Otanjōbi
Uchiha Mikoto stood still as her oldest son held the katana toward hers and her husband's back. She could feel his sadness, suffocating him, and could imagine the tears streaming from his cheeks. Mikoto wanted to comfort her son. She wanted to hold him in her arms as if he was a newborn infant again, innocent and in awe of the beautiful world. Beautiful? The female Uchiha almost laughed at herself from the choice of her words. How is this world beautiful if it forced my son, my precious and peaceful son, to slaughter his entire clan? And Sasuke… Mikoto wouldn't allow herself to cry. It was just as what Fugaku had said.
"Our pain will be over in an instant." She felt grieved and ashamed that she had come from such a self-serving and hatred-fueled clan. The Uchiha genes run deep in him, I know. Sasuke would never know of how his father talked him his youngest with pride, or of how she had seen him train from afar and could see someone else's eyes. I could see of how he yearns after Itachi, and at the same time despises him for succeeding when he failed. Mikoto thought of her late younger sister, who had died far too young after giving birth to a son.
I am grateful she did not live to see the day when her son died. Many people born outside of the Uchiha clan didn't know that there had been a rift between the Uchiha clan and the younger sister of the wife of the clan head for marrying outside of the clan. "The Uchiha blood will run thin in their offspring, bringing shame on our proud clan." The elders in the clan would not listen to Mikoto's pleads to take the young infant Obito as her own after his mother and father met their untimely deaths. "You are the wife of our clan leader, Uchiha Mikoto. If you continue to stain the pure blood of the Uchiha by this act, it will reflect on your husband as well. Do you understand?" Mikoto had nodded and gritted her teeth, bowing to the elders despite having the urge to beat them to a pulp. As she exited the building, the young wife allowed herself to cry as her Sharingan glowed in the darkness. …Which is why I know my youngest son will succumb to the Curse of Hatred. It inflamed my father and my older brother…and soon its blood-soaked sword will cleave another generation.
Mikoto stared ahead, thinking of the times when she had been young, the world bright with hope and friendship as she chased after her teammates, Kushina and Minato. Kushina… The kunoichi thought of her beloved friend. She would be furious with me, and beat me until I regained my senses. It had been almost seven years since her death, and Mikoto still longed for her dear friend and her former teammate. Although her husband and the elders did not approve, Mikoto would always visit Kushina's and Minato's graves on the anniversary of their deaths and on their birthdays. Some days she would cry. "You damn Uchiha! How is it that you're stronger than Minato? He's the oldest of us, so he should be the strongest!"
There were times when Mikoto wondered why both of her friends had died that day. Why their only son had been orphaned. The memories of when they both were young were at times too much for the dark-haired woman to handle, so she often stared into the window of her friend's son's apartment, wondering what he life could have been like if she had been brave enough to defy her clan and raise the only living reminder of her friends in her house. We Uchiha would not forgive that poor boy for something he had no control over, Mikoto told herself every time as she walked into the Uchiha district, politely nodding and greeting her clan members. Someone young in our clan would kill him…and I cannot promise that I would strike him dead before his weapon lowered to the ground.
She understood that Kushina and Minato would likely not forgive her for abandoning her son, but she believed that someday, Kushina's prediction would come true. Please be a good friend to my son, Naruto. She thought about the time when she told Kushina that she had made jōnin rank at age fifteen. The redhead had briefly shouted excited congratulations before she had realized what her friend had said. Immediately her gray eyes darkened, and her hair started to rise. "It's not fair! How come you and Minato get to be jōnin before me? It's not fair!"
Mikoto remembered a childish giggle escaping from her mouth when she saw Minato desperately trying to restrain Kushina from hurting their teammate. She remembered too, their sensei smiling proudly at them. The kind and diligent sensei that had taught them so much died during the first days of the Third Shinobi World War. The Uchiha remembered when she had told Kushina that she was going to be married to the clan head, a man she had only seen from afar and didn't love. Tears had been shed by both of them, and Kushina had vowed that she would kill whoever had arranged her marriage with the elusive clan head. "All I know is…that he is five years older than us, and is also a jōnin."
Mikoto had wanted to be a kunoichi longer before she was forced to be married and have children, but the elders were firm. "We have given you a long time to assist in the prosperity of Konohagakure and the pride of the Uchiha clan. You are young, and the clan head needs an heir. Besides, isn't that Obito you were so concerned about…a shinobi now? You should give him a chance, Uchiha Mikoto." The marriage was held when she was twenty-two years old and in October. The fall leaves littered the ground and the moon shined overhead with the clan in attendance. Kushina had wanted to come as well, but Mikoto had refused. "If you are there, I might do something I regret." Mikoto had met her husband that night. He told her that his name was Uchiha Fugaku, and that he appreciated her as his wife. If I cannot love him…then I could at least care for him.
Mikoto did care for Fugaku. He was a strong shinobi, and determined to bring pride to the Uchiha name. She respected him. She cared for him. However…she could not love him. When her sons were born, she silently whispered in their ears that she hoped that they would be able to feel the love that she had not been able to have. Itachi had been a quiet child, more so after witnessing numerous deaths during the war. It was around that time that he had started to distance himself and focused more intently on his skills as a shinobi. Although her oldest son was distant to her and almost never spoke to her unless needed to, Mikoto knew that she loved her son.
Sasuke was her world. He was an innocent and adorable child, who was happy to spend time with her before he had entered the Academy. When it had just been the two of them in the house, Mikoto spent as much time with her youngest as she could, for she knew that he idolized his older brother and wanted to become just like him. Mikoto had told him many times that her youngest should just be himself, but his self-esteem and worth dropped every time when he was compared to Itachi. Mikoto understood that the clan didn't see the disappointment and longing on her child's face, but grew angry every time when she heard only Itachi's name mentioned during the clan meetings.
It is as if Sasuke doesn't exist, Mikoto had thought sadly when she had found Sasuke near collapse after hours of training. They see him as a mere reflection of his brother, nothing more. Mikoto had caressed Sasuke's hair, noting of alike it was to the legendary Uchiha Madara, her ancestor. You will become strong. I know you will…because you are my son. You…would have gotten along with your aunt, Sasuke. I was her older sister, and yet I didn't notice the jealousy aimed towards me until I was a jōnin. She thought that I thought of her as inferior for not being able to pass the exam despite only being two years apart…and the elders too could only see my older brother and I…not Uchiha Yumi. I…dearly loved my younger sister, and it was only when she died that she told me that she was proud of me, and that she understood me.
When she had watched her sons play, Mikoto was reminded of her younger sister and of the people she had known who had passed on. She hoped that someday, her sons would find bright light in the darkness just as she did.
Uchiha Mikoto did not feel sadness as she felt the blade pierce into her flesh. She felt calm and peaceful, knowing very well that very few shinobi and kunoichi felt peace upon their deaths.
"Itachi…" Mikoto murmured as blood clogged in her throat. I…have to… Against the agony in her mind, she turned her head towards her eldest son and smiled. Mikoto could see his tears running down his face, and wanted to hold him one last time. She did not cry. "Otanjōbi," she breathed as her last words were whispered on her lips.