Work Text:
The key turns in the lock, the click of the mechanism starts the countdown in his head. They might have been smart enough to catch them, but not smart enough to mix up their routines. Sai's been observing them closely, and five days in, a pattern has emerged. A guard comes in at the same time every day to provide food and water, switch out the pots, but it's always the same two guards. Their enemy tries to disguise them, but their chakra makes it obvious. The second guard is more slack. He leaves a gap between opening the door and shutting it. Only a few seconds, but Sai can make that count.
From what Sai managed to see when they dragged him in, faking unconsciousness so they wouldn't realise he had, there's a line of cells in what looks like a basement. The walls are thin enough that he can hear the routine, even if Naruto didn't kick off like an idiot every time they open his door. It's stupid. It's strangely heartening that he's still doing it nearly a week in. It might even be helpful in that they're glad he's silent when they open his cell after Naruto's, might underestimate him. He's in the last cell, when they're most likely to relax.
Now all he has to do is work out the best way to get out, rescue the team and escape the building. If only he knew more about the building. If only he had his ink and paper with him to explore it. Well, he can manage without it, it'd just make it easier --
There's a crash. No, not a crash, an explosion. It shakes the building and makes plaster fall from the ceiling. Sai jumps up to his feet, this is his chance. The plan can change, adapt to these circumstances. He hears more blasts, further away this time, the smashing in of a door. No, it can't be possible...wait, it's Naruto. Of course it is. The impossible is nothing to him. There's sound of another blast, heat slams against the door of his cell once, twice, and the third time breaks it. His ears are ringing as the door crashes to the ground.
"Hey, Sai! I got us out!" Even with the smoke floating into his cell, the grin on Naruto's face shines through it. He stands, proud, on the other side of the now destroyed door, like he's just done something intelligent. He hasn't, this is incredibly stupid and drew the attention of everyone nearby. It makes him feel something anyway, something he hasn't been able to label yet. Something only Naruto inspires in him. Not to be confused with the ringing in his ears from Naruto deafening him.
"You're an idiot. I had a plan. Come on." The beaming smile shifts to a pout but he can't dwell on it, on how that doesn't shift the feeling as he steps cautiously around the former door. He nods to Sakura, who Naruto freed first. She looks conflicted, torn between relief at being out and annoyance at Naruto acting like a flashy idiot.
"You could have said thank you!" Sai turns back to Naruto, gives him a blank look that makes him pout even more before Sakura interrupts.
"Shouldn't we go now before they arrive?" The annoyance in her voice, the unstated 'really, you're going to argue now?' that follows up her words, pulls him back to their mission. To get out of here alive, together.
"Yes, we should." Naruto still looks sulky, despite the seriousness of their situation, and even as Sai focuses on the mission, it's making him feel again. None of his Root comrades would have done this. They might have even left him here to improve their odds of escape. A nice, clean, orderly escape instead of the madcap mess Naruto's leading them into. Doesn't the guide say he should thank people when they help him? Maybe this warm feeling is the teamwork they keep talking about. "Thank you, Naruto."
"Huh?" Naruto is that most uncharacteristic of things for a moment, silent, in his surprise before another grin appears on his face. It's even bigger than before, and aimed just at him. The warm feeling spreads. "Hah, you're welcome!"
"Come on!" Sakura breaks the moment, pulls them both along and out of the cells, up the stairs as Sai hears their enemies approaching. Despite the urgency, the warm feeling lingers.
Teamwork, huh. Interesting.