Kairos | SasuSaku

0 4

The longer the days of travel continued, the more familiar Sakura and Sasuke became with their routines.

It wasn't always the same, and it wasn't set in stone. They each had their individual things they did during their rest stops, and both of them welcomed the presence of each other in delving and sharing their hobbies and personal moments.

They didn't always sleep at inns, and for the most part, took pathways seldom walked by others. Their nights were mostly spent out under the open sky, both huddled under their respective bed rolls. On quiet nights, where sleep was difficult to come by, they exchanged hushed words so as not to disturb the still night. On rainy nights, they often took refuge in the caves or large hollows of tree trunks, where they huddled close to the fire and sought sleep.

And night after night, Sakura felt the distance between them lessen.

On slow days, Sasuke would often ask Sakura to spar with him (more often than not resulting in large craters forming and fire caught in nearby trees). Their fights were always friendly, ending in laughter from Sakura and an amused smile from Sasuke as they both used earth style to clear up the area.

On lazy nights, Sakura would stay up late into the night, reading her medical scrolls and textbooks she called forth from her summoning scroll, and Sasuke would accompany her, sometimes reading over her shoulder as he sat next to her. Sakura would happily humor him, answering him to the best of her abilities, sometimes going even further and getting lost in her own world. Sasuke would always listen quietly, never once stopping her or interrupting (If only to ask a question).

He would go to sleep once she was done for the night.

Each place they visited marked a spot on the map, and with each day, Sakura could feel their crumbled bond rebuilding itself, feeling its strength and linking the two of them together in a way it never had before.

***

The nameless little village bordering The Land of Wind they walked into in order to restock their supplies had a small population, and Sakura tried to remember it from various missions she'd taken to around this area. Most of the shops were closed, and from the open windows overlooking the road, Sakura could hear the occasional throaty cough.

She remembered this village faintly in her memories, registering the laughter of children and friendly hustle and bustle of shop-goers, so different from the present she saw now. Vacant roads. Not a single person in sight. She exchanged a glance with Sasuke.

They passed by the hospital, and Sakura heard someone call her name from the doorway. She looked up to see an elderly man climbing down the steps and making his way over.

"Sakura? Are you Haruno Sakura, by any chance?" He asked, peering at her face carefully. His eyes were bloodshot, Sakura observed, and his gray hair and clothing looked unkempt.

"Yes, I am." She answered. She noticed Sasuke observing the man carefully.

"Ah, I thought so," the man looked relieved. "That hair would be hard to miss."

"Uh..." Sakura touched her hair, willing her face to not show any discomfort.

"Who are you?" Sasuke spoke, shifting a bit so that he was partially between the man and Sakura.

"Oh, my apologies," he scratched his head, introducing himself as the head of the village.

"Actually," he began. "There's a flu spreading through this village, and most of us are down sick. Visitors come, but since most places are closed, they leave, and the money we have right now is not enough to request help from foreign villages." He went on to talk about when the flu had spread, and explained most of the states of the people.