"So... What do you think this stuff tastes like?"
"I don't think we should find out."
"It's pretty good."
"You're not helping!"
Kankurou sniffed the sake that Baki had forgotten about and looked around. Gaara was out for the day while the others didn't really have much to do besides train. They were going to train... After Kankurou decided whether or not if he wanted to try the sake. Ura covered her head when Temari motioned she was going to punch her head as Kankurou remained undecided. Finally, Temari snatched the canteen and tossed it to the side, "Well, i'm going to do something else besides remain here, again."
"Oh! Let's go to the hot springs!" Ura suggested as she leaped to her feet, "It's so nice there!"
"You two females can do that, i'm going to go train like a real man," Kankurou pulled the bandaged Crow on to his shoulder.
"So impressive," Temari rolled her eyes as she passed him, "You have fun with playing pretend."
"We'll make sure to set out a snack for the little man," Ura playfully pinched Kankurou's cheek.
After the two Suna kunoichi left towards the village hot spring, Temari gently nudged Ura, "So, spill it, why do you like Gaara so much?"
"Hm? Because I do," Ura shrugged, but she could see that wasn't the answer Temari wanted, "Well... It just happens you know. When I look at Gaara, I can see a lot of potential and I want to be the one he finds happiness from one day."
"Ok, say he changes and actually normal, what will you do then?"
"Then i'll ask him out on a date," Ura smiled as she put her hands behind her head, "I don't know, I focus on the here and now rather than later on."
The two walked in silence for most of the walk towards the spring. Ura looked around the village and could remember what it was like living there when she first arrived. She had a hard time trying to fit in because of her honor in her true village. People had seen her as someone they couldn't fully trust. But, over the years, Ura could see that she had their trust and able to walk freely throughout the village without hearing a snide comment. What would it be like when she went home to Suna? Would her mother be proud? What did her little sister look like? Would people she used to know remember her? There were a lot of exciting questions that she wanted answers to.
Finally, they reached the spring and recieved two towels to cover themselves with after paying the fee. Temari let down her hair as Ura undressed herself. Her shirt was always tight, even the bandages that held her breasts were tight. When she unraveled the bandages and feeling her breasts naturally fall into place was the most relaxing feeling Ura had felt in ages. With a relieved sigh, Ura stood motionless for a moment to enjoy the feeling.
"Uhm... Not to sound weird, but I don't really want to see your nipples," Temari chimed as she looked away with an annoyed face.
"Jealous?" Ura smirked playfully as she wrapped the towel around her to hide her body from the world.
Temari grimaced as she joined Ura to the hot spring. Both were suprised to see it empty as it was especially during the summer season. Ura debunked the rare occasion because everyone was getting ready for the final exam. They sunk into the relaxing waters slowly, allowing their bodies to rest without having to worry about jumping up to fight someone. Ura rested herself against the edge as Temari tilted her head back, enjoying the heat she had missed from the dessert. When she saw Temari fully relaxed, Ura then asked, "So, any boyfriends?"
"Hm?" Temari gave a quetionable look over to Ura then shook her head, "Nope, I've spent most of my time training with Kankurou or watching Gaara. They're both full time jobs anyways."
"When we head back, i'll watch Gaara so you can focus more on getting a boyfriend," Ura commented as she looked up at the blue sky, "Then I can spend more time with Gaara."
"You should give up," Temari stated as she became more alert.
Ura noted on Temari's serious statement. She wasn't joking or making it light-hearted. They sat in silence for a few more moments before Ura closed her eyes half way, "It's not that easy, Temari... What I saw in Gaara before was-"
"What you saw before is dead," Temari's voice became sharper as she glared over at Ura, but then softened her voice, "Look, i'm trying to look out for you. Gaara may never understand what you feel or ever feel love for someone. I don't want to see you get your heart broken."
"Isn't that a risk I can make on my own?" Ura looked back over at Temari, "Besides, a person can love without getting anyting in returned. The fact is, Temari, that I love Gaara no matter what happens. I have given him my word that I will protect him until the very end of me and I will never stop loving him. To the world, he can be the monster and the bad guy, but to me... He's Gaara, and I will never stop seeing him that way."
Temari remained silent. How could Ura make a powerful statement when she had no idea how bad Gaara could get if under the right amount of pressure? She looked up at the same blue sky and remembered Gaara's life. As his sister, she had seen every pain he had to go through to get where he was now. In truth, she didn't know if he would ever change to someone more stable. Gaara saw his world and his views, anyone else was just dust in the wind to him. That was just...that was just him, he didn't know anything else beyond that point. Then there was Ura, claiming she loved him, and yet she had seen a mere fragment of what Gaara could do. What Gaara did to Lee was harsh, but it was nothing compared to what he had done before.
"So, Shikamaru, do you think you'll win?"
Taken from her personal thoughts, Temari answered, "Well, yeah, it's not like I have the choice. Plus with the plan and all..."
Ura's light brown eyes lit up for a moment, "Plan?"
"Baki hadn't told you yet?" Temari was a bit confused as she sat up a bit, glancing around, "I mean with Sound and all."
"I haven't heard a thing," Ura explained, "What is it?"
"I can't tell you, but i'll ask if you're going to be apart of it or not," Temari answered as she leaned back, but then held a more friendly smile, "Don't worry though, you will be fine no matter what happens."
"And Gaara?" Ura inquiered.
"He will be in no safer hands save our own," Temari answered as she smiled over at Ura.
Ura was curious about the plan Temari had mentioned. She didn't bring up the subject in anyway during their time in the spring. They finished their time limit in the spring and began to walk around the village to find somewhere to eat. Ura picked out a small little restaurant that served her sake as Temari ordered her usual tea. When Temari noticed Ura sipping the sake again, her calm attitude became rather annoyed, "Again? Don't you think you've been hitting that stuff a bit hard?"
"What stuff?" Ura playfully smiled, then answered as she put down the small cup, "I just have the taste for it."
"'Don't get drunk," Temari demanded as she sipped her tea, then said, "Because i'll just leave you here to pay."
"Yeah, yeah... Damn grandma," Ura groaned as she poured her shot glass with more sake.
As they ate their light meals, Temari then asked about Ura's kekkei-genkai. It was a common question, but one that Ura tried to avoid because it was a complicated system. All ninja had a form of a chakra inside of them. They can manipulate their chakra to do all sorts of jutsu that required a certain amount of strength, speed, concentration, and stamina. Ura's kekkei-genkai was more towards stamina and concentration due to the fact that she used her hari more than her brute strength. With her stamina, she can sustain enough blood loss to the point where she could fight for hours using her blood as a means to win. With her concentration, she is able to make her chakra flow in her blood stream as well. Thus, making her an easy opponent for Neji, but probably not so easy for Sasuke.
For Gaara, though, that was a mystery to Ura. In order to prove herself worthy to Gaara as a kunoichi and someone who vowed to protect his life with her own, she would need to fight and win against Gaara. Ura sipped her sake as she gazed out the window deep into her own thoughts. Fighting Gaara gave her some comfort that she had a chance at winning, however they were still slim. She hadn't made Gaara as excited as he was for his fight with Sasuke. Even when he fought Lee, Gaara was still anticipating the event that landed Lee with a broken arm and leg.
"Hey, should we visit Lee?" Ura asked as she stopped pouring herself the sake.
Temari shook her head as she finished her tea, "No. What Gaara did was in the limitation of the rules, no matter how unfortunate or unfair they seem. Gaara won, Lee lost, end of story."
"Right," Ura paid for their meals and stood up, "I'm going to visit him anyways."
"You can't do that!" Temari snapped in a hushed whisper as she stood up quickly, "What will Gaara think? And Baki! He will kick you off this team or possibly stop you from becoming a Chunin!"
"I'm not scared of him and I can hold my own against Gaara," Ura commented as they left the restaurant to 'discuss' the situation in private.
"Well, if you're going, then I don't want to be apart of it," Temari put her hands up in a way of giving up, "If Gaara or Baki catch you, don't say I didn't warn you."
"Right.." Ura rolled her eyes and headed towards the hospital.
She passed the bustling streets of villagers going throughout their day. Ura had wanted to meet Lee in person and talk to him on behalf of Gaara. The hospital wasn't too far away and none of the nurses were at the main desk. So, Ura looked Lee's name up in the book at the desk and headed towards his room. She reached his room in a few minutes to find the door was unlocked. Ura walked in to see Lee had just woken up from a nap and greeted him with a smile, "Hey, how are you?"
"I..I am well, who are you?" Lee asked, then noticed her headband, "Who sent you? If you are here to finish me off, then I will call my sensei and-"
"Chill, chill," Ura walked in and left the door open, "I came in here to see how you were doing. I liked the way you fought Gaara and... Well, i'm sorry for what he did to you. If I could've stopped him, I would've."
Lee eyed her, but he didn't see any mischief in her eyes. He nodded as he sat up in his bed with the sling around his arm, "My arm hurts from time-to-time, but it will get better soon."
Ura glanced at his left arm as guilt rushed through her soul. Gaara shouldn't have gone as far as to try and destroy Lee's future as a shinobi. She looked out the window for a brief moment and then back at Lee, "My name is Ura by the way."
"I am Lee," he answered with a somewhat smile, then his face turned to one of a question, "Tell me, Ura, is Gaara...human?"
A soft laugh exited Ura's lips as she smiled at Lee, "Yeah, Gaara's human alright. He just as some emotional issues, but I love the guy."
"You cannot be serious," Lee held a look of pure terror on his face, "Him? You have feelings for him!"
Ura nodded as she crossed her legs, "Yup, that's one of the reasons why I also came here today. Lee, I know it may be hard for you now, but I want you to think about it for me instead."
Lee listened intently as Ura went over to his bed and sat next to him, "Lee, I want you to forgive Gaara for me. He is not a bad guy, he's just a guy that had a lot of bad things happen to him. Please...promise me you'll think about it."
"For you, I will," Lee nodded reluctantly, then Ura stood up, "Did you win your match? Who did you fight?"
"Neji Hyuuga," Ura answered as she headed towards the door.
"Neji! Did you win!" Lee nearly leaped to his broken foot off the bed.
"I one, but barely," Ura answered as she turned to answer the last question, "I better go, Lee, it was nice meeting you. Maybe after the Chunin Exams we can be friends."
"Since you won, I will come to the final exam and watch you fight," Lee stated, then Ura left the room.
It gave her some peace knowing she at least tried to have him forgive Gaara. Ura put her hands behind her head as she smiled to the world, walking to wherever her feet were leading her. The warmth of the day captured her as she hummed a small tune that was stuck in her head. A light-hearted tune, it made her think about returning back to the Sunagakure with Gaara. She was so captured by her own thoughts that she didn't even feel the sand start to wrap around her waist. When she finally noticed the constricting feeling rub against her skin, Ura froze as she held her breath. Where was Gaara? Sweat formed on her brow as her lungs ached from lack of air. In an instant, Ura was yanked from the dirt road in Konoha to a small shack that held a Buddhist statue. She was slammed into the wall as Gaara's piercing, icy eyes glared at her as the veins in his eyes began to show, "You...saw him..."
"I-I did not! I went to get-"
"You're lying..." Gaara growled as he constricted his sand to cover her mouth, "You...saw him..."
She was going to die. Ura knew it that moment she was going to die by Gaara's sand. It couldn't end that way, she wouldn't let him kill her no matter what! Ura struggled more and more until the sand finally let her free to use her mouth, "I didn't see anyone at the hospital! Please believe me!"
Gaara glared even harder at her for what she was saying. She was a nuisance, always showing up when he didn't want her to. The only reason he had let her live so far was to see her use her fullest potential with her kekkei-genkai. However... She was strong without it. Ura was a prey he wanted to save for later after he was finished with the Uchiha. Gaara thrusted Ura away from the shack-like temple, "If I hear that you did go and see him, i'll rip you open and pull out your organs."
Ura wanted to say something flirtatious, but decided against it. Even if it was nothing, she'll take the fact that he hadn't killed her as a flirt and keep going. Ura got on her feet and dusted herself off as Gaara left the shack, "At this point, Gaara, you should realize that i'm not going to die as easily as you think."
That day must've been off because Ura was surprised to see Gaara turn and respond to her statement, "You always say you're stronger than me. How about you prove it then..."
Ura's spine froze. Fight Gaara, now? He had a point though, she was telling him too frequently that he couldn't beat her. Ura scratched the back of her head as she watched him cross his arms and give her a cold stare, "I've sworn to protect you so... Maybe not-"
"That as well, you're little promise to protect me... I don't need you," Gaara stated as his gaze narrowed on to her, "I've never needed you. The only use you could ever be to me is to help me feel alive by basking in your blood in my sand."
No matter how badly her words tore at her heart, she didn't want Gaara to see her hurt. She bit her lip until she thought it would tear and bleed in her mouth. Ura fended off his words with her hands on her hips, "The day you fight me will be the day you feel the most alive. You haven't even seen my best."
She was peaking his interest a little too much. Ura could see Gaara's eyes become more colder than she had remembered as sand began to pour out of his gourd. Did he really want to fight her at that moment? Were they allowed? Ura could tell Gaara was not going to back out at any moment since she egged him on enough. Her heart rate began to quicken as she eyed his sand, slowly pulling out her umbrellas. She didn't want to hurt him or use her kekkei-genkai on him. There was little chance she could get a drop of his blood when even Lee could barely make a scratch on Gaara. Ura had no idea how she was going to fight him when she didn't even know if she was going to live or not. Watching him fight and actually fighting with him were two different objects.
'I have his attention now... If I can dodge his attacks and probably do some really cool Blood Jutsu, then I can probably escape after that,' Ura thought to herself as she held out her arms from side-to-side as she held her umbrellas, 'The main problem is that i'm no where near as fast as Lee. Gaara will be able to detect my movements much easier.'
Sand is thicker than blood. Blood seeps into sand. A mixture of thick liquid and sand can cause a deadly batch of quick sand beneath blind feet. Ura had no other choice if she wanted to prove to him that she was a worthy opponent. Her main goal was not to win, but mainly to evade. She would need to evade his attacks, use some Blood Jutsu on him, and then evade away from him to safety. That will he will not be able to catch her and they won't have time to fight later on.
Ura prepared her umbrellas and began to twirl them in her hands as the sand continued to pour on to the ground from Gaara's gourd. When she was about to toss the umbrellas in the air, Baki leaped in between them, "You two can't fight now! There are too many things to be done before actions are taken placed!"
"She has been challenging me, I wanted to see what she can do," Gaara peered right through Baki to Ura with his still, emotionless, frozen glance.
Baki glanced over at Ura with a glare, "I should've known... I apologize, Gaara, but now is not the best time to ask for blood from her."
It took a long few minutes before Gaara reluctantly obeyed his sensei against his wishes. Ura was pleased in knowing she didn't have to fight Gaara. Maybe when they returned to Suna she would enjoy a fight with him, but not when he was asking to 'bask in her blood'. Baki disappeared as Gaara summoned his sand back into his gourd, still staring at Ura. She found the courage to walk over to him with a friendly smile, "I look forward to when we fight, Gaara."
"After the Uchiha, i'm coming for you," was all Gaara said before he disappeared in his sand.
Ura's eyes widened at the reality she was in. Gaara wanted her blood, but for the reason she wanted him to. Her friendly smile had turned to a face of realization that then turned into a defiant smile to the world. She had started to prove to him that her existence will mean more to him than he realized.
'One day, Gaara, you'll see me as the most important person in your life.'