Chapter Text
Sasuke Uchiha was sitting at his family's dining table, slowly eating a plate of mildly warm shakshuka. His elder, and only, brother sat across from him, mindlessly swiping through random instagram stories that didn’t interest him much.
Sasuke stood up, placing his dirty plate by the sink for someone to clean up later. Most likely it’d be his mother. His father wandered into the kitchen and dining area, the boys’ mother in hand.
He cleared his throat before speaking. “Boys,” he began, his voice softer than usual. That never meant anything good. “Me and your mother have decided that we’re all going to shift.”
“Shift?” Sasuke asked, his voice monotone with confusion. “Like, switch rooms? I dibs the guest one downstairs with the large closet.”
Itachi let a soft chuckle leave his lips. “Shifting means moving. We’re moving houses.”
“Oh,” Sasuke said softly, nodding. He paused for a moment before the sentence really made sense in his head. “Oh!?” His brows furrowed in frustration. “Why?”
His mother stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Me and your dad were thinking and we thought it’d be a good idea. You know we own another house, you lived there when you were a baby, remember?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t.”
His mother sighed. “Well we did, and you loved it. It’s just by that international catholic school, the one with all the dorms,” Sasuke nodded. He knew what school she was talking about, everybody did. “You know how much it would mean to me and your father if you went to catholic school, baby.”
“Itachi went to the catholic school just down the street, what’s wrong with that?” Sasuke rightfully asked.
She pulled a strange, almost judgmental face. “That place was weird.”
The two brothers shared a look of ‘what?’ Before Sasuke turned back to face his mother. “Alright.” He replied, mentally defeated. He had always had a weak spot for his mother, and another for his faith. Worship meant a lot to Sasuke, because he felt like it was his reason to be alive. To live by the commandments of God and join his family and friends in heaven. That’s why he was doing all this ‘living’ stuff.
And that’s how he found himself standing outside of a large house he had no memories of. Itachi came up behind him, pointing to a large glass window in the top left corner of the house. “That was your bedroom, and mine was just behind it.” Sasuke smiled. A real smile, the type that makes you feel kinda stupid for a moment. “Cool.”
The house was nice. Of course it was. Sasuke would be stupid for thinking his parents would settle for anything else. The carpet felt plush under his feet, it was almost impossible to think that nobody had lived in it for 13 years. He placed his moving caddy of boxes against the wall. The large windows cast a warm glow of the sun outside.
Sasuke ran down the stairs to join his family on the bottom floor. His brother and mother sat on the carpet of what was soon to be their living room. He caught Itachi in the middle of his sentence. “-Yeah there’s a baseball team that plays at the field down there,” he cocked his head backwards, signalling a direction. “They’re called the Akatsuki or something like that. I might try out.”
A cheesy smile appeared on his mothers face. “Oh look at my little baby,” she reached out to squeeze Itachi’s puffy cheek. “Making mama so proud by playing baseball.”
He groaned with a playful roll of his eyes. “On second thought, nevermind.” Sasuke giggled at his response.
Their dad came through the door, holding their last box, labeled ‘kitchen decor FRAGILE’. He sighed as he placed the box down. “That’s us,” His voice was tinted with a hint of relief. He clapped his hands together. “Dinner?”
The entire family replied with their own version of an enthusiastic yes. Sasuke's mother suggested they walk around town for a place to eat to ‘See if anything’s changed.’
Every few steps Itachi would gently squeeze Sasuke’s shoulder, spitting out some story from when they were children. Sasuke giggled along even though he had no memories of these.
Sasuke’s mother let out an excited ‘ooo’ as she stumbled upon a small wooden restaurant sitting on the corner of one of the main roads. The sign read in big white letters ‘Konohas finest’ and smaller red letters down below it said ‘Japanese German fusion’. She looked at her sons and husband, a large smile on her face. “Japanese and German food, how fun, right?”
“Mhm… fun,” The boys’ dad replied. “C’mon then.” He ushered them over to a large booth in the back where Sasuke got smooshed against the stark green wall.
The front counter was large and made of dark stained wood. A large till sat in the middle surrounded by a tip jar and containers of disposable utensils. A woman with dark red hair walked out from the kitchen door. Sasuke’s mothers eyes lit up. “Kushina?” She called out. The woman looked up, her eyes widening. “Mikoto? Well I’ll be damned.”
The woman, now known as Kushina, jogged over to their booth. “What are you and Fugaku doing here?” She asked. “We decided to move back. We wanted our little Sasuke to go to school around here and, by the sounds of it, our little Itachi might be enrolling in the college around here and trying out for a baseball team.” Mikoto replied with a smile and wink in Itachi’s direction. “Oh how nice,” Kushina turned to the elder brother as well. “Look at how big you’ve grown.”
Itachi’s cheeks flushed an embarrassed cherry colour. “Mhm…” He mumbled under his breath. “Sasukes big now too.” He said to deflect attention off of himself. Kushina let out a dramatic gasp. The kind of gasp people let out when they see a fresh kitten or puppy. “You’re right, he is a lot bigger now.”
Dinner progressed with no more nostalgia driven interruptions. Fugaku suggested Sasuke say grace over their meals before they began to eat.
Sasuke felt that familiar push on his chest that he felt every time he prayed. Like a comforting hand pressing firmly on the middle of chest, directly over his heart. “Thank the Lord for this food, our daily bread,” he began. “Let this be a new chapter in our lives. May my high school years go well and may Itachi’s new baseball team win every game this season. Amen.”
The minute everyone unlocked their hands Itachi didn’t miss the chance to speak up, as always. “I’m not even on the team yet, they don’t even know me-” Mikoto butted in before her eldest son could finish speaking. “Uhm, you might have some childhood friends of yours on that team. You had a lot of athletic friends growing up.” He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever.”
Dinner continued without any interruptions. Sasuke had some sort of dumplings that came served with a ginger sauce. The family walked back home the exact same way they had come. As soon as the large front door shut behind them Fugaku raised his left hand. “To new beginnings.”
His sons and wife agreed.
“To new beginnings.”