Just Imagine

Chapter 8

Third person pov 

Sasuke cowered under his father's sharp, Sharingan gaze. The family of four was gathered in the lounge area of their home, and Itachi had just finished calmly explaining what had happened to their mother and father. Itachi was accepting of Sasuke's imaginary friend: he was his kid brother. Key word being 'kid'. It should be okay to have an imaginary friend at that age. Itachi hadn't himself, but surely a few of his classmates had had them. Itachi just wished his father saw it the same way.

Mikoto took Itachi's words alright. She wasn't happy, but she wasn't upset either. It's not like Sasuke attacked the Yamanaka. How could he? He was unconscious, after all. It had to have been a coincidence. Fugaku, however... well, he was an entirely different story. His usually cold, calm face had been replaced with a look of rage. It was terrifying, especially for a child. Even Itachi felt intimidated. 

"What did I tell you?! Only children have imaginary friends, Sasuke!" The man boomed, even though Sasuke was a child, and not even in the academy yet. Sasuke flinched at his father's loud tone, but still gathered up enough courage to glare. "She is real. She is." The young Uchiha said firmly and without doubt. Fugaku felt a fresh wave of anger, annoyance and frustration crash down on him. 

"This girl you see in your dreams; she is not real. Get that through your head." Fugaku hissed irritably. "She's as real as you and I." Sasuke said hotly. "No. She. Is. Not!" Fugaku's fists clenched, the three commas of his Sharingan spinning rapidly. "He's a child, Fugaku. Let him be. It's just a phase." Mikoto said quietly, staring at Sasuke with sad eyes. "He's also an Uchiha." Fugaku snapped, not bothering to turn and look at her. 

"Well, I wish I wasn't." Sasuke's tone was heavy with sadness and anger. Itachi felt pity well up inside of him as he stared at his younger brother. Mikoto looked away, clearly on the verge of tears. She didn't like this: all this fighting. Fugaku's glare sharpened, his Sharingan spinning at a slightly slower pace. Fugaku rarely turned his Sharingan on, especially in front of his family. He only brought it out at home when he was very mad, and it wasn't often that he lost his cool. This was one of those rare, horrifying moments, the rest of the family supposed. 

"Sasuke, go to your room." Fugaku demanded, arms folded over his chest. Sasuke opened his mouth to say something but quickly shut it again, thinking it better not to speak. He didn't want to wind up his father again. So with no further hesitation, he hopped up off his spot on the ground and darted for the stairs, nearly falling multiple times as he scrambled up them. He wanted to cry. He wanted to sob and scream with frustration because nobody believed him, but he didn't. He had to be strong, if not for himself then for Ima. 

Once Sasuke had slammed his door shut, he rushed for his bed. He felt exhausted, and that made him happy. He'd never been so excited about being tired before! He could see Ima now, and tell her all about how well Fluffy protected his memories. He could tell her how he'd defended her against his father despite his scary yelling. Sasuke could practically see the bright, beautiful smile that would stretch across her face as he told the story! Oh, he couldn't wait. 

Sasuke hopped into bed and tried his best to fall asleep. He was just so excited, and that made it even harder to keep still and to relax. Nonetheless, he forced himself to breathe slower, and to go slack. He didn't know when his father would come to yell at him more, but surely it'd be today. If he wanted to see Ima more, he'd have to go now. That was his goal, and with it in mind, he eventually did drift off. 

~

"Really? He screamed?" Ima asked with a bright smile, her eyes dancing with amusement at the story. "Like a girl." Sasuke said in a proud tone. Ima laughed, grinning widely at Sasuke. She was so glad he was here, and that he hadn't forgotten. "I'm so happy it worked! But Sasuke... I just- I can't help but feel it's my fault that you're in this situation. No, it is my fault." She sighed, a smile vanishing. A frown replaced it. She didn't want to bother anyone, especially not Sasuke. But it felt like that's all she was doing. 

Sasuke placed his hand on top of her, blushing slightly. He cleared his throat. "I wish I could just stay here forever, Ima. Just you and me! But that can't happen, but I'm so glad you imagined that I would come here." Sasuke said, his eyes trained on the ground. He blushed harder with each word. Ima brightened, leaning over and hugging the boy. Her eyes closed, and she let herself relax slightly. "Thank you so much, Sasuke." She said. 

Sasuke grinned happily and hugged her back, both of them pulling away after a bit. "So, more training?" Sasuke asked, wondering what they'd practice today, if anything at all. Watching Ima learn to control her unique power was very fun, and very interesting. "More training." She nodded in confirmation. Sasuke hopped off the bed, offering her a hand. "Well, come on then!" He urged. Grinning, she grabbed Sasuke's hand and let him help her down. They raced down the hallway together, laughing the whole way. 

They exited into the trampoline of a backyard, and Sasuke didn't hesitate to pull off his sandals so the purple grass could tickle his feet. Ima did the same, jumping a little at the odd feeling. They grinned at each other. Ima liked this, and so did Sasuke. It was nice. There were no problems here in this house, or in this backyard. Nobody was yelling at them, there were no angry villagers yelling at Ima, and nobody expected anything of them. Ima wasn't sad, and Sasuke wasn't pressured. They were free.

They began to train. Sasuke did some target practice with some very oddly colored kunai that Ima had provided while she further perfected the art of making only two things. Unfortunately, she was still having trouble controlling two of what exactly she made, and at some point both Sasuke and Ima were sucked into the fence by a pair of life sized, not so happy stuffed donkeys. It didn't hurt as badly as you might think, and Sasuke was able to dispose of them quickly, leaping on them with a kunai in each hand. 

"Hey, Ima!" Sasuke called as his feet became transparent. He was being woken up. Ima turned to him, her eyes widening in surprise. "W-Wait!" She cried, lunging for him. But it was too late, Sasuke was gone, and Ima, alone. Sasuke woke up with tears in his eyes and Itachi's face right above his. He scrambled up. "W-Why'd you do that?!" Never had he disappeared so suddenly. "Father wants you again, Sasuke." Itachi said. Sasuke frowned.

He'd left Ima alone... again.