Sweet Tooth
Disclaimer: I don't own Uchiha Itachi or Seiji Yumi. Uchiha Itachi belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, and Seiji Yumi belongs to Yumi Seiji (author on FanFiction . net)
Genre (s): Romance| Friendship
Rating: K+
Time Setting: I'm sorry, but I have no idea... (Oh, and yes, Kika Island is a real place in the Naruto anime. It's on a map of the shinobi world.)
List of Japanese pastries listed:
Kuri Manju― A cookie-like dough surrounding a sweetened white bean paste.
Daifuku Pink― Tsubushi an (whole bean filling) covered with a layer of sweet rice. Color added for festivity.
Daifuku White―Tsubushi an (whole bean filling) covered with a layer of sweet rice.
Daifuku Yomogi― Tsubushi an (whole bean filling) covered with a layer of sweet rice. This dessert is green. Why? Because a unique form of grass is added for flavor.
Suama―This candy cane looking item is made of pure rice. Said rice is pounded into a paste and then sweetened and colored. It's a popular pastry among children.
Kanoko― A dessert covering a smooth bean paste with a sweet mochi center.
Mochi―A Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice and pounded into shape.
Hakuto jelly― Japanese style jelly made from white peaches.
"And I was planning on kissing him."
"But, of course, I wouldn't let you."
"No! I couldn't kiss him because his mother came by to pick him u― hey! Yumi-chan, where are you going?"
The blonde girl turned around and smiled. "I was just going to deliver this kuri manju to your mother, Sakura-chan. Don't worry, I was paying attention to your story about you, Ino-chan, and Sasuke-kun. "
The blonde eight-year-old girl jumped up and ran to the door. "No! Sakura-chan and I will take it, right, Sakura-chan?"
The emerald-eyed child also ran to the door. But not before admiring the suama and muttering, "Aww, that suama looks so good. I wish I could have some. Even if it was just a little..."
Yumi's smile stayed pleasant. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan, of course you can have some of the suama."
"Really--" "After we deliver the kuri manju," Ino interjected, gripping Sakura's arm sharply so she wouldn't get her hopes too high.
"Mhh-hmm." Yumi nodded to them both, showing her crystal eyes and opening the door to a sunny Konoha street. "Be careful."
"We will!" both girls hurrahed in unison. Then, they took off like lighting, and Yumi could only sit back and smile. The two were in the ninja academy; Yumi preferred not to be a shinobi, though plenty of people had told her she'd be a splendid ninja. She didn't give in, regardless.
The blonde reared back and pulled the door shut. Dawdling over to one of the sparkling counters, she bent over, examining her latest, and most delicious-looking creation.
"Too bad it's supposed to be sold." Yumi reluctantly tore herself from the scrumptious strawberry cake; it was truly a masterpiece.
Fleecy creme-colored icing on top that slightly dripped from the sides (almost like flawless, twinkling snow). Surmounting the "snow", there were rose-colored flowers blooming. Rose-colored flowers made of saccharine Rose Paste, to be exact. There were several drizzles of strawberry filling trickled around the cake's top in squiggly zigzags. And then, in the center, one of the biggest, succulent strawberries, sporting the color of maximal blush topped it all off.
And that wasn't even the inside of the cake yet.
Yumi sighed, pulling herself away from the cake again. Probably because the sweet smell of strawberries were teasing her nose. Just then, the Seiji Bakery's store bell rang.
Yumi jerked her head around to see a mini, raven-haired boy, pulling the biggest smile you could get (excluding the revealing of teeth). "Sasuke-kun!"
Yumi strode over there, placing the strawberry cake down on a table with a soft 'clack'.
"Hello, Yumi-san," the academy student bowed low, still beaming like the sunrise. "Are you here to buy something?" Yumi asked, ushering him in to look. "Is it for yourself?"
Sasuke turned up his face―an incredibly cute gesture. "No, I don't really like sweets."
"I'm sorry, I forgot. What are you here for?" Yumi asked, picking the strawberry cake up and inserting it back into the glass window.
"Mom wanted me to bring her some kind of cake; Itachi's coming home today!"
Her heart stopped.
"...Itachi's... coming... home?"
"Yeah. He's been out on that really important mission for years. When he comes home, we can finally start to train together again," the Uchiha explained cheerfully. "He also said he'd tell me everything about the mission."
Yumi shook her head, finally making herself able to speak again. "Well, what flavor are you looking for? Strawberry? Cinnamon?"
"Chocolate." The response was flat.
And Yumi, even if she had known Itachi for a while, was thoroughly surprised. "Chocolate?"
"Yeah... He's always been a choco-nut, though he never goes crazy for it when people are around..." Sasuke was too busy admiring the gleam of the window. In other words, the desserts didn't interest him in the least.
"Well, um, okay. I'll whip you up something chocolaty." The blonde girl uncovered a pad of paper, questioning the details of the dessert. When she was finished,
"Okay, come back in forty-five minutes and I'll have your cake."
Sasuke nodded, waving farewell as he headed out the door. The cerulean-eyed baker wasted no time washing her hands and finding the flour, eggs, milk, sugar and chocolate.
~X~X~
It wasn't long until the bakery's bell rang. "Hmm?" Yumi had been sliding the cake batter into the oven at that moment. She seized a towel, wiping her wet, flour-drenched hands on the dishtowel.
She stepped out of the kitchen, making sure to wipe as much off the flour off of her pants as possible. "Oh, Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, you're... back?"
Of course, Ino and Sakura would have gotten distracted and wouldn't have made it back until the next day. That's why Yumi was slightly surprised to see Itachi standing at the entrance of the door, looking around.
"Itachi-kun? I thought you weren't supposed to be back until noon?" Yumi inquired, tilting her head ever-so-slightly. "I made it back early," he replied, still looking around. He was most likely trying to decode what flavor was wafting in the air.
"Mother said she wanted some soft of 'welcome back cake', so I came here to order one."
"Oh, Sasuke beat you to it. He came here requesting a chocolate cake for you."
It was small, but she could have sworn Itachi had twitched a bit. "Hn..." He walked as slow as ever over to the glass to inspect all of the desserts. And by the looks of it (and because Yumi knew how to read people), she could tell Itachi wasn't the chocolate-lover Sasuke had said he was.
"What? You don't like chocolate?" Yumi asked, walking next to him in an attempt to catch his eye. "Not necessarily," Itachi responded, walking behind the counter.
"I thought you knew. We were childhood friends," the smallest hit of mocking laced his voice. Blushing slightly, Yumi backed away. "We haven't spoken to each other in a few years. You think I'd remember something like that?"
She hadn't meant to sound so hostile...
Itachi didn't speak for a while― something Yumi was used to. "What would you call that?" He pointed through the glass at something. Yumi rushed over, taking a look. "Hmm? That's strawberry cake. Did you read the tag?" She glanced at him, her expression unreadable.
She wasn't tired, impassive, or bored, her expression was just... adjective-less. But I guess you could pass the face she was making off as concern.
"Did you read the tag?"
Itachi turned away. "Sorry, my eyesight's not that good."
Standing up straighter, Yumi blinked as they lapsed into a longer silence than the one prior.
"Is something burning?"
"Oops!" Yumi, not one to ever be really startled or shell-shocked. She shuffled off into the kitchen to make sure her cake didn't burn.
~X~X~
It appeared that the cake, though, hadn't made it. It was already slightly singed, and there was no way she was going to present it to the Uchiha family in this state.
"Damn," she removed the cake, placing it onto the stove. She'd have to wash this plate and throw the cake away...
Then she remembered Itachi was also a customer. You couldn't keep costumers waiting.
She left the kitchen once more, just to find Itachi, looking cute as ever, tasting that strawberry cake.
"Itachi-kun?!"
He looked up at her, innocently. "Yes, Yumi-chan?" He replied, blinking as if he wasn't doing something that was completely unlike himself.
"You're an excellent baker, Yumi-chan. I never noticed before, forgive me." With that being said, he continued eating the cake. Just like a little kid.
"Umm..." She was probably about to redirect with a 'what the hell', but logical thinking kicked that thought into oblivion. Maybe he was hungry. Kika Island was quite far from Konoha. And he had had to walk and take a boat to get back.
"Is the cake good?" Yumi sailed over to his side, looking over his shoulder at the dessert. He looked over his shoulder at her. "Would you like to taste?"
The blonde thought for a while. The cake couldn't possibly be sold half-eaten. And she had yearned to taste that cake for a long time...
"Okay." She gave a perfunctory nod, walking closer to the cake. At that moment, though, she noticed Itachi had icing all over his lips.
Mentally laughing, she opened her mouth to point it out. "Itachi-kun, you have--" She was interrupted with Itachi gently pushing the back of her head to his lips.
He placed an arm around her, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. Sugar filled her mouth and tickled her tongue. It was the icing.
Then, the sweetness of strawberry hit her tongue, fruity and slightly tangy.
In no time at all, the bittersweetness of both the cake and the kiss began to cloy her sense of taste. It was too good to pull away from―to some extent.
When she felt as if she couldn't breath anymore, Itachi pulled away, licking his lips with that same sly, weasel-esque smirk she remembered he had used on her as a kid.
His inky eyes were twinkling a bit more than usual. They clearly told her one thing: More?
Yumi smiled, pecking Itachi's cheek gently. "I've missed you... Itachi-kun."
He simply kept that sly smirk pulled to his lips. "In other words, I love you, too, my Yumi-chan."
~X~X~
"This is kanoko." Yumi pointed at the toothsome dessert as she moved down the row.
"This is Hakuto jelly. Oh, here is thedaifuku."
Itachi looked a bit more curious. "Daifuku tastes good."
"Huh?" She blinked her crystal eyes at him. "You like daifuku?"
"Hn." He nodded expressionlessly. "Something wrong?"
"No. It's just kind of strange how you have a sweet tooth and Sasuke's has pretty much died."
"Hn." The Uchiha smiled a bit. "That's true..."
As if on cue, the bell rang once more and Sasuke stepped inside. His eyes immediately fell on Itachi.
From that alone he rushed over, glomping him with a smile accompanied and welcomed with childish blush. "You're back!"
Itachi nodded, half-smiling.
"Why didn't you come straight home?"
He looked up at Yumi. "I came to see a friend." Sasuke, seeing where Itachi's eyes had reverted to, turned to Yumi. "Oh, Yumi-chan, did you finish the cake?"
The blonde shook her head. "Actually, Itachi was telling me that he wasn't the huge chocolate-fan like you pegged him to be. He's more of a strawberry-lover."
Sasuke immediately pouted. "Before you liked chocolate..." He responded bitterly to Itachi, arms crossed. "Sorry for not telling you, Sasuke."
"So what 'welcome home' cake are you going to bring?" Sasuke questioned, feeling slightly jittery. Yumi and Itachi were speechless.
"How about..."
"...strawberry cake?" They both suggested.
Sasuke shrugged, waiting for Yumi to began the dessert.
"Itachi-kun, Sasuke-kun, would you like to help me make the cake?" Yumi asked before turning the corner into the kitchen.
Sasuke stuck out his tongue. "No, I dislike sweets."
"You don't have to eat it, just make it," Itachi deadpanned, making Sasuke feel slightly stupid.
"You could try just a little bit. Who knows, it might be incredibly small, but maybe even you have a sweet tooth."
Owari~
A/N: Well, that was the project I was working on for two weeks or so...
Happy Birthday, Yumi-chan!~ I hope you enjoyed your birthday present and everything was as in-character (mostly Yumi) and to your liking. (And I hope you don't mind not being a shinobi here...) Have a wonderful birthday!!
EDIT: Did I peg Itachi perfectly or what? It said on his bio that his hobby was visiting Japanese shops that sell sweets. Ha ha ha. And that was AFTER I wrote this.