Heey, soooo, I just caught up to the latest chapter (no excuses…ok maybe just this: I'm a student and we're meant to study, more so than I do, but I do my fair share!) and I thought, to reward myself (and because I got an infinite amount of inspiration from the catch-up) I would write a series of one-shots with Sakura and team 7 'incidents'. There aren't any real pairings, equally it could be said that they're very subtle and anyone can interpret the stories however they see fit – if they see a couple then it's there, and if they don't then it's not.

That's not to say that there won't be any pairings, although right now I'm very pro a certain couple so I would be too biased towards them, which is why I'm making it more a friendship fic than a romance one.

Enjoy and review (because I'm a review whore and I don't mind constructive criticism – I will cry for hours later regretting that statement -)!

Standard Disclaimer: This fanfic is meant for purely entertainment purposes only. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead is purely coincidental (though I doubt anyone could be as imbalanced as Sakura or as socially constipated as Sai). Any resemblance to real events is also purely coincidental (because it's completely hypothetical, although if people travelled together and changed one another I suppose that could be similar…). Characters are creations of Masashi Kishimoto. All rights reserved. Batteries not included.

Sakura stirred in her cocoon of blankets on what seemed like the forest ground. How had she gotten in said blankets? Last she remembered, she and Sai had been fighting rogue ninja after a fairly routine mission that Tsunade-shishou insisted required only two of the usual four members of team 7. The details of the fight were hazy, and the events that followed even more so.

She opened emerald eyes to gaze at the comfortable scene that was spread out in front of her. Before her was a cosy, if not a tad too hot, campfire that cast a lovely glow over the clearing and had it not been for the fact that they were on a mission, she would have thought there was a touch of romance in the atmosphere. Over the fire sat a roasting fish that, if not carefully watched, would burn in the next 2 minutes and if she weren't so swept up in the delectable aroma emanating from it, she would have gone over to it and taken it off the heat herself.

Beyond the fire and against a tree facing her sat the latter half of the duo, drawing as if there was not a thing in the world to be concerned with; and there very well may have been nothing to concern themselves with seeing as there was not another soul in sight (or so she would think if she even bothered to twist her head to look around; as it was she was too relaxed to feel threatened by her lack of knowledge on their situation).

If she had been in her right mind, she would have questioned why she was allowed to sleep at ease (as easily as she could get, luxuries were too far and too few in between for ninja's). Indeed, there were many more things she would like to have discussed with him given better mental preparation.

However, one thing she could not ignore, despite the content atmosphere and she decided to voice her concern for said aspect.

"Why am I not wearing what I was wearing when we left?" she asked in as calm a tone as she could manage.

Without even flinching or looking up from his sketchpad, he replied, "Forgive me for not taking into account your preference to remain filthy, but my personal dispute over cleanliness won out."

If she had not heard the words that came out of his mouth, she would have thought that his steady tone implied they were speaking of something more trivial than her chastity. As if he would actually ask for forgiveness; only he could couple an apology with an offence to the other party.

As the words sunk in, she visibly twitched and began mumbling about anal retentive clean freaks, when she suddenly stopped and sat up looking at Sai.

"Wait; let me see if I understand, so YOU changed me?"

"Yes." Sai said, as unfazed as ever.

"You...you physically took OFF my clothes?"

"Yes." He still hadn't looked towards the girl, who seemed to be debating whether she should cover herself with the blankets or punch the emotionless idiot for being so clueless.

"And then you put me in a different set of clothing?" She was too astonished to make the questions more thoughtful and witty, instead settling for painfully blunt (something she knew he would understand).

After some thought, he looked up, his eyes held mild amusement.

"Yes."

"And at some point, between taking the old clothes off and putting the new ones on, I was indecently dressed?"

"Naked, actually."

"My bad, I was naked?"

"Yes."

His simple replies betrayed no emotion on his part and she grew increasingly annoyed at having to spell out to him that 'yes, she was indeed pissed off' and hadn't he been spending enough time with her to know when he should show the appropriate amount of caution when dealing with the hormonally imbalanced kunoichi?

"Why?"

Thoroughly confused, he closed his eyes and tilted his head as if in thought, before responding, "You were starting to smell foul. I refused to carry you any further without at least changing you."

The visible 'twitch' transformed into 'twitches', as she began death glaring at him for being so oblivious.

"Sai, I'm going to ignore the smell comment – "if only I could ignore the smell with that same determination" – AT WHAT POINT DID YOU THINK IT WAS SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE TO CHANGE A GIRL?"

She hoped the half-crazed look in her eyes would make him think twice about answering with a half-assed reply, though she shan't have worried.

"…do females generally take to heart commentary on body odour?"

Thus began the deep breathing exercises Sakura hoped would control her temper that was beginning to get the best of her. When she felt her blood pressure drop slightly, she thought it was safe to talk again without thinking of the millions of ways to kill the Root member and throwing it off as him being M.I.A (or, if caught, K.I.A). Somehow, she didn't think Tsunade-shishou would appreciate her apprentice having this kind of murder on her hands.

"If you weren't a social retard, I would have strangled you for saying that; as it stands, I'll just explain. Sai, you don't change people of the opposite sex regardless of how they 'smell'! That would only be acceptable if the person in question were someone you were deeply intimate with."

"Ah." As if learning something new, he nodded and wrote something down in the corner of the pad.

Though she was visibly relieved that he appeared to have understood, she couldn't help but be slightly suspicious of his immediate reply. What, no mockery? No insult? That was too unlike the impassive boy she knew and…well, tolerated.

"You understand?"

"Yes, In future I will not change you irrespective of the repulsively pungent stench your body produces naturally. – "Most people just call that sweat, Sai!" – I've been trained for such outcomes to breathe through my mouth." And then, to round off his statements, he added a fake smile for good measure.

'It was almost too good to be true that he'd have changed into a more considerate person. I'm almost certain he knows he's insulting me…'

With great restraint, Sakura managed to ignore most of what he said. She nearly believed her patience had increased since the last time they had argued over something equally as profound to her, but meaningless to him.

"See that you do…" she said, partially satisfied at getting her point across and partially satisfied because this was the least insulted she'd ever come out of a conversation with Sai.

They finally got up from their respective spots on the ground and began packing their materials (her ridiculous amount of blankets and his uncountable sketchpads) away to sit down in front of the fire. They had decided (not mutually, but he knew better than to argue with her about food after just having escaped an early death from the previous argument) to eat before heading back to Konoha.

The time passed on pleasantly, without much conversation; and even though Sakura was a naturally chatty person, even she felt that anything said right now could and would kill the mood.

"And is it safe to assume that that would entail that I not bathe you to relieve any further stench issues for the next 24 hours?"

They later arrived back at the village with a very confused Sai covered entirely in bruises and a very traumatised Sakura hugging herself muttering about her lost innocence.