Standard disclaimer applies.

Operation: Winter Shopping

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“Hag?” Sai spoke in a somewhat nasally voice.

Sakura’s eyes flared with anger, and she was about to punch Sai to death when the most horrible cough she had ever heard erupted from his chest.

“Are you alright Sai? How long have you had that cold?”

“Only a few days,” he said as he wiped his nose with a neckerchief.

Sakura frowned as she went into ‘medic-mode’ and began forcefully examining Sai. He bat her hand away as she reached into the cloak he was wearing. Sakura then discovered that the painter was still only wearing his midriff in the negative two degree Celsius weather.

“Sai, what are you thinking?! It’s winter, you need to wear heavier clothing!” the medic admonished.

“I’m usually at Root’s base in the Land of Wind during winter, so I have no heavy clothing.”

Sakura sighed exasperatedly as she made the most fun decision that she would later regret of her life, “Sai, we’re going shopping after training.”

“Alright…I did read in a book that shopping was an activity that can be enjoyable for two friends to do together,” Sai said with his trademark fake grin.

‘I hope I don’t regret this…’ Sakura thought as she saw Naruto running to meet them.

After training Sai and Sakura went to the Shinobi Discount Store, still dirty and sweaty from the grueling training they did that morning. Sakura, being the medical authority of Team Seven, had ordered Sai to do the bare minimum in training. Which, much to his annoyance, had prevented him from doing any sparring or pretty much any physical work.

“Alright Sai, you want to look for something that will cover your arms and stomach if you want to avoid catching another cold, or to prevent your cold from getting worse,” Sakura instructed and as an after note added, “And you might also want to get sock and maybe a hat.”

Sai nodded. He would treat this as a mission. As he went off to find articles of clothing that would match Sakura’s description of weather appropriate clothing, Sakura browsed through some magazines. Ten minutes later, she was bored out of her mind and went looking for Sai in the somewhat large store where other random shinobi were shopping. After getting lost in the weapons isles, she finally found him.

“Sai! What are you doing?!”

The extremely pale ninja looked up. Clothing that he had gathered from the shop, the pile reaching his waist, surrounded him.

“Getting what you asked me, Hag.”

“Arg! Sai, all you need is a few different items,” Sakura stooped down and picked up a few long-sleeve shirts, “Here. Try these on in the dressing room, while I put these away,” the irate kunoichi bit out.

Sai frowned. Was this how shopping with friends was supposed to go? In the book he read, the two friends were laughing, told eachother that they were not fat, and went out for ice cream after that. By the rate things were going, it didn’t seem that that would happen.

“Sakura? Why don’t you try something on?” Sai suggested trying to get what the book said accomplished.

Sakura sighed and looked at the pile…the store did have workers that were supposed to clean up. The pink haired girl smiled and picked up a blouse she had been eyeing earlier, “Why thank you, Sai, I think I’ll do just that.”

Sai smiled back and headed to the dressing room. He quickly changed and while doing so mulled over how he would work the “you’re not fat” part of the scenario in.

As Sakura finished buttoning the blouse up in the next dressing room over, she heard a knock on the door.

“Just a minute!”

The sole female member of Team Seven opened the door and was surprised to see that Sai was the one who knocked.

“Yes? What do you want Sai?”

Sai frowned, that wasn’t the question he had been hoping for… “You’re not fat.”

A delicate eyebrow rose, “Oh, and did you think I was?”

Sai balked and probed his mind for an answer that wouldn’t get him socked into next Tuesday. “No, but I did think you had a bigger bosom than that…”

WAM! Plan Don’t Get Hit: failed.

Sakura slammed the door on her comrade. The nerve of that guy! Meanwhile, Sai got up from where he fell and gently rubbed his reddening cheek. Obviously the “You’re not fat” comment only works when it is in response to “Do I look fat?” Sai would make sure that he would never make that mistake again for as long as he lives.

A few minutes later Sakura left the dressing room, normal attire back on. She approached Sai and look at the long-sleeve shirt he was wearing. “That’ll do. Now, change back and we’ll pick up a few more shirts and leave.”

Sai, not wanting to acquire anymore of her wrath, did exactly that.

“What size was that shirt?”

“A small…”

Sakura picked up a green and black sweater and two more black long-sleeved shirts. She picked up a bag of socks as well. Sai, who saw something that looked similar to pants but in packaging similar to the sock packaging, picked it up to examine it.

“You wear thermal underwear?”

“Ah, so that’s what this is,” Sai said as he handed it to Sakura.

“Wait, you’re actually going to wear these?”

“Will it keep me from catching a cold?” Sai asked as he raised his eyebrow.

“Not necessarily…but they will keep you warm,” she admitted.

“Then yes, I will wear them.”

The two went to the cashier to purchase the items. As the cashier asked for the money, Sai did nothing.

“Aren’t you going to pay him? You owe the store 484 ryuu,” Sakura pointed out.

“You’re supposed to pay him.”

“What?! No I don’t. These are for you, so you have to pay for them!”

“In the book I read, the person who asks a person out on a date pays for everything. You asked me out to a shopping date, so you are obligated to pay.”

Sakura twitched as she heard the word ‘date.’ “This is not a date! I think you got some of your books confused. We’re just two friends shopping, so whoever is getting the items, pays for it. On a date, the asker would pay,” Sakura then added for extra measure once again, “This is not a date.”

“Oh.”

He still didn’t get out his wallet.

“Why aren’t you paying?” Sakura’s patience was about to run out.

“You’re holding the items and picked everything out, so you’re technically ‘getting the items’ so you are the one who would pay for it.”

Sakura bit her lip in anger, counted to ten in her mind, opened her wallet and slammed down 500 ryuu, and promptly stormed out of the shop’s door.

“Don’t you want your change?” Sai called after her.

“NO!”

Well, that was fine, but there was still one more thing that needed to be done before Operation: Winter Shopping would be complete, “Want to go out for ice cream Hag?”

“NO!” Sakura shouted as she turned around picked up a rock from the ground outside and hurled it at him. She then stomped her way toward the training fields to let out her…aggressions.

Sai dodged the rock and frowned. Operation Winter Shopping: failed. That was unacceptable. As he gathered his items to go after her, the shop owner said, “I wouldn’t go after her if I were you.”

“Thank you, Shop Owner-san, but mind your own business.”

As the ex-Anbu Root caught up to her in front of Ichiraku’s he was filled with a sense of dread. He ignored the instinctive urge to run and instead tapped her on the shoulder.

“What?” she spat.

“I…apologize…if I made you angry,” Sai stated clearly and carefully, as if trying to calm down the creature of his demise.

Sakura sighed, letting all her frustration out in one heavy breath, “It’s alright, Sai. I should have been more patient. You still don’t understand how to properly interact with others…”

As Sai was about to ask Sakura if she wanted to go out for ice cream again, he was interrupted by Naruto spying them from his stool inside the restaurant.

“Hey guys! Want some ramen?”

“Sure,” Sakura answered, and Sai nodded as well.

As the three of them chowed down on ramen, Sai couldn’t help but think that even if the shopping trip didn’t go as it did in the books, that Operation: Winter Shopping had been a success.

ACHOO!

But he still had his cold.

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AN/ It’s finished! Sorry for grammatical errors and spelling errors if there are any. Please let me know what you liked, or didn’t like, and most importantly, why.