I don't own Naruto.

Last chapter was a little short, but I was just anxious to start up my story again, so I stopped it early. Now it continues. I hope this gets up fast enough for everyone.

A Hero Steps Back

"Where are we going?"

"Water country." He said simply, helping her into the boat as if he had always been a gentleman. Sakura was astonished at his sudden change in behavior. She didn't question it, for fear that it might go away.

Naruto and Hinata were heading along the coastline at ninja speed. From what they recalled from the academy, they were headed to earth country. It was a long journey, but at ninja speed they could reach it in less than a week, even with a few stops along the way.

Naruto noticed Hinata was messing with something on her head. He turned to her just in time to see her finish adjusting her new headband. She blushed when she realized he was looking at her, but he didn't notice. "It looks good on you." he said with a smile, before putting his own on. Actually, he was just glad she bothered to wear it.

"Let's camp here, it's getting pretty dark." Naruto suggested, walking over to the edge of a cliff. Hinata stopped running as well, and walked towards him. "We left Lightning country about an hour ago, so-" she froze as she reached the edge of the cliff. She was now standing next to Naruto, looking out at the most beautiful view of the ocean she had ever seen. Orange light danced on the water as a gentle breeze blew through her hair. The moment ended when the sun sank behind some mountains to the west, and her mind returned to reality.

"It's dark now, we should get camp set up…" She shivered. "…and it's getting pretty cold. There must be a North wind that's blowing the cold ocean air all along the continent's northern coast."

Naruto began unpacking the tent and setting it up. Even with his intelligence, it didn't take long for him to realize: they didn't bring a tent! "Umm…Hinata? I…uhh…sorta forgot to bring a tent." he said, hoping she wouldn't take it too badly. She didn't seem to mind all that much. Of course she was disappointed in having to sleep on the ground, but she didn't blame Naruto for it.

They picked spots on the ground that seemed to be a little more comfortable—whether it was because of soft grass, or because of a lack of rocks—and lay down trying to sleep. Naruto unexpectedly broke the silence a few minutes later.

"Hinata, tomorrow we'll train some before continuing. I wanna see if I can figure out that jutsu from before." It wasn't until now that he realized the scroll had been on his back the entire trip, so he took it off and placed it down in front of him where he could see it. It wasn't long after before they were fast asleep.

Sasuke woke up early the next morning, to find that the wind had stopped. Their boat wasn't moving. Well, might as well get some training in. he thought, before stepping out of the boat onto the calm water. He walked far enough away that the boat (or Sakura) wouldn't get hit, but close enough that it was easily within eyesight. He made several hand seals, and began perfecting the jutsu he had learned when they left Konoha. He could successfully use it now, but its power and accuracy weren't very good. He began working on accuracy first.

Sakura woke up a little later, futilely trying to hold onto that last wisp of a pleasant dream that never wants to stay. Finally giving up, she opened her eyes to notice something wrong. Where's Sasuke-kun?! We're on a boat, he couldn't have just left. Did he fall overboard?! What if he can't swim?! Before she could heroically dive into the water, however, she noticed a red glow out of the corner of her eye, turning just in time to see a few bits of flame fade from existence. Ohhhh…theeeere's Sasuke, standing on the water. Wait, what?

"Sasuke-kun!" she yelled loud enough for him to hear her. "When did you learn to walk on water like that?"

"When I was little!" he yelled back, not used to using such a loud voice. "My dad taught me!"

"Can you teach me?" she asked. If it weren't for the fact that they were in the middle of the ocean, they would both be embarrassed to yell back and forth like this. "Sure!" he replied with a final yell before returning to the boat.

Why is he so nice all of a sudden? She couldn't help but wonder as he started instructing her.

Naruto woke up to realize something was different. When his eyes finally got focused and he began to think better, he realized that the scroll was no longer in front of him. He adjusted his head slightly to see where Hinata had been sleeping. She was also gone, but this calmed him a bit as the most obvious possible scenario popped into his mind. She must have woken up before me and wanted to work on the jutsu she learned from the scroll.

As he thought this, he realized that he had slept very comfortably last night, despite the cold. Wait, that's another thing. It's really warm… He then realized the truth of the situation. The scroll was still where he had left it. Hinata was still in her spot. The difference was, so was he!

A quick looked confirmed it. Hinata was sleeping peacefully against his chest with his arms wrapped around her. As comfortable as he was, he knew he had to move before she woke up. Trying his best not to wake her, he began to pull his arms away when he heard something that he didn't expect to hear.

"Don't leave." was the begging request that came from the soft bundle he had been holding. She was now holding his arm in place where it had been, her closed eyes showing that she was awake, but at the same time still half-asleep. All he could do, all he wanted to do, was lay there and enjoy the warmth that protected them both from the chilly morning air.

Sasuke was amazed at how quickly she picked it up. He had to catch her once when she stepped out of the boat, which resulted in a blush from her, but other than that, she had it down perfectly. She might actually end up being a great shinobi after all…

"Naruto-kun," she called to him as he failed another attempt at getting his technique to do anything. They hadn't spoken of that morning yet, both still needed a little time to think things out, but for now Naruto was training while Hinata reviewed the scroll. "You're performing the jutsu correctly, you're just using the wrong target." she happily explained. "It says that jutsu only works on things created with chakra." She put the scroll down and made some had signs, placing her hands on the ground afterward. A wall of rock as tall as her and five times as wide grew from the ground in front of her.

Naruto stared for a moment. He hadn't really known which jutsu she had chosen to learn until now. He then gave her a questioning look, not realizing why she was doing this.

Hinata positioned herself directly between him and the wall, with about ten feet between her and Naruto. "Try your technique on this wall." she said with a grin.

I know she's been less timid lately, and she stopped stuttering, but this is too much. "You want me to use it on you?!" he questioned, receiving only a nod. "But what if it hurts you?"

"I already told you it won't, silly. Trust me." He trusted her. A bit reluctantly, he used the jutsu, swing his arm in her direction. A gentle breeze blew her hair a little, but nothing really happened.

"You did it, Naruto-kun!" she said excitedly. Seeing him confused, she turned around and walked over to the wall. With a small push, the top half of the wall fell to the ground. The wall was cut cleanly in half. They both walked over to a tree and leaned against it, and Hinata began to blush slightly. Now was the time to talk about that morning.

"Naruto-kun, "

"Hinata, about this morning, I'm sorry, I don't even remember how I ended up there, but why did you stop me from leaving?"

A furious blush swept across her face as she thought of words to explain. She thought of none, but he was sitting next to her, waiting for her answer, so she answered him. "N—Naruto-kun, I've wanted—I've wanted you to hold me f-for so l-long. I—I just—didn't know if you ever would again. P—please, please don't b—be mad. I just—I just want to be with you."

Naruto felt an unfamiliar feeling, one he couldn't pt a name to. Looking down at the beautiful girl sitting beside him, he had to say something. She looked scared, scared of what he would think, of how he may respond. He couldn't let her be scared. He couldn't let her feel hurt. "Hinata-chan…"

She looked up at him instantly with hopeful lavender eyes, begging him to him to continue in that same tone of voice that made her question if this was just a dream. Begging him not to throw in a 'but' or an 'even though' somewhere in his answer to a question she hadn't asked.

"…I'll always be with you." He leaned towards her slightly, doing what he felt was right. The moment was ruined, however, when he realized she had fainted, and was lying on the ground, her face a shade of crimson rivaled by nothing he had ever seen. He gently carried her to where they had slept, and went to wet a cloth in to ocean, not caring about the arduous climb he had to endure in both directions. When he returned, he placed the wet cloth on her head, and sat next to her, only able to think how beautiful she looked while she lay peacefully in the scattered sunlight.

The wind had picked up, and Sasuke and Sakura had reached the shores of Water country the next morning. An unknown figure approached them as they disembarked from the boat on a remote shore.

"Well, Sasuke-kun, you and your little friend seem to have made it here quite quickly."

"Who are you, and what do you want with us?" Sasuke questioned, stepping forward and drawing a kunai.

"Now now, Sasuke-kun, is that any way to make new friends? You really would be happier if you smiled once in a while, but then again, that's why I'm here…I can't have you happy, now can I?"

"Who are you, and what do you want?" Sasuke repeated, starting to feel angry. The stranger, had grey hair in a ponytail, and wore large glasses. His face and voice both gave him a kind appearance, but his words said otherwise.

No answer came, and Sasuke lost control of his anger. He charged straight at the man with the kunai, disappearing in time to avoid the multiple shuriken thrown at him, and reappearing behind him angle, still in a full sprint towards the stranger. By the time he was close enough to strike with the kunai, the man had already turned and blocked his attack.

As he blocked, a shocked expression overtook the man's face. There was a kunai embedded deep in the center of his back. When did he? When he dodged the shuriken? I didn't even notice him throw it, I was already turning around before he even moved. I'll need to be a little more careful…

The stranger smiled as he disappeared in a puff of smoke. At the same time, Sasuke heard a yell, and knew he had just made a big mistake. "Sakura-chan!" he yelled, rushing to the boat without a second thought.

As he arrived at the boat, he was horrified at what he found. Sakura's body lay in the sand, covered in blood and skewered from head to toe with senbon. A voice called to him seemingly out of nowhere: "My name is Yakushi Kabuto. I trust you'll remember it." The voice then seemed to fade away, leaving no trace that Kabuto had ever been there, except for the body of Haruno Sakura laying motionless in the sand.

End of chapter 5

There now wasn't that a bittersweet chapter? I'm already working on the next one, so try not to complain about the chapter length. I like how this chapter turned out. So…what'dya think?

Please leave a review! Comments, questions, rants, something! I need inspiration to write and the last chapter I wrote got no reviews! 0.0