"Happy Birthday, Sakura!" shouted many voices from all around the particular section of the restaurant that had been reserved for the occasion.

"Thanks everyone!" she shouted back, standing up and taking a swig from the small glass she held in her right hand.

Most of those present at Sakura's birthday party were now in their early twenties. The exceptions were, of course, the senseis and elders she had become close to over the years – Kakashi, Shizune, and even Tsunade herself.

Soon it was the very late evening and it was time for the restaurant to close. The closing announcement by the manager elicited groans from all those who had managed to make it this far.

"Awww!" said Kiba.

"But I'm having so much fun!" said Hinata, off to one side of the group.

"Tell you what guys," started Shikamaru. "How about we just move the party to my place? There's plenty of room and we'll still be far enough from my folks that they won't care about noise."

Shikamaru, as with many shinobi who lived in a clan atmosphere, still lived in the compound owned by his parents. It was quite large and because it enabled him to keep his privacy, he had no intentions of moving any time soon. The Naru compound also had many rooms of all sizes and it could easily accommodate the dozen or so shinobi who still remained at the restaurant celebrating with Sakura.

"Ok!" shouted Sakura.

"Thanks Shikamaru!" echoed Naruto.

"Let's go!" Choji added and was nearly the first person out the door.

Sakura was about to go out the door arm-in-arm with Shikamaru on one side and Choji on the other when she noticed there was still a person hanging back a bit, not quite comfortable with the situation.

"You guys go ahead," she told her two companions. She turned and approached the lone figure.

"Sai, are you ok?" she asked.

"Oh sure, Sakura," he said, not fooling anyone about how uncomfortable he was.

"Are you coming to Shikamaru's?" she asked.

"Uh….I'm not sure," he replied.

"Why not?" she asked.

"Well…," he started. He was obviously holding something back.

"Hmmm?" she prodded.

"Even after all these years, I am still not very comfortable with these types of situations," he admitted. "I'm not even sure how I should act."

"You mean social situations?" added Sakura. "You don't need to worry about anyone here. You should know that they all like you for who you are. We're all your friends."

He let out just the slightest hint of a grin. "I know," he said. "It doesn't make it any easier though. I still feel self-conscious."

"C'mon," she said to him and took him by the arm. "You aren't going to get any more comfortable until you start hanging out with us."

OlOlOlOlOlO

It only took a 10 minute leisurely stroll to get to Shikamaru's house from the restaurant. Sai had greatly enjoyed the walk with Sakura. Not only was she his teammate when it came to being a shinobi, but from a personal perspective, she always seemed to look out for him. When he had first joined Team Kakashi six years ago, they had not gotten along well at all. That was until she found out more about his past in Root, and how he was raised inside the organization and not in a normal home. He was taught not to have emotions. When Sakura finally realized that, she felt bad for him more than anything else. In time, she learned what he was emotionally aware of and what he was not and she never held his social faux pas against him. She took him under her wing and even tried to help him. Other than his older brother in Root who had died so many years ago, Sai had not known anyone else who he cared so much about – and who seemed to take an interest in him as well. She was definitely one of his best friends.

"We're here!" Sakura shouted sliding the door to one side.

"Shhhh!" Shikamaru said putting his index finger up to his lips. "I know we're pretty isolated here in this part of the compound, but let's not press our luck, eh?"

"Sorry," said Sakura, whispering.

"Here," said Shikamaru, handing Sakura two drinks. She, in turn, handed one to Sai.

"Thank you," said Sai.

Shikamaru rejoined Choji on a cushion in the back corner of the room.

Sai looked around. It was the normal group of friends….Choji and Shikamaru….Naruto was lying on Hinata's lap as she sat next to Shino….Kiba, Lee and Ino were talking to one another….Neji and Tenten were talking to each other as well.

Sakura made a move to join in one of the groups when Sai muttered, "Uh, Sakura?"

She turned. "Hmm?"

"Now what?" he whispered, his hand cupping her ear.

"You really are a rookie at this, aren't you?" she asked. "Just have a seat somewhere and join in the conversation. I'm sure there will be a lot of opportunities to listen to stories about missions we've gone on. Sometimes people will play games. Just….just stay away from any couples that break off from everyone else."

Sai must have given her a confused look after that last statement.

Sakura sighed. She realized that she would need to explain so he would fully understand.

"When two people are boyfriend and girlfriend, often in these types of situations, they will…uh….go off on their own and enjoy each other's company," she explained. "In other words, they want to be alone so they can do things that only boyfriends and girlfriends do."

Sai wasn't stupid – just naïve. He knew about men, women and sex. He just never knew this was the type of situation that led to it. For all he knew, they just said "meet me in the bedroom at 10 o'clock" and it just kind of happened. Though he was well aware that it had never happened to him.

I wonder what its like to be in that kind of relationship?

"Uh, ok. Thanks," he replied to the pink-haired beauty. He decided the best place to hang out at the current time was over by Shino. He was sitting with Naruto and Hinata after all. And he was also naturally a quiet person. Sai thought then he wouldn't be so out-of-place.

Sakura wandered over to Choji and Shikamaru and took a seat and started talking.

To be quite honest, Sai wasn't enjoying himself. Even after only 15 or so minutes where he was, he found that no one was really talking except for Naruto and Hinata, and much of their conversation was just them flirting with one another. Shino barely said a word. I knew he wasn't going to talk much, but I guess that was a mistake on my part for thinking that I'd be the most comfortable here.

Sai looked up and saw Sakura laughing while Choji took a swig of a drink and Shikamaru smiled at something Sakura had just said.

He likes her, Sai thought to himself. At least, I think that he does. He had definitely gotten better at reading people, but was still not confident in any of his abilities related to interpersonal relationships. Enough of this.

Sai got up and wandered over to where Sakura sat and took a seat by her.

"Remember that time that Asuma-sensei caught us in the boys' bathroom?" asked Choji.

"Yeah, I thought he was going to kill us for sure," noted Shikamaru.

"That's nothing," added Sakura. "Once, Sasuke did the very same thing to Kakashi-sensei. You should have seen the look on sensei's face when he caught him."

"Ooohhh!" laughed the boys at the same time.

Sai wasn't following the conversation very well, but still smiled to try to fit in a bit more with the group he was sitting with.

"What about you, Sai?" asked Sakura. "Have you ever played any practical jokes on any of the senseis?"

Sai tried to think of a good comeback, but after a long, awkward pause, he had nothing. "Uh, no," he replied. "Sakura, you honestly believe that a guy like me could do that?" He tried to laugh it off a bit.

"No, you're probably right, Sai," she laughed a bit. "I just wondered, that's all."

Sai let out a forced laugh. Thankfully, the conversation was soon diverted away from him again. He looked around the room for a brief moment and noticed that Neji and Tenten were now kissing and Ino was giving Lee dirty looks.

Kiba got up and walked over to where Sai and Sakura were sitting.

"Can you guys do me a favor?" Kiba asked lowly.

All eyes soon turned to acknowledge him.

"Can you….get Lee over here? The guy seriously cannot take a hint."

Sakura smiled. "Lee!" she shouted across the room. "I have something to ask you!"

"Thanks Sakura, you're a lifesaver," remarked Kiba. He turned to return to Ino once he saw Lee stand up.

"You owe me one," Sakura said to Kiba. Then she winked.

"Yes, Sakura?" Lee said as he approached.

"Oh Lee, I – uh – was just wondering if you had found yourself a girlfriend yet?" Sakura asked him.

That was the wrong question to ask him, however. Rock Lee still had a pure-hearted crush on the pink-haired shinobi and even after all these years, he still thought he might have a chance with her. But by her asking the question, she was reinforcing the fact that she wasn't interested. His expression was one of sadness.

"Oh Lee, don't give me that look," said Sakura. She took his head and laid it on her shoulder lovingly.

He looked up at the other three guys and gave them the thumbs up.

Sakura saw and rolled her eyes.

They all knew it wasn't anything personal. They liked to play, flirt and tease like this. This was one of the things that made them all such good friends. Sai was included in all of that, though he knew that he was probably the least comfortable or knowledgeable about all this stuff. He was going to keep trying to figure it all out though.

The friends continued to talk, drink, and laugh into the mid-morning hours. The couples were among the first to leave.

When Neji and Tenten wished everyone a good night and left, Sakura snickered, "I wonder what they're going to do now."

Everyone else also snickered…except Sai. He was still a confused, but knew it would be embarrassing to ask, so he kept his mouth shut.

It wasn't too much later that Kiba and Ino and Naruto and Hinata also said goodnight to the group.

It was close to 4am when Sakura finally yawned. "I can't keep my eyes open," she said while stretching. "I think it's time to call it a night. Thanks for the great time you guys."

"It was fun, wasn't it?" asked Choji.

"We'll have to do this again and not just because it is someone's birthday," agreed Shikamaru.

Shikamaru looked down and saw Lee lying on a cushion. "Choji, can you make sure he gets home alright?"

"Sure thing," said Choji. "He doesn't hold his alcohol very well, does he?"

"Sai, will you walk me home?" asked Sakura to her good friend.

"Uh, sure Sakura," Sai replied.

They both gathered their things and walked out into the cool morning air. The moon still shined on the Leaf Village. As they started to walk, the whole atmosphere was eerily still and quiet.

"I've always loved this time of day," said Sakura. "It's so peaceful."

"Not me," said Sai. "I think it is lonely."

"Don't you think it is nice to be alone with your thoughts from time-to-time?" asked Sakura.

"I've had plenty of time to be alone," answered Sai. "I actually enjoy being around others more than being alone. Though…I still don't fit in with other people very well yet."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Sai," said Sakura. "It'll come. After all, you've had such a different upbringing than the rest of us. We spend most of our time on missions there isn't hardly time to get together like this."

They walked silently for a few minutes. "Y'know, I only understood about half of what was said this entire evening," Sai laughed. It wasn't a happy laugh; it was more sad than anything else.

"Oh Sai, you are who you are. It's what you've been through in your life that makes you who you are. Being socially awkward is just a trade-off for your shinobi skills, your fantastic art, and your abnormally calm demeanor," explained Sakura.

"You really think so?" asked Sai. "I do want to get better."

"Then you'll just have to keep hanging out with us…your friends," said Sakura.

It wasn't long until the pair arrived at the door that led to Sakura's apartment building.

Sakura turned to face her friend before heading upstairs. "Are you going to be ok getting home?" she asked. "You can feel free to spend the night with me if you'd like."

Sai gave her a strange look. He had no idea what to say.

"Isn't that – ? I'm sorry, I'm not even sure of the right term for it," said Sai.

"What?" asked Sakura.

"I mean, we're not boyfriend and girlfriend or anything," said Sai.

"C'mon," said Sakura grabbing his hand. Sai just went along with her not really knowing what to do.

Once they got into her room and closed the door behind themselves, Sakura continued to talk.

"Different people have different ideas about what is right and what is wrong," said Sakura. "It's up to you. I'm not forcing you to stay. But as a kunoichi, I need to sleep next to men all the time – sometimes even in dangerous conditions. If you and I were on a mission, would you really have a problem sleeping next to me?" asked Sakura.

"Uh, no. Of course not," replied Sai.

"Well, we're friends, right? Personally, I don't see any reason why friends can't spend the night together," explained Sakura.

"I guess if you put it that way," said Sai.

"Seriously Sai, this is just the way I am. If you are uncomfortable, then - ," she said.

"No, it's ok. I'm just not - ," he started.

"Sure? You just aren't used to these situations, right? You've been talking with me since we left Shikamaru's about needing to get accustomed to these situations. You want to know what's normal? Well, this is normal for me," said Sakura.

"So, have you slept with any one else?" asked Sai.

"Sure," said Sakura. "Usually it's after a party when someone needs to be taken care of, but I've had Naruto, Shikamaru, and Neji over."

Sai was a little taken aback. He had no idea how close Sakura was with some of the other guys in their little shinobi group.

"I'm going to take a shower," said Sakura. "Here," she said as she flung a pair of loose, stretchy shorts at him. "You'll need these after you take one. I'll only be a few minutes."

Sai watched Sakura duck into the bathroom and heard the shower turn on. He took a seat on the sofa as he went over the situation in his mind. He still wasn't sure this was correct, but he was still too inexperienced to know any better. He wondered if he could even sleep next to another person like this – but then thought again about what Sakura said about how they slept so closely when they were on mission. This has got to be more comfortable than that, he thought. And why would it be ok on a mission but not in the village?

Sakura was true to her word – in only a few minutes she reappeared at the door to the bathroom. With a light shirt and shorts on, still towel-drying her pink locks. "Your turn," she said.

Sai took the shorts and entered the bathroom. A brand new towel was on the sink waiting for him to use. He undressed and stepped into the wet space where Sakura had just been.

The warm water felt good on his pale skin. He carefully examined the soap and shampoo that she kept in the shower – it was a good thing it wasn't too girly else he'd need to bathe again in the morning when he got back to his place. He didn't want to smell too flowery or perfumy when he was done.

He stepped out of the bathroom when he was done and found Sakura already in bed under the blankets. He inadvertently froze when he saw her. It took her patting the area next to her with her hand to get him to start walking towards her again.

He took one step, then another, towards the bed owned by Sakura. Why am I so nervous? We're just friends. Nothing's going to happen.

Finally, he reached the bed and slipped under the blankets so that he was on his back right next to Sakura, though not touching her. He was fairly rigid and his eyes looked directly at the ceiling.

"I'm not going to bite you, Sai," said Sakura. She sat up. "Show me how you usually sleep."

"Uh, ok," he replied. He turned so that he was facing away from her. His hand slipped under the pillow.

"Good," she said. She nudged her body up against his from behind and gently laid her arm around his waist. The entire time, Sai was hyper-cognizant as to what she was doing behind him. She finally stopped moving and they both lay there for a few minutes with no other motions made and nothing said. Finally, Sai cocked his head to the side so he could see Sakura's face. Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping. A slight smile came over his face.

Yes, I made too big a deal out of something…again.

He nestled back into his normal sleeping position and in no time, he was also asleep.

OlOlOlOlOlOlO

Sai woke to a bright light shining on his face the next morning. Sakura had apparently not closed the curtains the night before so the sun was shining into her east-facing window. Sai looked again – no, there were no curtains.

I guess the sun doesn't bother her. Either that or she's up before the sun rises everyday.

He finally got his bearings and noted that he was now lying on his back and Sakura was draped over his left side with her head on his chest and both her left arm and leg sitting across him.

Uh…. Nothing was coming to his mind, but he was sure he probably turned several shades of red upon realizing the intimate position he was in.

Sakura failed to wake so Sai just patiently waited. He tried his best not to move so as not to disturb her – she was sleeping so peacefully.

Given this opportunity – the only one that had ever presented itself to him – he decided to examine the pink-haired shinobi while she slept. He reached with his right hand and touched her hair.

It's so soft…and fine. There aren't too many women out there with pink hair. He paused. Actually, come to think of it, there aren't too many men either.

Sakura mumbled something and shifted just slightly so that her leg was now dangerously close to Sai's groin. He naturally flinched for fear of the pain she might have caused if she had moved a little higher, but relaxed again once she was still.

He turned once again to her hair and brushed it back off of her face and tucked it behind her ear so he had a better view of her face. It was then that he saw her open her eyes and look up at him.

Thinking that she might be upset that he was touching her, he quickly pulled his hand away. But then he saw the smile on her face and thought that it might be a sign that everything was ok.

"'Morning," she said lowly, not moving her body away from her friend in the least.

"Good morning," Sai returned the greeting. "I-I'm sorry about touch-."

"Sai, it's only natural that you would be curious, hm?" she interrupted him. "After all, you've never been this close to a woman before, have you?"

"Uh….no," he said. A strange feeling started to well up in the pit of his stomach.

"You kept me so warm last night," she said. "I guess that's just one of the benefits of having someone to sleep with."

Sai wasn't really sure how to respond to that observation.

"Is…that….good?" he questioned.

"I get really cold at night," explained Sakura. "So, in my case, yes, that's good. I'm sure there are others who might feel differently."

Sai didn't know what else to say. That feeling in his stomach wasn't going away. He had felt it before, and knew what most likely would happen as a result….but he wasn't sure what he should do about it. Sure, he had read the physiology books. He knew it was a natural occurrence. But again, when it happened in his place by himself where no one else could see it didn't bother him.

Uh…..not sure….

"Sai?" Sakura said after nothing had been said for half a minute.

He snapped out of his mental world and jumped so that his back was to Sakura. "Um, yeah?"

She wasn't really sure what was going on…only that she was no longer warm and comfortable because of his apparent need to move abruptly.

"What the hell?" she said to him.

"Oh…sorry," was the only thing he could murmur.

He then decided it was time to bolt out of the situation. He sat up and stood up. Unfortunately for him, Sakura would have none of that and she grabbed his arm before he could get away from the bed. She yanked him back to the bed. He fell on his rear and leaned back on his hands.

Sai looked into Sakura's face and her eyes were now wide open. She looked like she was about to laugh…her hand quickly made its way to cover her mouth.

He quickly tried to cover himself with his hands. His face was now about the color of a tomato – and for Sai, that was saying something as pale as he normally was.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura," came from the embarrassed shinobi.

Sakura was still giggling under her breath. "What for?" she asked.

He wasn't about to spell it out to her and dig himself a deeper hole.

"Sai, it's no big deal. Really," she said. "As many missions as we've all had…and there are a lot more male shinobi than female ones. It's a fact of life. Guys get hard-ons."

Sai couldn't believe how matter-of-fact this girl was. Had he been so sheltered all this time? Well, technically the answer was 'yes', but how was he never exposed to any of this information before. Why was he still so 'in the dark'?

"Sai, are you still…," she couldn't finish the sentence for fear of embarrassing him more. She knew he was mostly clueless, but still – was he really this clueless? "Sai, hasn't anyone ever touched you down there? I know we are friends, but I always figured that you…well, I don't know…had some experiences that I probably knew nothing about."

"Sakura, when we aren't on missions, I'm usually somewhere painting. Sometimes I'm in my home and sometimes I go to a certain place to paint if I need a reference to work from," Sai explained. He finally decided to sit normally…his problem was back under control thanks to the shock and embarrassment he had just experienced.

"So hanging out with us is the extent of your social network?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered. "Pretty much."

Sakura felt even worse for her friend. She didn't know why, but even as awkward and sheltered as he was, she figured he had a few other outlets with other people she didn't know about. They were all about 22 or 23 now….and this man in front of her was missing so much, in her opinion, by being the way he was…all because he was raised in Root.

"I should go," said Sai, who now desperately just wanted to exit the situation. By the way Sakura was acting, he was afraid that perhaps he had damaged their friendship somehow. He knew he was shy and inexperienced in the normal dealings with others. He used to read books…but even that was a bust. His friends would tease him for the conclusions he made about what was socially acceptable and what was not. He usually ended up making a fool of himself.

Sai picked up his dirty clothes and headed towards the bathroom to get changed so that he could leave.

"Sai, wait," said Sakura.

The pale shinobi stopped and turned towards Sakura.

She was staring down at the floor, obviously thinking.

"What?" he asked.

She held out her hand. "Come here," she said.

"Sakura, I need to - ," he started.

"No - I won't let this end with you feeling this way. For once, I am going to personally make sure you are taken care of. Too many times we leave you to your own devices and it's about time you know about things a normal man in his twenties should," she explained. "I'm going to make sure you leave here today more informed and knowledgeable than you are now."

Sai had no idea what she was talking about. But he could tell she was insisting on carrying out whatever she was planning. He sighed and dropped his clothes where he stood.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he said as he walked towards her, grabbing her outstretched hand.

Sakura sat him on the bed next to her. She took a deep breath before she started.

"Sai, I want you to know that what I am going to say and do with you isn't something that friends normally do. I mean, sometimes it is, but usually it is more of a boyfriend-girlfriend sort of thing," said Sakura. "It truly doesn't bother me so I don't want you to be afraid of my feelings. I like you. I really do. So I want to do this for you."

Sai gulped. What is she going to tell me?

"We've already covered the first thing. Men get erections. It's not embarrassing for me. Though it might be embarrassing for other women who see a man with an erection. I have found most kunoichi don't have an issue with it. After all, we are around you guys all the time. It's natural. Fact is, reproduction is part of life - so it happens."

Sai now knew where this was headed. His cheeks turned pink once again.

"People have sex for all sorts of reasons. Not just to make babies. The truth of the matter is, it feels really good," she explained.

"So you've…," started Sai.

"Most of us have, Sai. In fact, I think you are the only friend I have that probably hasn't. Anyway, as I was saying, it happens in all sort of situations. The most common is if two people are dating like Naruto and Hinata," said Sakura.

"Or Neji and Tenten," added Sai.

"Right. But I know of shinobi who are in the field who just get together on a whim as well. If it is a long assignment sometimes they do it just to take away their stress or to feel good," said Sakura.

"So friends can have sex?" asked Sai.

"Yes, as long as they both agree to it. Again, some people are not proponents of it. They hold sex to be something sacred that only should happen after a man and woman after they get married. I personally don't have any issue with it as long as both people agree to it. There are people out there who aren't even of the opposite gender who have sex," said Sakura.

Sai was now starting to open up a bit. He was actually learning some stuff here. Maybe he shouldn't be so guarded.

"Wait. You mean two men or two women…?" said a surprised Sai just now catching that last statement.

"Yes," answered Sakura. "Though if you want the logistics of that, I'm afraid that may have to wait for another day."

"Ok," answered Sai. That one was unexpected and he definitely did have questions.

"Now, just relax," said Sakura. She reached her hand up to his cheek and started to move her head towards him. Sai jumped back a bit.

"I'm not going to bite, Sai," said Sakura trying to reassure him with a smile.

"But Sakura, I'm just not sure if I'm ready to…," he said.

"You can pull away from me at any time, Sai," said Sakura. "Like I said, don't worry about me. I'm fine with it. And I'm doing it for you."

She looked at him with such kind eyes. He couldn't help but give in. He did want to experience this…he did want to learn and become more….normal.

Sakura tried again. She leaned up with her face, but then paused. "Close your eyes," she whispered. He did as he was told.

Sakura kept going this time and gently let her lips slightly graze his. Then she pulled back slightly.

"Wow, was that a kiss?" asked Sai.

"Well, the start of one. Kissing is a whole other topic. Let's just say, the kissing I'm planning to show you is not the kind that you would share as a greeting, or with a relative. I'm going to show you romantic kissing," said Sakura. "Try to let your instincts kick in. Just do what I do."

Sakura leaned in once again and Sai's eyes shut again. He felt her lips graze his once again. She hesitated and then let her lips come to meet his more aggressively this time. He pressed more firmly back into her.

She hesitated once again. "Some of this may feel weird until you are used to it," she whispered. She leaned in and circled his closed lips with her tongue. Then she pressed back onto his closed mouth with hers.

Sai could feel his manhood reacting, but had already been made aware that it wasn't anything to hide. He briefly broke the kiss and placed his hand near his groin. Sakura followed his gaze and smiled.

"I guess your body is reacting properly to the kissing," she said.

"My stomach feels weird," added Sai.

"It probably will for a bit," she said. "If I do this properly, you may get lost in the heat of the moment and nothing will exist except the two of us and what we're doing."

She climbed all the way up onto the bed so that her head was near the pillows. "Come on up here," she said and patted the pillows with her hand.

Sai moved as he was asked to.

"Now lay on your back," she added. She took the dominant position and leaned in from above him and started to kiss him again.

Sakura continued to play around with Sai's mouth and lips for few seconds more before noting that he was getting the hang of it. She decided to take the next step and slipped her tongue between his lips. Although having her tongue in her mouth surprised him, he relaxed and let her in. Their tongues intertwined with one another and Sakura could tell the sexual tension was indeed building.

She broke the kiss and leaned back. He almost groaned when she pulled away.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

Sai thought for a moment. "To tell you the truth, I feel a little foggy. My mind is in a haze and all I can think about it is…" He never finished the sentence – he just leaned up and grabbed the back of Sakura's head and brought their lips together again.

Sakura was getting seriously turned on. All this kissing was getting to her to. Perhaps she would lead more by example from here on out rather than trying to verbalize to a guy who was only halfway capable of listening at this point anyway.

She pulled away from him again, but only for a second. She trailed her kisses down his chinline and to his neck just under the ear. He hummed from the sensation.

I can't just sit here, he thought. He wanted more. He thought of the possibility of doing something wrong, but to be honest, it just didn't bother him at this point.

As Saukra trailed down to Sai's chest, he reached up and grabbed her breast through her loose nightshirt and squeezed ever so gently.

Sakura licked Sai's nipple and swirled around it with her tongue. She knew that some guys were sensitive in this particular spot and some were not. But the deep breath in that Sai let out after she nipped his nipple for the first time told her that he was indeed affected by this.

She grabbed his wandering hand and guided it up through the bottom of her shirt so he could feel her breast directly. He had already experienced how his nipple felt when she licked it, so he naturally wanted to return the favor. In an instant, he flopped her onto her back and lifted her shirt to her neck and started to tease her nipples. It didn't take long before they were fully erect. To his surprise, Sakura's breathing had become unsteady and he could hear small moans creep out with some of her exhales.

Sakura allowed Sai to continue to play with her breast while she let her hands move sensually around on his chest and stomach. As skinny and frail as he might visually seem, he was definitely sculpted well when examined by her hands. Though lean, his muscles were well-defined and hard.

Her hands soon made their way a little further south of his belly button. He felt her hands against him and panicked. She felt his jump and pulled him down to her side.

"It's okay," she reassured him. Then she entered the top of his stretchy shorts and his underwear where she finally felt his hardness. As soon as her hands met his member, he jerked ever so slightly.

Sakura looked at his eyes and smiled. "Now this is turning me on," she whispered, smiling. Any doubts he had until that point withered away as he crushed his mouth onto hers once again. He wrapped his arms tightly around her again and pulled her flush to him. She could no longer move her hands because of the closeness, but as they kissed, his hips started to unconsciously grind against hers. She knew it was nature's way of implanting the know-how of how to procreate in his brain. He wanted it and his body was reacting properly.

She grabbed the side of his shorts and underwear and shimmied them down his legs far enough so that he could kick them off. He took the hint and did the same for her. She also tossed her shirt that was still gathered around her neck. They were now completely naked.

Sakura turned Sai onto his back once again and kissed him on the mouth, check, neck, chest and, when she was able, she rested her hand under his soft sac and gently squeezed. Sai closed his eyes.

Soon enough, her mouth joined her hand and she started to gently lap at his manhood with her tongue. Her other hand grabbed the shaft and held it up so that she was able to swirl her tongue around his most sensitive part.

Sai jumped where he lay and his head flailed back, eyes closed. "Sakura!" he shouted.

Sakura new it wouldn't take much for someone so inexperienced to climax. She didn't mind, however...she counted on all this continuing after he had released for the first time.

She took the head of his cock into her mouth and swirled her tongue once again before sucking and starting to slowly move up and down.

"Aah!" he shouted before being reduced to grunting and moaning once again.

He was close and she knew it. Did he know to tell her in case she didn't want his juices in her mouth? No matter, she could read him well enough to tell.

She quickly changed from mouth to hand and pumped fast enough so that he went over the top. His back arched and he groaned loudly. His seed now lay on his stomach and Sakura's hand in a gooey clear-white mess.

As always, worried about what he had done, he came down from his peak quickly. "Sakura, I'm so sorr-," he started.

She repositioned herself up near his face and started kissing him furiously once again. He reciprocated.

When she broke the kiss, she muttered lowly, "I expected that to happen." Then she kissed him again. "But we're not done."

He tried to talk while they were kissing, "We're not?"

"Uh-uh," she hummed back into his mouth.

He broke the kiss. "But what about…"

"I'm doing laundry later. And we can take a shower," she said matter-of-factly. That was all he needed to hear before aiming to get back into the heightened bliss he had just briefly left only a few moments ago.

A few kisses later, Sakura turned onto her back and Sai followed becoming the dominant lover hovering over her. As he kissed her, be began massaging her breasts with one hand once again. It was all of 5 minutes before he was perfectly hard once again.

"Are you ready?" she murmured.

Sai didn't say anything. He just thought, this is it, to himself.

Sakura used her hands to position Sai on top of her and between her legs. No words had to be exchanged for him to know physiologically what needed to happen next. Sai had also once read that if a woman had never had sex before that the whole first time could be quite painful as the man had to break through a virginal barrier near her opening. Today, he knew, he would not have that problem.

Sai positioned himself at Sakura's opening and gently pulsed back and forth until he was comfortable pushing all the way in. When he was firmly planted inside of her, he paused for just a split second to take a mental picture of the situation.

Here he was making love to one of his best friends experiencing pleasures he never dreamed existed before. Sai thought about how thankful he was to her for giving him this gift of herself, even if the primary purpose was educational…to let him bypass his awkwardness and give him an experience normally felt by men of his age.

He exhaled loudly trying to keep his sensations in check. He certainly didn't want to make this experience shorter than it needed to be. He wanted to make sure she felt pleasure as well.

He moved his hips so that he was slowly moving in and out of her. Sai looked at her face. Her eyes were closed, but she was obviously enjoying what he was doing to her.

He heard her whisper, "Harder…," so he upped the pace a bit. Sakura's hips moved with his rhythm giving him even deeper access to her. The feeling of the two of them joined together was just heavenly. At this point, he was very glad he had already cum once else he would never be able to last long having sex. He thought Sakura's mouth felt good – but it was nothing as compared to this.

"Hold on," she said, causing him to abruptly stop.

"I want to show you my favorite position," she said.

Sai pulled out and Sakura flipped herself over so she was on all fours.

"Ok, go ahead," she said.

Sai positioned himself once again and entered her from behind. The sensation was still fantastic, though somehow different. After a few pumps, he could tell that he was reaching even further into her.

Sai sped up and their bodies lighly smacked against each other. Then Sakura who was moaning and grunting before was now all-out screaming from his motions. "Oh!...Ah!...Yes!"

Sai squinched his eyes trying to hold back. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer. He thoughts were interrupted, however, by a change in the way Sakura felt to him. Suddenly she was tighter as if she was clamping down on him and he watched her as her head fell back as she moaned loudly. Her muscles released and he could fell a slight gush escape from her.

Sai knew that Sakura had just climaxed. It was too much for him so he furiously pumped into her and let himself go as well. He also yelled loudly as his member rhythmically pulsed and his juices escaped him once again.

Sai looked down. What a mess…

He withdrew and they both flopped down onto the bed, breathing heavily.

She reached up and touched his cheek before kissing him gently on the lips. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"I can't believe you are asking me that," he replied. He then looked at her and smiled.

"Did you enjoy it?" she asked.

He didn't bother to answer that one. He merely gave her a look like she was crazy for even asking.

"Good," she replied. Then she laid her head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her.

Nothing was said for several minutes as the two friends just lie there thinking.

"Sakura?" Sai finally said while staring at the ceiling.

"Hm?" she replied.

"Thank you," he said.

"Are you okay?" she asked. There was just something about him that didn't seem right.

"Yes, I think so," he replied. "I just….I'm having a hard time coming to terms with what just happened. I'm happy, but there is also some sort of sadness mixed in."

Sakura smiled at the shinobi. She knew his sadness was probably as a result of a good thing coming to an end. She had felt it many times herself. She rolled to her side and snuggled up to him.

"Sai, you are a really good friend," she started. "But….I think I'd like to try this…unless you have objections, that is."

"This? Try what?" he asked.

"Us," she murmured almost under her breath.

Sai felt the sadness lift away as he came to realize what she was trying to tell him. "A-are you sure?" he asked. "You already know how I can be. I'm sure it is very annoying."

She grabbed his hand and pulled it up to her mouth for a kiss. "I know," she said trying to hold back a giggle. "Even so, your lack of social experience can be very cute at times. Don't worry - I'll continue to help you."

Sai gently kissed the top of Sakura's head and held her tightly. The two of them stayed like that – content, but mostly silent It wasn't before long, they heard knock and a loud voice at the front door.

"Sakura! Are you still sleeping? Kakashi-sensei is waiting for us on the training field! Do you know where Sai is? I went to his place, but he wasn't there! Sakurrraaa!"