To Lee, they looked like ANBU.

They wore porcelain masks and black cloaks with the hoods pulled up, and they stood straight and proper, towering over the Head Caretaker of the orphanage Lee lived in. One of the three ANBU-look-alikes handed the Head Caretaker a scroll.

She opened it. She was shaking, Lee saw through the crack in the door. She was scared. The ANBU-look-alikes scared her.

Or, maybe, she already knew what they wanted, and that scared her more.

Lee thought he might be right when she sobbed at what she read. "Please… Please, no more. No more, leave the children alone!"

One of the ANBU-look-alikes held up a fist, one finger raised, and gently swayed it back and forth in a wordless 'tsk tsk' way. Then he let his hand fall sideways and his finger pointed at…

Lee.

He gasped. Too late, he slapped his hands over his mouth to take back the sound. One of the ANBU-look-alikes had already opened the door the whole way and everyone stared at him. Those masks and the Head Caretaker.

She looked at him. Lee thought she was trying to find something.

She must not have found it, because she closed her eyes and looked away. "Take him," she whispered. Lee could feel the sadness that came off her. "Take him and… and go. He's our contribution."

The ANBU-look-alike closest to him grabbed him and threw him over its shoulder (Lee thought it could have been a man, but he wasn't entirely sure). Lee yelped in surprise. He was afraid, unsure, and confused. He felt hurt too, but he didn't understand why. They were taking him away. Wasn't that a good thing? It meant he was being adopted.

But, then why was she crying? Why didn't she tell him that he was going to a good family, like she did with all of the other kids who were adopted out? Why did she walk away without a word?

And why was he being taken away by people in masks?

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

The room was dark and small. Lee could hear the sniffling of other frightened children and their shuffling feet as they tried to find somewhere to rest without laying on someone else. Lee didn't mind when a kid, the third since Lee had been thrown into the cell, landed in his lap. He actually liked the warmth, and it felt nice to feel someone else so close to him. He didn't like being alone.

He also didn't mind when the other kid quickly got off and scurried away in the shadows. Lee didn't like to be alone, but he was different. He couldn't do the things other kids could do. So he was usually left alone anyway.

He pulled his legs up to his chest and hugged his knees. Someone brushed up against his shoulder and he blinked wide eyes in the same direction, trying to make out a shape.

"Hi," a voice whispered. It was soft and low and the weight settled deeper into his side. An arm came around him and pulled him even closer. Lee felt happy and sighed in relief at the shared heat. "I hope you don't mind being a human blanket," the voice teased quietly.

"No, not at all!" Lee whispered excitedly back. "As long as you don't mind me using you as a human pillow." He had never had that before. No one really ever wanted to be so close to him.

"I don't mind," the voice said. "I like it. But everyone else is too scared of the dark to snuggle." The other voice shifted closer, right into his ear. "They think everyone's who's not them is a monster."

Lee shook his head. He believed the voice, but it made him sad for the other kids. Lee didn't mind the dark. The other orphans had always stolen his night lights, so he couldn't be afraid of the dark, or else he would never sleep.

"My name is Lee," he gushed. "Rock Lee!" He tried to find a hand in the black. Finally, he felt fingers weave through his. It wasn't a real handshake… it was kind of girly, now that he thought about it. He still liked it. He liked how close he felt to the other voice. "What's your name?"

"My name is Hogosha Seirei," the voice answered.

"Hello, Seirei-kun."

"Hi, Lee." The body burrowed closer. "Do you know where we are?"

"Ummm… No. I was kind of hoping you knew…" Lee trailed off, embarrassed. He felt like he should have known so that he could answer his new friend.

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" the voice asked.

"I hope so…"

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

He and Seirei talked for hours, quietly, only to one another. Some of the other children began to cry and one of them found the door. The brave little soul tried to pull it open, but it wouldn't budge. It only brought on more tears and screams.

But he and Seirei didn't scream or cry. They learned about each other. Like, their birthdays were only two days apart, with Seirei being older. Lee had been born on November twenty-seventh and Seirei on November twenty-fifth. Seirei liked to draw and write stories, while Lee liked to run and swing on the swings. It made him feel like he was flying. If he could fly, the other children wouldn't make fun of him.

Lee talked about the other kids and how they made fun of him. One day, he would give them a reason not to. Lee was going to be big! So big, they couldn't hurt him anymore.

Seirei talked about how older kids would bully him too. He looked delicate, so they always thought he would be an easy target. But he had learned to fight them off or scream really loud if he had to. The adults loved him. They said he was the cutest thing they had ever seen.

Lee blushed in the darkness. "I-I'm pretty ugly… That's what everyone says. My eyes are too round and my eyebrows are too big. My hair is too black and my mouth looks weird. I'm tall for my age and my teeth are too white." He hoped Seirei didn't want to stop being friends with him.

"I bet you're a lot cuter than you think," Seirei said, and Lee's blush darkened as he smiled. "I know how you can prove yourself."

"Really? How?"

"Let's go be shinobi!" Seirei exclaimed. "We'll be the strongest shinobi in Konoha and people will stop picking on us."

"Yes! We'll be really great then!" Lee frowned suddenly. "I'm going to have to work really, really hard. I tried doing some ninjutsu with some other kids once and… I couldn't do it. I tried and I tried, but it didn't work. I think there's something wrong with me…"

"You don't need to do ninjutsu. You can do something else." Seirei hummed thoughtfully. "You like to run and you're tall… How about taijutsu? It's really physical."

"I'm not very good at that either… I'm the fastest during training, but I can't do very good blocks."

"Try harder," said Seirei.

And then the door opened.

In the first flare of light, Lee couldn't see anything. His eyes hurt and he gasped as he threw an arm over his face. Seirei hissed and tensed in pain.

When he thought he could see again, Lee opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was his new friend. Seirei was kind of slim, but just as tall as Lee. He had a black mop of hair on his head and his eyes, as he blinked at Lee, were such a dark grey, they were almost black. His skin was pale. Like, ghost pale.

Seirei smiled at him. "You are cute."

Lee flushed darkly.

But, then Seirei looked past him towards the open door and his smile disappeared. He frowned and looked worried. Lee followed his gaze.

There were two men and a woman standing in the doorway, all of them wearing the same black short jacket with red straps on the shoulders. They weren't wearing masks, but they showed no emotions and they stood scary still.

They reminded Lee of dolls. And then he startled when they suddenly moved to the sides because he forgot they were human.

A man wearing bandages over his right eye stepped into the room. His left arm was in the black sling of his robe and he wore a purple tie around his waist. His other arm hung freely, and he wore an off-white shirt beneath the robe. There was an X-shaped scar on his chin.

To Lee, he looked a little fragile. Old and skinny. His cheeks were shallow and his eye was dull.

The man looked at the three behind him. They just stared back without blinking. Finally, the man nodded, as if they had said something he liked.

He walked away and the three doll-like people entered the room. Lee stopped breathing as they started shoving children out of the door, one by one. He held onto Seirei tighter. He didn't want to let go.

Seirei held him back. When the woman came towards them, Lee shot for the door with Seirei in his death grip. He hoped he could get through it without having to let go…

One of the men grabbed Seirei just as they were about to cross the threshold. He was flung forward and Seirei was flung back.

Lee cried out and tried to reach for Seirei. Seirei reached for him too. But they were held apart and their fingertips were a hair's width from touching.

"You'll learn to let go," the woman said to a crying, angry Lee. "Just like he will. Or one of you will die trying."

Lee didn't understand what she was talking about. Seirei bucked and squirmed like a wild thing, throwing biting curses at the man holding him. Lee used a few of the things he said on the woman.

She crouched down and her mouth touched his jaw. "Let go," she told him.

And then his world went black.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Sasuke lost the Chūnin Preliminary Exams. Gone in pain of pressing his Curse Seal, he was gathered up by Kakashi and taken away.

He hadn't known how to defend himself without his chakra. Taijutsu hadn't been a focus in his studies, or even shown to him by Kakashi. If he had known a little more taijutsu, maybe he would have won.

Maybe he would have made it to the second round.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Chouji Akamichi faced off with Gaara of the Sands. The redhead's unnerving stare made his knees shake and he looked beseechingly up at Shikamaru.

He didn't want to fight this guy. One thing he had learn from Shikamaru was to never overestimate himself and it would be an understatement to say that he wasn't on the Sand genin's level.

Shikamaru nodded. Before the match could even be declared started, Chouji had raised his arm in defeat. This wasn't a battle he could win.

Temari, watching from above, smirked. The little Leaf shinobi were no match for her demon brother. Kankuro just grimaced and looked away.

Naruto wondered to himself what was wrong with the guy, and the exuberant Gai-Sensei mourned not having a student who would have been brave enough to stand up against the foreigner. Sadly, Tenten was still too dependent on her scrolls and not physically capable enough of taking great damage. Neji… well, his bitterness and blind rage might have taken him somewhat far, but the obvious control over sand the foreigner showed told Gai that Neji would have never gotten close enough to land a hit.

His two-person cell would not have been able to call Sabaku no Gaara an opponent. They would have called him their Reaper.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Gaara rampaged through Konoha in the form of Shukaku. He tore through the woods and roared at the skies. He destroyed and he felt nothing for it. He was at his top strength, having faced off with a useless Sound nin. He had wanted to fight Sasuke, but Sasuke hadn't been strong enough to even make it past the Preliminaries.

Naruto stalked after him. He wasn't at his top strength. After his life-changing fight with Neji (life-changing for the Hyūga, anyway), he was sore and not altogether certain where he stood with his own chakra.

But he had to defend his village! As future Hokage, it was his duty to protect all the people and the land. Especially from things like Gaara! Whatever that guy's issue was.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Gaara's weak and paralyzed body was nothing compared to the damage Naruto had taken. He glared hatefully at Naruto's still body.

That boy had touched him. He had hurt him! The first person ever to break through his barriers and Gaara… Gaara wanted to…!

He wanted to kill the boy. He wanted to drown Naruto in his sand and shred him. He wanted to quench his bloodlust on the blonde's life.

How dare that boy talk to him as if he knew him. Speaking of his innermost feelings of incompleteness and loneliness. They were nothing alike! Naruto did not understand him at all!

He had been rescued from the Hell of being alone. Gaara hadn't been. He had been hated and despised, even by those he had thought cared for him. He could not be loved.

And if the bastard thought he could make Gaara believe him by making him bleed, by making him hurt and taking away his defenses, then he thought wrong.

Love… maybe it had made the guy as strong as he was. But he was unconscious and dying while Gaara stayed awake and watched him fade away.

The Uchiha appeared by the blonde's side. He looked haggard and bloody and weak. So weak.

Temari and Kankuro were seconds later in coming to his aide. He trembled, caught in a strange hurricane and rage and disbelief. Of confusion and hatred.

Gaara had never been defeated before. He had never bled before. So Naruto had to be the only guy who could hurt him, and that made him all the more dangerous. One day, when he was stronger, he would return to kill the bastard. Then he would be safe in his own little world of pain and distrust.

"Let's go," he told his siblings.

They picked him up and they were gone.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Naruto hadn't woken up yet.

It had been weeks since his fight with Sabaku no Gaara, and he still had yet to open his eyes and grin at them with his usual, sunny demeanor.

Sasuke needed him to wake up. Sasuke needed to leave, he felt it like an itch in his very marrow. He had always had nightmares of the death of his clan, but they had taken on a different edge since the Chūnin Exams. They were darker, and his dead parents screamed at him to avenge them.

But then Sasuke thought of Naruto, pale and thin in a hospital bed, and he couldn't leave.

Not yet.

Because Naruto couldn't be that strong if he couldn't wake up, could he? And Sasuke woke up every morning. He woke up every morning from hellish dreams that he thought he would never escape. He woke up in the same complex, alone and cold and, if he admitted it to himself, slightly scared of the ever present shadows.

Sometimes, he wanted to burn down the Uchiha complex. It and the village too. Sakura thought she loved him because he was cool?

Sasuke was broken. He wanted to pick up the shards of his fucked-up life and get out while he could. He needed to find Itachi… He needed to kill him, he needed to be the Avenger that he was!

But Naruto needed to wake up first. If Sasuke became the monster his big brother was… if Sasuke gave into the doubts and the urges and the bloodlust, someone needed to come after him. He hated that Naruto might be stronger than him. He had no clue when it happened, or how. He wanted to say he hated Naruto because of it, but it wouldn't be entirely true.

If Sasuke lost his way, he wanted Naruto to be the one to cut his path short.

Naruto needed to wake up for that, though.

So Sasuke waited, itching just beneath his skin. It was a mad disease flowing through his veins, a danger to his very sanity.

Naruto needed to wake up.

He needed to wake up before Sasuke gave in.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Itachi came and Sasuke hated him. He hated him, hated, hated, hated, HATED.

And… he loved him too. Because Itachi, monster that he was, was still his big brother. He had still taught Sasuke everything he had ever thought most important to learn. He had made Sasuke important when everyone else in the clan had written him off.

That made him hate Itachi more. It made him hate himself too.

Itachi came and taunted Sasuke. Sasuke was so weak. How could he ever expect to defeat Itachi? Was he even trying? Did he even care about what Itachi did to the Clan?

Sasuke wanted to kill him right then and there. Itachi was speaking the truth, though. Sasuke was too weak. How could he expect to defeat Itachi?

He was lost and angry and he just wanted to get it the fuck over with!

Naruto was still in a coma, though. And Sasuke's eyes flickered across the hospital room to where the blonde rested.

How dare Itachi come to Naruto's hospital room. How dare he!

"Oh?" Itachi said, as if he was reading Sasuke's mind. Sasuke could believe it. And that scared him. His fear only made him angrier. "Will you kill him, little brother? Will you kill him to become stronger? He can't fight back in the condition he is in."

He leaned over his arm, extended with the hand squeezing Sasuke's throat. "Or do you need big brother to do it for you?"

Sasuke roared and kicked wildly.

He would do anything to defeat Itachi. Anything!

Except that. Naruto was a total idiot and he annoyed Sasuke more than half the time. But he was still his friend and teammate. They had fought since childhood, protected each other in the past, and talked. Talked about everything but what Sasuke didn't want to talk about because Naruto, as stupid as he was, could still evade a touchy subject if he thought it right too.

He stared into his brother's, the murderer's, eyes.

Sasuke knew. One day, he wouldn't feel that way. One day, he could take Naruto's life.

He wanted to kill Itachi before then. He had to.

There was no other choice.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Naruto finally woke up. Konoha Nine (Eight at the moment) and Team Gai fought amongst themselves.

Someone had to tell Naruto that Sasuke and Kakashi were in a Tsukuyomi-induced coma. Although it was silently agreed that no one tell him that Sakura had waited by Sasuke's bed, day and night, praying that he would wake up while she only put a flower once every week in Naruto's room.

Her blind love to Sasuke was her issue. Naruto didn't need that. Not after waking up.

Tenten lost.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

When Naruto could finally walk and run and leap, he snuck into Kakashi's and then Sasuke's room. He promised them, he was going to wake them up.

He had to.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Naruto was given a mission.

Konoha needed a hokage. Go with Jiraiya and find Tsunade.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Sasuke and Kakashi woke up.

Naruto slept for three days afterward, exhausted from the mission. Tsunade watched over him fondly.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

When it happened, there was no way to properly prepare for it.

Sasuke had been captured by Orochimaru's Sound Four. They needed to go after them and retrieve Sasuke!

Sakura wept on Naruto. She begged, pleaded, bring him back.

Bring Sasuke back to her.

So Naruto promised, even though it hurt. Had she prayed for him to come back from his coma? He had never thought to ask. He had just… kind of hoped.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

When Naruto would wake up, it would be to the knowledge that Kiba and Shikamaru were dead. Chouji had just been stabilized and Neji was temporarily blind.

He would wake up and know about how hard everyone else worked, about how his friends died to help him, and he hadn't even seen Sasuke.

No one had accounted for the fifth member of Sound 'Four'. And he would have to be stronger than Sound Four combined. Kimimaro had been a nightmare to defeat and even to witness. He had been so tampered with and so delusional, he hadn't been a person anymore. He had been a puppet. He had been a monster.

And he had bought Sasuke enough time to leave Konoha without being followed.

Naruto lay unconscious in bed, not quite aware of the statuses of his friends, but he whimpered as if he might feel it crawling over him. Like phantom fingers, Shikamaru and Kiba frowning down at him, and Naruto cried in his sleep.

Two tears. His hands clenched in the sheets, nothing else to hold onto.

Naruto had failed. He had failed his friends and Sasuke and Sakura. When he would wake up, he would wonder how he could ever forgive himself, and it would be near impossible.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

He carved the words into his skin.

On the underside of his left and right biceps, over his heart and down his torso, letters and numbers tangled themselves together, cut so deeply so many times that they were almost hidden in the mass of scar tissue.

But he could read it. He could read it and he could remember.

On his left arm was his own name and birthdate. It had his childhood desire of one day becoming great. The desperate wish to always feel emotion curled onto his wrist.

On his right arm was Seirei's name and birthdate. Seirei's childhood desire was tattooed there too with Lee's glossy skin. Seirei's wish to always remember their friendship took up his entire lower arm, carved so many times that it was like the skin wasn't even his anymore. It was too pale and too shiny. It was too lumpy and taut.

Over his chest, the same sentiments were written forwards and backwards. Love, hatred, happiness, sadness, pain, pleasure, anger, determination, curiosity…

These were all the things that he wanted to remember, yet it dangled out of reach. It fell further and further from his hand every day.

There were always ways to remember, though. If one was desperate enough, there was no way to forget.

And he sliced and cut and dug into his flesh. The truth would always be there. Always.

His name was Rock Lee. He had been born November twenty-seventh. He wanted to be great one day, so that people would stop making fun of him…

Then, I don't want to not feel anymore.

It continued off his arm and down his side in scripture. He had needled it into his hip and thigh, down the side of his knee and his calf. He hit his ankle and couldn't keep hold of the knife as everything slipped in and out of focus.

I don't want to not feel anymore.

He didn't have a choice now.

Not ever again.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Seirei told him that his older brother figure Shin had died. It had been a natural death, but Seirei had had to play it off as having killed his mentor himself.

Lee had had to do something similar with the man who had taught him taijutsu. Lee had really liked the man, and the man had even smiled a few times for him. But then Root regulations specified that they had to fight… to the death.

It was to kill their sentimental value in relationships. They stood as a single operation, but they each stood alone. They were loyal only to Lord Danzō. Not to each other, not to the kage, and not even to themselves. They did what they had to do to complete missions given to them by Lord Danzō and they never complained.

Because they didn't feel. The emotions, they were killed. Like paper into the fire, slowing curling up and fading away in ashes, Lee stopped crying. He stopped laughing, smiling, hating, loving, getting angry, becoming sad, feeling indignant, and even caring.

He belonged to Lord Danzō. Without Lord Danzō, he was nothing. He was nobody. The name on his arm… That was him.

But it was a dying part of him.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

It happened suddenly. An arm came out of the shadows of a branching corridor and Lee was shoved into a wall. He knew how to protect himself, but determined that he would rather understand the situation he was in and why before he attacked.

When he saw a familiar pale face, he knew he had made the right decision.

"Hello, Cutie," Seirei cooed, running one hand down Lee's waist-length braid. He wound it around his wrist and pulled himself closer to Lee, catching him between the cement wall and his body.

A rock and a hard place.

Lee cast one arm over Seirei's shoulders. "Sei-kun," he greeted back. His emotionless mask was on par with Seirei's fake smile.

Seirei licked the curve of his neck. Lee let his head fall to the side, eyes flittering shut.

"I'm finished with my picture book," he whispered against the curve of Lee's jaw.

Lee blinked sluggishly. Lust wasn't an emotion, but it still felt like a miracle thrumming through his body. "When do I get to see it?"

"After we're done here."

Yes… That sounded…

Lee raised his arms over his head and kept them there, letting Seirei explore.

That sounded idealistic to Lee. He would look at the picture book, filled with Seirei and him and Shin, later. After they were done.

He spread his legs and Seirei's dollish grin took on the slightest feral curve.

Lee doubted Seirei was aware of it, just as Lee was unaware of his trembling hands.

Seirei stepped back and pushed Lee to his knees.

Without preamble, he freed his manhood and pressed it to Lee's lips. "Say 'ah', Cutie."

Lee closed his eyes and opened his mouth.

And he admitted that he felt pleasure in what happened next. Maybe that made him a little…

Happy.

:~:~:~:~:~:~:~

Author's Note: The End…

EDIT: imsabbel pointed out that there was no way to tell the transition between POVs. I thought it was odd, considering I put breaks up, but then I looked back at the story and realized that Fanfiction had decided to erase them all for me, making this story one long, endless chapter instead of the fragments I had had. Sorry for anyone who had to endure that!

I know I shouldn't end it here, but I couldn't really think of where to go with the idea. I was reading up on Sai's biography and it said that members of Root are taken in at a young age, and that Sai was an orphan. Seeing as how I was already aiming for SaiLee, I decided to go with the current I was given.

Let me explain why Sai did not go by the name of 'Sai'. I will use a direct quote from Narutopedia, which uses a direct quote from the anime/manga. Sai says to Team Kakashi: "Sai is the name I was given for this mission… I'm nobody. I am a tool for Lord Danzō. I don't exist." The name I gave him means 'guardian spirit'. Hogosha meaning 'Guardian; protector' and Seirei meaning 'Spirit'.