Disclaimer: Although I wish I did, I do not own Naruto. –tears-

Refresher:

Iruka smiled and then leaned forwards, Kakashi also had leaned forward, without a second thought, Iruka's soft, tanned lips touched Kakashi's clothed ones. They broke apart (unwillingly) and nodded to each other. Kakashi held out a hand. Iruka twined his fingers in the jounin's and smiled.

"See you tomorrow then Kakashi-san."

Kakashi nodded and felt Iruka's fingers relax. He smiled and then they both built up chakra and were gone, leaving a small cloud of dust in their wake.

Naruto was awake late the next morning, the exhausting day yesterday had tired him out, not to mention that he'd trained after Iruka had sent them on their way. Much to Naruto's disappointment, Sakura hadn't even noticed. She'd just turned her head and looked worriedly at Sasuke and Kakashi. Naruto yawned, his eyes closed into thin lines as he fell asleep sitting up on his bed, one hand, already on the way to rub the sleep clouds from his eye, fell back down limply into his lap. Naruto awoke again as something crashed against his door. He startled, wiggling his arms as he fell off the bed, eyes twitching in agitation as the knocking went on. He grumbled, taking off his sleeping hat and walked over to the door. He looked at the tinted glass that gave him a view of his unknown assailant.

He grumpily looked at the door. His blue eyes squinted, he spotted a fairly rounded the top of his head and looked slightly feminine. Is it Sakura…? Naruto wondered silently, he didn't ever think that Sakura had ever come to his home before. He'd always been the one who went over to her house, Only to be rejected each and every time… Naruto's insistent voice of nastiness rang in his ears. He twitched them slightly and sniffed at the air, not that he had a good sense of smell, more or less, it was to make up for that lack of smell. He frowned, apparently thinking who would ever visit his home at this hour. Naruto of course, didn't know that it was nearly seven in the morning. A bit later than he usually slept, he placed his hand on the door and opened it slowly.

His blue eyes widened in surprise, what was she doing here? He spotted her navy blue hair and sighed softly. He thought it was someone else. Her smile, which was kinda cute on her face, faded when she heard his sigh, she looked at the ground, saddened that he wasn't glad to see her. Naruto looked at her, and suddenly blurted out,

"Hinata-chan, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, nothing Naruto-kun. I just wanted to see how you were doing. I-I-I mean, I heard about yesterday…"

Naruto smiled and looked at Hinata, she was a bold one, was that because she was so small and frail? He knew she had more inner strength than Neji, who he'd recently found out was her cousin. But that whole cousin thing still confused him, mainly because she still called him 'Big Brother Neji.' He smiled as he thought of her bravery, he'd watched her a bit, but it puzzled him why she always wanted to be with him. He'd always thought about Sakura. He lifted a hand in a care-free gesture and smiled broadly,

"Wow Hinata-chan, I didn't think anyone knew!"

"Oh…Kiba-kun told me."

"Kiba-kun told you? I haven't seen him in the past few days…"

"Oh!"

Hinata suddenly blushed, she didn't want Naruto to know about her love for him, she blushed and turned away from him, looking over her shoulder, she rushed away, suddenly extremely shy. She rounded the corner, leaving a very confused Naruto in her wake. Naruto's hand fell from the back of his head as he looked puzzled. One could almost see the question mark hovering above his head. How odd for her to talk about Kiba. I haven't seen him at all this week, how could he know about our riding horses? Naruto wondered, Then again, he does have good sense of smell, and he really doesn't live that far away from me. Or was it Akamaru who smelt me? Naruto wondered again, his hand crept up his body and a finger idly scratched at his face in utter confusion. He hadn't been aware of Akamaru following him…Naruto wakened suddenly, there had been a flash of red hair just now! He quickly walked over to move around the corner. A question easily seen on his constantly-confused features.

But nothing could prepare him for the shock that he saw.

"Hinata-kun! What are you doing with him?"

Naruto asked before he thought. He was just in a state of shock. There was Hinata, and innocent girl who wanted someone she loved to love her back (she'd found one of course), Naruto always had wanted her to be with someone who'd make her feel safe and loved (of course it never occurred to him that he could be the one who could do that for her). But him? Hinata broke away from her lover's soft grip and spun, looking at Naruto, tears stained her white eyes. She cast her gaze at the ground and fumbled for an excuse. But the man she'd been hugging stepped forward and calmly placed a hand on her shoulder. His aquamarine eyes were calm, his face held a hint of a smile. His red hair danced, slightly covering the tattoo on his head. Naruto stared in disbelief.

Sabaku no Gaara.

Gaara of the Sand.

Here? Why was he here?

Naruto's hands bunched at his side in anger. He'd misunderstood the situation. He turned and looked at Hinata, she looked so scared; so vulnerable. He'd never let that monster hurt her! His dull mind kicked into high alert as he wakened fully. Gone was the sleepiness of the blonde-haired genin. Now there was a barely restrained demon on alert and read to protect his friend till the end.

Gaara looked at him, his blue-green eyes flicked her to Hinata. He watched Naruto a moment, slightly amused by the display of emotions when before he'd only spurned her perfect love. Hinata was perfect for him, he was perfect for her; that was all there was to it. She was gentle and calm, willing to wait and kind when he needed it. Most of all though; he loved her. Gaara's hand slid protectively around her waist. There was no way in hell Naruto would take her from him. Hinata gently lay her soft hands on his shoulder and turned her face into his red shirt. He smiled, his other hand reaching up, and to the utter surprise of Naruto, lay it gently on her hair.

Of course, the two lovers have forgotten about Naruto.

Naruto growled when the Sand Kazkage's hand moved up along the Hyuuga's hair. He growled and spoke suddenly, his voice raw with anger and suppressed fury,

"Get away from her!"

"Naruto-kun, it's alright."

Hinata's soft voice startled both of them, she turned her white eyes to look at Naruto, there was sadness there yes, but mostly, there was peace and lots of love. Naruto suddenly knew why she acted the way she did around him. He looked from her to Gaara, utterly confused once more. He relaxed and brought a hand up to rub idly at his head,

"What's going on here Hinata-kun?"

"Naruto-kun…I-I-.."

She suddenly grew shy once again and shrunk against Gaara's warm side, protecting her blushing face, she clung to Gaara's long sleeved red jacket. Gaara calmly protected her, she was shy; he was bold. She needed to be protected, and Gaara was her protector. He would stand up to any enemy, if only to see her again. He'd die before he gave her up once more. He'd never known love before. Now he did, and he didn't want that to go away. Ever. He spoke in her place, his voice calm and even.

"She is mine, Naruto."

Naruto stared uncomprehendingly at the two still; the point hadn't gotten crossed to him. He tilted his head slightly, looking like a confused dog who has been given a command that he doesn't understand. He looked at the two; Hinata's soft navy hair was gently rubbing along Gaara's red outfit. He was puzzled, confused even, what as she doing with him? He sighed, he was about to speak when Gaara's soft voice popped up, startling the genin out of whatever thought he'd been having at the moment.

"We are, in essence, 'girl-friend' and 'boy-friend'."

THAT got threw to the maverick. He jumped back, face shocked, his mouth hung slightly open as his eyes widened with comprehension, he called out suddenly,

"NANI!"

He looked at Hinata, who turned her face towards him, tears stained her cheeks where she'd been trying not to cry, she looked at Naruto, slowly, as if fearing his reaction she nodded her head slowly. Gaara went on, un-deterred by Naruto's comment,

"Yes Naruto-kun, Hinata is mine."

"When….-Why!"

"When is easily enough to answer, she was training out on the field one day, I happened to be watching, as I had watched before, and every time she had practiced. She found me, and we knew we loved each other. As to why, it just is."

"But…but…"

"He's right Naruto-kun."

They both looked at Hinata, she stood by herself now, her hand still clasped with Gaara's though, she held her head up, looking bolder, as bold as she had when she'd fought Neji. Naruto watched her, this day was turning out so confusing. He looked at her and struggled to gain a smile on his face,

"But…but…why?"

"Because I love him Naruto-kun."

"But why him?"

"She can't answer that Naruto-kun."

"She can too! Who are you to tell her what she can and cannot say!"

"Because neither of us can find the right words."

"Nani?"

"Naruto, simply put, neither of us understand why we like each other. We just do."

"Like the lion and the lamb."

Naruto sighed, they were both confusing him now. He turned back and sighed,

"Well, I suppose it's alright, but why did you guys come and see me?"

Gaara had been wondering the same question, but now, he thought he knew the answer. Looking at Hinata, he grasped her hand warmly and smiled slightly. He watched her, she was the bravest person he knew. He nodded his head, silently encouraging her to speak her mind. She glanced at him, her left hand coming up towards her mouth, she looked like a shy child. Gaara just wanted to hug her and take away her fear. Show her that she had nothing to fear as long as he was near her. He'd never let anything happen to her. Ever.

Hinata stood upright, her clothes rustled a bit as she made her stand. She had to tell Naruto. She really had to tell him. It was now or never, before she lost all her long-built nerve.

"Naruto…I used to love you…"

"Eh? Could you speak up Hinata-chan? I really can't hear you."

"Naruto, I used to love you…a lot. But you never even looked my way. I had to move on, I did, I mean, I found Gaara-san."

"…"

"And I came here to see if I really did still love you. I had to make sure I was totally over you."

"…Hinata-chan…"

"And I found out, I really am over you."

Naruto was shocked, Hinata had liked him? Was that why her sensei had smiled and told hi to take the medication she'd given him at the chuunin exam? He was shocked, his blue eyes widened in his state of apparent shock. Gaara looked at Hinata and held her close to his chest. He looked at Naruto for a moment, then turned his head to looked at Hinata,

"Shall we go love?"

Hinata merely nodded her head against Gaara's strong chest. Gaara's, still holding the girl with one hand, preformed a chakra building seal and the two of them vanished in a whirl of sand.

Naruto stared at the spot where was two had stood for some time. He looked at that spot and then suddenly blinked and turned and walked slowly back to his room. He dressed and ate something, his mind still on the couple. Who'd have thought? He sighed and looked at the mirror in his bathroom. He rubbed his eyes, a finger idly traced the 'whisker' on his cheek. He turned suddenly, knowing that he had to. He had to tell everyone! A Sand, and a Leaf? It was unheard of! He turned and looked his home, then marched out, fully dressed in his usual garb.

He headed for the stables, the same as the day before, he sighed and waited, Sakura was already there and he decided it was the right time to talk to her about what was on his mind, he turned to the pink-haired girl and stuttered a moment,

"Sakura-chan?" At last he said softly, she turned to look at him, searching his sapphire gaze with her emerald gaze. "Hai?" She asked softly.

"Can I ask you something?" She looked slightly surprised at that, Naruto wondered why that could be. Naruto sighed and then suddenly he blurted out, "Gaara-sama and Hinata-chan are going out!"

Sakura's face never changed, then it broke, she smiled, smiled, it startled Naruto, "What's the matter?" He asked finally.

"Naruto, you dunce," She started, "They've been 'going out' since the end of the chuunin exam."

Naruto stared at her in open-mouthed shock. He looked like a fish gasping for air, Sakura laughed at him. "Don't look so shocked Naruto." She said as she turned and looked for Kakashi, Sasuke, and Iruka. Naruto huffed slightly, but soon became quite.

Sasuke came a half an hour later, showing no signs of his ordeal yesterday, he didn't say anything and pointedly ignored Naruto as if he wasn't even there. Naruto did the same; it made Sakura upset. She sighed, "Oh! What's the matter this time?" She demanded. They both looked at her, equally shocked at her tones. "Well?" She asked, demanding an answer.

"I-I-I, u-um…well…" Naruto struggled to say something.

Sasuke didn't bother to say anything at all, he regained his 'cool' composure and went back to his silent brooding. Naruto snorted angrily and Sakura sighed in frustration.

"Glad to see everyone's in one piece!"

A voice called from down the road, they both look up to see Kakashi heading their way, all of them sighed angrily and ignored him. Kakashi turned to Iruka and sighed, shaking his head, then looked at the trio. He smiled and called out to them, "Why the long faces everyone?"

All three of them threw him a dark look.

Kakashi had to admit, Sakura's face scared him the most. But he smiled and looked at them happily. "Iruka will be along shortly, he had some other matters to be taken care of." He said, not that any of them besides Naruto cared really.

"Shall we start?" Asked Kakashi, the trio nodded and headed into the stables. Kakashi smiled, "We aren't saddling them today, not at all," He started, drawing curious looks from Naruto and Sakura. "Instead we are going to work on teaming up with the horses." He said. He could have sworn that Sasuke jumped, which drew a faint chuckle from Kakashi.

"Right, so, everyone, spread out and look for you horses." Kakashi said softly, walking off in the direction of the horse stalls.

Sasuke grumbled softly, reminded of his incident yesterday, he sighed and tried to act bored, but he kept jumping whenever a horse so much as snorted or moved. He sighed, he had to focus, he needed to relax and think about the situation. He noticed his mount over by the others, in fact, the only horse not there was Naruto's horse, which suited Sasuke very nicely. He entered Honey Snapper's stall with some hesitation. He greeted the horse as he watched Sakura, he did the same as she did. Honey Snapper snorted and returned to eating the alfalfa in the blue bucket, Sasuke didn't know whether he should be offended, or glad that the horse's attention was no longer on him. He finally decided that he didn't care.

Sakura strode confidently into the stalls, she smiled and greeted any head that came at her, she smiled, feeling utterly relaxed and happy; she'd always loved horses, but you'd never hear her admit that aloud. She finally found the stall of her beloved mare Snow Fall, she grinned, happy that Sasuke's stall was to her right, and Kakashi's stall was to her left, it meant she could keep a close eye on both of the injured; which was what she planned to do. She greeted the gray mare with a hand under the muzzle, then she slowly went over the horse, checking to see what got her angry. She smiled when the mare started to relax, "You know," She commented to the mare, her voice soft, Snow Fall cocked an ear back at her, clearly listening, "Horses are a lot like people." An audible snort from Snow Fall brought a smile to the genin's face. "It's true, horses have what sets them off, what annoys them, and so do humans!" She smiled and fondled the mare's mane, evening it out and making it look nicer than it had to start with.

Naruto huffed as he jogged along the stalls, still unable to locate his horse, "Nightmare!" He called out suddenly, "Where is that horse?" He asked himself, looking chronically confused ( as usual ). He balled his fists at his side, "I'll find him! –Believe it!" He said loudly, drawing some interesting glances from the horses to him. He chuckled, "I guess I said that a bit too loud didn't I?" He said with a laugh, one of the horses actually answered the moron. Naruto smiled, his blue eyes scanned the stalls and looked for that familiar black face, he sighed and called out the horse's name again, "Nightmare!" He called, suddenly it was answered by a brassy, sassy call. He turned and looked behind him, into a stall he'd passed because he thought it was empty. He walked back and spotted the stallion, he grinned, "Heya boy! How'ya feeling today?" He asked happily.

Nightmare snorted and lunged at him, Naruto yelped as the horse's sharp teeth clacked together on his skin, "Ouch!" He cried out and jerked back, Nightmare let go of the boy's orange jacket. Naruto closed one eye and glared at the horse, who glared back at him. They both snorted at each other and Naruto entered the stall. He pulled the halter about the stallion's face, taking a moment to figure out where the horses' muzzle went and what part went over Nightmare's ears. He finally buckled the halter on and led the stallion out of the stall.

He led the stallion over to where the others were, Kakashi stood beside Snap. All three of them were surprised to notice that there was no control going on between the two, at least, no physical control. Snap had no halter over his head, no form or contraption that would enable the man who stood next to the gelding to control him if the horse went wild.

Sakura was the first to recovered, but before she got a chance to talk, Kakashi spoke, "I'm sure all of you have noticed that I'm not touching the horse, the very same horse that would have gladly bit my head off and eaten me for breakfast yesterday." He said, looking at the student's faces.

Naruto spoke first, "But…how?" He stammered, Kakashi smiled, "I'll teach you. First off, each of you, tie your horse's over there, Naruto, tie Nightmare away from the others please." Kakashi instructed them, they all complied, but Naruto came him a look before he complied.

"Alright now, come over here everyone!" Kakashi called to them, they all crowded around the arena where Kakashi and Snap stood. They all stared, eyes riveted on the man and the horse, Kakashi brought up a rope from his hand (it had been unseen by all of them) and he snapped it at the hindquarters of the gelding. Snap snorted and kicked up his heels, bucking out, but he walked around the arena (which was circular). They all stared at this, wondering what in the world Kakashi was doing this time.

"HIY!" Kakashi called suddenly, startling Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura and Snap. The genin jumped off the fence, and Snap jumped into a fast gallop, ears pinned to his skull, Kakashi smiled (or so they guessed, it was kinda hard to read the expression on the man's face). The gelding soon showed signs of wanting to slow, but Kakashi kept him at the gallop, forcing the horse to slowly tire. When the horse suddenly lifted his ears and looked at the man, Kakashi stopped, the jounin instantly turned from the horse, lowering his shoulders as he did so.

Snap stood there a moment, then slowly plodded towards the horse, then nosed the man on the back of the neck. Then he lay his large and bulky head on the jounin's shoulder and snorted, they stood like that for a few moments, each riveted on each other.

It made all three of the students gasp and hold their breath.

Naruto was waiting for the moment to pass, he wanted to see Kakashi get bitten.

Sakura didn't want the beautiful moment to ever break.

Sasuke was unnerved, would he have to allow a horse that close when he was defenseless like that? He didn't think so.

Kakashi smiled and broke the contact, he walked towards the gate, to the surprise of the students, Snap followed behind Kakashi like Akamaru followed Kiba.

"How did you do that Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, Kakashi turned and looked at her, "I'll show you." He said, "Did all of you watch what I did?" All of them; he noted, even Sasuke nodded. He curved his eye up into a 'happy face' "Good, I want all of you to practice this. Separately. You can see there are three different arenas," He pointed at the far left one, "Naruto, you're over there," He pointed to the middle one, Sasuke tensed, as if he knew it would be him, "Sakura, you're in the middle." Sasuke relaxed, "So I get the last one?" He asked in his somewhat bored voice, Kakashi looked at him, "Well, I suppose you can have that one." He said, looking up at the sky, "Well, I'll be watching and helping out if you need it." Kakashi said, then strode past them, Snap following him like a docil puppy.

Naruto grinned, "Alright! I'm going to beat you at this Sasuke – Believe it!" He said exuberantly, Sasuke looked at him, "Wait, wait, I think I've heard this one before." He said, then added, "But you won't, in what world could you have beaten me?" He asked, then strode off to collect his best. Sakura smiled, Sasuke was so cool! She grinned and went to grab Snow Fall.

Naruto stood there for so long Kakashi called out to him, "Are you frozen from fear? Or are you just waiting for dramatics?" Naruto looked over at Kakashi and grinned, "Nope, I'm giving Sasuke a head-start!" He said evily, then walked off to get Nightmare.

Pansk: Well, so much for chapter 5, the next three chapters are going to be a bit different if anyone minds, because, I plan on writing one chapter per experience, if you know what I mean.

For example, the next chapter is going to be about Sakura's 'joining up' with Snow Fall, then I'll re-wind time and do Naruto's 'joining up' with Nightmare, and finally, I'll write Sasuke's part. Which gives me three more chapters…so that takes me to chapter…8. Horray!

R&R PLEASE! –begs– I would like to improve!

Referring to When the Sun Sets the story about Gaara and Hinata I wrote…remember? If you haven't read it, please do.