After finishing lunch, Mikoto seemed to have a good appetite.
One bowl of rice wasn't enough, so she added half a spoonful more.
Ayari, however, barely touched her chopsticks and quietly watched Mikoto enjoying her meal.
"What's wrong? No appetite?" Mikoto found her behavior a bit strange and glanced at the dishes on the table, thinking they shouldn't be something Ayari disliked.
"...I just don't feel like eating."
Mikoto seemed thoughtful.
At that moment, Ayari suddenly stood up. "I just remembered something at home. I need to go."
"Oh, okay." Mikoto stood up to see her off.
Ayari's attitude took a complete 180-degree turn from when she had arrived.
She barely looked at Mikoto, walked to the door, put on her shoes, and left.
The living room was left with just Mikoto.
The food on the dining table was still unfinished, and there was a water basin and mop by the door to the side room, presumably for cleaning after lunch.
Ayari's sudden change couldn't help but make Mikoto feel uneasy.
She walked into her room.
The floor was only half-cleaned, but the trash bin seemed to have been tampered with.
Mikoto suddenly remembered something.
No wonder Ayari had asked her those questions earlier...
She had thought Ayari was just being curious.
Realizing this now, she sat down on the bed, lost in thought, and gave a bitter smile.
After leaving Mikoto's place, Ayari didn't go straight home but instead went to Kushina's.
She didn't even know why she came here.
When Kushina opened the door, Ayari hadn't even thought of what to say.
Kushina looked at her in surprise. "Ayari? What brings you here?"
"I..." Ayari opened her mouth but couldn't find any words, simply staring at her blankly.
Kushina asked again, "Have you eaten?"
"..."
Ayari caught the scent of food wafting from inside — it was lunchtime after all.
She lowered her head, turned around, and said to herself, "It's nothing. Sorry to bother you, I'm leaving."
Flustered and uneasy the whole way back, she wasn't even sure how she got home.
Ayari fell ill.
After returning home, she lay on the bed, slipping into unconsciousness.
When Ayano found her, her forehead was burning, and she was drenched in sweat.
Terrified, Ayano hurriedly sent someone to call for a doctor and informed Makoto.
When Ayari hazily woke up, she saw Makoto sitting by her bedside, keeping watch.
A needle was inserted into the back of her hand, connected to an IV drip.
"Ayari."
Seeing her awake, Makoto immediately leaned in with concern. "How do you feel? Still uncomfortable?"
Ayari lightly pressed her forehead and simply asked, "Where's Neji?"
"I'll go get him."
Makoto quickly went to the nursery, brought their son back, and placed him by Ayari's side.
Ayari turned on her side to look at her son and calmly said, "You can go. Let me rest for a while."
"...Alright, just call me if you need anything."
Makoto left the bedroom, and Ayano approached with worry. "Is she awake?"
"Yeah..."
"How is she now?"
Makoto could only say, "Let her rest properly for now."
The doctor had said it was just a high fever and that her body was fine.
She just needed to wait for the fever to subside and rest well.
The cause of the illness remained unclear.
Makoto stayed home all day, not going anywhere.
He took care of Ayari, changed her medication, and removed the IV.
During dinner, Neji started fussing again.
Makoto asked Natsu to take the child out while he brought dinner into the room.
"I'm not hungry. I don't want to eat," Ayari said, her back turned to him.
After some thought, Makoto placed the food on the side table, took off his coat, and lifted the blanket to crawl into bed.
"What are you doing?" Ayari frowned at him, looking extremely displeased.
Makoto said, "I want to hold you."
"Get out. Don't bother me."
Makoto firmly pulled Ayari into his embrace.
She struggled a few times but soon quieted down.
However, this silence made Makoto uneasy.
He could handle Ayari throwing a tantrum, but now she refused to say anything after falling seriously ill.
He spoke softly, "Ayari."
"...Mm."
Ayari lay in his arms, her back pressed tightly against his chest, with his chin resting on her head.
"Can I sleep here tonight?"
"..."
He felt Ayari's chest heave violently.
"Suit yourself."
Just then, Neji's cries suddenly echoed from the living room, along with Natsu's voice trying to comfort him.
Ayari tried to get up, but Makoto held her tightly.
"It's fine. Let Natsu handle it. He'll stop crying in a bit," Makoto said.
Sure enough, after a while, the crying gradually subsided.
Ayari spoke up, "What are you planning to do about them—the mother and son?"
Makoto's expression shifted slightly.
Clearly, Ayari had already figured everything out.
"I'll let them stay, and I'll take responsibility for raising the child."
Ayari asked, "You don't want to bring them over here?"
Makoto was both surprised and a bit embarrassed by her words. "Can I?"
Ayari sneered, "Just do whatever you want. Why ask for my opinion? Can I stop you?"
Her words were filled with sarcasm, leaving Makoto with an awkward smile.
Ayari continued, "Do you even realize what kind of consequences this could have if word gets out?"
Makoto said calmly, "I'll handle it."
"You'd better handle it well. I don't want my son to grow up with a father who's scorned and ridiculed as a worthless scumbag."
"..."
Her willingness to say this was already a compromise.
The internal struggle she must have gone through was clear, yet she still chose this path in the end.
Ayari suddenly asked, "Tell me, did you have personal motives when you transferred Fugaku?"
Makoto hesitated. "...Sort of."
"And what about Minato?"
Makoto froze, Why was Kushina suddenly being brought into this?
He awkwardly asked, "What about Minato?"
Ayari turned to glare at him furiously. "Don't play dumb with me. Do you have any feelings for Kushina?"
"Uh..."
Ayari pressed on, "Did you touch her?"
"..."
"You bastard!"
Ayari finally couldn't hold back her rage.
She opened her mouth, aiming to bite him.
Makoto quickly extended his hand, which she grabbed and bit down on viciously.
"Hiss—"
Makoto sucked in a sharp breath.
Still, getting his hand bitten was better than his face.
When Ayari finally let go, a row of bleeding teeth marks was left on the web of Makoto's left hand.
Gasping for breath, Ayari fumed, "Having my sister wasn't enough for you? I only have two good friends, and you won't even spare them! Do you only target the people around me?"
Makoto hurriedly explained, "It's just a coincidence."
"Coincidence, my ass! I'm going to castrate you right now!"
Ayari struggled to get up from the bed, but Makoto pinned her down again.
"Calm down! This is about your happiness for the rest of your life."
"My happiness was already ruined by that thing! I'm cutting it off for good!"
"Let me go! Natsu, bring me a knife!"
They tussled on the bed for a while.
Ayari, still weak from her illness, soon ran out of strength and collapsed in Makoto's arms, panting heavily.
"You bastard, leave me alone. I don't want to see you."
"Didn't you say I could sleep here tonight?"
"I've changed my mind. Get out. Get lost..."
Outside the door, Natsu, having put Neji to sleep, leaned against the bedroom door, intently listening to the commotion inside.
What had started as a scuffle gradually turned into something... different.
Slap!
Natsu suddenly got smacked on the head.
She turned to see Ayano staring at her.
Ayano scolded softly, "What are you eavesdropping for? Didn't Lord Hokage already teach you better?"
Natsu just stuck out her tongue, blushing furiously, and walked away.
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