Untitled Dreams

*Note: Long chapter. Since this story is the next part of Untitled Painting, if you haven't read that story, Sai might seem out of character for you. For an explanation into Sai's behavior in this chapter, please read the first story. This story takes place about a month past Untitled Painting so it's technically A.U from the original Naruto plot, but most fan fictions are ^o^ Please enjoy~*

Naruto looked nervous as he moved his body with his arms out to stand in the way of Sasuke’s aim, but Sai didn’t look dishelmed at all. If anything, the porcelain doll looked more irate, ready to throw down. As Sai moved to step out of Naruto’s protection, Naruto reached behind himself and pushed Sai back out of harm‘s way. The protective arm went back to being held out as staring continued. “Stop it, Sasuke!” yelled the protector, who was obviously in no condition to fight after a day of harsh training, not that it would really matter. Sai’s body was stiff and tense, even though he was not in a fighting stance. The artist balled his hands into tight fist, gripping hard enough on his paint brush that the wood bent and was on the verge of breaking in half. The ninja standing on the small bed had his glare burning a hole at his rival, but eventually moved his eyes to look at Naruto. “Naruto”, Sasuke spoke, his voice cold and uncaring. “Go to the last place you saw me here.” Naruto looked confused, moving his arms to reach out for Sasuke as his friend slowly put his katana away, but he was too slow. Sasuke stepped out of Naruto‘s reach before they could touch, then vanished in a gray swirl of smoke. “What? Wait! Sasu…”, Naruto managed to sputter out just before Sai’s bed was emptied.

Sai relaxed his grip, but there were more than a few conflicts going on inside of his chest, stomach, and mind that made it hard for him to completely relax. He looked at the back of Naruto’s body, longing for the boy‘s touch. “…Naruto…”, he muttered, reaching out to put his hand on Naruto’s shoulder, but the blond shrugged him away. “I have to go.” Sai left a jolt of pain hit his chest as his touch was rejected, recoiling his hand and gently resting it on his own chest. He made a fist again, having some trouble holding his emotions in check.“…Right...I’ll go get Sakura and…“, but he was interrupted.
“No. Don’t tell anyone. I have to go alone.” Sai frowned uncontrollably, looking down at the floor.
“Alone? But he’ll…” Naruto sighed, turning around with a sad smile on his face, then shook his head.
“No. He won’t do anything bad to me, but if I go after him bringing everyone, he’ll just run away again. He’s like that, ya know?” he said kindly, but Sai kept looking at the floor, turning his head slightly away. Naruto put his hands on Sai’s shoulders in a friendly manner, still smiling. “Promise me you’ll wait here and not tell anyone until I get back, kay? Don’t follow me or anything. I’m not in any danger. Sasuke won’t kill me…”,but to Naruto’s surprise, Sai pulled away roughly with his eyes small, watery, and sad.

“You don’t know that!” Sai argued, worried and upset about the entire ordeal. “He’s not the same person you once knew. He’s a traitor to the village and…”
“That’s enough.”
Sai paused, pressing his lips tightly together as Naruto spoke calmly to him. “Sasuke won’t hurt me. I told you before right? Sasuke is Sasuke and Sai is Sai…Trust me, will ya?” he laughed a bit, fluffing up Sai’s hair. The teasing of affection towards the artist only upset him more. “You don’t know that! There are plenty missing-nin that kill and slaughter people they once called their friends! You shouldn’t go alone! I’ll…”, but Naruto stopped him with a hug. Sai stopped talking, instinctively nuzzling his face on the boy’s shoulder. “Shh…I’ll be fine. Just wait for me, kay? Have I let you down yet?“ Sai closed his eyes, sighing before he hugged him back. Naruto gave Sai an affection kiss on the forehead before heading to the open window. As he began to climb out, Sai walked up to him like a lost puppy, grabbing his arm before Naruto managed to climb out completely. The blond had to use his other hand to grab unto the ledge as Sai pulled him down for a kiss that threw the ninja off balance. What Naruto thought was sweet was suddenly changed into something to fear as Sai’s voice and face turned into something dark and ominous. “If you’re not back in three hours, I will hunt you down and kill you myself”, Sai said calmly while smiling coldly. Naruto gave a nervous laugh, quite scared of Sai’s threatening promise and gave a nod. “Ye..Yes..”

Satisfied with Naruto’s compliance, Sai let him go…giving him a helpful, yet rather brute, push out of his window. He waved down at Naruto’s falling body before turning to go back into his room to finish his painting. “Scary…”, Naruto thought to himself, then twisted his body around like a falling cat, landing on his feet on a roof top, then wisped his way off toward the last place in the village he had seen Sasuke those few years ago: The Cliffside Lake. He pushed his body as hard as it would manage, getting there as fast as possible without being seen. He was pretty sure that Sai wouldn’t run off to tell anyone about what he was doing. Sai had kept his mouth shut about their blossoming relationship, which was a hard secret for either of them to keep so well. Finally, Naruto arrived at the scene of water and rocks, feeling anxious as he walked up to the lake. He had avoided this place since he arrived back at the village, seeing how this was the place of his great failure. Walking up to the water’s edge, he looked down to examine his own reflection. His eyes softened at his own image, sighing deeply. “The little boy who was defeated here is still a little boy after all…”Naruto said out loud, giving out a soft, bitter laugh. “That’s all you were ever good at”, said a voice behind him, making Naruto turn around to be face to face with Sasuke. They looked at each other, expressionless and completely still with the exception of the wind blowing through their hair. Sasuke was the first to turn away, looking down at both of their reflections in the water, then moved to squat by the ledge. Naruto watched him, turning to look in the water at both of their faces as well, but neither of them spoke.