Chapter 8

"Another night?"

It was understandable that he was suspicious, he informed himself as their team sat down at the dining table.

They should have been packed and ready to set out within the hour, before dawn, but it appeared he was the only one who had brought his pack to breakfast with him. When he questioned the others regarding that fact, Naruto had joyfully informed him that the Kazekage required them to stay another night, due to negotiations of some form.

Nonchalantly, Sai allowed his gaze to travel to the only female of their team, assessing her haggard appearance and immediately deciding it was not down to the affair. Had there been any interaction between the two? He was unsure. However, if there had been, it certainly wasn't pleasant – that much he did know. It was obvious from her posture alone, for she sat like a weary woman who was barely clinging to her composure (and Haruno Sakura, as everyone was already well aware, had the worst composure he'd ever come across).

"It is unusual," Kakashi relented. Sai wasn't surprised that his dish was already empty, save for a few crumbs marring the patterned porcelain. "Our job is done. Should the engagement require more negotiations, then that is between the daimyō and Kazekage-sama."

The carefree blond shrugged while all but inhaling his food. "I don't know what Gaara's thinking. He just said stick around."

It was because of Sakura, no doubt. Once more glancing her way, Sai took note of the unyielding grip on her chopsticks and the faint down turning of her lips. He wanted to warn her to be more inconspicuous with her foul mood, otherwise Kakashi would absolutely pick up on it, if he hadn't already, and would proceed to unknowingly find himself on the path to discovering the affair.

He wondered what one of Konoha's greatest prodigies would do with such knowledge. Unlike himself, there were a number of routes available to Kakashi since he was well-versed with social interactions and cues. Sai knew he was capable of discreetly extracting information from a person, but Kakashi had the greater advantage of such a task due to his social standing. He, on the other hand, was often labelled as awkward or clueless. His asking around would garner too much attention.

Would his involvement be a bad thing? Potentially. Hatake Kakashi was a private man, meaning he valued another's privacy, also. But would that kindness change if he believed the village was in danger? Was he capable of acting selfishly if he decided he didn't want there to be a future for the Kazekage and their teammate? Could he follow an order of exterminating a possible threat to their village, even if it meant taking out his former student?

No, that would never happen. For starters, Kakashi was no longer an active member of ANBU, even though Sai knew he took the occasional mission every so often when they required a skill set of his calibre. That meant he answered only to the Hokage, which lead to his second point: their Hokage would never put a target on Sakura's back. She was her student and someone he believed she cared for dearly, going strictly off the way they interacted with one another. She was too loved by the pair of them to be harmed by them or their orders.

"Ah! O-Oi, do you think he's finally ready for a rematch?" Naruto suddenly demanded with a scream of horror. "I know I kept bugging him for it, but-"

"A rematch?" he questioned.

The blond was nodding quickly, features paling considerably as he recounted the details of their previous battle, and how he'd basically harassed the Kazekage for a rematch so that he could defeat him again. He'd been messing with him, Naruto tried to tell them with an unsteady laugh, but he was worried now that his joke was misunderstood as a serious wish.

"I can't do that again, Sakura-chan," he whined. Trying to rouse her from her despair, Naruto bravely shook their more often than not violent teammate. "You saw how strong he was!"

As expected, since their team was nothing if not predictable, Sakura finally had enough and exploded with that spectacular rage of hers, leaving Sai to watch with parting lips as she lurched to her feet and gripped Naruto's head. It was always a sight to behold whenever she displayed her raw strength, the sight of Naruto's flailing limbs as he was tossed about like a rag doll evoking a chuckle from their team captain.

"He always knows how to bring the life back into her eyes," remarked Kakashi.

Sai wasn't sure if he was imagining the gratefulness in his tone, but upon adjusting his seat to the right slightly, he found that he wasn't. There was a warmth in the Copy-Nin's lone eye, one that was accompanied with a dim tranquillity Sai found he couldn't understand in the slightest.

"I always assumed Naruto to be nothing more than an idiot," he responded, voice lost in the chaos created by the struggling pair.

It was a good thing there were no other guests to witness the immaturity of Konoha-nin, Sai thought as Sakura's foot connected with his chin, allowing her to clamber back to her feet after launching Naruto across the dining hall. While he sometimes appreciated that childishness that brought life to their team, at that moment in time, they were on a mission in another village. They were supposed to be professional.

"Oh, he is. Without a doubt," came Kakashi's cheerful reply, his eye creasing with the smile hidden behind his mask. "However, when it comes to his friends – or, more specifically, Sakura – he's seemingly in tune with their emotions."

Was that really okay, though? What was worse: having a teammate with a bad mood, or having their professionalism brought into question by teammates goofing around during a mission? He wasn't sure. Usually, he would have chosen the latter, but witnessing Kakashi's happiness and acceptance of their childishness caused Sai to question himself.

"He's plays up his idiocy."

"Knowing it will evoke a reaction and force Sakura out of her funk," Kakashi added.

Was that why they were so close, because Naruto could read her?

No. Clearly, he couldn't read her that well considering he'd mistaken her heartache for Gaara as heartache over Uchiha Sasuke. It wasn't just that Naruto had failed to see the signs that she was involved with another, it was more so the fact that he missed cues even Sai had managed to pick up on, such as her sadness after the mentioning of the wedding between the client and Gaara and how her sadness deepened the closer they got to Suna and to Gaara.

Or was that because he knew about the affair? Was he only seeing the signs because he already knew that there was a connection?

"What should we do today?" asked Naruto once it was safe for him to sit down once more.

The aura of darkness that had surrounded Sakura appeared to have dissipated for the time being, Sai noted. Regardless of his knowing her or not, Naruto was still able to help her out.

"We could explore the village?" she offered with a hopeful smile, eyes – the eyes that were made up of a variety of wonderful shades to make that perfect green she boasted – bright with excitement. "We're rarely here long enough to look around."

Laying low was probably a better–

"I don't see why not," Kakashi agreed, beating him to the punch.

Once more, their professionalism was brought into question as the paired sprung to their feet with cheerful yells and punches to the air.

In terms of progress, their day had been wasted exploring Suna. From his perspective, it was a village that lacked in many aspects and didn't have much to offer him, however, he found it to be quite an experience witnessing Sakura's enthusiasm over the smallest of items.

While irksome, the weather hadn't affected him much physically. Still, that didn't stop his teammates from requiring sustenance every so often, making continuous stops at stalls and wasting more time and money while doing so. He wondered why Kakashi hadn't complained, instead allowing the pair to take full control of their team's agenda.

Sai understood that they were being forced to stay unnecessarily (after all, it was inappropriate disagreeing with the Kazekage on his decisions), however, what he didn't understand was why their team didn't take advantage of the harsh environment and train their bodies to endure it. Instead, they'd chosen to frolic around and make fools of themselves while doing so.

In their own village, he didn't mind their antics and found them to be quite entertaining and informative. In foreign territory, when there were enemies lurking, he found it improper and Kakashi's allowing them to get away with it more so.

"Sheesh," he overheard Naruto muttering as they each went their separate ways. His room happened to be the furthest from the blond's, though he speculated if Kakashi had planned it as such. "He's been in a bad mood all damn day."

Oh? Was Naruto complaining about him?

"Because he's not used to having downtime on a mission," argued Sakura, voice hushed like she was wary of him overhearing. Was that what his book meant about consideration? Was she worried for his well being? "But…" Sai glanced over his shoulder in time to witness Sakura turning to face forward once more, informing him she'd looked his way. "I wish he could have had fun with us."

"Tch. Like he'd ever…"

Sai was surprised by his initial reaction to tail the pair – and that in itself was a concern, for he wasn't supposed to feel emotions such as surprise or even a want to know more. Just listening in for as long as he had was out of character for him, he thought.

Perhaps that was a matter great enough to notify Danzo about?

He paused upon entering his room, frozen by the odd realisation that he didn't want to tell him.

What was happening to him?

It was too unusual and quite frankly, he wasn't sure how to handle the situation or the feeling bearing down on him. So, he did the first thing that came to mind and left his room, going to the medic of their team because surely, Sakura would have some kind of answer for him?

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 on 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.

"W-What're you doing?" she demanded while turning away and wiping furiously at her face. "Get out!"

"Sakura, I-"

"Get out!"

He recalled a snippet from the book he was currently reading to better understand emotions, his mind racing through the passage.

"Each individual has their own triggers that will evoke bursts of anger or rage, though there are several mutual prompts that can include circumstances in which a person may feel: threatened or attacked, frustrated or powerless, like they are being invalidated or treated unfairly, like people are not respecting their feelings or possessions."

He knew he didn't understand feelings enough to accidentally cause disrespect, just as he knew from a previous book that his presence in that moment could cause Sakura to feel threatened or attacked. Perhaps she was even frustrated with his inability to understand, as she'd mentioned the other day?

But none of that explained the unbearable pain in his chest, the one that only grew at the sounds of her despair.

"Sakura-"

She was on her feet in an instant, glaring at him with bloodshot eyes and an expression of disbelieving shame and anger. "I said get out already!"

"I-" How did he word the pain when he couldn't understand it? Hand coming to his chest where it hurt the most, he said the first thought that came to mind, no matter how ridiculous it seemed when he heard it out loud. "I seem to be experiencing chest pain, though I don't believe I am dying."

"You-"

Was he wrong? He couldn't understand why she had stopped so suddenly – her anger vanishing at the mere meeting of their gazes.

And then those tears started up again.

"Sai… You're…"

He…?

Why wouldn't she say it already? Was he dying? Was that why his vision was growing blurred?

Sakura approached slowly, worsening the unidentifiable emotions he was experiencing when she reached out, surprising him by gently running her thumb beneath his eye and prompting him to check the appendage with widening eyes, because why was it wet?

"You're not dying – you're hurting for me," she explained softly, staring up at him with tearful, kind eyes.

Hurting for her? "What does that mean?"

There was no annoyance or frustration. It seemed whatever was happening to him had moved her emotionally. "It means… I guess it means you're understanding."

But why did that give him the impression that it would be more trouble than not understanding?