D I S C L A I M E R
I, JouVal, DO NOT own Naruto Shippuuden, or any of the characters! I only write for my own enjoyment.

Sai x Naruto Shonen-ai


C h a p t e r 2 : Close Enough to Taste

Naruto sighed. Sai was right; their captain was already waiting for them. Fortunately he didn't look as cross as he could have.

Yamato smiled at them. "Did the three of you enjoy your rest?" He asked.

"Hai, taisho." Sakura replied with a small smile.

Naruto pouted and fidgeted slightly, and Sai continued ignoring their presence. This caused Yamato to frown.

"Nothing's wrong, is it?" He asked, seeming uneasy over the sudden tension between teammates.

"O-of course not!" Naruto said in a rush, only fueling his suspicions.

"Well, we might as well set up camp here."

Yamato grabbed the tent supplies and passed a bag to Naruto.

"Alright, let's get to work. We still need to secure food and firewood before dark." He glanced over at his reluctant team.

"Sakura, help Naruto put that tent up. Sai will help me with this one. I'll put up my own when you three start gathering the supplies."

All three nodded to show they understood their orders.

He glanced over at the raven haired teen when he reached for a tent stake.

"Anything happen while I was away?" He asked as he stared the boy down critically. His inquiry was met by a smile. Fake.

"Like Naruto-kun said earlier, nothing happened." Sai calmly began pounding in the stake.

Yamato sighed. "Forgive me if I seem unconvinced…"

Sai said nothing and busied himself with the task at hand.

Naruto was relieved with Yamato-taisho's decision. He didn't think he could work with Sai right now…

Sakura gave him a soft smile. He returned it with one of his own.

"So," she whispered, "do you think I was right?"

"About earlier?" He asked.

The pink haired kunoichi nodded.

He sighed. "I…I don't know. He's a blunt person, besides he's so gay I don't think he would bother to hide it if…um, you know." He mumbled thoughtfully.

She nodded. "Yeah, but I can't help wondering."

Naruto let out a nervous laugh.

"Maybe it's something we shouldn't worry about right now." He replied, trying to get her to drop the subject. She rolled her eyes, but smiled.

The four met up in the middle of the camp once the tents were prepared and their equipment was safely stored.

"We'll need at least four armloads of dry, dead wood for our fire tonight; and two fish per person for our supper," Yamato declared.

The three younger ninja nodded.

"Dismissed!" They broke apart and headed into the forest.

Once they were out of sight the older ANBU member sighed.

"I hope this does not bode ill…" He muttered.

Finding the firewood was easy. This part of the forest seemed to have been logged heavily in the past. Piles of cut wood and thick branches were laid all over the forest floor.

"Na, na, Sakura-chan; why do you think people left so much wood lying around?"

The curious orange-clad ninja asked his friend.

"Perhaps they were trying to thin the trees out a bit. Fire spreads easily through the tree-tops, after all." She said with a shrug.

Naruto smiled, seeming satisfied with her answer.

"Heh, more for us then!" He quipped, snagging another branch.

Sai already had an armload and passed them silently on his way back to camp.

Naruto frowned. "What's his rush?" He complained, feeling somehow offended.

Sakura giggled. "Nani? Would you rather he came back to hold your hand?" She teased. He sputtered at her.

"Don't say things like that, Sakura-chan!"

They quickly finished off their wood gathering and headed back to camp. Naruto was still sulking when they arrived.

Yamato blinked in surprise.

"Naruto…"

"I was teasing him taisho, gomen." Sakura said apologetically.

He nodded. "Start gathering the food and I'll get some more firewood."

Sai waded into the river and pulled out a handful of kunai. He focused his thoughts before releasing them, pinning four fish to a large maple tree on the opposite bank. He plucked a willow branch from a neighboring tree and strung the fish on it. Sai knelt by the side of the river to clean his knives before returning them to his pack. He then left in the direction of their camp without a single glance at Naruto or Sakura.

The other two followed his example and then headed back.

Sakura bit her lip.

"I feel bad…" She confessed.

Naruto snorted. "Why? It's not your fault he's a dick!"

She smiled and gently swatted him on the arm.

"You shouldn't say things like that about a teammate, Naruto." She reprimanded him.

"Yeah…but I know you think the same!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Sometimes, but I do feel guilty this time…"

Naruto pouted once again.

"Well I'm glad he's not talking to us. Every word that comes out of his mouth pisses me off even more."

The conversation came to an abrupt halt as soon as the camp came into sight.

Yamato-taisho already had a fire going when they arrived. They cooked the fish and ate a light dinner. Afterward they gathered by the fire to discuss the plans for the next day.

They had reason to believe that Sasuke was closer than ever before. Yamato was confident that they would cross paths soon. Two days prior, Sasuke had been reported injured near Yagami village. They were little more than a day behind him, and even if he had assistance, his injuries would force him to stop eventually.

Yamato laid out a map showing all the nearby towns and water sources. Using this they mapped out the most likely rout the Uchiha would take.

"Naruto, we'll use your kage bunshin technique to search all of this area. If a clone sees him he'll have to fight it off. Once it is destroyed, we'll know the location and can easily navigate to that area." Yamato explained.

His team nodded. The older man smiled.

"I have a feeling we might see him soon."

Naruto's face lit up, lifted by a smile that threatened to tear his face in half if it got any wider. Sakura's eyes sparkled as she gave a genuine heart-felt smile. Sai stared blankly at the map, soaking up the layout of the area.

Yamato stood up, folded the map and placed it in his pocket.

"Get some sleep. We're going to need it for tomorrow."

Sakura put out the fire and they all headed into their designated sleeping areas. Sai and Naruto were to share the tent on the left side, Sakura in the middle, and Yamato on the right.

Things were a bit awkward in the boy's tent. Both faced away from one another and tried to ignore the heavy silence that hung around them.

Naruto sighed.

Soon this would all be over…soon they would have Sasuke back to fill his rightful place on team seven. Then Sai, and all the confusion he brought, would be little more than an unpleasant memory.

A pleasant smile graced his lips.

'Soon, Sasuke, things will be right again.'