Iron Threads

Chapter Six:

Pressure


Hinata's illness lapsed back with a virulent vengeance. Tsunade was called to her side to diagnose the Hyuga clan leader and prescribe medicine. The older healer basically quarantined the girl and Lee as well. He had caught a much lighter version of Hinata's fever, but Tsunade ordered the two of them to stay inside until further notice. The two friends spent a lot of time together now that they both were forced to relax. Well, Lee relaxed as best as he could, he still had to do his customary two thousand push ups, sit ups and other exercises. Hinata was rather achy and uncharacteristically in need of being held. She spent many an afternoon asleep in the safety of Lee's arms. Lee recovered from his fever a lot sooner than Hinata and she urged him to go check on their Genin teams.

Lee obliged her and checked on her team first. Tenten was meeting them at the shop and he stopped by as their lesson for the day began. His old teammate hugged him upon seeing the green clad boy. The three Genin merely crossed their arms in annoyance.

"Where's Hinata-sensei?" Reiko asked.

"She's very sick," Lee said, "She asked me to check on you guys for her."

"Tell her we're fine," Yuji told him, "We can't wait to have her back."

Kyo glared at Lee and turned away. The taijutsu specialist smiled knowingly and turned to Tenten.

"Has Kyo been acting up for you?" he asked the weapons expert. She shook her head.

"He's been making good progress," Tenten told him. Lee tousled Kyo's hair.

"I knew you had some discipline in you," he said. Kyo grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Lee bid the children good bye and left. He then went to go see how his team was doing. As he came up to their usual meeting spot, he couldn't help but smile as he saw Gai giving the team their morning pep talk. The kids spotted him as he came up the road and ran to him.

"Lee-sensei, you're back!" Miho cried, "You don't know how happy I am!"

"She's not nearly as happy to see you as I am!" Takeshi told his teacher.

"It's good to have you back, Lee-sensei," Kazuo told him. Gai caught up with the group and gave his former student a thumbs up and a flashy smile. Lee responded in kind and all the children gave them both exasperated sigh.

"So, how is Hinata-san? You guys are home a little early," Gai noted.

"There was some issue with her being there. We left as soon as the danger became too great. I promised to protect her with my life," Lee told him, "As long as I live, I won't allow her to be hurt by anyone."

The younger Jounin blinked a few times before he remembered that his team was still listening. The boys were giving him strange looks while Miho was smiling brightly.

"That's so romantic, Lee-sensei!" she said clasping her hands together, "Do you like Hinata-san?"

Lee blushed and scratched the back of his neck, "I…uh…"

"He does," Kazuo said smirking. Takeshi rolled his eyes and Miho clapped her hands in excitement.

"Lee-sensei is in love!" she said. Gai's face was unusually calm during most of the carrying on. But he broke out of his contemplative state and put his hand dramatically on Lee's shoulder.

"So, Lee has had his heart stolen by another lovely kunoichi of Konoha," he said, "Now remember my dearest student, to pursue her with all the power of your youthful heart!"

"Yes, Gai-sensei!" Lee said. Gai put his arm around the younger boy and pointed to what the children liked to call "sunset on demand" as the wind blew gently across their bowl cuts.

"Look to the horizon, and allow this new flower of love be the loveliest of the springtime in your soul!" the older man declared.

"Yes, Gai-sensei! I'll do just that!" Lee said, tears streaming down his face. Takeshi and Kazuo slapped their palms to their foreheads, while Miho was crying herself.

"I wish someone loved me as much as Lee-sensei loves Hinata-san," she said wiping her tears. Takeshi gave his sister a strange look and vaguely wondered if Hinata, the lovely woman he had seen around town with the milky white eyes, had actually fallen for his teacher, possibly one of the dorkiest guys in Konoha. Save Gai, of course.


Hinata was finally glad to be taken off her quarantine. The maids aired out the house and she, although still rather sick, was more than happy to receive visitors. Hanabi was finally permitted back into her sister's quarters. The younger girl was both surprised and happy when she saw her sister and Lee walking into the tearoom hand in hand. Her obnoxiousness had paid off. Hanabi went off to her morning mission with a light heart and a smile. Her sister was happy, there wasn't much left for her to worry about.

Later that day, as Hinata and Lee sat under the warmth of the kotatsu in the tearoom, they were informed that they had very important visitors. Naruto and Sakura had returned the day before so she was half expecting Naruto to come and tell her of the negotiations. She wondered just who she would send if she really had no other choice but to bend to the Raikage's demands. Lee squeezed her hand reassuringly and she smiled. A maid entered to tell her that her guests had arrived.

To their surprise Naruto and Neji entered the room.

"Neji! You're back from your mission so soon?" she said as she ran to hug her cousin. The older Hyuga hugged her back. He then held his cousin at arm's length and gazed down at her sternly.

"I heard that you were going to Cloud Village on your own to appease the Raikage," he said almost coldly. Hinata bit her lip, but kept her eyes on his.

"Yes," she replied, "I was going to go."

Neji's jaw clenched and he continued to give her a rather agitated look.

"Why would you do such a thing?" he asked.

"I wanted to do what I thought was best for the family and for Konoha," Hinata replied. Neji shook his head.

"You also wanted me to feel even for what happened to Father," he said. She didn't break her fix on his eyes. He breathed deeply and raised his hand to slap her. His hand never connected, Lee grabbed his wrist as it was mere hairs away from her face.

"What Hinata did was foolhardy, yes. I will not debate that," the taijutsu specialist said, "But her intentions were good, and she wasn't exactly thinking clearly. She did have a very high fever until about a few days ago."

Neji gazed at Lee blankly for a few moments, reading his actions. He smiled slightly and nodded.

"I see," the Hyuga boy said. Naruto sat at the tea table and the others did likewise.

"I'm the Hokage, Hinata. Let me decide what's best for Konoha," the blonde told clan head, "A lot of things have happened since you returned home."

Hinata ordered the maids to bring tea for four and motioned for him to continue.

"It all started with the mission I gave Neji quite some time ago," the Hokage said, "I told him to keep an eye on the Cloud Village. So every few weeks he'd leave on an extensive information gathering quest. What he found was interesting. The Raikage was bent on starting a war. His reasons are more political than anything, but he needed a reason to go to war. So he thought he could pull the last Raikage's trick and start a war over the Hyuga."

"Bottom line is, whether or not we send a Hyuga, there's going to be a war," Neji told the two of them. Hinata sipped her tea quietly and nodded slowly.

"How do you know this for sure?" Lee said. Neji smirked.

"I posed as a Hyuga without a curse seal," he said, "A simple disguise jutsu, it was basically me without the mark. It was then, the Raikage slipped. He laughed and told Naruto to expect an official notice of war. Kazekage-sama and his siblings got me out of the Cloud's clutches and we are currently preparing for an all out assault if such action is needed."

Hinata sighed and shook her head in disbelief. They were going to war. Would everyone in this room still be alive in the coming months? This was serious. Naruto excused himself, he had to go take care of some work back at his office. Neji motioned that he wanted to talk to Lee outside and Hinata was left alone. That wasn't to last for long, a maid told her she had another visitor. That confused Hinata.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Maito Gai," the servant answered. Hinata wondered as to why he'd want to see her, but she told the maid to show him in anyway. The older man entered and bowed to her.

"Good afternoon, Hinata-sama," he said, "It's good to see you better after so many days of illness."

"It's a pleasure to see you as well, Maito-san," she told him and motioned to a seat across from her.

"Please, call me Gai," he told her.

"Very well, Gai-san," she said, "What business do you have with me?"

He stroked his chin thoughtfully, "The business is with my dearest Lee's heart."

Hinata was surprised and she felt her cheeks turning pink.

"So he's told you about how he feels about me…" she said.

"Yes, and let me tell you that I am very happy that he's moved on since Sakura-chan," Gai told her, "But…Lee has already had his heart broken once. I won't let him be crushed like that again. So tell me Hinata-sama, do you also love Lee from the depths of your youthful heart?"

Hinata started at the older man blankly for quite some time. Her face turned bright red and she pressed her hands to her cheeks in a vain attempt to hide it.

"Gai-san uses such lovely language to describe how I feel," she said, "Yes, I…I do love Lee."

There, she finally admitted in plain English just how she felt. She couldn't quite understand how Lee's teacher could prompt such a strange reaction when he asked of her feelings… Gai was tearing up.

"You don't know how happy you're going to make him!" he said crushing her in a hug, "I know you're a shy person, Hinata-sama, but do not hold back the feelings in your youthful heart!"

"I…I won't…" she said softly. Gai was certainly an interesting person…no wonder Lee liked him so much…but she would take Lee over his teacher any day.


Neji and Lee walked through the barren Hyuga gardens. Both were rather glad for the moment of peace. Neji headed to the graveyard to his father's tombstone and stood there reflectively for a few minutes. Lee followed his friend silently and rubbed his right forearm in thought.

"So…How has your time with Hinata-sama been?" Neji asked finally turning to face his friend. Lee smiled and looked at the branch of a barren tree.

"It's been rather enlightening," the taijutsu specialist replied. The Hyuga boy smiled and motioned for Lee to come closer.

"You're rubbing your right forearm," the Hyuga noted and took Lee's bandaged arms in his hands, "You usually put that arm in front of your left when blocking."

Neji unraveled Lee's bandages and ran his cool fingers across a nasty burn that had formed over the healed scars.

"You fought Hinata without your bandages and she tried to use one of the more dangerous Jyuken moves on your heart. You blocked it, but you were burned by her chakra," Neji continued. The Hyuga spread out Lee's palms and winced a little at the burn marks. What ever had happened between the two friends wasn't a typical sparring match. For Hinata to harm Lee like that, she'd have to deliberately be trying to hurt him. Neji made it a point to ask Lee about just what had happened later.

"You caught Hinata's fists and she focused her chakra to her hands to try and make you let go," Neji added, "Tsunade treated you for them, that's why your burns are healing so quickly."

Lee smirked and began to wrap up his arms again, "Intuitive as always, I see."

"I'm not finished," the Hyuga told his friend, "You didn't look me in the eye when I asked you about your time with Hinata. However, when you were protecting her, you looked directly into my eyes. And that smile you had on your face a few minutes ago…you used to smile like that about Sakura when you loved her."

The green clad boy looked at his friend in surprise. Neji crossed his arms and gazed at Lee pointedly with his white eyes.

"Am I correct in assuming that you are in love with my cousin?" the Hyuga boy asked him. Lee sighed and blushed slightly.

"Yes, you are…I love Hinata," he told the white eyed boy. Neji snorted and turned his back to him for a few moments. Lee and Hinata…who would have ever thought? Lee stared at his friend almost in fear as Neji threw back his head and laughed. How else was he supposed to react? His cousin Hinata was pretty, adorable, quiet and mysterious, Lee was…unique, cute (according to Gai…), outgoing and wore his heart on his sleeve. Neji understood a friendship, but…love? The white eyed boy turned to Lee who was blinking in confusion.

"Is everything all right, Neji?" Lee asked. Neji shook his head and clapped Lee on the shoulder.

"Everything will be just fine, Lee," the Hyuga answered, "Just remember, that if you hurt her, you know all the ways I can hurt you."

Lee smirked and nodded knowingly at Neji, "Don't worry. Hinata will be safe with me."

Neji smiled one of his rare smiles, "I never doubted that for a second."


It should be noted that the women of Konoha have the most advanced network of relaying information among themselves. That was to say, from time Miho found out about Lee's affections for Hinata, she had run into Reiko during her team's morning laps around the town and told her the news. Reiko upon returning from the errand she was running for Tenten, told her teacher. Tenten found this piece of information too interesting to keep to herself and told Ino about it over lunch. Ino told Sakura about it as she stopped by the shop as was her custom. Sakura was so excited about it, she found that she simply had to have Ino and Tenten over to…well, harass Hinata about Lee.

This all took place within about five hours. This chain of events also excludes all the other networking that happened throughout the day. The bottom line was, by three o'clock that afternoon, as Hinata walked over to Sakura's house for afternoon tea, effectively half the women in Konoha knew that Lee was in love with Hinata.

Hinata arrived at the Hokage's residence and was practically dragged in by Ino, Sakura and Tenten. They sat her down and began the conversation innocently enough about Hinata's Genin team. Somehow the conversation switched to relationships. Sakura seemed to have the most to say about the topic.

"Honest and truly girls, married life is no joke," the pink haired girl began, "I think I love Naruto one minute and then he does something stupid the next and then I want to kill him by the third!"

Ino laughed, "It's kind of like when you were dating!"

"It's different!" Sakura said, "I didn't have to live with it all the time when we were dating, but now I do!"

"For better or for worse, Sakura, that's what you promised," Tenten reminded the Hokage's wife.

Sakura crossed her arms, "Well I'll bet Neji doesn't do stupid things every five minutes."

"You'd be surprised," Hinata and Tenten chorused. All four women laughed hysterically.

"I can safely say that Shikamaru does calculatedly stupid things," Ino said as her giggles died down.

"So he makes you mad enough to turn him on and things play on from there?" Sakura asked. Ino sighed and nodded.

"And I know it's coming, but I fall for it every time…" she said crossing her arms.

Sakura gasped and placed her tea cup on the table quickly, "Oh, my goodness, Hinata, I'm so sorry! We're here talking about the men in our lives and we didn't consider that you weren't currently in a relationship!"

"So Hinata, when are you going to find someone worthy of your affections?" Ino asked putting her arm around the Hyuga girl's shoulder, "There's a lot of men to choose from…"

Hinata felt a blush tinge her face, "Ah…I know of all my choices."

"Yeah!" Tenten continued, "There's Shino, Kiba, Chouji, Sasuke…"

"No, Sasuke doesn't count anymore," Sakura interjected, "Ever since Itachi died and Sasuke has returned to the village, he's been really out of it…I mean really out of it. He's two steps away from being locked up in the mental ward."

"Okay, so Sasuke's not an option," Tenten said, "But who else is there…?"

"Lee!" Sakura added with an evil smile, "Lee's your best friend, isn't he?"

Hinata felt her face grow very, very hot.

"Ah…yes he is," she said softly. Ino smirked.

"What do you think of him?" she asked.

"L-Lee is…a v-very wonderful p-person…" Hinata began. All those years of trying not to stutter and now it comes back.

"Really?" Tenten said, "You two have had a lot of time alone lately, what with being quarantined in your quarters for so long. What did you guys talk about?"

Hinata knew her entire face was probably fuchsia by now. How could she tell them that they didn't do much talking, but she did sleep in his arms a lot and let him play with her hair and other cute things like that?

"W-we…uh…" she tried to answer.

"Oh, and another thing," Sakura added, "There's a rumor going around that Lee might be in love with you. Is there any truth to that, would you know?"

The Hyuga clan leader wished that there could be a sudden attack of Cloud Ninja right now.

"Ah…there is a lot of truth to it…" she said looking down and pressing her index fingers together. Great, a complete regression to her old self… The other girls leaned in closer.

"Yes, yes, go on!" Tenten urged. Hinata tapped her index fingers together apprehensively.

"Well…he uh…he…told me himself…not too long ago…" she said finally. The three kunoichi squealed in delight.

"Oh my goodness!" Sakura said, "That is so cute!"

"Do you love him back! Do you!" Ino asked. Hinata blinked and began to strongly desire that something random and distracting would happen suddenly.

"I…he…I…do…" she said finally. Tenten hugged her and the other girls clapped in excitement.

"Wow, I never thought old Bushy Brows would find love, but boy was I wrong!" Ino said.

"Don't call Lee that!" Hinata cried suddenly. She slapped her hand over her mouth and sank deeper in her chair as the others laughed at her expense.

"So has he kissed you yet?" Sakura asked. Hinata felt beads of sweat start forming on her forehead.

"Ah…well…" she began. She didn't really want to tell them yes, because if she did, they'd want details, and she'd have to tell them that the few kisses she and Lee did share were chaste and reserved, hardly the rough, passionate ones they were looking to hear about.

"Have you even told him, officially that you love him back?" Tenten inquired, "Be honest now."

"N-no…not really," Hinata told the older girl. Funny, she realized that she had told everyone who asked her about her feelings, but she hadn't told Lee himself.

Sakura looked up at the ceiling contemplatively, "I wonder what your children will look like…"

"Ch-Children!" Hinata cried, "W-what?"

"Yeah, I wonder if they'll take more after you or Lee…" the blonde girl added. Hinata stood up before they asked any more questions she didn't want to answer.

"I-I've got to go…" she told the three kunoichi. Tenten crossed her arms and snorted.

"You bet you do. Go confess your love to Lee already!" the older girl told the Hyuga clan leader. Hinata blushed and hurried out the house. The other women turned to each other and chattered eagerly about their encounter with the white eyed girl.

Hinata walked down the street twirling a lock of her hair absently. She bit her lip and swung her purse back and forth as she thought about Lee. How would she tell him what she was feeling? When? Did the atmosphere have to be just right? Who would help her?

"Hinata, I haven't seen you in ages!" a voice called to her. Hinata smiled as she looked up to see the smiling face of Kurenai.


"I see…" the older kunoichi said as she put groceries away. Hinata was sitting at her kitchen table holding her young son. Akira was the darling's name and Hinata loved the way the small child would coo softly when the older girl would rub his tummy. Kurenai smiled softly at the two of them.

"Looks like you and I are both embarking into uncharted territory," the red eyed woman said, "I'm trying to be a mother and you are about to go deeper into your relationship with Lee than you ever thought you would."

"Kurenai-sensei…I haven't told him how I felt yet…and…is there any special way, or time to tell him?" the younger girl asked. Kurenai took Akira into one arm and tousled Hinata's hair with the other.

"You'll know when the time is right," she told her former student, "Don't let Lee slip through your fingers. You know what it feels like to lose someone because you waited too long."

"Yes," Hinata said, "Lee…Lee means far too much to me. I won't just let him leave me like that."

Kurenai grinned, "Hinata, you've grown so much from the first time we've met. I expect great things for you. I have no doubt that you'll be happy."

Hinata smiled and left Kurenai's house with renewed confidence. As she turned the road to the Hyuga compound she saw Neji, Lee and a few servants carrying boxes. She ran over to them and asked what was going on.

"Well, Neji asked me to be your body guard until he came back," Lee explained, "So now he's back and I've got to go home to my apartment."

Hinata felt a million things at once. She looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Oh…I see…" the clan leader said softly. Hinata looked down at the ground for a moment or two, and then stood on her tip toes and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"I'll see you around then…" the white eyed girl said as she turned to leave. Neji, who had seen the exchange, was completely dumbfounded by the event. He snapped out of his stupor and waved his hand in front of Lee's face, which was frozen in a state of contented shock.

"Wake up, Lover Boy, you still need to go home," the Hyuga boy said.

"Home is where she is," Lee replied in a dreamy tone. Neji rolled his eyes and slapped the back of Lee's head forcefully.

"One step at a time, Lee," the Hyuga boy told him. Lee nodded dumbly and continued to stand in one spot for a while before carrying his box home.


Hinata entered the meeting room for the clan feeling strangely empty. Neji had returned and she congratulated him for a successful mission. The family had officially thanked Lee for all his hard work and sent him on his way earlier that day, meaning that he wasn't at her side like he always was before. She continued with the proceedings, taking care of a few matters before one of the male elders stood up and asked for the floor. Hinata graciously gave him the right to speak.

"It has come to the attention of the clan, that Hinata-sama has developed strong feelings toward your devoted friend, Rock Lee," he began, "While we of the Hyuga clan admire his strength and skill, but feel we must discourage you from pursuing him any further."

Hinata's jaw clenched slightly.

"Why shouldn't I pursue a relationship with Rock Lee?" she asked coldly.

"Well, it's about his condition," the elder continued, "He can't use genjutsu or ninjutsu. It would surely be in conflict with the Hyuga genes and taint the bloodline."

"Is that all that you're worried about? Do you not care about my happiness?" Hinata asked.

"On the contrary Hinata-sama, we want both you and your future children to be happy," the elder told her.

"Let's assume that Lee and I even decide to go that far. Would it be so bad if my children had to work for their skill, like Lee and I have done?" she said, "Would it honestly be that bad if my children weren't prodigies like Hanabi and Neji? My children may not be natural fighting geniuses, but they will be geniuses of hard work. That in itself is more valuable than any amount of natural talent and no drive to use it at all."

Hanabi and Neji smiled knowingly to each other. Hinata, for all her insecurities, had defended Lee against the clan. She had fully bloomed into a strong woman capable of getting what she wanted and being with whomever she wants.


Well, there's not much more left. By the end of the week, the story shall be officially over. Unless you want to stick around until next Monday for the epilogue which I was kind of forced into writing. It turned out pretty well.

Harpygirl91: I'm so glad you like it!

Prismatic Mirage: I'm glad you like it…even though Lee scares you…

Anim3addict: I'm so glad someone told me exactly why they like this story. I though this was going to be another one of those stories that people would just say "good, write more" without telling me what I was doing good so I can keep it up. I'm so glad everyone is in character. That's the hard part about crack pairings, you have to make sure everyone stays the way they are. I'll be looking forward to you detailed review.

padoopadoop: I'm so glad that you think it's believable. Thanks for reviewing!

You know what I want.