I, Artsysmiles, have decided to go to court to prove that I so do own Naruto. This will be a recurring disclaimer. Until then, Naruto does not belong to me. That is all.

Well, I almost gave up on this story. Not permanently, but just until I finished one of my other ones. And then, as if he could sense my western interest failing, my dad rented two four to nine hour long cowboy movies! So the muse cannot escape! And I have produced another chapter!

Also, part of this chapter might seem like Shika/Saku, but they just have a really, really close friendship. This is entirely Sasu/Saku, with maybe a one sided Naru/Saku.

Sakura sneezed again, this time sighing and rubbing her nose.

"Oh yeah. There are definitely some people who want to kill me," she grumbled.

Sakura waved to Temari and began the mile long trek back to Hime Ranch; Temari was going to be dropped off at Insomniac Ranch. Her walk was too dangerous, so the bus always picked and dropped off her and her brothers there. And that is why on most days, Sakura walked home alone.

"God!" she exclaimed after sneezing some more. "I think I get that I'm in trouble now!"

The sun was unbearably hot as Sakura kept walking home, spirits lifting once her ranch came into view. But her jaw dropped when she saw what awaited her arrival.

Freddy had gotten loose.

"Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit shit!!" cussed Naruto as he chased after the stallion; Sasuke was strapped to the horse's back. Naruto had thought that maybe sticking Sasuke on Freddy's back while grazing would get him some respect from the animal, and...things had not gone as planned. "I am so dead! Sasuke's gonna kill me! Sakura's gonna revive me then kill me! And then her psycho horse is gonna maul me! Shit!"

Shikamaru had already calculated a plan: force the horse towards Sakura-he could see her in the distance-and yank Sasuke off as she controlled the horse. They were almost done the first half of the plan, until Sasuke went all macho and tried reigning Freddy in. Thus resulting in Naruto cussing like a madman as he sprinted after the horse and boy.

"DOBE! GET ME OFF OF HERE!" yelled Sasuke, clinging desperately to Freddy's coal black mane. Sweat was trickling down his brow as the horse galloped on the range, nearing a very familiar shape. Sakura! Shit! I'm so screwed!

"OMIGOD!" yelled the pink haired teen as she started running towards Sasuke and Freddy. "Come towards me!" As if by some miracle, Sasuke managed to steer the horse towards Sakura, slowing once Freddy recognized the shouting person.

Sasuke hopped off as Freddy slowed to a stop. He muttered a quiet 'hn', brushing some dirt off of his T-shirt.

"Thank kami you're ok!" yelled Sakura as she ran toward him, arms outstretched. Oh, who am I to argue with a scary woman. Sasuke opened his arms as well, anticipating the hug. "I was so worried!" cried Sakura as she flung her arms around Freddy's neck. "Don't scare me like that again." Freddy gave a soft nicker, ready for Sakura to hop onto his back. She did, and was about to ride away when Sasuke grabbed her wrist.

"Don't I get a ride?" he asked. She looked puzzled for a moment, then realization dawned on her.

"Oh! No," Sakura said, cooing quietly to her horse.

"What! Why not?" exclaimed Sasuke. "I'm not walking that entire way back!"

"I do a longer walk every day. And while it was my fault for forgetting what a monster my baby here can be to strangers, once you discovered he was dangerous, you should have stayed away," stated Sakura. "I'll make Freddy walk slowly, but you'll have to keep up."

"Please can I have a ride?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Ugh. Fine."

"Really?"

"No."

Sasuke frowned, but said nothing. Like us all, he didn't want to fight a losing battle.

Sakura locked Freddy in his stall before turning to walk out of the barn and change out of her school clothes. She had barely made it five steps out of it when her back hit the wooden wall of the barn, pale hands on either side of her face. She rose her pink haired head to stare straight into Sasuke's dark, onyx eyes.

"Can I help you?" she drawled, her faint country accent appearing as she spoke. Sasuke remainded silent, but his face now possessed a glare. "If not, then I'm going to go change." She slid down to the ground and rose up on the other side of Sasuke's arms, only to be trapped again by said arms.

"Why did you pair me up with your psycho horse?" he asked. Sakura's green eyes widened as she gasped.

"It speaks!" Her mouth curled up into a mocking smile as Sasuke hung his head, clearly annoyed at her mockery.

"Hn," he growled. "Answer the damn question."

"Like I already told Temari, I forgot what a pain Freddy can be to new people, boys, adults, boys, dogs, boys, bad people, and did I mention boys?" said Sakura, still smiling. Sasuke's left eye twitched.

"You forgot?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Uh, yeah. Is that so hard to believe?" she asked. Sasuke opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then closed it as he saw the conversation going nowhere. "Well," her nice tone disappeared as she stared him in the eye, "I have to change. So, if you would please release me, we can begin our H.A.R.P. lesson."

Sasuke complied, the two glared at each other, and Sakura marched away.

Sakura walked out of the barn, leading Freddy, a more docile mare named Stranger, named after the man who killed many teenage girls, and Sasuke. Stranger was Sasuke's horse to ride; Shika was already on the gelding Jason, named after the famed masked murderer, and Naruto rode another mare called Bonnie, like the others, she was named after a famed thieving murderer.

Freddy, as we already know, is a tall, coal black stallion with red/brown eyes. Stranger, while being a calm mare, can still act up if need be. With her gentle brown eyes, short stature, and palomino coat, it makes you wonder why she's named after a murderer. The same goes for the gelding, Jason. Jason has a soft, grey coat, and dark, black eyes. Unlike the rebellious Freddy or docile Stranger, Jason is a combination of both, height and behavior included, depending on whose handling him. And finally Bonnie, the mare Naruto found himself on. While Freddy was born and raised on Hime Ranch, and Jason and Stranger are siblings sold from the Hebi Breeders-run and owned by Orochimaru, Bonnie was born a wild filly, out of a wild mare by a wild stallion. Her buckskin coat makes her the envy of many horse owners. And though she is also a wild horse like her companions, none of the three can compare to Freddy.

Sakura stopped in front of the corral, and began to instruct their first real H.A.R.P. lesson. She quick handed Sasuke Stranger's reigns, and mounted Freddy as an example for the lesson.

"Now, Shika and Naruto have already mastered mounting and dismounting, but you need to practice. Naruto," said the girl, missing the way the blonde blushed when she said his name, "show Sasuke how to properly dismount from a horse."

"Alright," said Naruto as he swung a leg over the saddle, placed his hands on said saddle, and gently landed on the ground. "And that's why I'm the best!" Sakura rolled her eyes, but nonetheless admitted that Naruto was correct.

"Now, you saw me mount my beautiful, wonderful, amazing, , gorgeous, obedient, angelic-"

"We get it," interrupted Sasuke.

Sakura frowned, but shortened her speech anyway. "-horse Freddy during our...prior meeting." Insert a glare at everyone but Shikamaru. "Now, mount Stranger." Sasuke mounted, smirking at his triumph. "Wrong way," said Sakura, covering her mouth in order to stifle a giggle.

"Hn."

"Now that Sasuke has fixed his mount, let's go out on the range!" said Sakura, smiling at the idea of galloping out on the terrain.

"Yeah! Let's go!" cheered Naruto, eager at anything the woman suggested.

The four riders trotted out on the range, Sakura in front, Shika next to her, and Naruto and Sasuke following the two. Naruto was content to talk about his 'Sakura-chan', and Sasuke was fine with planning an escape/murder, whichever worked out better.

"And I mean, did you see the way she handled Freddy? Wo-ow!" sighed Naruto.

"Hn," muttered Sasuke, still annoyed at said female.

"Geeze, Sasuke. Why can't you just admit she's damn hot!" exclaimed Naruto. "I mean, come on. Look at that." He pointed his index finger at Sakura's...lower body sitting on the brown leather saddle. "You know you want to smack that."

There was a slight movement of Sasuke's face, one could describe it as a facial tick. "There is no way I will ever say that."

"Well, that's a relief. I wouldn't want your heart crushed when you found out she's totally my girlfriend," Naruto said simply. He continued insulting Sasuke until Sakura's melodious laughter floated back to them.

"Haha! Shika, you are so funny!" laughed Sakura as she gently shoved Shika on top of Jason. The gelding bucked slightly, but calmed down as Shikamaru rubbed the grey's coat.

"Hey, dobe, looks like you've got some competition," joked Sasuke.

"Yeah," grumbled the blonde. Sasuke smirked at his discomfort.

But, then why did he feel so weird?

"Now, out here on the range, you need to always be aware of your surroundings," she said, staring each and everyone one of the boys in the eye, lingering on Shikamaru as the two shared a secret look. "And by being aware, I mean no shrieking like a girl every time we see a mustang, cougar, or rabbit. Understand?" The boys nodded, especially Naruto.

"Question!" said Naruto, startling Bonnie who bucked into Stranger who threw Sasuke onto Sakura which caused Freddy to rear and ram into Jason, knocking Shikamaru to the ground.

"Ow!" groaned Shikamaru.

"Get. Off. Me," growled Sakura, her glare rivaling that of Sasuke's. She shoved him to the ground and tried to calm down the prancing Freddy. "Shh, Freddy. Shh." She rubbed her hand on his neck as the horse calmed down; she grabbed the reigns and steered Freddy away from Sasuke so as to not be responsible for any accidents that might have occurred.

"Sorry," mumbled Naruto sheepishly. Shikamaru glared, Sasuke made violent hand motions on top of Stranger's back, and Sakura planted a kiss on Freddy's neck before sending him a reprimanding look.

"Be more careful, Naruto. Now, what was your question?" she asked.

"Right. With the rabbit thing, you were hinting about me, right?" asked Naruto.

"Yes. Yes I was."

"Oh. Ok."

And I'm gonna end it there. I hope you all liked this chapter, and I'll be sure to update soon. After I update Chemistry, but possibly before I update Celestial Maiden. And Commercials will be up right after this! Now, please review!