Disclaimer: Don't own the Naruto franchise or any of it's characters.

Rating: T

Well, here I am, with a fic about the under-developed pairing of SaiXIno (referring to number of fics and their word length, not the pairing itself). A look into how they become a couple, how it might have happened, and what happens immediately after the fact. And as the summary said, the general timeline is two years after the Fourth Shinobi World War - specifically, before The Last: Naruto The Movie, at the start anyway. Will include loose nods to the novels as well.

Enjoy

Konoha; Late-Fall

Library

"Even when best prepared, situations often change and/or deal with unexpected variables. Therefore, it is important for a ninja to be able to handle many different situations as best as possible."

"Even the closest friends can regularly surprise each other; you can never be fully prepared for everything, merely flexible."

Both phrases stood out to him.

"Prepare for everything possible, when it is impossible to prepare for everything in the first place" Sai breathed out loud, but low, so as not to disturb anyone. "And also, I have seen examples of good friends surprising each other very well; that is also true."

Hmm... perhaps he was starting to get there, at the very least. There were many nuances of truthfulness and 'sparing each other's feelings' that he wouldn't get for awhile, but now he's beginning to realize what was insensitive, and what was acceptable. If he could just cut down the 'anger' reactions to zero, perhaps there was hope for him after all. Wait, no- that was inaccurate; Sakura had known Naruto for much longer, and knew all of his personality traits, yet still persisted in hitting him occasionally when he said/did something particularly wrong... at least, when he had first met them. The important thing, that implied, is that they like you no matter how much you might annoy them at times.

That brought a small curve to his lips; technically, he had achieved that some time ago. He still wished to improve his friendships with Sakura and Naruto, along with their other friends, but perhaps he needn't worry too much about it, though he must still strive. At least he'd learned to stop saying insulting things period though, as they were a negative thing in many cases, while the few that weren't he's still heavily confused about. Thinking then that perhaps he didn't need to focus on this subject today, Sai moved onto the next one at random.

The book's title meaning was lost on him, but the key point wasn't: romance.

Oh... that was going to be extremely challenging...

The word brought a memory, indirectly related to the topic for some reason; his calling of Sakura ugly, along with nearly calling Choji 'fatso' before he tried the 'opposite' on Ino, which women 'wanted to hear' - neither attempt had desirable results for him that day.

Calling a woman ugly, even if she actually was (or so he'd thought at the time), was a near-universal button that triggered rage in women it seemed - while calling Ino 'beautiful' had stunned her out of surprise, yet triggered anger in Sakura for reasons he hadn't been able to figure out. Well, also at the time... Naruto eventually said something about Sakura not being angry about his comment, more that she'd been expecting another 'ugly' comment, and Ino to attack him afterward as a result. Apparently being denied this caused a reaction in women, who when insulted, expected him to repeat his mistake and suffer for it, thus causing them enjoyment as indirect retribution. Only complicating the matter was that what's appropriate for a guy to say wasn't for a woman, vice-versa, and all manner of other complicated relationship reasons.

He didn't quite understand... but it's no wonder he didn't; comments about physical appearance from men to women, or vice-versa, or same-sex, was generally the realm of romance (or really close friends in some cases - at least a higher level in appropriate-ness). He still struggled somewhat with lower + higher nuances of friendship, so of course he got the 'next step up' even less, and it wasn't within his nature to compliment looks in the first place.

"But then again, if I don't learn a little at a time, or at least try to, I will fall very much behind" Sai thought, opening it up-

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Surprised, he turned toward the source- Ino?

The blonde woman smiled, tilting her head, which caused her right-side bangs to cover more of her face. "Come on, you're rarely not seen here" she said, hands behind her back. "What is it with you? Got a thing for books?"

A 'thing'?

"I do not do anything with books, nor have an abnormal interest" he informed her, hoping this eased any concerns. "I merely read them, trying to figure out useful information."

That got a little 'hmm' as an answer, then Ino came closer and leaned over, 'skim-reading' the lines of his book. A little jolt + sound of surprise, then she looked at him, cheeks slightly pink for some reason. "What do you need to learn about romance for?" she asked, more 'soft' in tone, it seemed.

"Well, I am greatly uninformed about the subject in several areas, and currently it's my subject of study for today" Sai answered, knowing these to be facts. "I understand it is the realm of emotions, which I have yet to properly surface to the level of normal, but I am trying to understand everything I can in stages."

"Okay, and what about exactly, for this subject?"

"At this moment, the chapter is on physical attributes" he stated, Ino shifting again. "It seems there's much confusion on the subject: some like blonde hair, others like red, others like black, and it goes on. And each category has the same confusion; why are there so many choices? And out of them, which are the best to look out for?"

For a moment, Ino looked at him, then she just laughed - he was surprised, not just at the outburst (several other occupants were annoyed), but wondering if she was making fun of him. What did he do?

"Okay first off, the way you said that so seriously was funny, Sai" she teased, moving to sit down opposite him, ignoring the reactions of everyone else in the room. "Second, that variety of choices is the point."

Sai blinked, feeling confused.

She propped her head up on her elbows, leaning forward a bit. "No guy or girl will like or dislike everything" she told him. "They have different opinions; it's up to them to decide which to like or dislike, not anyone else, book advice included."

"Oh..." he breathed, blinking again. "But what if the person does not know what they like, or dislike?"

Ino's smile moved a little. "Well, sometimes they feel their way through by trial-and-error - people can like one type of person, but fall for another with different attributes than their main like. It's all random, and sometimes unplanned even to themselves, but the feelings between them are important."

Sai slowly looked down, realizing this was indeed a complex matter, only compounded by his own lack of knowledge. "That is a problem for me" he admitted. "My emotions are quite limited in comparison."

"That's not the only thing though" Ino told him seriously, making him look up again, surprised. "Actions, emotions; it doesn't matter sometimes. If there are reasons you want to be around someone, that generally means you care about them - I'm sure you know that much, being our friends. If you want to be around one person more than your other friends, then it's likely you're feeling romance, even if you don't think you're feeling anything."

He considered that, tilting his head. "I'm not sure I understand" he said slowly, looking at her. "Still, I wonder about something else-"

"Yeah?"

He looked back at her. "Why did you seek me out here, Miss Beautiful?" Sai asked, curious. "I do not mind your advice, but I still wonder."

Ino, while surprised, slowly made what's been described as 'a face' for a moment. "It was random; I just stumbled across you" she answered, arms crossed - he started to wonder if she was irritated. Then she leaned forward again, making him notice that she's rather close, though there was no big reaction out of either of them. "Though now that I'm here giving advice, I'd be happy to have a moment with you" she teased, confusing him; that had not been irritation? "Just like you did with me, if a long time ago."

He blinked, even as his mind considered that last part over the previous aspect. "Moment?" he asked. "What was my moment with you?"

"When you called me 'beautiful'" she said, whispering a little softer, and with pink cheeks.

Oh that... wait, she still remembered that day?

Whichever the implications to that question, he didn't know how to respond; not good.

"I..." Sai breathed, unsure how to proceed. "I uh-"

She giggled, much to his surprise. "Don't worry" Ino answered with a normal tone, for her anyway. "I'm just thinking - maybe you're the kind of guy who learns best by doing something physically."

"Huh?"

Ino smirked a bit, moving to sit beside him, then propped up on her elbows again. "From what I've seen, you're a artist" she started (he just nodded; that's correct). "You improve the more you do so, and keep that skill by constantly drawing. Also, when you speak your suggestions from books, you slowly learn what to do/what not to do from the physical results, rather than instantly getting it from a simple read-through."

Now interested, he considered this potential application to himself. "Perhaps you are right" he said, feeling slightly strange; another emotion. At first glance, he thought it might be... elation? No, too emotive... perhaps it's more confident than anything. In either case, he felt sure this new method would help him in the long run, and wondered to himself why he didn't think of it before, especially since it'd been showcased in Naruto's development repeatedly. And if he applied this approach to romance as well, then perhaps he- wait...

"The only thing is, I do not know where to apply this to romance" Sai admitted. "Or even who I might feel strange around."

"Nooo" Ino breathed in a strange drawn-out tone, which he initially thought might be teasing again (but soon decided was more... playful, maybe?). "Yet you can only think so much; if something romantic physically happened to you, then you might suddenly get it, with no thinking required. Then reading might go more easily too, thanks to the base experience."

"Perhaps" he mused, finger near his mouth; he'd read about such affections, but didn't get the frequent mentions of pleasant 'wetness' in what was called a kiss. "However, again, who would I want to try such things with, assuming I could correctly do such things at the right times without consequence? And who would wish to try with me?"

A little silence, during which he thought... and then suddenly, Ino's breath was hot against the side of his mouth.

"Well I think I would, handsome."

So much ran through his brain in that moment, the closest he'd ever felt to... panic? No, too inaccurate- but what was it? First the realization that something was going on here, the feeling of her hot breath against his cheek + her closeness, which was certainly not normal friend behavior. Second, her usage of 'handsome', which he immediately knew was the male opposite of 'gorgeous' and/or 'beautiful', the latter that he'd called her back then as well as referenced in her nickname, even if he wasn't truly calling her that at the time. All this and more lead to his being stirring a bit with different reactions, and he couldn't begin to make sense of it initially.

Slowly, Sai looked at Ino-

She was extremely close to him: he saw every detail of her face and little more - her expression was soft (it seemed), and she'd brushed her hair away just enough to see both her eyes. Also, she had a little smile that he seemed unable to not notice, especially the way it curved, among other details.

-she leaned forward, her lips touching his.

Sai wouldn't have believed it possible, but the simple touch sent a wave of warmth through him... very very low-key, yet still, and he barely noticed the sound he made at the contact. More than that, it near-physically caused his heart to start beating faster, again in a low-key amount. He didn't need to think to feel how soft Ino felt, or the slight wetness... strangely, he felt a slight instinct to close his eyes, but what-? His vision moved slightly; Ino, extremely close to him, had her eyes closed - maybe that's it? His fingers twitched, several times, but he couldn't consciously move them nor any other part of him. And the most startling part: despite this only lasting a few seconds, it felt like it'd been ten... he did not realize warmth could warp his own perceptions like that.

The moment Ino let go, he made another instinctive sound, mixed with several other reactions. He could only stare as Ino looked at him, missing the flickers in her expression, before her sound jolted him as she stood up.

"A few things, just so we're clear, okay Sai?" she whispered, still close by.

Sai wasn't sure if he managed to respond or not.

"One" she continued, cheeks pink. "You felt that right, Sai; that's a romantic hint, particularly a big one in this case. However, I know you're in shock, so there's no need for you to answer that hint right away - and one kiss from me doesn't automatically mean we're dating."

Dating? The word seemed to urge his heart to beat a little more, however briefly.

Somewhere in the mix of sensations, Sai felt Ino's fingers touch his cheeks, for a few little touches but nothing more. "But if you return the affection someday, then we would be" she breathed, a little shy. "And I'd like that. But if you choose not to, we can still remain friends, don't worry."

She'd... she'd what...?

Carefully, Ino just backed away from him, before walking away... then she spoke from a few feet:

"Two, Sai-"

He slowly turned to look at her with difficulty, unable to do much more.

She glanced back from the left side, where her hair wasn't in her eyes, cheeks still pink. "If in any of your thoughts you think 'But I'm not good enough yet for a relationship with her', or 'I must learn more, to make sure I can do the best I can before I do anything at all', or anything similar - don't worry about them. It'll be fine."

Then she walked outside the library with a little effort, leaving him to sit where he remained, still in shock. It was several moments after she exited that he could blink, much less remember he's sitting, or other small details - again, the warmth had distorted his normal perceptions? In all his limited experience, he never would have expected anyone to 'hint' to him in that manner... Sai expected this to have taken many years, when he was ready. Now though, he faced the entirely unexpected situation that Ino, a rival of Sakura, had taken some interest in him. Regardless of whether she believed he was 'keeper' material or not (that took much longer to figure out, even for experts, and was rare an instant-knowledge type of thing), the fact remained true, and his mind seemed focused on events.

Very slowly, he glanced at his books, then back out the door.

Yamanaka Flower Shop

Three days later

"Thank you, come again" Ino spoke, waiting till the customer had left before she looked around the now-empty store - boy business today was slow, more than usual for the season. Still, that allowed her to pull up a chair, which she didn't mind doing, as right now all she could think about was Sai.

A smile tugged at her lips, staying there; she hadn't heard the stories about him until later, about how he'd been raised to suppress his emotions, how feelings were still alien to him, and the works.

Talking with him in the library and considerably beforehand had shown that plain as day, where he didn't have much range of reactions, least by comparison. But he did try to be nice, even if it was hard going, sincere in everything he did- and she did mean everything. He'd made progress, as far as little signs showing that he did feel emotions - though Sai claimed his were still limited in comparison today, she was beginning to believe that might not be the case. Sai certainly believed that, no question, but he's still biased against emotions after all- he didn't have a guide other than books to help him. Almost on an instinct, she'd wanted to help him for awhile now, if not sure how to go about it, until that moment where she realized he was researching romance.

Rational parts of her brain told her it's probably just for research, legitimate research, as could be expected. The otherwise not-so-rational parts made her feel pretty warm on the spot, instincts re-affirming that this was a quiet, mysterious type, alone even when among others.

It wasn't a new observation, but it was definitely her kind of type... yet Ino couldn't jump the gun.

Like her actions reflected that though; on the spot, she'd been having a normal conversation... until she saw the curve of his lip from the side, deep in thought and trying to make sense of things. Then something seemed to possess her right then, seeing him as a troubled soul, but rather than brooding, he was working to reclaim that which is suppressed, and she could see his genuine reactions were quite lovely.

Thus she'd been pretty confident of herself as per normal, teasing Sai and even outright kissing him on a spur-of-the-moment, saying she wouldn't mind being in a relationship with him - the desire had been real, but little flickers made her wonder deep under that same confidence. Among those flickers, the boy-crazy part of her had just squeed, while the rest wondered 'what just happened?' and 'is this the right thing?'. She didn't want to confuse Sai, or take advantage of him - that's why she'd quickly pointed out they're still friends now, and would be continue to be afterward, ie that he didn't have to accept her offer. But at the same time, she thought she could legitimately be his guide, to help bring the emotions out, while she enjoyed the changes as well as who he is at heart (metaphorically).

But Sai... she hadn't seen or heard a word from him since then, not even in the library, and nor had anyone else.

What had she done wrong? What was gonna happen?

If it was anything bad, it'd be her fault... all for an impulse moment she hadn't realized until too late...

Ino sighed heavily, resting her head against one hand - well, too late now; it's done, and she'd have to face whatever happened next head-on, especially if she's only made things worse. At the time, before or after her 'possession' moment, she'd thought being direct might be the best way to help him learn, because his level of understanding wouldn't account for hints. It'd seemed to work: even now, that stunned-surprised look of his after the kiss, plus the slow-rising redness in his cheeks... the image was kinda adorable. It made her want to smile again, even if part of her regretted he'd been so in-shock that he hadn't kissed her back at all, understandably or otherwise.

Despite all that, separate from the 'crazy' parts, she's truly glad her proposed physical-learning method had actually worked for him. Maybe if she'd-

Footsteps.

Jolted, she quickly looked up, putting on a smi- Sai! Even in her surprise though, it didn't escape notice that he seemed more... nervous, and his bearing was a bit stiff(er).

"Miss Beautiful" he breathed, blinking once.

There was something about his voice; it wasn't normal-friendly like usual, or a full nervous reaction that she could tell... matter-of-fact she couldn't tell what was going on, exactly...

"Yeah?" Ino asked, heart beating a little faster. "Let this work out, whatever it is you're thinking! And if I've confused you too badly, I didn't mean to do that!" she also thought - at the same time, her lack-of-understanding regarding his current reactions interested her.

Slowly, Sai overcame something, walking further inside as he eyed the various flora in the store. "I have a... request."

A request?

"It is... I am an artist, as you've said... and I-"

If she wasn't wondering where this was going, she'd have only focused on how cute Sai sounded when he's unsure. He might not know it, but that and his confused look really did their best that way... however, it affecting how he talked drew more attention.

He took a moment, then looked straight at her. "Perhaps you could help me with my drawings?" Sai asked slowly.

Ino blinked... what...?

"Alone" Sai added, like he'd just remembered a crucial word, racing to add it before too late.

She jolted, really surprised.

He made a sound, still unsure. "Um, with me" he quickly added again, eyes darting around, as if he were struggling to remember what else he should say.

She continued to stare at him, before realization dawned... "Sai" Ino breathed softly, hand near her mouth, cheeks pink probably. "Are you asking me on an art date?"

He nearly took a step back, jolted, blinking several times with his mouth open. "I... I uh..."

The worry came back; something's going on here with Sai, the way he was unsure about his own answer. But why? What exactly did he have planned for her? Just normal hanging out, an actual date, a mix, or what!? She wanted to ask him exactly what's up, but at the last second forcibly stopped herself; he's unsure of himself enough already, so she shouldn't try to 'help' anymore than she already 'has', difficult as it was. Sai had asked her - whatever he's thinking of, she could work with it if at all possible. There was no need to treat this as him asking her out in return until proven otherwise, yet thanks to certain hints, she also had to take the chance to see if she'd only made things worse from before.

"Okay" Ino breathed after awhile, smiling a bit when Sai showed surprise. "Sure, I'll help you with your drawings, Sai, and forget my previous question. You'll still have to wait till my shift's over though."

If all else fails, appeal to their comfort zone, and/or questions/statements that they can easily respond to; mom had taught her that at one point. Plus even if he does just remain her friend, she still wanted to see if that learning method could help out more- he's earnest about learning, and so maybe she could appeal to his 'deeper bonds' angle.

"Ah" Sai breathed after a moment, blinking, before he nodded normally. "Of course, Miss Beautiful."

Ino smiled a bit; his affectionate nickname for her. "Where'd you like to meet for this?" she asked, having had to stop from asking 'My place, or yours?' - much too forward, even if he wouldn't get it.

"Uh, my apartment, at least for what I initially have planned."

Initially?

I find these two pretty cute together, just on account of their different personalities :) However, I've noted that fics here tend to use the 'comical' portrayals of the two, whether intended or otherwise.

That's understandable (and not a bad thing), as Ino can be hotheaded + quick to anger, and Sai can be clueless - but they've been learning and growing throughout the anime. And maybe it's just me, but two years after the Fourth Shinobi World War would mean that they've changed a fair bit - so as a result, how the two of them act during The Last was a basis of their personalities in this fic.