Kakashi Came to Buy a Book

After seeing the kitten off and sending it away with a bag of dried fish, Uchiha Arashi saw that it was getting late and prepared to close up for the night.

Just then, someone lifted the door curtain, and Kakashi walked in, wearing an eyepatch.

Uchiha Arashi froze for a moment, almost thinking Konoha had found him. But then he realized that if that were the case, more than just Kakashi would have come, and they wouldn't have shown up at this hour.

He pushed up his rimless glasses and approached with a warm smile.

"Sorry, sir, we're about to close..."

"Is that so? Sorry for the trouble."

Kakashi gave Uchiha Arashi a glance with his trademark dead-fish eyes, then made as if to turn around.

"But it's not good business practice to turn customers away. What kind of books do you like? Since it's just you here, I can give you a personal recommendation."

Uchiha Arashi walked over to Kakashi and said with a smile.

"I don't know what I want to read. I just happened to wander in here..."

Kakashi looked bewildered.

He'd been having a hard time lately. The pain in his eye and the regret in his heart tormented him every moment.

Obito had given him that eye before he died. He'd wanted Kakashi to see the world of the future in his place, but now Kakashi had lost it.

You could say it had been an accident, an unavoidable one. But if Kakashi could move on so easily, he wouldn't be suffering like this.

The night before last, he'd gone to Konoha Hospital for surgery to replace his eye with a healthy one that had been donated. It had nothing to do with the Uchiha; an ordinary person had donated it. The new eye had made the pain go away, but his inner torment had only grown worse.

In fact, he hadn't slept in two days. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw Obito standing before him, questioning him with a blank expression.

Questioning him about why he hadn't recovered the eye, why he hadn't protected Rin, and why he hadn't stopped the Uchiha from being wiped out...

"Sir? Sir?"

The shopkeeper's gentle voice reached his ears, and Kakashi suddenly snapped back to his senses.

"What?"

He instinctively took a defensive stance.

"What's wrong, sir? I was recommending a book, but you suddenly stopped moving. Are you feeling unwell? Should we go to the hospital?"

Uchiha Arashi asked with concern.

Of course, he had no idea what was going through Kakashi's mind, but he could make a pretty good guess.

"No, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something else... Sorry, what book were you recommending?"

"This one."

Uchiha Arashi handed him the book he was holding.

Kakashi looked down at it.

"Teyvat Travelogue? What a strange title. What kind of book is it?"

As far as he knew, books with "travelogue" in the title were usually nonfiction, describing the customs and traditions of a particular place. But the name "Teyvat" was unfamiliar to him. Was there really somewhere in the Ninja World called that?

"It's a fantasy novel, more or less."

"Fantasy?"

"Entirely imagined, with no connection to the real world. And, if you don't mind me saying so, it's my own work."

"..."

The hint of surprise Kakashi had felt immediately faded, and his eyes returned to their usual dead-fish look.

"Boss, you..."

"Haha, I'm only joking. It really is my work, and I have plenty of confidence in it. To be honest, it's been the hottest novel in the Land of Fire lately. I put a lot of effort into it, so if you're interested in novels, you could give it a try."

Uchiha Arashi folded his hands into his sleeves and gave him an entirely harmless smile.

"It's a nationwide bestseller... You must be quite capable, boss. As far as I know, you need a major publisher to distribute a book across the country. Those people aren't easy to deal with."

Kakashi looked thoughtfully at the book's cover.

"Of course. But I'm no ordinary person, either. I was personally appointed Reviewer by the Daimyo. If those publishers try to make trouble for me, I won't go easy on them."

Uchiha Arashi revealed his identity without the slightest concern.

"Reviewer? I think I heard about that before... So you're the one!"

Kakashi was genuinely surprised this time.

He'd wandered into the area by chance, then suddenly remembered that he'd finished all the books at home. He'd stepped into the first bookstore he found, never expecting to end up in one owned by the Reviewer.

The Daimyo's personal appointment of a Reviewer might have been a big deal in the Capital of Fire, but no one in Konoha would truly care about someone like that.

"That's right, it's me. You know about me, so you must not be an ordinary person, either."

Uchiha Arashi nodded.

Kakashi looked away.

"I'm just a useless cripple... All right, I'll take this one. Since you wrote it yourself, I'll give it a proper read."

"Thanks for your support. I hope the book gives you a different kind of experience."

Uchiha Arashi rang up Kakashi and even gave him a set of collectible bookmarks. They were meant for lucky customers, and since Kakashi had happened upon the shop, it seemed fair to count him as one.

Kakashi left with the book.

Uchiha Arashi stood at the entrance and watched Kakashi disappear before pushing up his glasses.

"Did he really just happen upon this place? Maybe not. After wearing a Sharingan for so many years, it's possible he developed some vague sense of its presence without even realizing it..."

In the Shadow Space, Uchiha Arashi took off his coat and set aside his glasses.

"Do you really need to wear glasses? They don't even have a prescription, so it's not like they can block people from sensing you."

Izumi complained as she set out dinner.

His younger siblings had been waiting at the table for a while, their eyes red with hunger.

"But don't you think I look cultured in glasses? Besides, they hide my eyes a little, making me seem gentler and more harmless."

"No. I just think you're doing something pointless."

Izumi curled her lip, then turned and left him with her back.

She didn't want to admit it, but Uchiha Arashi really did look handsome in glasses. It was a different kind of style, and she was quite taken with it. But the more she liked it, the less she could admit it.

"But I think Arashi is really handsome! With or without glasses!"

Shizuka raised her hand and called out beside them.

"No one asked you! Hurry up and eat! Can't you keep your mouth shut even while you're eating?"

Izumi glared at Shizuka, grabbed a chicken leg, and shoved it straight into the little girl's mouth.