Sai left his teammates and headed for the training grounds, eager to get away from his loud friends. He didn't want to go home yet; home meant being enclosed and alone. Although he couldn't fully understand this, he knew going home now would somehow leave him with a negative feel. And so on to the training grounds he went.

He got to his destination quickly. It really wasn't far from where he had been (eating with his teammates; not his favorite thing to do). He arrived swiftly and quietly, hardly making any noise. He was surprised to see someone already training, though he really wasn't surprised by whom it was. He hadn't heard much of the green-clad ninja before him. All he knew was that he practically worshipped his teacher, and that he trained just as much, if not more, as he himself did. The boy was continually hitting a stump, his blows digging into the wood. He stopped, his face depicting horrible disappointment, and moved on to another stump. He then kept going with his arm movements, though they seemed much more measured, and his face was full of determination.

Sai studied the other boy. His eyebrows were knit close together with a passionate determination, his big, black round eyes narrowed with the thought of achieving something he wanted. His body was rigid, his arms blurry by the velocity of his blows. Sai had to admit, he was very strong. He just couldn't understand why he was measuring his movements so much. He stepped forward, relieving himself to the other.

"What are you doing?" asked Sai in his low voice.

The other did not look up, his eyes never leaving his point of impact. "I will be with you in just one moment!" he said, his voice ringing in Sai's ears. Sai did not flinch, but the other voice was incredibly loud; even though the blows to the stump weren't exactly quiet, he did not expect the other's voice to be so loud.

The boy continued, his punches hitting the same exact spot, his eyes hardly blinking. After a minute or two, the boy stopped, his arms falling to his sides, and a look of accomplishment brilliantly exposed on his face. He smiled, and faced Sai.

"Hello!" he practically yelled. Sai hardly surpressed a step back.

"What were you doing?" he asked again, his voice still low.

Rock Lee smiled even wider, his energy seeping into Sai's mind. "I am practicing self control! It is a skill that is very hard for me!"

Sai blinked, but said nothing. All he knew was that he left his loud teammates and found something louder. He swiftly turned around, and left the boy. The other was confused, but let him go without a word.

Sai did not return to his teammates. Instead, he headed to his spot in the forest, w here he always went in order to think and, most of all, be alone. It was a beautiful, untouched place deep within Konoha woods, a place, as far as Sai knew, no one else had been to. A small creek wandered over rocks, and grass filled the space between the thick tree trunks. Sai sat upon his usual place, atop a thick branch that easily held his weight. He stared down at the running water, his eyes unmoving. He stayed quiet, clearing his mind of all things, just as he had been taught while part of Root.

Sai did not sleep that night. He stayed up, thinking, disregarding his body's need for sleep. He could not take the boy out of his thoughts. Rock Lee was so strange, so unknown…

Sai left his teammates again, hoping to repeat the last day's occurrences. He wanted to see the boy again, to see the intensity in his eyes, something he himself lacked greatly. Sai just could not comprehend. How was Rock Lee so intense, when he was so incredibly mild?

Rock Lee was training, of course; it seemed to Sai that training was just about all that the boy did. He stayed behind the trees, not wanting to be seen. In the back of his mind, Sai knew he was doing something wrong, but he ignored the feeling. All he was doing was watching the boy, it's not as if he was going to hurt the other boy…

Rock Lee was practicing "self-control" again, apparently; the stump seemed hardly grazed, although he was throwing blows right at it. Curious, and forgetting his want of watching the boy, Sai approached the green-clad ninja.

"Why are you practicing self-control?"

The boy looked up instantly, as if afraid this meeting would be as short as the last. He spoke quickly ending on a very determined note, "I have trouble controlling the amount of power I use when fighting. I am to learn and dominate this skill!"

Rock Lee looked at Sai with big round eyes, seeming to look right at hisSai simply stared back. "Why?"

"Firstly, I do not want to wish to waist energy, and secondly, I sometimes use too much strength into day to day activities…"

"Like what?"

"I almost broke my teeth a week ago while brushing them," Lee looked down sheepishly.

Sai's blank expression did not falter, but he was slightly amused…

He left the boy again, jumping away. Rock Lee looked disappointed, but nevertheless returned to his training.

Sai was horribly confused. Something strange happened whenever he thought of the green-clad ninja. He did not understand what, but he did understand that this something was new. Was it related to some kind of bond? Was it normal, what was happening? Why could he not get the other boy out of his head?

None of it made any sense. He has hardly even ever talked to the boy. Why was Rock Lee causing him to have this reaction? What had he done? And for what reason? Sai's brow furrowed slightly, his usually calm and expressionless face moved with this newly found confusion.