Forever My Heart

Formalities And Courtesies

Every year, on the night of the Rinne Festival, the patriarch and matriarch of the Uchiha clan host a formal party at their mansion. All the higher-ups of the Uchiha attend, along with other well known families of the clan, the large house streaming with dark-haired, onyx-eyed people wearing variously fashioned kimonos (mostly dark colored), patched with the red-and-white Uchiha emblems on their backs.

Much like the other houses and streets lit with New Year Festivities of red and gold lighting the white-powdered snow, so did the great Uchiha mansion, speckled with silver-blue lights, pine wreaths of green and gold tied in fat red and silver ribbons, holly, ice crystals, red and gold paper lanterns, ribbons, white silk table cloths, lit candles, and ornaments. The garden out back had its bare cherry blossom trees strung with light blue and silver lights, their speckled brightness shimmering from the ripples of the koi pond like millions of stars.

Talk and laughter were already heard from the inside, from adults and children alike. The scent of cinnamon, apples, and pine lavished the chilly, winter air with a spicy, but comfortable aroma from the open slide-doors of the house. Such a sight was wondrous, breathtaking, welcoming...

Izumi stared at the front of her friend's house and gulped. Wearing her violet and pink kimono, her long brown hair was done up into a loose bun, her bangs framing her face and some loose hair escaping her lily comb. In both of her arms she held a wrapped-up box tied in thin leather string, feeling the weight of the fragile tea set within. When her mother had put it in her arms, that was when she told Izumi the gift was a tea set meant for ceremonies with her future husband.

She had never thought that she would ever want to run away from such a welcoming sight until now...

An old, calloused hand touched her back, making her body tense from the contact.

"Remember what you need to do, child," said Noriro, eyes fixed ahead while Izumi looked up at him. "Smile, look him in the eye, and greet him properly. Behave yourself."

Or else....The warning in his tone was clear. Izumi's eyes flickered to her mother, but Hazuki stared ahead with her head bowed and hands folded. She wore a dark red kimono designed white clouds, golden sun symbols, and flying hawks patched from the hems and long sleeves, her shoulder-length black hair placed in a small bun, now pinned with a comb of red-pink flowers. To Izumi, she looked like an empress. If only her mother would smile more....but she felt in no position to judge in this situation.

"Hai," whispered Izumi, looking away, feeling even more miserable as she stared ahead at the bright scene that was supposed to sparkle with merriment. Now, with all those silver-lights glittering in comparison to the snow, it felt like she was approaching an ice palace as cold as her nerves.

Otousan, I wish you were here, she thought as they started entering the mansion. They were immediately greeted with respectful bows toward Noriro Uchiha, one of the elders of their clan. Some had done the same for Hazuki, though Izumi could see the placid politeness in their colder expressions. She had never really paid much attention before, previously having been too busy finding Itachi, taking in the glittering decorations of the party, and feeling the need to dance to the traditional drum, chime, and flute music that can be heard from the streets outside along with the widespread Rinne Festival. The attention now was suffocating.

"Hazuki-san!" They turned to find Mikoto weaving through the crowd with a more cheerful smile on her face, her ebony black hair streaming while pinned partially up with a comb. Her kimono was a blue-green silk with a splash white-gold at the bottom hems, showered with red, pink, white flowers speckled with white dots like snow from the waist to the feet. She was exquisite. "How wonderful of you to make it! And Izumi!" the matriarch greeted when she reached them.