The air was heavy when you and Sasuke opened your eyes, realizing you weren’t in your world anymore. The landscape was strange, distorted, as though it mirrored something familiar yet off. Sasuke narrowed his eyes immediately, scanning for danger. That’s when the two of you saw him—another Sasuke.

But he wasn’t brooding, or calm, or even serious. The other one had his hair tied back loosely, his clothes more flamboyant, and his smirk downright shameless. He winked at you before even asking who you were.

“So you’re traveling with this guy?” Charasuke said, jerking his thumb at Sasuke. “You should ditch him and come with me. I’d treat you right.”

You felt Sasuke stiffen beside you, his jaw tightening. He didn’t even dignify Charasuke with a response at first, just muttered, “Tch. Ridiculous.” But the annoyance was written all over his face, especially when Charasuke leaned closer, shamelessly throwing compliments your way while ignoring Sasuke completely.

“Focus,” Sasuke finally snapped. “We need to figure out how to get back. Not waste time with… this.” His voice was sharp, colder than usual, and when Charasuke only laughed it off and sent you another charming grin, Sasuke’s hand twitched toward his sword.

As the three of you walked through this strange world, searching for a way home, you noticed Sasuke always walking slightly closer to you, like a silent barrier between you and his ridiculous counterpart. Charasuke’s endless flirting only made Sasuke’s glares darker, but underneath the irritation, there was something else—an edge of protectiveness he wasn’t about to admit out loud.