Where the Wind Blows

Chrysanthemums

The funeral service was bigger than we'd anticipated. We weren't from a main branch of the clan, but Fugaku and Mikoto arrived, which made the event a big deal.

I held my mothers hand throughout the ceremony. Her grief seemed beyond words.

I had taken a chrysanthemum from the bouquet I placed on his grave. I would make a resin necklace of it, to preserve it forever. 

"Chin up, my dear," I heard my grandmother say, "They're all watching you."

I didn't shed a tear during the ceremony- by this point I had just about cried all the tears my body could make.

"I'm going to be Itachi's wife," I whispered back to her. "I know how to be cold."

Fugaku and Mikoto seemed sincere with their grief. They spoke to me and my family, but I knew there was something else on their minds.

The wedding. 

It bothered me more than anything when adults acted as if I couldn't understand them, so I went up to them.

"My schedule is practically the same as Itachi's. I don't think it would be too difficult to find a time for us to bind the promise-"

Mikoto's eyes widened. She hadn't expected me to be so direct, but I was tired.

"We wouldn't ask you to do it so soon. We understand that this is a difficult time-"

"No, It's alright." I gave her the most sincere smile I could muster. "I think it would be good to get my mind off of things. Soon I'll be busy picking up extra missions..."

The last sentence hung in the air. They knew that I'd be doing everything now that my father was gone. Things would be getting difficult- my mother went on missions, but she wasn't paid much. I didn't fail to notice the bottles of alcohol filling up our kitchen. 

We agreed on a date, and I noticed a little someone hiding behind Mikoto's legs.

"Sasuke," I smiled.

"Hi Mira!" He looked at Itachi, who was standing farther away with Shisui, before continuing. " Is it true?"

"Is...Is what true?"

 I wish he would stay this age forever. You grow up quickly enough being a Shinobi, but as an Uchiha- forget it. I was around his age when I first met Itachi...

"You're gonna be my sister!" He was so excited, I was sure he would have hugged me if not for Fugaku's glare. 

"Oh," I blushed. "Yes- when I'm older and marry Itachi, I'll be your sister in law."

"Then you'll have no excuses! You have to teach me all the Jutsu you know!"

I poked him in the forehead. "We'll see. I need to go see your brother."

With a grumble and glare, I walked over to Itachi and Shisui. This is the first time we had all been together that wasn't a high stake mission. 

"This ceremonies beginning to drag on," I said.

They both turned to look at me.

"Your father was an extraordinary man, Mira. He went out the way of a true Shinobi," said Shisui gently.

"That's what I keep getting told. But I'm not so sure. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't angry. That's all I'm feeling right now. I know you have trained your brain to accept death, Shisui, but I haven't. The people who live are the ones that suffer more than those that leave us."

The air turned cold around us. 

"People's lives don't end when they die. It ends when they lose faith," Itachi said.