"Lee, what would you say if I told you I had figured out the jutsu to send you home?" Aya stood over Lee with her hands on her hips, feet splayed as she grinned down at him. Lee raised his head from the grass where he had been cooling down from a hard day's training, and he looked at her with raised brows.
"I would say that I have heard that before," he said slowly as he made his way to his feet. Despite his best efforts, his heart began to race. "Why should this time be different?"
She refused to let him take away her grin. "By the Mirror, watch yourself," she swore lowly. "You haven't had me trying to send you home until now. I'm going to get rid of you." Lee fought against the upward tugging of his lips but failed to prevent the grin from splitting his face. "See, you're excited too," his teammate accused.
"Yes, yes, if you say so," he muttered, waving her away with a soft smile. Immediately, his voice dropped to whisper as he met her large eyes. "Are you certain, though?"
"Yes."
The lighthearted joy in his heart dampened as he bit his lip. "I, uhm, I will go get my things then." He blinked as he turned toward their shared apartment. The apartment that would soon be hers alone. "Aya?"
"Hmm?"
"Help me pack?"
She smiled and shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't. I have to prep the ritual," she explained as she gave his hand a quick squeeze. "I'll see you at the temple, okay?" He nodded, his lips a thin line. "Don't look like that," she chastised with a gentle smack to his cheek.
He tried pouting, but still she left him. So, he jogged to their two-bedroom apartment and simply stood in the doorway. His eyes welled with tears as he forced himself forward to take a final tour of his current home. His single bag could not hold all the belongings that he had amassed over time. He would have to leave some things behind. He tried to be reasonable, tried to pick things that he might truly need. Due to a recent growth spurt, he knew his clothes in Konoha would no longer fit. Into the bag went a couple of uniforms. He was proficient with his manriki-gusari, so he had to take it – never mind that it was a gift from Aya and their sensei, Daichi Hachirou. His bag was quickly filling up, and yet, he had so many other items he wished to take.
Sinking on to his bed with a defeated sigh, he ran a hand over his eyes. He was settled here. Once again, he was going to have to leave his life behind. But I am returning to my old life, he reminded himself as he leaned to pull from his nightstand a picture of him and Aya on the training field together. He would take the picture, but everything else would have to stay. He did not need all of his books; anything he did not know by now would simply have to remain a mystery. And he could not fit nearly any of his civilian clothes into the bag. No, nothing else would be returning to Konoha with him.
He gave their home one last longing look before locking the door behind himself and setting off for the temple on the other side of the village. He wished he could have used that stroll as a reflective moment to gather his thoughts on who he was leaving behind, all that he had learned, his own sense of the Reflection of Soul. But instead, he found himself dragging his feet through the streets that had rapidly become his home.
"I am not ready to go," he whispered to himself, tears rolling down his cheeks. All too soon, he was standing before the temple, walking inside, standing before the altar once more. How many times had he walked down that corridor and stood in this very same spot? How many scholars had assured him that they could send him back to Konoha?
"Lee," his teammate greeted him as she straightened a row of items across the raised stone. If she noticed his tears, she spared him the shame of mentioning them.
"Will this work, Aya?" Lee scanned the items laid before the Doorway with frank skepticism. "Nothing has worked before."
The girl tossed her hair over her shoulder with a scoff. "That's because they haven't had me helping them. Have some faith in me, Lee. No one wants you gone more than I do." She smiled softly at the boy, and he felt a pang in his chest. She does not mean that, he reminded himself sadly.
"If you are right, I will be forever in your debt. I will—I can…" He shook his head and she laid her hand on his shoulder.
"You'll go live your life in your village. And name your first kid after me," she added with a wink before beginning the jutsu. Lee stood back and watched her hands fly through the symbols he had seen so many times over the last four years. She is incredible, he thought with another pang of pain.
The Doorway began to shimmer, the empty space solidifying and reflecting their own images. Lee watched the tears begin to swim in his large doe eyes before meeting his friend's crimson eyes in the Mirror.
"Aya," he began, but she cut him off with a dismissive wave of her hand.
"No tearful goodbyes, Lee. Go home. It's about damned time."
I love you. He heard it in her words, had seen it in her hand signs as she opened the Doorway.
"I love you too," he said softly, giving her hand a squeeze before stepping through the solid Mirror before him. His last sight of the Village Hidden behind the Mirror was Aya smiling wistfully and massaging her palm.
On the other side, everything was as it had been. An ancient temple, signs of old and new battles. How long had he been gone from this world? Had anyone missed him? He touched his chest as he felt the renewed sense of loss. His friends in the Village Hidden behind the Mirror, gone from him – beyond his reach forever more. This homecoming will be bittersweet, he realized as he touched the jitsu mark hidden beneath his wrist wraps.
With a wistful smile, he made his way from the temple to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Mirror, I hope I have not been gone too long. Please do not let it have been a century or long time like that, he begged as he walked the familiar trails. Once, he had imagined that he would run as fast as he could to reach the village and show his teammates that he was alive. Show his sensei. The thought of Guy made his feet almost drag. How was he going to explain his experiences to everyone? To Guy? If anyone is still alive, he thought morbidly.
After what could have been a lifetime, he stepped through the village gate. He recognized the faces standing guard; many of the same faces had been at the gate the last time he left the Leaf Village: Kotetsu, Izumo. His spirits began to rise. It could not have been too long!
The shinobi gaped at him as he headed for the Hokage's office. In his heart of hearts, he believed he should go straight to his team, but he recognized that they could be on assignment without him -or dead but that thought was shoved aside- and the Hokage would want to know he was back, if anyone knew he had been gone. The Hokage can also answer my questions, hopefully!
He jogged up to Lady Tsunade's office and knocked on the door, perhaps a touch harder than intended in his haste.
"Naruto…"
He heard the low warning tone through the wood and opened the door. Lady Tsunade and Shizune shared a shocked look as he sprang through the doorway.
"Rock Lee reporting for duty, ma'am!"
