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“You,” Sakura said, bending to inspect a shallow scrape on Sai’s side, just above his hip, “should wear a real shirt. And armour.”
“Ino-san does not.” Sai observed, holding obediently still for her.
“Ino is a long-range fighter; both of her teammates step forward more than she does, keeping her generally more safe from physical attack.” Kakashi-sensei said as Sakura affixed a bandage to the scrape; more to keep dirt out as they trained than anything, it was a tiny injury and would probably heal in a few days, if that. Sai didn’t protest, of course. Early in their time as a team Sakura had expected it of him - all of her other teammates had been prone to it, even Kakashi-sensei, to some degree - but she knew better now. “Of course, it would do her well to wear armour also.” He snorted. “Combat is not so easily broken into distance lines.”
“See?” Sakura poked Sai in the side and while his expression remained flat, his muscles . . . twitched. She hummed, eyeing him thoughtfully. “Listen to sensei.” she said absently, tilting her hand and then trailing her fingers very lightly over Sai’s side.
His muscles twitched under her hand again, and he turned his head to look at her with a blink.
Sakura smiled brightly and then pounced.
Sai didn’t cry out, but he did wheeze as his back hit the ground. He didn’t lash out at her, though Sakura knew he could have at this angle - she felt a flash of fondness for her silly, strange teammate, knowing he must have suppressed the reaction to retaliate, for her, though he probably had no idea. . .
Sakura tickled him firmly, fingers prodding at his stomach and skating over his ribs, and Sai’s whole body jerked as he voiced a slightly thin laugh that sounded almost as though it had been forcibly shoved out of him. Sakura eyed him carefully, but he didn’t seem distressed, only . . . confused.
Well then.
Sakura set to work in earnest, laughing herself as she got Sai to laugh again, then, lost in breathless peals of laughter, start kicking in undirected, clumsy flails. Sakura grinned even wider as she heard a soft laugh from Kakashi-sensei behind her, and moved to kneel over Sai’s thighs in a bid to avoid his kicking feet. Sai’s laughter grew louder and his movements less coordinated, and Sakura giggled as she skipped her fingers over his sides and back up, poking him lightly in the stomach just over his navel.
Sakura subsided when his breathing grew thin, gentling his thrashing with light strokes, patting his ribs as he shivered. “See? You should,” she poked his stomach gently again, “guard your sensitive spots a little better.”
“You-” Sai wheezed a little under her, still giggling and gasping for breath; his giggle was tiny and a little strange, but it was sweet, and Sakura resolved to try and bring it out more. “You make a compelling argument.”
Sakura grinned and patted his cheek before sliding off him and helping him to sit up again. She gestured at Kakashi-sensei, who was approaching them now they’d stopped rolling around. “Can you imagine sensei leaving such an opening? Try and dress more like Kakashi-sensei, be sensible!”
Sai met her gaze and nodded, turning to look up at Kakashi-sensei assessingly. Sakura looked up as well, meeting a fond, approving look from Kakashi-sensei and smiling happily, suppressing a wriggle.
“Come on, pups,” Kakashi-sensei cocked his head, “I think you’re nicely warmed up,” he teased, “so lets see what you can do.”
Sakura bounced to her feet and offered Sai a hand, which he took with a faintly confused air. It was an improvement that he would at least accept it now. Sakura squeezed his hand and bumped shoulders with him companionably, and he nudged back a little stiffly.
Sakura resisted the urge to hug him for it, turning her attention to Kakashi-sensei as he began to outline what he wanted them to do.
Sakura trotted up the slope towards Sai, not surprised to see that he was already there and waiting, seated on a large rock - nor that Kakashi-sensei was not. He’d be along, likely soon, and Sai was almost always early to meet them.
“Ohayou!” Sakura called as she reached the top of the hill, and Sai sat up a little more, turning to face her.
“Ohayou, Sakura-chan.” Sai said politely, meeting her gaze.
“Oh.” Sakura said, surprised.
Sai blinked at her, his dark eyes wide and somehow seeming even bigger over the-
“You suggested I should dress more like Kakashi-taichou.” Sai said solemnly, then reached up, fingertips brushing the mask that covered his face up over his nose and cheekbones. “Is it not. . .”
Sakura licked her lips, then pressed them together to stifle herself for a moment, because otherwise she was going to laugh, and he looked so earnest. “I- I did.” she agreed, because she had, she had suggested exactly that, but- “This was not what I meant.”
“Oh.” Sai looked crestfallen, in his own muted way, probably at having ‘failed’ again. His fingertips curled, tugging lightly at the top of the mask.
“Ohayou, pups.” Kakashi-sensei greeted, appearing apparently out of thin air, though with no sign of having used a shunshin. One day, Sakura told herself, one day she would catch him at it. “Today-” he broke off abruptly, eye widening as he looked at Sai. “Ah. Sai?”
Sai made a soft noise, looking between Kakashi-sensei and Sakura. He was. . . It was ridiculously adorable, his wide eyes and faintly confused expression showing above the mask, and the way his pale fingers clung to the material.
It wasn’t at all what Sakura had meant, no, but. . .
Sakura glanced sideways as she felt a crackling ripple of chakra, faint and controlled. Had Kakashi-sensei tried a kai? She smothered a laugh.
“You suggested I dress like Kakashi-taichou,” Sai said again, carefully, “and I wished to be properly protected against,” he paused, looking briefly puzzled, “whatever it was that you did.”
“Tickling.” Kakashi-sensei said, his voice slightly off. “Probably not the biggest concern to guard against.”
“I meant more practically, not exactly like Kakashi-sensei.” Sakura said gently, taking a step closer to Sai and smiling at him reassuringly. “Are you wearing armour underneath that?” She poked his side lightly. There was a tough layer of resistance beneath the fabric covering his midriff, and her smile widened. “It’s not bad.”
“Kakashi-taichou?” Sai said, a faint hint of uncertainty in his eyes.
Sakura turned to look at Kakashi-sensei, widening her own eyes meaningfully and tilting her head towards Sai. Kakashi-sensei huffed, showing traces of a smile, and came nearer.
“It’s fine.” Kakashi-sensei said, and ruffled Sai’s hair gently. “You’re missing a little to be dressed exactly like me.” he muttered, then shook his head slightly. “I’m glad you’re wearing armour now.” he added firmly.
Sai relaxed a little, and so did Sakura. She squeezed Sai’s arm and restrained the urge to tell him he was very cute with his wide eyes peeking over a mask just like their sensei’s.
Kakashi-sensei beckoned them to follow him, and outlined where they would be picking up from yesterday’s training while they warmed up. He also inspected Sai’s armour, giving him some tips for movement in it, and Sakura hid a smile.
Sai looked comfortable now, despite his unusual dress. Sakura was sure Kakashi-sensei knew what he had been doing, talking to Sai that way - and she remembered the same advice, when Kakashi-sensei had first given her the armour she wore now under her dress and shorts, making gruffly disapproving noises over her.
He was a good sensei, Sakura thought fondly, and bounced on the balls of her feet as she waited for him to tell them where to begin.
Sakura bolted through the trees towards their usual training field, skipping lightly between branches and quietly wishing that when she’d woken up to discover she’d slept later than intended she had simply slipped out the window rather than going downstairs for breakfast. Her mother had kept her and now she was risking being late to meet her team.
She didn’t slow down until she dropped out of the trees where Sai and Kakashi-sensei already stood, immediately dipping into a bow and apologising. Kakashi-sensei waved it off, and Sakura smiled at him, then blinked, looking at Sai.
“Oh my!” Sakura raised a hand to cover her mouth, amused.
Sai was again wearing a black shirt with a cowled mask just like Kakashi-sensei’s, as he had the day before - and now he wore a flak vest over it, precisely like Kakashi-sensei’s.
“If he was going to emulate me,” Kakashi-sensei said lightly, resting a hand on Sai’s back, “he needed a little more. I wore this one when I was a little younger than you are. It sits well.” he added, moving away from Sai.
“Thank you, Kakashi-taichou.” Sai bowed, and Sakura inspected him carefully. He met her eyes, and she cleared her throat, smiling. “Ohayou, Sakura-chan.”
“Ohayou, Sai-kun.” Sakura returned happily. “That suits you.” She paused. “Very practical.” she added, thinking of what she had told him before, and he stood a little taller, his eyes narrowing slightly, crinkling at the corners.
The downside of the mask, Sakura thought, might perhaps be that as cute as Sai was wearing it, Sai was very difficult to read without more than half of his face hidden. Add the mask, and. . . Sakura patted his shoulder, just shy of the vest, so he could feel it properly, then impulsively tilted her head up and kissed his cheek over the fabric.
Sai froze, and Sakura looped her arms around one of his - that reaction she hardly needed a look at his face, concealed or not, to interpret - before turning her attention to Kakashi-sensei. He was not so difficult to read - at least not to Sakura, who knew him quite well by now - even with his face mostly hidden, and he gave her a pleased, approving look.
Sakura grinned and squeezed Sai’s arm, not releasing him as Kakashi-sensei gestured for them to follow him and they obediently fell in. Sai didn’t protest, and Sakura thought he might even have relaxed slightly, not quite nudging into her in turn. She leaned into him gently to encourage it, nudging her cheek against his shoulder, and then she was sure he had relaxed, his arm curving a little more comfortably where it was linked with hers.
Sakura smiled and didn’t push any more for now, picking up the pace a little, though Kakashi-sensei was keeping his long-legged strides to a comfortable pace for them - or, rather, no doubt more for Sakura, whose legs were significantly shorter than Sai’s, let alone Kakashi-sensei’s.