Alrighty! Chapter fifteen is here and ready for you to read :) ENJOY!

Chapter 15, Pain.

I woke up to the feeling of flying. A feeling I haven't had since I came to this world the very first time and I was on Gaara's back because I had passed out or something. I slowly opened my eyes as I took a deep breath, looking straight ahead. My whole body locked up, grabbing onto whatever I could.

"Dammit!" I hissed. "Warn me or something next time you do this!" I felt the slight chuckle through Gaara's back. Even though his hair is still a light brown, I know its him. The feel of him hasn't changed.

Gaara dropped to the ground and set me down. "We are on our way to your part of the mission," he told me.

I glanced around, noticing we were alone. Good thing, too, or Temari would have found out who I am. "Where are Temari and Kankuro?"

"They are no longer part of the plan. It is just you and me, Kira." Gaara's tone was heavy, he said it harsher than he needed to, I was just asking a question. I crossed my arms and put all of my weight on my left foot, waiting for him to continue. When he didn't I rose an eyebrow, pursing my lips a little. He still said nothing and just stared at me.

"And what is this plan, all mighty Gaara?" I tilted my head to the side and rose both eyebrows at him.

"Too get you in and out safely," he said. "You and I will enter the village from the other side, where the others have not yet gone. We will find a cheap place to rent, and that will become our temporary home. Meanwhile, I will find my brother and sister and get a job at the same location as them. You," he stepped closer, leaning down to make his full point, "will stay in the apartment and train. I will mask the room so anyone passing by will know nothing. Understood?"

I scoffed and looked away, uncomfortable with how close he got. "What is so special about this town anyway? Why are we here and not closer to the enemy lines?"

When I looked back Gaara wasn't there anymore, he had walked over to a tree and was picking a flower from its vines. "Because this village is the home of a very important person on their side. I'm sure you will no doubt learn of who I speak of very soon." When he looked over at me his face was blank, but I could detect the slightest bit of anger in his eyes. "One more thing, do something about your hair."

I rolled my eyes and changed my hair color, just winging it and hoping it came out like something that looked good. When I was done I looked at Gaara for his approval, but I found myself falling towards the ground. Sand caught me before I could hit.

"Sit down when you practice next time," he ordered.

I sat on the ground and breathed, trying to control my temper and also trying to get my breath back from changing my hair. I reached up and pulled a lock in front of my face and smile at the color. Bronze, the same color as Savannah's hair. Even the texture is perfect. I jumped when loads of cloth was dumped on me.

"Put them on," Gaara said. I looked up to see him taking off his shirt, I couldn't help but stare.

His muscles are defined very well. Each with perfect detail. When he moves, they ripple under his skin, bulging here and there in rhythm. He pulled another shirt on, one that was sleeveless and slightly baggy, making him look more fat than muscular. But with the ways his arms look, anyone could summarize the power he holds. He caught me staring, and I quickly stood and turned my back on him to hide my blush. How can he make me blush with just a look? I shouldn't be embarrassed, but he makes me feel that way!

I held up the clothes he had given me and frowned. Does he really expect me to wear this? I let out a harsh breath and started taking off my uniform. The tight black AMBU clothing is really hard to get off. It sticks to your skin. I almost fell and giggled at one point, waving off the sand that rushed up to keep me standing. I slipped on the dress and zipped it up in the back. The deep blue of it sparkled in the morning light. Okay, at least he has color taste. I fixed the straps over my shoulders and bent down to slip on the knee high boots. If only he knew what it is like to wear these things. I bet he would destroy every single one after!

"Ready!" I turned and made a small pose, then glanced him over. He only changed his shirt. Big difference though. A sand table formed in front of me, holding bottles and brushes.

"You cannot wear the mask, but you cannot wear nothing," he said. "Do something to your face with those." The mirror rose level with my face and I took it, glancing down at the bottles.

Where is my mask anyway? Gaara had taken it last night and I haven't seen it since. What of the others? Do they know where we are? No, they probably just know I've left with Gaara and that is that. I opened the bottles and looked at their contents. This is going to be fun! I took a brush and dipped it in a dark blue color, one that would match my dress, and wiped the paint across my eye lid, bringing it up to a point. I repeated the same on the other side. That is good enough for my eyes, I thought. But then I remembered something. I reached for my bag, that I don't remember bringing with me, and took out my eyeliner, putting thick layers on. There. Now my eyes are done.

But I still need to do something about my cheeks. Kiba has those red triangles, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary if I have paint on my face. And Kankuro has his war paint, which I'm guessing he has taken off for this mission. A lot of people put paint on their faces. I took the same color blue and put two thick lines of paint across my jaw towards my hairline on the left side of my face. That should be fine, I don't need to repeat the same on the other side. This should be fine.

I looked over at Gaara. I took a different brush, dipped it in a dark brown color and walked towards him saying, "Don't move." He held still for me, like I knew he would. I painted two, natural looking, eyebrows on his face. I smiled and nodded at the result.

Gaara glanced in the mirror and almost rolled his eyes. "You still cannot speak," he reminded me.

"I know."

"And you cannot leave the apartment without me."

"I know."

"You can't use your powers for anything."

"I know."

"And don't talk to anyone if you see them, like Naruto."

I sighed loudly. "Gaara, I know. You don't have to go all Kazekage-sama on me. I know what I can and can't do. I know how important this all is."

He grabbed my upper arm, not rough, but with enough force to let me know he is serious. "Anyone you see you know, you cannot talk to them. It is very important, Kira."

"I know," I rolled my eyes. I tried to pull away from him, but his fingers tightened. "Gaara, let go." I glared at him. "I know the rules. I know my role. Let. Go. Of. Me." He finally let go, but he didn't move away. I turned my back on him and went about fixing my hair, twisting it this way and that and clipping it up with a few clips I had in my bag.

When I was done, also when I was calm enough to face him again, I turned and looked at him, nodding towards the woods. He nodded and lead the way, carrying my backpack over his shoulder. We walked maybe a mile, my feet were screaming at me way before we go to that mark, when we came upon a road. Gaara slowed to walk by my side as we walked down the dirt road, heading towards a village just below us in the valley.

I came to a stop and bent down to massage my ankle. He is so going to pay for making me walk so far in these things. Women always pretend it doesn't hurt, we wear them all the time! But the truth is, they hurt more than getting stabbed in the heart a thousand times over and living through it all. Yes, that is how much pain we women go through to look cute. Men just don't understand.

I stood back up straight and stretched my arms over my head. Another thing is this dress. It is cute, but terrible to walk in. It's hot, tight which makes it hard to walk in, and I have to hold it up so it doesn't drag in the dirt. At least I have my hair up. That might be the only good thing right now.

"Are you all right?" Gaara asked.

I took a deep breath and let it out harshly, putting my hands on my hips. "You are going to have to carry me. I already have blisters the size of your fists." Gaara frowned and looked down at his hand, making a fist. His face paled slightly. I couldn't help the smirk that tugged at my lips. He can be such a child sometimes. When he looked back up at me, I held my arms up like a little kid would do when they want to be picked up.

Gaara walked over to me and put one arm around my back and the other under my legs and lifted me into the air. I put one arm over his neck and held on to his shirt with my other hand. With the pressure off my feet I can now think without the bothersome pain trailing everything I did. I smiled wistfully and wiggled my feet. No more pain! At least until he has to set me down, that is.

When we entered the village Gaara set me down, the pain back almost immediately, and we talked over where we would look for a place to stay. I've never been to this village before, and neither has he, so we decided to look for a motel room until we found a place of reasonable cost. Plus, that's what normal people do, right? They just don't jump into something. So we ended up getting a room at the same place as the others. I saw Kankuro and Temari the moment we walked in. Seems they had the same idea, too. But they didn't recognize us, which is good. And Gaara said nothing to them.

"How can I help you?" the girl at the desk asked. Her smile was too fake.

Gaara glanced over at me, then looked back at her. "We are new in town and need a room. I don't know how long we will need it, we are looking for a place of our own."

The girl smiled brighter and nodded, looking down at the book in front of her. "Would that be one bed or two?" Her eyes glanced me up and down and returned to Gaara.

"One," he said without a bat of an eyelash. I looked down at my feet willing myself not to blush at such an obvious statement. I think we need to have a talk about his bluntness. Normal people would say, "My wife and I can share a bed." Then you have the whole "wife" word in there. But no, big dummy here doesn't even say that much.

I was stopped cold. Wife? Did I really just think that? Hell! We could be brother and sister for all this girl knows! But wife? That would mean we were married... and one bed at least signals we are messing around! I groaned on the inside and closed my eyes. This is going to be a long, long, mission.

"And can I get your name, sir?" Okay, this girl is starting to annoy me. It's obvious she thinks Gaara is hot, and she isn't even trying to hide it in front of me. How does she know I'm not his wife?

"My name is-" he cleared his throat, probably remembering he can't give his real name. "My name is Anzai Jiro."

She nodded and wrote it down. "And your daughters name?" My jaw dropped. What a bitch! If what we are doing wasn't so gosh darn important I would reach over that desk and smack her silly! How young does she think I am!

Gaara put his arm over my shoulders and pulled me a little closer. "My Fiance's name is Kumiko Ai. Soon-to-be Anzai Ai." I smirked and put my arm around Gaara's waist. Yeah, that's right, girl!

But another cold chill swept over me. Fiance. Wife. Attachment to someone I've been longing for? Yep, this is going to be a long mission, indeed.

– –

"Quick thinking," I said after Gaara put of the barrier of sand. No one will be able to hear us now. "With the names."

He shrugged and went over to the window. "We will have to keep up our roles. It is important. And I need to see Temari and Kankuro."

I kicked off my shoes and laid down on the bed, stretching out. "Just come here and let me change your hair back, I don't want them knowing I have this power. You weren't even supposed to know, but I guess that part has been blown." But I rolled over and snuggled against one of the pillows. I'm so tired, I just want to sleep and sleep and sleep. I sighed lightly and smiled, snuggling even closer to the pillow.

I heard Gaara sit down in one of the chairs on the other side of the room before I fell asleep.

And what a blissful sleep it was.

When I woke I woke to an empty room. No Gaara in sight, but all of the barriers were still intact. I decided to take a shower. My hair looked horrible when it came out of all the tiny braids I had put it in. I took a quick shower a redid my hair when I was done. I slipped on a different dress I found in my bag and put on some flat sandals. I'm glad he got the hint about the shoes.

I was just about to walk out the door when it opened and in came Gaara. "We need to talk," he said, shutting the door.

I sighed dramatically and sat down on the bed. Great, and I thought I could explore for a little while by myself. Guess that isn't going to happen! "What?"

Gaara crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the window to the side. "I talked with Kankuro. Everyone else is in place by now. It's just us that need to get set up."

"Did you see him looking like that!" I stood up and yelled at him. "Gaara! I told you not to. This is supposed to be a secret! I can't believe you went behind my back and saw him. Now everyone is going to know about my power. Didn't I say I wanted it to be kept secret!"

"Just like you never wanted to tell anyone you were alive?" His voice was quiet, but it was like a slap in the face. I fell backwards on the bed, the breath rushing out of my lungs. "I didn't say or show anything." Sand swept around the room, coming off the walls and wrapping around Gaara. The next thing I knew I was staring at my red headed green eyed muscle man. He turned his head so that even his Kanji was visible. I hadn't noticed it was hidden before. The sand shifted again and went back to the walls, filling in the holes it created. Even the Kanji disappeared.

"That's not fair," I whispered, still a little breathless. "You have no right to use that against me."

Gaara spun on me so fast I flinched backwards, throwing my arms up in front of my face. But he didn't stop. He grabbed my arms roughly and pulled me to my feet. "I have every right to use that!" he yelled. "You left me behind to raise the twins alone! You were gone for ten years, leaving me with them. Leaving everybody behind! And suddenly your back? And you don't tell anyone?" He let go and pushed me backwards, making me fall back on the bed. Fear froze me. "Those kids cry themselves to sleep sometimes, wondering why their mother didn't love them enough to stay! They come to me, pleading me to tell them stories about the mother they never knew. And you don't want them to know your here? What kind of mother are you?"

I dragged in a breath of air, my jaw moving uselessly. His words sting, but the fear numbs it. Have I ever been this afraid before in my life? Yes. Yes, I was afraid like this once. It was when Sasori was after me that night all my friends were slaughtered. That is where I've felt fear like this. I pulled my knees up towards my chest and tried to breathe, but it didn't help. How is Gaara doing this? This isn't him. This isn't the Gaara I know. I choked again, coughing and sputtering on air. I can't fill my lungs. It hurts. I clawed at the blankets, trying to move away from him.

"And you think I have no right to say that!" Gaara grabbed my ankle and pulled me back, yanking me into a sitting position and holding my shoulder with a tight, very painful, grip. "I spent ten years thinking you were dead," he hissed in my face. "Ten years. Do you even realize how long that is!"

I shoved at his chest, still trying to breathe, but I couldn't do either.

"Do you understand how much pain you put me through! Do you get what it was like seeing you die? Seeing you take your last breath? Listening to the cries every night of the children you bore? Seeing the sadness on every face I passed? You were everywhere. I couldn't get rid of you! Do you know what that was like!" He shook me, and that was when I got the breath to scream.

I screamed and smacked him hard across the face, scrambling over the bed and falling to the floor on the other side. "Stay away!" I screamed when I saw him move to come around the bed. "Stay away from me!" It was then I realized I was crying. I crawled across the floor and balled up in the corner of the room, hugging my knees as I watched him with wide eyes. "Stay away," I whispered. I kept whispering it, over and over. I couldn't make myself stop.

The sand dripped from the ceiling and Gaara was gone.

I bit and screamed into my arm, trying to contain myself.

Well? What are your thoughts on this chapter? Leave them in a review for me!