hey guys

Sorry for being late with this chapter, Canada day means busy time with family.

So here's the next part, still showing the other characters, and trying build on a certain character since his parents background was never described in the actual canon

Enjoy

I don't own Naruto

Chapter 12

Lee is one of the most skillful taijustu leaf shinobi out there, next to his sensei. Because he cannot use ninjustu or genjustu, he's been training his body vigorously to the point where he has gotten addicted to the endorphins that are realised during a rigorous training session. The fact that after his match with Gaara had practically crippled him, he could not workout without the doctors from interrupting every time. Even now, after the surgery, he still required rehab to fully get his muscles to where they once were without tearing them apart; it was frustrating!

Opening his eyes, Lee squinted, using one of his arms to cover his eyes from the light.

"Oh, Lee! I see you're finally awake" said a familiar voice. Turing his head, he saw that it was Sakura sitting on a chair on his left.

"Sakura-san?" Lee asked.

"Hey, I brought you a flower for your vase. I came when you and the nurse were arguing, before she smashed a chair on your head, knocking you unconscious" Sakura explained.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that unyouthful display. I was simply doing some light training, but the nurse wouldn't let me continue and-

"I know Lee, which is why I think I have an idea; I'll take over your rehab so I can get you out of here sooner. Please listen to what I say on what you can do and what you can't do okay? You can still train, but when I tell you what the limit is, please stop. You'll never get out of here if you don't follow the rehab regulations" Sakura explained.

Lee's eyes lightened up at the prospect of Sakura taking over his rehab. He'll be able to spend time with his blossoming flower! Lee jumped up and grabbed Sakura's hands, "yosh, I'll listen to every word of wisdom you have to offer me in order to recover faster. If I fail then I shall do 500 pushups, and if I can do that then I'll-

"Don't worry about it Lee, I get it. You'll get out of this hospital faster with me taking over, and once you're out, I'll spar with you in order to get your taijustu back to how it was before" Sakura interrupted before Lee could go into his full workout speech of failing.

Smiling until his teeth shined, he strikes a thumb up pose, "yosh, kami is truly on my side to have you come to my rescue Sakura-san, I look forward to our sessions. When shall we begin?"

"Well that has yet-

"Sakura, may I have a word with you please?" a voice sounding near the door said. Turning her head, she saw that Tsunade was at the door.

"Hai, I'll see you later Lee" Sakura got up and went to follow her mentor.

After the door closed, Lee looked out the window, with one thought in mind; Sakura was truly his guardian angel sent from Kami.

"Sakura, I had one of my nurses bursting into my office requesting, what would be the 3rd time, of having Lee transferred to another nurse. I was about to say no since it would require a great deal of paperwork, when she mentioned you. Technically, you're not yet that qualified to do such a thing, but she said you were the one who requested it" Tsunade said after the two left the room.

"Hai, I originally was coming to pay Lee a visit. Once I got closer, I heard a bunch of yelling, then a snap of something. When I opened the door, it showed Lee unconscious, with a broken wooden chair next to him. I figured since me and Lee are friends, he might trust my word a bit more than that of the regular nurse" Sakura explained.

Tsunade just sighed at that; while true there would still be paper work for the transfer of patient, there might be a bit of less hassle, and hopefully, faster recovery rate for the young shinobi.

"Alright, I'll let you take over Rock Lee's rehab. I expect weekly reports on his recovery, and no slacking on your own training."

"Hai" Sakura couldn't help but smile at that, she knew it would be less free time, but she had promised Naruto that the next time they go searching for Sasuke; it would be together, not her relying all on him.

After arriving at the café Tenten spoke of, they were served green tea, and awaited for their orders.

"So Neji, what were you up to today?" Tenten started, knowing Neji wasn't much for conversations.

"I had been meditating for the majority of the morning, and then had taken Hanabi-sama to meet some friends at the academy grounds. Around 5 I'll be returning there to retrieve her before returning home" Neji answered.

Tenten raised an eyebrow at this; from what little Neji had said about Hinata's sister, she was supposed to have inherited the clan heads personality; distant and cold. Neji saying that she went to meet up with some friends just sounded strange to her.

"She has friends? I didn't expect that from what you've stated about her" Tenten said.

"Neither did I. It seems that my observation was not just incorrect of Hinata-sama, but Hanabi-sama as well. Today, just walking and watching her actions make me believe that she may be more like her older sister than what she leads everyone to believe" Neji stated.

The food came, and for the majority of the meal was in silence. Tenten was pondering about asking Neji about his relations with the family; before the chunin exams, Neji was so cold and full of anger for the Main family. After Naruto had defeated him, he became nicer to everyone, that included Lee, and to his cousin Hinata.

After they paid for their meals and left, Tenten decided to voice her thoughts, "Neji, may I ask a personal question in terms of family?"

A little surprised by her bold question, Neji decided he would allow it; he's still trying to be more open on his emotions, but he still found it a bit sore to speak of his family when he had been truly foolish before about it.

"You may Tenten, what do you wish to know about?"

"Well, how is the relationship between you and your Uncle and Cousins? Before, you wouldn't have ever bothered willingly to talk with them, and if you did, there was always a bit of bitterness in your voice. Now, it seems that your anger has vanished" Tenten stated.

Neji pondered what to say for his answer; even though he still feels a bit sore about it, Tenten knew more than most about how he felt before for his family, "it has improved significantly actually. Hiashi-sama has been training me on his own spare time, and I have decided to rebuild the friendship I once shared with Hinata-sama, before I began to blame her for my father's death. Now that I know that one can truly change their fates, I have come to realize that Hinata-sama had always been kind and never treated any of us branch members as slaves. I can also see, based on training with her, that she is actually more skilled with the gentle fist than Hanabi-sama. I think, though, because of her kind heart, it prevents her from truly harming her sister during a spar. I believe Hisahi-sama also knows this, even though he won't ever admit it. The clan heads probably see this as a weakness, and in order to protect her, he had her become a ninja of Konoha, instead of being branded with the curse mark. Hanabi-sama is starting to see her sister's strength as well."

"What do you wish for the clan Neji?" Tenten asked, deciding to push her luck.

"I believe that Hinata-sama is capable of changing the clan; because she's different than most of us Huyga's, she can think differently of running things. Her kind heart won't ever let her brand her little sister should she become the next head. I will continue to train with Hinata-sama in order to get her strong enough before one of the sisters take over" Neji answered.

Tenten just smiled, and in one of her very rare moments of being emotional, gave Neji a hug, surprising him.

"Well I'm glad. Perhaps it will be you three to change the family for the better so later generations won't have to be born with the bitterness you once felt" Tenten let go after saying that.

Neji didn't know why he felt awkward after the hug; he hasn't be hugged since he was young from his dad and mom. It didn't help that the back of his neck felt hot.

Tenten didn't appear to take notice and began walking towards the hospital, "I know it may not be the best idea, but let's go visit Lee before he breaks out again."

He nodded and followed her towards the hospital.

"They're really nice; you've been friends with them for a long time?" Hanabi asked. There was only an hour left until Neji was supposed to come and pick her up. Moegi and Udon had left five minutes ago to meet up with their families. She and Konohamaru were currently swinging now that there was no ball to kick around.

"Yeah. Shortly after I began at the academy, I met with Moegi first. She was yelling at me, saying that my henge technique that I learned from Naruto-ni-san was disrespectful towards girls. A few days later I met Udon being picked at by some bullies. Apparently, he and Moegi are the first in their families attempting at being ninja, but because Udon doesn't have as much physical strength, and is nervous all the time, it makes him easy picking. Since then we've always been together, trying to surprise Naruto-ni-san when we can, playing, training, and looking after one another. I am an only child since after my birth kaa-san needed to do surgery shortly; she can't have kids anymore."

Hanabi looked surprised by his last remark, "Why can't she have kids anymore?"

"She only has one kidney, so it was hard pressure trying to have kids. Apparently, about a few days before I was born, she had intense stomach pains, and blood was dripping on the floor. Once taken to the hospital, and they did a C-section to get me out, it turned out that my kaa-san had a placenta praevia, whatever that means, tou-san won't tell me. She didn't tell my tou-san because she was worried that he would make her give me up. It turned out that wasn't the only issue though; she began having internal bleeding inside her stomach area as well. The surgery took a few days and she almost died. Afterwards, the doctors stated that she was no longer capable of having kids since they removed the sitting area for the baby, whatever that means" Konohamaru didn't mention that his relationship with his dad had always been strained, even more so since he decided to become a ninja; his kaa-san had been sent to an asylum when it was deemed she had lost her sanity.

"Do ever wish to have siblings? I'm a younger sister so I can't really relate to being an only child" Hanabi said, feeling guiltier of how she treated her sister after hearing Konohamaru's story.

"I use to, but after meeting with Naruto-ni-san and Mogei and Udon, it makes me feel like I do have siblings, so there's nothing to feel sad about" Konohamaru forced a smile on his face.

Hanabi wasn't one for emotional feelings since being born as a main branch, and trained by her father, she was taught to keep her emotions in check. Seeing that smile on Konohamaru's face, however, made her feel tightness in her chest. She felt like crying for some reason.

"My Nee-sama says that my mom died shortly after giving birth to me so I never knew her, but from the photos, my Nee-sama looks quite a lot like her. I've never asked tou-san about it, but after hearing you talk, I think I will. I wish to know about her" Hanabi also looked like she had a forced smile on her face.

Konohamaru was about to apologize for sharing a sorrowful story with her, when a voice called out, "Hanabi-sama, are you ready to head out?"

Both turned their heads to see Neji had returned; with their talking they hadn't realized that it was already past 5.

"Hai, I got to go Konohamaru-kun. Thank you for inviting me to hang out today, I'll see you around" with that she began walking towards Neji.

"Wait" Konohamaru called out, causing Hanabi to slightly jump.

"Yes?" Hanabi asked.

"Listen; try to see if you can get your tou-san to allow you to enter the academy this coming semester. It's true that you'll probably learn most of your skills within the clan, but you won't be able to build friendship if you've got no one to be friends with your own age right? Besides, there's somethings at the academy you can't learn in your clan, please try?" He tried to look hopeful.

Hanabi looked nervous; she actually liked the idea of entering the academy, but wasn't sure how she could plead her case to her tou-san.

"I'll try my best Konohamaru-kun. It would be fun to go with you to study there. Bye for now" and she left this time with Neji.

Sitting back down at the swing, he realized that he told her something he hadn't told anyone yet; not Moegi or Udon, not even Naruto-ni-san. 'I don't get it, why do I just feel at ease with her. We seem to have a bit in common, but I felt that before we even spoke two words with her'. Shaking his head, he decided to go, and perhaps, train before heading home. Whatever it was that was causing him to be more open with Hanabi, he couldn't say that he was worried; in fact, he felt complete relief for talking about his past, like some kind of burden is lifting.

What he didn't realize was that very relief would be a major factor on an important choice later in the future.

Well how was it, they never did say who or what was Konohamaru's family was like apart from Asuma and the Third hokage, so I'm deciding to build a little bit of a background for him.

So perhaps the next chapter I'll bring back team 8 and Naruto, haven't decided yet. If you guys want some fighting happening soon let me know, I'm trying to get better at writing fighting scenes.

Cheers and happy Canada Day guys