Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters and blah! So, nyah! You can't sue me now! (attempts to chuck demonic plushies at anyone who dares say otherwise)

Fragile Bonds

Chapter 8: Burning Evil

The competitors for the first match stood in the center of the arena, carefully watching each other.

'This should be fun...' Kiba cracked his knuckles. 'I'll finally be able to prove how strong I am! Too bad I couldn't have fought Shino, though... that bastard.'

"Akamaru? You ready?" A confident bark proved that he was. "All right, then" he said, as he pointed a finger at his rather bored looking opponent. "LET'S GO, AKAMARU... CHOUJI!!"

Silence.

"Eh?" He looked around frantically. "CHOUJI?!" A scream. He looked up. "What the...?" His eyebrow twitched.

"NO!! I don't want to fight that guy!"

"Damn it, Chouji! Stop being so troublesome! Just go already!"

"BUT!"

An angry blonde brushed past Shikamaru and pounded Chouji in the head. "No arguments, Chouji! Just get down there already!"

"Eek!" Chouji was gone from the wall side and was by Kiba in the blink of an eye.

Kiba sweat dropped. 'Are we... gonna be okay?' he thought.

Shikamaru backed away slowly. 'Geez, she's scary when she's mad...'

Ino smiled triumphantly. "Gooo, Chouji!!" She pounded her fists into the air in a Lee-like fashion.

"I'm surprised you're not rooting for Sasuke instead, Ino," Shikamaru said, slinging his arms over the railing.

"Yeah, but it's not like he needs it. Sasuke's perfect as it is!"

If he wasn't so tired, he could've sworn that he saw her eyes sparkling. Actually, it kind of made the brunette feel... jealous. 'She always seems so happy when he's the topic,' He sighed. 'I still don't see what girls see in a guy like that.'

"Hrm?" he felt a lightweight lean against his shoulder.

"Of course, I think you're perfect too Shika."

"EH?!" his strength gave out, and he fell from the added weight, straight to the floor. He looked up at her, frowning, but he couldn't hide the red that stained his cheeks. She giggled lightly.

'Maybe having Sasuke as an opponent isn't going to be too fun.' Kiba let his eyes run over the black-haired enigma. His eyes were closed in thought, arms folded across his chest. 'Just great. And on top of that, Sakura's a medical-nin.' He glanced over to his partner.

Chouji held his head. "Why me?! All I wanted to do was eat some barbecue... but Ino had to force me into this!!"

'We're doomed...'

"They're pretty strong now."

"Oh, yeah?" Naruto smirked.

Neji nodded. "All four of them have improved a lot, though Chouji's interests have... remained the same."

Naruto chuckled lightly to himself. 'Same old, Chouji,' he thought. It was comforting. Not much had changed. Though he couldn't say as much for himself. 'But then, I...'

"I have to say Sakura's improved a lot. After you left, she studied medicine and trained under Tsunade." Naruto smiled lightly.

'Sakura, huh?' He had never admitted it, but she had always been a burden to them in some ways. Unreliable Sakura. Yet, she was always determined to do better and it showed in the end. She strived to become something more, to at least be able to take care of herself and aid them as well.

"Sasuke, on the other hand," he began. Naruto's ears perked up at the mention of the name.

What had he been doing since he left, anyway? How much stronger is he now?

Neji smirked, glancing at Naruto for a second before returning his gaze to the competitors in the ring. "We don't know much about what he's been up to. When you left, he... distanced himself. He went off to the woods, training on his own probably. Some think he's still chasing after that desire to kill his brother."

'He distanced himself?' The blond watched his friend carefully, trying to understand what he was getting at. 'And what did happen between him and Itachi?' Naruto gazed sadly at nothing in particular. 'So much has changed and still so much hasn't.'

"Quite frankly, he's still a mystery to us," he said, turning his light eyes to meet Naruto's. "As you are."

"Heh." He smiled. "You know, that's not working. I'm not going to tell you, you know. Not now, at least." Naruto frowned. He had made a point to tell everyone why he had left when he was ready, but over the years that he had been gone, the reason slowly left his mind.

'Come to think of it... why did I leave?'

Neji laughed. Naruto had to admit it, but it was pretty damn creepy to hear him laugh. Not that he sounded bad or anything... "It was worth a try, but that wasn't exactly my intention."

"Right, right."

Kiba was bleeding from the arm and Chouji was, once again, lying amongst a pile of rubble. Sasuke had managed to graze Kiba's arm with a Chidori.

Kiba winced. "Come on, Chouji!! Get up!!"

No response.

"Of all the people! ARG!!"

Sasuke clutched his left arm, trying desperately to control the pain. He winced. 'Damn it,' he swore inwardly. 'It's no use. No matter how much I try to control it, it just...' he held shut his right eye as a searing pain shot up his arm.

Sakura was panting, kneeling on her knees and hands. 'I-I... I did it!' She knew well enough that, even though Sasuke was the better of all four of them, Kiba wasn't a pushover. His attacks were dangerous and the combination of high speed made them lethal. It was a wonder that she had managed to get by without being scarred up too badly. 'I'm lucky I just have a few cuts and bruises. At least I'll be able to heal these,' she thought. She leaned back and sat on folded her feet behind her, seating on them. She brought her hands near each other and a soft, green light grew and hovered between her palms. The corners of her lips twitched lightly before the light spread to her arms and legs, eventually covering her entire body in a warm, pale aura.

Naruto watched from above. He raised an eyebrow at the sight. 'Whoa, what is that?'

"It's a simple healing method," Neji spoke up.

Naruto's eye twitched. "You like explaining things to me. Do you think I'm dumb or something? And since when did you become the talkative type?"

The brunette smirked and closed his eyes. "Your stupidity has never failed to amaze me I the past, so I don't see why it should be any different now."

"Pfft, bastard." Naruto turned and walked away from Neji. "But I'm not like that anymore," he said to himself, but the words didn't fall upon deaf ears.

Neji sighed lightly.

'What happened to you?'

"WOOOH!" Lee screeched, punching the air. "ALL RIGHT! Shikamaru, let's go!"

"Huh? Wha?" His eyes shot open and he glanced around lazily. "Damn... just when I fell asleep. Who in the hell...?" His eyes fell on a certain green clad companion. He looked up at the board.

Rock Lee and Nara Shikamaru vs. Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto

'Geez, I hate this. Why can't I just sleep? Everyone's just so damn troublesome...'

Naruto opened a single eyelid. "Looks like we're up. This is going to be tough."

Neji nodded. However strong he was, he knew it would be a grave mistake to underestimate Shikamaru. He wasn't the first out of their lot to become a chuunin for nothing. On top of that, Lee's with him. He remembered that ability he had seen him use when they were younger and he to admit that his power was almost terrifying at that moment.

Naruto vanished, reappearing in the center of the arena. Neji flipped over the railing, landing gracefully beside his partner. The two waited for Lee to drag Shikamaru down.

"Shikamaru! COME!!" he said, tugging at his collar.

"I'm coming! Geez, you make it seem like you're excited to fight these two," he grumbled. 'He's almost as bad as Ino.' He glanced up at her, screaming and cheering for him.

"GO, SHIKAMARUUU!!"

He sweat dropped. 'Almost...' He turned to his opponent, stretching back, getting out all the kinks in his body. He watched the blond in front of him carefully, a light smile on his lips.

Naruto smiled. "I'm going to get my ass kicked, aren't I?"

The brown-haired chuunin laughed. "Where's your arrogance?"

The blond shrugged and fell into a readying stance. "Ran away? Well, whatever it is, I'll give it my all!" A lie. He fell into his fighting stance. The other three mimicked his movements.

"Lee, you know the plan," Shikamaru said, not moving his eyes from his opponents.

Lee looked at him curiously for a second. "OH, right!"

Naruto knew what they were going to do. He watched as Shikamaru kneeled on the ground, his hands forming a circular shape. It was a habit of his. 'He's studying the surroundings,' Naruto thought. He knew their plan. 'He's going to use his knowledge of his surroundings to his advantage.' He nodded to Neji, who had caught onto this long before him.

'I see,' Neji smirked. 'He's going to trap us in a corner and if that happens, the blows Lee's going to land on us isn't going to leave us looking healthy,' he thought. 'Now the only thing is, when and how?'

The blond slumped his shoulders. "This is the only problem with fighting a whacked up genius," he groaned. Neji shook his head. This wasn't turning out to be much of a battle. "Whatever. Let's go!" He gave a quick nod to his partner and they exchanged understanding glances before taking off. Shikamaru's eyes darted open as he dodged a kunai from Naruto. As expected, Naruto reappeared behind Shikamaru to attack him, but missed as he held a hand up to block the powerful swing. He winced at the pain.

'Since when did he get this fast?'

Naruto flipped back, landing on his feet and pushing forward, pulling out a small blade from his pouch. Shikamaru quickly feinted to the right, his left arm getting slashed slightly. He fell back into a shadowed corner of the room, gripping the small wound. Warm blood trickled from the opening in his flesh, dying his sleeve a deep crimson. He smirked.

"I got you."

A single tear ran down Lee's face. His eyes were beginning to water from weariness. He fell to one knee. He watched as his rival started breathing heavily, winded from the blows that were dealt to his stomach. Lee smiled in satisfaction. 'I may not have beat him yet, but at least he has finally acknowledged me.' Neji activated his Byakugan, but quickly ended it when his eyes began to sting. He had managed to activate the twirl a few times which was enough to push Lee away, but he was just too fast for him to completely dodge the attack. The collision of forces caused him to be sent backwards as well.

He looked over at Naruto who seemed to be in perfect condition. 'I can't... lose this.' He ran forward, ready to strike his friend who, in turn, readied himself for the final blows.

Naruto watched Shikamaru carefully. Close range combat was too risky with his shadow technique, but he knew that Shikamaru would be able to capture him in his technique if he were to use a jutsu. It took too much time. He clenched his teeth, carefully looking out for any hand seals.

Shikamaru stayed in his position, his hands forming a circle, thinking. Each passing second unnerved Naruto. 'What is he thinking?'

Figuring that if he gave the boy anymore time, that would develop a strategy and beat them, the blond knelt on one knee, closing his eyes and pressing his palms firmly together. It looked like he was...

Praying.

The other boy stared at the blond in question, wondering what he was doing. 'What hand seal is that?'

Shikamaru's eyes widened suddenly when an overpowering feeling ran up his spine. In an instant, he was shrouded in darkness, except for a dull red light. The presence was familiar, yet it was somehow cruel, cunning and almost... evil. Everything seemed warmer, hotter. The air became thick and he struggled to take in the much needed oxygen to feed his screaming lungs. Fear slowly crept into his heart. His instincts kicked in and before he knew it, he was running away in terror, trying to get as far away as possible from the dull, blood-red light that grew with each passing second. Shikamaru gasped when he felt his knees give out when a searing pain streaked his entire body, his skin feeling as though it was burning off. Shikamaru wanted to scream, but couldn't find his voice. It was torture.

Then, as fast as it had happened, it all vanished. And he found himself in the arena with Naruto standing in front him. He shuddered. 'It felt... so real. I was actually afraid.' He looked to Naruto who had an apologetic look on his face. 'Why is he...? Could it have been?' he thought. That's when it hit him. 'I guess I have no choice.'

Both Neji and Lee stopped their battle when a strange presence filled the arena. They looked over to Shikamaru and Naruto who were standing in front of each other without even a word being passed between the two. Neji raised an eyebrow. 'That presence,' he thought. 'Something's going on.'

Naruto smiled sadly at Shikamaru. 'I'm sorry, but I really didn't want to fight you two. That technique was the easiest way out.'

He was about to land a swift blow to Shikamaru's stomach when he saw the boy's hand rise. The blond stopped in his tracks and stared at his friend. "Oh," he whispered.

"I forfeit."

Naruto placed his hands on his knees leaning over, bursting out laughing. "S-Shikamaru... same old, same old," he said, through laughs.

He shook his head. "You make me tired. Pft. So damn troublesome... why am I even here?" Shikamaru whined, shoving his hands in his pocket before walking off.

The blond continued laughing. He felt like an idiot. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stop the laughter. Warm water collected in his eyes, threatening to spill. It was relief.

Genma frowned. 'Was that it?' He raised a hand in the air. 'But there definitely was something. I could feel it. What else are you hiding? Uzumaki Naruto.'

He smirked and bit down on the toothpick in his mouth. "Winners: Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto."

Sakura cheered her two friends on. "Yeah! Go Neji! Go Naruto!" She said, jumping up and down.

"Great job Lee, Shikamaru!" Ino yelled, joining in the cheering. It didn't really matter who won. Everyone was happy either way.

Lee pouted, but smiled when he received a trademark grin and thumbs up from his teacher. Yes, Gai made everything better for him.

Rather than cheering like she normally would have done for Naruto and Neji, Hinata's gaze turned to one of fear. 'What... is this feeling?' She watched Naruto curiously as he walked up the stairs to join the others. Turning to Neji who had found his place beside her, she was greeted with a nod.

"Did you...?"

"Yes," he said, nodding. "I felt it, too. In fact, I saw it." The others were praising their teammates despite the rather odd battle. It had seemed as though nothing had happened aside from a few quick, basic moves. Of course, Neji and Hinata thought otherwise. With the gift to wield the Byakugan, they had seen it.

"Naruto's aura," Hinata whispered. "It had turned... red. It was like he was glowing."

Neji frowned. "It wasn't just an aura. It was his chakra," he said. He folded his arms across his chest, and bent his head down thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I felt a similar presence when I fought his in the Chuunin exams a few years ago."

"What?" She couldn't recall every seeing anything similar to it because she had passed out at the time from her injury.

He nodded lightly. "You don't remember because you fainted from your injury." His gaze lowered to the ground. Guilt. She smiled lightly and placed an arm on his shoulder. It was her way of saying, "I forgive you."

He cleared his throat before continuing. "Anyway, when I was in the arena, there was some sort of strange, fiery heat being emitted from that chakra. And for a moment, that chakra had transferred to Shikamaru and wrapped itself around him. Only that time, it looked as though it was affecting him somehow. He seemed paralyzed."

"But how? There's no sign of physical injuries," Hinata asked. He shook his head. "Could it have been some form of genjutsu?"

"I'm not sure," he narrowed his eyes slightly at Naruto. There he was again, going along with that façade. "But whatever it is... it's nothing any of us are capable of doing."

The jounin exams had been an exhilarating experience to witness. The strength of the ninjas had risen incredibly within a few years and new techniques were developed. Everyone had something new to show. Still, as usual, the ones who had been the strongest, remained the strongest. In the final matches, Neji, Sasuke, and Sakura had managed to advance to the jounin positions. Naruto had actually managed to rise to that position as well, but seeing as he already was a jounin, it created a few complications.

After the matches, Shikamaru went to his favorite spot to think quietly by himself. Sadly, it wasn't quite as peaceful as he had hoped it to be. His rather loud friends, of whom all had numerous questions for the chuunin, had accompanied him. The lazy boy sighed and sat up, gazing at his friends, that same bored look plastered to his face. They had all made a habit of meeting at the same spot to talk or simply spend time with each other. He knew what they wanted to talk about. His battle. The fact that he had lost wasn't that big of a deal to him. The only reason he had participated in the first place was because his father and Asuma had pushed him to do so.

"Shika? What happened with you out there?" Ino asked, curious as to why he had seemed so easily taken out.

He frowned and folded his arms across his chest, sitting in a cross-legged position. "That's what I'd like to know," he said, startling his friends. They had all hoped to get a few answers out of him, but were disappointed to find that he didn't know either. The battle between Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Lee had been the one of the most uneventful if you don't count Neji and Lee's battle, but it definitely struck up conversation. In fact, it was that battle that had raised the most eyebrows. Apparently, Hinata and Neji were not the only ones to sense the strange presence. It had been strong enough for those who were paying attention to feel it.

"It was Naruto," Neji said, only just arriving with Hinata, Kiba, and Shino following closely behind.

The shy girl nodded and twiddled her thumbs together. "Naruto-kun... there was something different about him... when he was fighting," she said, quietly.

Shikamaru's frown deepened. "You all felt it?"

Kiba nodded. "Akamaru here," he looked down and the puppy. He had been frightened earlier and was still seeking shelter in his coat. "He sensed something and told me. Like Neji said, it was definitely Naruto. Something's up with him."

"Not only felt it," Neji said. He narrowed his eyes. "We saw it."

Shikamaru looked away and visibly shuddered at the memory. Those feelings had been too intense for the boy to handle. Ino sat beside him, hoping to give the boy a little comfort. She wasn't sure what was bothering him, but she knew that it had something to do with Naruto.

Sakura, Lee, and TenTen sat down across from Shikamaru and Ino, forming a small circle. TenTen wasn't sure what to do, seeing as she hadn't known the blond that well, but was just as curious as everyone else. "Shouldn't we talk to him?"

Naruto's former teammate smiled and nodded. "I know he wants to talk to us on his own time, but there are a few things I know we all want to find out. We might as well try and figure it out."

'Maybe we can even bring back the old Naruto...'

"You wanted to see me, old hag?"

Tsunade's eyebrow twitched before smiling contentedly. "Yes, I did. Congratulations on passing the jounin exams."

He rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Hehe, yeah. I think the fact that I was already a jounin ended up in a bit of confusion, though."

She smirked. "Yeah, you brat. They kept me there for an extra half an hour to speak to me about it."

"That's how it is when you're Hokage, ne?" He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in a playful manner. "But anyway, what do you need?"

"Well, since you seem to like getting to the point," she began, folding her papers neatly before setting them in the center of her desk. "I'd like to give you a proposal."

"And that is...?

"A new mission."

Chuunins and jounins alike flooded the hallways outside of Tsunade's room. Several were carrying scrolls, stacks of papers, and random objects back and forth.

Iruka walked by, carrying his own stack of papers when a door slammed open, sending his papers flying in all directions. "AAH!!" He fell over, and landed rather ungracefully on his posterior. He watched as an angry blond stomped down the hallway. "OI, NARUTOOO! COME BACK HERE! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!!!" he screeched.

Tsunade stepped out, holding the side of the door, sighing. Iruka looked up at her. "H-Hokage-sama... I apologize for this mess. It's just that-"

"Don't worry about it, Iruka. It's not your fault."

He leaned forward on his knees, gathering the fallen sheets and putting them back into a neat pile. "May I ask a question?" He waited for her nod of approval before continuing. "Is Naruto all right? I've been worried about him since he's returned."

She sighed again. Her weariness was obvious. "You're not the only one, but he's all right. I believe he's just filled with excitement about his new mission."

The chuunin looked at her quizzically. "New mission?"

She grinned. "Come in, I'll explain it to you."

Okay, that was by far the WORST chapter. I'm really sorry for all those who wanted the fights to be longer, but I don't have the time. From this chapter, I'm sure you can tell that I'm not very good at writing fight scenes. Too bad I found that out AFTER I said I wasn't going to make the matches short-lived. Ah well.

Also, sorry it took so long to update. School's really been getting on my back recently. I'm not at home as often anymore and I never get enough time with the work I'm getting. I'll try and get the next one up a little sooner. And if there are a lot of errors, please tell me. I couldn't check the chapter over. Again, not enough time. Well, let me know what you think!