Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!
And welcome readers, this is my first Naruto fic so I hope you'd like it. This will be a group of short stories featuring our favourite genins (and 1 chunnin) of Konohagakure while Naruto is out training with Jiraiya. Each chapter will follow the adventures of one genin in particular but you might find interesting how they are interlaced with the others. Now let's begin!
Tales of Konoha
Chapter 1: The tale of Rock Lee
It was another normal day in Konoha, the rustling of leaves that were heard all over the village welcomed the new season and the comming of the next chunin exams. As we look inside the village, a green figure could be seen punching and kicking a tree. This was Rock Lee, hopefully the best taijutsu nin user his age, who was as always training hard outside his rebuilt dojo. After all, his youth was not to be wasted.
332...333...334...335... he was counting.
"Aren't you supposed to be training with Gai sensei today, Lee?" asked his Hyuuga teammate who was leaning on one of the dojo walls.
"Gai sensei left on a mission. That's why I'm training on my own today. If I'm to catch up Naruto-kun I must train twice as hard!"
"Mission? Why weren't we called too?" asked Neji a bit surprised, of couse he didn't show it.
"Gai sensei said it wasn't a difficult one so he only took Ten Ten with him"
"I see" replied Neji letting go a sigh that didn't go unnoticed by Lee.
"Say, Neji-kun. What about a battle?" added him standing in his fighting position.
"I guess a little warm up could do it" answered Neji with a smirk. "Byakugan!"
"I'm sure I'll be more than a warm up" replied Lee, his eyes burning with excitement. "We haven't fought each other since before our first chunin exams. You'd be impressed at how much I've improved"
"Yeah I know that. But I've improved even more" stated Neji still smirking.
"How can you tell? Ever since you got accepted by Hiashi-san you are always training with him... what makes me wonder... why aren't you with him today?" asked a curious Lee.
"He said he would be busy today so I didn't want to intrude" explained Neji as Lee's jaw dropped in dissapointment.
"So you're just fighting me because you've nothing better to do? How cruel!" cried a puppy eyed Lee.
"Don't be such a child Lee... you were the one who requested it. Now let's begin" added him and rushed on Lee for a Juuken.
"Even if it was me... you were the one who came all the way here to my dojo!" cried Lee with watery eyes refusing to attack him and continued dodging all Neji's moves with a huge speed.
"Lee, you're not..." complaint Neji but was cut off by a female voice.
"Lee-san!" came Sakura's voice.
Lee immediately disappeared and run towards Sakura.
"Sakura-san! What brings you here?" cried Lee in excitement forgetting his little argument with Neji, and fight, much for Neji's dissapointment.
"Tsunade-shishou is requesting you, seems she has a mission for you" informed Sakura.
"Yosh! I'll do my best!" yelled Lee forgetting all about Neji.
'Can he really change his mood that fast?' wondered Neji seeing a cheerful Lee in front of him. How he always managed to pass from depressed to hyper was a mistery for him, not that he was depressed for real but he seemed dissapointed anyways.
"... so see ya, Neji-kun!" Neji heard Lee yell, now miles ahead leaving with Sakura.
"So, how's been your training, Sakura-san?" asked Lee to start a conversation.
"Oh quite good I have to say... even if Tsunade-shishou can be really strict and hard, I know it's the best for me to improve my abilities"
"I know you can handle all that training and more! You're such a strong shinobi and I'm sure you're good at hard working too" added Lee enthusiastically.
Sakura blinked at the sudden encouraging from Lee and blushed a little. "T-thank you Lee-san... No one has ever told me something like that before" said Sakura a bit embarrased. "Ever since Naruto left the village I've been so busy training that I hadn't been able to hang out with friends and was really stressing. It's good to know I have someone like you to encourage me from time to time" added with a smile.
'Yosh! Sakura-san enjoys my company!' cried inner Lee. (A/N: just thought... not like he has one)
"Ehm.. Lee?" Sakura waved a hand in front of his face, a face filled with joy and firey eyes that didn't pay attention to what she last said.
"Sorry... were you saying...?" asked a confused, yet embarrased, Lee.
"I said I have to go in that other direction to the Hospital so we'll be parting ways from this point" said Sakura pointing the right side.
"Ok then, I'll be leaving you now" added Lee.
"Yeah. Bye, Lee-san" added her waving at him. "And don't forget I'll be cheering on you at the coming Chunin Exams!"
"Arigato! Sakura-san! You too do your best!" waved Lee seeing Sakura turn a corner and then started his way to the Hokage's office.
"Maybe now that Naruto-kun's not here I'll be able to ask Sakura-san out" said Lee to himself while walking. "Yosh! If I'm not able to ask her out I'll run 100 laps around Konoha!" cried out loud in commitment... maybe too loud so every person around turned to look at him, of course he didn't care and continued his way until he heard someone calling him.
"Hey kid" called a seductive voice that Lee didn't recognize it as that.
"Huh? you calling me?" asked an innocent Lee to a young woman that was leaning at the door of one of the houses nearby.
"Yeah. You" answered her firmly.
Unaware of the danger of talking to strangers, Lee rushed to the girl who requested him, after all it was a shinobi's duty to help when needed.
"Ano... May I help you?" asked a nervous Lee when the girl started walking in circles around him like examining him.
"I've just been wondering... what a strong shinobi like you were doing around here... it's not usual for them to come to this side of the Village..." added her scaning Lee, now trying to reach his head band (A/N: we know where he uses it xD)
"Ugh, miss... you shouldn't touch there" Lee said trying to do it politely.
"Hum... I'm just impressed... you look just to what I need" she said now looking at his chest.
"Ano... have you requested me?" asked Lee confused about whether she needed a shinobi.
"Of course! Now come in kid!" she said and dragged him to her place not paying attention to Lee's excuses about him having to go to the Hokage's office.
"Oh I'll talk to her. She'll be glad you came to my place" replied the girl. "By the way, my name's Machi, yours?"
"Lee, Rock Lee, mum"
"Oh don't call me mum. It makes me feel old" whined her and then added as they entered to a dark room. "Here we are!"
"Ano... I can't see a thing" said Lee.
"Oh sorry! My bad" answered her and turned on the lights revealing a photography studio.
"What is this place?"
"This is where I work. I'm a designer but lately I've been lacking good models to whom I try my designs so I was thinking about maybe requesting some shinobi to try on my creations. You look just perfect!" explained her and Lee then understood what was all this about. If only he'd be able to go to the Hokage's office for her to explain it to him.
"Yosh! I'll do my best!" cried him and started to change his clothes.
After several shoots he found that each design had less pieces of clothes and soon he started to feel a little uneasy but then he heard her.
"Oh that went really well!" exclaimed her as she looked again at her photos... "I'll be sending them to you soon, Lee-kun"
"Arigato, Machi-san. Are we finished?"
"Yeah you can go now to see your Hokage" answered her and pointed the door showing him he could leave.
"Yosh! I'll go and report to Hokage-sama" informed him and run through the door.
"Report?"
"LEE!! Where the hell have you been?!" yelled Tsunade when Lee finally appeared at her office.
"Tsunade-sama I'm coming to report how the mission went!" answered Lee.
"Report?! I didn't even tell you what the mission was about!"
"Oh, that's right. But the person who requested it found me on my way to your office so I helped her right there. I'm coming to say I finished it efficiently" informed Lee as Tsunade's face dropped.
"Lee" she said quietly. "The person who requested the mission's right there" added pointing at an old man sitting in the corner.
"Oh" was all he could say in surprise, his cheeks turning a little pink.
"Now, who did you think it was the person who requested you?"
"It was a young lady at the west side of the village, she said she needed a shinobi like me and..."
"We'll talk about that later" interrupted Tsunade. "Now your mission is..."
A few days later..."Oi Lee!" came Ten Ten's voice. "Why is that you're in this week Shinobi?" asked her showing him a magazine titled Shinobi.
"Ah? That's..." started Lee but was soon interrupted
"LEE!!" came Tsunade's voice from the Hokage's tower.
A/N: Heh, that was funny... poor Lee. Next: The Tale of Sakura