Naruto X Sai

Chapter Twenty Six

Naruto

I pouted as Sai carried me all the way home. I couldn't even persuade him to get me a pickle. He can really be stubborn.

"Head to the bathroom and strip down," he demands after opening my front door and setting me down.

"What for?"

"You reek."

"I do no-" the smell of my own pits is almost enough to knock me out. I start to sway but Sai steadies me, giving me an "I told you so" look. "Fine," I grumble as I head off to the bath in defeat.

"I'll be in soon to help," he yells down the hall.

"I'lL bE iN sOoN tO hElP," I say mockingly as I turn the shower on and wait for the water to warm up. Once I'm satisfied that its warm enough, I step in and place my head under the shower head, wetting my hair. After my hair is soaked, I turn around slowly, letting the warm water run down every inch of my body.

There's a knock at the door. "I'm coming in," Sai informs me. The door opens and Sai steps in with a fresh pair of clothes. He sets them down on the counter and starts to remove his clothing.

"Wha?! What are you doing??" I stammer as Sai opens the shower door and climbs in with me.

"I can't help you without getting in," he says with a smile. "And I don't want my clothes wet..." I blush and hand him a wash cloth. He takes it and leathers it up with soap and starts washing my back. Suddenly, there's a knock at the bathroom door.

"Are you two in there? Together?! I swear..." Sakura, here to ruin the fun.

"We'll be out in a minute!" I yell as I roll my eyes. Sai and I quickly wash up and leave the bathroom. I head for the living room where I can hear Sakura pacing while Sai takes our dirty clothes to the laundry room. "What did you need?"

She holds out a bag with my medication in it. "Sorry it took so long. I had to run a few errands first."

I take the bag and throw it on the counter. "It could have waited..."

"You're supposed to take your first dosage soon," she says as she points to a clock on my wall.

"Are you okay?" She seems a little more controlling than usual.

"I'm fine." She crosses over to the counter and starts taking the medicine out and setting it on the counter.

"You do seem a bit more... on edge," Sai says as he enters the room. Sakura ignores him and starts opening bottles and putting pills into little containers with separators that say when to take them. "Is something wrong?"

"No!" Sakura snaps. "Not really. Its just... This medicine. I don't understand why Naruto would be taking it. It's..."

"It's what?" Sai and I both ask.

Sakura shakes her head. "I need to talk to Lady Tsunade first. There must be a reason..."

"We can head over there now?" Sai suggests.

"Already tried. Shizune has no idea where she is. Kakashi, Neji, Hinata, Shino, and Kiba are all looking for her..." As if he heard his name, Kakashi appears outside my balcony door.

Sakura opens the door and invites him in. "I'm afraid she's left the village on "important" business." He says "important" sarcastically.

"Any idea when she will be back?" Kakashi shakes his head. "Guess we'll just have to wait." Sakura plops onto my couch broodingly with her arms crossed. "Damn that Tsunade. She knew I would ask questions if she handed the prescriptions to me."