My Japanese Name!

2006-06-30T07:48:32Z

My japanese name is 藤原 Fujiwara (wisteria fields) 千秋 Chiaki (very fine in autumn).
Take your real japanese name generator! today!
Created with Rum and Monkey's Name Generator Generator.

...I like the name Chiaki!

P.S. As inspired by fukkafyla, montypythonoide, and others, I've written my second ever Naruto ~~Sasuke~~ fic. I've finished it days ago but have very little time to do much more polishing to it. I'm editing it now and may or may not post it on the weekend. That is all.

Fic: Preschool!Sasuke as Tea Master Genius (lovingly created by Mikoto)

2006-06-23T08:32:39Z

Distant Skies 1/?

Title: Distant Skies
Author: Sarutobi
Fandom: Naruto
Characters/Pairing: (Mama) Uchiha Mikoto, SmallChild!Sasuke, NejiSasu-ish (if you want)
Timeline: Prequel to Naruto Series; Prequel to the Day When Itachi Changed Everything
Rating: G-PG
Warnings: None, whatsoever I think. ^_^
Summary: Let's take it back to where it all began. Back before Itachi destroyed everything that meant something. Back even before the hunger for acknowledgement from his father and brother started to seep in. Back before Mikoto was ready to give up her youngest child to the brutal life of being Shinobi...

***

Distant Skies
by Sarutobi

In the journal of Uchiha Mikoto...

Tenth Moon, Autumn
Today's Entry: My Second Son

My second son is a picture of pure white innocence, slowly growing up in my image, although tentatively distracted sometimes by the masculine influence of the clan. By his very nature, he had inherited his mother's gentleness, in contrast to his elder brother's natural ruthlessness. If I were any other mother, I would prefer to raise him as a not-Hidden child, to live in any other city outside this village, where education did not involve the eighty-six methods of murder. But we live in a village of men, in a clan of men, in a family even of men - questioning their might and influence could almost be considered a betrayal. In this kind of world, one lives and aspires to be like their forbearers, as it has always been.

Five years has passed since my second son was born and for most of that time, he has been mine. But time is an enemy to both of us. Our household is steeped in blind tradition after all, where the needs of the clan always come first. It is both a blessing and a curse. Very soon, Fugaku would take my second son away from me, just like he did with my first.

I have taught my second son much during the most tender years of his life, though. This is the only legacy I shall have.

Often, Fugaku and I have lain together at night, discussing him. He agrees with me: my second son would have had a better place in both the family and the clan if he were born a girl. It had been Fugaku's fondest wish for our second child to be female, just to complete the perfect family picture. Everyone knew this and thus everyone, too, wished this to come true. Aside from me, it seemed as if only my first son was happy that his father's greatest desire at that time was not fulfilled.

Fugaku, meanwhile, was obviously more than a little disappointed. That was understandable. All that he could ever want from a son was already in our first one. There was not much room for a second one. A girl, with her feminine qualities, would have been a welcome balance to our family; she would have had a rightful place. But Sasuke had been a boy.

***

Sasuke was a genius of many arts, although people whose opinion mattered most rarely, if ever, noticed. In his clan and in the hidden village of Konohagakure, the most valued things were: power and talent in the arts of ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. So there was not much sense in receiving his mother's education for much longer than was necessary. But his mother seemed to want it to drag on and on, and Sasuke, being a good son, did his best to please her. He knew in the back of his mind, even as a small child, that all these strict disciplines that had nothing to do with becoming a Shinobi - all of it were a prerequisite to nothing. He knew because no other boy endured them as long as he had, not even his older brother who had been raised to be perfect in all things. But Sasuke was and always will be his mother's son, and he understood in some capacity that a mother too, like a father, had to pass on her legacy.

His small hands were, as of yet, soft and smooth, and his mother took pleasure in training them to create artful and beautiful things.

By the time that Sasuke could hold a brush in his hand, he had been taught calligraphy. He learned quickly and like his mother, he took pleasure in his daily routine of practice with the brush and ink. Two hours after the sun rose, he would sit properly before his mother, brush in hand, while black ink touched the white paper on the low lacquered table. The strokes, curves, and lines were always neat and legible, and sometimes, it was almost beautiful. His mother often complimented him, and with this acknowledgement, he thrived.

From practice, he would then move on to create his own works, as inspired by the classics that he and his mother often read together. He was skilled at poetry, most of all. Sometimes, he would even use the brush to recreate the world around him, drawing so perfectly and with much intricate details that his mother almost cried with joy. But when he eagerly showed his masterpieces to his father and his brother, he learned for the first time what it meant to be patronized.

As soon as Sasuke could walk, he was introduced to the art of the Ikebana, with its intricacies and its quest for harmony as well as beauty. At first, he merely accompanied his mother to the fields to help pick wild flowers. Gradually, he learned enough to make his own arrangements. From clumsy, haphazard beginnings, he grew to master the ability to create visual representations of linear construction, rhythm, and color. His best creations were made when he used Iris, which he tended to pick right after rainfalls. His mother was proud of the subtlety of his portrayal of strong but silent elegance. But every time his father or his brother failed to give his most prized arrangements a second look, he learned more accurately what it felt like to be invisible.

With the wealth of his family, Sasuke's mother could afford to buy him kimono of the finest silk and embroidery. The moment Sasuke learned to dress by himself, he was also taught the intricacies of wearing a traditional kimono. When the whole family went out together or if there was a formal clan gathering, Sasuke would be like his mother, clad in silk, unlike his father and brother. His Nagajuban, the silk kimono that serves as the top slip, was most often white; and his Momen-no-juban, the cotton slip underneath, was most often red. Often, as he walked with his family, hand clasped as always in his older brother's, he carried in his small hand a red and white feather fan, like the crest that was embroidered in the backs of his father and brother's shirts. From the mouths of his clansmen and women, he often heard comments that voiced his father and mother's true wishes: that he should have been born a girl. It had been his father's greatest desire before he was born to have both a boy and a girl to create his perfect idea of "family."

Sitting close by his brother and gripping the red and white fan tightly between his fingers, Sasuke learned what it felt like to be a disappointment as his elders spoke about a shortcoming of his that he could never ever repair.

When Sasuke was old enough to help his mother serve guests, he was also instructed in the strict art of Chado, the ritual of preparing and drinking tea. Already graceful and disciplined from his other lessons, Sasuke was a wonderful student of this art, learning quickly and impressing his mother very much. Very soon, clad in traditional kimono, he was able to entertain guests by himself, sitting formally before a low lacquered table that had upon its surface: the bamboo chasen, the ceramic cha-ire which held the green powdered o-cha, the chopsticks and the tea bowls; the copper kama used to boil water over the charcoal fire would be in the central hearth of the room. As with tradition, the ceremony often included a light meal, sake, and dry sweets - all of which Sasuke also learned to serve with the utmost fervor to please.

Because of Sasuke's dedication, by the time that he was four years old, he was nearly as perfect in Chado as his mother was. It was easy then to arouse admiration from the adult guests of his household. It was the one thing he learned from his mother that never brought him anything but pleasure.

When Sasuke was half a moon away from his sixth birthday, his father and mother finally seemed to come to terms with the fact that he was the second son, and his training for the Shinobi arts finally began. Only occasionally did his mother give him the kind of lessons steeped in tradition that did not involve ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. From then on, he gained the reluctant eyes of his father and his older brother as he finally entered the world of men: a world where he learned that his small hands could do more than just create beautiful things...

***

Chado: Neji

Neji came with his father inside the walled borders of the Uchiha district. It was his first time entering another clan's confines and as he walked through its streets, his pale eyes taking in his surroundings, he learned that there was nothing too special about the place. The most striking impression that he will get from its physical surroundings would be the red-and-white-fan crest that the Uchiha clan had emblazoned on nearly every surface of every structure.

They entered a traditional house after their long trek and were welcomed by a woman who had a kind gaze, a sweet smell like ripe plums, and a beautiful smile. As dictated by manners, Neji bowed low to her. She looked pleased. Her name was Uchiha Mikoto; she introduced herself first, as it was the polite thing to do, and then asked for his own name. He told her his name in the most cordial way he could, not wanting to let his father nor the Hyuga clan down - not even through his manners. Uchiha-san gave him another beautiful smile and a compliment. He felt honestly heartened.

After Neji removed his sandals, like his father did, Uchiha-san explained that now that the adults had to talk, her youngest child would be entertaining him in the tearoom. She told him the directions to said room before departing with Neji's father towards the sitting room. Neji watched Uchiha-san walk away with his father, having never seen anyone seem so elegant and graceful walking beside his father, aside from his mother. He turned and walked with bare feet towards the tearoom, still smelling sweet ripe plums in the air.

When Neji finally saw Uchiha-san's child, he almost laughed. He had believed it was a girl who shared Uchiha-san's long hair, womanly curves, and sweet smell. Instead it was a boy even smaller than he was, no better than a runt. But the boy was serious and courteous as he bowed politely to him, head touching the tatami; Neji, being raised by strict codes as well, returned the gesture. When Neji lifted his head, he found an iris arrangement behind the boy, harmonious and beautiful, yet subtle; Neji almost failed to notice it.

Neji knew somehow that he had to change his first impression as the boy introduced himself in the same manner as his mother, smiled lightly, and then proceeded to serve him tea in the traditional manner. Neji had never seen a boy like this before.

As the hour matured, Neji sat stiffly on the tatami, watching the boy's cultured movements almost uneasily: the way Sasuke moved as if in perfect meditation as he purified the tea container and scoop then ladled hot water from the kettle to the tea bowl. Like his mother, Sasuke was honed and tempered yet soft and delicate as well. Sasuke's blue and white kimono, which was embroidered with cranes, scarcely moved as he mixed the o-cha with the steaming hot water in the ceramic tea bowl with the bamboo chasen; it created a green foamy liquid. The bowl was pale like a sunset sky with the design of red maple leaves hanging on dark brown branches on both its inside and outside. The small hands that held it were both very pale and very graceful; the fingers were long and thin, like an artist's. Neji's hands, in contrast, were already rough and calloused, having been trained by his father as soon as he was able to walk.

Neji smelled sandalwood incense burning with the charcoal fire in the central hearth of the room; it was hot here and he felt the trickle of sweat on his bare nape. He could also smell the green o-cha as Sasuke finally turned to him to hand over the tea bowl. Neji almost didn't recall his mother's early lessons of the proper way to act in a formal Chado ceremony; he almost forgot to bow as he accepted the tea bowl - just almost. The ceramic was hot but bearable in the circle of his hands. Neji raised his eyes to admire the foamy green o-cha against the pale-sunset-colored bowl's maple leaves and branches. But his eyes too were on the boy who was looking at him serenely: the boy with the big eyes, eyes that were dark unlike Neji's.

Neji sipped the tea. It was an odd flavor: something refreshing and clean, very unlike the green tea served at home; it was a special and rare kind of brew, he knew. It also had an immediate effect: it cleared the head and revitalized the senses, getting rid of the early afternoon sleepiness often experienced by most children. Neji felt much more awake and alert as he wiped the rim of the bowl with a white cloth. As he passed the bowl back to Sasuke, Neji noticed more acutely how much Sasuke resembled his mother as the smaller boy accepted said bowl from his hands with a bow of his own; he also smelled something faint as they were so close together - ripe plums beneath the silk of Sasuke's kimono.

Almost entranced, Neji watched quietly as Sasuke turned the tea bowl in his hands then drank from it too. Vaguely, Neji wondered why they were drinking hot tea in the heat of a summer day. The logical part of his mind knew yet somehow loathed the fact that formalities must be kept among representatives of prestigious clans whenever they met in a proper setting.

Sasuke placed the bowl down then offered him a cushion to sit on, which he accepted. He was also served rice balls and dango. The triangular rice balls were filled with flakes of smoked oceanic bonito and were wrapped in nori. The dango were green and red colored, speared by bamboo sticks. As Neji ate, Sasuke offered the tea again and Neji accepted this too, despite the fact that Sasuke made a mistake and did not wipe it after he sipped from it. Neji drank tea from where Sasuke did and thought nothing of it. What he wondered instead was if Sasuke would be serving ripe sweet plums after the meal.

All the while, Neji wondered if he should start a conversation with Sasuke. But the smaller boy looked so tranquil and relaxed, as if he was in his element, as if he truthfully could not sense the awkwardness that Neji felt. If Sasuke were any other boy, Neji knew he could speak of more familiar things like training, games, and television shows. But Sasuke reminded him too much of the pretty woman who walked beside his father an hour ago, and Neji somehow felt a tenseness in the pit of his stomach at the thought of that.

Absently, Neji forgets himself as he nervously ran a hand through his short hair, until he could wipe at the film of sweat that had gathered at the back of his neck with his fingers. Sasuke's head tilts to the side a little, curious at his actions - but he said nothing.

Soon, it was time to leave.

As Neji stood beside his father by the front door, their sandals already on, he glanced at the warm smile that Uchiha-san had for him, and then at the small boy beside her who looked like her miniature version. Sasuke was barefoot and his blue and white kimono was short enough to reveal bare little legs. The blue silk was a sharp contrast with his pale thighs. Sasuke was also smiling at him; he'd never seen a smile like that before. Truly, Neji had never before met a boy like Sasuke.

Neji was startled from his observations when his father cleared his throat and gave him a knowing look. For some reason, Neji's face felt even hotter than before - this time unrelated to the summer heat. After they said their good-byes, and as they passed through the gate that led them out of the Uchiha district, his father said to him: that the little child was supposed to be betrothed to Neji, promised to be his bride before his birth; that Sasuke was by destiny supposed to be a girl. That everyone predicted so, even Seers whose prognoses were most often reliable.

Neji wondered at those words and what that meant for him and that little boy. But he was only five years old and soon, he would forget most of those memories and replace them with more pressing matters, like events that gave rise to his beliefs, his strengths, and his own path towards manhood. He would forget that the boy in the tearoom, in the middle of that hot summer day, had been Sasuke; he would only recall that it had been an Uchiha child younger than him, that and the scent of tea, incense, and ripe plums. But he won't forget that they would have been betrothed, that somehow DESTINY would have played a part, and because of that, he would always wonder. And even though the Uchiha Clan died, save two brothers, Neji would always keep on wondering...

ende?

***

Notes:
1. I may or may not write more. I would love to write more about the time when Sasuke was nothing but innocence and pure child. You know, before everything fell apart.
2. I'm sorry for the lack of Fugaku and Itachi. But then again, we already know how much power they have over Sasuke. One word, one look, one anything from them could define Sasuke's mood, ambition, and entire life. Let's glance at Mikoto's influence too. It would make sense that since Fugaku was so busy trying to further Itachi's career, left to her own devices, Mikoto would focus much on her second son. Mothers too have the need to imprint themselves on their children and since Sasuke is there, needing to be wanted and needed...
3. Why Neji to spend tea time with Sasuke? I contemplated for it to be Kakashi, since he's somewhat related to the Uchiha clan, and it would make sense for him to be summoned to the head of the clan's house. It would be cute to watch a tiny child trying hard to be adult with the tea ceremony - even for Kakashi, I'm sure. But I just can't write Kakashi...yet. Maybe I will write one tea ceremony between Kakashi and Sasuke eventually though. ...So why Neji? Because their families are somewhat related and his father would make sure to introduce him early to politics even outside their clan? Something like that.
4. The title, "Distant Skies", is from a great background song village theme in the best RPG I've played yet, "Suikoden II" (loved V too, though II is my favorite of the entire series). "Distant Skies" in connection with this fic means that: if the past is land and the future is the sky, then the sky is still so far away.
5. I'm sorry for not expounding further in the NejiSasu bit. It feels somewhat incomplete. Perhaps I should have put some dialogue. Maybe that would have given it more...feeling? But I like it this way too. I don't like to overstate things (read: I'm lazy).
6. In reference to Mikoto wanting Sasuke to be a "not-Hidden child", it means that she wishes that he was not part of the Hidden Leaf Village (Konohagakure). Being part of a Hidden Shinobi Village almost certainly means that one would be raised as Shinobi and would live all his life as Shinobi. And we know how hard a life it could be...
7. "Eighty-six methods of murder" is just an exasperated/desperate figure of speech - a hyperbole (exaggerated or extravagant statement used to make a strong impression, but not intended to be taken literally) most likely.
8. Thanks for reading! ^_^

dismas_abaddon @ 2006-05-24T03:48:00

2006-05-24T07:59:39Z

"I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all."
-Joni Mitchell

Like the greater percentage of people in the Internet, I too am living the second life here. But to those who may know better, they may think that it may be my third or fourth life. Who knows? This certainly isn't my first entry in the world, nor my first ever blog. I've lived through other aliases, none of which I plan to share. I've written stories and was actually *liked* in fandoms and other communities. But I do have a bad habit of apathy and desertion. I tend to do avoidance, no matter how good things get.

May I ~~re-~~introduce myself. You may call me Sarutobi.

Sarutobi, of Clan Abaddon

My Japanese Name!

Fic: Preschool!Sasuke as Tea Master Genius (lovingly created by Mikoto)

dismas_abaddon @ 2006-05-24T03:48:00