Author's Note: Yayy, another chapter out of the way.
Chapter 3: Midara's Story: Daylight, Part 2
Midara looked up at the beautiful blonde woman sitting across the hospital hallway from her.
"Are you doing okay?" the blonde woman asked with a kind smile.
"When can I see mama and papa?" Midara asked, swinging her feet nervously.
"Well…." The blonde woman's brown eyes darted between a set of double doors and the young girl. "As soon as your father is feeling better, your mother will come out to get you." The woman smiled and put her hand on Midara's head. "She can't leave his side yet, okay?"
"Okay." Midara replied, feigning understanding as she glanced longingly past the double doors.
"Lady Tsunade!" a medical-nin appeared from around the corner, motioning the blonde woman over to him.
"I'll be right back." Tsunade assured Midara, before turning to address her colleague. "What is it?" Midara watched the blonde disappear down the hallway and sighed.
"Fugaku!" The young girl's ears perked up at the sound of her mother.
"Mama?" She jumped down from her seat, clutching her stuffed rabbit to her chest as she waited for a response. When none came, she took a few brave steps toward the double doors and pushed past them. It was a different world beyond those doors as medical staff all rushed to one room. Midara followed them toward the sound of her mother.
"Fugaku—o god." Midara froze in the doorway. She had never seen her mother like this before. Her delicate face was scrunched into an agonized expression and wet with tears. Her lips curled to expose her clenched teeth as a medical-nin pulled her away from the hospital bed.
"We have to intervene with surgery." another medical-nin called out over the pained moans of the patient. He moved out of the way to gather tools, un-obscuring Midara's view of the man in the hospital bed.
"P-papa?" The word was barely a whisper leaving the young girl's lips. She shook violently, seeing her father's body torn and bleeding in so many places. He convulsed and cried out, choking on blood as medical-nin held him down against the bed. "No…leave him alone." Midara took a few steps forward, her vision blurred. "Leave my papa alone!" she screamed out.
"Midara!" Mikoto looked up at her daughter, surprised by her presence. She moved quickly, scooping the young child up into her arms and took her back past the double doors.
"No!" Midara struggled the entire way. "They're hurting him!"
"Mikoto!" Tsunade called out. Her heels clicked noisily against the hospital tile as she made her way over to the woman. "I'm so sorry, I had to step away and when I came back—"
"Tsunade, please…please check her again." Mikoto interrupted.
"Mama…my eyes hurt." Midara's face was buried in mother's neck.
"Let me see them, Midara." Tsunade coaxed, turning the girl's chin toward her. Tsunade tensed when Midara opened her eyes. "Go back to Fugaku, Mikoto." Tsunade took the girl into her arms. "I'll check her."
"Thank you." Mikoto rushed back behind the double doors.
"They hurt…they hurt." Midara repeated to the blonde woman, seeking the same comfort in the nape of her neck.
"I know, Midara. It'll be alright." Tsunade whispered, gently rubbing the small child's back.
Tsunade jumped at the sound of the hospital room door opening, relaxing when she saw Mikoto walk in with a tired smile.
"How's Fugaku?" she asked.
"He's stable." Mikoto sighed. "He should make a full recovery." Her smile fell when she saw her daughter sleeping in the hospital bed. "How is she?" Mikoto pulled a chair to the bed and ran her fingers through Midara's black hair.
"I don't know if you'll be relieved or upset." Tsunade admitted. "Her single-tomoe Sharingan activated because she was deeply traumatized by what she saw. It's amazing, Mikoto. Her chakra levels resemble a genin's more than a four-year-old's, but they're stable and not harming her body. Physically, she's fine."
"Hopefully the emotional burden will be lessened when she sees her father healthy again." Mikoto said, leaning over to kiss her sleeping child's forehead.
"Maybe Fugaku can begin to oversee her training while he recovers." Tsunade suggested.
"But she just turned four. Do you think she's ready?" Mikoto asked.
"Right now, her Sharingan is associated only with her father's pain. She should see it as gift, not a curse." Tsunade replied. "Besides, she might be the youngest Uchiha ever to possess a functioning Sharingan. It would be a shame to let it go to waste."
"I'm sure Fugaku will want to foster her talents as soon as he can." Mikoto smiled down at Midara. "I just don't want her to grow up too fast."
"Papa…." Midara tugged on her father's sleeve.
"What is it?" Fugaku asked.
"There's someone here." Midara replied nervously, pointing out the boy practicing with throwing stars.
"There's enough room in this training field for the both of you." Fugaku assured her. "Let's introduce ourselves." The young girl held onto her father's sleeve tightly as they made their way to the boy. "Excuse me."
"Huh?" The boy turned to face the pair, and Midara immediately began to admire his goggles.
"Are you training by yourself?" Fugaku asked.
"Y-yes." The boy shifted nervously under the gaze of the Uchiha Clan head. "Do you need me to leave, sir?"
"No, not at all." Fugaku replied with a small laugh. "I'm in no position to train myself." He motioned to his crutches. "My daughter is beginning her training today." He observed the boy's age for a second. "You must be getting ready to graduate from the academy?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Would you mind letting her watch your form?"
"N-no, sir. I mean, yes! I mean, s-she can watch." the boy stammered out.
"What's your name?" Fugaku asked.
"Obito, sir. Obito Uchiha."
"Watch Obito carefully, Midara." Fugaku instructed. "He will give you a valuable lesson in handling ninja tools. Midara nodded and fixed her eyes to Obito as her father took a seat on the sidelines.
"Um…I'm not really used to being watched." Obito said softly, absentmindedly scratching his short black hair. Midara tilted her head, unsure of what he wanted her to do. "Forget it." Obito sighed. He turned back to the targets and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. With two quick motions, he threw a star and a knife, landing near the center of the target. He visibly cringed with embarrassment. How could he miss the bullseye in the presence of someone so important? Surely Fugaku Uchiha would pull his daughter away any second now, afraid she would begin to soak up Obito's mediocrity.
"Wow!" Midara exclaimed. "You hit it! You hit it!" Obito stood slack jawed. He glanced over his shoulder and received a reassuring smile from Fugaku. Obito was so used to comparing himself to Kakashi and putting himself down every second that he strayed behind his former classmate. But this admiration was nice. His shocked expression was replaced by a wide smile.
"I was just warming up! I can hit it closer!"
"Show me! Show me!" Midara excitedly jumped up and down, cheering on her new friend.
"Why don't you try now?" Obito asked, handing a knife to Midara. She carefully took it from his hands and stood at the target next to him.
"Will you do it with me?" she asked timidly.
"Hm?"
"So, I can watch you."
"But how will you throw the knife if you're watching me?" Obito asked through a laugh.
"Like this!" Obito was once again flabbergasted. This small child was staring up at him with her Sharingan. Even being five years her senior, he had yet to activate his Sharingan. How could he teach her anything? "Please, Obito?" The girl sensed his hesitation. "You're a strong ninja! I want to be like you!"
"Like me?" Obito whimpered out. It was a sentiment he had chased his entire life. More than anything, he wanted to be acknowledged as someone worth looking up to. He trained day and night, hoping that one day he would be able to grasp his dream. And yet, here was a person who had walked into his life, knowing nothing about him, and decided that he was great. There was an immediate joy that bubbled up inside of him, but it was quickly clouded by fear. What if he disappointed her? Surly, this was just a child's fantasy. As she grew older, she would realize what a loser he was. As she began to surpass him, she would begin to dissociate. He shouldn't get too attached.
"Yes! Like you!" Midara threw her arms around Obito in a hug, and he instinctively held onto her.
"Alright then, let's go!" The pair trained together for the rest of the night. Fugaku interjected from time to time to correct Obito's form and give him pointers. Obito was indescribably grateful for the guidance.
"Why don't you ask him?" Fugaku coaxed Midara as she watched Obito pack up his tools. "Go on." The young girl nodded and quickly made her way to the Uchiha boy.
"Obito?"
"What is it?" Obito asked, slinging his bag over his shoulder.
"Do you want to have dinner with us?"
"Really?" The boy perked up. "I'd love to!"
"Yay!" Midara grabbed Obito's hand and ran over to her father with him. "Papa, he's coming!"
"Your parents won't mind?" Fugaku asked.
"N-no, sir." A sad look passed over Obito's face. "I don't have any parents."
"No parents?" Midara repeated, unfamiliar with how a child could grow up without a mother or father. Obito shook his head but forced a smile for the young girl.
"I see. Well, you are welcome at our house anytime you would like to come." Fugaku said.
"T-thank you, sir."
It was like that from then on. Midara and Fugaku would make their way to the training grounds, often meeting with Obito. Midara would insist Obito come over for dinner every night after training. Obito hardly had to be convinced. Some nights, Mikoto would insist it was too late to travel and set up the guest bedroom for him. Midara would sneak into his room at night, and they would stay up telling each other scary stories until Fugaku came in to scold them. When Fugaku's injuries had healed enough for him to return to work, Obito began taking Midara to the training grounds for practice. Sometimes a pretty girl, Rin, would join them, and Midara would make fun of Obito for blushing so much around her. It was hard for Midara to describe what she was feeling, but it was the first time in her life she had felt this way about anyone but her parents. She felt just as safe with Obito as she did with her father. She felt just as warm in his embrace as she did in her mother's. And some nights, when the painful memories of her father's injuries would haunt her mind, she cried just as hard at the thought of something bad happening to Obito.
"Midara, there's someone here to see you." Mikoto called out.
"Rin!" The bubbly young girl jumped into Rin's arms. "I missed you!"
"Already? But I saw you yesterday!" Rin laughed, holding the child up.
"I missed you still!" Midara insisted, playing with Rin's silky brown locks.
"What brings you by, Rin?" Mikoto asked, ushering the girls into the kitchen.
"I have a top-secret mission for Midara." Rin replied.
"For me? What? What?" Midara placed her hands on Rin's face, forcing the young woman's brown-eyed gaze solely onto her.
"Well…Obito overslept for the graduation ceremony. So, even though I grabbed a headband for him, he didn't get a real graduation experience." Rin explained.
"That's awful." Mikoto sighed. "It's such a big day. I still remember my graduation from the academy."
"Right!" Rin agreed, "So, I decided to throw him a surprise ceremony. And the way Obito talks about Midara…well, it's like she's family. He treats her just like he would a little sister, and family should be at graduations."
"I think that's a wonderful idea." Mikoto leaned forward and smiled at Midara. "What do you say, Midara? Want to go to your big brother's graduation?" Suddenly, it made sense to Midara. The love she held for Obito, the safety and comfort he offered her: he was her big brother; he was family.
"Yes! Yes!" Midara shouted excitedly.
"Do you mind if Fugaku and I attend as well, Rin?"
"No, the more the merrier!" Rin beamed.
"Ow!" Obito hissed, slamming his elbow against what he could only assume was a doorway. "Watch it!"
"Stop squirming so much!" Rin shot back. "Just walk where I'm leading you." She tightened the blindfold around his eyes.
"You're leading me into walls!" Obito argued. "Ow!" He bumped his knee against a metal chair. "Rin, this is dangerous. Just let me see where I'm going."
"And ruin the surprise? Fat chance!" She stopped in her tracks and gently pushed the Uchiha boy down into a chair. He heard her footsteps back a few paces away from him. "You can take off the blindfold now."
"Finally." Obito ripped off the cloth and waited for his eyes to adjust to the bright lights that were shining directly onto his face. "Is this…?" He blinked a few times and noticed the podium in front of Rin. He was on the stage with her in front of the empty academy auditorium. No, not empty. He looked down at the first row and saw them: Midara, Mikoto, and Fugaku. "What is this?"
"Stand up, Obito." Rin ordered, holding up a certificate in her hands. He quickly obliged her request. "Here is the graduation certificate of Obito Uchiha. This certifies that you have graduated from the Hidden Leaf Ninja Academy. You are commended for persevering through the rain and wind to reach this milestone!"
"Rin…." The words left him in a choked whisper.
"Here, congratulations!" Rin held the certificate out for him to take, and the large auditorium was suddenly filled with clapping.
"Congratulations, Obito!"
"Congratulations!"
"Yay! Obito!"
"Hurry up and take it." Rin nudged, knowing the moment must have been overwhelming for him.
"This is way better than receiving it from old-man Hokage." Obito blurted out, holding a sleeve over his eyes to conceal his tears.
Fugaku motioned for the young Uchiha boy to join him as Midara demanded the attention of both Rin and Mikoto.
"Thank you for coming, sir." Obito immediately dipped his head in a bow.
"It was our pleasure." Fugaku placed his hand on the boy's shoulder, relieving him of the formality. "It gave me the opportunity to ask you for a favor."
"A favor?" Obito wasn't sure what he could do for one of the most powerful ninja of their time, rivaling even the sannin. But he was honored to be asked.
"Midara will be starting her lessons at the academy in a few months. I'd like you to take her to orientation." Fugaku made the request so casually, as if there was nothing prodigious about a four-year-old Sharingan bearer beginning formal lessons. Until now, Kakashi had been the only one to start the academy at such a young age. Obito wondered if she would graduate as quickly as he did.
"Forgive me, sir…but isn't the orientation just for family?"
"Do you not think of us as family?" Fugaku asked. Obito thought about the question for a moment, trying to come up with a response he thought Fugaku might want to hear.
"I suppose all Uchiha are family. Our history is connected not only by our blood, but our persecution." Obito carefully examined Fugaku's expression, looking for any hint to let him know if that was the right thing to say. The man gave a small nod.
"You are correct. All Uchiha share the same blood and burdens. But Midara doesn't see blood and burden when she looks at you. And yet, you are still her family." Fugaku said. He let out a small chuckle when Obito tried to stammer out a response. "I have seen how carefully you look after her, Obito. You are not thinking of blood and burden when you carry her home after training, or comfort her when she cries, or tell her stories before bed."
"No," Obito answer honestly, "I'm just thinking about how much I love her."
"Isn't that all it really means to be family?" Fugaku asked. Obito cursed himself for tearing up again but nodded in agreement as he covered his eyes with his sleeve. "I'm sure she would much rather have her older brother at orientation than her overly serious father." Fugaku patted the boy's back before taking his leave.