#ino wasnt even gonna BE in this chapter but she got in somehow | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

frostmarris · 4 years

Text

notes: an update for a fic in the same month it was posted? blasphemy

enjoy!

Chapter Two

Sai sits on the corner of the desk as he watches Sakura add the finishing touches of the brooch’s drawing, a red-inked pen in her hand and a collection of other pens and pencils laid out to her right. The brooch itself sits nearby as she glances to it for reference, clean and finally finished with its two day soak in moon water. She's added four drawings in total to the brooch's entry in the record book, the large tome laid open in front of her as she leans over it.

One drawing is inked and colored and the largest of the bunch, perfectly shaded and every detail meticulously copied down as it depicts the front view of the brooch. The two under it, a side view and a drawing of the back of the brooch, are inked but not colored or shaded, yet just as detailed. Sketched out in the margins of Sakura's description of the events of the curse-breaking is a picture of the brooch with the cameo woman attempting to crawl out of her frame, a clawed hand outstretched and her expression furious.

Sai isn't sure how long she's been drawing but she must be nearing a stopping point as there's little left to add and she'd already completed the drawing on the parchment attached to the amber vial. She hasn't spoken since she'd started and he'd been content to quietly watch her and resist his innate urge to knock one of the pens off the desk, but he finds himself wanting to fill the silence now.

"How long have you been doing this, Sakura?"

"Doing what?" She asks in return, swapping the red pen for one with white ink to add highlights to the rubies.

He is pleasantly surprised that she’d even responded and he moves to lay down on his corner of the desk, his tail draped over the edge and swaying slowly.

"Breaking curses."

She lets out a small hum and waits a moment before she replies, still not looking up from the record book.

"A while."

Sai frowns to himself at the vague answer, having hoped to learn more about her. She'd barely spoken about herself the past two days (granted, she hadn't asked much about him either) and he knew very little about her life outside of her home.

"How long have you been practicing magic?" He asks, trying again.

"A while longer," Is her response and he sighs, feeling a little annoyed.

Quiet for a couple minutes, Sai crosses his paws and turns his gaze from her drawing to her face, still determined to learn more about her.

"Are you self-taught or did you have an instructor?"

That makes her pause and, as he watches her, he can tell when she stops truly looking at her work and her gaze seems to become far-off for a moment, as if she were lost in her thoughts. Sai leans forward ever so slightly, hoping to have made a breakthrough.

But Sakura seems to pull herself out of it after a moment and reaches for one of the black-ink pens.

"A bit of both."

His frown deepens and he sits up again, watching her pen a date onto the top right corner of the page. She leaves the record book open to allow the ink to dry and leans back on her stool, reaching her arms up as she stretches. As Sakura slips off the stool and heads out of her workshop, Sai hops down and follows after her, not quite finished with his questions.

"Did you attend an academy?"

Sakura stops and sighs tiredly, turning around to face the cat and planting her fists on her hips.

"Alright, what's with the round of 20 Questions?" She asks, watching Sai approach the couch and hop up onto the arm rest, obviously unperturbed by her reaction.

"I know very little about you, Sakura." He says, green eyes that match her own staring back at her. "You've barely told me anything about your life - I don't even know your surname."

"You don't need to know," She turns to head into the kitchen, grumbling to herself. Having already made the mistake of giving the damned cat her first name - and he just kept rubbing it in and repeating it, the ass - she wasn't about to just hand over anything else. "We'll get along fine just as things are."

"But I want to learn more about you," Sai insists, appearing on the island counter. He still had every intention in becoming her familiar and getting to know her was the first step in creating a bond.

Sai, of course, doesn't voice his intentions.

(If only she wasn't so stubborn.)

Sakura groans and is about to speak again when there's a sudden knock at the door, startling both of them. The cat looks to the front door just next to the living room curiously while Sakura glances at her phone with a frown, double-checking the date.

She hadn't had any visitors since he'd been released - she hadn't even left the house, actually - and he couldn't deny his curiosity, eager to see what sort of company she kept.

But, much to his chagrin, Sakura turns to the fridge and shouts a dismissing, "I'm closed! Come back tomorrow!"

They both pause, however at the shouted reply from the other side of the door.

“Aw, not even for a visit from your best bud in the whole world?”

The smile that appears on Sakura’s face was unlike any expression he’d seen from her yet and Sai finds himself following her to the door, immensely intrigued. She steels her face into one of nonchalance before opening the door, cocking her hip and crossing her arms as she greets her guest.

“Alright, what did you do this time?”

Sai peeks around her legs to peer up at the brown-haired, grinning man on Sakura’s doorstep, backlit by the lit street lamps of the late evening, but quickly finds himself hissing at the sight of a large white dog at his side and scurrying back towards the couch. Sakura and the man watch in surprise as the black cat makes his way up on top of a bookcase, crouches low, flicks his tail in agitation, and stares down at them with disapproval.

“I didn’t do nothin’,” The man says, his curious gaze on Sai as Sakura steps aside to let him and the dog in. “When’d you get a cat?”

“Not technically a cat,” Sakura mumbles, closing the door and moving on towards the kitchen. “Want something to drink?”

He sends her a surprised look, head tilting as he drops down on the couch and the dog lays across his feet.

“I thought you didn’t want a familiar?” A pause, his expression thoughtful. “Just some water, thanks.”

“I don’t,” She says, her matter-of-fact tone making Sai frown and straighten up. “He’s just a cursed soul that I’m helping out.”

“Sakura,” Sai finally speaks, a little miffed by her dismissal of him. “Who is this?”

She returns with a glass and a bowl, both filled with water, in hand and passes the former to the man and places the latter next to the dog. She gives the beast an affectionate pat on the head, much to Sai’s annoyance, before answering his question.

“Sai,” Sakura addresses, looking up at him from his place on top of the bookcase. “This is Kiba and Akamaru.”

She turns to the other two and gestures up at Sai before moving to sit on the couch’s armrest, sipping from a coffee mug. “Kiba and Akamaru, this is Sai.”

‘Kiba’, who’d been looking up at Sai with a mix of surprise and amusement ever since he’d spoken, nods up at the cat with a grin and reaches down to pat the dog’s head.

“Don’t worry about Akamaru here,” He says, the dog's tail thumping happily on the floor as Sakura reaches down to pet him as well. “He looks big and scary, but he’s actually a huge softie and he’s super chill with cats.”

Sai doesn’t reply and simply stares down at them all, not budging from his spot.

Kiba shrugs and sips his water as his gaze drifts over the living room, soon landing on Sakura. "How ya been, Sak? You look good - get a haircut?"

She sends him an unimpressed look over the rim of her mug and crosses a leg over her knee, sighing but unable to hold back a small smirk.

"We both know you never stop by unannounced just to chat," Turning more towards him, she sends her mug floating over to the coffee table. "What have you brought me, Kiba?"

He laughs weakly but nods and reaches into an interior pocket of his coat to remove a small manilla envelope and a wooden box tied off with caraway oil-soaked twine.

"A body was found five days ago," Kiba explains, setting the box in her hand and opening up the envelope to pull out several photographs. He nods towards the small case, which Sakura waits to open.

"They pulled that off the corpse."

"Five days?" She asks, placing the wooden box on her thigh and flipping through the photos when he hands them over as well. "Why'd you wait so long to bring it to me?"

From his spot on top of the bookcase, Sai can see the pictures captured in the photos and finds himself shuffling a little closer to the edge. They depict images of the crime scene - of a body shriveled and drained of both color and life. At first glance it looks like it must have been leftover from the remains of a fire but, as Sai hops down to perch on the back of the sofa, he realizes everything is still intact - from hair, long and chestnut brown, to the bony fingers, curled and clawing in pain. The skin is tight and leathery, a solid dark ashen color rather than the mottled yellows, reds, and purples of a decomposing body, that show off every bone and joint.

It looks similar to mummified remains, but there are no other signs of decay. With the skin so tight and dry, the lips and eyelids are drawn back to reveal perfect teeth and missing eyes, the sockets empty and dark.

The strangest part of it all is that it's dressed in perfectly normal clothes - unstained, unmarred, and unassuming. Around the corpse's thin throat is a necklace, the gold chain splayed out and the small bell charm resting in the grass.

"They're supposed to contact me the moment there's any suspicion of magic," Kiba answers, looking both frustrated and tired, "And this reeks of it. But those damned human cops didn't call me in until yesterday."

Sakura quirks an eyebrow, frowning to herself and flipping through the rest of the pictures. "They're still giving you trouble? I thought the installment of the Department was supposed to make things all... 'official'."

She makes air quotes with one hand when she says the word and Kiba sighs and crosses his arms, Akamaru sitting up to rest his head on his knee. "They're either too stubborn to get outside help when it's obviously needed or just grossly incompetent."

"Incompetent," She mutters in affirmation, her frown deepening at the pictures.

"Either way," Kiba continues, groaning and leaning back with a stretch, "They hate having to call me in and listen to me talk about magic. The only reason they finally did was because someone realized the horrible feeling of foreboding and dread that had fallen over the entire precinct was strongest in the evidence vault."

"What have they been able to find out about the victim?"

Here, Kiba's lip curls in anger and Akamaru lets out a huff, prodding his stomach with his nose.

"That's just it," He says with the barest growl, his eyes flashing golden. "They went the complete opposite direction with it. Assumed it was just a corpse that had been dug up out of a cemetery and dressed up as a prank."

Sakura lets out a derisive snort, setting the photos aside finally and reaching for the box again. Sai continues to watch and listen quietly, edging closer to Sakura and keeping a safe distance from the man and dog.

"If I'd been called to the scene right away, I could have told them how fucking wrong they were and a proper investigation could have actually happened," Kiba adds, finally sighing and seeming to relax as he pats Akamaru’s head.

"Where was it found anyways?" She asks, waving a hand over the box to lull anything active into a temporary sleep before finally untying the twine.

"A manor estate just outside the city," Scratching at his cheek, just below the red tattoos, Kiba watches as well. "I'm gonna head over there in the morning to meet with the guy who found the body and see if I can sniff anything else out."

Sakura nods and opens the lid, simply inspecting the golden necklace inside visually for a moment before making it float into the air. She eyes the charm curiously and makes it shake, but no sound comes from the bell and her frown returns. It's small but looks weighty - she won't touch it with herself just yet, there's no telling what sort of curses may be lingering - and the upper cap and flared bottom are etched with tiny patterns, the clapper attached to the inside hanging freely. A visual charm rather than a ringing jingle bell, it seems.

The necklace lowers back into the box and she snaps it shut, looking up at Kiba.

"I'll find out what I can and give you a call in a couple days."

He smiles tiredly and nods, moving to stand. “Sorry for droppin’ by just to dump more work on you, Sak.”

She waves offhandedly and gives Akamaru’s ear a few affection skritches when the dog moves his head into her lap.

“You can make it up to me over drinks when I’m not busy,” Sakura answers, smirking at Kiba’s laugh and slipping off the arm of the couch. She walks them both to the front door, Sai following at her heels, and, as she opens the door, the porchlight comes to life. Sai is tempted to step outside and explore, curious to see the outside of her home, but he stays at her side and holds his questions.

“Invoice me when you’re done,” Kiba says, holding up a hand when she frowns and starts to reply. “Like you said, Sak - this is all ‘official’ now. I’m not just some PI comin’ to my pal for help anymore.”

Akamaru gives a woof of agreement and Kiba leans in to give her a one-armed hug, a wet nose pressing against the back of her hand.

“You’re gonna get paid.” He says matter of factly when he pulls away, grin widening when she rolls her eyes. “Whether you like it or not.”

“Fine, fine,” A small smile appears at Sakura’s lips and she waves them off. “Let me know what you find tomorrow.”

Kiba nods and waves back and the pair head out into the darkness, Sakura watching their backs for a few moments before she turns to head back inside, the door closing behind her. Tail flicking behind him, Sai looks from her to the door before finally following, watching Sakura collect the glass, bowl, and her mug.

“What was that all about, Sakura?” He asks after a moment, appearing on the kitchen counter as she heads towards the sink to deposit the dishes. She glances down at him and seems to think something over for a moment before shrugging and refilling her coffee.

“Kiba is one of the only magic and supernatural investigators in the city,” She answers, adding cream and sugar to her coffee, “When he finds cursed items causing trouble on the streets, he brings them to me to get them cleansed.”

Turning, she heads back into the living room and grabs her cellphone, the photos, and the wooden box, sipping her coffee before she continues.

“Sometimes, like with this case, he partners with the local human police and outsources the examination of magical evidence to me.”

Sai continues to follow after her, frowning to himself and hopping up onto the desk in her workshop as she enters. Sakura sets her mug on a coaster and closes her record book, swapping it for the manilla envelope before returning it to its spot on her bookshelf. Opening the box, she grabs her obsidian seeing stone and examines the necklace again before encasing it in a sphere of blue energy and making it lift out of the wooden case, the orb hovering just an inch over her open palm.

“So long as the police weren’t wholly incompetent, it should have already been checked over for fingerprints and physical evidence,” Sakura continues, unlocking her phone to open up a playlist of ambient nature sounds before moving to stand in the center of the workshop. “So, now I do my part and determine what sort of curse or spell had been cast - if any - and find out its purpose and origins.”

She glances to Sai, who sits crouched on the desk’s corner, and holds the floating necklace up a little higher.

“It’s nearly impossible to erase a caster’s signature, but it takes some digging to find it.” A pause, a thoughtful frown on her face before she looks to him again. “Behave and don’t touch anything in the workshop while I’m out.”

Sai sits up in confusion and opens his mouth to question her but, before he can, she places her second hand over the blue orb of magic, hovering just another inch above it, and closes her eyes.

Sakura is completely still for a moment before her eyes snap open - only they’re completely white and unseeing, just barely glowing in the soft light of the room. There’s a low hum of magic in the air of the workshop and, as Sai watches, her long hair begins to lift into the air with an unseen and unfelt breeze.

It floats languidly around her, as if she were suspended in water. The only other movement from Sakura is the slow rise and fall of her chest as she breathes and Sai hops down from the desk, taking his human form as he circles her curiously.

He waves a hand in front of her eyes, careful not to touch her, and frowns when there’s no reaction. Tempted as he is to catch a lock of her pink hair around a finger, Sai pulls away and steps back.

Unsure how long she would be ‘out’, he takes a seat on the stool and waits, watching Sakura intently.

: :

The minutes tick by into hours and there's no change from Sakura. Sai watches dutifully all the while, his concern growing as he stays sat on the stool, his elbows resting on his thighs and his fingers laced together under his chin. He considers moving to the kitchen to prepare a meal for when she 'returns', but the thought of leaving Sakura's side and something happening while he's gone makes him anxious, so he stays put.

There's a sudden fuller hum of magic in the shop that pushes past the white noise it had eventually melted into and Sai startles when Sakura suddenly gasps and moves.

She blinks, those familiar green eyes returning, and her hair falls, a few locks draped over her shoulders and the rest reaching down to her waist against her spine. Her back straightens and she rolls her shoulders before her body relaxes and she reaches up to pinch the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut. The necklace is still floating in her sphere of magic as she moves towards the desk and Sai slips off of the stool, catching her arm when she stumbles slightly.

Once he’s sure she's stable, he transforms back into a cat and watches her crack an eye open to deposit the necklace back in the box before slapping the lid shut. Eyes watering, Sakura reaches up towards one of the shelves above the desk and grabs a bottle of eye drops.

Even with her magic, five hours was an awfully long time to go without blinking.

Sai's still watching her with concern as she tilts her head back to apply the drops, his voice making her turn towards him slightly.

“Sakura? What happened?”

She gives an annoyed huff and, once she seems to have collected herself, grabs her cellphone to check the time before pausing the ambient playlist and slipping it into her back pocket. Looking irritated, she begins to start searching through the various cupboards and drawers and shelves of her workshop to gather ingredients.

“Whoever hexed that,” She jabs a thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the necklace, a bundle of dried herbs in her hand, “Did not want anyone to go snooping.”

“What did you find out?” Sai follows her around the room, his head tilting when she digs through a rack of smaller drawers only to step away empty-handed and frustrated.

“The chain is made of copper and was enchanted separately,” Sakura answers, searching through another set of drawers, these labeled with names he recognizes as various crystals. “It has nowhere near the same amount of safety measures and tampering wards placed over it, so I at least know what spell was used.”

She gives another irritated huff when she doesn’t seem to find what she’s looking for and deposits everything on her desk before turning, Sai following her out of the workshop and towards the kitchen. He's surprised when she opens a door next to the fridge that leads outside, having yet to see her use that exit.

“The spell simply influenced the wearer into never taking off the necklace. Typical stuff,” Sakura continues, following a path that leads from the kitchen door into the darkness of her backyard. Torn between wanting to explore the exterior of her home and wanting to find out what she’d discovered, Sai follows a few paces behind her and perks up when the path seems to lead into a garden.

Even in the dark, he can tell its lush and well-tended, divided into different sections for herbs, edible plants and vegetables, and sweet-smelling florals. It takes up almost the entirety of the backyard, reaching out to touch the brick wall fence that surrounds her property, and four trellis archways - covered in different climbing plants - stand over the main stepping stone path. Two trellis' each are set up on either side of the large tree in the center of the garden, the path circling around its base and continuing onto the other side with the other pair of arches.

She veers off the path onto a smaller one, the earth raised up three levels like a set of stairs on either side of her, and crouches down between the rows of vegetation to collect a few fresh plants, still speaking aloud.

“It’s inactive now, but it wasn’t a particularly strong spell anyways,” Sakura picks a few sprigs of what he can identify as rosemary before moving on towards the vegetable patch and collecting a few thin, feathery tops of a rooted plant.

“And the bell?”

Sakura grimaces and stands, heading back towards the house. Her voice is short and her posture stiff when she answers.

“It’s made of brass and coated in a lead-based gold paint.”

“And..?” Sai asks, rather unsurely, as she closes the door behind him once they're both back inside.

Her lip curls in distaste and she takes her gathered herbs and plant tops back into the workshop, setting them down with the other ingredients she’d grabbed.

“That’s all I was able to discover,” She holds back her additional hiss of ‘After five damn hours’ and moves to a different cabinet, this one containing various spellcasting instruments and tools. “I’ll need to do some more serious scrying to break through the layers and layers of barriers the original caster set up.”

Sai hops up onto the desk and sniffs at the various herbs - some dried, some fresh, and a few roots - and resists the urge to paw at the crystals.

“Shit,” Sakura hisses in frustration, pulling his gaze back towards her. She’s knelt in front of the cabinet, the lowest drawer pulled open and a small stack of what look like mirrors - all various sizes and shapes - next to her. The topmost one is shattered and, considering the look on her face, he’s fairly certain the rest are as well.

“I thought I still had a few good ones left,” Grumbling to herself as she returns the broken mirrors to their drawer, Sakura stands and grabs a book off the wall of shelves before heading towards her desk. She nudges Sai aside and grabs a scrap of paper as she quickly opens the book to the spell she’s looking for, jotting down the list of ingredients and marking off the ones she has on hand.

Sai watches and realizes the book must be one of her own grimoires as he recognizes her handwriting. She finishes up her list before he can take a good look at the spell entry - he for sure saw the word Scrying in the title - and heads out of her workshop, gesturing for Sai to follow and closing the door once he's out.

“I need to go do a little shopping to get the rest of these ingredients.”

He frowns in confusion. "At 3 in the morning?"

"The market is always open," She says aloud, tucking the list into a purse hanging by the front door before heading upstairs to her bedroom to get changed.

“Should I accompany you in this form or my human one?” Sai calls after her, waiting at the base of the staircase. Sakura pauses, halfway up, and turns to send him a stern look over her shoulder.

“You’re not coming.”

“But, Sakura-”

“No.”

He sits and his tail gives an upset flick behind him. Sighing, Sakura faces forward and continues upstairs, missing the moment Sai suddenly had an idea and turns back towards the workshop door.

: :

Out of her loungewear and dressed in a fresh all-black outfit - high-waisted pants and a high-collared shirt with long sleeves; did she even have anything colorful in her closet anymore? - Sakura heads back downstairs to find no sign of Sai.

She grimaces and glances around the living room briefly before guessing he must be sulking. Truthfully, she felt kind of bad for saying he couldn’t come to the market with her, but she really wanted to make it a quick trip and didn't have time to look after a curious spirit.

Deciding to make it up to him and take him shopping after she's finished with this necklace, Sakura grabs her purse and one of the pieces of green chalk in the key bowl on the foyer table. She looks over the living room again for Sai before heading to the kitchen and out the door into the garden once more.

Probably not best to fly when she was still tired.

Following the stepping stones of the path, Sakura approaches the large red maple tree in the heart of her garden and tosses and catches the chalk in her hand. The leaves of the tree are already scarlet with the early fall and a few have fallen, scattered over her path as she walks forward. Stopping at the base of the old tree, she looks up at the wide trunk for a moment before leaning down to start at the bottom.

Drawing a line straight across in the green chalk, she makes a 90 degree turn when it's just wide enough for herself and continues upwards with a practiced ease before arching over and back down to where she'd started. With the outline of her door marked out, Sakura draws a handle and two sigils towards the curved top, one for Travel and one for Doorway. She wraps the chalk in a scrap of cloth before slipping it into her purse and then places her hand against the bark of the tree, palm flat over the sigils and her fingers stretched out.

Sending a burst of her magic through the chalk and tree alike, she watches as the green markings glow brightly for a moment before the door properly takes shape. She waits a moment until she pulls her hand away and tugs on her black gloves as the door finishes its manifestation, finally reaching for the now very-real silver handle and pulling it open.

Sakura steps through and onto the market street, the shops and stalls all open and bustling with activity despite the current time. The magical shopping district is lit up with different lights, some electric and some flame but all bright enough to drive away the dark of the night, and she pulls the door closed behind her.

The doorway melts and morphs back into the brick wall - one of several brick walls designated for traveling methods such as Sakura’s - and she walks forward, already knowing which shop to stop at first. She passes the pop-up stalls to get to the more permanent storefronts and turns onto a right branch of the main street to continue on for a little further, where the shops were bigger and more spaced out.

She finally finds the one she’s looking for and heads into the Yamanaka Nursery, the sight of the druid owner greeting her as she enters.

Ino, as blonde and beautiful as ever, glances up from behind the checkout counter and grins as she spots Sakura, quickly handing her satyr customer their change and purchase before waving her over. The satyr practically disappears behind the potted peace lily in their arms and Sakura holds the door open as they pass, waving back at Ino. Once she makes it to the counter, Sakura leans forward to let the blonde gently cup her face and kiss both of her cheeks, chuckling under her breath as her face tingles.

“Forehead!” Ino says as she pulls away, resting her elbows on the countertop and settling her chin on the back of her hand. “What brings you in at this hour? Out of my miracle fertilizer already?”

Shaking her head, Sakura leans against the counter as well and opens her purse. “No, I’m out of a few ingredients that I need to grab for a spell. Think you can help me out, Pig?”

“Of course! Whatcha need?” The druid looks to the door to greet a new guest and Sakura reaches into her purse for her shopping list, frowning when she doesn’t immediately feel it. She sits the bag on the counter to have a proper look inside, spotting the paper folded up on the bottom. But when she grabs it, she finds herself pausing at the sight of a familiar locket charm hiding underneath, her frown deepening.

“What the-”

“That’s strange, how did that get in there?”

Sakura’s head snaps up and to the left to see Sai standing just behind her in his human form, his eyes closed and his head tilted as he sends her an insufferable yet unnervingly empty smile. She turns to face him and crosses her arms, aware of Ino watching them behind her.

“I thought I told you to stay at the house.”

He folds his arms behind his back to stand in a very respectful position, one wrist clasped in the other hand and his black eyes on her.

“Wherever the locket goes, I must follow,” Sai says simply, acting as if it was completely out of his control despite the fact that he'd been the one to slip it into her purse. She’s about to start chastising him when Ino interrupts, the blonde’s expression amused and curious.

“Oh, who is your handsome friend?” She says with a grin, eyeing Sai in approval. “A new beau?”

“A stowaway,” Sakura corrects, shooting him one last annoyed look before turning back to Ino and holding out the list. “Nevermind him. Here’s what I’m looking for.”

Ino chuckles and takes the paper, pausing in the middle of unfolding it as, in one blink, Sakura’s black-haired companion suddenly disappears. She’s about to question her friend when a black cat hops up onto the counter, eyeing Sakura even as it brushes against Ino’s arm.

“I’m not a stowaway,” The cat says, not outwardly reacting despite how startled he is when the druid gasps in delight and scoops him up. He continues to stare at Sakura even as Ino holds and fawns over him, a satisfied purr thrumming in his chest. “I’m bound to the locket, after all.”

Sakura leans forward to rest an arm on the counter, reaching out to poke Sai’s pink nose.

“I distinctly remember putting that charm away.” She replies, sighing when he simply blinks at her.

“Oh, he’s just adorable, Forehead!” Ino says, giving the cat a quick smooch between his ears before setting him back down on the counter. “When did you get a familiar?”

Groaning, Sakura rubs her temples and straightens up.

“He’s not my familiar,” She insists before she glances to Ino in consideration, missing Sai’s frown. “Do you want him?”

Sai’s ears lay flat against his head and his tail flicks, but Ino lets out a laugh and waves the offer off, opening up Sakura’s list.

“Tempting, but Dad’s allergic and too many things in this shop can kill a cat.” Ino tosses her ponytail over her shoulder and reads over the ingredients she’s looking for, humming under her breath.

“Good point,” Sakura mutters before looking down at Sai and pointing a finger at him.

“You. Human form until we get back. I don’t need you testing whether a soul can get poisoned or not.”

He sends her a curious look edged with surprise but gives a dutiful nod and hops off the counter, landing in a crouch as a human and standing upright.

“As you wish, Mistress.”

Sakura sends him a sharp look but turns her attention to Ino, listening to her continue to read aloud.

“-statice, pansy, daffodil, bittersweet, hollyhock, pink topaz, and lapis lazuli.” Ino quirks an eyebrow and looks up at Sakura, her expression curious. “What color chrysanthemums?”

“White.”

Nodding, Ino steps out from behind the counter, grabs one of the wicker baskets hanging on a wall of hooks and guides Sakura out of the shop front and into the greenhouse. Neither of them notice Sai’s small frown - had she mentioned crystals? Wasn’t this a plant shop? - but he doesn’t voice his confusion.

“Scrying spell?” The druid asks as she glances back at her, amused by how Sai was following just a few paces behind the pink-haired woman.

“How’d you know?” There’s a small smirk on Sakura’s lip as she asks back, wondering which of the four additional sections of the greenhouse they’d head for first. The frontmost area was for the year-round and non-flowering plants while the four rooms towards the back, two on either side of the center path that runs the length of the greenhouse, have their own mini-climates for each of the seasons, so that the shop could provide a wide variety of flowers all year long.

“All of these either mean truth, honesty, or memory,” Ino answers as she holds the door open for the Spring room, eyeing Sakura. “Not so sure about the crystals, but I’m sure they’re the same too.”

“The hollyhocks are for ambition,” Sakura answers cheekily, earning herself a kick to the back of the calf as the blonde laughs.

Golden lights come to life as they enter, glowing and floating around the previously-dark room and bright enough to mimic daytime, and they’re met with the sight of the incredibly organized greenhouse. Though it looks like they’ve walked into a botanical garden, complete with a dirt path and a small pond, each plant species is organized into equally-sized sections with no one type overreaching or fighting for territory. They’re all readily accessible and just a sample of what the Yamanaka family is capable of growing.

The plants are all still asleep but Ino seems to know exactly which to stop in front of, the blue forget-me-nots blooming awake when the druid turns towards them. Pulling a pair of gardening shears out of a pocket in her apron, Ino gathers several clippings before tying the stems together with a bit of twine and placing them in the shallow basket, which she then hands to Sakura. She moves onto the pansies next and the flowers open to reveal different shades of purple, blue, and yellow.

At Sakura’s direction, she collects just purple pansies and places them in the basket once they’re tied together as well. Ino makes quick work of gathering the daffodils and guides the pair out and into the Summer room, the spring flowers bathed in darkness as they step out. Once she’s collected the purple statice, white hollyhock, and gladiolus in both colors, they head into Fall to get the white chrysanthemums.

Sai stops short at the sight of a pair of tall blobs of flowing water, slowly making their way through the greenery with care and leaving an obvious trail of moisture behind. Their arms reach out and up to dip under the leaves of a few hanging plants, their movements languid and graceful, and an active current runs through their bodies and limbs despite their mostly solid shapes.

“Oh, don’t mind those!” Ino says when she notices his reaction. “They’re just giving the plants a little late-night care!”

“They’re water elementals,” Sakura adds, a little amused by how that doesn’t seem to comfort Sai.

With the chrysanthemum blooms added to the basket, Sakura is surprised when Ino leads them into Winter.

“I just want to get you some primrose pansies too,” The druid hums, answering her question before she can even ask it. “Then we’ll get the rest.”

Sakura sends her a fond smile and, with the white variety added to her basket, Ino guides them out of the greenhouse entirely and to a door marked for employees only. Inside is another garden, but Sakura knows that all of these plants are poisonous and toxic and she grabs the back of Sai’s shirt when he starts to follow Ino inside. A stern look from her is all he needs to stay put and they watch Ino pull on a pair of disposable gloves and gather Sakura’s bittersweet nightshade.

These blooms she wraps up in a bit of fabric before adding them to the basket and she’s sure to lock the door behind her when she steps out.

“I can’t get you the nettle, unfortunately,” Ino says as she moves through the store towards an open doorway at the back. It’s dim even though the shop proper is lit up and bright and seems to lead to a set of stairs going downwards, a faint, colorful glow coming from the darkness.

“We stopped carrying it. Despite the big ass sign, too many employees were getting handsy with it and would come complaining when they got stung.” Her voice echoed slightly as they headed downstairs, the air becoming cooler and those floating lights coming to life to help guide her. “Because, apparently, if it's not belladonna or foxglove, it can’t be that dangerous.”

Sakura gives a small chuckle and they enter the lower chamber, switching her hold on the basket. “No problem, it's for the cleansing part, so I don't technically need it for what I'm casting tonight.”

"More work right after shopping?" Ino asks, glancing back at her. "Don't you ever take a break?"

The source of the colorful glow becomes apparent as they’re met with the sight of a cavern-like room filled with sparkling crystals and gemstones. There’s dozens of different types, some varieties with multiple colors even, and all organized fairly similarly to the flowers and plants upstairs. At first glance, it looks like a collector's bounty styled like a garden but, upon closer inspection, Sakura can tell that it is a garden.

The clusters of gems sprout from green crystal stems, growing like actual flowers. They climb the walls in their little groups and cover the ceiling in places as well. Some grow from single stems, others in bunches among their own crystalline leaves, sharp-edged and glittering. The ones lining the walls sprout from vines and moss-like patches and the odd faux mushroom geode clings to the rock here and there, leaving only scattered spots of bare stone. The patches of sparkling gems and crystals glow brightly in their own colors while the more opaque and rough stones are only backlit by their stems and foliage.

Everything in the room is made of crystal or stone, including the short earth elementals that are tending to the gem garden. The stout creatures are made of rock and clumps of hardened dirt, tiny gemstone eyes glowing like their crystal crop set into their earthen faces. Their touch is gentle, despite their blocky stone hands, as they care for the clusters and shards and their steps are relatively quick as they trudge dutifully around the room, the occasional lone stone rolling across the winding path.

One of the five hobbles towards Ino and her guests when it spots her, giving a short bow before looking up. Ino glances at Sakura’s list once more before addressing the elemental, two more of the creatures pausing to listen.

“My friend needs three each of pink topaz and lapis lazuli,” The druid commands, smiling as the earth elemental nods and shuffles away into the garden. One of the other workers nods as well and turns to gather a few crystal blooms from a blue patch of opaque stones, plucking them from their stems and soon bringing the lapis to Ino.

It opens its mouth and tilts its head questioningly and Ino understands a moment later, turning to look at Sakura.

“Did you want anything tumbled or cut?” She asks, smiling proudly. “They’re the best little craftsmen I’ve ever seen.”

The elemental’s eyes glow brighter at the druid’s compliment, almost as if it were blushing.

“No, raw is perfect. Thank you though.” Chuckling under her breath, Sakura crouches down to let the stone creature place the lapis in her basket, the other elemental soon approaching with the topaz. She thanks the elementals and turns as Ino leads them back upstairs, thoroughly satisfied with her haul.

“Don’t be afraid to stop by for something other than ingredient shopping,” The druid says as she rings up her flowers and gemstones, stealing a glance at Sai as he stands just a few steps away.

“Would you like me to invite you along next time we go out for drinks?” Sakura asks with a smirk, opening up her wallet. She gives no indication of who she means by ‘we’, but Ino obviously seems to know as she grimaces and waves off the offer.

“Dog-breath can’t hold his alcohol and he’s disgustingly sentimental when he’s drunk.”

Sai is fairly certain they’re talking about that Kiba man and he frowns slightly, wondering just how close Sakura was to these two.

The two chat and laugh for a few minutes more as Ino packages everything up until, finally, Sakura is ready to go. She snatches up her purchase when she notices Sai reaching to carry them himself and she shoots him a frown, obviously still unhappy about him tagging along. Refusing to let him take the bags, she sends Ino a wave in farewell and heads for the door, sighing when he moves to open and hold the door for her.

Sakura can still hear the druid’s laughter as they walk out onto the street and she immediately turns back the way she’d come, recalling a shop in the main district that would likely have mirrors for her scrying. That should be the last thing she needs for the spell and, though she’d had every intention of getting everything over with tonight, a yawn catches her by surprise and she grumbles under her breath. Maybe Ino had a point.

She can tell the moment Sai transforms behind her by the sound of his footsteps on the cobblestone abruptly stopping, but she pays him no mind, only slightly concerned with him getting trampled. If he did, it was his own damn fault.

She’s surprised, however, as she feels something hop up onto her shoulder, a soft tail wrapping around the back of her neck and tickling her jaw, and the cat barely has a moment to get comfortable before he’s encased in a familiar sphere of magic.

He hovers above her shoulder by a few inches before Sakura deposits him on the ground and narrows her eyes, her voice particularly icy.

“Do that again and you’ll be sleeping outside until further notice.”

“A soul doesn’t particularly need to sleep,” Sai counters and her eyes narrow further, annoyed by the slight amusement in his tone.

“I can banish you from the house entirely, if you’d prefer that?”

Sakura smirks when his relaxed posture stiffens and his ears lay flat, obviously not fond of the idea. She continues on down the street and the cat follows close behind her, his small paws tap-tapping almost silently against the stone.

She finds the store she was looking for easily enough and is pleased with their selection of mirrors, picking out five once she’s verified that they’re fresh and unused. These Sakura does, begrudgingly, allow Sai to carry when he shifts into his human form and takes the wrapped packages from the shopkeep, but only because she knows she’ll need a hand free to draw her doorway.

The pair head back onto the street and through the pop-up market, only for Sakura to pause as she spots a stall selling different types of jewelry chains. She regards the stand thoughtfully for a moment before heading towards it, Sai following curiously behind her.

The lengths of chain are sold either by inches, the full pieces wrapped around a spool for the seller to pull and collect from, or in preset sizes, clasps and locks already attached. It’s a pretty wide array of metals - silver, gold, copper, brass, iron, and so on - and, while some are already enchanted (a few select pieces of the pre-sized necklaces and bracelets), most are normal, simple chains ready for crafting.

Sakura speaks to the stall owner for a few moments and walks away with 40 inches of a thin, perfectly normal, gold chain, packaged up and slipped into her purse. She ignores Sai’s questioning look in favor of continuing her walk down the market street to the familiar brick wall, soon shifting her hold on the flowers to retrieve the cloth holding the piece of chalk.

Feeling Sai’s eyes on her as he watches curiously, Sakura draws her door once more and puts the chalk away again once she’d drawn her sigils. With her hand against the brick and a pulse of magic sent through the traveling chalk, she grabs the handle once it's formed and pushes the door open. On the other side is her garden and Sai peers through the doorway, having missed this part earlier when he’d stowed away in the locket.

Gesturing for him to go through first, Sakura waits until he’s standing on the fallen red maple leaves before joining him and shutting the door behind her, the handle turning to bark and the edges melting back into the tree. Sai rests a hand against the trunk for a moment, feeling for where the door had been, before he realizes that Sakura is already heading towards the kitchen door.

“Take the mirrors to the workshop and set them on the table with the lamp,” Sakura orders as they enter the house. She heads to a cabinet to grab a vase for the flowers and Sai nods, pausing when she speaks again.

“Leave your locket with me.”

He has to admit, he’s a little nervous about her intentions and hesitates before he gives another quick nod and leaves the kitchen. Leaving the wrappings on, he puts the mirrors into tidy stacks, the two larger ones together and the other three just next to them, before stepping back into the living room. Sakura approaches with all of her flowers set up in a vase, a few inches of fresh water at the bottom, and the paper bag containing the gemstones and wrapped bittersweet tucked under her arm.

She brushes past him and into the workshop and, as Sai turns to follow her, the door abruptly shuts in his face.

Sai stares at it for a moment, wondering if she was really that upset with him for tagging along, before hesitantly giving it a polite knock.

“Sakura? May I join you?”

“No.”

He frowns and considers questioning her further, but decides it would probably be best to just not bother her right now. Sighing, Sai turns away and shifts forms before hopping onto the couch and curling up, the tip of his tail flicking every so often as he rests his chin on his crossed paws and watches the door.

It finally opens and Sakura emerges about an hour later, her long hair pulled up in a bun and her black gloves tucked into her pants’ pocket. Sai quickly sits up and, from his spot, he can see that the mirrors have been moved to her desk but are all still wrapped.

He sends her a confused look and Sakura stretches as she approaches the couch, rubbing the back of her neck as she yawns.

“Alright,” She says when she looks at him. “Human form for a minute.”

Sai hesitates a moment before he shifts forms again, startling slightly when Sakura suddenly tosses something to him. He catches it easily and opens his hand to find his locket, a new gold jump ring connecting it to the chain she’d bought earlier.

It's only about 18 inches of the chain and has a clasp on one end and another jump ring on the other. He can feel a bit of her magic still thrumming through the metal and a quick glance through the still-open door to see jewelers tools and pliers on her worktable confirms his suspicions.

“This way you don’t have to smuggle the locket into my bags to follow me,” Sakura says as she crosses her arms and leans against the sofa. Sai thinks for a moment that she means to wear his locket herself and he hopes that she’s finally taken his offer to be her familiar, but then she continues.

“Try it on and make sure it fits right.” She nods down at the necklace, dashing his hopes. “If it’s too tight I can add more links, but it needs to be short enough to not slip over your head.”

His disappointment doesn’t make it to his face and Sai simply sends her an empty smile and nods. But he struggles with the small clasp for a few moments and Sakura sighs, taking the necklace and tapping his back to make him scoot forward as she moves behind him.

“It’s nothing too special,” She explains as she places the chain around his neck and holds open the clasp with her thumb nail. “Just a charm to keep the locket from falling off, something to match your transformations, and an anti-tampering ward.”

Sakura steps back once it's connected properly, the metal feeling comfortably warm against his pale skin rather than cold like he’d been expecting.

“Only you or myself can remove it,” Her green gaze looks over the chain as she stops in front of him again before her expression softens just slightly. “How's it feel, Sai?”

He’s certain she can’t hear his purr even as it thrums softly in his chest at the sound of her saying his name and he feels at the necklace for a moment, centering the locket before he looks up at her with a slightly more genuine smile.

“It fits perfectly. Thank you, Sakura.”

She waves his thanks off and nods, gesturing with her chin. “Go on, cat form again. Gotta make sure the spell works right.”

Sai hums before he shifts, expecting to feel the chain links catch on the fur of his neck, but is surprised when it doesn’t. The necklace shrinks to match his smaller size and, while it still holds the same weight, it doesn’t move like a chain. Had he been able to see his reflection, he would have seen that the necklace had taken the form of a normal cat collar, the locket charm the only unchanged part.

“A cat wearing a chain would look odd,” Sakura explains before yawning again. She checks the time on her phone while Sai bats a curious paw at the charm before she sighs and starts to head upstairs.

“I’m going to take a nap before I do my scrying,” She mutters, knowing the flowers would stay open and fresh for several days thanks to Ino’s touch. “Try not to wake me.”

Sai hops up onto the top of the back of the couch and watches her as he sits, wanting to follow her but deciding to give Sakura some space as thanks. Perhaps he’d take this time to finally do some exploring.

“Rest well,” He calls, a pleased purr settling in his chest when she returns the sentiment and leaves his line of sight. Sai listens to her footsteps as she wanders around on the second floor for a few minutes before she finally crawls into bed and the house falls silent.

#saisaku #sakura haruno #multisaku #slight inosaku #thirrinwrites #thirrinfic #wine red #id planned on more happening in this chapter but it ended up longer than i was expecting #next update from me should be for midas touch #ino wasnt even gonna BE in this chapter but she got in somehow

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