Chapter Text
Sai had never wandered this far out on his own before, but as long as he was back before Danzo took notice, there shouldn't have been a problem. He didn't know what drew him this far out into the woods or what to do really, until he heard a noise.
"Get off me!"
It sounded like a girl of his age. He readied a kunai and searched for the source of the sound; expecting to see someone getting attacked by an enemy, he instead found a girl with pink hair caught in some shrubbery. Sai smiled in amusement at the struggling girl, before coming over and preparing to cut her free.
She jumped, ripping her hair from the bush. "What do you think you're doing?!"
He lowered the kunai, "Freeing you."
She ran her fingers through her hair, smoothing out the bits of shrub caught in it. "Shouldn't you be attacking me and trying to steal my team's scroll?"
He looked at her questioningly. "Scroll?"
She returned his confused expression, "Aren't you here for the Chunin Exams?"
"No."
"Then why are you in the Forest of Death?"
"I don't really know."
The girl sighed, shaking her head. "I don't have time for this. I have to get back to my unconscious teammates..."
Sai giggled.
"Huh? What's so funny?" She glared at him.
"How can you expect to protect two people, if you can hardly defend yourself against a bush?"
"I- I was just caught off guard! Next time I'll be ready for it!"
"There wouldn't be a next time if you cut your hair. It seems rather impractical for a shinobi to have long, loose hair, doesn't it?"
The girl grabbed her hair at the comment. "I can't cut my hair! Without it, I'll never be able to have-" She cut herself off, changing the subject. "Look, I've got to get back to my team. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Weirdo..." She muttered as she walked away.
"Brother, I saw a girl today. Apparently she was a kunoichi, but she had her hair stuck in a bush."
Shin smiled, "Not the most competent, was she?"
"I'm sure she has more to show than what I got to see."
"What did she look like?"
Sai was about to answer, but then decided to draw it instead. He took out the sketchbook his brother gave him and went to work. He had only seen the fiery kunoichi for about a minute, but distinctly remembered the peculiar pink pigment of her hair and her striking green eyes. He couldn't remember all the little details, forgetting to draw her headband, and changing the design of her dress slightly. He revealed the drawing to Shin once he finished.
"Interesting. Did she really have pink hair? I've never seen someone with pink hair before."
"Neither have I." Sai looked closer at his drawing of her again, and furrowed his brow in disappointment. "I think I got the shade wrong. It's too dark..."
"It's okay, Sai. I think it looks great." Shin said, encouragingly.
"I want to try again."
Sai flipped to a blank page and began working on another drawing. He chose a paler shade of pink this time. It still wasn't exact but it was closer. Closer wasn't enough for him, he wanted it to be perfect. He drew several more pictures, before Shin persuaded him to settle in for the night. Sai wondered if he would ever see the pink haired girl again. If she had been partaking in an exam, he likely wouldn't find her in that same place again.
Despite his brother's protests and reassurance that they were good enough, Sai couldn't help but continue drawing the pink haired girl on a regular basis.