Lee arrives in Suna, pt 2. [completed]
Characters: Lee and Gaara [& a NPC or two]
Setting: Suna
Rating: PG-13?
Summary: Lee arrives in Suna and discovers the true nature of his mission...
Lee was a minute early for the promised half an hour meeting time; he'd located the key on the cabinet next to the entrance and placed all his belongings in some semblance of order before racing through the sun-drenched, golden avenue back to the Kazekage's building. He flung open the double doors, flew up the stairs, and - knocked quietly.
"Enter."
Gaara was sitting at his desk again, waiting for Lee to finish settling in and arrive back at the office. He had already changed out of the more formal style of clothing that he wore on a daily basis and into something that was much more comfortable and personal. The long robe was now replaced with a pale long sleeved tunic top and pants of the same shade, making his red locks stand out even more. He hadn't been quite sure what type of clothing was more appropriate to train in as far as taijutsu went, but training was training, and this is what he usually wore.
It would suit his purposes just fine.
Lee repeated his earlier ritual of entering, bowing - "Kazekage-sama." - and straightening up. He looked over Gaara's choice of apparel; as long as the clothes were easy to move around in - not those heavy robes - they would be fine.
In the back of his mind, Lee wondered why Gaara would choose now of all times to start practicing taijutsu. But he had a job to do; if they ever got any closer, Lee could talk to him then.
"How much time can you spend on training per day?" Lee asked; it would take more than a few hours if Gaara truly wanted to be proficient.
Pushing away from his desk, Gaara got up and walked until he was shoulder to shoulder with Lee, stood there for a moment, and then kept walking on, indicating that they would talk as they moved. "I have the rest of today to spend training since I didn't know how long you intended to work with me," he replied honestly. "Based on how today goes, I can give you about four hours every day, which is what I've been doing lately on my own. Will that be sufficient?" Their eventual destination would be the training grounds not too far from the office but enough distance away from any residences -- flat, dry land, but not so dry that sand and dust would inhibit them any. He liked this place.
"Sabaku no Gaara. That's my name, use that. We don't need formalities for training." He stopped -- both speaking and walking -- as soon as they had arrived. With a passing glance around the area, the red head scanned the grounds as if he hadn't been here in quite some time. He had been there recently, though, but never had he come here with someone before. He trained like he was accustomed to doing everything else. Alone. It was habit now, not out of causing fear or isolation.
There was nothing to regret, only to move forward. With help.
"Four hours is... adequate," Lee said, strolling next to Gaara. He was used to training for days at a time, but it would be best to proceed slowly at first, to avoid injury and exhaustion.
It wasn't a very long walk; when they reached the training grounds, Lee agreed to the Kazekage's request.
"Yes, Kaze- Gaara-sama." He rotated in a circle to survey the whole area; the grounds were just like everything else in Suna - covered thinly in dust and sand, bleak and barren and beautiful. He couldn't wait to find out if Suna's training posts were as sturdy as Konoha's (Gai-sensei, who could punch through just about anything, usually trained with reinforced posts if his team, or other jounin, were unavailable). Lee had stopped next to Gaara; now he turned his head and smiled. "Stretching, first, because it's dangerous to start any kind of training without warming up. We'll spar, just to see how much taijutsu you know, and then I'm going to test your strength and stamina. We'll move on from there." Lee's grin widened. "Any questions?"
"No." That being simply said, the red head lifted his arms out and gradually rolled his upper body downward, arching his back like a cat. He assumed that the stretching portion was entirely at his own discretion, and knew better than to attempt anything physical without being adequately limbered up. He then shifted his feet, making his stance a little wider and rolled off to one side, then the other. From here he switched over to some leg stretches; each position he held for several minutes until each movement of his body could flow into the next.
After nearly fifteen minutes he stood back up and turned to Lee. "I'm ready to begin now," he informed, thin arms still hanging at his sides with only half of his hands exposed; the sleeves covered the majority of his skin but hadn't yet interfered with any movement. "Show me." Gaara made no further change to his stance, nothing to indicate that he was about to fight. Not that he ever had a real fighting stance before. In his mind, he was remembering the handful of times that he'd actually seen the other male fight. Recalling his movements -- quick as they had been -- Lee hadn't been fast enough to compete with Gaara's sand, but then Lee had turned right around and somehow been able to land blows; the first one to ever hit him. Based on what he recalled of these displays of Lee's abilities, he would take nothing for granted and fight as hard as he could, determined to improve for his sake and the sake of the village he'd sworn to protect.
Lee had strayed about ten feet away to do his own exercises while waiting for Gaara, rotating his shoulders, waist, wrists, knees, and ankles, and finishing off with a sitting stretch on the ground. At the same time, he had been observing the Kazekage as a taijutsu user, gauging his form and limberness, mind racing to put together a schedule that would maximize the four hours they could spend a day. There were many things that would have to be done - strength, speed, flexibility, and endurance training, not to mention stretching, nutrition, and the actual katas themselves. He got up and nodded at Gaara's command, a smile playing on his lips. That had almost sounded like a challenge. Lee wasn't going to use his full speed, but that didn't mean he was going to underestimate Gaara either.
"As you wish."
The Kazekage was just standing there, though, no ready stance; Lee wondered just how much he knew about hand to hand combat. He was going to find out now.
Sand sprayed behind him as he darted forward; when he was within three feet of Gaara (that is, half a second later), Lee paused briefly to drop low on his left knee, turning so that Gaara faced his side; he balanced with his hands, torso held almost parallel to the ground, and his body simultaneously twisted to swing his right leg in a circular motion, attempting to sweep Gaara's legs out from under him.
It had been so long since Gaara had last seen Lee fight and was barely able to keep his movements within visual range; it was likely that Lee's 'fastest' had become his normal 'fast' at this point, and that he had progressed even further. Gaara's eyes dropped toward the ground, taking in his opponent's new level. The sudden change in height had only given him enough time to jump out of Lee's path and avoid being knocked to the ground, but only just. Not wanting to waste any opening, even if there wasn't much of one to take advantage of, the red head charged forward, pushing off of his left leg, hurling himself forward with considerable speed. His fist was pulled back, aiming directly for the chuunin's face.
Gaara's quick, Lee thought as his leg scuffed only sand, but he could be quicker. Lee's body was still twisting with the momentum of his kick when Gaara leapt away; he had just finished the spin when Gaara's punch pistoned towards his face. At his current speed, though, he wouldn't be able to hit him. Lee's left leg was like a spring; he pushed away at the sand and flipped over backwards, his hair fleetingly brushing the fist that struck where his head had been an instant ago. Lee's hands landed securely on the ground, and his legs sliced up to meet the body following through with the punch. They were going to have to work on Gaara's speed, oh yes.
The punch had missed its target; it wasn't much of a surprise though, considering that he was fighting someone highly skilled in taijutsu -- just what he wanted. Black-rimmed eyes widened as they watched the green-clad figure bend backwards and out of the way, widening even more when two legs came up out of nowhere and struck him in the shoulder and the side of the face. Gaara had no way to avoid the hit and he stumbled back from the impact, shrugging his shoulder and cracking his neck, ready to attack again.
Next time he would have to be quicker.
Rushing forward again, he hoped to catch Lee before his feet landed back on the ground. He caught up with him, positioning himself to take Lee off his feet, like he had almost had done to him earlier; there would only be a few seconds to act from the moment Lee's feet hit the ground until he was standing up securely on his feet. Wait for it. Gaara saw his chance -- and took it, sending his leg forcefully toward the back of Lee's knees.
Gaara was faster than Lee gave him credit for, as he was able to take the hit and immediately run behind Lee to kick him just as he rose from the crouch he'd dropped into. Gaara's leg slammed just above the back of Lee's knees, making him fall forward - but Lee used it. His arms shot out in front of him; his hands, fingers spread, hit the sand. His elbows bent, as did his knees. For the brief instant his legs remained above the ground, Lee clenched the muscles in his arms and pushed himself backwards forcefully, shooting his legs out behind him at the same time. If Gaara was still standing there, he was going to be in a world of pain; if not, Lee would land on his feet and be ready to face him. Or at least, that was the plan.
It was obvious that he was at a disadvantage here, but that bit of knowledge alone wasn't enough to make Gaara give up. Though they were only sparring, it was still a fight and fight he would. Out of habit, his hands came together, distracting him for a second, half-heartedly moving to form certain seals which would have normally handed victory over to him. Thin lips twisted into a scowl; out of pent-up anger and frustration directed at no one but himself, the red head pulled his hands apart immediately -- just at the right moment to open himself up to Lee's incoming attack. Realizing that he would be defenseless, he had no choice but to pull his arms back in to at least block if possible; Lee's kick pushed his arms against his chest before he could do it himself.
Grunting on impact, Gaara came to a full stop. There was weight pushing against him, pinning him, if only for a few seconds longer. He was breathing heavy, still growing accustomed to the toll of actual physical combat. Gathering some force, he pushed back against the resistance of Lee's impact, staggering as he did so. He would not give up.
Lee felt the soles of his feet collide - somewhere. It didn't feel like Gaara's face, which was good, because he hadn't been aiming there and definitely didn't want to kick the Kazekage's head in a practice spar. The surface he'd connected with wasn't soft, which meant Lee hadn't hit Gaara's stomach; it was either his chest, his back if he for some reason had turned, or his arms thrown up to defend himself. Lee fell onto his hands and flipped upright, turning in the air to land in a crouch, facing Gaara - just in time to see him stumble backwards, arms locked against his chest.
Lee stood up, eyeing him warily in case he decided to charge again. "We can stop now," he called, "Unless you want to continue." From the - how long had it been? - short time they'd sparred, Lee felt he could make a good assessment of Gaara's abilities.
Gaara looked contemplative. "I should have been able to block your attack sooner -- you were coming directly at me. I've been practicing on my own, but until there is someone that I can put those skills into practice with, all the training I've done is..." his voice grew quiet, getting lost in his own thoughts and putting them into words. "Useless. I'm still useless. I don't want to be. What Uzumaki Naruto has taught me, what you have taught me...I can't let it go to waste."
Blinking up at Lee intently, he continued; there were still many things that he wanted to share, being able to confide in someone other than Temari or Kankurou. He needed someone on the 'outside'. "When I am able to find myself a partner, I think my reputation keeps them from fighting with everything they have. Whether they're still afraid of me, that lingering fear, or if they don't wish to harm the Kazekage, something always holds them back. Don't hold back on me, Lee." Words and expression resolute, Gaara felt like his former self for a moment, though only by way of having a purpose to justify his existence and not letting anyone get in the way of it. The next time he had to kill, it would be to defend and not destroy just to satisfy his own bloodlust.
Lee had known that Gaara was taking this seriously; he just didn't know how seriously. It was intense.
Lee liked that.
Trying to learn anything without resolve was, as Gai-sensei had said, useless. Gaara had the resolve; all he needed now was time and practice, practice, practice. But asking Lee not to hold back on him? At his full speed, if Gaara didn't use his sand, Lee could probably do some heavy damage, based on what he'd seen a minute ago. Gaara wouldn't be able to learn anything if Lee didn't hold back in this early stage of their training. It was only the first day!
"Learning hand to hand combat takes a lot of time, Gaara," Lee said, forgetting the "-sama" at the end. "You shouldn't call yourself useless just because you couldn't block me. You have to believe in yourself, and keep going! I've been training my taijutsu for most of my life, while your specialty is sand jutsu, am I right? I'm not trying to brag or anything, but..." Lee paused; he didn't want to make any assumptions. "When did you start training your taijutsu, Gaara?"
"I've never had to use taijutsu before. I wasn't ever given a chance to learn it," he added, with a certain twinge of bitterness filling his voice. "No one wants a useless Kazekage. The point of holding that title is because you have been recognized as the strongest shinobi within your village, and are fit to protect it. I can't --" These words were coming quickly now; this was probably the most feeling that Gaara had ever let fill his words and he wasn't about to stop it; he was considerably still restrained. "I can't use it anymore."
This admission was something he never expected to reveal to anyone if it could be helped, let alone one out of many shinobi from an allied village. What purpose would it serve to let his ally know that he was weak? Normal? Human?
"I need other options now."
Lee took a small, sharp breath. Gaara couldn't use his sand jutsu anymore... that was...
Lee remembered it - a roaring avalanche of dirt and dust crashing onto the bone-user, a wave of sentient grains crushing his leg and arm...
Gaara without his sand was... unimaginable. But Lee had seen him -
"But I- when you shook Naruto-kun's hand, you lifted it up with some sand. I saw you."
More explanations were necessary, which meant revealing even more than Gaara was comfortable with. He would try.
"Yes, but I can't use it like I used to. What I used when I fought you, that was because of Shukaku's power: the sand shield, the deadly attacks. As a child, my father was displeased with my ability to manipulate the sand at the level he had hoped for, but I was the only one fit to host the bijuu. That was his way of making me stronger where I could not make myself." Gaara was most at ease when he had his arms crossing over his chest, and in doing so now, he was staring down Lee as he filled him in on all of this. "I didn't know then, with Naruto, because we weren't fighting. I just wanted to thank him in a simple way." Green eyes darted over to the other male, inspecting the arm and leg he had injured once upon a time. Those years past seemed even more distant than they actually were. Another lifetime. For Gaara, it literally was.
"Your arm and leg have healed well." He had no intent to change topics, but while they were on a related subject...
"...Yes, they have," Lee said slowly. Why was Gaara bringing that up? Lee still had the odd nightmare about that incident. "Tsunade-sama operated on me, and I had to take - well..." Lee didn't really want to go into that, lest Gaara think he was complaining. And talking to the guy (who was now his employer and sort-of friend) who'd nearly destroyed his life about how he recovered after nearly having his life destroyed was... Lee was over it, but it felt strange.
He met Gaara's stare with his own, one that was firm but not hard. He tried to get his mind back onto that previous topic - Gaara couldn't use those devastating sand attacks anymore...
Something was lingering in the air. Perhaps he should say something? But there was nothing he could think of to say that would automatically explain and fix things. Maybe Lee wouldn't want it.
Best to move on. "Enough of you have managed to change my life, to give me a new purpose. I can't afford to overlook anything. Do you understand now, Lee? Will you help me to protect my village?" The red head wasn't pleading, not with anyone, not by any means. What he did realize -- and not for the first time -- was that he could no longer be solitary in his desires.
“I… think I understand,” Lee said. He sort of got where Gaara was coming from. It sounded like he wanted to get stronger to protect those he cared about. Lee could certainly comprehend that. That was what he himself was always working towards. Furthermore, it wasn’t just that he wanted to get stronger - he had to, because he was the Kazekage. And it also sounded like he wanted to prove something to himself.
Lee’s face brightened. “And you don't even have to ask. Of course I'll help you. We’ll work on your taijutsu. But just to warn you, it’ll take time, unless you’re a genius, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t hit me, or anything. Don’t worry, I won’t hold back - I’ll work you to the ground," he said cheerfully, "Just... don't call yourself useless again, okay? Because you're not." Lee turned his eyes to the city looming nearby, and his voice quieted. "You died for them."
So now they had come to some sort of understanding. Relying on Lee, Gaara knew from previous experiences that he would be pushed to his limits -- limits that he might never have reached before, using only the bijuu's sand. This would be quite the challenge, but something about Lee's ever-present enthusiams was...reassuring. Encouraging. "This is my second chance. I want to do things right."
"Now," the red head said, moving off in a different direction, "I'm going to attack you again." And a second later, he went charging headlong, putting everything he had into the attack.
Hit or miss.
Setting: Suna
Rating: PG-13?
Summary: Lee arrives in Suna and discovers the true nature of his mission...
Lee was a minute early for the promised half an hour meeting time; he'd located the key on the cabinet next to the entrance and placed all his belongings in some semblance of order before racing through the sun-drenched, golden avenue back to the Kazekage's building. He flung open the double doors, flew up the stairs, and - knocked quietly.
"Enter."
Gaara was sitting at his desk again, waiting for Lee to finish settling in and arrive back at the office. He had already changed out of the more formal style of clothing that he wore on a daily basis and into something that was much more comfortable and personal. The long robe was now replaced with a pale long sleeved tunic top and pants of the same shade, making his red locks stand out even more. He hadn't been quite sure what type of clothing was more appropriate to train in as far as taijutsu went, but training was training, and this is what he usually wore.
It would suit his purposes just fine.
Lee repeated his earlier ritual of entering, bowing - "Kazekage-sama." - and straightening up. He looked over Gaara's choice of apparel; as long as the clothes were easy to move around in - not those heavy robes - they would be fine.
In the back of his mind, Lee wondered why Gaara would choose now of all times to start practicing taijutsu. But he had a job to do; if they ever got any closer, Lee could talk to him then.
"How much time can you spend on training per day?" Lee asked; it would take more than a few hours if Gaara truly wanted to be proficient.
Pushing away from his desk, Gaara got up and walked until he was shoulder to shoulder with Lee, stood there for a moment, and then kept walking on, indicating that they would talk as they moved. "I have the rest of today to spend training since I didn't know how long you intended to work with me," he replied honestly. "Based on how today goes, I can give you about four hours every day, which is what I've been doing lately on my own. Will that be sufficient?" Their eventual destination would be the training grounds not too far from the office but enough distance away from any residences -- flat, dry land, but not so dry that sand and dust would inhibit them any. He liked this place.
"Sabaku no Gaara. That's my name, use that. We don't need formalities for training." He stopped -- both speaking and walking -- as soon as they had arrived. With a passing glance around the area, the red head scanned the grounds as if he hadn't been here in quite some time. He had been there recently, though, but never had he come here with someone before. He trained like he was accustomed to doing everything else. Alone. It was habit now, not out of causing fear or isolation.
There was nothing to regret, only to move forward. With help.
"Four hours is... adequate," Lee said, strolling next to Gaara. He was used to training for days at a time, but it would be best to proceed slowly at first, to avoid injury and exhaustion.
It wasn't a very long walk; when they reached the training grounds, Lee agreed to the Kazekage's request.
"Yes, Kaze- Gaara-sama." He rotated in a circle to survey the whole area; the grounds were just like everything else in Suna - covered thinly in dust and sand, bleak and barren and beautiful. He couldn't wait to find out if Suna's training posts were as sturdy as Konoha's (Gai-sensei, who could punch through just about anything, usually trained with reinforced posts if his team, or other jounin, were unavailable). Lee had stopped next to Gaara; now he turned his head and smiled. "Stretching, first, because it's dangerous to start any kind of training without warming up. We'll spar, just to see how much taijutsu you know, and then I'm going to test your strength and stamina. We'll move on from there." Lee's grin widened. "Any questions?"
"No." That being simply said, the red head lifted his arms out and gradually rolled his upper body downward, arching his back like a cat. He assumed that the stretching portion was entirely at his own discretion, and knew better than to attempt anything physical without being adequately limbered up. He then shifted his feet, making his stance a little wider and rolled off to one side, then the other. From here he switched over to some leg stretches; each position he held for several minutes until each movement of his body could flow into the next.
After nearly fifteen minutes he stood back up and turned to Lee. "I'm ready to begin now," he informed, thin arms still hanging at his sides with only half of his hands exposed; the sleeves covered the majority of his skin but hadn't yet interfered with any movement. "Show me." Gaara made no further change to his stance, nothing to indicate that he was about to fight. Not that he ever had a real fighting stance before. In his mind, he was remembering the handful of times that he'd actually seen the other male fight. Recalling his movements -- quick as they had been -- Lee hadn't been fast enough to compete with Gaara's sand, but then Lee had turned right around and somehow been able to land blows; the first one to ever hit him. Based on what he recalled of these displays of Lee's abilities, he would take nothing for granted and fight as hard as he could, determined to improve for his sake and the sake of the village he'd sworn to protect.
Lee had strayed about ten feet away to do his own exercises while waiting for Gaara, rotating his shoulders, waist, wrists, knees, and ankles, and finishing off with a sitting stretch on the ground. At the same time, he had been observing the Kazekage as a taijutsu user, gauging his form and limberness, mind racing to put together a schedule that would maximize the four hours they could spend a day. There were many things that would have to be done - strength, speed, flexibility, and endurance training, not to mention stretching, nutrition, and the actual katas themselves. He got up and nodded at Gaara's command, a smile playing on his lips. That had almost sounded like a challenge. Lee wasn't going to use his full speed, but that didn't mean he was going to underestimate Gaara either.
"As you wish."
The Kazekage was just standing there, though, no ready stance; Lee wondered just how much he knew about hand to hand combat. He was going to find out now.
Sand sprayed behind him as he darted forward; when he was within three feet of Gaara (that is, half a second later), Lee paused briefly to drop low on his left knee, turning so that Gaara faced his side; he balanced with his hands, torso held almost parallel to the ground, and his body simultaneously twisted to swing his right leg in a circular motion, attempting to sweep Gaara's legs out from under him.
It had been so long since Gaara had last seen Lee fight and was barely able to keep his movements within visual range; it was likely that Lee's 'fastest' had become his normal 'fast' at this point, and that he had progressed even further. Gaara's eyes dropped toward the ground, taking in his opponent's new level. The sudden change in height had only given him enough time to jump out of Lee's path and avoid being knocked to the ground, but only just. Not wanting to waste any opening, even if there wasn't much of one to take advantage of, the red head charged forward, pushing off of his left leg, hurling himself forward with considerable speed. His fist was pulled back, aiming directly for the chuunin's face.
Gaara's quick, Lee thought as his leg scuffed only sand, but he could be quicker. Lee's body was still twisting with the momentum of his kick when Gaara leapt away; he had just finished the spin when Gaara's punch pistoned towards his face. At his current speed, though, he wouldn't be able to hit him. Lee's left leg was like a spring; he pushed away at the sand and flipped over backwards, his hair fleetingly brushing the fist that struck where his head had been an instant ago. Lee's hands landed securely on the ground, and his legs sliced up to meet the body following through with the punch. They were going to have to work on Gaara's speed, oh yes.
The punch had missed its target; it wasn't much of a surprise though, considering that he was fighting someone highly skilled in taijutsu -- just what he wanted. Black-rimmed eyes widened as they watched the green-clad figure bend backwards and out of the way, widening even more when two legs came up out of nowhere and struck him in the shoulder and the side of the face. Gaara had no way to avoid the hit and he stumbled back from the impact, shrugging his shoulder and cracking his neck, ready to attack again.
Next time he would have to be quicker.
Rushing forward again, he hoped to catch Lee before his feet landed back on the ground. He caught up with him, positioning himself to take Lee off his feet, like he had almost had done to him earlier; there would only be a few seconds to act from the moment Lee's feet hit the ground until he was standing up securely on his feet. Wait for it. Gaara saw his chance -- and took it, sending his leg forcefully toward the back of Lee's knees.
Gaara was faster than Lee gave him credit for, as he was able to take the hit and immediately run behind Lee to kick him just as he rose from the crouch he'd dropped into. Gaara's leg slammed just above the back of Lee's knees, making him fall forward - but Lee used it. His arms shot out in front of him; his hands, fingers spread, hit the sand. His elbows bent, as did his knees. For the brief instant his legs remained above the ground, Lee clenched the muscles in his arms and pushed himself backwards forcefully, shooting his legs out behind him at the same time. If Gaara was still standing there, he was going to be in a world of pain; if not, Lee would land on his feet and be ready to face him. Or at least, that was the plan.
It was obvious that he was at a disadvantage here, but that bit of knowledge alone wasn't enough to make Gaara give up. Though they were only sparring, it was still a fight and fight he would. Out of habit, his hands came together, distracting him for a second, half-heartedly moving to form certain seals which would have normally handed victory over to him. Thin lips twisted into a scowl; out of pent-up anger and frustration directed at no one but himself, the red head pulled his hands apart immediately -- just at the right moment to open himself up to Lee's incoming attack. Realizing that he would be defenseless, he had no choice but to pull his arms back in to at least block if possible; Lee's kick pushed his arms against his chest before he could do it himself.
Grunting on impact, Gaara came to a full stop. There was weight pushing against him, pinning him, if only for a few seconds longer. He was breathing heavy, still growing accustomed to the toll of actual physical combat. Gathering some force, he pushed back against the resistance of Lee's impact, staggering as he did so. He would not give up.
Lee felt the soles of his feet collide - somewhere. It didn't feel like Gaara's face, which was good, because he hadn't been aiming there and definitely didn't want to kick the Kazekage's head in a practice spar. The surface he'd connected with wasn't soft, which meant Lee hadn't hit Gaara's stomach; it was either his chest, his back if he for some reason had turned, or his arms thrown up to defend himself. Lee fell onto his hands and flipped upright, turning in the air to land in a crouch, facing Gaara - just in time to see him stumble backwards, arms locked against his chest.
Lee stood up, eyeing him warily in case he decided to charge again. "We can stop now," he called, "Unless you want to continue." From the - how long had it been? - short time they'd sparred, Lee felt he could make a good assessment of Gaara's abilities.
Gaara looked contemplative. "I should have been able to block your attack sooner -- you were coming directly at me. I've been practicing on my own, but until there is someone that I can put those skills into practice with, all the training I've done is..." his voice grew quiet, getting lost in his own thoughts and putting them into words. "Useless. I'm still useless. I don't want to be. What Uzumaki Naruto has taught me, what you have taught me...I can't let it go to waste."
Blinking up at Lee intently, he continued; there were still many things that he wanted to share, being able to confide in someone other than Temari or Kankurou. He needed someone on the 'outside'. "When I am able to find myself a partner, I think my reputation keeps them from fighting with everything they have. Whether they're still afraid of me, that lingering fear, or if they don't wish to harm the Kazekage, something always holds them back. Don't hold back on me, Lee." Words and expression resolute, Gaara felt like his former self for a moment, though only by way of having a purpose to justify his existence and not letting anyone get in the way of it. The next time he had to kill, it would be to defend and not destroy just to satisfy his own bloodlust.
Lee had known that Gaara was taking this seriously; he just didn't know how seriously. It was intense.
Lee liked that.
Trying to learn anything without resolve was, as Gai-sensei had said, useless. Gaara had the resolve; all he needed now was time and practice, practice, practice. But asking Lee not to hold back on him? At his full speed, if Gaara didn't use his sand, Lee could probably do some heavy damage, based on what he'd seen a minute ago. Gaara wouldn't be able to learn anything if Lee didn't hold back in this early stage of their training. It was only the first day!
"Learning hand to hand combat takes a lot of time, Gaara," Lee said, forgetting the "-sama" at the end. "You shouldn't call yourself useless just because you couldn't block me. You have to believe in yourself, and keep going! I've been training my taijutsu for most of my life, while your specialty is sand jutsu, am I right? I'm not trying to brag or anything, but..." Lee paused; he didn't want to make any assumptions. "When did you start training your taijutsu, Gaara?"
"I've never had to use taijutsu before. I wasn't ever given a chance to learn it," he added, with a certain twinge of bitterness filling his voice. "No one wants a useless Kazekage. The point of holding that title is because you have been recognized as the strongest shinobi within your village, and are fit to protect it. I can't --" These words were coming quickly now; this was probably the most feeling that Gaara had ever let fill his words and he wasn't about to stop it; he was considerably still restrained. "I can't use it anymore."
This admission was something he never expected to reveal to anyone if it could be helped, let alone one out of many shinobi from an allied village. What purpose would it serve to let his ally know that he was weak? Normal? Human?
"I need other options now."
Lee took a small, sharp breath. Gaara couldn't use his sand jutsu anymore... that was...
Lee remembered it - a roaring avalanche of dirt and dust crashing onto the bone-user, a wave of sentient grains crushing his leg and arm...
Gaara without his sand was... unimaginable. But Lee had seen him -
"But I- when you shook Naruto-kun's hand, you lifted it up with some sand. I saw you."
More explanations were necessary, which meant revealing even more than Gaara was comfortable with. He would try.
"Yes, but I can't use it like I used to. What I used when I fought you, that was because of Shukaku's power: the sand shield, the deadly attacks. As a child, my father was displeased with my ability to manipulate the sand at the level he had hoped for, but I was the only one fit to host the bijuu. That was his way of making me stronger where I could not make myself." Gaara was most at ease when he had his arms crossing over his chest, and in doing so now, he was staring down Lee as he filled him in on all of this. "I didn't know then, with Naruto, because we weren't fighting. I just wanted to thank him in a simple way." Green eyes darted over to the other male, inspecting the arm and leg he had injured once upon a time. Those years past seemed even more distant than they actually were. Another lifetime. For Gaara, it literally was.
"Your arm and leg have healed well." He had no intent to change topics, but while they were on a related subject...
"...Yes, they have," Lee said slowly. Why was Gaara bringing that up? Lee still had the odd nightmare about that incident. "Tsunade-sama operated on me, and I had to take - well..." Lee didn't really want to go into that, lest Gaara think he was complaining. And talking to the guy (who was now his employer and sort-of friend) who'd nearly destroyed his life about how he recovered after nearly having his life destroyed was... Lee was over it, but it felt strange.
He met Gaara's stare with his own, one that was firm but not hard. He tried to get his mind back onto that previous topic - Gaara couldn't use those devastating sand attacks anymore...
Something was lingering in the air. Perhaps he should say something? But there was nothing he could think of to say that would automatically explain and fix things. Maybe Lee wouldn't want it.
Best to move on. "Enough of you have managed to change my life, to give me a new purpose. I can't afford to overlook anything. Do you understand now, Lee? Will you help me to protect my village?" The red head wasn't pleading, not with anyone, not by any means. What he did realize -- and not for the first time -- was that he could no longer be solitary in his desires.
“I… think I understand,” Lee said. He sort of got where Gaara was coming from. It sounded like he wanted to get stronger to protect those he cared about. Lee could certainly comprehend that. That was what he himself was always working towards. Furthermore, it wasn’t just that he wanted to get stronger - he had to, because he was the Kazekage. And it also sounded like he wanted to prove something to himself.
Lee’s face brightened. “And you don't even have to ask. Of course I'll help you. We’ll work on your taijutsu. But just to warn you, it’ll take time, unless you’re a genius, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t hit me, or anything. Don’t worry, I won’t hold back - I’ll work you to the ground," he said cheerfully, "Just... don't call yourself useless again, okay? Because you're not." Lee turned his eyes to the city looming nearby, and his voice quieted. "You died for them."
So now they had come to some sort of understanding. Relying on Lee, Gaara knew from previous experiences that he would be pushed to his limits -- limits that he might never have reached before, using only the bijuu's sand. This would be quite the challenge, but something about Lee's ever-present enthusiams was...reassuring. Encouraging. "This is my second chance. I want to do things right."
"Now," the red head said, moving off in a different direction, "I'm going to attack you again." And a second later, he went charging headlong, putting everything he had into the attack.
Hit or miss.