The street took him back in without slowing, people cutting across his path, a vendor lifting a basket onto his shoulder as Roen passed, the edge brushing close to his arm. He kept the same pace, feet landing clean on the stone, eyes forward, not locking onto anything long enough to stand out. A child ran past him chasing something small and wooden, sandals slapping the ground, then gone. The noise stacked and broke around him, nothing staying in one place.
A kunai sat ahead.
Not in the middle of the path. Off to the right, near where the stone gave way to a strip of dirt beside a low wall. The handle tilted slightly upward, metal catching a thin line of light. It hadn't fallen. It had been placed.
Roen didn't stop.
His next step shortened just enough that his foot landed past it without clipping the handle. His gaze touched it once as he passed, quick, no pause, then moved on. Someone stepped between him and it immediately after, blocking the view, the crowd closing the space like it had never been there.
He kept walking.
His line shifted slightly, not enough to look like a turn, just a change in where his foot landed as he moved toward a side path where the stalls thinned out. The noise dropped as he left the main street, voices cutting off behind him, replaced by quieter movement. The ground changed under his feet, stone giving way to packed dirt with small dips and loose patches. His step adjusted automatically, weight settling cleaner with each stride.
Fewer people here.
A man passed him going the other way, carrying a bundle of wood tied with rope, eyes down, not looking up. Roen moved past him without contact, shoulders staying loose, pace unchanged. The path stretched out ahead, bending slightly as it moved away from the buildings. Trees started to line the sides, their shadows cutting across the ground in broken strips.
He followed it.
The space opened slowly, the path widening into a clearing where the dirt flattened out. The ground there was worn, packed down from repeated movement, a few scuffed marks crossing over each other where feet had turned and pushed off.
Itachi stood there.
Same place.
Not facing him fully, body turned slightly, gaze set just off to the side like he'd been there long enough for it to settle into that position. His hands hung relaxed at his sides, no shift when Roen stepped into the clearing.
Roen stopped where he usually did.
A few steps inside.
Not too close.
The distance between them stayed the same.
Itachi looked at him.
"You were followed."
"Yeah."
No change in his stance.
"Still there?"
"No."
A small pause.
"You let them go."
"They left."
Roen stepped in, closing the distance fast, his hand already coming up as he moved.
Itachi didn't give ground.
He slipped off the line instead, turning just enough that the strike passed where he'd been. The counter came straight after, sharp and immediate, cutting back toward Roen's center from the new angle.
Roen turned into it.
His forearm came up and knocked it aside before it could settle, the motion short, tight. He stayed in the pocket, driving his other hand through toward Itachi's shoulder without breaking forward pressure.
Itachi was already moving.
He didn't retreat. He stepped across, body turning around Roen's side, staying close enough that the strike lost space before it could land. His shoulder brushed past as he slipped through, setting himself just off Roen's line.
Roen caught it and followed.
His step dragged slightly as he turned with it, forcing himself back into range before the distance could open. His knee came up low, cutting toward Itachi's leg, not clean, but enough to force a reaction.
Itachi lifted just enough to avoid it and set back down off line, balance steady. His hand came in again, higher this time, snapping toward Roen's neck.
Roen knocked it away and stepped in deeper, closing the space until their shoulders nearly met. His elbow came up tight through the middle, driven more by pressure than form.
Itachi turned with it.
The strike skimmed past, brushing cloth instead of landing. He slipped through again, already shifting before Roen could follow cleanly.
They didn't pause.
Roen went again.
Their feet dug into the same patch of dirt, loose soil shifting under each step as they turned. Nothing wide. Nothing wasted. Just short entries, quick changes, each movement forcing the next before it could settle.
They stayed close, shoulders brushing as they turned.
then Roen went again.
The entry came the same way, step cutting in, hand already moving.
Itachi slipped off it.
Roen followed
and his timing hit a fraction late.
Small.
But enough.
Itachi was already across him, taking the angle clean, the counter coming through without resistance.
Roen caught it, knocked it off line, and stepped back in.
This time harder.
Less care.
The next movement forced through instead of lining up clean.
Itachi adjusted again.
Still clean. Still controlled.
They separated half a step.
Roen didn't move.
His timing had slipped.
Not by much.
Enough.