Okay so this is a first timer here.. Please be gentle! :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its' colourful characters! But I wouldn't mind borrowing a few of them. :)


Satisfaction


The pink-orange sunset seemly painted, danced along the tall trees surrounding an open clearing. Clouds drifted lethargically, being tugged along by soft eddies of wind. A lone individual stood by himself leaning on a large stone mannequin. All the wooden targets had been all smashed to bits and were haphazardly scattered around. A mixture of sweat and blood stained both the figures. The final shard of the sunlight on the earth signalled the end of a training session.

And it couldn't have came at a sooner time.

Rock Lee was exhausted. He had spent the entire day trying to best himself. Completing task after ridiculous task he pushed himself onward. The day started off around six in the morning with a 500 laps around Konohagakure. Once finished, he made his way to Team Gai's training grounds. It was becoming quite the lonely place. With Neji and Ten-Ten expecting their first child, Neji trained exclusively on the Hyuuga compound's grounds, unwilling to be far from his bride and mother-to-be. Being pregnant had spelled the end of training for Ten-ten, Hokage's orders.

But even without the presence of his teammates Lee carried on. Sometimes Lee didn't know why he put so much into his training anymore. Things in the Ninja World had settle down significantly after Naruto's dispatching of the last of Akatsuki and convincing Sasuke to return home. His assentionto Hokage soon followed the end of Akatsuki. Naruto's mission to bring Sasuke home ended months ago in success. Sasuke was allowed to return to Konohagakure but was under serious scurtiny as well as ANBU surveillance. He claimed to only want to rebuild his clan. The elders were less than enthused.

Lady Tsunade retired to a position of the head of the Konohagakure hospital, where she worked mostly with the up and coming medic-nin. No major problems of war had occurred for a while.

'Naruto.. You have really out done yourself.' Lee smiled to himself as he wiped the sweat off his brow.

He thought about how much Naruto had changed. He was so much more mature.... one could even say wise beyond his years. Who would have thought that the little runt trouble maker, who was once an outcast, would rise to become so great. The townspeople even praised him openly about having him as their Hokage. He had accomplished his dream much sooner than anyone would have expected.

As for Lee, he found himself a member of ANBU. His lack of chakra control had him set low on the list, so his missions were far and few in between. In fact most of his missions were hand picked based on his skill set. But this didn't stop his training, if anything it filled him with a passion to work harder to obtain a better ranking, and subsequently obtain more missions. He trained morning to night and almost every day. His companions would complain about his constant absence. He usually didn't pay much heed to the complaints. Training was his life. He was striving to be the best ninja he could possibly be. This was his Nindo, his "ninja-way".

Lately that goal was running Lee down. He peered up at the stone monument.

"I don't really understand my lack of satisfaction lately, Doki. It is as if I am missing the big picture. I think I am actually getting kind of.. lonely.." He sighed.

Maybe it was the fact that most of his friends had been hooking up and were either marrying, starting family or both. It seemed the ideal thing to do during peacetime and as well as a way to replenish the ninja population, just in case. His intense workout schedule made him a less than ideal candidate for this process. His unruly appearance didn't help either. Lee had quit shaving since his last mission which was a few months ago and was adding more cuts and bruises to his ever growing collection. Lee was getting down right grungy, but who did he have to impress? His closest companion was a rock mannequin Lee named Doki and Doki didn't really have much to say.

"You know it's getting bad when you're talking to a rock. " Lee sighed again.

It wasn't that he couldn't make time for his friends. He just busied himself so much with training that he sometimes forgot how much time had truly past. And finding time for a date was even more unlikely. Besides, his heart still belonged to a pink haired goddess and the fact of the matter was she wasn't his. Lee would actually be surprised that she wasn't off and married to Sasuke by now. Sasuke's return to the village had forever put a damper on Lee's plans to ask out Sakura. Lee couldn't even find the courage to face her since his return. This bothered him a lot because he really did miss her friendship. He just didn't think his heart to handle being crushed by the sight of the two together. But there were other girls.. lots of fish in the sea. And Sakura being with Sasuke should just nilify their friendship. They had many good time and grew pretty close over the years. Maybe it was time for a change. Although he technically hadn't worked for a few months, he figured it was time for a real break.. and maybe a new goal.

Lee lifted his arms into the air and stretched loudly. The stars had just started to blink into existence. Exhaustion plaged at Lee muscles, begging him to return home for some nurishment and slumber. Heeding their call, Lee slowly made his way out of the training grounds and towards his apartment in the city. It was a quiet walk, without interruption. As Lee approached his place of residence, he kicked up onto the roof tops. He effortlessly jumped from one roof to the next. He landed on his balcony and slid the patio door open. ANBU pay was very generous but due to the lack of assignments Lee could still not afford much else.

He quickly decided that a shower would be the best first course of action. It was a tiny bathroom. There was a small white sink, a vanity with a mirror positioned above said sink, a toliet and a stand up shower. A standard bathroom. The walls were painted a mellow blue and had white tiles up half the wall. It wasn't dirty at all. Lee may have let himself go but the cleanliness of his apartment would never be questioned. Being meticulous in everything Lee did, he never failed to have well kept living quarter. Mind you he wasn't home very often so most of the time the place was left untouched.

Lee peeled off this soiled attire and stepped into the shower. He fiddled with the knobs until the water reached the right temperature.... Hot. His body to cried out in appreciation and he could not help but let out a soft sigh.

"Yes, I am definately taking a break from training or at least putting some more days in between." He said outloud.

After showering, Lee stopped in front of the mirror.

"Do I really look that really look like that?" He gasped. It seemed ages since he had last looked in the mirror. All his hair had grown out of control. His beard was actually full and his hair was almost shoulder length and rather unruly. Tommorow morning he would commit himself to a trip to the Konoha barbershop for sure.

He retired to his room completely forgeting to eat. Not even worry about any bed clothes, Lee crashed into bed and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.


Alright! So let me know what you think! Reviews much appreciated! As well as nagging for a new chapter because I know I do it! and sorry about the lack of length.. I was jsut kind of testing the waters here.. hehe