Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

"Open this door, Lee or I'm kicking it down!" Came the booming voice of Might Guy, forcing Lee and Sakura to get out of bed. She slept over at his place again after their pool hopping escapade, keen on spending as much time together as possible.

Lee's schedule was also thrown for a loop due to Guy not coming over to pick him up early in the morning like he used too. Lee let himself slip, allowing Sakura's presence to break his usual regiment.

He had been awake for a few minutes, savoring the feeling of Sakura sleeping on top of him. He knew that any moment, her alarm was going to go off so that she could wake up and get ready for school.

As if on cue, her phone vibrated and sang its song right after Guy's threat to kick the door down. The young couple hopped out of bed and shuffled towards the door, shaking off the remnants of slumber.

"Good morning Guy Sensei!" Lee greeted as he opened the door for his teacher. Now that he was up, he was raring to go. Tonight would be his team match against Kiba and Shino.

"Lee, good news—" Guy's jovial demeanor faltered once he caught sight of Sakura standing behind his protege. "Oh." Guy blinked. "Is this a bad time?" He nearly forgot that the two were seeing each other. He adopted a far away look, choosing to not imagine what his adoptive son might have been up to with his girlfriend.

"Oh, no," Sakura excused herself, sliding between the two men to reach her apartment. "I was just leaving."

"Goodbye Miss Haruno, I hope your day is full of beauty and splendor."

"Goodbye Guy Sensei," Sakura ducked her head behind her door, disappearing.

Guy jabbed a thumb in her direction, smirking mostly to himself. "Can you believe it? She's calling me Sensei now." He was practically glowing from how happy it made him, Lee swore that he was about to cry. But Guy refrained from doing so. "Lee!" He exclaimed suddenly.

"Yes Sensei?" Lee straightened up, folding his shoulders back and leveling his head.

Guy placed both of his hands onto Lee's shoulders. "I have fantastic news to share with you. It's Neji," he said. "He's leaving the hospital today!"

Lee's heart nearly leapt out of his chest. "That is fantastic news! I cannot wait to see him again!" He was practically buzzing with excitement. To see his eternal rival up and walking around again... To be able to spar with him and chat with him like they used to.

To see Tenten happy again.

Her happiness last night was attributed to the alcohol. It wasn't real. Maybe Neji could snap her out of her self deprecating stupor. She still blamed herself when she should not have.

Lee felt that Guy was starting to pick him off his feet. Despite being a grown man, Guy could still very easily lift Lee well above his head if he tried to. "Let's go!" Guy was shouting, "We have to pick him up!"

"W-wait!" Lee protested. "I have not even gotten ready for the day..."

Guy set him down, realizing that Lee wasn't dressed to leave like he usually was by this time. "What's taking you so long? You're off your game today, Lee."

"Well, you see..." Lee rubbed the back of his neck. "Sakura was here last night and—"

"I've heard enough." Guy turned his back on him.

Lee just about turned into mush, his face burned bright red with blush. "N-no, it is not like that Sensei! I-I promise!" He waved his hands around frantically.

"Lee... I'll wait for you in the car."

Lee sunk to his knees, grabbing Guy by the legs to try and prevent him from leaving to no avail. Guy was simply stronger than him. "Allow me to explain! If only you will wait!"

"I understand, it's a part of youth. You don't need to explain," Guy swiped his arm over his eyes, wiping away the tears that were quickly forming. "I'll see you later Lee."

"No! Guy Sensei, please!"

Guy Sensei was gone, disappearing down the hallway, most likely thinking that Lee was some kind of degenerate.

ˏˋ ˎˊ

Neji was waiting for them in the lobby, tipped off by Guy that he was going to pick him up. Neji's car was taken from the Hyuga compound during the night of the incident and remained in police custody until he came to receive it.

The automatic doors couldn't open soon enough once Lee spotted Neji through the glass.

"Neji!" He shouted, dashing inside and scooping Neji up for a fierce bear hug. "It is so good to see you my friend!"

"Put me down," Neji mumbled.

"I am sorry I have not visited you more. A hundred apologies," Lee continued, seemingly oblivious to Neji's quiet protests. "I was training very vigorously. To make it up to you I will run a hun—" He felt Neji's hand press into his face, essentially shutting him up.

"Lee you dolt," said Neji, "I said put me down!"

"... Sorry." Lee unwrapped his arms from him and set his feet back onto the floor.

Neji rubbed his arm once he was freed, sure that Lee gave him some bruising. Despite that, he offered up one of his rare smiles. "I've missed you too, my friend. Looks like I have a lot of catching up to do in terms of training."

"Did the doctor say that is was okay for you to start being active again?" Guy asked as he looked around, eyes darting all over the place as if Dr. Tsunade would appear at any moment. He didn't want to get scolded by her.

"She told me to take it easy," Neji informed him. "So none of your intense training."

"Aww."

"Now, if you don't mind," Neji started walking towards the doors, "I'm eager to get out of this place."

ˏˋ ˎˊ

Making it to the gym, the interior was rather dark. Which was strange because Guy remembered turning all the lights on before leaving for when Tenten inevitably arrived. He flicked the lights on for them so that they could see.

"Surprise Neji! Welcome back!"

They were greeted with Tenten and Hinata, waving their hands happily in unison. They had pulled out a folding table and a few chairs. There was even a cake; vanilla with strawberries and chocolate shavings on top.

"A surprise party... For me?" Neji glanced between Lee and Guy besides him. Neither of which were clued in on this.

"If I told them they would have spoiled the surprise," Tenten said with a roll of her eyes. "This was just me and Hinata."

Kiba and Shino were gone for the day, spending time at the police station while Kakashi informed them on the next steps of their extended probation. They may have been hired work for the yakuza, but it seemed that they were going to be free for the time being. The good news being that they were moving out of Guy's.

Neji studied the scene before him. It wasn't very much and he never liked making a great big deal of things, but he was touched. For once, he was blushing. His facial expression remained neutral yet the coloration gave his true emotions away. "Thank you..."

Tenten wasn't the type to hug unless initiated with. Neji, well he hardly hugged even if one were to hug him first. But Lee recognized that look of longing in his eyes. Lee was most definitely a hugger, so he took the initiative. "Group hug!" He announced, once again throwing his arms around Neji for the second time that day. This time he let the Prince of Hyugas stay on his feet.

Without hesitation, Guy was the second one to join the hug, shortly joined by Tenten.

Hinata hesitated. She couldn't recall the last time she hugged or received a hug from her cousin. Despite their closeness in recent years, Neji had remained so distant from her. He didn't love with her anymore and he never visited for good reason. Hinata couldn't exactly leave either. Once she caught his eyes looking at her expectantly, Hinata joined the group hug. Silent tears streamed down her face.

Neji was very muched loved by the present company.