This is the eighth in a series of stories that were created from my previous fic, "Twenty Men." The theme number can be explained once you read it. I am proud to dedicate "Project: Twenty Men" to Aloha Laney. She's a dear friend.

Title: Emasculated

Author: Ita-ta

Pairings: SakuSai

Theme: 13

Rating: T for teens.

Disclaimer: All Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Note: Please review; they fuel my drive for writing.

Summary: SakuSai. For once, it was he who felt emasculated.

Emasculated

It was the day that he met her that he felt something, he didn't know what it was, but it was clenching feeling in his chest and he didn't know what to do with it. It wasn't painful, but it was an unnerving sensation to experience. His charcoal eyes looked at her emotionlessly, a blank, detached smile plastered on his face.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Sai." He greeted them, his eyes mostly drawn to her, the pink-haired blossom. He didn't know why but he was completely fascinated by her. She looked so fragile with her porcelain skin and breakable with the doll-like face. Idly, he assumed that he would be able to break her easily if he wished to.

She spoke, his eyes drawn to her lips, back to her eyes again. "Hello, I'm Haruno Sakura." She tilted her head to the side in what seemed like a childish motion to him and smiled.

He was taken by that smile and he wanted to see it come back as soon as possible. His attention was drawn to the blonde boy, standing almost protectively at her side, his stance clearly defensive. Sai could tell every nuance spelled tension toward him, but he did not understand why.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." His tone was reluctant, and Sai could detect a shadow in his eyes as Naruto watched him but he didn't know what that meant.

He turned, angling his body slightly to appear less threatening and surveyed the last. Yamato inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement, his gaze directed to the last person. Sai looked at Kakashi, whom was currently leaned against a tree reading his favourite novel. As if only realizing Sai was there, Kakashi snapped his book shut with a flourish and feigned surprise.

"Oh, didn't see you there, I'm Hatake Kakashi." Insert happy eye crinkle here and that was about all Sai got from him.

Yamato took the lead, gesturing with his hands. "Alright, we're going to get used to this new formation so Sai you go and fight with Sakura, Naruto, you'll take turns between Kakashi and I." He explained.

Sai sensed a distinct unpleasant feeling clench in his chest as he looked at his prospective opponent. He didn't know why Yamato paired him with Sakura, could he not see how breakable she was?

"I wish to fight Naruto instead." He had decided it was better to fight the blonde, whom looked a bit rougher around the edges and a bit more durable than the little porcelain doll.

"What?" Sakura couldn't help but bristle a little at his immediate gloss-over of her.

"No, Sai. I need to teach something to Naruto so you should spar with Sakura. It'll give you a better idea of the team's dynamics." Yamato decreed, stepping off to another clearing after giving Naruto a look that told him to follow. Kakashi loped after the both of them, leaving Sai and Sakura to the clearing alone.

Sai was ...displeased that it had turned out this way but he did have an order and he was going to follow it. He assumed a defensive fighting stance, intending to just block and evade until he was free to go. The young former-root felt that he did not want to hurt her.

Sakura could tell what the male was doing and she didn't like it one bit. She knew that he wasn't intentionally provoking her but she could sense the condescension a mile away. She was done and over with guys that had a superiority complex over her. Mind made up, the blossom decided to make her first move.

Just like that she was off like a bullet streaming straight to him, her fist cocked back to swing forward and connect with his face. He side-stepped her easily but he did not expect her to be so fast as to twist her body accordingly and therefore let her fist glance off his left cheek.

He was also not expecting there to be any power behind the hit so when her knuckles brushed his cheek, he figured he was safe. So he was thoroughly astonished when his head snapped to the side like he'd been slapped. Skidding back from the force of the blossom, he immediately took to the right, scaling a tree and travelling along the branches silently to survey her. He paused on a branch, his hand coming up to lightly touch the highly sensitized skin of his cheek. He'd never suffered a hit like that in his life.

Charcoal eyes watched her as she stood completely still with her eyes closed. Then, quick as lightning, she turned her body to face his direction and brought her fist down to the ground. Immediately, spider-like fissures spread around her as a large fissure open and headed straight for his tree. He leaped off the branch, intending to land gracefully on the ground away from the fissure but his footing was lost as the ground underneath him upended. She was on him in seconds, restraining his wrists above his head and using her body weight to keep the rest of him from flailing. The moment of disorientation left him limp.

"I'm not a little porcelain doll you know." She commented offhandedly.

At that moment, he realized that he had never felt so emasculated in his life. This little porcelain blossom had taken him down in less than fifteen minutes. He was never going to take her appearance for granted again.

"Hag," He mumbled, idly wondering why his voice was so deadpan but his stomach had a warm sensation coiling in it.

Just for that Sakura punched him in the face, no chakra but enough to knock him out. A small smile was on her face.

"Indeed a pleasure to meet you, Sai."