Sai's Pen Pal
Chapter eight
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Hope you enjoy this chappie!
~Meeting the 'Pal': Only in Person~
Fijui took a deep breath and let it out as she slid her hand into Sai's. "It's nice to meet you... Sai." He nodded and replied, "You, too, Fijui." She locked eyes with him and suddenly felt a blush spread across her cheeks as she took her hand back, wiping some hair behind her ear. Than cleared his throat, taking Sai's attention away from the redhead. "I'm Than, Fijui's boyfriend. You must be her pen pal," the boy said, shaking hands with the Konoha shinobi.
They had an almost stare off before Fijui gasped, "Whoa!" She was staring at the mountain with all the faces carved in. "Are these all of the Hokage?" she asked, surveying each one of them in turn. "Yes. That's Lady Tsunade," Sai told her, pointing to her stone face from where he stood beside her.
Than touched Fijui's back, pressing on one of the newer bruises. She blanched and he quickly moved his fingers to her hand. Sai noticed all of this, but said nothing. 'Not yet,' he thought. "C'mon, let's go," he said, motioning for them to follow. They walked after him. Than was chuckling and practically dragging Fijui along, she was so captivated by what she saw.
When they arrived at the apartment, Fijui had already asked Sai about a million questions. He answered every one of them to the best of his ability. Than didn't seem particularly disturbed about how they interacted. He just followed, listening to their conversations.
Sai gave them a short tour and said, "Bathroom's in there." Than decided to take the first shower and grabbed a pair of clothes before kissing Fijui's cheek and closing the bathroom door. She went to the front room and blushed, not really knowing why. Sai looked at her and said, "Sit down." The redhead quickly did so and the boy inwardly flinched as he realized how rude that sounded. "If you want to," he added awkwardly after she plopped next to him on the couch.
She looked at him and giggled, lifting her hand to her mouth. Sai faked a smile back and she said, "Well, here we are." Another silence surrounded them until Fijui asked, "I wonder why it's so... Weird to talk to you." He replied, "In letters, one can't read the other's reaction immediately. In normal conversation, you can. It's harder to express your opinion. At least, that's what I read in this book."
A short laugh. "And so that means we should hold back?"
"No. That means we should be free to express what we're thinking."
She chuckled again before he reached over and placed his fingertips lightly on her back, where Than had earlier. Fijui blushed and asked, "Sai, what- ow!" Sai had pressed down, successfully bringing another sharp pain there. "What happened?" he asked seriously.
She murmured quietly, "I think you already know." The pale boy felt another stab of anger. "Than hit you again?" Fijui didn't reply, and instead stared at her hands. "Why didn't you tell me?" Sai asked her. She shrugged her shoulders before placing her face in her hands. "I want to tell my parents, and I want to break up with him, but I can't."
Sai felt the anger piling up, but kept his control. "Why don't you?" She grit her teeth and glared at him. "Because I care for him!" More anger. "You shouldn't. He doesn't care for you." Fijui's eyes were ablaze as she shouted, "Yes he does! I'm special to him!"
That when the anger that had been building up inside of him snapped. "No, you're not! You're just another mess he won't clean up!" Then he shut his mouth, halfway because he was shocked by how loud it was. Added to the noise level, emotion had graced his usually toneless voice.
The other part was because of how the redhead beside him reacted. She was staring at him with wide eyes that quickly filled with tears. A different voice broke the silence. "Fijui, I'm done. Hey, what's wrong?" Than asked as Fijui headed past him. "Nothing," she replied icily, her jaw set.
Sai felt another knew emotion, one that made him think, 'That was uncalled for, what I said.' The Iwa ninja turned to him. "What did you do to her?" he demanded, glaring. "I could ask you the same thing," Sai replied, his voice back to normal.
"Excuse me?"
But Sai was already immersed in his book, and stayed that way until Fijui came down. "Let's go see the Hokage," he said, looking at the long-legged girl as he opened the door.
. . .
'Poor girl,' thought Tsunade as she surveyed Fijui from her desk. 'She's had her life turned upside-down.' Out loud, she said, "Of course Than can stay for a few days... As long as he doesn't cause trouble." The blond motioned Fijui forward. "I have all of your medical files. If you ever want to talk about your options, come and speak to me."
"Th-Thank you, Lady Tsunade."
"Of course. Sai, have they gotten anything to eat?"
The boy replied, "Not yet, M'lady." She nodded and said, "Dismissed." Than wrapped an arm around Fijui's waist as he asked, "What're we eating?" Sai said, "Ramen." The Iwa ninja scoffed, "Ramen? I eat better for snacks!"
"If you don't want it, don't eat."
"I..."
Fijui swallowed as they left the Hokage's building and made their way to the restaurant. She wasn't asking any questions anymore and keep her eyes down. When they got to Ichiraku's, a little ramen place, she ordered before resting her head on her folded arms.
"Hey, Sai!"
A blond boy and a pink-haired girl walked in. "Who's the chick?" asked the boy. "My girlfriend," Than growled back. The girl, who seemed a little more smooth, said, "Sai, who are they?" He replied, "This is my pen pal, Fijui, and her boyfriend, Than." The pinkette gasped. "Oh my gosh! I'm the one who found your letter!" Fijui smiled and held put her hand. "I'm Sakura! It's nice to meet you! Too bad Sai hasn't told us anything about you," she said, shooting a look at him.
"And I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm gonna be Hokage someday!" Naruto introduced himself, taking Fijui's hand and shaking it. She smiled back at him. "I'm Fijui. I... I'm just an ordinary girl from Iwa. Not a ninja or anything like that," she said. Than introduced himself and pretty soon they were all eating.
Naruto bragged the whole time. Sakura scolded him, saying that 'No one wanted to hear about how many bowls of ramen he could down'. By the time the meal was over, Fijui was in a much better mood and found that she was starting to like Konoha very much.
They headed back to Sai's apartment, Than never letting his arm leave her shoulders. They had spent more time there than usual, talking and laughing. Except for Sai, who just ate and waited. "Hey, Than, I'm cold," she said. "Me, too," he replied, making her blink. "Hey, Sai, I'm going to go ahead. I'm wiped," Than told him. He shrugged.
After Than left, Sai dropped beside her. "I apologize for what I said earlier. I was just..." She smiled. "Mad?" He shrugged again and Fijui whistled. "You really meant it when you said you don't understand emotions." Sai looked at her and suddenly shrugged off his jacket, handing it to her. "Wha- No, I couldn't," she protested, pushing it back.
Sai was persistent. "I feel fine. I've been dressed in less in colder weather." Fijui slowly took it. It was too big for her, but that was fine. "Thanks," she told him seriously, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing her arms. "It should be warmer tomorrow," Sai said.
Fijui lightly punched his shoulder. "I'm sorry, too. I was a little short earlier. Maybe it would be best to let him go," she said, looking indecisive. Sai was silent on this until they got back. Fijui changed into her PJs and went back to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Than came in. "I thought you were going to bed," she said as she came into the front room.
"I couldn't go to sleep without saying goodbye to my beautiful girlfriend," he said, kissing her lightly on the lips. Sai did his best to ignore them. "Very smooth," Fijui told him, taking a drink of her water.
"I love you."
She did a spit take, choking on the liquid. "Thank you," she managed to cough. Than's expression went from concerned to confused. "That's not exactly the answer I wanted," he said. "Thank you very much," she said, placing her dish on the counter. He sighed, "It was too early, wasn't it?"
"I'm sorry. I'm just tired. Go on to bed."
Than kissed her again and went to his temporary bedroom. "Wow... Awkward," Fijui said, unable to find any other words. Sai smiled another fake smile. "Hm. I'll see you tomorrow," he told her. "Yeah. Um, 'night."
"Good night."
She went to her new bedroom and noticed she still had Sai's plain black jacket. Instead of returning it, she took it into the bed with her. The scent of it was surprisingly sweet, and Fijui fell asleep with it in her hands.
. . .
Whew! That was fun to write. :3
Did Sai seem OOC? I tried to make it not so, but I totally wanted him to say the line, "You're just another mess he won't clean up."
Harsh, right? I know, I'm mean.
Hahaha I love the part where she's all like, "Thank you very much."
Do you have an idea for a possible cover to this story? I'm too stupid to think something up.
Review! X3