Lee's Island, Part 10

(The beginning of the madness can be found here.)

Here is Part 10, in which winter is coming and TenTen is the boss.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 TenTen was working out some rough edges on the supperware very carefully when a freezing wind blew across. She shivered.

"That's right, winter's coming up fast." Then the idea struck her.

"Hey, everyone! Back to camp on the double!" she yelled, hoping everyone would hear her. Soon, the others had assembled before her.

"What is it, TenTen?"

"Well, guys, you know, winter's coming. And fast."

"Mmm-hmm."

"So, since we probably won't be able to get much in the winter, I want us to start collecting as much food, water, and firewood as possible. We okay with that?"

"Yeah. How about I get water, you catch fish, Lee catches animals, and Naruto gets firewood?"

"Sounds good to me. Everyone okay with that?" Three heads bobbed up and down.

"Then that's what we'll do. Okay, Sakura, you'll need something like a bucket to collect the water in."

"I can make one, TenTen."

"Okay, Lee. Make Sakura a bucket, but wait just a second. Okay, so Sakura should be covered there. Oh, Lee did show you where the stream is, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Naruto, you have enough kunai to cut down branches, and they shouldn't be too heavy for you to carry. Everything taken care of for you?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Okay, Lee, you'll need the spear," she threw it at Lee, who caught it, and continued, "and you don't have any kunai, do you? Do you think the spear will be enough?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Okay, good. I have enough kunai to catch fish. I might have to wade in a little further, but I'll be fine. All right, everyone, get to your jobs!" The ninja dispersed.

"I have to hurry. I should not keep Sakura waiting!" Lee sped up his carving. He was almost finished, but major chunks of the wood still had to be cut out.

"There, done!" He sped over to Sakura.

"You finished already? Great! Thanks for your help, Lee." Sakura took the bucket and walked into the forest. She shivered. TenTen was right. Winter was definitely coming on fast. Sakura sped up and later arrived at the stream, which had a frosty covering. It didn't take long to dispel it and gather a bucketful of water. She walked back to camp, slowed by the extra weight. By the time she arrived, the sun was high in the sky. She walked up to TenTen.

"Where should I dump it?"

"Oh, gosh, I didn't think about that." TenTen sighed. "I guess we'll have to get Lee to make more. But then that would interfere with his food gathering..."

"Well, I could probably make some buckets myself."

"Okay, if you're up to it. Here's a kunai for you. Go ask Naruto if he can spare some of the wood he's gotten." Sakura walked through the forest and found Naruto walking to the cabin with an armful of vine-covered branches in tow.

"Hey, Naruto!" She ran towards him.

"Yeah?"

"Can I use some wood?"

"Um, sure." Naruto attempted to remove a single thick branch, but all of the wood tumbled down. He groaned.

"Oh, I'll help take it to camp. Here, give me some." Sakura held her arms out.

"Mmm-kay." Naruto stacked some of the wood in her arms, then picked the rest up. "Let's go."

Sakura and Naruto arrived at the cabin short after and dumped the branches on the ground.

"Whew. Well, the worst is over. Now we just have to peel off the vines."

"Okay, go ahead. I'll..." he paused, "help with your bucket."

"Oh, no, don't think you'll get away with that! You do your job, and I'll do mine. Got it?"

"Okay, okay, fine." Sakura heard Naruto grumble something before she picked a branch and walked away. She saw Lee arrive from the forest with a gargantuan pile of rabbits, birds, and other animals stacked up on his outstretched arms.

"Hello, Sakura," he said, storing the animals. "Oh, did you need more buckets? You can always ask me to make one."

"No, but then you couldn't do your hunting as much. It's best that we all stick to our own jobs."

"No, really Sakura. It does not take long for me to make a bucket, so it would not interfere very much. Here, give me the wood." He held an arm out.

"Okay, go ahead." Lee took the branch and started carving.

"I guess I'll have to go farther in." TenTen waded farther into the ocean. Still no fish. She sighed. It's past time for lunch, and she'd hardly caught anything. Oh, well. Let's head back and get some food ready. TenTen walked over to the pile of snow and stored the four fish that she had caught. She looked over the pile and withdrew a large rabbit. TenTen hated preparing these guys, hated it. But someone had to do it. She gutted it and skinned it and put it on a skewer. Soon the fire was set up and the rabbit was roasting. Luckily, everyone was already at camp, so she didn't have to call them for lunch.

"All right, guys, it's ready!" They gathered around the fire and ate their food. Suddenly, they heard a groaning.

"What the heck was that?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"Probably another person."

"I will go see." Lee darted off in the direction of the moaning. It took a while, but he finally found the source: Sasuke Uchiha. Without hesitation, Lee rushed him to the others.

Lee's Island, Part 9

Part 1 is here.

Part 9, in which water isn't that necessary and random coughing fits don't have to be plot-relevant.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Hey, TenTen! Did you get him?" TenTen sat down.

"Pretty much."

"We've started up the fire and everything," Sakura said, "We were waiting for you to come back before we started eating."

"Okay. What do we need the fire for?"

"Lee caught a big rabbit when he went back into the forest."

"Okay, cool. A nice, big meal tonight!" TenTen said, sitting down with the others.

"Yup." Sakura opened her canteen. "Uh-oh."

"What?"

"There's barely any water left in my canteen. Has anyone found a stream?"

"Not me."

"Nope."

"No." Sakura pondered for a moment. "Okay," she said, "Let's explore to see if there's a stream anywhere. There should be one, so let's find it."

"But what about the rabbit?"

"Let's just take it with us. I'm sure no one will mess with the campsite."

"Okay." Lee picked up the rabbit and followed the other ninja into the forest.

Sakura sighed. The Leaf Village ninja had been walking for barely less than an hour. "Have we found any yet?" she complained.

"Nope." Sakura groaned.

"Hey, guys? You can go back to camp. I will continue searching for the stream. You might as well relax if you are all feeling tired," Lee said.

"Oh, no, Lee. You must be exhausted, too!" Lee shrugged.

"Not really. You guys go ahead; I will keep going."

"Okay. Thanks, Lee!" The others returned to camp. Lee walked further into the forest.

"So, should we go ahead and eat some of our food?"

"Yeah. We'll save some for Lee. And we can keep his share of the rabbit warm over the fire." In agreement, the three ninja began their meal. It didn't take long for them to finish their share.

"That was pretty good, compared to having fish everyday!" TenTen said with a hint of humor in her voice.

"Yeah, definitely!" Sakura said, swallowing her last mouthful of rabbit. "I'll get some more wood for the fire." Sakura went into the cabin, picked up some logs, and headed back to the weakly burning campfire.

"Hey, guys!" Naruto, Sakura, and TenTen turned to see Lee walking out from the forest.

"Hey, Lee! Did you find any water?"

"Yes, I did! There's a huge stream in the middle of the forest! Does anyone want me to get more water for them?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Naruto said, sticking out his canteen.

"Naruto, you jerk! He's been out in the forest for an hour at least, and you want him to go back just for a little water?!"

"Sorry sorry sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Sakura chuckled softly.

"You don't have to get anything tonight, Lee. Here, we saved you some food."

"Thanks." Lee sat down and started eating.

"I'm tired," Sakura said with a yawn.

"Go ahead in," TenTen said. "We'll be fine." Sakura walked into the cabin. Naruto soon followed.

"Hey, Lee," TenTen said, seeing him finish his rabbit, "you can go ahead and sleep. I'll take first watch."

"Okay, TenTen." Lee walked into the cabin while TenTen put up the cooking utensils.

Soon enough, the night passed. Lee awoke to smell something on the fire. He walked outside.

"Hey, Sakura. What are you making?"

"Squirrel. And we had some ivy left over, so I powdered it and spread it over our breakfast." Suddenly, Sakura started coughing.

"Sakura, are you all right?"

"I'm fi-" She coughed again. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Ye-" She started coughing violently.

"Sakura!"

"What's going on?" Naruto said, walking out of the cabin.

"Something's wrong with Sakura!"

"What?" Naruto said. Sakura started coughing again, and she winced from the pain.

"Sakura, you should probably go back into the cabin and get some more rest. I am sure that TenTen can finish the cooking."

"Okay," she coughed again, "I'll go." She walked into the wooden house as TenTen walked out.

"What happened?"

"Sakura's coughing a lot. Bushy Brow told her to go back into the cabin."

"So what'd she cook?"

"She said it is squirrel with some of the ivy on it. She also said that she was not finished, and that you would be able to finish it." TenTen looked a the squirrel.

"Yeah, I can finish this up." She kneeled down and slowly spun the little animal on the skewer stick.

"It's almost done. We'll just have to wait a little bit longer." They heard Sakura cough again.

"I hope she will be okay," Lee said softly. The three ninja waited.

"Okay, guys, I think it's ready," TenTen said, pulling the squirrel off of the skewer. She put it on a plate and got out the utensils.

"I'll get an equal share for all of us. Lee, take Sakura's to her." She sliced off a fourth of the squirrel, put it on a plate, and handed it to Lee, who nodded and walked into the cabin.

"Naruto, here's yours," she said, handing him another plate, "this one's Lee's, and this part's mine." They started eating. When the meal was over, Lee gathered all of the canteens and sped into the forest.

"I just have to find that stream," he said, darting through the forest. He slowed, spotting the sparkling water. He knelt down, filled the canteens, strapped them on tight, and ran back to camp.

TenTen cut another notch into the wall by her loft.

"It's been five days now," she said softly as to not arouse Sakura. TenTen fell back on her makeshift bed.

"I wonder how long we'll be here? Who will rescue us? Will we be stranded here forever?" She sighed.

"Oh, well." She closed her eyes and heard Lee arrive outside.

"You got the canteens filled? Good; I'm thirsty." TenTen got her canteen from Lee and took a big drink.

"Is it just me, or is it cold today?" she said, wiping some water from her lips.

"Colder than it has been," Lee replied. TenTen shivered.

"Of all the times to be wearing a no-sleeved shirt..." A gust of icy wind fluttered the trees' leaves.

"I guess summer must be coming to an end."

"Well, I'm going to go inside for a while," TenTen said. She walked into the cabin.

"Is there anything to do around here?" Naruto asked.

"Not much. You could always spar with me." Naruto backed away.

"No thanks!" Lee laughed.

"Wow. We've been here for a while," TenTen said to herself, cutting the thirtieth notch next to her bed.

"Oh, good, you're already awake. It's your shift," Sakura whispered.

"Okay." She climbed down from her loft and headed outside. She took in a deep breath of the frigid night air and sighed. When was this grass ninja going to leave them alone? They'd have to keep doing shifts until they knew he was gone for good. The freezing cold around her made her shiver. She sighed again. At least Sakura's coughing had gone away. Luckily, it wasn't very serious and had faded away. TenTen walked around, trying not to crunch the leaves underfoot. There just isn't much to do here, especially if you're trying to not wake anyone up, she thought. The island was either boring or dangerous. When there's nothing to do, Lee would train the entire day, Sakura would find food for the next meal, Naruto would sit there and complain, and she just waded in the water and thought. Soon the sun rose through the clouds in a burst of vivid colors.

"Guess it's time to make breakfast." TenTen walked over to the pile of snow where extra food was kept. She grabbed a bird and walked over to the firepit to start a fire. She heard a yawn from the cabin and, soon after, Lee walked out.

"Good morning, TenTen. Do you need any help?"

"No, I've got it," she said, using the stick in her hands to spark the fire. She put the bird, which had already been prepared to cook by Sakura, on a skewer and placed it over the fire.

"All right." Lee walked into the forest for some early-morning training. TenTen sighed. It couldn't be healthy to train that much! She wondered if she should stop him when Sakura came out of the cabin.

"Morning, Sakura. Why are you up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep last night at all. You know how loud Lee snores?" TenTen laughed.

"Yeah. I guess we just have to live with it!"

"Yeah. So, any special plans for today?"

"Not that I know of. I might try to get Lee doing something else."

"Why?"

"I don't think it's a good idea to train every second you get. It just can't be healthy! Got any ideas on what we could occupy him with?"

"Well, he did do a good job on the utensils. Maybe he could start carving wood? Or collecting firewood?"

"Those are good ideas. Speaking of firewood, could you fetch me some? This flame's going out."

"Sure." Sakura went inside the cabin. TenTen heard a clatter from inside.

"Sakura? Everything okay?" She walked after Sakura. Logs were spread out all over the floor.

"Yeah, everything's just fine."

"This isn't just fine! Waking me up like that!"

"Sorry, Naruto." Sakura rolled her eyes. "But, yeah, it's okay. I just dropped some of the wood, and everything came tumbling down."

"Okay, I'll help you put it up once the fire's going strong." TenTen picked up a couple of logs.

"I can see why you dropped them! They're pretty heavy." She walked out the door and fed the fire.

Just a while afterwards, the bird was cooked and prepared.

"All right guys, food's ready!" she called. Naruto came rushing in, soon followed by Sakura. They started to eat their shares.

"Isn't Lee coming?"

"I guess he didn't hear me. I'll go get him." TenTen set her food down and headed to the forest.

"Oh, and Sakura?"

"Yes?"

"Make sure Naruto doesn't eat my share!"

"Lee? Breakfast is ready!"

"Oh, okay. Let's go." TenTen saw Lee push aside some brush to meet her. They walked to camp for breakfast.

Lee's Island, Part 8

(The first part of my first fan fiction can be found here.)

Part 8, in which the weary take to yelling a lot and villains aren't really that important.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Lee, you awake?" TenTen whispered, peeking through the doorway. Lee was still sound asleep. "He's still sleeping like a log," TenTen said, exasperated. "What's the big deal?" Naruto asked. He cupped his hands over his mouth.

"Hey, Bushy Brow! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Lee sat up. He jumped down immediately. "What happened to Sakura?!"

"She was attacked by a leopard. She'll be okay, but we should bandage her up so that she doesn't get an infection," TenTen said.

"Okay. Here, we can use some of my bandages." Lee started to unravel the cloth around his left arm. Rock Lee unwound the bandage until his hand and half of his forearm, which were badly bruised and battered, were bare. "Let me handle her. I will set her on her bed." They handed Sakura over to Lee, who carried her up to her bed. He took his bandages and broke them apart as necessary to cover Sakura's wounds.

"Got them on. I will leave her on her bed to rest. In the meantime," he said, landing gently on the cabin floor, "I have another idea."

"Okay," TenTen replied, "I'll stay here and watch after Sakura." Lee headed off and TenTen stayed. Naruto tapped his foot. "Well? What am I supposed to do?!"

"Whatever. Just don't get yourself killed."

"Fine." Naruto walked off and entered the forest.

"Well, this is boring." Naruto was sitting against a tree. "There has to be something to do around here!" He groaned. "Hey! I know! I'll climb some trees the way Kakashi-Sensei taught me to!" Naruto made the Hitsuji sign with his hands. Soon, his feet were glowing with chakra. He set off onto the tree he was sitting against just moments earlier. He walked up the tree, not using his hands at all. He groaned.

"This isn't any fun either!" He lost his focus and tumbled down the tree trunk. Naruto rolled around, grasping his injured head.

"Oww!!"

"Almost done," Lee said, carving another section out of the wood. "Okay, that one's done. Hmm, I wonder if we will need a spoon?" He looked down at the recently made spatula, knife, spear, and double-pronged fork.

"Might as well." Lee grabbed another chunk of wood and began to whittle away.

TenTen looked down at Sakura.

"I hope you don't get an infection. We wouldn't know what to do." 
Sakura stirred.

"Huh? What's going on?"

"You were attacked by that leopard again. He clawed you pretty badly."

"Oh," Sakura said, looking at her arms. "Where did you get the bandages?"

"They're Lee's."

"Really? Huh."

After finally recovering from his head injury, Naruto headed back to camp. "Hey, Sakura! You okay?" He called, seeing Sakura sitting up.

"I guess."

"So where did Bushy Brow go to?" TenTen looked around. "I'm not sure," she said. Then Lee came through the brush with a load on his back.

"Hey, Lee! So what were you doing?"

"Take a look," said Rock Lee, setting his pack on the ground.

"All right. This should make cooking things a little easier. And speaking of which, I'm pretty hungry. Want me to get some fish?"

"Aw! But we had fish for breakfast!"

"Stop complaining, Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

"He has a point, though," TenTen said. "We've had nothing but fish for the whole time we've been here. I'm not sure what else there is, though."

"Mmm-hmm. See, Sakura! I was right!"

"Naruto!" Sakura whacked him. "Owowowowow!!" TenTen sighed. "Wait a second," Lee said. "What about the forest? We found some edible fruits there!"

"Yeah, edible fruits that taste like-"

"That's beside the point, Naruto. Anyway, there's probably some more edible fruit in the forest. Some that taste more... Appealing. Here, I'll get my scroll, and you two can go get some fruit for all of us. TenTen, you stay here."

"But Sakura," Lee said, "do you think I would make a better guard? I mean no offense to TenTen, but you are low on chakra, after all. The times Naruto and I left you two, you both were attacked and..." Lee trailed off.

"That is a good point," TenTen said. "Okay, Sakura, how about Naruto and I go find food and Lee stays with you?"

"Wait a minute! Are you guys saying Bushy Brow makes a better guard than me?! I wanna guard Sakura!"

"Well..." Sakura pondered as Lee and Naruto argued. "Ugh." TenTen said. All of this is giving me a headache, she thought.

"Okay, listen up!" Lee and Naruto stopped as TenTen continued. "Nobody gets any food until one of you backs down. So who's it going to be?" Naruto looked at Rock Lee and he looked back. "I'm not backing down! Believe it!"

"Okay, fine. Naruto, you can stay here. I will go." Naruto jumped around yelling. TenTen sighed.

"At least settle down first!" Naruto chuckled.

"Sorry, TenTen." Lee and TenTen headed for the forest.

"Okay, what should we look for, TenTen?" TenTen looked over Sakura's survival scroll. "Hmmm..." she said, looking at the descriptions of edible plants.

"Let's look for this one," she said, pointing at a paragraph. "It looks like it might be easy to spot." Lee read the description out loud. "An ivy with bright purple leaves. I have had those before!"

"Really? Do you know where you found the vines?"

"Eh, no, not really. I ate all that I found."

"Ugh. Okay, let's start looking."

"Naruto! One more word and you're out of here!" Sakura yelled.

"Okay, fine." Naruto stood watch over Sakura silently. Sakura closed her eyes. A breeze blew on her for a moment. Then she realized she was still in the hut. She jumped up. Naruto was nowhere to be seen. "Naruto?" she called. An eerie silence arose.

"Naruto!"

"I found it, TenTen!" Lee shouted.

"Coming!" TenTen walked up to the ivy that Lee had found. "Yep, that's it all right! So just peel off some of it, and we'll bring in to the cabin." Lee and TenTen gathered the ivy and headed back to camp.

"Guys? We found some food!" TenTen said, walking into the cabin. "Hey, Sakura? Where did Naruto go?"

"He disappeared." Lee and TenTen gasped. "What?!" TenTen said. "What happened?!"

"I just closed my eyes, I felt someone rush by, and when I opened my eyes, Naruto was gone." Sakura sighed.

"I wonder if it's that grass ninja again?" TenTen muttered. "Okay, guys," she said louder, "I'm going to go check and see if I can find Naruto. Lee, you make sure nobody attacks Sakura." Lee nodded.

"I'll see you later," TenTen said, securing her kunai pack to her leg.

"Bye, TenTen. Be careful."

"Hey! Let me outta here!" Naruto yelled.

"Shut up!" came a voice from outside the bag.

"And stop kicking me!" Naruto yelled even louder. "Oof!" Naruto grunted, falling on the ground. He heard his captivator scream. I'm busting out of here, he thought. He kicked and squirmed around. Suddenly, the top of the bag was sliced off.

"Huh?" Naruto looked up. "Hey, TenTen!"

"Come on, Naruto. You get back to camp. I'll take care of this guy." TenTen said.

"Okay, you got it! Believe it!" Naruto ran off towards camp.

"Well, if it isn't Mrs. Weaponmaker! It's finally time for revenge!"

"I don't think so!" TenTen said, forming hand signs.

"That won't work once I use my..." He paused to make hand signs, "Metal repel jutsu!"

"You think so?" TenTen responded. She jumped up in the air with her scrolls saying, "Rising Twin Dragons!" The grass ninja smirked. It'll never work, he thought. Suddenly, weapons were falling upon him.

"What? How could you do that?!"

"No problem. All I had to do was summon weapons made of something other than steel; in this case, wood." The grass ninja screamed, one last kunai falling on him, and TenTen walked off.

Lee's Island, Part 7

(The first part of my oldest fan fiction can be found here.)

In which exclamation points cannot possibly be overused and Naruto thinks he's really funny.

Also, happy (American) Pi Day!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sakura yawned. It was morning at last, and she had just now woken up. It didn't take long for her to notice that Lee wasn't there. She got out of the tent and stared at what Lee had worked on all night.

It was another hut, though nowhere near as shabby. Lee had cut down a lot of trees and made a log cabin! Sakura walked up to it and looked inside. It had a main room and four lofts for sleeping. The ground was covered up with strips of bark that were somehow connected. There were a couple of wooden chairs covered with cushy leaves. There was even a pile of firewood, neatly stacked into a pyramid, to use to cook meals. Sakura was amazed. She then looked more carefully at the lofts and saw Lee sleeping on his leaf, which he had brought with him. Sakura was about to say, "Wow, Lee, this is amazing!", but she thought he had done all this hard work and should have some rest. She went back outside, where the sun was shining brightly, and kunaied some fish for breakfast. 

"Time for breakfast, everyone!" she said. The fish were completely finished, and Sakura had even added some spices, edible of course, to their meal. "I'm up, I'm up," Naruto mumbled. He was still on his leaf. Finally, he got up. He walked out of the tent and gaped at the cabin.

"What the heck is this?!" He walked over to the leafy door where Sakura was with the fish. "Neat, isn't it?" she said. "Lee made it overnight." Naruto's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. "Seriously?!"

"That's what it looks like. He's still asleep, on that loft right there." Naruto bended over and grabbed a fish. "Huh. Hey, this is good fish! What'd you do?" Naruto grabbed another when he finished.

"I put some spices I made in it. Hey, leave some for Lee!"

"Hey, you snooze, you lose!" Naruto rolled around laughing. "Get it? Snooze? Because he's asleep?" Naruto kept on laughing. "Come on! Get it? Get it? Get it? Get it get it get it?" Sakura sighed. "I get it perfectly well, Naruto. It's just not very funny." Naruto stopped laughing and moaned. TenTen arrived. "Wow, who did all this?"

"Lee. He's asleep up there now."

"Huh." TenTen sat down and started eating her breakfast. "Hey, Sakura," she said, munching, "what'd you put in here? It's better than the ones I made."

"Oh, nothing really. I just thought to make some spices for it, and I found suitable materials on the island."

Eventually, Rock Lee woke up. "Hey, everybody," he said drowsily. "Do you like it?"

"Like it, no. I love it! It's so much better than that poor excuse for a hut we slept in last night!"

"Thanks," Lee said. "Time for breakfast, I guess?"

"If you want some," Sakura said. 

"I am pretty hungry," he replied. "Why not?" He grabbed a fish and chomped down on it. "These are the best yet! Sakura, did you cook these?"

"What do you mean by that?!" TenTen yelled. 

"Uh, nothing?"

"You'd better mean nothing!" Sakura and Naruto started laughing, and eventually, so did TenTen and Lee. 

"Ugh. I do not feel so good all of a sudden," Lee said, sitting down.

"Must not be the fish. I feel fine."

"Maybe you should go back to sleep. You did stay up all night building this."

"It did not take all night, but I do feel a little sleepy. Why not?" Jaws dropped. "It didn't even take you all night?!"

"No," Lee said, climbing up to his loft, "It was still dark when I finished. I am going to go ahead and take a nap." He set himself down on his leaf and was soon snoring. You'd think he would wake himself up snoring that loud! Cha! Sakura thought.

"Okay, I'm finished. How about you guys?"

"I'm pretty much done, too. How about you, Naruto?"

"Well, we ran out of fish." Sakura stared dumbfounded at the now-empty bark bowl. "So, yeah, I guess I'm good."

"What should we do now?"

"How about target practice?" TenTen replied. "No way!" Naruto yelled. "That's boring!"

"Naruto! Shush! Lee's asleep, remember?"

"It's hard to forget," Naruto mumbled, "when he snores that loud."

"Grrrrr..." Sakura growled. "Wait a sec. Did anyone else hear something?"

"I didn't," TenTen replied. Suddenly, a figure rushed out of the brush, pouncing on Sakura.

"Sakura!"

It was the leopard. Sakura, along with the big cat, was tumbling across the grassier area of the island. TenTen and Naruto sprinted after them. Sakura's shrieks of pain were somehow not enough to wake Lee up. Soon, the cat and Sakura stopped rolling. Naruto ran and yanked the leopard off of Sakura. He gaped at the many claw wounds Sakura now had. Without premonition, the cat turned in Naruto's grasp and pounced on him. The boy screamed, claws digging into his skin. Naruto struggled, attempting to pull the leopard off of him, when suddenly, it fell limp. Panting, he looked at the cat. A kunai had struck it in the heart. Naruto threw its body to the ocean.

"What happened?"

"It attacked you, so I threw a kunai at it."

"Oh, okay. Thanks, TenTen."

"No problem. Is Sakura okay?"

"I don't know." TenTen sighed. "Here, I'll check her pulse." TenTen knelt down and did so. "She's fine," TenTen said, "but we need to doctor her so she won't get an infection. Do you have any bandages?"

"Nope. You?"

"None here. Do you think Lee might have some to spare?"

"Yeah, if we can wake him up!" Naruto started laughing.

"Okay, help me carry her back to camp." TenTen and Naruto picked Sakura up and headed to the cabin.

Lee's Island, Part 6

[The madness begins here.]

Part 6, in which the orphaned dialogue epidemic continues and readers can *probably* deduce who my least favourite character was.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"TenTen? Are you awake?" Sakura bent down into the tent. "Uh-huh," TenTen replied. She was staring out into one of the cracks in the tent. "I think it's going to rain today," she said. "Huh. I didn't notice all of those clouds," Sakura said. "If it is going to rain," she continued, "we'll need to cover up these gaps in the tent."

"Hey, guys?" TenTen responded. "Where did you find these giant leaves? We could use some more." Lee pondered for a moment. "Somewhere on the edge of the forest."

"Okay, everyone, let's go find some more."

"So, should we stay together or split up?" TenTen asked. "Definitely stay together," Sakura said. "If something attacks one of us, we'll need each other's help. Especially since TenTen is low on chakra."

"Are we agreed?"

"Yes."

"Yup."

"Uh-huh."

"Then let's go." The four Leaf Village ninja walked to the forest.

"Found them yet?" TenTen said.

"Nope."

"Nothing."

"I didn't find them, but these might do!" Everyone rushed over to where Sakura was standing. She was holding up some long strips of peeled bark. "They seem pretty waterproof," said Sakura. TenTen walked up and felt the bark. "Works for me. Let's head back." A boom split the air. "Uh-oh, everybody hurry! The storm is starting!" The ninja ran with shares of the bark. They reached their hut in no time. "Okay, come on, everybody! We need to secure the bark now!"

"Oh, no! We need some kelp to fasten it!"

"I got it!" Lee darted towards the shore. He returned in an instant with strands of kelp hanging from his fingertips. "You go ahead and secure it. I think I saw someone, so I will be right back," he said. "Okay, hurry, before the storm reaches us!" Sakura replied. Lee sprinted back to the shore.

He reached it shortly and realized his glimpse was correct: a boy was lying on the beach. Rock Lee gasped. It was Neji, and he wasn't breathing. "Neji? Neji? Neji!" No response, not even a breath. Then TenTen came over. "Oh my gosh, is that Neji?" Lee nodded. "And he is not breathing!"

"Have you checked his pulse?" Lee swallowed. "I am afraid to," he said.

"Here, I'll do it." TenTen placed her hand on Neji's neck. She drew back quickly. "He has no pulse!"

"No," Lee said. "I never got the chance to defeat him." TenTen sighed. "Well, I guess there's nothing we can do."

"Guys? You okay?" Sakura had joined the lineup. "Yeah," TenTen said, "but we can't say the same for Neji." Sakura looked at the Hyuga lying still on the ground. "Oh, no," she said. Lee looked up at her. "He is not breathing and he has no pulse. There's no way he will make it through the storm." There was a moment of silence. "Wait," Sakura said, "I have an idea."

"What?"

"Remember that one girl? The one that helped TenTen? Maybe she could help."

"Oh, yeah! What was her name now?"

"It was Kikesu. Kikesu! Kikesu! Kikesu!" Sakura yelled into the air. "Yes?" called a voice from the rain. "Kikesu! We need your help. Can you revive Neji?" Kikesu appeared suddenly and examined the boy. "I'm sorry, I can't help him."

"What?!" yelled the three Leaf Village ninja. "Why not?"

"Do you remember when I said that I had to leave and save someone worthy?" Sakura replied, "Yes. Why?"

"Here's the thing: My abilities in the healing area are great, but to revive someone takes much energy. I can draw chakra from various places, but with the great amount of people that need saving," she inhaled,"My twin and I can't possibly revive them all. So my sister and I decided on rules for whom to save. Only the purest of heart, with no hint of evil in them, can be saved."

"You mean, Neji..." Sakura trailed off.

"Yes. He has far too much evil residing in him. If I use my chakra to revive him, I will not be able to revive the next person in need. And if it turns out that that person could have saved the world and Neji destroys it, everything will be in vain."

"Neji's not that bad!" TenTen yelled angrily.

"You can never tell when that much darkness is there as a child. Even if he is on the right side now, there's no way to tell where he will be later on."

"Please, can't you bend the rules just this once?" Tears brimmed in TenTen's eyes.

"I'm sorry, there's no way I can. So I must bid you farewell. May luck be with you." And just like that, Kikesu disappeared into the rain. "It is getting a lot harder; maybe we should go back in." Sakura sniffled. "Okay, let's go. Naruto's probably going nuts by now!" They ran back to their makeshift hut.

"Finally! It took you forever! What happened, anyway?" Naruto said. "It was Neji. And he..." Sakura paused.

"What?"

"Died." Naruto jumped straight up. "What?! You mean Neji-"

"Shut up! All of you!" TenTen's voice was shaking. "Don't say anything else about it! Just let the rain wash him away and let us be rid of the memory."

"Sheesh," Naruto muttered. "Hey, will someone get something to eat?"

"Naruto, I am as hungry as you are."

"Fat chance!" Rock Lee and Naruto were snarling at each other. "Hey, quit it, both of you! Can't you see TenTen needs a little peace right now?!" TenTen rolled over on her leaf. "Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to rest for a minute. Not much we can do when it's raining."

"Mmm-k. Hey Sakura, want to-"

"Don't want to hear it, Naruto! Besides, TenTen's right. We should all rest while we can."

"Okay, fine," Naruto grumbled. "Aw, man, not you, too, Bushy Brow?!"

"Naruto, just shut up so we can all sleep," Sakura said. Naruto mumbled continuously under his breath.

"Naruto!"

"Fine! I'll be quiet! See if I care!" Naruto crossed his arms, facing away from the others. A couple of moments passed.

"Finally!"

"What?! You mean this was your plan all along?!"

"Naruto!" Sakura jumped up and whacked him upside the head.

"Come on, Naruto, you probably need rest whether you think so or not."

"Okay, whatever. Just don't snore this time."

"All of you just shut up," TenTen said. Eventually, all of the Leaf ninja were asleep in their makeshift hut.

Lee was the first to wake up. By then it had stopped raining. He yawned and walked out of the tent. The sand was wet, and the night had come. "I guess I will do my shift first," he said. "I sure could use something to eat, though. I wonder if there is any more of that purple ivy? No, I shouldn't. They could be poisonous. Maybe I could catch some fish?" He sighed. "I couldn't get anything to spark if I catch one. Is there anything to eat around here?!" His stomach grumbled loudly, and he groaned. "There has to be something to eat. Maybe I could sneak in and look at Sakura's scroll to find something that isn't poisonous. Yeah, I'll try that." He walked quietly into the hut and looked around for the survival scroll. He grabbed it and walked into the forest."Okay, I shall find something to eat," he said, opening up the scroll. He walked around the grove looking at the plants in the scroll and the ones in front of him. "Yes!" he said, coming across a tree that had red leaves with pointed tips, three on each leaf, and bore small yellow fruits. "And only the fruits are edible," he read. "Well, I will try them out." He plucked one of the fruits from the tree and bit into it. "This tastes horrible!" he said."Who cares? I am starving!" He ate fruit after fruit until he was satisfied. "Blech! That tasted awful, but it was worth it!" He walked back to the shack and took watch.

As anyone could predict, Naruto's stomach woke him up next. "Man, I'm hungry," he grumbled. Naruto walked outside where Lee was doing squats. Naruto crept up behind Lee, so close he could hear Lee saying One-thirty-one. One-thirty-two.

"Hey, Bushy Brow, what are you doing out here?" Lee jumped at Naruto's arrival. "Oh, nothing, really. I woke up, so I thought I would take first watch."

"Is there anything to eat around here?"

"Uh-huh. I found these fruits that taste-" He stopped and smiled. "Really great! You want some?"

"Yeah! Where are they?"

"Follow me!" Lee led Naruto to the spot where he had found the awful tasting fruit. "Here they are!" he said with a grin.

"All right!" Naruto grabbed a bunch of them and crammed them into his mouth. He instantly spat them out. "Hey! I thought you said these tasted good!" Lee was laughing hard.

"Sorry, Naruto, I could not help it. By the way, they were the only edible ones I could find. Enjoy!" he said with a snicker. Lee walked back to the natural house. Naruto walked back and went to sleep.

"I have an idea," Lee said to himself. He then labored away at a secret project.

Lee's Island, Part 5

(Part 1 is here.)

Part 5: in which passage of time just kind of happens and Lee is the only one who can save the day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rock Lee walked through the forest. "Hmm, I need some sort of container. Maybe a leaf? No, that might absorb the water. Hmm, what could I use? Maybe tree bark? Yes, that will work." Lee said, beginning to search for the right shape of tree bark. A little later, he found the perfect one.

"Yes! This will definitely work! Now all I need to do is get some seawater!" Lee, with a sturdy hold on the bark, ran towards the shoreline. He scooped some water into it and walked to the others, who were not far away.

"Here it is!"

"Great! That'll work perfectly! Just set it on this little grid of sticks. Do it gently, though. We don't want it to break."

"Yes, Ma'am!" Lee set the bark bowl down on the sticks and TenTen placed three of the fish she and Sakura had caught. A loud sizzling sound came from the bowl as the fish broiled. "It smells really good," Naruto said.

"Sure does!" The sizzling sound quieted. "Okay, guys, these are ready! Go ahead and take your pick and I'll cook the next three." Naruto and Rock Lee quickly grabbed two of them. "TenTen, you go ahead. I'll cook the next ones for you," Sakura said. "Thanks," TenTen said, fetching the third fish. Later, the four were finished. "Man, I'm bushed," Sakura said. "I'm going to sleep. Who takes first shift?"

"I'll do it."

"Okay, TenTen, go ahead." Sakura yawned. "See you in a couple of hours."

"See ya," the others said in unison. Sakura walked into the tent. "Okay, there's nothing left to do. I shall go ahead and sleep, too. See you later!" Lee followed Sakura into the leafshod tent. "Okay, this is boring. See ya, TenTen." Naruto ran into the tent.

"Night, guys."

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled. It was her shift, and she was being attacked.

Naruto groaned, rubbing his eyes. "What?" he mumbled, obviously aggravated from being waken up so early. "Naruto!" This time Sakura added a scream. "Sakura? Are you okay?" He ran out into the morning. Sakura wasn't there. "Sakura!" Naruto ran into the trees nearby, hoping to find her. He did.

Sakura was crouched against a tree, trying desperately to defend herself. She looked incredibly beaten up. In front of her was the ninja she had encountered earlier. "Now I can have a little sweet revenge! Where is she for the last time?!"

"I won't tell you!"

"You'd better tell me!" The boy held his Demon Wind shuriken at her neck. "Now talk!" Suddenly a kunai whizzed by him. "Looks like I came just in time! Believe it!" Naruto said.

"You annoying little brat!" yelled the other boy. "If you think you can save her, you're wrong! Besides," he said, holding his giant shuriken a little closer to Sakura's neck, "I have the upper hand here! One move and the girl dies!" Sakura gave a little whimper. "You'd better back away from Sakura!"

"Or what?"

"Or you'll take a beating, that's what!" The other ninja grinned. "Why don't you try?"

"Glad to! Believe it!" Naruto drew another kunai and ran towards the kidnapper. "Your weapons won't work! Metal Repel Jutsu!" he said, making a couple of hand signs. Naruto immediately fell back. "What the?" The ninja chuckled. "Since you're holding something made of metal, you can't touch me! You can't throw anything at me either!"

"And you didn't do this before because..."

"Um, heh?" Naruto groaned. What kind of idiot is this guy? he thought. "Well, whatever! I don't need kunai! Believe it!" He rushed at the ninja, his arm back and ready for a punch. The grass ninja jumped up just barely enough to dodge his attack. Suddenly, when the ninja made his descent, Naruto started to move back, nudged by invisible hands.

"What the? I don't have any kunai! How is it still working?!" The grass ninja cackled a bit. "It appears you have a zipper on your clothes; that's enough to not let you touch me!" All of a sudden, a whoosh came from behind them. "Huh? What was that?" Then a figure came, its outlines blurred by its speed, and knocked the grass ninja fifteen feet away.

"Lee!" Sakura yelled, relieved. The grass ninja quickly got up. "What? You have your headband on! How could you get to me?!" Lee replied, "It was really not that hard. All I had to do was build up enough speed and I got through your defenses." Is he really THAT fast?! thought the grass ninja. He backed away, stunned. "Sakura, could you hold this for a minute?" said Rock Lee, who had taken his headband off of his waist and extended it towards Sakura. "This way I will not have to waste any time building up speed."

"Sure." Sakura took Lee's headband, an instant before Lee darted towards the grass ninja. When he got there--in a matter of seconds--he kicked the ninja in the stomach, knocking him out of sight. "Go, Lee!" Sakura yelled. Rock Lee now stood before her. "May I have my headband back now, Sakura?"

"Okay, sure," she said, returning it to Lee. "Thanks," he said, wrapping it once again around his waist. "Can we get something to eat? I am starved!" Sakura giggled. "Alright, we'll get some food! Let's go find TenTen. She'll be able to catch some fish for us." The three ninja set off.

Lee's Island, Part 4

The beginning of the madness can be found here.

Part 4, in which the only character in a scene needs to be named several times and dire situations are easily forgotten.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I think we need to post watches," TenTen said. "Whoever or whatever attacked me might come back. I'll go first, then Sakura, then Naruto, and then Lee will go. Sound okay to you?"

"Yeah, it makes sense. Wake me up when it's my turn," Sakura said, yawning and walking to the shabby hut. "I don't want to go to sleep yet," Naruto said.

"You don't have to, but when Sakura's shift is over, you'll have to be awake or we might all die."

There was a moment of silence. "Uh, I don't want to die, believe it!" Naruto said.

"I don't either. I suggest you get to sleep while you can."

Naruto mumbled, "Okay, fine."

Naruto walked over to the hut where Sakura was snoring as softly as Lee was loudly. "How am I supposed to get to sleep with all this snoring?! Believe it!" Naruto lay down on his leaf, covering his ears. But he couldn't sleep. An hour passed, and Naruto was playing with his kunai, given up hope of sleeping. TenTen walked in and shook Sakura. "My turn already?" she said softly, getting up. "Naruto, quit playing! You should get some sleep while you can!" TenTen walked over to her leaf and went to sleep. Forget it, Naruto thought. I can stay awake if I want to, believe it. He continued to play with his kunai. An hour later, Sakura walked in. "Naruto?" she said. "It's your watch." Naruto got up and walked outside as Sakura walked into the shack. Naruto got to the shore and sat down. After a few minutes, he said, "Well, this sucks. This is boring! Believe it!" A couple of minutes later, Naruto lay on the shore asleep.

When he got up, the sun was high in the sky. "Okay, Bushy Brow, it's your shift! Believe it!" he yelled. He walked into the hut and looked around. No one was there. "Sakura? TenTen? Bushy Brow?" He said, looking around. He walked back outside and shouted their names into the air. No response. "Oh, great, everyone's gone." Naruto said. He walked to the shore and began to search the island. He walked into the forest and searched around, but suddenly stopped. A strange noise was coming from the top of one of the trees. Naruto looked up but saw nothing. He climbed up towards the noise. He reached the top, but Naruto Uzamaki saw nothing. Then he realized that the noise was coming from the next tree over. He jumped to the neighboring tree and looked around. The strange sound was much louder than before. "Hello? Anybody there?" he called. The noise seemed to grow louder each second. Naruto had to cover his ears. "What the heck is making that noise?!" he yelled, the noise still growing louder. "Forget it! I'm out of here, believe it!" he said, jumping through trees and out of the forest.

"Help!" Sakura screamed. She was right under a tree in the forest, bound and gagged. "Somebody help!" She was lying next to TenTen, who was also bound and gagged. Naruto and Lee weren't there. TenTen thought, Sakura, shut up. It's not like anybody's going to know it's you. Then the two girls heard someone. Someone who was headed straight towards them. The person arrived right in front of them. It was a boy, not much older than them. He had jet-black hair, blood-red eyes, and a Demon Wind Shuriken on his back. "Having fun, girls?" he said. "Not much!" Sakura replied unclearly. The boy chuckled. "So someone else is stranded here, hmm? Well, this is my island, and any tresspassers," he paused just long enough to draw the shuriken from his back, "will be killed." Sakura was squirming around, searching for an exit. My gosh, Sakura, TenTen thought, get ahold of yourself. The only way we can get out is if he lets us out, and I doubt that'll happen anytime soon. The boy unfolded his shuriken so it was at full size. He swung his arm back, ready for the kill. Then he fell down hard.

Rock Lee of the Village Hidden in the Leaves was there on his back. "Lee!" Sakura said, although no one could tell. Lee quickly ran over and untied her while the boy was down. It didn't take long for the kidnapper to recover, though. He stood up, readying his Demon Wind Shuriken, but it was in vain. Lee ran over to him, fast as lightning, and shot the shuriken five miles away. "That's it! You're all going down!" he yelled, making some hand signs. "Steel Forming Jutsu!" Suddenly, out of thin air, ten dozen shuriken appeared. Lee quickly freed TenTen while he had the chance. "You're not the only one who can make can make weapons appear!" TenTen said, taking out two scrolls. "Rising Twin Dragons!" She jumped into the air with the scrolls swirling around her. Out of the scrolls came various weapons, which TenTen threw at the kidnapper. The boy screamed, weapon after weapon falling upon him. Finally, TenTen jumped down and landed on a clear spot. A barely audible groan came from one pile of sharp objects. "Good to see your scrolls still work," Sakura said.

"You said it."

"Let's go before he gets up," Sakura said.

"Okay. I wonder where Naruto got to?"

Sakura sighed. "Who knows? He abandoned his post and somehow avoided that guy," she said. The three walked back to the hut where Naruto was waiting.

"Hey! There you are!" he called, seeing them approach. "What happened last night?" Sakura asked. "You fell asleep, didn't you?!"

"Uh, maybe," he said. "Naruto!!" Sakura jumped up and hit him on the head. Naruto groaned as Sakura yelled loudly at him. "Sakura, shut it. We'll need our energy for more important things," TenTen said. "Okay, fine." Thanks, TenTen, Naruto thought, rubbing his head.

"So what do we do now?"

"I guess we should go ahead and look for some lunch. Should we fish or try to find something in the forest?"

"Fish."

"Fish."

"Forest."

"Okay, we'll go ahead and fish then. Sorry, TenTen."

"That's okay." she said and headed towards the shore. TenTen started to throw kunai at swimming fish. "These are kind of hard to catch, though."

"Here, I'll help," Sakura said, walking up to her. "I'll need to borrow some kunai, though."

"No problem. I have plenty. Here you go," TenTen said, handing a couple of kunai to Sakura. "Thanks. Wow, these fish are pretty fast swimmers!"

"You said it. At least I have good aim!" Sakura laughed. "Yeah, yours is probably better than mine!"

"So what are we supposed to do?" Naruto asked.

"Well, Sakura and I have got the fishing covered. I guess you guys could do target practice or something."

"Okay, sure," Naruto said, walking over to a tree. He drew a target on it with a kunai, backed up, and started throwing kunai, sometimes missing the target completely. "I think I will do some squats," Lee said.

"Sure, whatever you want to." Lee started doing squats, counting each quietly. Soon Sakura asked TenTen, "Do you think this is enough?"

"Yeah, probably. But you never know when you're feeding boys." she said with a chuckle. "Good point!" Sakura said. "So can we eat now or what?" Naruto asked impatiently. "Not yet. We still have to gut them and fry them. Oh, that gives me an idea! Hey, Lee?" Rock Lee ran towards her. "Yes?"

"Do you think you could get us some ocean water and something to hold it in? It might make the fish taste better." Beginning to run into the forest, Rock Lee replied, "Sure! I'll be back!"