𝙰𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝙻𝚘𝚞𝚍𝚎r. (𝙶𝚊𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚡 𝚘𝚌)

Devistation ( Chapter 34 )

The crowds were bustling with laughter and life, which was quite different for Kankurou, Temari, Gaara, and Ura, the four ninjas that were used to having the village isolated. Nanima led the group to a busy, but not too busy, clothing store where the Jonin began to shift through random clothes. Gaara followed Ura around as she searched through several articles of clothing. All of it seemed too outragously expensive, though Nanima said she'll pay for it, but none of the kimonos caught Ura's eyes.

"Pick something out so we can get out of this wretched place," Gaara scoffed as he looked around the store.

"There's gotta be something in here that I like, I don't have a picky taste," Ura commented as she put a kimono away.

"Here, just put this thing on, have Nanima pay for it, then we can find a place to sleep in," Gaara shoved Ura into a dressing room, slammed the door shut, and threw the kimono he chose into the room.

A few minutes passed, Gaara was growing impatient, and when he was about to bang on her door, the door opened. Ura stepped out in the small kimono that Gaara shoved her in with, the kimono showed off most of her legs, and exaggerated with a huge bow that tied it all together. The earth brown color with the gold trimmings easily favored Ura's tan eyes and brown hair, and giving some color to her pale skin. But the sash that held the little kimono together was pure black, making the outfit work.

"I like this one, what do you think?" Ura turned around in it, giving Gaara a 360 look of her.

"It reaches my standards by just having something on you. Now take it off and give it to Nanima so she can pay for it, I was already informed that she has rented out a shrine for only you and I," Gaara walked off.

"Oh...ok," Ura mumbled as she stepped back into the dressing room.

Once she had it off, Ura put her old clothes back on, then just stared at her reflection. Without an expression her face, though she was going to be the wife of the Kazekage, there was not a trace of that power on any of her features. The daughter of the working class that abandoned everything to have what she has now, Gaara. Love. Happiness. But the other part of her hated everything she had to do to just get Gaara's attention. The anger that dwelled inside Ura made her balled up her fists, the person in front of the mirror was taunting her, telling her she was living a lie. Through Ura's anger, she threw her fist at the mirror, making it shatter all over her fist and floor. Her eyes widened at the realization came to her, cringing as her fist stung sharply.

"Ura? Are you ok?" Temari broke the door down, then saw the blood everywhere, "Oh Kami!! Ura!"

Temari pulled Ura out and looked at the hand, "It's a good thing you had bandages on, you have some blood out, but they'll heal. What happened?"

"I just...slipped," Ura looked away.

Temari eyed Ura for a few moments, then handed her own outfit, and Ura's, to Nanima, "We're going for a walk, if Gaara asks, tell him i'll return Ura to his shrine safely around sunset."

"Uh..sure," Nanima just gave them a weird look, then turned around to pay for their clothes.

Ura and Temari walked out of the store, the two Sand kunoichis easily got questionable stares and confused looks at their tattered attire. Temari took Ura to a lone bridge and brought her to the middle of the bridge, "What's going on Ura? I haven't you lash out like that since your battle with Sasuke in the Chunin Exams. Is there something wrong between you and Gaara? Did he find out about your fling with Kankurou that one night when Gaara told you about Sasuke?"

"It's not that Temari...and how did you know about that?" Ura asked.

"I live there remember? I hear everything that goes on in that mansion," Temari answered quickly, "Now tell me what's wrong, something obviously got you upset."

"I promise it's nothing important.." Ura looked away from Temari's powerful stare.

Temari's eyes softened up, then said, "It's been awhile since we last had a good conversation, but your my best friend, and it worries me when you get this upset. I know I can't pry out whatever you're dwelling on, but remember that i'm always here to listen to anything you want out."

"Thanks, but you can go now, I need to be alone...g'night," Ura walked away from Temari.

Temari just watched as Ura walked off the bridge, there was something wrong, but she didn't know what. With a sigh on her lips, Temari headed back to the shrine she and Kankurou were going to share. As she walked slowly, the sun slowly began to settle down on the horizen, a cool wind caressed Temari's cheeks as she thought about her friend. It wasn't Ura's history that Temari thought about, that had come and gone, but it was the way Ura delt with her emotions. For as long as Temari had known Ura, that kunoichi pushed aside the bide and tried to cover it with what was good and nice. Temari had a smirk at that thought, it was only a matter of time before Ura would fume up enough, then explode. No one can hide anger for long, it just wasn't right or natural, and Temari knew that any anger that was hidden by Ura was meant for Gaara only. She could warn him, but that would be interfiering with their relationship, she had one of her own that was going through a rocky stage anyways.

"Hey, Temari, where's Ura? She ok?" Kankurou asked attentively as Temari approached their shrine.

"She needs to be alone, so don't go wandering off to her," Temari stated as she sat on the porch, "The least she needs right now is you sticking your hand up in her."

"I only did that once and she didn't like it!" Kankurou sneered at her.

Temari paused for a few seconds then growled, "I didn't need to hear that... But anyways, if you go off to talk with her about anything, she'll only look to you for comfort, not anything else. Besides, this is about Ura and herself only, what she's feeling has nothing to do with you, Gaara, or Sasuke. All Ura needs right now is some solitude to collect her thoughts."

Kankurou looked into the direction that Temari came from then turned to his sister, "But...I would like to talk to her like you do, because i'm not her lover anymore..i'm her friend."

His sister sighed as she relaxed against her chair, "You lost that title when you two became lovers, that frienly connection was lost when you invited her to your bed. She doesn't see you as her 'non-blood brother' anymore, Kankurou. Now you are her ex-lover that loves to mess around with her."

"Why? Why can't I just be her friend again like you can? What's wrong-"

"Because I didn't cross the line like you did!! I didn't screw everything up like you did!! And I didn't be the false protection for her when she needed to forgive and forget. Fate would've taken it's turn without you knocking her up at every chance you took," Temari stated harshly, glaring at him, "Ura doesn't feel guilty for sleeping with you and Sasuke, she's afraid...she's afraid that someone will tell Gaara and she'll lose her one chance at happiness because of you. Sasuke was her fault, but you could've prevented her many nights with you."

Kankurou was agasped by Temari's reaction, he didn't see it that way before. He slumped against the railing, looking down at the fine wood beneath his feet. Temari continued to give Kankurou a stern look, "I know you care a lot about her, and you never want to see her hurt again. And I know the only reason you did that was to try and cover the wound in her heart, but sometimes we can't be what we aren't supposed to be. All you can do to help Ura now is to just be happy for her and stay away, that's all we both can do for her now."

**Ura**

Sitting on the bench as the stars began to form, Ura went to the distant place in her head that she hadn't traveled so deeply before, not since her match with Sasuke so many years ago... That part of her mind was darker, due to the fact she hid all the angry and resented thoughts that dwelled inside of her.

(inside her mind)

"So...you've returned again, why this time?" her inner conscious appeared before Ura, "You haven't used your Sharingan for a long time, are you seeking power or revenge perhaps?"

"No... I just need a sanctuary," Ura sighed, "The anger is starting to come forth again, and I can't use any jutsu to hold my anger inside of me longer."

"It's because we both know you can't rely on my side of you to hold on to it, there are times when you need to allow me to release a little bit at a time to get rid of it," the inner Ura commented as she looked at her nails.

Ura looked up at her other side and gave a fowl stare, "But I can't have that, if I release anymore of the anger I gave to you, then I might hurt someone! And that isn't good at all, so if you can't keep the anger with you, then I will have to put a jutsu on yourside and the anger to keep you both at bay."

"Look, hun, you can put any jutsu on me and the anger, infact, you could put millions on me and your anger. But here's the sad part, they'll never work, you're only human Ura," her inner self mocked Ura, "If you don't see that by now, then you're screwed for the rest of your life."

"Why can't you just hold it in for me? I'm not angry that much," Ura began to get overly worried.

"Because it's not healthy, if I just hold all of your anger inside of you, you'll end up as an angry old woman who lost her husband and hasn't got a family," her inner self got in Ura's face, "And do you want to mess everything I basically got for you?"

"You? How did you get me Gaara? You didn't do anything but win the match with Sasuke! Even after that fight Gaara didn't notice me, so you did nothing to help!" Ura got right back in her inner self's face.

"If it weren't for me you wouldn't have gotten this far, you would've given up and went back to being a common slave girl who married a slave man who offered nothing! If you think you got this far on your own, then you're dead wrong! I was the one that was your backbone, I was the one who forced you to train harder and longer, I was the one that won all of your missions and battles! You, on the other hand, are nothing but a worthless piece of crap that is just a girl, while I am a woman who has done the impossible so that we both can have Gaara," her innerself raged on about, "Without me, you're nothing."

Ura just eyed her innerself, she could see how angry, even her inner self, was getting from the emotions she's been trying to hide. Both sides glared at each other, Ura then stated, "I am the woman that carries you inside to keep strong, you are not needed, only summoned when I cannot go on any further. Don't think just because I only use you when I can't fight a battle that you own me, because, truthfully, I can live without you as my other half."

(outside her mind)

Ura opened her eyes as she slipped deeper in the wooden bench, the emotions off her inner arguement poored out of her leaving Ura overly exhausted. A sigh of frustration were released from her lips, there was so much happiness around her now, but why was she so depressed? Ura knew they would eventually save Leila, that wasn't why, and the kunoichi also knew no one would tell Gaara her fling with Kankurou or her night with Sasuke.

"You don't look too good, Ura."

The kunoichi looked up to see bushy brows staring down at her, so she stood up to greet Lee in the cool night air, "I'm alright, what are you doing out here?"

"I was taking a walk with Sakura, but she wandered off saying she had some buisness to take care of. So, I saw you and decided to keep you some company," Lee smiled brightly at her, then asked, "Isn't Gaara wondering where you're at?"

"I'm sure he is, but I wanted to be free from Gaara for a few moments," Ura shrugged, "But until I want to go, I want you to stay with me."

"I'd be glad to," Lee and Ura began to walk slowly over the bridge, "So, I heard about your little rendezvous with Kankurou...are you seeing him too?"

"No, that was just a big mistake, I was really, really drunk and Gaara and I had just gotten out of a big fight. When Gaara left, I drank a few tons of sake, then Kankurou walked in. I thought he was Gaara, so I slept with him thinking Gaara, him, came to apologize. The next morning I threw Kankurou out and hoped that no one would tell Gaara," Ura explained.

"But let me get this straight, you're worried about Gaara finding out about Sasuke because you knew he was searching for you when you screwed Sasuke," Lee commented.

"Exactly, but don't say that statement any louder than you already did," Ura looked around worriedly.

Both Lee and Ura continued to walk until both ended up at Ura's shrine with Gaara. Ura then turned to Lee, "I'm going to the bar to have a few shots of sake, can you just hang out with Gaara until I get back please?"

"Sure, go ahead and relax yourself," Lee nodded and allowed Ura to walk off.

Lee stepped into the huge shrine made for the Kazekage, he was a trifle nervous being knew Gaara when it was just them do to their first battle together. Though Gaara and Lee had made amends a long time ago, Lee just couldn't shake that feeling off of him. The shinobi poked his head in the main living room to see Gaara pacing as he looked up at the clock every five seconds. Lee then stepped into the room with a slight bow, "Lord Kazekage, Ura sent me to hang out with you until she returns safely back here."

"Where did she go to in the first place?" Gaara snapped at Lee as he turned to face the loyal Leaf shinobi.

"She's at the local bar to have a few shots of sake, then she'll return," Lee answered like a true shinobi.

"At ease, you don't have to be tight," Gaara commented as he looked Lee up and down with slight confusion, "When will she return?"

"I do not know, Lord Kazekage," Lee informed Gaara as he stood straight, "But I am sure it will not be long, Ura never seemed to be a heavy drinker."

"Then it's obvious you don't know Ura like everyone else knows her," Gaara began to pace again, a nervous habit that really needed to be checked, "Ura doesn't know when to stop when it comes to her and the sake in front of her. I better go get her before she ends up in the dirty hands of wealthy men."

Lee stood in front of the door, standing between Gaara and the door, one of the dangerous places to be at the moment, "She wishes to be away from you for a few moments, there is a lot going on in her right now that she is very worried about."

In that one comment, Lee covered his mouth, knowing he had spilled too much already. Gaara narrowed his eyes on Lee as he grabbed the shinobi's arms, shoving him into the main living room again, "What's going in her head? And don't try to with-hold informatiion from me, I can see that you know something important."

Gaara uncorked his goard, allowing the sand to pour to the ground, purposely scaring Lee out of his mind as a reinactment of their first battle. Lee crawled away from the sand, "I-I-I-I can't... It isn't-t-t the way of a true shinobi to divulge secrets best left hidden."

Now the Kazekage was losing his patience, it was either Lee or Ura, and it was much more effective to torture Lee until he spilled or getting Ura pissed off again, especially when she's drunk. The sand formed into a hand, pulling Lee to Gaara as the sand wrapped around Lee, lifting the shinobi up to get eye-to-eye contact with Gaara. Lee closed his eyes tightly, hoping that Gaara would not harm Lee again like the first time, but he didn't want to tell Gaara what Ura wanted left alone. He then heard Gaara growl, "If you don't tell me, then there is going to be another mysterious death for Konoha."

Lee didn't know what to do, he has never told a secret in his life and didn't want to now, but if if he didn't, Gaara would kill him! What was the worst of the two sins? Have Ura mad at him for a long time because Gaara would go after her, Kankurou, and Sasuke? Or his funeral? Lee did not care much for Sasuke, and he didn't really know Kankurou all-too-well, but Lee did know Gaara ultimately loved Ura. He knew Gaara wouldn't just up and leave Ura like that, nor would he kill her, all of his frustration would go on Kankurou at first, then it would be Sasuke, then it will all come down to Ura. Then, a thought hit Lee, he had no other choice but to tell Gaara, but not everything, in fact, he could alter the information!

"Ok, I will tell you, but please...let me free and I will not run," Lee groaned in pain.

Gaara released Lee from the sand, all of the sand going back into the goard until Gaara corked it back on, "It's about time."

It took a few seconds for Lee to come up with a good enough explination to tell the enraged Kazekage, "In Konoha, before you and Ura hooked up, Ura and Temari went to the local bar. Temari went out with Shikamaru and Ura drank alone, until Sasuke came... Uchiha made sure Ura was heavily drunk before taking her into his bed."

Lee saw Gaara tense up at the thought of his enemy hold Ura the way he had held her many time, then Gaara grumbled, "Go on..I know there is more."

"Ever since then, Sasuke has been looking for a relationship with her, but found none. He gave up, but..from what I have been told from around your village, your brother is infatuated with Ura. For as long as I can remember when a man told me how Kankurou has hit upon Ura, even when he knew you were in love with her and searching for her. Even now, he has strong feelings for Ura and desires to do what you do to her, and he had that chance when you and Ura got in a huge arguement about something, he left his home to go 'comfort' Ura. What he did, if he got lucky or not, I do not know," Lee explained.

In less than a few seconds, Gaara shoved passed Lee and went to the local bar...