Magnus: Hi to all, first i want to thank Bobcat946732 for his review, yes the first review, and it wasn't a flame, thanks for the hints, i will check the grammars, and i must say sorry for that (English is not my native language), i'll try be more descriptive in some of the events, but i must say that some ones are left as they are, because I'll explain them later. Now the third chapter is up, and the old chapters got fixed (to an extent) I hope you like it, but before you read it, i want to state that this is not a Sakura bashing, is just to add drama to the fic, so, read and review, please.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other character named in this fic, with the exception of Okuni, who is an OC.

Chapter 3

Reunion, updates, explanations, and fire.

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Maito Gai entered the room, trying to hit Lee, the reactions were fast, Tsunade gasped and hold a grip in her chair, Neji and Tenten threw themselves to the ground, Sakura and Ino fell on their butts, Lee didn't moved an inch (or at least it seemed that he didn't moved), Hinata got freeze of the impression, and the flying kick didn't hit Lee, it failed by a mere few inches, going in his way to Hinata, Naruto barely had time to jump at her and take her away of the danger, finally, Maito Gai crashed with the wall, with an Epic Fail in his attempt, and ended with the small cake in his face, just because Hinata dropped it when Naruto take her down.

"Gai!, what is the meaning of this!?", Tsunade yelled, she was upset, not only because she hates when Gai makes his dynamic entry, but because this time, he was ruining a warm welcome to Lee, "Now, stand up and apologize, Lee has just return, and he deserves a little peace in his welcoming reunion", he was about to answer, but got interrupted by the shy voice of Hinata, "The cake!, is ruined!", she said this with a sad little voice, and now Gai was feeling guilty, with the cake in his face, "Er...sorry, it wasn't my intention", "But the cake!", Hinata whimpered, Naruto hugged her, trying to calm her down, after all, she always had been very sentimental, "Excuse me, master, but the Hokage said that this man is Gai, so, is this your former sensei?", Okuni asked, gathering the attention of all the people in the office, then, Gai stud up, and started to speak, proudly, "Yes young lady, I, Maito Gai, am the sensei of Rock Lee, I taught him all he knows, I raised him like my own son, and make him the strong man you know", at this , Okuni burst out in laughter, and even if her voice was still beautiful, it was obvious that she took that statement as a stupid joke, "Excuse me, young lady, but what is so funny?", Gai was getting pissed off, and Okuni didn't make him wait for the answer, "You, pathetic excuse of a man, by no means is possible that you made him what he is now!", Gai was angry, this lady insulted him in so many levels, "You, bitch!, i'm gonna teach you to respect the Konoha's azure beast!" he shouted, but he was only able to move an inch, before being intercepted by Lee, "Don't dare to rise your hand against her!" he shouted, rising his finger to Gai's face, and stopped at one millimeter of him, the wind blown by this motion was extremely strong, so strong, that the cake was no longer in his face, so strong that his hair was being pushed back madly, as if he was in front of a powerful fan, and his hair moved for almost 3 seconds, not only he stopped, but the others stared with wide eyes, then he added, "Okuni, I command you to behave, don't insult or comment like that again", at this, she bowed her head, "Yes master, please forgive me, it won't happen again".

Tsunade was starting to worry, her office was being punished by all, so, she decided to take action, and put an stop to this, "Ok kids, why don't you go out and make a welcome party for Lee and this lady?, i bet the others want to say hello too, and besides, you may want him to know what's new in the village, as well as hear about his travels, Gai, you are to stay and clean this mess", "Y-yes, Tsunade-sama", was the only answer from Gai, however, the others were very happy to make a party, Hinata forgot completely about the cake, Neji and Tenten were babbling about changing their clothes, and Sakura and Ino rushed to call the others.

"So, where are we going, Naruto-san?", Lee asked, as if he didn't know where their were heading to, there was no other place that Naruto could think, but he asked anyway, "Ichiraku!", both Naruto and Hinata answered, very happily, "The restaurant has grown a lot, we go there from time to time", Hinata added, "Did you said restaurant?, as I remember, it was only a stand", Lee asked in disbelief, maybe they just called it that way, "Yes, restaurant, it is big, have tables and chairs, it has became a great place, you'll just love it!", Naruto stated, it was obvious that some things had change since his departure, now he wondered how many things had changed.

Ino and Sakura didn't take long in gather all the others, and as they headed to Ichiraku, they noticed their targets, and it was a set of shocked glances, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Shikamaru and Temari (I'll explain this later) couldn't believe that he was Lee, they all expected to see the same old Lee, in his spandex suit, and his bowl haircut, instead of that, they saw a man, dressing in black, with a fancy long red scarf, and a Heroic Haircut (Slightly spiky and with a small ponytail), and still, Shikamaru noticed something else, his eyes were no longer those round plates, they were determined, somewhat cold, as if he was forced to take harsh actions in his travels.

At the sight of them, Naruto weaved, and asked them to get together and enter the restaurant, "Indeed, a modest yet welcoming restaurant", Okuni stated, none of the others noticed her, until she spoke, probably because they were looking at Lee, "Oh my God!, she is beautiful", Kiba exclaimed, to the surprise of all, then Chouji started to poke Lee, "Where did you got this pretty girl, you lucky hard worker?", Chouji asked in a playfully mood, "Indeed, may I ask your name, beautiful lady?" Kiba asked, once again, showing a strange behavior, at this, Okuni bowed, "My name is Okuni, I'm Lee's personal maiden, I live to satisfy any needs of my master", this answer, provoked an uneasy silence, and all the other shinobis, just stared on disbelief, first to to Okuni, and then to Lee, obviously, having bad thoughts, but it was Sakura, who showed her thoughts, "What kind of NEEDS?", but before she could reply, Neji and Tenten, who were now in their chinese suits, jumped to the rescue (They learned that is better not to ask private questions in public areas), "So, why don't we go inside and sit on a large table, I'm sure that we can have a nice conversation while we eat", Neji stated fast, Lee wondered when he became so sensitive, an so, they got to one of the tables, ordered some dishes, and then started to relax and having a good time, at this, Lee started to ask how were things during his travel.

One by one, they gave him hints of their lives, Shino and Kiba didn't said much, they were almost the same as he remembered, and still, he saw how Kiba was watching Okuni, he almost chuckled, "He has no idea", he thought to himself, then Shikamaru told him in a very short story, his changes, "Temari and I got married 2 months ago, and as far as I know, we are happy", he was cut by Temari, "Yes we are!, still, I hate when you go on missions, why do you have to take so long to return?, why don't you get a work at the school?, it would be safer!", Temari ranted, then Shikamaru showed a lazy smile, "Yes, very happy", Lee almost started to laugh, "So I see, congratulations, Shikamaru-san, Temari-san, I hope you grow into a happy family", Lee expected to get glances, shouts, or laughs, but it was replied by both Shikamaru and Temari making a quick glance to her belly, which was still plain, "Yeah, we too", both answered shyly.

Ino didn't liked the idea of being left behind, so she decided to speak, for herself, and in behalf of Sakura, who wasn't able to say anything, and still keep staring to Lee, "well, we are still training under Tsunade-sama supervision, I'm getting good at healing, and you won't believe how Sakura has progressed, she is like a machine, of course, except when she starts thinking about you, and says how much she missed you", she stated this with a big grin, she'll be in trouble later, but the enjoyment of this moment will stay with her forever, Sakura was red, redder than a tomato, why she had to say that, then she looked up to Lee, and he had a sad face, "Lee", she broke the silence, determined to let him know her feelings, she won't let him go away again, she won't let this be like the Sasuke incident, "I-I, Love...you...", that is, she said it, no turning back, after all, this is what Lee wanted, right?, he loved her, and now he had it, but Lee didn't show his hyper happy face, instead he showed a serious face, no grin, and crossed arms, "No, you don't love ME", everyone was shocked, except Okuni, who looked almost pleased, "Sakura-san, you don't love me for what I am, you only have a crush for how I look, if you loved me, you hadn't showed that reaction back at Tsunade's office, because, how is possible that you never liked the honorable green beast, and now you like Fire Wings?, or is that you were ashamed by my old look?, if that is the case, then you'll never said that if I had returned with that horrible outfit.", Sakura was defeated, maybe if she didn't acted like that, when he was welcomed, maybe her words could make sense now, how can she tell him that she loved him, without telling him that his outfit ashamed her?, how could he believe her if she says otherwise now?, "Lee, I...I...I...".

Then, at the sound of the door opening, Hinata gave a quick glance at Neji, who was playing with Tenten (you know, playing with his fingers trying to touch Tenten's breasts), It was a swift motion, they stop playing, Tenten started to eat her ramen as if she disliked Neji, and Neji drinking water, as if he were oblivious of the party, Lee couldn't help, but wondered "WTF?", then it became more clear, as Hiashi Hyuga started to walk in their way, he decided not to ruin the charade, "Neji, here you are, i have great news for you, oh, and i think i have to say hello to the taijutsu specialist, Rock Lee, also known as the half ninja", Okuni's eye twitched, she was getting angry, she was about to stand up, and put this man in his place, but Lee took her hand, it was his signal to let them be, to not let them known, and so, she calmed, "So, Hiashi-sama, what are the news?, it has to be important, for you to come to a place like this", Neji asked, voice full of respect, Hiashi turned to look at them, but his face showed disgust when he saw Tenten very close to him, "Well, Hanabi has come to me, and she told me who was the man she wanted to marry, to carry the duty of the main branch of the Hyuga family", Neji stared at him, thinking, that this wasan't exactly important to him to hear, "Congratulations then, i'm sure Hanabi has chosen an excellent man, one that fulfil your expectations", with this Neji returned to drink his water, then Hiashi grinned (yes, he can grin, but is scary) "She chose you, Neji".

Ok, it was too much, the poor Neji spit out the water, and started to cough madly, Tenten tried to calm him down with little hits on his back, not caring that Hiashi found her disgusting, finally, Neji took the word, "But, I'm from a secondary branch, and to make it worst, our blood make us very close!", Hiashi's face twitched, "Well, son, I can remove that cursed mark from your forehead, and, don't worry for the closeness, you'll do pretty fine, don't come late to home, we need to talk and make preparatives for the wedding, is better if you marry young, you can have more family", with that, Hiashi turned and left the restaurant, Neji and Tenten turned to see each other, Tenten was depressed, how can she beat the offer of remove the cursed mark?, she felt him going away, this was by far a great offer, he'll have everything, then Neji spoke, uncaring for the others "It seems, that, I'll stay with you until late in the morning", Tenten's jaw opened, and every one stared in shock, not that they weren't aware of their romance, but to state it so bluntly, but Tenten knew, that had a stronger meaning, it means that he was going to runaway from his house to be with her, she blushed, and buried her face in his chest, crying.

"AAWWWWWWW, how cute!", Naruto stated, not in a mocking manner, but remembering himself and his beloved Hinata, "Hey fuzzy eyebrows, wanna know how me and Hinata got together?", Lee nodded, and Okuni squeaked "Yay, a love story!", at this, Naruto grinned, "Well, it all started the day I returned, she jumped on me, and I hugged her back, we kissed for a few minutes, and then I offered to take her back to her home", Hinata was blushing, but she continued, "When we got to my former home, dad saw us, and he went mad, he told me that I had to choose from being a Hyuga or to be with Naruto, and I choosed Naruto, so, he said I was dead to him, and I had no place to go", at this everyone turned into sad faces, how can she speak with such a cute voice, something so sad?, then Naruto finished, "And since that day, she lives with me!", a grin in his face, and Hinata cuddling him, after a long silence, Lee decided to make the ambient more light, or so he thought, "So, Neji-san, Tenten-san, how did you became so close?", Neji looked forward, Tenten started to blush madly, looking at a side, finally, Neji started, "It was a trap", "Neji!" Tenten shouted", "Tenten set me a trap in the forest", "Neji!, stop!", "is the truth, you set me a trap, and I fell on it", "It was part of the training!", "Using poison stings?", "I said I was sorry!", "Ok, but why did you took me to your hose instead of the Hospital?", "It was closer and I had the antidote!", "Yeah, of course, that explains why I woke up chained to your bed", "NEJI!!!!!!", everyone bursted in laughs, it was just too much to imagine Neji being trapped by Tenten, let aside being chained in HER bed, all pressures, bad memories, sadness, was forgotten, and they continued they meals, chatting, giggling, laughing, now, Lee felt the warm of the home, being with friends, and enjoying their randomness, it was perfect.

The group was weaving good byes, everyone was heading to their places, Naruto and Hinata lived close by, so they waited until everyone left, Neji kissed Tenten and tell her to wait for him at her home, he needed to take certain items from his room, Shikamaru and Temari were already heading to their home, having some random discussion, Kiba, Shino and Chouji were already gone, only Sakura and Ino were left, both were supposed to take Lee and Okuni to their apartment, "Ok Ino, let's take them to THEIR home...Ino?, Ino, where did you go?!", ok, only Sakura was left, she wondered if this was a cruel joke, or if Ino wanted to gave her a chance to be with him, however, Okuni was still there, so, she can't be alone with him, "Damn Ino, I'll make her pay. Ok Lee, Okuni, I'll take you to your apartment, if you think is too small, I can let Okuni stay in my home for tonight", she wanted to see the reaction, and what she saw, was Lee, with a sweatdrop in the face, and Okuni giggling, "I don't mind the size of the room or the bed, I just will stay at my master's side, whatever the place or the situation is", once again, Sakura was beaten, she will never say something like that, she, being the independent girl she was, couldn't imagine herself sharing a small bedroll with a guy like Lee, then the thought hit her mind, like a sword, she really wanted to share a small bedroll with Lee, she even had a dream of that, and remembering that, she blushed, and it was a long way to Lee's home.

To Neji, that was, his home, his room, he was supposed to be a common sight there, but now, he just hoped nobody had noticed him, he was packing his things in a small bag, he didn't wanted to take too much, just his few important things, like the portrait of his father, pillow, and some clothes, when he headed for the back fence, he heard other members of the family, taking about Hiashi being late, he listened, but paid no attention, he had to run fast, if he was to got caught, he wanted to be with her beloved Tenten in arms, that way, nobody could reclaim him to return. It was a long run, but he took the more stealthy route to Tenten's home, he didn't wanted neither his friends, or family to know that he was heading that way. The home was now visible, that modest home where their romance began, and now, it was the last refugee for them, then, he suddenly stop, something was wrong, very very wrong, he didn't used the byakugan, he only felt it, before he knows, he was running in the direction of the home, shouting "Tenten, get out, get out now!!!!!", he shouted several times, Tenten heard him, confused, "why the commotion?, is something wrong?", she said to herself, she was heading to the door, and then, it all turned red.

"Ok, this is it, home sweet home, eh, Lee?, is like you remembered it?", Sakura asked, expecting for him to notice some minor changes, "Is...clean, it wasn't like this when I left", "I know, i came here to clean, i wanted to welcome you with a clean house", Sakura answered, "because i wanted to live here with you", she dared to add, almost like a whisper, Lee didn't know what to say, maybe she truly loved him, maybe she wasn't only having a crush with the new him, meanwhile, Okuni was taking a tour in the small apartment, not bad at all, she tought, maybe a few furniture, a new table, and it will be perfect, she stopped to see the city from the window, it was a beautiful sunset, almost time to try to make her master relax, then something caught her eye, "Is that fire?", she asked out loud, both Sakura and Lee watched the sight, and then, Sakura gasped, "That's Tenten's home!", she shouted in terror, but before she could ran to the stairs to run in her aid, she felt the moves of Lee, effortless, he impulsed himself from the opened window with one hand, then one feet touched the roof outside the window, and was all he needed to propel himself, only one jump, straight forward, but, it looked like he was flying, and an incredible speed, Okuni only smiled, "That's just how my master is, my Hero".

For Neji it was the worst nightmare he could ever thought, the home of his lover was engulfed in fire, and his beloved Tenten, was inside, he frost for a second, then he heard her, a scream, "NEJIIIII!!!!!!!!", it was all he needed, he jumped into the burning house, inside was the hell on the earth, fire covered pieces of the roof falling over him, intense heat, thick smoke, he was in despair, he only wanted to see his beloved Tenten, even if only to die at her side, "Neji!", a weak beg, in the center of the hell, he rushed to meet her, she was in fetal position, with some burns, and blood on her head, it looked like a piece of the roof fell on her head, but she was alive, it was all he needed to knew, he took her on his arms, bridal style, and tried to head to the door, the trial out was harder than the one to enter, and he was lacking the strength to take her out, then he found the door, the light at the end of the tunnel, he gathered all the strength he could, and headed to the door, then he heard it, the cracks on the fire covered supporters was the presage of the disaster, they were collapsing, and they were in the middle of the pillars, and the pillars came down, down on them, he gasped, Tenten still unconscious, he knelled, and tried to shield her, it was the least he could do, he only wished to have passed more time with her, he wished to have children with her, he wished to grow old with her, he closed his eyes, ready for the final impact, but it never came, then he turned up to see what happened, and what he saw was really surprising, it was Lee, holding the pillars with his hands, "Hurry up!, I can't hold the entire house by myself!", Neji didn't need anymore words, he rushed outside, he was lucky, his dear friend was back.

"Tenten!!!!!, Neji!!!!!, are you ok, what happened??!!!", a concerned Sakura was panting while reaching over them, "The house was in fire, I entered to save her, then it all crumbled over us, but Lee rescued us, please, heal her", Neji begged at the last words, but Sakura's mind was in other place at the moment, "Where is Lee now?", there were a lot of concern in her voice, and Neji only pointed at the mass of fire on the house, which crumbled down at that mere moment, "LEEEEEE!!!!!!", Sakura shouted, thinking the worst, he just came back, and now he was going to go again, but this time, forever, she was about to cry, to shout curses, to curse her own luck, when she saw him, in the middle of the crescent flames, Rock Lee, standing, tall and proud, flames dancing around his body, his armor, and he wasn't being burned, the flames dancing in the scarf gave the impression of being wings, and the scarf wasn't burning too, he looked like an Angel, like a God, like a Demon, and he was heading in their direction, walking carelessly over the fire, she was staring, empty minded, this was the new Rock Lee, Rock "Fire Wings" Lee, just then, a hand grabbed the collar of her suit, and she faced an angry Neji, "STOP STARING AND START HEALING, YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!!!!", she glanced at the 2, and noticed that Tenten had just light wounds, it was Neji who was wounded badly, "Ok, stay put, I'll heal you", "NO!, YOU IDIOT!, HER!!!!...HEAL!...her...", with that, Neji collapsed, by then Lee was already at their side, no longer covered in flames, "Are they fine?", Sakura gasped, unsure on what to answer, then the sounds of foot steps coming closer, forced her to turn, she saw what she wanted, "Tsunade-sama!!!!!!!".

Magnus:Well, I hope you enjoyed it, I'm open to new ideas, as well more hints about how to make this fic better, please review