Back to some development for Lee. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: First story interlude is written by Kamikashi


Father – Interlude

First story

Chapter 1: Alcohol hollows the head…

(If the head is hollow, there is more space for alcohol)

Afternoon. Rock Lee was uneasy. He had been training with his Sensei in order to distract his mind, but he was worried every time she was on a mission. As a result, he tried to distract himself with harsh training sessions (800 kicks, 900 punches, 10 times running around the village…) from the fact that he suffered of a feeling of being alone without his "little Kitten", his girlfriend, Neko-chan, who he had been dating for 7 1/2 months already. (The common form of dating Neko-chan, however, was a harsh taijutsu training session, followed by "something" more passionate).
As he returned to his parents' place in order to take a shower, the daylight was still bright. He was aware of the fact she would return at sunset, but these few hours until dusk, he knew, would feel like days. Consequently, he decided to wander the hospital gardens to wait for sunset. While doing so, he started a conversation with Sakura-san who was sitting on a bench, severely depressed since Naruto's death two months ago. (Note: It is late January.)
"Good evening, Sakura-san. How do you do?"
"I'm fine, thank you, Lee. What are you doing on the hospital grounds?"
"I am waiting for Neko-chan; she is supposed to come home at sunset. Anyway, you do not sound like you are okay. What is wrong with you?"
"I do not want to talk about it right now." Sakura turned her head away.
Lee analysed quickly her reaction, just as Nekomata taught him, and concluded that it was better to leave her be today. But he still wanted to offer some help. "All right. As Nekomata said and as I promised, if you ever feel alone, you can always talk to one of us."
Sakura turned her head back to him, surprised but grateful. "Thank you, Lee-san", she answered in a low voice before they separated.

Evening was rising already as Yakushi Nekomata and her team comrades Maguro Tetsuya, Takahata Kazemaru and Toyama Ryudo reached the village main gate. Toyama said good night before rushing home, clearly wishing to take a bath, for he was covered with dirt and dust. The younger ninja grinned, still remembering how the Ex-ANBU managed it to fall straight on his nose from a tree on their way back, and made their way to their favourite restaurant, the »Konoha Yakitori« opposite of the Konoha hospital.
At the same time as the guys wanted to order Sake already, Nekomata dashed away without an explanation. "Oh, no! Great Gods, I nearly forgot him! I'll be right back, guys!"
"What the hell was that, Kazemaru?" Tetsuya was too tired to really use his brains.
Kazemaru, on the other hand, knew exactly which boy she meant. "She forgot to tell her boyfriend that every time we return from a mission we eat here. I guess that she is picking him up. But it is getting annoying this time. Waiter – two servings of Sake and two Konoha-Sake! And the big combo plate for do-it-yourself grilling!" – "Yes, sir!" A minute later, the waiter put four drinking cups on the table.
"What are you planning, Kazemaru?! You know that she is…"
"Punishment. She is always saying Lee is, Lee says, Lee does. And then she forgets her friends about it."
"But…"
"Nekomata's place is exactly opposite of this place, just behind the hospital. They won't have a long way home."
Tetsuya sighed. "Okay then, but you are going to pay the bill."
"Sure thing." Kazemaru was grinning nastily but stopped it because the Odd Couple arrived. "Good evening, psychos. How about dinner?"
"Good idea, lunatic. Did you order the drinks already?" Nekomata answered in the same manner and sat down with Lee opposite of the two pranksters.
"Here you are." Kazemaru gave them the two servings of Konoha-Sake. "Cheers!"
The problem with Konoha-Sake was that it was much stronger than ordinary Sake but at the same time it intoxicates even drunken masters (Suiken users) much slower than normal Sake. It also tasted, if drunken warm, like green jasmine tea, making it a common hoax of young Konoha ninja in order to get a friend easily drunken. The four shinobi drank up and Kazemaru ordered another round with exactly the same beverages for exactly the same persons.
While drinking, the friends discussed the last mission, having great fun remembering their Sensei's poor performance on their way back. "Could you imagine this, an Ex-ANBU not watching his step?" Nekomata remarked, already slightly drunken.
Lee shook his head, laughing. "The last time I saw something like this, my Sensei was doing his hobby: jump training." But suddenly, the world turned upside down for a second to him. "Am I just tired or what is happening to me?" he thought suspiciously.
Jokes and crazy stories were told at the table while they were grilling and eating Yakitori. As Nekomata was drinking the next cup with what she was mistaken for green tea, she suddenly felt quite disorientated. "What the hell…?"
She couldn't even finish the thought, because all out of a sudden, Lee stood on his seat, ready for fighting, screaming: "Achoo!" The young man started to kick up a racket and to demolish the restaurant, clearly being intoxicated. The two male shinobi got up from their seats in order to calm Lee down.
"What the hell… I didn't know that he is a drunken master too!" Kazemaru was clearly frightened, especially because Neko-chan's sense for challenge and her drunken master instincts kicked in, causing her to duel her boyfriend. "Hell ya!"
"Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore! Move it!" Tetsuya shouted. "We have to get them back to the house of Neko-san!" Tetsuya and Kazemaru got up, trying to push the two drunken taijutsu masters to the entrance. "Otherwise it will be truly dangerous around here! Waiter, please send the bill later! We will be right back!"
Just in this moment Lee dodged a kick of his girlfriend who hit the door instead, effectively ripping, tearing out the door out of its frame. With light close combat attacks, the two non-drunken ninja led the medical ninja back to her home, being followed step-by-step by Lee. That was actually harder than it sounded, since both were known as the fastest Jo-nin of the sixth generation of Konoha, making it difficult to deal with them. And the Suiken affinity of both of them made it rather tricky to predict their movements. In effect, Tetsuya and Kazemaru were dodging the Suiken users as they opened the gate of the Yakushi manor, leading the two Suiken masters into the Four Pillars dojo.
"We did it! Ouch!" Kazemaru was grazed by one of Nekomata's kicks before he and Tetsuya ran away from the heated duel.
As they reached the hospital grounds again, Tetsuya collapsed, exhausted. "THAT'S why I never try to get Yakushi-san drunken, Baka. It's much too dangerous! And I also know what will happen now…"
"Yeah, I know, I know. It was my stupid idea, I'll pay for it. Anyway… how about dinner?" Kazemaru asked breathless.
Tetsuya snorted. "You are not going to change, are you?!"
"Nope."
"Okay, but as I said before: You pay." The pair returned to the Konoha Yakitori, leaving the chaos behind.

It was half past five in the morning. Yamato walked towards the room of his heiress in order to look after her since he had found a hole in the roof surrounding the dojo, knowing that the »training session« yesterday had been unusually heated, even in the eyes of THESE two.
As he stood in front of her room, he stumbled over a porcelain cup on the floor. "What on earth…" Yamato picked it up, sniffing at it. The characteristic smell of cold Konoha-Sake reached his nose and he lifted his head. Two holes, formed like punches, were in the paper of the bedroom door. He sighed. "Looks like her friends played an awful prank on them. Well, I guess I should leave them alone." He turned away and made himself ready for duty.

Lee awakened quite heavy-headed. "Gods, have I been drunk yesterday? Where am I?" he thought, disorientated. Then he felt silk on his naked skin. "This must be Neko-chan's room. Where is…" Slowly, he turned his head, trying not to awaken her. "As always, just by my side... phew." Carefully he sat up, but the movement caused her to awaken.
"Mm… ow, my head. That feels just like the last time my father hit me."
"Good morning, Little Kitten. How do you do?"
"I have a headache and I cannot remember what we have been doing yesterday. The last thing I remember is the restaurant. But by the fact that our clothes are scattered all over the room, I guess we've done it quite wild." She got up and started to dress up. "How do you feel, Lee-kun? If you have a headache, I have got the right medicine in my personal storage room."
"Yes, please." Lee picked up his clothes and changed into them.
Five minutes later the two sat at the kitchen table with breakfast and an anti-hangover tea.
Lee was puzzled. He couldn't remember that they had drunken alcohol at all yesterday.
"How is it possible to get drunk without drinking alcohol, Neko-chan?"
"I guess that what we had drunken yesterday was not tea but warm Konoha-Sake, Lee-kun. Usually it's served warm, and in this state not even I can tell the difference between green tea and this kind of sake. I know this kind of joke quite well, but… in any case, even the best medical ninja cannot tell the discrepancy between warm Konoha-Sake and green jasmine tea. Well, I guess it cannot be helped."
They finished breakfast and left, again challenging a new day.