Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Author's notes: Not really much to say. Wrote awhile ago, but not put up...because...I don't know. XD Takes place after the anime fillers 195 and 196 when Guy and Lee got trapped in the castle by an imposter. Also, on a side note though it won't really be gone in this story, I do base Tenten's past on something a friend of mine came up with where Guy acted as kind of a surrogate father to her. Again though, not really gone into, just touched on briefly at points. Anyways, please let me know what you think and most importantly, please enjoy. For that is why we write.
X
"I told him no lotus and you have him open the gates?" Tsunade's voice reverberated off the walls as she threw a thick volume at Guy's head, and when that missed she slammed her fist into his face. A split second later, Guy found himself smashed through a wall and laying upside down outside the Hokage's office.
Guy groaned as he forced himself to turn over and get back up. He knew it'd be bad when he told the fifth what happened but he couldn't hide it from her. Not when Lee came back on a stretcher. Besides, Sakura had already told her what happened and now seemed to be hiding for her life. Poor kid. He didn't think any of the past Hokages had been half as volatile as this woman.
With a quick check through the hole in the wall to make sure she didn't have any lethal weapon, Guy came back inside through the door. Bowing as if this was the first time he'd entered.
"I know it's no excuse, and I take full responsibility for what happened, but it was the only way out." he said as he stood in front of the woman, and watched her slump down into her desk. He felt a knot settle in his throat as he thought about what he'd just said. Opening the gates wasn't the only thing they could have done. They could have stayed. Could have fought to the death and if he hadn't figured out it was Lee, they would have. In that instance, Guy would have liked to say Lee would have won and have carried on. But he knew if they'd continued, with Lee's body so damaged, he would have been killed.
The thought that he could have killed Lee in combat had kept him up at night recently. Or worse, he'd fall asleep and wake in a cold sweat. At least with opening the gates, there was a chance Lee would survive.
Tsunade sighed as she rubbed her temples and took a quick drink from her sake bottle. Probably to make sure she didn't beat him with it.
"I understand that..." she said after a moment. "but what I don't think you or Lee understand is the damage his body sustained and is still recovering from."
Guy readied himself for another lecture, ready to explain why neither he nor Lee could just stop training so easily. What he didn't expect was what Tsunade had to say next.
"If Lee keeps training like this, for the boy's own safety...I will remove him from your squad."
All the air rushed out of Guy's lung's as if he'd been sucker punched, and there didn't seem to be any left in the room as he gasped, nearly choking as he stared at his superior. She...she wasn't serious. There was no way she would do that. She hadn't been around to see how Lee was before; with only his hard work going for him and little else. Even his self confidence was starting to wane and if he hadn't been there...Guy didn't know. He couldn't imagine Lee giving up, but he didn't know where he'd be now. Dead maybe? Lost on a mission because no one could relate to what he was dealing with or knew what to teach him? It was another thought that dried his mouth and caused his fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white and the tendons bulged.
Tsunade wasn't serious. That thought kept repeating over and over inside his head. It was just a scare tactic. Something she'd dangle overhead to get him to back off. After the incident with Gaara, Lee had been out of commission until the surgery. But before that, once Guy started coaching him, his team became one of the most effective genin teams and after Lee was up again they resumed that role. The Hokage was to smart to mess with such a successful equation!
Before he could call her bluff though, she folded her arms and sat back in her chair.
"I'm not bluffing, Guy. I know what the boy means to you. One only has to watch you two for a minute to know you look at him like a son. But at the rate things are going, I don't know what else to do. It seems like the more I tell you two idiots to be careful, the more he pushes himself and the more you let him push!" there was a flicker of anger in her eyes. "Lee has all the potential to be a fine ninja. Maybe even pass the chuunin exams in a few years. But all of that can still be destroyed and I know for a fact he would not survive a second operation."
Guy still wasn't able to get enough air to think clearly, or even breath properly. The only thing keeping him standing right now was sheer willpower and the need to prove to Tsunade that Lee needed to stay on his team.
"So for at least two weeks, at the very LEAST!" she pointed a painted finger at the man. "No training. None. Nothing! I don't care if he finds a way to do pushups with his tongue, you stop him!"
"L...lee will not take being confined so easily..." it was the stupidest thing Guy could have said, but it was only thing that came out.
"And will he take any easier to being disabled?" she shouted, standing up so suddenly her chair jerked backward and crashed to the floor. "I'm warning you, Guy. If you care for the boy as much as I think you do, keep him from training! I'm not saying he has to spend all day in bed, but he cannot keep abusing his body like this! You're responsible for him. No matter how you feel or how bad you want him to succeed, your first priority is not his dream! It is making sure he can be an affective ninja to help our village and if you can't do that, someone else can."
He had been stabbed before. He had been poisoned and beaten and attacked by wild animals that nearly ripped him apart. None of that pain compared though to what the Fifth was telling him. She was serious about this. If Lee did anything, anything at all, she would remove him.
A moment of silence settled over the two before Guy found enough air to speak again.
"I...understand..." he said, straightening up and sucking in a deep breath through his nose. It felt like pins were sticking up and tearing at his insides as it went down to his lungs. "I will tell Lee there is to be no training for..."
"Until I say so." Tsunade barked, then pulled four slips of paper from her desk and handed them to Guy. His hand shook as he took them and looked down at the name.
Tao Hot springs? Why'd she give him this?
"To make sure that no training goes on, I'm sending you and your team away for a bit. There's a hot springs in a small village not far from here where I know a physical therapist. She'll work with Lee. For the rest of you, consider it some time off."
Guy stared at the small notes, then back up at the Hokage. Why was she sending them away for physical therapy? Why not just do it here? As much as his team might appreciate it, a vacation seemed more like her thing than theirs.
As if reading his mind, Tsunade started to answer.
"Normally I'd do the therapy here, but considering it's Lee, it'd be a waste." she went on before Guy could erupt in anger. "He won't stop training if he stays here. Especially not if he's anywhere near that dojo of his. He'll just keep hurting himself. Trying to stay true to his ninja way and make you proud." there was a mix of understanding and frustration in that last statement. "Maybe if he's away though, it will give him time to rest...and it will also give you time to think about if he should stay on your team."
Guy's eyes widened.
"What?" he bellowed. Did she mean that wasn't just a threat and was now something she wanted him to think about? Was she drunk? He slammed his hands on the front of her desk, causing the sake bottle to rattle and slosh over as he glared at her. "There is nothing to think about! Lee has been my student for years, and I will not even think of having him moved to another team!"
Tsunade seemed stuck between slugging or choking him. In the end she folded her arms across her chest, and decided to take a softer approach.
"I'm just asking you to think about it. Lee has achieved wonderful things under your tutelage, but he's also been gravely injured. All for a dream. One that you taught him forbidden techniques in order to help him achieve." she narrowed her eyes, before they softened and she shook her head. "I have to wonder if maybe we removed you from the equation for a bit...if he wouldn't learn to accept his limits and push slowly, rather than kill himself to burst through all at once."
At that point Guy didn't know what to say that wouldn't get him killed or Lee removed from his team immediately. All he could think about though was how against it he was. How nothing would change his mind and even if Lee was taken off his team that didn't mean he'd cease training him! Even if it undermined the Hokage, he couldn't abandon Lee like that. Not after everything. So what if he'd taught him forbidden techniques? It wasn't like he was the only one to teach their students dangerous things. And Lee could handle it! That's why he taught him. If Guy had had any doubts as to Lee's ability he never would have coached him on how to do it. Despite what people might think, he wasn't an idiot.
After picking up her chair, Tsunade sat down, brushed some dirt from her jacket and took another drink from her sake bottle.
"You're excused." she said.
Guy didn't waste time heading for the door. Before he made it though, he felt another book slam against the back of his head with a loud thud. When he whipped around, the Hokage was glaring at him.
"And next time you spill my sake, I'm going to attach an exploding tag to those teeth of yours!"
For his sake, common sense took hold of his tongue before anger did and he apologized before retreating through the door.
X
"Have him removed from the team..." Guy repeated to himself as he walked down the halls of the hospital towards Lee's room. The smell of bleach was everywhere in this place, and other chemical smells mixed together to burn his eyes and nose. He blinked rapidly to get the moisture from his eyes; though he was sure it wasn't all from his surroundings.
He couldn't imagine his team without Lee! There were jokes, he knew, between Tenten and Neji that if Lee had not been there they would have adopted his strange ways. But it wasn't just that. It was what Lee brought to the team that Guy couldn't imagine being without. Enthusiasm even when no one else had it, optimism even when the odds were stacked against them, humility he'd learned from being deemed a 'loser', and the will to never give up. Lee had brought all that and more. Helping the others when they needed it, and even him. There were times he wondered if after everything was said and done, if he'd made a difference. Had he really reached or helped anyone? Or...had they ignored him because of how different he was from the other jounin and passed him off as a goof?
Besides helping Tenten when she needed it, he wasn't sure if he'd really done much in way of helping the future generation. Not that he'd ever say so out loud, but maybe that was why it ate at him sometimes. Then Lee came along and wanted to do everything he did. He wanted to learn and strived to be the best he could be and Lee had shown Guy that he did make a difference. That some people could see beyond the exterior and...as much as some might say it was the worst thing a teacher could do, Guy did think of Lee as his son. It was hard not to.
"Two hundred and twelve. Two hundred and thirteen, two hundred and...ahhh!" the noise coming from Lee's room broke into Guy's thoughts and sent him speeding down the hall faster than anyone thought possible.
"Lee!" he nearly skidded into the wall as he flung open the door, not knowing what he'd find, but imaging the worst.
What he found was Lee lying on the bed as he breathed heavily and his sheets were tied around the end of the bed, keeping his ankles in place.
"Good morning...Guy-sensei." Lee gasped, a sheepish grin spread across his face. "I was not able to get up for a run this morning as I thought I would be...but I did not let time go to waste!"
His eyes sparkled and Guy felt something inside his chest crack.
Without saying a word, Guy came over and untied the knotted sheets.
"Wait...I have not..." Lee tried to stop his sensei, but his breathing was coming in shallow gasps.
"You've done enough for now." Guy said softly, forcing a smile on a face, and quickly looking over at Lee's left side. Had he ripped any stitches? After opening five of the inner gates, Lee seemed to be alright. Until they were an hour into their journey back. Then the pain finally made it past his defenses and had him buckling and barely able to breath. If Sakura hadn't been there, it might have been even worse. Apparently, his side had started to open up during the jutsu, and over time it had gotten worse. There was slight internal damage, but nothing major, and his right leg was now more swollen than when it had first been injured in the sparring match. All in all, he wasn't as bad off as he could have been, but with his body in the state it was, it had almost been life threatening.
"Guy-sensei..." Lee started after he was able to push himself into a sitting position, biting back a wince at the pain in his side. "what did, Lady Tsunade want? Is it another mission? You will take me won't you?"
The passion in his eyes made Guy feel his own heat up.
'Guy-sensei, if it is to protect the most important person to me, then you will forgive me for using that technique, won't you?' Lee's words from when they were trapped inside the castle came rushing back through his mind.
He was the most important person in the world to Lee. How could he tell him what Tsunade said and what she wanted to do? He knew he'd have to tell him eventually, so nothing would ever come as a surprise but how could he...where did he start? Would Lee think he was disappointed with him or upset? Would he think Guy had suggested it in order to make room for someone who wasn't injured? He knew from their talk on the way back, that Ryudoin had said several things to Lee about how Guy was a liar, or simply felt sorry for him. His student had withstood the mental attacks, but...Lee was always so desperate for some kind of praise or affection Guy wondered if it hadn't done more damage than his student let on.
"Are you alright, Guy-sensei?" Lee asked softly, finally getting his breathing under control.
Guy nodded, rubbing at his eyes.
"Always so ready for life's newest challenge despite the pain! You're growing up so fast, Lee!" if he wasn't worried about hurting the boy, he would have pulled him into a hug. Instead he wiped furiously at his eyes. "No...no mission." he sniffed. "She simply wanted to see me about the Ryudoin incident. She's worried that you had to open the gates again."
"You didn't get in trouble did you?" Lee asked, a look of fear crossing his face. No one who'd met Tsundae even once when she was angry would ever wish that on anyone else. "After all, it was my choice too! And...I can go and talk..."
"Stay in bed, Lee." Guy said, putting his hand on his student's shoulder to keep him from standing. "She also wanted to tell me something. There's a small village not far from here with a physical therapist she'd like you to see. She'd do it herself but..."
"She's Hokage." the boy smiled. "She can't do it all."
Guy hated the fact he was hiding the truth, but he nodded. Until he knew how to tell Lee what Tsunade said, he'd wait. There was no use frightening the boy unnecessarily. There was no use even thinking about it.
So why wouldn't it leave him alone?
"We'll be leaving first thing tomorrow! Tenten and Neji are coming as well, and since we're going to a hot springs I expect you two boys to be on your best behavior!" he folded his arms, cocking an eyebrow. Youth was wonderful, but sometimes it gave young men bad ideas about sneaking peeks at young women.
Of course he doubted either of his students would think that way! Besides, Tenten would probably kill whoever did before he could even raise his fist.
"Yes sir!" Lee brought his bandaged hand up in a salute. "Until then, what should I do? I can't run, but we could go to the training hall and I could time you, or we could see who can do the most thumb pushups! Or..." he started to come up with more things he could do and Guy's heart started pounding harder and harder with every suggestion.
"You're responsible for him. No matter how you feel or how bad you want him to succeed, your first priority is not his dream! It is making sure he can be an affective ninja to help our village and if you can't do that, someone else can."
Someone else...
"All of those are wonderful suggestions, but not right now." Guy interrupted a little to fast causing Lee to stop mid sentence. "You just got back yesterday, and for awhile I'd like you to take it easier on yourself."
"But...sensei, how can I improve if I don't train? I can do it!" desperation tinted his voice.
"I know you can, but...well let's just take it easy. I don't want you hurting yourself alright? As important as it is for a ninja to push through and beyond their limits...sometimes it's just as important for them to listen to them."
Lee stared at him wide eyed for several seconds as if trying to decide if this was some kind of trick or test. Some new way Guy had come up with to challenge his dedication. Guy wished it was.
"I...but...yes sir." Lee finally sighed when Guy refolded his arms. "What should I do though? I can't spend all day in bed."
That was something Guy completely agreed with!
"Why don't you take a walk with your teammates outside? The fresh air would do you good and you might be able to find a certain someone..." he gave his student a wink and Lee's face instantly heated up as a smile took over. Guy bit back a laugh. Even a blind man could tell Lee had long ago gone beyond head over heels for Sakura. Simply the thought of seeing her was enough to raise his spirits and soon he was edging out of bed and trying to get ready as fast as he could. Maybe he could ask Tsunade if Sakura could come with them as well? It might keep Lee's attention off of training and having another girl would be good for Tenten.
Even as he tried to turn his thoughts towards happier things and tomorrow though, a small part of him was starting to wonder, starting to whisper that maybe Tsunade had a point. Lee always struggled so hard and Guy always pushed him harder. But...had he pushed him to far? He'd had doubts after Lee's fight with Gaara about whether he was a suitable teacher for the boy...and now with things as they were, those thoughts were starting to come up again from all the dark corners of his mind.
To Be Continued...
Author's notes: Hoped you guys liked it! Please let me know what you thought.
Have a Blessed Day
Your friend
innocent-rebel