Naruto and Hinata flew across the evening sky, perched on an ink bird.

Despite all her searching, she found no sign of the enemy with her Byakugan.

The rescue team stopped at dusk in a forest to set up camp. Sakura wandered over to a spring to wash her face and Shikamaru curled up under the shade of a tree like a cat. Naruto was...Hinata had no idea where Naruto went. It might have been for the best, because Hinata was feeling itchy under her skin the whole time they were seated together on the ink bird, as though she might spontaneously combust.

In the end, she decided to simply sit inside the tent, thinking she might do some meditation and drink a cup of soothing green tea.

To her surprise, she was joined by Sai of all people.

"Good evening, Hinata-san," he said, with one of his small, polite smiles.

"Oh, good evening, Sai-kun." Hinata realized that she'd never spent any time with the former Root member.

She scrutinized him. With his black hair and clothes accentuating his milky pale complexion, he looked like he hadn't seen sunlight in months – such a contrast to Naruto's warm and tan skin. She frowned. He looked like he could use some green tea.

"Ah, thank you very much," he said, when she handed him her flask. "You're very kind, Hinata-san. I think it's one of the reasons why Naruto loves you."

Hinata shook her head in melancholy. "Naruto-kun holds no special feelings towards me, Sai-kun."

"What makes you think that?" he asked.

"Well, it's just...he has many precious people, and I'm not particularly special," she said.

There were plenty of people willing, eager even, to stay by his side and hold his hand. And he'd already obtained a special scarf from one of them. Her gift would be superfluous. She was superfluous, whether to the Hyuuga clan, her team, or to Naruto himself.

"Really?" Sai rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a book titled The Art of Building Good Human Relationships. "But it says here that all of our loved ones are unique and special. For example, the love you feel for a sibling is different from the love you feel for your parents, or lover, or your other friends. And even the love you have for one friend can be different from the love you have for another."

"...Yes," she said warily. Where was Sai going with this? He was talking a bit like Shino.

"So it means that you must be special to Naruto in your own way," Sai asserted confidently. "This book was written by a psychologist, so it must be true."

"That's...I, um, Sai-kun..."

"I believe that Naruto called you beautiful at that restaurant we all went to a few weeks ago. Doesn't that signify his attraction to you?"

It was true that Naruto had said that, but...

Sai didn't press her on her silence. Instead, he stared at the canvas of the tent and continued to take little sips of tea.

"Is having a little sister different from having a big brother?" Sai asked after a few moments.

"Hmmm, I don't know, Sai-kun. It's difficult to say. Neji nii-san was very different from Hanabi, but..." Her emotions were going haywire lately. She had no idea how to describe half of the things she was feeling.

"I used to have a big brother," said Sai thoughtfully. "His name was Shin. He always protected me and looked out for me, although he was very stupid."

He pulled out another two books from his bag. Flipping to the center of one, he showed her a painting of himself and a white-haired boy, holding hands and smiling.

"You're a very good artist, Sai-kun," Hinata commented.

"I don't think I am," he said. "My latest paintings always go wrong."

He opened the other book and displayed the ink-stained pages.

All of them were beautiful likenesses of Ino.

Ino working at the flower shop. Ino training with Shikamaru and Chouji. Ino eating dango with Sakura.

Sai had somehow brought to life the sparkle in her sky blue eyes, the curve of her lips when she smiled, the exact shade of her pale blonde hair, several shades lighter than Naruto's own sunflower blonde.

"They're...they're beautiful, Sai-kun," Hinata breathed.

Sai scowled. It was such an uncharacteristic expression on his face that Hinata was momentarily taken aback.

"No..." he mumbled. He flipped to a ruined page. It seemed to be a botched attempt of himself and Ino, holding hands and smiling. Well, she thought it was supposed to be – it was hard to tell because it looked as though Sai had crossed everything out in a fit of frustration.

"I keep trying to picture myself in her life, but I can't. It never goes as well as the paintings of Ino with her teammates or Sakura."

He shook his head like an animal shooing away flies.

"I wanted to finish a painting in time so that I could give it to her as a Rinne Festival present, but I think I might be too late," he said. "And besides, what if she...rejects it?"

Hinata felt a pang of empathy. Pouring your heart and soul into a gift for your loved one, only for it to be rejected...it wasn't something she would wish on her worst enemy.

"Sai-kun, I'm sure you have a special place in Ino-san's life," Hinata said. "Don't give up before you even start."

"Thank you for your kind words, Hinata-san. As I said before, it must be something that Naruto loves about you."

He began removing painting supplies from a special compartment inside his bag. He paused and glanced at her over his shoulder.

"You shouldn't give up before you even start, either."

Hinata couldn't sleep.

She quietly left the tent, clutching the red scarf.

"I used to just cry and give up at the very beginning...I took the wrong path so many times. But Naruto-kun, you always guided me to the right path."

Didn't she say that to Naruto, so long ago? That she used to give up before she would even start, until he inspired her to push on long past the point of exhaustion. And now what was she doing? Giving up before she even started?

What would Neji nii-san say if he knew that she ran away before she could even take a flying leap?

Her exhausted mind went on autopilot as she mended the ripped scarf.

That was right. She wouldn't give up. She would keep trying and trying until she reached Naruto's side and his heart. On that day, she really would be able to lean her head against his shoulder and smile, just as in that strange dream.

She was sure that was what Naruto's mother would say.

A/N: Enjoy this double update! I know that some readers would like to get to the point where Naruto and Hinata get together, so I'm speeding things up a bit.

Flustered Naruto is coming up in the next chapter, Ninja-chan. And I'm glad you liked the genjutsu memories, Lila08.

Drop a review, please! :)

Slightly edited some of the dialogue between Hinata and Sai.