A Blank Slate

A Rock Lee fanfiction by Rock-Lees-Lotus

Chapter 1

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White walls and the flood of unknown smells; it was all he had to focus on to keep himself from crying. If he looked out the window, he would see places that brought him back to memories and he would begin to think. Right now, he could not bear to think. Thinking would force him face reality; the situation at hand, and right now, Maito Gai didn't want to face the fact that his most precious student had not opened his eyes in two days.

Their mission had been simple enough. The two of them, Gai and Lee, had been sent off to escort a noble back to his homeland. All had gone well and the mission had been a success… it was on the trip back that things went wrong. The lord's village had been atop a high and steep mountain that was far easier to scale up than down. As they had descended down a winding and thin path to the base, there had been a rockslide that caught Gai off-guard. Lee had pushed him out of the way and had fallen. When Gai finally reached him after what seemed like an eternity Lee was not moving, his breath was shallow, and deep crimson blood dripped from the back of his head. As he cradled the unconscious boy's body to his chest, Gai ran as hard as he believed he ever had, opening three of the hachimon tonkou before reaching the gates of Konoha.

Now Gai sat with his head in his hands in a Konoha hospital room, watching as the salty water droplets from his eyes tumbled down onto his knees, deepening the green colour. He spent every moment he could sitting in that chair, waiting for Lee's eyes to flutter open.

"Shi-… Shimatta…."

Tsunade had told him that Lee was in a blunt-force trauma induced coma from what was probably a rock striking him in the back of the skull, causing brain damage. Yet Tsunade had been as she had always been; someone who tells the entirety of the truth. She had informed him that Lee may wake up any minute… she had also informed him that he may never wake up. Gai clung to that first possibility as if it were his last breath and pushed the latter as far back into his thoughts as he could. Yet somehow it always creped back in.

Gai allowed his vision to drift over to his right on onto Lee "sleeping" face. It was an expression of his chuunin student he had seen many times over their years of missions. For a fleeting moment, Gai let himself believe that maybe Lee truthfully was just sleeping.

They say ignorance is bliss… I guess it doesn't last long, Gai thought to himself as he wiped his eyes on his sleeve. Please, Lee… it's only been two days, but I can feel myself weakening. This is just too much… I'm creping up on my limit. Just, wake up, Lee… please…

"Lee…" Gai reached out and let his fingers brush against his pupil's cheek. This boy, who when he had first met him was only about seven years old, had grown up before his eyes. At first, Gai had just watched him train in secret and smiled at his determination. It was seeing Lee that caused him to finally make up his mind and become a sensei. He had hoped that a student as exuberant as the one he had met years ago would be able to grace his team and was at first astonished when he got the list of his three new genins: Tenten, Hyuuga Neji, and Rock Lee.

As he watched him, minutes stretched on for hours and tears, too plentiful in number to count, kept finding their way down to the tiled floor. It was all this waiting and all this agony that didn't allow Gai to believe himself at first. Then it happened again. Long lashes flickered and bleary eyes began to slowly open. Lee was waking up.

Gai sat and starred for a few seconds as a feeling of pure elation began to rise up within him.

"Lee… you're awake! Oh, thank god! How do you feel? Are you alright?! Tsunade-sama!" Gai rushed to the doorway and his voice rang down the halls. "Lee… Lee is awake!"

It was not long before the clicking of heels sounded along with Gai's deep tone and Tsunade came through the door, closely followed by Shizune.

"Gai-"

"Lee, how do you feel?" Gai interrupted the Hokage, his mind running a mile a minute. He looked to Lee, who now sat upright in his bed. Bandages from minor cuts adorned his body along with the hospital gown that he wore. Yet the expression on his face did not sit well with Tsunade. Something about the way he looked around the room made her feel as if something bad was about to happen.

"I… I'm sorry, but…," Lee looked to Gai, his expression tortured by confusion. "Who are you?

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DUN DUN DAA!!!! I know, it's cheesy, so what? I'm cheesy! Hurray, this is my chaptered fic in a really long time so please R&R!