Precious flower

Ino raised an eyebrow when Sai, dressed in his violet everyday attire, strolled into the Yamanaka flower shop. He kept in the background, studying the flowers on display, as she finished serving the customers that were with her. Once those had happily left the shop, the two shinobi turned to each other.

„Sai." Ino smiled. „What are you doing here?"

The two of them kinda dated, but they were yet working their way towards each other and Sai had visited the shop only a couple of times.

He returned the smile. Each time his smiles seemed to become more genuine, warmer. Ino kinda loved to see Sai change, to witness how he opened up, found back to his feelings. She had decided to help him with that, a desicion out of which their gradually growing affection towards each other and first date had resulted.

„Hello Ino." Sai's voice turned into a murmuring. „Show it to her, or show it not, show it to her, or show it not…" , he mumbled to himself.

The blonde kunoichi's eyebrow shot up. Then she grinned and almost laughed out loud. Sai was playing with her!

„Of course you gotta show me!", she called out, threw her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. „Come on, let's go to the back room, there we'll have our peace. And should any customer arrive…" She nodded towards the bell hanging above the door, indicating that she'd hear anyone coming in.

Sai nodded and followed her. A soon as they stood in the back room, Ino turned to him, green eyes flashing playfully.

„Now then, what is it that you wanted to show me?"

Since beginning their dating, they had exchanged only few presents, but Ino had learned that Sai chose his very carefully, always picking just the right thing. She had to restrain her curiosity about what he had brought now.

The black-haired shinobi gazed down at her, standing in front of him like that. He had a strange urge to stretch out a hand and stroke her cheek, but he wasn't sure if this was appropriate or not. Ino was just so full of life, so radiant despite her grave loss in the Fourth Ninja World War, that Sai couldn't help but be intrigued by that vitality.

He pulled out his hand from behind his back to show her what he had brought.

Ino stared at her flower.

Her florist's heart was captured immediately. The petals were dark, almost black. Only when one moved it, with change in the way the light fell on it, other colors appeared and disappeared, shimmering like a rainbow. Dark colors, blue, red, a hue of green or yellow. The kunoichi was captivated, and it showed on her face. Despite her knowledge of flowers, she had never seen one like this. It must be an extremely rare flower, or she'd known about it. Gently, she took it from his hand to examine it even more closely.

„Do you… like it?", Sai was compelled to ask timidly.

„Like it…?", Ino echoed. „Like it?" She looked up at him with glittering eyes. „Sai, I LOVE it! This flower is… I mean… I have seen a lot of flowers in my life. But nothing like this one. What's it called? Where did you find it?"

Despite her excitement, she didn't fail to notice the pink spreading on his cheeks. Aw, wasn't he adorable when he blushed?

Sai scratched the back of his head sheepishly. „It is a rare flower, which only grows in a remote border area in the Land of Wind. And it's alled Inkdrop."

„What a fitting name", Ino mumbled while staring at the flower thoughtfully. „Because, you now, it does remind me of ink, and… and of you, Sai."

For a moment, there was a bashful silencebetween them. The blonde kunoichi finally broke it by heading to a cupboard for a vase and asking cheerfully: „i do appreciate the gift mightily, but do you mind telling me how I earned it?"

The pink returned to Sai's face, even deepening a little towards red. „Well… I… how should I put it…" He paused. Ah yes, he still had trouble expressing his feelings. „I… I just wanted to give you something nice you'd enjoy, because… because I like you. And when I remembered what I'd heard about this flower during my Root training, I thought it fitting and went to the Land of Wind to fetch one of them. A precious flower for someone precious to me."

Now it was Ino's turn to blush. Heavily. Such words coming from Sai were among the least expected things in this world, rivaled maybe only by Naruto's legendary unpredictability.

At the same time, she began to feel all warm inside, too. What did it matter that Sakura got Sasuke in the end, when Ino had such a sweet boyfriend herself? One, whom only she could help gradually open up? These had been probably the first sweet words Sai had said to anyone in his entire life. That his training under Danzo had stripped him of all feelings hadn't exactly helped him to learn how to express himself or his emotions. What Sai just had said to her, was proof of a gigantic leap forwads that he had done.

„Thank you so much, Sai", she said in the warmest tone she could muster. „That is so indescribably nice of you, to go through all that trouble only to bring me a flower. You know what? From today on, this one will be my favourite of all flowers. Firstly, it's truly a beautiful one, and secondly… It will always remind me of you."

„Ino…"

For a moment, her green eyes locked with his black ones. What happened next seemed so natural that neither of them had to think about it twice.

Their lips met to a passionate, yet tender kiss.

When they parted again, Ino wrapped her arms around him in a hug and nuzzled her face against his chest. Sai shily lifted an arm himself and laid it around her shoulders. Out of the blue, he got flooded with the desire to protect this precious flower. It didn't matter that Ino was a kunoichi in her own rights.

He was going to protect this flower rarer than an Inkdrop. He was going to be her root to help her grow strong and even more beautiful than she already was.