Updated, because a certain someone -coughs- PewPew -coughs- keeps on poking me until I do.

Standard disclaimer applies. I own nothing.

-OoO-

…

-OoO-

"Yo, Hinata-chan! You okay?" Naruto waved his hand in front of the Hyuuga obnoxiously, effectively snapping the girl back to reality. "You went all spacey again! What's up?"

Hinata blinked rapidly, looking around to re-orient herself like a lost little lamb. Tenten, who hovered near the duo, couldn't blame her for spacing out like that, just as Naruto claimed. When Hinata realized where she was and what she was supposed to be doing, she blushed demurely.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," she whispered apologetically. "I-I'm just not feeling well, that is all."

The blond Uzumaki frowned, his brows drawn together almost comically. "Why didn't ya say so earlier, Hinata-chan! You ought to be resting instead if you're sick!"

Hinata quickly went to the defensive claiming in broken stutters that she was fine. But Naruto only gave her his signature cheesy grin as he stuffed his camera back inside its case with care.

"Eh, don'cha worry about a thing, Hinata-chan!" Naruto reassured, smile still in place. "We'll just do the interviews tomorrow!" He paused for a moment, arms crossed. "B'sides, Karin-baka forced me not to sneak out of detention anymore or else she'll wring my neck!"

"K-Karin-baka?" Hinata asked, and her mind immediately conjured an image of that sexy red-haired woman with the chains. "Sh-She looks really pretty though, Naruto-kun."

Naruto shook his head fervently. "Yeah, but she's a real bi—err, I mean, a real witch, Hinata-chan! You saw what she did to me!" He cringed and rubbed his shoulders. "Karin-baka's just like my mom. They're both super scary."

Hinata said nothing, but she wholeheartedly agreed. Karin may have been sex appeal personified, but she was frightening.

"U-uhmmm…" Hinata softly spoke. "I-Is Karin-san your aunt, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah," he said as he sat on the bleachers with a huff, before inviting Hinata to do the same. The Hyuuga sat daintily next to him, just as Naruto scrunched his nose. "She's my mom's younger sister. She never got married like mom though, and I guess it's coz no guy's got the ba—uuhhh, the guts to do it."

"Oh," was all Hinata could say.

They sat for a few moments, the silence between them comfortable. They both would have stayed for a few more minutes, but Naruto suddenly stood up, prompting Hinata to look at him. The blond quickly gave her a huge grin, a hand sheepishly scratching his cheek.

Well, I'm off to detention!" The blond reported with a mock salute. "I'll see you tomorrow, Hinata-chan!"

He zoomed off swiftly when Hinata waved at him. The moment the blond Uzumaki was gone, Tenten floated by Hinata's side, looking concerned and apologetic. Beside Tenten, another ghost popped up as well, although his eyes were dead set on where Naruto had exited a while ago.

"Hinata," Tenten started, "I am so sorry about that prick of a cousin of yours! I swear I didn't tell him about Kin, but he—"

"Tenten," Hinata intervened kindly. "Y-You don't have to apologize for anything. Neji-niisan has always been a very perceptive person, I'm not surprised he found out by himself."

"Yeah, but I should have—"

"Neji-niisan figuring it out was b-bound to happen, Tenten," Hinata smiled ruefully, and to end the topic, she tilted her head slightly and acknowledged the blue-haired ghost beside Tenten. "I be-believe we haven't met yet."

Tenten gasped.

"Oh yeah, this is Suigetsu, Hinata!" The brown-haired ghost introduced by gesturing to her new friend, but the blue-haired swimmer failed to acknowledge both girls. Instead, he was still staring in to space, his mind troubled and far away.

"His aunt, huh?" Suigetsu whispered to himself, making Tenten and Hinata look at each other then at him weirdly. When Tenten cleared her throat loudly to get his attention, Suigetsu almost jumped. "Oh, uh… sorry 'bout that! You ladies called?"

Tenten looked at him suspiciously, shrugged, and then animatedly gestured to Hinata. "Uh-huh, I just introduced you to Hinata."

The Hyuuga girl quickly stood up and bowed demurely at the new ghost. "A p-pleasure to be of your acquaintance, Suigetsu-san."

Suigetsu just raised a brow in return.

Dramatically, he ran his ghostly fingers against his tresses and sighed. "Again with this Suigetsu-san stuff!" He grumbled, before looking at Hinata. "Yeah, nice to meet ya too, but for the love of God, just call me Suigetsu."

Hinata squeaked in reply. Tenten quickly gave him a heated glare, so he added a, "Please."

"U-uhmm, I-I'm so sorry if I—"

"I's fine, I's fine!" Suigetsu cut off. Then with a raised brow, "Ya know, you're too nice that it's kinda weird. Stop that!"

Hinata reddened. "I am not—"

"Actually, yeah you kind of are, Hinata," Tenten chimed in. The brown-haired ghost quickly explained when Hinata pouted. "I meant you being too nice. But it's not weird, I assure you!"

A snicker came from Suigetsu. "Sure, she is! In fact, if she doesn't talk at all, I could have mistaken her for a doormat. A doormat with boobs."

"Anyway!" Tenten exclaimed, before Suigetsu could even add more to his sentence. "What's up with you, ogling at Naruto like that?"

Hinata piped in. "I noticed it too. It lo-looked like you knew him…" the Hyuuga trailed off before she added, "or something to that effect."

"Huh?" was Suigetsu's confused reply, followed by a teasing smirk. "Oh, you girls are going all territorial, aren'tcha?! But no, I don't swing that way."

He teasingly flexed his muscles, earning him disgusted looks from both girls. While Tenten openly mock-gagged to show her revulsion, even going so far as to make choking noises, Hinata suppressed a shiver and hid her face with the palms of her hands. Suigetsu continued to flex his muscles, grinning at their reactions.

"I know I'm good-looking and all, but you gals don't have to be jealous!" He floated in between the girls and jokingly draped his arms on both their shoulders. "There's enough Suigetsu to go around, ladies."

"Suigetsu, remove your arm right now, you pig."

Said man laughed and darted away from the girls, arms up in surrender.

"Kidding, kidding!" He snorted a laugh. "Don't get your panties up in a bunch, sweethearts. I'm all yours."

"Suigetsu!"

"Okay, I'm stopping, sheesh!" He laughed again, until he finally settled to snickers and the occasional snorts. "If you ladies must know, I was only curious about that red-haired chick because of one good reason."

Tenten looked at him suspiciously, whereas Hinata just gave him a puzzled look. "B-Because of what reason, Suigetsu?"

The blue-haired ghost was suddenly serious.

"Because her rack was so fine, it gave me a ghostly boner."

Hinata reddened. Tenten cracked her knuckles.

"That's it! You are going down, mister!"

-OoO-

…

-OoO-

Ten days later

"Don't move too much or you'll only open up your wounds."

Neji badly wanted to say so, but seeing as Lee was already biting his lips in concentration, his caterpillar-like brows furrowed deeply, the Hyuuga decided to hold back his tongue. It would be a waste of energy, after all. Because when Rock Lee was this passionate about something, he would never give up. It was just how Rock Lee was programmed.

So in silence, Neji watched as his friend trekked the hallways very slowly and awkwardly. Despite the nurse's very thorough instructions on how to walk with the crutches, Rock Lee never fully mastered the technique, which or course only irked the bowl-cut youth to no end.

And when Rock Lee was irked – something that was so rare it was almost unheard of – he became clumsier. Again, Lee was just programmed like that.

"Lee," Neji finally called out, when the boy almost tripped for the nth time. "Focus. You will never learn if you do not stop to think what you are doing wrong."

But Lee was also stubborn in his own way. He shook his head.

"I am fine, my eternal rival!" He bellowed gustily, followed by the echoing sound of his crutches hitting the floor. "I can still keep going!"

To prove his point, Lee ventured on, ignoring the fat sweat rolling down his temple. He staggered a bit when he applied to much force on his crutches and accidentally stepped on his bad leg. He gasped in pain – Neji just sighed tiredly.

"Lee," the Hyuuga warned once more, but this time, Lee no longer felt the need to reply. Instead, the bowl-haired lad merely moved forward, ignoring the throbbing pain on his injured leg. "Stop."

"I refuse to stop!" Lee suddenly shouted. "I will keep going! I will do this! I can do this!"

And he did so.

Because if he gave up now, if he wasted precious time, who then will represent their school for the tournament? He worked hard for that competition, and he'd be damned if he would let a measly injury stop him. And also, he couldn't just let that first year participate it either.

Not to be arrogant, but Lee knew that the newbie wouldn't stand a chance against this year's opponents. Competition this year was fierce, and most of all, Sound Academy's Abumi Zaku – who was heralded as the best swimmer of the year and the crowd's favorite – was going to participate in the tournament.

Lee knew he had to enter this competition. He had to show everyone that he was just as good – maybe even better – than anyone else. He just had to show everyone that hard work can beat the odds! He had to!

But then he faltered in his steps once more.

"Lee," Neji sounded exasperated this time. "No matter how much you will try, you will never be able to heal in tome for the tournament." A pause. "Gai-sensei already picked your replacement days ago, and there's a reason for that."

There was the distinct sound of a body hitting the cold hard floor. Lee had fallen.

"For now, focus on healing," Neji advised sagely. "You will never heal if you keep aggravating your wounds."

Uncontrollable tears flowed down Lee's cheeks, and he sniffled loudly, not caring if Neji bore witness to his weakness. Slowly, he reached for his crutches and muttered his gratitude when Neji wordlessly bent down to assist him in standing up.

"It's not fair," Lee suddenly whispered, his tears falling. Neji said nothing. "Day and night, I practiced so hard because I wanted to show everyone that I wasn't a failure."

He trembled as he wiped his tears and snot with the sleeve of his uniform. If Neji was disgusted by such an action, he didn't say anything – the Hyuuga was still firmly hoisting Lee.

"I wanted…" Lee cried. "I wanted to show everyone that I could be great, even if I wasn't born a genius!"

The bowl-haired lad hiccupped and wept openly. By his side, Neji's lavender eyes narrowed slightly.

"Life is never fair, Lee," Neji replied, stunning his friend. He handed Lee the crutches and only let go of the boy when he was sure that Lee was firmly balanced once more.

"We have to accept that our fate has already been sealed the moment we were born. And we cannot change it, no matter how hard we try."

His friend stared at him in deep contemplation, before Lee's round eyes dimmed.

"Fate, huh?" Lee whispered, before forging on the walk. This time, he did take it slow, just as Neji instructed.

-OoO-

…

-OoO-

"I can still swim, damn it! This shitty injury's not gonna stop me!"

An angry hiss, followed by a loud smack.

Apparently, in his blind rage, he had kicked off his coach's table without remorse. The poor furniture groaned, as if moaning in pain, but he didn't care. A vase that was precariously placed on the table fell and immediately broke into tiny pieces when it hit the ground, creating an ear-splitting sound.

The coach only sighed tiredly.

"I know you are upset," the bald man finally said at the seething athlete. "But there is nothing we can do, Suigetsu."

"Bullshit!" Suigetsu spat. "Just put me back in the game, Samehada-sensei. You know I can still do this shit!"

"The doctor specifically said—"

"Forget what the fucking doctor said!" He roared. "That cunt-faced asshole—"

This time, it was Samehada-sensei who cut off Suigetsu. With a mere raised hand, the bald man managed to stop Suigetsu from cursing on and on about the doctor. Then, he eyed Sugietsu's arm, which was encased tightly with a cast and sling, and sighed. Suigetsu swiftly bristled defensively.

"You and I both know it will take days for that fracture to fully heal, Suigetsu." His tone was that of an older man chiding a little brat. If anything, it only served to make Suigetsu angrier. "You can scream and curse all you want, kid. But I'm not changing my mind."

He stood up, grabbed a broom from the closet, and handed it to Suigetsu.

"You are not participating in that tournament, so stop acting like a spoiled brat."

"Fuck you!" Suigetsu threw the broom and stormed off the coach's office. He banged the door close, took one deep breath, and then screamed a curse.

He would have done more, maybe punch something rough and hard like the wall. But that would only result in another injury, his common sense added. If the coach removed him from the team because he broke his right arm, what more if he added his left arm?

"Bullshit," Suigetsu spat. With his energy drained all of a sudden, like something just suctioned it out of his body, he found himself sagging down on the floor, his back against the wall. "Just fuck it all."

He sighed and heard someone come beside him.

"I take it that you weren't able to convince Samehada-sensei, huh?"

That someone sat beside him, and he didn't even need psychic powers to guess who it was. Without looking up, he heaved a long breath.

"Karin."

Uzumaki Karin huffed at his lackluster reply and adjusted her glasses before crossing her arms on her chest.

"He has his own reasons, I'm sure."

"Karin, not now."

The redhead just sighed dramatically and frowned.

"We both know he wasn't going to let you in, Suigetsu," Karin tried once more. "You're a good swimmer, no doubt about that. But it's just impossible—"

"Karin, shut up."

"—with that injury!"

Suigetsu growled.

"But you can always try next year, right?" She said to try and lighten things up. "I can even teach you how to swim, no problem!"

Her glasses sparkling at the idea, she pointedly ignored Suigetsu's impatient huff. Instead, she stood up and smiled encouragingly at Suigetsu, who was still slumped on the ground and raising an incredulous brow at her.

"You'll get to see me in my bathing suit, so you should be grateful, you unworthy squid!" Karin beamed even brighter. "In fact, you should feel blessed!"

Smile in palce, she offered him her hand and hoped Suigetsu would take it. Unfortunately, the boy only blinked in confusion, alternating his incredulous stare between her hand and her face before scoffing.

"Puh-lease! Now who would want to see a fat ass like you in a skimpy suit?! Don't make me sick, Karin!" But before Karin could pummel him violently for calling her fat, he held her hand and smiled. "Thanks, bitch."

She hoisted him up and clicked her tongue.

"Just doing my good deed for the day and help your pathetic little ass," Karin replied with a smirk. "My training will be tough, so you better not back out, Squiddy!"

The man frowned at the nickname but saluted nonetheless. "Aye, aye, Captain PMS."

She patted his cheek, like she was rewarding a pet. "There's a good boy!" She praised with a coo. "You better be ready!"

Karin cackled at the look on his face. Suigetsu immediately swatted her hand away and glared at her, but by then Karin was already turned around, talking a mile per minute about where they were going to train and what time they were going to start and end.

She completely missed the grateful smile on Suigetsu's lips.

-OoO-

…

-OoO-

"You're smiling that creepy smile again," Tenten suddenly pointed out, snapping his out from his reverie. Suigetsu whirled to face her, his eyes wide and his mouth an open "O".

"What the—" Suigetsu spluttered, hands waving frantically. "What the hell are you doing in here?!"

The brunette ghost raised a brow. "I didn't know this place was off-limits."

"Ya know that's not what I meant," Suigetsu grumbled. Then, as if an imaginary light bulb flickered on, a silly grin was on his lips. "Ya missed me, didn'cha? Ya got a lil crush on me or something?"

But Tenten didn't even look bothered, not even when Suigetsu was nudging her with his elbow, silly grin still intact. Instead, she looked at him straight in the eye, her amber orbs narrowed slightly and her hands on her hips.

"You weren't honest with me and Hinata a while ago," Tenten pointed out as a matter of fact. Suigetsu visibly gulped. "You don't have to tell me your whole story. Just say yes or no."

"Yes or no to what?" He asked, feigning innocence. Tenten just stared at him coolly.

"Don't give me the stupid act," Tenten ordered. "Now tell me, did you lie to us or not?"

Suigetsu blinked, before he looked away. "Yes."

"You know Karin then?"

He paused, but ultimately, he said, "Yes."

"Was she important to you?"

"I—"

He was interrupted when the doors opened and in came Rock Lee. The bowl-haired youth ambled his way to the pool, his brows furrowed and his lips pursed tightly. What unnerved both Tenten and Sugietsu, however, were Lee's eyes – the burning determination in them could not be seen.

Reaching his destination, Lee noiselessly stared at the pool, unknowing that there were two ghosts observing him. Then, with a sigh, Lee turned and hobbled his way out, his clacking crutches signaling his exit. When he was gone, Tenten blinked unsurely, her eyes still glued to where Lee had gone.

"What was that all about?" Tenten wondered out loud. She turned to Suigetsu for answers and was shocked to see her that blue-haired friend looked worried.

"We have to follow him." Suigetsu suggested resolutely. He didn't even give Tenten a chance to question him – he already zoomed his way to where Lee had hobbled off to, prompting Tenten to chase after him.

"What's going on?" The ghost girl asked as she trailed alongside Suigetsu, who shrugged.

"I have a hunch," her companion declared, before he added, "I just hope I'm not wrong though."

The two ghosts continued to follow Lee, who finally stopped in front of a long flight of stairs. Stopping to take a breather, Lee gripped his crutches tightly, before taking his first step. Slowly, he climbed one step at a time, never halting once, even though he clearly needed to rest.

Naturally, the two ghosts were concerned for him.

"This doesn't look safe," Tenten pointed out worriedly. Suigetsu had to agree.

"I'll keep an eye on him," he volunteered. "But we need that other guy's help."

He looked at her suggestively, and although Tenten scowled at the thought of seeking the Prick's help once again, she didn't even hesitate to leave, in search of the Hyuuga. She also hoped that the Prick hasn't gone home yet.

Meanwhile, Suigetsu could only pray that Tenten could find the other Hyuuga soon. For now, he needed to stop Lee, even for a little while – just enough to buy Tenten some time to look for Prick.

Turning left and right, he desperately searched for an effective distraction, and his eyes zeroed in on a squirrel perched on a sakura tree. He grinned.

"Perfect."

-OoO-

…

-OoO-

NOTES:

I bet everyone can now guess who Lee's newest best friend will be. xD

Any thoughts?