uzumaki shira | naruto

Shippuden Act 26

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Uchiha Sasuke used to be someone who felt nothing but deep hatred and just a touch of love that seemed out of place; a child who knew nothing but revenge and reviving his clan. He attached himself to the one thing that appeared to have been a constant thing in his life; Uzumaki Shira. Back then, he needed a sense of familiarity, a touch of that life he suddenly left behind after that day.

It was only her who treated him like normal and after her, it was the other twin. In the end, he attached himself the twins who couldn't be separated from each other. Then again, he much preferred the older one since she didn't chatter his ear off.

He liked having them around. They never treated him any different than before, didn't tread carefully around him but knew what things to never say. Out of all the kids who tried to talk to him, only that weird pair of twins entered that world he tried to forcefully close from everyone else.

It was once a world where anyone could come and go but after that day, he had pushed everyone out; everyone except for them.

Fast forward to a few years, graduation was around the corner. The air buzzed with excitement but that hadn't been what occupied his mind. No, he knew he was going to graduate and knew he would come out on top. What kept his mind running was the fact that he felt bothered and nervous around that redhead seatmate of his.

He never noticed it before, it just built up bit by bit and before he knew it, Uchiha Sasuke was attracted to that one sane person who stayed constant in his life (the other twin was insane, by the way). He tried to find out when it happened but he never did. Just that he was already crushing on her without even realizing it.

When he thought about it, his thought processes became more and more involved with her instead of revenge. He tried to snuff it out, the small ember that flickered in his sea of hatred but it kept getting brighter. It burned hotter and bigger until it lit up that sea and second by second, evaporated that water.

It took until she was in danger, until that moment when he realized her mannerism became more and more like that man. Sasuke really thought that it was love, the romantic kind, that he felt towards her.

He was wrong.

It took until she left them behind, until she said that they weighed her down. It wasn't romantic love, no, it never had been. He simply assumed that and unnecessarily broke his own heart when he confessed. That love towards her... it had always been a familial love.

Maybe that was why he got over it after some time, that rejection he should have expected. When she left, he only wanted her back and be that constant along with the rest of Team Seven. He just wanted to bask in that presence of hers, in that unconditional love she showered everyone with.

Just come back. That was all Sasuke wanted. She became the priority in his mind, he pushed back the thought of revenge to the back of his mind.

He just wanted his new family to be whole again.

But they were unsuccessful.

She was strong. Too strong. It reminded him of that man. No matter how hard they tried, no matter how hard they work; they never seem to catch up. What were they doing wrong? Everyone just wanted her back in their life. Was that too much to ask for? He could see her twin lose that light (the light that encompassed the world, he would say) little by little the more the twins live away from one another.

And then, he knew, that moment solidified the fact.

He had never loved Shira romantically.

Never once. Never will.