Sakura sighed. Lee had been admitted to the hospital and he was pretty banged up. Nothing life threatening or serious enough to keep him from being a shinobi, but he would have to take a break from training for awhile. She still remembered his face as Lee apologized to her and Gai-sensei. She had been confused, and stupidly asked what he apologized for; making Lee feel even more depressed when he told her.

"I have to do something for him; to make up for that. He needs to know its okay to lose sometimes…"

"Hey Sakura!"

"Huh? Oh hey Ino"

"Wow, don't overdo it with the enthusiasm. What's wrong?"

"It's Lee-kun. He's depressed because he lost by giving up. I have to make him feel better somehow"

"How about you wear a ribbon and tell him you're his present. I bet he'll have fun unwrapping you"

"Ino!"

The affronted Sakura halfheartedly swung at her friend. Ino dodged and stuck out her tongue.

"Come on, you moping around isn't going to help him any"

"I know that but I can't help it. I'm just so powerless right now"

"So distract yourself for awhile. Come back to it later when your head is clear"

Sakura reluctantly agreed. Ino dragged her friend through the commercial district, trawling through whatever she could find; clothes, keepsakes, odds and ends, trinkets. The two friends eventually found themselves at a bookstore.

"Hey, maybe there'll be something good in here! You never know what you may find in a bookstore"

Sakura followed Ino in, still not in high spirits, meandering around the shelves of manga. The cover of one caught her eye. She read the title out loud.

"'Absorbing the power of nature to vanquish evil; Banshoujin!!' why does this seem so famili-"

Her memory sparked and Sakura ran out of the bookstore before Ino could blink. After chasing her down the blond kunoichi found Sakura at her house, furiously going through a collection of scrolls.

"Hey what gives?! Why'd you run off like that?"

"I just remembered something- rats where is it- I saw a manga cover that reminded me of something I- darn not here either-had read before- oh come on I know it's here somewhere"

"O..k. and why is this so important?"

"No not this one- if I'm right it could be the answer to- oh god what is that doing here- me helping Lee-kun"

"I'll just leave it to you then. Good luck" 'She is such a nerd. I sure hope that thing she's looking for works'

gggggggggggg

Lee sighed. He was looking out the window, not really seeing anything.

'First Neji, and now Gaara. Both geniuses with natural born talents and abilities far beyond everyone else. Will hard work truly put me on an even keel with them? Or will I always be second best; forever chained behind my own inability to use chakra?'

Lee looked over to the cut flower Sakura had left him.

'Will I ever be worthy of her?'

His room door burst open.

"Lee-kun!!"

"S-Sakura-chan?"

"You'll never believe what I just found!"

"What could it be?"

An excited Sakura held up a yellowed scroll.

"It's this! I read over this scroll a long time ago. It's a copy from an ancient text that was from before the Sage of Six Paths gave shinobi ninjutsu"

"Is it really that old? If so how could it be of used to me?"

"Because it uses a different form of energy than regular jutsu; if you learn from this scroll it would be something that no one else can do!"

"I…" 'Oh Sakura-chan, to go through such lengths for me.. but I cannot use chakra; even if it is a different kind.. no. I'll try anyway!' "Thank you, Sakura-chan"

"You're welcome Lee-kun"

"But I am curious; how did you come across such a scroll?"

"Well, my family has always been interested in learning new things" 'And we're pack rats that almost never throw anything away'

gggggg

Lee was released from the hospital a few days later. Placing his trust in the scroll he trained in its arcane teachings. More often than not Sakura joined him; aiding him by translating the scroll and making sure he never got too injured. The day of the chunin exam finals drew near.

"I can't believe it. Tomorrow our friends are fighting in the finals"

"I feel the same way, Sakura-chan. Though I cannot be with them in the matches, I shall cheer for them whole heartedly!"

"Yeah! Me too! But… what about Neji?"

"I… I can only hope Naruto-kun has trained enough this month"

"Hey don't worry; Naruto's my teammate. I know he can pull something out of nowhere and win"

Lee smiled at her. He bounced up and made a many pose, rigorously agreeing with Sakura.

ggggggggg

"That will be enough for now"

Neji ceased his efforts and allowed himself to rest against a tree.

'So tomorrow it begins. I face that dobe Naruto and then the winner of the Uchiha/Gaara fight. The other bracket doesn't have any real threats. This tournament will end with my victory. As much as I'd rather not, I hope Tenten loses her match. That way we will not have to fight each other'

Casting his gaze skyward Neji felt the cool evening breeze wash over him.

'Tomorrow, we shall see what fate has in store for us'

A shooting star passed just has he closed his eyes.

gggggggg

Tenten gave a contented sigh as she slipped deeper in the bath.

"Mmmm. Heaven"

All the soreness of her muscles and stiffness of her joints melted away. Tenten recalled her exercises, going over the throwing drills and new weapon techniques and seeing how they would have matched up to the abilities of the other finalists. Estimating a growth rate for each competitor and herself she drew up some odds.

'Well let's see. I know I outmatch Shikamaru physically, but he does have a very tactical mind so I can't waste time and let him think. Whichever fighter come out of the third match he'll be a long range type like me so I can counter that decently; the fight will most likely be decided by close quarters. But that first bracket; I don't think I can handle anyone who comes out of it. I've never even touched Neji in a fight, Gaara's defense is too much to get past with my current arsenal, the Uchiha has the sharingan and that weird thing he did in the forest… and if by some miracle Naruto wins I'm not sure I could beat him. Well no sense worrying about it now. I'll just have to do my best!'

Tenten got out of the water and dried off. After dressing she went to her room. Giving her outfit for the next day a smile she dove into bed.

ggggggg

"ORA!!"

A tremendous impact, followed by the sound splintering trees ripped through the small valley. A gust of wind swept away the clouds of dust to reveal Naruto in the tatters of his usual jumpsuit.

"Just you wait asshole, you're gonna get it tomorrow!"

gggggggg

Banshoujin – all nature man; as far as I know I made this up

Ora – no literal translation; could be used as a battle cry, call for attention, or other such phrase said in battle/exertion/etc