« Dieu que le monde est injuste
Lui seigneur et moi vaurien
Il te donnera la lune
Toi qui ne demandais rien »

- Garou « Dieu que le Monde est Injuste »

Though it may amaze some, Lee did not constantly exude his 'youthfulness.' Nor was he oblivious to the realities of the world.

Today was one of these moments.

He had walked into the training grounds on time, smiling like usual. Tenten and Neji had just finished their warm-up, and sat against an ancient tree, sharing a water bottle.

Immediately he had called a two-on-one spar, exclaiming how he would beat their youthful teamwork.

They had agreed, seeing no harm in exercising such an essential aspect to any mission. And they did almost all their missions together, being the most effective duo in Konoha.

But once the spar started, they immediately noted the change in his behavior. His smile faded away, and his movements were brash, angry, and uncoordinated. He allowed them more fatal openings then a poorly trained rabbit.

Flitting across the trees, Tenten ran behind him, waiting for the perfect moment to pin him to a tree. Neji landed in front of Lee, engaging him in a brief taijustsu battle. Lee whipped his leg at Neji's face, grossly overestimating the distance and hitting a tree instead.

Just as quickly as it had happened, they separated, Lee flinging himself back into the shadowy cover of the trees. But it was too late, they had both seen the grim line of his mouth and the look of self-hate in his eyes.

Tenten and Neji looked at each other, he'd tell them when he's ready. Simultaneously they return to the game of elaborate cat(s)-and-mouse.

Two hours later Neji stopped the spar. Neither side had won, the duo too afraid of Lee's self-destructive fighting to really fight him. Instead it had turned into a mock-chase, tracking each other though the thick forest circling their training grounds.

"Training is over for the day, we need to get ready for the wedd-" Neji began, not daring to finish the sentence in the current company. Silently he looked over to Tenten, sudden realization coming to them both.

"Oh." Was all Tenten could say at first, lowering her gaze to the ground and then back up to Lee. "Lee, you don't…" She began again, but the sentence remained forever unfinished.

Tears had appeared in the corner of Lee's eyes, as he hung his head.

"Neji was right," he pronounced in a shaky voice. "Losers cannot achieve greatness, no matter how much they train."

With that said he collapsed into Tenten's arms, sobbing.

"Lee, we all know that's not true… You have achieved great things, Neji was wrong." She said, patting his head while glaring at her other teammate who was standing still, not helping in the least. "Hell, Naruto managed to become a decent shinobi. But even so, it's only natural for you to not achieve everything. Nobody's life is perfect."

He did not respond, but he did stop crying after a while.

Finally Neji decided to speak up, and Tenten sorely wished that what he would say wouldn't make everything worse. He was just not the sentimental type.

"As a Hyuuga, I must attend, no matter how painful it will be. If you do not feel strong enough to attend I can tell them that you aren't feeling well…" he said softly, almost seeming frail.

"I guess we just all want to be in their place, huh?" Lee said shakily, a wry smile on his face.

"Yeah, Sasuke and Sakura have got it good." Tenten said, helping Lee to his feet and glancing over to Neji.

"I will attend. I must at least congratulate them of their youthful union." Lee said, standing up a little straighter than was really necessary.

"We'll get through this… somehow." Tenten whispered to herself, "We always do, no matter what."

AN--

Wow… this might be the saddest thing I've ever written. I feel really bad for doing that to them. Cries

And for those who were wondering what the hell the quote is, it's from the "Notre Dame de Paris" musical, which has an awesome soundtrack, whether or not you know the language. Listen to it, it rocks.

Quote roughly translated:

"God the world is unjust

Him a lord and me a good-for-nothing

He will give you to the moon

You who did not ask for anything"

Review?