Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden.

As Sakura sat dumbly on her kitchen table surrounded by paper bags full of souvenirs, looking at nothing in particular, she thought, three days and two nights alone with Sai in a romantic Honeymoon bath house suite proved to her that something was definitely wrong with her. She had realized it when she and Sai came back from shopping for souvenirs in the gift shop in Onsen Village, because when Sai asked her while she was soaking in the springs if he could join her, she had said yes. It was just one of those moments when she didn't even catch herself thinking, and the next thing she knew, Sai was sitting a few feet away from her in the hot water, body submerged from the chin down, eyes closed and looking quite content.

But that was not the crazy part.

What surprised her more was the fact that she did not mind at all. Maybe it was because Sai did not look like he had asked to join her because he was being perverted, but because the boy seemed to honestly hunger for human interaction in whatever way Sakura would provide. While they were taking their silent bath together, the maids had come and prepared their dinner, once again in small, low tables in one of the rooms, and laid their futons in the other. They came and went without a word, as if to make sure that the newly-weds were not disturbed in their romantic evening bath time.

Dinner had been partaken in silence as well. And once again, Sakura had thought this weird. While Sai usually had a bad habit on starting uncomfortable conversations, he had remained quite occupied with his fruit bowl while Sakura, without having to be asked to, had grabbed Sai's plate of vegetables, plucked the beans from them and ate them without a word.

They had brushed their teeth in silence, and slipped into their futons in silence, saying goodnight to each other before sleeping, and then saying good morning the moment they woke up the next day. The half-hour trip back to the village was also spent in quiet strides, with the scraping of their newly bought sandals on the slightly damp soil the only sound that was shared between them.

Sai, for some reason, had wanted to drop her home – perhaps it was to collect his shoes he had left on her doorstep before he had kidnapped her. So she had obliged. But it turned out that he only meant to carry her stuff for her. And without giving the shoes he left in her house a second glance, he started to close the door.

The final straw that had convinced Sakura there was something terribly wrong with her was when she had asked him if he would like to have lunch with her and her parents tomorrow.

The invitation had shocked Sai as much as it had Sakura, but the boy nodded, saying he was looking forward to it, all the while frowning as if he had swallowed something sour.

She should have withdrawn the invitation after seeing that reaction from him, but he left even before Sakura could utter a word.

Which brings her to the present, sitting like a fool on her kitchen table, wondering how her parents were going to react to her bringing home a boy to dine with them. Well, it was not like Sai was just a boy. He was a teammate. And hadn't she invited Naruto more than once to have a bite to eat at her parents' place?

Of course, as expected, her parents had loved Naruto. He was the son they never had, and Naruto had loved them in return, like the parents that he never knew. She doubted her mother and father were going to have a problem finding it in their hearts to accept Sai, however… weird… he could sound sometimes.

Sakura rested her head in one hand, somehow feeling a bit empty. Though she had spent majority of the time in silence with Sai, she found that having him not being silent together with her was quite unnerving. She wondered what he was doing right now. Probably painting, if he's unpacked. The guy had decided to buy Naruto something to eat as well. Much to Sakura's surprise, Sai got him an Onsen Village Soy Sauce Limited Edition Cup Ramen. The former ROOT member was getting to know Naruto quite well.

But the worse of the worst reason that led Sakura to assume that there really was something wrong when she had promised Sai something she knew she could never do in a million years. It had happened after knocking Sai down in the Izakaya, and they met again in their rooms.

Sai, probably hoping to make amends had said, "One day, if there would ever be a chance, I'd appreciate it if you bake me a cake."

Sakura had been too proud to decline."I'll give it a try."

"Promise?"

"Sure."

Sakura slammed her forehead on the table and groaned. Sai must then be looking forward to her cooking, thus the sour face when she invited him earlier.

The shelters stood in the outskirts of the village like a dilapidated ghost. Most of the tinted glass windows were either splattered with spider cracks or busted open altogether. The outside walls were painted a nasty green, as if it were to hide the disgusting moss taking over that side of the wall that received no sunlight.

Ino did not know what to think. She did not believe this could be a shelter for human beings. It was just too… unclean… Unsafe… And that was from seeing it from the outside. She did not think she needed to see what was within to conclude why the squatters had insisted on going back to their ravine.

Yue Matsunaga, too, did not look like he was keen on letting them in. In fact, had Shikamaru not insisted on escorting them back to the shelters, the very tall man would have been much happier.

The man's one dark eye peered out from the hole in his bandages as he ushered Kazu inside the building. The kid nodded obediently and, dragging his teddy bear with him, disappeared through the door of the shelter. "Thank you for bringing back Kazu. He was one of the stubborn ones who insisted on staying behind."

Ino's eyes widened.

Chouji gasped.

Shikamaru cursed under his breath. "One of the stubborn ones? You mean there were others down there? Sai was only able to find one." He said the last sentence almost to himself.

For a brief moment, there was confusion in that one eye. "Were you not able to see others there?"

Ino watched as Shikamaru dug his hands into his pockets, as if searching for a cigarette. It had been a habit he's developed over the years, an addition to forming a square with both hands when he needed to think. "The team that handled the Mukagawa Ravine Mission wasn't us, and that team barely made it out of there with all their members intact just to save that boy. Our recon master wasn't able to pick up other signs of life within the houses. Could it be possible they've escaped?"

"I hope so…" was all Yue could say. To Ino, it seems like this Yue person was not capable of showing his feelings much, what with the bandages dangerously looking that they would pop out. "Five years ago, the ravine had been safe for us, and it wasn't until recently that the river's water level had begun to rise during the rainy season. But the children have grown quite attached to that place, and we always end up going back when the weather thins out."

"Why?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's the only home these children have." He gestured to the very sorry looking building. "Better than this." His hands then pointed to the direction of the Hidden Sound Village. "Better than that."

Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji followed Yue's gaze to the flourishing rice fields, faces dark. Though Team Ten was not among those who had tried to infiltrate the Hidden Sound, they were not uninformed of the situation in that Land. "I don't think there's anything to worry about now, now that Orochimaru is dead."

Ino swallowed hard. Dead? Killed was more like it. The thought that the Sasuke Uchiha that she used to fantasize about when she was a little girl was the one who had single-handedly overpowered one of the Legendary Sannin.

Damn you, Sasuke… Come home…

But Sasuke would not. It had been almost two years since he had freed himself from Orochimaru, almost two years after his successful revenge on his brother, Itachi Uchiha. And in the span of those two years, he still would not come home. And only the gods knew why.

"It doesn't matter if he's dead. With all the casualties he's taken from us…"

Shikamaru returned his gaze at Yue. "Casualties…?"

The bandages over the man's face where his nose could be, rattled, as if he was taking a deep breath. Ino winced. She could not imagine how those would smell like.

"Five years ago, all the orphans residing here that were sixteen and above were forcefully taken from us by Orochimaru's drones, so long as they were 'promising'… whatever that meant. We never saw them again. Two years have passed since Orochimaru's death, and no one from the Sound ever returned to the Land of Fire. The first time the kidnappings happened, we fled to the ravine, away from here. But the Feudal Lord keeps on forcing us back here." Yue began to wheeze, as if talking had put a strain to his voice. He leaned one heavily bandaged arm on the wall of the shelter.

Shikamaru, who seemed to have found a cigarette inside his pockets, hesitated, then pulled his arms over his chest. "There are no more threats here for you. You should be safer here. I'm going to talk to the Hokage about children's benefits for your little shelter, and everything's going to be fine."

Yue nodded, still wheezing. "That would be extremely helpful. Some of the young ones may need some medical attention, too."

"We'll make sure you get what you need as soon as humanly possible."

Ino chewed on her lip. She knew that she should not be speaking up, and let Shikamaru do all the talking, but she couldn't help it. "I don't have that much skill in healing, but I can take a look at some of the children right now, if you like."

This made Yue's head shoot up, alert. "Will you, really?"

Ino was about to nod her head when Shikamaru grabbed her arm. "We have to report back to the Lady Hokage before we dig our hands into this mess, Ino. Our mission was to deliver the boy, and we've done that. We don't even have supplies with us if those kids really do need medical attention."

Ino stared at her team leader incredulously. "Shikamaru, this village is a day away from the Leaf. I don't think the kids here have anything serious a bit of food can't fix, because I highly suspect they're just under-nourished. We can't turn a blind eye on this."

Shikamaru looked like he was struggling with a decision between his job and his conscience. It took Chouji's big hands to finally convince him with one hard shove, making Shikamaru keel over.

"If you lend me your kitchen, I'll be able to whip up something. I can see from here that you have a patch of land with things growing on them at the back," Chouji said, pushing his sleeves up his thick arms.

Yue, who only looked at them with that one eye, took his time before he spoke, and when he did, his voice was cracking a bit, and Ino suspected he could cry any moment. "Thank you so much. We have very little, but please feel free to use whatever you want."

And that was how they finally got to parade into the building. Ino was not mistaken with her assumptions about the inside. Nasty off-white, peeling walls greeted them, a row of doors lined in the long corridor, where tiny, dirt-stained faces peeked curiously to look at the three strangers who smelled different and looked squeaky clean.

Yue was hobbling his way to lead them to the kitchen, and though Ino was mesmerized at the difference between the kids here and the kids in the Leaf were, she could not help but notice something quite out of place in the shelter.

Though Yue had said that they practically had nothing – and seeing was believing – the corridors, as well as most of the open rooms they passed, contained beautiful tapestries of colors, shapes and angles, all contained in rough wooden picture frames. Some were so small Ino had to look a little harder just to make out what was drawn in them, while some were so big they occupied half of a wall. Most of the paintings were derived from nature – apples, trees, shapeless clouds – and though crudely made, as if a child had drawn them, they were rich in color that every single minimal detail jumped out of the frames as if to come to life.

Chouji and Shikamaru seemed to have noticed this fact, too.

"Did the children do these?" Shikamaru asked, still a bit hurting for being overthrown by his teammates.

Yue barely even paused as he continued through the corridor. "They do not paint, anymore. But they used to…" was his answer.

Ino didn't know how to answer him at that, but she nodded anyway. "They're beautiful. It makes this place a little bit pleasanter that it is." And the four of them continued along the corridor, where Chouji disappeared into a room which was supposed to be the kitchen.

Of all the paintings she'd seen, of which were mostly childlike – crayon-like – wonder, there was one other about four feet tall, three feet wide in the very end of the hall right under a skylight, a portrait of a beautiful lady in a long, flowing white dress sitting on a wicker chair. In her slender arms was a tiny baby with hardly any hair on its head, sucking on its thumb. It could easily have been mistaken as a girl, but something told Ino it was a boy.

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked, coming from behind her.

Ino gestured at the painting with her head. "Over there."

The team leader looked over to where she was pointing at. "A painting," he murmured, then looked over his shoulder at the other drawings framed on the walls. "It's different from the rest."

"This is definitely something no child painted. Do you think it could be Yue's work?"

Shikamaru frowned. "With those hands, I don't think so."

Chouji's head popped out of the kitchen. "Hey, guys. I need a bit of help here. Do you think one of you could fetch me some vegetables outside? I'm thinking Curry!" he said happily, gesturing with his arms as if he intended to make a lot of it.

Before either Shikamaru or Ino could react, the slightly ajar doors lining the corridor with tiny faces peeking through them gingerly opened, and out stepped about a couple dozen sets of little slippered feet.

"Cu-urry?" one of the children stammered, and there was a wave of murmurs that suddenly washed upon the crowd of onlookers around them.

Ino felt her heart ache terribly at the sight of them coming out at the mention of food. Quickly scanning her eyes over the children, she was slightly relieved to see that contrary to what she thought earlier, they did not look like they needed physical medical attention. But there were somewhat dead looks in those large eyes as they looked up at them, licking their dry lips hungrily.

Chouji stepped out of the kitchen, clapping his hands energetically. "Okay kids! Who wants to help big brother Chouji gather vegetables from the garden, because big brother Shika-bear doesn't want to get his hands dirty?"

Shikamaru winced at the name.

Several kids, probably overwhelmed by this huge, fat guy asking them to help him collect carrots and potatoes from outside, backed away a little.

Chouji's face fell. "Oh, come on! Aren't you hungry?"

It took a little more coaxing from Chouji until two little girls stepped forward hesitantly.

"I-I'll help…" one of them, a girl with short black hair, said quietly, shuffling her feet.

"Me, too," said the other, all the while sucking on one of her pigtails.

And that was all it took for the children to finally warm up a bit on Chouji. Some were even willing to let him hold their hands as they led him to the back door leading to the garden.

Shikamaru, despite himself, cracked a small smile. "That's Chouji for you."

Ino turned to him. "Shikamaru, what is this place? How can such a poor place exist in the Land of Fire when the Leaf's children are all so well fed and watered?"

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "I don't know, but I'm gonna find out." He stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I'm sending the Hokage a message to inform her of the situation here, and that we're going to run a bit late."

"Alright." Ino watched as Shikamaru walked the length of the corridor, sometimes stopping to glance at a framed drawing, and then finally disappeared through the door leading outside, where he was going to smoke three or four sticks while he tried to process in his head everything that has happened before encoding it into a scroll.

The news about the Heiress of the Hyuuga Clan dating the Kyuubi kid spread through the village like wildfire. Of course, it was not because the few of those who knew first-hand had anything to do about the rumor, but the Kyuubi kid in his black and orange attire was simply too hard to miss, especially when his clones kept on running around the village with yellow tulips in their hands, and dropping them in the pond just outside the Hyuuga heiress' bedroom window in the dead of night.

And if they did not witness the nocturnal stunts of the boy, they still would not be able to miss the bounce in the heiress' steps as she went to and fro her everyday duties, or the fact that for the first time in nineteen years, she was able to defeat her cousin Neji in a sparring match. Some said it was pure luck, while some said Neji had been a little too lenient on the girl, but only Neji Hyuuga could tell that something in his cousin had changed overnight. And because of this change did he swear to himself – and to a very amused Tenten who was unfortunate enough to have witnessed her spar mate's demise – that next time he ever sparred with Hinata again, he was going to make sure to double his defense on his backside, where Hinata had cunningly and unexpectedly shoved the middle and index finger of both hands in his ass. It was just something Hinata wouldn't have done in a million years.

If she wasn't dating Naruto Uzumaki, that is.

The news about their relationship status had become the topic between the teachers and Jounin, especially when Naruto finally left the village for Myobokuzan the next day. The only one impervious of the shock among the teachers was Kurenai Sensei, who listened to the talks between the teachers as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. Kurenai only smiled down at her little Asuma while Iruka and Kakashi stopped by to visit her, gossiping like women about their little Naruto finally getting a cute girl for his own. Kurenai, after all, knew that between the Kyuubi kid and the Heiress, Hinata was the happier of the two, that a crush that lasted over a decade now had finally turned into something more.

Along with those who were glad for Naruto and Hinata was Sai.

The former ROOT member was breezing through the marketplace, hearing snatches of news about Hinata going out with the village's idiotic hero. Heroic Idiot. Whatever.

But right now, although in the mood to celebrate, Sai's head was preoccupied. Sakura had invited him to lunch with her parents. And that invitation was today.

And although he was pulling a straight face, butterflies the size of horses were swimming around his stomach, making him feel sick. All of that was fine, actually; he just wished he understood why he was feeling this way, or at least be able to decipher if this was a good feeling or a bad feeling.

He felt… excited?... and at the same time honored that Sakura had invited him to meet her parents, but at the same time … nervous? Was that the right emotion? Yes, that had to be right, though he did not think that his poor little heart being capable of feeling two or three emotions at once just yet… He felt like puking all over his front.

As he stopped in front of the bakery, he looked at his reflection on the glass window and discovered he had a silly grin on his face; it looked so disturbing, having to see him grinning eerily like that, and so he commanded his face to stop. His now stoic expression looked back at him. The expression, however, was instantly replaced with shock when Sakura, a big box of something in her hands, suddenly stepped out of the bakery. The degree of happiness brought about by seeing her overwhelmed him

The moment she saw him, she jumped and desperately tried to hide the box behind her. "Sai? I mean, Sai! What are you doing here? I told you I'll pick you up at your place in an hour, right?"

Sai ignored her question and pointed at the box she was desperately trying to hide behind her. "Is that a cake?"

Sakura started to sweat. "Uhm… it could be…"

Sai stared at her, letting his arms drop to his sides as an emotion suddenly landed on his gut like dead weight. It joined the butterfly horses, making him feel even worse. He knew this feeling. This was what they called disappointment. "You said you'd bake the cake yourself," he said accusingly.

Sakura finally accepted that she was caught. She sighed in resignation. "I did."

"Then why are you sneaking around in the bakery, buying a cake when you've already baked one?"

Sakura knitted her brow. "Fine! It's because it didn't turn out well, and I don't have the time to make a new one! You should have known me better than to expect I'd be able to make something as complicated as cake when I can't even boil water."

Sai did not know what to say. It was the first time he actually felt disappointed in her, and over such a trivial thing. He was not sure how to arrange his face, or even to comfort her, especially with her face flushed in embarrassment.

Reaching out and taking the box from her, he pattered her lowered pink head gently. "Maybe next time, then."

Sakura frowned up at him. "Patronizing jerk."

It was an insult, he knew. But he found out it made the butterfly horses go away slightly, though the heavy lump inside him was still there. He could not lie to himself that he had been looking forward to something Sakura would make just for him, even if he knew he would be risking food poisoning.

He decided to change the subject. "Do I need to bring anything? Drinks?"

Sakura shook her head. "Everything's covered, Sai. I just hope you starved yourself, because when my mother sees how pale you are, she's going to make you eat five helpings, if she can stuff you with them."

"I didn't eat breakfast, if that's what you mean." That was because he had been queasy all morning.

Sakura grinned up at him as they started down the market slowly. "What are you doing here, by the way?"

Sai shrugged, adjusting his hold on the cake. "Killing time. I tried to paint, but I feel weird inside."

Sakura looked at him worriedly. "Are you sick?"

Sai nodded. "I feel sick down here," he shifted the box in one hand and pointed at his stomach with the free one. "I didn't eat anything because if I did, I felt like I was gonna throw up. Why is that?"

The kunoichi stopped dead on her tracks. Sai realized this after striding two steps. He stopped, looked over his shoulder at her. "Is something wrong?"

Sakura gave him an exasperated look. "Don't be nervous, Sai. They're good people, you know. My dad could be a bit loud, but that's the reason why I invited you to lunch and not dinner. Dad loves drinking beer before going to bed, and he gets into a really happy mood when he's tipsy."

The two continued to walk. "My mom can control him well, but she'll be a bit disappointed if you don't make second helpings. She kind of takes pride in her recipes."

This was, Sai felt, quite hard to believe. How can Sakura, who has zero talent in cooking, have a mother who 'takes pride' in her recipes? He decided not to voice his question and smiled. "I'm getting hungrier already." He congratulated himself for saying something that made Sakura giggle pleasantly.

They tried to kill the hour by walking around more, but Sakura decided that it wasn't good for the cake, and so they made their way to the farthest part of the residential area of the Village, where Sakura led him to a house made of chocolate-colored bricks and a low-shingled roof. In front of the house was a very lush, well taken care of garden that he couldn't resist not linger on.

In one corner, he saw plump tomatoes peaking from inside a small greenhouse. Mints were poking their leafy heads out of long white planters lining the end of the garden, and right in front of those were heads of parsley and cauliflower. Carrots yet to be harvested were in straight rows in the middle of the garden patch, and here and there were herbs and spices Sai was not familiar to.

Sakura relieved him of the box in his hands. "They'll be surprised to see you this early." She touched his shoulder briefly. "Come on."

Sai felt the place where she touched him tingle a bit, and he scratched at it, thinking it was an itch. He then followed her up the cobblestone path leading to the door.

Sakura was about to knock on the door when it suddenly sprang open, and a very petite lady with shiny chestnut brown hair in a loose bun popped out of the house. She was a head smaller than Sakura, two heads shorter than Sai. But one could never miss those green cat eyes. Sakura's eyes. And while Sakura smelled of Cherry blossoms, her mother smelled strongly of chamomile and lemongrass.

"I thought I heard someone snooping in the garden," said the woman. Her voice was high-pitched, and she looked like she was capable of talking really fast. She grabbed Sakura's forearm and squeezed affectionately. "Look at you! You're nothing but skin and bone! Is the Lady Hokage overworking you again at the hospital?"

Sakura looked over at Sai and rolled her eyes at him, but the smile on her lips told Sai otherwise. "This is my mother, Kimie Haruno. She's bubblier than soap, but I love her to death. Mom, this is Sai. I've mentioned him a few times before. He's the newest member of Team Seven."

Sai's mouth suddenly felt very, very dry and he had to swallow hard when those green eyes – so much like Sakura's – stared up at him inquisitively. "Hello," Sai said uncertainly, feeling sweat pop up on the small of his back.

Mrs. Haruno blinked, then out of nowhere her hand shot up, and her fingers glazed Sai's cheek gently. "You have nice eyes."

Sai felt his face grow incredibly hot, and he found himself lost, not knowing what to do. He saw Sakura behind her mother's shoulder, mouthing something desperately.

Sai, finally getting the picture, returned his gaze down at the lady. "Thank… you…"

The lady blinked, as if snapping out of some spell. "Oh dear me! Where are my manners? Come in, come in! I'm sorry for being rude. It's just that you're the first boy Sakura's ever brought home to dine with us. Except Naruto, of course. How is the boy, anyway? I heard he's got himself a girlfriend…!"

Sai blinked at what the lady just said, then he tried to catch Sakura's eye. The girl desperately made her escape with the cake inside the house, which was emitting aromas Sai had never even dreamed of smelling before. Had the scent of food not made his stomach growl loudly, he would have spent that time gloating to no one in particular that aside from Naruto, the only guy who Sakura has invited was him.

Sasuke hasn't been invited…

The thought had been so random that Sai stopped walking, only to discover that Sakura's father, who was sitting on the couch when he came in, stood up and was now shaking his hand roughly.

Mr. Haruno was tall and gangly, with dirty orange hair, a shower of freckles on his nose, and deep, brown eyes. If Sakura got her eyes from her mother, that smile was definitely from her father. It was confusing, however, because he was half expecting to at least find one of the parents with pink hair. It turns out that Sakura's hair origin was a complete mystery even to them.

Sai didn't care. Pink was a happy color, anyway.

When Mrs. Haruno sat him down beside her husband, this was the time he took to examine where Sakura had grown up. It was a cozy little place, mostly with a wood furnish on everything. The living centered on the television, where right next to it was a huge shelf full of tiny trinkets made of more wood. On the highest shelf sat the gift he and Sakura bought from Onsen Village. The dining/kitchen area was larger than the living room, as if it were meant to contain many people to dine with them everyday. The dining table was rectangular; four chairs arranged around it, wooden plates, wooden cups and chopsticks were already set on the table for four. Mrs. Haruno was busy on the kitchen counter and Sakura was nowhere to be found.

When he had finished exploring the house with his eyes, Mr. Haruno nodded at him approvingly. "It seems that they have a sensible teammate to keep everything under control. Naruto and Sakura could be a handful, but with you around, I guess there's nothing to worry about."

Sai tilted his head slightly to the right. "I think you're mistaken, sir. Sakura's the level-headed one in the group." And as Sai knew no techniques in flattery, he had just said what he thought the truth, but the father only laughed at him and handed him a beer.

That was when Sakura appeared out of nowhere and snatched the offensive thing from Sai's hand. "Da-ad!" Sakura said disapprovingly. "Can't this wait till dinner?"

"Is Sai staying for dinner too?" Mr. Haruno asked hopefully.

Sakura shook her head. "He's tired, and today's our last day-off. He won't be drinking tonight."

Her father looked at her reproachfully. "You're starting to sound like your mother."

Sai had to smile at the comparison, because he did not believe they were anything alike. His thoughts were backed up when he tasted the food. It was the best thing he's ever tasted in his life! And he believed that had Sakura not told him to have second helpings, he still would have, because everything was heavenly that he ended up having his sixth serving of rice and chicken and greens and still wanting more, until Sakura warned him there was still desert.

While Mrs. Haruno started to clear the table to make room for the cake, Sai took this as the opportunity to use the bathroom.

"It's the last door to the left in the corridor," Sakura said, pointing indifferently behind her.

Sai looked over to where she pointed, shrugged and started for the corridor. He found the door that let to the toilet, did his business and stepped out. He was about to make his way back to the dining area when he saw a conspicuous-looking box sitting on the washing machine adjacent the bathroom.

Looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being watched, he approached the box slowly. Pulling its cover gingerly, he was surprised to see a medium-sized shortcake topped sloppily with runny icing all over. Sai looked over his shoulder again, dipped his finger into the icing, and put it in his mouth.

Shivers wracked his whole body.

It was the first time in his life that he's tasted a salty cake.

Sai looked down at the cake blankly. He remembered having Sakura buying a new one after saying that this cake did not 'turn out well'. In his mind's eye he saw Sakura's pained and embarrassed expression when she admitted that the cake had been a failure.

Sai chewed on the insides of his mouth. It was he who requested for this, and Sakura who was well aware of her skills and the lack of it, still said yes to him. Feeling an unexplainably bad feeling – was this guilt? – he reached out his hand, took a huge chunk of the salty cake, and started eating it bit by bit.

Sakura looked over her shoulder and blinked when she realized it had been quite a while since Sai had gone to the toilet. She hoped to god he wasn't snooping around the laundry area…

Suddenly having a bad, bad feeling about this, she put down the desert plates on the table. "I'm going to check on Sai," she said.

Her mother wiped her hands on her apron. "I hope he's alright. He must have overeaten…"

Sakura nodded. "I'll go check." Brushing back the blinds that separated the dining area to the corridor leading to the toilet and bath area, she peered in first.

And screamed bloody murder.

Sai was on his knees, in one hand a box of something that suspiciously looked like the failure cake she had made earlier, another hand covered with icing, his mouth moving slightly, as if he was chewing something.

As if he was eating something.

As if he was eating her cake…!

"Sai! What the heck do you think you're doing?" She yelled. Her loud voice brought her mother and father running to the corridor.

"What's wrong Sa – " her mother's face suddenly paled and her hands flew to her mouth at the sight of Sai, who had now put down the box on the floor, chewed what appeared to be the last bite of the cake, and swallowed.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" her father demanded.

"Sai ate the cake I made!" Sakura moaned, stalking towards Sai, who was now wiping at his mouth. She kicked the now empty box away and grabbed his face on either cheek. "Sai, that cake was a mistake! I got the sugar and salt mixed up. Why did you eat it?"

Sai looked down at her with those dead but penetrating eyes, pried her hands off her face and said, "Because you made that cake for me. And it was delicious. Now if you'll excuse me..." He calmly opened the door of the toilet again, got in, closed the door gently, and didn't come out for thirty minutes.

Sakura blamed herself for the accident. She should have thrown the cake away. Had she known that Sai would suddenly eat it..!

"Sai, get a grip of yourself. Just a bit more…" she grunted an hour later as she fiddled with the key of Sai's apartment. This was not an easy task, what with a half delirious Sai hanging one of his arms over her shoulder for support, one hand pressed to his stomach.

The key finally decided to fit into the hole, and Sakura kicked the door open. This was the first time she had actually stepped inside the apartment. Most of the time, she'd just knocked on the door and wait for him to answer, relay the mission then and there, then leave.

She was not surprised at what she saw. The scarcity of furnishing showed as little personality as possible, except that he was a neat freak. The table shoved against the wall had the inks arranged by colors, and all sorts of brushes were washed and left to dry on an ink-stained cloth on the edge of it. A dresser was on the far wall, and the bed was opposite it. The walls were raw wood, and a few paintings were framed and hung for display, and as much to Sakura's expectations, none were titled. Several easels were folded and neatly put away between the table and the wall. There wasn't a speck of dust anywhere.

"Cooperate with me, Sai. We're going to the bed, all right?" Sakura said as she all but dragged the boy, who looked paler than normal.

Sai nodded, burped loudly, and muttered an apology. He did not protest when Sakura gently put him down on the mattress, where he curled up on his side, hugging the only pillow on the bed to his stomach. When he got comfortable enough, he closed his eyes and sighed, as if lying down was the best thing ever.

Sakura sat down on the floor, rested her elbows on the bed and leaned her chin on the mattress, watching Sai's face as he breathed in and breathed out. Though she knew she should have scolded him for once again trying too hard to please her, she could not help but feel slightly touched at what he did, and thought it kind of sweet. Unnecessary, yes. But sweet.

"If Naruto were here, you know he won't let you live this down," Sakura pointed out, brushing a loose lock of dark hair from Sai's forehead.

Sai shifted slightly. "Naruto's too busy being in love to bother with me."

"What do you know about a complicated emotion like love, anyway Sai?" Sakura scoffed as she flicked his nose teasingly, making him wrinkle his nose and open one eye in annoyance.

"Enough," was his short answer.

Sakura reached her hand to his face to flick his nose again, but Sai caught her hand in his and just held it against the bed. He closed his eyes again.

"Oh yeah?" Sakura asked, as if challenging him to share his wisdom on said emotion.

"It's like wanting to make rice balls with the shape of the face of the one you love, even when you're not sure if your efforts are appreciated," Sai said.

Sakura laughed at his attempt of an explanation. "Love is more complicated than that, Sai. When you finally find the girl that you like, you can tell me all about it to the last, disgusting detail."

Sai squeezed her hand softly. "It's like looking at a dying raccoon and feeling sad because it reminds you of someone…"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him.

Sai coughed a bit, shifted. "Or it's like coming this close to watching her drown in a river, and not really caring what happens to you if it just means drowning together…"

Sakura felt her face grow warm. She sat up straight.

"Or watching her get drunk from too much chocolate, and watching her toes while you paint a butterfly on her shoulder. And just sitting in a hot spring saying nothing." Sai squeezed her hand again, then intertwined his fingers with hers. Sakura tried to pull away, but he would not let her. "Or wolfing down the worst cake you've ever tasted in your life, but eating it anyway because you know she made it just for you…"

Sakura felt her hands shaking and she grabbed at the sheets on the bed. She shook her head, unable to comprehend what he just said to her.

Sai gripped her shaking hand fiercely. "Or it's like holding someone's hand, and wishing you'd never, ever have to let go…"

Sakura looked away. "Sai, stop it…"

"Am I wrong? Is there more to love that I need to understand yet?"

Sakura looked back at him, somehow feeling undeniably sad. "Much, much more, Sai. And then some."

Sai's eyes, those deep black eyes, opened slightly. "Teach me…"

Sakura felt her breath caught in her throat. She examined that face, dark hair, dark eyes against pale, pale skin. The way he had his body curled up in a tight ball from eating something he shouldn't have eaten, and claiming it was because of her. The way his fingers so desperately tried to keep her hands in his.

This sincere, childlike weakness… was the only thing Sasuke never had.

Sakura leaned forward, ever so slowly, placed her free hand on Sai's cheek and kissed him, gently but lingeringly, on the lips.

She could feel Sai's whole body tense as their lips touched, and Sakura thought of pulling away, until Sai's other hand mimicked hers, his slightly calloused fingers running though her hair and stopping at the base of the neck. But of all the things that surprised Sakura in the nineteen years she's been living was this one single fact.

Sai was actually kissing her back. And he was damn good at it.

Ohhh Emmmm Geeee! Can you believe I wrote this whole chapter's draft in the hospital waiting area because it took me three and a half hours just to get my knee checked up? It's been hurting like crazy… But that really wouldn't interest you. LOL!

Okay so, we finally have Sai and Sakura together. Squeeee! But then what's going on with Team Ten? Gasp!

Reviews are loved, people! If you love me, you'll give me the ego boost, right? XD