"How to Love" Sai x Hero

"And then,he like,kisses me after dragging me into that forest,"

"Hey,don't complain about that forest," Taito said,setting down his cup of tea. "It's apparently like,one of the best make-out spots in the village,"

The two of my former teammates and I had gathered at our favorite team shop the next morning,an hour before my new mission with team Kakashi. Yama sat to my left,scarfing down cookies,while Taito sat to my right. If anything,it was just another ordinary day in the village; or so it would seem...

"So,what'd you do to this guy,then?" Tai to wanted to know. "Did you throw him into a nearby tree?"

"Did you say your heroic catch phrase?" Yama asked. I shook my head. The two of my teammates exchanged dumbfounded looks.

"Wh-what?! Just a slap? After the both of you kissed?"

"Yes,we kissed," said a voice.

Slowly,I turned my heard around to burn holes into the very existance that was Sai. He smiled at my commrads,as if they'd acknowledged him first. "Hello,team Itazura,"

Taito and Yama once again exchanged looks,before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"This is him? You let this guy kiss you?" Taito howled,tears coming to his eyes. I watched them both continue on with their stupid hyena laughter,until it suddenly began to bother me. Sai,however,wasn't bothered in the least.

"That's enough,you two!" I yelled,smacking the two of them over the head.

"Gah!"

"Ow!"

"Don't you two have anything two do?!" I didn't even wait for an answer. I was done with them,so instead returned my attention to Sai. "And what did you come here for? We don't have to report in for our mission for another hour,"

Even now,I had no idea what this mission even was. Mom had neglected to tell me.

"R-right," Sai smiled easily. "Captain Yamato would like to hold a group meeting. He told me to come and find you,"

"And you knew where to look," Yama said slyly,propping his elbow up on the counter and resting the side of his face in his hand. I shot him a mild scowl,and he looked away immediately.

"Fine. Tell Captain Yamato that I've got some business to take care of first,so I'll be right-"

"But,Princess-"

Oh,that did it.

Unable to control a sudden ouburst,Taito and Yama turned away,exploding with laughter again.

" 'Princes', OW! "

" 'Princess', OWW!"

"Knock it OFF!" I growled,and then brushed passed Sai. "I'll meet your team at the Hokage's office. I have to grab my things and lock up my house,"

"Ah,I see," Sai replied. "I will escourt you,"

"No such luck," I told him,before he could even finish his sentence. What the hell was with this kid? He had it all wrong!

"I'm not a Princess," I insisted. "I'm a super hero,"

Yama and Taito snickered.

"Why is that any better?" Sai wanted to know. I didn't have to explain anything to him.

"Don't forget to tell Captain Yamato," I called,walking away. Sai stayed behind with Taito and Yama. I was relieved that he had decided not to follow.


I locked my house and left quickly after I was done preparing for the unknown mission. 'Shouldn't be too hard...not with those idiot teammates of mine,anymore...' I told myself. I couldn't believe them and their stupid behavior in front of Sai. Once our team had officially reformed,I was definitely going to pound their faces in,for being so out of character.

I met with team Kakashi in the Hokage's office,along with my mom and Aunt Shizune. I was late apparently. Had Sai not told them anything?

"B-but! Mom,I told Sai to tell you I had to lock the-"

"Hero,I don't want to hear your excuses today," Mom sighed. "Your mission is a B-ranked mission,thanks to team Itazura's little mishap. Patrol ninja have spotted the pair of bandits lurking around the outskirts of the village. I want you all to go find those ninja and bring them in for interrogation...I want to know why they're so persistant in trying to get their hands on the second Hokage's scroll,"

"Interrogation?" Naruto repeated. "So this is really serious...those ninja really are after the second Hokage's legacy.."

"That's correct," Tsunade replied. "Now...you have your orders,so go on".

The four of us began to leave the room. As the last one out,I hesitated,before glaring down at the floor. There was so much I wanted to say to Tsunade. I wanted to say that I would try my best. Why did she seem to hate me? She didn't believe in me at all...Deciding not to say anything,I walked out into the hallway and closed the door.

And just like that,team Kakashi was on their very first mission together,featuring me; Hero. I remained quiet,lost in my own thoughts,as Sakura,Yamato and Naruto went over different battle strategies.

"Don't worry," Sai's voice said,interrupting my idle thoughts. "This time,we will catch those thieves".

Right. As if there was any way I was going to face my mother with another failure.

Sakura and Naruto overheard our conversation and turned around.
"Definitely!" Naruto exclaimed. "We'll show you how it's done,"

Captain Yamato fell into step on my right side,and gave me a friendly smile. "If you think he's all fired up now,wait until you see him on the battle field," he told me. I'd heard things about Naruto. I knew that he was a kid who would most likely end up putting a huge dent in history. Mom was even certain he was capable of becoming the next Hokage. Was he that impressive? I had to see for myself...

Team Kakashi checked out of the village gates,and then we were off to explore the outskirts of the area. Sakura and Naruto fell into their usual conversation,leaving me the choice of either Yamato or Sai. Either decision would probably lead to an awkward conversation,

"So,Captain Yamato..."

"Yes?"

"Well,I was just wondering...what happened to the original team leader?"

Yamato became then quiet,until I grew impatient for an answer. "Well? What happened to him?"

The brown-haired man turned to me slowly,stopping in his steps. The intensity of his dark,round eyes instantly sent a series of chills crawling down my back.

"He died,"

"Wh-what?! No way!"

"Captain Yamato! Are you scaring Hero?" Sakura asked,looking over her shoulder at the three of us. Yamato chuckled,and I crossed my arms.

"You sick people...what kind of joked was that?"

"The kind that Captain Yamato finds funny.." Naruto grumbled at the front of the group. Yamato gave a one-shouldered shrug.

"Oh,come on you guys. You're all just to easy to scare. You'll miss my jokes when I'm gone,"

"Yep..." I mumbled. "Creepy joke-telling. That'll be your legacy". Yamato laughed again.

"Well,gee. I hope to leave you all with more than that,"

I opened my mouth to speak,when suddenly an obstruction blocked my path.

"Ow!" I gasped,suddenly smacking into Naruto's back. "Hey,why are you stopping all of a sudden like that?"

"Sh..." Naruto whispered. "We're being followed..."

"Followed?" I looked around. I didn't see anyone.

"I can tell," Sai said,walking up beside me. "Didn't you notice,Hero?"

"Y-yeah.." I grumbled,crossing my arms. "Of course,I noticed. Before any of you...wait. Did you say...?"

"WHAT ABOUT THIS PAPER BOMB I STUCK TO YOUR BACK?! Did you notice that?!" Sai's voice grew raspy. I turned around then to look him dead in the face. I saw instead,a familiar ninja who wore a mask over a horizontal half of his face.

"W-wait! You're-!"

"Princess! Look out!" Sai's voice called. The masked ninja before me was pulling out a kunai,tagged with a paper bomb. I was too close. Sai would be too late. In the instant where my death should have arrived,I was suddenly swooped into the sky by a great bird. Not a second after,there was a large explosion of fire below us.

"NARUTO! SAKURA!" I screamed,watching the woods set ablaze. Sai stared down at the ground,circling the area in the sky until the smoke began to clear. "Are they...will they be..."

"They'll be fine," he told me. The bird brought us closer to the ground,though far away enough from the fire. Sakura,Naruto or Yamato were nowhere to be seen. I was becoming a little skeptical,despite what Sai had told me.

"I'm...so stupid," I mumbled,watching as the smoke rose to the sky like big black clouds. "I was totally clueless...how did I not notice?"

"It wasn't your fault," said a voice. I squinted my eyes to see a figure emerging from the smoke.

"Captain Yamato!"

"I'm sorry,Hero," he said,coughing a bit. "I was completely off gaurd as well. It was my fault,"

"Don't say that,Captain Yamato," Sakura's voice said. Both her and Naruto emerged from the smoke clouds then. Neither of them seemed to have any serious injuries. I was relieved.

"I have a feeling that that attack just now was no more than a diversion," said Sai. "The thing that the bandits are after is within the Leaf Village,"

"You're right,Sai," replied Yamato. "We need to split up. There's a chance that they're already heading towards the village. If they are,then we have to ambush them there. But if we're still hanging around..."

"Some of us need to hang back," Sakura concluded.

"Right. Sai,take Hero with you and patrol the sky. Naruto,Sakura. You come with me,"

"Right!"

Our three teammates took off through the smoke again. I let out a sigh; I would have to be on my gaurd from now on.

"Come on," Sai told me, finishing up with the scroll in his hands. The giant bird was summoned again,and we flew to the sky. From this view,I could see that the smoke had mostly disappeared. In the ground,was a decent sized crater. Seeing how large it was,I shuddered slightly. If Sai hadn't pulled my sweater off at the right moment,that would have been my grave.

"Are you alright,Princess?" Sai asked. I was too busy staring below us to hear him the first time. He called to me again.

"Huh? I'm fine," I told him,and took my eyes back to the blue sky. We continued to circle around for a bit. To be perfectly honest though,it was starting to become boring. In all actuallity,it was almost certain that the bandits had long ago abandoned this area. My mind began to dig up random thoughts. I needed something to else to think about.

"Princess..." Sai mumbled,interrupting my brainstorming. Droplets of water fell onto my skin,as we passed under a cloud. 'Uh oh,' I thought. Would that disrupt Sai's jutsu?

"Don't worry," he said softly. "I told you yesterday,as long as I have I have enough chakra,we will be safe,"

"Right.."

I recalled the previous night,as much as I didn't want to. Before I could steer the conversation in a different direction,Sai decided to speak. "Um..about last night. I want to appologize. It seems that my actions were not appropriate..."

"Appropriate," I repeated,rolling my eyes. I didn't know how to respond. His approach at trying to charm me had certainly been a bold one,but it had also left me confused. Was this some sort of way to get close to me? Perhaps,from now on he would do all sorts of similar things. For all I knew,he would use what he knew against me,and tell Danzo whatever he learned. 'Hmph,' I thought. 'Think again,buddy,'

"Aha...ow...Princess,you sure have a strong grip," Sai said,suddenly wincing in pain. Without realizing,I'd grabbed onto Sai's shoulders. My nails had begun to dig into the fabric of his shirt.

"I...I'm sorry," I appologized,and released him. Sai gave an uneasy laugh,and smiled. "That's alright. I've hurt you in many more wayys than that.."

What did he say?

I leaned forward to listen with the wind howling against my ears. "I'm sorry...could you repeat that again?"

Sai glanced over his shoulder,but did not respond to my question.

"Sai?"

"Princess...I need to tell you..."

"Sai--"

My heart dropped into my stomach,as his hand suddenly extended. Before I could realized what had happened,I found myself momentarily levitating in the air. Sai's eyes stared down at me coldly,as I reached out to grab at nothing.

Sai had pushed me!

A scream came from my mouth. I was beginning to fall faster,causing my mind to fly into a panic. Thirty feet below me,was a crator that would become my grave,after all. With no one around to listen to my last words,I closed my eyes. Waiting for the moment,where my body would finally hit the ground.