Chapter 61

"You seem preoccupied," Sakura told him from across the table, "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing important," he replied before taking another sip from his tea, "What were you planning on doing this afternoon?"

"Well, there are an endless number of things that need to be done this afternoon," she said serenely, and there was a small noise that suggested she was stirring her tea in an absent-minded fashion, "Having cleaned the house shortened the list considerably, seeing as all the clothes, bedding and dishes have been washed. But I still need to wash the dishes from lunch today and unpack, which I'm guessing might take half the afternoon."

"You brought too many things if it is going to take you that long to unpack," he mused quietly.

"Well, we'll just see how long it actually takes," she replied in that tone of voice that made him imagine her smiling, "And I'm feeling really tired too. Having a low chakra reserve and dealing with Ino are taking their toll."

"I don't think I've heard anyone shout like that before," he told her smirking, and to his amusement, he heard her choke on her tea.

"Were we really that loud?" she asked him, sounding embarrassed, "I didn't think you'd be able to hear us."

He shrugged lightly.

"Yeah…" Sakura laughed uneasily, before abruptly changing the topic, "I think I'm going to start washing the dishes."

He snorted slightly in amusement and drank the rest of his tea, setting the mug out with the sushi tray that had held the tomato wedges. Sakura cleared the dishes away in a few minutes and there was the sound of running water as she filled up the sink. The quiet sound of scrubbing reached his ears as Sakura began to wash down the dishes; he could see her in his mind's eye standing where his mother had used to stand quietly ridding the tableware of bits of food. Imagining Sakura standing there in that exact same spot, seeing her in his mind, standing happily and quietly, he was strongly reminded of his mother. And it was strange, but to him, Sakura just seemed to fit there, to sit nicely in the picture, to just…belong.

"You're quiet," she said after a moment, "Quieter than usual, that is."

"I haven't been in this house for four years," he replied, in his mind he could see her turn to face him, a concerned expression on her face.

"Oh, that's right," she said kindly, the quiet scrubbing noise in the background, "This must be a memory-invoking experience for you right now."

Though it was left unmentioned, the event of his clan's slaughter came to both their minds, hanging suspended tensely in the air. She had no idea.

"Aa."

"The familiarity of the house should help you adapt to the new location fairly quickly. I hope that in a few weeks you'll be able to make your way about the building on your own," Sakura continued, veering the conversation in a slightly different direction, causing the tension to go slack, "It should help you get used to walking around without having another reference point to gage your direction off of. I mean, you'll always need help when presented to new locations, but once you're familiar with an area, you should be fine on your own. –You're a private person, Sasuke, and I know that having to rely on me is probably not how you would normally have things, but its only for a little while."

"How long?" he asked, sounding a little ruder than he had intended.

"It's different for each person, but knowing you, it could be two month to three months," Sakura replied thoughtfully before she pulled the plug in the sink and the sound of the water could be heard draining out; an interesting sound, "I was planning on training you throughout the processes, and help you master the basics in your current state, however when the rehab is finished, you can have me continue to stay here and assist you in staying a shinobi, or you can send me home and I can come over everyday instead."

"I see," he considered both options in his head. While it would be more convenient for Sakura to stay living in his house, he thought maybe sending her home would be better. There would only be more controversy if she stayed longer, and he did not enjoy being threatened by Naruto, no matter ridiculous or empty the threats sounded.

"You don't have to decide now," she said, as there was the rustling of fabric and the occasional clank of dishes; he assumed that she was now drying them, "It's still a little early to tell where we'll be at that point. You might have gotten a handle on your skills before rehab is finished, though I doubt it'll be that easy."

That was true, he pondered to himself, raising his chin off of his palm and lacing his fingers together, resting his hands on his lips. He would see how things went with Sakura living with him before considering what action to take—she was being almost the opposite of her former fangirling self, and he supposed that she had been very tolerable up to this point, so living with her might not end up so bad. And as she said before, it was only for a short time—a couple months—and even if he couldn't stand her presence, she'd be gone after a time.

"After you've unpacked, what were you planning to do for the rest of the afternoon?" he asked; sounds indicated that she was now putting the clean dishes away.

.

.

.

‼️If you want to access to more than 400 advanced chapters, wait no more and subscribe to my Ko-Fi, where you can buy books in completely downloadable PDF format.‼️

☕️ko-fi.com/skyarc☕️