The summoning scroll was a huge hit. My classmates were happy. I was happy too, since it meant I could use the scroll Itachi gave me again.
We stopped bringing backpacks. Instead, we made cute cylindrical bags that fit our scroll. Some had flowers or animal stitchings. Others were one color. There would be charms that students clipped on at the ends. The girls liked to attach straps and swing them over their shoulders. The boys liked to keep them at their hips and pretend they were carrying the sword sheath of a samurai.
The summoning scroll was so popular that we got requests from other classes. Even the teachers wanted in. And so, I went to Teacher Iruka again for more scrolls, and I went to Aunt Mikoto again for more help.
I kept running back to the principal's office to write more names in the book. At some point, Tamaki and I gave up on names and wrote 'everyone'.
"There!" We high-fived.
As we stepped out of the office, there was an upperclassman waiting for us. He stood out, being well dressed and groomed. His posture was perfect, and he felt much taller than he was.
He was holding a summoning scroll, looking irritated.
"Uchiha Ayae, it has come to my attention that this is your doing."
I caught the scroll.
"Yes?" I looked up. "Do you want one too?"
"No, I…" He closed his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I'd like to politely ask, as student representative, that you rescind your permission and undo the rule changes. These things should be banned."
Tamaki stepped up. "What, why?" she asked, hands at her hips. "They're great! Ask anyone, they love them!"
"They're dangerous."
"How so?"
"Because they explode."
"What are you talking about? They don't-" Tamaki remembered my blown up roof.
"Did someone's explode?!" I asked.
I sighed in relief when the upperclassman said no. But that wasn't the point. The point was that they could.
I rubbed my neck. Technically, he was right. But only if they were badly made. The person who made them was Aunt Mikoto, who was not only skilled, but also responsible. I had no doubt her scrolls were safe.
"The students here aren't shinobi-in-training," the upperclassman said. "They will be defenseless in the face of accidents. So please, I urge you to take them away."
Tamaki crossed her arms. "Sorry, the chances of an accident is almost none. Compared to the good they're doing, they're worth keeping."
I nodded, siding with Tamaki. We left.
The next Monday, Dai came in with exciting news. She got her new apprenticeship. It would be at the Konoha hawkery for communications.
I still had nothing. All the places that were looking for an apprentice weren't looking for, well, me. They told me that while they were flattered I wanted to work under them, their job was too humble. I was overqualified.
"Overqualified. What does that even mean!" I complained.
"Don't worry, it sometimes takes a while," Ayame said.
Before I could say anything, I got a tap to my shoulder. I had been called to the principal's office.
Confused, I went.
Inside the office was the upperclassman. He was arguing with the principal.
"... they won't listen to me, and even if they did, the danger is still in the building-"
"Good morning, Miss Ayae."
The upperclassman locked his jaw. He turned around and glared at me.
Quietly, I closed the door. "I got called?"
"Takahashi was just raising a point regarding your latest policy. Do you agree with him?"
"On banning the scrolls?" I asked.
"Yes, that."
I shook my head. I didn't see why they couldn't be allowed. There were no downsides.
Well, there was one downside. You had to be extra careful not to lose your scroll. Losing your scroll was worse than losing a single textbook or pencil, because everything went missing.
When Sayuri lost hers, she had been in a serious panic. She asked me if there was some magical way to track it. I told her no, but my friend Hana might be able to help. Unfortunately, Hana was away on missions. Thankfully, our other friends volunteered to look. They eventually found it under her bed.
But that was no reason for banning scrolls altogether!
"Well, then, that's settled," the principal said.
"But-!"
"Takahashi, Miss Ayae knows much more about ninja tools than you do. She is much more experienced and equipped to make this judgment. We here at the school are highly gracious for her time and dedication to improving our educational experience. In fact…"
The principal smiled. "It is only deserving that she receives a promotion to student representative."
Both of us stared in shock.
Takahashi waited to see if this was a joke. It wasn't. Wordlessly, he took off his second wristband and threw it on the table. He slammed the door close.
I couldn't understand what was happening. I just wanted to make people happy, but I clearly upset someone. Now I had a wristband that I didn't know what to do with.
When I came back, my friends were as surprised as I was. They explained to me that Takahashi was the student representative. It was an important role with lots of extra responsibilities. Because of that, only the highest-achieving student in the entire school was chosen for the title.
"Am I the highest achieving?" I asked. I hadn't been at the school for that long.
"Well, the principal certainly thinks so!" Dai said, handing back the wristband.
"I think you'd make a great representative," Ayame said.
"It's a lot of work though," Setsu warned. "You better read up the guidebooks."
Tamaki was already flipping through some of them. Sweating, she said Setsu was right. The student representative organized the fall fundraiser, collected district donations, sent neighborhood pamphlets, hosted out-of-building activities, ran the intervention committee, ran the disciplinary committee, filed surveillance records, reported to bi-weekly meetings…
The list went on and on. We grew dizzy.
This was beyond the capabilities of a normal person! I didn't even know where to start.
Getting out a pencil, Tamaki took notes. She made sense of the massive list.
"Okay, I think I got this." She showed us her notebook, where she put all the responsibilities under five columns.
Event organization.
Finance.
Student monitoring.
Rule enforcement.
Relations.
"Wow," I said, impressed. I looked at Tamaki. "Would you help me, Tamaki?" She was picking up on this way faster than I was.
"Of course!" she said.
The rest of the Dropouts were happy to help too.
That gave Tamaki an idea. Since there were many duties, it made sense to split everything up. Everyone would be in charge of their own thing.
Tamaki said she would oversee the event organizations. She flipped through the binders until she found a schedule. There was writing on it, presumably Takahashi's, of what he was going to do next. There was a fall fundraiser coming up. She'd take charge of that.
Finances, Ayame was the obvious choice. She knew how to do math, keep books, and run businesses.
Student monitoring, Setsu was perfect. She listened well and was good at sensing how people were doing.
Rule enforcement went to Dai, who threw up her arms. "Whoo! Yes, best part!"
Finally, Tamaki put my name under relations.
I scratched my cheek. "So what is that exactly?"
"Basically, make people like you," Tamaki said.
"So… make friends?"
Tamaki nodded.
I beamed. I got lucky then! That's a great job, not hard at all!
As if reading my thoughts, Setsu shook her head.
"Relations is critical, Ayae," Setsu said. "The student representative is the main pipeline between the school and the village. If the student representative is well liked and can plea the right cases, then the village will continue to support the school. If not… there might not be a school anymore."
I froze. "WHAT!"
Normal school wasn't like the Academy. The Academy was core to the village. It was a high priority that the Hokage himself oversaw. Normal school was a community effort. It needed to prove it should even be there… and keep proving it.
On top of making sure the village thought well of the school, I had to make sure the school thought well of the village. Both sides had to trust each other, and that trust all depended on the student representative.
Who was now… me.
"Our futures are in your hands, Ayae," Ayame said, smiling.
"So please don't mess up," Setsu said, smiling.
"No pressure!" Dai said merrily, patting my back.
I banged my head on the desk.
.
"Council meeting!" Tamaki reminded.
I ran.
"Papers!" Tamaki added.
I ran back, grabbed the stack of papers, and ran back out.
After the board meeting, there was the secretary meeting, then tea with the aid office, then lots of bowing to the district staff, and then more tea with the tax office.
The rest of the Dropouts were just as frantic. Tamaki spent so much time after school, she practically lived in the club rooms. She had string between her teeth, flipping through records while trying to sew with one hand.
If I hadn't met Takahashi in person, I would have thought he wasn't real. No real person could do all this! We were five people, and we were barely handling it!
"Ayae, you're not in a meeting anymore. You can stop smiling now," Setsu said, collapsing in a chair.
"I'm not smiling," I cried. "My face is stuck!"
Ayame clapped both my cheeks, then squeezed and pulled until my face was normal again.
It was one thing to make friends. It was another to get a bunch of grouchy grown-ups to like me, especially when they couldn't even like each other! I had to agree with them to make them happy. But if I agreed with one, then I was disagreeing with another, so I'd upset someone either way. In the end, I learned the only answer was to nod and smile, no matter what was said.
After two weeks, I was ready to march into the principal's office and quit.
But then, I learned that my classmates loved that I was the new student representative. Everyone respected Takahashi, but no one liked him. He was strict and no fun. Even though the student representative was supposed to fight for the students, he never did anything but punish them for breaking rules.
But everyone liked me. They liked that I had changed the rules to let them have summoning scrolls. And that I wasn't scared to change the rules again and again.
It was now okay to eat snacks in class. We had ten minute breaks instead of five. You could go outside too.
There had been awful noise because of construction a few buildings down. It drove Setsu crazy, so Tamaki suggested sound barrier tags. We rewrote the rules to allow those, and suddenly, the classrooms were peaceful again.
Reina had a pack of chakra cards with pretty holograms. She begged me to allow them inside the school. Giant groups soon gathered every lunch break to play tournaments.
Riku's friends pushed him towards me. Shyly, he asked if he could do domestic arts instead of industrial arts. Overhearing, Yuuka jumped in and asked if she could have Riku's spot in industrial arts. They both walked away, chatting excitedly about borrowing each other's equipment.
Before I knew it, I had accepted that I was the student representative. People kept coming to me with requests, and it felt great being able to fulfill them.
On Sunday, I had not even stepped outside the class when a group of students rushed up to me. Exams were only a few weeks away, and they wanted to try shinobi pills. They heard it kept you awake and gave you energy to study longer.
I had barely walked away when Nanami quietly pulled me aside and asked about kunoichi pills. Like everyone else, she brightened when I said I'd see what I could do.
My dad was working late again, so I went straight to Aunt Mikoto's.
I kicked off my shoes.
"Hi Auntie! Question, do you have any kunoichi pills?"
I had walked in on their family dinner. Fugaku choked on his tea. Sasuke's eyes went wide, before he looked away. My heart skipped when I saw Itachi was also home.
Excited, I was about to join him at the table. But then Aunt Mikoto had my attention, and I remembered why I came.
Aunt Mikoto looked concerned and excited and confused and many things at once. But she held back saying anything until it was just the two of us in a different room.
"Ayae dear, did something happen? Are you starting…?" She was looking at my belly.
I realized my mistake.
"Oh, no, no. Not yet," I said, shaking my head. "I'm asking for a friend."
Hearing that, Aunt Mikoto relaxed. "Ah. Are the pharmacies out?"
I shook my head again. "This is a friend from normal school," I said.
I thought that was enough, and Aunt Mikoto would tell me where to fetch the pill. But this time, she only looked at me more.
"Why would your civilian friend want a kunoichi pill, Ayae?" she asked gently.
I opened my mouth. But then, I realized I didn't know. Nanami only pleaded for one. It looked like she really wanted it, so I said yes.
Aunt Mikoto's expression changed. Without looking back, she said, "Sasuke, you should be doing that homework now, no?"
Caught spying, Sasuke stiffened. A hand touched his shoulder. It was Itachi. Politely, he guided his little brother upstairs so Aunt Mikoto and I could talk in private.
Suddenly, I felt small and unsure. It was the feeling I got when I was about to get in trouble, but I didn't think I did anything wrong, and it didn't look like Aunt Mikoto was upset at me.
"You are a very good girl, Ayae, and I know you always want to help your friends," she told me softly. "But I'm afraid I can't give you this until I've spoken to your friend and understand why she wants it. Can you ask her to come talk to me?"
I nodded.
"What about the shinobi pill?" I asked. I told Aunt Mikoto my classmates asked for that too.
She listened patiently and told me the same thing. They would need to talk to her first.
I accepted that.
Pleased, Aunt Mikoto went on to serve me dinner.
I sat across from Fugaku and ate while he read the newspaper and pretended not to see me. That was fine. I pretended I couldn't see him too!
After dinner, I told Aunt Mikoto I was going upstairs to see Itachi. I didn't need to say it, but Fugaku was listening and I knew it annoyed him. He didn't like me. He didn't want me at his house. And he definitely didn't want me around his sons, Itachi especially.
Well, too bad for him! I wasn't going anywhere.
Giddy, I skipped up the steps. Itachi's door was already open.
"You're home!" I exclaimed.
He was at his desk, writing something. "Hello, Ayae. How has your new school been treating you?"
"Great!" I scooted up next to him and showed him my wristbands. "More than great, actually. I'm the student representative!"
His gaze flickered briefly to my wrist. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar."
"It's a job for the best student! I go back and forth between the school and the village. Like a pipeline!" I paused. "Okay, saying it out loud, it sounds like I'm moving sewage or something. Oh! A bridge! There we go, I'm like a bridge now."
Itachi didn't seem to have any words. Finally, he just gave a small smile. "That… could be a difficult job."
"Tell me about it," I grumbled. It was really easy to complain to Itachi, so once I started, I couldn't stop.
"... and, and I don't even know what they're talking about, they use all these big words, but it doesn't sound like they mean anything, they're just circling back to the same thing over and over, and they expect me to have an opinion, but they don't care about my opinion, they just want me to agree with their opinion, because they can't agree with each other. Like, what the hell! They're grown ups, but they're fighting worse than kids! Oh, and the tea! I'm so sick of the tea. How can-"
I stopped when I noticed Itachi was shaking. Was he…
Was he laughing?
"Itachi, are you listening!" I buried my face into my palm. "Ugh, you don't get it."
He lifted his head. "No, I understand."
"Do you really," I deadpanned.
"I know negotiation can be strenuous and it may not be possible to pacify everyone. In fact, any compromise will likely please no one." He set down his pen. "Please don't overexert yourself."
I huffed.
Itachi closed his notebook and paused. It looked like he was about to say something but stopped himself.
Finally, "Ayae… do you… want my assistance in something? Homework or…?"
I straightened. Oh shoot!
"AH! Yes, yes! Please!" I had been so busy with the representative stuff, I forgot about homework. My dad wasn't around tonight, so having Itachi help was a blessing. "It's math again. Ugh, I hate it so much…"
I handed my homework problems over to him.
Itachi studied them.
After a minute, he flipped the page.
I got my pencils. Okay, ready. It was late, but with Itachi's help, it shouldn't take more than a few hours. I hope.
Itachi flipped back to the first page. As he did, I pointed to him the question I was on and explained how far I had gotten. Itachi listened patiently.
"So yeah… do I bring this number down or…?"
"I don't know."
I was about to write that down. I blinked. "Sorry, repeat that?" He said x-squared, right?
"I'm sorry, Ayae, I don't know. Do you have a textbook or some reference material I may look at?"
I stared at him like he had two heads.
"It's just calculus," I said.
"I do not know what that is."
"It's math." I realized Itachi wasn't joking. "Itachi, aren't you a genius, didn't you already…?" I gestured helplessly at the stack of books on his desk. He knew chuunin and jounin level math before he was, like, seven! How could he not know!
"I studied intuitive mathematics, Ayae. It's probabilistic and approximative by design, which lends to the speed needed in combat. This is logical mathematics. It is perfect and absolute, and thus better suited for engineering and philosophy."
"It's just a derivative," I squeaked, handing him my textbook. I might as well have told him it was a watermelon.
As I watched him read my textbook, something dawned on me. Was I… smarter than Uchiha Itachi in something right now?
I wanted to laugh. I was! I was!
It didn't last long. After twenty minutes, Itachi flipped to the last page and closed the book. "I see." He turned to my homework. "The substitution is unnecessary, consider flipping the order then applying chain rule."
"You know, you could have taken your time with that," I grumbled. Like, two years of time.
"I did. It was quite captivating."
I gave him a light punch. He grinned.
We worked into the night. Being together made the math less intimidating. It was more fun too, like we were playing puzzle games. Itachi's voice was calming, and I liked the way his hands moved over the paper. It wasn't just his calligraphy that was pretty, but the strokes too.
My hopes of finishing quickly went out the window, though. The problems were unlike anything we'd seen, and they only got harder. More than once, Itachi had to pause and go back to the textbook. I could hear him thinking in the silence.
In those moments, I would just watch him.
Up close, I noticed Itachi had something special in his eyes. It was like a nonstop flicker, made more clear by the reflection of light from the desk lamp. My dad had something like it whenever he was reading a serious book or tinkering with an invention.
I wondered if, unlike my dad, Itachi had it always. Maybe that was why it felt like he could see everything at once, close and far, through and beyond. And why his stares felt so intense. It was all that movement coming to a sudden stop, a billion thoughts taken over by one.
I smiled to myself. I decided I liked it. It was very him.
His pen was nearly touching the textbook again, as if he was about to write over the existing words. He always pulled away before he could, but the pen would make its way back.
"You write in books," I said.
Itachi's hand tensed around the pen. His head tilted in my direction, but he didn't look at me, not completely. "I apologize if that bothers you."
I shook my head. It hadn't bothered me for years. In fact, textbooks without his writing looked weird to me now.
I thought back to our temple lessons. Sometime before we met, he liked to do calligraphy… for fun.
"Do you like to write, Itachi?"
He didn't expect that.
He put the homework on hold for a moment. "Not particularly," he admitted. "It's an empty gesture to me... a habit unintentionally formed in moments of frustration."
Alarmed, I glanced down at my homework. "Are you…?" As much as I wanted Itachi's help, I didn't want him to be miserable. If he was frustrated-
He caught my thought. "No. This is enjoyable," he whispered, breaking into a small smile. "I had not meant it that way. I am compelled in front of any book, regardless of circumstance. Though… the impulse gets stronger when faced with… erroneous claims."
He gave in. Before I could say anything, he crossed out a page of my textbook. In pen.
"The reasoning here is incorrect. I have not been able to formulate the proper proof, but I've stalled long enough. I'm sorry, Ayae, your answer has been sufficient for grading purposes."
A pause, before he flipped three pages back and added another correction in between the lines. Done, he seemed at peace.
"I'll pay for a new textbook."
Shrugging, I accepted back the old one. "It's fine. What would make you all frustrated?"
I never expected him to answer directly.
"The dumb judgments and terrible decisions of bickering old men. It'd be more tolerable if I weren't forbidden to disagree."
Unlike whenever Aunt Mikoto switched tones, Itachi kept his politeness. Only he could make "dumb" sound fancy.
"There's no punishment for talking back to a book," he said.
I recovered. "There is for vandalism," I said seriously.
"And cursing, though I suppose if you're cute enough, the clan will overlook it." He caught himself. "You're entitled to file charges," he mumbled.
I grinned. "I won't put you in jail if you don't."
A thought hit me. As soon as it did, I couldn't hold back anymore, laughing into my hands.
For years, Itachi's writing in my books had looked mysterious, like I was reading some secret, important message. But it was just Itachi's version of cursing?
Itachi didn't understand what was so funny. He wanted to know. But I never got the chance to explain.
His expression had already gone blank. I was confused for a moment, but then understood. My own smile faded.
I never heard the door open.
"You seem to have forgotten you have a mission tomorrow."
In my mind, I repeated to myself that Fugaku didn't scare me, even if his voice was definitely scary right now.
Itachi didn't turn around. "We were just finishing, Father."
"Finishing or finished."
Itachi went still.
A part of me hoped Itachi would snap back and tell him to go away. That he would take the pen and cross out Fugaku's face.
I hoped really hard.
In the end, only my homework disappeared.
Itachi kept his gaze down, my scroll presented to me. "Thank you for your visit, Ayae. I'm glad you're satisfied with your new school."
Fugaku waited.
I lowered my shoulders. Quietly, I accepted my scroll and left the room.
"Bye-"
My voice was cut off. Fugaku had already slid shut the door.
.
Nanami came to me after school the next day. She looked hopeful.
My gut twisted.
"Sorry Nanami, I don't have it," I told her. "But Aunt Mikoto does!" I quickly added. "She wants to talk to you first."
Nanami swallowed. For a second, it looked like she changed her mind. But then she nodded, her face red. "Okay."
Her face got redder when our other classmates saw us and waved. "Hey Ayae, are we going now?"
"Yeah, let's go!"
The group followed me back to Aunt Mikoto's. They weren't as flustered as the first time, but still shy. Aunt Mikoto smiled and offered everyone tea.
"So Ayae told me you're interested in shinobi and kunoichi pills," she said. "What do you know about them?"
"I heard they keep you awake. Like tea, but better!"
Others nodded.
Aunt Mikoto had something to show us.
In the dojo room, we saw she had something set up. There were two clear glasses of water. Each had a wildflower floating inside, the roots just touching the bottom.
Curious, we crowded around it, wondering what she was going to do. From a handkerchief, she showed us two pills. She showed us the first, which I recognized as the shinobi pill. She dropped it inside the first glass.
The pill floated down, dissolving fast.
Almost immediately, the wildflower changed.
"Whoa!"
It bloomed before our eyes, the petals opening in a spiral. We were about to clap, but the flower kept growing until all its petals fell. One blink later, there was nothing but a dead little stalk.
Quietly, Aunt Mikoto dropped the kunoichi pill inside the second glass.
We expected something crazy to happen too.
Nothing did. It looked the same, except for the bud, which fell. It floated there.
"All living things have flow," Aunt Mikoto explained. "It has a beat and rhythm that carries life from beginning to the end.
"The shinobi pill is a stimulant. For a price, it quickens that beat, compressing three days into one. In contrast, the kunoichi pill is a suppressant. Also for a price, it slows that beat, extending one night into three.
"However, as you can see, all of this is irrelevant of time itself, which moves with or without you. In taking the shinobi pill, you have not been granted extra time. You have been granted the ability to take time away from your own future. For one extra day now, it will take one week away later. For two extra days, one month. For three extra days, one year. Even in extreme circumstances, shinobi rarely go above three."
Aunt Mikoto came back with something. They were more shinobi pills. "I've lowered the dose, such that it will help you keep alert for an extra hour or so. But be aware you may not feel well the next day. In the case of an exam, it may be wiser to study in the days before, then enjoy yourselves freely in the weeks after."
Aunt Mikoto offered them. Hesitantly, a few of my classmates accepted. Some of them shied away, and others politely shook their heads.
Aunt Mikoto simply nodded and folded the handkerchief over the remaining. "The shinobi pill is a tool like all others. If used carefully and properly, it may serve you well in many circumstances. But handled improperly, it can also do great harm. Please use good judgement, and whatever you do, do not take more than one within twenty-four hours."
I understood now why Aunt Mikoto needed to talk to them first. Even though I knew everything she said, I had forgotten my classmates didn't.
They could have gotten hurt using them, and it would have been my fault.
Aunt Mikoto must have seen my expression, because she held my shoulder.
Everyone left except Nanami. Aunt Mikoto turned to her and leaned down. "Most people don't think to ask for the kunoichi pill," she said softly. "Will you tell me why you think you need it?"
Nanami averted her gaze. She looked embarrassed.
Finally, she touched her belly. "I… heard kunoichi don't have it. I heard they take a pill that stops it from coming."
Aunt Mikoto gave a tired smile. "Yes. When taken a certain way, the kunoichi pill can do that. But there is nothing wrong with having a period, Nanami dear. Why would you want to stop it?"
"Because it hurts!"
I froze.
"It hurts… it hurts so bad that I want to throw up," Nanami said, closing her eyes. "I can't walk. I can't go to school. The herbalists gave me some medicine for it, but it didn't help. Nothing has helped. My brothers think I'm making it up to get out of school, but I swear I'm not. Please, I can't take it anymore…"
Nanami couldn't hold back anymore. She was crying. She jumped when I touched her, but then tightly held onto me.
I looked at Aunt Mikoto with wide eyes. "You can help her, can't you, Auntie?"
Aunt Mikoto recovered. She looked conflicted, then told us she needed advice.
Nanami and I were on the couch when Aunt Mikoto came back. I was chatting about unimportant things to pass time. By then, Nanami had calmed down, a few rumpled tissues in her hand.
Behind Aunt Mikoto was Shisui's mom.
With Nanami's permission, Shisui's mom studied her. She pressed her palm against Nanami's sides, then her belly. She closed her eyes, as if counting.
Finally, she stood up. She gave Aunt Mikoto a lost look.
"Well, it's not what cousin Toyohina had."
"Nothing?"
Shisui's mom tried again. "I can't sense anything out of the ordinary."
Nanami shrunk.
"But there has to be something wrong if Nanami is in pain, right?" I asked. "Can't the hospital make her better?"
Shisui's mom shook her head. "If I can't sense anything, they certainly won't. Medical-nin can't fix a problem they can't detect."
Aunt Mikoto looked truly puzzled. "When I was in Inaho, I met a family. Their daughters… I feel I recall a similar story…" Her confusion turned into thoughtfulness.
Shisui's mom caught her eye.
"Oh, Mikoto, you can't be considering it. The girl is a civilian, the pill will kill her."
"WHAT!" I cried, hugging Nanami protectively.
Shisui's mom clapped her hand over her mouth. Giving up, she crouched before us. "Listen. Ignore what the Academy says, Ayae, baby, the kunoichi pill is an evil, evil invention."
"Asa," Aunt Mikoto said, exasperated.
Shisui's mom shushed her. "You know what girls are supposed to do every month? Kick up our feet and lay under a parasol while our brothers bring us mochi. We're like butterflies. You're supposed to feed us and pamper us and let our bodies do its thing. But then, some dipstick invents this stupid pill, and now they're all like, oh, you're basically a boy right? Go fight in that ditch."
"Asa."
Aunt Asa wasn't listening. "And if that wasn't bad enough, you feel like hell has just been sucked into you. You're perpetually cranky, you're exhausted, your hair is greasy, and before you know it, you're fat," she hissed, scandalized. "And that's for the kunoichi with good chakra control. Remember Yoko?" she asked Aunt Mikoto. "I visited her last month. Her apartment is a catastrophe. She doesn't even change out of her sleepwear anymore. Or Tsubaki and that mysterious illness that did her in. I hear Suki is developing similar symptoms."
"You're frightening them," Aunt Mikoto said, disapproving.
"Good, they should be!" Aunt Asa snapped. "The kunoichi pill is damn dangerous, and it's not like this girl can take it once and be done with it. She'll need it in her body at all times, and who knows what all that build up will do to her."
In the end, I walked Nanami home empty-handed. Shisui's mom was absolute in her judgment. Whatever pain Nanami was in, she would have to be brave and bear it. It was just a few days a month. It was better than dead.
From Nanami's awful expression, I could tell she thought otherwise.
She looked up when I squeezed her hand.
"Let's go eat mochi. My treat!"
The mochi did cheer her up a little.
But then next week came, and Nanami was absent again.
I had never noticed her absences before, much less thought anything of it. Now I couldn't stop looking at her empty desk. It left a sinking feeling in my stomach.
I stared at my extra wristband. I failed, I thought sadly.
But with or without Nanami, school went on. My responsibilities as student representative didn't stop.
Tamaki needed me to add things in the rulebook. Ayame was asking about aid. We were in the middle of talking when the door to the club room slammed open.
It was Setsu and Dai, huffing.
"There you are! Backup, now!"
My eyes widened. I followed them out of the school building. Dai told me a fight was about to break out.
Usually Dai had no problems dealing with pranksters and delinquents. But this fight was different. There were dozens of people, some carrying batons and knives.
Once we were outside, I held my breath.
Gathered on the street was a group of girls, all wearing knotted shirts and baggy pants. Even though their hair styles were different, their hair all had the same dry, crinkly look. Leading them was the bad girl I met in the principal's office. She was twirling a pencil.
On the other side were my former classmates and Academy graduates. They were led by an older boy I didn't know. He was holding his eye and screaming curses.
I had arrived too late. Everyone charged, weapons out and yelling the worst words.
I jumped in, trying to stop it. "Wait! No, please! Stop!"
No one listened. No one saw me, too busy trying to hurt each other.
Finally, I had enough.
"I. SAID. STOP!"
By the time I calmed, huffing, half the people were on the ground around me.
Some of the girls took a step back. "Shit, it's the Uchiha."
A glare from me, and my old classmates stepped back too.
Someone pulled the leader of the bad girls. "Let's go, Ise!" she hissed. "We'll get them later."
The leader, Ise, did not move. Finally, she gave in, giving the signal. She and the other bad girls disappeared.
My shoulders lowered. I rushed over to the fallen older boy. He was bleeding.
"Are you okay-"
He swatted my hand away. "LEARN TO MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS."
Setsu and Dai tensed when they heard what he called me next. Immediately, they were at my side.
The other boys got up. Half of them had forehead protectors.
"That's Uchiha Ayae," one of my old classmates whispered.
The older boy didn't care. Neither did his teammates.
"And is that supposed to mean anything?"
Before I knew it, he had charged at me. My training reflexes kicked in, and I side-stepped. But then the other boys charged too. I realized too late that they weren't just after me. They were going after my friends!
Heart pounding, I went from one defensive kata to another. But there were too many. I couldn't cover every angle.
Setsu screamed.
My step faltered. I couldn't turn around to look. My head hit the street. A hand was around my neck, pinning me down.
"I'm not scared of a little girl," the older boy sneered.
My head spun. Why was he hurting me? What did I do? I couldn't understand.
Every person who acted mean to me had a reason. Every fight I fought had a reason. But I didn't know him, and he didn't know me. So why was this happening?
I thought of Setsu and Dai. I had no idea what happened between these boys and the bad girls, but my friends did nothing wrong. If they got hurt… if they got hurt…!
I grabbed his wrist.
"Well, you SHOULD BE!" I screamed. He slammed into the ground next to me. I pushed the other boys out of my way.
I ran to where Setsu and Dai had fallen. "Are you okay?!"
Dai was clutching her head, but Setsu was only wide eyed. She nodded slowly.
Setsu stiffened. "Look-!"
I had already pivoted on my foot, pulling the attacker forward. As he passed me, I gave a hard push. He landed face-flat on the ground. So did the next person.
There was no need to think anymore. My body had already found rhythm, circling from yin to yang and back. Without looking, I caught something midair. It was a kunai.
The thrower went pale.
My old classmates, who had been keeping distant, ran away. The boys who could get back up ran away too.
The fight was over.
Setsu was a little shell-shocked. When she came back, her eyes were misty.
I knelt down, holding both her shoulders. "Are you hurt anywhere, Setsu?"
She closed her eyes and shook her head. Seeing her cry made me want to cry too. She should have never been caught up in this. I messed up.
The remaining boys could get up at any time. I needed to get her away from the street.
"Dai, Dai, get up," Setsu said.
Dai was still disorientated. "Ow, ow, ow," she said, when we lifted her up.
Setsu noticed the problem and lifted her from under her arm. Dai's elbow had gotten wounded.
"Can you get her to the club room, Setsu?" I asked at the entrance door.
Setsu nodded.
While they went into the building, I went back into the streets. There were four boys left. One by one, I dragged them to the closest wall and tried to sit them upright. I moved their arms and legs so any injury they had would not get worse.
The most injured was the boy who pinned me down. Someone had hurt his eye. The eye needed to be covered. I couldn't find anything except his forehead protector, which wasn't enough.
I deflated.
"You owe me big, mister," I mumbled, slashing my own shirt with the kunai. I made a thick ring with the cloth. Carefully, I set it around his wounded eye, then used his forehead protector to hold it in place.
Done, I went to pick up the litter left behind. On top of shinobi weapons, there were rulers, a broom handle, a knife, and lots of pencils. There was also a switchblade.
The switchblade was made of a shiny metal. Looking at it, I could see my own reflection. I also saw the reflection of the school behind me. Specifically, the roof.
Startled, I looked up.
My shoulders lowered. There was no one there.
"I knew you were a delinquent."
I jumped.
"Sasuke?!"
Sasuke was standing in the street, looking unamused.
"What- no- I'm not-!" I remembered the switchblade and hid it behind my back. It was much harder to hide the four battered genin a meter away.
… who were slowly coming around.
Before Sasuke would say anything, I covered his mouth and pulled him to the side of the school building.
Thankfully, the genin never saw us. Without anyone there, they seemed less angry and more worried about themselves.
"The Uchiha… is she gone?"
"What time is it? We need to go, man, we need to go."
"Shit, Genji, help me carry him."
My eyes shut when they limped past. I kept my hand on Sasuke's mouth, already feeling his rising protests.
Once they were gone, I let him yank my hand off. "Flunking wasn't bad enough, you pick street fights now," he scowled.
"I wasn't…!" I buried my face into my palms, giving up.
The front door pushed open. It was Tamaki. "Ayae?!"
"Over here," I said.
Tamaki sighed in relief. She had run out to see if I needed backup. I told her it was okay, the fight was over.
Tamaki noticed the bruise around my neck. Her eyes hardened. I could tell she was already thinking hard. Fights like this would never happen again, not on her watch.
In the club room, Ayame was nursing Dai. Dai was holding a pack of ice for her head.
Setsu stood up. "Ayae! The fight, is it…?"
"She took care of it," Tamaki said, dropping all the weapons into a basket.
Dai laughed. "Knew she would. Man, you should have seen her!" She noticed the person behind me. "Eh, isn't that Itachi's little bro?"
Sasuke's appearance was not expected. The normal school was nowhere near the Academy or the Uchiha district.
"Why are you here, Sasuke?" Tamaki asked, confused. "Did you get lost?"
Sasuke looked insulted. "I don't get lost."
"Did you want to see me?" I said, pointing to myself. I got hit by a gush of warm feelings. Did he miss me? Did he want to play with his big sister? Aw, we could totally play!
Before I could squish him in a hug, Sasuke slapped a note against my chest.
"NO."
Blinking, I unfolded the note. It looked like a grocery list. Some of the items were strange.
"Mother sent me. She wants us to pick up a few things from the village."
Oh. Okay, that made more sense.
But one day! One day, Sasuke will like me!
Aunt Mikoto had done lots for me, so I didn't at all mind doing the errand. I looked to the Dropouts, who waved me off. They could handle the rest of the representative duties without me.
"Thank you!" I said, then went off with Sasuke.
Sasuke was impatient. He wanted to get the chore done before sundown. So we took the fewest and shortest routes. Because money wasn't a big deal to him, he never compared prices or bargained. We chose the nearest shops with the quickest lines.
He did the finding and buying. I followed and carried things.
Soon we had gotten everything but three items. Those three items couldn't be bought.
The first was a book. The only copy was in a district far on the opposite side of ours. It was a quiet neighborhood by the border.
I jolted at a shuffle in the nearby woods. To my surprise, it was a deer. I wanted to tell Sasuke to come look, but he had walked on ahead. The deer disappeared.
In front of one home, a skinny woman was waiting for us. "You must be Uchiha Sasuke," she said. She noticed me. "Oh, I didn't realize Mikoto had a daughter."
Before I could say anything, she took out a book, wrapped in twine. "Here you go. Ten days, as we've agreed."
From his bag, Sasuke took out a book of his own. I recognized the Uchiha symbol on it.
After they made the trade, the woman looked disbelieving but pleased. "Well then. Thank you," she said, her voice suddenly much softer than before.
"Thank you," Sasuke said politely.
"Thank you, ma'am!" I said, waving.
Although she focused on Sasuke at first, she only stared at me as we left. It wasn't a mean stare, just a curious one. Then she turned the Uchiha book in her hands, smiling.
Once we were out of sight, Sasuke tossed me the woman's book.
The next item was a candy of some kind. It was round and pink and inside a square glass container. The person who had it was a wealthy plump lady who lived in a giant mansion.
"There you children are!" she greeted cheerfully. "Do you have it?"
She beamed when Sasuke took out a bottle. There was liquid inside. Imprinted on glass was the Uchiha symbol again.
Like the skinny woman, she looked delighted. After the trade, she ran back home to show the family.
That left our last item, a flower.
This time, I knew where we were going. There was a flower shop downtown that was famous. Every time you passed it, you could smell something very woodsy and sweet.
The doorbell chimed.
Inside, we were surrounded by ferns, vines, and flowers of all colors. The air was full and damp.
At the counter was a little girl. Two girls, one hidden behind the other. The first had short blonde hair, and very fashionable hair clips that Tamaki would approve of. The second wore a cute bow. Both looked to be about Sasuke's age.
"Sasuke?!"
"Is your mother here?" Sasuke asked the girl in front, the blonde one. They knew each other.
She looked at him, then at me, but then at him again.
"No, my mom doesn't work here. My dad does," she said.
"Your father then."
"He stepped out."
"Maybe you can help us? We're looking for this," I said, showing her the note.
The blonde girl read the note. Her eyes widened. "The Moonflower? I'm sorry, we don't have those."
Sasuke was starting to get annoyed. "If you're going to lie, at least do a better job," he said.
They winced. The girl with the bow had ducked behind her friend. I slapped my face, reminding myself to work with Sasuke on manners.
Sasuke took out a small paper envelope. "We know you have it. We'll give you this if you can get us one."
Furrowing her eyebrows, the blonde girl opened the envelope and shook out the inside. Seeds fell into her palm.
The girl with the bow peeked over her shoulder, curious.
"Mother wouldn't waste your time, so don't waste ours," Sasuke said.
The blonde girl recovered, but looked very confused. "But this is from the Senju. Why would the Uchiha have it?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He didn't like what she was implying. "The Senju and Uchiha are allies. Good allies leave gifts."
"What are they?" the girl with the bow asked her friend.
"Morning Stars. They're a very special kind of shion. I heard they can do all sorts of things. They might even grant wishes." The blonde girl was proud of her smarts. She looked at Sasuke. "I still need to wait until my dad comes back."
"How long?" Sasuke asked.
The blonde girl shrugged. Grinning, she said, "We're coloring. You can join us."
Sasuke soured.
The girl with the bow noticed. To her friend, she whispered. The blonde girl frowned. Then she thought some more.
She gave in. "Okay, fine," she said, climbing off the counter chair. "But if I get in trouble, you're all in trouble with me."
She disappeared into a back room. That left us with the girl with the bow, who shyly glanced at Sasuke. She looked like she really wanted to talk to him, but she never did.
The blonde girl came back with a pot. In it was a small plant bouncing with her every step. It looked dewy.
Sasuke uncrossed his arms. "I don't see a flower," he mumbled.
"It's a Moonflower," the blonde girl explained, "of course there's no flower yet. It only comes out once a month, with the full moon."
When Sasuke extended his hands, the blonde girl pulled back.
"I'm not giving it to you that easy," she said.
"You have the Stars."
"That's for my dad, from your mom. But what about me?"
"What about you," Sasuke said, frowning.
"I want something too." She thought. "I know! You must join our homework group. It'd be good to have another smart person."
"Deal!" I said. Sasuke looked at me like I just signed over his soul. I shrugged. Wasn't he the one in a hurry?
The blonde girl beamed. "Here you go, big sis!" she said, handing me the plant. To her friend, she winked. "See, that's how you do it."
Despite our best efforts, the sun was already setting by the time we returned to our district. When we reached the intersection, Sasuke tried to take all the stuff I carried.
"Oh, I can bring it all the way to the house. I don't mind!" I said. I wondered if Itachi was back from his mission. I had left so abruptly that other night, there were so many things we never got the chance to say. "Say Sasuke, is Itachi-"
My heart skipped. Sasuke was staring at me with such a hateful expression.
"Don't bother, my brother can't see you."
"What do you mean?"
"It's past sundown. You can't see him past sundown."
I blinked. "It's seven o'clock."
"What does it matter! You shouldn't see him at any time!"
He was raising his voice so I did too. "And why not!"
"It's obvious why not! He's important, and you're not! You're nothing at all! So what right do you have wasting any of his time, or my mother's, or mine! Go home and stay away from ours, you idiot, you loser, you… you… thin hammer!"
My eye twitched.
"Wh-!"
The bags fell. Sasuke's feet kicked the air.
"What are you doing!" he demanded.
I puffed my cheek. "Hugging the evil out of you."
"Put me down!"
"Nope."
"I will kill you."
Grinning, I squeezed harder, ignoring his struggles and screams. Finally, I let him go before he made good on his promise.
"If you want to curse, just curse. Or come up with something better than thin hammer," I said, snorting. Before he could snap back, I picked up all the bags and placed them in his arms. "Of course Itachi is important. He's one of the most important people to me. And you're one of the most important people to him."
Sasuke froze.
"Whoever told you Itachi has a seven o'clock curfew is a big fat liar," I said. "You can definitely still see him tonight."
Smiling, I waved goodbye.
.
"Daddy, wake up, wake up!"
I jumped on my dad's bed. Groggily, he looked for his glasses. "Hutim isit..."
"Eleven!"
He bolted up.
My dad had been hoping for more time off, but it looked like that was not going to happen. His job needed more hours than ever. One time, I caught him asleep on the couch and had to carry him upstairs.
As we went to the kitchen, I fidgeted with the edge of my shirt. "So… um… I kind of got hungry, so I tried to make breakfast… I really wanted pancakes…"
My dad blinked at the explosion of flour and eggs all over the tables, cabinets, and floors.
… yeah, I messed up. All those lessons in domestic arts didn't help.
"But! But!" I said, before he could faint. "I also picked up the groceries!" I exclaimed, gesturing to all the bags in the corner. From a bag, I pulled out a brand new bottle of syrup. I gave him the puppy dog eyes.
My dad laughed. He picked me up. "Alright, sweetie! Pancakes coming up."
I punched the air.
Half-way into the recipe, however, my dad noticed we had run out of baking powder. I didn't know we needed that for pancakes.
"Oh no, I'll run downtown now!" I said, already putting on my shoes. No way I was not getting my pancakes because of some stupid powder!
My dad peeked his head out, whisking a new batch of eggs. "Maybe try your Aunt Mikoto first? She might have some!"
"Okay!"
I bolted out at lightning speed.
To my surprise, Aunt Asa was in front of the main house, knocking on the front door.
"Mikoto, open up!" she growled, knocking again. She noticed me. "Oh, Ayae, baby, what are you doing here?"
Before I could reply, the door slammed open.
Both Aunt Asa and I were taken aback when a giggling Aunt Mikoto grabbed us in a huge bear hug.
"Aw, there's my two favorite people! Oh Ayae dear, you have the best timing. Come in, come in!"
I had never seen Aunt Mikoto so happy before! She was dancing every other step, her cheeks all rosy.
I froze when I saw the kitchen. It looked worse than ours! From floor to ceiling, there was pink goop everywhere!
"Tea?" Aunt Mikoto offered, already pouring a pot into the air. She noticed last second there was no cup and suspended the water. Tapping her lip, she glanced around for a teacup before remembering where they were.
"Ah, here you go!"
I looked up from the cup. "Is everything okay, Auntie?"
"Of course, of course! And you and your dad? How's Kenta doing? Oh, I haven't seen him in a while, we must catch up sometime. He's such a joy, so sweet, and so smart. So, so much smarter than-"
"Mikoto!" Pale, Aunt Asa held up a bottle. There was an Uchiha symbol on the glass. It looked similar to the one I had given the plump lady. "Tell me you weren't drinking this."
Laughing, Aunt Mikoto waved her hands. "Drink? I don't drink, silly sis, silly you. Who do you take me for? Kushina? Oh gods, Kushina would love it! This. This should have been her wedding gift. Not those stupid plates. What was she going to do with plates? Cook?" Aunt Mikoto doubled over, laughing again.
Aunt Asa was speechless.
Aunt Mikoto got herself back together. "No, no I just took a whiff," she said, waving. "All the bottles in the attic… all look the same… got worried I accidentally gave Akimichi the wrong one. That would be embarrassing, wouldn't it. No, no, this is definitely the less potent one... okay in an hour." She looked like she wanted to say more but forgot. She noticed the pot in her hands.
Smiling, Aunt Mikoto held the pot up. "Tea?"
Aunt Asa had a vein in her forehead. Smiling stiffly, she took the cup from my hands. "Say, Ayae, baby, can you step into the other room for a moment?"
I nodded and walked out. Then I doubled back to spy. I didn't need to be very close to hear them, since Aunt Asa was, well, loud.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, YOU DUMBASS." Aunt Asa shooked Aunt Mikoto roughly. Aunt Mikoto looked like a kid about to whine.
"Did you forget the meeting is today. Is NOW."
"Meeting, smeeting." Aunt Mikoto made a face. "The clan talks about the same thing every time. They want clan lady wisdom, I've already given it eighty billion times, so what more you want from me! Could do more good with…" Aunt Mikoto made a loose gesture.
Aunt Asa held up the bottle. "With giving away precious Uchiha artifacts? The Akimichi? Really, Mikoto?" she growled.
"Not like we're going to drink it! No one in this god forsaken clan is going to drink it! You going to drink that, Asa? You want to go? Let's go, one on one!" Aunt Mikoto huffed. "Gods, all that junk, just sitting there, collecting dust, giving my family blasted allergies. I found a ginseng encyclopedia of all things. What, are we going to give it to Tekka and make him our ginseng expert? Because that's so crucial to our clan right now. I swear, everyone so busy stealing and hoarding, no one bothered to ask what in heaven's name we're going to do with any of it."
Aunt Asa rubbed her temples. "Did you at least tell Fugaku?"
Aunt Mikoto turned a cheek.
"Mikoto! You're interfering into foreign affairs without even consulting him? Tomoe has accumulated enough power as it is. If you keep undermining him, you're only giving her more leverage."
"Oh. Tomoe has too much power, does she."
Aunt Asa realized her mistake too late. She prayed to the ceiling for mercy.
"You know what can limit her power? Not handing my son and my title over to her. Do they really think pulling Tomoe into our house is going to change her political positions, that she is suddenly going to defer to Fugaku once he's her daddy? HA! It's obvious what's going to happen. We'll still have two fractions, only now, my eldest son will be on that side! Because that's how you get clan unity! Everyone joining that side! And once we finally have it, yippee, death to all. You can die, and you can die, and everyone can die, because that's the Uchiha way, am I right? Sure, I will stop undermining him in foreign affairs, after he stops undermining me in domestic affairs!"
Aunt Mikoto breathed.
Silence fell in the kitchen.
Aunt Mikoto no longer looked happy.
"I'm starting to doubt," she said, staring distantly, "if we should have come back. Maybe we should have just stayed at Miyako."
Aunt Asa went to Aunt Mikoto's side. She leaned against the same counter, hip to hip, facing the same direction. She mumbled something.
Both their voices softened. I could no longer hear the things they were saying. Aunt Mikoto spoke to the floor while Aunt Asa spoke to the ceiling.
Then at some point in their conversation, their voices got loud again.
"Asa! You're supposed to be on my side!"
"I am on your side, you dumbass!" Aunt Asa said, pinching Aunt Mikoto's ear. She softened. "He wouldn't go to her graduation otherwise. He's tried, Mikoto, he's gone out of his way to make it work. And now, he wants to protect him, the same as you."
Aunt Mikoto listened reluctantly.
"And I want to protect the clan, the same as him," she finally replied. A strand of her hair fell, shielding her face. "Asa. Have you noticed we have no friends?"
"What…?"
"When we left, Asa, did anyone even notice? Did anyone even miss us?
"I remember when we were younger, we had so many friends. We didn't return from a single mission that didn't have people waiting for us at the gate to welcome us back.
"The ones we didn't lose… I don't know them beyond acquaintances anymore. And between dealing with the trauma, and our jobs, and all these clan issues… I haven't befriended a single person outside the clan in twelve years.
"When did loneliness become normal, Asa. I didn't even notice I had no friends until Ayae brought home all of hers." Aunt Mikoto's eyes became watery. "Except for Kenta and his little girl, does anyone in our clan have any friends? Are we even a part of this village, or are we simply living next to it."
Another silence.
Aunt Asa lowered her shoulders. Sighing, she turned again to the glass bottle in her hands.
"Fine," Aunt Asa said. "Booze isn't a bad way to start." A frown. "Though no more whiffing for you, Mrs. Lightweight," she added, messing Aunt Mikoto's hair.
The joy slowly came back to Aunt Mikoto, as she leaned into Aunt Asa's chest. "Oh Fugaku's even worse."
"You're giving yourself no standards if you keep using him as the benchmark."
Aunt Mikoto stuck out her tongue. "Why I married him. Though Itachi's making both of us look bad…"
They laughed.
The two of them had a little more chit-chat. Then I got invited back in. They asked why I was here. Only then did I remember.
Ah! My pancakes! My dad was still waiting for the baking powder!
Luckily for me, Aunt Mikoto did have it. She had to think for a moment where it was, since everything in the kitchen had moved.
"Ah, here you go, Ayae dear!"
"Thank you, thank you! I'll ask my dad, and we'll bring you some pancakes too! Would you also like some pancakes, Auntie Asa?"
Aunt Asa blinked, unfolding her arms. "Yeah, sure."
I waved goodbye.
As promised, my dad and I returned to the house with giant stacks of pancakes to share. By then, Aunt Mikoto was her usual self again. Her kitchen had gone from goop everywhere to spotless.
At the table, Aunt Mikoto, Aunt Asa, my dad, and I dug in. I sighed in heavenly bliss. It had been ages since I had my dad's pancakes. Ages!
After the meal, Aunt Mikoto remembered something.
"Oh, Ayae dear, will you be seeing your friend, little Nanami, tomorrow?"
I nodded. "In domestic arts!"
"Do you mind bringing her here after school?"
I was slightly confused but nodded, trusting Aunt Mikoto. At the sink, Aunt Asa just gave a small exhale and smiled.
As Aunt Mikoto asked, I brought Nanami back to the Uchiha district the next day. Her eyes went wide when Aunt Mikoto showed her a long case with many pink pills inside.
Because Nanami could not control her chakra, the kunoichi pill was not safe for her. So Aunt Mikoto decided to create something that was. It needed unconventional ingredients, but Aunt Mikoto found something that worked. Nanami would not be in pain again. She wouldn't need to miss school anymore.
"Would you be able to tell your family?"
Nanami clutched the case. She nodded.
Aunt Mikoto smiled. "Good. The more they understand, the more they will be able to help you." She handed over a note with careful instructions, in case Nanami ever forgot.
Nanami nodded again, crying.
"T-thank you."
After Nanami left, I thanked Aunt Mikoto too.
She patted my head.
"Some Academy lessons, we have to unlearn. If a child is in pain, it's not their responsibility to bear it. It's our responsibility to make them better."
She thanked me for teaching her that.
