A Lotus in Winter: A Rock Lee Love Story

Chapter 3: The Cave

Rock Lee POV:
I ran as fast as my weights would let me go in hopes of reaching the cave before it was too late. She was freezing cold in my arms and hung limp like a doll. 'She seems so fragile, but surely with an anbu mask on she is powerful.' I stopped in front of the cave. It hadn't occurred to me until just now that it could be inhabited or booby trapped. My hesitation gave time for my team to reach me and Neji activated his byakugan.
Neji: "It's all clear."
We all ran in and started working to save her. Guy sensei would guard everyone while I ran to get wood for a fire. Tenten and Neji would check her for wounds and bandage her up. This was the only way to save her. I ran and gathered up as much wood as I could carry. All the while I thought about her 'Why was she wandering around barefoot? Shouldn't an anbu always be prepared? Who is she, what happened to her?' I pushed my thoughts aside, they wouldn't save this mystery girl.
When I returned, they were still bandaging her feet and hadn't looked for other wounds yet. I quickly built a fire with guy sensei helping me.
Tenten: "You boys step out of the cave for a little bit, I will check her for wounds. She would probably be more comfortable with that anyways."
We all agreed and stepped out to wait.

Tenten's POV:
I looked down at the girl, her face was still concealed behind the mask. I considered removing it but that should be her choice and she may not want to be seen. I got to work checking for wounds. I moved her closer to the fire and started to remove her kimono. She let out a soft whimper and I checked if she had woken up. She hadn't. I removed her kimono and I was horrified, turning away I started retching. 'That poor girl'

Rock Lee's POV:
We heard Tenten becoming ill and rushed in thinking something was wrong. That was when we saw her. She was laying by the fire, under her kimono she had a tank top and shorts on, they were dirty and torn but that wasn't the part that made Tenten sick. It was the wound on her side that exposed part of her ribs and the many claw marks and bites from what appeared to be ninja hounds. I gasped, Neji didn't seem surprised (I'm sure he sensed it) but he was taken aback by its appearance. Guy sensei however spoke up. "We need to get her to Lady Tsunade as fast as we can. She won't last long. Get her warm first though and try waking her up. I will stand guard." We obeyed him, when Guy sensei talked that way, everyone knew he was serious. 'I wish I could give her my youthful energy. Please survive, I would like to be your friend.'