The Burning Lotus

The Burning Lotus


With bars of sunlight beaming through the blinds of his windows, he stood silently. It was 7am; some citizens of the Hidden Leaf Village probably haven’t even bothered to rise from bed yet, including a certain shinobi holding a nine-tailed fox demon inside of him.

But then again, Rock Lee wasn’t Naruto.

This was routine for him. He had been up for an hour already, stretching out his body before ingesting his morning breakfast. Now it was time for training. In the middle of his room he stood shirtless, his torso already glistening. Rock Lee wasn’t the strongest shinobi, and his muscles certainly weren’t the hugest, but the definition of them showed that he had enough strength to take down even the mightiest opponent. Nunchaku in hand, he tightened his grip, took a deep breath and exhaled. They were specialized chain-sticks, painted bright green to go along with his outfit color. Tightening his stance, Lee focused his glance forward and began his training.

The entire room filled with the sound of the wooden sticks whipping through the air. Rock Lee started out slow, a few simple flipping techniques, behind the back movements and under the arm. He then worked up to a faster speed, whipping the chain sticks around him like second nature. Soon, the Nunchaku became a blur along with his hands, as Rock Lee went into overdrive. His eyes remain focused on what lied in front of him, though. Never did he glance down to see if his hand movements were correct. No, his eyes continually stared through the doorway in front of him, using that focal point as inspiration as he exhibited his flawless demonstration of Nunchaku mastery.

At least until Sakura passed by the doorway. “Morning, Lee…”

“HUH!?”

THWACK!!!

The blow was so loud, Sakura backpedaled to the doorway to examine what happened. What she saw though, was Rock Lee standing there, holding his weapon. “What…was that?”

“Oh! Sakura, good morning!” Lee told her in a delayed reaction. He showed a wide smile and you could hear the discomfort in his laugh. But what caught Sakura’s eye was the trickle of blood rolling down the middle of Lee’s face, from a wound on his forehead that was gaping.

“Lee, you’re bleeding!” Sakura pointed out.

A confused look adorned the young man’s face. “Huh? I am?”

Still failing to notice the blood running down his face, Lee just smiled at Sakura again. She became fed up, and rushed into the room to tend to his injury. Grabbing a piece of cloth off of her self, she wiped the blood off of his face before placing her palm on his wound. Closing her eyes, she channeled her special ability, the Mystical Palm Technique. It took several seconds, but once she removed her hand, there was no trace of Lee’s injury.

“You really should be more careful.” She told him, spotting the mark of blood on his Nunchaku. “I know you love to train and all, but it’s also cool to take it easy every once in a while.”

Lee didn’t respond quickly, due to being lost in the pool that was Sakura’s eyes. He quickly shook it off though, and responded. “Oh yes, I…should be more cautious. Thank you, Sakura.”

“No problem, Lee.” She answered. “Gotta go; I have a meeting with Tsunade-sensei. I’ll see you around!”

And with that, she rushed out of the room and down the hall, leaving Rock Lee still stunned by her presence. “Yeah…see ya…” He dropped his Nunchaku to the floor and dashed out into the hallway, only to find her long gone. “She…is truly an angel. My lotus blossom has healed my wounds! Truly she has become a master in Medical Jutsu!” He declared to no one in particular. “I vow that the two of us shall be together, and Sakura shall know that my love for her burns like the exploding lava in the Volcanoes from this Land of Fire! And…”

“Would you keep it down, Bushy Brow?”

Rock Lee stopped himself and turned to his left to see a familiar friend slowly walking towards him, Naruto. The spiky haired Ninja was rubbing his eyes and stretching, looking half-awake as he approached his friend. “Man, only you could be this loud & energetic this early.”

“Ah, good morning Naruto.” Lee greeted. “I did not expect you back from your Mission with Kakashi-Sensei until this evening.”

“Yeah, well we completed our mission early.” Naruto revealed. “We decided to make the late night trip home and sleep in our own beds. Just got in a few hours ago.” He took his hand away from his eyes, before grinning deviously at Lee. “Speaking of that, nice declaration to Sakura.”

Lee’s face turned a slight crimson as he turned away. “I…don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Come on!” Naruto told him. “We both know you’ve been crazy about her since we all were Genin! At least back then you had the guts to come out and tell her your feelings.”

“Watch it, Naruto.” Lee warned him. The warning fell on deaf ears though as, right before his eyes, Naruto was engulfed in a white cloud of smoke…and Sakura emerged.

“Oh Lee! How foolish I was to not see your manliness!” She beamed. “You’re such a sexy stud!”

“…Sakura…” For a moment, Lee stared blindly at the source of his affection, in awe that he would hear such words come from her mouth…at least until the ruse ended, and Naruto morphed back into his true form.

“Ha-ha! After all this time it still works!” He laughed. “You are too easy, Bushy Brow.”

Unfortunately Rock Lee didn’t find it funny, as evident by the fighting stance he exhibited. “I warned you Naruto…now you’ll pay! LEAF HURRICANE!!!”

“WAIT, NO! IT WAS JUST A JOKE, LEE!!!” But Naruto's explanation went on deaf ears this time, as the only noise heard coming from the hallway were loud thumps, and the 9-tailed demon holder yelling in pain.


“Oh man, I missed this!”

Naruto said that with his mouth stuffed with ramen & broth. He then quickly slurped the noodles up, grabbed the bowl and gulped down the broth happily. Once done, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and immediately raised a finger for Teuchi to see.

“One more order, please!”

Teuchi didn’t mind. Naruto was the best customer at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. And for all the young lad had done for Konohagakure, it was his pleasure. He passed another bowl down the counter to Naruto, who quickly went to work putting it away. Rock Lee sat silently beside him, laughing under his breath as he shook his head.

“Huh, what’s so funny?” Naruto muffled out, mouth full of ramen.

“Forgive me Naruto.” Lee replied. “I just…I am still in disbelief over what you’ve done. Taking on Pain and his minions, surviving a transformation into an 8-tailed demon beast. And you are right back here, eating ramen as if nothing happened.”

“Hey, it’s nothing anyone else wouldn’t have done.” Naruto said, playing his epic battle against Pain down.

“Yes…I only wish I could have been able to do something.” Lee responded. “If nor for the mission with my team, we could’ve been here with—OW!!!”

A sharp jab to the shoulder from Naruto silenced the Taijutsu expert. “Knock it off with the self-pity, will ya? I mean, how many times have you saved the day? You were the one who went head-to-head with Genno to stop his plan…”

Lee nodded his head, remembering his intense Taijutsu battle with the old man. “Perhaps you are right, Naruto. Still, what you accomplished was a great feat.”

“Don’t put so much into it.” Naruto told his friend. “Let’s just enjoy the ramen.”

“Agreed!” Lee said as he looked upon his bowl. Truth be told, he wasn’t even hungry at the moment. “That reminds me, have you been to visit Hinata yet?”

As Naruto finished off another fork-full, he shook his head. “No. Kurenai-sensei said she needed her rest, so I’m not gonna bother her. She wouldn’t want to see me anyway.”

Lee’s left eyebrow cocked upward in shock. “Naruto…your power and abilities always seem to astound me, as does your naivety.”

“What are you talking about, Bushy Brow?” Naruto asked.

“Naruto. Can you not see that Hinata lo—!”

“Excuse me…”

The two Hidden Leaf Ninja turned around, only to see a cloaked old man walking into the Ramen Bar, barely holding himself up with a cane. He slowly shuffled his way towards the counter. “Might I ask if an old man could be able to dine here? It’s been so long since I’ve had a bite to eat…”

“Of course you can, good sir!” Lee answered, showing manners as he offered up the stool beside him.

“Oh…thank you, young man.” The old man said. “It is so nice to know that the youth can still be so polite.”

“It is not a problem.” Lee responded. “My sensei has always taught me that Youth must be strong, considerate and fearless!”

The old man struggled a bit, but managed to put himself up onto the stool. “My, you must have an excellent teacher. He must be quite a guy.”

Lee smiled proudly over his teacher being praised. “Indeed he is, elder man. You might have heard of him. His name is—!”

“Might Guy?”

Rock Lee paused for a second, momentarily stunned over the old man’s interruption. A moment later, he felt a prick against his forearm, and instinctively reacted as he grabbed the old man’s wrist. That caused the cloak to fall from his head, revealing that the senior citizen wasn’t senior at all, but a young man who looked to be only a few years older than Lee & Naruto.

“Compliments of the Land of Lightning…”

“Lee!” Naruto noticed his friend holding onto the impostor’s wrist, and readied himself.

“What do you want?” Lee ordered. “Why did you perform that ruse?”

“I’ve already succeeded in what I wanted.” The man answered. “My name is Shin-Jun. My clan of smugglers was destined to be legendary…until you and your team showed up in Kumogakure.”

“Lee, what is he talking about?” Naruto asked.

“My mission…” Lee answered. “It is why we weren’t here to help Konoha in time; Team Guy was sent to the Hidden Cloud Village to investigate a smuggling ring over sacred scrolls.”

“And your pathetic teacher and worthless teammates caused my clan to be caught & convicted! But that’s why I’m here.” Lee grew confused as Shin continued. “You may be feeling it now…a simple tingle in your forearm, where I injected you.”

“Injected!?” Naruto repeated.

“With what!?” Lee demanded.

“A special poison, which is coursing through your veins at this moment.” Shin revealed. “Soon, your muscles will deteriorate, your body organs will fail, and you will die…painfully.”

Lee glanced down at his forearm where he was injected. He saw no sign of the needle going in, but he could feel an unmistakable tingle. It made him angry that he was tricked by just showing kindness. But as he raised his fist, Shin smiled and welcomed the attack.

“Go ahead!” He dared. “The poison acts faster the more one exerts himself. That’s why I picked it for you. I’ve seen your Taijutsu, you’re like a machine! But 5 minutes in a good fight and your insides will be liquefied! Face it…your death is imminent!”

“I…do not…believe you!”

And with the speed of a true master, Rock Lee released his hold on Shin and, with the same hand, executed a snap jab which knocked him back. He followed with a right hook and ended it off with a whirlwind-like roundhouse kick which sent the intruder flying out of the Ramen Bar. But as Lee went to apprehend his attacker…

“KOFF! KOFF-KAFF!!!”

He stumbled to his left, feeling off-balance as he barely was able to regain it. Naruto was quick to his side. “Lee! You OK?”

“I…I do not think he was lying…Naruto.”

As he said that, Lee pointed down to the ground, where several spats of blood were under him. Naruto raised his head again, looking for Lee’s attacker, only to find him long gone. He then turned back to Lee, and noticed a significant change with him. He was hunched over, barely able to hold himself up. His face was full of determination, but there were also signs of fear. There was no mistaking it, Rock Lee was dying.