𝙰𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚂𝚙𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝙻𝚘𝚞𝚍𝚎r. (𝙶𝚊𝚊𝚛𝚊 𝚡 𝚘𝚌)

Re-Awakening ( Chapter 25 )

To run from everything you once loved...to run from the fear you keep inside.... It is only natural that all that you run from catches up to you. No one can run forever, the past will always find a way to come back to haunt your dreams. It takes much more than just hiding to take away the memories of before, it takes much more....

It was the day Sasuke had to leave, and Ura was searching frantically for Gaara, but he was no where. She had asked one of the working Jonin, but he only told her that Gaara was busy and was to not be disturbed. That was not enough for Ura, she HAD to find Sasuke before it was too late. Ura ran through the halls, searching for the familiar chakra of the Kazekage's. A door flew open, Ura couldn't stop, which led to her being rammed into the door.

"I'm so sorry!"

The kunoichi quickly composed herself, Naruto tried to help her up, but Ura just lightly pushed him off of her. She rubbed her head, but when she tried to continue running, Naruto grabbed her wrist, "Wait, why are you in such a rush? Did something happen to Gaara?"

"No...you can't let Sasuke go on this mission!" Ura grabbed Naruto's arms, "If you let Sasuke go, he's gonna die!"

Naruto eyed Ura with his deep blue eyes, trying to fully understand what she was saying, "I know you care about Sasuke, but it's unhealthy to be that possessive when you're Gaara's lover."

"Lord Hokage, you have to believe me when I say you cannot let Sasuke go!" Ura stated again, "For the sake of the Uchiha's life, you have to talk Gaara out of allowing Gaara to go!"

"My decision is final, Ura."

To Ura's dismay, Gaara was right behind her, listening to every word she had said to the Hokage. Gaara approached the Hokage and Ura, his arms crossed, "I'll have you both know I already sent the troops out to the location of this mysterious man."

"No...Sasuke..." Ura's eyes widened, it was too late, Gaara had beaten her to her plan of saving Sasuke.

Naruto could see that Ura was absolutely bent on keeping Sasuke out of Gaara's plan, the way she leaned against the wall when Gaara informed her about what he had done. The Hokage didn't know who to believe, the Sand Kunoichi, whom he trusted that she had good judgement, or the Kazekage, who has been his friend and ally for years. Gaara took Ura's arm, soft but firm, and said, "I'd like to talk to you in my office..."

As Ura went to his office, Naruto gave Gaara a stern look, "If your kunoichi is right, that you are planning to kill Sasuke, I...I will have no other choice but to disconnect our countries as allies."

Gaara turned to Naruto, a bit threatened by Naruto's glare, the Hokage never seemed so powerful and over-ruling before. The Kazekage stood tall, connecting his eyes with Naruto's, "Any accidents that may occur will not be associated to how I feel for your Uchiha. His death is none of my concern."

"Then you are planning to kill Sasuke," Naruto crossed his arms, "Am I right?"

"None of the least," Gaara stated, then he took his leave to his office, where Ura waited.

**Ura**

Ura stood in front of the window, wondering if Sasuke was alive. Though she did not love Sasuke, he was her friend, she did not want him to die because her lover was jealous. Her eyes scoped out the desert, all she wanted was a friend, Kankurou was on a mission, and Temari had left back to Konoha to visit Shikamaru, leaving Ura all alone to deal with everything in the desert.

"Finally you're away from Sasuke, it's about time."

There was no need to see who it was, of all people Ura did not want to see, 'they' had to show up. Ura turned to see a pair of teal eyes staring back at her own, "I can't believe you did that, do you know how much trouble you could have caused in this mansion!? You almost got Sasuke killed on the spot!"

"Whatever to keep you away from my friends," Sakura crossed her arms, "You made Sasuke break my heart in the beginning, and do you think i'll end there? Never. I'll never stop destroying your life like you destroyed mine."

"Destroy yours? How did I do that!? You have Ino, and she loves you more than Sasuke could ever love anyone!" Ura stated, "So why are you bent destroying what I don't have!?"

"You have got to be kidding me! Every woman in this village wants to be Gaara's wife, they want to share his bed, to have his heart. You don't know how many people would want to be in your shoes right now, to be the lover of Gaara, the Kazekage of the Sand. Living in this beautiful mansion, to be treated like a queen every waking moment of your day...and you say you don't have a thing to stand for," Sakura shook her head in distaste, "Face it...you're not good enough for anyone."

The past had come again, those same three words had come again to knaw at Ura's mind. 'Not good enough' had come to visit again, once she had truly believed that she was not good enough for Gaara, but here she was, in his home, in his heart and mind, his lover. Ura balled her fists, glaring at Sakura with intense hatred, "I am good enough, because I love Gaara more than you deserve Ino. That woman has been there for you ever since Sasuke left on his own free will. And you're lecturing me about me not being good enough? Ino deserves a woman that can return her love with full gratitude."

Sakura's eyes widened for just a second, then flashed to a deep pit of resentment, "You've gone too far, Ura, and i'm going to show the Sand that you aren't the great kunoichi that they claim you to be. Gaara will see how pitiful you are, and your own family will want to forget you exist."

That was it, Sakura had pushed Ura too far off the edge for Ura to hold back any longer. Ura pulled out five hari in each hand and threw them straight for Sakura, controlling them with her chakra string. Sakura easily blocked the move by leaping out of the way, and dashing towards Ura with two kunai in each hand. The kunoichis used Gaara's office as a battle ground, not caring what they knocked over or destroyed, their hatred for each other made them blind to their surroundings.

Sakura cloned herself and punched Ura straight in the stomach, sending Ura against the wall, where Sakura furiously punched Ura on her ribs, face, and shoulders. Ura finally found an opening where she kicked Sakura's knees and began to scratch the Leaf Kunoichi with a burning passion of anger. Blood squirted from both kunoichis, causing a huge mess all over the office floor. Sakura pushed Ura off of her, then flew a kick straight at Ura's face. Ura was knocked out of the window, Sakura following after Ura, both kunoichis falling at a fast pace. The Sand Kunoichi grabbed Sakura's ankle, managing to throw Sakura below her at an even faster rate. Sakura was slammed into the ground, Ura was able to land on her feet, but teetered a bit to regain her balance from the bruises and black eye she recieved from Sakura. There was a cloud of dust and sand in the air, Ura had her guard up as she waited for the next attack.

Then, something grabbed her from below, pulling her down into the sand! Ura couldn't escape, her head had poked out of the ground, leaving her very vulnerable to any attack. Sakura stood in front of her, "See, you're not so great after all."

Sakura pressed the bottom of her shoe against Ura's face, forcing Ura's head back into the sand, nearly breaking her neck in half. The pain was unbearable, the feeling of numbness was going through her spine, the bottom of Sakura's shoe was threatening to paralize her forever. At the very last moment, Ura was able to summon her ultimate weapon..her puppet... A figure flew out of Gaara's office, smashing straight into Sakura! Sakura leaped away from the puppet, then the door opened...out came Ura! The Leaf Kunoichi looked at the spot where Ura was drapped into, but all that was left was sand! Ura ran at Sakura at such a speed that even Lee had a hard time catching up to that the punch that Sakura recieved sent her flying back very far.

From that trick with using the puppet took up most of Ura's chakra, but both kunoichis had used up most of the chakra anyways. Sakura was strong enough to get back up again, heavily bruised just like Ura was, but both had the will to continue fighting. Ura threw ten hari at Sakura, but brought out her umbrellas, sending even more hari at the kunoichi. She began to plan how to win, hiding behind the umbrella she began to formulate her plan. First, she would make a clone of herself and run at Sakura, when the Leaf Kunoichi would try to attack the land, Ura will reappear behind Sakura with a hari at the kunoichi's neck! A smirk formed on Ura, it was fool-proof, there was no place for error in her genius plan.

She took a step back, still remaining low, Ura began to make the signs. When she came to the last sign, she felt a sharp object enter through her side. Then, another sharp object as her other side, then one in her back, and the last one stabbed straight into her stomach. Ura's eyes widened, she had been tricked, the real Sakura was behind her the entire time! She didn't even feel Sakura's presense behind her! How did Sakura do that!? Ura fell to the ground, stunned, she couldn't believe that she had been beaten, it had been such a long time since that had happened. Sakura stood before her, a smug look written all over her face, "You...will...never beat me."

This couldn't be happening, Ura had been beaten... This healing kunoichi of the Leaves had actually been able to defeat her, when even Neji nor Sasuke had ever defeated her. Ura's eyes lids became heavier, and heavier...until they finally shut for good...

**Gaara**

His office was a total wreck, blood was all over his floor, his desk was broken in half, and his paperwork was everywhere. He didn't flip out, he didn't get angry...Gaara knew exactly who was in here, and what had happened. The Kazekage looked out the broken window, Sakura was walking away from a lifeless body... The umbrellas were fully opened, but there was no hari coming out of them, meaning Sakura had won the match.

Gaara made his way outside without making a scene or rushing, but he bent down to Ura's body, pulling out the kunais and checking her pulse. She had a strong blood flow, and her vital signs were still good, so Ura was not going to die after all. The Kazekage closed her umbrellas, strapped them to Ura's back, picked up her hari, then picked up Ura and took her to the hospital. Many doctors swarmed over to the Kazekage, all willing to help their leader, but Gaara only handed Ura over to one of the closest doctoers and said, "Send for me when you fix her."

The Kazekage had left the hospital to clean up his horrific office, leaving Ura alone with the doctors...

(((Ura's Dream)))

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Running...running as fast as she could, but no where seemed to be surrounding her every side. Why was she running? Who was chasing her? There had to be a way out of there, if she just kept going, maybe everything will just stop. A light could barely be seen in front of Ura, she bound towards it like a bat out of Hell, but the light looked like it was getting smaller and smaller by the second.

"No, don't do that!" Ura cried out, she didn't want to be left alone in the dark again.

Arms struck out from everywhere, all of them grabbing a limb on Ura, holding her back. The kunoichi struggled to be free, but none of the hands were allowing her to go anywhere. Fear came from seeing the light diminish, there was no way out... When Ura began to feel like nothing was working and was giving up, the arms let go of her, allowing Ura to fall to her knees. But when she was ready to hit the floor, there was none, and endlessly Ura fell. Just falling, falling, and falling...there was no end to the darkness that swirled around Ura.

"There is no way out...i'm stuck here...alone," she mumbled as she closed her eyes.

A hand reached out and grabbed her own, allowing Ura to stop falling. Ura looked up to see Gaara, with a stone cold face, pull her up to him. Though she knew he was her lover, it felt like the first time he had actually held her. Emotions of love and happiness filled Ura's soul, a smile upon her face, she flung herself into Gaara's arms. He loosely held her, then he disappeared into a million tiny butterflies flying away as Ura collapsed to the floor.

Ura looked around, trying to find a trace of where her Gaara was. She cried out his name, but heard nothing in return... Desperate to find Gaara, Ura stood up, but was unable to move, there was a pair of chains to her ankles. Ura tried to slip out of the anklets, but couldn't, they were bound to her.

"Gaara...please..come back," Ura cried out, still searching for Gaara.

Then, an orb of white light floated swiftly to her face, it almost looked like a tiny fairy. The orb swirled around playfully near her face, entrancing her to following it's every move. Ura reached out and lightly touched the light, and a feeling of freshness, air, lightness overcame her. Her heart fluttered almost like an excited child's heart of joy, such emotions that she had bannished for a long time. After giving up on her childhood to be swooned by the thought of a boy, to enter the life of kunoichi....she had given up what it felt like to feel excited. They were all coming back, Ura could feel her old self coming to life again, the re-awakening of her own soul, not one of a kunoichi's or a lover's, but the one of a human heart.

A low hum of a soft rythm could be heard, a soft and steady song that promised hope and the end of waiting. The light that had disappeared had finally return, this time it was coming to her, the chains disappeared but still no sign of Gaara. But with the emotions Ura had finally recieved, she did not need Gaara to be truly happy, all she needed was someone that would love her. That place was for Gaara, he could help make her even happier than she was now. Ura sped towards the light, nothing could touch her now, no more pain, no more tears...everything was going to get better, Ura just knew it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(((end of her dream)))

"Grhm..."

"She has awakened m'lord, she is better," a soft voice rang through Ura's head.

"You may leave now," a rough, but urgent voice stated.

The door opened and closed, then the dreaded silence echoed through the room. Ura opened her eyes slowly, allowing her eyes to get comfortable in the light. She looked around, only the red-headed Kazekage was in the room with her, and the machines that were hooked up to the kunoichi. The memories of her fighting with Sakura came to her, she then realized that she had been defeated by the Leaf kunoichi. Ura looked over at Gaara, "Sorry I lost, I wasn't paying too much attention to her..."

"It doesn't matter now," Gaara sat on her bed, "The doctors have said that you were going to be alright, and they bandaged you up so the bleeding can cease. You should be able to walk and function like any other kunoichi by tonight."

Ura gently took Gaara's hand, and with a soft smile, she said, "Is Sakura alright? Did she get hurt too?"

Gaara didn't understand why Ura was actually caring about someone who had defeated her, but when he had seen Ura open her eyes...it looked like a new light shined within her. The Kazekage gave her hand a firm squeeze, "From what I have heard, Sakura and Naruto have left to go back to Konoha. Naruto was not pleased about what Sakura had done."

The kunoichi sat up against her pillow, the sun was high in the sky, and a soft breeze had entered the room. Ura looked at Gaara, then said, "I want to go home now..."

It was around noon that the hospital, Gaara walked at the side of Ura as they walked to their home. Ura then ran ahead and ran behind a huge boulder, Gaara just stood on the other side of the rock, wondering what she was doing. He tilted his head after a few minutes, "Is this a game you're playing? Did the doctors put you on a medicine?"

Ura poked her head out just enough for Gaara to see, "Ever since I woke up, I have had this feeling like i'm a child again and...I never felt so alive before."

"If you're not on medication now, I can have them prescribe you some to get you sane again," Gaara commented.

"I think you're going to like the new me," Ura stalked closer to him, then pounced on top of him.

The two toppled to the ground, Ura was on top of Gaara, grinning from one side to the other. Gaara was confused to why she was acting so opposite to what she would usually act like in public, especially to their personal life. But, Gaara could get used to this, having the woman he loved openly express how much she really did love him in return. His gaze softened on her, a comfortable leisurely smile formed on his face as she kissed his forehead.

After a few minutes, Ura got off of Gaara and helped him up, then she walked inside and turned to him, "Gaara...I want you to do something for me, and I know you will want to say no at first..."

Gaara waited, then Ura continued, "I don't want you to harm Sasuke while he's on the mission. You may not like him, but he is a good friend of mine, and I would like him to see there is more to life than just hiding from everyone."

The Kazekage's eyes sharpened, he instantly opened his mouth, but remembered that she didn't want him to say 'no' yet. He thought about her favor, she didn't look like she was having a rendezvous with Sasuke...maybe he could believe her word. But, he did not trust the Uchiha fully, Gaara went with his gut instinct... "I will..."

Ura didn't know what he was saying 'I will' to, but the look on his face told her he would allow Sasuke to live...for now..