Chapter Eleven

Storm Brewing

The colony, as days passed, grew colder and busier, and Sakura found herself just as busy with the flow of patients coming in and out of the clinic. Majority of the patients were men with strained muscles who have been eagerly preparing for the Solstice that was fast approaching.

As usual, because of Team Gai's presence in the colony, Sai had been ever vigilant. There wasn't a moment in the day that he left her side longer than an hour, and if he ever was forced to leave, the Root agent only did so after asking Noa to keep Sakura company.

The fact, at first, did not sit well with Sakura, but she was surprised to discover that ever since the birth of Riho's baby boy, which was almost a week and a half ago, Noa had been relatively tolerable. The times when Noa kept with Sakura, the girl merely sat on a stool in the corner of the clinic, once in a while standing to look over Sakura's shoulder while the kunoichi worked with several herbs to be turned into ointments. Sakura could sometimes see Noa taking down notes whenever she thought Sakura wasn't looking.

The only time the girl would stop being civil was when Sai showed up. Yes, that made everything quite difficult…

Ever since Noa had divulged the information about her unique talent to 'read' people, Sakura had started thinking about it whenever she wasn't busy enough. At first she had assumed the girl was a sensory-type… ninja? Civilian? What? But that was just Sakura's hunch. What bothered her the most was the part when the girl said she couldn't 'read' Sai. Deducting everything from what little hints here and there she had observed, Sakura came to the conclusion that Noa's ability involved emotions, and Sai having an emotional capacity below than the average male, made it difficult for her to understand.

What was another mystery to Sakura, however, was that having Noa around was easier than having Sai around.

The Root agent had found a different way of annoying her by sitting at a distance away and watching her intently from under his overgrown hair and that stupid, stupid floppy hat he had taken to wearing again for some unknown reason. Sakura supposed it was to keep his hair under control, but what Sai didn't seem to realize was that it just made him look… weird. That was all and well, but what annoyed Sakura was the fact that his presence made her uncomfortable, especially since he had once again taken up a totally different personality ever since baby Valu's birth.

Sai was being… nice to her.

His sudden change of personality involved gaining a healthy amount of tact that even Tenten thought strange. Gone were the uncomfortable truths that came out as snappy remarks, and gone were the deadpanned stares he always threw at her before. If anything, his looks were replaced with – something – unreadable going behind those usually flat eyes.

And that moment was probably the most unbearable of all. For a reason Sakura didn't know, Sai had become an unwelcome distraction she would have been happy without. And that fact did little for her headache she was experiencing right now.

"Let me have those," Sai said to her as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere to collect the huge bundle of towels from her arms as she made her way across the clinic to deposit the used linens in the laundry basket.

A few towels fell to the floor and Sakura bent down to pick them up. "It's all right. I have them." She tossed the towels on top of the pile of linens in Sai's arms and moved to take them back.

Sai shifted the pile away from her. "No. I have them." And he turned towards the laundry basket in the corner of the back door of the clinic. Much to Sakura's dismay, a green blur intercepted the Root agent.

"It is I who would help Sakura with the laundry," Lee said as he snatched the pile of linens from Sai. A few more towels scattered to the floor.

Sakura could only groan inwardly. And who could forget another factor to the stress she's been experiencing lately? This was going to be a long, long migraine. And to think it was barely noon...

Lee was like another cloud in her horizon when he learned that Sakura and Sai were posing as a soon-to-be married couple in Gifu. It appeared that Sakura kissing Sai in public did not sit well with Lee, and him taking action on his disapproval of their little disguise came in the form of making Sai his 'love rival'. Not only was it annoying, but it was plain embarrassing.

Sai calmly picked the fallen articles and sighed. He did not look like he was annoyed. If anything, he looked as he always looked: uncaring. "I offered first," he said.

Lee's mouth opened and closed like a fish, and it was obvious he was looking for a wise comeback. When he obviously couldn't find any, he hugged the laundry to himself as if his life depended on it, and ran like crazy outside the clinic with the towels. Sai and Sakura looked after him as if running amok was a normal thing for Lee, which it probably was.

Sai stared at the towels in his hand. "He forgot these… "

Sakura felt too drained and tired to even say anything as she made her way to her desk and sat behind it, feeling her head throb, already dreading the rest of the day. She looked up when a shadow fell beside her and saw Sai planting his hands on the corners of her desk, the towels conveniently abandoned on one of the unfolded cots in the middle of the clinic. The only thing that gave away whatever was inside his mind was the small vertical crease between his fine eyebrows.

"Do you want me to get feverfew from the garden?" he asked.

Sakura blinked up at him, her mouth slacking open before she could stop herself. She shook her head hurriedly, which she instantly stopped when she felt her world spin out of control. She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm fine."

"You're lying."

"Eh?"

"You always pinch the bridge of your nose when your head hurts. I've seen it a few times before you grind a new batch of feverfew for your headache."

Sakura frowned. She did not even realize she had pinched her nose bridge. She did not even know Sai watched her little habits that even she didn't really put much attention to. "I'm just tired. I'm fine."

Sai's hands resting on the desk twitched before he suddenly reached out to her as if to touch her face.

Sakura instinctively moved her head back. Sai's hand paused a few inches from her forehead. "What are you doing?" she demanded.

Sai dropped his hand back on the desk. The crease between his eyebrows vanished and he straightened up. "Should I start a fire for lunch?"

As always, Sai changed subjects as smooth as a cactus. Sakura' eyebrows raised.. "Sure. Have Tenten and Neji come back?" The two had been dragged earlier in the morning by Tomona to help with the winterizing of the olive tree plantation.

"I saw them in the garden earlier, talking about something. I think Neji was scolding Tenten again."

Sakura could only sigh. The fact that Neji and Tenten had been acting like an old, married couple was the least of her worries, but to be honest it had really gotten her quite curious. There were times of the day when Tenten would volunteer to gather water from the well, and Neji would insist she stayed put while he went in her place. It was either Neji was being the perfect gentleman, or he was just insistent on having Tenten glued to Sakura's side. And every time Tenten did decide to stay behind, the weapons mistress would do nothing but push Sai and Sakura together, as if Sakura hadn't said it enough that they were merely posing as a couple. Tenten seemed to have found a new hobby of teasing her simply because Sai was no fun teasing; the boy just didn't know how to react to playful jesting, leaving Sakura as the lone target for Tenten's boredom.

Sakura closed her eyes and pinched her nose bridge again in irritation. This was going to be a very, very long day indeed…

Her eyes fluttered open when she felt cool and gentle fingers on either side of her head. Sai had snuck up behind her while she wasn't looking.

"Lean your head back a bit, all right?" Sai said as he slid his thumbs down the base of her skull, cradling her head in his hands with his forefingers still on her temples.

Feeling suddenly vulnerable for being caught off guard, she could only obey him as she slid lower in her chair and reclined her head on the backrest. When she looked up, she could see Sai upside down, looking blankly at her, the hair framing his face, plus the stupid hat, casting shadows that made his eyes even more unreadable than usual. Feeling her cheeks heat up, she opted to close her eyes and try to shut him out. When Sai's fingers started moving their way through her hair, she decided that closing her eyes was not such a good idea, because with nothing else to stimulate her mind, it started to run away with her. She forced to open her eyes and found Sai was no longer looking down at her but at something on the wall. The pads of his long fingers continued to knead her scalp, and the most unbelievable thing about it, was that he was actually good at it.

"You think too much. Try to relax a bit more," Sai muttered as his hand slipped beneath her ears where he continued to knead in little circles. "The colony's counting on you, and you know how your mission depends on that."

Sakura groaned when Sai hit a particularly good spot just below her ears. "I know, I know. The mission, right? Everything about the mission."

"Everything about you," he corrected, and that was when Sai returned his gaze down at her, those flat, dead fish eyes for a reason looking different than they always were. And his fingers froze at the base of her neck, making the tiny hairs there stand on end.

Sakura did not know why she couldn't avert her own stare from Sai's. She could feel the tips of his fingers, coarse and rough, on the skin of her neck, and she could feel her pulse beating against them as she felt her heartbeat hasten. Was it just her imagination or was Sai leaning even closer down to align his face with hers? She could feel his always bare abdomen, now under layers and layers of desert robes, press on the crown of her head as he moved closer.

"You're red. Are you coming down with a fever?" One of his hands moved from her neck and went as if to touch her forehead. And it felt like slow motion as Sai's hand hovered over her face, and Sakura followed it with wide, panicky eyes.

"We're home!"

Sakura catapulted to a standing position, sending Sai staggering back as her forehead smashed onto his jaw. He was thrown back onto the cabinets behind the desk, the chair toppling after him as Sakura scrambled as far away from Sai as she could go.

Tenten came waltzing into the clinic with a huge bundle of what looked like strange roots. "Hey, Sakura. You'll never guess what Tomona gave me for helping with the plantation." She looked up, a proud smile stretched across her face as she deposited the roots on one open table by the waiting area. She frowned when she saw Sai pressing a hand on his mouth as he straightened up the Healer's chair behind the desk. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she shifted her gaze to Sakura, who was now running her hands through her hair self-consciously. That had to be the perfect timing for Tenten to walk in, right?

"Ah…hah…" Tenten started. "Did I miss something?"

Sakura wiped her hands on her apron nervously, then gestured at the roots Tenten had brought in. "What are those?"

Tenten's face then brightened at the change of subject and she grandly gestured at the things she had brought in. "Cassava roots!"

Sakura blinked at her. "Cassava roots?"

Sai, who was now standing straighter but still had the back of his hand close to his mouth, stared at the pile dumbly, but didn't say anything. He was never very vocal when it came to Team Gai. He was still quite convinced that they were there to steal Sakura away.

Tenten ignored the Root member, and nodded at Sakura eagerly. "I've never really seen cassava roots before but there was one time I was able to eat a cassava dumpling on a mission. It was really good."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. "I can ask Riho later for a recipe then. We can have these as dumplings later after dinner."

Tenten was happy. "I can't wait. I miss Konoha's dumplings…" and as if the happiness was seeped out of her by the mere memory of Konoha, her face fell and her shoulders sagged.

That was when Neji entered the clinic with another batch of cassava roots. The Hyuuga paused in mid-stride when he saw Sai, Tenten and Sakura standing silently. "What's going on?" he asked tentatively.

Sakura furrowed her brow as she looked from Neji then to Tenten, who was now looking at Neji. The weapons mistress forced a laugh. "I wanted to eat Konoha dumplings," she said in fake enthusiasm.

Neji didn't look like he believed his teammate but he nodded anyway. Then after a long silence he said, "Yeah. Me, too." He deposited the pile of roots on top of the ones Tenten brought in, then dusted the front of his robes. After hesitating a bit, he added, "Konoha's dumplings were the best."

That made Tenten laugh, this time genuinely. "They made great anmitsu, too." She turned excitedly to Sakura. "You liked their anmitsu, too, right Sakura?"

Sakura laughed nervously as the nostalgia swept onto her like a wave. Her heart was still racing from earlier when Sai had given her a massage, and catching her breath was close to impossible at the moment. She felt her knees buckle but was caught off-guard when Sai was suddenly by her side, his hand firmly supporting her elbow. She clung to his arm, grasping the sleeves of his robes. His other arm was around her the next moment. When Tenten made to rush to Sakura's side, Sai kept her away with a shake of his head.

"What's wrong?" Neji asked, and he too was by Tenten's side in a blink of an eye. His pearly eyes were pinned worriedly on Sakura.

Sakura let a small, unconvincing giggle. "It's nothing. I – "

"She's not feeling well," Sai interrupted, the arm around her waist tightening more.

Neji scowled at Sai, and Tenten worriedly shifted from one foot to another.

"I'm fine," Sakura countered as she looked up at Sai only to see him return her stare with his signature blank one. "Really. I am."

Tenten took a small step forward and squinted at Sakura's face. "You do look a bit red in the face…"

Having Tenten point out that she was red in the face made her blush even more. Sakura was sure Tenten hadn't been able to see Sai leaning down on her while giving her a massage, right? Sakura touched her hands onto her face self-consciously. "It must be the heat."

"It's winter," Neji pointed out bluntly. "Maybe you should just close the clinic. You don't have any more patients for the day. Oh, except for Riho, right?"

Sakura nodded. "She's coming over around three."

"You should just rest, then." Tenten said. "Leave lunch to me."

That was when Neji let out a strangled gasp. "You? Cook lunch?"

It may have been an unintentional insult from the Hyuuga, but Tenten caught onto it and had her fists on her hips indignantly. "I can cook, you know."

And it may have been unintentional for Neji to take two steps away from Tenten, his hands raised in front of him as if to ward the weapons mistress back. Then, as if catching himself, he fell back into his cool façade and cleared his throat. "Indeed. Well then… " He left the sentence unfinished and busied himself with unlacing the fingerless gloves Riho had given Team Gai.

Sai leaned down and, much to Sakura's horror, hoisted her up into his arms, as if she weren't capable of walking on her own two feet. "You're resting till Riho gets here. I'll close the clinic for you."

"Let me down!" Sakura protested as she tried to wriggle free from Sai's grip. Her world once again started to spin, making her stomach lurch. She covered her mouth with a hand.

Tenten moved as if to help Sai, but Sakura saw Neji grip the weapons mistress' shoulder firmly, then reprimanded her with one word: "Lunch?"

Tenten gave Neji a hesitant look before nodding then turned back to Sakura and Sai. "Are you sure you're all right?"

It took a while before Sai was able to speak. "Wait. There is one thing."

"Yeah?" Neji asked.

Sakura watched as Sai looked down at her, those dark eyes moved around her face intently. "The Noa girl. She's a healer, too. Can you call her here for Sakura?"

The request almost made Sakura groan in despair. Not the Noa girl again. She dropped the hand from her mouth. Did this mean Sai was going to leave again? He never insisted on having Noa come over if he wasn't about to leave her side for more than an hour…

Tenten nodded jerkily. "I'll call her then."

"No. You prepare lunch. I'll get her," Neji volunteered again, as he always would when Tenten made to do something that concerned her leaving Sakura and Sai together. The Hyuuga moved towards the door, pausing to pick up a few cassava roots that have fallen from the pile, then disappeared after another lingering look at his teammate. Tenten, after once again hesitating in her place, followed soon after.

Now that they were left alone, Sai, looking quite satisfied with how things were going, nodded at Sakura and said, "Would you like to lie down for a moment?"

Sakura, feeling even more embarrassed as Sai's arms tightened around her, shook her head and shifted her hips where Sai's hand was uncomfortably pressed against. "I said I'm fine. I'm the healer here. You should be listening to me."

"And I'm the one holding you up, and since you can't even get away from me means you aren't fine." Sai's hand shifted the hand he had on her hip to the back of her knees and she gasped when she slid lower against Sai's body. Her arms flew around his neck as a reflex reaction, which she immediately withdrew. She settled instead with clutching at the robes wrapped loosely around his shoulders.

Chances were she was probably over-worked. God forbid she had acquired some unknown desert disease. No, that would be too insulting for a healer. Perhaps it would be better if she lied down a bit. She found herself leaning her now throbbing head on Sai's chest, and said, "I'd like to lie down."

"Good," Sai said, sounding strangely satisfied and he started up the stairs to their bedroom. Sakura avoided looking up at his face. She raised her head up when she heard someone squawk from behind them. Sai turned around to see what had made the noise and Sakura saw Lee standing at the foot of the stairs, looking absolutely scandalized.

"What are you doing with Sakura in your arms?" Lee demanded, pointing an accusing finger at the Root agent.

Sakura buried her head in one hand and groaned. This was not turning into a very nice day. She let out a scream when she felt the world move under her. Lee was now trying to snatch her away from Sai.

"You already put out the laundry. It's my turn to put her to bed," Sai reasoned as he held Sakura away from the Taijutsu master.

Feeling suddenly annoyed that Sai had just categorized her along the line of dirty linens, she grabbed at the banister of the stairs and held on tight. "Put me down, now!"

Lee let out a victorious yell and again pointed a finger at Sai. "Hah! See? She wants you to put her down! Now, unhand her and I'll – "

"Oh, give me a break!" Sakura screamed, finally managing to wriggle out of Sai's grasp and she dropped on her own two feet on the stairs, staggering slightly. Sai moved as if to support her, and Lee jumped as if to do the same thing. She held her hands in front of her to ward them both away. They both froze in their tracks. "That's enough! I am more than capable to put myself in bed, without either of you, thank you very much."

Lee looked like he was about to cry as he tried to hold in a protest that was obviously bubbling in his chest. Those round eyes of his were shifting from Sai to Sakura and back again before he straightened, biting his lower lip. "But… !"

Sakura felt her left eye twitch, and she had a feeling it didn't have anything to do with her headache. She leaned weakly on the banister, nausea taking over her like a wave. "Just let me pass." She felt her eyes grow heavy. She closed them and covered her face with the back of her hand.

And when she opened them, Sai was looking down at her as she lay in her cot, Lee nowhere to be found. His eyes were barely visible beneath his bangs and the shadow of that floppy hat of his.

Sakura tried to sit up, but it felt as if her body didn't want to do anything she wanted it to do. She learned that it was because Sai was holding her down by the shoulders.

"Don't try to get up," Sai said, and let go of her shoulders when he was sure she wasn't going anywhere.

"What happened to me?" Sakura asked groggily,

Sai sat down on the side of the cot, making the mattress sag under his weight. He was not looking at her any more. "You just fainted. You were explaining to us that you were fine, and then you tried to climb the stairs, then you lost consciousness. You conveniently fell on top of me. Lee was livid and he ran away in protest, saying he was going to run a thousand laps around the colony to clear his mind of thoughts of you and me and the fact that we sleep together." Sai said it all with a straight face and then turned to face her. "A thousand laps will take him until night fall, so take advantage of the peace and quiet and rest. Noa would be here soon."

Sakura did not know what was worse; the fact that Lee thought she and Sai were 'sleeping together', or the fact that Noa was coming over again to torment her. She rolled on her side, turning away from Sai. She felt her head throb, right behind her eyes, and she buried her face against her pillow. "I don't need her. All I need is a bit of shut-eye and I'll be fine before Riho and her baby get here."

"It's always better to get a second opinion from a fellow healer. That girl may be a handful, but she seems to know what she's doing."

It was not as if Sakura didn't know this. The way Noa had assisted her during baby Valu's birth was nothing short of above average, and with a little bit more of practice and better guidance, the girl was bound to grow into a healer like her grandmother. Still, Sakura groaned. "I don't like her. She doesn't like me. It's a mutual feeling," she complained.

Sai, in a rare show of empathy, didn't say anything but just sat there beside her. Sakura could hear him breathing deeply in their silence, and once in a while she would feel him shift slightly, making the mattress move. Miraculously, the lack of conversation between them relaxed Sakura. It was hard to be silent around him. They would either be talking or fighting, but never really doing 'nothing'. Sakura sighed and rolled on her back, turning her head towards Sai. The Root agent had his forearms resting on his knees, chin thoughtfully placed on one knuckle. She could see his profile well, those glossy eyes almost buried behind the mess of hair, looking straight ahead. From that angle it was the first time Sakura realized he had a sharp nose, still slightly peeling from being exposed under the sun for too long. Along his jaw she could see a dark bruising spot where she was sure she had slammed her forehead with when Tenten caught them by surprise earlier.

Sakura reached out and touched his forearm gingerly. Sai looked down at her questioningly.

"You…" Sakura started. "Look stupid with that hat on."

Sai blinked, and after a moment reached up and pulled said hat off. "But I like this hat."

Sakura couldn't help but smile. "You look stupid with it on."

Sai stared down at the hat blankly, then placed it on his left knee. "Okay."

"Okay, what?"

"I won't wear it anymore."

Sakura rolled her eyes, then stopped when the action made everything else around her roll along with it. "I didn't say you shouldn't wear it. I only said you look stupid with it on."

Sai's eyes shifted to the hat, then flashed back to Sakura. "What good of a fiancé am I to you if you don't find me attractive?" he asked.

The throbbing in Sakura's head stopped for a moment before she felt a gnawing sensation in her chest that sent blood flowing to her face. She dropped the hand touching his forearm. Sai had always taken this charade to levels Sakura couldn't even understand. She had wondered more than once if this was what it was like to lose all emotion. It didn't seem to bother the Root agent that he was thrown into an indefinite mission with an indefinite timeframe and an indefinite direction. That, and he had to pose as her future-husband along with it. Of course, deception came with the job description, and a Root agent's purpose in life was to complete a mission as efficient as possible… but this was starting to get really ridiculous. Sakura had known Sai's lack of feelings, but she didn't know he was capable of going this far.

When Sai saw Sakura wasn't saying anything, he asked, "Isn't that what soon-to-be married couples do? I read in a book that it's a lover's job to look attractive for their partner to – "

"We aren't lovers," Sakura interrupted, feeling even more and more embarrassed with Sai's explanation.

Sai stared at her from under those bangs before looking away, saying nothing. Sakura didn't know how to take the lack of reaction from his face, as always giving nothing away, but Sakura didn't know what made her feel bad for saying what she just said. She felt herself reaching out to touch his face.

Sai jerked his head away. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Sakura let her hand drop to the mattress, feeling stupid. "I thought I should heal your bruise."

Sai touched his jaw and winced, as if having just remembered he had been creamed by Sakura's forehead earlier. "There's no need to waste chakra on something like this. It doesn't even hurt."

"It looks painful to me."

"That's because it had a collision with your forehea – ow!"

Sakura had grabbed a handful of skin on his forearm and squeezed. Hard. And here she had actually thought she'd grown out of that state when they had stopped making fun of her forehead. "Don't even say it," she threatened.

Sai grabbed her wrist and shook her grip from his arm. "All right. Let go."

Sakura did, and she tucked her hand under her pillow, still feeling his fingers on her wrist. It was then did she realize she had lived in Gifu for too long; every time he would touch her anywhere remotely near her hands, she would consciously feel embarrassed, flushed and outwardly flustered. She blamed it on Sai, for doing such a convincing job as her fiancé…

She shook herself and rolled onto her stomach, burying her face into her pillow and groaning in it. Maybe she should just do as she was told and sleep until Riho gets there. Have a dose of feverfew after lunch. Hopefully Tenten really was capable of making a decent meal in the kitchen.

When she felt Sai's hand on top of her hair, she moved to unearth her face from her pillow to look at him. Much to her surprise, he was not looking back. Instead he was looking down onto the floor with nothing going on in his eyes as always. She didn't shrug him away. His palm was warm against her scalp, and his fingers twitched gently, feeling through her hair.

She didn't try to shoo him away, which was surprising all in itself. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

In contrast to Konoha, which was in majority made out of wood, clay and rock, the architecture of the Hidden Rain was made of metal pipes, steel skyscrapers and a maze of complicated power lines and ducts. And as expected, the climate of the place never agreed well with Hyuuga Hinata. It rained half the day every day and was humid throughout the mornings and afternoons, growing colder when night time came. Of course, by January it had gotten a bit cooler, much to Kiba and Akamaru's pleasure. Kiba had done nothing but complain about how his hair kept on sticking on his forehead. Shino never really said anything much about it, but Hinata had seen him once or twice unzipping his jacket only to zip it back again when she asked if he was feeling hot. The Aburame never complained, of course, and Hinata was not the one to press the topic when she knew her teammate was already shying away from a conversation.

If anyone ever decided to have a conversation, that is.

Ever since Team Kurenai had arrived in the Hidden Rain and Naruto had found them with Konan's help, they seldom talked. Tsunade, they had seen and talked to about twice within the month. The Fifth, although seeming slightly off, looked well enough. Hinata wasn't able to see the woman since the destruction of the Leaf, but from the talk within the Village before they had left, Tsunade had been the worse for wear. Now the only evidence that Tsunade had weakened was the absence of the trademark rhombus on her forehead, and the dull light in her eyes every time she'd stare off into nothingness.

And then there was Naruto. The mere thought of him made Hinata blush. The blonde kept mostly to himself in the huge balcony overlooking the Hidden Rain, and the only thing he took with him as company was a conspicuous silver urn. Naruto never said anything about it, and Hinata never had the courage to ask. Actually, that would be an understatement. Ever since she had poured her heart out to Naruto in the battlefield, she didn't known how to approach him anymore. Which was once again another understatement because, well, because this was Naruto. And being within a two-foot radius of the boy made her light-headed as it was.

And right now, Hinata stood shuffling her feet inside the Akatsuki Tower, two cups of warm tea in her clammy hands, looking out at the balcony where Naruto sat cross-legged, that silver urn sitting beside him as usual. Hinata bit her lower lip nervously. She had looked at his back from afar for the last month, and maybe it was just her imagination, but his shoulders seemed to have gotten broader as the days passed. This new habit he's developed after Pain's invasion – sitting stone-still – had given Hinata the perfect opportunity to ogle him unnoticed. When he was younger, he was always running everywhere and anywhere that she's had a hard time following him around. Now that Naruto seemed to like sitting in one place for hours and hours on end each and every day, Hinata could stare to her heart's content, but would end up torn between wanting to talk to him, and just watching his back from a distance.

"Are you going to give him that tea sometime today? Or are you just gonna stand there until tomorrow? Just like what you did yesterday."

Hinata jumped, spilling a bit of the tea onto her hand. Kiba shook his head ruefully at her before setting the huge bundle of clothes in his arms on the wicker basket right next to the Hyuuga.

"You didn't come back, so I took the laundry down. No use hanging it out to dry outside. I swear, another month here, and I'll grow molds in my forehead," Kiba grumbled, straightening and stretching his arms over his head.

"I'm sorry, Kiba. You can leave the folding to me," Hinata offered, her eyes momentarily lingering on the basket before returning to stare at Naruto again.

Kiba wrinkled his nose before sitting on the cold floor and pulling the basket towards him. "Before or after you give that cup to Naruto?" He pulled a black shirt from the pile and began roughly handling it. Hinata recognized the shirt to be Naruto's.

Hinata hurriedly placed the cups of tea onto the floor, sat across Kiba, wiped her wet hands on her pants and snatched the shirt and the basket from her teammate. If she let the boy have his way with the laundry, they would be walking around in wrinkled and moist clothing for the whole week. And the last thing she wanted was to have Naruto walking around in wrinkled clothing. "I'll… I'll do it right now. Th-the tea's already cold, so… "

Kiba gave her a suspicious look before settling back and stretching onto his side. "Yeah, today's the third and a half week you've let tea cool without handing it to Naruto. I was actually hoping you'd finally be able to – "

"Kiba!" Hinata squeaked, feeling all the blood pool at her cheeks. The second to the last thing she wanted was to have Naruto realize that they were talking about him. And as if to check if he hadn't heard them bickering, she looked over her shoulder and sighed in relief when she found Naruto still sitting on the balcony like a statue. He didn't even move a muscle.

Kiba let a growl bubble in his chest and he shot up sitting, irritated. "Yeah, well there are a lot of other things we have to worry about aside from your love-life. You have talked to Tsunade-sama again, right?"

Hinata's shoulders sagged as she turned back to her teammate. Tsunade-sama had insisted on seeing only women for the past month they've been there, and since the only women available within the area were Hinata and Konan, the Hyuuga ended up with the assignment of checking up on the Fifth. Hinata had been more than keen to ask for advice, suggestion and any form of direction from the woman, but she had received none. Tsunade-sama just wouldn't talk to her about anything that concerned Konoha. "I've tried. But I didn't have the heart to force answers from her."

Kiba, who Hinata thought would burst into another fit of complaints, instead just nodded his head in understanding. "Thought as much. I guess it wouldn't be that easy to recover after having saved a whole village." He rubbed his hands on his face, frustrated. "But how long do we have to wait before we receive orders?"

Hinata gave him an understanding look as she began folding the clothes neatly and separating it into tiny piles. They've been running around like headless chickens ever since they left the Leaf, and nothing could have been worse for a ninja than to move without direction. Then again, when Neji had announced they were going against Danzo's orders, she had half-expected this to happen. She just hoped Team Gai was doing better than they were.

Hinata looked up when Shino walked into the room silently, those shaded eyes gleaming in the darkness.

"We have no choice but to ask Naruto for guidance," the Aburame said as he hovered over to them without any plans to sit. He looked over at the blonde out by the balcony. "It's the only other alternative we have."

"Yeah, well easier said than done. The guy spends more time pretending to be a rock than talk to us. And what the heck is that urn for anyway?" Kiba muttered.

Hinata had asked herself the same question many times before, and was dying to know the answer. Now if only she would be able to approach the Uzumaki without losing consciousness…

"Maybe," Shino said. "We should talk to him even if he doesn't want to talk."

Hinata swallowed, a bit afraid. It was not as if Naruto had a temper. She of all people knew that Naruto wouldn't get mad if they ever interrupt… whatever he was doing at the moment, but… She raised her eyes to the jinchuuriki, feeling the veins in the corner of her eyes contract as she activated her Byakugan. Though a part of her felt like this was invading Naruto's privacy, another part of her was worrying about the boy's state. She could not have guessed what she saw.

The flow of chakra within Naruto's body was… strange. No, it wasn't 'bad-strange'. Just… 'strange-strange'. Hinata had, many, many times before, gained the courage to spy on Naruto in the past, and so she wasn't surprised when she saw the bottomless supply of chakra that vessel of a body could hold. The only thing different now from the times she had spied on him was the… indescribable amount of… something Naruto's body was absorbing from almost everything around him. She had heard that Naruto had been training as a Sage before his battle with Pain. Could it be it had something to do with his new technique?

Hinata blinked when the silver urn sitting beside the boy caught her attention. Are those… ashes?

"Hinata? Hinata! Are you listening?"

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan and shook herself when she heard Kiba call out to her. She had in her hands, much to her horror, one of Naruto's boxer briefs. The one with the tiny frog prints, of all things. She looked down at it, scandalized. The small frogs stared back at her with goofy, fading smiles. She dropped the piece of clothing back into the wicker basket as if it were a snake. Her eyes widened and she turned to Kiba and Shino, ready to defend herself if they decided to bombard her with any perverted questions. Her teammates were watching her suspiciously, but they didn't seem concerned that she had been clutching Naruto's underwear for longer than necessary.

"What?" Hinata asked defensively.

Kiba gave Shino a look and the insect-user merely shrugged. Kiba turned back to Hinata. "We were thinking of talking to Naruto."

Hinata nodded absent-mindedly. "Of course. Y-yes. All right."

"Uh…" Kiba muttered. "We were thinking it would be best if you talked to him. Like, now."

Hinata automatically had her pointy fingers busy with pressing its tips against each other. She laughed nervously. "M-m-me? But I'm n-not… I don't… I-I wouldn't know what to say!"

Shino and Kiba shared another look. This time, it was Shino's turn to give Hinata the lecture her teammates always gave her when she was being indecisive. Shino crouched down beside Hinata and pushed the basket of laundry away from her. The Aburame knew her too well. If Hinata didn't want to listen, she would try to act busy. Without the laundry, she had no excuse.

"Hinata," Shino started. "You stood up to an enemy powerful enough to destroy a village. And that was because of Naruto. You have been very reckless."

Hinata lowered her head. After the attack, when she had regained consciousness and everything was in chaos, Kiba and Shino didn't say a word about her decision to risk her life for Naruto, even when she knew there wasn't a hair of a chance she would win against Pain. She supposed it wasn't too late for a scolding…

"But," Shino continued. "You were very brave. We are proud of you."

Hinata slowly raised her head and saw Kiba looking awfully embarrassed, and Shino looking as stoic as ever.

"You know there was something left undone with that battle, Hinata," Shino pressed, and Hinata realized he wasn't talking about her fight with Pain.

"A lot of things must be going on inside Naruto's head right now," Shino said. "Jiraiya-sama's murder, the destruction of the Leaf. And before all of that, the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke."

Hinata half-turned her head away. She knew all these things about Naruto. She, after all, had been the one to notice everything about him, even before he had become the Village's hero. She, after all, had been one of the very few who noticed beyond his flaws when they were still in the academy.

Kiba sighed. "What Shino's trying to say, is that we think you're the only one who can talk to him. So – "

"I can't!" Hinata suddenly exclaimed, completely aghast. Then realizing her voice was too loud she clamped a hand over her mouth. She leaned forward and asked in a whisper, "Why me?"

Shino stood up slowly, Kiba following suit. "Because we know that you know him better than anybody here, and because of that we're willing to bet you would understand him more than we could."

And that was when Hinata started to panic. "But! But! But…!"

"If you don't finish both your battles here, then how can we move on to the next one?" Shino asked.

That was easier for him to say. He wasn't the one who's been in love with the boy since pre-puberty. She shook her head. "I can't do it. I'm not emotionally prepared yet!" she said desperately.

Kiba looked at her dryly as he reached down and grabbed her left arm. "Yeah, right. You're a ninja. Ninja are always emotionally prepared."

"I'll faint! I'll get woozy and lose consciousness and m-make a complete f-f-fool of myself in front of him! "

"Like you always do, but that did not stop him from losing control over the Kyuubi when he thought you have died in Pain's hand," Shino pointed out sullenly, taking her other arm, and together he and Kiba pulled her up into a standing position.

Hinata helplessly covered her face with her hands, willing herself not to cry out loud. The way Shino had said that Naruto had lost control because of her made her feel even guiltier. And she can't believe her teammates were doing this to her!

"Now, off you go!" said Kiba enthusiastically as they marched Hinata towards the balcony.

Hinata could feel the tips of her sandals scarping the cold, steel floor of the tower. She longingly looked over her shoulder at the forgotten wicker basket. "The laundry…" she moaned as a final attempt for an excuse.

"Yeah, yeah. You can hug Naruto's boxers all you want after you talk to him," Kiba muttered.

Surprised that she hadn't passed out from the mere accusation, Hinata was about to tell him she hadn't been hugging Naruto's boxers. That was until she felt herself stop moving for a second. The next second she was soaring. She expected the next second to crash into the balcony, but the crash didn't come.

She opened her eyes. She didn't even know she had closed them. She found herself staring deep into orange, amphibian-like eyes, lids also powdered with a feint orange shadow. Those eyes blinked. She blinked back then her eyes traveled down to the lower part of the face that came with those inhuman-like eyes. Tan cheeks. Curious, whisker-like markings on those cheeks. Hinata's eyes traveled lower.

And then she felt her breath catch in her throat.

Because of all the places she could land on, it had to be on Uzumaki Naruto's lap.

"Uh," was the only word that she could cough out when Naruto didn't say anything. She returned her gaze back to his eyes and was surprised to see they were back to the startling blue she always remembered.

"Are you okay?" Naruto asked, worried.

Hinata swallowed before hurriedly scuttling off of him. She sat on the floor about a foot away from him, her face growing so hot she wondered why she still hadn't passed out yet. "I… uh… I'm all right. Uhm… sorry for falling on you like that." She shot a look over her shoulder and didn't find it shocking to see Kiba and Shino gone. She also noticed that they took the laundry basket with them. She hoped they didn't attempt to fold the clothes by themselves…

"You look flushed," Naruto said, and he reached out to touch her face.

Hinata let out a small yelp, covered her cheeks with her hands, as if hiding them would convince Naruto they weren't really red at all. "I-I'm fine. It must be the humidity…"

"Oh," Naruto said, though he looked unconvinced. He once again turned to the view overlooking the Hidden Rain.

Hinata, hands still on her face, followed his gaze. The tall skyscrapers peeking over the smaller square buildings of the village reflected whatever amount of sunlight the storm clouds above them let through, and in a melancholic sort of way, Hinata thought the dark and dreary village could actually pass as charming.

If only the sky would stop crying even for just one single day…

"Y-you don't mind if I sit here for a while?" Hinata asked, deciding that she had to start somewhere. She had never in her life tried to approach Naruto before. It was always Naruto who would sneak up on her when she was hiding from him or spying on him. And it had always been Naruto who had openly cheered her on when she felt like giving up.

Come to think of it, it was always Naruto who made the move.

Always Naruto…

It looked as if the blonde, too, looked shocked at the request. Hinata usually couldn't articulate well when around him. He nodded. "Sure. It must be hot in there."

"Yes. Akamaru can't stand it in there. He's been out all day in the rain."

Naruto let out a hollow laugh. "I can imagine how this humidity is killing him. Kiba wasn't any different. I heard him complaining about it the whole day yesterday."

Hinata smiled meekly and she finally managed to lower her hands to her lap. "You're always out here, all by yourself, ever since we came here, Naruto. And we couldn't find a way to start talking to you. Are you all right?"

The jinchuuriki grinned toothily, rubbing his thumb against the side of his nose. For a moment, Hinata could see the Naruto she was familiar with. "I'm always all right."

Hinata doubted it, but of course this was Naruto. He was the boy who had no one, had nothing, but who had overcome everything life threw at him. And wasn't that one of the traits the boy had that made her love him so much?

She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. Once upon a time, after Hinata would calm down after passing out, she would have been contented with sitting a few feet away from this boy, or looking at his back while they walked together in a mission, or making rice balls in the shape of his face. Once upon a time, she would have blushed and smiled meekly and twiddled her thumbs while she watched Naruto do whatever he thought fit to catch anyone's attention, and she would secretly cheer him on, even when anyone in her right mind would have thought he was making a complete fool of himself.

But right now, she was sitting beside a boy who was completely different from the one she had always known. Here was a boy who had overcome every single lemon life had thrown at him, who had saved the village that used to hate him simply for being born. Here was a boy who sat by himself in the balcony of a village that wasn't his, carrying a silver urn that must have some meaning. And here was a boy who was carrying a burden on his broad shoulders, because the village that used to hate him was now under a regime of a man that contrasted with everything they had believed in, and he could be the only one who was capable of getting it back…

But most importantly, here was a boy who was just that – a boy.

Gathering the courage from the depths of her heart, she inched closer – just an inch, of course! – to Naruto before burying her face in her knees. Perhaps talking wasn't a good idea right now.

She had, after all – during the battle with Pain – said everything she needed to say…

Noa arrived noisily before Neji did. Apparently the girl had dashed from her house the moment Neji mentioned that Sakura wasn't feeling well. By the time the girl made her way to second floor of the Healer's house, Sakura had already fallen asleep with Sai sitting on the cot beside her, his hand gently stroking her hair.

Noa scowled as she stomped her way towards the two. "Well?" she snapped as she stood in front of Sai, hands planted on her hips.

Sai looked up at her warily. She reminded him of Sakura when she was looking down at a patient. "Well, what?"

Noa gestured wildly at him. "Aren't you leaving? Go away."

Sai blinked owlishly at her, then said, "I'd rather stay."

Noa's scowl deepened. "Then why the hell did you call me all the way here if you're not leaving? You only call me when you need to leave Sakura alone while you're away, right?" Her lips twisted awkwardly at saying Sakura's name.

Of course, this had been the pattern. And of course, at first he wanted to call Noa because it was that time of the day to leave the colony for a few hours. But he hadn't expected Sakura to not feel well enough to defend herself if anything went wrong. The hand caressing Sakura's hand stopped, but it did not leave her head.

When Sai didn't say anything, Noa leaned her face closer to Sai and stared deep into his eyes. Sai didn't even move a muscle. He was used to having Noa peer down at him like some insect under a microscope. "You're worried… aren't you?"

Sai blinked again. Worried? That was impossible. Sai never worried. "If I leave, will everything be all right?"

Noa narrowed her eyes at him, those fine eyebrows of hers turning down into a small 'v'. "You are worried. I can tell."

Unconsciously Sai's hand moved from Sakura's head to his knee and he removed the hat he had placed there. He discarded it onto the floor. "I'll be back in two hours. Can you stay with her until then?"

Noa straightened up and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

"I think she isn't feeling too well. Can you look into that too?"

Noa wrinkled her nose. Sai noticed that the girl could do a lot of things with her nose. "It's just fatigue. I'll make her a broth of feverfew and let her drink it when she wakes up, though I doubt she would need it. A little rest should do."

Sai breathed a sigh of relief before he could catch himself. Noa was watching him again. He pushed himself up from the cot and was surprised when something stopped him. He looked over his shoulder to see Sakura's one hand clutching at his robes while she slept. Sai sat back down and gently peeled her fingers from his clothes.

"They're back, aren't they?" Noa suddenly asked him.

Sai succeeded in removing Sakura's hand and he slowly placed it on her pillow. Sakura sighed contentedly. So, Noa knew. He had suspected the girl might have caught onto the reason why he would leave the colony for a few hours at a time everyday for the past days.

Sai had realized it five days ago. They were not hard to notice, really, as they moved in a group too large for a ninja not to take in. Sai hadn't had a visual of the suspicious group yet, but he had sent several ink snakes at night while no one was awake to spy within the parameter of the colony. There were about a dozen of them taking camp several kilometers away from Gifu opposite the desert basin, men that didn't look anything more than traveling merchants. What made Sai suspicious of them was that they never wandered far from the colony. At first he had thought that perhaps they were there for water. But it had been five days already, and none seemed to have any plans of approaching them.

Another thing that worried Sai was that they started to grow in numbers on the third day. Their movements didn't seem hostile, and through the untrained eye one would think it was just a passing caravan that met up with others of its kind.

But Sai knew better.

And apparently, so did Noa.

"They're waiting," Noa said darkly. She did not look scared, but she didn't look too confident either. If anything, she seemed… worried.

Sai was on his feet and he withdrew the fingerless gloves he had in his robe pockets. He started slipping them on. "We don't know what they want yet, and I don't think it would be wise to jump into conclusions. Is this the first time they've stalked the colony?"

Noa, when asked this, started to look really uncomfortable. Her shoulders sagged and she tried to appear as small as possible, and she didn't say anything as she picked at her skirts.

Sai felt at his robes for the hidden stack of kunai at his hip and the handy pouch of ink and brushes strapped to his shoulder. "Riho's coming over with baby Valu at three. Can you wake Sakura up before she arrives?"

The scowl was back on the girl's face. "I am not your servant!"

"It wasn't an order," Sai told her. "I was asking you nicely. As I always do."

Noa snapped her mouth shut and muttered some words that sounded like, "Yeah, yeah. Whatever… "

Sai nodded, satisfied with her answer, and he bent down to look at Sakura's sleeping form. He patted her head one final time before starting for the door. "I'm sure it's nothing, but we might as well make sure. I'll be back soon." And he left through the second floor exit down to the kitchens, saying a few words to Tenten who was having a losing battle with the clay stove, then heading off to the well to fill his water bottles. He double-checked his weapons before stuffing the water bottles behind his belt under his robes.

Sai left the colony as he always did for the past five days feeling nothing special in particular, except this time he was relieved to know that Sakura would be all right with just a bit of rest.

Little did he know that this was a start of something that was going to fill Gifu – and Sakura herself – with a great deal of sorrow very, very soon.

TBC