Mary: …I am sooooo going to get shot…

I should be updating Desert Flower, but I'm brain dead. As I've explained to my wonderful Kaile-chan (cough)thevampire'sgonnakillme(cough) I'm trying to get from point A to point B but don't know how. ANYWAY…

Hey, you know how the same plot is often used in a bunch of fanfictions? Like, in Itasaku, there's a million of Sakura getting kidnapped by the Akatsuki to join it, to heal a member, or to be bait for the Kyuubi? How there are a million high school fics with the same plot?

I cross my heart and hope to die that there is not a fanfic on this site with this plot.

…unneeded information…anyway! Take it away, Chino-kun!

Chino: Yay! Princess of Thieves does not own Naruto! Only this plot, na no da!

Mary: Damn straight!

"Don't let him escape!"

Thunk

Rock Lee leapt into the air, narrowly missing the kunai thrown toward his feet. He grabbed the branch above him and swung himself up. Landing in a crouched position, he flung the black hair from his eyes and looked back. The enemy nins were catching up fast. His large eyebrows furrowed in annoyance as he leapt to another branch, hurrying to put distance between him and his enemy.

He'd been given a mission a few days ago to retrieve an important scroll for the Kazekage. It had been an easy enough mission…or at least, it would have been, if the Mizukage didn't have a grudge the size of water country against Suna.

Lee dodged a flock of shuriken and landed on the ground. Had he possessed genjutsu – or ninjutsu, for that matter - , he could have escaped easily, but fate was not so kind. He reached into his weapons pouch, grabbing his weapon of choice and pulling it out. It was a newly developed device; his sensei had called it a 'grenade'. Lee looked back once more, badly wanting to fight these nins himself, before removing the grenade's pick with his teeth and throwing it back toward his enemy.

Instantly, he leapt forward, and behind him he heard the burst of the grenade's energy. He sped up, but the wave followed, licking his back with heat. He should have removed his leg weights before throwing the grenade, and he mentally groaned.

'If I make it back, I will do 500 push-ups!' he promised himself before the energy caught up with him, blasting him forward and effectively knocking him out.

Drip…

Drip…

Drip…

Lee's eyebrows furrowed, feeling another drop fall onto his face. His eyes slowly opened, but it took a moment for his vision to adjust. It was dark and wet, and the floor was cold and hard. He sat up, confused about his location, but winced as pain stung his elbow. It was scraped, bleeding, and his gold spandex was ripped there, among other places.

"I must have fallen from the blast…" he murmured, slightly disappointed in himself. "But…where on earth did this cave open? I did not see it before…" A quick rush of panic went through him as he checked his weapons pouch. It was extinguished as quickly as it came as he felt the scroll in his hand. He sighed in relief. The mission was complete. Kazekage-sama had no reason to punish-

…

…

…what on earth…

Across from him, on the other side of the cave, was something…he didn't know what, but it was oddly colored and stood out from the cave floor like white on black. There was a colorful pile, composed of bright red, petal pink, and pale…

-was that an arm!?

Lee jumped up. The pile was a person! He rushed over, ready to help them, and saw the figure on their stomach. He flipped them over, and he gasped. The figure…he gulped.

She was beautiful.

Her light pink hair, though slightly tangled, flowed over the sides of her face and shoulders, and seemed to end at her waist. Her features were perfectly placed…except, her forehead was a little wide. It was adorable, though. Her skin was pale, like she hadn't been in the sun in ages. Slowly, Lee reached out a bandaged hand, intending to move a rose-colored lock from her face.

Without warning, his hand was slammed down, pinned to the hard, damp floor. Claws dug into his skin, and his eyes snapped up in surprise. Blood red eyes met his gaze, glaring at him with slitted pupils.

"What are you doing here?" the figure hissed, his lips curled back in a snarl. Vicious fangs were revealed as hot breath fanned over Lee's face. He found himself staring. His chakra…it practicallyexploded, it was so powerful. How hadn't he sensed it before?

"Aah!" Lee cried out. The creature's bubbling chakra began burning away his bandages, and he wrenched his hand away, jumping back from the demon. Now that he could see its full body, he gasped.

It – no, he – looked human.

He had blond spiked hair, and though the chakra around him played tricks with his eyes, the boy inside could not be any older than himself. He was crouched over the girl's body possessively. His chakra coated his body, taking form of what seemed to be an animal. He crouched lower, a translucent tail waving dangerously back and forth.

"Get out," he growled lowly. Before Lee could calm down and retort, a slight movement caught his eye. The girl's hand twitched, before clenching into a fist, and her head turned to the side, facing Lee's direction. Her eyes were clenched as well.

The creature had sensed the movement as well, for as she'd started to move he'd abruptly pushed himself off of her form, head snapping down to watch. He drank in every movement she made under him, and his eyes became half-lidded, softening in what seemed to be a caring emotion. A purr made its way out of his throat as he bent his arms, swooping down to nuzzle his face into her neck and closing his eyes.

As he did so, Lee watched as the girl's eyes clenched tighter, as if she were aware of the situation in her sleep. As she shrunk away from his touch, Lee felt his blood boil.

"How dare you," he muttered, standing carefully. One demonic eye opened to stare at him. "How dare you taint such a youthful maiden with your vile touch!" He slid back, tucking a hand behind him in his signature fighting stance. "Get away from her, you foul demon!"

The boy bared his fangs again, lifting his head from the girl's neck. "Who do you think you are," he growled, his crouch once again becoming animalistic.

Lee glared. "I am Suna's youthful golden beast, Rock Lee! And as a shinobi, it is my duty to protect the innocent from the hands of fiends like you!"

"Hn, nice speech."

That was all the warning he received before a fist came flying at him. With lightning fast reflexes, Lee dodged, jumping to the side. The fist crashed into the wall he'd once been in front of, the force causing rocks to fly everywhere. Lee's arms came up to block the rubble from his face, but he watched as the demon crouched lower to cover the maiden's body.

When the dust cleared, a second figure was revealed. He was hunched over, but differently than the demonic boy. While the demon crouched like an animal, this one hunched like a giant weight was placed on his shoulders. Violet colored chakra swirled around him, and black flames were tattooed all over his pale skin. As they turned to him, a shiver ran down Lee's spine. Glowing crimson eyes glared at him. Three tomoe were spinning wildly, and Lee had trouble tearing his gaze away and looking back toward the maiden.

The first boy began shaking himself off, causing dust and pebbles to fly everywhere. "Oy, teme," he growled, "watch it!"

"How was I suppose to know he would dodge so fast, dobe?" Sasuke growled.

The blond leapt from the maiden's body, landing on his hands before his feet as a box would. He stood, crouched over, and glared at Lee. Now two pairs of crimson eyes drilled through his form.

"We won't ask you again," the second boy hissed. "Get out."

Lee slid back into a fighting stance, glaring back at them. "Release the maiden, and I shall leave as well."

Out of nowhere, two kunai flew past Lee's body, embedding themselves into the floor behind him. Blood flowed from his cheek, and he felt his kunai holster drop from his leg.

"I do apologize," a third voice echoed through the cavern along with footsteps, "but you are trespassing." The third made himself known, surprising Lee. Nothing abnormal surrounded this man, at least as far as he could see. He looked to be the age of his own sensei, Maito Gai. A mask covered his face, a hitai-ate with a symbol unfamiliar to him covering one eye.

"We would appreciate it," he spoke again, his light and airy voice covering a threat, "if you were to leave." Slowly, the man reached for the headband, lifting it from his face. The eye hidden beneath opened, staring into Lee's dark orbs.

Out of nowhere, Lee froze. An overwhelming fear drilled into him as he stared at the man's single crimson eye. He began shaking, and his stomach flipped over and over. A cold sweat coated his body and before long, his knees gave out. He sat there, panting at the overwhelming emotion this man forced upon him.

"Now, if you wouldn't mind…" the man trailed off. Lee backed away, sliding along the ground, and gave one last look at the pink-haired maiden. He stopped as he saw the girl's eyes open slightly, an unfocused but beautiful jade color staring ahead. He felt himself flush slightly as he stood, never breaking eye contact.

He wanted so badly to defeat these villains and rescue the princes…

…but the scroll in his pouch screamed otherwise.

"I shall rescue you, my youthful maiden! One day, I swear it!" he cried, stripping off the weights on his legs and dropping them to the floor. A giant cloud of dust flew, blocking his enemies' view as he sped away.

Mary: This is only the prologue, people! In the next chapter, Sakura's night in shining armor appears! (in the story, not in the cave to whisk her away to shinobi-dom…)

Chino: Please review! Give suggestions and ideas, please, na no da! We know what's happening but that doesn't mean we going take suggestions into consideration!