Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Pieces Of Me ❯ Falling Faster ( Chapter 54 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Drabble Fifty-four

Title: Falling Faster

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Summary: Sai’s frustrated that Naruto won’t let him in. [SaiNaru]




He’d tried everything to get the blond boy to put down his guard. Sai had bought him countless bowls of ramen, laughed at some of his more retarded jokes, and helped the blond chase Sasuke around. What did he have to do to get the blond boy to let him in?

He was starting to get frustrated. Every attempt he made to get into Naruto’s head was effectively shut down by their pink haired teammate. Sakura claimed that the whiskered boy had had enough pain in his life, and no new bonds were needed. Naruto still had Sasuke, and the blond would rather die then ever those bonds.

Sai found himself, once again, at Ichiraku Ramen with his blond teammate. Naruto had inhaled three bowls of ramen already, but Sai had barely even touched his first bowl. His thoughts were too full of the blond boy next to him. How could he get Naruto to let him in? It was getting increasingly obvious that what he felt for the blond far surpasses that of a simple friendship. One did not think of another person constantly without having some type of romantic feelings for them.

“You gonna eat that?” Naruto asked through a mouthful of ramen, not waiting for the other shinobi’s answer before whipping the bowl away. Sai watched in stunned amusement as Naruto quickly downed the bowl of ramen, smacking his lips when there was nothing left. “Ah. That’s it for me. I’m done.” Naruto leaned back slightly, rubbing his belly in a contented daze.

“You’re welcome.” Sai smirked, feeling a surge of warmth in his chest when Naruto turned to flash him a foxy grin. He loved the other boy’s grins. “Now that you’re done eating, what do you want to do?” The dark haired nin placed his chin in his hand and smiled back.

A blush spread over Naruto’s cheeks, “I-I don’t really know.” The blond bowed his head and swallowed around the lump in his throat. For a while now, he’d felt himself relaxing around the older nin. He didn’t like the feeling, since had trust issues after what Sasuke had done. But Sai was a really good guy, even when the dark haired ninja was completely emotionless during his first few months. Naruto felt bad for shutting him out.

“We could spar for a while.” Sai suggested helpfully, trying to persuade the blond into doing something with him. He wanted to create a brand new bond with the blond boy that he wouldn’t sever like Sasuke did. The dark haired ninja smiled again. “If you don’t want to spar, we can go see what Sakura-san’s doing.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go pester Sakura-chan.” The blond stood up from his seat, waiting as Sai slapped a few bills on the counter. They ducked under the hanging flaps of Ichiraku and headed off towards Hokage Tower. Naruto shoved his hands into his pockets; feeling relaxed walking next to his teammate. “We’re going to be looking for Sasuke again in a couple of days. I hope we find him.”

Sai just nodded his head absently, the Uchiha’s name leaving a bad taste in his mouth. All he knew about Sasuke was what Naruto told him-he was a bastard-but that’s all he needed to know that the missing nin didn’t deserve the blond’s friendship. Naruto deserved a much better best friend, one that wouldn’t leave him for some silly revenge. He deserved someone like Sai. The dark haired nin shook his head, knowing already that it wasn’t as easy as he had hoped at first. Sasuke had practically ripped out his teammate’s heart and stomped it into the dirt. Now Naruto was wary about giving it out to anyone else, or letting them see it, for that matter.

“Why are you so bent on bring Sasuke-kun back?” Sai asked, knowing it was a dangerous question, and quite sure Naruto would go into a lengthy explanation about keeping his word. For a brief moment, the dark haired nin saw his teammate blush hotly, before it was swallowed up in a grin.

“I promised Sakura-chan I would, of course. And the bastard’s still my most important person.” Naruto said the last part in a near whisper, dropping his eyes to the ground. Sai wanted to reach out and comfort him, but the next second those blue eyes shot up again. “I can’t forget that I’m gonna be Hokage soon, too!” The blond flashed the other boy a thumbs up, trying to change the subject.

“He doesn’t deserve forgiveness.” Sai regretted it the minute it left his mouth. Naruto abruptly stopped walking, his head bowed, fists clenched at his sides. The dark haired nin took a few steps back, stopping next to his teammate, leaning down to whisper in his ear. “I’m sorry. I’ve said too much.” Sai let his hand rest on Naruto’s shoulder, still hovering close to his ear, feeling the other boy shake in anger.

“It doesn’t matter. You don’t know what’s going on.” The blond’s voice came out in a strained whisper, like he wasn’t sure he was really saying them. Sai squeezed his shoulder, wanting to stay like this, wanting Naruto to let him in. But the blond boy was still wrapped around Sasuke’s finger, even when he wasn’t there.

A horrible, sudden realization hit him, and Sai let go of the blond as if he’d been burned. He should’ve known it before but…he was falling in love with Naruto. This blond boy who had annoyed him before, who was so intent on bringing his traitorous best friend back to Konoha.

“Sasuke-kun doesn’t deserve you, Naruto.” Sai said, his voice sounding just a tad bit overprotective. Naruto looked up at him, his blond brows furrowed in confusion. They locked eyes, and for a minute just stood there looking at each other until Sai broke eye contact, blushing slightly. With Naruto’s eyes still trained on his face, Sai explained his meaning. “You’re an easy person to like, even though at times you’re quite obnoxious. Some people find themselves inexorably…drawn to you, like you have your own gravitational pull.”

“What does inexorably mean?” Naruto asked, tilting his head in question.

“It’s when you can’t avoid something.” Sai explained to him.

“Oh.” The blond nodded, satisfied with the answer. After a minute of silence, he turned back to Sai, his eyes flashing dangerously. “Are you one of those people?” Naruto’s voice sounded strange, but Sai didn’t know why. He hadn’t known the other boy for too long, so he hadn’t memorized his expressions yet.

“Like I said, it’s unavoidable.” Sai offered his teammate a soft smile-a genuine one, actually-and felt his heart swell when Naruto returned it. The blond’s smile grew as he reached out to seize the collar of Sai’s shirt; the dark haired nin gasped slightly as Naruto tugged him closer. “I-I’m sorry if I offended you!” Sai stuttered, trying to give the blond a nervous smile so he would let go.

“You didn’t offend me.” Naruto said simply.

“Then why…?”

“You talk too much.”

And Naruto effectively shut him up.



~Owari~