said, princess," Shikamaru praises, gently ruffling her hair.
"If your father does anything, you tell us, okay?" Kiba presses, Akamaru whine-barking in turn.
"I can send my bugs to torture him all night," Shino offers, the threat in his tone sending chills down the others' spines.
"Don't worry, Lady Hinata," Neji reassures. "I'll be with you every step of the way."
Hinata smiles and nods, cheeks warming. "T-thank you, everyone!"
"So, how do you think we should thank Naruto, Shikamaru?" Choji asks, unable to contain his curiosity anymore.
Shikamaru can't help but grin as he dives headfirst into his plan.
He doesn't even have to ask what they think when he's done. Obviously thrilled or not, he's almost surprised no one comes to check on them with all the noise they're making.
"Then it's decided!" Shikamaru puts his hand in the center of all his friends, meeting their eyes one by one. "Tomorrow, we thank and befriend Naruto!"
Piling their hands on top of his like they can't do it fast enough, the infamous Konoha 10 throw their hands in the air.
"Yeah!"
A/N: Tiny Hiatus Note (as of 5/15/22, modified 6/19/22): Due to changes in my life IRL, I'm going to be taking a tiny break from writing entirely for a little while to de-stress! After that's done, while also working on banging out my original (AKA non-fanfic) novel idea, I'll be finishing this fic before I continue my main Naruto AU, 'Surface Breaker' (/s/13570086/1/Surface-Breaker)! I'm doing this because this fic is much shorter, I only have two chapters left until it's done, and once it's wrapped up, I'll only have SB to stress about (and I have been stressing, feeling awful about not updating on top of all the IRL stuff, hence why I need the break)! lol. So please be patient with me! Thanks so much! You're the best! *heart*
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This is something of a catharsis chapter since these next (last) two are probs gonna be pretty emotionally heavy (fair warning)! :D
Readers of 'Surface Breaker' (or just lovers of certain obscure eps like me, haha) may not be surprised to see I brought back Hibachi and Unagi, characters who bully Naruto in Shippuden Academy days filler episodes 176-178, some of my, no joke, absolute favorite episodes in the entire series! I couldn't help myself, you know? It was the perfect opportunity! lol. The rest of the names are mostly just ones I threw down. Kenta is the name of one of the boys who picked on Choji in chapter 1, and Kikyo and Asuna are just names of characters in other media I'm not fond of (*cough*), so I figured why not use them, right? lol.
Thanks so much for reading!