A/N: 2012.11.06 Today I read Wolferetic's review for last chapter associating the story with "Breath of Life" by Florence and the Machine. I didn't know the song so I searched Youtube. I know, I know, I live under a rock. XP Anyway, the music was awesome and I was floored when I read the lyrics. It actually fits this chapter best. Since I got really excited, I won't make you wait a week and just post it now. Thanks, Wolfy!

PS. For background music try Shippuden OST "Companions" while reading segment ~A Moment's Promise~ and Danzo/Sai's Theme" for segment ~Particles~ (Sorry, it seems to be a thing - Reviewers with lyrics, me with instrumental music)

Chapter 13

~For Keeps~

The first order of activity for the night was, at Naruto's insistence, ramen at Ichiraku's. Everyone else would have preferred yakiniku but they had to give in to the blonde's non-stop puppy dog pleading even before they stepped out of the Hokage's office. Naruto was the only one with the desperate craving anyway. And it had been a long time since all of Team 7 got together, Ichiraku's seemed the appropriate place for the occasion.

Teuchi-san warmly welcomed all six shinobi to his shop. Upon learning that it was to celebrate Sai's recovery and the other three's completion of ANBU training, the proprietor graciously offered them one round of ramen for free. Tenzou offered to pay for the second (due to some sleek maneuverings by Kakashi).

No one mentioned any sensitive issues about the past throughout the evening, not even when Teuchi excitedly said "Sai, I haven't seen you for over a year! I'm glad these folks managed to drag you back in here." The kind ramen shop owner, of course, didn't know that Sai's 'recovery' had a dual meaning. The two jounins also deemed it appropriate to clue the others in later about the ruined picture book. Topics of conversation were kept light for the occasion, mostly about blunders from ANBU training.

Teuchi beamed like a proud parent at his long time patrons. My, they have all grown so much.

"Our position wouldn't have been revealed that time if you didn't fart, dobe," Sasuke said.

"Teme! They were onto us from the beginning anyway. And I just couldn't hold it in," Naruto countered.

Or maybe not, Teuchi decided before going back to the kitchen.

"I warned you not to eat that strange-looking root crop, didn't I?" Sakura said.

Naruto scratched his head. "But Sakura-chan, it tasted pretty good, I tell ya."

"Well I heard you had a bit of trouble with your mask, Sakura," Kakashi said which made the kunoichi's eyes almost pop out in embarrassment. She cast a death glare at Tenzou who then scrambled to change the topic.

Sai was glad his friends pretty much acted like themselves. They didn't try too hard to engage him in conversation, which suited him just fine. He enjoyed just listening in. He ignored the fact that each of his friends would glance at him furtively from time to time; perhaps to make sure he was not feeling out of place. He had to forgive them those moments of unease. He did cause them all some worry.

At some point, he considered if he should call Sakura 'ugly' and remark about Naruto's small penis just like old times but he wasn't really up to it. If his friends could be honest about their feelings, there was no reason why he should fake his own. He was just truly happy that he could be with them like that.

Kakashi and Tenzou bade goodnight after the second round and left the younger ones to carry on. There was a comfortable kind of silence between the remaining four ANBU after their seniors left, just enjoying each others presence without the need for words. That too, Sai realized, was friendship.

"You feeling alright, Sai?" Sakura asked a while later. She noticed the artist was still working to finish his first bowl of cold ramen but felt it unnecessary to push him. He had a long way to go to get his appetite back, not that he was a big eater to begin with to Sakura's recollection.

"Yes, just a little tired," Sai replied with a faint smile. The other three turned to him then but quickly looked away again which made them all feel awkward. They realized they were all tired and had enough of ramen but somehow, it seemed they were trying to prolong their stay at the shop for as much as they could, perhaps trying to make up for lost time? Or maybe just trying to hold on to a memory they would want to keep forever. It was, after all, the day when Team 7 was fully restored.

~A Moment's Promise~

"Hey, why don't we invite everyone for a reunion," Naruto said while the four of them were walking on the way home late that night. "It's been a while since we got together with the others."

"That's a great idea," Sakura said enthusiastically. "But we'll have yakiniku next time, Naruto! No ramen, you hear!"

"Okay, okay! I was gonna suggest yakiniku too anyway."

Sasuke suddenly stopped walking and turned to Naruto. "Your birthday's coming up, isn't it?"

"Ooh that's right," Sakura agreed. "That's just a couple of weeks from now."

"Uhm, could we not time it on my birthday? That would mean I'd have to treat everyone to yakiniku."

"A dobe and a cheapskate," Sasuke quipped.

"Teme!"

"You're coming too right, Sai," Sakura said cutting Naruto off before he expanded his senseless tirade. "I'm sure we could get Tsunade-shishou to give us some time off for a special occasion."

"Of course he's coming," Naruto declared. "I'm gonna drag his ass there if I have to."

"You're not the only one," Sakura said.

Sai took a while to reply but he eventually nodded his assent. "Sure. I want to see how dickless will celebrate his 19th birthday."

"Ha!" Sasuke suddenly blurted out. "A dobe, a cheapskate and dickless to boot."

"Sounds about right," Sai said.

Neither Sasuke nor Sai realized what they just did. Naruto would have howled in protest and Sakura would have blushed at the term but witnessing Sasuke and Sai on the same plane like that, and so naturally, just left them with mouths hanging open. It made them want to engage the other two in a group hug all of a sudden. And they did…or Naruto did.

"Let go of me, dickless!" Sasuke said, as he tried to pry Naruto off him.

"I don't think this is appropriate public behavior, dobe," Sai said, nearly choking from the blonde teen's headlock.

"What? You two borrowing each other's lame insults now? Temera! I'll take you both on!"

Sakura's eyes moistened a bit at the scene but she managed to conceal her welling up emotions from her friends. Even she didn't think it possible, which was why she could not contradict what Sai said to her before.

'I've learned that feelings are not something you can force out of people. It will only hurt them in the end.'

The truth in those words grieved her exceedingly. But those same words now gave her comfort for she was witnessing something so natural before her, something totally unforced.

~墨~

The four eventually reached a fork on the road where they had to finally part for the night. Sai excused himself first.

"Goodnight, Sai-senpai," Naruto said aloud that made Sai turn back around in surprise. Sasuke and Sakura were also looking at him with a knowing grin on their faces. "Goodnight, Senpai," all three said in unison. That's right. He was officially their ANBU senior now.

"That sounds very strange," Sai said honestly. "Please don't call me that."

"Yeah. It is weird, ain't it?" Naruto agreed. "It doesn't really suit you."

Sakura cocked her head and faced Naruto. "Was that a compliment or an insult?"

"Neither," Naruto replied. "Sai's just Sai, right?" The artist nin smiled at him and nodded his agreement before turning back around to be on his way. The others looked on as he disappeared by the street corner.

Naruto's face then became serious. "Everything's fine now, right?" His gaze was still fixed on the empty corner ahead.

"Yeah...I think so," Sakura said with a slight hint of apprehension.

Sasuke didn't reply. He couldn't give an assurance to something he wasn't sure of himself. But inwardly, they were confident they made some progress no matter how small. The night's pleasant little moments held an unexpected promise that had not been evident before - It could work.

The four of them could work.

~Particles~

Sai entered his residence and leaned back on the surface of the door as his palms gently pushed it closed behind him. His right hand unintentionally brushed against the small lump protruding from his side pocket in the process. He felt the shape of the book beneath the fabric of his pants and recalled the events of the day. Everything happened so fast that he would have to reconsider if his yearnings truly outweighed his apprehensions.

The moon was bright from outside the window illuminating his room just enough to enable him to walk over to his desk. He slipped the mask off from the side of his face and laid it on the wooden surface. He placed the book at the center directly in front of him and reached over to pull at the thin cord of his desk lamp to turn the light on. Finally, he took a seat and fixed his eyes on his precious book.

The light cast an eerie glow on the cover. It had a smear of blood on the surface that indicated a thumb had once desperately tried to wipe the red liquid off while still fresh. Shin's face was thus faintly coated with a pinkish hue but the details of the childish drawing were still visible. His thoughts then strayed off even as he sat motionless for an undetermined length of time while staring unblinkingly at his most beloved possession.

He found it curious how Kakashi-senpai, Yamato-taichou and even the Hokage arrived at the conclusion that what happened to the book initiated his actions.

'You don't need a picture to remember…The memory of your brother will remain…as long as you keep him in your heart,' the Hokage said.

Such kind words…He never doubted it for a moment, not even on the very day the book accidentally got covered by his blood. It affected him…but not as badly as they believed. If by chance the book got lost permanently, he would have been able to handle it. Shin already got to see the final drawing and it freed his soul from Kabuto's control. The book had therefore served its purpose. And whatever happened after that, Sai knew Shin would always be in his heart. Still, he was relieved his superiors misinterpreted the effects of the ambush…His secret was safe.

Because of that secret, he was prepared to give them up - his friends. He closed his heart to them because he thought it would be easy for them to give up on him. He convinced himself it was for the best. But he might have put them in more danger by inadvertently causing them to join ANBU. But remembering their expressions at the Hokage's office made him think that maybe he was wrong. Maybe it really was okay to have friends despite who he was. Maybe he was not exempt from that privilege after all. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad for them either. He bit his lower lip as he considered the possibility.

If it really is okay then…I no longer need this to remind me of who I am.

After a bit more consideration, Sai reached out and parted the book to the middle. He laid his right palm on the surface as if to smooth it out but more so to feel the stiffness of the paper as a result of dried blood that had covered the drawing entirely that fateful night of the ambush in Suna. He stayed in that position for a moment keeping very still, the light from his lamp casting an almost surreal glow around his profile. Then carefully he raised his hand from the page and let his palm hover a foot above it.

Very slowly, powdery particles began to rise from the surface of the left page much like how the wind would brush away dust from the pavement to one direction. An invisible force was driving the particles upward like a magnet originating from Sai's hand above. The powdery substance was so fine it was hard to tell that it was actually dried blood that was getting chipped off but in microscopic units to keep the original state of the paper intact. Within half a minute Sai had gained momentum and the speed of the rising red particles began to quicken.

Part of Shin's black sleeve appeared first, and then half of his face and body, then the other half until the middle part where their hands held each other became visible. The left page was complete and the particles had formed a red ball below his hand. Sai's own image was now coming into view exposing the small curvy line that represented his childish smile. Then the tip of Sai's tanto was clear again up to the very edge of the right page.

And so at last, the image of the dream he and Shin formed together many years ago was fully restored, an image he chose to keep hidden believing the dream was not meant to be. But tonight's events assured him it was alright…That Sai, whose friends called him by name, could dream again – even if it's just that one dream.

Sai carefully arched his hand sideways and downward while turning his palm up so that it was positioned directly just below his chest. The fine powder followed, smoothly making their way on top like a miniature tornado spinning in slow motion with the cone's tip floating just a millimeter above his hand. Then still through the power of Sai's will, the blood particles spread thinly through the air from the top, forming an outline of his friends' faces the way he remembered them as they smiled at him when they bade him goodnight.

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura…

With just enough particles left he formed Kakashi and Tenzou's faces next. He watched the lined up images of his friends as they swayed gently in the air all looking down upon him and smiling...

Sai smiled too but only faintly and the smile faded in an instant. What lay ahead for him after that night scared him. It didn't use to scare him before. He had come to terms with who he was and was prepared for anything. But reconnecting with his friends now caused such an overwhelming fear that his heartbeat quickened and his chest felt heavy. But he decided it was worth it. They wouldn't leave him alone anyway, and he wanted more than anything to be with them…and so he would...for as long as he could.

A/N: The cat's out of the bag. No, not exactly, only the tail is out. The cat is still inside. Next chapter we take a peek at the kitty…

Next: Chapter 14 ~Intuition~