Her hands unclothed themselves of the black gloves, revealing porcelain white skin that, when Shisui intently eyed, had the texture of something rough. Years of continuous sterilization or strenuous extraction of prions had made them so. Her hands manifested her compassion and perseverance—Sakura's will to save hundreds, and maybe, thousands of patients.

With the view of approximately forty casualties, all women, most of which pregnant, who were deprived of freedom and normal health and laying on elevated counters in a shadowed room, Sakura's face hardened by a stir of emotions—anger towards the men behind the crime and determination to restore the victims back to light.

The curious Uchiha was fed more curiosities when the medical ninja bit her thumb at the sight of feminine eyes turning to her with hope. Blood oozed out of her thumb, and some of his questions were then answered when she clasped her hands to form a series of signs. Slamming her bloodied hand onto the ground, she bellowed, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Traditional characters marked the floor around her palm and an enormous white and blue green slug appeared from thin air, its antennae almost touching the high ceiling. Shisui gave the kunoichi a long look as she conversed with the gigantic yet timid creature, feeling an ounce of admiration for the woman in the display of a power he had never witnessed from her.

"It's been a while, Sakura-sama. What do you wish for me to do?" the slug greeted the medical ninja with politeness.

"Katsuyu, there are over forty women here, most of them pregnant. From the way I see it, they are experiencing effects of a powerful drug. I need you to heal them and wipe their memories afterwards. We're in a town that doesn't believe in ninjas," Sakura responded, motioning her head to the ill civilians whose eyes held great disbelief in the appearance of such a creature. She continued, "Eleven of them are in critical condition. I'll handle their cases."

"As you wish, Sakura-sama," Katsuyu replied before slowly melting, numerous bumps forming on her slimy body. Soon, the slug had transformed into nothing but bumps, each evolving into a miniature version of Katsuyu. Every one of them slid her way to an immobile woman and strapped her sole onto the patient's shoulder.

Sakura once again assessed the situation before her before quickly proceeding to the pregnant woman with the largest belly. Shisui followed her, realizing that this patient required immediate medical attention the most.

With graceful chakra control, her hands hovered over the groaning woman, radiating a vibrant green halo. Figuring that there was nothing he could do to help, Shisui watched her calming the quick and restless motion of the expecting patient's chest. Shisui could not help but focus on how the green light illuminated Sakura's serious face, emphasizing every detail—her diamond indigo seal, the black markings painting her skin, and her firm leafy green eyes.

Roughly two hours had passed; Sakura had continuously exuded her own chakra down to the last critical patient, sustaining their breathing, extricating excessive amounts of poison from their system, and regenerating the cells of their damaged organs. With her nonstop consumption of chakra, Shisui breathlessly stared at her unbothered countenance—she was not showing weakness or difficulty despite her day-long working and fighting.

"Alright, we're done here. Now, we just need to bring them to a hospital for full recovery, especially the pregnant patients. Yosh!" Sakura proclaimed as she triumphantly raised a clenched fist. The little slugs had assembled; Katsuyu had undone her division.

"I'll transport them with my shunshin," Shisui quickly offered, wanting to make up for the two hours of inactivity.

She casted a long look at him, as if she was entranced by a deep trail of thoughts. Skeptically, she responded, "I can carry them on my own. I have scouted the town yesterday. The hospital is just near."

The Uchiha silently delved into her behavior. She had used her chakra all day and in the past two hours, she had continuously consumed her reserves. He had faith in her abilities, but why would she just decline his help? He doubted that it was merely her independent nature. It seemed like she had a good reason for not wanting his participation.

"It would take a long time for you to singlehandedly carry them one by one," he insisted, aware that medical ninjas practiced a specific type of single carry for pregnant women. A ninja with her strength could carry a number of shinobis at once, but caution and delicateness were important when it came to civilians without protective chakra, how much more with pregnant women. "I could place a teleportation seal on Katsuyu and have her divide again and tend to each patient. I could teleport everyone all at once to the hospital and find a way to make the arrival unnoticeable and make sure the admission process of forty women is efficient and believable."

"It's feasible, Sakura-sama," Katsuyu slipped in.

Sakura lowered her gaze to the ground in silence. Shisui knew that she did not actually need his explanation about her whole carrying plan and it only went to prove that his assistance was simply not welcomed. But just why?

"Katsuyu, can you transport them on your own?" she asked the slug, averting her gaze from the Uchiha to his surprise. Shisui had a good hunch that explained her aversion, but he did not want to raise it.

"Forgive me, Sakura-sama, but the only way I can do so is by carrying them on my back," the tremendous creature said softly.

Certainly, Sakura was drawn to a corner now. They were fortunate enough that the experiment room had a ceiling that was high enough to fit the summoned slug, but the path towards the exit had quite the opposite setting. In addition, the idea of an enormous slug casually sliding its way on the streets in a town that did not believe shinobis and talking creatures existed was very unsettling.

Shisui neared the medical ninja and faced her, lightly resting his left hand on her right shoulder. "Sakura, I can transport them."

The woman's eyes laid on the floor again, green irises resembling steel. To his surprise, she placed her left hand on his forehead, almost as if checking for signs of fever. Her fingertips stroked the skin, sliding down to the point between his eyebrows. At the sudden yet endearing act, he gazed intently at her eyes, which were busy staring at his forehead. He was taken aback when her fingers unexpectedly exuded a green light that covered his eyes as well.

At that moment, understanding calmed his mind as he realized the reason behind her hesitance earlier.

His eyebrows raised at the sudden entrance of her healing chakra into his body, soothing the tissues around his eyes. Slowly, the hand he had rested atop her shoulder dropped back to his side. Words failed him; how could he say something when he was unsure about how he felt about it?

The vibrant light faded from its glow and the medic removed her hand from his forehead. She turned to the minutely dazed Uchiha and firmly spoke to him, "Don't push yourself too much."

Sakura, although reluctantly, had agreed to his decision.

Still, Shisui did not know what to make out of her treatment. Sakura had made sure that there was no temporary damage from his use of the Sharingan earlier. A part of him softened at the fact that she was willing to run an extra mile for him, that she was willing to persevere for him due to his condition. He recalled the way she had pushed him to take the impact of the large blade earlier. The woman he held dear had risked her life for him with no amount of hesitation.

A glimpse of the past flashed in his mind—it was a vague memory of his joint mission with Team 7 several months ago. He recollected the moment when he had seen a pink-haired kunoichi face an enemy, an Akatsuki, to protect the life of her Jinchuuriki teammate, Naruto. Back then, he had not known that it was Sakura whose bravery he had witnessed; his respect for her grew deeper.

But then the light glimpse of that day was quickly replaced with something brutal—brutal, brutal fragments. The cold sharp fragments pieced together into something whole—his dark past.

He decided to focus on transporting the women.

The concrete ground was marred with moving shadows of civilians' walks and talks, and the dry air was scorched. Sweat clothed the random passerby and drenched the busy shipmen unloading boxes from the recently arrived boats.

In the afternoon on the day after the assassination, Sakura and Shisui had gone to the seaport to inquire about ship travel schedules to the Fire Country. Earlier at noon, they had brought Tom and Aran to their rendezvous with a man working as a regular informant at the local police station, a secret shinobi whom Tsunade had referred to them and promised would process the imprisonment of any accomplice behind the crime.

At present, Sakura was tugging at the collar of her white sleeveless shirt in an attempt to cool down her chest that was drenched in sweat. It had been a few minutes since she had sat on a random chair along the bay, waiting for the return of Shisui who had volunteered to do the talking with some sailors.

While waiting, she found herself stuck in deep contemplation, her mind wandering off to last night's events.

Last night, Shisui had become temporarily blind and he seemed to have built a barrier between them when she had reached out to him in concern. Afterwards, he had suffered from tremor to a serious extent and Sakura had willed herself to take the pierce of a blade in his stead, pushing him to use his Mangekyou Sharingan in anger. Shisui also squeezed her into a tight embrace, most likely because she had exhibited reckless behavior.

With the protrusion of such happenings in a single night, she had shown signs of reluctance in approaching him, especially at that time when she had declined his offer to help in transporting the patients. Sakura simply did not want him to consume his chakra after he had made it known to her that his ocular condition was slowly rising to a dangerous degree.

With this, she knew that his eye health was slowly deteriorating. Time was her enemy; last night was a wake-up call to her, a reminder that her goal could not forever be kept a goal. It forced onto her the truth that her goal could turn into an empty fragment of the past, something that even perseverance and dedication could not anymore bring back. She had to act now.

She had to confront Shisui about her plan to heal him.

From the beginning, she had been keeping it from him as a secret. At first, she kept it hidden because she feared that her willingness would likely be unwelcomed, especially since they had practically been strangers at that time. She did not want to let him know about her plan, because even if she was a medical ninja, what would he have thought if she, a mere acquaintance, went that far to help him?

Now, what reason was out there left for her to keep it soaked in silence? She had feared that her decision would be judged as irrational because of the lack of proximity in their relationship before, but now, Shisui had made it apparent to her that he had developed romantic feelings for her. The moment he had reciprocated her kiss a few nights ago manifested how so dearly he held her. And even if she had not yet figured out her own feelings, Sakura still believed that healing him was above anything else now.

Yet, why did it feel like something was stopping her from being honest with him? Was it a fault that she carried? Or was it Shisui?

Since last night, he had acted normally around her, talking to her in the same demeanor that usually annoyed and maddened her inner demon. It was not a sight that was easy to believe, especially since Sakura had seen with her own eyes the way he tensed when she tried to reach out to him in concern for his health and the dread and regret that seemed to eat him away after he had put an end to the life of the enemy.

She thought that it was just unnatural for him to be normal. She knew that something was bothering him; pain ebbed in her chest as she realized that it was the first time that she had caught on a glimpse of that aspect of him and his life. He was deviating from the Shisui she had known, and he did so by being himself.

It was as if he was caught up in strings, binded by something beyond perplexing. It was as if he was forcing his way out of it, desperately trying to go back to the normalcy of life, to the way things had been.

Teasing her and flirting with her like normally—was that his way of coping? Was he displaying an act until he would get used to it? Was he always like this? If that were the case, it unnerved Sakura to think that he was throwing his life out to the dark by simply running away.

She scratched the thought, guilt creeping its way into her chest. She could not land onto such a conclusion regardless of whether it was objectively right or not. It was not that simple. It was wrong to expect resilience from someone who was showing difficulty as a victim of probably unfair circumstances. Heck, she did not even know what his problem was exactly and she felt that Shisui would not welcome her questioning.

Yet, even if he was binded by a burden, even if it somehow felt like her plan to heal him was not welcome, she still clung to the idea that Shisui's health was above everything. Regardless of circumstance.

She would do everything in her power.

"Sakura-chan!"

The woman carrying the name jerked up from the seat, somehow surprised, somehow unsettled. Turning to the source of the voice, she watched Shisui approaching her with closed eyes and a toothy grin on his face.

"Sakura...chan?" she raised, thinning her lips in displeasure. She knew just how annoying Shisui could get, but this was rather surprising. Is he trying that hard to pretend? Or am I just overthinking?

"Yes, you heard your name," he replied rather quickly, to which she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the next trip to the Fire Country is scheduled two weeks from now. Apparently, there's a typhoon going on around the ocean."

Two weeks?

Her brows contracted at what she had just heard, sending glances at the recently arrived boats and realizing that there was no ship preparing for departure. Sakura did not want to wait for two weeks; she needed to return to Konoha and collect the vials that Tsunade and the Yamanaka Clan had promised. Shisui's healing could not wait.

"Why the frown? Aren't you happy that we get to be alone?" the Uchiha teased with a sly grin, his eyes gleaming with interest in her.

Sakura scoffed and gave him a light glare, saying, "You're too ahead of yourself."

He smiled at her smugly. "Am I?"

"You are," she retorted with an indifferent look.

Much to her surprise, he reached out his hand to her right cheek and gently pinched it. He glared at her in feigned anger and said in a bored tone, "You're so cold."

The words reverberated in her head, the echoes drawing her focus to her thoughts from earlier. She was not the cold one here; the one who was appearing in a different skin was her partner. There was something nagging at him and it pushed her to offer help in any way. Seeing as it was related to his health in some ways, she was reminded of the subject she promised herself to bring up.

"Ano, Shisui?" she called him out of the blue. The prodigy removed his hand from her cheek, raising a questioning brow at her.

Sakura lightly inhaled and exhaled before continuing, "How are your eyes?"

She lowered her gaze at the ground between them in apprehension, anxious about his response. He was sensitive and observant; she feared that he would see through her and realize that she knew the subject had been bothering him in a way yet she had the gall to bring it up.

A soft chuckle entered her ears, causing her to look up to him.

"You really are too serious," he said after composing himself. He was smiling at her with a tinge of warmth and it almost seemed like he was gazing at her endearingly. "I'm okay."

But Sakura just could not bring herself to trust the display of warmth, no matter how real it appeared. No matter how real he made it look like.

"Shisui, I have looked into your medical record before and I have been observing you ever since," she admitted, mustering up every ounce of courage within her and ignoring the trepid voice in her head. "You're showing signs of getting blind. It's a rare disease that I haven't fully looked into yet, but—"

"Sakura, I'm fine," he cut her off, his smile softening and his eyes rested. There was no hint of anger nor coldness in his tone; his voice was rather empty.

"I want to heal you," she spoke, her eyes firmly fixed on his. She had finally, finally told him the truth.

"Didn't you handle my physical exam?" he reasoned, his expression getting blanched. "You saw that there was nothing."

She recalled the day of his physical examination, the first time they had held a real conversation. It was the first time she had been granted a glimpse into his character. He had been childish and audacious back then over some honorific, but she had never regretted meeting him.

That day, she had examined his physical condition and annotated nothing serious, nothing that warranted attention. Her medical abilities were nothing short of extraordinary, but she had not sensed any anomaly in his case. She had never conducted a diagnosis below her regular excellent performance and she had figured that it was not a fault on her part, but something that the disease could have contained.

She admitted that it was still something she needed to figure out; after all, it was a rare case that even Tsunade had not touched. Regardless, Shisui had shown signs of nearing blindness, and she was not about to neglect that over an obscurity.

"Let's go back," Shisui suggested, breaking the silence and pulling her away from her contemplation. He turned his back on her and began traversing.

"You've been showing signs after the exam," Sakura voiced out, causing the Uchiha to halt in his tracks. Within the vicinity, only the two of them stood; the bay was deserted.

When no action nor word came from the man whose back she was facing, Sakura spoke again, her voice almost breaking, "Let me heal you." Her emerald eyes became cloudy, cloudy of something gray and morose, but glinting of a tinge of hope.

Still, there was death in his movements, as if he had zero intention to turn around and look her in the eye. "I told you, I'm fine," he expressed, his voice rather bleak and hollow.

Anger seemed to clothe the concern within Sakura; on the day she had chosen to tell him the truth, he had fed her with a lie. She did not reel in contempt over his indirect and unintended ridicule of her medical abilities; she abhorred how it seemed like it was easy for him to lie to her. It was not that he had no faith in her skills; he simply did not trust her to give away something important.

And it hurt her deeply.

"Shisui, why won't you let me help you?" she questioned him, a light surge of anger taking over her tone, taking over the hurt. Even if she was holding the rage in and keeping it suppressed, somehow, it seemed comforting to slip some bits of it out, as if her chest was relieved of some bits of burden.

And there she was again, greeted with a long silence, with a message that she was simply not worth the attention, that his life had nothing to do with her. She was still facing his back and she wanted to see his face. She wanted to see his eyes and lips, any detail that voiced out what he was thinking and feeling, no matter how minuscule.

It was then that the Uchiha slowly tilted his head to face her, revealing only half of his face—a half that wore a mask, not of indifference, not of something unfathomable, not of something that needed decoding. There was life in the blanket on his face; it was simple and clear to her eyes—it was hate.

"I don't want your help."

And with that, he turned around and walked away.

A small huff of breath escaped her parted lips. She let out a soft chuckle, taking in the sight of Shisui's form retreating, getting farther away from her reach, getting smaller for her eyes to grasp. She arched her back slightly and leaned her head back to fix her gaze at the sky.

All she had ever wanted was to heal him and restore his sight, but at the moment, she was the one seeing hazes and images swirling in a blur, the colors of the sight painted for her slowly graying down to black and white.

She closed her glassy eyes and let the tears fall.

The waning gibbous lit up its odd yellow skin, maculated with craters that were visible from afar. It hung low against the dark of the night, as if it was tempted to let loose and drop into the illuminated and shadowed earth beneath. Wisps of the night's breath of wind surged through the low-lying meadows, a plain dry sea of green grass and chirping insects.

There was no man nor woman in sight; the town was fast asleep. Any child who would be caught playing out in the dark would be dragged home by his nagging parent and sleep to the music of some more nagging. Not even a thief cared about barging into an easy house at such an ungodly hour.

But for Sakura, she had gone to the town's grassy field to keep herself company with the night.

Tucking a loose tress of pink hair behind her ear, she took notice of how her hair had grown longer, the ends nearly touching past her shoulder blades. She had lost count of the times she had touched her hair; six hours had passed since she had found the calming view—six hours had passed since she had talked to him.

The weight of those six hours was not loaded with cries and not entirely with silent contemplation either. For hours, she had sat in the same place to merely absorb the colors of the meadows and the songs of the crickets. Her mind had been littered enough with draining thoughts. Her heart had been drenched in sobs. She only wished to clear her head and rest her chest.

Hunger had eaten her for a while now, but she merely disobeyed her body's needs. Apart from the land around her, nothing tangible would pour out an end to her misery now. Not food. Not shelter. Not even him. Perhaps, darkness could touch her and wrap itself around her skin. The illusion lured her—she needed sleep.

Her body ascended on from the ground and she patted away the specks of dirt coating the cloth of her skirt and the skin of her legs. She let her feet lifelessly lead herself to the pension.

When she found herself facing the familiar old wood, she dug her teeth into her lower lip, a little too deep if what haunted her was the choice of opening a simple door. She lazily dropped her hand on the rusty knob. Out of an impulse, she attempted to catch any whirls of chakra from the unit, her buried question then answered with what she had feared and expected.

He was not inside.

She slackened her grip on the knob and slowly pushed the door open, absorbing the eerie creaking amidst the silence. She entered the pension unit, embracing the darkness that awaited her.

Keeping the light switch untouched, she made her way to the bed that was devoid of any warmth. When she was a few steps away, her eyes caught sight of a thick book on the end table. It was the medical textbook she had obtained from the library of Kazuya's base—The Science of Ocular Prowess.

Her dead green eyes fixed on its cover for a long minute.

She proceeded to the bed anyway.

Her clothed body sank into the crumpled thin sheets, her face in contact with the softness of the pillows. Earlier, she had sent a warm invitation to darkness with the empty desire of its comfort. Yet, her eyes were not blearing; they did not move to rest her soul in its case. A slumber was something she needed, but her mind lacked the power to give her that.

Where are you?

What are you doing?

How are you?

Have I hurt you?

Where are you?

What are you doing?

How are you?

Have I hurt you?

Where are you?

What are you doing?

How are you?

Have I hurt you?

"Do you… hate me?" Sakura lazily murmured against the pillowcase. Her chin felt the wetness of the white sheet from the drool she had planted with her parted lips. Her eyes remained open against the pillow, her eyelids hanging like half-drawn curtains.

She recollected their fight earlier, their fight a few nights ago, and their silent fight when Shisui had distanced himself from her before their mission. She pondered about how their normal conversations merely seemed to be all bickers and banters. She realized that they did not seem to agree with each other on matters in general.

But then she reflected on the kiss they had shared a few nights ago. And all the moments in which they had connected in intimacy.

She realized that there was so much about him that she had no idea about. There was so much about him that she had been carelessly stepping on. There was still so much to know about him, but her curiosity and concern were likely unwelcome.

Yet, even so, she knew that she had already seen him for who he was.

And for now, that was enough.

"Good night, Shisui."

The sweet lullaby of a bird's chirping note and its flock's mimicry poured into Sakura's ears as her dulled senses slowly sharpened to awareness. She fluttered her eyes open and squinted at the glaring ray of sunlight picking on her eyes. Sweat trickled down her chest, and she realized that she had allowed herself to fall asleep with her casual clothes on.

As her mind awoke to alertness, she jerked up from the mattress and ran a hand through her dry and tangled hair. Pain throbbed in her head and she spit out a groan, her stomach rumbling in demand of anything edible.

Looking around, she became aware that she was still alone in the room. Her mind hazily processed bits of what happened yesterday. She and Shisui had parted after having some sort of fight, pushing her to crave time alone in a vast grassy field nearby. After six hours, she had returned to the pension in his absence.

And yet, he was still not around.

Dread pierced through her as her thoughts drew to the possibility that he was helplessly enduring physical pain at the moment, or worse, that he had been suffering from the effects of his disease since yesterday. If he had made it clear to her that he did not welcome her assistance, then he held no value for his own health. Therefore, his eyes might bleed and his body might dangerously tremble, but he would leave his body as it is.

Hastily, she took a shower, put on a tidy set of clothes, smashed a handful of coins into her pocket, and exited the room, leaving the door and windows locked. When she had landed on the streets, she heightened her shinobi senses, frantically in search of a familiar spike of chakra. It did not take her a long time to pinpoint his exact location. She was grateful to Kami that he was just within her field of range.

Wasting no time, she willed herself to dash to the chakra's direction, the nerves in her head lashing out at her for her damned morals and beating her up with the logic that, if Shisui deliberately kept his distance from her, then by all means, his decision should be respected. Yet, as her running poured in a restless thumping in her chest, she succumbed to the tender voice in her heart; her logic would be damnable if his sight was at stake.

Her flailing legs slowed to a stop and she found herself standing in front of a five-story building with walls stripped off of its paint, probably the tallest establishment in Tinland and the most long-standing by age. Leaning her head back and squinting her eyes against the glare of the sun, she spotted the familiar mop of black hair at the roof—he was idly sitting at the edge, aimlessly staring at the map of buildings below him.

Amidst the sea of cackles and chatters from the mass of people on the street, she could only catch the silence from the roof and the empty breaths that wisped from her dry and parted lips. She was aware that he had already sensed her chakra the moment she started running and that he could notice her watching him now, but his gaze remained on the scene below him, his face hidden from her position and unwilling to make a move.

Casting one last glance at him, she turned around and decided to head back. No words of acknowledgment nor farewell were sketched in even minute traces between them. Shisui was not suffering from any damage, and for now, she was content with that.

The walls of the small clinic in front of her were gray in color and tainted with the brown that years of rain built up. She caught a whiff of the familiar smell of disinfectant, although the scent she had registered had the faint aroma of freshly picked herbs.

She extended her hand and pushed the wooden door open, entranced by the tinges of yellow and black around the room lit by a weak bulb. She had sensed the presence of two people inside, and her sensory report was confirmed by the appearance of two surprised women—the taller one seemed to be in her early fifties and the shorter in her late sixties. Entering the cramped clinic, she slightly lowered her head as she stood in front of them.

"Good afternoon, I'm Haruno Sakura," she respectfully introduced herself, "I would like to know if you have available slots for a healer."

Lifting her head up to lever her gaze with theirs, she could not help but notice their wide eyes glued to her hair, and it did not surprise her. She had not bothered to perform a transformation technique on her unique appearance. After all, she had seen some civilians dye their hair with a color as unnatural as hers; they were rare, but they existed.

"Oh, dear, have a seat," the taller and plumper woman said as she motioned her hand to the plastic bench at the side. Sakura bowed her head in gratitude and made her way to the piece of furniture.

The same woman frantically dragged her companion until they stood right in front of the seated kunoichi. She beamed at Sakura with creased eyes, saying, "I'm Han, and this is Yen." She pointed an index finger at the shorter and seemingly older woman next to her. Yen quietly bowed in acknowledgment.

Han's bright face twisted into something an expression of concern. With a touch of reluctance, she turned to Sakura and confessed, "We're no experts. The only cases we handle are coughs and fever, and stuff like that."

Sakura only stared at Han, waiting for her to continue. She was already aware of this; she had checked on bigger hospitals before she came to the clinic. Unfortunately, there were no available slots open, but she was not surprised nor greatly discontented. After all, she was merely searching for a part-time job that could fill her empty schedule for the next two weeks.

Han took her silent response as an indication to continue, "So… the pay's not that high either." She eyed Yen as if she was trying to make her speak and help cut the awkward mood, yet the older woman just gave Sakura a kind smile.

The pink-haired medic once again humbly bowed her head at the women before her. "Han-san, helping people is enough for me. I will be permanently leaving the town in two weeks and I'd just like to be of help."

Then, Sakura shared with them her experiences in the medical field, trying her best to describe her actual experiences while leaving out the parts that would reveal her identity as a shinobi. She made a lie and said that she traveled from town to town and country to country in order to do some personal research.

The older women lit up in delight over her humble sharing. Han joyfully nodded at her and said, "Wonderful! We can test your skills tomorrow and maybe, we can start working with you by then." Beside her, Yen timidly clapped in excitement.

Sakura rose from her seat and again, bowed before them, saying, "Thank you for accepting me. I will do my best."

After bidding farewell to the ladies, she exited the clinic and emerged into the street full of people. The darker shade of the sky told her that time was nearing evening. Hence, she decided to go to a nearby restaurant and order a takeout of food for dinner with the intention of eating it at the pension.

When she had arrived at the entrance to the pension, she sharpened her senses and attempted to catch a flicker of chakra within her field of range. However, there was still no chakra signature to alert her of his presence. She looked down at the plastic bag she was carrying, silently staring at the two dinner boxes inside and clenching around the handle of the bag.

She then became aware of someone else's presence. Turning around, a short and plump old man greeted her with a grin; it was the owner of the pension. He acknowledged her with politeness, "Good evening, Rio-san."

Sakura managed to feign delight in his appearance just to return the polite gesture. Nodding, she replied, "Good evening, Mendo-san."

"You are leaving in two weeks, right?" he raised. Sakura nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, Mendo-san."

"How are things with your husband?" the man asked with curiosity, his tone only filled with innocence.

She paused for a moment, her thoughts drawing to Shisui. She was still troubled with his disappearance—he was intelligent, but that was not enough. The fact that he was not in pain at the last time she had seen him did not ultimately guarantee his safety now.

She curved her lips upward and concealed her concern with a smile. "We're good, Mendo-san."

After her encounter with the old man, she proceeded to their room and embraced the comfort of its homely atmosphere. She ate her dinner, saved Shisui's food, took an exhilarating shower, put on her night clothes, and hopped onto the bed.

She was once again alone.

The quiet of the eve seeped in through her ears, stilling the ripples in her head, although not clearing them. The ruffling of sheets was the only sound alive in her hearing as she shuffled to grant her body a more comfortable position. Closing her eyes, she let her mind wander in the darkness.

Why won't you let me help you?

He was still not back and now, she was forced to a corner. Should she get up and search for him at such an ungodly hour or should she just leave him be to his own quiet? She feared that if she confronted Shisui now, her presence would only be unwanted and invasive, since he had paid her no heed when she had searched for him this morning. Yet, her conscience screeched at her, telling her that his safety and health was above anything else. Her inner voice was berating her for not exerting enough effort into reaching out to him and comforting him.

Damn these feelings.

She was about to rise from the mattress to search for him when she became aware of a familiar chakra signature nearing the room. In an instant, she ushered herself to the edge of the bed, leaving the space next to her empty. Tightening her grasp on the blanket wrapping her cold body, her own chakra faded into a faint mark as she feigned sleep.

With her back facing the room entrance, the sound of the door's lazy creaking filled her ears, followed by the silent beat of its closing. She heard the faint tipping and topping of feet against the wooden floor, the thudding getting louder by each step. Shutting her eyes tightly, she prepared herself for the ruffling of the bedsheets beside her, but what knocked her instead was the dragging sound of clothes sliding against the cloth of the couch.

Her lips thinned sullenly, and she mentally reprimanded herself for permitting such despondence. She should have expected such, given that a barrier was built between them. Yet, despite her gloom, a wave of relief still washed through her; the mass of distress within her was lightened by his return.

Several minutes then flew by, and she could catch the fainting of his chakra signature, an indication of being asleep. It dawned on her that if he had kept himself awake for one and a half days, his body would be easily submissive to sleep.

Almost three hours breezed by, and Sakura's body was still incapable of dozing off. She could effortlessly trick her body into sleeping with her medical chakra, but she could not bring herself to—there was a pile of jitters in her head to surmount. She was struggling to extricate Shisui from her thoughts and her chest. The worry for him was still there, yet shards of the hurt she had born with in the previous day still stabbed through her feelings. Being an annoyance to someone was the last thing she had ever wanted, especially if she cared for that person deeply.

The sound of restless shifting and turning was registered by her hearing; Shisui, albeit asleep, was struggling with something. Sakura twisted her body to face the other direction, watching the unconscious Uchiha trying to restlessly rest his body on the cramped couch, his feet toppling over the edge of one side. Occasionally, his brows contracted, his closed eyes battling a faint sense of remorse and regret.

Alarm rang through Sakura's consciousness at the sight of his state of emotional disturbance—Shisui was having a nightmare.

Author's Note:

Hola! I updated awoosh! Of course, I have like 5 months of free time in this house with the whole quarantine thing.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

-This chapter is rather anticlimactic and gives off a "slice of life" kind of vibe. I wanted to establish a "dead" atmosphere to highlight Sakura's overall feeling about Shisui's response.

-I'm sorry for the cliffhanger; I honestly encountered difficulty in ending this chapter, but rest assured that I am already working on the next one!

-If you're wondering about the suddenness in Shisui's "personality", it will be revealed in the next few chapters. :)

-The reason why Sakura didn't notice the disease from the physical exam is not mentioned here, but I'll reveal that in the next chapters, although it's not really that significant.

-I deleted the long author's note, because I wanted the order of the chapters to be clean hahaha. Once again, I really apologize for offending any of you with the previous chapter :( But it still makes me happy that you guys are vocal and giving constructive criticism. I totally understand your perspectives and I admit that the previous chapter did have some faults, but I'll work hard to improve the story and the display of Sakura's abilities! :)

Also, does anyone agree with me that there should be a movie wherein Naruto discovers more stuff about his roots as a member of the Uzumaki and Namikaze Clan? Or at the very least, I want a Boruto episode wherein Naruto interacts with Karin as members of the same clan.

Totally not Naruto-related, but I love the Hamilton musical so please watch the play and listen to the album. You're not gonna regret it.

Thank you for all your support! Favorite, follow, and review if you wish hehe!