Something from Nothing
By BlackRaspberryDaydream
"MMMMMOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYY!!" the high pitched squeal hit the roof of the large home that lay dormant in silence for approximately ten minutes.
Sakura heaved a sigh of frustration and set her novel down upon her pillow to answer the call. How disappointing. She had finally concluded the fifth chapter and the two future lovers were still masked in the uncertainty of their feelings for one another. Perhaps it was Sakura's own impatience, but the complete forthrightness of the male protagonist's undying love for the female lead veiled by unfamiliarity and benighted of the methods of expressing true affection to another was irrevocably bothersome. Finishing the book was the only way to allay her irritation; however, with as many children as she had, it was proving to be a fairly thorny task.
Halfway through the tread upstairs, Sakura ceased all movement at caught a quick breath. Climbing stairs while pregnant and without help was a big no-no. Usually Lee brought the kids down to her, or brought her upstairs in his arms, but now that he was away with ANBU, she was going to have to try and make the effort to embark on the journey alone. Four children. Two girls, a boy, and one on the way. Some called her amazing, some brave, and some stupid. She chose the neither title, but decided that 'in love' would fit nicely. Eight had been the agreement; she was half way there. Backing out now would make her seem fearful of the load or weary from labor; both not good excuses. Besides, she liked babies, and she loved it even more to have Lee there when she was having those babies.
It didn't take Sakura any time to choose which child had screamed for her; Just Sayuri could bellow such a tone, let alone utter full sentences.
"What is it, Sayuri?" Sakura inquired of her daughter when she stood at the threshold between her door and the hallway in an out of breath voice.
A small child, a bit taller than four feet emerged the upper portion of her body from a thick barrier of sheets and blankets. Long primrose pink tendrils stuck to her ashy cheeks below her wide, round jade eyes and to her large forehead with pencil thin eyebrows from sweat and her contorted position under her shelter of cotton and polyester. In her hands, she clutched a tiny brown teddy bear sporting a thin red ribbon around its neck with white polka dots and beady black eyes. Sakura couldn't help but giggle at the sight of her daughter so petite and so adorable. In her eyes, a glint of familiar determination sparkled in the dimness of the tiny nightlight in the corner of her bedroom.
"Mommy," Sayuri said matter-of-factly "I am worried about Hasu-chan. May we please check on him?"
"Why are you worried about Hasu-chan, sweetheart?" Sakura asked softly, taking a seat on her eldest daughter's bed.
"Well..." Sayuri whispered softly "Mr. Teddy said...Hasu-chan is...afraid."
"Hasu is...afraid?"
"Yes! So we must check on him right away!"
"What is he afraid of, honey?"
Sayuri briefly paused to bring the bear close to her ear wrapped in locks of pink. After a few seconds of nodding, the pink haired youngster responded to her mother.
"Mr. Teddy says Hasu is afraid because Daddy wasn't here to kiss him goodnight."
A smile of clarification shaped on Sakura's lips.
"Is Tsuki afraid too, honey?" She asked with false concern.
"...Um...Yes! Yes, Tsuki-chan is afraid too! We must go and help her as well!"
"How 'bout the baby? Is it afraid, too?"
Minute, bemused Sayuri tilted her head at her mother's inquisition.
"I do not think so, Mommy. The baby is, after all, inside of your tummy...right?"
Sakura giggled at the wide eyed stare of her daughter that reminded her greatly of the child's father. It was so innocent, so pure, and so curious. Sayuri undeniably mirrored Sakura physically, but mentally and emotionally, she was Rock Lee through and through. She cherished her siblings Hasu and Tsuki no matter what they did, defended her mother against her father, father against mother, and crooned statements of youth, love, and beauty. Sayuri went with Lee and Gai-sensei training at first light on Saturdays, typically returning home asleep from rigorous exhaustion and waking up hours later with more energy than she conjured up that morning with her father. Sayuri ogled at her mother when she fed Tsuki who was about to be two in June, and she marveled at the black color of the three year old Hasu's hair that matched Lee's perfectly. She had dreams of becoming a great kunoichi like her mother and invoking all of the power of youth like her father. It was really Sakura that was astonished by Sayuri. She never knew that she would take part in making the female version of the renowned Green Beast of Konoha.
"Yes, Sayuri. The baby is in my tummy."
"...Mommy," Sayuri said once again seriously "I have a question."
Sakura blinked a few times, inwardly praying that this wasn't going where she thought it was going.
"Y-Yes...sweetheart?"
"I want to know..." –Sakura took a deep breath—"how did you and Daddy fall in love?"
Sakura exhaled thankfully. That was a much easier question with a much shorter story to tell.
"How Daddy and I fell in love?"
"Yes. I want the whole story...please."
"Alright, Sayuri. But, first, I need you to do something for Mommy, ok?"
"Yes!!" cried the miniature Sakura/Rock Lee. "Anything you ask Mommy and-and-and it shall be y-yours!!"
Tears gathered at the base of Sakura's eyes; she instantly remembered how much she missed her husband at that point in time. She longed to be cradled in his arms during the darkness of midnight, touching muscled skin and hiding her face in the groove of his neck. She craved to hear the low breathing that harmonized with her own; the calm humming or tender singing into her ear when he could tell restiveness captured her mind in its inexorable grasp; those trim lips kissing her throat every few minutes, sending chills all the way down to her ankles; the—
"Mommy?" the voice of her daughter brought her head out of the clouds "What is it?"
"Um-uh..." the wheel in Sakura's mind spun to recall what she had originally requested of Sayuri. "Oh! Uh-Sayuri, please lay down for Mommy, ok? I'll tell you the story if you promise to sleep afterward, alright?"
The lips of the itty-bitty toddler pursed in insubordination, but remembering that her father had required of her to respect and obey her mother in his absence, her lips loosed and she transition her body from vertical to horizontal.
"May I hear the story, Mommy, please?" Sayuri tersely implored.
"Yes, honey," Sakura grinned "Do you know how Daddy and I met?"
"Yes!!" Sayuri yelled excitedly "The first time of the chu-chu...chu...what was the name again?"
Sakura laughed. "The chunin exams honey!"
"Right!!" Sayuri laughed with her "So...what happened next?"
"Well, a lot of stuff happened, Sayuri. What do you know?"
"Daddy said he loved you at first sight!"
Sakura's gaze on her daughter became softer.
"...He did, honey..."
"But Daddy said you did not love him back...is that true?"
Sakura bit down gently on her bottom lip. Shit. She was trapped in a hole now. The thought of her answer possible breaking her daughter's heart was too much to tolerate, but lying to her about this subject, which Sayuri would eventually discover by her own means anyway, wouldn't be healthy for her in the long run; however, it was easier said than done. Although it would likely hurt her, if she was anything like her father, she would accept that Sakura was young and she was unaware of the things she understood now and not fret over the situation any longer. Yes, it was best for her, else later there would be much more conflict than there would be between mother and daughter at present.
"...Yes...I didn't, Sayuri..."
She blinked for a few seconds; the glint of thrill in her emerald orbs fading to a flicker of alarm, skepticism, and gloom.
"...How-How come, Mommy? How come?" Begged the little girl.
Sakura reached out to brush away the wisps of hair away from her daughter's slender eyebrows, grieving in silence at her past inanity.
"I'm sorry, baby...sometimes, things don't work like that; the way your Daddy felt about me. Most of the time, it takes a long while to finally figure out what's good for you. You think one person is who you'll devote the rest of your life to...but then something else happens, and you find out a person you never knewcould be perfect for you...is the right one."
Hesitantly, Sayuri dropped her stare from Sakura down to the floor, made a quick right, then back up to lock on her mother's face once more.
"...Did-did you think that of someone else too?"
Sakura sighed heavily. She was beginning to prefer the potential topic she had rejected previously.
"...I'm afraid so, honey..."
"Who, Mommy? Who?"
'...Why...why now...?'
Sakura found it troublesome to fight back the urge to cry. Shedding tears of sorrow in front of her Sayuri would merely rile her up to a state of panic like it did Rock Lee. She just couldn't tell her she had once loved the spiteful deserter Sasuke Uchiha and the future Hokage Naruto Uzumaki.
Sayuri was too young to understand what it in fact meant to love and to be in love. Maybe if Sakura explicated the diversity of the word love first...that might do the trick.
"Sayuri, before I tell you, Mommy needs to explain something to you, ok?"
"Alright. Explain please." Sayuri's reply was brusque.
"Love is a very...vague word. It has a lot of different meanings to it."
"...It does?" the inquisitive Sayuri gasped.
"You bet! See, you know how you love your Daddy like a Daddy?"
"Yes. I do."
"And I don't love your Daddy like a daddy. I love him like a husband."
"Right! Of course!"
"And Daddy and I love you like a daughter, and Daddy loves me like a wife, but you love me like a mommy."
Sayuri grimaced. "This is all very confusing, Mommy."
"I'm sorry, honey... Do you want me to try again?"
"No. I think I understand. But why do you tell me this?"
"Because, honey...I thought I loved some people like I loved your Daddy, but it turns out... I only loved them as friends."
"Like I love Eiji and Emi Hyuga?"
"Right! Like you love Aunt Tenten and Uncle Neji's twins!"
"Oh, ok! I get it now!"
"Good honey!"
Sayuri's mini red lips twitched.
"But who was it Mommy? I want to know please!"
Sakura inhaled.
'...Here we go...'
"Well...first...I thought I loved...Sasuke Uchiha..."
Sayuri's eyes expanded.
"Sasuke Uchiha?! But-but...but he is a bad man, Mommy!"
"...Well honey, when I was a bit older than you, he wasn't. And I did find out I only loved him as a friend."
"...Good. I would not want Sasuke for a daddy."
Sakura smirked. "Me either."
Sayuri beamed at her mother.
"Then did you love Daddy?"
"...No, not quite..."
"Who did you love then now?"
"...Promise not to laugh?"
"A promise is a promise, Mommy!!"
'...Dear God, Lee, what have we created? ...hehehe..."
"Well...I thought I loved...your... your Uncle Naruto."
"...UNCLE N-NARUTO?! For really?!"
She seemed more taken aback about her purportedly loving Naruto than Sasuke; that worked as a benefit on Sakura's part.
"Yes, but then I...I realized that I just loved him as a friend."
"It was a good thing too! Uncle Naruto might not have married Auntie Hinata and had Yui and Yori for me to play with."
(The twin gene was strong in Hyuga blood)
"That's right, Sayuri." Sakura nodded.
"Ok...Then did you love Daddy nooooooow?" The girl anxiously pleaded.
"Then I loved Daddy."
"Finally!!" Sayuri cheered, trusting both fists in the air as a gesture of triumph.
'...I'm there with you, hon...' Sakura concurred.
"So when did you know you loved Daddy now?" Sayuri continued, so desperate she sat up in bed from anticipation.
"Well," Sakura started, tucking her daughter back under the covers. "There's a little story that goes along with that."
"YAY! Stories are youthful, Mommy!!"
"They are!" Sakura half chuckled, remembering her husband in prepubescent years. "But this is a long story, so are you ready?"
"I am always ready for-for a story of youth!!"
"G-good." Sakura answered.
Like playing the images on a movie projector, Sakura recollected every last detail of the fateful event without a flaw. The unambiguousness of the imagery was so clear that it was almost as if she had recorded a film of her time with Rock Lee. She was fortunate; maybe Sayuri could see the depictions as visibly as her mother portrayed them. A varnish of dreamy stupor glazed over Sakura's eyes ever so slightly, but as quickly as she had been dazed, she revived herself from the trance and initiated the ordinary story telling foundation.
"When I was young, Sayuri, sometimes I thought I was all alone in the world. I thought that no one was around to help me out or to talk with me about how I felt. When Sasuke left, I was sad; very sad. When I wanted to go to Uncle Naruto, he was usually busy trying to find Sasuke or training to become Hokage with Jiraiya-sensei...I was just...nothing."
Sakura placed a loving hand on her daughter's head, feeling a sensation that she had felt since the day of her marriage; she was no longer isolated.
"You were all alone, Mommy?" Sayuri responded with an undersized voice. "That you were nothing?
Sakura smiled. "No Sayuri. I wasn't—"
Sakura stopped to inhale, then exhale to stop the tears from flowing.
"...I never nothing...I was always...something."
Cumbersome smoke-grey clouds crammed to the point of overflowing with gallons of impure rainwater acted as a malign barricade against the ocher hues of the deified sun orb that captured the world within its balmy radiance. The air was a thick fog of humidity from the lack of arid illumination to evaporate annoying moisture confined to reside in the atmosphere of Konohagakure. Muggy environments partnered with droll darkness gave the village a monochromatic ambiance; as though someone had not only obstructed their luminosity, but their color scheme as well. It was fortunate enough for Sakura to be confined within her small apartment home while this pre-storm weather raged through her homeland.
Inside her well-kept domicile, Sakura snuggled into her favorite wool quilt hand stitched by her deceased grandmother on her tiny blue love-seat with a steaming cup of hot cocoa to keep her company. She had been living on her own for quite some time now, and Sakura still suffered from the seclusion that came with the sovereignty she craved. Horrific nightmares of death, of gore...of Sasuke...continued to haunt her mind with such vigor Sakura was forced into calling her someone in the dead of night for consolation. Most of the time it was her mother, but Naruto, Rock Lee, Ino, even Tenten had sacrificed a handful of their forty-winks to comfort her. Naruto would lecture Sakura on her illegitimate fears, Lee would sooth her with words of kindness, Ino's brash exclamations on Sakura's magnitude of strength always put a smile on her face, and Tenten knew how to rationalize.
How she would have surrendered her own soul to have them here with her now, in this impending torrent that managed to stir up each one of her qualms, regrets, and sorrows with one foul gust of wind. Gradually, Sakura lifted the warm mug up to her lips, teasing her taste buds with one tiny sip, letting wafts of steam radiate up into her nostrils as a method of calming. Sakura wrapped the coverlet round her body as tight as it would let her, picking both legs up from the floor and clutching them to her chest, carefully placing her mug upon the glass table by the dim lamp lighting her living room. Why? Why this solitude? Couldn't she simply go to Naruto, Lee, Ino, or Tenten's for solace? Naruto would give her ramen, Lee would make her green tea, Ino would share her huge feather bed, and Tenten would offer to do her hair in that neat bun style, all while alleviating her loneliness.
She needed to stop kidding herself. Sakura hadn't brushed her hair in three days, smelled like an old, worn sock, and wasn't wearing anything but one of her father's ruddy white dress shirts, no bra, and a little pair of green and pink underwear. Oh yeah, show up in that at Naruto's and watch him disrespect her. Go over to Lee's house and see him blush. Actually the latter was cute, but that was beside the point. Running to anyone now made her feel like a coward; a coward who couldn't face her own problems without getting help from anyone. Did that promise she made to herself in the Forest of Death after Sasuke, Naruto and even Rock Lee, who she had spurned previously, tried to protect her from certain death count for naught now?
Naruto wasn't even here to run to; being gone training with Jiraiya took immensely long periods of time apparently. When Naruto had revealed to her that he was leaving for another year, Sakura almost couldn't take the pain. The isolation she had endured while Naruto had first gone to bring Sasuke home, when he had left with Jiraiya for the first time, left her an empty shell. The feeling was so intense, Sakura almost questioned if she had fallen in love with the blond hyperactive shinobi, but her brain just couldn't fathom their relationship escalating beyond camaraderie. Naruto Uzumaki was Sakura Haruno's best friend, perhaps closer to her than Ino Yamanaka, but nowhere near suitable for the title of boyfriend. Plus, she just wasn't into the name Sakura Uzumaki.
'Perfect time to act finicky, Sakura...' She thought to herself.
Well, how could she help being fastidious? It was impossible for her to feel for Naruto in a romantic manner, no matter how much in awe she was of his strength. He wasn't the one for her. Sakura didn't even know why she chose now to contemplate on this enormous mess. It was because she felt cut off from humanity; that was why...
Out of the blue, a crack of thunder rumbled an untamed animal-like roar that shook the very foundation that her tiny home was built upon; definitely a sign that things weren't getting better. Rain heavily pelted her thinly shingled roof, while strobe lighting sent flashes through her fragile windows, then made them rattle with more strength than a severe convulsion from the relentless reverberating aftershocks. Trying to curl herself tighter was no avail, and bulky tears of terror cascaded down her pink cheeks, lingering as though to caress her jaw line, and ending at the point of her chin. It was overwhelming her; she couldn't take much more.
'You're alone...' her voice echoed in her brain 'Nothing...all alone and nothing...'
The loudest crash exploded in the not so distant area of Konoha.
Then blackness.
No...
Not now...
Not here...
Not alone...
...He came back...in the gloom...
"Sakura..."
'No...please...not now...not in the dark...'
Silence; she could hear his voice without any other sound to blot it out.
'God, please...no...no...not now...not now...'
...All the demons unearthed within darkness...
Including her own.
...
...
"...Thank you..."
"NOOOOO!!"
And she left.
Sitting by herself, unprotected, surrounded by shadows was a feat unachievable at this current juncture of her life. Aching wounds that Sakura had managed to repel in the daytime regenerated with a vengeance. Lack of light revived the hidden turmoil rampaging through her bruised emotions. She wanted comfort. In fact, it was more than a simple want. It was a need. So she left. Her clothes and hair didn't matter; it wasn't the primary goal keeping Sakura from immersing herself in company any longer. Sakura abandoned her cozy wool quilt, forgot all about her lamp still shining, and didn't think twice about her lukewarm hot cocoa. Somewhat mechanically, Sakura removed her limp body from the love-seat, ran towards the door, flung it open with a bang against the beige wooden wall, and dashed out into the tempest like the foolish frightened girl she was.
Now, to figure out where she would she'd go.
In the rain, it was easier said than done to see the scenery of her village in full facet, but Sakura had lived here for so long, it wasn't too difficult to make out which direction she had darted off into. East. Good. Ino, Naruto, and Rock Lee lived to the east of her, unlike Tenten and her mother who lived westward. Sakura preferred to go to Ino since she was at the moment virtually naked except for a pair of panties, but Ino's home was still so far away. It would take at least ten minutes, which was time Sakura obviously didn't have. Naruto, of course, wasn't here. So that left Lee. Sakura, amazingly, found contentment in that. Being soaking wet masked the tears she'd be crying so Lee didn't have to fret over her grief.
'...Dream on, Smart One. You're running in a wet white shirt...with pink and green underwear...in the middle of a horrible thunderstorm no one would be caught dead in...He'll know something is up...'
But Sakura held so much apathy for that statement, it didn't even completely register in her mind. She needed Lee right then and there. For some reason, she felt as though it was him she needed, not just customary companionship.
Sakura remembered that his abode was the only one in the stretch that was as white as his sparkling teeth, so she knew when to immobilize her own legs. At the front, Sakura saw the dim illumination of a light coming from behind sparsely drawn curtains. Perfect. At least he was awake; she
wouldn't have to go through hell to stir him. Up the steps she flew, heart drumming loudly in the pits of her ears, the core of her stomach, the center of her knee caps. Desperately, Sakura beat her fist against the door as though she were being chased by a demented monster that thirsted for her blood as its dinner. A few seconds passed, and, thankfully, the object separating Sakura from him was opened. Before getting the chance to even look if it was truly her Lee, she threw herself at the person standing before her sobbing loudly as her grip tightened.
"Please!" she beseeched him. "I...can't be alone...I see him...in the dark...he's watching me! Please...LEE-SAN, PLEASE!!"
At a snail's pace, Sakura titled her head upward from its original position in the chest to see the face of her savior.
A tender smile.
Temperate arms that embraced her.
Loving black eyes that fixated not on her nudity, but on her face.
And fuzzy black eyebrows.
Yes.
"Of course, Sakura-san." His voice was gentle. "Please...come inside. I'll make you some hot tea."
The shivering in her bones, vibrating her entire body, must have given him the clue that she was cold. Gentlemanly, as Rock Lee in no way failed to be, he lifted her up in his arms bridal style, for a lady should by no means walk while she is in distress. Sakura let her eyelids droop, using her other senses to tell where he chose to put her. The steps were shortly numbered, for she was swiftly withdrawn from his snug embrace. Withdrawal pains throbbed in the depths of her frozen, damp joints; they wailed for him. Little by little, she opened her unfocused eyes and saw a cracking fireplace, natural flames reheating her chilly soul. That wasn't exactly what she wanted, although.
"..Lee-san..." Sakura's absent mind muttered.
"...One moment, Sakura!" her savior answered from afar.
Faster than Sakura could sit upright from whatever it was that she had been lying on, her dear Lee-san entered the room with a tray carrying two large cups alongside a whistling tea kettle. Delicately, he placed the serving tray on the ground below her (this thing must have been a sofa) and sat down on the opposite side of the floor, making the tea kettle and cups the center.
A light blush painted his slender cheeks when he looked up to see her, turning his head in the other direction briskly.
"Um...perhaps I should have offered you something dry to wear, Sakura-san..."
Looking down, realizing that even she could fully make out the light peachy rise of her bosom, Sakura paled. Oddly enough, she didn't immediately react to cover herself. Having fear of Rock Lee sexually misusing her was akin to having fear of a newborn puppy, so Sakura simply folded her arms over her chest as to cover the majority of the skin he had full view of by now.
"Sorry, Lee-san! I was just so startled...I didn't think of dressing, I'm so sorry!"
"Worrying is not something I would like you to do in my presence, Sakura-san." Lee joked with a smile, wrapping a blanket around her scarcely clothed body.
He stole the extra space on the sofa for himself, lifting up the tea kettle and serving her first. Lee made the best tea Sakura had ever tasted for miles. So rich and so soothing, like his own personality. She couldn't help but smile.
"Now, what has you so ill at ease?" He asked with genuine restlessness.
Sakura idly drummed her lean fingers on the side of the mug she clasped.
"I was just feeling...on my own, you know? Isolated. I wanted to go to someone, but I tried to stay strong...then the power went out."
"I was lucky to have gotten a fire going; you might not have seen the light, Sakura-san."
"I-I was..." Sakura trailed off.
"What is it, Sakura?"
"I...I wasn't just running to find someone. I was actually...kinda looking...for you."
Incredulity engulfed his expression "For me?"
Sakura nodded enthusiastically.
The purest smile ever possessed by any man swelled his lips; a grin of bona fide elation.
"You may always come to me Sakura-san. I am here whenever you are in need, I swear it."
Beaming became second nature whenever Sakura was with him. It was that alluring aura Rock Lee carried around him at all times; whatever emotion he chose to govern, the others around his inner circle would feel it as well; unbelievable intricacy transpired when explaining. Naturally, Sakura felt in high spirits then embraced by his self powered light, and she loved him after that with all of her heart.
'Back up. You can't say you love him...that way...after...'
A sinking sensation rolled within Sakura's delicate stomach. Worrying about Sasuke Uchiha gave her fits of unruly nausea; panic attacks; she refused to embarrass herself by vomiting in front of her best friend, who she loved. Frantically, Sakura drained the cup of soothing liquid from the tiny glass in her hands with only two gulps. Lee was ready, although, pouring her more before the second swallow had dropped from her gullet.
"I have inkling that there is more on your mind bothering you, Sakura-san." Lee told her slyly, yet politely.
A mild blush painted her cheeks. How was it that he could read her like an open book, but everyone else had to ask why and what was on her mind? Especially Naruto. God, Naruto needed brain surgery every time Sakura deprived him of crucial information involving her. Even Ino was losing her touch; her estimations fell short more than eighty percent of the times Sakura had been forced to confide in her. Trying with Tenten was more of a waste then trying with Naruto. Rock Lee, once more, was her only option. It seemed exceptionally iniquitous; couldn't Sasuke have been given that bequest; the person she wanted to spend the rest of her life with?
...
...
...Why did she want to spend the rest of her life with him again?
"I am not a mind reader, Sakura-san," Lee stated teasingly.
Much to Sakura's vexation, she couldn't fight off the beguiling way he spoke.
"I-I...I..."—she shook her head about to salvage deliberation—"I was thinking...thinking about Sasuke..."
A shroud of darkness enclosed the light in his eyes, consequently dimming Sakura's soul.
"He still plagues you...even in his absence..."
Had she hurt him by bringing him up?
"I-I...I'm sorry," Sakura apologized briskly, hoping to avoid confrontation. "I-I won't bring him up anymore..."
Before her sentence rounded off, Lee blinked, eyes fish-like, confounded, and took both her hands in his tightly bandaged ones (not forgetting to set the glass of tea away).
"Please forgive my impropriety Sakura-san. Speaking of Sasuke does not affront me! It merely pains me to hear that even though he is no longer around, you continue to suffer more than any of us."—he placed a chaste kiss on her left hand—"How courageous you are!"
Sakura lost her words then; the ability to respond had departed when his warm, thin lips touched her skin; the ability to think abandoned her as well when Sakura became aware that she enjoyed it.
When he caught a glimpse of her stillness, a rush of vivid red consumed his cheeks, yet he did not release her hands from the unyielding grip that he held on her.
"For-forgive my impetuous behavior tonight, Sakura-san...it seems as though I have forgotten my manners. My only intention is to appease you in any way I can...Oh-wait-forgive me! I did not mean to imply anything vulgar! I mean appease as in I wish to...perhaps I should have chosen mollify...that sounds more—"
"Lee-san!" Sakura's maw erupted with laughter, tightening her grip on his hands. "I know what you mean, you're being fine. You're fine."
The way he had attempted so hastily to act contrite for a comment laced with translucent crudity slacked Sakura's blood pressure. She didn't like it. Out of the blue, Sasuke had no longer been the primary issue. Sasuke who? Who was he? She knew her, and she knew Lee, but there were other people? Where? Her trilling heart jumped at his lips on her hand; what would it do if they were somewhere else? Would her heart palpitate if his slender lips struck her shoulder? Would it skip if his lips were hot on her neck?
Would it stop if his lips grazed her own?
What did this mean? Basics first; Lee was here, Sasuke wasn't. Ok, that was understandable. Maybe that—
"Sakura-san," Lee broke her thoughts apart. "Do...do you wish for me to free your... h-hands?"
His eyes were hazy as he ogled down at the peachy, slender-fingered hands cradled as if he were holding a skeletal sheet of breakable glass; a newborn. Unlike his own, ashy and marred from rough treatment, the texture of her hands were downy; colorful; foreign to him. Her gentleness had to be enthralling him; an easy answer to why he hadn't let go or taken his eyes from them, even when he spoke.
The corner of her mouth tilted up.
"Have you never seen hands not scarred up?" she laughed.
Lee shot his gaze up instantly, his lips pursed from slight mortification. Crimson blood drowned his pallor, and his eyes averted from her face; her whole being.
"...Ah..." he mumbled.
Sakura leaned closer to him, but his eyes kept inert.
"You can tell me. I promise."
His Adam's apple bobbed fiercely; nervousness rattled the bones in his palms that grew hot and clammy through the layer of white bandage. Slowly but surely, his stare migrated to her green orbs, burning with the fires of ardor and zeal that labored Sakura's breathing minutely. This was indefinite, yet similar. This zeal was passion; passion reserved for her and her alone.
"A...a..." Lee stuttered, searching for the right words. "To...to a man...A beautiful woman...is...is a thing of wonder, Sakura-san. I-I...I have...I have never...ever...seen something so...lovely..."
The blood in Sakura's face surfaced; was he truly that awestruck by her? No, no that can't be it. Sakura was just...just Sakura. Pink hair. Green eyes. Moisturized skin. Most, if not all females did that. Nonetheless, he did say the word woman. That said, Rock Lee made a perceptible point that he loved Sakura Haruno with every fiber of his tough spirit; however, Lee had not said aloud that he continued to love her with that same fervor.
"...I truly lack much decorum tonight Sakura," He chuckled frustrated. "...Forgive me..."
"Lee-sa—" Sakura started to say, but he released her hands, leaving her feeling empty.
Incomplete.
Cold.
In three long strides, he cleared the living room space, snatching the cold tea pot on his way.
"I am sure you are cold, Sakura-san," he mumbled. "I will heat up this tea..."
Sakura heaved a goaded sigh. He was too gracious for his own good. She would have to weed that out of him. An impression of shame filled her breast; why would she need to weed anything out of him. Rock Lee was perfectly sweet. Charming, even. And he loved her; more than anyone could ever love her, and she was grateful.
The shame in her breast died, replaced by contentment. She didn't ever want to be apart from him. How could she deny it?
Fighting tedium, Sakura lifted herself, along with the blanket around her indecent form, to explore Lee's home. It was quaint, humble and clement, just like him. The hall was narrow, the walls high and off-white. His furniture matched the paint, and the only unlike color was the brick fireplace. At the end of the hall was a door slightly cracked, and to the sides were others shut firmly. Nosiness ate at the stockade of her chest; could this be his bedroom where he slept? Sakura's hands quivered with aspiration.
Before she knew it, her feet were moving at a snail's pace towards the ajar opening. Could it be his bedroom, or something else? His training room, perhaps? The place where he stored his weights and exercise equipment? It was to be expected; Rock Lee was practically made of marble; Sakura had persistently chastised herself in noticing it. That might be it. Or it could be something else. A secret. Something Rock Lee had clandestinely hid from her and everyone else who thought they knew him like an open book. Inch by inch fell, and the door became close. Closer.
Closer.
Closer still.
Her long arm extended, and her fingers flippantly tapped the doorknob. Bit by bit, her full fist enclosed around the sphere, pushing the wood attached to it. Her heartbeat fluttered; chest heaved, eyes strained. This was it. Sakura inhaled once.
And exposed the room to full view.
"NO WAY!" Sakura screeched with joy.
"Sakura?!" Lee shouted; he seemed farther away than he really was.
"This is...I...Lee, this is amazing!!"
A baby grand piano; obsidian colored, ivory keyed musical instrument lay comfortably in the middle of a tiny room flanked by one window that seized the waning moon and all its grandeur, outlining the room and everything else in silver.
"Lee..." Sakura breathed, striking one key with her ring finger. "You...you PLAY THE PIANO!?"
"I began when I was about seven," He explained, suddenly leaning on the doorjamb with both arms. "I have played ever since."
"And you're what...nineteen now?"
"Correct."
"Twelve years?!"
"Yes. Twelve years. It's become an interesting hobby. Gai-sensei bought me this on my elev—"
"Play for me!" Sakura demanded, jumping up and down.
Lee's face was that of stone.
"P-p-play for y-you?" he stuttered, his tone higher by a few octaves.
"Yes! Please, Lee, please! I love the piano!" Sakura batted her lashes to coax him "For me? I'd love it so much..."
"Ah...I-I-I..."
Sakura whined like a kicked puppy dog, jutting her bottom lip out for the extra childlike effect. Rock Lee rolled his eyes once, but Sakura caught the indistinguishable hilarity. He sat down on the bench beside her and pulled a thick book of notes from underneath, bequeathing it to her.
"Pick one," He sighed, succumbed.
Giddy Sakura snatched the booklet from his grasp.
"You'll play me whatever I want?" she inquired skeptically.
"I promise," he chuckled.
Grinning cunningly, Sakura set the booklet down charily in her lap, looking at him with pure intent.
"Play me the first think that you can think of...that makes you think of me."
Lee's fuzzy eyebrows knitted together.
"That is very difficult, Sakura-san."
"Please! You promised! You said whatever I wanted!"
"...I did." he admitted.
The man took in a sharp inhalation, sapping his eyes shut, scanning his memory for this he knew, Sakura assumed.
"...When I think of you...it is...like this..."
It took mere moments, and before she could blink, his fingers began to fly. When Sakura had struck one ivory key, it was as though it was merely a toy; a child's plaything that meant nothing of importance to the world and those who dwell there, but when he played, it was no strike, it was a caress; they were deified under his control. The music was breathtaking, and Sakura stared mesmerized, tears welling and overflowing as he molded a work of art. Lee's hands started sluggish, then danced gracefully, only to leisure as though he were tempting her with an excitement she'd never known in her wildest dreams. His edgy façade contorted to one of liberty, a taboo sovereignty, akin to the feeling he elevated within her. Lee's breathing was heavy, but the sound of the piano echoed over the rest of the room, annexing most of the other noises out. Confused was how Sakura Haruno would describe her emotions at that point. Confused and riveted and disgraceful. Beauty that she had no chance of ever becoming laudable enough to acquire. A love so profound and surreptitious within her very core went feral; she yearned for him, more so than she could ever describe. An inexpressible platonic hunger; increasingly ascending to include physical. Shortly, one sound could be perceived over the magnificent music that her friend, her Rock Lee that she had known when Sasuke allied himself with Konoha, crafted beautifully with the pasty and disfigured hands Sakura had scoffed earlier on, was the sound of her sobbing, rising in decibels as the marvelous melody ceased.
"Sakura! Forgive me, I—"
"Oh, my God..." she sobbed, trusting her arm up to catch her tears; the blanket tumbled to the floor without either of them noticing.
"I-I am so sorry..." Lee garbled. "I-how can I- please—"
"You...hear-hear that...when you-you thi-thi-think of me?"
He smiled sensitively towards her.
"Yes. Do you like it?"
"Lee-san..." Sakura sobbed. "I'm-I'm not...not worth it! I've-I've done too-too much wrong to ever...ever be right again!"
"Sakura—"
"Don't you-you d-dare tell me I-I'm mistaken! I'm ugly..."
"No—"
"Unworthy..."
"That is not—"
"I-Impure..."
"Please—"
"I'm...a-a nothing...to everyone...to him..."
"Stop, Sakura—"
"NO! NO I WILL NOT STOP! I'd be better off dead—"
"STOP THIS!" Rock Lee shouted.
Lee. Shouted.
Shouted at her.
Sakura Haruno.
"Lee..." Sakura mumbled, flabbergasted.
"YOU WILL NOT SAY SUCH THINGS BEFORE ME! Not about...your own self..."
"But I'm—"
"NO! NO SAKURA!"—he took hold of her wrist—"I do not want to believe I have wasted seven years of undying love on a woman who is foolish enough to deem herself NOTHING! Particularly in the eyes of a man who could not cherish what others would die for every day of their lives; something that gives another man's life MEANING!!"
The hot tears multiplied; Sakura's voice was coarse. "Rock Lee..."
"...I have...been there..." his tenor twisted desperate. "I have never...ever...left..."
"Why?!" she entreated in a frenzy "Why waste your damn time staying near someone like me! Who is NOTHING!"
"BECAUSE I KNOW THAT YOU ARE NOT 'NOTHING'!" Lee spoke the word nothing as though it were bile. "You are something to ME! You have ALWAYS been! YOU WILL BE!"
"Why..." she moaned. "...Why...why do you do this..."
"I LOVE YOU!"
I love you.
I.
Love.
You.
And so she fell from the tiny cliff edge she hung from.
The mirror shattered.
Two plus two was four.
Red and white made pink.
Blue and yellow made green.
Buried in his arms, Sakura wept. Wept for herself. Wept for Naruto. Wept for Sasuke. Wept for Rock Lee.
"You...you fool..." he muttered. "I love you...no matter how hard I try...I cannot stop..."
Sakura didn't answer; she couldn't.
"I would be yours...before you could even ask." He confessed. "I hold you...marry you...make love to you...have children with you...die for you...Please...do not tell me you are nothing..."
"I-I-I...I don't want to...I want to be something, Lee-san."
And she looked up to his eyes, moist and soft from the unadulterated devotion that had not faltered throughout their years together.
That's when she knew.
Somehow she'd always known.
The freedom she felt with him.
The warmth.
The light in night.
The absence of Sasuke.
The disappearance of loneliness.
Somehow...
Sakura Haruno always knew she loved Rock Lee.
"Make me forget..." she whispered almost indistinguishably.
"What?"
Her lips puckered, signaling him that she wanted to kiss.
"Make me forget I'm nothing..."
"Sa-Sa-Sakura..."
"I love you..."
And they forgot who they were.
And where they were.
And when they were.
And what they were.
And why they were there.
All that they knew was they were something.
"Lee...make me something...from nothing..."
Sakura tucked her dozing child securely under the weighty sheets.
And in the background, if she strained her ears to hear...
She could distinguish the melodic harmony of fingers at an ivory keyed piano.
It started sluggish, then danced gracefully, only to leisure as though it was tempting her with an excitement she'd never known in her wildest dreams.
She was never nothing.
She had always been his something.
Yup, so this was my second try at a Sakurax Rock Lee one shot. I think it's ok, but I'd love some feedback. The piano song that Lee wrote for Sakura is actually supposed to be River Flows In You by Yiruma. So if you wanna know what it sounds like, just type that in on YouTube. It's beautiful. Anywho, review PLEASE!!