A month had passed since the academy evaluation.
The noise had faded, but it hadn't disappeared. It lingered in the way people looked, in the way conversations dipped for a second when he passed, then picked up again like nothing had happened.
Late morning settled over the Uchiha district.
The compound was quieter than usual. No training calls, no movement cutting through the courtyards. Just the low presence of people inside their homes and the occasional shift of wood or footsteps behind closed doors. Sunlight rested across the tiled roofs and spilled into the open spaces between buildings.
Shisui didn't slow as he walked in.
"Oi"
He was already halfway through the courtyard.
Roen followed behind him, hands loose at his sides.
Itachi stepped out from the interior walkway before Shisui reached the center.
"You're late," Shisui said.
"It's still morning."
"That's late."
Roen glanced between them.
"You came early."
Shisui shot him a look. "Don't defend him."
"I'm not."
"Sounds like it."
Roen didn't bother answering.
Itachi had already turned.
They followed.
The village moved around them.
Shops open. Voices carrying. Someone arguing over something small that didn't matter. Children cutting through the street in bursts of movement that didn't follow any pattern.
No one stopped them.
A few people looked.
Then didn't.
Roen watched the flow of it for a few seconds before speaking.
"Let's go to Ichiraku."
Shisui stopped walking.
"…You've never been."
Not a question.
Roen shook his head.
"I've heard about it."
Shisui stared at him.
"You've heard about it."
Roen waited.
"…and never gone."
Roen didn't react.
Shisui let out a short laugh through his nose.
"That's actually annoying."
"It's just food."
Shisui pointed at him. "Don't say that there."
Roen looked at him flatly. "It's still food."
Shisui shook his head like he'd given up.
"Unbelievable."
Itachi had already adjusted direction.
The stall was smaller than Roen expected.
Half open to the street. A curtain shifting slightly with the air. Inside, the space tightened immediately, the counter worn smooth, stools close enough that it wouldn't take much to fill it.
Heat rolled out.
Steady.
The smell followed.
Heavy. Layered. Something deeper underneath it that didn't sit the same as the rest of the village.
Roen stepped in.
Behind the counter, the man glanced up.
Younger than expected.
Late twenties, maybe. Not the way Roen remembered him. Not the version that existed behind a screen, flattened into something distant. This felt… closer. Real in a way that didn't match the memory at all.
"Three?"
Shisui dropped onto a stool. "Yeah."
Roen sat beside him. Itachi took the other side.
"What are you having?" Shisui asked.
"Miso chashu."
Shisui gave a short nod. "Alright."
"Tonkotsu."
Itachi spoke last.
"Shōyu."
The man turned back without a word.
Water shifting. Broth lifting. Steam rising and thinning out again.
Roen rested his arms on the counter.
Something about this felt familiar.
Not here.
Somewhere else.
A counter. Same position. Someone talking too much. Someone else telling them to shut up.
He blinked once.
Gone.
The bowls arrived.
Steam rose immediately.
Roen looked down.
Dark broth. Thick. Pork resting across the surface. Noodles hidden beneath.
He picked up the chopsticks.
Took a bite.
Paused.
"…That's heavier than I expected."
Shisui leaned forward and took a bite of his own and immediately pulled back slightly.
"Still too hot"
He exhaled sharply through his teeth, fanning his mouth once with his hand before going straight back in anyway.
Roen watched him.
"You just burned yourself."
"I know."
"And you're still eating it."
Shisui didn't look up. "Yeah."
Roen took another bite.
"…That makes sense."
Itachi ate without reacting, movements clean as usual.
Shisui talked between bites, cutting himself off mid-sentence more than once, jumping between things that didn't need finishing.
Roen listened.
Didn't try to follow everything.
Didn't need to.
They stepped back into the street.
Cooler air. Noise returning in layers.
No direction.
Just walking.
For a bit, nothing was said.
Then
"I'm thinking of graduating early."
Shisui didn't look at Itachi immediately.
"…Already?"
"I'm not learning anything new."
Shisui let out a quiet breath.
"That's not the point."
Itachi didn't answer.
Shisui glanced at him now.
"You think missions are the same as this?" he said, tapping his own shoulder lightly. "People don't move clean out there."
"That doesn't change anything."
"It does."
Itachi looked at him.
Shisui held it for a second.
Then looked away first.
"…You'll see."
They walked a few steps in silence.
Roen spoke without looking at either of them.
"You'll be slower in a team."
Shisui glanced at him.
Itachi didn't.
Roen continued.
"They won't keep up."
Shisui gave a short huff. "That's one way to put it."
Itachi didn't argue.
That was answer enough.
The village thinned as they moved out.
Less sound. Less movement.
Just footsteps. Wind through trees.
Shisui slowed slightly, hands behind his head now.
Itachi had gone quiet again.
Roen noticed.
Didn't ask.
Didn't need to.
They kept walking.