"Daddy, wake up, wake up!"
I jumped on my dad's bed. Groggily, he looked for his glasses. "Hutim isit..."
"Eleven!"
He bolted up.
My dad had been hoping for more time off, but it looked like that was not going to happen. His job needed more hours than ever. One time, I caught him asleep on the couch and had to carry him upstairs.
As we went to the kitchen, I fidgeted with the edge of my shirt. "So… um… I kind of got hungry, so I tried to make breakfast… I really wanted pancakes…"
My dad blinked at the explosion of flour and eggs all over the tables, cabinets, and floors.
… yeah, I messed up. All those lessons in domestic arts didn't help.
"But! But!" I said, before he could faint. "I also picked up the groceries!" I exclaimed, gesturing to all the bags in the corner. From a bag, I pulled out a brand new bottle of syrup. I gave him the puppy dog eyes.
My dad laughed. He picked me up. "Alright, sweetie! Pancakes coming up."
I punched the air.
Half-way into the recipe, however, my dad noticed we had run out of baking powder. I didn't know we needed that for pancakes.
"Oh no, I'll run downtown now!" I said, already putting on my shoes. No way I was not getting my pancakes because of some stupid powder!
My dad peeked his head out, whisking a new batch of eggs. "Maybe try your Aunt Mikoto first? She might have some!"
"Okay!"
I bolted out at lightning speed.
To my surprise, Aunt Asa was in front of the main house, knocking on the front door.
"Mikoto, open up!" she growled, knocking again. She noticed me. "Oh, Ayae, baby, what are you doing here?"
Before I could reply, the door slammed open.
Both Aunt Asa and I were taken aback when a giggling Aunt Mikoto grabbed us in a huge bear hug.
"Aw, there's my two favorite people! Oh Ayae dear, you have the best timing. Come in, come in!"
I had never seen Aunt Mikoto so happy before! She was dancing every other step, her cheeks all rosy.
I froze when I saw the kitchen. It looked worse than ours! From floor to ceiling, there was pink goop everywhere!
"Tea?" Aunt Mikoto offered, already pouring a pot into the air. She noticed last second there was no cup and suspended the water. Tapping her lip, she glanced around for a teacup before remembering where they were.
"Ah, here you go!"
I looked up from the cup. "Is everything okay, Auntie?"
"Of course, of course! And you and your dad? How's Kenta doing? Oh, I haven't seen him in a while, we must catch up sometime. He's such a joy, so sweet, and so smart. So, so much smarter than-"
"Mikoto!" Pale, Aunt Asa held up a bottle. There was an Uchiha symbol on the glass. It looked similar to the one I had given the plump lady. "Tell me you weren't drinking this."
Laughing, Aunt Mikoto waved her hands. "Drink? I don't drink, silly sis, silly you. Who do you take me for? Kushina? Oh gods, Kushina would love it! This. This should have been her wedding gift. Not those stupid plates. What was she going to do with plates? Cook?" Aunt Mikoto doubled over, laughing again.
Aunt Asa was speechless.
Aunt Mikoto got herself back together. "No, no I just took a whiff," she said, waving. "All the bottles in the attic… all look the same… got worried I accidentally gave Akimichi the wrong one. That would be embarrassing, wouldn't it. No, no, this is definitely the less potent one... okay in an hour." She looked like she wanted to say more but forgot. She noticed the pot in her hands.
Smiling, Aunt Mikoto held the pot up. "Tea?"
Aunt Asa had a vein in her forehead. Smiling stiffly, she took the cup from my hands. "Say, Ayae, baby, can you step into the other room for a moment?"
I nodded and walked out. Then I doubled back to spy. I didn't need to be very close to hear them, since Aunt Asa was, well, loud.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU DUMBASS." Aunt Asa shooked Aunt Mikoto roughly. Aunt Mikoto looked like a kid about to whine.
"Did you forget the meeting is today. Is NOW."
"Meeting, smeeting." Aunt Mikoto made a face. "The clan talks about the same thing every time. They want clan lady wisdom, I've already given it eighty billion times, so what more you want from me! Could do more good with…" Aunt Mikoto made a loose gesture.
Aunt Asa held up the bottle. "With giving away precious Uchiha artifacts? The Akimichi? Really, Mikoto?" she growled.
"Not like we're going to drink it! No one in this god forsaken clan is going to drink it! You going to drink that, Asa? You want to go? Let's go, one on one!" Aunt Mikoto huffed. "Gods, all that junk, just sitting there, collecting dust, giving my family blasted allergies. I found a ginseng encyclopedia of all things. What, are we going to give it to Tekka and make him our ginseng expert? Because that's so crucial to our clan right now. I swear, everyone so busy stealing and hoarding, no one bothered to ask what in heaven's name we're going to do with any of it."
Aunt Asa rubbed her temples. "Did you at least tell Fugaku?"
Aunt Mikoto turned a cheek.
"Mikoto! You're interfering into foreign affairs without even consulting him? Tomoe has accumulated enough power as it is. If you keep undermining him, you're only giving her more leverage."
"Oh. Tomoe has too much power, does she."
Aunt Asa realized her mistake too late. She prayed to the ceiling for mercy.
"You know what can limit her power? Not handing my son and my title over to her. Do they really think pulling Tomoe into our house is going to change her political positions, that she is suddenly going to defer to Fugaku once he's her daddy? HA! It's obvious what's going to happen. We'll still have two fractions, only now, my eldest son will be on that side! Because that's how you get clan unity! Everyone joining that side! And once we finally have it, yippee, death to all. You can die, and you can die, and everyone can die, because that's the Uchiha way, am I right? Sure, I will stop undermining him in foreign affairs, after he stops undermining me in domestic affairs!"
Aunt Mikoto breathed.
Silence fell in the kitchen.
Aunt Mikoto no longer looked happy.
"I'm starting to doubt," she said, staring distantly, "if we should have come back. Maybe we should have just stayed at Miyako."
Aunt Asa went to Aunt Mikoto's side. She leaned against the same counter, hip to hip, facing the same direction. She mumbled something.
Both their voices softened. I could no longer hear the things they were saying. Aunt Mikoto spoke to the floor while Aunt Asa spoke to the ceiling.
Then at some point in their conversation, their voices got loud again.
"Asa! You're supposed to be on my side!"
"I am on your side, you dumbass!" Aunt Asa said, pinching Aunt Mikoto's ear. She softened. "He wouldn't go to her graduation otherwise. He's tried, Mikoto, he's gone out of his way to make it work. And now, he wants to protect him, the same as you."
Aunt Mikoto listened reluctantly.
"And I want to protect the clan, the same as him," she finally replied. A strand of her hair fell, shielding her face. "Asa. Have you noticed we have no friends?"
"What…?"
"When we left, Asa, did anyone even notice? Did anyone even miss us?
"I remember when we were younger, we had so many friends. We didn't return from a single mission that didn't have people waiting for us at the gate to welcome us back.
"The ones we didn't lose… I don't know them beyond acquaintances anymore. And between dealing with the trauma, and our jobs, and all these clan issues… I haven't befriended a single person outside the clan in twelve years.
"When did loneliness become normal, Asa. I didn't even notice I had no friends until Ayae brought home all of hers." Aunt Mikoto's eyes became watery. "Except for Kenta and his little girl, does anyone in our clan have any friends? Are we even a part of this village, or are we simply living next to it."
Another silence.
Aunt Asa lowered her shoulders. Sighing, she turned again to the glass bottle in her hands.
"Fine," Aunt Asa said. "Booze isn't a bad way to start." A frown. "Though no more whiffing for you, Mrs. Lightweight," she added, messing Aunt Mikoto's hair.
The joy slowly came back to Aunt Mikoto, as she leaned into Aunt Asa's chest. "Oh Fugaku's even worse."
"You're giving yourself no standards if you keep using him as the benchmark."
Aunt Mikoto stuck out her tongue. "Why I married him. Though Itachi's making both of us look bad…"
They laughed.
The two of them had a little more chit-chat. Then I got invited back in. They asked why I was here. Only then did I remember.
Ah! My pancakes! My dad was still waiting for the baking powder!
Luckily for me, Aunt Mikoto did have it. She had to think for a moment where it was, since everything in the kitchen had moved.
"Ah, here you go, Ayae dear!"
"Thank you, thank you! I'll ask my dad, and we'll bring you some pancakes too! Would you also like some pancakes, Auntie Asa?"
Aunt Asa blinked, unfolding her arms. "Yeah, sure."
I waved goodbye.
As promised, my dad and I returned to the house with giant stacks of pancakes to share. By then, Aunt Mikoto was her usual self again. Her kitchen had gone from goop everywhere to spotless.
At the table, Aunt Mikoto, Aunt Asa, my dad, and I dug in. I sighed in heavenly bliss. It had been ages since I had my dad's pancakes. Ages!
After the meal, Aunt Mikoto remembered something.
"Oh, Ayae dear, will you be seeing your friend, little Nanami, tomorrow?"
I nodded. "In domestic arts!"
"Do you mind bringing her here after school?"
I was slightly confused but nodded, trusting Aunt Mikoto. At the sink, Aunt Asa just gave a small exhale and smiled.
As Aunt Mikoto asked, I brought Nanami back to the Uchiha district the next day. Her eyes went wide when Aunt Mikoto showed her a long case with many pink pills inside.
Because Nanami could not control her chakra, the kunoichi pill was not safe for her. So Aunt Mikoto decided to create something that was. It needed unconventional ingredients, but Aunt Mikoto found something that worked. Nanami would not be in pain again. She wouldn't need to miss school anymore.
"Would you be able to tell your family?"
Nanami clutched the case. She nodded.
Aunt Mikoto smiled. "Good. The more they understand, the more they will be able to help you." She handed over a note with careful instructions, in case Nanami ever forgot.
Nanami nodded again, crying.
"T-thank you."
After Nanami left, I thanked Aunt Mikoto too.
She patted my head.
"Some Academy lessons, we have to unlearn. If a child is in pain, it's not their responsibility to bear it. It's our responsibility to make them better."
She thanked me for teaching her that.
