The Conqueror of The Shinobi World

A Burned Flower

"Why Lee?" Guy questioned, his voice filled with a sense of disappointment that reverberated through the desolate corridor. Fixing his gaze directly upon Lee, who diverted his eyes uncomfortably. Lee's hands were stained a deep crimson, a stark reminder of Neji's dried blood that clung to his skin stubbornly. Despite Lee's attempts to cleanse away the grim evidence, Guy had forcefully intervened, refusing to let him rid himself of the guilt until a thorough explanation had been given. The air between them hung heavy with unanswered questions.

Guy looked at his favorite student, trying his hardest not to lose control and do or say something he might regret. Guy always saw Lee's lack of a way to use Jutsu as a handicap for him to reach his full potential; seeing Lee struggle and lose constantly reminded Guy of his own father, who had struggled his whole life to catch up.

Guy had seen himself and his father in Lee, someone who needed guidance, someone who needed someone capable of teaching him. Might Dai didn't have a mentor, and neither did Guy; they had to learn Taijutsu all by themselves, which could get quite difficult. Konoha had Private Taijutsu Masters, but their price was too high.

Guy had seen Lee's determination to be the best, and he knew if he became the mentor Lee needed, then one day Lee could become what they weren't able to be; for this reason, Guy always paid more attention to Lee than he did to Neji and TenTen. Both were very good Shinobis, so they didn't really need his help to begin with, at least that's what Guy had told himself constantly, but despite everything, Guy never taught Lee something he hadn't thought Neji or TenTen.

Until the day Lee lost for the hundredth time against Neji, Guy had understood that no matter how much Lee trained, Neji trained as well, and because of his Byakugan and him being a prodigy, the gap between Lee and Neji not only did not get smaller, but it got bigger as the time went on, for this reason, Guy had decided that the only way for Lee to be in equal footing with everyone else, he needed the Inner Gates, that's the excuse Guy had used in his head when he taught Lee about the Inner Gates and not his other students, he was simply making it fair, between Lee and everyone else.

But Guy understood now that he had underestimated how much bitterness Lee held towards Neji. Guy had always known they weren't exactly best buddies, but he had never predicted that it would go this far, and now, Guy wasn't sure what to even think anymore.

Kakashi had warned him, but Guy had not listened, and now Neji was paying the consequences of Guy's decisions.

"Why Lee?" Guy asked once again with a higher tone, looking down at Lee, who had his eyes on the floor; despite hearing the question, Lee kept quiet.

Guy almost opened his mouth to shout at him but reluctantly closed his mouth; Guy didn't want to yell at his student, even if he deserved it. "I taught you that technique to fight, to win fights against your enemies, but I never taught you that because I wanted you to hospitalize Neji," Guy spoke with a sharp voice, full of disappointment, which was the first time he had talked like that with Lee.

"I was always going to use that to defeat Neji," Lee defended himself, saying the words without thinking, but the glare Guy sent him made him gulp as he took a step back from Guy.

"I know that, but I never thought you would put him at the death's doorstep. He is your teammate, and if it wasn't for me interfering, Neji would be dead right now, so don't act like you stopped on your own," Guy said with a defeated voice, sounding even more disappointed with Lee while shaking his head, Lee's eyes widened as if he just remembered that it was Guy the one who stopped him from killing Neji.

Lee tried to tell himself, tried to convince himself that killing Neji hadn't been his intention; his intention had been to win and to show Neji once and for all that his Byakugan wasn't worth anything against Hard Work, but Lee knew deep down that when he made the final attack, that kick would have completely shattered Neji's rib cage and his internal organs, not even Tsunade would have been able to save him at that point.