Ch6
Rock Lee paced anxiously around in one of the many stores in Konoha, wishing with all of his flaming passion that the store owner would hurry up. He had promised Sakura that he would be back shortly, however his brilliant idea was taking longer then he had anticipated. The last thing Lee wanted to do was go back on his promise and disappoint his angel. So with that thought raging in his mind it wasn't much of a surprise that when the sound of approaching footsteps rang in his ears Lee practically jumped towards the checkout counter, eagerly awaiting for the owner to show him the contents of his purchase.
A tall middle age man casually strolled out of one of the back rooms of the cozy floral shop holding in his arms two brilliantly arranged bouquets of flowers. "Rock Lee-san was it" the older man asked.
"Yes that is I" Lee shouted enthusiastically, causing the other man to recoil slightly. But alas there was no way for Lee to hold back from using such a high tone of voice, how could use a clam more acceptable 'inside voice' when he was so vigorous on the inside that nothing could hold back his youthful dynamism! The flower arrangements before him were so beautiful that even he with his extensive vocabulary could not find words to capture the true beauty of these magnificent flowers.
The older of the two coughed before continuing. "Well Rock-san based on our conversation earlier, you said that you wanted flowers that uh 'yelled with a youthful fervor I am terribly sorry for my un-gentlemen like actions today, please accept these as a token of my sincerest apology'" the man reiterated.
"Yes! I did" Lee yelled once more, excitement plainly evident in his eyes despite their pitch black color.
Once again the man stirred at Lee's loudness "um...yes...Well I'm fairly certain that there isn't a flower in existence that says all of that" at this news Lee's face became slightly crestfallen. "However, these Hyacinth-" the florist continued and pointed at the purple flowers in the bunch "express sorrow and ask the receiver for forgiveness" Lee nodded his bowl cut head in satisfaction at this piece of information. "Also, here we have the daffodils you requested, and I hope you don't mind that I added some buttercups to make the whole thing look more vibrant, cheerful, and more appealing to the eyes." Lee nodded a few more times approving greatly in this man's choice of flowers. "As for this particular bouquet of flowers over here" he said and gestured to the second arrangement of flowers. "I believe you wanted to give these to your sweetheart"
Lee straightened his posture before declaring proudly "I care for Sakura-san very deeply, it is my love for her that allows fuels my heart to beat on as hard as it does"
The florist stared at the tai-jutsu master unblinkingly for a few seconds before shaking his head and any thought he was thinking at that moment and returned to the task at hand "Yes…well um… I believe that these flowers will express your feeling for her very nicely" he said and went on to explain the each flower that were put into the second bunch. Blue Camellias that said 'you are a flame in my heart'; Purple Larkspurs that expressed one's first love, lastly in the center of all the blue and purple flowers was a sling red rose signifying pure love.
After explaining all of this to Lee the man looked up at the green shinobi and was surprised at what he saw. "S-son are you alright" he asked even though by now the florist knew that Lee defiantly had more then one loose screw rolling around in his head. Yet he never would have expected anyone sane or not, to sob over nothing like Lee was doing.
"Y-Yes I am fine...wait no...No I am not" Lee managed to say between snivels. "I am more then just fine! These tears you see before you are a sign of my happiness and joy. For you...you good sir have made my mission a success...How...how ever can I repay you" Lee asked and looked up at the man with water still flowing out of his dark colored eyes, letting out a snort as he sent back the snot that began to run out of his nose.
"85 ryo sounds about right" the man said sheepishly, not understanding in the least bit what was wrong with the boy standing in front of him.
Lee slammed nearly three times the amount mentioned on the counter; "Kind sir, I Rock Lee am greatly indebted to you and your generosity" Lee said and grabbed the man's unwilling hand, grasping tight with his other hand.
"It's...kinda my job. You really don't need to be so grateful" the man said uneasily not liking the way Lee wasn't letting go of his hand.
"Nonsense" Lee proclaimed at the top of his lungs.
The older man who was beginning to grow tired of Lee's shouting and pointed out. "You might want to hurry in delivering those flowers to your beloved. It looks like another storm is about ready to blow through" he said gesturing toward the gray clouds that loomed outside of the shop.
"That's right!" Lee yelled "I promised Sakura-san that I would be back in a jiffy" he then carefully yet swiftly picked up the two bouquets of flowers and was at the exit of the shop in a flash. "Thank you so very much sir for the flowers" Lee bowed towards the florist and ran out of the shop just as rain began to descend from the darkened sky. Yamanaka Inoichi shook his graying blond head at Lee's departure, silently hoping that that boy didn't start to become a regular at his shop.
The green beast skipped merrily in the rain while he made his way back to the hospital. The thought of sprinting to the medical facility as if hell itself was gnawing at his heals was an alternative option of travel that was brushed off rather quickly. Running at such speeds would surely mar the stunning flowers that rested peacefully in his callused hands. Besides it was a sin against one's youthfulness to not enjoy the summer's rains. Lee only felt pity for those running for shelter, for they could not feel the sky's tears on their faces or the heaven's gentle touch graze though their hairs.
As the jade ninja gaily galloped past those who were heading to dryer grounds, he saw in the distance two foolish civilians seeking sanctuary under a large tree. Lee shook his head at such actions, "Silly people don't they know that standing under a tree during a storm is dangerous" he spoke aloud to himself. Even though the road to that particular tree was actually heading away from the hospital Lee decided that a quick detour wouldn't hurt, after all it was for good cause. When he pranced closer to the pair, it dawned on Lee that it was a couple under that tree, seeing as the silhouettes of the two were embracing each other like lovers tended to do. Although he knew it would be rude to disturb them, the green beast also knew that nature was not kind to the ignorant and that lighting could very well strike that tree and strike down the lovers while they were only guilty of expressing their young and adoring love for each other.
Lee was not prepared in the least bit for what flashed though his vision as he further approached the pair "S...s-sakura...san" he whispered, unable to comprehend what was going on.
There under the tree was the woman he admired fiercely, her arms wrapped around another, her lips entangled with someone Lee wished to be a stranger, for he didn't want this anger, this hatred in his heart to be directed at a friend. Yet his feelings betrayed him as he began to loathe Ino. She was his friend; she knew that he loved Sakura! Why would she do this to him? Was it retribution for the injuries he had caused her earlier that day?
No...No that wasn't correct; even though he was beyond any mere form of angry, Lee would not let that anger blind him. Not even a fool would be able to deny the love before them; it was unmistakable that the two cared for each other deeply. Ino wasn't purposely trying to hurt him nevertheless the pain didn't stop it. In fact that pain doubled when it dawned on Lee that Sakura...his angel...the girl he had loved for years, didn't, and probably never would feel the same way about him.
It took a second for him to realize that his vision was getting blurry and that their was something warm running down his face, but once Lee understood that he had been crying, the floodgates opened and he began to bawl. His grip on the flowers in his hands loosened and the breath taking bouquets hit the cold wet pavement with a barely audible thump, but the sound of his heart shattering echoed in his ears as he too dropped to the ground 'Why...How, could this hurt so badly' Lee asked himself. Why did he feel as if his heart had turned to ice, pumping nothing but this unwelcoming cold feeling though out his body?
Unable to watch the pair lock lips over and over again or bear to listen to their satisfied gasps and moans, Lee ran. He picked up his emotionally broken body and ran as fast as his legs would carry him; trying frantically to out run the anger and depression that attacked his mind and body, desperately trying to out run the painful images in his head; yet at the same time failing miserably. Lee too powerless to outrun it all let out a loud yell that sounded more like a wounded animal howling then a man's screaming.
Sakura pulled away from Ino, her breathing slightly off causing her sentence to sound rushed as she asked "Did you hear that?"
It took the dazed blonde a second to comprehend Sakura's question, but when she did speak up her voice had a dreamy kind of tone to it "Yeah I did...what was that?" Ino asked and looked around trying to find the source of such an awkward sound. She never found the source of that weird noise; however Ino's pale eyes spotted flowers a few yards from where she and Sakura were standing.
"Huh, what are flowers doing in a place like this" Sakura asked voicing the question that Ino was thinking the moment she spotted them.
Ino shrugged her shoulders "I don't know. It is possible that somebody dropped while them trying to out run the storm and the wind carried it away" she suggested.
"I guess... but I don't see anyone around" Sakura noted as she turned her pink colored head around trying to look for the owner of the flowers. "That's a shame they look real pretty" Sakura said and ventured out from under the tree and the protection it gave to walk over towards the two bouquets to take a closer look at them. "...Hey Ino, they look as if there from your family shop"
"Really" Ino asked and walked over to where Sakura and the flowers lay. "Yeah, their definitely from our store" she stated when she saw the trademark design of the hiragana character for Ya on the wrappings of the bouquets. Having grown up in that flower shop she knew that emblem very well; also having to work in that flowerily environment most of her life made Ino fluent in the language that the plants spoke silently. She read the flowers before her like a scroll and began to ponder deeply about who would just abandon such a meaningful message.
"Um…since there's no one around you think it'd be alright to take them home with us…I'd feel really bad just leaving them in the rain like this" Sakura asked hesitantly, they were very nice looking flowers, and nice things shouldn't be disregarded in the rain so carelessly. But then again they weren't her flowers they were someone else's, they really should try to find the owner and return it to them. 'Or here's a thought…FORGET ABOUT THE STUPID PLANTS AND GET YOUR DAMNED ARSE OF THIS BAD WEATHER BEFORE YOU GET US BOTH SICK' Inner Sakura yelled, the tiny chibi Sakura could be seen in one of the more darker parts of Sakura's mind shivering underneath a rain cloud that had manifested in the back of Sakura's mind.
Sakura herself was about to hypercritically shout back something along the lines of 'you don't need to yell', however such actions were halted by when she saw Ino pick up the bouquets and flash her a gentle smile; which quickly silenced both Sakuras.
"I think taking them would be ok…somehow I get this strange feeling that they were meant for us in the first place" Ino mused, carefully studying the flowers in her grasp making sure that she wasn't mistaken by what she saw in them.
Sakura looked up at Ino with a blank expression on her face and asked "Eh…why do you say that" she waited patiently for Ino to answer her, not minding the rain that fell over her and her partner.
Ino shook her head at the question, unintentionally shaking off any rain droplets that soaked her blonde head as she did so and responded "Not here, we probably shouldn't be standing out in the rain…it might be good for these flowers but it's not so good for our health"
Sakura faked a pout and replied "Fine." Once more, she took hold of her lover's arm and began to pull her off into the distance. "But no more getting sidetracked"
Ino smirked at this remark and retorted "Oh, you didn't seem to mind are last little detour"
Sakura teasingly punched Ino in the shoulder earning a playful protest from the other chuunin. She then let go of the hand she was so tightly holding on to just a moment ago to get away from Ino's counterattack. The two girls soon began their ritual of playing cat and mouse, all the while running and laughing in the rain. Despite the fact that they were no more then five minutes away from their apartment complex, it took them twenty-five minutes due to the fun they were having while flocking in the rain wholeheartedly enjoying the other's company.
Now positively drenched by the once light rain and now raging storm Sakura and Ino scampered into the warm apartment, clinging to each other for warmth as they dislodged saturated their feet from soaked shoes. For the most part the two were chilled to the bone, each letting out the occasional quivered breath while rubbing limbs together in the futile attempt that friction would heat up their frigid forms.
"S-Sss-so" Ino stuttered though chattering teeth. "Who gets to enjoy the nice warm shower first?"
Sakura looked at her new found lover with a face that was unreadable, and masked by a peculiar expression that Ino couldn't quite place. It was evident that neither wanted to go second, nor be selfish and call dibs while the other suffered and waited...However there was a way to avoid those scenarios.
"Well...you know" Sakura began her mouth hitching up into a familiar grin that Ino recognized right away.
"You truly are the Hokage's assistant aren't you dekochin" Ino mused as she could easily picture that same Chester cat grin on Tsunade's face. Sakura merely flashed the blonde chunin a much more sinister smirk before dragging her baffled form away from the doorway and toward the washroom.