The Wanderers
Chapter 33 – Lee – Knife's Edge
A/N: The beginning of this chapter has some…colourful background imagery. Not enough to be completely disturbing, but hopefully enough to grimace at. Just a warning.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, Lee wouldn't be so ridiculous. Consider his backstory. I liked him during the Chuunin Exam, before he became an element of comedic relief.
***Previously-On***
After escaping the Hidden Village of Sound, the group was accosted by a warrior covered in white armour, bearing a frightening resemblance to the warrior from Kakashi's memories. After a short monologue, in which he confessed to compliance in the destruction of Konoha, the warrior dispersed the Konoha shinobi under orders from a mysterious leader, causing all of them to be sent to different parts of the world. Now, separated from their friends and comrades, each of the surviving Konoha shinobi are struggling to find each other again before they are found again by the group that had caused them so much grief.
After waking up and a short reunion, Hinata collapsed from a mysterious illness that Naruto knew originated from the Kyuubi. He sent out his clones to find a doctor, and after three days he teleported the two of them to a castle-city that he hoped had a doctor that could help her. He found such a doctor, but the prognosis wasn't good, particularly since the city was being attacked by twenty-thousand soldiers in an army like Naruto had never seen before. Frustrated at his inability to heal Hinata, Naruto attacked the army with gusto, destroying all the catapults they had been using to pound the castle. It was after that that the doctor told him that they both had the same illness, and that she didn't have much longer to live. Feeling helpless, Naruto heard a folktale from a soldier about a sword that granted the wielder immortality, and upon hearing that the enemy general had the sword he took a risk and once again participated in the battle. Destroying a large number of soldiers himself, Naruto fought the general in single combat and after nearing dying he destroyed the general and retrieved the sword. At first the bloodstone within the hilt didn't make a difference, but eventually Hinata woke and was reunited with Naruto, who promptly collapsed under the stress he had been feeling over the past few days. The doctor who had helped the two of them tried the bloodstone on other patients, but found it had no effect, causing him to question just how Hinata had woken up from an illness that should have killed her.
***End Summary***
***Unknown Time after Separation***
When he had disappeared from the purple sphere he had been placed in, Lee wasn't sure what to expect. If the white-armoured warrior wanted to kill them he had the opportunity to do so many times, but from the one-sided conversation he heard Lee figured that he had been ordered to keep them alive.
So when he opened his eyes and found himself strapped to a chair by an intricate collection of chains and seals, it wasn't so surprising.
His vision was blurry when he first opened his eyes. He could barely make out a solitary figure standing opposite him with a distinctly red dress on. Even while blurred, he could tell it was both a woman, and someone he should be wary of.
"Ah, you have awakened already? How fascinating…"
Lee strained his arms against the chains, but found they drained his strength to the point that he could barely move his fingers.
The woman, who was slowly coming into vision, shook her head and waved a finger at him. "We don't want you going anywhere, now do we?"
Summoning up what strength he had, Lee glared at her while still fighting his restraints. "Who are you? Why have you captured me?"
The woman, who had rather striking features with her bright red hair, crossed her arms and took a step closer to him. She had an oddly distinctive smell, and while Lee didn't find her attractive he knew his inhibitions were likely being lowered intentionally by her.
"Are you with Shouri? Did you destroy our village?"
She walked around him slowly, making small marks on a notepad she held in one of her hands. Lee continued to try and struggle, but it became clear that even while using chakra to reinforce his limbs the restraints weren't going to budge. By the time she had come back to stand in front of him, Lee had expended what energy he had, sitting limp in the chair while continuing to glare at his captor.
The red woman nodded slowly and placed the pad in her pocket, puckering her small lips with her long tongue. Lee knew it was meant to be a seductive movement, but he felt nothing but contempt for the woman.
"These are all valid questions. But I have more pressing patients to attend to, so I will ask for your patience."
Before Lee could do anything about it, his captor reached down and kissed him square on the lips, holding the touch just long enough to savour it before pulling back and licking her lips again. Lee felt like he should spit in protest, but he was so taken back by the movement he had no response to give.
"Hmm…not as good as the others, but you have potential. I will have to make you a warrior; you'd hardly satisfy me as a lover."
Finally back to his senses, Lee found himself frowning in confusion.
The woman shrugged as if answering her own question and flicked a thread of hair that had gotten in her face when she had kissed him.
"I am Sensou, your new mistress. Now I'm afraid I have another to apply my…delicate touch to. One who is a far better kisser I must say."
She reached out again and lightly touched his forehead with an extended finger, causing Lee's vision to turn to black as he collapsed into his chair.
Lee was woken up by an odd dripping sound close to his ears. He felt very groggy, and still had no clue as to where he was being held.
"Ah, you have awoken again." He couldn't see the speaker, but the male voice had an oddly disturbing tone that Lee couldn't quite place.
He opened his eyes slowly and found himself staring at a middle-aged man in a white lab coat, standing in front of him with a half-smile on his face.
Lee felt his restraints were still keeping him from getting out from the chair, so he merely fixed the man with a glare.
"Okay, let us see if the trouble of getting you here was worth it…"
Lee had very little ability to move his head within his restraints, so when the man walked around him he wasn't able to see what he was doing.
He did however feel the spike that the man drove partially into the back of his head.
Grinding his teeth together and clutching at the chair arms, Lee fought the urge to call out in agony.
The man popped his head slightly into Lee's view and stared at the young shinobi's pained face. "No scream? Well I suppose there is a first for everything. Let's see what we can do with you…"
"I…won't…tell…you…a…thing…"
He heard a disturbing chuckle behind him as a spike of electricity shot through his head. "My dear boy, we don't need you to tell us anything. We already know all about you, Rock Lee. A shame about your teacher, he would have made a fine addition to our forces."
Lee stopped his struggle and felt a terrible sense of fear at the information the man seemed to have on him and Gai. "What…do…you…want?"
The man moved in front of him and leaned down so that he was at eye-level with his captive. Even through the man's glasses he could see the light blue outline of his dark eyes.
"I wouldn't recommend struggling. The result is always the same, regardless of the pain involved. It's not so bad…the mistress is a fair and kind ruler. We are furthering a more righteous cause now."
It took him a few seconds but it finally clicked in Lee why the man seemed oddly familiar, despite his actions. "You were a shinobi once."
The man nodded with a smile and moved back to behind the taijutsu-user.
"I got better. Now let's see if this works."
Lee felt a strange sensation on the top of his head, just above where the spike had gone through. It felt like the last time he had drunken alcohol, but without the memory blanking aftereffects.
He could feel his mental strength being tested by whatever the man had entered into his system, but Lee refused to let the man beat him.
Gai-sensei wouldn't give in. Sakura-san wouldn't give in…
After nearly a minute of stubbornly sitting silently, the man moved back around to the front and crossed his arms with a frown.
"Well, I suppose it would be less fun if that level worked. The mistress won't mind if I do the next part on my own, especially if you are going to be stubborn."
He eyed a table near the dark coloured wall, walking over to it before busying his hands above where Lee could see.
I won't break. I refuse to break!
The man picked up an object from the table and walked back in front of Lee, showing him the widely curved knife in his hand.
"This will hurt. A lot."
Lee fixed him with a hateful glare. "I won't scream."
The man scoffed and moved towards his captive.
"You undoubtedly will."
oOoOoOo
Lee screamed up into the point that his heart stopped beating and he fell dead in his chair.
Then the man revived him with several jolts of electricity, and began his work again.
Again, Lee was brought over the line of death, and brought back.
He lost any sense of time he had left as the process of being tortured to death and being brought back to life continued seemingly endlessly.
He was never given food or water, each time he was resurrected there was only a momentary pause before the pain began again.
I…will…not…be…broken…
"Fascinating…this may take longer than we assumed."
Lee couldn't see anything through the pain shooting through his body, but his ears heard the distinctive sound of a blade being pulled out of its sheath.
He was proved correct as the blade was dragged across his face.
Lee began to scream again.
oOoOoOo
I can't break…I can't break…I can't…
He tried to open his eyes again, and found that this time he was able to do so without fainting from pain. His left eyes seemed to be covered in a haze of red, and even without being able to feel it with his hands he knew it was because of the deep cut just above the eye.
The man that had been tormenting him had left the room, having left his bloody instruments on a table near the wall.
He's probably taking a break…
Lee felt like he should say to himself that he's felt worse, but it would have been a lie. Everything hurt, more than anything he had ever experienced.
He strained against the chains on his arms, still unable to summon any chakra to break free of his bonds. The spike was still attached to the back of his head, which he figured was keeping him from recovering any resemblance of chakra.
I'd like to say this is going to kill me…but I think I've already died…
He went to move his head, but felt a spike of pain in the back of his head, keeping him in place. Lee wanted to scream out in frustration, but he didn't want to invite the man back into the room.
Even as a shinobi, Lee was afraid of him, only because he could do nothing against him though.
Gai-sensei wouldn't let himself stay in this position…he would fight to his last breath.
Lee forced his arms up as high as possible, feeling the bite of the chains directly onto his skin. He didn't have much movement space, but Lee refused to believe that his cause was pointless.
Everything I've done…I won't let this beat me!
Ignoring the agony in his arms, Lee tried as hard as he could to push his arms out of the chains. He could feel his muscles burning in protest, but he ignored them and continued to push upwards.
It was slow at first, but he could feel the chains slowly moving with his arms upwards.
There was no chakra involved, but Lee could feel the strength slowly coming back to him, like being drenched in water after walking in the desert.
I have to…ARGH!
Using a vestige of strength he didn't know he had, Lee dragged his arms completely up to his shoulders, causing the chains to fall off them and slink to the floor.
He let out a long breath and grimaced at the pain in his arms, ignoring the bright red blood stains that he had just inflicted on himself. He only had to think about it for a second before reaching back and gingerly removing the long spike from the back of his head, biting back a cry of pain as he felt the metal sliding against his skull.
Once the spike was out of his head it didn't take him long to remove the other restraints, and the moment he placed a foot cleanly on the ground he felt like all the pain he had just suffered had struck him at once.
It took every ounce of strength and more to not fall unconscious, and even more to steady himself onto his feet. It felt like every part of him was trying to give up on him, but ever the stubborn person Lee took every step as a means towards getting further away from the pain he had been put through. He made his way to the table that held the deadly implements, finally able to see all the things that had been hurting him over the past unknown number of days, weeks, possibly months.
His hand wrapped around a short serrated blade, pulling it from the table and holding it as tightly as possible so that he didn't drop it.
Looking around the room, he noticed how small it truly was. Besides the table against the wall with the instruments, and the chair he had been living in, there was only a steel door behind the chair that clearly led out of the room.
Lee slowly dragged himself to the door, the blade in hand, positioning himself just to the side of the door. Placing an ear to the wall, it took a fair amount of concentration before he could hear a set of footsteps coming towards the room.
He clutched the blade in his hand even tightly, waiting until he could hear the footsteps stop just in front of the door. The steel object opened slowly, and the man he had become accustomed with walked into the door while flipping through a set of papers in his hands.
He immediately noticed that the chair was empty, but before he could do anything else Lee came up from behind him and placed the bloody weapon against his throat.
"Give me one good reason not to slit your throat right now…"
The man barked out a laugh and turned his head slightly, causing the blade to bite slightly into his throat. "I suppose you would be justified. It makes little difference; you will become one of us eventually."
Lee felt all the anger he had been accumulating towards the man come to the surface, and before he could even think he dragged the blade completely across the man's throat and let him fall to the ground.
He had no interest in watching the man die. He'd already seen it thousands of times in his mind, in far more destructive ways than that which was available to the taijutsu user.
Sticking his head out of the door, Lee could see no enemy forces within his view. He didn't believe that he was safe by any capacity, but Lee knew that his newfound strength would only last so long before he collapsed due to his overwhelming fatigue.
Despite all his injuries, Lee could feel the agony in his stomach the most.
How long has it been since I've eaten? Or had water?
Lee knew that if he hadn't gone through all the rigorous training that Gai had put him through, he wouldn't be standing let alone walking around.
I have to recover my wounds before breaking out of here. I doubt I could fight anyone in my current state.
The bob-haired shinobi tried to summon a small amount of chakra to help him along, but found that none of the usual methods were working. It was a similar sensation to when he tried to use ninjutsu or genjutsu; it just didn't seem to work.
Lee decided to ignore the problem for the moment and made his way into the corridor, still holding his blade in hand. Unless told otherwise, he wasn't going to take any chances with anyone he met in such enemy territory.
oOoOoOo
Lee never placed that much faith into luck, but when the first door he opened in the corridor revealed a pantry full of supplies, it was difficult to do anything but be amazed at his fortunes.
He stumbled into the room and shut the door behind him, using a nearby wooden box to block the door from opening inwards. Inside the supply room was a set of water bottles, basic food supplies, and various other things Lee would have expected to see in a military base.
It took all the foresight he could muster to not stuff his face with food, resolving to properly take a large draught of water before delving into a piece of dried meat. After the burning of his tongue Lee could feel little taste in the food, but just the idea of it seemed to replenish his strength.
Once he had eaten his fill, Lee barricaded the door as much as he could and made himself as comfortable as possible. Unlike Naruto, Lee needed to recover like a normal shinobi, and with the revelation that he couldn't use chakra momentarily was enough for him to justify waiting until he was at such a point that he could fight properly again.
He expected that the man he had killed would be discovered eventually, and was taking a huge risk in doing so, but he had no more strength to push on.
For the first time since he could remember, Lee fell asleep without agonising pain accompanying it. Completely intentionally, Lee's dreams were of a singular nature.
The first room Lee found after recovering enough strength for him to move around properly was full of video screens unlike anything he had ever seen before. He opened the door without a sound, making sure that the two people he could hear chatting inside couldn't hear him coming in.
With a clenched fist, and two rapid blows later, Lee found himself once again alone in the room. Despite being unable to manipulate chakra through his fists, unintentionally the blows had killed the two men operating the system, though Lee felt no sympathy for their demise. Unlike the rampage he had gone on after Gai's death, considering the things he had been put through, Lee had no problem taking them out.
It's a good thing Sakura-san isn't here to see this. She wouldn't like what I've had to do, though she would probably understand.
Looking over the video screens, seeing that it was a surveillance room, Lee found himself thinking more and more about the pink-haired girl he had grown so close to.
I hope she isn't here. If Sakura-san was put through what I was…I could never forgive them.
He ran through his other friends in his mind, but he couldn't help but keep coming back to her.
When I get out of here, and find her…
From what he could see, his breakout hadn't been discovered yet, which seemed miraculous in its own right. One of the monitors showed him the room he had previously been imprisoned in, with the slumped body of the man still in front of the closed steel door.
Lee didn't recognise any of the symbols on the keyboards in front of him, but he did see a headset that connected to a separate video feed. Seeing no other options, Lee pushed the guard's unconscious body from the chair and took his place, placing the headset around his head, carefully avoided his facial wounds.
The sound quality was surprisingly good, and seemed to act as if Lee was actually in the room itself. On the video feed he could see the red-haired woman wearing a red dress that could barely be described as covering. Through the video feed, even one such as Lee could see all of her as she lounged on a stone chair.
Almost as if waiting for Lee's attention, an old man wearing a black robe walked into the shot, looking like every step was to be his last.
Maybe there are some answers here…
oOoOoOo
The red haired woman threw down the last bit of wine in her glass before placing it carefully back on a nearby table and crossing her barely covered legs.
She fixed the black robed old man with an icy glare. "What are you doing here, Kyoukou?"
"Don't talk to me like one of your underlings, Sensou. I am your older brother, and you will pay me the respect I deserve." His voice was old and coarse, yet carried enough power for the woman to indicate for him to sit opposite her.
"Fine, fine. Why are you here then, beloved brother?"
He hobbled over and sat down with considerable effort, placing his walking aid across his robed knees. Fixing a gaze on his younger sister, he decided not to comment on her scantily-clothed appearance.
"The others…including me…have expressed an interest into why you are acting on such a grand scale."
"I'm doing Father's will, as are you. I'm not the one destroying food stocks and forcing shinobi to fight each other for scraps."
"We are not here to talk about my works. You know that. We would like to know why you are focusing so much on conversions, using shinobi against one another."
Leaning forward slightly in her chair, Sensou placed her hands together while continuing her cold stare. "Did Father send you here?"
"Don't change the subject. We came to this land with a singular purpose, one that you seem to be in contradiction of."
Sensou scoffed and placed her hands back onto her lap, running a finger along her arm with a bored expression. "If this is about the love slaves, I see no issue with it. Father might not like it, but I fail to see why we can't have fun with them. I have a few girls you might be interested in. Large ones, full of life for you to devour."
Kyoukou shook his head slightly and leaned back into his chair, flicking his black robes up so that he could cross his bare-skin arms. "You are acting like a spoiled child. The power you have been given was designed to destroy our enemies, not for you to have your little orgies."
After hearing that, the red-haired woman stood up from her chair and motioned dramatically around the room. "Have I not done good works? The so-called Land of Fire is nearly entirely cleansed, as are several smaller countries, BECAUSE OF MY SOLDIERS!"
She slammed a hand onto the table, "I refuse to be chastised by an old man that wouldn't know a fight if it bit him in the ass. Brother or no, it has not been Shouri that has killed the most shinobi. It has not been Shikyo, even with all her 'mystical strengths' that has furthered our cause. It has been MY EFFORTS, and MY WORK that has placed us in the position we are in today. So, don't you dare lecture me on staying on task."
She stared at her older brother intently, and after nearly a minute she walked back over and sat back down opposite him, not caring that her normally withheld anger had come out so ferociously.
Kyoukou maintained eye-contact with her for the whole time she yelled at him, and even when she had said her piece he refused to let her settle with just that.
After another minute of deadening silence, Sensou threw up her hands in exhaustion and placed them back on her lap. "But these are not new arguments. You all know my opinions on this war."
"So why state them again?"
She rolled her eyes again, "Why are you here, Kyoukou? You could have just asked for a personal conversation, we didn't need to meet in person like this. I have much work to do, despite what you lot might think I have a war to win."
"Shouri has expressed a dislike in using your soldiers in his battles. He prefers to use our own people to fight our own battles."
Sensou snorted at the claim and leaned her feet on the table in front of her. "And he's a fool for thinking so. We do not have a numerical superiority over these people. We don't even have power superiority, besides from a certain level and above. If Father wants all shinobi to be destroyed, then he needs for me to do my work. Otherwise I'm just a warrior, and we have enough of those."
"You sound bitter."
"Bitter? Hardly. What the shinobi did to us entirely justifies what we are doing to them, and the fact that we have to keep our motives secret from them is completely abhorrent to me. Let Shouri fight his grand-scale battles. That's why he gets replaced every decade or so. I want to see the enemy in front of my face, so that I can slit his throat and enjoy the look in his eyes. Beyond that, I just want to enjoy my work."
"For such a gifted fighter, you seem to be so obsessed with breaking down people's minds and getting them fighting each other. Back at home you didn't seem so…focused."
"I am Sensou, as the other three before me have been. However I have the techniques and technology available to me to really explore what it means to be a warrior, and why the shinobi are the way they are."
Kyoukou leaned forward slightly, holding his stick in one hand to keep himself level. "Are you seeking a reason for their attack on us all those years ago?"
"Maybe. Just because there are none alive who were there, doesn't mean there isn't some underlying rationality behind the massacres of our people."
She stood up again, having noticed what the time was and all the things she needed to get done before moving to her next laboratory. Turning to her older brother she reached down onto the table and pushed across a small stack of paper in front of him.
"You sound like you want to understand them. There won't be any left for us to understand in a few years."
"Look, I love war as much as the next girl. And we don't have any civilians to protect anymore, as a people we are hanging on by a thread. But what will be left? We can't rebuild, so we are just slaughtering? If that's the reason, then fine. But Father should at least be clear to us."
The black-robed old man leaned over and looked at the stack of paper, noticing a picture of a girl with an elaborate set of headgear. He placed the papers within his robe and stood up slowly from his chair, leaning on his walking aid to keep himself up.
"A discussion for another time perhaps, sister. As you have work, as do I."
"Get out of my laboratory, Kyoukou. This is a place of science and psychology, and you are sucking the essence out of it." Sensou turned around and began flicking through a chart on a nearby table, ignoring the look her older brother gave her before disappearing into an opening within the air of the room.
Once she couldn't hear the wheezing breath of the old man, Sensou sighed and moved towards a nearby closet, throwing off her see-through dress and quickly putting on her fatigues.
"So many to convert, so little time" she said quietly to herself.
As an opening appeared within the air, she found herself humming an unknown tune to nobody in particular. It had been a good few months, and there was much more to be done yet.
Lee watched as the woman disappeared into thin air, leaning back into his chair in astonishment. He didn't understand half of what had transpired between the two figures, but they seemed related to the warrior that had sent him there, and that was enough to put him on edge.
"What am I meant to do with this?" he asked to himself, looking around at the other monitors to see whether there was anything else of interest in the area.
From what he could see, there didn't seem to be any personnel within the facility, which itself appeared small considering the number of rooms he could see. Initially Lee thought he had been the only prisoner of the enemy forces, but upon closer inspection he saw that there was one other figure on the monitors.
The prisoner was bound angel-style, with his head covered by a hood and his body hidden from the camera's view. Using the number on the monitor, Lee was able to work out a general idea of where the room was.
If he's a prisoner, then I should release him. No-one deserves the treatment I got. Strange that the restraints are so different though. No spike in the head or anything.
oOoOoOo
He still made a point to move cautiously through the facility, but after a few minutes it became clear that the complex was indeed deserted. Lee figured it was only the Sensou woman and the man who had been torturing him that had been working in the facility.
No manpower, means no need to explain to the underlings. Particularly with that kind of stuff…
After checking several rooms, Lee found the one he was looking for, opening the door carefully to ensure it wasn't booby-trapped.
Unlike his old room, this prisoner's room wasn't covered in spilt blood. Nor did it have a table full of wicked instruments. Within the room was a single wooden cross with the prisoner attached to it with an elaborate set of chains. He was covered in a brown nondescript robe, and from behind Lee could tell virtually nothing about the prisoner besides the fact that he couldn't even tell if he was alive or not.
He walked around the cross and let out a slow breath. He wasn't sure what to expect, but there was a part of him that was terrified the man could be one of Lee's companions.
I don't know what I'd do if it was…anyone of them really.
Seeing nothing else to it, Lee reached out and pulled back the hood on the prisoner, looking at his face with fearful anticipation.
He was not proud of the fact that he was relieved that he didn't recognise the man's face, though his shaggy white hair seemed oddly distinctive.
The prisoner was old, by Lee's estimation at least fifty years old. His face was somewhat wrinkled and he had more scars than Lee could count. An initial feel on his neck told Lee that the man was alive, but unconscious. It was no trouble to remove the restraints, though Lee struggled slightly to get the man smoothly onto the ground. One of the drill wounds in his side had reduced his ability to lift heavy objects to a certain point, and while Lee knew he could remedy it there was no way to fix it now.
What the hell is this guy? He looks more beat up than I am…and ancient…
The old man's eyes slowly opened up, and the moment they made eye-contact Lee watched as the world around him turned completely white as the room disappeared around them, as did the man.
"You are not of the Quiraji."
Lee nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice. He looked around immediately, and found himself confronted by the man standing erect in front of him, looking none the wiser.
"Wh…how…"
The prisoner cocked his head slightly before breathing out slowly as if it was an effort to explain the situation. "You are a shinobi, no? Did you have any training in genjutsu?"
Lee frowned and crossed his arms, well aware of the fact that he was probably still just staring the man in the eyes. He'd done some training with Itachi to counteract genjutsu, but this was something on an entirely different level.
"So you are a shinobi too? Which village were you from?"
The man took a step back and crossed his arms to match Lee, frowning slightly. "I have not been part of a shinobi village for nearly a decade. However there is something familiar about you. You remind me of a Genin I once knew…one who was a friend to one of mine."
"Are you talking about Gai-sensei? Did you know him? Are you from Konoha?" Lee couldn't help but fire questions at the man; he had no knowledge of anyone else from their village surviving the destruction.
The man watched him ask questions with growing amusement, the lines in his face smoothing out as he realised that Lee was not a threat to him. Visibly relaxing, the man waved an arm across the white background, causing it to fade back to the room from before.
Lee glanced around with surprise, he didn't understand what was happening but it was clear that this man was an ally. The man had vanished from the ground and now stood with his back to the nearby wall, resting as if he had always been there.
"Did you know Gai-sensei? Please, I have to know if you are a fellow Konoha shinobi."
"I am. And yes, I am aware of our village's fate." There was something bitter in the man's voice that Lee couldn't quite place, but he didn't comment on it.
"What is your…oh I'm sorry…my name is Rock Lee. Nice to meet you."
A smile crept onto the man's face at the shinobi's greeting; even the small bow was something he hadn't seen in many years. "It's nice to meet you, Rock Lee. I thank you for releasing from my bonds."
"Why were you imprisoned here? Were they trying that…conversion…thing with you?"
The man gazed across Lee's body, noticing all the wounds and scars the young shinobi had accumulated under his residence, taking special note of how remarkable it was that Lee was walking around with such injuries.
"No. They…had been using my skills…to do the process. Without me here, they can't convert anymore shinobi. They have very…persuasive methods…"
Lee frowned, that sounded far too convenient for his taste. "I got the impression they wanted to break me, and then turn me to their cause. Yet I get the feeling that they utterly despise shinobi."
"Oh, they do. The Quiraji wish to exterminate every single one of us, and for good reason."
Lee wanted to ask the man more, but didn't feel the need to tempt fate. "We should leave as soon as possible. If that Sensou woman returns, I don't know if I can fight her."
The man nodded slowly, standing up off the wall and gathering the robe from his legs. "Neither of us could. She is beyond what normal shinobi could fight."
Lee went to offer the man an arm, but after seeing him walk a few steps he could see that the man was in a better condition than he was.
He walked around the cross and went to pull the door open, but unintentionally he wrenched the steel door off its hinges, nearly taking out his companion in the process.
They shared a confused look as Lee dropped the doorknob to the ground. "That wasn't intentional…"
"No, it didn't look it. Tell me, have you been able to mould any chakra since escaping?"
Lee glanced down at his bandaged hands, feeling no difference like normal when he used chakra. "I don't think so. I've never been that good with chakra anyway."
"Can you use that kind of strength again?"
The young shinobi shrugged and turned around, pulling back a fist before driving it into the nearby wall. With chakra, Lee could have driven his fist straight through to the other side.
His fist struck the wall, and shattered the stone, sending massive cracks up the sides as he pulled his fist out.
"I don't…what did they do to me?"
The other prisoner stared at him for a few seconds before taking one of his hands into his, looking at the bandages carefully. "That's similar to what they do. Not using chakra…but something else."
He let Lee's hand go and walked towards the destroyed doorway, "We can use this to destroy this place, so that no-one else will suffer here. Can you do that?"
Lee clenched his fists slowly and nodded in agreement. "We should move quickly."
The two of them grimaced at the sunlight hit their faces, but with the small building complex collapsing behind them it was a sight they were happy to see. Like Lee, the other prisoner didn't know how long he had been a prisoner, but he didn't seem like the type to talk that much, which Lee understood.
They turned around and watched as the entrance collapsed inwards with the rest of the building. It was subtle at first, but Lee could feel the difference in his strength. After destroying key parts of the building he had discovered that he was slowly regaining his ability to use chakra, but it felt easier to continue the way he was.
It's like stopping halfway to making chakra. I always had issues with spiritual energy…and this feels much more natural than anything else I've done. It's like I've always been meant to fight this way…
He looked towards the older prisoner, noticing his expression hadn't changed since they had met an hour ago. "Where to now?"
"I could use a bath and some decent food. Would you like to join me?"
"Definitely. I don't have any money though; I left my pack behind when I was captured."
For the first time since meeting him, a tiny smile came across the man's face.
"That's no problem. I have my ways."
oOoOoOo
Lee sighed happily as he placed down his chopsticks, patting his stomach in satisfaction. He had been a little suspicious when they had been treated like royalty in the restaurant of a town close to the destroyed facility, but after the curry started coming out his hunger allowed him to ignore such suspicions.
His companion was a little more composed with his satisfaction, but wasted no time in asking Lee about himself. They knew that both of them were ex-Konoha shinobi, and while he hadn't revealed much about himself Lee felt no need to mistrust the prisoner.
"So you were Maito Gai's student? That makes sense, you remind me of him in more than one way."
"Did you know Gai-sensei?"
The ex-prisoner leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "In a manner of speaking. He was the rival to a man I used to work for. It is a shame he is gone."
Lee couldn't help but feel a ping of sadness, there weren't many moments where he didn't think about his deceased father-figure. "I miss him so much. It's…hard to think about what happened."
"The death of those close to you always is. It's the curse of being a shinobi."
"So…what are you going to do now?" Lee had a fairly good idea of what he needed to do, but didn't want to abandon his new companion.
"My old companion will want to know my mission was a success. I'll need to keep on the move, to avoid Sensou's men. She would need my abilities to convert more people, though it's odd that she would leave us be like this. She's not the most patient person in the world."
Again Lee wasn't sure what was going on, but he got the impression the man was more involved in the conflict than even he was. "I need to find my companions again. But if she is trying to take out shinobi in the Land of Fire, it means two of my old teachers are in danger. I have to warn them."
A waitress came over to give them the check for their feast, but an almost unnoticeable wave of the man's hand caused her to nod and walk away as if they had just paid.
"We should leave" said the man, ignoring the shifty look Lee gave him for using genjutsu to get the free meal.
Once they were outside, Lee regarded his companion with resignation. "I guess this is where we say our farewells."
The man nodded and extended a hand, the two of them shaking as equals.
"Be careful, Rock Lee. The Quiraji are not a people to take lightly. You might be better suited to fighting them than any of us, but that doesn't mean you should ignore your friends. Tell Kakashi when you see him that I send him my greeting."
Lee nodded and let go of the man's hand, turning to leave before realising what he was missing. He turned back and bowed slightly in apology. "I'm sorry; I never caught your name."
The robed man pulled the hood over his head and stared at the other former prisoner.
"We have similar faults, Rock Lee. My name is Jito. With the death of my cousin, I am the last of the Senju clan."
He's the one that Kakashi-sensei spoke about from his memories. What are the odds of that?
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Senju Jito. I hope we have the opportunity to work together again."
Jito showed Lee the ghost of a smile before vanishing from sight.
"I'm sure we will."
After asking around the town, Lee discovered that he was in a small town on the northern side of the Land of Fire. Taking into account the season and how long the townsfolk said it had been since Konoha's destruction, Lee figured it had been a month since he had been separated from his friends.
Once he was confident that he knew where he was going, Lee moved at top speed towards the village that Asuma and Kurenai had retired to. It hadn't been explicitly stated, but Lee figured that if there was ever a place for them to meet up, it would be there.
I just hope that someone is there. If it's already been a month…
After a day of travel Lee took a moment to relax at a small lake, splashing his face with cool water.
He sighed in relief at the touch; it felt surprisingly good on his face. Lee wasn't concerned over not having eaten since his meal with Jito, he'd spent weeks without eating in the past during training, and using the new form of the more physical-based energy didn't tire him as much as using chakra. He wasn't sure how it would react to some of his other techniques, or how fast he was without his weights on, but without weapons Lee spent his traveling time creating ideas on how to combat a threat that negates chakra like the Quiraji did.
The shinobi reached down to splash his face again, but paused when he saw his face reflected in the water. The moon gave him more than adequate light, one of the rare nights were there weren't any clouds in the night sky.
Lee never thought he was a particularly attractive boy, his hair and eyebrows didn't give him too many options in that regard.
What stared back at Lee wasn't the face he had become accustomed to.
He knew that the scars wouldn't heal completely, but he hadn't expected that there would be so many, particularly on his face. A long scar ran across the right side of his face, with several long cuts across his forehead and along his nose.
Lee stared at his face for nearly a minute. He thought long and hard about it before standing up straight and nodding slowly.
I'm not ashamed of these scars. Gai-sensei would wear them proudly, so I will too.
He reached up and lightly touched the scar just above his eye, tracing it with a finger.
I wonder what Sakura-san will think…
His thoughts stayed on that topic as he rested his back on a nearby rock, staring up at the night sky. It was difficult not to wonder how he had missed so many clues surrounding the young girl, or how much she truly meant to him.
A lot of Naruto's comments to me make more sense, now that I think about it.
His eyes slowly began to close, and for some inexplicable reason all he could see in his mind was the frowning face of his old rival. He wasn't sure why Neji was judging him, but as before he didn't care so much about what the Hyuuga thought, even though he was just a figure of Lee's imagination.
The town looked no different from many months ago when Lee was here last. The last time they had been to the town he'd had a small breakdown of sorts, and he knew he had gotten irrationally angry at Sakura, but nevertheless he felt some relief at seeing the familiar town.
It's like the home that we could stay at, since Konoha isn't around anymore.
Not willing to wait any longer, Lee quickly moved into the town.
He had reached the town at the middle of the day, so it wasn't so surprising that there were plenty of townsfolk walking around the village. As he walked the streets he was given a fair few shifty looks from the villagers, but considering how he looked Lee wasn't surprised.
It took him a while to remember where their house was, and then another few minutes on how to get there from the entrance of the village.
Now that he was within the village, Lee suddenly felt very tired, resolving to walk leisurely towards the Jounin's house. He wondered if anyone else was there, since he couldn't sense chakra like most of the others he had to look the old fashioned way. He wasn't even sure if the two Jounin were still at their house, but it was something he hoped was true, he felt an overwhelming urge to sleep in a real bed.
He turned a corner in the village, and recognised the street immediately. Looking down the village street, he recognised the roof of the house he was looking for. He took a step towards the house.
And watched in horror as it exploded into flames.
It wasn't an explosion, Lee could be certain of that. It appeared like the house had been simultaneously set on fire from all directions.
The Konoha shinobi swore under his breath and sped towards the house, knowing that it wasn't coincidental that it was only that specific house was being burnt down.
Just as Lee was about to reach the house, he saw five figures leap away from the house faster than any normal could move. In a split second Lee made the decision to pursue them, rather than check to see if anyone was alive inside the house.
They are both Jounin, much stronger than me. If they can't look after themselves…it's likely those figures are fleeing a lost battle.
Using his traditional chakra methods, Lee sped towards the fleeing robed figures as they left the village and moved across the countryside. It was uncanny at how fast the figures were moving, Lee figured only shinobi could move like that, and he was amazed at how much percent of his true speed he required to catch up to them.
However Lee was one of the fastest shinobi left in the world, even without removing his weights.
So it was no real effort for him to overtake the fleeing figures and stop them in their tracks, swiftly kicking them all to the ground. He was surprised at how little impact his kicks had on the figures, watching as they landed perfectly in formation and stood perfectly opposite him.
Lee breathed out slowly and stared at the figures, trying to get as much information on them as possible. They were all wearing dark robes, and four of them were clearly male, though they seemed to be showing some kind of reverence to the single female in the group. She was shorter than the men by far, and wore an elaborate helmet that seemed very excessive.
"Who are you people? What did you do to Asuma and Kurenai-sensei?"
The woman stepped forward and the ice-like globes in her helmet seemed to stare straight through him. She looked over him for a moment before turning back to her fellow figures.
"The mistress requires my presence. The four of you kill this shinobi, while we proceed to the next objective."
"HEY! Don't just ignore me! What the hell is going on?!" Lee balled both his fists, suddenly wary of the fact that they had the same presence as the red-haired Sensou woman.
The masked woman turned back to him for a few seconds before disappearing in a flash, leaving her four companions to combat the young shinobi.
Lee's eyes widened when he saw how the woman had escaped, he felt like he recognised the technique, but couldn't quite place it. He tried to push it out of his mind as he regarded the four masked figures in front of him.
"Are you guys Quiraji too? No…I bet you were once shinobi. Why are you fighting for them?"
They never responded to him, choosing to leap forward to attack him with raised fists.
oOoOoOo
Considering the two shinobi they had just likely killed, Lee would have expected the figures to at least be wary of a shinobi that was able to catch them. So when they leapt at him with so many gaps in their defences it wasn't funny, Lee actually hesitated in surprise.
But only for a second, before lashing out and caving in the head of the first one with a clenched fist.
The other three jumped back immediately when they saw what he had done to their companion, taking up defensive positions a short distance away.
Lee stared at the body on the ground, looking at the face of the man he had just killed. His shattered mask lay beside him, and besides a few scars that looked eerily familiar he looked like a normal man.
He glanced at the other three and made a quick decision.
I only need one to interrogate. But that was too easy…they couldn't have killed Asuma and Kurenai-sensei like that. Unless…
He decided to go on the offensive, gathering a large amount of chakra into his arms before leaping towards them. They seemed to react quickly enough, jumping back to avoid his strike.
Taking advantage of their backwards movements, Lee bounced off the ground and attempted to drive a fist into the stomach of the closest robed figure.
The man stepped back slightly and braced himself, taking the fist straight, holding off Lee's strike with his own hand. The shinobi could feel the strength in his blow disappear the moment he touched the enemy's hand, as if the chakra he had moulded had fallen away.
Lee frowned and jumped back, feeling like the enemy was smirking underneath his mask. He looked down at his fist for a moment before nodding to himself.
That confirms it. They can negate chakra. Considering that…Asuma and Kurenai-sensei…
He spared a glance at the first enemy he took out, figuring it was because he struck him without truly moulding chakra. Jito's comment about him being able to combat them better than other shinobi made more sense to Lee in such context.
When I survive this…I'll have to tell the others about this…physical energy thing. If they can specifically take out shinobi because of chakra, than we need to get stronger as well.
Not willing to let him attack them again, the three of them dived straight at him with raised fists, and suddenly Lee found himself fighting for his life.
A blow nearly struck him in the head; Lee barely able to move out of the way before a leg crashed into his side from behind. He cried out and took several leaps back, holding his side in pain.
Damn…not even Gai-sensei would hit me that hard. And that's without chakra too…
The enemies didn't give him a chance to recover however, as they came at him again. Having seen how they fight, Lee felt he was getting used to how they fought.
A punch straight into his scar-covered face proved otherwise.
Okay, this isn't working.
He placed his hands crossed in front of his body, and went to activate his most powerful technique, but stopped himself just before he could.
I don't even know if I can open the gates at the moment. But even so, it only increases my chakra output, which is pointless against them.
He breathed out slowly and stood in a defensive stance with a single hand in front.
It isn't that they are faster…or even stronger…
Lee watched as one of them moved forward to strike him, noticing dozens of imperfections in their form. He ducked out of the way of a high kick and shifted his weight on his feet, kicking upwards straight into the man's face. As the masked foe dodged out of the way, Lee's eyes widened when he realised what they were doing. He was barely able to dodge the man's counterattack and leapt back again, this time taking a more aggressive stance.
I'm so used to moving with the slightest bit of chakra to enhance my strength and speed that it has become instinctive, and by negating that I'm slower and less powerful.
Lee wasn't taken to arrogance during a fight, but after figuring out the enemy's trick he couldn't help but feel a little bit proud of himself.
If that's how they fight, then I can fight differently as well.
The three of them moved to attack him again, but this time Lee took the offensive, moving his hands randomly from one form to the next. His movements seemed to confuse them momentarily, and in that hesitation he struck.
He batted away a punch aimed at his head, and struck the man several times in the stomach before crashing an elbow into the man's mask. He could feel the familiar drain on his chakra, but he did what felt more natural to him and was able to bypass the weakness, breaking apart the mask and destroying the man's face underneath.
Leaping back from the others, he let the other two check on their companion, watching the shift in their postures. Despite being unable to see their faces, he could tell they were no longer confident in their ability to eliminate him so quickly. They seemed to switch dispositions quickly, and before long they stood against him again.
"Persistent, aren't you?"
They both looked the same, but Lee decided that on what he was going to do once the battle was finished, having made up his mind already.
The enemies sped towards him, one of them aiming a long kick to his stomach while the other moved around the side to flank him. Lee shifted his stance so that the kick glanced off his chest, and peppered the man with punches before flipping onto his hands and kicked out wildly, clipping the other masked figure in the head. With two quick motions he leapt back again, but saw that only one of them had taken any damage, and it was minimal at best.
I guess it'll take some getting used to. I should have practised more before coming to the village.
Figuring he would learn more from fighting than anything else, Lee leapt at them again, realising that he needed to finish the battle quickly. He didn't think they would outlast him in prolonged combat, but he also didn't want to find out any other abilities they might possess.
He could see the one he had kicked making a few elaborate motions with his hands, but Lee wasn't going to let him finish whatever he was planning. In one quick motion he tapped the weights on his legs, and moved as fast as could towards him, so fast that it appeared he had vanished and reappeared. Summoning up his strength, he kicked out the man's legs and drove his head into the ground, hearing the man's spine shattered underneath his skin.
He went to leap back like he had been, but when the enemy moved to intercept him Lee lashed out, landing a fierce kick into his sternum. The man seemed to flinch, but was otherwise unaffected by the blow. He reached out and went to punch Lee in retaliation, but Lee was able to intercept the punch with his superior speed, driving a fist into the man's elbow and forcing the bone to splinter within his arm.
The masked man cried out in pain and dropped to his knees, which allowed Lee to reactivate his weights and kick the man down onto the ground. He reached down and ripped the man's mask off, seeing nothing to indicate the man's origins besides an odd glow in his eyes, and familiar looking facial scars.
Standing back up, Lee pulled the man to his knees and stared into his eyes, the hateful glare enough to tell him that the man was still alive.
"Now, what can you tell me about the Quiraji?"
oOoOoOo
Lee sighed as he watched the man flee into the distance. He had been completely silent, even when lee threatened to dismantle him piece by piece. When it became clear that he wasn't going to get any information from him, Lee opted to let him go. The man had been suspicious at first, but Lee said unlike them he had no interest in prisoners.
Besides, he'll leave a trail to follow. Hopefully that'll lead to that woman leader, and maybe even Sensou. If Jito is right, and what I heard was correct, I need to take them both out before they kill anyone else.
When the man's figure was gone from view, Lee turned around and looked at the village behind him. The fire was still going, but Lee knew what had already happened. If the two of them hadn't gotten out during the fight, than there was nothing he could have done to save them. As hard as it was to swallow, he had more important priorities now.
Letting out another characteristic sigh, Lee moved around and began rifling through the three dead bodies at his feet, seeing if there was anything of value that he could use.
I'll wait an hour, and then I'll give pursuit. My tracking skills aren't the best, but if I find places in the Land of Fire where other shinobi live than they will find me eventually. Hopefully by then, I'll have a grip on this energy thing.
A grin slowly came over his face as he thought about the task ahead of him.
And if that one tells them about me, all's the better. I spent that time fearing them…if they think they can just come here and destroy us than they have a reckoning coming.
Author's Note:
And the enemy has a name. Let me know what you think about that name, the Quiraji, since it's a group in a fantasy novel I'm working on, though a completely different set up and make.
For anyone thinking about it, Lee and Ino just missed each other in the village, by little more than a few minutes. I figured Lee would adopt fighting with just physical energy far better than anyone else. I'm essentially writing it like he was always meant to fight that way. I'm not sure whether that came out in the chapter or not.
Please review and tell me what you think. I try to reply to each review, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.