Sealing Salientia - Chapter 44: Ink - Author: PenSmoke

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor make any profit from writing this.

Previously on Sealing Salientia: Naruto mutely nodded. The conversation didn't really go the way he had wanted, but at least there was a decent alternative presented. He couldn't really argue with the old man's words, even if deep-down he still wanted a mission to go on. He proceeded to complete his classes for that day, slightly sullen and disappointed.

Konoha
Friday, November 2nd, Year 74

Naruto was impatient about many things. The 3 minutes that it took for instant ramen to cook. Sakiko screaming in the morning. How long it took for water to boil for his ramen. Sitting and waiting on Shikamaru to drag his butt to lunch. The time between ordering Ichiraku ramen and getting to eat it. How annoyingly long Pops' stories could be. That he had to wait after finishing his first bowl to get a second.

But awaiting the results of their 4th year exam results were the worst thing ever. He hated every second of it. He kept walking back and forth across the wooden paneling of the Academy hallway. The teachers had told them to wait for the results, and they were supposed to be posting them any minute now.

Sakura tried to calm him down with the offer of food and Shikamaru had commented that he was going to wear a hole in the floor. However, nothing could stop his anxiety at the moment. He needed to see the results of the tests. He couldn't wait to move on to 5th year and start taking missions.

Sasuke elbowed him in the side to get his attention. "Hey, loser." The onyx haired boy's eyes were focused down the length of the hallway towards the front doors.

Naruto grumbled at the minor epithet, but completely forgot about it a moment later as he followed the line of eyesight to see several instructors making their way in from the headmaster's office. He could make out the forms of Mikoto in her wheelchair, as well as Shikaku's grizzled form walking forward. Each of the instructors carried a singular piece of paper in their hands.

He tamped down his excitement as much as he could, which meant that he was only jumping up and down in place, rather than sprinting down the hallway.

As the final teacher secured the piece of paper to the wall and stepped away, Naruto rocketed to the board. The rest of the Academy students ranged from Sasuke just barely a half step behind him to Shikamaru barely having moved from the place they had previously been gathered.

Naruto quickly surveyed the list. He quickly skipped over the first- and second-year student lists, trying to find his own classmates. After being jostled by several others as they worked their way up to the board, he finally located his target.

It read:
4th year students – PASS: Ami, Choji, Daichi, Ino, Kiba, Kota, Lee, Neji, Sakura, Sai, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Shino, Tenten

Naruto stopped for a second. He blinked a couple of times and read the list again. A moment later a guttural groan of "No…" escaped his lips. A kid next to him threw their arms up in celebration of having passed, accidentally bumping Naruto to the side. As the crowd surged forward, Naruto got lost further back, his vision still focused on the small sheet of scrawled upon paper that hung in front of him. His name wasn't there.

How could he not have passed? His taijutsu and ninjutsu was only matched in their class by Sasuke's, his strength and endurance were above everyone else, and while his grades were only middle of the road, they were not horrible.

Naruto could hear the cries of jubilation mixed in with a few other groans of disappointment similar to the one that he had made himself. He could hear Sakura calling out his name, though it sounded like it came from a long distance away.

He was supposed to become the greatest ninja in the Leaf! He had been training for years, as long ago as he could remember. He had created his own sealing techniques and was on his way to becoming Jiraiya's true successor in the art. How could he fail at the Academy? He couldn't even make it to the beginning ranks of ninja without failing out.

That's when he heard it. A familiar, but unusual sound. Snickering, low and quiet, underneath the chorus of the crowd.

Not just anyone's laughter though. It was Sasuke's. Which immediately struck him as odd. Sasuke didn't often laugh.

He turned towards his friend to see the black eyes dancing and gleaming. The boy was just barely containing his mirth, and upon making eye contact, burst out into loud guffaws. Bending over at the waist, Sasuke laughed for several seconds to Naruto's confusion.

A moment later, Naruto pieced together the puzzle. He glanced back at the board at looked again. Upon looking at it closely, he realized what had happened. There was a slight genjutsu over the piece of paper, visually distorting its' appearance to all onlookers.

Naruto immediately recognized it as a technique taught to help disguise sensitive information from prying eyes. The skill had been layered over the real list of names. Dispelling the technique took nothing but a mere puff of chakra concentration, which he did. After removing the genjutsu from the paper, he looked again. There, listed as a PASS in between Lee and Neji, was his name.

He thought about punching Sasuke. He really did. He even took a half-step towards the boy. However, he was beaten to the punch, quite literally, when Mikoto bonked her son on top of the head.

"THAT is how you treat your friends, Sasuke? I thought that I raised you better than that. Shame on you. You nearly made him cry!" At this, Naruto flushed and Sasuke laughed even harder.

Naruto practically yelled back. "Miss Mikoto! I wasn't going to cry!" Which was a lie, he totally would have. But he needed to save face.

The mechanical creaking of the wheels against the tile floor sounded and a moment later, Mikoto had Sasuke's ear in a pinch, and was dragging him backwards. Naruto watched with some amount of satisfaction as Sasuke looked minorly embarrassed at being manhandled by his mother. That was, until Sasuke's eyes met his and the Uchiha smirked. Naruto couldn't quite hear it over the nearby crowd and maybe the other boy never actually even verbalized it, but he swore that Sasuke said "Gotcha."

With the rush of drama over and the thrill of excitement filling him up again, he decided that it was time to celebrate. Ichiraku ramen style, of course. He reached down to check on Gama-chan, his toad-shaped wallet. A few coins jingled around inside, muffled in sound by a couple of paper bills, enough for a meal for him and a friend.

He contemplated on who he could ask to join him. Sasuke was already out of sight, dragged off. And besides, the jerk had just tricked him. He may have mentally regarded the Uchiha to be his own brother, but that didn't mean he couldn't be petty about it. Shikamaru was talking with his father, and judging from appearances, they were already on their way to leave. Sakura had already bid him farewell, running off with her own mother. He looked around to see what his other classmates were doing.

Neji was headed out the door with his aunt. Lee was talking with one of the teachers, a green jumpsuit wearing man that the boy seemed unhealthily fascinated with. Kiba, Chouji, Shino and Tenten were nowhere to be seen.

The only three people that he could see from his class were Ino, Ami and Sai. Ino and Ami were chattering partway down the hallway. Knowing that the two were likely gossiping, he didn't want to barge in and interrupt. Ino never seemed to like him much from the very beginning anyway, so he never really wanted to interact with her. Since Ami was a pretty constant feature by Ino's side and apparently a very good friend, that meant that same treatment from her.

That left just one kid that he knew, albeit only vaguely. The black-haired boy was constantly silent, unless directly asked to speak by a teacher. Naruto had thought the boy was a little weird, but mostly disregarded it. Everyone was a little weird in their own way, who was he to judge? The guy was standing in a corner, with a piece of paper in one hand, drawing something with an ink brush. Every once in a while, the boy surreptitiously glanced up towards the chaotic mass of kids that were slowly dispersing.

Naruto decided that he might as well go for it. Either way, he got some ramen, and he might just get a new friend out of it.

"Yo!" Naruto called out cheerily, raising a hand in greeting as he walked in the direction. The boy either seemingly didn't hear him, or did not think Naruto was talking to him, as there was no reaction at all.

A few steps later, much closer to the other boy, Naruto tried again. "Hey!"

The brush in his hand jerked violently as the boy looked up at him. Large, round eyes with black pupils and irises peered up at him, seemingly both afraid and curious at the same lips parted on the mouth to speak, though the words were quiet and unconfident.

"I'm sorry, am I in your way?"

Naruto looked at the boy, taking in his appearance. The boy dressed similarly most days, in ninja-ready gear like the rest of the class had been taught to. A halter-top style shirt that reached just below the ribs, skin-tight. A couple of straps across the shoulder blades to hold some small pouches of gear. Black shorts with various pockets, with ninja geta type shoes. Strapped across the back was a small roll of paper, reminding him greatly of the scroll that he saw Pops with all the time.

Naruto replied to the boy, "No, not at all. It's Sai, right? Congratulations on passing third year! Wanna go get some lunch?"

The pale-skinned boy looked taken aback, as if he had just been bitten by a snake, which surprised Naruto greatly. While quiet and reserved, Sai had never outwardly shown to be afraid of anyone in the class.

"My apologies, Naruto. I do not believe that you would enjoy my company for lunch."

At this, the white-haired boy cocked his head to the side, like a puppy not understanding what they were hearing. Mentally processing the statement, he spent a few more seconds staring at his strange classmate, who remained seated in front of him.

Naruto changed the focus of his gaze from the boys' face to the paper and brush that was held. Staring at it for a moment, he realized that it wasn't writing on the paper. It was an art piece, and quite a detailed one at that. There were all of the teachers standing in the hallway, and the mass of kids crowding around. Naruto swore that while he was looking at it, he could see the excitement on the faces. In fact…

Naruto moved his head from side to side, taking in the picture from different directions and was amazed at what he saw. The picture changed as his head moved, new people coming into focus, expressions changing and shifting, mouths opening and closing. He even thought that he could hear the voices of the people, though that was probably just the remaining noise from the several dozen students still in the hall.

"That's amazing!" Naruto said while pointing at the picture. Sai just continued to look up at him, seemingly embarrassed. "You've got to show me how to you did that! You made the art look so realistic, it's like I'm looking at them in real life, just in black and white!"

Naruto reached his hand out to grab at Sai's, who flinched away. "Come on dude, now you've got to have lunch with me. My treat!" While the dark-haired artist was reluctant and evasive, in one quick movement, Naruto snagged the boys hand and pulled on it to move him up from a sitting position.

Sai stood awkwardly in the hallway, brush and paper clutched tightly against his chest. His eyes looked questioningly at the white-haired boy that was working with him. His heart was beating rapidly, and his normally pale skin was whiter than ever. Every instinct in his body was telling him to flee, to run, to escape. All the training that he had been through was failing to kick in though, reducing to a voice in the back of his mind, screaming at him. That screaming was easily dismissed though, due to Naruto's presence.

The sheer warmth exuded from this boy was overwhelmingly intoxicating. When Naruto's hand met his, it felt like a warm fire burning in a hearth at a comfortable home, instantly relaxing him and making him feel at home for the first time in years. In the brief moment that he had been pulled up, he could feel an immense urge to just let this boy lead him wherever, drinking in the inordinately comfortable aura that was exuded from every pore of Naruto's body.

When the hand left his, it felt like an icy dagger, plunging into his chest, ripping out the calming sensation, and leaving it with a feeling of emptiness that he hadn't felt since… that day.

With his emotions gone haywire, and his ninja training being overwritten by the misfiring synapses in his mind, Sai numbly nodded and acquiesced to the request. Clutching his supplies to his chest and mutely following along as his target babbled on and on about the drawing he had been doodling in his observational time. The toad summoner blasted him with questions left and right, not even waiting for an answer before jumping to the next, not that any answers were forthcoming from his addled state.

Before he really was able to comprehend what was happening, he was already several blocks from school. The voice in the back of his head was shouting a continuous warning tone and he felt oddly fuzzy.

He opened his mouth to respond to the torrent of questions that were pouring from Naruto's mouth but found that his tongue felt swollen and couldn't move normally. Instead of the words he wanted to speak, he let out an eloquent "Mmmphnngh."

Naruto's head swiveled to look at him instead of where they were going. "What was that?"

Sai shook his head to try and clear the mental state he found himself in, though it wasn't nearly enough. However, it helped enough to form some words. "Where are we going?"

"To the best place on the planet! Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto smile was blindingly brilliant, sunlight reflecting off the slightly elongated canine teeth in a way that temporarily obscured his vision. Sai nodded dumbly, followed along without another word until they arrived at their destination. His temporary companion pushed aside the curtains in front of the restaurant, bidding him to enter. Since he had no other option aside from running away, he decided to enter, still clutching his artwork close to his chest.

Taking two seats at the long, wooden bar that served as the counter for the establishment, Sai watched as Naruto introduced him as 'his new friend' to the man behind the counter, who was apparently known as 'Old Man Ichiraku', even though the man was clearly only in his late 30's to early 40's. Apparently, this was a term of endearment, as the clearly middle-aged man took no offense, even smiled at the term. This made no sense to Sai. Was it common for a person to say something that should so clearly be insulting and contrarian in order to show affection? He would have to remember this.

When the small talk and pleasantries passed, Naruto immediately belted out his order and turned expectantly to Sai.

"Whaddya want, Sai?"

Continuing to sit silently, the onyx-haired child realized that he had no idea what to order. He usually ate what was provided for him, firm tofu. His idea of eating fancy was to add seasonings to it. Haltingly, the boy spoke "I... I guess I'll have what you're having."

Both Naruto and the ramen chef looked at him in surprise.

Teuchi spoke up, "Are you sure?"

Sai nodded in the affirmative, though internally he wasn't sure at all. A strange look was shared between the owner and his eating partner, and then Naruto turned to him, once again all smiles.

"You're in for a treat, Old Man Ichiraku makes the best food you've ever tasted." His gleaming smile once again dazzled Sai, the overt emotions not something that he was used to.

Naruto continued speaking, unabated. "Now, you've got to show me how you made that drawing!" A slight tug on the paper he held to his chest broke him from the reverie he had found himself in. Naruto's hand was on his drawing and pulling it away. Instinctually, Sai pushed back. Unfortunately, being on a narrow stool made them both off-balance when the unexpected push came, sending them both tumbling off. The papers, inks and brushes spilled to the floor from his hands, while Naruto landed on his own butt.

A moment of silence later, and then the sound of laughter from the chef rang out, loud and clear. Sai felt something welling up inside, soon to be recognized as embarrassment. His cheeks flushed red and he scrambled to pick up everything. Naruto quickly joined him in picking up the supplies, commenting along the way, "You know, you could have just said that you don't want me to see it."

Sai found himself unable to think of a good response, so he let the white-haired boy continue. "Though, I don't know why you wouldn't want to let others see it. It is amazing!."

Looking up, he saw the paper in Naruto's hand, the inks shifting and flitting in his own style to accurately capture the scene. The children within looked as if they were laughing and smiling, teachers looking down proudly, voices echoing from the paper. He quickly pushed down the response that pressured him to snatch it back, and instead let the praise wash over him. It felt like a ray of cozy sunshine on a clear summer day, pushing in through the skin, deep into his soul.

"Really?" He found his voice to be small and unsure. Within the span of 15 minutes, this boy had punctured his silent, black and white world with emotions, laughter and warmth. He hadn't felt these emotions in years, the depth of feeling such things thought to be lost on him.

"Yeah, it looks awesome! How do you do it? It's so cool that the ink appears and disappears depending on how you view it."

"Uhm," Sai was conflicted. From one angle, he had only ever told one person about his abilities and techniques with ink, which had not necessarily ended up great. Viewed from a different angle, this boy seemed to be genuinely interested, open and happy, and stirring forth things within Sai that he felt to have been lost years ago.

Swallowing both the dryness in his throat as well as whatever doubts he had in mind, he spoke again. Quiet at first, but gaining strength as he ventured into familiar territory, he started to explain the concepts. "You see, the ink is infused with my chakra. I paint a subject, and then layer the next image over it. A burst of chakra makes it so it only appears when viewed from the direction I want it." He rotated the picture along the z-axis of the sheet to show Naruto the shifting image. "That way I can make it a 3 dimensional object within the 2d space of the paper. It helps me to create the most realistic image that I can."

Sai could see Naruto's brain practically smoking as he was explaining. It looked like the boy was about to bounce out of his seat, he was so excited.

"I gotta bring you over to see Pops! I bet we could use this for sealing in so many ways!" Naruto stood up and had already started to pull on Sai's sleeve to drag him along when the ramen chef's voice cut in authoritatively.

"Excuse me Naruto, just where do you think you're going?"

The white-haired boy sheepishly turned around and toed the ground nervously. "Uhhhhh... Nowhere?"

A smile crossed the mans face, hands relaxing from the tightly gripped ladle still dripping with broth. "That's right. You wouldn't possibly be thinking of walking out on my ramen, now would you?"

Naruto quickly plopped his posterior in the seat and waited, though Sai could see he was still bouncing with excitement, tamped down as it was by the prospect of ramen.

As the bowls were served mere moments later, Sai was treated to the sight of the toad summoning child digging in to the ramen voraciously, flinging small droplets of the soupy mixture in a wide spread. Lifting his own chopsticks, he gazed upon the creation that sat in front of him, well aware of the chef looking at him expectantly. He scooped up a small sampling of the different ingredients from the massive bowl, lifting them up to his mouth. Once the tangy broth hit his tastebuds, his world exploded into flavors he never knew existed. The umami tastes of the broth mixed with the starches of the noodles, the sweet, fresh greens, the slightly acidic scallions, and so many others all colliding in a wonderful kaleidoscope of savory sensations, he very nearly shed a tear.

Digging in whole-heartedly, he joined his newfound companion in splashing droplets of the soup everywhere, letting out a hearty sigh at the completion of the meal. His belly full, he thanked the chef for the wonderful meal as Naruto paid for the two bowls. Following the boy numbly as they practically sprinted through town towards an unknown destination, Sai could quickly tell that once this boy entered your world, it would never be the same.

Author's Note:

Hello everyone! It's Sai time! Hope everyone enjoys the interactions between them. We're about to turn it up a notch in intensity, so a little more character and world building is always good.

I'm sorry that I haven't made an appearance in several months. I got a new job in a higher-paying position as a Senior Network Engineer and am now responsible for running a network spanning dozens of states. While this is amazing for my career, it has left me with minimal time outside of work and family time. The computer that I was writing this story on also died and had to be replaced, which caused a major setback, as I lost my storyboard and logins. I'd like to thank JadeDragon927 for keeping the faith, pinging me with reviews and mentioning the story occasionally across the net, which reminded me I needed to get back to writing it and prompted me to get everything recovered.

I'm going to be reading back through the previously published work to hopefully mentally recover my storyboard, as that is apparently completely lost. I still remember several major story beats that were going to happen, so hopefully I can get it all back.

I'll be writing as I can moving forward, though family and work come first. Thank everyone for reading, and, as always, constructive criticism is welcome!