Author's Note: This would take place a couple of months after the Chuunin Exams, which would be around October. I think that this is safe for anyone who isn't a fan of this pairing. So anyways, I really hope you like it. Please review; it only takes you a few seconds, and it helps me to become a better author… and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Chapter 1

Gaara

This is attempt number forty-two; I've actually kept track of how many times I've tried to put an end to this miserable existence of mine. But the other attempts were all complete and utter failures – I didn't even manage to hurt myself – and they continue to block my one chance of escape from this hell-on-earth people so casually call "life." But this forty-second time will be different; I'm doing something I haven't yet tried.

I'm standing on the very edge of a tall and steep cliff, and below me waits a long river with an overwhelmingly strong current, flowing down to a dangerous waterfall. It's an odd sensation, knowing that nothing can save me from the deadly waters below. I finally found a hole in my defenses, or at least I think so.

I might die by being skewered by one of the jagged rocks in the water. But if I miss them, then I might smack my head on the floor of the river hard enough to drown there, if the water's shallow enough and if I get enough momentum. If not, the strong currents will carry me downstream – I probably wouldn't be able to resist them even if I could swim – and I'll probably drown, unable to stay above the water to breathe. Whether I'm dead by then or not, I'll be swept all the way to the waterfall, where I'll plummet into the shallow lake below. And if all of that doesn't manage to kill me, then I guess nothing will, at least for the time being.

I really thought this one through. Obviously the desert I live in doesn't have any places like this, so I had to come a pretty long way to find this spot. I think I'm just outside the borders of Konohagakure, right around the general area where I fought Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke not too long ago. I shudder slightly at the memories; a strange feeling is coursing through my body, and it's difficult for me to comprehend. Is this… what they call…? Regret?

I came to this place alone – of course – and without proper – or any – consent from neither Konoha nor Suna. But why bother asking if I'm just rushing over here to kill myself? I'm only doing them all a big favor. It's not like anyone will miss me when and if they find out I'm dead. In fact, right now there's probably not a single soul who's worried about me or even cares that I'm gone… Have they even noticed I left? I wonder if anyone will come to my funeral… Will they even have a funeral for a monster like me?

I inch forward a little, and my toes are now over the edge of the cliff. I take a deep breath and try to calm down again. I edge forward even further, and now I'm at the point where it's hard to maintain my balance… But why am I even balancing? For what purpose do I hesitate like this? Why am I clinging to this wretched life? This is what I've wanted for so long; I can finally end it all with one small step forward. Or even better, all I have to do is lean a little-

"Gaara?" I hear someone call from behind me, and I take a step back and away from the cliff's edge in surprise, "Is that really you?" the voice continued. For some odd reason, I could have sworn that the voice sounded just like Uzumaki Naruto's. But it can't be him, because why the hell would he…? I turn around to face whoever called me, and it takes a moment for me to take it all in and realize that the spiked golden blonde hair… Those bright blue eyes… That obnoxiously bright orange and blue outfit… It really is him, and I'm not just imagining things.

I don't answer him, and so many questions fill my mind. If he assumed it was me standing here, then why did he still approach me? And what does he want? Does he want revenge for his "friends?"

I'm already facing him, and when I finally make eye contact, his whole body tenses up, and I can see in his expression that he's really nervous – even more nervous than I am – like I'm going to suddenly attack him or something. But I don't blame him; not after all of the horrible things I did and threatened to do to him and his friends… There's that "regretful" feeling again. He looks at me and scans my body, and he visibly relaxes when he realizes that I'm unarmed and completely defenseless… And my expression right now isn't that threatening… Or at least I think so.

"What are you doing here?" he asks me casually, like we're close friends… And he's smiling at me… I'm really puzzled; why is he being so nice to me? I thought he hated me… loathed me, like everyone else does… Especially after everything…

It seems as though he was oblivious to it until just now, but he looks at me again and realizes where I'm standing. He must have pieced it together with how I was positioned earlier, looking like I was about to commit suicide.

"Wait a minute… Gaara… Don't tell me… That you were about to…" he trails off, and swallows loud enough for me to actually hear it.

He didn't finish, but I answer him anyways, since I know what he was going to ask, "Yeah," I say with a blank tone. He cringes slightly and bites his lower lip, fidgeting a little bit.

"Why?" he murmurs, and involuntarily, the pitch of his voice rises and trembles as he says it. He looks really pathetic, but not in a horrible way… I's almost… Sweet. I've never been on the receiving end of that kind of expression or tone of voice before. It's almost like he's pleading with me. Maybe he's… worried? No, that can't be it. Why would he be worried about me? No one worries about me... So I still don't understand why he's taking the time to talk to me like this.

"Why do you even care?" I shoot back at him, scowling. I want to take it back now, because my voice just sounded so cold and threatening, which is pretty much automatic to me now. It isn't usually a problem, because other people don't care about my feelings, so I've learned that I couldn't care less about theirs. But… his reaction is making me feel a little guilty. Something about me saying that to him with that tone in my voice must have hurt him pretty badly, because he flinched, and now he's tearing up all of a sudden. What the hell is going on? Isn't this usually when he tries to make a stupid comeback or an empty threat? I'm actually a little interested to hear what he has to say now, and I watch him as he collects his thoughts and starts to respond.

"Well… Gaara… I… It's because we-" as he starts to say this, he takes a steps toward me, and I instinctively take a step back to maintain the already uncomfortable distance between us. But my foot immediately sinks through the air, and I realize I must have still been really close to the edge of the cliff.

I'm falling. This is it. My life is about to end. Shit, I hope the rumors about seeing your life flash before your eyes aren't true, because I really don't want to see any of it. Going through that pain once was bad enough.

My body relaxes, and I close my eyes, accepting my cruel and well-deserved fate. My arms float out in front of me, and I feel the cool wind rush past me as I fall backwards towards the raging waters. It's too bad, though, because now I'm going to die wondering what he was going to say and do… Is it possible? Could he have actually… cared? It sucks, because I guess I'll never know.

"Gaara!"

I feel Naruto grab my hand tightly and pull on my entire arm, and then I hear him gasp in surprise. The pulling sensation from him only lasts a moment, and when I finally open my eyes, he's right there above me, already falling off the edge of the cliff from trying and failing to stop my momentum.

"Shit!" he yells. There's this panic and desperation in his eyes and in his voice, and I immediately recognize it from when I was fighting him, and he was trying to protect and save his friends.

"No," is all I manage to choke out, like I'm denying the fact that he's going to die here because of me. This is another strange sensation; I desperately don't want him to die here… But why? Because he's the first person to sincerely care about what happens to me? Because he's the only person who's ever risked his life to save me? Because he's the only one who could possibly understand me? I… I don't want him to die… and suddenly, I don't want to die either. I want to hear what he was trying to say to me earlier… I… I want to stay here, alone with the only person who's ever been willing to give me a second – or even a first – chance (although preferably not in the freezing water, drowning).

"Hang on!" he yells, and I do as I'm told. I wrap my arms around his waist, and I squeeze my eyes shut, bracing myself. He manages to pull me closer into his chest and wrap his arms around me – his left arm wrapped around my upper back, and his right arm cradling the back of my head – before we hit the water with a loud splash.

The first thing I notice is how much pain I'm in, and that's the only thing my mind wants me to focus on. I shout in agony, but it's completely muffled by the water, and I just used up most of the air I had managed to inhale before the splash. My back feels like it's on fire, and I'm guessing it's from hitting my back on the river floor.

My body refuses to do what I tell it to. But I'm still moving, and I realize that it must be the current, dragging us along. Us. Is Naruto still okay? I'm now more aware of him again. I feel myself being pulled away from him by the strong currents; I try to hang on, even though I'm mostly trying not to drown. He's still got one of his arms around my upper back, gripping me tightly. The other one is slapping the top of the water, and I assume that's how he's trying to stay afloat. Even from under the water, I can hear him shouting in fear and gasping for air. I feel him push up on my back, and he manages to get me above the water, too… But only for a small moment, because with everything happening so fast, by the time I get ready to inhale, a wave washes over me, and I get dragged back under the water. Naruto gets pulled under too this time, and he's panicking, and trying desperately to get us both back up.

The back of my head smacks against something as the currents drag us along, and I feel the rest of the air escape my lungs. There's a warm feeling where I hit the back of my head and around my mouth… Am I…? Bleeding? I'm already flailing uncontrollably, clinging to my last moments here in this life. This is what always happens to me… As soon as I find a sliver of hope, it all gets taken away from me. I exhale involuntarily, and I feel my strength fading.

Naruto

This water is freezing cold, even though it's pretty warm outside. Wow, I really can't get over how cold I am right now! I'm trying desperately not to panic, but my legs hurt so badly, and it's getting harder and harder for me to stay afloat. I was doing all right at first, but even I don't have the strength to keep it up for very long. And that's just my suffering. Poor Gaara's been under the water for who-knows how long now? And he apparently can't swim, which really isn't helping me right now. But I can't find the strength to push him to the surface like I did before… Speaking of which, he feels a lot heavier all of a sudden, and it's a lot harder for me to hold on to him… Is that because I'm getting weaker…? No, I don't think so. It happened all at once… I realize it's because he's let go of me, and the strong current wants to carry him far away from me. If he let go like that, then something must really be wrong… Is he even still conscious…? Is he even…? Is he still alive? I've got to hurry and get him back above the water before it's too late (and I'd also like to get back above the water, believe it)!

We're passing by a few jagged rocks, and I reach out to try and grab onto one of them. I can only hold on for a moment, since it's so sharp and slippery, but for that small moment, I manage to calm myself down a little. If I could grab onto that rock, even for a moment, even for a moment, I know I can grab onto another rock, and hopefully last longer. I reach out for another rock, and this time I get a better hold on it. The edges of the rock cut deep into my palm and it hurts a lot, but it's bearable, at least for now. I use all the strength I can muster up and pull Gaara up above the water. I expect him to gasp for air with relief – maybe it's just wishful thinking – but instead he's coughing weakly, and there's some water coming out of his mouth, along with a little blood… It looks like I was barely in time to save him. And he must have gotten really hurt, to be bleeding from the mouth like that… And his breathing's very strained; I'll have to help him when we get back to dry land…

Dry land… It sounds oh-so good to me right now! I look around us to see if there's anywhere I can try and get to. But all I can see are the sides of the surrounding cliffs and all the rocks I already passed by. A pretty big wave washes over us, and Gaara slips out of my grip slightly. I'm still able to hold onto him, but it was just enough so that he's just below the surface of the river, with his head hanging down. With my one tired arm, I can't seem to pull him back up. I need to hurry, or I'll lose him! I turn myself slightly, desperate to find a solution fast, and I vomit a little in my mouth; there's a waterfall. Right there. Wow, if I hadn't managed to stop myself at this exact place-

Of course, with my luck, when I turned to see the waterfall, the edges of the rock really dug into my palm, "Shit!" I curse, biting my lip to try and reel in the pain, so I can concentrate on holding on. In the midst of the cold water rushing by me, I can feel the warm blood from my palm all over my hand, and I can see little bits of red in the water passing by (Great, now we're both bleeding). It hurts so badly, even more than before; I can't hold on anymore. But I can't try to grab on with my other hand, because I definitely can't let go of Gaara; he'd be swept away and down the waterfall the moment I let go of him… There's just no way out of this. Even if I could hold on, where would I go? What would I do? It's not like there's anyone coming to save me… There's just no way to escape the waterfall just meters away from me.

I finally slip, unable to hold on anymore, and the rock tears through my skin. I wince in pain, and shut my eyes tightly as we head right for the waterfall.

My entire body is numb from the chill of the water around me. But that suddenly isn't the case. Everything stops for a small moment, even though the noise remains. I feel… weightless. When I finally figure out what's happening, I scream, which is my first reaction to this kind of danger. I realize that I'm suddenly falling really fast. I look down, and I immediately wish I hadn't. It's such a long drop; it's making me a little dizzy! I've had this sensation before… When…? And… what did I do to save myself? … That's it!

"I'll protect you, Gaara… I promise," I say, even though I don't know if he can hear me. He probably can't, since he's unconscious, and the roar of the falls is just too loud, anyways. But it seems like I'm trying to convince myself of this more than him, if you get what I mean. If I make a promise, I know I'll go through with it somehow, because I never go back on my word. That somehow comforts and motivates me a little. I need to make sure we both make it out of this alive. I can do this; I know it. This is definitely not the time to screw up my summoning jutsu, and every time I've been really "afraid," I've managed to make it work. Well, I'm definitely "afraid" right now! I'm scared out of my wits, so I'm surprised I even managed to think of this idea before we both just died here from the long fall into the shallow lake.

I finish the hand signs for the jutsu and pray silently, and I'm hoping it's Gamabunta, or at least another frog big enough to catch both Gaara and I. Oh, that's right; Gaara! I had let go of him to do the jutsu. I somehow manage to snatch him back up into my arms before we both land with a loud and painful thud.

I know I'm okay, even though I know I'll be covered in bruises. I sit up straight, and I'm still feeling a little panicky. I can't believe I'm still alive. But I'm freezing cold and soaking wet; I take off my orange and blue jacket and tie it around my waist, figuring that exposing my skin to the warm bright sun rather than my cold wet jacket is a good idea. It is; I'm already feeling a little warmer, even though my black T-shirt – that I always wear underneath my jacket – is still cold and wet.

I cradled Gaara's head when we fell, so I hope he's all right, too. I check him, and his skin is freezing cold. But as I carry him – I'm trying not to collapse… He's pretty light, but my muscles are cold and uncooperative – off of Gamabunta's back and onto the ground near the edge of the lake, I figure something out that I hadn't known before; he's… not breathing. How long has he been like this? I start to panic, but I try to remember how I can save him. I gently place him down, on his back, and I hesitate a little, wondering how he would react if he knew what I was about to do.

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And that's the end of the first chapter. :) Please review and tell me what you think.