[*starfruits*]

The air was warm, heady and rich with the scent of apple blossom as two lone genin trudged their way to their respective shanty homes after a brisk, brutal reprimanding report from the buxom, yet ill-tempered Gondaime Hokage, Tsunade.

Rock Lee?s dark eyes were narrowed towards the ground on which he walked, his manner unusually wordless as he bit his lip in recollection of the weighty red markings which soiled his mission papers, which were suggestive for his and Uzumaki Naruto?s colossal failure of the B-Rank, and to this, the youth felt his stomach turn about in a confused combination of indignity, irritation and melancholy.

The fault of this failure had rested upon the fox-whiskered blond who idly trudged behind him in grudging solitude, occasional griping about the old woman?s choice of wording in her ?thorough appraisal? of their wrongs, and the raven-haired youth felt his temperate blood burn his cheeks at that recollection. It was all because Naruto did not think they should have followed up a lead simply due to the fact that the source of said necessary information had resonated from Lee?s adored sensei, Maito Gai. The dishonor had proved true as the essential points were missed by both boys, due to Rock Lee?s having spent all his available time attempting to convince Naruto of his sensei?s total and utter competence despite his usual manner, and Naruto for having dismissed it in the first place.