Who: Lee (
blossomedtwice), Sakura (
sucker_punches), & Naruto (
couragetodare)
When: Not long after
this.Where: Outlander Community block
Format: Action, past tense.
What: Lee arrives in Anatole. Naruto and Sakura provide the welcoming party. And some updates.
Warnings: ... LEE?
[It was odd how Anatole almost had the same pattern as World's End and the same pattern as Atia. In a way. Periods of almost-calm followed by an influx of strangers just as unwilling to be there as everyone who was already trapped. It wasn't a reassuring pattern either, even when it brought with it familiar faces.
Familiar faces always made Naruto wonder who would arrive next, and they always made Naruto wonder - and hope- that it would be the one person he really wanted to see. Even in a place like Anatole. But what were the chances, really? What were the chances he would show up with the right set of memories, the same set of memories Naruto had?
Pausing on the rooftop to keep pace with Sakura, Naruto found the community block, cast her a quick glance and then pushed himself off in the direction of it. He exhaled a quiet sigh.
Slim. The chances were very slim.
Maybe Sasuke had been a fluke, arriving in Anatole with Naruto from World's End. Maybe Gohan and Usagi had been flukes before that. Simple anomalies that Naruto just had the pure good fortune to encounter. It was impossible to tell, but it never stopped Naruto from hoping. Silent. With baited breath.
But it was good to see Lee, even if it was here. And it was good to know he was okay and still himself when too many things have been changed and were still changing for Naruto. When sometimes he didn't know what the hell was happening. Familiar things and familiar people helped keep him grounded. He was glad for them.
... and Lee, in his familiar green was easy to spot outside the Outlander Community block as Naruto drew closer. Naruto shook his head, unable to quell the smile, despite everything else.
Don't ever change, he thought again. The thought was a fierce one.]