Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Aftermath - Death of a serpent ❯ Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lee, once one of the strongest Gennins of Konoha, was now a hermit somewhere in the surrounding forest, living with Guy-sense, his teacher. The fight with Garra of the Sand had left his bones fractured in hundreds of splinters, and his muscles lacerated from the inside out. The subsequent surgery had left him, miraculously, alive. But at a price: he had the muscular coordination of a one-year-old. He could no longer use coordinated attacks; he could barely even throw a punch, or kick and not fall over. Coupled with his lack of Nin- and Ju-jitsu, he could no longer pursue the path of a Ninja. He was still loyal to his home village, and he and Guy lived and worked together, healing Konoha's surrounding forest.

***

Sakura had found both of them in the bend of Naruto's trail, clearing away the charred, twisted remains of the trees and digging new holes for new saplings.

Lee looked up, his face flushed with exertion. He was tall now, but hid his body in baggy black trousers and long-sleeved shirt, almost the opposite of the previous, tight uniform that had shown off his agile body. His already round eyes widened in surprise, and he flushed further. Carefully maneuvering his shovel back into the hole, he levered another load out, then fell over while depositing it.

Picking himself back up, he pushed the shovel into the ground again. Sakura could see, from this angle, that the sides and sleeves of his clothes were covered with soil from the dozens of times he must have fallen over that day. Moving the second load out of the hole, he fell over again. As she instinctively moved to help him, he looked up and glared at her. She froze. Just for a second he met her gaze, then flushed again and looked down. Righting himself yet again he mumbled to the shovel, "It's alright. I can do it myself."

She perched on a log by him, flinching each time he fell over, unable to help. Each offer was repulsed with a fiercely mumbled, "No. I can do it myself." Guy had tactfully disappeared to another patch of land. So she sat, uncomfortable and worried, while Lee had slowly dug three shallow holes in two hours, unspeaking except for his repeated declarations, "I can do it myself."

***

After the third hole Guy had reappeared from where ever he had been, planted the saplings, and ushered Sakura and Lee back to their small hut. Lee still had yet to say anything other than his few declarations, and Sakura was worried. Lee had been a bold, self-confident youth before...before, and had repeatedly made his intentions clear to her while never being anything more than chivalrous. She had repeatedly and forcefully rejected his offers, lost in her haze of Sasuke, letting him come in and save her numerous times, thanking him gratefully, and then returning her attention to the distant Sasuke. After Lee's withdrawal from the ranks of Gennins she had not even visited him once. Until Sasuke had died, shattering her dream world.

Guy insisted that she stay for dinner, and after she had finished eating - Lee red and humiliated from having to eat with his hands- she began to explain why she had come there.

"I know that I have never been a very good ninja," she began, twisting her hands nervously, "But I want to change things. You were one of the best ninjas, Lee, before- " a flinch- "Um, before, and I want… want you to train me."

No response. Lee continued to stare at his food, scarred hands resting on either side. Then...

"No."

"I need to get better! If you made of yourself what you did, then surely you can give me some of it, help me master myself, so that what happened to, to, us, Sasuke, you, can't happen again!" She was crying now, couldn't help herself.

"No."

"You said that you'd always be there. Now I need you. Help me!"

A low blow. He flinched again, and his mangled hands curled, as best they could, into fists. He slowly got up and lurched over to the door. Guy started to stand up, intervene, but was stopped by another glare. Shaken, he slowly sat back.

"Look at me, Sakura!" He cried, and she did look at him, seeing the leg twisted inward, the one arm shorter than the other, the maze of scars and entrenched stitches along his hands and arms. Shaking with barely suppressed anger he continued.

"What I made of myself, Sakura? This is what I made of myself! I trained so hard, fought so long, and this is what I'm left with. I couldn't even achieve the smallest part of my dream, with all my struggles! All my work! I can't be there for you Sakura, when I'm not even there for myself. Just another promise I can never keep!" Already hard to understand, his self-loathing and rage was unraveling his speech still further. He was nearly incoherent. "There is no genius of hard work, Guy, only foolishness…and I worked so hard…"

Still trembling, he staggered into the other room and slammed the door.

Sakura left soon after, escorted out by a very shaken Guy.

"Sakura," He said, shamefacedly, "I'm sorry about Lee. I didn't know…"

"Yes," she said sadly, "me too."