Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Research ❯ Chapter 2

“Naruto! Hey, Naruto!”

 

The blonde shinobi turned around and waved to his friend. “Hey, Lee!”

 

Lee slid to a halt, slightly out of breath. “Have you seen the Kazekage?” While not noted for his observation skills, Naruto was looking him over carefully. He mentally braced himself for questions on why he looked so tired, and why he was not running around with his usual speed.

 

“You just missed him. The sand triplets took off about half an hour ago. Why? What's up?”

 

`Gone? But . . . ` Onyx eyes blinked in confusion before Lee switched back to his usual grin. “I was hoping to challenge him to a friendly spar!”

 

Naruto was giving him a look that clearly communicated just how much he was buying that one. “Yeah. Sure. You'll just have to wait until next month when the Chunin Exams start up again. He'll be back for that.”

 

“Of course! He is the Kazekage of a village full of hopeful, youthful genin! I will wait until then.”

 

“Hey, bushy brows? Is something wrong?”

 

Lee turned up the wattage on his smile, even as he started to back up. “No! Not at all! I must go train, though, so that I can challenge the Kazekage next month.”

 

Naruto was not given a chance to respond. Lee turned and bolted, as much as he could. Many different parts of his body ached, but that was not what slowed him. What slowed him was the horrible way his heart had dropped that morning when he woke up alone and again while talking to Naruto.

 

`How could he be gone? He did not say good bye, or leave a note. I was going to make breakfast. That is what is supposed to happen! I could have served him breakfast in bed, and we could have talked. We have not talked . . . well, honestly, we have not had a real conversation since Kimimaru, but that just means we are long over due! He was supposed to say something before he left. At least I thought so. He was my first. First . . . everything. But why did he leave like that?'

 

Lee arrived at the training field well after the rest of his team. These days Team Gai only officially trained together once or twice a week unless they were preparing for a difficult mission. Neiji, Tenten, and Gai were already coming to the end of their warm ups. Lee had barely set foot in the clearing before his sensei spotted him.

 

“Lee! You are late! This is incredibly unusual! Have you spent too much time with my eternal rival and taken on some of his modern ways?”

 

“No, Gai-sensei! I was looking for the Kazekage, but I missed him.” Lee started to carefully stretch.

 

Tenten suddenly looked far more interested in her green clad partner then her weapons.

 

“Well, you must train twice as hard to make up for the lost time! A true challenge!”

 

While Gai struck a pose, the female team member scooped her deadly toys up and walked to where Lee was stretching. “I'll warm up with Lee, Gai-sensei.”

 

“Excellent, Tenten! A wonderful display of support for your teammates! Neiji, you are in luck! I will be able to focus my youthful energy on your training!”

 

Tenten spared a quick eye roll for the team's leader before dropping to the grass next to Lee. “Okay, spill.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Spill. What happened last night? I saw you making out with Gaara at Naruto's party, and now you're late because you were looking for him.”

 

Lee's right hand moved to his shoulder without his conscious mind even being aware of it. “Tenten! There is nothing to talk about. I simply wanted to wish the Kazekage a safe journey.”

 

“Uh huh.” Tenten reached forward and grabbed onto Lee's right shoulder with one hand and his neckline with the other. A quick yank pulled the neckline away and revealed a nasty bite mark standing out against pale skin on his left shoulder. “Oh my god. What did he do to you?”

 

“Nothing! It is not like that! He did not hurt me. At least, not like you are thinking . . .” Lee sighed in defeat as Tenten dragged gentle fingers over the dark bruising and on to smaller marks at his neck. “It was not what I had planned.”

 

“I should hope not. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

 

Heat rushed to Lee's face as he thought about one particular ache. “I am fine, Tenten. This is nothing compared to what I get in my youthful pursuit of strength through training!”

 

“But this wasn't from training, at least not any kind of training I've ever seen. Wait a minute, what, exactly, did you do with Gaara?”

 

Lee sputtered for a second, trying to come up with an answer.

 

“You didn't. Did you? Oh, my god, you did!” Tenten's jaw dropped. “You slept with Gaara!”

 

“Tenten! That is private, and I should not discuss it.”

 

“Was it that bad or something? I mean, the rumors make him out to be such a stud, but who knows. He didn't get too rough on you or anything, did he? Did you try to stop him or something? Did you two fight again?”

 

“No! Nothing like that. He was . . . “ Lee trailed off, his expression slipping into something almost melancholy. “He was amazing.”

 

“Amazing, huh?” The brunette set her chin on her hand. “Must have been for you to come away with bite marks like that. But why the glum face if he was so amazing? And why were you late? For real, this time. Tried to fit in a quicky, didn't you.”

 

“Tenten! I told Gai-sensei, I was looking for the Kazekage.”

 

“What, you misplaced him this morning? If he's in the same condition as you, he couldn't have gone far.”

 

Lee looked down, avoiding Tenten's eyes. “He was not there when I woke up this morning. I do not think he stayed for long.”

 

“Was there a note or anything?”

 

“No. And I missed him by about half an hour this morning. I found Naruto, and he told me.”

 

“That bastard,” Tenten hissed. “He's going to look like a sieve by the time I'm done with him!”

 

Lee's head popped back up, confused. “Naruto?”

 

“No, Gaara. That no good sandy bastard.” A kunai was clenched tightly in Tenten's hand.

 

“Tenten, what is it?”

 

“What is it? Lee, he used you! You were a one night stand! I can't believe your first time was to a complete jerk like that! I don't care if you've had a crush on him for years or not, he doesn't deserve . . . “

 

“Please, Tenten, keep it down! You are the only one that knows about that!” Lee glanced around, relieved to see that Gai and Neiji were far too busy destroying the field to hear the yelling.

 

“Sorry, Lee. I just . . . I really can't believe he did that. Well, I can, but that doesn't make it right.” Tenten tossed the kunai in her hand with a casual, almost thoughtless flick of her wrist. It buried itself to the hilt in the exact center of a target. “What's gotten into that guy, anyways? It's just scandalous, the rumors you hear. They say that he has a different girl every week. I can remember a time when no one would go near him, and now? Seems like there's a line.”

 

“Tenten . . . “ Lee flopped back on the grass. “That is not helping.”

 

The brunette echoed his movement, staring up at the sky with him. “Sorry, Lee. What are you going to do now?”

 

Lee shrugged. “I do not know. He is in Suna, and if the rumors are true, he will not be coming back to see me. In a way I am glad, though. It was something that I had dreamed about for a long time, and it did come true. I would not have wanted anyone else to be the first.”

 

“But it wasn't what you wanted. I know you, Lee.” Tenten rolled to her stomach to look at her friend. “You want flowers and poetry and breakfast in bed. Not a one night stand that you remember with bruises.”

 

“You are right, Tenten. This was not what I wanted with him. But I was strong enough for him. He said I was.” Lee studied one bandaged hand. “Just me.”

 

Heaving a sigh, Tenten rolled back onto her back. “You better come up with a plan if you don't want me to make up one for you. You can't just let him walk away after something like that.”

 

“I do not think I can knock him over the head and drag him back to Konoha.”

 

Tenten snorted, reaching behind her head to thwack Lee gently. “What, you still want that abrasive bastard after this?”

 

“I think I do.” Lee let his arms drop back to the grass and crossed them underneath his head. “I cannot stop thinking about him. It is worse now then before. Before it was just this image, but now ... And there was something he said. I did not get a chance to ask him about it. I want to know what he meant.”

 

“What did he say, Lee?”

 

“That it had to be me.”

 

“Huh. That is a bit cryptic. Not a real surprise.” Tenten huffed a bit, shifting so that her head was resting on Lee's chest. She knew her friend and teammate, and she knew that he would need some contact while under this amount of stress. “Are you sure I can't just go turn him into a very handy coriander? Don't you think he's hurt you enough? Why give him another shot?”

 

“No, Tenten. Do not attack him. The past is the past, and this has to be my fight.”

 

“You're too forgiving, Lee. That's dangerous with people like him.”

 

----

 

“Hey, kid, you won't believe what someone told me this morning.”

 

Gaara glanced at his brother from over his shoulder as he continued to leap from tree to tree.

 

“Rumor has it that you fucked the green spandex wearing kid.” Kankuro started laughing. “I damn near took the guy's head off, but I was laughing too hard to do it.”

 

“That rumor, unlike most, is true.”

 

Kankuro missed the next branch and plummeted towards the forest floor. Gaara continued on, one corner of his mouth turned up at his brother's cursing. His sister was easily keeping pace with him, and watching him closely.

 

The blonde was trying to gauge her brother's mood. “Are you serious? You slept with Rock Lee?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“No way!” Kankuro erupted through the leaves, putting on a burst of speed so that he could catch up. “How drunk were you?”

 

“You know that I don't drink enough to get drunk.” Gaara gave his brother a glare and contemplated tripping him up so that he would plummet back to Earth.

 

“It's the only explanation I could come up with. Did he slip something in your drink? Do we need to go back and beat the crap out of him for taking advantage of you?”

 

“No. It was not his idea, even though I believe he has thought of it before.”

 

Temari groaned. “Does this mean that you're going to start over, but with men this time?”

 

Gaara was silent for a long moment, running the variables through his head. “I don't think there are any men in the village that I would find acceptable.”

 

“Oh, because you so love the chicks you fuck.” Kankuro rolled his eyes. “You can't stand those girls in anything other then a horizontal position, and even then it's a stretch. What's to stop you from being the same way with the men?”

 

“It's different.”

 

“Both of you, quit arguing.” Temari sighed. “Are you going back to your research?”

 

“No. I have learned what I need to know from those women, and now I know about men. The research is staying closed.”

 

“Good, because I can't stand it when one of your `experiments' comes to the house, wanting to know when she's going to see you again.” Kankuro shuddered. “They're freaking persistent. Couldn't you have at least gone for a shinobi or two?”

 

“No. Too much risk.”

 

“But the spandex guy is safe? You've got no taste, man.”

 

“Lee is not a threat to me.”

 

“Last time I checked, that guy had made jounin. That makes him a bit more dangerous then those helpless little civilians you were playing with.” Kankuro made another face. “Come on, kid, Rock Lee? That's just fucking weird.”

 

Gaara did not bother to glare again. It had no effect on his brother. “Leave it, Kankuro.”

 

“Fine, fine.” Kankuro lowered his voice to distant mumbles.

 

Temari moved a bit closer, carefully matching her brother's movements. “But, how did it go, Gaara? I mean, did everything go okay? I guess I'm asking if I need to send the Hokage a note of apology or anything.”

 

“It was . . . fine.”

 

The short pause was not lost on the older sister, who studied him with her aquamarine eyes. Her younger brother looked distracted, as though he was still thinking about the previous night. Gaara had found something last night that had his mind occupied, but Temari had no idea what that was.

 

----

 

“Okay, bushy brows, when I say `is something wrong', don't say `nothing' when Gaara just finished being a complete and utter bastard. The answer should be `yeah, something's wrong, and I need you to kick some red head ass!' I was wondering why I didn't see you leave my place!”

 

Lee groaned, burying his face in his hands as every occupant of the ramen stand turned to stare at him. “Naruto . . . “

 

“I was going to go after the bastard, but Granny Tsunade said she'd haul me back by my ears if I did.” The blonde shinobi dropped onto the stool next to Lee.

 

“Did you talk to Tenten?” Lee set his chopsticks aside, appetite gone. Tenten meant well, he was sure, but Naruto was the last person who needed to know about this.

 

“Tenten?” Naruto scratched at the back of his head. “Nah, I haven't seen her since last night.”

 

“Then how did you find out?”

 

“Please, the entire village is buzzing about this one. You thought the gossip was bad when Gaara was being a man slut, you should hear it now!”

 

Lee dropped his head to the counter with another groan. “This should not have happened.”

 

“Huh?” Naruto grabbed onto his friend's shoulder, pulling him back up and around to face him. “He didn't . . . you wanted to, right?”

 

“What? Oh, no, Naruto!” Lee looked horrified, hands coming up. “It was nothing like that. It was completely consensual. You know he would not do something like that.”

 

“I know, but I had to ask since you look so down in the dumps. Is it just because he took off like a complete ass?”

 

“Mostly.” Lee toyed with his chopsticks, using it as an excuse to look away from the focused blue eyes. “It was not how I expected this to go.”

 

Naruto dropped a friendly arm across Lee's shoulders. “You know I'm going to kick his ass for this, right?”

 

“Naruto . . . “

 

“It's the only way that guy can learn! I kicked his ass, he decided to quit killing people for fun. That Akatsuki killed him, he decided to start trying to be human. If I kick his ass again, maybe he'll figure out how to do something other then a one night stand.”

 

Lee set his chopsticks back down, abandoning even the pretense of working on his lunch. “I do not need everyone to fight this battle for me. I will take care of this.”

 

“Then what're you going to do?”

 

“I do not know.” Lee dropped some money on the counter and rose from his stool. “I am still working on that part.”

 

The blonde followed him out, much to the shock of the ramen stand's owner. His eyes were unusually intense as he studied his friend. “What do you want, Lee?”

 

Just outside of the stand, Lee paused with his head bowed. “I . . . I want to talk to him.”

 

“That's it? You're not angry? You don't want to punch him? He was an ass! He's my friend, and I'll always have his back, but he really needs to have something knocked back into place. Maybe if you beat him up this time, he'll get the idea.”

 

“Maybe. Maybe if he sees how I have changed he will not be so quick to dismiss me.” A fist clenched as Lee thought about how he had felt that morning. Abandoned. Forgotten. Again. “And yes, Naruto. I am angry.”

 

“Then you need to do something about it! You've never been one to just roll over and take whatever crap life hands you.”

 

“I will do something. I am not convinced that I need to fight him in a life and death situation as you did, but I need . . . I need to prove to him that I am not someone he can push aside.”

 

Naruto clapped his friend on the shoulder, setting off down the street with him. “Tell you what. You want to talk to him? I'll make damn sure that you get your chance the next time he's out. You want to hit him, I'll help you train and make sure the area's clear and no one gets in the way. Otherwise, I really am gonna kick his ass. Deal?”

 

“Deal. It looks like we will be busy for the next month.”

 

“Insanely.”

 

----

 

Temari had seen a lot and been through a lot as the older sister of an insane jinchuuriki. She had seen death and torture that would make a seasoned warrior weep, and just sighed that she would have to get that off of the walls somehow. That sense of calm, no matter what the storm might be, had been quite useful in dealing with Gaara and his research. No matter how weird or awkward things got, he was still her kid brother, more now then ever, and she would take care of him. At least these new problems did not involve grisly clean up duties.

 

“Hey, Gaara?”

 

The Kazekage looked up to his sister, his eyes reflecting the firelight in an eerie way. “Yes?”

 

“You've been kind of distracted ever since we left Konoha. Is something wrong?”

 

The redhead sighed a bit, untwisting his own thoughts. “Nothing is wrong.”

 

“Then what are you thinking so hard about? Is this still about that guy?” Temari shook her head a bit when her brother's pupils dilated. `Right on the mark.' “Just spit it out.”

 

“Unless its graphic details about spandex kid's sex life, `cause then we don't want to know!” Kankuro glared from the other side of the campfire.

 

“I usually don't think about any of these encounters after the fact. I keep remembering this one.” Gaara stared at the flames, his expression thoughtful. “It's unexpected.”

 

`Ah, crap.' Temari had always wondered if Gaara would get caught by one of his `experiments', and her heart skipped a beat at the thought that it had finally happened. “Remember the no details rule, please, but are they good memories or bad memories?”

 

“Good.”

 

`And on the mark again. I'm getting too good at this.' The blonde leaned back across his pack. “So is this experiment going to become something you do because you want to?”

 

Gaara continued to study the flames, obviously in thought, while Kankuro groaned.

 

“This is weirder then the hugging research!”

 

“I liked the hugging research!” Temari glared at her other brother. “And I'm glad he started doing it on his own.”

 

“Okay, fine, it worked for you, but it was freaking weird for me to be informed that I would be getting hugged as a part of an experiment.”

 

“The only one you've liked was the cooking research.”

 

Kankuro shrugged, smirking at his sister. “Yeah, well, you've been loving it, too. Who knew the shrimp could cook?”

 

“It's not complicated.” Gaara looked up to his brother. “It seems that you're the only one that can't do it.”

 

“Look, we're not going to bring up the little fire incident again, and that's final.” The puppet-nin shifted to glare into the darkness.

 

“Temari, what has been your favorite research? The hugging?” The Kazekage studied his sister with the same analytical stare he used on everything.

 

“Umm, I think you're right. I think the hugging has been my favorite so far. Even though the art one was definitely the funniest.”

 

Gaara scowled a bit. “Kankuro can't cook, I can't paint.”

 

Temari leaned over and stretched to ruffle her brother's hair. He made a face, but tolerated it. `Yes, the research may be weird, awkward, and stiff, but I think I'm finally getting to know my real little brother.' “Don't worry about it. Cooking is more useful then painting anyways.”

 

“Can we talk about something other then my complete lack of cooking skills?”

 

The blonde tipped her head to the side and slapped on a sickeningly sweet smile. “We could discuss your inability to get laid . . . “

 

One corner of Gaara's mouth quirked up, the closest he got to a smile, and Temari's grin grew. `Yeah, I'll keep helping him with his research. It's always worth it in the end.'

 

----

 

Sleep was a distant memory. Three hours a night was all Lee would allow himself. The rest of his time was spent training and running missions. Everything was oriented towards his next meeting with Gaara. Naruto was there everyday, even turning down a mission to help. Tenten was also there, pushing him even harder. Gai-sensei was also there. He never said anything, but he had to know. The entire village had found out. Each morning Lee would wake up, his body aching and tired, and would see the crack in his headboard. It was all the reminder he needed.

 

Considering how hard Lee was working towards the moment when Gaara returned to the village, he was having a very hard time figuring out just exactly when that would be. The exact date of his arrival was not public knowledge, mostly because Gaara did not tend towards following regimented routines set by someone else. The taijutsu master kept an eye on the gate, knowing that there would be a surge of activity when the Kazekage returned, but it was just his luck that he was out on a solo mission on the exact day that the surge in activity occurred

 

When he jogged back into the village that night, there was no sign of Gaara's arrival. He continued on to the Hokage's tower to drop off his mission scroll before heading home for a quick meal before his evening training regimen. If he hurried, there was an excellent chance that Tenten, Naruto, or Gai-sensei would still be available for a couple of hours of work before they went to bed.

 

Shizune was not at her desk. That struck Lee as being somewhat odd. He fidgeted in front of the Hokage's door. He did not want to be rude and interrupt her, since he could hear voices, but he needed to get this scroll to her before he could turn to personal concerns for the night. With a sigh, he dropped into a chair to wait. Hopefully the meeting would not run for much longer. The dust from the road rose around him in a cloud, and he waved it away. He knew he was looking pretty rough, but this mission had been very time sensitive, and there had been no time for niceties like sleep or showering. The Hokage would know this, and hopefully would not be too offended by his ragged appearance.

 

The minutes ticked by, and Lee fidgeted. He should be training. He knew that Gaara would be returning soon, and he needed to be in top notch condition! But the Hokage needed this scroll, and would need to talk to him about the results of his mission. He stayed in his seat, trying to patiently wait for the late meeting to end. It was not like Tsunade to hold a late meeting, so hopefully it would be out soon. There was not much room to move, so most training was out of the question while he waited. With a sigh, Lee tucked the scroll into a pocket on his vest and started to crank out one finger push ups, whispering to himself. “One, two, three . . . “

 

Lee had reached 257, and had worked up a nice sweat, when the door finally opened. His hair swung as he looked up, freezing in the middle of a push up, to see his Hokage looked down at him with fond exasperation.

 

“You could've knocked, Lee.”

 

With a bounce, the jounin was on his feet. “I did not want to interrupt your very important meeting, Hokage-sama! I will wait until you are ready to receive my report.”

 

Tsunade shook her head. “Come on in, we'll get this dealt with before I call it a night. Everything go alright?”

 

“It went quite well, Hokage-sama.” Lee started to follow her back into her office, but staggered when someone else walked out of her office. A very specific redhead. Unlike the last time Lee had seen him, Gaara was now dressed in his typical traveling clothes, including a long jacket and a vest to keep the gourd in place. The black haired young man was suddenly very conscious of his dusty clothing and blood stained bandages. “Um, hello, Kazekage-sama.”

 

Gaara gave him a blank stare. “Lee.” Without a second look, the redhead walked out the exit.

 

Lee's heart dropped yet again, landing around his legwarmers and settling in to stay. Of all of the scenarios he had considered, being completely dismissed had not been one of them. `He did not say hi, or much of anything. Maybe . . . maybe I really was nothing to him but an experiment.' He stood there, frozen, until Tsunade came back out of her office.

 

“Lee?”

 

Her jounin looked up, his expression that of someone who had just been slapped. Startled and hurt. “Yes, Hokage-sama?”

 

Tsunade sighed. “Looks like you have something you need to take care of. Just give me the scroll and we'll deal with the rest later.”

 

“What?” Lee shook his head. “There is nothing more important then my mission, Hokage-sama!”

 

“Just give me the scroll and get out of here before Naruto decides to beat the shit out of the Kazekage again.”

 

`Is there anything she does not know about this?' Lee felt his face heat up and he dropped the requested scroll into her hand. “If you are sure, Hokage-sama.”

 

“Get out of my office, Lee.”

 

“Yosh!” There was nothing but a gust of wind to show evidence that Lee had not jutsu'd, but had disappeared under his own power. In the time it took Tsunade to brush her bangs back out of her eyes, Lee was already on the street and closing in on the Kazekage. He had no idea what he was going to do when he got there, but he was not going to be tossed aside. Not this time.

 

“Kazekage-sama!”

 

Gaara paused and looked back over his shoulder. “Does the Hokage need something else?”

 

“No.” Lee jogged up, carefully watching the man that he had shared a night of intense passion with. He looked so different from the man that had pinned him down to the bed and taken everything from him. “I need something.”

 

The jade eyes narrowed. “What.”

 

“I challenge you, Gaara of the Desert.”