Chapter 2: Can You Be Healthy Eating Snacks Like a Meal?
On the streets of Konoha village.
The little boy holding up a crow presented a rather pitiable sight, especially since this particular crow looked extremely fierce.
A cute little boy and a pitch-black, savage-looking bird...
It was an incongruous picture.
A few rowdy kids ran past them, noticed the crow on Uchiha Itachi's arm, yelled, and scattered.
Even a little girl who seemed to want to talk hesitated, bit her lip, and left after seeing Kitahara's crimson eyes.
Uchiha Itachi wasn't good at interacting with people to begin with, and now carrying a bird that looked tough just by its appearance, even fewer children spoke to him.
"This is our village..." Uchiha Itachi didn't mind, just squeezed his slightly sore arm and said softly, "Konoha Hidden Village."
"Caw..."
Kitahara noticed his discomfort, lightly flew up, and landed on his shoulder.
Because its current size was slightly larger than the little boy's head, Uchiha Itachi instinctively tilted his head to make space, but this was much more comfortable.
The crow's feathers gently brushed his small face, warm and slightly itchy.
"Those... children just now, they're the same age as me." Uchiha Itachi tilted his head, watching their figures disappear down the street, his tone somewhat low, "But... we clearly aren't suited to be together."
It wasn't that he didn't want friends.
However, Uchiha Itachi was confused by the conflicts between ninjas and uninterested in children's make-believe games.
"Caw..."
Kitahara spread its wings and gently patted the little boy's hair, as if comforting him.
The little boy's cheeks flushed slightly. A smile appeared on his face as he headed towards the village's commercial street.
"There's a Takoyaki place ahead, the taste is average, but during the summer festival, lots of people queue up, making it hard to buy. It's strange..."
"You can often run into ninja adults at this grilled skewer place, but I don't like the taste... The ninjas' stories are interesting, but the adults get so loud when they're drunk, Dad is no exception..."
"This place sells Three-Color Dango, they taste sweet... but Dad doesn't like sweets..."
Uchiha Itachi chattered on, a rare experience for him. Throughout his life, he only talked this much when facing his younger brother...
Whether it was sweet talk or harsh words directed at his brother...
The little boy noticed the crow on his shoulder fixating on the dango shop, his face lit up with joy: "Do you want to eat this? Let's go buy some!"
"...Caw..."
Kitahara let out a weak cry. You're the one who wants it more, kid! Still, what child doesn't eat sweets...
Perhaps it was precisely because Uchiha Fugaku refused to indulge his son's sweet tooth that Itachi never forgot it his whole life!
Kitahara's gaze rested on the little boy happily taking out money. Clearly the one who loves sweets the most, yet he endured a lifetime of bitterness...
Once it figured out the chakra within its body and how to activate those jutsu, maybe it could...
"Um... can crows eat sweets too?" Uchiha Itachi held the small bag, constantly glancing between the skewer of Three-Color Dango in his hand and Kitahara's eyes, involuntarily swallowing.
"..."
The crimson eyes showed a tendency to roll back... Kitahara knew perfectly well what the little boy was thinking!
"Caw!"
The crow suddenly shot out its sharp beak, snatched a red dango ball, and quickly swallowed it!
I had a mind to help you out, yet you won't even part with a skewer of dango!
Are all Uchiha people this calculating?
Kitahara grumbled inwardly while tasting the dango. This flavor, isn't it way too rich!
"Hmm? You don't like it?" The little boy watched Kitahara turn its head away, seemingly uninterested in the dango, and happily took a bite himself.
The bag of Three-Color Dango was quickly emptied.
Uchiha Itachi finished the dango, burped contentedly, then seemed to realize he had lost his composure and quickly straightened up.
Kitahara was dumbfounded...
Hey, hey, hey, this Three-Color Dango barely qualifies as a snack! Yet you eat it like a meal...
"Caw..."
Seeing the food residue on the little boy's face, Kitahara subconsciously extended its wing...
"Ah, thank you!" Uchiha Itachi preemptively wiped his mouth clean, revealing a perfectly proper smile.
It felt like... it had been a long time since he was this happy after returning from the battlefield... The last time was when his father praised his shuriken throwing skills.
"Itachi, aren't you heading home yet?"
"Grandma, I'm heading back right away!"
"The weather's getting colder, don't make Lady Mikoto worry!" The old woman tottered away, a round fan emblem visible on the back of her robe.
It seemed that ever since the Third Shinobi World War, there were no more enthusiastic kids helping old ladies home...
"Yes!"
Itachi stood up straight and replied properly, his hair pressed tightly against the crow's wing.
After a moment, he held out his arm, signaling for Kitahara to stand on it: "Do you want to come home with me?"
"Caw!"
Naturally. Kitahara wasn't just an ordinary crow... It was very interested in the life of Konoha ninjas!
"..."
Itachi silently patted the crow's wing. He needed to carefully craft a story about this crow...
Whether it was jumping off the cliff today or secretly eating sweets, both would surely earn scolding from his parents.
But that wasn't a problem. He, Uchiha Itachi, had a talent for making up stories!
The Uchiha clan's compound was still located in a bustling section of the village. Perhaps it was birds of a feather flocking together, or perhaps for other reasons, ninjas were coming and going in all directions.
Today was the day Konoha buried the heroes who died in the Third Shinobi World War... Sadness lingered on their faces, more or less.
"The meaning of life is so heavy, why must there be war..."
The little boy's emotions were inevitably affected by those around him. He tiptoed into his home and closed the main door.
"Is that Itachi back?"
Perhaps because Itachi was still an only child, his parents' attention and affection were strong. His mother, Uchiha Mikoto, walked out of a room to greet him as she spoke.
"Mom, are you cooking?"
Uchiha Itachi looked at the apron his mother wore. Usually, around this time, he would go to the kitchen to do whatever chores he could to lessen his mother's burden.
But today...
"A crow? A pet? Why did you bring it home?"
She immediately spotted the crow on her child's arm, puzzled. Itachi had been mature since he was little, rarely showing interest in external things. Bringing home a crow today...
Itachi shook his head, thought for a moment, then replied, "No, he's a friend I just made today."
"..."
Her son usually ignored little girls and paid no mind to little boys. Just the other day, she and her husband Fugaku had discussed whether Itachi might feel too isolated, whether they needed to do something...
And now, her son had made friends with a crow... Moreover, this was the first friend he had ever acknowledged in front of his parents.
"Can you tell me about it? Like how you met?"
Uchiha Mikoto looked at Kitahara. This was a fierce-looking crow; those crimson eyes made it seem like it wasn't to be trifled with.
(End of this chapter)