"Italicized words in quotes are thoughts"
Bold is authors note
When I awoke the next morning it was to the soft hands of my father. He was leaning over my crib and was cupping my cheek with a familial fondness. He seemed to like doing so. His sweet smile widened when he registered my eyes opening and my body beginning to squirm. The room was now bright with the light of the sun making the beige walls seem to glow.
"Good morning my dear", Takashi greeted, "I hope you slept well. Today I can show you around our compound and introduce you to our family. Would you like that?'
My little hand wrapped around one of the fingers on his free hand which hovered near the other side of my face. I shook the finger up and down to the best of my ability to signal a clear 'yes'. His eyes sparkled with joy in response.
"Wonderful. First though I'm going to get you fed", he said as his hands pulled back the small blanket.
One hand went behind my head while the other wrapped around my pudgy torso. My father delicately raised me from the bed; the sudden gravity proving to be a bit disorienting to me. He pressed me against his chest and my head peaked slightly over his shoulder so that I could see behind him if I strained my eyes a bit. He began walking towards the door and as he did so I could see clearly through the window above my crib. When Takashi had brought be in the night before I hadn't taken the time to look at the opening. There was a bright view of some of the village which looked warm and beautiful in the morning light. I didn't have much time to observe this time either though, as Takashi quickly left the room. As he walked down the halls I observed the now bustling compound with interest. Some people rushed about while others adopted a more leisurely stroll. Almost all of them took at least a moment to look at me and my father. Some of them regarded me with curiosity, some with worry, and some with something else which I couldn't quite place.
I took note of every corner turned and door passed. What really caught my attention was a large open garden we passed. Shortly after moving passed the garden we reached the kitchen. The shelves were stocked with spices and sauces of all kinds. Many of them had warning labels for heat. Takashi went straight for a bottle of already-made liquid which had been wrapped in a damp towel. I could only assume Takashi had prepared it before coming to get me. Inside the bottle was a green liquid which sloshed around thickly. Something told me that this stuff was not pleasant to consume.
"Unfortunately I have no way of getting you any breast milk, so this is the next best thing", Takashi informed with an apologetic tone. "The stuff in breast milk is essential for a baby's proper development. This isn't going to taste very good, but please drink all of it Shizue-chan."
My father held the nipple of the bottle to my lips and after a moment of hesitation I obliged and opened my tooth-less mouth. The instant the warm green liquid hit my tongue I knew why Takashi had seemed so apologetic. It felt like slim and the initial taste was sour causing my face to screw up. As the sour faded it was quickly chased by a grainy texture and sickeningly sweet flavor. I wanted to spit it out but I kept drinking if only for the grateful look which showed on my father's face. Once I was finished an after taste permeated my mouth; it was like plain dough was caking my tongue and it was entirely disgusting. After Takashi set the bottle back down on the table he stroked my hair comfortingly.
"Very good my little one", he beamed down at me and it made me feel like it was worth it to down the offending drink. "Now we can go find our family and I can introduce you."
It seemed we wouldn't have to go far to find my aunts/uncles. As soon as we were outside of the kitchen we were greeted by a man and a woman who looked quite a bit like Takashi. The woman had an air of strictness about her. She held herself in a way that demanded respect and she retained a calculating expression. The man was different. He seemed arrogant and sort of casual in a way that may have been deceiving. His face carried a smirk that spoke volumes of some sense of superiority.
"Ah, just the people I wanted to see!" Takashi bounced me in his arms to get a better hold on me, "Tsukiko-nee, Akahito-nii; this is my daughter, Shizue." He turned to look at me, "Shizue-chan this is your aunt Tsukiko and your uncle Akahito."
"Good morning Takashi-san", Tsukiko greeted rather formally. Her eyes were the same golden brown as Takashi's but somehow they seemed different. They seemed piercing as they scanned me in my father's arms, "That name appears rather appropriate. She looks quite a bit like you though that hair is definitely her mother's."
"That's certainly true", Akahito jumped in. He scanned me over but stopped at my eyes; we stared back at one another. I didn't waver and he seemed slightly unnerved by it. "I'm assuming the bonding with that… thing went well?"
"Rai died but that was already expected." Takashi answered with a carefree smile, "Other than that it went perfectly. Isn't she beautiful?"
"You sure sound like a doting father Takashi-san", Tsukiko grinned, "I hope you know what's to come. Anyway I need to go get some food prepared; I'll going out on a mission today that may take a while."
"Yes and I'm already running late to see my squad", Akahito agreed. Some more images flashed through my mind, "This man is in charge of a group of children?!"
"Alright", Takashi sighed, "Have a good day you two."
As soon as the two had disappeared into the kitchen I felt a wave of fatigue fall over me. I tried squirming about to keep myself awake but I just felt so tired. "This is ridiculous, I've been awake for all of twenty minutes."
"Awe, are you getting tired again?" Takashi took note of my drooping eyes, "Well let's get you back to your room and lay you down for a nap."
The next four months passed in a blur of sleeping, drinking that awful concoction, and being carried about by my father. Despite a clear understanding of the things around me, I could not avoid the natural hindrances of being a new-born. Thankfully though; being the child of a ninja family my muscles developed a little quicker and my periods of consciousness became longer. I had recently learned to crawl but I was far from walking. I could make incoherent noises but I only sounded them out when I was around Takashi, I refused to have communication with anyone besides him really. Mostly because people avoided me in the compound. I'm still not quite sure why. I know I'm different but I don't know why or how. Besides, being different doesn't give them the right to look at me the way they do.
Today Takashi promised to take me somewhere special. He had come into my room and dressed me like any other day but the look in his eyes was one you give someone when you're excited to see their reaction to something. Anticipation. The last two or three weeks Takashi had been taking me off of the green bottled crap and instead began feeding me baby food. Today's food flavor was simple apple sauce mixed with fresh cinnamon. After getting me fed Takashi picked me up and began walking with a purpose. He stopped in front of the opening to the garden and suddenly I understood what the surprise was. When I looked up at him for affirmation he was already staring down at me.
"Mmhm", he hummed in approval, "I've noticed that you always look this way when we head to and from the kitchen. This is our clan's garden. That means that as a daughter of a Kinjo heir; this is your garden too."
I smiled one of my rare toothless-grins and he seemed over-joyed by the reaction. He stepped down into the garden and set me down so that I could crawl about on my own. The garden was vast and filled with many varieties of flowers, herbs, and trees. There were bell flowers, roses, bleeding hearts, and there was rosemary, peppers, basil leaves, and there was an oak tree, rosewood trees, and sakura trees, and so much more. Beautiful was the only word which I could come up with but that didn't even remotely do it justice. In the center was a slab of concrete which displayed a carving; it appeared as a circle with three evenly spaced lines flowing down from the center of the circle. The carving was coated with obsidian but was otherwise plain. I crawled over to the symbol and placed my tiny pudgy hands against it. I turned to my father and slapped the symbol twice. He grinned from his position near the entrance and walked over to me.
Takashi crouched down to my level and placed his hand next to mine, "This is our village symbol. Our ninja wear it on their forehead protectors and our family wears it on their clothes."
I nodded and spent a few more moments studying the slab and it's carving before moving on. I crawled about for a while before stopping at a flower. I was completely entranced by its beauty. It was pure white with soft blue spots dotting the petals. I reached out a hand and touched it gently. The bottom of the petals felt like silk while the top reminded me of the fuzzy skin of the peaches kept on the table in the kitchen. In the center of the flower it was dark; nearly black however the anther were white and appeared in stark contrast against its background. The petals curled downward as though they were shying away from the sun. As I looked at this flower no image came to mind, an odd occurrence considering I was used to immediately receiving them when coming upon something new, I had no idea what this flower was. Takashi of course noticed my interest and came up beside me. He sat down on the grass next to me and I looked up at him with an obvious question in my expression.
"That is a flower called the Moon's Light", he explained warmly, "It only grows here in the village. At night; its petals create a soft glowing light. If you want we can come and look at them again later tonight."
I nodded absently while still starring at the flower. For good measure I added a gurgling sound of approval. That served to make Takashi laugh gently. He announced that it was time that we headed back inside and picked me up off the ground. He reasoned that if I was going to be up at night to see the flowers then I should take my mid-day nap a little earlier today; it made sense.
However, after the loving man had laid me down to sleep and left the room I couldn't help simply staring at the ceiling rather than going to sleep. In the past few days I had found that it was steadily taking more time for my eyelids to become heavy. Not in a way that was natural of growing; rather I would still feel tired but I wouldn't be able to get to sleep as easily. The images which flashed through my head every time I considered this anomaly suggest that it was something referred to as 'insomnia', but toddlers weren't meant to suffer from such a disorder. Just another reason for people to consider me strange.
Though I couldn't be sure yet, the hesitation of my mind to rest only ever lasted for a few minutes or so before I would fall into unconsciousness. I could be jumping to unnecessary conclusion. The same could be said for this time too, after staring at the ceiling for a few minutes my eyes fell closed and I slipped into darkness.
It was a bit ironic that throughout the day I would learn through images which processed in my mind anytime I questioned anything and yet when I slept I did not dream. It would pass without any feeling of stretched time or fantasy. I would close my eyes and then the next thing I knew I would be groggily blinking into awareness. As I tried to get my bearings about me, I could see Takashi lean down and scoop me up.
With each step he took I found myself more awake. Anticipation grew in my stomach at the prospect of seeing the Moon's Light flowers in all their glory. My father was careful to stay quiet as we made our way through the compound. The entrance to the family garden was in sight now but before I could really catch a glimpse Takashi placed a hand over my eyes.
"I want it to be as much as a surprise as it can be", he whispered to me and I could hear the grin in his voice.
I didn't fight it; I only huffed. I felt him jostle me slightly as he stepped down into the garden. I heard the grass beneath his feet and the way the trees rustled with the gentle wind. With each passing second I wanted to see the flower more and more. Takashi kneeled down while somehow still managing to keep a hand over my eyes and without dropping me.
"Okay", he announced quietly.
He removed his hand and I came face to face with the most beautiful thing I had ever seen; granted I hadn't been around for long but I had been shown many things in my own mind and none of them compared to this. The flowers were glowing brightly and illuminated the nearly-black center and the soil from which the flowers grew. The anther now seemed an other-worldly blue shade and I couldn't look away. All of the Moon's Light was pointed towards the full moon which was raised high over the garden now. The sight enchanted me and I knew I would remember it for the rest of my life even if I were never to look upon these flowers again.
I smiled a wide smile; one which showed off my gummy-mouth and felt as though it would split my face in two. Takashi smiled too and it was fatherly and warm and kind. We stayed in the garden admiring the flowers for a long while until I couldn't hold my head up anymore and my sight was hazy with exhaustion. At which point Takashi picked me up gently and carried me back to bed where he tucked me in snuggly and kissed me on the forehead.
Time passed quickly and things for the most part flowed steadily and before I knew it; it was my first birthday. I wasn't sure I really understood what was so special about the day, but my father had gotten very excited over the prospect. I was well on my way to walking and I could form half-words so I often spent time attempting to waddle around in my room while Takashi talked on about preparations for some sort of party to celebrate my birth.
He intended to invite his siblings, his parents, and a few of the villagers along with the villagers' children. It quite honestly sounded like a congested, uncomfortable, get-together where I would likely be stared at like I was some sort of freak just like I had been since the moment I was born. However, I didn't intend to try and let my father know how I felt about it because for one; I knew that if he knew I was feeling shunned by our family that someone was likely to die, and two; he was really enjoying himself in making plans for this party and I would certainly not be the one to get rid of that mood. So instead I would give him small smiles and listen idly while I worked to get walking.
We had the party a day before my actual birth day and it was exactly as I expected. I had been dressed in a pretty red dress before-hand and had been given a lot of encouragement from my father. Everyone showed up out of obligation and need to appease my family, but I could tell none of them wanted to be anywhere near me. At least that's how the adults felt. For the most part the other toddlers and children were friendly, but it's not like I could have any sort of conversation with them or play any games since the ones big enough to play were far bigger than me and those who were my size weren't coherent enough to do much more than sit there and drool. It was an utterly exhausting affair full of people staring at me for much longer than necessary. It did provide me a good chance to observe people from the village though. Before this point I hadn't met anyone from outside the compound. Much of the people seemed healthy and were in good spirits around my other family members. Despite their personal discomfort with me; I could see they very much loved this village and that warmed me a bit.
I did enjoy the smile on Takashi's face. He grinned happily the entire party and afterwards he talked to me for a long while and I responded with gurgling partial-words. I could make out the word "Otow" but that was about as far as I was in being understandable. However that was more than enough to encourage Takashi's smile to widen and his speech to pick up the pace in enthusiasm. My father gifted me a book that night. He promised to begin reading it to me before bed.
He read the first chapter to me that night. It was called The Tale of a Gutsy Ninja. It was about a great ninja called Naruto who paved the way with his ideals and bravery to a better life. It was interesting and also strange to have to imagine the scenes in my head. I was so used to simply being showed things without my own will for it. It gave me a sense of control to imagine everything myself based off what I knew of the world.
By the time I was two I could walk about without issue and speak fluently; still though I only ever conversed with my father. I was also now about to begin getting training within the family. They started with simple things disguised as games. Hand games with little songs to go along with them, card memorization, and throwing games all had strong undertones of shinobi assessment to them.
I could now clearly identify the emotion in people's eyes when they looked at me as fear. My uncle always seemed especially disconcerted when he watched me play the 'games'. It had almost become a game in itself for me to try and see exactly how uncomfortable I could make him by staring at him relentlessly or by openly displaying just how much I understood the things happening around me and the truth beneath simple lies or disguises.
On quiet days my father would join me in the gardens as I learned how to tend to the Moon's Light. They were my favorite and Takashi made a point to indulge me with them; several were now placed in little pots by my windowsill. While most of my family, and the village, liked to pretend I wasn't so far ahead of even adults; my father was not like them. Instead he took joy in sitting me down on his lap and teaching me complicated kanji and reading to me about chakra or the ninja arts of our clan.
I was starting to notice though that Takashi was becoming tired faster; that he moved a little slower and that some days he would cough frequently. It worried me but when I mentioned it he just brushed it off. However, things changed the day he coughed up blood.
Hello again! So things are moving sort of quickly in terms of time passage here but I figure that that's unavoidable since there's not much for a silent toddler to do with people who don't want to be around her right? Next chapter will likely be a bit lengthier and there will be more in-depth scenes since Shizue will be at an age and physical maturity where getting around on her way and interacting with people will happen more often. I tried to convey how much Shizue cares about her father and the bond she feels but I'm not sure how well I did that. I hope you guys enjoyed. I welcome any constructive criticism and/or praise. - Kue
