Kairos |An Itachi Uchiha Story|

epilogue. dear weasel butt

"Aiko? Are you awake? Can I come in?"

The small voice came from the other side of her door hesitantly. She sat up from her bed and called for him to come inside her room.

Sasuke stood in her door way with red cheeks and sadness in his onyx eyes. The onyx eyes she could never get over and hurt every time she looked too long into them. Not that he had done anything wrong but because of the people she felt so amorous toward that shared the same gaze as his own.

"What's wrong Sasuke?" Her voice was soft as he sat at the foot of her bed. Looking at her little ducky on her bed, she was beginning to realize he was not so little anymore. His twelfth birthday was coming up and this month was the anniversary of Itachi killing off the rest of the clan. It was still so hard to believe her weasel butt left her two years ago. Hard to believe she moved toward the center of the village for Sasuke to live with her two years ago.

Looking at the boy fondly as she held her arms out for him. She felt guilty because lately she had been less affectionate to the boy as he got older. It was nice when he was younger and every once in a while she got wholesome memories of his family. But as he got older, the little peaks at his future started to grow nerve wracking for Aiko. She did not see his death but some of the flashes shot ice in her veins.

She never judged someone for the future she saw of them because they don't get to plan what fell on their head. But the flashes of Sasuke older and what he would do did not settle well sometimes. Aiko knew it was her job to be unbiased but it was because she cared for her ducky more than anything right now.

Sasuke had grown more stoney and impassive after the tears stopped. She saw it when he was not actively talking to her and seeing her grinning child become so much smaller inside him was disheartening. But she knew all she could do was support him and try to treat him softly.

So when he crawled into her arms much like he did a couple years ago, her heart grew warm at the comfort he felt in her presence. He squeezed her tight and she returned the nature of the embrace.

"Do you still see things when you touch me?"

Aiko smiled down ever so softly at the boy and nodded quietly.

"Not every time but sometimes I see you so much taller and your hair longer. Sometimes I see you on your little missions chasing cats." Her voice was endearing and did not let on the less desirable things she had saw of the boy.

"Do you ever miss him? I hate him so much but I know you had to have loved him while he was here."

An arrow shot through Aiko's heart as she pushed back her sorrowful tears at the mention of her weasel butt. She respected Sasuke's feelings as they were so fair. But the memory she protected of him cried out about the sacrifices he made so that Sasuke could even live.

"I've never felt for anyone the way I did Itachi. I understand he's considered a rogue murderer right now and I'm sorry you have suffered because of his actions. I miss our memories but I doubt he's even the same person he once was when we made them." She admitted to the boy who only glared silently at her response. She expected the response but did not make the effort to change his mind. He was too young and most likely would not understand until he was older. She wondered if she would ever tell him the truth but knew deep down it was not her truth to share.

"I can't believe you still have feelings for him, Ai. He killed so many and left us here with nothing but memories of everyone else who died." Aiko hummed because she could not respond to his words with the way the almost hurt her. Instead she pulled him closer and rubbed his back.

"But ducky, he left you here with me. Though you're my responsibility now, I would do anything for you. You're all I have." The shadows of Shisui and Itachi stretched in her mind and fill her heart with an ache she only felt when she was alone.

Sasuke seemed to pout quietly at the words. He was upset about her feelings but the words seemed to make him feel warm. He always wondered if he was just a responsibility and obligation for Aiko.

"I love you, Aiko. You're like an older sister to me and I promise to protect you because you're all I have too!" A glimpse of little Sasuke could be seen in the light in his eyes that shined for only a moment. The glimpse enough to make her smile warmly at her little ducky. Alone and all each other had, she did not mind him at all.

"I believe you, ducky."

Somewhere far away in a cold wet cave in darkness of the night, he stared at the flickering flame. His partner was sleeping deeply with loud snores but he was too spaced out to notice. Staring at the flames, he was reminded of the amber gaze that looked on his so fondly. The bright color holding a special place in his heart as the flame crackled.

Reaching into his cloak he pulled an old and folded paper that followed him where he went. Opening the paper he saw the slanted cursive and smiled in familiarity. A smile he had not shown anyone but her. He read the words he memorized so long ago and felt his heart pound. Reading every word he sighed to himself, realizing he never got over his time with Aiko. He thought he may not feel as much after the distance but he knew deep down he still very much belonged to her.

It still baffled him sometimes how perfect the timing of them meeting was. The way she was the only reason he still stood and had not fallen prey to his own mind. They way he was able to experience so many feelings for her and the way they still remained inside of him. The love and longing he still felt for her even after all this time.

Their meeting the perfect example of the principle of Kairos to him.

The way he will never forget her and the moments they spent that still float in his head when he wandered so far from the village he once called his own.

Dear weasel butt,
We both know,
no matter how silly,
my feelings are genuine.
As you witness
your own hell,
I remain
By your side,
hand gripping
the shoulder
of your own.
Your crimsons
brimming with tears.
And as I reach
to wipe them,
you slap my hands.
You believe
you deserve it.
But it hurts,
As I witness
your soul crumble.
Slowly,
you'll commit
a glorified suicide.
And this journey
will come off as
pointless to you.
But it would
mean the world to me.
As far
as we have came...
Lonely
little weasel butt.

He will always belong to her.