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Prompt I for Ink – Gifts from Sai’s Inky Scroll
Sai draws things for his friends, but sometimes it doesn’t seem like they like them. And Sai has no idea why. People like gifts, right?
Friendships, maybe a hint of future Ino/ Sai.
Sai might not know much about typical human feelings and desires, but he has seen people give others gifts and react positively. He does not know why no one seems to react that way to his gifts.
Do his friends not like gifts then?
Is it the wrong time for his gifts?
No, he knows most of his friends enjoy gifts. He has seen Naruto light up and blabber about receiving ramen from his other friends. He notices that when Ino receives a new flower, she’s smiling and tends to the plants needs and whatever wounds it might have had in the transfer from the gift giver’s hands to Ino’s. He knows Sakura enjoys the gifts she gets from Naruto or Kakashi; she’s all smiles and less likely to start punching people. All of his other minor friends seem to love gifts too.
Also, Sai doesn’t think he chooses the wrong time for his gifts. Gifts were supposed to make people feel better, to make them more connected and can be a way to show camaraderie. No time is the wrong time; Sai does not think. He has watched people cry then accept a gift that makes the receiver smile. He has noticed other teams trade food and little packages after battle even.
He knows gifts help.
He just doesn’t know why his gifts do not.
SAI’S FIRST GIFT:
Sai’s first gift was for Naruto. He could not afford ramen and didn’t know which kind Naruto favored, and Sai understood people loved specific things when referring to food. He didn’t want to get the wrong one, so he decided a painting of ramen would be nice to hang up. He heard whispers of handmade gifts being one of the best, so he hoped this gift would help Naruto relax around him and not worry too much about missing his friend, Sasuke.
Sai figured his picture would help and remind Naruto of something delicious. At first, Naruto had been wary of a gift, but Sai was still trying to work on smiling, so Sai attributed the delayed reaction partly to his own facial expression. Sai vowed to coach his lips to smile more, like the gift givers he had seen prior.
Either way, Naruto had eventually accepted the gift and took it back to his apartment. No one saw him for a couple days after, and Sai figured Naruto was enjoying his gift in the time away.
Needless to say, Naruto came up to Sai and yelled at Sai about how his apartment was covered in paper noodles and he had to eat out of them to even walk out his door. Apparently Naruto didn’t think art should be as lively. Or maybe he just needed something less noodle-y and more like a lion or a fox.
Naruto was loud, so maybe he wanted louder art?
Sai would have to give him another gift next time. He even walked by Naruto’s apartment following Naruto’s anger at the gift. There were white noodles hanging out the window, black ink separating the individual noodles while they shifted in the breeze.
Sai thought Naruto would love his noodles.
SAI’S SECOND GIFT:
Sai decided not to let Naruto’s reaction dissuade him. He had to start somewhere, and he knew that not every gift would be the one someone needed. So he thought about who needed a gift more than anyone.
Who was someone who either needed a gift because they seemed sad or they seemed angry? Maybe that was why Naruto disliked the previous gift. Naruto did not need the gift at that time.
Sai observed his friends, or rather his closest friends. He understood the best reaction would be from the people closest to him. And he wanted to get closer to his team.
It took a few days, but Sai came to the conclusion that Sakura needed a gift the most. She was always so prone to anger or breaking the ground and always yelled at Naruto. Sometimes Sai would also catch her looking at the stars, looking like someone had hit her.
That or she sucked on a lemon. Sai had seen that once, so he concluded it could be either or.
So Sai decided to get to work on a gift for Sakura. He thought about doing another food related gift, but Sai thought back on Naruto’s reaction. Food might be a necessity, but maybe that was not what people wanted concerning gifts.
Sai pondered on previous gifts for others in the village. Some people give gifts related to someone’s profession. Sakura was a ninja, but she was also specifically involved in medical ninjutsu, so Sai decided that would be the best bet for Sakura.
He drew her up an anatomy correct body with chakra points, which he hoped she could use to further her studies in chakra and healing. Sakura had reacted more favorably, but she still seemed unsure. She did give Sai a smile though!
That must have meant something, so Sai was feeling like he was getting better at this whole gift giving thing.
However, the next day came, and Sakura looked so angry, fist raised and shaking it at him. Luckily he had seen Sakura look like that and clobber Naruto, so he disappeared to escape her wrath. He wondered if he got the chakra points wrong, especially since Sakura was complaining about chakra draining.
But he was sure he looked up those points correctly. Apparently, he had to do more research in the future for gifts like that.
SAI’S THIRD GIFT:
Sai’s first couple gifts did not seem to go well. There were some good points and some not. He wondered what he was doing wrong. He took some time to people watch, listening intently to the people giving others gifts.
He must have missed something. After days of observing and taking mental notes, he concluded that he might need to go more personal. Some people liked gifts that not everyone knew about, and some people wanted personalized gifts. Sometimes gifts in pairs worked well too.
So Sai decided to try drawing two different gifts for Ino. He didn’t know why he wanted to try gifting her the two gifts or why he wanted her to be a close friend, despite not being on his team, but he did. He really did want to make these gifts work too.
So he did some research, and he followed Ino around for a day or two. She appeared to like flowers, stopping by every new one she saw on her walks. She would also talk about flowers and plants, as well.
Flowers and plants seemed personal to her, and looking into her family, Sai figured that flowers were important there too.
He grabbed some flower books to research how each plant looked, and he even asked Sakura about her favorite flowers, as well as Naruto’s and Ino’s favorites. None of those proved useful, so Sai asked Ino directly. From his observations, he realized the gift givers communicated with the gift receivers beforehand.
Sai learned Ino’s favorite flower was bush clovers, and Sai also learned that plants had different meanings. He chose to create a painting with bush clovers and a painting for morning glories: the bush clover, since it was Ino’s favorite, and the morning glory for life, death, human existence and affection. Sai knew friends needed affection and Ino breathed life into her flowers and plants, so it made sense for Sai at the time.
Needless to say, Ino was surprised at the two scrolls when she unraveled them. She did smile and accept them, and Sai even tried to smile back. She didn’t run away, so Sai figured his smile was improving.
She even thanked him for the gifts.
Sai thought it was a success until he walked by the flower shop and saw Ino in a fit trying to tame the bush clover painting that was climbing up the walls and onto the ceiling. She seemed annoyed, and she seemed to be more pale than usual.
Sai went to head inside, but she merely pushed him out and slammed the door, looking like she could throw up at any time.
Sai just paused, looking into the window. The bush clover appeared to find its way into any nook of the shop and the morning glory scroll was open and encasing the floor below Ino’s feet. He didn’t see an issue with any of that. Ino liked plants and flowers, and they both looked what people would call “pretty.”
Either way, he hoped Ino could take time from her busy schedule to enjoy her ink flowers and not crush them in her haste.
He hoped her busyness was the reason for her unhappy and ill mood.
SAI’S FOURTH GIFT:
Sai was stumped. Ino, Sakura and Naruto refused to accept any gifts from him. Ino insisted she didn’t need them, while Naruto complained that he needed to not destroy things and Sakura said that his gift caused more issues than anything.
Sai just didn’t understand his friends. They liked and received gifts from their other friends, and people might not need gifts, but Sai knew there were beloved gifts out there for anyone, his friends included. Sai also knew art was a form of creation, not destruction. And his gifts apparently caused issues with his friends’ health or apartments/ homes.
So Sai had to think out of the box. He needed to create something, rather than destroy, and he needed to aim for uplifting his friends, rather than making things more difficult. He needed personal, and he needed research. He understood now that he had to push all those into one gift, covering his bases.
What was the best way to create something personal, uplifting and cause no health concerns?
He knew exactly what to draw Kakashi.
He even researched those books his sensei reads, and he even asked Sakura about the medical anatomy of a woman. He questioned Ino what she thought Kakashi would benefit from, and she mentioned something about companionship. He went to Naruto for his advice on what Kakashi did before Sai showed up in Konoha. It was all about those books, friendship, challenges, isolation and related things.
Sai drew a life sized and fairly detailed woman, who was naked and what people would classify as traditionally gorgeous. He based some of her aspects off the books, and Sai presented his sensei with it in a little box at his front door. Sai had the latest book wrapped up with it, so the double gift rule still applied. He managed to slowly get some spendable income from the missions as of late.
This gift had everything Sai had ever learned about gifts and trial and error with his friends. He watched Kakashi come to the door, look down then around, before he picked up the gift and went inside.
Sai did not expect any thanks or an outward reaction. He knew some gift receivers were not like that, but Sai noticed the intrigue in that visible eye.
Sai debated on staying to see the full reaction, but he knew that some gifts were meant to be seen alone. It was easier to appreciate art in silence, rather than under scrutiny. So, with that, Sai disappeared into the night. He hoped his friend and sensei enjoyed his gifts.
Sai had been trying very hard at this whole gift giving for his close friends. He hoped he made progress in showing he cared.
The next day was a mission, and the team had gathered, but when their sensei came up, he was late, and when Sai looked over, his friend and sensei looked like he was sweating and uncomfortable. He even looked a little red behind his mask, strangely enough.
So, in conclusion, Sai is not sure what is wrong with his friends. He thought all his gifts through, and he tried different things for this past couple of weeks. Maybe they just disliked drawings or paintings. Sai would have to try other means of gift giving.
However, Sai learned that a gift from the heart was the best gift, and all of Sai’s gifts were just that.
Sai would not give up on his paintings and inked art for his friends, but he would also try other gifts in the future. He is going to show he cares, and one way or another, he will learn to be the best gift giver he could be for his team and closest friends.