To completely tell out story, I have to go back a little further. Back to the second task of the Chuunin exams. It was a survival exercise combined with combat training. Each remaining team was given either an Earth or a Heaven scroll. They were then given a few days to obtain the other scroll, and make it to the tower in the middle of the forest, with all team members still alive.
At this point I didn't really know Lee at all. He was just that kid that would do that creepy heart thing in the first exam.
One of the first warm days in a long time. I knew that the day was going to be special from the moment I woke up. The shelter seemed to glow. Lee was sitting in the corner, catching his breathe from his morning 1000 pushups.
As I made my way into the kitchen, I looked around. Everything was clean and in place, as usual. Something else caught my eye. It had been so long since I had seen one. They were never to be found inside the shelters, and we were never allowed out of them. It was like seeing a lost dream, just in arms reach. A four-leaf clover. Right outside the door.
It was our third day in the forest, and I was losing hope. A young ninja, but older than ourselves, joined us. I'm not sure now why he left his team, why he chose ours, or what our scroll situation was, but Sasuke trusted him, so I did too.
We stopped for a rest on out journey to the tower. The trees were tall, and provided excellent hiding. I sat twirling a small four-leaf clover in my hand. It was given to me the night before; he came to me when everyone else was sleeping. He pledged his love again, and a warning that he didn't trust this stranger. After what he had just proved only hours ago, I should have believed him. He risked his life before ninja beyond his skill level, for me. The clover he gave me was a symbol. A symbol of himself. He would always be there. There to bring me luck.
Naruto was still sleeping. Lee was continuing his training. It was nor or never. The opportunity wouldn't present itself again if I didn't take then.
It was hard to leave the shelter without being noticed. The door was almost silent; you had to be listening for it to hear it. I crept silently up the hall on the other side of the shelter. The clover was there. It took me no time at all to find it, but it took me longer to get back 'home.' The sound ninja appeared.
After the preliminaries, I visited Lee everyday. The hospital wasn't a suitable place for healing. Everyone was sad. Too many people dying. Too much white. Too much red.
On the first visit I brought him a flower. Each time that one died I would bring him another, and another. I couldn't bear him waking up to a dead, wilting one. To know that someone just came and left, like you didn't matter quite enough. Not after everything he did for me.
Once he came to, I brought him something else. Something I know he carries to this day. He likes to pretend it's been long gone, but I know its still there. The four-leaf clover beneath his leaf village headband.