A/N: Hello everyone! Here the next chapter. I hope you enjoy. I also want to a special thanks to Princess- Samme for reviewing, its appreciated very much.

Warning: Few curse words, mention of abuse, yaoi

Disclaimer: Same as always, some names are made up though such as Ino's mother and sister's name.

SATURDAY….THE NEXT DAY

The skillet sizzled as Sai cracked two eggs onto it. Robotically he popped two pieces of bread in the toaster and poured a glass of orange juice in a small glass. Soon the eggs were finished and Sai slid them on a plate along with the toast and a few strips of bacon. As he placed the finished plate on the table he fell into his own thoughts.

(Flashback)

Last night had been homecoming night and it had been surprisingly nice. Ino and himself had only been at the homecoming 30 minutes to be honest though. Ino had confessed that she absolutely hated school dances, and Sai was glad for that since he wasn't too fond of them either. So they arrived around 9:30, said their hello's, (well…Ino said her hello's at least since Sai doesn't know many people.) danced to a few songs, and were gone by 10 (the time the homecoming ended). Next thing he knew he was sitting at Ichiraku watching Kiba scarf down his 3rd bowl of ramen. Ino and Sakura were busy gossiping about some girl, and Hinata was next to Kiba trying to advise him to eat slower. Lee was no where in sight but Sai didn't really mind. The kid was just to enthusiastic for his liking. Sai looked down in his bowl seeing he had barely touched his ramen. He wasn't really hungry, but then again he was never hungry. Danzo being the main cause of that problem. A lot of things had changed since Danzo came into his life. Sai tightened his grip on his chopsticks breaking them in anger. The pale boy just stared at the broken pieces of wood not really knowing what to do next.

"Here take mine.", he heard a gentle voice say.

Sai looked up to see who it was only to find a smiling Ino offering him her chopsticks.

"T-thanks", he whispered accepting the gift from the blonde. A small blush crept onto his face.

"No problem", Ino beamed. Then she turned back to Sakura and continued to yap. At that moment Lee re-entered the room from where ever he had previously been and took a seat next to Sakura. The pinkett closed her vocal box momentarily to give Lee a quick peck on the cheek then continued.

"What a strange couple", Sai thought to himself. "But I guess it no more stranger than Ino and…" Sai let his previous comment die. He and Ino were not a couple by any means. He wasn't stupid, he knew there was a possibility Ino was using him as a pawn for whatever reason, and when the truth came out he would be ready for it. Sai took a couple of bites out of his food so it would look like he at least attempted to taste it.

"You ready to go?", Ino asked looking at Sai.

"Yeah.", Sai replied.

The 6 teens exited Ichiraku going their separate ways, promising to meet up at Naruto's party in a little while. It was only around 11 and the night was still young.

"Wanna go for a walk?", Ino asked when the other teens had driven off and she and Sai were alone. "There's a place near here that has the prettiest view at night. You can leave your car here if you want."

"O-ok", Sai agreed. The two teens started to walk down the dark path in a comfortable silence. Sai couldn't help but think how beautiful Ino looked in the moonlight. His cheeks reddened at the thought.

"So tell me a little about yourself.", Ino inquired breaking the silence.

Sai remained silent. He didn't like talking about his life, there were to many bad memories that came along with it.

"Would it make you more comfortable if I told you something about myself first?", Ino asked seemingly reading Sai's mind.

Sai nodded as they continued to walk.

"Well I was born and raised here in Konoha.", Ino began. "My mother's name is Akahana and my father's name is Inoshi. My mother runs a small flower shop on the other side of town, while my father is a police officer. I am an only child, but would I have had an older sister if my mom hadn't had a miscarriage." Ino's face saddened at the part.

"I'm sorry", Sai whispered apologies. Sai felt a little bad for being hesistant to tell Ino about himself, when she had just shared something so personal with him.

"Thanks", Ino said, offering Sai a weak smile. "My mom told me her name would have been Ayumi."

"That's a very pretty name.", Sai commented.

"Yeah", Ino agreed flashing him a brighter smile. Sai blushed slightly and looked down. "We're here."

Sai looked up to see that they had finally come to there destination. Ino gently grabbed Sai's hand causing him to blush even more, and lead him to a bridge where a stream flowed beneath it. The way the moon's light reflected on the water made it almost look hypnotic. Ino and Sai leaned over the railing watching the ripples in the water, listening to the quiet chirps and noises of the nocturnal creatures in the shadows. Ino inhaled the cool night air, her body immediately relaxing.

"This place is beautiful.", Sai whispered.

"You should see it in the day time.", Ino giggled.

Sai blushed a little, he was coming to the conclusion that he liked her laugh. He really had to get hold of this blushing thing though.

"Me and Sakura used to hang out here all the time when we were children.", Ino commented. "Now a days I usually just come by here to clear my head."

Sai nodded. After a few more minutes on the bridge the two teens migrated to a nearby bench.

"So you and Sakura have been friends a long time?", Sai asked/stated.

"Yeah", Ino giggled again. "Ever since 4th grade. One day a bunch of girls were bullying me and she walked right over a punched the main one square in the nose. The other girls started to gang up on her but I jumped in and started hitting bitches left and right." Ino laughed at the last part. "Of course we both got suspended for fighting, but since then we've been inseparable."

"What could those girls possibly have to tease you about, I don't see anything wrong." Sai said.

It was now Ino's turn to blush. "Thanks." "A lot of boy liked me so that automatically qualified me as a slut. I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't use some of my boyfriends as boy toys, but I assure you I'm no slut." Ino finished a frown crossing her face. Sai suddenly came to another conclusion, he hated it when Ino frowned. Slowly he grabbed Ino's hand gently rubbing his thumb across the top. It was totally out of character for him to be straight forward, but all he wanted right now was the see the blonde smiling. Then Sai got was he had been wishing for, a small reassuring grin crossed Ino's face.

"Thanks.", Ino grinned.

Sai wanted to freeze this moment in time, but suddenly the burden of a previous worry over came him. "Ino", he said softly.

"Yeah", Ino answered looking up at the big moon.

"A-a-am I just a pawn in a game of chess, or can this turn into something real?", Sai asked looking down.

Ino sighed and looked into Sai face. She took a finger and gently raised his chin. She was overcome by guilt when Sai's eyes met hers.

"When I had first asked you to homecoming a few weeks ago it was… I had planed to reveal that it was all just a joke the day before at lunch in front of everyone. (Homecoming was on Friday, but the students had to attend half the day)

Sai face fell even more.

"But…", Ino continued. "As the time drew nearer and nearer to carry out my evil deeds, I started second guessing myself more and more. And Ino Yamanaka does not second guess herself ever. That's was when I knew you were different, and I didn't want to play this twisted game anymore. Sai, I understand if you hate my guts, but honestly from the bottom of my heart I'm sorry. And I really want to get to know you, and I pray to God you feel the same.", by the time she had finished she was out of breath.

There was an awkward silence between the two teens.

"S-sai please… say something.", Ino pleaded.

"Ok, lets start over. No games, no tricks.", Sai finally said looking directly in Ino eyes. He smiled when he didn't find any signs of deception. Ino's smile brightened. In the blink of an eye her arms were wrapped around a surprised Sai's shoulders, her head resting on his shoulder. Sai blushed red not really knowing what to do. Going off instinct he wrapped his arm around Ino's lower back, pulling her a little closer to him. She just giggled so Sai was sure whatever he was doing he was doing it right.

"You were right mom.", Sai thought to himself as he looked up at the dark sky where a few stars twinkled here and there. "Its getting better."

"We should head to the party." Ino suggested, her head still comfortably resting on Sai's shoulder.

END OF FLASHBACK

Danzo stumbled into the kitchen mumbling something incoherent under his breath.

"Good morning, Danzo.", Sai said robotically like he did every morning.

Danzo mumbled and began to scarf down the food on his plate. Sai happily left Danzo to eat in silence, headed to his room, and locked his door. He knew Danzo hated locked doors, but at the moment he didn't really care. What was one more bruise to him? He wanted to be alone right now, no interruptions. Sai then kneeled to the floor and pulled out a small metal box from under his bed. He placed the box on top of his computer desk and searched under his mattress for the key that would unlock it. After a few moments the box was open and the precious contents were spread across Sai's bedroom floor. Sai picked up one item in particular. It was a picture of a woman. Her brown hair was a little pass her shoulders and a yellow flower was neatly placed in it. Her smile was broad and it reached all the way to her bright hazel eyes. She was thin and tall, but still elegant.

"I wish you were still here mom.", Sai said to himself hugging the picture close to his chest. "I've actually made some friends this year. You would have loved Suri, she's the one I'm most close to. She's so sweet and caring. There's also Gaara, Sasuke, and Neji. It took me a while but I think I'm really starting to warm up to them. Its nice to have people that care about you. I'm kind of dating someone now. Can you believe that? Her name is Ino Yamanaka. She's no angel, but she has a good heart, and I really like her so I'm sure you'd be happy for me. My life has changed so much since you died, but its finally changing for the better. I think I'm going to make mom. At least I hope so."

Sai pulled the picture from his chest giving it one last glance before placing it back into the box along with everything else that had been sprawled across the floor. He paused momentarily when he picked up a picture of him and another boy, arms snug around each others shoulder, both smiling from ear to ear. Sai smiled sadly.

"I promise ni-chan, I'll find you one day.", Sai whispered a single tear falling down his cheek. He gathered the rest of the items and quickly returned the box and key to their original hiding place. Then ran to his door and carefully unlocked it, as not to inform Danzo it had been locked in the first place. Sai's phone vibrated and when he pulled it, he was happy to see he had a text from Ino and Suri. His two favorite girls in the world.

"I just might make it, just might.", Sai whispered to himself a smile overcoming his face.