Note: Hey, everyone! This is your local Dark Lord with a brand new plot-bunny. To be honest, I haven't the faintest idea where I'm going with this, but by all means enjoy the ride!

Fifty Cents for an Art Lesson

Chapter I. Art of Innocence

The day was warm, the skies were blue, and Naruto was miserable.

"Darn Sasuke," the seven-year-old muttered angrily, scuffing his shoes on the dirt. "Why does he have to be so perfect all the time? It's not fair!"

He waited for some sort of response, but the birds in the tall trees only continued chirping contentedly. Naruto huffed in irritation at their rudeness, then turned around and continued ambling down the winding park trail. There was no point being angry if there wasn't anyone to hear about it.

The park, a small forest lurking near the edge of the village, belonged to the Naras. Naruto had found that it was a shadowy, unexplored, forbidden and therefore highly interesting place. A large fence sealed the area from the rest of the village, so not many people liked to hang around. Naruto didn't really have a problem hopping the gate, and he couldn't imagine why it put so many other people off from entering. Most of them were even taller than he was, so they'd have an easier time getting over. Maybe they were too fat.

He walked a bit further in the silence.

A squirrel skittered up a tree, and a large, furry caterpillar inched up a low-hanging maple branch.

Normally, such tempting events would be welcome diversions for the day's adventure. Today, it seemed that his thoughts were intent on returning to the one topic he hated most.

That stupid Sasuke.

It was all his fault.

Why did he have to be so good at everything, dammit!? It wasn't enough that he was taller than Naruto, and that for some reason Sakura-chan liked him better, and he already knew all the Academy's ninjutsu before Iruka-sensei taught them, or that he was better at arithmetic, or that he could run faster and longer than Naruto or anyone else, or that he was from some fancy clan that ran the police force. He always had to be better at everything.

And he was so smug about it! Always ignoring Naruto's demands for a rematch, and grunting at him in that superior way, and pretending he didn't exist, and even ignoring his beloved Sakura-chan and insulting her!

He was some kinda prodigy, Iruka-sensei had said to the assistant teacher, when he'd though all the students were out of earshot. Brilliant speed and reflexes. A level head and high levels of physical endurance. Remarkable strength. Quick to learn new things and remember them. Creativity and strategic thinking in battle. Highly intelligent, good memory, with an aptitude for all forms of combat. Unmatched instincts for battle and stealth.

(What he said about Naruto when he thought Naruto couldn't hear- well. It had been mostly unintelligible.)

There had to be something Sasuke wasn't good at. Naruto had yet to find it.

Naruto paused and stomped in frustration.

Startled, the squirrel scampered away.

Then, feeling more aggravated than ever, Naruto plopped down at the base of a large oak tree.

It was old and mossy, with long twisting grey branches and browning leaves in mid-fall, and cast a wide net of shade over the soft green grass. It didn't get cold enough in Konoha for the trees to lose their leaves in winter. Instead, they lingered, fading to match the bark and the silver haze of moss in the branches. The grass was unusually soft and cool, feathery to the touch and not scratchy at all.

Maybe that was why the Naras were always sleeping outside: Naruto had always thought it was because they didn't have beds at home.

Distractedly, Naruto tugged on clumps of grass and tore big handfuls of green.

He tossed them in the air and watched the wind carry them away across the clearing. He tore larger handfuls and watched the blades tumble in the wind. With a shout, he tossed even more grass, and most of them fell on top of his head, making him sneeze. He tore another handful, smaller this time, and tried to see how far he could throw them. He tried to catch the wind just right so that the blades went all the way to the next tree.

He got up and chased them. He practiced some cartwheels. He tried to do three consecutively and he fell over onto the grass.

He stayed put for awhile, watching the clouds.

Seething.

After all, Sasuke could do four consecutive cartwheels.

Irritated by this thought, Naruto sat up and attempted the feat again. Once more, he fell over. This time, he landed on a hard tree root instead of the soft grass, and he yelped in pain. A quick examination of his knee revealed that he had scraped it badly. The injury wouldn't last very long, but it hurt all the same.

Naruto lay back down under the tree.

The trees were rustling in a gentle wind. The birds were calling gently to one another. The earth was warm and comfortable beneath him, and the white, puffy clouds moved across the brilliant blue sky in their slow, meditative way. The scent of jasmine from the Nara gardens was sweet and lulled Naruto into soft drowsiness.

The forest was TOO peaceful.

Naruto took a deep breath and bellowed. "I hate you, Sasuke-teme!"

Absolutely nothing changed, except for now Naruto's throat stung a little.

"Whatever," Naruto said with a huff, rolling onto his side. "I don't care that you don't care, so just go away."

"I was here first," said a quiet voice.

Naruto yelped.

Heart pounding, he stumbled to his feet and into center of the clearing. He spun round to face the direction of the voice; his momentum made him fall over, nearly, but he caught himself. He pulled a kunai out of his holster and held it defensively- it was dull, he kept forgetting to sharpen it, but he could maybe whack- whoever it was- in the head with it.

Silence ensued.

"Wha- who's there!?" His voice came out weak and unsteady.

He readjusted his sweaty grip on the kunai, so that it wouldn't slip from his hands.

The forest- previously so tranquil and familiar- seemed dark and threatening. The birds- he couldn't hear them. Had they gone silent, or was the roaring in his ears loud enough to drown them out? He couldn't feel the warm breeze anymore, and the air seemed cold, still, stagnant- choking. Yet it had to be blowing- otherwise why were the branches writhing in the trees? His heart spasmed in his chest, and his eyes were wide.

There was a movement of leaves, and Naruto's eyes snapped to the treetops.

A kid?

A boy his own age emerged from the branches of the tree that Naruto had been sitting under in the beginning. He jumped nimbly down from the tree that Naruto had been sitting under and landed in a neat crouch. Brushing off his hands on his pants, he stood up straight and fixed Naruto with a steady gaze. His eyes were dark and empty.

"As I said," he said coolly. " "You were the one who came in and started making all the noise. I believe that means that you are the one who ought to relocate."

Relief made Naruto's voice raw, and angry.

He lowered his kunai with slightly shaking hands and took a step forward. "What the hell is your problem?"

"What do you mean?" said the boy. He had a quiet voice, but no warmth. Empty.

"What do you mean?" demanded Naruto. "What kind of person lurks around in the trees and doesn't even tell anyone that he's there?"

"One that wishes not to be bothered." The dark-haired boy slipped a strapped bag over his head and glanced away carelessly. The monotone in which he said it only served to emphasize its pointedness.

Naruto burned with all the pride of a seven-year-old boy scorned.

"Are you looking for a fight?" he asked loudly, taking a step forward. "Who the heck are you, anyway?"

The boy shrugged, looking uncomfortable and disinterested. "I am not looking for a fight," he said mildly. "Though I think you may be. My name is Sai."

As if as an afterthought, he offered a hand to Naruto.

Of all the nerve!

Naruto stepped back. "I am not!" he declared, ruffled. "I only want to beat Sasuke, so there'd be no point fighting you even if I wanted to, so there!"

"So I gathered," said Sai, dropping his hand, evidently not offended by Naruto's refusal to shake.

"What are you doing here?" asked Naruto, curiosity overcoming his startlement and indignation. "I thought nobody but me and the Naras ever came to this forest."

"Yes," agreed Sai, "It is private property, and I imagine that most citizens are rather more conscious of regulations than you appear to be."

Naruto gazed at him, nonplussed. "You're here," he pointed out.

"Yes."

"So what are you doing?"

Sai hesitated, then shrugged. "I was drawing," he said.

Naruto laughed. It echoed strangely in the otherwise silent clearing, and Sai continued watching him without comment.

"Only girls draw," said Naruto by way of explanation. It was, after all, one of the irrefutable truths of the universe. He smiled in satisfaction at having pulled the trump card of seven-year-old arguments.

Sai looked at him curiously. "That's not true."

"Is too," said Naruto, quite prepared for a lively session of is-too-is-not-ing. It was the sole competition which, mostly due to his inherent stubbornness, Naruto unfailingly won.

Sai did not rise to the bait. Instead he shrugged.

The silence extended, and Naruto just had to say something.

His curiosity got the better of him. "What were you drawing?"

"It is of no importance."

"Well, I wanna know!" He didn't really, but once denied an answer, he wouldn't give up until he had it.

"I do not wish to tell you."

"Please?"

"Asking twice has no effect on my lack of desire to tell you."

Naruto furrowed his brow and put his hands in his pockets. "You're weird."

Silence.

"Why don't you want to tell me?" he persisted.

Sai looked away.

"Hah!" Naruto declared in triumphant realization. "You just said it wasn't important, and then you said you don't wanna tell me, but if it really wasn't important, it wouldn't matter if ya told me or not, so I'm right, so you have to show me, so there!"

The dark-haired boy's face didn't change, but Naruto thought he saw a flicker of annoyance in the empty eyes.

"There is no benefit for me if I tell you. Thus, it would be an unnecessary expenditure of effort on my part."

"Eh? You want me to give you something?" Naruto cocked his head uncertainly and rummaged around in his pockets for money. He emerged with a half-eaten apple, a crayon, a seashell, a crumpled piece of paper, two shuriken, a dead leaf, a yoyo, three jellybeans and the receipt for twelve bowls of ramen at Ichiraku's. He held them out uncertainly to Sai.

The dark-haired boy twitched. Then, suddenly, his mouth tightened and he made a quiet sort of sound that was just barely distinguishable. But it was familiar.

Naruto stared in astonishment.

"So you can laugh!" he cried out, almost dropping his collection of treasures in his shock. "Jeez, I thought you were some kinda emotionless robot or something! 'Cause you talk all fancy like a grown-up, and you don't smile, an-"

Sai looked away. Naruto guessed embarrassment, although he couldn't tell at all by his face.

"Anyway," he continued, "I don't got any money, but you can have any of this stuff." He jerked his chin to indicate the 'treasures' in his cupped hands.

The other boy looked up, probably intending to refuse, but then he paused. Almost unsure, he lifted a hand- "What is... that?"

"Eh? What, the yoyo?"

"I am not familiar with that term."

"Ha! No, wait, I'm not laughing at you- I've just never met a guy who doesn't know what a yoyo is."

Silence.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," said Naruto, who was beginning to catch on to this offended-silence thing. "A yoyo is a toy sorta thing. If you want I can teach you how to use it?"

Sai looked up.

"Buuuuuut..." the blond said, shifting the motley collection to one hand, stuffing it into his pocket, holding up a hand with the air of a practiced haggler. "Only if you show me what you were drawing."

Silence again. Naruto was beginning to worry he'd messed up again.

After a moment, Sai nodded curtly. He slid his messenger bag off his shoulder and knelt down beside it. He unstrapped the flap and flipped it open. As he rummaged through its contents, Naruto caught sight of several scrolls in different colors, several bound sketchbooks, a thick hardcover book, some ink stones, and a bundle of long fancy-looking calligraphy-type brushes that you got at really expensive stores.

Sai pulled out one of the thin sketchbooks and stood. He flipped five or six pages in, then paused and offered the sketchbook to Naruto.

Naruto took it.

It was one of the trees across the clearing. Tall, elegant, ancient, gnarled. Rendered in black and white, just ink, in perfect detail.

Dang!

"Wow," he managed, after a few seconds of staring blankly. "This is incredible."

Sai didn't say anything. Shy? Smug? Gosh darn it, why doesn't that guy show any freaking emotion ever?

"No, seriously! It's really, really awesome!" said Naruto, banking on the former. "I could never draw something that good!"

Sai glanced at him briefly.

"I'll bet even Sasuke can't draw as good as you! That's really... wow."

Sai hesitated, then nodded. He snatched the sketchbook away from Naruto and flipped a few pages further. He paused, fingers hovering over the edge of the page, undecided, wavering. Then he firmed his grip, fingers stilled.

He offered Naruto the book, not meeting his eyes.

Naruto took it, uncertain.

It was like sunlight, he thought dazedly, gazing at the simple image. Warm, and bright, like sunlight. Looking at it, he felt warmth in his fingers as they held the book. Like a great, frozen knot somewhere inside him that he had never quite noticed was melting just a little, loosening, fading.

"This is... me?" he asked, voice wavering a little.

Sai glanced up at him through long, dark bangs. "You've become distressed," he observed.

"No!" said Naruto, a little too loudly. "No, I'm not- it's just-"

He paused. Sai watched him sidelong.

"I've never had anyone- I mean- I haven't-" he faltered. "No one's ever wanted to draw me before."

He looked up at Sai.

And then, suddenly, brightly, he grinned.

"I guess I'm just kinda flattered, is all," he said happily, hugging the sketchbook to his chest. "You're a really incredible artist."

Slowly, awkwardly, Sai smiled in return. "Yes."

Which... wasn't really the sort of thing you were supposed to say when someone said something nice to you, but Naruto was willing to let it slide. The small expression of emotion was more than Sai had shown yet, and talking at all was a huge improvement on the unresponsive silence.

"Hey," said Naruto, grinning even wider. "Wanna be friends?"

Sai stopped smiling. The small light in his eyes faded a little, and reverted to emptiness.

"I am not permitted to have friends."

Naruto's grin faded.

The light in his eyes did not.

"Then," he said, "How about teaching me how to draw?"

It was late that night when Sai returned to his barracks.

He reported to the Division Captain first, of course. His mission had been simple that day: in the early morning, the location and containment of several overly talkative civilian would-be revolutionaries (Really just malcontents, none of them were really threatening. Still, Konoha was resolute. There was to be no deviation from her absolute rule.) and escorting them to Root's 'rehabilitation center'; then, later on, the observation of suspected double-agents; and finally, in the afternoon, reconnaissance along the eastern border in the outskirts of the Nara forest.

It was the duty of Root's ANBU to maintain peace and security in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Sai was still young, much weaker and less experienced than the other members of his unit, and out of all of his age group who had survived the harsh training so far, he was the smallest and the most physically fragile. However, he was also the nimblest, the quietest, and the most resourceful of his team. He could extinguish his chakra pattern and creep in the shadows, unseen. Due to all of these factors, he was the logical first choice for low-class stealth missions and recon duty.

The Division Captain asked if there had been any unusual activity in the Nara forest.

Sai, acting as a good soldier should, recounted the entire conversation between himself and the other boy. He waited for his punishment.

The Division Captain did not frown. He was better trained than that.

Sai's punishment, when it came, was painful. He had not expected otherwise. He did not scream.

He returned to his team shelter with a jaw sore from clenched teeth.

"Sai!" came the cheerful cry as he opened the door to the shelter. There was a sudden flurry of motion and he was engulfed in a wide, warm hug. "I thought you'd got yourself lost in the forest, and I'd have to come rescue you." The person pulled back and ruffled his hair. "Though I suppose if you were to get lost anywhere, it'd be in a mouse hole- or an anthill!"

A wave of dizziness swept Sai, and he fought to keep his knees from buckling.

"Sai? Sai!" the voice said, suffused with concern now, "Oh, damn, Sai, what happened to you? You're really pale- did you go to the medic?"

Sai reached out a hand and grasped the side of a metal cot. He lowered himself slowly onto it, trying to keep from wincing- a good soldier did not show pain. He had kept his face blank during the punishment, silenced his cries of pain in his throat before they could grow into sound. He had made it through the entire punishment without so much as a twitch, and the pain was far less now. He would not give in to his own weakness after getting so far.

His nails dug into his palm. Sweat beaded on his temple. He breathed.

Moments passed, and the rolling agony in his gut faded into a dull, manageable hurt. His mind cleared and his vision grew sharper, clearer, colder. He breathed again. It was just pain. The punishment seal inflicted no physical injury on the agents- just pain. Pain was an illusion produced by the mind. There was no torn flesh, no blood, no bruise, no burning, searing welt. There was no injury- it was just a stimulation of neural pathways in his brain that led to a false recognition of a wound in the amydala. He was not injured. The pain could be ignored.

Slowly, he caught his breath. Looked up and met his older brother's concerned gaze. "I'm fine," he said with a perfect smile on his face. "How are you today, onii-san?"

Sai's older brother gave him a skeptical look. "You got your seal activated- moron. Something happen during your mission? I thought you had it easy today- just recon, right?

"I... had an encounter with a civilian. Nothing came of it."

"Liar."

Sai didn't say anything, just lay down slowly on his thin aluminum-framed cot, ignoring his pounding head. He let out a soft puff of breath, closed his eyes as if he was about to go to sleep, knowing that he was the picture of weak, weary exhaustion.

His brother didn't move, just waited.

Eyes still closed, Sai reached into the bag at the edge of the bed and pulled out a worn sketchpad. He tossed it to the other boy.

Heard the sound of paper hitting the palm of a hand, being flipped over, heard the soft, crisp rustling of pages being turned. He waited, mind dazed and wandering from the residual pain. Waited to observe, gauge his brother's response, and from that observation to deduce the best course of action.

A soft exhale of breath- a laugh? Sai opened one eye.

His brother was smiling- he ought to learn not to show his emotions so easily- and his eyes were lit in the way that meant it was real happiness, not bitter happiness or angry happiness or sad happiness or proud happiness- humans had so many infinite facets of emotion that it was a constant struggle to keep them all straight in his head.

"I like it," said his brother. "It's warm."

"He- he was warm. It isn't my picture- that's how he was." Sai was growing drowsy, and his words were making less sense. "Warm- like sunlight."

"Did you talk to him?"

Had he? Sai could hardly remember. A wide smile and a loud voice- oh. "Yes," said Sai.

"And the Captain? What did he say?"

"After-" Sai raised a hand to his head. "-after that, he checked with HQ. I'm assigned to- recon duty, all over again. You know."

"Really?" said his brother, surprised. "Why- oh. It's the bijuu host, isn't it."

"Yes."

"Cute kid," he said thoughtfully, glancing down at the sketchbook. "Kind of small- and bouncy-looking."

"He reminded me of you," said Sai fuzzily. His eyelids kept drooping shut despite his best efforts. "Loud. Irritating."

"Jeez, so much for affection."

"And- warm." Sai was befuddled. "Why-? So loud and stupid and weak- but warm- bright. And he smiled- like sunshine..."

His brother was laughing.

"Go to sleep, Sai. I'll turn in your mission report."

And then he tucked the sketchbook back into the bag, and tossed Sai a blanket. Too tired to move, Sai fell asleep then and there. His exhaustion overwhelmed him and his eyelids slipped shut, and blissful unconsciousness hit him like a ten-ton boulder, and he was out.

He hadn't even taken off his sandals.

And Sai, who normally had no dreams at all, dreamed. The hazy recollection of a warm day in autumn, and a tree in a peaceful clearing, and the scent of jasmine blossoms in the woods, and a loud boy who wandered in with his blue eyes like the sky and hair like the sun, and a face, constantly changing, filled with all the millions of different facets of emotion that humans had inside. An honest face that spoke as clearly as words, right from the heart. An innocent's face.

The shinobi in Sai knew that his action was wrong as he began to draw. The mission, always the mission. He needed to be alert. He was on watch. If the boy was a threat, he was lowering his guard to an unknown entity. If not, he was paying undue attention to a purely peripheral element. But the artist in Sai was resolute. The boy was meant to be drawn. He had to- he was born for that purpose, Sai could feel it. He was so full of life, fairly bursting at the seams with vitality and emotion and that warmth.

They would meet again.

They would.