CCNote: Here we are. We've reached the end. Not only is this the end of this story but also the week of graduation for my 3rd yrs. Gah! I'm so sad on both fronts! IDK what I'm going to do next year when my favorite crop of students graduate. I'm already a weepy mess lol! Unsurprisingly 'Becoming an Uchiha' is the winner of the poll. So I'll be posting the first chapter soon. Definitely, go check it out! Thanks so much for putting up with me all this time and for reading this story all the way through to the end. I'd love to know how you felt about the story and what I can do to improve my writing for the next fic. Your feedback is invaluable.
Special thanks to: HawaiiUnnie, Anime pryncess, hinatahyuugaa, shalei, muzicaldove, WhiteGems, and MadEmpress
Shout Outs to:
Katarina-Hime: your reviews always made me smile and I think your reaction is the one I look forward to the most. Thank you!
SilverDreamsCA: You've stuck all the way through Sleeping with the Enemy and I love reading your feedback.
Shikara Gizzel: I hope I was able to answer all of your questions as this story progressed but if you have more I wasn't able to fit in don't hesitate to ask.
Maxridelover: You're the best. Thanks for always leaving a positive note.
Hima21: I'm so happy that you enjoy my writing and I hope you like my new stuff!
Rotibaker and Tayeons: I'll combine you both since the message is the same. THANK YOU! I enjoyed your analysis of my story and it made me soooooooo happy to see your last reviews. Seriously couldn't stop smiling.
Gabrielleannele: I hope this chapter doesn't make you cry too much lol. It's rather emotional. I teared up a bit writing it!
Finally thanks to all of the guest reviewers who took time out of their day just to leave a review. Those things are like liquid gold for a writer. If I didn't specifically shout someone out, know that I love you too lol. To anyone else that reads this in the future. Please enjoy!
Z is for Endings
Saturday March 31 2055 9:21am
Uchiha Main House
….
A cool spring breeze wafted through the trees and cooled the Uchiha's warm skin. It brought with it the smell of freshly cut grass and the scent of a neighbor's laundry one house over. Hajime paused briefly in his work to savor the smell. He took a deep breath in and slowly released the air through his nostrils. Days like these, when he wasn't swimming paperwork or being hounded by employees, were the ones he loved the most. His knees in the grass and soil underneath his fingertips. Hajime sighed as he returned to pulling up weeds that had sprung up the garden as soon as the first frost had passed. His wife liked to joke that in a past life he'd probably been a poor rice farmer that spent all of his days in the fields.
A not so small part of him hoped that she was right. Being a rice farmer was a much simpler life, although, he wasn't dissatisfied with the life he led now. No, the life he had now he wouldn't exchange it for all of the untilled rice paddies in Konoha. Hajime smirked as he was successfully able to pull up a particularly stubborn weed and tossed it into a black plastic bag with the others. The back door to the main house slid open and he looked up to see his ten-year-old son bounding towards him. His dark hair was ruffled by another spring breeze, equally dark eyes alight with curiosity.
"Whatcha doin? You're all sweaty." he asked curiously, tugging on the edge of his navy blue t-shirt all the while.
The corner of Hajime's lips twitched as he took in how precocious and uninhibited Kei was. The boy didn't have a shy bone in his body, something he undoubtedly inherited from his mother.
"I'm pulling up weeds." Hajime answered as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead with the back of his arm. "Would you like to help me?"
Kei's eyes got even bigger and he immediately set to work trying to pull up the first green thing he got his hand on. Unfortunately, that something was an early, unbloomed tulip and most definitely wasn't supposed to be removed. Hajime chuckled as he placed his larger hands over Kei's and pulled his fingers away from the delicately developing flower.
"This isn't a weed." He said and Kei pouted. "Here let me show you which ones."
"Why can't I just take out all the green things." Kei asked, plopping his butt in the dirt. "The garden usually has lots of colors so all of these things are weeds."
"These aren't weeds." Hajime laughed and poked the middle of his son's forehead like his own father used to do. "These are just the beginning."
"The beginning?"
"Hm. They don't look like much now but soon the garden will be all colorful again. So, we have to be diligent and care for our plants in the beginning so that one day they will be beautiful."
Hajime watched amusedly as his son scrunched up his face and tried to process the information that he'd been given. It gave the Uchiha great joy to watch his son think and mull things over. Did his parents feel like this when he was younger? Perhaps. His mom had never ceased being a wonderful thesaurus for all of the thousands of words he tried to obtain and his Father always had a direct answer for him if he asked.
"The beginning." Kei pondered before something clicked in his mind. "Like you!"
"Like me?" Hajime laughed, pointing comically at his nose for emphasis. Kei nodded emphatically in response.
"Yea! Mother said that her name means 'beautiful' and that your name means 'beginning'!"
Hajime blinked for a moment before his smile widened at his son's statement.
"I suppose you're right." He said. "And what does your name mean?"
"Wise!"
"Then I named you well. You will be a very wise Uchiha head one day."
Kei beamed with pride at being correct and watched patiently as Hajime resumed pulling up the green things that were supposed to be removed. It didn't take long for him to understand the right ones to take and soon the two Uchihas were working in a sweaty silence. Once all of the weeds from the main flower bed had been removed, with the sun was hanging high in the sky, the two of them laid eagle spread in the grass together. Lazily they watched the clouds float by, pointing out random images that they saw in them. Hajime noted that Kei saw lots of dragons when there most certainly weren't any but he chalked it up to the sword-wielding princess stories his wife liked to read to him at bedtime.
"Tired already?" an amused voice asked, casting a shadow over the two Uchihas lying in the grass.
Hajime opened his eyes and smiled when he saw Rei grinning down at them. Clutching the edge of her long navy skirt was his second son Saito who, as always, had his thumb in his mouth. Hajime wasn't sure how Rei managed to walk around the house with the three-year-old nearly attached to her hip but she always appeared to do so effortlessly. In her hands she held a wooden tray, the sound of ice clinking against glass let him know she'd brought them something to drink. Kei immediately sat up in excitement and eagerly took the glass of water his mother gave him. He nearly downed the glass in one go but a brain freeze stopped him in his tracks.
"Ow!" he groaned, pressing the heel of his free hand against his temple.
"That's what you get when you drink too fast." Rei chided as she sat down in the grass next to Hajime.
Kei stuck his tongue out at her and continued to vainly rub his forehead. Rei set the tray down in the grass and opened her arms for their youngest member to cuddle in her lap. Saito scrambled into his favorite spot and Hajime couldn't help but feel a bit jealous of his son. He wanted Rei's nimble fingers stroking his hair and giving him all of her attention. The Uchiha laughed at the immature thought as he sat upright and grabbed a glass of water off of the tray. He was a patient man. He'd wanted Rei since he was seven years old even if he hadn't known her name at the time. He could wait a few more hours until their children were asleep to have her all to himself. As if she could read his thoughts, his wife caught his eye and flashed him a mischevious grin. Her blue eyes scrunched up in that cute way he always admired when she smiled, dark wavy hair spilling over her shoulders. Once again he was in awe of her and she didn't have to do anything.
'Yes.' Hajime thought to himself as he turned away from his wife and looked up at the clouds. 'Days like this are the best.'
The Uchiha's peace didn't last for long. The glass back door slid open again and both of his sons popped up in excitement. Rei covered her face as soon as she saw their intruder, groaning in dismay as she did so.
"Uncle Hiro!" Kei and Saito shouted in unison, running as fast as the could towards the back deck.
Hajime amusedly watched his twin brother throw his arms open wide to accommodate both boys throwing themselves at him and lifting them into the air. The two boys pulled at his black leather coat, claiming how cool it was and peppered their beloved uncle with a million questions at once. He then whispered a secret into both of their ears and placed them back on the ground. As if he'd highjacked their brains, the two boys started running around the garden with a laughing Hiroto hot on their heels, ever so careful to not actually catch them. Hajime laughed at their antics and wondered where his brother got all of his energy from.
"Don't laugh at him." Rei grumbled with her arms crossed and pouting. "He pops in and out without any notice. Not to mention the fact that he's spoiling them."
"He's not spoiling them." Hajime said but Rei narrowed her blue eyes and jerked her thumb in the direction of their dark-haired boys running into the house like madmen.
"Presents!" they shouted and Hiroto wasn't too far behind them.
"Okay, okay." Hajime conceded to his wife. He could already picture the unnecessary mess of wrapping paper littering the living room floor when they went inside. "Maybe he does spoil them a bit."
"I don't understand why he doesn't just have his own kids and leave us alone." Rei groused and Hajime laughed deep from within his stomach.
Sure Hiroto could be much at times but secretly he was jealous of his brother's carefree attitude. He wished that he could be as cavalier and quick. He wouldn't admit it to anyone breathing but it stroked his ego a little to know that Rei still preferred him in spite of how much better his brother was. Rei continued to pout and Hajime pulled on her upper arm to draw her in closer. She crawled into his lap, lazily wrapping her arms around his neck and evidently put out that Hiroto had managed to garner their children's affection within a matter of seconds.
"If Hiro wasn't around you wouldn't have a nemesis." Haji said with a smirk. "What is the amazing Rei without a worthy enemy? A flying girl needs a foe."
Rei scrunched up her nose at his words, a pink blush of embarrassment dusting across her cheeks. She leaned her weight forward so that he fell back into the grass and pressed her soft lips against his.
'Yes.' Hajime thought as he indulged in his wife's affection in the garden. 'These kinds of days are the best.'
….
Friday July 18 2048 9:02pm
Konoha Theatre
….
Hikari smiled as she pulled her bow away from her cello and allowed the final note to ring out through the auditorium. She couldn't see them because of the stage lights but the audience's applause was thunderous as her performance ended. She smiled at the black shadows as they all rose up to clap even louder than before, roses and teddy bears being tossed onto the stage at her feet. Carefully she stood up as well and bowed to her audience much to their delight just as the heavy red curtain fell down in front of her. Expertly she placed her right hand on her left shoulder to keep the strap in place. The black off the shoulder gown was one of the most gorgeous pieces she'd ever worn but it wouldn't do for there to be a slip-up. As soon as she rose up from her bow, Kurenai crossed the stage and enveloped the Uchiha in a tight hug.
"You did so well Hikari!" her longtime music teacher gushed and Hikari blushed profusely at the praise.
The backstage staff all voiced their praise as well, adding to cacophonous din on the other side of the satin curtain. Hikari wasn't quite sure what to do with all of the praise but she hugged Kurenai back tightly once a stagehand took away her cello and bow. As the applause died down, Kurenai held her at arm's length and let out a relieved sigh.
"Konoha's Princess." She beamed proudly. "You know we've sold out for all of the performance's for this week and next."
Hikari returned her smile, eyes widening at the news. It was amazing how many people wanted to see her play. People seemed to be fascinated with their next Hokage's wife and came from far and wide just to hear her play. It was a bit overwhelming to say the least. Kurenai hooked their arms together and led her down the backstage steps where the staff continued to applaud as they walked past. All the while Kurenai continued to prattle away about the potential for going on tour and perhaps even doubling up on performances if her schedule permitted it. When they reached the door to her dressing room, Kurenai pulled her in for another quick hug before letting her go.
"Don't stay up too late tonight." She said with a knowing wink. "We have interviews in the morning."
Hikari raised a curious eyebrow at her instructor. What could she possibly be staying up for? Ito was away on a diplomatic meeting with uncle Naruto in Suna. When he was away the most she did was spend time with her family or practice at home. That is unless… Hikari's heart immediately started pounding in her chest as she whirled around to her dressing room door. She knew that she shouldn't get her hopes up but she just couldn't help it. Her hands shook as she wrenched her dressing room door open only to find the inside of it empty. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment as she walked into the room. She knew she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up that he'd be here. Kurenai must have just been giving her general advice and now she looked like a bratty little kid who hadn't gotten her way. Hikari sniffed and wrapped her arms around herself protectively. Tonight would be yet another night alone.
"You don't look like someone that just got a standing ovation." A deep voice called from behind her.
The Uzumaki woman whirled around in surprise to see Ito standing in her dressing room doorway with a large bouquet of red roses and an even bigger smile. Ignoring the present he'd bought for her, she launched herself at him but he was prepared for the impact. He opened his arms wide and wrapped them around her small waist, enveloping her in a warmth she hadn't felt in what seemed to be ages.
"There we go." He said and Hikari shivered at the sound of his voice.
Slowly he shuffled them into the dressing room for more privacy, kicking the door closed behind them. Hikari buried her nose into his neck and took a deep breath. The smell of cinnamon filled her senses and caused her heart to beat even faster. Ito chuckled at her attachment and shuffled around to place her roses on the coffee table to free up both of his hands. Once the flowers were out of the way, he hugged her even tighter than before.
"You missed me didn't you?" he said and Hikari nodded as best as she could. "I wasn't supposed to come back for another two days but I missed you too much."
Hikari let go of him in surprise and smacked his upper arm. He definitely shouldn't be skipping out on important Hokage in training duties! He should know better by now! No matter how much he missed her he shouldn't shirk his responsibilities. Hikari crossed her arms over her chest and pressed her lips together in a tight line, hoping all the while that the expression was able to convey her disapproval of Ito's actions. Instead, her husband only laughed and placed his hands firmly on her hips.
"Don't look like that Kari." He said. "Are you trying to make me feel guilty? It won't work."
He then leaned down to plant playful kisses on her furrowed brow and pink cheeks, melting away her frustration with each kiss.
"I will never feel guilty about you."
Hikari bit her bottom lip, willing herself to stand by her resolve but it wasn't really working. As shameful as it was, her desire to see him outweighed her sense of responsibility. Slowly but surely her lips spread into a smile and Ito's hands pulled her back into a hug. The Uzumaki woman allowed her husband to hold her close and she melted willingly into his arms. She loved Ito too much to ever stay mad at him. She knew he loved her as well as preposterous as it was that he could love someone like her. A girl that can't shower him with the same affection he always lavished on her. A girl that could never even say his name no matter how much she wanted to. Over the years she had tried her best to speak but it was as if she were attempting to will her heart to stop beating. No matter how hard she tried she just couldn't force the words to come out.
The doctors called it selective mutism. It was the only way to explain why despite the lack of damage to her vocal cords and brain she was still unable to speak. They said that speaking should be as natural as breathing but for her, it felt impossible. No matter how much she wanted to yell out, no matter how much she wanted to scream, she just couldn't do it. She couldn't solidly remember a time that she was able to speak. She couldn't even remember the accident that took her voice away….
…Hikari gasped as she opened her eyes to a familiar but blurred canopied ceiling. The early morning sun was creeping through her window and despite the fact that she'd just woken up, she felt like she'd run a marathon. The five-year-old blinked her tired eyes and tried will her heart to stop beating so fast. It felt so scary. She looked to her left and right, an unexplainable panic beginning to set in at the prospect of being alone. However, she was enclosed on both sides by her older brothers who were still sleeping peacefully. Why were they in her bed? Haji and Hiro had their own rooms with their own beds so it didn't make sense for them to be in hers. She appreciated their presence though. Even though her heart was still beating really fast she no longer felt the need to scream.
Gingerly, Hikari sat up in the bed and noted how strange her limbs felt, almost as if they belonged to someone else. Why did everything hurt so bad? The Uchiha pressed a hand against her sore chest and tried to take a deep breath but even that hurt to do. Where were her mommy and daddy? They would know what to do to make the pain go away. Hikari opened her mouth but was unsure of what to do next. She forced air into her throat but still came up empty. The more she tried to do whatever it was she was trying to do her head began to hurt and her eyes started to burn. Just as Hikari bit down on her bottom lip in frustration, the door to her bedroom creaked open and a crop of messy blonde hair bounded in. Hikari's eyes widened at Ito's appearance, unsure of what he would be doing at their house so early in the morning. He took several brief strides across the room and climbed into her bed. Much to her surprise, he pulled her into a hug and she noticed how much he was shaking. Why was Ito shaking? Why did every hurt so much?
"Hikari." Ito choked out in a whisper so as not to wake her brothers. "I- I- I thought you were gone too."
Hikari blinked, unsure of what to do in this situation. She'd never seen Ito cry before but he was shaking so much and her shoulder felt wet. She didn't know what to do and her arms felt too heavy to hug him back.
"When you didn't come to the sleepover I thought something bad happened. Haji and Hiro were worried too."
Haji and Hiro? Her brothers? Why would they be worried about her? He brothers never worried about anything except for what they were eating for dinner.
"Then my mom said you were in the hospital and I got so scared. I thought you were gone…like…like my grandparents. I thought I wouldn't get to play with you anymore." Ito sniffed and held the Uchiha close. "Then my mom said we could visit you and that meant you were still alive. Do you still want to play my video game? My grandpa used to be really really good at games."
At the mention of grandparents, Hikari wasn't sure why but her eyes started to feel tingly. If she had been in the hospital…where was her Papa? Where was her grandmother? Suddenly her arms and legs felt like they were tingling and she couldn't hear Ito speaking anymore. Her brothers began to rouse on either side of her but she couldn't turn to look at them even when Ito let her go. She tried to even out her breathing but nothing seemed to work. She felt someone shake her shoulders but she couldn't even respond before everything went black….
Now that she was older she knew that that morning she'd had a panic attack and fainted but at the time it had frightened her to her core. Experiencing what she had at just five years old had just been too much for her body and mind to take. She didn't remember everything that had happened, the doctors believed she suppressed the memories to protect herself but there were some things that she couldn't explain. Like a visceral cocktail of fear and sorrow when she saw pictures of her grandparents or the fact that she always felt nervous when she got into a car. Or how, even after all these years, she was still afraid of sleeping alone.
Despite all of her issues, the tightrope they continuously walked, Ito loved her anyway. He didn't mind that she couldn't speak to him normally and had taken up sign language classes with her brothers and cousin so that they could understand her without her having to write all the time. He didn't try to force her to speak. He didn't treat her like glass how her family did. To him she was the same Hikari he knew before the accident and he was just happy to have her by his side. To him, she knew that she was more than just a family friend. She was more than just his wife. To him, she was only Hikari.
She could be the wife of a rich man with a life that was simple and planned. Something safe and assured. Her hands could hold the world but to her it still wouldn't be enough. She only wanted Ito. Did her mother feel like this when she chose her father? As chaotic as their life was she would never let Ito go. As selfish as it was she would continue to breathe him in and desire him for as long as her heart continued to beat.
"Kari?" Ito said softly, pushing her away at arm's length with a concerned look on his face. "You're crying."
Hikari blinked and reached up absently to touch her face, surprised by how damp and cold it was. She smiled a bit at how silly she was being and stepped back into Ito's warm embrace. She clutched the material of his suit jacket tightly between her fingers, unwilling to ever let him go. She felt the vibration of his chuckle through his chest and relished the way he gently patted the top of her head.
"C'mon." Ito said. "Let's go home."
…..
Monday September 18 2047
Hyuuga Compound- Branch Property 12
…..
"Wow." Honoka said, her voice dropping an octave in disbelief. "Aunt Hana is a serious hoarder."
Chisato nodded her head in agreement. She was used to her mother's messy demeanor after picking up after her all the time. It wasn't that her mother intended to be messy but she always forgot to finish her breakfast because she never failed to be late for work, leaving half-eaten toast and cereal on the kitchen island. She immediately kicked off her shoes when she left the house and there were multiple rumpled lap coats strewn around the house, shoved into places they really shouldn't be. Sometimes Chisato had to wonder if the woman was actually her biological mother since she was such a neat freak herself. In any case, Chisato was more than used to seeing things in a state of disorganized mess, Honoka was not.
Her older cousin stared in awe at the mountain of loose paperwork, old medical textbooks, and manilla folders interspersed among the chaos. Chisato had seen her uncle Neji's office. Everything was filed in an orderly manner. There were no stray papers allowed to roam loose or coffee rings on important documents. His desk was always clear unless her was currently working at it and was a stark contrast to her mother's workspace.
"Ya know." Honoka said as she approached the desk in the middle of the room. "I used to think my dad was a bit too anal about organization. He even sorts his paperclips according to size. Yet…seeing this…I think he has a point."
"Just help me look." Chisato replied with a roll of her eyes.
"Look where? I have no idea where to start."
Chisato sucked her teeth and looked around the room. There were piles of paper everywhere but the best place to start would be the desk itself. Or the bursting at the seams filing cabinet. Or the coffee table. Inwardly she groaned and pointed at the coffee table which seemed to be the easiest thing for her cousin to rifle through.
"I don't know, start there I guess."
"So bossy." Honoka teased as she walked over to the coffee table. "You leave for a year and come back with such an attitude problem."
"According to you, I've always had an attitude problem."
"Touche."
Chisato smirked at the banter between them and took a seat at her mother's desk. She'd missed Honoka greatly during her gap year. She was the only Hyuuga outside of her mother and small children that didn't seem to have a giant stick up their ass. Honoka didn't think it was weird that she joined the clan at ten years old. Her uncle Neji and aunt Tenten were always warm but they were also much too busy to deal with her most days. Honoka on the other hand, treated her like she'd known her all her life from the first day that they'd met, unlike the elders that looked down their nose at her. Other members stared at her like a sideshow and she knew that they gossiped about her when they didn't think she could overhear them. She didn't mind too much though. She had her mother and Honoka when she was at the compound and her Uchiha cousins whenever she wasn't. She didn't feel lacking in any way…at least not completely.
No matter how much her mother loved her or how much her extended family outside of the Hyuuga clan cared for her, it still felt like there was something missing. A certain something that she couldn't quite grasp a hold of. She'd thought that taking a gap year would help her find that missing piece but it didn't. She'd seen lots of cool things and met plenty of interesting people but nothing seemed to fill the troublesome void.
Chisato sighed as she riffled through the pile of papers on her mother's desk, mentally cursing the woman for her lack of organization. Maybe it was just in her mind but the messiness seemed to have gotten worse during the year that she'd been gone. Without her around to chase her mother down, the older woman had slipped into a bit of a rut. She still acted like the same happy go lucky mom she'd always known but there was a bit of loneliness in her eyes when she looked at her. Chisato knew that it wasn't going to get better though. She needed to leave again to attend university in a couple of weeks, leaving her mother alone again. She shuddered to think what kind of state their house would be in when she returned next summer.
There wasn't much that she could do about that though except pray that it didn't get too out of control. She'd have to get Honoka to talk to uncle Neji about sending a maid so that the place didn't turn into a complete dump. In the meantime, all she could hope for was that she'd find her birth certificate among all of the chaos. The registrar's office needed a copy on file before she started in the fall and she didn't want to bug her mother into finding it on top of all the work she already did at the hospital. She'd much rather blackmail Honoka into searching with her although neither one of them was having much luck.
With a frown, she pushed an errant lock of dark hair behind her ear and opened the bottom drawer of the desk. Surprisingly the compartment was empty save for a nondescript brown bow the size of a regular shoe box. Whereas most of the other drawers had bits of wrappers and crumpled up paper pack into the crevices, the box was the only thing inside of the drawer. Curiously, Chisato removed it and placed it on her lap. She faintly remembered her mother bringing a box like this with them when they moved to Konoha. She hadn't paid it much attention at the time but clearly, it had to be important if she'd kept up with it for this long.
She knew that she shouldn't snoop through her mother's more personal items but it wasn't like the woman had much to hide. All she did was work, sleep, spend time with her when she could, repeat. It was probably just a box of old receipts that she'd forgotten about anyway. However, when she opened the box there weren't any old receipts. Instead, there was a thick stack of letters bound together loosely with a well-worn string. There were no names or addresses on any of the yellowed envelopes which made the bundle even stranger.
Carefully, Chisato untied the string holding the envelopes together and picked up a letter at random. She turned the letter over in her hand and noted how worn it was as if it had been handled in this way one too many times. She pressed her lips together as she removed the contents of the envelope and immediately noted how neat and even the writing was. Something like this could have never been written by her mother's hand which was nearly unintelligible. Chisato's eyes moved to the first sentence and widened a bit.
To my firecracker…
'Is this a love letter?' she thought.
Her mother had never had a boyfriend as long as she'd lived with her and these letters were much too worn to have been written recently. Curiosity peeked, she continued reading.
Did you know your stomach growls when you sleep? I'm watching you now and it's disappointing that you don't eat properly. Take care of yourself and stop disturbing my sleep…
Chi
'Chi?' Chisato thought, a bitter taste filling her mouth. 'I didn't write this.'
This other 'Chi' she'd never met before. Who was this person that they could write so cavalierly to her mother and shared her name? She gulped and opened another letter but this time from the back of the stack, her heart slowly throbbing inside of her chest.
To my firecracker…
You've been wondering where I've been during the day. The unexplained gaps of time when I don't answer the phone or when I'm not home to greet you. For those indiscretions, I apologize. However, it had to be done and I'm sure after reading this you'll understand why. It's all that I can give you. I know you can't hate me the way-
"I don't understand." Chisato whispered.
"Did you say something?" Honoka asked, getting up from her fruitless search on the other side of the room. "Did you find your birth certificate?"
Chisato opened her mouth to speak but the door to her mother's office swung open. Hanabi Hyuuga looked at the two girls with an unsuspecting smile on her face, excited to see them after a long day of work.
"Hey, aunt Hana! You're home early today!" Honoka said cheerfully and Chisato slumped down in the office chair with the box in her lap.
"I only have two weeks before Chi leaves again so I thought I'd take some time off for a little while." Her mother replied, shrugging off her lab coat and making her way over to the desk. "What are you two doing in here? Mining for gold?"
"We were looking for Chi's birth certificate."
"Oh that?" her mother laughed, pushing some of her long brown hair behind her ear. "It's in the top desk drawer to the right-"
Chisato swallowed thickly as her mother made her way her way around the desk and reached for the drawer she'd been referring to. Unfortunately, she never opened it and even though she wasn't looking at her, she knew that her mother had a shocked look on her face.
"Honoka…" her mother said evenly. "Could you give us a minute please?"
"Is everything alright?" Honoka asked, perplexed by her sudden dismissal.
"Of course."
"Oh…um…okay."
Chisato didn't look up to watch Honoka depart or when the door shut behind her. With only her mother in the room, she began to feel an anger well up in the bottom of her stomach. She never kept secrets from her mother. Some of the branch members thought that she was a wild and unruly child but she wasn't. She never lied to her mother like the other clan members her age did to theirs. She always came home by sunset. If she wanted to stay out later all she had to do was ask but she never had a reason to. She told her mother when she had her first kiss, her first boyfriend, her first breakup. She told her everything. Her mother was her best friend and yet…there was a piece of her that she didn't know about. A piece of her that included this 'Chi' person and she had a sneaky suspicion who it was.
"I wasn't expecting you to find this." Her mother said and Chisato shrugged her shoulders, fingers gripping the edges of the box tightly.
"If I ask you questions will you lie to me?" Chisato asked. Her mother carelessly knocked a stack of papers onto the ground and sat in the empty space they left on the desk.
"I have never lied to you when you've asked a direct question."
"But you have left things out." Chisato grumbled, her brow furrowing as she tried to wrack her mind for all of the times her mother had obfuscated the truth.
Slowly Chisato put the box of letters on the desk and crossed her arms over her chest. Finally, she looked up at her mother who watched her with sad pale eyes. Eyes that belonged to every Hyuuga except her.
"I have never asked you before because I never cared enough but…who is my father?" she asked and her mother looked down at the box. "It's this Chi guy isn't it?"
Her mother didn't say anything, instead opting to take the box of letters and place in her own lap. Chisato's fingers clenched into a tight ball at her mother's continued silence.
"Look." She said flatly. "I don't care if you had flings when you were younger. I don't care that I grew up without a dad but why did you hide who he was from me?"
"I didn't try to hide who he was initially." Her mother said, her voice wavering slightly. "I've held my breath for the day you'd finally ask but you never did. However, I didn't want you to find out like this."
Chisato let out a slow breath through her nose. If she had never asked, would her mother have ever said anything? If she hadn't found the box would she still be ignorant of her father's existence? Where was he anyway? Why hadn't he tried to reach out to her in over eighteen years? Not a single call on her birthday. Not even a congratulations when she got her high school diploma… That all begged the question if he even realized her existence at all. If he did, why did he reach out to her? Why didn't he want her?
"Does…does he even want to know about me?" Chisato asked and her mother opened her mouth to answer but she didn't allow her to. "Don't sugar coat things. If he doesn't want me, he doesn't want me. Is that why you never said anything? Why did you name me after a man that doesn't even care enough to see his own daughter? Why keep a box of his stupid letters?"
"Chi-" her mother said but Chisato ignored her.
She snatched the box out of her mother's lap and tipped it upside down. The unbound letters flutter down to the floor and behind them several photos that had been hiding in the bottom of the box. Finally, two silver wedding bands fell out on top of the mess, glinting innocently back up to the room's occupants. Chisato watched as her mother slipped off of the desk and kneeled down on the floor to clean up the mess she'd made and her heart tugged guiltily at the sight. She stubbornly ignored the feeling though and looked away. She didn't want to watch the mother she admired picking up old mementos worth less than the other trash on her desk.
"I don't get why these things are so special to you. I bet when he found out you were pregnant he left you didn't he? That's why grandfather disowned you right? Why we couldn't come here for so long? Is that why everyone looks at me weird and gossips about me?!"
"Chi-"
"Don't call me that! I don't want you to call me his name anymore."
With that, she made to march around the mess on the floor and walk out of the room but her mother's despondent voice made her stop.
"I know you can never come to hate me the way I hate myself for leaving you alone."
Chisato's hand rested on the cold doorknob but somehow she just couldn't turn it.
"But even I can't stop Death and I've asked him for too many years already."
'Death?' Chisato thought, her breath catching in her throat.
"That's what he wrote in his very last letter to me. I've got every word, every line of every letter memorized by now."
This 'Chi'…the father she never knew…was dead?
"Chisato." Her mother called out softly but Chisato didn't turn around to acknowledge her. "He never knew about you. With his condition, we didn't think it was possible to even have children. If he had known though…I know he would have wanted you. Itachi would have loved you just as much as I do."
At the name 'Itachi' Chisato turned around to face her mother with wide eyes. She'd never met Itachi Uchiha but she knew his name well. Hajime and Hiroto had spoken of him highly before as their father's older brother but that he had died many years ago. Hikari didn't even know who he was. On more than one occasion she'd heard her uncle Sasuke mutter the name under his breath but she had never thought much of it before. Yet, this enigma of a man whose ghost seemed to linger in the minds of her family was supposed to be her father? How? How was that even possible?
Her mother stepped over the pile of unsorted files and old letters, crossing the room with only a picture in her hand. Chisato felt her heart beating louder and louder in her ears with each step closer. Finally, her mother held the photo out to her and Chisato nervously took it. There on a small four by four glossy square with the date scrawled on the bottom- June 9, 2021. In the photo was her mother looking not too much older than what she was now, sporting a thick, black cable knit sweater that clearly didn't belong to her and a pair of bright yellow leggings. On her face was the most genuine smile Chisato had ever seen her wear and an ugly, lopsided cake messily covered in chocolate frosting.
Standing next to her was a much taller man who looked oddly familiar even though this was the first time she'd ever seen his face. She studied the man carefully, taking in how confidently he stood next to her mother and how his hair was the same shade hers was. He was very handsome despite the bags of fatigue under his eyes which weren't even looking at the camera. Instead, they were focused on her overly excited mother, a small smirk of amusement on his lips.
"He could have left towers of gold but it would never be enough for me. I just wanted him and nothing else would ever be enough without him by my side but Itachi left me everything he had that wasn't solely attached to the Uchiha name. It was more than I deserved. I wanted to get rid of it but when I discovered that he'd also left you I was finally satisfied." her mother said, breaking the heavy silence that hung over them. "All of it. All of the property, the investments, and any other assets he had. I've been maintaining everything carefully over the years and have only taken out as much as was necessary to pay for your schooling. Everything is yours to do with as you please when you graduate from university. This way you can decide what you want to do in life instead of being obligated to work for the company."
"But…" Chisato chocked out, biting her bottom lip as she tried to sift through all of the information at once. "If my father is Itachi…I'm not a Hyuuga. I'm an Uchiha."
If she was the daughter of the deceased Itachi Uchiha…what did that mean? He was her uncle's older brother. She didn't understand clan rules or lines of succession but this new revelation was sure to create problems. What did it mean to be Itachi's daughter? She didn't want to work for the Hyuuga clan but at the same time, she certainly didn't desire the responsibility that came along with being a potential Uchiha heiress. She wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do but those two options were definitely out.
"Chisato is Chisato." Her mother said simply, interrupting her jumbled thoughts. "Whatever you decide to do with your life is because you are Chisato and it's who you're meant to be. Not because you are a Hyuuga or an Uchiha. You will not be a pawn used for the benefit of others. That is the last thing Itachi or I would want for you."
Chisato looked at her mother sheepishly, unsure of how to take the declaration of her freedom to choose but her mother's complete faith in her eased some of the residual anger she still felt. She still felt hurt though and a sense of mourning that she couldn't understand. She didn't know the man but somehow that void she'd been feeling yearned to know who he was. The man that had a hand in creating her. Itachi Uchiha. Who was he? What did he do? How did he die? Would he…would he really want her if he was alive?
The nineteen-year-old looked down at the picture in her hands, hoping all the while that the man's eyes would turn to her, but she knew they wouldn't. His eyes would never be able to look at her. With a heavy heart, she handed the picture back to her mother and tried her best to smile despite the fact that her lips kept trembling.
"So." She said, struggling to keep a stiff upper lip. "Who was he? He has to be pretty great the way Haji and Hiro talk about him."
Her mother rolled her eyes at the statement, but her lips spread into a fond, wistful smile. A gentle hand caressed her cheek and Chisato leaned into her mother's warmth.
"Itachi was an idiot…but being with him was an adventure. I met him when I was seventeen…"
….
Friday December 27 2057 4:00pm
Atami Shrine
…..
Hiroto took a deep breath, filling his lungs to their full capacity with the stingingly frigid winter air. He clapped twice and the sound reverberated around the empty shrine. He was the only one left in attendance. The only one left to stand over the last watch of the shrine. The sound of his hands meant more than the end of his duty but also a finality. The end of one chapter. The end of a life. The end of a love that had been unconditional and was complete only after they'd taken their last breath. His dark eyes scanned the many wreaths that had piled up around the shrine and wondered just who his mother had been before she had children. He knew that she was someone special but apparently so did some of the most important figures in the world.
A stooped entomologist had come by first claiming that he was a childhood friend and had laid a bushel of eucalyptus at the foot of the altar. Next had been the Inuzukas, a clan that he had a tenuous relationship with but they'd brought with them a bouquet of white roses. While their visit had been brief he knew that their commotion had reached his mother wherever she was now. Then came Gaara Sabaku, business magnate turned Kazekage in the company of his wife Matsuri and an entourage of no less than ten other people. That visit had been the most surprising of the day since Hiroto had no idea his mother even knew such a powerful man.
From then on were the Hyuugas and the Uchiha and with them came an outpouring of even more flowers and offerings for his mother and the elders that had passed before her. So many had lit incense that it was a bit difficult to breathe but Hiroto endured it. He stood diligently next to her enshrined ashes, back rigid and holding he and his siblings' favorite picture of her. A solo photo of her smiling demurely on her wedding day and clad in an extravagant crimson kimono with golden cranes and koi fish. His sister now had that very same kimono and had been happily married in it as well.
The Uchiha sighed as he took the mahogany framed photo off the stand and stared down at his mother. When this photo was taken did she know how precious she would become? Did she know how many people loved her? He liked to think that she did. If anything he knew that his father loved her more than anything. Hiroto smirked at the thought of his father and carefully carried the photo away from the altar and towards the entrance of the shrine. There had never been any doubt that his father loved his mother, he'd known that fact since he was five years old because he'd told him himself…
…"Father, where do babies come from?" Hiroto asked and watched as the color drained out of both of his parents' faces.
Inwardly Hiroto groaned. Had uncle Naruto been lying when he said that his father was smarter than him? His parents were pretty much his last resort and if they didn't tell him the answer no one would. With a huff, his father gently moved his mother's legs off of his lap and leaned forward so that they were eye level.
"Why do you want to know?" he asked and Hiroto shrugged.
"Because."
His mother muffled a snicker behind her hand and his father raised a curious eyebrow at her before returning his attention.
"Babies come when you want them and sometimes when you don't." he said simply.
Hiroto scrunched up his face. Babies sounded pretty rude in his opinion.
"Uncle Naruto says that babies come from tummies."
"That's true. They live in there for nine months to grow or if they are eager, they show up earlier."
Hiroto nodded his head pensively. That made sense. If he was a baby he'd be pretty eager to get out of a cramped tummy.
"Do babies cost money?"
"Yes. Lots and lots of money."
"But uncle Chi and aunt Hana say that you need love to make a baby."
At that, his father nodded and picked him up to put him on his lap. Hiroto wiggled until he was comfortably settled in his new position, leaning back to rest against his father's broad torso.
"Your aunt and uncles are correct in a way. You do need money, a tummy, and lots of love I suppose."
"Do you love mother lots and lots?" Hiroto asked and he felt the deep, comforting vibration of his father chuckle against him.
"Can you keep a secret Hiro?" his father asked and Hiroto scrambled around excitedly to face him.
"Of course! I'm the best secret keeper ever!"
Despite his genuine proclamation he knew that he would tell his brother the secret. He had to tell Hajime. They were twins and twins told each other everything. Everyone knew that! His father patted the top of his head and tilted his own in the direction of his smiling mother.
"Your mother is having a baby."
"Really?!" Hiroto gasped in disbelief. His eyes dropped to his mother's stomach and he just couldn't understand how a baby was living in there. "There's a baby in there?!"
His parents nodded their heads simultaneously and Hiroto's dark eyes widened in amazement.
"So that means you love mother lots and lots?"
Instead of answering, his father simply smirked and poked him in the middle of his forehead playfully…
Absently Hiroto rubbed the spot on his forehead where his father used to frequently poke him and walked out of the Atami shrine courtyard. Now that he was much, much older he knew all of the mechanics involved with where babies came from but his father had essentially been correct in the elements needed for one to come about. He didn't have any of his own but Hajime and Honoka had enough nieces and nephews for him to spoil so he didn't feel lacking in that department.
He smiled solemnly at his mother's picture, knowing all the while that she'd thought differently. She would have loved for him to give her at least one grandchild while she was alive. Cradling the picture close to his chest, he approached the centuries-old tree near the beginning of the shrine steps and stopped in front on his father. His dark hair had gone entirely grey and his once intimidating posture was now slumped over. By his side was a cane that he increasingly relied on to get around every day, that and the arm of an attendant that could keep a close eye on him when family members weren't around. His father didn't look up when he approached, instead continued his flat stare at the yellowed grass beneath his feet.
"Father." Hiroto called out but the old man still didn't look up at him.
"Hn. When are we going back?" he asked grumpily. "My wife is waiting for me."
Hiroto ran a hand through his hair and gave his father a smile even though he knew the man couldn't see it. It was always the same thing now that his mother had passed. He constantly asked where she was and why she wasn't near. At times when the sun was just setting his father's mind seemed to slip even further and he'd ask about his uncle Naruto and why the idiot hadn't called him even though uncle Naruto had passed of a heart attack two years ago. When he slipped even further he asked about his parents and Itachi. Hajime and Ito tried their best, but the rehashing of sore spots wore them thin. They'd always been more sensitive in Hiroto's opinion. Besides Hajime had a multinational company to keep afloat and Ito had an entire country to run.
Hikari was a bit better but he could see the emotional toll that it took on his little sister to handle their father at a time like this when she was hurting deeply as well. Hiroto had become adept at dealing with the constant line of repetitive questions but it still hurt just the same. He'd continue to endure though. No matter how much further his father rapidly slipped away, he would be there as a hand to hold. In that strain of thought he held his hand out to his father and held tight to the wrinkled and leathered hand he was presented with. His father let out a low grunt as he rose to his feet with the assistance of his cane before his old eyes settled on him.
"I have a son that looks like you." He said and Hiroto smirked.
"Hn."
"Not just one but two."
"Really?"
"Hmmm, my wife had twins. We have another child on the way."
Hiroto patted his father's hand as best as he could with his mother's picture tucked safely under his arm. Slowly, almost arduously so, they descended the many ancient stone steps that led to the Atami shrine. His father winced slightly in pain each time his feet touched a step and reminded Hiroto just how hard a journey it was for his father to make such a trip.
"Do you hope you will have a girl or a boy?" he asked in an attempt to distract his father from his pain.
"Girl." His elderly father grunted. "Uchiha men are difficult to deal with."
Hiroto bit back a laugh at the truth of his father's words, inwardly happy that his father's wish had come true with the birth of Hikari.
"I guess that means you love your wife lots and lots since you have another child on the way."
His father let out a short, indignant breath through his nose and rolled his dark eyes.
"You are a nosy boy."
This time Hiroto couldn't help but laugh and the sound carried over the empty steps and up to the shrine where his mother's ashes still resided and the incense lit in her honor still burned. Maybe if he kept laughing that would stop him from crying. Maybe…his mother would hear him. When they descended the last step, Hiroto carefully led his father to the car and buckled him in safely before he did so for himself.
At home, Rei and Hajime made them dinner but his father refused to touch it. They didn't force him to. They tried to interest him in watching television but again he obstinately requested whereabouts of his missing wife. At a loss for what else to do, Hiroto put on a recording of Hikari playing the cello and his father seemed to instantly calm down. His eyelids drooped and he became pliant enough to be taken to bed. He and his brother dutifully changed him into his pajamas and laid him down on the bed he used to share with their mother. The old Uchiha patriarch stared up at the ceiling and hummed along with the sound of Hikari's cello.
When he finally fell asleep, Hiroto left the room and softly closed the door behind him. In the morning he would repeat the ceremony again for the seventh and last day of his mother's funeral rites. It would be the hardest day but fortunately, his siblings and cousins would be by his side when he spread her ashes. The Uchiha laid himself down to sleep on the couch in the living room, the clock ticking by overhead. His eyes felt heavy as he watched the hands move around the clock until they finally closed. He inhaled slowly and allowed sleep to overtake him.
Meanwhile, his father took his last breath, following his wife into the great unknown.
The End…