Lee kept himself vigilant. Even if the various nurses and orderlies about, not to mention other patients, Lee knew better than to turn his back on the Uchiha. He had never come face-to-face with Sasuke in a real battle; not since the fight Gai-sensei had broken up between them before the chuunin exams. But he had watched Sasuke's fight in the preliminaries, and his fight against until the genjutsu had put him and most of the crowd to sleep during the coup. And Lee remembered every calculated move and ingenious attack Sasuke had pulled in those battles. One could say the chuunin had a silent respect for the runaway, and it showed in the earnest caution he took in approaching Sasuke further. Which was more with words rather than physical movement.

"I am..." Lee found himself at a loss for words. What did he have to say for a missing-nin he and several others in their generation had determined to kill for the sake of the village's safety? He had even been with the group that had accompanied Sakura in her attempt to beg Naruto to give up on Sasuke.

What was there to say? 'Hi, it's been a while! Guess I should let you know you're dead to me if we ever get out of here?' Lee was much too polite to actually say such a thing.

Before he had managed to choke up some new words to fill the gap of silence, Lee took a moment to glance to the other's eyes. What he saw had him gasp in spite of his efforts to remain in control of his reactions. "Sasuke-kun! You are..." Blind? How had that even...

Although Lee held no great bond of friendship with Sasuke, even he couldn't keep the indignation and rage out of his voice. "Who has done this to you?"