Sai followed behind his new little teammate with a smile plastered across his face. It was a little strange to be walking through the village like a normal person. His face felt naked without his mask and the gazes that landed on him stung his flesh through his clothing like senbon. His expression gave none of his discomfort away, though. His training was much too thorough for such a novice mistake. Even the smile he wore was a façade meant to turn away prying eyes.
Not that he needed to. Most people turned their attention to the young girl in front of him, whispering among themselves as if losing a limb rendered her blind and deaf. The Hokage's daughter didn't react to their gossiping, her face safely hidden behind her mask and her pitch black eyes focused on her destination. Or, they were, until she turned them to look at him.
"Senpai," she said in a low voice. "Is this really necessary?"
He smiled even wider at her, trying to put her at ease like his books said smiles were supposed to. "I'm afraid so. The Hokage himself has ordered that you are not to be left alone."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her mask. When she opened them, there was something different about her expression that strengthened her resemblance to her father. Odd, considering they shared no blood. He might need to buy more books.
"I understand." She turned her dark eyes away from him. "I'll have to ask you to please keep your thoughts to yourself, though. I'll happily answer any questions you have after we leave, but I need to focus on Gaara while we're in there."
He nodded silently and they continued on to the hotel turned glorified prison which housed Suna's royal children. Sai identified several shinobi hidden in plainclothes in the streets below the building as well as uniformed ninja standing guard. There were many Anbu about, as well. If not for his current assignment, he might be among them.
The assignment in question led the way into the hotel lobby and up the stairs. It was obvious which room they were there for, as two shinobi stood on either side. They turned to look at the approaching chunin and nodded to the Hokage's daughter. She bowed to them, an unnecessary sign of deference. Sai was beginning to understand something about her. Where most shinobi in Konoha dispensed with formality entirely, she never failed to use the appropriate title or honorific when speaking with someone, even those she called friends. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he was sure someone better versed in social interaction than he would find the information invaluable.
The hotel room provided to the Sand Siblings was, naturally, the best available. It was less a hotel room and more a small apartment with several bedrooms, a living area, and a fully stocked kitchen. When he and his teammate stepped inside, there was no one waiting to greet them, but it didn't take long for a voice to call out to them.
"What is it this time? Gonna measure our shi—."
A boy Sai's age stepped into the living area, his face painted in vibrant purple paint. Sai almost opened his mouth to ask how he achieved that color, but held his tongue when he remembered his teammate's request.
"Damn, shorty," the late Kazekage's middle child said with a smirk and a slouch. "Sure took you long enough to pay us a visit."
Sai watched with avid interest as the girl by his side transformed. Her stiff body relaxed, mirroring the painted boy's posture. "Mah, Kankuro-san," she drawled, once again invoking the Hokage's image. "I was kind of dead."
The painted boy winced and Sai made a note of it.
"Right. Sorry, I..."
The girl sighed. "Don't worry about it. It's my mistake. Is Gaara here?"
No honorific? That was important. Sai wasn't sure why, but any deviation from such a carefully maintained norm was noteworthy.
The painted boy's frown deepened for some reason. "Yeah, but...he's not exactly 'fit for company' right now."
She didn't seem surprised by that. "I understand. I would still like to see him, please."
The boy looked past her to Sai and he made sure to smile. "And this guy?"
"I am here to ensure she doesn't do anything stupid," he provided helpfully. "Hokage's orders."
He didn't know why, but that made the painted boy laugh. "Where have you been this whole time? Shorty's a real trouble magnet, you know."
"I do."
That earned him a strange look he couldn't decipher. The makeup on the other teenager's face didn't make it any easier to read his expressions as it elongated and distorted his features. Sai simply smiled and hoped it was an appropriate response.
His teammate shook her head and her eyes were curved as if smiling, but he couldn't be sure through her mask. The tone of her voice wasn't any help, either, since it could easily be faked. The information he was given before being assigned to her team—and his own limited experience—made it clear that she was no stranger to deception. Her smiles could be as skin deep as his own.
"Can I speak to Gaara, please?"
The boy sighed and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "He's in there. Might want to leave the babysitter behind, though."
"Easier said than done, I'm afraid." She turned to Sai, one eyebrow arched sharply. "He won't cause any trouble, though."
Naturally, not. The village had only just escaped the wrath of Suna's jinchuriki. It wouldn't do to invoke it a second time. Sai followed closely behind her as she stepped through the door.
Suna's jinchuriki was sitting on the windowsill and his profile was cast in shadow by the sunlight filtering through the glass. Sai stopped when his teammate gestured to him using common Konoha Sign. She approached the boy on her own.
"Gaara."
It took him a moment to turn and look at her. The jinchuriki was surprisingly small and gaunt. His red hair stood in sharp contrast to his pale face and his green eyes were sunken in and surrounded by unnaturally dark skin. He looked underfed and sleep deprived and not at all like the weapon of mass destruction he was. Then again, neither did Konoha's. That was part of what made them so dangerous.
"Hanako."
She stepped closer, but ultimately stopped just within arm's reach. Sai watched with avid interest as spread her arms wide, exposing herself to attack. His fingers inched toward the kunai in the pouch on his thigh, but he waited for the other side to make a move, first. The jinchuriki's expression changed, eyes widening and frown slackening into what might have been surprise. The two young shinobi exchanged no words and their hands—all three of them—were still and unmoving. They were communicating somehow, though, and Sai didn't know enough about human facial expressions to figure anything out from the jinchuriki's.
"I'm sorry, Gaara." His teammate said quietly, breaking their silence. "I know it's hard to believe, but I'm not afraid of you. I never have been and I never will be. What happened out there...was a mistake. It never should have happened and I am so sorry that I put you in that position. It's not your fault and I'm alright. See?"
He got up from his seat on the windowsill and Sai tensed in anticipation. He watched as Suna's jinchuriki reached out to touch the Hokage's daughter. If she reacted when he placed his hand on her chest, Sai couldn't tell. Her back was to him, but her body language was completely relaxed.
"What happened," the jinchuriki asked in a near whisper. "Why were you afraid?"
She sighed. "It's hard to explain, but I'll try, if you want me to." At his nod, she continued. "When I was a child, someone killed my mother. He chased us all the way here from the Land of Water, and I barely escaped with my life. If my father hadn't found me when he did, I would definitely be dead. When I ran from Kimimaro, I...I was trapped in a memory I didn't know I had. I wasn't afraid of you, Gaara, but," she chuckled lowly. "It seems I'm afraid of running."
That was interesting information. There was nothing in the information Sai had memorized that contradicted it, either. He wasn't sure she was telling the truth, but he couldn't say she was lying either.
She stood eye to eye with the jinchuriki for a long, tense moment, before he stepped toward her again and wrapped his arms around her in a visibly tight embrace. She returned the hug easily and Sai finally let himself relax. As unlikely as it seemed, a Sabaku prince and a Hatake princess were on very friendly terms.
She was the one to pull away first and the expression on the jinchuriki's face was one that Sai planned on looking up later. It was much more complex than any he could make, at the moment. He needed more practice.
"I can't stay too long, but I wanted to make sure you understood." She turned to look at Sai over her shoulder, black eyes wet with unshed years. "My father's waiting for me."
No, he wasn't. At least, not that Sai knew of. Why was she lying?
It was only her promise of explanations and the jinchuriki's inherent volatility that had him holding his tongue. Instincts honed by a lifetime on the edge of violence told him just how delicate the peace in the hotel room really was and he wasn't about to risk upsetting it by calling his teammate out over a lie.
The jinchuriki watched as she turned away from him, pale eyes locked on her body with an odd, unidentifiable intensity. Sai let her walk past him before he fell into step behind her, cutting off the jinchuriki's line of sight. No one stopped them as they left the hotel and soon enough the two teammates stood on the street. They walked away in the direction of the Hokage's Tower, but without any urgency.
"Why did you lie?"
Her laugh was a harsh, barking sound. "Cutting right to the chase, huh?" She rolled her shoulders and sighed. "Gaara's a sweet kid, you know, underneath all the bluster and trauma. Unfortunately, he was never taught how to regulate his emotions, so I always end up doing it when we're together. I don't mind it, especially since I know why he struggles with it, but it's exhausting having to deal with his emotions on top of mine."
That...was more of an answer than he was expecting. "So you lied?"
She shrugged and gestured to her shorter arm. "Unfortunately, I'm also struggling to regulate right now, so when I—when I started feeling anxious, I took the opportunity to leave. Thank you, senpai."
"For what?"
"For waiting to ask these things. I promise I wasn't trying to be dismissive when I asked you to."
She seemed...concerned...about him. His feelings, rather. He smiled. "I didn't think you were."
"I'm glad." She looked up at him with what he assumed was a smile of her own underneath her mask. "I do want to be friends with you, senpai. On good terms, at the very least. We'll be on the same team for a while, after all. I'd hate to think I upset you in any way."
Hmm. In that case.
"Why do you call me senpai?"
Her dark eyes widened. "Eh? Because you're my senpai? You've been a chunin longer than I have, right?"
He had, though he'd long outgrown the chunin label.
"I'm your teammate."
"Yes."
"And you want to be my friend."
"I do."
Sai looked back the way they came, purposely furrowing his brows and pitching his voice low. "And yet, the jinchuriki doesn't get an honorific."
"Because he asked me not to use one."
He turned back to her. "He did?"
"Yes."
"Then, if I asked you not to call me senpai, would you do it?"
"Only if you call me Hanako."
His smile came easily as he replied. "Naturally, Hanako."
"Then we have a deal, Sai. I look forward to working with you."
So did he.