My other half! Sasukex oc. [Slow updates] (under editing)

The invasion and Sasukes feelings🔴

A/n
I kinda made Sasuke and Hinata a bit ooc at the end but it kinda fits for where I want the story to go. Also Hinata is my favorite girl character in the show so she gets some love from me.

The heat of the grill felt like a mockery of the freezing chill that had settled over the Konoha 12. As Sasuke's footsteps faded into the distance, the remaining Genin did not move. They couldn't; the weight of Sasuke's words had struck them in a way that forced them to re-evaluate everything they thought they knew about the girl now labeled a mere "asset."

Lee, propped up on crutches with his legs heavily bandaged, broke the silence. His voice was uncharacteristically small, stripped of its usual boisterous energy.

"I remember that day so clearly," Lee started, his gaze fixed on the glowing coals. "It was my first time seeing her. During the written exam, she finished the test in about fifteen minutes. Later, in the Forest of Death, I saw her off to the side, away from everyone. I thought she just didn't like crowds. But seeing her standing there... in that arena, for a brief moment before the honorary match, it seemed as if she were trying to become invisible. It was as if, deep down—"

Lee paused and glanced up at Kakashi, meeting his gaze.

"—it was as if she didn't want to be there. Like she knew she didn't belong."

He looked toward the Jonin, his eyes low with lingering regret. "When we found out from Kakashi-sensei and the others that Lord Third had made her take the entire exam—the Forest, the scrolls, all of it—completely alone, without a team... I could not comprehend it. To force a comrade to walk through that darkness without a single soul to guard her back? It is a cruelty I didn't think our village was capable of."

Sakura stared at her tea, her reflection distorted in the amber liquid.

"She was always miles ahead of us," Sakura whispered. "Even though she was officially on Team 7 for missions, Lord Third kept her on a different track for the exams. She was kind, in her own quiet way—she'd correct my form or give Naruto a tip on his balance—but there was always this distance. It was like she was standing behind a wall of thick glass."

"Yeah," Naruto added, his voice tight. "She was harsh. Not only on us, but on herself. I'd see her training until she could barely stand, her face set like stone. Sasuke... he's the only one she ever really talked to. He found her presence 'the least annoying,' which, for him, is like saying he actually liked her. But even he couldn't get her to open up about why she was so alone."

Tenten leaned forward, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the scene. "I remember the Third Hokage announcing that match. An 'honorary' display for the girl who finished the Forest in four hours alone. She had this bored look on her face when she stood before him. But looking back at it now that she's gone... maybe she was pretending to be unimpressed. Remember when she told him that fighting the examinees wouldn't even be fair? She mentioned that taking three of us on wouldn't even be a challenge. Maybe, in a way, when she asked about fighting a stronger opponent, she was trying to keep us away from her."

Tenten spoke with an analytical tone, and everyone took a moment to reflect on the arena and the battle.

"She wasn't being arrogant," Neji interjected, his voice clinical. "She was stating a fact. Her chakra levels were already at a different threshold because she had been forced to survive without a team."

"But then she saw that purple-haired girl," Ino said, her voice trembling slightly. "Akuma, was it? Misaki's whole vibe changed. When she grabbed that girl's face... I've never seen a grin like that. It wasn't a smile. It was a predator closing in on its prey."