Chapter 15 – "Rain on the Window"
The rain hadn't stopped since yesterday.
It whispered against the glass, soft and relentless, as if the sky itself was trying to wash away the battle's blood and smoke.
The faint smell of antiseptic filled the air. The rhythmic ticking of the clock was the only other sound, steady and unfeeling.
Naruto stirred first. His eyelids felt heavy, like they were made of stone, but the dull ache in his body reminded him he was still alive. He blinked twice, adjusting to the sterile light filtering through the curtains.
His head turned slightly. Sasuke sat up in the bed next to him, one leg over the side, staring silently out the window.
There was something… off.
Not the usual "Sasuke being broody" off.
No, this was different.
The way his shoulders were tensed, the way his gaze wasn't quite on the rain but past it, somewhere far away… it made Naruto's chest tighten.
"…Oi," Naruto's voice came out hoarse. "You're up early."
Sasuke didn't turn. "I couldn't sleep."
A silence stretched between them.
Naruto shifted in bed, feeling the tug of bandages across his ribs. He opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated. There was this strange weight inside him — a pull, like the edge of a memory brushing against his mind.
He tried to grab it.
Flashes — blinding light, a battlefield that wasn't this battlefield, a man whose face was both familiar and unknown.
A warmth.
A betrayal.
And then… nothing.
The more he tried to remember, the more his temples throbbed.
Sasuke finally spoke. "You… remember?"
Naruto froze. "…What?"
Sasuke's head tilted slightly, but he still didn't look at him. "That place. That fight. Before…" His voice trailed off, his eyes narrowing, as if even saying it made the gaps in his own mind throb. "Never mind."
Naruto let out a quiet, humorless laugh. "Feels like… I should remember. But it's like there's this hole in my head. I can see right up to the moment before, but… after? It's gone."
Sasuke's hand tightened on the windowsill. His Mangekyō Sharingan flickered briefly — unintentional, like a reflex. The tomoe-pattern burned red against his dark eyes before fading.
Naruto caught the glimpse and frowned.
"…Since when could you—?"
"Since the Valley of the End," Sasuke cut in. His tone made it clear: he didn't want to explain. Not yet.
The air between them thickened, charged with unspoken things.
Outside, the rain kept falling.
---
Meanwhile – Hokage's Office
Tsunade stood by the window, arms folded, watching the downpour blur the village streets below. She'd been listening without interrupting as Kakashi reported.
"…They woke up this morning," Kakashi said, his usual laid-back tone replaced with something quieter, heavier. "Physically fine, but their behavior…" He trailed off, his single visible eye narrowing slightly. "It's not just exhaustion."
Tsunade didn't turn around. "Explain."
Kakashi's hands went into his pockets. "Sasuke awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. I checked twice — it's the real thing. And Naruto…" He exhaled slowly. "Naruto's eyes are… different. Golden, with a pattern I've never seen before. I did some digging — there's no record of a dojutsu like his in Konoha's archives. Not even among Byakugan mutations."
Tsunade finally looked at him, brow furrowed. "Golden Byakugan, huh? If it is a Byakugan variant, it could be a mutation… or a bloodline we've long lost to history."
"It awakened at the same time Sasuke's did," Kakashi said. "Right after their fight at the Valley of the End."
The Hokage turned back to the rain. "The Uchiha awakening Mangekyō at a young age isn't impossible. Traumatic loss can trigger it. But for it to happen in the middle of a fight, with no obvious trigger event?"
Kakashi nodded slightly. "And for Naruto to awaken a dojutsu in the same moment…" He trailed off. "Feels too connected to be coincidence."
Tsunade's lips pressed into a thin line. "You think the Valley fight caused it?"
"I think something happened there," Kakashi replied. "Something neither of them is talking about. Or maybe they can't."
The room was silent for a moment, save for the rain.
Tsunade spoke again, her voice lower. "The Mangekyō requires intense emotional upheaval. If Naruto's dojutsu has a similar requirement… maybe it's the same. An emotional catalyst." She narrowed her eyes. "If that's true, what the hell happened out there?"
Kakashi gave a small shrug. "That's what worries me."
---
Back in the Hospital
Naruto sat with his knees pulled up, chin resting on his arms. The steady drip of the IV beside him matched the rhythm of the rain.
Sasuke was still by the window. His reflection in the glass looked… older. Tired.
Naruto finally broke the silence. "…Feels weird, doesn't it?"
"What does?" Sasuke asked, not looking away.
"This. Being here. Talking like this. Like… we've done it before." Naruto frowned, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't mean just now, I mean—"
"I know what you mean," Sasuke interrupted.
Their eyes met for the first time that morning.
And for a moment, both felt it — a shiver of recognition deeper than memory, older than the bodies they wore now.
Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but his breath caught.
He heard it again.
A voice.
Low, calm, with a weight that pulled at something inside him.
"…Naruto. Sasuke."
The tone was strange — like the voice was both smiling and grieving at once.
Naruto's hands clenched into fists. "…You hear that?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "…Yeah."
The voice faded as quickly as it came, leaving behind only the sound of rain.
Naruto leaned back against the pillow, exhaling. "…Man. This is way too creepy for a hospital room."
Sasuke didn't respond. But his gaze lingered on Naruto for a moment longer before he turned back to the rain.
---
Hokage's Office – Closing Beat
Kakashi adjusted his mask, finishing his report. "For now, I'll keep this quiet. Dojutsu are… personal. And they've both got enough eyes on them already."
Tsunade nodded. "Agreed. The less the village speculates, the better. But keep watching them, Kakashi. If their powers awakened together, they might grow together too — and we don't know where that leads."
Kakashi's voice was quiet. "…Understood."
The rain outside kept falling.
Neither of them noticed how, for just a second, the clouds seemed to shift — as if something far above was listening.
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[End of Chapter 15]
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