Chapter One: Normalcy is for the Weak
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. But I do own Kirari, Rai, and Naomi!
At five Kirari was already amazing at the most basic of ninja skills. Some even went as far as to say that she was better at the basics than most chunin. She wasn't exactly sure why it was a good thing, but Kirari knew that when people said things like that, it made her father happy. And if her father was happy, she was happy.
Her mother had done her best to give Kirari as much of a childhood as she could. Mikoto knew that there was little chance of her daughter growing up as a normal girl, so the few chances she got, she did her best to giver her daughter a normal experience.
This was why Mikoto was now leading her daughter by the hand through a small park for children to play in. Kirari was wearing a dress, which she continually tugged at, not comfortable in the clothes her mother had given her to put on. Her father had always dressed her in boy's clothes, and the small child now preferred them to the frilly clothes that most small girls wore.
The two stopped at a small playground. Several other children were playing together, while their mothers sat on benches a distance away, gossiping while watching their children. Mikoto pushed Kirari towards the other children. Kirari gave her mother a pleading look. It was obvious that the girl had no wish to play with the others, but Mikoto insisted.
"Kirari, go play with the other children. Have some fun." Kirari looked confused, but walked over to where the other kids were. She stood there for a moment before one of the kids walked up to her and began talking to her. Mikoto sighed in relief, glad to see that her daughter was interacting with others her age.
At the benches, sone of the other mothers welcomed Mikoto warmly.
"Ahh, Mikoto. It's good to see you out and about. And you brought your daughter! She's so cute." The woman motioned for Mikoto to sit down on the bench beside her. Mikoto accepted the invitation gladly.
"It's good to see you too Naomi. It's been far too long since I've managed to get out and relax. Is that your son?" Mikoto motioned to the boy who had talked to Kirari, and Naomi nodded.
"Yes, he looks just like his father. And he's such a handful. I can hardly keep up with him! The two women smiled; glad that they could talk freely.
Over at the playground, Kirari was watching the other children play with disinterest. She completely ignored the boy who was talking to her. He continued to speak though she wasn't listening.
"And my mom said that I can go to the academy and become a ninja soon! Are you going to be a ninja?" The boy waited for Kirari to respond, and when she didn't he poked her. She turned to glare at him, and he questioned her again. "Are you going to be a ninja?" Kirari stared at him and shrugged.
"Go away." She turned her gaze from him, and looked over at the benches where her mother was. She noticed that Mikoto was talking to one of the women, and that they were motioning over in her direction. Kirari scowled. She never enjoyed people talking about her.
Naomi looked over at Kirari in a cautious manner. It was strange for a small child to go to the playground and simply stand there instead of playing. On top of that, it was the first time that many people outside of the Uchiha clan had laid eyes on Kirari after her birth. Naomi had been one of the few who had managed to get into Mikoto's room after the birth and visit her, other than Fugaku and a few of the council members of the Uchiha clan. After the birth, Kirari was kept exclusively in the Uchiha compund. Whenever Mokoto went out, she never took Kirari with her. Naomi was also cautious, she didn't want her son to be around such a strange girl
"So, why haven't you brought Kirari-chan out before?" Naomi asked casually, trying to hide her curiosity from her friend. Mikoto looked unsure about answering, and leaned towards Naomi to whisper her answer.
"Naomi, you mustn't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you." Naomi looked shocked, but nodded and leaned in to hear the nervous mother's words. "I've tried to take Kirari out before. I've tried so hard. But I can't. Fugaku will take her for training, or she will refuse. I'm worried about her Naomi. I'm worried that my daughter is going to be used by the clan, and won't be my daughter anymore." Naomi reached over and pulled Mikoto into an embrace. The Uchiha hugged her back, clinging to the woman who had reached out to her.
"You must tell someone Mikoto. If you don't this could continue. I promise I won't, but you need to." Naomi rubbed her back as Mikoto wept into her shoulder. She finally clamed down, and wiped her eyes.
"I might, but I fear that if someone finds out, that they will take her away. And I couldn't stand it if Kirari was taken away." Naomi nodded, and the two sat in silence.
There was a scream from the playground, and the mothers on the benched ran over to the children. A few children were gathered in a circle, and the others were standing a few feet away, looking frightened. Naomi arrived, and ran to her son, the boy lying on the ground. His right arm was bent in the opposite direction at his elbow, and he was crying loudly. Many of the mothers went to their children and held them tightly, worried for their own child. Naomi held her son so she wouldn't bother the broken arm.
"What happened? Please tell me what happened!" She was hysteric, and her son cried harder. It was obvious that he wouldn't be able to tell them what had happened. Another boy whose mother was checking to see if he was alright spoke up.
"I saw'd it! I saw'd the whole thing!" Soon everyone's attention was on the boy, and his mother was telling him to speak.
"I was playn' ninja wif my friends, and I was a' hidin' behind the tree. And I looked and saw'd it. He was pokin' her, and she looked real mean. And then, she grabbed his arm, just like this!" The boy grabbed his mother's arm so that his hands were on either side of her elbow. "And then she went like this!" the boy pulled his mother's arm as if he were trying to bend it in to opposite direction, and break it. "'Cept she could pull it the whole way! All the way I saw her pull it! All the way 'till his hand touched his armpit! Like this!" the boy bent his arm so that his hand was in his armpit, and smiled at the crowd who were looking on frightened. "But when she did it, it was a' back'awards. And when she pulled it, it made a nasty noise, but it was kinda' hard to hear, 'cause he was screamin' loud!"
The boy looked very satisfied with his explanation, and looked from face to face, trying to see their reactions. Many of the mothers gripped their children harder, and looked around to find who had done it. Naomi looked at the boy with wide eyes and pleaded.
"But who was it? Who hurt Rai?" The boy brought his finger to his chin, and tapped it as if in deep thought. He looked around a moment and then gasped.
"It was her! The one wifout a mommy!" The boy pointed at Kirari, who was standing alone at the edge of the crowd. She stared at Rai, and didn't acknowledge that she had been accused. Mikoto looked terrified, and Naomi seemed to want to kill the five year old. Mikoto ran over to her, and grabbed her by the shoulders. She looked at her daughter imploringly.
"Kirari, is what he said true? Did you break Rai's arm?" Kirari met her mother's gaze, and for a moment, Mikoto was hopeful. Then Kirari shrugged, and looked over to Mako.
"He wanted me to play." The word play seemed foreign on the young girl's tongue. "And he touched me." The crowd waited for her to continue. Kirari looked back to her mother, but this time, looking off to the side, rather than meeting her mother's gaze.
"So when he wouldn't go away, and he said I was just like every other Uchiha, I broke his arm. He was weak." There were mumbles from the crowd, and Mikoto chocked back tears. Kirari began to walk away, not looking back to see if her mother was walking with her. Naomi turned to Mikoto.
"If I ever see your spawn here again Uchiha, or anywhere else for that matter, I will personally kill it. You should have stayed in your little compound where that monster couldn't hurt my child." Naomi spat the words with such venom that many of the mothers stepped back in fear. Mikoto simply stood there staring at Naomi.
"I thought you were my friend, Hitachi-san, but apparently, I was wrong. I think that maybe you should begin to understand that a mother is not the same as their child. But perhaps you are an annoying, insulting, weakling?" Mikoto turned to walk away, completely ignoring the whispers that followed her statement. She quickly caught up with Kirari, whose legs were far shorter than those of her mother's. Kirari made no sign that she knew her mother was there, and continued to walk.
"Kirari, why did you have to do it? That can't be the only reason." Kirari stopped walking, and stared straight ahead.
"Father says that normalcy is for the weak. I would have been normal if I played. I am not weak." With that, Kirari walked on, not looking back to see her mother had fallen to her knees on the ground, weeping for her only child.
I really enjoyed writing this chapter. And the small boy with atrocious grammar was my favorite.
For anyone who thinks Mikoto is out of character, I have an explanation. She's not shown much in the manga or anime, and when she does appear, she seems like the kind of mother who wants very much to love her children, but might not be able to if they act like a jerk/zombie/break other kid's arms. I also saw her as one to protect her own, even if her child DID break someone's arm. that's why she was so defensive when Naomi insulted Kirari. This will be one of the few chapters where Mikoto is very emotional.
Thanks for the review MizukiUchiha12!
Thanks for reading, please review!
