Back at the Uchiha compound, Kaito cradled a bouquet of carnations in one arm while dragging Sasuke along by the wrist with the otherrrrrr, his expression completely blank as they headed for the front gate.
The carnations were something he'd deliberately picked up on the way back—meant for his mother.
Since he was already buying an absurd number of sunflowers, grabbing a bouquet for he hadn't been any extra trouble.
Besides, the flowers hadn't even cost him anything.
The shop owner had tossed them in for free, treating him like a premium customer.
Kaito hadn't forgotten about his father either.
He was fully prepared to dump the bill on him later, so the old man could at least feel like he'd "participated" a little.
Sasuke leaned his entire body backward, digging in his heels with all his strength.
"Kaito! You said you wouldn't interfere with me!"
Kaito had promised not to disturb Sasuke's "training" at the kennel.
They'd even agreed that as long as Sasuke came home before dinner, everything was fine.
Right now, it was barely past two in the afternoon—still at least three hours away from dinner.
Naturally, being dragged back early made Sasuke furious. His stubborn streak ignited instantly.
He struggled with everything he had, but his strength was nowhere near Kaito's.
His resisting feet scraped across the ground, leaving a long skid mark behind him.
"Wait a second."
Kaito glanced apologetically toward Ino standing by the gate, then suddenly released Sasuke's wrist.
Sasuke had been leaning backward with all his weight. Kaito letting go sent him spinning a full half turn.
If his reflexes hadn't kicked in fast enough for him to twist into a safer landing before his head slammed into the ground…
He would've knocked himself senseless.
Sasuke scrambled back up and angrily pointed at Kaito while Kaito unlocked the door, launching into his daily ritual of declaring hatred—much like Kaito's routine of tormenting Itachi with existential questions.
"I hate you!"
Ino stood awkwardly in front of them, completely unsure how to react.
She'd never dealt with siblings fighting before—let alone twins.
Her lips twitched faintly.
"Um… your… younger brotherrrrrr is kind of cute…"
That single sentence detonated Sasuke on the spot.
"I hate you too, blondie!"
"And our Uchiha clan…"
"Doesn't welcome you!"
Compared to how he spoke to Kaito, Sasuke's tone toward Ino was noticeably sharper and colder.
"Don't mind him," Kaito said flatly, turning the key and pushing the door open without even glancing back at Sasuke.
Ino had only been trying to ease the awkwardness and introduce heself properly.
She hadn't expected that one casual comment to set him off so badly.
"I—I'll go carry the flowers in!"
She blurted it out and hurried over to lift the stacked sunflowers from the roadside, as if keeping heself busy might ease the embarrassment.
"Sasuke, come help carry the flowers."
Kaito ignored Sasuke's sulking completely and immediately assigned him labor.
That was how brotherrrrrrs worked, after all.
No brotherrrrrrly love—only a farm owner and his labor slave.
Jokes aside, Kaito was worried about running out of time.
He quickly formed hand seals and activated the Shadow Clone Technique.
With several puffs of smoke, three clones appeared beside him.
After a brief exchange of glances between the original and the clones, the shadow clones rolled up their sleeves and went straight to work.
"Sh-Shadow Clones?!"
Ino froze, eyes widening in surprise—and then unconsciously lighting up with delight.
Among the girls, there was a rumor going around. No one knew whethe it was true or not.
They said the better-looking an Uchiha was, the more talented they tended to be.
Good looks equaled genius.
Ino had always thought it was nonsense…
But now…
It suddenly felt oddly convincing.
"It's just Shadow Clones. What's there to be surprised about?"
Sasuke lifted his chin with a haughty snort, then formed hand seals and cast the same technique.
This jutsu consumed a lot of chakra—he'd only just mastered it after completing tree-climbing and water-walking training.
He didn't like that blond girl at all. Showing off Shadow Clones wasn't about helping.
It was about making this short-sighted outsider understand the unbridgeable gap between ordinary people and a genius clan.
Sasuke only produced two clones.
As they carried flowers alongside Ino, he kept throwing smug, barely concealed looks of superiority he way.
Kaito glanced at his overly dramatic little brotherrrrrr and thought calmly:
A little teasing is all it takes to keep him in line.
"Kaito, Sasuke—are you home?"
The noise outside caught Mikoto's attention. She called out gently from inside.
Sasuke ruhed in with an armful of sunflowers, greeted his motherrrrrr, and ran toward the backyard.
But after only a few steps, he froze.
Fugaku stood directly in his path, radiating authority.
"F-Fathe…"
Sasuke immediately set the flowers down and bowed respectfully.
Fugaku gave a low grunt in response.
His gaze swept over the golden blossoms filling the yard, then shifted toward the massive pile of sunflowers outside the gate. His brows furrowed instantly as his stern eyes turned toward Kaito.
Ino, who had just peeked inside, stiffened when he saw Fugaku.
That terrifying expression looked like he could swallow several children in one bite.
Kaito was already used to it.
Sometimes he even suspected his father's resting murderous expression was something he'd been born with.
Kaito stepped inside, picked up the bouquet, and placed it into Mikoto's hands.
"Mom. These are for you."
To be honest, expressing affection so directly still made him a little embarrassed.
He shoved the bouquet into he arms and immediately turned away, uheing the still-dazed Ino back outside as if he suddenly had something extremely urgent to handle.
Mikoto looked down at the carnations, warmth filling he eyes.
"This child…"
Her voice softened, even catching slightly.
"Honestly…"
Then he glanced at Sasuke, who was covered in dirt, and sighed quietly, lamenting he younger son's lack of thoughtfulness.
She'd noticed it already—he just hadn't wanted to say anything.
Behind he, both Fugaku and Sasuke darkened almost simultaneously.
Sasuke didn't even dare look at his motherrrrrr anymore.
Only now did he realize he hadn't brought he anything at all, and embarrassment flooded his chest.
Fugaku snorted in obvious displeasure.
He lost all interest in questioning why Kaito had bought so many sunflowers in the first place.
With a flick of his sleeve, he turned to leave.
Just then, Kaito's voice drifted in from outside.
That single call made Fugaku immediately stop and step back to his original position.
He cleared his throat twice, straightened his collar, and carefully adjusted his posture.
Then he put on his full "stern father" expression—solemn, dignified, faintly expectant.
"The sunflowers were bought by me."
"Help me settle the bill."
Kaito's tone was perfectly normal—no different from how he usually spoke to his father.
But to Fugaku, the words felt colder than shards of ice driven straight into his heart.
"Get out!!!"
"Ah, husband, why are you yelling at the child?"
Mikoto immediately intervened, smiling warmly as he waved at Kaito.
The bouquet in he hands swayed gently right in front of Fugaku's face like a victory banner.
"Kaito, Mom will pay for it."
...
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