𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 | shisui uchiha

Give It Time

"What are you doing up here, looking so lonely and sad?"

Sitting on top of the Fourth Hokage's head on the Hokage Rock, Haruki glanced over her shoulder to see Shisui settling down beside her. She had officially been a team leader for Team 5 for a month, and she was already glad to see the improvements of the relationships between the three. Ryūsei had loosened up, Hiyori had come out of her shell, and Haruma... well, Haruma was Haruma. As of today, the team had officially completed their first mission, which had only bolstered their drive to work together and achieve even greater things in the future.

"Hey," greeted Haruki softly, looking down at the village below. The sun was slowly making its descent, bathing the hidden village in its soft, warm glow as it began its journey out of the sky and dipped towards the horizon.

"What's on your mind?" asked the Uchiha delicately, closing his eyes as he soaked in the sun's dying rays.

"Just thinking," murmured Haruki, deep in thought as she drifted off. "It's no big deal."

"I beg to differ. You look under the weather."

Haruki sighed, knowing it was futile to try and weasel her way out of Shisui's questioning.

"Every year, we celebrate Hanabi's birthday. Without fail, as expected. But because of that, we don't have enough time to mourn our mother's death. We don't want to put a damper on Hanabi's special day, because it's not her fault that she died, but by pretending everything is fine, we actually just make things worse for ourselves."

"How do you deal with Hanabi's birthday?"

Haruki sighed and lay down on her back, throwing her arms out as she stared at the gradually darkening sky.

"Just like every supportive, loving sister should. My father and I spoil her, Hinata plays with her. We make sure she's happy and content. We make sure she knows we love her."

"And how do you deal with your mother's passing?"

"Well, I just kind of... go to bed and sleep it off once we're done celebrating Hanabi's birthday, I guess. As the years pass, it gets easier, but at the same time it gets harder because of how we sweep it under the rug so much to the point where she's just... not there anymore. We've adjusted to life without her, yes, but that doesn't mean we don't miss the life we had with her. It's like she's a taboo topic in our house, unless it's absolutely necessary to talk about her. Hanabi still doesn't even know how our mother died, and she's too young to understand anyway. I feel so mixed inside. I want to celebrate Hanabi's birthday, but I want to cry for my mother as well. You know?"

"I don't know, but I do understand. This is something you think about a lot?"

Haruki huffed and blew her bangs out of her face.

"Very much so," she said darkly. "Hanabi turned four a month ago, but I still can't help but wonder if things would've been any different if our mother had lived."

"You know they would have, Haru-chan."

Haruki went silent, knowing that Shisui was right.

"Shisui..."

"Yes?"

"How did you deal with your father's passing?"

"It's like I said," he began, opening his eyes and looking down towards Haruki. "I'd always known he was going to pass away eventually, but I just didn't know when. I had plenty of time to prepare myself and my mother for his death. It was an advantage that neither you or your family had when your mother passed."

"Time, huh?"

Shisui lay down beside Haruki, shoulder to shoulder with her as they gazed upon the heavens together.

"Time heals all wounds," he said quietly, reaching down for Haruki's hand and lacing their fingers together. "You can celebrate Hanabi's birthday and mourn your mother's death at the same time. Those are two events that will always be inseparable, and nothing can change that. It's okay to cry. You shouldn't feel guilty for crying for your mother on Hanabi's birthday. And you shouldn't feel guilty for celebrating Hanabi on your mother's anniversary, either. You're entitled to both. You don't have to choose one or the other. You shouldn't have to."

By now, tears were silently streaming down Haruki's face as she took in the Uchiha's words. Ever since her mother's death, she had kept up the appearance that she was fine without her, and had stepped up impressively to fill the gap her mother left in her sisters' lives.

But truthfully, Haruki missed her mother terribly. Being the heiress was already pressuring as it was; having to step in and help her father raise her younger sisters was just added stress on her. With juggling her role as a mentor to three young genin, looking after Hinata and Hanabi whenever their father was away, and keeping up with her other roles as a kunoichi, Haruki was feeling drained. She wished her mother could be there for her, the same way she had been whenever Hiashi's training had proved too tough or strenuous for her.

Haruki's mother had always welcomed her daughter with welcome arms, offering her words of comfort and encouragement to keep pushing forward.

Right now, Haruki wished she could hear her mother tell her everything was going to be okay, at least one last time.

"You know, Haru-chan, if you need help, my mother and I are willing to help," offered Shisui, letting his girlfriend cry in peace. "Really. I know you already have the rest of your clan at your fingertips, but we're here as well."

Unable to formulate any words, Haruki resorted to squeezing Shisui's hand tightly.

Thank you for being here with me.