Chapter 2

He had to say: he expected better of her.

Dark eyes opened, staring up at the canopy of trees above his sleeping bag, their leaves still in the middle of the night. One would have presumed that the wind from the desert would have disturbed them – they were certainly close enough and he was acutely aware of the freezing temperatures and tendency for sandstorms.

That was neither here nor there, however.

"Why have you been left here?" he questioned.

At the stunned silence that met him, he sat up and watched the clone sitting beside the fire, her vibrant green eyes wide, fear etched upon her features at having been caught out.

He supposed that that was the point he should have felt annoyance towards her. He guessed that it was how their team captain, Hatake Kakashi, would react (fortunately for her, Kakashi had not accompanied them for that particular mission – had he, punishment for her lack of professionalism would have been unavoidable). As it was, he felt no particular emotion. At least, he didn't believe he did. His mind simply skipped to the step of playing with the idea of her betraying them.

Danzo's main concern had always been Konoha, thus, it was projected on all ROOT operatives (some via seals that stripped them of their freedom, others brainwashed). Should they believe Konoha's safety was breached, they were obligated to respond accordingly.

"I… Uh…"

The stuttering mess of a woman stood, wringing her hands together anxiously. Was his staring uncomfortable? Quite possibly. However, he could not be soft. He couldn't let her get away with her betrayal – if that was what he was facing.

"Sakura."

Sakura had always seemed like a flight risk to him, in a sense. He'd heard all about her demands to Uchiha Sasuke, along with her undying love for him. More than anything, more than her loyalty to their village, she had wanted to be with him. Even if that meant becoming a rogue-nin, even if she became a criminal who committed atrocious crimes. Did he personally believe she would be capable of committing crimes? No. But he'd foolishly believed she would also do all that was in her power to protect her team and village, too.

Should they happen across Uchiha Sasuke, how was he to know she would not betray them in order to be with him? How was he to know that that wasn't where she was in that moment?

Being who she was – a woman with such a huge heart, one that was repeatedly trampled on without a second thought – he knew that she would follow the Uchiha to the ends of the earth.

But then, that meant he would follow her to the ends of the earth, also.

He stood from his sleeping bag, forgoing tidying his area as he kept his gaze trained on Sakura's clone, the nerve of her existence causing him to question their team's worth in the original's eyes.

Surely, she had to know that the protection of a clone was pitiful? One blow and they would disappear, leaving those in the team who were in a deep slumber (i.e., Naruto) at the mercy of the assailants. Granted, it was possible for the original to be caught unaware and rendered unconscious or worse, dead, but less likely, nonetheless.

"I-I'm sorry," she said with a tone of desperation, already standing from her seat at fire to face him fully. "I'm really sorry, Sai."

There was the expression she often used on others – the one where those wide eyes widened further, conveying her fear and weaknesses for the world to see. She was much too open, in his eyes. Too easily read. He had books that were harder to understand than her.

His strict training shut down any and all openings to potential emotions in that moment. They couldn't be allowed to cloud his judgement, as Konoha was always the top priority. He and all other ROOT operatives – Tenzo included – were obligated to protect their village at all costs.

Even if that included eliminating a comrade.

"Where is Sakura?"

"Please-"

"Do not make this worse."

The clone sighed pitifully, gesturing behind herself. "Less than a mile that way."

She was almost a whole mile away? Sai turned away, grabbing his weapons pouch and tanto blade before setting off in the direction the clone had pointed out. His senses stretched out, picking her up with ease due to there being little life surrounding them in that moment in time.

To his right was a setting that would have made a perfect shot for his art, the foreboding aura of the lifeless trees grouped together capturing his attention briefly. He simply wouldn't have time to paint it. Perhaps afterwards he could try and recapture the image, painting it from memory alone.

Suddenly sensing another's presence, Sai reached for his scroll and brush, eyes narrowing to focus better on the glimpse of pink he spotted through the trees. Even he – someone so emotionally clueless, as many often informed him he was – was able to sense that it was a private moment, so he remained partially hidden behind a tree, listening closely.

It wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, surprisingly. He'd met him a while back and had stored his chakra signature to memory because while he knew his teammates would hate him for killing Sasuke, he had no other option. Danzo had ordered it of him, as the Uchiha posed a tremendous risk to Konoha, therefore, it had to happen.

Red hair briefly showed through the small gap he was peeping through, the person who he soon identified to be a man ducking his head, the sound of their kiss making Sai straighten. It was stupid of him really and he couldn't explain why he did it, as it alerted them of his presence, Sakura's barely contained groan of displeasure soon reaching his ears.

There was an odd sensation in the pit of his stomach, not unlike when he was caught unaware by an enemy. Yes, that was the best way to describe it. It felt like a sucker punch to the stomach, leaving him winded momentarily.

He couldn't believe he allowed it to happen, but that sensation that left him winded allowed the man to leave, his chakra signature vanishing abruptly, leaving Sai to wonder who his teammate had involved herself with.

He knew that it was not a Konoha-nin – he had lists of everyone that'd been procured by Danzo, ones that were regularly updated. Nobody matched the description of what little he'd seen.

It would be best for him to leave the safety of the trees, Sai decided, even though his stomach continued to churn.

Was that what they called nerves? That feeling? Was he nervous about confronting his teammate, despite somewhat already doing so? Or was it betrayal he was experiencing? That would make more sense, Sai thought, since he had proof of her meetings with someone not from their village.

Regardless of that feeling, his shoulders grew slack momentarily at the sight of Sakura. She was unharmed, though seemed irritable – he'd quickly learned not to push his luck when she was in a bad mood, though knew that in that moment, he had no choice but to pressure her for answers.

Her hair was unkempt despite her attempts to straighten it out, her chest only just returning to its ordinary rhythm of up and down. It seemed she'd been breathless at some point, no doubt from the kiss she'd shared with the strange man.

His resolve hardened.

"You disappeared. It is supposed to be your watch."

She ran her hand through that odd shade of pink hair, the sight never failing to remind him of springtime, especially when accompanied by those wide green eyes. They grew wider at his accusation, like he'd pushed her for an answer she couldn't give at that moment in time.

That was too bad.

"I left a clone–"

"A clone is not good enough." Not nearly good enough.

Maybe, rather than the foreign sensation in the pit of his stomach being betrayal or nerves, it stemmed from annoyance? After all, Sai knew Sakura to an extent. He knew that despite her weak heart, she was always professional. She always put the mission and their team first. Never before had she so recklessly endangered their lives in such a way.

He wished he could understand not only what was going on within him, but also what on earth was going on in her mind to leave them defenceless in the middle of a forest, where anybody could have been watching them.

"I'm sorry, Sai."

Their bond could not distract him. It wasn't allowed to.

"What were you doing?" he demanded, even though it was obvious what she'd been doing.

While he would admit that yes, he didn't understand relationships, he'd read enough books to know what happened. He had studied the art of seduction, though he never actually had to put it into practice.

"Just taking a walk–"

And now she was lying to him.

The realisation had his features contorting in a way he'd never experienced before and he paused in speaking, his mind screeching to a halt. Sai just barely refrained from reaching up and touching his face to see what the difference was. It'd come with a flash of… He was unsure. Something had burst from deep within his chest, similar to being stabbed. It had caused a pained reaction within him – at least, he believed his brain had processed it as such, for some reason. There was no physical pain, but it was processed like it was.

Sakura no doubt took his silence as him demanding the truth, because she then said, "You wouldn't understand."

She was probably right about that, but Sai knew he couldn't let her onto that.

As good as her heart was, she had the tendency to be selfish from time to time. A shining example of that flaw was Naruto's promise to her – their shared promise of bringing Uchiha Sasuke back to Konoha. It caused him great physical, emotional and even mental pain trying to keep that promise and due to her love for Sasuke, Sakura failed to see Naruto's suffering. She couldn't see what others could and that was Naruto's feeling obligated to keep the promise to her.

"Are you betraying Konoha?" he questioned. Although he couldn't understand much in terms of emotions, he would understand her answer. It was a simple yes or no question.

Her expression crumbled, her hurt radiating to him from every pore in her body. "How can you ask me that?"

Quite easily, really. "Are you?"

"No. Gods, Sai. I–" Awkward frustration had her looking away briefly until she turned her back on him entirely. He placed the body language as shame – or perhaps guilt – if he was following his books correctly, anyway. "I was seeing someone."

Yes, he knew that already. Did she really think of him as stupid?

Again, his face acted without his consent, his eyes narrowing in response to the burst in his chest.

It was with a sigh that Sakura turned to face him once more, having stolen a glance to gauge his reaction like he was capable of expressing emotions like an ordinary person. She approached until there was barely a foot of space between their bodies, immediately holding her hand up between them, palm facing the sky.

As meticulous as he was in anything that passed him, Sai instantly spotted the difference in her skin, gaze glued to the grain seemingly stuck to her. There was a tightening feeling in his chest, the implications of what he was seeing leaving him near breathless.

"Sand?" It wasn't meant to be a question. He knew damn well what he was looking at.

She had no idea what she was getting herself involved in, did she?

Unsure of how to deal with such a dangerous situation, Sai could only rub his thumb over the sand, a part of himself wanting it to rub away. Sakura was playing the rare prank on him. She had to be.

"Can you accept that this is all you need to know?" she questioned quietly, meeting his eye. Sai continued to hold onto the grain of sand, his other hand having found its way to holding her wrist when she'd tried to lower it. "For now, at least?"

How was he supposed to act now? He would have to tread carefully, he knew that. Haruno Sakura was dear to many but knowing that she was now intimate with the Kazekage, of all people, could prove to be disastrous. Should she be conspiring against the village and, in turn, become one of Danzo's targets, what would happen? How would Sabaku no Gaara, the notorious psychopath and ruthless former jinchūriki react? Sai found he had no answer. He didn't know him in the slightest.

He would have to gain as much insight on the man as possible, he decided, making a mental note to question Naruto. Being subtle hardly mattered to the blond. He wouldn't demand to know why.

Another swipe of his thumb as he carefully considered his next words, soon murmuring, "According to the book Relationships: The Importance of Developing and Maintaining Them, it states that the beginnings of a romantic relationship require patience and understanding, due to seeing the person in a new light. It is imperative that you allow it the time it needs to grow."

Reporting back to Danzo would become one of his most important tasks. If Sakura, the Hokage's apprentice, was conspiring against the village…

She offered him a smile and shifted her hand, slipping it into his, squeezing. "Exactly. And I want to learn about this person privately, you know? Without the interference of others."

The contact caused his thoughts to stutter and Sai looked to their joined hands, unable to explain the sudden weight that filled him. It was accompanied by the image of Sakura's lifeless body being found by their teammates, her startingly green eyes boring into his, filled with betrayal and an accusatory stare that struck him deeply.

"They do make a mess of things," he mused, unable to shake the image.

"So, will you keep my secret, Sai?" she asked softly.

No. He couldn't. Danzo had to know what was happening. He could feel the knowledge he'd recently acquired demanding him to move, to return to the village and inform his leader of the potential danger.

"Sakura, I…"

It was as he met her gaze that he paused, voice trailing off, brows creasing together in a way he was unused to at her hopeful expression, that weight in his chest increasing in strength, managing to make his throat constrict with the realisation that shook him to his core.

He didn't want her to die.

He couldn't report the threat to Danzo.

Why?

"As long as this doesn't effect Konoha in any way, then yes, I will keep your secret."

Why was he agreeing to help her?

It was all he could really do for her.

"Thank you, Sai."

Don't thank me.

If Danzo found out about her relationship, she would die.

And it was out of his control, thanks to the seal placed on his tongue.

He couldn't even warn her.