From Shadows

Shisui called her name again, then wasted no time in Body Flickering beside her. No doubt he knew exactly where she was and that calling out her name was no more than a formality to not startle her. Which, when she thought about it, was incredibly considerate of him.

“Sakura, your face is flushed!” he said, putting his hand on her forehead. “Have you taken any medicine?”

“No,” she said, her voice rougher and weaker than she expected.

“Why not?”

Shisui was out of the room before she could answer, and he returned with medicine and a glass of water.

"I only got sick this morning," Sakura said, letting Shisui help her sit up.

She saw the conflict in Shisui’s eyes, and she could guess what he was thinking. He likely hated that Sakura was sick, but she thought that he might feel a touch of relief that she fell ill only that morning, meaning that he could tend to her.

He helped her take medicine and drink water, then let her lie down again.

“Do you think you would be able to eat something?” he asked.

As a medic, she knew the importance of giving her body the energy needed to recover. But being in the body of a child and receiving the affection and consideration of those around her—particularly Shisui—made her greedy for the chance to act her age and feel the love she knew that he had for her.

“I’m not hungry,” she said. It was the truth, and she knew all too well that the lack of appetite that accompanied being sick could be frustrating to deal with.

“I’ll make you rice porridge,” Shisui said, brushing strands of hair from her face. “Could you eat just a few bites for me?”

The pure sincerity and love in Shisui's dark eyes left her unable to deny him. "I'll try."

The grin on his face was blinding as he dashed out of the room to make her porridge.

It didn't take him long to return, and he helped her sit up again.

Shisui wasn't bad at cooking, and he made most of their meals himself when he was in Konoha. So while Sakura didn't have much of an appetite, she did manage to eat several spoonfuls of rice porridge before telling Shisui that she was done.

"Great job, Sacchan," he said, patting her head. "You ate more than I expected."

“Because I like Shi-nii's cooking.”

Usually, Shisui put on a boisterous front to keep Sakura from worrying or feeling the absence of their parents. It was his way of reassuring her that they’d be okay together. Even though she retained her memories from her past life and wasn’t a child mentally, she appreciated his efforts.

And when she spoke her true thoughts about him, Shisui held his head a bit higher, like this was proof that he was doing well raising his little sister by himself. She didn’t miss the sparkle in his eyes either when she gave him a simple compliment.

“You shouldn’t lie back down right after eating,” Shisui said. “Why don’t I read to you?”

“Okay.”

Shisui made quick work of the dishes and was back in their shared room with a stack of books in no time. When he sat down, he wrapped Sakura’s blanket around her shoulders and brought her to sit on his lap.

She let her head rest against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. Did she ever feel this safe in her past life? Her parents were loving, she couldn’t deny that. But she never had the sense that they understood her.

Shisui chose history books to read, and Sakura realized that he must have seen her reading from this same set since he started with where she left off.

How was it that he could be away on missions, but knew what she’d been doing in the meantime?

She clutched onto his shirt and focused on the sound of his voice. She wouldn’t allow him to die this time.

Sakura felt better by the time night fell, though her fever hadn’t broken completely.

“Will you put your futon next to mine, Brother Shi?” she asked.

While they shared the same room when Shisui was home since neither of them wanted to be apart from their only remaining family member, they usually kept their futons on opposite sides of the room.

“Do you want me to?”

“Yes.” She knew that she could be clingy when she was sick, and she hoped that Shisui didn’t mind.

Shisui grinned and brought his futon over, setting it up next to hers. “How could I deny my Sacchan?”

Sakura moved closer and curled into his side. Shisui was just a kid, too, but she felt particularly small next to him. The world hadn’t been kind to him, taking away their parents and giving him the talent to be thrown into the endless conflict between nations.

Maybe it was the sickness that weakened her ability to control her emotions. Maybe it was the effect of physically being a child that left her without the level of constitution she had before dying.

“You can’t leave me, Brother Shi,” she said, clutching to his shirt. “Never.”

Tears spilled from her eyes, and she buried her face. It was a futile hope that Shisui wouldn’t notice her crying, but when he did, she’d like it if he didn’t mention it.

She felt Shisui rub circles on her back and heard his reassurances that he wouldn’t go anywhere. That he’d always come back from his missions.

“We’ll always be together, Sacchan.”

While Shisui didn’t mind Sakura clinging to him, her words worried him.

He woke up early the next day, careful to get out of bed without Sakura noticing. Even though it seemed like her fever broke, he left behind a clone to watch her. It was early enough that he didn’t think she’d wake up while he was gone. But if she did, he didn’t want her to wake up alone at least.

She was already alone when he had missions, he couldn’t bear to add more loneliness to her.

However, Shisui had (perhaps) not checked in with the Hokage after returning from his mission. It wasn’t the first time that he delayed his duties in favor of seeing Sakura. Minato might not be happy about it, but he had to understand that Sakura only had Shisui. When it came to it, he was her guardian, even if he was young himself.

But he had to meet with the Hokage, and he was ready to get it over with as soon as possible. So he hopped from rooftop to rooftop, rushing and refusing to stop for anybody or anything.

He was allowed into Minato’s office, but his report was so automatic at this point that he barely remembered giving it. Minato was an efficient Hokage, and Shisui appreciated that he wouldn’t be left standing around listening to the Third talking to the elders about issues that could have waited until Shisui’s dismissal.

But at the end of his meeting, before he was dismissed, Minato asked him a question that was—by all means—normal and well-intentioned. However, when Sakura was the topic, Shisui couldn’t help feeling on edge.

“It’s about time for your sister to begin attending the academy, isn’t it?” he asked.

Shisui remembered the red of the Sharingan glowing in Sakura’s eyes right after she was born. If anybody else found out that she possessed them so early, well, he didn’t want to think about all the power-hungry men who’d try to get their hands on her.

“I don’t know,” Shisui said. “I won’t force her to go to the academy. I want her to decide what she wants to do, now and in the future.”

And whatever that future held, Shisui would support her. If he had to take Sakura and abandon the village so they could live in peace, then he’d do so without looking back.

He would never lose somebody precious to him again.