Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

The Blossom And Her Leaves

Chapter One: In the woods

It was warm and the sun shone down through the gaps in between the patches of lush green trees. Training was over for the day and Sakura Haruno was thankful, after all Tsunde wasn't getting anymore merciful. She sat down against one of the dark brown tree trunks of the old oaks and closed her eyes, inhaling the sweet smell of grass.

It was better now, there had been a time, not too long ago, when if she had dared to close her eyes, even if only for a second, she would see only him, his dark eyes flashing in her mind. Inside she wanted to say his name but didn't in fear of the tender hole in her chest popping a seam and once again feeling the loneliness that had once consumed her.

He had left the village, he left his friends but most importantly he had left her, left her alone and although she had pleaded with him not to go, he had gone and she had been left utterly alone.

He had never liked her, thinking of her as an annoying burden, she knew that, but somehow she had loved him more than anything, more than she thought possible but that was in the past, it had to be.

As hard as it seemed, Sakura had decided at attempting to move on, but could she?

Could she ever love again?

Could she forget the cold and distant attitude that was Sasuke Uchiha?

Sasuke. She flinched, expecting the worst, expecting to be once again thrown into a darkness she couldn't escape, but oddly enough she felt only a small pain near her heart. Opening her eyes she cleared her mind of love, the past and of Sasuke for what she hoped was the last time.

Her ears perked up when she heard footsteps and the distinctive sound of a twig breaking under a careless foot. Reaching into her bag, she instinctively pulled out a kunai and leapt to her feet, her back against the tree and her eyes scanning the greenery that surrounded her. The footsteps got faster and closer and her grip tightened on her protective weapon. Suddenly the figure stepped out into the light and Sakura's eyes widened as she smiled and tossed the kunai to the forest floor.

"Sakura." Rock Lee grinned as he walked swiftly towards her.

"Its just my luck to run into her." Lee thought happily to himself.

"Lee, you scared me for a minute." Sakura said a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry Sakura, I didn't mean to." Lee apologized sincerely with a look of guilt.

That was the thing, Lee just couldn't take a joke, he was always so caring around her, but Sakura had numbered out that that was a good thing.

Sakura threw up her hands waving them in front of her, smiling.

"No Lee, don't apologize I'm fine, really." Sakura laughed and Lee's eyes lit up.

"What have you been up to? And wait a minute, where's Gai-sensai?" Sakura asked looking around confused. It was a rare moment when the teacher and his student weren't side by side.

"Gai-sensai stopped for lunch, we were training but he said something about it being hard to stay so youthful, I thought a walk would be good for me, and it was." He answered cheerfully.

Sakura giggled lightly admiring his nonstop optimism. She sat down once again leaning against the oak tree and reached into her bag, pulling out a fair sized boxed lunch. She smiled and patted the ground beside her. Lee sat down, still grinning.

"I was about to have lunch, but I'm not very hungry, want some?" Sakura asked.

"Did you make it yourself?" Lee asked suddenly turning serious.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, but it's not a big de-"

"Then I shall dig in, itadakimasu." Lee yelled as he broke apart a pair of chopsticks that Sakura handed him. Lee wasn't very hungry but he ate a lot, partly because it had tasted amazing but mostly because Sakura had made it herself.

Sakura sat silently, nibbling halfheartedly on a rice ball, watching Lee scarf down the contents of her boxed lunch. His glossy black hair blowing slightly in the light breeze. A part of her resisted the sudden urge to reach out and touch the fine hair but she fought it down.

"What's wrong with me? Since when have I ever taken an interest in Lee, usually it's the other way around. What's with this feeling?" All the questions surged through her but she didn't have an answer for any of them.

Lee suddenly looked up and interrupted her thoughts.

"Sakura, um, Sakura?" Lee waved his hand in front of her, hoping to get her attention and erase the blank, melancholy expression from her pretty face. Sakura looked up and beamed.

"Yes, Lee?" She answered sorry that she had ignored him. Lee laughed.

"Good I got your attention, Sakura? Have you ever though about…" Lee trailed off quietly. Sakura, intrigued by this sudden change of mood, leaned closer to him.

"Thought about what, Lee?" The pink haired girl asked curiously.

"Never mind, It's nothing." Lee shook his head embarrassed. Lee couldn't meet her eyes, those great looking glasses, giant and jade green. He couldn't meet her face, flushed cheeks, perfect nose, cherry blossom bangs hugging the side of her jaw. He couldn't meet any of her or else he knew he would do something he would regret. He would stroke her soft pink hair, he would take her in his arms, but most of all he would kiss her and he wouldn't let her go.

Sakura noticed his inability to look her in the eyes and she didn't understand. Reaching out she put her hand on his shoulder .

"I'm so close to his hair." She thought about lifting up her fingers and stroking his silky black hair. Just a little lock of hair between her fingers. Sakura shook her head and got a hold of herself.

"Lee, are you alright?" She asked concerned.

As soon as Sakura had touched him, he had felt a strange tingling feeling and his shoulder had gone warm. He wanted to say something, he really did but he couldn't get his mouth to form words. Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the silence was broken.

"I'm fine, I…I just…" Lee took her hand off his shoulder and cupped in his own. Sakura's cheeks flared a hot pink but she didn't pull back. Unable to resist her any longer, Lee looked into her eyes.

"I just…Sakura…" Unable to finish his sentence his body took control of its own accord. Lee pulled her towards him, her face just centimeters form his own. His sweet breath blew in her face and she inhaled deeply.

"L-Lee." She whispered breathlessly. Sasuke's face appeared in her head and a stab of guilt shot through her.

Lee gently lifted her chin up towards his lips and Sakura felt herself turn to putty in his arms. Slowly and dreamlike, Lee got closer until their lips touched, Sakura closed her eyes. The soft pressure on her lips was gentle with nervousness or was it uncertainty? It grew more and more passionate until Sakura thought her heart would explode out of her chest. Fire ran hotly, up and down her nerves like a rollercoaster but what shocked Sakura the most was she found herself returning the kiss just as hard, just as passionate, as though like Lee, she herself had been waiting for this to happen.

It had tasted wonderful, better than anything she could have made up. Grass, rice and something irresistibly sweet were some of the tastes she identified. All those tastes mixed together, it may have sounded gross, but it wasn't. It really wasn't and that's another thing that frightened Sakura.

When she finally pulled away, Lee still had his arms around her. Although she sensed there was something wrong about all this, Sakura didn't want to leave, she wanted to dissolve into Lee's arms and stay there forever. Her head on Lee's chest, she felt him start to stroke her cheery blossom pink hair and she leaned into him further, tightening her arms around his back.

Lee was a lovesick mess, the one thing he could never have imagined in his life had happened. Sakura, the beautiful flower, was in his arms and at last she was his flower, his Sakura blossom, or at least he thought.

Finally after what had seemed like an eternity, Sakura awoke from her peaceful bliss and untangled herself out of Lee's arms and they sat once again beside each other. Lee looked up into her eyes, his own eyes were alive with the essence of true happiness and she suddenly felt guilty.

What had she done? Had she really and truly thought it would work? Oh, what had she done?

Panicking, Sakura grabbed the container her lunch had been in and stood up, forgetting entirely about her backpack.

"Sakura?" Lee shouted. Sakura swallowed hard.

"Oh Lee, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I…I have to go." She cried taking off in a dead run, tears streaming down her face.

Sasuke's eyes, not the dark ebony eyes, those dangerous sharing an eyes, pierced her vision and she ran blindly. Stray twigs whipping her in the face weren't even enough to slow her down, nothing was.

"Will I ever forget him? How can I possibly love Lee when he's all I ever see?" She asked herself desperately. Another thing, did she even love Lee? It had seemed like it and it still did but maybe she was just caught up in the moment.

Lee sat in stunned silence, glancing over at the forgotten bag, deserted on the forest floor and resisted the driving urge to use his speed and catch her, bringing her back to him, back to where she belonged. His mind whirled through what had happened and he decided he'd try his best to wait a while before returning her bag.

"But why had she been crying? She had seemed so happy in his arms, unless…damn that Sasuke." Lee cursed under his breath in realization.

"He's been gone so long yet he still manages to ruin people's lives." Lee fumed.

He stood up and picked up Sakura's bag. Walking slowly he made his way back towards the village, deciding for once that it was ok to keep some secrets from Gai-sensai.