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Italics are flashbacks and thoughts to oneself
Bold is Demon's talking
Bold Italic is the demon holders talking back to the demons
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Disclaimer: Is Lee getting chased by Seme's that want him as their Uke? No? Then I don't own Naruto.
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Title: Ikiryou
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Lee got home to see Naruto still sleeping. He woke his kitten up with an hour still left before the meeting time and got him to shower while he made breakfast. They ate together and roof hopped to the bridge and saw Sakura already there and Sasuke walking up.
Lee was glad for this, he'd rather spend time with these three than thinking about what happened just an hour earlier.
"Good morning Lee!" Sakura said with a bright smile, making Lee smile back at her.
"Good morning Sakura-chan." He said, stroking her hair when he was close enough.
"Hn…morning." Sasuke mumbled
"Good Morning Sasuke-kun." Lee said, a tad amused.
Lee went to the rail next to Sakura and lifted himself up on it. He sat on the railing and smiled when Naruto took a seat right in front of him. He closed his legs enough to lightly touch Naruto's shoulders and kept them like that.
"Lee?" Sakura suddenly said, her voice lifting with a question.
"Yes?" Lee turned his head towards her to give her his attention.
"Not that I'm unhappy or ungrateful…I wanted to ask, why are you with Team Seven? Don't you have a team of your own?" She asked
"I do, Team Gai to be specific. We were the only team to pass last year." Lee said, "It was not my original intention to be here, I was meant to just come along when you three upgraded to C-rank missions. It is Kakashi's fault that I am here now. I find myself invested with all three of you and not just Naruto now."
"Invested?" Sakura questioned and Lee nodded,
"I want to make sure all of you get stronger. You are newly minted shinobi. I do not wish for any of you to get hurt." Well, he didn't exactly care about Sasuke but he cared about Naruto and Sakura was quickly becoming adorable and dear in his eyes.
"…Are you strong?" Sasuke suddenly asked, his eyes intent on Lee.
Lee tilted his head, feeling that flash of amusement again. He slightly wanted to call Sasuke foolish for actually asking him but he chuckled instead.
"What is strength really? Physical or mental? Or are you speaking about the elusive emotional sort?" Lee questioned and Sasuke frowned.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"There are different types of strength. Physical is obvious, it is the amount of strain your body can go through without giving up. It is by far the weakest out of the three."
"How is physical strength weak?!" Sasuke cut in, his frown turning into a scowl.
"Because it is nothing without the other two. Now do not interrupt, it is very rude." Lee lightly scolded then looked back at Sakura as he played with Naruto's hair. He could tell the blond was listening by how his head was tilted towards them.
"The second is mental strength. It is the strain your mind can go through. Physical strength is nothing if your mind is broken by a genjutsu or seeing something happen that is truly horrendous." Lee paused and looked at all three before taking a breath and continuing.
"Third and the most important is emotional strength. Only with emotional strength are you able to combined each type and bring out the best in yourself. Physical strength is nothing if you are too scared to act and mental strength is only gained if you have the courage to continue no matter what."
"Do you have all three?" Naruto asked, leaning back and looking up at Lee. Lee smiled and ran his fingers through Naruto's hair once more.
"That is a very good question, my little sun." Lee said, "I can only say that I hope I have the right kind. You see, emotional strength is very tricky. One can have fear or anger instead of courage and still fight because they are so very afraid of the consequence of not succeeding or too angry to think of anything else. That can be just as damaging as not having any at all… that is why you need a team, a family to place your trust in."
"How is anger bad…?" Sasuke asked, his tone slightly slow and hesitant but well hidden.
"Because…anger can get everyone killed. It can lead you and those you love into a situation where only death is freedom…Sometimes you will not even get that option either."
Sakura shuddered and shifted on her feet, her expression easily giving away her unease. Sasuke's expression cleared and he just stared blankly at the ground in thought. It took a while, but suddenly Naruto was standing, grinning like always.
"Don't worry about that! I'll get all three, just you wait! I'm gonna be Hokage after all, and I'll protect my family! Believe it!"
"Believe it I do." Lee said, his tone as fond as his smile. Even Sakura smiled and she said,
"Good luck, Naruto."
The grin that lit Naruto's face was like the sun itself and Lee felt that warmth inside him again.
For the rest of their time, they sat waiting. Sakura had somehow got Lee into a conversation about cooking; he couldn't really remember how –something about her being on a diet? He immediately told her how much of a bad idea that was.- but Lee found himself telling her how to get the best for her body without sacrificing anything. Even Naruto stuck up for him as he had been eating his cooking for the past multiple days. Though Sasuke didn't act as if he was listening, Lee knew he was as his head was tilted towards them.
Right when they were talking about vegetarian dishes that were tasty and still gave rounded nutrients needed, there was a poof and Kakashi was lifting a hand, saying "Yo."
"You're late." Sakura and Naruto said, looking at Kakashi with different expressions of annoyance.
Lee sighed and jumped off the railing when Naruto stood up. He looked at Kakashi but didn't say anything.
Then Kakashi said that they had a mission. Lee held back a wry smile as Naruto grew excited. It certainly wouldn't be what Naruto thought.
And Lee was right. Kakashi had gotten the Genin team a weed pulling mission.
This was going to take a while.
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Two D-rank missions later, Kakashi finally told them to meet at the same time and same place the next day. Lee's lips thinned in displeasure. He hadn't really participated in the Mission's. Only giving hints to Sakura so she could think of a way to get things done faster or just help in general. It did work though; she had Naruto create shadow clones to speed up the weeding. The next was a delivery which Sakura was able to read the map and she sent Sasuke to the furthest since he was the fastest, she told Naruto to go to the closest because she knew he'd forget where and that left the middle one for her.
Lee was proud of her for it. He kind of liked guiding them to make the right choices.
But now that the missions were done and Kakashi had left, Lee felt himself become disgruntled. Kakashi didn't even give them advice to train alone…
"Hold it." Lee said as the three began to walk away. When they turned back to him, Lee sighed and said, "The day is not over. You three are going to train now."
"Wha?! Are you gonna teach us, Kaa-chan?!" Naruto jumped in excitement and Lee had to smile.
"Yes, you will not get better on your own. To tell the truth, your teamwork still needs well…work." Lee said, "I want to know your strengths and weaknesses. Naruto, you first."
Naruto crossed his arms, trying to think. His first reaction was to say he was just the best but this was Lee, so he gave it his best thought. After a moment, he laughed and rubbed the back of his head, saying, "I don't know! I know I can't do a regular clone though..."
Lee noticed Sakura raising her hand and felt a rush of fondness. He nodded to her and she stepped up, slightly blushing as the boys looked at her.
"Um...I noticed-" Sakura paused then turned to Naruto, "I noticed that you have a lot of chakra, probably more than Sasuke-kun, but you don't have a lot of chakra control. So a lot of your chakra goes to waste."
"Really? Thanks Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned then suddenly looked confused, "Wait, what's chakra?"
At that, all three of them just stared at Naruto and it was Sasuke who sighed and said, "Dobe. They taught us in class." with a shake of his head.
"Hey! It's not my fault it was boring!" Naruto whined, frowning.
Lee rubbed his face in exasperation then looked at Sakura, "I am sure you know, correct? Will you tell Naruto in a way he can understand?"
Sakura nodded, "I know the textbook answer word for word but...Naruto."
"Yeah?"
"You know the blue glow that comes when you try to do jutsu? That's chakra, it's what allows you to do ninjutsu and genjustu. Chakra is also what keeps us alive. If you use all of it, you'll die from chakra exhaustion." She said.
"Ooh! Oh crap!" Naruto's expression turned to panic, "And I waste it?! I don't wanna die!"
"You will not die, Naru. I will teach you how to control it." Lee said, smiling when Naruto sighed in relief. Then he looked to Sasuke and motioned him to speak next.
"Best at Ninjutsu." Sasuke said, and when he didn't bother to say anything else, Lee gave him an unamused look. Sasuke frowned then grumbled, "...my arrogance."
"Better. I have the perfect training in mind for you Sasuke-kun." Lee said with an emotionless smile, but then his smile turned happy as he looked at Sakura next.
"You next, blossom." Lee said and Sakura looked surprised for a moment before smiling happily.
"I have near perfect chakra control and an almost eidetic memory. Iruka-sensei also said I'd be good at Genjutsu though I've never tried." Sakura looked almost proud but then sighed, "But I have low chakra reserves, low stamina, and I'm bad at Taijutsu."
Lee clapped his hands together and nodded, "Alright! All of that can be fixed with a bit of time and hard work. Especially if you are as good at chakra control as you say." He smiled, "Then again, we will find out soon as the first thing I want you three to do is climb a tree."
"But Kaa-chan, that's easy!" Naruto said, his expression matching the confusion in his tone.
"Not how I am thinking, because to climb, you are not going to use your hands." Lee said then sighed as the three looked at him confused.
"Well, we best get started now..." Lee said, feeling like this was going to take a while.
And it did.
He'd told them how to walk up the tree and even told them to start slow, to try sticking to the tree with their hands first. Sakura got it on the first try and walked up the tree with no problem. Luckily, They were still near the bridge and therefore the river so he instructed her to walk on water, giving her the hint that water wasn't stable like a tree, it was constantly changing. She got it on the first try again after dipping her foot first to test. So to keep her occupied and for her to stretch her reserves, he told her to jump on the water until she ran out.
He turned his attention onto the boys and grimaced at how badly they were doing. Sasuke was exploding the trunk with too much chakra and Naruto wasn't sticking at all or it was the opposite. Lee rubbed his face then went to them and told them how it was meant to feel. Like a tingling in their hands or feet depending on where they sent it. As if your limb had fallen asleep and blood was rushing back.
It was a little easier after that. They were able to stay for a bit but had to push off after a few steps only getting a little further each time.
Yes, this was going to take a while.
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It was nearing night by the time Sasuke and Naruto reached the top of the tree. Lee had Sakura show them how to walk up and pointed out how much her feet were glowing. After, Lee had pulled Sakura into a light sparing session -through it wasn't exactly light for her- while waiting.
When Lee heard his name be called, he turned and began laughing, "Well done boys!" he called out, staring at their figures that were balancing on the tree tops. He heard Sakura shout in happiness, a call of "Cha!" which he somehow knew he'd hear more often.
They jumped down and though they both looked dirty and sweaty, both were grinning, even Sasuke. Lee purred as pride rushed through him. All three of them had worked hard and he had liked showing them. It made him feel...good.
Lee gave into the urge and pulled all three of them into a group hug.
"Really, all three of you, great job. You have made me...proud." Lee said, smiling as Naruto and Sakura quickly hugged him back. Sasuke, who was in the middle, looked away but he didn't move away and Lee could see the little half smirk on his lips. Lee hugged them all tightly then let go and told them he'd walk them all home.
Sakura tried to say that he didn't need to but Lee wouldn't allow anything else to happen. So he, along with the boys, walked Sakura home first and even met her parents too. It was when both of them walked Sasuke home that Lee felt unease.
Lee stared at the much too big and much too empty Uchiha Clan residence. He frowned and stared before looking at Sasuke and suddenly deciding 'No.'. This would be some of the last nights Sasuke stayed in the empty -desolate really, it felt like a graveyard- complex.
Before leaving, Lee pulled Sasuke into a personal hug, holding him tightly. He felt the boy tense then slowly relax after a few moments. Hesitant arms wrapped around him and Lee smiled.
"Goodnight Sasuke-kun..." Lee whispered, pulling back enough to kiss Sasuke's temple before letting go. He smiled fondly as he saw Sasuke's red cheeks then turned away and took Naruto's hand.
"Let us go, Naru."
"Kay, kaa-chan." Naruto said, but when they were far enough, Naruto walked a little closer and slowly asked, "Kaa-chan...what was that about? With Sasuke?"
"...Naruto, how would you feel if I got a new place. Somewhere bigger?...Would you be willing to move in with me?" Lee asked instead of answering and had to stop after a step as Naruto wasn't following anymore. Lee looked back and saw Naruto staring at him with wide eyes. Naruto suddenly scrubbed at his eyes then grinned at Lee.
"That'd be awesome!" He said.
Lee smiled and pulled Naruto close, pressing a kiss to his head, "Wonderful. I want to live with you...but I realized that I want to extend the same offer to Sasuke."
"Huh? Why?"
"That place he lives in... There is no one else there Naru...and how that place feels...it reminds me of a graveyard." Lee said, his voice going quiet, "I do not think it is good for his mental or emotional health to live there."
Naruto looked like he was thinking even as he held on to Lee. Finally he nodded with a smile, "Okay, sounds good, Kaa-chan." then he got excited, "If Sakura-chan joins us, it'll be like the family you talked about!"
Lee laughed softly and nodded, "Yes, maybe we can convince her to spend the night many times. We can get her to consider our home a second one for herself."
"Yeah, it'll be the best too, believe it!"
"Believe it I do." Lee said with a smile, "But first we have to actually find a place. Come Naru, let's go back to the apartment for now, we'll get up early and look in the papers."
"Yeah!"
'If only Sakura did not have parents...'
Lee mentally froze though he had begun walking beside Naruto once more. Such a...horrible thought, but...he thought about it too. He didn't want to share the female of Team Seven with those people he didn't even know. They couldn't protect her like the boys could, like he could. She was vulnerable with them...
He hated it.
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