The more the days passed at the safe house, the more anxious Ino became. She paced over and over around the house, almost incapable of sitting still. She was nervous, worried and wanted more information on what had happened to her mother. She wanted to be able to tell her best friend, to confide in her, to look to her for support in a moment when she needed it.
She wasn't allowed to have any of those things. The lack of news was beginning to drive her crazy. She just wanted to talk to Sakura. Hell, even if it meant just listening to whatever her best friend wanted to gush about regarding her relationship, that would be better than nothing. She was beginning to go stir-crazy.
Sai was beginning to notice the changes in Ino's behaviour. She was restless, and he was wracking his brain for ideas. It was for that reason that he'd spent the morning looking through the cupboards in the kitchen, trying to find what he could. He did manage to find a small mortar and pestle, along with a fine sieve he could use. Once he had them out on the counter, he strode into the living room, catching Ino by the shoulders just as she turned around.
"Come," he commanded, smiling at her. "I believe there is something I could use your assistance with. But first, I must ask... do you have good hiking shoes?" The last thing he wanted was for her to be in poor shoes for what they were about to do.
"Hiking shoes?" Ino asked, momentarily confused. Why would she need hiking shoes? "I mean, I have a pair of runners I use to work out, but that's about it." She was too startled to realize his warm hands on her shoulders, distracted by mentally going through her shoe closet... and what assets she'd brought from said shoe closet. She'd managed to remember to bring her workout shoes, so that much was a blessing.
"Hmm... runners should be sufficient. Change into those and some comfortable clothes. We are going for a walk." Sai released the grip he had on her shoulders and made his way to his room, changing into some more comfortable clothes and shoes of his own. Ino followed suit, opting for some short yoga pants that were just past knee-length, a workout tank top and sweater, and her usual runners with socks. Surely he wouldn't be taking her too far, would he?
Once they were dressed, Sai led them out of the safe house and around the back, moving into a wooded area. They'd both taken her cell phones, though hers was turned off for safety reasons; she had no reason to worry if she was taking her out there. He'd also brought along a couple of small containers, handing one to Ino. It'd confused her at first, until a little bit along the trail, they stopped, finding a small wild blackberry bush that Sai pointed out, as well as a small wild rose bush that was a little bit behind it. He moved in the direction of the rose bush, carefully plucking several petals off it to add to his container. Ino followed suit, picking some of the blackberries that were there. Rose petals and blackberries... What could he possibly want with those?
"If we fill up that container, that should be enough. I am going to find a few more roses on these bushes," he said as he gestured to a few more. "There are a couple more blackberry bushes over there if you could pick from them as well." Ino did as instructed, still mildly curious as to why he would want these particular ingredients. After about half an hour of picking and sorting, they both had full containers and made their way back to the safe house, leaving Ino the opportunity to ask what it was that he wanted with them finally. They'd gone relatively far into the woods, and as they were on their way back, Ino squealed as she stepped wrong on a root, her ankle twisting strangely as she fell almost face-first into the dirt.
"Mi- Ino?" Sai asked, hearing her squeal and rushing over to her. "Are you all right?" Concern spread over his features as he helped her into a seated position, looking down at her ankle.
"Yeah, I think I just twisted it a little," she said, taking a deep breath as she tried to stand on it. The pain caused her ankle to give underneath her, and she would have fallen again if not for Sai catching her. Talk about embarrassing!
"It's okay. Hold on," Sai instructed, carefully turning so she could use her good leg to hop onto his back. He passed the containers back to her to hold, hoisting her, so he was piggybacking her. It was better than making her walk back to the safe house. There he'd be able to look at her ankle and likely get her to rest it while he worked on his little project.
"No, Sai, you don't have to carry me," Ino protested as he was hoisting her up, feeling like a total fool. A tree root. One stupid tree root and she'd twisted her ankle or something. She couldn't believe that was all that it had taken. Of course, if Sakura were here, she'd be encouraging this kind of thing. Wait, was that how Sakura felt when Ino teased her? Damn, talk about a theoretical role reversal! Not that it would stop her teasing her best friend, but still!
"It is fine. My priority is your safety, remember?" Sai reminded her, taking a deep breath as they hiked the last little bit back to the safe house. Once they were there, he carefully opened the door, sitting her down on the couch and moving to the kitchen, where he found a first-aid kit and brought it over to her. He pulled out a tension wrap and a couple of clips, then carefully slid her shoe off to take a look at her ankle. Ino winced as it was removed, letting out a slight whine as he was touching the ankle. She had to admit that it was sweet he was so helpful, and she might have been more inclined to mention something if she weren't in so much pain!
"It appears that it may be sprained, but I do not think that it will be problematic. It may just be a simple strain." He carefully wrapped her ankle in the bandage and helped her into a more reclined position on the couch, using a few pillows to elevate it. He then returned to the kitchen for a glass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen, setting it beside her on the coffee table if she wanted it. She waved a hand at him in thanks, wallowing in the fact that she'd embarrassed the hell out of herself. Now, though, she had a more important question.
"So... what exactly are these for?" She asked, frowning at Sai as she pointed to the rose petals and blackberries that they'd gathered.
Sai smirked at her before he held up a finger in response. "Shh. It will be a surprise, one that I will need your cooperation for," he said, a mischievous smile on his features. Ino narrowed her eyes at him, frustrated that he wouldn't give her an answer, but relented and laid back as he returned to the kitchen, bringing the mortar and pestle, as well as the sieve and a bag of something else with him. They appeared to be... mustard seed? She watched as he poured some of the seeds into the bowl, slowly grinding it with the mortar and pestle until it was a fine powder. He poured it into a small resealable bag, then opened the container of rose petals and added a few to the bowl, slowly grinding them. Ino watched in confusion, entirely lost as to why he would need such absurd materials for... anything. Was he planning on making something that tasted good? What the hell would rose petals have to do with that?
Once finished with the rose petals, Sai scraped the paste from them into another small container, then moved on to the blackberries, which he carefully pushed through the sieve to make a sort of liquid with them. He then carefully strained it, so it was only liquid and poured that into a container. He had a significant amount, more than Ino was expecting. He eventually brought all three ingredients back into the kitchen, adding a bit of water to each before returning with... even more materials? He'd got a paintbrush and what appeared to be a sketchbook from his bag, though she could see that some of the pages seemed to be more wrinkled than others. Wait...
Had Sai just made natural paints while they were out in the middle of nowhere? Ino was baffled by this fact, entirely at a loss for words as he kicked back with a small dinner plate in front of him as well as a small bowl of water. He dipped the paintbrush into one of the colours and dabbed it onto the ceramic dinner plate, then into the water, then into a second colour, which he then started to mix. He did this repeatedly until he seemed satisfied that he had the right mix of colours, then flipped open the sketchbook, working carefully. Ino recognized a soft peach colour and a yellow shade, and what appeared to be... purple? She kept quiet as he worked, carefully observing his technique as he painted.
After at least a solid hour of Ino being fascinated, Sai put his paintbrush down, observing the work he'd done. It wasn't his best, that much he knew, but it was perfect for something he'd managed to do on the fly with less than ideal materials. He carefully blew on it a few times to let a few spots dry, inspecting it bit by bit until he was confident that he was satisfied.
"Can I see?" Ino asked, eager to view whatever it was he'd painted. He turned the canvas around, showing what appeared to be a painting of her; she could tell by the golden yellow shade of her hair and the bright blue shade he'd used for her eyes. She was dressed in a beautiful purple dress, standing in what appeared to be a field of... flowers, of some kind. The flowers didn't have extravagant detail, but she could tell it was some sort of meadow. She was also up against a beautiful blue sky, and some blank spots indicated places where he'd intended for there to be clouds on the canvas; however, with the lack of a white colour to paint with, he'd simply had to leave them white.
"Wow," she remarked, shocked by his capabilities. "That's just... wow. I can't..." She was amazed by his talent. The fact that he'd done it with minimal supplies made it even more beautiful. "I... could I... keep it?" She asked curiously.
"Sure, once it dries," he agreed, setting it aside in a safe place where they could let it finish drying.
"I didn't know you were a painter," Ino said. "You never mentioned it. Where did you pick up painting? And how did you know you could make paints out of all these things?"
"I picked it up..." He started to answer but found he didn't know the answer. "I...
Don't actually know," he finished slowly, hanging his head. "It sort of just feels like something I've always known." No one had ever asked him that question. Rather, no one had had the opportunity to ask him that question.
"Your style kind of resembles that one artist... oh, shoot, I saw his work once at one of the museums," Ino said, frowning and trying to remember his name. "Choyuu, Chogu..." She thought a bit longer, mumbling under her breath as she did. "Chojuu Giga! That's his name," she finally said, snapping her fingers as it clicked. "Have you seen his work? It's amazing. Oh, I love it so much. I'm not big on art, but everything he makes is just so beautiful."
"I've seen many of his works," Sai remarked slyly. She... didn't need to know the truth just yet. He intended to keep his professional life and his hobby life separate. "I hear he does not like to interact with the public much."
"Yeah," Ino said with a heavy sigh, a girlish smile on her face. "I bet he's hot. Tall, handsome, mysterious... mmm. Just my type." Had Sai been the average person trying to keep a secret, he might have nearly done a spit take with his water. Thankfully, he was not the average person.
"Would you... say you have an attraction to this artist?" He queried, maintaining the perfect poker face.
"Oh yeah. Without a doubt. Look, Sai, I know vibes, and I totally get his vibe. If that man ever asked me for anything, I would do it. Except, well, maybe something illegal, but that's obvious." It took far too much willpower for Sai not to burst into laughter at her fangirling. He'd make a point not to sign the painting he'd made of her and perhaps save it for a later date to surprise her. She needed something to lift her spirits, given how the outlook was for things.