Thicker than Blood Chapter 7

If he could have Guy would've slammed his fist so hard into the mirror it shattered and then destroyed whatever pieces were left. He would erase the image inside and the event that was happening. Somehow, he knew if he broke the mirror it would end. This wouldn't happen and he wouldn't have to see this. He wouldn't have to watch as Tenten and Neji were slowly choked to death while Lee began opening the gates. He wouldn't have to watch as Lee killed himself with something he'd taught the boy! He wouldn't have to watch helplessly as this happened!

But he couldn't find the strength to look away, much less move. His throat swelled with a lump that grated like sandpaper and his hands curled so hard his jagged nails cut into the ground while his chest tightened to the point he couldn't breathe. It felt like the will to breathe had vanished with the ability as he watched.

Lee wouldn't open the eighth gate. He wouldn't! That had been the absolute rule Guy swore him to. That no matter what he could not open the last gate. Besides, Lee wouldn't need to. The first two or three would be enough to stop this. The power brought forth by even those few were enough to make him a formidable opponent for any jounin. Combined with his Taijutsu it wouldn't go so far as even the sixth!

"Suffocation is a painful way to die." Satouri hissed. "Breathing becomes impossible. The lungs fill with water before collapsing on themselves. The larynx is crushed, and in some cases the heart even bursts inside the chest. Bodily fluids leak out...it's horrific. But the worst part is until the very end the person is aware of everything that's happening. Even after they black out. They can feel it."

Guy wanted to cover his ears to block out Satouri's voice. His muscles tensed as if to move, but he couldn't.

"I have a feeling Lee knows this as much as you do. He wouldn't want his friend's to suffer so much. He'd much rather take their place." Satouri watched with fascination as the mirror showed Lee opening the second gate. Chakra had yet to begin truly surging but he was moving so fast it was hard to see him. If the mirrors didn't slow everything down, he wouldn't have been able to. "And that's what he'll do isn't it? He'll take their place if he opens the last gate."

'Shut up.' Guy's grip tightened on the ground, embedding tiny rocks into his bleeding hands.

"That's what happens isn't it Guy-san? If the last gate is open the users body becomes so overheated that they can no longer breath. Their body is crushed from the inside out and their heart bursts in their chest? Isn't that what happens?!"

"It won't get that far!" Guy snapped. His eyes narrowed as much from anger as to keep the water in them from falling. "You have no idea how strong that boy is. If you've watched him for as long as you say..."

"That's the point, Guy-san. We know how strong he is. With and without the gates. We've seen him, but we don't know how he became that way. If you tell me now I will call this off. You can still save him. All it will take is a few words."

His mouth went dry and he gripped his forehead so tight he dug the glass from earlier further in. He couldn't tell them. He couldn't...if his students were coming then anything he said now would be used against them. They'd be captured. Studied. Abused animals were treated better than how they would be. But...what...how much did he have to say? How...

"No!" he shouted. "You think you know how strong he is?! You think..." a cough broke past his defenses and left him gasping. "He won't...open the eighth gate. He won't...need to..."

"Are you saying that because you truly believe it? Or because you don't want his blood on your hands?"

Guy's head shot up and his narrowed eyes became slits. He knew where this was going. He knew...so why was he unable to brace himself?

"After all, you taught him how to open the gates. A forbidden technique for even jounin to teach their equals yet you taught a child. For what reason did you do this? Was it really all to help him reach some dream?"

His chest clenched further and he wished for any physical pain instead of this. He would take having his body filled with knives and poison over this.

"Or did you teach him because of your own pride? You wanted to prove your way was the right way. So you used him."

"No!" Guy snarled, but couldn't meet Satouri's eyes. That wasn't true. He had been foolish to teach Lee what he did, but he wasn't using the boy. Maybe he pushed to hard at times. Maybe he did want Lee to prove something but he would never have taught him that if he knew what might happen. He would never use him like that! He would never use any of his students for his own gain. Especially not to prove a point. He wouldn't do that!

"You can deny it all you want, Guy-san, but we both know you did. You used him, and you used the rest. You never really cared about them. This is all some kind of big show. Really, you never even wanted them did you? They're just a way for you to keep a promise to a dead friend..."

It was then Guy's head shot up and he grabbed at Satouri. Despite the electrical shocks he pushed harder trying to grab his throat, but as the lightning built inside his body it sent him flying backwards and skidding over the rough ground. His suit tore further and stuck to his bleeding arms and legs.

"Don't you...ever...bring her up!" his voice was little more than pained whisper. How did they even know about Kaori?! He had never...he took his students to her grave before but how did they know about his promise to her?! How...but he knew he said something. Several times after speaking about his team, he'd tell her he was keeping his promise. But it wasn't what Satouri was making it out to be. Even if he hadn't promised her it wouldn't change how he felt about his students!

"I'm right and you know I'm right. It was her dream to lead a bunch of misfits. Not yours." his lips peeled back into a twisted grin. "So you had to make them into a better team. You had to make them into something you thought was acceptable and so you went as far as possible! Your pride almost cost the boy his life once and it's this same pride of yours that will kill him this time! You believe he can survive? Are you that stupid you think he can survive opening the eighth gate? Are you that foolish you believe he can win without doing so?"

'Stop it. Stop!' Guy wanted to scream. He wanted nothing more than for Satouri to leave him alone. He would rather be killed than have this pushed in front of him. It wasn't true. No matter what Satouri said he knew it wasn't true. Those children were everything to him. He would never risk their lives!

"You can stop it if wanted to. He'll die and you'll know you could have stopped it!" Satouri spat and then slammed his open palm onto the mirror. "Look! He's already opened the sixth gate."

X

Why weren't any of his attacks getting through?! Lee snarled as he shot back and forth over the fire, causing it to spread even further as flames licked from his hands and feet. Every surface he touched was scalded. Everyone he came into contact with was burned if they didn't move in time. Even those who did were often consumed by the flames either from him or below.

But the one person who counted remained unharmed. Hundreds of clones had fallen and Lee could feel his body twisting from the inside out. There was no part of him that didn't burn or feel ripped apart. His heart beat so hard he was sure it was on fire as well. He couldn't stop though. Somehow he had to get through!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" his cry was more demonic than human as he crashed his smoldering fist through a tree encrusted boulder and it erupted into hundreds of pieces. He grabbed the larger ones and hurled them at the oncoming ninja and clones with everything he had. They struck dead center. Bones snapped and death echoed in the darkness. Even the tree where Neji and Tenten were held didn't remain unharmed. The person controlling it though...they hadn't even moved since he began his attack! Not even to flinch!

What was it going to take to get through?!

For most people moving at such high speeds would cause everything to look like nothing more than a blur. With the chakra pulsing through him though, Lee saw everything perfectly. He saw the tiniest flicker of a movement from an opponent and was able to react before they finished their strike. He saw deeper into the shadows than even the fire's light and nothing that was happening to his teammates was hidden. Along with choking and crushing them, they were cutting into them. Drilling daggers made of bark slowly into their sides and shoulders. Neither had enough air to even scream though. Not even Neji.

Lee's eyes lingered on him as he tried to get a better look. Neji's head was down, his mask cracking from the heat and off to the side. Blood traced his mouth and it looked like he had stopped breathing. Tenten was at least fighting but Neji didn't even seem to be reacting.

"RELEASE THEM!" Lee screamed as he headed towards the figure controlling the tree once again. His fist only hit another clone. Striking right through them. But from behind he was hit with a flash of lightning that sent him careening to the left and at the speed he was going was enough to cause him to crash through several thick trunks. Wood stabbed into his back. Bit his face and scraped against his neck like a knife. Blood flew from his wounds like rain, splashing against the trunk and smearing behind him as he skidded over broken trunks. He was up so fast though, and shooting back towards his friends that most blood droplets didn't have time to settle before the hit him in the face again. His mouth was wet with the taste of his own blood among others. The copper taste fueled him on.

They wouldn't last much longer. Anyone could see that. Neji might even...

No! It wasn't going to end this way. There was to much they had left to do. That all of them had to do. They had to free their sensei. Neji had to find his courage to ask Tenten to marry him and break free from the Main Branches hold. He had to finish picking the lock on his cage and free himself! Tenten had to see the rest of the Land of Water. That was her dream. To go back where she'd been forced to run from and actually learn about who she was while there. She wanted to see the village hidden in the mist without being on a mission. She wanted to see it with them as a team. As a family. And he...he still had the world to see as well. He wanted to become a teacher one day like Guy had and show someone else who no one believed in what they could do. He wanted to carry on Guy's legacy and...he wanted to be with Hinata. He wanted to hold her and marry her and he wanted to show her so much! Even start a family with her. That was his dream. To be the teacher Guy always was for him, and to be a father like he never had. He wanted to break the circle he'd been born into so badly.

They all wanted to grow old together as a team. See the next generation come and take their place. They wanted to help lead them.

So many dreams. So many desires...

None of which would end here! He wouldn't let them.

"Seventh gate, release!"

Chakra like he had never known shot through his body at an almost unbearable rate. He could feel it burning inside of him. Tearing at his muscles and his head spun. His eyes felt full of needles and light at the same time and he moved so fast it felt hard to breath. Everything else was so slow.

It felt like somehow everything else had been trapped at a standstill and he was the only thing moving. The only person still breathing. He felt like if he ran fast enough the other way he could move time backwards. He could race with the speed of light itself and win!

But ignoring the pain wasn't the same as not feeling it. He knew he had to end this soon! His heart was beating so fast. Too fast. He could feel blood coating his forehead now as the capillaries there burst and drenched his already red face.

This had to end it. There was no other way.

Weaving his way through an onslaught of clones, Lee approached the figure killing his team and brought back his fist. One hit was all it would take to shatter them from the inside out.

As soon as he launched his attack though, the figure moved and his fist hit wood that reacted like a hand and threw him off to the side.

What?!

Lee's eyes widened to impossible size and a snarl twisted on his face as he whipped around.

He was moving to fast now for even fire to keep up with him and...no! No! His body shuddered and bulked but he wasn't going to give in yet! He still had time before he either needed to close the gates or...

No. It wouldn't come to that. He swore to Guy when he'd learned that he would never use that. Even as a last resort. He swore on his training, his life, he swore with everything he had.

He wouldn't break that promise.

What if he had to though? His attacks weren't even seconds apart but his target kept moving! Did they know how to open the gates as well? Lee didn't know, but he wouldn't let it end like this, nor would he break his promise! He...

"eeggghhhh..."

His eyes shot towards Tenten as the hand dug deeper into her throat. Her eyes were as wide he had ever seen them and bulging from their sockets. Tiny trails of blood and saliva ran from her open mouth. She didn't have long. Half a minute at best.

And the last thing they did was fight. All because of a stupid comment he made where he hurt her and probably Neji just as deeply. That's the last thing they'd...and then what? It would be just him. Just him and he knew he couldn't rescue Guy on his own. He was to emotional about it and he'd get himself killed before he even reached him.

If something happened, the best people to continue in trying to find him were Neji and Tenten. They...and they would know he didn't doubt how they felt. Tenten would know his apology was more than words. She'd know he trusted her to do this because he knew how much she cared about Guy. They'd both know...

His eyes darted down to where the figure now stood on a pile of jagged debris. One more shot. That's what he would give himself before opening the last gate. It was the only option he had left.

Pulling both his fists back and gritting his teeth, Lee aimed for the ninja. Going faster than he ever before and feeling the wind cutting into him like thousands of knives. Blood whipped behind him in wild tiny arcs and his vision was coated in red.

This was it. This was everything. His heart swelled and jolted, his muscles screamed and he knew he wasn't breathing anymore. His lungs couldn't keep up. This move was sheer willpower.

Releasing everything he had, Lee slammed his fists down onto the pile and watched as every single rock and branch shattered into dust or was incinerated by the sheer impact.

Everything in front of him was destroyed.

Everything, but what he was aiming for.

X

Seven gates.

Tenten gasped as she continued fighting the tree's grip. Seven gates had been opened. There was only one left. Lee wasn't that stupid though. He wouldn't open it. He wouldn't! It would kill him.

If he thought it would save them though, she knew he would. Deep down past any self assurances, she knew he'd kill himself to save them.

Nothing enraged her so much when it came to Lee as this fact did!

"Have...get...out..." every word was less than a gasp and she could feel her ribs slowly cracking from the pressure. But she had to keep fighting. She tried to dig her teeth into the wooden hand gnaw at it, but nothing worked. She couldn't reach it and what she could touch only gave her splinters in her lips.

How was that ninja avoiding Lee's attacks?! She couldn't even see him anymore, but she knew where he was seconds after because of the destruction that followed. No one should be able to move that fast! Not unless they had opened the gates as well, but since she could still see them, she doubted that was it. So what was going on?

From the corner of her eye, she shot a look at Neji.

He had his head bowed and all she could hear was tiny gasps coming from his mouth. Another dose of rage welled up inside of her and she felt like kicking him. Why wasn't he fighting?! Why was he just hanging there limp like nothing was happening and it was over? The Neji she knew wouldn't do that! Not unless he had been so severely injured on impact he couldn't help it. No. Even then he'd still fight!

Water burned her eyes as she watched him and her throat tightened from more than the hand around it. Neji couldn't die like this. Lee couldn't either! They had to get out of here somehow.

With her anger increasing she forced herself to dislocate her wrists despite the pain that pierced her arms and began making as many seals as she could. They weren't perfect, and every movement made her feel worse, but she had to do something.

"I...ice...cr..." she was cut off as her hands were sucked into the tree and her wrists forced back into place. Her scream was little more than a strangled hiss.

"D...don't...f...fight." Neji whispered.

Her bloodshot eyes locked onto his.

"Wh..."

"K...killed...f...faster...h...have..."

What was he saying?! Tenten didn't understand what he was getting at and why he wasn't fighting. Killed faster if they fought? They'd die if they didn't! As the fire licked up higher around them though, she saw what he meant. The pressure on his throat was less than hers. She could see the grip wasn't as strong and he wasn't bleeding like she was.

Her eyes widened.

He was playing dead. Playing the part of defeat until he could figure a way out of here. It was the same thing he'd done when they were trapped in water prisons by Kisame's clones. He waited until the timing was right or he couldn't wait any longer.

"W...way...o..." he tried to say but it was all a choking wheeze.

She didn't need him to finish to know what he was saying. But Lee didn't know. He didn't know that Neji had a plan. He was hurting himself to save them because he didn't know.

"T...tell...L..." her words were garbled and lost as the grip tightened.

"Tr...try..." he managed.

Trying wasn't enough! If Lee knew he just had to keep them busy he wouldn't be doing this to himself. He wouldn't open...

"...no..." it was the loudest she'd screamed since her throat had started to be crushed and she began to fight harder than before.  She couldn't see him that well, even as he stood but she saw his movements. He was crossing his arms again and looking right at them. Despite the fact his face was bright red she could see a tiny smile on his lips.  

" Please...when you find him, ask Guy-sensei to forgive me for this. Let him know that I just couldn't let you die here. Neji, please tell Hinata...well you know." his words sounded like a ghost's. Shivering and unstable. "Thank you for everything my ri...my friend. Tenten...thank you as well. Thank you...and please. Please forgive me for what I said. I am so sorry..."

X

"LEE! NO!" Guy's scream rattled through the cave as he watched and his hand shot out for the mirror. The burning in his eyes went unchecked, even as it trailed down his cheeks. His face contorted into that of a wounded animal as he looked Satouri. "Stop this!"

"It's to late now." Satouri smiled as he watched the mirror. So much power. That boy had so much power!

"No! It's not! Stop this and..." he would tell them! He would tell Satouri whatever he asked about the gates if only he stopped this. That's what he wanted to say. That's what he wanted to say more than anything. He would train their ninja himself if only this ended. He would! He...but none of these words came out. Something was holding them back and no matter how he fought around the gag it wouldn't work.

"And you'll what?" Satouri pressed.

"I..." Guy started, but it felt like someone had clapped a hand over his mouth and forced him to swallow a jagged stone. He couldn't speak past that. The secrets were burning to get out. He could feel them grating him on the inside but he couldn't get past what was holding him back. He...what was stopping him?! This was Lee's life!

"You're out of time!" Satouri snarled, reaching the through bars and jerking Guy forward by the cuff of his jumpsuit. "You could have saved him. All you had to do was tell me and now look. Watch as your precious student pays yet again for your mistake!" he pulled Guy forward further, forcing his face to touch the bars as he smashed the mirror against them from the other side with his handless wrist. The electrical shocks were causing Guy's body to convulse and he could feel blood beginning to run from his face and around his eyes, mixing with his tears until he seemed to be crying blood. Lee was crossing his arms again. He was slowly lowering them. The eighth gate was starting to open.

"Lee..." his voice was so thick it was unrecognizable. " Please...stop this! Please!" he begged the man that held his face against the bars.

"So this is all it takes to break Konoha's beast? Put his team in trouble and he cracks. Death is what awaits all shinobi! There is no stopping it."

Guy watched helplessly. Hating himself but continuing to beg the man to stop this. He didn't know how, but he knew Satouri had control over the situation. He knew if he gave the order everything would stop! But because Guy couldn't get the words out he wouldn't. He would watch as Lee was killed. He would watch as the boy he loved as a son was ripped apart because of something he taught him. After the eighth gate was opened, Lee's body wouldn't even be recognizable.

Lee...

"Lee...please...please..."

"Forgive me...Guy-sensei." those were the last words Lee whispered before Guy watched as he continued to lower his arms. Light surged all around him as the chakra flowed so intensely it was hard to look straight at him. The branch he stood on began to crack from the power Lee's simple stance held and his and mouth eyes began to glow from the sheer amount of chakra that began to flow.

"Eighth..."

"EIGHT TRIGRAMS AIR PALM!"

Just as the eighth gate began to open, the mirror showed Neji breaking himself and Tenten free from the tree that held them and becoming a bloody blur as he shot forward. His strike hit Lee dead center and knocked him backwards. It did enough to cause the eighth gate to begin closing but an air strike wasn't enough to stop it completely. He had to make physical contact for that. Not even seconds later, he did, and Guy heard Neji begin to count out the strikes as he delivered them to Lee.

"Four palm. Eight palm. Sixteen palm. Thirty-two palm. Sixty-four palm!" the strikes were all concise, but not as strong as they could have been. If they had been as hard as usual he could have...it would have damaged all of Lee's organs. But Neji wasn't doing that. He was striking to stop the flow of chakra. One by one, Guy watched as the gates closed. Blood flew from Lee's mouth as he was pushed back and forth. His eyes rolled back and his body convulsed as if filled with lightning. At the very end, he collapsed backwards, falling into Tenten's arms as she came up from behind and caught him.

He slumped against her like a lifeless doll and slowly, Guy could see blotches of his normal skin tone through his blood smeared face.

"He's...burning up." Tenten choked as she lowered him to the ground, feeling his pulse. "His heart's...beating to fast. We..."

"I know. We have to get away from the fire as fast as we can before it..." a cough cut Neji off, but he didn't waste any time as he stripped off Lee's vest, then shirt and tucking them into his belt. Before he had a chance, Tenten had already scooped Lee up like he weighed no more than a handful of snow. His head flopped against her shoulder and his sweaty blood soaked hair stuck to her bleeding shoulder.

Neji didn't waste time trying to take Lee off her hands before they shot off into the night and out of the mirror's reach. None of them heard the way their sensei wept on the other side or how he pressed his face to the ground, clutching his chest in pure relief.

"Well...what a fortunate turn of events..." Satouri spat before shattering the mirror.

It echoed painfully off the walls, but Guy didn't feel anything from it. After what he'd seen he could barely breath let alone answer any of Satouri's remarks. Lee had almost died. There was still a chance he might. If his fever got to high he wouldn't be able to handle it. He could still...but he was alright now. He was alright. All of them were alive. All of them were alive.

Guy had never remembered crying so hard from sheer relief. Never before had been so overcome by joy that it physically hurt. It was a good hurt though. Even as his breathes and choking sobs echoed off the walls he couldn't bring himself to feel ashamed as he should have. His only shame was that he almost revealed Lee's secrets to Satouri. But he didn't. He hadn't and his...

"Thank you. Thank you." he didn't know who he was whispering those words to, but he knew they needed to be said. Even as Satouri began the torture again. Using ninjitsu techniques to raise knives up under him and stab him throughout his body, and slam bits of broken rocks into his bruised and bleeding back. Even as his ankle was broken, he thanked whoever had been watching over those children.

His little ones.

Even the genjutsu he was locked in before Satouri left, one where had to watch as everything played out differently, it didn't change the fact that he knew they were alive. He knew...

"Thank you..." he whispered again through cracked and bleeding lips.