Coming Home

Chapter Three

  Lee rubbed his eyes as he felt the early morning sun poking through the curtains. He groaned before covering his face with the blanket.
  He had gotten to bed very late after his encounter with the Kazekage and wasn't prepared to face the day. He shook his head roughly in a conscious effort to erase such defeated thoughts. If there was one thing in the world Rock Lee wasn't, he wasn't a quitter. He downright refused to let the day be wasted on account of his momentary confusion the prior night.
  He hopped out of bed and immediately felt a chill from the morning air permeating through his window. He strolled over to his linen closet and picked up a fluffy, beige towel. His intentions were to take a brisk, refreshing shower and then go into the forest to train for a bit.
  He shuffled quickly to the bathroom, in the hope of getting done early before it got too warm for training. Autumns in Konoha consisted of chilly mornings and scorching afternoons. Just as his bandaged hand reached the doorknob he hear a wrap on his apartment door. He glanced at the clock in perplexity. It was still only five in the morning. Who could be calling on him at such an hour? He made it over to the door in four large steps and pulled it open, exposing a fellow Jounnin on the other side.
  "Hello Lee-san," the ninja said with a casual smile. Rock Lee recognized him to be one of the ninjas that Iruka-sensei often greeted in the ramen shop. Ibiki was what he believed the man's name to be. He held out a small scroll to the green beast. Lee took it slowly, hope beginning to fill his chest. Was he finally being assigned a mission? It had been quite a long time since he last received one. "The Hokage wants to see you in her office in thirty minutes or less," he stated with the utmost formality. He nodded slowly, already retreating behind his door as the man turned to leave.
  He didn't bother reading the scroll. He figured Tsunade-sama would let him know the situation when he got there. It must be an urgent mission, he mused as he hurriedly jumped in the shower.
  He showered thoroughly and quickly. By the time he had gotten out, gotten dressed, and brushed his teeth, only ten minutes had passed. Lee smiled at himself triumphantly. He had cut his morning routine into a third of its usual time. He tied his head band around his waist with five nimble fingers, while the other hand grabbed an apple for breakfast.
  Before he headed to the door he closed the window, cutting short the beautiful breeze rolling into his house. He paused for a moment upon opening the door to make sure he had everything. When he found nothing was out of order he took a large bite from his apple and slipped out into the autumn wind.
  He thought briefly of what a beautiful day it was as he jumped from one rooftop to another. He flushed slightly as he avoided the roof he had spent his previous night occupying. He spent only a moment deciding he would write to Gaara when he returned, in an effort to apologize and explain.
  He reached the Hokage's office in no time, and walked in hesitantly. Tsunade was sitting in her chair, attention focused on a scroll she was perusing leisurely. She didn't look up as he walked in.
  Lee couldn't help but notice that Gaara and a sand ninja were also in the room, left of the large desk. The guard was the only one who turned when the Leaf entered the room. "You ready to go?" The Hokage asked in a bored tone, without looking up.
  To go? "Er, go where Tsunade-sama?" He questioned. Of course he was ready to fulfill his mission. But he needed to know what he was doing first. 
  She looked up at him incredulous and agitated. "Didn't you read the scroll, Lee?" She snapped. It was obvious that something had already gotten far under skin and she was in no mood for his obliviousness.
  He mentally kicked himself. He would definitely have to read his scrolls from now, and avoid Tsunade's anger. "Er.." He blushed awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck.
  "You're coming to Suna," the Kazekage interjected, apparently impatient with the back-and-forth. He didn't turn around and his voice sounded matter-of-factly.
  Lee looked at him in confusion, and then turned the expression at Tsunade when that got him nowhere. She sighed and rubbed her temples slowly. "You're going to be the liaison between Suna and Konoha for an unknown time. The Kazekage came here so we could sit down and negotiate- or rather argue over- our new liaison. He asked for you and I couldn't talk him out of it," she admitted candidly. He wasn't offended by this. Anyone who knew the leaf ninja knew he wasn't much for being professional. And anyone who didn't know him could look upon today as an example of his professional career.
  Anyways, he was too thrilled to feel offended. What an important mission he had been given! He silently vowed to be the best liaison Konoha could have, or he would climb every single tree in the village ten times. "Thank you Tsunade-sama," he said with a respectful bow, "I will do my very best!" She smiled at him briefly, but sincerely, before giving him a dismissive wave.
  He turned to the Kazekage in slight embarrassment. Not only did he still have last night's event looming over him, but he was absolutely unprepared. "I don't have any bags packed," he admitted awkwardly. It was true that he wouldn't bring much, but there were some items he definitely wanted to bring. "Would it be okay if I ran home and did that before we leave?" He questioned tentatively.
  Gaara shrugged. "We'll meet you at the border," he stated indifferently in his monotonous tone.
  Lee nodded quickly and began running out of the office. He managed to get out a "thank you" before the door closed behind him. He ran twice as fast to his house as he had to the office. He grabbed a bag and stuffed several green suits and lead embroidered underwear into it. He decided to grab an extra pair of weights as well. Training in Suna would be a wonderful challenge that he looked forward immensely.
  He was about to walk out when he noticed a bowl of fruit sitting unsuspectingly in his kitchen. He unzipped his bag and threw the fruit in. If it was just going to go bad while he was gone, he may as well bring it. Rock Lee was not one to waste anything. He locked the door to his apartment before jumping down quickly and sprinting toward the edge of town.
  After a few minutes he could see Gaara and a team of sand ninjas waiting a few meters ahead of him. "Gaara-kun!" He yelled out with a wave. The red-haired boy turned and watched the approaching leaf. When Lee arrived he made no attempt to move or turn. He seemed to still be waiting on him. Lee found this strange but was too excited to put too much thought into it. "Yosh!" He cheered happily, "Let's go!" He cheered, immediately taking off in a quick run, earning him an irritated look from the Kazekage as he passed.