Uchiha Ran felt as if something massive had slammed straight into his eyes—
no, into his brain.
His thoughts went blank.
His chest tightened.
For a moment, he could barely breathe.
"A—ah! Mikoto-neesan, I didn't see anything! I'll head out right now—!"
His eyes were wide—far too wide—like he was desperately trying to engrave the scene into his soul before logic could catch up. His mind felt stuffed full, overloaded by a force far beyond his mental capacity.
"I—really! I didn't see anything!" Ran hurriedly raised his head, his face burning with embarrassment.
Panic surged through him.
In both this life and his previous one, he had never experienced anything like this.
His past memories were limited to an unremarkable college life and grueling construction work—nothing that could possibly prepare him for a moment this heart-pounding.
"Crap… my body's not listening to me."
Ran clearly felt it—a subtle but undeniable change.
The reckless impulse of youth.
Rampant hormones betraying his will.
Across from him, Uchiha Mikoto noticed Ran's slightly bent posture. Her own cheeks flushed crimson, but she forced herself to stay composed, quickly pulling that vast, snowy whiteness back into her clothes.
The air was thick with tension and embarrassment.
"U-um… c-cough… what's wrong with you?" Mikoto's voice was barely above a whisper. She didn't dare say much more.
"I—I'm sorry! I'm really sorry! Mikoto-neesan, I just— I really didn't see anything…!"
Ran tried to explain, but his lips were painfully dry. The words came out disjointed.
This wasn't a failure of willpower.
It was simply the reaction of a young body overflowing with vitality.
Hearing his apology only made Mikoto more flustered. After tucking everything away, she instinctively lifted the baby Uchiha Itachi into her arms, holding him in front of her like a shield.
"R-Ran… dinner's ready. Let's… let's go eat."
She spoke softly, clearly aware that what just happened might leave them awkward around each other for quite some time.
"Y-yeah…" Ran nodded quickly and followed her out.
Just like that, the incident seemed to pass.
Then—
The orange cat suddenly spoke.
"You humans are so strange. My mom once told me that years ago, a gray cat mother disappeared, and all her kittens were nursed by my mom instead. Mikoto, don't be shy—Ran seeing it isn't a big deal. It's not like he drank any~"
...
Ran felt his mouth go even drier.
Without thinking, his gaze flicked—just once—toward Mikoto's chest.
He swallowed and lightly licked his cracked lips.
"Shut up!" Mikoto snapped, completely flustered now.
"Say one more word and I'll turn you into soup!"
The cat froze.
Then—
"Meow!? Mikoto, don't do anything rash! I've never heard of orange cats being good for soup! I'm super sour! Totally inedible!"
Mikoto rolled her eyes so hard they nearly flipped over and walked straight out without another glance.
Ran hurried after her.
The orange cat was left behind, abandoned without mercy.
No one bothered with it—when it got hungry, it would find its own way back anyway.
The dining table was filled with delicious dishes, aromas curling through the air.
Ran and Mikoto sat across from each other. Their gazes occasionally met, then quickly separated. Neither said much, focusing on the food.
Outwardly, Ran looked calm.
Inside?
Utter chaos.
His mind was entirely occupied by that expanse of snowy white… and that faint hint of pink.
"Ahhh—what's wrong with me!? How do I even face Lan-da now!? Damn it—am I really turning into someone like Wei Xiaobao?!"
Ran seriously began to doubt his own character.
Meanwhile, Mikoto held Itachi in her arms, yet her thoughts betrayed her—
Ran's aggressive gaze, the unconscious lip-licking… every detail replayed itself, making her heart race and cheeks burn.
The atmosphere between them was tense, electric, filled with an unspoken awareness.
Finally, Ran broke the silence.
"Mikoto-neesan… where's Fugaku-nii? I haven't seen him at all."
"Oh… he's probably still busy at the Police Force," Mikoto replied with a gentle smile, though worry flickered in her eyes.
"He hasn't been home much lately. I don't know why they're so busy…"
Ran caught the frustration in her tone and quickly tried to help smooth things over.
"The Police Force handles almost all of Konoha's internal security, and Fugaku-nii is the clan head too. It's probably unavoidable."
"I hope so…" Mikoto murmured, though her thoughts clearly drifted elsewhere.
Wasn't it Fugaku who got dragged off drinking by the Third when I took Itachi out shopping that day…?
Seeing her brows knit together, Ran hurriedly changed the subject.
"By the way, Mikoto-neesan—Orochimaru-sensei just accepted a new disciple. A girl, only seven or eight years old. Her name's Mitarashi Anko. You wouldn't believe it—she actually likes snakes."
"Huh? Snakes?" Mikoto blinked.
"And Mitarashi… ah, I see. I didn't realize Mitarashi-senpai's daughter was already that old."
Critical hit. Topic successfully diverted.
Naturally, the awkwardness faded. They began chatting again—about Ran's time at the border, about the situation in the ninja world. Hearing that war wasn't imminent, Mikoto visibly relaxed.
War meant death.
And separation.
As someone gentle by nature, she truly wished it would never come.
Time passed. Ran had tea with her until nearly nine in the evening—yet Uchiha Fugaku still hadn't returned.
Then suddenly—
Waaah—waaah!
Baby Itachi burst into tears.
Hungry.
Ran's mouth twitched.
"…Damn it. I'm kind of jealous of Itachi. What's wrong with me?"
His eyes drifted—just for a second—toward Mikoto's chest again before he snapped back to reality.
"Mikoto-neesan, it's getting late. Fugaku-nii's still not back, so I'll head home. Take good care of Itachi."
With that, Ran quickly left.
"Meow~ Want me to walk you out?"
The orange cat sat at the door licking its paw, offering help while making zero effort to move.
"No need!" Ran waved and disappeared into the night.
Only after the door closed did Mikoto finally loosen her clothes and feed the wailing Itachi.
(Hey—this is her own son. Don't get any weird ideas.)
The orange cat watched everything with a single thought in mind:
"…Humans are really strange creatures."
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