Obligatory Disclaimer: The series Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto; I only own the OCs, picture, and this story.
A Budding Life
Being the oldest of her siblings, Mei was expected to help guide them alongside her mother as their father went to perform his duties as a shinobi of Konohagakure. A noble duty he performed as a member of the Branch Family in the prestigious Hyūga clan.
From the moment of her birth, that was her duty. Because she had no other choice.
Of course, Mei had accompanied her younger brothers and sisters to the academy as many of the clan did, had done well in all her classes as expected of her. But even though she could list off every theory and rule given to her, could perform kata flawlessly, her chakra and thus her byakugan were weak, dismally so. Barely enough to perform a single jutsu. She had no hopes of reaching the level of a true shinobi and would have to settle on becoming a housewife, in hopes of bearing a generation greater than herself.
Her mother had been insistent on the idea, as well as her younger sisters. 'A noble duty' they would claim with those infuriating, pitying smiles on their faces. Her father, at least, had been rather blunt in her shortcomings and she appreciated his honesty even as she hated him for it; though it wasn't in her nature to say such things aloud.
The only person who seemed to be on her side was her other half, her twin brother Osamu.
Osamu was what many of the Branch members would call a prodigy. The Main House would never see him as better than their own, but he was. For Mei, he alone could silence the self-doubt and self-hated she hid from the others. And though she was envious of his strength and his skills, and sometimes played with the thought that he had somehow stolen her own in the womb, she undeniably loved him.
More than their mother or father or other siblings.
Even if at times the words themselves felt empty and meaningless.
Even if those words had dwindled and faded when he graduated from the academy at the age of nine to join the war effort, leaving her alone with just their younger siblings as company for years.
And though he was a brilliant, brilliant boy, unflinching even when receiving the clan's cursed mark, that hadn't stopped the blade of the Suna-nin from cutting him down. The body they had brought back had been blighted, bloated with the effects of some cocktail of poisons. Unrecognizable. Not even the great Tsunade, talented in her youth, had been able to save him.
Her mother had clasped onto her shoulders, stilling her shaking body with unstable hands on the day of his funeral.
"Osamu was a great ninja of Konoha," she had said, as though that would make his passing any easier. "His death was an honorable one."
Mei didn't think her mother even believed her own words that day. Questioned it when she got pregnant just a few months later, as if to fill the hole that Osamu had left in their family. Knew it especially when her father fell only a few years after. Like a flower denied sunlight, her mother's health had quickly faded, leaving the house and her siblings in the younger girl's care, until her death.
And as it was her duty, Mei did what was expected of her. Even as gray hair began to prematurely grow at her temples at the age of fifteen.
Even though seeing the youngest of her siblings enter and subsequently graduate from the academy unsettled the deepest reaches of her heart.
Even when the war ended and another took its place several years later.
All because it was expected of her.
While her siblings had found their lives outside the walls of their family home as they grew older, Mei remained, working at the hospital once she had ran out of siblings to raise. Even if she could not use medical ninjutsu, she could still change bandages and stitch up wounds. Create medicines. Diagnose with a glance of her weak byakugan. It seemed as if it really was her duty to take care of others as she had no other dreams or goals, those having died a long time ago. She had no ideals of romance or family outside the remnants of the one she had.
The idea of bringing another generation into a world of fighting and death was the most heartlessly cruel thing someone could do. To watch them exhaust themselves fruitlessly, just to die on the battlefield.
Unforgivable.
That had not stopped her siblings from moving on with their lives, marrying and eventually having children of their own. And despite the fact that they would inevitably succumb to the cruelties of the world, just as others had before, she loved them too.
Her sister Kaede was the first to settle down, as brief as it was, to marry and have children. Kenta and then Satomi, one after the other. The pair were as different as night and day. The older one Kenta was a demure boy, always willing to take instruction without a single excuse or complaint and easy to put down for naps in his toddler days. His little sister on the other hand was a handful, a spitfire just like her mother, but just as skilled and energetic.
Mei remembered her sister frequently coming to her door with the screaming child past midnight, unable to get the little one to sleep.
Her job was never done it seemed.
Between her shifts at the hospital, Mei took care of the siblings when Kaede and her husband joined the ranks again. She watched the pair come into themselves as individuals, slowly developing into their own personalities. And of course when the time came for them to join the academy, she saw them off with a smile.
Because that was expected of them.
She continued looked after the pair, taking young Kenta under her wing when he showed an interest in the medical field and making sure Satomi didn't over strain herself in her attempt to become a strong kunoichi like her mother. And for a while, that became routine.
That was until her remaining brother Daichi had a child.
She had been there during the birth, the Senju her brother had married having gone into labor during her shift. Daichi had been an absolute mess during the entire process, the normally stoic man pale and sweaty and even more stone faced with worry. It had not been an easy process for the young Senju woman, but after almost a day's worth of labor pains and screaming, Junko Hyūga was brought into the world. And with her birth, a slew of problems sparked within the clan.
While the Main Family of the Hyūga was the face of the clan, the Branch Family remained in its shadow, its accomplishments swallowed up in its massive ego as they had to put a united front for the village and other clans. However, all of that came to a head when the name Senju appeared within the Branch. It wasn't something that could be easily ignored, even though Daichi's wife had taken the Hyūga name. And although the little girl had all the appearances of a full blooded Hyūga, with those pale, almost white eyes of hers, blood and lineage made all the difference in the world, setting her apart from everyone else.
Because it wouldn't be enough to let the child just live her life with her parents. That was far too simple for the powers that be. Mei had tried to stay out of it, only listening to the gossiping whispers of distant cousins and clansmen as she went about her own life. The elders were torn; diluted Hyūga blood, most of the time, meant a weaker byakugan. However, the Senju blood that coursed through her veins was too valuable. The clan itself had not been all too careful in prolonging its own bloodline, the remaining few scattered throughout the Land of Fire, though some distantly related families remained in Konoha. The only person who truly held the Senju name left in the village was Kimiko, as Tsunade had left in the few years between the end of the Second Shinobi War and the one they were currently in.
So Mei wasn't surprised when both sides of the clan were brought together for Junko's third birthday. Adults on each side watched and whispered as they took in the sight of the little oddity that had made its way into the walls of the clan. The child was a strange one to be sure. Compared to Kenta and Satomi at that age, it was like comparing a genin to a chūnin. All that watched her could see the intelligence in her eyes. The way she avoided playing with the other children, distracting them with each other so she could be by herself. The way her own pale eyes scanned the coward, taking in the differences between the sides of the room filled with her kin instead of playing with the gifts that had been given to her.
Mei watched as Kimiko lifted the little girl into her arms and presented her to the room. Hideyoshi-sama began his speech, letting all present know that child of prized blood was not only a member of the Main Family now, but would also be an heiress if the need for one arose. The only one in the room who seemed surprised was the child in question. Junko looked around the room confused and wide-eyed, questioning the decision as though it couldn't possibly be true.
But how could a child no more than three years old understand the complicated politics that ruled their clan?
She watched with a heavy heart as Kenta and Satomi were taken alongside the other children into the next room for the jūinjutsu, Daichi taking the little Senju-Hyūga hybrid from her mother's arms to join in the procession. Mei didn't have the heart to stay for the rest.
She waited until Kaede brought Kenta and Satomi out, and together they spent the rest of the afternoon consoling the siblings who were confused and hurting in the comfort of her home. Satomi had been the most upset, not because of the cursed mark, but of the little child that had been exalted, who had watched as they received their seals.
"Why didn't she get the cursed mark? She's no different than any of us right?" she asked, wiping away tears from her eyes as Kenta finally calmed down from his shaking.
Mei remembered receiving her own cursed mark. For a moment, you don't feel as though you belong to yourself anymore as the clan head's chakra seeps into the seal, into the brain. The chakra moves throughout the head from the back of the skull to the front before settling around the eyes. The pain lasts only for a moment, but the disorientation and nausea remains for hours after. The foreign chakra is a shock to the system, worst the younger you were.
It was a safety measure, to insure the secrets of the Hyūga clan would be safe, but it wasn't something she would wish on anyone.
Mei looked down at the frustrated and teary-eyed girl that she had watched grow over the years and didn't know what to tell her.
Kaede had been the one to break the silence.
"It's because of that damn blood," she muttered to all their surprise. "She isn't like us, Satomi."
"That is a bit much Kaede," Mei interjected. "She's still Daichi's daughter, our niece. She deserves as much care as Kenta-kun or Satomi-chan."
"You know as much as I do that isn't the case," Kaede scoffed and shuffled her children out the door, leaving the older woman alone with her thoughts.
It was only a few months later when Daichi invited her over to his home. They were seated at the kitchen table across from each other while Kimiko and Junko sat outside on the porch, the child carefully going through hand seals, attentive and serious to her mother's instructions. Daichi's eyes followed her own and they both watched them for a moment before he spoke.
"Kimiko and I are listed on the registrar for the next platoon being sent out." His voice was even and somber.
"I've heard. Kaede has also been listed, though Takeshi-san is still recovering from his last mission," Mei said, lightly cupping her tea between her hands.
He nodded, taking another moment to look over his wife and child before turning his complete attention to her.
"Hideyoshi-sama has offered to take Junko into his home in our absence but…"
There was apprehension in his voice and a tightness in his face. Though he had agreed for his child to become heiress of the clan, he did not trust the head of the clan to take care of her?
"What is the problem?"
Daichi was silent for a moment before continuing.
"I don't believe Junko will do well in his care," he admitted. His eyes drifted to where the little girl was being distracted by Kimiko's tickling fingers.
"She's obedient, willing to listen to everything others tell her, and learns things very quickly. But living in that space would stifle her." He looked down at his clasped hands. "There are very few within the clan who are happy with the council's decision, and I don't want that to affect Junko's life."
Mei had already begun to hear the gossip spreading amongst the clan. Some of it had even spread beyond the compound's walls, whispers of the Hyūga trying to get a seat in the position of Hokage, to more unsavory comments. Most came from other, lesser clans, though the Uchiha were beginning to make a stink of it as well.
"I can understand your worry Daichi, but Hideyoshi-sama will be able to teach Junko what she needs to know in order to become head of the clan in the future," Mei tried to reason. "Wasn't that the intention of having her adopted into the Main Family in the first place?"
Daichi's face became sour, angered, an expression she had never seen on his face.
"Kimiko and I didn't have much choice in the matter."
Mei stared in surprise, waiting for him to continue.
"Once it was known that we would be leaving for the field, it was an almost unanimous decision by the council, and…" He let out a shaky breath. "Although it isn't what we want for her future, it's the best-case scenario in case neither of us return."
They were distracted for a moment when the subject of their discussion exploded into giggles. Kimiko had picked Junko up and the two were spinning around the backyard playfully, the woman raising her high into the air.
"It has taken all we have just to get her to smile anymore since both Kimiko and I have been busy getting ready," Daichi continued, staring at the scene. "Ever since her birthday, she's buried herself in her studies though she tries hard to make sure we don't see that she's scared."
He rubbed a hand across his face, a small smile spreading as he watched the pair twirl and dance, his wife pulling the toddler into a song which they sang in unison. And Mei watched him, noticing all the love he felt for them and the little girl who had shaken the clan. Daichi composed himself, that usual stern and serious look on his face returning as he met her eye.
"I know this is a selfish request, Mei-neechan," he said, using an endearment he had not used in a long time. "But would you raise Junko in our stead? You are one of the only people I know I can trust with her care."
Although Mei had become jaded at the world, at the village, and all the fighting, she wouldn't be able to stand by when her only living brother made such a request.
And so she agreed.
Mei put in her notice at the hospital for an indefinite hiatus, not knowing when she would come back, but knowing she inevitably would. Daichi's home wasn't too far off from her own but as this was her mission, she carried some of her essentials over to the guest room of his home to make sure she was close whenever the child needed her.
When the time came, she followed the group of Hyūga and others to the gates. She watched as Kaede said goodbye to her own little family, the two siblings latching onto their mother for the briefest of moments before going to stand next to their father, barely concealed tears in their eyes. Then she watched as Daichi and Kimiko hugged Junko in between their bodies, the last time they would in a long time, she feared. Her brother made eye contact with her briefly as they set the little girl on ground, Mei waiting a feet behind the trio.
Kimiko knelt in front of the child, cupping her little face between her gloved hands.
"Whenever we get the chance, we'll send you letters, okay?" The Senju smiled weakly at her, and Mei was painfully reminded of when Osamu had said the same thing to her years ago. "Stay strong for us."
The little girl smiled big for them, meeting her mother's eyes.
"I'll be okay kachan, you don't need to worry about me. You should focus on protecting each other."
It was one of the first things Mei had heard the little girl say and she was surprised at how elegant and reasonable she was being. This must have been what Daichi was talking about.
Her brother placed his hand on her tiny head, ruffling her short, bobbed hair.
"Worrying about one's child is the duty of every parent, Junko," he said. She looked up at him, her smile faltering a bit before regaining its strength.
"I understand, touchan." She nodded.
Kimiko sighed and straightened to stand by Daichi.
"Don't forget Junko-chan. We love you."
Mei stood behind Junko and watched the little girl stare at her parent's backs as they passed the threshold of the village, remaining vigilant until they disappeared into the distance. It was a pitiful sight. As the bystanders began to disperse, she gently took the child by the hand.
"Let's go Junko-hime." The title felt odd on her tongue, but the three year old didn't respond, continuing to stare off into the distance where her parents had long since disappeared. Junko gave no resistance as she was tugged along back to the compound, her pale honey eyes towards the ground and her other hand scrunched in the skirt of her yukata.
The toddler remained silent all the way to the genkan of Daichi's home, a house that would be shared between the two of them for however long it took for her parents to return, if they ever did. It was a cynical thought to have, but Mei had lived long enough to know that not everyone came back, and if they did, they usually weren't whole.
As soon as she had been let go, Junko ran off into the house without taking off her sandals. Mei followed after slipping into her house shoes, easily tracing the child's footsteps to her room. The woman had gone to knock on the door, when the softest of cries came from beyond the wood, starting as sniffles and whimpers until they become full sobs. Mei hadn't the heart to interrupt her. She had seen how the little girl held herself together, and she deserved some time to just feel.
Besides, Mei didn't know how the child would take having a stranger live in her home and try to comfort her when she had no idea who she was.
When the little girl finally emerged from her room, having only opened the door briefly to go to the bathroom or eat the trays of food she'd left out for her- though not every time- it was a saddening sight to see. Her pale eyes were ringed red and her yukata, which she had worn since her parent's departure, was terribly wrinkled. Junko looked ready to burst into tears as she stood at the entrance to the kitchen, looking so lost that Mei quickly took the reins getting the girl cleaned up and fed. If there was anything that would help the healing process it was good food and a clean slate.
Mei sat to the side of the girl as they shared a late lunch together, the prospective heiress sparing her a few glances between bites of vegetables and rice. She had not been in the toddler's life since helping deliver her in the hospital, so it was no surprise she didn't know who she was. The girl had not spent a lot of time outside the walls of her home in her sparse years on this earth.
"I am your aunt, Mei," she finally introduced herself, and noted the glimmer of recognition in the three year old's eyes. "I will be taking care of you from now on."
Junko stared in thought for a moment, and Mei watched the cogs turn in her head before the little girl nodded, a weak, half-hearted smile spreading across her face.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Mei-obasan."
Lunch faded quickly into silence after that, the girl unwilling to speak, having accepted her new caretaker and Mei not knowing what else to say.
Soon after, she dumped the child into the bathroom and scrubbed her clean, much to the little girl's chagrin. After Junko was cleaned and dried, Mei let her wander off as she took care of the dishes. She watched the little girl wonder onto the porch, staring off into the empty backyard before sitting in lotus with a sigh. Junko remained there silently and still all the while she cleaned the plates and bowls from their meal.
Mei was unsure of what to do with the girl if she was being honest with herself. Although she had watched over many children from birth into adolescence in her thirty-five years of life, Junko was a strange case. After the first few days of leaving trays of food for the girl, Mei had thought she would never come out. But after sitting at the table and having cleaned her up, Junko seemed too composed for a child, basically a baby, who had lost both of her parents in a single go.
A fact that solidified more every day she got to know the child.
After the awkward meeting, Junko had taken the helm of their conversations during the day, asking about her own life when she wasn't asking questions about chakra or the byakugan. She wasn't a child that needed to be tended to at all hours, and Mei was sure if she could reach the stovetop unassisted, the girl wouldn't even need her help making her own meals. Mei could be at the market for hours, only to return to see the child in the same position she had been in when she left, having moved onto another scroll or book to study.
It made Mei uncomfortable, watching a child no older than three work so hard. Was fighting the only thing important in this war-torn world? Junko was a prodigy in every sense of the word. The girl rarely traveled outside, only going into the backyard to practice or the porch for studying. It was if becoming a ninja was the only thing she cared about.
That wasn't the kind of life Daichi wanted for her and so Mei forced the girl to accompany her on errands and walks through the village. It wasn't right for a child to be so constrained. And even if Hideyoshi-sama was constant in wanting updates on the girl's progress, it would not hurt to take hours that would be spent on a book to broaden the child view of the world and the village she lived in.
And for a while, that became routine as well.
It wasn't until the child prodigy entered the academy did things start to change.
Mei was discussing the recent news that had sprang up about the war with some Branch ladies in the compound when Junko walked up to her, accompanied by her cousins. The conversation shifted considerably when the others saw the little heiress approach. They weren't quite subtle with their distaste and Mei noted how the child's eyes flickered to each of them, noticing how the older women stiffened and grew tense around her before offered a smile in greeting, as if to placate them.
It was a common occurrence when meeting others from the clan but Junko smiled through it every time.
Once the other women left, Mei gave her full attention to the children that surrounded her, particularly the little prodigy in hopes of smoothing over the attitude from the others. But that didn't help when Satomi blurted over the little girl as she asked about her first day at the academy.
"Mei-obachan, Junko-hime was being disrespectful to Ikeda-sensei in genjutsu class!"
Disrespectful and Junko weren't two things that usually went together. Junko demonstrated obedience and kindness to everyone she met, though she did have a snarky streak hidden under her smiles and respectful bows. Mei decided to take care of that later, when she didn't have an audience. Instead, she asked the siblings about their day, having missed them; she hadn't spent a lot of time with the duo during the months of tending to the younger child.
The heiress was silent as the pair chatted with her, seeming lost in thought and this wasn't lost to the older woman. But Satomi pulled her into another conversation about her friend Kyou and then Kenta mumbled about the new curriculum that Nakano-sensei started and how interesting he found it, and for a moment, Mei was reminded of the previous years when it was just the three of them. It was much simpler back then.
It wasn't until her little voice broke the conversation that Mei remembered that the young prodigy was there, standing poised and patient, asking to walk to the academy alone.
"I just think its counterproductive. As a ninja in training, I should be able to handle myself within the village at least."
Junko was not pleased with her cousins watching over her and that set something off in Mei, though it was subtle at first. The woman had only asked them to as a way of letting them get close to one another, so the prodigy wouldn't be alone. She sighed and told her that they would discuss it later, leaving the pair of siblings with a farewell. The walk home was silent and once they got inside, Mei made sure that she sat the child down to talk after putting away the groceries and making a pot of tea.
Junko explained her actions and it fell in line with everything she knew about the girl, but it would do nothing for the name of heiress of the clan. She told the little prodigy just as much.
"While I recognize the reasons behind your actions, please understand that your actions have consequences. The elders would not be pleased if they heard of such blatant insubordination."
It was a surprise to see the normally composed and polite girl's face turn into a scowl.
"The elders care only for appearances. I would think they'd be fine with me showing such prowess as a Hyūga."
It was such a pompous tone. For a child that had escaped the hardships of being a Branch member of the clan, who wasn't marked despite her blood- because of her blood- she had no right to speak in such a way. The child's life would be easy from now on, even if her parents never returned from the war. The elders that she was openly mocking had insured that her life would be simple. If others had been given that chance, if Osamu had been given that chance with his brilliant skills and potential, he would've survived. She sounded no different than those Main House members who were able to speak freely, without the threat of consequences.
"You are not to speak of the elders in such a way."
Junko stared, wide-eyed and surprised at her tone. But Mei didn't stop.
"They are the reason you live comfortably within the protection of the Branch Family. They are the reason you do not share our burden. Never forget that."
The words came out before she could stop them accompanied with an aura of anger and frustration. Their effects were instant; the little girl froze, paling, her face turning into one of compliance and submission. One that Mei had seen her make only in the presence of their head clan.
What had she done?
There was an almost unnoticeable shaking in her tiny body as Junko ducked her head.
"Yes, obasan. I'm s-sorry."
Mei's heart sunk, face twisting. She would never talk like that to Kenta or even the outspoken Satomi. But seeing the little girl she had gotten to know clam up, as though she was an enemy, tore at her. Wasn't this the exact thing she was preaching to Kaede? Wasn't this the life Daichi wanted to shield his only child from?
And even though she was reeling from her own actions, Mei didn't say a word, finishing off her tea before the girl ran to her room.
The morning that came afterward wasn't better. There was a lasting tension in the air as Junko stared down into her bowl of rice porridge. She did not look well. Mei was not blind to the receding redness in her eyes when she sat at the table or the pallor of her skin; the prodigy hadn't been sleeping well and she had no appetite. It filled Mei even more with guilt.
And so she lied. She told the girl that she would allow her to walk to the academy alone, even though she would later tell her cousins to trail her, silently.
And it hurt, to see how ready Junko was to escape from the house when she gave her that lie, uncomfortable in her own home.
And maybe it was just for herself- because she could see the damage was already done- but Mei stopped Junko before she could escape into the compound so she could apologize. Mei could not stop the feeling of contempt and ridiculousness that curdled in her stomach as she bowed to the three year old that might the lead the clan someday.
"I apologize for my indiscretion yesterday."
Junko had stared at her for a moment, but quickly put that fake smile on her face.
"I forgive you." Her tiny voice came before she could go on, standing up from sliding on her sandals and clutching her bag. "May I leave now, obasan?"
The child was so uncomfortable in her presence that Mei could only bow again and allow her to leave, an uneasy feeling in her gut.
The tension continued and strengthened when Jūken practice began.
Although her role was the caretaker of the heiress, of her niece, whenever Satomi or Kenta would suffer a particularly rough blow, Mei would tend to them, leaving the prodigy to suffer the criticism of Hideyoshi-sama alone. Mei tried to convince herself that it was because the prodigy didn't need the help, because she really didn't in most things. She had the tendency to smile through hardship and take it all in stride. Besides, it wasn't as though she could just neglect Kenta and Satomi, as their father was going on missions more frequently as he recovered from his injuries.
It happened, more and more, Mei choosing them instead of her.
But it all came to a tipping point when some of the troops returned from the front-lines.
Kenta and Satomi had accompanied Junko to the meeting hall where they joined her and listened patiently to the clan head's speech. Mei could tell how excited the siblings were by the way their chakra seemed to buzz within them at the sight of their mother, who stood with the returned shinobi. And she felt the same. It was with a rush of relief that she saw her younger sister return, that she had not lost another sibling even though they disagreed with each other often. However, in that excitement, that relief, she didn't realize the despair and sadness coming from the little prodigy that stood by her side.
Didn't notice when the four year old child disappeared from her side as the assembly dispersed, caught up watching Kaede reunite with Kenta and Satomi, until the boy brought it to her attention.
"I think she left when Hideyoshi-sama dismissed everyone," he said, pressed lightly into his mother's side.
Of course she had. Daichi and Kimiko-san weren't here. Junko was a lot of things, but she was still a child. She must have been devastated not seeing them return.
"I need to go find her," Mei tried to excuse herself, looking around the emptying hall. But Satomi had other ideas, grabbing onto her arm.
"But we haven't got to spend a lot of time with you in forever, and kachan is back! We should have dinner together!"
Mei patted her arm, pulling away. "I cannot ignore my duty to her. How would you feel if Kaede hadn't come today?"
Satomi scrunched her nose, crossing her arms with a pout. Satomi could be brash but she wasn't apathetic to the feelings of others.
"I should be by Junko-hime's side right now."
Kaede glowered. "I thought that the child would be in Hideyoshi-sama's care, given her status. Did Daichi dump her on you?"
"I took the job willingly," Mei frowned. "You know I would do the same for Ken-kun and Sato-chan. And have in the past."
Kaede flinched slightly at the cold response, but scowled.
"I just got back Mei, I don't want to do this now," she said, squeezing her children to her side, who leaned into her touch. But all Mei could think about was Junko, who was probably hiding away, crying just as she had when her parents left.
"Then don't."
Mei didn't wait for a response, turning on her heel and walking out of the hall.
She had searched for hours. Mei checked every one of Junko's favorite spots, ones she knew only because Kenta had told her since the little prodigy kept every feeling bottled, hidden away from the older woman. But there were no signs of the girl, no sight of that little bobbed head or her light-colored yukata.
The possibility that Junko was just training somewhere was high though she wasn't in her usual training field. A panic began to set in as Mei returned home, just as the sun began to set. If there was anything she could do for the prodigy, it was to be a helpful ear, as she didn't need much help in the way of studying. But she had failed. Mei had listened to Satomi's laments when she couldn't get her elemental transformations correct and when Kenta had told her his worries about the future, but she hadn't lent that same ear to the too young, too mature prodigy.
But Junko was always one to follow directions, not missing a single curfew since Mei had allowed her to walk around the village 'unattended'. So Mei returned to the home, knowing, hoping, that she would return. She had been pacing around the living room when she felt someone's presence approach the front door. Mei was on the gekan before the person could knock, sliding the door open to reveal an only vaguely familiar blond in a jōnin uniform and what appeared to be his gray-haired student.
The man went to introduce himself, but Mei was more concerned by the little body that was draped over his shoulders. Her heart shuddered in her chest as she took in the sight of the little girl that she was meant to protect. Most of her face and body were hidden by the man's torso and the high collar of his flak vest, but the arms that were draped over his shoulders were covered in damp sleeves and there were rips and tears in the fabric.
Mei ushered him and his student inside the house so he could deposit Junko in the living room, laying the child's head on a cushion near the low table that sat in the middle of the room. Mei forgot about the duo as she quickly knelt and began checking over her ward. Her yukata was ruined and her obi was missing, revealing the mesh gear underneath. The little girl's chest moved slowly and as Mei brushed her bangs away from her face, a noticeable heat graced her hand. The beginnings of a fever.
"What happened?"
The jōnin, who introduced himself as Minato Namikaze, immediately stepped forward and began at her tone.
"My team and I found Junko-chan and her friend Shisui in the forests near the Nakano River. Apparently, they had fallen off one of the cliffs." Mei's heart stopped for a moment. "But they were able make their way safely to the river below and walked through the forest where they made contact with us."
Mei looked back at her unconscious ward, gently brushing her thumb across her cheek. The heiress, no, her niece had almost died because of her inattention, because of her neglect. She had raised so many children, from her own siblings to her other niece and nephew, and not once had they suffered in her care. Junko shouldn't have been any different.
The blond raised an hand and placed it on her shoulder.
"Don't worry Hyūga-san, my student Rin looked at her and healed any injuries she had."
Mei let out a breath and stood, shrugging his hand off her shoulder so she could bow lowly.
"Thank you for everything you've done."
Minato gave a slight smile. "It was nothing."
She only gave another bow and led them to the door.
Once they left, Mei gathered the tiny pale child into her arms and carried her to her room. She quickly removed the ruined yukata and dressed her up in the warmest nightgown she could find after drying her off as best as she could. She sat at Junko's bedside after tucking her in, rubbing a towel through the girl's damp dark hair.
Things could have gone so much worse. What would've happened if Junko hadn't survived the fall? If Namikaze-san and his team hadn't found her? A shudder ripped through her body and Mei brought a hand to her mouth, to stop bile that churned in her stomach. She didn't care about what the elders would do, but what if Daichi and Kimiko-san had returned to find their only child dead? She couldn't imagine the regret and despair they would feel. And if they hated her and wished for her death, she would take all their hatred because it was what she deserved.
Taking a shaking breath, Mei moved through the home, collecting a bowl of warm water and a small towel to try and heed off the fever before it could take over the child.
It was the least she could do.
The next morning came quickly and by then the fever had taken hold of the girl. Junko remained in a half-conscious state for most of the day, and Mei stood vigil at her side for hours. It wasn't until the day settled into the afternoon that someone arrived at the door. Turning down the heat on the pot of soup she was making, Mei dried off her hands and went to answer the knock that sounded, a pit in the center of her stomach. A jōnin bringing an unconscious heiress into the compound was something that would bring much alarm.
And she was ready for it.
Mei somberly opened the sliding door to reveal Hideyoshi and another one of the elders, Ryoichi, who looked down at her with blank faces. She bowed lowly in respect and allowed the elders to step past her and into the home. Mei went through the motions her mother had instilled into her, pouring the two men cups from her already made pot of tea as they sat at the low table in the living room.
"Some upsetting news came to us this morning Mei-san," Ryoichi began, Hideyoshi an unmoving statue beside him. "A few members on guard noted a jōnin under the name Namikaze Minato had carried the prospective heiress here in a less than perfect state last night."
Mei held onto a shuddering breath as she nodded. Under their gazes, she retold them everything the blond jōnin had told her, including Junko's current status in her report. All the while, Hideyoshi remained silent beside his fellow elder, taking in the info with a grave expression. When all was recounted, Mei sat at the other end of the table, hands clenched and head bowed as the two mulled over the information.
"This was an unfortunate event, but at any rate, no significant harm has come to the child." Ryoichi nodded to himself.
"However, this neglect cannot go unchecked," Hideyoshi grumbled. "I had agreed to Daichi's judgement and allowed the child to be entrusted to your care, but perhaps that was a mistake."
Her chest tightened. Mei had failed Daichi just as she had failed protecting her niece, but it would be unforgivable if she allowed Junko to be taken into Hideyoshi's care. Though the deepest part of her believed that maybe, just maybe it would be for the best.
"I understand Hideyoshi-sama, but with all due respect I would have to disagree."
A noticeable stiffness struck both men and she continued, a courage she never felt before settling into her breast.
"While I agree that there has been lack in my attention to Junko-hime's care as of late," she admitted, clenching onto her apron, "I have always had her best in mind, despite her lineage."
It looked as though Ryoichi was going to speak but she bowled over him, continuing, holding onto that courage that had seemed to leave her so long ago.
"Junko is not just a bloodline vessel of the Senju, she's also a child," Mei said seriously, daring to meet them in the eyes. "She is a child of the Hyūga, and she deserves to be raised as one."
"That is enough Mei-san." Hideyoshi's voice came accompanied with a fog of killing intent, and any other words that tried to escape got stuck in her throat. The older man stood silently from the table, Ryoichi following his lead.
"I will not have you speak that way again."
But she was not ready to give up the words that needed to be said. As long as she could, Mei would not let them take that child from her. She would not fail her again. But as she went to speak, the veins around her eyes began to pulse, and before she could get out her next breath, pain danced inside her brain. A scream broke free from the dam in her throat, and she buried her fingers into her hair in an attempt to stop the pain, which crawled along the sides of her skull like a rabid animal, each thought that tried to make itself known used as an attack against her.
And all too soon, the pain subsided, leaving Mei panting and sweating, her forehead pressed into the floor. Hideyoshi's voice came to her muffled.
"We will not tolerant such insolence." There was a shuffle as the elder and his accomplice moved towards the door. "Do not disappoint us again."
Mei didn't know how long she laid there on the floor, long enough for the steaming tea that had been set on the table to go cold. But through the residual ache that echoed throughout her brain, there was relief. Relief that she could still make amends. That she could still nurture the little prodigy who had her life dictated the moment she was born and who had been burdened with the lives of the entire clan.
She was on the floor long enough that it was the worried hands of Satomi that brought her out of her stupor. The older woman raised herself from the floor, brushing the girl's hands away lightly with her own.
"I…I am alright Sato-chan," she managed say, bringing up a hand to comb her bangs away from her bandaged forehead.
"What happened Mei-obachan? We saw the elders leave the house," Satomi said, her eyebrows furrowed with worry. "They didn't look happy."
Mei hid a sigh, pulling the rest of her hair from its ruined bun. It would do no good for her to hide or deny what happened. She had no doubt that it would be buzzing around the compound within a few hours, if not by the next morning.
"The elders punished me for failing to protect Junko-hime," she said plainly, taking in the wide eyes of her niece and nephew, who stepped forward to join his sister's side.
"She got injured after the assembly yesterday and was brought to the compound by a jōnin and his student."
"Is she alright?" the boy asked, only to receive a glare from his sister.
"Who cares Kenta? Mei-obachan was punished! It's just like kachan said," the girl hissed. The boy shrunk away, looking down at the ground.
Shaking her head, Mei gathered her loose hair and pulled it over her shoulder to collect her thoughts. She didn't know what Kaede had said, but it was probably nothing good. She grabbed Satomi's hands and gave them a squeeze, giving her an admonishing look that made the girl lose some of the fire in her eyes.
"Because of my negligence, Junko-hime got hurt. And as a result, I got punished. It isn't her fault." Satomi looked as though she wanted to argue but quieted at the resolve in her voice. Mei turned to Kenta, giving the boy a soft smile.
"Ken-kun, could you go check on her for me? She's been running a high fever all day."
His eyes darted between the both of them before he nodded. "O-okay, Mei-obachan."
As the boy trotted alone down the hallway, Mei turned her attention to the girl who stood fuming silently in front of her. She managed to massage the tension away from the girl's hands before Satomi would look at her, frustration still on her face.
"I do not know what Kaede told you but I need you to listen to me."
The pout on her face grew but Satomi turned to give her full attention to the woman.
"Junko-hime is your cousin, and despite what your mother may say," Mei emphasized this with another squeeze, "she is a part of this family. Our family."
"But the elders punished you," Satomi said, her voice fading into a whisper. It was something that all Branch members feared, like a boogie man in the night that would punish you if you stepped out of line. Though it wasn't as black and white as that.
"A fault I brought upon myself." Her niece's brows scrunched but she didn't respond. "And you know as much as I do, that I would do the same for you and Kenta."
Satomi looked defiant, ready to disagree, but kept her lips shut in a pout. Kenta's voice startled them.
"Junko-hime is still sleeping," he informed her as he returned. "It looks like her fever has gone down a bit too."
Having gathered her strength, Mei finally stood, pressing her hand onto Satomi's shoulder before moving towards Kenta with a smile in thanks.
"Now, let me get cleaned up and we can have some dinner okay?"
It was a rough couple of days until Junko woke up from her fever-induced state, the siblings stopping by to help out after the academy. Mei was surprised to find the prodigy in the garden alone when she came back from the market, her cousins gone from the home. She hesitated, unsure of what to say to the child who was wholly focused in removing the weeds from her father's garden. So instead, Mei moved to run a bath for her and start dinner, because if she knew anything, food and a bath would be high on the list when the child was finished in the garden.
When the girl stumbled her way to the doorway of the porch, looking as lost as she had when her parents had left over a year ago, Mei felt her heart break. But she wasn't ready to say all the words that needed to be said. She took the little girl into her arms and carried her to the bath, only the second time she had held the girl in such a way, other than the day she was born.
As the child bathed, Mei returned to the stove top to finish the last touches on the meal before setting the table. Even if she had been punished by the elders and was now under even more scrutiny than before, she was at peace with her decision to stay. It would've been disturbingly easy to relinquish Junko into Hideyoshi-sama's care, to pass it on to someone else. But Mei doubted that she would have been able to live unburdened by that choice.
A fact that solidified as the little child bowed lowly to her when she returned, a stream of apologies falling from her mouth as she did.
"I'm so sorry obasan! It's all my fault you were punished, and I'm so sorry!"
They came out as sobs, more heartbreaking than the last before Mei knelt down and gathered the little girl into her arms, the first hug she had ever given the girl. One that was long overdue.
And although she reassured the girl that she was fine, admitting to her own faults and asking for forgiveness, every day after filled her with regret and determination.
Regret that she had taken so long and a determination to never let that child cry like that ever again.
She would not let her fade just as Osamu had.
Author's Notes
Posted/Edited: November 29th, 2016
Heavy editing; no new story elements: February 9th, 2017
...
As usual, thanks to everyone who has added this story to their favorites and/or have followed thus far.
Soo...this chapter ran away from me a bit. I had originally planned to have it split between Mei, Satomi, and Kenta, getting inside their heads, but Mei's story was more interesting in the long run and took over. There will be interludes for the siblings later, once they develop more as characters. I hope their interactions with Mei in this chapter will suffice until then.
And chapters aren't going to be this long for the rest of this arc, since I wouldn't be able to update weekly if that was the case, but they are longer than they were before, around the 5k and 6k range.
Reviews
Thanks to one who reads too much, Rookie-Cat, Judgement of the Arbiter, MerryKitten, lizyeh2000, starthedetective, OTrizy, calcu22, Rikajael, k123, Heitor, Gal, XionKirana, ColorfulRandomness, Determined Dancer, ShugoYuuki123, starsarebright, SleepiPanda, and someonethatreadfanics for reviewing on the last chapter.
-Heitor asked: Is she going to learn at least the basics of medical ninjutsu?
Firstly, don't worry about your English, you write very well even if the words aren't always 100% accurate, I can infer what you mean. To your question, yes; Junko wouldn't be Junko if she didn't learn something as useful as medical ninjutsu, but she isn't going to be a master of it. And elemental eight trigrams jutsus are a wonderful idea. As for saving Obito, well, we just have to wait and see. Telling someone that she has info about a possible future that may or may not happen also has its pros and cons, but at this point Junko is too paranoid to consider it, even if it is an easy way to protect the team from its fate.
I really appreciated everyone's lovely words during my break, and I'm glad that so many of you liked the interactions between Junko, Shisui, and baby Itachi in particular, and that it was able to make some/all of you happy. Oh, I also drew a picture of Kimiko and Daichi on my deviantart (eirron on deviantart) so check it out if you want.
I think I've talked enough for this chapter, so until next time.
Next time on For a Chance at Happiness
Chapter 16: Of Growing Pains and Familiar Faces