Uchiha Masami sat in seiza in a large tatami room of her old, traditional household. Although her father still lingered elsewhere in Leaf following a high-class mission debriefing, her uncle informed her that her mother would return home by evening. Not knowing what to expect, after a day of honing her skills and helping around in the Byoin, she made her way back to their house. Years passed since she enrolled in the academy, and she still fondly remembered the memories she made there and those she met. Regarding her teachers, friends, and others she might have seen in passing, she wondered how they were doing, and what they were up to in present day Leaf.
Others told her the position she sat in allowed for both relaxation and focus. Masami’s eyes were closed, but her normally gold irises enjoyed the crimson presence of the sharingan. Always on guard, she felt the need to maintain her eyes; to accustom herself to the feeling. The woman wanted it to be like their natural state; they felt naked without its company. The sensation was subtle—she described it like a certain “weight” on her eyes. Not difficult to notice, but some may find it easy to forget. There was a slight burning, but nothing major. Three tomoe decorating her irises; all indicative of her progress.
Uchiha Suzume, her mother, was a punctual woman. As the sun dipped beneath the horizon, Masami heard her mother’s voice from the tatami room’s entrance. “Masami,” she heard, in her mother’s usual gentle, collected cadence. There wasn’t any indication of her entry prior. No noise from the door to whichever entrance she utilized, although she presumed the main on this occasion, and she lacked perceptible footfalls to detect. The only indication of her arrival was her voice, and likely her figure, standing at the door frame of the room in which Masami resided.
“Mother,” Masami said, parting her eyes and revealing piercing scarlet. “Welcome back.” The daughter remained polite and dutiful. While her parents embarked on their respective task, she ensured the house lacked even the slightest bit of debris. She didn’t think much about it. Masami wanted to make sure she tidied the household for her parents. The Uchiha daughter organized everything and assured all resided within their correct placements. She decorated her own room with paintings she made in her free time; owing this passion for art to the close family friend she called her uncle.
“Thank you, Masami,” her mother replied, stepping into the tatami room. “I can’t be home for long. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” she continued, drawing Masami’s attention to the wording. She had a feeling she knew what she meant by talking; it could have been an allusion to a form of training or a new exercise. Masami nodded and spoke.
“Alright, then. I made dinner, you wanna join? Kaiseki,” Masami asked, and momentary hum of consideration from her mother followed. “Yes, I have the time for it. I’d like you to join me in the yard after; there’s something I must show you,” her mother answered softly. Masami nodded subsequently, and she pushed herself up from her seated position. “Sure. I’ll save some for dad. Regarding the yard, I’ll be there,” she replied, and the duo made their way out the room where Masami served the respective dishes to the dining area where they would eat in relative silence.
Later, Masami joined her mother in the yard area of the house. After leading her to the middle of the grounds, she faced her. “Simply put, I want to see your progress, Masami. Can you show me what you’ve learned?” Suzume asked, interest in her eyes. Masami nodded in response, looking her mother in the eyes. She wagered she should show her the biggest accomplishment yet; evolution she learned of back in her academy days. “Gotcha, check this out,” the Uchiha replied, and focused on her eyes; pooling her chakra there. A surge of intense emotion served as a second key in her mechanism as the triad of tomoe in her eyes morphed into a different shape.
Activating the Mangekyou Sharingan, she felt a throbbing sensation in her eyes for the initial activation. The pain had yet to compound, but her awareness remained there. A slight stinging in her other eye; the feelings were sporadic and atypical. Thin, red veins were accentuated in her eyes while she regarded her mother with her greatest accomplishment as an Uchiha thus far. Her mother’s eyes widened, and she examined the pair of black and red eyes, taking in the star-like design and the unorthodox handles that surrounded the hollow pupils. “Masami...” She said gently, trailing off. Her mother exuded a strong sense of pride for her daughter. “Well done. I—I won’t ask,” she continued, shaking her head. “Not yet, anyway.” Uchiha Suzume was well aware of the connotation surrounding the development of that stage of the doujutsu, and she didn’t want to pry into an event that personal; especially not out in the open.
“Eh,” Masami snapped with a shrug. “Is there anything else you wanna know?” After asking that, her mother pondered. Not wanting her daughter to invest too much time in this state, she collected her bearings and spoke. “Can you tell me, or perhaps show me very briefly, what you can do with your eyes now? And please be careful. This shouldn’t be done leisurely, but you should know what you can do before you ever use this in a dangerous scenario.” Initially, Masami doubted the request. In her academy days, she learned about the Mangekyou Sharingan and the boons it offered. Sure, she might not have tried it out practically yet—but it didn’t seem like it would be different than what was demonstrated. “Well, alright. Let’s see...”
Masami tried to replicate what was showcased to her in the academy. Using the open, cool air approximately twenty feet away from her focal point, she strained her eyes and channelled a large portion of her chakra. Masami waited for the results. Trying to simply spawn the heralded black flames into existence from her stare alone—she waited, and waited, to no perceptible result. Nothing happened. Frustration started to build within her, and she tried again. Since no technique was executed, she didn’t feel a pull on her reserves. The strain on her eyes intensified, and the elements they were exposed to felt all the more acute and heavy. “Fuck,” Masami spat, weary lines forming under her eyes. “Why isn’t anything happening?”
Her mother watched, and then placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Masami, have you used your eyes like this before?” Her voice remained gentle, but before Masami answered, she continued. “Stop for now. It’s dangerous prolonged,” Suzume warned, and Masami agreed. The design reverted to the infamous three-tomoe state, and a snapping pain grabbed her eyes. Shutting them, she placed her hand over her lidded crimson orbs, and breathed slowly. Lowering her hands, Masami began to form a familiar string of hand seals, however, her mother stopped her by lightly massaging her shoulder, recognizing the combination and sensing her daughter’s intention. Masami intended to use a medical technique, but Suzume performed a different set of seals and used a different medical technique, shielding Masami’s eyes with a strong, glowing hand and healing her.
They sat down for a bit near a tree and talked casually, allowing Masami to get her bearings. That was supposed to be her most prominent accomplishment yet, but she had nothing to show for it but lacerating pain in her eyes. The healing helped, but a phantom, buzzing pain still lingered within her eyes. After some time, Masami’s mother spoke about the previous event. “Masami... Have you used your eyes before like that?” In response, Masami shook her head. “No. I’m practicing medicine. Additionally, the backlash to my eyes makes it dangerous to practice without degrading my eyesight; something I need perfect in my intended profession,” the Uchiha explained, not feeling satisfied.
“When I was younger, I was shown techniques these eyes are capable of. I saw the black flames. I saw Susanoo. But when I try using them, nothing happens. That’s not to say the visual acuity isn’t excellent, but is there really nothing else to show besides that for me?” Masami growled, her anger shaking her voice. Her mother’s brow creased in response, and after some consideration, she spoke to Masami again. “You may lack the same eyes, Masami. Gifts vary from Uchiha to Uchiha, and your eyes are no different in this regard. If you ever witnessed even a briefest spout of the flames from your own eyes, then perhaps it could have been residual chakra from me lingering within you. When you were little, if it were possible feat for me to do, I’d implant a one-time defense mechanism in you, like a trap to be sprung, if you ever were in danger, unable to fend for yourself at the time. However, as you’ve said you haven’t used them, I doubt that’s the case. Perhaps something recessive in your genetics overtook something more dominant during a bout of severe trauma.”
Masami shook her head. “No, I can’t recall ever seeing’em from me, but hey, thanks. It’d be cool if that were the case,” she said, looking at a blade of grass between her feet with the raw intention to crush it with her stare. Looking at the same patch of ground, she then faced Masami. “How do you feel, Masami?” Her mother asked, concerned.
“...Me? Listless and hollow. Like everything only has the pretense of meaning and is actually intrinsically lacking unless I designate one through an art allusion,” Masami jeered sardonically. Suzume quieted in response, the concern in her eyes intensifying as she gleaned her daughter’s present outlook. “You don’t have to adopt your uncle’s takes, but at least they’re a little bright, right?” Her mother joked, attempting to lighten the mood. Masami’s expression didn’t change; there was a certain emptiness about her. “Do you think everything I say and do is mere rhetoric wound up into a foggy mask?”
Suzume paused, and then shook her head. Her mother sensed the joke in her daughter’s words. “Masami, why don’t you try channelling that feeling the next time you try using your eyes? As your eyes are so personal to you, maybe that’s key for this revelation! You’ll get there. Use this hurdle as a stepping stone,” her mother encouraged. Masami looked at her for a moment, sighed, and smiled. “Okay, how about one more try?” She asked, and her mother gave her a serious look. “I don’t like the idea of you using your eyes more than necessary, but as this could save your life one day, I’ll allow it.”
The mother-daughter pair stood in the middle of the yard again, and Masami took another breath. Her eyes felt better, the Uchiha having recuperated and collected herself. Once more, the tomoe design twisted into the twain of star-bound cogs, and she focused ahead of her. This time, she tried to incorporate into the technique her own profile. A certain vacancy; maybe that was key. She attempted to draw upon her chakra, designating a considerable portion if needbe, and focused ahead of her. Like when she was trying to crush the grass—maybe she could make strike it down with the selfsame existential dread she gorged. It was difficult to rouse too many feelings, now, and Masami tried to call upon that nothing to her ends. The Uchiha wanted to give the open air an artistic lick of temporal displacement. Wait—
During her academy days, she also took it upon herself to accept tutorship from an ANBU. During the training she experienced, she recalled seeing another technique associated with the sharingan. Masami tilted her head to the side, and focused on her eyes. A surge of pain sprung through her eyes, an instinctual gear clicking in her mind. Just when she thought naught would happen, she reached towards her mother’s shoulder, only to see her hand pass through her. This ability—it was going out of her control. “Mom?” Masami asked, to which her mother sprung into action. “Masami!” Reaching out and trying to grab her, her own sharingan spiraling into her eyes, but it was too late—the abilities were going awry, asserting dominance over their possessor.
Space folded upon itself, and Masami disappeared from view. Perhaps all she witnessed for moments too minute for most to count was Hollow, the space-time ninjutsu relocating her thirty feet away. Masami tried to get her footing, only to stumble and slam her hand against the nearest tree to keep herself afoot, nails scraping angry lines against the bark. Pain lanced through her eyes again as they returned to the three-tomoe stage, and she clutched her eyes again. Panting from the suddenness, and the abrupt exertion, she watched as her mother ran over to her.
Immediately, she performed a string of hand seals and brought her hands to her face, predominantly her eyes. The healing was soothing, as was her mother’s presence, and she heard her speak. “Are you alright, Masami?” A rare expression of emotion from her mother, she heard a click of her teeth and a mirthful addition. “You really are amazing. I mean, naturally. You’re my daughter, after all.” These words lifted her daughter’s spirits, the words registering after the pain began to subside, and she chased the compliment with dry laughter. “Yeah, I guess I am. I saw this before, too, it just didn’t dawn upon me...”
Recuperating in silence as her mother worked on healing her, eventually, Suzume spoke. “It’s a remarkable gift you have. Once you control it, you’ll find more and more applications, and hone your technique until it’s second nature. But, I don’t want you using it unless you have to, understand? This is a double-edged sword, and should be used with discretion,” she advised. Masami nodded in response. “Aye, I got it. If you don’t mind, I want to go back into the house.”
Suzume spoke in agreement. “Certainly. Your father ought to be home later, too. Why don’t we tell him to good news once he’s back?” Following her words, she started towards the door to the yard and Masami followed alongside her. “Sure, sounds good to me. Don’t think I’ll go for a show and tell, though...”
[BL/CA unlearning and swap: Uchiha --> Unlearning Eye of the Sun branch, learning Eye of the Void branch]
[WC required for unlearning --> 500]
[WC required for learning --> 200]
[Total WC: 2411]
[Topic Entered/Left]
Others told her the position she sat in allowed for both relaxation and focus. Masami’s eyes were closed, but her normally gold irises enjoyed the crimson presence of the sharingan. Always on guard, she felt the need to maintain her eyes; to accustom herself to the feeling. The woman wanted it to be like their natural state; they felt naked without its company. The sensation was subtle—she described it like a certain “weight” on her eyes. Not difficult to notice, but some may find it easy to forget. There was a slight burning, but nothing major. Three tomoe decorating her irises; all indicative of her progress.
Uchiha Suzume, her mother, was a punctual woman. As the sun dipped beneath the horizon, Masami heard her mother’s voice from the tatami room’s entrance. “Masami,” she heard, in her mother’s usual gentle, collected cadence. There wasn’t any indication of her entry prior. No noise from the door to whichever entrance she utilized, although she presumed the main on this occasion, and she lacked perceptible footfalls to detect. The only indication of her arrival was her voice, and likely her figure, standing at the door frame of the room in which Masami resided.
“Mother,” Masami said, parting her eyes and revealing piercing scarlet. “Welcome back.” The daughter remained polite and dutiful. While her parents embarked on their respective task, she ensured the house lacked even the slightest bit of debris. She didn’t think much about it. Masami wanted to make sure she tidied the household for her parents. The Uchiha daughter organized everything and assured all resided within their correct placements. She decorated her own room with paintings she made in her free time; owing this passion for art to the close family friend she called her uncle.
“Thank you, Masami,” her mother replied, stepping into the tatami room. “I can’t be home for long. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” she continued, drawing Masami’s attention to the wording. She had a feeling she knew what she meant by talking; it could have been an allusion to a form of training or a new exercise. Masami nodded and spoke.
“Alright, then. I made dinner, you wanna join? Kaiseki,” Masami asked, and momentary hum of consideration from her mother followed. “Yes, I have the time for it. I’d like you to join me in the yard after; there’s something I must show you,” her mother answered softly. Masami nodded subsequently, and she pushed herself up from her seated position. “Sure. I’ll save some for dad. Regarding the yard, I’ll be there,” she replied, and the duo made their way out the room where Masami served the respective dishes to the dining area where they would eat in relative silence.
Later, Masami joined her mother in the yard area of the house. After leading her to the middle of the grounds, she faced her. “Simply put, I want to see your progress, Masami. Can you show me what you’ve learned?” Suzume asked, interest in her eyes. Masami nodded in response, looking her mother in the eyes. She wagered she should show her the biggest accomplishment yet; evolution she learned of back in her academy days. “Gotcha, check this out,” the Uchiha replied, and focused on her eyes; pooling her chakra there. A surge of intense emotion served as a second key in her mechanism as the triad of tomoe in her eyes morphed into a different shape.
Activating the Mangekyou Sharingan, she felt a throbbing sensation in her eyes for the initial activation. The pain had yet to compound, but her awareness remained there. A slight stinging in her other eye; the feelings were sporadic and atypical. Thin, red veins were accentuated in her eyes while she regarded her mother with her greatest accomplishment as an Uchiha thus far. Her mother’s eyes widened, and she examined the pair of black and red eyes, taking in the star-like design and the unorthodox handles that surrounded the hollow pupils. “Masami...” She said gently, trailing off. Her mother exuded a strong sense of pride for her daughter. “Well done. I—I won’t ask,” she continued, shaking her head. “Not yet, anyway.” Uchiha Suzume was well aware of the connotation surrounding the development of that stage of the doujutsu, and she didn’t want to pry into an event that personal; especially not out in the open.
“Eh,” Masami snapped with a shrug. “Is there anything else you wanna know?” After asking that, her mother pondered. Not wanting her daughter to invest too much time in this state, she collected her bearings and spoke. “Can you tell me, or perhaps show me very briefly, what you can do with your eyes now? And please be careful. This shouldn’t be done leisurely, but you should know what you can do before you ever use this in a dangerous scenario.” Initially, Masami doubted the request. In her academy days, she learned about the Mangekyou Sharingan and the boons it offered. Sure, she might not have tried it out practically yet—but it didn’t seem like it would be different than what was demonstrated. “Well, alright. Let’s see...”
Masami tried to replicate what was showcased to her in the academy. Using the open, cool air approximately twenty feet away from her focal point, she strained her eyes and channelled a large portion of her chakra. Masami waited for the results. Trying to simply spawn the heralded black flames into existence from her stare alone—she waited, and waited, to no perceptible result. Nothing happened. Frustration started to build within her, and she tried again. Since no technique was executed, she didn’t feel a pull on her reserves. The strain on her eyes intensified, and the elements they were exposed to felt all the more acute and heavy. “Fuck,” Masami spat, weary lines forming under her eyes. “Why isn’t anything happening?”
Her mother watched, and then placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “Masami, have you used your eyes like this before?” Her voice remained gentle, but before Masami answered, she continued. “Stop for now. It’s dangerous prolonged,” Suzume warned, and Masami agreed. The design reverted to the infamous three-tomoe state, and a snapping pain grabbed her eyes. Shutting them, she placed her hand over her lidded crimson orbs, and breathed slowly. Lowering her hands, Masami began to form a familiar string of hand seals, however, her mother stopped her by lightly massaging her shoulder, recognizing the combination and sensing her daughter’s intention. Masami intended to use a medical technique, but Suzume performed a different set of seals and used a different medical technique, shielding Masami’s eyes with a strong, glowing hand and healing her.
They sat down for a bit near a tree and talked casually, allowing Masami to get her bearings. That was supposed to be her most prominent accomplishment yet, but she had nothing to show for it but lacerating pain in her eyes. The healing helped, but a phantom, buzzing pain still lingered within her eyes. After some time, Masami’s mother spoke about the previous event. “Masami... Have you used your eyes before like that?” In response, Masami shook her head. “No. I’m practicing medicine. Additionally, the backlash to my eyes makes it dangerous to practice without degrading my eyesight; something I need perfect in my intended profession,” the Uchiha explained, not feeling satisfied.
“When I was younger, I was shown techniques these eyes are capable of. I saw the black flames. I saw Susanoo. But when I try using them, nothing happens. That’s not to say the visual acuity isn’t excellent, but is there really nothing else to show besides that for me?” Masami growled, her anger shaking her voice. Her mother’s brow creased in response, and after some consideration, she spoke to Masami again. “You may lack the same eyes, Masami. Gifts vary from Uchiha to Uchiha, and your eyes are no different in this regard. If you ever witnessed even a briefest spout of the flames from your own eyes, then perhaps it could have been residual chakra from me lingering within you. When you were little, if it were possible feat for me to do, I’d implant a one-time defense mechanism in you, like a trap to be sprung, if you ever were in danger, unable to fend for yourself at the time. However, as you’ve said you haven’t used them, I doubt that’s the case. Perhaps something recessive in your genetics overtook something more dominant during a bout of severe trauma.”
Masami shook her head. “No, I can’t recall ever seeing’em from me, but hey, thanks. It’d be cool if that were the case,” she said, looking at a blade of grass between her feet with the raw intention to crush it with her stare. Looking at the same patch of ground, she then faced Masami. “How do you feel, Masami?” Her mother asked, concerned.
“...Me? Listless and hollow. Like everything only has the pretense of meaning and is actually intrinsically lacking unless I designate one through an art allusion,” Masami jeered sardonically. Suzume quieted in response, the concern in her eyes intensifying as she gleaned her daughter’s present outlook. “You don’t have to adopt your uncle’s takes, but at least they’re a little bright, right?” Her mother joked, attempting to lighten the mood. Masami’s expression didn’t change; there was a certain emptiness about her. “Do you think everything I say and do is mere rhetoric wound up into a foggy mask?”
Suzume paused, and then shook her head. Her mother sensed the joke in her daughter’s words. “Masami, why don’t you try channelling that feeling the next time you try using your eyes? As your eyes are so personal to you, maybe that’s key for this revelation! You’ll get there. Use this hurdle as a stepping stone,” her mother encouraged. Masami looked at her for a moment, sighed, and smiled. “Okay, how about one more try?” She asked, and her mother gave her a serious look. “I don’t like the idea of you using your eyes more than necessary, but as this could save your life one day, I’ll allow it.”
The mother-daughter pair stood in the middle of the yard again, and Masami took another breath. Her eyes felt better, the Uchiha having recuperated and collected herself. Once more, the tomoe design twisted into the twain of star-bound cogs, and she focused ahead of her. This time, she tried to incorporate into the technique her own profile. A certain vacancy; maybe that was key. She attempted to draw upon her chakra, designating a considerable portion if needbe, and focused ahead of her. Like when she was trying to crush the grass—maybe she could make strike it down with the selfsame existential dread she gorged. It was difficult to rouse too many feelings, now, and Masami tried to call upon that nothing to her ends. The Uchiha wanted to give the open air an artistic lick of temporal displacement. Wait—
During her academy days, she also took it upon herself to accept tutorship from an ANBU. During the training she experienced, she recalled seeing another technique associated with the sharingan. Masami tilted her head to the side, and focused on her eyes. A surge of pain sprung through her eyes, an instinctual gear clicking in her mind. Just when she thought naught would happen, she reached towards her mother’s shoulder, only to see her hand pass through her. This ability—it was going out of her control. “Mom?” Masami asked, to which her mother sprung into action. “Masami!” Reaching out and trying to grab her, her own sharingan spiraling into her eyes, but it was too late—the abilities were going awry, asserting dominance over their possessor.
Space folded upon itself, and Masami disappeared from view. Perhaps all she witnessed for moments too minute for most to count was Hollow, the space-time ninjutsu relocating her thirty feet away. Masami tried to get her footing, only to stumble and slam her hand against the nearest tree to keep herself afoot, nails scraping angry lines against the bark. Pain lanced through her eyes again as they returned to the three-tomoe stage, and she clutched her eyes again. Panting from the suddenness, and the abrupt exertion, she watched as her mother ran over to her.
Immediately, she performed a string of hand seals and brought her hands to her face, predominantly her eyes. The healing was soothing, as was her mother’s presence, and she heard her speak. “Are you alright, Masami?” A rare expression of emotion from her mother, she heard a click of her teeth and a mirthful addition. “You really are amazing. I mean, naturally. You’re my daughter, after all.” These words lifted her daughter’s spirits, the words registering after the pain began to subside, and she chased the compliment with dry laughter. “Yeah, I guess I am. I saw this before, too, it just didn’t dawn upon me...”
Recuperating in silence as her mother worked on healing her, eventually, Suzume spoke. “It’s a remarkable gift you have. Once you control it, you’ll find more and more applications, and hone your technique until it’s second nature. But, I don’t want you using it unless you have to, understand? This is a double-edged sword, and should be used with discretion,” she advised. Masami nodded in response. “Aye, I got it. If you don’t mind, I want to go back into the house.”
Suzume spoke in agreement. “Certainly. Your father ought to be home later, too. Why don’t we tell him to good news once he’s back?” Following her words, she started towards the door to the yard and Masami followed alongside her. “Sure, sounds good to me. Don’t think I’ll go for a show and tell, though...”
[BL/CA unlearning and swap: Uchiha --> Unlearning Eye of the Sun branch, learning Eye of the Void branch]
[WC required for unlearning --> 500]
[WC required for learning --> 200]
[Total WC: 2411]
[Topic Entered/Left]