The following day at noon, inside the dumpling shop.
Yakushi Nono sat by the window, her hands folded together on her lap, her fingertips slightly curled.
Her gaze kept drifting toward the entrance. Her heart sped up each time the door opened, then slowly settled again each time the person who walked in was not the one she was waiting for.
'Chiya-kun will come, right?'
She murmured quietly, looking a little nervous and hopeful.
Her golden hair fell softly over her shoulders, making the lines of her profile look even more gentle.
Just then, the wind chime above the entrance rang again as the door swung open and a breeze came in.
Yakushi Nono looked up sharply, her gaze locking immediately onto the dark-haired young man who stepped through the door.
Chiya was dressed in his sharp black uniform, the strands of hair at his forehead slightly disheveled, as if he had come in a hurry.
His gaze swept across the interior of the shop.
He found Nono quickly, and the corner of his mouth curved into an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, something came up at the Security Force at the last moment. I am late."
Chiya walked over and sat down across from her, his tone gentle.
Yakushi Nono quickly shook her head, her cheeks lightly flushed.
"It is fine, Chiya-kun. I just arrived as well."
She quietly nudged the tea that had long gone cold a little further to the side.
"Would Chiya-kun like something to drink?"
Her voice was soft, and the delight in it was impossible to hide.
Chiya did not answer right away. Instead, he suddenly leaned forward.
The movement made Nono's breath catch. The distance between them had closed enough that she could make out the fine details in each other's eyes.
"Your eyes."
Chiya narrowed his own slightly.
"Has it been difficult to see things clearly lately?"
Nono felt a jolt inside.
The side effect of reading intelligence reports in dim environments for so long had been a secret that even her colleagues in the Medical Corps had not noticed. And yet he had seen through it.
Her instinct was to deny it, but under his perceptive gaze, she could not hold the line.
"Sometimes things get a little blurry."
Then, with a quiet tap, a wooden box came to rest against the surface of the table.
Nono blinked, and saw that Chiya had slid a dark lacquered box toward her.
The Uchiha clan crest on the lid caught the sunlight and gave off a deep reddish sheen.
"Open it and see."
Yakushi Nono looked at the box in a daze and slowly lifted the lid.
Resting quietly inside was a pair of tortoiseshell-patterned glasses.
The frame had clean, elegant lines, and gave off a soft gleam in the sunlight.
"I noticed yesterday at the hospital that you were squinting without realizing it when you looked at things. So I had this prepared especially for you."
Her fingertips lightly touched the frame. A warmth she could not put into words rose up inside her.
From the time she was small until now, she had never been shown this kind of care. And no one had ever cared about her.
"Try them on?"
Yakushi Nono drew in a slow breath and put the glasses on with careful hands.
In an instant, the blurred shapes in the distance came into sharp focus. She could even see with perfect clarity the gentle warmth of Chiya's smile.
The rims of her eyes grew faintly warm, and her heart was beating so fast it felt ready to break free from her chest.
"How is it?"
Chiya asked.
"Very, very clear."
She replied quietly, her voice trembling slightly.
Chiya's eyes brightened, and his gaze rested on her face for a moment.
The glasses added a certain matured quality to her already soft and lovely features. Warm, thoughtful, and elegant.
"They suit you very well."
In her now clear field of vision, Chiya's smile looked so warm.
Yakushi Nono's breathing grew slightly unsteady. She carefully took the glasses off and placed them back in the box.
As she did, a strand of her golden hair fell across her forehead. Chiya slowly reached out.
Under her blank and startled gaze, he gently tucked it back behind her ear.
Yakushi Nono could no longer hold back what was welling up inside her.
She thought of everything he had done for her.
From the advice he gave her in Kumogakure, to the arrangement that brought her back to Konoha, and now this quiet and careful attention.
She suddenly stood up. Tears spilled from her eyes. She threw herself directly into Chiya's arms.
"Chiya-kun, why are you so good to me?"
Her voice broke, and her tears soaked into the front of Chiya's clothing.
Chiya was momentarily taken aback.
In his plans, this kind of small "attentive gesture" still had several more steps he had not yet used.
He had not expected that one simple move would draw out such a reaction.
Fortunately, Chiya was someone who was bold enough to break from the expected approach, and not a person who held back out of politeness.
He gently wrapped his arm around Nono's shoulders, his touch tender.
"What is this, does Miss Nono feel she does not deserve this kind of treatment from me?"
Yakushi Nono lifted her head and looked at Chiya through tear-blurred eyes.
Her heart skipped, her face burned, and yet she could not bring herself to look away.
She gripped his sleeve, as if holding on to something to keep from being swept away.
She had long since understood what Chiya's words meant.
Every single thing Chiya had done for her had already gone far beyond the bounds of "colleague" or "friend."
But even so.
"I, do not deserve it."
She said quietly, her fingertips curling inward without realizing it.
"I come from the darkness of Root, and in the future I might also."
Chiya cut her off.
"Do not worry. I will make sure you always stand in the sunlight, just like you do right now."
Looking at the sincerity in Chiya's eyes, Nono could no longer find any reason to say the words of refusal.
"Chiya-kun, thank you."
Hearing the murmur that was barely louder than a whisper, Chiya reached out and cupped her face in his hands.
"Nono, I do not want you to be unhappy."
With Chiya's face right there in front of her, so close.
Nono's gaze turned hazy, and her lips parted slightly.
The warmth of his breath touched her face, gentle and faintly ticklish.
Her breathing grew more and more unsteady, and the color on her pale and delicate face grew deeper and deeper.
Like a lobster dropped into a boiling pot.
Chiya lowered his head and pressed his lips to her forehead.
Nono startled like a frightened rabbit and quickly pulled free from his hands.
She got up and moved back to the seat across from him.
Her gaze wandered and avoided his, and for a moment she could not bring herself to look at Chiya directly.
Seeing this shy side of Nono, Chiya found it rather endearing.
Before Chiya could even speak.
"There are a lot of people here. Later, when, when there is no one around."
Chiya had been about to apologize, but as things stood, the plan had clearly already succeeded.
He pressed the advantage while he had it.
"I have a cat at home that can do a back flip. I will take you to see it tonight!"
"A back flip? A cat?"
Yakushi Nono found it strange that Chiya had suddenly said this, but the part about going to his home in the evening made her understand at once.
"Chiya-kun, I."
"I understand. I will be there on time."
The second half of what she said was so quiet it almost did not reach Chiya's ears.
But then again, Chiya had eyes sharp enough to catch everything.
Well, that is life for you.
Sometimes you have to be bold and just go for it directly.
Looking at the now quiet and shy Nono before him.
Had it not worked out perfectly?
Chiya turned his head toward the counter.
"Excuse me!"
"Can we have the menu please!"
At the border of the Land of Fire, inside a secret Root outpost.
Danzo's gaze swept across the five ninjas standing before him.
"The mission failed? What exactly happened?"
One of the ninjas below stepped forward.
"Sir, based on the information we have received. On the return route, they were spotted by Security Force members. During the chase, they drew the attention of the new Uchiha clan head, and in the end they had no choice but to take their own lives."
Danzo's eyes turned cold and dark in an instant.
"That damned Uchiha Chiya, that damned Uchiha! They have ruined Konoha's great plan!"
Danzo slammed his cane hard against the ground. His mood was clearly foul beyond measure.
"The plan within Konoha village itself, hold off on it for now."
Danzo took a slow, deep breath and continued.
"The towns surrounding Konoha. Proceed with the abductions as planned."
"Yes!"
Everyone flickered away quickly and dispersed.
Danzo remained where he stood, his body turned in the direction of Konoha.
He let out a cold and dismissive snort.
"Once I have cultivated the Wood Release inheritor, let me see how the Uchiha can still be so arrogant then."