Kakashi Comes to Buy Books

After sending off the kitten and tossing in a bag of dried fish for good measure, Uchiha Arashi saw that the hour was late and prepared to close up shop for the night.

Just then, the door curtain was pushed aside, and Kakashi walked in wearing his mask.

Uchiha Arashi paused for a moment, nearly fearing that he had been discovered by Konoha. But upon second thought, if that were truly the case, there would be more than just Kakashi, and they certainly wouldn't be visiting at this hour.

He adjusted the plain-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose and walked over with a gentle smile.

"My guest, we were just about to close..."

"Is that so? My apologies for the intrusion."

Kakashi glanced at Uchiha Arashi with his signature dead-fish eyes and made a move to turn around.

"However, chasing a customer away is hardly the way to run a business. What kind of books do you like? Since it's just you here, I can offer you a personal recommendation."

Uchiha Arashi walked up to Kakashi's side and said with a smile.

"I don't even know what I want to read; I just ended up here by chance..."

Kakashi looked dazed.

He had been having a very difficult time lately; the pain in his eye and the remorse in his heart tormented him every waking moment.

That eye had been a gift from Obito before he died, meant to let him witness the world in his stead, yet he had managed to lose it.

One could call it an accident, an act of force majeure, but if Kakashi could truly walk away from it so easily, he wouldn't be suffering like this.

The night before last, he had gone to Konoha Hospital for an eye transplant, receiving a healthy eye from a donor. It had nothing to do with the Uchiha; it was from an ordinary person. With the new eye, the physical pain had vanished, but the inner torment had only intensified.

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

Asking him why he hadn't retrieved the eye, why he hadn't protected Rin, and why he hadn't stopped the Uchiha massacre...

"Guest? My guest?"

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

"What?"

He instinctively adopted a defensive posture.

"Is something wrong, guest? I was recommending a book, and you suddenly froze. Are you feeling unwell? Would you like to go to the hospital for a check-up?"

Uchiha Arashi asked with genuine concern.

He certainly didn't know what was going on in Kakashi's mind, though he could make a fair guess.

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

"This one."

Uchiha Arashi handed over the book in his hand.

Kakashi looked down.

"Teyvat Travelogue? What a strange name. What genre is this?"

With "Travelogue" as a suffix, he assumed it would be a documentary-style book, specifically describing the customs and culture of a certain place. But the name "Teyvat" felt foreign to him; was there really any place in the Ninja World by that name?

"This? It's a work of fiction, I suppose."

"Fiction?"

"Meaning it's entirely based on fantasy and has no relation to the real world. Also, I should mention, this is my own humble work."

"..."

The flicker of surprise that had just risen in Kakashi vanished instantly, and his eyes returned to their dead-fish state.

"Shopkeeper, you..."

"Haha, no more jokes. It really is my work, but I have a lot of confidence in it. I won't hide it from you—this book has been the most popular novel in the Land of Fire lately. I poured a lot of heart into it. If you're interested in novels, you might want to give it a try."

Uchiha Arashi tucked his hands into his sleeves, wearing an innocent smile.

"A national bestseller... You're quite capable, shopkeeper. As far as I know, to distribute a book nationwide, you need a major publisher to step in, and those guys aren't easy to deal with."

Kakashi looked down at the book cover, speaking thoughtfully.

"That goes without saying, but I'm not an ordinary person either. I am a Reviewer appointed by the Daimyo himself. If those publishers dared to give me trouble, I wouldn't show them any mercy."

Uchiha Arashi stated his identity without a hint of concern.

"A Reviewer? I think I've heard of this... So you are the one!"

Kakashi was genuinely surprised this time.

He had wandered here by accident, suddenly remembering he had finished all the books at home and just walked into the first bookstore he found. He never expected to stumble into a shop owned by a Reviewer.

A Reviewer appointed by the Daimyo might be a big deal in the Capital of Fire, but in Konoha, no one would really care about such a figure.

"That's right, it's me. Since you know about me, it seems you aren't an ordinary person yourself, guest."

Uchiha Arashi nodded and said.

Kakashi withdrew his gaze.

"Just a useless person, that's all... Very well, I'll take this one. Since you wrote it yourself, I suppose I should take a good look at it."

"Thank you for your support. I hope this book provides you with a unique experience."

Uchiha Arashi finished ringing up Kakashi and threw in a set of collector's edition bookmarks. These were originally intended as rewards for lucky customers, but since Kakashi had stumbled in here by chance, treating him as a lucky customer was fair enough.

Kakashi left with the books in hand.

Uchiha Arashi stood at the shop entrance, watching Kakashi disappear from sight before raising a hand to adjust his glasses.

Stumbled in here by chance? Perhaps it's more than that. Having worn the Sharingan for so many years, it's possible that some subconscious connection, one he isn't even aware of, drew him here...

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

"Is it really necessary for you to wear those glasses? They're just non-prescription lenses; they don't even block others from sensing your chakra."

Izumi grumbled as she laid out dinner.

The younger siblings were already seated and waiting, their eyes turning red from hunger.

"But don't you think I look more intellectual with them on? Besides, the glasses help dampen my gaze to a certain extent, giving off a gentle and harmless impression."

"I don't think so. I just think you're doing something pointless."

Izumi curled her lip and turned away, leaving him with nothing but her back.

Though she didn't want to admit it, Uchiha Arashi did look quite handsome with the glasses on—it was a different style that made her heart flutter, but the more she felt that way, the less she was willing to show it.

"But I think Arashi is very handsome! He looks great with or without the glasses!"

Shizuka shouted from the side, waving her hand.

"I wasn't asking you! Eat your food! Can't even keep your mouth shut while you're eating!"

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