Shikon

Hiraikotsu

Hinata was worried. Naruto has gotten thinner as of late. He has always been thin, she know that he has trouble getting food especially winter. Being an orphan outside the orphanage meant that managing himself can be hard. But lately his cheeks has started to become hollow.

So today she brought him a big bento box. She has been learning how to cook as stress relief since she somehow kept missing Naruto. Watching him have been soothing but lately Naruto has gotten more slippery than normal. What with the self poisoning practice, she was worried. What if his condition was because his poisoning had gone wrong?

That lunch she approached him, "N-Naruto-kun?" He looked at her and she offered a bento box, "He-here. I m-made this for you,"

He wordlessly accepted the box and opened to find rows of her special character onigiri inside; designed to look like him. He stared at one before looking at her, "Why does this look like me?"

She blushed, pressing her pointers together as she fidgeted before him, "A-ano..."

His stomach roared and he grinned, "Never mind that. I'm too hungry to care...although, this feel like eating myself..." He took a bite and his eyes popped open, "Man, Hinata! You'll make for a great wife one day, dattebayo!"

She blushed at his praised, "Do...do you l-like it?"

He beamed as he chewed, "Like it? I love it!"

She smiled, "I'll make more for you, then!"

He looked at her and blushed, "Uh...okay...thanks..."

Since then she have been bringing him more and more bento. Receiving his praise to her cooking motivated her to be a better chef. But Naruto didn't gain weight. Instead he looked thinner and Hinata started to look up nutrition to feed him better meal. Iruka has also started to bring him to dinner daily as he grew more and more skeletal. It has gotten to the point where the amount he ate should have made him fatter than an Akemichi. But he still lose a lot of weight.

Hinata fretted, "Naruto-kun, you should eat more," Due to how often she fed the blond, she lost her stutter.

Naruto blushed, "I'm fine, Hinata-chan,"

She frowned even as her pale eyes watered, "But you're so thin," She sobbed, "I don't want you to die,"

Naruto sighed, "Oh alright,"

One evening Iruka pulled him aside, "Naruto...are you sick?"

Naruto blinked up at him, "No,"

Iruka looked at him all over, "Are you sure? You're so thin,"

Naruto sighed, "I'm fine...I'm just in training,"

"Is it the poisons?"

"No"

Hiruzen visited him one evening and panicked, "Naruto!"

Naruto looked at his shirt in his hand and then as his sunken stomach before looking at Hiruzen, "I'm fine, dattebayo!"

Of course when one looked like they have been starving in the desert Suna for whole month with no food or water, no one would believe them. So against his wishes, he was dragged by the Hokage himself for a physical check-up. Surprisingly even with the Hokage glaring at the medic along with several ANBU, everything come up fine and dandy.

Naruto looked at them, "I told you I'm fine, dattebayo!"

It still didn't stop them from fretting over him. Then after a whole year of worrying over the boy's continuing deteriorating condition, he suddenly bounce back healthier than before. His pranks have also increased in its complexity, taking the patrolling ninja by storm as they're usually the ones caught in it.