Who Am I?

Chapter 11: Research

Ino roused from her nap to the faint smell of... something she couldn't quite recognize, but her stomach knew it was some sort of food. Glancing at the time, she realized she'd slept for at least a good couple of hours; it was already dinnertime, which was far longer than she'd anticipated sleeping for. Scrambling out of bed, the blonde ran a brush through her hair, pulling it over her shoulder and weaving it into a loose braid before coming out to see... a sight that she hadn't expected to see.

Sai was in her kitchen, cooking up a storm, and... oh, did it ever smell good. She hadn't known that he was a cook, and from the way he plated it, he was also artistically inclined, too. It was some kind of spaghetti with meat sauce, topped with a leaf of... cilantro? Where had he managed to get fresh cilantro? She wasn't even aware she had it in her fridge!

"What's all this?" Ino asked with a laugh, seeing him delicately placing the second stem of cilantro on a second plate. It was definitely an artistic presentation, the kind of presentation one might have seen in a high-end restaurant.

"I thought that you would be hungry, and as you said, I was inclined to make myself at home. I thought that it would be suitable to provide you with some sort of dinner after the weekend you've had." He carried the plates over to the table, setting one down at each end and taking a seat of his own. This had to be one of the only times she'd ever eaten a real, plated meal at this table; the only time she had home-cooked meals was when Sakura came over.

"Well, that's kind of you," she said with a chuckle, taking a seat and inhaling the smell of the food. It smelled amazing; she thought that it might even be better than Sakura's cooking. "Smells delicious. I didn't know you could cook."

"Well, you did state that you were more inclined to burnt food, so I took that as you are not the best cook." Oh, so he had picked up on that, had he? That was unfortunate.

"I'm the kind of cook that's an expert at burning everything," Ino said with a laugh. "Sakura used to come over a lot, and we'd have dinner because she's an excellent cook. If you're going to be my bodyguard, though, I won't say no to you cooking if you enjoy it." Oh, now she had a stellar idea. "Oh! We should invite Sakura and Sasuke over for a big dinner. You and Sakura can cook, and Sasuke and I will drink alcohol and be the supportive conversationalists." She giggled at that thought; Sasuke wasn't much for conversation in the few times she'd spoken to him, which meant that it would mostly be them drinking and her talking.

Sai looked at Ino curiously, uncertain why she was laughing. What was funny about that? "I do not understand why that is an entertaining prospect to you," he said honestly. Ino could see the confusion on his face; he must not have had a chance to have a conversation with Detective Uchiha.

"Uh, let's just say that Sasuke isn't the most... ah, how do I put it? He's kind of quiet, honestly. I mean, if he's working on a case, he'll talk about it without any problems, but I've always noticed in social situations he's very much a one or two-word answer kind of guy. Except if he's talking to Sakura." They'd had full-blown conversations, according to what she'd heard from her best friend.

"I do not believe I asked much about that," Sai said curiously as he took a bite of food. "I do believe that you had mentioned the case that Sakura was a survivor of, and I am aware of the details of that case, but what is the relation between her and Detective Uchiha?" He was genuinely curious.

"Well," Ino began, chewing thoughtfully on a forkful of spaghetti, "what essentially happened is when Sakura was attacked, he was there. After that, he got sort of... protective of her. He refused to leave her alone in her hospital room. When Hidan attacked at the hospital, he was there, and he was responsible for taking him down. I think... maybe he felt responsible for what happened. I never really got the full story out of Sakura. Once she was out of the hospital, she tried going home, but she couldn't, and he offered to let her stay with him. I guess things just kind of progressed from there." Ino shrugged. The two of them were adorable, and as far as Ino was concerned, Sasuke was the kind of guy she deserved. He respected her, but he also made her safety a priority. Around him, Sakura seemed happier and more energetic; on the contrary, Sasuke seemed calmer and more laid-back around her.