There was a night when Gaara was on the Kikyo Shrine looking at the city as midnight rolled around. Ura had been assigned to watch him that evening by the others and stayed at a distance. She was capable of watching Gaara at the steps to the shrine. Ura lain on her back to gaze at Gaara, how mystical he looked in the night with his crimson hair and short stature body. Almost like he didn't belong in reality. She was content with her gaze on him until she felt an unfamiliar chakra.

The chakra was approaching Gaara just a tad bit too closely for Ura's comfort so she began to stalk the new presence. She made it to the rooftop unseen be either the unfamiliar person nor Gaara. Her eyes were the color of blood as she prepared for a quick show down if this person meant Gaara harm. Ura stalked just a bit closer and glanced from behind the large fish statue, it was Dosu! What was he doing near Gaara? She listened to Dosu's reason for being there.

With hope to kill Gaara in his sleep... Ura's blood boiled at the words as her eyes turned into an even brighter of crimson. She looked all over Dosu's body for a scar of sort to kill him, but there was none on his body except the scars that were healed. Ura was about to pull out a hari in hopes of scratching him, but she had witnessed sent a wave of terror through her. She could see the shadow of the beast as he emerged from Gaara, crushing Dosu with merely his tail. The same terror paralized her from going to Gaara when her returned back to his normal self. Ura stabbed her palm with her hari to gain control of her motor skills and ran over to him, "Gaara, do you need anything?"

"Get...the hell...away from me," Gaara glared up at her as she neared him.

She would have to say a comeback later on, there was no way she wanted to fight Shukaku. That would just be instant death for her...

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The next few days

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After Dosu's death, Ura told Temari, Kankurou, and Baki that she would like to remain as Gaara's watch person. Though they were curious to why she wanted the post that badly, they ultimately agreed. Ura lounged on the couch as she watched the minutes go by on the clock. Gaara was in his own little room, she could hear him whisper about 'Mother' and blood. As long as it wasn't her blood, she was ok. Ura looked up when she saw Kankurou come out of the kitchen, "Has Baki told you the plan yet?"

"Naw," Ura continued to watch the clock, "If he doesn't, i'll just follow you guys."

"That's your best option," Kankurou sipped on his glass of water, then glanced down the hallway, "Gaara in his room?"

"Yep," Ura nodded, then stretched her limbs, "When can we go?"

"Tomorrow," Kankurou answered, but Ura could tell he was anticipating whatever the plan was.

She wasn't supposed to ask, but why was it so damn important that it had both Temari and Kankurou on edge? Gaara was even told and he didn't seem to care. Well...he really didn't care about much to begin with...so he doesn't count. Kankurou sat on the other end of the couch from Ura as he looked up at the ceiling, "I just wanna go home and be a Chunin. Being around all these brats are driving me crazy."

"Yeah..." Ura looked out the window, she wanted to see some people before she left though.

Maybe buy Naruto some ramen before she left, got to apologize to Sakura for whatever she did to make her dislike her, and hang out with Hinata, Kiba, and Shino one last time. There were a few more things she'd like to do before leaving, but it was looking pretty bleak if she volunteered to be Gaara's watcher. It was choice though she was willing to make, besides... She'll see them all again, right? Maybe even sooner than she'll think.

Kankurou noticed Ura looking out the window in such a longing manner. He would've let her go do what she wanted to do, but Baki had scolded him about giving her what she wanted. In Baki's words, he had said that Ura was a lot like Gaara. That she found ways to get her own way above any one else's. It didn't sound like Ura to Kankurou, but his teammate was in love with Gaara. If Gaara was selfish, then did that mean that Ura was too? Doubtful, but whatever. The final exam was tomorrow anyways, so they should stick together as a team rather than let Ura wander through her substitute home. He found the remote and turned on the tv, flipping through the channels. Anything to get his mind off tomorrow and whatever training Baki wanted him to do. It wasn't as if he was going to fight tomorrow...

"Could you watch Gaara for me today, there's something I forgot to do," Ura got off the couch and headed for the door.

"Sure," Kankurou answered, but Ura was already gone.

There were only two people she really wanted to see, but if she saw the others then she would be fine too. Ura walked through the village as if it were her last time, saying 'hi' to people that waved to her. As she walked passed a large lake, she stopped as Kakashi walked out from another street and glanced at her, "So, looking for Naruto?"

He had been her mentor and sensei for the first few years before she branched away from his training. Ura nodded as she stared at her old sensei, in a way she would miss him as well. Though she trained and taught herself her kekkei-genkai, Kakashi had pushed her to use it more in battle than as a secret technique. Reality summoned Ura back as she walked up to the Jonin, "Where is Naruto?"

"At your favorite cliff," Kakashi answered as he touched her shoulder gently, "I am sure by now you've heard what i've done."

"Yeah," Ura looked up at him with a soft smile, "Thanks, i'm looking forward to going home."

Kakashi watched as Ura went towards the forest. She was no where as strong as he had thought she would've been at that point...

Ura made her way through the forest in hopes of finding Naruto. When she got to the cliff, she did find him. He was sleeping peacefully in the soft grass. Ura approached him and sat on her knees beside him, running her fingers through his hair like she would a child's. She admired Naruto and hoped she taught him well for her time there. He may be mad at her now, but he could forgive her someday for wanting to be in Suna more than Konoha. For the years she was by his side, Naruto had reminded Ura so much of Gaara when he was a child. He was playful and curious like Gaara, and his temper was just like Gaara's when his friends were being harmed. Ura smiled softly down at Naruto's sleeping face, she would miss him and their friendship.

She watched as Naruto slowly starting to wake, but leaped up when he saw her sitting next to him. An angry blush caressed his face as he messed up his hair, "Who said you could touch me!"

"Don't be mad," Ura laughed as she looked up at him, "This day might be my last day here, and I came to spend some time with you, Naruto."

Naruto calmed a little, but sat at a distance from her, "So... Kakashi and old man Hokage are letting you go back to the desert.."

"Yep," Ura nodded as they bothed looked into the direction of the Sunagakure, "I bet it's different."

They sat in silence for a few more minutes before Naruto stood up again, "Hey, Ura... I haven't seen Sasuke or Sakura in awhile. Could...could you..you know..."

"I'd love to help you train," Ura stood up as well, "You're going to fight Neji, so i'm going to teach you how to evade his attacks."

Four hours on end, Ura practiced with Naruto on the art of evasion. She tried her best to remember Neji's move and had Naruto simulate some of his attacks on her as if she were Neji. Ura even tried to teach Naruto on where Neji will be aiming for on Naruto's body. Of course, since Naruto's attention span was not that long, she had to repeat what she had said to him a number of times before he finally understood and remembered. Ura felt some nostalgia run through her as she remembered how she would teach and train with Naruto a few times a week to help him become stronger. Even battling with him gave her some hopes that she would see him and the village again one day.

When they finished, Naruto and Ura were both cut and bruised from practicing. Ura held a smile as she saw that Naruto was definitely getting stronger day by day. Each day he showed more promise of becoming the next Hokage. She hoped someday he would so she could enter through the village with ease and not have to worry about being martialled as trespassing. Ura helped Naruto up and fixed his headband, "I'm going to miss this, Naruto. When I leave, you better be the strongest Shinobi in all of the Land of Fire. After I fight Gaara, i'm coming for you."

A smile formed on Naruto's face as she said those words. Ura treated Naruto to ramen, and on the way to the ramen shop, Ura spotted Hinata, Kiba, and Shino across the way. Though Naruto wasn't all for them joining, Ura had them come along as well to eat as well. It was like a going-away party for Ura as the five ate ramen and talked about the exams. Ura didn't tell them what she had done in the Forest of Death or her feelings for Gaara, but she listened to their stories. Hinata was glad to hear that Ura had fought Neji and had nearly beaten him. Ura knew Hinata didn't hate Neji, she was just determined to be just as strong as him so she didn't need to be discarded by her father. The others asked what Ura was planning on doing when she returned to her village.

Ura really didn't know what to do when she went back home to her village. Well, win Gaara over, but that could take years especially if he were to ever change who he was currently. She wanted to be the Kazekage as well and be the strongest Kunoichi of Suna. There was a lot of work to be done if she even wanted to be a Kage. Ura merely smiled and answered to her questions, "I'm going to be the best kunoichi Suna has ever seen."

She didn't want to end the day, but the sun was starting to lower. Hinata and her team were going to go help Shino train some more as Naruto and Ura stood outside the ramen shop. Naruto looked over at Ura, "So... I guess you gotta go back to your team.."

"Yeah..." Ura scratched her shoulder as she looked away from him, "Naruto... Whatever happens between our countries, I want you to know I won't be the enemy."

She turned her gaze to Naruto to see that he was staring her as if they first met. His eyes were wide as he stared at her, Ura turned her gaze to a warm, content, friend face. Ura lowered herself just a little bit to see eye-to-eye with Naruto. He took a step back from how close she was and glanced away, "I guess...this is...goodbye then.."

"For now," Ura reached into her hari pack and pulled two hari, lightly stabbing her palm with them. The blood soaked into the hari as if it were natural metal and handed them to Naruto, "Keep these to remember me by. Use them when nothing else works."

Naruto examined the hari, then put them with his kunai holster. He then looked back at Ura as she started to turn to walk away, "Good luck, Ura."

Ura looked over her shoulder and smiled at Naruto, "You'll beat Neji, I know it."

They turned and went their separate ways. Ura crossed her arms as the cool air whipped around her as she headed back to the hotel. She guessed that maybe Baki wouldn't be happy that she left, but it didn't matter. Instead of taking the short cut, Ura decided to take a longer route to look at the scenery. She went through the park where there was a gray cobblestone walk path and benches by the trees for one to sit and relax. There were many times when she would relax after helping Team 7 train or help Kakashi teach them new techniques. Memories flashed through her mind as the moon began to rise in the night sky.

She paused, someone was watching her from afar. Ura turned behind her to find no one was there. That didn't mean someone wasn't following her. Placing a hand on her hip, Ura called out lightly, "Come on out, Sasuke, I know you're there."

The Uchiha leaped from a tree to about five feet from her. Ura vaguely remembered their last conversation when she was drunk off of sake. She wasn't mad at him or anything, but if she wasn't going to see him again for a long time, then she wanted to get the feelings out between them. Ura knew Sasuke was much stronger than Naruto or Sakura, and possibly just as strong as Gaara, but Sasuke was looking for something more. His hatred for his brother was strong as well, which fed into Sasuke wanting to solely fight his brother. Becoming a Chunin, Jonin, or whatever didn't matter to him. Ura didn't want to stop Sasuke from fighting Itachi, but she didn't want him to get in Naruto's way as well. Naruto looked up to Sasuke, and if Sasuke left to fight Itachi or to become stronger... Ura wouldn't know what Naruto would do.

"You're not going to win against Gaara, Sasuke," Ura started as she narrowed her eyes on the Uchiha, "I've seen you train and Gaara is still stronger than you can imagine."

"Then you haven't seen what i'm capable of doing now," Sasuke smirked as showed her his bandaged hand, "I've learned a thing or two over the last few days of training with Kakashi."

"I also heard that mark on your shoulder gives you a good boost when you're angry enough," Ura neared him, then disappeared to reappear behind him, pulling down his collar to examine the scar with one hari.

Sasuke leaped away from her, "Don't touch me..."

"I'm warning you, Sasuke. Gaara is anticipating the fight between you two and you don't stand a chance," Ura twirled the hari in her fingers, "If you can't even beat me, how do you think you'll win against Gaara?"

"So you're admitting he's stronger than you," Sasuke stated as he tried to anger her.

"He is," Ura nodded as she ran her fingers through her hair with her hari, "Even I hesitate to fight Gaara."

"How about we see how strong I am with a fight?" Sasuke suggested as he got in his new fighting stance.

Ura thought about it and decided against it. Fighting Sasuke gave her a good chance that Gaara would be pissed. Then...if Gaara saw that she could still win against Sasuke even with his new jutsu, then he would see her in a new light. Ura thought a little more about the scenario that might go down if she fought Sasuke. It would help her use her new Blood Jutsu too and see if they would be effective in battle. Ura closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them to expell her crimson iris with a smirk, "Ok, i'm ready."

She saw Sasuke bring out his Sharingan and leaped back a ways. What did he plan on doing that made him think he would need to gain speed. Ura crossed her arms as she pulled out her umbrellas, preparing for whatever Sasuke wanted to try on her. Her heart stopped beating for a moment as she saw small sand bits floating and then forming in between Sasuke and Ura. The Uchiha didn't see what Ura was witnessing most likely because he was holding his wrist downward. Ura knew Gaara was about to summon himself between them, and whatever Sasuke was doing would hit Gaara! As soon as she stepped to the side, Gaara's body started to form from the sand.

"Gaara, get out of here!" Ura stated quickly as she heard the sound of bird's chirping behind Gaara as he faced her.

"Don't tell me what to do," Gaara glared at her, ignoring the sound behind him, "I'm fighting the Uchiha, don't get in the way."

"That's all fine and great, but now's not-"

Too late, Sasuke was running at them from the distance and getting faster and faster each millisecond that passed. Ura didn't have enough time to argue with Gaara and couldn't warn him. His sand wouldn't stand a chance at Sasuke's attack. Strange as it was, Ura was visibly able to see Sasuke's blue chakra that sounded like birds. No matter how weird it was, she could easily see that it was a powerful attack. Ura ran behind Gaara and threw one umbrella to the side, using the one in her hand as a barrior to protect Gaara and herself.

It wasn't enough. The moment after she readied herself, Sasuke's chakra attack broke through her umbrella and hit her directly. She had never seen Sasuke as strong as he was when he hit her, sending her flying back as if he had hit her with a sledge hammer. Ura growled as she rolled on the ground, then found her balance and landed on her feet as she continued to slide back. The attack had hit her arms and missed her body, but she was pretty banged up from hitting the ground so hard. Ura managed to run back over before Sasuke and Gaara into it. Sasuke couldn't believe himself that he had hit Ura as hard as he did. Gaara noticed Sasuke's surprise, but didn't say anything. If anything, he wanted to save the murder of Sasuke tomorrow during the match so everyone could see.

Ura approached them and glared at Sasuke, "You..." she panted somewhat, "You almost hit Gaara. I won't..." she panted some more, "I won't let you harm him...outside a battle arena..."

Sasuke then understood why Ura risked getting hit instead of letting Gaara take the attack for her, even if it was unintentional. He glared even harder at Ura, then smirked, "Fine. We'll save this one for later."

"Right..." Ura grimaced as she watched Sasuke disappeared, then turned to Gaara, "Did he get you? I hope you didn't get hit with that."

"You're a pest," Gaara glared at her as he crossed his arms, "Stop doing things like that, it's annoying."

"I mean to keep my promise, whether you like it or not, Gaara" Ura stated softly, she wasn't mad at Gaara no matter how hard he tried to hurt her, then smiled, "I'm glad you're ok at least."

Ura looked down at her arms as she felt her warm, thick blood slide down her arms where Sasuke's attack hit her. They were hurting pretty badly, she would need to wrap them up. Sasuke's attack wasn't that strong then if it hadn't broken her bones, "I think the Uchiha has much training to do if he wants to be stronger than me. That was nothing. You're definitely going to win tomorrow, Gaara."

Gaara was already disappearing in his sand when she finished. Oh well, he would listen to her eventually, right? Ura remained outside for awhile more to look at the moon with a smile, Gaara was safe for another night.