The Lotus Rock Lee

by AshleyKazekage

The tale of Setsuki begins here. Her life didn't begin quite so well, but upon making friendships her life was well on it's way to becoming great! She meets her best friend, and bonds with him easily. She is glad to have so many friends, and she even starts to fall in love, but refuses to show it at first. However Setsuki's life isn't as great as she thinks it really is..

8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

We get to the training ground and face each other. Lee looks at my hands. "Are your burns all healed?" He inquires. I nod.
"Yeah, Gai-san's ointment was really effective!" I say. Lee grins.
"Of course. Gai-sensei has only the best!" He says. "Oh, do you have any other wounds?"
"Nope!" I answer. He smiles then gets into his fighting stance.
"That is good to hear! Let us spar then, considering we did not get to last time." He says. I nod and get into my fighting stance – stand there and look at him. "Come at me when you are ready."
"Yosh!" I say, then run at him. I kept his speed in mind, so I had to somehow work around that. I get to him and go to throw a punch, but like last time he disappears an inch before I hit him.
I turn around fast and block his incoming kick. He jumps back off my arm, landing a few meters away.
"You must be quick to have seen that coming Setsuki-san!" Lee says. I felt happy to be complimented at this early hour. The sun was beginning to rise in the distance. I clap my hands together, getting an idea. Water would slow him down.
"Water Style: Water Shockwave Jutsu!" I say, then a spiralling vortex of water circles around me. Lee gives this a curious look, yet at the same time, looks like he's planning something. The top of the vortex began to explode from the top, and I direct the wave toward him. Lee had a look of unexpectancy to this manoeuvre and jumps back, but the wave had already snuck behind him, so he slips and falls over. I wave my arm across the front of me, causing the water to levitate over him. I then drop my arm down, manipulating the water to do the same, but Lee disappears before it fell. Yet again, he's out of sight. I hate not being able to keep an eye on my opponent. But then I heard footsteps splashing in the water and look up to where the water is still falling from the vortex, Lee was running up it. My eyes lock onto him, and I use the water to grab his ankle. He falls again and I try to capture him with the water, but he does a spinning kick to free himself. He lands on the ground in front of me, and the water finishes falling. I run at him, knowing the ground around us is wet and slippery, but there's no way I can slip on it, after all, it is my chakra in it.
Lee catches my fist as I go to punch him, and I could not get free. He brings his knee up to hit my stomach, but as he did I quickly mutter "Ninja Art: Water Substitution Jutsu." then turn into water. I look up at him from the puddle I am. His expression shows his confusion. I jump up from the puddle and tackle him, the water helps hold him down too.
"Aha! Got you!" I exclaim. Lee seems shocked at first but then smiles.
"You are indeed clever and your moves are very unorthodox. You are quite the challenge, but I have one thing to tell you Setsuki-san." He says. I blink.
"What's that?" I ask. He gets a smug smile.
"You have not won." He says. I pout.
"But I have you pinned, you cannot move. I've won!" I exclaim. Lee shakes his head.
"But you do not understand, I never give up!" He says, then suddenly he manages to free his right hand and whack it across my stomach, making me fall sideways. Lee then twists his arms around, grabbing both my wrists then pinning them against the dry part of the ground, and traps my feet by pushing his ankles down on top of them, I could not move except for my head. My eyes went wide at the sudden movement. "So therefore, I win!" He says.
"H-how did you..?" I stutter form shock. I notice he is panting slightly, and water drips from his hair to my face, but it didn't bother me. Then I notice I was panting heavily, I guess my concentration took my attention away from me being exhausted.
"Well well, isn't this an interesting sight." We both hear. Lee immediately looks up, his face went red and he jumps up and extends a hand to help me up and looks the other way like he was embarrassed. I take his hand and he pulls me up. I turn and see Gai-san. He had an odd smirk on his face.
"Lee, Setsuki, it seems you two have become good friends hm?" Gai says.
"E-err n-no Gai-sensei, it is not like that!" Lee implies, his face still red.
"What are you talking about? Of course we're friends.. right?" I ask Lee. His face snaps to me.
"O-of course we are! But it is just what Gai-sensei meant.. that is all.." Lee says, then looks down embarrassed, his face still red. Did my water perhaps make him sick or something? I blink.
"Meant? He meant friends right?" I ask, looking at Gai. They both give me a look as if to say 'wow..'. Gai begins to chuckle.
"Don't worry about it Setsuki-san. Now what were you two doing anyway?" He asks.
"You should have seen us! We sparred and Lee-san kicked my butt!" I exclaim.
"O-oh, I would not say that Setsuki-san, you put up a good fight. It was quite a challenge." Lee says.
"Oh yes? Is that right? Hm. Well then it's not often Lee finds someone challenging." Gai says.
"Really? You're that strong?" I ask Lee. Lee scratches his cheek modestly.
"Uhh.. I guess so." Lee says, then laughs nervously.
"So, sparring were you? Good work!" Gai says, giving us both a thumbs up. "It's nice to see you both making the most of your youth!"
"Thank you Gai-sensei!" Lee says. I just smile. I had no idea I was being youthful.
"Setsuki, how would you like to train with us for the day?" Gai asks.
"Oh! I would love to!" I exclaim.
"Yosh! Gai-sensei! Can Setsuki-san please be my training partner?" Lee pleads.
"Of course she can! That is, if you want to be Setsuki." Gai says. I nod.
"Of course! However I want to get to know your fighting style Setsuki, so I'll have you spar against both Neji and Tenten as well." Gai says. I nod.
"Sounds great!" I say. Lee puts a hand on my shoulder.
"You will do great Setsuki-san!" Lee says, giving me the nice guy pose. I smile back.
"Speaking of which..." Gai says then looks around. "Where are those two? They are late!"
"Should we go find them Gai-sensei?" Lee asks. Gai sighs.
"No it's fine. I will let you two have a small break until they get here. You do look pretty warn out." Gai says. Lee and I jump onto a nearby rock, sitting on it, leaning against each other's backs.

About an hour later, Lee and I had fallen asleep in the same positions, my head was resting on his shoulder, and his was on mine, both our faces facing the now lit sky and we snore.
"Tehehe they look so cute." Tenten giggles. "Gai-sensei do we have to wake them up?"
"Yes we do Tenten, as 'cute' as they may seem like that." Gai says. Tenten sighs.
"Alright alright." She says then walks over, and nudges my arm. "Hey Setsuki-san wake up." She says, then pushes Lee off the rock, making me fall backwards from losing the person holding me up, and hit my head.
"Ow-"
"GAHHH!" Lee cries, waking me wide up. I sit up.
"I DIDN'T DO IT!" I exclaim. Lee jumps up to his feet.
"NEITHER DID I!" Lee exclaims. We blink a few times then see Tenten laughing hysterically, Gai chuckling and Neji standing there frowning. I sweatdrop.
"Did something happen?" I ask.
"Oh Setsuki." Tenten says between laughs and tries to calm down a bit.
"Right, now that you two are awake, we can begin training!" Gai says, beckoning the two of us. Lee and I run over to him. "Riiight! Now, first up! Lee you need more agility, you will be sparring against Neji first. Therefore, Setsuki you will be sparring against Tenten so I can observe your abilities against weapons."
"Yes Gai-sensei!" Lee and I say in unison.
"Oh goodie! I finally get to spar a girl this time! Things should be less stressful now." Tenten says, smiling.
"Why's that?" I ask. Tenten blinks.
"Well surely you're not as strong as Lee or even Neji." She says, smiling a little when she said Neji. I felt offended and look down.
"I almost beat Lee though." I say.
"You.. what?" She asks.
"Yes! It is true Tenten! Setsuki-san almost had me!" Lee says, backing me up. Tenten sweatdrops.
"Great.." She groans.
"Yosh! Lets begin then!" I say.
"Haha! Full of eagerness! Tenten you need to be as determined as Setsuki!" Gai says.
"Ugh, yes Gai-sensei.." She groans.
"THAT WAS NOT AVID ENOUGH TENTEN!" Gai scolds.
"A-ah! Okay okay! Um, yes Setsuki! Lets start!" Tenten says, her voice more enthusiastic this time. Gai gives her a thumbs up.
"Thats more like it!" Gai says. Tenten rolls her eyes and grabs hold of the big scroll tied to her back. I look cautiously at it.
"Okay Setsuki, I'll tell you now. I work with weapons, so when I open this scroll over a thousand kunai, shuriken and other things will come flying out." Tenten explains.
"Uh huh. Well bring it on!" I say, mentally preparing my Water Substitution Jutsu. Tenten nods and Gai, Lee and Neji stand back to watch.
Tenten nods to say she is ready and grabs the scroll to open it. I nod back, confirming I am ready. She rips the scroll open, and in a puff of smoke, hundreds of weapons come 2speeding out really fast. I close my eyes and allow them all to hit me, however because I have activated my Water Substitution Jutsu, it did not hurt a bit. After everything hit, my body collapses into a puddle of water, all the weapons fell as well. Tenten gasps and looks around. I move myself in the puddle form around to the water already on the grass.
"Oh! This is how Setsuki-san got me as well!" Lee calls out. I jump up, reforming myself behind Tenten, then send a kick to her back, making her fall over.
"Water Style: Water Whip Jutsu!" I say, placing my hands in a Jutsu sign. A literal whip made of water appears coiled up in my hand. By now Tenten had jumped to her feet and facing me. She pulls a three-section staff out from a pouch attached to her pants, then snaps it together to make it one long staff. She spins it around in her hand really fast, preparing for my next move.
I swing my arm and crack the whip toward her. She steadies herself and swings the staff and hits the whip so it wraps around it, then she pulls the staff toward her, which also pulls on the whip which I am holding, thus I was forced forward. She was about to lunge at me when I put my hands together in another jutsu sign. "Multi Water Clone Jutsu!" I create about 50 clones, making her spin around in confusion. "Attack!" I command, the 51 of us attack at once, really beating her up.

After Tenten falls over from exhaustion, I release the clones and stand there panting a little. Tenten, battered up on the ground, lays there panting heavily and unable to move.
"Al..right.. you... win.." She groans between breaths. I smile and extend a hand. She effortfully reaches and grabs my hand, and I pull her up. I help her over to a rock and she sits down.
"That was a splendid win!" Gai says, giving me the nice guy pose.
"Thank you Gai-sensei." I say, smiling.
"Now, you deserve a break. Lee, Neji! Your turn!" Gai says, pointing to the duo beside him. Lee raises a fist to the air and gets fire in his eyes.
"Yosh! Neji! I will beat you this time!" Lee exclaims. Neji gets an irritated look and folds his arms.
"Lee, destiny has already decided that you will lose to me." Neji grumbles.
"Neji you are sadly mistaken! I will defeat you this time!" Lee exclaims. Neji glares at his teammate.
"Are you trying to go against your own destiny?" Neji inquires in a hissy voice.
"Stop your arguing and get along for once." Gai grumbles.
"Oh.. I am sorry Gai-sensei!" Lee says, bowing respectively to his sensei. I sit down beside Tenten as they get into position. Lee got into his fighting stance, and Neji got into his.

Their spar dragged out for what felt like forever, but it never got dull. Watching Lee skilfully fight the way he does was fascinating, and whenever I glimpse at Tenten she's always watching Neji.
"Just face it Lee, you're no match for me!" Neji growls.
"Neji.. I.. will.. win!" Lee pants, returning to his fighting stance, panting heavily. Neji was panting himself but not quite as badly.
"Lee's always like this.." Tenten grumbles. I look at her. "Always pushing himself past his limits. He should just admit that he's lost." I frown slightly.
"But Tenten, Lee is just.. um.. trying to prove his worth." I say. She looks at me.
"Prove his worth? Geez that's what he's always on about. He's gonna prove that he'll be an excellent ninja just by using Taijutsu alone." She says, then sighs while shaking her head. "It's seriously a joke. I mean, sure he's gotten this far but-"
"Wait a minute, what do you mean by Taijutsu alone? Why doesn't he use his ninjutsu or genjutsu?" I ask. She blinks.
"He hasn't told you?" She asks.
"Told me what?" I ask.
"Oh. Well you see Lee can't-"
"Gaahh!" Lee cries then the next thing I know Lee knocks me over by colliding into me.
"Oomph!" I grunt, sliding across the ground. I sit up and Lee's head slid down my stomach onto my lap. His eyes are closed and he looks weakened. "Lee!" I say, but there was no reaction. Tenten jumps up and leans her head down on his chest.
"Yeah he's breathing." She says. I carefully slide out from under him and lay his head down gently. I look over to Neji who was panting and getting a smug look.
"What's wrong?" Gai asks, running over and kneeling down.
"He seems to be unconscious sensei." Tenten says.
"Unconscious? Neji!" Gai scolds.
"Hmph, he should've defended himself better." Neji huffs. Gai sighs.
"Does he have any injuries?" Gai asks.
"Um.. I don't know." Tenten says.
"I can check." I say, both faces turn to me. I do a few hand signs and my hands glow green, and I search all over him for any injuries, but apart from a few bruises, nothing too major. "He's fine.."
"You know medical ninjutsu?" Gai asks.
"Um yeah, my father taught me when I was little, then my uncle taught me from then on." I explain.
"What do you mean by 'then on'?" Tenten asks. Gai seemed interested too.
"Um.. dad.. died when I was little. I don't remember what happened, it was too long ago but that's what uncle told me." I explain.
"I'm sorry to hear that.." Gai says.
"It's okay. I hardly remember him anyway..." I say, lying a little just to lower the tension.
"Hm. Well lets put him in the shade and let him rest." Gai says.
"Alright." I say, then I help Gai carry him to under a small hunched tree.

I walk over to Neji who was standing away from everyone with his arms folded. "Um Neji-san?" I ask.
"Hmph, what do you want?" He huffs.
"Why did you hit Lee so badly that he became unconscious?" I ask.
"That's his fault, not mine. I told him to quit but he refused, that is the consequence. Now leave me alone." He huffs then begins walking away, I sigh and walk back over to Lee and the others. I kneel down beside Tenten, looking at Lee. Lee begins groaning in his sleep and spreads an arm out and turns his head the other way.
"Gai-sensei... I can do it... let me... do it.." Lee groans. I smile, he seemed perfectly okay.
"Well that means he wont be asleep for much longer." Tenten says with a giggle.
"So what's up with Neji? Is he always moody?" I ask. Tenten doesn't say anything. "Tenten?"
"Well.. he's just had a bad past, that's all. He's slowly getting better though.. I think." She says.
"Bad past?" I ask. Tenten shakes her head.
"He never talks about it." She says then sighs. "I kinda wish I could do something to help him but I don't know what."
"Do you like him?" I ask. Her face tints slightly pink and her expression turns to slight shock.
"I-in what way? I consider him a friend for sur-" She stops once she sees my smirk. ".. Don't tell anyone, especially Lee. But yes.. I do.." She admits, her cheeks turning pink. I smile.
"That's great Tenten! Does he know?" I ask. Her eyes widen.
"NO! Don't you dare tell him!" She says. I laugh.
"It's okay I wont I wont!" I exclaim. "But why not Lee?" Her pleading eyes turn into a glare.
"Tell him and I'll never hear the end of it. And neither will you." She warns. "If he were to find out he'd.. ughh.." She shivers.
"He'd what?" I ask.
"He-"
"Ahhh, good morning." Lee says, sitting up and yawning while stretching his arms. I smile, forgetting about what me and Tenten were just talking about.
"Afternoon." I reply. Lee blinks a few times.
"Afternoon?" Lee asks, then he gasps in horror. "DID I SLEEP IN!" He asks, his hands on my shoulders and shaking me back and forth while fretting. I felt dizzy now.
"Nnnooo I waassss beeeing sillyyy.." I groan while being shaken back and forth. Lee blinks and lets out a sigh of relief and lets go. I fall over.
"Huh? Oh, sorry about that Setsuki-san." Lee says then looks around. "What happened?"
"Uh, Neji knocked you out.. again." Tenten says.
"I see... Well then I must become stronger! I will become a splendid shinobi one day! I cannot let one defeat stand in my way!" Lee exclaims then jumps to his feet. Tenten sighs and shakes her head. I stand up too.
"Lee you don't look so good, you look like your about to fall over." I say.
"I am fine. No need to worry." Lee says, giving me the nice guy pose. Then his stomach growls and I sweatdrop.
"Have you had breakfast today Lee?" Tenten asks.
"No.." Lee admits. Tenten shakes her head in disappointment. "I was rushing this morning, I guess I forgot.."
"Ramen?" I suggest. "I can cook!"
"You can? That would be great Setsuki-san! Thank you!" Lee says, becoming rather happy.
"Yeah! Do you like Miso Ramen?" I ask, knowing that is the only Ramen I can cook properly.
"Yes! Miso Ramen is fine! Can you add anything spicy to it by any chance?" He asks. It clicked.
"That's right! You were the one who used to come to the spice shop all the time! I remember now! I can't believe I didn't recognize you! You're like our best customer!" I exclaim.
"... What?" Lee asks, completely clueless.
"You always order the Medium Spicy Curry!" I mention.
"How do you know?" He asks.
"Because I'm the one who cooked it for you." I say, smiling proudly to myself. His jaw drops.
"Y.. You made it!" Lee questions with great shock. I nod, still smiling. "Setsuki-san! I love you!" He says, then hugs me. I blink. Tenten giggles.
"How cute." She says.
"Um.. y-yeah, I like you too.. Lee." I say, kinda freaked out about the whole hugging thing. Lee lets go of me and stands there.
"Uhh, sorry about that.. Just kinda got carried away." He says, scratching the back of his neck. I smile, I'm glad I'm not the only one who randomly hugs people when I get over-happy.
"That's fine Lee! Now lets go make some spicy ramen!" I say.
"Ye-what? Spicy.. ramen?" Tenten asks.
"It's a combination of both spicy curry and ramen!" I say.
"THAT SOUNDS DELICIOUS!" Lee exclaims.
"I KNOW! IT WILL BE AN INTERESTING THING TO MAKE!" I say.
"STOP YELLING!" Tenten shouts.
"Oh, sorry." Lee says, bowing to her. Then I had an idea.
"Lee I have an idea!" I say.
"What is it?" He asks.
"We should all have breakfast together!" I say.
".. We are, are we not?" Lee asks.
"With Sakura-chan." I say. His cheeks tint red and his eyes turn to hearts.
"Sakura-chan.. breakfast... YOSHHH! That is an excellent idea Setsuki-san!" Lee says. Tenten rolls her eyes.
"I will go find her!" I say.
"But don't you need to cook?" Tenten asks.
"What are you youthful children talking about?" Gai asks.
"We're having breakfast together!" I exclaim.
"Oooh! Would you like to come Gai-sensei?" Lee asks.
"Hm. I think I will pass this time, but next time I will surely be there!" Gai says.
"Why is that?" Lee asks.
"Well I have been thinking." He says.
"About..?" I ask. Gai gives me a thumbs up to my face.
"Kakashi-san's challenge for today!" He says. I tilt my head, Tenten sighs and lowers her head and Lee gets excited.
"What is it Gai-sensei!" Lee inquires, full of excitement. Gai grins while scratching his chin, then gives us the nice guy pose, his teeth sparkle as they do.
"I have decided on a race!" He exclaims. Lee fists the air.
"Yahoo! You can do it Gai-sensei! I know you will win!" Lee cheers.
"Really? A race against Kakashi-sensei? What kind of race?" I ask, becoming interested.
"A race do to one hundreeeeed push ups!" He exclaims. I blink, Kakashi doing push ups? No way..
"Now you kids have fun on this gathering, won't you?" Gai says. The three of us nod.
"Yes Gai-sensei!" We say in unison.

"Where are we going?" Lee asks.
"To my house." I answer, leading them both through the streets.
"What about Sakura-chan?" Lee asks.
"Oh yeah! Water Clone Jutsu!" I say, doing the hand sign, creating a clone. "You have to find Sakura-chan and bring her to my house!"
"Yosh!" My clone replies with a salute then jumps off somewhere.
"Oooh! Water clones! I wish I could do that." Lee says. "In fact! I will do that!" Lee says, then does the same hand sign I did. "Water Clone Jutsu!" He says, but nothing happened.
"Are you sure you have a Water Nature?" I ask.
"A Water Nature?" Lee asks. Tenten sighs then explains to him about the five different elements. During that time, Lee got a small notebook out and wrote down everything Tenten said, and judging from how fast he was writing, he probably wrote every word down.
"So how did you find out you had Water Nature Setsuki?" Lee asks. I scratch my head.
"Uhh I don't really know.. Uncle Takashi told me I take after my dad, so he said I should try Water Jutsus and well, yeah." I say.
"Oh. Oh! What if I try Water Jutsus? I might be a water user too!" Lee exclaims. "Setsuki! What is a water jutsu?"
"Umm, well you could try a simple one like, Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu!" I say, performing the five hand signs then spitting out water like a hose. Lee's eye twitches.
"I can do that! Please wait right here!" Lee says, then jumps away somewhere excitedly. Tenten sweatdrops.
"What's he going to do?" I ask.
"That particular Jutsu you just showed him." She replies.
"But.. why did he-" I stop talking once Lee jumps down in front of us, holding up his index finger, indicating for us to watch. Lee does the same five hand signs, then spits out water like I just did, but it didn't go quite as far as mine. I heard a slap behind me, Tenten had facepalmed herself.
"See? I did it Setsuki!" Lee says, performing a small victory dance.
"That was great Lee!" I say.
"Thank you Setsuki!" Lee says.
"Lee you moron." Tenten groans. We both face her. "You just got a handful of water and spat it out didn't you?" Tenten asks. Lee tenses up for a second staring at his teammate. Tenten raises an eyebrow.
"N.. no." Lee finally says. "Of course not Tenten!"
"You don't sound so sure." Tenten says, smirking slightly. Lee whines and lowers his head.
"Okay I did.." He says.
"Wow really? You had me fooled." I say, completely honest. I thought he actually did manage to perform the jutsu.
"Seriously?" Tenten asks in a groaning tone. I nod then I open my mouth to say something when Lee's stomach growls, interrupting my thoughts. Lee holds his stomach.
"Food!" I say then start running, beckoning them. Lee runs beside me while Tenten took a while to catch up.

We get to my house, uncle Takashi was on the recliner, in his gown, a newspaper over him and snoring. "GOOD MORNING UNCLE TAKASHI!" I shout, making him jump to the roof and cling to the ceiling fan. Tenten sweatdrops, Lee blinks and I smile and wave innocently.
"S-Setsuki? Who's your friends?" Takashi asks, jumping down from the fan and landing on his butt. "This is Tenten, and Rock Lee." I introduce. "Oh and this is my uncle, Takashi."
"Nice to meet you!" Lee says, walking over to him and extending a hand. Takashi takes his hand and Lee pulls him up then shakes his hand.
"Uh yeah. You too sonny." Takashi says. "... Why are you all here?"
"For breakfast!" I exclaim.
"Breakfast..? Geez, you could have said so, I would've prepared it." Takashi says.
"I'm cooking though." I say.
"Alright alright, go ahead.. But if you dare turn the stove up like you did the other day, you're in big trouble." He warns, even pointing a finger at me. I raise my hands innocently.
"I promise I wont!" I say. He gives a slight glare to me then goes upstairs to the bathroom.
"Turn the stove up?" Tenten asks, concerned. I smile.
"Big flames!" I say, expanding my arms out. She sweatdrops. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Oh, make yourselves at home." I say, pointing to the joined kitchen and loungeroom. Lee and Tenten sit at the table while I answer the door to Sakura-chan. "Sakura-chan! Glad you could make it! Come in!" I say, beckoning her and stepping aside. She smiles softly as usual.
"Yes, I haven't had breakfast yet so I thought why not?" She says, walking in. We walk into room together and I think Sakura nearly had a heart attack when she saw Lee. "L-Lee-san..!" Lee looks up and his cheeks go pink.
"Sakura-san!" He says, standing up. I smile.
"Oh yeah, I guess I didn't mention about having my other friends over..." I say, scratching my cheek innocently as I notice my clone didn't tell her. Sakura stood there frozen.
"U-uhh, th.. that's alright." Sakura stutters then sits down at the table. Lee sits back down.
"Lee? Are you sick?" I ask, noting his red face.
"Huh? Oh, no I am fine!" Lee implies.
"So in that case, I'll start cooking! Spicy Ramen for all!" I exclaim.
"What! Ramen for breakfast? You're as bad as Naruto!" Sakura groans.
"Oh yeah, you don't like spicy stuff do you... hmmm.." I begin thinking.
"How about something normal? Like you know, cereal or something?" Sakura asks.
"Yosh! Cereal! Oh Tenten?" I ask.
"Yeah?"
"... What do you want?" I ask.
"Oh! Right! Umm.. Anything is fine." She says.
"Wow you could work at a restaurant using that kind of attitude Setsuki." Sakura says. I blink.
"I was.." I mention.
"Really?"
"Yeah.. well! Food!" I say then go into the kitchen and begin cooking.
"O-oh Setsuki! Remember, don't turn it up too much!" Tenten calls.
"I know!" I call back.

I bring out four bowls, two spicy ramen for Lee and I, one Miso ramen for Tenten, and cereal for Sakura then sit down. We all begin eating.
"Setsuki!" Lee suddenly says, his face red.
"What is it?" I ask, my face red too from the spiciness.
"This is.. the most delicious thing I have ever tasted!" Lee says, then slurps up more noodles. I laugh and do the same.
"I'm glad you like it!" I say between mouthfuls.
"Oh um.. Lee-san?" Sakura says, twirling her spoon around in her bowl. Lee looks at her.
"Yes Sakura?" He asks. She didn't lift her head.
"Um.. I just wanna say thanks.. for helping me at the exam." Sakura says. Lee's cheeks turn bright pink, contrasting with his red face from the spicy ramen. Lee swallows his mouthful, ready to speak, I smile.
"I-it was no problem Sakura-chan!" He says. Sakura smiles to herself, and takes a bite of her cereal. I pout a little. Sitting beside Lee, I give him a quick nudge with my elbow, making him look at me, I then gesture to Sakura as if to say 'go on'. "Uh... S-Sakura-chan?" Lee asks, facing her. She looks up at him.
"Yes?"
"... Would you, consider.. going on a date with me?" Lee asks. Sakura nearly drops her spoon.
"U-umm... I don't know.. I mean, you're not really.. my type.." She says. I frown at her.
"Oh.. I understand.." Lee says, looking down at his bowl, it was like his spirit had just been crushed.
"Don't worry Lee.. maybe next time.." I whisper to him. Lee nods slowly, probably doubting it.
"Um.. well, Kakashi-sensei will probably be there by now.. so I better get going." Sakura says then stands up. "Um thanks for breakfast Setsuki." Sakura says then shows herself out.
"Oh.. yeah... bye Sakura." I mutter.