Sunday.
Morning in Konoha was much quieter than usual.
There were no bells from the Ninja Academy and no sounds of children’s racing footsteps—only the chirping of birds and the rustle of wind through the leaves.
It was a rare occasion where Itachi Uchiha managed to sleep until seven.
This was the only day of the week he could enjoy a brief respite from his heavy training.
Saturdays belonged to his father.
He would have to wake up before dawn to follow Fugaku Uchiha in practicing shurikenjutsu, taijutsu, and Fire Style ninjutsu until the sun went down.
On Sundays, however, Fugaku would head to the Police Force to handle backlogged paperwork, giving Itachi time to himself.
Itachi sat up in bed, folded his quilt, and walked to the window to push it open.
The early morning sunlight streamed in, carrying the scent of fresh grass and damp earth.
Yesterday’s rain had washed over all of Konoha, leaving the air as clean as if it had been filtered through water.
He changed into a dark blue short-sleeved shirt, opting not to wear his jacket with the Uchiha Clan crest, and stepped lightly down the stairs.
“Big brother!”
A milky, childish voice called out from the living room.
Sasuke was sitting on the tatami mats with a pile of building blocks in front of him, currently assembling a wobbly tower.
Seeing Itachi come downstairs, he immediately dropped the blocks and ran over on his short little legs, hugging Itachi’s leg tight.
“Are you going out to play, brother?
Sasuke wants to go too!”
Itachi knelt down and stroked Sasuke’s hair.
Sasuke was only a year and a half old, right at his most clingy age.
His round face still held a bit of baby fat, and when he smiled, two little canine teeth peeked out.
“I’m going to buy some three-colored dango for you.
Be a good boy and wait for me at home.”
“Three-colored dango!” Sasuke’s eyes lit up instantly, and he nodded vigorously.
“Okay!
Sasuke will wait at home for brother!”
“Good boy.” Itachi stood up and looked toward the kitchen.
“Mother, I’m heading out.”
“Come back early,” Mikoto’s voice drifted out from the kitchen, gentle and soft.
Itachi changed into his shoes, pushed open the door, and stepped out into the Sunday sunshine.
***
The commercial street in Konoha was exceptionally lively on Sundays.
While the Uchiha Clan grounds on the west side of the village were quiet and lonely, the central district was a completely different scene.
Shops on both sides of the street were open for business—vegetable vendors, fabric merchants, and shinobi tool shops—their cries rising and falling in succession.
Parents taking their children out to play gathered in groups, and children wove through the crowds, their laughter echoing along the path.
Itachi walked among the crowd, his pace a bit slower than usual.
He wasn’t in a hurry.
There was nothing he absolutely had to do today.
He just wanted to go to his favorite shop and buy two skewers of three-colored dango—one for himself and one to take home to Sasuke.
After crossing two streets and turning into a small alley, he reached the little shop at the end.
“Three-Colored Dango”—one of the most famous dessert shops in Konoha.
It was a small storefront with a faded cloth curtain hanging at the entrance, containing a few low tables and cushions.
Its most famous item was the three-colored dango: pink, white, and green spheres skewered together, sweet without being cloying, with just the right amount of chewiness.
Every time Itachi came here, he bought two skewers.
Today was no exception.
He lifted the curtain and stepped inside, preparing to speak to the owner—and then he saw a familiar figure.
Izumi was sitting at a low table near the entrance, a cup of tea in her hand.
The plate in front of her was empty; she clearly hadn’t started ordering yet.
Today, she wore a light green dress and had her hair tied into two small braids, making her look a bit more lively than she did at school.
“Izumi?” Itachi’s voice was slightly softer than usual.
Izumi looked up, and the moment she saw Itachi, a smile blossomed on her face.
“Itachi-kun!
Are you here for dango too?”
“Mhm.” Itachi nodded.
He walked to the counter and said to the owner, “Two skewers of three-colored dango, please.”
The owner was a kind-looking old woman.
She smiled as she took two skewers from the counter, wrapped them in oil paper, and handed them over.
“Here you go, Itachi-kun.
The usual?”
“Thank you.” Itachi took the dango, hesitated for a moment, and turned to look at Izumi.
Izumi was resting her chin on her hand, looking expectantly at the dango in his hand.
“I bought two,” Itachi said, reaching out.
“Do you want one?”
The moment the words left his mouth, Itachi himself was slightly stunned.
He had never given Sasuke’s portion to anyone else.
Never.
“Really?
Thank you, Itachi-kun!”
Izumi’s eyes brightened instantly.
She happily took the three-colored dango Itachi offered, holding it in both hands like a precious gift.
She took a bite of the pink one, her cheeks bulging as her eyes narrowed into happy crescents.
“So delicious—”
Watching her, Itachi’s lips twitched slightly.
It wasn’t quite a smile, but his expression was much softer than usual.
He looked down at the remaining skewer in his hand, preparing to eat it, when—
“Izumi?”
A voice called out from the mouth of the alley.
Itachi’s fingers tightened slightly.
Linbei was standing at the entrance of the alley, holding Tom in his arms.
He was wearing a white T-shirt and looked as though he had just woken up, his hair a bit messy.
Tom was nestled in his arms wearing a tiny straw hat that covered half his face, looking utterly lazy.
“Linbei-kun!
Over here!”
Izumi’s eyes lit up as she stood and waved at Linbei.
She was still holding the dango she had bitten into, nearly flinging it away as she waved.
Linbei walked over, his gaze shifting back and forth between Izumi and Itachi.
“What a coincidence.
You’re both here.”
“Yeah!” Izumi held the dango up to Linbei.
“Itachi-kun treated me to this.
Do you want a bite?”
Linbei looked down at the skewer—the pink one already had a small bite taken out of it by Izumi, leaving a tiny tooth mark.
The white and green ones were still whole.
He didn’t hesitate, leaning in and biting off the white one in one go.
“Mhm, tastes good,” Linbei said indistinctly while chewing.
“No wonder you like coming to this shop.”
Izumi looked at the spot where Linbei had bitten, her cheeks flushing slightly, but she soon smiled again.
“Right?
I buy a skewer every time I come to central Konoha.”
She took a bite of the green one and then held the final pink one on the skewer up to Linbei’s mouth.
“You can have this one too.”
Linbei wasn’t polite; he opened his mouth and ate it.
“The two of you…” Itachi stood by the side, his voice as calm as ice on a lake.
“You’re very close.”
“Yeah,” Izumi nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Linbei-kun is my best friend.”
Linbei chewed the dango and added offhandedly, “She’s my lifesaver.
I would’ve starved to death without her bento.”
“I’m not your lifesaver!” Izumi’s face grew even redder.
“It was…
it was just sharing a bit of food…”
Itachi didn’t speak.
He looked down at the skewer of dango in his hand.
The pink, white, and green spheres were perfectly aligned, the syrup glistening under the sunlight.
But for some reason, he felt like this skewer wouldn’t taste very sweet.
“Itachi, why aren’t you eating?” After finishing the last bite Izumi had given him, Linbei turned to look at Itachi.
“Don’t you like it?”
Itachi looked up, his expression remaining calm.
“It’s gotten a bit cold,” he said softly.
“I prefer my dango warm.”
This wasn’t entirely a lie.
Three-colored dango fresh out of the kitchen were warm with soft syrup; they were indeed better than when they had cooled.
But today, the real reason he didn’t want to eat them probably had nothing to do with the temperature.
“Then why don’t you give it to me?” Linbei reached out as if it were only natural.
“I haven’t had enough anyway.”
Itachi looked at Linbei’s outstretched hand and was silent for two seconds.
Then, he handed over the whole skewer.
“Here.”
“Thanks.” Linbei took the dango and bit off the top pink one, his cheeks bulging.
He looked quite happy while eating.
Tom poked his head out from Linbei’s arms, pointing a paw at the dango and then at his own mouth.
“You want some?” Linbei looked down at him.
Tom nodded.
Linbei plucked the green dango from the skewer and held it to Tom’s mouth.
Tom took a bite, chewed twice, and his eyes lit up. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
He jumped out of Linbei’s arms, ran to the counter, and pointed his claws at the three-colored dango in the display case, holding up three claws.
He meant—three more skewers.
The old woman owning the shop laughed heartily at the sight of the cat in a tuxedo.
She actually wrapped up three more skewers and handed them over.
Tom pulled a coin from behind his back—Linbei didn’t even want to know where his money came from anymore—placed it on the counter, and ran back with the three skewers in his mouth.
One for Linbei, one for Izumi, and one for himself to gnaw on.
“Tom, you’re amazing!” Izumi took the skewer, her smile deepening with dimples.
Tom crouched on the ground, holding a dango with both front paws as he nibbled on it bit by bit, his tail wagging happily behind him.
Linbei stood in the sunlight with a skewer in his left hand and another in his right, still chewing.
Izumi stood beside him, talking to Tom while she ate.
Two people and one cat blocked the entrance to the tiny dessert shop completely.
Itachi stood two steps away.
He looked at the dango in Linbei’s hand that had originally belonged to him, watched Izumi smiling as she shared dango with Linbei, and watched Tom pull out money from nowhere to buy more.
He suddenly felt like he shouldn’t be here.
Like he should be hiding under a car instead…
“I’m leaving now,” Itachi said softly, as if afraid of disturbing something.
“Huh?
Leaving so soon?” Izumi turned around, looking surprised.
“Won’t you stay a while longer?”
“I have things to do at home,” Itachi said.
This was a lie.
Today was Sunday, Fugaku wasn’t home, and his only “task” was to buy dango for Sasuke.
And that skewer was currently in Linbei’s hand.
“Then see you at school on Monday!” Izumi waved at him.
“See you Monday,” Linbei added casually, dango still in his mouth.
Itachi nodded and turned to leave.
He walked slowly, his pace steady and his back straight.
But if anyone had been looking closely, they would have noticed that his shoulders were held tighter than when he arrived.
As he reached the mouth of the alley, he couldn’t help but look back once.
Izumi was bending over, feeding a piece of dango to Tom.
Linbei stood beside them, looking down at them with a hint of a smile on his lips.
The sunlight fell on them, looking warm and cozy.
Itachi turned back and continued forward.
The sun shone on him, too, but he couldn’t feel its warmth.
He remembered what Izumi had said just now—”Linbei-kun is my best friend.”
Best friend.
Itachi repeated those words in his mind and then shook his head.
He wasn’t sure what he was expecting.
Perhaps he wasn’t expecting anything at all.
Or perhaps—
He quickened his pace, leaving the laughter and the sunlight behind him.
***
In front of the dango shop.
“Itachi seemed a bit weird today,” Linbei remarked as he chewed the last dango.
“Weird?” Izumi tilted her head.
“How so?”
“I can’t put my finger on it.” Linbei threw the bamboo skewer into the trash can.
“It just felt like he was especially quiet today.”
“Itachi-kun is usually quiet, though.”
“True.” Linbei thought about it and decided Izumi had a point.
“Maybe I’m overthinking it.”
Tom finished his skewer, licked his paws, and jumped onto Linbei’s shoulder, sweeping his tail across the back of Linbei’s head.
“What are you doing?” Linbei looked at him sideways.
Tom pointed in the direction Itachi had left, then at Linbei, and performed a “heartbreak” gesture—clutching his chest with both paws, falling backward, and rolling his eyes.
“What kind of nonsense are you acting out?” Linbei grabbed Tom’s tail and pulled him off his shoulder.
Tom struggled and leaped away, hiding behind Izumi.
He poked only his head out to stick his tongue out at Linbei.
Izumi laughed so hard she bent over.
“You two are really interesting.”
Linbei rolled his eyes, walked over, snatched Tom from behind Izumi, and tucked the cat under his arm.
“Let’s go.
We’ll walk around a bit more and then go home.”
“Okay!” Izumi followed, naturally walking to Linbei’s left.
The two people and the cat strolled slowly down the commercial street.
The sun was just right, and the breeze was mild.
Behind them, the shop curtain swayed gently in the wind.
Only two skewers of three-colored dango remained on the counter, waiting for the next customer to arrive.