Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but Yokoshima's my creation.
Author's Note 1: For the record, this story takes place before Lee's hero-worship of Gai, so no green jumpsuit (what can I say? I really don't have anything against it, I just, for the purposes of the story, like his original gi-like outfit better).
It was all still the same, as if nothing had really changed. The four faces of the Hokage still watched over the village and the people still went about their daily business like they did three years ago. He didn't really expect that much to change, yet he still found it interesting that life in the Hidden in the Leaves remained as he had left it. People passed by him without a clue for he didn't wish to be seen; he hid amongst some barrels in an alleyway for the moment. He looked up to the sky and noted the sun's position. He smirked to himself with anticipation; it was almost time. The smirk was also out of pride for his brilliance; all he had to do was a simple genjustu and he snuck into the village without a hitch. No one saw him come in. Of course, it would've been simpler to just kill the guard or knock him out, but then an investigation would've been conducted, thus making things ten times harder than necessary. Swiftly and silently, he made his way to goal.
"406 . . . 407 . . . 408," Lee counted as he kicked at the stump he used as a punching bag since he was little. "If I can't do 500 kicks, then it's 800 push-ups." The minutes passed into an hour, and the sun was starting to vanish under the horizon; it would be dark soon. 'Guess once I'm done with the kicks, or if I mess up, the push-ups are going to have to wait until tomorrow,' Lee thought to himself. He was about to chamber his 440th kick when something suddenly stung him. He gasped and, before he could do anything else, everything immediately went black. The ninja leapt down and caught the boy as he began to fall. Once sure that the boy was under, he hoisted him over his shoulder and ran. He smiled evilly as he made for his campsite; everything was going according to plan and he would have his revenge soon enough.
In the village, Maito Gai casually made his way home with a proud smile. The sun was now completely gone and stars shone brightly in the night sky. He was thinking of training with his students the next day since they, at the moment, didn't have any missions when, without warning, a silver blur appeared in front of him, causing him to stop in his tracks and gasp in surprise. It was a shuriken, darted into the ground, and it had a piece of paper attached to it. To his surprise, though, it didn't catch fire, indicating it wasn't a fire bomb. Quickly, he listened to see where and when the attacker would strike, wondering if his opponent was either a lousy aim or if it was simply meant to get his attention. When it became apparent that nothing else was going to happen, he took another look at the weapon and noticed the paper had his name on it; it was a message for him. Cautiously, he yanked the blade out of the ground, detached the paper, unfolded and read it. Almost instantly, Gai's face went as white as a sheet and his hands began to shake.
Meanwhile, nearby, Ten-Ten and Neji walked their way home for the night when they spotted their sensei. "Gai-sensei!" Ten-Ten waved. The man turned slowly to face them, and they both noticed his shocked expression. "Sensei, is everything alright?" asked the young kunoichi.
"Y-Yeah, everything's ok, Ten-Ten," Gai fibbed as he tried to force a smile and stuffed the paper in his pocket.
Neji, though, didn't buy it, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Neji."
The pale-eyed genin folded his arms, "What's with that paper?"
"Paper? What paper?"
"The paper you were holding and just stuffed into your pocket."
Gai felt a sweatdrop form on his brow, "Nothing. It's nothing."
"If it's nothing, why are you acting so nervous?" Neji asked with a hint of impatience in his voice; he personally hated it when his sensei seemed to mock his brilliance. "And, with all due respect, sensei, don't tell me you're not nervous. I don't need my Byakkugan to see you are slightly shaking."
Ten-Ten, catching on that something wasn't right, pleaded with her sensei. "Sensei, what's going on?"
Gai dropped his head as he let out a long, defeated sigh. "Lee's been kidnapped."
The two genin gasped. "By who?" asked Ten-Ten.
"Someone I've dealt with before," Gai answered. "They want me to meet them somewhere in half an hour."
"And, if you don't abide by their terms?" Neji asked, although he'd already guessed the answer.
A tense moment passed before Gai finally replied, "They'll kill him." Another pause, then Gai said to the two genin, "You two head on home."
"But, sensei," Ten-Ten called before he could leave, "where are you going? Let us come with you."
"No, Ten-Ten, it's far too dangerous," said Gai. "Besides, not only don't I want this person taking either one of you hostage too, but he specifically wants me to come alone. Go home, you'll both be safe."
"But--" Ten-Ten tried again.
"Now," Gai commanded.
And so, with varying degrees of reluctance, the two genin left. Gai didn't move until he was sure they were well on their way, and left. He knew he would have to hurry; it would take at least a half an hour to get to the location the note mentioned on foot. Thinking of the note, and the name signed on it, made his blood begin to boil. 'Yokoshima,' he thought, 'if there's so much as a strand of hair missing on Lee's head, I swear to you, I'm going to make you wish you never messed with me.'
Meanwhile, in the wooded area behind the stone faces, Seika Yokoshima practiced his moves and made sure his weapons were in pristine condition. Nearby, Lee was tied to a large slab of rock supported a few feet above the ground by two others, his hands and feet wrapped around the sides. The boy was still asleep due to the drug that was darted into him earlier. Suddenly, Yokoshima heard a sound—it was Lee, beginning to come to. Lee groaned, confused, as he slowly opened his eyes to a star-filled sky; what happened? He was about to sit up when he heard someone approaching. He saw a ninja with a scratch on his headband beside him, but before he could utter a cry, he placed a piece of cloth over his mouth. The ninja quickly secured the gag around the genin's head, while, on his end, Lee tried to fight back. Unfortunately, it was then that he realized he was tied; no matter how much he pulled and struggled, he couldn't free himself. "Relax, kid," Yokoshima said smoothly as Lee tried in vain to scream or get loose, "you're merely bait." Yokoshima simply went back to checking his weapons. "Just so you know, I sent a message to your sensei, Gai Maito, and I have no doubt that, even as we speak, he's on his way here," he said calmly. "Your sensei and I go way back. We fought each other about three years ago." Yokoshima then stared off into the distance as he remembered that time past.
Shuriken were flying everywhere. Shinobi fought on the ground, as well as in the trees and air. The fighting was intense. The operation was simple enough—sneak in and assassinate the Third Hokage. However, something had gone wrong, somehow they were discovered and, the next thing they knew, two of their number fell before they realized that they were under attack. Two of the shinobi, Gai and Yokoshima, were squaring off. Both men moved in and blocked each other's attacks with kunai. For a moment, they pushed to get past the other's defenses, then Yokoshima prepared to stab Gai. Gai, however, disarmed him, sending his weapon flying, and tried to do the same, but Yokoshima also knocked the blade out of his opponent's hand. The rogue ninja from the Hidden Cloud Village was about to land a punch when Gai leapt away with amazing speed. He almost didn't avoid the kick that was so powerful;, it left a small crater in the ground where the ninja was standing a moment before. Yokoshima glared at Gai, but the Leaf shinobi simply took his traditional taijutsu stance.
'This guy's good,' Yokoshima thought to himself. "Who are you?"
Gai smiled cockily, "I am Gai Maito, the Green Beast of the Hidden Leaf Village. And, you are?"
"Seika Yokoshima, formerly of the Village Hidden in the Clouds, and the death of you."
Yokoshima charged, Gai sidestepped and would've landed a savage sidekick if he hadn't been stabbed. He looked down to find Yokoshima sneering and holding the shuriken that had just stabbed him. Unfortunately, by coming in close, he placed himself deep inside Gai's range and the Leaf ninja struck him into the air with a sharp knee. Yokoshima saw Gai coming at him and twisted away, barely avoiding the bone-cracking kicks, and threw spikes at him. Somehow, Gai managed to dodge all of them and the two men exchanged more blows and blocks for the few minutes they were still in the air. Touching ground, Seika was about to perform a jutsu when Gai came in so fast, he couldn't dodge or block. Winded and head spinning, Seika struggled to stay up and in the fight, but the last thing he saw was the underside of Gai's shoe.
"The next thing I remember is waking up in a cell, awaiting transport to my homeland," said Yokoshima. "However, we were able to escape soon after and ran. For three years, I've honed my skills so I could face your sensei again. He'll be here any minute, and when he arrives . . . I'll kill him." Yokoshima grinned evilly and gleefully at the young man's horrified expression.
Finally, Gai was just outside the spot where Yokoshima wanted him to meet. It was a small clearing with what appeared to be the smoking remnants of a pit fire and there was Lee, bound but alive, struggling against some ropes. Though there was no sign of Yokoshima, Gai dared not fool himself into thinking he was out scouting for food or something in the woods, even though that was a slim possibility. Chances were the guy was hiding somewhere nearby. Then, with a plan in mind, he made his move.
Lee struggled like crazy, pulling so hard on his ropes for so long he could feel them starting to cut into his wrists. He had to somehow get free before Gai-sensei arrived; afterall, if Yokoshima didn't have a hostage, he'd have no leverage against him. 'It's times like this I wish I could, even if it's just for a few seconds, use ninjutsu,' he said to himself; he'd heard about a bind-release jutsu that was meant for situations like this, provided the bonds themselves weren't either chakra or infused with a jutsu that would rip the bondee's arms off. Regrettably, due to the fact that he never really had any talent for ninjutsu, he was stuck. Suddenly, he heard a sound like a twig snapping. He looked wildly to his left to find Gai approaching. Seeing that the boy saw him, the jounin pressed his forefinger to his lips. Lee, however, desperately tried to warn him of the danger, but his speech came out muffled due to the gag. Gai came closer, and Lee resumed his struggle against the ropes. Then, seemingly from nowhere, about fifty shuriken and kunai came flying right at Gai from the trees in all directions. It was too late to do anything. Lee's eyes widened in horror and he let out a muffled scream as his sensei, his mentor, was killed right before him. Gai's form fell to the ground, bloody and filled with blades.
Yokoshima appeared from his hiding place in the shadows and approached the body. His lips formed a triumphant sneer. 'That was easier than I thought I it would be,' he thought to himself. However, the sneer instantly disappeared, replaced by a look of suspicion. It was easy—too easy. Suddenly, Gai's body exploded in a puff of a smoke, causing Yokoshima to shield his eyes. When the smoke cleared, it revealed . . . "A log!" cried Yokoshima. 'A substitution jutsu; I should've guessed. So, where is he?' Instincts telling him to throw a shuriken to his right, he did just that. An instant later, the real Gai leaped out of the bushes and came down on top of him with a shuriken poised to strike. Yokoshima moved quickly and drew his own shuriken to block the attack. In midair, he shoved his attacker away and the two of them took their positions, Gai still about two yards away, Yokoshima right in front of Lee.
"Long time no see, Gai," Yokoshima greeted.
"What do you want, Yokoshima?" Gai asked.
"A fight . . . to the death," Yokoshima replied. Gai looked at the man as if he were crazy. "I came here to exact my revenge and I figured what better way to get Gai Maito to come to me than by taking his favorite student?" Seeing the surprised look on Gai's face, Yokoshima smirked. "Oh, yes, I know of the relationship you share with this particular genin. I did some observing before sneaking into the village, and became quite interested in how precious this boy seems to be to you."
"Yokoshima, I did what you said, now let Lee go," Gai demanded. "He's not a part of this."
Yokoshima glanced at Lee, then back at Gai, "I don't think so; not yet, anyway."
"What!?"
"You see, the way I see it, as long as he remains here at my mercy, you'll do whatever I say."
"I'm not going to fight you, Yokoshima."
Yokoshima's smirk disappeared, replaced by an angry frown, and, in the blink of an eye, he placed the point of the blade over Lee's chest, causing both genin and jounin to gasp. "Two choices, Gai," he hissed, "fight me, or the boy dies." Gai looked on with fear in his eyes, fear for his student's life. True, he was fast, but, even with taijutsu, the rogue ninja would plunge the shuriken into Lee before he could reach him. On the other end, Lee kept his eyes on the weapon that was poised just mere inches above his heart, barely daring to breathe or move and waiting to see if it would go up or down.
An agonizingly tense moment passed before Gai sighed and bowed his head in defeat. "Fine, Yokoshima, you'll have your fight, but if you try anything with Lee during such . . . I swear when I kill you, you'll be so mangled and disfigured, the medical shinobi are going to need dental records to confirm your identity."
Yokoshima's smirk returned, satisfied, "Let's begin then, shall we?" The men eyed each other for a moment, one that seemed to last forever. Then, as if the blowing leaves were a signal, they charged at each other and the sound of blades clashing filled the air.
"Now's our chance, Neji," Ten-Ten whispered to the boy next to her. Earlier, Neji double backed to follow Gai wherever he was going. Ten-Ten trailed him and tried to dissuade him, but Neji's mind was made up. Therefore, Ten-Ten decided to follow as well. When the boy gave her a questioning look, the young kunoichi smiled, "I'm not going to let you boys have all of the fun."
'That's Ten-Ten for you,' Neji thought as he allowed a small smile.
Back in the bushes, where they'd been listening and watching, he nodded and headed for Lee. Lee once again tried to get loose when he heard someone whisper his name. It was Ten-Ten with Neji coming toward him. Neji reached him first and undid the gag.
"Neji, Ten-Ten--" said Lee, but Neji shushed him.
"Keep your voice down," he said.
"We're not supposed to be here," Ten-Ten elaborated.
"Sorry," Lee apologized in a whisper.
The two genin then took out their shuriken. "Keep still, we'll have you free in a second," said Neji.
Lee nodded, and the two went to work on his ropes. True to Neji's word, all it took was a flick of his and Ten-Ten's wrists and Lee was finally free.
Back at the fight, Yokoshima was locked against Gai's blade when he happened to notice something over his opponent's shoulder—Lee sitting up and two other genin at his side. "No!" he shouted, and elbowed Gai to the ground. As Gai lay there dazed, Yokoshima went for the kids. They saw Yokoshima coming at them, murder in his eyes, just before he took a mighty leap. As he began to descend, his weapon was perfectly poised to skewer Lee. However, Lee was ready. The next thing Yokoshima knew, the wind was violently knocked out of him. The cause—Lee, who managed to avoid the blade and gave him a rock solid sidekick into his stomach. The two flipped over and landed.
Yokoshima took no more than three steps when Ten-Ten suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his blade with hers. The two clashed for a little bit before Yokoshima threw more shuriken at her. Ten-Ten leaped up to dodge them—exactly as Yokoshima expected and he launched another flurry of blades at her. However, being the weapons expert as she was, Ten-Ten easily deflected them all and turned her leap into a spinning flip over him. As she spun, she let loose a storm of shuriken and kunai. Yokoshima had to keep moving in order to avoid the hail of blades. 'Enough of this,' thought Yokoshima, and prepared to unleash a jutsu when he found himself attacked from behind. When he regained his bearings, the other boy stood before him.
"I see you've become rather adept at the type of taijutsu that Gai-sensei and Lee specialize in," Neji remarked. "Now, let's see how well you fare against the Hyuuga clan's Gentle Fist style." The boy took on a fighting stance and activated his Byakkugan.
'Hyuuga clan, huh," Yokoshima said to himself. 'I've heard of them, and their Byakkugan. He might only be a genin, but I've got to be careful with this one.'
Yokoshima moved in, only to have his attack countered by Neji. Jounin and genin blocked blow for blow, neither seemingly able to land a hand on the other. Yokoshima suddenly leapt back to gain some distance and performed the same hand signs he did earlier. 'Poison Cloud Jutsu,' he commanded mentally, and exhaled. Although, judging from the confused look on his face, something wasn't working right. He tried the hand signs again and said, "Poison Cloud Jutsu," but still nothing happened. "What's going on? I have more than enough chakra, why won't my jutsu work?"
The sound of Neji clearing his throat caught his attention. "Take a look under your sleeves," said the boy.
Yokoshima slid off his left sleeve and gasped. There were little black spots, almost like bruises, all over his arm. He checked his right arm and saw the same thing. "What in the world did you do you to me!?" he shouted with a hint of panic in his voice. Did the boy give him some kind of disease?
"I blocked your chakra points," replied Neji. "For the time being, you cannot summon your chakra unless I will it so."
Yokoshima gasped again; he had totally forgotten that was the main reason why the Hyuuga clan used their kekkei genkai—to determine the location of an opponents chakra points and block them so they couldn't use their chakra. 'But, when could've he done this?' he wondered, then it dawned on him. Just moments ago, while they were fighting, Neji wasn't just blocking, he was blocking in a way that he could block out Yokoshima's chakra points without his notice. Gritting his teeth in anger, he prepared to finish off the kids when he was suddenly catapulted into the air. A second later, he discovered his latest attacker—Gai. The leaf shinobi then proceeded with an onslaught of vicious sideways punches and kicks. Just when they reached the ground, Gai landed his final kick and shouted, "Lions Barrage!" Gai stood up, Yokoshima did not.
The three genin approached cautiously. "Is he . . . dead, sensei?" asked Ten-Ten.
"No, just out cold," Gai answered.
The next morning, Gai's team was hard at work at training. The night before, Gai had taken Yokoshima to the local prison with the warning that he be watched carefully. The rogue ninja was scheduled to be transported back to his home country as soon as possible. As for Ten-Ten and Neji, they were now facing extra hours of extra hard training for the next four weeks for disobeying their sensei. Gai understood why they did it. In fact, who was to say what would've happened if they didn't follow him? Yokoshima was a skilled fighter. Still, the fact remained that they disobeyed an order and everyone could've gotten killed. At the moment, they were working on doing at least 300 push-ups.
"Nothing like push-ups to get the blood flowing, huh guys?" said Lee.
"Yeah," Ten-Ten said in between breaths while Neji simply nodded. "How are your wrists, Lee?" the girl asked, noting the bandages around her teammate's wrists.
During the night, Gai-sensei insisted that Lee have someone take a look at his wrists which had accumulated rope burns due to his insistent struggling. "A little sore, but nothing I can't handle," Lee replied, before he let out a little hiss of pain. Ten-Ten giggled and Neji smiled at their teammate's attempted macho. "By the way you guys, thanks for your help last night," said Lee.
"No problem, Lee," said Ten-Ten.
"Knowing you, you'd have done the same," Neji responded.
Lee looked at his rival, dumbfounded. Neji never complimented him. Neji, though, simply smiled and, understanding the message in his eyes, Lee returned the same smile. "C'mon you three," Gai called suddenly. "Less talking, more training." And, the kids went back to their warm-ups while their sensei watched them with pride. If last night was any indication, those three would make fine shinobi someday.
Author's Note 2: I couldn't find any information on Cloud Village jutsu, so I made one up, and I couldn't find any confirmation of Gai's fancy nickname (I think it's 'Green Beast', but I couldn't make sure). So, I apologize if I didn't get something right (this is my first Naruto fic).