Why Do I Feel This Way?

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Hana POV:

It's been over a week since the kidnapping. Turns out the horses were other henchmen. Pretty clever I guess; when one group is tired they switch back from horses to humans and the others shift into horses to not stop. I guess that's why Gaara hasn't reached us yet. And from what I know they want me as Sora's wife. Ugh, just those words next to each other disgust me. I refuse to be his damn property. 

My back is aching from being on a horse for days and I still can't manage to get out of these stupid chakra chains. From what I can tell we aren't heading in the direction of dad's village. These guys have reinforcements at a trading post a day's worth of flying away. We should be there by tomorrow morning if the horse guys keep at the same pace. If I could just find a way to get out of these chakra cuffs. I've never even seen these before so I don't even know how to get it off! I hate to be the stupid damsel in distress but I could really use a Gaara right about now to save the day. He's the key to my escape.

Wait..........KEY!

I look around for a second before looking at my cuffs again. On the side is a little pinhole. All I need is a key!!! Now where to find it......

I assume Sora has the key since he's mega macho over there as alpha. He doesn't have one on his neck or bracelet. The hole is too small for my extended claws to go in it too. Damn it. Where else could the key be? Maybe in his bag. The horse he's on has three bags. I just need to get close to him. But for now I'm stuck with smiling McGee over here who's too happy I'm sitting in front of him. Gross.

Gaara POV:

Everyday I feel our bond to the mark weaken. I can barely feel her presence. I'm growing agitated just thinking of what they could do to her. But I have to be optimistic and get there before they make it to their checkpoint. From memory I recall an abandoned village nearby. I believe it is supposed to be a trading post but doubles as a motel for passersby.   And in the direction we're in, I think that's where they're headed. Kankuro and I are staying low to not be spotted because if they know our location, they'll more than likely just pick up the pace to where we can't track them anymore. Mr. Aozora is patrolling the skies to give us better detail of their location. From what he's said earlier, Hana is safe but is bound with chakra cuffs and still in mid-transformation.

"Gaara look at this." I turn to see Kankuro pointing to claw marks on a tree. "Gaara, there's not any animal around that I think could make these marks."

"You think one of them did it?"

"I think Hana did. She had on chakra cuffs right?" I examine it closer to see the claw marks are too close together for a normal predator. 

"They're leading upward. She ran through the branches to escape."

"According to Aozora she failed."

"That's the fourth mark I've seen." He looked at me surprised as we continued to run again.

"There's more?"

"Almost everyday I'll see one. This is the second one I've seen make it up to the branches. She's trying to escape."

"That's good, it means they're defense isn't as good."

"I doubt it. I'm sure Sora made sure they don't harm her. At least until their checkpoint."

"Good point."

The conversation ended as we focused on running and being wary of any possible traps. We kept at it until night had fallen. Once we sat down to eat, Aozora perched down on a small branch before leaping and landing on his feet, transformed back into his human form. 

"It never gets any more normal seeing that shift." Kankuro commented as he dug into his cooked rabbit.

"Any news?" I asked.

"They seem to be heading to that trading post. They stopped to sleep for a bit, which is good considering we need to rest as well. Hana is unfortunately being kept next to Sora. She seems to have fallen asleep for the time being. And I didn't see any injury on her, at least for now. I'm not sure what will happen if they make it to the trading post."

"How far away are they?"

"It took me about five hours of flying, so about half a day if we run nonstop."

"So unless we gain super human strength and recuperate our energy we probably won't reach them in time?" Asked Kankuro while munching on a rabbit leg.

"Correct."

"And by now they're back on the road." I added before stopping to think. We're exhausted and starved. Even if we did catch up to them we would be too tired to fight. I inhale deeply to calm down before opening my scroll to get my bag. I look inside and with luck on my side I find a small packet of chakra booster pills. It won't bring us to 100%, but we should recuperate faster. I take one before handing the rest to the others. I seal away my bag before dowsing the fire with my sand.

"What the hell Gaara?!" Exclaimed Kankuro.

"There's no time." I muttered before making a large sand cloud that held the three of us. It lifted us into the air and slightly above the clouds.

"We could be spotted." said Aozora.

"We don't have time. It's also nightfall, so it'll be harder for them to spot us."

"I hope you're right." He added before sitting down to eat. I joined them, and in silence we ate and prepared ourselves for battle. I made sure to have chakra flow to my brain so that I won't face any after effects of sleep deprivation. I did this for years, what's one night? If it means I can reach Hana, then so be it.

Hana POV:

With Sora being mister macho he made me sleep next to him. Which, while being disgusting, gives me a chance to find the key. I already checked his pockets but nothing has turned up. Only one guy is keeping watch while the rest are still sleeping, so I still have to be careful. He's thin, small, and has white hair tied into a braid in the back. He seems to be the youngest in the group, and hopefully inexperienced in fighting.  

"Looking for something?" He asked. I immediately close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. "There's no need to pretend. I know you're awake Hana." He added, his back still turned to me.

".....Why did you all take me from my home?"

"I didn't, Sora wanted to. He's my brother. But if you look at us we look completely different. We're nothing alike. I'm sorry he did this to you."

"Why does he want me as his wife? He doesn't even love me, and I sure as hell don't love him."

"Our village's traditions are complicated. Your father's family signed a treaty saying that all women must be mated to the village's strongest warrior. In this case you're the only eligible woman left alive and Sora is the strong warrior." With this he turned to me and I saw a gentle face. The poor boy looked distraught and disgusted with himself. "I never wanted to help them, but I had no choice. I'm very sorry."

"You won't have to be sorry if you help me escape."

"I-I can't, they'll kill me and-"

"They won't if you leave with me. Come with me. I can get you salvation in the village of the sand."

"......It's too risky. One wrong move and they'll have my head. Besides, we're a week's run from anywhere near that village."

"Please, you're my only hope for escape and I'm your only hope for salvation."

"................Check Asahi's bag. I hope you know what you're doing."