Naruto 1. Congratulations

**So here it is, the start of Paint me with Colour; I hope that this will be as well received as Oasis in the Sand! I should actually be of higher quality considering I actually have a nice little chapter by chapter plan going on.  
>I intend to have a bit more comedy in this one also! There's already a scene planned out which promises to have me chortling away as I write it, and I just think that Sai just lends himself to the funny side of things so much better.<strong>

**This is written with manga events up to chapter 558 in mind.**

**So here it is, enjoy!**

**Per  
>x <strong>

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><p>The sting of a kunai slicing through his flesh was becoming all too familiar on this mission.<p>

Normally, Konohamaru would have had no trouble dealing with the five shinobi chasing him. He was sure that he would have been able to cut them down without even breaking a sweat. Unfortunately, his chakra was seriously depleted so he was probably going to die before reinforcements arrived.

He dropped down onto a lower branch to avoid another kunai, only to find there had been a paper bomb attached to it. The blast sent him crashing into the ground.

Yeah, that was his right hand breaking, no more Rasengan for him, not that he would have been able to do it anyway, what with his chakra being so low and all.

Diving to the side to avoid the tantō that would have probably killed him, he stumbled to his feet. He felt the sting of a shuriken embedding itself in his shoulder but kept running.

It had been a difficult mission. Retrieve a scroll from the base of a group of rogue Nin. He Udon and Moegi had headed out with another Chunin. They'd had to fight tooth and nail to get away; Udon had gone ahead with the scroll and an injured Moegi while Konohamaru and Shiriku had stayed behind to hold back the enemy.

At some point, Konohamaru and Shiriku had been separated and so he was running through the forest being chased by five angry shinobi.

A familiar chakra presence appeared ahead of him. It called out to him like a bright beacon of hope.

If he had the energy he would had cried with relief, instead he just changed course.

He flung himself toward that beacon.

And there she was.

Sakura Haruno, in all her glory.

Naruto could have sent a whole squad, could have sent half of Konoha. Instead he'd sent one kunoichi.

Still, he knew not to underestimate her.

He stumbled to a stop beside her, finally giving in to his urge to collapse. He turned to the left slightly to see her wearing an amused expression as his five assailants came into view.

They sneered as they saw her. Evidently they'd never heard of the pink haired kunoichi from Konoha. That wouldn't matter now.

They were in range.

"Big mistake." She told them, her expression suddenly becoming more serious. Her fist snapped into the ground quicker than any of them could see.

Needless to say, even Konohamaru could tell that they were surprised. Well the two that survived the resulting debris were surprised. The other three were dead, so they weren't feeling anything.

Sakura's long pink hair whipped out behind her as she darted toward the two survivors.

She somersaulted over the first, flipping over so that she could place her palm on the top of his head killing him instantly with medical ninjutsu. As she came back down she used her momentum to slam her heal into the ground causing another shockwave killing the last, fleeing shinobi.

Quite calmly, Sakura returned to his side and began healing his worst wounds with her mystic palm technique.

"Did the others get back ok?"

Her lips tilted up slightly. "Of course, they're all resting." She lifted her hands away. "You need to rest when we get back to the village too. Don't make me strap you to a hospital bed."

"What's going to happen with our mission? If we're all injured who's going to-?"

She shot him a wry smile. "Don't worry about that. Naruto's got it covered."

He took the hand she offered to help him up. He couldn't help but feel a little bit like a blushing little kid as she half carried him back to the village.

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><p>Sai watched passively as Naruto finished off writing the scroll for the mission he was about to be assigned to. Apparently Sai wasn't allowed to know what the mission would entail until after his partner arrived. Naruto had been surprisingly tight-lipped about the whole thing, so Sai had decided it was best to wait until his partner arrived.<p>

Though he had to admit that his curiosity was piqued by the fact Naruto seemed to be amused by the situation.

The door burst open suddenly and a pink haired kunoichi marched in, pulling a few leaves from her long flowing hair.

"Sorry I'm late Naruto, it took me a little longer to find Konohamaru than I thought it would."

So she was going to be his partner. Sai took in her appearance carefully. Her thick hair was tied back into a long ponytail, although bangs still framed her face. She was wearing the classic Haruno red, but the top was zipped up the front and the sides were black mesh. Over that she wore a green coat, similar to the one Lady Tsunade used to wear, except hers had no symbols and was sleeveless. On her legs she wore tight black leggings and sandals. He noted that she no longer used her forehead protector as a hair band; it was instead fastened to her left leg.

"That's fine Sakura. Was he ok?"

"He was a little roughed up, it was good thing I found him when I did. With the amount of chakra he had left the Jounin after him would have definitely killed him." She finally seemed to notice Sai standing beside her she offered him a smile. "Oh hey Sai."

He gave his own, plastic smile. "Hello Ugly." This was pretty much how it went down every time they met. She'd be hitting him soon.

Her own smile became very fixed. That was a warning sign. Instead of hitting her though she adopted a bright tone. "You know Sai I could kill you and make it look like an accident."

Naruto looked on feeling more amused by the second. Before Sai could respond he cut in.

"Congratulations. You two just got married."

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><p><em>Just a little shorty to start, but I just couldn't help but leave the first chapter as a little cliffhanger, just to be annoying! =D<em>

_**07/11/11 - ok so I was re-reading this to get back into the story and I couldn't help but notice I kept referring to Konohamaru as Sai in the first half of the chapter... so that's all changed now, what a N0obish error**_


	2. Ramen and an Empty Apartment

Testament to all their training as shinobi, Sakura and Sai both gave him identical deadpan looks at his words.

"I'm sorry did you just say we were married?" Sakura asked calmly.

"Yes I did."

"Oh ok, I thought so." She shook her head in tired disbelief. "And when did this occur?"

Naruto flipped a mission scroll onto the table. They both recognised the Daimyō's official seal on it. They were both a little glad at that, missions assigned by the Daimyō paid even better than S rank and ANBU missions.

"Your mission is quite simple, you are to retrieve a precious artefact belonging to the Daimyō; it was stolen by a group of rogue cloud Nin."

"And how does this relate to us being married?" Naruto's face stretched into a broad smile.

"Well the Daimyō kindly provided travel certificates for you, the documents state that you are a married couple." He produced some documents for their inspection. Both of them had approached his desk and were now scrutinising the documents carefully, looking for flaws that might give them away.

"Like anyone would believe I'm married to Ugly."

"They're genuine documents Sai," Naruto pointed out. "The Daimyō approved them himself so technically you are married whether people will believe it or not."

Sakura scowled at this, making a mental note to assassinate the Daimyō the next chance she got. "When do we leave and what are we retrieving."

"You leave tomorrow morning." He sighed, passing her the scroll. "As to what you're to retrieve I don't know, the Daimyō wanted to be sure that only the people actually on the mission know."

They both nodded in understanding. The Daimyō was an incredibly paranoid man after all; he wouldn't want anyone knowing about whatever it was that had been stolen from him. "You're also not to read the scroll until you reach the Land of Lightning." Naruto added before she could even think of opening the scroll she held.

"You're not being serious." She sighed, shaking her head. "I've got a bad feeling about this already." Heading across two countries before even knowing what their objective truly was. It didn't really allow them time to prepare a plan for once they reached the Land of Lightning.

"It does seem odd that we can't even look at the mission scroll until we get there." Sai concurred; his head cocking to the side slightly.

"Either way, you're not to open it before you reach the Land of Lightning." He gave them a challenging look. "And you had better be acting like a married couple by the time you reach the border."

It was a dismissal. Sakura could clearly see that he had quite a bit of work to do, so she offered him a small smile and followed Sai from the room. He held the door for her it was something he'd read that he should do.

"The Daimyō is really starting to get on my nerves." She scowled at the scroll in her hand, not really noticing his slightly confused expression. "You know he had me called to his residence last week." She tucked the scroll into her jacket. "Because he had a sore foot, have you any idea how gross his feet are?" Sai was watching her speak, wearing a blank expression but she continued. "Don't even try to imagine it; you'll just gross yourself out." She shuddered in an almost theatrical manner. "Seriously, that's what he gets for sitting around all day and getting his attendants to carry him in that stupid cart thing." Sai made opened his mouth to speak but she kept going. "Maybe I shouldn't have told him that, he might be hoping I just don't come back from Lightning, I was a little bit harsh in what I said to him."

She stopped suddenly and looked at him. "You're awfully quiet."

"That's because you're using up all the air, Ugly."

"Seriously, I could just make it look like a stroke." She threatened, one of her elegant eyebrows twitching.

"You shouldn't complain about being in demand." He pointed out. After all, the Daimyō paid very well, she'd probably been in the lap of luxury while seeing to his foot. Admittedly though, it was beneath her skills as a shinobi. "It's a good thing for your career."

"I suppose so, but really his _foot_? I'm a ninja not a hand maid... foot maid, whatever." She rolled her viridian eyes at the idea. "Nor am I his _pet_." She said the last word with some disdain.

Sai mumbled something which sounded like "you're too ugly to be a handmaid." She let it slide, momentarily distracted by the brilliant sun light hitting her eyes as they stepped outside.

"I haven't seen you for a while." She stated suddenly. It was almost as if that was how the conversation was supposed to have started.

"No." Came his simple reply. He hadn't seen a lot of people over those past few months.

"Shall we get some ramen?" She smiled her little lopsided smile at him. "It would be nice to catch up. Especially if we're going to be working together."

He considered her for a moment making a few observations along the way.

"I should really start preparing if we're to leave tomorrow." He decided. "And you look tired, maybe you should make sure you get a good night's sleep, those shadows under your eyes make you look even uglier." And then he walked away.

Had he looked back he might have seen the flash of hurt cross her face. He might have seen her gently feeling the skin under her eyes with her fingertips.

He definitely would have noticed that the smile had slipped from her face.

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><p>A few hours later, Sakura was sitting alone in Ichiraku's, swirling her noodles around in the broth.<p>

She'd been genuinely disappointed when Sai had declined her impromptu offer. She'd missed Sai, because although she'd seen him around a few times, over the past three years he had become quite scarce. Team seven had been whittled down to just three members again, and with Naruto being Hokage, and Kakashi working hard to assist them, they seldom worked together much anymore.

So at twenty-two years of age, Sakura Haruno one of the best kunoichi of Konoha, was sitting in a ramen stand by herself, wondering how she came to be there.

She wasn't moping over it. No, she was just baffled by the feeling, she had been so sure she was headed in the right direction but it seemed she'd had the wrong map, or the wrong destination. Maybe it was both.

Her musing was broken when a hand clapped down on her shoulder.

"I thought I'd find you here." She saw Teuchi smile happily, and begin making an extra large portion of Naruto's favourite ramen. Naruto took his seat, not looking at her.

"You clearly know I'm too lazy to cook before a mission." He nodded and 'hmm'd' but otherwise waited in silence for his food.

"I heard about you and Ryou." He said finally.

"Oh... well I guess I'm not surprised." Ryou was the young civilian man Sakura had recently been sharing an apartment with. They had been living together for nearly a year in fact. It wasn't until nearly a month before that things had taken a turn for the worst and he'd started getting funny about her being a shinobi. Then less than a week ago she'd come home late one night looking a little bloodied up. The conversation had gone something along the lines of;

_Angry; "Where the hell have you been?"_

_Tired; "Mission."_

_Angrier; "What kind of answer is that, you should tell me when you're going to be coming back late, and look at the state of you."_

_Tired; "I was on a mission. Sometimes they take longer than expected."_

_Angry; "You should have sent me some kind of message."_

_Irritated; "Yes I should have taken a break during a heated battle and healing my comrades to tell you I'd be late for dinner. That's perfectly sensible."_

_Furious; "Don't speak to _me _like that. I don't see why you're carrying on with this shinobi thing anyway."_

_Silence._

_Calm; "Shinobi _thing_?"_

She had spent only one night in her new apartment. She'd woken up that morning wondering where on earth she was and why her bed was so cold.

Naruto was watching her with understanding cerulean eyes. "Just..." he began awkwardly, "You know if you wanted to talk about it."

"There's nothing to say really." She stirred her now cold noodles again. "A year ago he thought it was so cool to have a shinobi as his girlfriend, he liked the danger and the excitement of being with a woman who could snap his neck. I was his trophy girl." Another stir. "After a year the novelty wore off and he wanted a nice woman who would stay at home and make his supper for him. He didn't understand why I was still carrying on with my '_shinobi thing.'_" She stirred again but Naruto caught her hand.

"He's an idiot."

"You're telling me?" She responded wryly.

"Want me to have him assassinated?" He asked with a small grin. She laughed.

"He's not worth the trouble." She sighed. "I'm not really upset, just, oh I don't know, confused maybe." She was staring down at her bowl but she could see Naruto's eyes were trained on her, waiting for her to explain. "It doesn't matter Naruto, I could try to explain but I'm having a hard time understanding it myself." She grinned at him. "I'm fine really, you just wait; by the time I get back from this mission I'll have my head screwed on straight."

Naruto smiled; that smile that made her slightly plastic one become genuine. "Good."

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><p>Sai had finished packing his supplies nearly an hour ago, he'd finished eating his evening meal and now he was painting.<p>

The brush ran over the paper smoothly. He didn't really have to think about it, he just visualised and the brush obeyed his will.

He wasn't entirely sure why he had refused the chance to catch up with Sakura; in fact it would have made sense to talk to her for a bit before embarking on a potentially long mission with her. Instead he'd felt the need to be alone. To say he was regretting it would be wrong, but he certainly wasn't ecstatic about his choice.

Another sweep of his brush. Instead of listening to that inscrutable woman babble on about random things over a bowl of ramen, he was sitting at his easel thinking about how he should have gone.

His eyes focused on the painting. Like all the others he had done over the past year, it had no colour. He glanced up at the one on the wall by the window. The first painting he'd named; '_friend_.' Even back then, and before he had no trouble using colour in his work. But now it eluded him, every time he tried to use colour it just wouldn't blend the way he wanted and the painting would spoil.

It had been so long since he'd tried that he was pretty sure the paints would have dried out by now. Well that was a lie, he knew the paints he bought wouldn't dry out, but it had been so long that he did wonder sometimes.

His eyes roved over his completed work. It held a distinct taste of dissatisfaction, but he ignored that. He dipped his brush in his now black water, cleaning and drying it carefully before putting it in his pack.

He checked his inks and scrolls in his weapons pouch carefully before finally getting into bed. He stared at the ceiling for a long moment before rolling onto his side to stare at the wall instead.

Their mission would certainly be an interesting one if nothing else. He and Sakura had never worked together alone before, but both of them were excellent shinobi so he doubted much could go wrong for them.

He let himself drift.

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><p>Sakura was met by silence when she ambled into her apartment just after midnight. The place had the feel of a stranger's house, had it not been for the box of medical scrolls on the kitchen table, she might not have guessed that it was her own apartment.<p>

She sighed as she walked into the bedroom, moving her pack and ninja tools from her bed. It was strange to her, to be sleeping alone again after all this time.

Despite her earlier words, she was looking forward to the mission. It would be nice to get away for her to get away for a little while.

She undressed, folding her clothes carefully before she climbed into her wide bed. The brand new mattress was soft, but creaked a little.

At first she had wanted to take everything she'd paid for from her old place, until she realised that that would leave Ryou with no carpets, bed or bathroom. So instead she'd done the grown up thing and told him he could keep it all, because she could happily afford new things thanks to that _shinobi thing_ she did for a living.

She stared at the ceiling for a long moment before rolling onto her side to stare at the empty space next to her.

It would be another long night for her in her empty apartment.

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><p><em>So there's quite a bit of melancholy in this chapter but I promise you that by chapter four there will be a good chortle for you!<em>


	3. Self Portrait

The sun had barely risen in Konoha by the time Sakura reached the gates of Konoha. It was a quiet morning, moisture hung in the air and what she could see of the sun was a watery orange glow on the horizon.

It interested her to see that although she was fifteen minutes early, Sai was also approaching their meeting spot... although he did look rather more alert thank Sakura felt, having spent most of the night tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable in her wonderfully comfortable bed.

He seemed to inspect her readiness as they arrived in their meeting place at the same time. It was a long sweeping glance, taking her measure as her mother might have said.

He seemed mostly satisfied with his findings, and rightly so, she thought, because they were both high ranking Jounin. She knew how to prepare for a mission.

"It seems you didn't take my advice Ugly, you look even more tired than you did yesterday."

She was prepared for the comment this time, refraining from trying to cover her face, to hide it from his scrutiny. Sai was the first person in a while that she'd known to actively criticise her appearance, other than Ino telling her how to dress. Having spent a large part of her year around the civilian friends of her old flatmate she had grown used to people making comment on how she was '_a real looker'_ and that she had such a unique look. But civilians in the village often looked upon their kunoichi that way. That was how it was supposed to be, they were supposed to entice and seem harmless.

She supposed she should have punched Sai for his comment. Instead she gave him a small tired smile.

"It's odd trying to get to sleep in a new apartment. I only moved in two days ago." It amused her a little to see he looked ready to defend himself.

"I see." She was interested to see that closer up he looked a little tired also, but she was too tactful to say anything about it. Whatever it was that had kept him up, she was sure he could handle it.

"Shall we get going then?" She turned her back to the village, looking out at the road ahead of them. The sky was awash with the golden orange hues of the morning sun, but the sky was mostly clear.

"Naruto spoke to me this morning." Sai informed her suddenly. "He suggested that we don't go straight through the Land of Hot Water, apparently there has been some unrest due to an upsurge in Jashinism."

It surprised Sakura to hear that Sai had heard from Naruto that morning. Ordinarily he would have spoken to her; instead he'd gone to Sai? She pushed the tinge of hurt away telling herself that it was probably just that they'd happened across each other.

"That religion Hidan followed right?" She saw him nod minutely. "Great, just what we need a bunch of psychos' intent on creating havoc." She considered for a moment. "I guess that leaves us three options."

"Travelling through the land of sound and either getting a boat up to the Land of Frost or skirting the coast of the Land of Hot Water. That or taking a boat from our own cost straight to Lightning." Sakura gave Sai an approving look.

"Wow I said that without moving my mouth." Her lips twisted into a wry smile his remained mostly blank except for the frown that appeared in order to show he was thinking.

"Ordinarily I'd say we take the third option but if we're travelling as married civilians then it's unlikely we'd be able to charter a boat."

Sakura nodded in agreement, her own frown returning. "How about we attempt to get a boat from Sound, then if we're unsuccessful we can skirt the Hot Water coast."

"I said that without moving my mouth." That earned a laugh from Sakura. Sai plastered his fake smile on his face.

"I'll cast a Genjutsu over us now and we can set out." The laughter was still in her voice.

She was glad that she was feeling comfortable with her old team mate. After the previous night she had worried a little that maybe it would be an uncomfortable experience, working alongside him.

But as she formed the hand seals, weaving a complex Genjutsu which would make them appear different, she realised that she didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Sai's presence and abruptness were actually quite refreshing.

Once the Genjutsu was in place they quietly left the village, neither of them looking back once.

They walked for most of the day, stopping when the sun had reached its peak in the sky to have lunch in a small tea room, and then continuing until the sky was once again a mass of oranges pinks and reds.

There hadn't been too much conversation during the day, only the odd comment on how they needed to slow their pace slightly. Or Sakura telling Sai that a he shouldn't be calling his wife 'Ugly'. They'd also discussed who they were supposed to be and straightened their stories out so that they'd be able to lie perfectly.

When she had noticed that the sun was setting Sakura had suggested they stop, because not many civilians would be foolish enough to travel during the night. Sai had agreed reluctantly, travelling as a civilian was so inconvenient; normally they'd be most of the way to the border and still travelling.

Instead they were a few hours away from the village – as the shinobi runs – and they were wasting precious night time hours.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep at all tonight." Sakura commented sitting down on the ground by the fire they'd built. They had already eaten a small dinner.

Sai looked watched her for a moment, noting the interesting colour her hair looked in the light of the fire. It was almost amber in colour, and her eyes looked dark in that light also.

"Mmm. Think how difficult it will be for me, trying to sleep in a tent with someone so ugly." Her eyes narrowed.

"Hey! You know that's not what I meant, I just have so much energy left over, usually I'd have used it all travelling at full pelt." She picked up a stick and poked the fire and they both watched as the bright sparks flew off into the inky black night.

Sai pondered for a moment, trying to think of the best way to phrase his question.

"Hey Ugly, shouldn't you have hit me by now?" He was still watching the dark sky but he saw her head turn in his peripheral vision. "You always used to hit me for calling you ugly." He explained as she continued to look at him. "But now you barely react at all. I'm not sure I understand it."

Finally he brought his eyes down to meet hers. The light of the fire shone in them warping their colour. She seemed to be considering her answer carefully.

"Well I guess I just feel more forgiving Sai, because I haven't really seen you in so long." She poked the fire absently with her stick. "You know I can't even remember the last time we worked together, or were even in the same room together for more than five minutes."

Sai _could _remember but he decided that wasn't the point she was trying to make.

"So you're saying that you missed me?" He deduced. He had an odd feeling that she wasn't telling him the entire truth about it, her features were just a little too static, but he let it go.

"Uh yeah I guess I did in an odd kind of way." Her response was a little awkward. "But I guess I miss the whole team." She added softly. "It seems we've all grown apart quite a bit."

Sai didn't understand what she meant by that. He knew that she and Naruto were still very close; he could have deduced that from Naruto's visit to his apartment just that morning.

But here she was saying that the team had grown apart.

"I haven't seen much of anyone lately." He said aloud, not really noticing that Sakura turned to face him.

He'd spent a lot of time working with the old ANBU Root, integrating them into the Hokage's ANBU. But that meant he couldn't spend a lot of time around other people. Because the old Root lot didn't like the idea.

He saw Naruto a bit, because he had to report to him, but other than that he seldom saw anyone else.

It had been so long since he'd talked to Sakura that he was completely taken aback by how different she was to that girl he'd met when they were both sixteen.

Back then she'd been a short fuse, still ignorant of anything but her Sasuke, and most of all she'd been ugly. Of course not everyone had thought she was ugly, and there had been a few positive things about her. For instance; she had been fairly patient in helping Sai begin to learn about emotion, and she was a dedicated friend.

Now, well now she was refined, she'd reigned in that temper of hers and seemed to be thinking less about the Uchiha – which he supposed was healthy considering he was dead. Her voice was softer but she seemed less expressive than she had been. Her voice was not the only thing that had softened over the past six years.

He realised she was staring at him, wearing that expression he'd never been able to replicate a slight frown was all there seemed to be to it, but her bright green eyes seemed to swim with emotion.

What had he said to make her look like that?

Her eyes flickered back to the fire, unseeing. When she finally spoke it was halting. "Sai, I had no idea you'd been alone."

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><p>Naruto stretched as he finished writing his letter to the Daimyō to state that two the two shinobi requested had been dispatched. His mind had been preoccupied all day.<p>

He felt that maybe he'd been neglecting two of his best friends. Sakura had seemed lonely when he'd spoken to her the night before. He had the feeling that while she wasn't particularly broken up over Ryou – who, incidentally, had been having a string of bad luck since Naruto had heard what had happened; a courtesy of Kakashi – she was disturbed but the situation in general and was having a hard time adjusting to being alone in that new apartment of hers.

He decided right then and there that when Sakura got back he'd make sure she got settled in properly, and that they'd get back to their regular ramen dates.

Reflecting back on his visit to Sai that morning, he realised that he was even more concerned about the old Root member.

_The sun wasn't even up when Naruto arrived at Sai's tiny apartment, but as he had anticipated the door was answered quickly._

"_Sai, I just wanted to give you a heads up that there's been some trouble in the Land of Hot Water, you might want to avoid it as much as possible."_

"_What's the trouble?" Naruto was gazing around Sai's little apartment curiously, he knew that Sai was being paid enough to upgrade, but for some reason he seemed content to live in that one room apartment, with a communal bathroom. Most of the space was taken up by the paintings that leant against the walls._

"_There's been a huge upswing in Jashinism." Sai's expression didn't change as he watched Naruto move through his apartment to the window._

"_Oh." Naruto warred with himself as he watched the first glow of the sun appear in the sky._

"_Sai?" There was no response but Naruto continued anyway. "Take care of Sakura will you?"_

"_She can't take care of herself?" Sai's tone was confused, "She's a shinobi, surely she doesn't need looking after."_

_Naruto turned to look at him. Surprisingly, Sai's expression was troubled as if he was wondering what's wrong with the pink haired kunoichi._

_Naruto sighed; it was probably a little too early in the morning for him to be explaining things to Sai. "It's not that she needs to be looked after. It's just that sometimes it's good to have someone looking out for you. You know someone to watch your back."_

"_I see." If he hadn't been looking at him, Naruto would never have known that something was wrong with Sai, his voice was perfectly emotionless, but there was a tiny flicker of something in his expression, which concerned Naruto greatly._

_Suddenly, Sai picked up his pack and turned to the door. "I should be leaving now, I'll be sure to keep what you've told me in mind."_

_And then he was gone, leaving Naruto to look around his box like apartment with renewed eyes._

_It was only then that he noticed that all the paintings propped against the walls had something in common. They all lacked colour._

_His eyes fell on the most recent one, still in the easel with paint that still looked a little tacky._

_He might not have noticed that his painting was black and white if it had not been for the scenery and people in the background._

_He considered running to Sakura then, to ask her to look out for their emotionless team mate, but he knew that she would already be doing that._

_He took one last look at the painting before he left, allowing it to become firmly imprinted in his mind, along with its name._

'_Self Portrait'_

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><p>Sakura stared at the forest green wall of the little tent.<p>

She had come to several revelations that day. The first being that she couldn't punch Sai for calling her 'Ugly' because she needed it, she needed someone around who would just talk to her as she was, on equal footing.

The second was that she had been wrong in thinking that she missed just Team Kakashi as a whole, and that she really missed everyone individually.

The third revelation had been that Sai was lonely, even if he didn't know it himself. But it had been there in his voice when he'd told her he hadn't seen much of anyone. There had been a touch of it in those obsidian eyes. It was a wonder to her that he got by without someone watching his back.

She listened to his quiet breathing for a while. The tent was small so they were sleeping back to back, she could feel his warmth seeping through his sleeping bag into hers. Maybe it was that final revelation of hers, but she imagined she could hear the underlying sadness in every intake of breath.

Laying there, staring at the green canvas of their tent wall, listening to Sai's breathing, she resolved to be a better team mate from that moment on.

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><p><em>Tadah, chapter three; do tell me what you think, I'm not sure if this story is being lame or not tbh, <em>


	4. Aphrodisiacs and Fighting Dirty

_**I dedicate this chapter to my Grandpa who passed away on 18**__**th**__** October 2011 after a yearlong fight with lung cancer.**_

_**He never much enjoyed fantasy, what he really enjoyed was watching us having fun and doing the things that we love.**_

* * *

><p>It wasn't until five days of travelling that they finally reached Sound.<p>

It wasn't the same as it had been when Orochimaru had been there, in fact there really wasn't much of a Sound Village anymore, the country was filled with rogue nin and other criminals. The Sound Daimyō had been assassinated earlier that year taking away the last bit of stability.

It was a treacherous place to travel. It was likely that they would be stopped many times by many different factions, but that was preferable to being attacked by followers of Jashin.

As they approached the border they reinforced their disguise using a transformation jutsu, so that even if someone did look twice at them, they would still only see a pair of meagre civilians.

They were stopped by a group of what looked like officials, who asked for their papers and identification, claiming that they didn't want to allow any foreign shinobi into their land.

Aside from that they passed into the Land of Sound with little incident.

They walked quietly, conscious that they were now in more dangerous territory. When they spoke it was in a rough kind of code they'd developed during their travel time. Unfortunately most of it involved some serious guess work for both parties.

"My love, I don't think all our financial troubles are behind us."

They had stopped for a short break, to eat their lunch when Sai sidled over to Sakura's side and spoke.

It really was an effort not to frown. Some of the things Sai had said to her in code came from seriously ridiculous logic, so she was on the lookout for it.

She feigned a great sigh. "I know, hard times are ahead, but it's nothing we can't handle together."

"Should I get some scrolls and paper, do you think?" he pondered. "I could do some paintings to put out there, you know, to sell."

"Can't hurt." She replied with a shrug. "Shall we get back on the road? I wouldn't mind sleeping in an actual bed tonight." She could sense the lurking presence of some shinobi who had been tailing them for a few hours, it was best to find a town so that they could blend into the crowd.

Sai was already on his feet, offering her his hand. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.

Before he could turn away, Sakura caught his arm and held him in place, a near devilish smile spreading across her features. "I'm so looking forward to it. It'll be the first time since the wedding. You had better be ready to perform." She purred.

Now with a normal guy, this would probably have sent them into hot flushes, and gained either a cheeky, cocky response or turned them into a nervous wreck.

Sai simply looked like he was trying to figure out her code.

There was a pause in which he cocked his head to the side slightly and his lips twitched into a fake smile.

"You know that I'm always ready my dear, I'm ready right now if that's what you want."

"R-right here in the woods?" He had definitely misunderstood her joke so she would have to make it painfully obvious. "I think I'd prefer to do it in a bed, dear, we wouldn't want anyone to see would we?"

There was a long pause as they simply looked at each other then Sakura shook her head.

"Oh Sai, you still need to work on that sense of humour of yours." She heard him chuckle softly as she walked over to her bag.

"Maybe it's yours that needs work." He retorted. She allowed a short burst of laughter at that; seriously doubting that it was her that needed to work on it.

She moved to hoist her bag onto her back but jerked up suddenly when she felt Sai's hand touch the small of her back. He seemingly took advantage of her surprise by pulling her back toward his torso, so his chin could rest on her shoulder.

"Now what were you saying." He whispered into her ear.

Needless to say, Sakura was slightly taken aback by Sai's move. She understood it of course; they were being closely observed and were having a communication difficulty, so this was the best way to talk.

Didn't stop the surprise from momentarily wiping her brain of all intelligent thought.

"Uh, I was making a joke Sai. Also now anyone listening will think that we're going to be, well you know, getting a little randy tonight."

"Hm," She could feel a short puff of breath on her shoulder. His tone was as it always was; bright and mostly emotionless. "Good thinking Sakura."

She rolled her eyes as he released her. Sai was such an atypical male sometimes... but she wondered if he had intentionally held her in such an intimate manner for the act, or if it had just been complete chance.

She found herself shaking her head once again as she pulled her bag up onto her shoulder.

* * *

><p>They didn't reach a village until after just after sunset.<p>

It looked like a poor area, the buildings were fairly run down but people still milled around the main street.

Sai observed as they walked toward what looked like an inn. The waning daylight cast a cold blue hue over the woman who hurried down the street with a small loaf of bread in her arms. A few men staggered out of the warm glow of a small bar and dispersed into the encroaching twilight.

There seemed to be an aura of fear about the place.

He could see Sakura was scrutinizing the area as well.

"Couldn't have picked a nicer town if we'd tried."

"Well it was you that suggested we find a town for the night." He pointed out mildly.

"Yes, Sai, I know that," she began through gritted teeth. "I was merely saying that it's not the nicest place I've been to."

She reached for the door of the inn, thankfully not punching him for whatever he'd said to irritate her.

"Maybe I should go in first my dear." He suggested before she could open the door, "I read in a book that for some reason men are more likely to be dominant in a civilian marriage."

"You have a point there." She conceded stepping away from the door. "And the reason is that in a civilian relationship it's more likely that a man will beat the crap out of his partner for not being submissive enough." She flashed him a grin. "And a Kunoichi is less likely to accept that."

"I see," he intoned in his typical cheery yet insincere voice as he pushed the door to the inn open, holding the door for her. "That does make sense." Sakura grabbed Sai's hand as they stepped inside, trying, and probably failing to make them look more like a newly married couple.

The inn appeared to be much like the rest of the little town; run down and dark, but the little old lady at the bar greeted them warmly enough.

She had probably caught the scent of the money they had on them.

"Good evening my dears!" She addressed Sai, of course, because the man_ always _carries the money. "What can I do for you tonight?"

"My new wife and I need a room for the night, and a hot meal if it's possible." Sakura could have kissed him for asking for a hot meal, it was almost as if he'd read her mind. Then again, he had been eating the same cold rations that she had.

The woman looked crestfallen. "The meal I can do, but the only room I have at the moment only has a single bed."

"That will do, we've haven't slept in a proper bed for over a week."

"Oh I see, on your honeymoon are you?" she asked, winking at Sakura, who was currently standing just behind Sai's right shoulder, trying to make herself seem as meek as possible.

She forced a blush and a small giggle as she leaned into his arm a little.

She could see that Sai was about to refute that, so she squeezed his hand, hard.

"Well in that case I'll make you something extra special for your meal." She grinned at Sakura, who was frankly quite surprised her coy act had worked so well. "You just take a seat and I'll whip something up." She pottered off to the kitchen, looking back once to see that the two of them had sat down at the table in the corner.

"So ugly are you going to tell my why you nearly crushed the bones in my hand? I wasn't aware that was customary in marriage." He asked putting his arm around her shoulders so he could speak into her ear.

"You clearly still need to learn how to score the good food when you're undercover." She said sticking her tongue out. "A nice old lady like that is often more willing to pull out the stops for the honeymooning couple."

"I see, so she's fetching better food to get our strength for the consummation of our marriage?"

Sakura choked on the air she was breathing in. "Well I don't think that's quite what she's thinking of." She managed between coughs. "It's more of a congratulatory thing."

The lady came back into the room carrying a bottle, saving Sakura from more questions.

"Please, take this sake on the house." She popped the bottle and two cups on the table before bowing and leaving the room.

"See we even got free Sake." She filled the two little cups before lifting her own.

Sai caught her arm. "Don't forget we're on a mission."

"Sai, one bottle of this is not enough to get _me_ drunk, let alone both of us." One corner of her mouth tugged up in amusement. "Plus you can smell that it's been watered down. So in my medical opinion all this will do is wet our throats and maybe help us get a good night of sleep." She gestured to his drink. "So bottoms up."

Sure enough, when he drank his own Sake he found that it was really quite watered down, but he actually found that it tasted nicer that way anyway.

The lady returned a few minutes later with two steaming bowls of food.

"Eat up now," she said with a wide smile. "I'm afraid I won't be able to show you to your room, I'm not as young as I used to be, but it's the only room on the third floor, you should find it easy enough. The bathroom is on the floor below." She pottered back off to the kitchen leaving them to examine their food.

Sakura knocked back her second cup of Sake in one go, sincerely wishing it was the good stuff. She noted Sai had observed her action with some curiosity.

"Sai, you'd better hurry up and eat your bowl of aphrodisiac so we can go to bed and _not_ consummate our marriage."

* * *

><p>The instant they reached their little room, after awkwardly thanking their host for their meal, Sai whipped out a scroll and drew two mice and a moth. He surreptitiously released the mice and they scampered away to scout the enemies. The moth also twitched and fluttered up from the page drifting around the room silently searching for any listening devices.<p>

Meanwhile, Sakura scanned the room.

It was small and dimly lit, and the walls looked like they had been effected by damp and the moss green wall paper was faded and peeling away to reveal the wooden walls beneath. The one lamp cast a weak glow over the narrow bed, blue light filtered in through the little window casting a dreary light across the room.

But it was clean, and when the curtains were drawn, they were safe from prying eyes.

"No bugs. Not that I would expect any." Sai muttered putting his scroll away. "No one could have known we'd stop here."

"Better safe than sorry." She stripped the bed off, inspecting the mattress and the bed clothes carefully. "The bed's clean."

"I already said I'd checked for bugs."

"Different kind of bug Sai, I'd rather not have little insects feasting on my blood during the night."

"Who said you get the bed?" Sai asked casually.

"My fist will when I punch you in the face for trying to take the bed."

"If you take the bed I'll draw on your face." Sai's smile was surprisingly genuine as he said that.

"Real mature Sai." She didn't doubt that he would do it, and she knew that his ink was a nightmare to get out. She might as well get 'UGLY' tattooed across her forehead. "You know this raises an interesting question."

"Wondering what I was going to draw?"

"No." She could guess. "Who's in charge on this mission?"

There was a long pause as they sized each other up in that dank little room.

Naruto hadn't specified who would be mission leader; the Daimyo didn't assign mission leaders when he set missions. And neither of them could pull rank.

A few years ago Sai might have won on experience but now they were evenly matched.

Sai's eyes flickered down for the briefest of moments and she realised that they were both coming to the same conclusion.

"Whoever gets the bed!" They both exclaimed at the same time as they leapt onto the bed so they both stood facing each other.

"Whoever hits the floor first sleeps there, last ninja standing gets the bed and mission leadership." The game was on, and Sakura didn't want Sai to sneak his way around the rules. "Got it?" He nodded solemnly. "And no ninjutsu; we don't want to wreck the prize."

"Taijutsu only then." He agreed. He looked so serious that Sakura laughed, but then she had to catch his arm because he'd used her moment of distraction to try to sweep her off the bed.

A short grappling battle ensued in which they simply tried to push each other off the bed. Neither one of them could win that because they couldn't get proper leverage so Sakura ended it by aiming a swift jab to Sai's gut.

He parried by catching her wrist and knocking her off balance, flipping her off the bed.

Her feet hit the wall for half a second before she jumped back onto the bed forcing Sai to duck to avoid being tackled.

Before she could attack him from above, Sai swept her legs out from underneath her and hit her with a pillow, which left her flat on her back attempting to twist around so her feet wouldn't touch the floor. She managed to catch Sai in the side of his head with a wild kick and then latch her other foot behind his knees.

He fell into the tiny space beside her and another scuffle ensued as they both tried to gain the upper hand.

Normally Sakura wouldn't fight like a girl, she was a shinobi, and she had too much pride to fight as dirty as that. But there was a bed at stake so pride went out the window. Plus being a shinobi, she was expected to fight dirty.

Hair was pulled – by both parties – and Sakura pulled out the fact that thanks to the many times she had acted as Sai's doctor, she knew that he had a ticklish spot at the bottom of his ribs, and oddly enough, his knees caps.

After ten minutes they had to stop. They were _both_ too weak from laughter to keep it up any longer. Sakura was actually crying from laughing too hard. So they lay with their heads at the foot of the bed recovering, Sai holding Sakura's wrists to stop her from tickling him again.

"Share?" She suggested after finally catching her breath.

"It would seem that would be our only option."

"And maybe this shouldn't go in our mission report, they might have us committed." She laughed again. "Plus I don't think it would say much for your manliness if I report that you will resort to hair pulling when you're in a tight spot."

"Hair pulling is a viable tactic, tickling is not."

"I was just utilising your weaknesses. Plus; I'm allowed to fight like a girl." Sai's grip on her wrists tightened as she tried to poke at his ribs again. She pouted. "I might have to advertise the fact that it's seriously hilarious to poke you in the ribs though."

"Doctor patient confidentiality." Was all he said to that.

"Aaah, kill joy." She whined, trying in vain to free her wrists.

"If you tell anyone, I'll tell Naruto your one weakness." He threatened, wearing one of those bright, fake smiles of his. Interestingly it didn't look so fake when his cheeks were still a little flushed from their wrestling match.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You're bluffing, you don't… I don't have any weaknesses." It had been well known since the early days of Team Seven, even before Sasuke had left, that Sakura Haruno wasn't ticklish.

"Oh really?" He gathered her wrists into one hand and pinned them against the mattress, then, before she could even make a sound of protest, his fingers had found their way to the back of her neck.

So he definitely hadn't been bluffing

It wasn't long before she was desperately pleading for mercy between bursts of laughter. He'd freed her hands but all she could do was cling for dear life.

"OK, OK, I won't tell anyone." She shrieked finally. He stopped, although his fingers remained at the back of her neck.

"Are you sure you're not just telling me what I want to hear?" He was torturing her, with ticking. And he even had the cheek to double check her answer.

"I promise. I think I'll have an aneurism if you keep that up." He slapped another bright smile on his face and removed his hand from the back of her neck.

"I'm glad we understand each other."

They rolled in opposite directions, both touching the floor at the same time.

"I suppose we should just go to bed, so we can make an early start tomorrow." Sakura suggested, poking Sai's ribs on her way to the door, earning a satisfying spasm out of him. She grabbed some clothes from the top of her bag before opening the door. "I'm going to the bathroom to change." She uttered, before stepping out and closing the door behind her, leaving Sai alone to change his own clothes.

He picked the pillows off the floor before slipping into a plain t-shirt and some loose shorts.

He was glad for that little tussle with Sakura, it had released some of that pent up energy he would usually have used up training. Plus it had been fun.

If there was one thing he could count on Sakura for, it was endless entertainment.

When she came back he was already sprawled across the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He glanced over to see that she had changed into attire similar to his own, although her clothes appeared to be several sizes too large for her.

The effect made her look smaller and more fragile. He wondered if the clothes had belonged to Leo, or Ryan or whatever his name was.

Before could ask she had made her way around the bed and was looking down at him, one eyebrow arched.

"Move it or lose it, my dearest." She said sweetly, aiming her finger to poke at his ribs again.

He caught her hand again and pulled her down onto the bed. "Stop trying to seduce me and go to sleep." He threw the covers over her while she huffed indignantly then he leaned over her to turn the light off.

She tugged her wrist out his grip and turned to lay with her back to him before muttering petulantly.

"Pfft, you wish." He settled down with his back against hers and felt a small smile pulling at his lips.

"You wish that I wished." He told her.

"Yeah well you wish that I wish that you wished."

"You wish that I wished that you wished that I wi-"

"Sai, don't make me knock you out." She cut across him.

There was a long pause in which both of them stared at their respective walls.

"Sakura."

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever said a word so many times that you become convinced it's not a real word?"

She half laughed, half giggled. He could feel the tremors of her laughter against his back and he smiled into the darkness again.

Then they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><em>I'm very sorry about the long wait for this chapter, but there have been extenuating circumstances, and I haven't really felt like writing much lately.<em>

_The good news is, I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it gave me many giggles along the way. And also I have written several scenes for a lot further into the story so I have something to write towards._

_Thanks for waiting and let me know what you think as always._

_Per_

_._


	5. Clean Hair and Unlucky Cuts

Sakura woke well before sunrise.

After a few minutes of dazed blinking and trying to figure out who and where she was she remembered that she didn't have to get up for another two hours at least.

She stretched like a contented cat, glad for once that civilians were so lazy. She snuggled deeper into the toasty bed, which was surprisingly comfortable despite the lack of space, and drifted into a light doze.

* * *

><p>Sai also woke up before dawn, but unlike Sakura, when he was awake that was it; he stayed awake. He felt Sakura stretch behind him, her feet brushing against his calves and ankles.<p>

It was nice, he decided, so he remained in the warm bed watching the faint light on the dank wall become more prominent until the light turned golden red, making the old green wall glow, revealing the subtle tones created by long hours exposed to sunlight.

When the sun had risen just a little further Sai finally decided that it was time they started moving again. He twisted in a half-hearted attempt to sit up and Sakura stirred beside him.

"Izitumermer?" She asked him blearily probably thinking she was asking a coherent question.

"Ugly, you have to let the words form before they leave your mouth." He poked her face absently and she blinked up at him.

"I meant to ask if it was time to get up." Her features turned into a scowl. Suddenly, Sai found himself dumped on the cold floor. "And don't call me ugly." She growled at him, jumping out of bed with surprising vivacity. She dumped the sheets over his head. "I'm going to head down to the bathhouse before we leave." He felt a hand pat his head through the blanket and then heard the door swing open and close again.

He made a mental note to tell her to make more noise when she walked. She was just far to light on her feet to pass for a civilian.

Five minutes later Sai had paid the old lady for the room and the food and then he too was on his way down to the bath house. It would be nice to be properly clean for a short while at least.

He stripped off and picked up his towel and washcloth before heading into the bathing area.

The room was very steamy and Sai could just about make out that there was one other person in the bath already, but he ignored them as he slipped into the hot water, laying his towel down behind him.

"Well this is awkward." Sai nearly jumped out of his skin when the dryly amused voice drifted through the steam. The steam wafted to the side a little, allowing him to see Sakura just a little more clearly. "Guess you missed the mixed bathing signs?" She asked lazily. As the steam cleared a little more he noticed her slide down ever so slightly.

"Apparently I did."

Why did the steam have to keep getting thinner? It wasn't as if Sai had never seen a naked woman before, but this wasn't just a naked woman it was a naked Sakura, and that was a different thing entirely. Ok he'd accidentally seen her a little scantily clad once back in the old days, but he didn't remember much of that. She'd taught him to always knock by bashing his head against the door several times.

She smirked at him, apparently not as uncomfortable as he was. Then again, she didn't have to worry about having her lights punched out if her eyes unintentionally wandered slightly.

Suddenly, she laughed.

"Sai, you look like you're scared for your life, chill out, I'm not going to sucker punch you." She chuckled again, an amused smile playing across her face.

"Are you sure?"

"Well that would be unfair wouldn't it?" She offered him a devilish kind of grin. "Plus I don't generally punch people when I'm wet and naked. It would just be too weird." He caught the blush that spread across her cheeks. "In fact this whole line of thought is just too weird."

"Agreed."

They both stared away from each other for a long moment.

He heard Sakura take a breath and glanced over in time to see her head disappearing beneath the water. He saw her hands running over her hair, making sure it was fully submerged before she brought her head back up again, pushing her soaked bangs away from her face.

Sai tried not to watch as she applied her shampoo and conditioner, but it was actually quite interesting to see how she took care of those pink long pink locks of hers. First lathering the shampoo through the entire length of it, ensuring that it was worked in properly, then thoroughly rinsing it out in sections before doing the same with conditioner. He even saw her painstakingly rubbing something into the very ends of her hair.

Having heard the story of why she had once cut her hair short, because she was being mocked for taking more care over her hair than her ninja studies, Sai was curious to see that she had returned to meticulously taking care of her hair once again.

"Sakura," he began without thinking about it.

She looked up from her examination of her hair, a slight frown of still concentration in place. He said nothing, realising that it was probably not something he should ask her.

She frowned at his silence. "It's not like you to refrain from asking an inappropriate question."

"I was just wondering," he paused, trying to think of the least offensive way to phrase his question. "I heard the story about you cutting your hair during your first Chunin exam, how you were criticized for paying more attention to your appearance than your jutsu…"

"And now you're wondering why I am once again back to the wicked ways of vanity?" A wry smile twisted at her lips. "Firstly, it's because I find it quite soothing, Secondly, I'm a kunoichi so I've got to take some care over my appearance anyway. And finally, as you should know, I don't let it interfere with my skill level. I would chop it off all over again if it came down to it."

"I see." It was good to have such a mystery solved. It made perfect sense, although he failed to see how she might find such an activity soothing.

She flipped her hair back over her shoulder and arched an eyebrow at him.

"It's time to shut your eyes now."

He did so obediently, feeling quite grateful that the ordeal was coming to an end.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later they were back on the road, leaving the run down little village behind them.<p>

"How much money do we have left?" Sakura wondered aloud as they turned a corner, leaving the village out of sight.

"Not much, probably not enough to pay for a vessel to take us to the coast of the Land of Lightning." Sai could feel the weight of the money pouch bouncing against his chest, from where it hung around his neck. "I suppose I could sell some paintings in order to raise some funds." She nodded thoughtfully. "What are you going to do in order to earn your keep?" His tone was light so she resisted the urge to punch his arm in a very un-wife-like manner.

"I'll help you sell them; you don't exactly have the best people skills." Her eyes narrowed infinitesimally. "Our financial troubles are worse than before; we won't be able to avoid them today."

Sai made a small noise of consent, gazing around in a seemingly absent manner.

They were being followed again, but now it seemed closer, more like the stalking of prey than mere observation.

It wasn't until after midday that they made their move.

Annoyingly, it was when Sai had just nipped into the bushes to 'relieve himself' (because Sakura objected to him taking a leak right in front of her) when the first of their stalkers approached Sakura.

From that she deduced two things.

First of all, they definitely didn't know they were attacking shinobi.

Secondly, that they were all total morons.

"Put down the bags missy, you're coming with us." The leader sneered. "We've already got your husband before you try to call out to him."

She glanced over her shoulder, surprised to see Sai being led out of the bushes by two more shinobi.

So ten in total... Sai nodded at her and she suppressed a smirk as she realised a third fault in the shinobi apprehending them.

"We've been keeping an eye on you two, my pet." The leader explained approaching her, lifting her chin with his hand. He turned her face to the side, examining her closely. "It was nice of you to take the room above us in the inn, it meant we got to hear your performance. Sounds like you have both vigour and stamina." He sneered.

So they'd misinterpreted their fight over the bed as something else had they? She suppressed a giggle as she imagined them in the room below, thinking that all that noise was actually something a little naughtier than it was.

His hand travelled down her throat and all desire to giggle vanished.

She was too busy trying not to kill the man for touching her with his filthy hands.

"What do you want from us?" Sai asked from his place between the two shinobi who had apprehended him.

Another unpleasant sneer. "We don't want anything from _you_, we're just simple traders." His hand was now toying with the zip on Sakura's top. Her skin bristled. "I'm sure we'd fetch an excellent price for you."

She shoved him back. "Release." She growled, raising one hand in the half tiger seal. The one set back of the Genjutsu, it was difficult to fight with it activated.

Sai's ink clone vanished as he took the two shinobi apprehending him out with his super beast scroll.

Sakura dove after the leader. "What kind of motley crew are you leading?" She asked coolly. "They can't even tell the difference between a civilian man and a clone."

Before she could land a hit on the leader, one of his subordinates caught a fistful of her hair.

Gritting her teeth against the pulling sensation she spun and sliced at the guy's hand.

A few strands of pink hair parted from the rest as the man released her hair. The next moment the kunai struck his throat handle first, crushing his windpipe before Sakura's fist cracked down on the top of his head, knocking him out cleanly.

But no sooner had she taken two steps away from him, he was up again, rubbing his head.

He seemed very proud of himself when he spoke. "You wanna be careful, Pretty, we're in the bingo book."

She considered him carefully for a moment. "No you're not." She informed him incredulously.

"We are, you're clearly not very well informed. What are you? Genin or something?" She seriously wanted to laugh at him for that foolish assumption.

"So what are you in it for then?" She ventured, figuring that they probably weren't in _her_ bingo book because hers only contained A-Rank and above. They obviously weren't that great, if they were they wouldn't be advertising the fact they were in it.

"Our leader, Lanard made us famous by teaching us a jutsu which allows us to heal our bodies rapidly." He sneered. "The only way to stop us it to kill us."

"You're certainly not in it for intelligence, are you?"

Quick as a flash she was behind him. His expression was vacant as he fell to the ground, all his nerves severed at the neck.

"I doubt I'll even get a pretty penny for killing you." She sighed as she moved away from the man's body. "Did you hear that Sai."

He nodded abruptly, slicing some guy's throat with his tantō.

It wasn't long before they were down to the last two. Neither of them were injured, apart from Sakura's hair and a small scratch on Sai's cheek, which had been pure bad luck.

She lunged at the first before ducking down to allow an ink lion to leap over her head, which tore out his throat before melting away.

Sakura knew there was something wrong then; the super beast jutsu didn't simply melt away like that. Glancing over her shoulder she saw Sai lean on a nearby tree like he had just been sapped of all his strength.

She straightened from her crouch, still looking in his direction; trying to diagnose him from two meters away.

Poison, she decided, throwing her chakra infused fist back without looking to meet the last shinobi square in the face. Needless to say he would not be getting up.

"Huh, I wonder which one was Lanard." Sai's voice was carefully casual but before he could dismiss his injury any further Sakura had pinned him against the tree and was examining the scratch on his cheek.

He squirmed as she turned his face so she could see it better and poked it with her free hand.

"Yup, congratulations Sai; you've been poisoned." She probed a little more carefully with her chakra, trying to identify the type of poison the way Tsunade had taught her. "Hmm..."

"You shouldn't say hmm right after you tell someone they've been poisoned."

"Sure I can, if I know what I'm doing." She pulled a scalpel from her kunai pouch and brought it up to his cheek. "And I definitely know what I'm doing." Before he could protest she had reopened the cut with one quick painless cut. "Sorry Sai but the quickest way is for me to just suck the poison out."

"You're going to suck my face?"

"Suck and spit Sai, Suck and Spit. It's what all the couples are doing on their honeymoons these days." She slapped his chest with an amused expression. "Trust me I'm a pro, Naruto always to get bitten by snakes; I swear he just did it on purpose. Plus you should know anyway."

With that she pushed him down into a sitting position so that she could kneel between his knees, then, stabilising his head in a practised manner, she bent down and fastened her lips to the gash on his cheek.

It struck Sai as odd that he felt this was such an uncomfortable situation. This wasn't the first time she had sucked poison from one of his wounds when she didn't have the correct antidote. But this time he could feel himself getting hot with embarrassment as she sucked the poison from his wound.

He tried to reason that it was because last time, it had been when he had taken a poison senbon to the arm, so she had sat beside him, rather than between his legs, in what he knew to be a quite intimate position.

She worked quickly and efficiently, constantly channelling healing chakra into his chest, effectively forcing any poison back the way it had come.

Before long she was cleaning the wound, and touching it with her healing chakra.

"There, all better." She said after about ten minutes of silence. She patted his cheek jovially. "We should probably go easy for today; I had to extract quite a bit of blood to fully remove the poison."

"I noticed." He said, pointedly glancing down at the place where she had been spitting the blood. He handed her the canteen of water which he always carried in the top of his pack. "Do you want to rinse?"

She laughed taking the canteen gratefully. "That would be nice." She swirled a bit of the water around her mouth and gargled a little of it before discreetly spitting it into the bushes. "Much as I like a rare steak, human blood is taking it a little too far for my taste."

She quickly recast the Genjutsu before offering Sai her hand to help him up.

"Oh Sai," she grinned remembering the way they had always repaid life saving acts in team 7. "You owe me ramen."

* * *

><p><em>Ok so here's the plan; I have a new FictionPress account under the pen name PeregrineFlight in which I am posting my baby, my original work.<em>

_Naturally I want to make sure I publish that but I'm going to try to alternate, so I'll be publishing one of that one week and one of this the next._

_Please visit Flight (fictionpress).com/s/2994500/1/Flight support me as an artist; I'd love to hear what you think. (I had to bracket the fictionpress but you get the picture i hope)_

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review and all that, it makes my day =D_


	6. Paintings and Gratitude

**And FINALLY chapter 6 appears - I'm sorry it has been such a long time since my last update, I've just been so busy with... well, life.**

**I'll do my very best to keep pumping out the chapters**

* * *

><p>The morning after their fight with the shinobi slave traders, they both agreed that they might be better off picking up their pace a little, cautiously sprinting through the tree tops and crossing rivers and gorges avoiding the bridges that civilians would have to use.<p>

Thanks to that, they reached the coastal town they had been aiming for a lot quicker than they had anticipated.

And they had avoided a lot of trouble along the way.

Although the town seemed a lot more prosperous than the last village they had visited, the buildings still looked in the same state of disrepair.

They arrived at midday and headed straight to the docks, hoping they might be able to get straight onto a vessel to take them to the Land of Lightning.

Sakura watched from a distance as Sai spoke to several people out on walkways.

She wasn't encouraged when he came back to her with a grim expression.

"So how screwed are we?"

"Wait here." He said simply walking down to a nearby side street. She could just about make him out talking to a withered old man. He disappeared into a doorway for a moment and then returned carrying several canvases. "I paid the last of our money for these."

"You did WHAT?!"

His eyebrows went up. "We didn't have anywhere near enough money to pay for passage on a vessel. So I'm going to make more."

"Do you not think you might have consulted me about this first? I'm pretty hungry Sai."

He shrugged, "We're kind of in a hurry; I wanted to earn money fast and this is the only way." He gestured out onto the beach. "I'm sure there's plenty of food out there."

Close to punching him, Sakura inched closer to Sai, "I hate shellfish." She growled as he looked down at her.

He smiled, that plastic smile she swore he just used to wind people up. "Well I'm sorry my love, but that's all we can afford right now."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You had better come up with a masterpiece before I get back." His plastic smile remained, so she decided to walk away before the lamped him.

The idiot hadn't even thought to keep a few Ryo aside so they could buy a meagre meal.

She really hated shell fish.

* * *

><p>Sai watched Sakura storming off contemplating her bad temper. It seemed to have re-emerged during their travels. She wasn't as volatile as she had once been. When he had first met her she would fly off the handle over just about anything, and she was constantly shouting at Naruto over one thing or another.<p>

When they'd had their reunion in Naruto's office she had almost seemed like a completely different person - there was no hint of the uncontrollable outbursts she had once been prone to.

But since he had started travelling with her, she seemed to be falling in between those two points - she wasn't as bad as she had once been, but apparently she wasn't as in control as he had initially thought.

Or maybe she just didn't like him.

He set up his canvass thoughtfully, still watching Sakura out of the corner of his eye.

No, it wouldn't be that Sakura didn't like him. He almost cursed himself for thinking it. They both belonged to Konoha, they were team mates and they were in team 7.

According to her own words, that meant they had a special bond. A bond which meant that even if they bickered every day for the rest of their lives, they would all still love each other as family.

He remembered the day she spoke those to him.

It had been a long, bleak day full of tears and declarations of things like dedication.

The day of Sasuke's memorial.

They had finally found some peace away from all the other sympathetic mourners when Sai finally whispered to Sakura that he didn't really understand how the team had managed to keep from falling apart with anger and hate.

She had turned to him with a small, tired smile.

"_Well Sai, we're all Konoha shinobi, and we all have The Will of Fire. That will is an important part of our culture - it means we'll protect each other regardless of our own safety._

_But more importantly Sai, we're Team 7. We have a unique bond holding all of us together. It started with just the four of us. But our family has grown to include you and Yamato._

_We're family Sai. And no matter how much we annoy each other, nothing can change that. That is the bond we all share._"

He blinked, the memory slipping away suddenly. He wasn't paying enough attention to the task at hand.

Maybe he would ask her about it later, but at that moment, he had to focus on not making Sakura more irritable.

Down on the beach, Sakura had stopped grumbling to herself. She had remembered that she was a 22 year old shinobi, not a child, and if she had to eat shell fish in order to further her mission then she would do so.

She gathered her cloak closer to herself to fend off the cold.

Even so, it was amazing how Sai had retained his ability to drive Sakura up the wall - even after she had spent all those years cooling her temper.

She crouched down to pretending to examine a rock, knowing that she wouldn't find any food under it.

She may have known nothing about finding shell fish; but she knew that on a beach like this she had no chance of finding anything. It had probably been stripped bare that morning.

She had interpreted Sai's instruction as - go take a walk while I deal with this.

It wasn't like she was actually angry with him. It was just so easy to slip back to her old ways. In a strange way it was fun. It felt like those early days again, when he would call her Ugly and Naruto would have to hold her back so she wouldn't knock him out.

It had always been fun.

A strong wind whipped through the bay as she stood back up and looked out across the bay looking for hints. She ignored her hair as it flew around her, covering the grey and brown world in pastel pink.

Seeing an encroaching storm on the horizon, she began trudging back. She squinted up to where she had left Sai.

A crowd had gathered.

_Uh oh_... was all she could think. All she could hope was that Sai hadn't seriously offended anyone. Unless he was doing well, but with a crowd like that, the man just had to be supervised.

* * *

><p>Sai was surprised by the amount he had so far collected for his work. He had been under the impression that this coastal town wasn't particularly affluent. And yet, here were these people, wasting their money on black and white paintings of anything they could possibly ask for.<p>

It turned out that a few of the buyers were from a nearby town and they ran part of the fishing trade. Others had come off a vessel on their way to somewhere else - it was just lucky for him and Sakura that they were there and willing to pay big money for his paintings.

He had already set aside some money in order to buy Sakura a decent meal – after all, in hind sight he guessed he could have held back a little money when he bought the canvases.

He also doubted that Sakura would really find any food out on the beach, but hopefully the walk had calmed her down a little.

He glanced out beyond his canvas, seeking her out, as he dipped his brush into his jar of water.

The bay was a bleak, sandy brown crescent stretching out before him with a grim grey sky bearing down on the scene.

The sea lapped against the beach gently, in contrast to the stormy sea. The bay was sheltered, so the water was calm.

Right in the centre of his vision was Sakura.

Her back was turned to him, so all he could see was her dark travelling cloak.

A wind whipped across the bay, blowing her hood back onto her shoulders.

He watched mesmerised as her long pastel pink locks were whipped around by the wind. He desperately fumbled through his pack for more paints.

Seeing a splash of such a cheerful, vital colour in that bleak place… it filled him with… hope?

For the first time ever, Sai felt inspired.

His brush whipped across the canvas painting the scene before him.

A dark grey-blue sky formed and merged with the sea where they met on the horizon. Then the dark damp beach extended from where it met the water up to the slate grey sea wall and the front of the little town.

A few dark figures formed on the beach, huddled up in their cloaks.

It was done, save the most important piece.

He grasped desperately in his pack for more colours - he needed to finish it, needed to capture the scene completely.

A figure in a dark travelling cloak began to form on the canvas. Not quite at the centre, no, offset to the left and down a little. He could see the motion of the wind in the scene as her soft pink hair was whipped up by it.

The image of winter, with spring blossoming at its core.

Sakura arrived just in time to see Sai add the finishing touch to the painting.

It was... beautiful and bleak and emotional. The contrast of her own bright hair in the image, which should have looked out of place, seemed to belong there.

It touched her in a strange way, to see herself portrayed as a splash of colour in a bleak place. But it seemed less superficial than just an ornamentation.

"Why do you think the hair is pink?" A gentleman standing a few feet away was speaking.

"The artist is clearly trying to show that even in dark times you can find beauty." Another man said knowingly.

She resisted the urge to snort as more people joined the discussion - art fanatics... but at least their cover wasn't blown.

She stepped up to Sai putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's beautiful."

He seemed to snap out of some kind of reverie when she spoke.

"I suppose it is." His obsidian eyes looked pensive as they roved over the painting. He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted.

"I'll give you five thousand for it." One of the art enthusiasts has stepped forward boldly making his offer.

Sai's expression changed subtly.

"No, I'll give you five thousand five hundred." Another offered.

There seemed to be a miniature auction beginning behind them as Sakura bent to speak into Sai's ear

"You don't want to sell it?" It was clear in the way he looked down ever so slightly. "We can't afford to bring it with us though - leave it to me." She patted his upper back gently. She had never really seen Sai become attached to his paintings so she would do what she could. Maybe she could arrange for one of them to rent it?

She would figure something out for him.

* * *

><p>Four hours later they were sitting in hotel room, cleaning their equipment while dressed in their sleeping clothes.<p>

Sakura had joked that it was a ninja pyjama party

They had managed to catch a spot on a small vessel, which would be leaving the next morning. So they had sought out a hotel to sleep in for the night, seeing as they had plenty of money to spare. They had also had a sumptuous meal, which Sakura had enjoyed immensely.

"I can't believe we got up to fifteen thousand Ryo for that one painting." She grinned up at Sai. "I wish I could make my money that easily - it's not like I'm poor but damn. All that money and you didn't even have to risk your life for it!"

"We were lucky, they seemed quite keen. Had they not been here we would have struggled." Sai pointed out as he dried one of his brushes carefully. "This obviously isn't a thriving town."

"Well that would be because Sound isn't a thriving country at the moment." She gestured at the bed. "There's a distinct lack of double beds. You know your country is poor when there's no double beds."

Sai's lip quirked up into a slight smile. "I didn't know beds were so important in economy..."

"Very important. People clearly aren't able to pay out for the luxury of a double." Her tone was deadly serious, but her jade eyes gave up the game as they sparkled with amusement.

"We should probably get some rest soon, our vessel will be leaving early tomorrow, and there's no telling what the weather will be like for the next few nights." Sai finished carefully putting away his inks as he spoke.

"oh yeah that's right, sea travel doesn't agree with you does it?"

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. "How did you..?"

She grinned at him. "As a high ranking medical shinobi I have to read through all reports of illness during missions. Even top secret missions. It was a new procedure introduced by Lady Tsunade, in order to keep an eye on the general health of our shinobi." She shrugged as she tucked a few scrolls into her pack. "I'm surprised you didn't know about it."

She climbed onto the bed next to him, pulling the covers back and taking the side closest to the window.

"Well now I do."

He watched her stretch and sigh as she pulled the covers over her. "You won't have to worry about sea sickness while you're with me though, I'll take good care of you."

Sai lay down with his back to her, facing the door.

Silence fell as he considered her words.

They lay there for some time before he finally spoke, briefly rousing her from sleep.

"Sakura - thank you."

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><p><strong>All done - I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as possible!<strong>

**EDIT - Just a little formatting change to break apart some parts of the chapters**


	7. Close Calls and Deep Thoughts

_A/N: FINALLY I submit again! I'd make excuses for the long gap between my chapters, but the truth is I've just been having a hard time getting the time and energy to shut up and write. I'll do my best to get the next chapter out as soon as I can_

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><p>Sakura woke before dawn.<p>

After a few moments of allowing her eyes to adjust to the grey predawn light, she stretched out all the stiffness in her muscles, untangling her legs from Sai's.

She heard him sigh softly.

"We're going to have to be careful on the way to the dock." He sat up, leaning over her slightly. She noticed he looked like he hadn't had much sleep. "Some of my scouters found that there are some shinobi in the area investigating some recent disappearances."

"Those guys we met the other day?"

"Possibly." He shrugged. "But it could be completely unrelated - we just need to be extra careful. They're likely to have at least 1 sensory type ninja with them."

She nodded and hopped out of bed, making sure her chakra signature was completely suppressed.

"It's good to have an excuse to get up at a reasonable time for once, all this extra sleep is hard work." She stretched as she peeked through the blinds. "No wonder they're so weak, they miss out on all the valuable training time." The street outside was deserted, she imagined that the only other people awake would be the fishermen.

"That is true." Sai appeared beside her, picking up his pack, having stealthily changed clothes while she was looking out the window. "Didn't you live with a civilian for a year?"

Her eyebrows went up. Somehow, she had almost forgotten. "Yeah, I did, I never paid much attention to his sleeping habits though." She frowned. "Although now that you mention it he was never up when I got back from training to have breakfast."

Sai's eyes followed her as she moved away from the window. He didn't know much about the relationship that she'd had with the civilian, just that it had ended abruptly quite recently.

He wondered if maybe she was sad about it...

Did she want to talk about it?

Was he obnoxious to mention it?

"I don't think the civilians back home are quite like the ones out here though." She began picking up her clothes so he turned away.

"How so?"

"Well for starters, Konoha is quite wealthy anyway. But because it's a hidden village, I think that a lot of the civilians have developed an entitled attitude. They're safe in that little village of ours, and even if they are struggling for money, they will never go hungry."

Sai glanced over, surprised. Sakura's words were jaded, and it almost sounded like she disapproved of the whole system.

"What would you change then?"

She smiled up at him from her crouched position, halfway through repacking her pack. "Don't get me wrong Sai, I don't think there's anything wrong with our system. But unfortunately, in a land where there is plenty, people loose appreciation for what they have. They forget that wars have been fought to keep their lives comfortable and free." She stood and peeked through the blinds again. "We should head off or we'll miss out boat."

Sai nodded pensively before picking up his bag and following her from the room.

There was a little more activity when they finally got out onto the docks, people were setting up their stalls and pulling small boats along the beach. No sign of any shinobi in the area, but just because they couldn't see them, didn't mean they weren't lurking in the shadows, or even in plain sight.

They hurried along the sea front and down onto the docks, pulling their travelling cloaks securely around themselves as they went.

A bitterly cold wind was rolling in from the sea, along with a little bit of salty drizzle.

Sai could only hope that the poor weather wouldn't remain for their entire journey.

The man he had spoken to had said it would take them four days to reach their destination. Four days of windy weather and rough sea wouldn't do much for their health, regardless of how well Sakura could heal them.

Sai spotted movement at the other end of the docks. Four men were speaking with an elderly man by a fruit stand. He gestured to Sakura.

"That elderly shop keeper looks very nervous of those four men, don't you agree?"

He watched her glance around surreptitiously, her lips forming into a hard line.

"He's definitely feeling threatened - from the way he's trying to hide behind his stall, and how he's shielding his dominant arm, I'd say they've threatened him in some way."

"Shinobi?"

"I'd say so. I guess they're not so big on keeping a low profile."

One of the shinobi looked up right at that moment, and their eyes locked.

He looked away quickly, and his hand caught Sakura's. "We need to move." He muttered, pulling her back into motion.

She understood his urgency immediately, the shinobi talking to the man had moved away and was watching them, tracking them.

It was hard to keep an even, unsuspicious gait under his keen eye. It was even harder when he was approaching them quickly, taking a direct route over the water toward them. At least it wasn't unusual for them to glance at him warily. Only civilians living in the hidden villages were used to ninja doing things like walking on water - in a town like this, people openly stared when they were witness to shinobi skills.

Sakura stumbled, she hadn't been paying attention to her footing and had managed to tangle herself in a stray fishing net.

A foreign hand caught her arm.

Honestly, it was all she could do to not insta-kill the stranger for surprising her. But doing so would have roused suspicion.

"You need to watch where you're going miss." The man who had spoken helped her regain her balance, and she found herself facing the very shinobi she had been keeping her eyes on.

Acting the part of an embarrassed civilian, she kept her eyes down. "Thank you." She muttered.

"She's always been a little clumsy." Sai's laugh came from her left. "Thanks for catching her, she would have been mortified if she had fallen into the ocean."

The shinobi laughed as well, but the mirth didn't reach his cold eyes.

"May I ask where you're coming from sir?"

"My wife and I have just travelled from a small village just north of Konoha." Sai replied calmly. The shinobi still held Sakura's upper arm - it was clear they were under suspicion.

"I see, I hear you have chartered a boat to the Land of Lightning, what is your purpose for travelling there, and why by boat?"

"There's work there for my wife with her sister. Because I'm an artist I can work anywhere, but things weren't working out for us financially back home." He sighed and took Sakura's hand, causing the ninja to finally let go of her hand. "We're travelling by boat because we heard about some troubles in the Land of Hot Water when we passed by Konoha - it's expensive, but I didn't want to get messed up with anything nasty."

Sai was controlling the situation well - his confidence had thrown the shinobi off balance.

"That all seems in order - have you noticed any suspicious people on your travels? My team is currently tracking a group of rogue shinobi from the Land of Tea - apparently they're targeting civilians like yourself."

"Well that is quite worrying, I haven't noticed anyone, how about you my love?"

Sakura shook her head. "It's been an uneventful trip, thankfully."

The shinobi gave them a hard look.

"That's very interesting. Are you aware that you are the first civilians in three months to successfully get from the border to here without being accosted or disappearing?"

Busted.

Sakura glanced at Sai anxiously, hoping that he might think of a story that might work better that _'oh, aren't we lucky!'_

He twisted his lips together before leaning a little closer to the shinobi.

"Look, I didn't want to advertise this." He murmured. "But I have a few sensory type abilities. I'm not trained as a ninja, but I've always been able to sense when shinobi are nearby. I did sense a few groups on our way here, so I did my best to avoid them."

It was a smooth lie, and entirely plausible, but their interrogator's face hardened yet again.

"I'm going to have to take you in for questioning, sir, your wife too." He grabbed Sakura's arm yet again. "You're still classified as a low rank shinobi in our land, and we don't allow foreign shinobi into the Sound."

Sakura acted quickly, snapping the man's wrist back with a subtle flick, then before he could yell, she jabbed his forehead with one finger, he stood still, staring blankly over her shoulder a small. There was a small, blue, wet mark on his forehead.

"We'd better go before he wakes up and realises what happened." She muttered to Sai, she turned on her heel and started to make her way toward their vessel.

"How long do you think this will buy us?" He asked as he caught up to her.

"Let's just say that the sooner we're out of here the better." She pulled he cloak in closer to herself. "We have about ten minutes before the paralysis gel I used wears off, twenty before the grogginess is gone."

Sai nodded approvingly.

Sakura's paralysis gel was certainly a handy little tool - he had heard that she had developed this special drug, which could easily be used to paralyse any opponent, ...provided you could get a drop of it on their skin. It wasn't widely used, because it was difficult for the average shinobi to use, but there had been a rumour going around that some Anbu had been using it in conjunction with senbon to bring in people for questioning.

It would be something for them to talk about during their week long voyage to the Land of Lightning.

They boarded the vessel quickly after that. Sakura's heart was beating rapidly, reeling from their close call. Sai looked tense as he followed the captain down below deck as they were shown to their quarters.

The vessel departed while they were still in their quarters, so Sakura had the pleasure of watching Sai's expression turn instantly green.

"I never imagined that you'd get sea sick as quickly as Gai does." She teased, pushing him down to sit on the bed. "Take one of these ," she handed him what looked like a normal food pill. "It's pretty simple, lots of nutrients and some ginger in the pill and then a bit of chakra treatment and you'll survive."

He looked at the pill doubtfully - no pill had ever helped his sea sickness before - he swallowed it anyway, knowing that refusing Sakura's medical advice wouldn't be wise.

She scrutinised him for a few seconds.

"Feel any change?" He was about to shake his head, when a sudden bout of near overpowering nausea struck him.

He grunted, trying to find the nearest exit, but suddenly he found himself being forced face first onto the bed. He struggled, but Sakura's strength was unrelenting as she gripped the back of his neck.

Then everything went black.

* * *

><p>Sai woke to darkness, a strip of warm weight rested on his torso, soft hair tickled his left arm.<p>

He sat bolt upright, pushing the dozing Sakura away as he did so.

She was alert almost instantly, flicking on her torch so they could see each others expressions.

He was suspicious, betrayed.

She was repentant, concerned and yet at the same time, calm.

"Sai, please allow me to explain."

"It had better be good." His voice was cold and emotionless.

"The pill was designed to, well, basically send your body haywire - when it kicks in it enables me to perform a certain procedure to effectively cure your sea sickness." She bit her lip. "Strangely, the pill doesn't work properly unless the patient is taken by surprise by the effects. Which is why I didn't tell you what I was about to do."

She stretched and pushed her legs out in front of her, inspecting and healing the dark, boot shaped bruises there. He must have kicked her a few times in his struggle.

Focusing on her task she spoke again. "I'm sorry I had to deceive you and I hope you can forgive me. I just figured that you of all people would appreciate the benefits and understand."

Sai considered for a few seconds, watching her heal her bruises slowly - too slowly.

He considered the rocking motion of their vessel and realised with a certain level of wonder that the motion was quite soothing, and in no way made him feel like emptying the contents of his stomach.

He did understand. What she had done was calculated and necessary.

He plastered a bright smile on his face. "I guess we can call it even - I did kick your shins in after all. And I do feel much better."

She grinned and stood up, her bruises fully healed. "Thanks Sai." She pulled a sachet of Sai's favourite field rations out of her bag.

"Sakura, how many civilians do you know that carry ninja field rations?" Sai asked disapprovingly.

She shrugged, "So I smuggled a couple sachets out of the village." A wide grin spread across her face again. "I won't tell if you don't."

He took the offered rations gratefully. He supposed that as long as the rations weren't discovered then it would be fine. And this was his favourite flavour. "You eat that, you'll need the food after that procedure - I have to write a report back to Naruto, so I'll be needing one of your ink birds."

They sat in silence while Sai ate, and Sakura scribbled away in a scroll. She occasionally asked her to refresh her memory on bits of information, like how much it had cost to stay in that first inn and how much did the extra supplies cost?

As Sai watched her write he wondered how someone could look so… animated and expressive, writing a mission update. Her expression went from contemplative to serious, then flicked to a shadow of annoyance, then to an expression of intense urgency.

She finished up after an hour and Sai drew up a bird to carry the scroll, which was promptly sent through the tiny porthole in their cabin.

Sai turned away from the window to see Sakura staring at the bed with a perplexed expression.

"What is it, ugly?"

Her eye twitched, but she ignored her nickname. "I don't think our usual sleeping arrangement is going to work - there's only one point of entry for us to face."

"Well we'll just have to face the same way." The solution was obvious to him. So why was she suddenly blushing slightly?

"Ok fine, do you want front or back?" She wore a stolid expression, but her cheeks remained pink.

"Front."

Sakura cursed herself for giving him the option, sleeping behind him… well nothing would be more embarrassing than accidentally spooning Sai in her sleep. She'd heard from Ryou that she could develop quite the death grip while she was sleeping.

She bid him goodnight and climbed into the back of the cot, hoping to hide the fact that her cheeks were warm from the inevitable embarrassment.

Sai lay on the bed in front of her and she crossed her arms tight against her body, hoping to avoid all contact. Maybe by doing so she could stop her body from making a fool of her during the night.

Several hours later Sai woke briefly as a warm arm draped itself over his body, and squeezed him gently.

"Sakura?" he whispered into the dark. His only response was a sigh as her hot face pressed itself into his back and shoulders.

He closed his eyes with a small smile, he wondered if she would be embarrassed. Or if he should be. He had always imagined it would be quite uncomfortable sleeping like that. To his surprise, he found he rather liked it. As a way of sharing body heat of course.

The next night, Sakura insisted that she would be more comfortable in front, she'd felt embarrassed when she woke with her arm around him, and was grateful she had been awake before him. When she woke in the morning to find his arm draped over her, she didn't feel so bad.

* * *

><p>Naruto received Sakura's report the day they were due to land in the Land of Lightning.<p>

He opened it quickly, eager to hear from his dearest friend.

Most of it was boring details, how many days it had taken for them to reach the border, mission expenses and the like.

He was interested to see that they had taken out a group of Shinobi from the bingo book, he would have to arrange for the pair of them to be paid for taking out a few C ranked criminals. He grinned when he noticed that Sakura had inserted a side note._ I doubt they were even worth a round of ramen…_

The report grew more interesting and amusing as it went on.

Old ladies feeding them aphrodisiacs, accidental mixed bathing and especially the part where she mentioned how they had decided who was in charge.

"_We both fought dirty, I'm sworn to secrecy, but we both got the bed so you had better damn well pay us both mission leader rates_"

A paragraph near the end caught his attention, as she described how they had raised the funds to pay for the vessel.

"_I saw there was this crowd gathering around Sai so I went to investigate, just to make sure he hadn't offended someone." Naruto chuckled at that. "I noticed as soon as I reached him that he'd already sold a number of artsy black and white pieces, but wow, the piece he was working on when I got there was a masterpiece. He perfectly captured the stormy landscape and then there I was, all pink haired and wild in the middle of it all. It was beautiful. Anyway, Sai seemed to be really attached to it and I was wondering if there would be any way for us to have it returned to him? I placed a special tracking jutsu on it, so it'll be easy enough to find it_." Naruto considered her request carefully.

He had been thinking a lot about Sai since their discussion before they left for their mission. All of the paintings in his flat had seemed so bleak and empty. The lack of colour had been the most disconcerting thing. Even in his earlier days, when he could feel nothing, he had always used colour.

And now suddenly there was colour again… Naruto smiled in relief, no matter what else happened on that mission, he could rest easy knowing that Sakura was somehow helping Sai with whatever it was that ailed him.

Naruto sat back and sipped his tea, thinking deeply about what needed to be done.

* * *

><p><em>AN: And there we have it folks, as always let me know what you think - it's always encouraging to hear what people think, good or bad_


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