Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. For realz.


COLD FLOWER

Prologue: Gone

By Mokora


The breath caught in the peach-haired girl's throat. Nowhere. She couldn't find him.

His room was empty and dark, shadows slipping through crevices and covering every surface. Large trees outside cast angry gnarled shadows of demons across her pale face as she looked about. Her heart raced; her hands trembled. Her eyes found the source of the large crash she'd heard. Her eyes, though unbelieving, looked towards the large shattered window and stayed as her heart stopped.

Gone. He'd left.

Not again, shepleaded silently. She bolted from the room, darting down the corridor, the soles of her feet thudding loudly against the wooden-slated flooring, grazing the wall panelling as she made a sharp turn. Blood surfaced where her scrape became inflamed, and though it stung, it was just so minor and insignificant. He was gone.

Lee poked his head out of his room, with sleepy eyes, only wearing black loose-fitting pants. "Sakura?" He spoke quietly, seeing a flash of daisy-pink fly by, knowing that color solely as his one and only tenshi, Haruno Sakura.

She didn't stop.

He looked after her and she was gone in an instant, whipping down the stairs. "Sakura--! Sakura, what's wrong!" Lee hissed into the gloomy hall's newfound silence, worry hanging from his wavering tone. He threw his door open and took off after her, wondering if something had happened. It was 4:00 a.m. after all, and it really wasn't like Sakura to be thundering about the hallways. And a new-morning jog was definitely out of the question. His speed was superb, which allowed him to catch up with her rather easily, though, by the time he did, she'd already stopped.

She was now outside, the chilly night air lashing at her mercifully. She was wearing a mere sleeveless nightgown, burnt-red in color, falling about her knees. It bellowed in the thick wind, though she took no mind of the dislikable temperature. She was looking for him, but she feared he'd already gone.

Her aquatic eyes were wide, searching about madly, for just the faintest silhouette. Just the faintest sound, trail; the faintest trace of his being. Nothing. She just stood there, dumfounded. He'd gotten away. Again.

Lee stood behind her, but she was so lost in her own whirlwind of confusion, she failed to sense him there. He looked on sympathetically, wanting to run to her. He could guess at what had caused this. He probably left again, tearing her heart apart all over again.

'That cocky, arrogant bastard.' He fumed within his thoughts, clenching a fist. It was always his problems. Always his dreadful past, always his well-being. And despite how many times she'd helped him, stayed beside him despite his obvious flaws, he gave nothing. Nothing in return. Just turned away, leaving her to wonder again. Leaving her to wonder about how ugly she was, how she wasn't good enough. How could someone do that? Especially to such a rose as her. Such a great person, who gave nothing but unwavering love and generosity. Lee closed his eyes tight.

And when she was all torn up after that bastard's stupid antics, what could he do? What could he, Thick-Brows, possibly do to cheer her? She never deserved this, but she was a fool for that boy. Wrapped about him like a welded chain. Nothing could shatter it, no matter how many blows that chain took.

"Lee." Came a shaky little voice.

He'd been discovered.

He looked up instantly, seeing her eyes, glittering with tears that had yet to fall. He felt helpless. What could he do with a broken angel?

"He... He's gone... Again." She said, her bottom lip quivering as she fought to hold back the tears that had earned her the nickname 'Crybaby' so many times before. Lee half-exhaled, still holding air in his lungs as he watched one tear begin its journey downwards. God, how he hated watching her cry.

She rubbed it away quickly, casting her gaze downwards, though as soon as her hand left her cheek, another tear streamed down, making its way to her jawline. He sighed. More tears fell as she let out a grudging sob that shook her. A mistreated angel. That's what she was.

He took a few steps near her, though he stopped when she ran at him. He opened his arms and took her into an embrace, letting her sob into his bare chest. She clung to him, which felt nice, but he knew that she needed comfort and that was all. He could never give her anything more than that, because of him. He'd grown bitter towards the silent ninja over the years, seeing how little he cared for others. Of course jealousy played its part, but it was insignificant, compared to this tattered doll's heartache. Nonexistant, really.

He placed a bandaged hand on her head. "Sakura. It's cold out here. Let's go inside." He said quietly, hoping she wouldn't percieve that he was cutting her problems down in size in any way with the suggestion. She nodded and released him, finally taking a small notice to how cold it really was. He put a hand on her shoulder and walked her inside, where Kakashi waited, looking unusually serious.

Kakashi looked at Lee, expecting him to somehow understand his unspoken message. Lee did.

He led Sakura up the stairs as she hid her face. In his room, he gestured for her to sit down. She complied and hunched over, rubbing her left arm. He placed a blanket over her shoulders, and sat beside her, leaning over and resting his chin on folded hands.

"Thanks." She muttered, avoiding his eyes. "No problem at all." He replied with a weak little smile.

She hugged the blanket to herself, the same question echoing in her mind painfully. 'Why?'

"Why...?" She asked aloud, almost inaudibly.

Lee looked over, brows raised. He quickly regained his scowl, which signified deep thought.

"I really don't know, Sakura." He said honestly, wondering what on earth that boy's problem was. He had one of the best girls on earth, her heart in his hands. And he just tossed it, like it was nothing. How could a man do something so utterly moronic? Every man needs a woman, was Lee's belief. Man is nothing without woman. And that prick had the cream of the crop, for sure, but of course that would go to waste in his case, as everything else had and would. Lee cursed himself for that last thought. He was losing his temper, which he tried not to do, and now he was making testy assumptions, which was a sign of immaturity.

"Listen..." He said after a pause. She looked over, hanging her head a bit.

"I can't do much. I can't bring him back, that's for sure, and I can't replace him. And I can't do anything to make you forget about him. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to try." He said, smiling at her sadly. He could've sworn he saw a little smile flicker across her lips also, though it was gone in an instant, replaced with a sad little pout. A new wave of tears began to fall silently. "T-Thank you, Lee." She said, forcing a smile.

She truly loved Lee, as a very dear friend. He was infatuated with her, in the least, though she never saw him as more than a brotherly figure. Always there, when anything happened to her. Great, bad, unsure. He always knew just what to say, and she wondered if she would be so stable if he hadn't been there to comfort her as she looked for him, to no avail. She rested her head upon his shoulder and he couldn't help but fluster a bit. He felt that hated burning sensation in his cheeks, and so he patted her head affectionately and stood. "I need to talk to Kakashi. For just a sec." He said, pulling on a green shirt. "You'll be okay?" He asked, genuinely concerned with her being alone in her current state. She nodded, smiling sadly.

"You can sleep in here tonight, if you want. I'll be back, if you wanna talk." He gave her an encouraging wink and waved as he left the room. She sprawled out on his bed, watching the fan swirl hynotically, her thoughts scrambled and confused. 'Why?' 'Why does he do this to you, Sakura?' 'Why doesn't he care?' 'Why don't you hate him?' She closed her eyes, wanting Lee beside her again. She turned over, grabbing a pillow and stuffing it partly under her head and squeezing the other half tightly, her eyes closed fiercely. She wished she could just not think about anything, for once.


"Ne. Kakashi." Lee looked towards the sensei as he entered the shady main room. Kakashi didn't move at all. Lee fidgetted.

"Wuh... Why did he leave again?" He asked hesistantly. Kakashi closed his visible eye and sighed. "He was wronged."

"You mean..."

"Yes."

"He's... here?"

"No, but Sasuke believes after this past productive year of rigorous training, it's time to win or die."

"But... Last time..."

"He's gotten much stronger, I assure you. I've seen him fight recently, and believe me, he rivals the strength of the senseis. He has much more confidence. More will."

'Great,' Lee thought with a silent scoff. 'Just what that hothead needs.'

There was a pause there while Lee hesistated. Would he dare ask? And if the answer was undesirable, could he keep that from Sakura?

But he had to know.

"...Could he win?"

The silence was uncomfortable and nervous. Lee pulled at his fingers, needing something to distract his hands while he probed dangerously.

"Maybe. If the odds are in his favor." Kakashi said, scratching his head. Lee could barely make out his senior's shape in the filtered darkness. "I don't know much about his brother. I don't know how he'll do. And I don't know when he'll return. But I knew this would happen." He stopped, now standing and stretching a bit.

"How's Sakura?" Kakashi asked, knowing how engrossed she was with the missing boy.

"She'll be alright, I hope. I'd give her a few days to mope." Lee said, laughing wryly. Kakashi nodded. He gave Lee's shoulder a swift pat and smiled beneath his face-cover. "You've all grown into such nice dramatic and hormonal teenagers." He chuckled light-heartedly. Lee sighed, hopeless, as Kakashi retreated to his downstairs room.

'It's no time to laugh, Kakashi.'


Sakura squeezed the tear-stained pillow to her bosom, wanting to just disappear. Suddenly, the door creaked. She lifted her head quickly and instinctively, seeing Lee entering with a little wave. "How are ya?" He asked, pulling his shirt off again, hating to sleep with it on.

"Fine." She lied.

"You gonna sleep in here?"

"Are you gonna try anything?"

He laughed sheepishly, scratching the nape of his neck with brows tilted upwards. "No, of course not."

"Then I will." She fell back upon the pillow and attempted to sleep, but visions of him flashed upon the backs of her eyelids.

'Sasuke... Come back soon... And be careful...' She pleaded in her thoughts, one last tear trailing along the bridge of her nose and plopping onto the pillow, instantly absorbed.

Then she slept.


xoxoxoxoxo

Oh, how I've wanted to write this, for the longest time. I totally love Naruto, thus, I notoriously decided upon this thing here. xD Bwar.

And concerning the pairings, so you're not confused, I plan to make this SasuSaku. No, Sakura doesn't have romantic feelings for Lee. And though I won't reveal too much, I plan on ShikaIno, NejiTen, and NaruHina. I'm also throwing some new teams in with new characters. Yeah yeah, OC alert. But please read! It'll be good! Don't avoid it because of OCs! T.T

Oh, and the characters in the beginning of the story are about 15. This is because it takes place after Sasuke returned from his visit with Orochimaru. Thus, they're growing up, faces all sort of stuff. And this is only but a prologue, so the first chapter will start out about a year later. Just a warning for ya! xD

When I finally get off my ass and decide to scan the chara sketches I did of my OCs to give you a better picture of them, I'll post them on my art site, (URL in my profile,) which is currently pretty much... freakin' empty. I haven't posted like, ANY art or fanfics. But the navigation is alright? Nope. Scratch that. That's not done either.

o.o;; Woo. Yeah buddy.

I plan on making this a long one, with drama, cursing, PG-13 loveness, death, angst, comedy, OCs, fluff, and lotsa LOTSA blood! xDDD Flippin' right on. And I'm aiming to keep all charas in character at all times, and making the lovey-dovey stuff realisitic. Wish me luck! x.x;;

Thanks for any and all reviews. x3