Mother's Gift

*Warning: Contains depictions of self-harm and suicide*

Four years later.

Natsume stood in the middle of several wooden dummies huffing from exhaustion. She had grown up a lot since she was three years old. Although she was still clearly a child, her height nearly doubled, and the look in her eyes no longer held that whimsical innocence. Hinako looked at her from outside the field of dummies and coldly spoke. "Again."

She gritted her teeth and tried to muster up what was left of her chakra. Then, her dance began. She was practicing shurikenjutsu to the extremes. Her task was to hit every dummy within a certain time frame. Since Natsume had not unlocked her sharingan yet, this was practically impossible. However, with sheer resilience and training, she nearly succeeded again.

"Failed." As the last shuriken bounced off each other, and hit the final two dummies, Natsume frowned. 'Too slow, again.'

Just as she prepared to go once more, Hinako unraveled a scroll and all the dummies turned to puffs of smoke before being stowed away. "That's enough. You are already at your physical limit." Before she could argue, her stomach rumbled loudly. Betrayed by her body, Natsume walked to the edge of the clearing and went to wash herself at home. Once they returned to the complex, Hinako went from tough instructor to nanny.

"Hinako…" Natsume wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

"Yes, Natsume-san?" Her formal and gentle way of speaking was always strange after their training sessions. Even after several years, she still couldn't get used to it. As she washed herself, she recounted the last few years in her mind. It was tough at first, but her growth under Hinako was rapid and efficient. Many would begin to refer to her as a genius in conversation.

Not only was she proficient in taijutsu for her body size, but she had nearly mastered shurikenjutsu and kenjutsu. Most of her constant daily training was adjusting her fighting style as she grew taller. Her body was in the fastest growing stage, and fortunately the quiet before the storm was a perfect opportunity for the clan to buy rice and meat. The merchants always found the time before the war to be very profitable, so supply was readily available.

Natsume was well aware of the coming war, Hinako hadn't said anything yet, but she heard the rumors around the clan. She had mentally prepared herself for the fighting, but a child doesn't really understand war until they experience it. Feeling the water wash away her sweat and fatigue, Natsume let out a sigh. She took out a small copper mirror and looked at her eyes.

'Sharingan…' Natsume wondered when she would awaken hers. While daydreaming, there was a knock at the door.

"Natsume, your mother is here to see you." Hearing her father's words, Natsume frowned. Ever since her eldest brother's death, she has not been quite the same. However, last year she discovered Natsume was training to be a shinobi, she almost destroyed the wing. Although her mother wasn't a trained shinobi, the emotion fueled sharingan was undoubtedly powerful.

"Understood." The relationship between Natsume and her father became much more formal since she began her training. This was both recognition of her growth as a shinobi and also preparing her for the battlefield where she would take commands from her superiors. Hinako began to help her dress in a light blue kimono with a flower pattern.

…

In the tearoom, Shino sat with a stoic expression. Her mind was wandering as she waited. When she heard footsteps, her mind turned back on to see who had come. When she saw her sweet daughter step through the threshold, she smiled. Although Natsume spoke, she couldn't hear anything. She was so dissociated with reality, nothing could fully pull her back.

"…Mother! Did you hear me?" Natsume's voice finally made its way through the fog.

"Ah, you've grown up so quickly. Come, let me see you up close."

Natsume approached her side and Shino immediately grabbed her hands. Then, she cupped her daughter's cheek and smiled. "You remind me of my sister when she was young. Nene also went to fight… She didn't return. She was only 11 years old. I remember arguing with her just before she left to the battlefield. I wish I could have done something for her… But now my own daughter…!" She couldn't finish her sentence as her eyes stung. Although Natsume was distant with her mother, the emotional atmosphere also caused her to tear up.

"Mom… I'll be fine, Hinako will protect me." Natsume tried to console her to no avail.

"I could not save your brother, but I can give you a gift that will ensure your safety… This will be mothers last gift to you, don't blame me too much." Shino took something from her long sleeve. Due to the blurry vision from the tears, and the sudden declaration, Natsume was unable to react in time. Blood suddenly splattered all over Natsume's light-colored kimono.

"M… Mom, why, what… I don't understand!" Natsume was still only a child. She turned 8 after the new year. Even though she was trained as a shinobi, the mental fortitude could not be developed so quickly. Therefore, seeing her own mother impale herself made her instantly suspect genjutsu. However, despite disrupting her chakra repeatedly, the blood was too real. The warm liquid stimulated her nerves, causing a searing pain throughout her body.

"No!" Natsume shouted in agony, while her mother continued to smile. Natsume tried to get up to get help, but Shino grabbed her arm and held her down.

"Look at me, Natsume. This is my gift to you. My life… my only hope, is for your safety. Have you received my gift?" The ravings of her mother confused and angered Natsume. 'How is suicide a gift?' She couldn't understand. However, a surge of emotion shot up her spine and into her brain.

Before she could identify it, her blurry vision became even blurrier and dyed red. She could clearly sense the faint heartbeat from her mother. Her head began to ache, and her chakra went wild. It was at this point that Sahiro and Hinako arrived. They would have come sooner, but Shino had sealed the room with a fuinjutsu that isolated sound. The irony is that it was the same scroll that they used while Shino mourned, so as not to disturb the clan.

"It seems that Natsume-chan really does love her mother. I can pass away happy now. Remember this feeling… cough… ah—" She could no longer form words as her body entered a weakened state from blood loss. The sword had penetrated directly through her heart, so no amount of medical ninjutsu could save her.

Natsume turned around; the iris of her eye had turned completely red with a single black tomoe revolving around the pupil. She stared at her father and Hinako, "Save her!" But neither of them said anything. They simply stared at Natsume with wonder. Awakening the sharingan at the age of 8 was rare and it usually only happened on the battlefield. However, a clan member committing suicide to awaken their child's sharingan… there was no known history.