A/N: In this chapter I'll be switching perspectives and scenes quite a lot, so brace yourselves. But it's all for a purpose, otherwise I wouldn't do it. You'll understand later. And yes, I've made Kiba a bit nicer. I mean, he's just jealous, but deep down, he's a good guy. And we get to hear more about Shika! Yaaay!

Warning: Language, (homo-)sexual implications, fantasies about Gaara (oh yes!)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto series or any characters featured in it. Sadly.

Doubts

Naruto bent his arm and moved his fingers cautiously. Tsunade watched him with anxious eyes, waiting. He smiled.

"Yup, it's fine. It doesn't hurt anymore."

Tsunade sighed in relief. "Good. But be sure not to burden it too much in the next week or so."

"Sure thing, Auntie." That earned him a smack over the back of his head.

"Nu-uh, I'm no auntie of yours, young man. Now go, I have things to do."

"Yeah, yeah. Bye, Auntie." He ducked just in time to avoid the packet of plasters aiming for his head and ran back to his tent. There, he took his game boy and strolled over to his favourite tree.

Despite the fact that he'd fallen from it, it was still his one-and-only-best-friend-tree. He'd just have to be more careful, that's all. No problem

But there was already somebody in it. Naruto spotted a lonely leg dangling from one of the branches. It was pale and sleek. Only two persons he knew had such pale skin, and one was Hinata. The second one was… Sasuke?, Naruto thought. What's he doing up there?

Suddenly his head perked up. He had an idea. Grinning deviously, he crept around the tree silently and started climbing it from the other side. When he was on the same height as Sasuke, he ducked. The raven was reading in a small book and seemed so distracted by it that he hadn't heard Naruto climb up. Maybe he thought it had been a squirrel of some sort. At the count of three… two… one…

"Booh!" Naruto bellowed.

Sasuke jumped, cursed and almost fell off his branch. He looked like he'd seen a ghost. But he regained control over himself and looked at Naruto furiously.

"You, are you out of your mind? I could've died if I'd fallen down! Jesus, what a moron", he added when he saw Naruto grin sheepishly, all happy and proud of his success. He turned around and continued reading, but the blond boy could see a tinge of red in his ears. This was fun. He sniggered quietly. Sasuke spun around.

"Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate."

Naruto covered his mouth to stifle his laughter but only managed to reduce it to gagging noises. Sasuke rolled his eyes exasperatedly. He was beginning to seriously wonder why he thought the guy was cute, let alone attractive. He was just plain stupid. Just like that puppy, he realized. And he'd grown fond of the pup, too. Ah, this can't be happening! He was falling for the wrong things for all the wrong reasons. What a nuisance.

In Hinata's tent, the girl paced up and down nervously. She hadn't had any breakfast, and she didn't feel like having lunch, either. There was nothing to do since the next circus show was a month or so away, and the heat was making it hard for her to think straight. In short, she was in a bad state. She kept worrying about that vision. Shikamaru had assured her that everything was going to be fine, but she couldn't help feeling that the matter was settled that way. There was still this uneasiness she felt. And she knew that if she felt uneasy, it meant something. She bit her lip. Maybe this time, she was just being paranoid. Maybe it was the heat. Yes, that was it. The sun was too much for her and she needed a bit of sleep. Then everything would be clearer. At least she hoped so.

Kiba glanced at Ino. They were standing in Sasuke's tent.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea. Let's… let's just go."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? And miss a chance of finding anything that could compromise our pretty little newbie? Puh-lease." She started rummaging through the still not fully unpacked bag on the floor. There was nothing interesting there, only clothes, a spare toothbrush, a used piece of soap and-

"Hullo. Look at this."

Kiba bent down to see what Ino was holding. It was a family photo. On it, he saw a stern-looking man with a slender woman next to him who smiled into the camera. They were each holding the shoulder of two little boys, one older than the other. The older one looked grumpy, the younger one grinned broadly, showing a gap between his teeth. It looked like a pretty happy family. Kiba felt a sting in his chest. Was it guilt? He wasn't sure. But now he regretted calling Sasuke an orphan a bit. He hadn't known his parents at all, so it wasn't as much of a loss because he couldn't remember them. Sasuke on the other hand had spent most of his life with his family. Being robbed of that was far more painful, he thought. Suddenly he felt like an intruder. He grasped Ino's shoulder.

"We shouldn't be doing this. Let's just get out of here and forget this, okay? C'mon."

But Ino refused to move. She was staring at the photo with hunger in her eyes. It scared him.

"Ino?"

She looked up, and the hunger was gone. "Okay, let's go." She hid the photo in her pocket. Kiba stared at her in shock.

"Aren't you gonna put it back?"

Ino smiled at him, the way you smile at a kid who doesn't understand something simple that you've been explaining to him a hundred times. "It's for blackmailing, sweetheart. Ever thought of that?" With that she marched out of the tent.

"Come on, I have an idea."

On the other side of the camping place, Shikamaru was dealing with his own scruples. He was standing in front of Gaara's tent again, angry at himself for coming here again. Where was the sense in confessing to a guy? And then Gaara, of all people. Why couldn't it be a cute girl like Temari or Sakura? It would have been so much easier. But no, he had fallen for a man. Not a hot girl, not a pretty woman. A goddamn man. It was a good-looking, earnest, sexy man, yes, but he was a man, and that just wasn't okay. Shikamaru shook his head, as if to shoo away his thoughts. It didn't really work well. And besides, he wasn't exactly homosexual. Boobs still turned him on, and he could still watch lesbian porn and be aroused. There was no problem in that. But in the end, when he was alone, the thing he would fantasize about wasn't boobs or hot girls making out. It was Gaara. A naked, heated Gaara. A goddamn man. And that was a serious problem. Shikamaru pinched his arm to calm down. He wasn't going to let his thoughts go that way again. Not now. And besides, he wasn't like Kiba. Everyone knew Kiba liked Naruto more than as a brother. And everyone accepted it because it was puppy love. He would wake up eventually. But this was something more than affection. What Shika felt was more the sexual type of love. And boy, did he despise himself for it. But it had to be said. He couldn't look Gaara in the eyes anymore without imagining him naked. He had to tell him and then he would break off all ties. It would be hard, especially in a small community like theirs, but it had to be enough. He would just avoid him in every possible way. It was doable.

Shikamaru took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy. But it had to be done. He walked up to the tent and stepped in

A/N: Another cliffy, as so often before... I know I know it's mean. But it keeps people hooked in a way, doesn't it?

By the way, I just had to pull that childish prank on Sasuke. He slapped me for that and I have to wear a plaster over my cheek now. Yep, my characters can actually slap me. They're pretty violent at times because I like to experiment with their personalities and stuff. I am so happy I'm a girl and cant get kicked in the balls, because I'd be castrated by now. (Naruto has some good kicks up his sleeve, believe me)