retrograde wist

7

It was a cloudy day.

He traced her name with his finger, a name immortalized into cold stone.

"It's me."

The leaves rustled in the wind.

Some would call it peaceful.

He thought otherwise. To him, it only felt lonely.

Empty.

Like something was missing.

"Your cousin has been assigned to me." He told her with a deep sigh, fingers combing through his hair. "He's nothing like you, you know. I'm very disappointed. You were so cute. And him? He's so uncute. I really don't see the resemblance. I want a refund."

He imagined her laughter.

"Or maybe he is cute," he amended, considering, "a cute wide-eyed genin. Not as cute as you, though. Your cuteness makes him look like a wet cat in comparison."

He cracked a smile.

"Am I a terrible person?"

He was, wasn't he? For wishing that she survived instead.

Yes. He was a terrible person.

He was a coward.

"He's not like you. He's not like Obito." He trailed off frustratedly. "No, he's like me. A mini-me. Is this karma? For being such an uncute kid? For being a brat? Thanks, I hate it."

He was going to fail.

"I'm not Minato-sensei. I'm not you or Obito." He continued helplessly. "I can't give him what he needs. I can't give him family. What do I know about family? I kill everyone who——"

He clenched his fists, biting his tongue.

"Everyone I love ends up dead."

He was the only living Hatake left.

He was the only remaining member of his team.

"I lost all three of my Uchiha." He continued. "Obito is dead. You are dead. And Itachi—-he—-he killed you."

One day he's calling him Hatake-senpai. The next, he's committing familicide.

"Sasuke is going to leave."

That's just how the pattern goes.

"One way or another he'll leave."

The wind swept the clouds away. The sky cleared.

He crouched down, placing a box in front of the memorial stone, and adding a single red camellia beside it.

"I owed you dango." He told her as he opened the box's packaging. "See?"

He glanced at the camellia.

"I enjoyed our date, Yumeko-chan." He said quietly. "I just wish you were here to enjoy it too."

::

"An Uchiha child?"

She stared at the man's striking purple markings and yellow eyes.