Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuuden.
An explosion, a high-pitched sound of screaming children, and the sound of crackling black fire invaded Sai's senses like a wave as he and Kakashi broke out into the clearing, followed by Kiba who was still handling the crying child in his arms.
The extent of the damage was overwhelming, but Sai breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Hinata leaping from one of the windows of the flame-engulfed building, two children roughly tucked under her arms.
"That's the last of the children!" Sai heard the Hyuuga cry out as she landed on the clearing where a number of children were already huddled around a growling Akamaru.
Kiba deposited the child he had in his arms along with the others and covered his nose with his sleeve. "This fire stinks," he complained but nonetheless flew towards the building, making sure to stay clear of the flames. He disappeared behind the eastern wall.
Hinata let her Byakugan-enhanced eyes scan the burning shelter, breathing hard. Her face suddenly turned pale. "Yue's still in there," she said grimly, and was up on her feet as if ready to spring to the man's rescue, but Sai and Kakashi were suddenly in front of her, blocking her path.
"Don't even think about it," Kakashi muttered as his Sharingan flickered across the dark flames.
Sai had seen Amaterasu only once in his life, and that time had also been associated with Sasuke Uchiha two years ago, the same day Itachi died. It was the ultimate Fire Release that is sustained by its target, and will not disappear until the target is destroyed. Sai cursed. It was probably the best way to die painfully and slowly.
The former ROOT member could only narrow his eyes. Sasuke was here. Or he probably still is. Sai felt the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end. First things first. How can he save Yue?
The thoughts made him pause, shocked. While he knew that Yue Matsunaga could die and the mission would still continue, there was something – just something – that made Sai's body want to dive into that burning black inferno and haul the man out.
Can you tell me my mother's name, I wonder?
The thought hit Sai unexpectedly, and he was visually shaken that Kakashi had to tap him on the shoulder roughly.
"Stay with me, Sai!" His senpai's voice was strained, as if using his Sharingan for the past month stalking the Uchiha was finally taking its toll. Said eye pointed straight at the building.
And that was when Sai finally found an emotion that he hated even more than regret: helplessness.
Kiba's form suddenly emerged from the back of the shelter. He was eyeing the window on the end of the building, a determined light in those wild eyes. The skylight… right above the picture of the woman in white.
"Kiba! Don't. You. DARE!" Kakashi commanded the boy, who was now down on all fours as if to pounce.
But it was too late. Kiba sprang up and crashed into the window, sending glass and wood flying.
Kakashi cursed. "Reckless little snot…" He was on his feet and in no time was also through the window after Kiba.
Amaterasu could burn forever so long as the target still existed, but it burned slow, so perhaps, there was time…
Do you know my father's name as well?
Sai pressed a hand on his temple, willing the thoughts to go away.
Yue cannot die yet!
I need to know my surname first…!
Sai squashed his eyes shut. These thoughts aren't helping! He needed to get his bearings together.
Opening his eyes, he smoothly took out a scroll from his pack, unrolling it in one fluid motion. In another movement, the brush was in his right hand, and in a flash, hundreds of tiny mice sprang into action. They all scuttled away in a hurry into the trees. The first priority was to find Sasuke Uchiha, and Sai was willing to bet he hadn't gone far.
Hinata was huddling the children in the corner of the clearing, and Akamaru was barking at the burning building, as if cheering Kiba on.
The west side of the building collapsed, black flames engulfing it completely.
Sai's head shot up. No…
He had to know if his dad also hated steamed beans.
And his eyes widened when he heard another loud crash and Kakashi and Kiba came tumbling out of an eastern window, Yue in tow, the end of his long robes and the ends of his loose bandages were on black fire, and he was screaming as he tried to shrug his robes off.
Kiba's coat was also scorched and he hastily shed it off, throwing it with a grunt into the direction of the building, as far away from the children as possible.
"Hurry!" Kakashi said as he pulled out a kunai from its holster and was intent on hacking away Yue's robes. The kunai was instantly dropped to the ground as it too started to catch fire. Kakashi kicked it aside, saying something lewd as he did so.
And that was then Yue's screams of panic turned to screams of pain. It was too late.
It was probably the bandages. His whole back was on fire now, and the flames were still crawling up his neck.
Sai didn't even realize he had gotten to his feet and was starting to help Kakashi tear at Yue's clothing once more.
"Don't touch the fire," Kakashi said unnecessarily, his voice crackling. The Sharingan flickered and swirled, as if he was concentrating on doing something with it. But whatever it was, it did nothing good except make Kakashi press his hand to his left eye and curse some more.
Yue was now sprawled on the ground, trying desperately to rip the bandages from his body. He was thrashing so wildly that it was hard to even try to help him.
Sai had to back away along with Kakashi as the man squirmed and screamed. Sai heard Hinata commanding the children to close their eyes and cover their ears. He wanted to look away too.
Sai had watched many deaths before, most of which were to his doing. And even back then, even when he was still under ROOT, he had never favored torture over quick kills. One, because they were time-consuming, and two, it slightly disturbed him. All the training he had in ROOT had erased his emotions completely, but his subconscious never did let him escape.
There was this one time when the mission involved information-gathering where he had to torture an enemy guard in order to find the passage that led to the information he needed. The guard was tough, but Sai was able to break him. After a few chopped off fingers and a shattered tooth or three. He felt absolutely nothing when he had tortured that guard, but his nights were filled with bloody dreams where he heard the guard screaming at him for mercy. He would wake up in the middle of the night feeling, as always, nothing, but nonetheless sleepless and wide awake until morning.
As he watched Yue try to escape the inevitable pain, Sai knew that he will be seeing this man's bandaged face, the unseen gaping hole that was his mouth under those bandages, the terror in that one eye, in his nightmares for a few weeks to come.
And the helplessness engulfed him completely. His left hand whipped his tanto from his shoulder. He might as well end it right now for him.
But it was then did it suddenly happen. One moment, Yue was thrashing in pain, the next there was a warm pink light, and Yue was encased in what looked like an irregularly shaped scarlet crystal. His screams were suddenly cut off that they echoed across the clearing, and then it was silent, except for the sound of black fire licking wood, and the cries of the terrified children.
Sai looked up, bewildered, and that was when he saw her.
A tall, willowy woman with blue-black hair and dark eyes, a simple white kimono with tiny conspicuous-looking flowers at the hem stood with one hand outstretched towards the clearing.
Sai could only open his mouth as he tore his gaze from the woman, then stared at Yue, now frozen in that crystal. He had met that woman before, two years ago…
It was Kakashi who acknowledged her. "Guren."
The woman pointed at Kakashi, annoyed. "I've told you many times not to use that name."
Hinata looked over her shoulder at the woman and paled. Sai had heard that Team Eight had once had an encounter with this Crystal Release Kekkei Genkai, but what Sai didn't understand was that he thought Guren had died. As for Yuukimaru, he had just mysteriously disappeared.
"I thought Guren was dead…" Sai murmured in disbelief as he got to his feet.
Guren's eyes traveled from Kakashi to Sai. "Guren is dead. I come by the name of Tsubaki."
Sakura rubbed her cheek with the back of her hand and sniffed her collar in disgust. She stared at the red-haired girl sitting a few feet from her and frowned.
This was probably her punishment for abandoning Yamato after slipping into his water bottle a sleeping potion good enough to knock out a horse; she had to ride the earliest boat back to the mainland, which happened to carry fish entrails.
Karin, who had been quiet all throughout the first two hours of the trip, suddenly spoke. "Why on earth are they carrying fish guts?"
Sakura shot the girl a despairing look. "They sell it to the farmers of Grass as fertilizers for their crops," she explained shortly. "I'm surprised you don't know this. Didn't you come from the Grass?"
Karin had the decency to blush. She adjusted her glasses self-consciously. "Trivial, trivial," was all she said.
Sakura returned her eyes to her feet and unconsciously adjusted her ankle weights. She knew that she was going to get a talking-to from Tsunade when she found out Sakura had evidently disobeyed orders… But still…
"So," Sakura started. "How… how is Sasuke?" At the mention of the name, she couldn't believe her heart skipped a beat.
Karin was looking at her behind her glasses. "He's fine. He's gotten stronger, and maybe… weaker?" a worried look passed her face. "His chakra scares me, but I can never stay away."
Sakura had no idea what she was talking about. She rested her head on the barrel behind her and sighed. The dark sky was cloudy; no stars to even distract her from the number of thoughts parading in her head. How many hours before sunrise, she wondered?
She will be able to see Sasuke tomorrow.
She will be able to see Sasuke tomorrow!
"I'm going to warn you, though," Karin said silently. "There are four other shinobi from the Leaf who are after Sasuke."
At the mention of that, Sakura felt her heart stop beating altogether, and the thing that had been bothering her ever since they left the Village started to nag at her again. Her hands withdrew from her ankle weights. "You were expecting my team to turn up, didn't you? You were expecting for me or Naruto to come."
"Sasuke was expecting you to come. Hoping for it, even. But your Hokage sent… others. It ruined Sasuke's plan." Karin mimicked Sakura, leaning back on her own barrel.
Sakura, for the millionth time, asked herself what the hell she was doing with a missing Grass nin in a boat full of fish guts. She was out of her mind. If Tsunade had already sent a team to retrieve Sasuke, then why was she sticking her nose into it?
It was simple.
She was a freaking masochist.
And who could hurt her better than Sasuke Uchiha?
"He's… changed," Karin suddenly said. "He's no longer the Sasuke you know."
Sakura felt her eyes close on their own. Five years was a long time… Too long a time… "Did I even really know him?" she asked silently, more to herself than Karin.
Sakura heard the girl shuffle in place. She opened her eyes when she felt a hand on her knee. The girl was looking at her with an expression she could not read.
"Your chakra is… hurting."
Sakura looked down at the hand then at the girl's face. "Don't pity me. I'm going to take Sasuke back to the Leaf where he belongs and there's nothing you can do about it."
Karin, suddenly looking annoyed, withdrew her hand and wrapped her arms around her knees. "He doesn't belong anywhere. He never did. He never will. You'll see when you meet him."
"Bullshit," Sakura snapped at her, then bit her lip, because she couldn't help but feel like a part of her actually believed the red-haired girl. Because she knew that Karin was right. Because she knew even without Karin saying it, Sasuke never really did belong anywhere.
"For someone who claims she loves him, you surely don't sound as enthusiastic," Sakura pointed out.
Karin fidgeted uncomfortably. "His chakra scares me," she repeated what she said earlier. "But I follow his orders."
"Out of fear?"
"Out of love, loyalty, or maybe, admiration?"
Sakura frowned. She didn't believe she would get a straight answer from this girl, and so she decided to change the subject. "The team that went to retrieve Sasuke. Who were they?"
Karin shrugged. "No one Sasuke really cared about. Except for that tall, silver-haired man with the mask."
Sakura nearly fell over. "Kakashi-sensei?"
"Is that his name? Yeah, and there's this guy with a dog, and a Hyuuga girl with them. And then there's this – "
"Sai!" She suddenly blurted out. Sai had been teamed up with Kiba and Hinata! So this was why it was so confidential! The momentary euphoria lasted for a few seconds before Sakura suddenly started to feel cold. Her fingers were on her ankles again.
"The guy who kind of looks like Sasuke?" Karin was watching her under her lashes. "Sasuke told me about him. He said he was… the replacement."
The way Karin said those words, made Sakura shiver for some reason. She rubbed her arms briskly. "He's…"
He's not a replacement!
Sakura bowed. "Yeah… the replacement…"
I miss you.
Karin suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Your chakra fluctuated. This replacement… means something to you, doesn't he? When I mentioned the other members of the retrieval team, you didn't even bat an eyelash. But when I mentioned this… Sai… your chakra flow… changed." Those red eyes maliciously grazed Sakura's face. "It's almost– almost– similar to when I mentioned Sasuke's name."
Sakura was taken aback, and she didn't even know why, but she was suddenly on her feet, and her right hand was clutching Karin's collar roughly. The other girl watched her with an expression too calm for the occasion.
"That's none of your business, so keep away from me and my chakra flow, bitch. If you know what's good for you," Sakura spat.
Karin smiled up at her devilishly. "You're blushing."
Sakura was tempted to punch the woman's face in, but decided against it. She dropped Karin and made herself settle down, leaning her weight on the barrel behind her. ""Leave me alone."
Karin snorted, but decided to let Sakura be about the subject. "I'm actually not surprised you came with me."
Sakura leered at her. "Weren't you glad?" she asked sarcastically.
Karin gave her a one-sided smile. "It's just as Sasuke said you'd do. When we found out you were sent by your Kage to the Water Country, Sasuke knew there was something wrong. If news about Sasuke ever leaked your way, we knew it was either you or Naruto who'd jump in head-first to catch up to him. Your Kage has a talent of lying well."
Sakura clenched and unclenched her fists. "The Lady Tsunade does not lie; she schemes. I don't even know why I abandoned my Captain for this."
Karin's eyes flashed. "It's because you're not over Sasuke, right?"
Sakura had to control herself from pounding Karin to dust. "My feelings for Sasuke are none of your concern."
"Oh, so there are feelings involved?"
"Shut up."
"Your chakra just fluctuated again."
"Shut up!"
"And what about this Sai? Oh-ho! It fluctuated again, you fickle little thing!"
Sakura's hand was on Karin's collar again. "I am not a fickle little thing. I do not have feelings other than friendship for Sasuke, and I am very much devoted to Sai. Not that I need to explain anything to you."
"Do you love him? This Sai?"
It was probably the most overrated question in the world. And the hardest to answer. She had kissed him, slept with him and they were living together. It would not have been too hard to answer, but she found herself hesitating. Those words – I love you – were words that haven't passed their lips yet, and she doubted Sai truly understood the meaning of it.
She let Karin go. "Of course I love him," she said grimly.
And that was when Karin's lips broke into a sneer. "You're lying."
Sakura, after a few seconds, buried her head to her knees. "Am I? Am I really?"
She didn't want to believe her.
She didn't want to believe it.
By nightfall, Amaterasu finally burned away, and along with it, the shelters. Hinata, Kiba and Sai were forced to go ask the villagers for blankets and mattresses they could spare for the children who were not only left homeless, but also fatherless. Yue, who was the only casualty in the fire was still in Guren's jutsu when they buried him in the far end of the clearing. Sai would have preferred a better burial, but Yue forever encased in a crystal tomb and the children could see his tormented face was starting to depress even Kakashi.
Guren had explained that it was better that he died in her jutsu, rather than being slowly and painfully consumed by Sasuke's black fire. Sai had to agree that it was, in the end, the best and most merciful thing to have done. Or so Guren – who insisted they call her Tsubaki – explained.
Of course, the burial had left Sai numb, and the children crying.
After gathering supplies for the children, though the village itself didn't have much to spare, Sai was assigned to make a fire and Hinata was forced to cook something out of nothing. Stew was always the best choice when there was quite a number of mouths to feed, so the Hyuuga had set off to the garden that had miraculously survived, and started to gather tiny carrots and undersized potatoes.
Kiba and Sai then proceeded to work on the tents, though Sai really wasn't much of a help. Kiba had to shake him out of his reverie twice because his thoughts would always wander to the events of that day.
"Get your act together," Kiba growled at him for the third time.
Sai held the blanket over the pole Kiba was supporting. "I'm sorry," was all he could say, and he would 'get his act together' for a few minutes before he would start to space out again, and his eyes would roam towards the bonfire where Kakashi and Guren were sitting, talking quietly.
Everything was happening all at once that Sai wasn't even able to ask why Guren was there in the first place, but the way Kakashi was talking to her, it seemed like this was not the first time in the past month that they had met.
Once the temporary sleeping arrangements were finished, and Hinata had made sure the children were fed, watered and tucked in for the night, the Retrieval Team sat around the fire with Guren and the Copy Ninja.
When Kiba bluntly asked about Guren, Kakashi was more than willing to explain.
"Guren here – "
" – Tsubaki."
"Right, Tsubaki here actually is a friend of Yue. Though she and Yuukimaru hop from village to village, they usually stay here the longest, sometimes helping out in the shelters. In the past month, we've met a few times in the market, and she told me she'd kill me if I called her by her real name."
Hinata turned to Guren. "I guess it's easier to go by an alias. I wouldn't be surprised if your face was in the bingo book."
Guren looked at the Hyuuga, making the younger girl blush and twiddle her thumbs. "The bingo book was hardly the reason, but Orochimaru's death contributed a lot to my freedom now."
"And Yuukimaru?"
"I asked him to stay in his home village for a while. Just until I take care of unfinished business."
Kiba frowned. "Unfinished business?"
Kakashi rubbed his temple gently. Sai supposed he was still has a bit weak. "When she heard of the rumor of Orochimaru's former followers, she came out here to settle a score." Kakashi pinned her a look. "How did it go?"
Guren smiled. "Almost done." She pointed to the western part of the clearing. "If you walk ten minutes into the trees, you will find Suigetsu and Juugo trapped in a crystal prison." After saying this, she sighed. "I couldn't find the girl with red hair, and Orochimaru's favorite, Uchiha."
And with that, they fell silent.
"He was here, though," Kakashi said grimly after a while, his hand thumbing his hitai-ate covering his left eye. "What did he want, I wonder?"
"Didn't he just want to cause chaos?" Hinata asked.
"No. At least I don't think so. Sasuke may be twisted, but he's no terrorist." Kakashi closed his eyes, pained. "Right before the shelters burst into flames, I heard an explosion."
Hinata nodded. "There was an explosion and Kiba and I immediately evacuated the children out of the shelters."
Kakashi gave a small whistle. "He gave a warning. It was as if he wanted the children evacuated before he cast his jutsu on the building." He shook his head. "Had Yue not insisted on staying, he wouldn't have died that way."
Sai's head shot up at this comment. "Yue… insisted on staying?"
Kakashi looked at Sai slowly. "He insisted on saving the painting of the woman in white."
And Sai could only blink. He felt his head sink into his hands as the conversation around him continued without him hearing it.
He did not know if what he was feeling was considered a normal human emotion. A part of him felt utmost relief that the man who had given him something to expect was dead. But at the same time felt like there could have been something more, had he lived. Once again, he was feeling entirely torn.
So very torn.
And it was then did he feel his chest start to hurt. He knew this feeling. He was missing her. And it was such a bad feeling. His hand unconsciously scratched at his chest. He suddenly had the strong longing to find Sakura, take her into his arms and lie in bed and do nothing but hug her. When all of this was over, he knew that the depression – that has to be the right feeling – that was threatening to overcome him because of the loss of probably the only link to his past was going to eat him alive.
If he hadn't been so stubborn and just let Yue tell him about the possibility that the boy in the picture was him. That the boy taken by ROOT fifteen years ago had been him. That his eyes were from his mother. That the skill he had in the arts had been from his father, and was enhanced by Yue himself until he was five years old. It was just too coincidental to be false.
And even if it were false, he could have just pretended it were real.
But his chance for a past was gone now.
Now he was starting to regret…
And he hated regret…
He could have gotten a surname at the very least. Something to offer Sakura in the future, if ever they did get married… Or… have children of their own.
And that was when it hit him like a splash of cold water. He felt it nagging at the corner of his brain.
One of his ink mice had found Sasuke Uchiha. Sai was on his feet that second. Kakashi did not need to be told what was wrong.
"Where is he?" Kakashi asked.
Sai wordlessly looked out into the eastern side of the clearing.
Kakashi nodded. "Kiba, stay with Tsubaki and protect the children. Hinata, we need your eyes."
"Understood," Hinata said, and she was also up on her feet, her Byakugan already activated.
Kakashi looked down at Sai. "Lead the way."
Branches whipped at Sai's face as the three of them leaped through the trees in a hurry. Hinata, who was at Sai's right, was unblinkingly staring forward.
"Seven hundred meters straight ahead," the Hyuuga breathed. "He's in a clearing. He's not moving from his spot."
Sai gritted his teeth. What's he up to?
"Six hundred meters. He's just standing there!" Hinata said incredulously.
"It could be a trap," Kakashi pointed out.
"Does it matter?" Sai asked as he leaped hard against a low hanging branch.
Kakashi looked over to him. "It's now or never."
"Five hundred meters. No movement at all." Hinata started biting her thumb. "He isn't moving… Why?"
Something, Sai didn't know what, was definitely up. His tanto was in his left hand before he even realized it.
"Four hundred meters… What the – ! Someone just entered my parameter. Two people, coming fast from the south," Hinata informed, then she gasped. "It's Sakura!"
And that was when it happened.
Sai and his group broke into another clearing where – after tailing him for four days, after never seeing him once in the past two years – he saw Sasuke. His head was bowed and his relatively longer jet black hair was spilling over his face.
What used to be a body of a boy was now that of a man who looked like he had not been living his life quite well. Clad in loose black trousers and a dirty white shirt, the shimenawa coiled around his torso holding up his scabbard for the sword he carried across his hip.
And the next thing all happened in slow motion. He saw Hinata break away from the group, heading south to intercept Sakura and her companion. Kakashi was looking at him in horror and was shouting something Sai couldn't quite make out.
And then Sasuke raised his one seeing eye at him. Sai saw the black in the red, saw it flicker madly.
And one moment, he was flying through the clearing, the next he was hanging in mid-air, his body frozen.
He felt his surroundings turn into an unearthly shade of black and red as well, black and red like the Sharingan, and he felt the sky searing a painful light that he had to wince. He wanted to move his hands, to shield his eyes from the light, or from the dark, but he found his arms outstretched on either side of him. He could not move his body.
And suddenly Sasuke was in front of him, unseeing eyes on Sai's face. His long sword drawn and pointing down into the black and red ground.
While normal human beings would have been terrified, Sai merely looked down at Sasuke. "What have you done to me?" he asked. The Uchiha had him in a genjutsu. That was the fact. But knowing reality from genjutsu wasn't enough to break it.
Sasuke did not look like he heard his question. He raised the sword above his head.
"Die."
And Sasuke brought the sword down.
Sai felt the sword rip though his shoulder, the pain making him shudder. But he was not going to give the bastard the satisfaction of hearing him scream. Sasuke pulled the sword out of him, this time putting it against his throat.
"Die." He slit Sai's throat.
And everything went black.
…
And he woke up the next day squinting in the harsh light of the red and black world, his arms outstretched on either side of him. He felt tired. He felt thirsty. So very thirsty.
And when he looked down, he saw Sasuke looking at him with those unseeing red eyes. Still those unseeing eyes. Still that drawn sword.
Sasuke's left eye began to bleed.
And Sai felt his body hurt as flames erupted at his shoulder. Slow, searing pain. He did not scream out.
He will not scream out!
And he blacked out, only to wake up the next day to die again.
And wake up and die.
And wake up and die.
And wake up and die.
And wake up and die.
Sai felt like he aged three years.
Sakura…
His eyes popped open. He had lost count of the days passing, but when he woke up that fateful day in the harsh light of red and black, he felt a sudden pain spread from his leg.
And he woke up with a start, gasping, this time in a world of green leaves and grass, not the black and red world.
The clearing. He was back in the clearing.
He felt the strength leaving him, and his legs gave in, and he felt his body start to fall. His lips let out a groan, and he felt his body come in contact with something hard but warm.
He forced his eyes open, to look down. He saw the top of Kakashi's head. Sai was sprawled across his senpai's back. The pain on his leg, he saw, was caused by his tanto digging deep in his upper thigh. He must have stabbed himself with it to break the genjutsu.
"Advise from one who's experienced first-hand the Tsukuyomi: In a battle with an Uchiha, never ever look him in the eye," Kakashi said. "That must have been the longest five minutes of your life. Are you all right?"
So it had just been five minutes. It felt like years of dying over and over…
Sai couldn't speak. His throat was dry, and it was starting to close in on him. He didn't care what time it was, or how long he had been in Sasuke's Tsukuyomi.
For in the middle of the clearing was a sight no ROOT training could have prepared him for.
In the middle of the clearing stood Sasuke Uchiha, but he was not alone. Sakura, for some weird reason dressed as a civilian, had her arms wrapped around the Uchiha's neck.
Her lips were pressed to his ear. She was biting his ear.
Sai's chest suddenly expanded, as if his heart was going to explode. He could not see the logic in it all! His shaky hand reached out to the tanto sticking out of him. With a cry, he pulled it free. Blood – his blood- splattered all over Kakashi's vest.
This was another genjutsu. He was sure of it! It was the only explanation. It was Sasuke's genjutsu, his form of torturing Sai! But Sai was onto him. He was going to break the trap now! Without pausing, he stabbed his other leg. The pain seared through his body, making him fall against Kakashi again.
But the genjutsu wouldn't disappear..!
Sakura was still in Sasuke Uchiha's arms.
"I told you not to look at an Uchiha in battle…" Kakashi scolded him silently.
Sai felt his eyelids go heavy. He saw Hinata in the corner of his eye. The Hyuuga had a red-haired girl detained, her arms pinned behind her. Then he saw Kakashi giving him a slight nod.
Then his eyes went back to the center of the clearing.
Sakura had pulled away from the embrace with Sasuke Uchiha, and there was a look of shock in the bastard's face before his eyes suddenly rolled back into his head and he tumbled forward, unconscious. Sakura caught him by the shoulders and she gently guided him to the ground, cradling his head on her lap. She wiped her mouth suspiciously.
Sai was too far away to hear her, but he could read Sakura's lips. She wiped her mouth some more, as if to rid herself of whatever she had in it, then said. "Welcome home, Sasuke."
And Sai's world instantly became dark. He felt Kakashi catch him.
And he dreamed of nice quiet nights spent in bath houses, and lunches with parents and salty cake, and fluffy omelets, and hide-and-seek.
And he dreamed of Sakura kissing another man.
Before anything else, I'd like to commend a reviewer, xxAwesomeLucyxx! I've tried so hard to make Sai react physically to his emotions, like scratching his chest when he feels pain, or wiping his nose when he gets too emotional, and xxAwesomeLucyxx was the only one who was so kind enough to actually point out my effort of making Sai's body language notable. XD You rock!
And clif~fies rock too!