The morning haze still lingered over Konoha when Aiko opened her eyes to the golden light streaming through the bamboo blinds. The chirping of birds outside was the only reminder that the world was moving forward calm, oblivious to the secret storm swirling inside her.
Sasuke hadn't returned the entire night.
She sat up, reaching toward the empty space beside her on the futon. Cold. Untouched. Her chest tightened.
She rose slowly, wrapped her shawl around her shoulders, and padded to the porch where a pot of tea was still warm from the coals she had rekindled at dawn. She needed clarity. She needed answers.
But in Konoha, answers came with consequences.
That afternoon, while wandering the quieter alleyways of the village, Aiko passed whispers half-glances from kunoichi she didn't know and jounin whose eyes lingered a bit too long. Her presence had become... noticeable.
Too noticeable.
"Did you see her again with him?" one voice murmured behind a stall.
"She lives near the Uchiha compound, right?"
"She's not from Konoha, is she? What clan is she from?"
Aiko kept her gaze forward. Her steps didn't falter, but her heart did.
The moment she turned the corner, she ducked into a side path between the old woodwork buildings of the Uchiha district. Her fingers curled tightly into fists as she leaned against the wall.
This was the price.
To be the secret.
To be the woman loved by Sasuke Uchiha… but never spoken of.
Hours later, when twilight painted the skies in hues of crimson, he returned.
His chakra brushed the threshold before his footsteps echoed softly into the small house.
Aiko was seated on the floor, hair damp from her earlier bath, eyes staring into the candle's flickering glow.
Sasuke didn't greet her. He sat across from her, pulled down his cloak's hood, and met her gaze.
"You've been seen," he said quietly.
Aiko blinked slowly. "I've been watched."
He didn't flinch. "Danzo's old network still runs, even in the shadows. They're trying to understand who you are."
"And what do you plan to do?" she asked. "Erase me?"
Silence.
Sasuke's jaw twitched, but his eyes those midnight irises stayed steady.
"No."
She stood, suddenly tired of the fear she had to swallow each day. "I'm tired of hiding, Sasuke. I didn't marry a ghost."
He rose with her, just as quiet but taller, darker in the candlelight. "You married a man with enemies."
"You think I don't know that? You think I haven't paid the price already?"
The wind rattled the paper windows as her voice cracked. "I've been alone here. Locked in this village with your name tattooed invisibly on my soul, but never allowed to own it."
Sasuke stepped forward, reached out, and touched her wrist gently.
"The only reason you're still safe is because no one knows what you mean to me."
Aiko looked up at him, defiant. "Then maybe it's time they did.
Later that night, Sasuke stood outside, staring at the Hokage Monument. The eyes of stone seemed to judge him.
He knew what she asked of him. And he knew what it would cost.
His name was a weapon.
His past, a curse.
He had walked through blood, betrayal, and broken brotherhoods. And though he had finally found someone to soften the darkness within, he could never let the world see it. Not without risking her life.
But Aiko wasn't made of porcelain.
She was fire disguised as silk. And she was growing tired of shadows.
He returned inside.
She was seated at the window, gazing at the stars this time. There were more of them tonight brighter, clearer, as if the universe itself was trying to tell them something.
He knelt before her.
"If I announce you as my wife," he said, voice low and raw, "You become a target. Not just from what remains of enemy clans, but from inside Konoha too. Some still think I should've been exiled."
"I don't care."
"I care," he said. "But if you want to step out of the shadow, I won't stop you."
Aiko hand reached for his, fingers threading gently with his.
"I want to live beside you. Not behind you."
His eyes closed for a moment. Then he nodded
The next day, a letter arrived at the Hokage Tower.
Not from Sasuke.
From her.
Lady Aiko Uchiha.
Tsunade was no longer Hokage, but Naruto read the letter aloud with a frown on his face. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, and even Sakura who stood nearby tensed at the signature.
Uchiha. That Uchiha.
And for the first time, Konoha was about to face a truth it was never prepared for.
Sasuke Uchiha was not alone.
And the price of his name?
Would now be shared.
By the woman who refused to be forgotten.