Haruno

Conspiracy

He smelt of sweat and grass and something akin to utter satisfaction after his training session. It came as no surprise to Shiro that, as soon as he deigned his four hour run around the village and his spars with Kurenai (who seemed to be the only one willing to talk to him apart from Anko who he wouldn't touch with a ten foot long pole) sufficient, his doorbell pierced his ears. He grumbled. He enjoyed physical activity well enough but Kurenai had a knack for landing hits in obscure spots and giving him uncomfortable bruises and didn't particularly want to walk at present. Regardless, he stood up

"There's something wrong with Sakura," a young girl with a hitai-ate and long blonde hair covering her eyes. Her eyes were blue and pupil-less and vaguely familiar in a nostalgic sense. He blanked. This was one of Sakura's friends. But how did she know who he was? "You gotta help Sakura. She's locked in her room and she's in one of her moods and she won't tell me or okaa-san what's wrong."

"What?" He short-circuited. "She's back?"

"Uh, yeah," she huffed. "And there's something wrong with her-"

"Say no more," he said as his mouth set in a grim line and locked up his apartment. He turned to the young Yamanaka. "Are you familiar with the shunshin?"

They were at the apartment in seconds with the Yamanaka ripping away from him to retch at the side of the door. He entered the apartment without knocking to no surprise of Mebuki who sat at the table with her head in her hands and only mouthed to him 'don't mess up'. He nodded curtly.

"Sakura?" he rapped his knuckles against the door lightly. "It's Shiro-sensei here. Is everything okay?" No reply. He enhanced his hearing. "Ino's worried, you know?" He heard a strangled noise.

He considered it.

"Would you like me to send her away?" he asked. He heard a small 'yes' from behind the door but the Yamanaka was just within earshot and her face fell as the words resonated. "I'm sending her away now." The Yamanaka frowned but persisted, hanging around the door until Mebuki gave her a look that said: leave or I will kick you out. He stifled a laugh - it seemed like he wasn't the only one subject to Mebuki's scorn.

"And your mother?" He heard her hesitate so he nodded to Mebuki and gestured to the door. Vehemently, she shook her head and crossed her arms miming a very vague, violent motion towards him. "Do you want your mother to leave?" This time, the whisper of a yes was undeniable and Mebuki left the house with more than a chip on her shoulder.

"They're gone now, Sakura. I'm coming in now."

Slowly, the door creaked open to reveal Sakura covered by her futon blanket just behind the door, in the corner of the room. Curtains were drawn firmly shut and blocked out most light except the unavoidable haze through its sheer material. He could smell her from a distance and her hair looked like mud had found its way into it and hadn't yet found its way out. Red-rimmed eyes pierced his own that he hadn't seen since she was ten and crying over an argument with one of her friends over their seats at the academy. Back then, he had laughed and shoved her into more laps in training, but this felt different. Way different.

First things first, he approached her slowly and hooked his arms under hers, pulling her up and leading her to the bathroom. She was limp, following along resigned and yet still resolute in her apparent vow of silence. He helped her into the bathroom where he placed a towel on the counter and ran the water to the right temperature. Shiro looked through the cupboards for a set of shampoo and conditioner and set them next to the towel.

"Clean up. Call if you need." He shut the door behind him on the way out.

He was now left alone in his thoughts in the kitchen. Tetchy and angry, he clenched a washcloth in his hand. It was either one of two conclusions he could come to: this was one of her episodes, or the C-rank went horribly wrong. Or, considering just who led her team... it could've been both. Thinking of this, he meddled with some food in the kitchen the best he could and settled it down on the table before he heard Sakura call him over from inside her room.