Less Than Your Average Bowl of Rice [Shikadai Story]

Friendship Is Magic

Shikamaru walked the hallway leading to the Hokage office. He knocked on the door waiting for Naruto's approval to enter. Closing the door behind him, he let out a yawn and a tired look. He greeted Naruto as he picked up the necessary paperwork sprawled across the front desk.

"Shikamaru, do you want to talk?" Naruto asked him.

Shikamaru looked up, eyes darkened and exhausted. "Shikadai..." The lazy ninja purrs his lips, into a frown, and his face into a sob.

Naruto immediately got up from his chair, "Sh-Shika!" Catching Shikamaru as he fell limp to the floor and cried his sorrows away.

'What the hell has been doing on?!' Naruto thought, making a face of pure confusion and helplessness.

                                    0o0o0o0

Metal looks at Shikadai from afar, wanting to give a supportive hand but also figured he may have wanted to been alone. He noticed this by the way Shikadai was slouched at a nearby bench outside the building; because Shikadai was always conscious of how obvious his belly looked up front and from that; he'd fix up his posture. But this time, he just looked dull and didn't care at all.

Boruto also noticed, and turned to Metal and back to Shikadai. They both looked at Shikadai as he gets approached by his teammates.

"Hey! Shikadai! Cho-Cho and I are getting burgers, come on, lets go." Inojin requested, moreover demanded.

Shikadai kept staring down at his feet, blocking him out.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Inojin repeated.

Cho-Cho opened a new pack of chips, "Oh.. maybe he just wants to have a snack instead, here Shikadai, lightly salted!" She offers him the freshly opened bag, in which Shikadai would push it over and run away, spilling the chips.

"WHAT THE-" Cho-Cho exclaimed, looking at the waste of chips in awe.

Inojin places a hand on his hip, "Jeez, what is his problem?"

"Oi! Shikadai!" Boruto would chase after Shikadai as Metal walked to address the situation to Cho-Cho and Inojin.

As Boruto ran out the gates of the academy building, he looked to his left and right, and looked to be no sign of Shikadai. He blinked in wonder, "Something ain't right here."

0o0o0o0

Boruto enters Naruto's office with a bagged lunch, "Hey, stupid old man, mom wanted me to drop this off because she told me you needed me for something."

Naruto blinked, lighting up a sweet smile, "Oh yes! Thank you, and I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Oh, yeah? What's up?" Boruto asks, placing his hands in both his pockets.

"Have you noticed Shikadai acting off lately?"

The blue-eyed teen tapped his chin before he remembered about the situation regarding the bag of chips. "Oh.. yeah, actually," Boruto paused before continuing, "Cho-Cho offered him a bag of chips, and then Shikadai shoved them away causing a spill and started to run away like it had a paper bomb in it."

Naruto nods, "Yeah, well... His dad came in looking fried, and when I asked what happened apparently Shikadai has been having problems with his weight."

His son chuckles, "His weight? Shikadai looks pretty fine to me."

Lord Hokage smiles, "I like to hear that," He then stands up to guide his son to the window, leading him with a hand behind his back. They take in the view of the village.

"Boruto, sometimes when people act happy and usual on the outside, doesn't mean they actually are in the inside."

Boruto listens, taking in the subtle, but powerful life lesson his dad begins to talk about.

Naruto then turns, placing a firm hand on Boruto's shoulder, smiling. "So go, make sure your friend knows that we all love him no matter what size he is."

Boruto looks up, looking in his father's eyes before giving a firm smirk and cheeky smile.

"You got it!" He says, "But.. I don't know where he is?"

"He's at his usual bench where he plays shoji," Naruto points to the window.

0o0o0o0

Shikadai sits on the circular bench, looking at the sun as it sets. Boruto quietly proceeds to come forward, sitting behind him next to the tree.

"You know, it doesn't matter."

Startled, Shikadai turns around, "B-Boruto? What are you doing here?"

"To tell you we miss you, Shikadai. We miss you coming with us to go get burgers, your parents are full of guilt, and for once I heard auntie Temari cried.." Boruto says, weirdly giving that sentence a tone. Temari crying? Oh my.

"Look at me!" Shikadai lifts up his stomach. Boruto looks, seeing his stretch marks and larger belly. But he didn't care.

"So what!" Boruto exclaims, "You shouldn't be upset! You should be able to eat what you want without feeling guilty!"

Shikadai looks at his best friend with glistening eyes. Taking in his words.

"Look at me! I cheated in the Chunin Exams and caused a ruckus, I live in constant embarrassment. But it doesn't stop me from wanting to become a great ninja! Look at Cho-Cho! She flaunts herself and she eats pounds of double cheeseburgers almost every afternoon!" Boruto shouts, laughing a bit at his Cho-Cho statement.

Shikadai smiles, giving in a little giggle as well. Boruto then continues, "So don't do this to yourself."

Looking down at his feet, Shikadai looks up to Boruto. "You're right."

Boruto smiles, punching his best friend in the shoulder. "Great.. now I'm starving!"

"I'll race you." Shikadai says, readying his start.

Boruto begins to sprint, but Shikadai's daily runs around the village with Metal caused him to easily go past him.

"Hey! That is so not fair!"

Shikadai laughs, "Catch me if you can!"

And throughout that afternoon, Shikadai began to eat the way he wanted but learned to also keep his ambition of being a great shinobi on par. His parents and him made up, he bought Cho-Cho a new bag of chips, thanked Metal and Boruto, and most importantly...

Stopped eating less than his average bowl of rice.

THE END