𝙰𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝙻𝚘𝚞𝚍𝚎r. (𝙶𝚊𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚡 𝚘𝚌)

The Final Day ( Chapter 13 )

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All of the days of waiting but one had passed, Ura was able to use her new puppet efficiantly, just enough to break a few bones. The sun was high in the sky, there was little clouds in the sky, just scattered in different parts as the wind gently blew through the village. The birds chirped on the ceilings of the rooftops as Ura walked through the village, heading to the hospital. Gaara and the others didn't hear her leave, this time, Ura didn't want anyone to know where she was going and why. Ura had to finish this buisness for Gaara, to make sure his battle with Lee ended for sure.Ura walked into the building, none of the nurses or doctors were in, so Ura just looked into the room numbers until she saw the one she wanted, Lee's room. Walking at a normal pace down the hallways, she clutched the surprise she was going to give Lee, something that would end Gaara's constant muttering about ripping him inside out. Then, she appeared at his doorway, the door was closed, but then she opened it without knocking. The dark haired guy was sitting up in his bed, wearing his pj's, bandages were on his right arm and on his cheeks. He heard her come in and gave her a deadly glare, "Who sent you!? I know who's team you're on, and I won't let you defeat me!""I came on my own..." Ura stepped closer, holding the surprise behind her back, waiting for the perfect moment.Lee noticed she was hiding something, he was about to try and get out of bed, but was too weak, "I will summon my sensei if you come any closer..."Then...Ura held out a desert flower in a small vase with little water, "I brought this for you, I wanted to apologize to you for what my teammate has done to you. Since he will not apologize for himself, I will make pay for his actions."Lee greatfully took her gift, staring at it in his lap as he held it, "But...but... You are his teammate, you are supposed to hate me or want to finish me. I do not understand.."Ura gave him a gentle smile and look, she had gained his trust to sit at the end of his bed, "I do not agree that he should've went that harsh on you, and for toying with you for so long. That's why I had to come and make amends Gaara is not ready to make." With a breath, Ura stood back up and got on her knees near Lee, "I'm very sorry Lee, I really am!"Lee didn't know what to say, here was Ura, apologizing for Gaara, she didn't even know him, and he didn't even know her! He sat the desert flower underneath the sun on the windowsill, then he looked over at her, "It is easy to see that you did not wish this upon me, but you must have honor for your own team.""I know...but I have too much, I nearly killed that Neji kid in the Preliminary Rounds...I wanted to prove to my teammate that I was able to defeat anyone," Ura smiled at that memory, she had nearly went as crazy as Gaara went when he was defeating Lee.Then Lee's eyes widened, "You beat Neji!? How!? He's the strongest man in Konoha!"Ura gave him a confused look, was he really the strongest man in Konoha? Then how did she beat him? The look on Ura's face was in confusion, though she trained for so long, she was the one always losing to Temari and Kankurou when they had to battle. Lee noticed, then gave her a friendly smile, "It is good to see that you have altered the rumors spreading about your team. I guess not all four of you are that bad at all, I accept your apology and gift."

The relieved Ura, she knew Gaara does not need anymore enemies, so she would do anything to decrease that number for him. She stood up and took a step back, "It was nice meeting you, Lee, and I wish you the best of luck through your recooperation and restart your ninja training."

"But the doctors said I cannot... I have accepted that fate well enough," Lee looked at his wrist, his eyes dull and depressed.

Ura walked back over to his bed and gently touched his wrist, giving him a determined look, "I was once a poverty child that worked many hours, my parents could not afford normal schooling for me so I was supposed to be a ninja. My sensei thought I would die in in one of the missions as a Genin so he didn't care about what happened to my own fate. Through all of the hard work I went through, I became what I am today, I can proudly say 'I did defeat Neji Hyuga', even if I do die in the final test. I know you have worked very hard to get to the Preliminary Rounds, but if you give up on yourself, no one will respect you, Lee... Train longer, harder, do anything to make even more pain throughout your body, but do not feel like there is no other way for you, because there is."

Her words spoke to Lee he had only heard from his sensei, on instinct, he hugged her tightly. Ura didn't know how to react to his own reaction to her little speech, so she just hugged him back. After a few minutes, Lee and Ura pulled away from each other, then she smiled at him, "I hope you come watch me in the final rounds, i'll be needing all the cheering I can get."

"Do not worry, I will be there even if I have to crawl," Lee nodded.

Ura walked to the door, but then turned, "Oh...the flower I gave you, there is a small story behind it. That desert blossom has already bloomed, but when the desert blossom blooms, it blooms forever. Just think of it as strength, once you get to your full potential, you have it for life. Well, my team is probably looking for me, it was nice seeing you, get well soon."

As fast as she came into his life, she had left as well, Lee didn't know what to think of that strange girl. He looked at the flower she had given him, '...it blooms forever...' echoed in his head, maybe this random girl named Ura was right...

"Who were you visiting?!" Temari snatched Ura's arm as her teammate left the hospital, "Do you have any idea how Baki is acting, thinking who you were visiting!?"

"No one! I was just getting some more bandages for my arms," Ura tried to pull away, but Temari had a firm grip on her arm.

Temari pulled Ura down an ally, then threw the girl to the ground, "You know Gaara wants Lee dead! So why'd you visit him!? Huh? Why'd you give him that desert flower? Gaara is going to see that and suspect only you of giving that to him! Making Gaara want to kill you for interfiering!"

"I didn't do anything but give him a few words of encouragement!" Ura got on her feet and yelled back, causing Temari to slap her across Ura's face.

Temari had smacked her very hard, sending Ura staggering to the side, getting her posture against the wall as she held her cheek. As Ura winced in the pain Temari inflicted upon her, Temari grabbed the top of Ura's shirt and wrenched her so she could get a good look at Temari's frustration, "You've been on this team long enough to know what is right and what can get you killed, right now, you're going to get yourself in Death's list! Do you want Gaara to rip out your heart and crush it to sand!?"

"No.." Ura strained to answer.

"Then you better be quick and think up an explination to why you were here and why there is a desert flower in Lee's room," Temari thrusted Ura away, "I could understand you feeling sorry for Lee, but this draws the line!"

Temari stomped back to where they lived, Ura had a huge red mark on her cheek where Temari had slapped her. She stood up straight, brushed her hair back in place, then began to walk back to the hotel rooms they had. As she walked, Ura could tell she was being watched, but the question was..who? Then, she felt something snag at her foot, but when Ura was about to see what it was, she was being dragged to an abandon building by something! She didn't have any of her weapons on her, so Ura began thrashing to get away, but whatever had her was not willing to let go.

When Ura was fully inside the building, strong hands grasped her up and slammed her against the wall, then...face-to-face, icy blue eyes bore into her own as the person pinned her against the wall. Then, when her eyes focused in the dark, sand was holding her up against the wall...the person was Gaara. This time, fear envoloped her mind, even when she tried her hardest to keep calm, the rising panic was wrenching at her soul. The sand covered her mouth to keep her quiet, and from screaming her head off, then Gaara began to speak, "I've warned you far too many times..."

The crushing sensation began as Gaara narrowed his eyes on her, the look in his eyes changed to what they were when he fought Lee returned, sending a wave of terror into Ura. She tried to squirm, even began to scream, but there was nothing she could do...

"Scream all you want, no one can hear you... Now, explain why you went to the hospital today..." the sand uncovered Ura's mouth as Gaara folded his arms over his chest.

After catching her own breath, she managed to finally explain in a rushed tone, "I only went to get some more bandages for my arms! There is n-"

The sand covered her mouth again, but the squeezing didn't return, meaning Gaara only half-believed her. Gaara stared into her sandy eyes, contemplating on what he should believe, what she was saying, or what he felt was right. Then, he shot her a sharp glance, the sand released her and crawled back into his gourd on his back. Ura got on her feet, but had to lean against the wall for support over her legs, and she gave Gaara a defiant smirk, "If you're doing this just to frighten me, you're not doing a very good job...meaning, I must be a threat to you."

Now that had gotten Gaara to give her a deadly glare, she was really pushing her luck, but words had to entwine him as well as actions. Ura made her way to the door, but did not open it, she just stared at Gaara as she placed on the knob. Gaara made no attempt to stop her, until he just gave her an evil smirk, "A threat...to me?... Then there is only one purpose for you now...by killing you, destroying your existence...I will feel more than alive again..."

Feelings raced through Ura, love, fear, sorrow, and many more, all were bouncing around. On one end, she wanted to plead forgiveness from Gaara, but on the other, she wanted to up one to Gaara... So, Ura proudly stood tall, holding her eyes locked onto his own, not daring to look away, "Good luck with that, I won't die easily...not even for you."

With that, Ura got out as quick as she could, she had tested death just a few moments ago and was not ready to hear Baki's wrath yet. But, she had to get it over with, so she went to the hotel rooms, and entered the main room, where Baki was in a rage. When he had seen her, he was able to surpress his anger and calmly approach her, "Did..did you go to the hospital today?"

Ura nodded..

"Did you see anyone in paticular?"

Ura shook her head.

Baki eyed the Genin in front of him, but then went back to pacing around the room. Ura went to her own room, exhausted by being questioned by three strong people, she was glad Kankurou didn't really care. As she layed on her bed, she looked to the corner nearest to her, there sat her wrapped up weapon, Karaus Jr. That was her secret weapon in the final rounds, no one knew she was using a pupptet, yet... Ura looked up at her ceiling, at that point, she didn't feel sorry for who ever was bound to fight her, all Ura could feel for the poor soul was enthusiasm. A slight smirk appeared on her face, it would be her time to shine in front of Gaara and everyone that thought she was weak.

Defeating Neji was not enough, she only won because of the mess on the arena floor, and using her hari, she did not win from brute force. Now, she had an ace up her sleeve, no one knows how she can use a puppet, and once she brings it out, Ura will have full advantage. But...there was one person Gaara wanted to defeat now...and it was the Uchiha. If she could defeat the Uchiha first, then Gaara would want to test her own strength, though he already wanted to fight her.

But...the threats he was giving her now was only to scare her off, not taunt her or coaxing her into battle, oh no, Gaara would never waste time with that. If Ura could prove her strength and capabilities far enough, Gaara would then see the high limits to her power. It was only a matter of time when their real battle began, and then she would give it her all. When they fought, Ura would die trying to win against Gaara, but as long as she got the privlage to fight him, that was all she had to know that her ninja life was complete.

The front door slammed shut, meaning Gaara had returned for something, which was abnormal because he was never there during the daylight hours. Someone knocked on the door, then Kankurou walked in, "Hey, someone has to watch Gaara today...i'm not really up to games with him, can you cover me today?"

"Yeah," Ura got up from her bed and went into the living room, where Gaara was just about to leave again.

Then who came in through the front door? Must've been Temari, she wasn't anywhere in the hotel rooms they had. So, Ura followed Gaara, both acted like nothing happened, until Ura then asked, "Where did you plan on going?"

"The hospital," he growled, giving Ura the only reason he was tolerating her company, he was testing her.

"You don't know anyone there...who do you plan on seeing?" Ura tried to fully understand Gaara's little plan for the day.

"That boy...the one who I destroyed," Gaara tilted his head far enough to his side to show Ura the evil glint in his eyes.

Ura knew exactly whom he was talking about..Lee...he was in danger, but Ura couldn't do anything to stop Gaara, not now. Especially when he was like this, Ura wasn't prepared to try to stop him, she didn't have anything to harm him, or defend her. Trying to talk Gaara out of this was really out of the question, no one could reason with Gaara, only he could contradict himself! It was one of those unspoken laws that everyone knew by instinct, but the fact was that Gaara was planning on destroying Lee!

Both Genin entered the building, none of the nurses were back, even though it's been about an hour or two since Ura had come. They had slipped passed Sakura when she was looking through a book at the front desk, and were making there way through the halls that Ura had walked through. Then...to Ura's dismay, entered the taijutsu master's room, where he slept peacefully. Against her own will, she watched as Gaara approached the bed slowly, sand pouring out of his gourd, Ura knew she was about to witness a murder.

She really wanted to cry out to Gaara, beg him to reconsider, to not kill someone who had such big hopes and dreams. In a weird way, she could relate to Lee, having such goals that looked non-existant, but were still determined to reach them. If Gaara were to kill Lee, Ura knew a small part of her would die as well, leaving a huge flesh wound that would show to the world. Sand covered Lee's limp body, Ura clenched her fists, she was betraying Lee's trust, a new friend she had made she was going to lose. Then, Ura was about to do whatever she could to make sure Lee survived, but...she couldn't move!

"Gaara..can you move?" Ura muttered, trying to move, but failing.

Both Gaara and Ura looked to their side, there stood Naruto and Shikamaru, both came right on time. Shikamaru manuvered both bodies to face him and Naruto, then Naruto glared at them, "What were you two going to do to Lee?"

"I was going to simply kill him," Gaara stated like it was nothing.

A huge argument waved over, Ura kept glancing over at Lee, half making sure he was still alive, but partially at Gaara, trying to figure him out even more. Over the time, Ura had seen the good and the bad of Gaara, but...in a way, she felt a deeper connection with him, someday..he would be shown there was more to life than murder. Then, when Ura snapped back to reality, Gaara had control over the sand again! She shot him a worried stare, "No! Not here Gaara!"

"Don't tell me what to do," Gaara glared at her, threatening to kill her when she was motionless.

"Alright that's enough, save it for tomorrow," Gai rammed himself in, sending away Gaara's sand with easy.

Gaara felt the memories swim through him like a river, but only faltered for a second, before collecting himself and leaving. At the doorway, he turned, "All the same, i'll kill you all."

It took a few more seconds until they directed their attention at Ura, who had regained her movement, she then scrambled to where Lee was still sleeping. She had to make sure he was ok before she left, it was all she wanted, "As long as you're alive...I still have hope for my own future..."

Naruto, Shikamaru, and even Gai were surprised at this, a Sand Genin was actually showing respect for her teammates enemy. Ura then stood up, she faced the four other shinobi, and with a solemn/saddened face, "Please...don't hate Gaara, that's just what he feels is his purpose, but..."

Ura paused, she had to calm her rising emotions she kept locked up for Gaara, "If you knew what he was really like...maybe he wouldn't seem so terrifying... By the by, I apologize for his actions, give Lee my best."

With that, Ura quickly left in one hand-seal, leaving only a cloud of smoke. She reappeared besides Gaara who had left, he didn't ask why she stayed behind, nor did she ask where he was off to next. It was only tomorrow that counted in their minds, who they were fighting, and the anticipation it was bringing. The sun was slowly ready to set, and Gaara was walking back over to Kikyo Shrine, where he was going to sit at his normal spot when the moon would rise. Ura sat below Gaara this time, the stars came out in little specks, until the full moon began to rise.

A calm sense of inner peace swept through her, Ura never felt more like an innocent child again sitting beneath Gaara, watching the moon. She forgot about the matches tomorrow, and only concentrated on one thing, and it was right above her, Gaara. Her spirit warmed, a little something was telling her that Gaara would realize there was someone who loved him more than anything in the world, someone who would die for him if it came down to that.

*I swear on my life Gaara...I swear to everyone in the world, that I will never let you be degrated to nothing...One day, I hope you become the Kazekage of the Sunagakure, and prove yourself to everyone...Then...I will do the impossible for you, i'll always be there for you, even if you never love me in return...*