A Lotus in Winter: A Rock Lee Love Story

Miracle

Rock Lee's POV:

Ten tails had just finished an attack that I narrowly missed. I got up and coughed from the dust waiting for it to disappear. I will never forget what I saw. Neji was a victim of that attack. He lay in Naruto's arms dead,it was all I could do to hold back tears. My comrade, my rival now lay dead. I looked to Guy sensei for support but he was just as devastated as I was.

How would I ever tell Sayuri that our friend died, that I was too weak and couldn't save him. I hate seeing her cry, it feels like all the light in the world has gone out. I love her warm smile, and that sweet laugh of hers, but seeing her cry is heartbreaking.

No I can't think like that especially now. When this is over we will still have each other and we will help each other cope with this loss of life.

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted, Naruto stood and I would soon realize then that he was the miracle we needed.

Sayuri's POV

Soon after I felt Neji's chakra fade, there came from the battlefield many explosions that briefly illuminated the world, followed by the aftershocks. I had just finished healing a group of shinobi when I felt my heart pounding. I fell to my knees and gripped my chest, I didn't have much chakra left but there were still so many injured. I couldn't watch them die, I managed to get to my feet despite the pain and dizziness. Even if I couldn't heal them, I could dress their wounds and stop any bleeding. These shinobi were fighting for a better world for their friends and family, I had to help make this dream a reality. A world of peace among shinobi and Lord Jiraiya had wanted. So many lives were sacrificed for this purpose and I didn't want their deaths to be in vain.

I went on like this for quite awhile, dressing injuries and helping to keep up our quickly fading morale. I knew the time had come to use my jutsu, this jutsu required very little chakra. I may not have enough chakra to heal my comrades, but I could take away their pain. This jutsu doesn't heal and it doesn't swap the location of injuries, but it displaces the pain of a wound from one person to another. In this case I displaced it from the ninja to myself. It was torturous, I bore no physical wound and after years of anbu training I knew how to maintain my outward appearance of calm, but inside I felt as though I were dying. The pain was so intense that it was hard to focus, but I went from shinobi to shinobi taking their pain onto myself.

After awhile the battlefield became quiet, our miracle had come. We were saved, or so I thought. Suddenly the sky filled with a blinding light and in that light the last thing I remember seeing was a sharingan in the sky.