I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, this is purely for fanfiction and I hope you enjoy

Rock Lee…. The underdog in every fight, the last person in peoples thoughts… the only one left to fend for himself.

Lee was walking down the empty streets of Konoha late one night. He was returning from a week long mission that sent him to Suna to help Temari and Konkuro prepare the sand village genin for an upcoming chunin exam that were to take place in the land of snow, a total opposite from the hot deserts the hidden sand village is so famous for.

Lee walked in unnoticed by anyone other than the guards stationed at the village gates. As Lee made his way home he stopped to look for anybody that he might recognize. Of course he found no one out wondering around this late.

Lee sighed and continued his walk home, hoping he would feel better after a hot shower and some sleep in his bed.

Lee was nineteen and nearing his twentieth birthday, although he was now a chunnin, he was still considered a relative risk to have on a team for any mission A or above.

Lee is a lot different than when he was with his genin team. Lee grew his hair a bit longer to erase most of the bowl cut hairdo he was famous for. He no longer wore his orange leg warmers. The biggest change of all is that he no longer wears the green jumpsuit that made him look so much like his sensei.

Lee moved on from that look a few months after becoming a chunin and surpassing his mentor by defeating Guy in an epic battle both resulting in the use of their inner gates.

The fight was so big that parts of the training grounds were destroyed and Tsunadai had to dispatch most of her anbu squads to try and stop the two ninjas from destroying the village.

When the dust settled it was Lee who was still standing and an unconscious Guy Sensei lying at his feet.

After Guy had time to recover he looked at Lee with tears in his eyes and said "Lee, you are no longer my student, you have surpassed me and in doing so have earned your right to make your own decisions. NOW GO OUT THERE LEE, AND KNOW THAT I WILL ALWAYS BE PROUD OF YOU"

Lee's new outfit looked a lot like kakashi sensei's dark outfit complete with a masked that covered part of his face.

Kakashi was a little flattered but Guy was heartbroken that Lee did not continue with his green jumpsuit.

Lee actually liked his new wardrobe but he still kept his leg weights hidden under his pants and added some more weight into the pockets of his vest. There were major benefits to keeping them so he decided not to completely change how he trained.

Lee's new outfit actually looked rather good on him, every once in awhile he would get looks from girls who would not recognized him and overhear some of their gossip about who he was.

Lee loved the new attention, especially after he had given up on Sakura. Yes, Rock Lee failed to win the heart of his true love by his friend Naruto. Every time Lee thought back on the day he lost her it brought back a small bit of pain, of course not as bad as the first month of course.

Lee and Sakura had grown more attached since Naruto left with Jiraiya to train.

In the beginning, Sakura was devastated. Lee was the shoulder to cry on when Sakura couldn't take being alone anymore. Eventually Sakura became busy with her studies under the tutelage of The Hokage.

Lee even helped her with her taijutsu and physical fitness. There sparing sessions would last hours and parts of the forest would be knocked down, but Lee was always happy to help Sakura.

As time passed the two were almost like a couple, any time they were not busy with their studies or missions they were with each other training. Lee would often treat Sakura out to something to eat afterwards and she would thank him with a hug.

Lee was walking home after a day of training and was on his way to find something to eat, the sun was setting and the beautiful summer evening air lifted all of his worries away.

Lee was passing through the streets when he saw Sakura; Lee quickly sped up hoping to ask Sakura out for something to eat when he saw someone else with her.

"Naruto?" Lee said to himself, true, it was Naruto and he was holding Sakura in a hug.

Lee didn't think much of it, after all, he was her team mate and he was gone for two years. So maybe they were just happy to see each other.

As Lee continued toward them, he saw Naruto saying something to Sakura, he couldn't make out what they were saying but Sakura looked a bit shocked and a blush covered her face.

As was just about in hearing distance he stopped when Sakura reached behind Naruto's head and pulled his face to hers.

"The two of them are kissing…" it's was all Lee could think as he watched helplessly as the two friends shared a kiss in the middle of the road.

Lee felt a sharp pain rip through his heart; he turned to leave hoping to get away from the event that happened in front of him.

Lee made his way back to the training grounds where he knew he would be alone.

"How could this happen?!" Lee thought "he's been gone for two years, he left her alone and devastated."

Lee walked in circles trying to figure this out

"How could she just go to him? After all we've been through, after all I've given…she still doesn't love me…" Lee was now at a loss for words. He walked in front of a tree and tightened his fist.

"HYAA!!" Lee shouted as he struck the tree with full force causing it to shatter into pieces. His breath was fast and ragged, Lee was mad, madder then he ever had been in his life

Lee looked at the damage he did to the tree, and his anger slowly receded

"I should be happy for Sakura-chan" Lee thought "she's finally not alone anymore… and happy. I promised I would be able to be happy for her, even if she was with another man…"

Lee sat against the trunk of the tree he just destroyed.

"Very well… I will be happy for Sakura… at least try to be happy" Lee finished and put his head down to let the tears fall

That was almost two years ago, and now Sakura and Naruto were engaged.

He hated the idea of them together, but he accepted it.

When he thought of the word engaged, his mind went to his friends Neji and Ten-Ten. The two of them were also together…well actually married, Lee couldn't help but smile.

After all these years, Ten-Ten was able to get through to Neji and break down that cold barrier he kept up, even on their wedding day Neji actually wore a smile, and now they were expecting a little girl to complete the family.

Lee wanted to keep thinking about his friends but he realized he made it home. Lee thought a nice shower and some sleep would be good for him… turns out he was right.

End chapter

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