“Linbei-kun!
Are you hurt?”
Izumi’s voice drifted over from the sidelines, laced with obvious anxiety.
She came jogging over and skidded to a halt in front of Linbei, leaning over to look him up and down.
Her gaze swept over him repeatedly, searching for any signs of injury.
“I’m fine.” Linbei sat on a bench, shaking out his arms, which were still a bit numb.
“Itachi didn’t go all out.”
That was the truth.
Though the force behind Itachi’s kick just now hadn’t been small, his angle and point of impact had been perfectly controlled—just enough to send someone flying without causing any real damage.
Linbei’s arms were just rattled; he didn’t even have a bruise.
As expected of Itachi.
Even his kicks were frighteningly precise.
“Are you really okay?” Izumi crouched down, reaching out to press on Linbei’s forearms.
Only after confirming there were no signs of a fracture did she breathe a sigh of relief.
“I was so scared when I saw you get kicked away like that.”
“I’m fine, but what about you?” Linbei glanced at her.
“Aren’t you supposed to be over there doing Chakra control training?
Why did you run over here?”
Izumi’s cheeks flushed slightly, and her voice dropped.
“I…
I saw you get kicked, so I told the teacher I had to go to the bathroom…”
Linbei blinked, then let out a laugh.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.” Izumi sat down beside him and pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, handing it to him.
“Wipe your sweat; your face is covered in dust.”
Linbei took the handkerchief and gave his face a messy scrub.
It carried a faint, clean scent of soap.
Tom hopped down from his lap and padded over to Izumi’s feet, rubbing his head against her shin.
“Tom!” Izumi leaned down to scoop Tom up, cradling him in her arms.
“Were you worried about Linbei-kun too?”
“Meow.” Tom let out a cry, pointed a paw at Linbei, then mimicked a “falling down” motion.
He patted his own chest and finished with a thumbs-up.
Izumi giggled.
“Are you saying that with you around, Linbei-kun will be fine?”
Tom nodded, his expression clearly saying, *I’m the real bodyguard here.*
Linbei rolled his eyes and folded the handkerchief before handing it back to Izumi.
Not far away, Itachi stood at the edge of the playground, holding the practice Shuriken he had used earlier.
He was slowly stowing them into the pouch at his waist.
His movements were slow—not like he was tidying up, but more like he was…
watching something.
His gaze drifted past the students still sparring on the field, settling on the bench by the sidelines.
Izumi was holding Tom, her eyes curved into crescents as she laughed.
Linbei sat beside her, his head turned as he spoke to her.
The two were close.
Close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
Itachi’s fingers paused on the buckle of his tool pouch.
He didn’t move.
“Izumi…” His voice was so soft he could barely hear it himself.
This wasn’t the first time he had heard that name.
Izumi Uchiha.
She was a few months younger than him, also six years old this year.
She was gentle and had dimples when she smiled.
Among the clan children, she wasn’t the most outstanding, but she was always quiet and well-behaved.
Itachi remembered the clan’s Summer Festival last year.
Izumi had been wearing a pale blue yukata, standing in front of a goldfish scooping stall.
She failed three times, but in the end, the goldfish jumped into her bowl on its own.
She had laughed so happily then, her dimples deep and her eyes bright.
That was the first time Itachi had noticed her.
But it was only “noticing.”
Later, he found out that Izumi brought Linbei a bento every single day.
Every day.
Rain or shine.
Itachi withdrew his gaze, finished packing his gear, and turned toward the classroom.
His pace remained steady, his back straight, and his expression as calm as a placid lake.
But if anyone had noticed the hand holding his shuriken—his knuckles were slightly white.
***
The afternoon classes finished quickly.
During the final period, Yamato Nakajima lectured on several basic applications of Chakra, including tree climbing and water walking.
He mentioned that he would take the students to the training grounds behind the village next week for practical training and told everyone to be prepared.
“Class dismissed.”
As soon as Yamato Nakajima spoke, a dull roll of thunder echoed from outside the window.
The sky had darkened at some point.
Thick, dark clouds surged in from the west, hanging low as if pressing against the rooftops.
The air grew humid and muggy, carrying the scent of damp earth.
The students in the classroom scrambled to pack their things and run out.
But just as they reached the door, the skies opened up.
It wasn’t a light drizzle; it was a sudden, violent downpour.
Raindrops slammed into the ground, splashing upward with a rhythmic pattering.
The wind whipped the rain into the corridors, soaking the pant legs of the children standing at the entrance.
“It’s pouring…”
“I didn’t bring an umbrella.”
“Me neither…”
The children huddled under the eaves of the school building, grumbling and complaining.
Izumi was among the crowd.
She held her backpack over her head, trying to block the spray drifting in from the side, but it didn’t help much—a small patch of her pale pink collar was already soaked.
She hesitated, preparing to make a dash for it.
It would take about twenty minutes to run home.
Running through twenty minutes of this rain would definitely lead to a cold.
But she had no other choice—she didn’t have an umbrella, and there was no one to walk her home.
Just as she took her first step—
“Izumi.”
A voice came from behind her.
Izumi turned to see Itachi standing in the shadows of the hallway, holding a black folding umbrella.
His expression was as calm as ever, but his gaze was fixed on Izumi, as if waiting for her to say something.
“Itachi-kun?” Izumi blinked.
Itachi stepped forward and held the umbrella out.
“Take this.” His voice was soft, as if he were discussing something trivial.
“My house is close to the school.
I can just run back.”
Izumi blinked, but before she could answer—
“Izumi!”
Another voice exploded from nearby, twice as loud as Itachi’s.
Linbei came rushing from the other end of the corridor with Tom in his arms, his feet moving fast.
He skidded to a stop in front of Izumi, panting as he said, “You don’t have an umbrella, do you?
I’ll take you home.”
Before Izumi could reply, Tom moved.
The cat leaped from Linbei’s arms, landed on the ground, and shook out his tail which had been misted by the rain.
Then, he reached behind his back—
And pulled out an umbrella.
But it wasn’t a normal umbrella.
It was a massive beach parasol.
The canopy was deep blue and at least five feet in diameter; once opened, it could easily cover three or four people.
The ribs were made of metal and looked sturdy enough to deflect a Kunai.
Tom hoisted the parasol over his head, gripping the handle with one paw while resting the other on his hip.
His face was a picture of *How about that?
Pretty impressive, right?*
Izumi’s mouth formed an ‘O’ as she stared at the giant umbrella.
Linbei’s lip twitched as he looked at it.
He had already given up on asking “where did you get that from?” Completely given up.
“Let’s go.” Linbei took the parasol from Tom, opened it fully, and tilted it toward Izumi.
“I’ll walk you home.”
“O-Okay.” Izumi’s face was flushed, though whether it was from the wind or something else was unclear.
She hurried to Linbei’s side, and the two of them stood side-by-side under the massive blue canopy.
Tom hopped onto Linbei’s shoulder and crouched there, using his tail to wipe the rain from his face.
“Let’s go,” Linbei said.
“Mm.” Izumi nodded.
The two kids and one cat, sheltered by the giant parasol, stepped out into the curtain of rain.
The umbrella was large, and the sound of the rain was loud.
Izumi walked to Linbei’s left, her shoulder occasionally bumping his arm.
Every time they touched, she would flinch slightly, only to unconsciously lean back in.
“Linbei-kun.” Izumi’s voice was almost drowned out by the rain.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?” Linbei tilted the umbrella further toward her side.
“You’ve brought me bento so many times.
It’s only right that I walk you home.”
Izumi didn’t answer, but Linbei saw her smile from the corner of his eye.
Her dimples were shallow and beautiful.
They didn’t look back.
So they didn’t see Itachi, who remained standing under the eaves of the school building.
He still held the black folding umbrella in his hand.
It wasn’t open.
Rain slammed into the ground in front of him, the splashing water soaking the hems of his pants.
His gaze followed the giant blue parasol as it crossed the playground, passed through the school gates, and disappeared around the street corner.
Itachi stood there, motionless, like a statue.
“Itachi?”
A classmate’s voice came from behind.
Itachi snapped back to reality and tucked the folding umbrella into his bag.
“I am,” he said.
He walked out into the rain alone, without opening an umbrella.
Rain pelted his hair, dripping from the end of his ponytail.
His pace remained steady, his back straight, and his expression calm.
But his shoulders were held a bit tighter than usual.
The rain grew heavier.
Itachi walked the path home alone.
People huddled under eaves along the street to escape the downpour, but he didn’t stop.
A scene played in his mind—Izumi standing under that giant parasol, smiling with her shallow dimples.
Then another scene followed immediately—Linbei sitting beside her, their shoulders touching.
Itachi’s footsteps faltered for a moment.
“Linbei Uchiha.” He whispered the name.
The sound was swallowed by the rain, inaudible even to himself.
Then he continued forward.
Water slid down his cheeks; it was impossible to tell if it was rain or something else.
He walked fast, much faster than usual.
Fast enough that it felt like he was running away from something.
***
Uchiha Clan Compound, West District.
Linbei walked Izumi to her front door.
Izumi’s mother wasn’t home, and the house was dark.
Standing at the entrance, she took the parasol Linbei handed back to her.
She hesitated, then said, “Do you want to come in for a bit?
I can pour you some hot water.”
“No thanks.” Linbei shook his head.
“Tom is soaked.
I need to get back and dry him off.”
“Meow!” Tom poked his head out from Linbei’s shoulder, letting out a cry as if protesting that he wasn’t “soaked.”
Izumi smiled and didn’t push.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow, Linbei-kun.
See you tomorrow, Tom.”
“See you tomorrow.”
Linbei turned and headed for his own home, carrying Tom.
The rain had let up slightly, turning into a fine drizzle.
The puddles on the street reflected the streetlights, with ripples dancing across the surface.
Tom sat in Linbei’s arms, grooming his damp fur with a paw and occasionally flicking his tail, splashing droplets onto Linbei’s face.
“You bratty cat.” Linbei wiped the water from his face.
“Couldn’t you have held the umbrella for yourself?”
Tom tilted his head in thought, then reached behind himself and pulled out…
a miniature umbrella, just the right size for a cat.
“…”
Linbei took a deep breath and picked up his pace.
“Let’s just go home.”
***
At the same time, Uchiha Clan Compound, East District.
Itachi pushed open his front door.
The light in the foyer was on.
“I’m home,” he said softly.
There was no response.
Fugaku was still with the Police Force, and Mikoto was in the kitchen preparing dinner.
Itachi changed into his slippers, hung his soaked coat on the rack, and went upstairs to his room.
He sat at his desk, turned on the lamp, and took a book from the drawer.
But the book remained open on the same page for a long time without being turned.
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
Itachi’s gaze fell on the windowpane, watching the water slide down the glass, leaving behind winding trails.
He thought of Izumi crouching in front of Linbei this afternoon, using her handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
He thought of her holding Tom, her eyes curved like crescents.
He thought of her standing at the school gate, trapped by the rain, looking a bit lost.
He thought of her standing under that giant parasol, walking away side-by-side with Linbei.
Itachi closed the book, turned off the lamp, and lay down on his bed.
In the darkness, his eyes remained open.
In those eyes was a complex emotion that didn’t belong to a six-year-old child.
It wasn’t jealousy.
It wasn’t anger.
It was just a…
vague, inexplicable sense of loss.
As if something had ended before it even had a chance to begin.
Outside, the sound of the rain gradually faded.
The night in the Uchiha compound was so quiet that only the sound of water dripping from the eaves remained.
Itachi closed his eyes and rolled over, burying his face in his pillow.
“Izumi…”
He had said that name in his heart many times today.
But not once had he said it aloud.