Author's Note: Another one!
Chapter 5: Midara's Story: Daylight, Part 4
Midara walked around the store looking at the variety of swords. Katana, tachi, chokuto, nodachi, kodachi, tanto, there were so many to choose from! They were each beautifully crafted and perfectly balanced…and yet, none of them felt special. None of them made her feel like Madara Uchiha when she held them in her hand.
"Well?" Fugaku asked as Midara picked up the katana for the third time. "Is that the one?"
"I don't know, papa…." the young girl sighed, placing the sword back on its display.
"You don't like any of them?" Nekobaa, the shop owner, asked.
"It's not that…." Midara tried to spare the old woman's feelings. She took a seat next to the new litter of kittens that had been mewing in the corner of the shop, lifting a small brown one into her lap. Another kitten followed her littermate, jumping into Midara's lap to play. The two adults saw a smile reappear on the young girl's face. "What are their names?"
"The boy with the dark fluffy tail is Denka, and the girl with the slick light tail is Hina." Nekobaa said.
"They're so cute!" Midara cooed, holding the kittens close.
"They're ninja cats." Nekobaa explained. "When they're older, they'll begin training. Eventually, they'll be proper summons."
"Oro-sensei has been training me on summoning." Midara said, gently placing the kittens back into their bed.
"Any success yet?" Fugaku asked.
"Lots! I can summon snakes, and I even summoned a baby Colossal Serpent!" the young girl bragged.
"Really?" Nekobaa tapped her chin in thought. "I think we can kill two birds with one stone."
"What do you mean?" Fugaku followed Nekobaa with his eyes as the old woman dug through dusty scrolls.
"Here it is." Nekobaa muttered under her breath. She motioned to the door, and they followed her outside. "Midara, have you learned about summoning contracts?"
"Yes! Ninja sign contracts with their summons. This contract acts as an agreement between the summoner and the summon to help each other. Just as ninja can call on their summons for help, summons can call on their contracted ninja for help using a reverse summoning technique." Midara repeated the lesson Orochimaru had given her.
"Very good, young lady." Nekobaa praised. She bit her thumb and ran a line of her blood along a contract. "You've done this before in your training?"
"Yes!" Midara ran over to the contract and prepared to infuse it with her chakra.
"Before you summon, I want you to concentrate. Infuse as much chakra as you can, as fast as you can." Nekobaa instructed. Midara nodded and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath in to concentrate and followed the steps Orochimaru had taught her. 'Feel the chakra flow like ocean waves. In and out, in and out, in and out. In and—'
"Hyah!" Midara pushed her palm against the contract, using the natural direction of her chakra to amplify the infusion. There was an immediate explosion of steam that caused the ninja to jump back. A low growl could be heard from behind the wall of vapor. As it cleared, more and more features began to appear: fierce yellow eyes, white fur, teeth like daggers, claws like kunai, and a frame the height of a two-story house.
"Why did you call me here, Nekobaa?" The cat-like monster stood unobscured now, towering over the three humans.
"Nekomata…I had only heard stories." Fugaku stared up in awe of the legendary creature.
"I didn't summon you." Nekobaa corrected. "She did." The old woman ushered forward the young girl that had taken refuge behind her father's legs.
"You're joking. This puny thing?" Nekomata leaned forward and sniffed Midara. He straightened out, his piercing glare shattered by surprise.
"Do I smell?" Midara whispered to her father, lifting her arm and sniffing for conformation.
"Only like a human." Nekomata retorted. "Who is she, Nekobaa? Why is her chakra so large?"
"This is Midara. You would do well to learn her name. She will be your summoning partner." Nekobaa was suddenly so stern. Nekomata growled, beginning to pace in an anxious circle.
"I won't play servant to some human." The monster snapped his jaws with each venomous word. "Especially not—" When his eyes moved to Midara, he noticed she wasn't even looking at him. Instead, her eyes were fixed on his hind paw. "What are you staring at, girl?!" his voice boomed through the abandoned city's streets. Midara jumped at the sudden address, but raised her finger to point out the cut that was staining his white fur red.
"You're hurt." Midara moved to his paw with no fear. It was annoying. Everyone feared him.
"Insolent little—"
"Nekomata!" Nekobaa reprimanded before the monster could make any moves to harm the child. Nekomata snarled, forced to watch the girl, fully expecting her to push her sticky, disgusting, six-year-old hands into his wound. And he would wait for that moment before swatting her across the street to teach her a lesson. But Midara did no such thing. Instead, she just hovered her palms above his would until they glowed. Little by little, Nekomata felt the pain in his leg fade as his cut closed.
"Is it better?" Midara asked, checking under the fur.
"It's fine." Nekomata grumbled, moving away from the girl. He expected her to feel disappointed in his aloof attitude, but she just smiled and ran off.
"Papa, did you see? Did you see? I healed all on my own without Lady Tsunade!"
"Very good, Midara." Fugaku commended the girl, picking her up in his arms.
"This is Fugaku, Midara's father." Nekobaa introduced. Nekomata stepped closer to examine the man.
"You stare at me like you know me." Fugaku commented.
"No, only of you, Wicked Eye." the monster said. The clan head visibly tensed at the nickname.
"Wicked Eye?" Midara asked, confused by the reference.
"I've heard that Sharingan of yours strikes fear into the hearts of even the bravest ninja." Nekomata continued. "I'd like to see it in battle."
"Papa isn't scary!" Midara laughed at the assertion. "Neither is the Sharingan, see?" Nekomata jumped back at the sudden flush of chakra through the girl.
"Three tomoe?" the cat muttered under his breath. "It's already fully developed?"
"Midara activated her Sharingan when she was just four years old. Since then, she has been training tirelessly with the legendary sannin to perfect her skills. This girl is already a chūnin with skills that eclipse many of her older, far more experienced peers." Nekobaa hoped her modest boast would allow Nekomata to see Midara as a worthy partner.
"I will not be your summon, girl." Nekomata stated matter-of-factly.
"I guess it can't be helped, then." Nekobaa grumbled. "One last thing before you go: Midara wants to be a great sword master like Madara Uchiha. She didn't find a sword that she loved at my shop. Perhaps you have something in your armament at the fortress?" Nekomata glanced over at the small girl that had been staring at him with starry-eyed wonder this whole time. Why was she so eager to befriend a creature that showed her nothing but disdain?
"There are many weapons in my armament. If Midara wants access to them, she'll have to undergo training at the fortress, just like the rest of the ninja cats." It was a subtle acceptance of this girl into his fold, one that was not lost on her.
"Thank you, Nekomata!" Midara called out cheerfully to the monster.
"Annoying." Nekomata growled, turning to take his leave.
Many ninja in the Hidden Leaf complained about their busy schedules. They found it tiresome: how tightly they had to control their routine. But once Midara had settled into her routine, she found nothing but joy in it. She would wake up early every morning to train in techniques of the Sharingan with her father. They would eat breakfast together as a family, and she would often ask to feed Itachi, who had been growing at an alarming rate. He was two now and had gone from cute babbling and single words to short sentences. Saying goodbye to him in the morning was the hardest part of Midara's day. But it had to be done so she could get strong enough to protect him. Initially, she would go to the training field to meet Orochimaru, but lately, he had been picking her up from home. Orochimaru insisted it was just easier since her house was on his way, but Midara knew something had changed in her usually aloof mentor.
It didn't happen in an instance. Little by little, Midara had crept into Orochimaru's heart. It started when she accompanied him on an extended mission outside of the village. He had noticed her weary body shaking and made time to rest. He then noticed her looking around the dark forest floor, jumping at every bump in the night. So, he brought her closer to him as he kept watch. She laid her head in his lap and fell asleep, and Orochimaru….did nothing. He allowed her the moment of comfort in this dark, strange place. As missions went on, she would often wake to the sensation of wind whipping past her ears. Her mentor would opt to let her rest on the journeys back, carrying her sleeping body home on his back. And Midara would bury her face into his long black hair, finding great comfort in him. She never feared when he was around. He was one of the greatest ninja that had ever lived, and she often found herself thinking that if her dream of becoming like Madara didn't pan out…well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if she could be like Orochimaru. Eventually, he even began holding her hand whenever they were together. He was gentler when he spoke to her. He patted her head lovingly when she performed a particularly difficult task or mastered a particularly difficult technique. He even allowed her into his laboratories and let her help with his research. He was proud to be her teacher, and she was proud to be his student.
On the rare occasions that Orochimaru was too busy to train, or on a mission too dangerous for her to tag along, Midara would shift her routine. On those days, Tsunade would greet Midara in the mornings and the young girl would lovingly jump into the blonde woman's arms. They would head to Tsunade's office where the sannin trained Midara and another girl, Shizune, on healing techniques and chakra control. Midara had always admired Tsunade's inhumane strength and learning to be just as fierce was a dream come true for the young girl. She developed a deep friendship with Shizune. The two girls would often train together. Once in a while, they would even finish Tsunade's demanding tasks early. They would celebrate by spending the night at Midara's house—staying up late and exchanging funny stories, gossiping about the other villagers, and sharing their crushes.
Sometimes, Jiraiya would return to town, and Midara would have a chance to train with the more elusive of the sannin. Their training was never in the village, but Midara didn't mind. He would take her to all sorts of wonderful, beautiful places. Her favorite was a monastery by the ocean. The monks there spoke of peace and nonviolence. Midara could only dream of a world where everyone could get along, no matter their village. Jiraiya would tell her incredible stories about his travels. Her favorite was about a boy, a child of prophecy, that held the secret to peace in his eyes. Midara loved Jiraiya's stories so much that she would sometimes cry when their time together came to an end. Jiraiya promised he would write down his stories for her. As promised, on his next visit, he gave her a thick book filled with just a handful of stories. Midara questioned why he needed such a large book for such few pages, and he said because he would add to it. With each training session, he would produce more and more pages for Midara to take home. Jiraiya was particularly flattered when she told him she read his stories to her little brother every night, and Itachi loved them just as much as she did.
On her days off, Midara would spend time with Obito and Rin. She didn't mind running errands or training with them. She just wanted to be around her friends. She didn't even mind Kakashi being there, as long as he was nice to Obito. And, to Kakashi's credit, he often held his tongue. The only exception was on days when Obito would run late and make up new excuses for what had kept him. Kakashi would berate him for being careless, and Midara would laugh at the absurdity of the whole thing.
When Obito was gone on missions, which was more often than not, she would ask Nekobaa to take her to the Cat Fortress, where she would spend time with Nekomata. At first, their relationship was strictly transactional: Nekomata would train her on speed, and Midara would train him on genjutsu. But slowly, Nekomata also began to warm up to the young girl. They too formed a deep friendship, and Midara promised that she would always be there for him, anytime he needed her. On Midara's seventh birthday, Nekomata presented the girl with three gifts. The first was a large broadsword, both taller and heavier than Midara. She was glad Tsunade had been her teacher. Midara wasn't sure she would be able to use the sword without the augmented strength provided by her chakra training. Despite practical limitations, Midara felt incredible when she held the blade. She felt like Madara. The next was a scythe, approximately the same length, but with a massive, curved blade. Nekomata told her that Madara's weapons of choice were his sword and his gunbai, but Midara had expressed her desire to carve out her own identity. The sword and the scythe were different, but still reminiscent of her role model. His third gift was more subtle. When Midara held the blades of her weapons in the light, she noticed writing on one side of them: it was a summoning contract. Nekomata had fully accepted Midara as his own, and the proof of his acceptance had been etched into steel. He promised her he would always be there for her, too…anytime she needed him.
When her day was over, Midara would head home to her little brother and shower him with love. They would play together and often fall asleep together, too. Her father would scoop the tired children up in his arms and place them in their respective beds. Yet, in the morning, he would somehow always find them huddled together in Midara's bed.
There was only one kind of day that caused Midara to cancel all her plans, including training: homecoming. On days when Obito was scheduled to return from a mission, Midara would gather his favorite foods and head to his house. She would inspect her cleaning, making sure that no speck of dust remained. She would fill his fridge and wait. And wait. And wait. She would eventually fall asleep in his bed, and wake to Obito's goofy smile. 'Oi, Midar! Did you miss me?' Midara missed her big brother more than words could express. So, she would just laugh and hug him tight. Being exhausted from his travels, Obito would take a nap, and Midara would join him. A few hours later, they would celebrate another successful mission with ramen or dumplings from a local shop. Obito would carry Midara home on his back, and she would already begin to dread his next mission. She just wanted him to remain in the village—to stay out of danger. But he promised her he would come back safe, and she promised him she would keep his house clean until he did.