I don't know where I'm going with this story. Let's find out together. It's definitely a Rock Lee story, though, because Lee is fucking awesome. Not sure what pairing to feature, so YOUR REVIEWS MAY CHANGE THE COURSE OF THIS FANFIC. But probably not.
Ah, one thing I've got to explain is that this is set approx. half a year into Naruto's training, the timeskip, etc. While diplomacy between Konoha and Suna is growing stronger, different Orochimaru-affiliated badguys raid the village now and then. Slightly AU? Je ne sais…
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and this work of fiction is non-profit.
Without further adooooo;
The Ninth Gate
Ino Yamanaka walked through the main road in Konoha- the most direct route from the village entrance to the Hokage's building and monument.
Despite being rather in her own thoughts, the girl avoided walking into anybody on the crowded path, gracefully stepping around slow walkers.
It had taken a little bit of adjusting, but Ino was finally getting used to the delivery service that her family flower shop now provided, in lieu of the most recent attack on Konoha. Flowers, whilst being a cherished reminder of affection, especially in dark times such as these, were a low priority to a community that had to reconstruct itself.
Ino was the delivery service for Yamanaka Flowers. It made for great exercise, and provided an opportunity to be the first to see some of Konaha's juiciest drama, rather than getting second hand knowledge from Sakura or Tenten or somebody. The job wasn't half bad.
The blonde veered off onto a slightly more narrow street, heading for the hospital. Still lost in her thoughts, Ino barely reacted to the blur of green careening towards her.
She dodged to the left, but couldn't completely avoid impact. Rock Lee, arrayed in his usual green spandex bodysuit, had been running towards the main road when he crashed into Ino.
What was unusual- or what would have been unusual for anyone not familiar with Lee- was the fact that he was running on his hands, rather than his legs.
His legs were still wrapped in bandages from injuries he had gotten while fighting off Sound Ninja; Ino assumed that Lee had not exactly been released from the hospital yet.
Before Ino's mind could register the slight pain in her right shoulder, Lee had already pushed himself back onto his hands and was apologizing: ranting furiously about how he had hurt her and would do anything to gain forgiveness because he didn't want to ruin a most youthful friendship.
Ino rolled her eyes, nursing her upper arm and shoulder. It would bruise slightly, and that was no small matter, but it probably wasn't enough to warrant Lee's over-excited apology.
"Lee, Lee!" exclaimed the blonde, silencing his rave.
The green-garbed martial artist looked up at the girl sheepishly, blushing with shame when he noticed the bouquet of flowers in her hand- or what was left of it.
What looked like it had been a beautiful array of colour now was just paper wrapping, clutching a few stems and one… one lotus flower in full bloom. The other flowers had been scattered all over the street, and while some had seen the collision and stepped around the plants, others had trampled on them.
Lee apologized again, this time for ruining her bouquet, and offering to pay to replace it.
"They were for you. I was delivering to your hospital room." Ino said, giving the martial artist a look that spoke volumes: Ino would still be going to the hospital, to inform whoever was on duty that a patient had escaped.
Lee chuckled nervously. "Give me a ten second head-start?" He joked, knowing that the nurses wouldn't take kindly to a runaway.
Ino smirked, briefly, enjoying the playful banter. Unfortunately, she couldn't allow Lee any freedom; as they both knew that he would be back to the training field, pushing himself ever harder.
Sakura would kill Ino if she let Lee go.
Both his legs had been burnt, causing the skin to bubble grotesquely. When the Sound Ninja had attacked the village a second time, regrouping after Orichimaru's failure to subjugate Konoha, Lee had taken an active role in securing a part of the forest once the main group had been fended off, and taken some serious damage.
While single-handedly rousting a mid-sized camp of Sound Chunin and Jounin, who might easily have contributed to a third attack on the Leaf, Lee managed to let his mind stray from the mission.
He thought he heard Sakura.
In hindsight, Lee understood now that the musical note that adorned the forehead protector of Sound Ninja meant more than that they loved music. Music was Youthful. Using a genjutsu variant that projected a certain sound or voice wasn't.
In the heat of battle, however, when a single blow to the right opponent can change the tides of battle and grant victory, rational thought is sometimes replaced by a type of passionate adrenaline that makes a man fight like a beast.
Lee, upon hearing Sakura's voice scream in terror, darted off at an incredible speed, in the direction of her voice, and… straight into a trap. A chakra-laced net had been stretched between two of four stout trees, and cloaked in genjutsu.
Within seconds, several other chakra-nets had been hoisted between the four trees, trapping Lee into a sort of flexible cage.
Still, with one thing on Lee's mind- his promise to Sakura, and to himself, that he would protect her no matter what- Lee fought onward, doing his best to plow straight through the net.
With his back turned to his enemies, the Sound Ninja stepped to the flexi-cage, watching Lee rage around, powerless.
A Sound Ninja; the group's genjutsu specialist, released one more illusion.
Rock Lee felt his movements grind to a halt as he looked down. The leaves that had covered the forest floor inside the cage had disappeared; they hadn't been there at all, in fact. In their place lay scores of fire tags.
A burst of determination swept across Lee's crestfallen face, as he all but shouted: "Fifth Gate: Open!"
Lee had released the Limit Gate, an energy limitation that kept the body healthy, at the price of severely cutting strength and speed levels.
The chakra gates did more than just enhance speed and strength, however. Rock Lee's blood began to flow at an astonishing rate, pounding at his blood vessels and flaring his capillaries to the point that his skin became a devilish red.
Muscle tissue began to tear, strained by the sudden opening of the fifth gate, as opposed to the gradual process of opening them one by one. In a situation like this, speed was absolutely essential.
Rock Lee leapt at one of the chakra nets, tearing it open with pure muscle and determination.
He was halfway through the barrier when the Sound Ninja ignited the fire tags.
Rock Lee's green suit smouldered, the material refusing to burn off, but rather sticking to his skin. Rock Lee was incredibly thankful for the fourth gate, the gate of pain, because it blocked his brain from his nerve receptacles, and he felt no pain.
Rock Lee, with fire both in his eyes and clinging to his skin, burst out of the trap. He was carried forward by the concussive blast of the explosion, the flames having only one opening to go through.
The fire that poured out into the forest, setting foliage ablaze and disorienting the Sound Ninja that weren't already knocked out lapped against Lee's body as he worked his way around the area, systematically rendering his enemies unconscious.
When the last of the Sound Ninja – the genjutsu master, by coincidence- had been dealt with, Rock Lee patted out the flames lapping at his skin, and lay down on a dirt patch, waiting for the Gates to automatically close; hoping for the sweet relief of unconsciousness to wash over his tired body.
It didn't take long for his wish to be granted.