"Meow! Meow!"
"Kitty goes meow!"
Sasuke grinned. "Cat goes meow!"
"Meow! Meow!" I pulled the cat arm. The fortune cat meowed again.
"Sasuke, what do you say?"
"Thank you."
"You're welcome!" I said.
"Good boy," Aunt Mikoto patted Sasuke on the head.
"Here! Open mine next!" Tamaki said, slamming a big box down on the floor.
The school semester was over. Everyone was on break for the summer. Both Sasuke and I had our birthdays in August, so we had a party at his house. I did not mind sharing birthday parties, as long as I got the same amount of presents.
But I did get upset that I had missed Itachi's birthday two months earlier. I had been so busy with school work, I did not even know. Itachi never reminded me. When I had asked Aunt Mikoto why she did not remind me either, she apologized and said that it had been a secret. Then, she smiled and told me she would remind me every year from then on. I was happy and made up the lost birthday by giving Itachi an origami that I did in kunoichi seminar.
Originally, Sasuke was not going to have a party. His dad was not even going to be home. My dad and I decided that would not do. My dad bought a cake. I invited people for a party. At the capital, everyone had to have a party on their birthday.
I got Tamaki and Ginjiro to come over. They were free during the summer. Sasuke also knew them best out of all my friends.
At first, Ginjiro did not want to go inside the Uchiha district. I had to beg him hard. He said yes after my tenth plea. Tamaki did not need any. When I led my friends inside the district, they were in awe. Ginjiro tried not to be excited, but I caught him looking at everything. Tamaki squealed when we reached the main house. "Is that mansion Itachi's home?" she whispered.
Itachi himself did not show up until afternoon. He had work with his dad, but he ditched halfway for the party. Shisui came too.
Sasuke hated Shisui.
"Brother Itachi, who's he?"
"A friend," Itachi said.
"Yo! Always a pleasure seeing your cute widdle brother," Shisui said, pinching Sasuke's cheeks.
"Don't do that," Itachi warned.
"Now why- OUCH! He bit me!"
"Told you."
"Would you like a piece of cake too, Shisui? Please, sit," Aunt Mikoto offered.
"Anything involving food, the answer is always yes. And with seconds, if you may," Shisui said, shaking his bitten finger in the air.
Aunt Mikoto laughed and got out the cake. Everyone sang Sasuke happy birthday. He blew on the candles.
Two candles went out, but one still burned. The candle wax began to drip down into the cake. I mentally screamed. NO! NOT THE ICING! DON'T GET WAX ON THE ICING!
Sasuke pouted, glaring at the last candle, as if that would make it blow out. In the end, Itachi blew it out for him. Sasuke was happy. I was happy too, relieved that no wax got on the cake.
The cake was eaten mostly by Sasuke, with a total of five big slices. He would not listen when we told him to stop, and ended up throwing up those five pieces. From then on, he hated sugar forever.
To cheer the birthday boy up, we went to his room for present opening.
Sasuke opened mine first, which was the fortune cat I found with Naruto.
The next present came from Tamaki. She got him an easy-to-assemble model kit. It was supposed to be a dragon after you assembled it. Trust me, it was not easy to assemble. Tamaki, Gin, and I combined could not assemble it, let alone Sasuke, who bashed the parts against the floor.
Shisui could have assembled the dragon, but Sasuke kept on taking the parts away from his hands. "Mine!" Sasuke snarled cutely each time, grabbing the part away and giving it to Itachi to hold.
Itachi made no effort to help. Sasuke was bent on putting it together himself, so he would point to pieces and Itachi would hand them to him. When Sasuke was finished, we all sweat dropped.
It was not a dragon. Let's leave it at that.
"Are you sure this is for three year old kids?" I whispered to Tamaki.
She shrugged, "The box says three and older. Well, he's three now."
Sasuke opened my dad's present next. It was one of his crazy inventions, a giant rubber ball. A giant squishy rubber ball. That was the size of Sasuke.
Sasuke had a great time tackling and wrestling it. Then everyone else took turns at it. It made a great punching dummy and chair.
Ginjiro's present was a pop-up book. His mom bought him something cheap.
Shisui's present was whatever was in his pocket, since he was pulled out of duty at the last minute. Shisui gave Sasuke a string, a few pieces of candy, and a bunch of shiny foreign coins. He claimed those were all the way from the Rice country.
Sasuke was wearing Aunt Mikoto's present, a t-shirt. She made him a sweater too, but it was too hot to wear now, so it was in his closet.
Finally, Sasuke opened Itachi's present. It was a brown teddy bear. Sasuke hugged it.
"So, now what?" Shisui asked, flipping through Ginjiro's pop-up book. He opened the book, then closed the book, then opened the book, then closed the book, watching the page pop out, and back in, and out. He was mesmerized.
Tamaki clapped her hands together. "Ooh! I've got an idea! Let's play House!"
I sat up, hugging the squishy ball. "I know that game!" I said.
"What's House?" Ginjiro asked the inside of his cap. He laid on the bed, legs dangling off the edge of the bed. He would swing his legs too, almost hitting Shisui's head each time.
"It's easy. We pretend to be a family," Tamaki said.
"In a house, under one roof," I added.
"And we role-play. It's great. Right, Ayae?"
"Yeah, I played this at the capital all the time."
The rest of the guys exchanged a look.
"Sounds girly," Ginjiro said, lifting his cap.
Pouting, Tamaki turned to Sasuke, "You want to play, don't you?"
Sasuke just hugged his bear and shrunk away.
"That's a yes!" Tamaki said. "He's the birthday boy, and Ayae's the birthday girl. That's two out of two votes! We play!"
Shisui tossed the book. "Eh, sure. Why not."
Tamaki told everyone the rules. "So, who's who?" she asked.
"I know," I said. "I'll be the mom. Tamaki, you can be my sister, so you are the aunt." I pointed to Itachi. "You can be the dad." Sasuke. "Son." Shisui. "Uncle." Ginjiro. "Brother-in-Law, cause you are married to Tamaki." I liked my choices.
"Oh no, no, no. If I'm going to be anyone, I want to be the son. Kids get all the perks," Shisui said.
"I don't want to be son!" Sasuke complained.
"And I don't want to get married to Gin, no offense," Tamaki said.
"None taken. And seriously, in-law? Why not just brother?"
"It's settled! Redo!" Tamaki said. "Okay, how's this? I'll be the mom, Itachi will be the dad. Ayae can be the daughter. Sasuke can be the baby. Shisui can be the rebellious teenager. And Ginjiro can be Ayae's brother. How's that?"
My eye twitched. "You do realize you and Itachi have the four of us as your kids?" I asked. Also, I did not want the daughter role. I was already playing the daughter role.
"I no like it!" Sasuke pouted.
Tamaki rolled her eyes. "Okay, Sasuke, you can remain Itachi's brother. Um, Ayae can be your wife then."
Sasuke grimaced. "Yuck!"
"Hey! I'm offended!" I said.
"Can I be the dad?" Ginjiro asked. "Why do I always have to be the brother?"
"Well someone has to be a kid."
"Hey, hey. We brothers! High five bro!" Shisui told Ginjiro.
"No. Way. Switch me out! I want to be the dad!" Ginjiro said.
We debated, and debated some more. But no one could come to an agreement, so in the end, we wrote down every role and put the papers in Ginjiro's cap. Tamaki shuffled the papers, and each of us grabbed a piece.
"Okay, what you get, you're stuck with," Tamaki said. "No more arguing!"
It seemed like a good plan. Until I opened my slip and felt my eye twitch.
"No."
"Freaking."
"Way."
"In hell."
"What this say? Really? YAY! I'm the daddy!" Sasuke cheered.
"That's one person happy. But hell no! I'm grandpa?" I threw my paper on the floor.
"REDO! I'm the grandmother! That means we are married!" Tamaki cried.
"Ew! We are old and wrinkly and ew! You're my best friend, but not enough for me to marry you. Sorry Tamaki," I said solemnly, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Divorce! Divorce!"
"What? I'm the granddaughter! I'm the three-year-old's granddaughter?" Gin demanded, showing us his paper.
"Well, now you aren't anyone's brother!" I laughed. "Aren't you happy?"
"I'd be more happy to be born," Ginjiro scowled.
"Itachi, what did you get?" Tamaki asked, peeking over his shoulder. He flipped over his slip for us to read, and we blinked.
Then came the laughter. "AHAHA. You're the mom, or Sasuke's wife."
Sasuke's eyes beamed. "YAY! Brother's mine!"
"Of course," Itachi said, pulling Sasuke to his lap.
"No!" Tamaki cried. "No, no. This is all wrong. Itachi is being my husband. And Sasuke is the son."
"Not according the lotto, Tamaki," Ginjiro said. "Not according to the lotto."
"So let me get this straight. Tamaki and I had Sasuke as our kid, who married Itachi, and they had a kid, who then had a daughter, who is Ginjiro."
A pause.
"This is one messed up family," I concluded, tearing my grandpa note.
"And I'm the dog," Shisui said.
"Aw, you'd be a cute dog, Shisui," I teased. "Thumbs up for whoever wrote down dog!"
"I call for trade!"
"Dude, no one wants your spot."
"Well yours isn't so pretty either. At least I exist."
"Better that than a mutt. Or wrinkly face."
"Hey! Low blow!"
"Seriously, redo!"
"NO redo! I am daddy."
"Well, I don't like being your dad, Sasuke."
"What's wrong with being dad?"
My dad entered the room. He carried a tray of drinks. Aunt Mikoto followed. Tamaki jumped up to open the bedroom door wider for them.
"I'm talking about being the grandpa," I said. "Anything wrong with that picture?"
"Gee, why are you guys complaining? I'm the dog for crying out loud!"
"Dog?" Aunt Mikoto asked, setting down the tray on a desk.
"We play House!" Sasuke exclaimed, showing his teddy bear to his mother.
Aunt Mikoto smiled and rubbed the bear's ear. "Oh?" She knew the game, so she joined us. My dad wanted in on the hullabaloo.
And so, our dysfunctional family got even more dysfunctional with the second lotto drawing. The game of house never got anywhere. We spent the time fighting over spots. Even the adults.
.
I turned eight the first of August. I was startled awake first thing in the morning by a wind-up frog.
My dad made it. If you turn the handle on the frog's back, the frog would hop. My dad thought it would be funny to let the frog hop on me while I was still asleep. When I did wake up, my dad sang happy birthday. He then asked if I liked his present and got all excited explaining how he made it.
I grew to like the frog. It was as cute as the flopping fish he made last year.
Downstairs was already a pile of presents from my friends.
I yawned, opening each during breakfast. I grabbed the biggest present first. Naturally, it was Tamaki's. I read the card over once.
'Hope ya like it~ See ya at school next year!'
She gave me a doll house set. It was a great present, since Utako could use her own home.
Setsu and Dai sent me a giant album of stickers. I peeled off a pretty butterfly and stuck it on my cheek. There were notes from them too, with funny stories of their vacation so far.
Ayame gave me a bracelet. I hung that around Utako's neck. Ayame's dad gave me a coupon book of his ramen shop. I gave the book to my dad, but kept a few coupons in my backpack, just in case.
Ginjiro gave me the best gift. It was a box set of ninja toy weapons. There were dozens of shuriken, kunai, and scrolls. In a tagged note, he said I better share those with him, since he had spent a fortune.
I tore the cardboard box, trying to get a shuriken. When my dad caught me throwing one in the living room, he freaked out. I had to calm him down and tell them they were only toys.
The morning, I stabbed at random things and threw shuriken around. I could not get the shuriken to spin when I threw them. Then one of my shuriken accidentally hit my dad's glasses and plopped into my his coffee, splashing him. With skewed glasses, he frowned and pointed at the door. I laughed nervously and practiced outside from then on.
When I came back for lunch, I got more packages. They were from Aunt Mikoto, Shisui, and Itachi.
Aunt Mikoto gave me cookies and a dress. I wore the dress instantly. The bow in the back was too much though, so I dropped the bow.
Shisui gave me a pack of cards. TEN packs of cards, since it was a collection. Every card contained a question. 'How many miles are in a furlong?' one card read.
I blinked. Okay, what the heck was a mile? Moreover, what was a furlong?
Shisui answered that in his note: 'Don't look at me, I have no idea what's a furlong either.'
Itachi's present was smaller than the rest. I unwrapped the paper carefully, trying to not rip it. But then I heard a small tear and gave up, tearing the wrapping apart. I got…
A box?
A wooden box.
I flipped it over and saw engravings. I shook it, but it made no noise. It sounded hollow. The lid opened when I turned a small knob. The cover slid out.
But the box was empty, except for a note.
'Happy Birthday.'
It was Itachi's handwriting. I flipped over the note. Blank.
I did not know whether to be confused or disappointed.
The cover was pretty though. I liked the swirls of flowers and petals. The sides of the box had random scribbles. I stared at the box some more, waiting, tapping my foot. If this was some mystical box with some awesome super-secret ninja chi given by some cursed demon god, do not blame me for not figuring it out.
I tucked away all my presents. I got a good batch this year.
The afternoon, my dad took me to eat at a tea shop owned by the nice auntie and uncle. When my dad said we were celebrating my birthday, they said the snacks would be on the house.
Afterward, my dad and I went deeper into Konoha. We browsed through shops and went on our annual birthday shopping. At the trinket shop, there was a piggy bank next to the fortune cats. I asked my dad if I could have it, and he agreed.
Further into the village, we passed by vendors. I had a vanilla ice cream cone; my dad tried the mint one. We would have both gotten chocolate, but the vendor did not sell any. How dare he!
Soon, we were at the clothing district. There were the hustles and bustles of people. One man carried a load of spooled cloth over his shoulder and into a store. The cloth looked pretty, so I ran in after him.
The door opened with a chime.
"Oh, my dear lord!" my dad exclaimed. "Look at all this fabric!" He spun around and around. From floor to ceiling was all cloth.
A chubby man went up to us and exclaimed, "Welcome! Like what you see? Yes, that is one indeed one hundred percent silk, straight from Suna. How may I help you?"
"Uh, no thanks. Just browsing," my dad said, his eyes pressed into his glasses.
The shop owner stayed jolly. "No problem! Tell me if you wish to make a purchase. And please, no touching the red-labeled ones! The others, have a feel for the texture! I'm sure you'll like!"
A second chime.
The owner brightened even more. "Ah! Welcome Ms. Hyuuga! Nice to see you again. We just stocked in more of the nightingale brown you wanted. And the new summer pattern, I must say, would be perfect for your wardrobe!"
"Ah, I'm flattered. And yes, I am- Oh! Hello Ayae, Mr. Kenta," Ms. Hyuuga greeted.
"Teacher Hyuuga! Hi!" I said.
My ballet teacher was wearing a yukata, which only made her more pretty. Her hair was down too, long and flowing.
My dad thought she looked pretty too. "Oh! H-hi! Ms. Kagami! What a coincidence! Never thought we would see you here. How's your summer? Are you enjoying it? I am. I mean, we are. You too? How's your summer? It's been a while since we last met. Ayae's been waiting for fall again to continue her dancing."
"Really Ayae?"
I nodded.
"That's wonderful," Ms. Hyuuga said. Then she asked, "Are you here picking out a yukata? It gets really hot in the village, and the cloth here has quite a quality. Very well made and breathable."
"I am deeply moved that you believe in our products!" the owner chimed in. "Please, I insist! Special discount! Buy one, and I'll throw in one for you for free, Ms. Hyuuga!"
"Oh, no I can't accept that-"
"I insist!" the owner said, his arms wide. "Anything you want! It has been such a great pleasure having a repeating customer like you that it's the least we can do! Emi! Emi! Where is that girl? Emi, Ms. Hyuuga is here!"
The worker carrying the cloth grunted and set his load down, before going to the back. He found Emi. Emi flashed a smile to everyone and waved. "Nice to see you again, Ms. Hyuuga! My mother is almost done tailoring the dress you wanted, too. But I'm afraid it won't be delivered here until this Sunday."
"No problem, I have a whole week left for that," Ms. Hyuuga said. "I'm here to pick out new summer dresses for my nieces, and a kimono myself for the upcoming clan celebration."
"Busy as usual! Come, Emi and I will help you decide what you want!" the owner said.
Ms. Hyuuga told them that she wanted something formal, yet contemporary. Light in weight, warm in color. Emi ran to gather cloths that suited Ms. Hyuuga's description.
Then Ms. Hyuuga turned to us. "Pardon me for keeping you waiting. You were saying?"
"We were just looking," I said. "My dad and I are walking around because it's my birthday."
"How old are you turning?"
"Eight!"
"Well, then. Since you are an excellent pupil, how about I get you a nice summer yukata for your birthday? If your dad is okay with it."
"Of course! But I can't make you pay for that, oh no. I mean these are- My god!" my dad exclaimed, adjusting his glasses and flipping over the price tag. "That is a lot of digits."
Ms. Hyuuga chuckled. "You really are something, Mr. Kenta. But you forget, I just received a discount, remember?"
I could not believe my luck! I was getting a free yukata? Oh man, oh man, I must think long and hard… "I'd like a yellow one!" I blurted out. "With flowers!"
"Do you have anything like that here, Emi?" Ms. Hyuuga asked.
Emi had just came back with swatches of colored cloths. "Yellow with flowers, I hear correctly?" Emi thought, then snapped her fingers and smiled. "Aha! Yes! I know a few. Be right back. And Ms. Hyuuga, how are these? I thought an earthy brown would be a great accent, and since you wanted warmth, these golds really make them pop. The design for the kimono is on the back page. It's a simplified version of a wedding gown. Pretty, huh?"
Ms. Hyuuga and my dad looked through the pages together. Ms. Hyuuga pointed to the obi and asked my dad what he thought. I rolled my eyes when I heard him say beautiful. My dad was not a pro with fashion.
Emi asked me to follow her. We went to the back corner of the shop.
On the table were different cloths. "Like these, little girl? The peach blossom ones always go by fast!"
I look carefully over the designs and choose a golden one with little white flowers and a deep red obi. It reminded me of something my mom once wore.
By the time I got back to the front of the store, Ms. Hyuuga and my dad were still talking. It took them about an hour to pick out the kimono designs. Then they spent two more hours talking about everything, including the weather and how to stay cool. The owner and Emi joined in too.
I did not pay attention, because I did not care much for how hot the weather would be a week or a month from now. My dad seemed happy though.
.
The second semester started. My homework piled up to a mountain, so I was happy to learn that there was something called Konoha's National Autumn Festival coming. I needed fun. My yukata came just in time for the festival too. I slipped it on, and tied on my obi.
My dad, on the other hand, could not choose what to wear. He barged into my room with two yukata in hand. "Hey, hey, sweetie. Which one? This dark blue one with the circles, or this green crisscrossy one?"
"I like the green," I said.
"Me too! Okay, wait, hold on."
I heard him rush downstairs, and then scream that he could not find his pair of snazzy new glasses. I rushed to help him find them. We turned our home upside down searching. By the time he put on his new glasses, we were so late. The Uchiha district was already empty. Even the guards left to celebrate.
The streets of Konoha had changed, with lanterns and banners everywhere.
"You smell something?" my dad asked.
"Fried... fish?"
"Buying one?"
"Four."
We asked for four fish sticks from a vendor. I split two with my dad, and we joined the crowds of people. In the madness, I saw a stage, with chairs around it. I also saw my friends there. I wanted to join them for the puppet show. My dad did not mind, because he saw Ms. Hyuuga along with her clan.
"Be safe! Home before eleven!" my dad said, handing me money. He then adjusted his fancy hip glasses and ran to Ms. Hyuuga.
I went to my friends. It was the usual gang, with two boys that were Ginjiro's friends. I noticed Gin was not wearing his cap, but a brown robe.
"What?" he asked.
"Cap," I said, pointing to his messy hair.
He ruffled it and grinned. "Oh, parents made me take it off. Let you in on a secret, it's still here," he said, taking the red cap out of his yukata. He put it on. "Warn me if my parents come."
I giggled. The cap and the yukata did not match.
Together, we enjoyed the show on stage. The puppet ninja and a samurai were hitting each other. They looked so real.
When I finished eating my fish sticks, I looked around for more food. Of course, Dai had a bucket load of snacks, so I stole sweets off her. I grabbed a bag of the festivities candy. I popped a purple candy into my mouth. Grape was always the best candy flavor.
Since I sat in the last row, there were a group of kids playing tag behind me. One accidentally knocked me on the head. I turned around and recognized him as one of the kids from the orphanage. The orphan caretakers were nearby too.
I looked around. I did not see Naruto. I had not seen him since last semester and wondered if he was doing okay.
My friends looked at me when I got up. I told them to save my seat, and then searched for Naruto. He was not with everyone else, even though all the other kids were there.
I found myself going to the orphanage. As suspected, the orphanage was empty. I opened the front door and scrambled up the stairs, pulling up the hem of my yukata so I would not trip. I went to the last door of the hallway.
The door was locked.
I knocked. "Naruto? You in here?"
There was a shuffle and creaking behind the door. Furrowing my eyebrows, I pressed my ears against the door and heard more creaking. I pulled out a hair clip from my hair and picked the lock. The lock was old, so anything could have unlocked it. I could have banged the lock off too.
Once the door swung open, I saw Naruto tiptoeing on a wobbling stack of chairs and play stools, his hand reaching for the window.
My eyes widened when he lost balance. The next thing I knew, my back banged against the floors, Naruto in my arms. The stack of furniture collapsed around us.
I moaned. "Naruto! Dummy!"
He was making a whining noise too, cradling his head from the fall. Then he peeked open an eye.
"Aya!"
"Yes, me. What were you doing? You could have been hurt!"
"No open!" he said, pointing to the door. "No open!" He saw the open door and lowered his finger, confused. "Open?"
"Yes, open. Come on, I'm busting you out."
I took his hand. On the road, I handed him a piece of candy to keep him happy. I tried to toss a strawberry candy into my mouth, but missed. It rolled down the ground. I was about to leave it there, until another toddler in a blue yukata came and picked it up.
"Sasuke!"
Sasuke looked up and handed me the fallen candy. "Sister Ayae?"
"Hey, what are you doing here alone?" I asked. "Where's Auntie and Itachi?"
"Mommy went to song place. I left daddy because he talk with people. I wait, and wait, and then... and I got bored. So I left."
"What about Itachi? Where's your brother?"
Sasuke shook his head. "He not come. Brother at home. Candy?"
"Yes, that's candy. What do you mean Itachi's at home? Why isn't he here like everyone else?"
Sasuke shrugged and opened his mouth.
"Gah! Sasuke don't eat that!" I yelled.
I could not believe I ended in charge of two little kids. I decided I should take Sasuke to his parents first, so I took Sasuke's hand with my free one. "Come on, let's find your dad."
"No!" Sasuke said, shaking himself free. At any other time, his pout would have been cute, but I had Naruto jabbing my arm, impatient.
"Listen, I don't like your dad either, but you can't be wandering alone!" I said.
Sasuke would not listen. He whined, and Naruto whined louder. Naruto pulled me in one direction, so we would leave Sasuke. Seeing there was another toddler with me, Sasuke grabbed my arm, pulled me the other direction.
Stressed, I pulled both boys toward the puppet show, ignoring their cries. Once there, I asked my friends to take care of them. They said okay, but Sasuke was stubborn and Naruto made noise. I tossed to them some treats. They shut up, shared my old seat, and ate.
Meanwhile, I wandered the streets. It was impossible to find Aunt Mikoto. My feet were also hurting, so I took off my wooden sandals and left them by a vendor.
I ran barefoot to the Uchiha district. As I got closer, the streets got less and less crowded. Eventually, they got deserted altogether. At the main Uchiha house, I pulled on the front door and found it locked. I banged on the door. Nothing.
Cursing, I circled to the back door that led to the living room. My feet were dirty, but I skidded across the floors and up the stairs to Itachi's room.
As I climbed up, I grew impatient with Itachi. He should be enjoying the festival with everyone else, not here!
I slid his door open, and it slammed into the wall. I found him, in the middle of his room.
Itachi froze. "Ayae?"
"YOU!" I said, pointing at him. A deep breath later, the only words I could spit out were, "YOU idiot… festival… Sasuke… HERE!"
I caught my breath again and was about to say more when I saw what he was doing. Then I went red and jumped out, slamming the door shut.
I buried my back against the wood. "Sorry!"
He was bandaging his wounds, half naked. He was wet too, probably from a shower. Oopsies.
In the hall, I waited and heard more bandages being ripped and cut.
"Um, you need help?" I asked.
"No," he said, too quickly.
When he was done, I heard him put the bandages away. He slid open the door I was leaning on. I fell, but he caught me.
"But thank you," he added. I balanced myself and walked with him into his room. Itachi grabbed a towel folded on a chair and dried his hair. "What is wrong, Ayae?" he asked, offering me the seat.
I stood where I was.
"What's wrong?" I said. "First of all, why are you not at the festival? Second of all, I have two toddlers I don't know what to do with. Third of all, my lungs are about to explode, I can't feel my feet, and my arms are like rubber after being a human tug-o-war rope!"
"A what?"
"Ugh, long story. Oh, and fifth-fourth-whatever of all, Sasuke strayed from your dad. I can't find Auntie. I don't know what to do with him."
At the mention of that, Itachi tensed up. "Where is Sasuke currently if he's not with you?"
"Right now, I left Gin to take care of him," I said. "Tamaki and the rest are there too, at the puppet show. But I don't know if my friends can handle them when it's over."
He relaxed. "Then, please go back and watch my little brother until he is left in the care of my mother."
I nodded, about to leave. Then I stopped. "Whoa! Back up! What about you? Aren't you coming?!"
"I cannot leave."
"Why?"
"Long story," he said, in my own words.
Okay. I did not run here just to be sent back. I stomped across his room to his closet. I went through the each hanger, digging into the back.
"What are you-"
"Aha!" I took out a yukata. "Wear it and come down with me!"
"Ayae…"
"Just wear it! Or you can go in normal clothes! I don't care! Just come!"
He was about to say no again, but I had enough. Without warning, I tackled him to the bed and struggled for an arm. I tried to pull the yukata sleeve over him. "Stop. Moving. Damn it! Eek!" My foot slipped, and I crashed, landing on top of him.
"Owie."
"Ayae, please remove your weight off me?"
"Do it yourself," I groaned, tangled in my own yukata.
"Very well." He flipped, and I landed on his bed with an oomph.
After that, I reached for his bed sheets and hugged his pillows, rolling on the bed and refusing to leave until he came with me. Itachi sighed at my childish act, and gave in.
I did not give him a chance to change his mind, jumping off the bed, and pulling him downstairs. I searched for my shoes until I remembered that I did not come in with any.
"Where are your sandals?"
"By a fish stick vendor?" I nervously laughed. "It's not really easy to ruN- put me down!" I struggled in his arms.
"Your feet are going get cut. Close your eyes, Ayae."
I did, and went on my second roof-hopping ride.
"Which direction?"
"Um…" I cracked open an eyelid to look at where we were.
"Keep your eyes closed. Do you remember where it is by? There are several shows hosted below."
I tightened my grip on him. "It's on a main street. The bigger one with lanterns… in a circle, I think."
"I see your friends."
With a leap, we were on the floor. "Ayae, you can open your eyes now."
When I did, the ground was spinning. I took a step forward to balance myself, then shooed Itachi's arm away. "I'm good."
The show puppet show had gotten a bigger crowd than before. Many parents heaved their children on their shoulders, so the kids could see. The seats of my friends were also taken by other people, which made me worry.
I looked around, and saw someone. "Tamaki!" I shouted. Pigtails turned. Tamaki squeezed through the crowd and ran to us, breathing hard.
"Ayae!" she gasped. "Ita-Itachi?"
She breathed, before she swallowed and shouted, "I'm sorry! They disappeared on us!"
"What!" I said. "How? There were like eight of you guys looking over them!"
"I don't know! The blonde kid snuck out somehow, so Ginjiro and the boys went to search for him. And then, Sasuke slipped from our grip too! We don't know where they went!"
Tamaki was in a frenzy, her hair a mess and her voice loud. I exchanged a nervous look with Itachi, but he did not panic.
"Sasuke is three," he said. "He couldn't have gotten far..." His fingers made a swift sign and he vanished. The rest of his words were drowned out by a loud applause. The puppet show was over.
"Itachi? Wait! Ayae, I'm sorry. They might have gotten hurt. I'm so sorry!" Tamaki's voice broke, and tears started flooding in. "And we've been l-looking and looking but we can't find them. It's not my f-fault, Ayae! I'm sorry…"
"It's fine." I hugged her. "Come on, let's go and look too."
She nodded. "Y-yeah. The girls are off to look east. W-we should go the other way."
We ran, screaming for Sasuke and Naruto, until Tamaki stopped and took off her sandals. Wordlessly, she threw them into a trash can and began running again. Unlike mine, hers were ten times more expensive.
The night, we looked for the brats. We found them, together, by a cotton candy vendor. Itachi was already there, sitting on a crate. He watched in the shadows, unnoticed by the two boys bickering over a piece of puffy cotton.
"Blue!"
"No!"
"Blue!"
"Nooo!"
"Bluuee!"
Naruto pointed to the orange one.
The vendor banged his head on the cart, before handing the two boys an orange cotton candy stick, followed by a blue one. "Now scam! And tell your parents to come back and pay for these!"
When the kids ran off with the sugar, Itachi stepped out and handed the vendor a few coins. By the time he caught up, I was holding a sugar-high Naruto and Tamaki was gripping a whining Sasuke.
"No more candy!" I said when I noticed they had finished my candy bag.
"Mo!"
"No more!"
"Narutomo Naruto mo!"
"No more!" Tamaki said with me.
"Brother Itachi!"
"Mo?"
"I said no more!" I yelled at Naruto.
Naruto grew stubborn and yelled on the top of his lungs, "Momomomomo!"
"…"
"MO!"
"I SAID NO MORE!"
"Itachi!" Tamaki sighed, relieved when Itachi came and took Sasuke by the hand. "Here's your brother. He seems alright."
"Brother?" Sasuke said, handing the blue cotton candy to his older brother. "Blue?"
Itachi smiled and kindly rejected the candy. "Sasuke…"
"Yes?"
"You have been a bad boy."
Sasuke whined. "No! Good boy!"
"Where is mother?"
"Mommy is at song place with Auntie."
"Our mother is with Shisui's mother," Itachi said. "I have my suspicions it's at the ceremonial fan dance like every year. The location should be close. I hear the drums."
"I hear it too! Itachi, I'll take Sasuke there with you," Tamaki offered.
Itachi shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I must return to the district. It is not my place to be here."
"What-"
"Tamaki," Itachi said, looking her in the eye, and Tamaki stopped. "I ask a favor. Please take my brother to my mother."
"O-okay…" Tamaki stuttered, her face turning pink.
"Thank you," he whispered as he walked past her. He was so close to her that I swore that his lips brushed her ear. Tamaki froze, speechless.
I huffed. "Hey! What about me!" I cried out.
"I believe Naruto needs your attention," Itachi said, not looking back. He stepped under the red glow of a lantern, then disappearing altogether into the night.
Sighing, I dragged Naruto with me. Together, the four of us followed the distant drumming. As Itachi said, there was a performance with ladies doing a traditional fan dance. Their fans shot out with a flapping noise, followed by a click of wood as they snapped shut. Countless were gathered to watch the dance. However, there was also a small, but violent, riot was in the crowd.
"YOU WHAT?"
A murmur.
"YOU SAID WHAT?"
Aunt Mikoto tackled her husband to the ground; the other two men backed away in fright.
"FUGAKU, YOU ASSHOLE! HOW DAREYOU LOSE MY BABY!" Aunt Mikoto screamed, straddling him with her legs, choking his neck.
"How could you!" another lady said, kicking him. "This is unforgivable!"
"YOU ASSHOLE, YOU ASSHOLE, YOU ASSHOLE!" Aunt Mikoto raged, banging his head on the ground each time. I cringed.
Meanwhile, Sasuke saw his mother and ran toward her.
"Mommy!"
Aunt Mikoto looked up. "My baby!" She rushed to hug and smother Sasuke. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? Oh, don't ever leave me again." She kissed Sasuke's forehead and squeezed him again in a crushing hug.
"Daddy?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head to see the dead man on the ground.
"No daddy! That pathetic excuse of a father is not your daddy!" she spat. As she set him down and took his hand, she noticed us. "Ayae! Tamaki! Oh, you girls found him, didn't you? I am so, so grateful."
"It was no big deal, Mrs. Uchiha," Tamaki said, bowing.
"Call me Ms. Uchiha from now on, thank you very much!" she growled. Then she smiled to her son, and in softer voice, said, "Come on, Sasuke dear, let me get you cleaned up. You have blue all over your face!"
One of the two men helped Itachi's dad up and laughed nervously. "Ahaha, looks like Mikoto's seeking a divorce!"
"That's not funny." Itachi's dad scowled, massaging his raw cheek.
"That's what you get for marrying a jounin! Get it together, man! You are bruising the clan pride."
Stomp!
"Look. Who's. Talking!" Itachi's dad said, rubbing the man's face into the dirt with his foot.
Next to me, an old peanut vendor shook his head. "Forty years, I've sold peanuts here," he grumbled to himself. "And they still haven't changed a bit. Always a ruckus."
"What do you mean?" I asked him, curious.
The vendor only kept shaking his head until he noticed me looking at him. "Eh? Peanuts?" he asked, grinning a toothless grin.
I blinked, and took a bag. As I ate, I watched the three men tackle each other and wrestle in the dirt.
Tamaki left to tell our friends to stop searching, so that left me with Naruto.
We walked down the streets, sharing the bag of peanuts. There were other stands that gave us free food and little toys. However, Naruto began to think everything was free, and snatched whatever he liked. Many times, I had to go back to the stores, and put the stuff back in place.
Naruto needed to understand that some of these things came with big price tags. And not paying the big price tag meant stealing. And stealing meant BAD!
The rest of the time, we watched a sword fight. It was cool, but also frightening since the performers used real swords. Metal clanged against metal, and I was afraid someone would get hurt. Thankfully, there were no accidents.
Half way through the show, Naruto fell off his sugar high, and fell asleep. I had a miserable time carrying him home. He weighed a ton. My arms were about to fall off and my legs were rubber before I saw the orphanage caretaker. She was haggling with a vendor over a pair of sandals when I tugged on her yukata and handed her the sleeping boy. I ran away before she could shriek.
I searched for my friends, but there were too many streets. So I made my second trip to the Uchiha district, and found Itachi on the veranda, resting his head against a post. I tiptoed, trying to sneak up on him.
"Why did you come back?" he asked.
"Boo?" I said, still half a meter behind him. I plopped down next to him and followed his gaze.
He was looking at the moon. It was bright and pretty, perfectly cut in half.
"Why did youcome back?" I asked.
He could not say.
"The festival is fun. You should have some fun, too," I said. "So why don't we go back! It's not too late yet."
"I cannot leave," he said.
"You left before!"
"Rather, I should not." Before I could say more, Itachi closed his eyes and breathed in the night air. "It is peaceful here. That is more than enough."
The Konoha streets were a chaos of drums and yells and music. Here in the deserted district, it was so quiet I could hear the crickets and the wind. I could hear the wings of a bird, feel the glow of the moon. It felt nice.
"Well," I muttered, "if you ain't leaving, I'm not either."
We sat together. As time went by, the silence grew louder, and I could hear the garden. The flow of water, the clonk of bamboo. The autumn wind that blew across the grass. Every bird or bug. I could hear the difference between this and the indoors, the humming house behind us.
My eyes went to Itachi. He did not look much like a person at that moment, but like another part of nature. Every time the wind blew past his hair, it looked like he would blow away into nothing.
"Itachi," I said.
He glanced over to me.
"What are you thinking?" I asked.
"The dead," he said.
"EH?" I leaped back. What a creepy thing to be thinking of!
He seemed amused, and said, "The Autumn Festival isa celebratory festival for the dead, Ayae. Years ago, on this date, many people have lost their lives, and even more have mourned."
"But everyone is partying," I said, dumbly.
"Of course."
I did not understand. "But shouldn't we be-"
"Is it not better to laugh than cry? To rejoice with families, reunite with lost ones in happiness than in sorrow?"
I said nothing. My mom crossed my mind.
Itachi looked back at the moon "From an alternative light, even the blackest night sky shines bright. Life is sprouted from death. Innocence born from guilt." He turned to me, and smiled. "I wish your little friend a happy birthday."
Before I could ask what he was talking about, he had already stood up.
"Would you like for me to accompany you home?" he asked, extending a hand.
"Huh?"
"It is almost midnight. My family will be arriving soon."
My eyes widened. I did not realize it was that late.
"Nah, it's okay," I said, getting up. "I'll see you around?"
"Aa."
He disappeared into the house, and I walked home. At the door to my house, I realized something.
Did my dad not say home before eleven?
Ah, fishsticks.
As expected, when I opened the door, my dad was having a heart attack on the phone. "MY DAUGHTER IS MISSING."
"Hold on. Restate your situation, and we will contact you within the next-"
"I can't hold! It's an EMERGENCY."
"Sir, calm down. Wait. Kenta, that you?"
"She could be anywhere! She's eight."
"Kenta?"
"It's MIDNIGHT!"
"It's only 12:15. During Konoha celebrations last the entire night."
There was a yawn from the phone. My dad blabbed into the mouthpiece.
"More than old enough to..."
"I TOLD HER TO BE BACK BY-"
"She forgot then. Listen, just call back later. There is a 48 hour missing policy and..."
"Oh don't you dare hang up on me! Else I'm going down to the station myself and-"
"Now relax, Kenta..."
"Um, dad?"
"And I'll demand to speak with-"
"Majority of the police are down at the festivals. I doubt anyone-"
"MY DAUGHTER IS MISSING!"
"Kenta, you just told me- forget it. Fine, I'll manage a file if you would stop shouting. Description of the missing?"
"114 centimeters, brown eyes-"
"With brown hair, wears pink or orange, face like her mother's, turned eight last summer, prettiest ballerina darling ever. Why do I even bother. You tell me about her every time I catch you at the station." There was a sigh before the man on the phone muttered, "I need tea..."
"Dad!"
"Hold on, sweetie, I'm on the phone."
There was a silence, before my dad flung the phone and opened his arms. "SWEETIE, YOU'RE BACK!"
"Wait, so you wasted my time for no-" My dad hanged up and squeezed me blue.
I gave a nervous grin and began, "So. Nice to see you too, dad. Um, I'm going to go to my bed and sleep now and..." I started backtracking toward the stairs.
"Sure!" he said. "Remember to brush your teeth!"
I thought I was home free, when at the steps, he added, "Oh, by the way..."
"Grounded?"
"You bet."
I hung my head.
