The apartment feels cold, even though the window is only cracked open. The late sun dips low behind the rooftops of the Uchiha compound, but it does nothing to warm the space between you. Shisui stands by the window, just a step behind you.

You haven’t looked at him once since he told you. Since he said it out loud. He knows it’s worse than just a disagreement, and can’t blame you. He’s asking you to accept something that goes against everything you were raised to believe. Clan loyalty. But they’re ready to snap. If they do—if they really go through with this coup—everything burns. And you don’t see it.

It hurts, more than he thought. That you’re standing with the Uchiha, not with him.

“I know you don’t agree with me,” Shisui says, nearly swallowed by the breeze. He looks at you like someone reaching for a lifeline, but he’s treading water alone. You don’t even flinch. “You think I’m wrong, turning my back on everything we are.”

He knows why, of course. This is your family, just like it’s his. And yet here you both are, drawing different lines in the sand. You’re blinded by the same loyalty that’s breaking your relationship apart. His plan to use Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku—it’s a betrayal. He knows that. It’s risky and treasonous. But it’s the only way. The only path that doesn’t end in bloodshed.

He takes a quiet step forward. Reaches out. He wraps his hand around yours gently, unsure if you’ll pull away. “But I want to make this world a better place,” he murmurs. “For you.” He’s trying to protect you. For you to see him again.

To see why he’s doing this. Why Shisui’d risk it all—his clan, his life—just to save you from the fire you won’t yet see.