As I walk along the road on my way home after my ninja missions, I see Neji and Tenten kissing by the waterfall in the village center. It's not like I care, I mean, I have lots of girls who like me... well, truth be told... I don't. And yes, I am somewhat jealous of my rival Neji Hyuga for having Tenten, but she isn't the girl I love. No... there is a beatiful kunoichi in the year below me. But I just can't seem to win her heart, whatever I do, however many times I rescue her. Her name - Sakura Haruno.

Rock Lee sits on a bench, looking up at the setting sun one Sunday evening.

"18 tomorow," He says. "18...wow, that seems old." He tips his head over the back of the bench and closes his eyes for a moment, just taking in sounds around him. Children are laughing happily as they skip over to their friends house for a sleepover, birds are flying back to their nests for the night and feeding their young, then he hears the teachers and older ninja going back home to their wives and children. Then Lee opens his eyes and the whole world seems silent again, as if it is trying to tell him:

"You are the only one without people to go home to. You are the only one with no friends or people who care to be around you everyday. Your birthday will be no different."

He gets up abruptly. "Oh," he says to himself, looking at the sundial next to the bench. "It is way time for me to go...I should get going." He takes his favourite route to his favourite place in the world. And no, it isn't home. That place just reminds him of how lonely and different he is. This route takes him through the trees, out the town.

"Here we are," he says, swinging over a last tree branch and landing on his feet. "My training grounds!"

He kicks at a tree stump over and over again, hoping to get that bit stronger with each try. He does this everyday until he feels physically hurt and bleeding, because he is working on beating his team mate Neji. Then there is Gaara too... and Naruto.

"Darn it!" He shouts, kicking the tree harder. "So many people are stronger than me!!!" But he has kicked it too hard, and his foot throbs with pain. "Ok, note to self: Always wear shoes when savataging tree bark!"

Of course, by now most of the bark has been kicked/punched off from years of doing this. From the age of 11 he has constantly come to this quiet and scenic training spot then doing un-needed training - (most of this training is done in class and missions).

After alot of hard work, and around 3,000 kicks at the tree stump, he lies down and looks up at the sky.

"Wow, the stars must be out late tonight, there is only one all on it is own in a giant world, a bit like me I guess. Hey, I wonder if stars have birthdays... Yes! They must do! Apart from this one must be like, 100,000 years old or something. But even if I lived that long I'd still be on my own all the time. I cannot have kids because I cannot even get a girlfriend. I cannot get a girlfriend because of the way I look even though I devote my life to Sakura. I cannot look good because I have no friends to tell me what is the fashion (only Gai sensei - and look what good that has done me...) And most importantly I do not have parents to talk to about all of this. Urgh... life sucks sometimes..."

He throws a pebble and it lands over in the river about half a mile away.

"YES! Excellent! That is a record!" He shouts, holding his fist in the air. Then he looks up at the sky, in hope to see some more stars. But he just sees the one star that he saw last time he looked.

"Ok then, I will make a wish," says Rock Lee. "A wish on the first star of the night."

...He makes his wish, then falls asleep under the night sky with not enough energy to get himself home.

The next morning, Lee is woken up by Tenten shaking him.

"I thought I'd find you out here. Come on, get up. We need to find Gai then start our training!"

"Hmmm... um, Tenten?"

"What?"

"I don't feel very well, will you carry me there?"

"Most certainly not! Come on, get your butt back to the village! I've got to meet up with Neji today before our missions. So I've got to go now. Remember stop by at home to get some clean clothes on!" Says Tenten, walking away.

"What are you then? My mother!?" Says Lee, offended that Tenten thought him so forgetful and irresponsable.

"No, but maybe if you had one, then you wouldn't be like this. I'm just helping you, what side of bed did you get out of this morning!?" She snaps back. "Or did you spend the night out here not bothering to even get to a bed that you could get out of-!?"

"Tenten, that is enough..." He sighs. "I'm sorry. It's just that today is my birthday and I just thought that maybe it would be different..."

She looks at him sympathetically.

"Oh, I'm sorry too... I forgot that it was- I mean, ummm... anyway, happy birthday! Byeeee!"

She jumps out of sight before he can say anything else. He sighs and pulls himself up.

"Ouch, my leg aches... Oh well! The posative side is that it proves that I have done a good lot of training!" he laughs.

He jumps through the trees again, skilfully avoiding crashing into anything. But then he hears a voice he reconises and bumps straight into the person it belongs to, causing them both to fall out of the trees and onto the ground below. Rock Lee immeadiatly gets under the girl so that she lands on top of him rather than the other way round (in fear that he might hurt her).

"Sa-Sakura?" Says Lee, Sakura's hair brushing his face.

"Haha, you are such a silly boy, Lee," she says, hugging him. "Or should I say man - you are 18 now aren't you?"

"Y-yeah," Thinks: "Why is she being so nice to me?"

She gets off him then puts her hands on his back, healing any pain that was caused by her landing on him. After all, she has become Tsunade's assistant, becoming one of the top medical ninja's in the village (Medic-nin).

"Th-thankyou, Sakura," he says, getting up and brushing his knees, but then falling on his bad leg. Sakura catches him, frowning.

"I watched you last night... and I..." She looks down at her feet. "I'm impressed with how hard you work, Lee, but as a nurse I'd advise you to stay of the training for a bit... I can see that it has put a strain on your leg...-"

"D-did you hear anything?" he says, blushing. She looks confused. "I'm sorry if you didn't...I-I said some weird things last night and I just wondered if you heard..."

"Nope. I left before long. Now, let's get this leg fixed shall we?"

Sakura heals his leg then Ino calls her.

"Sakuraaaa! Where did you go you idiot! We need your help!"

"Coming!" She shouts back. Then she turns to Rock Lee. "Take care of yourself, Lee," she says before jumping off.

After that, Rock Lee gets back to his missions. Gai is waiting at the bridge for him, arguing with Kakashi (as usual...) Kakashi turns to Rock Lee and frowns.

"You are still training him? But he is Jonin now, the same level as you, Gai."

"Well, a little training never hurt! And this mission is special!" Says Gai. He turns to Lee and puts his hands on his shoulders. "My boy is 18 now! He is a man!"

Rock Lee sighs. He feels as if he is growing apart from his youth-obsessed sensei... "Yes, I know, I know."

"Great! So are you ready for your mission?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Gai."

"Your mission is to get a date by this evening!"

Lee's face drops. "Bu-but I haven't managed to get a date in my entire life! How am I supposed to find one in 12 hours?! Plus, that isn't even helping the village in any way-"

"Lee, it would help us all if you were a little more happy with your life. This week has been hard for you - I can tell, so don't try to deny it!"

"Yeah, it has," (Thinks: "Not a single girlfriend in 18 whole years... sooo depressing. I wish he hadn't reminded me!")

"Well then, off you go! Oh and if you fail the mission..." Gai gives him a thumbs-up. "5,000 push-ups!"

"But Gai!-"

"Go on! You are wasting time my boy- um, man- urm...or whatever."

Lee Speaking
You know, it's at times like this when I really wish mom was here to tell me what to do. She'd have said something like: "Lee, you need to impress a girl by showing them how understanding you are. That is why I married your father, because he understood my feelings more than anyone else in the world." But the glitch in that is that my mom was pretty, and dad wasn't that bad looking either. I recon my mom must have had a panic attack when I was born and she first saw my face... where as when she fist saw dad at the age of 19, she knew she loved him just by looking at him. I don't think that is possible in my situation. My eyes may be weird, but through them I see the same world as everyone else does - the same grass, the same sky... yeah, I could go on forever - you get the point. This mission looks hard, so I think I'll try to get somebody other than Sakura... Hinata maybe?...

Rock Lee finds Hinata sitting with Naruto Uzumaki on a hill, talking about nature.

"Well, I-I think that flowers a-are the prettiest kind of nature..."

"Really? I like water I think...yeah, believe it, water is cool!"

"Y-yeah."

Rock Lee tosses his eyes to the sky and swings down from the tree he was sitting in.

"Hinata Hyuga. Please be my girlfriend, I vow to-"

Hinata growls and shouts: "Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō! Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" Sending Rock Lee flying with her special jutsu. "Stay away from me you creep!!!"

"Wow!" Says Naruto. "You've been practicing that move, haven't you? You are alot stronger since I last saw you fight..."

"Y-you too, N-naruto..."

"Right..." says Lee, getting up off the floor. "Plan B. How abooout...Tenten? No, she has Hinata's famous "all powerful" cousin Neji as her boyfriend..." He sighs. Then gets an idea. "I know! The Kazekage's sister Temari! It's the perfect plan! And I think her, Kazekage Gaara and his brother Kankuro are here to visit our village this month! Ok, I'm coming, Temari my dear! Even if you are...umm...2 years older than me..."

When he gets to her hotel, he spots her in her bedroom, folding her clothes neatly and laying them on the bed. She sees Rock Lee in the window and opens it, letting him in.

"Hello, Lee! Whats up then?"

"Ummm... I'm here to-"

"Hey, if you are here to ask me out..." Shikamaru walks in. "I'm afraid that I'm taken, sweetie."

"Oh..."

"Was he trying to hurt you!?" Says Shikamaru, taking the situation the wrong way.

He leaves feeling upset still. "Plan C. Ino... nah. I guess it'll have to be Sakura."

He walks over to Sakura, who is sitting by the waterfall in the village center. She is throwing bread to the birds and laughing when they try to steal whole sheets of it from her bread-basket. "No, no! See, if you eat to much, then you'll get fat!"

She sees a bird right at the back of the crowd that hasn't got any bread. It is so skinny, that it can hardly move. The others are effortlessly pushing it out of the way of any food. Then Sakura walks over to it and picks it up.

"Hmm...I'm no vet, but I know you need help. I'll call Kiba's sister in but you can stay the night round my place if you want..." She says to the bird, taking a few thorns out of it's wings.

"Haha, I wish I was that bird," Thinks Lee to himself.

Sakura hasn't changed at all in 5 years. Except for the fact that she is not so discusted by Lee's face anymore. When he injured his left arm and leg, it had brought them closer. But not close enough for Lee's liking, after all, they were friends, no more. Not even best friends and after all they had both been through together...

Sakura notices Rock Lee sitting up in the tree, and comes to join him, the bird sill in her arms.

"Hiya. I'm getting a break from my new job as an emergency nurse down a the hospital... But next week I'm going to go back to helping out Naruto on his missions. How about you?"

"I-I'm great. Umm... I g-got a break too! S-so, you want to be with me for a bit?" He says, running his hand through his hair nervously. She looks down at the bird.

"I've got to get this bird back to my home quickly so that it can get something to eat..." She says. Lee looks down at his feet, depressed. But Sakura smiles and says: "So do ya wanna come back to my place?"

Rock Lee looks up at her, shocked. "S-sure thing, Sakura. But may I ask something?"

"Anything."

"W-why are you being so nice to me?"

"Hm? Because I can't leave you lonely here, you'll be bored stiff. I still live with my mom in case you were wondering and she doesn't like animals in the house - so you can back me up, ok?"

"Y-yeah. Thanks, Sa-sakura."

So Lee and Sakura go back to her place and sure enough, her mom answers the door.

"Sakura! What is that ugly thing!?"

Rock Lee cowers but then Sakura says: "That is an ingured bird, mother and it needs out help. This is Rock Lee, the man who saved my life on several occasions. So please don't be rude and let him in."

The mom is so distracted by Rock Lee that she forgets about the bird and just looks at him. "My! So you are the boy who saved my daughter! Tell me more, do come in!"

Sakura rushes upstairs and puts the bird in her breadbasket, filling it with tissue strips and lots of bird food. Lee comes upstairs a moment later.

"W-will the bird be ok?"

"Yeah... hopefully. Hey, I was thinking that we should give it a name! Lee, what do you think it should be?" Lee shakes his head, just staring at his feet. "Well, ok, I'm going to name it "koishii" which means "Beloved"..."

Rock Lee nods. "Yeah. Like you..."

Sakura looks up and blinks. "You still love me, Lee? After 5 years...? I have to say you've gotten alot more shy since then,"

"Maybe I do. I might not. So...has your opinion of me changed in 5 years?" Says Rock Lee, blushing.

"Oh, Lee..." Sighs Sakura. "I-I just don't know. We are friends, and we always have been, right? Call round my place a bit later, come round here by 6pm,"

"Umm... I need to be back by 9 for the end of my mission..."

"Thats ok!"

And with that, he leaves, a bit upset and heartbroken.

"I haven't changed in Sakura's eyes at all in 5 years?! But that isn't possible! I-I'm older now and more mature!"

But Rock Lee knows that he is only telling himself this because he wants to hear it. Really, he hasn't changed so much in 5 years. Yeah, he is as tall as Gai now and yes, his hair is slightly longer and messier than it used to be. But inside he is the same. He is still devoted to Sakura and would give his life for hers, still hard working and most of all, still what Neji and Tenten would call "Annoying".

He comes back to her place at 6pm, in casual wear - a shirt and jeans as she has told him to do. She answers the door and says: "Soo...you want to walk down to the hospital with me? I've got to check up on a few things..."

"Sure thing Sakura!"

They walk down to the hospital and go inside.

"Ok, we need to go down to the cellar, so I'll go get a candle (You stay here)," Says Sakura, skipping off. He sits in the coridoor for a moment, just waiting. But she doesn't come back.

"Sakura?" Rock Lee cries. "Where are you?! A-are you ok!? SAKURA!" There is no answer and he is getting worried. It is now 7:00pm and still no sign of Sakura...

He runs into all the hospital rooms, checking them one by one. "Sakura! Please! Call back if you can hear me!"

He smells some smoke and heads for the kitchen, following his nose. When he gets in, he is shocked! Neji is standing at one side of a big wall of fire, whimpering with his Byakugan eyes seeing something over the other side...

"What have you done with my Sakura!?" Says Rock Lee, lifting Neji off the ground by his collar.

"N-nothing!"

"WHERE IS SHE!?" Says Rock Lee, holding a fist to Neji's head. Neji points into the fire.

"In there. And I can't get her out..." Lee gives him a hard stare. "Ok, ok... it was all my fault! Look, I saw you and her together, got a bit jealous, so I took Sakura. She was holding a candle, she dropped it and thus this happened!" He sighs. "I would do something b-but I'm just too scared to think!"

Rock Lee closes his eyes, going back in time in his mind to 5 years ago - at the chunin exams...

flashback

"Sakura! Please be my girlfriend! I vow to protect you with my life!"

"Definatly...not..."

"Why?"

"Because you are weird!"

Fast-forward to the forest of death

"Lee, what are you doing here?"

"I will always come when you need me!"

End of flashback

"I'm going in to get her!" He runs into the fire, leaving Neji speechless.

He runs through the fire as fast as he can (as to avoid getting burnt) until he can see Sakura lying weakly at the other side of the fire. He comes out of it, and grabs her.

"Lee?"

"Do not worry! I am here for you Sakura and I wont let you die because---" He blushes and pauses. "I love you, Sakura. And I made a vow 5 years ago that I'd always be there for you when you needed me... that vow is still strong! Sakura! I'll protect you until I die!"

Lee speaking...
I've never seen anyone so scared but happy at the same time in my life! (if that makes any sense to you what-so-ever XD) Here is Sakura, trembling with fear though it is literally boiling in here, and I'm standing here with total belief in myself and forgetting the fire is here. Stupid me. That is probably a fatal mistake, but Sakura is hurt and she needs help! I haven't saved a life in a long time - I need to catch up with Gai and Naruto!

"Lee," she is saying. "Lee, thankyou - but please! Save yourself! PLEASE! LEE ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME!?" she is smacking me in the face, but I do not care. She is the only thing important to me at this moment in time. And she probably will be forever...

Rock Lee kicks Sakura over the fire into Neji's arms.

"You better have caught her, Neji! Now take her out of the room to safety! I'm counting on you!"
Neji quickly sets Sakura down onto the floor. She screams Lee's name. She tries to run back into the fire but Neji holds her back. "Neji! Let go of me! I want to help Lee! He is still in there-"

"SHUT UP!" He punches her in the head so that she passes out and lands in a heap on the floor.
Neji stands there watching Lee struggle to find a way out of the fire with his byakugan eyes. Lee accidently trips up and his shirt catches fire. Deep inside, Neji's heart is being torn in two. He can't bare watching this so he looks away. "Oh, and what good will that do you, Neji!?" Says a voice inside him. He can now hardly breathe because smoke is all around him. He gives one last look at Lee and a tear rolls slowly down one side of his face. Soon he is crying so much that he can't keep up his Byakugan ability. He falls to his knees whilst rubbing his eyes and listening to Rock Lee's cries for help. He fights with himself inside, wondering whether he should do something. "He has his whole life ahead of him! You aren't going to let a stupid rivelry stop you from helping him are you!? This is what your whole job as a ninja is all about!!!!"

But as he looks up, he realises something... the fire alarm hasn't gone off... He rushes up to it and bangs it as hard as he can to try to set it off. It works, and water pours from the ceiling until the fire goes out. When the fire thas cleared, Neji runs up to a very soaked Rock Lee, shaking him. Lee's hair flops limply over his pale face. Neji begins to cry all over again, holding his head in his hands. But soon, he looks up, and holds Lee's hand. "You know what's weird Lee?" He sniffs. "I think... maybe if none of this had happened and we had carried on fighting side by side in our team like we have for years now, well, I think maybe we could have been friends..."

Sakura wakes up and runs over to Neji and Lee. She gasps when she sees what has happened. "Oh Lee..." all she can manage to say, then she leans on Neji's shoulder, crying.

Lee Speaking

"Where am I? What am I? Am I still human?!" I am thinking right now. All I can see is nothing. I am sure that I can still feel the side of my body burning... but maybe that's just me?

I seriously think I am losing the will to live and I can not stop myself! It feels like I am going to sleep, in a more painful way. And what is even weirder, is I just thought I heard Neji's voice... he is crying too... yes, this has to be a dream or I am dead. No wait - I can feel a hand on my side where the burning feeling was... it is fading away! I am starting to feel as if I can open my eyes again! Well, ok... here goes...

"Lee!" Screams Sakura, throwing her arms around him as soon as he opens his eyes. "Yes! The healing jutsu worked!"
Neji smiles and rubs his eyes. "Thank goodness!" He says, his bottom lip going all wobbly.

Rock Lee puts his arm on his side. There is no more pain, and it feels like all the smoke has cleared from his body too. "I healed you, Lee!" says Sakura, stroking his side. "My healing powers have improved!"

Lee notices all the burns on Sakura and gasps. "Sa-Sakura! You are hurt!-"

"No Lee," Sighs Sakura. "I know these wounds will go away... your scars will too but..." She hugs him tighter. "The wounds on your heart won't...at least until somebody fixes them. I know now Lee... how obsessed you are with me and how horrible I've been to you, never giving you a good compliment once so I'll just say now that..." she takes a deep breath. "You know, I think we'll have to re-name that bird..."

He gives her a confused look. "What? Have you thought of a good name for it now?"

She smiles and nods. "It was called koishii. Now, I'm going to name it Koikokoro."

"Koikokoro? Why? It sounds a bit too long to me..." Says Neji, not having a clue about the bird or understanding why she has named it that.

Lee knows what she means.

"Sa-Sakura?"

"Koikokoro... it means "the awakening of love"..." smiles at him. "The bird that brought us together, Lee. And made us realise how much we care about eachother," Lee is totally speechless and shocked. "I'll answer the question you hinted to me before now, Lee. Yes, I do love you."

Lee sits there blushing for a bit then his eyes go all watery. "Sakura... this is the best thing that ever happened to me..." He hugs her back. "I love you too!"

Her eyes light up with joy and she immediatly kisses Lee, Neji still standing there shocked. As usual he keeps his cool, but inside he feels very awkward and embarrassed. "I wish I had somebody who cared that much about me... but I guess not..." he thinks. Just as he is about to walk away, Tenten comes up to Neji and hugs him. "NEJI I WAS TOO WORRIED! ARE YOU OK!!!???"

He sighs and smiles. "Yes. Now what do you say to us all going back to my place for a little birthday party, eh Lee?"

Sakura jumps off Lee and he nods. "Y-yeah, th-that would be great!"

Lee's wish had finally come true. And no, it wasn't Sakura asking him to marry her two years later, nor Gai sensei finally treating him like a man. It was that him and Neji were finally friends, as he had wished for a long time before he even met Sakura. But they still needed to have that fight... the fight that would end their rivelry, and finally decide who was better...

Neji and Lee stand on opposing sides of their battlefield, 10 years later.

"Ok. Agreed. Although we are friends..." Neji begins. "We fight!"

Lee smiles. "Yes, that is what we shall do. Let us put our pasts behind us today. For one of us, this day will be where life begins, for the other... it will be where it ends!"

Lee fought bravely, thinking of his wife Sakura and Neji fought just as well, thinking about his clan.

...and I'm going to leave it to you to decide for yourself who won.

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