Wildflower | Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter42: Okaa-chan

Her touch was as soft as a feather, not unlike her light voice. It was always a pleasure to hear her sing, or even just to talk to her. Her gaze, kind yet stern, spoke of years of experience that shaped her into the well refined woman and fighter that she was.

She would sing a lullaby to Tama and Itachi, no matter how old they got. To her, they would always be her little babies.

Tama looked around her parents' bedroom, shadows like a play of light danced around in the darkness.

By the bed, young Mikoto carried little Tama, who was wrapped in a fluffy, warm blanket as the winter was drawing in. On the bed, little Itachi swayed as he listened to the sweet tune that she sang. Next to him, Fugaku stared, in a daze, clearly infatuated all over again.

The scene shifted.

It was Spring, and the twins' third birthday was today. Kushina, Minato and Shisui were coming over to celebrate. Tama was nervous, she didn't like having too many people around. Itachi wasn't, attention never did bother him very much.

As people began to arrive, Tama got more and more uneasy, so she hid in her bedroom until Mikoto came to get her.

Minato and Kushina had come with Kakashi, Obito and Rin, all of whom Tama had come to adore over the months since Minato started training them. Shusui and Izuna were also there, much to Itachi's delight.

Emi-san, Tama's caretaker, and Mikoto had cooked up a fabulous meal, which excited Tama more than the thought of getting gifts, because she would break bread with all of her favourite people.

That day, Minato gifted her a novel by the Legendary Toad Sage, Jiraiya. She had shown interest in the book many times, so he made sure to get her a copy. She would be pleased to see that it was a signed copy, with handwritten notes.

Kushina gifted her a set of three pronged kunai, which she clearly had become obsessed with when she saw them in Minato's weapon's pack.

Kashi nii-chan, Kakashi, saw Tama as an annoying, little baby that was nothing more than that, and he made it clear to her. When he handed her his gift, the aim was to remind her of that, but when she saw the white headband with a gold pendant and purple hanging pompoms she seemed rather pleased. It also didn't help that she would look like a little Onna-mushi(female samurai) when she wore it. Obito couldn't help but laugh at Kakashi, because no matter what he did, Tama wouldn't act like a child.

It was odd, really, how they knew each other from so long ago, yet it was only after the massacre that Kakashi learned her name, and only because he had no choice. He never stuck around when she was there, always saying he didn't need a younger version of Obito on his tail. To him, she was chibi Obito. Tama couldn't help but laugh at that memory. He must've been so annoyed when Hitsuji left her to him during her Black Ops evaluation, but as the best squad captain, it was inevitable.

Rin nee-chan, had given her a purple cloth with gold linings, and while it was a simple thing that seemed useless, she couldn't have given her anything better. Eventually, after the gathering, Tama begged Mikoto to add the cloth to one of her clothes. Mikoto did something even better. Tama had a tiny little doll that Fugaku had bought her when she was just a baby, she added the cloth to that, instead.

Obito, Obi nii-chan, she called him, was one awfully sweet boy. When he heard of Tama's birthday, it was through his grandmother, and he immediately set out to look for the perfect thing for the pedantic but appreciative child. He got her a thick book with empty, blank pages, where she could draw and paint all she pleased. This was the book that helped her to keep sane after the massacre, along with Jiraiya's novel. She had yet to completely fill it up, sge was too afraid to. She rather used it in more stressful situations. It was too precious.