The morning air was thin and sharp, the kind of cold that seeped through even the thick desert heat, clinging to her skin as Y/n walked the narrow, winding path toward the outskirts of Sunagakure.
The village behind her was just beginning to stir, the pale light of dawn stretching long shadows across the stone walls and sand-covered streets, but she paid them no mind. Her feet moved on instinct, each step measured and quiet, as if the ground itself was waiting for something she could not yet name.
Ahead of her, the training grounds came into view, a broad expanse of cracked, sun-bleached earth ringed by low dunes and a scattering of sharp stones.
The faint, restless breeze tugged at her clothes, stirring dust and grit into the air, but Y/n barely noticed it.
Her pulse was steady, her mind strangely silent, though the weight pressing against her ribs felt heavier with every step.
Waiting at the center of the grounds were two figures.
Gaara stood still as a statue, the gourd slung across his back casting a long shadow in the growing light, his red hair ruffled slightly by the breeze.
His expression was calm, unreadable, a silent promise that no part of this would be easy or merciful.
Beside him, Sasuke stood next to him, the slight tilt of his head the only sign he was studying her as she approached.
Neither of them spoke.
There was no need for words here.
Y/n stopped several paces away from Gaara, her hands loose at her sides, the steady thrum of her chakra humming low beneath her skin.
Her eyes lifted to meet Gaara's, unflinching, and for a moment the world seemed to hold its breath.
He nodded once, a shallow, formal gesture that carried the weight of a thousand silent expectations.
Y/n bowed in return, stiffly but properly, the motion feeling almost too small against the enormity of what was about to happen.
Sasuke's gaze remained fixed on her, silent and searching.
From the far edge of the field, hidden beneath a shallow outcropping of stone, a small white snake coiled itself quietly among the rocks, its body still but its golden eyes sharp and alert.
It was no ordinary snake, but a fragment of someone's consciousness sent across the lands, a thread of loyalty stretched thin but unbroken.
Mitsuki had sent it, against better judgment, unable to silence the gnawing worry in his chest, desperate to know if she was still safe, still herself, still reachable.
Y/n did not know it was there, watching.
But somehow, a faint sense of warmth stirred in the back of her mind, a presence she could not name, a tether she could not see.
It almost made the knot in her chest loosen.
Almost.
Gaara took a single step forward, his sand stirring faintly at his feet like a living thing eager for release. His chakra was like a vast, slow-moving river, patient but crushing beneath the surface.
"You may begin when ready," he said, his voice low and even.
The words settled into the air between them like stones dropped into deep water.
Y/n straightened her posture, feeling the sand shift under her boots, feeling the wind cut harder against her back.
She rolled her shoulders once, slow and deliberate, her breathing measured and deep.
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We're Different. | The Other Uchiha ✓ (Boruto)
FanfictionI was born an Uchiha. Raised by someone else. Forgotten by those who once knew me. In a village that never remembered my name, I chose to carve my own. A story about memory, belonging, and the pieces we can't erase, even when the world tries to. 𝐖�...
