A collection of one-shots about the secret lives of our favorite characters. I'll be writing one every day or every other day. If you have any requests for new characters to do, please input it into a review. I may or may not do the character depending on my feelings about the character. Leave suggestions, critiques, flames, etc in a review, and I'll reply when I have time to.

After years of fighting to the death with each other, they each thought they knew each other. But did they really? Everyone has their own secrets, and the Rookie 12 are no exceptions. Collection of one-shots. Dark. Mentions of cutting, rape, abuse, etc. Ratings may go up.

.:The Secrets Within:.

.:Lee: Reject:.

(I know most of you don't read author's notes, but read the ones at the bottom. IMPORTANT.)

"Drop down! 300 push ups, pronto!" Gai-sensei barked at us.

I noticed Tenten and Neji cringing from the corner of my eyes, but I ignored. them. Instead, I stood up, reaching my full height, and saluted my sensei. "Yes sir!" I fell to the ground in push up position, my face directly hovering above Gai-sensei's feet, and immediately embarked on my training. Seeing my youthful enthusiasm—and not to be outdone,—my fellow teammates dropped next to me, although with a few feet of space in between ourselves. "If I cannot complete the task given to me, I will run 400 laps around Konoha! If I cannot do that, I will do 500 pull ups until an entire forest of trees are destroyed!"

I looked up briefly to see Gai-sensei's proud grin, a warm bubbling feeling rousing in my chest. "That's the spirit, Lee! If you can't do the push ups, I will do your punishments with you!"

A few tears pricked the corners of my eyes. "Gai-sensei..." I pushed myself even harder, calling out numbers while I completed push ups at an alarming rate. "47! 51! To help myself, I will kiss your shoes each time I go down! 64!" I concentrated on sensei's ninja sandals and allowed my lips to make contact with them a few times before Gai quickly pulled away.

"...That's okay, Lee. I know you can finish them even without motivation..." Neji and Tenten looked at me incredulously and disgustedly. I stared back at them with pursed lips. "And you two!" his voice boomed. "What are you staring at? You aren't going to be done by sundown at this rate!"

Tenten scoffed, but continued to do her push ups and Neji struggled to keep a cool, stoic face on as he did the same. Sweat already began to pour down my face. It was times like this when I disliked my jade-hued jumpsuit. Sure, it was comfortable, flexible, and fit for kings, but the material clung to skin and made it increasingly hot. But something like that wouldn't put me down. Gai-sensei never gave up on his shinobi gear, and I won't either.

My name is Rock Lee, and I am known as the Beautiful Green Wild Beast of Konoha, alongside my jounin sensei, Maito Gai, the Sublime Green Beast of Prey. I am the only ninja known to have past the genin exams without having a single score above zero in the ninjutsu and genjutsu portions of the test. It's a well-known fact throughout the shinobi nations that I was born unable to use chakra due to my chakra coils being too overdeveloped and expanded.

"You see that kid?" a slightly chubby boy whispered to his friend in the sandbox. He pointed straight at a 12-year-old Rock Lee, making it impossible for Lee to not notice, however oblivious he is. "He failed the academy tests for the second time last week. Can you believe it? What an idiot!" Lee tried to ease down his disappointed frown as he sat dejectedly on a swing, swaying slightly from side to side. This swing was the same swing that Naruto and Shino often desolated themselves at. Perhaps it called to loners and losers like himself. Maybe it called to rejects like himself.

Suddenly, a warm, firm hand patted Lee's shoulder, almost comfortingly. Startled, he leaped off his swing and placed himself in a makeshift fighting position, a determined look on his face. The owner of the hand chuckled, revealing himself to be a young man in his mad 20's wearing a green spandex jumpsuit. He had lots of orange warmers (which were really weights, as Lee later learned) and bandages. His most prominent features were his bowl cut and glistening, white teeth that showed when he grinned. "Whoa there! You have great reflexes; I applaud you." Lee almost smiled proudly, but he didn't let his guard down. "My name is Maito Gai. After what I've heard and seen about you, the Hokage and I have decided to allow you to pass the Genin exams."

Rock Lee shot up his eyebrows. "W-what?" He hoped that the mysterious, odd-looking, yet environmental man wasn't just playing around with him. Being a shinobi was his life-long dream. He was tired of admiring them from afar as they hopped from rooftop to rooftop. He was sick of hearing bedtime stories about the legendary ninjas by the orphanage patron. He wanted to experience being a ninja. Lee couldn't exactly put a finger on the feeling, but it was exhilarating at times.

"Yeah, you heard right! I've decided that you would make a great taijutsu specialist, like I am. You can't mold chakra, so it's the best alternative you can get. I can tell that you'll be a natural at it, too. So...do you accept my offer?"

Lee rapidly nodded his head, eager to please the elder of the two. His dream was coming true! "But heed my warning," Gai said somberly. "This will not be a breeze. You don't become legend simply overnight. Power and strength and knowledge all come through hard work and practice and a little bit of determination helps too."

Lee listened to his new sensei and took careful note of every little thing he said, storing them for future use. As he walked back to the orphanage that day, his heart felt much lighter, but at the same time, a little bit heavier. His new sensei, Maito Gai. He seemed a tad bit familiar, but Lee couldn't exactly pinpoint where he'd seen him. As more Lee spent more time with his Genin team, the memories flew back at him. He knew why Gai seemed familiar. He remembered.

Gai-sensei has impacted my life to a degree that I cannot sum up. He is my role model, my one source of admiration and idolization. I see his faults, and I accept them. He has taught me so much in the few months that I've known him.

I don't blame him anymore. At first I did, but not anymore. I understand why he did what he did. He was young and even God makes mistakes. I forgive him, and I'll treasure every moment that I can get with him.

My name is Rock Lee, and my darkest secret—the secret that I want no one to know—is that I remember the exact moment when my father, Maito Gai, looked at me with solemn eyes as he abandoned me at the age of four at the doorsteps of Konoha's orphanage.

Don't worry guys, I'm alive. Don't kill me, or else I won't be able to update! Anyways, my family and I went on a week-long vacation and just got back yesterday. We had no wi-fi or computer access. (How did I survive?) ; - ; Anyways, I have to go back to summer school to finish my extra credit plus my summer reading assignments, so I won't update as fast as before. At the end of each chapter, I'll request a number of reviews and once that quantity is fulfilled, I'll upload a new fic. :3

POLL TIME! I'm planning to make a multi-chaptered sequel (or more) for this story. Basically, the sequel has an actual plot (with each team member finding out each other's secrets), action, character development (hopefully), and more. However, this only applies for ONE team, Team Seven as of now. If that sequel becomes successful, I might do another team. Vote via review or profile poll to pick the next team I should do for one of my sequels. Btw, special thanks to rockmusica426 for giving me some ideas for this. (:

Which team (besides Team Seven) should I do for my sequel after Team Seven?

1. Team Kurenai (Kiba, Hinata, Shino)

2. Team Gai (Rock Lee, Neji, Tenten)

3. Team Asuma (Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji)

Next Chapter: Hyuuga Neji
Review Counter to Update: 15 (so two to go...)

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