Chapter One : Declaration and A Promise

His eyes were shut peacefully as he leaned against and old blossoming oak tree near a river edge. Although his eyes were covered, he knew the sun was retreating behind the hills and mountains in the distance. He felt the dying rays warming his sweat-beaten skin. With a full day of training behind him, he took his time in relaxing in his most treasured place even with his mind restless.

To fight off sleep he sat up and leaned over top of the water. Breaking the calm, placid surface, he dove his cupped hands into the cool liquid. Watching as the random drops of water fell from his hands with the fading light glistening off of them; he splashed the clear water on he's clammy face. Shaking his head vigorously to be free from the lingering water he waited until the water below him settled. In the awaiting water he saw his reflection. He smiled to himself. How he had changed since the cursed day so many years ago. His heart and features darkened as he remembered that dreadful day his life seemed to stop. His one and only idol passed away in an unfortunate accident that involved one too many back flips and a broken neck. (AN: I dislike Gai-sensei very much so I didn't want him in my story! MUHAHAHA! The power of being an author!!!) A slight smile crept upon his lips as he remembered how he acted and looked back then; he couldn't help but laugh quietly to himself. He never wore spandex since that day but he kept his old green suit in his closet yet never, EVER to be wore again but just for a simple tribute to someone close to him. He looked down at his face that had grown quite handsome over the past few years. Bringing his hand to his face, he gingerly poked at his thinner brows. They were generally quite thick but they were slimmer and had a pointed end. His eyes had also grown narrower yet still held a youthful cheeriness to them. Sighing, he smiled to himself and ran his finger through his hair. He looked up into the pink sky. He had to agree that he missed his old hair. A harsh shudder ran down his spine as he remembered the nightmare of when two of his not-so-close friends that happened to be female, had given him his makeover a year ago. His hair had been cut shorted with no longer a simple cut that suited his style. After having sharp object flying at his head and mountains of gel thrown into his ebony hair, it was now spiked in every direction and looked, he had to admit, quiet interesting if not…hot.

With another splash of cold water on his toned skin, he leaned back onto his tree and closed his eyes. Before too long, his brow furrowed as he sensed a familiar chakra coming closer to his location. The cooling dusk air brushed his bare arms and lower legs causing him to open his weary eyes. He looked over to where he last noticed the presence and a hot blush ran up to his neck and face. The flower of his affection knelt by the water edge only a few yards from where he was lying against the tree. She hadn't seemed to notice him so he took his chance to quickly slip to the other side of the tree. He carefully peered around the of he rough bark. He looked at her tensely as she quietly gazed down into the water, watching the flower petal float along the surface of the clear liquid. He looked at her face that showed more sadness than he thought possible for her kind expressions to show. His heart began to ache as he saw a crystal tear fall from her eyes into the water beneath her.

His fists clutched at the nearest branch to keep from punching the old bark in front of him. Anger swelled inside him as he began to understand why she was weeping before him. 'It's because of him!' He thought bitterly to himself. 'Even in death he still plagues her. ' His grip tightened and the poor branch finally gave way. Shocked, he came out of his bitter reminisce.

Not surprised, he heard the woman on the other side of the oak stir. Deciding it best to show himself now, he stepped out in to open and in view of the one he loved for so long. The woman still knelt by the water and was now looking up at him yet she seemed to have no recognition of his face in to her eyes. As their eyes met he had no thought of what his own eyes portrayed to her, but her seemed to cry out for an end to loneliness.

As they continued to stare at each other, a soft whisper escaped to delicate lips. "Lee." He was unsure if he had heard her say his name or not, but it sounded more of a statement than a question.

He took another step towards her and asked curiously, "Sakura?" Lee's face was worried and saddened. As if she was another person a second ago, Sakura withdrew her emotions behind her mask that she seemed to show to world.

"Oh! Gashi Lee-kun!" she said in a cheerful voice. To anyone who didn't know Sakura, they would have thought her voice was cheerful and full of life. But Lee was no fool. Her voice only told of sadness and an endless hollow void.

Following along, Lee put on a false smile and scratched the back on his head saying, "Gashi Sakura-chan! I just finished my training for the day and was about to go for a quick swim before I head home!" he stopped smiling as Sakura stood up. His heart skipped a beat as he saw a subtle smile creep on her beautiful features.

She looked around and saw no swimming clothes. "Swim?" she stuttered. "O-oh. Ok, I-I'm sorry to interrupt. I'll leave." she turned to leave when Lee reached out a put his warm hand on her slender shoulder.

"No, please don't go." He said quietly. His voice reached her ear and caused a slight shiver down her spine. "I haven't seen you for nearly two months now." She turned to face him. When she said nothing he continued. "Will you sit with me for a bit?" she gazed turned quizzical. "There's something I want to talk to you about." 'She looks so fragile.' He thought to himself. He had been thinking about her for sometime now. Sasuke had such a hold on her. She was the one most effected by his suicide. In Konoha he was viewed as both a traitor and a hero. After being taken by Orochimaru, he killed himself and his captor in the process.

Lee started to shift under the awkward silence that seemed to have fallen. With a subtle nod from her, he took her by the hand and led her back to the riverside. He helped Sakura sit back down on the cool emerald grass. He soon took his seat next to her, the cold water splashing near their bare feet. She quietly pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees, staring off into the setting sun over the waters shimmering surface. He smiled to himself at the sight of her face in the falling light. Her face seemed to need no help from the sun for her to glow, she just needed some encouragement. 'She really has matured into a beautiful young woman.' He thought truthfully.

Her gaze broke away from the vision in front of them to Lee himself. As their eyes met again, she quickly looked away, hiding behind some of her hair that seemed to escape from behind her ear. For but an instant, Lee could have sworn that he saw in her eyes what was behind her mask, for the second time that day.

A comfortable silence fell between them as the sun neared its hold on the land. The petals from the old oak tree continued to fall into the river, creating ripples that seemed to intensify the reflection of the dying suns rays. Lee watched the sun, but his true gaze was on Sakura who he watched out of the corner of his eye. She seemed peaceful now, maybe even relaxed. His looked away as his brow furrowed. 'why does he still have to plague her heart and mind even when his presence is long gone?'

He looked back at her, her pink locks still kept at shoulder length after all these years. Her eyes where closed now in a blissful rest. Lee didn't dream of waking her so he turned his gaze elsewhere. Staring back at the dispersing sun, all he could hear was the soft, rhythmic breathing from the woman next to him, and the occasional splash of water at his feet. He smiled, yet this time it didn't seem that sad. Sakura shifted in her sleep, she looked almost peaceful, almost. There seemed to be a small imperfection on her blissful expression. Unable to place his finger on it, he looked now at the darkening sky, the sun finally dispersing behind the horizon.

Lee couldn't differentiate one minute from the next. His only track of time was the darkening of the sky above. When it seemed he was going to loose consciousness along with Sakura, something caught his eye. He dragged a dreary gaze to the water near his bare feet. He watched as it floated among the petals from the oak tree above their heads. It seemed to out of place. So lost. It was a single perfect sakura blossom. Smiling, Lee leaned over and lifted it out of the water ever so carefully. He held the delicate flower near his face, waiting for the water to drain from his hands. He looked closely at each delicate detail of each petal in turn. 'Its so small and fragile.' He thought. Lee looked over at his sleeping beauty next to him. Her eyes shifted under her eyelids and she would squirm every so often.

Lee couldn't help but smile as he watched the woman he loved dream. The wind blew through the night air, stirring the flower in his palm bringing his attention back it. An idea crept into his mind as he watched the wind play with the flower. With a playful smile, the leaned close to Sakura, and carefully placed the flower behind her ear. As he started to pull his hand back, his fingers brushed her cheek.

This simple action caused her to stir. Lee quickly withdrew his hands back to rest on his knees as Sakura's eyes fluttered open. She sat upright, stretching her sore limbs and letting out a long awaited yawn. With eyes half open and an uncompleted consciousness, she looked at her surrounding

When her eyes came to rest upon Lee who smiled down at her, her eyes shot open. "Gomen! Gomen! Lee-kun!" she said quickly blushing. It was odd how everything about her seemed to be some sort of red or pink. Lee chuckled to himself at her sudden act and similarity in color. She straightened her body and turned to face Lee. Lee couldn't help but notice how the moonlight made her bodily assets stand out and seem more provocative. Quickly, Lee caught himself before his thoughts could go any farther. Blushing furiously Lee looked away, thankful for the darkness.

"Gomen." Sakura said again, noticing his lack of gaze. "You wanted to talk to me and I fell asleep." She looked up to where the sun had been a few hours ago. Sadly she added, "judging by the amount of light, or lack there of, you let me sleep for sometime. " she looked back up at him questionably. "Why?"

Lee smiled and looked down. He didn't know 'why' himself be can up with a conclusion none the less. His gaze met with hers again and he replied honestly, "You looked happy for once." As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He saw her flinch at his words and look away. Lee mentally kicked himself for saying the last part and waited for the obvious question to come next.

After a moment or so of silence, Sakura said with her gaze still averted, "what do you mean… 'for once'?"

Lee already knew it was out in the open. This was, after all, the reason why he wanted to talk to her. Sighing, he lied down on the cool grass with his hands behind his head. He didn't and couldn't stand to see Sakura's face at that time. He already knew what her expression was like. So instead, like a coward, he focused his eyes on the starry sky above them. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her silhouette sitting next to him, looking up at the same sky. ever since the Uchiha's death, she had never been the same. She locked herself in her house, only coming out for food and the like. Whenever someone would try to approach her, her would ignore them with a solemn expression on her face. Lee didn't want to see her like that any more. He cared too much for her to see her like that every waking moment for over three years.

'It is now or never to get her to open up.' Lee built up all his courage, and drew his gaze to hers. His long silence brought her eyes to meet with his. They knew they were looking at each other despite the darkness. He held it as long as he could. Unable to take it he looked away and closed his eyes. "You are suffering, Sakura." He said bluntly. Without looking back at her, he knew she was shocked by his forwardness. Closing his eyes tighter, he continued. "It's not healthy Sakura. You're heart was broken beyond repair. And I know it hurts." He took a deep breath of the night air, cooling his lungs.

"You're hurting people who care for you by shutting yourself in. We all want to help you. We would never leave you like he did. I-we want to protect you from everything that would want to hurt you. I cant -" He stopped talking when he felt something touch his side. He slowly opened his eyes and drank I what he saw. Sakura was lying herself down next to him, cuddling up next to him. She rested her small head on his toned chest. Taking his hand out from under his hand, he wrapped it around her petit body. She breathed slow and steady but would waver now and then. His heart held a joyous pity for her. He looked closer at her as he felt a wetness on his chest. The moonlight showed him more of her crystal tears staining his shirt and they rolled off her warm face. Tentatively, he reached over with his free hand and wiped away every tear on her face.

He could feel her loosing consciousness again so he said quickly and quietly, "I don't want you to forget him, and I know you won't heal easily from him, but if you will, please let me try Sakura, I will protect you. And again, I will wipe every tear away." After speaking the truth that he held in for so long, he felt a blissful loss of consciousness overtake them both.

Author Note:

This is my first Naruto fanfic so be nice. I had many different versions of the beginning chapter and this was the best. It will be humorous, just the first chapter sets up everything and tell some background. If you can't tell, this takes place after the time skip. Sasuke killed himself and Orochimaru in the process so no villains!! Hope you liked it. Please read and review!!!

PS

Before when I described Lee it was based on a picture. Here's a web address to it.

larz776-narutocomedy(dot)buzznet(dot)com/user/photos/?id4320586

just replace the (dot) with an actual dot and it should work, if it worked or not, please let me know so I can fix it.

I think he's on the first page. Just shift through it and you'll find it. I know he looks funny, but he's hotter than in the anime/manga and you know it. Please let me know what u think of my portrayal of him. THANKS!!!