Sakura didn't leave her room for another few hours until Sukuna had personally given her a visit.
Knock..knock..
"Go away, I'm not talking with you." Came the voice of his beloved sister from inside. And of course she could tell it was him, she was a kunoichi after all, if even after training under him for such a long time she didn't figure this out, then she better just leave this profession.
"Are you certain, this is also called talking you know."
Sakura yelped from her bed, almost jolting back as she looked behind, only to find her brother there, resting his back against the wall, sitting on her bed right beside her, and she didn't even see him coming.
NO!
The real question was from where he came from. The door was locked and the windows; she was facing them all the time, there was no way he could pass from them without her knowing.
"H-how did you come in?" She shuddered, half believing and half shocked.
"I have my ways." Sukuna shrugged, once again relishing the fact just how useful Kamui was at times.
Sakura blinked and then as if recalling all of a sudden, she wasn't supposed to talk with him, she pouted and turned the other way around, a pillow tightly clenched in her arms.
Sukuna didn't say anything immediately; instead, he looked around the room. There weren't many times he came here, in fact almost never.
The room was pink all around, from girly stuff to fluffy stuff. This doesn't suit his style.
Upon not hearing him say anything for a while, Sakura's patience started to shake, wasn't this the time a boy was supposed to convince a girl, coax her.
What this idiot was doing.
She looked behind by the side of her eyes, only to find he was gone.
"Heh..."
She jumped back, only to find there was no sign of him. He was gone. Just like that.
The pout came back full force, "That jerk."
"Tsk tsk tsk... calling your brother like that behind his back, you're quite a naughty little sister."
Once again she was startled when the voice came from beside her.
Before she could say anything, strong arms were already around her, holding her in place.
"Let me go..." She struggled, only for name's sake, there was no real power behind that.
Sukuna pulled her against his chest, wrapping his arms just like how she had hers wrapped around that pillow, getting comfortable.
"So, mind telling me why you're mad."
"Like you have no idea." She chided.
"Hey, it wasn't a lie, you did cry when I didn't come back in the Forest of Death, and we did kiss, a lot." Sukuna stated, the last part particularly closer to her ears, making her blush come back with vengeance.
She pushed her blush down somehow and used her best angry voice she could muster. "Why are you saying that in front of dad and mom?" She chided, pouting.
"Because of you..." Sukuna replied almost immediately.
Sakura snapped at him like she heard him speak in an alien language. "Me?"
Sukuna rolled his eyes at her reaction. "Of course it's you, you were acting like a newlywed bride acts around her husband and parents-in-law back there."
Sakura's blush grew even more flushed.
"If suddenly their daughter, who is generally as loud as herself, wouldn't even lift her face from her breakfast, of course mom would be suspicious."
Sakura paused, tightening her lips, knowing he was right.
Sukuna just sighed at her stiffened body and tightened his hold around her.
"Just chill okay, act normal. I'm still your handsome big brother and you're still my annoying yet adorable little sister." He replied, resting his head on her shoulder while fully encasing her in his embrace.
"All we did was hugging and kissing. Don't get your panties wet over something like that."
Sakura's brows twitched at this. She wasn't wetting her panties...
"And if you don't like it, we can always stop."
A bolt of panic rushed inside her. She didn't want that. Far from it.
"No... tha-that's not what I mean." Sakura shuddered.
"Of course you don't, I'm just stating it's for you to know that you're not obligated to listen to me or think about what I want by forcing yourself.
Just remember, do what you want to do. I'm always here to support you, no matter the case."
His hand slowly lifted up and gently patted her head, bringing small tears to her eyes.
As when her tear-filled eyes met his, he wondered whether to tease her again for this, but decided against it, even though it was quite tempting.
Special relationship or no, teasing little sister is the best.
Though, what happened next stopped that train of thought when Sakura softly closed the little gap her faces had and started nibbling on his lips.
He responded.
And then a sharp pain rang on his lips, she bit him. Hard.
Blood leaked out and she backed off, the shock was enough to make him let go as well.
His blood lingered on his mouth, as she challengingly looked into his eyes.
"That's for what you did earlier." She said, and then slowly licked the blood on her lips, making him gulp.
He wasn't certain why, but seeing her draw his blood like that kind of turned something inside him on which he himself wasn't aware existed.
A primal urge to just pin her down and show his superiority came over him which he suppressed with everything he had, maintaining his posture somehow.
"And here I thought I'll be the first one in this relationship who will draw the other's blood." He smirked and got up.
Sakura blinked, not quite getting what he meant.
"Anyways, I'm leaving for training, stop moping around and do the same, you're in the Chunin Exam, you're gonna need it."
He was already moving towards the door, his heart was thumping against his chest faster than usual, the urge to go further was so desperate that he needed to make distance between them fast.
"Heh... you're going already." She complained.
"No can help, got training to do." He shrugged and before she could say anything he was out of her door.
Sakura just saw him leave with uncertainty. Part of it was because she wasn't done, she needed more. And part of it was wondering whether she made him angry with that bite.
"Chaaa... just go and train. I'll get him next time." She shook her head, promising to get back at him for his teasing and everything else the next time.
And just this time, somewhere else, two different siblings were also having their reunion moment.
Kiyomi's eyes slowly opened, her vision blurry at first as the white ceiling of the hospital room came into view. The air smelled faintly of medicine, and everything felt too quiet. For a moment, she just lay there, trying to understand where she was.
Then the memories returned.
The arena… the crowd… Neji. And her shooting the f*cker in the head.
Her eyes widened a little as she recalled the fight and then closed back in a long sigh. Perhaps she had gone a tad bit overboard there.
"…Kiyomi?"
A voice broke her thoughts.
She slowly turned her head to the side and found Sasuke sitting right beside her bed. He had been there the whole time.
Before she could even say anything, Sasuke stirred awake, his eyes snapping open the moment he realized she was conscious.
"Kiyomi!" he said, immediately leaning forward.
The next second, he was already hovering over her, one hand gripping the side of the bed, the other hovering near her shoulder as if unsure where to touch without hurting her.
"Are you okay? Can you breathe properly? Does it hurt anywhere?" His voice came out faster than usual, it was so unlike her always calm and stoic brother.
"…I'm fine," she said softly, in fact, she was feeling better than just fine. No pain or lingering tension in her body.
Her mind automatically landed on one person who might have been able to heal her this perfectly, who else but him.
'Reverse Cursed Technique, I should really learn that thing in the future...' she internally lamented, she wished to learn, but it was extremely hard.
Sasuke didn't relax immediately. He kept looking at her, scanning for any sign of discomfort, his eyes sharp and focused. Only after a few seconds, when he was certain she wasn't in immediate danger, did his shoulders ease slightly.
"Sukuna told me that you would wake up soon," he finally said, his tone calmer now.
Kiyomi nodded, her assumption of her supposed healer was on point, but then her attention shifted slightly, and she asked. "…Neji?"
Sasuke nodded. "He's here too. He's... hmm, not in as good a condition as you..."
She frowned a little, remembering clearly what she did, the weight of her actions finally coming in front of her.
"What did Lady Tsunade say?"
"She hasn't spoken of anything yet, Sukuna had used his healing, the exact one which he used on you to heal your wound, to close up the wound on Neji's head. He was barely alive when he was brought back to the hospital. And even after his wound healed, he hasn't woken up.
Sukuna said healing the flesh wound was the limit of what he could do, the rest depends on Lady Tsunade." Sasuke explained slowly.
Kiyomi pursed her lips tight together, perhaps using a gun against him wasn't the best idea.
That thought arose inside her only for a second before she squashed it down, why should she feel guilty, harm and death was always an outcome to these exams; she just did everything to win. That's it.
"The match…" she murmured.
"It was called a draw," Sasuke explained. "Both of you went down at the same time. Neither of you could continue."
Kiyomi stared at the ceiling again, letting that sink in.
A draw.
After everything… it ended like that.
She let out a small breath, her eyes closing again...
"I need to train more, I'm still not strong enough," she muttered to herself.
Sasuke of course heard it, and he felt the same. He has to get stronger. To beat Sukuna, to kill Itachi. He has to do it.
xXx
A/N : What you think about the chapter, the current dynamics between the siblings that is.
Please Consider Donating Power Stones if you like the Chapter.
"Thank you Very Much for All Your Support"
If you want to read up to 20+ Chapters in advance, check my Patreon on
Patreon.com/Kamidemond