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..

36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Kankuro carried Kiba on his back, Temari carried Akamaru because she thought he was cute, and I helped Lee walk by putting his arm around my shoulders and one arm around his waist.
It took us another full day to get back to the village, we had to lay down and rest for the night before continuing the next morning.
"How much further..?" Kiba complains, hating the idea of being carried by Kankuro because he couldn't walk.
"Not much longer." Shikamaru answers.
"Yeah but how much, that's not a proper answer." Kiba complains.
"Ah shut up." Kankuro grumbles.
"Don't tell me to shut up!" Kiba gushes. It was a lot more peaceful when Kiba was out. Lee sighs of annoyance, Gaara, Shikamaru and Temari sped up their walking pace, probably wanting to start a race.. I smirk.
"Lee-san." I whisper.
"Hm?"
"Get on my back."
"Why?" He whispers back. I lean toward his head more.
"Look at their paces, they are mentally challenging us to a race." I whisper. Lee looks at Gaara, Temari and Shikamaru.
"You're right!" He exclaims. Kankuro looks at us curiously. "Let me get on you, Setsuki-san!"
"What..?" Kankuro gushes with his eye twitching.
"Yosh! Get on as fast as you can Lee-san!" I say. Kiba shows a grossed out face.
"I will! As fast as I can!" Lee says.
"Save it for when we get back to the village!" Kiba gushes.
"No! It will be too late then!" I exclaim.
"EUGH! TOO MUCH INFO!" Kankuro shouts.
"What's all the shouting?" Shikamaru inquires, looking over his shoulders. Lee gets a confident grin, and I help him onto my back, grabbing his legs so he doesn't fall.
"I am going to ride Setsuki-san back to the village then we will beat you all!" Lee exclaims. Temari, Gaara, Shikamaru and Kankuro all freeze on the spot, like they had a shiver up their spines.
"Beat us to what? Losing our virginity?" Kankuro questions. Both Lee and I stare at Kankuro.
"Why would we...? We're racing to the village." I say. They all let out the biggest sigh of relief. Lee and I were completely confused. They all continue walking.
"Besides! We are too young for.." Lee pauses with a slight shiver. ".. Right, Setsuki-san!"
"Yosh!" I concur. "Kankuro-kun you are gross!"
"Wh- I wasn't the one making the disgusting remarks!" Kankuro gushes.
"What disgusting remarks?" I inquire, tilting my head. Lee stared at him, obviously wanting the same answers.
"Ugh, forget it.. they're too dimwitted to understand.. so troublesome.." Shikamaru grumbles.
"WE ARE NOT DIMWITTED!" Lee shouts at the top of his lungs. He points to Shikamaru with fire in his eyes. "We are Gai-sensei's best!"
I nod. "We will beat you all with the springtime of youth!" I exclaim. Lee looks down at me for a moment.
"That is true! You are wearing Gai-sensei's ultimate training suit! Together, Setsuki-san and I are the youthful duo who will beat you all!" Lee exclaims.
"Yeaaah... hey what happened to all that blue you used to wear?" Kankuro inquires.
"I am wearing this!" I exclaim.
"Kankuro what have I told you about questioning what girls wear..?" Temari inquires. Kankuro grumbles. I notice Shikamaru walk slightly faster.
"AHA! HOLD ON LEE-SAN!" I shout. Lee grips my shoulders as I abruptly take off as fast as I can. They all sweatdrop.

Once I reach the village, there were multiple people standing around. Gai-sensei, Uncle Takashi, the Saitou's, and my squad.
"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee shouts, capturing their attention.
"LEE! SETSUKI! .. LEE!" Gai-sensei calls.
"GAI-SENSEI!" Lee shouts back. Takashi was shaking his head at me, Mrs. Saitou had her hands covering her mouth in shock, Iku and Hiromasa sigh of relief, Komaru-sensei was smiling proudly, Susumu was half asleep and Daisuke had pink cheeks for some reason.
"Setsuki-san! Slow down!" Lee says, obviously wanting to have a youthful moment with his sensei. I start slowing down, but not in time. I widen my eyes, knowing I'm most likely going to fall over again.
"OUTTA THE WAY!" I shout.
"W-Setsuki-san..! Slow down and stop with a slide!" Lee shouts. I listen to his instructions, stopping and sliding, coming to a complete stop, an inch away from Gai-sensei. The closeness made both our eyes widen and I take a big step backwards, then I smile smugly. I didn't fall over!
Lee jumps off my back and clings to Gai-sensei, creating a very youthful bear hug, their cheeks even rub against each other.
"Aww." I thought it was the cutest thing ever. I actually wanted to join in, when suddenly I felt something grab my ear and pull me back." OW! Ow ow ow owieee!" I whine. Takashi had hold of my ear and was giving me a glare.
"You are in big trouble young lady!" He growls.
"But..!"
"No! You run out of the house laughing and don't come back until two days later! I'm never giving you caffeine again!" He snarls. My lower lip began to quiver.
"Yakushi-san." Gai-sensei says, now standing up straight, seeming solemn. Takashi points at Gai.
"That's DOCTOR Yakushi to you!"
Gai-sensei flinches backwards slightly. "Well, Doctor Yakushi, Setsuki was away on a very important mission you see, a fellow Genin of ours, Uchiha Sasuke left the village, and Setsuki must have been asked to go on that mission." Gai-sensei explains.
I laugh nervously. "Y-yeah, asked.." I say between laughter.
"But Setsuki-san, Shikamaru-kun said he was surprised that you we- omph!" I elbow Lee in the rib to shut him up.
"Ahahah don't mind Lee-san, he's just a little dizzy in the head from fighting so boldly." I say. Lee frowns at me.
"I do not fight boldly!" Lee exclaims.
"Yeah you do!" I say.
"No I do not!"
"Do!"
"Do not!"
"D-"
"Shut up!" Takashi gushes.
"She started it..." Lee says, pointing at me then looking at the ground.
"I'm finishing it!" Takashi says. Suddenly, my stomach growls really loudly, then I remember I haven't eaten anything since lunch-time yesterday when I found that apple tree and went nuts.
"Who's up for ice cream..!" I question, raising my hand at my own question.
"Here here!" Hiromasa exclaims, jumping up and down in joy, then stopping to pant lightly.
"Ice cream is not healthy." Lee says. "I would rather have curry! Spicy curry!"
I then suddenly had a cool idea. "Spicy ice cream!" I exclaim. Gai-sensei and Lee look at me, a small spark on interest showing in their eyes.
"How do you get spicy ice cream.?" Lee inquires.
"Well.. Oh oh I know! I know! We could get chilli and grate them and sprinkle them on top!" I suggest.
"Yay!" Lee cheer. Gai-sensei nods in approval.
"I suppose this spicy ice cream can't be too bad once in a while." Gai-sensei says.
"I don't want chilli on mine." Hiromasa says, disgust in his tone.
"To my-"
"Setsuki darling! You have blood dripping from your head!" Mrs. Saitou screams.
"Blood..?" I inquire, turning to face her. I put a hand on the back of my head – I thought the feeling was just sweat. I then look at my hand, it was almost completely covered in blood. "No wonder it still hurts a bit." I say.
"Come let me have a look." Takashi says. I stand in front of him and turn my back towards him. Takashi ruffles through my hair to the scar. "Hm it's not too deep, it's not life threatening. A few stitches.. or water will fix this up."
"I've been in the water though." I say.
"For how long..?"
"Few seconds. I think." I say.
"Well I think the ice cream can wait. Right now you're coming with me and we're going to fix that wound before it gets out of hand." Takashi says. I look through the gates, seeing the others. Temari and Kankuro looked like they were arguing, Kiba had a bored look on his face and Gaara and Shikamaru were walking silently with slight annoyed expressions. Then suddenly 2 medical ninjas jump down from out of no where a few feet away from the gate – Kakashi-sensei jumps down a second later, carrying someone on his back. Looking closely I recognize it to be Naruto-kun.
"Kakashi-sensei..?" I inquire as he walks past. Kakashi-sensei turns his eye towards me. I look around. "Where's Sasuke-chan?"
With a very quiet and small sigh, Kakashi shakes his head. I tense up a little. If only I hadn't of fallen unconscious, even if I couldn't stop Sasuke from running, I could have at least followed him and hopefully find Kabuto-kun and save him as well. I look to the ground. Kakashi-sensei keeps walking. "Is Naruto-kun alright?"
Kakashi-sensei gives a slight nod. I could tell by his silence that he didn't want to talk about it, so I shut up. Lee looks down in disappointment.
"If only I could have kept up.." I heard him mumble. Takashi's loud sigh breaks the silence.
"Come on Setsuki." He says, grabbing my wrist. I force a smile to my face and look at Lee and Gai-sensei.
"Come over my place in 10, we can have some ice cream then." I say. Lee looks up and smiles slightly, giving a thumbs up.
"I will be there, Setsuki-san!"
Gai-sensei gives a nod, "Likewise."

We arrive at our house, and I run a bath, filling it ¾, and probably lukewarm. I can't pick up the temperature of water, so it doesn't really matter to me how cold or hot it is. The best part of our small 3 bedroom house is the bath. It takes up half the space of the bathroom, and can fit up to 4 people in it – we tested it. The height of the bath is at my belly button.
I strip down and climb in, and lay down in it, my head well underwater. It is big enough for a 7-foot high man to lay in. I watch the water cripple, feeling anesthetised from the pain on the back of my head. The movements of water have always amazed me, and the fact that after all movement ceases, the water becomes calm. If it weren't for the bubbles of air I let out of my mouth every now and then, the water would be dead calm, and the water fills up my ears, decreasing my hearing of the surface. I feel gifted to be able to breathe underwater, because I get to experience all this magnificence. I close my eyes, the silence was comforting. Also the cleansing feeling was another great factor.
After a few minutes I feel around the back of my head, looking for the wound, but I couldn't. I came to the conclusion that it had already healed. I sit up and slide to the edge of the bath and rest my arms on the sides and lean my head back a bit.
Right when I had just got tremendously comfortable, there was a knocking on the door. I groan. "Setsuki, Lee's here." Takashi's voice calls. I have a mini heart attack and my body moved before my brain it. I tried to get out of the bath, bashed my shin against the side of the bath and faceplanted into the tiles.
"Ow!"
"Setsuki..? Are you alright?"
"YES! I'M FINE!" I shout, then scurry off the cold tiles to grab a towel and wrap it around myself. "Tell Hiromasa to get out of my room!" I call.
"Everyone's in your room." Takashi says. I didn't hear him because I was bending over, ruffling my hair with a second towel to dry it off a bit. Little did I notice, the towel was rather.. revealing – covering half of my chest area, and going few inches below my butt. I was in too much of a rush to notice all this, and ran out of the bathroom and into my room, I face out the door.
"I'll be out in a minute!" I call, then shut the door, and lock it. I turn around and have the biggest heart attack of my life.
Hiromasa, Lee, Daisuke, Susumu and Komaru-sensei were all in my room, Daisuke and Susumu sitting on my bed facing with their legs crossed, Komaru-sensei leaning against the wall at the end of my bed, Lee doing push ups on the ground, and Hiromasa on his futon. My cheeks instantly burn up as they all paused with red faces towards me – except Komaru-sensei, he just buries his head in his hand.
Daisuke broke the silence by preforming a wolf whistle, making everyone's, especially Lee's, faces redder.
"Alright, everyone out." Komaru-sensei says, stepping on my bed and opening the window. Susumu bolted out of it, Lee followed not even a split second after, Hiromasa had trouble getting up, Daisuke was reluctant. "You two! Hurry up!"
"Bu.. fine." Daisuke groans then jumps out. Hiromasa got up and gave Komaru-sensei a stare full of complaint.
"I can't just jump out the window." He complains.
"Ugh." Komaru-sensei grabs my pillow, takes the cover off it then appears beside Hiromasa, puts the pillow cover over his head. "Now don't take that off." He says, then sits Hiromasa back down.
I held back a giggle at Komaru-sensei's humor. "Um.. Komaru-sensei I-"
"I'm going don't worry."
"No I mean, I don't want him in here.." I say.
"I don't wanna be in here!" Hiromasa exclaims then stands up and feels around for the door which is on the other side of the room. Komaru-sensei gestures for me to move, not seeming the slightest bit concerned that I'm practically naked. I move from the door, Komaru-sensei drags Hiromasa to the door and pushes him out, then closes the door, locking it again.
"Give us a call when you're decent." He says, not taking his eyes away from the door, then suddenly disappearing. I sigh of relief and walk around all the stuff to my closet. I look in the mirror which is on the inside of the door of the closet – my face looks like a tomato.
'I wonder if this is a blush..' I look through my clothes, grabbing my normal ninja attire and getting dressed. I put the towel over my shoulders and kneel on my bed and open the window which Susumu jammed shut in fear.
"Kay guys.. you can come back now." I say. All except Daisuke were facing away from the house. Daisuke was looking at the window.
"NO! Not until you are 100% decent, Setsuki-san!" Lee says in a stubborn tone.
"But Lee-san I-"
"Nope! Gai-sensei says I am too young to see a female's feminine body!... Without clothing!"
"But L-"
"I cannot go against Gai-sensei's words of wisdom!"
"B-"
"No!"
I frown slightly, Susumu and Komaru-sensei turn around shaking their heads, Daisuke was already trying to get back through the window.
"It's okay boy, she's dressed." Komaru-sensei says to Lee, putting a hand on his shoulder. Lee looks up at him.
"Oh?" Lee looks at me. "Well why did you not say so, Setsuki-san..?"
"But I.. did.." I say. Lee shakes his head.
"No you did not."
"Okay fine." I groan, not wanting to argue over whether I could have still been naked or not. I finally move so Daisuke and the others could get in. Komaru-sensei goes to the door when I throws a shuriken at him suddenly. However he caught it between his index and middle fingers. He turns to me questioningly. I shake my head at him and put a hand to the side of my mouth.
"Don't let him in." I whisper.
"Ah." Komaru-sensei replies then throws the shuriken back at me. I quickly duck as it was headed for my head, and it went straight out the window into a tree. I sweatdrop. Komaru-sensei chuckles and leans against the wall again. I look around at everyone.
"... So um.. how come you're all here..?" I ask.
"You told us to.. remember..?" Susumu says. Komaru-sensei nods.
"You told us to be 10 minutes, I was nine minutes." Daisuke says, winking. I give him a blank expression.
"I was actually here for a while. Your family is very kind, Setsuki-san." Lee mentions. I face him with horror.
"Don't get lured into the Saitou's trap!" I exclaim. Lee tilts his head. "They are vile and wicked! Don't get too close to them!"
"They seem quite polite to me." Lee says, his cheeks turn the softest pink. "They even said I was a great boyfriend, but I do not have a girlfriend, so they are mistaken."
"Oh but you do! Or at least, will have." I say. Lee blinks and I give him a thumbs up. "Sakura-chan~"
Lee's cheeks turn red and he looks around smiling goofily. I laugh.
"Sakura? You mean that billboar-" I slap my hand over Daisuke's mouth to prevent a fight. Lee cocks an eyebrow towards him. Komaru-sensei sighs. I heard tapping on the window and saw Kakashi-sensei.
"Kakashi-sensei!" I exclaim. Kakashi-sensei beckons me with his finger, I climb on the bed and lean close to him curiously. He puts a hand beside his mouth and against my ear.
"Naruto's in the hospital if you want to see him. He should be awake by now, just.. don't go all at once, he won't want a commotion.." Kakashi whispers. I nod and turn around to face everyone's curious expressions.
"Hey guys! Race you to the kitchen!" I shout. Lee stands up.
"I will win!" Lee exclaims, then runs to the door, probably expecting it to open, but he took off too fast and smacked into it. I sweatdrop. "I will still win..!" Lee shouts, getting back up like nothing even happened, he then ran out, Susumu and Daisuke run out after.
"Water Clone Jutsu..!" I create a clone to run out after them. Komaru-sensei stands up straight, shuts the door and walks over.
"What happened..?" Komaru-sensei inquires in a hushed tone.
"I'll tell you soon. Setsuki, he's in room 305." Kakashi-sensei says. I nod and jump out the window, headed to the hospital, Komaru-sensei and Kakashi-sensei disappear.