Sasuke strolled along the slightly worn stone pavement, swinging his shopping basket.

He watched the fallen leaves dance high in the cold December wind.

Everything looked so big and far away from the perspective of a child. At first, he found it refreshing to see the world through a child's eyes again.

(I've finally gotten used to it, I guess...)

Wanting to do something nice for his mother, who was always busy working, Sasuke had started helping out with the housework as soon as he could.

However, the difference between his old and new bodies was too great, and he kept making mistakes, like almost falling over or dropping dishes.

After a month or so, he had gotten used to it, and his mother, who had been worried at first, now happily asked him for favors.

This errand was one of them. The basket hanging from his arm, filled with tomatoes and cabbages, was a bit heavy for a child's arm.

As he walked, thinking about how his strength, stamina, and chakra levels had all dropped significantly compared to the past, he met the eyes of Uchiha Urchi, the old lady who ran the cracker shop and swept the street with a broom.

"You're on an errand? Good for you, Sasuke-chan."

The old lady smiled and patted Sasuke's head.

He vaguely remembered how he used to like the gentle wrinkles around her eyes, even though his voice was lost in the distant past.

Sasuke was often doted on by the clan members, perhaps because he was the youngest child of the main house.

The old lady went inside the store, saying, "Wait here for a moment," and came back with a small bag in her hand.

"Here you go, have some."

Before he could refuse, she handed him a Uchiha cracker. It was the only sweet he had ever liked in his entire life, despite his aversion to sweets.

He thanked the old lady and thought that if he gave it to his mother when he got home, she would smile and say, "You don't have to do any more chores, just eat."

Sipping the tea his mother had made for him, Sasuke took a bite of the cracker.

(It's delicious...)

He savored the familiar taste. The sweet and salty flavor that spread through his mouth was exactly the same as he remembered, and a smile spread across his face.

(I still have some time before dinner... I guess I can't do shurikenjutsu or swordsmanship yet. The top priority is to build up my stamina.)

As he munched on the cracker, planning to go for a run, he suddenly felt a familiar chakra and headed towards the entrance.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back, big brother!"

"Good job, Sasuke. You've gotten better at reading people's chakra."

"I'm going to be an Academy student soon too. It's only natural that I can do this much."

He pouted at Itachi, who treated him like a child even though he had been waiting for him in front of the house until he arrived, without saying anything about it.

Whenever he tried to act tough, Itachi would say something like, "I was trying to surprise you," and his defiance would melt away in an instant.

It seemed that he would never be able to beat his older brother, no matter what.

He looked up at Itachi's face, which was much higher than his own, with a wry smile on his face.

"Speaking of which, you're home early today. What's up?"

Itachi smiled gently and shook his head.

"I got three days off starting today. I have a mid-term mission from the end of the year. This is my compensation for that."

Sasuke nodded in agreement with Itachi's words.

It was true that the working conditions of ninjas were extremely harsh, to say the least. However, it seemed that they did get some time off around the end of the year and New Year's.

Still, Itachi was still only 11 years old, and he found it strange that a child like him would be assigned a mid-term mission that could last for several months. It seemed that he was still stuck in his "old" way of thinking.

"I see. Hey, I got some Uchiha crackers. Let's eat them together, nii-san."

"That sounds good, but... Sasuke, why don't we train together until dinner? I haven't been able to watch you train lately..."

Hearing his brother's oddly hesitant words, Sasuke looked back at his younger self.

At this age, he would cling to his brother's face and beg him to "come train with me" every time he saw him.

However, now that he was older, he couldn't bring himself to say such a thing to his brother, who was about to leave for a mission. He didn't want to bother the busy Itachi, so he would just see him off at the door and say goodbye.

He must have been worried because he suddenly stopped asking him to train with him.

(But... nii-san just got home, didn't he?)

Even now, he still wanted to train with Itachi. But his brother was busy with his daily missions and must be tired.

He didn't want to believe that Itachi would lose, but anything could happen on a mission. In fact, Sasuke himself had nearly died in the Land of Waves.

Being a ninja was a life-threatening job, and being in top condition was the highest priority.

Yet, this brother of his always put himself last and neglected himself. And so, the one who was always sacrificed and prioritized was his weak and foolish self. It was so sad and frustrating.

"......never mind, I'll stop. You must be tired, nii-san. I'll go heat up the bath."

"Sasuke?"

"Oh yeah, there were some dumplings in the kitchen. I'll bring some tea too, so wait here."

Ignoring the voice calling out to him, he ran away. He knew it was a terrible attitude towards his brother, who had invited him out of kindness, to run away without even listening.

───But he can't help but remember.

'Forgive me, Sasuke. This is the last time.'

He loved his older brother. But he hated that place.

He wiped away the few tears that had welled up in his eyes as the vivid memories of the past resurfaced, gritting his teeth and turning the corner of the hallway―――but.

"Really, you two are just like your father."

"Huh? Mom? Hey!!!"

"Now, now, don't be a brat."

Surprised by the sudden appearance of his mother, he was picked up before he could resist. His mother's arms, wrapped around him tightly, showed no sign of budging as she sighed in exasperation.

He was dragged by his mother to the same entrance he had just run out of.

"N-nii-san...?"

"Oh dear, you look so down in the dumps."

It was dark inside, even though it was the middle of the day. The cause was his older brother, Itachi, who was standing there with a heavy aura, his voice hoarse as he spoke.

Ignoring Sasuke's hesitation in the face of the gloomy atmosphere, his mother approached him and shook his shoulder.

"Itachi! Come on, get up!"

"Mother... I'm going to stay at Shisui's house for a while."

Shocked and pale, Itachi said this in a hoarse voice as he reached for the door handle, his hand trembling.

Mikoto sighed again at Itachi's words.

"What are you talking about, you too...? I've been listening from the beginning, and you both need to communicate better. Itachi, go on and train with Sasuke."

"But"

"No buts, you're going to bother Shisui with that attitude. If you're going to think the worst, talk to each other properly."

"M-mother, but nii-san must be tired, I'll help with dinner..."

"Sasuke. I told you, 'No more chores,' didn't I? I'll prepare the bath and dinner, so go on quickly. All right, both of you?"

Faced with his mother's beautiful smile, there was no other option but to nod.

The door was slammed shut. As the sound of his mother's footsteps faded away, Sasuke heard the sound of his long-held image crumbling.

Of course, it was only natural that the wife of the Uchiha clan head would not be just an ordinary woman. He couldn't help but think that they must get along well as wives.

◆

"..."

"..."

Awkward. That was the only word that could describe the atmosphere between the two of them now.

Kicked out of the house, Sasuke and Itachi headed towards the Uchiha clan's forest.

As they walked, passersby tried to greet them, but froze in the face of the awkward atmosphere, then averted their eyes and hurried away. This went on for a dozen or so people until they finally came into view of their usual training ground.

Large rocks surrounded by trees stretched out before them. Warm sunlight filtered through the leaves and onto the ground.

There was no winter wind blowing, and for some reason, the place seemed to have an air of tranquility.

"Wow, nii-san! You hit the bullseye right in the dead center from behind the rock! Okay, I'll do it too...!

"Sasuke, let's go home soon."

"Huh...? You said you'd teach me a new shurikenjutsu technique!"

"I have an important mission tomorrow, and I have to prepare for it."

"...nii-san, you're a liar."

───Forgive me, Sasuke. Next time."

Nostalgic memories flooded back. Sasuke had wanted his brother's praise and had strained his ankle doing something stupid, and Itachi had ended up carrying him on his back. Thinking about it now, it was a silly thing to do.

But even after a hundred years, he could still remember it, so the pain hadn't been completely in vain.

Prompted by these warm memories, Sasuke turned to his brother.

"Nii-san, listen..."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke."

"Huh?" A pathetic sound escaped his lips.

"I'm sorry."

He genuinely couldn't understand why his brother was apologizing again.

It was Sasuke who had been rude to his brother, who had invited him out of kindness. He frowned and peered into Itachi's face, but Itachi quickly looked away.

'You both need to communicate better.'

His mother's voice from earlier echoed in his mind.

She was right. Back then, they could only speak their true feelings once. That was truly the last time.

But now.

Now that they were both alive, they could face each other again.

"Why are you apologizing, nii-san? I'm the one who should be apologizing."

"I'm going to Shisui's house. Be back before it gets dark."

...nii-san, you're not listening.

Realizing this, Sasuke grabbed Itachi's hand, who was about to walk away, and forced him to sit down on a large rock.

The sunlight was warm on their faces, and it would probably be nice to take a nap here, Sasuke thought idly.

Sitting down, Sasuke was taller than Itachi, who was still eleven years old, about the same age as his great-great-grandson. Thinking about it, Sasuke found it kind of endearing, and his heart ached for the burden his brother carried.

Looking into Itachi's downcast eyes, Sasuke slowly spoke.

"Nii-san, I'm sorry about earlier. But you're always busy with missions, and it must be tiring to deal with me when you get home. So..."

"That's not true!"

"...Ow!"

Sasuke doubled over in pain from Itachi's sudden headbutt. The only thing that saved him was that he didn't bite his tongue and bleed all over himself, even though he was talking at the time.

He managed to tell Itachi he was okay, even though he was in tears, and looked up at Itachi's face intently. The roles had reversed again, but this time Itachi didn't look away.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke..."

"Well, I can understand that now. But what about your apology earlier? And what's different?"

Hesitating slightly in response to Sasuke's question, Itachi stroked Sasuke's head gently and sadly.

"I'm apologizing for not considering your feelings and for... being afraid you would hate me..."

"Huh?"

Itachi's absurd statement made Sasuke's cheeks twitch.

"Even if you resent me, we are the only brothers in the world. I will continue to be the wall you must surpass..."

"Wait a minute, nii-san! I just didn't want to burden you, and I love and respect you! I wanted to train too! But I wanted you to rest. I don't want you to get hurt on a mission..."

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke blurted out, trying to clear up the misunderstanding, but he quickly covered his mouth at the sound of his brother's happy voice.

As he thought about his own words, he realized that his face was slowly turning red.

Itachi, who had changed from a gloomy expression to a bright smile, made Sasuke turn his face away this time.

"You were worried about me? Thank you, Sasuke."

"W-well... more importantly! What was different about what you said earlier?!"

"Earlier... ah, that's it. I've never been tired of spending time with you."

Itachi stopped talking and looked at Sasuke with a smile.

In the depths of their eyes, the calm black pupils eloquently told him that this was his true heart.

The wind blew between them. The cold north wind felt very good on his hot cheeks, and his fluttering heart calmed down.

"In fact, I get a lot of energy from you. That's why I was getting impatient that you hadn't asked me to train lately, so I took the initiative today."

"...what the heck?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed as if he was looking at something dazzling.

Itachi leaned in close to Sasuke's ear and whispered as if telling a secret.

"Because of you... I can come back here and smile and say 'welcome home'."        (*´ω｀*)

He remembered Itachi standing in front of the entrance.

The second time he heard his brother's true feelings, they were gently embellished. But even so, they were still tinged with an undeniable pain.

◆

"Nii-san, show me some shurikenjutsu."

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. It's getting dark."

Winter days were short, and the sky had already turned crimson.

The gesture of flicking his forehead was painfully familiar. I've become more and more of a pain as I've gotten older, but the only person who does this to me is the same as always.

He pouted and complained, but at the words "Mother will be scary if we stay out late," he nodded in agreement and laughed.

"Hey, nii-san, can you come with me to train tomorrow?"

"Oh, I know. Let's make some rice balls for lunch and take them in a bento box tomorrow."

"With bonito flakes and kombu?"

"Of course. Since we missed out, let's also take some Uchiha crackers and dumplings as snacks."

A warmth spread through Sasuke's chest despite the setting sun. He looked up at Itachi, whose face was softened by the twilight.

"Alright, then let's go home."

Itachi ruffled Sasuke's hair with a smile. As they walked back, the long shadow of the two stretched out behind them, merging into one as the sun dipped below the horizon.

The wind, carrying the scent of the coming night, whispered through the trees.

A single shadow stretched out before them.

The wind was starting to blow strongly, but the hands clasped together were warm, and they didn't feel the cold at all.

The trees swayed happily as they watched the two figures walk away.

Sasuke is still a child at heart, even though his body has grown accustomed to the world. He's oblivious to it.

I guess he'll be drawn back to his childlike innocence soon enough.

Oh yeah, the name of the old lady who runs the cracker shop is Uchiha Uruchi! I just found that out when I looked it up! (*´ω｀*)

Uchiha Uruchi (46)

The wife of the owner of "Uchiha Senbei", she supports the shop together with him. The crackers, baked with care one by one, were popular with children for their deep flavor.