(Part 5. Please enjoy! This time I added a bit of Gai Sensei. Hopefully I didn't butcher his character too much. I own nothing but my OC.)
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"Oi! Naomi! Aren't you going home?" Kenta, one of Naomi's teammates asked as he passed her on his way back to his own home one evening after their squad had just returned from a mission outside the village.
Turning towards him Naomi smiled and shook her head. "I will! After I meet with Lee! His squad leaves on a mission tomorrow morning!" She called back to her teammate before picking up her pace a little.
Kenta good-naturedly laughed a little at her response. "It's always you and Lee! Well goodnight, Naomi!" He waved before disappearing around a corner. Naomi nodded and returned the remark before continuing on her way to the outdoor training field where she knew Lee would be, hard at work as always.
"Lee!...Lee!" She called out upon reaching the field and seeing his familiar silhouette doing kick repetitions with his right leg on a wooden beam.
Usually he would pause when he'd hear her call him and offer her a greeting before asking if she'd like to join him in his training. Tonight, he made no indication at first that he'd heard her and this made Naomi pause a bit until she saw that there were tears on his cheeks.
"Lee?...What is wrong?" She asked hesitantly, wondering if Neji had spat some new cruel insult at him or whether this was about his upcoming mission. It could be difficult to guess sometiimes with Lee.
Finally, Lee stopping kicking the log and turned to face her, swiping across his face with a bandaged arm.
"Tomorrow...my squad leaves for our second C-rank mission together...We are to guard a shipment of tea and its peddlars to the next village." He sniffed.
Naomi smiled the tiniest bit. "That's great, Lee. My squad has yet to be assigned our first C-rank mission and Isamu is getting very impatient. You should see the fits he throws sometimes at the Hokage." She giggled a bit, but when Lee did not join her mirth, she quickly sobered herself.
"You do not understand, Naomi. I failed so miserably during our first C-rank mission and was completely humiliated by both Tenten and Neji. If it happens again...I..." Lee clenched his fists, determined not to cry anymore, but unfortunately his body would not listen to him.
Feeling her heart break, Naomi rushed forward and enveloped him in a hug. "Oh Lee...I am so sorry." Lee let out another sniffle before throwing his arms around her in return, squeezing as if to release his pain by holding her.
"I believe in you, Lee. You've always been so strong and even though you struggled in class, you never gave up. You always work harder than anyone else...I believe you won't mess up this time and even if you do..." Pulling away she looked up to meet Lee's eyes before continuing.
"...I'll always believe in you and I'll always see you as strong and able to overcome anything." She spoke with as much determination as she could muster into her tone.
Another sniff and Lee wiped at his nose again, blinking inquisitively and hopefully at his best friend. "Naomi-Chan..." He threw his arms around her in another hug, this time with a watery smile on his face as he crushed the slightly smaller girl against himself again.
Naomi smiled back and gently patted his back in comfort. "It's okay, Lee." She started to lay her head on his shoulder when the sound of a throat being cleared caught both their attentions.
"So...I see my young protege has a lovely young lady friend with him tonight." A tall man who was wearing not only the same spandex style uniform but also the same haircut as Lee emerged from across the field with a large smirk on his face.
Lee and Naomi quickly sprang apart. "Oh! Gai-Sensei! This is my dearest friend, Naomi. Naomi, you know Gai-Sensei, right?" He asked, hastily making introductions.
"H-Hai." Naomi nodded, feeling her cheeks tint slightly pink as Gai let out a softly amused chuckle.
"Ah the infamous Naomi, is it? I've heard much of you from Lee. Yes, I see he was not exaggerating about you. Well it's a pleasure to finally meet you, my dear." Gai nodded politely, showing his teeth as he smiled and making Naomi laugh a little at his slightly theatrical demeanor.
"It's nice to meet you too, Gai-Sensei. I-I was just...giving Lee some encouragement before his mission tomorrow." She returned her gaze in Lee's direction and saw that he was going slightly pink in the cheeks as well.
"So I see. Thank you, Naomi. I'm sure Lee appreciated that very much." He turned his own eyes towards his student and Lee nodded. "Hai! I always do." He peeked a bit shyly at Naomi before suddenly pivoting back towards the training beam.
"Now I must continue my training. I have a lot to prove tomorrow!" He declared, immediately resuming his kick repetitions in punctuation to his words. Gai chuckled loudly at this.
"Then I shall join you! Naomi! Would you care to train with us?" He invited. Naomi hesitated for a second. Then she beamed. "Sure!"