Don't Stare at the Sun or You'll Go Blind

Chapter 16

Despite the destruction of the village, Sasuke couldn't say that he had ever felt happier in his life than right now. The rebuilding had been proceeding at a steady pace, many of the administrative and public buildings had already been restored. They were far from glamorous, but at least they had somewhere to conduct their business and hold all their new prisoners. Tents were slowly being replaced with simple homes, most of the debris had been cleared away from the outskirts of the village, and some clans had even begun restoring their districts to their former glories. Life was slowly returning to normal. But all of these things played only a small role in Sasuke's newfound happiness.

Sasuke was able to pull a surprisingly girlish giggle and flinch from Naruko when his hand brushed along her side. He felt when Naruko went completely still on top of him before sitting up slowly to shoot him a narrowed glare. He smirked at her in silent challenge. "I'll punch you, 'ttebayo," she warned. Her cheeks were a bright red, but she still managed to muster up a (barely) threatening look.

While he did enjoy messing with her, he wasn't in the mood to restart their fight. "Usuratonkachi," he said and moved his hand from her ticklish ribs to tangle his fingers in her loose pigtails. Wariness forgotten, Naruko quickly recaptured his lips with her own.

Soon, her small hands were fisting in his shirt, and she was leaning her full weight onto him. "You're different, 'ttebayo," she managed to get out in between kisses.

"What?" he replied because his brain wasn't able to process much more than the fact that she fit perfectly against him.

"You've been different since you came back," she got out only a little breathlessly.

He was so used to her obliviousness that he hadn't expected her to pick up any changes in him. But she was right. Dying had given him new perspective on not just his life, but on his relationships. A shinobi can die at any moment, but it displeased him to know that he had died leaving behind so many regrets. Sliding his hand from her hair down to her cheek, he brushed a thumb over her whiskers. "Is it a bad thing?"

"No. You were good before, but you're less of a bastard now. It's nice," she said and kissed him again before he could reply. "No nightmares, right? Your eyes are still fine?"

Her focus must have improved for her to still be able to hold a conversation while peppering kisses along his jawline and down his neck. "They're fine. I'm fine," he succinctly replied and quickly reversed their positions. He wasn't sure how accurate the versions of Naruko that he'd seen in his visions would be to the real one, but he could try. He gave the skin at her neck a particularly hard suck, hoping to clear her mind. He couldn't refrain from smirking when she let out a sharp gasp.

Sasuke liked to believe that there was nothing wrong with a little white lie if it helped avoid an uncomfortable situation. So, he'd lied to her. But Naruko didn't need to know that his vision was blurred at the edges. Not even coming back from the dead had reversed the effects that his Mangekyo had wrought on his eyes. He wasn't yet blind, but he now needed his sharingan to have the clarity and perception that he was used to. He would just have to be careful around her and Itachi and no one would know.

"Ahem."

Speak of the devil...

With an annoyed sound, Sasuke sat up on his knees and shot Itachi a glare. His older brother remained as impassive as always, simply raising a brow. "Is there something that you needed, Nii-san?" Sasuke prompted.

"I've come to collect you. The Hokage has summoned you. I'd suggest sorting yourself out first," Itachi said and pointedly stared at Sasuke's rumpled clothes and haphazard hair.

With a roll of his eyes, Sasuke started to fix himself. "We were training," Sasuke said with a scoff because they had been. Itachi's eyes became lidded as he gave Sasuke an indulgent look. He glanced around the slightly uprooted training field and smirked.