Author's note: Hi guys. To tell you the truth, I'm not that great of a writer. I'm writing this fic in hopes of getting better. Reviews that give constructive criticism are definitely welcome-but I'm not going to beg anyone. Let me know what you think.
"That bridge is very low, and the water is shallow," said a teenage boy in a green jumpsuit. "I just thought you might want to know," he added, before continuing, "I know, because I used to jump off of this bridge at least a hundred times a day, as a part of my training."
The other boy—with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes—sweatdropped and nodded, "Err… I see."
"Why are you here, anyway?" asked Rock Lee as he ran in place on the bridge.
"I don't know…" replied the other boy, "I have too much to think about, I think." He didn't look a day older than twelve: about 150 cm in height, and lithe in terms of musculature.
"Well, thinking too much is not good," replied the boy dressed in green.
"I know, but… it can't be helped," answered the younger boy, looking away, perhaps to avoid eye contact.
"Ah!" said Lee excitedly, taking out a giant scroll, "In that case, I have a great poem for you…" he said as he started to unroll it.
Sweatdropping again, the younger boy simply said, "Err..?"
By now, however, Lee was already clearing his throat and he began to recite the poem from the scroll (still running in place),
"The air we breathe, the colors we see, the scents we smell,
The food we eat, the tea we drink, the iron and silk we touch
Are all but illusions; material yet transient and impermanent
This world and this life, no more than a stage are they
When the universe expands, learn to contract
When the universe contracts, expand!
If you are the anvil, bear…
If you must be the hammer, strike!
Build strength to change what you cannot accept,
Muster courage to accept what you cannot change,
And acquire the wisdom to know the difference!"
As the last word left his mouth, he began to roll the scroll back up. "Well, it was nice chatting with you," he said to the younger boy, "But I must continue my training."
He gasped softly and immediately bowed, "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to take up so much of your time."
Lee simply grinned in response, "Don't worry about it… I'll just run ten extra laps around the village to make up for lost time!"
The boy sweatdropped, "That doesn't lessen my guilt…" he muttered as he scratched his cheek with an index finger.
Lee was really excited when he received news that the Hokage had summoned him and his team to her office; not because he might get to see something new and exciting, but simply because he was getting a mission.
"Apparently, a small import/export company in the Southern Island Country needs a VIP escort. That's your mission!" said Tsunade as she collectively addressed Team Gai—Rock Lee, Ten-Ten, Hyuuga Neji, and of course, Gai-sensei himself.
"Um… did you say the Southern Island Country?" asked Gai, looking nervous (a rare moment.)
"Oh, yeah… Don't your aunt and uncle live there?" asked Shizune cheerfully, standing by Tsunade's side as she held TonTon.
"Wow, Gai-sensei… do you have any cousins there too?" asked Ten-Ten, sounding excited.
Gai sensei acked, as if this was exactly the thing he was dreading.
"Say… Gai-sensei, you never really talk about your family. Come to think of it, we've never seen them," pondered Lee out loud.
Neji sweatdropped a bit as he imagined an entire family of males and females that resembled Gai, with green jumpsuits, fuzzy brows, and a strong desire to wrestle bears and meditate under waterfalls and all.
Before they knew it, Team Gai was headed out the village gate towards the southern tip of the Fire country, to catch a boat. The boat ride was pretty uneventful, except that Gai and Lee got seasick—they had never been on a boat on the ocean before—and puked. They said that they weren't wusses, so they didn't want to take any anti-emetics. Of course, Neji was smart and ate some ginger before getting on the boat. Ten-Ten took capsules of ginger.
Anyway, the Southern Island Country was a pretty interesting place. It had a unique ecological environment with a broad spectrum of biodiversity, in terms of both its flora and fauna. Apparently, evolution had taken a lot of interesting turns on this isolated piece of land. It had the greatest number of mammal species that were unique only to this island—which kinda sucked for those critters, 'cause it meant that those suckers were automatically on the endangered species list.
No, seriously—a volcanic eruption, a rogue typhoon, a nuclear explosion, an epidemic of disease…meant that they'd all go extinct.
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Author's note: Sorry for the abrupt stop. Let me know what you think. Also, the poem isn't mine- my brother let me use it- so I really have no idea where its from. I'll try to find...someday.