"Not that I dislike your company or anything but, what are you doing here?" The pinkette set down the bag of mochi on the coffee table as she stared intently at the brown-haired woman sitting across from her.
"We heard about the death of Mebuki-chan and Kizashi-kun.." She said sadly, holding onto her husband's hands. "We're sorry we couldn't come sooner but we had some business to deal with." The couple had moved to the Water Country a few years back. Sakura knew that her parents had stayed in contact with them but she hadn't seen them since around a year ago when they came to visit.
"I see.." Sakura's gaze fell to the floor.
"Sakura-chan.." The pinkette looked up at the woman who reached across and squeezed her hand. "You are not alone. Takumi-kun and I are going to be staying in the village for a week or so and I believe Hideka-chan, Kin-kun and Kenta-kun are going to come by a few days after we leave. They should be staying for your birthday as well."
'That's a surprise. The last time we saw them we were only like two years old!'
"Hmm.."
~<*.*>~
Not being alone in the house was.. different. It made the young pinkette think about how her parents were gone and that made her feel empty and miserable. It also made her notice just how lonely she had been. Yes, she had Inner and she had recently met quite a few different people but Inner was a part of her and the other people didn't know about her parents, they knew barely anything about her and- well Sakura supposed she had started blocking out her emotions. She had started feeling numb and this caused her not to realise that she had been blocking out how she was feeling subconsciously.
She had never been one to openly display how she felt but the young girl had only just realised how dark the world was to her. It was like there was some sort of dark mist clouding her vision.
Since Yui and Takumi had started spending time in her house with her the mist had become visible to her. Sakura wondered if she might be depressed? There was certainly a possibility that she was.. she would just have to pay a visit to the library and read more on the subject.
"Sakura-chan we'll have to go out and buy you some new clothes later." The brown-haired lady sat down next to the rosette, passing the child a glass of apple juice. Sakura inclined her head in thanks before taking a sip of the sweet drink.
"Hm.. what makes you say that so suddenly?"
"Well, I'm sure you haven't been out shopping in a while besides a girl's day sounds fun, ne?" The emerald-eyed four-year-old looked up at the woman.
"..I suppose so.."
"Great! I'll finish lunch and once we have all sat down and finished eating we'll leave for the market!" Yui seemed excited at the idea of a shopping spree and seeing the older female practically glow as she talked about all the things they would buy made a small smile greet Sakura's face.
Sakura took another sip of her apple juice as she watched Yui scuttle back to the kitchen. Sakura knew that both Yui and Hideka had been friends with her mother for a long time and seeing Yui act so.. cheerful made her wonder, was she not the only one who was subconsciously blocking out how she truly felt?
'I wouldn't say that Outer. You definitely aren't alone in what you're doing but Yui is coping with the death of our parents in a different way.'
'Oh?'
'Instead of her subconscious numbing her emotions Yui is putting on a mask. Where you're numb to your feelings she is sensitive to it all but she doesn't want anyone to worry so she puts on a mask to hide how she feels.'
'So she's putting on a facade..'
'Precisely, cha!'
The pinkette's face softened slightly as she watched the blue-eyed woman rush about the kitchen. Sakura knew that shinobi often put on a facade to act emotionless, whatever that meant, but seeing how one could so easily create a mask to hide their true feelings was.. scary.
'Hmm.. Outer.'
'Yeah?'
'You know how if it snows and the sun comes out the snow melts away?'
'Mhm.'
'Well, a mask is similar. One can only wear one for so long until the mask eventually cracks or melts away. Before long it crumbles into millions of tiny pieces. Eventually, Yui's will too and she will need someone to be there for her.'
'So you're saying..'
'It might start out with her becoming angry over the slightest thing or her crying over the smallest of things but when her mask begins to crack she will need a shoulder to cry on. I know it isn't exactly our strong point or anything but it might be better if it is us whom she cries on rather than her husband.'
'But shouldn't Takumi-san know about this?'
'No, he too is grieving the loss of our parents. He was a good friend of our father's and he doesn't need something else to brood about.'
'Ok.. I guess I can try and help her..' The pinkette sighed. 'Who knew you'd be good at this kind of thing..'
'Hey! Cha! It's not my fault everyone's whole life is filed in my brain!'
'Gomen, gomen.. I didn't mean it like that Inner. You're just.. really good at knowing what people need.'
In their mindscape Inner huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away, a small blush covering her cheeks.
Sakura thought about the shopping spree that Yui had suggested they have later on.
'Perhaps she's hoping going shopping will help her forget about the loss of mama and papa?'
'That's possible..'
"Sakura-chan! Takumi-kun! Lunch is ready!"
~<*.*>~
After lunch, Yui took Sakura upstairs to pick out the pinkette's clothes. The brunette searched through the green-eyed child's drawers and wardrobe until she had put together what she said was the 'perfect outfit'. The outfit consisted of a white T-shirt with a purple short-sleeved cardigan over top and a dark skirt that reached her knees.
"You look so kawai Sakura-chan!" She squealed as she finished tying Sakura's shoulder-length hair into bunches.
"Arigato, Yui-obasan." The woman smiled down at her before smoothing out her own outfit.
Yui had on a red dress with a light blue apron over top. The sleeves on the dress were short and her brown hair was pinned up into a bun. Yui was a beautiful woman and her youthful features could easily make one believe that she was at least five years younger than what she actually was.
They made their way out of Sakura's room and down the stairs. Sakura put on her black ninja sandals whilst Yui went off to tell her husband that they were going out.
After about five minutes they were finally out the front door and on their way to the market.
"It's such a wonderful day today isn't it Sakura-chan?" Yui grinned down at her as she tightened her grip on the young pinkette's hand.
"Mhm." Sakura nodded her head, too busy trying to quieten down Inner to give the brunette a proper response.
'And then I also want some anko dumplings- ooh! Let's stop by Azumi-obaasan's shop to get some more dango, cha!'
'Inner, please quieten down, you're giving me a headache..' Sakura sighed when her other half's babbling failed to cease.
"Are you alright Sakura-chan?" Yui asked her with a face full of concern.
Sakura blinked and turned to look at the older female. "Hai, I'm fine."
The woman didn't look fully convinced but she didn't say anything else and the two continued walking in silence to the market.
A/N: I'm sorry this chapter isn't that long I haven't been able to write much.
Clue for the next chapter: Genma :)
Sorry for any mistakes!
Hope you enjoyed!