Where the Wind Blows

How not to Comfort Someone

Sometimes, training really sucked. 

I was sweating like a pig,  my curly hair that was already unmanageable, was completely out of control, and my face was red.

To make things worse, I was training with Itachi, who looked like he'd barely broken a sweat. 

I took a sip of my water and got back to work. We'd both awakened our Sharingan, and were gonna be graduating from the academy soon. There wasn't time to waste.

We'd barely noticed the sun coming down, when Auntie Hae, Shisui's mother, passed by, looking upset. 

I glanced at Itachi, and wiped sweat off my forehead before greeting her.

"Good afternoon Auntie Hae- Is everything alright?"

Her brows were snapped together, and the lines decorating her face seemed deeper than ever. What the hell was happening?

"What? Oh! There's nothing the matter my dear." 

Something was clearly the matter. I hated it when people weren't direct with what they were saying.

"I just...If it wouldn't trouble you, I think Shisui could use a friend right now," she admitted.

"We were heading there already," said Itachi, to my surprise.

I knew how to get to Shisui's house by heart, and had no trouble leading, but wanted to take it slow so I could mentally prepare myself for what was to come. 

"You seem nervous," observed Itachi.

I blushed. More out of embarrassment than anything, but you would too if one of the people closest to you could practically read your every thought.

I didn't want to seem weak in front of him, and I had a hard time being vulnerable with him because of that. I wanted Itachi to see me as an equal, and while I knew he did, I wanted to be absolutely sure of it. Sometimes I swore he was looking at me differently, but couldn't put my finger on what the look meant.

 "Well...sort of. Shisui just got back from a mission, and I haven't seen him yet. She seemed really bothered by whatever happened..."

Shisui's life wasn't perfect. I suspected his dad was an alcoholic, after losing his leg in the third shinobi war. His mother was nice, but always seemed to have a foggy look about her, that made it seem as though she wasn't all there. 

He didn't like mentioning it to me, as he never wanted to worry me.

But this time would be different. He was always there to hear my worries, and above all; was my best friend. I would prove that I could take and help him with whatever he was struggling with. 

I decided to get some baked goods before stopping by, which could be seen as stalling, but also me being considerate of a friend. (Did I mention stalling?)

I knocked on the door, and was greeted with silence. 

As someone who always jumps to the worst, I was starting to convince myself that Shisui died, which made no sense, as Hae sent me there to comfort him, which I obviously couldn't do if he was dead.

"He might be training," suggested Itachi, dragging me out of my thoughts. You could always count on him to be the voice of reason.

As my heart rate started dropping down to normal, I nodded, and followed Itachi to the training grounds, where Shisui was sharpening his blades distractedly.

"Hey," I said. I was going for a sympathetic tone, but it sounded serious, and out of character. Shisui and I weren't usually serious together, but it was enough to pull him out of his thoughts and look at me.

"Mira," He said with a sad smile. He glanced at my basket filled with treats, and then at Itachi. "Itachi too? What brings you guys here?"

Not knowing how to comfort someone, I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed.

"Whatever you're going through Shisui, we're here for you," I said.

He laughed. It was sad and hollow, one that you only experience in grief. 

I looked right at him, needing him to know there was no hesitation in my loyalty- when I saw it.

I grabbed his face to get a better look, and almost pushed him back when I saw his eyes.

"That- that Sharingan," I choked out.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan," said Itachi, who was looking at Shisui with an expression only he could decipher.

"What happened on your mission?" I'd only heard tales of the Mangekyo Sharingan. It was something that was thrown around, that I could maybe achieve if I worked hard. People in our clan have thrown their lives away trying to get it, and here he was, not even ten years old, with those cursed eyes. "Shisui-"

I gasped as he grabbed my arm, delicately tracing the bruises that covered them from my training.

"I can't protect my teammates, and I especially can't protect you," he said. 

What did he mean? Protect me? I didn't need protection. This didn't sound like Shisui at all. I was starting to get worried.

"It isn't your job to protect everyone. No matter how many times people tell you it is," I said gently. 

I might as well not have said anything, because he was looking at Itachi, who looked less bruised than I was, but still rough from our training.

"Did you do this to her?" 

He thought Itachi beat me up as a warm up? I didn't know whether to be insulted or embarrassed. Definitely a mix of the two.

"Shisui," I said firmly. "You know Itachi wouldn't do anything like that. We ran into each other while we were training, that's all."

Why did I feel the need to keep my training with Itachi a secret? I thought Shisui would have figured it out by now, and Itachi never said to tell him...So why did I feel guilty all of a sudden?

"I'm asking him," This is the first time I'd ever seen Shisui upset, and it was freaking me out. "Did you do this to her?"

"No, I didn't," said Itachi, without skipping a beat. He seemed tense. I don't think he would have hesitated to fight Shisui if he needed to, but neither actually wanted to fight.

Shisui sighed. A long sigh, that he'd probably been trying to get out all day. He sat on a stump of a tree and rubbed his eyes.

"I know you guys are just trying to help, and I'm sorry. I appreciate what you guys are doing. But there's nothing to be worried about." His sad smile was back, and we sat with him for what felt like a long time, but couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes. 

Itachi signaled that we should be leaving, and with a final hug, we were off.

When we were far enough away, I felt myself laughing.

"Was I really that bad at comforting him, that he thought the next best thing was to pick a fight with you? And how bad of a ninja am I that he thought I couldn't take you on?"

Now it was Itachi's turn to laugh, but only for a moment, before returning to his mask of seriousness.

"Losing a comrade is part of being a shinobi," he said. I stayed quiet, as the day was now completely dark, except for the streetlights around town. 

Itachi surprised me by grabbing my arm, looking over the bruises like Shisui did.

It was times like this where he made me nervous. It wasn't most of the time, and we had actually gotten closer due to training, but I couldn't deny it.

"What a lovely couple," I heard an Uchiha elder say as we walked past.

I immediately moved my arm away from Itachi, but I knew he would have continued to hold it if I hadn't,

"We have to be there for Shisui," I said.

"I know," responded Itachi.