Mature Warning: Another sex scene, and lots of nudity, though not really described as such. I'm not going to bother putting mature warnings for violence and cussing. Why bother? Shit and damn.
42. A Quiet Place
Sasuke glanced up. Were they going on a three-day vacation right now? Not even going to bother checking on Naruto and Hinata, or going to work, reviewing their reports- nothing? And why the hell did they need a vacation? They lived on the beach. It would be pretty useful to review their reports together, at least with Sai. And-
"I heard that," Ino said, and Sai stopped. She looked back at Sasuke. "Do you know the reason I heard your thoughts?"
Sai turned around and Ino looked over his shoulder. Sasuke stepped forward.
"Because I'm exhausted and can't shut it out anymore. I need a break. And if you don't think I'm useful, then you don't think Sai is either. Say the word and we'll leave anytime. You're not w-"
Sai put his hand over her mouth. He smiled at Sasuke and turned.
"You're not the only one who has to block out the constant chatter, Ino. I don't particularly care if you leave, but I'm surprised you're not curious about what they found, and I'm surprised you're not sticking around to make sure they're ok."
"They're ok," she said, and turned back around. She hopped off Sai's back and walked back to Sasuke. "I saw what Hinata saw, and heard it- all of it. And I'm gonna tell you now- we're running out of time." You are my first and last, a horrible backhand, fear, and exhaustion, and her eyes ached, and the dead, walking slowly south, a sky so black and beautiful the stars and their galaxies and the static that ran between them glowed green and yellow and crackled, and then Okiku, sitting on a backpack, eating nuts, and then the cold, and it was getting colder. "We need to be nice to them for awhile- that was a pretty fucking rough mission, but they're ok. I would not leave if either of them needed me. But what they need now is rest. What chatter do you hear, Sasuke?"
And in his deep, gravel voice, he looked down at her, his eyes mostly hidden in long, black shaggy hair- "The dead and the dying. Their voices, and their sobs." Sasuke understood now- how she knew where Amegakure was, and how she was so resilient against the north- they both had to maintain a steady state of control to keep from being overrun- her by everyone's thoughts, him by ghosts and the dying. Sasuke meditated daily. So Ino needed vacations every once and a while? "Enjoy your vacation. When you get back, come over and I'll teach you a way to meditate that blocks it out." He considered for a second- Sakura, Naruto, Sai, and Shikamaru had all asked him to try to get along with her- give her time, and you'll see- she's a very valuable friend and ninja. He pulled a few joints out of his pocket, and a book of matches and handed them to her.
Ino's head went back as if he'd slapped her, and her eyes were wide. He was being nice, and sincere. Again. And giving her his joints? She held her hand out. He shook it. "Thank you, Sasuke. I'll do that. And you know what? I've got the perfect gift for you- you're gonna love it." She smiled then reached up and tapped the side of her head. "If you yell very loud I'll hear you. We're ten miles that way." She pointed east, along the coast. "And Sai will leave two ink cats at our house. Kill one of them to get our attention. Kill both if it's an emergency and we'll be right back. But do us a favor- please kill one before you stroll up for a visit- we might be naked. Got it?" Ino nodded at him. Having friends was sometimes a little like babysitting. Maybe she had to treat Sasuke more like a child? "Remember- I can hear you from ten miles if you yell very loudly," she tapped her forehead.
Ino stepped over and punched Shikamaru in the stomach, then smiled at him, then jumped at him for a hug, then punched him again, then turned back and walked home with Sai.
"We'll take the skins with us," Sai called over his shoulder.
Sasuke waited a minute, then looked at Shikamaru. "Maybe I underestimated her. She must be one hell of a sensory ninja."
"Oh you underestimated her. She is perhaps the single most dangerous ninja I know when she's pointed in the right direction, and given the right motivation. And she's a hell of a lot more resilient, and stronger, than she looks. I wasn't lying- I honestly think you would struggle in a fight with her. Temari would too. Sakura has never beaten her, and neither have I."
"And what motivates her?"
Shikamaru watched them go. "That's the million-dollar question."
Two suitcases of clothes, food, dishes and towels, and nothing else. Ino was outside, looking at the clouds, happy, while Sai finished up. She saw Sakura come out of Naruto's, and waved.
Sai came out and unrolled two large sheets of paper and started drawing two large hawks.
"Excited?" Sakura asked, walking up.
"Very." Ino bounced, and her ponytail bounced with her.
Sakura hugged her and smiled at her.
"By the way, sweetie," Ino said, and reached back around and hugged her again. "I know Sasuke has been trying to be nice to me, and I appreciate it. I'm trying too; I drew him a picture." She rooted around her bag, searching.
Sakura smiled. That was sweet. Ino turned, and unfolded a piece of paper, and handed it to her. It showed Sasuke on one side, shaking his fist, with dark beams coming off his eyes and turning to daggers, and flying across the page, and on the other side was Ino, picking flowers, happy, peaceful, and her long blonde hair made a heart around her, and was deflecting the knives of darkness Sasuke was throwing at her. Sakura laughed. It was a very good drawing, but she doubted Sasuke would think so. She shook her head. "Honey, you're going to have to do better than this."
"I know, but I was in a hurry. I'll put swords on his back, and fix the purple. Someone-" she looked at Sai as he finished the hawk, with a slight tone in her voice, "Used all of our purple markers."
"You look very good in purple."
That was not even slightly what Sakura was referring to, but laughed, and hugged her. This was going on their fridge. She nudged Sai with her shoulder- he was strapping the skins onto the hawk's back.
He turned. "Good afternoon, Sakura."
"Good afternoon, Sai. You going to give me a hug before running off?"
He put his arms around her, and hugged her. "I hope you have a good day, Sakura. I hope none of your patients die."
Sakura pulled back and punched his stomach. She didn't have any patients today. "You know what? I hope you don't hurt your back getting out of bed."
"I appreciate that. I do worry about my back sometimes. And my sinuses. And my hair. And-"
Ino jumped on his back. "C'mon old man! Let's get to it."
Sai helped Ino up on the hawk, smiled once more at Sakura, and took off into the blue sky. Ino's hair whipped in the wind, and Sai flew straight east. The bird's wings beat the air and they covered the miles in minutes. Sai circled high overhead, with Ino in front, his arm around her, and his hand on the side of the large ink hawk. There was a small white house near the beach, and an old shipwreck a ways down the beach. A field of grass surrounded the little two-story house, and behind that, a deep pine forest. Ino could tell it was a two-story house, and that it was small. "Down, down! Hurry up, land us!" The other hawk had already landed, loaded with supplies.
Sai smiled and brought the hawk down lower, and again circled, giving her a view of her new quiet place- their new quiet place.
"Stop teasing me!" she yelled.
He poked her in the ribs and she jumped in his arm and reached down and took his knee and started squeezing it, tickling him, and he squirmed, and smiled, and brought the hawk down beside the house. She didn't wait- she tossed her pack into the grass, hopped off and ran inside. Sai hopped off, dismissed the hawk into a poof, and grabbed her bag, and followed. He made up the two little steps to the porch, and to the door, and was about to go in when she flew at him, wrapped herself around him, and hugged him. He dropped the packs.
"Thank you thank you thank you!" she said, and kissed him. "How did you do this? How did you get this built so fast?"
Sai smiled, and kissed her perfect little nose, and carried her in. "Did you go upstairs yet?"
She shook her head no. "Ok, then come here for a second." He took her in and sat her down on the couch and sat down beside her and rooted through his pack. She lowered her chakra, and her guard, expecting a flood of mental noise to hit her, verbal clatter, emotional stress, but there was none. No human was within two miles, four, six, she took a deep breath, and watched as he pulled out a strip of white cotton, seven, she let her shields down, and her shoulders sagged, eight, and she breathed. Nine was her limit, and all she could hear was the breeze, and the ocean, and her own thoughts, and her breathing, and Sai's breathing. Peace. He reached up and rubbed her temples, and ears, and tugged on them, and she sank back into him. He scratched her forehead, and rubbed her eyebrows, and scratched her cheeks, and jaw, and neck. The prophets know: god is not in the storms, or tornadoes, he's not in the hurricanes and earthquakes and fires. He's not in the blizzards. God is a quiet place- that is where you find him: in the bottoms of caves, against an old tree in a deep forest, graveyards, abandoned houses and fields tall with last year's grass. God is in the clouds, and sun; he's in the horizon, and the stars, and sleep, and fog. Ino opened her eyes and looked at Sai. She could not hear his thoughts, no matter how hard she tried. Sai was a quiet place- her favorite. Did that make him like a god? It felt like it, sometimes. "Thank you… baby." Her voice was quiet and slow. She took another deep breath, and exhaled slowly.
"So it's two-story."
"Yeah? I see that." She looked around: The house was one large room on the bottom- a small kitchen, an iron stove, cabinets, a small counter, a big sink, windows, a table and two chairs, and a big living room, with big windows looking out at the ocean, and a big cozy futon against the wall, in front of the windows. A closet and a small bathroom were tucked under the stairs. No electricity. No fridge, but a grill outside. Two cedar chests, and an area in the corner for painting and art.
He pulled a piece of white cotton cloth and motioned for her to turn around.
"Starting out kinky, huh?"
He laughed a little, and blindfolded her, then stood her up and picked her up in his arms. He carried her upstairs. The little house changed- it went from white paint to bare wood, from modern to old. There was a hallway extending from the top of the stairs, with doors branching off either direction, and, given the size of the house, it was only possible that a couple of these doors led anywhere. Sai sat Ino down, and started to remove the blindfold, and she turned to him and clutched him tight, and started crying.
She so badly needed this man; she loved him so much. She so badly needed the quiet. She held him tight, and the tears came, soaked up by the cotton blindfold, and she choked on her own voice. "How… how did you do this?"
"Don't cry. Come here, come here. You haven't even seen the best part." He pulled the blindfold away, and kissed her forehead and held her. "Open your eyes."
She shook her head no, and held him. "Hold me," she whimpered, and he did, and she cried on his chest, and held him. So much noise, so much sound, and voices, and chatter, and now it was quiet. No voices pushing against her, no words pulling her down. Silence. Quiet silence. She could breathe. She cried for a full five minutes before opening her eyes and looked up at him. "How did you do this?"
"Would you please turn around and see the rest of our little house?"
She did, and then gasped- it was identical to her mother's house- the hallway. She turned one door knob on the right- her mother's room- it was a fake knob and didn't turn. She opened the first door on her left- a bathroom- the layout was the same: shower, toilet, sink, but undecorated. She knew what was coming, and looked back at him, tears in her eyes and her lower lip tucked in. She went to the next door on the left, and turned the knob, and opened her bedroom door. A bed, and a closet, and desk, and it was identical to her room- undecorated, but identical. She stood in the doorway sniffling tears, and he slipped his arm around her, and put his face in her hair.
"Welcome home, perfect Ino."
"Sa…Sai," she choked, and swallowed tears, and pulled him in and sat him down on her bed and laid down and him, forcing him to hold her, and cried, and decompressed, and made a mess of his shirt. Quiet and warm, stinging tears. No sound except the soft rustle of the breeze coming through the windows, and the soft sound of waves on the beach, and his heartbeat, and her sniffles. There were no other sounds in the world, except those four. "I love… I love you. I love you so much," she choked, and broke into fresh tears, and cried on him for another ten minutes."
She eventually sat up, and dried her tears, and wiped her face clean, and sat at the end of the bed. She cleared her throat and looked around her bedroom. All it was missing was art, and clothes, and pictures, a few stuffed animals, photo albums, and books, and… it was perfect. She had never sat in her bedroom, in the Leaf, and been able to truly relax- she had to keep the noise out. But not now. She noticed there were lights, and a lamp on the desk, so walked over and flipped the switch- nothing.
"We need a generator for electricity. We can buy one if you want."
She faced him, and came over and took his lap. "How did you do this?"
"I was getting tired of caves and shrines, and so I started looking for a place to buy- that was ours. I've been saving money for awhile, and I've been thinking of this little house design for a long time. Remember I opened the floor in my apartment? That was money I'd been saving, and interestingly, the cost to build this little house, here, is about five times cheaper than around Konoha. So my first day here I handed my designs to Naruto's crew, paid them, and came over every evening to check on the work. I helped, and left instructions. It's actually not completely finished yet. We need a generator, to watch movies and make pop-"
And she had fussed at him because she was jealous, and worried he had been sneaking off to see other women. "You were going to do this in the Leaf? For me?"
"For us. You need quiet time, and I need you."
She smiled at him, sincere, and honest. "Oh perfect little Sai," she said, and looked from him to his crotch. "Or should I say big." She leaned in and kissed him, and from that one kiss, more kisses, then a shirt was tossed on the floor, and then another, and then pants and shorts and underwear.
"So you did bring me here to seduce me," Sai whispered, nibbling on her ear.
She laughed. "That's right, baby. You just sit back." She crawled down his body and took his dick in her mouth and kissed him, and sucked him, and ran her tongue up and down him until he came, but she wasn't done- she crawled back up his body, rubbing her breasts and perky nipples over his muscles, and then to his mouth, and gave him her breasts until he was hard again, and then rode him and came once, twice, and felt him stiffen against her, and she leaned back giving his eyes a feast, and felt him come, and she came with him again, then collapsed, her thighs and stomach quivering.
But that wasn't enough. Sai held her a moment, then started on her- kissing her breasts, her stomach, all the way down to her beautiful, perfect little pussy, where he kissed, and gently fingered, and until she came, and came again, then he turned her over and took her from behind. They stayed at each other until their bodies started to give in to exhaustion, then they laid together, and fell asleep on each other.
They spent the rest of the day shoulder to shoulder- laying in the sun, making art, walking in the creek- Sai brought a little food with them, and had put in a fairly large order for supplies- gardening, fishing, wood working, art, and so they carried a picnic basket with sandwiches and raw veggies up the creek, into the woods. Ino held tight- the rocks were slippery, and into the forest they trekked until, about a mile in, they found a wide spot in the creek, deep enough to bathe. They laid out a blanket, and ate, and talked, and laughed, and then slept on each other as the sun went down. Then they woke, went back to their little home, and made love two more times, then Sai lit candles, and held Ino in his arms, and Ino relaxed, calm and peaceful, and quiet, and eventually fell asleep against his chest.
The next day he decided it was time to work on the wolf skins. He got up early and let Ino sleep, and went into the forest for long branches and came back, and pulled some hemp rope out of one of the chests, and started making a frame. He had one frame put together, and leaning against the house, when he heard Ino inside. It sounded like she was in the small kitchen, working on something. He poked his head in the window- she was making a small fire on the iron stove, and had eggs, and coffee, and something else off on a frame above the fire. She was naked, from top to bottom. Sai smiled, and went back to his frame.
Twenty minutes later Ino came out carrying breakfast and coffee, naked. He was on his hands and knees lashing two pieces of wood together. There were two folding chairs against the house- she opened one and sat. "Have I told you thank you yet?"
"For?"
"Our new quiet place. Come here."
He finished strapping the wood together, and stood up and stretched, and walked over- he was shirtless, and wearing loose pajama bottoms.
She tugged at the strings, and reached up with her two feet and pulled his pajamas down his hips, his knees, and ankles, grinning. He stepped out of them, and stood in front of her. She smiled and offered up a bite of eggs, then a few bites of fruit, then a sip of coffee.
He watched her perfect breasts the entire time.
"So what'cha makin'?"
"I'm trying to make wolf clothes- I'm positive that's why they kept these skins, but I'm not sure I have the right tools. How did people do this in the old days?"
"The old days?"
"Yeah- you know, old people?" He looked at her funny.
She looked at him funny. "That's not what they mean by the old days." Her hair was up- a big hive on her head, and little whisps of blonde hair escaped and hung over her left eye.
"Then what?"
A smile started at the corners of her mouth. "You know- like a long time ago."
"So old people." He scratched his chin. "How the hell do old people do shit like this. It's amazing, when you try it yourself."
The smile became a giggle then a laugh and she sat the plate down to come help and he held his hand out-
"No, sit down. Relax. This is man's work. I'm a homesteader."
Ino laughed out loud. God she loved this man. "Is that what you are today? Can I get you some breakfast, homesteader?"
"Yes, please."
"Can you work naked? I like watching you out the window."
He shrugged; he didn't see why not, and got back to work. Ino went inside and finished her breakfast while she made him eggs and a fruit salad and cut up a cucumber and sprinkled salt on it and watched him through the window. The perfect male form- that's what Ino thought. She didn't think a sexier man could exist- exquisite, lean, strong and virile muscles, and a lithe frame, and a large dick, and such sexy eyes, and hair, and round, tight ass. Ino was drooling and nearly scorched the eggs.
He ate, and they worked on the frames, and finished them, then stretched half the skins- Sai wanted wolf leather pants, and a shirt, and wolf fur cloaks, and scarves, and tobagans, so he was only stretching enough for the leather. The rest he left bundled up and in a chest on the porch. And by the end they had two large chunks of wolf hide tied to the frame, leaning against the house and drying in the sun.
Then they laid in the sun and studied one of their travel magazines, and circled places and events. They needed to plan a trip soon; Ino wanted to get dressed up and see an opera, and Sai wanted to get dressed up and see a symphony. Then they napped, then got dressed again so that they could play strip poker. As evening came their stomachs growled, and Ino was going to cook, when Sai stopped her, and said he would fly back to Tsuri and get takeout. She jumped, excited. "Wine? More pot? Can you pick up a few things from our house?"
So Sai left with an order, and Ino went to her bedroom, and sat down at her desk, and breathed- just breathed. No sound. No chatter. No influence. No effort to simply live. She got one of her notebooks and sketched a picture of her and Sai holding hands, walking on the beach. She knew, as a couple, they had things to figure out. They both wanted to get married, but couldn't agree on a few things, and he wanted kids- she definitely did not. But Ino realized she couldn't live without Sai. If having a child, or even two, was what it took to be with him, and to keep him happy, and hers, then so be it. She sketched a second picture- her and Sai walking on the beach with a small child between them, holding their hands, swinging back and forth. But then she wondered- what if I hear our child's thoughts? That would be horrible. She would need a quiet place away from her own child. How heartbreaking would it be to mentally hear her child say they didn't love her? What if having a child left her scarred? Occasionally babies would have to be cut out. What if her breasts sagged? What if Sai gave all his attention to their child? Obviously they couldn't go off to be alone and work on stretching leather and sun-bathing naked. They couldn't walk around their house naked with a child around. Damnit. Having children looked nice on paper, with the ocean nearby, and the sun setting, sketched out in charcoal. But she knew children were loud, and needy. Why did Sai want children anyway? She huffed.
She had drawn seven sketches of her and Sai, and then her and Sai with a child, then Sai naked. It wasn't hard to tell which one she liked best: the sketch of him standing naked in the sun. No child in that picture.
She heard him coming- the hawk beating its wings, and walked downstairs and helped him carry bags in. She got the folding chairs from the back, and brought them around to their small front porch, and they ate outside.
They made love three times that night, and afterwards, after she was asleep, Sai got up for water, and saw her sketches. A child? A child in three of them, him naked in two of them, and them walking in two more, holding hands. He bit his tongue, and lowered his eyes, and picked up the one with the child. He needed to marry her. He had a ring. But goddamn he did not want the last name of Yamanaka. He did not want the name of that clan stuck to him. He let the drawing fall back to the table. A clan of rapists and abusers. Sai loved Ino's mom- she was a sweet, and kind, honest woman. She wore too much brown, but beyond that, she was wonderful. But her father had been an ass, verbally; he had raped her- more than once, and not always because he was drunk. Sai was glad he was dead and went happily to his funeral. Her uncle was an ass, and two of her aunts were horrible women- to everyone. Too many in the Yamanaka were abusive. Sai had been abused, and he remembered it, and the fear, and pain, and helplessness. He wanted no part in that goddamn clan. But he didn't have a clan, or a last name. Nothing to give her, but a ring. He picked up another picture and studied it. Charcoal lines on a white sheet of paper.
He stood looking at that sketch the longest, and Ino couldn't see what it was. God she wished she could read his mind, and hear his thoughts- just occasionally. Every now and then. She shut her eyes, and heard him walk out, and two steps down the hall to the stairs and down. She hopped up. The one he looked at the longest was the first one she drew- holding hands walking down the beach- just the two of them. Her heart trembled a little, and she didn't know why.
The next morning they ate crackers and eggs and Ino sat in a chair with her sketchbook, and Sai worked at cutting the wolf fur into large rectangles. He used his knees to hold parts of it down, and he used both hands to work the scissors. He got a kunai and perforated it in a line, and then shook his head. "Nothing works. There is no way in hell… old people do this."
She smiled. "You need better scissors."
"These are brand new. Look how big these damn things are."
"What if you used your sword?"
"It would have to be stretched awfully tight." Sai kept at it, and Ino watched him a minute, and looked down at her notebook, and then heard it- a voice in the background, to the west. Not that far away, and coming fast. She stood, and stretched, and reached down and picked her tshirt up and slipped it on. "Babe-" She grabbed Sai's pajamas and tossed them.
He looked at her funny.
"Naruto's coming."
Sai slipped his pajamas on and kept at the skins. Ino sat back down and kept sketching, and Sai got back to the skins, and they waited.
Ten minutes later they heard him, and Sai stopped, and Ino stopped, and they stood up and waited. He came carrying a cooler in his arms, which interested both of them.
"Sorry! I'm very sorry to interrupt, but I brought this to make up for it." Naruto handed the cooler to Sai.
Ino smiled, and patted his shoulder. Ino knew Naruto would not come without reason, and of all the people who could come running up to spoil her quiet time, he and Sakura would be first forgiven- Naruto had done a lot for her over the years, and she appreciated all of it. "Come inside." She led him in and sat down at the table. He followed, looking around. He was looking at outlets, and baseboards, and fixtures.
"I need to do a little more work in here," he said, looking at the ceiling joints.
"Phaw," Ino answered, and motioned him over. "I'm glad to see you up and about. So? What's going on?"
Sai sat the cooler down, and opened it- icecream on ice, and crab cakes, and chocolate cake and milk, and chocolate bars, and a large thermos. He handed Ino the carton of ice cream, and a spoon. Her eyes went big and she dug in.
"I'm going to ask Hinata to marry me, tomorrow morning. I didn't want to leave you out, but you don't have to come. Hinata would prefer it be just us, but Sasuke found out, then Sakura, then Sakura got mad, then- yeah. So. Sorry for interrupting. Have a good day." Naruto smiled, and nodded, and turned straight for the door.
"Wait," Ino said. "When?"
"First thing. Sunrise."
"Why?"
"That's when she's at her most beautiful," he answered.
That shook Ino a little- the honesty, more than anything.
"No," Sai said, "Why get married?" He found a spoon in the cooler- cold from the ice, and shut it, and took a bite of ice cream.
"Because it's important to us."
"Why?"
"Really, Sai? Look, you can come or not- it's not a c-"
"I'm curious too," Ino said. "Why?"
Naruto paused, and watched them eat ice cream for a few seconds. "Because Hinata doesn't want to be a Hyuga, and I don't want to be alone. She doesn't want to be just boyfriend-girlfriend, and neither do I. Truthfully, I wish no one was coming to hear me propose because this is only between us. But I love her, and I want to give her everything she wants in this life- everything in my power. Are you two thinking I shouldn't propose?"
"No. I don't care," Sai answered. "I prefer you happy. And I guess Hinata, too. Though I don't know her well. She stutters. I know that."
"Then why the questions?"
"Because Ino and I can't figure it out."
The little house got quiet. Ino stopped eating ice cream and looked at Sai.
Sai looked at her and took her hand.
"I don't think it's that hard to figure out."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, according to Hinata, here are the conditions of marriage: the man has to be taller than the woman, the man has to be physically stronger- she likes muscles, you cannot cheat on each other, you have to have a ring, you have to propose somewhere romantic, and you have to be more than soulmates. And, according to Hinata, the reason you get married is so that your relationship moves past doubt, and worry, and fear, and it moves past the ability of others to pull you apart. Mrs. Hosu said that that marriage is nothing more than promises between two best-friends. Hinata's my best-friend, and we have a lot of promises between us."
Ino and Sai looked at each other again. "What if you don't agree on certain things? Like kids, or last names, or what jobs to do, where to live- stuff like that?"
"We don't agree on everything. But it doesn't matter. Which would you rather have- your best-friend with you for life and a last name you don't like, or to be alone, and miss the person you love? It's not that hard." They didn't answer, but watched as he inspected the little house again and made a few notes on a sheet of scrap paper. He turned. "I'll send Shu back when we're all away to fix a few things. You know, if we were to trench out the creek a little, you could build a water wheel and maybe generate enough electricity for a fridge and lights and a projector. Worth thinking about." He smiled at them, then patted their heads, then took off, back for their village.
"Hmmm…" Sai said, thinking. He pulled his tshirt off.
"Hmmm…" Ino said. She pulled hers off. "I guess they've become love experts."
"I guess so, best-friend."
"More ice cream, best friend?"
Sai opened the cooler back up and handed her the carton and the spoon. "You know, maybe we should go have dinner with these Hosu people. I heard Shik talking about them."
"Yeah. Why not."