Glitter in the Sky | A Shikamaru Love Story

Chapter 46

"You're trying too hard." I said as I sipped my tea. Sai looked at me questioningly. We're having lunch and talking about feelings and bonds. This has become pretty regular, and I have to say, I honestly enjoy it. Sai has come a long way since the Tenchi Bridge mission.

"Trying too hard?" He asked. I nodded back.

"Yes. You don't make friends necessarily by doing all of the things in your books. You just have to spend time with them and like be yourself." I explained with a shrug. Sai raised an eyebrow.

"But when I was myself, you and Sakura punched me a lot." I rolled my eyes.

"Well yeah, because you were being a jerk." I said nonchalantly. "But since then, we've become friends. Look at us! We're out to lunch and hanging out and talking." I said and gave him a closed eye smile.

"Because Lady Tsunade gave you a mission to be nice to me." Sai pointed out. I rolled my eyes.

"No, she gave me a mission to help you understand bonds and feelings. She said nothing about being nice to you." I teased. Sai looked at me curiously.

"Then why are you nice to me? You weren't ordered to be." He asked. I sighed. We've talked about this many times.

"Because I don't only follow orders. You've gotta figure out what you want to do too, Sai. And I wanted to be nice to you. So I am." I said with a shrug.

"What I want to do?" He said blankly and stared at his tea. I rolled my eyes and sipped my tea, letting him think for awhile. We've been hanging out more and more outside of training, and I honestly don't mind his company. I get a bit irritated with his constant questions, but it's a good distraction from everything going on in my life. A huge explosion brought both of us from our thoughts. I looked at Sai with wide eyes, and we both ran outside to investigate.

"What the hell?" I asked in fear. Several clouds of dust started settling around the area around us. Both Sai and I jumped onto the roof for a better view, and my eyes widened at who I saw. "Pain." I whispered. Sai glanced at me.

"Did you just say Pain?" He asked. I nodded and immediately ran to the man with orange hair and purple eyes who strikes fear into my soul. My heart is pounding in my chest, and I'm so confused, but I have to stop him. He can't attack my village. I won't allow it. I have to face my fears. When I got to him, I noticed that he looks different than the Pain I knew. This must be one of the six.

"Pain!" I yelled and jumped down in front of him before he could attack a small child in front of him. His attack almost hit me, but Sai blocked it with his tanto. "What the hell are you doing here?!" I yelled and aimed to punch him in the face. He caught my arm easily and squeezed tightly. I winced in pain and ripped my hand out of his grasp, sending him a nasty glare.

"I am here to cause pain." He said bluntly. My eyes widened. He's here for me and Naruto. My heart rate quickened, and I narrowed my eyes at him. I brought my foot up to kick him, but he grabbed my leg and  threw me away like a rag doll. I landed with a thud and bounced back up before sprinting at him again, this time, tanto in hand. He blocked my tanto easily and punched me in the gut. I stopped and spat blood out of my mouth before activating my shuhogan. I need to read his movements better.

"Kaori, maybe we could call for back up." Sai said carefully. I shook my head.

"This asshole is here for me. If he wants a fight, he can have it." I said dangerously. Pain narrowed his eyes at me.

"You'll never beat me, Kaori. But I'll gladly bring you pain." He said flatly. I scoffed and went back to fighting him. To his credit, Pain fought me seriously. He didn't use any dirty tricks. We fought in taijutsu for several minutes before I began to tire. This was a mistake. I should have known that I'd never beat Pain like this. I need a new strategy. Before I could come up with something, Pain grabbed me and threw me roughly to the ground, bringing up a black rod to stab into me. My eyes widened in fear, and I began to panic. What do I do?