Chapter 2
Miwa kneels on top of the bathroom sink, looking at herself in the mirror.
A baby looks back at her.
There is nothing wrong with her reflection, she has always looked like this, ever since she can remember. Straight dark hair, equally dark upturned eyes, long dark lashes, a small mole below the center of her right eye, another above her upper lip on the left. Cool undertones, skin pale enough her veins make a sharp contrast–
But that is not quite true anymore, is it?
Miwa didn’t fully get it before, like a dream she only half remembered.
But she remembers now. She died.
She doesn’t waste anymore time after her habitual cursory survey. Miwa tries not to pay too much attention to the differences. If she thinks too hard about how her moles used to be scars or how her eyes used to be lighter, she will start wondering about other things, like how she died and how she wishes she had not left her young sister behind, how her sister is doing–
Best not to. A short examination, to make sure she hasn’t died in the night and been reincarnated once more.
Maybe Miwa will even believe it, too.
(She would know if that were the case. Her memories are too different now, too vivid. She would feel the difference before she even opened her eyes. This is what eidetic memory feels like.
This is what it means to bear the sharingan.)
She finishes in the bathroom and heads to the dojo to start her morning training. Miwa wears her training clothes, which are not at all different from her regular clothes. It’s cold, so she wears dark long sleeves and loose dark pants. She cut her hair short last month, and it will remain short for a long time. She feels like Maki after her traumatic haircut glow up, except with baby fat, no scars and only slightly less trauma.
(At least Miwa’s sister survived.
Didn’t she?)
In a world full of deadly magic wielding killers, only the strong can flaunt their long hair.
Her brother left on a mission, so nobody is waiting at the dojo this time. Her brother’s girlfriend is babysitting today, but remains asleep. Shoko arrived late last night after a long shift at the hospital.
They trust Miwa to take care of herself. She doesn’t think it’s normal for an almost four-year-old to be trusted this much, but Miwa is glad for it. She knows that they care about her, she doesn’t feel neglected or forgotten.
Miwa doesn’t remember much about her previous life yet, but she knows she wasn’t treasured before. It's a nice change.
She is an Uchiha now. A prestigious, very ancient, very traditional, noble shinobi clan.
Miwa knows this means she has reincarnated into an anime her sister liked to obsess over, but Miwa hadn’t watched it. So she only has her recollections about her little sister rambling about it to rely on.
It’s not much, and it’s spotty, and she hadn’t paid as much attention as she wishes she had but–
Miwa knows the Uchiha are massacred at some point. That some old bastard called Danzo told a thirteen year old to kill every last man, woman and child. That the boy did it, for some stupid reason.
She knows that the Uchiha are openly and secretly hunted for their magical eyes. That these eyes are obtained through unbearably strong emotions.
Miwa thinks that obtaining them should be easy in this world she now lives in. Pain and suffering should be commonplace in a world of magical assassins. Or maybe, it’s so normal that they have been desensitized to it, so they don’t feel loss as deeply. Maybe the Uchiha remain distant and aloof to avoid any unwanted feelings, and obsess over those they allow themselves to hold dear.
It doesn’t matter, she can’t change her genetic makeup. There is no way to dodge this kunai now.
Miwa has already awakened her bloodline limit.
She avoids thinking about how. It’s been months and she wants to get over it. Dying is terrifying and traumatic, and she left her little sister on her own–
But she is alive now. She has an older brother who loves her dearly and protects her when she doesn't know any better. A pseudo older sister who is patient and reliable and teaches her everything Miwa asks her to. A kind obaasan who looks after her and gives her snacks after training, a tsundere ojiisan that secretly teaches her how to protect herself when her brother isn’t looking.
(Ah, she thinks, the things I would do for them.)
Even the neighbors are nice enough, even if they are nosy.
Miwa finishes her morning workout and goes about making breakfast for both Shoko herself. Shoko should be waking up any moment now.
She is proven correct half an hour later, when Shoko padds out of their guest bedroom. She is ready for the day, not a hair out of place. She looks every inch the capable kunoichi that she is.
Shoko will be sixteen soon. Her brother will be sixteen soon as well. Next month. Miwa has already prepared a birthday gift for them.
Sixteen years old and ready to go to war.
Hatake Sakumo passed away last year. Not that it prevented the start of the war or protected his son from malicious whispers or did anything useful at all. A waste of a capable shinobi.
Konoha only just declared the start of the Third Shinobi War.
The Academy has redoubled its recruiting efforts. Miwa herself should have started attending in four years, when she is eight years old. But it is wartime now, so children start the Academy when they are six years old. Earlier, even, if the situation is dire enough.
Miwa knows all this because her new brother seems to be a mix of doting sis-con with paranoid conspiracy theories and some worrying obsessive tendencies. He likes warning her about anything and everything.
I love you just the way you are, she thinks fondly. Madness and all.
Tomura reminds her of herself. Her other self, though. The person she used to be. Paranoid and obsessive both. She hopes he will be able to have a kinder life.
Her education is progressing satisfactorily. She struggles with the language these days. There is some magic in a baby learning a language for the first time that cannot be replicated with a second one. Japanese was not her mother tongue before, but it is now. A small blessing. Her ‘new’ memories give her some trouble with understanding the new language sometimes, but Miwa reckons it will resolve itself with time. Memorization is not a problem anymore.
Her taijutsu feels like growing into a worn but beloved sweater, and then being asked to put on a kimono instead. Miwa thinks her previous self used to fight a lot. Not very well, but tenaciously enough that some of it carried over. Her katas give her structure. Even when the movements don’t feel natural enough, Miwa feels better for it. Like she is evolving for the better.
Chakra fascinates her. Even when she didn’t remember, it could hold her attention for hours. She enjoys learning about it the most. From her lesson she knows that it is a mix of spiritual and physical energy, and that it can grow with training and time.
As expected of a clan child, she naturally has more chakra than a civilian child. Than a civilian adult, even. It has to do with the careful selective breeding clans undertake. Chakra is part of a person’s genetic makeup in this world.
It is slightly different for the Uchiha. All those things apply, of course, but there is an additional factor to consider. The Uchiha believe that those who are descended from the main lineages have naturally more chakra, and that awakening the sharingan comes easier to them. When these superior lineages were decided or when this belief started remains unsaid. If anyone knows, they keep it to themselves. The only thing everyone knows is that it is related to the advanced stage of the sharingan.
Miwa can make a guess. She knows that the sharingan can advance to the next stage by experiencing profound emotional distress or some other deeply felt emotion. Emotions and experiences -along with education, meditation, any sort of personal character development- develop your spiritual energy. The sharingan -which itself is part of the body- consumes the user’s stamina, which leads to continuous physical training. Chakra flows through the chakra network; like meridians that need to be stretched and exercised so the body can make and use more of it. Chakra gates control the amount of chakra a person can force through a certain area within the body, and continuous use lifts the upper limit; opening the gates requires special -dangerous- training.
It is possible that each stage of development of the sharingan affects the gates in some way. There are two gates near the eyes, after all. Spiritual and physical energy naturally grow, and the body adapts in order to use these sudden increases of chakra. And those who achieve the most advanced form of the sharingan will have the most chakra. Most likely, those who obtained such powerful eyes single handedly lifted their lineage to greatness and their descendants today are simply enjoying the fortune of having hardworking ancestors. She hasn't figured out how the blindness fits in, but it's not strange that those with these eyes would have stronger descendants. This means that Miwa, who does not descend from any of these lineages, doesn't have this advantage in chakra.
It matters little to Miwa. Her training has only just started. Her chakra control is particularly good for her age, which she attributes to her stonger than normal spiritual energy. It is due to her extra memories. Her sensing is particularly good; it's useful, if trying. Like an annoying, ever present itch. She knows her brother worries about this. Uchiha rarely develop this skill without specialized training.
Miwa thinks it might be because she can’t help but unconsciously search for all the differences between this world and the last. Or a way of assuring herself that this life is not a dream. If cannot be, if it shines so vividly in her mind’s eye.
(And if she is searching for her sister, still, nobody can call her out on it.)
Her days are usually busy and enjoyable. Miwa wakes up early, as she always does. A trait she carried over from her past life. She always ‘works out’ before breakfast; Miwa is too young for intense conditioning, so she focuses on dexterity and proprioception. She practices every kata her brother has taught her, every day.
(Her mind often supplies the sight of him going over each of them. The memory is clear, as if watching a video. Her brother made her record everything he could think of. Just in case.
He might die soon. They are at war now.)
Sometimes he even puts Miwa under a genjutsu to show her her mistakes, few as they are. Miwa is sometimes too conscious of her own body. Even before she remembered. It would be difficult not to, when she can sense her own chakra flowing through it. It’s attention grabbing, but not uncomfortable. Like drinking hot chocolate and feeling its way down into your belly.
In the afternoon, her training varies according to their mood. She has recently started learning the basics of genjutsu.
The rest of her day depends on who she shares it with.
Most often with her brother, with whom she trains, and learns, and laughs. With whom Miwa spends lazy afternoons enjoying each other's company, cold evenings teasing each other and laughing under the kotatsu, summer nights walking through the village. She wishes the rest of her life could be just like this.
Shoko usually joins them for all of it. Miwa sometimes feels like a third wheel, but mostly feels like they are a small family. It’s nice. Sometimes, though, it is just Shoko and her. She likes that as well. They take advantage of Tomura’s absence to do all the girly things he doesn't want to do but does anyway. Since he is whipped. Miwa thinks meanly.
Training is always a possibility. She thinks she was a very physically active person before. Poisons and chakra control are newly discovered interests. Insects are an old one, though.
(Her sister used to love the little critters.)
But mostly, they spend their time bonding over their hobbies. Gardening is Shoko’s. It’s a terrible time for Miwa, who has a black thumb. She does it anyway; baby Miwa used to spend as much time training as she did napping under the sun on the engawa at the back of the house, listening to Shoko puttering around the garden. Miwa thinks gardening will always bring forth fond memories.
Miwa’s likes card games, which she is (un)surprisingly good at. She suspects her previous self used to spend a lot of time conning people into losing all their money. They play all sorts of games, some are new to her, some she ‘invents’. Her brother has incorporated many ‘improvements’ to game night, making it increasingly difficult for Miwa. He is a bad loser.
And sometimes, when both her brother and Shoko are otherwise occupied, her Hiuchi-ojiisan and Asahi-obaasan take care of her. They are an old couple that live a few houses down the street. They are all Uchiha, which means they are somehow related, but it is probably many generations removed.
They are old enough to have been alive during the founding of the village. Obaasan’s family were traditionally blacksmiths, even though she never learnt the art. Her father took ojiisan as an apprentice after his parents died, or so he told her. Hiuchi-ojiisan knows a lot, and likes to mock Tomura-oniisama’s attempts at subtlety, whatever that is all about.
When Miwa goes over, what she does depends on whether or not obaasan is home. If she is, then Miwa spends a lazy day learning all the traditional Japanese dishes ‘your oniisan is probably atrocious at making’ and then eating the fruits of her labor. Obaasan firmly believes that no talented shinobi is ever good in the kitchen. Miwa doesn’t know if that is an insult or a compliment.
When obaasan is not at home, Miwa and Hiuchi-ojiisan go over to the forge. It’s supposedly a secret, even though everyone at the forge knows about it. Hiuchi-san says that if she has a secret to keep, then Miwa must never speak of it. He says things like that, and then takes her to the forge. He is a bit of a tsundere; all harsh words and soft intentions. He trusts these people. Hiuchi’s old apprentice Tateshina-san is currently one of the best blacksmiths in Fire Country. Allegedly, the Fire daimyo himself spent a small fortune acquiring a ceremonial blade he will probably never use. It’s always just him and his two apprentices at the forge, Jizō-niisan and Tekari-neesan.
There, ojiisan teaches her a bit about blacksmithing, but mostly how to care for her weapons. He coached her through a katana kata the last time.
She will be going there tomorrow. Shoko-oneesan will have a shift at the hospital and obaasan always goes out on fridays with the old hags she calls friends.
Miwa will ask him to teach her how to do those fancy tricks with the ninja wire. She wants to do them with chakra, actually. Miwa has all sorts of theories about that. If you can make a chakra scalpel, then you can probably make a chakra wip, right?
But today, they are gardening. Later they will play cards and Miwa will take her oneesama’s mochi. They don’t bet money anymore, which is a shame. Miwa likes sweets, but not too much at once. It must be by design. Oneesama is also a bad loser.
And tomorrow–
Well. Baby steps.