Ramen Break

A/N: Context: Itachi has been traumatised by the 3rd Great Ninja War. I appreciate all the support. If you guys keep supporting you'll continue to get chapters. Enjoy the chapter!

Bruises had formed on Eiji's face and body from the previous beat down. The pain from the blows, which had previously been suppressed, emerged now that the adrenaline had subsided.

'I never knew kicks could hurt this bad. What do they feed kids in this village? The academy must have an incredibly strict routine..'

Scanning the area, Eiji landed his eyes on a ramen shop that lit up the street with two large lamps.

'Ichiraku Ramen huh? I'm kinda craving some ramen for a change.. I was never a big fan of ramen in my past life. Maybe the ramen here is better. Shisui did mention it was some of the best food he's had. But knowing Shisui, I doubt he's a picky eater, making this unlikely to be as great as he says.'

Resolving to give the food a try, Eiji walked into the shop, jumping onto a chair that should've been far too tall for him to sit on.

"What would you like?" a man with wrinkles by his eyes, who wore a chef's hat above his black hair, asked.

Throwing his head back, Eiji looked up at the menu, aiming to determine what he'd like to eat. A majority of the meals consisted of pork, but Eiji was never a fan of it. After taking his time to look over the menu, Eiji finally settled on the beef ramen dish.

"I'd like a bowl of beef ramen, please," Eiji requested.

The owner's eyebrow shot up. "Not much of a pork guy, huh?" he asked.

"I feel nasty the next morning, so I'm not a big fan," Eiji answered.

'I learned I hated pork in my past life. Pork is always going to taste the same, no matter what world it is, so I'm not giving it another chance. I don't want to risk it hindering tomorrow's training.'

Lowering his vision from his high seat, Eiji noticed a little girl around the same age as him, chopping up vegetables for the owner to use.

"Who's that?" Eiji asked the owner.

The owner looked back, trying to figure out who Eiji was pointing at. "Ah, this little one here? Her name is Ayame. She's my daughter and assistant chef!" the owner proudly exclaimed.

'Daughter, huh... Father used to talk about me with the same enthusiasm.'

Eiji's expression darkened. The hunger had taken Eiji's mind off his father's death, but seeing the close relationship between father and daughter reminded him of the bond he had with his own father.

'I hate to admit it, but I feel envious. I never had a father in my past life, so experiencing having one for the first time was what I had always wished for. For him to be taken away so quickly...'

Detecting Eiji's sudden change in mood, the owner placed a freshly made bowl of beef ramen in front of the saddened boy.

"Eat up while it's still warm," the owner said in an empathetic voice.

'Let me stop bothering these good people with my problems.'

Taking hold of the chopsticks the owner provided, Eiji dug into his food, eating more than he expected he would.

"This is good!" Eiji exclaimed, his eyes almost gleaming.

The owner began to laugh, amused by Eiji's brazen announcement that made strangers on the street look at the shop.

"Thank you. It's all possible due to my little Princess. Isn't that right, Ayame?" the owner said, lifting up the young girl.

"Yeah, you couldn't have done it without me! Wait. You have something on your face," Ayame said, leaning in and pulling a short noodle off Eiji's cheek.

Eiji scratched the back of his head and smiled out of embarrassment.

'A kid pointing out my messy style of eating... Not fun. I guess it could be worse though...'

"You've got a lot of bruises on your face. Did you get bullied?" Ayame asked.

'And now it's become worse...'

"No, I wasn't bullied. This was from a spar with a friend!" Eiji replied, slightly flustered. Eiji had failed to beat Kenta twice. This was a level of failure he wasn't accustomed to.

'This world truly tests me. I'm not sure if I'm liking it anymore.'

The sun had now set, and it was dark out. Wrapping up the conversation between the two, the owner took the empty bowl from Eiji and explained, "It's getting late. Your mother ought to be worried about you. Go home."

'Shoot, he's right. Mother is probably wondering where I am. I can't stress her out any more than she already is!'

Eiji fumbled for his wallet but was stopped by the owner who claimed, "It looks like you've had a rough day. It's on the house."

Elated, Eiji bowed then left, running home as fast as he could.

"He's weird, isn't he, Father?" Ayame yelled, pointing at Eiji, who had already run off into the distance.

"He is quite the peculiar one," the owner agreed.

On the way home, Eiji noticed a young boy ahead that looked incredibly familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on who it was. The boy had the walk of an adult who'd been through a lot. Desiring to determine who the figure was, Eiji sprinted a little faster, overtaking the boy and covertly looked back over his shoulder.

Learning the identity of the boy, Eiji stopped in his tracks.

'Itachi? What's he doing out at this time?'

"Hey! Itachi!" Eiji called out, waiting for the boy to catch up.

Itachi didn't hear his call, even though Eiji was sure he'd shouted loud enough.

'Why's he so deep in thought? What happened to him?'

Concerned for his cousin, Eiji ran over to Itachi, tapping him on the shoulder. The tap appeared to be effective because Itachi was now alert, flinching upon contact.

"Oh... Eiji..." Itachi responded weakly.

'He doesn't seem to be in the right state; something definitely happened.'

"Well, is everything okay? You seemed out of it," Eiji questioned.

Itachi forced a smile and answered, "Yes, thanks for checking on me. How're you doing though? I heard about your father..."

"I'm tired. I don't really want to speak about it. Why are you out so late though?" Eiji quizzed.

Itachi thought about his answer for a second and responded, "I was out training."

'Training? Something is truly off about him... I have no doubt that he trains with Uncle Fugaku, but he never speaks about it. I always just assumed he wasn't interested in it and only did it because of his status as the clan head's son. Hearing him speak of training is a shock. What happened? I doubt he'll tell me... I'd like to see what he's made of.'

"Speaking of training, why don't we have a joint training session tomorrow?" Eiji asked, putting his arm around Itachi.

'Even if he disagrees, I'll pressure him into doing it.'

"Yeah, that should be fine."

'Huh?! He agreed too fast. Is this really the Itachi I knew? I feel like I'm talking to my senior.'

After coming to an agreement, the two walked back home together, splitting apart once in the Uchiha residence to go to their respective homes.

'Tomorrow will be fun.'

----

Reminder! Powerstones and Good reviews.