The garden was the only place in this compound that didn't feel like it wanted something from him.
It was quiet here. Not the suffocating silence of Jigen's chambers or the cold hush of the main hall.
This was different, organic, maybe even intentional, like the world had stepped aside for a moment to let him breathe.
The pale flowers lining the edges of the lake pulsed faintly with a soft, bioluminescent glow, strange and eerie but somehow not unwelcome.
Their light spilled gently over the water, catching the dark planes of his face, brushing the edges of his boots.
He picked up a stone from the lakeside and rolled it between his fingers. Smooth. Flat. The kind that should've skipped three, maybe four times across the surface.
The rock skipped once, then sank.
Kawaki watched the ripples fan out over the surface of the lake, the moon's reflection breaking apart and stitching itself back together. The stillness here was deceptive, Kara didn't do peace.
But this pocket of quiet, tucked deep within the castle grounds, almost convinced him otherwise.
His palm itched. The Karma mark pulsed faintly, buried beneath the skin like a secret that refused to stay forgotten. He reached down, picked up another stone, and tossed it.
This one sank without even trying. Figures.
Footsteps approached, too quiet for anyone normal, but he heard them anyway. Light. Careful.
He turned around.
Y/n.
She stood a few paces away, arms crossed loosely, dark eyes unreadable in the moonlight.
The last time he saw her, they were children. Strangers bound by nothing but a fleeting moment and a shared thirst.
"Mind if I sit?" she asked, nodding toward the stone ledge beside him.
He hesitated.
Then shrugged. "Do what you want."
She sat slowly, careful not to touch his side. For a long moment, they didn't speak.
The garden was quiet, unnaturally so. Even the wind held its breath.
Strange, glowing vines curled around marble columns in the distance. The water mirrored the sky, silver and unbroken.
"You're the last person I expected to see here," Kawaki muttered, skipping another stone.
Y/n leaned forward slightly, elbows on her knees. "You and me both."
Kawaki's jaw tightened. "Why are you here?"
A beat of silence.
"I had my reasons," she said finally. Flat. Guarded.
"That doesn't mean anything."
"It's all I'm willing to give."
He scoffed, leaning back on his hands. "You're with them now. With Jigen."
Her head turned just enough to catch his profile. "So are you."
"Not by choice."
She didn't argue.
He turned to her more fully now, eyes narrowing. "Do you even remember me? Or was I just another throwaway moment in whatever life you were living back then?"
She met his gaze without flinching. "I remember giving you water. You looked like you hadn't spoken in days."
A pause.
YOU ARE READING
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�...
