Yes, people. I updated three stories in one day. MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!

I can't believe I haven't said this yet but HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! (though I'm two days late, haha)

If you see any spelling mistakes, don't worry. I'll fix them later.

An intense shaking perused as the cannon ball hit the ship, the vibrations of it opening cupboards around the ship and causing whatever was inside to fall out. Sounds of shattering and things breaking could be heard form every room, the creaking of wood breaking being the loudest of all…

The sound was loud enough to wake the captain, who was up and cursing a multitude of profanities as he raced to get on deck to lead his crew.

"Up! UP! EVERYONE GET UP, YOU DAMN SCALLYWAYGS! ALL HANDS ON DECK! REPORT TO STARBOARD SIDE!" he screamed, nearly gashing open his foot as he tripped over a broken bottle while making his way out of the room.

It was pointless to tell everyone to wake up and get on deck, for everyone most likely was. Only Gaara, the captain, and the kid had been asleep in the room, and Neji, Chouji, and Hinata had been in the other. Ino and Tenten had already been on deck, on Watch. Neji, being the skilled warrior he is, was the first to wake up at the sound, and had bolted up on deck before the others even had to realize what was going on. Hinata followed immediately after, then the captain, and lastly the cook.

Another shriek split the night, followed moments later by another threatening rattle of the ship. Luckily the aim of this cannon was off, giving minimal damage, but it was still dangerous.

Gaara bolted over to the window again, rushing past the confused child without a word.

The ship was closer, much closer. So close that Gaara could see what type of ship it was: a Frigate, exactly like their own.

"Fuck," Gaara hissed, knowing how dangerous the situation was at the moment. They could try to outrun it, but the enemy had the upper hand since they were ready for speed. Both ships had massive firepower, but the Kanoha undoubtedly had the upper hand in that division. They had spent most of their fortune buying new, smaller, cannons that packed more punch with better aim than the regular cannons. But it would take time to load and fire. Everything took so much time…

And the enemy was gaining.

Unless something drastic happened in the next few minutes, the enemies were going to board the Kanoha.

"Gaara?" Sakura called, her voice slightly quivering, an edge of confusion and fear in her tone. "What's going on?"

Turning, Gaara faced the girl, only to bolt forward at her.

"Sakura!" he yelped, leaping forward and landing firmly on the floor, the kid pinned beneath him. No sooner than he had, a beam from the ceiling broke free and crashed onto the floor, right where the girl had been standing. Dazed, yet aware, Gaara held a hand to his head, trying to calm the ringing. "Are you alright?" he asked, staring down at the wide eyed child. It was strange, seeing her emerald eyes staring at him without fear. Now that she thought about it, the girl had never been afraid of him, not even when he cut down those people in the bar right in front of her; their blood spraying her small form…

Another blast erupted from nearby, so insanely nearby now. It took only a few seconds before the cannon ball crashed through the ship, the wood groaning angrily at the assault.

"Stay down!" Gaara growled desperately as the girl tired to get up. He placed all his weight on her, his arm and chest pressing down into her face as a cover. The girl didn't seem to understand why he was doing this, for all she felt was the suffocating weight of him. She yelped, trying to use her fists to get him of, fear of lack of air filling her. "It's okay, just a bit longer…" Gaara tried to sooth. Had he had time to think, he would have thought it strange that he was trying to sooth her at all. He had never cared for anyone enough to do so. Even if he did care, the people he cared for were strong enough to handle themselves. But Sakura was just a kid, weak, fragile… His words seemed to have worked, for she stopped struggling against him. Instead, her little fists clenched at the fabric of his shirt, her small head giving a small nod against him.

As soon as the transaction took place, another cannon was fired. This time it was so loud the little girl cried out in pain, her mouth filling with the shirt of her crewman. The sounds of shattering glass and snapping beams over-road the sound of cannon fire.

The window exploded.

Shards of glass went flying, sliding across the room, scraping across Gaara's body. His muscles clenched in pain, but nothing more. It wasn't any major wounds, they would heal.

Just to be safe, Gaara didn't move; not until he heard the sound of a heavy falling plank connecting two ships, the undoubtable sound of booted feet running across it, battle cries ripping through their throats as they drew their swords to attack…

Shoving his hands against the floor, Gaara pushed himself off of the girl. Her face was red from holding her breath, but other than that she was fine. Gaara looked himself over, finding cuts against his skin, dripping blood making its way down his arms, his back, his ankle…

Nothing serious.

The clang of metal against metal, sword against sword, woke Gaara from his thoughts.

"Sakura," Gaara said, his voice serious. He crouched down to the now standing girl, meeting her eyes with his, his hands gripping her shoulders. "I need to go up on deck for a while. Stay here. No matter what you hear, do not leave this room." He stared her in the face, making sure she was paying attention. "Do you understand?" he finished urgently.

Sakura nodded, a small "Hn" of understanding escaping her lips. She clenched her fists in order to keep from shaking, her chin rising defiantly at her crewman.

I'll be fine, her stance said.

The redhead almost smiled, the kid was so cute when she tried to be tuff like him. He praised her bravery by ruffling her hair until it was a shaggy mess. "Be good," he told her before racing out of the room, grabbing the sheathed sword sitting on a chair as he did.

"Gaara!" Captain Naruto shouted upon seeing his first-mate, "Go cover Ino!" he ordered.

Nodding, Gaara sped over to the other side of the ship's deck, leaping over a pile of enemy bodies as he did.

Ino was at the far edge of the ship, her back against the rail. Her breathing was heavy, a dribble of blood coming down from her forehead, but she was fine. And clearly winning. Four enemies surrounded her now, rough looking men, three of which had drawn swords. They were all much bigger than her, and stronger. Yet they were hesitant.

Did they not realize what ship this was? Gaara wondered.

Lifting her hands, the blonde woman made a seal. Gaara recognized it instantly, but the other pirates did not. Suddenly, Ino's curvy body was unconscious on the floorboards. The men surrounding her smiled in expectancy, seeing her vulnerable and weak, at what was to come. Unfortunately for them, they did not realize that their comrade was acting rather… strange. Instead of wallowing in the joys of an unconscious female, the man was pulling his sword out of its sheath, slowly, quietly, so skillfully that none of the others even noticed what he was doing.

It was that small moment made them die.

The blade swung through the air so fast that the air itself screamed as it sliced through it, embedding itself in the chest of one of the pirates, cleanly slicing him in two. Shock caused the others to become slow, confusion keeping them from killing their comrades. This second lapse of time killed the next one. His head flew off his shoulders faster than he had time to realize that his comrade was killing him.

The lat one was smarter and seemed to have caught on: His comrade was killing his other comrades.

Kill or be killed.

Before the traitorous pirate had time to turn and take aim at the last pirate, the sword was already coming down on his head.

"Tch." Gaara sounded, not liking having to interfere with another's battle, yet he leapt into action anyway. Just as the sword came down for the killing stroke, a wave of sand came up and blocked it, becoming like a concrete wall between the two. "Pay attention!" he snapped.

Stretching his hand, the sand began to shift and move, encircling the last pirate like a serpent. The man screamed, understanding much too late that the people aboard this ship weren't like the other pirates of the area. The sand kept growing in mass until it was up to the man's neck, working its way from the back to cover his head. All the pirate encased could do was scream in horror, scream until his lungs burst, scream until he died.

Gaara clenched his fist, the sand pressuring the human so much that it exploded, drenching the railing in blood.

"Thanks, Gaara. I owe you one," Ino said truthfully. She had returned to her body now and was standing up, using her hand to wipe away the blotches of blood painted on her face.

The pirate she was possessing was coming too as well, seeing his dead comrades all around him, the terrible memories that he had been unable to control his body in his mind…

Ino slammed her sword into his throat before he could scream.

Off on the other side of the ship the sounds of battle could still be heard. Cries of the Sixty-four Trigrams could be heard, as well as a loud yell of "RASENGAN!"

Things are serious if the others have to release their techniques. There must be a lot more of the enemy than we had originally thought, Ino realized immediately.

The blonde woman turned to her comrade, all blood gone from her face, and gave him a knowing look. "Let's go."

"Hn," was all the reply she got, as though the stoic teen didn't agree, but with a wave of his sand Gaara was gone.

The sounds coming from the deck had Sakura wanting to cower away in a corner, but she wouldn't. She had promised Gaara that she was fine. She did not want to be made a liar, and nothing was worse than cowering away while others were fighting.

She stood her ground, watching the door expectantly, waiting for the red haired teen's return.

Darkness covered the room.

Sakura's eyes widened, then blinked. She wasn't able to adjust to the darkness yet, and she had no idea where it had come from.

Did a cloud pass over the moon? No, even then there would be some light…

Turning, Sakura faced the broken window, trying to decipher what had happened to the light. It was difficult, for she couldn't see anything at all. Not the frame surrounding the window or the hand in front of her face. She walked closer to the open space, carefully sidestepping the shards of broken glass. The planks of the floor were cold against her bare feet, and the draft from the sea made her shudder, but still she went closer.

There was something against the window, blocking out all the light. At first glance it seemed as though the shutters had closed themselves, but it wasn't the cast. She would have heard it. But if it wasn't the shutters, what was it? A wall? But where would a wall come from?

Her breath caught in her throat.

It wasn't a wall. It wasn't a wall at all. It was a ship! The ship was right against the window. It was unbelievable how close the enemy had gotten to the Kanoha. If she reached out she would be able to touch the base of it.

The sound of the door opening caught her attention. Pivoting on her foot, she turned around expectantly.

"Gaara!" she called. Sakura was about to run over to him, but remembered all the glass.

Slowly, delicately, she made her way past the shards, going on tiptoe, jumping out of the way, brushing the pieces aside. Finally she made it to the space by the door where her companion was waiting for her. Only, she couldn't tell exactly where he was in the dark…

"Gaara? Where are you? I can't see anything…" she called, extending her arms in front of her blindly, using them to feel through the air, searching for her friend. "Is it safe? Can I come out now?"

A hand gripped her wrist, startling her in the darkness.

"Ouch!" she cried, the hand was so tight around her that her hand started to go numb. "You're hurting me. Let go! Gaara!"

There was no response. It even felt as though the hold got tighter…

Why was Gaara doing this?

No, Sakura thought, This isn't right. Something's wrong…

The hand tugged against her, pulling her to the figure's chest. He clung to her tightly, crushing her small form against his chest. She could hardly breath, her lungs screaming at her to get free and breathe. Something inside her screamed at her to run, but when she couldn't it begged for the next best thing.

Pay attention.

Sakura followed the words and concentrated, though she didn't know what she was looking for, but whatever it was, it was different. Everything seemed different about the presence holding her. The feeling was off...wrong. Everything was wrong! she realized, eyes wide. This didn't feel like Gaara at all. His form was different, his aura, even his scent… Gaara was like a hurricane, terrifying, powerful, and strong, yet beautiful and awe-inspiring to her. She felt safe with him, even though he smelt of blood. He was her home, her family… He was the one who gave her her name.

This was not him!

"You-You're not Gaara!" Fear suddenly overtook her at the realization. She was in the grasp of some stranger. Now everything screamed at her to break away, to struggle free of this unknown person. But it was no use, he was too strong, his arms crushing her like a butterfly. "No! Let go of me! Let go! Gaara! Help me! GAA-!"

A painful grip to the back of her neck kept her from fulfilling her scream. She was not unconscious, but was too dazed to do anything. She saw, blurridly, a man staring at her. He stank of booze and blood. She did not like the scent of it. She did not like to look in his eyes, but she could not struggle to get free, she couldn't even move.

Someone… help me… she begged in her mind.

The intruder looked down at her, a perverted gleam in his eye. He was used to the dark, taking him able to clearly see the small child in his arms. She was pretty, for a child with unmarred skin, soft features, long, beautiful hair. He couldn't quite make out the color, but that was unimportant.

She would be quite the gift to his captain.

Effortlessly, the enemy pirate threw the girl's limp body over his shoulder, pivoting on his foot, making his way out of the room and back on deck, ready for the retreat.

"Gaara, let them go," Captain Naruto ordered, placing a firm hand on the shoulder of his first mate. The redhead's leg was already up and stationed on the blood soaked railing, ready to give chase. "They'll spread the word around about us. It will make people less willing to follow us."

Gaara glared after the ship disappearing into the distance, but sided with his captain.

They were going to need as much of an advantage as they could get if they were going to make it back into Hell's Gate. There was enough of a threat from the navy, they didn't need to add other pirates to their list of pains as well.

Gaara stepped off the railing.

"To think they had a Frigate," Tenten awed, still amazed. "Was it stolen from the navy, do you think?"

"That appears to be the most probable of causes," Neji said, cleaning off his bloodies blade with a cloth. "They were quite strong, far above average. If they ambushed a Frigate while it was by itself they may have been able to take control of it."

"Fuck they were fast," Chouji growled, showing just how angry he was, for he was not one to swear.

"It was another Frigate," Ino said simple, "We're lucky our ship isn't sinking."

"Ah!" their blonde captain groaned in aggrivation. "My ship! It's ruined again!" he groaned, taking a look around.

The helm was, once again, destroyed. This time, it wasn't because of him. The railings on the starboard side were gone, as well as most of the planks supporting it. Down away from view huge chunks were taken out of the side of the ship, luckily none were far down enough to cause any threat to sinking, although there would be some water damage.

"THOSE FUCKERS! I'LL KILL THEM NEXT TIME I SEE THEM! HOW DARE THEY BLOW HOLES IN MY SHIP! HURRY UP AND SPREAD THE WORD THAT MY WRATH IS UNQUENCHABLE SO I CAN COME AND MURDER YOUR ASS!

Gaara, not wanting to hear the blonde raving for the next few hours, started walking back toward the sleeping quarters. Truthfully, he was worried about Sakura. He knew she was safe; she wouldn't dare take back her words and go outside while they were fighting. Still… he was worried. Something didn't feel right…

He froze in his tracks.

The door was open.

He was sure he had shut it when he left, He was absolutely positive that that door had not been open.

Gaara went on the offensive, his sand filling the doorway as he burst inside the room. Everything seemed normal, just like it had before.

Things had crashed down from the walls due to the cannon fire, the window had exploded open when one of the cannonballs got too close, glass was still littering the floor, the blankets were still in their heaped piles… But Sakura was not there.

"Sakura!" the first mate called desperately, feeling a sudden hope that the girl was just hiding somewhere. There was no response. There wasn't even a place to hide.

Something caught on his foot as he was about to walk forward; a piece of the pillar that had broken above them earlier…

His eyes narrowed.

A footprint stained the planks on the floor, a foreign boot design he had never seen, a boot size that didn't belong to any of the crew. Someone else had been here…

Gaara raced out of the room.

"Sakura's been taken!" he nearly yelled as soon as he saw his comrades. He ran to the railing, staring out into the sea for any signs of the ship.

There was none.

"What?" Ino gasped, unable to believe that their new crewman had been taken right under their noses. But Gaara wasn't one to lie about things like that…

"What happened?" Naruto demanded, his face calm, his demeanor that of a captain.

But it was no use, the first mate was surround in sand, the element encasing him into giant wave…

And then he was gone.

See? I updated. Finally! And I'm finally starting to get onto the main plotline. Whoopee for me!

But I'm tired, so I'm going to bed.

NIGHT!