𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

82

"Hello! You must be [Name]!"

Upon reaching her destination with Menma, an exhausted [Name] was greeted at the front door of the home she would be staying at by a vivacious woman with bright red hair that flowed all the way down to her ankles, whose face immediately changed from one of excitement to one of concern as she analysed [Name]'s appearance. Not only was [Name] thin and pale, but her eyes were red and puffy as well, setting off her motherly instincts.

"Huh? I thought you recently had a child?"

"Okaa-sama, maybe I can explain to you later," said Menma pointedly, shooting his mother a cautious look as she glanced around for the appearance of said child. "[Name], this is my mother Kushina. My father is out at the moment, but he'll be here for dinner."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," said [Name] softly, bowing her head at Kushina.

"Likewise! Would you like us to prepare a bath for you?"

"Actually, I would much rather just go and lie down for a bit," murmured [Name] weakly, still struggling to process the scale of what she had just done. "If you don't mind."

"Of course! Menma, show her to her room, so I can go and get dinner started! Naruto's told me that you enjoy beef ramen, so I'll be making some for us tonight!"

[Name] smiled weakly at Kushina's thoughtfulness, already feeling at home in this foreign place.

"Yes, okaa-sama. [Name], follow me."

With her half empty bag in tow, [Name] wordlessly followed Menma further into the house as he led her towards her new room, shooting the Kouhage a look of concern every now and then over his shoulder.

"Please rest up and adjust to your new home," he said kindly, seeing the obvious depression on her face. "I promise we'll take good care of you."

"Thank you, Menma."

The Namikaze opened the door to [Name]'s new room and held it open for her, saying, "All your bedding is in the cupboard. Let me know if there's anything else you need."

Without another word, [Name] entered the room and set her bag down, thanking Menma once more as he shut the door behind her. After two long, hard days of travelling, she had finally made it. As far as she was concerned, it had been done. She trusted that things back in Konoha would be dealt with by Tobirama and Sasuke, and that Madara would remain none the wiser as to where she had disappeared off to.

After unstrapping her katana from her side, [Name] tossed it to the ground and gingerly lay down on the tatami floor, lacking the strength to even set up her own futon. She was tired, and all she wanted to do was fall asleep and never wake up.

[Name] curled up into a foetal position as she wrenched her eyes shut, already knowing that tears would be following soon. In the past two days she had spent travelling with Menma, she had found herself opening up completely and unapologetically to the Namikaze, possibly overloading the poor boy with more information than he wanted to know.

She had told him everything about her relationship with Naruto, their plans to get married, and how easily the plans had been thwarted.

She had told him about her marriage with Sasuke, the difficulties they both faced in the beginning, and the fears Sasuke had that she had believed to be unprecedented and unfounded, yet had tragically been proven to be horrifically right all along.

She told him about her unexpected marriage to Madara, the unsolicited nights they spent together, the conception of Sayuri, and all the hopes she had so foolishly had about her life getting better once her baby girl was born. She told him about Madara's cruel love, and his murderous intent to keep her by his side at all costs. She told him about Tatsuya.

Over the course of two days, [Name] managed to pour out her heart in its entirety to Menma, a complete stranger. Not once did she feel odd about it, though; whether it was because he bore a striking resemblance to his brother, or because something about the Namikaze's presence felt so soothing and familiar to the Kouhage, she didn't know. All [Name] knew was that now that she was with Menma, she felt safe at last. It was as if he were an old friend of hers that she could wholeheartedly entrust her safety to, and know that she would be okay.

Nevertheless, that didn't stop her from crying. As [Name] lay curled up on the floor, she mourned her past, and numerous scenarios of what could have been her future flooded her mind.

What if I had married Naruto instead? What if Sasuke and I had had a family? What if I had been married to Madara instead of Sasuke first?

Everything that could have changed in her past offered much more kind and relaxed lives for [Name]; if she had married Naruto, she would've been happy living with the Uzumaki. If she had married Madara the first time he met her at her own clan's home, she wouldn't have had to deal with getting attached to Sasuke and making her own life more difficult. If she and Sasuke had had a child, Sayuri wouldn't have been born. Or maybe she would have. [Name] didn't know anymore.

She was tired, and running through all these possibilities was just dampening her mood even more.

She had found who she believed to be the man of her dreams, and it seemed that they were destined to never be together.

Then she found another man who seemed to be her perfect match, but even then, fate said otherwise.

Maybe she was never meant to find love at all.

***

"... that poor girl!"

Menma sighed as his mother was brought to tears by [Name]'s life story, furiously wiping her eyes as she tried to keep her composure.

"I can't relate to a majority of her life, but what she seems to be suffering from right now is similar to what I went through after you were born," wept Kushina as her heart went out to the Kouhage, reminiscing on the dark days that had followed Menma's birth. "No doubt about it! And with all this added baggage in her life from behind... it's no wonder the poor thing looks so miserable and thin..."

"So you understand how important it is for us to look after her, right?"

"Yes, of course! But never mind everything else... how will she cope without her baby?"

"I don't know. But she will."

Menma got to his feet, bowing his head at his mother.

"I'm going to go write to Naruto now."

"Yes! Please do!"

As the Namikaze excused himself, he wasted no time in heading to his room and pulling out a fresh sheet of paper to pen a letter to his brother in the Land of Whirlpools.

[Name] and I have arrived safely. I'm awaiting a letter from the Uchiha to make sure everything has been taken care of on their end. [Name] is in a very fragile state. She's told me everything, and it's worse than what you thought. We're already worried about her. Please visit if you can.

Not knowing what else he wanted to convey to his older brother, Menma left it at that.