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Wow…it's…uh…been a while, hasn't it? -scratches back of head nervously- In my defense, I've had a lot going on since my last update. But you don't wanna hear about my life, do you? You want the meat of the story. Well, too bad. I'm a vegetarian. I am also Irish, however, so I can give you the potatoes, at least.

Once again, I was forced to switch things around to better suit my needs. Originally, I was gonna do Tenten and Hinata. Then I was going to switch it to Kiba and Hinata. I'm still deciding, so in the meantime I decided to do a Sakura/Lee. Just for the record, yes I am a fan of this pairing. I'm also just plain a fan of Lee in general.

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"The Scenario Series"
Part 5 of 10

by Tsubasa Hane

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She'd tried to just forget about things and move on with life. Tsunade-sensei had even offered a week's worth of relief from both missions and training duties, which she readily accepted. All shifts at the medical center would be covered. It had been a good while since she'd had a nice vacation, after all, and then seemed like as good a time as any. There was no fault on her part by accepting such an innocent proposition, right?

After all, it wasn't as if that one moment in time still haunted her every thought. As if she could still feel the warmth of his hot breath as his lips lingered near her ear, causing a shiver to run up her spine at the mere promise of physical contact. As if her mind replayed, over and over again, his last words before disappearing out of her life once more….

A faint gust of wind blew through her cherry blossom-colored locks, and she closed her eyes as a few random strands tickled her nose. Arms already resting upon the bridge railing, she put her head down and allowed herself a deep, calming inhalation before sighing audibly. There was no one around to hear; there hadn't been a soul since she'd returned from her last mission.

Not that it was entirely their fault. After all, how could anyone be expected to understand when she had yet to say a word?

The wind barely settled when she felt a sudden presence appear directly behind her. Muscles instinctively tensed, an overwhelming sense of déjà vu momentarily sweeping over her. Unlike last time, however, this presence was inherently familiar, and much more welcoming. It also had not bothered to mask its presence, and had only escaped her noticed until that moment due to her mental distraction. She recognized the aura almost immediately.

"Lee-san," she greeted him warmly. "What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way in returning from the latest mission assigned to Neji-san and myself, when I noticed you standing here, on this bridge."

In spite of her previous mood, she allowed herself a faint smile. One couldn't help it when in his presence for very long; even the casual tone of his voice seemed to radiate a warmth and liveliness that had yet to be matched by anyone else she knew. "I see," she replied, standing up-right. "May I ask how it went?"

"A complete success!" he announced, with as much enthusiasm as she had been expecting. There was no point in querying him further; aside from the fact that most missions he took nowadays were top-secret, she wasn't sure her eardrums would be able to withstand the details.

Stifling a giggle at his usual behavior, she finally opened her eyes and turned in time to catch him throwing a fist in the air, further emphasizing his statement. She was also just in time to catch the subtle wince he gave at said notion. It was almost invisible to the untrained eye, but even on vacation her eyes were far from untrained. Her medic side kicked in instinctively, and she quickly closed the gap between them to inspect his arm and shoulder.

"And don't even try avoiding it, Lee-san," she warned him as he opened his moth to protest. "You'd walk off a compound fracture if it threatened to interrupt your training." She shot him a look that was only partially serious, and he—recalling such times in the past where he had done as such—had the grace to blush.

A comfortable silence passed between the two as the medic carefully passed over ever inch of muscle and tendon from shoulder to elbow, gently poking and prodding for any sign of injury. Seldom had she ever been in such close proximity to him, a fact he found himself suddenly all-too-aware of.

Her hands were warm and soft to the touch, charged with chakra. The scent of strawberries and cream emitting from her hair attacked his nostrils as he looked down at her, internally admiring the way her face scrunched up adorably in professional concentration. Strands of hair blew gently across her face with each gust of wind, and it took more restraint than he thought possible to resist the urge to brush them away. As it was, her touch alone nearly drove him crazy; his suit was like a second skin, and hardly shielded his senses from the faint tingle that lingered every time on of her fingers brushed against it.

After a few moments (which felt like an eternity to him), she stepped back. "Well, from the overall lack of swelling, I'd say nothing is broken. Just a pulled muscle. I'd recommend a bit of direct heat applied to the areas of pain, as well as a good day's worth of rest."

"If Sakura-san recommends it, then it must be done!" He stated with a smile, saluting with his other hand. "And if I do not properly rest for the full duration of time, I shall meditate under a waterfall for an entire week. And if I cannot do that, then I shall—"

She had her hand covering his mouth before he could even finish the thought: "Let's…just hope that you can sit still for longer than five minutes, then, all right?"

This time, it was he who noticed immediately. Merely a flicker of a moment of eye contact, but at such a close proximity, that flicker revealed to him a lack of sparkle in her eye that usually came with one of her gentle smiles. The fact that she refused to look at him directly for any length of time confirmed his suspicions.

"Sakura-san?" he asked cautiously, "What is it? What is troubling you?"

She winced at the question, inwardly cursing herself for allowing him to notice. For not hiding it better. "It's nothing," she murmured. "It's not important. Really."

"But it must be, to cause your eyes to lose that beautiful, youthful sparkle of theirs!" The expression was hardly unfamiliar, though the tone behind it was. It was much more subdued than usual. More serious. "I have not seen you this saddened since Sasuke-san…"

The flinch was even more visible at the name, and any remaining words died on his lips. When it came to the subject of her long-lost teammate, she had always been a bit sensitive—and understandably so. But this time was different. His eyes widened in both shock and momentary disbelief before narrowing into a much gentler expression.

"I see," he began, his voice carrying no traces of accusation. "You have seen him. You have seen Sasuke-san."

"I-it's not what you think," she began, panic inexplicably beginning to take hold. "I wasn't looking for him, I swear! I wasn't even expecting him to be there. He just…appeared in front of me, and I…I…"

"Shh. It's all right." He tried calming her down. "I believe you."

The pain he felt from her was almost palpable, and more than enough to make his own heart physically ache. "I haven't even told Tsunade-sensei about it yet," she admitted dejectedly, "I mean, I know I probably should…but a part of me can't seen to grasp exactly what happened. Part of me still can't believe it did."

"He did not hurt you, did he?" His eyes briefly scanned her exposed flesh for any sign of injury.

"No. He didn't." she shook her head, then frowned. "It was strange. Almost like he didn't want to fight me."

"Perhaps he did not?" he offered.

"Then why the confrontation?" she asked, her face scrunching up in confusion. "I would never have known he was even there if he hadn't made himself known to me."

"Well," he began, folding one arm across his chest and holding his other hand to his chin in thought. "What did he say to you?"

She grew very solemn, and for a moment he feared he had said the wrong thing. "I think…" she began, her voice full of hesitation. He could tell that this was harder for her than she let on. "…I think he was trying to tell me that he plans to come back. That he'll eventually return to Konoha…to…us…"

"Sakura-san?"

"But that's good isn't it?" She tried to smile, but her voice grew weaker with every word. "It means he hadn't really abandoned us. He won't kill Naruto or betray Konoha, or do anything that could jeopardize his chances of coming home. I should be happy, shouldn't I?"

The tears welling in her eyes told him otherwise. "But you are not."

"I don't know," she shook her head. "I don't know how I feel anymore. I mean, of course I want him to come back. But not like how I used to." She closed her eyes in reflection. "After he left, there were nights when I would cry myself to sleep at night, thinking of how things used to be. They weren't perfect, but they weren't bad, either. I know he thought I was annoying. I was little more than a pest to him, and he didn't hesitate in letting me know." She chuckled ironically to herself. "Heh. I deserved it. After treating Naruto like that for so long, it was like getting a just taste of my own medicine. Most girls would probably have given up by then. I'm sure the majority had—superficial childhood crushes can only last for so long, you know."

"I take it yours did not." He spoke softly.

She shook her head, smiling sadly as she opened her eyes and turned to him. "You know, I never did tell anybody why I loved him. Not even Ino."

There was a pause, and thought it saddened him to be speaking of such painful matters on both their parts, he took a modest pride in the fact that she was willing to share the pain with him.

"I mean, sure…he was cure, smart and mysterious. What girl couldn't resist?" She rolled her eyes at the sarcastic question, earning a slight chuckle from him, before growing more serious. "But that wasn't it. It was something I saw inside him. A child who had gone through hell and back, losing his entire family clan to such a traumatizing memory. He'd seen more things in one night than some ninja see in a lifetime, things that would have turned a lesser person away from the ninja way of life forever. But he chose to fight. Not for recognition, but for strength. Inside and out. He…" her voice cracked, "…he was so alone with no one but himself for encouragement. It's no wonder he was fueled by thoughts of revenge and revenge alone. He never knew anything else…"

She wiped away at a few tears, at which time he noticed her hands shaking badly.

"And then," she continued," we were assigned to be on the same time. I thought this would be my chance to get to know him better. To see where it was he got his strength from. How it was that he could never give up after everything. He never gave up, Lee-san…never…"

"I know," he commented gently.

"He'd probably never admit it to anyone, but he and Naruto grew to become the best of friends. Sure, they hid behind the façade of some fierce rivalry between them…but I think it was more they found a kindred spirit in one another." She paused for breath. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous of Naruto at times, but that rivalry of theirs was what had started to quench his desire for revenge. He no longer needed hatred as an excuse to get stronger. He had us. And he…he was on his way to becoming genuinely happy before…"

It was here she could no longer continue, and he rushed to her side in fear that her legs would give out. His arms enveloped her in a tight, secure hug as he allowed her to cry into his shirt. She cried until his shirt material was soaked with tears, clutching at his arms for support. Even as she began to settle down, he gently pulled back to wipe at her cheeks but refused to let go.

"You still love him," he stated, "and you probably always will."

She hiccupped once, then nodded. "I can't help it. I'm sorry."

He smiled. "For what? He was your first love, Sakura-san. Generally, those are the ones that stay with you always."

There was a subtlety behind his words that caused her to look up at him. Guilt threatened to overwhelm sadness when he noticed the look he gave her; how could she have been so selfish? Here she was, prattling on and on about her 'precious' Sasuke to the one person who probably understood the pains of unrequited love even better than she…because she was the cause of it.

"Oh, Lee-san," she began, immediately pulling away in shame. "I—"

"I already told you there's no reason to apologize, Sakura-san." The smile on his face made her heart break even further. "I could never find you at fault for something I, myself, can not control. The heart wants what it wants, regardless. And besides," he continued, taking both her hands in his. She didn't have the strength to resist. "having you for such a dear friend is more than I could ever have hoped for."

"Lee-san…"

Before he could stop himself, he learned forward so far that their foreheads touched. "My offer still stands," he whispered. "Now and forever, I will protect you with my life. I promise to always be there for you…even if just emotionally…."

Any further words she had previously managed to choke up died on her lips. At a loss, she did the first thing she could think of: pull the boy into a tight hug. There were no tears this time, however, and the two remained in that position in silence for a time, until interrupted by a loud grumble.

She blushed furiously, pulling away to place a hand over her stomach. "…guess I shouldn't have missed lunch," she joked weakly. The two shared a laugh, as she found herself able to genuinely smile for the first time since the start of their conversation. "You hungry? If we get to Ichiraku's in time, there's a slight chance Naruto won't have eaten their entire stock yet."

"I still have to report to Hokage-sama on the success of my most recent mission," was his answer, "but it should not take long."

"Great!" she exclaimed, extending an arm playfully. "Shall we then?"

He mirrored the grin on her face and accepted, and together the pair headed back towards the village. They made it only a few feet, however, when something caused her to hesitate in her step. He looked to her questioningly, wondering if she had perhaps forgotten something important and could not go with him after all.

After a moment, she finally spoke. "You truly are strong, Lee."

"Why do you say that?" He was surprised at the sudden compliment and, in spite of the pride he felt at her sincere words, wondered where it had come from.

"Because there are few guys in this world who would be willing to come second in a girl's heart."

He stared at her, a cross between sadness and happiness passing between the two. It was a bittersweet declaration, and he could not describe the emotions that stirred within him. In the end, he could only smile at the beautiful girl at his side, and replied:

"I told you, Sakura-san…I would do anything for you."