He Who Took Care (Naruto fanfiction)

Chapter 2: Remodeling is a Drag

Naruto bounced happily down the streets as he grinned to himself. It's been two years since he met Yukimoto, making him seven, and he couldn't be happier. Yukimoto helped him deal with the mobs and always welcomed him with a warm smile and open arms, well as open as they can get with the chains holding him down.

He didn't understand why they were there. Yukimoto didn't seem dangerous. When he brought it up to said man he only told him that they were placed years ago for the self reassurance of the ninja.

"Woah!" Naruto yelped as he bumped into someone.

"Ow.. How troublesome."

Naruto got up and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry 'bout that. Wasn't watching where I was going." He held out a hand to help the kid up.

Nara Shikamaru looked up as he stared at the Uzumaki. "It's fine." He grabbed the outstretched hand and moved his shoulders as he stood. "Wait, you're Naruto, aren't you? Konoha's prankster?"

"Yup! That's me!" Naruto puffed his chest proudly. "Uzumaki Naruto at your service!"

"Oh, Nara Shikamaru. It's a pleasure to meet you." The Nara said politely as he dusted off his clothes.

"Wow, you kind of speak like a friend of mine." Naruto grinned.

"Is that a good thing?" Shikamaru wondered slightly though he didn't know why. Why did he care what Naruto thought of him?

"Yeah! He's really cool and polite. You should meet him some time though I'll have to ask if that's okay..."

"Okay." Shikamaru nodded. "What were you doing before we," He gestured around. "You know."

"Oh, I was looking for some furniture." Naruto tilted his head. My friend's place is kind of..bare. He's not able to get it himself because of an..injury. Yeah."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. He could tell that the part about an injury was a lie but the rest was true. What was actually stopping Naruto's friend from coming? "How about I help you?"

"Really? Thanks, Shikamaru!" Naruto smiled brightly his golden hair falling in front of his eyes.

"No problem. So, what do you need exactly?"

Naruto put a hand on his chin in thought. "Well, we need some paint, brown and red will do."

"Okay. What kind of brown?" Shikamaru wondered as they started walking.

Naruto ignored the glares from the villagers. They weren't so bad today, probably because he was with Shikamaru. "A warm brown, not too dark and not too light. I want it to have a homey feel to it, you know?"

"Sounds like you know what you need, young man." A man chuckled at a counter and Naruto realized they were in a paint shop.

"Ha ha." Naruto scratched the back of his head with a slight blush. "It's for a friend of mine. I want it to be perfect."

The old man smiled, blue eyes twinkling. "That is very kind of you, son."

"Thank you. What kind of reds do you have?"

The man pulled out a board with different colors. He pointed at a row with different shades of red. "What kind are you searching for?"

"Hmm..." Naruto studied the colors. "Well, I don't want it to clash horribly with the brown. I want it to give the same homey feeling."

The man nodded and took out a bucket of deep red paint. "This one should do. It'll look nicely with the brown and wouldn't drive others away." He placed the can next to a bucket of brown paint. "That's twenty dollars."