Lee gagged for what felt like the umpteenth time today. He was sure he would hurl his lunch any second now, but didn't. The redhead must not have beaten him ruthlessly enough to do so. The thought did not relieve him as it should have, because Lee knew he would encounter Gaara tomorrow and the days to come, for all his high school years. Lee could defend himself, just not from his bully. It was as though Gaara was untouchable, like nothing could penetrate even the softest of his flesh. His fierce ocean-green eyes always seemed to paralyze Lee into a stiff body of wood. All dignity dissolved in the pit of his stomach and his throat would begin to itch. It was always this way. Lee loved his school, but didn't know if he would be around for graduation. At this rate of abuse, he might not even make it to next week.

The streets were jammed tight with traffic and anyone with a brain was walking the cracked strip of concrete to their home in the brooks. He didn't live in wealth or middle class. He couldn't even be classified as poor. Lee was one of the millions of travelers trailing a path toward poverty. Lee's home school is Suna High, but he made the effort to be educated by higher scholars such as the ones up in Konoha. The only negative about it was the long run. He made a 2 mile walk to school and a 2 mile walk home every day. He knew he was exhausting himself, but he would rather die than to go to Suna High. That's where Gaara transferred from, and if everyone at Suna was as cruel and malicious, it would be the death of him.

Passing a cove of blackness, Lee's jacket was wretched roughly by the collar. Lee flew backward, dropping his binder in the process. The speed at which he crashed sent jolts of lightning through him. Dizzily, he scrambled to his feet, latching onto something. A rocky surface as cold as ice alarmed him. Lee was grasping a tin trash can lid. He stumbled before balancing himself on the brick wall opposite of him. He blinked, trying to cure his blindness but the darkness of the alley only seemed to thicken.

"Konoha huh?"

Lee jumped at the scrape of sneakers rapping against the concrete. So many different strides of shoes tapped in a fickle rhythm. A dull silhouette outlined three figures in the shadowed area.

"They live rich up there, right?"

"Lucky for us, don't you think?"

A swift air lightly brushed Lee's waist. Lee stretched his hand out only to have it swatted back. The three figures were circling him like a fleet of crows. A gruff hand tapped Lee's butt pocket, a finger found its way inside and quickly resided. Knuckles found his right temple and teasingly popped it, making Lee's bangs sharply sway to the left.

"No cash? What the hell kind of Konohan doesn't have any money?" came a disappointed grumble. There was a silent moment of agreement between the three before Lee felt a stab at his spine, sending him crashing against the alley floor.

Lee grunted at the several kicks to his ribs and coughed when his face was met with the thin sole of a Chuck Norris. After a few minutes, his legs grew warm and vibrant, a sign that they were useless to him. His hands quivered like a war solider diagnosed with shell shock from a bomb. Thunder echoed through his head, bouncing off the walls of his mind. Breathing heavily, he tried to crawl away on his elbows. With his eyes swollen shut, he had no idea where he was going or if those thugs had left him pathetically wounded. A kick exploded against his left temple, and in that moment Lee couldn't hear anything in his left ear. The boys scrambled away, and Lee lay in the alley, one foot in this world, and one in the other. Black was all he could see, and as he drifted into another reality, the shadow of his mind swallowed him whole.

~o0o~

It has been a month, two weeks, and three days and still no sign of the annoying kid everyone in Konoha seemed to avoid.

Gaara skipped Physics and walked straight toward the school yard where his motorcycle resided. He fished through his uniform pocket for the pack of Lucky Stars. Successful in his search, he pulled a delicate white stick out of the pouch of cigarettes. He balanced the cancerous item between his lips and fetched the lighter in his jacket; he flicked the silver top back and watched the flame dance wildly. He inhaled his first stress reliever of the day. Lee use to be a substitute for his smoking fetish, but with no more Lee, he had to make do with five cigarettes a day. He blew out a cloud of gray into the atmosphere. He was pissed.

Guess he finally moved…

Gaara took two long drags on his cigarette before crushing it on the concrete with his shoe.

Gaara slowly began his journey back into the school, for the class bell has signaled the seven minute scurry to another elective. His was Calculus, but he planned to skip that too. He skulked his way around the school yard, making his way to the back entry way where two heavy metal doors led to the gymnasium. No classes ever met during 4th block in the gym. The coaches usually went out to a local fast food place, ate in the parking lot, and then make their way back into the school.

To be safe, Gaara waited a good fifteen minutes before telling himself that the gym was cleared. He was always right, but for the past month, Coach Gai has stayed behind. Gaara spotted the man collecting sweaty wristbands off the waxed floor that students left behind. It was a lonely job. Only his sneakers made noise as he trotted from one side of the auditorium to the next. Gaara had waltzed right into the gym one day, ready to shoot some hoops or take an hour nap on the bleachers, but when his eyes met Gai's sad ones, he panicked. Lucky for him, the man was dazed. He stared at the redhead, but wasn't really seeing him. When the man finally seemed to notice it was delinquent Gaara Sabaku, he sighed heavily. That's when Gaara knew Gai had hoped Lee walked in instead of him.

That day Gaara used the opportunity to ask about Lee, but when he brought up the question, the man would be so distracted with his own thoughts that every time Gaara opened his mouth, Gai would murmur a "Not now," or he would daze during the question asked and wake up saying, "What was that?" Gaara wondered if the man had finally lost his marbles.

Fifteen minutes have passed, and Gaara stood up from his prezeled sitting position and shoved the double doors open, as he has done every day. As expected, Gai was sitting on the bleachers, left behind. He was supposedly filling out uniform documents, but was texting on his outdated T-Mobile. Texting who? Gaara could care less. The redhead walked right past him, and out of the gym and into the art hallway. He couldn't stand seeing Coach Gai depressed; it made the man more abnormal than he already was. Now that Gai occupied the gym, Gaara spent his small hour of piece in the study hall where no one was present.

Just a yard away from him, two varsity cheerleaders gossiped at their sticker painted lockers. No doubt they were skipping practice. One girl had bubblegum dyed hair, the only unique feature on her small athletic frame besides her lime green eyes. The other girl however had more body to her, a shocking head of blond locks and bright blue eyes. They talked amongst each other, completely oblivious to the company of Gaara's ears. He never cared for gossip. Mainly because they were about him, how monstrous he was since he came from Suna High. He nearly bypassed the colorful girls, until Lee's name was spoken.

"Did you hear about Lee?"

The pink haired one frowned and nodded.

"Yeah, I saw the photo Sai took of Lee while he was at the hospital visiting his brother." She put her hand over her lips and shivered slightly, as if the AC in the school had turned to a chilly wind.

"Ino…he looked so fragile and thin. Is he dying?"

Ino shrugged. "I don't know. But I mean, people don't just up and die from muggings."

"People do up and die. Sai said he was."

"Sakura, Sai doesn't know what he's saying."

"Hey, Sai's brother has been in a coma for 3 years and now the family can't handle the bill. They're pulling the plug on him today." Sakura rubbed her arm and her eyes lost color, "And now look…Lee's in a coma too. I should have gone to the prom with him…I should have had lunch with him…and-"

Ino held Sakura by the shoulders and looked at her pink friend sadly.

"Come on. Let's not talk about this, okay?"

Sakura hesitated before giving a small nod of understanding.

As if sensing another presence, Ino slowly turned to see a baffled redhead only a foot beside her. She gave a small shriek and jump. She scrambled to Sakura's side and grabbed her wrist, dragging the pink girl away with her.

"Let's go."

Sakura, oblivious to what had spooked her blond friend, glanced at the hallway and met a dangerous set of eyes rimmed in black. Gaara. She and Ino both shared a scared look before disappearing together into another hallway.

Gaara stood in the same spot for five whole minutes before forcing himself to march toward the study hall. Finally coming across the room, he reached his hand out and grabbed the knob. It was cold to his touch. Gaara vaguely wondered if the dead were just as frigid… He twisted the metal and entered the empty classroom. Desks were neatly arranged, divided into four columns and five rows. He chose the seat in front of the teacher's work desk. The one Lee would have chosen. Gaara growled lowly, Lee was such a dork. That feature alone of Lee's was enough to make him kick a dog. Gaara hated pets, but Lee loved them. The boy was a tree hugger, while Gaara was the reason for the hole in the Ozone Layer. The boy was full of energy and cheer, while Gaara wasted his strength by beating Lee day to day. Lee wasn't normal and neither was Gaara, but the redhead saw himself as much an individual as any other teenager on the street while Lee was abnormal and annoyingly happy. Lee's behavior…was it even natural? Gaara doubted it. It was no wonder Lee was mugged, but even so…if someone hadn't put Lee in the hospital that way, would he have ended up there anyway just from the abuse Gaara did to him? Maybe it was only a matter of time until he put Lee into a coma, it just so happened that someone beat him to it.

Gaara didn't get any peace of mind in the study hall. He didn't even recall blinking…

Gaara left ten minutes before the dismissal bell rang. He needed a head start to the hospital if he wanted to make to make a visit.

Gaara slowly began his walk in cool balanced strides. But that became a paced jog. And then to a track-star run. He was racing the wind it seemed until he burst through the school exit and landed in the school parking lot. He was able to spot his blood red Harley, its black stripe running through the metal design. It was a work of art really. He was at its side in seconds. He was in the process of throwing his leg over its black cushion when a voice called to him.

"Where are you headed in such a hurry?"

It was a deep voice, a voice he hadn't heard in weeks. He gave his head a general twist to see the spokesperson, It was Gai.

"Home." He lied. He jerked his handlebars and made the engine hum loudly.

Gai pressed a button on his car key, lighting up his Chevy green truck. The man gave a passive smile and placed his fingers on the trucks door.

"Really now?"

Gaara glared at the man.

"Yeah. And where are you going?" Gaara spat back.

"I'm off to see Lee." Gai gently popped the door and jumped inside his Chevy, starting his own engine. He rolled down his window and poked his head out, "He's very sick and he needs all the support he can get!" He ended the last note with a perky pitch.

Gaara didn't bother to look back at Gai. He zoomed off, leaving the coach in his dust.

~o0o~

Gaara races past the information desk and then backtracks a few paces. He almost forgot to sign the visitor's paper. The nurse asks him sweetly for the name of the patient he is attempting to visit. As soon as Lee's name rolls off his tongue, the nurse's response is nearly immediate.

"Lee is stationed in room 213."

He knew that nurses at the counter had a computer for a reason, it was to look up patient names, but from her quick answer, he realized that the woman knew Lee's room number by heart. But for her to know that without thinking, someone had to be visiting Lee almost every day.

Gaara slowly made his way down a narrow hall. They were painted a painful white, and the doors of patient rooms were stamped with bold black numbers. Was that all a patient was to a doctor? A number?

Off the doors Gaara read silently to himself.

"209…210…211…212…"

213.

Gaara found himself standing a foot away from the knob. He waited a few seconds before grabbing the knob. It was warm. Someone had just been here, gripping the metal, paralyzed. Just as he was now.

Gaara breathed and twisted the knob, but stopped. He could hear a voice beyond the door's wooden restraint…

"I'm here again…"

There was some shuffling and then a cough of, what Gaara supposed, to be a man.

"So many people have come to see you, you know? I wish you could see the flowers that littered your windowsill...before they wilted."

There was an uncomfortable pause and then the scrape of chair legs. A formal good bye followed. The kind that went, "Well, it was nice meeting you. I hope to see you again sometime," but more matter-of-fact. Gaara wouldn't be surprised if there was a one-sided handshake. Was Lee really receiving visits from people he didn't even know?

Well, whoever was in there took their sweet time leaving. Gaara was still standing outside the door, twenty minutes have ticked past him with the speed of the turtle who stupidly raced the hare. Gaara's hand moved unintentionally, and so did the knob it was grasping. The door jumped out and swept Gaara behind it, he nearly hit the wall. He was in the doors black shadow until a figure's eye peered at the slit under the door and saw the white soles of Vans. The man pulled the door towards him, emerged in front of it, and then shut it. The stranger that visited Lee was no stranger to Gaara. It was Gai.

"Going home, huh?"

Gaara rubbed the back of his neck and pointed his eyes to a vending machine to his right, clearly agitated. How did he get here before him?

"I was just leaving."

"So am I, aren't you going to follow me out?"

"…In a minute."

Gai shook his head. He looked grim, and had advanced to a whole new level of depression.

"Gaara…be nice to him." Gai turned his back to Gaara and began his journey to the information desk, probably to sign out.

Before he turned the corner he said, "I'll see you at school tomorrow." And with that, he was gone.

Gaara didn't come to the hospital to be nice to Lee. He came to get to the bottom of the gossip. Gossip was always over exaggerated, and that's exactly what Lee was doing, exaggerating his illness. Gaara knew, deep down, that Lee was hurt bad, but a few bruises never stopped Lee from coming to school. Being in pain was one thing, but where did this "sickness" talk come from? Being hurt and being sick are two different things. And if Lee was bruised up, he could slap a few Band-Aids on and be at school first thing tomorrow.

With these facts in mind, Gaara had enough anger settled in him to melt away his anxiety and waltzed right into Lee's hospital room. But as soon as he stepped in, he was hit hard in the heart. His causally intimidating face slipped for only the slightest second upon seeing his classmate. Translucent tubes and IV needles were hooked up to the deathly thin boy in the bed. Gaara's mouth dropped slowly as he took in the visual of Lee. His face looked icy and drained of all energy. His breathing was low and shaky. The skin under his eyes has paled to a fine, almost black tint.

If it weren't for the heart monitors timely beeps, Gaara would have thought Lee was dead.

Gaara, he didn't realize that he had walked from the entrance to Lee's bedside. He let himself slide into the overused plush chair next to him. The white room and Lee made breathing seem forbidden. So he found himself mute and just stared. As much as he hoped, this was not a dream. Yes, gossip was exaggerated...but not this time.

Lee's skin was a frightening gray, he almost appeared translucent. Gaara was afraid if he touched the boy, he'd bruise him on accident.

Lee began to stir, quietly moaning in waking pain. He tossed his head to the side, obviously drowsy from sleep and medication. He stared up at Gaara with one swollen eye and a normal onyx one. He smiled uncomfortably.

"Where am I?"

"The hospital…"

Lee brought his brows together and closed his eyes tight, being completely over run with the pain of bed sores and bandaged wounds. After regaining some composure, Lee looked even more tired. He glanced at Gaara. Gaara studied those round eyes. They seemed like they were universes away, although Gaara's ocean green one's were inches apart from them. Lee had his foot in this world and perhaps the other.

Gaara didn't know whether to talk, or to get up and leave. Before he could decide what to do, Lee began to talk in a raspy voice.

"Are you here to visit me…?"

"....what does it look like?"

Lee's smile faltered for a moment before regaining strength.

"I just thought it was nice of you."

"...."

Lee looked about uncomfortably but finally asked the question he'd been eluding. "Who are you?"

Gaara blinked. Was Lee messing with him? Gaara practically beat Lee ever since his sophomore year all the way up to his Junior year. He knew the boy hadn't forgotten his name. The red head couldn't believe Lee would play a joke on his soon-to-be deathbed.

"Don't be stupid."

Lee frowned and tightened his lips. He blinked and sat up on his elbow slowly, hissing as he did so, but when he finally managed to sit up, he just stared at Gaara, painfully confused.

"No, I am not, and you my friend, are not nice."

Gaara gave Lee a soar look but when he received the same annoying confusion in Lee's eyes, everything in him came up in one angry ball of fire. The one thing he had been holding in, the one thing he wanted to do more than anything was to explode. And he did just that.

"I'm not your friend. And I didn't come here to visit you." He stood up and dangerously narrowed his eyes at the small sickly frame that was Lee. "You know, there was a kid here who was in a coma for 3 years, but he never got the chance to be a miracle like you, to wake up. His family pulled the plug on his life today because they couldn't afford for him to live."

Gaara stopped and closed in on Lee's face, almost like he wanted to touch foreheads with him, but stopped just a centimeter away. He said in a low voice, "I wish it had been you. There is no life waiting for you. Not at school, not at home, not anywhere!" Gaara slowly brought his face out of Lee's personal space. The redhead stood up, a pure statue of intimidation. But Lee's face made him realize the effect of his cruel words. He didn't want to take his words back, he meant them. But Lee's face… eyes wide and mouth painfully tight with trapped cries behind them, made him want to lie and say "Just kidding."

But it was too late, the damage had been done.

Lee sat for a composed minute before his lips moved. And then they moved again, in the same slow fashion, repeating words Gaara could not catch. Lee spoke a third time, very quiet, but Gaara caught it.

"Get out."

Gaara shot Lee a glare, but Lee did not look at him.

"Get…out…get out…get out…GET OUT!" Lee's words went from a whisper, to an average tone, and then, in one swift note, his raspy voice shot up into a high strangled scream.

Gaara backed out into the hallway, completely taken by surprise from Lee's angry display of emotions. The boy rested a bony hand to his heart and tears slowly began to build in the corners of his shut eyes. The tears rolled slowly like rain drops down his reddened cheeks. He was wailing loudly like an abandoned child. Gaara didn't want to be there anymore, and did just what Lee ordered. He darted past the information desk, the nurse called out to him, trying to get him to sign out, but he was already out the door.

She quickly picked up the clip board and searched for the boys sign in signature. Gaara Sabaku. She shot her eyes at the visiting log. There was nothing written. That's when it hits her; she gave him a room number off the tip of her tongue. Lee Rock, room 213. Something happened and she was going to find out what, but just when she set the document down, an orange blinker shined on the automated dial on her desk. The circular light was going off next to the number 213. The patient, Lee, was awake. The boy who was in a coma for nearly 2 months was awake! She mashed a bottom on her computer to alert another nurse to take over the station. She rushed down the hallway, but as soon as she stepped foot in the narrow aisle, a terrible cry could be heard. She was at Lee's door in seconds, panic rising in her.

The boy was hunched over, both hands over his chest, rocking slowly and crying with his eyes clasped shut. The nurse mashed a green button on her monitor, alerting the doctor to come. She then sat in the chair next to him, shushing him softly and sweetly asking what happened, but the boy kept crying. And she let him.

Nearly ten minutes passed before the doctor showed his face. Lee's crying was reduced to a dry hiccup. The doctor asked Lee what happened, but Lee ignored him and stared blankly at the wall in front of him with his hands on either side of his legs. The doctor shook his head and asked a different question. He asked him about what school he went to. Lee answered Konoha High. He asked what grade he was in. Lee said the eleventh. But when the man asked for teacher names in certain subjects, students and siblings, Lee struggled. He didn't have a clue, even when he was asked to describe what they looked like; he couldn't conjure up a mental image. He was asked about home, but Lee's mind was blank. The doctor frowned and scribbled something on his document and asked the nurse to keep an eye on Lee while he went to go fetch the phone. She nodded, but stole a peak at the scribbled note.

Traumatic amnesia.

The nurse frowned and looked at Lee with a sort of pitiful expression. Not too far off she could hear the doctor talking on the phone with someone she presumed to be in some relation to Lee.

"Yes," The doctor assured, "It's an aliment of brain damage from a hard blow to the head, such as in a car accident. It can lead to anything from a brief loss of consciousness to coma. Traumatic amnesia is often transient; the duration of the amnesia is related to the degree of injury…yes, Sir… and may give an indication of the prognosis for recovery of other functions."

There was a long pause.

"Yes…"the doctor nodded, "He is awake…no. I'm afraid visiting hours are over for today…yes, Sir. You may, as early as 10:00am." There was another pause before the doctor resumed his speech.

"You too. Good bye."

The doctor walked back into the room and smiled. It was an attempt to encourage Lee, but it didn't work.

"You're a very lucky man, Lee. But, you'll have to stay just a while longer until we can get your memories flowing. You'll be admitted to school through homework and class assignments being sent straight to the hospital and delivered right here at your room." The doctor looked at his watch and tapped its silver face.

"Well, it's gotten late. I advise you to get some rest. If you need something, feel free to press the nursing assistant button. Good night." And the doctor was gone. But the nurse stayed.

Lee looked so down, that she couldn't help but leave him in good spirits.

"Lee, amnesia…it's not always a bad thing. Sometimes in life things aren't going according to plan, but with your loss of identity, you can start fresh. A choice people don't get too often…" She smiled and slowly walked to the doorway and gave Lee one last look.

"It's a second chance, but not just for you, but the people around you too."