A/N: Warning~ Lee is pretty much going to be with everyone. Aaaand, he will be on the sensual side. He was raised by a cat after all~ buwahahaha!
P.S. It will be about two weeks for every new update from now on.
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Italics are flashbacks and thoughts to oneself
Bold is Demon's talking
Bold Italic is the demon holders talking back to the demons
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Disclaimer: Is Lee getting chased by Seme's that want him as their Uke? No? Then I don't own Naruto.
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Title: Ikiryou
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Lee kept himself busy the following week. All he did was train, sleep, and eat. Anytime he saw Naruto, he would leave before the blond could see him, then go to the training grounds to work off some frustration.
He didn't know why Iruka's words irritated him so badly. The thought of Naruto believing the Chunin made Lee's skin prickle uncomfortably and his hands flex as if wanting to carve something up. Lee shook his head harshly and aimed one last kick to the thick training log he had been attacking for the last twenty minutes. He wasn't even sweating yet but could take no more of it.
He needed to take a bath. That would calm him down...
Lee turned and walked from the training area. His fingers twitched and he clenched his hands into fists. He took slight comfort in the bite of his nails almost piercing his skin through his gloves. Lee closed his black pearl eyes for a moment then sighed, slowly forcing himself to relax.
'Come now little one...why do we not go to that meadow we found a few weeks back after your bath?' Matatabi said in a gentle tone.
'Yes, that would be nice. I really do like that flower field.' Lee smiled softly then began walking a little faster. A voice shouting his name made Lee stop before it even registered in his mind. He slowly turned as he recognized the voice and smiled without feeling it.
"Hello Naruto-kun." Lee said in a quaint tone.
"Hey Lee!" Naruto grinned widely as he finally got to the other boy. His cheeks turned slightly pink as he put his hands behind his head, "I haven't seen you around. That mean's you've had some missions right?" Naruto sounded so excited.
Lee kept his polite smile as he told Naruto the truth, "No." he said, "I have just been avoiding you."
Naruto's grin just dropped from his face and he looked at Lee in confused hurt. His arms dropped as well and he stopped squinting his eyes to look at Lee completely with his dark blue eyes.
"W-wha?" Naruto slightly stuttered, "Why?"
For a moment, Lee actually felt regret. He bit his inner cheek, forcing back the want to hug Naruto and apologize. Instead, he said, "I overheard your conversation with Umino Iruka last week. As I am...apparently dangerous, I have decided to stay away from you. I do not want to ruin your chances of becoming Hokage."
Naruto stared at Lee with slightly wide eyes and felt himself begin to blush. His ears burned and the color was slowly spreading to his cheeks as well. He laughed and grinned, trying to distract himself from the odd, somehow pleasantly queasy feeling in his stomach, then said, "Nah, you don't have to do that! I'll become Hokage no matter what! Believe it!"
Lee blinked at Naruto's reaction and earnest expression. Finally, Lee just had to smile warmly at Naruto. He reached out and gently ran his hand through Naruto's hair, saying, "Of course. I will never doubt that."
'Kurama's holder seems to be quickly attatching himself to you.' Matatabi said in a fond tone.
'Yes, it is kind of...really cute.' Lee thought in an equally fond tone.
After a moment, Lee let his hand drop, barely letting his fingers brush Naruto's cheek. He noticed Naruto's slightly disappointed expression before it quickly disappeared and had to smile. He placed his hand on his out jutted hip and aimed his smile at Naruto, saying, "You know what? You want to go get something to eat? My treat."
"Yea!" Naruto exclaimed, slightly jumping in the air, "Let's go get some ramen!"
Lee covered his mouth in a dainty manner as he giggled. He gave Naruto a short nod the held out his hand to Naruto, saying, "Yes...let us go."
Naruto looked at Lee's hand and felt himself blush again. He looked away, slightly grinning in excitement as he reached and took Lee's hand. Then he pulled Lee along, saying, "To Ichiraku!"
Lee laughed lightly as he was pulled along. He quickened his pace to walk right beside Naruto and smiled down at him. Soon, Lee found himself in Ichiraku, sitting at the bar, right next to Naruto. They ordered their food then Lee halfway turned to the blond and said, "How have you been, Naruto-kun?"
"Really good! I gotta go to the academy a lot though, so I see the bastard every day." Naruto frowned heavily but then grinned sheepishly, saying " I hate going to classes but I'll be graduating to a Genin in a week anyway so it doesn't matter!" his grin grew.
Lee smiled fondly at Naruto and said, "How grand~"
Naruto slightly blushed and quickly went back to eating, shoveling the noodles into his mouth.
"Slow down, Naruto-kun. I do not want you to choke." Lee said gently
Naruto looked at Lee slightly surprised then grinned and nodded, saying "Alright.". His heart jumped in his chest at Lee's worry.
After a while of them eating -with Lee laughing at how much Naruto could eat- Lee said that he should be heading home. At Naruto's poorly hidden disappointed look, he leaned down and lightly kissed Naruto's cheek again and said, "I will see you again soon." before paying for the food and leaving.
On the way back to his apartment, he heard Matatabi say,
'Do you plan on seeing him often?'
'Kind of...Maybe...I do not know. I think, we shall see.'
'I believe that we will. If by us finding him or him finding us, I can feel how fond you really are about him. I think he feels the same way.' Matatabi said, teasing at the end.
Lee blushed softly, 'I can not help but to treat him this way. He just seems...so young...'
'...Yes...' Matatabi said slowly, her voice slightly sad yet thankful
'His dream will be difficult to achieve...I...I do not think he even knows what he is...' Lee frowned slightly as he opened his apartment door. He stripped as he walked through his 'home' and made his way into the bathroom, the only part he actually liked about the place. For how shabby everything else was, the bathroom was big and nice with a constant flow of hot water.
'Neither do I...I hope he does not find out the hard way...'
'As do I, Mother...as do I.' Lee stepped into his now full bathtub and sunk into the hot water, closing his eyes and sighing tiredly.
He let his head loll back then felt his ears twitch as he head a soft noise coming from his bedroom. A flare of chakra told him who it was. Lee felt himself slightly smile and called out,
"In here!"
He listened to the quiet footsteps then tilted his head back to look at his bathroom door. He refrained from purring as he eagerly waited.
The door opened and the man in the doorway faltered for a split second before smiling.
"I didn't know this was your bathroom." He said, his tone amused.
Lee giggled softly and turned in the tub. He lay his arms on the edge and stared at the man, saying, "Sorry Kashi-kun, I thought you did. Oh well~"
Kakashi chuckled good-naturally and leaned against the doorway, crossing his arms.
"How have you been, Lee. Settled yet?"
"I have been as normal as I always will. Settling does not matter." Lee said calmly.
"Lord Hokage hopes that you will come to treat Konoha as your home, you know that."
"Of course..." Lee held back a grimace. What home did he truly have? None. He would never have a home again. No one would ever love him like his parents had, and no matter how 'Mother' teased, he just knew that he would never actually find a mate.
"But," Lee said, hiding his inner thought's with a teasing tone, "Hokage-sama should know, my home is you Kashi-kun~"
Kakashi chuckled again, his eye crinkling in amusement, "You make an old man feel so young."
"I like them older. Experienced." Lee said, his smile widening. He looked at Kakashi intently, searching to see if he was making Kakashi feel flustered at all. He wanted to win their little game dammit.
"I do have plenty."
There it was! Lee could barely see it but it was still there, a faint red on the tips of Kakashi's ear. He grinned widely, like a cat who caught a canary.
"Anyway." Kakashi said quickly, "I've just come to see how you have been. Lord Hokage has been wanting to make sure that you've been...getting along, with your team. It has been a year."
"Of course, of course... We have been getting along just fine. You do not need to worry, Kashi-kun, I will not unleash Ikiryou on anyone. I am in control." Lee cut to the chase, smiling without feeling it.
"Glad to hear it." Kakashi said, sounding like he was smiling but his visible eye was no longer crinkled.
Kakashi suddenly walked forward and crouched to Lee's height. He reached out and placed his hand on Lee's head for a moment, almost...petting Lee's hair before standing once again.
"I'll be going now, people to see, old ladies to help." Kakashi said with a nonchalant wave of his hand before leaving the bathroom then Lee's apartment.
Lee let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and slumped against his tub.
'I never know what that man is thinking...'
'Yes...neither do I.'
'But...he still does not seem so bad...'
'Nonetheless, he would kill us without a thought if ordered to.'
For some reason, Lee felt himself become depressed. He nodded in reply to Mother's words and continued with his bath.
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Over the next few days, Lee purposely sought Naruto out at random points of the day, even picking him up from the academy to treat him to ramen at Ichiraku's. It felt like the least he could do was be a giving...friend, of sorts, to Naruto while he grows, and hopefully, he could take the brunt of the scorn Naruto had received for far to long.
Only a day before the Genin test, Lee stood waiting outside the Academy, leaning against the tree with a lone swing on it. He frowned in a slightly lazy manner as he watched the students leave one by one, but no Naruto. After a few more moments, which was odd considering Naruto was usually among the first out, Lee stopped a random boy, not actually realizing that it was Uchiha Sasuke until he looked at the clan mark on his clothing.
"Excuse me, but do you know a boy named Naruto?" Lee still asked politely, smiling with his eyes half mast as usual.
Sasuke turned, frowning slightly. He shrugged and said, "Yea, he's been held back by Iruka-sensei."
Lee stared at Sasuke for a moment, a sharp pang of remembrance flowing through him. He mentally shook it off and nodded, leaning back against the tree with a quiet sigh. What did Naruto do now? 'Silly boy...' Lee thought fondly.
"You're a Genin?" Sasuke said, catching Lee's attention.
Lee glanced at Sasuke with an eyebrow slightly raised. A slow smile stretched his lips as he automatically purred, "Yes~. Why do you ask?"
Sasuke's expression turned surprised for a split second before Lee noticed the boy's ears gaining a red tint to them. He shoved his hands into his pockets before saying, "Why are you waiting for the dope?" instead of answering why.
Lee looked at Sasuke straight on at that point. He slowly tilted his head then leaned towards Sasuke, almost purring, "Why so curious...little Uchiha~?" again as he reached out to the boy.
As soon as his fingers touched Sasuke's cheek, the Uchiha jolted back. He exhaled slightly harshly and began breathing slightly heavy as if he had been holding his breath.
"What did you just do?!" He said with a slight hint of panicked confusion.
Lee hummed curiously and pointed to himself, saying, "Me? What do you mean~?"
"You-!" Sasuke cut himself off, his ears turning red again and the color slowly trying to spread. He couldn't say that he had felt like he had been hypnotized as soon as he looked into Lee's eyes, that he had even held his breath in some sort of 'anticipation'. It had only been Lee's warm touch to his cheek that had snapped him out of it.
"Nothing." Sasuke scoffed quickly before leaving even quicker.
Lee tilted his head in confusion, for once honestly not knowing what he had did. He pouted slightly as he heard Mother laughing in his head and questioned her in a slightly irritated manner. She took it in stride, teasing him instead by saying,
'I believe you are gaining a little following, little one. I applaud you, your choices of a future mates are astounding.'
Lee blinked, frowning, then began blushing darkly as he finally understood her meaning.
'Mother!' Lee cried out in embarrassment. He covered his face as her laughing grew but quickly forced himself to look normal as he heard Naruto call out his name excitedly. Lee turned and smiled at Naruto, saying the first thing he would always ask.
"Ramen?" He questioned with a tilt of his head.
"Yea!" Naruto nodded eagerly and grabbed Lee's hand out of a now familiar habit. Lee always offered his hand so Naruto finally just began grabbing it without prompting, though it still made his heart jump in his chest.
Lee giggled and followed Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen. He sits next to Naruto at the bar and ordered his own food after Naruto. When they began eating, Lee mostly watched Naruto instead. Lee slowly ate his own food then found himself reaching out to the other boy. He let his fingers softly comb through Naruto's hair, causing the academy student to turn to him.
"Why do you do that?" Naruto asked, feeling confused.
"You do not like it?" Lee asked instead.
"N-No! I like it!, just...no one else does this. Especially not to me."
Lee looked at Naruto's face, seeing a hidden sadness. He smiled warmly at the boy and said, "Well, I am not them, am I?" then laughed softly.
He continued to card his fingers through Naruto's yellow spikes and said in a dream-like tone, "I like your hair. It is very soft and looks like the sun." Lee's smile grew as he continued, "It suits you quite well."
Naruto looked at Lee in surprise then grinned, chuckling in an embarrassed manner. He stuttered slightly as he said, "I-ah..I like your hair too. Looks really soft and shiny." Naruto felt himself blush hard and hoped that Lee couldn't tell.
Lee laughed happily and grabbed his braid. He grinned as he brushed the end of his braid against Naruto's cheek.
"You smell nice." Naruto suddenly blurt out then his cheeks turned a dark red color.
Lee blinked then grinned again. For a moment, Lee felt his heart warm in his chest as he thought, 'So...cute~'
"Oh?" Lee said in a slight teasing tone, "What do I smell like?"
"U-um, k-kinda like, u-uh...honey?"
"I smell like honey?" Lee grinned and giggled as Naruto quickly nodded, his face glowing red. Lee leaned close to Naruto and sniffed him quietly. He hummed after a moment and said, "You smell like...Oh! Spice! Like curry spices!", purring at the end.
Naruto glanced at Lee and shyly asked if Lee liked that smell.
Lee nodded happily and said, "I love curry. It is my favorite food! It is so tasty!"
Naruto slowly grinned then began to laugh, causing Lee to pout.
"What is so funny?"
"N-nothing!" Naruto quickly said, having no courage to say that he thought Lee looked so cute when he perked up at talking about curry. He instead said, "Well, curry can't beat ramen!"
"Yeah? I have to argue with that. " Lee teased, grinning widely, showing all his bright teeth for the first time.
Lee suddenly put down the money for the ramen then stood. He leaned over and kissed Naruto's cheek before saying, "I must be going now, Naru-kun~. I will be seeing you tomorrow." then left.
The next day, Lee got up early and hand made box of cupcakes then a box of special onigiri after a moment of thought. When he was done, he headed to the academy in time for when the student's would come out.
When he got there, he saw that the graduating student's were already out. He looked around but could not see Naruto anywhere. Lee frowned and walked closer, holding the two bento shaped boxes to his hip. He frowned a little more as a fifth look around still showed that Naruto wasn't there. His gaze suddenly caught Sasuke standing alone and he quickly walked over.
"Little Uchiha!"
Sasuke automatically stopped then turned to Lee, saying, "Don't call me that."
Lee ignored that, saying, "Do you know where Naruto-kun is?"
"No." Sasuke said, frowning then turned to leave. He stopped again as Lee called him 'Little Uchiha' again and turned back to growl at Lee but instead stumbled as something was suddenly in front of his face. He made a slight confused sound as he looked at the white bento box.
"I heard you like rice-balls. So I made you some with bonita filling." Lee said with a little, almost fond, smile.
"T-tch." Sasuke blushed, turning his head away from even as he grabbed the box. His blush grew as he mumbled, "Thanks." actually feeling very happy. He loved rice-balls with bonita filling.
Lee smiled and briefly let his hand stroke Sasuke's hair before he took off to find Naruto. About five minutes later, Lee found the blond haired boy but he was talking to a Chunin. Lee frowned slightly then sighed, deciding to talk to Naruto tomorrow instead.
Only, that night, Lee woke to a strange feeling of disturbance.
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