"Is Sasuke back?", When Aoba returned to the kitchen, he heard Uchiha Mikoto's question.
"Mm," He nodded, then said, "But as soon as he saw me, he ran off to his bedroom."
"Ran off to his bedroom?", A hint of doubt flashed across Mikoto's face, and at the same time she sank into thought.
"Aoba, you and Sasuke haven't gotten into any kind of conflict, right?"
She didn't know why, but she felt Sasuke's attitude toward Aoba seemed to have suddenly changed in some strange way.
It was as if some kind of barrier had appeared.
Before, he was always saying he had to defeat Aoba no matter what, but recently he hadn't mentioned it much at all.
Several times when she brought up that they should interact more, Sasuke was always distracted and uninterested.
This made her, as a mother, quite troubled.
"Conflict? Not at all," Aoba looked a bit puzzled, "But I also feel Sasuke kind of avoids me."
"Right? Sometimes I really can't figure out what Sasuke is thinking," Mikoto looked distressed.
Aoba comforted from the side, "But Sasuke is already a ninja who can stand on his own now. Having some of his own thoughts is normal too."
Mikoto could only sigh softly, "Yes, without realizing it, Sasuke has already grown up."
She fretted while stirring the slices of meat in the bowl.
"Aoba, add some egg white."
"Oh, alright."
Aoba poured in the slurry of beaten egg white and wet starch.
The semi-transparent liquid flowed onto her arm, dripping along her tender wrist.
It looked extremely suggestive.
Aoba couldn't help but glance a couple more times.
"Aoba, did I do something wrong?", Mikoto noticed him looking at her, and thought perhaps her method had a problem.
This dish of boiled beef slices was something he had taught her after all.
Aoba came back to his senses, shook his head, and smiled, "No problem. I just felt Aunt Mikoto's hands look quite nice."
"Wh… what?", Mikoto glanced down at her own hand in the bowl. The egg white clung to her skin as if a filter had been added.
Not sure what came to mind, but her face instantly flushed red.
Aoba realized he might've said something easily misunderstood, so he quickly changed the subject, "Eh, seems like there isn't enough water in this beef pot."
He hurried over pretending to check the state of the beef.
Mikoto calmly mixed the meat slices again, though inside she wasn't as calm as her appearance.
'What did Aoba mean by that?'
'Was it intentional, or just coincidence?'
The kitchen atmosphere became somewhat strange, but it also cut down their idle talk and sped up the cooking.
Otherwise, who knew how long Sasuke would have to starve in his room.
Sasuke came out of the bedroom, but was still gloomy as ever.
No matter what Mikoto asked, it was just nods and shakes of the head, never more than three words.
Mikoto, helpless, just ended up chatting with Aoba instead.
Naturally, they talked about Aoba's recent commission.
As Hokage's secretary, she of course knew part of the inside story.
Aoba explained what he could.
Mikoto listened seriously, occasionally showing concern, occasionally teasing lightly.
For some reason, Sasuke, sitting to the side, suddenly felt as though he had gone back to childhood.
Just like a family, warm and harmonious.
After dinner, Aoba helped Mikoto wash the dishes, then prepared to leave.
"Aoba, come again next time," Mikoto said in a formal farewell tone.
"Mm, goodbye Aunt Mikoto, goodbye Sasuke," Aoba waved to Mikoto, and also to Sasuke hiding behind her, then headed outside.
Mikoto watched his back slowly disappear.
Turning her head, she also saw Sasuke's clothes peeking out, and smiled warmly, "Sasuke, Aoba has already gone far away."
Sasuke gritted his teeth and stepped out.
"I forgot to tell Aoba something," After saying that, he chased in the direction Aoba had left.
"Eh? This child…", Mikoto had no idea what Sasuke was thinking, and could only keep waiting.
———
"Aoba!"
"Sasuke?"
Aoba looked at Sasuke suddenly chasing after him, confused, "Do you still have something to—uh."
Honestly, he was a bit frightened by Sasuke's gaze now.
Without realizing it, Sasuke had activated his Sharingan, the three tomoe in his eyes spinning wildly, as if they would connect into a straight line.
His gaze was filled with seriousness and danger, "Aoba, if you ever dare bully my mother, I will absolutely never forgive you!"
"Ah?"
After saying this, the spinning tomoe in Sasuke's pupils suddenly stopped.
Then he left, leaving Aoba dumbfounded where he stood.
Just now, he thought Sasuke was about to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. But it turned out to be a feint.
'Still, Sasuke's misunderstanding seems to be growing deeper and deeper.'
'Between me and Aunt Mikoto, it is pure and innocent, my conscience clear.'
———
When Sasuke returned near his home, he saw Mikoto still waiting at the door. Under the warm yellow light, her smile was gentle.
"Sasuke…"
Before she finished speaking, Sasuke suddenly hugged her, "Mom, if it's that guy Aoba, then I won't oppose it!"
"Ah?", Mikoto was stunned.
But Sasuke had already let go and run off.
Mikoto realized she really didn't understand what Sasuke was thinking.
Or perhaps she did, but pretended not to.
———
"I'm back!"
It had already been more than ten days since he last came home, so Aoba called out loudly.
Looking at the familiar décor, he felt his own home was still the most comfortable.
"Welcome back, Aoba-sama," Kin greeted him immediately.
"Welcome back… Master," Then came Yugito.
Aoba was a bit surprised, 'Why hasn't Konan and Temari spoken?'
He stepped in further, and saw Konan, Temari, and Uzumaki Kasui sitting together, talking about something.
"Aoba…"
Kasui and Temari wanted to greet him, but were stopped by Konan, so they could only smile at him helplessly.
As for Kasui being here in his house, that didn't surprise him.
What mattered was that Konan's expression didn't seem too happy right now.
"Konan-nee?"
Konan's face was cold, "I heard from Shizune you already came back this morning?"
"Uh… yeah," Aoba didn't deny it.
"Since you came back so early, why didn't you come home first?"
"Before I went on the mission, I promised Aunt Mikoto I'd visit her house, so I had dinner there."
"And at noon?"
"At noon, Kurenai-nee treated us to barbecue."
"…"
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