Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A hoard of students passed by, talking amongst themselves. What had their weekend been like? Who had studied? What do you mean there is a test? Can I copy it off of you? Do you think he will notice me this week? No, mom won’t let me go. The noise grew and became a cloud that moved together, almost into a living, breathing creature that would live only until everyone went their separate ways.

Sasuke stood in the middle as they passed by and some even through him.

He was dead.

How did he die?

Who was he?

He seemed to know his name. He could assume that he went to this school because he was wearing the same uniform as everyone else, but other than that, he had no clue why he was there.

Being dead felt… odd. He assumed being dead would feel like nothing, but it felt like something. He could feel more of it if he wanted to, focusing on the breeze made it clear it was a cold morning, but then again, he couldn’t feel the warmth of the people walking through him, not noticing he was there.

Shouldn’t they feel him? Was that just a bad guess that was made in movies?

“Come on.” Sasuke heard a voice that wasn’t with the rest of the crowd. “You made us late!” A girl with pink hair called behind her as she ran toward the front doors to catch up with the end of the hoard.

“We’ll make it.” A blonde boy chased after her with a big dumb smile on his face.

Hm.

Sasuke stood there for a moment longer, staring at the old bricks of the building and wondering just what he was doing there. No one seemed to be mourning. Maybe he had been dead for a while, or maybe he was just an asshole.

He let his feet follow him inside after the two stragglers rushed to make it to class.

The halls didn’t feel familiar. He would think that they would. It was weird having no memory of a place that he was sure that he must have been at some point. Was he a new student? Was he not here long enough? Was it his first day?

He didn't understand how he could know what a hallway of a school looked like without having any memory of what a hallway of a school looked like.

The two loud, straggler students finally got into their chairs, and the female student glared at the male one. He grinned, pushing his face out at her. “See, we weren't late.”

She rolled her eyes and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.

The boy only grinned more.

“Ew.” Sasuke said out loud without really thinking about it. Then he tilted his head. Why did he care? Why was that his reaction? He didn't know these people.

Or did he?

What was going on?

He looked around the class to see if there was a face that he recognized, but there wasn't any. He didn't know if his memory was just wiped or maybe this wasn't his class.

There was an open seat beside the blonde kid, and he took it. What was he supposed to do? Obviously, he didn't have to attend this class, but he didn't know what else he would do right now.

What did you do when you were dead?

What was happening?

Hinata sat on the ledge of the roof of the building, watching the students go under her. Did she know any of them? She didn’t seem to remember.

She was dead. She hadn't been dead for very long. Or at least that was her assumption, as she only remembered the last couple of hours.

But she didn't seem to remember how she died.

And she didn't really know anything about herself.

She kicked one of her feet out in front of her to look at her perfectly white uniform shoes. She seemed to be a clean student. Not a single part of the uniform was out of place. The skirt was set to regulation length. Her shirt was tucked in and buttoned as high as it would go, and her vest was pressed. The only thing that seemed out of place was a sports letter coat that was about a size too big for her, but maybe that was on purpose. Or maybe she had lost weight and moved down a uniform size but hadn't bothered to change the jacket.

So she was a student. Was she a good student? Was she not?

There were so many questions that could be asked.

Did she study well? Did she chase boys? Did she participate in sports? Did she play an instrument?

Who was she?

All she seemed to know was her name.

Unless there was another Hinata at the school, she thought maybe she could find her name on a plaque or a sheet for a theater group, but she hadn’t been able to find anything yet.

“Shino. Wait!” A boy in a hoodie that was not school-issued ran after his friend as students pulled out into the courtyard for lunch. His name was Kiba. She saw him called on earlier when she was wandering the halls looking for information.

The taller boy in sunglasses must be Shino. He turned his head over his shoulder to look at him but didn’t slow his step as he continued on to pick a table.

Hm.

Hinata dropped off the top of the building. If she was dead, she couldn’t die any more than she already had. She landed on her feet but stumbled forward. She had already found out that being dead didn't make her any more graceful when she stumbled up the stairs on the way to the rooftop, but the landing and the fall didn’t hurt, so it didn’t matter how badly she fell.

She had discovered so much about being dead in the last few hours. She couldn’t be hurt. She didn’t need to eat, and she could pass through solids-like doors if she wanted to, but she could walk upstairs. It was all rather interesting. Like a dream, she knew she was in.

But she was rather sure it wasn’t a dream. It was too real… and she just knew she was dead. She couldn’t explain how.

Should she be more upset that she was dead?

Maybe being dead would make her more upset if she could remember if there was anyone who would miss her, or maybe how she might have died.

She blinked and looked back up at the top of the building. She hoped it wasn't that way.

“No, I studied,” Shino commented, drawing her attention back to them.

They sat down at a picnic table bench and dug their lunches out of their respective bags. She sat down with them. She hoped they wouldn't mind.

“Could you like hold your first sheet up a little bit so I can copy it?” Kiba begged. “I haven’t been sleeping, and I'm just so dead after classes every day. I haven't even looked at anything.”

It was bad to cheat.

Oh.

Maybe she was a good student.

“I don't think you want to cheat off of me.” The taller one shook his head. “I've been struggling to pay attention.”

The other one sighed solemnly. “Yeah. It’s been like that, huh.”

They didn't say anymore about what they meant. They seemed to both understand what the other was going through, which meant they must have been good friends.

Did she have any friends?

She turned her head over her shoulder to look at the groups of girls sitting and giggling. Maybe if she passed one of her friends, she would know. She wondered if she was a gossip. She seemed interested in these two situations, at least. Maybe she was nosy.

Hinata looked out over the tables at the rest of the student bodies in various stages of their lunches across the courtyard, she locked eyes with someone else who was staring right back at her.

She blinked, and he was looking away.

Odd. She thought he was actually looking at her, but that didn't make any sense. She was dead. No one could see her.

It didn't seem to bother her now, but she wondered if it would bother her in a few days, weeks, or months. How long was she going to stay here? Was she going to haunt the school forever?

She turned her head back to see if the two boys gave her any more information about their conversation.

She was sure that she could entertain herself with the going ons of the students for at least a little bit.

Sasuke’s eyes shifted back across the courtyard to see that the girl was no longer looking at him. He narrowed his eyes. He couldn't tell if she had seen him, or if she had just been looking in the general direction.

It didn't really make any sense. No one else could see him.

Then again, maybe if he could find someone who could see him, he could ask some questions. Like, why was he here? And why did he keep following these two losers around? They were starting to get on his nerves. Maybe he should pick someone else, maybe a teacher.

Following around high school students was going to get boring really quickly.

Chapter Text

Naruto watched Sakura pick at her lunch. There was a slight, sad pout on her lips that he wasn't sure there was anything he could do about. He tried to keep her smiling, but right now, he didn't even feel like smiling.

He nudged her with his knee to get her attention, but all she did was place her hand down on his leg and continue picking at her lunch. He would take it. At least she was acknowledging he was there and that he was trying to make her feel better.

Their relationship was… it had only started. They had known each other for years, so it was easy to fall into it because they were already so comfortable with each other, and he really wanted to be happy about it because it was his dream. It was everything he wanted, but it just felt a little different with Sasuke gone.

He didn't want to think about it this way, but sometimes he thought that she was only pitying him now because he was her only option. He looked out to the empty basketball court across the yard.

He missed Sasuke.

He didn't want this to be the way that he and Sakura got together.

He wanted to be able to talk to Sasuke about it. He wanted to hear him complain about how sick it made him that they were being cute together. He wanted to see him make that face he did when he told him that she was the best thing in his life. He wanted him to be there when he proposed. He wanted him to be his best man at his wedding. He wanted him to be there.

Naruto bent forward, leaning himself down to his knee.

Sakura paused, but then reacted by moving her hand from his knee to the top of his head.

Sakura sighed. He was being needy, and she didn't know how giving she could be. It wasn't that she didn't want to be. It was just hard at the moment. She ran her fingers through his hair and set down her utensils for the meal. She didn't feel like eating.

It had been hard for both of them.

Sasuke's death had been a complete shock and a reset through her entire system. She thought she had her whole life figured out. She knew what she wanted and who she wanted to spend it with. She was going to change Sasuke's mind at some point. He was going to see her eventually.

… but now he was gone.

She thought that was what killed her dreams, but in a broken moment, after a full night of crying, she had to accept that she always sort of knew that it was never going to play out the way that she wanted it to. She wasn't going to get the life that she wanted out of someone else by just brute forcing it.

He never wanted it.

He never wanted her.

And she was holding on to it because she didn't want it to be true.

That moment of clarity made her realize what she really wanted. She wanted someone who wanted her. She wanted someone who wanted her to be as happy as she wanted Sasuke to want her to be happy.

She latched on to Sasuke with her dreams, when what she really wanted was to be the center of her man's world.

It made her feel stupid. Naruto had always been there waiting for her. No matter how many times she yelled at him, turned him down, or told him it was never going to happen. He stayed because it wasn't just that he thought she was attractive. He wanted her to be happy, even if it wasn't with him. He stuck around not because he thought there was still a chance, but because he wanted to be her friend and hear about her day, to make her laugh, to comfort her when she cried.

Yeah, he was a big goof that she needed to beat sense into on occasion, but he was earnest, and he did love her.

She just… She just wished that was what she had spent her time on. She wished that it didn't take Sasuke dying for her to figure that out.

But she couldn't go back now.

Kiba sat back, watching Akumaru flail happily in the grass. It was a nice sunny weekend. Good. He was so sick of seeing the rain. If he could have his way, he would never see rain again. Maybe he would move to the desert.

Shino took a sip of his juice and lifted his face to the sun, taking it in.

It was such a nice day, but there was someone missing. He could almost see Hinata out there in the grass giggling as Akumaru tossed around, or her placing flowers in his fur when he stopped to just bask in the sun.

The poor pup always looked so disappointed just to see Shino. He sniffed around him for a sign of her scent on him, but he didn't seem to understand that she wasn't coming back, and he didn't know how to tell him that.

Their days were quiet now.

Hinata was always their center. She was the reason they had all become friends. She was the reason they really went anywhere together. Without her, there was a void and almost a distance between him and Shino that he was trying to fill by just hanging out like this, but he didn't think that it was ever going to be the same again.

The sun was going down, and Shino walked down the quiet sidewalks alone. Spending time with Kiba felt different now. It was like neither of them knew what to talk about. Before, it was always one step away from being about Hinata, and that seemed to be what they were both avoiding.

Talks about their weekend would have led to where Hinata wanted to go, or if Hinata would be allowed to come. Talks about tests would have been around how Hinata was feeling about it and if she could help Kiba with his studying. Talks about food would have been about finding something Hinata would like to eat. Talks about the dog would even lead to how excited Hinata would be to see him again.

Shino felt like he was being haunted by the thought of her. He could almost imagine her walking here beside him, quiet because she was tired, dragging her feet unintentionally.

He glanced up at the street he was on and took the turn, then looked back down at his feet.

Then he stopped cold.

He didn't need to go this way. This was the long way home past her house that he would take to drop her off.

Shino felt a stab to his heart that rippled up to his face, scrunching it miserably.

The imaginary Hinata walked past him, heading toward her house, but he knew she wasn't really there, and there was no reason for him to take her this way to make sure she got home safe.

… He missed her.

Hinata padded through the dark halls, glancing around at the rooms that were only dimly lit but the streetlamps outside. Incredibly quiet. It felt abandoned and lifeless without a single soul inside. Well, living soul.

It was strange to see a building that was usually so full of life and noise to be so completely still and quiet. It felt like she shouldn't be here. In a way, she assumed she shouldn't be. She didn't know what to do now. She didn't know where else to go. She didn't need to sleep.

She should find something to do to entertain herself. There was a library, maybe she could find so books to read. She didn't know how long she would be here. Could she read all of them?

Her thoughts were broken by a shadow passing through the opening to the next hall.

Hinata blinked. Was there someone else here?

She headed down the hall to follow it. Coming to the end of the hall and taking the direction she had seen them go. She saw the back of another student walking down the hall. What were they doing this late?

She followed them down the hall until he stopped and tilted his head. She paused as well, wondering if she was going to find out now what he was here for, but what she wasn't expecting was for him to turn around and look directly at her.

“Stop following me.” He told her harshly.

Hinata squeaked and jumped back, covering her mouth. He could see her?! How?

The student looked just as startled as she was, despite scolding her. He looked like he wasn't expecting her to hear him.

They stared there at each other for a long moment, neither of them moving, neither of them seemingly knowing what to do next.

Who was he?

Chapter Text

Sasuke sat in the auditorium staring at the empty, dimly lit stage with the girl that he thought was just a student wandering around after hours. He wasn’t expecting her to hear him when he snapped at her, so her being startled spooked the hell at him. It turns out that they might be in the same boat. Both were dead, both not remembering how they died or even how long they had been dead, both not remembering anything about their lives other than their names.

“I wonder if not remembering anything is normal for ghosts or if we don’t remember because it was so horrific.” Hinata hummed, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping herself around them.

“Maybe.” Sasuke leaned back and stared up at the ceiling.

“I think we went to school here, at least.” Hinata hummed.

“What gave you that idea?” Sasuke rolled his eyes down to their uniforms.

“I mean, like…” She waved her hand unsurely. “I kinda feel it. I feel a bit like I should be remembering something I am just not. It doesn’t feel familiar, but…”

“You feel like it should.” Sasuke agreed. “It’s annoying.”

Hinata nodded, putting her chin down on her knees.

Sasuke gave her a better look. She wasn’t just wearing the school uniform. She was wearing a varsity jacket, but it looked like she was swimming in it. “Do you know where the jacket came from?”

Hinata looked down, turning the sleeve that was falling over the palm of her hand. “I am not sure. There is no name on the back.”

Sasuke made a face. “Putting names on them feels stupid anyway.”

“Maybe, but it would have helped.” She wrapped her arms back around herself. “I thought maybe it was mine, and I played a sport.”

“It’s too big,” Sasuke commented directly.

“Maybe I ordered wrong.” She shrugged.

“It’s more likely a boyfriend’s.” Sasuke reached over to look into the collar. “It looks like a man’s jacket.”

Hinata reached up to move her long hair to the side so he could see better. “Oh, I hope not.”

Sasuke blinked. “Why?”

“If I had a boyfriend, that means I left him behind, and he would miss me,” Hinata explained earnestly.

Sasuke was sobered by the idea. “Yeah.” It wasn’t something he had really formally thought about. Was someone sad that he died? Did he have a family to miss him?

Hinata tilted her head, watching the students come in the next morning, sitting alongside her new apparition acquaintance. “Do you think we knew each other?” She asked him. “Before we died?”

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. “I am not even sure that we died in the same year.”

“Hm?” She turned her attention to him. “What makes you say that?”

Sasuke pointed at her skirt. “You were your skirt too low.”

Hinata pointed back up at her jacket and then down at the other students who were wearing it. “Don’t you think that would have changed something about the jackets over the years?”

Sasuke lifted his eyes to consider it. “Maybe.”

Hinata's eyes fell back down, and she found the boys she was following before walking in to get her. She should see what they are doing today. She dropped down from the roof, but before she could follow them, Sasuke dropped down in front of her.

“Where are you going?” He asked, looking back at the crowd.

Hinata opened her mouth to answer, but a flash of blond hair past her vision.

She remembered this.

Sasuke stood in front of her with a flat look on his face as he waited for an answer to his question.

Hinata’s attention was pulled away by a head of blond hair with a bright smile passing being him. She brought her eyes back to him to answer his question with a heavy heart.

“We did know each other,” Hinata said as she stared behind him.

Sasuke turned to try to see what she was looking at. “Huh?”

“And I knew him.” She pointed at that annoying kid he had been following around.

“Naruto?” Sasuke clarified.

“You know who he is?” Hinata wondered.

“No, I just heard his name,” Sasuke explained. “He’s annoying, and he plays basketball.”

“I wonder if this is his jacket.” Hinata looked down.

“You had better hope not.” Sasuke pointed back at the door, where the equally annoying pink girl followed after him. “He has a girlfriend.”

“Well, that actually wouldn’t be that bad, right?” Hinata reasoned. “I would want him to find love again.”

Sasuke didn’t like the idea of that. She was a little too selfless. “Unless one of them killed you because there was cheating.”

Hinata made a sour face at him. “Don’t think like that. We don’t even know how I died.”

“So it could have been murder.” Sasuke countered.

Hinata tutted and walked past him to head back in with the rest of the students.

Sasuke stared at Naruto for a moment, and he didn't know if it was just Hinata's memory that suggested that they knew each other or if it was actually coming back to him, but he did vaguely remember his face.

There was a memory there that he couldn't quite place.

Sasuke glanced behind her to Naruto, who was grinning gleefully, but Hinata's eyes were down, looking uncomfortable and miserable.

He wished it wasn't like this.

He squinted at him, but no other memory came. Maybe he was right about the cheating? Maybe not. This guy seemed a little too devoted to his irritating girlfriend to cheat on her with someone who looked so different.

The annoying girlfriend in question, Sakura, sat down and was joined by the gossip he learned yesterday was called Ino.

“Are you going to the memorial this week?” Ino whispered.

Memorial? One of theirs?

Sakura's expression fell, and she picked at the side of her book. “Yeah, but… I just think it's getting harder for Naruto.”

Ino nodded solemnly. “They were like brothers.”

Sakura smiled and nodded. “Brothers that could stand each other.”

Ino giggled.

Sasuke hoped there was a third ghost around here because he really didn't like the idea of being this loser's friend.

Ino lost the smile on her face and sighed. “I just hope the other girls are more respectful.” She rested her hand on her chin. “I know that the fan club was a whole thing, but it just feels insensitive now.”

Sakura nodded. “Yeah. Especially when his family was there.”

Was? Was this a secondary memorial? What was going on? They were acting like this wasn't the first time it was held.

Hinata helped herself to the empty seat next to Kiba in his class. She was curious why he kept looking at it. She glanced down. Did ghosts cast shadows or something? She hoped that she wasn't accidentally haunting him.

The word haunting made her wonder: what if they stay here in the school forever? Were they haunting the school?

She had a vague memory being of that being something that happened in horror movies. Ghosts of students got haunted school bathrooms, locker rooms, basements, or auditoriums.

Did someone tell her that, or did she see it in a movie?

She tried to think harder about it, but nothing came to mind. She just couldn't remember. It was frustrating having a memory of information but no connection to where it came from.

“There you are,” Sasuke called as he caught up with Hinata. She turned around and gave him her attention. “I found out there is going to be a memorial.”

Her eyebrows shot up in interest. “For who?”

Sasuke shook his head. “Either me or someone else, and I hope it's not me.”

“Why?” Hinata wondered.

“Because it means I was best friends with that loser.” Sasuke waved his hand over Naruto.

Hinata looked over to see who we were talking about, and when she turned back, she had a disappointed look on her face. “You are being dramatic.” She turned back to where she was going, but in turn, she tripped over her own feet and stumbled forward.

Her hand went through a passing student, but Sasuke shot forward to catch her.

Sasuke frowned down at Hinata sitting on the floor, making a face, and rubbing her forehead. He held his hand out to her. She blinked up at him before accepting it. He pulled her up in one short go. “If you didn't hang around the court, you would get hit by a ball.”

Hinata's eyes shot down, embarrassed.

They both knew why she was hanging around.

Sasuke jerked Hinata back upright, and she stumbled back onto her feet. “Thank you.” She gasped.

He let her go. “I am not sure why I bothered. If you fall, it's not like it's going to hurt.”

Hinata's face turned sour. “It was nicer before you said that.”

Sasuke diverted his eyes. “We should go to the memorial. We might find another ghost.”

“Oh, I hope not.” Hinata pouted out her bottom lip at the idea.

“Why not?” Sasuke asked.

“Because that means someone else died,” Hinata told him before she turned more successfully to continue the way she was going.

Chapter Text

When Sasuke said memorial, this wasn't really what she thought of. She was expecting for students to fill an auditorium and there to be a picture at the front of the room, but there was no big moment or group gathering, just students coming that day with back ribbons pinned to their uniforms and the morning announcements telling everyone that they could pay their respects to the displays.

The display was a shadow box with framed student pictures in the hall, accompanied by a shelf for leaving gifts.

Two pictures. Her and Sasuke's.

Sasuke stood next to her as they found it. She wondered if he still wished it were someone else. She was starting to think that they had been dead for a few weeks, and this was just a way for students to continue to deal with their mourning. That explained why no one was talking about it, but everyone was a little dim.

A student came by and stared at the pictures. Some left gifts, mostly girls and mostly under his side.

“I must have been mean,” Hinata mumbled, mostly to herself.

“Why?” Sasuke wondered.

Hinata pointed to her side. “I don't think people liked me much.”

“I'm not sure if it's a fair comparison.” Sasuke shook his head. “I apparently had a fan club.”

“Fan club?” Interesting. She wondered what that was like. Was it a school club? Could you have a club around a person? “I wonder if I was in it.”

“I hope not.” Sasuke rolled his eyes. “It's stupid.”

Hinata shrugged. She couldn't really say that without our knowing more about it. “Maybe you were a really nice guy.”

Sasuke made a face of disgust. “I doubt that.”

Hinata couldn't really be sure. Personalities were somewhat based on living experience, and they couldn't remember any of that, so she wasn't sure how that would affect what they were like now versus then.

A student passed through Sasuke, catching her attention. It was Kiba.

He stood in front of her picture, staring up at her, and sighed to himself. Did he know her? He reached into his pocket, pulled out a piece of candy, and placed it under her picture. He bowed his head to it before he wandered off with his head down, shoving his hands in his pockets.

She stepped up to the shelf. He left behind a piece of grape candy. She picked it up and turned it in her hand.

“Woah.” Sasuke put his hand out. “How did you do that?”

“Huh?” Hinata blinked at him.

“You picked it up, but you didn't.” Sasuke pointed down to the shelf where the candy still was.

Oh, weird. Hinata shrugged. “I don't know. I assume he left it for me, so I didn't really think about picking it up.”

Sasuke looked down at his own pile. He passed up all the heart-shaped notes and stuffed animals and picked up a basketball. It worked. He bounced it, and it worked properly. “Who leaves a basketball at a memorial?”

“You must have played.” Hinata offered.

Sasuke rolled it between his hands. “Yeah.”

Sasuke dribbled his basketball on the side of the court. He could hear another ball bouncing in the corners of his memory, joined by sneaker squeaks against a linoleum floor. He couldn't see it, but he could hear it.

'Come on, Sasuke.' He could hear that annoying prick's voice.

They played together. He must have been on the team, too. It would make the basketball make sense. In fact, he bet he knew who left the ball for him.

He glanced over to where Hinata was standing, looking towards the blank scoreboard, swaying back and forth as she was in her own little world.

Sakura screamed his name with glee and jumped up and down with her pompoms. Couldn't she just cheer on the team like she was supposed to? Why did she always have to cheer for him?

Naruto ran around the court after the victory ball and the whole way back around to her, scooping her up off of her feet. She squealed and started to yell at him for being sweaty and telling him to put her down.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked up at all the bleachers watching him. He felt a bit like a monkey in a cage.

His eyes stopped on Hinata. She wasn't looking at him, and she wasn't celebrating with everyone else. She looked sad again.

Sasuke's eyes refocused on Hinata. He remembered a lot of watching her sad face. However, he wasn't always sure why she was sad.

What he did know was that her misery upset him. Had he liked her?

Hinata picked up the grass while they watched the students go about their lunch. It felt like they just followed the living around. Was that normal? She couldn't tell if she was compelled to do it or if it was just a choice she was making.

It was another nice day, and the students were all out in the courtyard, having their lunches on the benches and picnic tables. There were conversations over here, but it was starting to all blend together.

“We were in the same class, so we knew each other. I just don't know how well.” Sasuke suddenly said aloud.

“Hm?” Hinata wondered. “I assumed that we didn't really know each other at all.”

“Why?” Sasuke's eyebrows knit together, looking to her for an explanation.

Hinata shrugged. “I guess I assumed that if we did that, we would remember, since we're spending all this time together.”

Sasuke thought about it and just flopped back into the grass with an irritated look on his face. “I think Sakura liked me.”

“I think a lot of girls probably liked you.” Hinata offered.

His face only got more sour. “I mean a lot.”

“Do you think she was your girlfriend?” They might look cute together, but it would be a little sad now that he was gone.

“No,” Sasuke said firmly. “I hated her.”

Hinata giggled. She didn't know what she found so funny about the way that he said it, but it was so flat and sure. She let her giggles flutter away as she looked out over the benches again. “I wonder if I liked anyone.”

“I just hope it wasn't Naruto,” Sasuke grumbled.

That seems specific. “Why?”

“Because he's annoying,” Sasuke said in the same tone.

Hinata giggled again. He was in some kind of mood today.

She hoped that wasn't the case. It would really feel like a messy love square if she liked Naruto, Naruto likes Sakura, and Sakura liked Sasuke. Well, okay, that didn't make a square. Sasuke would have to like her, and she didn't think that made sense.

Students rushed past as they went in between classes. Sun glowed in from the window, making the hallway almost too warm, and the students complained about the heat. As they rushed past, Sasuke had a thought.

It hadn't rained once.

He looked down at the basketball court. If he played, he probably thought all day about getting back out there to practice. A day like this probably made him more miserable inside. He could almost hear a smug voice reminding him to wear sunscreen.

Did Itachi miss him?

Sasuke blinked. He had a brother. He had a brother named Itachi, who was a few years older than him. He was in university, and he didn't see much of him anymore.

He turned, but he didn't find Hinata. If she wasn't hanging around him or those two boys that she had latched to, he knew where she was.

He headed up to the roof to find her with her face up to the sun and her eyes closed. They could feel it on their skin, but it wasn't like it was really there.

“I had a brother,” Sasuke told her.

Hinata opened her eyes to blink at him. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Sasuke sat down beside her, thinking about it a little more. “His name was Itachi, and he was in annoying know at all.”

Hinata giggled.

Sasuke was glad she thought it was funny. He remembered him being irritating and teasing him.

The smile stayed on her face for a moment. “I wonder if I had a family.” Then, her face scrunched up uncomfortably.

“What?” Sasuke asked.

“I don't know.” Hinata shook the feeling off herself. “I don't remember having a family, but I don't like…” She crawled around herself as if she was getting cold and uncomfortable. “The thought of it is like… it's a bad memory that I can't reach for.”

“Maybe you didn't like them?” Sasuke offered. Or maybe they mistreated her.

“Maybe.” She hummed. “Or maybe I didn't have a family anymore.” She wrapped herself a little bit tighter. “Then, at least, they wouldn't be able to miss me.”

Sasuke sighed. There she went, being overly selfless again. If you died, didn't you want somebody to miss you, or else it was depressing?

Hinata lifted her head to the sun again, looking out at the blue sky with the clouds. Her long hair was shifted over her shoulder with the breeze.

The way she thought about things was stupid, but she was sweet. She wanted a world that couldn't exist, a world where when somebody died, no one could miss them, and it couldn't be tragic. She wanted a world where no one would remember her but forgot that that would make the life she had pathetic and depressing, and that was almost worse to have someone die with no one to remember them, for no one to have loved them.

Sasuke caught himself staring at her and pulled his eyes away.

She was too sweet.

Chapter Text

Hinata watched as Kiba stood, looking up at her picture once again. He wasn't alone. This time, he was joined by his friend Shino. She wondered if he knew her, too. It made sense. If she was friends with Kiba, then she must have been friends with his friends, right?

They seemed like an odd group, but maybe that was what made them work.

“I think I had a crush on her,” Kiba announced.

Hinata squeaked and covered her face. What?!

“Huh?” Shino asked him to make a face like he was insane.

“Not like a real serious one.” Kiba hummed sadly. “But like, I've been thinking more about it because I kind of wish I would have been able to tell her so I could see her get all flustered and blush,”

Hinata hid more of her face, and she was very happy that he couldn't see it. Had she liked him too?

Shino tilted his head. “I don't think you had a crush on her.” Kiba turned his head. He didn't seem offended by the denial. “I think you miss her. I think you miss what was sweet about her, and you like the idea of making her blush again.” He explained what he meant.

Kiba nodded his head and lowered. “Yeah, maybe I've just been thinking about it too much.”

“We both loved her.” Shino hummed thoughtfully. “She was easy to love.”

Hinata loads her hands from her face to twist them into her chest. She felt so odd hearing this from a boy she only sort of felt like she knew.

“Yeah.” Kiba looked back up at her picture. “And she loved us too.”

Hinata covered her mouth while she chewed and giggled at Kiba's story. He threw his arms out in the air while Shino moved aside, giving him an annoyed side eye from getting into his space.

A very large dog nudged its head at her hip, trying to beg for a piece of her sandwich.

She put her hand down to pat his head, but didn't give him any. “It's going onions, buddy. It will make your tummy hurt.”

They were all friends, and she did love them, and she knew that they loved her.

Her heart felt heavy now as she watched them walk away. She sort of wished now that she didn't remember.

The pouring rain seemed to put everyone in a bad mood. Faces were somber, and it was quieter than normal, making the thunder feel so much louder. What was said was strange. There was a lot of 'be careful walking home' and 'Do you need a ride?'

He didn't remember being in school much, but he didn't remember this kind of sentiment when it would rain.

He found Hinata standing, staring out one of the big hallway windows, looking out at the courtyard, letting the last of the students that were heading to class pass through her. She looked up at the rain with her own almost somber look on her face. As he stood beside her, she glanced up at him before she returned out the window.

“It feels like something is off.” Hinata voiced her concern.

Sasuke nodded. “Yeah.”

“I wonder if the storm is going to get worse.” She frowned.

Sasuke brought his eyes back to her just in time for lighting to strike outside and flash a bright light into the window and blood onto her face. He flinched and blinked, and the blood was gone.

Hinata trailed along in the halls. Everyone who would usually spend their lunch and study periods outside had tucked away wherever they could today, so she kept finding everyone hidden everywhere.

“I just don't understand what you like about me.” Sakura's voice caught her attention. “Sasuke couldn't find anything he liked.”

Hinata backed her way up to find them in an empty music room that had a view of the dark skies and rain outside. With most of the lights off, it gave the room a blue hue.

“Sakura…” Naruto puffed. “You need to stop thinking about him and think about us.”

“I don't think you can answer the question.” Sakura shot back, clearly upset and wounded by her own assumptions.

Hinata felt bad for her. It was bad enough that her crush seemingly didn't return her affections, but when him gone, she was probably dealing with a piece of her heart being gone.

Naruto sighed. “I like everything about you.”

Sakura made a noise of upset like that wasn't a good enough answer.

“I wasn't done.” Naruto provided. “I like the way your nose scrunched up when you are happy. I like the way your forehead budges when you're mad.” Sakura frowned and put her hand up to her forehead like it was an insult. “I like that no matter how mad you are, you will always help me. I like how smart you are. I like how much attention you give to the things you care about. I like…” He kept listing things while Sakura curled around herself as she started to actually feel the embarrassment of hearing exactly what she asked for.

Hinata, on the other hand, her chest was getting tight. So tight that even though she was dead and couldn’t breathe, it felt like she was struggling, too. Why was this making her so uncomfortable? Why did it make her feel so insecure?

“Are you sure you don't want to give it to him yourself?” Sakura held up the small box.

Hinata shook her head, dipping it down because she knew she couldn't

“Alright.” Sakura smiled. “Don't worry, I'll give it to him.”

Memories flooded back.

It wasn’t Kiba that she liked, it was Naruto.

Hinata got out of the room, hoping that it would get rid of the tightness in her chest. She wandered down the hall, trying to free her heart of the discomfort.

“Are you okay?” Sasuke's voice brought her eyes up to realize that he was there.

“I was in love with Naruto.” Hinata voiced. She didn't really mean to tell him so directly, but it just fell out of her mouth. “I wonder… if I am stuck here because of my unrequited love for him.” If that were the case, would she just be stuck here until he left school? Would she be left here forever, even long after she graduated?

“I doubt it.” Sasuke shook his head. “That doesn't really make much sense, since you didn't even remember him, and it wasn't like you followed him around first.”

Hinata thought about it. Maybe he was right. “And it wouldn’t explain why you are here.” She added. “But then… why are we here?”

Sasuke shrugged. “I'm not sure if there is a reason, but if there is, it's probably connected with how we died.”

Sasuke wondered how Hinata was doing now. After wondering why they were here, he saw less of her for the next couple of days. He would find her in different rooms, just sitting and listening. She would see him pass by but would get up to join him like she would before.

He was starting to get a little concerned. Was this because she remembered more of her life? Was this going to happen to him, too?

He came back to their memorials to find her staring up at their pictures. Her face looked a little less miserable and blank than the last time he saw it. He joined her, standing in front of their pictures and offerings.

“I think I know how we died.” Hinata hummed. Was that what she was doing? Waiting for someone to talk about it. “We died together, actually.” She lifted her head up to gauge his reaction.

He nodded. That sounded about right. “That makes sense. We showed up at the same time.”

“We died on a bridge nearby after school.” She continued. “There is apparently another memorial of flowers there.”

“Did we jump?” Sasuke tilted his head. Nothing from either of their memories seemed to imply they were that depressed.

“I don’t think so.” Hinata shook her head. “I am not sure what it was, but they kept calling it an accident.” Her voice got mellower, like she was starting to accept it. “I don't think we're friends, though.” She added. “I have heard multiple people wondering and speculating why we were even together that day because you didn't live in that direction, and no one knew why you followed me.”

Sasuke nodded. They wouldn't need to ask why if they were friends.

Hinata reached down and picked up her piece of grape candy that was left behind for the day. The small pile the Kiba had left was starting to grow. She flattened the wrapper out in her hand and started folding it until she had a tiny paper crane.

“How did you do that?” Sasuke wondered.

Hinata blinked up at him. “Uhm…” She looked around from another square. “I can show you if we have another...”

Sasuke picked up two of the many pieces of candy from his side. Hinata sat down along the wall, and he joined her.

“You start by folding it like this.” Hinata showed him, walking him through the steps until they had two more paper cranes. Well, she had a paper crane. He looked a little deformed.

“I think mine is a duck,” Sasuke grumbled.

Hinata giggled. “He's a cute duck.”

Sasuke glanced over at her smile. It was nice to see her face again. He was worried he was going to lose her.

Chapter Text

Hinata was happy to be trailing behind her friends today after spending so much of her time bouncing between classrooms in search of information. She missed them, and she missed their temperament. She could now understand why she wasn't friends with many of the girls at this school. She didn't want to disparage them, but a fair few of them had just a little growing up to do.

Kiba came in with his head lower than usual and a flush to his cheeks as he looked down at his flip phone.

“Did you see him last night?” Shino asked. “You don't look like you're bruised.”

Hinata blinked. Who was he meeting? Was there a talk about a fight that she had missed? What happened?

Kiba's shoulder fell completely, and he covered his face. “We didn't fight.” He whimpered. “We made out.”

Shino snorted.

Hinata gasped.

Kiba shank into himself.

Shino started laughing. “There is really a thin line between love and hate for you.”

“Don't laugh!” Kiba barked at him. “I didn't realize he was…” He glanced around and brought his voice down. “Hitting on me.”

Shino shrugged like he thought that was what it was the whole time. “I told you I thought he was teasing you more than actually trying to start a fight.”

Hinata covered her face. That was sweet. She was upset that she missed what happened, but she was so excited for him.

“Are you going to see him again?” Shino prodded.

“He's texting me right now,” Kiba grumbled.

Hinata leaned down to try to screen. She didn't know a Kankuro, and she hadn't heard that name before. Maybe he went to a different school.

“Hinata would love to hear about this.” Shino suddenly commented, bringing her attention back up to them.

“Yeah.” Kiba's face got a little less embarrassed and a little more sad. “I wish I could tell her.”

Hinata closed her hands over her heart. “I wish you knew I was here. I'm happy for you.” She told him.

Sasuke laid his head back. Why was he ever friends with these two losers? All they did was argue. It was all the more irritating when they were arguing about him, which they seemed to do regularly even though he wasn't even there. Was this what they did when he was alive? Maybe he did jump off that bridge.

“It's not going to just go away!” Sakura's voice cracked.

Naruto waved his hands out wide as the argument got more heated. “You said you didn't love him anymore!”

Sakura placed her hand on her chest defensively. “I said that I realized that I didn't want it anymore, not that it wasn't still there.”

Naruto huffed and looked away from her. His face was strained, and despite how mad they both were, it looked like he was on the verge of crying. “Do you love me?” He asked.

Sakura stared at him in disbelief.

Sasuke rubbed his face. Now, he did it. Why would you ask the question? That was like taking a nuke to a knife fight.

“Never mind.” Naruto’s face fell. Either he realized his mistake, or he didn't like what he thought the answer was. He stood there for another moment before he shook his head and tried to leave the room.

“Naruto.” Sakura scrambled forward to grab his arm.

Naruto stopped but didn't look back at her. “No, just don't.”

So dramatic. Sasuke felt like it was day in and day out. Did they even like each other? He felt like they were at it all the time, and this was just getting frustrating.

Naruto turned back to her with tears in his eyes that made Sakura flinch back. “You know what? I think that until you have this figured out, we should take a break.”

“Naruto!” Sakura gapped at him.

“No.” Naruto pulled his arm out of her hand. “I don't want the ghost of him between us forever. You need to figure it out.” He told her before he kept walking away.

“Naruto!” Sakura screeched before she started crying.

Sasuke got up. He didn't want to watch this anymore. They were both wrong. Naruto was too held up on what she was thinking about a dead guy, and Sakura should be able to put her feelings away with the dead guy.

He hated these people. Why did he even hang around them?

“So they broke up, and they are using me as an excuse.” Sasuke flicked his hand at himself. “I am dead. Leave me out of it.” He ranted.

Hinata wasn't sure that was really the core problem here. It felt like there was some communication that was missing between them, which was making them both insecure. It was sad, though, and she could understand why Sasuke found it frustrating. She wondered if he was more their harsh voice of reason. Snapping them out of dumb arguments by pointing out that they were arguing what the actual point of their problem was.

“This feels like punishment.” Sasuke flopped onto his back into the grass. “I feel like the whole reason were put her was to suffer.”

Hinata wasn't sure. She felt that way a bit when she heard Sakura and Naruto talk, but that seemed to be more just what leftover feelings she had from life. She would think that they were meant to help their friends in some way if they could do anything, but they couldn't. They were just ghosts. Observers of fate rather than molders of it.

“Maybe I am here to haunt them because they annoyed me in life,” Sasuke growled.

Hinata giggled. Now, he was just getting ridiculous.

“Get away from my memorial. I am not your moral questioning ground.” Sasuke tossed the paper hearts that were left by the girls at Naruto's head, but they only went through him to clatter to the floor on the other side of him. “You're annoying. I hate you.” He continued tossing idle insults at him in hopes that it would work as some kind of curse, but he didn't have any power to do anything, and that made it all the more annoying.

Naruto crossed his arms and sighed, looking at the picture. “I do love her.”

“I don't care!” Sasuke barked. “Go tell her that shit then, not me.”

Sasuke eyes were brought to movement at the end of the hallway, finding Sakura stopped to see him standing there.

Great, here we go again.

Sakura's expression didn't turn angry. Instead, her lip started to tremble, and she ran to him, hitting his back and wrapping her arms around his rib cage, hugging him close, and pressing her face into the back of his shoulder blade.

Naruto stood there for a moment as he processed what happened, but once he realized it was her, he didn't turn to tell her to piss off. He just laid his hands over hers.

“I'm sorry.” Sakura whimpered. “I miss it being all three of us.”

“Yeah,” Naruto whispered like he couldn't raise his voice any higher. “Me too.”

“I'm sorry. I don't want to lose the memory of him, and all those memories were me loving him, and I just…” Sakura's voice cracked as she cried.

“I don't want to take that away as long as there is still room for me,” Naruto told her.

Sakura let out a small laugh in the middle of her cries. “You take up more room than I like to admit.” She sniffled. “I just wish…” She paused as her lip trembled. “I wish I would have been able to choose you while I still had the chance.”

Naruto turned around and hugged her.

Finally!

Sasuke rolled his eyes and rubbed his face. He hoped this would last more than a whole five minutes because he was so sick of these two.

“And now they are back together, but I think that is going to last a whole two seconds until they can't decide where to eat for dinner.” Sasuke sighed dramatically.

Hinata smiled. She was happy for them. “I am glad that they figured it out.”

Sasuke rolled his head to the side and then made a face. “Why are you glad you were in love with him.”

“I want him to be happy.” Hinata blinked. What did he mean?

Sasuke's nose scrunched up.

“Maybe it's better this way.” Hinata hummed, looking up at the sky. “He clearly didn't like me. He doesn't have to be concerned with those feelings.”

“I don't think the solution to your crush was dying.” Sasuke countered. “Are we sure you didn't jump? Did you take me with you?”

Hinata snorted. It wouldn't normally be a funny joke, but Sasuke's dramatic tone and the fact that they were already dead did make her laugh. “I meant, since I died, I would rather have loved someone rather than someone having loved me.”

“Someone probably loved you,” Sasuke told her.

“Who?” Hinata wondered.

Sasuke didn't answer. He just shrugged and pulled his eyes away.

Chapter Text

Shino listened to his shoes scrape against the pavement as he walked home. It felt like every day, it got a little easier, but at the same time, it still felt like torture. He came to the bridge and slowed to a stop to stare at it. It had been covered in flower arrangements and stuffed animals. Now, some of the flowers were dying, and the stuffed animals were looking a little worse for wear after going through the rain.

He pushed himself to cross the bridge and then thought the same thing he did every time.

Was she scared? Was she in pain? Was it over quickly?

He passed the spot and forced himself not to look back at it this time.

This was the last time he was coming this way. He was going to find a different way home tomorrow.

Hinata wouldn't want him to do this to himself.

Kiba flattened himself out on the living room floor and stared at his phone and the last text message that Kankuro had sent to him. He really didn't know what he was going to do about this, and Shino was no help.

He wanted to talk to Hinata about it.

He opened his contacts and ran down until he found her. Opening it, he could see the last message she had sent him, telling him that she was fine and she was heading home. It was sad to look at now, but luckily, it wasn't from the day she died, or it would really suck.

'I miss you.' He typed before he sent it.

An error was returned. 'Failed to reach sender. This number doesn't exist or has been disconnected.'

'I miss being able to tell you everything.' He sent. 'I miss being able to hear your voice, and you tell me everything is going to be okay.'

Kiba unloaded his heart into the text message. Telling her everything that he was holding. How her death affected him, and wanting to be able to talk to her about this guy and how it was making him feel. He knew she would have something to say about it. She would have encouraged him to explore it.

All the messages gave him the same error. 'Failed to reach sender. This number doesn't exist or has been disconnected.'

That was how it felt.

That is how it felt to have her gone.

But at least he felt better now, unloading it.

Naruto dribbled his basketball on the court. Playing just wasn't the same without Sasuke. The crowd cheered a little less hard. The game was less fun, and practice felt more like boot camp.

But he couldn't quit. Sasuke would slap him upside the head for even thinking about it.

Sasuke would have slapped him for a lot more than that.

Maybe that was how you would think about it now. Whenever you weren't sure about something, he would just ask himself, 'Would Sasuke hit me for this?' It felt like a good way to get through life and a good way not to lose him.

Though he felt like Sasuke would hit him for dating Sakura, he would have to take that one.

Sakura stood looking up at Hinata's picture. She had come here a few times and looked at her, but she felt like she couldn't face her before. She felt like she was betraying her, but Hinata wouldn't think like that. She might not have been happy that she had chosen to date Naruto, but she knew that Hinata would have still been supportive because that's just who she was.

With her eyes floating over to Sasuke, she thought about saying something to him, but she thought against it.

He knew how she felt.

She knew how he felt.

It didn't cross your mind to wonder if he would be happy that she and Naruto got together. She smiled. He would care that they were dating, but he would be happy that Naruto shut up and she stopped chasing him.

Sakura brought her attention back to Hinata. “I'll take good care of him. You take good care of Sasuke for me.” She whispered.

The last day of school wasn't as cheerful as it might have been if it wasn't down pouring so heavily. A somber blanket draped over the entire school, reminding everyone that there were two people who wouldn't be going home for break or returning next semester.

“I wonder if we're just going to be stuck here until the students come back again.” Sasuke voiced, watching everyone clean out their lockers.

“Think we'll be able to find something to entertain ourselves.” Hinata hummed.

He didn't think so. He thought it was going to be intensely boring. “I'm starting to think that this is why ghosts become violent.”

Hinata giggled.

Sasuke's eyes slid to her. She was cute when she smiled like that. It put a warm swirl in his chest he didn't understand because he was dead.

Hinata reached her hand out through the window to put it in the rain, but just like the window, the rain passed right through her. She stepped out of the wall to stand it and looked up. The rain ran through her rather than drenching her, but as she looked back, Sasuke got a flash of her looking soaked through a miserable.

Any warm feeling in his chest disappeared, and when he could see her real face again, he realized that it had turned white and scared.

Was she remembering this, too?

The rain relentlessly came down over her head in buckets. It soaked into her clothes and dripped off her hair. It was cold and uncomfortable, but she was already feeling awful, so she couldn't find much reason to care.

The rain matches her mood. She sniffled and tried to wipe her face, but there was no distinction between what was rain and what was tears.

She had just got around the corner away from the school when the rain suddenly stopped but only directly over her. She glanced up to find a black umbrella over her head. She followed it back to who was holding it to find the sour face of Sasuke.

“You're stupid for walking home in this storm without an umbrella.” Sasuke told her directly.

Hinata swallowed the lump in her and wondered if the rain was still hiding that she was crying even though it wasn't longer falling on her face.

Sasuke huffed, and he wiggled himself out of his varsity jacket, passing the umbrella between his hands to pull out the other sleeve before he tossed it over her shoulders and tugged it into place. “Don't be stubborn.” He told her. “And don't tell anyone I'm doing this.”

Hinata nodded. He kept her secret. She could keep his. She pulled her arms through the jacket and held it closer to her. It blocked out the cold, but not what had already been soaked. She tried to wipe her face again, but it was just more obvious now that you were crying.

“You need to forget about him. He's a loser.” Sasuke told her.

Hinata just dropped her eyes down to the concrete. “I don't want to talk about it.” Her voice was raw from crying.

A car flashed by them, kicking up the water puddles and splashing the back of Sasuke's legs. He shouted after them, but the car wasn't going to be able to hear them. “People drive entirely too fast and this kind of weather.”

Hinata could agree with that, but it wasn't really what she had on her mind at the moment.

Sasuke stood there with her for another moment before he sighed. He pushed her shoulder in the direction she was going. “I'll walk you home.”

She wasn't going to argue with him, but she wasn't expecting his arm to come up around her shoulder to keep her closer. Oh, so she would stay inside the umbrella. This was nice actually because she was tired, and this would make it so she didn't have to manage to stay inside the umbrella and close enough to him that it wasn't irritating him.

They came to the bridge that she had to cross to get home. It wasn't the best bridge to cross because, for some reason, when it was built, it didn't account for the sidewalk, so you had to walk along the side.

“You don't have to wait for him, you know.” Sasuke dipped his head down to tell her. “There are better choices.”

Hinata really didn't want to talk about it, but he kept pushing. “Find me someone who loves me, then.” She flicked her eyes up to him, knowing that her upset was on her face. “Find me someone who loves me like he loves her.”

Sasuke stared back at her but didn't say anything. He looked like he wanted to, but she didn't want to hear it.

She almost wanted to just tell him to head home on his own, but she was also too miserable not to take the help.

The river rushed below them, filled with all the runoff that was coming from the storm. They continued over the bridge, but before they got to the other side, there was a loud screech of brakes.

Thunk.

Hinata found herself lying on the pavement, not quite remembering how she got there, and she couldn’t tell what actually hurt.

She could see that the umbrella that she and Sasuke were sharing was uselessly flopped over upside down in the middle of the street. She found Sasuke lying close by, but she couldn't tell if he was okay. She tried to reach out to him, but she couldn't. Her hand just shivered in place.

Was he okay?

Was he…

Chapter Text

Rain beat down almost so loud that it was ringing in his ears. It soaked through his hair and skin, dripping into his eyes in ears. Sasuke couldn't feel his legs, and everything felt like it hurt. He was having trouble breathing, and something felt metallic in his mouth.

Where was Hinata?

Was she okay? What happened to her?

He struggled against the pain to turn his head and found her lying facing him with her eyes trained on him, but they were dull, and she wasn't moving. He struggled to pull himself closer, but he could barely manage it against pain.

Her hand was reached out to him, but it was limp, and eventually, he watched her eyes close.

He tried harder and pulled himself a little closer, managing to just barely reach her hand with the tips of his fingers, but it was cold. He couldn't tell if it was because she was already gone or if it was because of the rain. He tried to capture it in his own, but he was still so far, and he was out of energy to pull himself further. He collapsed down to the pavement in a heap.

Was someone coming to help?

Was she going to be okay?

He fought to keep his eyes open, but they were far too heavy. He couldn't even lift his face off the pavement anymore. The rain pelted down on the two of them, but it seemed to get quieter as he drifted into the darkness.

Sasuke blinked, and he was staring at Hinata again. Not alive. Very much dead. She had stepped back into the busy hallway out of the rain and was staring at him with wide eyes. “I remember how we died.”

“Me too.” Sasuke gasped.

They stood there for another moment, and it was like he could see her have the exact same thought as he did. They were still here because they were concerned about each other when they died. They reached out to each other but weren't sure what happened when they passed.

Sasuke offered his hand out to her, and Hinata slid hers into his. He gripped it tightly, the way that he wasn't able to that evening in the rain. Her hand felt warm in a way that he hadn't felt since he woke up dead. It spread up his arm through him, and an odd feeling of peace washed over him.

Hinata's hand tightened. “I think we're…”

Sasuke could feel it, too. They were about to pass on. He held on tighter to her hand. He didn't want to go.

Hinata closed her eyes like she was going to accept it, but he wasn't going to let her go quite yet.

Sasuke shot forward and grabbed down to her face, pulling her lips to his before he lost her. Her eyes shot open but drifted back closed just as quickly.

If he was going, this was the last memory he wanted.

“Darling, get up. You are going to be late for school! It's your first day. You should make a good impression.” His mother called from the bottom of the stairs.

He groaned and lifted his head, reaching over to pick up his smartphone and look at the time. He pushed himself up and got dressed. He glared at the uniform. He didn't want to be at the stupid new school, he wanted to go back to the West where he didn't have to wear a uniform, and it was completely okay to tell the girls to screw off. Why did his dad have to move jobs again?

He pulled himself down the stairs, flopping his irritation and his grogginess into each step. “Can't I transfer to an all-boy school?”

His mother gave him an unsympathetic look and handed him his breakfast. “You will live.”

He shoved by in his mouth and looked out the window. It was even raining.

He finished his breakfast and headed out, grabbing an umbrella from the door and calling back in that he was leaving.

He stepped out into the rain and paused for a moment, looking up at the dark sky. There was something weird that happened when it rained. It was like there should be a memory there, but he could never quite grasp it, like it was being washed away.

He walked to school and was soon joined by the hoard of students that moved almost as if they were one beast toward the classrooms.

He came to his new class and was forced to stand at the front and introduce himself to the giggles of the girls he already knew were going to be a problem. The moment he was allowed, he found himself an empty chair.

The bell rang, singling the start of class, but before the teacher could start, a girl came in looking particularly wet. She dipped her head and apologized for being late to the teacher.

Her head came up, and she dipped it again to apologize to the class as well, but when it came back up, their eyes met, and it all flooded back to him.

The school, the rain, the car accident, their souls being stuck at the school.

That was Hinata. How did he forget her?

Her head came back up to the room and tried to shove down her embarrassment of being late and soaked, but that all flushed away as her eyes met a boy sitting in her seat she had never seen before.

Or at least she hadn't in this lifetime.

That was Sasuke. She could feel it.

All of her memories flooded back to her from her past life and their afterlife. The way that he was staring back at her, it felt like he felt it, too.

“Go to your seat.” The teacher scolded her for holding up the glass.

She flinched and nodded. However, he was in her seat, so she had to sit behind him. She put her bag down and tried to tuck her hair behind her ear, but it was too wet to really fix at this point.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder, shrugged off his uniform jacket, and passed it back to her.

Hinata flushed and accepted it, pulling it over her shoulders in an attempt to warm herself up.

She had a hard time focusing on class because she was just wondering how it was that they were together like this again.

Was his name even Sasuke anymore. Her name was different now.

Class ended, and he immediately turned to Hinata, who slipped off his jacket and gestured towards the hall. He followed her out, where she stopped by the windows and offered it back to him.

“Thank you.” She hummed, and her eyes dropped.

He extended his hand to take it but stopped short. Maybe he was wrong. Maybe she didn't remember like he did. Should he ask? Or would he sound crazy?

The more he thought about it, maybe it was just a dream, and he had in the past that had her face and not a memory.

Hinata pushed the jacket the rest of the way into his hand, and his heart dropped, but instead of going on her way, she quickly reached down into her bag to pull something out. Flat in her hand, she held out a grape candy.

He felt like that couldn't be a coincidence.

He took no time grabbing onto her face and continuing the kiss that they were interrupted.

Hinata took it for a moment but flinched back and looked around at the hallway where they were being side-eyed. “We're in school!” She whispered.

“I've been waiting a while,” Sasuke told her before pulling her back.

Wind rippled through the grass in waves between the stones lined quietly on the hillside. Two sets of shoes stepped through them until they both found what they were looking for.

“Hinata.” Sasuke waved his hand. “You're over here.” He called.

She pointed down at the grave she was at. “I think I found you as well.” She trekked between the graves to join him in front of her own.

It wasn't her name anymore, even though that's what Sasuke called her, but since they had known each other by their old names much longer than they had, and then they had now, it almost felt natural to keep them between themselves. “We must have been reincarnated shortly after we disappeared.” She hummed, looking at the dates.

“We were impatient.” Sasuke nodded as if that logic made sense.

“Maybe we were in a rush to get back to each other.” Hinata giggled.

Sasuke reached over and took her hand, and she weaved her fingers between his and leaned herself on his arm, placing her free hand on his bicep.

She didn't know where they were going to go from here, but now they had a chance to spend the rest of their lives together, and they weren't going to wait because they knew how short it could be.