"Slow down, slow down, slow down, Sasuke…!"
Seeing her youngest son stumble toward her through the snow, his little face flushed from the cold, Mikoto Uchiha frowned slightly and stepped forward in concern. She slipped her arms under his armpits and scooped him up from the snow into her embrace. While gently brushing the snow from his giggling body, she deliberately put on a stern face and scolded him lightly:
"Sasuke! You silly child… running so fast—what if you fell? What would we do if you got hurt somewhere?"
"Hehe, I'm not scared at all! I'm going to become a great ninja like Nii-san in the future, there's no way a little thing like this could stop me~"
The sparring session between Naruto and Itachi had not only shown Sasuke a glimpse of Naruto's real strength—someone he usually saw as harmless—but as a certified bro-con, what left him most awestruck was how easily his big brother defeated Naruto, despite all his strange techniques. Usually teased endlessly by Naruto, Sasuke finally had a moment of pride, holding his head high for an entire day. It only deepened his conviction to train hard and one day be like his brother. So when his mother scolded him, he blurted out a response without a second thought.
"Sa—su—ke—"
Watching her usually obedient little son start taking training seriously even without Itachi around, Mikoto felt a quiet sense of pride. But seeing the boy come home every day with scrapes and bruises, more and more daring despite the risks, maternal instinct quickly won out. Her smile faded, replaced with a slight glare as she locked eyes with the little one nestled in her arms.
"A-And besides! You were right there to catch me, Mama. There's no way I'd fall… I get it, okay~ Mama, I promise! I'll be careful next time!"
Realizing from her tone that she was no longer amused, Sasuke—having gained ample experience in verbal battles with Naruto—quickly tried to defuse the situation. His eyes darted around as he leaned into his mother's embrace, snuggling and whining adorably while changing the subject:
"Hey hey, Mama, I'm hungry. I want dinner…"
"Aahh… honestly, what am I going to do with you… So slick with your words—where did you even learn that bad habit from?"
Despite her grumbling, Mikoto couldn't hold out against her son's pleading and cuddling. Her irritation faded, and seeing Itachi arrive just behind Naruto—whom she hadn't met before but found strangely familiar—made it harder to stay stern. Gently tugging on Sasuke's chubby cheeks, she sighed and said:
"Just this once, okay? No next time. If your father finds out and gets angry, don't say I didn't warn you, Sasuke."
"Okay~!"
Seeing her expression soften, Sasuke let out a small sigh of relief. After a short pause, he noticed Naruto and Itachi approaching, and hurriedly pointed to Naruto to shift his mother's attention:
"Oh right! Hey hey, Mama, let me introduce you—this is my new friend I made recently, Uzumaki Naruto."
"Oh my, it's rare for you to bring a friend home… Uzumaki Naruto, huh… that name sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?"
The unfamiliar name triggered something in Mikoto's memory. Though she was certain she'd never met the boy before, something about him felt oddly familiar. While adjusting her posture to hold Sasuke more securely, she bent slightly and looked warmly at the child now standing before her.
"Hello, Naruto-kun. I'm Sasuke's mother… I'm sure this naughty little one has caused you all kinds of trouble. Please take care of him going forward."
"Mama! I'm not naughty!"
Even without looking back, Sasuke could feel Naruto's teasing smirk. His face turned red as he squirmed in protest in her arms. But remembering all the embarrassing moments from Naruto's training sessions, his voice weakened, and he muttered,
"I… I haven't caused him any trouble…"
'I don't remember this from the manga, but dang—Sasuke's got some serious potential as a mama's boy… Tsk, what a sweet little angel he could've been. And then Danzo had to ruin him into an edgy, brooding mess.'
Watching Sasuke snuggling into his mother's arms without a care in the world, Naruto recalled how the manga had introduced Sasuke as a genius of the Uchiha clan. But now, he was just a kid—a soft, spoiled, innocent kid. Smiling respectfully, Naruto bowed slightly and said,
"Hello, Auntie. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Sasuke-kun's friend. Sorry for showing up uninvited—I didn't bring a gift or anything. I hope you don't mind."
'…What the hell! Is this really Naruto?! Did I bring home a fake?!'
The completely polite and refined tone made Sasuke's eyes widen in disbelief. He spun around and stared at Naruto, jaw dropping.
"You—you… You changed your face faster than flipping pages! You really are a monster!"
"Sasuke! How can you say that? Don't call your friend a monster!"
"But Mama, I'm telling the truth! He was just—Ow ow ow ow! I'm sorry, Mama! I'm sorry! Ow!"
"Still mouthing off, huh? I don't know how you even made friends acting like this… You must be causing all kinds of trouble for people."
Sasuke's surprised reaction raised Mikoto's suspicion, but compared to Naruto's polite demeanor, Sasuke's behavior was clearly out of line. Sighing like a disappointed parent, she reached out and tugged his cheek again—gently this time—yet grew more and more fond of the well-mannered little guest. After a short pause, she stepped aside and gestured toward the door with a smile.
"Not at all. I'm really happy to see Sasuke become friends with such a sweet boy like you… Come on in, come in. It's snowing hard today—you'd better warm up inside."
"Mm! Thank you, Auntie!"
Watching Sasuke's embarrassed little face as he sulked in silence, Naruto grinned even wider. He followed Mikoto into the house, still acting sweet as pie and throwing out compliments like candy.
"By the way… Auntie, you really are so young and beautiful! If Sasuke-kun hadn't told me you were his mom, I'd have thought you were his big sister!"
"Ara… Aren't you quite the charmer?"
At the end of the day, Mikoto was still a woman. And what woman—especially a mother—doesn't enjoy being complimented for her looks? With her first impression of Naruto firmly set as a kind and innocent boy, she found herself enjoying his praise. Chuckling, she waved her hand and gave Sasuke's puffed-up cheek another playful pinch.
"You should learn from Naruto-kun a bit more. Look how well he speaks."
'…Nani? Learn from Naruto more?!'
Just earlier, she called that behavior a bad habit, and now she wanted him to emulate it?
'Why?! It's literally the same thing! Why is the treatment so different?! Mother, am I still your real son, or did you secretly adopt Naruto?!'
Frozen in place as his mom played with his cheeks, Sasuke couldn't help but scream internally. He glanced over at the perfectly-behaved Naruto walking behind him and forced a twisted little smile as if questioning the meaning of life itself. Above his head, one could almost see a cloud of floating black question marks.
'Aaahh… I think I broke him… this poor little Uchiha is on the verge of an existential crisis. So cute, though.'
Seeing Sasuke pout with no comeback, Naruto had to jam his hands into his pockets and pinch the skin on his waist hard through his jacket to stop himself from laughing. Even so, anyone paying close attention would notice the tiny tremors running through his shoulders despite the angelic facade.
'Sasuke, oh Sasuke. Trying to mess with me? You're still way too green for that~'
"I'm home!"
"Sorry to intrude!"
Their differing voices rang out together as they stepped into the warm, cozy Uchiha home. Shutting the door behind them to block out the biting wind, the kids shook the snow off their clothes and changed into warm indoor slippers.
"Why are you back so late today?"
At the entryway, Uchiha Fugaku stood with arms crossed and a stern face. But seeing them return safely, he let out a breath of relief. His gaze flicked to Sasuke, limp and lifeless in Mikoto's arms, but quickly landed on the unfamiliar guest.
"And who is this?"
"This is Uzumaki Naruto-kun, dear. He's actually the first friend Sasuke's ever brought home~ Oh! Naruto-kun, let me introduce you—this is my husband, Sasuke's father."
Having changed her shoes, Mikoto smiled as she introduced her husband, while also casting a helpless glance at her little one in her arms.
"Really, Sasuke! How long are you going to keep loafing around? You finally brought a friend home—shouldn't the little host be up and showing his guest around?"
"Hehe… silver tongue… hehe… learn from him… hehe…"
Yeah… it looked like the poor boy's fragile little heart had been utterly shattered.
At this rate, if Naruto kept teasing him like this, it honestly wasn't impossible that our sweet, innocent Uchiha might get completely "broken" one day…