I awoke to a sharp tapping on my bedroom window. I blinked opened my eyes, letting them adjust to the light of dawn, and sat up in bed. Pulling aside my violet curtains, I saw Lee sitting on the tree branch by my room. He waved and I pulled the window open.

"Good morning, Lee," I yawned drowsily.

"Sorry if I woke you up," he apologised.

I shook my hand, "No, it's fine."

He reached down and took something off of the lower branch. He pulled it up and handed me my backpack. "You took this off out in the forest... I came back to give it to you."

I suddenly remembered what had happened last night. Thinking it over I smiled a bit inside. I'd finally gotten the chance to show Lee my real powers!

He looked at me curiously. "Is there something wrong?"

I laughed, "No, I'm great! Thank you Lee."

He scratched his head, "Well, Neji and I are going to be fighting later. You're gonna come watch, right?"

"Of course I am!" I assured him, "Wouldn't miss it!"

He grinned. "Great! Well, I'll see you then."

"Ok. Bye, Lee!" He hopped off the tree and ran towards the woods for last minute training.

I sighed and zipped open my backpack. The black cloth was folded neatly and placed on top. Smiling to myself, I closed it and got dressed.


I stepped into the training grounds to find Neji, practicing his Byakugan.

"Where's Lee?" I asked.

He shrugged, "Who knows? Probably off with Gai somewhere."

"No, Gai's on a mission today, remember? I bet he just wants to train alone for a while."

I picked up a kunai and threw it at Neji. He snatched it in mid-air and tossed it on the ground, "Too easy. Beating Lee later will be simple."

"Don't get so cocky... I bet Lee has a few tricks up his sleeves." 'Or, at least, I hope he does,' I thought to myself.


The sun was inching towards the horizon as I pulled a watch out of my back pocket. It was 5:54 and there was still no sign of Lee.

Neji leanned against a tree, "He better not be chickening out on me..."

"Don't worry he'll come," I thought. Right on cue, Lee jumped out of the woods and landed on a rock.

"Well, it's about time," Neji said.

Lee put his fist up to his face, "Alright, Neji, I'm here! Shall we begin?"

I jumped onto the bough of a tree where I wouldn't be in their way. Lee made the first move.

He ran towards Neji. Neji put his guard on his frontside, and Lee swiftly moved behind him. He was about to hit him when Neji grabbed his wrist. He tried to hit Lee's stomach, but Lee got out of his grip and ducked.

Neji did his Heavenly Spin thingy, (forgot the name, sorry!) and Lee did a backflip to get out of the way. He reached down and took the weights off of his legs. Then he moved at full speed, running around Neji. My eyes couldn't see him, but Neji's probably could.

As Lee ran, he undid the wraps around his arms. He swung them towards Neji, who tried to grab them with his hands, but they just swung themselves arond his arms. Lee sprinted at him and tried to punch, but he jumped into the air and put his leg towards the sky so he could grab a knife with his mouth. Then he chopped the bindings off of his wrists.

Neji made a move this time. He came at Lee and tried to hit him. Now, it was just a one-on-one fist fight. They blocked, dodged, and threw punches at each other, struggling to get a hit. Neji finally got Lee in the stomach, and he coughed up a little blood. He wasn't hurt too badly, but he got back so he could make a next move.

He made an important choice, and took a deep breath. He rose his arms in front of his face his skin began turning red and his eyes turned white.

"Third gate, open!" He shouted. I could almost feel his chakra in the air. I trembled at this power... so this was the Lotus? Lee'd told me about it before, but Neji and I had never seen it. Now, even the great Hyuuga Neji staggered at this amazing technique.

"Fourth gate, OPEN!" the wind and flying rocks made it almost impossible for me to see what was happening. When it cleared away a bit, Neji was floating in the air, and I couldn't find Lee. He imerged from the dust and tackled Neji from one side. The ground shook, and he hit him again. He did this over and over, and Neji was helpless to do a thing.

"FIFTH GATE, OPEN!" Lee said as he spun in mid-air and hit Neji in the stomach. Neji flew towards the ground, but Lee's arm wrappings had a firm grip on him. Lee pulled him back and hit him one last time.

Neji hit the ground in a crash, and so did Lee. The dust and sand in the air cleared away, and Neji was bleeding and unconcious in a deep pile of rubble. Lee was still awake, but his muscles were torn and he couldn't stand.

I got out of the tree. The earth was cracked and alot of trees snapped in half. I got into the hole in the ground and pulled Neji out by the arms. I put him down and decided he needed quick medical attention.

I heard a thunk from the edge of the grounds. Gai-sensai was here looking shocked at all three of us.

"G-Gai-sensai!" I stammered, "I-I thought that you were on a mission!"

"I just got back," he told me, "What happened here??" He ran to Lee's side and layed him on the ground.

"Gai-sensai..." Lee said, "I'm sorry. I used that move..."

Gai put his arms around him, "It's ok, Lee. I'll make an exeption just this once."

Lee smiled and sobbed, "Gai-sensai! ... I did it... I beat Neji! I really won!"

I lifted Neji off of the ground and brought him over. Gai put him down and inspected him, "He needs to get to a hosptal. I'll take him there now. Lee, you need to come too,

but I can't carry you both... just stay here with Kyonai until I get back."

Lee nodded and tried to ease himself back onto the ground. I walked over to him and helped. I put his head in my lap and he smiled up at me. I ran my fingers through his hair, "Oh, Lee... I'm so proud of you..." He reached up and put a warm hand on my cheek. I bent down and kissed him on the lips. It was like magic.