In the brightly lit village of Konaha, Sai was roaming the streets, incredibly bored with nothing to do. Naruto and Sakura were off on a mission that did not require his assistance. Sitting at 'home' was terrible and his books were suddenly becoming less interesting.
The only other thing to do besides practice for the umpteenth time was to explore Konoha. Of course he knew every crack and corner of the village. He was a ninja. But Sai's definition of explore he means interact, talk, mingle. Stuff his book would suggest to do.
The road was ever so plain. Green banners hung above shops and children ran around and did whatever it was little children did. It was hot and crowded. Terrible conditions to be out on such a day. But that would not stop Sai. He kept walking and smiled, or at least tried to smile, at the civilians passing by. Most were worried at why a ninja was smiling at them. Others just greeted him back.
"Hey Sai!" said a voice coming from the flower shop behind him. A girl with long blond hair ran through the door throwing her apron aside. Her hair seemed golden in the sun and her blue eyes like the ocean. Sai looked back and nodded to the girl he knew all too well.
"Hello there Beauty." He greeted giving her his patented fake smile. She frowned.
"Do you not like seeing me?" She questioned him. Her face showed no anger but was just asking an innocent question.
"Excuse me for not understanding what you mean by that question."
"I said," She stated firmly. "Do you not like seeing me." She then added hastily. "Because you don't seem thrilled to see me" 'Like other men are' she forgot to add.
"No, nothing of the sort. I am very glad to see you actually." Sai answered honestly for he had nothing else to do. This had turned Ino's frown upside down. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him towards the flower shop. She stopped at the door.
"Do you want to come in?" She moved so he could walk in. He looked at the shop once before he entered. The outside was quite ordinary. A sign hung above the shop painted in yellow lettering. Yamanaka Flower Shopwas accented with huge purple and pink flowers. It looked like all the other shops. But once he entered, he was hit with a world of aroma. The pungent smell of flowers was what got him at first. Once his eyes adjusted to the lighting he saw much more. Reds, blues, greens, and much more exploded around him. The air was humid and damp but what it lacked in comfort it made up in color. He could make a masterpiece with the pallet in the room.
"Wow" That was all Sai could muster. But he genuinely meant it. Ino smiled with pride at the expression she was able to get from the emotionless man. Sai in awe wasn't something you saw everyday. In his mind all he saw was a paradise. An escape. An artist's utopia. In the eyes of a painter all he saw was beauty.
There were walls and walls of snowdrops and crocus. Buckets of lilies adorned the small pond in the near corner. Glasses of pre-made bouquets were all along the right wall.
"You like the shop?" She asked with a big smile. Sai turned to her in surprise. He had forgotten she was there.
"Yes." She laughed, a laughter in his mind that was like the winded accessorized with snorts. Her hand was covering her mouth trying to stop the giggles. Sai raised an eyebrow confused as to why she was laughing.
"S-Sorry, I-I…" She was trying to speak without laughing but it wasn't going well. "Because y-you," She broke into another fit of giggles. 'Patiently wait' thought Sai. His manners book had told him it was good to wait until someone was done with their say.
"Breath in, breathe out, breath in…" She was quietly whispering the mantra to herself.
"Okay Sai, I'm sorry for laughing at you. Well not at you just at your face." She giggled. "Sorry I didn't mean your face as in it was ugly, cause trust me you're gorgeous. But you looked so surprised. It was just funny to see you in your own world." She sighed after she was finished. Walking behind the counter she tied the dirtied white apron around her waist.
"Don't take it personally. I get like that too. Every time I enter this shop, it's like I'm entering my own private haven." She picked up a flower behind the counter.
"This here is a chrysanthemum. The flower and color together have a certain meaning. A regular chrysanthemum, if given to someone, means you're a great friend. So here you go!" She gave Sai the flower. "We'll be friend forever."
He gladly accepted the gift. His eyes caught a small white flower in the back corner of the shop. He turned to see a bunch of red flowers in front of it but behind them was what he wanted.
"What is that flower?" Sai pointed towards the counter.
"Oh, that's a rose. It symbolizes love. A deep red rose means a deep or intense love. It's so romantic to give someone that." The expert sighed as she moved around the store. She was almost dancing around the plants, measuring amounts of fertilizer, and moving certain plants to the shade or from the sunlight.
"Not that one. The white one behind it."
"That's a Calla Lily. It means beauty." There was a silence. Only the watering of plants could be heard.
"Why do you call me beauty? I mean is there any reason behind it? What does beauty mean to you anyways?" A lot was going through Sai's mind at that moment. Why did he call her beauty? Wasn't it because he didn't want to offend her? There honestly wasn't any other point when he nicknamed her. But there had to be more. She was very beautiful. To be perfectly honest, she was the most appealing girl out of any of the ninja he had met. But there had to be more to it. What did beauty mean to him?
Ino was watching him out of the corner of her eyes. She had gone back to work and wasn't hoping for an answer. Just to make him think. Now a day she had learned to be patient with the ice block. His answer would come eventually. She had other things on her mind. The lilies look nice today. That reminds me! I have to tell billboard brow about that picnic by the lake this Thursday!So busy in her own thought she forgot about Sai staring at her. The poor thing was drowning in his own thoughts. When moving towards the petunias she caught a glimpse of Sai's expression.
Being the most emotional person in all of Konoha, Ino has prided herself on being able to read emotions. She could clearly see and identify the look of love on Neji's face when Tenten walked beside him. She saw sorrow in Sakura's eyes whenever there was a mention of Sasuke. She read the pride Naruto wore on his face. But she could not figure out what was on Sai's face. It was an expression of confusion, wonder, puzzlement, annoyance and behind all that upcoming wisdom. Ino was as good at reading faces like she was at reading minds but what Sai was thinking was not showing up on his face. Ino was stumped. She had to laugh. She couldn't hold it in. This wasn't her, laughing at the random. What would Sai say? What if he told the others? What would they say?
She wanted to run to the back room but one look at Sai and she stopped. He was frowning.
"What's wrong Ino-chan?" Chan is a cute and sweet honorific used for younger girls like a pet name. Sai memorized this from his book.
"Huh? Oh well your face, again, was priceless." She held back a fit of giggles but then something made her gasped. She grabbed her equipment and rushed towards a purple flower up in the front of the shop. Sai walked by her side. It was bright when he first entered the shop and very crowded. But now the sun was setting and the streets were slowly getting emptier.
"Look." She directed towards Sai but more to the flower itself. "It's wilting from overheat. I'll have to replant it to moist soil because this one is too dry and I hardly think there are enough minerals in it.
While she was doing her work, Sai was watching. Ino's differences amazed him. Instead of the boastful and colorful Ino he always saw, he was looking at a sweet, kind, and caring persona. A small part of her only seen if you look carefully, deep beyond the rest of the overbearing personality. A smile played on Sai's lips. This did not go unnoticed by Ino.
"What?" She asked confused, coming to a stand from her current spot. The real human ice block was actually smiling. This wasn't something you saw. Ever. Where's a camera when you need one.
"I have an answer to your question." He looked at her still smiling. It was genuine. At least Ino thought it was. It was a beautiful smile that she couldn't get enough of. The whole world would love to see this.It was like a child's smile. Innocent and mischievous. Without waiting for a response he went on.
"To me beauty is when you can see all sides of something. The shop for example is beauty to me. You can see all flowers here. Everyone and every side. But true beauty is being able to see that small part that hides behind everything. The thing that you can't find with a quick glance." He knelt down towards the Calla Lily.
"This flower is true beauty to me."
He looked towards Ino and stood up.
"There's something else I think is true beauty." He wiped off some topsoil on her face then walked to the door.
"You're exactly what I think of when I hear the word beauty. That's why you're Beauty to me. My one and only Beauty." He put the lily near the front of the shop. "I like seeing this rare side to you. Don't keep it closed up in the back." He walked through the doors without a backwards glance.
That day the boastful Ino Yamanaka could not utter a syllable.