The two of them walked the entire way in relative silence. Itachi was never much of a talker to begin with, and Hiatohi couldn't figure out how to break the ice, so they exchanged very few words. Even so, they kept their hands linked the whole way, with Hiatohi firmly gripping Itachi's wrist and refusing to let go.
As they reached the base of her apartment building, Hiatohi suddenly stopped in her tracks.
"Hiatohi, what's wrong?" Itachi asked. Why had she stopped all of a sudden? This must be Hiatohi's home; he had some vague memories of it and seemed to have visited this place many times before.
Hiatohi let go of Itachi's wrist. Itachi instantly felt the lingering warmth vanish from his left hand, leaving him with an unexplainable, hollow feeling in his chest. *Good grief, how am I supposed to explain this to Mom? Hatake-san went off to spar with Gai-senpai, Brother Tu isn't here, and neither is Rin-neesan. Who is going to explain?*
"Explain what?"
"Of course, explain—"
Just as Hiatohi was about to finish, she heard a shout from above. "Momoko! You're here! You scared me to death! Kushina-neesan, Momoko is down here!"
A figure leaped straight down from the upstairs balcony, landing lightly and steadily right beside Hiatohi. "Honestly, Momoko, where on earth did you run off to? I was worried sick! And Rin too—she was so worried she almost cried."
"Wasn't it because Brother Tu picked a fight with Hatake-san? How was I supposed to know you'd all vanish the second I turned around?" Hiatohi was thoroughly exasperated. This genuinely wasn't her fault; she just hoped her mother would be reasonable, otherwise she truly suspected Kushina would beat her to a pulp.
"Is that so? It's all Kakashi that bastard's fault! Speaking of which, where is Kakashi? Didn't he go look for you too?"
"Gai-senpai said he wanted to spar with him, so I came back first."
"What? Spar with Gai? No way, I'm going too!"
"Huh? Boss Obito, don't go!"
Before Hiatohi could grab him, Obito had already bolted off, leaving behind a thoroughly unmajestic parting declaration: "I am definitely going to kick that bastard Kakashi's ass, and I'll make Rin look at me with new eyes!"
Hiatohi gave a stiff wave. *Comrade Obito, I wish you peace. Let's just hope I can still recognize your face after you're done fighting Hatake-san. Amen.*
By this time, Kushina had also sprinted over to Hiatohi, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Namikaze Hiatohi, where on earth did you go?! Do you have any idea how much you scared your mother? If you had gotten lost, what were your scatterbrained father and I supposed to do? What was *I* supposed to do?! Waaaah, you're going to scare your mother to death!" Before she could finish, she burst into tears like a child, completely unable to stop.
Hiatohi felt a sudden sting in her nose as tears quietly slipped from the corners of her eyes. She had always known how much her parents loved her. She didn't know what else she could do for them, but she truly never wanted to see Kushina cry again. She reached out and gently patted Kushina's arm. "I'm sorry. Momoko will be a good girl from now on and won't make Mom sad or worried anymore. I'll listen to you, I'll work hard."
Hearing Hiatohi's words, Kushina seemed to calm down slightly. She stared wide-eyed at Hiatohi for two seconds, and then began weeping even louder. "Waaaah, I'm actually being comforted by my own daughter! Waaaah, my little Momoko is so sensible! Momoko..."
"There, there, don't cry."
Acting surprisingly mature, Hiatohi gently stroked Kushina's head to comfort her. *I'm so sorry for making you worry. It won't happen again.* Perhaps this was what family was all about—worrying about you and wanting the best for you for no particular reason.
Kushina found the gesture heartwarming, but she also realized she probably needed to have Minato leave a Flying Thunder God seal on Momoko's clothes. As she grew older, her range of movement would naturally expand, and Kushina didn't want to panic every other day.
"Don't cry, Hiatohi. Don't cry, Aunt Kushina." Itachi reached out to wipe the tears from the corner of Hiatohi's eyes, his soft, gentle voice melting Kushina's heart. It was then that she remembered there was another child present. She frowned slightly, then quickly widened her eyes. "Itachi-kun?"
"Hello, Aunt Kushina, good afternoon," Itachi said softly, offering Kushina a slight bow.
"Long time no see, Itachi-kun." When Kushina had heard from Mikoto that Fugaku had brought Itachi to the front lines, she had been shocked—and perhaps furious. Just what did that man intend to turn this child into?
She thought that perhaps, here, Itachi-kun could always remain a child—a child deserving of the world's affection.
And so, Itachi stayed at Hiatohi's house until nightfall before heading back, leaving Hiatohi to declare inwardly—*Don't you ever come back!*
Other people's children were always like this: Kushina showered Itachi with endless warmth and concern, even bringing out Hiatohi's favorite snacks for him. However, Itachi showed zero interest in those snacks, which was one of the few things Hiatohi found tolerable. All in all, Kushina held an inexplicable fondness for Itachi, while both Minato and Hiatohi thoroughly disliked him.
Hiatohi: *KAMISAMA, he stole my snacks!*
Minato: *Uchiha Itachi is going to steal my daughter!*
Yet Itachi actually loved this place. He preferred this atmosphere far more than the solemn and oppressive Uchiha compound. When he returned home, Mikoto had already prepared dinner. In truth, she hadn't seen Itachi in quite a few days.
"Itachi, welcome home," Mikoto said gently.
"Yes, Mother. I ran into Hiatohi today."
"Momoko?" Mikoto's face lit up with a smile. "I haven't seen Momoko in ages either. How was she? Is Momoko still as cute as before?"
Mikoto placed the dishes on the table while keeping her eyes on Itachi. "I remember when you were even smaller, you and Momoko used to grow up sharing the same bed. Back then, Momoko was always bullying you, too."
"Is that so? Mother, I think Hiatohi is very warm. She's just like a little sun, and her hands are so hot."
Mikoto paused for a fraction of a second, then reached out to stroke Itachi's hair. "Itachi, my Itachi is starting to understand things now, too. That's wonderful. This is what a child is supposed to be like." Instead of having to accept those grim burdens so early, the current Itachi was the true child she had always imagined. Yet she knew Fugaku would never give an Itachi like this much time.
After a quiet moment, Itachi asked, "Mother, what is a boyfriend? Why did the ramen shop uncle ask me if I was Hiatohi's boyfriend?" He blinked his large eyes, looking utterly puzzled. He had never heard the word before, yet somehow it felt important.
Mikoto let out a soft laugh. "Itachi, you'll understand when you're older. Momoko is very cute, you know. If you don't work hard, you might just find that someone else becomes Momoko's boyfriend."
"I still don't understand."
Why? What on earth did Hiatohi's boyfriend mean? *When I'm older?* When would that be? He didn't know—maybe soon, maybe a long time from now.
***
Meanwhile, Kakashi's application for the Jounin Exams had been approved, with the exams scheduled for mid-October. Perhaps because of the war, the previously annual Jounin Exams had now become biannual, and the mid-October examination happened to be the second one of the year. For Kakashi, this was an exceptionally good opportunity. Of course, he hadn't mentioned it to anyone.
Time flew by, and summer arrived once more. With the weather growing hotter by the day, Hiatohi chose to hole up at home, refusing to step outside. On a certain breezy summer evening, Kushina went out to buy groceries, leaving only Minato and Hiatohi at home.
Hiatohi was flipping through a picture book out of sheer boredom when she suddenly raised her head to look at Minato. "Dad, I've always wanted to ask—what does Yellow Flash mean?" Right, she still had no clear grasp of her current situation. She didn't want to die young; even if she didn't have any dreams of becoming Hokage, she at least wanted to live to a ripe old age.
"Hmm... it probably means your dad is really fast." Minato scooped Hiatohi up onto his lap, then pulled a strange kunai from his pocket. "Here, it's this—a Flying Thunder God Kunai."
"Flying Thunder God? Kunai?" Hiatohi took the kunai and examined it closely. It certainly looked stranger than an ordinary kunai; its design was genuinely bizarre. So, it was because he was fast? Can a person really run *that* fast?
"It's a space-time instantaneous movement ninjutsu that allows you to arrive at a marked location in the blink of an eye. Look, Momoko, isn't your dad amazing?" Minato looked at Hiatohi with an expression that practically screamed *praise me*. Although it was a forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage, there were probably very few people across the entire ninja world who could fully master this jutsu now.
Over the years, Minato and Kushina had continuously studied and progressed. Kushina specialized in Sealing Jutsu, while he had poured massive effort into mastering the Flying Thunder God technique. Most importantly, the legendary Scroll of Seals left behind by the Sage of Six Paths was real.
On her end, Hiatohi was completely transfixed by the Flying Thunder God. To put it simply—instantaneous teleportation? What an awesome ultimate move; it was practically the golden rule for escaping alive. If she learned this, she'd never have to be afraid of getting beaten up again! Wait, since it allowed for instantaneous movement, she could even start a express delivery service—making millions in minutes. Talk about a goldmine!
With stars in her eyes, Hiatohi stared at Minato. "Dad! Momoko wants to learn the Flying Thunder God, too!"
"Momoko wants to learn?" Minato frowned slightly. He hadn't expected Hiatohi to take an interest in this. Originally, he had only wanted Momoko to live a peaceful life; not becoming a ninja at all was fine by him. But if she wanted to learn, he would teach her.
"Alright, once Momoko grows up a little more, I'll teach you."
"Then it's a deal! I love you best, *mwah*!" Hiatohi pressed a heavy kiss onto Minato's cheek, letting out a loud "pop."
Smiling, Minato pulled Hiatohi tight against his chest. "My Momoko is too cute! Waaaah, I'm so happy! What do I do? What am I going to do if I don't want Momoko to get married in the future?! Ah!"
Comrade Hiatohi's life finally seemed to be looking up. She had a premonition that her escaping skills would soon surpass all limits. This technique was simply more useful than any divine lightning footwork.