Choji was awake before the sun rose. An unusual occurrence, but nothing so extreme as to pique anyone's curiosity. As far as his parents were concerned, this was merely the start of a more disciplined approach to his future. The young Akimichi was, after all, enrolled in the shinobi academy, striving to become a respected ninja just like his father. Getting up early in the morning was a staple of shinobi life, so the fact that Choji seemed to be getting a head start on it was something his father seemed all too eager to support. His use of the extra time however, required some gentle questioning.

"Hey buddy, I'm happy you've taken it upon yourself to start making your own lunches, but don't you think that's a little too much food?" Choza asked his son, eyeing the overstuffed backpack. The man wasn't judging, nor would he make any comments about his son's weight. The Akimichi clan were well known for their larger builds, Choza included. Still, his son was packing much more food than even Choza would need for a day of studying and some simple taijutsu exercises.

Choji carefully placed a hand protectively on the handle of his backpack, ready to make a run for it if the need arose. "Promise you won't be mad?" he asked his father nervously, even if his face was the picture of stern rebellion.

His father blinked curiously at the question. Choji was never one for confrontation if he could avoid it, so what had gotten into him. "Choji, I'm not going to get mad about a little food," he said.

"What about that time mom tried to steal some of your fries off your pla-"

Choza held his hand up to silence his son quickly, glancing around worriedly to make sure his wife hadn't overheard. "That was different, but I see your point," he said with a deep sigh. "I promise, buddy, whatever's going on, I won't be mad. Is something going on at the academy? Something you want to tell me?" It wasn't a secret that the Akimichi were a protective bunch when it came to their food. Maybe a little too much in some cases. That being said, they weren't stupid enough to start fights over such a thing. Then again, if someone was pinching food from his son, enough so that it spurred the boy to pack extra out of necessity, then there would definitely be a parent or too who would learn what it meant to respect boundaries.

Choji paled as he watched his father's face contort through a series of emotions until settling on a slowly building rage. "Well, there's a student in my class, and well, they've been going through people's bags and…"

"Oh really?" Choza asked dangerously.

"No, no, it's fine, really," Choji said quickly. "I, um, I think they are hungry. I've never seen them bring food to the academy, not once. Shikamaru said they don't have any parents to make them any food, so I've been packing different things and taking notes of what they take and… I thought I could make them a proper lunch with things they like."

Any embers of anger that may have lingered were immediately quenched by the purity of his son's intent. It was almost enough to bring a tear to the seasoned jonin's eye. Sharing food was a big deal to the Akimichi, something reserved usually for only close friends and family, or those they wished to extend that sort of relationship to. Making food for someone, with intent and thought, was basically their clan's way of declaring someone was important to them, or at the very least, was viewed in such a way that the Akimichi saw them as family. It wasn't likely Choji was being quite that meaningful, but the sentiment was still there.

"I'm sorry," Choji said, bowing to his father. "I didn't mean to take more food than I should have. It's just… they don't look like they eat very well."

Choza smiled. "No need to apologise. You're doing what you think is right, and that is more important than you could ever know," he said. "Now, you said that this student doesn't have any parents?" he asked, getting a nod from the boy. So, this student was an orphan, most likely a result of the Kyuubi attack. There was an unfortunately high number in the wake of the beast's rampage. There weren't, however, too many that sprung to mind that were in Choji's class. "It's not the Uchiha is it?"

"No."

The man let out a silent sigh of relief. That Uchiha kid was a messy situation for Choji to get mixed up in. Choza would never forbid his son from being friends with the boy, but the older Akimichi knew that the Uchiha boy was being looked after quite well despite his family and living situation. If Sasuke was out pinching food from other students, then something was very wrong.

"It's Naruko…" Choji said softly, almost to the point his father couldn't hear him, an ever so slight blush rosing his marked cheeks.

"Uzumaki?" Choza probed, getting a meek nod from Choji. That wasn't good. "And you said she looks hungry? Never brings food to class?"

Choji shook his head. "Never. Not a single day," he answered. "Sometimes she runs off and eats at Ichiraku's, but I don't think she eats much else."

Choza did sigh aloud at that, wiping a hand tiredly down his face as he sat down, eyes momentarily glancing over the full backpack. There was a conversation needing to be had with the Hokage it seemed, but that could wait. Right now, he had to help his son help someone in need. "You made notes of what she likes to take? What did you end up making for her?"

Choji's eyes lit up as he opened the bag and produced two large sandwiches, both stuffed to the brim with ingredients. "She loves pork, of any kind. I don't think she likes fruit or vegetables much, but I thought if I stuffed enough meat in there, she would be able to ignore it," he said excitedly, looking hopefully to his father for approval.

"Sound evaluation," Choza said with a nod. Not only was he trying to offer food to the girl, Choji was also doing it with the concern that Naruko wasn't getting enough of the right food. Such a thoughtful lad he had raised. "Two sandwiches though? She's only a small girl from what I've seen of her. You sure she can eat two? They are quite big."

At that Choji blushed a little. "Oh, well, I made one for lunch today, and I was going to give her the other one to take home and eat," he said. "If she likes them that is."

Choza would have hugged his boy then and there if he didn't think it would only make the embarrassment worse. It was probably bad enough that he had gotten caught. "Well, if she doesn't like them, you should ask her what she would like to eat. I'm sure me and your mother can help you out with whatever request she might come up with."

"You mean, I can do this more than once?" Choji asked optimistically.

"So long as you aren't forcing anything on the poor girl," Choza said. "As shinobi of Konoha, it is our responsibility to look out for our comrades and those in need. If Naruko needs our help, then we will gladly give it. Just… try to be gentle, okay. She's a good kid, but she may take a bit to warm up to the idea of someone being so nice to her."

Choji tilted his head curiously. "You know Naruko?"

Choza nodded solemnly. "I've seen her in passing. The Hokage has a bit of a soft spot for the girl. He will be quite pleased to learn that someone her age is being so thoughtful towards her," he said. "Now, you need to get going. Don't want to be late for class."

No sooner had he said the words was Choza watching his son disappear out the door with a smile on his face. He chuckled to himself as he returned to his morning coffee. That boy's heart of gold was going to get him in a lot of trouble one day, assuming it hadn't already. That little blush at just the mention of the girl was innocent enough, but also concerning. Choza, of course, knew who Naruko was, and even had a pretty good idea of what the young Uzumaki girl was like. Far too much like her mother had been, as scary a thought as that was. Oh well, at least it made sense. Akimichi men always did somehow find themselves to be a little too soft in the face of a strong-willed woman. Seems he wouldn't be able to spare his dear boy the same fate.

Downing the remains of his drink, he left for the Hokage tower with a very important topic in mind. It seemed something was going terribly wrong in the care and protection of one of Konoha's greatest assets and legacies. If Choza had anything to say about it, that would be changed before the day was done.

{I}

"You know you're supposed to actually give her the food, right?"

Choji turned to glare at his best friend, and biggest pain in his side, Shikamaru Nara. For all the brains the kid boasted, he never could figure out how to not be grating at the worst time. Now was one of those times. "I know that, Shika," Choji hissed.

"Then why are you still here?" Shikamaru asked lazily, not even acknowledging the fact he was annoying his friend. Frustration was a great motivator. "If you wait too long, lunch will be over, and she'll be hungry for the rest of the day. You didn't leave your pack for her to rummage through today specifically so you could give it to her yourself."

Choji's shoulders slumped as he looked across the field to where a lone blonde girl was sat upon a rope swing under the shade of a tree. Naruko was a wild girl. If not for her bright blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes, she would have fit right in with the Inuzuka clan, if only she could stop picking fights with Kiba. She wasn't a mean girl, though she did have a bad habit of lashing out at people, especially if they tried to pick on her about something. Sometimes Choji wished he had as much fire as Naruko did. As it were, he didn't have the guts to do any more than sit there and take it whenever someone teased him about his weight. Maybe that was what led to him paying so much attention to the blonde in the first place. He wanted to feel the confidence she exuded.

Taking a deep breath, Choji sturdied himself and took the first step towards his carefully put together plan. Shikamaru giving him a not so gentle push had nothing to do with it, nothing at all. He made his way around the field, doing his best to not draw anyone's attention. It wasn't a secret that Naruko wasn't well liked, though Choji could never figure out exactly why people kept such a distance from the girl. Naruko wasn't outright mean like some of the girls at the academy could be, and as far as looks went, she was definitely on the prettier side of things, even with the messy untamed hair and strange whisker marks on her cheeks. Then again, a lot of things didn't make sense to Choji, so he figured it best not to think too hard on the matter. He could leave the thinking to Shikamaru.

"What do you want?"

The young Akimichi stopped dead at the question, meeting the suspicious glare of his target with his own gentle gaze as he smiled at the girl. He had expected her to be suspicious of him, so he made sure to keep his distance, his father's words still fresh in his mind. He would let Naruko set the pace for this. "Wanna join me for lunch?" he asked carefully.

Naruko looked at him like he had grown three extra heads, eyes darting around as if trying to see through an illusion that wasn't there. "The what now?"

"Lunch. You know, food."

"I know what lunch is," Naruko said with a roll of her eyes. "Why the hell do you wanna sit with me for lunch?"

Choji shrugged. "Do I need a reason?"

"Yes."

"Fair enough," the Akimichi said, pulling his backpack around so it was in clear view for Naruko. "I thought you might be hungry."

Naruko immediately frowned at the sight of the bag, recognising it easily. "It was just a couple bags of chips… and some meat… and that can of drink… and-"

Choji silenced the girl by producing one of the very large, impressively overstuffed, and mouth-watering sandwiches. He almost laughed at how quickly Naruko's eyes locked onto the item of food, like a wolf that had just spotted the fattest rabbit of the season. "I don't care about the food you were taking from my bag," he said, earning a wide-eyed look. "I've known for a while. I was leaving that stuff for you anyway."

"Why?" Naruko asked, getting up from the rope swing and marching up to stand right in the boy's face, the sandwich forgotten for the time being. "You think it's funny? Or are you just that much of a pushover? Or, even better, you were setting me up to get back at me for it. Is that what this is? You put something in the sandwich, didn't you? Trying to trick me?"

"Huh?" Choji took a step back in confusion, eyes flickering between the sandwich in his hand the girl now glaring at him. This was not how he expected things to go. Maybe he should have planned it more with Shikamaru. "It's not a trick. I just thought you would like an actual meal instead of just some random snacks."

Naruko eyed the sandwich and crossed her arms. "Oh really? Then take a bite."

Choji blinked. "But I made it for you."

"And I don't trust it. So, either you take a bite first and show me that it's fine, or I'm not touching it," Naruko said firmly.

With nothing to lose, Choji quickly unwrapped part of the sandwich and took a decent bite out of it, taking his time to chew it and savour the taste of one of his own creations.

"Swallow," the girl commanded, watching carefully as Choji gulped the mouthful down before he held the sandwich out to her again. "And what makes you think I want a sandwich that you've already taken a bite out of?"

Choji spluttered and gawked at her. "What? But you… and I… that's not even…"

Naruko laughed loudly, clutching at her stomach and pointing at the ridiculous expression on Choji's face. "Hahaha, oh man, you should see yourself right now. Priceless," she said before snatching the sandwich out of his hand. "I'll be taking that, thank you very much."

Choji stood there in stunned silence for a few seconds while Naruko took her place back on the swing and dug into the sandwich with unrivalled vigour, not even caring about the existing bite mark. By the time he returned to his sense, the sandwich was gone. Naruko sat there, crumpling up the wrapping with a satisfied grin on her face before burping loudly.

"Ah, that was good. Where'd you buy it?" she asked casually, starting to sway back and forth by the ropes of the swing.

"I, uh… I made it," Choji said quietly, tilting his head curiously at the girl. "Was it good? Did you even taste it?" He had seen many an eating contest in his admittedly short life, and somehow, this tiny little girl had managed to put away a sizeable sandwich like her life depended on it. She hadn't taken the time to savour any of it.

Naruko shrugged. "It was filling. Definitely not as good as ramen though."

Choji furrowed his brow. "Ramen?" he asked softly. He didn't know how to make ramen, not yet anyways. It wasn't exactly the kind of food one could prepack for class. Maybe he would have to ask his mom about options. "So, you didn't like it?"

"I didn't say that," Naruko said defensively, noticing the weird expression on Choji's face. "It was a good sandwich. It's just not as good as ramen. Trust me, once you've had Ichiraku's, you'll never be the same. It's the food of the gods."

"Right," Choji said awkwardly. He could recall visiting the little ramen shop once or twice before but had never paid it much mind. Perhaps he would have to return with an open mind someday. "Are you still hungry?"

Naruko planted her feet to the ground and stopped swinging, her eyes narrowing at Choji's backpack. "What you got?"

Choji presented a second, identical sandwich, but was quick enough this time to pull it back before she could snatch it out of his hand. "I made this one for you take home. If you're still hungry right now, you can eat it, but take your time. You'll make yourself sick eating so quick," he said with a stern tone, something that surprised even him.

Naruko pouted and crossed her arms. "You're not the boss of me."

"Do you want the food?"

"…maybe."

Choji smiled and sat down on the ground, gesturing for Naruko to sit beside him. "Then eat with me. Just this once. After today, I'll leave you alone if you want."

Naruko was apprehensive at first. It didn't take long, between almost salivating at the sight of another sandwich waiting to be eaten, and the urging grumbles of her belly, there wasn't much of a fight to be had. She plonked herself down beside the Akimichi and gratefully accepted the food. The two sat in silence for the most part, taking their time eating their food, watching the other kids run around and play, sharing in a chuckle as Sasuke desperately sought salvation from his ever-growing band of fangirls. It was a surprisingly nice. Choji was quite pleased with himself when Naruko let out another loud burp and fell back onto the ground, patting her stomach in satisfaction.

"Okay, almost as good as ramen. Second place maybe," Naruko said. "You made that?"

Choji nodded and grinned wide. "Yep. I figured out you preferred to take my food when I had something with pork in it, so I went with that."

Naruko nodded sagely. "Excellent choice," she said before pursing her lips. "But why?"

"Why what?"

"Why did you make me food?" Naruko asked. "No one makes me food. No one comes to sit with me. No one likes me. So… why?"

Choji shrugged. "I don't really know," he said, taking the last bite of his own sandwich. "My dad says we ought to look out for each other when we become shinobi. He said that friendships are what make Konoha strong, and the more friends you have, the stronger you will become. I wanna be stronger than my dad, and he has a lot of friends, so I need to make even more friends than him. I figured I might as well start now."

Naruko snorted. "And I was easy pickings?"

"Yes," Choji said with a smirk. "But also no. Dad says that the best friends to have are those that bring something into your life that you need. Those that help you improve yourself and grow. I'm… not very confident, or brave. I need to work on that. But you… you never give up, you never back down. Even when you're alone, even when you lose or fail, you never let it get to you for long. I guess, in a way, I want to be more like you. So here I am."

"Oh…" Naruko sat up and stared at Choji's now somewhat sombre expression. "Well, I mean, this was pretty brave."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, totally. Not just anyone can walk up to the prettiest girl in class and ask her to eat with them," Naruko said, puffing out her chest proudly and pointing her nose up. Humility was not a known Uzumaki trait. "I'd say I'm already rubbing off on you plenty. You're welcome."

Choji held back a laugh at the girl's antics and nodded. "Of course. That makes sense. I'm in your debt. How ever will I repay your generosity," he asked mockingly.

Naruko blushed and looked down, mumbling something under her breath.

"What was that?"

Another mumble. This time accompanied by fidgeting hands.

"Since when are you this quiet?"

Naruko pouted and glared up at the boy. "Another sandwich," she said, so softly that Choji almost didn't recognise it. Her eyes widened when he didn't respond, and she paled. "Or not. You could just… sit with me again. Like this. No food needed. I'll, uh, I'll try and help you be confident and stuff."

Choji smiled. "I think I can work with that," he said, holding his hand out towards the blonde. "Friends then?"

Naruko looked at the offered hand sceptically for a moment before grinning wide and returning the gesture, shaking Choji's hand with a strength that surprised the stout boy. "Friends," she said cheerfully. "This'll be fun. I can help you, and you can help me. I'm gonna be the first woman Kage. Just you watch. That hat will be mine the minute the old man kicks it."

"I don't think you should be talking about the Hokage like that," Choji said quietly. "But if that's what you wanna be, then you'll have to train like crazy. The Hokage is meant to be the strongest person in the village."

"Damn straight," Naruko said. "And I'll be the strongest one ever. But that's for later…" the girl's words trailed off as she looked over Choji's shoulder with a disturbing glint to her eyes. "Hey Choji. Do you like pranks?"

Choji felt a tiny amount of dread seep into his soul at that question. Everyone knew Naruko's reputation for pranks. Thankfully, the Akimichi had been spared such a fate so far. Following Naruko's eyes, he was met with the sight of Shikamaru watching them intently from across the field. Of course, the nosey Nara couldn't have left it alone. Still, did he have to make it so obvious. "Uhh, I guess," Choji answered meekly, knowing exactly what was going through the girl's mind. It really was too bad that this new friendship was going to be cemented at the expense of his best, but in his defence, Shikamaru could be quite annoying at times. Maybe a harmless prank could lighten his spirits. "What did you have in mind?"

Naruko's expression darkened as a very witch like cackle left her lips. From across the way, Shikamaru could only grimace as a cold shiver crawled up his spine and every instinct to run far, far away was screaming at him. Obviously, as a Nara, and not seeing any immediate threat, he ignored those instincts. Time would be the teacher in this matter, and Shikamaru would learn quickly to never doubt himself like that again.

The poor fool.

A/N:

This was just a little scene that popped into my head. Thought I might as well write it out and see if anyone likes it. There isn't a great deal of love for some of the less popular ships, so here you go, a cute little Naruko/Choji moment. Don't have much experience writing Choji as a character, nor Naruko for that matter, so I do hope I did a good enough job with them.

For now, this is only a one-shot. I have no plans on writing anything else to continue this but if inspiration strikes, I may drop another chapter or two of very specific moments in the future. Hopefully this little chapter is enough for you guys to enjoy even if I dont expand on it.

Leave a review if you liked it or hated it. Any kind of feedback is great honestly.

Soul out.