Chapter 6: Sai

Sai was easy to find. On his days off, Sai could usually be found in the park, sketching. That was exactly how Naruto found him. He was sitting in the grass all by himself drawing the trees and the animals that wandered by. Balancing the sketchbook in his lap, Sai rubbed the stick of charcoal on the white paper, blending it all together into a work of art. He was so engrossed in his work that he hadn't noticed Naruto standing nearby. If he had, he never brought it to Naruto's attention.

Naruto stepped forward. "Hey, Sai. Whatcha doin'?"

He looked over his shoulder, his hand pausing for a moment. "Just drawing."

"I see." Naruto squatted down beside him, looking at the paper.

"Did you need something?" Sai asked. Normally Naruto didn't take an interest in anything he was drawing. His demeanor told Sai that Naruto wanted something.

"I just wanted to hang out with you for a minute." Sai was a pretty weird guy as far as Naruto was concerned so he had no idea how well hypnosis would work on him. He was hoping that Sai was too dense to realize he was being hypnotized. "Actually, I was hoping you could look at something real quick for me."

Sai set down his sketchbook and his charcoal, rubbing his hand off in the grass. "Sure. What is it?"

Naruto unzipped part of his jacket and pulled out the necklace. Holding it by its chain, he held it out for Sai to see. "What do you think?"

Sai looked at the jewel. "It's a necklace."

"Yup. What do you think?"

"What do I think? I think it's a necklace."

Naruto rolled his eyes. Sai was getting better with emotions and understanding people to an extent, but Naruto didn't think opinions were an issue with him, too. "No, I mean look at it. Really look at it."

"Ok." Sai focused his attention on the jewel.

"Don't you think it's pretty?"

"Um... I suppose."

"What about the shape? Do you like that at least?"

"I don't really have a preference. It's a nice necklace."

Naruto had to keep Sai's attention focused on the jewel. That was the only way the hypnosis would work. "Ok, fine. But do you like it? Do you think it's pretty? Don't you like the color?"

"Color? It's a clear jewel. The only color it takes on is whatever happens to be-"

"Ok, ok. What about right now? What color does it look like now?"

He shrugged. "Kind of green because of the grass... A little orange. Some blue. Um..." Sai tried to find all the colors but the jewel kept moving. Naruto was twirling it in his hand, making it spin. "It's hard to tell when you keep moving it like that."

"Doesn't it get more colors when it spins?"

"I don't know. I could check."

"You do that. Look at the jewel and see if anything changes."

Sai continued to look at the spinning jewel. He looked at it closely.

Naruto watched and waited. He hoped this would work. He was taking a real chance with Sai. He had no idea how he would be affected, if at all. Slowly, Sai's eyes seemed to grow tired and heavy. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Then he went back to looking at the jewel. "I don't think it's getting any more colors... or whatever it was you wanted to know."

Before Sai would look away, Naruto asked him something else. "Can you count how many times it rotates?"

"I could try..." Sai looked at the necklace closely, following the spins. It spun one way and then the other. Sai followed its every movement.

"How many rotations now, Sai?"

"24."

Naruto waited before asking him again. "And now?"

"Uh, 36..."

"What about now?"

"Um... 75... I think."

It was like counting sheep. Sai seemed to be getting more tired. "Now, Sai?"

"Huh?"

"What number are you at?"

"... Number?"

"You were counting how many times it spun."

"Oh... I lost track..." Sai watched the jewel, his eyes drooping slightly. "My eyes are feeling a bit heavy..."

Naruto smiled. "You look pretty sleepy, Sai."

"Sleepy?" Sai started yawning. "I guess I do feel a little..."

"You're getting sleepier and sleepier... Just relax... You're getting very sleepy..."

Sai's head was starting to bob slightly. He felt incredibly sleepy. He just wanted to lie down.

"Your body is getting warmer, like a soft blanket is wrapped around you."

Sai's body did feel a bit warm. It was a pleasant warmth. He fought to remain conscious but his body was too relaxed. This feeling of warm comfort was absolutely wonderful. Sai yawned again, his eyes feeling even heavier.

"It's ok. It's ok," Naruto said to him in a soothing voice. "I know how much you want to sleep. You deserve a rest. Just relax. Relax..."

Sai's head bobbed again. He couldn't fight off sleep for much longer. He wanted to take a nap. He could feel his body getting heavier and his strength leaving him. He couldn't hold himself up anymore. He had to lie down. Sai lowered himself down on his elbow and then onto his side, laying in the grass. He sighed into his arm, closing his eyes.

Naruto lowered the necklace, looking down at Sai. That was easier than he thought. Just as he was about to start giving Sai his commands, Sai shifted slightly, mumbling something. He wasn't in a full trance yet. He was relaxed, but not enough. Naruto couldn't start yet. "Easy, Sai... It's ok... just relax..."

Sai's eyelids fluttered slightly. To keep Sai in one place, Naruto started to rub his shoulder, getting him to relax further. Sai lay still at Naruto's touch. No one had ever rubbed him before. He liked the feeling. It was soothing.

"Take a deep breath in and out... slowly... that's it... and again..." Naruto had Sai repeat this several times before moving on. "I'm going to start counting backwards from ten. When I reach zero, you will be in a trance. While in this trance, you will do anything I say. Ten... nine... eight... seven... six..."

Sai let out another yawn and then lay still in the grass. Naruto stopped rubbing his arm but kept his hand on Sai, keeping his warmth nearby.

"Five... four... That's it... Three... two... one... zero."

At zero, Sai's body became completely limp. Naruto stared at him for a while, wondering if he was really under. He gave Sai's face a gentle poke. He didn't move. He seemed to be in a pretty deep trance.

"Sai, can you hear me?"

He nodded slowly.

"Good. I need you to do something for me. First, do you know who I am?"

"... Naruto..." he mumbled sleepily.

"Good job. That's very good. Now when you wake up from your trance, you will find Sakura, our teammate. When you find her..." Naruto explained exactly what he wanted Sai to do. Sai absorbed every word. "And you will only snap out of it when I punch you. Got all that? Now when I clap my hands, you'll wake up." Naruto sat back and clapped.

Sai opened his eyes. He saw grass and trees. Then he saw Naruto looking down at him. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. "What happened? Did I fall asleep or... something..?" Sai was still feeling groggy from the trance.

Naruto sat with him, hoping Sai would carry out his orders. "Are you feeling ok? You said you were feeling a bit sleepy."

"I did..?" He stifled a yawn. "It's so tranquil here, I guess I just..." He blinked. "I just... I... want to find Sakura." Without another word, Sai stood up, leaving his things behind and started into town. Naruto stood up and followed him.

Once Naruto rescued Sakura from Sai, she would be begging him to be her boyfriend. Naruto couldn't wait.

What will he have Sai do?

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