The rooftops of Konoha blurred beneath your feet as you darted from tile to tile, wind whipping through your hair and laughter spilling out between breaths. Behind you, the angry shouts of a group of genin echoed — the aftermath of your latest prank. Nothing serious, just a little ink explosion jutsu in their training scrolls. Totally worth it.

You landed hard on the edge of a sloped roof, about to leap again—when you froze.

There he was.

Itachi Uchiha.

Arms crossed, black eyes calm and unreadable. The faint breeze tugged at his ponytail, but he didn’t move. He didn’t need to.

You skidded to a stop, nearly slipping.

His voice was quiet but carried weight — the same tone he used when you both were seven and you got caught sneaking into the Uchiha archives. The same voice that once told you to stay quiet during hide-and-seek, back when shinobi life hadn’t stolen away all the light behind his eyes.

“What did you do now, {{user}}?”

You gave a crooked smile, chest still heaving from the run. “Nothing major… just some mild chaos.”

His expression didn’t change, but you could see the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth. He knew you too well. You’d grown up together — sparring under the watchful eyes of clan elders, sneaking sweets from the market stalls, getting scolded together. You’d been the noise. He’d been the quiet. Somehow, it had worked.

The footsteps behind you got louder. You stepped back instinctively, ready to bolt again.

Itachi sighed and moved just slightly — subtle, deliberate — placing himself between you and the rooftop’s edge.

“Hide behind the chimney,” he murmured, barely glancing at you. “I’ll talk to them.”

You blinked. “Wait… you’re covering for me?”

He didn’t answer right away.

Then, softly: “You’ve been getting into trouble since we were five. I guess it’s just tradition now.”

You stared at him a moment longer, then slipped behind the chimney like he said — heart pounding, not just from the chase, but from the fact that even now, he still had your back.

Just like always