That's right, one and all, your great and noble Preventer Squall has another installment up and ready for your perusal. Expect suspense, humor, flashbacks, which I'll keep to a minimum, and best of all, dramatic speeches from both Gai AND Lee! -cackles-

Remember everyone, enjoy yourselves and read, but be sure to put your reviews up. I was ecstatic about all the positive reviews that you all gave me, and certainly hope that this chapter lives up to your praise.

---------

"Blah" Normal Speak

"Blah" Thought Speak

Beauty of the Beasts

Chapter 4: To Each Their Own

-----------------

The explanation to their parents was a scattered one at best. They didn't tell about how they were also being sent in strange attempt at a matchmaking trip because of a curse from the Kyuubi. All they could really say was that they were going, regardless of their objections, and they had until noon to find a male escort that wasn't their fathers. After some grumbling from the adults, they found they had no choice but to agree.

TenTen stared at Neji's back as she marshaled her courage for what she was planning to do. Of all the people she could think of, his name was at the top of that list. She would have even impressed Hinata by how she was blushing as she slowly inched forward, her lips quivering as she tried to force words out of them.

"Neji."

She blinked, wondering how she said that without fully opening her mouth. Before she could think about why her voice sounded so deep, Neji turned around and stared right at her, causing her to flush as she decided to just spit out her request. Knowing the Hyuuga genius, he would only understand her intentions if she stated them point blank.

"I want you to escort Hinata on this Tower."

She blinked again, her mouth clamping shut so fast that it audibly 'snapped' when her lower jaw connected with the upper. She knew that wasn't what she was wanting, and THAT definitely wasn't her voice. It was then that she realized that Neji wasn't staring at her, but more glaring through her to the person behind her. With a great deal of reluctance, she slowly turned around and found herself staring up into the opaque eyes that belonged to Hyuuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuuga Clan. The young girl turned back to Neji, who was trying to look defiant as he glowers at the family patriarch. She knew he would have done anything to spite the Main House, but he wanted to go to the Tower in the hopes of meeting that Naruto boy again. When TenTen saw him slowly nod, the only kind of response he would willingly give to Hiashi, she felt her heart sink about halfway to her stomach. She had been hoping he would be the one to watch over her while they were in such a dangerous place, and perhaps even tell her that he secretly…Her cheeks reddened at the prospect of what he would have told her, though now such was pretty much beyond hope.

That was, until HE came.

"Sakura-chaaan!" called out a familiar voice, the doors to the waiting room swinging open as Rock Lee steps in, hearts in his eyes as he leapt in the air and pretty much attempted a flying tackle on the pink haired kunoichi. Out of pure reaction, TenTen reached into her sleeve and then lashed out her hand with expert timing, sending Lee to the floor after he was smacked in the skull by TenTen's halisen. At the sight of the familiar disciplinary method, Neji felt himself wince everso slightly, silently pleased he had hadn't warranted such treatment…recently.

"For kami's sake, Lee. She just got out of a meeting with the Hokage. You could at least pretend you have some restraint." the brunette ninja snapped in obvious irritation. But as she stared out down at Lee, who was finally starting to regain feeling in his teeth, an idea struck her. "Come with me. I'll tell you about what happened." she grabbed him by the ankle and dragged him to one of the corners of the room, immune to her teammates crying as he whined about how she was suppressing his manly youth by keeping him away from his Sakura-chan.

It was in the corner that Lee was given the lowdown about what had transpired in the office, minus the sensitive details, and was forced to be struck down again when he declared he would offer his body as Sakura's shield.

"If you keep that up, she'll probably use that Restraining Order jutsu she's been working on!" Of course, TenTen didn't think there was such a jutsu, but it was enough to keep Lee from pouncing the poor girl again. "Besides, I need an escort too."

Lee tilted his head to the side, his expressive gaze showing her how confused he was. "Why don't you ask Neji? I figured he'd want to take the job." he states it as though such a thing should be completely obvious, though he cringed when he saw her raise that paper fan of hers again.

Thankfully, for him, she sighed and lowered the fan. "He's been ordered to escort his cousin." she said, unable to hide the tinge of dejection in her voice. Her eyes slowly began to fall towards the ground, until a hand clasped her shoulder. She blinked and looked at Lee, who had tears streaming from his eyes. "Oh no. I think he's about to go off."

Unfortunately, she was right.

"That's horrible! How can any man wish to stifle something as pure and wonderful as love? As a champion of honor and virtue, I shall make right this decision with my own two hands and my beautifully passionate youth!" Lee declared loudly, having gotten everyone's attention by around 'That'. TenTen felt everyone's eyes on them, her face having turned red enough to turn a tomato green with envy, and decided to keep him from saying more by hitting him several times in the head with her halisen.

"Baka." she muttered under her breath, grabbing him by his shoulder and being sure he was properly stable and standing upright. "Okay. You're my escort. Now let's go get you packed, and maybe find more in your closet then that hideous leotard you wear all the time." she practically dragged Lee out the door, too occupied with keeping the Green Geek of Konoha in check to notice that Neji was watching her.

-

With two people having already found their escorts, and Sakura on her way to fetch Shino for her accompaniment, Ino was trying to debate which of her teammates she would want to have with her to a place like the Tower. Between the two of them, she knew there was only one she wanted to go with, hence why she was knocking on the door of the Akimichi residence. She had to crane her head up to look at Choji's father, who towered over her by at least a foot. "Good morning, Akimichi-san. Is Choji home?" she asked with the utmost politeness, smiling as he the behemoth of a man nodded and motioned for her to come inside.

"Of course. At breakfast." she mentally rolled her eyes as she saw him sitting at a table in the kitchen, surrounded by his five younger brothers and sisters, and chowing down on his pancakes without a care in the world. Asuma-sensei did give them today off after she received some letter from a masked messenger, and now she was sure that the letter had involved her participation in this little outing they were being ordered to go on by the Hokage. Before she could continue her mental tirade about this being a waste of her time, she heard her stomach growl loudly at the smell of all that food. "I knew I shouldn't have gone on that diet." she put a hand to her stomach and smiled sheepishly, the noise having not gone unheard in the house.

Choji looked up from his sausages and smiled broadly at Ino. It wasn't often that she came by his house, probably because she'd always filch on her diet while she was there. "Hey Ino. What brings you by? Want to have something to eat?" he held up a bowl of steaming dumplings for her perusal, trying not to laugh as she visibly fought back the urge to start drooling over them. His mother made the best dumplings in the entire village, and she knew it.

Ino licked her lips and reached out for the bowl, then blinked and drew her hand back as though one of the dumplings had just bitten her. "In a second. I have to talk with you about something." she sets herself in a chair that Choji's father had set for her, trying to keep the myriad of delicious smells from clouding her mind. She only half succeeded. "It's about a lettuce I got yesterday." she says, not even correcting her switch of 'letter' to 'lettuce' as she pulled out the aforementioned letter and handed it to her teammate for his perusal. "I've been asked to go on a special miso for two months at the Tower in the Forest of Dumplings, and I get to ask someone to come with me. I want that person to be you." she finally surrenders and just takes the plate of miso soup that was offered to her, as well as several dumplings before she started eating, deciding that she could ignore the restrictions of her diet for alittle while.

Choji couldn't help but snicker at how she mixed her words with some Freudian Slips, though he wasn't actually sure which hidden village this Sigmund Freud was from. But when she mentioned taking him on the long trip, he scratched the side of his head and sipped his juice to make sure his voice was clean when he spoke. "Me? What about Kiba? I think he would appreciate the training more." he says with a shrug of his shoulders when he saw her glare at the prospect of taking Kiba and his dog along with her. He never could understand why she didn't like him. He was alittle rough around the edges, but give him or Akamaru some of your bento, and you've made a friend for life.

"That idiot? As if I'd waste the time bringing him and that mutt of his!" she snapped between bites, apparently having adopted part of the Akimichi eating habits and was now in the midst of a chopstick battle with Choji's younger sister. It seemed she hadn't forgiven Akamaru for having gotten dog fur all over her favorite dresses. Or did Kiba do that? Either way, she blamed them both for it.

"What idiot?" snapped a voice that came from the other room. The growl in the voice, accompanied by a sharp bark, was enough to bring Ino's attention to the young man that had poked his head into the kitchen. Kiba leaned against the door frame and looked from Choji to Ino, Akamaru resting on his shoulder and barking at the two of them.

Before Ino could explode all over them, her chubby team member sighed and waved a hand over at Kiba. "Since we had the day off, I invited him to eat breakfast with us." he hoped that would placate her. "I invited you too, remember?" he could tell that she hadn't remembered, since her expression softened slightly. It meant she wasn't going to try and take Kiba's head off, and he was going to be saved a lecture.

After explaining the plan to Kiba, Ino looked over at Choji and got to her feet, pointing to the stairs after regaining her authoritative glare. "It's decided that Choji's going with me, so go and get packed!"

"Hey! What about me? I wanna go too!" Kiba snapped as he stormed over to Ino, trying to glare her into submission. As usual, it didn't work, especially when the blonde grabbed him by his jacket and pulled him nose to nose with her, causing Akamaru to whimper and press his furry head against his master's furry jacket.

Ino's eyes narrowed to a sneer as she tightened her grip on Kiba's jacket. "Look, you flea motel, if I wanted to take someone with me that would shed all over my favorite dress AGAIN, I'd look you two up." she gave him a quick shake when she shouted, unphased by how his dog managed to cower inside his coat. "But this is important business, and I don't have time to waste! Choji, get…." she blinked and looked to where her other teammate had been, letting go of Kiba as they two of them looked around for their rotund compatriot. "Where'd he go?"

"I believe Cho-kun went to his room." commented his youngest sister Misaki, her blonde hair tied in two large pigtails. Ino and Kiba blinked and looked at the stairwell, then at eachother, and shrugged. "Well, that settles that." Ino said bluntly, checking the clock on the wall. Two hours left.

Time for brunch!

-

The two remaining hours passed in a surprising blur. Bags were packed. Goodbyes were said, though the only ones Hinata had received were from the servants. There was also a great deal of arguing between Ino and Kiba about how he lacked the chance to participate in the exodus. But when Ino promised she would possess him while he slept and turn Akamaru into a fanny pack if he pissed her off any further, he decided that he would let her have her way this one time.

Without their parents this time around, the three Genin teams sat in the Hokage's waiting room, the three Jounin instructors waited beside the Hokage's door, watching their charges like hawks. The silence was tense, as though they were waiting on their own execution, when Asuma broke the silence. "Who's supposed to be coming anyway?"

The other two instructors looked at one another, then shrugged slightly. "I believe I heard that Kakashi was the one they had picked." Kurenai said, blanching slightly as she checked the watch on the wall. Rather than let Gai break into another of his inane rants, the other two Jounin shot him a glare as he opened his mouth, forcing the taijutsu expert to slowly close his mouth and twiddle his thumbs in an attempt to look innocent.

"That means we're going to be here awhile. Should one of us get some takeout?" Asuma smirked slightly as he half-joked. Even though Kakashi was an exceptional shinobi, he didn't seem to understand the concept of linear time like the rest of them, and had a habit of being chronically late. This meant that you shouldn't be eager to go anywhere anytime soon.

As they prepared for a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who got the ramen, which was actually Gai's idea, the doors to the waiting room from the main hallway lazily swung open as a silver haired ninja stepped through the doors, his open eye looking at the orange book he carried in his hand while he held the other up in greeting. "Yo." he said casually, looking up from his Make-Out Paradise, Thanksgiving Special Edition, at the collection of students and teachers. "Sorry I'm late, everyone. There was this little old woman I came across that needed to get all ten of her cats out of a tree." the crinkle in his visible eye telling them all that was a bold faced lie.

"Actually, Kakashi-san, you're right on time." Asuma stated as he leaned back against the wall, trying not to laugh at the surprised expression on the masked ninja's face. He looked like Gai had just walked up to him and struck him with a dead fish and asked him to tango. Even Kurenai couldn't help but snicker at how flabbergasted he looked.

Gai, ever the master of tact, leapt forward and patted Kakashi on the shoulder. "That is excellent news, my rival! You knew the importance of this mission, and you actually had the personal fortitude to arrive at the destination in an expedient manner. You never cease to surprise and amaze me, which is one of many reasons why I consider you such a worthy foe!" he laughed and grinned broadly, his teeth glinting in the fluorescent light. He didn't notice the shudder that came from the cyclopic Jounin, but he did hear the younger voice that seemed to come from behind him.

"Him, on time? I told him that we had to be here at ten." a young boy in an orange jacket walks around this creepy display of male affection and waved at the assembled group. Naruto ignored the mock pout his traveling partner, though he found it harder to pay no attention to the analytical glares from the three instructors. They were studying him, trying to see past the veneer of what looked like a grinning young man that was walking up to the Hokage's door and knocking on it rather loudly. "Hey, Tsunade-ba-chan! We're here, so wake up!" he shouted loudly, everyone around him sure that the boy had some sort of death wish.

Even Kakashi sighed and placed a hand to his forehead, shaking his head at the lack of respect directed at one of the most powerful ninja in Konoha. "One of these days, kid, she's going to do more then give you a love tap." he thought to himself, splaying his fingers apart so he could see the reactions of everyone else.

The other Jounin looked mortified at Naruto's actions, Kurenai and Asuma inching away from the doors in order to escape some of her wrath, while Gai stammered in an attempt to find some sort of disciplinary speech that could properly relay the magnitude of what the boy had just done. Sakura felt her jaw just hanging open as she found herself in a state of total shock. Even Inner Sakura was stunned by the utter lack of respect shown to the leader of their village, but recovered soon enough to begin ranting at the blonde idiot about how he needed to show the proper reverence for the Hokage.

Hinata and TenTen seemed to have reacted better then Ino, whose eyes were as wide a saucers and was just sitting there as though Naruto had just walked up to her and smacked her in the face with a dead fish before asking her to tango. Hinata flushed red and seemed to sink into her jacket like a turtle into its shell, her index fingers pressing against one another as she debated weather to completely hide in her coat and wait until the carnage was over or try and watch the savage beating that was about to commence. TenTen just blinked and dropped the kunai she had been fiddling with, wondering if Naruto was the bravest boy she had ever met, or the most idiotic.

Kiba and Choji, on the other hand, were sure that this kid was a total idiot. How suicidal would you have to be to do something like that? It was like jumping into a vat of steak sauce, buck naked, and throwing yourself into a kennel full of starving dogs. The only visible reaction that Shino gave was a slow quirking of an eye, the insect master trying to figure out how familiar this boy was with the Hokage to A)call her by her name rather then her title, B)yell at her like that, and C)know she was asleep. Of course, Neji had tried to discern that earlier with his Byakugan, but found that her office had special seals on it which prevented such observational tactics. He found himself even more fascinated with this Uzamaki Naruto then he was before, which was a surprisingly high compliment in the eyes of many.

What most interested him was how the Hokage was going to react to the rude interruption, which was answered when one of the doors erupted on its hinges and fell right on Naruto, earning a startled squawk from the blonde before he was sandwiched between the floor and the oak door, which was being kept in place by Tsunade's foot.

"And I hope that teaches you a lesson this time, runt! Don't you ever call me that again!" her voice practically boomed when she spoke, a vicious grin on her lips as she pressed the ornate door further onto the boy. She loved him, she really did. But that didn't mean he didn't earn a periodical ass-kicking for when he decided to act smart-assed with her. "If you must call me something, perhaps Tsunade-hime. Yes, I rather like the sound of that. Or maybe even Hokage-hime!" she placed the back of her hand over her mouth as she giggled in what was meant to be a teasing way, but merely served to send a shudder of fear through everyone's spine.

Except for Naruto, who was trying to keep the doorknob out of his pancreas. "More like Hokage-baka." he muttered to himself, snickering from underneath the door.

Unfortunately, Tsunade's superior hearing managed to pick up that little remark and moved her foot up to the hooked doorknob, pulling up with her superhuman strength and sending the heavy barricade into the air while she leaned down and picked Naruto up by his cheeks, stretching them as far as she could while the boy tried to escape her iron-clad grip. "What was that you said, Naruto-kun?" she said sweetly as she leaned in to look him in the eyes, that sickeningly pleasant tone in her voice promising a great deal of physical harm if he answered her honestly.

"…wes, Phokage….pime?"

She practically squealed and released his cheeks before pulling him into a spine breaking hug. "There. Was that hard at all, Naruto-kun?" she said before releasing the blushing boy and watched him rub his sore cheeks. "Now, I want you and Kakashi to take these kids directly to the Tower. No sidetrips, especially you." she turns her now authoritative stare at Kakashi, who holds up his hands in a warding gesture, then looks back at Naruto. "Remember, only stop at the specific locations, and don't stop for more then an hour or so. I will be making a call there in two days, and if you're not there, I will skin the both of you and use your pelts as floormats!" she warned, watching Naruto gulp and look around at the assembled Jounin instructors. Her glare softened for a moment when she saw him quickly turn his gaze away from Asuma, then marched back toward Kakashi. "Kid still hasn't forgiven himself, I see." she shook her head and stood up, resting her hands on her hips and looking around at all the lesser shinobi. "You eight, line up and dismiss with Naruto and Kakashi. The rest of you are considered on paid vacation, and can do as you see fit." something glinted in her eye for a moment, the three Jounin looking at one another, then back at her as she looked up at the door that had imbedded itself in the ceiling. "And get me the janitor. He needs to fix that." she turned and casually walked back into her office through the missing door, ignoring the man that was leaning against the other door and writing something into the pad he constantly kept with him.

When she saw the last of the shinobi leave her waiting room, she turned her eyes to (Jiraya) as she sat infront of her desk. "Are all the preparations made?"

"Yep. Their rooms are all set up with two to a room. And I finished switching Naruto's room with Sasuke's, so no one will be the wiser."

She nodded and clasped her fingers together, smirking everso slightly. Rather that verbally speak her feelings of confidence, and risk the chance of destabilizing the delicate balance of the paperwork pillars that surrounded her, she simply smirked more.

Which caused the papers to fall over anyway.

-

"Alright everyone! Let's get this trip on the move!" Naruto shouted as he pumped his fist in the air, a wide grin on his lips as he turned towards the Forest of Death and began to march. He seemed unconcerned by the looks or irritation he was given, or the bags that he had been forced to lug around, since they were finally going back to the Tower. He knew Kakashi enjoyed being around here, but it really was too much for him. All these people, all of whom whispered to one another when he passed by, made him really uncomfortable. He just wanted to get back to the place he called home, and hopefully get this waste of time finished as soon as possible.

"You all go ahead without me. I have something important to get to." Kakashi waved at the young Genin and disappeared in a puff of smoke, which caused Naruto to swear and jump up and down in irritation at that flake of a Jounin. With a small damper on his mood, he motioned for the others to follow after him, drawing out his own special key and unlocking the gate.

Those who hadn't seen the genjutsu door trick before stood there in utter amazement. Sakura, on the other hand, was stunned about how they would give one of those keys to a rookie ninja like Naruto. "Why in the hell would they give a baka like you a key to the Forest of Death?" she shouted, waving a fist at him as Inner Sakura did the threatening.

"Because I live here." he stated in a 'that's sorta obvious' tone, seemingly unphased by the looks of shock that was on everyone's face.

"Well, that explains the strange charka paths." Neji thought to himself, thinking about the curse that was supposedly on the people there. From what he could tell, it seemed that Naruto's pathways were stronger then normal, charged in the kind of way that comes from a person when they were using a jutsu. Was Naruto using a jutsu to keep others from finding out what the curse was? That kind of thinking made him break down the kind of techniques that could do that. It seemed possible to be some form of genjutsu, though he never did any signs when other people approached. Perhaps a henge? They were easier to use, since they expended little charka in the process. He tapped his chin as he leapt into the trees and followed after his fellow shinobi. "If he was constantly expending charka to maintain it, he must have an exceptional amount. This bears further investigation."

The others were less analytical about it. Their expressions ranged from blatant shock and dropped jaws to a wisp of an eyebrow that ratcheted over a pair of sunglasses and near slips on various tree branches. Their guide went silent as they made their way through the forest, passing the tree house the Genin had stayed at the first time they had entered the woods. They didn't stop until crimson streams of light peeked out from the dense foliage canopy, their diminutive guide having used one of the tree branches to catapult himself further skyward, the other Genin bounding off of several trees and limbs in order to follow him to the fort that looked exactly the same as the one that he and Neji were found at last time.

By the time Sakura and the others arrived, Naruto was twirling the key between his fingers as he lazily leaned against the door frame, apparently a habit he had gained from spending too much time with Kakashi. "We can rest here awhile." he said flatly, his expression surprisingly unreadable as he slipped outside, the bags he had been forced to carry were resting around the table. The eight Genin wordlessly filed in, groaning amongst one another and stretching their tired muscles. Rather then try and find a bed to crash on, Hinata and the other young kunoichi sat down around the large table, as did Choji and Lee, the latter having situated himself beside Sakura before talking about how he had more then enough energy thanks to his youthful vigor.

"Shut up, Lee." TenTen muttered, though her voice was muffled because she was resting her hitai-ate clad forehead on the table. She let her eyes wander around at the group that was there, noticing that Neji had moved to the side of the room that was farthest from Hinata. She sighed and rolled her chocolate brown eyes, forcing herself to her feet and walking over to her teammate, who was staring out a window at the darkening scenery outside. "What's on your mind, Neji-kun?" she still found it hard to call him that. He never objected to it, even if Lee called him that, but it was still something she was going to have to get used to.

He blinked and turned his gaze to her, his eyes the color of flawless pearls that focused on her, and her alone. The Hyuuga prodigy noticed her shiver everso slightly, though he attributed it to the fact that they had done all that running that day, and her feet were somewhat sore. He could understand, since his feet were in similar condition. "This place is the exact same as the other." his eyes narrowed slightly, finally noticing that their guide was not amongst them. If his assumption about the active henge was correct, it was plausible he was using the time away to remove the jutsu from himself.

TenTen misinterpreted this observation as Neji not having liked the last time that he had come across Uzamaki Naruto. "What happened then? You never did tell us about it." she couldn't help the tinge of concern in her words, which Neji did not miss either.

He was silent for several moments, then sighed and nodded, willing to tell her what had transpired.

-(Flashback)-

Neji grumbled softly as he was drudged back into the conscious realm, wearily opening his eyes so he could survey his surroundings. It seemed to be sparse cabin of some sort. He tried to sit up, but noticed his hands, ankles, and a large portion of his torso was tied to a chair. He mentally cursed himself for his carelessness, having managed to actually be ambushed by someone that had actually found the Byakugan blind spot. That raised too many questions, and no answers were exactly forthcoming at the moment.

"I was wondering when you'd come to." chimed a voice from behind him, a young boy in an orange jacket walking into Neji's field of view with a square wooden board balanced on his head. The boy seemed actually amused at the glare that he was being given by his captive, grinning as he set the board down infront of Neji and drawing out a pouch full of what he imagined to be the pieces.

Aside from the boy's garish choice of ninja attire, something else that drew his attention was the polished hitai-ate that had the lean insignia imbedded in it. "That means I'm still in Konoha, unless this is some sort of ruse." he continued glaring at the boy that had casually sat down across from Neji, propping his feet on the table without a care in the world.

"The name's Uzamaki Naruto. If I had to guess, you're a Hyuuga." he said with a grin, having obviously discerned at least the family because of his unusual eyes. Naruto tapped his chin and thought about something, seemingly unconcerned by Neji, who was trying to reach for his kunai or his shiruken, only to find they were on a counter on the other side of the room. "I think I met a Hyuuga when I was younger, or maybe I was imagining it."

Neji snorted and rolled his eyes. "If you're imagining meeting people, then you need mental help." he said with venom in his tone, which seemingly bounced off Naruto without dampening his spirit. It actually seemed to push him further.

"Heh. You may be right. But that means you got sucker punched by a looney Genin. What does that say about you?" he chuckled and grinned even more, enjoying how his captive was actually trying to simply break free of the ropes and get at the irritating kid infront of him. "How about I let you loose, in exchange for your name, so we can play a game of shogi?"

Those words made Neji all the more adamant to get free and cause some sort of harm to that smug looking cretin. After several moments he sighed, looked at the table, and then back to Naruto. "Hyuuga Neji."

Naruto's soft blue eyes widened to the size of saucers. "You're kidding me? I managed to actually bag the big Hyuuga genius?" he seemed rather stunned at this, while Neji was trying to decide if he should be proud of being so well known, or annoyed that he had been captured so easily.

When Naruto fell out of his chair laughing, clutching his sides and rolling around on the ground, Neji felt his cheeks start to flush in a mix of embarrassment and anger.

"Sorry about tying you up and all. It's part of the procedure for people who trespass in the woods." Naruto said after two solid minutes of laughing, his cheeks still flushed as he pulled out a kunai and used it to cut Neji's rope. Actually turning his back to his former prisoner, he managed to drag himself back to his chair, all the while snickering as he did so.

Neji looked at where his pouch of weapons were laying, then back to Naruto as he began setting up the pieces of the game. While he wanted to play 'pin the buffoon' with this radiant specimen, he had agreed to playing a game of shogi. He intended to beat him in that, then beat him physically for having dealt him such embarrassment.

Surprisingly, he had actually lost track of time while playing against Naruto. For all of his brilliance, it seemed that his opponent was rather clever as well. At the moment, though, the tide was turning in Neji's favor, and he smirked everso slightly.

"Do all of you Hyuuga smirk like that?" Naruto asked out of nowhere as he sat in a thinking pose, rubbing his index finger over his chin as he tried to find a way out of his current situation.

The young Hyuuga associated it with him trying to stall for time, trying to break his train of thought. He didn't intend to initially answer him, but he decided that he could toy with his prey before he finished it off. "No. Some of us are spineless cowards, like my younger cousin."

Naruto blinked and turned his attention to his opponent, his expression betraying how truly bewildered he was by such words. How could a person say such a thing about their own family? "What problem do you have with your cousin? Did they do something bad to you?" he tilted his head to the side, sparing a glance at the table before moving one of his pieces forward. He had been thinking about that one long enough.

The initial response was an indignant snort. "She dosen't have the strength do to anything to me. I don't think that a weakling like her dosen't have any place in the Hyuuga at all." he snapped, his anger obvious as he glared down at the board, taking another piece forward.

"Well, maybe she needs someone like the Hyuuga genius to help her out."

"No!" Neji turned his head to look at the bewildered Naruto with a piercing glare, obviously disgusted with the idea of taking her under his wing. "I won't waste my time on an inferior like her from the Main House. She's easily cowed and constantly cowering before others! I'd rather see her dead then try and make the cow as strong as me!"

The next part that transpired was still difficult for Neji to recall.

All he remembered was an orange blur, and he suddenly found himself flat on his back with a kunai pressed against his throat, staring up into Naruto's eyes. He knew they were originally a deep and pure blue, the kind of blue that all others aspire to be. Now, they were a startling crimson, like blood on newfallen snow, and glistening with murderous intent. A deep throated growl resonated throughout the room, which caused even Neji's blood to turn cold. "How could you sit there and talk about letting one of your own family die? What kind of bastard are you?" he sneered, suddenly pulling himself off Neji and getting to his feet.

It seemed that Gai's comments about a persons flame kindling another's held true afterall, since Neji found himself practically furious as he stood and pulled off his hitai-ate, showing him the tattoo that was in the dead center of his forehead. "How dare you think you can lecture me! You have no idea what I've had to live through, branded forever because I'm in the Branch House, and forced to be nothing but their servant! What do you know about anything?" he nearly bellowed, his gaze so full of fury that he wanted to lunge over and take those eyes right of Naruto's head.

That was, of course, until he started laughing. "That piss ant thing is what's got you so pissed off? Let me show you one better." he said as he unzipped his coat and threw it aside, then pulled up his shirt. What was there deflated Neji's rage in an instant.

From just the initial look at it, it was a spiral design that went out from his naval, with several large kanji painted on the outside of it. "That's what the spiral in his stomach was?" Neji thought to himself, having seen it in Naruto's charka circulatory system when he scanned with his Byakugan while his back had been turned. Whatever it was, something about it sent a shudder of fear down Neji's spine.

"Yeah, your life sucks! Poor you! But you at least get a family, to have people care about you! I'm rarely even allowed to leave the forest because of this! Somebody's always got it worse then you, so you should shut your goddamned mouth and be grateful to kami-sama for what you've got!" Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his eyes having resumed their familiar blue color as he pulled down his shirt and went to retrieve his coat before returning to the shogi table, soon after followed by Neji.

"…so, what's your cousin's name?" Naruto finally asked after several minutes of silence, looking at the board with an expression akin to shame on his features.

Neji looked up from the board to his opponent, then back to the pieces "Her name is Hyuuga Hinata."

Naruto nods, then crosses his arms and looks back at Neji. "I think it was your turn." he stated, though there wasn't much in the way of confidence in his voice. He couldn't really remember whose turn it was.

"It was your turn, baka." Neji said flatly, already starting to get irritated with Naruto again. Something about him just annoyed him, and now it was even moreso since he had proved he was actually right about something.

Naruto's face pulled into a thoughtful expression again as he rubbed his chin, trying to recall it. "Well, how about we make it your turn, and we make it alittle more interesting?" he put on his best impersonation of Tsunade's gambling face, a wry grin on his lips as he made his proposal.

-(End Flashback)-

"And that's when he made the bet about you being nicer?" TenTen concluded, recalling how they had arrived in time for Naruto's victory dance. When she had made that connection, she quickly realized that the entire group had finished resting up and were huddled around the two of them, listening intently to as much of the story as they could. The only thing that broke the quiet was the occasional crunch as Choji ate his potato chips.

Neji nodded slowly, sure that all of them now had questions for the blonde. He had originally assumed his eye change was a bloodline limit, like his eyes. But now, he wasn't sure what to believe about their guide, who had just stepped in from another room.

"Time to go." he grinned and picked up several bags and used his foot to open the door, heading outside and waiting for the others.

The remainder of the trip passed in silence, all of them pondering about Naruto and the curse. Was Kakashi cursed as well, or was he just weird? Knowing him, it was probably a mix of both, but that debate was for another time. Were there others? It only made sense that there were, since there was supposed to be the one that the curse was centered around.

By the time the time they arrived at the entrance to the Great Tower, the eight Genin were full of questions, as well as several wagers that had passed between various teenagers that would be disclosed as the story progresses, and were eager to get inside. Naruto drew another key out of his pocket and pressed it into the lock, which clicked loudly before swinging inward on rusted hinges. They traveled through a long and barren hallway, stopping when they came to a vast and empty room, save for what looked like a pair of arms sticking out from the walls and clasping together, and the man cloaked in shadows that was standing on one of the extended fingers.

"Geez, do you really need to act so damned overdramatic, Sasuke?" Naruto snorted and rolled his eyes. "Get your ass down here, ya wannabe goth." he brought his arms behind his head and walked away from the group, much to the chagrin of the younger Hyuuga.

The figure shook his head and leapt off of the statue, nimbly landing infront of the group. Of course, such was a trick most any shinobi could do, but it was still rather impressive, if only for superficial reasons. "As the dobe said, my name is Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke." he stated flatly, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Welcome to my home."

-----------------

HA! I bet you all were expecting it to be Naruto, weren't ya? Serves ya right for presuming to know the mind of a madman! Does that mean that our dear Naruto can't find love? Goodness no. Just means the lady that's interested in him will be the only one trying to get through that thick skull of his. For those who are Kiba fans, do not despair. I'll have him making cameos in upcoming chapters, as well as some of the teachers too.

Remember folks, your reviews matter, especially since they make me want to post all the faster. They make me feel faster -poses-, stronger -strikes another pose-, and even smart…well, not smarter. But at least two out of three is pretty good! -strikes a brand new pose-

Until next time, faithful readers, take care, and if you want partial control over the world, donations would be appreciated.