Hey all!

Thanks so much for the reviews :D You guys rock!

You know how authors are always asking and begging and pleading for reviews…?

Well, you all know that I'm not like that.

But I really, really want to be. xD hahaha I can understand – really, truly understand – why people do that. I mean I check my Stats page every time I go online, and every time I see a higher number of reviews or even hits than before I smile and my heart does a flipflop of joy. Yay.

But I don't ASK for reviews because (even though I love getting them hahaha…hah…) I'm really prideful, and I seriously don't feel like begging for reviews… Or even asking nicely. Haha…

But sometimes I wonder if the authors who do beg in these AN's and even (shamefully) their summaries get any more reviews than the people like me who think the story should bring in reviews all by itself… Sorry if I offended anyone with that. I just wanted to get that out of my system. Haha…

Well, DISCLAIMER! As you all know… I'm not a genius like Kishimoto Masashi, so guess what? I don't own a multi-billion dollar idea like Naruto.

Too bad for me…

Thanks again!

--K

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"N-Naruto-kun p-please put m-me down," Hinata tugged at Naruto's jacket, this time without having to move her pinkie toe instead of her actual hand. Her stutter was more pronounced than before, but she could move her lips more easily to speak now. Kabuto's jutsu seemed to be wearing off.

Naruto nodded and leapt down from the tree branch to the ground. Tenderly, he placed Hinata on her own two feet and caught her when she stumbled slightly.

Hinata blushed, despite their circumstance. "Th-thank you, Naruto-kun for saving me."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and grinned. "No problem, Hinata. But before you finish thanking me, maybe we should get back to the village first. There's still a chance that Kabuto can catch us."

Hinata nodded. "Let's go then. We can't be too far away." She took a step forward and flinched as her bare foot met sharp sticks and stones.

"Alright. Let's go," said Naruto as he sprinted forward. Hinata sucked in a breath and ran after him. Naruto knew that they'd never make it back to the village if they wasted their chakra running. They had to keep a reserve of chakra in case Kabuto had managed to defeat all the kage bunshin and came after them.

"C'mon Hinata. I thought I saw the bathhouse through the woods over there," Naruto pointed as he ran. He ducked to avoid running into a branch.

Suddenly, a kunai whirred through the air and buried itself in the tree where Naruto's head had been a moment earlier. Naruto leapt away and back, glancing about him wildly for Kabuto.

Hinata ran up to Naruto. He nodded to her. She formed the appropriate seal. "Byakugan!"

Before she could focus through the layers to search for Kabuto, she saw a kunai whining directly for her and Naruto. "Naruto-kun! Look out!" Hinata pushed Naruto out of the way, and tried to leap out of the kunai's trajectory.

But she couldn't move fast enough.

The kunai skimmed her upper arm, ripping through her sweater and drawing blood.

"Hinata!" Naruto was beside her in a moment. "Are you ok?"

She grimaced and clutched her arm. Her fingers began turning red as blood seeped through her jacket.

Naruto quickly tore a thin strip of fabirc off the hem of his jacket and wrapped it tightly around Hinata's arm.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Don't thank me yet. We still have to get rid of him," Naruto's gaze sifted through the trees overhead. He turned in a full circle. "Kabuto, you coward! Come out and fight!"

"Gladly," suddenly, Kabuto materialized in front of the two genin. His glasses glinted wickedly, reflecting what little light the forest had to offer. "Unlike your Hyuuga friend, here, I prefer to face my enemy head on. Not dapple in useless tricks and amateur jutsus."

Naruto's brow darkened.

"You bastard. Don't you dare say anything about Hinata," Naruto growled between clenched teeth. "She could whip your ass before you could even blink. Don't underestimate her."

Hinata's eyes widened. Naruto-kun really believes in me. He thinks that I could take on Kabuto and win. He has faith in me. He doesn't think that I'm weak and useless. Arigatou, Naruto-kun.

Kabuto's harsh voice broke through her thoughts. "Well if she could have beat me before, why hasn't she yet?" he taunted.

A shadow passed over Naruto's face. "Hinata," he growled. "Go hide. I'm going to make this bastard pay for what he did to you."

Hinata hesitated slightly before nodding. Naruto's gaze didn't faze from Kabuto. Hinata stumbled to her feet and began to back away. She hesitated again.

Abruptly she changed direction and ran to stand next to Naruto.

"Hinata! Go hide!"

"Naruto-kun. I'm sick of hiding. Remember, you told me to never be afraid. And to never run away," Hinata raised her hands, ready for Jyuken, and did not wince when she moved her injured arm.

Naruto leaned down quickly, and Hinata felt his lips brush against her cheek. "Very good, Hinata. I never expected any less from you."

"How touching," sneered Kabuto. "Maybe you two will finally be able to be together in the next life." His hands began forming a series of hand seals.

Hinata activated her Byakugan. Kabuto's chakra system appeared. He had somehow healed the chakra points that she had blocked earlier. Hinata frowned. The only way that she would be able to bring him down would be to stop all of his chakra points at once. Good thing that Neji-nii-san had finally taught–

"Die!" shouted Kabuto as he leapt forward, slashing with his chakra-scalpel hands. Naruto and Hinata jumped away.

"Look out, Naruto-kun. He uses his chakra like a knife," warned Hinata. She dodged another blow from Kabuto. Naruto nodded.

"I know. I've fought him before."

"But, Naruto-kun, you didn't know that I had this jutsu," Kabuto performed another string of seals.

He turned suddenly and leapt at Hinata. Hinata recognized it as the same formation of chakra as before when he had interfered with her body functions.

She dodged away, ducking, then gliding to the right, then left. Kabuto followed her movements with uncanny precision. Suddenly, he found a weakness in her defenses, and thrust forwards, aiming for her chest. Hinata tried to back up, but tripped over a tree root.

She reeled backwards, and Kabuto's hand passed over her head.

Kabuto raised his hand again to perform a finishing strike, but suddenly, a blur of orange and black knocked him over.

Naruto pushed off Kabuto's body and flipped through the air, landing in a crouch. Kabuto didn't fall, but performed a back handspring and landed on his feet.

Naruto began to stand up. "Stop picking on Hinata, you –" suddenly, Naruto toppled over and lay helplessly splayed on the ground.

Kabuto pushed on the bridge of his glasses. "Looks like you came in contact with my hands after all. That's the jutsu that your Tsunade-sama used on me in our last fight. Quite the annoyance, but it also comes in handy. Like now. Your brain won't respond accordingly to your body functions."

Kabuto turned back to Hinata. She glared back at him. "How dare you use that on Naruto-kun!"

"Don't worry my dear little Hyuuga," Kabuto smirked at her distress. "you're next."

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Haha… Another cliff hanger…

Did you guys ACTUALLY think that I'd let you off? ;D hahahaha…..

Jkjk.

Well, I decided to take pity on you all and post this…

I know that dealing with cliff hangers is never fun.

I'm guilty of reading only completed fan fictions, even though I've read some REALLY GOOD WIP ones… The suspense and sense of longing for completion and sweet peace kills me inside and I can't concentrate in school… (Hahah, yeah, my friends tell me all the time that I'm weird.)

But I'm glad that you all don't feel like I do because then I wouldn't be getting so many hits and I wouldn't have so much support now. :D

So thanks for being more patient than I am, all of you.

You guys rock.

--K