"War doesn't determine who's right- only who's left"- Bertrand Russel
The Fourth Shinobi War had been going on for a while now. While the shinobi went off to fight, the civilians were quickly evacuated into multiple shelters.
Saki, a young widow, was currently placating her only child as pained screams could be faintly heard on the far off battlefield. She was weary of the constant fighting and worrying. Sure, she was supremely grateful for the protection that shinobi provided for her child, but sometimes, their greed for power was irritating.
"I'm booored kaa-chan." Yui whined, lightly tugging her mother's skirt in an attempt to grab her attention.
"I know, dear." came the halfhearted reply as Saki's attention was caught by the conversation of one of the nearby shinobi guards.
"Hey, is it true that one of the Biju Bombs are heading this way?" The hushed urgent words had Saki's eyes widening.
"Yeah, but there's nothing we can do about it. Even if we run, the blast zone is much too large for us to surpass." The resigned reply had Saki covering her mouth with her hands, to muffle the horrified gasp. She was frozen for a moment before looking down at her daughter, realizing that she didn't have much time left.
Saki was determined to keep her child calm and happy at all costs,
"Honey, let's play a game, okay?" She murmured, tightly hugging her daughter memorizing the feel of her tiny body against her own one last time.
"Ohh, what game? I love games!" Yui chirped, bouncing up and down, hair flying around wildly. Saki usually would have laughed at the sight, if it weren't for the fact that she was fighting back tears.
"I need you to close your eyes and count down from ten, just like hide and seek." She whispered, stroking her beautiful child's cheek.
"Ok kaa-chan!" Yui immediately complied, all the while grinning as she covered her face with her hands.
"Ten"
Saki finally let the tears flow, body trembling from the effort of keeping her racking sobs quiet. Her teeth griited as she grieved for the life that her child would never have.
"Nine."
She remembered when she first saw Yui, a small babe swaddled in blankets. The wave of love that overtook her had left her speechless, as she stared in awe at her beautiful child. It was impossible to forget the fragility of Yui's frame in her arms.
"Eight"
"kaa-chan!"
Saki gasped in joy as she swept up Yui in her arms, swinging her around as she giggled.
"Your first word, Yui! I'm so proud of you!"
Yui merely laughed, the sound twinkling in the room as both mother and daughter basked in each other's presence.
"Seven"
Yui wobbled for a bit, before finally taking a step forward. She stumbled, but was quickly caught by Saki, who sported a wide grin at her beloved daughter's achievement.
"Yui, you can walk now!"
They both grinned at each other.
"Six"
"Happy Birthday Yui!"
Yui laughed in elation as she blew out her candles.
Saki took out her present, which was a long, blue ribbon.
"I thought that with your hair getting longer, you need something to hold it back," Saki explained as she tied it into Yui's unruly hair.
"Thanks kaa-chan! I love it!"
"Five"
Saki held Yui's hand as she walked her to the civilian school. The clasped hands were sweaty, one nervous at the first day of school, the other, worried that her daughter would be left alone for the first time in her life. They stopped at the entrance, both not wanting to be the first to initiate conversation. It was Saki who broke the silence.
"Well, it's your first day. You're going to have so much fun Yui."
Yui merely nodded before breathing and letting go of her mother's hands. She waved goodbye before leaving Saki, who was secretly weeping at her daughter who had grown up much too fast.
"Four"
She remembered the endless nights spent helping Yui with her homework.
"So what is 18+10 again?" she quizzed.
Yui scrunched up her nose, using her fingers for a moment before blurting out "28?"
"Good job Yui."
"Three"
Yui was only seven, when the declaration of war was announced.
She didn't understand what that meant, so she asked Saki.
"Kaa-chan, what's war?" The innocent question caught Saki off guard.
"Something I hoped that you would never experience" The somber reply was accompanied with a heavy sigh.
"Two"
The Biju Bomb was so close now, it appeared as a dark speck in the horizon, quickly growing larger every second. If she strained hard enough, she could the whistling sound increasing as it approached.
"One"
Yui opened her eyes to find her mother smiling down at her.
"Kaa-chan, you're a terrible at hiding." She commented, earning a garbled laugh from Saki.
"Yui." The soft word made Yui look up in curiosity.
"Yes kaa-chan?"
The bomb was almost upon them, causing everyone to stare in fear at it.
"No matter what, I will always love you." Saki hugged Yui for one last time as the earth rumbled in preparation for the impact.
"Kaa-chan...?"
She stroked Yui's hair, smoothing out the wrinkled blue ribbon as she attempted to shield Yui's body with her own. She choked out her last words just before clenching her eyes tight.
The bomb hit, the entire earth shaking as everything closest to the impact was obliterated, the sound so deafening, that shinobi from the battlefield paused and glanced up a bit, before resuming their battles.
"Thank you so much for coming into my life"
Naruto panted as he glared at Tobi, who seemed unfazed by his attacks.
"Damn it, he just keeps on dodging the Biju Bombs!" He cried ot as he shot off another one that Tobi merely dodged. He didn't pay attention to where they eventually landed, assuming that they ended up somewhere unimportant.
When the war was over, clean up crews consisting of worn down shinobi scattered, picking up all the debris and corpses. One crew, in particular was assigned to clean up a sector where there was a large crater, grumbling as they shoved debris in their trash bags. They had run out of storage scrolls during the war, so everything had to be picked up by hand.
One of the chuunin spotted a bit of color among the trampled dirt, fluttering weakly in the breeze. He strolled toward it, slightly curious, when he picked it up.
It was a long blue ribbon, frayed at the edges and smeared with grime.
Scoffing, he just threw it in the bag as he continued with his work.
Author's Notes
I should be working on my other story. But, I saw this image (link on my profile), where it just hit me in the feels. So, I wrote this while I am sobbing on the inside. It could just be that I'm in an emotional mood now, probably because of the finals that I should REALLY start studying for. This takes place during the war where one of the stray Biju Bombs came flying over. The father is dead. Here's a really short AU of this on what if Yui had lived.
One of the cleanup crews were extremely surprised when they heard slight scratching sounds coming from one of the pile of debris.
"We've got a survivor!" The frantic call resounded across to the others as one crew slowly pried off the collapsed structure. All held their breath at the sight in front of them.
A young girl struggled to get out from under a woman's body as she stared with wide, unblinking eyes at the corpse. She shook the body, her entire frame trembling as tears flowed out without her noticing.
"Kaa-chan...?"