Fox Rain (狐の嫁入り) | ✔

Fox Rain

A/N: In an alternate universe, things didn't turn out the way they wanted.

For Uchiha Izuna, it started with a ghostly dream, April showers, and a bitter red-haired man whose soul had been eaten away by time.

Continuation of "My Robot Wife (僕のロボット妻)". Read that first to get more context. For full context, read "Trial of Man (人間の闘争)".

xXx

"Silly straw scarecrow,

"Swaying about,

"In a long grass field,

"Like a turnip sprout!

"Here comes the clouds,

"They're bringing in the rain,

"One, two, three—

"Let's do it all again!"

xXx

Who is Deidara?

That was the question that had been plaguing young Uchiha Izuna's mind every since he had dreamed of his father for the first time in his life.

"Pencils down, everyone."

Izuna, having finished his exam twenty minutes before the others, was idly staring out the window when the teacher announced the completion of the paper.

The sound of shuffling paper, then a docile silence as the teacher collected their papers.

"You may all leave."

Almost instantly, all of his much older classmates practically jumped out of their seats and ran for the door, shouting and complaining about how difficult the test had been. Izuna calmly packed away his things into his backpack.

"Izuna-kun," the teacher addressed the only boy left in the room with a smile, "how did you find the examination? I suppose it was as easy as always. You're making new records at the school, my dear. When you first came into my classroom, I was worried about how you could keep up with the class content, considering you're only ten while your classmates are fifteen and sixteen. You've done well, Izuna-kun."

Izuna gave a close-eyed smile. "Thank you, Yamamoto-sensei." Even as he smiled, he was still thinking of what his father had whispered into his ear that fateful night, asking him to pass on her message to a dear friend of theirs—find Sasori and tell him my friend will be waiting. If he doesn't believe you, tell him her name is Deidara.

"What do you think of special relativity?" the teacher pressed.

It's interesting, but I don't really care right now. "I like it. Whoever came up with it must be a genius."

Yamamoto nodded. "Ah, yes, yes... Personally, my favorite aspect of it must be time dilation. For me, it's a dream come true—it's the closest we'll ever get to time travel. Though we can only travel forward, and never back. I won't keep you in any longer—have a good afternoon, dear."

Izuna let out a small sigh when he exited the classroom. It's been a long day. He picked up his umbrella on the way out of the building, instantly opening it up. The boy glanced up at the sky curiously. It's sunny, but it's also raining. This must be what they call 'April showers'."

Laughter echoed through the courtyard as teenagers in the lower grades ran around in a euphoric frenzy, excited by the fox rains. None of them bothered to greet Izuna, but he didn't mind. They weren't his friends anyway—he had none at school.