AN: Okay, Let me say this first... I think SasuSaku is OTP.. BUT I love the idea of other pairings with Sakura cuz she's freakin awesome and the guys are hot. This is my first SaiSaku fic, I'll be doing some more of this pairing since I fell in love with them, I hope you guys like this and I hope you look forward with the next chapters. i'm so sorry forry any grammatical errors or any misspelled words.
Naruto is not mine.
Thinking about the lonely pink haired maiden made his heart clench. Everytime she sheds a tear it felt like a kunai was stabbed deep into him, turned, pulled it out and pierced him again. When she fakes a smile, it makes him want to hold her tightly and comfort her. Each time she trains, he feels so lucky to be close to her, looking at her every move. He doesn't know why he'd feel like that but he's Sai, He tried to cease these urges and whatever it was he was pretty sure it was out of his hands whether it'll burst out or not. All he can do was try to be his normal self and be subtle.
"Good Morning Sai." Sakura greeted the young man.
"Huh? .. Oh.. Good Morning." Sai replied giving his usual emotionless stare.
"You seem distracted." Sakura commented.
"Am I?" Sai asked looking confused.
"You are.." Sakura pouted.
Looking at the pouting Sakura made Sai took a big gulp, she was just too cute. He doesn't know what kind of feeling he's experiencing but he knows it's something troublesome when he makes a wrong move.
"Y-You're..." Sai sighed.
"I'm?" Sakura asked.
"You're...quite... ugly." Sai said in his usual passive tone.
"Idiot!" Sakura exclaimed as she punched the pale lad on the face. Stomping away from Sai.
"Wait.." Sai said in a monotonous manner.
"WHAT?" Sakura asked in a pissed tone.
"Want to look at new weapons?" Sai hesitated in what he let go, he wasn't the type to be skeptical in what he says.
"Weapons?.. That's random." Sakura commented.
"Yeah weapons, some our newly wielded and newly shipped today." Sai stated.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt... but If you piss me off again, I'll make sure, you'll get it." Sakura warned.
"Hai, hai" Sai agreed giving his unmistakable smile.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go!" Sakura gave a warm smile to her teammate as she grabbed Sai's wrist as she ran.
Sai was caught off guard by her reaction, he stared at the hand holding him. It was a warm hand, he shifted his wrist a bit so that her hand is holding his. Sakura noticed Sai's movement, she glanced at their hands and up to Sai's face with a questioned look.
Sai had to think of something, quick before he gets another punch from the fair maiden.
"Hold on tight." Sai smiled as he ran ahead, holding her hand tightly.
Sakura smiled back, enjoying his company.
"Here we are, the weapons shop." Sai stated.
"W-Wooooow! They have razor gloves! With refillable poison for the palms!" Sakura's eyes glistened.
Sai simply looked at the girl beside him, feeling cheery. The usual pained look on her face was gone, Sai was warm all over because he contributed something for her even though it might be temporary.
"Shall we go in?" Sai insisted.
"Uhn!" Sakura agreed.
"Sai look! They have scrolls for you!" Sakura chuckled.
"Indeed, they have. Hmm.. Which reminds me, I need a few more." Sai decided.
"Look! There's a sale on a kunai and ...shuriken...set.." Sakura's tone weakened, her pained look went back.
"Sakura... What's wrong..?" Sai asked , scrunched up eyebrows, his obsidian orbs were hinting a bit of worriedness.
"I.. When .. I was a about Konohamaru's age.. I bought Sasuke-kun .. exactly one of these sets for his birthday.." Sakura tried not to look too pained.
"Sorry for asking.." Sai sighed.
"No, It's okay.." Sakura assured her friend.
"Sakura, I may sound insensitive but can you try not to talk about him when I'm around? It's just, I think it's rude to be thinking about another man when you're with someone else y'know. Especially because I'm a man." Sai reminded the girl. He was confused on why he said such things, it just came to him that he should say it.
"I understand, I'm sorry...but Sai, when did you have that kind of perspective?" Sakura replied.
"I.. I read it.." Sai said.
"Well, I should've known.. I thought you were finally learning something not from a book but from here." Sakura commented as she touched Sai's left chest with her index finger.
"Huh? Your heart is pounding hard. Is there anything wrong with you?" Sakura added as she felt Sai's heart bang each and every second.
"I..Must be from the running..." Sai tried to cover up.
"You're a ninja, You won't be out of breath from the running we did. Besides, I'm a medic, remember?" Sakura explained.
"Well, It must be from this heat. Ne?" Sai gave his normal smile.
"Hmmm, It must be.. It's pretty hot in here." Sakura agreed.
"I'll just buy a few of these scrolls and a pair of the new gloves then we can go out and eat, ok?" Sai offered.
"O-Okay.. but it's gonna be your treat!" Sakura stuck out her tongue.
"Hai, hai." Sai replied.
"Wait.. New gloves?" Sakura asked the normally stoic lad.
"Yeah, I bought these for you." Sai said with his stoic face, giving the paper bag to the cotton candy haired las.
"You didn't have to.." Sakura said , her eyes gleaming down on her new gloves.
"I wanted to, think of it as a gift from being nice to me from the very start." Sai said, feeling easy that he made her happy for just a bit.
"So, Where do you want to eat?" Sai asked.
"Hmm I don't know, where do you usually eat?" Sakura couldn't decide as she put her hand on her chin.
"Me? I seldomly eat out. I usually cook for myself." Sai said as he put his hand on his chin the same as Sakura's position.
"Then how about we eat at your home?" Sakura insisted.
"I don't mind but we need to stop by the market first." Sai replied.
"Then let's go~" Sakura said as she flung her paper bag into her pocket.
The two walked together, quite comfortable with each other's presence. It's been tough for Sai to fit in, especially since there's no single emotion in his heart and whole body, But ever since he met Sakura things went differently.
"Alright, we're here." Sakura stated as they stopped inmfront of the grocery store.
"We need a couple of filet mignons, sugar, soy sauce, potatoes and tomatoes." Sai said as he
grabbed a pushcart and went inside, along followed Sakura.
"That sounds delicious." Sakura commented.
"You think so?" Sai mumbled, he seemed distracted once again.
"Sai? What're you doing? Let's get going." Sakura said as she peered over his side.
"oh, yeah. You're right." Sai reverted to his normal self as they strolled along the aisles.
They were almost done with their grocery shopping, the only thing that's left is picking up some filet mignons in the meat section and trying to choose a couple of potatoes. Sakura was so immersed in what should she pick, the big bulky potato or the normal plain ones. Sai didn't mind the wait, even though it's quite tiresome to watch the pink haired beauty fuss about a simple potato.
Sakura got another one from the stack to examine it when some of the spuds avalanched to the floor. Sai shrugged, trying to help pick up the remaining potatoes on the floor.
"You're clumsy." Sai commented as he put the spuds back.
"I'm not!" Sakura defensively replied.
"Whatever you say, ugly." Sai droned.
"U-Ugly?! Why, I ought-" Sakura was cut off by the faint giggles of an elderly.
The two turned to the side to see a grandma , giving a chuckle at them.
"My, My, sorry... It just feels so nostalgic, looking at you two." The grandma explained with a frail old smile.
"Nostalgic? How?" Sakura asked, dropping her fist away from Sai.
"You see, before my husband and I became a couple... we used to be just like that." The grandma replied.
"Dear hurry up, Our grandchildren will come by soon! We need to go home." The elderly man put his arm around his wife.
"Oh honey, look at them, they remind me of us back in the old days." The grandma told her husband.
"I bet they were bickering." The old man snickered.
"They were!" The grandma smiled.
"Well, we're much more good looking than them, though. Come on, we're not getting any younger. Let's go." The old man said as he took his wife's hand and pulled her ever so gently away.
"Goodbye." The elderly woman said.
Sai and Sakura simply eyed the two as they went ahead. Sakura frowned at Sai as she threw her chosen spuds in the cart, giving him a little more attitude that she's still a little bit pissed at him.
"Next is, filet mignon." Sai stated as he pushed the cart.
Sai also took some time, but not as long as Sakura was. Sakura yawned, she took a step back , to only find herself in their push cart. Sakura opened her eyes, to her dismay Sai was pushing the cart already along with the filet mignon to the cashier.
"S-Sai!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Hold on tight." Sai said modestly.
Sakura was taking aback by the shinobi's action. She might as well enjoy the ride as the cool air conditioner breeze blasted her face. Her lips grew into a smile, her hair is flying along with the wind and she shot her arms up.
Sai observed the girl before him, he had a faint smile. He never had this kind of moment with her. A very unique and candid moment.
As they reached the cash register, Sakura was having trouble getting out of the cart. She tried to pull herself up but failed to do so, Sai rolled his eyes as he approached Sakura.
Sai put his arm under Sakura's back and the other slid to the back of her knees. The sudden action of the lad made Sakura blush, their closeness was abrupt. They were never that close before, She could feel his breath, his heartbeat, the rise and fall of his chest. The same goes for Sai, he had a very clear view of the kunoichi's round breasts which made him have a very feint blush. He could see Sakura's clear smooth skin, her silky locks and her enticing emerald eyes.
Sai diverted his eyes as he put the girl down. He brought the items to the cashier and paid.
The two went ahead and walked.
"Come to think of it, I never seen your flat before." Sakura said as she walked beside the artist.
"Well, we're here." Sai said as they stopped in a fair looking building.
After two flights in the elevator, they got out and stopped at the end of the hall. At the side there's his door. Sai got his key from his pocket to open his apartment door, he turned on the lights revealing a very posh, spacious and modern designed flat. A black, sleek couch in the center with a glass center table, accompanied with a white shaggy rug and a flat screen on the end. On the right you'll see a very clean black and beige colored kitchen, there's a bar made out of marble, a nice oven, you can see a couple of halls at both sides, a great view of Konoha, painting filled walls and of course, an easel.
"Woooow, I never thought your apartment would be this.. cool." Sakura commented as she observed everything.
"Come in." Sai offered.
Sakura took off her shoes and placed the groceries on the counter.
Sai washed the potatoes and tomatoes as well as the filet mignons as he prepped for cooking.
"Sai, can I help?" Sakura asked.
"But you're my guest." Sai said.
"It's okay, I want to help." Sakura smiled.
"Well, If you insist.. Put a cup and a half of soy sauce, half a cup of sugar, teaspoon of salt and pepper and a little bit of chili powder on the meat." Sai replied as he preheats the oven.
"O-Okay." Sakura happily replied as she washed her hands and went on with what she was told.
"Oh and massage the meat, If you don't mind." Sai said in a calm manner as he chopped the tomatoes.
"Sure." Sakura obliged.
Sai peeked at what she was doing, he wasn't content in her performance. He approached the girl as he stood behind her. Barely centimeters away from each other, once again his breath was close to her, tickling her neck making Sakura blush.
"You see, you have to get in there." Sai stated as he placed his hands on to hers and guided hers, massaging the meat.
"I-Is that so.." Sakura's voice cracked a bit.
"Yeah, the meat will absorb it better and faster." Sai said, his heart was pounding , as well as hers by their closeness once again.
Sai let go of her hands as he back away, getting an oven tray to place the vegetable and fruit.
"Let's put them here." Sai said as he carried the tray.
"You sure know alot about cooking." Sakura commented as she placed the two cuts on the tray.
Sai placed the tray on the counter to get the remaining mixture to drizzle it over the pan.
"I need to learn how to cook, since I'm all alone." Sai said in a mellow tone.
"Let me guess, You learned how to cook by reading books?" Sakura replied.
"Well, Is there any other way?" Sai blinked his eyes.
"TV." Sakura said, her eyebrows went up.
"Barely watch." Sai said as he washed his hands.
"Speaking of tv, let's watch." Sakura said, smiling at the pale lad.
"Sure, help yourself." Sai returned the smile.
Sakura happily skipped all the way to the couch and grabbed the remote to turn on the tv.
In a short while, Sai joined her , sitting a foot away from her. The artist rested his whole right arm at the head of the couch, just near enough to reach Sakura's face but far enough to give some distance.
"Must be lonely leaving alone." Sakura commented, looking at the lad beside her.
"... It has its moments.." Sai replied, he answered truthfully, he answered from his heart.
"Moments? Like what?" Sakura asked.
"Like when I saw this couple of robins in my balcony, they made a nest for their egg and soon, it hatched. When I moved in here my room was too dull, so I painted it to my heart's content." Sai said in genuine delight.
"Really? Tell me more." Sakura said, interested in what he was saying. They forgot about the TV. She scooted a bit, nearing the lad.
"Well, I nursed this rabbit I found in the woods before I joined Team 7. It was injured, attacked by a wild beast. I saw it whimpering behind the bushes." Sai reminisced as he as well scooted nearer to the las making them inches apart.
"Awwww, then what happened?" Sakura asked curiously.
"I freed the rabbit once it was healed." Sai replied.
TING TING TING
The oven timer went off, they only realized that their gap was nearing to a close when the timer finished ringing. It made the two blush as they looked at each other, Sai cleared his throat and got up.
"Dinner's ready." Sai said trying to hide his pinkish blush.
"Y-Yeah... Let me fix the table.. Uhm, where's the utensils?" Sakura mumbled her words, fixing herself.
"Top shelf and bottom left drawer." Sai replied as he opened the oven to reveal a couple of perfectly cooked meat.
"Gotcha." Sakura replied getting a couple of plates, forks and knives and also glasses.
After placing the eating ware on the table she obliged to sit ahead.
"Dinner is served." Sai said wearing his usual smile, he placed a couple of spoonfuls of the tomatoes and potatoes and gently placed the filet mignon on her plate, he did the same with his.
"What would you like to drink? Water or Raspberry juice?" Sai asked.
"Raspberry please." Sakura said.
The artist placed the used tray on the sink and got a pitcher of raspberry juice, he headed to her side to pour some and to his glass.
"Wow Sai, this ... looks AMAZING!" Sakura complimented the pale ninja as she stared at her plate.
"Thanks." Sai simply replied.
The two were having a great time, talking about their missions and how ridiculous Naruto is.
"Sai, you have a little something on your cheek." Sakura commented.
"Huh? Where?" Sai asked.
"There!" Sakura pointed.
Sai shifted his eyes from left to right trying to see the stain on his cheek but failed to locate it. Sakura got up , took her handkerchief from her pocket, she cupped Sai's face to keep it from moving as she wiped the sauce off of his face making both of them blush once again.
Sakura's heart was pounding as they stare at each other, she doesn't know why but her stomach churns when she's with him. It's been a long time since she felt something like it, but she's skeptical about it, she's still not over Sasuke.
"Sakura you can let go now." Sai said as he took a big gulp, just looking into her eyes was enough to make his brain turn to mush.
"Y-You're right." Sakura snapped out from her trance and went back to her seat.
Sai doesn't know this kind of feeling, it's all new to him. He never felt so nervous when he's with her. He mentally noted himself to look for it in the library the next morning.
"Let me clean the plates, It's the least I can do since you made dinner." Sakura said as they finished eating.
"O-Okay." Sai said as he took a sip from his glass.
Sakura gathered the used utensils in the sink, she grabbed the sponge and dishwashing soap and started to wash.
Sai took a minute to look at the girl in his kitchen, It's the first time he let a visitor in his flat. It was sort of special for him.
Sai took a drying towel from the side and dried the washed plates beside Sakura. They smiled as they looked at each other, a very nice atmosphere to look at.
"It's this late? I need to go, thank you for the dinner Sai It was great." Sakura said as she looked at her watch.
Sakura was about to go when Sai blurted out.
"L-Let me walk you home."
"Huh?" Sakura said as she turned her head enough to see Sai behind her.
"I said.. Let me walk you home." Sai meagerly said hoping she'll let him.
"I-It's fine." Sakura hesitated a bit, but decided not to be with him as she walked home since she's still confused in what's going on.
"Oh... Okay.." Sai weakly said, his face still had the same emotionless look but his heart scrunched up.