Everywhere I go, even in my damn dreams, all I hear is
“You’re the spitting image of Itachi.”
“How is he? I heard he moved away”
He’s fine. He’s happy. Happier than me. Happier because he’s not the one being compared to someone else every second of his life. He’s free of the stares, the whispers, the endless reminders of how great he was. How perfect. How untouchable.
He was so happy he ran away from home just to get away from all of these ignorant people, and yet they still talk about him like he’s here. Like his shadow isn’t still suffocating me.
I’m sick of it. Sick of hearing how much I look like him. How cool he was. How much he accomplished before he was even my age. How I’ll be just like him when I’m older.
I don’t want to be like him.
But when I go home, when the house is empty, when there’s no one left to compare me to
I miss it.
I miss hearing his name, even if it makes my skin crawl. I miss the jealousy, the anger, because at least it meant he was still there. That I could still chase him, still prove something to him.
I miss him.
And I hate that I do.
Every time I go home, it’s just… silent.
No footsteps in the hall. No hushed voices behind closed doors. No presence lingering just out of reach.
The person I was once compared to he isn’t here anymore.
And the house, the family, they’ve changed because of it.
Father seems proud of me now. He looks at me like I matter, like I exist. He nods when I train, hums in approval when I improve. He’s happy that I’m trying.
Mother—she acknowledges me more. She calls my name first now. She smiles at me, touches my hair when she passes by. She spoils me, gives me the warmth I used to watch from a distance, the warmth that once belonged to him.
They give me love, attention, everything I used to crave.
And I hate it.
Because it was never mine to begin with.
Because deep down, I know if he were still here, none of this would be.
But I never resented him for it. I never looked at him with anger. Because I didn’t hate Itachi. I wanted to be like him. I idolized him.
So why… does it feel like I’m suffocating under his shadow?
Why does it feel like every time I step outside, I’m chasing a ghost?
“Sasuke?”
I blink, snapping out of my thoughts. My mother’s voice is soft, careful, as if she already knows what’s on my mind. She’s watching me from across the table, concern in her eyes. “What’s on your mind, dear?”
I should tell her.
I should tell her everything that no matter how much love they give me now, it’s not the same. That I feel like a second-place prize. That everywhere I go, I hear his name instead of mine.
That I miss him.
That I hate missing him.
That it feels like no matter what I do, I’m never going to be just Sasuke.
I open my mouth
And then I close it.
I shake my head and force a small smile. “It’s nothing, Ma.”
She frowns slightly, but she doesn’t push. She only reaches over and gently tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “You know you can talk to me, right?”
I nod. I know. But I won’t.
Father glances at me from the other side of the room, his eyes lingering just for a second. And all he says is—
“Hn.”
That was two weeks ago.
Two weeks before my graduation.
Sasuke Uchiha.
Not Itachi Uchiha.
I sit at my assigned seat, my name neatly printed on the program, my achievements listed beside it. Mine. Not his.
But even now, I can feel their eyes on me, weighing me down, measuring me up against a ghost. I don’t have to hear them to know what they’re whispering.
“He’s just like Itachi.”
“He even sits like him.”
“I wonder if he’ll surpass him no, how could he?”
I don’t react. Instead, I just stare, my expression blank, the same way he used to. The same unreadable look he gave to the world, the same one I’ve learned to perfect.
The names are called in order, last name first. I close my eyes, letting the voices fade, letting the noise dissolve into something distant, something familiar.
I remember another moment just like this.
Itachi, sitting at his assigned seat, back straight, hands resting on his lap. His expression was the same as mine now detached, composed. But then, his eyes had shifted, found me in the crowd. And instead of that cold, unreadable look—he had smiled.
He had smiled at me and only me.
The memory fades as I open my eyes again, taking a slow, deep breath. The crowd in front of me is vast, filled with faces of people who see only what they want to see. But I don’t look at them.
Instead, I turn to my side.
And there he is.
Not him, but someone who understands.
Naruto looks at me, grinning, eyes filled with something familiar something knowing. The same exhaustion, the same quiet longing for something just out of reach.
“I bet Itachi’s looking at you from afar, smiling at you!” he whispers, trying to keep his voice down but failing.
For the first time in a long time, I smile, not forced, not empty, but real. I nod slightly. “I bet Deidara’s looking at you too. Happy for you.”
Naruto blinks at me, and then his grin softens into something quieter, something real too. He turns back to the crowd, searching, and there afar, Deidara watches with a smirk, arms crossed.
The same quietness Naruto feels at home, the same emptiness of a house that once held more, is the same as mine.
The only difference?
Deidara is here.
Itachi isn’t.
But even though I once resented the attention, the admiration, the impossible expectations that came with being his brother… now, looking back, I realize—
Itachi gave me the one thing no one else did.
His attention.
His acknowledgment.
And now, I don’t know where he is, what he’s doing, or if he even still thinks about any of this. But for the first time, I know one thing for sure
I look like him.
But I am not him.
I am better.
“Uchiha Sasuke!”
The voice rings through the auditorium, cutting through my thoughts. “Graduated top of his class, first place in every category, and surpassing the previous highest recorded score of 1845, held by Uchiha Itachi… with a new record of 1897!”
A hush falls over the crowd for just a second—shock, disbelief. Then, the cheers erupt. The applause fills the space.
I stand.
I walk to the stage, back straight, expression unreadable.
And as I take my diploma, I give them that same look—the one they feared, the one they respected.
The one that, for the first time, belongs not to Itachi’s little brother.
But to Sasuke Uchiha.
The celebration was still in full swing—cheers, laughter, and the sound of families reuniting filled the air. Graduates were embracing their loved ones, taking photos, wiping away tears of joy.
I stood in the middle of it all, waiting.
Waiting for my family to find me, to congratulate me again.
But they weren’t here yet.
So I watched.
Parents pulling their children into tight embraces, siblings playfully ruffling each other’s hair, friends shouting in excitement. It was overwhelming, almost suffocating. I had spent my entire life chasing after someone, trying to escape his shadow, trying to prove myself. And now that I had, now that I stood at the top—why did it feel so empty?
Then, among the crowd, I saw him.
Naruto.
His blond hair stood out against the sea of people, his smile brighter than the sun above us. He was talking to his own family, laughing with Deidara, before his gaze found mine.
Without hesitation, he made his way over.
We weren’t always this close. In middle school, we were rivals more than friends, constantly at each other’s throats, always trying to one-up the other. But over time, we grew. Matured. Realized how similar we really were. And somewhere along the way, in between all the arguments and competitions, something else formed.
Something deeper.
Something I had been too blind to see.
“I’m happy for you,” Naruto said, standing in front of me now, hands tucked into his pockets. His voice was soft, sincere. “I knew you were gonna pass. I always looked up to you… in a challenging way.”
I blinked, caught off guard by his words.
Because the way I had looked up to Itachi—the admiration, the frustration, the endless desire to catch up was the same way Naruto had looked up to me.
I had been so caught up in my brother’s shadow that I hadn’t realized someone was standing in mine.
A small, rare smile tugged at my lips. Before I knew it, I reached out, taking his hand in mine.
Naruto paused mid-sentence, his breath hitching for just a moment before he squeezed my hand back.
Then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, we leaned in.
A kiss that was short, but deep and passionate
It felt like a quiet realization, like an unspoken truth that had always been there but had only just come to light. If only I had known sooner. If only I had realized that my lover had been beside me all along, I would have treated him better. Given him the attention he deserved, instead of casting him aside while I chased a ghost.
When we pulled away, Naruto grinned. “I’m still happy for you… but I swear, if you hadn’t graduated, I would’ve had to tutor you myself—-”
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “Oh, please—”
But before I could finish, he tackled me into a hug, arms wrapping tightly around me.
I hesitated for only a second before hugging him back.
“I have a surprise for you!” Naruto suddenly beamed, grabbing my hand again. Without waiting for my response, he pulled me through the crowd, weaving between people as he dragged me toward his family.
I glanced around one last time. My family still hadn’t shown up.
Maybe… this was for the best. Maybe it was time to meet my lover’s family instead.
But the second I stepped forward to introduce myself—
I froze.
Because he was there.
The shadow I had lived under for years.
The ghost I had chased my entire life.
Itachi.
He stood in front of me, smiling.
That same smile.. the one that had always been just for me.
But he looked different. Lighter. Freer. Like the weight of the world had finally lifted from his shoulders. His eyes, once tired and distant, were warm. His posture, once tense and burdened, was relaxed.
And beside him, standing just as confidently, was Deidara.
A ring glinted on both their fingers.
Married.
Itachi wasn’t just alive.
He was happy.
My breath caught in my throat, my mind struggling to process what I was seeing.
For so long, I had imagined this moment differently—confronting him, demanding answers, proving to him that I had finally surpassed him. But now, standing here, seeing him like this…
I couldn’t speak.
I could only stare.
And Itachi, as if he could see every emotion flickering across my face, only smiled wider.
“It’s been a while, Sasuke.”
The moment I saw him..saw that smile..something inside me snapped.
I should have been happy. Should have been relieved that he was alive, that he was well, that he had finally escaped whatever weight had been crushing him all those years. But all I felt was that familiar, burning frustration clawing up my chest.
He looked better. Happier. Fulfilled.
And yet, the second he stepped back into my life, I already knew.
Everything I had worked for. Everything I had earned.
None of it would matter.
Because now that Itachi Uchiha was standing here—alive, successful, married—everyone would forget that I had broken his record. That I had been the top of my class. That I had climbed my way up without him.
All they would see was how he had come back.
“It’s been a while, Sasuke.”
His voice was smooth, calm—too calm. Like nothing had changed. Like he hadn’t been gone all these years, leaving me to drown in his absence. Like I hadn’t spent my entire life trying to chase him, surpass him, escape him.
I clenched my fists. My teeth ground together as my nails dug into my palms, my whole body stiffening under the weight of his gaze.
Naruto, still holding my hand, squeezed it lightly, grounding me, but it wasn’t enough to stop the storm inside me.
“You’re back.” My voice came out flat, hollow. “Just like that?”
Itachi’s expression didn’t change. “I never truly left.”
Something inside me snapped.
“Never left?” I scoffed, taking a step forward, ignoring the way Naruto’s grip on my hand tightened. “That’s funny, because it sure as hell felt like you did. Felt like you ran off and left me behind while everyone spent years comparing me to you. Years looking at me like I was nothing more than the next Itachi Uchiha. The lesser version. The shadow of someone who wasn’t even here.”
Itachi’s gaze softened, and that only made my anger worse.
“I worked my ass off. I surpassed you. I broke your records, I became top of my class, I—” My voice caught in my throat, my breath coming out sharp. “And now that you’re here, none of it matters anymore, does it?”
A hush had fallen around us. People were watching. I could feel their stares, the same way I always had.
Itachi was back, and suddenly, I was nothing again.
But
At the same time
I was relieved.
Because if Itachi was here, if he was alive, then I had something new to chase.
A purpose.
For years, I had told myself that proving my worth would free me from his shadow. That once I reached the top, I would finally feel whole.
But I had been wrong.
Even standing at the top, I had still felt empty.
Because deep down, I still needed something to chase.
And now?
Now, I had something to do for the rest of my life.
I would surpass him.
Not as his replacement. Not as his shadow.
But as Sasuke Uchiha.
A slow, sharp smirk curled at my lips. My anger hadn’t faded, but the jealousy, the fire—it felt different now.
It felt like a challenge.
“You may be back, but don’t think for a second that means I’m done proving myself.” My voice was steady, unwavering. “I’ll surpass you, Itachi. Not because I have to, but because I want to.”
For the first time, something in Itachi’s expression changed. His eyes flickered, his lips parting slightly before curling into a small smile.
“I look forward to it.”