Chapter 55

They rounded the last corner and Sakura saw their three comrades resting at the foot of the front gate, all of them panting slightly from the race, their loads put in a pile on the ground. As she and Sasuke approached the trio, Sakura wondered if Sasuke could sense the stares that were shot in his direction. She knew that some people had known Sasuke to live here previously, and were most likely surprised to see him back after so long—and blind. Perhaps it was a good thing that his vision was gone, because then he was spared the merciless stares that were being cast at him as they walked by.

Coming up to the group, Sakura put her free hand on her hip, smiling lightly, "Who won?"

"Kanaye-kun won," Lee announced with adoration, "He is very quick indeed! I shall strive hard to be able to match his speed so that I may one day be worthy of a rematch!"

At this comment, Kanaye flexed his arms and gave Sakura ridiculous grin.

"Stop fooling around," Sakura stated making a face at him, "Why are you all lying about?"

"The gate's locked!" Naruto complained, "How do we get in?"

"How else?" Sakura stated impatiently.

"Jump," Sasuke stated evenly before Sakura could explain.

"Exactly!" Sakura agreed, "Lee-san, could you please take Kanaye's bags? Thank you. Kanaye, come take Sasuke's other arm."

"I don't—" Sasuke began grumpily, but Sakura cut him off.

"I don't want to have deal with a broken ankle, Sasuke," she said strictly, then after a moment dropped her arm from his, "Or you are welcome to try it yourself."

A growl came from the young Uchiha and he grabbed her arm again, reluctantly. Sakura nodded over at Kanaye who handed his sister's luggage to Lee before approaching Sasuke with caution. Grabbing hold of Sasuke's arm, Kanaye raised an eyebrow at the Uchiha's crabby temperament and gave Sakura a questioning look. She ignored the look and turned to the remaining two ninja.

"After you, Lee-san," she said cheerfully.

"Hai, Sakura-san," Lee struck the 'nice-guy' pose and leapt nimbly over the fence, followed shortly by Naruto.

"Alright, on the count of three," Sakura instructed, and she felt Sasuke cling a little tighter to her arm; dimly she found herself wondering if he was grasping Kanaye as hard, "One, two, three—jump!"

The three of them pushed off from the ground, leaping into the air. There was the brief feeling of flying over the gate, followed by the fleeting sensation of falling downwards before landing gracefully into the unkempt yard. Kanaye and Sakura hung onto Sasuke as he stumbled as his feet made contact with the ground. Once he was righted up, Kanaye released the young man and relieved Lee of the extra bags he was carrying.

"Wonderful," Sakura said cheerfully, "Now we just have to get around back."

Naruto stared at the overgrown side path, his eyes wide; Kanaye's eyebrows had disappeared behind his bangs. Lee was the only one who looked unperturbed, and even appeared eager at the challenge.

"Oh, come on, I've done it a dozen times already," Sakura said rolling her eyes, "Let's go, Sasuke. I'm sure we'll have a lot less difficult time than Naruto."

With a smirk, Sasuke allowed Sakura to walk him towards the thick mass of dense bushes and followed her wordlessly through the jungle. She was careful to lift branches out of his way so that he would not run into them, and sometimes it meant that she had to hold her arm practically in front of him as he passed by a stubborn limb. A couple of times they were forced into some rather awkward and uncomfortable positions, but they were quick to move from these positions and moved on without mentioning them. After a few minutes, they made it through to the other side, and Sakura helped Sasuke up onto the veranda.

"Yeah, as you probably noticed, the yard needs a little work," she told him laughing and he gave an acknowledging 'hn'.

There were the sounds of struggling and groaning from where they had just come from, and turning her head, Sakura watched a very scathed-looking Naruto and Kanaye emerged from the side of the house. Lee came forward a few seconds later without a scratch on him.

"Great," she smiled at them, Inner Sakura laughing hysterically at her brother and her teammate, "Hang on a second while I pick the lock open."

"There's a key under the loose shingle on the corner of the roof," Sasuke said as she dropped his arm, preparing to grab the piece of wire she used to pick the lock.

"You're joking," Sakura groaned putting her hand to her forehead, "That would have saved me so much time if I had known!"

He shrugged slightly at her as she clambered up the post at the corner of the veranda, feeling around for the key. After a few seconds, her fingers brushed something cold and metallic, and she retracted her hand, the key clutched in her triumphant fist.

The door came open easily and the lot of them piled into the house. Having spoken with Tsunade about the lack of power, Sakura was relieved to see that it had been turned back on when she flicked the light switch. They all entered the house and walked down the hall a little ways, coming across the kitchen.

"After we get things put away, I'll make everyone some lunch," she told the group, then turned to the young man whose arms she was linked with, "Which room is yours Sasuke?"

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