Ryter: (eyebrow twitching) Ignore it. Ignore it. Ignore it.
Naruto: (kneeling beside her with puppy dog eyes.) Heeeyyyy Ryyyyytttteeeerrrrr...
Ryter: (finally snapping.) WHAT!? WHAT NARUTO?! WHAT CAN YOU POSSIBLY WANT NOW?
Naruto: We need a new chapter! BELIE...ACHKHACK!
Ryter: (Smiling like Jei) Oh, so you want a new chapter little fox? Well how about the death of Naruto to move the plot. Yessss...
Harpie: (wearing samurai garb and holding a sword) Ryter. Drop him. Get to work on the stupid chappie.
Ryter: (pulling out a black spear) NEVER! HEHEHEHEHEHE. I will finally fulfill my destiny and send you to the stars RABBIT!
Naruto: (watching as they fight) What...just...happened?
Sasuke: (dressed as a traditional Ninja and sipping tea boredly) It's better not to ask questions any more. Now thank the reviewers so we can move on with this thing Kitsune.
Naruto: Right. Thanksing you very much 1moonwitch, Zetsu's rose, and blz1990. We love ya all. Not to say we don't love all our readers, we just like you more 'causin' your reviewed.
Sasuke: Idiot. (sips tea)
Disclaimer: I own about as much of Naruto as I do any other multi-billion dollar international franchise. So yeah. Not so much.
Lee fidgeted in the hard seat as those beautiful blue eyes, practically tried to set his soul on fire. After his fainting spell, they'd brought him back to the siblings home to recover. It was a beautiful mansion, but the awe was lost on Lee in his nervous state.
"I...I am v...very sorry! I did not mean for my youth to...to blind me so. It is just that you are very beautiful. NO! I mean I did not think a male could be so...Not that you do not look quite masculine! What I mean to say...Kakashi-senseeeiii..."
Kakashi, to his credit, had been trying his hardest not to laugh his butt off, something Gaara's siblings had failed at miserably, making things so much worse for the boy. Kankuro the middle sibling was still chuckling deep in his throat. Temari had stopped an hour ago and now was just smirking. The blond girl waved a hand dismissively.
"I told you after you apologized the hundredth time, not to worry about it. Trust me, you're not the first one to hit on our little panda-chan."
The red head's eyebrow twitched at the nickname, and his glare intensified as if it was all Lee's fight. The young lotus cringed and whimpered deep in his throat. Kankuro, who'd been too busy trying not to chock, finally spoke up.
"Yo, Tem, maybe we should just skip to the interview and set up the review. I mean we already got him and Gaara in the same room. Might as well."
"Yeah. It's alright with me. Gaara?"
Gaara grunted, and the other two took this as a sign of his approval. The other two shared a knowing look and smirked. Temari turned back to the dark haired boy smiling.
"Right then. Lee-kun...can you sing?"
"Um...I...I do not understand the ques...question..."
Kakashi brought his hands together. Oh, yes, Lee was just like Gai. Singing, wasn't something either liked to do.
"Yes. Lee-kun is a born musician. It doesn't run in his family, but he's very talented at it. He's just shy."
Lee looked at his guardian horrified. He'd only come for one thing. There was no way he'd become the puppet his family had wanted him to be. Kakashi ignored the look and placed a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Good. Then he won't mind putting on a performance for us? There's a free concert in the park in a few days. It'll be good to see him in action. Stage work is a lot more important in the long run."
"Yeah, even if ya got a good voice, if the crowd hates you, you're not going anywhere."
The black haired boy's jaw dropped. A few DAYS!? How was he supposed to get ready that quickly?! How was...was he supposed to sing infront of all those...those...He felt his head starting to swim again, and was ready to faint again, but the sound of a husky voice brought him back to attention.
"We will provide you what you need. You will perform at 5, and you will be on time."
With that the siblings exited leaving Lee and Kakashi alone in the room. The white haired man leaned back in his chair feeling a hundred years older, as his young companion stared off into space.
"Well, that could've gone worse."
"Yes."
"You gonna be okay?"
"Yes."
The older man's chair squeaked as he stood up and stretched. He made his way towards the door, but stopped when Lee called out to him.
"Kakashi-sensei..."
"Hmm?"
"I can't feel my legs."
"Yeah. I know Lee. I know."
He walked back to Lee and threw him over his shoulder so that they could leave.
Three days later
Lee stared out at the vacant lot in front of him. He'd been skating for most of the night. Tommorrow he would be expected to do something impossible. He'd be expected to...to... Lee gulped and sat on the ground. He put his hand on his knees to try and relax even a little bit. He'd seen Gai-sensei do this a few times when he was nervous, and he could even remember the little song he'd sing to build confidence. He just hoped it'd work for him.
"I am the stone that builder refused
I am the visual
The inspiration
That made lady sing the blues."
He bobbed his head to a beat and rythem that played in his head as moon light splashing down on half of his body, while the other half stayed in darkness.
"I'm the spark that makes your idea bright
The same spark
that lights the dark
So that you can know your left from your right."
It was almost as if he was channeling the spirit of his idol, and it was slowly boosting his spirit. Gaining a bit more confidence he started to envision his future. The weight of his board under him, the feeling of being free. That inner fire he'd always had somewhere inside of him.
"I am the ballot in your box
The bullet in your gun
The inner glow that lets you know
To call your brother son
The story that just begun
The promise of what's to come
And I'm 'a remain a soldier till the war is won."
He leaned back and lay on the cold pavement. As a brief moment of peace he hadn't felt since this all started over took him. Unbeknownst to our hero, he had not been alone during his meditation.
Looking over the huge crowd, Lee felt like his stomach was going to come up to say hello. He turned to run, but was grabbed from behind by a strong hand.
"Hey. Where do you think you're going?"
Lee frowned at Kakashi, deciding it was better not to struggle against the man and just face him head on. Crossing his arms he started to pout slightly.
"I do not want to do this."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at this.
"So you're giving up?"
Lee winced at the words, and put on a rare frown. Kakashi shrugged and pointed out towards the large crowd assembled on the grass waiting for the concert to begin.
"Fine. But if you're going to QUIT, then you'll still have to appologize not only to the Subaku's but also to the artist from Shukaku as well as the entire audience. I'm sure Gai would be a bit disappointed by this as well, but not everyone is ment to be splendid."
It was a low blow, Kakashi knew it, but it had to be done. He had to make sure that Lee had a future. Wether he wanted to admit it or not he was growing a bit attached to the browed youth. Sighing he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, lifting up his chin, and smiling through his ever present scarf.
"Lee, even if you fail today, we'll come back ten times as strong. So...go out there and show 'em that 'spring time of youth' you won't shut-up about."
Lee gave him a over enthusiasic good guy pose before running off to talk to his band mates about what they would be performing.
Lee stood in the center of the stage shaking slightly as he stared at the thousands of waiting eyes. He was shivering so badly that he was near knocking the mic, stand and all, off of the plateform. Taking a deep breath he tried to start.
"Sqweeee..."
The brunette blushed as he heard a smattering of giggles at the false start. He looked behind him and gave the others an apologetic smile. The only one who made any acknowledgement of this was the drummer who waved it off with a smile of his own. Turning back to the crowd Lee tried again, this time closing his eyes and bowing his head to take away some of the pressure.
"When there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
One more son
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on."
The keyboardist and the guitar player had both come in on cue. Now the drummer was steadily building a beat for him. Lee felt himself hopping to it slightly as the instruments played louder and louder. It was the only way to calm himself. He grabbed onto the mic stand and pulled it close as a way to anchor his movements.
"I wanna stand up, I wanna let go
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't
I wanna shine on in the hearts of men
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand."
Placing a hand on his heart he let out a broken call to the crowd, wincing as if he were in pain. The drums still 'causing him to hop slightly. The crowd was slowly becoming interested in the song as it went on.
"Another head aches, another heart breaks
I am so much older than I can take
And my affection, well it comes and goes
I need direction to perfection, no no no no."
He shook his head violently back and forth before reaching out with his hand that wasn't gripping the mic stand for dear life. He could barely hear the words as they left his lips, with the voices of the others on stage.
"Help me out
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out, yeah."
He smiled sadly up at the wide blue ocean of a sky half wishing hie could reach up and grab it.
"And when there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
These changes ain't changing me
The cold-hearted boy I used to be."
As he finished this the others came in strong with the chours, like they were all sharing one mind in that single instant even though they had only just met.
"Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out
You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down."
Then it happened. He stared directly into the crowd, with a burning fire that only he had. Starting with him, it moved to the band, moving around them as a foreign spirit.
"I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier."
Then the lightening struck.
"I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier."
As the crowd joined the chant the spirt moved like electricty. Touching everyone, no one could stand still. The ones gathered around the front of the stage were practically off the ground with how they moved to the beat. From the corner of his eyes Lee could see the guitarist jumping up into the air in a perfect tuck. The energy was reaching everyone. He grabbed the mic from the stand and shouted as loud as he could, hand waving back and forth hypnotizing the crowd.
"Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out
You're gonna bring yourself down
You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down."
He took in a deep breath, slowly lossing his grounding in reality. His head was swimming from all of it, and that intense heat that was spreading through him wasn't making it any better.
"Over and out, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done
All these things that I've done."
Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard words floating in from behind him, and he mildly registered that his feet had moved forward, but he that was about all. His body was steadily getting lighter, and nothing mattered.
"If you can hold on
If you can hold on."
Suddenly it became too much for his body. With one last stumbling step he fell off of the stage into the crowd. There was a collective gasp from the crowd as Lee was nearly buried underneath them. As his mind soared, every other part of him felt like lead. His eyelids fluttered and looked up into steel blue eyes and red hair. He smiled softly to himself.
'I guess it'll be okay to dream for a little while.'
With that everything around him drifted into blinding darkness.
Ryter: (rubbing the large bump on her head) Ow. You didn't have to hit me that hard!
Harpie: (sheathing her sword.) Had to be done Ri. Had to be done. You've been reading too much Usagi Yojimbo. Next you'll be dressed as...
Naruto/Lee: (wearing turtle outfits and riding skateboards) COWABUNGA!
Harpie: My work is never done. (Pulls out sword and follows the idiots.)
Ryter: Hmph. I guess I'll say what the songs were. Last time we had Light up the sky by Yellowcard, for those wondering. This time we had a song by Asheru and a better song called All these things that I've done by The Killers. Both great at what they do, seriously.
Naruto: (running away clutching his head) STOP STOP STOP I'M SORRY! IT WAS A JOKE! A JOKE!
Harpie: COME BACK HERE! I MUST CLEANSE YOU OF THE EVILIER!
Ryter: (rolling her eyes) Can you get any more random?
Gaara: (wearing a green and black dog hoodie) Hello master! I LUVES U. I'm gonna sing the doom song now! Doom doom doom doom...
Ryter: (walking away calmly) I'm outta here. Review if you don't mind. Peace.
Gaara: WHAHAHAHAHAHA!