Extra: Kuixing and Akatsuki

"Aoi? I'm coming in!"

I stood at the entrance of the large estate, gripping the bronze handle and knocking several times on the dark, heavy door. When no one answered, I gave it a gentle push, and the door creaked open with a low rumble.

I peeked inside to find a massive courtyard, resembling the gardens of ancient high-ranking officials. Rows of cherry blossom trees were planted in an orderly fashion on both sides, and upon closer inspection, I saw arched corridors winding deep into the grounds—the scale of this place was even larger than my own home!

"Good grief, you should just become the clan head yourself!" I exclaimed in astonishment.

"I heard Aoi's mother was from another land and came to Konoha specifically to marry into the Uchiha clan; her maternal family seems quite powerful." I recalled Shisui mentioning this once. I had been half-skeptical at the time, but now, I believed it!

I circled the courtyard extensively but couldn't find Aoi anywhere, so I jumped onto the roof to scan the area and finally spotted her cleaning in the backyard!

"Aoi, I'm over here!"

I waved at her from the high rooftop. She seemed to notice me only then, startled, and hurriedly dropped her broom before sprinting... and darting into the house?

What was going on? Wasn't she the one who invited me over to play today?

I vaulted off the eaves and landed on the second-floor veranda, seeing Aoi dash inside and slam the door shut. I leaned in to knock, only to hear her shout from within: "Wait a moment, Akatsuki!"

Having no other choice, I sat down right there and opened the dumplings I'd brought for her. I picked up a skewer and started eating, dangling my legs off the platform while watching the scenery, occasionally catching cherry blossoms that drifted down to land beside me.

Soon enough, the door behind me opened.

I turned around to see the girl before me wearing a pale pink kimono, her waist cinched with a white silk sash that accentuated her slender frame, making her look as beautiful as a cherry blossom tree.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her raven-black hair was pinned up, fully revealing her face and giving her an air I hadn't seen before.

In a fleeting moment, I felt as if I were seeing the grown-up Uchiha Aoi. Elegant, lively, and gentle.

"Aoi, you look so beautiful." The words slipped out before I could stop them. Her face turned even redder, and without a word, she walked over to sit beside me, and then—

She started snatching my three-colored dumplings!

Appearances really are deceiving!

"Aoi, are you attending some kind of event dressed like this?" I handed her a steaming soy sauce dumpling, thinking carefully. It didn't seem like there were any festivals in Konoha today, which felt a bit strange.

"Y-you, weren't you coming to my house as a guest today?" She gripped her skirt, her voice strained and laced with nervousness.

"I... because my mother told me that one must treat important people with proper hospitality."

I froze for a moment, then slowly broke into a smile.

Children at this age can express their thoughts so easily, possessing a courage that far exceeds that of adults.

You are a very important person to me too, Aoi.

I couldn't bring myself to say words like that aloud; I could only whisper them in my heart, keeping Aoi in a place reserved solely for her.

"Oh, right!"

She suddenly sprang up, trotted into the room, and brought out a box for me.

"This is for you!"

I stood up to take the box and asked, "Can I open it now?"

"Of course!"

With her affirmation, I carefully lifted the luxurious lid and tore away the beautiful wrapping paper, revealing what was inside—

A pile of green, paste-like food.

"This... is this..."

I stammered for a long time, swallowing the "what is this" that was on the tip of my tongue, and asked instead: "Did you make this?"

"Yes, this is Qingtuan, you have to eat it in the spring." Aoi held it out with a face full of anticipation. "Eat up! I'll go prepare some hot tea for you!"

"Right." I suppressed the twitching of my mouth, carefully pinched a piece of the green mush, and ate it with the resolve of a man facing his own execution!

I have to say, even though it looked terrible, the taste...

Was even worse!!! QAQ

Time spent with a good friend always seems leisurely and long.

Aoi and I spent the whole morning laughing and playing. We started off properly drinking tea and admiring the flowers, but as we went on, we began chasing each other around the courtyard. We ended up back inside for a full-blown pillow fight; I was chased until I was jumping all over the place, even resorting to taijutsu, only to be pinned down on the tatami mats, unable to move.

I couldn't actually bring myself to fight back, could I!

"Admit defeat, I'm still the better one!" The young girl's fragrant wrists were locked around my neck, and she used one hand to tickle my waist. I'm incredibly ticklish, so I couldn't help but burst into laughter. With a surge of strength, I flipped her over and pinned her to the floor, holding her down firmly.

"I was just letting you win, you know?"

I laughed triumphantly, my knees pressing against her stomach and my hands pinning her shoulders. As I leaned in to look at her expression, I suddenly realized she had gone quiet.

The girl's hair had come undone during our scuffle, spreading across the floor like raven feathers. Her cheeks were flushed, and her bright eyes were fixed on me, seeing only me.

I suddenly felt a sense of panic. Just as I was about to stand up, a figure appeared behind me and yanked me up by the collar!

"Hey—!"

I was startled, and as I turned around, I found myself face-to-face with a man.

He wore a green ninja flak jacket and a forehead protector, his deep black eyes staring at me with cold indifference. He looked exactly like Fugaku, radiating an immense sense of pressure.

I was at a loss for what to do when I suddenly heard Kuixing shout, "Dad!" My heart skipped a beat.

Was he... Kuixing's father?

I had been friends with Kuixing for so long, yet this was the first time I had ever met her family.

Kuixing stood up happily, rushed over to the man, and called out, "Dad, you're back?"

I saw the man's expression soften for a fleeting moment, but he immediately brushed past me to pat Kuixing on the head.

"A temporary mission. I'm back in Konoha for a moment, but I have to leave soon." After saying this, the man turned back to look at me, his gaze once again turning scrutinizing.

"Is this your friend?"

"Father, I told you about him! This is Uchiha Akatsuki! He's my good friend!" Kuixing happily pushed me in front of her father and introduced me grandly—

"He is my best friend!"

I blinked and said loudly, "Hello, Uncle. I am Uchiha Akatsuki. It is a pleasure to be a guest in your home!"

However, the man's reaction was far from friendly. He merely gave me a deep look before turning to head up the stairs, his footsteps heavy and sluggish.

"Since you are friends, then please make yourselves at home."

How inexplicable.

Watching his back disappear around the corner of the stairs, I finally relaxed. I turned back to look at Kuixing, but she wore a look of reluctance that turned into an apology when she met my eyes.

"My father... it might be because of his mission. He's just too tired... so... he... he's not in the mood..."

"It's fine, my father is the same way." I interrupted her, letting her know that I didn't mind.

Kuixing managed a faint smile and fell silent for a moment. Then, in a rare, dejected tone, she said, "Actually, my father used to be a very kind person, but ever since my mother passed away, he... he became like this."

"So that's how it is..." I fell silent as well.

The loss of a loved one is an indelible pain. Although I never experienced such things in my past life, the mere thought of my own mother leaving one day made my heart ache.

No matter when it happens, I never want to experience that.

Yet, many children in this world are severed from that affection from the very moment they are born.

I gazed at Kuixing and slowly took her hand, offering warmth.

Everyone is the same.

Behind a facade of strength and optimism, one is always left to face loneliness and pain alone.

"But now that I have Akatsuki, I'm not afraid anymore." Kuixing suddenly smiled, staring intently at our joined hands, lost in thought.

"Afraid? What are you afraid of?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she looked up at me and suddenly said, "Akatsuki, the Fisherman's Fire Festival is coming up soon. Do you want to make a lantern to play with?"

The Fisherman's Fire Festival is a traditional Konoha holiday, usually held in the spring. Everyone gathers by the river to release flower lanterns and river lanterns, symbolizing the return of spring and the awakening of all things.

"Sure, but I've never made one before." Aside from being quite handy with a blade, I had absolutely no talent for handicrafts.

"It's okay, I can teach you."

She pulled me quietly up to the second floor and into her room, taking out various supplies to teach me step-by-step.

I wasn't actually interested in these things, but seeing Kuixing's high spirits and thinking that the little one at home might like it, I settled my mind and began to cut the paper carefully.

"My mother taught me this."

As the sun began to set, a fiery red lantern took shape under Kuixing's hands. It was an intricate Koi Lantern, incredibly beautiful and luxurious!

My eyes lit up, and just as I was about to offer a compliment, the door was pulled open. I looked up to see Kuixing's father, fully dressed and ready to depart.

"Have you paid your respects to your mother?" he asked.

Kuixing was startled and quickly replied, "I have!"

The man nodded, not sparing me a single glance, and left only a single sentence behind: "I will be away for half a year this time. While I am gone, Xun will look after you."

Xun?

I felt like the name was familiar, as if I had heard it somewhere before.

Before I could think it through, Kuixing stood up to see her father off, so I stood up as well. I saw the man pat Kuixing's head one last time before turning to leave.

Though there were no overly affectionate gestures, his actions revealed infinite tenderness.

Once he was gone, I asked, "Who is Xun? Is she a relative of yours?"

"Sister Xun is a friend of my mother's. After my mother passed away, she often came to take care of me." Kuixing smiled, looking proud. "Sister Xun even knows medical ninjutsu! Back when I was doing underground special training, she was the one who healed my injuries!"

"So it was her!" I suddenly remembered the woman who had performed my physical exam underground years ago. She had taken care of me afterward, even roasting meatballs for me, helping me change my clothes, and in the end, she was the one who took me to Fugaku's house!

This fate was truly wondrous!

"Sister Xun is a very amazing person. There are basically no medical ninjas in our clan, but she can use medical ninjutsu. Isn't that magical?"

"Is that so..." I thought about how the Uchiha clan's chakra is mostly Yin-natured and lacks the ability to heal the physical body. If one wants to possess Yang-natured chakra, it requires arduous postnatal training; it is extremely difficult!

"Then Sister Xun really is a remarkable person..." I tried hard to recall her appearance, but it remained blurry. After all, I hadn't seen her since I started school, so I asked, "Does she come over to take care of you often?"

"She came once half a month ago to bring me some food and medicine," Kuixing recalled. "Because Sister Xun has a high status in the clan and holds a position in Konoha, she is very busy. Most of the time, she just sends her subordinates to check on me."

Indeed, how could someone like that be an ordinary person? I curled my lip, silently committing the name Uchiha Xun to memory.

"Akatsuki, where is your lantern? Let me see it!"

Hearing this, my heart tightened. I hurriedly hid the piece of junk I had made behind my back, but Kuixing snatched it away regardless.

"What is this? Hahahaha!"

As expected, she burst into laughter. I had made a lantern shaped like a little person with a bob haircut, its wide eyes filled with confusion about the world. Seeing Kuixing laughing until tears streamed down her face, I finally said, "I made it to look like you."

"Me?"

I nodded, recalling, "It's how you looked when I first met you at school."

Kuixing stopped talking, but she wiped away her tears of laughter and cradled the lantern in her arms. After looking at it for a long time, she said, "This doesn't look like me at all, you know."

I compared the two and realized that Kuixing had grown up; with her black hair and black eyes, she was beautiful and bright, possessing the distinct features of the Uchiha clan—a sharpness hidden within her gentleness.

"It is different, indeed." I nodded, then looked at the lantern again and smiled. "But for some reason, I still feel like you're the same as you were when you were little. Nothing has changed."

Kuixing stopped arguing and instead took my hand, leading me out of the room. We walked slowly along the long corridor until we reached the room at the very end.

She pushed open the door and led me inside. The moment the Gate of Opening creaked, a scent of antiquity rushed toward us.

It was a dim room, dim yet vast. In the center of the room stood a massive candle stand, upon which sat a memorial tablet, surrounded by burning incense.

In this world, outside of royalty and nobility, one rarely saw a memorial of this scale.

"Don't be afraid; this is my mother's room." Kuixing held my hand as we slowly approached, and I gradually began to feel a sense of warmth.

"Sometimes when I can't sleep at night, I come here, and it always makes me feel at peace." As she spoke, she sat down on the cushion in front of the candle stand, pressed her palms together, and closed her eyes, as if conversing with someone.

I looked up; the candlelight before us glowed with a faint light that made one feel incredibly calm, so I knelt down beside her to pay my respects.

"Akatsuki, come help me with something."

After the memorial, Kuixing went behind the candle stand and retrieved something. When I went over to look, I saw two red candles, short and waxy.

"Light them and put them inside the lanterns."

I looked at the red candles and asked, "Is it really okay to use these?"

"It's fine," Kuixing shook her head and smiled. "Mother wouldn't mind; she might even like it."

I smiled as well, took some kindling to light the red candles, and carefully tucked them into the lanterns.

"Look, Kuixing, it glows." I showed her the bob-cut lantern and successfully earned a flick to the forehead, which finally made me quiet down.

"Akatsuki, help me pull back the curtain behind us. I want to open the window."

"Open the window?"

I walked behind the candle stand in confusion and discovered that what I had assumed was a wall was actually covered by a massive sheet of white gauze! I carefully pulled the gauze to both sides, and with a push from Kuixing, two door-like windows swung open with a boom. As the white gauze fluttered, the clear night sky and distant mountains were slowly revealed!

It was so beautiful; it was already night outside.

"Mother used to love watching the scenery from here, right here."

Kuixing climbed out of the window onto the outer veranda, crossed the bridge, and jumped onto the tallest tree behind the house.

"It's you who likes it here, isn't it?"

I shook my head and followed her out, carrying the two lanterns. With every step I took, I illuminated a new patch of ground until I lit up Kuixing's face, at which point I sat down beside her.

"Do you know, Akatsuki? You can see the area outside the village from here." I followed her gaze into the distance and indeed saw layers upon layers of mountains, but without the embellishment of lights, they appeared exceptionally desolate.

"Ever since Mother passed away, I've often stayed here alone. For a long time—so long that the cold wind would blow right through me, and even after my hands and feet went numb, I still didn't want to leave."

"No one else likes this place, but I feel that as long as I sit here, Mother is always by my side."

My eyes stung, but unable to think of any comforting words, I simply offered my shoulder. Kuixing began to tremble slightly, her eyes gradually turning red.

At a loss, I hesitated for a long time before a brilliant idea struck me.

"Kuixing, how about I show you a magic trick?"

I lifted the Koi Lantern in my hand and quietly formed a seal with my right hand. Within two breaths, the Koi Lantern suddenly began to rise slowly, like a fish swimming through the sky, heading toward the moon!

"How—how did you do that!" Kuixing was surprised, and her tears turned into laughter. "That's a lantern I spent all afternoon making! You just let it fly away like that!"

Heh, that's easy, isn't it? A Wind Style jutsu does the trick! I was smug, but naturally, I wouldn't tell her. Instead, I continued to show off, "It's not over yet. I said I could make it come back, and it will. Do you believe me?"

"I don't."

Little girl, just watch!

I gently twitched my fingers, and the steel wire in the sky glinted slightly, bringing the lantern slowly back down until it returned to my hand.

Kuixing looked at the lantern, her eyes filled with the warm red glow of the light, as if she had obtained a priceless treasure—brighter than the stars.

"Here, let me hang it up for you."

Under Kuixing's gaze, I hung both lanterns on the branch above our heads—one fiery red, one bright—illuminating this small patch of the world.

"Let's just hang them here. If you want to watch the scenery here in the future, call me to come with you. Don't sit here freezing alone anymore."

As I took Kuixing's hand and leaped down from the branch to return to the room, a breeze happened to pick up. It blew the white gauze across the sky and stirred the lanterns on the branch, but it wasn't the icy chill of a night wind; instead, it felt as warm as a spring breeze, soothing to the heart.