Just a little thing I wrote to pass the time. I like SaiSaku a lot, but I decided against making it a romance. It's about Sai's observations on Sakura and ponders why she likes the color she always wears: red. One-shot.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.

Every day I see her wear red, the kind of red that is deeper and bolder than scarlet. She wore a red dress in a picture of the former Team 7 on the file I reviewed. She wears red now; a red headband and a red shirt, even when it's casual attire. Likewise, Naruto consistently wears orange, but she seems to never part from it. Could it be related to her name meaning of "cherry blossom"?

I asked her the other day, but she only answered that she "likes red". Red is the color of blood, war, pride, passion, and anger. It is a strong color, but it hardly suits her. She dislikes fighting without purpose, and she seeks to close up wounds to conceal blood, not to spill it. She doesn't act as a ninja should, either. I have seen her shed tears and allow emotion to affect her performance on missions. Those actions can be considered as nothing but weakness.

The red blends with her hair color, which reflects on her honesty, naivety, lightheartedness, and emotional influence. Yet the red completely contradicts her eyes. Green represents serenity, intelligence, envy, youth, and healing; placing the two colors beside each other juxtaposes their definitions. Despite this fact, she continues to wear red as if the colors accentuate each other.

The red makes her stand out, as it is a leading color. She is really quite ordinary in appearance; she is not special. Unlike many females, her hair remains cut and her body is flat, not voluptuous by standard in the least. Nonetheless, her lack of attractiveness is shadowed by her skills. She attempts to save lives through her medical techniques and catches attention with mediocre analytical insight. The monstrosity of her power is almost unrealistic, but the source isn't from her physical body. She channels chakra into her strikes with precision to decimate objects.

But precision is not equivalent to power. In this respect, she strays even further from the description of red. Her treatment towards Naruto is peculiar, as it displays a side of her that is gentle—far too gentle for the color. She is dreadfully frail, as the slightest of emotional triggers drives her into anger. I experienced that anger firsthand by her heated fist, an impact that sent me scudding through the ground.

I remember the expression she held that moment. It was unnaturally calm, but the creases of her upper features suggested the ferocity she had kept so well restrained. I could see elusive flashes of determination and fervor through green, traits that resurface occasionally when she attempts to help Naruto. The resolve is evident when she heals him; even when he is out of imminent danger, she carries the same, furrowed brow of concentration.

In battle, she offers little, often becoming more of a hindrance than a help. But when she slips on her taut gloves to fight, I notice that same expression. That same expression of confidence, strength, passion, and fortitude. I see the color red on her headband, her shirt, and in the green of her eyes. Perhaps the color is appropriate for her after all.

I unroll my parchment and pull out my brush. I glance at the ink in the tray, which is a thick pool of deep black. The pondering instigates me to draw the red fruit of her name. I wonder if I should add color to my painting this time, but I hesitate.

I don't possess cherry colored ink.

Well, there it is. It's not great, but please review to tell me what you think.