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Sasuko POV
The hospital room smelled antiseptic and faintly of old tea, the kind that had sat too long in a thermos. “Sasuko, what are you doing here ?,” Sakutaro was sitting up, a blanket tangled around his legs like he’d fought it in his sleep. His hair was a mess, sticking up more than usual, and his eyes kept drifting toward the window.
Would it be wrong to say he looks kind of cute when he pouts ? Seeing him sitting with his arms crossed in a hospital bed was surreal to say the least.
“Isn’t it obvious ? I’m here to visit my precious teammate, of course,” I said. “You should feel honored.”
I mean what kind of teammate would I be if I didn’t make time to visit him while he was recuperating. I still can’t believe he slipped on a tree branch supposedly, Sakutaro Haruno was a lot of things but clumsy wasn’t one of them. “Yeah ? Well, no one asked you to.”
He huffs and grabs one of the many medical texts from the leaning stack of them. I rolled my eyes as I walked over to the window sill and set the daisy I brought down. “You know it won’t hurt you to accept my generosity every once in a while , right ?”
Sakutaro took a breath and exhaled as he pretended to be engrossed in whatever he’s reading but we both know he’s not. I steal a glance at him and can’t help but smirk when I catch him sneaking another glance outside at the Hokage monument.
“Question. When are they letting you out of this place ?”
“You’re still here ?,” Sakutaro sets the textbook down. “Don’t you have a group of guys to give meaningless flowers to ? I’m sure they must miss their precious ‘Sasuko-chan’,”
I forced a smile. I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that his words stung. “It’s okay Sakutaro, we’re alone now, you don’t have to pretend I don’t have an effect on you.” Wink. Truthfully this wasn’t the time for harmless flirting but I live for teasing him. “I’ve seen first hand how much you really love me.~”
“What are you blabbering about ?”
“Don’t you remember ?,” I put a hand on my hip. “I stopped by your apartment one morning because the night before at the bath house you had been acting strange. You and Menma.”
I recall that night as I plop down at the end of the hospital bed. I think my entire team is strange but they had acted extra strange at the bathhouse. Menma acted like she had seen a ghost. It honestly freaked me out.
Sakutaro had been no better.
“What ? I don’t remember that at all, “ I watched Sakutaro’s brows furrow as he clutched one side of his head. I stood up immediately, ready to go hunt down Shizune or Lady Tsunade if I had to. “Wait, “ he calls out as he grabs hold of my wrist. “I’m fine, I just- I remembered something from my mission.”
“Hn. Okay, go on.” I crossed one leg over the other.
“You won’t believe it but I came across another world similar to ours. It was similar but different,” I couldn’t believe it. Either Sakutaro has read too much fiction or his injury is worse than I thought.
“No offense but you’re not making a lick of sense. There’s no such thing as alternate realities, that’s something you’d find in one of Jiraiya’s novels.”
Sakutaro rolled his eyes and face palmed. “I knew you’d say this, shishou is skeptical too.”
I would have made a snarky remark if I wasn’t so scared he’d actually kick me out of his room.
“Look, Sakutaro, I really wanna believe you but it was probably just a genjutsu,” I pointed out as I looked up at the ceiling.
He shakes his head. “No, no, no. It wasn’t a genjutsu…or maybe it was.” Sakutaro didn’t seem entirely convinced and with the look he was giving me, maybe I didn’t either. After all he’s never been the type to exaggerate or make up stories, Sakutaro is all about facts. “Whatever it was, it certainly felt real. It felt like home except for how different everyone was.”
“Really ? Now, I gotta hear this.”
“Well, for starters, it was like everyone’s personalities were switched. Shinobu didn’t hate insects, Akamaru and Kibana got along,and Hinata was actually tolerable.” None of that sounded like their classmates at all. It was no secret that Hinata and Sakutaro didn’t get along at all, they were like oil and water. What I heard next is what really throws me for a loop.
“What’s even more strange is that my mom and dad were alive and well.”
The room goes silent, the suffocating kind of silence.
Sakutaro’s parents were a touchy subject, one most members of team seven actively avoided bringing up. Something about the stillness made me glance sideways at Sakutaro. He wasn’t speaking but there was a heaviness in his shoulders that had me tense.
“Same names. Same faces. But... they were different,” he said, and the corners of his mouth twitched—not a smile, not a frown. Just a tremor of emotion that never quite made it to the surface.
“Different how?” I asked, voice quieter now.
“They weren’t shinobi. At least not active.,” he said. “They smiled and joked…a lot.” He rubbed the back of his neck, and for the first time in a long while, he looked small. Not in size—he was still lean and tall and wiry—but in a soul-deep kind of way. “I kept expecting my father to correct my stance or scold me for forgetting my form. But he just asked if I was alright. And my mother... she had laugh lines. Like she’d been happy. For a long time.”
I tried to swallow the lump in my throat.
“And the monument,” Sakutaro added. “It had Minato’s face on it. Not... not my father’s.”
That snapped me out of it.
“Wait, Minato? Hokage?” I said, breaking into a soft, disbelieving laugh. “Don’t get me wrong, the guy’s incredible but I can’t picture him stuck behind a desk signing off on mission reports.”
Sakutaro allowed himself the smallest smile. It was faint, barely there—but it was real.
“Yeah,” he said, voice warmer now. “Same.” Sakutaro leaned back on his hands, head tilted to the left side. For a while, neither of us said a word. Then, softly—so softly I nearly didn’t hear him. “I think I’m a little envious of him.”
He said it like he didn’t mean for it to slip out. Like he already regretted it. I didn’t ask why . I didn’t need to.
I remembered the other version of him clearly and I don’t think anyone could fault me for not noticing the difference. The “alternate” Sakutaro and the one I’m looking at right now hadn’t been all that different. It was strange—even his chakra signature had been nearly identical to the one I’d known for years. Same rhythm, steady like a drumbeat and oddly comforting. The major difference was that his eyes were softer, a little less tired.
But now that I think about it, there were differences. Tiny ones. The way he carried himself—looser, like he didn’t have to carry a legacy on his back. His smile was easier. His hands weren’t calloused in the same places. I should’ve picked up on all that the first time. I should’ve known.
..Maybe I did .
I don’t know. Looking back, I think part of me knew . Maybe not in a conscious way, but deep down, I could tell he wasn’t my Sakutaro. Still—I went along with it. I didn’t ask questions. Maybe because, just for once, I liked having his attention on me . Not Menma. Not his dumb rivalry with Hinata. Not his mission log. Me . And that version of Sakutaro? He lit up when he saw me. His whole face changed, like I was something he never thought he’d get back. It was... fun. Strange, a little awkward, but kind of sweet too.
“Well, we all just have to roll with what life throws at us, right?” I stretch my arms behind my head. “No re-rolls. No refunds.”
I don’t say anything like “you’re not alone” or “you’re enough” . That kind of comfort always rang hollow.
“Still,” I added, glancing sideways at him, “he was pretty darn cute when he blushed. At least he accepts my roses.”
That got him to turn his head. “Seriously, Sasuko ?”
I smirked. “Mhm. But don’t worry. I much prefer you .~”
He gave me a look like I’d grown three heads. “Yeah, right. You’ve got plenty of guys lined up. Honestly, I feel kinda bad for the other me, you probably gave him false hope.”
“Hn.,” I said with a shrug. “Don’t make me sound like a heartless monster, I genuinely was worried.”
He let out a quiet laugh—barely audible, but I caught it. The corners of his mouth lifted just enough to let me know I’d hit the right spot.
“I wonder if the other Sasuko was a flirt too,” he said, shaking his head.
Now that caught my attention. I sat up a little straighter. “Wait—you saw me?”
He shook his head. “No. That’s the weird part. You weren’t there. And when I asked about you, people changed the subject. Acted like it was something they weren’t supposed to talk about.”
Huh. That was weird. I shrugged like it didn’t bother me, though something about it tugged at my gut.
“Could’ve been on a top-secret mission. Or training. Remember, we did split up for a while—different squads, different mentors. Maybe she was just off becoming a badass somewhere.”
He nodded slowly, like he was still working through it. I stood, waving my hand lazily.
“Well, whatever her deal was, sounds like she missed out.”
He blinked at me. “On what?”
I flashed a grin as I walked toward the door. “On seeing this version of you. Like I said the other version of you was cute but he lacks that intensity that makes you handsome.”
I paused, glancing back at him one last time to see if it got a reaction out of him.
“You better be off. If you end up seeing Menma, Sai, or Kakashi, tell them I’m fine and that they don’t have to worry about me.”
“So bossy but I will.”
And then I slipped out of the room before he could say anything else—heart hammering in my chest, but with a small smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. As I walked down the hallway, the echo of my boots fading behind me, I couldn’t help but think— maybe one day, I’ll get to see him smile the way he used to. Not the tired, polite kind he gives the world, but the real one. And even if that day never comes, I think I’ll always love the green of his eyes—soft and steady, like spring clinging to life after a long, hard winter.