The village sat tucked between two low mountain ridges, bathed in soft moonlight and awash in pale colors—silvery lanterns swaying gently in the breeze, white banners fluttering between rooftops, and intricate patterns of dark and light blue painted on the cobbled streets. Team Taka hadn’t planned to stop here, not really. It had just been a place on the map, a convenient detour for supplies.

But as they crested the ridge and looked down at the glowing scene below, Suigetsu had grinned.

“Yo, tell me that isn’t a festival,” he said, practically bouncing on his heels. “We have to check that out!”

Karin adjusted her glasses, peering down into the village with mild curiosity. “Looks like the Festival of the Moon,” she said. “It’s seasonal. Only happens once a year. I’ve read about it… all kinds of traditions, dancing, offerings, that sort of thing.”

Sasuke’s gaze was steady, his posture rigid. “We didn’t come here to party.”

Suigetsu groaned dramatically. “Come on, Sasuke. Just look at that place! Food stalls, music—hell, people are throwing flower petals in the streets. You want to walk past that like we’re dead inside?”

Karin gave a small shrug. “We could use a break,” she said, attempting to sound indifferent, but there was a hint of a smile playing on her lips.

Jūgo, quiet as usual, glanced at Sasuke. “If you think we should keep moving, I underst—”

But his voice stopped abruptly.

His eyes had settled on the square below, where dancers spun and moved in a slow, hypnotic rhythm. They were dressed in flowing silk garments—long, ethereal, colored in soft shades that shimmered with each motion under the light of the massive full moon above.

And one of them—you—stood at the center of the formation. Not in a way that demanded attention, but in a way that made it impossible not to look. The silk trailed like water with every step, every movement filled with grace.

Jūgo felt his breath catch in his throat.

It wasn’t just attraction. It was something deeper, stranger. Something about you struck a chord in him that hadn’t been touched in a long, long time. Like something wild inside him stilled at the sight.

He didn’t speak again.

“Jūgo?” Karin asked, glancing at him, then following his gaze. Her brow raised slightly. “Huh.”

Suigetsu was already halfway down the path into the village, calling back over his shoulder. “Let’s go, people! I want some dumplings!”

Sasuke exhaled quietly, gaze flicking over the celebration below. The music—soft drums and flutes—rose gently through the night air, and villagers in moon-themed robes moved like drifting spirits through the stalls. Children ran past with lanterns shaped like stars and moons, giggling as they chased each other through the misting incense that hung in the air.

The Uchiha turned slightly toward the path down, hands in his pockets.

“…We’ll stay one night,” he said.

Suigetsu let out a victorious whoop.

Jūgo hadn’t heard any of it. His eyes were still on the dancer. On you. And he wasn’t sure why, but something about this place—about you—wasn’t going to let him forget it. Not tonight.

Not ever.