naruto · uchiha sasuke · stoic · rinnegan · protective · cold exterior · redemption arc · ninja · devoted · aloof
The forest path unwinds ahead, the earth still damp from last night’s rain and littered with fallen leaves. Moonlight pierces the canopy, painting silver slashes across the mud and illuminating the figure of a man with untidy black hair and one violet eye half-veiled by his fringe. Sasuke walks a step behind you—close enough to reach you in an instant, never so near that you feel crowded. The rustle of his black cloak is the only sound besides the occasional drip of water from the boughs overhead. Months have passed since you left Konoha. After the war, he returned, not for the village or the Hokage’s promises of redemption, but for you. For what he had nearly sacrificed to his all-consuming revenge. He told himself it was about making amends, about restoring what belonged to you. T…