Yin and Yang

Chapter 13

Naruto looked out the open gates of Konoha. He and Hinata had planned a small picnic today, and he was looking forward to it. It had only been a week since He and Hinata had gotten together, and he was already estatic. He'd come to terms with his and Sakura's relationship quite awhile ago. It wasn't freindship, but more like a brother and sister bond, and Sai was carving his own niche into their world.

"Naruto Kun! Are you ready?" Hinata called as she ran up.Naruto couldn't help but grin.

"Yup!" She latched onto his arm as he hefted their pack onto one shoulder. They fell into conversation about the goings on in the city, compleatly at peace.

Naruto froze suddenly as a twig cracked. Hinata looked up at him questioningly, but remained quiet as he stared about them. She had heard it too, and now it seemed odd that there wasn't a sound at all anywhere around them.

"Hinata, byakugan?" Naruto asked. He was having the hardest time finding out what or who it was. He couldn't sence a thing. HInata nodded, and activated her byakugan. Her gaze needn't go far before she nearly fainted in shock, and she was off. "Hinata! What's wrong?" Naruto called, following quickly. They didn't go more then twenty feet before Naruto saw.

Sasuke was leaning up against a tree, looking beat up and exausted. He turned a hazy gaze on Naruto and Hinata, and something flickered in his eyes along the lines of recognition, and he mumbled something unintelegeble before he colapsed. Naruto hurried foreward and caught his former teammate in his arms before he hit the ground.

"He needs to see a doctor." Hinata said. "His chakra is almost gone. No wonder we couldn't sence him."

"Sorry our day was cut short." Naruto said as he hoisted Sasuke onto his back. Hinata smiled.

"You know I don't mind." She said as she took the pack with their lunch inside, and then they were off, shooting for the Konoha hospital.

/\\\\

"He'll be fine." Tsunande said, leaning back. "He's just tired, and needs a good long rest." Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi were all able to breath a sigh of releif. Sai stood leaning against the door frame, arms crossed as he looked at the last Uchiha. Once Sasuke woke, he'd no longer be needed to compleate team seven. For some reason this bugged him a lot. Naruto leaned back in his chair, looking like he was thinking hard.

"Whats wrong, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know." He muttered. "It's... hard to explain."

"You can try us." Kakashi said with a smile. "Right Sai?" Sai nodded. Kakashi was just being nice, Sai figured. He could see that he was feeling dejected, left out. Sai wanted to punch himself for feeling like this. He wasn't used to it, had never had so many emotions running though him at once. Naruto sighed, running his hands through his bright blonde hair.

"He's just not the same. And don't say it! I KNOW he's changed, but... he's not like he was when we all saw him for the first time in two and a half years at Orochimaru's. There's just something different... I can't put my finger on it and it's driving me insane right now." Naruto grasped his hair and pulled, looking stressed.

Sai could at least relate to this... he knew what it was like to love someone like a brother. But he couldn't relate to the feeling of lonliness and uselessness he felt now. He glanced out the window, and noticed the sun going down.

"I'm heading home." He said, gripping the door handle.

"Becarefull." sakura said with a smile. Naruto nodded and Kakashi gave a grin and a wave.

Sai couldn't explain what he felt, he glared at the ground, walking slowly. He reached his house later than normal, and as he fished his key out from his pocket, someone spoke from the shadows.

"You can see now, Sai, that emotions are confusing, useless things." Sai looked to his left to see Danzou. He blinked, then looked back at his doorhandle, the key inserted and unturned. "They clog your sences and overtake your mind. Sasuke is back, and the others will push you aside." Sai looked back at his old surperior, and felt something bubbling up inside of him. His hand began to shake, and his balled it into a fist. "Come on back to Root, you were better off there." Danzou turned to lead the way, but froze as Sai mumbled something. "What?"

"No." Sai repeated, louder this time. "They are my friends. Even if I am no longer part of team seven, they will not ignore me." Danzou looked into Sai's normally dead eyes, and backed away a bit. The young man was angry, and he wasn't afraid to show it. "I stay here." Sai turned the key and left Danzou standing, dumbstruck, on the sidewalk.

Inside, Sai locked his door and leaned his head against the cool wood, trying to calm himself down. unable to, he reached back and smashed his fist into the wall several times, making his knuckles bleed. he looked a the blood with confused eyes, and opened his hand to see that his nails had cut his palm as well. He stared at his hand for a moment longer before removing his glove and fishing out his first aid kit. He then spen the next five minutes patching up his hand deep in thought.

Once he was done, he stared a the wall beside his bed, his eyes roving over the many pictures he'd drawn and painted of Saiya. He looked toward the Icha Icha Paradise books Kakashi had lent him, and one word popped into his head.

"...love..." His brow furrowed in confusion. 'Desire' and 'Passion' popped into his head next, and their meanings escaped him. He didn't have a word to put to the burning sensation a mere thought of Saiya would send ripping though his heart, but he knew he wanted her. Wanted to be with her, and perhaps find the meanings to those words.

Sighing, Sai changed into a pair of pajama pants, remaining shirtless as he lay on top of his covers, staring at the ceailing, letting his eyes droop slowly into a light sleep. He murrmured Saiya's name once before he was out, and a small smile stretched his normally expresionless mouth.