"Beautiful . . . well at least I believe that would be the proper term." A young man said to himself as he reclined upon a hill watching the sun set. Slowly the sun sank beneath the horizon, emitting a marvelous shroud of colors which seemed lost upon the senseless lad. Surely this beautiful scene would evoke some profound response from him. Still, he remained silent and stoic. Sai, his 'name' at least for now, was at first glance a normal citizen of Konoha, (though some might consider his half jacket a bit odd, few minded the open view of his lean abdomen.) But if you were to gaze upon his coal-black eyes you would realize he was empty. His was an empty soul which resided in a perfectly tuned body, flexible, swift and strong, yet merciless, exacting, and cold. Or was it? Even though Sai had endured his master's 'desensitization' trials, could he have honestly lost his emotions entirely? Sai had seriously begun to doubt his selflessness. A new and unusual thing had appeared in his life, Team Kakashi. Though he had been paired up before with even more profound partners, something about this team's drive, their intense purpose, to salvage the one who had left them broken, stirred within him a sort of sympathy, a shadow of empathic expression.

Slowly Sai shifted, exhaling a slight sigh as he closed his eyes, emotional thoughts were to be seen as excessive, useless and distracting. They were certainly distracting, these new emotions swirled within him like a turbulent cloud, ready to release a torrent of a downpour. To exactly what this 'downpour' was he held little idea. Though his master had assured him that it was disastrous, he couldn't help but examine this new team's expressions. Team Kakashi was made up of Kakashi himself, an older tacit man who seemed to bear his younger proteges with a silent endearment. Kakashi's proteges were Sakura and Naruto. Sakura was a pink haired beauty whose red over-tunic emphasized her femininity. With the strength beyond mortal men, even most ninja, her heart strives after an impassive love. Naruto is one beyond description. Sai could barely comprehend this beaming entity of golden light. So full of passion and determination, whose smile seemed to stretch beyond his face to lighten the very air around him. Sai exhaled a large sigh. He opened his eyes becoming aware of the now dwindling light. Sai smoothly lifted himself off the slightly dewy grass, and began to work his way through the various training grounds toward his apartment.

Konoha was a vast village, at its heart is a large town bustling with people and business. Though as one worked their way out of Konoha's dense inner workings you come upon an outer ring of residencies. These residencies to the ignorant seemed not much different from the ones amid the shops and businesses of inner Konoha. Yet they held a dissimilar occupant. Konoha's outer ring was the home to thousands of ninja, the elite, the skillful, the strong. Those whose lives were dedicated solely to the protection, and service to Konoha, and from which Konoha's leader or Hokage was chosen. There positioned even more slightly outwards was Sai's apartment. Some newly rediscovered part of him cried out for the simple beauty of silence which resided within those walls, the sweet escape from the hustle and bustle of inner Konoha, and the pleasant landscape stretched beyond those numerous windows. Yet this voice was small and diminutive compared to the obvious sense in his location, the easy access to the training grounds, the short distance to the Hokage's office and the proximity to the exit of Konoha, where most of his missions resided.

Inside Sai's apartment art supplies clashed for space upon the sparse desktop against his various weaponry. Though for Sai his weapons and his art held few discerning features, for Sai 'used' his art to battle with. One moment his brush may be as peaceful as any other, creating scenes of harmony and beauty, yet when initiated Sai could utilize his creative spirit to create monsters and/or beasts which came to life to fulfill his every whim. Sai's glance quickly swept over his abode taking in for the first time how much it resembled 'him'. With his cluttered yet not entirely messy desk, the majority of his space dedicated to his 'art' which he left untitled, and to the fact that very little if any thing in the entire apartment held any color. Sai soon realized that even his outfit-lacked a hue, what with the black half jacket and his long black pants secured at the bottom with dark tape above black shoes. The closest deviation from his dark array was his skin which shone an alabaster white. Slowly Sai crossed his living room, mind abuzz with this new perspective, he lingered awhile at his bedroom door, gazing upon his 'home' wondering . . . do I really want this? He silently uttered a small exasperation referring to his excessive emotions and entered into his room, knowing full well that his ceiling was likely to entertain his attention far more than the insides of his eyelids that night.

As dawn stretched her light tendrils across the sky, Sai slowly rose from his single cot. A slight shiver racked his body as he sluggishly sidled out of his blankets across his soft white carpet to a dresser where he kept his outfits. Quickly he organized his 'uniform', or what you could consider his uniform, for he wore little else. Morning, something Sai had faced a hundred times, yet for some reason today he felt . . . FELT what morning was like. The groggy awareness of early morns, a new beginning for a day full of potential, along with various excitements and apprehensions for his activities which awaited him. Promptly Sai pushed these emotional issues to the back of his mind knowing full well that such thoughts would only hinder him in the morning's training. The dark ninja silently surrendered himself to his morning rituals, showering, eating, and finally gathering his various supplies for the day. Soon he was out his front door, fully alive and fresh, mentally and emotionally preparing himself for what was Team Kakashi.

Sai arrived at the training grounds as punctually as ever, for to him being late was inconceivable and arriving early was simply unreasonable. As he approached the meeting area, Sai let habit take over and hid himself in the outlying brush while he observed his teammates. Perfectly hidden amid the trees and underbrush Sai spied upon his two comrades, Naruto and Sakura. Though he had positioned himself well for easy eavesdropping, he needed little attempt to hide himself from their very public conversation. Sakura and Naruto were both very boisterous and exceeding. With Sakura's insistency and Naruto's intensity they often allowed for themselves to be swept up into loud arguments. Not only was this conduct common for the two but often the initiation was similar, normally when one of Naruto's more racy pranks pushed Sakura into a frenzy of rage. As Sai watched the enraged pink haired kunoichi race after the pleading blonde he wondered, why Naruto acted in that way, when it was so obvious that Sakura would only be angered and result in her afflicting painful if not at times serious injuries. Even though Naruto's natural healing abilities and Sakura's extensive medical training made the afflictions short-lived, surely he need not instigate such action against him? Sai pondered this realizing that it must have something to do with these 'emotions' for both ninja seemed driven by these sensations rather than any exacting sense. Sai then realized that by choosing this team over his master he had chosen that path of emotional expression rather then of severe precision and indifference. He then perceived a small need to embrace his emotions to become more of a person again instead of this instrument meant for Konoha's use. With that thought burning within his mind he stepped forward into the clearing coming upon a distraught blonde pinned to the ground by a furious female.

"AGGHH WAIT, SAKURA WAIT!!" shouted the frightened blonde as he struggled against the her terrifying embrace. "It was just a JOKE!"

"A JOKE, A JOKE, so you think its FUNNY to parade around in my panties!?!" shouted the crazed kunoichi.

"But they looked so good on Naruko!" pleaded the trapped lad. As Naruto mentioned his female jutsu, Sakura's already fierce gaze shifted over to a blood red.

"HER! YOU HAD TO BRING HER INTO THIS! YOU AND YOUR PERVERTED JUTSU, YOU'LL REGRET THE DAY YOU CREATED HER!" replied Sakura as she began to pulverize the piteous creature beneath her, alternating between powerful punches and crazed castigation. Sai attempted an audible cough hoping to attract the attention of the wrathful women away from her pathetic punching bag. Sadly Sai's attempt was utterly ignored as Sakura maintained her furious attack on Naruto's now thoroughly beaten form. Sakura's fury went unabated for another 10 minutes, until a bored tone surprised Sai from behind.

"Yo, Sakura, I think Naruto gets your point." said a relaxed jounin calmly leaning against a nearby tree, apparently so absorbed into a certain dirty tale that he could not even spare a single glance in their direction. Suddenly Sakura stopped, apparently pulled out of her raging reverie.

"Oh . . . Sorry Naruto." Sakura apologized as she slowly relieved him of her vicious hold. Naruto's only reply was to twitch convulsively obviously in shock from his horrendous thrashing.

"Sakura, you had better heal him before he becomes any more brain damaged." stated the completely composed Kakashi. Sakura quickly re-gathered her wits and immediately responded to her teachers command. She was soon as entirely as concentrated on healing Naruto as she had been beating the shit out of him minutes before. Yet another morning with Team Kakashi, now if only they could each survive the actual training.