Yay I tricked my mom into giving me my computer back…for like one night. Oh well here's the next chapter.
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Gai was running happily through Konaha village. He dodged and ran between people to avoid hitting them but eventually crashed into someone.
"Sorry I…Oh it's just you."Gai said when he saw it was Kakashi.
"Nice to see you to Gai" Kakashi sighed as he got up off the ground and patted the dirt off his body. He bent down to pick up his book and flipped through the pages. "Aw you made me loss my place."
"Yeah whatever." Gai replied and tried to run past him but Kakashi stepped in front of him.
"So…Where you headed in such a hurry." Kakashi said, talking in a slow tone just to annoy Gai.
"Akiko's coming back from her mission. I want to see her as soon as he gets back." Gai said as he fidgeted impatiently.
"Gai…" Kakashi sighed as he put his book away into his vest. "There's something I need to tell you."
"You better not say you love me."
"What? NO! What's wrong with you!?" Kakashi yelled as Gai laughed. "It's important." Gai stopped laughing and listened.
"Listen, Akiko's not coming back." Kakashi said and Gai instantly frowned.
"Did her mission get extended?" He asked in a shaky voice but Kakashi knew he already knew the answer.
"No." Was all Kakashi said. Gai swallowed hard and looked to the side with wide, unbelieving eyes.
"This isn't funny Kakashi." Gai said, disbelievingly.
"I'm not laughing Gai." Kakashi said with an apologetic look. Gai was silent for a long time.
"I…Have to go…I'm late for training." He said quietly and started to walk away. Kakashi reached out for him but Gai just shrugged his hand away.
"I'm sorry this happened."
"It's fine." Gai said over his shoulder. "I mean it's a normal part of being a shinobi."
"Yes but Gai you…" Kakashi couldn't finish as Gai disappeared around the cornered of a building.
A heavy sob escaped Gai's throat as he fell to his knees on the path to his teams usual training ground. He clutched at his head and closed his eyes tightly shut to force back the tears that were starting to come up.
"This wasn't supposed to happen to her. She promised…She promised she wouldn't leave me." He said to himself, unable to believe that his beloved fiancé had been killed.
"Gai-sensei?" Gai quickly looked up and saw Lee. At the time Lee hadn't yet started to dress like Gai.
"Lee? What are you doing here?" He asked as he wiped the tears from his face and stood up.
"You were late and I got worried." Lee replied worriedly. "What is wrong? Why are you crying?"
"It's nothing. Please go tell Neji and Tenten that there's no training to day."
"Sensei…"
"It's nothing you need to worry about." Gai interrupted. "I just suddenly got a mission and I'm going to be gone for a couple of days." Lee had an unconvinced look on his face as Gai turned to leave. He suddenly didn't feel like training any more.
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"Akiko!" Gai yelled as he abruptly sat up. He sat there for a while gasping for breath until he realized it was a dream. He clutched a hand to his chest and sighed as his eyes filled with tears.
"Gai-sensei, are you okay?" Gai looked up and saw Lee walk out of the bathroom. His jumpsuit was only on up to his waist and he wore the same worried look he did all those years ago. Gai stared at him for a moment before forcing a smile.
"I'm fine. It was just a bad dream." He replied and Lee tried to smile back. Both of them suddenly started thinking about the night before.
"S-sensei…" Lee said quietly as he averted his gaze.
"Lee…It's probably better if we just forget about what happened last night." Gai said when Lee couldn't find the words he wanted to say. Lee stared down at his feet as he slowly nodded. Still looking at the ground he began to pull on the top half of his jumpsuit.
"I am going to get breakfast. Would you like me to wait for you?" Lee asked as he finally looked back up. To Gai's relief he was smiling again.
"No, go on without me. I'm going to do a few laps before breakfast." Gai replied as he got out of bed.
"Oh, okay." Lee replied and his smile wavered a bit. But before Gai noticed he was already out the door. As soon as Gai heard the door close he sat back down on the bed and buried his face in his hands with a sigh.
'Why didn't I ever notice he had these feelings for me?' He thought as he moved his hands further up to run his fingers through his hair. Although he didn't want to admit it he also had some kind of attraction to his ex-student. After all he was a very powerful shinobi and a very attractive young man. But he had his reasons as to why he couldn't allow a relationship between them.
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"Hey kid, are you going to buy anything?!"
"Huh?" Lee blinked and shook his head as he looked at the man standing behind the counter in front of him. "Oh sorry." He looked back down and stared at the array of bakery goods behind a glass case.
"I guess I will have that." He said as he pointed at a blueberry muffin. (Yay Muffin!) He pulled the money out of his pocket and handed it to the man as he pulled out the muffin. As he walked out of the small bakery he looked back at the hotel they were staying at longingly. He hadn't gotten much sleep at all the night before and was still exhausted.
As he raised his hand up to take a bite of his muffin something ran past and snatched it out of his hand. Lee didn't realize this until he felt he had bitten into nothing but air. He stared at his hand in confusion before looking around for the thief. When he turned around he was surprised to see who it was.
"You need to be on guard at all times. You shouldn't get so distracted." Gai said as he stared at Lee with a slightly disappointed look. But there was also a slightly teasing tone in his voice that Lee was barely able to pick up.
"Gai-sensei that is my breakfast." Lee whined as he reached forward and stole the muffin back. Gai laughed slightly as Lee pouted at him.
"Come on Lee join me in some morning exercise before we pack up and leave." Gai said.
"Yes sir." Lee replied with a smile and a nod. "If I cannot keep up with you the whole time then I will do 2,000 one handed pushups after!" Lee exclaimed before he shoved the muffin into his mouth and ran past Gai.
"Lee, don't run with your mouth full!" Gai yelled as he ran after him. It was an hour and about fifty laps later when Gai decided that was enough for their morning exercise.
"Alright, after a quick shower we should pack and get going. If we leave within the next half hour we should make it to the village by dark." Gai said as they both walked into the hotel room.
"You can shower first. I will start to pack." Lee said as he picked up his bag. Gai nodded and stepped into the small bathroom attached to their room. He turned the water on to a comfortable temperature and quickly stripped off his clothing before stepping in. Closing his eyes he sighed as the water cascaded down his shoulders and back. Again his mind began to wander back to the event that had happened last night.
He was so deep in his thoughts he didn't notice the door opening and closing. He didn't notice the quiet footsteps and the soft sound of fabric hitting the floor. He didn't realize the presence of another person until he felt a pair of lean arms wrapping around him from behind. Gai jumped slightly and looked over his shoulder to see that it was Lee.
"Lee, W-what are you doing?" He stuttered in surprise.
"There was not much to pack." Lee replied shyly as he rubbed his cheek against the older mans shoulder. "I thought it would be quicker if we both showered at the same time." Lee closed his eyes and Gai saw a faint blush spread across the younger mans cheeks as he tightened his arms around him.
"Alright, but I think you should let go." Gai said as he tried to gently pry Lee's arms from his body. Lee hesitated but did as he was told.
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After the shower everything once again went back to normal. After they had grabbed their stuff and checked out of the hotel they continued their mission.
"Gai-sensei do you know anything about the village we are going to?" Lee asked as he looked at a map of the area they were in.
"Not really. Why do you ask?" Gai replied as he looked over his shoulder at Lee.
"It is just…I have a strange feeling." Lee explained as he continued to stare at the map. "Like something bad might happen."
"Well this is a B-ranked mission. So we could be attacked at any time." Gai said as he looked straight ahead again.
"Yes but…" Lee trailed off in thought as he folded the map and put it away. He looked at Gai and a small sight escaped his lips. He couldn't explain why he felt so worried.
"By the way." He started to change the subject. "What happened with Akiko that was so bad that you would not ever love any one again?" Gai sighed slightly but didn't look back at Lee.
"It's not just her that's the reason Lee." Gai replied. Lee waited a few moments for more but Gai didn't say another word.
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Oooooo! What's this bad feeling Lee has? And what is the real secret behind Gai's past? Will it be answered in the next chapter? Maybe, maybe not.