Chapter 51

To avoid tempting illness, she hurried home as quickly as she could, shivering as she went, her teeth chattering a little. She missed the warmth of Sasuke's shoulder as she had leaned on him, holding onto his arm—again she found herself speculating over his behavior. It was certainly a nice thing for him to do, and she appreciated the gesture, but his motives were unclear; knowing Sasuke, one would have to be worried for his health if he didn't have a motive behind his actions. She decided to ask him about it, later, knowing that he would probably have a simple and basic reason for his manner.

Sakura opened the door to her home and quickly stepped inside, the rain pelting so hard on the pavement that water droplets sprayed back up and soaked her feet. After shaking out her umbrella she quickly closed the door and hung it on a coat hook mounted on the wall, and kicked off her footwear. She sighed and a long shiver ran over her.

"Who's there?" came a voice from within the house; Sakura smiled as she recognized it to be her brother's.

"Guess," she announced back inside, stepping up out of the entryway and into the main hall.

A head peeked out from the kitchen at her and then burst out laughing. Sakura's brother, having a five-year difference between them, was in his early twenties, and was a Jounin of notable skill—he had recently been considering applying for a position in ANBU. A good head taller than Sakura, he held a strong resemblance to their father; however he had inherited a gene similar to his mother's pink hair, and as a result he supported a head of platinum-white locks, which always appeared tousled and messy. Dark, royal blue eyes, complete with a distinctive jawline and high cheekbones, reflected on his father's traits while a gentle smile and kind temperament indicated his mother's.

"What happened to you?" he asked laughing at her drenched and limp-looking state, "You're soaked!"

She made a face at him, "Shut up, Kanaye. Why is it that the first thing you always do when you see me is make fun of me?"

He walked over and tousled her pink hair, delivering a playful punch with his other hand, "Because you're my baby sister, and that's how it's supposed to be. You're not much better either, Sakura. The first thing you say to me after I've been away for two months is to shut up."

"That's because you're my older brother and that's how it's supposed to be," she mimicked, sticking her tongue out at him, then laughed despite herself, "Listen to us—we sound like a couple of Academy students."

He smiled good-naturedly in return, "How've you been, Sakura?"

"Let me go change my clothes and I'll come back and fill you in on what's been going on," Sakura said, rolling her eyes, walking towards the stairs, "Put some hot water on for me—I feel like having some hot chocolate."

It wasn't long until Sakura returned back downstairs in the kitchen, garbed in some clean—and more importantly—dry clothing. Her hair was still wet and if she had just finished attacking it with a brush, knowing that if she didn't do so, it would look dreadful when it finally dried off. Kanaye was leaning against the kitchen counter, leisurely eating a muffin that their mother, with her expert culinary skills, had baked, and when Sakura entered the kitchen, he gestured at the kettle sitting on the stovetop.

"Am I going crazy?" he asked her in a teasing tone as she crossed the kitchen, "I think I am currently having a hallucination, in which you are wearing something that isn't sleeveless."

It was true that she hadn't changed into another sleeveless dress, but was in fact wearing a red t-shirt with sleeves that reached mid-way down her upper arms, decorated by the simple white circle that was the emblem of the Haruno clan. Her evergreen hued shorts had been replaced with some loose black pants, and her toes were just peeking out from the rolled up pant-legs.

"You would have thought yourself more crazy if you had been here last week," she replied matter-of-factly, as she took the kettle off the burner, reaching for a clean mug, "I was wearing something other than red."

"So," Kanaye said after Sakura had finished pouring herself some hot water, "How's Naruto?"

"He's fine," Sakura replied, grabbing the tin of hot chocolate mix from off the counter, "Training hard as usual—except he's taking a break now, mostly so that he can see/hassle my patient."

Sakura's brother and Naruto had quickly founded a friendship after the first time they met, and much to Sakura's dismay, had both found a common interest in pestering the pink-haired kunoichi. It wasn't surprising that they got along well, both being outspoken and a tad mischievous. Both were somewhat over protective of her and Sakura supposed that as Naruto had matured (slightly) with time, he reminded her more and more of her brother. Needless to say, the both of them would go for ramen whenever Kanaye was in town and catch up on news.

"Oh?" he raised an eyebrow at her, "Who's your patient?"

Sakura noted with satisfaction that the conversation was going where she wanted to. "Do you remember Uchiha Sasuke?" she asked, sitting down at the table, stirring her hot chocolate with a spoon.

"Random question, but yes," her brother replied, his brow darkening with a frown, "He was the bastard who cause you to fall into depression for two years."

"Don't talk that way about him," Sakura replied, her own face creasing with a frown, "Anyways, he's my patient."

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