One of her earliest memories is the scuff of his boots as he enters into the house alongside his father. The dirt and dust that clung to his shoes drifts into her nostrils as she and her parents prostrate themselves before their new overlords who had taken over in the middle of the night.
Her parents had quickly moved her out of the village and into a little shack until everything blew over.
He crouches and she looks up to meet his gaze on reflex.
Cupid's bow lips quirk and bottomless dark eyes crinkle before he looks to his father, who has been waiting with a blank expression and crossed arms. "I was right. She's my choice."
Her mother cried for days after that and Sakura doesn't remember the moment it happened, but a tattoo was added to the back of her neck. A fan just big enough to be spotted if she'd put her hair up, so she grows it out and keeps it down.
She doesn't like the way people treat her when they know she's been marked.
They move from a small shack to an upscale neighborhood within weeks of the visit from the Uchiha.
Her father insists that it's because he found a really good client, but her mother cries any time Sakura tries to ask about it.
As she grows and goes to the Academy, she expects the Uchiha she meets to acknowledge her existence, but they look right through her as if she doesn't exist.
Especially Sasuke.
In spite of her every attempt, he blatantly and unapologetically ignores her. Even going so far as to talk to Ino, who stands next to her.
It rips her guts out to be bullied for her foreheadandsnubbed by the people who wear clothes carrying the symbol etched into the flesh of her neck with no regards to her feelings.
It feels like no one in the entire world cares about her.
xXx
At twelve, she gets her first period. Her mother insists she tell no one, not even Ino, who had stayed her friend. How could she compete with the only person who stood up for her and kept her company during lunch?
But she needs to tellsomeone,and the Uchiha show up on her family's doorstep at the end of the week.
Her mother blocks the entryway. "You can't have her."
"We had a deal, Haruno-san. Please get out of the way." Their voices drift back to Sakura from the living room where she's finishing up on homework from the Academy. She catches the glint of obsidian from over her mother's shoulder and he smiles.
Mebuki protests and screams as she's pushed aside by the older of the pair and held in place against the wall.
Trembling so hard she can't hold her pen anymore, Sakura does the only thing she was taught, abandoning her papers to hit her knees and press her forehead against the tatami. "P-please be kind to my mother!"
His footsteps approach and he crouches before her. Strong, calloused fingers gently grip her jaw and draw her upwards to meet his eye again. "You and your family will not be harmed. However, I am here for you."
Tears cloud her vision. Iruka would be yelling at her right now if he were there, but she can't help her terror at this man with unreadable intentions.
"Go and pack a bag for a few days worth of clothing and any toiletries you may need."
Numbly, she staggers to her feet and follows his instruction, returning with barely held tears.
"Thank you," He says, rising to his full height and taking her hand to tuck it into his elbow. She meets her mother's tumultuous gaze as he leads her past the threshold. "My name is Shisui. It wasn't very nice for your mother to lie to us about your development, you know?"
She's too afraid to speak, watching his profile and body language like her Sensei have taught her to.
Her life might depend on it.
The Uchiha aren't exactly known for their stability.
There were a lot of rumors about Sasuke's mom marrying his older brother but he would always deflect when asked about it.
Sasuke used to love talking about his family. His brother more than anyone else.
But now, he just stares blankly unless called upon by the teachers.
The first place Shisui takes her to is a clinic exclusively for the Uchiha. She's subjected to poking and prodding and blood tests she's too afraid to refuse.
"She's in good health!" The doctor tells Shisui, handing him their findings. "That could still change by the time she's ready, but so far so good!"
As they leave the clinic, he tucks her hand into his elbow again. People stare and whisper amongst each other. It doesn't escape her notice how much older than her he is.
"R-ready for what?" She ventures.
"There are other candidates I may choose instead. However, when you turn eighteen, I plan to take you as the mother of my children."
The words ripple and echo, twisting and turning until they don't make sense anymore. Until nothing around her makes sense.
It can't be real.
"From now on," He says, "I will be weeding out anyone I don't think is a good fit for me. I will be courting you until I've either found us incompatible or that everyone else is."
Dumbly, between panting breaths and around a wobbling bottom lip, she pleas, "I'm twelve."
"That is a long courtship, isn't it?" He wonders aloud.
His apathy to her feelings is the final straw, tears trail down her face. It's unfair.
All of this is so unfair.
She's never been to the place they go to for dinner and, looking at the menu, she doesn't think her parents could ever afford it. Unfortunately, she picks through her meal, too sick to eat. He tries to engage her in light conversation but she has nothing to say.
If this bothers Shisui, he gives no indication, merely taking her order in a to-go box.
Expecting to go home, she's overwhelmingly relieved. Surely her lack of interest is enough for him to disqualify her.
The relief turns to horror when he guides her further into the unfamiliar city and to a fancy inn. They check in and she sinks to the floor at his feet.
"She alright?" Asks the clerk.
"I guess dinner didn't agree with her," Shisui says, scooping her up and taking the key offered him before picking up their bags and walking down the hall. "Your parents didn't tell you anything, did they?"
She watches the carpet pass under his feet with a strange detachment. As if her body is no longer her own.
"You're the third girl this month. It strikes me as positively insane that they can take our money and our housing arrangements and then expect that we won't come through for our end of the deal." He unlocks the door to their room and drops the bags into the bed closest to the bathroom. "Does that make any sense to you, Sakura-chan?"
Her entire time at the Academy, Iruka-Sensei had tried to instill in her a distrust of men. Pulling girls her age aside and explaining all of the horrible, evil things that could happen out on the field.
She never thought they would happen to her.
Feeling frozen, she lets him plop her down onto the bed and feels confusion when he opens her bag and begins to dig through it. Her befuddlement increases tenfold when he hands her the pyjamas she packed. "Go put these on. I have a lot of things planned for us this weekend."
Snatching the clothes from him, she practically runs to the bathroom and locks herself inside. Chest heaving and head spinning, she gags and pukes everything she ate at dinner.
By the end of this trip, he's going to hurt her and there's nothing she can do.
If it's inevitable, go along with it,Iruka-Sensei had told like hell if you think there's a good chance of escape. Otherwise, try to compartmentalize it. Think about something else like your hobbies or your pets.
Her mind blanks when she tries to find something to focus on. It had been easy when she was practicing, but now that she needs it, it's really hard to think at all.
She shrieks in surprise at the knocking on the door. "Sakura? Are you okay?"
Hastily changing clothes, she throws it open. Their eyes meet and her bravery immediately ebbs away.
"Good," He says before retreating to the far bed. "I've checked for bed bugs and our bags are in the closet. Get some rest."
As hard as she tries, she hardly sleeps. There's too much going on and every dream is of Shisui's weight on her, breath ghosting along her neck as she fruitlessly tries to fight him off.
At breakfast, she finally finds her voice to ask, "My family made a deal with you?"
"You're young, so you probably don't remember the coup d'etat. The economy wasn't very good right afterwards and a lot of families were looking at homelessness or rough conditions in general."
"My family?"
"I don't know. I'm sorry." He takes a bite of his rice. "In any case, as one lastfuck you,to the Uchiha, our political enemy released a virus on our ranks. Many became sick and died. The women who lived were rendered infertile, cutting our numbers drastically."
"So you need more people."
"Essentially. But we need people who were never infected. The younger, the better. So we offered an incentive. Good housing and a stipend as long as they prepare their girls for us to court and procure them when they come of age."
Even as young and naive as she is, Sakura notices a particular word absent from his vocabulary every time he says something about this. "Am I going to be married to you?"
Seconds tick by as he eats his meal and she waits for him to reply.
At last, he says, "Does your food taste okay?"
"It's fine," She murmurs.
The rest of the trip is art galleries and experiencing everything the city has to offer, culminating in a night at the bay where every movement provokes the bioluminescence in the water.
Then he returns her home, untouched and stunned.
She's pulled from the Academy after that and assigned a female tutor. She's discouraged from hanging around boys and men sans her father and Sakura suspects it's to annihilate her risk of falling in love with someone else.
xXx
She doesn't hear from him until she turns sixteen and is taken to the doctor again.
He visits her once a week after that. Bringing her trinkets and flowers and stories of his time as a shinobi. As she draws closer to eighteen, she notices his gaze linger over her body more and more often but he goes out of his way not to touch her. Not even a brush of fingers or his shoulder against her own if he has to squish past her.
He doesn't appear for her birthday, but the day after when she's wrapped in wedding garb. Her makeup and hair are immaculately done and she's taken to a decorated temple.
Hands shaking as she musters a watery smile, she says, "I-I guess I passed, huh?"
"I knew it would be you the moment I saw you," He agrees as the priest goes about his rituals.
"So what now?" She tries to keep her voice low.
"Now, you come to live with me and our next assignment begins."
"And if I refuse you?"
His eyes stay locked on the old man. "We don't have to have sex as long as you're having my children."
Unable to resist, she asks, "Did no one tell you how babies are made?!"
"It's messier, but there are other ways to put my genetic material inside of you."
And with no small amount of reluctance on her parent's part, Sakura becomes an Honorary Uchiha.
Shisui scoops her up and she's paraded through the streets, back to the Uchiha Compound at the very center of the village. All of her things have been moved to what Shisui calls,her wing of the house, and she can't help but resent her parents for trading her to the devil in order to live a better life.
He settles her on her feet and vanishes out the door, leaving her completely alone on their wedding night.
The relief she feels contrasted by the stress of everything culminates in tears. Great, heaving sobs and such an intense heaviness that she cannot stand. She'd resisted and ignored his attempts at wooing her over the last fews years and is exhausted now that she's lost.
She's afraid of what's to come and doesn't know who to trust.
Night passes into morning and he still does not return, further confusing her until the door slides open.
"Good morning!" Calls a woman with umber hair and gentle eyes. "Even with your makeup smeared around from sleeping in it, you're still so pretty!"
This feels like a backhanded compliment. Still, Sakura's stomach grumbles at the sight of the food in her hands.
"My name is Izumi. I'm Shisui's wife and I run the household."
Wife.
Shisui's wife.
"If you're his wife, than what am I?" She demands, adjusting her uncomfortable yukata.
"You are his concubine. Which means you will be indulged much more than I. You even get the bigger wing, considering the reason you've been brought here."
"The... Bigger wing?"
"Aa," Izumi says. "Feel free to have a look around. The only place you and I are banned from is Shisui's study. If you have any questions or need help, you can always come to me."
"Wh-whereisShisui?"
"He's in a meeting." She replies, kneeling to set down the tray and then lying a calendar beside it. "Please be sure to notate your menstrual cycles so that we aren't using insemination practices on days it won't be effective."
"Are you..." Asks Sakura, "Are you mad at me for being here?"
"No," Full red lips quirk. "Because Shisui and I were never originally intended to be together. We're friends, you and I. Both of us part of a system we didn't choose."
With that, Shisui's proper wife rises and leaves Sakura alone with her meal.
She spends the rest of the day exploring the house. Her wing has many rooms, a fancy bathroom and its own tiny kitchen.
Shisui's part of the house only has two rooms and one is locked.
The living room has books stacked on the low table and its spacious enough that Sakura assumes Izumi does a lot of entertaining.
As she'd said, Izumi's wing has a few rooms but they all connect to a well tended garden. Music, gentle and sweet drifts through the section and Sakura's a little hurt that Shisui has returned and still hasn't come to see her.
She only so much as cracks open the door before she realizes that the man Izumi is with isnotShisui.
Dark eyes flick back towards her and her heart skips a beat as the older woman stands in one, fluid movement that belies her skill as a kunoichi, and pads over. Her shadow casts over Sakura as she shuts the door with a friendly expression.
"Something wrong?" Asks Itachi on the other side of the room.
"I accidentally left the door ajar, it seems." Her shadow and steps fade away from the shoji and Sakura is left speechless. "Have you finally decided on someone yet?"
"No..." Comes the sullen reply. "Mother hates everyone."
"You know, Shisui's girl seems reasonable. Maybe if we ask very,verynicely, she'll agree."
Sakura scrambles down the hall and away from the room before she can hear his response and smacks straight into a wall of muscle, falling onto her ass.
"Are you alright?" Shisui asks, offering his hand. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
A myriad of responses flare to Sakura's lips and all she can manage is a weak, "Why have you been trying to date me all this time if all I am to you is an incubator?!"
"Because I want us all to be a family," He says softly. "Because I want us to be more than that, even if we have a shared goal."
"That'snotmy goal!"
"What goals did you have before this?"
"I wanted to be the best medic in all of Konoha."
He gives a little shrug. "I suppose I could arrange something for you. However, you will need to be supervised while you learn and work so that there is no confusion about paternity."
Suddenly, all the times she was redirected from male friends and teachers comes in to stark clarity. "Paternity?"
"Your first two childrenmustbe from me. And if you wish to leave after that, I won't stop you. Hell, if you just want to donate the eggs, I'm sure we could work that out too. It would be more effort than how things are usually done, but you'll be handsomely compensated."
"What happens to them?"
"In effort to cleanse our bloodline, they will both go to the Main House. The first will likely become Sasuke's concubine and the second will go to the child Itachi has." At her expression, he continues, "It's not ideal and I don't like it, either. But if our blood becomes too diluted, we risk losing the Sharingan."
"Why me?" She demands, hands fisted. "Why did you choose me?!"
"Because your teachers found you alarmingly agreeable and your grades show that you excel in Genjutsu and chakra control. Both of those are necessary for the Sharingan to be mastered."
"My teachers? My grades?!"
"Girl," Shisui says, eyes becoming like sharpened flint. "Iruka was afraid you'd die on your very first genin assignment outside of the village. Being a kunoichi was never in your future."
"Shut up!" She yells at him, slapping his still hovering hand away. "Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" She climbs to her feet as her heart thunders in her ears and her breath sticks in her throat, making her lungs so full that her chest feels like it might burst from the anger roiling at the edges of her vision. "I'm more capable than you're giving me credit for!"
"You have a lot of potential," He says. "I wouldn't have chosen you, otherwise."
Unbridled rage escapes from her throat in an angry bellow and she shoves past him, storming to her side of the house, screaming her agony the entire way.
The anger ebbs into tears and she throws herself into bed, crying herself out.
xXx
Breakfast is brought by her husband this time but he doesn't smile as he sets it before her.
Sakura is too sick to eat. Too angry. Too hurt.
"I'm sorry," He says. "For what I said. I'm used to bantering with other Uchiha and they're meaner than I am."
"That wasn't banter," She tells him. "That was an attempt to dismantle my resistance so I'd be a good little incubator."
"If I'm honest, I wanted to bring you to reality quicker so that we could build something new, Sakura." He takes her hands. "Together."
She's less than amused. "A family?"
"A future. A career." He corrects. "I said I'd make sure you received the education you wanted, didn't I?"
"I'll believe it when I see it."
He nods. "Alright. I'll find you a teacher." Then, he sets something on the little tray. "Now. I need you to keep your side."
"What is that?"
"A cervical cap. You'll put this inside of you, up against your cervix, and leave it there for the next few days."
Reluctantly, she takes the silicone to the bathroom, recoiling and gagging in disgust at the fluid that brushes her fingers by accident. She dumps it down the sink, rinsing the cap with hot water before carefully inserting it inside and washing her hands. She can't come back without it, so it's better to pretend she's doing what he wants.
Coming back to the room, she gives him the hint of a smile and sits down to eat, feeling rather good about herself for a moment. She feels like she has a semblance of control over what happens to her.
"So, if it's alright, I'd like to alternate beds. A week with you and then a week with Izumi?"
"That's alright. I don't want her to feel like I stole you away."
"You're going to be here four years minimum, I'd really like to build a bond with you."
Frowning, she picks through her rice. "Stay in my room next week."
He sighs, finishing his meal and seeing himself out.
The next few days are quiet as she waits for Shisui to make good on his promise. She misses her parents and Ino.
Bored out of her mind, she meanders into the living room to find Itachi and Sasuke there.
"Go back to your room," The older Uchiha says without looking at her. "You cannot be alone with us without Izumi to supervise."
"For paternity?" She asks, nonplussed.
"For paternity," They say in unison.
"It's okay," Sing-songs Izumi as she appears in the doorway. "I'm back."
So Sakura joins them, listening to the radio and playing cards with them.
"Admittedly," Itachi says after a round or two, "Izumi says you might be amiable to having my children if I asked you nicely."
"You don't have a concubine?"
"I vied for the older Hyuuga girl, but mother feels she isn't right for me."
"Did you ask Shisui?"
"I haven't yet. I wanted to clear it with you first. We would have to keep it away from mother."
"Shouldn't be that hard," Says Izumi.
"Aren't you Head of the Clan?" Sakura asks. He should also be leader of the village. "Why is your mother telling you who you can and can't be with?"
His brow furrows but Izumi reaches over and rests her hand on his thigh, attention on Sakura. "His mom is batshit crazy and she is still the Matriarch of the family. If she's unhappy, everyone gets traumatized."
As if summoned, the door swings open. "Itachi! You have to send Naori out on the longest assignment you can find."
"Naori-san?"
Izumi stealthily creeps to the other side of the room and chucks a book in Sakura's direction before mouthing,Look busy!
Mikoto comes inside and slams the door as Sakura sticks her nose in the center of the book. Izumi has started oiling some of her equipment.
"Yes. Naori. Did you see the way she was looking at you?!"
"Mother-"
"You saw it, didn't you? Why do you attract so many slu-"
"Mother, I haven't noticed because I'm only ever looking at you."
Her anger evaporates like fresh rain on hot pavement. "Really?"
"Of course!" He stands and wraps her in a hug. The kiss they share isn't something Sakura would callchaste."Let's go take a bath together. I'll rub your back and then we'll make love. How does that sound?"
"Wait a minute..." She says as he leads her from the house just as soon as she appeared, "Have you been hanging out with those two?"
Sasuke follows, leaving Shisui's wives to sit in silence. A few minutes after the door closes, Sakura says, "So you and Itachi, huh?"
"We were engaged and set to be married shortly after the coup d'etat until the virus got Fugaku. Mikoto got it because she was taking care of him until his final breaths and she hasn't been the same since."
"How old were you?"
Putting her equipment away, Izumi heaves a sigh. "Eleven. I was going to be put on birth control and trained to be a proper wife while he prepared to take the helm as an adult. The virus ended that. I married Shisui so that I would have a way to stay close with Itachi."
"And Shisui knows?"
"He does. I came to him almost immediately with my request and he obliged me. We married shortly after I turned twelve."
Where Sakura hailed from has never been sunshine and roses. "But this is fucked up."
"It certainly has never been ideal," Agrees Izumi. "Try to be patient with Shisui. I know he can be a bit of a bastard, but he is really doing the best he can."
xXx
She's expecting him to strong arm his way into her wing and insist that it's her turn to recieve him.
So it's a surprise when he doesn't appear.
In spite of herself, curiosity gets the better of her and she goes looking for him.
The garden is beautiful. A culmination of someone's blood, sweat and tears. She isn't able to really parse theme or intention, but there are so many colors and varieties that she could look out over it for hours and still find something new.
Hesitantly, she sits beside Shisui.
"I found a teacher for you," He says at long last.
"Thank you," She says quietly. "Izumi and Itachi are asking-"
"I know," He says with a strange sense of finality.
She expects him to continue or elaborate but he leaves his response hanging in the air like mist.
"You don't want me to."
"I think he should continue with the Hyuuga girl and ignore his mother's tantrums."
"Why doesn't she come stay in my wing and have his baby here? He might feel more at ease and he'll have more time to see Izumi."
He crosses his arms. "We aren't typically allowed more than one concubine, but I may be able to bend the rules."
"You'retheBody Flicker," She says. "Everyone knows the Uchiha wouldn't be where they are now without you."
His brow quirks incrementally. "Now you're buttering me up, ah? Are you about to ask me for something else?"
Sakura shakes her head. She wants to see her family but that will have to wait.
As angry as she is with him, she can't help but wonder if he feels lonely. After all, his wife of twelve years is only for appearances.
How selfless he must be not to intervene or get jealous.
Across the garden, a pair of shadows move on the other side of decorative shoji and Shisui stands. "Expect your teacher to be by in the morning. I'm going to inquire about taking Hinata as a second concubine and I'll let you know how it goes."
As expected, a new Sensei shows up on her doorstep bright and early and she begins a new routine of learning all she can soak up and making friends with Izumi.
On the third night, she's woken to the smell of sake and the feeling of Shisui's broad frame climbing into her bed. His limbs tangle with hers and he nuzzles into the crook of her neck. Normally, she'd yell at him and kick him out, but the way he clings makes her feel like he might need her company so she tries to relax.
Muscular arms gently squeeze at her waist as he slurs. "I'm sorry."
"Hm?" She asks. He could be talking about anything, so she tries not to grasp on to the paltry offering too tightly.
"I never wanted any of this to happen." The squeezing turns to squishing and she can tell he's on the verge of an emotional outburst.
She pats him. "Get some rest, Shisui. You'll feel better in the morning."
"I've wanted you the very moment I saw you in your wedding garb" He tells her, lips brushing against her neck. "White and unsullied by anyone or anything. Uncorrupted. Unlike me."
"I don't know why you don't leave," She tells him. "Isn't it unfair to yourself to stay if you're unhappy?"
"That would put Izumi and Itachi in a bind. I don't want to leave them and Sasuke without support. I promised."
xXx
Hinata hasn't stopped crying since Shisui brought her home. As opposed to their original plan, he moves her into Izumi's wing.
Itachi cannot stay for extended periods without instigating the nosiness of his mother, but when he is around, Sakura notices the new arrival seems a lot more upset.
Hanabi is announced as the Hyuuga Matriarch only days later.
"That's so cruel," Sakura tells Shisui as they watch the ceremony together from the comfort of their living room. It's being aired everywhere as a historical event. Hinata hasn't come out of her room at all today and she doesn't think the Hyuuga girl will. "Why would they do this?"
"I guess they didn't think Hinata has what it takes to lead."
"Messed up."
"I agree." He replies before he looks around for Izumi. "Hey! Go take the girl her lunch, will you?"
Within the next month, Hinata is confirmed to be pregnant.
Itachi and Izumi are elated, taking Shisui's second concubine out somewhere on a nice little trip while Mikoto thinks Itachi is on a Very Important Meeting with other Kage.
Shisui's been spending a lot of time staring out at the garden.
Sitting beside him, Sakura tugs at a loose hangnail. "You seem pretty bummed."
"While I willalwaysput Itachi and Sasuke above my own well being, I'm starting to feel a little disappointed. You've been here a month and a half and a lifetime of work and yet Hinata is with child after a few weeks of serving the household."
Admittedly, she's been washing out the cervical cups and her Sensei had explained to her that there was only a twenty percent chance of this technique working in any case.
"I don't think it's consensual," Sakura tells him.
Propping his chin on his palm with his elbow on his knee, he sighs. "I just feel like, no matter what, I'm always destined for the short end of the stick."
Feeling guilty, Sakura rubs her arms. "Well, the cup hasn't worked. Do you want to have sex?"
He shakes his head. "No. I can tell you're just not that into me."
In a different life, Sakura would be all over Shisui. He's brilliant and handsome. His name sets knees to trembling and lesser men to running.
Just not like this.
Then again, the sooner she gets this over with, the earlier she can go home.
It dawns on her that he's always intended for Izumi to raise his children.
"That's not it," She says. "I think that we might've been talking past each other."
"Oh?" He asks.
Easing up onto trembling legs, she takes his hands. "You're gorgeous and funny, Shisui. I'm lucky to have you as the father of my children. All of this has been extremely overwhelming and a lot to adjust to."
Gently, he guides her to sit beside him again. "Nah, Sakura. I don't really like to be pitied. I just need some time to throw myself a little pity party before I go back to ass kicking."
"I mean it!" She tells him. "I'm serious. I wasn't ready before but I am now."
He tucks her under his arm and she shivers, prompting him to pull away all over again. "Why don't you go get some rest? Your teacher is going to be here bright and early."
"Then we should hurry up and get to bed."
Slowly, he gets up and follows her inside to her wing. She tries to pretend that they're in a different circumstance. A story she tells herself that they've been together for years and she's now ready to give him her virginity. She can hear the shuffling of clothes behind her and his arm snakes along her waist.
His skin is warm against her back and bottom and she swallows thickly at the knowledge of what's to come.
Shisui's large hand skims up and down her body, tenderly exploring her as she stands frozen.
xXx
At the height of her pregnancy, Sakura becomes Head of the Hospital. Absorbing the lessons bestowed upon her like a dry sponge in the desert finally receiving rain.
Shisui dotes on and shows her off at every opportunity with pride. She and Hinata have formed a tentative friendship over these last eight months.
Mikoto is far from pleased that Itachi went behind her back, but the idea of a new baby quells her.
As they discuss Hinata's due date, Shisui's hand gently comes to rest on the small of her back and they share a look. His gaze is full of tender warmth.
It wasn't immediate and Sakura has been gathering money in a shoebox to convince him to run away with her and start a new life in a new country...
But little by little, the love he'd planted in her sour soil has begun to bloom.
She isn't ready to admit it yet, but she's in love with Uchiha Shisui.