"Meow! Meow!"

"Kitty goes meow!"

Sasuke grinned. "Cat goes meow!"

"Meow! Meow!"

I pulled the cat's arm. The fortune cat meowed again.

"Sasuke, what do you say?" Aunt Mikoto asked.

"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 summer break. Sasuke and I both had our birthdays coming up, so we were having a party at his house. I did not mind sharing birthday parties, as long as I got the same amount of presents.

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 over. At the capital, everyone had to have a party on their birthday.

I did get upset that I had missed Itachi's birthday two months earlier. I had been so busy with school, 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 promised to remind me every year from then on. I was happy. I made up for the lost birthday by giving Itachi an origami that I made in kunoichi seminar.

As for our party, I got Tamaki and Ginjiro to come over.

At first, Ginjiro did not want to go inside the Uchiha district. I had to beg him. He said yes after my tenth plea. Tamaki did not need my begging. She said yes very fast.

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 asked.

Itachi himself did not show up until afternoon. He was training 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?" Aunt Mikoto offered.

"Anything involving food, the answer is always yes. And with seconds, if you may," Shisui said, shaking his bitten finger.

Aunt Mikoto laughed and got out the cake. Everyone sang happy birthday to Sasuke. He blew on the candles.

Two candles went out, but one still burned. The candle wax began to drip down into the cake.

NO! NOT THE ICING! DON'T GET WAX ON THE ICING!

Sasuke pouted. He glared 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. He 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 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 did not try 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 came from 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 paper 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," Tamaki said.

"In-law? Why not just brother?" Gin asked.

"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 to be the daughter. I was already the daughter.

"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 said, offended.

"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 argued, and argued 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. 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. My eye twitched.

"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!"

"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. 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 my husband. And Sasuke is the son."

"Not according the lotto, Tamaki," Ginjiro said.

"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.

"But did you consider..." Shisui flipped over his note. "Me as the dog."

All arguing broke out.

"I call for trade!"

"Dude, no one wants your spot."

"Well yours isn't so pretty either."

"Better than the 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 a grandpa," I said. "Anything wrong with that picture?"

"Nothing! Y'all got me as the dog!"

"Dog?" Aunt Mikoto asked, setting down the tray on a desk.

"We play House!" Sasuke exclaimed, showing his teddy bear to his mom.

Aunt Mikoto rubbed the bear's ear. "Oh?"

Aunt Mikoto 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 liked 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 string 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 his note, he said I better share those with him, since he had spent a fortune.

I tore the box open, 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.

That 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 hit my dad's glasses and plopped into his coffee, splashing him. With skewed glasses, he pointed to the door. I laughed nervously and practiced outside from then on.

When I came back for lunch, I got more gifts. They were from Aunt Mikoto, Shisui, and Itachi.

Aunt Mikoto gave me cookies and a dress. I wore the dress instantly. There was a cute bow in the back.

Shisui gave me a pack of cards. TEN packs of cards, since it was a collection. Every card had a question. 'How many miles are in a furlong?' one card read.

I blinked. Okay, what the heck was a mile? What was a furlong?

Shisui wrote 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. When I turned a small knob, the cover slid out.

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. If this was some mystical box with some awesome super-secret ninja magic given by some cursed demon god, don't 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 to Konoha downtown. 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?"

"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! 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. "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. He went to the back to get Emi.

Emi came out. She flashed a smile to everyone and waved. "Nice to see you again, Ms. Hyuuga! We are almost done tailoring the dress you want. But I'm afraid it won't be delivered 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?"

"My dad and I are walking around because it's my birthday!" I said.

"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 and… "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 come back with swatches of colored cloths. "Yellow with flowers, I hear correctly?" Emi thought, then snapped her fingers. "Ah! 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.

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.

Thankfully, I learned that there was something called Konoha's National Autumn Moon Festival. I needed fun. My yukata came just in time for the festival too. I slipped it on. My dad tied my obi.

As for my dad, he could not decide on 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."

He rushed downstairs. I heard him scream that he could not find his pair of snazzy new glasses. I rushed to help my dad 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 had left to celebrate.

The streets of Konoha had changed. There were 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.

We joined the crowds of people.

One stage had a puppet show. There were many chairs around it. I saw my friends there. I wanted to join them.

My dad did not mind. He saw Ms. Hyuuga, who noticed him back.

"Okay, have fun with your friends, sweetie. Be safe, and home before eleven!" my dad told me. He handed me money. He then adjusted his fancy hip glasses and ran to Ms. Hyuuga.

I went to my friends. It was the usual gang, plus two boys that were Ginjiro's friends. I noticed Gin was not wearing his cap. He had on a brown robe.

"What?" he asked.

"Cap," I said, pointing to his messy hair.

He ruffled it and grinned. "Oh, my 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.

I munched on my fish sticks. After I finished, I looked around for more food.

Of course, Dai had a bucket load of snacks. I snatched some sweets from her. I took a bag of the festivities candy. I popped a purple candy into my mouth. Grape was always the best candy flavor.

We were sitting in the last row. Behind us was a group of kids playing tag. One of them accidentally knocked me on the head. I turned around.

I recognized him as one of the kids from the orphanage. Many of the kids from the orphanage were playing nearby. The caretakers were here too.

I looked around. I did not see Naruto anywhere. I had not seen him since last semester. I wondered if he was doing okay.

My friends noticed me getting up. I told them to save my seat.

I searched for Naruto. He was not anywhere in sight. Strange.

I found myself going to the orphanage. It looked empty. I opened the front door and peeked in.

I went up the stairs, pulling up the hem of my yukata so I would not trip. I went to the end of the hallway.

The last door was closed. It was also locked.

I knocked.

"Naruto? Are you in here?"

There was a shuffle and creaking behind the door.

Eyebrow furrowing, I pressed my ears against the door. I heard more creaking. I pulled out a hair clip from my hair and picked the lock. The lock was old. Anything could have unlocked it. I could have banged the lock off too.

The door swung open.

I saw Naruto tiptoeing on a wobbling stack of play stools. His hand was reaching for the window.

My eyes widened when he lost balance. The next thing I knew, I was on the floor, Naruto in my arms. The stack of stools collapsed around us.

I moaned. "Naruto! Dummy!"

Naruto made a whining noise. He was cradling his head from the fall.

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.

He 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. The candy made him happy.

I tossed a strawberry candy into the air. I tried to catch it with my mouth but missed. It rolled down the ground. I was about to leave it there.

But then, another toddler in a blue yukata came and picked it up.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke looked up. He held 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 wait... and I got bored. So I left."

"What about Itachi? Where's your brother?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Brother at home. Candy?"

"Yes, that's candy. What do you mean Itachi's home? Why isn't he here like everyone else?"

Sasuke shrugged. He opened his mouth.

"Gah! Sasuke, don't eat that!"

Whelp! How did I end up in charge of two little kids?

I decided to take Sasuke to his parents first. 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 tugging my arm.

"Listen, I don't like your dad either, but you can't be wandering alone!" I said.

Sasuke would not listen. He whined.

Naruto whined louder.

Naruto pulled on me, so we could leave Sasuke. Seeing there was another toddler with me, Sasuke grabbed my other arm, pulled me the other way.

Stressed, I pulled both boys toward the puppet show. I ignored their cries.

Once at the show, I asked my friends to look after them. They said okay.

Both Naruto and Sasuke were not happy. Sasuke shifted. Naruto made noise. I tossed them treats. They munched happily, sharing my old seat.

I wandered the streets looking for Aunt Mikoto. It was impossible. The village was too big. There were too many people.

My feet started hurting, so I took off my wooden sandals. I left them by a vendor.

I ran barefoot to the Uchiha district.

The streets got less and less crowded.

I reached the district. The streets were empty.

At the main house, I pulled on the front door. It was locked.

Cursing, I circled to the back door. I went in from the porch to the living room. My feet were dirty, but I didn't care.

Breathing heavily, I climbed up the stairs to Itachi's room.

Was Itachi actually home? Sasuke said so, but I found that hard to believe.

Itachi was. There was light behind his bedroom door.

I slid the door open.

Itachi froze. "Ayae?"

"YOU!" I said, pointing at him. I took a big breath. "YOU… festival… Sasuke… here… WHY!"

I needed another second to catch my breath. Once ready, I was about to say more.

But then, I saw that Itachi was half naked. He was in the middle of bandaging himself. He was wet too, probably from a shower.

Oopsies.

I went red. I slammed the door shut. I buried my back against it.

"Sorry!"

In the hallway, I heard more bandages being ripped and cut. Itachi worked fast. I heard him moving things.

"Um, you need help?" I asked.

"No," he said, too quickly.

I heard fabric rustling.

The door I was leaning on slid open. I fell. Itachi caught me.

"But thank you," he added.

Itachi grabbed a towel folded on his chair. He dried his hair.

"What is wrong, Ayae?" he asked, offering me the seat.

"What's wrong?" I said. "Well, my lungs are about to explode, I can't feel my feet, and my arms feel like rubber after being a human tug-o-war rope!"

"A what?"

"Ugh, long story. Anyway, I found Sasuke, but he's not with his parents, and I can't find Auntie. I don't know what to do."

Itachi tensed up. "Where is Sasuke currently if he's not with you?"

"With my friends," I said. "They're all at the puppet show right now."

He relaxed.

"In that case, will you go and look after him for the night? I'll be in your debt."

"Wait, you're not coming? Why aren't you at the festival?"

"I cannot leave."

"Why?"

"Long story," he said, in my own words.

Okay. I did not run here just to be sent back. I went to his closet. I looked through each hanger.

"What are you—"

"Aha!" I took out a yukata. "Here! Wear it and come with me!"

"Ayae…"

"Just wear it! Or you can go in normal clothes! I don't care!"

He was about to say no again. I didn't let him.

I tackled Itachi to the bed. I struggled to pull a yukata sleeve over his arm. "Stop. Moving. Damn it! Eek!"

My foot slipped. 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.

I landed on his bed with an oomph.

I grabbed and hugged his pillow. I rolled on his bed, refusing to leave until he came with me.

Itachi sighed. He gave in.

I did not give him a chance to change his mind. As soon as he was dressed, I pulled him downstairs. I searched for my shoes until I remembered that I did not come in with any.

Itachi noticed my dirty feet. "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 to get cut. Close your eyes, Ayae."

I did.

I went on my second roof-hopping ride.

"Which direction?" Itachi asked me.

"Um…" I cracked open an eyelid to see where we were.

"Keep your eyes closed. Do you remember anything about where you were? 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 back on the ground.

"Ayae, you can open your eyes now."

I did. I stepped down.

The crowd around the puppet show had gotten bigger. Many parents had their kids on their shoulders, so the kids could see. The seats of my friends were taken by other people.

I looked around.

"Tamaki!" I shouted.

Pigtails turned. Tamaki squeezed through the crowd. She ran to us, breathing hard.

"Ayae!" she gasped. "I-Itachi?"

She breathed, then 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, 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 was a mess. Her voice was loud. I nervously looked at Itachi, but he did not panic.

"Sasuke is three. He couldn't have gotten far..." His fingers made a sign. Itachi disappeared.

There was 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. She started crying. "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, shouting for Sasuke and Naruto.

Tamaki stopped and took off her sandals. Wordlessly, she threw them aside and began running.

It took us a while, but we found them.

Naruto and Sasuke were together, in front of a cotton candy vendor. Itachi was already there. He was in the shadows, sitting on a crate. The two boys did not notice him. They were too busy bickering over a piece of cotton candy.

"Blue!"

"No!"

"Blue!"

"Nooo!"

"Bluee!"

Naruto pointed to the orange one.

The vendor had enough. He handed one orange cotton candy to Naruto, and one blue cotton candy to Sasuke. "Now scam! And tell your parents to come back and pay for these!"

Happy, the boys ran off. Itachi stepped out and paid the vendor.

By the time he caught up, I was holding a sugar-high Naruto and Tamaki was gripping a whining Sasuke.

I noticed my candy bag was empty. They had eaten all of it.

"No more candy for you," I said, horrified.

"Mo!"

"No more!"

"Narutomo Naruto mo!"

"No more!" Tamaki said.

"Brother Itachi!"

"Mo?"

"I said no more!" I yelled at Naruto.

Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs, "Momomomomo!"

"…"

"MO!"

"I SAID NO MORE!"

"Itachi!" Tamaki was 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 did not take the cotton candy. He smiled. "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 suspect 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 my district. It is not my place to be here."

"What—"

"Tamaki," Itachi said, looking her in the eye. Tamaki stopped. "I ask a favor. Please take my brother to my mother."

"O-okay…" Tamaki stuttered, her face turning pink.

"Thank you," he said, walking past her.

"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 and disappeared.

Sighing, I dragged Naruto with me. Together, the four of us followed the distant drumming.

As Itachi said, there was a stage with fan dancing. Many people gathered to watch.

We noticed a ruckus in the crowd.

"YOU WHAT?"

A murmur.

"YOU SAID WHAT?"

Aunt Mikoto tackled Itachi's dad to the ground. Two of my other uncles backed away in fright.

"FUGAKU, YOU ASSHOLE! HOW DARE YOU LOSE MY BABY!" Aunt Mikoto screamed, 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 winced.

Sasuke saw his mom. He ran toward her.

"Mommy!"

Aunt Mikoto looked up. "My baby!" She rushed to hug 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 hug.

"Daddy?" Sasuke asked, looking at the man on the ground.

"No daddy! That pathetic excuse of a father is not your daddy!" Aunt Mikoto said. She noticed us. "Ayae! Tamaki! Oh, you girls found him, didn't you? I am so grateful."

"It was no big deal, Mrs. Uchiha," Tamaki said, bowing.

"Ms. Uchiha, thank you," she growled. Then she smiled and said, "Come on, Sasuke dear, let me get you cleaned up. You have blue all over your face!"

One of my uncles helped Itachi's dad up. "Ahaha, looks like Mikoto's seeking a divorce!"

"That's not funny," Itachi's dad scowled, rubbing his cheek.

"That's what you get for marrying a jounin! Get it together, man. You're bruising the clan pride."

Stomp!

"Look. Who's. Talking!" Itachi's dad said, rubbing the other man's face into the dirt.

Next to me, an old peanut vendor shook his head. "Forty years, I've sold peanuts here," he grumbled. "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. He noticed me looking at him. "Eh? Peanuts?" he asked with a toothless grin.

I blinked. I took a bag. As I ate, I watched my uncles fight in the dirt.

Tamaki left to tell our friends to stop searching.

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.

This made Naruto think everything was free. And so, he started snatching whatever he liked. Many times I had to go and put the stolen stuff back in place.

To stop him from stealing, I took him to watch shows. We watched a sword fight. It was cool but also frightening. The performers used real swords. I was afraid someone would get hurt.

Half way through the show, Naruto fell off his sugar high. He fell asleep. I had a miserable time carrying him home. He weighed a ton. My arms were about to fall off.

I saw the orphanage caretaker. She was haggling with a vendor over a pair of sandals. I tugged on her yukata and handed her the sleeping boy. I ran away before she could shriek.

I had no idea where my friends had gone. So I made my second trip to the Uchiha district.

I found Itachi on the porch, 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.

I followed his gaze. He was looking at the moon. It was bright and pretty.

"Why did you come back?" I asked.

He did 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. He breathed in the night air. "It is peaceful here. That is enough."

I thought about it. The Konoha streets were full of drums and yells and music. Here, 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. I listened to the garden. The flow of water, the clonk of bamboo. The autumn wind that blew across the grass. I could hear the humming house behind us.

My eyes went to Itachi. He did not look much like a person, 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 at 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. "The Autumn Festival is a celebratory festival for the dead, Ayae. Years ago, on this date, many people have lost their lives. Even more have mourned."

"But everyone is partying," I said.

"Of course."

I did not understand. "But shouldn't we be—"

"Is it not better to laugh than cry?"

I said nothing. My mom crossed my mind.

Itachi looked back at the moon "From an alternate 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 stood up.

"Would you like 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?"

Itachi nodded. He disappeared into the house.

I walked home. As I did, I realized something.

Did my dad not say home before eleven?

Ah, fishsticks.

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. Konoha celebrations last the entire night." There was a yawn from the phone. "And eight is 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..."

"Don't you dare hang up on me! Else I'm going down to the station myself and—"

"Now relax, Kenta..."

"Um, daddy?"

"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 start 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..."

"Daddy!"

"Hold on, sweetie, I'm on the phone."

There was a pause. My dad flung the phone and opened his arms. "SWEETIE, YOU'RE BACK!"

"Wait, so you wasted my time for no—" My dad hung up the phone.

He squeezed me blue.

Smiling nervously, I began, "So. Nice to see you too, daddy. Um, I'm going to go to my bed and sleep now and..." I started tiptoeing toward the stairs.

"Sure!" he said. "Remember to brush your teeth!"

I thought I was home free. I had just reached the steps when he added, "Oh, by the way..."

"Grounded?"

"You bet."

I hung my head.