AN: I realize this story is a bit crazy. Or strange. Or whatever. I'll just say as justification that this was one of those -wake up-in the middle of the night-and can't fall back asleep-stories...Anyway, I hope you enjoy none the less.

Sacrifice

The sky was reddish – it seemed to reflect the blood that surrounded him. The air was filled with shouts, screams, pain. Just the tree of them had been protecting a border pass between Rock and Leaf. And they shed their blood dearly. At first it seemed to go smoothly, but they were so clearly outnumbered it was impossible. Lee's bandaged fists were like the deadliest of weapons. Like sledge-hammers his hands cracked ribs. Like battle axes they shattered bones. In the wild, breath-taking motion he managed to register with the corner of his eye Neji fighting close by. He just noticed Tenten, some distance away showering the enemy with weapons. For a second there it almost looked like they would win. Almost. Because soon he heard a Neji draw gasping breaths, and he heard Tenten's screams. He saw the Hyuuga, white robes now completely red, fall. He paled. For a moment he froze. He couldn't believe it. It couldn't be real. Clearing away some of his enemies he tried to make his way to the body. He fought, he fought like he never had before, his senses overcome completely by fury. And yet, no matter how many he destroyed, there were more. Endlessly more. They would fail. They would lose here, the would let the enemy through. He felt sick. They couldn't lose – they were ninja of Konoha and that meant they were fighting not for an organization, they were fighting for family. It meant they couldn't lose.

There was a way. A single way. There was something that Tenten hadn't yet used. A jutsu that sprouted chakra-enhanced weapons from all around – there would be tons of them, however the problem was that these people looked as if they could very well dodge all of them. This meant that their attention had to be directed at something else. And this was when Rock Lee – the genius of hard work – knew what he had to do. He searched out Tenten's eyes. He stared deep into them and she understood. There were fresh tears in her eyes, not for Neji this time, for him. She swallowed and slowly nodded. She whipped up a scroll and a kunai. She didn't cut her thumb, in one swift motion she ran the blade across her whole palm, then the other. With her the scroll between her now bleeding hands she started forming seals.

"Lee" she whispered.

The boy stood amid his opponents. Now that the Hyuuga was down their attention was all on him. He stood there. Arms at his sides, eyes closed. It was time for sacrifice – if they were fighting, they wouldn't have the time to doge the weapons. He wouldn't either.

As if in a nightmare the crazy dance began, to the music of Tenten's weapons and the rhythm of her tears.

Lee fought. Lee hit. Lee crushed the lungs and bones of his opponents. Drowning in the sea of his opponents Lee didn't give them have a moment to draw breath, he was too fast. Le killed. Lee kept them at bay. Even so Lee was losing, because there were too many. Lee waited. Lee bled.

Amid the shrieks and the blood it was hard to see anything at all. But Lee saw it anyway. A mass of weapons, all flying at them, from all around. –Like rain – he thought. Then they hit him. Like all the enemy around him, Rock Lee fell under the showers of metal that had been thrown by a girl he had grown to love and never admitted it.

He crashed, face into the mud and blood, beside Neji. Drawing last breaths he stared into the Hyuuga's white eyes. Though it was completely impossible, they were still alive.

"Some fight" the Hyuuga whispered. Lee only smiled, faintly. Then his head dropped, and he died amid the sea of enemies who couldn't defeat him.

---

This story isn't true. Lee never died. Team Gai never protected the border pass between Rock and Leaf. Tenten never had to kill a team mate. Neji never lost to a Rock nin.

But if Rock Lee had to die, than this is how it would look. Because sometimes truth isn't what happened. Sometimes truth is what should have happened And if Lee was to die, this is how it should be.