June 18th, 06:00 pm
Hanako
Hana: need you rn. Feeling horrible. Hokage Mountain in 10?
Shiranui: oh??? Coming, asap x
Hanako sat on top of Minato's head and stared down at the village. The sun was about to set and hulled Konoha and its beautiful buildings into cozy colours of orange and red. It was an early summer evening but the slight wind caused her to shiver and pull her knees against her chest to wrap her arms around them.
Recollecting the last days brought nothing but frustration to the tiny Kunoichi. She kissed Ko at Asuma's party- okay he kissed her, but still, she made out with Genma...twice, she flirted with Sukea and goddamn she had a crush on Kakashi Hatake.
She groaned in annoyance and pressed her face onto her knees. "Fucking stupid."
While being so freaking distracted by all the pretty Shinobi around her, Hana had lost sight of her actual goal. - To find Sasuke, to gain his trust and affection, to finally open up to him and promise him that he wasn't alone in this cruel world.
But no, Hanako rather made out with Genma and told him about her secret. Genma. Why the fuck would she do that in the first place?
"Hey," she suddenly heard from next to her and wondered how she didn't sense Genma coming.
"Hey, Genma," she mumbled but didn't look at him. He sat down besides her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?"
She sighed and turned her head to him, "I feel horrible."
He furrowed his eyebrows and cutely caressed the back of her head, "Why?"
"Because I completely lost sight of why I came back, Genma. Instead of gaining my brother's trust and working on our relationship, I spent more time in your bed or fantasising about other men in this village. I am hopeless."
"Oh, Hana. That's not a big deal. You just came back here, you're young and inexperienced and it's only natural that you want to try out things," he tried to calm her and kept caressing her head.
"Really? You don't think that I'm.. you know, like a-"
"A whore? Hell, no, Hanako. I think it's funny."
Hana raised her eyebrow and straightened her back so Genma dropped his hand, "What the hell is funny about that Shiranui?"
He chuckled and let his gaze wander over the village, "That you tell me that. You know, people here know that I'm not a relationship kind of man and that I had a lot of women in my life but not one person would dare to call me out for that. But when women do it, they Slutshame them, it's pathetic don't you think?"
Hana's eyes widened and she stared at Genma's face. He was right. People would call her a slut for the things she did, and she didn't even have sex with anyone. Genma was the only person she was ever intimate with, yet, when people would find out that she flirted with men and even kissed another, she'd be a whore.
Tch.
Double standards, my ass.
Hanako nodded, "Yes.. but, I hate to say it but I like the attention. Is that weird?"
He shook his head, "No, I get it. After all you've been through," he turned his head to Hana, "it's only natural. You never had someone telling you that you were a beautiful woman, nor did someone ever touch you the way you deserve it."
Hanako blushed but kept looking at Genma, "I just wish that this one person-"
"That Kakashi would tell you these things? That he would touch you?" He interrupted and grinned from ear to ear when Hanako's blush intensified and quickly pulled her mask further over her face, so it almost reached her eyes. She didn't agree with Genma, but she also didn't deny it.
"He will, I'm sure. There's this way he reacts when people talk about you."
Her face immediately snapped to him and before she could even think, her mouth worked on its own, "Really? Like how? Did he say something?"
Genma just chuckled and raised his eyebrow, "Don't lose your goal, Miss Uchiha. You're not here because of him. Right?"
"Right. I want to talk to Sasuke so I can get this heavy guilt off my chest and start a new life."
"You're not going away again, are you?"
Hana smiled and leaned her head against his upper arm, "No, I won't. I grew way too attached to you and the others."
Genma leaned his head against hers, "That's what I wanted to hear. What is your plan now? With Sasuke, I mean."
She sighed, "I will talk to him. Tonight."
"Good girl," he teased enough to earn a side nudge from Hanako.
~later that evening~
Hanako
After talking to Genma about her next steps, Hanako finally decided to take a step forward and fulfil her mission.
Her mission as to why she decided to leave her safe place in Sunagakure and return to Konohagakure. To her family, back to her home. - Sasuke Uchiha.
Ironically much, she never felt at home here. At least not after the Massacre. Yet, the time back in Konoha went by quickly and way smoother than she had expected.
Hanako had spent most of her time with Team 7 and, slowly but surely, gained the teenager's trust and affection. She loved Sakura and Naruto. The pink-haired girl was everything she had wished to be when Hanako was her age. Sakura was sweet and strong. She knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to fight for what or who she loved.
Naruto was her protégée, and Hana always remembered his mother's words.
Aunty Hana.
And Sasuke? He was a more rigid shell to crack, but Hanako slowly snaked a way into his heart. He opened up to Hana, and she knew he felt comfortable around her.
"Alright. Please take a seat, Sasuke! Dinner is ready." Hanako looked over her shoulder as Sasuke sat down at her dining table.
Hana had invited him to her apartment and prepared Sasuke's favourite meal, Onigiri and Okaka.
The tiny Kunoichi felt nervousness build in her stomach, reminding her about her lack of sleep last night. She went through today's scenario at least four times, creating a different ending for each one.
Eventually, Hanako accepted that there was no escape, and she had to tell Sasuke the truth. She desperately wanted to get it off her chest. Hana hoped that if her brother knew who she truly was, she could start to make up for all the years he was alone. - all the years, he was without family. Because of her.
Sasuke was Hanako's blood. He deserved better, and she wanted to be his family. - tell him how horrible she felt for leaving him behind and how much she loved him.
"It smells amazing, Hana, thank you." Sasuke quietly said and lowered his gaze to her table.
Hana smiled, arranged everything in front of him, and handed him some chopsticks. "No need to thank me. Do you want some soda?"
Sasuke nodded and directly started to dig in.
Hana went to her fridge and got him a bottle of soda before walking into her bedroom and grabbing her backpack before returning to the kitchen. She checked her phone and quickly read the previous notifications she got throughout the day. Hanako was a wrack with her phone. Most times she forgot it at home, or forgot to charge it and was too lazy to charge it for another two days.
Taking a deep breath, Hanako sat down across from Sasuke and placed her bag on her lap. "There is actually a reason why I called you over today."
"I thought as much. You've been acting weird ever since we left the grocery store." He said with a full mouth. "It's delicious. It reminds me of my mum's food."
Of course, it does. It's her recipe.
People usually told Hana how much they hated her food and what a horrible cook she was. Getting this compliment, especially from someone she cherished so much, made Hanako smile widely beneath her mask.
She chuckled and leaned her chin into her palm. "Thank you, Sasuke. Have.. have I been that obvious?"
He nodded and leaned back, "Yes."
Hanako fiddled with the strap of her bag but quickly got up from her seat. She took Sasuke's empty dish and placed everything in the sink before leaning against the counter.
"I haven't been honest with you."
Sasuke
I haven't been honest with you. - A sentence Sasuke had heard way too often in his life but didn't expect to hear from Hanako.
She was one of the rare people he felt comfortable around, and those seven words sent a cold shiver down his spine. He felt his chest tighten and slowly wrapped his hands around the soda bottle and furrowed his eyebrows. A lump formed in the back of his throat, making it unable for him to respond.
Hanako returned to the dining table and grabbed her backpack to get out a giant book.
A Photo Album?
She cleared her throat and slowly placed it in front of Sasuke. The book was navy blue with the Uchiha Clan symbol in the middle.
Sasuke jumped to his feet, inadvertently slamming the chair against the wall behind him with a quick and harsh movement. "Where did you get that from?" he snapped.
Hanako didn't even flinch. - as if she expected a reaction like this. Sasuke slammed his hands on the book cover and leaned closer to her face. "I asked you something."
"If you don't calm down, I won't tell you anything. Know your place, Uchiha. I'm older than you." she said calmly.
Sasuke clenched his teeth but took a deep breath and slowly sat back down, nodding at Hana for her to continue.
"The other night, I went back to the Uchiha district," Hanako started and locked her eyes with his.
He furrowed his eyebrows and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. But thinking about Hanako going to his house made him rage, and he jumped up from his chair again. "It's forbidden to go there. What the fuck did you even want there? Do you like to see the remains of my poor clan? Do you enjoy that, Hanako? It's not a museum."
Hanako raised her eyebrow, got up from her seat and grabbed the back of his neck to press his face against the book cover. "I told you to calm the fuck down. Didn't I make myself clear?"
Sasuke scoffed and tried to push her off, but he was too weak. His eyes widened, surprised at why he was helpless against the tiny Kunoichi next to him. Yet he saw her fighting Kakashi, and even he was defenceless against her at some point.
Why the fuck was she so strong?
"I-I'm sorry, H-Hana," he stumbled.
She nodded and retreated her hand to cross her arms in front of her chest. "You're making this unnecessarily complicated, Ototo."
{A/N: Ototo is the Japanese word for little brother}
Sasuke raised his eyebrows. Did she –
"Ototo?" he asked in disbelief.
Hanako nodded, carefully took his hands in hers and brought them to her face. She hesitated a moment before hooking Sasuke's fingers under the thin fabric of her mask to pull it down.
His eyes widened.
That face.
Sasuke stared at her in disbelief. Slowly cupping both of her cheeks, he gasped harshly.
"H-Hanako-"
Hana swallowed slightly as he observed her face. Sasuke carefully tilted her head to the left to get a full view of her scarred cheek. "It..., Hana, it's you-" he stopped and turned her face back to his, "how?"
His eyes slowly filled with tears, and before Hana could even react, he snaked his arms around her tiny body and pressed her against his chest.
Hanako
Sasuke's sweetness made Hana tear up. She got on her tiptoes and tightly wrapped her arms around his neck. Even though Sasuke was six years younger than Hana, he was more than a head taller than her. "I.. I'm so sorry, Sasuke."
Her brother took a deep breath, and she could feel how his silent tears dropped on her shoulder. "You're alive.. h-how, Hana?" he mumbled against her neck.
"I can't remember much. Someone rescued me, and then I woke up in the hospital.. a woman with burgundy hair healed my wounds."
Sasuke hummed and slowly let go of Hana to sit back on the dining chair. "Can.. Can you tell me what happened?"
Hana swallowed but nodded and quickly reached for the back of her chair to pull it next to Sasuke's. She sat down and took both of his hands in hers.
"On the night of the massacre, Sasuke.. he wanted to get rid of me. I could barely reach our bedroom window, and Uhm," she paused and looked at their intertwined hands, "I'm sorry, Sasuke.. I'm so sorry. I know it's not an excuse, and I can't change what I did. I was hiding; I ran away from you and left you when you needed someone the most."
Sasuke
Sasuke took a deep breath and looked back and forth between their intertwined hands and Hana's face.
She was beautiful in his eyes.
Hanako was always beautiful.
He suddenly remembered how Itachi fought with boys in their district to keep them away from her. Hana was always unique; people liked her.
Sasuke carefully let go of one of her hands and took one of her hair strands between his thumb and index finger. He observed the dark brown that immediately reminded him of their father. It was different from his hair, but apart from that, they were similar. They had the same skin tone, a similar form of their lips, and their eyes had the same shape.
She couldn't deny their similarities- her being an Uchiha was as evident as the sun rising and setting each day.
Sasuke took another deep breath, and eventually, a tiny smile evoked on his face. "You came back. She was right."
Hana furrowed her eyebrows and wrapped her hands around his wrists. "What are you talking about?"
"The woman in the hospital, Hanako. She promised me that you would come back."
~flashback, ten years ago, Sasuke 6 years old~
Sasuke
"Who are you?" the tiny Uchiha boy shyly asked the woman in front of him.
She was beautiful, and he couldn't avert his eyes from her.
Her hair was long, but she put it in a messy bun. The first thing Sasuke noticed was her bright yellow skirt. Even though she was wearing a white doctor's coat over it, he could clearly see the bright yellow when she moved.
"You're finally awake. How do you feel?" the woman asked and pressed her flat hand against Sasuke's forehead, probably to measure his temperature.
"Good."
"Alright, Sasuke. You're in the hospital. You've been asleep for a while." the lady sat down next to him and scribbled something in her notebook.
"W-where is my sister?" he mumbled.
"She will come back to you, Sasuke. You have to be strong for yourself now. Can you do that?"
The tiny boy just stared at her, and she smiled slightly, shoving her pen into her bun. "You're a strong young man, and you gotta live and be strong, alright?"
Sasuke nodded and slowly drifted back to sleep.
~flashback end~
Hanako
Hanako stared at her baby brother with tears in her eyes. She carefully placed one of her hands on Sasuke's cheeks and stared into his black eyes.
"I'm so sorry for what I did to you, Sasuke. It all became straightforward in my mind. All the wrong choices I've made in my life, all the mistakes, I tried to push them away and ignore what I did, and I chose to run away. But.. that didn't fix anything. I could always see it clearly. I could see you clearly in front of me: every time I should have been kinder, quicker, or better, every point I should have turned back or started over; it's all there, written in the dirty sand in front of my feet. I can't erase it, can't undo or fix it. I can't go back to make things right; all I can do is go forward. And maybe this, this one thing, I can do right. I tried to gain your trust; I wanted you to like me. I want to be there for you and with you by your side."
He smiled slightly, "Hanako. Brave things are often painful. It wasn't easy for you, either. You were a kid yourself, and you woke up from deep trauma. He wanted you dead, Hana. He burned your face, leaving you with a permanent reminder. I'm not sure why we do these brave things, really, and brave things don't often look brave and maybe won't for a hundred years. But you saved yourself, and in the end, you saved me. You knew I was going to be okay."
She shook her head, "I was afraid and selfish."
"No, you were brave. You were alone. I think it's brave that you got up every morning, even if your soul was weary and your bones ached for a rest. You kept on living even though you didn't know what living was. You decided to fight, and even though I wasn't there, I'm sure you had days where you thought giving up was the easier choice. But you didn't, Hanako. You didn't. Neither did I. We Uchiha's don't give up. Ever."
Tears were streaming down her face, and Hana pressed her eyes shut.
Was that really Sasuke Uchiha in front of her? The stoic, aloof teenager who couldn't openly talk about his feelings?
"When did you grow into such a wonderful young man?"
Sasuke scooted to the edge of his chair and pulled Hana against his chest. "Please don't walk away anymore," He said strictly, but there was a pain in his voice. An inevitable pain would come back if he were to be left alone again.
Hana couldn't always promise to keep the pain away from him, but there was this one thing she was absolutely sure about.
She would never leave him again.
Suddenly a feeling of permanent relief flooded through Hanako's chest. She felt peace.
Her brother knew the truth and reacted way better than Hana had expected. Slowly she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face against the crook of his neck.
"I won't leave you, Sasuke. I promise with all I have," Hana mumbled and noticed how she unconsciously started crying.
"You don't have to cry anymore. We have each other," Sasuke reassured but didn't let go of her petite body.
"One more thing," Hanako took a deep breath and looked up at him. "Please keep this a secret for now. I don't know how to tell everyone yet."
"I promise," he said, kissing the top of her head.
~~~~
Last Update: October 13th, 22'
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