Coming Home

Chapter Five

  Lee let out a sigh of relief as he and Gaara finally reached the entrance to town. The air around them was no longer viscously scorching, but rather cool and slightly brisk. It was close to four in the morning, as far as Lee's internal clock could tell. The sun not yet ready to rise, but not sunken too deep into the horizon.
  He nodded respectfully at the two m guarding ninjas, after the Kazekage introduced him. They looked at him queerly, paying special attention to his orange leg warmers. He assumed they were thinking of how hot he would be in the dessert at this rate. He pulled the green spandex away from his chest awkwardly under their scrutiny, before following Gaara into the village, their eyes still glued to his hidden calves.
  The leaf ninja was completely entranced with his new surroundings. So much that he didn't notice Gaara's aqua eyes watching him keenly. The village was rather large, with sand everywhere. Most of the buildings around them had the same shape and rough texture. Lee nodded in approval upon feeling the coarse material, considering that it probably protected them from dessert storms, and likely sheltered them from the day time heat as well.
  "Your apartment is this way, Lee," he heard the Kazekage inform him from a little ways away. He flushed in slight embarrassment as he realized he had let his excitement lead him ahead of the sand ninja, and in the complete wrong direction. He nodded and offered a chuckle, which was returned with a confused look that suggested the jounnin was hysterical from lack of sleep. He shrugged carelessly and followed the fiery hair into the alley way.
  He observed the Kazekage as he walked, rather than the rest of his surroundings. Gaara had a steady pace, where not a single footstep was out of place. It was almost as if he thought carefully about every step he took. He was still shorter than Lee, but stood tall and proud. His neck perfectly straight, not slouching downward as it had when they were younger and met for the first time. Lee smiled fondly at the memory of he and Gaara's fight. It was true that he still shuddered at the thought of the sand coffin, which had nearly hindered his ambitions and now haunted his dreams. However, he couldn't help but feel grateful to have such a strong opponent, an adversary that pushed him to his limits, allowing him to become stronger in spirit and body.
  He came to an abrupt halt after realizing the sand resident had come to a stop outside of a particularly wide building. "Your apartment is the last door on the left of the top floor," he informed Lee stoically. He nodded hurriedly and bid the Kazekage a goodnight, when he received no response he began to head up with his bags.
  The building was tall and wide with four floors. Lee was finally starting to feel worn from the journey there. He found his door to be unlocked, with the key sticking outside of the lock. He beamed at the surrounding apartments. The sand village had honorable Shinobi indeed. Who knows how long the key had just been sitting there, and nobody attempted to get in, or take it.
  He entered the living room slowly, taking a peek around the door before he fully stepped in. The room was an average size, it had one full couch and a desk on the opposite wall of the door. He was glad to see the desk, that way he could catch up on any his work after hours. Lee tended to slack a bit when it came to paperwork. Not slack, he mentally corrected himself, procrastinate.
  The Shinobi slowly found his way down the hall into the only bedroom. It wasn't very large, not that he minded. It had a full mattress, with a small night stand made of oak on its left side. He sat slowly onto the bed, feeling the firmness. He let out a tired groan as he let himself fall on his back into the soft bed. He wanted to stretch out and sleep but felt the need to check out the rest of his new residence.
  He willed himself to stand, and walked the rest of the way down the hall. The hallway was slightly narrow and cramped, but not to the point of being uncomfortable. It didn't make him feel like he was boxed in, and unable to breath. He found his way into the small bathroom, which had cold white tiles adorning the entire floor and shower. The squares in the shower were slightly smaller than those that made up the floor. It was equipped with all the basics of a bathroom; It had a considerably large sink and shower, a porcelain toilet, a full sized mirror as well as one above the sink, and a navy blue shower curtain.
  He thought of Gaara as he made his way into the kitchen. He hadn't seen the Kazekage eat even a single time when they were on their journey. And wondered if he was eating now, or anytime soon. His brow furrowed slightly with worry as he pulled a bright red apple out of his bag and satiated his own hunger. He would surely go the store tomorrow morning. He would have to skip training for the first few days, until he learned the schedule and could plan around it.
  As he bit into the plump apple, juice ran down his chin. He licked his lips and wiped his chin quickly with his bandaged fingers. He ate it quickly, he was in dire need to get to bed and get some rest before his first day started. The apple hit the bottom of the trash basket with a thud, as the green beast dropped it inside on his way to the bathroom. He knew he needed a shower, and planned on taking one quickly. However, upon seeing the bed he felt a swirl of fatigue rise up in his mind and body.
  He paused briefly next to the bedroom before deciding that he would just shower in the morning. He entered the small room and pulled the forest colored suit down his neck, allowing the static material to fall to his feet once it reached past his hips. A content sigh escaped his mouth as he fell backward, sinking into the soft bed. He had trained much harder than this in his life, which led him to believe his fatigue originated from an emotional source. He pondered thoughtfully over this realization. It was true that he was a little stressed about his mission, Gaara-kun had specifically asked for him. He wanted to do very well.
  A yawn permeated through the air as he thought about this. It was strange that of all Shinobi in the leaf village, Gaara had asked for him. Before the day they had breakfast, the two hadn't talked in years. Lee had already considered him a great ninja and comrade at that time, but now he felt that they were friends. At least, that the stubborn young man was his friend. 'Why did Gaara-kun choose me?' He questioned silently, just before rolling over and falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.