Where the Wind Blows

The Space Between Us

"Your wife?" asked Kisame, but I'm sure Serin was thinking it too. 

"Kisame," Itachi said, which was a warning for him to leave.

"The objective is still Samehada, Serin. You got this," I smiled.

"Don't tell me you're gonna do something stupid and get yourself killed," she said sternly. 

"I don't know," I said truthfully. "If anything happens to me, protect the swords, and take Tsuki."

The air seemed to chill.

"You don't need me, Serin. Never have. You'll be fine."

We looked at each other, for a final time.

She knew I'd never been able to shake off my past. Itachi and I were connected.

Tsuki usually hung out in her backpack, so with a nod, her and Kisame were off.

"That seemed like a real goodbye," said Itachi. "Do you think I'm going to kill you?"

"You can't and you won't," I said simply. "You know, after all these years, I'm still really happy to see you. I've been looking for you a long time- ever since I saw Sasuke a couple of years ago." 

It felt like I wasn't really looking at him. He was wearing a long dark cloak, with red clouds on it, and the bags under his eyes were terrible. Still...I thought he was beautiful. 

I motioned for him to come closer, and he did. 

I traced the bags under his eyes gently, before putting my hand on his face.

"Itachi," I said sadly. "What has the village made of you? You killed our clan..."

"It was an order," he said. "The coup was going to happen, you were gone, and Shisui's last words asked to protect the village at all costs."

"You're a genius, Itachi. There could have been another solution, if you had thought about it longer." There wasn't any judgment in my voice, it was just a fact. I felt really sorry for Itachi, having to carry his burden in silence. 

"There could have," he said simply. 

There was a pause. He knew what I was going to ask next.

"What did my mother look like before you killed her?"

"She was asleep."

I almost wanted to laugh. 

If that was the case, I didn't regret leaving the village at all.

"Of course," I said. "Of course..."

I saw it play out like a movie in my head. My grandmother accepting death with open arms, and my mother curled up like a child. Itachi coming in. Him being quick, and efficient. I saw it all very clearly. 

He snapped me out of my thoughts.

"You never wrote to me," he said. 

What?

"I didn't realize you wanted me to. I'm sorry, Itachi. By the time I had gotten over my grief, we've become what we are now."

Rogue ninjas. Criminals. People no more than their bingo book prices. 

People forcing their way into the world.

"What are you doing, attacking the Sand? Why is any of that important?"

"I could ask the same for you and killing the Swordsmen of the Mist. The Akatsuki was a way out."

He explained that he could still see Sasuke, and the Lord Third knew the truth behind everything. It felt nice, knowing that he knew all along.

A lot of things were unspoken between us. All I wanted to know about was what the village was like when I left, but all the nations were about to go to war. 

Itachi and I knew everything about each other. It had been as if we saw each other just a week ago. 

We had begun to walk together during our talking, and I held his hand.

"You picked Shisui, the night he died," he said.

"I did."

"Is it because you knew he was going to die?"

The question hung in the air.

"Yes," I said quietly. "I wanted him to die knowing he was loved. I would have chosen him if he wouldn't have died...It just would have been at a different time. Shisui was one of a kind."

Shisui- the pain that linked me to Itachi.

"I need a drink," said Itachi, to my surprise.

"Me too," I said, and still holding hands, we went to the first bar we saw.

We reminisced, talked about "what ifs", and finally got a chance to be with each other, without any underlying reason. No forced marriage, no Shisui, and no guilt.

We walked out, his arm over my shoulder, laughing like children.

"I love you Mira. I always have- even if I wasn't drunk right now, I'd say it."

His face (and I'm sure my face too) was bright red, and his eyes made him look sleepy. 

"That is such bull. You'd be giving me one of those Itachi glares, and then would say it quietly so I would wonder if you even said it. But you know what? I love you too. And it doesn't matter if you get annoying and quiet sometimes."

I couldn't see the both of us, but I'm sure we looked happy.

I certainly felt it.

-

The next morning, I woke up with Itachi's arm slung over my waist.

I didn't remember what happened last night very clearly, but it seemed like things went well. I knew I shouldn't have drank all that Sake, but Itachi was drinking too, and I knew he didn't want to admit it, but we were both lightweights. 

Itachi...Seeing him like this would have been the biggest shock to a young Mira.

I would have loved Itachi if he was actually my husband. We complimented each other well. We might have had had children.

I would have been the happiest person with him.

I would have been the happiest person with him or Shisui, and I knew I was ending with neither of them. I wondered if he could hear my heart shattering.

"Mira," he said, and his grip tightened on my waist. 

How long had he been awake?

"Just say it," I said coldly. 

The confirmation. The quiet before the storm- this was it. 

"I'm dying," he said quietly. 

I turned to face him. 

"I know."

Silence. What a monstrous thing.

"I have a favor to ask, before I go."

A tear slipped down my cheek.

"Anything, for you."

"Protect Sasuke," he said, and I nodded. 

We stayed like this for a long time- his warm, protective body holding mine, birds chirping, and a stillness that made the room cold. But a long morning with him was nothing next to eternity without him.