Chapter 177: Uchiha Ayato: Yo, Long Time No See, Uchiha Itachi (Patreon)

Uchiha Itachi!

Uchiha Ayato's heart churned like a raging sea.

The heart in his chest, which had been beating so calmly, began to pound faster than ever before. Scalding blood, laden with ten years of suppressed rage and hatred, surged up his arteries and straight into his brain.

The warm, bright kitchen before his eyes seemed to drain of color, replaced by a wash of crimson. In his ears he could almost hear the dull thud of a blade parting flesh, and the cries of his loved ones falling in despair.

Though a thousand roads may branch, in the end they all lead you to me!

Good. Wonderful, even.

I'm not the same person I was back then. I'm no longer that helpless child.

With this power, tempered a thousand times over, and these eyes that have gazed upon hell itself, I will make you pay for what you did that night!

A tooth for a tooth, blood for blood!

Only when I cut that head from your shoulders with my own hands can I sever all that sorrow, pain and blood-soaked past once and for all!

Something terribly dangerous stirred awake again in Uchiha Ayato's heart.

"Hmmm—"

Under the violent surge of emotion, Uchiha Ayato activated his Mangekyou in an instant.

A freezing killing intent spilled uncontrollably from his body, and the temperature of the air around him plummeted by several degrees.

Inside the sealed space, the Nine-Tails had been snoring away, using her nine great tails as a mattress. She jolted awake, shoved up her eye mask and looked out at the world.

What was with the brat just now? His Chakra had turned savage in an instant, as if he were a walking mass of hatred.

But after watching for a moment, she pulled the eye mask back down and settled in comfortably.

Never mind. No need to meddle.

There were plenty of women out there. They'd calm him down.

"...?"

Togawa Sakikoko had been about to slide the chopped side dishes into the pot when she sensed the strange shift in the air. She turned her head in confusion, met the terrifying pressure of Uchiha Ayato's Mangekyou Sharingan, and froze on the spot.

She had no idea what storm was raging in Uchiha Ayato's mind. She was simply scared half to death by his alarming habit of flipping on the Mangekyou the moment a conversation got sharp.

Togawa Sakikoko: Seriously, I've noticed you take everything way too much to heart.

I was only joking. Do you really have to go into battle mode over that?

The Togawa heiress hunched her shoulders and instinctively raised the long wooden ladle in front of her chest.

She was frightened, but she refused to lose face. Bluster covered her nerves as she spoke up:

"What? What is it?"

"I can't even tease you a little now?"

"What, are you going to beat me up?"

Hearing Sakikoko's flustered accusation, the Mangekyou spinning in Uchiha Ayato's eyes stuttered to a halt.

He blinked, his gaze refocusing on her tense, tightened cheeks, and only then realized what he had done without thinking.

...How unsightly.

Uchiha Ayato mocked himself inwardly.

His emotional control still wasn't good enough. He had actually shown Sakiko and the others such an ugly side of himself.

A true man should never let his bad moods spill onto the people important to him, no matter how deep the hatred and darkness he carries.

Uchiha Ayato closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, and pushed down the wild emotions churning in his chest.

No need to rush.

Uchiha Itachi wouldn't arrive in this world for another two days. Until then, no amount of excitement would do any good.

When he opened his eyes again, his pupils had returned to their usual deep, dark black.

"Sorry."

Uchiha Ayato smiled apologetically and explained to Togawa Sakikoko in a gentle voice:

"You've got it wrong, Sakiko. I just..."

"I suddenly remembered something unpleasant from the past and spaced out for a moment."

"It wasn't because of what you said. Please don't take it to heart."

Just then, a cool, soft little hand reached out without warning and gently took hold of Uchiha Ayato's hand where it hung at his side.

Wakaba Mutsumi had set down her kitchen knife at some point and quietly come up beside him.

The light-green-haired girl tilted her head back, her clear eyes fixed on him without blinking, her face full of earnestness.

"...Just now, Ayato was in pain."

Wakaba Mutsumi spoke softly.

As she spoke, she guided Uchiha Ayato's hand to rest against her gently rising chest.

Through the thin fabric, Uchiha Ayato could feel the girl's warmth and her steady, strong heartbeat.

"Here... seeing Ayato in pain, it hurts."

"It feels like something is blocking it. I can't breathe."

Wakaba Mutsumi stared steadily into his eyes and said, one word at a time:

"I want to know why Ayato is sad. I want to... share it with Ayato."

Looking into the girl's eyes, without a trace of impurity, and feeling the softness and warmth under his palm, Uchiha Ayato was shaken to his core.

But he had always been used to shouldering everything alone, and being asked so bluntly by a girl to show his weakness left him a little embarrassed.

"...It's fine."

Uchiha Ayato turned his face away and tried to pull his hand back, covering the turmoil inside with a tsundere tone:

"I can handle it."

"It's my own business. There's no need for you little girls to share any of it..."

"You really do act high and mighty, don't you?"

Togawa Sakikoko cut him off without ceremony before he could finish.

She set down the ladle, stepped right in front of Uchiha Ayato, and put out a hand to block his attempt to retreat.

"Have you forgotten? We share one fate."

"A shared fate means 'one heart, one body.'"

"Always thinking you have to carry everything alone... I won't accept an attitude that arrogant."

Togawa Sakikoko looked straight into Uchiha Ayato's eyes, her voice turning wonderfully gentle:

"Before you became the person who shelters everyone from the storm, you were just an ordinary person of flesh and blood, weren't you, Ayato?"

"As long as you're human, there will be times you feel fragile, times you're swallowed by sorrow and pain."

"Wanting to confide in someone, wanting to be cared for, is something everyone shares. It has nothing to do with how strong you are, or with gender."

"Share a happy thing with someone and the joy doubles."

"Say a sad thing out loud and the pain eases too."

"So..."

Togawa Sakikoko reached out and gently straightened Uchiha Ayato's slightly rumpled collar, her smile as radiant as an unattainable first love:

"Ayato, you haven't been alone for a long time now."

"You don't have to digest your pain by yourself. Leave all your emotions to us."

"Good or bad, bright and polished or dripping with blood..."

"All of us will accept every bit of you."

After all, this was the duty and resolve a wife ought to have.

Togawa Sakikoko added silently in her heart.

Then she patted his chest and urged him along:

"All right, you've been running around all day and didn't even change your clothes."

"Go take a bath and get changed. Dinner will be ready by the time you're out."

Uchiha Ayato: "..."

Uchiha Ayato opened his mouth, but in the end he only shook his head with a smile.

*

Every member of Ayato Manor was a master at reading the room, so the increasingly sticky atmosphere in the kitchen naturally didn't escape the trio in the living room.

Sumita Mana turned toward the kitchen, pouting, and protested in a low voice:

"Mmm... Sakiko and Mutsumi are so sly, aren't they?"

"Sneaking ahead while nobody's looking!"

"Is this how you repay Big Sis Mana and Hatsu-chan, who sacrificed ourselves to seal the Pink-Haired Demon Lord?"

"Careful, or I'll quit on you!"

"Don't make me spill everything!"

"..."

Uika Misumi held her black tea cup and watched the three in the kitchen with soft eyes, feeling nothing but quiet contentment. She laughed lightly:

"Isn't it nice, though?"

"As long as Ayato can smile that easily, that's enough."

Anon Chihaya: "!?"

Little Chihaya was stunned.

What was going on!?

She had only been chatting over here for a little while. How had the mood in the kitchen turned like that?

Had they staged a diversion to lure her away from the real action!?

Those alley cats sneaking a taste were just too underhanded!

*

Fifteen minutes later, the dining room.

On the long table sat steaming cream stew, golden pan-seared sea bream, an elegantly plated Japanese dashi omelet, and red-wine braised beef giving off a tempting aroma, all laid out in a row.

It was only an ordinary family dinner, yet the spread looked like something from a three-star Michelin restaurant.

And the moment the first spoonful of cream stew went into her mouth...

The good ship Anon Chihaya took another heavy blow.

"Oishii..."

Anon Chihaya's hand trembled around her spoon. The rich, mellow milk flavor, mingled with the sweetness of the vegetables and the tenderness of the chicken, melted across her tongue, so delicious it nearly made her cry on the spot.

After swallowing, the girl snapped her head up and stared at Togawa Sakikoko, seated diagonally across from her, with a look of aggrieved horror, as if she'd seen a ghost:

"Sakiko..."

"You're a chaebol heiress who's never lifted a finger in the kitchen, right? Why are you this good at cooking too?"

Do rich families teach that, too?

We're the same age, so why do you have to be this good?

Hearing this question, dripping with the whimper of a defeated dog, Togawa Sakikoko paused in the middle of serving everyone.

The blue-haired girl lifted her eyes and said meaningfully:

"An heiress?"

"If you want the answer, Chihaya, it's actually very simple."

Togawa Sakikoko spoke in a calm, offhand tone:

"In the months before I moved in here, I lived working several part-time jobs back to back, keeping up with school, and looking after my good-for-nothing, drunk of a father."

"After that, I got ruthlessly worked like an indentured laborer by a certain heartless, black-hearted man."

"After finishing work each day, I had to clean his house and do the chores, and on top of that cook him a different meal every time."

She shot a resentful sideways glance at Uchiha Ayato, who sat serenely at the head of the table, but then changed the subject:

"As for now..."

"My constitution is better, so I'm the first one up every morning, and I usually make everyone's breakfast while I'm at it."

Togawa Sakikoko took a small sip of water and wrapped up in a light tone:

"It's nothing special. Just a practiced hand."

"This cooking is life's gift to me."

Anon Chihaya: "?"

Three part-time jobs a day?

Looking after a drunk father?

Worked like an indentured laborer by Ayarin?

...That sounded pretty miserable.

While Anon Chihaya's brain was stalled, unsure whether she should look sympathetic or admiring, Uika Misumi, seated beside her, chimed in with a smile:

"Sakiko and Mana are the two best cooks in the house, you know."

"If we're only talking full meals, Mana is actually a notch above Sakiko."

"Hehe~ Of course I am!"

Hearing her partner's praise, Sumita Mana beamed and took up the thread right away:

"I've been doing bride training since I was little, and I studied cooking under a proper head chef."

Then she generously hooked her arm through Togawa Sakikoko's and said sincerely:

"Compared to someone like me who worked hard for it, Sakiko, who got to this level in just a few months, is the one who's truly gifted."

Anon Chihaya: "..."

I get it now. Everyone at Ayato Manor has some hidden talent.

Her crushing sense of defeat turned into towering indignation. With tears at the corners of her eyes, Little Chihaya converted her grief into appetite and launched a fierce assault on the feast with her chopsticks.

If I can't beat you at cooking, I can at least beat you at eating!

Watch me finish every dish so you all go hungry!

Anon Chihaya vs. the Ayato Manor top four: current score, 0 to 2.

*

Half an hour later, the lively dinner finally drew to a close.

Thanks to Anon Chihaya's all-out gorging, the generous main dishes had been swept clean. She herself was so stuffed that she slumped back in her chair, one hand rubbing her bulging belly, sighing in contentment.

Togawa Sakikoko and Wakaba Mutsumi cleared the empty plates, while Sumita Mana and Uika Misumi went to the kitchen to prepare fruit tea to help with digestion.

Uchiha Ayato sat beside Anon Chihaya. His fingers drifted over naturally and began to twirl a strand of hair draped over her shoulder, playing with it at his leisure.

"All right, dinner's done."

Uchiha Ayato turned his head and looked playfully at the pink-haired girl slumped beside him.

"You've eaten, so President Chihaya should be satisfied by now?"

"So, what's the plan tonight?"

"Should I take you home, or will you just stay here overnight?"

Anon Chihaya: !!!

At that casual-sounding but possibly loaded question, Anon Chihaya's belly-rubbing hand froze.

Feeling the faint tickle at the ends of her hair and the warm breath of the boy so close, Little Chihaya's imagination ran wild.

Ayarin is inviting me to stay over...

Does he want to sleep with me?

If he does, then of course I'd say yes.

But if a girl agrees too readily, wouldn't it look like I'm loose and desperate?

How should I answer so that I seem both reserved and able to stay naturally?

After a moment's thought, Anon Chihaya straightened her back.

She cleared her throat and tried her best to sound casual:

"Ahem! Well, o-of course I'm staying!"

"Mom and Dad aren't home anyway, so if I went back I'd just be alone in an empty house."

"And we already agreed that I'd experience your daily life from every angle today. How could I quit halfway after just a dinner?"

As soon as she finished, Anon Chihaya's eyes darted, as if a brilliant counterattack had just struck her.

She stood up, planted her hands on her hips, swept a challenging gaze around the girls and announced firmly:

"So I'm not just staying tonight. From now on, too."

"I'm going to sleep in the master bedroom, with Ayarin!"

"So? Nobody has any objections, right?"

Ha! Time to claim my rightful place as the main wife!

Take that, a decisive finishing blow!

Yet faced with Anon Chihaya's aggressive challenge, the others didn't get angry at all. Instead, they all wore strange, barely suppressed smiles.

"Pfft...!"

The liveliest of them, Sumita Mana, was the first to crack. She turned away, clutching her stomach, shoulders shaking with laughter.

Togawa Sakikoko raised a hand to cover her lips, her eyes full of mischief.

"Huh?"

Anon Chihaya, who'd been about to savor her rivals' true colors, was stunned, her eyes full of bewilderment.

What are they laughing at?

Did I say something wrong?

Seeing Little Chihaya's adorably dumbfounded face, full of question marks, Uchiha Ayato beside her finally couldn't help sighing.

He let go of her hair, cleared his throat, and broke her fantasy in a mildly sympathetic, gentle tone:

"Um..."

"Anon, about the master bedroom, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed."

"There's never been a 'master bedroom' in this house to begin with."

Anon Chihaya: "?"

Meaning what, exactly?

A sprawling duplex mega-house in Minato Ward, and you're telling me there's no master bedroom?

Don't tell me you bought an unfinished shell?

Under Anon Chihaya's shocked stare, Uchiha Ayato calmly explained the layout of Ayato Manor:

"When you think about it, it's only natural."

"However big this place is, we need a spacious living and dining room, an activity room and an audiovisual area. You can't conjure that many bedrooms out of thin air."

"When we redesigned the interior before moving in, this floor plus the second floor could only fit six full rooms at most, and we had to sacrifice a lot of other space for that."

"Besides the rooms for Sakiko, Mutsumi, Uika and Mana, the remaining two bedrooms are one reserved for Soyo and one made especially for you."

"From the beginning, I never planned to have a room of my own in this house."

"If there get to be more people, we'll have to move to an actual estate."

Hearing this, Togawa Sakikoko retorted, exasperated:

"You actually plan on having even more people?"

"If so, you may as well take everyone back to the Togawa family home and ship Grandfather off to Shodoshima to enjoy his golden years."

Anon Chihaya's brain stalled. She gaped and blurted out:

"B-but if there's no room for you..."

"Where do you usually sleep, Ayarin?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Uchiha Ayato propped his chin on one hand and answered frankly:

"Everyone's rooms are spacious, aren't they?"

"At night, I just pick whichever one suits my mood and sleep with whoever's in it~"

Uchiha Ayato reached out and gently pinched Anon Chihaya's stiff cheek, smiling as he added:

"But even though there's no master bedroom, since Anon invited me so warmly today..."

"Spending the night with you in your new room is perfectly fine."

Anon Chihaya: ...

You haven't been making out with them, have you?

*

Two days later.

That night.

A lot had happened over the past two days.

The Barriers of the Culling Game had formally gone up on the second day after Anon Chihaya moved into Ayato Manor as a resident. Ten Barriers, each several kilometers in radius, enveloped multiple regions of Japan.

Thanks to the early warnings and evacuations, not many innocent civilians remained trapped inside.

Those left in the Barriers were a few desperate people clinging to luck, along with the awakened incarnated sorcerers and the rampaging cursed spirits.

Tokyo's controls had tightened further. After nightfall the streets grew empty and the crowds thinned to a trickle, leaving only a sea of blazing Neon lights drifting silently.

Atop Tokyo Tower.

Hatake Kakashi was still pinned in a humiliating, agonizing posture to the cold steel beams by thick Wood Release branches. His green tactical vest was soaked through with dried, dark-red blood.

His Chakra had been drained to a perilous edge, and every breath felt like tearing his lungs apart.

The Chakra Obito had last given him was spent. His eyes had reverted to their plain original state, staring blankly at the thick, unyielding clouds overhead.

Suddenly, amid the bitter wind, a strange sound arose.

"Caw—!"

A harsh, grating crow's cry abruptly pierced the howl of the high-altitude wind.

Then a second, a third...

With the dense clamor of countless beating wings, hundreds upon thousands of black crows with blood-red eyes swept up from below Tokyo Tower like a black storm.

They ignored the air currents, gathering and wheeling madly around the very top of the tower.

Amid the falling black feathers, a tall figure took shape, shifting from illusion into substance without a sound.

It was a young man in a black cloak with red clouds and a high collar.

A Konoha forehead protector with a horizontal slash across it sat on his brow. The hem of his cloak snapped in the biting night wind, and the hand wearing the ring "Vermilion" hung relaxed at his side.

Pale skin, cold features, and a pair of crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan eyes glowing with an ominous bloody light in the darkness.

Sensing that familiar Chakra signature, the near-dead Kakashi jerked his head up. His gaze was complicated and unreadable, and his voice came out hoarse and torn from thirst and shock:

"Uchiha... Itachi!?"

Uchiha Itachi didn't waste a single word. His gaze, still as an ancient well, swept once over Kakashi's wretched state, and then a gleam flashed at his fingertips.

"Swish, swish!"

A kunai precisely severed the Wood Release branches binding Kakashi's limbs.

Robbed of his support, Kakashi grunted and pitched forward.

Uchiha Itachi stepped half a pace forward and steadied the swaying Kakashi with one hand.

He lowered his head and looked over the severed Wood Release remnants, which still writhed and gave off a strange vitality. His low voice carried a heavy note:

"It seems you ran into a rather troublesome opponent, Mr. Kakashi."

"This Wood Release..."

"It's like a beacon left on purpose, releasing Chakra outward at regular intervals."

Uchiha Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, seeing through it clearly:

"Clearly, their goal wasn't simply to hold you here."

"He's waiting."

"Waiting for someone capable of sensing this Chakra to walk right into his hands."

"Cough, cough, cough..."

Kakashi clutched Itachi's arm hard and gasped for breath.

The burning agony in his lungs made his vision go dark, but he bit down on his tongue and used the pain to force himself to stay conscious.

He stared fixedly at Itachi's profile and squeezed out terrifying intelligence in fragments:

"Uchiha..."

"In this world, there's another Uchiha..."

"He has awakened... the Mangekyou Sharingan."

"And..."

"He has most likely... already become the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki..."

Uchiha Itachi: !?

The instant he received the intelligence, the shock finally showed on Uchiha Itachi's usually unruffled face.

The Mangekyou Sharingan?

And...

The Nine-Tails' jinchuriki?

How could that be?

"What... is his name?"

For the first time, Uchiha Itachi's breathing quickened, his mind racing to search for any possible lead.

But before Hatake Kakashi could answer, an overwhelming wave of Chakra abruptly blanketed the small space.

Then a voice like a vengeful ghost came drifting from directly behind Uchiha Itachi:

"Yo, long time no see..."

"Big Brother Itachi."

Uchiha Itachi: !!!