Chapter 12

They were finally leaving Suna.

Somehow, despite there being no discussion on who it should be, he was the one left to walk alongside the client, Fumiko. Although, Sai supposed it was probably for the best anyway.

Had it been Sakura, the conversations would have been painful to listen to as she tried to be friendly with the client, and had it been Naruto, then it was a fact that he would say the wrong thing and make the entire journey uncomfortable for the others. To save time on such pointless scenarios when Sai simply wanted the mission to be over already, he accepted the role without complaint.

"I still say he's messed up," Naruto muttered mostly under his breath, prompting Sai to glance down at the quiet woman by his side. How much could she hear? While not trained as a shinobi, he was unsure just how good an average person's hearing was.

"Leave it, Naruto. You're being inconsiderate."

For the most part, she appeared untroubled and it was apparent from the distant look in her eyes that Fumiko wouldn't have heard his teammate even if her hearing was above average. What was she thinking about? Sai couldn't help but ponder the possibilities while reading her features, for they were so calm that it was almost unnerving.

Wasn't she supposed to be angry in response to being rejected? Upset? Shamed? Although there were no feelings there between Fumiko and the Kazekage, the rejection of the marriage would be public knowledge and Sai had read in several books that women did not take kindly to public humiliation – or humiliation of any kind. In most cases, they grew violent or even vengeful, in a sense. Hence the term he often stumbled across, "like a woman scorned".

That was the right term, he believed.

Wasn't it?

What was the likelihood of Sabaku no Gaara sharing the true reasoning behind his rejection? Would he have played on understanding Fumiko's heartache, considering she too was in love with another? Did Gaara love Sakura? Did he mention how he felt for her, to Fumiko?

Examining the stretch of endless, empty blue above him as it offered no protection from the overbearing sun, Sai felt his shoulders relaxing, heart feeling oddly light as he realised that he hoped so. He sincerely hoped that he loved her.

Sakura was a remarkable woman and like Kakashi said: a heart like hers was always going to be at a risk of being trampled on. Gaara had already trampled on it once, adding to the careless footprints left behind by the traitor, but that being said, he'd just ended a political marriage that would have bettered his village's living conditions exponentially – that wasn't even taking into consideration how the daimyo could potentially react to the shame of his relative being rejected.

If that didn't express how invested he was in their future together, then Sai gave up with trying to understand the emotions and relationships of others.

Still…

He wondered whether they'd had the chance to make up yet. Sakura was quieter than usual, leaving the conversation with Naruto heavily one-sided (not that he really noticed) and whenever Sai happened to glance behind himself, she appeared lost in thought, not all that differently from Fumiko, really.

Part of him wanted to reprimand his teammate for zoning out in such a careless way, but he instead chose to continue living another day. Calling her out in front of the others was equal to begging Sakura to punch him.

What had her appearing so distant? He knew he wasn't giving it too much thought at the seventh turning of Kakashi's head in her direction. It was by the smallest amount and could quite easily pass as him scoping out the area to ensure there was no suspicious activity, but Sai knew better. He was trained to notice the smallest of changes and Kakashi's checking up on her, even looking as impassive as he was, confirmed his thoughts that Sakura wasn't being herself.

Could it be dejection of their not finding a moment alone together? Sai knew next to nothing about the Kazekage – he would never claim otherwise – but from what he'd heard, he knew Gaara to be incredibly intelligent despite everything. Surely that meant that no matter what was going on, he would have pushed aside everything to apologise to Sakura? Or was that where pride was supposed to come into play? Sakura wasn't expected to make the first move, was she?

Or was it due to her fear of the night before? When she expressed her concerns of projecting her feelings for Sasuke onto Gaara, admittedly, Sai hadn't understood in the slightest – still didn't. How it was possible to do such a thing was beyond him and so he'd attempted to soothe her heartache and worries in the only way he knew how to: by trusting his gut instinct. It had yet to wrongfully guide him.

When Sakura spoke of Sasuke, it was never happily. Even recounting their days together as genin or speaking positively of him, she looked sad and hurt and for the life of him, Sai couldn't understand how that represented love or being in love.

With Gaara, however, among everything else, the one emotion Sai could understand shone brightly in her features and lit them up beautifully and that was hope. Speaking of him, thinking of him, even merely standing in his presence, gave her hope. Hope for what, he wasn't sure. But it was certainly better than the pain that rendered her breathless and on the verge of tears whenever the traitor was mentioned.

"Man, I'm hungry," whined Naruto obnoxiously. Sai didn't need to look back to know how the blond would be positioned, not when Sakura's sigh of annoyance gave him away. "Aren't we due a break soon, Kakashi-sensei?"

Oftentimes Sai questioned the suitability of the shinobi who came from the academy. They simply didn't seem prepared for the lifestyle of real shinobi, although perhaps that was the reasoning behind the existence of ANBU and ROOT?

It was no secret that the two organisations carried out the dirty, questionable jobs and up until that point, Sai had believed it was to protect the village's image and reputation. If those they held contracts with or general outsiders knew of the missions they had taken… They would undoubtedly lose integral lifelines.

What if part of the reason was down to ordinary shinobi not being up to scratch? To most, jōnin was as high as they got in the ranks and Sai sincerely believed that would be the case for his teammates also. They just weren't cut out for ANBU.

"We'll take a break once we've reached cover," Kakashi drawled. He was in the lead, hands pocketed and familiar slouch appearing more pronounced due to their walking at a civilian's pace.

Walking in the desert didn't bother Sai in the slightest, for he'd learned to block out the annoyances such as sand in his sandals, or the heat that drove his teammates insane. As long as he had water and ration bars, then he was capable of walking endlessly – another noticeable difference in their ranks, Sai thought to himself, ignoring Naruto's complaints.

It was several hours later when they finally reached the forest and he assessed Fumiko's physical distress from the corner of his eye. Her skin was sunburnt horrendously even with Sakura's frequent bursts of healing chakra (they were all burned to some degree, but on a civilian, to him personally, they were ridiculously weak and so it looked so much worse), legs visibly trembling from the hours upon hours of walking on the sand and the heavier rise and fall of Fumiko's shoulders told him she was way passed her limits.

Sai had to admit, her perseverance was admirable, for shinobi generally applied chakra to the soles of their feet to create an easier travel, preventing their sinking and allowing them to almost fly over the sand.

"Why weren't you sent a carriage?" he thought aloud, only to then realise from the disbelieving expressions shot his way that it was perhaps a question that shouldn't have been asked.

It was hard to tell if she was truly embarrassed due to the impressive sunburn, but he believed she was blushing as Fumiko admitted, "Had I been a daughter rather than a niece, then perhaps I would have travelled in a carriage." Smiling awkwardly, she averted her gaze, saying quietly, "Carriages cost a great deal of money due to maintenance and drivers."

Essentially meaning she wasn't important, in the daimyo's eyes. That was why he'd had such an easy time agreeing to the marriage with the psychopath, and why Fumiko wasn't seen off by relatives despite it being the last time they would see her.

"That's horrible," Sakura gasped, catching on effortlessly.

"Sakura," warned Kakashi lowly.

"No, Kakashi-sensei," came Naruto's firm argument and he scowled at the older man's resigned sigh. "Sakura-chan's right. The daimyo was basically selling his relative to Suna – the least he could've done was fork out for a carriage, y'know!"

Only just really thinking it through, compared to what he had read and personally witnessed around Konoha, it was unusual for the bride's relatives to not attend the wedding. The daimyo truly had shipped her off to marry a complete stranger – someone whose name was stained in the blood of hundreds, who could have quite thoughtlessly destroyed Fumiko also.

Unlike his teammates, however, Sai remained silent on his personal thoughts. That was the whole point behind blocking out emotions. They were a nuisance on missions, and it was moments such as the tense standoff between sensei and students that Sai understood Danzo's methods. As questionable as they no doubt seemed to others, to him, they were necessary to prevent chances of insubordination, to prevent the risk of disregarding the mission to do what the individual believed to be right.

They were formidable in terms of strength but his teammates, to Sai, were perfect examples of how not to be shinobi.

"Come with me, Fumiko-san," Sakura murmured while ushering the girl over to the cover of a large tree. "I need to treat your burns."

To say that they were walking at a civilian's pace, Sai noted that they had covered a great deal of ground already, though he wondered if that was a cause for concern considering they did have a civilian in tow.

Taking breaks out in the open desert posed a number of risks, ranging from heatstroke from the added time under the sun because of said breaks, to ambushes from the desert's natives who could sneak up on them. All risks were good explanations for pushing Fumiko as much as they had, but at the end of the day, Sai was aware of her being the daimyo's relative even if she wasn't as highly regarded as one would have thought. One slip of the tongue complaint to the daimyo could have devastating effects for Konoha.

He opened his mouth to say as much to Kakashi but found that the Copy-Nin had already leapt up into a tree to keep watch – though keeping watch was a relatively loose term when it came to the older man, considering he immediately sought out his ever-present erotic novel, uncaring that he had company. It was something that continued to baffle Sai, for he'd read numerous times and heard from many different sources that divulging in porn was basically taboo. To read erotica in public was unthinkable.

So, why was one of Konoha's greatest prodigies so blatant with it? He didn't even try to disguise what he was reading, instead allowing the brightly coloured books to dominate his otherwise dull coloured appearance.

"Naruto-"

The blond was already gone also, Sai noted. It appeared he'd gotten lost in his thoughts and wound up alone in the centre of the small clearing.

No matter, he thought to himself and fished out his sketchbook. Sakura's sunburn was quite the sight to behold.

The client was visibly exhausted but enduring, seemingly comforted greatly by his teammate's presence at her side. Morbidly, Sai wondered if that would continue to be the case if she knew of the relationship between Gaara and Sakura, or whether Fumiko would finally react similarly to the scorned women in the books he'd read.

Like their captain had disappeared into a tree moments after arriving, Sai had settled himself at the base of one on the opposite side of the clearing, granting himself a view of his entire team and the client, as well as their surrounding area. People watching was a good pastime and it aided him in learning their mannerisms to better understand them – well, it was supposed to, anyway.

They weren't too far into the forest and it was proven as Sai placed a hand to the ground and felt harsh grains of sand mixed in with the dry, dull grass beneath him. It essentially made them vulnerable to attacks, for the trees weren't as dense as further in and the dryness of the nature surrounding them made it harder to sneak around, but he trusted his superior's decision in stopping where they were.

Personally, however, had he been the captain of the mission, Sai knew he would have pushed the team that little bit further, especially if they were bunkering down for the night as he suspected they were. It was only to be expected with their client's fatigue. It was clear from the drawn out break and Kakashi's repeated assessments of Fumiko's body language that he was playing with the pros and cons of his next move.

Twenty minutes later and he was addressing the group.

"We're going to set up camp for the night," Kakashi informed the team, though never looked up from his book. He remained slouched against the tree trunk, one leg bent at the knee, the other dangling from the branch he was sat on. "Fumiko-san, I recommend you rest as much as you can."

She bowed her head respectfully. "Yes, sir."

"Oi, Sai," called Naruto enthusiastically, arm waving. "Come with me to grab some firewood."

While his teammate oftentimes erred on the stupid, moronic side, Sai had a hard time envisioning that he needed assistance in grabbing firewood, considering it was a task performed that many times it was like second nature for most in their profession. Even children could do it unsupervised. How could he ever possibly hope to survive–

The meaningful raising of his eyebrows shut down Sai's militant thoughts and he closed his sketchbook, belatedly catching the true intentions behind his asking for help. He followed after him silently and pocketed his book, comfortable with leaving the rest of his belongings behind for the time being. They wouldn't stray too far and if Naruto tried, then Sai had no qualms in stopping him.

"What is it?" he asked once they were far enough out of earshot. "Did you call me out here to bond?"

It was always a sight to behold when Naruto became flustered and for reasons unbeknownst to Sai, he continued to prod the sometimes irate, defensive blond solely to see said overreactions.

"Stop saying weird shit like that," he snapped, the entirety of his face flushing red. "Can't you hear the insinuations?"

Insinuations was a big word for him. Had he felt emotions like the rest of them, Sai would have been impressed, maybe even proud of him.

"I don't see why else we would be so far from camp," Sai pointed out simply. "Unless you're planning on confessing to me, Dickless?"

Exasperation had him demanding, "Stop reading those books, damn it!"

Why would he ever do such a thing when the interesting stuff he learned gave him such passionate responses? They really were handy in his learning of others' emotions, their peeves and how to push those buttons.

"And stop calling me that!"

Sai smiled.

Sobering up and deciding the one-sided spat wasn't worth it, Naruto glanced around them suspiciously and rather than ease the blond's concerns of being overheard, Sai waited him out. He had to learn how to sense those kinds of things, after all. They couldn't baby him.

"I think I upset Sakura-chan," he mumbled and frowned.

What business was that of his?

It was awkwardly that Naruto pushed on, saying with a lilt to his voice that Sai couldn't understand in the least, "And I saw her go into your room after we had dinner last night. Did she…" Shifting his footing in a blatant show of discomfort, he asked, "Did she say anything about it to you?"

Well, that was certainly a development he'd never expected. Naruto actually being observant for once. "Regarding your comment in the Kazekage's office?"

"Yeah. The one about Sasuke."

"I can only think of one woman with a pure heart that connects with others' really easily and my Sakura-chan has already been claimed." Stepping closer to the suddenly unnervingly still woman, he nudged her playfully and grinned, adding unforgivably, "Even if he's not here to do the claiming, if you know what I mean."

"I tried apologising and treated her to dinner and stuff, but when I went by her room later that night to check in on her, she had it sealed off or something."

Sealed off her room? Was he trying to insinuate that Sakura had perhaps used a soundproof sealing jutsu of some form? Why–

Oh.

"And now she's not really being herself. I keep trying to get her to talk more and to make things go back to normal but nothing's working."

Inwardly sighing at the messy situation he had stumbled into, Sai kept his expression neutral as he waited out the blond's tirade – not that it was difficult for him.

At least he had his answers about Sakura and Gaara finding a moment to talk with one another, although it did make him wonder how that went down, since she appeared so withdrawn.

"I think I really hurt her," he concluded the rant with a pained sigh, scowling down at the dirt.

Had they permanently ended their relationship? No, that made little sense. If that was the case, then Gaara would have gone forward with the arranged marriage, even if only for his village's sake. What use was there in rejecting a proposal of that magnitude, if he wasn't planning on staying with Sakura anyway?

No, they were back on, Sai deduced, but there was a new development that was causing her to withdraw from them. He wasn't sure if she was possibly unsettled by whatever had transpired or simply lost in thought – he wouldn't try putting a name to the emotion he couldn't possibly understand on the chance he'd misconstrued the entire situation. However, the fact that Naruto was assuming she was upset led him to assume that was the case. He had a much better grasp on reading another's emotional language than Sai did.

"So, did she say anything to you about it?" he repeated his earlier question.

Sai knew he had to tread carefully in their conversation not only for the sake of Sakura's privacy, but to spare Naruto's feelings also. It was painfully obvious to all who knew him that he was in love with her, but even more so to the other team members of Squad Seven.

Whenever Sai read about love and romance, admittedly, he always found his thoughts straying to his teammate, his mind conjuring up all the times that Naruto leapt in front of Sakura to protect her, or the way he tried his hardest to better himself for her, or his reckless tendency to discard his own well-being or needs to ensure she was okay, even when it meant suffering himself.

But it didn't stop there, because he saw the ugly parts of that love Naruto had for her and how it tended to drain him some days. Sometimes at the mentioning of Sasuke, Naruto didn't look all that sad until after he peered at Sakura's reaction, the weight of that promise between them visibly crushing him. Sai recalled all the ways he made a total fool out of himself trying to impress her, seemingly unintentionally (sometimes unknowingly) throwing all self-respect out the window in the process.

"Sai?"

To accidentally let slip that Sakura was involved with and held strong feelings for not just anyone, but the psychopath who was apparently a close friend of his and understood his pain on a level no one else could ever understand, would undoubtedly crush Naruto.

That meant he couldn't explain that the real cause for her upset the day before was due to Naruto finding similarities in how she viewed both Gaara and Sasuke, because that inevitably would lead to the blond demanding why it was an issue. In his eyes – in anyone's eyes who didn't know the truth – there was no conceivable reason why it should upset her.

"Oi, Sai?"

What was he supposed to say?

"Sai!"

"Sakura didn't mention anything," he lied.

Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Then why was she in your room?"

Good question.

The weight of his pouch reminded Sai that he was carrying a small book within it and knowing how to throw the blond off without much effort, he retrieved it, telling him simply, "I asked for Sakura's help with this book, which is about learning how to better understand another's emotions. She always appears well tuned to another's suffering and due to being a medic, is trained to read cues that others oftentimes miss."

"Really?"

Sai nodded and opened the book to a completely unrelated section, saying off the top of his head, "Did you know that women who are menstruating–"

As expected of his childish teammate, he was swiftly cut off with a startled yell of, "Stop already with the goddamn books!"

That was his in – or, in their case, out. "Does a woman's period make you uncomfortable, Dickless?"

"No!" he snapped defensively, but there was no mistaking the grimace.

"Maybe that is why Sakura is in a bad mood?" he supplied with a smile, purposely pushing his buttons now. "She is menstruating–"

"Ah, shut up already! I'm going back to camp!"

"What about the firewood?"

"Get it yourself!"

Sai sighed.

Crisis averted.

They set out early the next morning, covering their tracks by demolishing the campfire that'd come in handy once the temperature plummeted the night before. Everything else around them was relatively untouched, and Sai gave it a single, backwards glance to double check as they departed.

The night was uneventful and for reasons he couldn't quite understand, it seemed to drag on for an eternity, especially when it came to his turn to take watch. Oddly, he'd found himself wishing to speak with Sakura, to check on her and ensure that everything was okay, however, that wish was quelled whenever Sai happened to glance over at her.

Her shapeless form that was cocooned in her sleeping bag as close as she possibly could get to the fire without burning herself, appeared at peace, with happy sighs and smiles that were illuminated beautifully by the fire's flickering flames. Whatever she'd been dreaming about had brought his teammate and friend happiness and Sai vehemently refused to take that away from her, so settled on drawing the way the fire emphasised her beauty. It even brought a strange lightness to his chest when she awoke serenely with a hand immediately coming to her wrist, Sakura's deep inhale a sad attempt to try and control the smile playing on her lips, to control the giddiness that'd shown in her expressive green eyes.

All was good between her and Gaara, it seemed.

Sai found himself warming at the knowledge.

Their walk was distinctly more relaxed than the day before and he was quick to observe that Kakashi didn't look back on Sakura half as much as he had previously. Even Naruto saw the difference in her demeanour and grew more animated, relieved to have his friend back to her normal self, although Sai did see the blond shoot a grimace of agreement his way, mouthing, "must have been PMS".

Part of him had hoped Sakura somehow saw what he mouthed.

The only person who didn't appear to possess the same sentiments was their client, who noticeably grew more reserved the closer they got to her home.

It was only understandable, was what Kakashi told him the next night when they set up camp once more. Whether originally happy with the rejection or not, Fumiko still had to face her family and the daimyo following the public humiliation of being sent back. It was enough for him to pity her, was what Kakashi added with a weighted sigh, for there would be many assumptions behind the Kazekage's rejection of the marriage. The public would question her purity and her worth as a woman, considering Suna's high standards and traditionalism, and that in turn would add to the daimyo's embarrassment.

Fumiko remained thoughtful and withdrawn until they were about half a day away from her home village, which was when she grew remarkably restless. Anxiety, Sakura chimed in a low murmur during a short break, green eyes saddening as they took in the other woman's trembling hands and constant chewing of her bottom lip.

"Sai-san?"

Having walked by her side throughout the entire journey and witnessed the steady escalation of those negative emotions, he was strangely comforted when Fumiko finally spoke up at their next break, hand hesitantly coming to his arm to grab his attention.

"Is something wrong?" he enquired, adopting the soothing tone he had been practicing for Sakura's next inevitable emotional breakdown.

Sai liked to think he'd made remarkable progress after taking careful note of the way Kakashi used it, and those beliefs were confirmed when said pink haired teammate shot a surprised glance over her shoulder, the small smile on her lips proud.

However, he was once more at a loss when Fumiko murmured so softly that he almost missed it, "For the Kazekage to reject me… Does that mean there is something wrong with me?"

The tension that suddenly entered Sakura's muscles was unmissable, as was the guilt that had her swiftly averting her gaze from them.

What was he supposed to say? Personally, he saw nothing wrong with Fumiko and from what the team had seen of her, mentally and emotionally, she appeared relatively normal, if not a little dull. Of course, Sai had learned enough by now to know that was never the right thing to say to a woman – the blows landed by both Sakura and Ino were unforgiving and powerful in teaching him that lesson, lest he wished to receive more of them.

Looking down to the troubled woman, Sai noted that her sunburn was mostly healed now thanks to Sakura's determined healing sessions. "By society's standards?"

The way Naruto slowly turned in stilted movements, eyes wide with horror and disbelief, warned him that he was on a dangerous path. But what else was he supposed to do or say? Remaining silent when the girl was clearly in distress was out of the question. It made his stomach uneasy – the uneasiness only doubling at the sight of her open emotions.

"I… I guess. Yes."

Humming to fill his contemplative silence, because the looks his teammates were sending his way certainly didn't help in putting his knowledge into words, Sai carefully thought everything over, choosing to say, "From what I have gathered while hanging out Naruto and his friends, there is such a thing as an ideal woman."

He missed the way Kakashi's lone eye suddenly shot to his in concerned warning.

"Many of the group both vocally and physically expressed their appreciation of a woman's figure, such as Ino-san's," Sai informed her simply, not really understanding why the two other men were so against his honest responses. "The majority preferred, what they call, a curvy woman. I suppose you could say you fall under that category, for your figure resembles Ino-san's. In that sense, in society's standards, there is nothing wrong with your appearance. You are beautiful."

The blush on Fumiko's features was impressive, reaching all the way to her hairline. "…O-Oh. Thank you, Sai-san."

"I would say your personality is also preferable in society's standards," he added with a smile he hoped appeared sincere. It was difficult reassuring another and the reactions of his teammates was making the struggle even greater, more noticeably Naruto, who was staring at him with a jaw that was just short of dropping all the way to the ground, his eyes positively terrified. "You are quiet, similarly to Hinata-san, who appears to have an equal number of admirers as Ino-san. From what I have noticed, women who are the opposite and are outspoken and pushy, like Hokage-sama, usually end up single and alone."

That was simply what he'd perceived so far, however. Many powerful women he had worked with or for, such as the Hokage or Mitarashi Anko or any number of the women operatives in ROOT, didn't have partners. Although, he supposed that threw off the observation of a woman's appearance being important, for most of the women had figures that were deemed as desirable.

"S-Sai…" Naruto choked out in a stammer.

"Which do you prefer?" Fumiko questioned hesitantly.

He didn't really have a personal preference, for appearances weren't important in his eyes and he always managed to find a flaw in a person's personality. However, that wasn't what Fumiko wanted to hear, Sai thought to himself, referring back to his self-help book. She wanted cheering up and his lack of personal input wouldn't help matters.

"Curvy women are aesthetically pleasing," Sai eventually answered, much to the palpable shock of his two male teammates. "However, speaking as a shinobi, I find that lithe forms are beneficial. Comparing Ino-san's body and abilities to Sakura's–" Naruto's jaw was basically on the ground and his stammering was considerably weaker, his twitching hand outstretching to him weakly. "–you will find the latter is faster without the extra weight, such as breasts, weighing her down or creating pains. Sakura has also shown on multiple occasions that her smaller frame is able to squeeze into difficult to navigate spaces, in addition to being generally difficult to grab or pin down during fights or sparring sessions."

Nodding thoughtfully as Fumiko glanced between herself and Sakura's physiques, she laughed, saying, "I would make a terrible kunoichi."

Yes, she would, for a multitude of reasons.

The laughter was quick to subside into a dejected sigh, Fumiko's worried gaze drawn to the canopy of trees above their heads. "I feel as though I have disappointed my uncle," came her soft admittance. "Although the Kazekage and I have no feelings towards one another, going off what you said just now, Sai-san, then I should have garnered his attention long enough for the marriage to be made official."

"I already said Gaara's weird," tried Naruto unconvincingly.

"Weird or not, I gave up the man I love to marry him," Fumiko argued quietly, her arms coming around her middle. "Initially, I was ecstatic that he called off the wedding, but now I can't help but wonder where this all leaves me with my love. Will he believe I no longer love him because of my easy agreeance? Does my love not mean much to me because of how easily I complied?"

What was love, anyway? Did it really matter that much? All he had seen so far of it was agony and betrayal and honestly speaking, he wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. He would rather remain emotionless and unattached his entire life than succumb to what he witnessed others go through.

"I don't know much, if anything, about love to give you a logical answer. The concept of love confuses me," Sai admitted easily, and subconsciously, he found his gaze straying to the circular symbol on the back of his teammate's shirt, the rigidness of her muscles unmissable. "From an outsider's perspective, however, I have noticed many shows of love that can either be viewed as positive or negative, depending on the person's thought process."

Kakashi's sigh was one of resignation, his head falling forward like he didn't want to listen in any longer, effectively confusing Sai. Regardless of personal feelings, however, he saw that Fumiko was awaiting his response, eyes eagerly soaking in his features as she leaned forward.

"It makes you act without thinking."

"He's close by."

Both Sakura and Naruto seemingly found one another's gaze without even trying, their hearts on their sleeves for all to see.

"Don't-" he tried to warn, but they were already gone, rushing after the man who'd betrayed their love, after the man who never thought twice about turning on them or harming them.

"You are hurt often."

However, he once more froze when he entered her room only moments after herself, a sharp squeeze of his chest leaving him immobilised at her pitiful form hunched over the foot of her bed. Masses of pink hair was tangled between her fingers, the shaking of her shoulders unmistakable and telling him she was crying, even though her face was shielded from a mixture of her arms and hair.

Then, there was the cry.

Sai had heard her cry before. He'd seen her break down countless times. He honestly couldn't recall such a cry, though. It resounded within him, trapped in the cavity of his chest and leaving him victim to the pain that caused him to sound his presence and startle Sakura.

"It makes you question everything about yourself, such as why you're not enough."

"Sasuke-kun rejected me," Sakura told him brokenly, with a faint smile that was nothing more than an awkward twitch of her lips. "Gaara didn't even tell me that he was getting married." The tears were unstoppable as they started afresh and in response, she covered her face, demanding, "What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I never good enough?"

"It makes you settle."

Why did he do it to himself, Sai couldn't help but wonder at the sight of his beaten and weary teammate.

Blond hair poked through his bandages in various places, adding to his dishevelled appearance as Naruto sat in his hospital bed following another attempt of capturing Uchiha Sasuke gone wrong.

But the way he looked at Sakura answered that question, the sight of his eyes coming alight with hope once more, the certainty and steadiness of his broken hand being forced into making a thumbs up gesture to her, telling him all he needed to know.

He resigned himself to tirelessly chasing after Sasuke because of a promise he made many years ago now, and he did it because he loved her.

"But the worst part of it all, is that it you lose yourself entirely."

His thoughtful tirade was interrupted by Naruto's seemingly snapping out of his previous uneasiness, approaching Sakura hesitantly, frowning. "Are you okay, Sakura-chan?"

But her only response was to storm off from their group at Kakashi's minute nod of approval, wiping so harshly at her eyes that it caused Fumiko's expression to fall understandingly.

She was… hurt?

The ache in his chest returned and Sai stepped forward, but his automatic response to follow her was swiftly interrupted by Kakashi order of, "Give her time."

But why? Why was she so upset? "Did I say something?"

"Yeah, too much," snapped Naruto.

He hurt her, Sai realised, the responding weight in his gut leaving him breathless.

A/N - I'll be coming back to edit this better at some point, but right now I have about half an hour before I need to pick my son up from nursery and I wasn't sure when I'd be able to update.

Thank you to everyone who's been supporting this story so far! I really appreciate the kind reviews

I've posted this on my other stories, but just in case there's some here who don't read the others, I'm going to leave this here too, to explain the gaps in updates:

I've dropped to just one weekly update due to my mental health being shitty right now and not wanting to burn myself out with having twelve stories on-going. This is schedule:

Week 1: Ghost Inside My Chest (COMMISSION)
Week 2: Could Roses Bloom? (COMMISSION)
Week 3: The Shadows of Your Heart
Week 4: Dying Embers
Week 5: Then Our Hearts Combined
Week 6: So This is Love
Week 7: Unravelling Since I Found You (COMMISSION)
Week 8: But Still, I Rise (COMMISSION)
Week 9: Red String of Fate
Week 10: Mercy, Love & Other Useless Things (COMMISSION)
Week 11: Come Undone (COMMISSION)

Thanks again everyone!