Disclaimer; I do not own Naruto Shippuuden.

One of the things Ino Yamanaka found intimidating about the Hokage – more than her perfectly etched eyebrows, immaculately pouting lips and cold, cold aura – was her cleavage. Under that wrap-around vest and loose, green happi, Ino had always wondered how the woman could carry those weights around and still have a straight back. It was a mystery.

But as she stood in front of the Fifth, the woman's cleavage was the last thing on her mind.

"Report," Tsunade ordered. She did not look too happy with Ino at the moment, and her long, red fingernails were drumming the desk; a habit she did when she was almost about to run out of patience.

And Ino knew why her patience was running low,

"Team Ten successfully escorted the boy back to the shelters where he was reunited with Yue Matsunaga, My Lady. All is well."

Tsunade's gaze penetrated her head, as if intending to burn holes into her. The sound of fingernails against wood made Ino swallow hard. "I know that part already. Shikamaru has sent me a scroll four days ago." She grimaced at those last words as if it left a bitter taste in her mouth. "What I want to know, is why it took you four days to report back to me, and why on earth are you alone?"

Ino had expected this, but although she had tried to condition herself for this confrontation, she still could not help but swallow hard to relieve her dry throat. "My apologies, My Lady. It was just that there were… things… we couldn't afford to ignore in the shelters."

Tsunade's brow creased. Her finger-drumming stopped. "You felt sorry for the orphans." It was not a question; more like an accusation.

Ino opened her mouth to explain, hesitated a bit before saying, "They were hungry, Lady Tsunade. And their roof leaked…" her words faded in her mouth as they started to sound feeble to her ears.

"You disobeyed my orders to do a bit of charity?"

"Forgive me, My Lady…"

Tsunade slammed her palm on the desk, making Ino jump. "You decided to be insubordinate just to make food for a bunch of children and fix their roof!"

Ino backed away, frightened. "But if you just saw them – !"

"Don't you think I know of their situation? Do you think I'm heartless to turn my back on children of this country? I know their suffering! But bigger things are happening here. Bigger than a leaking roof!"

This, Ino thought, was the perfect opportunity to open up to the Hokage about another matter that made them stay. "There were other reasons, Lady Tsunade."

The Hokage narrowed her eyes at Ino. She leaned back on her chair, as if daring for her to explain.

Ino shifted from one foot to another. "Yue Matsunaga was… worried about the past month…"

Tsunade blinked.

"There had been sightings of – "

"Of Hebi. Or Taka. Or whatever they call themselves lately," Tsunade finished for her.

Ino gasped. "You knew…?"

The Hokage pointedly looked at her. "I hope you didn't mean that to underestimate me. I am not the Hokage for nothing."

"I meant no disrespect." Ino bowed her head lowly.

In the past four days, after hearing of Yue's worries, Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji had decided to confirm the said sightings of the team. On the third day of scouting, they were able to get a visual.

The group Sasuke had formed after Orochimaru's defeat was a three-man cell that in reality, made Ino wonder why the Uchiha chose them. Though she hadn't any contact whatsoever with said group, she, along with the others of her batch, were briefed about the members of the flighty Taka.

The first of them was named Suigetsu Hozuki, a Hidden Mist rouge ninja. With nothing much to offer except for a bloody past and a fetish on cutting his opponent's limbs before beheading them, Ino wondered what special skill attracted Sasuke to him when there were many others he could have chosen from. This did not mean, however, that Ino was underestimating Suigetsu. There was nothing to belittle about a crazy man swinging a big sword.

The second of the group was named Karin, a former kunoichi of the Hidden Grass. This girl, on the other hand, had made Ino laugh. Though admittedly, she did possess a number of unique skills that any shinobi would kill to have, she was simply that; an object. She didn't seem to have any great talent in taijutsu or ninjutsu, thus making her an open target for anyone who decided to attack her. Though Ino assumed that she could be an asset to a team, it was only if she didn't get caught.

The woman, Karin, also seemed to have an infatuation on Sasuke, which Ino thought weird, but after thinking it over, it somehow made a bit of sense. They say that nothing could be more irresistible to a man than a woman who was madly in love with him. And men don't come any manlier than Sasuke.

The third member of Taka was Juugo. The records didn't say much about him, except that he had a temper to watch out for. He seemed to have been a test subject of Orochimaru, but the old bastard, having died, was wise enough to destroy any useful information about him. One thing was for sure, though; like Suigetsu and Karin, Juugo, too, was not straight in the head.

Now, if one would deal with Sasuke's psychology, Ino could have thought Sasuke picked these guys simply on a whim. Or, she could say that the Uchiha was just not very good at choosing members.

But Ino knew better. She had, after all, spent majority of her academy days worshipping the ground he walked on.

Sasuke picked members who were weak in the head who needed a leader. If he had gotten someone smarter than he, then that person would have up and left him because the hard fact was that there was really nothing to gain from him. Another possible reason for Sasuke's choice was the fact that he did not like being outshined. He was just too used to being the star since he was young and Ino did not think he would be choosing members whose level exceeded his. He had wanted a team who would follow him blindly. And he had wanted assurances that he could dispose of them when he felt like it, too.

Though among the facts about the three, the one major thing that made Shikamaru worry about them was that they kept on snooping around the village without Sasuke Uchiha. Meaning that the possibility of Sasuke being around the premises was high…

Ino said, "We saw the three with our own eyes. There's no mistaking it. Taka is in the Fire Country."

Tsunade sighed, resting her forehead in her hand. "Which is why I don't want Team Ten there," she said in frustration. "Kakashi, under my orders, has been on their tail for almost a month now. Having more Leaf shinobi in the area could cause them to panic and flee, especially when they have a very able sensory-type kunoichi with them."

Ino bit her lip. Tsunade was right. But had she known Kakashi-sensei was on the case… She nodded. "Shall I send a scroll to Shikamaru and Chouji to withdraw, then?"

Tsunade waved her hand at Ino absentmindedly. "Do it fast."

Ino saluted, and thought that to be a dismissal, but Tsunade motioned for her to step forward.

"Ino, this is the best lead we've ever had on Sasuke in two years since Itach's death. I don't think I need to tell you that it is crucial to get him back."

Ino felt a pain strike at her chest. She had always wanted to believe that the whole Ninja World was capable of forgiving and forgetting about Sasuke Uchiha. But Ino was not that stupid to dream farfetched dreams. "How is Sasuke?" she asked faintly.

Tsunade fiddled with a very crumpled looking piece of parchment sitting on her lap. "Kakashi has been sending me brief messages about the Uchiha's whereabouts. He's come to a conclusion that Sasuke has retreated into one of the bases of the Hidden Sound to… recuperate… " She crumpled the paper in one fist. "Kakashi's next message is expected in two weeks. By then, Sai's arm would have healed, and I'm sending him out with Hinata Hyuuga and Kiba Inuzuka as a three-man tracking team to support Kakashi."

Ino blinked. She did not know why Sai's arm had to heal first before he was sent into a mission, more so why it was broken, but she nodded anyway. Then out of curiosity, asked, "What are you planning to do to Sasuke?"

"Track and capture. But if all else fails…" Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "...we settle for termination."

Ino released the breath she did not even notice she was holding. "Understood. Requesting to be dismissed, My Lady."

"Wait."

Ino blinked at her.

Tsunade's amber eyes met Ino's light blue ones. "Don't tell Sakura anything, all right?"

And the request was out in the open, making Ino involuntarily wrap her arms around herself. Shuddering a bit, she nodded. "I wouldn't even dream of it."

"Good. You are relieved. You will not be going on missions for the time being because Temari of the Sand is coming to visit tomorrow to escort a scribe who will be copying some scrolls from the Leaf Library to replace the ones that were destroyed in Sai's… 'attempt' at diplomacy. The two will be here for a week or so, depending on progress. And I want Shikamaru and Chouji here to assist them."

Despite herself, Ino allowed her face to crack a smile. "I'll have the scroll out this very minute."

The sudden change in living arrangements, especially since it was Sakura's idea in the first place, was a big leap for Sai. He had spent majority of his life living alone, going on missions alone, doing everything alone, and after this brother, there was no one else he had opened up to this extent except for Sakura.

On his fifth day staying with her, and aside from the emotional adjustments he had to do – Like not embarrassing Sakura by walking naked around the house after showering, or being sympathetic to her need of longer bathroom time – he realized that there were certain rules he needed to follow or Sakura was going to get mad, or worse, upset.

Rule Number One: Sit, do not stand. Sakura had warned him that in using the toilet seat, he was to sit when relieving himself. She explained to him that standing while you pee was unsanitary. The explanation had been long and embarrassing, and it completely weirded him out. He had, after all, spent all his life standing when he decided to urinate… But it was, undoubtedly, Sakura's toilet, and he just needed to change the habit for her sake.

Rule Number Two: Laundry was to be done on Wednesdays and Sundays. This was also very new to Sai, but decided that it was not going to be a problem with him, since he did not particularly own many clothes. He was wrong, of course. Last Sunday, Sakura had announced that it was laundry day and searched for his dirty clothes. When she did not find any, she demanded he take off the shirt he was wearing because she was going to wash it. This led to Sai wondering if he was going to have to spend Wednesdays and Sundays shirtless.

There were other rules that Sakura had been kind enough to list on a piece of paper and taped it at the back of Sai's door. She had been kind enough, also, to allow him to use the other vacant room which was situated just outside hers. This was where he stocked his art supplies and easels. In the last five days he was there, he seldom got to use the bed there, and majority of the time fell asleep on the couch while waiting for Sakura to come home from the hospital. And Sakura being tired as she was, settled on covering him up with a blanket, then crashing upstairs.

Because of his broken arm, Tsunade had exempted him on further missions that required him to leave the village, and he had pretty much nothing to do but paint uninspired whatnots in his room, and sometimes water Sakura's potted plants situated on her kitchen window. Today, however, he was going to the hospital to get his cast removed, and he was looking forward to it. Somewhere between his elbow and wrist was an itch that he just couldn't wait to scratch.

By noon, he set out for the hospital. Once he got his cast removed, he was hoping to invite Sakura to lunch.

Much to his displeasure, he ran into Ino along the way. She was carrying a wreath of white and blue flowers Sai did not know the name of.

She smiled at him and he backed away a step. She was going to confuse him about so many things again, he just knew it. He wished she wouldn't. He didn't want to be late for his appointment.

"Nice cast," Ino remarked, gesturing at his arm. "I never got the details how you got that, and personally, I don't care. But it makes you look very macho."

Sai could only look at her oddly. "Okay."

Ino laughed, adjusting the hold she had on the wreath. "So what do you think?" she asked him, making sure he got an eyeful of the thing.

Sai eyed the flowers. "They are lovely." He had gotten used to babbling flowery compliments on her because it was easier to understand her when she was smiling.

"Aren't they? It's for Temari's wedding. She wanted to see a sample of the wreaths for the aisle decorations."

Sai blinked. Ah, yes. He heard that Temari of the Sand was in the Village, visiting. He had wanted to see her and maybe apologize to her for the misunderstanding, but Sakura told him that he should at least pick a better timing, and not suddenly barge in on her while she was working and possibly in a bad mood.

Ino looked up at him when he didn't say anything. "Anyway, I had been around your house for the last couple of days but I never got the chance to catch you. I wanted to ask you about a painting I saw in the shelters where we took the boy you rescued. How come you're never home?"

Sai, without even thinking, answered innocently, "That's because I've been sleeping at Sakura's house for almost a week now."

Ino's mouth dropped open like a trap. And at this reaction did Sai have a momentary revelation that he had said the wrong thing.

"Ohhh, my God! Are you two doing it?" Ino demanded.

Sai titled his head to the right. "Doing what?"

Ino gestured with her hands, sending white and blue flowers cascading down the two of them on the pavement. "It! I mean… it!"

Sai had no idea what she was talking about. Why can't Ino just tell him things straight out instead of making him guess with charades? Ino was gesturing more wildly with her hands now. He winced. "Uhn… moving? Stuffing something… into something… err… I don't know…?"

Ino's face started to turn beet red, even her ears.

"Pumping? Err… Grinding? I give up…"

Ino stopped moving and her shoulders slumped. What once was a pretty wreath now looked like a balding, weird-shaped branch. She sighed, touching her face. "What I meant to ask is, if you two are intimate?"

There goes the 'intimate' word again. Sai had the same talk with Sakura about intimacy before when they stayed for three days in the bath house. The talk had ended prematurely when he felt his pride got wounded when Sakura undoubtedly stated he was not capable of making sexual advances, and that she did not find him attractive. Well, she did not actually say he was un-attractive. But she did not prove otherwise, either.

Remembering that time made Sai very uncomfortable, and the bad feeling that he felt – the insecurity – flooded his head once again.

The day he had lunch with the Harunos, the day Sakura had kissed him, had been a great confidence-booster for Sai, and the thought of his hurting pride because of Sakura's obvious disinterest on him had faded along with her kisses. But here came Ino, asking him if they were intimate. What did intimacy have to do with a relationship anyway?

He turned to Ino. "Do you find me attractive?" he asked straight-out.

He did not think Ino's face could get any redder than it already was, but it did. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly, like a fish. "Attractive, yes. I think you are very handsome. A bit pale for my taste, but definitely good boy material."

Of course, Sai did not even recognize the compliment. He moved a step towards her. "If so, are you attracted to me?"

This made Ino scowl. "We love ourselves, don't we?"

Sai nodded expectantly for her answer. When she didn't say anything else, he asked, "What is intimacy?"

Ino, who finally remembered that Sai had the emotional capability same as that of a goldfish, took a deep breath and said, "It's something you share with your special someone. Like a boyfriend or a girlfriend."

Sai nodded slightly. "Sakura said something like that."

Ino's ears perked at that. "So you are intimate? When have you two started dating? Who asked who out?"

There were too many questions that he felt slightly overwhelmed. "We started dating about a week ago. I'm not quite sure who initiated it, but there was no mistaking that she kissed me first."

That made Ino squeal happily. Women were just weird.

"And if you're asking me if we are intimate, I don't really know."

Ino's face scrunched up eagerly. Sai had read that women liked this kind of talk. "Well, you kiss, right? And maybe cuddle a bit?"

Sai tried to recall moments with Sakura. "Uhm, we kissed before we started going out, and there were times when we snuggled a bit." He decided to leave out the fact that they snuggled inside an underground cave when they got separated from Naruto in their last mission together.

"Wait a minute. This kissing and snuggling, was this before or after the bath house?"

"It was after… Does that hold any significance?"

Ino could only shake her head. "So you spent three days alone with Sakura in a romantic suite and nothing happened?"

"I touched her right shoulder when she got drunk with chocolates," Sai said defensively.

"That barely qualifies."

Now Ino was seriously starting to plant doubts into his head. "What was supposed to have happened? And I would be really grateful if you just say it straight out."

But of course this was Ino. Ino never said anything straight out. "If you had done it the right way, you could have scored."

Scored? Another vague term. He decided that he was done talking to her. "Can I go now?"

Ino laughed out loud. "You guys haven't done it, have you?"

Sai groaned. "Done what, exactly?"

"Have sex."

Sai narrowed his eyes at her. Sakura had done the same thing to him before; underestimate him. "Is having sex that big a deal in a relationship?"

"Yes," Ino replied, flat and quick.

Slightly taken aback, and very much wondering where he now stood in the argument, Sai asked, looking hurt, "Why?"

"Because it's the most primitive, most Neanderthal language men can understand. Definitely better than talking."

"It is? How so?"

"Men get into less trouble making love than talking? I don't know… I guess it's the greatest form of intimacy between couples."

Sai leaned in closer. "So having sex is like telling each other you love them?"

"Supposedly, yes. Though some do it just for the heck of it."

"Or because it feels good," Sai offered matter-of-factly.

Ino's face flushed with indignation. "You beast! Don't tell me you've slept with other women?"

Sai looked at her coolly. "Do I not look able enough to you?"

Ino shook her head hastily. "No, no! It's not that. It's just that… well, your background and all…"

"There are women in ROOT too, if that's what you mean."

This made Ino wish she never asked him in the first place. "Oh, God."

Sai personally didn't care what she thought. He leaned in closer, really interested. "Would you consider having sex with me?"

That earned him a slap across the face, and he saw the wreath she was holding fall to the ground.

"What did I do?" Sai asked, holding his stinging cheek, and inside his head compared how much Sakura's punches hurt more than Ino's.

"How dare you!" Ino snapped, shaking a fist at him.

"I was speaking hypothetically." Sai rubbed his nose. "Besides, I don't want to have sex with you because you scare the heck out of me, and most of the time I don't know what you're saying. Not to mention you – "

She slapped him on the other cheek, this time not looking quite scandalized as earlier, but a bit offended. "Well, for the record, I wouldn't want to sleep with you either."

Sai made his head work, looking for a remedy to the damage he's done. "I had to ask you because you seem to be knowledgeable with the affairs of the heart. I – " he lowered his gaze, hoping he looked pitiful enough. He had read somewhere that acting like a wide-eyed puppy was an advantage when it came to angry women. "I'm just insecure because you pointed out that most people who are attracted to each other sleep together and I was wondering… from a woman's perspective, if I matched up to the standard."

Ino was eyeing him uncertainly, but after a while softened and she picked up the forlorn wreath with one hand. "Sakura and I are different. You can't ask me things and hope that she'd be saying the same."

"But I heard that you two have the same taste in men."

That seemed to hit the spot. The sad expression on her face confused Sai, though. "I guess, yeah, we used to…"

Sai nodded. "So if you'd want to sleep with me, chances are she'd love to sleep with me too, right?"

Ino's hand clenched into a fist and it was obvious she was trying to control her temper. "First of all, you and Sakura are already dating, and I am not that kind of girl who'd stoop so low as to destroy other peoples' relationships, when I am more than capable of getting my own man."

"Then why don't you have your own man?"

"That's irrelevant to our conversation," Ino snapped.

"Indeed," Sai said. "So you think I am doing something wrong?"

"I'm not sure. I haven't really seen you together since I came back from my mission." She started to think it over. "You do sleep on the same bed, right?"

"She's provided me her extra bedroom but I don't sleep there, because I end up sleeping on the couch while waiting for her to come home from work."

"So, you don't sleep together?"

"Uhm, no. Not of late…"

"Do you kiss?"

Sai blinked. "She flicks my nose. All the time, for some reason. And I take the advantage by grabbing her hand and kissing her then." He wrinkled his nose. "I don't know why she keeps on bullying me that way. I told her I don't like it when she does it."

Ino made a small sound coming from the back of her throat. "Has it ever occurred to you that she may be doing it on purpose because she'd like you to kiss her?"

"All she needs to do is ask me nicely…"

Ino sighed. "It's because women don't feel entitled to beg for intimacy. We believe that we must receive it without having to ask, so we send out tiny hints that we hope you men would pick up on. It's a girl thing." She grinned naughtily. "Chances are, she might be flicking your nose because she wants you to go to the next level. Have you even considered that?"

"No," he said shortly. And meaning it.

Ino patted his good arm. "Think it over, lover. And I promise I won't tell Sakura that you actually tried to seduce me and invited me to sleep with you, however hypothetical the invitation was."

It took him a while to realize she was blackmailing him.

Sai bit his lip. "Ino?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think it's possible for people to date another without the attraction? Because I don't think Sakura is attracted to me."

This made Ino raise an eyebrow. She looked him up and down twice over, then said. "I don't see how you can be insecure, what with a body like that." With this, she floundered away, hips swinging from side to side.

Sai self-consciously covered his stomach, even though he wasn't wearing his ANBU uniform. Ino had that look on her face so very similar to that time when she pinched his belly button without warning. It had hurt like hell.

Sakura tapped her foot impatiently, glancing at the clock for the sixth time that hour. Sai was late for his hospital appointment, and she was getting hungry. It was a good thing Mondays weren't too busy in the hospital, or she would have filled up his reservation for someone else.

"Isn't he here yet?" Miya asked her as she gingerly placed the 'Out to Lunch' sign on the reception desk.

"Not yet," Sakura said absentmindedly, looking over the double-doors of the hospital. "But he should be here soon. I'll wait a few more minutes. You go on ahead without me."

The nurse gave her a knowing look. "All right, Sakura. Would you like me to bring you something to go?"

"It's fine, Miya. Thanks."

The woman left with a wave and Sakura headed to the office with a sigh. She shuffled a few papers on her desk and was about to sit down behind it when the door slid open to admit a very hassled-looking Sai, messy-haired and red-faced, as if he had just been running.

Sakura calmly allowed herself to sit, then glanced at an imaginary wristwatch mockingly. "Look at the time. Did you get lost on the way?" she asked sweetly, smiling.

Sai shook his head, not recognizing the good-natured joke. "No. I ran into Ino and she interrogated me for a while." He sat on the chair opposite her. "She knows we're living together, by the way."

Sakura froze. Telling Ino about something was equivalent to telling it to half the village. She rested her head on her hand, breathed deep and let it out in a huff. "You told her?"

"She asked me why I wasn't home all the time she tried to drop by."

"Why on earth would she drop by?" Sakura asked, bewildered.

Sai simply shrugged. "I didn't see any good reason to lie about it, so… I'm sorry." He said when he saw Sai's reaction. "Should I have said something else?"

Sakura simply gestured for him to sit on the bed behind him. "You and I both know you're bad at lying, Sai. And besides, she's Ino. She'd have eventually found out from the vine, and then she'd make a fool of herself by making strange renditions of the story. It was better it came firsthand."

Sai, looking relieved that he did not, after all, mess things up, hopped on the bed, swinging his feet loosely like a kid. Sakura brought her medical kit with her and placed it on the bed beside him. "How's the arm?"

"Itchy."

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, we all hate that feeling." She tweaked his fingers protruding from the cast lovingly and smiled when they twitched. "Does it hurt?"

"It itches."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. I'll get it off soon."

He grinned.

"So," she asked nonchalantly, hoping not to sound too curious. "You're late half an hour, Did Ino ask any more weird questions?" Knowing Ino, she would have abused Sai's innocence to dig up dirt about their relationship. That was probably one of the reasons why she wanted to keep it private. Well, they were not actually going to the extent of not wanting to be seen together, but she thought that it was not necessary for them to go out of their way to tell everyone within their social circle. So far, no one but Ino had asked about it, but if ever someone else did, she had no plans of denying the truth. When they ask, that is.

Sai nodded. "She asked me if we were doing it."

Sakura dropped the surgical scissors she had plucked from her kit, and it clattered to the floor. She bent over to pick it up, slightly winded. "What did you say?"

Sai shrugged, as always, that perpetually serene expression on his face as if they were talking about the weather. "I told her the truth, and that no, we don't have sex."

Now, that would have held enough humor to last Ino's sorry and miserable life. Sakura pulled a stool towards her, not trusting her legs to support her weight. Sitting down in front of Sai, she started to pick on the bandages. "And what did she say?"

Sai blushed. "She didn't really press on the subject much." He was such a bad liar.

Sakura grinned in spite of herself. "I highly doubt that, but all right."

She worked in silence, with Sai sometimes touching her hair, and her face. She would simply swat his hand away when he touched places that tickled her, and he would pull back, but his hands would be back on her face after a few seconds. She found this, although very work-inefficient, quite endearing. When he traced her eyebrows with the tip of his finger and Sakura looked over to meet his gaze, he was smiling.

"One of these days, I would like to draw you," he said silently.

Sakura, who did not know how to respond to such, merely nodded and returned to her work. "Sure, Sai. I guess it would be interesting to be drawn." She narrowed her eyes at him, scissors poised in mid-cut. "Knowing you, you'd probably make me take off my clothes and draw me naked." For some reason, she had found herself in situations with Sai that involved the absence of clothing.

Sai nodded seriously. "But only if you want to."

Sakura blushed and turned back to her work. And it was another moment of silence to add to their many moments of silences. That was until Sai had to ask her another one of his uncomfortable questions.

"You don't find me attractive at all. Do you?"

Sakura tried to ignore him as she successfully detached the shell of a cast and discarded it on the tray sitting on Sai's other side. When she wouldn't answer, Sai kept on talking

"Because Ino told me earlier that couples usually show the greatest form of intimacy by making love and w – are you okay?"

Sakura had choked on her own spit at hearing what Sai had just said. She coughed violently and Sai worriedly supported her with his arms. She shook her head, brushing him away. "I'm fine…" she rasped.

Sai returned on his place on the bed, eyeing Sakura doubtfully. After a few moments he looked away, falling silent.

Sakura recovered quickly, then turned to Sai. "Sai, what made you think I'm not attracted to you?"

Sai shrugged, a lost expression on his pale face. "I don't know. We had this same conversation in the bath house, and you never really answered me when I asked you the same question, so I thought… well…"

Sakura felt her heart leaped while she watched him struggle for words. What he said was, in fact, not true. She flicked his nose while he was unaware and he jumped a bit, surprised and irritated at the same time. "Can't you see yourself in the mirror? Look at you! You're young and good-looking and very, very talented. Why do you have to ask other people if they find you attractive?"

"I don't necessarily ask other people… Well, I asked Ino earlier, and she was harder to understand than you. But now that I look at it, your answer is the only thing that matters." Sai looked at her again, pleadingly. "You're not attracted to me, are you?"

Sakura raised her hands in a gesture to show complete bewilderment. "I am!" Her face burned when she heard herself admit that. "I find you very, very attractive! And… sexy…"

Sai still looked like he thought she was bluffing. "If so, then why don't we sleep together?" His hands were instantly on her shoulders.

Of all the embarrassing things Sai had asked her, this has got to be the top of the list. "We've slept together back in the bath house remember? Well, it was more like you sleeping and me being knocked out, but you get the picture… Did Ino put you into this? Because if she did, I'd be more than glad to tell her to leave you alone… But you're attractive! Very! And I would love to sleep with you! I mean… yeah…"

She was babbling like crazy, she knew it. It was a good thing Sai suddenly pressed his lips onto hers to stop her making a fool of herself. He tasted like toothpaste. Momentarily distracted, she did not even notice that both of them had gotten to their feet, Sai's hands all over her and was now tugging at her vest. He pulled back from their kiss, resting his forehead onto hers.

The expression on Sai's face was another first for Sakura. Straight dark bangs spilling over heavy-lidded eyes, mouth half-open with a bit of tongue resting on his straight teeth. And he looked so damn good to her at that moment "Make love to me," he ordered huskily.

Sakura's eyes widened as Sai rammed her against the sliding door. "What? NOW?"

Sai pressed his length against her, once again taking her mouth into his, and Sakura felt her knees go weak as what Sai was feeling suddenly took her over as well. But being the clever girl that she was, her hand shot out behind her, and groped for something that needed to be taken care of before she surrendered to him.

Where's the goddamn lock?

She found it, turned it with a shaky hand just in time before Sai swiped her off her feet to the bed where she had taken his cast off. One moment she was protesting, the next she was tearing at his clothes.

And in that experience, there were two things that Sakura actually realized.

One, was that Sai wasn't lying when he told her he was quite 'handy in bed'.

And two, was that this was the best damn lunch break she's ever had.

FACT: I cannot and do not write smut, and I do not intend to write in graphic detail about how a man/woman can feel the earth moving under them when they orgasm… because I don't think I have the skill to capture such things with words.

Meh, maybe one of these days, I'll give it a shot. XD

Anyway, big plot development here! Sasuke! XD

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