Title Give Me a Reason
Author Kyrie Sanctus
Rating PG-13 for shonen-ai.
Begun December 9, 2003.
Finished
Chapters One-shotter.
Synopsis I laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling…All I could think about was the loss… I, Rock Lee, self-proclaimed Tai-Jutsu specialist, had lost my nindo. [NejiLee]
Comments Probably OOC, considering I don't know too much about Neji.. But I wanted something cute and simple, so I wrote this. I've done better, I've done worse.. But NejiLee is cute!
Dedications Neji and Lee fans. ^_^
Give Me a Reason
"Give me a reason…"
I laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It hadn't been long since I'd regained consciousness. All I could think about was the loss. Shutting my eyes in the pain that wasn't exactly physical, I, Rock Lee, self-proclaimed Tai-Jutsu specialist, wanted to cry, kick my arms and legs, and curl up and die.
It wasn't the loss that killed me the most.. It was the fact that I'd tried so hard… That I had unleashed my secret weapon on the Sand ninja, and had still lost. I'd have to wait another year before I could fulfill my nindo… That is, if I could still fight at all.
Gai-sensei had come in earlier that morning, when news spread that I had woken up, to tell me the bad news. I couldn't believe my ears. I didn't want to believe my ears. I decided not to believe my ears, until it was burning in the back of my mind, fueled by the oil of my determination.
I want to get up. I want to walk. But that's impossible right now, isn't it? I tilt my head to the side, ravenous chopped strands falling in my rounds eyes, mimicking the looks of my mentor, to look at the clock. It was only half past noon. If I have to live like this any longer, I'd be doomed.
The door opened, and I craned my neck to the side, but couldn't see who was entering. I heard the shuffling of three different pairs of feet, and when those feet approached my bed, I saw who they belonged to. Gai-sensei, Hyuga Neji, and Ten-Ten.
"Lee, how do you feel?" Ten-Ten had always been sympathetic, but more so to Neji than me. It wasn't like he needed any sympathy from her, anyway. I looked up at him instead of answering her, into those cold silver eyes I'd known quite well for a year and a half.
I knew he wasn't to say anything, so I just stared up, and he stared down, and for a moment that's all the world seemed to be, a staring match between the genius and I. This world was shattered and sent running in the other direction when Gai-sensei's hand came crashing down on Ten-Ten's shoulder. "I have an idea! Why don't we go get some lunch! Neji, you stay here with Lee. We'll be back!"
I furrowed my brow, which happened to be very thick (or so my beloved Sakura-chan tells me!), and watch Neji as he pulls up a chair to sit beside me. I turn my head the other way, a little embarrassed to look at him.
"So, that was it?" He asked, calmly, coolly, as usually he spoke. There was no difference in his tone, it was the same one he used to ridicule me, the same tone he used to issue me directions when on a mission. It was the Neji tone. "The Ura Renge.. The technique you promised to defeat me with."
This riled me up a bit and I sat up in my bed, careful not to move my arm or my leg, both of which had been crushed into bits. "I guess there's no hope, now. Looks like I'll never be able to fight again. It's over. I should just give up my nindo now."
"It's not impossible," Neji corrected. "Even before when it was just as impossible as it is now, you never gave up. You'd just keep going, and train harder, and strive to be better than anyone who you considered an obstacle to you."
I shook my head. "Gai-sensei said I'd never be able to fight again."
"… I know."
"I should just give up."
"No, you shouldn't."
"Give me a reason…" I snapped at him, glaring. "Give me one damned good reason why I shouldn't just quit!"
He stood, obviously riled by my response to him. However, his reaction was outside what I had come to suspect of Hyuga Neji. He leaned into my face, his stone-cold features softened by the moment. I could feel his breath on my face as he spoke. "Because the Rock Lee I know would never give up. Ever."
I remained staring into Neji's face for a moment, then pulled back. "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Smug once again, he smirked. "I know I am." He plopped back down into his seat. "So, what are we going to do about you while you're incapable of fighting..?"
As our conversation droned on, I noticed a side of Neji I liked more than the other. This Neji cared, even if selfishly and even if just a bit, about his team-mates. I'm thankful for that. Thank you, Neji, for giving me a will to go on. Thanks for returning my nindo.
"…one damned good reason, why I shouldn't just quit."
Author's Notes OOC? I dunno, I'm no Neji expert, but this idea just popped into my head, so I made it a reality. Plus, I think NejiLee is so cute. Um, anyway, for anyone who didn't know, a 'nindo' is a 'way of the ninja,' or their reason for being a ninja. Lee's nindo is to show that he can be a respectable ninja, even if he cannot use Nin-jutsu or Gen-jutsu.