Lee knew just when to come to the window each and every day to catch them running by. Scrambling up the dusted ledge of his bedroom window, it was like clockwork. One, two, three, four; the numbers seemed to exceed his capacity to count as he watched them with glee, his dark eyes trained solely on them, even with the budding sense of uncertainty that gave him reason to duck from the murky window each time he thought they'd caught him looking out.

He wasn't sure what to make of it, the confusing slew of desire and apprehension that made him reluctant to sneak a glance again, but his curiosity was too much to bear as he looked again, pale cheeks burning rose with a giggle that he barely contain, living vicariously through the play of the children just beyond his reach.

'Maybe they'll play with me today?...' The child pondered hopefully, hopping down carefully, oh so carefully, from the ledge of his small, dark bedroom, padding over the creaking floorboard, mindful to choose the portions of the floor that were quietest, as he made his way to this bedroom door. His tiny heart pattered with muted anxiety as he peered out into the hallway, perking up to the slightest sound that echoed within the confines of the home.

He was sure Mama and Papa were home today. He was really good at knowing when and where they would be places, and he didn't think that they had work today, the child mused to himself as he stepped from his confined space, and out into the air of the rest of the home. It was strange, or normal, rather, to the child, to find himself in a wholly different environment than that of the neglect of his personal space. Amongst the pristine, bright walls and clear, open air that seemed to manifest the moment you stepped out of the stuffy, suffocating confines of his room, it would make anyone feel as though the two spaces were of entirely different homes.

But he didn't notice it much.

Making certain to steer clear of the ornaments that lined the halls, and the loudest portions of the floor, just as he'd done in his room, the child made short work of the hallway, entering the main living space where he could hear his parents speaking amongst themselves. They sounded...strange, the child thought, ducking behind the wall of the entrance into the living room as adults in his midst conversed, seated at a small table in the middle of the room just off of the kitchen. He could hear their voices, each kind, light, airy; a world of difference to the way that they usually spoke to him.

Their voices were always sort of...short, feeling angrier when they so much as uttered a word to him...in the moments that they did, which were few and far in-between at that.

He could catch little bits and pieces, the portions that his young mind could understand, and sometimes piece together what it was that they were saying, if just a little bit.

"...and then we can enroll him into the Academy! Oh, Daisuke! This is wonderful, and after all of this time, we thought we'd be trapped with just...him." The child could hear his mother exclaim excitedly, throwing her arms around the neck of his father in a tight embrace, though she was careful of the growing bump of her stomach. Daisuke reciprocated it, holding her gently as he smiled.

Sensing an opportunity, he understood that asking them for things when they were happy was easier than when he tried to at times that they were upset.

Which seemed to be every time that he asked, but at least if they were happier now, the young child reasoned, then maybe they wouldn't be as mad?

But honestly...he couldn't be sure.

He never was.

Stepping out from his little portion of the hallway, he stood flush to the light, though his tiny hands still gripped at his shirt for comfort, twining the thin, itchy fabric in his fingers as he opened his mouth to speak.

"P-Papa? Mama?" The child started, voice small, nervous, though perhaps it was too quiet as the two didn't even seem to notice that he'd called them, too consumed were their own musings to even be aware that he'd been standing there at all.

"Of course. Only the best for our sons, right?" The man exclaimed, placing a gentle hand upon her stomach before turning to the table.

"Now, about the other bedroom; where are we going to move him? The kid is taking up the other room, and we could probably make it a playroom for them, right?" The man started, reading over a few documents that the two had strewn about the table. Fiddling with his shirt a bit more intensely, the child considered just...leaving.

Would they even notice if he had?

He didn't want to get in trouble if he found out that they said no, but...he didn't to make them angry by bothering them, either.

He wasn't sure what to do.

Sighing, he resolved himself to trying to get their attention again, raising his voice a little more this time.

"Papa? Mama? Can I - " Before he could finish, he was stopped short, the two, again, taking little notice of him. Scratching as his smooth, dark, uneven locks, Lee was at a loss.

Looking to the distant window past his parents, he could hear children outside, giggling as they rushed along the front of the house, something that made the child begin to fidget impatiently.

'Have to go before they leave! But...but Mama and Papa won't answer...what do I do?' Lee pondered worryingly. Seeing no other way to do so, he walked silently behind them, his small, frail hand reaching up slowly, carefully, as he gripped the fabric of his father's clothes, giving a little tug. It seemed to work, with the man pausing abruptly right in the middle of his words to peer down, his eyes strangely blank as he regarded the child silently, his wife doing much the same as she turned to face Lee. The child swallowed thickly, though, even through the anxiety, he tried to smile.

It helped if he looked nice when he asked for things...as infrequently as he did, at least.

"S-sorry...I...the other kids were playing; can I play, too?" Lee requested as quietly as his voice could manage, staring down at his hands as he yanked nervously at his shirt, shrinking at the unfriendly looks upon their faces.

He didn't like when they looked at him like that, frowning and made all the time. It made him feel...sad.

Really sad.

But he kept his smile anyway, hoping that by doing so...maybe they wouldn't look be so mad at him anymore.

His efforts, though, were largely disregarded as Daisuke waved his hand dismissively, his mother following suit as she turned away, returning to the conversation at hand.

As if he'd never been there to begin with.

"Whatever. Anyway, so I was thinking that we could..." His mother continued, smiling once more as she pointed to something on the table, but Lee knew better than to look, and even more, the child considered as he bowed, clumsily so, to the two before padding slowly to the door, that it wasn't in his best interest to overstay his welcome.

That would only make them angrier, after all.

Slipping on his shoes, he glanced back for only a moment before he raised his hand, waving to them before he reached up to open the door.

"Bye, Mama. B-bye, Papa. I'll come back, okay. I..." Hesitating, he gave them a small smile, eyes welling with quiet hope.

"...I love you." He echoed softly, waiting for them to return it. but he suppose he shouldn't have been surprised when they didn't even register his voice anymore.

Because, after all, he wasn't worth noticing.

So he wasn't mad at them.

He could never be mad at them.

Opening the door, he didn't waste time stepping out onto the active, lively streets of Konohagakure, the child taking the first moment he had to shield his eyes from the sunlight, unaccustomed to the light from the sun above. Adjusting quickly, Lee minded the many faces that warded along the paths of the village leading down the yard of his home, and as if he'd forgotten his dower mood, he smiled, authentically this time, his spirits lifting as he listened to the chatter of the birds overhead.

All at once, he forgot about his parents.

All at once, he didn't seem to remember to be sad.

For now, the child mused as he hoped excitedly off of the stairs, trying to recall which direction he'd seen the other children run towards the park, he could just play!

That is, if they let him today.

'They will! I can be good, so they'll have to let me play!' The child reasoned, dashing from the entrance of his home and, taking a right, he was on his way. Rushing along the path, he still found himself dodging out of the way of the adults that crossed his path, weaving carefully between each person as if to ensure that he wouldn't accidentally bump into him, which, as far as he understood it, was the worst offense he could make just short of talking to someone that didn't tell him to. Lee was sure to do his best to ward off dismissive glances that bared down upon him by the passing eyes of the people of Konoha.

Feeling small, feeling...uncomfortable, he sped along, though he didn't miss their words.

"Cursed..." Someone in the crowd would say as he passed by them.

"Bad seed..." Another would chime in, leaning over to whisper it into the ear of a friend.

Lee didn't really understand what any of it meant at all, but he was smart enough to realize that none of it was good, though he didn't know what he did to earn those names.

All he knew was that people pointed at him, dismissed him...called him names.

Ignored him.

If they were treating him this way, his young mind reasoned, there had to be a reason why they had been.

That just made sense as why else would they be doing it?

Closing his eyes and shaking his head for a moment, he tried not to mind their words. None of that matter right now.

Walking past each home and shop as he felt himself growing near the park, the hordes of children just around the same age as him congregating on the sloping steps and the varied paths around Konoha in play that he felt himself grow excited at the prospect of joining. In fact, he'd been so caught up in the fantasy that he hadn't even noticed the dark sliver, a cut in the buildings around him, that led to a potent alley just to his right. Wandering past it, the youth missed the figure that stalked from the shadows, slipping seamlessly into his path so quickly that Lee didn't even realize that he'd bumped into them until his was thrown back onto the soft dirt. Exclaiming with surprise, the boy reached behind him to rub his back, wincing as his frail body whined with strain, but it didn't take him long to gaze up, up at the curtained face of the one he'd collided with.

And all at once, he felt his heart stop.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't see you - " Pausing, the child felt all the eyes around him bear upon his failure all at once.

They seemed to notice him then.

Notice when he messed up.

Scrambling to his feet, Lee wasted not a single moment, stumbling into a low, apologetic bow before, glancing one last time into the face of the person who, up until this point, said nothing.

They were silent, a still face upturned into a smile, their figure strangely unmoved.

They simply...stared, cast eyes within a dark cloak that seemed to poorly hide the ashen, pale skin underneath.

And immediately, Lee was put off by them, even if he couldn't articulate why.

But he wouldn't really have time to consider them.

His attention was pulled from the figure as words around him began to fester up like fetid wounds.

"Daisuke and Fumiko's child..." One of them said, thrumming harshly in his ears.

"Useless brat..." Another one of the adults hummed spitefully, their eyes burning into him.

"Why was he even born..." Someone else glared, out there, in a sea of distasted faces.

Staring, staring, staring.

Staring at...him.

He could hear their hate. He could feel their hate. And worst of all?

He just didn't understand why they felt that way.

What had he done wrong?

But he didn't stay to listen to the rest of it, making a mad dash around the figure if only to escape from their eyes.

He didn't want to think about it, any of it. Lee just wanted to play, he just wanted to feel...normal. Just a moment to forget, just a minute of reprieve, was all he wanted, his eyes welling with tears as his stomach twisted with gentle anguish...but when his ears began to pick up the sound of laughter, it was only then that he opened them again. Just a short distance away, he could see other kids, running about on the soft sod and dirt with innocent glee his heart set to match.

Steeling himself, he rushed to wipe the burning streaks that had drifted down his cheeks, wetting his sleeve and readjusting his smile in a bid to bury that all away.

Everything would be better if he could just...forget about all of that.

It was too hard to understand all of that complicated stuff.

If just for a little while.

Walking up the to border of the playground, Lee wasn't sure who to talk to first, but watching as they played what he could only guess was tag, assumed by how they chased each other; he reached out as one of the other children ran past him, his hand brushing their arm with requested invitation. The child, a young girl with dark, brown hair, stopped, granting him a careful, inquisitive look that made his cheeks flair red with shyness.

Swallowing, he opened his mouth to speak, doing what he could to override the uncertainty that bled into his words.

"U-um...can I...can I play?" He whispered, his eyes trained on her bright grey eyes, breath held with anticipation.

It was a step in the right direction that she even let him touch her...he usually didn't get that far. But she seemed fine with the contact, yet still, noticing that he'd been holding her arm a bit too long, he ripped his hand away, plastering it to his side and waiting for her response. She considered him for a moment before smiling, nodding quickly with beaming energy that even Lee couldn't resist.

"Yeah! Come on! Kiba is it, but watch out; he's really fast!" The child warned, pointing to another boy with dark brown hair, and stranger still, Lee could see a puppy on his head.

Nervously, Lee gulped.

He wasn't very fast, so he hoped he wouldn't get caught...but he'd try his best, yet all at once, he could hardly believe it.

They...they'd said yes?!

Scanning around, the other kids didn't seem to mind him, waiting for him to join the game with earnest smiles, an image that he almost didn't know how to comprehend.

'No messing up! I...I can do this!' The child reminded himself, unable to hold back his own smile.

"O-okay!" The young boy responded, but as he stepped up the ledge leading to the playground's soil, the girl gave him her hand in greeting, smiling back at him.

"I'm Tenten! What's your name?" Staring at her outstretched palm, the youth almost didn't know what to do, but collecting himself, he reached out, gripping apprehensively at first before holding it tightly, the offered touch unfamiliar, new...but nice.

Really, really nice.

"I'm...I'm Lee! R-Rock Lee!" He stuttered, though happily, and with a nod, the game was set to begin.

But much like all other things, it was too good to be true.

He'd hardly had the chance to step onto the playground before he felt something, or rather someone, push him aside, this new contact far less kind, far less warm, than the outstretched hand of the girl that had only just become her friend. Tenten herself looked just as confused as she was pulled away, too, her meager protests drowned out by the suffocating presence of adults that filled the space between them.

Far smaller than each of the people in his midst, Lee was quick to feel himself shrink before them, staunchly unable to look up at what he knew were displeasured faces he'd somehow been responsible for. He could hear Tenten speak, voice indignant with confusion that matched his own.

"Mama? What's going on? Why can't he play with us?" She asked, and Lee looked up to find her eyes, rooted with questions that begged to be answered. A woman he hadn't noticed before, pulled her away from him though, scowling darkly at him before turning to her child, tone patient but firm as she answered her.

"Tenten, we've told you not to speak with him. You don't talk to children like him, okay? He's..." Glowering at him, the woman didn't even attempt to withhold her disdain for him.

"...not like you or other kids, okay? Being around him is not good, you know that." She scolded her lightly, taking her hand even as Tenten continued to look back at him, and just like him, she didn't seem to comprehend what had been said.

"But why? Mama - " Before the child could finish her question, she was hushed by her mother.

"Now, go play with the other kids. Don't speak to him, understand?" Her voice was unwavering, reaffirming it with her daughter before, with a single glance back to Lee, Tenten agreed, before tearing her eyes away from him.

"Yes, Mama." And with that, the child was sent off, looking back only once before she turned away, leaving to join the other kids.

The woman's action were scarcely different from the other parents that had crossed onto the playground, each speaking to their respective child, taking no care to conceal their pointing, their disgust, before sending away their children in the same fashion that Tenten had been. Each only nodded, none resisting quite in the same way that Tenten had.

Not that he expected them to.

He wasn't upset at them, after all.

The parents turned to him only when they'd managed to chorale their children away, and one of them, a father, his brawny, burly form consuming the majority of his vision, didn't waste time descending upon Lee.

"Listen, freak. You are not to speak to anyone else; what part of that don't you understand?" His voice spared him little as the child flinched, a rush of guilt, a rush of sadness, stealing his voice.

He...he'd heard it before, how he wasn't supposed to, but...thought that maybe if he tried to be good...they would let him play.

He must have been wrong.

He must have done something wrong, but...what?

What had he done wrong?

"I'm...I didn't mean it...I...I just wanted to play...I'm...I-I'm sorry..." He whispered stepping back slowly, silently, until he stumbled off of the playground soil, eyes trained on the ground with shame that seemed to fill the entirety of his being.

Then it dawned on him.

He...he must have been the problem.

That had to be it.

Because...what else could it be?

Disregarding him, the adults had little else to say to him, leaving him by himself, rooted to the outskirts of the playground as the air seemed to lift, the children, just the same as their parents, returning to their play without so much as a look to Lee.

They'd forgotten him, too.

He was worth forgetting, after all.

Taking a single step back, then another, and another in succession, he distanced himself, turning 'round on sullen heel and stalking with muted steps to the cropping of trees that framed the perimeter of the park. There was little reason to take of space if he was just going to get in the way, the child reasoned in his young mind before reaching the bushes, turning again to plant himself in the dirt. He watched them, wide, dark eyes rooted, fixated, on the excited play of the children just a short walk away, and before he even realized what was happening, Lee couldn't hold back the small, weak sob that escaped his lips.

Pulling his knees to his chest, no one seemed to care that he'd cried, no one even batted an eye as tears, hot, burning, rolled down his pale cheeks, the child leaning his head against his legs as he curled up as tightly as he could.

Something was wrong with him.

It wasn't the first time he'd thought that.

It wasn't the first time he'd heard it.

Gripping his arms, the child's sobs were soft, barely registering to the unaided ear as, even through his storm of emotions, he was aware that he should make as little as an impression as he could.

'What's wrong with me? Why...why am I different?' Lee pondered, but no matter how many times he turned the question in his head...he couldn't find an answer.

Not a single one.

He tried to be polite. He tried not to bother anyone. He tried to be good. He tried...everything.

Was it not enough?

It couldn't have been enough, he thought, if they were still angry at him.

Darkly, the child's mind shifted, a perversion of sullen self-loathing filling him.

He was certain of it.

Certain that...that if he disappeared...would anyone even miss him?

Would Mama look for him? Would Papa?

Would anyone?

He...didn't know.

He...didn't think so.

Lee felt himself recoil when he heard footsteps come up to him, anticipating the righteous anger of another adult that believed that he'd taken up space that he shouldn't have. Despite trying to distance himself from everyone else, it only just occurred to him that he probably should have just left, gone home to keep out of the way, but now, the child understand, it was too late for that, the heavy steps that closed the distance over to him far too close for him to be able to comfortably slip away.

Unconsciously, he tried to shrink down, appear as unoffending as he possibly could as he prepared himself.

Would they yell at him?

Would they tell him to leave?

He had no idea what to expect, but what he never imagined as the voice of a man he'd never heard before knelt down beside him, something that he'd never heard before coming from an adult when speaking to him.

"And just why are you all by yourself? A youth like yourself should be playing with everyone else!" The man practically shouted, giving Lee a start as he snapped his head up, looking to him with confusion.

First off; why was he talking to him?

The only time grown-ups ever talked him, or better yet, ever seemed to acknowledge him, was when he was doing something they didn't like. To have someone actively come up to him, and even stranger, speak to him...the child almost didn't know how to respond. But when the question sunk in, his features became sullen again, shaking his head as he remembered himself.

"I...I'm not supposed to play with everyone else. I'm..." Lee paused, though he didn't have to search long for the best word to describe himself, looking away from the man as he spoke.

"...b-bad." The child whispered, pulling himself in closer, wiping his nose with the sleeve of his shirt.

In fact, if he was bad, why was the man speaking to him at all? He wasn't sure what to make of this.

But the man didn't respond, giving Lee a once over with his eyes before putting his hand on his chin in a dramatic display of being quizzical.

"Hmm...that's strange. You don't look bad to me. Why do you think that?" The man pondered, and Lee shrugged, still not looking at the man.

"I...I don't know. That's what the grown-ups say..." The boy paused, looking to man, if just for a moment. He...didn't get it.

Why was he speaking to him?

Did he want him to leave?

That had to be it, right?

"...but...do you want me to go? I'm sorry..." Lee whispered, priming himself to leave when the man rushed to stop him, his personable tone masked with shock.

"Go home?! Why, of course not! Why would you think that?!" He asked aloud, again, shouting, and Lee blanched.

He sure was loud.

But...that didn't bother him too much.

It was different from the muted expressions that pretty much everyone gave him so it was a nice change of pace.

"I just thought...you were talking to me because I made you mad. You're not...mad at me?" The boy asked, lifting his head a bit more to meet the man's matching dark eyes, and within them, he couldn't help but see, was a warmth, a kindness, he wasn't used to seeing.

It was...nice.

At the notion, the man returned Lee's initial confusion.

"Mad at you? No, of course I'm not! In fact..." Hopping to his feet, Lee paled at his astounding height, his long legs firm and sculpted, and all the same, the child could see them buzzing with energy as the man reached down, extending his hand and beaming down at the boy as he continued.

"...I was wondering if you'd do me the honors of being my playmate." The man requested, giving Lee a gentle look that made the child double back on his words.

He...he wanted to play...with him?!

He hardly knew how to respond as his thoughts raced.

He'd never had someone ask him that before, so he almost didn't know how to respond, and even more than that, he could hardly believe the gesture.

There was no way that a stranger, a kind one at that, wanted to be around him, let alone willingly.

He just...couldn't believe it.

"You want...to play with me?" He whispered in disbelief, considering the man's hand with wide eyes before they snapped back up to the man's face.

Still, the man's smile never left his face, and all at once, Lee noticed that his energy, his spirit, was contagious enough that he couldn't help but match it.

"If you would do me the honors." The man affirmed, and with one last look to the man's steady, calloused palm, the child reached up to grasp it, unwinding his legs and coming to a stand as he looked to the ground bashfully.

He wasn't sure what to make of this, or why he wanted to...but this was something he never thought would happen. To have someone this kind, this exciting, come up to him for no reason...he never thought the day would come. Looking up the man's face, he couldn't spot a hint of disdain, nor a shimmer of disgust that seemed eternally etched on the faces of all of the other adults that he'd come in contact with. Chancing it, his hand still gripped firmly in the former's, Lee opened his mouth to speak, a question that had been burning in the back of his mind coming forth.

"Who are you?" The boy asked, innocent curiosity blazing deep in his dark eyes as he waited for his answer.

And the man only smiled broader, shaking the child's hand gently once his answer came forth.

"Might Guy, the one and only! But Guy works just a well, my little friend. And you are?" Guy offered in return, and Lee answered in kind, giggling at the silliness of the man's name, giggling through his words.

"Lee! Rock Lee!" The child laughed, taking an instant liking to the man.

And at once, they began to play.

- (Some time later) -

To say that today was the best day of his life would have been a grave understatement.

Lee had never played as hard, as intensely, in his entire life as much as he had in the last few hours or so. Between tag, hide and seek, and all manner of other games, Lee wasn't sure if he'd felt this much joy his entire life. Ducking under the cover of the bushes on the furthest portions of the park, the wide area that served as the outskirts of the playground had served well as their stomping ground. The entire time, Lee couldn't name a moment that passed where he hadn't been smiling, that he hadn't been laughing, that pure elation didn't rise in his heart as the man, through impossible stamina, played with him.

He hardly even noticed the disgusted glances of the other parents and the odd looks from the children that had claimed dominion over the park, minding only their solitary moments of innocent fun that made all the hurt from before melt away into distant memory. As the sky began to darken, the sun's position fixed just below the horizon, the two gave little notice to the thinning herds of children and parents had inhabited the park at the start of the day.

Guy stalked about the bushes, feigning ignorance as to where the child might be hiding. Lee giggled as he ducked down further, holding his hand over his mouth in an effort to quiet himself, not wanting to be found.

"My, my, my...little Lee's disappeared again! Where could he be this time? Could he be..." Guy spoke over the growing voices of crickets that had come in the waning light of the evening, and, with held breath, Lee could hear the man shuffling in the foliage somewhere close-by, jumping as he could feel the man grow closer.

Should he jump out to surprise him?

The child peered quietly from between the leaves of his hiding place, watching as the man came closer and closer with each second.

He was sure to be found soon.

With anticipation, Lee felt himself rearing up, readying his body to hop from the concealment of the bushes and out onto the man as he'd bent down to look into the spots right beside him.

"At this rate, I may never find him...oh well. Guess I'll just have to leave..." Guy feigned, turning to leave, though from Lee's perspective, he paled.

No, he didn't want him to go. He didn't want him to -

In a flash, the child felt himself peeled up from the bushes, squealing in surprise and delight as Guy's strong arms hoisted him from the ground and up into the air. Lee was absolutely at a loss; just how could he have done that so fast?! Giggling, the boy wasn't even upset that he'd been found, his mind instead reeling with awe and fascination as the man swung him around, carefully, of course.

"Ah! There you are! You really thought you could hide from me, hm?" The man exclaimed, setting the child down upon the ground in a rush of speed that, again, Lee couldn't even make sense of. Through wily strands of disheveled hair, the boy could hardly contain his fascination.

"H-how did you do that? That was...that was so cool!" Lee questioned in awe, eyes shimmering with admiration as the man chuckled heartily.

"Young Lee, with enough practice, dedication, and heart, you can achieve just about anything. You see..." With dramatic flare, the man closed his eyes and struck a pose, enrapturing Lee's attention as the boy hung on every word.

"...as a ninja, I am skilled in many things...and one of them..." The man opened his eyes just a bit before surprising Lee again with a collection of punches and kicks, though the man was careful to mind the presence of the child, steering clear of him with calculated movements that wowed Lee even more.

"...is control! The ability to know what to do and when Lee! The element of surprise is far more powerful than just brute strength. That, Lee..." Peering at he child, he swooped down, taking the boy up into his grasp and tossing him high into the air, eliciting a storm of giggles and excited squeals from the child before setting him down again in a whirlwind of speed and bending down to meet his dark eyes.

"...is how you become a great ninja. Knowing how to exercise control." He finished, flashing a wily grin at the child as the boy soaked it all in.

He was...a ninja?!

He'd never even spoken to one before, and he wanted to play with...him?!

Lee didn't even try to contain his admiration as he watched with intense fascination, making note of each stance, every movement, so fine and calculated that he couldn't help but be impressed.

He was so cool!

"Wow...you're amazing, !" The child whispered in innocent wonder, and at the compliment, Guy didn't waste a moment considering the child, bending down to meet him at his height.

"And so are you. Never forget that, dear Lee. Never forget that." Guy exclaimed, voice quieted as he gave Lee an assured look that, though warming the boy's heart, was met with doubt.

Him? Amazing?

Lee wasn't amazing.

How could someone as unextraordinary, so...forgettable...be amazing when compared to Might Guy? In the dying light, as the sun finally began to sink down over the horizon, the child felt his attention drawn to the rushing steps of what he could only guess were other ninjas rushing to Guy's side. Taking notice of them, Guy gestured to Lee to wait for just a moment as he turned to face the two ninjas that had come to speak with him. Nodding, and watching as the man stepped a bit away from the child, Lee could hear them speaking amongst themselves, hushed, quick exchanges of words capturing his attention as he began to listen in.

"...Lord Hokage...disappearances...need you...right now..." One of them, a woman, began, and though he didn't understand or even catch everything that she'd said, there seemed to be an agreement that whatever this was about was serious. In the growing silence of the park, save for the few people here and there that still lingered, it was easier to pick up their responses, and as they spoke quietly amongst themselves, it was only a moment later that Guy had returned to his side, his expression now starkly grim to the once carefree cadence it had held before.

Lee almost didn't recognize the man as he knelt down, placing a careful hand on his shoulder as he came eye to eye with him again, and at once, Lee knew this was serious, he could feel the tension in the air as Might Guy spoke.

"I think we might have to part ways, if just for today, Little Lee. It seems...that I have some things to take care of." The man started, his eyes trained solely on the child as Lee reeled from the change in atmosphere.

What did he need to take care of?

And more than that, the child just realizing as his smile fell...they couldn't play anymore.

The very thought, despite having known Guy for such a small length of time...made him feel sad.

Really, really sad.

"B-but...I don't want you to go yet...you can't stay?" The child asked sullenly, and the man could only shake his head, expression dower, but stern.

"No can do. As a ninja, you must always choose to be responsible, and right now, I have to do something really important. You understand, right?" Guy asked, and thinking over what the man proposed, Lee nodded, slowly, reluctantly...but he did get it.

As much as he wanted him to stay, Lee knew that he had important ninja stuff to do.

It wasn't nice to keep him from that.

Noting the boy's disappointment, Guy tried to lighten the mood, roughing up Lee's dark, shiny hair in a show of endearment that even worked to soften the boy's saddened expression.

"Don't look so down, dear Lee! This won't be the last time that we will meet! In fact..." Guy came in close, leaning down on his knees as met the boy's eyes again, ignoring the impatient huffs of the ninjas behind him as he did so.

"I was hoping that maybe we could continue this tomorrow? Care to join me here again?" The man offered, and at once, the child could hardly believe it.

Again?

He wanted to play with him again?!

At the proposition, Lee could barely contain his excitement, nodding so quickly and intensely that he seemed to forgot all about their departure.

"Really?! We can do this again?!" The child asked, and at the question, Guy gave him a grin, one that Lee couldn't help but return.

But then, a thought came to mind.

Standing again, the man considered Lee carefully,

"Now...do you know your way home? I can walk you back if you - " Quickly, the child held up his hand, grinning ear-to-ear as he cut through he man's words. had important ninja business to attend to, and besides, Lee thought as he looked down at his own hands, clenching a small fist with fervor.

He still had something he had to do.

"No, that's okay, ! I don't live far and..." Trying his luck with the same pose the man used earlier, he gave him a thumbs up, his clumsy body doing a poor, but effortful, mimicry of the admired action of his senior, a gesture that wasn't missed by the older man.

"I want to practice! I want...I want to become a ninja like you!" The child beamed, but in the midst of his excitement, he'd missed entirely the pointed scoffs and eye rolls of the ninjas that blanketed the grounds behind Guy.

He wanted to try.

He wanted to be amazing.

He wanted...he wanted to be just like Might Guy.

The man didn't waste his time with even acknowledging the dismissive at his backside though, flushing with pride at the boy's words.

"My, my, has the spirit of youth infected you, too?! Well, if that's the case..." Guy turned to face the other ninja, matching Lee's pose in kind.

"...perhaps I can show you a thing or two. How does that sound?" He offered, and at the prospect, Lee could contain it no longer. Rushing to hug the man, the child squealed with such happiness that he could hardly keep himself on the ground.

"You can?! Yes, yes, yes!" Lee chanted, bursting at the seams.

He could hardly believe it, the child already anticipating meeting here once again to spend more time with him, to learn from him, and maybe...just maybe...to learn how to be a ninja.

Just how amazing would that be?

Letting go, Lee watched as Guy joined the other two, looking back once more to impart a message upon him.

His expression was taut though, again firm and unyielding as he cast a look to the lowering sun and the darkening sky above, worry clear on his features.

"Get home soon, you understand? It's not safe to be by yourself out here, Lee, so after practicing, go straight back, okay?" The man called back as Lee began to punch and kick in a somewhat similar fashion as Guy had been before, albeit a bit sloppier and clumsier than he had. Nodding without question, he kept it in-mind as he watched him leave, waving gingerly to the man as he did.

"Bye-bye, !" The child called, and with a nod, Guy himself appeared ready to leave, and just as he had, the man quickly turned back, considering Lee for a breath, a moment, choosing to speak only after he seemed to have thought of what he wanted to say.

"Say, Lee? How...how old are you?" Guy asked tentatively, and without a shred of hesitation, the child held up his hands, counting his fingers until all the digits of one hand were held up, the boy beaming as he shared his answer in kind.

"I'm five years old!" Lee exclaimed, making little notice of the disquieted expression on the man's face, but before he could note it, he could hear Guy's voice again, careful of his tone as he gave credence to the child.

"O-oh...well, just make sure you get home! Not a second after the sun sets, okay?" He reminded the boy, and again, Lee nodded, keeping it in mind, though he couldn't help but wonder why he was so insistent on that, and even more, why each time he mentioned him going home...his face would change to look the way it did now, though he couldn't quite place the word. All he knew was that it wasn't a happy look, a far cry from the typically gregarious and kindly face that he'd gotten so accustomed to. But he didn't dwell on that for too long, turning, instead, back to his activity as he called out to confirm he'd heard his words.

"Yes, !" He responded, and with a final look to the child, Guy rushed off, the two ninjas following his lead as they retreated away from the park and out of sight, leaving Lee to his own devices.

It was only then that he noticed that the sun had edged closer to the precipice of sinking low that he realized how little time he had left, and the others that had been left in the park with him must have been thinking the same things as the people began to thin more and more, leaving few behind. However, even as the evening sky continued to darken, it still proved to be an opportunity for the child as he refocused his attention on his motions, doing what he could to try and recreate the tight, poised, fluid movements he seen before, though he had to admit: it was harder than it looked.

There was just something in the skill and form that just lent itself well to Guy and Guy alone, something his young, uncoordinated body just couldn't quite get even as the minutes ticked by, and the sky overhead began to range in dark blue hues and cold black, and as it did, in the light of the dim stars above, the last few people that had shared the space of the park from afar all but disappeared.

And he was well and truly alone.

But that didn't other Lee much.

In fact, it didn't bother him at all!

Somehow, in his young mind, he'd completely forgotten to start on his way home, and, after a flurry of punches that left his arms decidedly sore, the child, only then, noticed the listless silence, the stillness, that had become Konoha in the growing night. In the back of his mind, he paled, regarding the missing sun and glittering stars with anxiety as he looked about.

"Oh, no! said to be home when the sun set!" He exclaimed in a panic, noticing that everyone else that had been at the park had all but disappeared, leaving Lee with the vague sense of discomfort at the isolation. Sure, the child thought, he was used to being ignored for the most part, but to have been left completely alone...it was something else entirely.

Turning to where he recalled that the entrance to the park and the way home was, the child motioned to walk towards it when, behind him, the child could have sworn he heard something shuffle about in the bushes. With wide eyes, the child froze, holding his breath through the shiver of fear that ran thickly in his bones. Turning around, Lee could hardly see much within them, the distant lights of the lanterns about the village distant enough from the park and where he stood that it made it difficult to really discern what might have been moving within them.

All he could make out were shuffling masses of dark leaves, none of them truly distinguished from each as they all moved in one fluid mass of wild foliage, much too dense for the boy to reasonably look through, and at any rate, he never even considered doing that.

Fear gripped him at the thought.

It could have been an animal, it could have been something else his mind could cook up in his panicked state, but Lee had no intentions on finding out, however, when he heard something akin to speaking, voices crowding beyond the folds of brush and trees, the child tried to make them out, despite his apprehension.

But couldn't.

He simply couldn't.

The bushes rustled more, as if flattered by his attention, yet, even with his growing curiosity, he knew, he felt, deeply in his gut, that he should go.

Something about this felt...off.

'I need to go home...I...I don't like this...' Lee thought, backing away from the brush and preparing to turn tail and run.

If he could just get home, if he could just...get inside, or even, just get away from here, the child knew instinctively that this sensation, this foreboding, that writhed ceaselessly in his gut would come to an end. But it wouldn't if he stayed here.

He had to leave.

He had to -

As he turned around, the child, just as he had before, bumped into someone, and just like before, he was thrown from the form by the immovable figure, sending the child back a few steps, though this time, he was able to stay upright and on his feet. Already on edge, Lee scrambled to look who it was, and his expression fell when he caught sight of a familiar smile, that same cloak, that same stillness...that he'd met before.

He should have screamed.

He should have cried for help.

Yet he couldn't.

As the cloaked figure reached out and went to touch the boy, Lee could only think of Guy.

He wished he were here.

He should have listened.

He should have gone home sooner.

And distantly, strangely, the child wondered if would be upset if Lee didn't come tomorrow.

He didn't know.

When their hand touched Lee's head, gripping his silken dark locks, the child felt a breeze blow.

The wind stopped.

And just like that, they were gone.