Flower in the Mirror [Hatake Kakashi] [1]

❄️ Chapter 26 ❄️

Yumetsuki followed the woman into the last room down the hallway and as the door slid open, she found herself looking at a man who resembled Shisui greatly. He did not have his right leg, which he had lost during the last Great War, and the stump was bandaged even so long after as he had not gotten it treated before it had deteriorated to a degree that it would never fully heal.

Upon their arrival, the man opened his eyes and looked toward them. He had never met Yumetsuki before, but he appeared to be surprisingly aware of who she was. He pushed himself to sit up, his frail body taking a lot of strength and the help of his wife to do so.

"Good afternoon," greeted Yumetsuki, giving the man a deep bow. "My name is Yuki Yumetsuki. I work with Shisui-Kun. I was passing by... and I decided to stop by,"

"Of course, of course," said the man at once. "You're welcome at all times, come sit down here," He motioned to the Zabuton. "Bring her something to drink, come,"

Although Shisui's mother had been hesitant at first, Yumetsuki quietly assured her that she would be alright. Yumetsuki had gotten used to dealing with all sorts of people and patients. She sat down across the man while his wife went to fetch yet another drink.

"You're even prettier than my son told me," said the man, looking toward her eagerly. "I told him to bring you over with himself but now he's gone off onto a long mission just after getting married,"

"Shisui-Kun can be reckless sometimes," Yumetsuki replied, keeping up with the man's mental misapprehension. "He is always working so hard that he forgets such stuff at times,"

"I need to teach him to do better," admitted the man. "I never really got to have that conversation with him..." He looked toward her. "But he treats you well, right?"

"Ve... very well," Yumetsuki answered, swallowing the thickness of her cold tears. "He is always very kind to me. And he treats me like no one else. I truly appreciate it,"

For the very first time, Yumetsuki had struggled to keep up with a conversation with how distracted she had been in regard to Shisui. She sat with his parents for a very long time, listening to what Shisui's father had to say while his mother was mostly silent throughout it.

In fact, the next time that his mother to spoke to her was when she walked back over to the front door, "I apologise if it was uncomfortable. But given how often Shisui-Chan mentioned you as wanting to get married to you, his Oto-Chan thought that you were really married,"

"You have no reason to apologise," Yumetsuki replied gently. "In fact, before his death... Shisui-Kun mentioned before his... passing... that he harboured feelings for me. However, I never got any opportunity to discuss them with him... I wonder..."

"I hope that you won't blame yourself," said the woman, grabbing onto her hands. "I have never seen my son as happy as he was with you. You were all that he could talk about, and he always came home happy because of you. I wouldn't want to upset my son by making you upset. I just wish... all of his dreams had come true so that he wouldn't have..."

"Please, continue to think of me as such," Yumetsuki urged, grabbing the woman's frail hands back and bowing her head. "Shisui-Kun was precious to me. He taught me a lot of softness. Allow me to atone for my mistakes and take care of you for the rest of my life, I beg of you,"

That had what transpired at the former home of Uchiha Shisui. And as Yumetsuki made her way down the road toward the entrance of the Uchiha Clan's compound, she truly understood why Shisui had never liked to even think about bringing her here – sharp, intense eyes watched her from every direction. Yumetsuki remained aloof to them to the best of her ability, leaving as quickly as she had come.