Two days late... Dx I FAIL! I'm a horrible Fanfiction-ist type person. It may be late, but... Happy 22nd Birthday, Lee! (That's right, to all of those who didn't know, Lee's birthday is November 27 1990... According to the first volume of Naruto Character Profiles.)

Anyway, since this is the most popular fanfiction and possibly my most popular project- excluding my Hetalia Sim on DA- I figured I should tell you guys that I intend to start an online diary... Kinda. It will include things like when a story will be updated, links, maybe some things I plan to throw into the story as well as things you probably couldn't care less about like what happens in my day to day life. Now, before you get the wrong idea, this online diary is MAINLY my place to write nonsense and whatnot because i have been stressed up the wazoo without anyone or thing to vent to and share my thoughts and feelings. So you guys PROBABLY won't be interested in it, but I will share things involving Understanding Unspoken Words. So there you are, I guess. Lol

(I've never had a livejournal before, so... And I don't like Twitter or Facebook.)

Lee's POV

I continued to stare at Moriko-san, mouth open slightly, in shock. She did not seem to plan on elaborating, so I pressed her from more information.

"What do you mean, Moriko-san? You have the ability to speak... But you cannot?" I asked confused. Her skin was ghostly white and her eyes glued to the floor again. She shook her head and swallowed hard. Taking a deep breath, she tried again.

"I don't speak... Because I can't without being terrified." She explained vaguely. It looked as if it were painful for her to speak after so long of disuse. I could still only stare at her when Tenten-san swung the door open quickly. Her and Amaya-san had, apparently, been listening from behind the door. The preteen with dark blue hair hugged her younger sister, without saying a word as Tenten-san closed the door with a dark look on her face.

"Mori-chan, I forgot, the school would not be open... It's nearly dark. You should rest if you start your job tomorrow. Don't stress yourself out about it, okay? I'll take Lee and go" She offered with a friendly hand on her friend's shoulder. Moriko-san nodded and gave Tenten-san a weak but grateful smile. With that, my team mate grabbed my elbow and dragged me out of the apartment. She shut the door gently behind us and dashed up the road and all the way to the first fairly secluded place we came across. One of the training fields. Once we got there, she spun me around to face her.

"What have you guys been doing while I'm not around?" She asked. Her voice gave nothing but shock away but I could feel the slight accusation in her voice. The question took me off guard, though, which caused me to respond with an oh-so-intelligent-

"Huh?" Tenten-san crossed her arms and waited for the question to register, instead of explaining herself. She knew I had heard her. "We have not done anything. I am not sure what you might suspect to ask." I told her, truly confused once again.

"Mori-chan has severe trust issues. For her to speak to you..." She trailed off, still surprised she had heard such a thing. I nearly laughed. If THAT was all she was worried about... But I thought better of it. Tenten-san was not often violent with her comrades, but I feared that may change if I DID laugh.

"I simply asked her IF she could speak." I told her with a smile. Now that I had had more time to process it, I had to admit I was a little excited that Moriko-san could speak. Communication would be much less confusing, assuming she really began speaking again and overcame whatever fear she had. Tenten-san shook her head.

"And you thought that if she didn't trust you, she would tell you anyway?" She asked. And tapped her finger on her still-folded arms. "Why did you suspect her anyway?" She asked and her hard gaze softened a bit. I shrugged.

"A few clues, and hunches. But... I thought Moriko-san would tell me because... Well, I did not see why she would not." I explained. My dark haired friend's face told me she was growing frustrated. I shrank back a little against her anger.

"Lee! What happened yesterday? In little over a day you gained her trust. That's huge. It took me nearly a month to tell me she could speak!" Tenten-san snapped. I thought back and guilt washed over me again. I hung my head and stared at my toes while I answered.

"I had not been alone with her, until yesterday. When you and Gai-sensei left the restaurant. We were writing on a piece of paper to communicate, but even before that... I suspected she had run away from a bad home situation." I explained and took a deep breathe to give me the moment needed to carefully consider and place my words. The difference between a few simple words was the difference between taking a punch to the face from my friend and... well... Not getting punched.

"I asked her carefully and gently if she had come from an abusive home. She started crying, though. I got her back into her apartment and sat her down on the loveseat and did my best to comfort her... Then she wrote about her sister and how she left her. I stayed with Moriko-san until she stopped crying and that is when I went to find you." I explained. Not a word had been a lie.

Tenten-san relaxed and unfolded her arms. She was silent for a little while and eventually smiled a small smile.

"Okay. I'm sorry, Lee... I got uneasy for some reason. I guess I was a little jealous about Mori-chan opening up to you faster than I." She chuckled a little and I relaxed, too. "But, you are a gentler person than I am, with other people... I suppose you ARE the type she would instantly connect with." Tenten-san explained to me. But I doubted this.

"Are you sure? I did not really do anything to make her trust me more. She is probably just glad to have her sister back." I suggested, but my friend smiled wider and shook her head.

"True, but that's not it, Lee." She tried to explain to me. "You didn't have to do anything, it's just the way you are. Think about it, Lee... Out of all our friends, who would you think is more trustworthy than you? Heck, have you ever broken a promise?" She asked rhetorically. I smiled and took her words as praise.

Moriko's POV

I was still fighting the urge to blush as I made dinner for Amaya and I. The rush of emotions when I saw my sister again had overwhelmed me. The anger I had that he told his team about my situation had taken over at first. Ten-chan already knew, but I was told quite specifically by the Lady Hokage that I must not bother the other shinobi with my problems. But I could see that he meant well and only wanted to help. My gratitude overruled the anger and I could not help but to show him my thanks. I knew it could only have been his doing, the look of guilt on his face had told me that and Ten-chan had agreed NOT to go after Amaya. However, I still hadn't expected hugging him like that. Oh, how awkward it must have been for him. Stupid, Moriko, stupid!

I served the food I was able to prepare while my mind was on other things and sat down to eat with my younger sister. I did not normally speak to her, just as I did not normally speak to Ten-chan. Tonight must have been so filled with emotion, though, I allowed an exception when Amaya asked me a question over dinner.

"Why did you actually speak to Lee-sama?" She asked, innocently enough. At first I shrugged and she continued eating.

"I guess... I just felt like he could be trusted." I admit hoarsely. I was not looking forward to it, but I knew that next time we would communicate, he would ask me why I am afraid to speak and I would most likely answer. I sighed and continued to eat dinner with the sister I thought I might not see again, just the night before.