SaiIno

"Thanks, beautiful. I really felt...your kindness."

- Sai thanking Ino (Shippuden ep. 493) SaiIno is the het ship between Sai and Ino from the Naruto fandom.

Canon
Ino first met Sai when their teams encountered each other during a visit to the hospital and she quickly became captivated by him due to finding him attractive. Ino can be seen staring and blushing at Sai's presence and she compliments his looks whilst talking to Sakura. Having already become smitten upon meeting Sai, Ino devises a plan to sit next to him to flirt as both their teams are invited to go to eat BBQ by Asuma.

During dinner, Ino sits next to Sai and begins flirting with him. Sai, having read in a book that you can form closer bonds with people by giving them nick-names based on their perceived personality traits, calls Ino "Miss Beautiful", causing her to blush and become flustered.

When Team 10 battle with the Akatsuki, Shikamaru diverts Hidan away leaving the rest of Team 10 and Kakashi to fight Kakuzu, Team 7 arrive as back up and Sai can be seen stood in front of Ino to protect her.

When stuck in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Ino dreams of Sai fighting with Sasuke for her affection whilst her father, Inoichi cheers her on.

After the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Ino realises her attraction to Sai has grown into something much stronger as her crush develops into a deep love as they begin to bond and become closer together during this period.

When Sai is captured and manipulated to be under the control of Gengo, Ino is triggered into action to save him as she has a crush on him. She performs her Mind Body Switch Technique on him as she delves deep into his mind. Ino dives deeply into Sai's heart as she feels she is the only one who can rescue him. After Ino is able to free Sai from Gengo's control, the two wake from Ino’s jutsu and they both instinctively reach out for each others hand and Sai thanks Ino as her eyes begin to tear up before affectionately calling her "Miss Beautiful".

When Ino and Sakura go to Sunagakure, Sakura asks Ino about her love life and she shyly reveals that her crush on Sai has progressed to love. Ino tells Sakura she plans to confess her love to him but is unsure which type of flower to give to Sai to express her feelings, lavender or a flowering dogwood.

When Akamaru and Kiba go for a walk, Akamaru beings to notice how romance has started to develop amongst their friends. Akamaru spots Ino and Sai on a date and describes them as being 'totally on heat.'

Ino and Sakura get into an argument as they both pick out the same gift to give to Naruto and Hinata for their wedding. The two share heated words including Ino saying Sakura is jealous because she would be getting married long before Sakura will which Sakura believes is her getting cocky about her blossoming relationship with Sai. Sai attended Naruto and Hinata's wedding alongside Ino, where he was seen holding Ino's hand, showing they are dating. They were described as looking blissfully happy as their friends teased them on the progress of their relationship.

Following an invasion in Konoha that is successfully prevented, Sai takes Ino to the hospital as she collapsed of exhaustion during the battle. Later, Shikamaru and Chōji decide to visit Ino at the hospital and find that Sai is watching over her whilst she sleeps as he sketches a flower that Ino's mother brought her. The three of them talk but when Shikamaru and Chōji get up to leave to go eat, they invite Sai but instead he states he will leave as soon as he has completed his drawing. However, Shikamaru notices several of Sai's already near-completed sketches in the trash as he exits. Shikamaru and Chōji realize that Sai did not want to leave Ino's side and begin discussing how much he has changed from the emotionless man they first met many years ago.

Sai and Ino eventually get married and Ino gave birth their first and only son, Inojin Yamanaka. Sai took his wife's lastname and they run a modern version of the Yamanaka Flower shop together with their son. The couple train their only son who uses his father's techniques as part of the new generation Ino-Shika-Cho.

Children
Inojin Yamanaka Inojin is the first and only son of Sai and Ino and a member of the Yamanaka Clan. He inherited his mother's blonde hair and blue eyes and his father's pale skin, his hairstyle and clothing also closely resemble Sai. Inojin is a Genin from Konoha and a member of Team Moegi along with Shikadai Nara and Chōchō Akimichi. Inojin has been taught the art-oriented techniques of his father, and as such he is able to effectively animate his drawings for various purposes, though his drawing style differs greatly from that of his father's as it is more childish, and even more noticeably, he uses colour in his drawings. He has also shown he can use his mother's Mind Body Switch Technique and carries a sword similar to his father when he was a child.

Fanon
SaiIno has always been a well known pairing by fans. The pairing was very popular when Sai and Ino had their first interaction after he called her "Miss Beautiful" but the popularity started to drop due to the characters no longer seeming to interact for a while. However, the couple's fanbase significantly grew once again when it was revealed that Ino and Sai eventually had a child and got married and continues to rapidly grow due to the various material such as the light novels and the anime which began to showcase their bond and relationship in depth. Many members of the fandom nickname this pairing the flower and the root. It is commonly a companion couple of ShikaTema and SasuSaku.

Fandom
FAN FICTION


 * Sai/Ino on FanFiction.Net

TUMBLR

WIKIS
 * on

Variations

 * SakuInoSai refers to the ship between Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka and Sai

Trivia

 * The pairing is nicknamed The Flower and the Root by fans
 * InoSai and Saino are less commonly used variations of the ship name