"How to Love" Sai x Hero

After getting to the living room,I swiped back the lock and pulled the front door open.



"Greetings!" A smile plastered across a pale face.



Slam!



I closed the door,quickly pressing my back against it. "It...it's that weird guy from earlier! Is he going to stalk me now? Does he plan on callimg me every day also? W-what if...he starts leaving me love notes or sending me flowers?! Or...or..." I pressed a gloved hand to my face.



"Wh-what if he starts throwing pebbles at my bedroom window,waking me up in the middle of the night!"



"I can do all of that,if you find those sort of things flattering," Sai's voice said from behind the door. I was about to reach for the lock,when I heard another voice.



"Sai! Hey,Sai is she coming?"



I recognized the voice as Sakura. Mom's assistant. 'Well,I guess I'll be okay as long as there's another one of her around...'



Slowly,I backed away and opened the door. Sai was there,nearly falling through the doorway.



"Aha...great,you're-"



"Out of my way,weirdy," I pushed ghost boy aside. Sakura stood just a few feet away.



"Hi,there," she greeted me with a warm smile. "Ahaha...sorry about Sai. He's...uh,friendly?"



I turned in the direction of the boy who'd stalked me to my house,and gave a small shrug. "That's fine," I told Sakura. "I suppose I'll have to get used to it...". Sakura's mouth opened to reply,when suddenly a third person appeared from around the corner of my house. Spikey blond hair,and a powerful,big white grin.



"Haha,Hero!" waved Naruto Uzumaki. I smiled and crossed my arms. There was something about this boy that had his first impression put a dent in me. He seemed like someone I could easily take a liking to.



"Alright,well you're all here..." I said,as the three teammates regrouped. "The only question is...why? Is there a reason?"



"Of course," replied Sakura. "Go lock up your house. We're going out for dinner"



"Dinner?" I frowned. "But we just met. You wanna go to dinner with a stranger?"



"Exactly," said Naruto. "Just like Granny Tsunade said,we have to get aquainted. And what better way for us to get aquainted with our new teammate,than to all go out to dinner together?"



"It is a fine night," Sai added. "What do you say?"



I lifted my head to study the sky. It was getting pretty late in the evening,and soon darkness would fall. 'If we have to do this now,I want to be back by dark'



"I guess it's an okay idea..." finally,I decided. The faces of team Kakashi lit up in an instant. It wasn't like I had anything planned for the evening meal,anyway. I was just spontaneous like that,I figured. So,with my decision made,I grabbed my keys and locked the house. Thus,began the start of a newly reformed team Kakashi.



The foursome that was team Kakashi,plus myself,strolled down the streets of Konoha under the evening sky. I couldn't find my place wthin the group,and so I strayed along side the second newest member; Sai.



Big mistake.



"So,you...Princess..." Sai attempted the start of a conversation. I shot him a mild look out of the corner of my eyes. My nickname would definitely be changing soon. "Are you originally from Konoha?"



"S-Sai!" Sakura gasped. "What kind of question is that? Of course,she's from Konoha!"



"Mmm..not necessesarily," Naruto interjected,while glancing around casually. "Granny Tsunade herself is originally from the leaf,but..."



"No one really knows where she'd been since before she became Hokage," Sai finished with a smile. I clenched my fists amd ground my teeth together. Naruto and Sakura distanced themselves from Sai and I considerably.



"What...are you implying?"



Sai tilted his head,with that creepy smile still stuck to his face. "Princess. Do you know who your father is?"



"Yikes!"



"Oh,no!"



Before I realized it,we'd all stopped in the middle of the street. My tightening fists had come unclenched. I stared down at the ground,as if the answer had surfaced there. "No," I admitted. I felt the tense energy around Naruto and Sakura suddenly diminish. The question may have come off rude. I might have hit anyone else. My eyes found their way to Sai,who was standing beside me still. The smile on his face had vanished,and the expression he wore now bared the eyes of a hunter.



I knew that look.



He was analyzing me.



"You have some serious balls to come out and ask the daughter of the fifth Hokage a question like that," I said,picking up my walking pace where I'd left off.



"I do," Sai replied,almost confidently. The weird smile had returned to his face. 'He's taking it as a compliment...what a jerk...'



"I'm only trying to learn more about you," he continued. Naruto and Sakura had caught up to us,and were engaging in their own seperate conversation now.



"You don't have to front with me," I told Sai,keeping my eyes focused on the streets ahead. Two small children ran passed us,giggling and chasing one another around.



"To front," Sai repeated. "means to put on a facade. It seems you have broken through mine,"



I let out a small laugh,as his fake smile melted away. "Did you seriously think you were fooling me?". From the corner of my vision,I could see that he was studying me again; more analyzing.



"I guess not,"



"Sai! Hero!" the two of us followed the direction of Naruto's voice. He cupped a hand near his mouth,and called out to us,waving an arm. "Over here! Let's eat!"



"Oh,wow! Smells great in here!" I said,ducking under the shade of the ramen bar. As soon as I'd entered,all sorts of delicious aromas invaded my senses. Naruto and Sakura sat down on barstools near the far left. Sai took a seat away from the middle. 'Damn it..which seat should I take?' My heart pounded as I faced the difficulty of the situation.



"Come on,Hero! Let's sit down," Naruto said. Sai turned in his seat with that creepy smile,and placed his hand on the seat beside him. Everyone was now looking at me expectantly.



"F-fine...I guess I'll sit here," I grumbled,and plopped down on the barstool next to Sai; the only seat available.



"It's Friday,Friday! Gotta get down on Friday!" Naruto exclaimed. The chef chuckled to himself as he went along,cooking up a large batch of noodles.



"Friday,huh?" said a girl who came from the back area of the ramen shop. "Then I suggest our new special! We came up with it this week. Every Friday,we will be having the greatest bowls of ramen you can eat!"



Naruto slammed his hands down on the counter,and leaned forward with his eyes bugging out. It took me all of five seconds to figure out that this was his favorite food.



"Really?!"



"Yes," replied the chef. "We had customers try it today. They said the next time they would come,they would be sure to bring a friend,"



"A friend,huh," Naruto glanced at us. "Well,I got lots of friends! I just made a new one today!"



The old chef's eyes then fell on me,and I offered a light smile. "Hello,Sir! I'm Hero. This is a fine establishment you are running,I must say!"



"Indeed," Sai agreed,also offering a smile. The chef studied the two of us,and then began to laugh.



"Hero,hm..." he said to himself.



"Well,your new friend has joined you at a fine time,Naruto," the young girl set two huge bowls of ramen in front of us. My stomach gurgled in protest at the mound of noodles piled in the dish. 'There's no way Sai will be able to eat all of that on his own...'



"Wh-whaaat?! B-but! Then,who's supposed to--?"



"Here you go. Hero. Sai," the young girl handed the two of us each a pair of chopsticks. "We're calling this bowl,Friendship Friday. Tell us what you think,"



Sakura and Naruto exchanged uncertain glances and began to eat. But I was frantic. "N-no way.." I said,sliding the bowl in Sai's direction. "I can't eat with someone that I just met..."



"That's quite alright," Sai smiled. I felt relieved to hear this. 'So he had at least understood something on a humane level...'



"I will feed it to you,"



Naruto and Sakura dropped their chopsticks to stare in our direction. I could feel the intensity of their uneasiness pulling down on the light mood of the shop,like a hundred pound weight. Sai kept his composure,however,awaiting my response.



"Ahhh..open up!" Sai said,also opening his mouth. In his hand,he held a piece of pork between my pair of chopsticks. A heatwave swept over my cheeks,leaving them more red than the late evening sun giving off its last glimmer of light,before sinking behind the clouds. 'This guy...I thought. He's impossible. How unthinkable can one person be?'



And then I did the unthinkable.



Leaning forward,I closed my eyes and...took the bite.



When I opened my eyes,Sai was looking at me with those hunter's eyes again. I chewed the piece of food carefully,and without realizing it,I was giving him the same look.



"How is it?" asked both the chef and Sai at once. I remembered then to consumed the food that I'd chewed.



"It's...good," I replied,more to the chef. He gave me a smile that told me he approved of the compliment.



The four of us enjoyed the rest of our dinner over casual conversation. Sai and I had finished off the Friday Friendship bowl by ourselves; I fed myself,of course. In the midst of us finishing our food,Naruto and Sakura had broken off again into their own conversation. That left Sai and I as the only ones to be silent. I knew he would begin to question me more,and so I decided to be the first to speak.



"Um...so,you're part of the Foundation. You're of age to drop out now,you know. Why don't you?"



Maybe it was a bit straight-forward,but he seemed like the kind of person to be okay with that approach. We were all being a little assumptuous tonight,weren't we?



"I could ask you the same thing," he replied,turning the full glass of water on the table. "We all have our own reasons...don't we?"



"We do," I agreed,shrugging my shoulders. I hoped he didn't sense anything odd about my reply. I'd actually dropped out of the Foundation a little over three years ago,upon my mother's orders,though as far as they were aware,I was still a part of their alligience. The Foundation attire was just a formality to diminish arousing suspicions. Mom had her own suspicions of the one called Danzo. She wanted me to remain within the Foundation as a spy,but commit myself completely to my role as a leaf ninja.



"So,then...what sort of things do you like to do in your spare time?" Sai asked,interrupting my thoughts.



He was asking me that? Was this kid really trying to get to know me,or was this all small talk to fill in the gaps between his interrogation? Whatever. I decided to play along.



"I like spending my time at home,feeding and petting my twenty-nine cats. I sit in bed all day,reading manga," I raised my glass of water to my lips,and took a drink to keep from laughing.



"R-really? Twenty-nine cats?" Naruto turned around in his seat. A smile came to Sai's face.



"I see. So that's why it took so long for you you to answer your door,"



"No,idiot!" I exclaimed,slamming the glass down on the counter. The chef's daughter looked a little hesitant before gently taking it from me.



"Uhh..what do you mean,then?" Sai tilted his head. I scowled at his stupidity. Was this guy for real?



"I mean..I was only joking,"



The boy gave a soft,airy chuckle. "Of course,you were. With that many cats,your whole house would smell like a litter box. So,how many do you reallly-"



"I don't own any cats! " I yelled,getting up from the counter. I fished through my pockets and managed to find my wallet. After paying the chef handsomely for the meal,I stormed out of the shop with team Kakashi following behind me.



"Hey,come on!" Naruto exclaimed. "We were all just havin' fun! Are you really gonna go off and be like that?"



His words stung. No,this wasn't like me at all. Slowly,I turned around and looked at the three of them. 'It's only temporary I told myself. Why not...try to get to know them? Just a bit better...'



"Sorry," I appologized,tousseling my pale blonde hair. After re-adjusting my twin tails,I tossed them over my shoulder. My hair is much like mom's,with the exception that it's a lot longer.



A smile brightened on Naruto's face. "Well,then...the night isn't over yet. Let's all enjoy it,"