Hey, everyone! I've FINALLY gotten another chapter up; sorry it took so long.

Disclaimer: Again, I own nothing but the story.

Chapter 3: Tension

The rest of the morning was a somber affair for Naruto. He ate his morning ramen with none of his usual gusto, sighing all throughout. Once he finished, he tossed the empty ramen cup into the trash can, and entered his room to get dressed. As he finished and prepared to tie his headband on, a sound, which was oddly like metal scraping against metal, reached his ears. Puzzled, he looked in the direction of the sound, but saw nothing. Shrugging apprehensively, he finished tying his headband and left.

As he walked about the streets, Naruto briefly contemplated going to the training grounds, but quickly dismissed it. No way am I going there after what happened yesterday. He sighed.

But was it really Shino's bugs?

Well, how many other bug-controlling shinobi do you know?

Naruto growled. Leave me alone, you stupid fox.

The Kyuubi laughed. Why? I've made most of your life hell, so what's a few remarks?

Just shut up, teme.

Naruto waited for a few minutes. When the biju didn't respond, he decided to continue walking for the time being.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who had the same idea. A short while later, Naruto spotted Neji strolling about.

Naruto gave a small smile. Neji at least probably considers me a friend… An idea suddenly occurred to him. Naruto ran over to the Hyuuga, shouting.

"Oi, Neji!" Neji stopped and turned toward Naruto. Once Naruto reached his compatriot, Neji addressed him.

"Yes, Naruto?"

The grin faded from Naruto's face, and he fidgeted. "Well…Uh… I kinda, y'know, wanted to ask you something…" Neji blinked, confused.

He's acting unusual for someone like him. In fact, he seems to be behaving much like Hinata-sama. Is something going on?

Naruto finally came out and asked Neji his question.

"N-Neji? If I were to, um, somehow die, would you, well, actually miss me?" Neji took a step back, puzzled by the question. At that moment, a green blur ran up to Neji.

"Neji!" Neji sighed as Rock Lee stood amongst the dust. "Gai-sensei wants us to attend a training session! Get there as soon as possible!" Neji closed his eyes. "Very well. I'll be there in a minute." Lee gave a thumbs up. "Excellent! Come, Neji, my rival! Yosh!" The "Green Beast of Konoha" sped off as Naruto and Neji watched his retreating figure resignedly.

After he had gone, Neji turned to Naruto. "I'll have to answer your question later, Naruto. I need to go."

Naruto turned his eyes slightly downward. "A-alright." Giving an affirmative nod, Neji ran off.

You know he's just doing that to get out of answering your question; a question you should already know the answer to.

Naruto gritted his teeth and attempted to ignore the jeering voice, to no avail. Sighing, he decided to make his way to Ichiraku's.

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"Neji!"

Hearing the voice, Neji deactivated his Byakugan. The formal portion of the training session had ended, and Gai decided to allow his students to "bask in their youthfulness": essentially, allowing them to train however they saw fit.

Neji turned his head to the source of the voice. It had come from Tenten, who had previously been doing some target practice on some nearby logs. "Yes?"

"Wait, hold on…" Tenten drew three kunai and flung them all at once. All three hit the log post dead center.

Tenten immediately began speaking as though nothing had happened. "Lee told me you were talking to Naruto about something."

Neji closed his eyes. "Does it concern you personally?"

Tenten smiled. "Nah, not really. I'm just curious."

Neji suddenly turned his back to Tenten, his voice becoming even more serious. "I'm actually glad you asked that. Before I tell you, though, we need to get Lee."

"Lee? Why?" the kunoichi asked, her voice carrying a note of confusion. Neji nodded. "Yes. It may be nothing, but both of you need to hear this, nonetheless."

After a moment of silence, Tenten smiled and nodded. "Got it. Can you find Lee?"

Neji activated his Byakugan, deactivating them after a few brief seconds. "He's a few kilometers away from here." Motioning for Tenten to follow him, Neji ran off.

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A few minutes later, they found their teammate, who was currently doing push-ups. He was so absorbed in his workout he didn't notice their arrival.

"500…501…502…"

Neji called his teammate's name. "Lee."

"503…504…505…506…"

Neji tried again. "Lee."

"507…508…"

"Lee!"

Neji's shouted statement finally caused Lee to look up from his push-ups.

"Yes, Neji?" He stood himself up.

Neji regarded his teammate for a moment before speaking. "We need to talk."

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( A few minutes later)

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Lee blinked his eyes in confusion. "Did he really ask you that?" he asked the Hyuuga.

Neji nodded. "Yes. He specifically asked me if I would miss him if he were to die."

Tenten was just as confused. "Aren't you two on good terms with one another?"

Neji nodded. "Yes, and that is why I found his question so odd. His question is not my only cause for concern, though." He took a breath before continuing. "Lee, Tenten, I trust that you both know of Naruto's usual manner, even if to a limited extent?"

Lee and Tenten, the latter to whom the last comment had been addressed, nodded. "We do indeed," began Lee. "He is exuberant, cheerful, determined, and never gives up, even when the odds are stacked against him." His eyes suddenly burst into flame, startling his teammates. "SUCH IS THE WAY OF THOSE WHO EMBRACE THEIR YOUTH! YOSH!!!"

His teammates stared blankly at him. Almost immediately, Lee calmed down. "Why do you ask?"

Neji shook his head. "When I talked to him, he seemed… different. Nervous, unsure of himself, and downcast."

Lee and Tenten's eyes widened in disbelief. Tenten was the first to speak up. She didn't meet with Naruto all that often, but knew enough about him to know his personality.

She replied, somewhat slowly, "Neji, are you sure this is Naruto you're talking about?"

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Who else would it be?"

Tenten quieted down, blushing. "Uh, sorry. I was just thinking, maybe it could have been a Genjutsu? Then again, you probably would have noticed that. Heh heh." Tenten smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.

"Yes. I would have noticed if Genjutsu was the problem," replied Neji in a flat tone. "However, I detected nothing of the sort."

Lee spoke up. "If that is the case, what do you think is wrong with Naruto?"

Neji closed his eyes and sighed. "I don't know…" he admitted. "But whatever it is, we should keep a close watch on him."

---

Naruto strode away from Ichiraku's, having finished his (sixth) bowl of ramen. Not surprisingly, the taste of his favorite food had momentarily taken his mind off his troubles. However, as soon as he left, the thought of the voice and his dreams returned to plague him, and his demeanor became sullen. This time, he did not muse to himself, but merely walked along, his hands in his pockets and his face cast slightly downward.

Oh, come now, boy. Why the long face? Still in denial?

"Shove it," Naruto murmured, not in the mood to take insults from the voice. He still didn't fully believe what the voice was telling him. He had friends…right?

Naruto heard footsteps, and he looked to his side to see Shino, on his way back from bug-collecting. He noticed Naruto, and regarded him silently. Naruto merely shot a suspicious and accusing glance at him before continuing, leaving behind a still silent but slightly perplexed Shino.

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Shino watched as Naruto left, eyebrows raised. Strange, he thought to himself. Deciding to give it some thought when he could, he walked off.

Shino had only been walking for a few minutes when an Anbu suddenly appeared to him in a puff of smoke.

"The Hokage wishes to see you. She says it's urgent," the masked ninja informed him. "She wants you at her office as soon as possible."

With that, the Anbu disappeared, leaving Shino curious, yet deep in thought.

Urgent… hmm…

Nonetheless, Shino took off towards the Hokage building, dashing as fast as he could.

Perhaps it involves Naruto?

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Naruto headed straight for home, not in the mood to train. He came across some of the other Genin, but averted his gaze from them, eliciting confused looks from them. He continued in this fashion until he reached his house. He opened the door and headed towards his bed. Sighing, he fell backwards onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

The others can't really think I'm a monster, can they? Naruto thought to himself. I mean, none of them really know about the Kyuubi, anyway…

Perhaps not, but several of them have witnessed its power.

Naruto frowned. "Well, what about the ones who haven't?" he protested, half-puzzled at why he was even trying to speak with this thing.

Well, think about it. That thing's chakra would have to be quite noticeable, wouldn't it? Some of your so called 'friends' have no doubt detected that there was something about you they can't quite place their finger on. The voice chuckled before continuing. Besides, even if they haven't detected anything, they undoubtedly believe you to be an annoying pest, a parasite who gets on their every nerve.

Naruto's brow furrowed at this. "What the hell would you know?" he growled, though the voice's words had hit something in him.

Oh, believe me, the voice replied, almost condescendingly, I never get my information wrong. Naruto scowled, at which the voice chuckled. Oh, don't be like that, boy. Unfortunately, as much as I'd love to comfort you, I really must be going. Ja ne!

This time, Naruto didn't even bother yelling out after the voice. He simply shook his head and closed his eyes.

What the hell does that thing know, anyway? He cursed silently to himself, though some of the things the voice had told him still gnawed at him. Some of the others do seem to be pretty annoyed by me, sometimes…

It was with this thought that Naruto slipped into another troubled sleep.

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Later that night…

Several were keeping watch at the village gates. Ever since Orochimaru's invasion, the village had upped its security considerably, making sure to let no infiltrators or other enemies through the cracks. It was also ensured that each of these sentries was considerably skilled, so that, in case of emergency, they could survive and inform the elders of the crisis. At least, that was the idea…

Some sixth sense flared to life in the ninjas, and they snapped to attention. Nodding to each other, they leapt down from the village's protective wall and in front of the gate. Intently, they examined the area around them, but saw nothing except the plain dirt road. Still, they kept watch. A minute passed by, then two, then three…

And that's when hell broke loose.

None of them saw it coming. All they knew was that in the span of a few quick seconds, one of their number had suddenly dropped dead, some sort of bladed throwing weapon embedded in his throat.

Briefly blanching in horror, the remaining sentries nonetheless crossed their arms protectively in front of their bodies, prepared themselves, and ran towards the location where they suspected the weapon had come from.

Moments after they had disappeared into the darkness, screams of pain and the sickening sound of rending flesh emerged from the forest path…

Followed by an ear-splitting, metallic screech.