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Of Broken Bones and Shattered Dreams	By : Saitochan Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1508 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Phew... another day, another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but my ideas aren't flowing the way they used to. That, added with my perfectionism makes even a 5 page chapter difficult at the very least. And yet, a lot of mistakes manage to get through. But I won't stop until I finish this story! I'll make sure you get to read the ending I've planned for team Gai.

Thank you all for the reviews! It's really nice to have people appreciate my work. Anyway, I'd really appreciate if you guys could point out some of my mistakes; tell me what you didn't like about my story and all. It would help me improve my writing. Thanks again!

Ok then, time to get to the writing.

*****

Of Broken Bones and Shattered Dreams

Chapter 5 - Lee's Pain

Neji and Ten-Ten kept on talking, joking around and laughing like nothing had happened. However, after a few minutes, they were both rudely thrown back into reality as their teacher entered Ten-Ten's room with tear-filled eyes and the saddest face they had seen him with. At first, they thought their sensei was crying for the fact his female student was hurt, but were quickly convinced otherwise.

As he entered the room and took a seat in a chair near the window, Maito Gai said not a word, dragged his feet and seemed to have lost that vivaciousness and enthusiasm that made him who he was. In short, Konoha's Taijutsu master was deeply depressed.

"Gai-sensei?" said Ten-Ten, obviously concerned about the Jounin. "Are you alright? Where's Lee?"

Upon hearing her words, Gai turned to see his students, and as if noticing their presence for the first time, quickly tried to hide his grief behind one of his 'Cool guy' smiles. However, not being one to hide his feelings often, the green clad ninja couldn't fight the tears running down his face, creating a strange image as the crying Jounin smiled brightly.

"Ten-Ten! I'm so glad you're OK. You should be more careful when training..." said Gai in a voice that was hardly his own, and then fell silent. Neji and Ten-Ten looked at each other, totally perplexed. Their teacher wasn't the kind of person that would just say a few words when he could give a whole speech. The Genin felt something was very wrong.

"Gai-sensei" said Neji stepping closer to him. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Lee?" The only answer he received was the sad look his teacher gave him.

Quickly preparing for the worst, Neji activated his Byakugan and began searching through the hospital for his male teammate. He spotted him without much effort, and as Ten-Ten was about to call a nurse, Neji stopped her. "It's OK, he is in his room". A closer look on his absent friend told him he was in great pain, since his chakra flow was erratic and he was wincing and squirming in his bed.

Quickly getting hold of the situation, Neji started asking questions to his teacher, while keeping an eye for Lee. "Gai-sensei, what happened to Lee? Whatever it was, you seem quite affected by it". Gai looked at both Genin, and after a moment of hesitation, decided to tell them what was going on. It's not like he could hide it from his two students anyway.

Letting a sigh escape his lips, Gai started talking to the young ninja in front of him. "Guys, I don't know what to do with Lee anymore. His wounds aren't life-threatening, but they have changed him completely". He made a brief pause to gather his thoughts and out them into coherent words. "The doctors say that the pain he feels in his bones is the worst kind of pain there is. Yet he refuses to take any painkillers, and tells me he wants to overcome his injuries by his own, without any kind of help".

Ten-Ten sighed. That really sounded like Lee. "I tried to be there for him, to support him during these hard times" said Gai. "But his frustration has made him aggressive. He even yelled at me!" Those words were a real shock for Neji and Ten-Ten. In all the years they had known Lee, he had never raised his voice to his teacher, let alone yell at him.

"It's obvious he's not thinking straight anymore. We have to convince him of taking those painkillers" said Ten-Ten. "I'll talk to him. I'm sure he'll listen to me". After saying this, she started walking to the door.

Although Gai didn't argue, Neji was quick to stop her. "Wait. I'll go talk to him". He had plenty of reasons to want this task for himself, but didn't bother to explain them to his friend or teacher. "You two can't possibly convince him of anything in his current state. You're both too soft with him".

Neji walked to the door and turned around to face Ten-Ten. Staring at her eyes, while almost ignoring his teacher, he said: "Stay here. I'll be back in a while". Having said so, he left the room, preparing himself to talk some sense into his male teammate. It wasn't going to be an easy task.

Still, he was the only one who could do it. Gai was way too sensitive about his 'precious student' to bear another furious yell from Lee, and though Ten-Ten was a tough kunoichi, she was still pretty sensitive about certain things. *Gai was pretty upset for having Lee yell at him* he thought *He'll get over it eventually, but I don't want Ten-Ten to go through this*. He remembered bitterly the way she had cried when she found out about Lee's condition.

The thought about how both of them cared about Lee almost made him jealous. Part of him wanted that kind of attention, but he told himself that he was being ridiculous. He knew his teacher and teammates cared about him too, but his sensei was always overprotective, so he just ignored him, and since he had never been hurt badly, Ten-Ten didn't show concern about him very often. Still, Neji couldn't help but feel lonely.

Neji was drawn from his thoughts by the painful groans coming from the room in front of him. He had gotten there without even realizing it, and much to his surprise, he discovered he was hesitating. While he thought about what he should say to Lee, a female voice behind the door caught his attention. "Lee-kun, please! You're only hurting yourself further! Think about your future!"

Konoha's number one Genin put aside his hesitations, opened the door and entered the room just to see a pitiful scene and to hear Rock Lee's response. "Shut up! I don't care anymore. If I can't fulfill my dream, then I don't need a future!" Lee was standing next to his bed, keeping his IV tube behind him, thus preventing the nurse in front of him from injecting painkillers through it.

Even without his Byakugan, Neji could see Lee's whole body was engulfed in pain, and that even standing up seemed to be an almost unbearable torment. Any other person would have fainted, or at least collapsed from the great amount of suffering he was going through, but Rock Lee's iron will drove him beyond a normal person's limitations.

However, right now his unshakable determination was destroying his body. The Hyuuga thought about the irony that his friend's greatest virtue was now tearing him apart and spoke up, hardly managing to contain the sadness in his voice. "Stop it Lee, you're just being stubborn". He walked forward a few steps, and stood next to the nurse, who was obviously relieved to have some backup. "And don't take out on this woman. She's only doing her job".

Lee turned to him and narrowed his eyes to adopt a ferocious expression. "Neji..." he said in a low tone, that seemed more of a growl than a human voice, and said Genin was shocked to see the changes that pain and frustration had worked on his friend.

The once fun and cheerful ninja Neji once knew was no more. As his eyes focused on the pearl-eyed Genin in front of him, Lee's features were twisted with rage, very much like Naruto when the Kyuubi came out to play. Upon seeing his friend's expression, Neji had serious doubts his words could convince him of anything. Still, it had to be done.

*****

Neji stood in Lee's room after 'having a talk' with him. As expected, Neji's words didn't make as much as a dent in his determination, and after a few screams, threats and insults, the usually calm Hyuuga lost his patience and performed a sleeping Jutsu to shut up his teammate. Once asleep, the nurse taking care of Lee was more than glad to inject him the damn painkillers and be on her way.

Neji let out a heavy sigh. He felt his strength falter and his heart sink into depression. Not that Lee's harsh words had upset him; he was beyond that kind of thing. It was the fact that Lee, the most kind and respectful Genin besides Hinata had said such things to him. He had changed so much in so little time. The bottled up rage, frustration and envy at Neji for being so superior had finally burst out, and the Hyuuga discovered he couldn't blame Lee for it.

"Damn" he whispered while he watched his teammate sleep. "Maybe, if I had just let you win a few times... maybe none of this would have happened". Neji felt his eyes brimming with tears as he thought about the uncertain future that Lee had in front of him. "Damn it..." he said while wiping his eyes. "Fate is a real bitch".

Neji stood next to Lee for a while, mourning and grieving over his friend's condition and his own weakness and foolishness for being unable to help him. After a few minutes, Konoha's number one Genin walked out of the room feeling the most pathetic and insignificant being in the whole world.

However, when he approached Ten-Ten's room again, he pushed his feelings down to the very bottom of his heart and regained his usual calm and controlled demeanor. Something inside of him just wouldn't allow him to show his emotions to anybody else, for he had been taught that was a sign of weakness.

When Neji entered the hospital room, Gai and Ten-Ten were discussing about what to do with his training, but as soon as they heard the door open, they both fell silent and looked expectantly towards him. The Hyuuga prodigy looked briefly at both of them before closing his eyes and sighing. "I'm sorry. I... I couldn't convince him".

Both ninja were dismayed by his words. They were about to say something, but Neji silenced them by raising his hand. "Still, he'll be fine for a while. I forced him to take the painkillers, and now he's sleeping" said Neji while he inspected the expression of the shinobi in front of him. "We shouldn't have to worry about him until he awakes".

Neji preferred not to mention Lee's anger to any of them. They were better off without knowing about it. Instead, he turned to Ten-Ten and spoke to her, still feeling a slight pang of guilt on his chest. "He might still be under the influence of the painkillers when he wakes up, so I guess he will be more calm and rational. You should talk to him then". Ten-Ten nodded and Neji turned to leave. He needed some time alone.

"H-hey! Wait up, Neji!" said Gai before his student reached the door. "Just because all of this happened doesn't mean you can stop training! Remember, you cannot waste a single day!" Neji turned around and faced the green clad Jounin. "You're right, Gai-sensei. I was headed towards the training grounds. I skipped this morning's training session, so I'll work extra hard to make up for it" said Neji, telling his teacher what he thought he wanted to hear.

However, his teacher's answer wasn't quite what he was expecting. "Great! Then I shall go with you and supervise your training!" Neji felt a huge drop of sweat run down the back of his neck. Training with Lee or Ten-Ten was one thing, but having his teacher 'supervise his training' pretty much meant an unearthly amount of work-out. Last time they trained together, Neji's muscles ached for two weeks straight.

Besides, he really felt he needed some time on his own to deal with his feelings. "Come on! Let's get going!" said Gai with one of his 'Cool guy' poses and a big smile. Neji almost grunted in disappointment, but he was glad to see his teacher was starting to return to his normal self.

After thinking for a few seconds, on which Gai kept rambling on and on about helping him get stronger, Neji decided a good work-out would at least distract him until he could be by himself. Neji bowed slightly and said "Thank you, Gai-sensei. Let's go". Then, he turned to Ten-Ten and added "Go talk to Lee. You must convince him, no matter what". That said, he left the room with his once again enthusiastic teacher.

Ten-Ten was left alone in her room, not really knowing what to do. She felt too energetic to sleep, but there was not much she could do in her actual condition. She sat around until a nice nurse brought lunch for her. She ate quietly, for her mind was busy deciding what to do with Lee. The absent-minded kunoichi kept moving her chopsticks from her plate to her mouth, and she was really lost in her thoughts until she realized her plate was empty.

Finally, unable to sit idly any longer, Ten-Ten got up, put on her sandals and walked out of her room. She didn't really know if she was ready to see Lee after what happened during her night visit two nights before, but she cared too much about him to do nothing while he was in pain.

Strangely enough, no one tried to stop her while she headed for Lee's room, despite the fact that she was walking around the hospital in nothing more than a thin hospital gown and her underwear. Ten-Ten wasn't sure if a patient was allowed to visit another patient, but that uncertainty didn't stop her.

When she entered Rock Lee's room, she saw him sleeping soundly. Of course, it was still too early for him to wake up. As she walked around the room, trying to find something to do, she noticed the flowers she had brought some days back. Although they weren't withered yet, their fragrance was gone and they didn't look as beautiful as they had back at the Yamanaka flower store.

"At least he hasn't thrown them away" said Ten-Ten. Reluctantly, she scanned the room searching for the single flower that caused her so much discontent. Much to her surprise, the Daffodil was nowhere to be seen. Not in a vase, nor in the nightstand, or in Lee's hand. It was gone.

Looking around the room a little more, Ten-Ten came to a garbage can in the corner. When she noticed the withered petals of a crushed flower among the trash, her heart rejoiced, forgetting al jealousy towards Sakura. The fact that Lee had thrown away the flower Sakura had brought for him and kept the bouquet she herself had given him was strangely flattering, but puzzling at the same time.

While the emotional part of Ten-Ten's mind was savoring her triumph over Sakura, the rational half wasn't so convinced. *Come on* she said to herself. *I bet there are a million explanations for this. Maybe a nurse threw it away. Or maybe Lee threw it away because it was withered. If that's what happened, then I guess my flowers will soon follow the same fate*.

Little did Ten-Ten suspect that Lee had crushed Sakura's flower in a fit of rage, and the only reason he didn't destroy her flowers as well was because they were out of his reach at that time.

Still, the young kunoichi felt all of her jealousy had been unfounded, and walked next to her friend's bed with a warm smile. He was still soundly asleep, so Ten-Ten sat on the bed and watched him sleep peacefully.

She hadn't seen Lee since she embraced her true feelings that night, and the fact that she was so close to him right now made her all warm inside. Suddenly, no longer content with just looking at him, Ten-Ten let her left hand move to his black hair to caress it softly. The warmth of his body under her fingertips was really nice, and the brown-eyed kunoichi moved her hand to caress the right cheek of the sleeping ninja.

As her hand traveled the warm and soft skin of Lee's face, Ten-Ten's eyes came to rest on the lips of her teammate. She couldn't help but blush as she realized just how much she wanted a kiss from those lips. Allowing her hand to travel further, she brushed her thumb over Lee's lower lip.

Ten-Ten felt her heart pound furiously in her chest. "A kiss... from Lee..." she said softly, as her hand kept on caressing his features. A voice in the back of her mind told her that she wasn't ready to let him know about her feelings just yet, but her emotional side wanted this so badly. *He's asleep... he won't notice...* she thought as she felt her body slowly leaning forward.

As she slowly drew forward, Ten-Ten could feel Rock Lee's warm breath on her hand. She licked her lips in anticipation as she moved ever so slowly towards her goal. The rational side of her mind was still struggling, and Ten-Ten felt a bit silly for giving her first kiss to someone who was asleep, but pushed forward nonetheless.

There was no turning back now. She closed her eyes as she slowly closed the gap between their lips, and felt her heart beat loudly when they touched. While keeping her eyes closed, Ten-Ten moved her hand through his hair while kissing him softly, barely even touching him at times, careful not to wake him.

Ten-Ten was savoring every moment of her first kiss, and just as she felt she could stay there forever, a sound on the door startled her. Somebody had dropped something on the floor, probably a nurse passing by, but it certainly made Ten-Ten jump. She sat up quickly, with a deep blush on her face, and was expecting a nurse, doctor, or even Neji or Gai to enter the room, but nothing happened.

After a few seconds, Ten-Ten decided the noise she heard was nothing to worry about, and relaxed a bit. It took her a few extra moments to notice the soft and steady beat under her palm. As she turned back to Lee, she saw she had put her hand on his chest to get herself up. However, she didn't withdraw it immediately, and started moving her hand around his torso, feeling every line and crevice of his tight muscles.

She blushed a bit more and smiled. It was strange that, even when his usual green jumpsuit was supposed to be skin-tight, she had never fully appreciated the way his muscles had grown over the past few years. *I bet he'd look really hot if his jumpsuit shrunk a few sizes...* thought the kunoichi as she kept exploring his torso with her fingers.

Finally, afraid she might wake him, Ten-Ten let her hand come to a rest in the middle of his chest, where she felt his heartbeat under her palm. She knew Lee wouldn't be asleep for much longer now, but her emotions were still making a mess out of her mind. She felt her body leaning forward once more, but since she had already kissed her teammate, she didn't fight her feelings anymore.

Her head came to rest on Lee's chest, where she heard the soft and steady beats of his heart. She felt so relaxed and safe next to Lee, that she didn't want to leave anytime soon. Ten-Ten kept her head on Lee's chest for what seemed an eternity, his heartbeat soothing her mind and making her forget all worries. She had almost fallen asleep when the ninja below her began to stir.

As he slowly returned to the real world from a dreamless sleep, Rock Lee felt once again unable to move freely. As his mind cleared from the fogs of sleep, he figured the doctors would have immobilized him again. He slowly opened his eyes to see if there was a way to escape, only to find out he was very mistaken.

Since Ten-Ten was looking away from him, the first thing Lee saw was a mane of dark brown hair covering his entire chest, and since he had never seen Ten-Ten without her usual hair buns, she didn't recognize the girl on top of him.

Although his body was numb due to the painkillers, the feeling of having a girl on top of him was really nice, but he wasn't used to having a girl that close to him, especially a girl he didn't know at all. Lee was about to move roughly to wake up whoever was sleeping on his chest, when he caught a sniff of the air.

A nice, fruity and strangely familiar smell was coming from the unknown girl, and though Lee's sense of smell wasn't as sharp as Kiba's, he could certainly say he had smelled that before. There was something intoxicating about that scent, and while he inhaled more and more of it, Lee killed his impulse to wake up the girl on his chest. That is, until he could find out who she was.

After inhaling more of that sweet and soft scent, and forcing his mind to remember who it belong to, something clicked inside of Rock Lee's brain. "Uhh... Ten-Ten? Is that you?" he whispered tentatively.

Upon hearing her name, Ten-Ten slowly opened her eyes. She was still half-asleep, and she felt so safe, warm and comfortable that she never would have left that spot. "Hmmm... Lee..." she sighed softly, while nuzzling against his chest.

"Ten-Ten... what... what are you doing here?" Now that he knew it was his female teammate on top of him, Lee moved slightly and spoke a little louder. "What are you doing on my chest?" He could feel how his whole face was quickly turning red.

Ten-Ten felt him move underneath her and woke up completely. She remained motionless for an instant as her embarrassment crept up her cheeks. Then, as if she was sitting on a coiled spring, she jumped and nearly fell to the floor.

She got up quickly and stammered an unintelligible apology, but Lee didn't notice. He was entranced by this side of Ten-Ten he'd never seen before. Her long hair cascading gracefully down her back, the short and light hospital gown she was wearing and the fact that she had been so close to him made Lee discover a lot of feelings towards her he didn't even know he had, some of them pure… and some of them not.

*****

Well, that's it for chapter 5! Phew... For a while, I thought I wouldn't be able to finish it. I'm starting to think this story is like a wild horse, since it doesn't move the way I want it to. Anyway, Lemons up in the next chapter! Sorry for making you wait so much, but I'm hoping it'll be worth the wait.

As usual, please review! It encourages me to write faster and better! See you soon!
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Of Broken Bones and Shattered Dreams