Disclaimer:
'This is a Low' © Blur
'Naruto' © Kishimoto Masashi-sama
OneShot
'This is a Low'
Pairings: LeeSakuSasu, ShikaTem, GaaOC, KanOC
"And Saturday's locked away on the pier/ Not fast enough dear/ On the malin head, blackpool looks blue and red/ And the queen, she's gone round the bend/ Jumped off land's end."
It was a wonderful sunny day. Everyone in Konohagakure was happy. Everyone except one spandex-clad genin named Lee. Usually he was as happy as a thousand suns, but not today… anything but today.
Lee looked around, sadly. He sat down on a bench underneath a beautiful, in full-bloom, Sakura tree, hanging his head. He swallowed achingly, he felt as if he was filled to the brim with grief.
'I have failed Sakura-san,' he thought. 'I have never seen my beautiful cherry blossom so sad and frail. I have never seen her so… lonely.' He looked up from looking at the pavement and spotted a certain head-butting duo.
"'Mendokuse, mendokuse!' That's all you ever say, baka!" The blond suna shinobi put her hands on her hips and stared at the lazy person staring up at the clouds, refusing to look at the 'troublesome woman.'
Lee gave another sigh – it seemed everyone had someone to love and admire… all except him. He gazed longingly at Temari and Shikamaru as they argued over which ice cream to get.
"Hn. Vanilla, it's the least mendokuse of all the flavors," he crossed his arms at his chest giving her annoyed sigh. "Hey, at least I'm agreeing for you to get me ice cream."
Temari shook her head, "Ugh! You're such a coward! You're not even the least bit adventurous at all! You need to liven up a bit." She turned to the stand owner, "Two rainbow specials, kudasai."
Shikamaru sat down at the table with an annoyed look on his face, "Mendokuse."
Lee clutched his fist tight, trying to scream or cry out in any way. Oh how he longed to do that with Sakura, even if it did result in a couple of his teeth being knocked out in the process. Why couldn't he? He knew that she would most definitely do so with Sasuke-kun, but why not him?
His heart was about to explode when Temari and Shikamaru sat down together eating their sundaes in the wonderful rays of the afternoon sun.
Shikamaru took a large spoonful, "This isn't that bad, ne?"
Temari smirked at him, "Heh, told you so."
Shikamaru groaned, "Urusai, I'm enjoying myself here."
Just when Lee couldn't stand the two of them together, he was welcomed by another couple rushing through Konoha.
"K-K-Keiko! Ch-chotto matte!" Kankuro yelled after Keiko who was walking fast in front of him. "How the hell can you be so fast?"
She playfully grinned at him, her green eyes shining with a mischievous glint, "'Cuz I'm not carrying everything, unlike you."
Kankuro sighed, looking up at the mile-high stack of stuff he was being forced to carry against his will, "Whatever, just hurry up okay?"
Keiko looked at the struggling Kankuro barely managing to lift the stack up, "Iie. Here, give me some of that."
Kankuro sighed a sigh of relief as the burden on his arms was gradually being lifted off, "Arigato."
She smiled at him, "I'll bring this crapola home and we'll get something to eat. You haven't lived until you've tasted Konoha's ramen – it's the best!"
Kankuro smiled at her, "I bet."
Lee suddenly got up – he couldn't take it anymore. Seeing everyone so happily in love was making him sick to his stomach and making his blood boil. He decided he would go over to the one person that he could spend time with – Shizen.
Lee ran up the stairs to her quaint apartment and knocked, "Shizen-chan? May I come in?"
He heard an, "Ee! The door's open, Lee-chan!"
Lee opened the door only to find Shizen playing Shogi with… Sabaku no Gaara!
Lee's hopes of spending time with Shizen were sucked into a never-ending black abyss of doom and despair, 'Even Shizen, too! She has someone of her own… except me.' He sat down on the bed with a thwop!
Shizen looked up from their game, one of her keima, knight, in hand, "Nani, Lee-chan? Daijobu? You don't look like yourself today."
Gaara nodded, setting one of his kinsho, gold general, down to attack Shizen's osho, king, "Usually… he's annoying."
Shizen made a face, then agreed half-heartedly, "Wakata yo."
Lee sighed, "It's about Sakura-san."
Shizen set her hisha, rook, down with an annoyed THUD! She turned and faced him, visibly frustrated, "If you can't stand seeing Sakura-san like that then why don't you go over and cheer her up?"
Gaara sighed, "Hn, I win."
Shizen rolled her eyes and turned back to Lee, "Doshite? It won't be that hard. All you need to do is to tone down the 'youth-factor' and maybe you'll pass for kawaii."
Lee uncomfortably shifted, "Demo-"
Shizen let out a frustrated groan and shoved Lee off of the bed and out the door, "Just get some flowers, say something sweet and strike up a conversation with her! Ike!" She slammed the door in his face before he could get a word in edgewise.
Shizen once again sat down next to Gaara to play their game. She swept back some over her long purple hair behind her ear, her dark ocean eyes staring intent at his grey-green ones.
Gaara looked down at his pieces, thinking intently. He looked up at her, "You… really think he'll do it?"
Shizen waved it off with her hand, "Ee, he'll be fine."
Gaara placed one of his pawns on the board loudly, "Hn, you better hope so."
Shizen shrugged, "Zannen…" She smiled at him, "I'll win this time, Gaara-kun."
Gaara smirked, "So ka?"
Shizen leaned forward slightly, "Doubting me, ne? You'll learn to regret that, Gaara-kun."
Gaara gave arched a non-existent eyebrow, giving her a look that said, 'Really?'
Shizen smirked, "Ikuzo, Sabaku no Gaara-kun."
Lee held a single red rose in his hand. He looked at Sakura crying her eyes out on the bench where Sasuke had left her.
"Sasuke-kun! Doshite? Doshite, Sasuke-kun? NAZE?" she put her face in her hands, shaking from her sobs.
Lee's heart felt like it was breaking in two before his very eyes. He bit his lip, what Shizen said was true, but what could he say to her? He couldn't make her not like Sasuke, but he still had to do something.
'Demo… nan deska?' Lee thought. 'It is not like I am as kirei as what Sakura thinks Sasuke-kun is so…'
He bit his lip, his hand holding the rose was trembling as he closed his eyes, fighting back the strong urge to cry.
Sakura suddenly looked up in his direction, making him dart behind a tree.
Lee's heart was beating a thousand times a minute in his throat, "Abunai desu!" (That was dangerous!) He swallowed nervously, 'Should I really even be here?' He peered from being the tree and saw Sakura continue to cry again. (AN: Predictable, ne?)
'What can I do? I'm ugly, Sakura-san told me so. I have an ugly scene of fashion – people give me weird looks and I have ugly eyelashes and eyebrows. Sakura-san… Sakura-san…'
He painfully set the rose down on the ground and walked way, 'Gomen nasai, Shizen-chan. I just cannot do it. I will just be, and forever will be…' Tears streamed down his face as he said the words, "Alone."
This is a low.
"And the radio says/ This is a low/ But it won't hurt you/ When you're alone it will be there with you/ Finding ways to stay solo."