Naruto: The White Spider of the Leaf

Uchiha Shinichi stood right beside the flaps of the shop, staring at us as we stared back at him.

Teuchi noticed the tension the moment the Uchiha spoke. He set down the ladle he'd been holding and narrowed his eyes even more than they were already narrowed. "Oi, is there gonna be trouble in my shop?" His voice was firm, but not unkind—just a man who wasn't about to let his first customers start throwing punches.

I exhaled sharply, forcing myself to relax. "No, nothing like that," I assured him, placing quite a few coins on the counter. "We were just heading out, anyway. Thanks for the meal, shop-keep! The service was incredible, so I'm leaving a tip for good luck!"

Teuchi's shoulders eased as he grinned. "Good to hear! Thank you! You two come back anytime, yeah? That first customer discount will be in place for you two!"

I smirked despite the situation. "Then I guess I'll have to be a regular. I'll even bring more customers your way to repay the kindness."

"You better!" Teuchi laughed, waving us off as Yukino and I stepped outside, Shinichi following close behind.

The air outside was still warm, but the mood between the three of us was anything but. Yukino and I were both tense, our guard up, waiting for whatever reason Shinichi had for showing up like this. I half-expected a snide remark, a thinly veiled threat, anything that would prove he hadn't changed. But instead, as we reached a somewhat secluded area in the nearby park, Shinichi took in a breath with his expression unreadable.

And then, in a move that completely blindsided me—he bowed.

"I came to apologize."

I blinked. "What?"

Shinichi lifted his head, his dark eyes serious, stripped of their usual arrogance. "For everything. Back in the academy. The way I treated you for those first two years we knew each other." He clenched his fists. "I was stupid, a jerk, and I hurt you for no reason other than my own pride. I know an apology won't change anything from the past, but… I hope you can forgive me."

I just stared at him. This had to be some kind of trick, right? My gut twisted with old instincts, my mind cycling through every possible angle. 

"You always used to pick on Shiro without any sort of remorse alongside your buddies." Yukino said, crossing her arms. "So, why apologize now, Shinichi?"

"Yeah? Why indeed?" I raised a brow at him. "If this is some ploy to get back at me for what I did to your brother, then—"

"He's dead."

The words landed like a kunai to the chest, sharp and sudden. Yukino inhaled sharply beside me, and I felt my breath hitch.

"What...?" The word barely made it past my lips.

Shinichi's expression didn't change, but his eyes spiraled into a set of three tomoe. His voice held a weight I'd never heard from him before. "He died yesterday alongside my parents. In battle. The three of them were part of the battalion sent as reinforcements to the outpost where your team was stationed. They never came back."

A cold pit formed in my stomach.

You mean… His elder brother, mother and father were just… Eviscerated by the tailed beast bomb?

I looked away, guilt creeping in despite myself. I hadn't even known his family was there.

Shinichi exhaled, shaking his head. "I don't blame you. I know there's nothing you could have possibly done, and war doesn't care about old grudges. But losing Ryuji-nii, ma, and pa, made me realize something. If anything can happen at any time… then I don't want to carry regrets. And right now, my biggest one is how I treated you back then."

He straightened, his crimson eyes meeting mine. "I've officially graduated. I'll be joining the war effort soon. But before I did, I wanted to settle things. If we're going to be fighting on the same side, I don't want us to be enemies anymore."

Silence hung between us. The weight of his words, the loss, the past—it all sat heavy on my chest. I wasn't sure what to say. I wasn't sure if I could just let it all go.

But for the first time, I saw Shinichi not as my old bully. Not as the guy I'd beaten into the ground two years ago, either. Rather, as just another kid thrown into a war far bigger than any of us.

The weight of his words hung in the air like the thick humidity before a storm. I wanted to scoff, to tell him that he was only apologizing because war had finally come knocking on his door. But something about the way he stood—shoulders squared, yet burdened—made it hard to dismiss him outright. This wasn't the same Shinichi I used to know.

Yukino shifted beside me, and I could feel her gaze flick between the two of us. I knew she was waiting to see how I'd respond. Hell, even I didn't know. What was I supposed to say to something like this?

I let out a breath, rubbing the back of my neck. "Look, Shinichi… I don't know what you want from me. If you think I'm going to just forget everything just like that because of—"

"I don't," he said, cutting me off. "I don't expect that at all." His voice was steady, but there was something raw underneath it. "I don't even deserve it. But I still needed to say it. For myself. Selfish as that may sound."

I studied him for a moment, searching for any sign of the smugness that used to be a permanent fixture on his face. The arrogance, the superiority—all of it was gone. What was left was just… a kid, trying to make amends before marching off to a battlefield that didn't care who he was.

I exhaled, finally breaking eye contact and glancing up at the sky. "Tch. War really changes things, huh?"

"It does."

I crossed my arms, glancing at him again. "Alright, then. You wanna settle things? Fine. But forgiveness isn't something you just ask for and get. It's something you earn."

He gave a small nod, as if he'd expected that. "I understand."

I forced a smile out. "I'll have your back out there, so I trust you'll have mine."

Shinichi smiled at that too, though it was strained. "Alright, you've got yourself a deal, Shirokumo. Thanks."

A silence settled between us again, but this time, it wasn't tense. Just… complicated.

Yukino sighed, rubbing her temples. "Wow, that got heavy fast."

That managed to pull a small, humorless chuckle from Shinichi. "Yeah, and you two were having a good time together. Sorry for ruining the mood."

I huffed. "Too late for that."

"I guess, sorry."

"No, no, it's fine! It's just…" Yukino seemed at a loss for words. "I wish there was something I could do for you, Shin-kun."

Another beat of silence, then Shinichi straightened. "I should get going. I've got a lot to prepare before I leave. I'm supposed to meet with my new team later."

"Yeah," I said, though the word felt strangely hollow. "Guess we'll see you out there."

"Yeah," he echoed, turning to walk away. But before he did, he hesitated for a second. "Shirokumo… Yukino-chan… Take care of yourselves."

Yukino looked at him for a moment before she spoke up. "Shinichi, how about we restart? Maybe not as friends immediately but, at least as comrades."

His eyes lit up. "Really? Do you mean that, Yukino-chan?"

Sighing, I scratched the back of my head and nodded. "Yeah, I think we can do that. Comrades sounds good to me too."

He gazed at Yukino for a moment, a slight flush on his cheeks. "I'd like that. Thank you, Yukino-chan." He then looked at me and said. "Shirokumo, I'll earn your friendship someday."

That last part got a smirk out of me. "Yeah? Well, you'd better try your hardest. I won't make it easy on you."

That got a chuckle out of him, but we spoke no more after.

We watched him go, disappearing into the busy streets of the village.

Yukino let out a long breath, shaking her head. "Well, now… That was… certainly unexpected."

"Yeah," I muttered, eyes still lingering on where he'd vanished.

War changes things, alright.

Even the people you least expect.