Shikamaru listened to the words and responded with yet another slight nod, neither emphatically accepting them nor brushing them aside. Aside from the violence of their first meeting, Sai had done nothing to warrant distrust, so he knew his feelings were irrational. Sai obeyed Kakashi's orders without question, even the dangerous ones, and although Shikamaru had skipped out on meetings with Sai, the mysterious ninja seemed to hold Ino and Chouji's trust.
After another series of seconds he lay back down across the bench, this time only using one arm to pillow his head. Despite his closed eyes he could still hear fragments of Naruto's panicked voice and the sound made him queasy, though he made a flimsy attempt to blame his nausea on the fried fish. Maybe that was what bugged him about Sai: he didn't seem to feel empathy, not in any way Shikamaru could see. It was hard to trust someone who didn't feel empathy.
However, it wasn't Shikamaru's call to make. Sai held Kakashi's approval, and that was enough. He knew how to work on a team, and Shikamaru had full faith in his skills as a ninja. That was all that should have mattered, but still, the Shikamaru took a small step away from duty to add one more thing.
"Your team's been through a lot recently," he said, eyes still closed and voice more distant than usual. Sai knew this, of course, but growing up together had given most of the ninja in his generation more insight into each other than Sai had been around to pick up. "Yeah, we all know how to deal with that kind of stuff, but it's still a pain in the ass." Sakura had seemed okay last night, but seeing Naruto in so much pain had to be wearing on her. Shikamaru sighed one more time and started to yawn, but then thought better of it and draped his free arm over his face. "Emotional people make mistakes. Deadly mistakes. If you care about them as much as you say you do, you need to start watching their backs. Your pirate friends can wait."
It seemed like common sense, sure, but Shikamaru would rather offend Sai by stating the obvious than risk letting the obvious go unnoticed.
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After another series of seconds he lay back down across the bench, this time only using one arm to pillow his head. Despite his closed eyes he could still hear fragments of Naruto's panicked voice and the sound made him queasy, though he made a flimsy attempt to blame his nausea on the fried fish. Maybe that was what bugged him about Sai: he didn't seem to feel empathy, not in any way Shikamaru could see. It was hard to trust someone who didn't feel empathy.
However, it wasn't Shikamaru's call to make. Sai held Kakashi's approval, and that was enough. He knew how to work on a team, and Shikamaru had full faith in his skills as a ninja. That was all that should have mattered, but still, the Shikamaru took a small step away from duty to add one more thing.
"Your team's been through a lot recently," he said, eyes still closed and voice more distant than usual. Sai knew this, of course, but growing up together had given most of the ninja in his generation more insight into each other than Sai had been around to pick up. "Yeah, we all know how to deal with that kind of stuff, but it's still a pain in the ass." Sakura had seemed okay last night, but seeing Naruto in so much pain had to be wearing on her. Shikamaru sighed one more time and started to yawn, but then thought better of it and draped his free arm over his face. "Emotional people make mistakes. Deadly mistakes. If you care about them as much as you say you do, you need to start watching their backs. Your pirate friends can wait."
It seemed like common sense, sure, but Shikamaru would rather offend Sai by stating the obvious than risk letting the obvious go unnoticed.