Avoid the weeds

Chapter 8

- Third person's pov. -

Running through the stairs, Sasuke looks around like a man on a mission. He pops into each room and looks around briefly before darting out and continuing on his way. Mikoto notices his behavior when he pops into the kitchen as she makes lunch.

"Sasuke? Who are you looking for?"

"Ava." Sasuke answers as he glances around the kitchen before turning to her. "Do you know where she is?"

"She should be coming back from therapy now with Itachi." Mikoto answers looking towards the clock to see the time.

Nodding, he runs to the front door and skids to a stop in front of it just as it opens revealing Itachi and Ava.

"Ava!" Sasuke grins at the sight of her.

"Yes?" Ava asks, her head tilting to one side as she pulls off her shoes.

The two had connected again after she came back and were as close as they were previously. While there were some things left unsaid, such as what happened to her, they didn't let it get in the way. Sasuke made it his mission to help her adjust.

Ava was grateful for that. It had been hard, especially with people asking questions she couldn't answer. It was at this point where Sasuke was keeping his distance so he wouldn't suffocate her like the rest of their relatives, but, upon seeing the stress that came with her transition, he glued himself to her side.

They were attached to the hip when they were home, the only time they were apart would be when Sasuke left for the academy or Ava went to therapy. It was good for Ava though, the clan could tell. She was less tense around him and Itachi as well, though it seemed she was more relaxed around Sasuke, he being the only one successful at socializing with her.

"I need to give you your birthday gift!" Sasuke exclaims, an excited glint in his eye.

At this, Itachi and Ava share a confused expression.

"Sasuke, it's December. Your birthday is in July." Itachi points out.

Sasuke merely shrugs, "So? Ava never celebrated so, we should celebrate today!" He then tuns to Ava, "What do you say?"

"Sure." She shrugs, she was getting better at expressing herself.

A bright smile crosses Sasuke's face before he grabs Ava's wrist and drags her into their room.

It hadn't changed much from before the kidnapping besides the throw rug. Apparently, Sasuke had thought it would be a good idea to practice fire jutsus inside and scorched the floor; leading to him covering it with the rug.

Sitting on the bed, Ava watches as Sasuke runs into their shared closet and rummages around before holding up a package in victory. Going over to Ava, he hands her the package which was haphazardly wrapped in red paper, her favorite color.

"Open it!"

Doing as he wanted, she unwraps the package and opens it. A small smile graces her lips as she looks down at the bow and quiver of arrows that laid inside.

"I remembered you mention you finally learned how to use them so I used my allowance and got you one." Sasuke grins, it widening when he catches her smile.

"Thank you." Ava says as she runs her hand along the black wood of the bow.

While in ROOT, Ava had learned to use a bow like she always wanted and it was one of the few things that kept her grounded. The way the bow left in her hand and the joy she got out of hitting a double bullseye, archery helped her keep a thread of who she was before despite Danzō's best efforts.