A/N: Don't own Naruto or any of it's characters except my OC
—.—.—.—
Nobody told Shōrai how painful childbirth was going to be.
She had been going at it for a few hours now, while her mother, Ume, was reassuring —or attempting to— her.
However, that did not help Shōrai one bit, and, as a contraction rocked her body, it ripped a new scream from her throat.
"You're doing great darling…come on, just a couple more pushes…that's it," the old woman murmured, fussing over her daughter.
"Ka-aaah!" she screamed, vision blurring, before she just clenched them shut.
A few more minutes later, and the cries of the newborn could be heard resonating in the little room. The cries were soon followed by the mother's own sobs, as relief flooded her entire body.
Ume was fussing over the baby, cutting the umbilical cord and washing the child in a pre-prepared water basin, before finally wrapping her grandchild in a clean blanket.
The older woman made her way over to her daughter, a soft smile on her face, and felt pride course through her body when Shōrai's gaze landed on the child.
"A girl," the old woman muttered happily, placing the prized bundle near its mother.
"She's beautiful…" Shōrai whispered, awe thick in her voice.
"She is," Ume agreed.
The newly made mother let out another sob of relief at finally having her child by her side. Safe. Healthy.
'She's here, she's healthy…Kami-sama…thank you,' she though.
"Reiko," Shōrai croaked, voice cracking after all the abuse it endured the past hours. Causing Ume to chuckled at her own child.
"It's perfect…," she said, extending one finger to stroke the cheek of the now quiet child.
"May she have a bright future," Ume murmured, before planting a kiss on both Shōrai and Reiko's foreheads.
—.—.—.—
The resemblance was obvious, even at only a couple of months. Shōrai and Ume were neither blind nor stupid. Even if Shōrai was more reluctant to believe it.
When the tuff of grey hair began growing, Ume already felt like it was a sign. Of what exactly, she wasn't certain.
However Reiko did not inherit said colour from either Ume or Shōrai. And her father was a brunette. Which left only one person she could have received said colour from.
Once Shōrai reached the same conclusion, she despaired, dreading the possibility that Reiko might end up looking like him. (A constant reminder)
It was Ume, in the end, who had to calm down her daughter:
"Enough Shōrai, he was still your father and you know he was a great man-" Ume said, attempting to reason with her daughter.
"And look where that greatness got him! Killed! And what about us? He wouldn't even admit to having a lover or a child. Hell, did the two of you even get married?" the younger redhead boomed in retaliation.
She wasn't angry at her mother, not really. After all, the two of them only had each other, and Reiko now, of course. Nevertheless, Shōrai hated whenever her mother keep mentioning that man.
She personally resented him. And now Ume took to implying that her baby could be potentially following in his footsteps.
'Just because of that bloody hair colour,' she though angrily. Though, it wasn't just the hair that she inherited from that man.
Reiko's light coloured eyes soon gained more pigment after birth, and, while initially they all thought that she will inherit their black coloured irises, that soon proved to be a wrong assumption.
They were red.
There was no doubt about it. By the time the child turned nine months old, her eyes were an inquisitive ruby red.
—.—.—.—
"Well done Reiko-chan," Shōrai's soft voice praised. Her short, dark-red hair, was framing her face, a contrast to Reiko's own shaggy grey hair, which was held back by a black hairband.
Shōrai's face was serene… however, her dark eyes were focused and unblinking, supervising her daughter's training.
It was a bit unorthodox, starting the girl's training so early, as she was just over one year old.
Unfortunately, 'as it just had to turn out,' her chakra coils were already far more developed than those of any other child her age. They were filled with a steady flow of strong chakra, no where near the levels of someone older, —she did not even have the levels of young teen yet— but, nevertheless, Shōrai was certain that Reiko will grow up having a large reserve of chakra.
Far more than her any of her peers would, she was positive.
'She does take after father,' the woman sighed, having resigned herself to the truth, whilst watching her daughter with sad eyes as the child concentrated on making the leaf stick to her forehead.
—.—.—.—
Two years later saw Reiko sparing with her mother, while the woman pointed out her mistakes and helped the girl correct her stance.
"You left your left side unguarded Reiko-chan," Shōrai said gently, sending a light kick which she couldn't block in time.
"Sorry kāsan," the girl said, pushing aside a strand of silver-grey hair that escaped her ponytail.
"Enough of this, finish your kata and then take a break. We will work on concealing your chakra afterwards," Shōrai said, smiling down at her child.
Shōrai herself wasn't much of a ninja, she only knew the little her father taught her in her youth and her mother wasn't even capable of using her chakra for more than fūinjutsu. By all means the two would be classed as civilians, if it wasn't for the fact that they could control their chakra to an extent.
As such, it was, —to some— maybe a miracle that Reiko showed such promise when it came to the ninja arts.
But Shōrai and Ume knew better.
Reiko was her grandfather's little girl, down to the very shape of her slanted red eyes.
Reiko looked, for all accounts and purposes more like him than her parents or even her grandmother. (Her genetics decided to bypass even their Uzumaki red in favour for the light grey she had. The two women couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing, considering the times they lived in.)
Fair skin, that was paler than either Shōrai or Ume's cream complexions, and a straight nose, as opposed to their smaller, button ones. All encased within a face that was bound to look narrower once she lost her baby fat.
The only thing that showed her to be Shōrai's daughter were the lips, which were full, unlike her grandfathers thin ones.
That, and she was a far more happy-go-lucky child than he ever was.
But, that had all to do with circumstances, in Ume's opinion.
All in all, no matter how you look at it, the resemblance was still uncanny. So much so that just looking at her caused their chest's to tighten.
—.—.—.—
Reiko turned four a month ago, in early December to be more exact, and, with the ending of a new year, a hole new load of problems appeared.
"Hush, hush, little angel, it's all right, it's all right," the old woman tried to console her crying granddaughter, rocking them backwards and forwards.
Ume was old.
Old enough to have lived through the founding of the five great villages. Old enough to have lived through the destruction of her own. Old enough to have no illusions about Reiko having a quiet life should anyone find out about her ability.
"Reiko-chan, listen to obāchan now," she said waiting for the girl to look up at her.
And when the child turned watery red eyes towards her, she said:
"Reiko, you must never, never, show, or tell anyone what you can do. Do you understand? Never," she emphasised, "If they find out…bad things will happen," she said in a grave voice.
The child nodded her head, frightened. Her red eyes bore into her grandmother's dark ones, trying to understand what was happening with little success.
Nevertheless, Reiko knew two things:
One, she knew what she did wasn't normal, she never heard of people whose hands could turn to wood. It's why she got so scared when hers did.
And two; she trusted her grandmother, and if the woman said she should never speak of this ability… then she wouldn't.
Even her precious mother will be kept in the dark.
—.—.—.—
The little village they lived in was spared, more or less, from the ugliest side of the war.
The signs of it happening were still visible of course: food was available in increasingly smaller quantities, and most of the strong and able that showed promised were shipped off to the hidden village for training. Only to then be deployed to the frontline.
Cannon fodder.
Shōrai wasn't about to let them get their claws into her daughter. It was for that reason alone that she pushed Reiko to the brick of exhaustion in their training.
If worse came to worse they would flee. No questions asked.
Shōrai forced the young child to learn how to control her chakra better than even some senior ninjas she knew could.
Thus by the time Reiko was four years old, she could completely suppress her chakra signature or alter it at her whim and keep it at a civilian level unconsciously.
Shōrai could still hear her mother: "A prodigy, so much like him," it made her chest ache.
'Much good did that talent do father, it just got him killed,' she thought, a bit bitterly, glancing at her daughter who reminded her and Ume so much of the deceased man.
Now, at five years old, the girl was displaying the signs of a sensor in the making. Which Shōrai though, was a small blessing, as that was something she was well versed in herself. —If there was one thing the young redhead was proud of, it was her chakra control and sensor abilities—
She started by teaching Reiko how to tell the difference between a human and an animal, moving on to teaching her how to tell the difference between a ninja and civilian.
Unfortunately they were still working on the later, as there was rarely ninja seen passing through their little village. Making it harder to teach Reiko how to discern the difference.
At the moment, the mother-daughter combo were in the woods. Shōrai standing at a distance, watching Reiko with critical eyes, as the girl struggled to manipulate the water from the lake.
Shōrai should have known that if there was any element the girl was going to take too it would be water. Reiko was very proficient at manipulating smaller quantities of it. However she was still struggling to mould large quantities of water.
'Nature manipulation at her age…Kami, she will become a force to be reckoned with if this keeps up,' she though, still surprised by her daughter's rapid growth.
'Soon… there won't be anything else I can teach her…then what?' Shōrai thought before quickly pushing those thoughts away.
Refusing to think such things when there was still time.
If it would have been after Shōrai, Reiko would not learn anything but the basics, —since when was nature manipulation considered basic?— in order to better protect herself.
"That won't be enough for her Shōrai. She's inquisitive by nature, she won't be satisfied learning so little," Ume told her, on more than one occasion.
'Like hell it won't be enough,' she though, clenching her teeth, 'I'll make sure Reiko doesn't need to know more,' she vowed, 'I'll protect her. I'll protect her like he was meant to do with mother and I.'
It was a vow that was destined to be broken from the very beginning. Yet, Shōrai was stubborn. She might not look like him, or be anywhere near as talented, but she at least inherited his stubbornness.
Last week she was able to came up with an exercise which was bound too keep her daughter for a while. Just, not as much as she would have liked.
Taking her down to the lake three times a week, making her gather the water and mould in into spheres.
The aim of this exercise was for Reiko to hold the water suspended in the air for as long as she could. This particular training got harder the further Reiko progressed, adding more water and making her create more spheres at once.
It was designed to help refine her chakra control, while simultaneously working her reserves.
A large splash brought Shōrai out of her musings.
Turning her attention once again to Reiko, she was able to notice that the girl has reached her limit. The child was breathing heavily, legs wobbly, and, after a quick scan of her chakra, rather low in that aspect as well.
'Two hours, and 40 gallons of water…Reiko, she is improving really fast,' Shōrai though, somewhat sadly, thinking of the destiny that awaited her child. She was scared to think so far ahead.
Shōrai didn't like the life of ninjas, one could even say she hated it.
Hence why she refused to pursue it, unlike her father.
Or, maybe especially because her father was who he was. It was hard to live up to that sort of legacy. Made redundant —of course— by the fact that nobody knew that she had such a legacy to begin with.
Her and Ume were, after all, the man's dirty little secret.
Otherwise he wouldn't have been ashamed to announce their relationship.
It was a bitter though, but Shōrai couldn't help it. She hated her father who abandoned them, who chose a village over his own family, his own blood.
"He was never ashamed of us Shōrai, you know that. He loved you more than anything in the world…you remember right?" her mother would keep reminding her.
And she did remember.
She remembered the man who would come and play with her. Who would visit her mother, looking at the woman as if she wore his entire world. She remembered that once, during a particularly nasty storm, he came in her room, woken by he crying, and stayed with her till her fear was alleviated and she fell back asleep.
Shōrai remembered the man who would tell her tales of really silly person and who told her he loved her. She remembered.
It was precisely why she hated him and his choices.
"It was to protect us. I'm not like Mito-sama, if someone came I couldn't have protected you," 'Bullshit,' she though darkly, 'who the hell is protecting us now to begin with?'
So lost was she in her thoughts that she didn't even realise Reiko moved till the child was pulling on her kimono.
"Kāsan…" the bright eyed child said, looking up at her mother, innocent and pure, 'the world still hasn't touched her enough to wipe off that look,' Shōrai though fondly.
"Let's go home Reiko-chan," she murmured, smiling when her daughter rewarded her with a wide, gap toothed smile.
Chuckling she gathered the still growing child in her arms, and gave a small twirl, delighted to hear Reiko laugh.
'Please…Kami-sama, let me protect her childhood for as long as I can,' she prayed, making their way back home and using her sensing ability to avoid any noisy neighbour that might question what they have been doing in the forest.
—.—.—.—
At seven, Reiko was a proud 51inches tall. Her light grey hair reached her lower back and was constantly in a high ponytail. She looked…more or less as she did up till now, only bigger.
Though, Ume and Shōrai were not blind to the biggest change that their little girl displayed.
She lost that spark of naivety that children are meant to have.
More than a year and a half ago their village was attacked by two members from the Kaguya clan who were passing through as they returned from the frontline.
They demanded provisions and grew enraged when they were denied, as the village was already suffering from a shortage.
They were vicious. Sparing no one, be they old or young. If they saw you, you died.
Simple.
There was so much blood, the streets were painted with it. People were screaming, running, looking for cover.
And Reiko saw.
She saw as the kind lady from the market, who would always give her a free apple, pleaded for her life. How the cranky old man, who took to hanging by the bakery, was spared no mercy. How their next door neighbour screamed, and screamed, till she had no voice left. How young Shinji, who was just one year older than her, had his back broken…
It was utter chaos.
And it was only due to Shōrai, who quickly grabbed Reiko and ran, that they survived.
They ran, and ran, till they couldn't sense their chakra anymore. Ran till they couldn't hear the screams of the villagers any longer. Ran till Reiko's sobs couldn't possibly be heard by those animals.
Ume, who they picked up from the house, was cradling Reiko to her chest, muttering soothing words and telling her that everything will be all right.
Things weren't all right. Nor will they ever be the same again.
The damage was done, and Reiko was no longer the same happy-go-lucky child.
She took to her training with a ferocity only matched by a wild animal. She honed her sensing ability till she could sense people miles away. Her chakra control was amazing, good enough that she could start learning iryoninjutsu if she wanted.
Good enough to learn ninjutsu.
It got to the point that Reiko and Shōrai would get into constant arguments over it.
"Why must you go on? There is no need for it!" Shōrai hated the ninja lifestyle, hated how dangerous it was…hated that her daughter was pursuing it. Frightened that she might go as far as enrol in the academy.
Shōrai heard the stories, knew that Kirigakure truly deserved their 'bloody' monicker.
She didn't want Reiko to die before her.
However, it wasn't meant to be as Shōrai wished. And when Reiko gave the one, and only argument which Shōrai couldn't fight…she finally relented:
"I don't want to lose you just because I couldn't protect you."
It was silent after Reiko's admission. What could they say to that? What argument could they make?
Ume, who never got involved in these arguments stood up and left the room, returning a moment later with several scrolls in her arms.
"Mother?" Shōrai inquired
"These…are mainly scrolls that your grandfather wrote. He gave them to me after he learned that I was pregnant with your mother. So that she, or any of her children, may learn if they wished too…and he wasn't there to teach them," she said, looking at the scrolls longingly, before sighing and placing them before Reiko.
"Obāsan…thank you," she said respectfully.
Later that same day her grandmother taught her how to seal and unseal the scrolls. For the old woman might have never been a ninja, but she was still an Uzumaki woman. Proud of her heritage and well versed in her clan's most known ability, fūinjutsu.
That night Ume placed a storage seal on her left tight, "It will be safer this way," she said, hand never wavering as she drew the intricate design. "Don't worry it won't harm you, but, I want you to store the scrolls here whenever you are not using them. Understand?" she asked gravely.
"Yes obāsan, I trust you," she agreed.
Shōrai was nowhere to be seen during this hole ordeal.
—.—.—.—
The first jutsu Reiko learned was the Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidding in Mist Technique). It was not an offensive technique by any means. Although, Reiko was aware that young and inexperienced as she was, she wouldn't be able to match an older, more experienced, opponent in battle. Thus being able to distract or confuse them in order to retreat would be a more valuable ability.
She wasn't great at taijutsu, Shōrai herself not proficient in the art, and knowing no more than a couple of basic katas —which she learnt as a child. And, unable to find someone willing, that she could trust, to teach her, Reiko had to relay on ninjutsu and her sensory abilities.
Genjutsu was out of the question, as neither the scrolls nor her family could teach her. Bukijutsu posed the same problem as taijutsu and while both her mother and grandmother were well versed in fūinjutsu, Reiko seemed to posses no talent for sealing beyond memorising the seals and what they did.
Moreover, no amount of practice could really make up for that when it came to fūinjutsu. Simply because in order for one to become proficient in the art, especially if they wanted to be able to use it in combat, they had to have a certain calling for it. Something which Reiko lacked. Nevertheless, the very basic of the basic, such as explosive tags and storage seals, she could create, by sheer virtue of being able to draw them accurately.
That was not fūinjutsu, that was just copying, and Reiko wished she was better at it. If only to carry on her grandmother's heritage.
The old woman deserved at least that.
'There is always that,' she though, recalling the ability which she awakened years ago, only to shoot it down almost as quickly as it passed through her mind.
It was too dangerous to practice out in the open, and her grandmother could only spare so much time before Shōrai got suspicious about what the two were doing together.
"Hhng," she sighed tiredly, stretching out before returning to her sit ups.
Just because she couldn't advance much in her taijutsu now, didn't mean she couldn't ensure her stamina and strength were up to standard.
—.—.—.—
The first offensive jutsu Reiko learned was: Suiton Mizurappa. (Water Style Raging Waves)
It causes the user to expel large quantities of water from their mouth after kneading chakra in their stomach. The jutsu's power depended sorely on the amount of chakra the user feed the technique.
Making it a very, appealing technique, in Reiko's opinion.
For the other water techniques on the other hand, Reiko had to practice by the lake and use the provided water to power up her jutsu. As condensing water from the atmosphere used significantly more chakra, which she didn't feel comfortable using at her current level.
Right now she was attempting to learn Suiton Suigadan, a jutsu, which was most useful for aquatic combat. (Water Style: Water Fang Bullet)
The scrolls her grandmother gave her were through. Explaining the ins and outs of each jutsu. Describing exactly, what the user is meant to feel before the jutsu activates and so on.
Reiko, while grateful for this information, was still uncertain about how she was meant to feel, in regards to her grandfather.
There was her grandmother who clearly loved the man, and spoke fondly of him. Whilst her mother didn't seem to have anything positive to add about the man. She was bitter and blamed him for the situation they were in, which, in hindsight Reiko could understand why.
After all, surely he could have kept Ume in the village with him; even if he couldn't have been with her all the time.
On the other hand, Reiko had never meet the man, so she couldn't really form a personal opinion about him. All she knew about him came from the two women she lived with, and, as previously mentioned, their views were contradictory at best.
However, what the young girl did resent, was the way they looked at her.
Both her mother and grandmother would, at times, get this faraway look in their eyes when she entered a room, looking at a spot just above her shoulder, as if seeing someone else standing behind her.
Like they saw through her.
It at least made her resent her grandfather for passing on his genes.
—.—.—.—
Shimo no Kuni (Land of Frost) was cold. Cold, cold, cold.
Spring came late in the year, with summer even later, lasting for barely five months before the snow returned.
It's been over a year since Reiko left Mizu no Kuni and the little village she grew up in. The events which happened not so long ago still haunting her.
The nine year old was currently making her way to the nearby village in order to buy some provisions. Nothing too odd for the average viewer, even her obviously young appearance wouldn't have caused more than a raised eyebrow.
No, it was only if one paid attention that they would realise one, important, thing.
Her steps made no noise even as her boots crunched the snow underneath them.
They would then pay even closer attention to the girl and notice the way she carried herself, deceptively relaxed looking. Muscles tense and ready to be used at a moment's notice.
Her back was strait and her shaggy grey hair was in a high ponytail, reaching her shoulder blades. Reiko's previously bright red eyes were now dulled and lacked the spark of life that used to characterise them in the past. She was wearing a dark navy, fur lined kimono, that ended just above her ankles. With long slits on both sides, giving her greater mobility, whilst still keeping her decently warm. Her legs were tightly wrapped in bandages to prevent the cold air from hitting them. Her look was completed with a pair of closed toed, black boots.
Despite being alone on the snowed pathway, her senses were on high alert. The third shinobi world war was still in full swing and while Shimogakure was not as heavily involved in the war compared to the other hidden villages; it still bordered Kaminari no Kuni(Land of Lightning) and Yu no Kuni(Land of Hot-water) making Hi no Kuni(Land of Fire) —another big one— close.
Meaning that border skirmishes happened often, especially between the shinobi of Kumogakure and Konoha.
Therefore Reiko learnt to always be on alert and avoid altercation with other ninja.
Sighing, the girl unconsciously fiddled with her necklace, a simple turquoise crystal on a black chain. The last gift she received, for her ninth birthday, from her grandmother.
-Flashback-
"Here, I want you to have this," Ume said, smiling at Reiko's wide-eyed expression. when she opened her palm to see her gift.
"Obāchan! This is your necklace!" she said, Shōrai herself was looking at Ume in surprise. After all she knew exactly what that necklace meant.
"Yes, and now it is yours," she said gently, "it was a gift from your grandfather. He gave it to me when he found out I was pregnant with your mother. 'To keep you safe,' he said, and it did. All these years it protected me and your mother. However now you are mine and Shōrai's most precious person, so I want you to have it," she said, looking expectantly at Reiko.
The girl in question was flabbergasted, for as long as she lived, Reiko had never seen Ume take off that necklace, so being suddenly presented with it left her feeling quite off balance. Nevertheless, she accepted the gift, thanking her grandmother profusely.
"Thank you obāchan, I'll make sure to protect it," she vowed.
"You make sure to do that, after all, there is only one other like it in the entire world so make sure to keep it safe," Ume said gently, with warm eyes as she embraced her growing granddaughter.
-End of Flashback-
'Ah, I haven't forgotten my promise obāchan…even if neither you or okāchan are here to remind me anymore,' she thought, tightly gripping the pendant and taking solace in the little warmth it seemed to emit.
After that it was not long before she entered the busy village, making her way to the market place to see what they had to offer.
'Haven't had fish in a while.'
—.—.—.—
A/N: Right, so if there are spelling/ grammar errors please fell free to point them out, I have read over it a couple of times but I would have likely missed things, so don't be afraid to tell me I would actually appreciate it.
Questions:
1. Two guesses on who her grandfather is XD (it's not actually a secret but I didn't see the need to name him right now)
2. What do you guys think so far about it?