𝙰𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝙻𝚘𝚞𝚍𝚎r. (𝙶𝚊𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚡 𝚘𝚌)

Nothing But The Truth ( Chapter 20 )

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The blazing sun beat down on Ura as she entered her village, going to the mansion where she knew Gaara was impatiently waiting on her return for the Hokage's answer. Though the guilt was still washing over her, in a way, Ura felt better about herself after the night with Sasuke. As she walked on the sandy ground, Kankurou appeared besides her, "I wouldn't go see Gaara yet... He's close to finding out your feelings for him.."

Ura pulled away from Kankurou, "You told him!?"

"No, I didn't, Temari and I had to give him hints to get him off of our backs!" Kankurou covered her mouth with his hand, looking around to see if Gaara was near, then said in a hushed whisper, "Look, ever since you left on your mission, he's been in this search to find the woman we were describing. Temari and I were giving him hints about how long you've cared for him, and what you were like, but he doesn't have the faintest idea that it's you."

"Then it should stay that way," Ura sighed with a saddened face, "It's better that Gaara doesn't find out it's me anyways."

"Aw don't get in your depression again, I hate it when you get like this," Kankurou grumbled as he put on a pouty face, then he looked her up and down, "Have you lost weight? You look different..."

Ura looked down at her body, then her arms, "Not really... I don't think much has changed about me for a few months...why? Do I look famished?"

Kankurou then smirked slyly, "No, but I can see the hickies on your neck and the scratch marks on your back. You're not wearing your bandages..."

"Oh...whoops," Ura was a bit embarressed to feel the tenderness on her neck hurt when she touched the mark, "I guess...I forgot to put some ointment on that... Is it that noticable?"

"Very," Kankurou chuckled at how bruised her sides were, "So, who was the lucky guy? Lee? Naruto? Or was it that Neji guy?"

Ura looked at the sky, how was she going to say that it was Sasuke without getting Kankurou angry? Kankurou detested Sasuke with the height of rage, and if he had heard that Ura was shared with the Uchiha, Kankurou's hatred would take himself to Konoha, or just ignore Ura for a long time. So, Ura just shrugged, "No one in particular..."

"Yeah right, I know you better than that," Kankurou slapped her on her back lightly, "C'mon, tell me who it was!"

"No one that I knew, I had too much sake and I didn't know who I bedded with," Ura stomped off, not wanting to say or do anything more with Kankurou.

The shinobi took the hint and walked off, allowing Ura to go to the mansion to recieve her money, then get some rest. Ura slowly walked through the hallways, trying to remember what to say to Gaara, just to get him out of the way for the day. She made another corner to hear paper ruffling, books being dropped to the floor, and some parchment on a scroll being torn in Gaara's office. Ura was about to turn away and just leave, but Gaara called out, "Enter, Ura."

With an annoyed sigh, Ura walked into his office and nearly passed out at the huge mess of paper all over the office floor. Gaara was at his desk, searching through paper furiously, and his hands were coarse from paper cuts. Ura was unable to speak, so she just approached him slowly, "I...here's the parchment...Naruto-sama agrees..."

Gaara snatched the parchment and quickly read it before placing it on the bookshelf and getting back to skimming through paper, "You may leave now..."

"Uhmm...what are you doing anyways? Is there something I don't know about?" Ura asked, having a huge sweat drop go down her head as Gaara went faster.

"From what i've been told by both of my siblings, there is a woman in the village that has strong feelings for me. Seeing how most women here are gold-digging wenches that love the money and not myself, I feel obligated to find her and see for myself," Gaara didn't even look up at Ura as he shifted from ruffled papers to nearly ripped scrolls, "I'm looking up every woman in this village and i'll have either you or Temari find her."

Now Ura felt completely insulted, "What if she died a long time ago? Or fell in love with a different guy and moved on!?"

That had caused Ura to get death glare from Gaara, but Ura gave him the same glare, he had hurt her, and she wanted to hurt him. Ura approached Gaara and slammed her hand palms into his desk, "Her feelings might've faded throughout the years of waiting for you, and if you just search for her now, you'll end up what she had to be feeling for several years, anger towards you and emptiness for being so alone! This woman you're seeking probably wanted to just leave so she didn't have to see you day-in and day-out! If I were that woman you were looking so badly for, I wouldn't give you the time or day because you waited so long!"

After Ura huffed out, Gaara stopped doing his papers and thought about what Ura had said. Would the woman he wanted to meet so badly hate him for waiting so long? That was it..Gaara could wait no longer, he desperately had to know who this woman was, or else he would lose the one person that might've loved him. Gaara stood up, there was only one sibling in this village that Gaara could...'pursuade'...into telling him who the secret woman was. The Kazekage left his mansion, and went to the nearest bar right before noon, where he found his elder brother already drinking some sake alone.

"Kankurou...you're going to want to turn around now..." the bartender man went nervous at the Kazekage behind Kankurou.

Kankurou sighed, "What's wrong, Gaara? If it's more h-"

"No more hints, I want the answer now," Gaara stated, unplugging his gourd, "Or you'll face the penalty of death."

The puppet shinobi turned in his bar stool, he knew Gaara would do it without wasting a breath, but Kankurou was used to those threats, so he didn't fret. Kankurou didn't want to blow off Ura's cover, but it was time the woman faced her worst fear and made Gaara see who the culprit was, "Fine..just put your gourd away."

Gaara listened, but he crossed his arms defiantly, "Well...say it."

"Before I say her name, you have to understand she has tried to forget everything about you, and even tried to move on," Kankurou led Gaara to the back-room of the bar so they could talk in private, "Plus, she really didn't want you to ever know her true feelings after her feelings began to fade. So..when you find out, you really have to think about how she's dealing with life right now..."

"Just say it already..." Gaara was growing impatient.

Kankurou gulped, "Ok...it's uhm...well... Ura."

Silence filled the room, Gaara's eyes had widened as things became to come clear, all the things she had done for him when they were Genin. All that she had done when he came to the hospital, how worried she looked, how relieved she was when he came to... Kankurou shifted his feet, "If she ever asks...tell her I did it...it's better that she's mad at me."

Gaara was just..surprised.. Both his siblings were right when they said she was right under his nose the entire time. But...just half an hour ago, he then realized the look in Ura's eyes were hurt that he caused upon her, the present pain and the past pain...

'If I were the woman you were looking so badly for, I wouldn't give you the time or day because you waited so long!' rang through Gaara's head as he recollected his thoughts about the last few years of his Kazekage life. That was why Ura avoided him, she didn't want her heart to be anymore broken than it was before.. A new purpose came to Gaara, he had the one person that loved him the entire time, and he had pushed her so far away. Kankurou saw the troubled look in Gaara's eyes, "Look...if it makes you feel any better, Ura is thinking about giving you a second chance..."

Gaara just walked out of the back-room, he had to bring her back, all he wanted now was a friend, someone he can forever rely upon. Though the clocks striked noon, Gaara made his way back to the mansion, to find the woman he had been searching for weeks for. The hallways never seemed so long as Gaara made his way to the one room he had to find, the one room that contained the one person he had to find before it was too late...

**Ura**

Trying to sleep in Gaara's mansion was almost as impossible as breathing under water without dying. She heard the stomping footsteps reach outside her door, along with four loud whacks on her door. Ura groaned a little as she opened the door, seeing Gaara stare back at her, "What is it now, Gaara? I finished my mission, I was paid, and I would like some rest."

When she was about to make a snide comment, Gaara stepped closer to her, making her step back as he shut her door, "Don't speak..."

If Ura was back to being a girl, she would have pissed herself and fainted right there on the spot, but she was a woman now, a woman that had her heart broken from being ignored for far too long. She stood her ground though, "This is very inappropriatte behavior, Gaara, and I want you to leave my room right now, or i'm leaving for good."

Gaara backed her up against the wall behind her, taking hold off her upper arms, gaining control over her entirely, "I said don't speak..."

"And I said get out!" Ura was unable to push him off, "What part of that don't you understand?"

The Kazekage was confused to why Ura was trying to get him out when everyone said she had loved him...was this what Ura was talking about? That she was angry with him because he didn't realize her for a long time? Gaara caressed her cheek with his right hand, "Do not be displeased with me... I never meant to hurt you this badly."

"What...what are you talking about?" Ura gave him a confused look.

"Don't act like you know nothing of this...Kankurou told me everything about your feelings for me..." Gaara murmured without any emotion written on his face, "Now I understand why you lashed out at me in my office, I had offended you..."

Ura was so embarressed, her face flushed instantly from the overwhelming feeling she was getting from being exposed, "But...but why did he do that? I told him that I didn't want that to ever come out! He swore to me that he wouldn't!"

"He felt you were protecting yourself for far too long, now you must face me..." Gaara pressed her harder against the wall, "I've been looking hard for you, not getting any sleep and barely eating, I had to track you down like a foolish idiot. Now that i've found you, I will do everything I can to keep you here..."

Oh how deep inside her Ura wanted that to happen, but the pain and lonliness that Gaara had given her over time won again. Ura had the strentgh to push him away, "Oh no you don't! Do you know what Hell you put me through while we were Genin!? I did the impossible to get your attention, and once I did, you kept wanting to kill me! Plus, I never got to fight you, and I never will! I always wanted to fight you to prove to you that I was another human being, a human being that loved you even though no one else did! You don't know how worried I was when the Akatsuki had kidnapped you, I was about to rip out Kankurou's heart out when he told me! When I heard that they were going to take out Shukaku and leave you for dead, I planned my own death so I didn't have to live without you being in it! Every bit of my kunoichi life was to get closer and closer to you, all I wanted as a young kunoichi was to have you safe and content with life! Over the years that you ignored me even more, you never considered all the things i've done for you to make you as powerful as you are now! Now, out of the blue, you expect me to come running into your arms like a weak wench just because you only did a week's worth of searching when I did 14 years of it!"

Gaara then gave her a softer look, "That was because I didn't realize that 'love' even existed in this world... I apologize if I was not as sane as I was before as we were Genin together, but all that can be changed, circomstances are different now."

"So that's it...? Just because you say things are different now that i'm supposed to feel beter? Let me tell you this, Gaara, I felt I was not good enough for you...and been hurt for far too long to allow myself to believe that i'm good enough now," Ura balled up her fists, her inner self was crying out to stop herself from going on, tears ran down her face as she looked away, "You may have rarely felt physical pain...but you have felt emotional pain... Even now... I feel it..it's much stronger than anything before... Love may fade...it can be masked...but it never goes away... Though you've broken my heart to a million different pieces..somehow... I can still love you like I once did before...and... I wish it would just go away, so I didn't have to feel it continue."

Even Gaara wanted to embrace the woman in front of him now, how shattered she looked, battered, worn down, defeated... Those three traits Gaara was not used to seeing in such a strong kunoichi as Ura, this was their battle, their non-physical war... Ura had her bitter barrior up, trying to force Gaara back away from her broken eart, but Gaara was putting up a fight, he would not leave empty-handed. Gaara approached Ura slowly, he was unable to say anything without her wanting him to leave...

He approached her even more, but all he did was barely brush his fingers against her wrist, "Give me a second chance to heal what's left of you."

Ura wanted him out, but...she allowed her barrior down, giving him a slight nod. Though it was still unofficial, Gaara would do everything he could to make her love him all over again. The kunoichi looked up at Gaara, in one second, hope had shown in her tanned eyes, a second chance for both of them. He stepped back, respecting her space, but Ura had done the most unsuspecting action that Gaara never expected from her.

"Gaara!" Ura quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him as tight as she could, her cheek to his chest.

Her tears made a wet spot on his semi-formal clothes, but, in instinct, Gaara held her close to him, allowing her to cry in front of him, for once. Gaara could feel something grow between them, a blossom of a new feeling of desire of the heart and soul. Then, Ura pulled away, "I'm tired...I want to sleep now."

Gaara nodded and left her room, passing his brother with a woman in his arm, Gaara didn't mind that, as long as he didn't have to here the noice....

Ura was extremely exhausted, but as soon as she shut her door again, another pair of knocks were heard. She grudgingly stomped to the door and slammed it open, "What now!?"

Kankurou with a red-haired woman in skanky clothing stood in front of Ura, and Kankurou said with a sheepish grin, "You still owe me, remember? The three-some?"

"I'm way too tired to do that tonight, Kankurou," Ura rubbed her temples, "Besides, it's half-past noon, it's way too early and too hot to do stuff like that now."

"We weren't going to rustle now, I just wanted to let you know, by the way her name is Sashi," Kankurou wrapped his arm around the woman, "She can't do it tonight, so I was thinking tomorrow night we can get down in the sand."

"Kankurou...you know I hate it when you want to do it in the sand, I never get the sand all out when i'm done," Ura complained, "Can't you just screw her and leave me out of it!?"

"Naw...you're like a little girl when you're getting done by me, you scream and moan like crazy, and plus it's hott when two chicks kiss," Kankurou smirked at that thought.

Ura slammed her door in their face, she would repay Kankurou in some way for her debt to him, but a three-some? Never. End of story, she had enough sex and love making to last her a month, she didn't want to do any more than what she had already done. Ura layed in her bed, she did not feel hurt any more, or filled with bitterness or anger that she with-held for a long time. Now, she felt renewed, like there was still a chance at happiness for her in the end.

A smile got itself on her face, a smile the represented what was to come, but...she knew it wouldn't last that long, something was bound to come and ruin what happiness she had left. It was then Ura heard that bad omen, a small girl's cry outside her door....