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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.
A/N: For all those 'concerned' about Kakashi's relationship with Saku!Lee, I'll give you a little explanation here:
Kakashi doesn't feel attracted to Saku!Lee physically, it's all mentally since Saku!Lee doesn't act like a thirteen year old (Lee was fourteen at the exams and the rookie nine were a year younger than him. Right now, Lee is actually closer to Kakashi's age than anyone else). But even then, Kakashi isn't the most...emotionally aware. He doesn't actually realize what he is feeling. To put it in a way... He feels comfortable and at ease around Saku!Lee, there isn't any naughty feelings at all. He get jealous, yes, he doesn't want Saku!Lee to be taken away from him but he himself doesn't know why besides the fact that 'she' is his student (he doesn't feel like Lee is his student. Kakashi feels more like they are comrades, equal in 'power'). Kakashi will later know the truth and that will change things but for now, all he feels is 'protect her' and 'stay close to her' towards Saku!Lee. Lee on the other hand is helping Kakashi become more emotionally stable with how he treats his 'old friend'.
(But Kakashi does get easily flustered so i'm having fun with that)
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Title: Cherry Lotus
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Haruno Sakura
vs
Yakushi Kabuto
Lee stared at his stolen name then looked down the balcony to where Kabuto was. The boy was staring right back at him and Kabuto smiled. It looked like such a kind smile, but Lee knew what laid underneath it.
This wasn't the man who went back to the orphanage to make sure no child would become like him. No, this was the boy who still thought that the actual notions of good and evil made no sense. The one who would bring back the dead and cause a war that crippled them all and left them ill prepared for the one right after.
Lee should hate him, abhor the very thought of this boy...but he still remembered the real though so tired smile on Kabuto's face as they spoke about the children. The bags that formed under his eyes because he was fighting to make sure that the children didn't have to.
"Are you going to pass?" Shikamaru asked from his left and Lee felt Kakashi hand twitch then tighten around his right hand.
"Such little faith." Kakashi suddenly said, his voice relaxed in a way that told Lee that he was irritated instead of calm, "Of course she is."
Lee blinked in surprise and looked up at Kakashi, seeing the way his eye was curved into a fake smile. Then, He realized how Shikamaru's question would sound for something who didn't know. The question Shikamaru had been really asking was if he was going to throw the match or not.
Lee felt tingly at Kakashi's faith in him though.
"I know she can." Shikamaru bit out, looking at Kakashi with an analyzing gaze. His lips tugged into a slight frown before he sighed hard and looked at Lee instead.
-He couldn't let himself feel threatened by Kakashi, even though he knew Lee was closer to Kakashi's age than his own. He doubted Kakashi would do anything now, with him thinking that Lee really was Sakura...but Lee wouldn't keep everything a secret forever-
"It is all okay." Lee said, gently squeezing Kakashi's hand before letting go and smiling at Shikamaru, "I will not forfeit, there are too many things I need to do." he answered. Then he hugged Shikamaru tight because he was hesitant to fight Kabuto
-Why didn't he bow out? That question still ran through his mind over and over again but he forced it to stop. Now it was time to fight-
"I will be back." Lee said, aiming a smile at Shikamaru and all of Team Seven.
"Yes! Beat his ass Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered as Sasuke gave a firm nod. Lee giggled and turned, jumping over the railing to the ground below where Kabuto was waiting.
"Begin." Hayate said, jumping back after giving them the okay to fight.
There stood there for the moment. Kabuto stared and Lee's mind raced -he still fought like himself and Team Gai was there, watching. How was he supposed to do this?-. Then Kabuto smiled again.
"Ladies first?" Kabuto said, that perfected polite and charming smile on his face.
"...As you wish." Lee said, "Please try not to die."
Kabuto blinked, amusement flashing in his eyes before surprise. Lee vanished and his finely honed sense of danger had him lunging to the side almost desperately. The air was disturbed around him and there was a loud booming sound. Kabuto looked to see Lee standing in the middle of a small crater.
His eyes widened behind his glasses.
His information didn't tell him this.
What else had he missed?
Lee pulled half the chakra from his boots and gloves again, shoving it back inside his body as he vanished again. He stopped right in front of Kabuto, fist pulled back and finely covered with chakra as he let it fly. Kabuto coated his own arms with chakra as he barely got them up in time. Lee's fist hit true and Kabuto shot back and crashed into the wall. Lee followed immediately, using the dust to cover them both as he pinned Kabuto to the wall.
"I do not know why you decided to fight, but please forfeit. I do not want to hurt you, I am sorry." Lee whispered for only Kabuto to hear, frantic to get the words out before the dust settled. Kabuto's eyes locked on his and narrowed for a moment in confusion.
"Why?"
"I-...I cannot answer that." Lee said, feeling guilt. Why was he even taking this chance?! he should just knock Kabuto out now! "I am so sorry." Lee said, pulling back his arm again.
Kabuto's eyes widen and he kicked out, sending Lee away from him. Lee shot his hands out and used his arms like a spring board to flip into the air and land on his feet again. He forced himself not to for his regular attacking position and instead, he tried to think.
Lee kept his eyes on Kabuto and for a moment, Lee thought of creating his chakra scalpels and destroying the muscles in Kabuto's hands. If he did enough damage, he could make it so the man would never be able to preform another jutsu.
He would never be able to bring back the dead.
Lee pressed his lips together, his heart uncertain. Kabuto had been an enemy but...what did that even mean in the face of something worse? What were they, both Orochimaru, Kabuto, even Obito, when compared to Danzo.
He was so sure that Danzo was the start of everything. If only...if only it were possible to go back in time even further. He would do anything to make sure that his future never even had the possibility to exist.
Lee shuddered minutely then shifted scant centimeters away so Kabuto's thrown kunai wouldn't hit him. He stayed where he was, waiting for Kabuto to make the first move. Kabuto stared at him like he was a puzzle. Then he suddenly stood up straight and raised his hand.
"I forfeit." Kabuto said, a 'self-depreciating' smile on his lips.
It was fake, Lee could see it, because he could see something dark and eager in Kabuto's gaze as he stared. Then it was gone as he turned the smile to Hayate.
Hayate blinked, then nodded and said, "Then the winner is Haruno Sakura."
Lee froze for a moment before suddenly dashing forward -slow enough that Kabuto could see him- and grabbed Kabuto's arm before the young man could go up the stairs on the opposite side from him.
"Kabuto-kun." Lee got out, "Would you be willing to spar with me when we get out of here?"
His heart was thudding with anxiety as he waited for Kabuto's answer. He knew he surprised the boy, but he thought that maybe, if he could get closer to Kabuto, he could make sure the revival of the dead wouldn't happen.
-There was so much to do for the future and Lee was slowly getting the idea of what he could do. As soon as Tsunade came back, he would do it for sure. He will completely go away from what would have happened if it was Sakura instead of him-
"...I would like that." Kabuto suddenly answered, a smile on his lips that wasn't as kind as it looked. Still, Lee smiled back, relief showing in his eyes which made Kabuto curious but Lee stepped back and nodded to the boy and quickly went to his side of the large room where his team was.
"Great job, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled as soon as he got to their side.
"I can't believe he forfeited." Sasuke said, frowning for a second before smirking, "Smart move though."
Lee laughed, "Thank you Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun."
"Now we gotta pass too! We'll be Chunin's together, believe it!" Naruto grinned and Lee felt a pang of guilt.
Even with how things changed, he didn't think that They would all become Chunin's. it really was too soon for Sasuke and Naruto, no matter how good they were. They were supposed to be in 'peace time' after all. Still, Lee smiled and nodded.
"Yes!" He said, "I look forward to it!" then there was a hand on his head and his smile grew. He tilted his head up, grinning at Kakashi.
"Looks like you scared him right off the bat with that move of yours. Good job." Kakashi said, voice quiet, like it was only for Lee. Like he-
-It made his heart thump and made him wonder. Would Kakashi accept him? Him as in himself though he was not...-
"Yahoo! It's my turn to shine now!" Naruto cheered and Lee looked up to see that it was Naruto against the man from the sound team. Dosu.
"You will do wonderfully. Win fast, Naruto-kun." Lee said
"Of course, just watch me, Sakura-chan!" Naruto grinned before jumping down to the ground floor.
Lee went to the railing and leaned against it. He looked across the room and his eyes landed on Gaara. A soft smile pulled at his lips. Just how long had Gaara been staring? Silly boy... It didn't mean he wasn't so fond of Gaara though. He...he liked Gaara staring at him. He didn't know why but he did, he really did.
There was always something eager in Gaara's gaze that made his insides tickle.
Kind of like how Shikamaru made him feel warm.
Or how Kakashi made him feel all tingly.
Lee closed his eyes for a moment then let his gaze travel and they froze on serpentine ones. Lee swallowed hard as he locked gazes with Orochimaru -he knew he should say something but Orochimaru was a Sannin and he had killed the Hokage in the future's past. Plus, he still wanted...Maybe it was foolish but he wanted a chance-.
"You have that look again." Shikamaru murmured quietly as he reached Lee's side. True to form, Lee features were smooth but it was in 'her' eyes. The green -how would they look black?- orbs were cool but wanting, like there was something Lee was looking towards that he would grip and never let go if he had the chance. "What are you thinking?"
"Our surprise guest is in this room with us. Has been since the beginning." Lee barely moved his lips as he whispered, fighting not to step closer to Shikamaru -would it even matter? If Orochimaru had been watching for any time, he would have seen how close he was to many-.
Shikamaru twitched and subtly looked to where Lee was looking. It was the sound team from the forest and the only 'new' person was the Jonin. Was the Jonin-?! It must be. "What are you going to do? Do you want me to...?"
"...No, he will not do anything right now." Lee said then allowed his lips to form a smile. He raised a lofty hand and wiggled his fingers at Orochimaru's disguised form. From their distance, he couldn't actually read anything about the man, but he could see the slow forming grin on that face.
He heard Shikamaru sigh and let his hand rest against the railing again before looking at Shikamaru from his peripheral.
"You-...I swear, you're going to send me to an early grave." Shikamaru said and Lee tensed, cold gripping his insides. Shikamaru noticed immediately and regret gripped him, "You know I don't mean that. I'm going to live till I'm old and grey. You know what my plan for the future is?" Shikamaru asked, hoping to get Lee's mind off death.
It worked as well as it could and Lee huffed a faint chuckle, "Yes." He said, "You want to find an average girl to marry. Have two kids, a girl first then a boy. You will retire when your daughter is married and your son becomes a successful ninja. After, you will spend the rest of your days playing shogi or go then die of old age before your wife."
Shikamaru stared, surprised and Lee laughed a little at that. He smiled ruefully and said, "I remember everything you have ever said to me, Shika. How could I not?"
How could he not when it could have easily been the last thing his friend had ever said to him.
He still remembered the last thing Gai-sensei had ever said to him. Same with Tenten, Neji, Moegi, Ibiki, Konohamaru, Raido, Gaara...and so, so many more.
Shikamaru didn't know how to feel about that. Under normal circumstances, that would have actually made him flustered but...Shikamaru had a feeling he knew why Lee tried so hard to remember, and it had nothing to do with now and everything to do with the future Lee was trying to change.
"Well, almost correct. My plan has changed now." Shikamaru said, leaning on the rails with his arms crossed.
"Oh? What changed?" Lee asked, honestly curious. He wondered if it was something he could help with. He wondered if it was a good change.
"I-" Shikamaru paused, glancing at something past Lee and sighed, "I'll tell you after we get out of this place."
"Hm?" Lee's brows furrowed then he blinked as he turned his head and saw Kakashi standing on his other side...an orange book in his hand. Lee jolted, surprised by the sight of the book that he hadn't seen Kakashi with in...in a very long time actually, but still!
"Kakashi!" Lee said, his tone already scolding.
"Sakura." Kakashi's eye curved into a smile as he pretended to keep reading -he'd heard the end of their conversation, 'Sakura' reciting Shikamaru's plan and panic had gripped him-.
Lee puffed out his cheeks, glaring at the man and Kakashi only chuckled. He chuckled! Lee made a noise and said, "Please put the book away, Kakashi. We are supposed to be watching our boys win, remember?"
Kakashi jolted, his revealed eye widening for a second before he felt warmth cover his covered face. He swallowed then slowly put his book away, making it look like he was completely relaxed as usual instead of a mess like how he really felt.
"Maa, o-our boys will do just fine." Kakashi mentally cursed himself for the -tiny- stutter but it didn't look like Lee noticed. No, instead, the Nara was looking at him with a slightly narrowed gaze again and was he being foolish? Childish? Dammit, he actually felt smug that Sakura had said 'our' boys. He shouldn't feel smug at all! This was his student!
-But was Sakura really his student? She was in name but she acted more like his partner than anything. It was so easy to forget. She acted so mature and even confident compared to what she should. He had to remind himself that she was thirteen because she carried herself like she was closer to his age-
-She made him feel like she was someone he could relate to yet could still smile and actually be happy-
-It made him feel like maybe...he could be happy too-
"Of course! But we must still show our support, yes?" Lee grinned, fisting his hand and raising it slightly. Then he turned and shouted to Naruto, "Go Naruto-kun!...Believe it!"
The borrowed catch phrase had Naruto's clones laughing, including the real Naruto. Then the clones overwhelmed Dosu and he was buried under them all. When the clones vanished, he was unconscious on the ground and it was Naruto's win.
"Yosh! Another win for Team Seven!" Lee cheered and when Naruto came back up, Lee surprised him with a hug. One that Naruto enthusiastically returned, grinning wider than Lee has ever seen before.
"Did you see Sakura-chan!? He was no match for me!" Naruto said, laughing as he put his hands behind his head.
"Of course, I had no doubts. It is as you said, we will all be Chunin's after all. You trained very hard." Lee praised and Naruto's cheeks went pink as he somehow grinned even wider.
"Looks like it's my turn." Sasuke suddenly said, vaguely surprised. Then he smirked, "This'll be easy."
Lee looked up and the board said:
Uchiha Sasuke
vs.
Akimichi Chouji
"Oh!" Lee gasped in surprise then thought for a second before nodding. He turned to Sasuke and hugged him as well. Sasuke tensed for only a moment before relaxing and looking away. He didn't hug back but he slightly leaned against the hug before pulling away.
"Alright, I need to go down." He grumbled lightly and Lee smiled.
"Yes, you will win too." Lee said and his words made Sasuke smirk again.
"Of course I will." Sasuke said then he jumped to the bottom floor.
Lee smiled a little cheekily at Shikamaru, "Sorry Shika, I am going to root for Sasuke-kun."
"Yeah yeah, troublesome." Shikamaru sighed but there was a slight smile on his lips, "Just as long as you know I'll be rooting against him. Though...why don't we bet on it?"
Lee giggled and quickly returned to his spot against the railing, "Oh? What should the wager be?"
"If Chouji lasts more than five minutes, I get to take you out on a date."
"Then if he-" Lee began but then Shikamaru's words caught up to him and he froze. He stared at Shikamaru with wide eyes before his face felt like it was on fire, "S-S-S-SHIKA!" Lee squeaked, "You-you cannot joke about such things!" Lee covered his burning face, his heart feeling like it was beating a mile a minute.
"Ah! Hell no! You can't take Sakura-chan out on a da-date!" Naruto yelled, pointing at Shikamaru.
"Why not?" Shikamaru asked
Kakashi put his hand on Lee's shoulders and slowly maneuvered her to his opposite side, away from both Shikamaru and Naruto, "Didn't you say we had to watch our boys? Little Sasuke's battle just started."
"O-oh, ye-yes." Lee stuttered, only slightly lifting his face from his hands to look. His eyes darted to the side to see Shikamaru but Kakashi's body was 'conveniently' covering the Nara. Lee swallowed nervously, a little embarrassed that he got so worked up over a joke. Goodness, Shikamaru had to give him more time before making such jokes. He was still very much in love with the boy.
Kakashi's hand squeezed his shoulder and Lee looked at him instead.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he won't joke like that again." Kakashi said, "It's a common tease for boys his age." Gods, what was he doing, "You shouldn't look too much into it." Why was he saying this?!
"It is?" Lee said, slowly calming. He didn't know Shikamaru was the type to joke in such a way and didn't know that it was common either. He'd never done it back in his own youth. He was always serious with his own requests.
"Yep." Kakashi said as he looked at his own hand that was still resting on Lee's small shoulder. He hand to force himself to pull it away and back to his side. The warmth from Lee making his hand tingle, "When this is over, I'll buy dinner as a treat for all of you passing the second part of the exams." he suddenly said and was treated to Lee's wide smile.
"Really? Yosh! I hope it ends soon! I miss regular food." Lee said, sighing as he looked down at the fight. The he laughed out loud as Sasuke got Chouji to forfeit. He jumped in place, excited. He knew that Sasuke would win, just as he knew Naruto would but there was still something special about all of them passing that made him feel giddy.
He gave Sasuke another hug as soon as the boy came up, telling him 'congratulations'. He just told Naruto and Sasuke that Kakashi was treating them to a meal after when the next round was called and he went silent.
Kin
vs
Subaku Gaara
Lee's head snapped to the other side and his eyes caught on Gaara. He watched as Gaara vanished in a swirl of sand then reappeared on the ground floor. He stepped up to the rails again and barely noticed Shikamaru doing the same.
"He's going to kill her." Lee answered the question in Shikamaru's head without needing to be asked.
"You don't care, do you."
"...Is that bad?" Lee asked, his voice quieter than normal.
Shikamaru was quiet for a long moment before he shook his head, "No, we are shinobi after all. And...well, you're you. You've seen a lot more than what we have." he paused then added, "Plus, I know you would be the first one down there if it were one of our own instead."
That...made Lee feel better. He gave Shikamaru a small smile then turned his attention back onto Gaara.
Gaara who was staring at him instead of Kin.
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Gaara continued to stare at him even as he killed Kin just like Lee knew he would. Even as the smell of blood wafted up to were Lee was and its red color spilled on the ground. Even as Gaara began to grin in that way that told him the madness was settling in.
Even as blood stained sand rose to his side of the room and stopped in front of him.
Even as it opened to reveal a tongue that had once belonged to Kin.
Lee remembered this Gaara and one from the future and it felt like they were meshed together because...
Because he remembered how Kin had spat curses at him and called him names, and now Gaara was offering him her tongue.
So Lee smiled back.
And he took the tongue.
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