A/N: FINALLY I submit again! I'd make excuses for the long gap between my chapters, but the truth is I've just been having a hard time getting the time and energy to shut up and write. I'll do my best to get the next chapter out as soon as I can
Sakura woke before dawn.
After a few moments of allowing her eyes to adjust to the grey predawn light, she stretched out all the stiffness in her muscles, untangling her legs from Sai's.
She heard him sigh softly.
"We're going to have to be careful on the way to the dock." He sat up, leaning over her slightly. She noticed he looked like he hadn't had much sleep. "Some of my scouters found that there are some shinobi in the area investigating some recent disappearances."
"Those guys we met the other day?"
"Possibly." He shrugged. "But it could be completely unrelated - we just need to be extra careful. They're likely to have at least 1 sensory type ninja with them."
She nodded and hopped out of bed, making sure her chakra signature was completely suppressed.
"It's good to have an excuse to get up at a reasonable time for once, all this extra sleep is hard work." She stretched as she peeked through the blinds. "No wonder they're so weak, they miss out on all the valuable training time." The street outside was deserted, she imagined that the only other people awake would be the fishermen.
"That is true." Sai appeared beside her, picking up his pack, having stealthily changed clothes while she was looking out the window. "Didn't you live with a civilian for a year?"
Her eyebrows went up. Somehow, she had almost forgotten. "Yeah, I did, I never paid much attention to his sleeping habits though." She frowned. "Although now that you mention it he was never up when I got back from training to have breakfast."
Sai's eyes followed her as she moved away from the window. He didn't know much about the relationship that she'd had with the civilian, just that it had ended abruptly quite recently.
He wondered if maybe she was sad about it...
Did she want to talk about it?
Was he obnoxious to mention it?
"I don't think the civilians back home are quite like the ones out here though." She began picking up her clothes so he turned away.
"How so?"
"Well for starters, Konoha is quite wealthy anyway. But because it's a hidden village, I think that a lot of the civilians have developed an entitled attitude. They're safe in that little village of ours, and even if they are struggling for money, they will never go hungry."
Sai glanced over, surprised. Sakura's words were jaded, and it almost sounded like she disapproved of the whole system.
"What would you change then?"
She smiled up at him from her crouched position, halfway through repacking her pack. "Don't get me wrong Sai, I don't think there's anything wrong with our system. But unfortunately, in a land where there is plenty, people loose appreciation for what they have. They forget that wars have been fought to keep their lives comfortable and free." She stood and peeked through the blinds again. "We should head off or we'll miss out boat."
Sai nodded pensively before picking up his bag and following her from the room.
There was a little more activity when they finally got out onto the docks, people were setting up their stalls and pulling small boats along the beach. No sign of any shinobi in the area, but just because they couldn't see them, didn't mean they weren't lurking in the shadows, or even in plain sight.
They hurried along the sea front and down onto the docks, pulling their travelling cloaks securely around themselves as they went.
A bitterly cold wind was rolling in from the sea, along with a little bit of salty drizzle.
Sai could only hope that the poor weather wouldn't remain for their entire journey.
The man he had spoken to had said it would take them four days to reach their destination. Four days of windy weather and rough sea wouldn't do much for their health, regardless of how well Sakura could heal them.
Sai spotted movement at the other end of the docks. Four men were speaking with an elderly man by a fruit stand. He gestured to Sakura.
"That elderly shop keeper looks very nervous of those four men, don't you agree?"
He watched her glance around surreptitiously, her lips forming into a hard line.
"He's definitely feeling threatened - from the way he's trying to hide behind his stall, and how he's shielding his dominant arm, I'd say they've threatened him in some way."
"Shinobi?"
"I'd say so. I guess they're not so big on keeping a low profile."
One of the shinobi looked up right at that moment, and their eyes locked.
He looked away quickly, and his hand caught Sakura's. "We need to move." He muttered, pulling her back into motion.
She understood his urgency immediately, the shinobi talking to the man had moved away and was watching them, tracking them.
It was hard to keep an even, unsuspicious gait under his keen eye. It was even harder when he was approaching them quickly, taking a direct route over the water toward them. At least it wasn't unusual for them to glance at him warily. Only civilians living in the hidden villages were used to ninja doing things like walking on water - in a town like this, people openly stared when they were witness to shinobi skills.
Sakura stumbled, she hadn't been paying attention to her footing and had managed to tangle herself in a stray fishing net.
A foreign hand caught her arm.
Honestly, it was all she could do to not insta-kill the stranger for surprising her. But doing so would have roused suspicion.
"You need to watch where you're going miss." The man who had spoken helped her regain her balance, and she found herself facing the very shinobi she had been keeping her eyes on.
Acting the part of an embarrassed civilian, she kept her eyes down. "Thank you." She muttered.
"She's always been a little clumsy." Sai's laugh came from her left. "Thanks for catching her, she would have been mortified if she had fallen into the ocean."
The shinobi laughed as well, but the mirth didn't reach his cold eyes.
"May I ask where you're coming from sir?"
"My wife and I have just travelled from a small village just north of Konoha." Sai replied calmly. The shinobi still held Sakura's upper arm - it was clear they were under suspicion.
"I see, I hear you have chartered a boat to the Land of Lightning, what is your purpose for travelling there, and why by boat?"
"There's work there for my wife with her sister. Because I'm an artist I can work anywhere, but things weren't working out for us financially back home." He sighed and took Sakura's hand, causing the ninja to finally let go of her hand. "We're travelling by boat because we heard about some troubles in the Land of Hot Water when we passed by Konoha - it's expensive, but I didn't want to get messed up with anything nasty."
Sai was controlling the situation well - his confidence had thrown the shinobi off balance.
"That all seems in order - have you noticed any suspicious people on your travels? My team is currently tracking a group of rogue shinobi from the Land of Tea - apparently they're targeting civilians like yourself."
"Well that is quite worrying, I haven't noticed anyone, how about you my love?"
Sakura shook her head. "It's been an uneventful trip, thankfully."
The shinobi gave them a hard look.
"That's very interesting. Are you aware that you are the first civilians in three months to successfully get from the border to here without being accosted or disappearing?"
Busted.
Sakura glanced at Sai anxiously, hoping that he might think of a story that might work better that 'oh, aren't we lucky!'
He twisted his lips together before leaning a little closer to the shinobi.
"Look, I didn't want to advertise this." He murmured. "But I have a few sensory type abilities. I'm not trained as a ninja, but I've always been able to sense when shinobi are nearby. I did sense a few groups on our way here, so I did my best to avoid them."
It was a smooth lie, and entirely plausible, but their interrogator's face hardened yet again.
"I'm going to have to take you in for questioning, sir, your wife too." He grabbed Sakura's arm yet again. "You're still classified as a low rank shinobi in our land, and we don't allow foreign shinobi into the Sound."
Sakura acted quickly, snapping the man's wrist back with a subtle flick, then before he could yell, she jabbed his forehead with one finger, he stood still, staring blankly over her shoulder a small. There was a small, blue, wet mark on his forehead.
"We'd better go before he wakes up and realises what happened." She muttered to Sai, she turned on her heel and started to make her way toward their vessel.
"How long do you think this will buy us?" He asked as he caught up to her.
"Let's just say that the sooner we're out of here the better." She pulled he cloak in closer to herself. "We have about ten minutes before the paralysis gel I used wears off, twenty before the grogginess is gone."
Sai nodded approvingly.
Sakura's paralysis gel was certainly a handy little tool - he had heard that she had developed this special drug, which could easily be used to paralyse any opponent, ...provided you could get a drop of it on their skin. It wasn't widely used, because it was difficult for the average shinobi to use, but there had been a rumour going around that some Anbu had been using it in conjunction with senbon to bring in people for questioning.
It would be something for them to talk about during their week long voyage to the Land of Lightning.
They boarded the vessel quickly after that. Sakura's heart was beating rapidly, reeling from their close call. Sai looked tense as he followed the captain down below deck as they were shown to their quarters.
The vessel departed while they were still in their quarters, so Sakura had the pleasure of watching Sai's expression turn instantly green.
"I never imagined that you'd get sea sick as quickly as Gai does." She teased, pushing him down to sit on the bed. "Take one of these ," she handed him what looked like a normal food pill. "It's pretty simple, lots of nutrients and some ginger in the pill and then a bit of chakra treatment and you'll survive."
He looked at the pill doubtfully - no pill had ever helped his sea sickness before - he swallowed it anyway, knowing that refusing Sakura's medical advice wouldn't be wise.
She scrutinised him for a few seconds.
"Feel any change?" He was about to shake his head, when a sudden bout of near overpowering nausea struck him.
He grunted, trying to find the nearest exit, but suddenly he found himself being forced face first onto the bed. He struggled, but Sakura's strength was unrelenting as she gripped the back of his neck.
Then everything went black.
Sai woke to darkness, a strip of warm weight rested on his torso, soft hair tickled his left arm.
He sat bolt upright, pushing the dozing Sakura away as he did so.
She was alert almost instantly, flicking on her torch so they could see each others expressions.
He was suspicious, betrayed.
She was repentant, concerned and yet at the same time, calm.
"Sai, please allow me to explain."
"It had better be good." His voice was cold and emotionless.
"The pill was designed to, well, basically send your body haywire - when it kicks in it enables me to perform a certain procedure to effectively cure your sea sickness." She bit her lip. "Strangely, the pill doesn't work properly unless the patient is taken by surprise by the effects. Which is why I didn't tell you what I was about to do."
She stretched and pushed her legs out in front of her, inspecting and healing the dark, boot shaped bruises there. He must have kicked her a few times in his struggle.
Focusing on her task she spoke again. "I'm sorry I had to deceive you and I hope you can forgive me. I just figured that you of all people would appreciate the benefits and understand."
Sai considered for a few seconds, watching her heal her bruises slowly - too slowly.
He considered the rocking motion of their vessel and realised with a certain level of wonder that the motion was quite soothing, and in no way made him feel like emptying the contents of his stomach.
He did understand. What she had done was calculated and necessary.
He plastered a bright smile on his face. "I guess we can call it even - I did kick your shins in after all. And I do feel much better."
She grinned and stood up, her bruises fully healed. "Thanks Sai." She pulled a sachet of Sai's favourite field rations out of her bag.
"Sakura, how many civilians do you know that carry ninja field rations?" Sai asked disapprovingly.
She shrugged, "So I smuggled a couple sachets out of the village." A wide grin spread across her face again. "I won't tell if you don't."
He took the offered rations gratefully. He supposed that as long as the rations weren't discovered then it would be fine. And this was his favourite flavour. "You eat that, you'll need the food after that procedure - I have to write a report back to Naruto, so I'll be needing one of your ink birds."
They sat in silence while Sai ate, and Sakura scribbled away in a scroll. She occasionally asked her to refresh her memory on bits of information, like how much it had cost to stay in that first inn and how much did the extra supplies cost?
As Sai watched her write he wondered how someone could look so… animated and expressive, writing a mission update. Her expression went from contemplative to serious, then flicked to a shadow of annoyance, then to an expression of intense urgency.
She finished up after an hour and Sai drew up a bird to carry the scroll, which was promptly sent through the tiny porthole in their cabin.
Sai turned away from the window to see Sakura staring at the bed with a perplexed expression.
"What is it, ugly?"
Her eye twitched, but she ignored her nickname. "I don't think our usual sleeping arrangement is going to work - there's only one point of entry for us to face."
"Well we'll just have to face the same way." The solution was obvious to him. So why was she suddenly blushing slightly?
"Ok fine, do you want front or back?" She wore a stolid expression, but her cheeks remained pink.
"Front."
Sakura cursed herself for giving him the option, sleeping behind him… well nothing would be more embarrassing than accidentally spooning Sai in her sleep. She'd heard from Ryou that she could develop quite the death grip while she was sleeping.
She bid him goodnight and climbed into the back of the cot, hoping to hide the fact that her cheeks were warm from the inevitable embarrassment.
Sai lay on the bed in front of her and she crossed her arms tight against her body, hoping to avoid all contact. Maybe by doing so she could stop her body from making a fool of her during the night.
Several hours later Sai woke briefly as a warm arm draped itself over his body, and squeezed him gently.
"Sakura?" he whispered into the dark. His only response was a sigh as her hot face pressed itself into his back and shoulders.
He closed his eyes with a small smile, he wondered if she would be embarrassed. Or if he should be. He had always imagined it would be quite uncomfortable sleeping like that. To his surprise, he found he rather liked it. As a way of sharing body heat of course.
The next night, Sakura insisted that she would be more comfortable in front, she'd felt embarrassed when she woke with her arm around him, and was grateful she had been awake before him. When she woke in the morning to find his arm draped over her, she didn't feel so bad.
Naruto received Sakura's report the day they were due to land in the Land of Lightning.
He opened it quickly, eager to hear from his dearest friend.
Most of it was boring details, how many days it had taken for them to reach the border, mission expenses and the like.
He was interested to see that they had taken out a group of Shinobi from the bingo book, he would have to arrange for the pair of them to be paid for taking out a few C ranked criminals. He grinned when he noticed that Sakura had inserted a side note. I doubt they were even worth a round of ramen…
The report grew more interesting and amusing as it went on.
Old ladies feeding them aphrodisiacs, accidental mixed bathing and especially the part where she mentioned how they had decided who was in charge.
"We both fought dirty, I'm sworn to secrecy, but we both got the bed so you had better damn well pay us both mission leader rates"
A paragraph near the end caught his attention, as she described how they had raised the funds to pay for the vessel.
"I saw there was this crowd gathering around Sai so I went to investigate, just to make sure he hadn't offended someone." Naruto chuckled at that. "I noticed as soon as I reached him that he'd already sold a number of artsy black and white pieces, but wow, the piece he was working on when I got there was a masterpiece. He perfectly captured the stormy landscape and then there I was, all pink haired and wild in the middle of it all. It was beautiful. Anyway, Sai seemed to be really attached to it and I was wondering if there would be any way for us to have it returned to him? I placed a special tracking jutsu on it, so it'll be easy enough to find it." Naruto considered her request carefully.
He had been thinking a lot about Sai since their discussion before they left for their mission. All of the paintings in his flat had seemed so bleak and empty. The lack of colour had been the most disconcerting thing. Even in his earlier days, when he could feel nothing, he had always used colour.
And now suddenly there was colour again… Naruto smiled in relief, no matter what else happened on that mission, he could rest easy knowing that Sakura was somehow helping Sai with whatever it was that ailed him.
Naruto sat back and sipped his tea, thinking deeply about what needed to be done.
A/N: And there we have it folks, as always let me know what you think - it's always encouraging to hear what people think, good or bad
