Author's Notes:
Beta-ing credit goes to Azure, a guy close to my heart, but closer still, to the tip of my sword :)
Here's some information I'd like to be taken in before you begin reading, or you can just ignore my ongoing rambling and go on to the story, or just not read it, your choice. But those of you who do read, comments and reviews are more than welcome and I'm always looking to improve my rather pathetic writing abilities. They'd also urge me to write more chapters, I'm on the fence about whether or not I should go on with this. Please note, this is my first piece of literature in about two years, so easy people. Also, I hadn't watched any of the anime to confirm I got the battle sequence right, but I've watched that battle so many times, I'm pretty confident I got it right. Anyway, enough excuses, here's the info ^_^
Lee had always been an eager student. He was willing to learn anything and everything, which could possibly aid him in his never-ending quest of improving his ninja skills. But the sand prodigy, Gaara, had halted him in this quest. He never gave up, his ability to persevere until the bitter end is what makes him special. Against all odds, he wouldn't just wince and pick himself back up on arms, broken; he wasn't like any other Genius of hard work. Not like Naruto, or any other shinobi in this tale. He would never lift himself back up like that. He would do better.
He doesn't rise to any challenge, he transcends beyond the required. He'd fling himself back up, landing on his palms, before launching himself into the air, swinging himself back towards that which had conquered him, stronger and more determined than ever. 'Stronger than he was yesterday,' in his words. And for that reason alone is he considered different, in my eyes anyway, and deserving of a second chance. The difference this time around, in my crap-fic, not being an alteration in his actions, directly, but an added comment, from Gaara, which triggers a change in events to follow. It's funny how the little things make such a big change. Well, here we go. Yosh!
Enjoy.
I hope.....
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The room buzzed with anticipation as the weights reached the ground, only to cause a large deal of noise and smoke as the two met. The jaws of most kuinochi in the room dropped, some of the more brittle shinobi stepped backwards, in awe, and Maito Gai's teeth shined as he gave his renowned thumbs up. The red haired sand genin hadn't wavered in his movements, or at least, the lack of it. His glare still melted into the youthful konoha ninja's big round pupils, with killing intent. Particles of sand hung in the, now silent, atmosphere.
The battles before this final one had been more than dramatic and thrilling to watch, but the match up of Rock Lee of The Leaf and Gaara of The Sand was proving to be alot more than just that. There was no noise in the large exam room, no sounds ran past the walls or along the floors or in the air. Pure Silence. Yet, it was tense, everyone was on the edge of their metaphorical seats.
The silence prevailed for a fair few moments. The green figure stood, returning the stare of the sand genin, before a slight movement of his lips, perhaps a smile, before dissolving into the air with great swiftness. Gaara's eyes lashed open abruptly and his lips, which scarcely moved other than when he spoke, parted. He gazed on at where the taijutsu specialist had been standing just seconds before, taken aback at how much speed the boy had just unleashed.
Kankouro was just as staggered as his younger brother. Had those weights truly been holding him back this much? Surely, he must have used some manner of ninjutsu, or perhaps even a genjutsu? If it was true that this boy did not utilize any chakra-based techniques then there may be a problem. Usually, he wouldn't worry about this situation. Gaara was more than capable of taking care of himself. He'd have assumed the same in these circumstances too, if it weren't for the almost frightened mask, which covered the kazekage's youngest son's face. A fear had engulfed his sibling in a way he'd never witnessed before, even when he threatened Gaara to stop his wretched and time consuming acts in the forest of death a few days ago. The boy had merely looked to his older brother without even acknowledging the relation and the respect he should be holding. Kankouro was slightly worried about his brother for the first time he could remember.
Sand began to encircle Gaara a bit more readily now, obliged to defend it's master from the leaf ninja. A sudden flash of green. Gaara turned, only to catch a blur of the kick that had pounded against the sand, before it evaporated again. Another blur, this time to his left. Again, only a blur could be seen, this time a fist. Another, then another and another. The onslaught of fists and kicks didn't show any sign of slowing and were only getting closer to Gaara. Some blows just slightly missing his cheeks or just scraping his hair. The sand put up no fight, as it struggled to keep up with this colossal amount of speed and pace.
The whole audience stood in silence as Rock Lee obviously played with the fearsome sand shinobi. Naruto shook his head quickly like a wet dog, as to bring himself out of the trance and his eyes widened. This Lee character beat the almighty Sasuke without removing those weights! How could such a kid with a fashion sense this devastatingly bad be so goddamn fast? Could he get this fast as well? Why hadn't he reached this stage of speed, he trained so hard and yet he didn't even have the ability to see the goof move anymore! What if he had to face the fuzzy eye-browed boy in the next stage? The blonde haired boy trembled at the thought and spared a glance at his teacher. Kakashi stood not in his usual stance, one hand pouched his pocket, while the other either hung by his torso or held a copy of that orange book, to which he would usually giggle at, but instead both of his feet were spread apart a good deal more than usual and one hand grasped the bar in front of him. The most noticeable difference was his forehead protector, which would always hide his left eye, but now was straight, revealing his red sharingan eye. An eye that always gave Naruto the creeps.
Sakura's emerald green eyes hadn't left the fight for a second. She couldn't believe it, this boy, this boy who had asked her to be his girlfriend, this boy who had sworn to protect her as long as his life would allow it, this boy she had rejected so forcefully was now exposing his true power right in front of her eyes. She looked on as Lee continued to pummel Gaara. The most feared nin, taking the exam, was being beaten by this boy? She remembered back to the battles she had witnessed before, Sasuke, Naruto, those sound ninjas, none of them could stop Lee alone, he had almost killed the sound team's leader saving her! Was he really this ready to protect her? To shed blood? She was suddenly flushed with some admiration for this boy. Sasuke wouldn't have done that for her, would he? Not openly, anyway, he had been possessed by that neck mark when he brutally attacked that other sound ninja, Lee was working on his powers and senses alone. And he hadn't been as intent to kill. Her cheeks reddened slightly as she thought about the two boys fighting for her, but soon realized where she was and attempted to lose the blushing cheeks before someone noticed. It didn't take much more than remembering one of Naruto's stupid, unrealistic attempts to win her love.
Gai couldn't help himself. He had begun by yelling out corny cliché phrases of encouragement to his student, but his energetic self was beyond that stage by now and he was, what appeared to everyone around him, attempting to put out invisible flames all over his body whilst singing a very loud out of tune version of I Love You Baby. Tenten frowned and shook her head as her 'respected' jounin teacher displayed the dance moves to which he had asked her opinion only a week before.
Lee's lips formed a small cheeky smile, curved oddly at the edges, almost resembling that of a cat, as he made Gaara's body turn and toss from side to side, attempting to catch a glimpse of his opponent. That fear he could see in his eyes reminded him of something. The same fear, which had been visible in Tenten's, eyes just a few matches before, as this freak's sister attacked her. He knew it to be unruly to take out the anger he felt for his dear team mate's loss on the brother of her enemy, but he couldn't help it, it gave him much pleasure as he went in for his first proper hit on this strange, yet talented, shinobi. He made Gaara turn once more, before he called out, in his shrill voice, 'Over Here!' Just as Gaara turned, Lee launched his clenched fist into the genin's left cheek. The impact of the punch could be felt throughout the room. This One Is For You, Tenten. Gaara slid across the ground, arms out-stretched and rolled to a stop, while Lee stood up straight and reverted back to his original battle pose. I Know That Hurt. He sheepishly smiled :3
How troublesome. Shikamaru groaned and blinked for more than a standard second. A battle this grand will only pump people up for the finals, they'd be expecting effort. Effort was something Shikamaru was known for lacking. Another slight groan. Why did he have to pass the preliminaries? It'd have been so much easier to just laze indoors instead of attending the finals, let alone take part in it. What a drag it was, being a ninja. He turned to look at his teammates. Chouji was now eating at a tremendous speed, his eyes wide open as he watched the battle, but his hand was reaching tremendous speeds, which could give Lee a run for his money, as it went through a cycle consisting of a bag of chips and his mouth. His mouth was moving even faster, chewing and swallowing the potato chips before his hand had even dived back into the bag. It was all just a cycle for Shikamaru, one he saw regularly, like the cycle of life, but Chouji was going alot more quickly this time. This caused Shikamaru to conclude that anticipation was a factor which influenced the speed of Chouji's eating habits. The loud mouth Ino, on the other hand, was as still as a leaf as she gaped towards the battle. This was uncommon, she would usually be hitting Shikamaru for reasons unknown. He always thought it may be a girl thing, that he couldn't possibly understand, he'd seen alot of girls get particularly violent, especially The Sasuke Fan Club (TM), amongst whom Ino and Sakura were significantly aggressive. On numerous occassions he had witnessed Naruto experiencing the blade of Sakura's love. But love hurt. In that way, anyway. He knew from experience, Ino tended to use the same methods as Sakura. But this battle seems to have calmed the choleric ninja. Perhaps it weren't as troublesome as he'd assessed. He'd have to observe again. Groan.
Gaara struggled to find his feet as he stood up and a dropped shuriken could have been heard in the awkward silence, which had filled the room. Most people in the room still had their jaws hanging, from when Lee removed his weights, and were staring towards the two youths. Kakashi stared with a rare sense of interest in his rival's student. Rare for him anyway. He was surprised that Gai had raised this boy in such likeness. He could see the same flow in movements, which Gai so ardently displayed in his sparring matches with him. The same foot movements, the same stances, the same attacks. A dark thought suddenly took hold of Kakashi's mind and he stepped back and his eyes widened, almost in fear. His elbows began to shake and his legs slightly wobbled just thinking of it..... What if this kid became exactly like Gai? That would be completely unbearable! Two Gais!? He frowned and began to sweat ridiculously as he imagined two Gais smiling at him with shining white teeth and suddenly raising their arms, before bringing them down in front of his face, two thumbs up, as they yelled out at the top of their annoying voices, 'YO! KAAAAAKASHI!'
He turned to look at Gai, as his colleague was being remarkably silent. Gai was holding back his tears. Both hands were clamped together, at the edge of his rectangular chin, and his pupils had grown larger than even Lee's, swelling with suppressed tears. 'Oh Lee! I Had Promised Myself I Would Not Cry! Your Sensei Is So Proud!' Kakashi shook his head slowly and sighed, turning back to the match. One hit didn't spell the end.
Shino raised an eyebrow, making it scarcely visible over his black shaded glasses, at Rock Lee's sensei. This was the supreme fist-to-fist master Kurenai sensei had spoken so highly of on so frequent occasions? He did not look like much more than a defectively drawn cartoon character. Nothing about him gave any suggestion of danger and on top of that, he had been violating one of the most highly regarded regulations of the shinobi. Allowing your association with your students, or indeed, teammates, to develop beyond that was not at all recommended, it could jeopardise a mission within moments. That was the solitary reason the bug-user hadn't 'socialized' with his team. That, and the fact his squad was composed of an astonishingly shy girl, a woman who understood all too well the intricate consequences of developed relations within a team and a slightly unsanitary dog-boy, who spent his time, when he wasn't training, communicating to his furry companion. Not that that was a setback to Shino, who was confident that the majority of the room would consider his 'little friends' were far more than just spine chilling. He turned his gaze back towards Lee and frowned. If training with this Maito Gai individual had this much of a result on his students, perchance he wasn't as bad as his clothes would indicate. Not that he had doubted Kurenai sensei's words, not for a second. He carried on 'tagging' the other ninjas with his female kikai bugs.
Lee's smile faded slowly and his eyes enlarged slightly, shuddering. What was this? The sand ninja had gotten back up and instead of returning the attack, he was smiling eerily, showing his teeth, resembling the face of a psychotic killer. He was breathing extremely loudly, almost snarling, perhaps even chuckling, in his own strange way. But what was weirder still was the fact that his face was falling, turning to sand, revealing his true face underneath. His whole body began to melt away, almost, as the sand collected on the ground around him and began to rise again, hanging in the air. Had he been using sand armour to shield his body from the blow the green ninja had dealt? Moments later, Gaara was standing normally again, his arms crossed; fear no longer resided in those eyes, but cold dark hatred. He glared at Lee, almost beckoning for him to try it again.
Lee thought for a second. 'What Incredible Guards! This Shinobi I Have Been Faced With Certainly Stands As A Challenge To Me. I May Be At A Disadvantage Against Such A Person. I Am Glad That Fate Is Pitting Me With The Hardest Possible Battles! Yosh! I Must Attack From The Air, To Avoid His Sand Aiding Him.' He readied himself for the move Gai sensei had taught him a few weeks ago. A move he held in such high regard, only second to another. A move strong enough to kill, if utilized properly, but with consequential short-term implications. If he didn't use it properly, he could endanger the whole battle.
Was it worth it?
Gaara eyed him. He hadn't moved since his armour had fallen, but awaited his foe to attack again. Just as he had thought, this opponent was nothing more than a fist to fist combat specialist, he could do nothing more. He will be crushed. But first, he will squirm. Then his bones will be grinded. His screams for help will be acknowledged and ignored. He will be killed.
'It seems you cannot do anything else. You are pathetic, to not be able to draw blood. Your life is meaningless. You will be nothing more than an animated corpse. a moving puppet, waiting to be killed. Your fate is sealed, your life is wasted, you will never become an exceptional ninja.'
Lee's eyes widened. His lips trembled and he was suspended in his movements. Memories flashed back to him. Those last words had been uttered twice now.
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Sooooo? Yeah, I know, it's a little bad, I'm gonna push that fault onto the fact I used notepad, because I like to make excuses d:
Yes, nothing much happened here, which hadn't happened in the anime, I think, apart from that last bit..... I apologize for that, I just thought this was a good place to stop off, it's a (small) cliff hanger and, to put it bluntly, I got rather lazy. I have no idea what so ever as to where this story is going to go after this battle, so possible story lines are accepted, I'd look into them and see what I can do. I stopped watching the anime when it got to the Sasuke retrieval arc, so I'm not too sure as to how the story goes on, I know bits, but not everything _____
So, yeah, possible story lines are accepted. But reviews are more welcome please, I want to know whether this fan-fiction is worth wasting my time on. I only started this because my internet connection was stolen from me *shakes fist at mother* so I got bored and thought I'd start this.
Enough babbling, I do that way too much, thanks again to Azure, my main man (in the online world anyway) and let's see if you guys can persuade/threat me enough to write more ^_^
- Mika