Naruto stood at the door, sizing up Sakura. Without her making her intentions clear, he couldn't make any assumptions and could only wait for her to speak.
"I can't go back." She said with her head down.
"Huh?" Naruto was surprised at how smoothly things were going, although it was somewhat what he expected.
"I was planning to go out for a walk and clear my mind, but when I tried to go back, the door was already locked." Sakura raised her head and looked at Naruto. "Can you... let me stay for the night?"
Hearing this, Naruto realized he had misunderstood. He awkwardly coughed, stepped aside to make room for her, and said with a smile.
"Of course, you can. After all, with our relationship…"
Halfway through his sentence, even Naruto couldn't continue. He suddenly recalled that just a few hours ago, he had done something questionable.
'Now, everything I said seemed to carry an unintended double meaning, though that wasn't what I meant at all. But in the end... never mind, I should just stop talking.'
"Mm," Sakura nodded slightly, lowering her head a little more as she walked inside.
She didn't seem to notice the hidden meaning in Naruto's words, or maybe she didn't care. Either way, Naruto couldn't sense anything unusual from her slightly lowered face.
At the entrance, Sakura bent down and took off her shoes very slowly.
Naruto just stood there and watched, his gaze unconsciously drifting to her feet. From her heel, she slowly lifted her foot, revealing the white arch of her foot.
It is the kind of slightly fleshy and sturdy instep, with faintly visible blue veins.
The situation was a bit complicated. Two personalities coexisted in one body. The main personality had been dormant for a long time, but woke up just as things were halfway done.
Dark Sakura was temporarily resting, and the main personality, Pink Sakura, had surfaced. In a certain sense, their memories should be shared.
However, Pink Sakura's memories were stuck six years ago. Either Dark Sakura was unwilling to share, or Pink Sakura was refusing to accept reality, rejecting the memories of the past six years.
Based on what Naruto knew about Dark Sakura, the former was unlikely, 'So, was Pink Sakura unwilling to face reality? After all, back then, it was also to avoid Sasuke's defection that the main personality fell into slumber.'
This speculation wasn't impossible.
"Come this way. I don't think you've been here before, right?" Naruto walked in front to lead the way. "Sit wherever you like. I'll pour you some water."
"Mm." Sakura responded softly and carefully looked around the unfamiliar living room. In her memory, Naruto's home was still that old house in the center of Konoha.
The night rain was softly pattering, and beyond the balcony, through the dim light, she could only see a hazy mist of rain.
Naruto was in the kitchen pouring water. Sakura noticed the sofa was a bit messy, clearly showing signs of someone recently sitting there. She couldn't help but glance at the closed rooms, and an inexplicable thought arose.
Avoiding the two scattered seats, Sakura sat on the tidier side of the couch, but she didn't sit down completely. She just sat a little bit on the edge, as if she's ready to leave at any moment.
This was a sign of insecurity, and when Naruto came out of the kitchen and handed her a glass of water, he noticed this subtle detail but said nothing.
Anyone in her situation wouldn't feel secure either. After all, waking up in the middle of being drawn out, and then having to knock on a friend's door at night… anyone would feel uneasy.
"You don't have to feel too bad," Naruto said, sitting down and smoothing out the creases on the sofa, "She's used to spending the night in the exclusive lounge of the hospital overnight and rarely comes home."
"Your parents must be used to her rhythm. Over the past six years, they haven't spent much time together."
"Mm, I know." Pink Sakura fell silent, clutching the cup. After a long pause, she asked, "Is there no way to fix this?"
"Cases like yours are rare. We've tried many methods." Naruto said, choosing his words carefully, "There's basically no solution. The best approach is to coexist."
"Coexist?"
"Personalities can't be killed, they're engraved in the soul." Naruto explained seriously. After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "If you compete with each other, you'll only fall into an endless cycle of life fragments."
"Instead, why not communicate? Divide time, share memories, etc."
"Divide time…" Pink Sakura fell silent again. After a long while, she looked up and said hesitantly, "But won't that cause conflict? She... she's with you, using my... our body…"
"I don't know either. In any case, communication is necessary." Naruto spread his hands and said, "She has done a lot over the years and put in a lot of effort."
"A lot of things are waiting for her to complete. In the eyes of others, there's no difference between you and her. If you don't communicate, you won't be able to access those memories either, right?"
"… Let me think it over carefully." Pink Sakura took a sip of water, her brows furrowed deeply.
"Alright." Naruto said as he stood up and walked toward the guest room.
With a loud rumble, the thunderstorm intensified.
Naruto didn't concern himself with Sakura on the couch anymore. He entered the room and quietly informed the two girls inside that the vacation had ended early, and the remaining days off would be postponed to the next time.
As for when the next time would be, Naruto himself wasn't sure. He raised his hand and smoothly sealed both girls back into the seal space. Turning around, he left the room, casually leaving the door open.
Sure enough, Sakura looked up and glanced behind him. Seeing the open door, she seemed a bit confused, and her gaze lingered on the now-smooth sofa. She blinked in puzzlement.
"I don't usually have many visitors here, but two guests came before you." Naruto explained directly, pointing to another room.
"The bedding in that room is clean. I tidied it up a bit, so you can rest there tonight. Don't worry about it."
'Two?' Sakura was a little startled, 'Had Naruto gone and found two more people after leaving earlier? After six years, Naruto seemed to have changed a lot.'
Her impression of Naruto was still that cheerful blond boy from six years ago, but now the scenes she had just witnessed lingered in her mind, hard to shake off.
'Naruto seemed to have a good relationship with Ino before, but now he is with my body… So are they together? What is their relationship now? Is he cheating?'
"Alright." She finally said, without asking any more questions.
"The bathroom is over there. I have clean robes here. Before you shower, you can toss your clothes in there to wash, and they'll dry automatically."
Naruto continued, patiently explaining, not rushing through the details.
"If you don't know how to use the dryer, I can show you beforehand. As for the washing machine, I'm sure you're familiar with it. Here are your towels and bath towels. Make sure to take them."
"Mm, mm." Sakura's unease slowly faded as Naruto's non-stop instructions gave her a sense of stability.
In the bathroom.
Just as Naruto was showing Sakura how to use the latest dryer, she suddenly glanced up at him and asked, "Are you with Ino now?"
Under the bright lights, Naruto looked down at her and was momentarily taken aback.
"Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"
"No reason, I just got curious." Sakura said with a smile, "After all, I've been asleep for so long, it feels like I've been on a long journey, and everyone around me has grown up."
"We haven't confirmed anything yet, but maybe in the future…" Naruto replied.
"Mm."