Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The darkness was suffocating.

But the metallic smell of blood was even worse .

Hana opened her eyes suddenly, her heart pounding as if she were about to die in her chest.

A sharp pain in her stomach made her let out a low, but somewhat instinctive groan, causing her to shut up almost immediately.

She blinked, trying to understand where she was. The ground beneath her was cold, and... sticky —when her vision adjusted.

She via red...

VERY RED!!

That was blood, and it was splattered everywhere.

She tried to move, but a heavy, cold hand was on her shoulder, It was as if trying to protect her.

Her eyes slowly drifted down to the owner of that hand, and what she saw made her freeze.

There was a man, with hair as white as moonlight, lying beside her, his body covered in deep cuts.

He was dead. 

Her purple eyes, which still shone, were open but lifeless, They were  fixed on a distant point.

Even in death, his hands were still protecting him; one of them rested on his stomach, as if he had used his last drop of energy to try to heal the wound on his stomach instead of saving himself.

A faint, almost imperceptible glow emanated from her fingers, superficially staunching the bleeding from the cut, which she felt throbbing beneath her torn clothing.

Hana didn't know him; she didn't even know who he could be.

But a shiver ran down her spine, and something inside her, in her chest, told her that this was her father.

But before she could think any more about it, a sharp scream cut through the air , and it came from somewhere nearby in the house.

It must have been a woman, judging by her tone of voice; she could hear it, a voice full of despair and pain, but it was abruptly silenced.

Hana turned her head slowly, just enough to see, through a crack in the paper door, a tall, shadowy figure standing over a body on the floor.

He had black hair and eyes as red as burning embers, which spun in a hypnotic and terrifying pattern.

That thing in his eyes was a Sharingan.

She knew immediately who it was, even though her mind was in chaos at the moment.

She either recognized him, That was... was Itachi Uchiha?.

And that woman on the ground, with black hair and a pale face, she was... 

Your mother...? That immediately came to mind.

One name immediately came to mind, "Yume" . The name echoed in her head like thunder, bringing with it a wave of pain that wasn't just physical.

But Hana didn't have time to cry or scream.

His mind, still confused With everything, soon switched to survival mode as she grasped the situation.

She didn't know why she was there, nor how she could be there, but she could guess at the moment exactly what was happening.

 The Uchiha massacre .

In her hazy memories At the moment, she recalls reading about it somewhere, a few years ago, in the pages of a manga she read and in an anime she also watched.

Naruto .

She then remembered, "That was the name".

She shouldn't have been there at that moment, it was an anime, fiction, but she was.

Yes, she should be dead now. She shouldn't have been there at that moment, but she was, and now before her stood two dead bodies.

And to make matters worse, at that moment there was an assassin Itachi out there, who seemed to be a VERY real person and not a fictional one, and to make things even worse, there was blood everywhere. This made her tremble and her stomach churn...

A lot of blood.

Her purple eyes stared at the man who was already dead beside her.

One name came to mind as he looked closely at him:  "Shinji".

He your father?

While trying to remember this, some fragmented memories soon surfaced about who owned this body, and about her parents.

Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling as she tried to organize her thoughts.

They even had the same name.

Here she wasn't the Hana from the real world, who sat in her messy room with a cell phone in her hand or reading books.

Here, she was Hana Uchiha, an Uchiha, unfortunately for her , and this body belonged to a girl of only 6 years old, with white hair and purple eyes like her father .

Her hair, at that moment, had bloody strands falling over her shoulders, turning a reddish hue as it mixed with all the Blood  on the floor.

And to make matters worse, she also had a 'Slightly' superficial wound on her stomach now, although painful, which stained her dress red.

The image of the owner of that body came to me in a flash of memory: she had the delicate features of her supposed mother Yume, and the striking characteristics of her father Shinji.

Hana had silver hair and purple eyes, a trait that set her apart , even among the Uchiha clan.

And now, she was there on that night of terror, she was in the middle of a massacre that, according to what little she remembered, shouldn't have left any survivors, well... nobody except Sasuke.

"I shouldn't exist... This Hana shouldn't exist, not that I can remember," she whispered to herself, her voice trembling as much as her hands.

"She definitely wasn't in the manga, so... If she didn't appear in them, it means she's also dead, or didn't even exist, either way, they won't let me live."

The sound of light but firm footsteps brought him back to reality.

Itachi was still nearby .

And she couldn't risk being seen by him; if that happened, she imagined it would be certain death. 

With her heart in her throat, she did what she thought was the most logical thing to do at that moment.

She pretended to be dead.

She lay completely down next to her father's body, letting the blood that was on the floor mix with her, closing her eyes almost completely, but still keeping a sliver open to observe.

"Don't look at me, don't look at me, don't look at me."

Her breathing was shallow, almost nonexistent, at that moment, as she tried to ignore the pain in her stomach and the crushing weight of the fear of being seen. She was terrified. 

While she waited, her mind raced. Flashes of memories that weren't hers surfaced, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle being proposed to fit together . Giving you a headache.

Yume, the mother of the real Hana, was a very beautiful woman with elegant features, but with a perpetually distant look. She carried the weight of the Uchiha clan's disapproval for having married Shinji, a rogue ninja who had joined the Leaf Village.

Shinji, the father of the real Hana, was a man of somewhat mysterious origins, with skills that rivaled many ninjas in the village.

And from the memories, they were somewhat looked down upon by the clan; their marriage was disapproved of by many in the clan, and this extended to little Hana to some extent.

She was only half of her mother's Uchiha lineage, and in the eyes of the elders, an aberration with traits that didn't belong to the clan.

And yet, Hana's parents loved and fiercely protected her. She felt bad about the situation because she was sure that, with time, she would barely be able to remember their faces now without the veil of blood and death that covered them.

Hana bit her lip to keep from crying. "Not now, it wasn't the time to feel, now was the time to survive this situation."

Minutes passed, or perhaps hours, she couldn't tell.

The shouting outside had finally ceased, and silence had finally taken over the house.

Itachi should have left, or at least she hoped and prayed that he would.

With slow, almost painful movements, she crawled away from the dead body beside her, her hands trembling as they touched the sticky blood on the floor.

She was on high alert, and every sound she made seemed too loud, every creak of the wood sounded like a scream in the darkness, one that would definitely seal her fate if anyone heard her.

But she couldn't stay there forever until someone came. What if they saw someone who could guarantee they wouldn't finish the job?  She couldn't stay, not with that injury; she would die again, this time from blood loss, if she stayed there.

She managed to stand up, and finally, when she managed to stand up, the world around her spun. "Damn."

The wound on her stomach was still bleeding and aching a little, further staining her already tattered dress.

She pressed her hand against him, feeling the pain throb and a little blood trickle down In your hands, but she knew she didn't have time to grieve. " I need to get out of here soon, and get help, I need to get far away from this house, far away from this smell of death."

"Far from Itachi, or anyone else, in case someone decides to come back and actually check if they're all dead, and if they see me here alive, it won't be blood loss that kills me, if they see me here alive, I'm sure it will be a certain death for me." Her steps were stealthy, her eyes gleaming in the darkness as she moved to go outside the house.

And outside, bodies were scattered, stretched out everywhere.

" My God," she thinks, horrified Freezing for a few seconds,  by the scene, putting her hand over her mouth.

The proud Uchiha clan had now reduced the matter to a pile of corpses and pools of blood.

The horror hit her like a wave, but she swallowed the scream that rose in her throat. She couldn't afford to scream now.

Running down the street, cautiously glancing around, the cold night air hit his face, but it didn't cause any trouble.

The streets of the Uchiha district were equally stained red, some bodies were piled up and others thrown across the street as if they were nothing more than trash.

While running, Hana tripped over something and almost fell on a corpse. She had to cover her mouth to avoid screaming in fear and horror.

Her eyes, wide, scanned the scene until they stopped on a solitary figure—it was... a child? Looking about the same age as the real Hana, lying on the street a few meters away.

Looking closer, he was a boy with black hair and a pale face.

Era o Sasuke .

Hana recognized him immediately, even with her mind clouded by shock.

And He was unconscious.

In the manga and anime, she still remembers, albeit hazy and confused, that Sasuke was the only survivor of the clan besides Itachi.

This made her, Hana, an anomaly. Since she was still alive.

Now, she was a flaw in history.

If Itachi were to return right now, or anyone else involved in this were to see her alive, she would be finished.

And Sasuke... was he also in danger now because of her? Because she was there? And alive? 

"I can't stay here... but I can't leave you either." His voice was hoarse, almost inaudible at that moment.

She went up to him and bent down, "Ngh... Damn." The movement brought a new wave of pain through her body because of the injury.

Beside him, she shook him gently, her small hands trembling against his shoulder. "Hey, wake up... please, wake up..."

But He did not move, His eyes were closed, and His face was marked by dried tears. "Please... wake up! 

And Hana felt a growing despair inside her.

She no longer knew what to do; she had no ninja skills, nor medical skills, so she couldn't heal herself. She had no strength, she had nothing.

But then a crazy idea crossed his mind.

"It's quite likely that Itachi will return soon, and if anyone finds me running and hiding in terror, I'm sure I'll just be another body among all those dead."

"But... if I stay here, together with Sasuke, maybe... just maybe... I could be saved along with him."

"After all, someone would come for him, right? The Hokage, or some other important ninja."

"That's what happened in the anime/manga. Well... At least that's what I still remember happening. Now, I really hope I'm right. If it's true, I could save myself along with him." With eyes filled with tears she refused to let fall, Hana lay down beside Sasuke, wrapping her thin arms around him.

She snuggled against him, hugging him tightly, feeling the faint warmth of his body against hers, a stark contrast to the cold, blood-soaked floor she awoke to.

The fear of imminent death suffocated her, but she no longer had the strength to run.

Her dress, already stained red, also stained his shirt.

"Just... just a little..." she murmured, her eyes beginning to close as exhaustion and blood loss took their toll.

"Only until someone comes... to save you, to save us."

In the twilight of her fading consciousness, she saw figures approaching.

She heard muffled voices, but there was one face in particular that caught her attention, an aged face, now marked by sadness; she remembered who it was.

The Third Hokage .

It was him, it had to be him.

Hana tried to open her eyes a little wider to see better, but darkness was clouding her vision. 

Before she completely passed out, a single thought crossed her confused mind.

" I want to survive... please... Please... I don't..."

"Please..."

"I don't want to die again."

🐾⚛ ࿔❀ 🍡🍵𓏲ּ𝄢 ✧Ი𐑼✧ 𓏲ּ𝄢🍵🍡❀࿔ ⚛🐾

The first thing she noticed when she woke up was the smell of antiseptic that permeated the air, mixed with the faint odor of old linen and dust.

When Hana slowly opened her eyes, she saw a pale light filtering through the gaps in a poorly closed curtain.

Her purple eyes gleamed, adjusting to the surroundings while a dull throbbing pulsed in her stomach, causing her to shrink slightly.

The bandages around her torso were tight, but the pain was far more bearable now than before. Mais was a constant reminder of the previous night, something she wished had been just a nightmare.

The drab white ceiling above her seemed mocking; she already had an idea of ​​where she might be. "I'm in a hospital, I suppose."

This only reinforced the idea that all of this was real, that she really was in Konoha, in the world of "Naruto," and it was also clear that last night's Uchiha massacre wasn't just a story.

She tried to move, but a soft moan escaped her lips, alerting someone nearby. "No...shit..." 

Quick footsteps approached, and a middle-aged woman, dressed in a white lab coat and with her brown hair tied in a messy bun, appeared in her field of vision.

His eyes were kind, but filled with professional concern.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?" the nurse asked, her voice softly firm as she checked a clipboard beside the bed.

She leaned forward to adjust the pillow under Hana's head, her hands nimble and accustomed to the task.

Hana blinked, her mind still foggy. 

How was she? She had no idea. Physically, she was injured, and mentally, a mess.

But she knew she couldn't reveal anything to the nurse, beyond the bare minimum.

"I'm... fine." Her voice came out hoarse, she forced a slight nod.

Lying seemed like the best option now. She couldn't seem strange.

The nurse nodded, looking pleased, and murmured something about finding someone before walking away.

But before Hana could truly enjoy that brief moment of solitude to organize her thoughts, some time later, a soft knocking sound echoed through the door, and then it opened with a slow creak.

A tall, familiar figure entered, his traditional Hokage robes contrasting sharply with the sterile atmosphere of the hospital.

Era Sarutobi Hiruzen, o Terceiro Hokage.

His eyes, gentle yet penetrating, fixed on Hana, and she felt a shiver run down her spine.

It was as if he could see right through her, even though she knew that was impossible.

“I’m relieved to see you awake, child.” His voice was calm, almost paternal, but there was a tone of caution, a subtle distrust, that Hana sensed almost immediately.

He shifted, stopping beside the bed, and crossed his hands behind his back. "Can you tell me your name? And what do you remember about... the night it all happened?"

Hana swallowed hard, feeling the weight of each word he uttered.

She felt the need to be extremely careful, answering just enough not to arouse suspicion, but without revealing that her mind was a jigsaw puzzle of memories.

Her purple eyes drifted to her lap, fixing on her small, pale hands, which trembled slightly beneath the thin blanket.

“My name is Hana… Hana Uchiha.” She hesitated, her voice low, almost as if she were testing the words in her own mouth.

"I... I don't remember everything from that night. Just... blood. There was so much blood... And my parents..."

Her voice faltered, and she didn't need to fake trembling hands.

The image of Shinji, his hands icy cold, and of Yume on the floor, the blood in the glasses outside, and Itachi's red eyes, returned with full force.

"My parents are Shinji and Yume. They... they were there and protected me."

The Hokage observed her in silence for a long moment, his narrowed eyes drifting away almost imperceptibly.

He seemed to analyze every detail of her appearance. 

Her white hair fell in disheveled strands over her shoulders, her purple eyes shone in an unusual way,

So different from the typical traits of an Uchiha.

Hana felt her heart race.

She knew she didn't fit the clan's mold, and that her existence was an anomaly even there, in this world.

Her mother's marriage to a stranger was already a source of controversy, according to the fragments of memory that were coming to light.

Did he suspect that she knew something more?

But then, when she mentioned Shinji's name, a spark of recognition appeared at the Hokage's aged face.

He tilted his head slightly, as if a piece had fallen into place in his mind. "Ah yes, you and Shinji's daughter... yes, I've heard him talk so much about you, little one."

"His father was a great ninja, a man of extraordinary skills."

"It's Yume Uchiha, a woman of great potential, and it's truly a shame that they passed away." He spoke more to himself than to her, their voices a mixture of reflection.

Then, his eyes returned to Hana, softening. "I understand. You've been through something terrible, Hana."

"You don't need to force yourself to remember that night anymore. I'm satisfied with what you told me."

Hana felt a momentary relief, realizing that the Hokage was looking at her with a mixture of compassion and sadness.

He genuinely seemed to believe that she knew nothing beyond what a 6-year-old should know, which was perfectly fine for her.

Before I could say more, he continued, in his gentle voice. “There’s another survivor, you know? Besides you, we found them together, embracing, and it’s truly a blessing that they’re alive.”

Her heart skipped a beat; she already knew who the other survivor was.

Sasuke. 

Before she could answer, loud voices were heard outside, and the bedroom door suddenly burst open with a bang that startled Hana.

A small figure, with black hair and dark eyes marked by deep dark circles, appeared in the doorway of the room.

Sasuke Uchiha .

He looked quite frail, with bandages on one arm and a pale face, but his eyes held an intensity that contrasted with his bruised body.

Furthermore, there were two nurses trying to restrain him, their voices loud in protest.

"You can't come in... you need to go rest!" one of them insisted.

But Sasuke ignored them, his eyes fixed on Hana; it was as if she were the only thing in the world to him at that moment.

The Hokage quickly made a gesture with one hand, silencing the nurses with a calm expression.

He glanced at Sasuke, then at Hana, and a soft sigh escaped his lips. "I'll leave you two alone."

Then He turned to leave, leaving them alone.

When the door closed, leaving the two alone, a heavy silence hung in the air.

Sasuke stood still for a moment, as if he didn't know what to do or what to say, before quickly walking to Hana's bed.

Without saying a word, he leaned down and hugged her, his small arms encircling her with unexpected force.

“Hey… wait a minute—” she tried to protest, surprised by the intensity of the gesture.

"My belly..." she thought, tense for a second, before trying to adjust her position.

Hana, surprised, felt the warmth of her tears against her shoulder as he trembled.

"I'm not alone... you... you're alive." Her voice was hoarse, broken, tied to a pain so raw it made Hana's heart clench. "you're alive..."

She didn't know what to say to him, she didn't even know how to react to all of this yet.

Sasuke... the boy she vaguely remembered as a future avenger, a symbol of loneliness and anger in the anime because of the loss of his family, was now there, crying in her arms like a frightened child.

Thanking she for being alive. 

“I… I’m Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha.” He finally calmed down a little, wiping away tears with the sleeve of his hospital shirt, but his eyes still shone with emotion. “I’ve never seen you before around the clan. What’s your name?”

Hana hesitated, feeling the weight of the moment.

She still needs to be careful, even with him. "My name is Hana... Hana Uchiha."

"But... I'm only half Uchiha. I inherited my father's looks. He wasn't from the clan."

She took a strand of her white hair in her hand; it was a stark contrast to Sasuke's typical Uchiha features.

Sasuke stared at her for a moment, his eyes narrowing as he processed the information.

But then he agreed, it wasn't like it mattered that she was only half Uchiha. None of that mattered at that moment, after all she was from the clan, and that was all that mattered to him.

"That doesn't matter, you're still an Uchiha, and... you're alive." He paused, his lips trembling as he struggled to control his emotions.

"I was waiting for you to wake up, for a few days now, and you didn't wake up... I... I... I thought I was the only one, I thought there was no one else."

Hana felt a knot in her throat.

She knew about Sasuke's future, she knew about the loneliness that would define him, the loneliness he felt for being the last of his lineage, and also about the vengeance that would consume him.

But there, at that moment, he was just a 7-year-old boy, devastated by the loss of everything he knew, and now he was clinging to the only connection to his clan he still had, the only living person besides his brother.

She tried to smile, even if it was weakly, at him. "I'm also... happy not to be alone and... not to be the last."

It was really true, she truly felt it, despite everything, despite her fear of being an anomaly, and of not belonging to this story.

He had no one left, no family, and that made her feel very sad for him. Now she hoped he wouldn't feel that way; she had a little hope, or as close to it as she could get now.

They talked a little more, their voices low, almost whispered.

Sasuke spoke little about the massacre, almost as if he didn't want to touch on the subject, but he did say that they had been taken to the hospital together by the Hokage himself, who had found them together. His plan had worked .

Hana, for her part, kept her answers somewhat vague, only briefly mentioning that her mother kept her away from the clan, and that's why they didn't know each other.

She also spoke a little about her father, or what she remembered of him from her hazy and fragmented memories.

Sasuke seemed to absorb every word. "We are the only Uchihas now," he said, looking at her, his eyes fixed on her.

“Come on… We’ll always be together from now on, right? We can’t let this happen again,” Sasuke murmured, his voice low, full of a seriousness rare for someone so young. "We have to stay together, united."

He took a deep breath, holding Hana's hand firmly, his eyes determined and shining. "Hana, I want you to promise me that you won't leave me... that we'll always be together from now on."

Hana blinked, surprised by the intensity of his words, but his gaze didn't waver for a single second while he listened to those words.

"Of course... I won't leave you," she replied softly.

“I promise I won’t go anywhere, I pinky swear to you.” She raised her pinky finger, and Sasuke immediately intertwined his with hers, as if it were the most important agreement of their lives.

“That’s a promise, Hana. And promises…” he pressed his pinky finger against hers. “…aren’t broken.”

Hana agreed, even knowing that their future was somewhat uncertain.

Now, Hana remembered little of the plot of "Naruto," but she did remember that Sasuke would follow a dark path in the future.

But at that moment, she couldn't say no to him.

Not when he looked at her with such need, not when she herself felt the weight of his loneliness, crushing her from the inside.

"Yes, Sasuke, we'll always be together," she promised him, her voice firmer than she expected.

But deep down, a part of her unconsciously whispered in her memories and soul that she shouldn't have promised that.

"Don't promise him that . "

The world of Naruto was not kind .

Surviving there would mean fighting against a destiny she didn't know, and perhaps she would even fight against Sasuke one day.

Now, in that moment, none of that mattered. She held his hand, feeling the warmth of their hands together, while the silence of the hospital enveloped them.

Without her knowing, that promise made between them triggered the same consequence as in other lives, the other connections, reigniting the same invisible thread that had already united them in their other lives, rekindling an ancient cycle that always led to the same inevitable outcome. 

🐾⚛ ࿔❀ 🍡🍵𓏲ּ𝄢 ✧Ი𐑼✧ 𓏲ּ𝄢🍵🍡❀࿔ ⚛🐾

The hospital room, now quite familiar to her after days of recovery, also seemed suffocating to Hana.

That morning, sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting pale shadows on the linoleum floor, as she leaned back in bed, her thoughts swirling like a whirlwind.

It had been five days since she woke up, five days since Sasuke entered that same room and hugged her as if she were his last anchor in the world.

And since those five days, she has never been alone for very long either.

Sasuke was now sitting in a chair beside his bed, as he had done every morning since then.

His dark eyes, filled with an intensity befitting his age, stared blankly into space, as if he were lost in memories he didn't want to share.

Today, however, it seemed different.

There was something more refined in his gaze, a determination that Hana recognized immediately; it was the same look she vaguely remembered him having in the anime, the look of a boy who would carry the weight of vengeance for the rest of his life.

"I will avenge our Hana clan." His voice was low but firm, cutting through the silence like a blade.

He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white from clenching them so tightly.

"I'm going to find Itachi... and I'm going to kill him. No matter how long it takes, no matter what I have to do."

"He will pay for what he did."

Hana stared at him, feeling a shiver run down her spine.

She knew that these words marked the beginning of a dark path for Sasuke, a path she knew all too well.

Part of her wanted to say something, to try to dissuade him, but what could she say? He was a child who had lost everything, just like her.

Her own memories of the massacre, all the blood and bodies, still haunt her in nightmares almost every night.

So how could she ask him to let it go and forget about it? Anyone would have done that in his place.

She could never do that, she could never ask him that, so she just nodded, her purple eyes dropping to her lap as she tried to hide the unease she felt.

"I know you'll succeed." That was all she managed to murmur, her voice almost inaudible.

It wasn't exactly encouragement, but it wasn't opposition either. 

Sasuke seemed to accept this, turning his gaze to the window, lost in his own thoughts.

🐾 ࿔❀ 🍡🍵٠࣪ 𓏲ּ𝄢 ✧Ი𐑼✧ 𓏲ּ𝄢 ٠࣪🍵🍡❀࿔ 🐾

The following days passed like a fog.

Sasuke continued to visit her daily, sometimes staying for hours, speaking little, but always being present.

He brings up small details of the village, stories about what he saw on his way to the hospital, or comments about the weather, as if trying to fill the silence between them.

Hana noticed how attached he Already was to her, watching her with his eyes even when he wasn't speaking.

It was as if he feared she would disappear.

It was suffocating at times, and a little irritating sometimes.

She wanted your space to think, to process the fact that she was living in "Naruto," and also to write down what little she remembered at the moment, before it all slipped away.

But she couldn't tell him that.

Not when she saw the loneliness and sadness etched in his every expression.

So she let it go, allowing him to stay, to say whatever he wanted, to simply be there with her.

On one of those visits, Sasuke brought news that made Hana's heart clench.

He hesitated before speaking, his fingers playing with the hem of his shirt as he looked at the floor.

“Hana, the funeral… It already happened. While you were still unconscious.” His voice was monotonous, but his tense shoulders betrayed his emotion. “Everyone in the clan… was there dead. I… I didn’t even get to say a proper goodbye to some of them.”

Hana felt a lump forming in her throat. She wasn't there with him, she didn't see the bodies being buried, she didn't say goodbye to Yume or Shinji, who had tried so hard to keep her alive.

The pain was strange; part of it was real, stemming from memories that weren't exactly hers, but hurt as if they were; and part of it was discomfort because she didn't feel their deaths as much as she should have.

Without thinking, she leaned forward and hugged him, ignoring the twinge of pain in his almost healed wound.

Sasuke stiffened for a moment, but then relaxed completely, his arms wrapping around her, embracing her tightly.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't there with you," she whispered, more to herself than to him.

Sasuke didn't answer her, he just continued hugging her tightly, and then discreetly wiping his face.

🐾⚛ ࿔❀ 🍡🍵𓏲ּ𝄢 ✧Ი𐑼✧ 𓏲ּ𝄢🍵🍡❀࿔ ⚛🐾

A few days later, Hana finally received the news she had been waiting for.

The doctor, a middle-aged man with round glasses and a distinctly tired look, informed her that her injury was practically healed.

She would still need care, of course, but she could be discharged very soon.

And that same afternoon, while she was testing her movements, feeling her body a little stiff after so many days of rest, the bedroom door opened, revealing the figure of the Third Hokage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen entered with his calm gait, the pipe dangling from his lips, though unlit inside the hospital.

His kind, yet ever-observant eyes rested upon Hana.

He seemed to see her only as a child who had survived a tragedy, which was great for her.

"How are you feeling, Hana?" he Question , stopping beside the bed with a slight smile.

“I’m fine now, Hokage-sama. My  Injury  is almost healed. I just feel a little weak, but that will pass Over time.” She replied, trying to sound confident, even though her legs still trembled from trying to stand for long periods.

He agreed, satisfied, and crossed his hands behind his back before continuing. “I have something to discuss with you. Sasuke insisted that he would like you to live Together  with him.”

"He told me he doesn't want to be alone, and that you two are all that's left of the clan, and That's why  that you should stay together."

"I'd like to know if you agree with this, about moving in with him."

Hana blinked, surprised for a moment. Living with Sasuke? She hadn't expected him to go so far as to ask the Hokage for that, but considering the promise they made, she should assume he would want them to live together.

She quickly weighed the pros and cons.

"On one hand, if I stayed close to Sasuke, I would have a direct connection with one of the main characters in the story; he was someone who could observe me and perhaps even protect me while I still didn't have any ninja skills."

"On the other hand, I would have to deal with his obsession with revenge up close, something that could be emotionally draining ." 

Even so, when considering her options, living with him wasn't so bad; after all, she didn't have many other good alternatives.

"Go to the orphanage..., Or Living alone, without resources or skills, would be truly dangerous, especially since I can't trust my memories, and besides, nobody around here is very trustworthy to me."

"To make matters worse, if I think about it, now I'm a female Uchiha, the last of the lineage. I bet I'd be worth a lot of money if someone kidnapped and sold me. I don't even want to think about the consequences."

"And somehow, the idea of ​​being with Sasuke seemed... really right."

“Yes, I agree to live with Sasuke,” she finally replied. “I also really think… it will be good for both of us.”

The Hokage smiled a genuine smile that softened the lines on his aged face.

He seemed pleased, perhaps even relieved, to see that the last two Uchihas had found support in each other.

"I'm glad to hear that. In time, I like to think that you two will become quite Very  close, despite everything. That's Something very important."

"You can take care of each other together."

He paused, adjusting his hat before continuing. “After you are discharged by the doctor, you will be free to go with him. But there is another matter I would like to discuss with you, Hana.”

"Are you interested in joining the Ninja Academy? Maybe along with Sasuke?"

"I know you're a year younger than him, but I can arrange for you to be in the same class together, if you'd like to, of course."

Hana felt her heart race.

Go in the  Academia Ninja.

It was there that everything began, or rather, that she remembered everything began; it was there that she would meet Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi, and all the other characters who would shape the future of this world.

This was a chance to become part of the story, and also, of course, to learn to defend herself, to perhaps find her place here.

But she also knew it would be a challenging environment, especially for someone like her, who had no ninja experience; as far as she could remember, her parents had never trained her in ninja techniques.

And on top of that, she was carrying the frail body Injured of a 6-year-old child;  it would be very difficult to fit in.

Still, the opportunity was too great for her to refuse.

"Yes, I want to," she said, trying to hide her excitement in her voice.

"I want to go and learn at the ninja academy... and being in the same class with Sasuke would really help."

The Hokage agreed, looking pleased once again. "Very well. I'll make sure you both go in together soon."

"For now, just rest and fully recover." With one last gentle look, he turned to leave, leaving Hana alone with her thoughts.

Staring at the door for a long time after he left, her mind was still processing everything.

"The Ninja Academy, living together with Sasuke. A new home."

It was as if the world was opening up before her.

Before she could delve any deeper into her thoughts, the door opened again, and Sasuke entered eagerly.

"Hana, the Hokage spoke to me a little while ago. We're going to live together," he said, getting straight to the point, his eyes fixed on hers as if seeking confirmation.

Hana agreed, offering him a small smile. "Yes, he already told me. I'm happy about that, Sasuke."

At that moment, the doctor returned, holding a clipboard.

He performed a quick examination, checking Hana's specific vital signs, before finally declaring her free to go, but warned her that she should still be very careful with the injury.

A nurse who was accompanying him handed Hana a simple set of clothes: a long-sleeved blue blouse and black shorts, both a little too big for her small frame.

Hana changed in the bathroom of her room, feeling the rough fabric against her skin, but grateful to finally leave her hospital pajamas behind.

When she left, Sasuke waited impatiently at the door.

“I promise I will always protect you from everything, Hana,” he said to her, his voice determined, taking her hand as they began to walk down the hospital corridors. “And I will avenge our clan too, I promise you .”

Hana simply nodded to him, squeezing his hand back. As they walked side by side, she was observing how small she was next to him.

Even at only 7 years old, Sasuke was almost a head taller.

🐾 🍡🍵٠࣪ 𓏲ּ𝄢 ✧Ი𐑼✧ 𓏲ּ𝄢 ٠࣪🍵🍡🐾

On the way to the apartment, Sasuke guided her through the streets of Konoha, the fresh morning air filling her lungs after so long confined in that hospital.

The village was vibrant, full of life, but Hana couldn't ignore the occasional glances she received from people, some of curiosity, others of pity.

She knew that she would be an Uchiha to them now, a symbol of tragedy and distrust.

When they finally arrived at Sasuke's apartment, a modest building on the outskirts of the old Uchiha district, he led her inside.

The place was simple, almost empty, with some signs of wear on the walls and a smell of dust in the air.

He stopped in front of a door next to what appeared to be his own room, the opening revealing a small but clean space with a bed, a wardrobe, and a window overlooking an empty courtyard.

“This is your room, Hana,” he said, almost shyly, avoiding her gaze. “If you need anything, just call me. My room is right next door.”

Hana agreed and went inside, feeling the cold floor beneath her now bare feet.

A space of her own, something she hadn't had since she woke up in this world.

She turned to Sasuke, offering a weak but genuine smile. "Thank you, Sasuke. For everything."

He simply nodded, his eyes still filled with emotion that he couldn't express in words.

They were living together now, and Hana knew that, despite everything, this was a start.

An uncertain start, but a start nonetheless.

As she sat on the bed, gazing out the window at the Konoha sky, she couldn't help but think about what would come next.

The Academy, the bonds she hoped it would form.

And to a destiny she did not know.

Chapter Text

The apartment was small, but the silence that filled it seemed immense.

In the first few days of them living together, Hana and Sasuke moved like specters, in a space that didn't seem to belong to either of them.

She preferred to be alone in her room for the moment, putting her thoughts in order.

The Uchiha district, once vibrant with the voices of an entire clan, was now a graveyard, and their small apartment reflected this desolation.

The apartment walls were bare, except for a few cracks that betrayed neglect, and the air carried a persistent smell of dust and abandonment.

But, little by little, together, they managed to find a rhythm, a way of living together, that was enough to escape the void left by the tragedy.

Hana was still adjusting to her small body now, and also to her lost memories, which were even more fragmented, but she always kept a close eye on Sasuke.

He was quiet, almost always lost in thought, his dark eyes fixed on some invisible point.

However, his presence was constant.

She was never really alone for very long; he was always checking on her to see if she was okay, if she needed anything, and especially if she was comfortable, and above all, if her injury was really alright.

It was an almost instinctive protective mechanism for him.

It was as if she were the last thing in the world, something he couldn't lose.

Hana noticed this, of course, but she didn't comment on it.

Part of her found his concern for her really comforting. Another part of her, even if only slightly, found it a little suffocating.

Still, she knew he needed it, perhaps even more than she did.

A week later, Sasuke suggested that they should go to the cemetery.

His voice was a little hesitant, almost as if he feared her reaction to the suggestion.

"I just think you should go see... where everyone is," he said, standing in the doorway of her room, avoiding looking directly at her. "If you don't want to, that's fine, but... If you want to go, I'll go with you."

Hana swallowed hard, feeling a weight on her chest.

She knew she needed to overcome this, even if the memories of her "family" were hazy.

She had a mixture of feelings that she didn't know if they were hers, or those of the girl who had inhabited this body before her. 

She nodded, agreeing with him, Leaving  From the bed.

The cemetery was on the outskirts of the Uchiha district. It was a quiet and gloomy place surrounded by a few old trees.

The air there was a little heavy, laden with the smell of damp earth and withered flowers left on the tombstones.

Hana walked beside Sasuke, her steps hesitant as her eyes scanned the rows of stones, engraved with names she couldn't remember.

Each tombstone was a reminder of the massacre, a lost story, a face of someone she supposed the old Hana must have known, but whom she could no longer conjure in her mind.

She feels a vague pain, more from the absence than from any real connection, and that only makes her feel even more guilty.

"My parents... Sasuke, do you know where they are?" she asked him.

Sasuke made his way to a more secluded corner, where two smaller tombstones stood side by side, surrounded by a small flower bed.

He stopped a few steps away, letting her approach on her own, as if he knew she needed that moment.

Hana knelt before the tombstones, with the names engraved on them.

Yume uchiha e Shinji tsuki-uchiha 

The names were familiar to her, since they were her parents, but they were also strangely distant at the same time. Especially because she wasn't their biological daughter. 

Her fingers touched the cold surface of the gravestone, tracing the inscribed names, and a wave of sadness enveloped her.

She didn't know them, not really.

Her memories of Hana's life were somewhat fragmented, even hazy. Lately, she remembered a few flashes of smiles and some moments of Hana with her parents, which she couldn't quite grasp.

But she also knew, through some instinct or echo from her former life in this body, that Shinji had used all of his chakra to save her.

That He died protecting her .

And Yume... Yume probably died protecting them, until the very end.

Hot tears streamed down her face, falling to the ground below.

" I'm only alive now because of him ," she thought, her heart aching. " If he hadn't used everything he had to save me... I wouldn't be here now."

But then came the thought that had been haunting her since she woke up in the hospital.

She shouldn't be here. 

This body, this life, was not hers.

And the real truth was that Hana Uchiha, the original owner of her body, had died that night.

Shinji hadn't actually managed to save his real daughter , but she would always be grateful to him because he had saved her. If it weren't for him, as soon as she somehow managed to reincarnate in Hana's body and heal her with her chakra, she was absolutely certain that she would die a second time, and this time it would be from hemorrhage. 

“I’m sorry.” She whispered, her voice choked with emotion, her hands trembling as she bent closer to the gravestone. “I’m sorry for being here in her place. I’m truly sorry that I’m not her. I hope… that you are at peace.”

"Furthermore, I promise I will try to make this life worthwhile, and that I will live as long as I can. I will not waste your sacrifices."

She stood there for a long moment praying for them, for everything, the cold wind ruffling her hair as she tried to find in them some feeling of regret or absolution.

But there was no answer, only the silence of the cemetery.

When she finally finished praying for them, she stood up, wiping her face with the wide sleeves of the shirt Sasuke had given her to wear.

She found him at a respectful distance, his back to her, gazing into the distance.

He didn't say anything, he didn't pressure her. He just waited for her.

“Sasuke…” she called, her voice still a little shaky. He turned his head slightly, looking at her with attentive eyes.

"I want to go to my old house, I need to go there to get some things, I can't keep wearing your clothes forever."

He frowned, a shadow of concern crossing his face. "Are you sure you want to go there? We can always buy other things. You don't need to go back there."

“No, I want to go,” she insisted, trying to sound firmer than she felt. “Let’s just go grab a few things, please.”

Sasuke hesitated for another moment, but finally agreed, albeit somewhat reluctantly.

✦✧ ⚛ ࿔ 🍡🍵 ⋆ ✧ ⚛ ✧✦

The house where the former Hana lived with her parents, Yume and Shinji, was located on a side street in the Uchiha district.

The facade, though still intact, seemed somber, as if the weight of the massacre had permeated every brick.

Sasuke stopped at the entrance, crossing his arms as he stared. "I'll stay out here, but if you need any help, call me," he said to her seriously.

Hana nodded, pushing the door shut with a creak that echoed in the silence of the house.

The interior of the house was covered in dust, the furniture untouched since that fateful night.

She avoided going through places where she knew there were still bloodstains.

Hana walked slowly. She climbed the stairs of the house to what she assumed was her old room; it was quite obvious, given the pink painted door with her name on it.

It was a small space, but quite beautiful and cozy. It had a large bed, but with rumpled sheets, and toys scattered all over the floor. But she didn't pay any attention to them.

In the closet, she found what she was really looking for: clothes that belonged to the old Hana.

Inside there were several dresses, and kimonos were extremely feminine, and probably expensive, pieces that caught the eye; many in vibrant shades of red, pink, blue, and purple, they were beautiful pieces with delicate embroidery.

"My goodness... her parents must really spoil that girl too much," she thought, surprised.

She opened her mouth in shock, almost making the closet door slam shut, while clutching a lilac dress with ruffles.

"Seriously? She used to wear that? Who wears that at six years old?" She murmured to herself, laughing softly despite the weight in her heart.

“Well… I suppose they looked very nice on her.” She sighed. “Or… in this case, on me now.”

Still, she grabbed some of the dresses and a few more practical clothes, carefully folding them inside an old backpack she had also found in the corner.

Then, driven by an impulse, she went to the room of her supposed parents.

The place seemed untouched, as if it were still waiting for someone to return.

And on the dressing table, she saw a small box wrapped in purple paper, with a card beside it.

Curious, she opened the card and read the handwritten words:

" Happy sixth birthday, my princess , to our little Hana . With all our love, from your parents, Yume and Shinji."

His heart stopped for a moment.

A nurse at the hospital had told her that she turned six years old while she was still unconscious.

So... This was a gift that the real Hana would never receive from them.

With slightly trembling hands, she opened the box.

Inside was a delicate necklace with a rabbit pendant, all made of a purple crystal that looked like amethyst. The crystal of the necklace sparkled in the faint sunlight streaming through the window.

Next to the necklace, she wore a pair of earrings, also made of purple crystals.

They were truly beautiful, possessing a gentleness that seemed to carry all the love their parents had for the real Hana.

She felt tears welling up in her eyes again, but she held them back, deciding that she would take the gifts with her.

Finally, she picked up some framed photos she found in the room.

One of them showed Yume and Shinji with four-year-old Hana, smiling on a radiant day.

On the back, it was written: " Our princess's fourth birthday."

Other photos showed smaller moments, but equally full of life.

Hana put them in her backpack, feeling that she needed something tangible to connect with those people she didn't know, but for whom she felt a strange longing.

When she left the house, Sasuke was still in the doorway, his gaze fixed on the empty horizon.

He noticed the backpack on her shoulders, "Do you want help carrying this?" he asked in a low voice.

"No, no need, it's not heavy," she replied, adjusting the straps of her backpack.

But Sasuke didn't ask again.

He simply took the backpack from her shoulders, ignoring any protest from her, and held her small hand firmly in his.

And then, together, they walked back to the apartment in silence.

The days that followed were a delicate dance of learning and growing closeness between them.

Hana and Sasuke had exactly one month before starting at the Ninja Academy, and during that time, they followed a routine that, although simple, helped them to get acquainted with each other and also to cope with loneliness.

Hana, although not skilled at many things, decided to take the initiative in the kitchen.

She didn't know if it was something a previous owner of this body did, but she discovered that she really enjoyed cooking; she had a talent for it.

On the first night she tried, she prepared a decent meal, a simple stew of vegetables and fish.

"Is it okay?" she asked hesitantly, while stirring her own plate without eating.

He simply continued, taking another spoonful without looking at her.

But Hana didn't lose the slight glint in her eyes, the way he seemed to savor each bite.

Secretly, Sasuke loved her cooking .

It was something that reminded him, even if vaguely, of better days, of meals with his family that would never happen again, because now they were dead.

He wouldn't say that out loud to her, of course. 

They also shared the household chores, something that seemed natural to Hana.

She helped him wash and fold clothes, the two working side by side in silence in the small utility area of ​​the apartment.

Sometimes their hands would brush against each other as they folded a shirt, and Sasuke would quickly look away, a slight blush rising to his cheeks which he tried to hide.

Hana pretended not to notice, but found it a little funny how he, so serious and reserved, became disconcerted by such simple things.

One afternoon, she was determined to try something new, or in this case, one of her expensive dresses.

What she chose was a red dress with short sleeves and a skirt that twirled when she moved, something that seemed more suitable for a party than for everyday wear.

She arranged her hair in loose braids, letting a few strands fall over her shoulders, and looked at herself in the small bathroom mirror.

She felt strange, almost as if she were pretending to be someone else, but she liked the result.

When she left the room, Sasuke was sitting at the small kitchen table, holding a scroll of basic techniques that the Hokage had given him a few days ago.

He looked up and froze.

Hana saw how his cheeks flushed, his dark eyes widening for a split second before he looked away, seemingly indifferent.

"What's wrong, Sasuke? Didn't you like it?" she asked, twirling slightly in her skirt, more playfully than anything else.

"That's not it," he murmured, his voice lower than usual.

"You... look... beautiful with him, Hana. More beautiful, I mean." He almost choked on his words, turning his face away as if he wanted to disappear for having said that.

Hana laughed softly. She had always found Sasuke to be a somewhat distant character, but moments like this proved otherwise. Maybe it was just her, who knows?

But there was something else he kept very deep inside.

He always thought she was very beautiful, ever since he first saw her, even in her simple clothes and with her messy hair from her days in the hospital.

And now, seeing her like this, all dressed up and with a shy smile, he was feeling something he couldn't name, a desire to always keep her like this, safe, and above all, happy.

A few days later, Hana decided to wear the necklace and earrings she found in her old house.

She spent some time in front of the mirror, deciding whether to wear them or not; she was adjusting the necklace around her neck and putting on the earrings.

It was beautiful, and for the first time since she woke up in this world, she felt a real connection to something.

"I'll never take this off," she said aloud to herself, her fingers delicately touching the pendant.

"For the former owner of this body, using them would be like having a piece of them with me."

Sasuke, who had entered the room to call her for dinner, stopped in the doorway, his eyes fixed on the accessories.

"Hm, Hana, where did this come from?" he asked her, curious.

“It was a present that was meant for me, which I ended up finding at my parents’ house,” she replied, turning to face him. “I found it in their room. It was for my sixth birthday.”

He looked at her gently. "They're beautiful, Hana, they match your eyes."

Hana, sincere, gave him a small smile, but one full of gratitude.

Sasuke leaves her and returns to the kitchen, leaving her with her thoughts.

The nights were the worst time for Sasuke.

Although he tried to hide it, Hana noticed the way he shifted restlessly in the next room, the muffled sounds of moans or low cries coming through the thin wall.

One night, unable to ignore his cries, she knocked hesitantly on his door.

"Sasuke? Is everything alright?" she asked him, very worried.

There was no response for a moment, until the door slowly opened, revealing a dejected Sasuke, his face pale and his eyes red from crying.

He seemed vulnerable in a way she hadn't expected to see.

Without thinking, she went in, sitting on the edge of his bed while he, in turn, huddled in the corner of the bed, trying to hide the tears that streamed down his face.

“I saw… I saw it all again, Hana.” He murmured, his voice breaking, as he clutched his knees. “Itachi… he killed everyone. Mom, Dad… I couldn’t do anything.”

Hana felt her heart clench for him at that moment.

She knew exactly what he was talking about and feeling; she also had nightmares like that sometimes, where she saw Shinji's dead body with the floor covered in blood, in addition to the bodies she saw lying outside. They frequently appeared in her nightmares. 

But to hear him speak like that, to see the weight of it on his shoulders, in his eyes, was something completely different.

Without saying a word, she approached him, enveloping him in a tight embrace.

Sasuke couldn't resist, clinging to her as if she were his last anchor in the world, and his tears were soon soaking the shoulder of her shirt.

“I’m here with you, Sasuke,” she whispered, stroking his dark hair as he trembled. “I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

"You are not alone."

He didn't answer her, only held her tighter, burying his face even deeper into her shoulder.

Hana stayed there for a long time comforting him, until his sobs subsided and his breathing calmed.

When she realized he was almost asleep, she tried to get up to go to her room, but Sasuke grabbed her hand in an almost desperate gesture.

“Hana, stay.” He pleaded with her in a hoarse voice, his eyes pleading. “Sleep here with me, just… just tonight.”

Hana nodded in agreement, lying down beside him on the narrow bed.

The warmth of his small body next to hers was strangely comforting, even though the situation was difficult.

Sasuke snuggled closer to her, still holding her hand as if he feared she too would disappear, and soon fell asleep, his face finally at peace.

Hana stayed awake for a while longer, staring at the dark ceiling, feeling the weight of being so close to someone who carried so much suffering. Now, she was there, with him, she was there, she only hoped that this would be enough to help him in this moment.

✦✧ ⚛ ࿔ 🍡🍵 ⋆ ✧ ⚛ ✧✦

The rest of the month passed with small moments that solidified the connection between them.

Hana continued cooking, always noticing how Sasuke seemed more relaxed during meals, even though he never admitted to liking her food.

They cleaned the apartment together, dividing the tasks with a synchronicity that was beginning to feel natural.

Sometimes, she would distract him with silly stories, or incessant questions about Konoha; she always tried to take his mind off the dark thoughts that always seemed to haunt him.

Hana also started wearing the dresses she brought more often, since it was a waste not to wear them, and every time she got ready, she always noticed Sasuke's gaze.

It was subtle, but there was an admiration there.

He always followed her with his eyes when he thought she wasn't looking, her cheeks turning red. 

And also, he was always making sure that she was okay and happy.

In turn, Hana found herself more attached to him than she had expected.

The nights she spent comforting him from his nightmares became more frequent; they almost always slept together. There was a growing intimacy in it, a trust they both desperately needed.

She vaguely remembered that Sasuke was a ticking time bomb.

And that his future, and perhaps hers, would be bleak if she clung to him so much, but she couldn't stay away from him.

He was all she had in this world now. 

Just as she was all he had.

As the month drew to a close and the day to enter the Ninja Academy approached, Hana felt a mixture of anxiety and curiosity.

But as she looked at Sasuke, who was now folding a dish towel with a somewhat unnecessary concentration, she thought that no matter how dark and dangerous the future might be, she now knew she would never face it alone.

She would always have him by her side, and vice versa.

✦✧ ⚛ ࿔ 🍡🍵 ⋆ ✧ ⚛ ✧✦

The morning of her first day at the Ninja Academy was marked by a mix of anxiety and motivation, which woke Hana up before the sun even rose.

The grey light of dawn filtered through the gaps in the curtains of the small apartment.

And she was already standing, her eyes gleaming with nervous energy.

Today was the beginning of something bigger, something that would change everything; it would be her first day at the gym, and she really hoped everything would go well.

After gradually adjusting to life with Sasuke, this was her first step into a world she had only known from stories.

She went to the small kitchen, determined to start the day with something comforting. She carefully prepared breakfast: freshly cooked rice, steaming miso soup, and grilled fish—a simple dish, but made with dedication.

Then, she started putting together two bento boxes, one for herself and one for Sasuke.

She placed pieces of tamagoyaki, some salted legumes, and a bit of teriyaki chicken, arranging everything with almost artistic precision.

It was a way to relieve her nervousness, to focus on something other than the weight of the day that awaited her.

After getting everything ready, Hana went to her room to get ready.

Thanks to the bank funds left by her parents, which the Hokage had recently released to her, she was able to buy new clothes.

Her wardrobe was now full of elegant kimonos, delicate dresses, practical trousers and blouses made of fine fabrics, as well as comfortable shoes that went with everything.

Sasuke simply observed her tendency to spend; the shopping bags she brought home almost every week, which she bought at a store across from the apartment, did not go unnoticed by him.

He didn't comment much, but sometimes he frowned when he saw yet another colorful package; he clearly thought she was exaggerating sometimes.

Still, he didn't stop her from buying whatever she wanted; he was happy to see her excited about something, even something as trivial as shopping.

For her first day of class at the academy, Hana chose a purple blouse that she had customized herself a few days ago; she had hand-sewn the Uchiha clan emblem onto the back of her blouse.

It was a simple job, but done with care, a way to honor her "family," something Sasuke approved of, and since he even asked her to do it for his as well.

She paired the blouse with tight black pants, practical for training, and black ninja sandals, which gave the outfit a more serious look.

She sat down in front of the small bathroom mirror, carefully combing her hair.

She made small braids on one side of her head, leaving the rest loose, falling over her shoulders.

When she looked at her reflection, she felt a slight chill in her stomach. " I am  presentable, but would I fit in there? I've never had a ninja lesson, and I know absolutely nothing; I'm practically a 'Baby' compared to the other students."

She shook her head, trying to push the thoughts away, and put on the purple crystal necklace and earrings, as she did every day now.

It was the finishing touch.

With everything ready, she went to Sasuke's room.

He was still asleep, his face relaxed. The soft light streaming through the window illuminated his features, and for a moment she even hesitated to wake him.

But anxiety got the better of her. "Hey Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke wake up!," she called.

He opened his eyes slowly, frowning as he adjusted to the light.

"It's time. Today is our first day at the gym, remember?"

He mumbled something, but stood up, running a hand through his messy hair.

While he was getting ready, Hana went back to the kitchen, setting the table with breakfast.

When Sasuke appeared, already dressed in his blue turtleneck shirt and white shorts, he sat down in front of her without saying much, as usual.

But as he ate a spoonful of rice, he paused for a moment, his eyes fixed on the plate.

And for the first time, he complimented her cooking.

"It is good," he said to her in a low voice, almost reluctantly.

Then he looked up at her, hesitating before continuing. "And you look... You're not badly  Hana. "

Hana felt her face grow hot, but she couldn't suppress the smile that remained on her lips.

It was rare to hear such a direct compliment from him, and it made her feel lighter, even if only for a moment.

"Thank you, Sasuke," she replied, still smiling, as she picked up the bento boxes and handed one to him.

"I made this so we could have lunch there. I hope you like it." He simply nodded, taking the small box and putting it in his bag without comment.Just giving a slight, almost imperceptible smile at the corner of your mouth.

But Hana knew that he appreciated the gesture, even if he didn't say so.

After coffee, the two left the apartment, walking side by side through the streets of Konoha.

The sun was rising in the sky, tinging everything with golden hues, and the morning air was fresh, laden with the smell of fresh bread from the stalls that were beginning to open.

As she approached the Academy, Hana heard the first voices .

There were residents, other students, even some curious children, pointing and commenting about Sasuke.

"He is the last Uchiha..."

"He survived that night..."

Some eyes also turned to her. "Who is that with him?" 

"The Other Uchiha?"

She felt a growing discomfort in her chest, with the not-so-discreet murmurs, but she tried to ignore it, focusing on the steps ahead.

Sasuke, however, seemed more affected than she was.

His expression tightened as he kept his eyes fixed on the path, his hand soon reaching for hers and squeezing it tightly.

It was a protective gesture, Hana didn't mind; she felt relieved to have him by her side.

He said nothing, just kept walking, making sure she didn't stray or get lost.

When they arrived at the entrance of the Academy, a brown-haired man with a scar on his nose was waiting for them.

Hana recognized him as Iruka Umino, even though this was the first time she had ever seen him in person in this world.

He smiled gently, nodding his head in greeting. "You must be Hana Uchiha, right?"

"I am Iruka, your sensei from today onwards. Welcome to academy ninja." he said, his voice warm.

Then he looked at Sasuke beside her, who had already let go of Hana's hand, but was still close enough to make his presence known. "You can go to the classroom, Sasuke, let me take her."

Sasuke hesitated for a moment before leaving her, his eyes going from Hana to Iruka, as if assessing the situation.

Finally, he nodded, giving her one last look before turning and entering the building.

Hana felt a subtle emptiness as she watched him walk away, but silently followed Iruka, who guided her through the hallways explain a few things to she. to a rather noisy classroom.

Inside, as they entered, several pairs of eyes turned to her.

Hana froze for a moment, feeling the weight of each gaze.

She briefly recognized some familiar faces from her hazy memories.

Naruto, the one with the wide smile on his face and curious eyes fixed on her.

Sakura, the one with the pink hair, had a slightly suspicious expression when she noticed her.

Ino, who seemed to be assessing her from head to toe.

Shikamaru, the one with the bored look in his eyes.

And others whom she vaguely recognized, but whose names she couldn't remember.

It was somewhat surreal for her to be there, in the midst of people who were supposed to be characters, but who, to her, were no longer characters.

"Attention, everyone." Iruka clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "This is Hana Uchiha, a new student. I want you all to welcome her warmly."

"Hana, why don't you introduce yourself?"

She swallowed hard, feeling her palms sweat.

She stepped forward, trying to appear more confident than she felt. "Hi... My name is Hana... Uchiha Hana, Nice to meet Yours." she said, her voice trembling slightly at first, but gaining strength towards the end.

There was a murmur among the students, and a hand went up. It was a wild-looking boy with red markings on his face.

He tilted his head, curious. "Uchiha? So you and Sasuke are related or something?"

Hana replied calmly. "No, we're just from the same clan." She explained, trying not to give too many details.

Iruka interrupted before anyone else could ask questions, clapping his hands again. "Alright everyone, that's enough questions for now."

"Hana, you can sit over there, next to Sasuke. There's an empty seat." He indicated, pointing to a desk in the middle.

Hana nodded, and quickly walked to the indicated location.

She felt the furious stares of some girls on her.

Especially Sakura and Ino, who were annoyed that she sat next to Sasuke.

There was no scandal at the time, but the girls' displeasure was clear in their glances at her.

Other students, however, were simply curious or perhaps admiring.

Hana knew that she stood out not only for being an Uchiha, but also for the care she took with her appearance Today.

The purple blouse with the stitched emblem, the delicate braids in her hair, the purple jewels sparkling around her neck and ears... she dressed very well, and that wasn't going unnoticed by anyone.

Sasuke, who until then had been looking out the window with his usual indifferent expression, turned his head slightly when she sat down.

He said nothing, but his eyes scanned her for a moment, as if to make sure she was alright. 

Are you well?

Hana, who already knew him well, knew what he was asking her with just a look, so she simply nodded slightly in agreement.

Iruka immediately began the lesson, explaining basic concepts of ninja history and some fundamentals of chakra.

Hana tried to really pay attention, but her mind was still racing, wandering between the surrealism of being there, and also, of course, the feeling of being watched by everyone.

She felt somewhat out of place there, as if she didn't truly belong in that place.

But then she heard Sasuke's low voice beside her; it was almost a whisper.

"Hana, are you understanding?" he asked, pointing to the open notebook on her desk, where there were some rather sloppy notes about what Iruka was explaining.

“I think more or less…” She admitted, frowning as she tried to decipher what she had written. “This chakra molding business is more complicated than it seems.”

He nodded, leaning a little closer to her.

His voice remained low as he explained it patiently. "Just imagine it as a flow."

"Something that comes from within you and spreads."

"Here, write this down," he said, pointing to a part of his notebook for her to see.

His fingers brushed lightly against hers as he adjusted the page, and Hana felt a slight warmth rise to her face, but she tried to ignore it.

"Thank you, Sasuke," she murmured, smiling at him.

He simply shrugged, returning his gaze to his own notebook, but there was a subtle glint in his eyes, something that showed he enjoyed helping her, being there for her.

The lesson continued, and the two exchanged a few more quiet words. Sasuke always helped her and made things clear to her, something she didn't understand.

Hana noticed the occasional glances from other students, especially the girls, who seemed already uncomfortable and mostly jealous of the apparent closeness between them.

But she didn't care about what they felt.

Having Sasuke by her side made her feel safer, as if, even in that new and strange environment, she had a fixed point, something familiar to lean on.

While Iruka was writing on the board, explaining the importance of hand seals, Hana glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of her eye.

He seemed focused, but she knew that part of his attention was on her, as always.

She felt a mixture of comfort and curiosity about what the future would bring.

The Academy was just the beginning.

Chapter Text

Several months had passed since she and Sasuke started at the Ninja Academy. It wasn't quite what she had expected.

In truth, she didn't even know what to expect anymore.

The truth was, she felt like she was back in school. Yeah... she was a real disaster. 

Taijutsu was her worst nightmare—she lacked the coordination, strength, and instinct for it.

Each punch or kick she attempted was terribly clumsy, sometimes drawing muffled laughter from some of her colleagues and pitying glances from others.

Even so, she persisted, more out of stubbornness than any hope of improvement. Apparently, stubbornness was her only remaining talent.

However, something more worrying was happening.

Happening inside her.

The memories of his past life were fading.

His memories, both from his past life and his present, were becoming hazy, like ink blurred by rain.

She could no longer remember how she died, or how she had actually died.

Her own face, from before, was also a blur to her.

Even worse, her knowledge of the world of Naruto(something that should have been her greatest advantage) was evaporating.

Events were jumbled together. Names were mixed up. Characters and events were now a tangled mess of disconnected fragments, mixing confusingly with the memories of the former Hana Uchiha, the original owner of this body.

This frightened her deeply.

Who was she, anyway?

Each day, it seemed as if his original identity was slipping through his fingers like sand.

Desperate not to lose everything, Hana decided to record what she still remembered. (It wasn't much, but it was still something.)

So she started a diary.

A simple notebook with a black cover, which she had 'practically borrowed' from Sasuke (and wasn't going to return), she hid it at the back of the wardrobe, behind a pair of shoes.

And... It was a terrible place for her to hide something so important, Hana knew that, but hey, it was the best she could do at the moment!

There she feverishly wrote down everything she could still remember before it all inevitably disappeared completely.

In it, she wrote about a war she thought would happen.

Something her mind was screaming at her not to trust.

Konoha was incredible on the surface, but there was darkness there, a rot she felt deep down, though she didn't know if it came from her memories or Hana's.

And a persistent doubt tormented her: the Uchiha massacre... did Konoha have any involvement? It was a question she didn't dare ask anyone, not even herself, aloud, but it echoed in her mind like an insistent bell.

His encounters with the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, only fueled this distrust.

He would occasionally show up at the apartment to "see how they were doing," with the same kind smile that didn't reach his eyes, and kind words, but something about his presence made her uneasy.

On her last visit, he inquired about her progress at the Academy. Hana, somewhat frustrated, confessed that she truly hated practicing Taijutsu and had absolutely no talent for it.

She expected him to say something encouraging, like "you'll get better with time" or "maybe you'll be better at Ninjutsu".

Instead, the old man exceeded her expectations, and said, stroking her hair:

" You can quit the gym if you want, Hana," he said in a soft, almost paternal voice, as he stroked her hair with his aged hand.

"Sasuke can take care of you. If you want, I'm sure he could teach you at home, if you prefer."

"There's absolutely no problem in giving up. There's no pressure whatsoever, and the council  would support that decision. I'm sure Sasuke would understand ."

His response was... strange.

Those words made Literally  her stomach churn.

Would the council support her staying at home?

Why?

Something about that suggestion seemed off, as if there was a hidden intention behind the gentle tone. But at the same time, no. 

A quick, precise flash crossed his mind, a memory or perhaps a warning, a name came to mind, Danzō .

She wasn't sure what it meant, or where it came from, but her instinct screamed that it wasn't good news, and that he was a walking alarm clock.

With all her might, Hana engraved in her mind that she needed to stay away from that person, or at least keep her guard up.

She forced a smile for the Hokage and replied that she was fine, and that she wanted to continue going to the Academy.

He simply nodded, changing the subject and asking her the same question as always: how had her relationship with Sasuke been during these last few months of living together?

Hana answered him, as she did on every visit, but without going into too much detail.

There was a strange enthusiasm in his voice whenever he asked that question, something that made her uncomfortable, although she didn't know exactly why.

Thinking about Sasuke, however, brought her relief.

Their relationship had improved significantly in those months.

He was, in a way, like a protective brother, always hovering over her, taking care of every detail.

Secretly, Hana compared him to Mother hen—clingy, sometimes smothering, but in a way she found comforting.

This closeness, however, came at a cost at the academy. Sasuke's " fans ," especially Sakura and Ino, stared at her with furious glares.

If looks could kill, Hana would already be dead and buried.

She didn't even try to get close to other girls because of that; the chances of any female friendship seemed nil.

On the other hand, Hana also became very attached to Sasuke.

Especially with the strange events that had been haunting her dreams in recent months.

She would wake up screaming, her body covered in cold sweat.

She began having disturbing dreams, which at first she thought were fragments of her past life.

However, she quickly dismissed that idea.

They were rather strange and frightening, leaving her with a horrible feeling upon waking, as if they were something she shouldn't remember or dream about.

On those nights, she would always wake up crying and screaming, without knowing exactly why.

Sleeping next to Sasuke became more frequent, at her initiative.

To his surprise, Sasuke always woke up at the same second.

He pulled her close and hugged her tightly, murmuring words of comfort until she finally calmed down and stopped trembling.

He thought her nightmares were the same as his own, about the Uchiha massacre, and Hana let him think that. It was better than trying to explain something she didn't even understand herself.

In his dreams, there was always a Sharingan, red eyes with spinning tomoe, cutting through the darkness like blades.

There was a figure with long, black hair, but it was never the same person. Upon waking, the faces vanished from her mind, forgotten like smoke, so she could never identify who it was.

She even tried to draw the person she saw once, but she couldn't capture anything beyond blurs.

Still, she was certain of one thing she saw in her dreams: it was a Sharingan, or rather, someone with a Sharingan.

She thought they might be fragments of Hana Uchiha's past life, perhaps some relative? Her mother's Sharingan? 

But something inside her screamed that it wasn't that, that there was something darker there, something she definitely didn't want to discover.

🐾⚛ ࿔ 🍡🍵٠࣪  ⋆✧Ი𐑼✧⋆  ٠࣪🍵🍡࿔ ⚛🐾

Despite everything, the Academy brought good things.

A few weeks ago, Hana befriended Hinata Hyuuga. She was incredibly sweet and kind, and best of all, she wasn't one of Sasuke's "fans."

They met during a Taijutsu fight, where Hinata quickly defeated her.

The sun was hot that afternoon, and the Academy's training field smelled of dust and sweat.

Of course Hana was nervous; Taijutsu was definitely not her forte, she doubted it ever would be, and today she would face someone far more prepared than her.

When Iruka-sensei announced that she would fight Hinata, her stomach churned.

"Come on, Hana, Hinata. No hesitation!" shouted Iruka, crossing his arms beside the makeshift ring .

Hana swallowed hard, looking at Hinata, who seemed just as nervous as she was, but with a firm posture, a characteristic of someone trained by the Hyuuga clan.

Before she could blink, Hinata moved forward, her movements as precise as a dance.

Hana tried to block, but her first blow hit her shoulder, knocking her to the ground in less than ten seconds.

" Ouch!" Hana groaned, clutching her arm as dust rose around her. "That...that hurt, more than I expected."

Hinata froze, her eyes wide with worry. She ran to Hana, kneeling beside her.

"I-I'm sorry, Hana-chan! I didn't mean to... a-are you okay?" His voice trembled, his hands hovering over Hana, unsure whether to touch her or not.

Hana laughed, even with the throbbing pain in her shoulder. "I'm fine, Hinata. You're amazing! How can you be so fast?"

Hinata blushed intensely, her hair falling to the roots, and lowered her gaze. "I... I just trained a lot. But... you fought really well."

"Well? I fell in two seconds!" Hana laughed again, accepting Hinata's hand to help her up.

"I think Taijutsu is definitely not for me."

Hinata smiled shyly at her, and at that moment, something clicked between them.

A friendship was born there.

They became friends, and when Hana wasn't with Sasuke, she was sometimes with Hinata.

She also befriended Choji, and consequently, Shikamaru came along for the ride.

Despite Sasuke's displeasure.

She met Choji during recess.

Sasuke had left her alone momentarily for a while, and she had gone to eat.

It was lunchtime, and Hana was sitting alone under a tree. Sasuke was somewhere nearby, and she decided to eat away from the noisy groups.

She opened her bento box, the aroma of rice and grilled fish filling the air.

That's when she noticed Choji a few meters away, staring hungrily at her food box, practically drooling.

She suppressed a smile and called him over.

" Hey, Choji! Want some?" she asked, raising the bento as if it were an offering.

Choji blinked, surprised by her question, and scratched the back of his neck, a little embarrassed. "Really? I don't want to bother you..."

"It's no trouble at all. There's plenty here. Come, sit down." She patted the space next to her.

He hesitated for a second before approaching her, a wide smile forming on his face. "Thanks a lot, Hana!"

As they shared the bento, Choji devoured each piece with an almost contagious pleasure.

Between bites, he laughed. "You know, nobody but Shikamaru shares food with me. They think I eat everything."

Hana smiled, handing him another piece of fish. "Then they don't know what they're missing. Eating with you is fun."

That small gesture opened the doors to a genuine friendship.

And of course, through Choji, she also befriended Shikamaru Nara.

The lazy and brilliant boy.

Choji and Shikamaru would skip boring classes to watch the clouds, lying on the grass while time slowly passed.

She went with them once to watch the clouds, and it was very relaxing.

" This is so... pointless," Hana murmured, lying between Choji and Shikamaru, her eyes fixed on the blue sky. "We should be in chakra theory class right now."

Shikamaru sighed, his hands behind his head. "Boredom. I'd rather stay here than listen to Iruka talking nonstop. Besides, looking at the clouds is more educational. It teaches patience."

Choji laughed, chewing on a handful of potato chips. "Patience for what, Shikamaru? To wait for the next meal?"

Hana laughed along. "You guys are a terrible influence. Sasuke is going to lecture me for running away."

"Let Sasuke worry. He acts like she's his mother," Shikamaru retorted, with a mocking tone. "Relax, Hana."

She smiled, but the thought of Sasuke made her feel a pang of guilt. He reprimanded her because he cared about her .

These friendships were a relief for Hana, but Sasuke didn't approve.

He hated it.

He was like a mother hen, always keeping an eye on her, always worried.

She once compared him to one.

Hana entered the apartment, trying to go unnoticed after yet another escape from class with Shikamaru and Choji; it was the third time already.

Sasuke was in the kitchen, arms crossed, waiting for her to return, his dark gaze fixed on her.

Before she could say anything, he began.

“You've It has disappeared With those two idiot.” he complained, arms crossed in the kitchen doorway . “ Where were you, Hana? How many times do I have to repeat that it’s not safe for you to walk around alone? Don’t you understand that—”

"Relax, Sasuke. You sound like a mother hen, you know?" she interrupted, with a half-smile, trying to lighten the mood.

He froze, his eyes narrowing. For a moment, she thought he was going to explode.

"What? Hana, this is no joke. You have no idea how much danger you're in out there alone, there are people who..." He stopped, taking a deep breath, clearly holding back from yelling at her.

“Sorry, sorry!” she raised her hands, laughing. “But it’s true.”

"Just... don't do that again."

Hana sighed, lowering her gaze. She knew he was right, even if it hurt to admit it.

Wandering around alone, even in a ninja village like Konoha, could be dangerous, especially without telling anyone where she was or where she was going. They were the last of her lineage, and if something happened, she definitely wouldn't know how to defend herself.

She wanted to believe that the Hokage would guarantee their safety, that perhaps there were even some ANBU protecting them, but she wasn't sure.

After all, she didn't know what to expect from the old man.

But she really listened to Sasuke's words and avoided going out alone as much as possible, taking his warnings very seriously.

When she needed to go out, she was always accompanied.

Many times, Sasuke would personally drive her to and pick her up, especially if she was going to visit Hinata's house.

On other occasions, someone from the Hyuuga clan would bring her back home.

And when she went out with the boys, Shikamaru or Choji, they made sure she returned safely; their parents, or someone trusted from their clan, would accompany her if it got late.

She was glad she did it, because an incident happened a few days ago, further reinforcing her decision not to take risks and to stay alone.

A few days ago, Hana was invited to dinner at Hinata's house.

Hinata herself, in her shy manner, revealed that her father, Hiashi Hyuuga, the clan leader, wanted to meet "the friend his daughter talked so much about."

Hana was quite surprised by the invitation.

She never imagined that someone as important as the Hyuuga clan leader would be interested in meeting her, but she accepted the invitation with a certain amount of curiosity.

Sasuke accompanied her to the entrance of the complex on the appointed day, leaving her with a brief wave before returning. Everything went well initially.

Hana met Hiashi, and Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi, a little girl with piercing eyes and a rigid posture, but definitely curious.

Hana introduced herself with a slight nervousness. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Hiashi-sama. My name is Hana Uchiha. Thank you for the invitation."

Hiashi, with his characteristic cold and analytical gaze, nodded. "Hana Uchiha... So you're Shinji's daughter. I knew him well. We went on a few missions together in the past."

"You look a lot like him, you know?"

Hana blinked, surprised, and took the opportunity to ask more about her supposed father. "Is it true? What was he like? I mean... on missions?"

Hiashi crossed his arms, his expression impassive.

"Shinji was a skilled, focused ninja. And, of course, he possessed an extremely rare crystal Kekkei Genkai. Something few in the village had ever seen in action."

"Tell me, Hana, did you inherit this power?"

" Kekkei... Genkai?" Hana repeated, intrigued, as she thought to herself.

"Crystal? That would be incredible if I had inherited something like that..." She shook her head, a little embarrassed.

"Not that I know of, Hiashi-sama."

The conversation continued, but to Hana, it felt more like an interrogation from Hinata's father than a casual chat.

Hiashi asked her questions about her life, about Sasuke, about her studies at the Academy, in a tone that made her a little uncomfortable.

Still, it wasn't so bad.

She managed to maintain her composure, responding politely.

As she left the dining room, Hana spotted a boy training in the complex's courtyard.

Wasn't that Neji? She'd heard of him. They called him the Hyuuga prodigy. His posture was impeccable, and his strikes precise, demonstrating a talent far beyond his years.

She looked at Hiashi, commenting sincerely, "He's quite skilled for his age, isn't he? Impressive."

Hiashi observed Neji for a moment, his neutral tone carrying a slight pride. "Neji is a rare talent, even among the Hyuuga."

"And you, Hana, how are you doing in Taijutsu? I heard you have difficulties."

Hana scratched the back of her neck, laughing awkwardly. "Ah, I'm really bad at this, to be honest. I just don't have the knack for it."

Hiashi raised an eyebrow, almost as if he were calculating something.

"If you'd like, you could come to the complex to train with us. We have methods that could help you improve."

Hana hesitated, feeling a slight unease. There was something about the offer that seemed to carry ulterior motives, as if Hiashi wanted to bring her closer to the clan for reasons beyond simple training.

Given his last name, Uchiha, it wasn't so strange that there would be some interest, but it still sounded suspicious.

"Thank you for the offer, Hiashi-sama, but Sasuke is already training me. I don't want to abuse the clan's hospitality."

Hiashi nodded slowly. "I understand. Well, it's getting late. I'll ask someone to escort you back home."

Hana said goodbye to Hinata with a warm smile. "Thanks for today, Hinata. It was great meeting your family."

Hinata blushed slightly, lowering her gaze. "I... I hope you come back, Hana-chan. It was so good having you here."

A member of the Hyuuga clan, named Kenta, a tall man with a serious expression, was assigned to accompany her.

He walked silently behind Hana, keeping a respectful distance.

The streets of Konoha were more crowded than usual that night.

A festival was approaching, and people were crowding around to make preparations, buying dangos and lanterns.

Hana, distracted by the sweet smell of the freshly made dangos, ended up getting separated from Kenta in the crowd.

Trying to look around to locate him, she bumped into someone and fell to the ground with a thud.

" Oh! Excuse me!" she exclaimed, quickly getting up and brushing off her clothes.

When she looked up, she saw an old man with an enigmatic appearance.

He had a rigid posture, despite his advanced age, and wore a dark robe with gold details.

His face was scarred, one eye was bandaged, and his expression combined severity with a disturbing smile.

A cane with strange carvings was in his hand, and his presence exuded an aura of dark authority.

Hana froze upon recognizing him, despite her fragmented memories.  "Isn't that him? Danzo Shimura... that old man... wasn't he a villain? One of those responsible for the corruption of the Leaf Village?"

She stood up quickly, bowing in a hurried apology. "I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't see where I was going. Excuse me, I need—"

Before he could turn away, Danzo interrupted, his voice hoarse and calculated.

"There's no problem at all, child. You're the Uchiha girl, aren't you? Your name is Hana, if I'm not mistaken."

Hana nodded reluctantly, a shiver running down her spine as she noticed the cold smile that formed on his lips.  "Yes, it's me."

Danzo tilted his head, as if studying her. "Follow this old man for a moment, just for a moment."

"It's not every day I meet a young woman so... interesting. Come, just until your date shows up."

Hana took a step back.

Her heart was pounding so hard at that moment that she felt it in her throat.

That old man was definitely not good news, she could feel it.

"I... I'm going home, sir, As you seem to know, I lost my companion in the crowd."

“I… I can’t go with you, I really need to go find Kenta-san. He’s right over there…” Danzo waved his hand, as if it were irrelevant. “He’ll find her,” Danzo interrupted, already starting to walk slowly.

"Don't worry, young lady, come here. It's not safe for a girl to be alone on a festival night. Walk beside me."

He started walking, almost as if he expected her to follow him without question.

Hana went with him reluctantly.

That old man gave him the creeps. Danzo continued speaking, his voice heavy with a mixture of lament and curiosity.  "What happened to your Clan was a terrible tragedy, a tragedy that shook the entire village."

"So many lives lost... Leaving only two children to carry on the clan's name."

Hana swallowed hard, thinking to herself, "He had nothing to do with this? How can he talk as if he were just a spectator?" Still, she remained silent, only nodding.

She felt his hand lightly brush against her back, guiding her down a quieter side street.

The crowd faded. The noise faded too.

He continued on, without stopping.

"From what I've heard, you've been working very hard at the Academy," he continued, his tone heavy with feigned pity.

Putting more emphasis on the word "hardworking," as if it were something pathetic.

"But brute force doesn't suit everyone, does it?"

"Do you really intend to follow the path of a kunoichi?"

Hana replied cautiously, choosing her words carefully. "I'm... trying my best, sir. I'm not very good yet, but I want to become strong in the future."

Danzo let out a dry, almost disdainful laugh.

"A delicate girl like you... is perhaps more useful protected, preserved."

"It would be a shame to waste their precious blood on battlefields, don't you think? Or in the wrong hands..."

His good eye gleamed in the dim light of the lanterns. "I'm sure the Hokage would understand."

"After all, you are the last remaining Uchiha woman. You carry on your clan's legacy in a... unique way."

"Sasuke-kun, as a man, could take care of you. I'm sure the Hokage would perfectly understand if—"

Before Danzo could finish, a familiar voice interrupted him.

"Hana!" It was Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru's father, approaching with firm steps, his expression filled with distrust at seeing who she was with.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I was looking for you. Come on, I'll take you home. I have some things to take care of around here."

Hana felt an immediate sense of relief upon seeing Shikaku.

Her stomach churned at what Danzo was implying, and she was certain she didn't want to hear the rest of his sentence.

His tone, the way he talked about the Uchiha "legacy," made her nauseous.

She nodded quickly to Shikaku. "Yes, let's go."

Shikaku shot a sharp look at Danzo, not caring about the elder's position.

"Excuse me, Danzo-sama. I need to take the girl home now." He didn't wait for a reply, gently pulling Hana away.

She could only breathe again when they were already on the main street, with lights, people, and noise.

And in the silence of the night, very softly, almost inaudibly, she heard her own childlike voice ask: "Shikaku-san... he... he wanted to say that..."

“No,” he interrupted. Shikaku murmured to her, his voice low but firm.  “Don’t worry about anything that old man said, Hana. He talks too much and doesn’t measure his words. Forget everything he said, okay?”

She nodded, but Danzo's words continued to echo in her mind, causing a discomfort she couldn't ignore.

Soon after, Kenta found them, visibly worried and somewhat pale with concern at having lost her.

"Hana-san, I'm sorry for losing you in the crowd. I didn't—"

Shikaku interrupted, raising his hand.

"Okay, Kenta. I'll take her home from here, you can go back to the compound."

Kenta bowed, still looking quite guilty, before withdrawing.

Shikaku accompanied Hana to the apartment, engaging her in light conversation to distract her.

Upon arriving, he bid them farewell with a tired but welcoming smile.

"You should come visit us soon, Hana. Yoshino misses seeing you. She always talks about you."

Hana smiled, grateful for the kindness. "Thank you, Shikaku-san. I will, don't worry."

Upon entering the apartment, Hana found Sasuke sitting on the living room floor, reading a scroll under the dim light of a lamp.

He looked up as soon as he heard her come in. "How was it?" he asked, his voice neutral, but with a glint of curiosity in his eyes.

Hana shrugged, hanging her bag in a corner. "That was... interesting. Hiashi knew my father. He said they had worked together on missions before."

"Hm," Sasuke murmured, turning his eyes back to the scroll, as if he didn't want to delve deeper into the subject.

She sighed, noticing the late hour. "It's getting late, Sasuke. You didn't need to wait up for me. Let's go to sleep."

Without waiting for an answer, she approached and pulled him by the arm, almost forcing him to stand up. "Let's go."

Sasuke stared at her for a moment, frowning, but gave in, setting the scroll aside.

When they reached the room, Hana hesitated for a moment before asking, her voice lower than usual,  "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

He looked at her, but didn't ask why. He simply nodded in agreement. "Okay. You can."

That night, Hana lay down next to Sasuke, the warmth of his presence comforting her somewhat.

But his mind kept replaying Danzo's words.

Closing her eyes, each phrase, each insinuation, sent a shiver of discomfort through her body.

She knew what he was implying about her being the "legacy" of the Uchiha clan, and it deeply disturbed her.

Her whole body was trembling unconsciously.

Sasuke stirred beside her, waking up. "Hana...?" his voice came out hoarse.

His arm instinctively encircled her waist, pulling her against his chest in a tight embrace.

She shrank even further, as if she could disappear inside him.

"Everything's fine," she lied, her voice so small it barely came out.

"And that's all... a nightmare."

He didn't believe her this time. She sensed it in the way his hug tightened.

But he didn't ask, he just stood there hugging her.

Hana buried her face in his shoulder.

Sasuke's scent was comforting, and with that, she relaxed, causing her heart rate to slow down a little.

Chapter Text

The days had been passing slowly since that unsettling encounter with old Danzō.

That morning, however, brought a welcome distraction: the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, came to visit them.

He did this once a month, although the date was always random. She never knew when he would show up, but it was a regular visit ever since she and Sasuke had left the hospital.

He would come to see how they were doing and sometimes bring some money. Although he had already released her parents' bank funds, he still insisted on bringing something extra.

Hana had a strong feeling that he knew about her tendency to "spend" more than necessary, but he never brought it up, so she didn't ask either. (After all, all money was welcome, especially when it was free.)

Sasuke opened the door to see who it was while Hana finished preparing breakfast.

Today they had no classes at the Academy, which meant a free day to do whatever they wanted. The old Hokage, entered through the door, followed by Sasuke to the kitchen. 

“Hana-chan,” the Hokage greeted her in a gentle tone, entering the kitchen.

“Hokage-sama,” she replied, returning the greeting with a slight nod.

"You can call me Grandpa, Hana," he said, patting her head and ruffling her hair.

Hana smiled at him, although she was a little annoyed that he had messed up the hair she had just styled earlier. 

“Sasuke, take the Hokage to the Room,” she requested, maintaining a polite tone. “Hokage-sama, I’m almost finished with breakfast. Would you like to eat with us?”

"Of course, Hana-chan," he replied with a smile.

“Then I’ll just grab a few more things to put on the table,” she said. He nodded and followed Sasuke out of the kitchen.

Hana went to the cupboard to get another plate and a glass to put on the table. While she was tidying things up, she heard the old man's and Sasuke's voices talking in the living room, although she couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

She would have bet it was about Sasuke's progress at the Academy or something like that. Taking the extra cup and plate, along with the tea she was finishing brewing on the stove, she carried everything to the living room, placing the items on the chabudai where Sasuke and the Hokage were seated on cushions.

“Here, Hokage-sama,” she said, placing the cup and plate in front of him before sitting down next to Sasuke.

They soon began to eat. Hana had prepared onigiri and green tea, something simple, but something she knew Sasuke liked. The Hokage lowered his teacup and turned to her with a curious look. 

"So, Hana-chan, how's the Academy going?" he asked. "Are you still having trouble with Taijutsu?"

“Yes,” she admitted, lowering her gaze to her plate. “Hina-chan and Sasuke have been helping me from time to time, but there hasn’t been much progress.”

“Nonsense,” Sasuke interrupted, finishing an onigiri and turning to her. “She’s getting better, and she’d be even better if she really put her mind to it,” he added with a reproachful tone.

Hana placed her hand on her chest, making an exaggerated face of offense. "How can you say that, Sasuke? I really put my heart into it!"

He raised an eyebrow, clearly doubting, knowing she was exaggerating on purpose.

"You stopped training with me yesterday and even cried because you broke a nail, Hana," he retorted, without changing his tone.

"I didn't cry because of my nail!" she retorted, crossing her arms defensively.

"You did it," he insisted, without budging.

She pouted. "In my defense, I had just done them this morning," she admitted, looking at her red and black painted nails and the broken nail from her little world.

“And you were the one who chose the color,” she added, looking at him with a smug air. “I didn’t cry, I was just a little sad that it broke, that’s all.”

"If that's what you say," Sasuke replied, taking another sip of his tea, clearly unconvinced.

Hana shot him a furious look, which made him give in slightly.

"They look beautiful, and you didn't cry, okay?" he said, but it was clear to the Hokage that Sasuke only said that because it was what Hana wanted to hear.

The old man continued listening to the two talking; it was almost as if they had forgotten his presence there. Hana soon smiled at Sasuke, which made him blush slightly.

He tried to hide it by taking another sip of tea, but unlike Hana, the Hokage noticed and chuckled softly at the sight, clearing his throat to get their attention.

"It's good that you two are getting along well," he commented in an affectionate tone.

“Hana-chan, you mentioned Hina-chan. Is she your friend? I heard from Iruka that you had difficulty making female friends at the Academy.”

She nodded. "Her name is Hinata Hyuuga."

“Oh,” he said, sounding interested. “She’s Hiashi-san’s daughter.”

Hana nodded again and added, "I met him a few days ago."

"Oh?" the Hokage tilted his head, curious.

"He called me to the Hyuuga compound a few days ago. He wanted to meet me," she explained.

"And how was it?" he asked.

"He only asked me a few questions," Hana replied, hesitating slightly before continuing.

"Ah, he also knew my father. He told me that my father had a rare crystal Kekkei Genkai. Is that true, Hokage-sama?"

“Ah, Shinji, yes, he had that Kekkei Genkai. It’s quite rare and incredible,” the Hokage confirmed with a slight nostalgic smile.

“Have you seen it in action?” she asked excitedly. “What’s it like? Is it beautiful, the crystals? Do I have some too? How can I activate them?” She bombarded him with questions, clearly taking advantage of the moment to learn more about Shinji’s past.

The old man made a gesture with his hand, as if to calm her down.

"Perhaps you'll inherit it, Hana-chan. It's a little difficult to know," he said, with a vague answer that left her somewhat disappointed."And maybe the Sharingan too, who knows?" "Your father's crystals were quite beautiful, gleaming on the battlefield. They had an incredibly beautiful purple hue."

"Really? You've seen him in action?" she asked, even more excited, wanting him to tell her more.

“A little closer,” the old man replied. “Your father was trained by a former student of mine.”

"Really? Who is it?" she asked, leaning forward, eager for more details.

But he didn't answer, only gave a gentle smile and went back to drinking his tea. Internally, Hana huffed, indignant. " Of course he wasn't going to tell," she thought, frowning mentally. 

She decided to change the subject to something that had been bothering her for days: the encounter with Danzō. That old man was not good news, and she wanted him as far away from her and Sasuke as possible.

If she could, she would never run into him again. And what better time to tell the Hokage than now? He seemed to care a little about her and Sasuke, or at least that's what she thought.

Furthermore, Danzō wasn't very well-liked, and was essentially under "house arrest," according to what Shikaku let slip a few days ago when she visited him.

Shikaku had said that to reassure her that she wouldn't see that old man around again.

Well, she would use this opportunity to further tarnish Danzō's image.

It was a golden opportunity, after all .

“Hokage-sama,” she began, adopting a more hesitant tone, “Hiashi-sama was also very kind in offering to help me train at the Hyuuga compound.”

“Really, Hana-chan? That’s good. The Hyuuga clan is strong in the village. They could really help you improve a lot,” he commented, seeming pleased with the idea.

“But I refused,” she said quickly. “I’m already training with Sasuke, after all.”

"I understand," he replied, with a slight nod.

She continued, setting the stage for what she wanted to say. “Afterwards, Kenta-san took me home, but I ended up getting separated from him in the crowd. Can you believe it?” she said, her tone a little embarrassed, scratching the back of her neck.

Hana made a hesitant face, which the Hokage, of course, noticed immediately.

"Did something happen, Hana-chan? Can you tell me?" he asked gently, leaning slightly toward her.

She looked at Sasuke, who was already staring at her with that serious look of his, and swallowed hard. "Well... I ended up bumping into someone," she said hesitantly.

"And did he hurt you, Hana-chan? Tell me," said the Hokage, his face now serious and worried.

"Oh no, Shikaku-san found me first, but he was scary," she said, making a frightened face.

"And he also said something strange that scared me."

"What did he say, Hana-chan? Tell me everything," the Hokage asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Well... he asked me to accompany him, and he knew who I was and my name," she began, feeling Sasuke's hand squeeze hers under the table.

"And he also spoke about our clan."

"What exactly did he say, Hana-chan? Tell me everything," insisted Hiruzen, now completely serious.

“He said the following, Hokage-sama,” she began, taking a deep breath as if gathering courage.

"What happened to his clan was a shame, a terrible tragedy. A tragedy that shook the entire village."

She paused, letting the words hang in the air before continuing. “ So many lives lost… and only two children left to carry the name.”

Hana swallowed hard, forcing her eyes to well up with tears.

"He said it exactly like that."

"And he also said that he knew I was working hard at the Academy and that 'brute force doesn't suit everyone.'"

"And he also asked me if I really think I can and intend to follow the path of a kunoichi."

"Then he let out a dry, almost disdainful laugh, 'Grandpa,' she said, her eyes now completely filled with tears, 'he then said: A delicate girl like you... perhaps it's more useful to protect. Preserve.'"

She paused dramatically, wiping away a tear with her finger.

"And then he also said, 'It would be a shame to waste such precious blood on battlefields, don't you think? Or in the wrong hands…'"

Hana stopped, looking at the Hokage with an expression of genuine fear, although she knew she was exaggerating a little. "He also said that you would understand, Grandpa, and that scared me even more."

"What else did he say, Hana-chan?" asked the Hokage, his tone serious.

She wiped away the remaining tears with her shirt sleeve."He said exactly this, Hokage-sama: After all, you are the last remaining Uchiha woman. You carry on your clan's legacy in a... unique way."

"I didn't understand what he meant by that," she confessed, her voice trembling. "But Shikaku-san took me away from him afterwards and brought me home."

Sasuke pulled her into a sudden hug, and she buried her head in his chest, feeling the fear she had been pretending to be resurfacing.

It wasn't as if the Hokage knew she was exaggerating, so she could dramatize as much as she wanted.

"Who is that?" Sasuke asked, his voice thick with irritation. "And Hana, answer me this too. Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I..." she began, hesitating, feeling the weight of his gaze.

"You hid this from me, Hana," Sasuke said, clearly angry, his face a mixture of rage and disappointment. "And don't lie to me now. Who was it?"

"I don't know who it is," she replied, feeling bad at the look on his face, as if he were disappointed.

This made her cry for real, or at least it seemed like it was real, as she hugged him tightly. "Sasuke, I'm sorry for not telling you. I was just scared..."

That seemed to soften his frown.

He cupped her face, wiping away her tears with his thumbs. "Hana," he said, nodding his head.

"Okay, but don't do that again. Do you promise me, Hana? You won't hide anything from me anymore, no matter how trivial. Tell me, okay?"

She nodded quickly, her eyes still glistening with tears. "I promise," she murmured before hugging him tighter.

The Hokage, who had been quiet until then, observed the interaction before speaking. “Hana-chan, Sasuke is right. Don’t hide anything from him, okay?”

She nodded again as the old man continued. “Don’t cry like that. Do you remember what this gentleman was like?” he asked gently.

"Yes," she replied, sniffing. "He was an old man with an X-shaped scar on his chin, his eye and arm were bandaged, and he used a cane. He also had black hair. Shikaku-san seemed to know who Hokage-sama was. He called him... Danzo."

"I already know who it is, Hana-chan, and I'm going to have a word with him," said the Hokage, his tone firm, almost cold.

She nodded, relieved inwardly, but maintaining a facade of fragility.

He stood up, taking two envelopes from his pocket and placing them on the table. "These are for the month, for the two of you," he said, before excusing himself.

"It's time for me to go."

Hana and Sasuke rose from the table, accompanying him to the door. Before leaving, the Hokage looked at her seriously. "That Sir  will not approach you again, Hana-chan."

She nodded and, hesitantly, asked, "He's not going to get close to Sasuke either, is he?"

"No, he won't, Hana-chan," he replied, his tone heavy with something she couldn't decipher.

Internally, Hiruzen thought: " No, if he wants a visit from Itachi. Hana-chan wasn't included in the agreement with Itachi. So it makes sense that he tried to get closer to her."  He said goodbye with a final wave, leaving through the door.

They went back inside, and Sasuke stared at her with an expression that seemed to already know what she had done.

"Hm, I knew you were being too dramatic," he said, crossing his arms.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she retorted, looking away with a sly smile.

"Remember your promise," he reminded her, narrowing his eyes.

“Of course. Come on, let’s finish eating,” she said, pulling him back to the table.

He had a slight smile on his face as she led him away, though he tried to hide it.

🐾⚛ ࿔ 🍡🍵٠࣪ ⚛🐾

After Hana told the Hokage about what happened with Danzō, she hoped never to see that scary old man again for the rest of her life (if that were possible).

Now, she felt safer and more comfortable walking around, although she always chose places crowded with people, as she had been doing ever since.

After all, Hiruzen would know if something happened to her and whose fault it would be.

And let's face it, old Danzō was already in pretty bad trouble with the Hokage.

Therefore, Hana was certain that Danzō wouldn't be a problem for the time being ( and she hoped he never would be ).

That afternoon, Sasuke was with her on the pier by the lake in the Uchiha District. It was a little strange to be back there after the massacre.

Hana knew that Sasuke felt exactly the same way she did. But they were there for a reason: to train the Fireball Jutsu.

Sasuke had been teaching her the technique since morning because, according to him, "virtually all members of the Uchiha clan know, or should know, the Fireball Jutsu."

And that she would be no exception, in his words. That's what brought them here.

Sasuke was explaining the hand seals to her once again.

"Did you understand?" he asked again, his eyes fixed on hers.

"Hmm," Hana murmured, nodding to him. Returning to the pier, she repeated the same hand seals he had shown her, her fingers trembling slightly with the effort of concentration. Soon, she tried again.

"Fireball Jutsu!" she exclaimed, placing her hand over her mouth to direct the flow of chakra. A small flame escaped her lips, weak and unsteady, before fading with a mournful hiss in the damp air of the lake.

" Ah ..." she thought, a drop of sweat trickling down her temple.

" It shouldn't be this weak, right? This was much worse than my last attempts," she reflected, biting her lower lip in frustration.

Turning to Sasuke, she said, embarrassed, "Well, it seems it didn't work out... again."

"Hm," he replied, crossing his arms. "Try again, Hana. And this time, add more chakra," he advised her.

She nodded, taking a deep breath, and tried again, adding more chakra as he suggested.

Surprisingly, after several other frustrating attempts, the fireball finally formed, at a reasonable size, before dissipating over the lake.

A bright smile spread across her face as she turned to Sasuke, her eyes shining with joy.

"Did you see? I really did it! I really did it!" she exclaimed, running to him and hugging him tightly.

"Yes, although you really need more practice," Sasuke replied, returning the hug with a slight blush rising to his cheeks.

"So, am I really approved?" she asked, letting go of him and tilting her head curiously.

He nodded. "That's great!" Hana said, clapping her hands.

"Then I'll go get my prize," she said, quickly running towards the basket he had brought as an "incentive" for her training.

Before Sasuke could say anything, she had already disappeared, sitting down next to the basket and practically devouring the dangos he had bought earlier.

Sighing, he walked over to her and sat down beside her. "Would you like one?" she asked, offering him a skewer with a smile.

"You know I don't like sweets," he replied, shaking his head. "I bought them all for you."

"I know," she replied, taking a large bite of the dango. "It's just kind of rude not to offer, since you're the one who bought it," she added, "Even knowing you won't accept."

"Hm," was his only response.

"Before we left, I brought your favorite food," she said, picking up the bag next to the basket and taking out a jar.

"Here," he offered, handing her some chopped tomatoes and some onigiri she had prepared earlier. "These are your favorites."

Sasuke took the jar without saying anything, but Hana knew that, despite them being his favorites, he would eat anything she made, as long as it was edible.

Not that he would admit it aloud. He ate silently beside her, while Hana watched him with a small smile.

"Can we please finish training later?" she asked, making an exaggerated pout.

"We've been training here since morning. I'm tired," she complained, leaning dramatically against his shoulder.

"Okay," Sasuke conceded, rolling his eyes. "Let's go back," he said, standing up and offering his hand to help her to her feet.

Gathering their belongings, they resumed walking through the center of the village to the apartment, the silence between them being comfortable along the way.

People stared at them as they walked down the street, especially because of the Uchiha emblem embroidered on their clothes.

Hana was already used to it, although sometimes she still felt a tightness in her chest when she noticed the whispers and curious glances.

After returning home, they parted ways. Hana went to her room to rest a bit, feeling exhausted from the amount of chakra she had used, while Sasuke went to study the scrolls that always kept him busy.

The next day, Hana was alone in the apartment.

Despite Sasuke's insistence that she join him for training, or at least accompany him to observe, she refused, choosing instead to stay home and review the material from the last class on chakra. 

Sighing wearily after leafing through her notebook for several hours, she decided to go out and head to the village center to buy some things for dinner.

Leaving a note for Sasuke, telling him where she was going so he wouldn't worry, she left the apartment, walking through the crowded streets.

First, she decided to buy dangos, her favorite sweets , at Mrs. Ito's stall, which was right across the street.

"Hana-chan!" greeted Mrs. Ito as she saw her approaching, a warm smile on her face.

"Hello!" Hana replied, returning the smile.

"Did you come to buy dango, Hana-chan?" asked Mrs. Ito, already grabbing some skewers.

"Yes!" Hana agreed, excitedly.

"Here you go," said Mrs. Ito, handing her two skewers of dango. When Hana reached into her pocket for the money, Mrs. Ito shook her head.

"You don't need to pay. Instead, sit with me for a while," she invited, pointing to a small table next to the stall.

Hana accepted, sitting down and asking curiously, "How is little Kei?" She had a special fondness for Mrs. Ito's two-year-old son; he was a cute little baby who was quite attached to her.

When Sasuke first took her to the dango stand, at her insistence, little Kei, who was supposed to be in the playpen while his mother served customers, had escaped and started wandering around.

Mrs. Ito, who was so focused on the orders, didn't notice that he had run away.

That's when Hana found him, wandering near the table where she and Sasuke were sitting.

The little boy had black hair, just like his mother's, and he waved his little arms around her, asking for the dango she was holding.

She picked him up, finding him adorable, even after she learned that he didn't like being held by strangers.

To her surprise

 And also from Mrs. Ito — since Kei didn't cry with her, and even laughed when he received a piece of the candy.

From then on, whenever she went to the tent, she would play with Kei, and sometimes even drag Sasuke along, jokingly saying that the boy "must be his long-lost son" because of their resemblance.

In return, she received free dangos (which, for her, was an excellent deal).

"He's fine, Hana-chan. He's with his father today," Mrs. Ito replied with a smile.

"Oh, what a shame. I stopped by to see him for a little while too," said Hana, a little disappointed.

"Where is the pretty Boy who always comes with you?" asked Mrs. Ito, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, Sasuke is training today. I decided to stay home and study," Hana explained, biting into a piece of dango.

"I understand," said Mrs. Ito, before hearing someone calling her name, probably a customer. "See you later, Hana-chan," she said goodbye.

"I'll be back one of these days!" Hana promised, waving as Mrs. Ito nodded.

Eating the last piece of dango and walking down the street, Hana was distractedly thinking about what she would buy or make for dinner.

"What should I buy...?" she murmured to herself. "And what should I do...?"

Suddenly, right ahead, she heard a commotion.

There was a crowd of people, and she could hear someone shouting.

Curious, she moved closer to get a better look at what was happening and spotted a figure on the ground.

" That... isn't that Naruto ?" she thought, squinting her eyes.

Getting closer, she confirmed that it was indeed him.

A shopkeeper was shouting and cursing at him, while a small crowd watched, doing nothing.

" Why doesn't anyone do anything and just watch? " Hana thought, looking around.

Judging by the expressions of fear on some people's faces and disgust on others, she quickly concluded that no one would intervene.

She wasn't close to Naruto, despite having mutual friends like Shikamaru and Choji.

They only exchanged a few words at the Academy, but Sasuke always pulled her away, calling him "dobe".

So, they never had a truly decent conversation.

" No one will interfere... ? " she thought anxiously, as she watched Naruto still on the ground, unresponsive, and the old merchant yelling at him.

"And... why doesn't he do anything and just stand there, listening to all this?" she wondered, feeling a tightness in her chest.

Then, his eyes widened as he saw the old man raise his hand, clearly intending to strike Naruto.

If no one else was going to do anything, then she would. 

"Hey, you!" Hana shouted, running from where she was, interrupting the old man, who turned his head to glare at her furiously.

She moved quickly, placing herself between the old man and Naruto, protecting him.

"What do you think you're doing, you old man?" she said, her voice thick with anger, while keeping her fists clenched at her sides.

"Hana-chan...?" Naruto murmured, surprised, his eyes wide as he stared at her from the ground.

"Get out of the way, little girl! That demon—" the old man began, pointing at Naruto with a trembling finger of anger.

Hana straightened up, positioning herself completely in front of Naruto, attempting to block the old man's view.

Upon hearing the word "demon," a wave of irritation shot up his spine.

"Demon?" she asked, her voice icy, her eyes narrowed as she stared at the old man.

"That's right, girl! This demon here—" the old man tried to continue, but Hana interrupted him.

"But I don't see any demons here, sir," she said, a sarcastic smile curving her lips. "Well...except for an old demon in front of me," she finished, emphasizing the word "old" with a look of disdain.

"You..." the old man began, pointing at her now, his face turning red with anger, almost as if he were about to explode.

"You brat, who do you think you are to talk to me like that? Have some respect for your elders, you brat!" he yelled, his voice hoarse with indignation.

"Didn't your parents teach you any manners? Now get out of this monster's way if you don't want to—"

"Are you really threatening me?" Hana interrupted, crossing her arms, anger beginning to simmer inside her at the old man's words.

"Who are you to talk to me like that?" she retorted, her voice sharp.

"Oh, you brat—" he tried again, but Hana cut him off once more.

"I'm not a brat. My name is Hana. Uchiha Hana, old man," she declared, giving him a furious look that made him swallow hard at the mention of the name "Uchiha." Even so, his anger didn't diminish; it only seemed to grow stronger.

"And he's my friend," Hana continued, pointing to Naruto behind her. "And I definitely won't let you talk to him like that. Not at all," she stated.

The people around sighed upon hearing the name "Uchiha," glancing at her blouse and confirming the clan symbol embroidered there.

Murmurs began to rise from the crowd.

"Isn't that the girl they found with the other survivor?" someone whispered.

"That's right, the Hokage rescued them," another replied.

"Ah, so you're one of them," the old man mocked, now with a tone of disdain that made Hana frown.

"But of course you would side with that demon, when you yourselves are—"

Anger. That was all Hana felt at that moment. A pure, burning anger that consumed her as she listened to him speak.

How dare he speak to children like that and mock the Uchiha clan in that manner?

Her mind returned to the night of the massacre, Shinji's blood all around her, Yume being killed, the bodies on the ground she had stumbled upon outside. How dare he? They weren't even there to defend themselves.

He continued to mock her and Naruto, each word cutting like a blade. "You Uchihas, all the same, red-eyed demons, causing destruction wherever you go. You and that monster over there are alike, a bunch of—" 

Hana lost her temper. Driven by blind rage, venomous words, and the man's cruel gaze, she acted without thinking.

Her fist flew straight into his stomach, a punch so powerful it was imbued with chakra that she didn't notice the old man let out a muffled groan and flew backward, crashing into a nearby wall with a thud, cracking the structure behind him.

Chaos has begun.

People around screamed, some recoiling, others freezing in place, mouths agape in shock as they watched the scene.

Hana stood still for a brief second, her heart racing and her breath ragged, but she felt no guilt whatsoever.

Not yet.

And the old man didn't stop.

Even on the ground, with a trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth, he screamed: "YOU RED-EYED DEMON! YOU PROTECT HIM BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE TOO! IT WAS BECAUSE OF YOU THAT SHE DIED! YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED TOO—"

Ah, sweet anger. She could have stopped there, perhaps even apologized for overreacting, if it weren't for those words.

Something inside her broke. Her eyes seemed to literally burn, and the old man screamed even louder, pointing at her in terror: "MONSTER! JUST LIKE YOUR RELATIVES!!"

Rushing toward him, blinded by rage, Hana's fist found his face, again and again. Each blow was an outpouring of everything she had been holding back since the massacre.

The sound of punches echoed through the street, mixed with the old man's screams and the horrified gasps of the crowd.

His face was swollen, a tooth or two had flown out from the force of the blows, while blood stained the dusty floor.

Hana didn't notice that her fist seemed to glow, and that it was currently covered by a layer of red crystal like a second skin, nor the dense chakra leaking from it.

She felt someone grab her shoulders, trying to pull her away.

She could hear Naruto, his desperate voice saying, "Hana-chan, STOP! STOP, PLEASE! HE'S NOT WORTH THIS!"

But she didn't stop.

Anger still consumed her, blocking any rational thought.

Whoever was holding her at the time received a sharp elbow strike, followed by a well-aimed punch that sent them flying to the end of the street.

Turning her gaze to the old man, who was now shouting in panic, "SOMEONE GET HER AWAY FROM ME! HELP!", Hana lunged forward again, her face contorted with fury.

He continued, trembling on the ground: "LEAVE ME ALONE! MONSTER!" This only angered her more. She landed another punch, and this time she was sure he lost another tooth, the sound of a crack echoing as he groaned in pain.

Suddenly, two people grabbed her arms, trying to restrain her.

"Girl, calm down!!" said a man, while a woman beside him tried to tighten her grip. "You've done enough!!"

Hana writhed, wanting to get rid of them and give that old man another beating; her mind was still clouded by rage, completely ignoring the words.

The man, looking directly into her eyes, seemed startled, letting go of her for a moment.

Taking advantage of the opening, Hana landed a powerful blow on him, sending him flying several meters.

The woman, shocked to see her partner on the ground, loosened her grip and laughed, but she probably regretted it later because Hana wasted no time, quickly striking her as well with a precise blow.

She strangely knew that woman Dark brown hair with a purplish or violet tint. was a ninja. And she had a strange feeling that she knew her... 

Tiny crystals began to appear around her feet, shimmering with a ruby ​​hue, while the chakra surrounding her seemed to pulse.

Before she could move forward again, she was thrown forcefully to the ground.

The impact caused his left cheek to scrape against the pavement, the burning pain bringing his mind back to reality.

Naruto was holding her; his face was pale, his eyes wide with horror.

He seemed terrified, clearly thinking he would never irritate her again after this, but even so, he held her tightly, almost trembling.

"Hana-chan, please stop! He's not worth it! You'll get into real trouble! Please stop!" he pleaded desperately.

Hana finally listened to him, the anger beginning to dissipate as the pain in her cheek anchored her back to the present.

Her breath was ragged, her fist still clenched, but she gradually relaxed under Naruto's grip.

Before they could say anything else, they were separated by someone forcefully.

Hana was restrained again by a guy with a bowl haircut, wearing a hideous green jumpsuit that made her eyes widen in shock and embarrassment even in that situation.

Naruto, in turn, was held back by Iruka, whose gaze seemed fixed on her face.

After that, everything became a blur.

They were taken to jail, that's right, straight to jail .

Not to a cell, but to a room where they waited for the adults to finish questioning them individually about what had happened.

After the individual questioning, they were placed in this room alone while they waited. The silence between Hana and Naruto was almost palpable; only the distant sound of voices from outside could be heard.

Naruto was already free to go home, but he decided to stay there with her until she was also free to go.

They haven't exchanged a word since they were arrested.

Hana was lost in thought, scolding herself for having exploded like that. She anticipated getting a terrible scolding from Sasuke when she returned (that is, if they didn't inform him first and he came to get her). 

" How did I let this happen? I completely lost control..."   she thought, biting her lip.

Meanwhile, Naruto watched her out of the corner of his eye, nervously fidgeting with his fingers as if he wanted to say something, but clearly afraid to approach and say it.

"I don't want her to send me flying like those guys... " He thought, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead.

" I definitely don't want her to hit me with that red fist of hers !" He almost turned blue remembering her hitting the first man who tried to hold her back.

He had "literally" heard the bone crack as the guy flew down the street, everyone heard it.

And her eyes...

He wasn't dreaming, he was sure of it.

And to make matters worse, he threw her to the ground while trying to restrain her.

Her cheek was bruised like that because of him.

" I don't even want to imagine what Sasuke will do if he finds out I hurt her, even if it was while trying to help her..." He thought, swallowing hard.

It was no secret to anyone at the academy that the two were very close, and that Sasuke would expel any boy who came near Hana (including himself).

It was a miracle that she was friends with Shikamaru and Choji.

He had tried to approach her before, to ask if she wanted to be his friend, but he never really had the chance.

And today... she defended him.

No one had ever done what she did. A blush rose to his cheeks as he remembered her placing herself between him and the old man, protecting him with such determination.

He decided to take the risk. "Uh, Hana-chan..." He began hesitantly, in a low voice, pulling her from her dark thoughts.

"Hi, Naruto," she replied, snapping out of her trance and turning to him with a slight smile.

He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I... I'm so sorry. Because of me, you—"

"It's alright, Naruto. You don't need to apologize to me for anything," she interrupted, shaking her head gently.

"But—" he tried, but Hana continued.

"Don't worry about anything. I did it because I wanted to." "Besides, that old man deserved it. How dare he insult me ​​and my family?" she said, a glint of anger returning to her eyes, but quickly softened by a smile.

"He was lucky I didn't finish him off completely."

Naruto swallowed hard, thinking, " But you practically finished him off, Hana-chan... and the other three... and they were ninjas!"   Of course, he didn't say that out loud.

He just scratched the back of his neck again and muttered, "Okay, then."

"You could go, you know?" she suggested, looking towards the door.

"Sasuke will probably come pick me up, since he's my guardian, so to speak. Or they'll let me go soon. It's getting a little late. You can go home if you want."

"It's not like anyone was waiting for me, anyway..." he replied, looking at the floor.

" Ah ..." Hana felt a pang in her chest as she remembered that Naruto was also an orphan.

She still had Sasuke, who had been waiting for her and had always been with her since then, and they looked after each other. But he... he had no one.

A heavy silence hung in the air for a moment, until she cleared her throat, trying to dispel the tension.

"Well, thank you for holding me back. If you hadn't done that, we'd probably be in a real prison cell right now," she joked, trying to ease the tension.

"But I hurt you," he said, pointing to her scraped cheek, his eyes filled with guilt.

"Ah, that?" she replied, placing her hand on her face with a slight smile.

"It's nothing. It will heal soon."

Naruto blushed, embarrassed, as she pointed to his arm. "You got hurt too," she said, indicating an injury on his arm.

"That's right," he murmured, scratching the back of his neck once more, clearly embarrassed.

"So..." he began, hesitantly, almost stuttering.

"We can be friends?"

Hana was surprised by the question, but a genuine and warm smile spread across her face.

"Of course, we're friends from now on. And if we're going to be friends, we should introduce ourselves properly, right?" she joked, extending her hand.

"My name is Hana Uchiha, but you can just call me Hana," she added, winking at him.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he replied, shaking her hand with a shy smile that soon turned into a wide, bright one.

"You can call me Naruto, Hana-chan." "And I'm going to be Hokage, dattebayo!"

Meanwhile, someone was watching them.

He, of course, spent most of his time sleeping, only occasionally paying attention to the boy's life.

It wasn't like he cared.

Until today. Until that Uchiha girl defended Naruto.

That chakra that emanated from her... he knew that chakra very well.

More... It was different from the previous one, but definitely reminiscent.

Their appearance was also similar, except for their eyes.

Could she be a descendant of theirs? There were traces of his and her chakra mixed within her; no, that wasn't possible. And she hated him. 

And He had died, and she... she was found dead by her brothers at home months later. He himself witnessed that moment. So how was that possible?

Could she have that man's chakra? 

"Despite everything, it seems you're back," thought the fox, his face unreadable, a mixture of sadness and longing lingering in his expression before he closed his eyes again, feigning indifference.

A knock on the door interrupted the moment between Hana and Naruto.

It was Iruka, with Sasuke behind him, arms crossed and an expression that mixed irritation, but his gaze softened as he looked at Hana with concern.

Hana swallowed hard when she saw him, smiling shyly.

"Hi... Sasuke," she murmured, almost hiding her face with her hands.

"You're free to go, Hana. The Hokage is already aware of the whole situation," Iruka informed her seriously.

"Is everything really alright?" she asked hesitantly.

After all, besides the old man, she sent three other people flying with punches, and well... they were ninjas.

"Yes," Iruka replied, though with a sigh.

"Although you're responsible for their medical bill, Sasuke has already taken care of that."

"Ah..." Hana murmured, sweating profusely. " He must have spent a pretty penny on that, " she thought, biting her lip.

"So, are we really going home now?" she asked, looking at Sasuke with a pleading puppy-dog expression.

"Yes," he replied, short and to the point.

"Oh, wait! Can Naruto come with us?" she asked. "Can he at least have dinner with us tonight? Or can we go to Ichiraku? I'm hungry!"

Sasuke grimaced, clearly not liking the idea of ​​Naruto going home with them at all.

"No," he replied curtly. "Why not?" "Please!" she insisted, pouting exaggeratedly.

"No," Sasuke repeated, already starting to walk. "Let's go home, Hana."

She made a defeated face, but then had an idea and gave a mischievous smile. Taking Naruto's hand, she said, "So, we'll go alone!" This made Sasuke shoot a furious look at Naruto, who began to sweat profusely under the intensity of that gaze.

"And with what money?" Sasuke retorted, raising an eyebrow, still staring at Naruto (or rather, his hand).

"I have a little money. And if it's not enough, we'll leave it in the account!" Hana replied, as if it were the most brilliant idea in the world.

"Hm," was Sasuke's only response.

Iruka intervened with a resigned sigh. "Why don't I take all of you? What do you think, Hana? Sasuke?"

Hana nodded quickly, almost jumping for joy. "Yes, please!"

Sasuke reluctantly nodded as well, though his gaze betrayed that he would have preferred to go straight home.

Naruto's eyes lit up when he heard the word "Ichiraku" and learned that Iruka would be taking them.

"Really? Then let's go, Sensei!" He exclaimed, already leaving the room completely excited.

as he began to recount everything that had happened to Iruka, loud enough for Hana and Sasuke, who were behind him, to hear as well.

Hana felt beads of sweat trickle down her temple as she listened to Naruto say, "Sensei, can you believe her fist turned red, like crystal? She hit that old man several times and—"

" Well, it seems I don't need to worry anymore. After all, I inherited Shinji's kekkei genkai, although I would have preferred to have discovered it another way..." Hana thought, with a mixture of discomfort in her chest.

Turning to Sasuke beside him, he cautiously asked, "So, what did they really say?"

He looked at her with a smile that immediately made her suspicious.

"I was told you beat up a civilian," he replied, his tone almost amused, but with a serious glint in his eyes.

"Ah... yeah, That's what happened...," she admitted, scratching the back of her neck, embarrassed.

"I'm not upset with you, Hana," he said, taking her hand. "You're not?" she asked, confused, blinking several times.

"No. Now I just want you to tell me everything that happened later if you want, and why you hit him. That's all," he asked, his voice calm but firm.

"Well, he was going to hit Naruto, or something like that. And he also talked about our clan, that we were red-eyed demons, and called us monsters," she explained, anger returning to her tone as she recalled the events.

Sasuke noticed and squeezed her hand lightly, a silent gesture of comfort. "You're hurt," he said, pointing to her scraped cheek.

"I'll be fine. It'll heal in a few days," she replied with a slight smile.

"You should have hit him harder," Sasuke declared, surprising her.

"Seriously?" she asked, her eyes wide. "You're really not going to reprimand me? I ended up in jail after all," she admitted, embarrassed, lowering her gaze.

"Hm, it's not like I'm going to leave you there," he replied, a slight blush rising to his cheeks, which he tried to hide by turning his face away.

That made her smile broadly.

Stopping in the middle of the street, she hugged him tightly, which made Sasuke blush even more as he returned the gesture.

"So, I can really hit whoever I want, and you'll just let me out of jail? You paid bail, right? And what about the medical bills?" she taunted, laughing softly.

Sasuke disguised his embarrassment, replying, "You were arrested along with that idiot because you beat up two jonin and a chunin, not just the old man."

"Seriously?" she asked, surprised. "Seriously," he confirmed.

"Do you know who the ninjas were? I think I'll have to apologize," she murmured, feeling a pang of guilt.

"You also hit the Hokage's son, Hana. That's why you were arrested," he revealed.

"And another woman who was at the dango stall nearby, a jounin."

"And are they alright?" she asked hesitantly.

"The woman, yes. But the Hokage's son, not so much. He broke a few bones with his punch," Sasuke explained, one corner of his mouth curling in something that almost looked like pride.

"Speaking of which, look," she said, releasing the hug and showing him her hand.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she focused her chakra, and her hand crystallized, covered in a ruby ​​layer like a second skin.

"Hana," Sasuke murmured, taking her hand to inspect it closely.

"It seems I inherited my father's kekkei genkai," she said, a sad smile curving her lips.

"It's beautiful," he replied, his eyes fixed on the crystallized hand.

"Congratulations, Hana. I'm proud of you," he added, a blush now evident on his face.

"Thank you," she replied, smiling brightly, her eyes welling up for a moment before she linked her arm with his.

"Let's hurry before they arrive and ask before us," she suggested, waving to Naruto from afar with her other hand.

"Come on! Which ramen do you think I should try? Maybe the miso one... or the pork one? Do you think I could make it at home? I could try, right? It would be fun!" she chattered, pulling Sasuke along while laughing.

He simply nodded, listening attentively with a slight smile on his lips. "So, tell me everything that happened. I want to hear it from you," he asked, as they walked.

"Sure! Well, it all started when I saw that old man yelling at Naruto, and he raised his hand to hit him, can you believe it?"

"Hm," Sasuke replied, squeezing her arm lightly, a silent gesture of support.

Ahead of them, Iruka had just heard Naruto's version of what had happened on the street.

A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead as the boy spoke excitedly.

He had already heard, of course, what happened—that's why he and Guy had rushed over there. He was nearby, and since Naruto was his student, in addition to the silver-haired girl he assumed was Hana, he couldn't ignore it.

But that was strange.

Unlike Naruto, Hana was generally calm and didn't cause trouble.

Her only problem was avoiding taijutsu training with partners he chose, preferring to train only with Hinata or Sasuke (which he overlooked, as he saw no problem with it).

But assaulting a civilian?

He didn't believe it when he heard. And when he got there... well, he saw how she hit Asuma and Anko so hard that they were both seriously injured.

He was certain they had broken at least one or two bones.

How did she have so much strength? And her eyes... she inherited them, after all .

But according to the Hokage, she shouldn't even have been aware of that, since she acted out of anger.

If it were anyone else, they would have been in jail for quite some time because of the public outcry.

The merchant was in terrible shape — several broken bones, some missing teeth.

But some witnesses spoke in her favor.

A woman from a dango stall testified that Hana only did that because the old man spoke about her parents and her clan, and also tried to attack her first, claiming that she was only defending herself.

And he defended Naruto as well, although the other witnesses didn't mention that part.

Naruto himself confirmed the story.

So Hana didn't need to worry, although she still had to bear the costs of the wounded—a sort of punishment.

Iruka even offered to pay, since she was his student, but Sasuke insisted on handling everything, and with that she was released.

Looking back, Iruka saw Hana and Sasuke some distance away, talking and walking hand in hand.

"Sensei," Naruto began, looking at him curiously.

"They get along well, right?"

"Sasuke seems genuinely happy," added Iruka, watching the two from a distance.

Naruto watched them from afar, seeing how Sasuke returned Hana's hug after she stopped and wrapped her arms around him; she had said something that clearly embarrassed him. He had never seen him like this... 

Soon after, Hana waved to him, and he returned the gesture with a smile on his face.

Inside, however, he felt a pang of jealousy towards Sasuke.

" Hana-chan cares so much about him... and he about her. It's so obvious to everyone..." he thought, lowering his gaze for a moment.

He just wanted someone who cared about him like that...

Chapter Text

The following day at the gym was a bit strange, so to speak, and, from what it seemed, news of what had happened had spread quite a bit.

Naruto wasn't helping either; apparently, he was a bit of a gossip.

Apparently, someone in the class heard it from their parents and told their classmates, who then asked Naruto, who ended up telling everyone, and those people ended up spreading it around until everyone found out.

The bandage on her cheek only confirmed the truth.

But none of them dared to ask her directly. Maybe they're a little afraid of her, or maybe it's something else ( like Sasuke's murderous glare  ).

During the lunch break, she decided to go eat with the boys.

Hina hadn't shown up today. When she asked Iruka-sensei, he kindly informed her that her father had said she was sick today and couldn't come.

And Sasuke was going to practice shuriken during break today. Well, at the moment she wasn't at all in the mood to just stand there watching him train, despite his grumbling that she should stay and practice with him or just watch.

She wasn't in the mood to train at the moment, or rather, to be there, especially with all those fans of his drooling over him, and shouting "Sasuke-kun" one louder than the other, while still giving her furious looks.

So she left him there, training alone.

While she was going to look for the boys, she swears that, when she left, she heard one of them saying, giving her a furious look, "I also wanted him to get me out of jail." 

" Damn... did I hear that right?" she thought, shaking her head, and walking quickly away, feeling Sasuke's gaze on her back as she walked away.

"And... I definitely have to admit, these fans are kind of... crazy. No, thinking about it, it's not even 'kind of,' they're definitely crazy," she concluded mentally.

She remembers Sasuke commenting to her yesterday, a little annoyed, while they were eating with Iruka and Naruto at Ichiraku, that when he went to train, a group of girls were following him as he walked down the streets.

Ah... she laughed quite a bit when she heard that. He called them "annoying" with a disgusted grimace, and she agreed with him. It was basically "harassment," right?

" Man... I have to admit that these fans are extremely crazy. Especially those two ," Hana thinks, making an unpleasant face at the thought of them.

" Judging by their daily jealous glances at me, glaring at me, I'm sure that if they could, they'd give me a beating."

"Not that I was going to let that happen, and neither was Sasuke. Even though they were a year older than me, they didn't seem very experienced. Well, maybe in harassing someone... " she laughs at the thought.

" That's why I love Hina. She's the only one around here who doesn't drool over Sasuke." "Well, maybe over someone else..." Hana chuckled inwardly at the thought, a slightly mischievous smile appearing on her lips.

"Apparently, Hina liked Naruto. Not that she had confessed or said anything, but it was a guess, since when she looked at Naruto, she would get embarrassed and blush a little. And I noticed, of course ," she thinks, somewhat amused.

" Despite that, she wasn't like those 'crazy' ones. It was cute."

"I'm absolutely certain that if I could get my hands on one of Sasuke's shirts, or something like that, I could auction it off ," she murmurs, quickening her pace and shaking her head at the silly idea.

Walking where she knew exactly where the boys were, she soon spotted Shikamaru, who was watching the clouds as always, and Choji, who was devouring his lunch, and perhaps a little of Shikamaru's as well.

"Hey," she says, greeting them with a wave.

"Hey, Hana," Choji says with his mouth full, waving excitedly back at her.

Shikamaru sits down, crossing his arms behind his head and letting out a yawn. "Have you given up on Mr. Perfect's company, Hana?"

She laughs at how he calls Sasuke "Mr. Perfect," then says, sitting down next to him on the grass, "He's training right now, and my ears can't stand hearing any more of their shrill 'Sasuke-kun.'" 

Shikamaru laughs, amused by this, and adds, "Let's not forget the angry glares they give us."

She playfully bumps her shoulder against his, giving him a shove.

He notices the bandage on her cheek and says, "So Naruto wasn't lying... How troublesome."

"And...", Hana says, touching the Band-Aid, and then adds, saying: "We ended up in jail yesterday."

"And I heard that," Shikamaru says, yawning again.

"Naruto told everyone," Choji adds. "He said you saved him, and that you beat someone up, Hana."

"What really happened, after all?" Shikamaru asks, curious.

"There was an old man and... He was mistreating Naruto, you know," she says, her voice turning serious. "And nobody helped him, nobody at all, they just... stood there watching everything."

"They have, like, a prejudice against him, right? Although I don't know why, I just... I couldn't just stand there watching that." "I've already realized that he's like a social outcast, for most people," she says, holding a handful of grass in her hand and then letting it go to be carried away by the wind. "But that doesn't mean they can treat him like that. It's very cruel to do that to a child."

"Honestly, they're idiots," Shikamaru comments, and Choji nods in agreement, adding, "He's a cool guy, kind of crazy, but fun."

She laughs at Choji's comment.

Shikamaru adds, "I never understood why adults hate Naruto so much. Honestly, he's a loud and troublesome guy, but that doesn't justify it."

"Yes," Hana says, agreeing with him.

Shikamaru adds, "I don't know why they do that. Honestly, hating something for no reason takes a lot of effort and is a pain." After saying this, he throws himself onto the grass, watching the clouds go by.

She and Choji do the same thing.

"Adults are stupid," Choji says simply, and she laughs, fully agreeing with him, then she bumps fists with Choji.

She adds, quite amused, "Yes, some are really stupid. They basically follow the 'herd'." She says, raising her fingers and emphasizing the word herd.

They continue talking, and eventually change the subject to something lighter after a while.

Apparently, according to Choji, a new barbecue restaurant was going to open in the main center of the village.

They make plans to go meet him one of these days, and Hana says they should invite Naruto too. And, she was going to invite Hinata so they could all go together as well; she had a slight smile on her face when she said this. Besides the two of them, she was going to take Sasuke along ( or rather, drag him along ), after all, he needed to 'socialize' with other people besides her. Shikamaru wishes her good luck with that.

🐾⚛ ࿔ 🍡🍵٠࣪ ⋆✧Ი𐑼✧⋆ ٠࣪🍵🍡࿔ ⚛🐾

Back at the academy, Hana felt... bored.

She wasn't paying the slightest attention to what Iruka was writing on the board at the moment.

And she wasn't at all interested in participating in the kunoichi classes that would take place after Iruka's class.

Firstly, she didn't want to go alone, since Hina hadn't come, and secondly, she wasn't at all interested in arranging flowers, much less taking etiquette and tea ceremony lessons.

She crosses her arms on the table and rests her head on them, letting out a sigh.

Upon hearing this, Sasuke turned his face from the window towards her. He was staring at the windowpane, clearly thinking about other things, but he wasn't completely distracted. After all, he was also watching her through the reflection in the glass. So, he could see her bored expression in the reflection, as well as, of course, her obvious discontented look.

Well... maybe it's not obvious to others, but it was to him.

"Hana," he calls her, and she turns her head toward him. "Hn?" she murmurs softly to him. And... she had unconsciously picked up his habit.

Hearing her 'Hn' to him almost unconsciously, a brief, but very brief, smile appeared on his face, quite aware that she had picked up this habit from him.

"What's wrong?" he asked, giving her a light flick on the forehead, and her pout only rose higher.

"Hina-chan didn't come, so I'm practically alone today," she murmurs dramatically, with an exaggerated sigh. "I don't want to go to those boring kunoichi classes later without her," she says, grumbling softly.

"Then don't go," he replies simply, writing something down in his notebook.

"I think I'll skip class today, then," she says, smiling at him.

Iruka's voice rises, drawing everyone's attention. "What is a Hokage? Can someone tell me?"

Then, several hands go up. She hears Naruto's voice saying that the Hokage is the strongest man in the village, "He's the one everyone in the village respects and admires! And I'm going to become one!" And after he says that, almost all the children burst into laughter.

She frowned at that. Honestly, she didn't understand the reason for the laughter. She believed he would succeed; she didn't know how his classmates could laugh like that at someone's dream, but Naruto wasn't fazed by anyone's laughter.

"They're quite cruel, aren't they, Sasuke?" she asks him.

"Hn," he replies. "Just don't hit anyone," he murmurs the last part, and she laughs at that, even putting her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.

"Do we have more money to pay another bail? The medical bills?" she asks, amused, raising her eyebrows.

He doesn't answer her. Then, she says with a gentle smile, "Relax, I don't expect you to break me out of prison again, Sasuke." 

"Hm," he replies, nodding slightly in agreement.

"What do you think about us buying some things later? Since I'm not going to kunoichi class, we have plenty of free time, what do you think?" she suggested.

"Of course," he says, readily giving in to her.

"What things, Hana?" He thought to himself, " I hope it's not more clothes ." Not that he would tell her, after all, if she wanted more clothes, he would buy them for her.

He liked how happy she was when she did it. She always had a smile on her face when they did it. He was absolutely certain that if she ever got upset with him, if he suggested going shopping as an excuse, she would forgive him, and her mood would improve easily.

She yawns slightly and explains, "A few things to decorate the apartment, what do you think? It needs a nice makeover." 

He nods in agreement with her idea. Then she whispers to him, "Wake me up when class is over, okay?"

"Okay," he murmurs to her.

With that, she closes her eyes, listening to Iruka's voice and those of her classmates in the background.

"Can someone tell me the names of all the Hokages we've had?"

She hears Sakura's booming voice. She was listing the names of all four Hokages in sequence. "The First Hokage is Hashirama Senju, the Second Hokage is Tobirama Senju, the Third Hokage is Hiruzen Sarutobi, our current Hokage, and the Fourth Hokage is Minato Namikaze."

"The First Hokage, and the Second Hokage... um..." Whenever she looked at the cliff and observed the faces on the Hokage Monument, these two caught her attention the most, although she didn't know why, when observing them, she felt a slight, strange, nostalgic feeling , something she couldn't name.

She slowly begins to fall asleep, listening to Iruka's voice and the other students in the class.

And then, soon she was asleep, completely. The sound of her breathing became slow and regular.

When Sasuke sees that she has finally fallen asleep, he gently adjusts her notebook so that Iruka or anyone else won't notice her sleeping and wake her up.

Her nose wrinkles slightly in her sleep, and he adjusts a strand of her hair that was very close to her mouth. " I'm sure she'll bite and drool on it if she gets close enough." This brings an unconscious smile to his face at the thought. 

He doesn't even notice he's smiling...

But another person, or rather, two others, grit their teeth slightly at the scene and blush at his smile, even though it wasn't meant for them.

She doesn't wake up where she should be...

She blinks, adjusting her slightly blurry vision, and what she sees in front of her is a pair of hands.

Hands ? 

"What? " she thinks, confused. "These aren't her hands. They're a little similar, but..."

They definitely aren't. Her nails aren't painted the way she left them, and her hand is clearly much bigger than hers.

" But what...? I should be at the gym. " She tries to speak, but can't.

She tries to move, but she can't even move her hand.

" What's happening?"  It was as if she were just an observer, inside her own body, or what should have been her body.

" Could this be a lucid dream? Or some kind of lucid dream? A memory... perhaps? Or one of those strange dreams, but they've never happened like this before..."

She feels someone's arm wrap tightly around her waist. But despite her apparent urge to turn around and see who it is, who's in control of her body, she doesn't do it; she just continues to stare intently at her hand.

The same person holding her waist soon begins to play with a strand of her hair, then the woman tilts her head slightly and a strand of hair falls into her hand, and Hana observes everything through the woman's eyes. That hair was much longer than hers, much longer indeed, but... it was exactly the same color, it was white .

" White…?"

" Ba... ba-ba-ba!"

" Huh? What?"   With that, whoever that woman was, who apparently was in control, looked up, turning her head towards the sound.

" Was... Was that a... baby?" " Yes, it's a baby ," she thinks, a little confused as to why she would dream about this. It was right in front of her.

There were some stuffed animals on the floor and a baby playing with them.

Paying closer attention to her surroundings to try and identify the location, she fails miserably.

It looked like an inhabited cave system. Whoever that woman she was seeing through was, that baby, and the one playing with her hair, they all lived there.

Or so it seemed.

" Ba... ba-ba-ba!" the baby repeats. She decides to observe the baby in front of her attentively.

He had slightly spiky black hair and red eyes. Then, the baby puts a stuffed rabbit in his mouth, immediately starting to chew on its ears.

And for the first time, a voice came out of his mouth. It wasn't his voice, but it sounded like it...

No, it didn't seem that much like it, but it was similar. 

" What is this?" Hana thinks, very, very confused.

" Izuna ," the woman said. Then her hands moved gently, removing the plush ears from the baby's mouth. He laughed loudly, a pure, bubbly laugh, and raised his chubby little hands to grasp the woman's finger, squeezing with surprising force.

Now, Hana has a clear view of the little boy's face. He was a very cute and beautiful baby.

" He looks a bit like Sasuke... Is he an Uchiha?" That was the first thought that came to Hana quickly.

Her heart tightened for no apparent reason at the scene unfolding before her.

The woman places her fingers on the baby's chubby cheek, and he lets out another soft giggle, " Boo... eheh..." His chubby fists soon grab a strand of the woman's hair, bringing it to his mouth.

The one who had been quiet until now, playing with her hair, reaches out to take the strand of the woman's hair from the child's mouth.

She observed the hand; it was clearly a large male hand, with long, firm fingers, though somewhat calloused.

" And a man, who could it be? " " Could it be one of those I dream about?" "I never remember the face... But I do know he had a Sharingan. If he has a Sharingan, he would be that person, or at least one of them."

Then, she hears a deep man's voice saying, " Izuna, no." Then his hand moves, and he gives the baby a teddy bear toy in place of the woman's hair, distracting him, and the baby begins to play with it.

She shivers slightly upon hearing his deep, resonant voice .

She feels the man lift the woman's body from the rug she was on, leading her to sit on his lap.

His arms tighten around her waist. Then, he rests his face against her neck, and she feels his warm breath on her neck.

" Why can I feel this?" Hana thinks. " I can't move my body or say anything, but I can feel it."

She could feel the tip of his nose on her neck, just like the shiver she'd felt before hearing his voice. And then, something warm pressed against her neck. Whoever that man was must be the woman's husband, or some kind of lover, because he had kissed her neck.

" Who could this be?" Hana thought. " This isn't a memory of the old Hana, it isn't. It can't be." "Maybe one of me? I don't remember my memories, so it's unlikely."

"If it's neither of those two options, then what the hell is going on? Who is this guy? And the most logical question is, why am I dreaming about this? Who is this woman, this man, and this baby? Are they a family? Or something like that?" 

The woman glances at something in the room, and honestly, the only thing that comes to her mind at that moment is, "What the hell was that? This is definitely not either of the above options."

Out of the corner of her eye, the woman can see a very bizarre, symbiotic, humanoid creature, divided into a white part and a black part.

Apparently, it was watching them, but she felt it was mainly the woman.

She didn't see him anymore, because the woman quickly turned her eyes away, her vision now focusing on the man's hands on her waist.

" Hana, Hana, wake up." That voice... is that Sasuke?

" Hana?" Yes, it's Sasuke. She recognizes that voice.

She wants to answer him, but her mouth won't move.

" Hana, wake up."

The man speaks, murmuring something against her neck, but she doesn't hear him. She can't hear him; the only thing she can hear at the moment is Sasuke's voice.

" Hana?" Sasuke's voice calls again.

So, for the first time, her body seems to be under her control. Because she is able to say something.

"Sasuke?" Her voice is now audible, coming from the woman's mouth. "What's happening?"

The man tightened his grip on her waist, and when she managed to turn her face to see who it was, she couldn't, because her vision went black, beginning to fade rapidly.

She blinks, and the next thing she sees in front of her is Sasuke's face.

He had one hand on her cheek and the other on her shoulder, shaking her gently.

"Hana?" he calls her again.

She blinks, somewhat confused, and replies, "Sasuke?"

"You're finally awake," he says, stroking her cheek with his thumb. He seemed somewhat relieved.

"Wake up, finally?" she asks him, quite confused now.

"I've been trying to wake you up for ten minutes, Hana," he says, worried. This was quite evident in his voice.

"Who is Izuna?" he asks her curiously.

"Who?" she asks, confused.

"You were repeating that name a few times while I was trying to wake you up," he explains.

"I was?" she says, having no idea what happened.

" Did I... dream it?" She had no idea. " Izuna, who is that? " she thought, somewhat confused as to who it could be, after all, she didn't know anyone with that name.

Sasuke tilts his head toward her, and as if summoned, an image of a baby, like a ghost, appears briefly in the air before disappearing. "A baby?" she murmurs, blinking rapidly.

"One Baby?" he asks her back, confused by what she was saying.

"I think I dreamt about a baby," she murmurs. "And it looked a lot like you," she says without thinking, blinking again.

"A baby that looks a lot like me, Hana? What exactly did you dream about?" he asked her.

"I don't remember, I really don't remember. I only remember there was a baby. I think that must be his name, Izuna," she replies, raising her fingers to her temple.

But Sasuke still hadn't removed his hand from her face, staring at her. She murmured to herself, confused, "Why would I dream about a baby?"

"That looks like me," Sasuke adds, blushing slightly.

"Are you blushing?" she asks him, and with that, he quickly removes his hands from her face, turning his face towards the window, clearly embarrassed. "No," he says, shaking his head.

But, in the reflection, she can see him blushing. " What is he thinking right now?" she thinks, quite confused by everything at the moment.

"We should go," he tells her now, fully composed. "Didn't you want to go buy a few things?" he asks her.

"Yes," she replies, nodding her head.

"Then let's go," he says, taking her hand and dragging her across the empty classroom.

Sasuke acted a little strange for the rest of the day. It was quite comical.

They went to several shops in the village. They bought some things to decorate the apartment, as well as some books.

They even ordered two Uchiha clan symbols to put above the bed as decoration (it was his idea).

We went to a few shops, and he also bought me a kimono, which I had been eyeing (in my defense, it was beautiful and quite light, it was great to wear around town, even for training).

After that, when we got home, it was already late. It was starting to get dark. We put our things away when we arrived, and then we ate together.

"So," Hana says, now eating the dessert she bought (dangos). "We plan to go to a restaurant soon, and you're coming with me," she declared, pointing the dango at him.

"we plan?" he asked, slightly lifting his gaze from the book he was holding.

"Hmm," Hana nods. "Shikamaru, Choji, me, you, Naruto, and Hinata," she explains, excitedly listing the names on her fingers.

He raises an eyebrow at her skeptically.

"And you're coming with me, no negotiations," she finished, crossing her arms with determination.

"Hn," he replies, returning to his book.

"I'll take that as a yes," she says, smiling excitedly at him.