Find your happiness

Ch. 8

Disclaimer: Totally not mine, I wish Lee, Naruto, Neji, Itachi, and Orochimaru were, though. And Haku.

Lee was generally a very happy little boy. I'd known him for quite a long time, because he lived in the apartment on top of mine. I used to baby-sit him, before he became a ninja. And never before had I seen him this depressed.

"Lee-san, what's wrong?" I asked, ruffling his hair. He looked up at me, with teary eyes. It looked very cute, in a strange Lee-ish way. My heart broke, as if I was looking at a sad puppy. I bit my tongue to keep from saying "Awww". I smiled at him,

"What happened?" I asked again. Lee sniffled.

"Sarasa-san, am I... ugly?" he asked, and blew his nose on a handkerchief that he suddenly had. I shrugged,

"Why would you think that?" I asked, not wanting to answer the question. I'd grown used to his un-attractiveness, and don't think about it, but that doesn't mean he's suddenly not ugly.

"Neji-san told me that that is why Sakura-san is turning me down," Lee told me. I sighed,

"Lee-kun, Neji is just a beautiful bastard, it doesn't mean you're...ugly. And I believe Sakura-san likes Sasuke, and there's no way you can compare with that prick's looks. There're only like, two people who are better looking than him, and both of them are bigger bastards than he is." I told Lee. He smiled, but was obviously still depressed.

"Lee, you have the opportunity to be very attractive, but you prefer to keep your bonds with your role-model, instead of worrying about appearances," I paused, "Isn't it better to show your love for a person instead of worrying what one girl who'll never get over an obsession thinks?"

He shrugged. "I suppose, but, Sarasa-san, what do you think I'd look like?" he asked. I didn't know what he'd look like if he got cooler hair, thinner eyebrows, no more prominent bottom lashes, and cooler looking clothes. The thought never crossed my mind before. He was always just my little ugly duckling, who I was sure would turn into a swan. But I never even tried to imagine what "swan-Lee" would look like.

"Err... I don't know what'd you'd look like, Lee-kun. But, if you promise to keep on smiling, I'll think about, then paint it for you? Okay?" I asked. He smiled, and nodded.

"And if it looks really hot, you'll know that you are, in fact attractive; because you can't make yourself good-looking, it's something your born with. You can just change minor things that help a bit." I said. He nodded, and hugged me. I smiled, and then patted his head, and then went into my apartment.

I realized that making a picture that looked hot, but still looked like him would be a very difficult task indeed. What did I get myself into?

I didn't see why Lee suddenly wanted to be good looking. He had never cared about it before, and it never bothered anyone who were truly his friends. I'm sure it didn't bother Hyuuga-kun, either. I'm sure he was just trying to be an asswhole. I felt sorry for Lee, he was one of the strongest people I knew of, and he was still the target for people to pick on. I sighed, and tried to get to work.

I thought of what he'd look like as a hottie, and nothing came to mind. He had such a beautiful heart, and was one of the nicest people I'd ever met. He followed his ambitions, and always put other people first before himself. It saddened me that he had to make up for his looks like that. But it just goes to show that ugly people are nicer. Most of them anyways. I'm sorry, but I can't make you look beautiful. I sighed in defeat, and shame. If I didn't pain him looking beautiful, he'd be so upset. Even more so than he was. And I couldn't have that.

But I would still paint him his picture, because I promised I'd paint him, and I would.

After a day of wondering how I should go about this, I did the only logical thing I could do. Paint him exactly how he looked. Because, really, Lee was a beautiful person. Upbeat, happy, an all in all wonderful little boy. I'd be proud to be his mother, or his sister, or his teammate. But I'll just settle for being his friend and neighbor.

The painting took me another day, because I had to get it perfect. I'd never cared about cheering someone up this much, and if he liked it, maybe he'd introduce me properly to Hyuuga-kun. ((Hopeful, but doubtful))

"Lee Kun!" I called, seeing him the next day. "It's finished!"

"Sarasa-san," he said happily, then took the painting from me, and examined it. I shortened my breath, so hopeful. His eyes widened and he brightened up,

"Wow, I am great looking!" he said. I looked from the painting to him, and noticed no flaws in my painting. It looked exactly like him... I was confused, but I smiled. Glad he liked it, and glad he was feeling better.

"That's right, Lee-kun." I said.

...Yay, finally an update. Though it hasn't been that long at all. Well, it's kinda' been. Anyways, hope you liked it. And I noticed that until now, the artist didn't have a name. So I finally gave her one.