L i a r
It wasn't the first time that Gai had lied before, but for some reason, this particular one left a bitter taste in his mouth.
He watched his team's hesitant faces; the adolescent Shinobi he had begun teaching all those years ago.
But he never dropped his guard. You never dropped your guard.
The seconds were going by slowly now. Too slowly for someone who had spent most of his life in constant motion. It felt as if time itself was mocking him. Mocking his choice.
Tick.
There was one thing everyone knew; you never got close to any one. It was the unspoken Shinobi rule.
Gai knew this rule very well, as well as the one rule know by each teacher at the academy-
And you never, ever got close to your students.
Finished.
You simply didn't get emotionally involved. You were there to instruct. Not to raise. Not to befriend.
Gai didn't know of a single Jonin that hadn't broken that particular rule; and with each and every one of them, it had cost them dearly.
Everyone, from Asuma to Kakashi.
Tick.
And now it was his turn.
"Go!"
It took more effort than it should have to hold his voice steady against the pain in his body. The awful, ripping, destroying pain coming straight from the inside.
Pain and power.
They went hand in hand when opening the gates.
Tick.
Neji was the first one to leave. There was just a moment's hesitation before he obeyed.
In that hesitation teacher and student locked eyes and Gai knew that Neji knew that he had lied. And he could have sworn he saw something Neji's eyes that had never been there before. And he could have sworn it was regret. And he could have sworn that he saw Neji vulnerable for the first time since he had begun teaching him.
And he would have- if it was anyone but Neji.
But orders were orders and no one understood that better that the Huyga.
So he left.
Tick.
Tenten was next. Barely any hesitation in her eyes. She sent him an encouraging look, a small smile on her face. Her eyes were wide, trusting him, but with her doubts. She'd always been like that. Since they'd first met. Always skeptical, yet always trusting. With an innocence he'd never had.
And then, she too, leaped away into the canopy of trees surrounding them.
And just like that, she was gone.
Tick.
Lee was the only one left.
He was staring at his teacher with the same unquestionable trust that he had when he was still a Genin.
When Gai had taken him under his wing, trained him and taught him to believe.
Believe…
The bitter taste grew.
Betrayal….A voice at the back of his mind whispered, Lies….he trusts you.
The guilt inside of Gai demanded he avert his eyes; stop looking at the teen before him. To just turn away.
He didn't deserve Lee's trust.
He didn't want him to leave.
But he had too.
One was enough.
But still, he stared hard at Lee, his eyes drinking in the features of the boy whom had become the closest thing to a son Gai had.
But Lee wouldn't stay. He trusted Gai. He would believe him. And Neji wouldn't tell him until it was too late.
Tick.
Lee was still standing there, looking unsure.
"Lee…." His voice was cracking and Gai could no longer tell if it was from the pain rippling though his body, or the pain stabbing through his heart. He grit his teeth, "Go!"
The young ninja nodded. Then he turned and without another glance at his sensei, was off after his team mates.
Gone.
Only two seconds behind them.
Tick.
Gai turned.
Slowly.
His hands were balled into fists.
His eyes opened slowly to face the ninja's before him.
There were many of them.
And they were powerful, un-named and un-known.
Un-known.
And if everything went according to plan, that's exactly how they would remain.
Tick.
The pain was pulsing through him, stronger now, waves knocking into him. He ignored it.
Swallowing hard, Gai finally allowed his body to go limp. His arms hung at his sides, his head bowed.
For his team.
The team for whom he had broken the unbreakable rules of emotional ties.
The team that he was doing this for.
Tick.
But Gai was still a liar…
"Eighth gate- Death gate- Release."
Because no matter what happed, he wasn't going to catch up with them later.
A fic I wrote some time ago. Number one- Part of a trilogy.
Please tell me what you think and if you're interested in the rest.