Chapter Text
The hokage monument is finally complete, and Shikako has to say, she's rather impressed. It's one thing to see a cliff with a series of massive stone faces carved into it, it's quite another to stand atop it and watch your friends and neighbors chip away at the stone with hammers and chisels and earth jutsu. It feels more real now, she supposes, like the war really is over and she won't need to fear for her life for a long, long time- which is stupid because she's a ninja and death is always a possibility, even if it's from something as simple as a misthrown kunai or a malformed ninjutsu.
Also the date of Madara's possible defection is coming up, but that's neither here nor there. Although, when Shikako thinks about it, Madara always has Sasuke in the case that Izuna still manages to die before the next three years are out. That should keep him from going nuts and enslaving the bijuu to kill everyone in his path and then later planning on trapping the world in a moon-based genjutsu, right? Or was that Tobi's plan? Will there be a Tobi this time around without a Madara to shape him?
As Sasuke steps up behind her and lays a concerned hand on her shoulder, she closes her eyes, lets out a shuddering breath, and tries not to think about it.
"I brought lunch," her partner says awkwardly, eyes shifting from her face to the village below and back again. "Er, unless you were thinking of seeing what food the Akimichi brought back with them? They're not quite done yet with building their compound yet, but I'm pretty sure the restaurants were the first things to go up after the clan head's home."
Shaking the cobwebs fro her mind, Shikako turns to Sasuke with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Onigiri is just fine, thanks. It'd be kinda dumb to go running down the mountain for those delicious Akimichi barbeque ribs when we have food right here." The Uchiha boy squints at her suspiciously. "Seriously, it's fine. It's not like we haven't had Akimichi cooking in twelve years or something."
"...Damn it, now I want some."
*
The thoughts come back as they're walking home from the Akimichi compound, still licking barbeque sauce from their fingers. The path they're on is familiar, for all that the dirt hasn't even had time to be properly packed down yet, and Shikako can't help but remember that in a hundred year's time, it would've passed by the training grounds and memorial stone.
Would that stone have fewer names on it, in the future, or more now that she and Sasuke are here?
Perhaps sensing her mood, her partner bumps her shoulder playfully, giving her a sharp smirk. "Not-It on having to tell your mom that we never ate those rice balls she made."
She twitches at that before shooting Sasuke a glare. "Hey, you were the one who wanted barbeque, not me! I was all set for onigiri but nooo, you had to have meat instead. Turning down the food my mom made with her own two hands for some out-clanner's mass-produced restaurant food, for shame!"
He quirks an eye brow and makes a show of thinking about it before shaking his head. "Nope, the power of Not-It is too strong. Still your problem." The kunoichi huffs but makes no effort to hide her smile. It's nice to be able to make jokes like these again and not have to worry about Pein or the Akatsuki or, kami forbid it, Sasuke's psychotic clan-killer of an older brother. She's had enough of worrying about the literal end of the world, thanks.
Now she just gets to worry about Sasuke's other psychotic older brother.
The smile drops from Shikako's face at the unwelcome reminder and her expression sours to the point that her partner turns and looks at her with concern in his eyes.
"Shikako? Is something wrong?"
"We're gonna die here, aren't we?" Damn it. Fuck, she did not mean for that to slip out.
Sasuke stops in his tracks and shoots her a sharp look, eyes spinning to life in a blur of red and black. "What." he grits out, gaze flickering over her as if she's about to start spontaneously bleeding.
She sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose to ward off the headache that this conversation will undoubtedly prove to be- if there's one thing that being stuck in the Warring Clans era has proved to her, it's that her partner can be just as stubborn as she is when it comes to things like the health and safety of their loved ones. Discussing their possible deaths? Yeah no, this isn't going to go over well.
"I suppose it's too much to hope for to ask you to drop it?"
"Yes. Start talking." Right. She expected that but ugh, she doesn't like this.
"Fine. But not here, okay?" A hand grasps her upper arm with a bruising grip and in burst of speed, the pair shunshin away.
*
The two teens land in the clearing where the memorial stone would be in a puff of dust, sending Shikako into a coughing fit. Waving a hand to clear the air in front of her streaming eyes, she does her best to glare, croaking out “ We could have just walked you know!”
Sasuke just rolls his eyes, looking profoundly unimpressed, before dropping down to sit on the bare earth, staring at her expectantly. Shikako runs a hand over her face, trying to marshal her thoughts into something that won’t have her partner panicking or furious with her yet again, and settles down into the dirt to join him.
“What do you remember about the founding of Konoha from our history classes at the academy?” A flicker of confusion passes through the Uchiha’s eyes but he shrugs, game enough to answer.
“Just the basics. The Uchiha and Senju were at war with each other because of some offense or another that was lost to history, with Uchiha facing heavier and heavier losses with each battle. Then a really harsh winter hit, the Uchiha were hungry enough to launch one last desperate hit on the Senju to try and get at their food supply, Izuna died, and Madara figured it wasn’t worth it anymore and agreed to peace. I think there was something about Hashirama insisting on meeting on neutral land so they had peace talks while floating on a boat in the Naka river? But that might just be a myth.”
Shikako fidgets with the hem of her shirt, folding it into little bunches as she tries not to meet Sasuke’s eyes. “Yeah. That’s mostly right, although you forgot to mention it was Tobirama who killed Izuna. There were a few other bits too, like how the Senju had near unlimited food because of the mokuton or how the Uchiha had-” Sasuke’s fingers close around hers, forcing them still as she slowly raises her head to meet his gaze. Her gut plummets at the careful patience on his face and the worry that lurks at the corner of his mouth.
“Shikako.” Nothing for it, then.
“Izuna is alive.” The concern changes out for confusion and his grip loosens just enough for her to pull her hands away, settling them on her bent knees. “Sasuke, Izuna is alive. No dead Izuna means that Madara and Hashirama were more willing to talk things out, which means the village was founded early. By three years! That’s three extra years to establish our power and set up trade routes before the next village is supposed to form. And, and in our textbooks, the Nara weren’t supposed to join Konoha until after the Akimichi and Yamanaka did, but here we were one of the first because of our alliance with the Uchiha! And don’t even get me started on Madara.” Her knuckles go white as her fingers clench down on her knees.
“Konoha is going to be stronger than ever before, fewer people have died, Madara isn’t crazy, the Uchiha aren’t pariahs so no massacre- everything is better. But- but for us…”
Sasuke’s hands settle upon hers, gently prying them free until he’s holding them again, just loosely enough so she could escape if she really wanted to. “Shikako. Breathe. What about us?” A few trembling breaths and she leans forward, resting her forehead on his shoulder.
“I won’t be able to get us home this time.” She feels the shoulder under her goes tense and she blinks back tears, failure burning hot in her throat. “It’s, it’s too different. Sasuke, we’ve changed history! Forever! There's no seal that will transport us back to their original bodies if we don’t know if we’ll even ever get born. There's a very real chance we will die before we ever see our Konoha again.” Her fingers are definitely leaving bruises on his by now but Sasuke makes no move to stop her from crushing his hands, which only makes Shikako feel worse.
“Sasuke, we are going to die here, be it by Madara's hand or by natural causes, and I can’t stop it.” A silent I’m sorry hangs between them and guilt squirms through her, making her shudder. For all that the situation is horrible, she can’t help the relief she feels that she won’t die alone. It makes her feel sick.
The silence stretches a moment longer before a warm sigh gusts across her ear and Sasuke’s grip tightens on her hands. “I suspected as much.” Shikako nearly headbutts her partner in her rush to pull back and stare at him, taking in his downcast eyes, bowed head, and forced smile. Sasuke scoffs a little at her expression of shock, a moment of forced levity despite their grief.
“Don’t be so surprised. It's not like our history books back at the academy ever mentioned the famed Uchiha founder having an extra brother. I think I’d know if I’d found my name in one, right? And even if I wasn’t, the Uchiha were notorious for being anal about keeping good records- there’s a reason the police station had so much paperwork in it, you know. The sharingan is good for more than just battle, even if that’s its most common use.”
Shikako just shakes her head slowly, brain still playing catch-up at Sasuke’s sudden acceptance. “I had no idea.” He tries to quirk a bitter smile at her for that, but it comes out as more of a grimace.
“Yeah. It isn’t a clan secret or anything, but, well. Yeah.” Another sigh and her heart throbs as her friend wilts inwards, pulling his hands free and wrapping his arms tight around himself in some semblance of a hug. His dark eyes glisten with unshed tears. “If I had existed before, then it should have come up in his family texts if nowhere else. This is a separate timeline. Even if we stay alive long enough to see Kakashi-sensei and Naruto born again, they. They won’t be our Kakashi and N-naruto. And that’s. You know. A-assuming they’ll b-be born at all.” His voice cracks on the last word, sending fault lines through her chest.
If there will ever be a bright-grinned Uzumaki or a lackadaisical Hatake or a loving deer-boy twin, it won't be their friends but familiar strangers staring back. She can practically see the moment Sasuke’s heart shatters in his breast as he falls forward into her arms, sobbing brokenly. He makes a low noise like a dying cow and then she’s crying too, great gasping sobs that shudder through her body and shake her to her core.
They will die here. And now, spoken aloud, that thought has become real. They wish it hadn't. They grieve.