"Don't even have a face, and you still talk about shame?" With his upper body turned into a puppet, he truly had no flesh-and-blood face.
Zaraki Kita clapped her hands, showing support.
——Hit him!
"Shut up," Kakuzu said. "Food won't stop your mouth anyway."
Zaraki Kita laughed, utterly carefree.
——I don't need a mouth to speak.
"Sometime I'll chop off your hand," Kakuzu remarked. Zaraki Kita shrugged and turned to Konan. Konan, playing along, picked up a piece of fish and gently fed it to her.
Covering her face, she said, "You two… no way, really."
Kakuzu said, "Punishment drink. Konan, Kita, both of you."
Then, using his chakra threads, he hooked two bottles of beer. "Here."
"Ah! Already beer? I haven't eaten enough yet."
"Serves you two right," Kakuzu said again, twisting to find the bottle opener. It was far away, but he extended his hand and grabbed it with ease.
Zaraki Kita surrendered, stood up, and opened both bottles. Konan also stood, each of them picking up a bottle. They lightly clinked the bottles together. "Cheers!"
Heads tilted back, drinking in sync, the same pace, the same rhythm. Seconds later, two empty bottles were left.
Itachi watched, slightly hesitant. After the earlier taste of wine, he had no expectations for beer.
Nagato smiled, expression shifting seriously, and said in a stern tone, "Daring to force Konan to drink? Everyone self-punishes one bottle. That's my order!"
"Figures." This time, the chakra threads weren't used to fetch beer. Zaraki Kita had already brought the whole case over, setting a dozen or so bottles on the table. Everyone took turns handing them out, each with two or three bottles in front. Kakuzu bit open a bottle cap without an opener; Kisame did the same. The men raised bottles, downing them like water. Itachi sipped lightly, confirming his thoughts: beer was not his thing. Deidara also disliked it, and like with the wine earlier, spat it out immediately, foam spilling over the bottle.
Nagato finished his first bottle, looked at the two underage boys, and smiled. "If you can't drink it, don't force yourself." Hearing this, Deidara and Itachi felt absolved, while the others looked on with amused eyes. Sighing, she made an OK gesture, picked up Deidara's barely-touched bottle, and downed it, leaving not a drop.
Kisame was a little embarrassed—after blowing it back, those grinning eyes fell upon him.
"Being partners isn't just about missions," Nagato said matter-of-factly. Kisame sighed; his tolerance wasn't great, but two bottles of beer were manageable.
"I understand," he said, taking Itachi's remaining beer.
Gulp gulp gulp.
Itachi's face turned slightly red. Kisame's gesture touched him, and he weakly asked, "Why do we drink at New Year's Eve dinner?" Kakuzu laughed at the kid. Konan smiled and explained, "You usually don't get the chance. Drinking is more fun with company. You'll understand when you're older."
"What's so great about alcohol? Accidents happen too easily," Itachi said stubbornly. Nagato smiled, pouring himself a cup of sake. "Then there's no need to overdo it for now."
Deidara shrugged. "I don't get it. Good. Let me drink for him, don't force him." To show sincerity, he opened another bottle and downed it in one go, calmly wiping the spill from his mouth. Deidara's eyes lit up like stars.
"Uncle, you're amazing~ hmm~"
Konan smiled. "Okay." Then she turned to Zaraki Kita. "Go grab the orange juice from home for them." Zaraki Kita nodded, setting down her chopsticks and disappearing in an instant. Less than two minutes later, she returned—her house was downstream, just a three-minute walk from here, not counting the 600+ steps.
Deidara pressed his palms together, grateful.
"Thanks, Sister Kita!"
"Thanks, Sister Kita."
Itachi blushed, shy.
Zaraki Kita waved, showing she didn't mind at all.
The adults ate and drank, the minors enjoyed the food and juice, listening to their stories. Even a genius like Deidara was just a nearly thirteen-year-old kid, and Itachi, despite his tragic past, felt insignificant among these wild personalities. Many of the strange tales were things he hadn't even heard before.
By the time the meal ended, it was nearly midnight. They had started around nine, so the dinner had lasted three hours. Four out of six cases of sake were gone, two out of four cases of beer remained. All the food was gone, even raw radish and edible flowers used for decoration. Nagato had eaten everything she wanted, savoring every bite.
The same group cleaned and organized the table and dishes quickly and efficiently. Kakuzu removed the round table, replaced it with a long table, set the remaining alcohol on it, uncapped each bottle, and brought out seven large pineapple cups.
When the midnight bell struck, the recently-fed Nagato, Konan, Zaraki Kita, and Kakuzu went for another round. Kisame used chakra to counteract the alcohol, though his technique was imperfect since it was his first time.
After the one hundred and eight chimes faded, the night sky exploded in countless fireworks. They went to the topmost rooftop, standing at Amegakure's highest point, watching the sky light up. Itachi admitted this was the most dazzling spectacle of his life. The high tower offered a perfect vantage point; nothing could block the view. Looking up, the fireworks seemed so close he could almost touch them.
Unbelievably beautiful. Not of this world.
Snapping back to reality, he looked around at others' expressions. The leader sat on the ground, smiling; Konan swung her legs over the rooftop edge, gazing upward; Deidara, uncharacteristically, lay on the ground with arms folded, tears glinting in the corners of his eyes; Kisame stared blankly, lips slightly parted; and there were Zaraki Kita and Konan, leaning together.
Itachi watched as she carefully kissed the 'angel' on the cheek. Their fingers intertwined tightly, as if never to be separated.
Boom boom boom!
Another round of fireworks soared. Itachi tilted his head, staring at the colorful night sky, deciding to stop observing others.
——Sasuke, are you okay? Did you see fireworks like this too?
━━━━ ❖ ━━━
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