The boy was still howling.

I stared at him, because it was easier than staring at Itachi. (He was so small. So young. This child was a murderer? And yet, those stress lines… stress lines that don't belong on a child—) There was a red flush on this boy's face too, from the wheezing in-between every giggle. Just when it sounded like he'll calm down at last, he'd take one look at me and Itachi and start laughing again.

My hands were still curled into Itachi's shirt. I opened them, sharp, mechanic, like a robot, and let them drop. Slowly, they curled into my skirt instead.

"Itachi-sama," Lady Guard said. She was mid-stride, as if she had tried to reach out to stop me before I latched onto their clan heir and called him a girl. Her hand twitched, then dropped. She forced herself to stand straight. "Do you know this child?"

"…we've met." If there weren't still a pink tinge to his cheeks, Itachi could have been commenting on the weather.

Still giggling, the boy I didn't know staggered to Itachi, leaned on his shoulder, and wheezed, "Best way to end the day." He wiped away a stray tear. "Aka-chan, of all places!" He giggled again.

Instinct made me shift my weight back. With the way they were standing, I was this close to being squished between the two of them. I wanted to step back, but—

I squashed the feeling and planted my feet. Just to hammer in the point, I looked over at the guard and stared.

Most people don't like my stare.

To Lady Guard's credit, she didn't flinch. But she did step back at the clear sign I was with Itachi and… his friend.

(This kid has friends? All I could remember was a stone-faced adolescent out to murder teenagers.)

Itachi turned his gaze on me. I tensed, and forced myself to look back. "Uzumaki Minako-san, am I right?"

My eyes widened. He remembered my name! "Yeah, that's me!" I nodded vigorously.

"So that's your name!" Itachi's friend leaned over to grin at me. The damn bastard was taller than the both of us, meaning I was at least half his height. His curly hair flopped over dark, cheerful eyes. "I'm Uchiha Shisui, Itachi's friend. I bet he never mentioned me, huh?"

"Um…" I glanced at Itachi, then back to his friend. Shisui? "I… actually just found out his name now… dattebana." My voice lowered and lowered, until the end was an embarrassed mumble. I didn't want the guards to find out I hadn't even known who Itachi was, after all. But there was something about Shisui's easy smile that left me both feeling charmed and shy.

"What?" Shisui gasped, whipping around to face Itachi. "Itachi, you never even introduced yourself? I thought I taught you better manners than that!"

Itachi—get this—Itachi rolled his eyes. And Shisui? Shisui just laughed. He threw his head back, curls flying, and laughed.

It felt like my world had tilted six degrees to the left. A cheerful Uchiha, and Uchiha Itachi with facial expressions? Next thing I know Orochimaru will be waltzing in like the Hokage's prodigal son or something.

"What are you doing here, Minako-san?" Itachi asked, ignoring Shisui. His face was impassive, but his tone was gentle.

"…I need to talk to Uchiha Sasuke," I muttered, wringing my skirt. "It's about my brother." Of course, I couldn't let on that I knew Sasuke was his brother.

"Lemme guess, the mean guards wouldn't let you in?" Shisui tossed his easy grin the guards' way, to show he was teasing. Guard the First grinned back, showing no harm done. His partner was another matter.

Apparently, Lady Guard wasn't done with me yet. "We caught her following Sasuke-sama," she reported. Beside her, Guard the First gave a snort. I felt my face heat.

"It's coz no one wanted to give me directions!" I yelled, stomping my foot. "How else would I get here?"

A line appeared between Itachi's eyebrows. "What do you mean no one wanted to give you directions?"

I scowled at my feet. Everyone hates me and no one wants to talk to me. "People just told me not to bother."

I caught Itachi and Shisui share a glance. If anything, that line on Itachi's forehead had deepened. There was a twist to Shisui's smile that wasn't there before.

My hands tightened on my skirt. "What?" I snapped. The boys jerked, then glanced at me. It was almost as if they'd forgotten I was there. That only made me scowl harder. The least people could do was have the decency to keep yet another silent "one of the Demon Twins" conversation to themselves!

"Why didn't you just talk to Sasuke-kun in school?" Shisui said smoothly, as if there had never been a break in the conversation. I opened my mouth to retort, then froze. As if I could say this was all an elaborate excuse to see his mom!

"It's… not something I can ask him in school!"

They exchanged another pair of looks over my head; Shisui's gleeful, Itachi's exasperated. I gave in to the urge to cover my boiling face with my hands. Was leaning into the confession assumption the only way I could get my ass inside the compound?

I stomped on my pride and opened my mouth—in for a penny, out for a goddamn pound—only to shriek as pale hands grabbed me around the waist and pulled me up.

"Shisui." Itachi's voice was flatter than the ground no longer under me.

"Come on, lighten up!" Shisui's laughter was clear as a bell, mere inches from my ear. "It would be a waste if she went through all this trouble for nothing."

"Put me down!" I slammed my fist against the nearest available shoulder and immediately regretted it. Holy shit, is this kid made out of rocks?

"We don't need rumors of Uchihas kidnapping children, Shisui." So says Uchiha Itachi, and yet, I didn't see him making any move to help me out. Shisui shifted, putting his arm under my butt and his other hand on my back, so I was more sitting on him and less hanging from his grip.

"It'll be quick! There's plenty of sunlight left. We'll get her there and back home in a flash!" Itachi and I gave him mirroring looks of incredulity. The sun was waving its last tendrils of orange fire at the sky. Already, the streetlights were turning on. Soon they'd be the only light left.

Now Shisui's grin curled into something smug. "What say you, Minako-chan?" To add insult to injury, he bounced me twice, like he would a baby. A baby. "Would you like a ride from Shunshin no Shisui?"

I glared at him.

"So cute." He grinned back. His eyes crinkled until they almost closed from the force of his smile.

I glanced at Itachi, and even Guard the First, unable to keep the pleading look off my face. Itachi's expression had become even more stone-faced. Guard the First just gave me a little twiddle of his fingers, the twitch on his lips saying you asked for this loud and clear.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. Go through all this trouble and embarrassment and give up now? I tried to summon Naruto's miserable face in my mind, asking the universe for strength.

It worked. Barely.

"Fine." I spat out the word through gritted teeth. "But put me d-OWWWN!"

The world went dark. Every muscle in my body was tense, trying to hold on to any sense of solidity when it felt like my innards had been ripped from my belly, leaving queasy, empty space.

Tinny laughter broke through the ringing in my ears. "You might want to let up on that choke hold you've got there, Minako-chan," Shisui said, his voice a little strangled. A finger prodded my side, making me flinch.

That's when I realized I had been pressing my face against something slightly fuzzy. The blood was returning to my face, which meant the numbness was fading away.

Cloth. It was cloth. I had shoved my face against Shisui's shoulder.

I forced myself back upright, loosening my iron grip on the back of Shisui's shirt. I looked at his wide grin, a sparkle twinkling in his eyes. "Wasn't that fun?" he asked.

I glared at him, as much as I was able. He just laughed again.

A soft rush of air, and Itachi was there, absently brushing some stray bangs back. How the fuck did this kid end up so pretty? "Congratulations," he said. "You've convinced half the district that Uchihas don't steal children out of their beds."

"Minako-chan wasn't that loud." Shisui sniffed.

"A warning would have been nice, dattebana!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

Shisui winced.

Victory!

He freed one hand to rub at his ear. "Okay, so maybe she was that loud," he admitted, giving me a mock-pout.

My answering grin was all teeth.

"Itachi? Shisui-kun?" A soft, steely voice drifted out from behind me. "What is with all that noise?"

And just like that, I was yanked back into reality. I had been so busy yelling at Shisui, I completely forgot lost stomach meant displacement meant travel, which then meant we had arrived somewhere. I jerked back, whipping my head around to take in a fence; a small, immaculate garden the likes I hadn't seen in this life; stone steps leading up to elevated wooden floors and shoji doors opening to reveal—

Uchiha Mikoto stood at the entrance to their home, her brow furrowed in the exact same way Itachi's did. In fact, their similarities were all over the place—the long, delicate lashes; the almost elfin features; even the way their eyebrows arched. I assumed Itachi's stronger jaw was from his dad.

(Behind me, I heard Shisui splutter as my hair splat across his eyes and mouth. His fault—it had gotten loosened from its bun with his sudden shunshin.)

"I'm home," Itachi said.

She took in the strange picture we made. Itachi, with the same pained expression of someone suffering an annoying fly, stood off to the side, the fence door swinging shut behind him. Shisui was still shaking his head, trying to get my hair out of his face.

I had to be the funniest looking one of us all. My hair felt like it was all over the place. I was still cradled in Shisui's arms, like a fucking child. Hell, the knot holding my jacket around my waist had unraveled, leaving it hanging from Shisui's elbow. One sleeve drew slow, sad circles in the dirt.

Mikoto's eyes widened. I saw the hint of pink on her cheeks disappear. "What do you think you're doing?" she snapped.

"We found Minako-chan outside the compound," Shisui explained, bright and cheerful. "She wanted to talk to Sasuke-kun, so we did her a favor and brought her here!"

"Don't involve me in your mischief." Itachi's annoyance was a subtle undercurrent to his now-reserved tone. He sounded louder, like he'd moved closer, even if I hadn't heard his footsteps on the path.

Mikoto's expression didn't change. She strode towards us, geta clacking against polished wood. "She shouldn't be—"

I flinched.

Everyone stopped.

Mikoto's foot was on the stone steps to her home, the other still on the raised wooden platform. Itachi's stare was burning through the side of my head. Shisui had gone unnaturally still, until I needed to focus to feel his chest rise and fall to breathe.

And I couldn't focus.

I didn't know what I was preparing for. It could have been the ghost of sharp nails digging into my ear, or the memory of a broom smacking my butt as I fled. All I knew was that every nerve in my body was focused on the foot Mikoto had on the steps.

Shisui gave me a little bounce. "Minako-chan?" he asked. Quiet. Gentle.

I stared at Mikoto's hip. Low enough to catch her leg when it moved but high enough to still have her hands in sight.

I heard a small huff, like a sharp breath caught before it could be heard. Mikoto pulled her foot back, until her feet were even on the platform and her hands clasped in front of her.

Something loosened between my shoulders with every move. But I still couldn't look away.

"Why don't you three come inside," she said, shifting to the side and tilting her head in a clear invitation. "I'll set out some tea and call Sasuke down." Her voice was soft. Her expression had slipped into Itachi's cool facade, with a slight crinkle at the corners of her eyes to look… kind. But there was still that tension in the angle of her elbows and the stiff way her hands lined up over the other.

"Thanks, Mikoto-sama." Shisui turned his head, in a way that meant I could see his grin from the corner of my eye. Something was missing from it now. "Well, Minako-chan? You wanna try Mikoto-sama's homemade wagashi?"

Itachi hadn't stopped staring at me.

Shisui tried to catch my eye again. "They're the best I've ever tried, and I've tried some from the Land of Tea!"

My fists tightened on his shirt.

"…t going."

"What's that?" He leaned back, trying get a clearer view of my face.

"'m not. Going." My hands began to shake. The world began to waver. I blinked, holding back the tears through sheer anger and force of will. "I—"

know when I'm not wanted.

—'ve had enough.

—want to go home.

Home. Home where there were no glares and no anger and no hate, just four walls and Naruto to keep me safe from hurting—

Naruto.

I curled around the helpless rage in my heart and breathed. I was here, wasn't I? I had stomped all over the tattered remains of my pride way before Itachi and Shisui even walked up to the compound gate. If I did this, I could at least say, "I tried." If I did this, I could at least look Naruto in the eye, and know I did everything I could.

I raised my head, my jaw clenched in determination. I looked straight at Uchiha Mikoto, holding on to that stubbornness with everything I had. She blinked, a flash of surprise stealing over her face, before it melted back into something impassive. I wriggled in Shisui's hold. This time, he got the message and put me down.

I smoothed down my skirt with as little fidgeting as possible, never taking my eyes away from Mikoto's. I forced myself to step forward. Her lips flattened into a thin line. But she didn't look away either.

I took a deep breath, and bent into a low bow.

"Please let Sasuke be Naruto's friend again, dattebana!"

"…what?"

The single syllable was calculated and precise. There was no feeling, only a subtle note of inquiry and mild surprise.

Did she care so little? Or was she just shocked that I had the audacity to come all the way here to ask her this?

Ah. Shit. There were the tears.

Clutching at my skirt, with my long hair as the only shield to protect the brutalized remains of my dignity, I forced myself to speak. "I kn-know that Naruto and I aren't fr-from a big clan. And that he can be r-really naughty sometimes. And that p-people don't like. Us. B-but he's—" I sniffled. Dammit. "—a good kid, really, and I'll d-do my best to make him behave more, b-but please don't stop Sasuke from b-being his friend anymore. He's Naruto's first friend and my brother really, really cares about him a lot and ever since Sa-asuke stopped t-talking to him he's been so s-sad, so p-please—" I gave up and scrubbed an arm over my eyes. "—p-please give my brother a cha-ance—"

"Minako-chan—" I heard Shisui shift closer.

I dropped my arm, to be greeted by pale hands reaching for my face. I jerked back, startled. One grabbed me by the shoulder to keep me from tripping over myself. The other brushed my hair out of my eyes. I stared at Mikoto's face—Mikoto's face, which was neither angry nor cold but filled with a concern so warm it made my tears start pouring faster.

Her grip was gentle. Her touch was gentle. She took her kimono sleeve in one hand and wiped my cheeks with it. There was no point—I wasn't stopping anytime soon—and yet she kept doing it anyway.

"Whu. W-wh—"

I couldn't even spit out one syllable through my sniffling. But she just wiped away the tears and snot, and—

And smiled.

"Naruto-kun is very lucky to have a brave sister like you," Mikoto said.

My face crumpled. I tried, I tried so hard to keep it in, but she pulled my head down onto her shoulder and I—

I cried.

For the first time since I was a small child, I cried my heart out. No holding in the sobs, no hiding the tears in the bathroom and washing them off as soon as my brother knocked. I was crying so hard I was shaking with it, wailing and shrieking as I curled up in a stranger's arms. And the whole time, Mikoto just held me, rocking on her heels as she murmured in my ear.

The warmth in her face, in her embrace; it was just so sudden it caught me off-guard and burned whatever restraint I had left. When was the last time I'd been embraced like this? Being wrapped up in the gentle arms of someone bigger than me, encompassing the whole of me, as if to support and protect me at the same time. It felt unreal. Every sob felt more like an expression of shock than of distress.

My crying ended, as all things do. It could have only been a few minutes that passed, but it felt longer. I clung to Mikoto's kimono for a few more moments, too reluctant to let go of this warm feeling that was both familiar and strange.

Little feet thundered on wooden planks. "Nii-san!" A loud, happy yell broke through the silence. I looked up just in time to meet Sasuke's eyes as he threw open the door.

We stared at each other.

"Mi- Min'ko?"

"It's Minako, dattebana!" I yelled, embarrassment shocking me out of—out of whatever had taken a hold of me in that moment. I caught a pinched look on Mikoto's face as she pulled back as well.

Oh. Right. Yelling. By her ear.

Oops.

Sasuke scowled and crossed his arms. "Yeah well The Idiot calls you that," he said, turning his nose up.

It took me a second. "Did you just call my brother—"

"Sasuke." Mikoto didn't just cut me off verbally, she cut off my view of Sasuke, straightening to her full height. "Minako-chan came here thinking that I told you to stay away from her brother. Why is that?"

Sasuke's eyes widened. I couldn't see Mikoto's face very well—she had turned to face her son—but Sasuke's expression spelled it out just fine. I would bet a pack of dango she was wearing the universal you're in deep shit mom face.

"I never said anything like that!" he protested.

I shuffled my feet, a cringe building up my shoulders and the back of my neck. It was enough to grab Mikoto's attention. "Minako-chan?" she asked, just a touch less stern than the tone she had taken with Sasuke.

"…It's always the parents," I mumbled, lavender eyes and a shy smile flitting through the back of my mind. "When we try to play with kids, it's always the parents that pull them away."

"Why?"

I jumped. I'd actually forgotten Shisui and Itachi were still there. Shisui had moved closer to Itachi, somehow ending up on the side furthest from Mikoto and me. Hilarious. Meanwhile, Itachi was busy looking like he'd smelled something odd, and couldn't figure out why.

I shrugged at Itachi's frown. "I don't—"

"Damned fox," faint in my ear, as I held on to Naruto's hand and ran away

"—know."

Itachi's gaze flickered from me to somewhere above my head. I looked up at Mikoto, but she just shook her head. "Why don't you tell Sasuke what you told me, Minako-chan? So this misunderstanding can be cleared up."

I stared at her in dismay. Repeat what I said! To Sasuke! Saying it once was bad enough!

But my voiceless plea didn't move her at all. "Well?" she asked.

I glanced at Sasuke. He looked like he wanted this done as quickly as possible, if not at all. I took strength from our shared misery, inhaled, and blurted out, "Naruto's really sad because you won't talk to him anymore which made me really worried so I went all the way here to ask your mom to let you be friends again because I thought it was her fault dattebana."

I clapped my hands over my lips and peeked at Mikoto, fighting the urge to hide behind Itachi with Shisui. Mikoto's lips twitched, but that was all.

If anything, it was Sasuke that was more affected. Disbelief cast a shadow over the thunderstorm on his face. "He doesn't look really sad to me. He's got other friends now, right?"

I stared at him. He glared back. It was a very familiar glare. In fact, it was the same hurt, angry glare I had been on the receiving end of just a few days before.

"So you're telling me that I went through all this trouble for a pair of stubborn idiots?"

"Who are you calling an idiot?" Sasuke cried, his crossed arms dropping in outrage.

"You! And my brother!" I threw my hands up, propriety be damned, because the sun had set and I had zero dignity left and zero fucks to give. "Of course he's sad, dumbass, you're his best friend! He's always moping around because he thinks you don't want to talk to him anymore!"

"He's not moping!"

"Is to!"

"Is not!"

"How would you know, you don't live with him!"

"That's enough." Our mouths clamped shut. Off to the side, I heard Shisui snicker. Mikoto glanced at him. He shut up. I managed to stick out my tongue at him before Mikoto turned that mother's look on me. All it took was a raised eyebrow and I was curling up in shame. Man, mothers are amazing. "It seems you and Naruto-kun have a lot to talk about in school tomorrow, don't you, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at his feet, but replied with a jerky nod. His cheeks didn't puff out like Naruto's would, but that didn't lessen the stubbornness in his face. Oh yeah, he was definitely talking to Naruto tomorrow, under the light of a blue moon.

I'll make him talk to Naruto even if I had to drag him by the ear—

"And Minako-chan." I stiffened. "It was very brave of you to come here to speak for your brother." Mikoto paused, just long enough for me to look up and meet her eye. "But if you can come all this way for his sake, he should be just as able to speak for himself."

Ow, and ow. My shoulders rose to my ears. The lady sure knew where to aim. She hadn't looked away from me, however, so I gave my own jerky nod and glared at my feet.

Apparently, that was enough for Shisui to feel safe to move out of Itachi's shadow. "Man, Mikoto-sama. You sure know how to knock kids down a peg, huh?"

Her lips spread in a small smile. "It hasn't been that long since it was you I was scolding, Shisui-kun."

"I wasn't—I didn't—" Shisui spluttered. He glanced at Itachi for support, but only got a raised eyebrow for his trouble. "What's that look supposed to mean?!"

Even I smiled at that.

While Shisui tried to protest his innocence, Itachi looked up at the sky. "It's getting late," he said quietly.

We all looked up. The moon had risen above the rooftops. It was still small, but growing fuller by the day. I shivered, and stepped back, putting me closer to Shisui. He glanced down at me. I shook my head, embarrassed. Seeing the moon still reminded me of the first time I tried to buy our groceries by myself. I never let myself be caught out late alone since.

Until now, at least. Shisui said he'd bring me home though… right?

"You boys better walk Minako-chan to the gate," Mikoto said. She turned her gaze down the path where we had come from (I think) with a small furrow on her brow. "Will you be alright from there, Minako-chan?"

I couldn't help the way my head turned towards Shisui, before I forced myself to look straight ahead. I swallowed, and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine." No big deal. I just had to retrace my steps to the Academy, then find my way back from there.

I was a big girl, with seventeen years of experience on top of my current six. I'll be fine!

Itachi was the last person I expected to speak up. "Shisui will bring her home." He stepped forward, so quiet it was creepy, until he was standing in front of me and across from his mother. Sasuke took the opportunity to run down the steps and all but slam into his brother. I thought he was going to hug him around his waist, but all he did was stand as close as he could without pressing himself against Itachi's side.

Just as subtly, Itachi's hand moved out of my sight, pressing against Sasuke's back. Something in Sasuke's scowl eased.

I was surprised at how cute that was.

"He promised," Itachi finished, tilting his head in Shisui's direction.

I saw Mikoto look down, at where her children were connected. Before she could say anything, a hand slapped my back, making me yelp. "Don't worry, Mikoto-sama," Shisui said, grinning. He jerked a thumb at his chest. "I'll get Minako-chan back in a flash!"

He winked. I stared at him. That was the second time he'd used that line. Was it… supposed to mean something? Was it a joke?

Mikoto sighed, but relented. "Alright. I'd send Itachi with you, but his father wants to see him tonight when he gets home for work."

"It's just within the village, Mikoto-sama," Shisui laughed. "We'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Itachi asked, voice dry. "One of you needs a babysitter, and it isn't Minako-chan."

"Itachi!"

"Hah! Nii-san got you there!"

"Sasuke-kun too?" Shisui whirled on me, crouching down with a pitiful look on his face. "Minako-chan, they're ganging up on me!"

I hesitated. Then—

"Oh, so did you want me to be your babysitter?"

Sasuke laughed in delight. Shisui mimed taking a kunai to the gut. Mind you, he did a very good theatrical death scene. He made the most ridiculous faces as he gurgled. Even Mikoto smiled.

Then it fell, as a thought crossed her mind. "Sasuke—" Her son looked up, a questioning look on his face. "—if you haven't been talking to Naruto-kun the past few days, where did you put the extra food I gave you to share?"

He bit his lip, and shuffled closer to Itachi. Itachi just stepped back, and turned to face him. "Sasuke?" he prodded.

"You couldn't have finished it all by yourself." There was that line between her eyebrows again, as Mikoto tried to puzzle it out. Sasuke ducked his head. I watched his weight shift from one foot to another.

"…threw them in the river."

"You've been wasting food?" I yelped, the words ripping themselves out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Even in my first life, I had been raised to finish every grain of rice left on my plate. Now, when I counted out money every week and balanced what I could buy with what Naruto and I needed to eat?

Sasuke took one look at my face and turned as red as his favorite tomatoes. For a moment, Mikoto's face turned cold, her pallor white as porcelain, enough that I felt a flash of fear. Would she kick me out for screaming in her house?

Shisui placed a hand on my head. "She's right," he said, voice light but still admonishing. "Food's important, Sasuke. You'll be wishing you had those bentos in the future, when you're stuck hunting in the deserts of the Land of Wind."

He said hunting with the kind of emphasis that let me know he didn't mean animals.

"We'll speak about this later." Mikoto gave her son an admonishing look, before turning a small, gentle smile back on me. It was as if I had imagined the cold, cold fury I had seen on her face earlier. "For now, Itachi is right. It's getting late. You need to be getting home, Minako-chan. Do you have curfew?"

I shook my head, my hair swishing with the movement. "Akagawa-san doesn't care what time we get home, as long as we don't wake her up."

"Then we don't have a time limit!" With just that as a warning, Shisui draped my jacket over my shoulders and hefted me up. I yelped, and scrambled for a handhold. I was left clinging to his shirt all over again. "What say you, Minako-chan? Want a quick detour? Konoha looks gorgeous at night from the Hokage Monument!"

"No shunshin!" I squeaked, spitting out the words as fast as I could.

"What?" Shisui pulled back to look at my face. The sincerity of his dismay just made it funny. "Why not?"

"Coz you don't have to." I glared at him. "If you do it when we're not in a hurry, I'll bite you. That's a promise, dattebana."

"You can't be a ninja if you can't handle shunshin," Sasuke butted in. A look from his mother shut him up. He wasn't out of trouble yet.

"I'll handle my own shunshin," I retorted. How, I had no idea. At the very least, if I threw up it would be on myself, and nobody else.

"Shisui," Itachi said.

"Alright, alright." With a sigh, Shisui shifted me around, until I was cradled in something closer to a princess carry. "Happy, Minako-chan? We'll go the slow, easy way—"

My stomach dropped out from under me. I managed to bite back a screech. Barely.

"—or not." I raised my head from where I'd shoved it against Shisui's chest, just in time to catch him grinning at me. "You're really bad with this kind of stuff, huh?"

I opened my mouth. "A warning w—"

He interrupted my yell with a hand. "Shh," he said, laughter in his voice and eyes. "You'll disturb the neighbors."

I glanced down and found us on a sharply angled roof. When I turned my head, I caught Mikoto and Sasuke walking back into their home, Mikoto's hand on his ear. Some things don't change across families, I guess. Itachi looked up, gave a little wave, and followed them inside.

"Alright, Minako-chan. You ready?" Now he was just making fun of me. I glared at him, but didn't bother protesting. I clamped onto his shirt, hoped I'd stretch it out of shape, and buried my face in his shoulder. Then I nodded.

A pause.

"You have to tell me where to go, Minako-chan."

Face burning, I muttered my address and cringed through the sickening jump-fall rhythm of him crossing the rooftops. His chest vibrated with his laughter the whole time, an admittedly soothing counterpoint the sound of the wind rushing in my ears.

Soon enough, we landed with a quiet thump in front of the apartment. "Here we are!" He let me down, and had the decency to let go only after I had made sure my legs could take my weight.

The day had gone past the peak of my capacity for embarrassment. I just clung to his hand and trembled, grumbling under my breath.

"Thanks," I said, when the ground felt steady again.

"It's nothing." He ruffled my hair, chuckling when I ducked away. "Really, I'm glad you came by!"

I shot him an incredulous look. I had made a scene at their compound gates, burst into tears at the clan head's house, and yelled at him the whole time. "Why?"

He shrugged, an easy roll of his shoulders. "It's been too quiet recently. The compound could do with some noise." What? That just left me feeling even more baffled. Glancing at my face, he added, "And I like kids. Especially kids that need to smile more often." He tweaked my nose.

"Hey!" I covered the offended feature.

Grinning, he stepped back, rolling on the balls of his feet. "So, this is your home, then?" He nodded at the plain white building. Under his eyes, the mongrel walls of wood and cement became shoddy, not quirky. I was hyper-aware of the faded shingles on the roof.

"Yeah," I said, jerking my chin up and daring him to comment. Anything would look shoddy compared to the Uchiha's perfectly manicured homes. "And?"

Somehow, that only made him grin wider. "Oh, nothing." He ruffled my hair again, too fast for me to duck. I growled. "Who knows? Maybe I'll visit! After all, Itachi could use more friends like you."

"What?" I looked up, but he just winked. "Wait—" He flickered out of sight. "Dammit."


Naruto fussed over me when I got home. I let him, too confused and tired to do more than tell him I was fine. All that trouble, just to get Sasuke to talk to him again. Several swear words were spouted in the privacy of my mind.

It was out of my hands now. In fact, a part of me was just praying everyone involved would forget it ever happened.

Most embarrassing day of my life. Both lives. Ugh.

I honestly didn't expect Sasuke to do anything. The stubborn look on his face had said all I needed to hear. Every time I thought about dragging him to Naruto, Mikoto's voice whispered in my ears.

"He should be just as able to speak for himself."

Then I would remember my rampage through the Uchiha compound and wince.

I had done enough. So I sat on any such impulse. Hard.

Imagine my surprise when a certain dark-haired boy walked up to our little spot under the tree, a scowl on his face and a bento box—no, bento boxes—in hand.

Everyone froze. Shikamaru raised his head from his napping spot, laser focus on Sasuke. Kiba had a look of open curiosity at the new person entering group territory. Chouji sat back, ready to follow everyone else's lead, while Shino and I kept mum in our corner.

Naruto eyed Sasuke warily.

I saw Sasuke hesitate. Then he shook his head, jerked his chin up, and marched to Naruto. He shoved the bentos in his face.

"Okaa-san made food, Idiot," he said.

"Food?" Kiba repeated, eyes bright. Chouji perked up. Sasuke glared at them, before turning back to Naruto.

"Well?" he asked. I could see his arms trembling from the weight, from where I was sitting.

I crossed my fingers.

Naruto sniffed. "Okay."

I slumped against Shino in relief, which made him jump in surprise.

"Bastard," my brother added. Then took the boxes from Sasuke.

And that was that.

(I'll get where he learned that word out of him later.)


A/N:

edited: 01/15/2020

Ahahahaha I don't like this chapter.

Wagashi = japanese tea sweets. Good stuff. Can be too sweet, but that's what matcha is for. (And I don't mean matcha lattes!)