Author's Note: I got a lot of responses last chapter. Hopefully it will keep up, and I will keep writing. Actually, I wrote most of this chapter a few weeks ago—I just never got around to finishing it. :D

I forgot to put in a disclaimer before. So here it is: I do not own Naruto or any recognizable characters, etc.

Key:

Thoughts/Stressed/Flashbacks

"Dialogue"

Chapter Three: Debating and Fears

Rock Lee inhaled deeply and braced himself. He stood before a large, formidable door. The wood had large, mirrored glass panels sealed into it; he could see his tense reflection, down to his fingernails. He shuddered. There was no one walking on the streets of Konoha at this time; it was too hot and the sun too bold to be traveling outside.

Contrary to the accepted belief, he was not still the melodramatic teen he had once been. Sure, he was still passionate, but not quite as much about what he loved. And he had eased out of his corniness. And, yes, Lee's preposterous hairstyle still perched on his head, and his eyebrows were no thinner, but he'd grown taller and built his body back up after the operation until his muscles rivaled Gai-sensei's (which were quite defined).

People had long ago decided that Lee was only brawn (his taijutsu) and determination. Basically, everyone thought he was stupid—at least compared to Neji. Actually, he was quite intelligent. He could analyze situations as well as any other and had an excellent memory—he could remember the number of bricks on a wall from a different village—if he had counted them first. Lee still felt as fervently as he had before, but directed his passion into different spheres or kept it to himself. His self-control had gotten much better, and his view of what was acceptable and not.

His overly emotional speeches cut themselves short (except for the times where he was extremely flustered) and he said what was needed without too thick of embellishment.

…Though what he did say he exclaimed loudly; not many noticed the change.

When he'd seen Gai-sensei in the marketplace a week ago, he'd completely forgotten what he'd become over the years and had embraced his old instructor with tears.

But now that it was over, his facial expression twisted dramatically. It was fear. Cold fear that had him clasped in its clammy fingers and squeezed perspiration from his pores.

Maybe I should go back, thought Lee. Maybe it isn't a good idea. "And maybe it is," he murmured. "Maybe. But what if they don't like it? What if…"

A sharp detour took him into a very different place: Konoha Park. Trees, benches, and, of course, a generic fountain in the middle. It wasn't romantic at all, with its greyness and uncompromising coldness. And yet Lee sat on it, noticing it had been here that his heart had truly been broken for the first time.

Lee shrugged off the emotions on his shoulders, beat them back with a laugh, and stepped forward.

"Sakura-san."

"Lee-san! How are you?"

"Why…why did you ask me to come here?" His thoughts hadn't settled since her hurried telephone call. Perhaps this was it. His chance. She'd always told Lee that she did not like him romantically, but now…maybe…

The emotions came back, clamoring and loud.

"I have to tell you this face to face…it is…too personal for anything else. It will impact us both a lot."

He gulped. Perhaps…now…he could bring it out in his flak jacket pocket. A few months ago, upon walking by the engagement ring store, Lee had decided to check it out. After a few minutes in there he knew he had to buy one for the future. It had been expensive, but worth it. It was a promise that someday he would give it to someone. At the time, he'd thought it would be Sakura. He always had it… just in case.

Sakura squirmed nervously. Would he take it well? After all these years of her scorning him, surely he felt his love wane for her. She hoped so. Maybe he would love her still, maybe he would hate her forever. But she had to tell him.

"Lee-san…I…I…"

He slid his hand into the pocket, waiting for the magical words. Despite what Sakura thought, his affection had never wavered a millimeter, no matter how many times she snubbed him, or how brutally. Lee was in love; pure love.

"I…I'm engaged to Naruto."

His heart skipped a beat and he froze in shock. Slowly, one hand trailed from his open pocket to his side, eyes stiff and unblinking. Finally, a gasp. "What!"

"Lee…I'm sorry if you…um…are hurt. Please…please don't be angry with me." Her emerald eyes scrunched to create a barricade for the tears that were struggling to burst through. She couldn't stand him mad. She also couldn't bear Lee hating her. Just the thought of it had her beginning to cry.

He paused. He couldn't stand her sad. He took a deep breath and slipped on an expression of glowing happiness. "Oh. This is great! Congratulations! Ah! Lucky Naruto and you! Wonderful match indeed!"

The pink-haired maiden blinked, the liquid spilling quickly from her twin pools—not for the same reason as before, though. "You…think so? Truly…Lee-san? You are over me? You're not in love with me anymore! You'll give me up to Naruto?" Her questions were hammers battering his poor heart and attempting to force answers out of it.

"I did already," he said simply.

He closed the pocket on his jacket…forever.

"Oh! This is perfect!" She squealed and threw her arms around him. She squeezed and unintentionally rubbed her cheek into his chest. "You don't know what a relief this is! I was so worried I'd lose you as a friend!" Sakura released Lee and treated him to a smile of such gratitude and friendly affection that he almost choked on his next words, which he was obligated to say.

"…I…hope you two are happy." He swallowed bravely. "When is your wedding?"

"Six weeks from now!" Now that her apprehension had been killed, she was as bright and blithe as an engaged woman could be. "We're going to have a week-long honeymoon and—"

"I'm sure it will be superb," he commented agreeably. Inside, his heart broke.

"Oh, of course! Thank you, Lee, for slashing my fears! I'm so glad!" The expression she wore was so lovely that he couldn't take her happiness from her. Never.

"…Don't mention it." Ever, he thought.

He reached out into the water, feeling its coolness seal soothing thoughts into his sticky fingers. The heat touched his arms and sank in, attracted by the sadness pouring from his pores along with his sweat.

"I can't give up. I have to go through with it! I must complete my mission."

The birds, drowsy with the heat, asked in chirps what he was talking about.

"I must get my hair cut."

… … … … … … … …

Hair wet from her shower and a robe rightly wrapped around her person, Tenten was greeted by the impatient glares of her friends. "What took you so long!" shouted Ino. "We're not here to wait for you to relax in the shower!"

Tenten looked down at her poor, bruised feet—aching after tedious hours of shoving her feet into different heels from hell or pumps that made her feet pump.

"Sorry—"

The wind was punched out of her by Ino's shove. She tossed her into a chair and turned her away from the dresser mirror. Immediately, the woman began to rub lotion into Tenten's face, ordering her to do her own arms and legs at the same time.

"I don't think—"

"That's right, you don't think," said Sakura soothingly. "We do it for you today." Her tone was smooth and soothing; her year coaxing her academy students to do as she asked had not gone to waste—Tenten subsided to muttering and obeying. Haruno Sakura was not employed as such any longer; since her marriage, she'd given up on the slightly unexciting job and had devoted herself being as much of a help as possible—assigning missions for the new teams.

How she loved the looks on their faces as she informed them grimly that they were to pick up litter around the trees. Sakura wrote speeches for her husband, cleaned their home, and pored over all the paperwork he was supposed to do. She organized meetings and knew all the gossip when it happened. Sakura even went on missions from time to time. Her intelligence had not been forgotten. She was still known, not like Shikamaru, as a genius, but as an amusing person to ask advice of and help for difficult questions in virtually any subject. She had not a strategically strong mind but a mathematically sound one.

Presently, she did not feel like a normal housewife. Although life as a teacher had been a good experience, the monotony of every batch bored her. Not a Sasuke or Naruto in the bunch; just chipper girls and brassy boys who were adored by those same girls. Not her cup of tea. Life as the Sixth's assistant and a woman handling questions from anxious teens to harried strategists unable to figure out the answers to their statistical problems was quite fun. She always had someone to talk to, as well as time to herself, and never did she get the same response from the teams she arranged missions for. One day, she might go for being a Jounin, and then a Jounin sensei, but until then…

"I like thinking," grumbled Tenten, for all the world an annoyed seven-year-old who'd been cheated out of her recess to do extra jutsu practice.

"Stop talking!" The lovely blonde gripped Tenten's chin firmly and complained, "Why do you have to move when I'm comparing colors?" Yamanaka Ino yanked top of a lipstick. She held it against the backdrop of her victim's lips, eyebrows raised drastically. "Geez! You'd think she'd never put on makeup before!"

"Not true," came the retort.

"STOP MOVING!"

As the kunoichi rubbed color into her eyelids; Sakura moved on to her toes. Ino applied makeup skillfully to her lips, Sakura was busy with her nails. Ino did all else to her face, Sakura tackled her hair. Soon her best friend joined her as they prodded, brushed, combed, and commented.

"Your hair is long."

"How long's it been since you cut it?"

"I don't think we have to do anything with it…If she leaves it down…"

"Yeah, especially with that new outfit. This is good."

"Okay…can I get dressed now?"

In response, Ino nearly kicked her into the bathroom with her new clothes.

Emerging, Tenten looked better than she ever had. The subtle makeup applied accentuated rather than stood out; clothes casual, yet fit for such an occasion. Not to mention stylish.

Too bad she didn't look like this all the time. Her general appearance was not even remotely close.

"You used to be a train wreck, but…"

Sakura and Ino nodded in approval.

"We are so good."

… … … … … … … …

"I will do this!" On the other side of the mirrored glass, he was clearly discernable, but the hairdresser attempted to ignore him as she smoothed a thick paste into her patient's hair. Lee touched the knob hesitantly and then drew his hand back quickly.

"What if…this venture turns this hair into something…terrible?"

"Anything you do to your hair is better than that…"

Chuckles were heard.

"What! Who are you?" He turned, but was unable to sense anyone around him besides a woman cuddling her infant and throwing him irritated glances for yelling and upsetting her son.

He stiffened. "My hair isn't that bad."

"Yo."

A man popped into view from overhead, and Lee's ninja senses finally picked up on his footsteps as he ambled. Had Lee been in Jounin mode, he should've been able to notice the other man on the roof, but Lee was too preoccupied to pay attention. And…well, this man waving at Lee was one of the greatest ninja in Konoha.

Kakashi-san—Gai-sensei's eternal rival, he thought. "Kakashi-san. Are you telling me to do it?"

"Do what?" he evaded easily. Although he'd aged nearly a decade (a decade take a couple years) his looks betrayed little. The mask covered any laugh lines that may have appeared; his hair had been silver to begin with; his eye was as optimistically curved as usual. Daily training of his body had kept him fit; A-rank missions had sustained his ninja skills, and eating healthy had locked his youthful appearance in place. Still Hatake Kakashi had his "modern" answers, cheerful voice, and lithe movements.

After all, he wasn't middle-aged yet…but, as his former students liked to comment, in the homestretch. He was only in his mid-thirties. That wasn't old at all, was always his retort. And it wasn't.

Digressing.

"Get my hair done!"

"…Who said anything about hair?"

"Didn't you!" Now Lee understood why his teacher had been so frustrated with this Jounin. Well, he'd never really been on the receiving end of Kakashi's vague insults or comments.

"I don't remember." The fabric about his mouth stretched—he was smiling sheepishly. The corners of his eyes bent to further show the emotion.

Lee gritted his teeth, sucked in air swiftly, and exhaled heavily. "Okay. Should I do it?"

"…Hm…difficult question…I don't know."

Smoke poured out of Lee's ears.

"…But I think that you should find something to model your hair after before doing it and see if it matches you, perhaps in a jutsu."

With this wise advice, Kakashi meandered away, whistling.

Rock Lee scowled. He couldn't even mold chakra! He smoothed his irritated into complacency and retreated. He wouldn't change himself for his team! They wouldn't care about his looks, would they?

… … … … … … … …

The Hyuuga patiently folded his pants and tucked them into one of his duffel bags. He'd refused to unpack into the drawers and closet provided for him—it wasn't like he planned on staying after that day. After selecting an equally unremarkable pair of light pants suitable for the sweltering weather, he pulled out a plain white polo. He still wore bandages about on side of his body—one arm and one leg—but somehow it was less noticeable when he wasn't doing battle. His Konoha forehead protector was tied over more bandages, which hid his unpleasant seal. His long, dark locks were fashioned in the same style as they always had. It was tradition for him.

He dressed without a sound.

Neji was quiet in his fashion sense, one might say, and that reflected his inside. Cool, silent, and contemplating. One could see that he liked nothing of interest to others and didn't care. His build was that of a toned fighter. His facial features were, as always, handsome, but in a distant, rather intimidating way. His ivory eyes were as unsettling as usual. Manhood had claimed him in its most emotionless way.

Despite the fact that Neji enjoyed making people nervous and being as sarcastic as possible without seeming interested, he did not like association with others. At all.

Which was why going to this reunion displeased him so.

"Hey…do you want to go eat or hang out since we're done early?" Tenten, still girly at that time, waved at a ninja whose back was turned.

"No."

"…Sure know how to make others feel like they're wanted." She shrugged off his brusque response and went for Lee. Sure, she would be laughed at if she was seen with this dropout, but being lonely would surely be worse. Wouldn't it?

She debated with herself silently as Neji took to the high road. He had no regrets about leaving her there alone. Why would he? She was insignificant. At least that dropout boy was determined to beat him and kept him occupied for a minute or two—she was nothing and no one.

Everything about him proved that he'd never been one for friendship or socializing—not since he was four years young.

"Are you ready? You're to leave now!" Gai-sensei shoved his head into the room after a short knock.

It was most reminiscent of a parent telling their child to get up and go to the academy. However, rather than complain like an adolescent, Neji nodded curtly.

"I'm ready." His words were slow and measured. "I'll be leaving right after I come back for my things tonight."

"If you plan on leaving, you may. But you might change your mind."

"When I lose to Lee."

Gai shook his head and dragged him out the door.

… … … … … … … …

Rock Lee approached each other at the fountain that he had been at only hours ago. The filled his lungs. He wore a dark blue version of his old body suit and had donned his flak jacket. He looked the way he normally would, albeit the fact that he was not smiling. Actually, he had no expression—somewhat reminiscent of Neji.

The Hyuuga approached him soundlessly. Gai had dropped him off and left him at the gate after forcing him to renew his promise of keeping an open mind.

Rather than say anything, Lee decided to listen. His old teammate's breathing was regular, but there was no rustle to indicate that he had turned to look at him. Neji seemed to be avoiding his direct gaze. Lee followed suit.

Tenten appeared, having defied Ino and Sakura's orders by using ninja skills to jump here. She flapped her skirt down and dusted off imaginary particles on her blouse, never glancing up.

Slowly, the trio locked gazes and filled their eyes with each other.

… … … … … … … …

Review Answers:

Silver Sniper: I'm sorry! I completely forgot! ; I changed it right after I saw your review! Thanks! I hope it's funny. Next few chappies will border on more serious-ness and flashbacks to explain their pasts, or what they were doing for the past few years.

Frontier of Darkness: She is very OOC, I think, but I so wanted to portray her older self this way. Y'know? Just one of those urges? SasuHina? Hm. If I can still write it or fit it in, yes. D

ranchan: bows Thank you SO much! I feel honored and very happy. I will attempt to keep them as IC as possible, although I might get a little overboard with Tenten because, since she's such an obscure character, she doesn't exactly have a specific one.

blarghish: Thank you! Your review cheered me up about how pathetic my attempts at humor are. D

Magicians of the Yami: I will keep going, and thanks! D

bubblekid: Well, your review made MY day! D I'm excited too! D Hope you keep reading!

hikariko: You say SasuHina like it's a bad thing! XD Well, I'm sorry that I didn't update that quickly! My apologies!

trickmaster: Thank you very much for the nice comments! Feedback is AWESOME. I'll try to keep it up!

Farli: Ah, I think I've mentioned before that I LOVE long reviews! And wordiness is not a disease. We writers all are infected.

I'm trying as best I can to leave bits and pieces of Neji's past around, but you won't be seeing much until next chapter of what he's been doing. Actually, I have nothing planned about what he's been up to, so that should be a challenge.

I labored over the lee and Sakura part to keep it just so. It was weird, but I just had to write scenes of them together, because it's just so…heart wrenching, no? Thank you for the nice words about the shopping parts; putting a girl whose fashion sense died years back with two fashion fanatics is always a treasure.

I am sorry I don't have anything else interesting to say! I thank you very much and hope you continue to enjoy reading it as much as I do writing it! You're very professional about your critiquing, which makes me respect you a lot. D

jazzywolf: Thank you; I do try.

ani05tersrVIP: I appreciate your comments and you make me GLOW (well, not really). I heart ya and hope you get a new chair. Tenten, Neji, and Lee together always make a good read, eh? D

Firefly-Queen: I hope the rest is as great or better than my start! Thank you so much! D

X-Mirai-X: I would ask for their advice! Dang, I would probably need it in her shoes! XD Thanks for the review! Continuing as I can!

Sumi Lys: Your heroin, eh? xDDD I am, if I can muster up the idea of where to stick that in! Thanks!