Oh yeah, this one's in Lee's point of view! And it's like, one of the last chapters! Finally it's ending! T3T

Chapter 16: When all I know has been lost…

Throwing a flurry of aggravated punches at a large innocent tree stump he cursed himself in his mind. Why? Why had all this happened? It was all too confusing and to get some of his pent up frustration out he continued to beat on the poor dead tree.

I loved Gaara-san… No, I love Gaara-san. Why? I threw another power packed punch at my immobile target. Why had he been so cold? And after that night… I really thought we shared something, something indescribable. I spun counter-clockwise and kicked my target with a sort of resentment. I continued to kick it, working my legs now instead of my arms.

When I thought about him my heart hurt, it wasn't a pain like being stabbed, but more like the blood was being drained and turning cold. Did he really hate me? No, he couldn't. But why did he act that way towards me? Had he ever loved me? Had he just used me? Was it all one big mistake? I threw a bout of punches mixed with kicks at the wretched tree stump.

No, I couldn't let myself think like that! Something must've happened, did I do something wrong? Had we gone too fast? Did he regret it? I didn't, I cherished every moment we shared. What if he had decided he didn't want me, that I wasn't good enough? I threw more kicks and punches at my target; if I wasn't good enough for him I'd become good enough. Through hard work and determination anything's possible! Using my ninja way and proving myself worthy of his love I'd win over Gaara-sans heart! I landed a victorious punch onto the target, this one full of my hope and dreams. It knocked the tree stump up and out, roots and all. Since I had used my left arm it stung a bit, but I was proud of the pain. Physical pain was nothing, and if I didn't let the mental worries get to me I'd be good. But how long would it be before I saw Gaara-san again? Days? Months? Years? No! Not years, I couldn't stand to wait that long. He'd have to come here sooner or later, right? And if he didn't I find a way to visit him. Even if he refused to see me I'd see him, somehow. And when he saw me he'd fall in love, because I'd become the best man I could possibly become to prove my love for him.

But first I had to replace this dead tree. Now that the roots were out of the ground another tree could grow in its place. I moved the tree stump and roots, shaking off most of the dirt before tossing it aside. I looked around and gathered a couple of acorns off a near-by tree. I usually planted acorn trees, since they were easy and when they grew up they'd become homes of some of the squirrels in this forest. I went back to where the tree had been pulled out of the ground. The upturned earth was easy to move and soft to the touch. As I buried the tiny acorns I smiled. They were small now, but they had the potential to grow strong and tall, and over shadow everything. I swore that my love would be like these acorns, it might be small and almost unnoticeable right now but soon it'd swell and grow, overshadowing all doubt. I stood up and put my hands on my hips, looking up at the treetops.

"Lee!" I heard my name called and turned to see the bright blue-eyed fair-haired boy known as Naruto coming towards me.

"What is it, Naruto-san?" I asked, he stopped to catch his breath before answering. He looked up at me and I saw a smile on his small tan face. He was shorter than me by about half of a foot.

"It's Gaara! He's here in Konoha!" He said, excitement in his voice. Naruto had been the only person I had told about my feelings toward Gaara-san. After I had told him my tale of forbidden love he had told me his, about the love he and Sasuke secretly shared. I was a tad jealous of them; because they lived in the same village it was easier for them to see each other. But I was happy for Naruto; he deserved happiness after all he'd been through.

"Really? Why would he be here?" I asked, becoming anxious with anticipation. If Gaara-san was here already I didn't have time to become a better man for him. But he had come after only a few days; did he come to say he was sorry and that he wanted me back? Had he missed me as much as I had missed him?

"Yeah, he's here, but I don't know why. He's heading towards Tsunade-baba's place." Naruto said, looking away from me.

"Tsunade-sama?" I asked, to make sure. Why would he go to see her unless it was for business? He didn't come to see me, he came here on business…

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, but he's acting strange. I didn't talk to him personally but I saw him actually chatting with other people!" That was very out of character, especially considering it was Gaara-san we were talking about.

"Where is he right now?" I asked. Maybe if I went to see him… Maybe he wanted to see me. But he couldn't because he was here on business… That had to be it! So I must go to him.

"I'll show you, just follow me." Naruto said merrily, jumping into the trees, I followed close behind. My mind was racing, what was I supposed to do? What should I do when I see him? Do I just go up to him and proclaim my undying love for him? Or is that too flamboyant? Do I follow him until he's alone and then surprise him from behind? No, that one would probably get me killed. What if I proposed to him, promising that we'd never be apart again? But I haven't got a ring. My thoughts went as fast as my feet did as I followed the small and very agile Naruto through to forest until we arrived back at the village. I followed him onto the roofs of the buildings. He suddenly paused about three blocks away from the Hokage's tower. I had trouble stopping without running into him. I looked at Naruto as he looked down at the street.

"What is it?" I question, not yet looking down at the street. Naruto quickly turned to me and shushed me, motioning for me to come and look down at the dirt road. I came a few steps closer so I could easily see over the edge. I then spotted Gaara-san, standing there in the middle of the street. He was as lovely as I remembered, if not more. He was wearing his official Kazekage clothes, not the casual clothes I'd seen him wear before. I was only when I saw Gaara-sans lips move that I noticed he was talking with someone. I looked to see he was having a conversation with Neji. Why would he want to talk to him? Their conversation was short and ended with polite smiles, which was very out of the ordinary for both of them. Gaara walked away and continued towards the Hokage tower.

"You see what I mean?" Naruto said in a hushed voice to me. I nodded. I had subconsciously crouched down and now we both stood up. "Well, you can do the rest on your own. Good luck." He said, giving me his own rendition of the nice guy pose before leaving. I would've smiled and waved Naruto good bye but I was a little too confused to do anything. When I awoke moments later from my stupor I saw Gaara-san walking about a block ahead of me. I had to follow him, but I didn't know why. I could've just gone up to him, but I didn't want to, I wanted to see why he was here first. I followed him by rooftop and tried to be as stealthy as I could, which was pretty stealthy, since I'm a ninja and all.

He didn't stop to talk to anyone now, but now and then he'd look around very subtly. He knew his way, so why was he looking around? Was he looking around for something, or maybe, someone? Maybe he was looking for me… No, that couldn't be it. But I had to keep my hopes up. I followed him until he approached the door to the Hokage's tower. It seemed as if he sighed before he opened the door and stepped inside. I knew he'd have to go to the top floor to get to Tsunade-sama's office so I scaled the building and sat on the roof. What was he doing here? Why had Tsunade-sama sent for him? Or had he asked for a meeting with Tsunade-sama? I was tempted to go to the window in the office and peek in but I didn't. And if I did I'd only be spotted and give away my position. I'd just have to wait until the meeting was over and talk with Gaara-san afterwards.

So I sat there, maybe half an hour, enjoying the view. I looked up at the clouds, looked off into the forested distance. It was calm and relaxing. I still kept aware of my surroundings, in case Gaara-san came out of the building anytime soon. But nothing happened. No one came, no one left, and I didn't even hear or see any birds flying in the area. It seemed as if life and time itself had stopped. And we were all waiting for Gaara-san together.

All of a sudden I heard a rattling of a window, the Hokage's office window, to be exact. I didn't move, and for some reason I felt as if I was caught.

"Lee-san?" I heard Tsunade-sama's secretary like woman say, I could never remember her name. I quickly came over to the open window, wondering how they had known I was out here.

"Coming!" I said as I jumped into the open window, landing right beside the woman. I looked around to see smiles on both the Kazekage's and the Hokage's faces. What was going on?