Danny was trying to ease his jumbled mind by going for a jog. He had passed through the main streets of Konohagakure and was making his way around the various training areas. Wow, Naruto's life must have sucked big time, he thought to himself. Everybody hated him; I wouldn't put it past people who lost friends or family members to the Fox to insult him, or even outright hurt him. His decision to become a ninja may well have been influenced somewhat by a need for self-defense.
He ran through a clearing that had three wooden posts with deep dents in them, evidence of the generations of ninja that had used them to practice tai-jutsu. He could have told me at the outset, though…he knew that I had a secret also, and he also knew that I told him less than an hour after I met him…to be fair, though, Clockwork had told me beforehand that he, Sakura, and Sasuke would be coming to help, so I had a little advance notice.
The Ghost Boy kept going along the dirt path. As did, he reached the top of a crest and began going slightly downhill. Ah, I should let it go…the important thing is that I know, and I accept him, right? Now, onto more important matters…I have to get through to him and make him see that it's okay to date Hinata…I've gotta convice him that Clan isn't such a big issue.
Just then, a boy a couple of inches taller than Danny caught up to him. The boy's glossy black hair was cut in the shape of a bowl, he had exceptionally large, fuzzy eyebrows, and he was wearing, of all things, green spandex. The jumpsuit was accompanied by orange leg warmers that went almost up to his knees, a forehead protector worn around his waist, and bandages covering his arms from the elbow down. Danny was slightly creeped out, all the more so because the strange boy's costume was strikingly similar to that of Danny's old ghost form. Danny had better hair, though.
"Er…can I help you?"
"Yes!" The boy exclaimed enthusiastically. "I can see by your gait and stamina that you are a skilled warrior, and that the springtime of youth runs strong in you. Therefore, I, Rock Lee, hereby invite you to challenge my dojo!" Danny blinked twice.
"Excuse me?"
"I said, I, Rock Lee, hereby invite you to challenge my dojo!" Danny stopped running in order to pause and hold a proper conversation.
"What's a dojo?" The boy, Rock Lee, if Danny heard correctly, gasped in shock.
"You do not know of the magical place that is a dojo? I must, therefore, teach you. Furthermore, based on the fact that you paused, I shall assume that you will want to challenge my dojo once I teach you of its wonder." He smiled and gave Danny a thumbs-up, and Danny distinctly noticed his teeth give of an extra-bright shine for a second. Before Danny was able to register what had happened, Lee had grabbed his arm and dragged him back in the direction they had come from. He made a left turn at a fork that Danny hadn't thought to take, and brought him to a large wooden cabin sitting at the top of a hill. Lee led Danny inside and showed him the one-room cabin, which was empty save for a small pedestal and a wooden banner off to the side. The banner read "The Springtime of Youth."
"A dojo is a place where one trains in tai-jutsu," Lee began. "If someone comes along and wants to challenge the dojo, he must fight his way up through the ranks of the members of the dojo. If he is to defeat the dojo's leader in battle, he becomes the owner of the dojo. If you challenge me and can defeat me, I will give you that banner," he gestured to the wooden banner that Danny had noticed earlier, "and you will become the new leader of the Springtime of Youth Dojo." Once he finished with his explanation, Lee sat down Indian-style on the pedestal.
"So, newcomer, do you want to challenge my dojo?" he asked excitedly. Danny sighed. He thought that this was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard of, and this was after a few years of having fought the Box Ghost on a daily basis. On the other hand, he didn't want to disappoint this Lee kid; he looked like an overgrown child that would burst into tears of he refused. Besides, it might be good training for when he'd eventually have to fight Vlad.
"Very well, Lee. I officially challenge your dojo," Danny said. Lee jumped for joy and squealed like a hyper, overexcited schoolgirl.
"Hooray! My first challenger!" He shouted as he punched the air exultantly. In the blink of an eye, he was in a fighting stance, his gaze deadly serious.
"Let us begin," he said, then rushed at Danny at a blinding speed. "Konoha Senpuu!" He shouted as he spun around in a devastating whirlwind kick. Danny leaped out of the way, back-flipped, and landed on the wall. He used his chakra to keep his feet anchored to the wall as he glanced down at Lee.
I can't use the byakugan, or the jyuuken style, because that would give away the fact that the Hokage gave me the byakugan. I have to keep that a secret, above all else. I really shouldn't use ghost powers, either. I guess I'll just have to fight this guy the old-fashioned way, Danny thought. He leaped off of the wall and thrust his foot out in an attempt to surprise Lee, who currently was facing in the other direction, with a jump kick. Without even turning around, Lee caught Danny by the ankle, used the halfa's own momentum to swing him around in a circle once, and threw him into a wall. Danny hit the wall and sank down to the floor. He growled as he got up.
"This guy's good," he grudgingly admitted as he took a fighting stance. He rushed at Lee and tried to get a punch in, but Lee pressed down on his outstretched fist with two of his fingers and sent Danny down to the ground. Danny leaped back up and immediately had to dodge the flurry of punches that Lee sent at him. He tried to sweep the taller boy's legs out from under him, but Lee simply jumped over Danny's sweeping kick and continued his melee. All of a sudden, Danny caught Lee's left fist in his right hand. Lee tried to get in a hit with his other hand, but Danny deflected it with his right elbow. Ignoring the pain shooting up his arm from the joint, he quickly brought his left fist up and punched Lee in the gut, hard. He let go of Lee's fist and quickly backed up and hit the spandex-clad youth with a sidekick to the chest. Lee went sailing and hit the ground hard. He was laughing when he stood up.
"You are a very skilled opponent," he said happily. "It appears that I must remove my weights in order to fight you."
"Weights? You've been wearing weights this whole time?" Danny asked incredulously. Lee nodded as he reached inside of the orange leg warmers and pulled out twin weight belts.
"How much weight are you-" Danny was cut off as Lee dropped the weights and each one hit the ground and made a small crater. Danny stared at them, wide-eyed.
"Now," Lee began, causing Danny's gaze to snap up from the two craters in the wooden floor of the dojo, "Let us begin in earnest!" He began running at a blistering speed in circles around Danny, causing a small whirlwind to form.
Whoa! Danny thought, shocked. And I thought he was fast before! Knowing that he'd never be able to see the boy with his eyes, he closed them and attempted to sense his chakra. Unfortunately, since Lee was moving so quickly, even his chakra felt like a whirlwind spinning around him. He suddenly felt a spike in the chakra around him, and ducked as Lee launched a flying sidekick at him. The boy was moving so fast that he appeared to Danny as nothing more than a blur. Danny watched the whirlwind carefully as his hair was whipped this way and that, and began dodging the numerous blows that Lee attempted to land on him. All of a sudden, Lee picked up his pace another notch and hit Danny in the jaw, then in the gut, then in the chest, then in the side, then in the face. Danny flew out of the whirlwind and hit the wall, hard, and made an indentation in it. He fell forward and landed on his face. The whirlwind slowed down and stopped, and Lee stood in the middle of it. Danny weakly raised a hand.
"Okay, Lee. You win…I give up." Lee punched the air again.
"Wo-hoo!" He shouted. "I, Rock Lee, the Hidden Leaf Village's Beautiful Green Beast, have defeated my first challenger!" He bent down to pick up the weights and strap them onto his shins, then turned to face Danny. "I thank you, stranger, for being the first person to challenge my dojo." He bowed. "It was an honor fighting you."
"No problem," Danny said as he grinned weakly. He tried to pull himself up, but grimaced and fell back down. "Say…d'you think you could help me get back to the village?"
"Of course!" Lee said excitedly as he helped Danny up and leaned him on his shoulder. "And if I cannot lead you back to the village, then I will do five hundred push-ups," he began as the two of the exited the dojo. "And if I cannot do five hundred push-ups, then I will do one thousand sit-ups. And if I cannot do one thousand sit-ups, then I jump rope four hundred times in ten minutes. And if I cannot jump rope four hundred times in ten minutes, then I will do six hundred kicks. And if I cannot do six hundred kicks, then I will do one thousand, two hundred punches!" He finished happily. All of a sudden, Danny realized just how Lee became so good at tai-jutsu. If only he had that kind of determination…suddenly, an idea came to him.
"Hey, Lee?"
"Yes, honorable stranger?"
"Would it be okay if I trained with you tomorrow?" Lee paused, and then looked Danny straight in the face.
"That would be wonderful!" He exclaimed. "I would love to have you as my student!"
"Thank you, Lee-sensei," Danny said, purposely exaggerating the 'sensei'.
"Lee-sensei!" Lee shouted as tears gushed down his face. "That has such a great ring to it!" Before they knew it, they had reached the cobblestone streets of Konoha. Lee immediately led Danny to a blacksmith's shop. "First we must purchase you some weights," he explained. They decided to start out small, with ten pounds on each leg, but they also bought additional sets so that Danny wouldn't have to go back every time he wanted to increase the weight on him.
"How much weight do you have, Lee?" Danny asked curiously.
"Right now I am wearing eighty-five pounds on each leg," Lee informed him.
"Lee is my best customer," the owner of the shop added. Lee puffed his chest out. Danny paid for the weights and they left. At this point, Danny had recovered significantly enough so that he was able to walk by himself. Suddenly, Lee paused. He thrust a hand out to stop Danny, causing him to pause as well.
"What's up, Lee?"
"We must celebrate the first-ever challenge to my dojo," he said. He spun around and pointed an index finger at Ichiraku's Ramen, which was down the street from them. Danny nodded, and the two of them walked over to the stand and passed through the flaps. There, they saw none other than Team 7 and Kakashi.
"Hey, guys!" Danny said, and sat down next to Sasuke.
"Hiya, Danny!" Naruto shouted and waved exuberantly.
"Good to see you," Sakura and Kakashi chorused.
"Hn." Was all Sasuke said.
"I made a new friend today," Danny announced. He turned around to introduce them to Lee, but Lee was busy standing perfectly still with big hearts over his eyes.
"Lee?" Danny asked, confused. Sakura put her hand to her forehead.
"Now you've done it…" she muttered.
"SAKURA!" Lee shouted, making everyone present jump. "How are you feeling today, my lovely cherry blossom? I, Rock Lee, shall set out to prove my undying love to you in the hopes that you shall one day return my affections! I shall do so by defeating one thousand challengers to my dojo! I have defeated one, and have nine hundred and ninety-nine to go! I shall now commence to add this moment to my Chronicles of Sakura, which is located in my Sakura Shrine!" He gave Sakura his award-winning, sparkly smile, and ran out of the ramen stand. There was an awkward silence.
"I'm guessing he has a bit of a crush on you," Danny said. Everyone grimaced.
"You think?" Sakura asked, annoyed. "And the worst part is, he knows I don't like him like that! I like…someone else…" she muttered the last part and flicked her gaze over to Sasuke for a second. Danny shrugged and ordered a Beef Ramen.
"So how did you meet Fuzzy Eyebrows?" Naruto asked. Sakura punched him in the head.
"Don't call him that!" She yelled, and Naruto cowered behind his stool. Danny coughed, and the two turned to face him.
"Who do you think the one person he defeated was?" Naruto scratched his head, then jumped up excitedly.
"Was it Sasuke? Please tell me it was Sasuke!" Sakura punched him in the head again.
"Sasuke's been with us all day, idiot!" She shouted. "Besides," she added as she stuck her nose in the air, "Sasuke would never lose to a guy like Lee."
"Oh…so who was it?"
"It was me," Danny said, aggravated that they hadn't figured out that he was being sarcastic earlier.
"Okay…so why did you challenge his dojo in the first place? Lee is a pro at tai-jutsu!"
"Obviously since Danny had never met him before he wouldn't have known that, Naruto," Kakashi said calmly.
Just then, the flaps to Ichiraku's were pushed back and a large man walked in. Danny glanced at him, then did a double-take. This guy was like an older version of Lee! He had the same hair, the same eyebrows, and the same jumpsuit. The only difference was the chuunin vest he wore over the green spandex.
"Kakashi!" He began in a booming voice. "My adorable student, Lee, has just informed me that he defeated the first challenger to his dojo."
"That's great, Gai." Kakashi replied, sounding bored. Gai, for that was the man's name, clapped his hands to his head.
"NOOO! My eternal rival, Kakashi, is as cool and youthful as ever! I must defeat you! I challenge you to an eating contest-first one to eat twenty-five bowls of ramen will be declared the winner. Kakashi sighed.
"Fine, Gai, whatever you say." He turned to Ayame. "Fifty bowls of Miso Ramen, please." She grinned and relayed the order to her father, who began cooking furiously.
"You must be very confident in your victory, Kakashi, since you ordered my favorite flavor!"
"Sure, Gai…whatever you say," Kakashi replied, then yawned. They all felt a slight tremor all of a sudden, but paid it little heed. All of them except for Sasuke, who immediately shot up and looked around nervously.
"What's up?" Danny asked him.
"Nothing…I hope…" was the reply. They felt another tremor.
"Oh no…" Sasuke muttered. Before Danny could pursue the matter, Ayame started placing bowl after bowl of ramen on the bar in front of the two jounin. Kakashi reached up to his mask, and his three students suddenly paused from their ramen-eating and stared at him attentively. They watched as he slowly hooked his fingers around the edge of the mask, and he was just starting to pull it down, when…
"IT'S HIM!" A female voice shrieked.
"No!" Sasuke shouted, but it was too late. Danny rushed over to the flap and opened it, and gasped at what he saw.
Girls. Hundreds of them. No, forget that, thousands. All either applying lipstick or holding up signs reading 'marry me, Sasuke'. The fangirls all saw Sasuke sitting in the bar and shrieked again. Danny put his hands to his ears in order to stave off momentary deafness. Puts my Ghostly Wail to shame…he thought sourly.
"I LOVE YOU SASUKE!!" All of the girls shouted. Sasuke shot out of the stand faster than a bullet and disappeared down the road. The girls stampeded after him, nearly trampling Danny in the process. Danny re-entered the ramen stand, only to find that Kakashi had already finished eating, while Gai was only on his third bowl. Naruto was standing next to Kakashi, looking annoyed.
"I'll see what's under that mask someday, sensei," he warned. Kakashi simply shrugged.
"My eternal rival has defeated me again! NOO!"
"Hey, where did Sakura go?" Danny asked.
"Are you kidding?" Naruto asked incredulously. As if on cue, they heard a familiar pink-haired kunoichi's voice yelling, "HELP ME RESTORE YOUR CLAN, SASUKE!"
Everyone shuddered. Suddenly, Naruto stood up and stretched.
"Well, I should be getting back. You coming, Danny?"
"Sure." The two of them paid and left. As they walked back to Naruto's apartment, the Ghost Boy turned to face the Fox Boy.
"Listen…I'm sorry about this morning…" he said quietly. Naruto waved the apology away.
"I should be the one apologizing. You told me your secret the day we met; I should've told you mine as well." They entered the apartment. Danny took the weights out of his bag and buckled them on.
"What are those?" Naruto asked suspiciously.
"Weights. I'm using them to train with Lee tomorrow." Naruto burst out laughing.
"What?" Danny demanded.
"Nothing, just…remember when I had to get you into shape so that you could be a ninja?"
"Yeah," Danny responded, as he shuddered at the memory. "Why?"
"Because after tomorrow, you'll come crawling to me, asking for my workout regimen back." He chuckled evilly as Danny tried to move around the apartment while wearing the weights on his legs. By the time he and Naruto sank into bed he was exhausted, and was asleep the instant his head hit the pillow.