Chapter two! Here we go!

Disclaimer: Me? Own Naruto? Certainly not.

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If the walk through the ankle deep snow in the middle of a snowstorm was bad, it didn't even compare to the Hall.

After nearly freezing to death, Gaara was horrified to find that the Hall was packed with the biggest bunch of idiots he had ever had the misfortune to lay eyes upon.

All of the genin from the chuunin exams were there, plus more, talking loudly, eating, and other pointless merriment. And, with his luck, the first of those idiots to notice him was none other than Uzumaki Naruto.

It wasn't that he didn't like the blonde kid. Though Gaara would never admit it, he really owed him big time. And, truth be told, he had been secretly looking forward to meeting him on the trip, one of the reasons he eventually gave in to Temari's nagging.

But the first moment that the Uzumaki idiot saw him, he broke out into a stupid grin, ran over to him, and hugged him. No joke. Hugged. If that wasn't enough, he started talking on and on about pointless things that started to drive Gaara insane. It had taken all of his willpower not to strangle him to shut up.

And now the blonde boy was giving him the same stupid grin as if they'd been best friends forever, and started to make his way through the crowd towards him.

Something like a growl rumbled in Gaara's throat. Temari glanced at him.

"Play nicely." she hissed to him. Gaara growled again, but Naruto was already upon him.

"Gaara! I didn't think you'd come!" he exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Things went quiet as everyone waited for his answer. No pressure or anything.

"It's not like I had any choice…" he mumbled, but Naruto didn't seem hear him, though the others within listening distance could sense his annoyance. People started getting squirmy, which only added to his annoyance.

Everywhere he went, people did the same thing. Scared glances, whispering behind his back… Whenever Temari sent him out to do the shopping, may she forever rest in hell, people would stop whatever they were doing and just stare at him. Of course, they only did so when they thought he wasn't looking, but when you have access to a third eye, it's not very hard to miss.

Of course, being feared had its advantages. He often got to cut in line without even trying, and sometimes he even got free groceries. The thought made him want to grin.

Naruto's voice yanked Gaara out of his thoughts. "Come on over here, Sasuke and Hinata are waiting." The blonde boy said grinning, and grabbed Gaara's arm.

"Wait, no, I'd rather not-" Gaara started.

"Come on!" Naruto dragged him over into the corner where an expressionless Sasuke and a blushing Hinata awaited them.

As the two approached, Sasuke stared at them. He and Gaara hadn't yet spoken since the chuunin exam events, and Gaara didn't particularly want to.

"Hey guys, I brought Gaara!" Naruto said happily, shoving Gaara out in front of him to face the others.

Hinata blinked, looking terrified. "Umm… H-hello…" she stuttered and seemed to slink over to hide behind Naruto. Sasuke, however, just stared at him.

Gaara stared back unblinking, pondering whether or not he should just kill him now. But Temari's unspoken threats still lingered in his mind, and he decided against it. Best let the Uchiha speak first.

As neither spoke and the tension rose, Hinata started getting squirmy. "Um… S-sorry, Naruto, but… I-I have to go…" she said, and without another word, fled.

An awkward silence followed, and Naruto shifted nervously from foot to foot. At last, Sasuke spoke.

"You're an idiot for letting Naruto drag you around like that." he said coolly.

Gaara's eye twitched. Suddenly he was starting to rethink not killing him.

It seemed as though this night might not be so easily endured after all.