A/N: I am trying hard to update and get this story over with so I can start another….

DISCLAIMER: as usual, I do not own Naruto….someone would have to be very stupid to believe that I do lol

However, I do own my original characters…not that someone would want them anyway, seeing as they are all dead

"Get up!"

Sada was ripped from her spot against the tree and pushed not to far from her original spot. She shut her eyes tightly, cringing from whomever was trying to hurt her. Confusion struck her. She had no clue who this person was and it scared her.

"Come on!" the stranger demanded. "Stupid girl…do you want to die? Now, get up!"

Sada kept turning her head away from the source of the noise, covering her head with her arms as she did so. Suddenly, her hair was grabbed, and yanked upwards. She was forced to face her abuser. She gritted her teeth together, trying hard not to think of the pain. Immediately, her hands grabbed onto the arms of the person pulling her hair. Digging her fingernails into his flesh, Sada hoped that he would release her.

"Shit!" he cursed.

The man released hold of her, throwing her to the ground as he did so.

"Get back here," he yelled to her, as she frantically tried to crawl away.

Once again, her hair was pulled, she was forced to face the man that was abusing her. She was expecting to be yelled at more, but in place of verbal abuse, she was slapped hard across the face. She hit the ground hard, and clutched her cheek.

She could feel warmth nearby, and heard the distinct crackling of wood. Why did she not hear it before? She must have been so worried that she wasn't aware of her surroundings as she usually was. The smells of a fire as well as the sounds could be heard. She made a quick mental note of where the fire was, so if she did plan an escape she could avoid the fire. Suddenly, a hand grasped her collar from behind, and jerked her up. Her head snapped forward from the backward pull, and her hair fell over her face. She stumbled backwards only to hit the same person who held her captive.

"Watch it, you little bastard!" he said through gritted teeth.

Sada could feel him right behind her, and as he spoke she could feel his breath at her ear. He dragged her forward, towards the fire. She knew he was taking her there, and she began to panic, not knowing what this guy would do next. As she was pushed forward, she could feel the heat of the fire stronger than before. Sada tensed up. She dug her heels into the ground, trying to stop herself from being pushed forward.

"You want me to let go of you so bad?" he yelled at her. "Enjoy your freedom!"

Suddenly, Sada was pushed forward. Pain surged through her hands. She quickly rolled over, away from the flames. Without giving it a second thought, she grabbed hold of a burning log and threw it in the direction she had been pushed from. She heard the movement coming towards her. Sure enough, this brute was back to beat her. She cringed from a kick to the side, grasping her stomach. She gasped for air, and tried hard to crawl away.

"How you like that, huh?" the voice taunted her.

Sada began to cough, she could taste blood on her lip. It must have been from when he slapped her, she thought. She spit out the foul taste. Slowly, she began to rise to her knees, only to be pushed down again. Instead of another kick, as she was expecting to come from her assaulter, a hand squeezed her shoulder, rolling her onto her back.

His hand grabbed her throat, pushing her head into the dirt. The grip seemed to tighten slowly. She could hear his raspy breathing. She gasped slightly at the feel of cold metal against her neck – a kunai blade. Was he going to kill her? She didn't know how she was going to die. It was either from being choked to death, or sliced on the throat.

'This can't be the end…it just can't. What about the seal….what about…' Sada tried to find some hope. Certainly she couldn't die, not now. 'Where are you, Gaara?'

She began to feel her self slip away from the world. I am going to die, she thought. Before she had lost all hope, the pressure on her neck was lifted. She heard a thud close by. She began to cough, and rolled onto her side. Her breathing was hard, and she felt very tired. All the while she could grunting.

"Gaara?" Sada called out in a low, raspy voice.

"Are you okay, Sada?" a voice asked.

Sada began to sit up slowly. She could feel a presence nearby. It wasn't Gaara – that was not his voice. It sounded a lot like…

"It's me..." the person comforted her. She could feel a hand rest upon her shoulder, as his other held her chin, as if inspecting her injuries. "It's okay, Sada. I'm here."

Her hands were taken into his; he must have been inspecting her palms. Suddenly, she was pulled closer to him, as his arms wrapped around her. The gentle rising and falling of his chest, the comforting rhythm of his heart, barely audible, and the warmth of him…

"Huyen?" she said in a soft voice.

"Yes, Sada?"

She felt like crying. She was so glad that he came, especially at this time. He was always helping her, protecting her against Kotori's rage. He diverted her anger away from Sada, whenever he could. When nobody was there, he would be. He was like her bodyguard, but meant more to her than just that. He was a friend…like Kohana and Maliko were to her. A mix of emotion overwhelmed her. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Sada…what's wrong?" Huyen asked with concern apparent in his voice

"Thank you, Huyen. Thank you."

Huyen looked down at Sada. His face did not portray the same concern that his voice. He looked distant and uncaring.

"I will repay you," she said suddenly. "One of these days, I promise."

"I have no doubt that you will," he simply replied. "But you don't need to worry about that now…it's unnecessary. Right now, we should worry about tending to those burns."

"You're so kind…I'm grateful," Sada that Huyen was not upset in any way, after all he was a friend. Right? But not that it mattered, she was just grateful he was here. Once again her thoughts turned once again to Gaara.

'Has he forgotten about me?' The thought kept resurfacing despite her attempts to not let her mind be sidetracked by such negative thinking. Still, it couldn't hurt to wonder. Could it?

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Gaara hurried through the trees, trying to locate Sada as quickly as he could. He knew she was in danger. There was no mistake in it, the shinobi he had just killed was a diversion used to distract him. But what was so important in stalling for time? Certainly, it had something to do with Sada. He just hoped she was not dead when he did find her. He would not know how he would do if this time she was really dead. When he had mistaken Kohana with Sada, he was overcome with fear. He had not felt this type of emtion for so long. He remembered how overwhelming it was. His heart almost skipped beat, and his breath was caught in his lungs. He knew it would be worse if he did discover Sada dead. It would be best if he did not think about it further…it was too unsettling.

He felt almost disgusting with himself. It was unlike him to be like this. Caring. Especially, for some strange, and weak girl. He was angry with himself. Emotions only clouded thinking. Hate and anger were the only useful emotions; after all, they helped fuel people's ability to fight. He didn't need to feel anything. Nor did he need anybody.

The thought of her being with him kept coming back. Remembering seeing her, unafraid to be near him. Why would she fear him? She had no reason? She seemed carefree at times; she didn't let her burden hold her back; that is if she had control over her situation. Yet, at the same time she seemed helpless…and most importantly, unselfish. Whenever she talked to him, she never did like to dwell on her own past, and never did delve in to learning about his past. She was understanding. And, she was…Gaara stopped himself. What am I doing, he thought to himself. This is a mission, and that's that.

He kept running it through his head, 'this is a mission.' He needed to complete it. He needed to find Sada, before anything happened to her.

A/N: Yah, that took forever! Lol plus….this was a pretty useless chapter….but I am also working on the next chapter…but I am a bit unsure what should happen. I mean, I made a plan, but that was when I first started this fanfic….which was way long time ago…plus, I wanna try get some readers' input into this whole story…which is moving awfully slow!! Hahahaha

Yep…so I'll be waiting for reviews! And I accept all reviews….flamers, praises, and whatever…so hint hint this is when you go and submit a review! Whee

Luv ya!