Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sasuke waited patiently in the yard and rather excitedly imagined what he and Nii-san would do for the day! Nii-san promised to train him yesterday when he just got back from his recent mission. He’s been waiting for ages, ever since the last promised session was cancelled.

He was so disappointed, but Father told him to stop being whiny because Itachi’s duty would always come first. Father’s face was disapproving, so Sasuke stopped his comment.

He’s a big boy now, so he needs to be strong, Sasuke thought to himself. If he wants to be as strong as Nii-san, he needs to train just like him. Maybe one day he’ll finally make Father proud.

So here he is in the dirt, kicking the rock with his feet, dragging it on the ground.

As time passed by, Sasuke grew hesitant. The sun is now almost reaching the top of his head, and still, there’s no sign of his brother. ‘Where could he be?’ He ponders.

Nii-san was there during the family breakfast, but he told Sasuke he had to leave for a second to run an errand. Sasuke already reminded his brother of it, and Itachi just poked his head and smiled at him.

Now recalling the memory, Sasuke huffed and crossed his arms. It’s been hours since that interaction, and Itachi is still not back. Is he hanging out with that annoying Shisui right now and has forgotten all about him? Or is he with the girl who he sometimes chats with? Or is he with...

...

Now that he thought about it, his brother doesn’t seem to have that many friends. He himself doesn’t have friends, but that’s not relevant right now. Where else can his brother go, though?

Muffled sniffs broke him out of his thoughts, breaking the silence around him.

He snaps to attention, and he looks around searching for the source, but he can’t seem to find anyone.

The voice emerged again, this time more harrowingly than it had before. His heart clenched at the sound, and now his eyes narrowed at it. Sasuke could pinpoint the source of it, behind the oak tree in the garden. He walks cautiously, and the sound becomes clearer with each step.

He peeks, careful not to make any sounds.

There’s a girl sitting, her back facing the tree. He could see the huge Uchiha emblem on her back, though he isn’t sure if he has ever seen it on a jacket before. She’s not an outsider then.

Her face is all puffed and red from crying, if the tears tracking on her face are telling him. There’s a pair of glasses with thin frames next to her. He has never seen any clan members wearing those emblems, except for the old obaasan at the market. They would pinch his face sometimes, calling him a cute growing boy, which made him grumble, but they always gave him candy, which made him feel slightly happy, though he still didn’t like them pinching his face.

He tried to move closer to inspect this unknown person in more detail, and the twigs under him snapped.

Her head quickly turns to him, and her tears stop for a moment. Sasuke and she exchanged eye contact for the first time, but Sasuke quickly turned to the side, about to walk away. “Sorry for bothering you, I’ll go somewhere else.”

But before he could step back, she held him by the arm and asked him one simple question.

“You... You can see me?”

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Sasuke's face wrinkled in confusion.

Can I see her? What kind of question is that supposed to be? He wasn’t sure how to respond.

Does she think she’s a ghost? But ghosts don’t come up in the morning. And he definitely feels her touch on him right now. Are ghosts able to touch people?

He shakes his head, removing the rambling thought from him. Ghosts aren’t even real. There is no way she is one.

The woman in front of him waited for his answer, a glimmering sense of hope shining from her eyes. “You can, right?” she asked desperately, unconsciously squeezing his arm tighter. He winced, a sharp hiss slipping through his teeth. “Ouch!”

She was startled and let go of him at once, guilt flashing across her face.

Sasuke holds his arm away from her and slightly creeps away. doesn’t know what to make up for her now.

The wind shuffles the leaf that has fallen from their surroundings, breaking the silence between the two. Now that she’s facing him, there are a few memorable pieces that he takes notice of. The pieces of jewellery, a pair of Uchiha emblem earrings and a choker, and lastly, her frameless glasses. As an Uchiha, her style resembles that of a foreigner more than that of a member of his clan.

Father once told him only troublemakers pierce their body parts and sternly told Sasuke it’s not acceptable for their classmen to be considered one, as it will ruin their clan’s reputation. He’d just nodded back then at what was said, not wanting to disturb his father’s speech in case it irritated him. Perhaps he should have questioned his thoughts back then. But, right now, Sasuke truly doesn’t feel like she is what they thought she would be.

Especially not with the leaf headband tied to her right arm, sparkling right back at him.

Wiping away her tears with the sleeve of her jacket, she then quietly resumes her speech, albeit now a bit calmer. “I apologize,” she said, shifting to her seat before continuing, “I didn’t mean to scare you off.’’

“I wasn't scared. You just startled me, that's all,” Sasuke said defensively.

“Alright, even so, I’m still sorry.” She replied.

She picked up the glasses and settled them on the bridge of her nose. Her lashes fluttered in a quick series of blinks, her vision sharpening with each beat. A pair of black eyes stared back at him.

Before long, she asks him again. “Am I still visible to you?”

He is tired of hearing the same question again.

“Obviously,” Sasuke said dryly, gesturing to her.

She let out a shaky breath while muttering something along the lines of "Thanks, Kami."

Something clicks in his head, and he says it out loud.

“Who are you? I've never seen you here before.”

She looks quite taken aback, as if she wasn’t expecting the question. “Oh, me? I’m no one important.”

Hearing that, Sasuke just scowled. “Don’t say that, just answer my question. You are Uchiha, aren't you? How come I've never seen you before?”

“I... I was on a mission in Sunagakure. It’s been a while since I’ve come back to Konoha.”

Before he could respond, a loud boom rang in the sky as thunder struck the earth. When he looks up, dark clouds converge over them, promising heavy rains to fall anytime near. She holds out her arm to the sky that isn’t covered in tree shade, and a drop of water falls directly to her palm.

“I have to go home,” he said. The disgruntled feeling steadily grew, with Nii-san not showing up to their promise, but he put the thought onto the back of his head. He should have known that already, with the number of broken promises Nii-san already made with him in the past that went undone.

When he turns around to walk away, the girl stands up and states, “Let me accompany you to your house.”

He accepted the invitation flippantly, although a quiet part of him is annoyed with being treated like a child. They both walk together in a quiet silence, not uncomfortable but with a bit of awkwardness.

She was walking a bit further away from behind him, and he could feel her staring hard at the back of his head. “What were you doing there earlier, if you don't mind me asking?”

“Training.”

“All by yourself?”

“No, I was supposed to train with my brother, but he isn't here yet.” He grumbles but quickly changes his tone. “Itachi nii-san is a chunin, so he’s probably off doing his duties, so I can’t get mad at that.”

She stops in her tracks abruptly, putting a hold on their conversation.

“...Itachi? Your brother is Uchiha Itachi?”

When he finally looked back, she stood there like a boulder. She is pale, and a look of recognition passes through her before a wave of grief hits.