Nothing. That was what you felt for the next six years while you were beaten, caged, trained to fight, and taught how to be the perfect submissive wife who will die for her husband. You failed here and there, resulting in your hair being cut or severe beatings that would render you unconscious. But the one thing that crossed your mind when you crossed two thresholds of being a ninja, then a third at a young age, was being complimentary, just like Rock Lee said you could be. You wanted to see him again just once and tell him he was right. You were free. So you failed some things on purpose while you did the bare minimum for others, all so you could practice at night and be stronger in secret.

You were never going to let anyone treat you like a slave again, which you were right now like a wild animal that needed to be tamed. You were muzzled like a wild animal and left outside for days in the sunlight and, in the sheer cold of the winter's night, forced to sit in the same spot, or you would have to stay outside longer. The light in your eyes, however, was dull, almost nonexistent because Lee was the only one who ever treated you like a real human being, not some kind of animal that needed to be trained.

You wanted to know what love was like, but most importantly, you wanted to know what Lee's kindness felt again. Today was the start of the chunin exams, and your family would be watching for two reasons. The first reason was to find a bodyguard even though you weren't a government official's daughter. Your family made a lot of income that could rival the government now. Your business runs through all the countries now, making you a target. The second reason was to see which country your father wanted to cut ties with. The weakest ones would get cut, and they would lose their investments.

You were walking by your father's side while your two brothers were laughing and joking around, which was something they always did. You weren't allowed to become; you were a girl and second the oldest child. Your family also treated you like a pet because you are a girl, even as far as making you eat off the floor on all fours. Since your mother was submissive and obeyed everything your father asked of her, she was never hurt, unlike you. She never defended you in any way and did everything your two younger brothers asked of her. Because in your family, the men were the bosses, and the girls had to be pretty, elegant, and submissive to every desire of the men. If they wanted you to dance for them, you had to dance. If they wanted you to cook or to clean up after them, you had to do it. You were banned from eating at the table unless you were out in public or if he had friends over to make him look like a great father when he wasn't. During the very final exam, you were going to run for it and finally be free. That was your plan, and you waited a long time for the taste of freedom.

Your mother watched as your brothers played around. You were covered head to toe in a silk cover to hide what you looked like except your eyes so you could see. It highlighted your eyes but nothing else since it hid your developing curves, chest, and everything except your feet, which were in hot boots.

"I will practice even harder so I can be a chunin! I will make Sensi Guy proud of me!" You heard a boy yell while your father wasn't paying attention since he was happy seeing his boys trying to knock birds out of the sky with only their Chakra.

The boy who seemed to be in a rush to go to the exams bumped into you, causing you to fall to your knees.

"My deepest apologies! I didn't mean to knock you down!" He said you were more or less forced to stay down until you got permission to stand up again.

"You can stand up. What is the big idea of touching my daughter? Are you trying to sleep with her?!" Your father growled as the poor boy had no idea what was happening.

"No! I just have to go to the chunin exams. I'm running late due to my training!" He said as his face turned bright red.

You looked at him closely and realized it was Lee. He had grown up so much that it almost made you want to cry because you missed it all. You wanted to say something, anything, to make him recognize you, but you were frozen in place. You were so severely abused now that you didn't know if anyone would want you, even as a pet.

"You? You don't look like you can put up much of a fight, but we will see. My daughter here became a chunin at eleven, but she still needs work," your father said as Lee looked at you, shocked.

"Wow, that's amazing! She did that. You are amazing! I hope I can be just like you!" Lee said, making your eyes tear up.

He... he complimented you? You hadn't had a single complaint in so long that it almost felt like he was degrading you somehow, but he wasn't. You were begging inwardly for him to recognize just your eyes. You wanted him to talk to you more so you would stop feeling the pain of being less than a human being. You wanted to feel his joy, kindness, and hope because that was what you started fighting for. You tried to find someone to treat you with the respect you craved so dearly.

"She is still a hopeless case," Good luck on your exams," your father said as Lee smiled.

"Thank you!" Lee said as he bowed respectfully and took off running.

Once Lee was out of sight, your father turned to you and slapped you across the face.

"Don't bring attention to yourself! If I see you around any of the boys here, you will end up locked in a cage in the abandoned well for a week. Do you understand?!" He asked as you didn't say anything.

"Do you understand!" he screamed as you repeated nothing.

"You may speak," he said.

"Yes, sir, I will not bring attention to myself or dishonor the family by speaking without your permission. Thank you for permitting me and for slapping me. Thank you also for allowing me to walk beside you and my brothers; it's a privilege and honor," you said, trying to hold back the sheer anger you had toward this disgusting excuse for a human being.

"Good. Now, you will be buying clothes, makeup, and hair accessories from here, so during the final exam, you can look presentable. You were always one ugly beast. I have a list, and the guards here will buy the things for you. You are not allowed to eat anything without my permission. You are not allowed to go anywhere except with the guards. Do not ask to visit anywhere, do not talk to any men besides the guards, and don't try running away, or I will make sure you will never be able to walk again," he growled as the two guards came out of hiding.

"Here, these shops have these items. Buy them," your father ordered.

"Daddy, can we go look around the city?" Your middle brother asked.

"Of course we can; I wonder if they have any swimming places around here. We can go fishing, swimming, anything you and your brother like," your father smiled happily, "make a picnic for me and the boys at the hotel. You can speak to anyone if it's only about food items or directions. Also, make yourself a salad; you are getting fat and undesirable to look at."

"Yes, dear husband," she said as she separated from all of you.

You went into the city and quickly started to look for the place where the testing was going to start. The clouds were thick, so getting lost in this village wouldn't look suspicious to your father, but he would still accuse you of running away, which would get you a brutal and long beating, but it was worth it to see Lee. You waited years enduring unimaginable suffering and pain just to get your chance to say hi to the boy who gave you a fighting spirit. You didn't think it could survive such abuse, but it did all because of the simple acts of kindness he showed you.

You quickly snuck away and made your way to the exam building. Naruto was lying on the ground, and Sasuke was trying to land a hit on Lee, so you watched as he failed.

"Oh, hello. You aren't supposed to be here. Are you lost?" Lee asked, stopping the fight.

His skills improved so much that you couldn't be more proud of him. You took off your bottom face covering and tried to say anything to help him remember you, but looking at him made you scared. So you closed your eyes.

"Hi.... Lee, long time... no... see... I see you changed your hair. I... I.. i...I kind of miss the braid," you finally said, forcing the words out.

Actually, saying an option, talking without permission, was now foreign to you, and it took all your willpower even to come here.

"Y/n?" He asked as you quickly put the bottom of your face covering back on.

"Hi," you said shyly.

"Why do you have a handprint on your face? Why are you even wearing that that is really hot outside? What happened to you?" He asked as you looked at the door you came from and sighed.

"I don't have much time before the bodyguards know I'm gone; my family's business took off, and so they are seeing which countries to invest in and what countries to pull investments from. I... I can't explain everything right now, but... you were right. I know you probably don't remember, but it's okay. I'll try to talk to you by sending a crow to watch you while you take your third exam, and if there is a preliminary exam, I'll be there or try to be. Good luck, Lee, and thank you for everything you have given me; it means so much to me. You have no idea," you said softly.

Lee was going to go to you, but you quickly backed off and went to Sakura as soon as your father burst in with the guards. Your father turned you around and slapped you hard across the face and saw the others.

"So you are the real one; sorry about that; she likes to sneak away occasionally," he lied.

"She just came in here, and when I asked if she was lost, she didn't answer; she has been quiet," Sakura quickly lied, realizing why you went to her.

"Oh, you got lost? The crowds are bad today. Sorry also, she's very strange about being permitted to speak. She's adopted," your father lied as Lee was on the verge of taking him down to save you.

You gave him a pleasing look to let him know not to go after your father because he was strong, and you were worried about Lee getting hurt or, worse, ending up dead.

"You may speak," your father said, angering Lee even more.

"I got lost in the crowd and couldn't find my guards, so I came here in hopes of getting directions to the hotel we are staying at for the next month and the week after," you said as you were hoping he would believe your lie.

"But you only want to talk when someone permits you to talk. Finally, I'm growing out of it, huh? That's a good start. One day, you can trust us, won't you?" He asked as you swallowed hard.

"Yes, sir," you said softly as he glared at you.

"Let's leave them to the test now," your father said as he grabbed your wrist, and you looked back at Lee sadly, seeing the anger in his eyes.

You were now locked in your room, and you weren't allowed to get out. Your father used his jutsu to bar up the windows so you couldn't get out and make sure you had no contact with the outside world. Your mother was also not allowed to leave, so she sat on the couch most of the time doing nothing besides cleaning up and ensuring food was prepared for everyone but you. You got the leftovers or worse, mush that was odd and ends of leftovers that were put together that tasted awful. You used some of your jutsu to hypnotize a bird with your eyes and ears.

After six days, there was another test since so many candidates were left. You had to stop your jutsu several times to ensure you weren't found out. You managed to stay by Lee and watch him get excited from afar. It was his turn to fight, and boy, you envied him. His strength, his willpower, his drive, and his spirit you wish you had. But the sand village guy was strong, and after seeing Lee get hurt, you knew no one would stop the match. He was going to die. You stopped your jutsu and quickly used it to break the bonds your father put on the windows, and you jumped out.

You weren't going to let him die. You took off running as fast as you could to make yourself able to run up buildings without using your hands. You made it only to see Lee being g carried away.

"Lee!" You screamed, and you went to him.

"Lee! I'm sorry," I should have gotten here sooner. What happened to you, Lee?" You cried as you were about to touch Lee to see if he was alive, but you got punched in the face and sent flying into a wall by your father.

"So you were seeing that boy!" Your father screamed as he went over to you and took off your head covering, then grabbed your hair.

He cut it off and threw it on the ground, then slapped you around the face hard.

"How dare you intervene in these fights, you disgraceful whore!" Your father screamed, making everyone look at both of you.

You saw Kakashi and Naruto standing there and looked at your father with the will to fight.

"He is my friend!" You screamed back, and you got up and punched him in the stomach hard, sending him to the other wall.

"Is this even legal?" Naruto asked as you removed your entire body covering and wiped off your makeup.

You took out your hair decorations and your earrings. You ripped off your expensive necklace and tossed it to the ground.

"We should get up the higher level. This is a family matter," he you said, realizing who you were.

"I'm so sick and tired of you treating me less than human! I'm not your puppet that will take your beatings! I will never let you lock me in cages, waterboard me into submission, or beat me until I am nearly dead! Screw your investments! Screw you for treating my brothers better than me. I will never forgive you for beating me! I will never forgive you for stealing my life and using me! I'm older and stronger now, and the only person who ever gave me self-worth is on a stretcher! I snuck out every night for months, watching him and a blond boy struggling like me to be what ninjas! They never got beat for it, just maltreated by their peers. They practiced alone with no one watching, or so they thought! Well, I was, and I started doing what they did even though you would force me to stay up for days if I didn't do it right! I was too afraid to leave a bully like you, but I'm not now. You want to beat me, put me in chains, lock me in a small cage with a muzzle? Go ahead and try because I won't stand for it any longer!" You screamed as your father laughed at you.

"It's all part of your training; you think you can get away from me; you are wrong about that," you said as you two started going at it, making the building shake and the teachers shocked.

"That's the shy girl we met earlier?" Sakura asked as Naruto saw the difference in you, like night and day.

"She lost her mind seeing Lee hurt," Naruto said as several guards joined to restrain you, but you didn't have it anymore.

They tried chaining you and cuffing you, but you dodged or broke the chains as soon as they launched onto you. But finally, they chained you up, making your father smile.

"What a failure!" He laughed as he punched you in the face but punched one of the guards instead.

He looked shocked, then looked around for the fake guard, but you were gone.

"Find her!" He screamed.

"Mr. Moon!" Lord Hokage yelled, making him look at him.

"Your business in this village or this country is no longer needed. I suggest you gather your things and leave. You have three days before criminal action will be taken against you for beating your daughter," he said as his face turned pale.

"She is lying!" He screamed.

"I highly doubt that with the way she was fighting; she was fighting like a wild animal to get away from you. Looks like she won. If you ever step foot in this village again or in this country, you will be arrested," he said as he walked away.

This country had most of his business, and taking it out would cost him half of his company, maybe more. You got away, and you were free. You found Lee's room in the hospital and snuck in carefully.

"Thank you, Lee, for everything. Make a speedy recovery for me, please," you said as you kissed his cheek.

"I'll be back soon, okay? Right now, I got to hide. You did so well, but that villager was just a bit stronger. One day, you will beat enemies that even the best ninjas in this village can't beat alone. You are the best friend I ever had, and no matter what happens, I promise no matter how far gone I get, I will come back to you. To the only person who ever believed in me and treated me like a human for once in my life," you said as you took out a small rock you had kept all this time to help you remember him; you wrote Lee's name on it, and it was challenging to do because it was made out of the most complex rock you could find.

You put it where he would see it when he first woke up, and you put some of your Chakra in it so you will always be able to find Lee if he had the rock with him.

"Thank you for being my rock," you said as you kissed him again and left.