Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!
What kind of impression will Mikadzuki make on the Uchiha family? *tilts head in deep thought*
Mikadzuki wore a simple dress with capped sleeves of a pastel pink and a daisy barrette to pull one side of her bangs back, matching white sandals on her feet. She also had a small white purse over her shoulder with her key and a handkerchief inside. She was unsure with such pretty clothes, she felt like she was in the noble class when she knew she was a commoner at best.
"Relax, you're fine," Kakashi assured her, patting her shoulder. "No one's going to bite you over there."
"Were these clothes expensive?"
He chuckled. "Hardly pocket change. They're not made out of silk, so don't fret. Silk is only for special occasions. We're not royalty and even if we were, silk isn't necessary for a family dinner, even if it is the Head of the Uchiha Clan's family."
She went ramrod straight and squeaked, "The head? Is he lord over all his clan?"
"Yes, but only those within his clan use 'lord', remember that. Now go on, it's almost time."
She nodded and murmured, "See you later."
He patted her shoulders and replied fondly, "Have a good time."
She stepped out and found Sasuke was just walking up the stairs. He noticed her and his cheeks were dusted with red. He came over and offered a hand.
"We should go. Thanks for letting me take her out like this, Master Kakashi."
She took his hand and they walked towards the Uchiha Enclave. He then turned to her and asked, "Are you nervous?"
"A little, but I'll be fine."
"Um…you look cute in that."
"Thank you."
Her eyes searched for the symbol that adorned the back of Sasuke's shirt: a red fan with white handle. When she spotted it, she knew they were about to enter where most civilians wouldn't without prior invitation. She felt like an outsider as they walked along the roads, her pose becoming more and more closed off, the more uncertainty which gathered inside her. He noticed and squeezed her hand.
"It's okay, Miss Mikadzuki. No one's going to hurt you here."
In fact, as they passed people, they smiled and called, "Lord Sasuke!"
The title almost made her quail in fear. She was holding his hand and walking with him like she was an equal… She wanted to prostrate herself at his feet, beg his forgiveness and receive her punishment of thirty lashes. If anyone of Moon Country saw her now… She wouldn't just be punished, she'd be tortured and killed. Not a single inch of her body wouldn't be bloodied, burned and bruised when they finished. The thought almost made her knees fail in terror.
"Lord Sasuke, bringing a new friend to meet your parents?" a middle-aged woman asked.
"Yes," he answered easily.
"This one's different from your teammate! She's adorable, even if her hair's in a boyish style!"
"Thanks. We should be going, or else we'll be late."
He stepped away from the woman and when they were out of earshot, he grumbled, "I wish they'd stop with the 'lord' thing. They used to talk to me just like a normal person before I became a Genin."
This woke her from her whirl of thoughts. He didn't like being called by a title? Even if it was his birthright?
"Can you believe that? It's only members of the clan, too. I hate it that they do it. I'm sure if I was the elder son, they'd be groveling and kissing the ground I walk on."
She could no longer just listen. "You have an elder brother?"
"Yeah, don't walk with him around here, you'll never get anywhere. He's the greatest gift to our clan and don't you dispute that fact, people will probably try to burn you alive."
"R-really?" she whispered, quivering.
"No, I was just joking," he told her with a smile and chuckle. "Lighten up, would you? I promised that you'll be okay here. Our society doesn't rely on violence for anything, unless you're a criminal, and I won't get into that."
"I feel like a criminal as I walk next to you—"
"You finish that sentence I'll leave you alone to introduce yourself to my parents," he bit out. "I'm just a normal kid, as are you. We won't have any changes of behavior between us unless they're for the better. You're too quick to change your tune when it comes to ranking among people. I don't care unless it's the Hokage or my elders, I think everyone deserves to be treated the same."
She fell silent again and they walked the rest of the way to his home. He opened the door and called, "I'm home! Mom! Dad! I brought over my new friend for you to meet!"
A woman that Mikadzuki knew had to be Sasuke's mother came over to them and smiled. "Welcome back, Sasuke. Is this your friend? My, she's adorable. I'm Mikoto Uchiha, Sasuke's mother."
Mikadzuki bowed and greeted in return, "I'm Mikadzuki Hatake, Mrs. Uchiha."
"Hatake? Does Kakashi have a daughter your age, Sasuke? I never knew he even married."
"She just got adopted by him only a couple days ago, Mom."
"Oh, I see."
Mikadzuki held out one of the parcels to Mikoto. "My father made this for you as thanks for allowing me over."
Mikoto smiled wider and took it. "Oh, how kind! Thank you." She then waved them in. "Come on in, dinner's ready."
They took off their shoes and walked down the hallway to the dining room, where Sasuke directed her to the proper spot next to him. Just as she knelt, a man, Sasuke's father, entered, kneeling at the head of the table. His eyes went to his son first.
"Welcome back, Sasuke. This is the friend you told me about?"
"Yes, Dad."
He bowed his head to her. "I'm Fugaku Uchiha, Sasuke's father."
She bowed so her head almost touched the table. "I'm Mikadzuki Hatake, Mr. Uchiha. It's an honor to meet you." She held out her gift for him. "My father wishes you to take this in appreciation for allowing me to enter your home."
"You're Kakashi's new daughter, I presume by the name. Not just silver hair, but silver eyes… The reports were accurate, then. Never have I seen a person with silver eyes, and silver hair is rare enough. It makes you mysterious and ethereal, Miss Hatake. Once you become a woman, you will be a beauty like no other, perfect for my son."
Wait a minute… Was that just an allusion to a marriage arrangement?! He approved of her so much that he didn't even have to know anything about her? She would've thought he'd have her under intense scrutiny before even considering her a potential bride for his son!
"Dad, I just met her a week ago," Sasuke pointed out with a displeased frown. "Don't go planning for a wedding when I don't even know I like her yet."
"Why else would you bring a girl home who isn't a teammate of yours?"
Mikoto began serving rice to Mikadzuki. "Now dear, quit teasing our son. You do it enough to Itachi."
"I'm not teasing. I'm making sure they have wives worthy of our family."
"At this rate, you'll have them both married before they're twenty. Itachi's only eighteen."
Mikadzuki was positive that Itachi was Sasuke's older brother, although he seemed to be absent at the time. She took the bowl of rice and murmured, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Miss Mikadzuki. You have a pretty name, just like you. Where were you from before you came here?"
"Moon Country."
Fugaku nodded as he received his rice. "I've heard of the strict caste system based on hair color over there." He snorted. "If that was true around here, we'd have hardly any working class, now would we?" He shook his head and then turned to her. "How was your living conditions back there?"
Mikoto frowned in disapproval. "Not at the table, Fugaku! We're about to eat here!" She handed Sasuke his rice. "Talk about something else until we're finished eating."
He sighed and all of them placed their hands together, Mikadzuki mimicking them.
"I humbly partake."
Then they began eating.
"Do you have any family back in Moon Country? I'm sure I could have Lady Hokage send some people to investigate."
Mikadzuki shook her head, pain flashing across her features.
"I see, so you truly are an orphan. What is your goal, now that you're no longer part of the slave class?"
"I want to become a scholar."
"Then the rumors about the slave class being the smartest class weren't exaggerated. That makes me wonder why."
She raised her eyebrows.
"Why such smart people would be forced into slavery and given no rights at all, even to learn."
"This was never explained to me, nor have I found it in any books I've ever read about Moon Country. It's always been this way from what I've learned."
"Hmmm. Perhaps history was written by the ruling class and the truth was hidden."
This suggestion put a new light on her view of the enclosed world which was Moon Country. It made her think that perhaps there was a struggle for power in the past…hundreds of years ago…and the kurokami were the victors. She wondered if her mother had found this out during her life—No, no. Whatever happened to her, it wasn't safe to think about.
Remember this: things are not as they seem here. Perhaps, if the system changed, everyone would have the right to any station, instead of this land of oppression. With what I've been able to learn in my lifetime, I hope you can break free and continue onwards.
Sasuke suggested, "Maybe someday Miss Mikadzuki would be able to return and learn about it!"
Fugaku was shaking his head before his son finished the sentence. "That wouldn't be possible, unless she was to disguise herself and that would have to be that of the ruling class, or if she married into what they thought was ruling class."
Mikadzuki shook her head at that in return. "It wouldn't matter. Once it was found out I was a ginpatsu, any and all attempts would be made to either capture or kill me. It's well known that ginpatsu live nowhere else save Moon Country and it's against the law for any ginpatsu to ever leave their master's home unless sold or in death."
Mikoto gasped. "That's horrible! They only think of you as property!"
"I thought it was the natural order of things until I escaped."
Mikoto placed a hand on her shoulder. "Never again."
The genuine protectiveness in her eyes made the teenage girl's mouth twist in a half-smile. So things were wrong back at the place of her birth. Her mother had known it, yet…she'd been killed. To get killed just because of your hair color…it was wrong.
She hoped she could be of help someday to her people.
After dinner, Sasuke asked his father, "Dad, where's Itachi?"
"He's on a mission, like most of the time. You know with the position of ANBU captain, he'll be out on missions, one after another."
"I wanted him to meet Miss Mikadzuki today."
"I'm sure he will, sooner or later, especially if you decide to bring her over more often."
"Dad!"
"So, Miss Hatake, what were your living conditions during the time you were a slave?"
"I would sleep where I collapsed after a long day of work, my masters would wake me in the middle of the night to begin work again, scraps that not even their dogs would eat were thrown to me at noonday if I was lucky, and I usually worked most of the day and night, the lone slave my masters had. If I was out of line even the slightest, I was scourged. At random, my hair was shorn until bald, or just a piece. When I was of no use to my masters, they attempted to drown me and when they thought I was dead, tied my ankles to a rock and threw me into a river, where I escaped, which is why they're not searching for me."
"You worked no matter the weather?"
"Yes."
"You worked long hours?"
"Up to twenty-three a day."
"Monstrous… Here, it's against the law to work anyone more than eighteen hours, and that's when they're fifteen or older. It's also against the law for anyone to work without pay. If you get a job when you turn fifteen, you'll get paid and breaks every four hours for meals and resting. When you work at any job, you'll have the rights of any person working there, so you have the right to protest against anything you think is wrong against you. Understand?"
"Yes, Mr. Uchiha."
"Good, I wouldn't want my future daughter-in-law hurt on the job."
Mikoto smiled at how bright and shiny Mikadzuki's hair was. "Your hair is so lovely…I hope you grow it out so I can play with it when you come over. It's a shame it's so short right now, I'd barely be able to muss your bangs."
"I'm sure it'll grow out rather quickly."
Next time there's a time-skip into Shippuden! I had to, or else it would've been a rather boring three years since Sasuke's more stable with his family still around!
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