Kakashi Hatake

Chapter 6: Lee's cry for help

It's about time to leave. For dinner I'll have to go fishing. I reached the entrance of the village. During my visit I learned they don't even have guards. This really is a small village. Just then a voice shouted my name.

"Riiinnnn wait!"

Turning to face the voice, I sensed a face is a face that is recognizable, but never seen. Weird.

"Hello?" I'm confused.

"I just wanted to say you did great back there!" he said as he scratched the back of his head. "If you have the time; I would honored it you could give me lessons. I would love to learn how you can sense things without your eyes."

"Do I know you?"

Seriously, I don't know this kid. He looks about a year or two younger then me. Minus the time frozen, I'm 18.

"Um," he stuttered, "my names Rock Lee. I saw your fight and-"

"I told him about your ability," Kakashi said in a positive tone. His hands in his pockets, and his left eye covered again.

"Lee, Guy, and I are on a mission, and were hoping if you would join to train Lee during the free time. We stopped by this village to take a break before continuing to our mission location up north. I sort of got distracted from the potential prizes the guy back there was talking about." His voice in the last sentence got a little high pitched then he laughed.

I have so many questions. Do they think my ability allows me to see absolutely clearly?  Why does this Lee kid need to learn it? At least one is answered. Lee looks like Guy. They practically wear the same thing, and have the same haircut.

My turn to answer their question I guess. "What's in it for me? There's a lot going on for me right now. I need to find someone in particular." Then my clone dissolved blue into the wind. Right when Lee called my name earlier, I set up a lightning clone. I can't deal with anymore fights with my chakra at an all time low. Must eat dinner and sleep to gain energy.

I managed to catch two fish. Something was really bothering me. Why should I care about helping them? I've never seen them in my life. Maybe I could've actually be their friend? This is ridiculous. Why should I care about that?

No it's not that. Lee needed my specific help, but I left him in the dust. The past flashed through my mind. When no one would ever help me. They kept me in chains, and despised me. I've never cried over it; always had to ignore my emotions. Even after I helped my village in the way that seemed best. Before I even thought more about my past, I pushed the memories away. Today is different; I want to help. I quickly got up and set out the fire. It's almost sunset I need to catch up. Kakashi said they were heading north from the village; so that's what I'll do.

After making it to the village, I followed the stars north. The other three should be packing up for camp soon. While jumping from tree to tree there's something that was bothering me. It's going to look suspicious that I'm showing out of no where after just ghosting them. What will I say? Sorry for not being considerate? No, that wouldn't work. Time to just go with the flow and see what happens.

About thirty minutes pass and I see Kakashi by himself.

"Kakashi!" I yelled.

He turns towards me, "Oh, hello."

Does this guy show any emotion?

"I messed up and I'm sorry. I would be glad to join you guys on your missio-"

Kakashi interrupted me, "We didn't need your help with the mission. Lee wanted your help due to personal reasons he won't even tell us. Personally, I don't trust you Rin. Lee begged me to have you help him, and I knew he wouldn't give up if I said no. We don't know anything about you. Your jutsu, past, and intentions are a blank for us. Especially now since you're coming back when before you wanted nothing to do with us. So, what do you say to that?"

"Look, I'm really sorry. I was being self centered and didn't even think about helping others. My task is very important to me, but I don't even know where to start looking. If you really want to know my past..." I won't lie, but I won't go into detail. "My village was destroyed. About my eyes you're right. They do work, but it's complicated. What matters is I can't use much energy in exchange to be able to sense things. I'm a lightning style user, and use lightning styles of jutsu. Does that answer all your questions?"

It was silent for a moment before he answered with, "I need some time to think. Give me the night to think about it. Meet me tomorrow morning in this spot." Once finishing his sentence he raised his hand and disappeared.

I mean, it's not a no, yet. Guess it gives me time to explore the area before going to sleep. That's when I sensed Lee. Why is everyone by themself? Landing near a nearby tree, thats when I heard it. He was crying.

I sneaked up next to him and kneeled closer. His face was in his palms.

I whispered, "Lee?"

He immediately straightened himself up and whipped his tears off with his sleeve. "Rin, what are you doing here?"

He's trying to hide it. "Lee, it's okay to c-"

"I'm not crying I swear," he whimpered.

My voice was sincere, "Lee, I wanted to apologize for how I treated you earlier. It wasn't right. If you still need my help, I would be glad to."

He paused before saying, "But your task? You needed to find someone."

"That's not important at the moment. I put some thought into it, and there's no rush. The person is safe." Kai promised he wouldn't die; he promised he would get me when it's safe. I continued on, "Also Lee, you don't have to hide how you're feeling from me. Tell me what's wrong. I want to help you the best I can."

"I... just think I'm so weak. I only have taijutsu. Compared to everyone else I'm always a step behind. A while back something happened that even the hokage told me I should give up on being a shinobi. I had the choice to either give up or go through with surgery. The surgery had a rather low chance of success, and I was devastated..." his head faced the ground again as a teardrop fell down his cheek. "Even though my life was at its lowest point, Guy Sensei believed in me. I just feel like if I keep bringing all my troubles to him, he won't want to be my sensei anymore. That's why I wanted your help Rin!" More tears streamed down his face, "I've been having trouble with my sight. Randomly my eyesight will go black for about ten minutes, and recently it's been going on for longer. Doctors told me that this is rare, and it's a fifty percent chance that it'll heal itself. The other fifty percent...is that this will continue. Each time I get blind the longer it lasts. Eventually I will be permanently blind. If I can't be a shinobi I don't know what I'll do." He eventually started to sobbed.

I stayed there next to him. I've never have had to comfort someone, and I've never had someone comfort me. So what do I do in this situation? He genuinely told me how he was feeling, and he doesn't even know me. Lee needed anyone to talk to, but he couldn't talk to anyone in his village. He was scared they would lose respect for him.

His head was still facing the ground. Knees bent. Hands grabbing the grass tightly. I raised my hand. Placing my palm on his head, I rustled his hair. He jolted at first contact but stayed in place.

"I'm sure your sensei would look at you and be proud of you no matter what Lee. If he was with you when your life was at its lowest, then your bond with your sensei will never break. As for your sight. I believe that it will heal itself. I'm not saying that to just be nice. I've met shinobi like you in the past. You're strong heart can perceiver through anything. Of course now it will be tough, but I will try my best to help you through this time." I hope my words help him feel better at least a little bit.

He looked up at me and jumped up to his feet. I stood up as well. Then he did the most unexpected thing. He hugged me.

"Rin sensei, you're one of the nicest people I've ever met! I promise I will give it my all when we train." His tears continue to fall, but they seem to be happy tears now.

I hesitantly hugged him back. Last person I hugged was my only friend Tina. I felt something slide down my cheek. A teardrop? No, must be sweat. A little later his tears came to a stop. He thanked me again and went back to camp with the others. I thought I was by myself until I heard another voice.

"So you do have a soft side."