Off The Record — Act 5: Scene 9 — Paths
"It's adorable." Naruto sat down beside him, pulling his knees up to rest his elbows on top.
"The way you get quieter, and a lot more reserved in her presence. It's fascinating since I'm used to the enthusiastic, 'youthful' Lee that's extremely boisterous."
"Well, that version of me is somewhat gone now." He didn't have to say anything more. His enthusiasm came with his ability to push himself and break his personal records, now that he couldn't fight, yet alone train, there wasn't any reason to be that way. Initially, that attitude was built by insecurities and fear, wanting to be accepted despite his inability to use chakra, until Gai came along. He associated his happiness with those moments where his muscles burned and his hair became wet with sweat. Taking that away drained him, and he couldn't quite care about how out of character it was for him to be mellow. He was depressed, it didn't take a genius to figure that out.
Naruto, not wanting to add to the souring mood, leaned forward as he studied Sakura. "I thought you were joking at first when you mentioned her."
"Listen, from what I know about Sakura, she wasn't exactly easy to like because of the persona she put on, so shoot me for thinking that your crush would fall through once you saw that she's changed. But, seeing the way you looked at her just now, I realize that you weren't concerned about the snobby attitude she put on, were you? The look in your eyes were almost begging to be acknowledged by her, as if having her do so would prove something to you. That's where I'm confused, what is it that you want from Sakura? Why is she your crush?"
Lee's face erupted in flames as he stared at Naruto with widened eyes. He never shared the reason as to why he fancied his friend's teammate, he sort of left it open for speculation without much thought. There was no reason to verbalize his intentions anyway, and Naruto never bothered to ask. Sure, he would poke fun at him for having a crush—he swore to get back at him in someway if he ever discovered who Naruto develops a crush on—but it never went beyond the jokes and pranks.
"Dude, no need to overthink it, you can just say she's pretty and I'd concede."
"It's…It's not only that." He played with the stopwatch in his hand. "Sakura-san is very…she is very kind and genuine. She may not remember, but she had cared for me after one of my hectic training sessions. At that point, I looked a lot different, and I never told her my name. Her hands were soft, and she was careful with my injuries while scolding me about being safe." He chuckled at the memory. "That was all I remembered from that day, I can't even recall what got me into that mess to begin with. She told me her name then, but I never got a chance to tell her mine since her friends interrupted us. I know that years have passed since then, and people change, but when I see her in passing, I can always tell that the person I saw that day was still inside."
"Woah…" Naruto stared at him slack jawed. "I mean, that's a lot better than what I would have thought. Why haven't you told her though?"
"Are you kidding me? I wear a green leotard, with orange leg warmers, a bowl cut and have huge eyebrows—which you laughed at when you first met me, by the way—she would never think twice about a person like me."
"Okay, point taken, no offence though. Just ditch the get up and dress how you'd normally dress. I know for a fact that you don't have a closet of green leotards alone…right?"
Naruto sighed in relief, earning himself a punch to the shoulder as Lee rolled his eyes. "With that instructor of yours, I feared for the worst."
"My grandma would kill me if I swapped everything out. She spends so much time making clothes for me, if I got rid of them, I'd feel bad."
"She's a sweet old lady, you wouldn't want to give her a heart attack."
"Do you think she'd look at me if I appeared normal?"
"If I looked how I did that day, instead of like a green caterpillar with bushy eyebrows."
"I don't see why she won't. You're a fun guy, and if she talks to you some more, I think she'd like being around you. Of course, I can't say she would accept your feelings just because you're nice, but you might become good friends after."
"Being friends with Sakura-san would be lovely, even if my feelings would remain one-sided."
"And for that to happen, you're gonna have to actually talk to her instead of gaping like a fish out of water."
