"Oi, are any of you going to the Flash Festival next week?"

I looked up from my book, blinking away images of Tomo-san bumbling his way through the Fire daimyo's court. Kiba flopped down on the grass, making a half-hearted swipe at Sasuke's bento.

"The what?" I asked. Naruto shoved him back, cheeks stuffed with Mikoto's onigiri. Akamaru barked from inside Kiba's hoodie, snapping playfully at my brother's fingers.

"The 'Flash Festival' is what everyone calls The Festival of the Yellow Flash," Shino said, from one of the lower branches of our tree. A large beetle scuttled on the back of his hand, round and muddy green. "Why? Because it is quicker to say in casual conversation."

From what I had been able to gather, he had rescued the beetle from a terrified girl's desk when it had gotten lost in their classroom. He lounged on the branch, as relaxed as any child of Konoha in its trees. He brushed a finger over the beetle's carapace, in the same way Kiba would scratch behind Akamaru's ears.

Not gonna lie, it was pretty adorable.

"Oh. That festival." My gaze met Naruto's. We shared a grimace.

"I don't wanna go with Hana," Kiba said impatiently. "She's gonna be with her genin team, and they'd rather sit around and eat than do the fun stuff."

Shikamaru groaned, his arm over his eyes. He had switched from lying on the ground to leaning against Chouji's side, a half-hearted attempt to ward off the autumn cold.

"Troublesome," he grumbled.

"Ino's friend can't go to the festival," Chouji explained, happy enough to serve as a friendly cuddle buddy. I was not jealous. "So tou-chan says she has to come with us. We're not allowed to around by ourselves."

"She's going to be nagging me all night." Shikamaru pouted. Not like he'd ever admit it.

I grinned at him. His scowl deepened.

"My father promised to accompany me," Shino offered, returning the beetle to its home. He slid down the tree, then settled back in his spot next to me. I handed him his bento back. He took it with a grateful nod. "Why? Because he has been busy as of late, and wishes to spend time together."

Kiba turned to Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke shrugged. "If nii-san doesn't have a mission, maybe. I can't go on my own either."

The longer the silence stretched, the thinner Naruto's lips got. Even Chouji seemed to notice the lack of an answer. I took pity on my brother and said, "We don't go out during the Flash Festival."

"Hahh?" Kiba gaped at me. "Why not? It's the best one! Like 'Natsumatsuri, but better, coz it isn't hot!"

"Adults don't like us," Naruto said bluntly. Kiba's jaw snapped shut.

"They don't?" Chouji asked, confused. Beside him, Shikamaru opened one eye, frowning. "All of them?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it. "Not all of them," I said, a little spark of warmth spreading in my chest. I was still full from Mikoto's delicious sesame-encrusted salmon onigiri. "But a lot of them do. Like, a lot, a lot."

"But why?" Sweet, kindhearted Chouji still couldn't quite process the idea. Not yet.

Naruto scowled. He yanked at the grass by his feet. "How should I know? Everyone just yells at us to go away."

"S'why we try to avoid crowds. Like at the festival." I poked him comfortingly with my foot. He poked back. We started a foot fight, him on the ground while I sat on the roots of the tree.

"So you've never been to a festival," Shikamaru said, more statement than question. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, wary.

Deductive Shikamaru was never a good Shikamaru. I was 99% sure he knew I was fibbing my grades. If there was anyone who would notice, it would be him. Kid had an eagle eye, kept hidden by constant yawns and languid napping.

(Also, it took one to get to know one. Lazy butt.)

What concerned me were his allegiances. I knew he was loyal; the argument with Sasuke about his father was proof of that. I knew he liked my brother to some degree, too. Naruto didn't care that Chouji was fat, because the kid was a surprisingly good wrestler. He added spice to Naruto and Sasuke's constant squabbling. This was enough to make Naruto good in Shikamaru's book.

What I didn't know was how far that went. If Shikamaru found out exactly how much of the world I understood, what would he do? Would he tell? Who would he tell?

"Nope," Naruto replied, shrugging. Shikamaru's frown deepened. Everyone seemed to be some level of disconcerted at that, even Sasuke, who squinted in Naruto's direction.

Were festivals that significant here, then? I knew everyone got hyped around them, but most of the meaning flew over my head. Who was gonna tell us what they meant? Miyagawa-san?

The thought made me snort.

"Maybe we'll go someday," I said, half-hearted in spite of myself. Desperate to break the awkward atmosphere, I cast my mind for a subject change. "Hey, have you guys heard about the pink girl from the other class?"

"You mean Haruno?" Shikamaru asked.

"Ino's friend," Chouji elaborated at my dumbfounded look. "With pink hair. She's your classmate, right, Shino?"

Shino tipped his head in confirmation.

Well. That explained where Sakura was. "No, not just pink hair. The one who got bombed?"

Kiba snapped to attention, eyes wide. Considering we were talking about explosions, Naruto was suspiciously focused on the grass.

"Apparently, the smoke cloud turned her pink all over—clothes, skin, everything." I gestured at myself from head to foot.

"Ah. I know of this." Shino pushed up his glasses, straightening in his seat. "Why? It was also my classmates who suffered the incident. Three girls were caught in the smoke bomb, while the surrounding tables were more mildly affected. The culprit is still at large."

"A smoke bomb?" Kiba quivered, a mix of excitement and envy. "How the hell did they manage that? Kaa-san won't even let me into the house armory."

Naruto started ripping his grass bits to pieces. What surprised me was Sasuke, who also refused to look anyone in the eye. I would've thought he'd stay out of pranks, after the last time.

"Just tell me where you got the smoke bomb," I sighed.

My brother slumped. "Shisui," he said, tossing the grass aside with a pout.

"Shisui?" I squeaked. It was the last thing I expected—even though, in hindsight, I should have. "Shisui's been lending you explosives?"

"Only little ones," he defended. "He taught me how to put the pink dye in, too!"

"Oh. Sure. That definitely makes it better." I pressed a hand to my face.

He perked up. "Right? Better than buckets, dattebayo!"

"That was you?" Kiba leapt to his feet, outraged. "That was a whole different classroom! How did you even get away with it?"

Naruto grinned, giving him a cheeky thumbs up. "10-6," was all he said. I rolled my eyes.

They had started counting pranks a few months ago, and things started escalating from there. Their impromptu competition had even inspired a few other wannabe troublemakers in the other classes. But none of them ever got the same reputation that Naruto had as our year's top prankster. How he built that reputation without getting caught, I would never know. Kiba got caught more than he did, which meant he was always behind by their rules.

"It was nothing harmful," Shino reassured me in a whisper. "Why? The blast radius was small. Only Ami-san and her seatmates were forced to leave and attempt to wash it off."

Shikamaru wrinkled his nose, as if smelling something dirty. "Is that why Ino was so smug yesterday?"

"Ino?" It only furthered my confusion. What's Ino got to do with this?

Sasuke sank further into his slouch. His glare was slowly morphing into a pout. My eyes narrowed.

"Oh hey, look, the bell!" Naruto jumped up, all but yelling it for the world to hear. "C'mon, asshole, time to go—"

"Oh no you don't," I said, snagging him by the ear. "Don't tell me you're taking commissions now, Naruto!"

"Tetete—I don't even know what that is!" he protested, clinging to my wrist.

"It's when people pay you to do stuff," Shikamaru explained. He stretched, yawning. "She's asking if Ino paid you to do a prank for her."

An unholy gleam entered Naruto's eyes. As one, Shikamaru and I looked at each other in horror.

"You explained it," I said.

"You brought it up!" he shot back.

Naruto exploded.

"I can get paid to do pranks?"


Sasuke had a dinner at a cousin's house, so Naruto and I went straight home later that afternoon. While we were at his house more often than not at this point, there were still many, many aspects of the clan we weren't privy to. Itachi wasn't meant to come home from his mission until tomorrow either.

This meant I wasn't surprised when Shisui came in through the kitchen window, saying, "What's this I hear about not going to the Flash Festival?"

"What's this I hear about giving my brother smoke bombs?" I countered, placing a wet plate on the drying rack.

Shisui's face lit up, an uncanny dark, curly-haired mirror of Naruto's earlier expression. "Did it work, then? How was it?"

I propped my hand on my hip, feeling very much like an exasperated mother. Not how I wanted to feel, as a young girl in every possible sense of the word. "Please don't try to relive your Academy days through my brother. Kiba's taken offense, so now he's going to start making exploding pranks too, for sure."

He pressed a hand to his chest in mock hurt. "Me? A prankster? What kind of delinquent do you see me as? No," he continued, before I could retort. "I am the shining example of Uchiha grace and serenity. I'm only supporting Naruto-kun's career choices.

"Also, I graduated too fast to waste time pranking cranky old Hikaru-sensei."

He beamed at me.

Grace and serenity, I mouthed in disbelief. Denial, drama, and preening, all in one go. Shisui really didn't do things in halves. "Career choice? Really?"

"With more practice and better tools, your brother would make an excellent trap specialist," he explained, dropping the act. He plopped the steaming paper bag he had brought on the dining table. "For someone so noisy, he's got a talent for sneaking around and the creativity to get nasty."

I frowned, rinsing the next plate. Okay, that actually made sense. I didn't recall Naruto using a lot of traps in the story I knew, though. Mostly he threw around clones, jutsu, and kunai, in that order.

Well, if Shisui thought it was a good idea, who was I to argue? Besides, the more skills Naruto could use, the better, right?

Said shinobi plopped down at the third seat on our dining table, groaning. The angle meant there was enough space for him to stretch out his lanky form to the side. He'd been visiting enough that I'd started calling it his seat, even if only in my head.

Shisui's first visit had somehow become an open invitation to visit whenever. I hadn't even believed he was coming that first time, not when afternoon passed into night with no sign of the jounin. Thankfully, before Casa Uzumaki was overcome by doom and gloom, Shisui arrived through the very same window, with mochi in a plastic bag.

(Naruto forgave him immediately.)

When I asked what made him so late, all he said was, "The Hokage had a lot of questions." From the dry smile on his face, I figured it was wiser to leave well enough alone.

Ever since then, Shisui would drop in at the most random times, often with food. If Itachi was out of town, or we left Sasuke's early, or even just a pleasant day spent on homework, more often than not, Shisui would come crashing in, some takeout in hand and a new story to tell.

I should be more amused by the seeming Uchiha obsession to feed me and Naruto, but honestly, it was too big a help. The food we could buy with our allowance was nowhere near enough to fully sate a pair of growing kids. Without Mikoto, and now Shisui, I didn't doubt we'd have been reduced to instant ramen and canned tuna.

I wiped my hands on a towel before opening Shisui's newest offering. Steam wafted over my face. Six pieces of roasted sweet potato sat at the bottom of the paper bag, fat and reddish. I had to stop myself from drooling. I've made boiled yams (or kamote, as I knew it) before, but noting beat the smoky aftertaste only leaf-roasted ones had. Someone must have been sweeping up leaves in the clan grounds.

Shisui's grin was knowing. "Speaking of, where is your adorable little brother?" He looked around, taking in the cleared table and distinct lack of noisy blond.

"Not my little brother," I said absently, then raised my voice. "Naruto, Shisui's—Shisui-senpai's here!"

"SHISUI'S HERE? WAIT, WAIT, DON'T EAT WITHOUT ME—OW!"

Shisui's eyebrows rose. Whatever he meant to say, it was gone, dissolving into chuckles as Naruto's delighted yells echoed from the bathroom. "Just stick with Shisui," he told me. "You're just hurting yourself at this point, Minako-chan."

"Ughh. Fine." I slumped into the seat beside him. "What've you been up to now, Shisui? Did you go nag Akiko-san today?"

Turns out, Shisui was a nosy little fucker. He popped in and out of his friends' lives like a mad jack-in-the-box. Invite him over once, and he will be dropping in right in the middle of that one math problem that's taking you ages to get through. Already saw him earlier in the day? You're not safe. Stuck in a meeting? You'll find him poking around your office when you get back. He was proud of the one time Morino Ibiki himself kicked him out of T&I.

"Shisui!" Naruto came barreling in, midway through Akiko's latest attempt at kicking her genin teammate out of her office. "The smoke bomb was so awesome, dattebayo! You should've seen them! It was obvious they tried to wash it off, but their clothes were still pink, and so were their ears!"

"Awesome!" They shared a gleeful fist bump. "And you remembered what I told you?" Shisui prompted.

"No proof, no problem." Naruto rested his hands behind his head, grinning.

"You are a horrible influence." I shook my head, too fondly for either of them to take seriously.

Naruto slipped into his seat, making grabby hands at the roasted yams. "Hey, hey, you think I can sell my pranks? Minako said I could! People could pay me, and I would play pranks for them!"

"I never said that!" I protested. He stuck his tongue out at me.

"That's a great idea!"

"Shisui!"

After we threw out the battered remains of the sweet potatoes, it was time for chakra training. Shisui had kept his promise—with Yua's blessing, ish, he'd started Naruto and I on the basics. Which meant the leaf sticking exercise.

Chakra wasn't that hard for me to manipulate. Since I had a greater awareness of it than Naruto, it took me only a few days to learn how to channel it towards my forehead. Naruto caught on fast enough with manipulating chakra, but controlling the amount was much harder. He was still repelling the leaf from his forehead, sometimes even crumbling it to pieces. I also found managing the amount of chakra difficult, but even harder was keeping my concentration. Gods knew how hard it was for me to keep focused for more than ten minutes.

Shisui seemed to delight in trying to distract us. Not that I could begrudge him for it.

The best thing about Shisui's visits had to be his stories. He told us about his genin team, and his Academy days. He told stories of his life as an orphan in a clan, so different from ours but in some ways still the same. He painted a picture of the white beaches south of Wind, and the endless fields of Grass. He liked his meat well-done and his drinks strong and bitter. Itachi's sweet tooth always made him laugh.

Shisui had told me that he liked kids, but I didn't realize how much until then. He treated the both of us like he would kids twice our age, patiently explaining concepts that went over Naruto's head. He knew exactly what stories would excite Naruto, while adding details that would interest me.

On my part, I did my best to meet him where he was. The fact that he knew my secret was a relief. I could ask questions a child would never think of, or tease him for things someone my physical age wouldn't notice.

For once, I could forget I was a child, pushing into my twenties with my mental age. I could be seventeen again, giggling over Akiko finally asking out the Yamanaka girl at the missions table.

"Seriously, though. You've never been to a festival?" Shisui said, bending to the side to pick up Naruto's leaf. Naruto pouted from his seat.

The question was enough to break my focus. I cursed as my leaf fluttered off my face. I caught it, glaring at the accursed green.

"Did Sasuke tell you?" Naruto asked, taking his leaf back with a frown.

"He was pretty surprised," Shisui admitted. "It made Mikoto-sama worry. Festivals are fun, you know? Everyone should go, at least once."

I plastered my leaf to my forehead with a sigh.

"If you're worried about the crowd, I could go with you." Shisui leaned back in his chair, spreading his hands as he made his offer. "We could take Sasuke with us. It'll be fun for everyone!"

"It's not that." I was sure the crowd wouldn't do more than glare, not with a famous jounin like Shunshin no Shisui leading us around. But…

I looked across the table at Naruto. The painful hope in his eyes was already fading.

"It's our birthday," I said quietly. "Our little vacation from the world. Right, Naruto?"

"Yep." Naruto pulled up a weak grin. "And it's even better now, coz Miyagawa-san can't open the door and force us to do chores! And Minako can make pancakes, and we can play pretend and watch the fireworks from the backyard!"

I glanced at Shisui's solemn expression. "I'm sure you'll keep us safe," I said. "But you can't stop anyone from giving us dirty looks behind your back." Not even Itachi could, that one afternoon a year ago, in front of a dango shop. "We just want one day without that. That's all."

For once, Shisui's ever-present smile was gone. His dark gaze hovered between the both of us, his lips a thin, flat line. Whatever he was thinking was hidden behind the hard planes of his face. "I see," he said.

He dropped the matter after that. I bit back a sigh of relief, even as my shoulders sank. Naruto kept his eyes on his leaf, tugging on the ends instead of sticking it to his head. We did our best with what we had, but that didn't stop it from being a sore subject. We never had to explain it to anyone before, and our usual ways of coping crumbled in under the weight of Shisui's knowing look.

The visit never really bounced back, after that. Shisui left a few minutes later, with a head pat for the both of us and an absentminded goodbye.


I should have known that wasn't the last of it. This was Shisui we were talking about. Akiko still hadn't managed to kick him out of her office without him going on his own, and she'd been in the jounin admin staff for the past 4 years.

But I was busy preparing for my celebration with Naruto. I had to sneak his gift into my underwear drawer and hunt for a proper cake recipe. Any thoughts of Shisui and the mortifying conversation over the dining table fled my mind.

(Ironically, I got that latter from Izumo-san, when he asked me why the hell I was looking for cookbooks in the school library. The recipe turned out to be his mother's, which turned me into all kinds of mushy pudding. Plus, it was a cheesecake, so I didn't need an oven to make it!)

Sasuke's jumpiness should have clued me in. There was a sparkle in his eyes and a flush on his face all day. But I just put it down to Itachi being home. It was rare enough nowadays that it never failed to turn Sasuke into a ball of sunshine, one fit to rival Naruto.

So when I spotted Shisui and Itachi waiting outside the Academy gates, I stopped in my tracks.

"Yo, Minako-chan, Naruto-kun! Happy birthday!" Shisui yelled at the top of his fucking lungs. The few parents and siblings that still picked up students this late in the year turned at the noise.

Beside me, Naruto gaped. For once in his life, he had nothing to say. Shino had gone so still, I jumped when he spoke.

"It's your birthday?"

I couldn't read his tone, but his hive was buzzing loud enough to be a white noise in my ears.

"Yeah, but we didn't… I didn't…" Words escaped me. I could only stare as Shisui and Itachi approached. Sasuke bolted for his brother, throwing his arms around his waist with a giggle.

"Surprise," Itachi said, a soft smile on his face. He rested his hand on Sasuke's back, making no move to pull away.

"How… And you just… Our birthday…" Naruto could not stop looking between the three Uchiha. He stepped forward, then back, unsure of what to do or what was expected of him.

"Thank you," I said, and hoped that was an acceptable response to a birthday greeting in this universe. I couldn't muster any brain power to attempt anything better.

"It was Sasuke-kun's idea," Shisui said, grinning.

"What, no it wasn—grrk." Sasuke couldn't even finish protesting before Naruto tackled him in a hug. Itachi shifted with the blow, holding both kids up as Naruto blubbered into Sasuke's shoulder.

"This is the best birthday ever."

I had to turn away from the sheer joy on his face.

"Wow," Shisui said. "And we haven't even gotten to the main event yet."

Two pairs of blue eyes arrowed towards him.

"There's more?!"

"Of course there's more. It's your birthday!" Shisui crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. "Unless you've got other plans?"

"NO WAY, DATTEBAYO!"

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said hurriedly to Shino, struggling to keep Naruto from dragging me into a faceplant.

"Aa." He gave us a tiny, shaky wave. "Happy birthday, Minako-san, Naruto-san."

"Thanks, Shino." I beamed at him. Then yelped as Shisui lifted me off the ground.

"Hold on tight! We're in a hurry," he said, prodding me to wrap my legs around him. Naruto did the same, but from his back. Shisui had one hand under my butt, supporting me, while his other was under Naruto's. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Itachi pick up Sasuke.

"Don't you dare drop me," I said, gripping him with my hips for all I was worth. "Or my brother."

"No trust in me whatsoever," Shisui teased.

"Be careful, Shisui," Itachi said, Sasuke already clinging to his back. Shisui made a wounded noise; I stuck my tongue out at him.

The rush of shunshin was just as dizzying as the first time. Now, though, I had Naruto yelling with glee, arms in the air while he held on with only his legs. I would have worried, but Shisui didn't even falter, indulging him by running up taller buildings and jumping off the top. It was the closest I could get to being on a roller coaster again.

Mikoto greeted us at the door. Her smile was wider than the usual curve to her lips, her cheeks pink with life. She glowed with her own joy and mischief.

"Come, Minako-chan." She held out a hand, helping me stay steady on my feet. "The boys will help Naruto-kun prepare. Let's have some girl time, ne?"

I managed to share one last, wide-eyed look with Naruto before we were hustled away. Sasuke had shed whatever tsundere pretenses he had on, dragging Naruto up a set of stairs. The last thing I saw was Shisui fluttering his fingers at me, a cheery goodbye.

"Mikoto-baa-san?" I stammered, as she led me deeper into the house—deeper than I'd ever been before. She opened a shoji door to a small, enclosed garden, bracketed by hallways open to the elements and another, smaller house on the other end. My bare feet padded on the wooden floor, while Mikoto's barely made a sound.

One of the house's doors led to what had to be a guest bedroom. The wide bed took center stage, with a cabinet and a bedside table on either side. I barely caught a glimpse of an empty flowerpot and a scroll hanging on one wall before she ushered me into the bathroom.

I tried again. "What's happening? Shisui didn't mention anything."

She tapped my nose, a wordless admonishment. But her smile didn't falter. "It's your birthday, isn't it? Do you know what people do when someone has a birthday?"

"A… a birthday party?" It was the logical answer, and yet it still came out timid, small.

Mikoto nodded. My eyes went wide.

"You're throwing us a birthday party?" I needed to ask it again.

This time, when Mikoto nodded, there was a softness to her eyes, their sparkle changing to something deeper. "That's right. And you're going to be late to your own party if you don't hurry and take a bath."

Laughter burst from my chest like a cloud of bubbles released into the sky. I chucked off my clothes, my hair coming loose all the way to my back.

Getting bathed wasn't… strange. I had vague memories of being bathed in the orphanage, and it was only recently that Naruto and I had stopped bathing together. It could still get unnerving, having someone else's hands on what sometimes still didn't feel like my body. But I focused on Mikoto's affectionate touch, sinking into the slow, gentle circles she was drawing in my scalp. The soap left my skin silky soft, nothing like the light sting of our cheaper bar. The shampoo had the subtlest scent of jasmine I'd ever had the pleasure of experiencing. I didn't know how long I sat on that little stool under the shower, too focused on not melting into a puddle and getting Mikoto's kimono wet in the process.

Finally, she set the shower back on its hook on the wall. "Why don't you go enjoy the bath for a while?" She unraveled the strip of cloth she had used to tie back her sleeves. "I'll call you when everything else is ready."

At this point, she could have told me she was leaving to assassinate the Hokage and I would've hummed in agreement. I slipped into the tub ensconced in the end of the bathroom. Whatever was in the water had turned it sencha green, with that faint jasmine smell steaming off the surface. A happy little moan escaped me as I sank up to my nose.

The bathroom in our apartment was too small to have a traditional bathtub like this one. This was effectively the first time I had been in a body of water big enough to sink into since I had died.

An ache bloomed in my chest, small and prickly. I took a deep breath and let it bleed away. I doubted if I would ever stop missing things from my past. I'd had enough time to learn it was easier to just accept it and move on. At least this time, all I had to do was wait. Once I've graduated, I could find a river or a lake and dive straight in. One day, I would swim again.

Too soon, Mikoto's voice was calling me out of the water. I grumbled but rose. She held up a big, fluffy towel. "Time to come out, Minako-chan," she said, giggling at my put-upon expression. "We still have to put your kimono on."

I stopped, halfway out of the bath. "My kimono?"

And it was a kimono. A gorgeous, vibrant kimono, spread out on the bed in all its amber-orange glory. Red chrysanthemums drifted past its shoulders, joining the hyacinths clustered along the hem and sleeves.

"Is this… for me?" Wonder, horror, and a giddy, giddy joy fluttered in my ribs like manic butterflies. "I can't… I can't accept this. It's too much!"

As far as I could tell, while plenty of people still wore kimonos as casual wear, most had moved on to the more durable and practical shirt-and-bottoms combo. A cheap, plain kimono would cost me 3,000 ryo, at the most. Something this colorful, this detailed, this crisp, this beautiful—I could not afford it, not unless I saved for the next five years or something.

But it was so beautiful. I didn't realize how few truly beautiful things I'd encountered in this life until I saw this. I was too busy managing our finances and focusing on practicality to even think about getting anything prettier than my sunflower drawstring bag.

I couldn't stop myself from reaching out to touch the smooth cotton.

"Oh, Minako-chan." Mikoto moved closer. Her own kimono rustled in my ears, until her arms came around me from behind. "There's no need to worry. This is merely a lend from a relative. You can give it back tomorrow."

When I still hesitated, she said, "I've always wanted a daughter, you know." She rested her cheek against my head. "Will you wear it? For me?"

Every last protest I had crumbled. "Okay," I croaked.

She helped me get into the white under-kimono first, then the kimono itself. Getting it to fall to the right length involved folding it along my waist, then pinning it in place with thin strips of white cloth. Covering those was the obi. It was dark bronze, almost black, overlaid with the golden lines of a flower pattern. The cord securing the whole thing to my waist was gold, with a flower charm on the knot.

I sat at the dresser for the next part. Long brush strokes and chakra-warmed fingers combed through my hair. I was too stunned by the kimono to relax, even with Mikoto humming over my head. There was no mirror, so I couldn't see what she was doing. I chanced a stroke through a few strands while she reached for more pins.

I didn't even know my hair could be that silky.

Nothing got past Mikoto. "You have beautiful hair, Minako-chan," she reassured me.

"Thank you," I said. I loved my hair, with its impossible, bright color and how it fell in a thick, straight line. The compliment made my spine straighten, a happy flush spilling over my cheeks.

She arranged my hair into what had to be traditional twin buns on either side of my head. I'd seen kids in kimonos wear them during a holiday earlier this year. Mikoto twirled the rest around her fingers, styling a pair of loose curls to frame my face.

Huh. Who needed a curling iron, when you had fire chakra and awesome chakra control?

"Now, for the final piece." She turned the chair so I would face her. Squatting to my level, she picked up a hair clip I hadn't noticed before and held it out to me. "You can return the kimono. But this is my gift to you."

Slowly, I turned the metal clip over in my hands. Three white lilies bloomed on its back, their mother-of-pearl petals glimmering in the light. "Mikoto-baa-san—"

She folded my fingers over it, her smile soft. "Happy birthday, Minako-chan."

I threw my arms around her neck. She returned the hug, warm and tight.

It was worse, I think, that I understood. A child wouldn't have known why they wanted to cry. A child wouldn't have known how wrong it was to be left to struggle alone. A child wouldn't remember what it was like to receive gifts, wouldn't miss the easy love and care that came from giving and receiving. Mikoto, Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke… they were making me remember things I had forgotten. Things I'd forced myself to forget.

It was good to remember, even if it ached.

She only allowed me a few minutes before pulling back, sleeve at the ready. "That's enough now. It's your birthday! You should be smiling."

"I'm trying," I said, giving her a wobbly demonstration. "Thank you, Mikoto-baa-san."

"You're welcome. Now, let's put that on, and then you can look in the mirror. Okay?"

I stood in front of the full-length mirror and stared. I looked…different. Beautiful, in the way only children could be beautiful. There was more baby fat on my cheeks than I remembered, dulling the sharpness of my chin. The markings that looked so out of place on a six-year-old now gave me a mischievous air, a kid playing at adult makeup. Whatever tint Mikoto had dabbed on my cheeks and lips helped.

The kimono hid whatever scrawniness I had left, turning my wrists into something delicate instead of slim. Somehow, Mikoto had added volume to my hair, making twin half-moons instead of the meatballs I expected. Crowning the right bun was the lily clip, snug against the curve. Not the most traditional accessory, but it shone bright against my scarlet hair.

It was me—Minako—a Minako from another life, cared for, spoiled, bright with joy. Well-loved.

A sigh. "Your mother would be so proud of you."

I whirled around, eyes wide. "You knew my mother?"

My voice cracked. I reached up, attempting to catch the tears before they fell again, but Mikoto was already there. She drew her knuckle over my lashes.

"What mother wouldn't be proud of a strong, beautiful girl like you?"

Her expression was soft, compassionate. A fierce light glinted in her eye. But I couldn't glean anything else from her face. Ninja were too good at hiding secrets, compartmentalizing emotions. From a world where people expressed their emotions freely, near-enthusiastically, my meter for reading others was off by a hundred miles.

If Mikoto knew Kushina… if… then it would explain her reaction when she saw us, or how oddly willing the Uchiha were to allow a pair of orphans into their compound. Sasuke and Shino themselves had pointed out how strange it was.

Had they been friends? Was that why Mikoto would look at me so tenderly, when she didn't think I would notice? Why she was always there with a hair tie to replace a snapped one, always feigned deafness when Naruto bragged about his latest prank?

"I wish I knew my mom," slipped out before I could stop it. I bit my lip.

Maybe, if I had known Kushina, I would look like this Minako all the time. Maybe, if I had known Kushina, I would know how to raise Naruto right. Maybe, if I had known Kushina—

"Oh, Minako-chan." Mikoto smoothed my bangs down, then cupped my cheek. "I wish that too."


We walked into the main house to delighted gasps. "Minako-chan! Look at you!" Shisui dissolved into a blur. I shrieked with delight, clutching his shoulders as he swung me around. "You look so cute!"

"Thank you!" I beamed, blushing at the praise.

"Minako!" Again, Naruto had run out of things to say. He could only stare, eyes shining and cheeks flushed with happiness.

"Naruto! You look amazing!"

He wore a plain red kimono and a black hakama patterned with subtle spirals. His haori was the star of the show, black with maroon half-circles and pale yellow smoke. A silver dragon slipped in and out of the stylized clouds.

"He took forever to get ready," Sasuke complained. "Shisui was already helping him, and I still finished first!" He held out his arms, showing off his immaculate outfit.

His kimono was a deep navy blue, while his hakama was patterned in blocky shades of cream, ochre, and gold. His haori featured a full moon on the same navy blue as his kimono, filled with drifting white petals and a burning phoenix piercing the sky. A white fan tucked into his obi completed the look.

"I've never worn something like this!" Naruto defended himself, turning this way and that. "It's so fancy!" He flapped his sleeves, raising a small breeze.

"Stop that!" Sasuke said, scandalized. I giggled. Itachi and his mom hid their smiles behind their sleeves.

"Shisui, why aren't you dressed?" I asked. I had seen him in his jounin uniform before, but even Itachi had ditched his for a plain black haori and kimono. The hakama was gray, patterned with thin, vertical stripes. The only decoration he had on was the uchiwa mirrored on the lapels of the haori.

"I'm leaving for a mission right after," Shisui explained, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"Again?" I blinked. "You just got back last week."

"Aww, miss me already?" he teased. I replied with an unladylike snort, sending him into a fit of laughter. "Uchiha jounin are in high demand nowadays, y'know," he explained, wiping away a tear.

I hesitated. My first thought was that more work meant more stress for everyone. But he seemed… content with the idea. Glad, even. "Is that a good thing?"

Itachi smiled. "Yes. It is."

"Minako, look! Look at my present! Itachi got me a present!" Naruto shoved a flat box in my face. "Did you get a present too?"

"Wait! Lemme see!" Laughing, I pushed him back. The box was lacquered and sturdy, with a little white spiral in the corner as its only decoration. Together, the two of us opened it, revealing a pair of brushes, a stoppered inkwell, and a notebook.

My jaw dropped. I turned my stare on Itachi.

"Naruto-kun has expressed his interest in fuinjutsu before." Opening the notebook, he showed me the kanji worksheets inside. "I thought it would be good to get him started on his penmanship first."

"There's so many letters," Naruto said, bracing the box with near-comical care. "And you have to write them again and again, which is boring. But Itachi says I need to be good at drawing to be good at fuinjutsu, so I'll do it!"

I didn't doubt him. The determined set to his jaw was all too familiar. Naruto may not be good at schoolwork, but if there was something he wanted to get done, he would. Believe it.

And nothing had captured his imagination quite like the heritage of a lost clan.

"At least you didn't give him a book on it yet," I muttered, knowing only Itachi and Shisui would hear.

"No," Itachi said, his lip curling with amusement. "That would've made it a gift for you, Minako-chan."

My face burned with embarrassment. I stuck my tongue out at him, which only made Shisui laugh harder.

"Let's take this to the dining room," Mikoto suggested. "Otherwise, there won't be time for your other surprises."

"There's more?" Naruto shrieked.

Mikoto sent Sasuke ahead to prepare the next surprise. Naruto's unbridled joy at everything must have galvanized him—he seemed thrilled to run off, even if it meant losing his nii-san's attention for a few minutes. I showed off Mikoto's present to an enthusiastic audience (i.e. Shisui and Naruto), and promised my brother I would join him in practicing calligraphy. If only to make sure he didn't get his hands on, say, an explosion tag and attempt to copy it. Not yet.

Dinner was an entire spread of sushi, to my absolute delight. You bet your ass I fought Shisui for the salmon sashimi, even if I lost and Mikoto scolded me for it. (Itachi stole some slices off Shisui's plate for me, which is why he's my favorite.)

Mikoto even prepared ramen as a side dish. It was worth it, if only for the way Naruto's eyes widened at his first bite. I got to watch my brother have a near-religious epiphany, and knew my life would never be the same again.

I sighed and mentally upped finding Ichiraku on my to-do list.

The next surprise was a cake big enough to feed all five of us, carried in by Sasuke himself. Naruto's and my names were scrawled in clumsy letters over the top, revealing who had done the icing. Itachi lit the seven candles with a flame off his finger, and everyone sang happy birthday.

Naruto and I were almost too covered in snot to blow out the candles, but we managed. Sasuke didn't even make fun of us for it. Much.

Mikoto's eyes glittered, even as she looked towards the clock. "You better go," she said, rising to her feet. "If you hurry, you'll have plenty of time to explore before the fireworks."

I blew my nose into the tissue they'd provided. "Fireworks?" I croaked.

Sasuke, all puffed up with all the surprises he's been keeping, exploded. "We're going to the festival!" he cried, throwing his hands in the air.

Naruto dropped his tissue.

"I… But…" My hand moved up to my eyes, before I forced it down.

Shisui knelt down to face us. His smile was warm and affectionate, so different from his usual blithe mask. "I haven't given you my gift yet, right?"

We watched, wide-eyed, as he flipped through hand signs. It was the first time I'd seen anyone do it up close, and I couldn't even follow. He was too fast.

Then he rested his hands on our heads.

I shivered. What I could only describe as playful flames slipped under my skin, even as they poured over my head. Naruto looked up, trying to see what Shisui was doing.

"You actually look like twins now," Sasuke said, peering at us from across the table. Mikoto passed Itachi a mirror, who held it in front of us.

I blinked. The girl in the reflection blinked back. It took me a moment to recognize myself, if only because my blue eyes looked so much smaller and lighter without being ringed in black. Naruto had lost some of his baby-cheeked look, without his whisker marks rounding out his face. As one, we whirled on each other.

"Your hair!" Naruto yelped, pointing. He almost stabbed me eye out.

"Yours too!" I ruffled the now-black strands, marveling at how the color even changed with the light. Naruto almost ruffled mine back, except Mikoto gave him that Mom Look. So he made do with drawing my eyelid down with a finger on my cheek.

"There." Shisui sat back on his heels, satisfied. "Now you can go to the festival with no problem."

I heard the words. It took me another second to truly understand them. Realization dawned on Naruto's face, until he was burning with excitement as bright as the sun. "We can go to the festival," he breathed. "We can go to the festival, and nobody's gonna be mean, and we can play the games, and—"

I threw myself at Shisui. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

He laughed, letting me topple him over. He patted me on the back, careful not to mess up my obi. "See? I told you to wait for the main event!"

"I don't need to wait for the main event," I declared, looking him in the eye. Behind me, Naruto leapt into the air, cheering.

"Best! Birthday! EVER, DATTEBAYO!"


By the time we made it to the festival, night had fallen and the celebrations were in full swing. Hashirama street had transformed into an explosion of color, reminiscent of the blaze that the country was named after. Yellow paper lanterns hung everywhere, round and fat. Red and yellow banners hung on the stalls, with white streamers fluttering in the faint wind.

"WHOOOAAAA!"

I grabbed Naruto's hand before he could run off. The crowd was making me nervous, an almost deja-vu-like sense of fear.

Then Itachi's hand brushed my back—just two fingertips pressing on the cloth—and I relaxed.

"Where do you guys wanna go first?" Shisui bounced on his heels, just as excited as the kids half his size.

"Um, ah, uh—" Naruto whipped his head back and forth, trying to look everywhere at once. He leaned towards the yakitori stall, then sent a yearning look towards a game booth.

"Nii-san, I wanna go to the shuriken booth!" Sasuke tugged at his brother's sleeve.

Itachi patted his head. "Let's let Naruto-kun and Minako-chan choose first," he said. "It's their birthday, after all."

"Yeah, bastard, it's our birthday—ow!"

I pulled back my elbow. "Be nice," I told him. To Itachi, I said, "We can go to the shuriken booth first, then wherever's cool next. We wouldn't know where to start otherwise."

To be fair, I was also curious. What kind of festival had a shuriken booth?

"Alright then, to the shuriken booth!" Shisui pumped his fist. Sasuke brightened.

"It's this way," he said, bolting for the crowd. "I'll race you there, idiot!"

"Hey, that's cheating! Get back here!" Naruto grabbed my hand, click-clacking frantically after them.

He almost yanked me off my feet. "Naruto, wait!" I yelped. Itachi followed sedately, content to hold up the rear.

I didn't realize how heavy the glares had been until they were gone. For the first half hour, I still walked in a slouch, bracing myself for the flinching, the low whispers, the angry reception. But people kept smiling. Vendors greeted us with cheer. Old ladies cooed at Naruto's enthusiasm, gushed at my kimono.

Soon, I was walking with my head held high. I beamed at everyone I saw, and they beamed back.

I had never felt lighter.

The shuriken booth was a ninja booth. With paper shuriken. Paper shuriken, to knock down prizes on a conveyor belt, because ninja were superpowered fuckers and needed ridiculous twists to make festival games a challenge. The civilians got to keep their dartboards and their ring-throwing stalls. Ninja? Paper shuriken.

The person manning the booth was a ninja too, apparently, because we arrived just in time to see a chuunin get kicked out for cheating with chakra strings.

Sasuke and Naruto immediately started a competition for the biggest prize, because of course they did. I played it safe and went for a humble pinwheel. A small stand kept it upright, its colored points spinning as it moved along. My first two tries missed, but the third shuriken clipped its edge. The pinwheel swayed.

"Ahh… Ahhh… AAAAHH!" I jumped, cheering, as the pinwheel finally keeled over. Naruto yelled and hugged me. Shisui gave me a high five.

"See, kids?" the owner told Naruto and Sasuke as he handed me my prize. "Play smarter, not harder. You'll win more."

I was mature enough not to rub it in their faces. I was!

Shisui treated us to candied apples; I paid him back by treating everyone to chocolate bananas. In the next stall, Naruto convinced him to win him a giant, stuffed frog, which of course meant Sasuke begged Itachi to win him the giant cat. Now that was a show.

Considering they had two kids tugging them every which way, the two shinobi managed to stay pretty calm. Or energetic enough to keep up, in Shisui's case.

Okay, three. I wanted to see the mask booth, alright?

Still, I ended up falling back to walk with Itachi, more often than not. I was still adjusting to the new rhythm of walking in a kimono's limited gait and the odd heels of the wooden zori. Lucky Naruto and Sasuke could just run around people's legs, unrestricted by their loose hakama.

We hung back as Sasuke and Naruto set out to conquer the kingyo sukui booth. Naruto and Sasuke proceeded to destroy five rice paper scoops between them, and were now arguing on the best way to scoop up a goldfish. Most of the other kids had already skittered away, wary of their enthusiastic splashing. Freaking Shisui was just egging them on.

Safe from the splash zone, I leaned against Itachi, in a futile attempt to rest my knees. The fact that he let me was enough to bring a smile to my face.

I tilted my head back, getting an excellent view of his chin. "You alright?" I asked.

He blinked, then dipped his head to meet my inquisitive look. "I'm fine," he said. "Why do you ask?"

"You look tired."

He actually looked better than usual. I doubted the stress lines would ever truly go away, but his eyebags were the lightest I'd seen in weeks.

He smiled. I didn't like it. Itachi was a very good shinobi, but I knew the difference between an affectionate expression and a patronizing one. Especially with someone who had all but taken me under his wing.

"I'm fine, Minako-chan," he repeated, tapping me on the nose. "Thank you for asking."

I made a face, not missing how he'd probably stolen the condescending gesture from his mother. It was fine when she actually believed I was a kid. Itachi knew better.

"Is your father still keeping you busy?" I asked, refusing to be put off. Signs pointed to things looking up—signs that I tentatively, tentatively noted, not daring to hope. Even so… "Can't you take a break? You've been working so hard."

"There's a lot of work to be done," he said, vaguer than this world's version of a weather forecast. Did we have forecasts? I didn't know; our apartment didn't come with a TV.

My eyes narrowed. "Hey. It's my birthday, right?"

"…yes?"

"And on my birthday, what I say goes. Right?"

He looked wary now. "I suppose."

"Then!" I pointed at him, using my best Naruto impression. "I, the birthday girl, decree that on my birthday, Uchiha Itachi is not allowed to think of work! For one night, you're gonna be a normal kid, just like the rest of us!"

The corner of his lips turned down. I had never been under the weight of Itachi's irritation before, but it was unmistakable now.

"I'm not a child anymore, Minako-chan." Somehow, he managed to make the honorific grate.

I couldn't help it; I rolled my eyes. Bitch was thirteen. Yes, murder aged people. Yes, he was a prodigy with a maturity above kids his age. That didn't mean he couldn't take time off like everybody else. Gods knew he needed it. Constant stress wasn't good for anyone, let alone kids with easy access to murder weapons.

"Being a kid isn't here." I was too short to reach his head, so I tapped mine. Then I poked him in the chest. "It's in here."

He stared at me. I sighed, discarding unexplainable knowledge of basic psychology, as well as the unhelpful if Shisui can do it, why can't you?

"C'mon," I wheedled. "It's just for one night. You can relax for one night, right? It'll be good for you! Plus, if you don't do it, I'll be sad and worry, and then Naruto will be worried, and our birthday will be ruined. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Hmm. Maybe the puppy eyes were overkill.

Finally, finally, his neutral mask broke. He gifted me with a smile, crooked, fond, exasperated. "You're a stubborn one, aren't you?"

"No." I huffed. "That would be my brother."

"One does not negate the other."

I squinted at him. "Is that a really complicated way of saying we're two peas in a pod?"

He chuckled. It was low, and lasted about two seconds, but my heart leapt anyway.

"Alright," he said. "One night."

I could've jumped over the moon. My smile was the widest I'd ever had. I must've looked ridiculous.

His eyes softened. He didn't… relax, not exactly. But something had changed in the set of his shoulders, like setting down a backpack after a long, long day.

"Thank you, Minako-chan."

Before he even finished, I was already shaking my head. "It makes me happy when you take care of yourself like you take care of us," I said, trying to explain it in a way that wasn't nagging or, god forbid, cheesy. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"Friends…" He almost sounded thoughtful. I met his gaze head on, with far more confidence than I had a few months ago.

(Had it only been five months? It felt like years. My life had changed so much after I met them.)

I nodded towards the goldfish tank, where Naruto had ripped yet another scooper. "You guys made my brother smile like that," I said quietly. "That makes you my friends."

A complicated series of emotions crossed Itachi's face. He followed my gaze, taking in our messy siblings trying to wrestle each other into the water.

"You two have also made Sasuke happier than I've seen him, in a long time," he said at last. His smile was small, but sincere. "In that case, I'm honored to be your friend, Minako-chan."

I grinned back at him. "Right back at you."

"Nii-san! I did it!" Sasuke ran towards us, holding up his prize. The water-filled plastic bag swung, possibly traumatizing the poor goldfish inside.

"You cheated! You're not supposed to use the plastic bag!" Naruto argued, running after him. Itachi squatted down, obligingly admiring his brother's accomplishment. He ended up soothing Naruto's hurt pride too, before it could devolve into an actual tantrum.

I almost didn't catch Shisui before he had his hands on my waist, sweeping me into the air. He must've let me see him, so I wouldn't screech my head off and send any nearby shinobi jumping out of their shoes.

It was so nice when people learned their lesson.

"Shisui!" I half-shrieked, half-laughed, as he twirled me around. He grinned, settling me on his arm. His other hand braced my back.

"Hello, pretty girl!" he said. I squirmed, unable to keep the happy flush from my cheeks. "Now that the little gremlins are done, where do you want to go next?"

"Who're you calling a gremlin?!"

"Hey, I won! I should be the one to pick!"

"Let Itachi pick," I said slyly. Said boy looked up from the indignant Naruto.

"I want to get dango," he decided. Shisui snickered.

Sasuke shuffled, conflicted over his win and his love for his brother. "I guess, if nii-san wants it…" he grumbled. The goldfish bag hung limp in his hand, forgotten.

I bent over backwards, trusting Shisui to keep me from toppling over. "A shinobi shouldn't be so predictable, Itachi!" I teased, hanging in his face.

"You can criticize my choices when you've become a better shinobi than me, Minako-chan," he retorted easily. I opened my mouth, then closed it, scowling. Dammit! I've been outplayed!

"That's never gonna happen," Sasuke said loyally. "Nii-san's the best shinobi ever!"

Wow, ouch. I mean, he's right, but also, couldn't he have delivered it with a little more… tact?

"No, Minako's the best!" Naruto ducked under Itachi's arm, just so he could shove his face in Sasuke's. "She'll definitely be a better shinobi someday, believe it!"

I sagged in Shisui's grip, touched and exasperated all at once. He was too busy laughing to pull me up.

"My brother's cooler than yours!"

"No, my sister's cooler than yours!"

"My brother's already a jounin, and he graduated after just one year in the Academy." Sasuke crossed his arms, secure in his victory. Naruto sputtered.

"Y-yeah, well, my sister's a girl!"

Sasuke shot him a look of disgust. "So?"

"Even Itachi is scared of girls!" Naruto said triumphantly.

Sasuke's jaw dropped. Still sideways, I burst out laughing, clutching my aching stomach. That was how I discovered that laughing while relying on my core to hold me up was a terrible idea. Itachi looked like he was contemplating murder, or maybe time travel, to prevent Shisui from sharing Academy stories ever again.

"It's okay, Sasuke-kun," Shisui said with glee, "Apparently, Itachi looks enough like a girl, he might as well be one."

My laughter died an ugly death.

"Stop!" I slapped my hands over my face. "Let it go already!"

"Never." Shisui beamed, only to yelp as Itachi stabbed two fingers somewhere tender. I shrieked, clutching the closest thing I could—Shisui's sleeve—in a frantic attempt to keep myself from falling ass over teakettle.

"Dango," Itachi said firmly, rising to his feet.

We managed to get ourselves sorted into some semblance of order, with Naruto taking the enthusiastic lead, thanks to the mention of food. Shisui pulled himself together in time to stop all the blood rushing to my brain. I rested my woozy head on his shoulder, trusting him to go after the others.

His lips brushed my ear. "I'm honored to be your friend too, Minako-chan."

A smile spread across my face. That answered whether he had heard me or not. I hadn't been sure. Yeah, ninja had enhanced senses, but the festival was loud as hell, and he had seemed pretty occupied with keeping Naruto from shoving Sasuke into the fish tank.

Instinctively—and because the angle was just right—I kissed him on the cheek.

He recoiled. "Ew, cooties!"

I almost fell off again. "That's so stupid!" I cried, gasping through the giggles.

He grinned at me, retort at the ready, only for his gaze to flicker over my shoulder. His footsteps stuttered.

I straightened. "What is it?" Alarm shot through me, cold as a senbon.

"Ah, nothing." He tried his signature smile, but his eyes wandered off again. I shoved my hand against his face and used it as leverage to raise myself higher. He spluttered under my silent callout of his bullshit.

It took me a second; the crowd extended beyond the stalls, as people searched for side streets to eat their food in relative peace. Only when a brunette turned her head did I catch the familiar scar. I wouldn't have even spotted her if Shisui hadn't been carrying me.

Yua looked nervous, dressed in a kimono of her own. The colors were faded, but the white flowers were still beautiful against the sky blue. An older woman elbowed her, drawing out a smile. A coworker?

"Minako-chan!" Shisui protested, finally wrangling my hand off his face. I poked him in the cheek.

"Go on," I said, jerking my head in Yua's direction.

His face turned bright red. "Ah, no—" he tried.

"Don't chicken out on me now," I teased, poking him again. I liked seeing him flustered, okay? It was funny!

I hadn't seen Yua since that disaster of a doctor's appointment. Hopefully Shisui had spent some of his time being an obnoxious jack-in-the-box to visit her. It was the one thing he refused to talk about, no matter how much I tried to ask.

"You can leave us with Itachi. Between him and me, I'm sure we can keep Naruto and Sasuke down."

"But… your genjutsu…" Shisui looked between me and Yua, torn. The fact that he hesitated was enough to turn my insides into goo. He liked to act blasé, but he really was just a sweetheart.

"It's almost time for the fireworks, right? We can find a spot early and avoid the crowds. You can catch up after. Or bring her along, even." I started turbo-poking his face. He snorted, slapping my hand away.

"I promised, though," he insisted.

"Then consider it my birthday present," I said magnanimously. He stared. "What? Did you seriously think I wouldn't find out that your birthday is next week?"

With our budget, Naruto and I didn't have much in the way of gift-giving. I copied out a basic fire jutsu from the library for Sasuke's birthday, then attempted homemade chocolate for Itachi's as a joke. I hadn't been sure of what to do for Shisui's, though I had half a mind to set up something with Yua. This just made everything convenient.

"Since when were you a matchmaker?" Shisui complained.

"What, I can't want my friends to be happy?"

His glare was all kittens and rainbows, and he knew it. "Work on that," he retorted instead. A few steps, and we were on a nearby restaurant roof, away from the crowd. "If you want to start manipulating people, you need to learn how to be subtler than a guilt trip."

I pouted at him. Ninja advice. Fucking ridiculous sometimes.

It didn't take long to find Naruto and the others. Itachi's head snapped towards us as we landed next to the dango stand. The second Shisui set me on the ground, I threw my arms around my brother. He gave as good as he got, just barely missing my hair with his half-eaten stick of dango.

"It's getting late," Shisui said to Itachi, absently ruffling Sasuke's hair. Sasuke squawked. "You should go find a good spot to watch the fireworks, before someone beats you to it."

"You're going? Already?" Naruto pulled away, dismayed. I dodged a dango disaster for a second time.

"Yeah, to Yua-san," I sang. Itachi relaxed. Shisui retaliated by pinching my cheek. "Ow!"

"You know me," Shisui reassured Naruto with a wink. "I'll be back—"

"—in a flash, we know, we know." I shoved at his hip, my zori skidding ineffectually against the dirt. "Go already! Before you miss your chance and mope all the way to Grass, or something."

"Okay, okay! Sheesh, it's like you're more invested in this than I am!"

"And what if I am? You're more entertaining than a romance novel!"

"Shisui."

Shisui paused, looking over his shoulder. Itachi held out two sticks of dango, his eyes twinkling.

"Brilliant. You're a lifesaver," Shisui said, snatching the dango. "I'll see you at the memorial!" One last nervous, sunny grin, a puff of chakra smoke, and he was gone.

The dango stall was near the edge of the festival, so it was easy enough to slip away. I felt the moment the genjutsu dropped, snapping like a rubber band stretched too far. I rubbed my arms, trying to will away the prickly feeling it left behind. Naruto tugged on the hair framing my face.

"I like it better when it's red," he confided. I smiled and nudged him.

"Me too."

"This way." Itachi took the lead, ushering us through the darker side streets. I didn't know if he was navigating with his hearing, or some kind of chakra sense, or something, but he still managed to get us to an open field without ever bumping into someone.

For a second, I thought I saw a white shape in the shadows, but when I looked closer, it was gone. The field was empty, save for a pointed structure at the end and some poles along the sides. There were no streetlights here, so our only light was the ambient glow of the distant festival and the waning moon in the sky. It was the perfect place to watch the fireworks.

We settled on the grass, chewing away on the rest of the dango. Sasuke slumped against Itachi, exhausted by the long night. My obi didn't give me the luxury of slouching; I didn't dare flatten the bow on the back or wrinkle the front.

The open field was still giving me the heebie-jeebies, and I couldn't tell why. It wasn't the dark. Naruto was here, and so was Sasuke, along with the scariest ninja I knew. Was it the Plot? But as far as I could remember, there was nothing about Naruto's birthday in the story, except for his actual birth and a movie. I think it was a movie.

Maybe it was that white flicker I may or may not have imagined?

I considered asking Itachi if he had noticed anything weird, then decided against it. The last thing I needed was to find out that ghosts were real here.

Shisui arrived sooner than I expected. We had just put away the dango sticks when he faded out of the shadows, sending my heart into the stratosphere. "Sorry," he said quickly, picking me up so he could sit next to Itachi. Itachi pulled Sasuke into his lap to make space, wrapping the drooping boy in his arms.

Shisui set me on his knee, letting me rest my head against his chest while keeping my obi from getting crumpled. Naruto flopped onto the grass, using Shisui's outstretched leg as a pillow.

"How'd it go?" I asked, worried. He grinned at me, teeth flashing in the night.

"She turned me down today," he said, leaning back on his hands. "But we're going on a date when I get back!"

I sat up straight, Itachi turning his head to face us. "Shisui, that's great!" I hugged him. "Congratulations!"

"Now he's going to be insufferable all the way to Grass," Itachi said. His smile was a 'congratulations' all on its own.

Shisui poked him on the arm, which only made Itachi tighten his hold on Sasuke.

"I'm going to be amazing all the way to Grass," Shisui corrected. He all but glowed with happiness, his eyes already distant as he began planning his date. "Those clients won't know what hit them! I'll be there and back so fast, I'll break the record of shortest A-rank ever—"

"Over there!" Naruto shot up, pointing at the Hokage monument in the distance. "It's starting, it's starting!"

The faintest of whistles, then a pop. Then flowers of fire were blooming across the sky.

We sat in silent awe, watching the red and white sparks careening into the night. Yellow light streaked down like raining stars. There was a green rendition of the Leaf of Konohagakure, a pink rabbit, even a multicolored pinwheel like the one in my hand.

Naruto cuddled closer, curling around Shisui's leg. Shisui placed his hand on my brother's head, resting all his weight on the other. Beside us, Sasuke sat up to watch, safely ensconced in Itachi's arms.

I closed my eyes, letting the fireworks play over my eyelids. This was what family meant—surrounded by loving warmth, laughter and delight. I wanted to remember this night, for the rest of my life, and the next, and the next, whatever was next.

"Thanks, guys," I whispered.

Shisui squeezed my shoulder in reply.


The day after, fate had one last surprise for us. Shino greeted us at lunch with two wrapped packages, one in ocean blue, the other in sunset orange.

"Is that… a present?" Naruto leaned over, almost vibrating with excitement. You'd think he'd be all tuckered out after a late night, like half of the school. But apparently, the novelty of being inundated with presents had yet to wear off. Or overwhelm him.

I was feeling overwhelmed. "I don't think I ever told you my favorite color," I said, accepting the blue one with shaking hands.

"I hope they are acceptable." Shino shoved his hands back into his jacket pockets. "Why? I was not sure if you wanted them, seeing as…"

His faltering voice pulling me out of my shock. I looked up from the present. "What is it?" I asked.

"You never told me it was your birthday." He shrunk into his jacket. "I… I don't know why. Did I do something wrong?"

Oh.

"Shino," I said. "I'm going to hug you now."

I gave him two seconds for his hive to stop buzzing before I drew him into a tight embrace. He stood there, stiff at first, before finally reaching up and hugging me back. Beside me, Naruto was staring in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" he demanded. "I've never had more presents in my life!" He tore into his package, tossing orange wrapper everywhere.

"We weren't keeping our birthday a secret or anything," I explained quietly, even as Naruto whooped over his new bag of miniature smoke bombs. Um. Eek? "It was just… it's never been a big deal. I didn't know you wanted to know."

He pulled back. "I…" He pushed up his sunglasses, fidgeting. "But you told Sasuke-san."

"Actually, I told Shisui. And only coz he kinda forced it out of us." Shino wasn't the touchy-feely type, so I restrained myself to brushing his hand with mine. "We're not used to celebrating our birthday with other people. I'm sorry it made you feel left out."

"Was it a good birthday?" he asked. I couldn't help the smile spreading across my face.

"Yeah. It really was."

He relaxed. "Then I'm glad."

"Thanks, Shino," I said, clutching my present to my chest.

It turned out to be a book on a princess' life, living in the daimyo's court. I had to hug Shino again.

Best birthday ever.


A/N: I wish their birthday was when we hit 100k words, but either way, I can't believe we hit 100k words! I can't believe I've written 100k words for a single work! And to think I can't even finish 40k on an original piece. But you're not here for my whining.

I want to thank everyone, and I mean everyone who has ever left a kudos, comment, favorite, bookmark, review, whatever. You regular reviewers, anons, emoji commenters, constructive critics, even the mean people have contributed to my investment in this fic in one way or another. I see every one of you, and I am so grateful you guys have stayed with this fic for so long. Guys, it's six years old! And I have grown so much in that time, doing my best to improve on what I had written before. I hope you will all stay with me as we continue Minako's slow but steady adventure into the depths of Naruto's world. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LOVING RISING WITH THE BREAKING DAWN!

As a last thing to celebrate, some good news! Minako doesn't know this coz she has no sense of the timeline whatsoever, but GUYS! WE DID IT! Shisui lived to see his seventeenth birthday!

If y'all wanna see a running commentary of my writing process for this chapter, it's at the writing blog as per usual. Cheers!