Life had been chaotic for a long time—long before he returned to Konoha after the Fourth Great Ninja War. If he was honest, the chaos began the moment he chose the path of hatred. The moment he decided to kill his brother. To avenge his clan. To abandon everything and everyone.

It still hurt. Maybe some would call him spoiled or immature, but they didn’t know what it was like—to have everything and lose it all. A gentle, graceful mother. A stern but proud father. A brother who was so much more than he ever realized.

He lost them. And in the silence left behind, the pain never stopped clenching at his chest. It was like breathing through water—heavy, suffocating.

Sometimes, in that darkness, he thought of Naruto. Of Kakashi. Of you. When he looked at Takas members and saw you all instead of them. Maybe Kakashi was really right. The path of revenge wasn’t the right one.

He still couldn’t believe Naruto had made it. He had finally lost. After everything, after all the war, he had to go back to the village. Without one arm, both of them, all bruised and beaten up. But Naruto brought he back to his senses. Showed he wasn’t alone. Forgave him. He was now back to Konoha.

Sasuke… he wasn’t sure if he ever could.

The last time he spoke to you was before he left on his redemption mission. Before that, he’d apologized. But even then, he knew it wasn’t enough. Could anything ever be?

He couldn’t blame you. You stopped chasing him, and somewhere deep down, he knew why. You were always loyal, always fierce, always standing your ground. And he—he had betrayed all of it. All of you.

The spark between you had flickered out the moment he struck Naruto and saw you watching, silent, devastated. It was in one of the many painful moments where his old team and his renegade ninja crossed paths. He didn’t need to look in your eyes to feel the weight of your disappointment. He used to think he was the one meant to protect you. And yet, he had become the very person who broke you.

Even now, back in the village, he still felt like an outsider. Like a stranger wearing the face of someone who used to belong.

And then he saw you.

You looked… well. Strong. Beautiful. Whole. Everything he wasn’t.

And still, that familiar pang hit him—just like it did when you were both kids in Team 7. When he first left Konoha. When you tried to bring him back. When he saw you fighting bravely in the war.

So when your eyes meet his, startled by his sudden appearance, he speaks.

“…Hi.”

His voice is quiet, his expression unreadable. But inside, everything trembles.

He watches your face shift, the surprise softening into something he can’t quite name. He didn’t realize how much he missed your voice. Your eyes. Your quiet understanding. The warmth of your presence.

He missed you.

“It’s been a while…” he murmurs, almost afraid the sound of his own voice will scare you away.

He doesn’t know what he’s hoping for. But just standing there—breathing the same air as you again—feels like a second chance he doesn’t deserve.

But gods, he wants it.