"Everyone, let's eat together!"
Hirofumi smiled as he placed his bento in the center of the group. He turned to Yamanaka Ino with a soft smile, "Thanks, Ino. The bento you made looks as exquisite as you. I'm sure it'll taste just as amazing."
Ino's heart skipped a beat.
'Did he just compliment me while talking about the bento?'
She felt giddy inside, her cheeks turning slightly pink. His words lingered in her mind, filling her with joy.
As everyone began preparing to eat, Hirofumi suddenly stood up, catching the group off guard. Uchiha Sasuke, who sat alone near the window, also noticed Hirofumi walking toward him.
"Hey, Sasuke. Want to join us? There's plenty of good food here. It's no fun eating alone," Hirofumi called out.
Sasuke's eyes flickered with a mix of surprise and curiosity, but he kept his usual cool demeanor. "Hmph... I..."
"Come on, stop being so stubborn." Without waiting for a response, Hirofumi grabbed Sasuke by the arm and gently dragged him over to join the group.
Sasuke, who was normally composed and distant, found himself in an unfamiliar situation. Surrounded by everyone, he felt slightly awkward but also a bit excited. It was the first time in a while he had been included like this.
"I...I..." Sasuke muttered, unsure of how to act in front of them all.
"Ugh, just sit down and eat already!" Naruto cut in, shoving one of his infamous "secret special burgers" into Sasuke's hand with a grin.
Despite their usual rivalry, Naruto was happy to have Sasuke with them. He knew that, outside of this group, the other students still viewed him as an outcast because of the Nine-Tails inside him. But Sasuke never treated him like that, even with all their teasing and competition.
"Hmph. Idiot." Sasuke muttered under his breath, taking the burger reluctantly.
Naruto's face immediately contorted in mock rage. "You bastard! Who are you calling an idiot?!"
"Well, you are one," Sasuke said flatly, taking a bite of the burger.
"Why you…!" Naruto yelled, leaping onto a stool, his fist raised in exaggerated fury.
The argument quickly escalated into their usual back-and-forth banter. Sasuke, normally calm and composed, was suddenly shouting just as intensely as Naruto. Their heated exchange soon turned into a comical scene for everyone watching.
"Emo boi..." Naruto bellowed.
"Watch that mouth..." Sasuke responded, his voice equally intense.
Everyone sat in stunned silence for a moment, eyes wide in disbelief. Sasuke—cool, distant, quiet Sasuke—was actually yelling along with Naruto.
Hirofumi shook his head, half-amused. "Knew this was coming. Bring Naruto and Sasuke together, and chaos is bound to follow."
With a sigh, Hirofumi refocused the group. "Alright, everyone, let's ignore those two idiots. They've clearly lost their minds. Let's eat before the food gets cold," he said with a chuckle, gesturing to the feast before them. "Oh, by the way, my mom packed some fried chicken today."
The moment Naruto heard the words *fried chicken*, his shouting stopped immediately. Like a bolt of lightning, he jumped down from the stool and sat back at the table, eyes wide with excitement.
"Fried chicken, fried chicken, fried chicken… So crispy… so perfect…" Naruto chanted in a daze, already salivating at the thought.
Seeing Naruto settle down so quickly, Sasuke sat back down too, still holding Naruto's secret burger. Hesitantly, he took a bite.
"Ouch—what the heck is this?!" Sasuke grimaced, wincing as he chewed.
Naruto, now completely focused on the fried chicken, snorted in response. "Hmph. You just don't appreciate it. That burger is made from over a dozen special ingredients. You should be honored!"
Sasuke frowned. "Are you trying to poison me?"
Naruto laughed. "Ha! You're still alive, aren't you? That means it's working."
Despite the banter, there was an odd sense of camaraderie in the air. Sasuke, though annoyed by the burger, couldn't help but feel a strange sense of comfort being part of the group. Meanwhile, Naruto was entirely absorbed by his new obsession—fried chicken.
With his eyes locked onto the golden, crispy drumsticks in the bento, Naruto's face lit up like he had discovered the meaning of life. He perched himself back on the stool, raising a drumstick like a trophy.
"Chicken, you are so beautiful… Baby…" Naruto began to sing, swaying his hips in rhythm with his own silly tune.
"The way you walk towards me makes my heart race... One more look at you and I might explode…"
His serenade was directed entirely at the fried chicken, a song that he and Hirofumi had made up one day during a moment of boredom. To Naruto, the fried chicken really *was* beautiful, worthy of a ballad.
The rest of the group burst into laughter at the ridiculous scene. Even Sasuke, despite himself, smirked at Naruto's antics.
"Well, he's not wrong," Hirofumi said with a grin, grabbing a drumstick for himself. "This fried chicken is pretty amazing."
Choji, already chewing on his third piece, nodded in enthusiastic agreement, his cheeks stuffed like a hamster's. "Mmmm...best thing ever…"
Sakura sighed, shaking her head at Naruto's theatrics. "He's hopeless…"
But despite the chaos, there was a sense of warmth and belonging in the group. With food and friends, the Academy lunch hour turned into a moment of laughter and bonding—exactly the kind of atmosphere that Naruto had always longed for.
As the group continued to enjoy their meal, Sasuke, though still wearing his usual frown, couldn't help but feel a little less alone.
And for Naruto, as he sang praises to his beloved fried chicken, life in that moment couldn't have been any better.
(AN: I can feel obesity coming for Konoha.)