Okay, this might be a confusing period in time. Assume that

1: Kimimaro has fought Gaara and survived, but doesn't bear a grudge (meaning he has fought Naruto as well)

2: Naruto successfully brought back Sasuke the first time(meaning Neji already fought Kidomaru)

3: Neji knows that Gaara has Shukaku inside of him

I'm so sorry everyone who doesn't like warps in the original storyline, but I really need this timeline to make this all work out! SORRYSORRYSOOOOOORRRRYYYYY!

Naruto walked shakily back to his apartment, still dazed from the rendezvous with Neji. Wandering into his house, he made his way through to his room and started packing some of his belongings essential to the trip ahead. Mind whirring frantically, the fox-child mused over the words the Hyuuga had articulated. Why was Neji so insistent on his relationship with Sasuke? They were just friends after all. Naruto shoved the last of his belongings in his bag and set out for Konoha's gates.

Sasuke sighed and leaned against the great wooden doors. He adjusted the strap on his back and was about to fall asleep when he felt an approaching chakra signature. The Hyuuga was on his way here. Sasuke turned around and watched as Neji landed lightly in front of him, then walked up to the boy.

"Neji." Silver-eyes focused on charcoal ones.

"Yes?" Sasuke turned away, watching the wind blow through the trees. A moment's silence passed before the petroleum-haired youth spoke.

"Naruto. You have noticed, have you not?" Neji walked closer to the Uchiha.

"Noticed what?"

"He has…grown somehow. He's more mature." Neji beckoned Sasuke to continue.

"And?" Sasuke's features softened unconsciously, a change very minute but Neji caught it all the same.

"His face has grown…much gentler and serious. The Naruto I knew once had insolent eyes. Eyes that would trust no one."

Neji had indeed noticed the change in the blonde. Naruto was still hyperactive, but not as much as he was when Neji first met him. It seemed that the fox-child had indeed matured. Suddenly Neji caught a faint trace of abnormal chakra. Well, speak of the devil, he himself had arrived.

"Hi guys!" Naruto smiled in his normal chipper attitude. Sasuke nodded and Neji raised a hand.

"Ready to go?"

"If you want to," Neji replied. Naruto muttered something along the lines of "stingy Sasuke-teme" then shoved open Konoha's gates. Together, the three walked out of the village and began their dangerous mission.

Somewhere far away

Orochimaru gazed into the crystal waters of the pool. He watched as a shadowy figure leapt from tree to tree, carrying a heavy package. The snake-summoner smirked. Useful spies had told him that a few of Konoha's best genin were going after the figure. Orochimaru smirked, a slow, evil sneer. He would make the genin do all the work, and once the Stone was retrieved he would snatch it from their unsuspecting hands and use it for his own benefits. Yes, that would be it. Manda had told him about the Stone. Orochimaru sighed. Manda had demanded a thousand sacrifices though. What a troublesome snake. He turned around and spoke to the figure behind him.

"Kimimaro," The figure stirred.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama?" The snake-summoner crooked a slender finger.

"Come here." Kimimaro walked slowly towards Orochimaru.

"Yes?" Orochimaru motioned him to look into the waters. The last Kaguya did so, and saw the three boys walking through the woods. He recognized the one in the middle, the one that possessed the unearthly chakra.

"You wish me annihilate them, correct?" Orochimaru chuckled.

"Right as usual, Kimimaro. However, you must kill them only after they have retrieved the Stone of Ages."

Kimimaro bowed. He gazed once more into the watching pool. Upon closer observation, he detected something about the blonde boy. What it was, he couldn't quite place his finger on, but he felt he knew a lot about the boy all the same. Turning around, he silently made his way out of the room with all the gracefulness of liquid mercury.

In the Woods

The three walked along in silence when suddenly Naruto's eyes widened. He turned around frantically and motioned for the other two to stop.

"What is it dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"I completely forgot! We still have to pick up Gaara!"

At the mention of the panda-eyed redhead, Sasuke flinched, remembering a few traumatic events. Neji's brows furrowed, recalling the unstable state Gaara was in the last time he saw him.

"Why do we have to pick up Gaara?" Neji asked.

"Cause he has that rabid tanuki stuck inside of him!" Neji nodded, a little confused. Sasuke spoke up.

"Why do we want him to come with us when he serves as a potential enemy? After all, you really can't trust a guy like him." Naruto smiled reassuringly.

"It's okay! I know we can trust him! He's changed from the last time we saw him, after all."

"We can trust Naruto." Sasuke gave his approval cautiously, and the trio turned in the direction of the Sand Village.

"Wait. This mission has to be completed in three weeks, and we don't have a lot of time to spare. How are we going to get to the Sand Village in a short amount of time?"

Naruto bounced up and down, giggling wildly.

"We'll go at full speed, non-stop! Or are you guys gonna get tired?" Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah, right. C'mon," Naruto whooped and leapt off through the trees, Neji and Sasuke in hot pursuit.

Fifteen Minutes Later

Sasuke and Neji gasped and panted, barely keeping up with the laughing blonde. Naruto stopped and turned around as the two boys slogged up.

"You're not tired, are you? We still have a few miles to go! Come on!"

Naruto turned and leapt gracefully through the trees ahead of them. Both boys shook their heads as they leaned tiredly against the trees. Naruto seemed to have an inhuman amount of stamina. Summoning their chakra, they followed the fox-child.

It was about five minutes later that they reached the Sand Village. Walking through the gates, the trio entered the village. Neji activated his Byakugan and searched for Gaara. He located the boy in a nearby apartment, with Temari and Kankuro. After pointing out the direction to Naruto, the blonde leapt off to greet the redhead.

Naruto walked up the wall of Gaara's apartment and leapt in the window. The panda-eyed boy looked up, startled by the unexpected visit. Temari and Kankuro watched as well, curious as to why Naruto was visiting. Naruto nodded hello and bounded up to Gaara.

"GAARA! GAARAGAARAGAARAGAARAGAARAGAARAGAARAGAARA! We have a mission to complete! And you're coming with us!"

Gaara quirked an eyebrow lazily and spoke in a slow soft monotone.

"And why must I travel with you?" Naruto walked closer and whispered in his ear. Gaara nodded and stood up.

"Temari. Kankuro. I won't be long." The two nodded. Gaara strapped his gourd on his back and leapt out the window with the other boys.

The foursome traveled back into the leafy regions of the forest. Naruto closed his eyes and appeared to concentrate. Silence passed between the team until Naruto opened his eyes.

"Kyuubi says we should go northwest until we come to the mountains." Sasuke's eyes widened. Kyuubi? Naruto had the Kyuubi sealed inside of him? The raven-haired youth spoke up.

"Naruto. You had the Kyuubi sealed inside of you?" Naruto nodded, looking a bit crestfallen.

"Yeah, that's why I was hated for the majority of my lifetime. You remember in the academy? How everyone scorned me? They themselves didn't know, but their parents who were alive during Kyuubi's attack only see me as the demon, so they're cold to me. Their attitudes got passed down to their children." Naruto's eyes held deep loneliness and sadness. The cornflower blue of the irises seemed to turn a deep dark navy.

"Everyone in the village hated me except the old geezer Hokage and Iruka-Sensei. I didn't have any parents, as you well know, but I did have a few caretakers. They didn't like me though, and some tried to kill me in my sleep when I was little. Old geezer stopped them though, once I told him…" Naruto trailed off, eyes unfocused and staring into space.

Gaara's eyes held a current of deep understanding, empathy, and sadness. This boy had gone through the exact same thing he had. He, at least, had Temari and Kankuro, scared of him as they were, but at least he had siblings. Naruto had no one at all. The sand shinobi walked up to Naruto and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"But you have friends now, do you not?" Naruto looked up at the redhead and smiled sadly.

"I guess so. I think that's what kept me going, besides Iruka-sensei. But enough with the depressing stuff. We'd better go."

The team traveled on until evening when Naruto signaled to stop.

"We'll rest here for the night, guys."

Everyone agreed and began setting up their tents. Naruto was halfway through pitching his tent when he looked over at Gaara. The boy had molded his sand into a queer sort of circular tent. Naruto smiled and went back to the ropes and pegs of his tent.

Later that Night

Neji tossed and turned restlessly in his bed. Sighing, he crept out of his tent and into the woods. Meandering slowly through the trees, he caught sight of a tuft of blonde near the river. He made his way silently to Naruto.

"Couldn't sleep as well?" So the fox-child had noted his presence. Neji sat down next to Naruto, gazing at the peaceful waters of the brook.

"You must have had a hard life, living all by yourself." Naruto smiled.

"It's okay now. I do have friends." Neji nodded. It was a long time before Naruto spoke up.

"Neji…did you ever feel alone and unwanted after your father died? I mean you had Hinata and everyone else in the Hyuuga clan, but…" Naruto trailed off. Neji tilted his head to the side thoughtfully.

"I guess I did. Hiashi-sama never liked me, and Hinata was always too shy. The rest of the Hyuuga didn't pay much attention, so I was on my own for a long period of time."

The boys sat in silence for a long time before Neji spoke up.

"How could you manage such a cheerful attitude when your whole life was practically torture?" Naruto looked out over the water.

"I used to be very depressed and sad when I was young. I couldn't understand why everyone hated me. I was angry at them, and I admit I wanted them to die. But that all changed when I was five." Naruto paused, then pressed on.

"My caretaker was asleep, so I snuck out of the window of my apartment and made my way to the center of the village. I'd heard there was a great festival, and I wanted to experience one since my caretakers never let me out of the house. It was there that I saw the old geezer Hokage on stage. He talked about a bunch of boring stuff so I didn't really pay attention, but I noticed that everyone was silent when he talked, and everyone listened to him. I wanted people to acknowledge me as the boy that I am not the demon that was sealed inside of me. People only paid attention to me when I was playing a prank or when they called me a demon, so I thought that if I became Hokage, people would respect me. I'm still going to become Hokage no matter what so I can protect Konoha and it's people. Then, and only then will I be acknowledged and respected for who I am."

Neji's eyes widened. Naruto sounded so…mature. He stared at the other for a few moments. Naruto always seemed perpetually happy. Neji couldn't imagine such a horrible past by just looking at the blonde. Naruto had endured much more than he had.

Naruto gasped slightly as he was pulled into a warm, comforting embrace. Neji drew the boy to him, holding the other in his arms.

"Naruto…sometimes you have to let go, don't you? You can't possibly hold it all in forever. Sometimes…you just have to let the tears fall." Neji ran his fingers through Naruto's hair. The fox-child clutched Neji possessively, and snuggled into his chest. They lay together for a long period of time before Naruto spoke.

"I don't dwell on the past, which is why I have no tears." Neji buried his nose in Naruto's hair as a response, nuzzling the heavenly locks. Naruto's hands found Neji's hair and stroked the silk-like substance in return. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity before Naruto gently extracted himself from Neji's grasp. The blonde turned around and gazed intently into Neji's snow-white eyes.

"Thank you."

Naruto leaned down and kissed Neji softly on the forehead before retiring to his tent.

Once again, I really need this timeline to work out, so SORRY! By the way, I don't want any flames on this subject. I have apologized in advance, so woe betide ye who don't read my author's notes