Chapter Fifteen: The Final Curtain (Alternate Version)

Gai and Kakashi were walking to a bar in the evening, talking about their previous students. They were going to get a new group of three people to mentor next week after years of having a break from it to let the newer Jounin have a chance. The night was still young, and the streets were crowded. The bar they were originally intending to go to was full, so they passed it and decided to just walk for a while and wait for the rush to die down. It had been raining earlier, but now, the weather was lovely. Gai hinted that going for a run would work out their bodies better, but Kakashi refused point blank.

"How is Ten Ten doing?" Kakashi asked quickly, steering the subject away from exercise.

"She's strong," Gai replied with enthusiasm. "She hasn't missed a target in absolutely years! In fact, she has even developed a new scroll and weapon technique made up by herself. It's very powerful. I'm proud of her."

"That's good." Kakashi nodded. He walked silently with the man for a few seconds. "I suppose you are most proud of Lee."

The bobbed haircut man grinned. "Lee has succeeded in his childhood ambition of beating Neji. He is stronger than him now. He has trained so hard. And now, he finally has his reward." Up ahead was an almost empty bar; the two Ninja sat in it and ordered some Sake.

When it came, Kakashi took a long drink before answering Gai. "You mean Gaara?"

"Exactly!" Gai sounded so happy; tears welled up in his eyes. "My wonderful Lee has found himself a love. This will surely only make him train harder to match a Kazekage's level!"

Before Kakashi could reply, Gai noticed a figure running up to them. He jumped from his seat and shouted, "SHIKAMARU! I haven't spoken to you in many days! How are things?" Then he noticed the Jounin's expression. "What is it?" Gai inquired, his voice low now; serious.

Shikamaru looked at one of the men for longer, his eyes full of pain. "You have to come with me, immediately." He eventually murmured, eyes to the ground. The Jounin had his arms pinned to his sides and fists clenched in frustration for what had happened. But he was determined not to cry. "The mission…something happened…Konoha Hospital…"

The senior ninjas looked at each other in surprise. "Shikamaru, what is it?" Kakashi persisted. "Who is it?"

But the shadow manipulator kept his head down and walked away, waving a hand to indicate they must follow him. Realising the seriousness of the situation, they did so, silently, following the genius mind of Konoha. And as they did, they saw him tremble slightly, keeping control of his emotions. This was serious. He hadn't acted like this since…well. Since someone he knew had died. Kakashi thought with a grim expression.

Gai was more open with his thoughts. "Lee?" He choked out.

Shikamaru froze for a second. Just a second. Then he carried on walking determinedly to the hospital. When they arrived, Gai ran straight in, already sure of what must have happened, demanding to know Lee's room. Kakashi and Shikamaru followed after him.

When the three arrived in the waiting hall outside the room, they saw Shizune, Sai, Hinata, Ino and Neji sat on the chairs. Neji had covered his face with his hands and Ino was crying. Shizune stood up as she saw them, a pained look on her face, but a flicker of surprise too. "Oh! Both of you. I'd have thought it would have only been…have you told them what happened?" She asked Shikamaru hesitantly, who shook his head in reply. The dark haired woman nodded slowly and turned to Gai and Kakashi. Gai, who was fidgeting impatiently, his face a mask of horror, and Kakashi, who stood composed but worried. "The mission brought a huge loss." Shizune eventually murmured. "Tsunade-sama, Ino and I did everything we could…" She stepped backwards. "You can go in. The Fifth and Sixth Hokage are in there with the Kazekage."

Gai burst through the door, not wanting to wait a second longer to find out exactly what happened. The door clicked shut behind Kakashi. Then they both stared.

***

Away from the hospital, from Konoha, past the forests and through the wilderness and different civilian villages, into the desert and miles away, into Suna and the Kazekage's building, up three floors and across the hall into an office, sitting in an uncomfortable chair, was Temari, acting as substitute Kage for the time Gaara was away. She had only just finished her work for the entire day, realising how much Gaara had to do everyday. It was quiet for once, without anyone rushing in with any more paperwork for her to do.

Stacking the sheets of paper to one side, the blonde propped her elbows on the desk and rested her head on her hands. She got the feeling she was being left in the dark about something. Where exactly was Gaara again? Kankuro was definitely hiding something about him.

"That's it." Temari sighed. She stood up and made her way to Kankuro's room. She was going to find out what exactly was going on. She arrived at Kankuro's door and banged on it impatiently.

"What?" Her brother opened the door, yawning. His make up was scrubbed off for the day and he was wearing his relaxing clothes. "Can't you see I'm about to go to bed? I've had to go to all the meetings Gaara had to go to while you sorted out his paperwork, you know."

Ignoring his tired greeting, Temari pushed past him and sat herself on the chair in his room. "Look, Kankuro." She snapped. He closed the door and sat on the other chair, an almost knowing look on his face, like he knew why she was here. "You and Gaara are hiding something from me, I just know it." The eldest of the three siblings gasped when she saw the look in Kankuro's eyes. "I knew it! Come on! Tell me. I'm your sister. I deserve to know. Is it about who Gaara is secretly seeing? Who is she? Is that where Gaara has gone? Konoha?"

Kankuro groaned. "Temari, promise not to go crazy when I tell you, okay?"

She frowned. "I promise. Now tell me."

"And I only know because I walked in on the two of them about to do it right before my eyes." Kankuro added, incase Temari fussed about not being told before him. The memory shone in his mind for a second and he shook his head to get rid of it.

"So it is someone Gaara's with." Temari grinned triumphantly. "I told you so! Now. Is it Sakura? Or perhaps Matsuri? But no, then he wouldn't have to go to Konoha for her…"

Uneasily, Kankuro answered, "It's Lee."

The astounded face Temari's expression turned in to was nothing like what Kankuro had seen before. She covered her mouth with both hands and just stared at her brother in silent shock for a minute. Then, astonishing Kankuro, her face creased and she removed her hands, revealing a smile. A bubble of laughter escaped her lips, and as it did, she couldn't stop.

"I'm not joking," Kankuro added, puzzled. "Why are you laughing?"

Temari guffawed. "Trust Gaara!" She gasped. "He wouldn't be able to deal with women. Though really, Lee…" She laughed again. "I can't quite get my head around that!"

"Don't let Gaara hear you laughing at Lee," Kankuro warned her, though he was grinning too. "He loves him. And Lee loves him. That's where he's gone." The grin had vanished from Kankuro's face. "Lee was taken by unknown enemy ninja and these ninja sent a letter to Gaara demanding him to come otherwise Lee would be hurt, or worse, killed."

"What?" The laughter died in Temari's throat. "Kankuro, why didn't you tell me this? How can you have let Gaara go alone -"

"Everyone thinks he is visiting Konoha for an emergency meeting with the Hokage, so of course only I knew the real reason as Gaara told me about it before he set off. Otherwise of course the Council would have insisted someone go with him. But these ninja said only Gaara could come." The male replied, shrugging. "There's nothing we can do about it. Hopefully Gaara will be home soon or we'll at least get a report updating us on the situation he is in."

His sister sighed. "This is too much information to digest at once. I still can't believe Gaara is with Lee of all people…and then this has happened…I just hope they're both going to be okay."

"So you're okay with it? Gaara and Lee I mean?" Kankuro gaped at Temari.

"Well, yeah. There's no point wasting time fussing about my brother's relationships. Though I am angry I wasn't informed sooner! Am I the last to know or something? Even some enemy ninja know before I do!" The Jounin answered crossly, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "Now that I know all of this, I think I need to go to bed. I'm tired, suddenly, with all this news. Goodnight, Kankuro."

Kankuro rolled his eyes. "You gave me stick and teasing about Kiba for a month." He muttered under his breath. But then he raised his voice slightly and bid goodnight to his sister. "Don't tell the Council about Gaara's secret mission." He added.

"As if I would!" She assured him, then was out of the room quickly before anything else could be said. As she paced down the hallway, she couldn't quite believe what she had just heard. But she just hoped her baby brother, the Kazekage, the once evil turned good Gaara, was all right.

***

Gai rushed to Lee's side where Gaara was sitting next to him and Kakashi sat on the chair next to Naruto around Sakura's bed. Tsunade was stood at the back, a focused expression on her face, as if she were forcing herself not to show any emotion at all. The room was grey tiled, white walled, and there was a single big window showing the outside world on the opposite wall from the door. The two beds, occupied, had white sheets and faded white quilts. Each bed had a bedside table next to them, and each bedside table had a vase of flowers on top of them. There was a chair either side of the beds, all occupied by the visitors. Naruto held Sakura's hand; Gaara held Lee's. There was moment when no one said anything. Then everyone did something at once.

Tsunade excused herself and exited the room, closing the door behind her politely. Gai clasped Lee's other hand in a fatherly manner, and almost felt like his father at that moment. Gaara tightened his grip on Lee. Kakashi bowed his head; Naruto screwed up his face, tears threatening. And Sakura coughed twice before opening her eyes to the world, to everyone in the room. The only person who didn't do anything was Lee.

Because Lee was dead.

"Naruto?" Sakura blinked and looked around in a daze. She rubbed at the bandage tied around her throat. "What…what…?" Her eyes blurred for a second before they recovered. "How did I get here? What happened?"

"You can't remember?" Naruto asked, stating the obvious. He clutched her hand. "You can't remember anything?"

"There was something…oh!" Sakura put her free hand to her mouth. "Those Ninja? Lee! Oh my goodness, is Lee okay?"

Kakashi shook his head. "I am sorry, Sakura. Lee had a serious stab wound, and couldn't be saved. He died a few hours ago."

Gai choked out a strangled sort of sound, and a tear slid down his cheek. "This cannot be true. Is there nothing Tsunade can do?!" He leapt up from his seat and made for the door. "There has to be something she can do."

"There isn't, and you know there isn't." Kakashi's tone was soft and low. Gai stopped in his tracks, back to everyone, shoulders shaking. He was crying.

Sakura had never seen Gai cry before. She looked over at Lee and saw his peaceful body, as if it were just sleeping. Seeing him like this pained her heart more than she ever thought something could hurt. This was worse than her injury by far. Gaara was sat holding Lee's hand, she saw, but his face was dead; there was no emotion there, no twitch of movement. He was sat still as a rock, just staring into Lee's closed eyes. This cannot be true, she thought, echoing Gai's words just seconds before. How could this have happened to Lee? My wonderful Lee…

"Lee and I had a promise to each other that I must keep." Gai whispered. "I will keep this promise. There are just a few things I have to sort out first." He touched Lee's cheek, then left.

Kakashi glanced up in alarm as he heard the door slam. "A promise? Surely he can't mean…?"

But no one could ask him what he meant, as at that exact moment, Gaara stood up, eyes dead, movements dead, and spoke in a dead, low voice. "You should have died." He directed this to Sakura, whose eyes widened a little in surprise. "You should have died." The Kazekage repeated with venom. "But Lee is dead."

"Gaara!" Naruto tried to help the situation immediately. He saw the sudden evil look in Gaara's eyes, the way his hand was moving up. "Kakashi. I think you had better leave so I can talk to Gaara alone for a while."

"She will still be here." Gaara stated coldly, turning his raised hand into a finger pointing at the pink haired woman.

"I - I will go to sleep." Sakura told him quickly. She was feeling tired anyway, and let her eyes drop. She was asleep in a matter of seconds, a tiny frown on her face.

Naruto came over to Gaara and sat on a chair next to Lee, who liked like he was asleep too. Unlike Sakura, there was a peaceful expression on his face, almost a smile but not quite. Gaara sat down again, but kept his glare on Sakura until he turned to look at Lee, and his expression melted back to the dead form it was. It was so desolate and sad and angry, all at the same time. Naruto looked away for a moment; it was paining him too much to see in front of him a deceased friend and a dead one from the inside.

"I don't know what to say to you, I'll admit." Naruto murmured. "If Hinata died I have no idea how I'd feel, because it hasn't happened, so I can only guess what you are going through." There was no response, the room was silent, apart from Sakura's deep breathing, that made Gaara clench his fist all the more. "Think of it this way," Naruto continued, hating the silence. "Lee would not want you like this. He would want you to carry on with your life putting on a brave face. If Sakura had been the one to die, Lee would have been trying to make the best of the situation, I just know it. Don't trouble yourself with what-ifs, though, Gaara. You just have to move forwards in difficult times like these."

"You don't know Lee at all." Gaara whispered.

"I do." Naruto nodded. "You knew Lee the most, perhaps, including Gai Sensei, but Lee was my friend too. And Sakura's." Perhaps more for Sakura, he thought with a frown. "And I know him too."

"He would have been extremely upset if Sakura had died." The redhead informed the Hokage quietly. "She was his first love…" He put his face in his hands. "This is too much. I cannot bear it. Why did Lee have to die? Why couldn't that worthless girl have died?" Then he stopped. "No. I don't mean that. I've changed. I just wish Lee didn't have to die."

"I know." Naruto soothed. He reached out to take his hand but Gaara flinched away.

"Only Lee can hold this hand." The redhead snapped. "Sitting around talking isn't going to do much. There is no point anymore. What is the point of this world if Lee isn't in it?" He bent over the body of his lover and kissed him on the lips. "Naruto, leave for a while."

"Of course." The Hokage looked at Lee for a moment and sighed. This is too much. Fuzzy Brows, why couldn't you have pulled through? "I'll tell everyone outside to go, shall I?" The response was a nod, and so he left, leaving Gaara with Lee and a sleeping Sakura.

Words were spoken into Lee's ear. Gaara was careful to make sure Sakura's unconscious mind wouldn't hear these words. No one would hear them apart from Lee. Then Gaara kissed Lee again; leaned against him for a few minutes. "Goodbye, Lee." Gaara whispered, as he stood up to leave. He kissed the Jounin one last time, waiting for him to reciprocate, but Lee never did. It was too much for the redhead and he walked out quickly straight down the hallway and out into the outside world.

Gushes of wind blew into his face but he didn't care. He was walking, but he didn't know where. He could end up on the other side of the world and he wouldn't even be bothered. He could die somewhere and he would be happy. Without Lee, what was the point in life? There was no one else he loved. The Kazekage thought briefly of his siblings, but he felt nothing. He thought of Naruto and felt nothing. All his feelings were on Lee now. As he stalked down a dusty path, a figure hidden in the shadows of a tree stepped out in front of him and held up their hand to signal Gaara should stop to speak to them. It was Neji.

"What do you want?" The Kazekage asked, his tone impatient. A leaf flew past his face, speed impeccable, and it reminded him of Lee. There was that pain in his heart again that he had when he was younger. It was back. For good.

"I don't know." Neji sighed deeply and walked closer. "It was clearly his destiny for his path of life to end here. It was fate. But I just wanted to know…" He paused tentatively, licking his lips in an anxious sort of way. "Was Lee - was Lee happy? Before he died? He was my team mate, my rival. It's hard to believe he's gone, you know? Well, of course you know. I'm just being…" He let his voice trail away.

"I am not in the mood to converse, Neji." Gaara told him. "But I can say with confidence that Lee was happy. With me. Now I am unhappy. Without him."

"Oh, er…" Neji seemed a bit flustered for a second at this response. Then he composed himself and outstretched a hand to the smaller redhead. "You're not alone in this. I miss Lee so much it is almost unbearable to think about him. But it's better to talk about things like this. We are all affected in different ways but talking helps everyone to cope." He was just repeating what Ten Ten had said to him earlier, encouraging him to check with Gaara Lee was happy, her eyes brimming with tears.

The Kazekage turned from the Jounin and started to walk away.

"Hey! Wait!" Neji called, slightly annoyed he was being ignored like this. "I'm talking to you. Don't be like that. Gaara?" He hesitated, not wanting to step closer to the man who had stopped and now had his back to him, fists clenched.

"Nothing will help me cope. Nothing. So stop pretending you cared as much about Lee as me." The words sounded mean, but Gaara's tone didn't imply this. His voice was more a constant monotone of dullness. He unclenched his fists with a sigh and walked more forcefully towards Naruto's apartment, where he was staying while in Konoha now that Lee was gone. Now that Lee was gone. This very thought made Gaara want to curl up and hide away, scream into the darkness that was surrounding him. Was this death for the living? Did other people experience this? No. I cared about Lee more than anything. Care. "Leave me alone, Neji. Lee was happy. Now he is dead. What more do you want?" Then he was gone, away, into the building, closing the door behind him with a slam.

Neji was left outside. "I tried." He spoke out loud, to no one in particular, then walked away, his footsteps scattering dust into the air.

***

Sakura woke up to the sound of birds cheeping, and a bright, blue sky with the sun shining through the curtains. A nurse came in and checked her temperature, and blood pressure, then helped sit her up and opened the window and curtains. Breeze fluttered in lazily, making Sakura's hair move. After the nurse left, Sakura smiled happily. She looked to her right, at the empty bed next to her, and the smile left her lips in an instant.

She'd completely forgotten. How could she have forgotten? Lee was dead. His body was gone, too.

Tears dripped down her cheeks. Of course, her and Lee would never have worked out. He was homosexual. He was with Gaara. She'd had her chance, and blown it. And now, neither she nor Gaara could have Lee. It was all her fault. Why didn't she do something back there? She could have, she was sure. A punch. A technique. Anything. She thought back, and all she could see was a snivelling wimp, not worthy of walking on the same ground as Lee. Oh, what must he be thinking now of her?

No, Lee wasn't like that. He'd be telling her to cheer up, it wasn't the end of the world. His youth had come to a close, but her youth would continue to blossom and spread happiness to others around her. She was a beautiful, young, kind individual and Lee was happy to have been good friends with her.

Whoa. Sakura wiped her tears away and sniffed, her eyes widening just a bit. I swear Lee just entered my mind then. That would be exactly what he would say. Oh, Lee. I love you. So much. Why can't you still be alive?

Even to see him with Gaara would be a blessing right now. She would be happy for them. But it wasn't meant to be as it happened.

There was a knock on the door. She glanced up, startled. Usually, the nurses just came in straight away, no matter how impolite that seemed. It must be a visitor. After a few seconds of waiting, she realised she was meant to respond. But the door opened away, and to Sakura's immense surprise it was Gaara that walked through the door, with Naruto. Their expressions were grim; they matched her own.

She rubbed at the bandage tied around her neck multiple times and didn't feel any pain, which relieved her. The two Kage sat on chairs; Sakura noticed Gaara looked at the empty bed longer than he should have. There was a pause before Naruto blurted out, "We wanted to talk to you. Well, Gaara wanted to talk to you."

"I…What about?" Sakura said in a tired voice. "When's the funeral?" She asked quietly.

"Three days. Tsunade says you can come out in time." Naruto replied slowly. "I'm glad you're recovering, Sakura." He kissed her forehead, then sighed. "I'll be leaving now. I need to finish some work. Gaara." He put a hand on his shoulder. "Both of you need to talk about Lee."

When he was gone, Gaara said, "Were you in love with Lee?"

Sakura didn't try to deny it. "Yes. But I know it would never have worked out. You could tell whenever he came back from Suna, like he was missing a half of him, but was so happy it felt like he was providing the light for the world, rather than the sun. He was so happy. And I realise that now; it was you." Gaara frowned in the strangest sense that seemed he was happy about this despite the action. "You two were meant to be. I had my chance and I blew it. Lee and you, you might be chalk and cheese separated, but together you were the perfect couple. I can tell, even though you two never got the chance to -" She paused. She was warbling. But she wanted to say what she was feeling. Besides the aching pain for the Jounin.

"To act like a couple in front of everyone?"

"Well…" The Chuunin hesitated. "It is true. The first time I realised - there was the battle - and then Lee…"

"I would rather we didn't discuss that." Gaara cut her voice off instantly. "I just wanted you to tell me of your feelings for Lee and how much you miss him. Because I wonder how other people feel. It's killing me. I said I didn't want to talk about it to Neji but Naruto convinced me talking is for the best."

Sakura felt compassion for the Kazekage at that moment. Someone, at least, was feeling the way she did. "It feels like my heart is being crushed a little bit more each second, and it isn't letting up." She told him truthfully, rubbing at the place where her heart was. "When I was first told Lee was dead I was so dazed from the battle and confused I didn't properly take it in. Now I've had time to think about it I can't believe it. I honestly can't. Lee was always so full of life, you know? He can't have died from some enemy ninja. He was the fastest and one of the strongest Jounin out there."

"I feel like I'm not alive anymore. I'm just a body hosted by a dead mind, a dead heart. I feel no emotion other than depression and anger. This shouldn't have happened." Gaara blinked, slowly. "I'm forgetting to do that."

"To do what?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Blink." He answered. "Everything is an effort."

"Gaara…" He was distraught, Sakura realised. He was hurting far more than anyone else. Far more than her. The pain for her was almost unbearable, what must it be like for him? She didn't want to know. "I'm so sorry. This was all my fault. You don't know how guilty I feel."

The Kazekage actually looked surprised for a moment. "Your fault? It's all my fault. Don't pretend to know what happened."

"I -"

"I killed the enemy's sister. Remember?" Gaara ran a hand though his hair and sighed. "Don't think you know everything. Because if you knew everything you'd know it was my fault. Whether it was your death, or Lee's death, it would have been my fault. It just so happened to be Lee's death. That hurts me the most. I'll be honest, I'd have felt no pain if you had died."

Sakura lowered her gaze to her lap. "I know." She mumbled. "Sometimes I wish it was the other way around. That I died and Lee didn't. I was willing to die hours ago in the hospital room. I was willing to. But Tsunade pressed on."

"She worked on you, instead of Lee." Gaara spoke this, back to his emotionless voice, matching his face once more. "Thank you for speaking with me, Sakura. I will leave you now." He stood up and left without another word, not even waiting for Sakura to reply or bid goodbye to him.

***

The day of the funeral, and the weather was crisp and clear, a pure winter morning. There was no snow, but even without it, people knew the holidays were approaching just to this morning; the sheer coldness. But this was the civilians. The Ninja were gathering for a funeral, and a funeral of one of the strongest Ninja they had in Konoha. It was this Ninja's birthday the day before, and a certain someone had sat by the river and threw stones into it, a stone for each year that person's age was. When this person reached the twenty second stone, they held it in their hand for a few minutes, just staring at it blankly. The Kazekage stood up from their seating position, turned around and threw the stone onto the grass. It didn't bounce, just made a loud thud and a dent in the blades. This stone didn't get to sink into the water as it travelled through its path of life. It didn't get the chance.

Today though, Gaara walked with his head down past this place until he reached the graveyard. Others were already there, but it wasn't as crowded as it should have been yet. He ignored everyone and sat at the front, ready to speak. His eyes were only on the coffin, waiting to be lowered into the ground. Lee was inside there. Gaara choked suddenly, his throat was almost closing up. This was unbelievable.

About a hundred metres away, Sakura was walking along with Ino, Choji, Hinata and Naruto. She was trying hard not to cry, but it was such an effort. Her fists were clenched, as was her jaw, set in a determined fashion to try to show she was coping when she wasn't. Naruto suddenly reached over and unclenched her right hand, holding it tightly in his. This gesture was so random, but caring, Sakura squeezed his hand gratefully back. She turned to look at Hinata, who gave her a supporting smile. Everyone was being so lovely, when they were all hurting inside aswell. Ino seemed on the brink of tears, and just as they were drawing nearer to the graveyard, she let them out.

"If I were a better medical ninja," she gasped, the tears spilling from her eyes uncontrollably. Ino took a lock of her long, blonde hair and pulled at it desperately. "Lee would still be alive. I'm useless. I don't deserve to be a medic, if I only let someone die. If Sakura were operating on him, she'd have saved him. I just know it. What have I done?"

The last sentence came out as a wail, and Ino buried her head in Choji's broad chest. He held her there as she wept, and gave the others a concerned look. "Ino," he whispered, bending his head to look at her properly. "Lee's injuries were obviously too severe for him to be saved. It has nothing to do with your skill. Everyone knows you're an excellent medical ninja. Only the other month you saved that ANBU ninja when he was stabbed. This was just too much. It was too late, there wasn't enough time, their journey took a while to bring Sakura and Lee back."

The sniffling woman straightened up and looked at everyone. She wiped her tears away and gave them a calm and collected gaze. "I'm sorry about that. I just…" Ino couldn't find the words and gave up. "Look. We don't want to be late, so let's walk quicker."

"We'll all get through this, you'll see." Hinata informed the group as they paced faster. "In a few months time, I'm sure we'll be able to look back on Lee and remember the good times."

"Oh, Fuzzy Brows," Naruto sighed. "Why couldn't you have pulled through?"

The funeral went slowly, as most do. Naruto stood up to speak first, and as he did, Gaara felt like he was falling through time and space, to another world, because this world wasn't real, Lee couldn't be dead. He was the most alive person Gaara had ever known. Sakura stood up next, and he tried to listen to her, because she loved him too, but he couldn't. As it happened, the only person he listened to was Gai, as he knew that Gai and himself were the only two people who truly understood Lee. And Gai looked like a wreck.

There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Was that the saying? It seemed appropriate after Gai's words. Gaara glanced around and not one Ninja didn't seem sad, upset, angry at the death of Lee. He was so positive he had huge numbers of friends. They were all here. Mourning the man Gaara loved.

"After the funeral, I will fulfil my promise to Lee." Gai told everyone, which caused some looks from some of the Jounin. "I just want to say, continue. Do not be affected by my promise. This will make me a happier man." He stepped down, and was pulled aside by Kakashi, who looked like he was having a serious word with him. Gaara realised it was his turn, and stood up, not at all nervous or anxious about what he was going to say, because he was keeping this short, unlike everybody else.

The audience, if you could call them that, were silent as they stared at the Kazekage. Gaara swallowed, cleared his throat, then spoke in the voice he had adopted since Lee's death. The dead monotone. "I loved Lee, and Lee loved me. Now he is dead, and so am I." That was all. Gaara stepped down, brushed the coffin with his fingertips, then walked away. He didn't wait to see it lowered, and no one went after him, although Naruto looked like he wanted to.

***

It was the evening, and Gaara returned to the graveyard, returned to Lee's grave. He was buried now, but it didn't matter to Gaara. He took off the gourd on his back and rested it against Lee's grave. Then he took a step back, stared at the sight in front of him, and did something he hadn't done in over fifteen years.

The Kazekage cried.

That was when the memory came flooding back to him, as if the tears were the turning of a tap in his mind, and the water was coming out now. The memory that had made him cry, because it the last memory he had of Lee before he died, and he wanted to cherish it forever, but he knew he would forget the exact details one day.

Tsunade held a constant flow of heavy Chakra onto Sakura's wound, trying desperately to perform this healing Jutsu that could only be done while she was kept awake. If she fell unconscious, there'd be nothing she could do. Shizune worked on Lee with Ino, and he was fading fast. Sakura seemed to be healing, and Tsunade wanted to work on Lee but couldn't move from this position.

Both of the injured were awake, bearing with the unbearable pain that hit them with each second, with no let up. Lee turned his head to look at Sakura and Tsunade. The Fifth Hokage was sweating with concentration and working as hard as she could. But it had taken the group so long to reach Konoha Hospital. What if it was too late? Lee couldn't think like that.

"Shizune!" Tsunade shrieked. "Put your maximum efforts into Lee! You as well Ino! Be swift! Put him out of danger like I have done with Sakura!" The dark haired woman shouted at acted immediately and Lee felt even more pain than before, but relief aswell. Sakura was going to be okay. Then he turned his head to Gaara, who was holding his hand tight.

Ino and Shizune struggled together, and almost managed it, not quite keeping Lee's injury on the mend. Lee suddenly coughed up blood with a yelp of pain. The yelp was what made Sakura's heart break. He tried to lift an arm to tell them to stop wasting their time on him and just save Sakura (it was instinct) but didn't have the energy and had to just let them.

Although he couldn't turn lift an arm, his head was faced in Gaara's direction and he could speak to the man. "Gaara." His voice was hoarse, like he hadn't drank in years, and was drying out completely. "Gaara. I love you. More than life itself. I'm sorry." Lee coughed again. Gaara squeezed his hand tighter. "I'm sorry I didn't make it. I love you." Then he smiled.

"I love you, Lee." Gaara replied quietly. "I'm sorry, too." That was when Shizune and Ino stopped the Chakra flow and held both hands to their mouths in shock. That was when Lee had died.

Tsunade carried on with Lee, but silent tears fell down her face. She had formed a bond with the young man after his operation all those years ago; she felt something for him. Now he was gone. All she could do was make sure Sakura didn't go the same way.

Sakura and Naruto appeared at Lee's grave only ten minutes later, but Gaara was gone, and all they saw was the grave and the gourd, together, touching. Naruto saw this, and ran. He ran all the way back to his apartment, not once stopping, running to hope this wasn't what he thought it was.

***

Hokage,

Please tell the people of Suna I would have been a pathetic Kazekage from the moment Lee died, and I wasn't worthy of the position. I suggest my sister, Temari, to become the new Kazekage and if she does not wish to do so Kankuro. I apologise to you, Naruto, for having to find me like I am, and probably being the first to read this letter. It was the only way the sand guard would let me perish. Do not mourn for me, please. I was already dead the moment Lee's heart stopped beating. I am with him now, if there is an afterlife, so I am happier than I ever could have been on this world. Farewell.

Sabaku no Gaara.

"I found him lying in my bath, under the water, drowned." Naruto told Tsunade after she had finished reading the letter. "He is still in there now because I didn't know what to do, I just came to inform you of his death."

The Fifth Hokage stood up and put her hand on Naruto's shoulder. "That makes three."

"Three?" Naruto gasped.

Hinata coughed to signal she was here, behind them, and the two Hokage turned to look at her. "I told Tsunade only a few moments before you walked in. Gai was found dead in the training area he and Lee used, deep in the forest. Kakashi told me this was his promise. If Lee goes, he goes. If he goes, Lee goes. There was no stopping him according to Kakashi. He must keep his promise, he was happier now, he said."

"Take me to Gaara." Tsunade murmured. She placed the letter down on her desk and ordered Hinata to find Shizune and tell her to contact Suna with this news. Hinata nodded and left the room, leaving the Hokage in silence.

"I cannot believe it. Lee, Gaara, Gai…not even in a week." Naruto whispered. "I'll take you to Gaara, but…" He hesitated. "It's odd."

"What is?" Tsunade asked with a frown.

"Don't you feel the relief too? Gai and Gaara…they're happy now. With Lee." Naruto scratched his blonde hair. "Just ignore me."

"No," The Fifth let herself smile slightly. "I feel it too. But who knew Lee had this must power over people…he was incredible. All three were. This is a great loss, but if there is an afterlife, let's hope they're looking down on us and smiling, eh?"

Naruto agreed. They walked to his apartment and saw Gaara in the bath water.

It was rare to see a smile on Gaara's face, but there it was, under the water, on the face of a dead, but now happy, man.

Author's Note: -sniffles at Gaara, Lee and Gai- Oh this was ending was too sad for me to use it as the real one. I suppose you can choose the ending you want as the real one, but for me, the first ending was the true one, the happier one. Anyway. I want to take this chance just to say thank you to all of my reviewers that supported me while I was writing this, and of course all the readers. It has helped me to improve my writing and I do hope you've enjoyed this story. Now, that was the last instalment of The Blossoming of Sand. It's been an awesome thing to write, the whole of it! Here's to my second multi chaptered fan fiction!