Summary: Lee wants to show TenTen he cares about her on Valentines Day by getting her the perfect gift. There is one problem though . . .

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A/N: FYI: I really liked writing the scene with Gai. XD

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any related materials.

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The Seven Inner Lotuses of My Affections

Have you ever wondered what Konohagakure was like on Valentine's Day? Well, I shall tell you anyway. Enter our favorite bowl-cut sporting, green spandex wearing, round-eyed, bushy-browed, taijutsu mastering, ladies' man himself, Rock Lee! It was a dark and cloudy day as rain threatened overhead, but nothing could dampen Lee's spirits on this Valentine's Day. As he skipped down the streets of Konoha, he got strange looks from the other pedestrians, but he didn't care. Actually, he didn't even notice. He was too busy trying to decide what to get TenTen for Valentine's Day. Yes, today was the day he was going to confess his love to his teammate. It is true that years ago, he had confessed his love to Sakura. But that hadn't been love. It had only been a mere infatuation. Since then, he had matured and come to truly care about TenTen. Now, all that was left was letting her know.

Unfortunately, even though he knew TenTen well, he had no idea what to get her for this particular occasion. He thought about getting her weapons, because she always liked receiving them. He always bought her new weapons, though, and it would have been too ordinary and unromatic. He also considered wine, because he heard that wine was romantic, but they were underage, and Gai-sensei told him never to touch alchohol after what happened last time . . . Chocolate was out of the question because TenTen was allergic. Gai had told him one time that women loved flowers, too, but Lee had hay fever. Then again, it would prove his love. Going through all that suffering just to give her a Valentine's Day gift. That is if he didn't die first . . . Yeah, flowers were definitely out of the question. So, what was poor Lee to do?

He was out of options. So Lee did what any person would do in his situation: Ask Gai-Sensei! Well, maybe not any person.

Even though Lee had never been to Gai's house, he passed it often on his way to the training grounds, so he knew how to get there without looking it up. The walk there only took a few minutes, which Lee spent trying to think of what he should tell Gai about his predicament. Although he knew he couldn't lie to his sensei, he wasn't sure what Gai's response would be when he found out about Lee's affections for his teammate.

There was no turning back, though, and, soon enough, he had reached Gai's house and was knocking on the door.

Throwing open the door, Gai brightened up when he saw who was knocking for him. "Lee, my youthful student, what brings you to my humble abode?!"

Lee wondered how Gai had managed to answer the door so quickly, but he wasted no time pondering over this and got straight to the point. "Gai-Sensei, I want to confess my love to TenTen today, but I do not know what to give her." He looked to Gai with a mixture of nervousness and hopefulness.

To Lee's relief, Gai seemed to approve. Actually, saying that he 'seemed to approve' would be an understatement. With tears of joy streaming from his eyes, Gai threw his arms around Lee, causing a huge emotional scene between student and teacher. "Oh, Lee! I knew this day would someday come! I am so proud of you!"

Thanks to Gai's reaction, Lee had to blink back tears of his own. "Gai-Sensei," he said with a sniffle, wiping a tear from his eye, "I am thankful for your approval, but could you help me with my problem?"

"Oh, yes!" Releasing Lee from his embrace, Gai straightened up and regained his composure. "Well . . . what about getting her a vacuum cleaner?" he suggested. "Everyone loves vacuum cleaners."

Lee looked at his Sensei, confused. "A what?"

"Never mind." Sighing, Gai tried to think of another solution to Lee's current situation. "Then you should give her something to show that you have been thinking about her. How about some beautiful, colorful flowers of joy and love?"

"I am allergic. Remember?"

"Oh yes! How could I forget?! How about chocolates then?"

"She is allergic. Wow, Gai-Sensei, you must be having an off day!"

"You're right Lee! How unyouthful of me!" Gai shook his head at his pure unyouthfulness and continued thinking of suggestions for Lee. "What about weapons? They are youthful!"

Lee sighed, becoming frustrated. "No! I need and idea besides flowers, chocolates, weapons, or wine!" he cried.

"Wine!?" Raising an eyebrow, Gai got wide-eyed. "You haven't been drinking have you, Lee? That's not youthful!" He raised his arms, ready to gaurd himself.

Shaking his head, Lee had a look of despair on his face. "I just wanted to find a gift that would accurately express my feelings to TenTen. But I guess it is hopeless. I am not meant to be with her!"

Gai had never seen Lee so desperate and it made his heart sink. "No, Lee! Do not give up! I will find something you can get her to win her heart over and make her love you for all eternity if it is the last thing I do!" He pumped his fist in the air and grinned at the completion of his mini-speech.

"Oh, thank you, Gai-Sensei! I knew I could count on you!" Lee cried as more tears welled up in his eyes.

"Of course, Lee! You can always count on me! . . . Now, what were talking about?"

"What I should get TenTen."

"Oh right." Gai leaned against his doorway and stroked his chin in thought. "Hm . . . Have you considered getting her a Valentine?"

Lee looked confused, once again. "A Valentine?"

"Yes. You know, a card telling her how you feel about her."

Lee pondered this for a few moments before nodding his head. "Yeah! That just might work."

Proud of himself and happy to help his student, Gai grinned. "Of course it will! It's youthful and simple, yet it will get your message accross!"

"Thank you, Gai-Sensei! Sorry to leave you, but I have some business to take care of!"

"Good luck, Lee! You great kid!" He and Lee exchanged thumbs up signs, before Lee waved and ran off to buy TenTen a card.

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"So where would I find this 'card' thing that Gai-Sensei speaks of?" Lee was walking down the street, mumbling to himself and receiving even more weird glances from the fellow citizens passing by. Once again, he didn't notice, though, for he was too busy looking for a store that would sell a youthful and simple card that would express his true feelings. "I must get a card . . . But what does a card look like? I should have asked Gai-Sensei!"

Just as he was about ready to give up, Lee looked ahead to see a familiar face in the distance. "Neji! Neji!" Trying to get Neji's attention, Lee was jumping up and down and waving his arms frantically through the air like a maniac.

Of course, Neji didn't notice.

Lee started running towards Neji. "Nej--" But he stopped right in his tracks when he saw that someone was with him. And not just anyone. It was his beloved TenTen. Lee wondered why they would possibly be walking together. It was Valentine's Day after all.

Oh, no! Are they on . . . on a . . . a date!?"

The thought was too horribe for Lee to bear, but he had to know. So he jumped onto the roof of the nearest building and waited for his teammates to reach him.

As TenTen and Neji neared Lee's perch, TenTen looked around. "Neji?"

"Hm?"

She shrugged. "I don't see him, but I could have sworn I just heard--"

But before TenTen could reveal the name of the mystery person, Lee had decided that their positioning was perfect, and he leaped down from his spot on the roof. The whole point of this was to land gracefully on his feet behind Neji and then whisk him into a store where he could talk to Neji without being interrupted. But of course, since this is my story, it didn't work out as planned. Instead, he landed right on top of TenTen, who, in a domino effect, fell into Neji, sending all three of them crashing to the ground.

" . . . Lee!" Both Neji and TenTen said at the same time.

Lee was the first to get up, considering his fall had been broken by two people and had left him totally unaffected. Once he was standing, he looked around frantically, trying to figure out what to do next. In a desperate attempt for escape, without speaking, he scooped Neji up in his arms and ran as fast as he could with his ankle weights on.

Obviously, Neji was not happy about this. While rubbing the spot on his head where he hit the pavement, Neji struggled to break free of Lee's hold and protested rather loudly. "Put me down, Lee, you idiot! People are going to get the wrong idea!!" But Lee did not put him down, nor did he stop. He just kept running with Neji in his arms, and left TenTen sitting on the ground, confused, amused, and a bit creeped out.

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As soon as TenTen was out of sight, Lee turned into the first store he came across. He gently lowered Neji to the floor as he caught his breath. Neji wasn't exactly the lightest person in the world.

Neji straightened up and dusted himself off, while glaring at Lee with rage in his eyes. "What the hell is the big idea!?" He took a step closer to Lee and shook his fist as if he was ready to clobber him.

"Well . . . Um . . . " Lee was unsure of what to say. The reason for bringing Neji there did sound pretty ridiculous now that Neji was about ready to beat him to a pulp. "Well, I-I just noticed that y-you w-were with T-TenTen," he managed to stutter while backing away from Neji and smiling nervously.

"Well, yeah. You did just land on her after falling from who knows where!"

"I am aware of that. And by the way, I did not fall. I jumped. And, if anything, I meant to land on you, not TenTen."

Crossing his arms, Neji snorted. "That makes it much better!"

"Now back on subject . . . "

"We were never on a subject!"

"What were you and TenTen doing together," Lee asked, brushing off Neji's last comment.

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Going to train. Why is it so important to you?"

Once again, Lee totally ignored Neji's question and, instead, go suspicious. "Training? Then why was I not invited!?" He pointed a finger at Neji accusingly.

"We tried to invite you, but you were not home."

Likely story, but I am on to you! Know this! I am not going to lose to you!" Lee crossed his arms and was about to storm off defiantly, but he then remembered what he had originally wanted to talk to Neji about before the whole TenTen thing. "Oh yeah! Neji, what does a card look like?"

Exasperated, Neji rolled his eyes. Hoping to get rid of Lee as soon as possible, he pointed in the direction of a random isle. "You can find them over there." With that, he turned and started walking towards the door, leaving Lee to go find his 'card.' Unfortunately for Lee, though, Neji had just directed him straight towards the dictionaries.

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Lee was standing in front of the dictionary shelf, tapping his finger to his chin and looking over the selection. "Hm . . . This is not what I expected a card to look like," he said to himself, as he picked up one of the books and flipped through it. "German Dictionary," he read. I do not understand what any of this means, but I am sure it is good. I can feel it. He smiled, satisfied, as he walked towards the checkout counter.

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Lee pushed the store's door open and walked out, causing the little bell above the door to jingle. He was happy with his previous purchase. So much so, that he almost walked straight into Haruno Sakura, his friend and childhood crush.

Luckily, before he could, Sakura spoke, bringing him out of his trance-like state. "Hi, Lee."

Looking up, Lee snapped back to reality. "Oh! Hello, Sakura-chan! What brings you here?" Lee started walking alongside of Sakura.

Smiling, Sakura help up a small, pink bag. "I bought a Valentine's Day gift for someone."

"Someone special?"

Looking down at her hands, Sakura nodded and blushed.

"Are you going to tell me who?"

This time, Sakura shook her head. "It's a surprise for everyone. Including you."

Lee looked at Sakura with mock disappointment, even though he was trying his best to hold back a smile.

"So, you still haven't told me what you're doing here."

"I did not know I was required to," he responded, allowing his smile to show through.

"Well, you are."

Lee was silent a few moments before hiding his card/dictionary behind his back and speaking again. "I was buying TenTen a gift."

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Sakura clapped her hands together and looked thoughtful for a moment. "You should bake her a cake."

This statement left Lee a bit confused. "A cake? Why?"

"I don't know. I would like to get a homemade cake from someone. Then, I could be sure that it came from his heart."

Lee pondered this for a second, then his face brightened up and he nodded. "That is a great idea, Sakura-chan! Thank you! I'm sorry, but I have got to go!" He started to run towards his house, waving good-bye to Sakura. His plan was now to woo TenTen with a homemade cake and his newly bought 'card,' but he had no idea how disasterous it would turn out.

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A/N: Well, that's it for the first chapter. Only one more left. See you then. The next chapter will be better. I noticed that it seems like I'm making fun of Lee and Gai a lot in this chapter, but I didn't mean to. (-.-') It just comes naturally.