A soft breeze tickling his cheeks...the hum of electricity...the warmth of the evening sun warming him...was he alive?
Felt like it.
Rock Lee opened his eyes. He blinked once...twice. He shut his eyes for a moment, then reopened them. When the blur faded from his eyes, he scanned his surroundings. He seemed to be in hospital room. A few monitors and wires were around him and attached to his arms, keeping him stable. But he was alive. Alive, and back.
Lee carefully sat up. He his spun, but he felt fine otherwise. He glanced to the left side of the room, near the door. His old wooden crutch was there, leaning against the wall. Lee's eyes narrowed as he swung his feet over the edge. He pulled off the wires that were attached to his arms and gripped the edge of the bed. Time to test it.
'If I cannot make it to my crutch without any help, it will be 200 push-ups for me!'
Lee stood up with all support on his right leg. Sucking in air, he started forward.
He clenched his teeth and barely avoided a cry as pain flashed up his lower leg, making him stumble back to the bed. He groaned in annoyance. Nope, not ready yet.
Lee sighed. He was getting sick of everyone doing all the Shinobi work, while he just got to stand and watch. And all the training he's missed! Lee had tried to make up as much training as he could, but it wasn't easy battering a practice dummy with just one hand while the other one was gripping a crutch. Kicks couldn't help either. He needed as much balance as he could get, and putting weight on his bad leg was obviously a bad idea.
But he didn't have to worry about that anymore. Tsunade did it...he obviously survived the surgery. In a few minutes or so, she would check up on him to see how he was doing. He'd tell her he was fine and, of course, ask when he could continue his training and start with missions. She would tell tell him in a few days...but he didn't want to wait that long. The first mission that would be open...he would take it.
Lee looked at the door as he heard footsteps. They grew louder, as did a voice. He scrambled back into bed, ignoring the wires that were preciously attached to his arms. With one last look at the opening door, Lee laid his her voice instantly softened.
"Be quiet. He's still asleep, from the looks of it." She warned her guest.
Lee listened as the pair of footsteps approached his bedside.
"Hmm, still asleep. Maybe I knocked him out for too long...And how the hell did these get out?fall of his arms?"
Tsunade looked at the wires that were now currently taking up space on the floor. She picked them up and looked at the ends. "Maybe he was dreaming..."
Lee felt her pick up his wrist and pressed something against it. She dropped it and returned it to his side a minute later.
"His pulse seems normal...He seems to be in a stable enough condition where he doesn't need them anymore." He couldn't tell, but it sounded like she was smiling.
"Good!" His other visitor whispered...was it Genma? Lee could barely recognize it. But the slightly slurred voice always equaled a senbon needle in the mouth.
"He's recovering fast. I'm not going to let him push himself, though. Lee's not to start any mission for a few more weeks though. Training fits in there too somewhere. He could do some damage to his muscles. And if he's really unlucky, his spinal cord. It would be a bother doing this procedure over again." She sighed. Lee felt his heart drop. WEEKS?
"You're starting to sound like Shikamaru." Genma said, standing beside her.
She chuckled. "Do I?"
"...I don't mean to push you Lady Hokage, but what about that mission? We can't keep delaying it like this."
A mission? Lee was listening...
Tsunade sighed. She seemed impatient. "Alright, tell me about this mission again..."
"It's simple. Just send a team of Genin over with a scroll to the Land of Water. They just have to be sure not to let anyone snatch it on their way there. I dunno, maybe Shikamaru could go with them." She sighed. She started to walk somewhere, her footsteps becoming less audible. She was walking away.
"What does the scroll say?" Genma asked. Was there a hint of suspicion in his voice?
"I don't know. I'd rather not snoop in their business."
"But Lady Hokage, the Village of Mist have some damn tough ninjas there. Kakashi and his squad went there for one of their missions. A simple mission almost killed them all. I think it's pretty risky sending a mere Genin and Shikamaru. I'm not doubting him, but..."
She nodded. "Then send Kakashi's squad again. The dealt with the Land of Water once, they can deal with it again."
Genma raised an eyebrow and chewed at the end of his senbon needle. "With Naruto and the rest of them?"
Tsunade turned around, annoyance plastered all over her face. "Who else?"
Genma stared at her, then nodded. "As you wish, Lady Tsunade." He watched as Tsunade exited Lee's room. With one last look at Lee, Genma followed her out.
When he thought the coast was clear, Lee sat up with an angry grunt. Weeks? He refused to wait that long. It was bad enough that he had to wait for months without going to any missions, and he wasn't going to waste his time here just because his body needed recovery time. He was patient, but not THAT patient.
'I do not think I would need to recover just to go to the Village Hidden in the Mist...It is just a simple, few-day journey, right?'
Lee looked at a map hanging from one of the walls. Yeah, it would take a while, but it would be worth it! What a way to prove himself to Gai-sensei! That and it would be a great kick-start to his Shinobi career again.
'Alright, it is settled! I will sneak into the Academy tonight, mark the mission, and set off! It would be foolish indeed to go by myself though...Maybe Naruto would like to come as well...'
Lee moved to the edge of the bed again. He stood again, bracing himself for what laid a step ahead of him. He took a step forward and ignored the pain that seared up his leg. After a minute, he finally reached his crutch. With that he walked the rest of the way twords his wardrobe where his green jumpsuit rested on the hanger, waiting for him. He changed out of his ugly hospital pajamas and laid them on the bed. He put his medicine into the pouch that was attached to his hitai-ate. After tying the red cloth snugly around his waist, Lee smiled as he stared at the reflection in the mirror.
With a happy smile, he gave the youthful reflection a thumbs-up. His teeth gave off a little 'PING!
"Konoha's Green Beast is back in the loop!"
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Story notes: Just an "actioney" fic, no NaruLee or anything like that.
Snippy romance is fail to meh. xD
Chapter notes: Yup. I've decided to take a whack at writing serious, non angstey fics here...so...
I know most characters are out of their personality, and it might be like this throughout the story...plus I can't write any good fight scenes if my life depended on it... = Stick around and see how it goes, I guess...
Chapter end notes: T.T
This obviously needs work. If you have any tips, feel free to tell me. ^^
REVIEWS. XD