Chapter 3- "A Taijustuist Specialist And His Eyes."

Things were going downhill again with Sakura but only for a little while. She was okay after I was with her. She was smiling brighter than she ever had, I loved seeing her so happy. She was no longer afraid of approching me and she wanted to be closer. I was beginning to think that things were going too fast but Sakura had changed a little bit. I had heard her telling the others that she had a crush on me which made me blush further. She was so beautiful, I smiled.

Sakura would blush everytime she saw me, it made me feel good. She came up to me at school and waited for me.

"Hi Lee." She said cheerfully. "So, are you ready for the mission?"

"Maybe. I heard it's pretty hard but not if you are with me, Sakura." I smiled as she blushed. "Are we on a team?"

"Um, well...I'm not sure...Maybe we might be." Sakura winked at me. "Hope you're on my team..."

"Yeah! I hope you are too, Sakura. You seem more pumped than usual to start, that is great." I shot her a thumbs-up sign and winked. "It is good if we are on the same team..."

"Oh! The bell! I've got to get to class! See you later, Rock Lee!" Sakura took off in the other direction, as this happened she dropped her books and waved at me. She took off once more. I had no idea that a mission was on schedule today, maybe it was a surprise for all of us. I did not know what was going to happen.

Neji came running toward me. "Lee, we have to get together as a team. Come on, Gai is waiting! The mission is going to start!"

"What?!?! What mission?...Neji, I do not see where this is going..."

"Come on, Gai will explain everything, just come on! We have to go to him." Neji seemed really serious, I still had no idea what was going on but I followed; Gai-Sensei will explain when I get there, I hope it was not serious.

"Neji, what is going on?" I asked as we ran through the hallways, he looked at me as we turned a corner.

"We're going to be sent on a misson and it's A-rank. One we're hardly sent on." Neji also seemed determined to get going on the mission as well. I still did not get what we were doing.

"A-rank is only used if it is an important mission." I thought. "This one could be important, I wish we did not have limited information..."

Sakura ran after me and I stopped. She had a wary expression her face as she approched me. Something was not right and I felt it. She was more than usual and she began to run around looking for Naruto. She explained that she was setting up our team which was: Me, her, Naruto, and Kiba. We would be in groups of four for the mission and one group would have group of three.

Everyone began rushing outside, what was this? An evacuation? No one knew...It was all too real, we normally did not have one of these unless it was something above minor happened and it was ...a test/mission. I was frightened...it began thundering as the sky turned deep gray.

Sakura knew less about what to expect. "Lee, I heard the sound nins came back...I have no idea what's going to happen. I've never been so afraid...normally I'm confident..."

"Sakura, I will protect you with my life, I owe it to you." She blushed, she couldn't stop either. I would, I would be on my hand and foot for her. "Do not worry about it, I have your back."

"Thanks Lee, I hope we do well together and I'll try my best not to get in the way...I promise." Sakura smiled and laughed. I ran to find Gai-Sensei. He stood with the other sensei's as they conversated and watched the students. He looked worried but smiled when I came.

"Ah Lee, I was just coming to see you...You ready for the mission?" He asked, I looked away from him. "Hmm? What's wrong?"

"You see, none of us know what the mission is about, it is scaring us." I replied. "Do you know, Gai-Sensei?"

"Well, I don't even know myself, Lee." He paused. "The sensei's have to go on it too. This mission especially the A-rank, come the wrong times."

"I see. We were supposed to go to that carnival today...We had it all planned out too...No work...just fun..." I sighed, I guess this was more important than some carnival but it was going to be in town only for another week. None of us had time next week to go.

"Oh, come on Lee...It'll come around the next time, we'll go for sure.." Gai-Sensei knew I was a little dissapointed but I cheered up, we had a mission to do. "So, what else are you here for?"

""Well, there is this one thing...if in any event that Sakura gets into trouble, can I...use it, Gai-Sensei?" I asked, I was hoping he'd let me.

"Lee, you know we've only worked on that "Forbidden Justu" only twice. "you're not at the level to have the stamina and the power..." Gai-Sensei shifted. He knew he wanted too but he could not because I did not have enough experience...but who knew? What if the mission was bad? I could need it. "Well...fine, but on one condition, I want you to use it if it's a dire situation..."

"Okay, Gai-Sensei." I replied. "I will be sure to be careful. I will not let you down."

"He sure loves that girl. He's even in prepration to risk his life...this will be a story he'll tell his own son." thought Gai. "No wonder you're my best student.

I ran through the crowd as Sakura waited for me, we were going on the mission soon and they had us line up outside the room. I gasped. The location where they would be sending us was not even on the map, it was an unknown location in a savage wasteland called "Nightmare's pit" Only Gaara had been that far and he seemed confident to lead his group. Naruto also knew this place too, he seemed a little scared of it...Sakura had no idea and seemed frightened of it.

"My demon was born there, the place is dry and it just screams death." Naruto said with fear. "Nighttime. If you don't think it's scary during the day then wait until night, you might as well have seen...more than what you think."

"I've heard rumors too." replied Kiba. "I heard an ancient relic is in the middle of a section and that people go missing every summer and wind up dead...pretty scary..." Kiba stood back in line as Akumaru barked and growled playfully. "I want to see it for myself."

"What do you think, Sakura?" I asked. "Do you think that it is true?"

"I don't know...Seems like a lengend or something..." she replied. "Just don't let things go to your head, Lee..."

I nodded. It was time to leave the area for the mission, Kiba began leading us as we followed. I made sure Sakura was in distance of me and she turned around and smiled at me. I began making sure my teammates were okay. Something was wrong and anxiety began sinking in with adranaline making us more anxious and nervous about our place in the mission. Naruto and I were along the side as Kiba and Sakura ran in the middle. Naruto stopped.

"Oh man, look at this you guys..." he replied as he pointed to a dry place and more sand...then a couple cliffs, mounds, and hills. We were about twenty minutes away from the location, we were in the pass. "There isn't alot of resources, good thing I stocked up..."

"No wonder there are so many eerie tales about this place...it's a wasteland and there aren't alot of people here..." I replied. "Gaara's sand would do well here."

"Aw! We need the compass, Akumaru says we're lost already but I know we did take the wrong turn along the two roads...We were suppose to go east..."

I looked in the distance and saw Gai-Sensei practally gasping for breath as he caught up to us. "W-wait! Could any of you be any faster? I'm telling you...this mission really came on a bad day."

He seemed exausted and tired. He trained us hard last night and he was tired from doing it. Everyone was hot, it was suppose to be nintey-three degrees today and I bet everyone was having a problem with the weather. It was also raining and pouring, what terrible weather to be in at a time like this. Not everyone...especially Sakura was going to be thrilled, I just noticed that she is on "her time of the month" so she could be really out of it today and possibly in a bad mood all day but that was fine. I will not bother her if she does not want me to.

Gai-Sensei looked back and pointed to where we took a wrong turn. "Yeah, you guys kinda winded off the road. It's not your fault...just get back on the main road and go back."

He left in an instant and dissappeared. Kiba lead us onto the main road and I followed behind Sakura, she fell behind as she tripped over a branch and landed in the sand and she got hurt. Her knee was cut badly, I noticed that she was stuck in a thorn patch. I raced back and saw that she was really stuck and it seemed impossble to move anything out of the way. This was not an accident, enemies were nerby and it was a trap. She tried cutting her way out but that would take more time and effort and we could not waste any of that time, Naruto tried his best cut out the rest but it was no use. I refused to give up, Sakura screamed as the thorns pierced the flesh of her arm. The wound was deep. None of us had the first aid and all I had were bandages and pain medicine.

"Sakura, do not move anymore." I replied. "Everytime you do, you hurt yourself more and you already have two major wounds."

"...Cut the crap, Lee! I know I'm wounded!" she yelled. "It's no use, I'm stuck and there's no way out!"

"There is." I replied, she looked at me like I was crazy. "There is a small opening and if Kiba, Naruto and I slash hard enough...with your effort too, maybe we can free you."

"...Fine. I don't see where this is going but I'll try..." Sakura saw the opening as but realized there was another large thorn in the way of it. "Damn it! There's another sharp thorn in the way!"

"Sakura, if you keep giving up like that then it will never get accomplished." she looked at me and realized I was right, she needed to try harder instead of giving up at hard obsticle. "You told me that you are smart. Now, show me that you can achieve it with your effort."

"Oh, okay..." She took her kunai and began to hack away at the thorn with speed but it was not cut half away. She threw her kunai down and got close to me, I was standing near where she was trapped and we were face to face. "Rock Lee! It's no use!"

"Sakura, Rock Lee is right." said Naruto. "Keep going like that and you'll never get out. Where's the angry Sakura I know?"

Sakura began cutting away with more effort as we cheered her on. She got through and we began to cut all the same time until Sakura ran out and fell into my arms. She grasped me tightly and I noticed she was cut badly on her leg as well. She began to cry as I got close to her and removed some of my bandages to help her with her bleeding, the pain must have been painful because Sakura couldn't walk very well with her wounds and she began to get nervous about the mission.

"Lee, the bandages are tight." she replied. "I can't believe I'm the one holding the mission up, I'm sorry."

"Sakura, please do not blame yourself. I know it hurts, I just have to make sure there is enough pressure so the bleeding stops. I might have to assist you because you are hurt." I looked at her and blushed, she looked at my eyes as I reflected a love like look to her. She thought it was cute how I was doing it and we stared at each other for awhile. "You have beautiful eyes, Sakura."

She was flattered. No one ever told her that before and she began blushing like before, Naruto noticed that we were flirting and began to laugh. "Sakura, are you after bushy brows?" Naruto stopped laughing and smiled. "You guys look cute together, it might work out."

"Naruto. Well, you're right. I have a crush on Lee now, no more Sasuke. Infact, when was the last time I thought about him?"

Kiba stopped stiff as he stood in front of the ancient relic. He saw Kin and Dosu high above it and three other sound nins. I got ready to attack and Naruto also stood on guard, Kiba ran back and told us about what he saw and ran forward and got ready for attack. Kin stepped infront of me and Dosu decided to pick Sakura, Zaku picked Kiba and we were surrounded by other sound nins and it seemed tense to move. There was no way out, Sakura was thrown by Kin and I began to beat her down with everything I had until Dosu hit his arm near me and the sound began to bleed my ear and hurt me. I did not feel well after and I began to get hit as Naruto came in to defend me, I ran toward Kin as she suffered numerous blows and hits until I was hit back into the tree and fell limply.

"I can not believe I am doing so bad right now." I thought, level difference had roles and stamina differed. Sakura was frightened to attack as I defended her. "She will see how much I care for her."

Kiba ran in and began fighting two other sound nins and Naruto held down another, it was getting hard and I had to watch Kin and Dosu before they made a move that we could not handle. Kin grabbed Sakura and dragged her through the sand and attacked the sound was so loud it drowned out Sakura's screams, I jumped up and noticed that I was the only one left. Kiba was fighting too many and Naruto fainted and could not get up. Naruto used what energy he had left and struck Zaku and he was out of the fight. It raged on until we were outnumbered, Sakura and I stood back to back as we glanced at the eleven sound nins that surrounded us. Sakura was confused.

I turned Sakura around. "Sakura, you have to listen to me. We might have to take a risk and it might effect us. I might have to..."

"You mean...Rock Lee, that's too dangerous!" She replied, I looked back at her as she watched the sound nins. "You really want to take that risk?!?! What if...What if...?"

"Sakura, there is something you need to understand." I replied, as I watched the others. "Kiba is still fighting the others and is soon to faint, Naruto is fainted, I am the only protection you have. I must take a risk for you and a risk for me..." She still could not believe I was still go through with it. "You might be the first to see me use this, it could save us all..."

"Even after telling him that it could go wrong he still wants to go for it." Sakura watched me open the gates as she watched the transformation, she probably thought I was crazy but it was going to be worth it. "This isn't the Rock Lee I know, this is someone else that I should know."

X X X

As soon as I woke up, I realized that the sound nins were gone and that the moon was in full view. Sakura laid on the ground breathing and gasping as she woke up. Naruto and Kiba also woke up as I painfully got up. The sound nins were gone as the missing scrolls were found spilled out of bag next to me and Sakura. The mission was complete. Sakura looked at me and could not believe that I had succeded and had done so well. I smiled at her and she really knew now that I had looked out for her and that my feelings were real, Sakura tried to get up and fell into me as I helped her up. He eyes were full of tears as she cried, she probably hadn't been a mission this scary and exausting and it was confusing her. I hugged her gently as she calmed down, she looked up at me again.

"Thanks Rock Lee, you're good at taking risks and you helped complete the mission." she said in a regretful way. "I thought the idea was so stupid...I was wrong and you showed me"

"Anything for you Sakura." I replied, she faced me. She moved closer to kiss me, I began to get nervous as she inched closer and our lips met. It was my first kiss. Sakura and I did not even stop after a minute and Naruto began to get annoyed and we stopped. I must have been blushing more and my face was probably red.

We began to go back, Sakura held my hand as we walked back.