[Fic] "Sons and Daughters" -- Naruto

[edenfalling]

I am doing a prompt-ficlet thing at the moment; this is the fifth one, for theodosia21, to the prompt: how about something from Naruto, more particularly, something about Mikoto, Sasuke's mother? I'd love to see more fic about her- anything, really. Her childhood, her choices, that AU where she undertook the Uchiha massacre to save Itachi from having to do it... you get the idea. ^_^

150 words about pressure and expectations. (I feel this idea has been done to death -- as a general trope, if not for Mikoto in particular -- but it's all that came to mind. Sorry theodosia21, I tried?)

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Sons and Daughters
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Uchiha Mikoto has two sons. She loves them. She does. But she never wanted them.

She married Fugaku for love, whatever anyone else thought. Then she overheard his father the night before their wedding. "You made a good choice," he told Fugaku. "Her blood is true. She'll bear strong sons, strong enough to carry all our secrets."

"Unless we break them, too," Fugaku said. Mikoto shivered at the darkness in his voice, at the weight she saw on his shoulders. And that night, she prayed for daughters.

Women cannot inherit among her clan. Women don't have to be ninja. Women don't have to be perfect. Women can marry for love, not cold calculation. Women can escape. Women can be happy. Their weakness is their strength. The lack of expectations is their salvation.

Mikoto wanted daughters. She has two sons. She loves them.

And she is waiting for them to break.

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End of Story

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In real life news, I tried to get a flu shot at Target today, but the clinic was unexpectedly canceled. Boo hiss. But I needed to get a poster frame and some scented wax melts from A. C. Moore anyway, so it was not precisely a wasted trip.

I also got some vaguely creamy Vaseline brand skin lotion, but I failed utterly at finding actual Vaseline. Or generic petroleum jelly. Does nobody make that anymore? I don't want gentle lotions that sink into the skin. I want thick, sticky glop that will fill the cracks between my toes and stop them from splitting open. Is that really so much to ask?

Comments

[theodosia21]

Aww, so sad. I wonder if Sasuke & Itachi's lives would have been significantly different if they were born female? Fewer females become shinobi than males, but they'd have had the pressure of being the children of the clan head anyway...

Thank you for writing this for me! ^_^

[edenfalling]

I think Sasuke, for one, would have been much happier as a child if he'd been a girl (at least if Itachi had still been male), because he (or she, as it were) would probably not have worried so much about matching Itachi's achievements, and Fugaku might have dealt better with a first (though younger) daughter than with a second son.

Itachi... well, it's hard to say what a female Itachi would be like. I will say, though, that if Itachi had been female and Sasuke male, I think that would not have made for stable internal family dynamics at all. But a big sister Itachi with a little sister Sasuke? That would be very interesting.

[theodosia21]

Yes, I agree- male!Itachi and female!Sasuke might be the best-case scenario, female!Itachi and male!Sasuke would almost certainly be the worst-case scenario, and female!Itachi and female!Sasuke would be... hmm. If the clan pressures/personalities stayed about the same as in canon, the first main divergence point might be after the Massacre. The Council was willing to let male!Sasuke become a shinobi and to try to avenge his family. Would they do the same for a girl? Or would they pressure her to give up her plans to become a ninja/revenge so she could stay safe and breed lots of little Uchihas? If they want Konoha to have a rebuilt Uchiha clan, I doubt they'd be happy to have their one chance at it engage in dangerous activities. And somehow I suspect they'd set the bar for "dangerous activities" much lower for a girl than they would a boy.

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

Ouch for the Mikoto POV. Ouch...

They still make Vaseline. (http://www.vaseline.com/Product.aspx?Path=Consumer/OurProducts/PetroleumJelly) If you can't find it locally (surprises me Target doesn't have it), consider ordering online?

[edenfalling]

I am not sure why I went so gloomy with the prompt, but this was the only idea that was willing to coalesce into actual words. *sigh*

Target had an entire aisle and a half of skin care, including a full floor-to-top shelving section of Vaseline products... and not a single jar or tube of petroleum jelly to be found. Most peculiar.

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

Mikoto always seems to get darkfic, since we know how her life ends. I've seen a couple more upbeat fics for her, but it's pretty obvious she doesn't radiate a "happy" vibe.

Maybe the petroleum jelly was over with medical supplies, instead of skin care? *wonders* I know it's pretty useful...

[edenfalling]

Nearly four months later, I have found Vaseline! You know where? Baby care products. Apparently it is now only sold as a diaper rash preventative. *headdesk*

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

*is rolling with laughter* You know, I went to my local Walmart after you said this and found it with the other medical supplies... where it's always been.

[edenfalling]

And I bet yours doesn't smell like baby powder, either. *sulks elaborately*

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

It's the classic stuff... ^_^