Chapter Text
The first time Sai’s stomach did a flip because of Sakura, it was painfully memorable -- literally. Surprising a shinobi was hard to begin with, but even more so one like Sai. Brought up like a tool, eyes always observing, brain soaking up information, he was more organic data collector than human. Sai couldn’t recall a single time since learning to hold a shuriken that he was caught unaware. It was the greatest sin against his training , ‘Don’t let your guard down, don’t step out of line, don’t get attached, don’t, don’t, don’t,’ and so Sai didn’t (well, usually anyway). Obedience was better than getting beaten bloody, again. The last place he expected this lesson to be reaffirmed was with his new teammates, especially from the seemingly benign medic nin.
Sai shouldn’t have blinked. That’s what he would tell himself later, at least. As he felt her chakra tickle his jaw, a millisecond of warning, before her fist connected with his face, he had to admit he wasn’t sure it would’ve made a difference.
As the world swayed on its axis, his mission objectives ran through his head; everything he knew of Team 7 following closely on its heels. Sai was supposed to be fooling them, blending in, gaining their trust. From all the info Root had gathered, that Sai had studied (for months thank you very much), he concluded these shinobi were dangerous in the sense of lacking discipline, filling themselves up with feelings like the rest of the human race breathed air, blind leading the blind, so on and so forth. Instead, here he was, sailing through the sky as casually as if she’d thrown a paper airplane. Being made a fool of outside the towering stone of the Root compound, the sun’s rays shining a spot light on his shame, was strange. It was…exhilarating? There wasn’t time to process that thought before his body reacquainted itself with the Earth.
Sai’s cheek bone throbbed, bruised but unbroken, he noted, ‘what precise chakra control.’ Sai decided the safest course of action was to tuck away every assumption he’d made of these people and to start his recon over right away even if it did completely derail his plans and would no doubt change his perspective of Team 7.
A while later, rubbing his face absentmindedly where the thought still stung, he went over the details for the umpteenth time. Sai concluded, finally, that the incident was definitely his own fault (seriously, he shouldn’t have blinked). Much to his chagrin, it didn’t stop him from feeling a faint echo of what he surmised to be impressed with Sakura.