The Windmill Turns Both Ways

Finding

Naruto stood very still and listened. But whoever was out there didn't say anything else.

What to do? The smartest thing would be not to answer and wait for the person to go away.

But, he was transformed and no one would be able to tell it was him, so what would be the harm in seeing who was at the door? It was obviously someone who knew him, and that made Naruto curious.

"I heard you in there," the calm voice came again. "Are you hiding from Sakura for some reason? Should I pretend that I did not hear you? If yes, knock once."

An expectant silence followed.

"Oh, right; if no, let me in."

Another silence followed.

Naruto's eye twitched. How was he supposed to ignore that? Besides, they already knew he was there, so it would be better to let the person in than to raise suspicions. Yes.

Squashing his doubts, Naruto walked over to the door and opened it.

The visitor was an older teen boy with jet black hair and eyes, and unnaturally pale skin. He wore a purple long sleeved button-up shirt, with matching purple pants and black sandals. He was carrying a spiral notebook. Naruto could not see a headband, so he couldn't tell if the boy was a shinobi or not. The only thing he was absolutely certain of was that he had never seen this person in his life.

If the boy was surprised or embarrassed to find he'd been talking to the wrong person, he didn't show it. He just looked down at Naruto with his head tilted slightly to the side.

"Oh, excuse me," he said mildly. "I thought this was my teammate's room."

"Teammate?" Naruto echoed.

"Yes. Uzumaki Naruto of Team Kakashi, under the command of Hatake Kakashi. I was under the impression these were his living quarters." The boy's voice never seemed to vary in tone, but kept the same light, vaguely pleasant intonation throughout. It wasn't a monotone, exactly, but it was the same type of artificial lightness one found in instructional videos and public announcements. It was unsettling.

"He... he left on a mission earlier this morning," Naruto said, trying to act normal. "Um, the Hokage is letting me stay here temporarily while some more apartments are being built."

He smiled resolutely through feebleness of his own excuse, but the other boy seemed to accept it.

"I suppose that makes us neighbors then, if only temporarily. My name is Sai," he said with a weird smile that didn't look right on his face. He held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you..." he paused, looking at Naruto very intently.

Crap, I haven't thought up a fake name or anything! Naruto thought frantically. Now he's waiting for me to say something!

"...Stupidface," Sai said finally, and he gave his weird smile again. "I hope that we can be good friends!"

A silence fell. If one listened closely enough, they could hear the snap of his self-control breaking.

"What did you call me?" Naruto bared his fist. "It's no more stupid than yours, with that creepy-ass smile you've got! What's your problem?"

Sai laughed sheepishly, which made him seem a little more human, but only made Naruto more confused.

"No good, huh?" he glanced at Naruto and then away, scratching his cheek. "Maybe Naruto and Sakura were right. I should probably stop trying to give people nicknames."

"Eh?" Now Naruto wasn't sure whether to be angry or not. "Well, whatever it was they told you, I'm sure I agree with them."

Sai dipped his head. "Sorry to bother you." He made as if to leave.