AFTER DARK | naruto

20 | the hidden sand

The journey from the Leaf to the Sand was just as long as you thought it'd be, and after just sneaking out of the hospital, you were having some trouble. On the first day, it rained, so hard that you had to take a break under a large tree to shield yourself from most of it. Usually, you wouldn't worry about rain seeing your body temperature was usually hot enough to keep you from getting sick, but you decided to sit and wait.

"Are you cold?" Shisui asked, standing directly under the rain that phased through him.

"No, I'm alright." You answered, looking up at him. "... I'm just a little tired." Shisui nodded, moving so he could sit next to you, though it wasn't like he felt anything as he sat. He was looking around himself before he spoke.

"... I liked the rain," Shisui admitted suddenly. "The smell of it, and the calm feeling of it when it was only a light rain." You looked over at him, there was a smile on his face.

"... Maybe this is a personal question, but why'd you stay?" You asked.

He looked back at you, repeating your question. "Stay? What do you mean?"

"Ghosts only stay here in the land of the living because there's something they had holding them back." You explained, looking back out at the heavy rain. "I know you're an Uchiha, so... Maybe you don't want to answer."

Shisui was silent before he chuckled, "I had a friend. I entrusted him with a lot of things. For the most part, I stayed behind to see him grow and how he did with my request." He answered. "But.. it didn't go how I hoped it would, that's all." What had made him stay didn't come true, and he was stuck as a result—because something was holding him back. Kushina and Minato stayed because they wanted to be there to see their child grow up. But unlike those two, Shisui didn't have anyone to speak with for who knows how long.

"... Being a ghost must be pretty boring, huh?" You mumbled, as far as you were aware, ghosts only had two senses, sight, and hearing.

"For the most part. But you know, floating is pretty fun." He answered, not noticing how your Poltigan activated and the hand you hovered over him—you poured a whole lot of your chakra into him, enough to make him fully solid for a while. He hadn't noticed much at first, but you called his name, making him look at you. He stared at you, and you stared at him. Silent before you suddenly punched him. His head was thrown back, a hand coming up to his face as he cried out in pain. "What was that for?"

"So ghosts can feel pain after I use this jutsu..." You observed before apologizing.

"Hitting me square in the face will obviously be painful..." He hissed, rubbing at his hurt nose. But his expression eased up, "... Hey, I did feel it...! The [Lastname]s really are something." He said, suddenly hyper-aware of the fingers on his nose, and in a second, he was on his feet. "You said you were tired, right? I have an idea." Shisui ended up giving you a piggyback ride, and despite your added weight, he was very fast.

On the second day, Shisui slept, a lot. Ghosts didn't fall asleep, but now that he had some sort of sense of life again, he was tired. He still woke up a little bit before you—and it hit him how hungry he was. The more progress the two of you made toward the leaf, the more he would tell you about his cravings. Most of which had to do with dango, you told him to wait until you got to the Sand. Though, neither of you had money, paying for a meal would prove difficult. You realized now you should've brought something to eat, even though Sasuke had spoiled your appetite, the hunger was hitting you hard now.

On the third and final day, the two of you got stuck in a sandstorm. You sat in a cave, waiting it out while Shisui stood just outside of the area you kept shelter in. It was strong, but he enjoyed it. He was learning to appreciate even the smallest of things. In this case, big things, he was about to be blown away.