A/N: Sorry for the long delay on this one. I have been on half term, but my time has been eaten up by Schoolwork- I was given a small moutain of it, I swear- and reading other people's fics. I have finally produced this, and will try and be a little more prompt with my updates in future.

Last time: So... maybe... I think she's strong? Well, I know she's strong, that jutsu of hers could repel anything, even my rasengan... wait, thats it! I respect her because she's strong, maybe as strong as me! Naruto smiled. So that was why he was so worried. Although, a quiet voice in his head murmured, She always seems so quiet, and she blushes every time I talk to her... Something shifted inside Naruto. His eyes slammed open as he recognized the voice that reverberated through his head.

--

Naruto sat, shocked, as the laughter of the 9-tailed fox bounced around his head.

...What? When did you...?

Ever since you first drew too deeply on my chakra for you to control... the seal cracked. I have simply been hiding it from you, since I suspect if the pervert found out, he'd want to fix it. I'm not going to lose this freedom because I was reckless with it... Naruto struggled to hide his fear and worry from those around him.

The seal...? The fox only laughed in response.

Ku ku ku... you are easily distracted, aren't you? Aren't you going to scream about what it is you have finally realized?

...What? What did i just realize, stupid fox? The kitsune laughed, again.

Point proven. Naruto was confused for a second, before finally working out what the fox was doing.

Stop messing with my head, stupid fox! Shut Up! He screamed the last to words in his head, and a battle ensued, during which Naruto mentally forced the demon into the sealed cage from whence it had propelled it's consciousness. The kyuubi suppressed, Naruto began to relax within his mind, when he was suddenly shaken by a soft hand.

"N-Naruto-K-k-kun?" Naruto opened his eyes to find himself looking straight at Hinata, now in front of him. They both went very red.

"You looked a little strange, Naruto. We decided to check on you, but you weren't responding to us calling you."

"I looked... strange?"

"Yeah, almost as if you were thinking..." Ino laughed as she finished the sentence.

"Hey!" Naruto began to protest loudly. Shikamaru cut in before he could start.

"I can't be bothered to wait for you people to end this troublesome argument, so whether you're finished or not, we have a lot of ground to cover today, after yesterday's troublesomeness..." And, having finished his food, Shikamaru got up and walked over to take down his tent. He was soon followed by Chouji, and not long after, the three girls left to take down their tent. Naruto was left with Hinata. Naruto put his bowl down, and forced the embarrassment he felt at looking Hinata in the eye down with it, covering it with his trademark grin.

"Thanks for the food, again. I'll go take down the tent.' as he turned, Hinata began to haltingly respond.

"D-d-do-don't w-w-worry, Na-Naruto-k-kun, I'll- I'll help w-with i-it..." her eyes widened as Naruto turned around, and smiled.

"No, Hinata. You set the tent up on your own, and you shared your food with me. I'll take the tent down, and when we get to the sand village, I'm gonna take you out for a meal, to say thank you!" he turned and began work on the tent, still smiling.

He... said he'd... Hinata stared for a while, blankly. She blinked, still fighting the urge to faint again, and decided the best way to deal with it was to stop thinking about it, and began to do the things Naruto had done the night before. Once she had put the fire out and covered the fireplace, she took down Naruto's still wet tent, and rolled it up, placing it beside his bag, which had been protected through the night by his waterproof. Naruto wondered over to her, carrying her tent, now packed and ready to be put in a bag. When he saw what Hinata had been doing, his grin spread back over his face.

"Oi, Hinata... thanks for all this, and stuff, but... you've really gotta stop doing all these nice things for me, at this rate I'll never be able to pay you back!" Hinata blushed.

"s-sorry, N-Naruto-k-kun..." Naruto's grin widened.

"You don't need to be sorry, Hinata! It's not your fault you're such a nice person." Hinata bushed in a way which only she is capable of, because her blood seemed to have adapted to be a darker shade of red than everyone else's.

--

The girls watched Naruto and Hinata from the other side of the campsite, where they had already taken down their own tent. Sakura laughed.

"Those two are so cute together... although, I am starting to worry about how dense Naruto is... I mean, I know he's a little stupid, but this takes the biscuit..." Ino grinned.

"You're only saying that cos if those two get together, you won't have to deal with Naruto's constant attempts to convince you to go out with him. I remember the time in the acadamy when..." Sakura zoned out as Ino started to go on, staring at some of the lower branches of the trees and wondering about the third member of the old team 7. Her gaze slowly lowered, and when she came back to her senses, she found herself staring at Lee, who noticed and gave her his 'nice guy' pose, complete with the tooth twinkle that was probably some sort of forbidden technique known only by himself and Gai. She smiled softly at him, then realized Ino had stopped talking. She turned to see Ino's eyes flashing evilly. Sakura looked away from her again.

"I don't know what you're insinuating by that look, Ino..." Ino only smirked, tidying that little slip away for later.

"So, what do you think of those two, Tenten?" Ino asked, leaving an obvious and very intentional ambiguity about who 'those two' were. She turned to look at Tenten, and was surprised to see there was no-one there.

--

Neji did not move as he sensed Tenten approaching him on the outskirts of the camp. He was crouched slightly, his bag ready on his back.

" Are you ok, Neji? Sharing a tent with Lee must have been an... interesting thing to experience on your own."

"I do not see why. We both slept." His response was a emotionless as always. Tenten looked a little exasperated.

"You know, you can let your guard down when you talk to your friends. It's not like I'm an enemy ninja trying to find something to get to you with..." she sighed, and was startled when Neji turned to her and activated his byakugan. She continued to look at him quizzically when he deactivated it.

"Sorry." he said with the closest thing to a smile she had ever seen on him. "just checking." She giggled for a few seconds before looking at Neji worriedly.

"Are you feeling okay, Neji? You are aware that you just made a joke, right?" his almost-a-smile widened.

"I am perfectly fine, Tenten. Am I not allowed to let my guard down when I talk to my friends?" Tenten opened her mouth to respond, ready to point out just how out-of-character he seemed to be being this morning and ask who had prepared his food, when she found him staring into her eyes, and herself staring right back. I don't think I've ever seen such an intense shade of white... The two slowly drew together, before two rather nosy girls ruined the moment, staring at them from what they clearly thought was an inconspicuous distance of five feet away. When the two teammates looked away from each other and toward the 'intruders', the two girls waved their hands, chattering 'Oh, don't mind us' and 'Were not really here, honest'. Tenten sighed and looked back to Neji, who had replaced his emotionless mask, betrayed only by a slight coloring in his cheeks. "If everyone is perfectly ready?" he turned to look at the now ready team, more directly at Shikamaru. Although they were equal in rank, Shikamaru had been made the leader of the mission.

"Yeah, lets get this troublesome mission over so we can sleep in decent beds tonight." And with that he launched into the trees, swiftly followed by his team.

A/N there it is! Did everyone like it? Tell me, R&R! It's good for my soul...