*Disclaimer: All characters from the Naruto franchise belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

Succession

Chapter 1: A Prodigy is Born (Kumiko POV)

(Posted 2014-08-14, Updated 2015-01-02)

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~Prologue~

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5 years ago

It was early dawn when the villagers found the injured woman, struggling towards the village. She was in labor, a kunai in her back nicking her lung. Their resident doctor was out collecting herbs.

All knew it would be too late by the time he came back. The midwife of the village tried her best to stop the bleeding while trying to help the mother in labor… but she couldn't do anything.

The woman was breathing heavily, drowning in her own blood as she tried to give birth and fight her climbing fever. The several words she seemed to be saying was kage and take, but even that was in the midst of heavy coughing. Her mouth was distorted in pain as well, so the midwife didn't know if that was really what she said.

The village doctor finally came rushing in just as the baby's head was becoming visible. The mother was fading fast.

As soon as her baby – a girl – was placed in her arms, the wounded woman's eyes seemed to find focus again for a short amount of time, her gaze sharpening on her child. She gave a smile, grimaced at the pain, and whispered - choked - something coherent to her child.

My beautiful baby.

As her gaze started becoming unfocused again from the pain, her hand started losing what strength she had in holding the child. The baby was quickly taken away to make room for the doctor.

In the midst of the flurry of activity, the woman grabbed the nearest hand and pulled the person – the midwife – to herself and choked out one more time: care.

The midwife could only nod, understanding the garble for what it was: a request for the strangers to take care of the future of her child, compelled only because of her fast-approaching death.

The midwife could not help but let her tears fall watching the stranger-woman's suffering. The dying woman's gaze softened. She took several more breaths, making desperate attempts to breathe. She choked and coughed up blood.

The baby started to wail in earnest, as if knowing that her mother was dying. The doctor was doing everything he knew, but he was no med-nin. He was a simple man who only knew how to use herbs. The woman faded away and her shallow breaths became fewer and fewer in number until her body convulsed, and she stopped breathing altogether, her heart slowing to a stop.

Later the villagers found the remains of a shinobi fight, though there were no bodies left behind. The mayor came to a conclusion that the mother had been on her way to town when a stray kunai from the fight hit her. There was no other good explanation, as who would purposely kill a pregnant woman like this so far away from the large towns?

The elderly mayor and his wife, who was the midwife, decided to keep the baby girl. But theirs was a small village, more of a big family living and farming together, so that in actuality, everyone had a hand in taking care of the baby girl.

The midwife wanted Miko as the baby's name, as the mother had called her baby beautiful, but more people agreed to the doctor's suggestion of Kumiko, as the baby was born through the long suffering of her mother.

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Namura, Fire Country - Present day

My name is Tanaka Kumiko.

I live in the village of Namura. My foster mother, Yuuna oba-san, tells me that I am very special, brought into the world by a woman strong enough to travel a mile while in labor.

My village is tiny and small. I love it very much.

Though, some of the villagers look at me strangely when I talk – I don't understand why. They also react strangely when I tell them about what I did that day.

I once heard one mutter under his breath that I was unnatural and too smart. Too mature and quiet for my age, almost like those goddamn shinobi.

Maybe I'm not supposed to hear that. I want to ask oba-san what it means, but I don't want to tell her where I heard it from.

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I have very strange dreams. In one, people all rode boxes and traveled very fast from place to place.

In my dreams, I am usually much taller than I am right now.

Last night's dream... I had a kaa-san and a tou-san. They hugged me and kissed me every night.

Last night's dream was that I went to a really loud place outside with a lot of people around. My kaa-san was with me, holding my hand. Tou-san was doing something in front, fiddling with a small black box. They were telling me to stay still.

Everything was good. I was happy.

Then a loud sound came from the sky.

We were all looking up into the sky, and I saw a great bird fly away, and something smaller falling.

Tou-san pulled me and kaa-san, running quickly. Kaa-san was looking scared.

The black thing was falling towards us.

Tou-san stopped us and ducked behind a nearby statue, saying it's no use, but let's hope. He pulled kaa-san close with me in between them. They kissed me.

They told me they loved me.

I told them I love them too.

They looked at each other.

They gave me a very tight hug.

I watched the black thing dropping towards us, onto the building a few streets away, through my tou-san's arms, peeking between the statue's feet.

There was fire, and I saw a wave of yellow, red and white hotness rushing towards us.

It was the last thing I saw before I woke up crying, tangled up in my blankets.

I simply pulled in my blankets into a cocoon, shivering for a long time.

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Ayaka-neechan had been mending, patching up ripped clothes, and when I asked if I could brush her soft hair, she let me. As I was brushing her hair, I realized that everyone in the village had brown hair. Well, Ayaka-neechan had really dark hair, almost black, but I was the only one with silver hair.

So I asked her why everyone in the village had brown hair, and she said it was because everyone was related to each other.

Ayaka-neechan realized that I was indirectly asking why I had silver hair and told me that my kaa-san had similar hair to mine, only a little darker. She said she didn't know my tou-san's hair color, but it was probably something lighter. She also said that my parents were probably from somewhere far away where that hair color was normal.

Immediately afterwards, I went to oba-san to ask if I was also from a far away place – she looked really surprised at my outburst, but said yes, it was probably true.

She told me my kaa-san was a stranger that came into the village pregnant, and that her last words were for oba-san to take care of me.

So I asked oba-san about my tou-san. I knew that my kaa-san had died, but no one had mentioned my tou-san.

I was very happy in the dream with two parents from yesterday night, so if my tou-san was here, even if it was only the two of us, everything would be a little happier, right?

Oba-san looked sadly at me, and told me she didn't know who my tou-san was. My kaa-san came alone and had passed away while bringing me into the world and didn't have time to say who my tou-san was.

But wouldn't tou-san be looking for me?

Oba-san looked away, then heaved a deep sigh.

She pulled me into a hug and told me that she thought that tou-san had passed away before my kaa-san.

She thought they were both in a place far, far away, up in the sky. They probably became stars to watch over me.

...Why didn't she take me with her?

I couldn't go there until I was very, very old or became very, very sick...?

Maybe kaa-san thought tou-san would be lonely up there in the sky by himself and went to be with him.

…Maybe kaa-san forgot that I might be lonely down here all by myself.

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A Few Weeks Later

Bandits came and attacked the next-door village yesterday.

No one was hurt, but they took most of the seed money for next year's crops.

Oji-san looked grim after he met the messenger from the attacked village, who was warning the surrounding villages.

He immediately went to the attacked village with some other men to help put out the fires the bandits had started.

When he came back late that evening, ashy and tired, he told us that they were hiring a shinobi team to get rid of the bandits.

Oba-san looked surprised and a little grim, but nodded. Oji-san looked a little relieved when he said they would probably arrive in one or two days.

Shinobi... Oba-san said they were strong warriors who protect us from bad people.

I wonder what they will be like.

... I wonder what part of myself reminds some of the villagers of shinobi.

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A Few Days Later

Green.

Eye-wateringly green.

He was... very loud.

I didn't need to ask oba-san to know that he was the shinobi we were waiting for.

...Shinobi must not be normal.

If they didn't tell me he was a shinobi, I would have thought he embodied what crazy meant.

But he became strangely quiet when he saw me peeking out from behind of oba-san.

Oh, he was called Maito Gai.

I think I will never forget his his name.

And his clothes.

Ayaka-neechan told me later (with a shudder) that the tight clothes he wore was something called a spandex.

Well, he made me feel uncomfortable with all the staring and loud declarations of 'Delicate Blossom'... even if he was saying nice things.

I ignored almost everything the green man said, simply watching him with weary eyes. He reminded me of a squirrel that had once stolen a whole pouch of candies from me. It had zoomed from place to place, chattering loudly at me and circling the area I had been sitting in, unable to stay still. When I tried to give it water to take it to Doctor Hakke, it bit me and ran away.

...Yes, the spandex-man was almost exactly like the squirrel, starting from those shouts of 'Youth!', the blindingly bright smile, to the constant shifting of movement.

He called me very 'Hip and Cool'. He said I reminded him of someone he knew.

Then he seemed to realize that oji-san was waiting for him to speak, and told him that he had gotten rid of the bandits that attacked and was checking around all the villages with his team and making sure that other bandits didn't try to extinguish our village's 'Flames of Youth!'.

...Yes, he spoke in capitals and exclamation marks.

Well.

...If that's what a shinobi are, I don't think I want to meet another one.

...Why would anyone compare me to him? Shinobi and I had nothing in common.

Footnotes

Kage: Shadow

Take: Bamboo

Miko: 'Mi'= 'beautiful', 'Ko'= 'child'

Kumiko: 'Ku'= 'long time', 'Mi'= 'beautiful', 'Ko'= 'child'

Oba-san: Aunt or middle-aged woman

Oji-san: Uncle or middle-aged man

A/N - This story was a one-shot plot bunny of a short scene I had in my head while writing Trouble Finds Me, but it got longer and longer until it didn't seem much like a one-shot...

I highly doubted this story going beyond 5 chapters, but thanks for all the reviews and etc., because they gave me strength/inspiration to continue!

Leave a review to tell me what you think of the story, thank you very much. ;)

Lotsa cyber-love to reviewers/viewers!