Dinner at the Main House

Kiyoshi stood outside the main house with a lunch box in hand and knocked on the door.

Mikoto had sent the lunch box home with him the day before yesterday, saying she had packed too much for him to finish alone. He actually could have finished it, but she had already pushed the box into his hands.

He had never intended to refuse anyway.

The door opened.

Mikoto stood behind it. Seeing the lunch box in Kiyoshi's hand, she smiled. "Here to return the lunch box?"

"Yes."

"Come in."

Kiyoshi changed his shoes and entered. As soon as he stepped into the living room, he paused.

There were people inside.

Uchiha Fugaku sat beside the low table with a cup of tea in his hand and a document in front of him, apparently reading some sort of report.

He wore dark house clothes without his clan leader's haori, but that presence wasn't something a change of clothes could hide.

Itachi sat across from him, turning the pages of a book.

Kiyoshi counted silently: the clan leader, the prodigy, and Sasuke doing homework in his room.

The Uchiha main family, all present.

Keeping his face blank, he walked in and set the lunch box beside the coffee table. "Auntie, here's your lunch box."

"Just leave it there." Mikoto poked her head out of the kitchen. "Find somewhere to sit. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Okay, Auntie Mikoto."

Kiyoshi agreed. There was no helping it; he had already promised.

Mikoto smiled and ducked back into the kitchen, and the sound of stir-frying resumed.

The living room fell quiet for a moment.

Fugaku kept reading without looking up. Itachi turned another page, then raised his eyes to Kiyoshi.

"You're Kiyoshi?"

Kiyoshi's face stayed blank. "Yes."

"I've heard Mikoto mention you." Itachi's tone was gentle, without any airs. "She said you're good at Taijutsu."

"I'm okay."

"Just okay?"

Kiyoshi thought for a moment. "Good enough."

The corner of Itachi's mouth twitched. He didn't quite smile, but he certainly looked amused.

Fugaku looked up then and glanced at Kiyoshi.

Just once.

Kiyoshi felt as though something had scanned him from head to toe. It was the unmistakable scrutiny of a clan leader sizing someone up.

He kept his face blank, neither avoiding the gaze nor deliberately meeting it. He simply stood there as he always did.

"You're Kiyoshi?"

"Yes."

Fugaku said nothing more and lowered his head to continue reading.

Kiyoshi sat down beside the low table, expressionless, with his back straight, neither slouching nor leaning against anything.

Mikoto brought a dish out of the kitchen. Seeing where he had seated himself, she smiled. "Kiyoshi, why are you sitting so far away? Come closer."

Kiyoshi shuffled five centimeters closer.

Mikoto said, "...A little closer."

Kiyoshi shuffled another ten centimeters closer.

Mikoto shook her head with a smile and didn't insist. She set the dish on the table and returned to the kitchen.

Kiyoshi sat upright, looking straight ahead, which happened to put Itachi's book in his line of sight.

Its title was Ninja Tool Maintenance and Practical Applications.

A prodigy reads this stuff? I thought he'd be reading Advanced Fire Release Theory or Sharingan Research or something. Instead, it's a first-year Ninja Academy textbook.

Noticing his gaze, Itachi closed the book and set it aside. "Are you interested in ninja tools?"

"A little."

"Want to take a look?"

"No, thanks."

The conversation ended.

He sat there and lightly tapped his knee twice with his fingers. He didn't even notice himself doing it.

Mikoto brought out another dish, then a third, then a fourth.

Kiyoshi watched the dishes gradually fill the table.

Auntie, are you making a New Year's Eve feast? Six dishes for four people. Yesterday you said you'd packed too much for me to finish, and today you're making all this. Are you sure you're not just craving it yourself?

Sasuke came out of his room.

He walked into the living room and froze when he saw Kiyoshi. "What are you doing here?"

"Returning the lunch box."

"Returned it yet?"

"Yes."

"Then why haven't you left?"

Mikoto poked her head out of the kitchen. "Sasuke, Kiyoshi is staying for dinner. Don't chase him away."

Sasuke frowned but said nothing more, taking a seat at the table.

I said you could come, and you actually came! Sasuke grumbled inwardly.

He sat directly opposite Kiyoshi, and the two exchanged a glance across the table.

Sasuke went, "Hmph."

Kiyoshi went, "Mm."

They both looked away at the same time.

Mikoto brought out the final dish, removed her apron, and sat beside Fugaku. "All right, let's eat."

Fugaku put down the document and picked up his chopsticks.

Kiyoshi noticed that before picking them up, Fugaku glanced at the dishes on the table. His expression didn't change, but his movement paused briefly. He probably hadn't expected six dishes tonight either.

Kiyoshi picked up his chopsticks, his face blank.

For his first bite, he chose the plate of greens closest to him.

He wasn't particularly fond of greens, but that dish was farthest from the clan leader. He didn't want his chopsticks crossing any dangerous territory while reaching for food.

He took a bite and chewed without expression.

Delicious.

But I can't show it. Otherwise, I'll have to compliment her, and then I'll have to smile, and smiling will ruin my persona.

He continued eating with a blank expression.

The dinner table was very quiet.

The Uchiha Clan apparently didn't talk much during meals. Fugaku ate quietly, Itachi ate quietly, and Sasuke ate quietly, but Sasuke's chopsticks moved faster than anyone else's.

Watching how quickly Sasuke grabbed food, Kiyoshi kept his face blank and sped up too. Not because he was hungry, but because there would be nothing left if he didn't hurry.

Their chopsticks clashed silently across the table.

Sasuke took a piece of braised pork, and Kiyoshi took a piece of braised pork.

Sasuke took some scrambled eggs, and Kiyoshi took some scrambled eggs too.

Sasuke glared at him. Kiyoshi chewed expressionlessly and pretended not to notice.

Watching them, Mikoto smiled. "Eat more, Kiyoshi. You're still growing."

"Okay."

Fugaku spoke then. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone fell silent for a moment. "Kiyoshi, how are your grades at the Ninja Academy?"

Kiyoshi's chopsticks didn't stop. He took a piece of meat, chewed, swallowed, and only then answered, "They're okay."

"In what subjects?"

"About the same as Sasuke's, I guess."

Fugaku glanced at him and didn't press further.

Why ask that? Checking whether I'm good enough to be friends with his son? Or whether I'm someone worth nurturing?

I didn't want to get involved with you this soon anyway, but your eldest son was in too much of a hurry!

He continued eating without expression.

Itachi spoke in a gentle tone. "Kiyoshi, do you want to become a ninja someday?"

Kiyoshi finished chewing his rice. "Yes."

"Why?"

"To stay alive."

Itachi paused, then smiled faintly, as though genuinely amused. "To stay alive?"

"Yes. Stay alive, then do what I want to do."

Itachi said nothing more, but the smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.

Fugaku glanced at Itachi, then at Kiyoshi, looking a little nostalgic.

Did I just say too much? "Stay alive, then do what I want to do" sounds way too much like an ambitious young man.

My persona is a deadpan slacker, not a hot-blooded youth. I'm done for. They definitely think I have some grand ambition now.

Keeping his face blank, he picked up a piece of meat and stuffed it into his mouth.

Chew.

Expressionless.

Good. My poker face is still intact.

Halfway through the meal, Mikoto brought out a bowl of soup and placed it in front of Kiyoshi. "Kiyoshi, have some soup."

"Thank you, Auntie."

He lowered his head and took a sip.

Hot.

Very hot.

But he kept his face blank and didn't spit it out, slowly swallowing instead. His expression didn't budge, as though he had just drunk room-temperature water rather than soup fresh off the stove.

Hot. Hot. Auntie, this soup just came off the stove. Why didn't you tell me? Is my tongue still there? Yes, it is.

No, I can't spit it out. That would ruin everything. Swallow. Pretend nothing happened.

He set the bowl down without expression, took a bite of food, and chewed, confirming that his tongue was still there.

Tongue's still there. Taste buds are temporarily offline, though.

He continued eating with a blank face and didn't touch the soup again.

After a while, Mikoto asked, "Is the soup good?"

Kiyoshi's face stayed blank. "It's good."

"Then have some more."

Kiyoshi glanced down at the steaming bowl and remained silent for two seconds. "...Once it cools a little."

Mikoto smiled, thinking nothing of it.