Section 19

And his eyes, she dreams, are made from stainless steel and blood.

She feels like she knows him.

Reams and reams of scrolls were tangled around her, some spilling out of the desk and onto the floor, half their secrets unravelling for the world to see. There were even more books than usual, and only two, twin buns were visible from above the mess (or organised chaos as she preferred to call it).

The ninja librarian knew it was normal for the research-obsessed kunoichi, but it didn't mean she approved. It was barely tolerated. Nevertheless, the girl had a signed note from an active Jounin to look through some of the classified information.

Tenten knew the classification system off by heart, since the library was her third home (second being training grounds). Section 1 was accessible to all ages, all ninjas, active or inactive, section 2 through to 6 was restricted to genin, 7 through to the 11th was what she was allowed as a Chuunin. But Gai-Sensei had blindly signed the note for her to look up to the 19th. There were 25 sections in all, the 25th being hosted in the Hokage's personal library.

And here she was, surrounded by section 19's assorted scrolls.

He knew that girl. Tenten. Sai knew her from Naruto who knew Neji and Lee- she was on their team. But wasn't she just a Chuunin? What was she doing here? Section 19… this was an ANBU-specific section. She wasn't affiliated with the ANBU, not a single hair of her.

"You're not allowed to look through those documents," he uttered, making sure he made eye contact (the book said it was a good communication skill) as he stood over her.

"I have permission from someone who holds more authority than you," she retorted, without glancing at him even once.

Sai stood there, confused at her coldness. Shouldn't people make eye contact? She'd been friendly enough when Naruto had introduced him to Team Gai. But now, she was acting like she didn't know him. This was odd behaviour, considering Sai thought he was getting better at reading people's behaviour- but apparently not.

It was then, Sai concluded, all women were just plain weird. They were not meant to be understood.

But it wasn't a very satisfying conclusion to come to. After all, he'd barely just learned what it was like being human- and here she was, studying how to strip off your emotions.

Finally, Tenten looked up, caught him staring, and sighed. "Will you stop that?"

"What?"

"Stop staring! Don't you have anything better to do? Training, eating?" she suggested sarcastically.

Sai offered her a fake smile (he'd read the shortest distance from one person to another was a smile).

Tenten wasn't really impressed. "Do you paint your smiles on too?"

"And do you always shrug off people that?" he asked pleasantly.

He was enjoying this.

"Do you ever shut up?" she snapped back, arching a single brow.

"Do you ever tell people who you are really affiliated with?" Sai smiled, though his eyes opened this time, studying Tenten as her face became pale.

She closed her mouth, forgetting all about comebacks before packing away her research notes and using a simple jutsu to throw the scrolls in place. The brunette gave him a very hard look before she jumped out the window.

That boy… the boy with the face of Sasuke and lips made from plastic. He was someone she better watch out for.

-x-

To be continued…