WARNING: this first chapter has mentions of alcoholism (just putting a warning here just in case, it's not actually that bad)
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I only own the Original Character and any images of the original character I may draw.
The sun rose to peak above the trees in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, basking the land in its warm light. In an apartment near the village walls, a young boy awoke to the suns light shining in his face. He blinked the sleep from his eyes as he got up from his bed and towards the neatly folded clothes laying on his bedside table. He smiled down at the cloth, proud that he was able to do enough chores to finally buy his own clothes. They were simple, a mesh long sleeve, black shirt with half sleeves just the way he liked them, and black pants that finally didn't have any holes in them, but he liked them all the same.
He put on his clothes before leaving his room, checking on his mother who was still asleep in bed. The room smelt of alcohol and the boy sighed, knowing his mother was trying to quit her drinking habits. He made his way to the kitchen and opened the fridge, taking out enough ingredients to make breakfast. Eggs and bacon were easy to cook, and he didn't have enough time to make anything bigger. It was a school day after all. He sat down with a plate of breakfast just as his mother walked into the room.
"Mornin' Mirou" she said sleepily, giving him a kiss on the forehead as she walked by. The boy, Mirou, gave a hum in response and ate another fork full of eggs. Mirou's mother sat down across from her son with her own plate, a smile dawning her face as she took notice of her son's new clothes.
"It looks good on you," she stated. Mirou beamed at the compliment.
"You think so?"
"Of course. You look just like your father."
Mirou felt his ears turn red. He never knew his father, and his mother never told him his name. But whenever she talked about him it always made Morou feel proud to be his son. He asked his mother once about him but all she said was "I can't tell you right now sunshine, maby later."
Finishing his breakfast, he quickly put away his dishes before brushing his teeth and tying his long raven hair into a ponytail. As he was about to leave the house he was stopped by his mother's hand on his shoulder.
"Your ponytail is uneven. Here, let me fix it."
Mirou rolled his eyes but complied, knowing his mother's tactics to make his stay as long as possible.
"Mooom, I'm not a little kid. I can do my own hair now," he complained. However he found a smile crawling it's way onto his face. His mother chuckled lightly.
"I know I know, but you're growing up so fast! It feels like it was just yesterday you were a little baby," she replied, finishing with his hair. He put on his shoes and made his way out the door, responding to his mother's "I love you, have a good day at school," with a wave.
Turning the corner of his complex to make his way down the stairs, Mirou almost collided with his neighbor Ezume who was holding a large potted plant.
"Oh Mirou! I was hoping I would run into you. Thank you for taking care of my plants over the weekend, they look better than ever," she beamed. Mirou smiled back with an embarrassed blush.
"I-It was no problem, I'd be happy to do it again" he stammered. The older woman waved her one free hand in a discarding motion.
"Oh nonsense. Take this for your troubles." She handed him an apple from her bag. Mirou bowed before taking off to school.
"Thank you Ezume-san!" He called out before disappearing down the stairs. The streets were busy as he tried to walk down them, mumbling an apology everytime he accidentally bumped into someone. It was nearly half an hour before he got to school, noticing his friend Kiba walking towarts the school at the same time. Kiba noticed his friend and waved him over.
"Hey Mirou! How's it goi- wait did you finaly change your clothes?" Kiba exclaimed as he took in his friends new appearance.
"Yeah, I took care of Ezume-San's plants over the weekend and finally got enough money," Mirou grinned. Kiba rolled his eyes dramatically and slung his arm around his friend's shoulders.
"Finally! You've been wearing the same damn thing since before the academy!" He joked, Mirou laughed as the two made their way to class.
Inside the classroom Mirou sat beside kiba eho sat beside Choji, in the middle desk as always. They were about to start talking again when the slam of a palm againsed their desk startled them. On the other side was Anri Ono, a known troublemaker within the classroom. Her brown eyes flicked with amusement as she gazed at Mirou.
"Well well well, looks like half and half isn't homeless after all," she teased, using her new nick name for the young boy. Mirou averted his gaze, knowing that she was poking fun at his heterochromia. His right eye was like his mother's, ice blue, almost white. His left eye was as black as the night sky as his mother described it. Beside him, both Kiba and Akamaru growled.
"What do you want?" He snapped, Akamaru barking in agreement. Anri smirked.
"I just wanted to see what dear Mirou was wearing is all, it's atrocious as expected from you."
Mirou tried to laugh it off, however it sounded hollow and forced. Anri took the apple from Mirou's desk, took a bite, than chucked the rest before going back to her seat. Mirou sighed and let his head lean against his palm, not at all surprised by the event. Kiba all but fumed beside him.
"Why do you let her treat you like crap?" He grumbled, glancing towards his friend. Mirou pursed his lips before answering.
"She's only doing it to get a reaction out of me. If I don't give her a reaction than she'll eventually leave me alone." He explained.
"It's been three years man! Come on, show some back bone! I've seen you get angry man you'll scare her right off!"
Mirou smiled at his friends attempt to cheer him up. Minuts pass and Iruka-Sensei finally showed up to start the class. They were practicing kuni throwing today and Mirou was exited. He had been practicing almost all week at the park and was proud of his improvement. With his previous bad encounter almost completely forgotten, Mirou anxiously waited his turn as they all lined up outside. Iruka-Sensei demonstrated the proper throwing Technique that the class had learned the week before, than split the class into groups of two. As luck would have it, Mirou got partnered up with Kiba. The two friend made their way to the wooden targets with Kiba volunteering to go first. Out of the ten kuni they were given, only four missed their mark.
"Kiba your so good! Have you been practicing?" Mirou praised. Kiba puffed out his chest at the praise, a toothy grin dawning his face.
"Yeah I've been practicing every now and then," he bragged, switching posts with Mirou. Butterflies found their way into his stomach as he approached his spot, taking one of the kuni in hand. He tood a deep breath before throwing it. A sudden loud noise caused him to squeal, the kuni missing it's target and almost hitting Kiba and Akamaru. Beside him Anri laughed loudly.
"Wow Mirou! I knew you were bad at this but I didn't know you were this bad! You could have seriously hurt someone!" She spoke loud enough for the whole class to hear. Some other kids started snickering and Mirou's face turned red from embarrassment. She shakily thew the rest of the kuni, only half of them hitting their mark.
Iruka-Sensei called out for lunch time just as Mirou and Kiba finished collecting the tools, than boys went off to find their friends for lunch.
"Man I just can't believe her! I could have been killed!" Kiba angrily took another bite of his lunch. Beside him were his friends Choji, Shikamaru, and Mirou, the latter making sure that he didn't actually stab the young Inuzuka.
"She's so troublesome" Shikamaru muttered. Choji nodded in agreement, not stopping to take another handful of chips.
"She's just being worse today because Emiru isn't here," Mirou provided, however he still agreed with them. Usually Anri would only mess with him one or twice a week. But since her partner in crime, Emiru Takenaka, has been sick she's been getting bored without him, opting to make an enemy out of everyone in the school instead.
Lunch ended to soon for the four friends as they continued with their regular classes. Both Kiba and Shikamaru had fallen asleep, while Choji not-so-secretly tried to eat the rest of his lunch. Mirou tried to focus, but it was hard to do when someone kept throwing paper ar his head. He grimaced as he felt the eighth paper ball hit the back of his head. He looked over at the clock to see that there was only five minutes left. Iruka-Sensei handed them their homework just as the bell went off, signifying the end of school. Mirou packed his things and quickly made his way out the door before Anri could catch up to him, saying a quick bye to his friends as he passes them in the halls.
The walk back to his appartment was slow as he dragged his feet behind him. Anri was getting worse with her antics and Mirou really didn't want to get angry at her. Because if he gets angry than she's going to get angry. And she was downright terrifying when angry.
Mirou stopped outside a familiar shop, the smell of flowers invading his nose as he looked through the large glass window. Inside he could see his classmate Ino working on some arrangement for a customer. The little bell rung as he opened the door, alerting the young girl of his presence. He and Ino rarely ever talked accept when they were partnered up at school, however a look of recognition flashed across the young girls face as she finished up with the customer. She followed him as he went to look at some succulents.
"Your name is... Mirou right?" She asked. Mirou nodded with a smile.
"Are you looking for anything in specific?" Mirou hummed before answering.
"Yeah. I don't have any money right now but I'm not sure if I want to get a succulent, a cactus, or a tomato plant next."
"Well if your tight on money, I think you should get a cactus. They're very low maintenance." Ino explained. Mirou took this into consideration.
"Yeah I think that's a good idea. Thank you for the help Ino-san," he said as he exited the store.
Mirou continued his long walk home contemplating as to how he will earn the money for the plants.
'I could water Ezume-san's plants again' he thought, 'but that would take forever. I think I heard that one of our neighbors needs a babysitter, I could do that,'
The young boy continued with his thought until he was standing outside his door. He was about to turn the handle when something started screaming inside him, like a million red flags all going off at once. All the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he felt his face drain of colour. Something was wrong.
'I'm being ridiculous' he argued with himself, 'This is the same as any other day, there's no reason for this feeling'
Mirou pushed passed the warning bells in his head as he opened the door.
"Okāsan! I'm home," he called out but there was no answer. This wasn't strange, as his mother was often absent by the time he got home. However the sickly feeling of dread never faded. He carefully stepped into his home, eyes scanning every inch of the room. It was dark, no lights were on, so he almost missed it. Strands of silver hair peeking out from behind the couch. Mirou starred at the silver strands with hesitation.
"...Okāsan?" He called out weakly. There was no answer. He slowly crept towards the couch, his heard pounding in his chest as his mind rased to come up with logical explanation. He peeked behind the couch and his heart stopped. It was his mother, laying perfectly still on the floor, her eyes open and unfocused, and her body completely still. She wasn't breathing.
"Okāsan!" He called out dropping to his knees. He tried to shake his mother awake, but she didn't budge.
"Okāsan wake up! Please! What's wrong!" He yelled, but she didn't answer. His vision started to get blurry, and that sinking feeling of dread took over his body. He raced out the door to bang on Ezume's. She opened the door with a yawn.
"Mirou what's going on-" she stopped, looking at the boy. He was a sobbing mess, unkempt hair, and oh God his eyes.
"Okāsan's not breathing and she won't wake up!" He cried. Ezume's stomach dropped. She knelt down to looks ot the boy, ignoring her own shaking to grasp at the young one's shoulders.
"Listen Mirou, I'm going to get to get help okay? I... I need you to stay with your mother. Can you do that?" Mirou nodded. He ran back to his apartment, taking his mother's hand in his. It was to cold.
"D-don't tou worry Okāsan, help will be here soon," he croaked, but he knew. He knew in the back of his mind that she was already gone. That she would be their to give him a smile, she wouldn't be their to do his hair, to tell him stories about his father. She was gone. The young boy cried over his mother's body, not knowing what else to to. Empty loneliness seeped into his bones as gasping sobs shook his body. She was fine this morning, she couldn't be gone. It's just wasn't possible. But she wouldn't wake up. She was gone, she's gone, she's gone she's gone she'sgoneshe'sgone-
Mirou jerked as a sudden hand on his shoulder snapped him back to reality. Behind him was a man, a jonin judging by his uniform. He had black hair and a beard, along with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Hey kid, calm down, no one here's gonna hurt you," he spoke carefully as to not upset the boy. He glanced at the body briefly before turning back to the boy. "Why don't you come with me okay?"
"but Okāsan-" He stopped himself. He knew that his mother was gone, but he just could believe it. She was so happy this morning. Mirou let himself be guided out the door by the man, trying in vain to dry his tears. They sat outside his door were two more unfamiliar jonin stood. The man gave them a signal and they ventured into the small apartment. The man put out his cigarette and kneeled down in front of Mirou who was trying to stifle his sobs.
"What's your name kid?" He asked.
"...Mirou Hakuryū" The man smiled softly.
"Well it's nice to meet you Mirou. My name is Asuma, I'm a ninja here to help you. Can you tell me how old you are?"
"...I'm ten and a half" Mirou replied shakily. Asuma's smile faltered, knowing that he was so young and having to experience such loss. And his eyes.. no, this wasn't the time to be thinking about it.
"I'm going to take you to the hospital okay? They're just going to do some checkups and make sure that you're not hurt." Mirou nodded.
Asuma picked him up and quickly made his way to the hospital, trying to keep the boy's mind off of his mother.
"So what's your favorite activity?" he asked.
"I... I like gardening"
"Really? Do you have any plants that you look after?"
"I have a fern"
"Oh really? What type of fern?" They were close to the hospital, Asuma could see the building from where they were.
"Onychium Japonicum, the carrot top fern," Mirou murmured. Asuma was suprised to know that a ten year old knew the scientific name for the plant, however his suprised was short lived as he reached the hospital's front doors.
Asuma explained the situation to they Lady at the front desk, who then told them to wait in the waiting room. Asuma took out I little note pad as he sat down beside Mirou.
"This may be difficult but I need tou to answer some questions for me. Do you think you can do that?" He asked carefully. Mirou hesitated, but nodded.
"Okay. Can you tell me when you last saw your mother?"
"... This morning, before I went to school. She did my hair for me." Mirou felt himself starting to tear up again but quickly tried to wipe them away. Asuma wrote it down in his note book.
"Alright. There were a lot of bottles around the house. Did you mom drink often?"
"Okāsan used to, but she was getting better. She stopped staying out late and sometimes walked me to school," The young boy answered. Asuma wrote it down, relieved that the child wasn't a victim of neglect.
"Do you have any other family? Dad? Siblings? Grandparents?"
"No. It was always just me and Okāsan. I never knew my dad, but Okāsan told me some stories about him." Asuma wrote it down before putting away his notebook. They stayed quiet, with the exception of Mirou trying to wipe away his tears. His vision still felt fuzzy, and his eyes felt warm, however crying for an hour straight would do that to anyone. The doctor finally showed up with a clipboard in hand. She was a friendly looking lady, with kind eyes and a welcoming smile.
"Hello, you must be Mirou. I'm Dr. Oshiro. If you could come with me I need to do a checkup okay?" She gave him a reassuring smile that melted some of his anxieties away. Dr. Oshiro took Mirou to a hospital room and continued to do an hours worth of routine checkups that left Mirou feeling exausted and drained.
Asuma was taking him to the Hokage's office to discuss some sort of important issue, however Mirou was to tired to listen properly. Asuma knocked twice on the Hokage's office doors before hearing a faint "enter" Mirou, who's mind was finally catching up with reality, suddenly felt very nervous is the presence of the village's leader.
"Mirou, come and sit," the Hokage motioned towards the chair across from his desk. Mirou complied, feeling even more nervous than before.
"I'm very sorry for the loss of your mother. She was a good woman," he spoke. Mirou averted his eyes, not trusting them to not tear up again.
"However I need to speak to you about urgent matters. Asuma," the ninja in questioned straightened his stance. "You have no missions currently. I would like you to take Mirou to stay with you until further arrangements can be made." Asuma nodded unsurely, not understanding as to why this boy wasn't going to an orphanage. The Hokage continued.
"You both will meet back here tomorrow at noon to further settle Mirou's living arrangements."
"Well, this is my home. make yourself comfortable."
Mirou looked around the house. It was much bigger than the small apartment he lived in, and it had a second floor. It was stylishly decorated with expensive looking furniture, things that Mirou could only dream of owning.
"You'll be staying in the guestroom. It's upstairs, first door on your right, and the bathroom is just down the hall" Mirou nodded and made his way upstairs. The bedroom was big, about as big as his old livingroom, and also had expensive looking furniture. He placed the only thing he brought with him, his coat, on a chair at the end of the bed before going back downstairs. Asuma was looking at his fridge with a scowl, cursing at his forgotten groceries. He glanced at his clock. It was just past seven at night and the kid probably hadn't eaten anything since lunch.
"You hungry?" Asuma asked a suprised Mirou. He nodded slightly and Asuma sighed.
"How do you feel about barbecue?"
The duo sat at a table in a place called Yakiniku Q, a barbecue place that Asuma spoke highly of. They ate in an awkward silence untill Asuma desided to try and get the boy to open up.
"Do you go to the academy?"he asked. Mirou looked startled from the sudden inquiry, but nodded, taking another peice of meet.
"So you want to be a ninja?" Mirou nodded a bit more enthusiastically. Asuma smiled, knowing that he was getting somewhere. He was about to ask another question when a familiar booming voice filled his ears.
"Asuma! What a coincidence to find you here! And with such youthfulness!"
Asuma let out a long groan and pinched the bridge of his nose. Mirou was in complete shock at the man standing before him. He had a bowl cut hairdo, a green one peice, and some of the biggest eyebrows he'd ever seen.
"Hey Guy," Asuma groaned, not wanting to deal with this today. Guy gave him his signature smile and thumbs up before turning his attention towards Mirou.
"And who might this bundle of youthfulness be!" He exclaimed loudly. Other people were starting to look in their direction and Mirou started to shrink in their gaze.
"M-Mirou Hakuryū," he answered meekly.
"Mirou! What a fantastically youthful name!" Guy proclaimed as he sat down beside Asuma who grumbled.
"What are you doing here Guy?"
"Well I was waiting for my rival! But he's on a mission so I'm all alone,"he explained, his personality doing a complete one eighty as he suddenly turned gloomy.
"But as fate would have it you would be here as well!" Guy said as his personality went back to normal. Asuma was about to bash his head against the table when he heard a soft giggle come from the other side of the table. He turned to see Mirou trying to hide a smile behind his hands. Asuma's gaze softened slightly before he continued to eat his food.
The trio stayed to 8:30, talking and swapping stories to try and make Mirou smile. That is untill they noticed how Mirou had started to nod off. Back at his house Asuma lent the young boy an old shirt that was many sizes to big to use a pajamas. Mirou was about to go up the stairs when he paused.
"Asuma-san... do you know how Okāsan, uh, you know..." Asuma frowned and took a deep breath.
"It was alchohol poisoning."
Mirou felt his insides twist.
"I see... thank you Asuma-san." He said quietly before going off to bed. He got under the covers, but couldn't find it in himself to sleep. He curled up into a ball and started to cry softly.
'But Okāsan said that she was getting better.'
Wow! 3901 words! Congratulations I didn't bore you with my fic yet! As you can probably tell, I'm an amateur writer. So PLEASE give me feedback! I know what you're thinking,
"But author! You said that this was an Uchiha OC fic! Whats going on!"
Dont you worry, the next chapter is going to be dedicated to exactly that. I just had a lot of kinks to work out with this characters backstory to make it make sense is all~
Should I continue? Is it complete trash? Constructive criticism is not only welcomed, but encouraged!