Brother, Help Me Make Some Bento

"Ah, Brother's feet have gone numb."

Sasuke exclaimed in surprise, then quickly pouted. "Hey, I've told you so many times, don't stand on the streetlamp. If you stand there that long, how could your feet not go numb?"

After saying that, Sasuke crouched down and gently massaged his brother's feet with his hands, speeding up the blood flow.

Listening to Sasuke lecture him in the tone of an adult,

Itachi's mouth twitched. My feet went numb because of you. You took so long to come home for dinner. After waiting that long, of course my feet went numb.

But Itachi would never say something like that to Sasuke.

He would never blame his little brother for anything.

His little brother was his little angel.

Looking warmly at his younger brother, who had his head lowered and was gently, diligently massaging his feet, a faint smile appeared on Itachi's face.

"Brother, do you feel better?" After massaging him for more than ten minutes, Sasuke raised his head and asked Itachi.

Hearing that, Itachi moved his ankles and said, "Mm, I'm fine now. No need to trouble yourself, Sasuke."

With that, Itachi stood up.

"Let's go home!"

"Mm."

One tall and one small figure walked hand in hand along the road home. Sunlight fell freely over them. From afar, the green grass, streetlamps, road, and gentle breeze seemed to fill the air with a hazy light.

At that moment, time seemed to slow.

So slow that it was about to freeze in place.

Near the entrance to the Uchiha Clan Grounds was a large meadow. It was densely covered in dandelions, their delicate white tufts like tiny parasols.

When the wind came, they all bent together, gently carrying some of their children away to dance across the sky with the breeze.

"Brother, let's cut through the meadow..."

Looking at the dandelions, Sasuke suddenly remembered that many years ago, when he was three or four, his brother had taken him chasing through this meadow. Dandelions had filled the sky as they looked up and shouted, "It's snowing! It's snowing!"

Later on, his brother had needed to train hard, and he himself had begun learning some basic Uchiha Ninjutsu. It had become difficult for them to have that much fun again.

Now, looking at the dandelions blooming everywhere, Sasuke made the suggestion.

Itachi turned to look at Sasuke and nodded. "All right!"

"Haha..." The moment his brother agreed, Sasuke burst out laughing. He spread his arms and rushed into the dandelion field, running with laughter. Wherever his hands brushed against the dandelions, their seeds scattered and rose with the wind.

"Brother, come on!" Sasuke looked back and saw his brother still standing on the ridge, so he called out loudly.

Itachi chuckled and spread his arms as well, rushing into the dandelion field. Seeing that his brother had come down too, Sasuke started running again. Itachi was fast and soon caught up beside him. The two ran swiftly together.

In an instant, white dandelion seeds filled the entire sky, while beneath them rang the brothers' cheerful laughter, rising and falling.

Sasuke picked a huge handful of dandelions and ran in front of Itachi. Opening his mouth, he blew hard, and the dandelion seeds instantly flew away, covering Itachi from head to toe.

"Hahaha..." Sasuke clutched his stomach and laughed happily.

"Hmph..." Itachi also picked a huge handful of dandelions and blew them into Sasuke's face.

For a while, the two played around in this way.

Suddenly, both of them stopped talking and looked at each other. Then, in perfect tacit understanding, they raised their dandelions high, tilted their heads back, and blew with all their strength.

The white dandelion seeds floated unsteadily into the sky.

"It's snowing! It's snowing!"

"It's snowing! It's snowing!"

The brothers shouted at the dandelions soaring across the sky.

Before long, the two brothers grew tired from playing. They lay in the dandelion meadow with their hands beneath their heads, gazing at the deep, clear blue sky as dandelion seeds drifted down softly onto them.

"Brother, I have a friend now." After a while, Sasuke said happily.

Itachi had long had a feeling about Sasuke's words. Without showing it, he turned over with his back to Sasuke and asked in an even tone, "Oh? Tell your brother about him."

"Mm." Sasuke raised a hand and caught a falling dandelion seed between his fingers. "Brother, do you remember the guy I told you about before? The one who stopped me after school? It's that guy. We became friends."

"Oh. Isn't he your opponent?"

"Mm. He's an opponent, and also a friend." Sasuke said seriously, "But Brother, his cooking is really, really good. The food he makes smells so amazing. His cooking is just as good as yours."

"Is that so?"

Itachi touched his stomach, which felt empty. That was good too. At least Sasuke would have someone to cook for him in the future.

I've always worried that if I can't cook for Sasuke someday, who could take my place? Now, perhaps I should thank that friend of his.

"So you came home so late today because you ate at your new friend's place?" Itachi asked.

"Mm-hmm." Sasuke shifted closer and hugged Itachi around the waist. "Brother, I'm sorry. I just felt that I shouldn't refuse a new friend's kindness."

"You made a new friend. Your brother is happy before anything else, so how could I blame you? From the sound of it, Sasuke, you think highly of him. Your brother should get to know him sometime." Itachi placed his hand over Sasuke's and said with a smile.

"Really? Naruto also said he wants to meet you, Brother. He even said he wants to compete with you in cooking." Hearing his brother's words, Sasuke happily sat up.

"Oh? He's quite full of himself, daring to compete with me in cooking..." A hint of pride appeared on Itachi's face.

"His name is Naruto?"

"Mm. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Brother, let me tell you..."

"Let's go home. You can tell me as we walk..."

Along the way, Sasuke talked entirely about Naruto. Itachi merely listened quietly, his expression unchanged, though he occasionally smiled to humor his little brother.

When they got home, Sasuke saw the table full of dishes and felt another pang of guilt. His brother really had stayed home and cooked for him today.

"I'm sorry, Brother," Sasuke said again.

Itachi crouched down, held Sasuke's shoulders with both hands, and said seriously, "Sasuke, you're never allowed to apologize to your brother again. You will never have anything to be sorry to me for."

"Mm, all right, Brother." Seeing his brother say that, Sasuke said nothing more.

Seeing that Sasuke had obediently agreed, Itachi smiled and prepared to clear the dishes off the table.

"Brother."

Sasuke's voice came from behind him again. Itachi stopped, turned back, and looked at Sasuke.

"Brother, help me make some bento tomorrow. I want to return Naruto's kindness. Um, Naruto eats a lot—about as much as ten of me—so please make extra, Brother."

"Thank you, Brother." Sasuke bowed in thanks.

Itachi: (〒︿〒)