Ah, I couldn't wait until Monday…
Iron Threads
Chapter One:
Sealed
Lee entered the shrine with Gai and the rest of his team. They had all agreed to meet at the gates about half an hour or so before the wedding ceremony began. Gai was already there by the time the younger taijutsu specialist arrived. His teacher sported a dark green hakama set. Lee smiled and he was rather glad that Gai had ordered a similar one for him, which he was currently wearing. Tenten and Neji arrived a little later, arm in arm seeing as they had been going out for a year or so now. Tenten smirked when she saw the two of them and cracked several jokes about Lee's appearance.
"This is the first time I've ever seen you in anything besides a green jumpsuit for a long time. In fact, this is the first shade of green I'll actually say really suits you," she said. Lee only laughed and brushed at his hakama set.
"I only wear it on special occasions," he said. Gai slapped Lee on the shoulder.
"Lee looks great no matter what he wears!" their teacher declared. Lee smiled brighter when his teacher said that. Neji on the other hand didn't say much to him as they walked up the stone path. Tenten's face lit up as she spotted Ino and the rest of her team.
"I'm going to go talk with Ino before the ceremony. Save me a seat, all right?" she said. The boys nodded. As she left, both Neji and Gai's faces became rather solemn.
"Lee, are you going to be all right?" Gai asked. Lee felt his smile fading. He really didn't want to talk about this right now…
"I know how much Sakura means to you," Neji added. Lee forced a laugh and a flashy smile.
"That was all in the past!" he declared, "It's time to move on to the future!"
Gai put his hand on Lee's shoulder and Neji gazed at him pointedly.
"That façade would only fool Naruto and only for so long," the Hyuga told him. Lee sighed and scratched the back of his head.
"I already promised her I'd come," he said, "I don't go back on promises."
Lee and Neji heard and unabashed sniff. They turned to their teacher to see tears flowing from his eyes.
"My dearest Lee is showing such strength despite his heartbreak! I'm so proud of you!" the older man said. Lee felt himself beginning to tear up. Neji on the other hand felt rather sick and glared in annoyance as the two began their "stare into the sunset and never give up!" speech. Even though that episode with his beloved teacher gave the taijutsu specialist enough strength to walk into the shrine, it didn't change the pain in his heart.
They took their seats in the room, and it was then that Lee started to feel the weight of his heartbreak. Beside him at the ceremony sat Neji and Tenten, both blissfully unaware of the extent of his inner turmoil. Neji sat austerely, expressionless, Tenten smiled slightly, arm wrapped gently around his. In front of him sat Shikamaru and Ino, the newest couple in Konoha, the blonde quietly enraptured with the anticipation of a wedding, Shikamaru glaring to one side probably thinking about how troublesome the whole situation was. What was going on with all these couples sitting around him?
Lee saw Hinata enter the shrine with her old Genin team, Asuma and Kurenai and they both shot each other a knowing glance. She ended up sitting in front of him and to the side. He wondered how well she was holding up so far. The dark haired girl was sitting quietly between Kiba and Shino from her team, no hint of sadness creeping onto her features. Lee knew she was breaking inside, for while she didn't look sad, she didn't look thrilled either. The room was called to order, the wedding ceremony was to commence.
Their fate was sealed with a kiss. Naruto and Sakura were wed in holy matrimony and vowed to love and protect each other until they died. Lee inwardly flinched at those words. He had vowed to protect Sakura until he died. Even though he was young, he honestly meant it, he reminded her so many times. He loved her, didn't she know that? Was it just so hard to love him? What did he have to do for her to smile at him the way she did at Naruto?
His hands balled into fists and his jaw was set. He loved Sakura, couldn't bear the thought of living without her. Tenten glanced over at him with a worried expression. There were just subtle differences in Lee's demeanor that really bothered her. Neji dismissed her worries and glanced at him furtively. Lee however continued to battle his inner thoughts. Springtime in his spirit had become embroiled in summer, it was hot, angry and confused. His eyes were fixed on Sakura, her smiling face, her graceful features, her hands in Naruto's when they should be in his.
The taijutsu specialist tore his eyes away from her and glanced at familiar faces in the crowd to ease his burning thoughts. There was Gaara of the Desert, his siblings; Temari and Kankuro, Sakura's family, Tsunade, Kakashi, Jiraya… His eyes eventually traveled over to Hinata. Much to his surprise, she was smiling placidly. Tears streamed down her face, and she wiped them away with a handkerchief. Lee knew what she had probably said to Kiba and Shino when they asked why she was crying. Something along the lines of how beautiful the ceremony was and how happy the couple seemed. Hinata was gracious like that.
The ceremony ended around six. Naruto and Sakura had personally invited their friends to a party to be held afterwards at their house and all invited attended. It was a happy event, both Lee and Hinata would smile with everyone, but they'd glance at each other and both knew what was going on behind their masks of happiness.
Lee sat at a table with his team. Not long after dinner had started, Gai had gotten up to drag Kakashi into some sort of challenge as usual. Hinata came over to the table shortly after and sat in between Lee and Neji. Tenten smiled broadly at the younger girl.
"So Hinata, how'd you like the ceremony?" the weapons specialist asked. Hinata smiled and smoothed her lavender kimono.
"It was very nice," she replied, "It was just so lovely I was moved to tears."
"Me too…" Tenten said placing her chin in her hands, "I hope my wedding is just as beautiful, don't you Neji?"
The Hyuga boy snapped to attention, "Hn? Oh, yes. Beautiful wedding, of course."
Tenten grumbled and smacked him on the arm and Lee and Hinata chuckled.
"Your girlfriend is dropping hints, Neji," Lee informed his teammate. In the middle of the hysterics, Temari came over to the table.
"Come on Tenten and Hinata, we're going to play a game," she informed the girls. Lee crossed his arms.
"Can't I play too?" he said raising a thick eyebrow. The blonde laughed.
"This game is girls only, Lee," she said. Tenten jumped up, eager to have fun, but Hinata sat apprehensively in her seat.
"I'm not sure I really want to play…" the Hyuga heiress said softly. Tenten rolled her eyes and grabbed Hinata.
"Come on, girl! You only live once!" the weapons user told her. Hinata let out a couple more soft spoken pleas as the two of them dragged her to the growing circle of girls. Kakashi, Jiraya, Gai, Naruto, Tsunade and Gaara headed over to the tables near the one Neji and Lee were sitting at.
"Gaara said that this game gets rather messy so we should be a safe distance away," Naruto said as he sat beside Neji with a bottle of saké.
"What kind of game are they playing?" Neji asked. Gaara smirked.
"The most dangerous game of all," the Kazekage replied, "Just watch and listen to the rules and you'll see."
Temari put an arm around Sakura's shoulder and smiled rather mischievously.
"In the Wind Country we have a tradition," she began, "The bride will throw her bouquet of flowers into a crowd of unmarried women and who ever catches it will be married next!"
The eyes of every male present shot open in alarm. The other girls in the circle giggled in excitement. Hinata didn't seem to share the enthusiasm of the other girls at this prospect. Sakura smiled and agreed to play the game. Jiraya smirked and turned to Tsunade who was drinking sake.
"Why aren't you playing, Tsunade? They said all the unmarried women can play, they didn't say how old," he said nudging her playfully. Tsunade snorted.
"Those young girls wouldn't even stand a chance," she said, "I'm betting anyway. I'm going for Anko."
"My money's on that Temari girl," Jiraya said.
"Girls have strange games, don't they?" Naruto said as he poured a round of saké for everyone, save Lee of course. Shikamaru snorted in agreement and downed his shot. Sakura turned around to toss her flowers over her shoulder. Kakashi grinned under his mask as the girls got ready.
"Be prepared to see some of the best kunoichi battles of the century," he said. Jiraya was also rather excited, a little too excited.
"Oh, a cat fight, how sexy!" he said, "More inspiration for my novel!"
Tsunade responded by smacking him forcefully on the shoulder. Neji chuckled a little as he saw the intense look on Tenten's face. With one light toss, Sakura threw the bouquet high into the air. Before the flowers even it the ground there were shuriken flying and jutsu being used one after the other. Sakura looked alarmed by the violence.
"All of the best are out there," Neji said, using his byakugan to see through the cloud of dust Temari had kicked up using a smaller fan, "Except one. Hinata is no where to be found in the fray at all."
Neji turned to Lee who was uncharacteristically quiet this whole time. He leaned over to the taijutsu specialist and looked gravely into his eyes.
"Hinata is outside," he whispered, "She's not too happy. Since you're her friend, I think it best you get her."
Lee was about to say something when his teammate added, "There's no one I trust with her more."
The taijutsu specialist nodded and got up to leave the building. Thunder roared in the distance. He grabbed an umbrella for safe measure. Naruto squinted at the rain that began to fall.
"You know what they say about when there's a storm on your wedding day," Kakashi said.
"No," Naruto said, "I don't know what they say."
"I figured you wouldn't. They say that if there's a storm on your wedding day, your marriage will be a long and happy one," his teacher finished. Neji also turned his attention from the fight to the rain. That wouldn't be a good sign for Lee and Hinata.
Lee found his friend on a bench, her face in her hands. Her body shook with sobs and the rain was already beginning to soak through her kimono. The dark haired boy had a bit of a flashback to when he had first really talked to her that day so many years ago. Only she hadn't been crying then…
He smiled a little and walked over to her and held the umbrella over her head. Hinata's face didn't leave her palms. She knew it was him. He eased into the space beside her and put a strong, bandaged arm around her shoulders. She wiped her tears away as best she could and she looked up at him sadly.
"Lee…I…I love Naruto so much…" the Hyuga heiress said, "This is the one time in my life when I really should give up. The person who is most important to me doesn't feel the same. He's chosen someone else to live for. I really, really should just give up. But…I can't. I just can't."
Lee looked down at the stone path. All that work, all the things he did, was for nothing. He had gotten the strength, but now he had no one to protect. The two of them locked eyes, her pearly white to his black.
"I can't give up either," he replied finally. Hinata's eyes welled up with new tears and she buried her face in his chest. She was beyond wondering why and how Naruto could pass her by, she was more concerned with the hurt left in the wake of her love. Her slim fingers curled into fists and wrinkled Lee's shirt. He wasn't too concerned, for he felt himself succumbing to the tears that he had kept back throughout the day. The two friends huddled under the umbrella sharing the heartbreak of their smashed dreams.
They returned to the party in time to see Anko parade triumphantly with the wedding bouquet. Jiraya begrudgingly forked over the money he owed Tsunade. Sakura on the other hand was already trying to heal some of the downed kunoichi.
"Tsunade-sama, could you please help me? Even just a little," she said. Tsunade shook her head.
"You agreed to play the game knowing full well what was going to happen," she replied. Sakura looked around desperately, there had to be at least one kunoichi that wasn't injured or hadn't left. She spotted Hinata. Although she was slightly confused as to why the Hyuga heiress was soaking wet, she begged for her help. Hinata politely obliged and rolled up her sleeves. Anko finished her victory parade long enough to realize something.
"What good is this thing if I don't have a guy to marry me?" she said. As soon as every single male in the building heard her words, they instantly vanished in a puff of smoke. Anko scanned the room, biting her lip and squinting in thought.
"Married, married, has a girlfriend, married…" her eyes fell on Jiraya who winked rather suggestively. She stared at him for a few more moments before her eye twitched, "No…"
Her gaze finally rested on the only single shinobi that hadn't tried to hide, mainly because his nose was stuck in the latest novel in the Make Out series, Make Out Armageddon. She smiled evilly and pointed directly at Kakashi.
"You!" she cried, "You shall be my boyfriend!"
Kakashi looked up finally, seemingly unaware of what he had been dragged into.
"What?" he asked as Anko came to his side. She pulled him up by his arm and snaked her arm around his.
"Now nothing will stop me from claiming this man as my husband!" she declared. With that she let out laughter that could only be described as slightly evil. Kakashi on the other hand didn't seem disturbed by the girl at his side and continued reading his book. Lee and Hinata smiled in amusement despite being soaked to the bone. However, neither would admit that the water that streaked their faces was more than just rain.
What, you thought I'd let Hinata catch the bouquet? I'm Anko all the way, baby!
Thank you,
axbrokenxsmile: I'm holding the torch for SakuLee. I won't give up just yet. I want Sakura and Lee to have pink haired children with shiny smiles. I'm almost certain everyone will stay friends. Friendship is a major theme in shounen manga, more so than love.
HarvestMoonRacoon: I love your penname. It made me smile. I'm so glad you like the story so far. When writing a crack pairing, you must be ready for any and all opinions. I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me I was completely insane for trying this or just down right flamed me. I'd appreciate an offer of help more than a flame though…
Constructive criticism is still wanted. Tear down to build up.
