Chapter 4: It's My Fault

I didn't feel to well, so I told Naruto I was going home... but he refused to let me! He said, "No, it's late. You can stay here."

Of course, I hate to be rude, so I agreed and asked where I would sleep. He said that we could both fit in his bed.

"Oh, right... of course!" I stuttered, nervously. That was the very thing I was afraid of. I hadn't been that close to a man since Gai-sensei and I used to go on missions and sleep in the same tent, and I never thought of it like this! I suddenly felt cold and said, "M-may I use your bathroom?"

"Sure!"

I rushed in there, not because I had to go, but because I was freaking out and didn't want Naruto watching.

I sat there shaking for a moment before I finally composed myself and allowed myself to leave.

When I got out there, I noticed Naruto was already dressed for bed so I slowly took off my flack jacket and I folded my headband and put it next to his. Next I took off my leg warmers and I was careful with my leg weights because they could have fallen straight through the floor if I hadn't. Then, I slowly took off my spandex, revealing my underwear. My face was boiling hot as I cautiously climbed into bed with Naruto. And all I could think about was how badly I wanted to go take a cold shower.

I don't think I've ever felt so awkward in my life, but I tried to stay calm. It was just a sleepover...

Naruto was asleep long before me. The moon was already above the apartment before I fell asleep. We both woke up at sunrise and had to eat ramen, since that was all he had... well, that and some severely expired milk, so I opt for water.

After that, we got dressed and I was shocked to see he didn't wear underwear under his pajamas!

I was still somewhat uncomfortable as I mechanically left for training.

What did this mean? My feelings were far beyond friendship. That I knew. What I didn't know is what exactly it was I felt for him. I admired him. I cared about him and I never wanted to be without him. It sounded so familiar... almost like love... but that was just unfathomable! Naruto was another man! That would just be wrong!

Then again, I had woken up with a huge hard-on, but that had to have been something else. Some sort of... fluke... Yeah, that was it!

But I knew better. I cried silently as I continued toward the training ground.

I made sure to wipe my eyes before walking into training. Just as I'd expected, there was Gai-sensei. He turned and waved to me, "Good morning, Lee!"

"Morning, sensei!" I called back. Even he couldn't cheer me up right now.

I knew he could sense my depression though. When I was a kid, he used to be able to sense it from a mile away, so I wasn't surprised when he confronted my this time.

"Are you okay, Lee?" he asked me.

"Yes, Gai-sensei, I am fine..."

"You don't look it."

"I just did not get much sleep last night, that is all."

"Are you sure?"

That was the first time I'd ever yelled at Gai-sensei. I called him words I didn't even know I knew... words far beyond insulting.

He stared at me in an expression I'd never seen.

"S-sensei..." I said but he stopped me.

"N-no, forget about it. It's okay." He said the words but he didn't mean them. I saw the hurt in his eyes. Just out of nervous reaction, I began to cry. I couldn't believe what I had said to him.

I ran off. It was all because of Naruto! If he hadn't made me stay at his house I never would have sworn at Gai-sensei!

I had never been so pissed off in my life.

I broke into Naruto's apartment to find he was gone, so I began wrecking the place. Looking for something that would help me get back at him.

After three hours, I still found nothing. His apartment was a mess and it look as if he'd been robbed. I didn't feel angry anymore. Just guilty.

I began cleaning up, making everything look better than it had before I wrecked the place.

Surprisingly, Naruto still wasn't home after that... So I left to find Gai-sensei. I had to apologize.

I opened the door to my sensei's apartment; he'd given me a key long ago.

It was dark and silent. Too quiet for him...

I took a deep, shaky breath. I knew it was late enough for him to be home, but... maybe he just went to the bar!

After a moment I took a step inside and closed the door behind me.

"Sensei! Are you here?!" I called out but got no reply.

I kept going, slowly. A chill came over me and I noticed that his bedroom door was closed. I ran to it and banged on it as hard as I could, "Sensei! Please! Open up! I did not mean what I said, just please let me in!"

I was trembling and nearly crying now.

I gulped before I broke his door down and what I saw shocked me. I couldn't move. I was terrified... because it was all my fault.