Sasuke P.O.V
I was finally back. Back in the time where I belonged, but the home that I had entered was different. It was no longer the small apartment that belonged to Naruko and me, but an unfamiliar, high-end condo on the other side of town.
It worked...but where am I...?
I had never seen this place before. The rooms were furnished with exclusive Uchiha Corp. products. The living room was large, filled with expensive appliances as it opened towards a window-made wall that allowed the view of the city lights. The walls were all colored elegant shades of gray, black, and red. But even though the colors were there, the walls were all bare, carrying no sign of life. It was a luxurious apartment, but it wasn't a home.
I walked around the living room, trying to find some sort of pictures or signs for what my future was now, but I couldn't. There were only soulless, expensive items.
When I was with Naruko, she always took pictures and hung them among the walls. It was her way of keeping a timeline of our life together. But now since she was no longer around, the walls were most likely decorated to match my personality of this timeline.
Why everything so bare...? Naori wouldn't have let this happen-
My eyes widened in shock. In this timeline, I should have been married to Naori, but I knew she hated this timeline's me. So what happened to us? There was nothing in this apartment that made it seem as if 2 people were living here.
I called out her name in a panic as I walked around the apartment, but she was nowhere to be found.
If I'm not married to Naori...then what happened? What happened to our futures...?
Fear consumed me as I thought about Naruko. I didn't know where she was or how she was doing. Things didn't turn out as I expected, and it scared me to think about the mishap of her future.
Tears slowly left my eyes as I made my way to my bedroom. The walls were bare, yet there were stacks of paper sitting on my desk. My closet was organized; filled with countless black suits and dress shoes resting neatly beneath them. Everything in my room was perfectly kept.
I wiped my tears as I walked towards my desk. I looked through the few papers desperately in hope that I could find a clue of what I had become. Numbers and graphs painted every page. Yellow sticky notes decorated my wall as they contained important contact information of Konoha's greatest companies.
I slammed my fist angrily on the wall as I realized I had become the very person my father had always wanted me to be: the heir to his company, Uchiha Corporation.
I yelled angrily, throwing the papers off my desk. The dreams I kept secretly within me stayed locked away. I was unable to deny my father of his wish and became the very son he wanted me to be. I was a coward without Naruko. I was weak.
As I ragged, a phone began to ring in the background. I turned angrily, watching the phone ring loudly on the nightstand. As my father's name appeared on the screen, my heart dropped in fear. All the anger I had disappeared in seconds.
I walked over to pick up the phone with a shaking hand. It had been years since I had spoken to my father, and I didn't know how to react. But with a deep breath, I answered the phone.
"Hello...Father..."
"Where are you?"
"What do you mean-?"
"Your mother's been pacing around the house anxiously. You were supposed to be here an hour ago, and you haven't even bothered to call."
"I'm sorry...I completely forgot-"
"How could you forget?! You promised your mother you would have dinner with us! We haven't seen you in years!"
My eyes widened in disbelief. How could I have stopped contact with them? There was no reason for me to have done that since Naruko was gone.
"You ungrateful boy! I gave you that job. I gave you that apartment! I gave you all the space you wanted, and this is how we get treated?!"
I didn't know what to say. Even before Naruko, I loved my family, so how could I have turned out so cold.
"I'm going to tell your mother you'll be here within the next two hours, and that you'll be staying the weekend."
My heart sank as I thought about returning to the estate. If I went back, there was a chance I could see both Naruko and Naori. I needed to know if Naruko was happy and if Naori was okay.
"Okay. I will be there."
"Good. I will you see you then-"
"Father?" I asked quickly before he cut the call, "Will Naori be there...?"
He stayed silent before answering. "Sasuke...I know you hated that disgraceful Uchiha, but it's not respectful to bring up the dead..."
My blood ran cold at the mention of her death.
"Why don't you visit that poor girl instead of always making fun of her. Haven't you shamed her enough?"
The call dropped, leaving me petrified. Naori's dead...?
I dropped to the floor, crying at the death of one of my good friends. What happened?! How could she have died?!
As I cried, memories of this timeline were slowly entering my mind, filling in the gaps of the last 10 years. In this new timeline, I had never met Naruko. I saved Sakura that day on the school trip, and I never went to the block party with Itachi. He didn't even mention it to this time's Sasuke, which meant I was too far gone in the Uchiha's hatred.
My mind was still processing the new memories, and according to Orochimaru, it could take about a little more than a week until the 10 years' worth of memories could be fully restored. A day for every year. When that happens, all my memories from my past timeline would be erased.
Both Naori and Naruko were gone, and I was left completely alone.
***
I stood in front of my old home in anxiousness. I hadn't been home in 10 years, and it seemed this timeline's Sasuke did the same thing, but for different reasons. My hands were sweating and my heart was pounding. I couldn't bring myself to ring the doorbell, but the door opened on its own.
"Sasuke!" My mother ran out of the house in tears and quickly held me in an embrace. "Sasuke...I missed you..."
The warmth of my mother's arms brought tears to my eyes. I hadn't felt her affection in a decade. I missed my mother.
I slowly returned the gesture, shedding a single tear. "I'm sorry..." I whispered painfully. The guilt I endured after leaving my family unexpectedly that night to be with Naruko finally began to lift from my chest. I would never take back the time I spent with my wife, but the way I left my mother had always haunted me.
"That's enough Mikoto," my father spoke, "Let the boy come inside. The food is getting cold."
She quickly wiped her tears before grabbing ahold of my hand. "Let's go Sasuke."
***
After dinner, I returned to my old room. A warm nostalgic feeling returned to me as I looked around the room. Itachi wasn't home due to his overseas work, and it seemed that my brother and I were no longer on talking terms either way.
This timeline's Sasuke was lonely. It seemed as if he had no connections to anyone but himself.
I laid back in bed, still confused with all that changed in this future. In 3 more days, I would finally find out what happened to Naori, but I still didn't know what to do about Naruko.
I grabbed my phone from my nightstand and opened every social media app that I owned. I first looked through my feed to see nothing posted and no interesting follows. It was almost as if I had no personality.
I then began to search for her name, in hopes that I could find her, but nothing appeared. I tried every username she ever owned, but the search came up empty on every social platform.
Naruko, what are you doing...
I sighed, falling back on my bed in frustration. I closed my eyes, trying desperately to fall asleep in hopes that this was all but a nightmare.
***
The next morning I woke up to the smell of my mother's cooking and another year's worth of memories. I closed my eyes sorrow, as the memories played through my mind. I hated the person I was becoming. It broke my heart to know that I was weak to the hatred my clan held.
I held my face in my hands in frustration. I was becoming a monster, and all the good I had in me was slowly leaving as the new memories replaced the old. I was beginning to forget things, but I needed to find my answers before my old memories were completely gone.
I quickly changed to have breakfast with my family. I had to find out if Naruko was truly happy, and make peace with Naori. I wanted to see them both one last time before I would completely forget about them.
"Sasuke? What's on your mind?" asked my mother.
I slowly lifted my eyes from my plate to speak to her. "I...I want to-" I couldn't bring myself to ask for the location of Naori's grave, so instead, I made up a lie. "I want to go around town today."
My parents looked at each other in surprise, unable to believe that their now cold soon would want to see the very town he left. But my mother looked back at me with a smile, as if she knew there was a change to my heart. "Have fun."
I nodded my head, stood up from the table, and headed out of the house.
***
I had spent hours walking around town. Everywhere I turned there was something new. The places Naruko and I loved to go to were no longer around. Even Ichiraku Ramen was hanging by a thread.
Finally, I had made it to the front of Naruko's apartment. I stood outside, staring at the top floor with pain in my heart. I wanted to knock. See if she was there. But how could I when I was the one that told her to stay away from me?
Everything about me was hypocritical. I wanted her to stay away from me, yet here I was finding a way to see her. I didn't want her memories to leave me, yet I did it to her first. I was a sorry excuse for both a husband and a friend, so the least I wanted to do was make sure I did all I could to make her happy, even if I'm not.
I sighed, finding the courage to walk up the steps and knock on her door. With every step I took, my legs would shake worse than the step before. My heart was racing, my palms were sweating, and the clothes I wore were suddenly too hot and uncomfortable.
I wanted to run away, but I knew I would never be able to live with myself if I made her future worse than before. I needed to make sure she was happy.
I finally reached her door, and all I could do was stare. I was unable to breathe as sweat dripped down the side of my forehead. Just knock Sasuke...Rip off the bandaid like Naruko always told you to do.
I raised my fist to knock on the door and waited for her to open the door.
What should I say when I see her? How should I act? Should I make up an excuse for being here and act as if I don't know who she is? Will she be upset to see me? I don't know what to do...
I bit my lip nervously and thought about running away, but the door opened slowly, leaving me put.
As I waited for my wife to appear in front of me, I closed my eyes in worry.
"Can I help you?"
That...that doesn't sound like her...
I slowly opened my eyes only to see an older woman living in the apartment. How-!
"I...I was looking for the previous owner of this place. Do you know where she could be?" I asked respectfully.
"The previous owner? There hasn't been anyone living here in the last eight years. I just rented this apartment a few weeks ago myself."
Eight years...? Did she leave to live with her senpai? Did they really get married?
I didn't know what to do. I wanted to cry, but I knew I shouldn't because this was what I wanted. I wanted her to be happy with her senpai as he gave her everything I couldn't.
"Sir, are you okay? You look like you're about to start crying..."
I shook my head and bowed before my elder. "I'm sorry for wasting your time..."
"It's okay...It seems this previous owner is important to you."
"She is," I replied honestly.
"Sorry I couldn't help, but I hope you find her." The woman gave me a warm smile before closing the door.
I made my way down the steps, with racing thoughts. I didn't know who to go to for help. I didn't know whether to give up and allow this new timeline to play out or restart my journey. But if I restarted the journey, it would be for my selfish love and not for her.
I walked down the street where Naruko and I once held hands happily. This is for the best...Her senpai gave her a better home and a better life, but Naori is dead...To give Naruko happiness I somehow managed to kill off Naori...What do I do...?
Should I go back and find a way to let Naori live? But I don't even know what caused her death. What if I make things worse for Naruko in the process?!
I rubbed my temples angrily. Orochimaru warned me not to change the past, but I didn't listen. He said this would happen, and I threw his words away.
As the thoughts raced through my mind, my concentration was later broken by a familiar voice: "Sasuke-kun? Is that really you?"
I turned over, angry yet relieved to see Sakura's familiar face. I wanted to walk away before she would open her mouth to ramble about my physical appearance and skill, but I stayed. I knew she was friends with both my wife and Naori. She was my only source of information.
Sakura's smiled beamed as thousands of questions left her mouth. My mind was too busy creating a plan to know what she was saying, but my eyes picked up on her unusual clothing.
She was dressed in black, holding flowers and one of Naori's favorite snacks.
"Sakura," I called, interrupting her.
"Y-yes Sasuke-kun?"
"Where are you going?"
She began to laugh awkwardly as she held the items closer to her chest. "Oh uh, I'm just visiting Naori...I didn't get to visit her on her anniversary, so I'm going today."
"Visit? But no outsider can go into the Uchiha's Cemetary."
Her smile dropped as she looked at me confused. "Naori isn't buried within the estate."
"What?"
"Yeah...you were the one that had her buried in the local cemetery..."
Buring an Uchiha outside of the estate was the worst punishment an Uchiha could ever make, and I had done that to her.
I felt the warmth of my blood leave my body, causing my skin to lose color. The guilt I felt began to hurt me physically, realizing the person I had become was truly lifeless.
"Sasuke...are you okay? You don't look good-"
"Can I come?"
"What?"
"I want to see Naori."
She looked at me strangely, hesitating to answer. "Are you sure...? I know you and Naori weren't exactly on good terms..."
"Please," I begged, "I want to see her."
***
I sat in front of her tombstone in sorrow. I placed my hand over her name unable to believe she was gone. "How long...How long were we married for...?" I asked in a daze.
"Married? You guys were never married."
I turned to her in shock, unable to process what she had said. "What?"
"Naori disappeared the day you two were supposed to get married...She's been missing for six years now. She never showed up to the wedding, and no one has been able to track her down since then...Her body has never been found, so no one really knows if she's dead or alive."
I looked back at the tombstone and back to her ins distress. "Then...Who's buried here...?"
"No one," she said with a raised eyebrow. "Sasuke-kun...did no one in the estate tell you this?"
I shook my head, in disbelief.
Now that I knew there was a chance that she may still be alive, I needed to find her and ask what happened.
When I had left Naruko, the Sasuke of their time hated Naori, so I probably found a way to disconnect myself from her. So even if I wanted to know if she was alive, I couldn't. She would have never trusted this timeline's Sasuke with anything, but maybe she would have told Naruko.
They were friends in this world, so maybe Naori trusted her with her plan to escape the Uchiha estate if there even was any.
But even if she did tell Naruko, I didn't know where she was in this new world, and that was how it should be. But I need to know they were both okay before I stayed in this future forever.
"Sakura..."
"Yes, Sasuke-kun?"
"Where's Naruko?