Author's Note:

Hey guys, thanks for going on to read chapter two of my story! I just want to clear up a few things before continuing.

First things first, this story is probably going to end up being sort of long. I'm not one to write a short story of only a few chapters, because they always leave too much to be desired.

Also, in case the first chapter wasn't clear, each chapter will consist of Lee's POV first, and then Gaara's POV after the line break. In the future I may end up switching it to Gaara then Lee if my timing is off and I REALLY want something to be told through Gaara's eyes. I promise I'll make that clear if I ever do end up changing it for a chapter or two.

Third, I just want to thank you for reading my story and would like to ask that you take the time to write a review if you feel inclined. I would love to hear feedback, even if it's little things like grammatical errors.

Thanks! Now on to the story...

Gaara of the Sand stands before me in front of a large desk sprawling with papers. Of course, he's staring solely at me, and I feel my resolve fade under his gaze. I smile even wider, trying to hide my discomfort. I still cannot identify what I'm feeling, but it's intensified ten fold now that I'm in his presence. An odd, almost nervous feeling twinges strongly in my abdomen and I can't suppress it.

It's not fear, so what is it?!

The three of us bow to him, and Neji pulls the scroll given to us by the Fifth Hokage out of his pouch. As he begins to talk, I notice that Gaara is still staring me down.

"Lord Kazekage, we are honored to be visiting here in Suna. We come with an urgent message from the Fifth Hokage. She asks that you look it over immediately and send us back with your response." Neji explains curtly. Gaara's gaze finally leaves me, and he gives a slow nod. Without saying a word, he walks up to Neji and takes the scroll from him. Surprisingly, he opens it immediately, without dismissing us. Tenten shoots me a wary glance as Gaara stands there in front of us, reading silently.

As he reads, I look at him like he was to me. His light blue eyes flit up and down as he quickly reads through the scroll. As always, his face is fixed in a stern yet indifferent expression. His pale skin is completely unmarred, save for the mark on his forehead of course.

Love.

It seems so odd to me that he chose to put "love" on his body. My eyes travel to the gourd hanging on his back, and I remember the murderous sand dragging me by my limbs. Does this boy even have any love inside of him? I've never seen someone full of so much hate and malice. But everyone has love inside of him or her. There is nobody that loves nothing, is there?

Impossible! I love so many things. I love curry with rice, my green jumpsuit, training, Gai Sensei, and countless other things and people. With so many things to love, Gaara must love something in this world. Yes, surely he has love to give, even if it's just a little…I sigh internally, my mind drifting to the romantic aspect of love. Unlike a person like Gaara, I have so much love in me I feel like I'll burst if I don't give it to somebody. However, I have nobody willing to accept that love, and nobody I want to give it to.

I used to try to give my love to Sakura, but I've since learned that she will never accept it. And besides, I realized it was more of an infatuation than a real emotion. Now I save it up for when it will truly matter.

I'm taken out of my thoughts when Gaara begins to close the scroll. When he looks up, his expression hasn't changed one bit. He simply looks at the three of us for what seems like the longest minute of my life.

"I will go with you back to Konoha." He finally says. Tenten gasps, and Neji frowns, while I simply continue to watch him closely. Why would he want to come back with us? And more importantly, why am I so intrigued by the idea?

"We were only given orders to deliver the message to you and return with your response." Neji says quickly.

"We would have to inform the Hokage days in advance before bringing you to the village." Tenten adds. I remain silent, unsure of what I think, and doubly unsure of how Gaara will react to being refused.

"Then you will leave now to inform her?" he inquires calmly of Tenten. She flinches, and glances at Neji and I for help.

"The trip back is dangerous to make alone!" Neji argues, practically yelling. Gaara frowns, and I tense as I watch the cork on his gourd start to tremble, preparing to protect my teammates if need be. He takes a step forward, closer to Neji

"Then you shall go with her. I want you out of my sight anyway."

"Lord Kazekage," Neji starts. However, Gaara interrupts him.

"You two will leave immediately to go inform Tsunade of my arrival. I will leave in two days time after I attend to some outstanding matters here." He commands. Then he turns to me, saying "Rock Lee, you will accompany me on the journey to Konoha."

I practically jump to the ceiling. Those are the first words he's ever said to me, besides "Sand Coffin." Escort him back to the Leaf Village on my own?! Why has he chosen me? I step forward, staring back at him. Judging from his eyes, he doesn't seem to be up to anything suspicious. However, I am still a bit wary, and he is very hard to read.

"I am willing to accept this mission if my team members agree to it." I respond. I glance over at Tenten and Neji, who both look bewildered. Then Neji's face calms, and he looks at Gaara.

"Why do you need one of us to escort you? Don't you have Sand Shinobi that can accompany you?"

"I do. However, one from the Leaf Village will know the journey better." Gaara replies, looking down at the floor. "There are also many Shinobi here in Suna that I do not completely trust yet. Many still harbor a dislike towards the Leaf Village. This way will avoid uncalled for troubles." He has a point, a good one. And even Neji seems to understand that. He nods, and so does Tenten in response.

"Okay, we will leave Lee with you, and go ahead back to the Village to inform the Hokage." He says, sounding a bit defeated.

"Good. You may leave now then." Gaara says suddenly, turning away and going back to his chair behind his desk. Both of my teammates turn to me, concern evident on their faces. I flash them one of my trademark smiles and give them a thumbs up.

"Don't look so down. I'll be fine…I'll complete this mission to the best of my ability, without fail!" I yell, and the both of them smirk at me.

"See you soon." Tenten says, and Neji simply nods in farewell. I watch them leave, and stare at the empty doorway until I can no longer hear their footsteps. Then I turn to Gaara, the nervous feeling returning to my stomach. He's sitting at his desk now, writing silently. I watch him uncomfortably, unsure of what I should do. Where do I go? Does he need me to do anything right now?

"It's not polite to stare." He says quietly, not looking up from his work.

"But you were…!" I start, remembering his gaze when we first entered his office. But I hold my tongue as he drops his pen and looks up at me. "I apologize Lord Kazekage." I say with a bow. "I meant to ask what you require of me for the time being until we depart."

"Leave this room, and an assistant of mine will show you to where you will be staying. You may do as you please until midday two days from now, when you will report back here so we can leave together."

"Right! I will see you then!" I say loudly, letting my excitement get the best of me. Despite being in such an unfamiliar situation, the hype of being assigned a new mission still affects me. He stares at me emotionlessly for a few moments longer than what would be considered normal, and then picks up his pen and gets back to work. At that, I leave the room quietly to find his assistant.

I end up being shown to a small building within short walking distance of the Kazekage's office building. It is small and nice inside, and surprisingly cool compared to the blisteringly hot air outside. I thank his assistant and she leaves me alone in the small hut. I go over to the bed in the corner and flop down on my back. There is a hole in the ceiling, to let out the hot air I'm sure, and through it I watch the sand ride by on the wind.

Reflecting on the recent events with Gaara, I wonder what all of it means. First, the scroll must have had very important information for him to want to come to Konoha. Second, why did he choose me to be his escort above Tenten and Neji? I can understand him not choosing Neji a bit, because of his obvious dislike for him. But still I wonder. Third, what do the next couple of days have in store for me?

I exhale heavily, standing up. There's no sense in laying here thinking. I've got to find somewhere to train! I run out of the hut and start heading for the outskirts of town for a secluded place for myself, still desperately trying to ignore the fourth question in my mind. What is this damn feeling I get every time I think of Gaara?

I've been looking over papers for hours, trying to get everything ready for my departure. These small matters, like who will take over what aspects of my job while I'm away, take much longer than I expected. After a few more minutes, I throw down my pen in frustration, my hand cramping from so much writing. To give myself some recovery time, I pick up the scroll that the three Leaf Village Shinobi delivered to me and reopen it.

A sense of urgency takes its place in my body as I reread it. A new threat has been forming, a group of high-level ninjas that banded together and are causing trouble in the areas between Suna and Konoha. They've been involved in many robberies involving important information on both the villages. I tense up as I read the most important detail. We have no idea who any of them are.

Usually organizations like this tend to be made up of rogue ninjas from all different lands, but after extensive research and spy missions on the Leaf Village's part, they've come to the conclusion that these men and women have always been off the grid. Who could they possibly be? And most importantly, what are they planning?

Suddenly, I remember the incident from a few weeks ago. My eyes widen at the thought of the attempted robbery that I had downplayed previously. A lone ninja had broken into the office building and was caught trying to escape with an important document about the political inner workings of Suna. In fact, I was the one who caught him. I was walking out with a few Shinobi I had been in a meeting with and spotted a small shadow traveling down the hallway. Seeing through the genjutsu easily, I killed him on the spot.

Could that man have been from this organization that Tsunade describes? I set down the scroll and rub my temples slightly. I had no intention of visiting Konoha, but according to the scroll there have been recent spikes in activity nearer and nearer to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I can't shake the feeling that something big is going to happen soon, and my gut tells me that I should go as soon as possible to aid them. Also, this business of delivering messages back and forth is slow and tedious. By the time she responds to the questions I have, something probably will have already happened.

Yes, I feel that I'm doing the right thing by going there. Hopefully the journey will pass uneventfully with Rock Lee. I can't put my finger on it, but something about him peaked my interest when he was here in my office. Of course our fight resurfaced immediately in my mind when I saw his face. However, I did not feel anger towards him. Nor did I feel the need to finish what I started.

Regret.

That's what it is. I regret hurting him and almost ending his career as a Shinobi. In fact, I'm thankful to see that he has recovered fully. An exasperated sigh escapes my mouth as I hold my head in my hands. Me, regretting hurting someone? It's almost laughable. The only thing regrettable about the whole situation is that I didn't kill him when I had the chance. Right?

How is it that out of the countless lives I've ended and lives I've ruined, the one person that sticks out in my head is this older boy? I grimace, realizing that this is probably why I chose him to accompany me on this journey. I can tell myself that I chose him because he's the least annoying of the three that I had to choose from, or because of his skill in taijutsu, or his speed, or even because I want to see how my almost fatal bout with him has affected his abilities. However, if I'm to be honest with myself, it's because I feel like I owe him something, maybe an apology.

I stand abruptly, walking over to my window. The sun is setting, which means the night will follow quickly behind. A familiar sense of despair falls over me as I prepare myself mentally for another night of sleepless torture. After a few moments of deep thought, I decide to take an evening walk. I've never gotten into the habit of doing this because of the looks I receive just from being in the general public. The fear, no matter how justified it may be, hurts me just a little more each glance I get. However, I resolve to keep myself on the outskirts of town this time. Maybe then I can find some peace of mind.

I've been walking for almost an hour now, and the sun has completely set. The sky is a deep purple, except in the West where a faded sliver of pink clings to the horizon still. The wind has picked up like it has been doing quite often lately in the evening. I feel comfortable in the spray of sand that constantly covers everything, including me. Sand is protection, protection is life, and life is loving myself.

I find myself deep in thought about my ideals and the past that created them as I travel slowly between small cliffs and crags. A deep sadness has settled over me by the time I start to hear the distant noises coming from around the bend. As I get closer, I begin to realize it sounds like a fight. I hurry forward until I'm close enough to feel the chakra. However, I feel only one person, and I've felt that person's chakra before.

I stealthily make my way up to the top of the cliff next to me and look down into the cleared area. Just as I expected, Rock Lee is down there pounding away at a boulder with his fists. Mildly surprised, I take a seat on the edge of the cliff and begin to watch him. His bandaged hands move faster than my eyes can keep track of and are slowly chipping away small portions of the rock.

I guess he did fully recover from the damage I did to him. His left arm moves just as fast as the right, and he seems more determined to grow stronger than any ninja I've ever seen. Does he always do this? It's no wonder he was able to become so skilled in taijutsu. My mind flashes back to our fight.

I've been too confident. How in the world could I have not accounted for something like this happening? I look back up, after receiving a blow to the head from Lee. He's coming back at me, but I won't let him touch me again. I block him with my sand, a small smirk coming to my lips. He just had a lucky shot, that's all it is. But then suddenly I'm falling to the concrete floor, his fist connecting powerfully with my jaw from behind.
I stand up slowly, feeling pieces of my sand armor fall away from my face. He's staring at me with a face quite different from the pouty frown from earlier with his stupid hand poised in front of his face by habit. Now his face is veiny and red, and is enough to strike fear in the average person. However, I'm not average. I furiously glare back at him, restoring my armor. Already I'm using more chakra than I expected. How can a human being be this fast without using ninjutsu? Before I can act again, he's encircling me quickly, kicking up dust behind his feet. What comes next happens far too fast for me to comprehend.
He kicks me into the air by my chin, and then he's coming at me from all angles. My sand can't keep up, and I feel my armor breaking away more and more with each hit. Suddenly I'm hanging from the bandage on his arm, and his vicious voice belts out, "Primary Lotus!" And with that I am kicked harder than I thought possible into the concrete ground. For a moment I black out, but when I come to, I find myself cushioned by my sand yet still temporarily unable to get up due to the agonizing pain in my abdomen from his blow.
This is the first time I've been injured in battle, and just the thought of it drives me crazy with hatred. I will destroy this boy.

He was the first person to be able to hurt me physically, ever. I stare down at him as he kicks the boulder repeatedly with each foot, and wonder if that's why I'm so curious about him. Either way, watching him train is oddly mesmerizing. And in the least it gets my thoughts off of more depressing things.

I don't know how long I've been sitting here watching him, but finally he stops moving and simply stands in front of the rock for a few moments. Then he stretches his arms in the air.

"I'm done if you'd like to join me now Gaara-sama!" He calls out cheerfully. I nearly fall off the cliff face at his sudden invitation. Lee never ceases to surprise me, that much is true. As I float down on a thin layer of sand, I watch him closely. Something about the way he looks at me makes me uneasy. After a few quizzical moments, I realize that it's his smiling face. When was the last time a person besides him looked at me without any semblance of fear in their eyes? I'd never admit this, but it feels better than I could ever express to see him there smiling at me, beckoning me to join him as if we're friends. I come to a stop in front of him, and he scratches the back of his head in an almost nervous way.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting. It's very hard for me to stop in the middle of training once I get focused. What can I do for you Lord Kazekage?" He asks. I frown slightly.

"What happened to Gaara-sama?" I ask plainly. He looks surprised and he smiles bashfully.

"I'm sorry, would you prefer that I continue to call you by your name?"

"We're going to be travel companions, so yes I would prefer that." I answer. He nods and gives me a thumbs up and a huge smile, akin to the pose he gave his friends earlier before they left my office. Does this mean he considers me a friend? I am confused, but left with a warm feeling that almost makes me chuckle.

"Of course, you can count on me!" He cries out. A smirk finds its way to my lips, despite my efforts to contain it. "Now did you need something of me?" he asks. I panic slightly, realizing I have no excuse for my watching him for so long.

"No, I was just taking an evening walk…" I begin, swallowing down the extremely irritating bundle of nerves that keeps making my throat its home. "And I saw you here and decided to stay and watch." I finish, feeling uncharacteristically truthful at the moment. He stares at me for a few moments, and then smiles brightly again.

"Oh okay. Well if you'd like, you can join me again tomorrow evening!" he offers. I almost flinch in surprise. Rock Lee, the boy I tried to kill and almost ended his life as a shinobi, asking me to join him for training? For a moment, I wonder if he is planning to attack me then, but I can't find a single ounce of hurtful intentions in those round eyes peering down at me. No, this isn't a person who lives for revenge. He lives for better things, and I find myself almost jealous of his effortless ability to be happy.

"Maybe. I'm very busy tomorrow. We shall see." I say simply, and I turn to leave. I can't keep down the regret that is still burning in my stomach from earlier, and his indifference towards the whole situation makes me feel even worse. I need to leave before I do something stupid like apologizing.

"See you soon Gaara-sama!" I hear Lee call from behind me. I don't answer, and instead walk calmly away from him. But once I am out of his line of sight I find myself running away from him and his friendly demeanor. What is wrong with me? I hate that my guilt lets Lee affect me in this way. Gaara of the Sand does not regret.