The hospital room was suspended in a silence that felt heavy, like a held breath.
It was late—or perhaps early; time had lost its meaning somewhere between the third and fourth cup of vending machine coffee. The only light came from the erratic, glowing line of the heart monitor and the moonlight filtering through the blinds, slicing the room into strips of blue and black.
Might Gai sat in a plastic chair that was far too small for his frame. His elbows rested on his knees, his chin in his hands. He hadn't moved in hours. He hadn't blinked in minutes.
He watched Rock Lee.
The boy looked so small in the bed. The bandages wrapped around his arms and legs were stark white against his bruised skin. He wasn't moving. He wasn't doing push-ups. He wasn't screaming about the power of youth. He was just... lying there.
Gai leaned forward, his voice a rough whisper that cracked in the quiet room.
"Keep fighting, Lee," he murmured, willing his own chakra, his own spirit, to bridge the gap between them. "Don't you dare stop. Keep fighting."
Inside Lee's mind, the world bent to the curvature of his determination.
"YES, SENSEI!" Rock Lee saluted, his voice echoing in a void that smelled like chalk dust and rain.
He stood up. His body felt light, weightless, unburdened by broken bones or crushed muscles.
His eyes drifted over the landscape. It was a shifting, fluid place. The ground was made of dojo mats, but the trees growing out of them looked like a child's drawing—jagged lines of green crayon vibrating against a paper sky. Above him, red swirling clouds drifted lazily, looping in impossible patterns.
Every time he moved, the world smeared into a blur of color, and when the motion stopped, he found himself somewhere new.
Snap.
The Academy.
Rock Lee was sitting at his desk. The wood was hard against his elbows.
Neji Hyūga was standing beside him. But he wasn't normal. He was tall. Taller. He grew as Lee watched, his pale eyes becoming two massive moons, his shoulders widening until they cracked the plaster of the ceiling.
A hawk flew by, screeching, its shadow darkening the room.
"You are no one," Neji's voice boomed, rattling Lee's teeth. "Destiny has already decided."
Lee slammed his hands on the desk. "That's a lie!"
But it wasn't Lee's voice.
He turned. Standing in the aisle, wearing her ribbon and glasses, was Sylvie-chan. She looked furious, her hands on her hips.
"BUSHY BROWS GOT GUTS!" she yelled, her voice shattering the giant Neji like a mirror.
A flicker of recognition sparked in Lee's chest. He turned to the other side.
Naruto was there, pumping his fist in the air, grinning that fox-grin. "Yeah! Kick destiny in the teeth, Bushy Brow!"
And standing next to him, arms folded, face permanently etched with a scowl of disappointment, was Sasuke Uchiha.
Sasuke looked at Lee. He sighed, the sound like a deflating tire.
"I..." Sasuke muttered. A deep, impossible blush spread across his stoic face. He looked at his shoes, ashamed. "-stole your jutsu."
Sasuke admitted it sheepishly, in a wildly out-of-character moment that defied all logic.
Lee did not notice this discrepancy. In the dream, it made perfect sense. His hard work had been acknowledged by the genius.
"Thank you, my friends!" Rock Lee cried, tears of youth streaming down his face. "Your support fuels my flames!"
Sylvie leaned over to Naruto, whispering loud enough for the whole room to hear. "You know... when he's fiery like that... he's actually kinda cute, too."
Cute?
Lee froze. His face turned atomic red.
WHOOSH.
Steam exploded from Rock Lee's ears and nostrils. It wasn't just a little puff; it was a geyser. It filled the classroom with thick, white fog, obscuring his friends, obscuring the desk, obscuring the world.
The hospital curtains rustled like they'd just been told a secret.
But the steam didn't dissipate. It grew heavy. It grew gritty.
The white fog turned brown. It turned to sand.
The sand swirled around his ankles, then his knees, then his waist. It began to tighten. It began to choke.
There was no voice in the sand. No Gaara. Just a low, animalistic growl of rage, fear, and pain—a vibration that threatened to crush his ribs into dust.
Lee struggled. He couldn't move his legs. The weight of the gourd was crushing him.
"Fight, Lee. Keep fighting."
Gai-sensei's voice cut through the sandstorm like a blade.
"YE-YES SENSEI!" Lee screamed.
He closed his eyes. He didn't need to move his limbs. He needed to move his spirit.
Gate of Opening. Open.
Gate of Healing. Open.
Gate of Life. Open.
Chakra ignited. Green energy exploded from his pores, pushing the sand back.
Gate of Pain. Gate of Limit. Gate of View. Gate of Wonder.
7 gates were open.
The dream world screamed. The sand turned to glass under the heat of his aura. The glass shattered into shards. The shards disintegrated into star dust.
"THE POWER OF—"
Lee crouched, the energy around him turning red. The Eighth Gate. The Gate of Death. In the dream, there was no consequence. There was only the goal.
Chakra surged.
"YOUTH!!!"
All 8 gates have opened.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
He punched the sky.
Lee's world vanished into static white light.
CHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP.
The sound tore through the quiet hospital room like a shuriken.
CHIRP CHIRP CHIRRRRRP CHIRP CHIRP.
Gai's head snapped up, his neck cracking audibly. His eyes locked onto the EKG machine.
The green line wasn't rhythmic anymore. It was spiking. It was erratic. It was racing as if the boy in the bed was running a marathon at full sprint.
Lee's body twitched. His skin flushed pink, then red, sweat beading instantly on his forehead despite the cool air.
Gai pushed the chair over as he scrambled to his feet. It clattered loudly against the linoleum.
"NURSE!" Gai bellowed, his voice shaking the walls.
He sprinted for the door, tearing it open.
"DOCTOR! HE'S—HE'S FIGHTING!"
Gai's footsteps echoed frantically down the hall, his green vest a blur as he ran to find help.
He turned the corner just in time to miss it.
Back in the room, the machine began to slow, settling back into a steady, strong rhythm. The sweat on Lee's brow cooled.
And on Rock Lee's sleeping face, his lips curved into a faint, victorious smile.