NINE

Being on Konoha's Investigation Division means not much field mission. Since getting inside someone's mind required much energy, Ino had to juggling between field mission and Ibiki-request on Anbu HQ. It's been weeks since she's going onto the field mission, half of her life spent inside the dark room of Interrogating wings. These days, they had caught so many bad guy lately that almost every week her division interrogating new bad guy. Not to mention hospital duties never gave her a day off. She barely open her own shop, these days had been the busiest.

It's tiring for both her mind and her body.

Ino finally took a day off, planning to sparring to move some muscle on her body. If she kept this things up, she may ended up as Sakura's patient rather than her colleague.

Ino was walking down Konoha in the morning, taking fresh air when she spotted the man she has eyes on these days on one of training field.

"Sai!" she cheerfully came to him, only to stop because suddenly an ink-made lion running in front of her, bare its teeth. Sai quickly dispelled them before the beast could reach her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The man bow down his head in formal apologize. Ino could see black ink on his tip of fingers, and no one in Konoha use that kind of technique but him.

He must be in the middle of training, Ino thought.

"Can I join you? How about we spar each other?" she just blurted the question without even thinking twice; something Ino regreted second latter.

First, Ino knew Sai didn't have many close friends, and he only trained with team seven or alone. It'd be his first time training with someone other than his teammates. Second, they are not very close to begin with. Hell knows if Sai could anticipated Ino's mind techniques or vice versa. Just minute ago his drawing almost kill me, Ino reminded herself.

But before she could take her offer back, Sai already gave her his signature smile with a little 'yes'.

"Alright… whoever pins the enemy down first, wins?" the man nodded in agreement, face still all smile. "I don't know if you know this or not Sai, but my mind jutsu is−HOLY CRAP!"

Ino jump back in shock, when suddenly the ground shook and appear what look like giant mole, no scratch that, a monster that taken a shape of giant mole. It was his drawings, no mistake.

Ino controlled her breath when the gigantic mole roar (what the hell, how in this world a mole can roar? And what's with those sharp teeth?!). "When did you draw him?!"

The smile still lingered on his face, though now he opened his eyes. Blackcoal, captivated yet blank eyes, are staring on her. "I keep him underground before you came. I thought we already started?"

Ino could feel her lips twich, and before she could stop it, her body is on fire. She was in a good mood and her opponent didn't take her easy. She never once face this kind of technique in her history of spar.

Ino jump in time when the mole started running toward her with all his claws−'holy shit when the hell mole had claws anyway?!'−and threw bombed kunais right at Sai. Sai dodged them perfectly, but didn't anticipated the bomb. Once they landed near him, made him fly on the impact.

Chakra focuses on her feet to increase her speed, Ino launched herself at him and finally get to stood face to face while jump in the air. Kunais clashed between them, with each stroke she felt like she finally connected with him in some way. Finally there's something she could understand about him, something they can be comfortable to do together; fight side by side.

Once the landed on the ground, Ino felt the ground shake because the angry mole now aiming for her again. She muttered a curse, hand still battling in combat with the black haired male. Ino bent down and trapped his leg, made him stumble. At the right time, her hand successfully threw away his kunai, made her had him on the neck.

"Now I just had to pin you down." She looked at him on the eyes, the man didn't smile at all.

"I don't think so." He replied, eyes stared at her.

Sai suddenly disappeared in smoke, made her realize that it was only a clone. Ino quickly turned around to search him but in her lost focus mode the mole had already appeared below her, made her stumble on it's forehead. Ino lost grip on her kunai in attempt not to fall, grabbing whatever within her reach in order not to fall. This drawing monster could hurt her, but she couldn't even take a grip on it! This mole has no fur or so whatever, her hands only slipped on black ink when she tried to take a grip.

Before she fell, Sai caught her hand. His strong grip help her to get on top of the mole.

"Thanks." She muttered, sighed before him. "You win." She admitted, smile sincerely at him. The mole stop roaring and sit silently with them rest on top of its head. Sai smiled back at her.

It took her another second before realized he still very much holding her hand. In awkward manner Ino moved her arms, signalling him to let her go.

"I... ehm, I had to go now." She tried to sound casual, though all she felt was butterflies in her stomach because his previous touch. Slowly the mole dug back down to the earth, let them go off its head back on the ground.

Before she left, she turn around once to wave him goodbye, then an with all her might before her heart took the best of her. Sai watched until her back gone, then looked back at his palm, where he had hold her second ago.

At the end of the day, Sai learnt that his heart beat faster when his hand touched her.

He thought probably he should see Sakura just in case he was infected by Ino's touch.

"You… what?" Sakura put her hand on her hip, one eyebrow raised at Sai's reason for coming to hospital.

"Maybe it had something to do with heart disease."

Sakura laughed at him, punched his chest none too gently. It left a stinging pain that assure Sai some of his ribs must be broken. He had heard rumor of Sakura broke many men's heart who interested in her. This was the first time he really experience it alive, and he wasn't even interested in her. Sai felt pity for those men and her patients.

"Baka, it had something to do with your feelings toward her. I can imagine Ino would be over the moon if she ever found out you came here because you feel your heart beat faster from merely touching her."

Sakura left him puzzled on the diagnose room, before a nurse sent him out forcefully.

A/N : I'm reading this again while listening to Ed-Sheeran's Lego House and surprisingly it fits XD