"You know, you could just go and talk to her."

"I couldn't! I wouldn't know what to say! I have no..I .."

"Hi, my name is Lee it is nice to meet you? How are you liking the academy so far?" I don't even look up from where I'm unpacking our bento for us. The sudden fixation my twin has is quite frankly adorable and annoying all at once. He hasn't been able to pay attention and I cannot tell you how glad I am there's no weird twin mental thing going on here.

"You make it sound so easy."

"It is easy. Stop sulking."

"If there was someone here that made your heart race with their perfection you would understand!"

"Possibly." I shrug, because when we don't all look like little kids I may be interested in someone. I don't discount it, but not right now. I need more time for the Before to fade yet further. "I would rather focus on my studies and training for now though. Hey don't give me that look!" my lips twitch at the stricken expression Lee had gotten as though I was saying he was not dedicated to his training.

"Lee, I think it's great. Really. If you think she hung the moon I wish you luck." munching on our food, the sound of chopsticks and content sounds as clearly kaa-san packed our food today as it tastes good is all that happens for a while. I remember that Sakura was pretty sweet in the show until her Sasuke obsession days. Maybe, if we start subtle..

I don't hate the girl, I just think she had a lot of potential that was wasted for too long. A plan forms and I sigh. This is going to bite me in the butt cheeks.

"Hey she's sitting alone. Go ask if she'd like company. Treat her like she's little Hotaru-chan, you do really well then." Hotaru is our younger cousin who startles easily. Lee is very good at staying calm and cheerful around her and she follows him like a baby duck.

"You don't think she'd.."

"You're an older student Lee. She's alone, but if you don't act soon she may be rescued by someone else."

The burning ferocity of his gaze may scare someone who didn't know Lee better, but I know it just means I managed to finally use the right words to get him determined. Rescued. Huh. I need to remember that one. Nodding once, he stands and straighten's his back before going over. I set my own lunch down and lean forward smiling at the sight. It's a pity I can't hear or read lips but ..hm. Don't higher level shinobi know to enhance their senses with chakra? I focus on wanting to be able to hear so far away, never blinking if I can help it and slowly, I can just make out what they are saying.

Lee pauses before the pinkette and in a surprising twist manages to keep his inside voice despite his nervousness. "Hello, would you like company?"

"Ah.." Sakura is cute. Dang it. She nods, nervous and shy and they just sit there. Both eating awkwardly.

"My name is Lee."

"..sakura..." It's so quiet I almost can't make it out! She looks up at him when Lee asks how she is liking school and slowly from there a halting conversation starts. It is really pretty cute.

"HELLO ZI-CHAN!" I shriek and fall off the bench, clapping my hands tightly over my ears as the pain seems to slam through my skull.

The startled eyes of Kou meet mine from where he was standing by the bench but I can't hear over the pounding of my heart and this weird ringing rushing..Oh! Crap. Chakra hearing. I squint through the sudden ache that has nothing to do with flopping on the ground and whacking my tailbone and how much I just want to hear normally, not super not anything but normally

"I ..didn't mean to startle you.." Kou sounds worried and I wince, because my head now hurts something awful.

"Tried to eavesdrop."

Kou, bless him, is smart enough to figure it out and he cracks a half smile. "Better now?"

"Head hurts." I groan but he helps me up and my aching skull is made a little better by his applying pressure in certain places on my skull and neck.

"It should ease it a little..I didn't think of doing that.."

"Very bad idea. I will even admit it to your Tou-san, your jerk brother, and Hiashi and Hizashi-samas.." I whine as my head lowers. "Lee still talking?"

"Didn't even notice.."

"Ah. Okay then."

"You seem to like ending up in pain, Zi-chan." Kou chuckles softly.

"Just getting used to life." Yeah. He so doesn't get my joke. That's okay.

"Pink hair..must be the daughter of Haruno-san. His isn't so brilliant of course.."

"Shinobi?"

"Mmm. He and Mebuki-san, his wife. Both aren't precisely in the area very often so I imagine there's a friend or relative that helps raise her."

"This going to be one of those clan advantage things you spout out at me?"

Kou snickers under his breath but he knows what I mean. It's an ongoing joke that for a civilian clan the Lee family when it decides to have ninja's are some of the most determined. Tou-san is a rare breed who actually enjoys paperwork and thus is considered indispensable by most the shinobi forces. In addition the fact that my 'civilian' mother and grandparents from her side have been training me in a form of taijutsu that will someday turn my chakra into a specialized fighting style is well received by the Hyuuga. And something of a secret.

"Neiji has a ceremony this weekend.." He changes the subject softly and I hear what no one else would in his voice. Reaching over I take his hand, not caring who sees.

"I know I can't be there but..anything I can do. You tell me. Even if he doesn't like me if I can help.."

Kou like many children in either side of the family hates the idea of the cage bird seal. It has a point of course, but if it really was to keep the eyes out of the hands of others it would be on all of them. It's been perverted and twisted and the thought of his cousin in pain upsets him. We're just lucky it's later than I remember that it happened in the anime. Neiji is already in his third year of the academy. His father is still alive. It looks like some things are different and I have no way to know if they are and why, nor have I decided to care.

Tobirama water supply and all there's no possible way to be certain the tale I had access to was entirely correct.

"Don't act any differently to him."

"So don't show up with a fruit basket and be sympathetic. Got it. Think he'd like a reason to lash out at me and have someone to be mad at?" I manage to get Kou to shake his head at that.

"Probably but he wouldn't be holding back."

"How good is he at the super gentle fist that breaks things ?" Yep every Hyuuga I have met tries not to laugh a the snarky renaming of their fighting style.

"Better than I am."

"Sooo...big injuries. Got it." I pause and then though I really hate pain, truly. I groan. "Let me know if I should do something to get beat up anyways."

There. That's my good deed for now. Helping Lee doesn't count, he'll do just fine on his own.

….

Right. This is Lee.