Mikoto's Eyes Open (Seeking Reads, Seeking Collections!)

"Just now I was thinking about the clan meeting," Qingguang said, a hint of apology on his face.

"What were you saying before that?"

Stopping in her tracks, Mikoto walked up to Qingguang, hands on her hips, her delicate, willow-leaf brows furrowed with emotion.

"I said, can't you, senpai, stop filling your head with nothing but training, missions, the clan, and the village?"

"Don't you have even a little, just a little time to rest for yourself, to stop and catch your breath?"

At this moment, Mikoto finally voiced the words she had long held in her heart, wanting to say but never able to.

She'd promised to go with him to the new Dumpling Shop in the village, but they'd never gone.

She'd asked him to guide her training, but he kept putting it off, promising next week, then at least the week after that.

Even now, walking her senpai home, if he'd just slow down a little and take in the changes in the clan grounds over the years, Qingguang's mind was still on those things.

She might feel a bit angry and disappointed by his behavior, but she could also understand his difficulties.

But what made her most angry wasn't that he often neglected her.

It was that he gave himself no time to rest at all, treating himself like an emotionless machine, never considering his own well-being.

"Sorry, Mikoto, I can't do that." In response to her questioning, Qingguang just shook his head slightly, took her hand, and continued walking along the street.

"That's Brother Yashiro's house, right? I remember there weren't those two willow trees in front of the door before. Brother Yashiro said he wanted to plant two trees by his door so he could enjoy the shade in summer."

"That's Brother Inabi and Brother Tekka's house. When we were kids, they'd call me over whenever their family made something good to eat. They even pushed me off the swing once."

"That's Sister Jing's house. Brother Tensho has had a crush on her for ages. I wonder when he'll confess. He doesn't even know she likes him too. I hope they get together soon."

One by one, as Qingguang passed each door, he could point out whose home it was.

Mikoto could feel the warmth of Qingguang's hand and the genuine gratitude in his words.

Her small hand gripped his tightly, afraid of being shaken off.

Until they reached the front of her own home, the small yard in the woods.

They stopped there.

"This is my home, the one my parents left me. I never met them, but through their belongings—the table, chairs, cabinets, books—I've dreamed of what their life was like."

"I was unlucky, born without parents."

"But I was also lucky, to have the love of everyone in the clan."

Qingguang looked down at Mikoto's face, slowly raising his hand.

Mikoto's heart began to pound, thumping faster and faster.

Senpai, what is senpai doing? Is he going to confess to me!?

But, but I'm not ready yet! This, this is too sudden!

In the end, Qingguang just curled his fingers and gently tapped her on the nose.

"Mikoto, I like you."

!!!

Senpai Qingguang actually confessed to me, confessed!

I, I, I, am I dreaming!

"It's not just you. Uncle Shifang, Brother Yashiro, Brother Inabi, Brother Tekka—everyone is family that I like and deeply love."

When the second half of the sentence came out, the anticipation that had risen in Mikoto's heart suddenly fell flat.

So, it's the same kind of like as everyone else...

But I, I'm clearly different from others. My feelings for you aren't just family affection. It's the kind of like that wants to become your family!

After all this time, haven't you noticed that yet?

What an idiot, a complete idiot!

Mikoto wrenched her hand free from Qingguang's, spun around, and ran back, shouting with a tearful voice, "Stupid senpai, I'm never talking to you again!"

This unexpected reaction left Qingguang stunned. Watching Mikoto's retreating back, he felt at a loss.

He wanted to go after her, but it seemed an invisible wall stood between them.

He just silently turned around, went home, and lay down on his bed.

How could he not feel Mikoto's feelings?

But for now, he had to find a way to cleanse himself first. He had too many buffs on him, a multi-layered spy.

One misstep, and everything could fall apart. If he took one wrong move, he could even imagine his fate.

His eyes turned into Danzo's trophy, his body sliced up by Orochimaru, his identity used by Hiruzen Sarutobi to suppress the Uchiha Clan.

That was the ninja world.

"Sorry, Mikoto. Now isn't the time."

Meanwhile, Shifang saw his daughter return home and was about to ask her something.

...she saw the crimson eyes in Mikoto's sockets, and the single magatama standing within her pupils.

"Mikoto, you..."

"I'm tired. I'm going back to sleep."

Gone was the usual gentle sweetness; her words held only loss and heartbreak.

Watching Mikoto's lonely retreating figure, Shifang's heart shuddered violently.

Could this be... Mikoto got her heart broken?

Did that kid Qingguang have another woman?

No, no. Qingguang wasn't that kind of person.

And he knew his own daughter's personality well—Mikoto wouldn't have mustered the courage to confess at a time like this.

What on earth was the reason?

Back in her room, Mikoto threw herself onto her soft, large bed, burying her face into the pillow.

Right now, she only wanted to shut out the world, to give herself a quiet place to cry.

Tears soaked her pillow and bedsheets.

She didn't know how long passed—maybe her tears had run dry, or maybe she had finally found her resolve.

She got up and walked to the mirror.

Looking at her own long, silky black hair.

Senior Qingguang once said he thought girls with long hair looked prettier, so she had kept it all this time.

But now, she could feel the vast chasm between herself and Qingguang.

Like a cliff, daunting and impossible to cross.

She picked up a kunai, stared at herself in the mirror, and swiftly swung it through.

Strands of jet-black severed hair fell to the floor.

She carefully gathered them, arranged them neatly, and stored them in a long, narrow box.

Gazing at her own crimson eyes in the mirror, she made a vow to herself.

"Senior."

"If the clan is the obstacle between us, then I'll clear away the clan's problems."

"If the village is the wall between us, then I'll knock down that wall."

"If strength is the distance between us, then I'll close that gap."

"I'll make sure Senior can live a happy and joyful life..."

In that silence, unknown to anyone, the Uchiha Clan gave birth to its greatest anomaly.

Her Sharingan was not born from hatred, nor awakened by rage.

Love was the most powerful driving force in her heart—never-ending, unshakable by anyone...