Ok. change of plans. Grins. I know what I'm actually going to do now! Well, I might do Lee, then Gai, then Kakashi, then Kurenai, then Asuma, then Ino, Choji, Shikamaru, Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, something, then something. Anyway, I better get to work! Thanks forever, Darth-Taisha!

The Guard

In an obnoxious green jump suit, Lee was a guard. And not just any guard, Lee was the Head Guard for her majesty, Princess Sakura, herself.

Yes. Lee was in a high position, a very high position that any man would want. Because, he often got to see Princess Sakura! Oh, Sakura. She was like the incarnation of youth itself, with her youthful, sparkling green eyes, and soft pink hair like the petals of a lotus blossom. And, long story short, she was the love of Lee's life! It was love at first sight for him; the day he had first seen her, was a day that he celebrated each year.

Lee knew that it was never meant to be, however. He was just a guard, and she was a princess. He was content enough with loving her, though - he had never expected more. There was no point in expecting, that was something that he had learned over the years. The best thing that he could do was try to be happy. That way, he might even forget all of his many sorrows.

Lee was an orphan. What made it even worse, was that he remembered his parents. They had abandoned him, just as he had entered his school years; they weren't the best of people. They often insulted him, for his demeaning looks, and for his lack of talent. He was a disappointment to them; no matter how hard he tried. He was never good enough.

School, the Academy, wasn't much better. Even there, he was ridiculed by the students; bullied, insulted because of his hard time studying. That was one of the times that he was unable to smile through it all; no, he remembered his fits of hysterical sobbing, even now. It was then an angel came into his life. He wasn't exactly an angel - not at all - but for Lee, he was close.

Maito Gai. He adopted Lee, making him have parents, once again. It was one of the happiest memories in Lee's life. Gai-sensei told him to bear with it, and encouraged him, making him one of the most powerful students, after Neji (the royals didn't go to school). After that, Gai became his idol, one of the most important people in Lee's life. As a substitute parent, Lee adored him, and made sure to be like him, as much as he could.

That's where the 'youthful' came from. It was Gai's favourite word, so it automatically became Lee's favourite word, too. Now, it was just a habit to say it in almost every sentence. But a good habit, nonetheless, since it wasn't harmful to anyone.

Neji was Lee's best friend, and rival. But even Neji didn't know all that Lee had went through, or his dark side. But Neji was always there, and even Lee sometimes worried for him. It was because Lee had noticed that Neji was in love, and with Hinata, as well.

Lee had met Hinata on numerous occasions. She was a beautifully kind woman, and noble, too. She reminded Lee of Neji, except a girl version, but also, she was much more youthful then Neji. Lee understood exactly why she had captured Neji the way she had.

Neji, he had a hard time trusting. Lee wasn't sure why, but he did. Hinata had been there since his childhood, and had never hurt him, which meant that Neji trusted her. Since she was the only woman that he's probably ever trusted, that trust quickly evolved to love. It didn't help that Hinata was so youthfully pretty, too. Lee personally preferred Sakura, but that was a different matter.

Neji was also an incredibly loyal individual. That was why when Tenten, his other best friend, lashed out at Hinata (who was like a part of Neji, himself) he defended her, and his slowly growing trust in Tenten crumbled, at that exact moment. Tenten had confessed to Lee before, that she was in love with Neji, so Lee understood why she did that. It was because she was jealous of Hinata.

Lee knew jealousy. Not very much, but he did. He had always been slightly jealous of Neji, because of his power. But that jealousy usually caused him to work harder, not to lash out. That was where he and Tenten were different.

His jealousy towards Sasuke had also caused him to try and work harder. But then, he would remember himself, who he was, and remember that he couldn't possibly deserve a beautiful blossom such as Sakura. Still, that didn't stop him from being jealous. No, not at all; people in love are always jealous at some point, though, right?

Sasuke. The prince. Supposedly, the princess's other half, a dark and brooding young man, with pale skin, and a stoic personality. Sometimes, Lee was reminded of Neji, except even Neji had some youth going for him, while Sasuke had none. Still, he could see why Sakura loved him; Sasuke was a thousand times handsomer than Lee was. And because of Lee's thick eyebrows and tacky hair, he would never win the love of Sakura. But, smile, he was never expecting to win her love in the first place, right?

He really should stop thinking about this, and think of happier things. Like his job as a guard. It was very hard to reach this position - what, with his bushy eyebrows and all - but it was worth it. Lee was not a fan of violence; but he loved the way his body moved when there was a fight. It was like a dance; only the ruffians fought without grace.

Tenten understood, just like how Lee understood her love of weapons. Now that Neji was gone, Lee spent many an hour with Tenten, consoling her, and comforting her. At the beginning, Tenten was absolutely miserable. But, in a few months' time, she had gotten better, and had slowly forgotten about Neji, which was good. He really didn't like seeing Tenten, one of his best friends, miserable.

Neji was much better off. It didn't bother him, at all. He was only angry whenever he saw Tenten, but it seemed like that fragile friendship meant nothing to him; not when Hinata was brought into the picture. Neji was too loyal. That was his flaw. Lee could not understand how Neji could abandon friendship, just like that, over words, as well.

Even Lee was better. Sure, he'd probably get infinitely angry with Tenten, and ignore her for a while, but then after he made her apologize, it would blow over. But, then again, he didn't know Sakura the way Neji knew Hinata; and he'd probably never get the chance to, either. Sakura, it always came back to Sakura.

She probably didn't even know who he was. Maybe she did; the freaky green suited guy with the strange round eyes, and the horrible bushy eyebrows. She would know him by name. But would she remember him by anything else? No, probably not. And, even though Lee had confessed myriads of times, she wouldn't remember those confessions, either.

Lee was just a guard, right? He wasn't important enough to remember. And, after all, he wasn't expecting anything, either. How could he? It was only Gai, Neji, and Tenten that he could ever expect anything from. But he didn't. His parents, his school friends, now his love... so, maybe if he straightened up and smiled, maybe, just maybe, those many sorrows could stay forgotten.

This one's shorter, because Lee is infinitely hard to write. I tried to bring out the darkness in his light character. Hope that I succeeded?

Review, Review, Review,

Aurora-chan!