A Senju's Family

Chapter 27 🌟

Haru's POV

With Runa and Daisuke finally tucked into bed, I retreat to the solace of my own room. The house feels too quiet now, the kind of quiet that lets your thoughts creep in. And quite frankly, being alone with my thoughts is the last thing I need right now! 

I could've asked Isamu to stay tonight. My big, brave summoning wolf, reduced to an overgrown stuffed animal these days, would've been a welcome comfort. But no, I'd told him to go home. Regret? I'm drowning in it now!!

I decide on a shower as trying to sleep may honestly be a little too optimistic. The hot water in the shower streams over my shoulders, scalding and cleansing, but no matter how long I stand under it, the weight in my chest doesn't lift. The steam clouds the glass and mirrors around me, mirroring the fog in my mind.

Runa is awake. My baby girl is finally awake.

But my thoughts spiral beyond the relief. What now? What does this mean for her? For her training? For her life now that she has those forsaken eyes—

And then there's my boys—Masahiko and Katsuro—both out there, practically on the run. The silence of their absence is hard to process. I'm here, enjoying hot water and clean towels, while my sons could be freezing under the open sky, or worse...

My stomach twists. Where are my boys?!

A sudden ripple in the air snaps me out of my daze. I sense it—a new chakra signature at the edge of the house, faint but unmistakable. My heart jumps. Sasuke.

Without thinking, I yank my robe from the hook and shrug it over my damp shoulders, tying it hastily at the waist. I don't bother drying my hair as I hurry downstairs, my house slippers padding lightly against the wooden steps.

"Babe!" I call out, the sight of him at the doorway sending a surge of relief through me. There he is, his figure framed against the dark night outside. Even after all these years, the sight of Sasuke still makes my heart stutter.

I rush to him, my hands instinctively reaching for his as our eyes meet. His gaze is sharp, focused, but when I press a soft kiss to his lips, he reciprocates, albeit briefly. Something feels... off.

"You're alright?" I ask, my words tumbling out in a rush. "Did you find them? The boys—did you find Masahiko and Katsuro?"

He doesn't answer. Instead, his eyes flick toward me, his expression unreadable. Then he says, almost absently, "Runa woke up?"

"She—yes, she woke up this morning. She's asleep now. Sasuke, did you—"

Before I can finish, he brushes past me, heading toward the stairs without a word. My breath catches as I watch him, my chest tightening with both frustration and concern. His silence says everything and nothing.

"Sasuke!" I call after him, sharper this time, but he doesn't stop. Doesn't even flinch.

That's when I see it—the tear in his black cape trailing behind him. The edges are scorched, frayed into brittle black threads barely clinging to the fabric.

My heart twists. Not a small burn. This wasn't some stray spark. No, this was a heavy flame. A flame I know all too well.

Katsuro.

Dread blooms in my chest, cold and suffocating. My breath hitches. "He tried fighting you?!" I whisper in disbelief, almost to myself.

Then louder, sharper, as panic takes hold: "Sasuke!"

I follow him up the winding stairs, my thoughts racing, tumbling over themselves in search of answers. He hasn't said a word about what happened—what he's seen, what he's endured. His silence is suffocating, his focus unshakable.