Paths of Divergence

Open Your Heart

Chapter 26

-Open your heart

   Shizake's eyes flutter open as he awakens from his slumber. He notices the soundly sleeping girl in front of him, once again taking note of how well he slept. Her soft tufts of pink hair gently hang over her eyes while her hand remains coddled around his fingers. Slowly and quietly he gets out of bed and heads into the kitchen. The boy stretches before opening the fridge, peering around at its contents. I don't have much but it should be enough for something simple, He thinks to himself.

   The clacking and clanging of kitchenware fills the dimly lit apartment, echoing off the walls. Sizzling eggs on the stove crackle and hiss as the heat from the fire evenly cooks them while the smell of the food brings the room brimming with aromatic pleasure. A warm yellow glow begins flowing through the windows more and more as the morning comes to a start.

   Sakura calmly wakes up to the sounds and smells of cooking. She curiously gets out of bed, walking towards the source. She stops in the doorway, noticing the Uchiha fully at work preparing breakfast. He stops midway through, noticing her presence.

  "S-Sakura... you're awake," He softly says, pausing. "I'm almost done, if you want to sit," He finishes, turning back around to check on the eggs.

   Her face immediately lights up with a joyous blush as she sits down at the kitchen table while fondly staring at the boy. "I didn't know you knew how to cook," She says.

   The Uchiha begins plating the food, bringing them one by one to the table. Finally he sits down before gazing at Sakura, "My mother taught me... we were, um, very close," He replies with a hint of apprehension.

   "She sounds like a sweet woman," Sakura begins compassionately. "And it looks like she taught you well. This looks amazing!"

Shizake softly grins, feeling a warmth develop in his chest. The both of them waste no time in piling the breakfast on their plates before eating thereafter.

"I would love to hear more about your parents... what were they like?" Sakura asks in between bites of food.

The Uchiha swallows abruptly, feeling the warmth in his chest grow slightly cold. He places his chopsticks down, rubbing the back of his neck, "My mother... was kind. She was always a caretaker. Going so far as to even take care of others outside of the clan. Father... he..." Shizake trails off, the coldness in his chest holding his vocal cords in a vice.

Sakura slides her hand over, placing it atop of his, "I'm sorry... I brought up hurtful memories didn't I?"

"It's fine, it's just that... I rarely talk about them anymore. It's unusual," Shizake replies.

The pinkette rubs her thumb over the top of his hand, attempting to comfort Shizake, "It must hurt, I can tell just by looking at you. But it'll help start the healing process if you open your heart."

"I know. And you're right... I told myself I would figure this out," Shizake says, laying his thumb over hers.

"I'm here to help, you can open your heart to me and I'll accept it," Sakura says.

The coldness disappears from Shizake's chest, the warmth slowly seeping back in it's place. "My father, well, we weren't very close but I still looked up to him. Even when we faced challenging times he always had a bold grin on his face. He always looked ready to face what was next."

"Did you have any siblings?" The girl asks.

The boy shakes his head, "No. There were other clan mates I considered siblings though."