Saeko
Her death was nothing special to the world. She was present at the wrong place and at the wrong time. She did not know what exactly to expect from death. Perhaps she would be reincarnated. Perhaps she would be sent to hell. There were many possibilities.
She slowly felt herself slowly losing her consciousness as she floated in what seemed like endless space. Perhaps it was her existence was being erased.
She woke up again after- Well, she didn't know how long. She woke up again though, this time the seemingly endless space didn't seem so endless. She tried to feel the walls. She failed quite miserably. She fell asleep again after what seemed like a few seconds, or perhaps a few minutes. Her perception of time had been long lost.
She woke up again. This time the walls were closer to her. She could feel them. She could also feel her head hurting like never before. She would've frowned, if she could. On a more positive note, she could feel her legs, or hands she couldn't tell the difference. The fourth time she woke up, she could feel both her hands and feet. The fifth time, the pain had lessened but there were things missing.
Some things were missing from her mind.
She couldn't dwell on it for long as she 'fell asleep' again. The seventh time she woke up, her mind was a bit of a mess. She knew somethings, but didn't know how. She didn't know what they exactly were. She didn't know. She wanted to know though. Perhaps she would know with time.
After about thirty times of the endless waking up and forgetting somethings and feeling as though something was wrong, she was forcefully woken up. She didn't know how, but the discomfort was anything but pleasant. She felt herself screaming, crying, and flailing whatever limbs she could control, which wasn't much. She had questions but she didn't remember how to speak anymore. She didn't remember how to eat even though she knew she should know these things.
--- --- --- --- ---
Kaori had given birth to a lovely baby girl. She would have been a bit disappointed at the gender if she did not have a son who looked so excited to be a big brother.
She was proud to have given birth to a boy who would bring her, and his father, glory and praise in the battlefield while his sister would marry to a nice man and give birth to another strong warrior. Her daughter would carry on the legacy of being a proud and elegant woman of the Uchiha and her son would bring her grandchildren while also shining on the battlefield and avenging his predecessors.
Kaori cried that day after years of holding back her tears.
--- --- --- --- ---
She knew that she should be grateful for the family she was born in. After all, many children her age had it worse than her. Kawahira, her uncle and distant brother at the same time, liked to hit his children as a way of discipline. It was not considered as abuse because he was acting as how a parent should act. She did not know herself why she considered it as abuse when she had grown up with people calling it normal. She was lucky she was born in a family who did not do such things.
There was an occasional slap, and at worse a small stabbing wound, but nothing life threatening. It was nothing compared to the boy who lived on the outskirts of the compound.
She endured it because that was all she knew. She did not like it but if she spoke then she would get a beating far worse, she knew from experience. She did not even know how to express her 'discomfort' when all she knew was to accept it all like a gift.
All she knew was to keep her head down and obey because that is what she was expected to do, and then have her children do the same. She would cry within the safety of darkness and loneliness which brought more comfort than the mother who brought her in this world.
She sometimes wishes she could die. But a large part of her fears a painless death, but death still, more than being burned till the person was barely breathing, as was done to 'traitors'.
"Come along now Saeko, we can not be later than we already are."-Itsuki
"Yes."-Saeko
She nodded and followed behind her brother, never trying to walk beside him or worse, ahead of him. She had done so once and her mother had not been pleased. She would rather follow this tiresome rule than be faced with her mother's never ending anger.
The children hardly ever played around in this place, only on some evenings when either their parents were gone or they had just won a war and they were much too busy with preparations of a celebration. Well, she did not care much about them. They did not seem to like her at all. They would not bully her, but their discomfort was shown. She was different than them. As the adults said, 'She is mature. And aware.' She did not try to get along with them. It was better to be alone than to be with them when they didn't welcome her in the first place.
Today, they were supposed to congratulate the clan head for giving birth to another future male warrior, another tool to use and depressed child she thought in the secrecy of her mind.
The festivities were kept to a minimum as the child was the youngest and not showing any signs of being a born genius unlike his eldest brother. She congratulated both the clan heir, Madara, and the clan head, Tajima, with her mother. She did not like any of them, although she didn't understand why; they were the pride of her clan and had protected so many of the clan members' lives with their prowess. She should be grateful to them.
She pitied the children more than disliking them.
--- --- --- --- ---
Saeko was having dreams. Dreams filled with memories that should not exist. She kept silent about them like the many other secrets she had learned to keep quiet about. It was easy to pretend to know nothing when you are child, for no one would question odd behaviors of yours because you are a child. Of course, those odd behaviors would not be questioned only if they did not disturb your parents.
"Saeko, I will be going to war. I will not come back alive."-Itsuki
She thought that she did not have it as hard as her brother might have. From the day that she was born, she had watched him being taught only how to fight, kill, and to be prepared to sacrifice his life for that is the greatest honor; to sacrifice oneself for their family, their clan. For once, she wanted to do something to save her brother. She had watched him from afar and did nothing to ease his life, or even make him realize that he was not alone in his suffering. But it was hard to communicate with a boy, who was as broken as her, when she had been taught to stay silent.
She scoffed mentally at the thought of helping him. She had never even held a weapon in her hands, how would she help him? She did not even have the Sharingan. Lifting up his spirits would do nothing but give him false hope in the end.
"If you give up now, before you are dead, you are only submitting quietly to your fate."-Saeko
She had done what she deemed as useless and cruel. Still, Saori turned to face her brother in the eyes and smiled after, what seemed like years. It was not a smile filled with happiness, or even one out of sadness; Saori never showed 'unnecessary' emotions. She guessed that she was like her mother in that regard, or like what most Uchiha adults behaved like.
It was an empty gesture from her.
They both already expected the worse for they have seen it happen too many times to count.
--- --- --- --- ---
Her memories were easy to piece together when she got a bit more older. Both the good ones and the bad were like the ghosts of her past haunting her every single day and night. Her brother was not there to bring her a cup of water whenever he felt she was plagued by her nightmares, and she realized just how important he was to her.
Sometimes, she would gaze in the pond within the Uchiha compound and wonder if things would be easier if she killed herself. But even with having experienced death once, she feared it still.
She took in a deep breath and calmly moved back to where he mother and father were staying within compound. She had heard the heavy, yet still light when compared to her father or the other adults who fought in the war, footsteps coming her way. If she had to guess then they would likely be Madara's footsteps as he was the one to frequently be found near the pond, training, at that time. It could have been Izuna as well but the boy had gotten injured recently so she doubted it was him.
She went up to the area where the injured shinobi were being treated at instead of going back to her mother. She wanted to see her brother once, before meeting him properly and elegantly in front of her mother. There was also the fact that she wanted to avoid seeing her parents.
She did not fear them. She she obeyed their every command and she feared that she would not be able to recognize herself in the end.
Her hands did not clench into fists for it could leave marks on her skin and let others know of her misery, her face did not have a frown for she could not let anyone read her like an open book and her feet did not rush towards her destination. She was calm and composed. If the worst came then she would have to accept it, but for now she would hope that only the best had come.
She did not smile when she saw him but there was an emotion of relief and pride in her eyes.
"I'm home."-Itsuki
His face had a smile which would likely be frowned upon by the remaining elderly in the Uchiha clan.
"Welcome back, brother."-Saeko
She almost did not believe her own eyes when she saw the expression on her mother's face. Perhaps the woman wasn't as cold hearted as she thought. She still greeted her like she was supposed to and excused herself just after. Even if her mother had emotions, and perhaps a reason, it would not excuse her actions. Saeko could not love her mother.
--- --- --- --- ---
Her hands fell into the familiar work of making an embroidery on her clothes. Flower arranging classes, which her grandmother and mother had beaten into her, had stopped after she turned ten for she had already mastered the art. Learning the language, customs and the religious principles had also not taken much time and if it weren't for the fact that she had not focused a lot on these things she may have had been labeled a genius.
Of course, a genius is not defined by these standards but if a child barely ten can master all of these practices then surely, there must be something unique about the child.
She was soon going to be engaged to some man, and she felt the need to do something before it happened. Something to cherish whatever little freedom she currently had.
She stopped her work and remembered the scrolls and books kept on her father's old table. It had not been used for some time as he had been injured in the battlefield and had been resting. And it would not be used for approximately five more days. Out of those five days, she would have only two days before her mother would have her meet with different men, or boys according to the standards of her previous life, to discuss her engagement. In the two days, her mother would likely have her take some tests to make sure she was fit to be a wife of which, if she tried hard enough, she could finish in about a day.
And she had acted completely normal in a set routine for about an year so no one would find her suspicious as well.
'Which would leave me with a day. I can assume I will have 14 hours, if I sacrifice my sleep, to read them all.'
She had done such a thing before. However, living with shinobi made it incredibly hard for her to move stealthily. She had to plan things ahead of time, and if there was even a slight change in her predictions then she would have to make up a different plan. Every small action could impact her plans.