Shikamaru sat beside the blonde, one hand holding his hand the other still grasping the hair ornament he had gifted the other. Shika stewed over the events that happened, rage still boiling low in his stomach. He wasn't strong enough to protect what was his. Because Naruto was his princess, his hime.
"I couldn't protect him...I wasn't strong enough to protect him and I know I'm still a kid, but I wasn't even there to help him until it was almost too late! I need to get stronger, to help him, and protect him, and give him someone he can always go to when he needs to feel safe. I want to be the one he calls home, and the one he can rely on."
The woman by this point was looking a little shell shocked herself, "Oh my god….a Nara with a human fixation…" then she looked back at the blonde boy that laid there asleep, "...holyshit…."
Shikamaru has been a bright light in this village. A safety net for Naruto, and the blonde never wanted his sweet shadow to see the gritty reality he lived, certain the boy would leave him once he did. "Y..you want to protect me? A...a pathetic monster like me?" The blonde choked out.
Shika inhaled sharply at the fragility the boy spoke with.
Once everyone had settled down, Shikamaru spoke, “So, Choji this is Naruto Uzumaki. The person I told you about being a fixation and quite possibly a goddess in human flesh. Naruto, this is my best friend, Choji.”