AFTER DARK | naruto

32 | stronger than we were yesterday

"Does anyone else see a copy of themselves?" Guy asked through the radio.

"Yes, Guy Sensei. I think this is the only time I will ever see a copy of myself..." Lee answered him, nodding his head even though Guy couldn't see it.

"Uh, yeah... I see one, too." Tenten agreed, hands hovering over her scrolls. "It came out of the water."

"I see one, too. It's obvious they're trying to hold us back, but I'm not in the mood for distractions." Neji got into a defensive stance, narrowing his eyes more than they already were. He found himself in in a sour mood ever since his team set off for the mission, his teammates were already overbearing enough with their expectations for all missions... But today; he found himself glad about it. They had moved even faster than usual, which got them to meet with Team Seven fast.

And this was the result, they had to get farther from you in order for the other team to get to you. The only thing that settled his angered heart by even a little was the fact that he had seen you alive. His Byakugan allowed him to see who he knew was you, although you were laying face-first on the floor, your altered Chakra flow stilled showed him the reminisce of you. Unlike the other two, the lack of Chakra flows in the two of them let him know they were dead.

Right now, you were being taken away by the blonde, while Kakashi and Naruto followed after him. It looked like Naruto was angry, although Neji couldn't see much color through the Byakugan, he could see the Fire in Naruto's eyes, and the way his skin bubbled.

...He didn't know what the bubbling was about, but he was sure it was out of pure anger.

They were also carrying the other two. Neji wasn't close with Gaara, and he hadn't a clue who the other girl was, all that mattered to him was that you were alive. That's why he needed a moment to collect himself, and finally tell Naruto off for getting so close to him. But he was still angry—your altered Chakra flow meant two things; they had used a Jutsu to keep you unconscious, and they clearly had done some sort of ritual to insert something similar to your last dragon.

He wanted answers, and the stupid clone of him wasn't making it easier for him. Neji had learned a lot of new Jutsus, fire, earth and wind... And it looked like his copy knew them all too—yeah, they knew every single Jutsu Neji did. He hated to admit that it was a good delay tactic.

Lee had learned lots too, he learned how to open the fifth gate—and he started to focus his chakra in his hands to create a stronger punch, rather than to defend himself. Of course, he'd still do a lot of defending, but offense was as important as defense! He too, hated to admit that this delay was good. He wanted to see you, although Neji said you were alive—Lee yearned to see you. It had been so long, and even after all this time, he recognized you as his first ever friend. And all these memories of you reminded him of something, a solution to the problem his team was facing that was just so... Obvious.

"I have got the answer. It is so simple, I can't believe I did not remember it sooner." He spoke up, catching all three of the others attention.

"...Uh, and what's that?" Tenten asked, hitting a stalemate with her clone.

"Well, it was a saying my teammates and I made." Lee had gotten stuck in a stalemate himself. "How does our team motto go, Neji?"

That question was the exact same one you asked him years back, on the night of Lees birthday. And his answer was the same, even now; "Stronger than we were yesterday." Though this time, he was a lot more sure of himself—this time, he knew Lees reason for bringing it up.

"Exactly. If these clones have the same power as we did when they were first summoned, then they cannot grow, and..."

"That means we just have to get stronger than we were before." Guy finished for him, a smile growing on his face. "Brilliant Lee!"