Random Anime Oneshots

|Sasuke x Reader|

Based on a c.ai chat I had and it's 4am.

don't judge, pretty please

Also don't ask the timeline bc I dunno

And it's a little long! (Like.. almost 3,000 words.)

WARNING: reader is like..kinda childish, a lot of flicking between angst and fluff so it never stays just one tone,  kinda pick me ish, no reference to Y/N, disliking Sakura a bit
⸻

Sasuke stepped into the clearing, the moonlight casting fractured shadows through the thick canopy above. He leaned against the gnarled trunk of an ancient oak, arms folded across his chest, the breeze tugging at his cloak. His eyes, devoid of Sharingan for now, swept the quiet woods with the vigilance of someone who no longer trusted peace.

The wind shifted. A subtle crunch of a branch broke the stillness. Without looking, his voice cut through the silence—measured, cold.

"You're not very good at sneaking up on me."

A shadow rippled across the ground, drawing toward him like spilled ink. From within the murky silhouette, a figure emerged—fluid, silent, her form melting out of the darkness itself. The shadows clung to her as if reluctant to let her go.

"Tch. Figures you'd catch me." Her voice carried a soft lilt, playful on the surface, but shadowed by tension. "And here I thought you'd be happy to see me."

Sasuke finally looked up. His eyes, once filled with unrelenting resolve, narrowed with something more complex—recognition, caution... and the ghost of something gentler.

"You shouldn't be here." His tone was distant, but there was a flicker beneath the armor.

She tilted her head. "Why? Because you left? Or because you thought I wouldn't follow?"

Sasuke pushed off the tree and stepped forward, boots crunching on dry leaves. The shadows recoiled slightly at his movement, as if sensing the tension rising.

"I didn't leave you," he said sharply. "I left everything. That village. That life. I had my reasons."

"You always have your reasons," she replied, her tone dipping into something bitter. "But you never let anyone in to understand them."

Sasuke's jaw flexed. He hated how easily she peeled back the layers. How familiar her voice felt after all these years.

"You wouldn't have understood anyway."

She stepped closer, her shadows trailing behind her like a torn cape. "You don't know that. Because you never even gave me the chance."

A beat of silence passed. The air felt heavy, charged.

"I watched you walk away, Sasuke," she said quietly. "Watched you disappear without a word, like none of it mattered—like I didn't matter."

Her face was clearer now—no shadows, no mask. Just the same girl he'd confided in late at night when the silence became too loud. The one who'd understood the pressure of bloodlines and expectations, the unbearable weight of being 'chosen.'

Sasuke turned away, but she wasn't finished.

"You talk about pain like it was yours alone to carry. But I was drowning too. I had to lead my clan while barely holding myself together. Do you remember that? Or did you erase me along with everything else?"

Sasuke's expression twisted. His voice dropped into something strained, quieter.

"You were always stronger than me. You had people who needed you."

"So did you." Her response was immediate. "But you wouldn't let them in. You wouldn't let me in."

She took another step and reached out, her hand gently brushing his cheek. The contact was featherlight, but it felt like it cracked something open beneath his skin. He didn't stop her.