Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden.

Sakura woke up gasping as rolling thunder interrupted her sleep that night. Without even bothering to move her head, she scanned her surroundings and was confused for about a second before she realized that she was still in the hospital. Having finished the preparations for their departure, which would be in but a few more hours, she had returned to the hospital to find Naruto uncharacteristically behaving while Sai just sat on the stool next to his bed, looking out the window. He had started to misbehave when she showed up, trying to convince her that he was fine and started to throw a tantrum when Sakura did not let him get his ramen. Of course, it took but several smacks on the face before he finally surrendered and was happy to lie back down on the bed whining.

After having subdued her over-energetic team member, she had settled herself on the bench situated near the door of Naruto's room, taking secondary precautions in case he decided to ignore her orders and slip out to Ichiraku while no one was there.

Sakura stifled a yawn. She did not even realize she had fallen asleep sitting up on the bench with her right cheek pressed against something very warm wafting a strong scent of charcoal and parchment. She pulled back a few inches, saw what she was leaning on, let out a little yelp, and scuttled to the far side of the bench feeling like an idiot.

Sai briefly glanced up from his sketchbook, blinked at her and continued on his drawing. "Good morning," he said dully. In the hospital light, he looked even paler than normal, and those flat eyes with absolutely nothing going on behind them were focused on his work.

"Good morning," Sakura mumbled, wiping a bit of drool that was already drying on the side of her mouth. "What time is it?"

"Three in the morning." Sai examined his work for a moment before flipping the sketchbook closed. Sakura realized he was already dressed for travel, and a lumpy backpack was sitting comfortably against his crossed legs.

Sakura groaned, then after a few seconds was on her feet. "Naruto…!"

"He's awake. He's eating his fifth cup ramen right now." When Sai saw her outraged face, he pulled her sitting back down and turned to her. "Right after you fell asleep, the nurse said he could have solid food intake and so I got some cup ramen from Naruto's house and hurried back."

Sakura raised her eyebrows at him. "Is he all right?"

Sai got then started busying with stuffing his sketchbook into his backpack. "Naruto is always all right." When Sakura did not say anything, he turned to her again and pointed at her face. "You have zipper marks on your cheek."

Sakura's right hand instantly flew to her face and her left hand grabbed Sai by the hair, using the boy's forehead protector as a mirror. All Sai did was grunt. She gasped. There, embedded on the right side of her face from her eye to her chin, were nasty markings that were unmistakably from Sai's shirt. Lightning erupted outside once more, casting an eerie light that made the marks stand out hideously. She let go of his head, and he continued to look at her calmly. "How long have I been asleep?"

"I'm not sure. I stepped out of the hospital to get ready for the mission a couple of hours ago, and when I came back, you were already out cold. I tried to wake you, but you punched me. So I left you alone." The dark haired boy examined her with a blank look. After some more silence, he busied himself again with his backpack.

Sakura sighed in relief. She was glad he did not bring up how she ended up falling asleep on his shoulder, because she knew that if he ever did, she would be too embarrassed and would end up beating him because of it. It was the easiest way to deal with situations like these; make the other person hurt. She was an ogre, she knew it.

Trying desperately to fix her hair, she combed her fingers through it and was slightly irritated to find out it did not feel like obeying her.

"It's the lightning," Sai said suddenly.

"What is?"

"Causing static electricity making your hair stand on end."

It was much worse than she thought. She grabbed Sai by the hair again and looked into his forehead protector only to discover she had a chunk of hair on top of her head standing straight up like a weed.

She was about to reach up for it when Sai beat her to it. His right hand, still smelling strongly of charcoal but was otherwise clean, was instantly on her head, trying to matt the offensive chunk of pink hair down. She had never had much contact with Sai in the past, except with her giving him a good one-two, but she was not aware that the boy sitting in front of her had such a gentle touch. After a while, his fingers paused a few inches from her face as he examined his handiwork. Sakura, in turn, was looking at his hand. There were calluses on his middle and index finger, as well as the tip of his thumb probably from holding paint brushes, and dark stains were under his fingernails which Sakura unmistakably thought as the charcoal he had used earlier.

"You can let go of my hair now," Sai suddenly said, and that was when Sakura realized she was still gripping Sai's head of hair roughly. She instantly released it and flushed.

"Sorry."

The boy did not seem to care. He didn't even notice that is was his hair's turn to stick up because Sakura had been holding it too long. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the mission? The Hokage told us we leave at dawn, right?"

Sakura nodded. "You're probably right. And I guess now that Naruto's all right, I don't have to be here anymore." She stood up, consciously rubbing her cheek where the zipper marks were. "I'll meet you at the gate with Naruto before the sun rises. All right, Sai?"

Sai, looking quite silly with his hair sticking up in just one place, nodded. "Don't forget to bring your cloak. It looks like there's a downpour ahead of us."

As if on cue, the sky lit up with dancing lightning, almost instantly followed by loud, boisterous thunder. Sakura chewed at her lower lip worriedly. Just what they needed; a mission to a place where the water level rises with minimal rainfall on a rainy day.

Naruto, donned in a long brown overcoat and a pack strapped over his shoulder bulging suspiciously of cup ramen, was stretching when Sakura arrived at the main gate of the Leaf two hours later, her dark red cloak draped around her shoulders and her pack hung around her hip, full of paper bombs and kunai, the tent and other provisions she had prepared earlier sealed away in scrolls along with her other survival gear.

"Sakura! Good morning!" Naruto greeted enthusiastically, waving his arms over his head like a monkey.

Sai was standing not too far away from Naruto, he too, wearing a long dark slicker, backpack in tow and was looking at the sky expressionlessly. He only looked down when Sakura made it beside them.

Sakura winced as she felt something wet drop on her nose. She looked up. It looked like the sky was not going to hold it for them after all. Bending down, she adjusted her boots, then the small pouch containing several kunai strapped to her leg. Double-checking her pack strapped on her hip, she made sure her medic kit and antidotes were in it, those she had triple checked before she left her house. Not that she was expecting anything in this C rank mission, but it never hurt to be careful. After doing so, she looked up again.

Naruto, too looked up at the sky with her. "Sai's briefed me on the mission. If it's gonna take half a day to get there, the water level of the river could have risen by then. "

"It doesn't matter. Let's set off," Sakura said. She made her way out of the main gates of the Leaf, Sai and Naruto following behind her a few paces. She had not taken but a few steps when someone called out Naruto's name from behind.

The three of them all looked over their shoulders to see a running Hinata, her long dark blue hair trailing behind her, and a bag of something in one hand. When she reached them, stopping right in front of Naruto and blushing fiercely as always, she handed the bag to the blond boy and said, "I heard from Ino that you were back from your training only to leave again for a mission When she said you were in the hospital all night I had wanted too visit but…" She blushed even more that Sakura thought Hinata would explode. "… but I didn't want to be a bother…"

Naruto, as dense and unaware of anything, scratched his head, grinning. "You know you can never be a bother to me, Hinata."

That one second, Hinata's eyes grew wider with obvious pleasure, until Naruto added, "You should have brought Kiba and Shino along, too. It's been a while since I've seen them and I had wanted to say hello."

Sakura felt her heart go out to Hinata when she saw the pearly-eyed girl's face fall slightly. But it took a mere moment before she started blushing again after pushing towards Naruto the bag she had with her.

Naruto looked confused. "What is this?"

Hinata looked away. "… For the road… in case you get hungry…" And without waiting for Naruto to even get the chance to say thank you, Hinata whirled around and ran away faster than when she came.

Naruto was left with nothing much to do but stare at the bag blankly, then stuffed it unceremoniously, almost uncaringly, inside his backpack.

Sakura did not know how to react to that. She had not known Naruto as someone who was insensitive; just sincerely ungifted with realizing that someone of the opposite sex was really interested in him. Sakura had never really interfered with Naruto's love life, because she knew that it mattered little to Naruto himself.

But apparently, Sai seemed to think quite differently. "Aren't you even going to look what's inside the bag she gave you?"

Naruto brushed his remark aside as the three of them started on their way again. "Knowing Hinata, it would be rice balls shaped as my head. Right now, I don't feel like seeing tiny little mes decorated with seaweed and dried plums."

It was an honest reply; of all the years Sakura had known Naruto, she knew that the boy was never really capable of lying. Deceiving, yes, but lying, a definite no.

Sai was not convinced but decided to drop the subject. In return, he was silent for the first three hours or so of the trip and spoke only when he was spoken to. He was either deep in thought about the mission, or deep in thought about Naruto and Hinata's relationship, or the nonexistence of it. Sakura did not really think Sai would take the sub-mission of controlling his emotions in a month that seriously, but she had realized that Sai was a little bit different. If anything he looked stressed.

Sakura was not used to Sai looking like that. Though it annoyed her when he smiled almost all the time he was referred to in a conversation, she was kind of missing his fake smiles. A smile was a smile, after all. But ever since they left the village, Sai's face had been a complete blank sheet. He did not even try to desperately make conversation with her, which he usually did out of the blue.

She decided to ask him what was wrong when they stopped for a water break by a brook they had found midway. Naruto had volunteered to gather firewood for boiling water to replenish their supply for later, and while he was away, Sakura took the opportunity to talk to the former ROOT member.

Sai had summoned his pot out of a scroll and was crouched by the brook to scoop up water when Sakura approached him.

"Something's bothering you."

Sai paused at what he was doing, looked at Sakura. "Am I that obvious?"

"No. I'm that perceptive." Sakura kneeled in front of him, the pot between them. "What are you thinking?"

Sai looked like he was having a hard time looking for the right words to say. Lately, he had been really careful with his choice of words. He seemed to have been unable to find them, so instead smiled at her, that smile that never reached his eyes. "I'm fine. But anyway, this brook could be the last source of fresh water we would run across until we get to the ravine. I know we're in a hurry, but the mission lasts for three days so I think we should stock in bulk. With this rain, I doubt the river water in the ravine would be drinkable. What do you think?"

Sakura stared at him with a rueful grin on her face. Here was Sai, on his second day trying to master his emotions, and he's already mastered the art of avoiding uncomfortable conversations. In respect to that, Sakura did not press on further with the topic – whatever it was – that bothered her teammate. She instead helped him gather as much water their pots could hold and was done by the time Naruto came back from his wood hunting. And with a tinderbox, they had the fire going in a few seconds.

While waiting for the water to boil, they sat down around the fire, hoping the rain won't fall on them until at least they've finished refilling their rations. Sakura settled on attaching paper bombs to her kunai while waiting. Sai was trimming some of his brushes with a little pair of scissors he had procured from his pack. Naruto on the other hand took out something that made Sai look up from his task.

It was the bag Hinata gave to Naruto before they left the Leaf village.

Sakura groaned inwardly. This was going to make Sai start his first awkward moment of the trip. She just knew it.

"Can I see what's inside?" Sai asked, putting down his brush and scissors on an unrolled piece of paper situated by his knee.

Naruto looked at him, dumbstruck. "They're just rice balls. Don't you know what rice balls are?" he asked but nonetheless opened the bag and took out a mini version of Naruto's head, its face giving them a black sesame smile. "See? I told you it's just me."

Sakura looked at the rice ball queerly. The resemblance was amazing. But she supposed it was because the only thing Hinata did when around Naruto was give him fast sideway glances. If anyone ever did that all the time, it was no wonder they'd be able to memorize one's face spot-on.

"Can I see?" Sai asked inquiringly, reaching out his hand to Naruto.

Naruto stared at the bag as if counting how many tiny Narutos were in it, and passed Sai the one in his hand. "Here you go."

Sai examined the food closely, as if it were the first time to see a rice ball. "Hinata made these?" he asked.

"She always does."

Sai's eyes met Naruto's. "And she made these just for you?"

"Well, they are me, after all. But it's no big deal you – hey! What do you think you're doing? Don't eat me!"

Sai had taken a huge bite of the rice-ball-Naruto's left cheek, and gave a look of surprise. "These… taste good."

Naruto frowned, having watched his face eaten by someone else. "Hinata cooks great," he admitted, still a bit sour that Sai had to take the first bite of the batch. Naruto was not necessarily greedy, but he did not appreciate it when people beat him at anything.

Sai nodded. "They taste like… they've been exerted extra effort on." He finished the rice ball in another two bites, and silently returned to trimming his brushes.

And the conversation ended with that as they all fell silent again.

Sakura bent her head down to avoid seeing Naruto's embarrassed face and pretended that she hadn't been listening to their conversation.

The silence was broken after a few minutes by the sound of boiling water. That was the cue, and the three of them extinguished the fire. Naruto and Sai started to carefully lug the pot to the brook to cool it off, and after some time, they started to fill their canteen.

"We should have just stocked up on water before we left the village," Naruto complained once the task was done.

"I didn't have time to seal water in scrolls because I had to do the preparations alone, as someone had been in the hospital and wouldn't stay there without a bodyguard to make sure he didn't sneak off," Sakura said good-naturedly as she sealed the pot and tinderbox in a scroll and stuffed it back into Naruto's backpack. "Anyway, let's get moving before it – "

Sakura's words were interrupted when the sky suddenly gave way to curtains and curtains of rain, instantaneously drenching them and everything else.

"Great. Just great," Sakura muttered, pulling up the hood of her cloak over her already matted hair.

Naruto and Sai did the same, and the three set off in a hurry, opting to avoid the muddy main road and decided to travel through the forest where it was at least a little drier than open ground.

Leaping from tree branch to tree branch with Naruto on the lead, Sakura felt someone staring at her. Looking over her shoulder she found Sai's dark eyes on her, examining her as if seeing her for the first time.

"What is it?" she asked, trying to control the annoyance his deadpanned expression brought her.

Sai shook his head. "I was just wondering, if all women made great dishes. Someday, I'd love to have someone make rice balls for me."

Sakura sniffed loudly. "Not all women are skilled in the culinary arts, Sai."

"Aren't all women born with that skill?"

Sakura blushed as she remembered making food pills that tasted like puke.

"Unfortunately, no." She pulled her cloak tighter around her and hurried her pace, leaving Sai trailing behind her, his mouth half open as if to say something. She did not let him. She was sure he was going to say something about her cooking, and she did not feel like wasting energy fighting in the rain.

By the time they reached the ravine, they were already drenched to the bone, tired, cold and weary. Sakura's heart sank as she saw how vast the place was. Trees lined the upper slope and the Ravine stretched about two kilometers wide.

Twenty three stone staircases. This was going to be a task, and with the rain giving them almost zero visibility, she was starting to doubt that three days would be enough to get everything done.

Naruto kneeled by the slope to look down at the crevice. His face dark and serious under his hood, he pointed at the far side of the ravine. "There are houses here…"

The revelation made Sakura gasp, and she ran to Naruto's side, going down her knees to scan the river only to see several crudely made huts already half submerged lined by the riverbed. From their windows she saw furniture and garbage being drifted away in the strong current of the river.

"Houses…" Sai, who had appeared behind them, looked at the huts calmly.

Sakura sneezed. Right now, if they were going to make a decent plan, their first objective was to set up camp and search for the twenty three targets of their mission. Getting up to her feet, she hurried to the nearest tree and began unpacking the scroll that contained the tent she had brought for them. "Let's get this set up before anything else."

Naruto obliged, and the boy joined her under the tree, more than happy to get out of the rain.

Sai, however, remained by the slope where he got down on a crouching position.

Sakura bit her lip. Now what was Sai thinking? "Sai!" she called over the noise of the rain. "We have to set up camp and make a fire before we freeze and die." Sai did not appear to hear her.

Now what?

Sakura left the unsummoning of the tent to Naruto and ran to Sai's side. "What are you doing?" she asked but much to her surprise, the boy had a scroll, already soaked in the rain, unrolled in front of him and a brush in his hand. On the scroll were a dozen or so tiny black mice and three snakes.

"Let me send these out to scout the territory first before we set up camp. This won't take long." His eyes unseen from under his hood, he appeared to be looking at the houses down below. "The Hokage said that the squatters were already evacuated, but seeing that garbage coming out of some of the houses, it would seem someone has been here not a few days back."

Sakura searched the river for what he was talking about. Half-eaten fish, pots and pans, some clothes and a teddy bear had just appeared from one of the houses and all of them got swept away into the river. Sai was right. There was a possibility someone could be here.

"Ninpo! Choji Giga!"

The mice and snakes all sprang to life, and without further ado all scuttled and slithered away in all directions and disappeared in the rain.

Sakura watched the last mouse tail vanish behind a bush. And even in this cold rain, she could not help but feel warm inside as she looked down at Sai who was starting to roll up his scroll.

Sai seemed to have felt Sakura staring at him. He looked at her and blinked. "What?"

Sakura smiled down at him. This boy in front of her, this boy who used to care about nothing but the mission, was worried about possibly non-existent survivors in this flood. While his orders for this mission was to locate the staircases and destroy them, he had unconsciously diverted from the goal because of the possibility of people being trapped in one or more of these houses. Very unusual, for someone who claims he doesn't care.

Sakura shook her head. "Let's go get the tent up, Sai. We need to get out of this downpour and plan what we have to do about the passages."

Sai nodded distractedly as he looked over his shoulder to Naruto who was now tangled in one of the ropes of the tent. "Yeah."

The next chapter would probably be a bit longer than the rest. Originally, I meant to keep the chapters no longer than ten pages, because I have this bad habit of making very, very long chapters. XD

Anyway, thank you for those who reviewed and added this story to his/her favorites. They are greatly appreciated!