tesk

Case in point: Sai

A boy the fandom has only recently been (un)fortunate to meet. And as promising a character he might have been, he has already disappeared. And as interesting as ROOT, Danzou and Konoha’s political affairs might have been, nothing so far has supported the thought that we are to hear much of them ever again. However, like usually, I prefer to remain optimistic. Which means I hope we will not lose the absolute treasure of a character that is Sai. Although I understand I am quite alone in that hope, almost nobody I have had opportunity to hear likes the boy.
And there is nothing strange about that, actually.

What do we, the readers, know about him, anyway?
Not much, for sure. Heck, we do not even know his name. But the name really is not the most important thing. And I am very well aware of the theories flying around. Which does not mean I am prepared to give them any credit or support, ever. I do not believe that he is of some uber-important heritage, a(nother) survivor of some randomly *cough* killed clan or a jinchuuriki.
Just, no.

Many things regarding his past are unclear as well. He does not seem to have got any parents alive anymore. It seems he never had, but we cannot be sure. As we still know nothing about how (very young) orphans are raised in Konoha, let’s just drop it.

We know he had a friend whom he refers to as his brother. We know the other boy was shinobi, too, and it seems like he is dead.
It is also almost certain Sai has been brainwashed, thoroughly.
I would have said that Danzou’s intentions were good, but then we found out he was trying to make a deal with Orochimaru. Mind you, I think Danzou really has some chivalrous ideals and Orochimaru is a nice fellow in general, I have nothing against either of them. Just one minor contradiction – Orochimaru (although he usually is not petty ) has sworn to destroy Konoha.
But this is subject for another essay.

Sai is not dim, naturally, but some of Danzou’s ideas are rather fair and I doubt many intelligent people would have anything against these. So it is understandable that Sai was successfully molded into a perfect shinobi – an emotionless tool. All ninjas are basically emotionless tools and apparently they are needed.

Now we know that Sai is trying to revalue his past and some of the principles that were beaten into his (again, rather intelligent) head.

// Although it may turn out I will be forced to eat my words. Recently I found a very neat explanation regarding the name Sai which, sadly enough, is tied to a national fan festival (uchiwa-fan). It can be examined here:
http://forums.narutofan.com/showthread.php?t=147458 //

So as the result Sai has managed to befriend Uzumaki Naruto and, perhaps, Haruno Sakura. And I was surprised, I really was. You know, for a person who has never been able to truly unterstand what a real friendship is (he claimed he did not know what to feel when his „brother“ died, for god’s sake), he was unexpectedly quick to cherish it.
Unlike Uchiha Sasuke Sai immediately grasped the importance of love - the most precious you could be ever offered. Which means he is capable of beautiful feelings, or rather, he has always been.
I have to admit I was deeply touched when Sai swore (right into young Uchiha’s face) to protect the bonds Naruto once had, because he himself holds Naruto dear now. Ergo what is dear to Naruto, the friend he values, must be protected.

I do not know, but in my opinion ingratitude is not one of Sai’s flaws. Or inability to return love.

And I do not think he is that good at acting, for that matter. Really, we are talking about a boy, who smiles to everyone (all the time) to charm it through their defences, but every time people get mad at him for some reason *cough* and he gets beaten up. Well, I would not call it success.

Makes me feel for him, but well, I know I am not supported by other fans of Naruto in this.

Sakura still seems to be a bit uneasy around Sai (is it because she had been nasty to him? Because she had accused him of commiting really disgraceful deeds? Somehow sounds doubtful to me).

The following is just musing.

Seems like there is no love lost between Sai and Sasuke. No wonder. They are nothing alike (I do not get why people think they are, sorry). Which forces me to ask a question. Is Sai going to die?

Because it is painfully obvious that Sasuke is going to come back(how and when is yet to be seen) and Team 7 is going to be what it was, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura. What is going to happen to Sai then, I wonder. Sasuke and Sai would not be able to share Naruto’s friendship.
Sasuke threw it away like trash, in public. And Sai saw it. He saw how young Uchiha spat(not literally) into Naruto’s heart. While Naruto’s heart, metaphorically speaking, is the only thing that has been offered to Sai by now.

(I have to admit, Sasuke managed to make Naruto cry. It is certainly an achievement....)

When Sasuke comes back he will still be loved by Naruto as a brother, while Sai is just a really good friend. And I am not making this statement to discredit Naruto. He is undoubtedly a very loving person, it just happens so that Sasuke is absolutely unique to him because of their past.
And Sasuke is also the embodiment of Naruto’s inner demons(no, no, not the fox!!!). If Naruto failed to bring Sasuke back, his life would be crushed. There would be no more Uzumaki Naruto, he would never regain his self-esteem. He would likely commit suicide.
But we know this will not happen. So Sasuke, no matter what he has done, will be embraced as the prodigal son who came back. At least by Naruto. And this is all that matters to Sai.

Although I believe that Sai would rather die than betray anyone out of petty jealousy.
Unlike *cough* someone.