Silence (Naruto FanFiction - Rock Lee love story)

Preliminaries Part Three

Kiara stood with the rest of the teams, but knew they were treating her differently after that fight.
She was different, her relentlessness and unwavering ability to cut someone down.
Kabuto had healed himself, but still the others knew the truth of her now.
Her face was on display, showing the truth behind her mask.
She was blank...at least that's what she believed.

Kakashi stared at the girl, watching at her teammates seemed wary of her now.
Sakura in particular was shying away from the emotionless face.
"Sensei...why is she like that?" At the voice of his other female student, he signed and looked down at the pinkette.
"What do you mean?"
Sakura flushed in embarrassment,"Why is she so cold towards us?"
He hummed gently, seeming to think of an answer that would ease the mind of the pinkette.
"Remember how I told you she has had nobody?" With a nod, Sakura and Naruto seemed to ran in forgetting about the fight going on. They could tell just by Lee and Gai's shouting what was happening.
"Imagine having to grow up fending for yourself, and not being able to trust anybody. You put up a wall, wanting to show you are stronger then you look." Naruto instantly thought of Gaara, and looked over at the red headed boy.
Sakura looked over at her teammate, frowning slightly at the thought of never having her parents, friends or rivals.
At this she looked at Ino, trying to imagine having no one to help her threw the bullies or blossoming into the girl she is today.
Even though Kiara seemed so strong, was she just as fragile as Sakura was when she was a little girl? Still needing someone to help her grow?
Kakashi suddenly placed his hand on the pinkettes head, causing her to look up at him with wide eyes.
"She needs us more then ever, we are her teammates and it's our duty to help her." At this Sakura gave a firm nod then started over to Ino, making plans already.

Kiara stared at the ceiling, her mind blank as she waited for the matches to finish.
"Lee wait!" She was instantly standing on the railing and staring down at the boy and girl.
Lee was currently trying to fight the female who took out his teammate Tenten.
Before anyone could blink, she was beside the green clad shinobi. Her blade at Temari's throat, as her eyes suddenly sparked with her anger.
"Hurt him and die." Her raspy voice was low, but everyone heard the threat clear as a bell.
Gai stared at the girl with wide eyes, not sure why she was protecting his student so adamantly. 
Lee turned to Kiara, his eyes sparkling as he gave her a thumbs up.
"That was so cool! You are awesome Kiara." Everyone sweat-dropped, but blanched when the fearless girl blushed at the sight of him so close.
"Temari what are you doing? Stop wasting your time, you have already beaten your opponent." Temari gave a nod at Gaara's words, then gave the girl an uneasy look as she walked away.
Kiara gave a weak smile to Lee, having never experienced one before it was almost painful to her face. But at the sight of Lee's smile getting bigger, it made the pain worth it.
Kakashi watched this interaction along side his rival Gai, who was absolutely confused.
"She likes him." Kakashi clarified, smirking when Gai blanched his chin practically hitting the floor.
"Such a strong kunoichi likes my Lee?? What...what!! Youthfulness!!!" Kakashi sighed as his rival started to swiggle back and forth.
Kiara helped Lee bring Tenten up to the rest of the teams, and began to heal the girl.
At once Kakashi noticed the difference in the way people now saw her, instead of an emotionless assassin, she was now a regular girl. Strong, fearless and scary at times, but she obviously cared for the people around her.
He looked over at the Hokage to see relief and happiness across his face.
"Good job Kiara." Kakashi told her, causing the girl to give him a nod and flush slightly.
Sakura and Ino were discussing this new bit of information, as now that Lee was the fastest way to cause Kiara to show emotion they would exploit this.
Naruto was looking back and forth between Kiara and Rock Lee, his eyes squinting as he tried to figure out why she liked him at all.
Hinata felt relieved, not thinking she could win Naruto if Kiara liked him in any way.
Kiba was green in the face, wondering how someone so perfect for him liked a weirdo like Rock Lee.
Then there was Neji, he stared at his idiotic teammate his eyes narrowed at the sight of the two. Not once did he think they would have ended up together, clearly Lee was meant to loose in every way. It was his destiny, that must mean she will fall for someone else. It must be, because there is no way this girl can be with his teammate.
The thought of it made him sick, and mad.

However Kiara didn't seem to notice any of this, as Rock Lee was talking to her about her fight.
"You did a great job! I am sure that you will pass this exam! Will you cheer me on?" He asked, posing as if it would help persuade her.

Kiara looked at him, her cheeks gently dusted with pink as he looked at her.
"Always..." she whispered, causing Rock Lee to swell with not only happiness but something else.
He observed this strange feeling, realizing it was because of Kiara and decided he would ask Gai about this later.

Tenten woke up, and didn't know what to do at the sight of a girl and her weird teammate Rock Lee looking at each other in such a tender way.
'What in the world kind of alternate reality have I fallen into...' she wondered, and fell back into the darkness.