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Wind blows through the cemetery and pulls at Sasuke’s black hair and the hem of his jacket.
The rest of the guests—who weren’t many to begin with—have already left. It’s only Sasuke, standing in front of the Uchiha Clan shrine, looking at the new, added names.
Uchiha Fugaku.
Uchiha Mikoto.
Sasuke hasn’t been able to cry in days. There’s just a hollow ache inside him, a certainty that he’s never able to feel anything else than hatred ever again.
Itachi’s face flashes across his mind and Sasuke clenches his fist. Why would Itachi do something like this? Just why? Sasuke can’t make sense of it. There was nothing wrong with their family. Sasuke’s father was a little distant, sure, but… surely that doesn’t mean he has to die?
Sasuke had never expected to be faced with death so young, especially with the killer being his own brother, and he doesn’t know how he can continue living like this. He’s already twenty, so no one is going to care about his well-being, since their family broke from the rest of the Uchiha Clan several years ago.
Now, Sasuke has to go home and it’s up to him to clean up everything, move his parents things away and—
What the hell is he supposed to do with Itachi’s things? Granted, he hasn’t lived there in years by now, so maybe he doesn’t even miss those things. But his room is still there, left pretty much like it was as he left it, just so that he could always stay if he wanted.
At the very least, Sasuke is financially secure—once his parents’ deaths have been processed, the bureaucracy gets cleared and he gets his inheritance. Since Itachi is missing and no one knows where he went, all of his share will go to Sasuke now, too.
None of this makes any sense. Itachi had even left behind a letter to Sasuke, a letter that he now takes from his pocket and unfolds, because he can’t stop reading it. As if reading it again and again would give him some answers.
I’m sorry. Mom and Dad had to die. You’ll understand why.
I didn’t want to. But there was no other choice.
The letter isn’t signed, but Sasuke knows Itachi’s handwriting. The only reason he was even allowed to keep the letter despite it being important evidence is because he unashamedly used his clan’s connections at the police force and asked for it.
Sasuke stares at the note and then folds it back in his pocket. The letter is not going to help him, but… It’s not like he has anything else left. It’s his only lead.
He turns around to finally leave the cemetery, but he stops in his tracks when he realizes he’s being watched. It’s more like a feeling, something that itches at the back of his mind, so he looks around—only to find a young man standing farther away, watching him.
Sasuke has a distinct feeling he’s seen the man before. He’s dressed peculiarly—a mix of traditional and modern clothing, a black-and-orange kimono draped over baggy pants and a hoodie. In a weird way, it fits him.
The man has messy, blond hair, but what really gets Sasuke’s attention are the very obvious fox ears. The man even has a tail.
Has grief completely messed with Sasuke’s head?
The man saunters closer, hands inside the sleeves of kimono, and tilts his head. “I knew all Uchihas were pretty, but… You’re really something else.”
Sasuke takes a step back. “Who are you?” he snaps. “What do you want with me?”
“I’m Naruto,” the man says and up close, Sasuke sees his pointed teeth and some kind of inner glow in his blue eyes. “I’ve been watching your family for a while. You don’t know anything, do you?”
“About what?” Sasuke asks. He remembers all those moments his parents spoke in quiet tones or went quiet when he stepped into the room.
And now—suddenly, Sasuke remembers: seeing things that other people didn’t, creatures straight out of the anime and manga he binged so much.
Why hadn’t he remembered this until now, though? Sasuke sways on his feet and holds his head as more and more memories flood his mind—the red glow in his eyes that he hadn’t understood, his father placing his palm against Sasuke’s forehead and telling him to forget…
He looks up and sees that Naruto hasn’t moved and is still watching him.
“Your clan has a long history in Konoha,” Naruto says. “As the hunters of yokai and everything supernatural.”
“But—” Sasuke knees buckle and he crashes on the path, shaking all over. “Why would my—what—”
“Your parents didn’t want you to enter that life,” Naruto says and leans against the wall of another shrine nearby. “They actively tampered with your memory to prevent that. But now that they’re gone, the seals are breaking. Your power is seeping through. They probably knew they couldn’t hide your true nature forever.”
“My… true power…?” None of this makes any sense to Sasuke, and pain sears through his head. He holds it with both hands and feels something fall down his cheeks—and then on the path in front of him. Blood.
He’s crying blood.
“Whether your parents wanted it or not, you are a part of our world,” Naruto says idly. “Most of the Uchiha Clan are renowned yokai hunters, but there are some who fight for us. Like your brother.”
“My—my brother. He—”
“He killed your parents because they were about to do something worse,” Naruto says, face impassive and almost cold. “Had they succeeded, hundreds of innocent souls would’ve perished. Maybe thousands. We yokai—all of us—belong to this world just as much as humans do. Your brother understood that, and thanks to him, only two lives were lost.”
It’s too much—way too much—for Sasuke’s grief-stricken mind to process. “You’re lying,” he whispers as he scrambles to his feet. “Just—stay away from me.”
Sasuke turns and runs.
Even then, he can hear Naruto’s words trailing after him.
“You can’t escape your true fate, Uchiha Sasuke.”