Parenting [solo,nk]

She remembered when her now only surviving son had come to be. She'd watched him grow up, from a small sickly child to... well, a small sickly child. But where his body could not compensate, his mind seemed to make leaps and bounds. No matter what happened, he could do no wrong in her eyes. She learned things from her child that helped her to no end with the next two, but more importantly, lit up her life and made her remember her own childhood, which hadn't been that long ago. She was barely sixteen now, and had barely restarted her career as a shinobi.

Gone, at this point, was her status as a genius. She had done an invaluable service to the clan, and for that she had support, but it wasn't a lot. The Uchiha clan here had some status, but not as much as they would have liked, of course. Power was a big deal to them, but in this village, they were always being crowded out by others. Other clans, other factions, and what became known to her as the Black Sun years later always took the niche that the Uchiha clan wanted. Sad times, indeed.
[1/5]

Kozue had already become somewhat of a hardened killer, but that hadn't prevented her from bonding quickly and protectively with her son. Souta didn't cry much when he was born, which worried her to no end. Already deprived of sleep from the fifteen long hours of labor (it felt like fifty), she stayed up further to make sure he was healthy before dropping off against her own will. If she hadn't needed to sleep (she knew a few shinobi who didn't), she would have been up all night, watching over her little one. Still, humans were humans, and sleep was important, to refresh the body and to refresh the mind. After all, the brain was washed with fluid during sleep, washing away the toxins and metabolic byproducts that it made during the day. As such, those who didn't sleep much had problems with memory and the like, disabling them from being effective workers. Such folk were easily labeled as lazy and unproductive, which wasn't so great for Kozue. Still, she managed and got back into the flow of things eventually, as was wont for her. With her new status as a single mother with an unknown father, stigma was hard to escape.
[2/5]

People seemed to have forgotten how talented she was already, so discounted her. They were now surprised at normal above-average feats in the workplace, which she learned to ignore. What people around her thought no longer mattered. Through the months, she learned to peel off and cast away the stares of other. Only one look mattered now, and it was the loving gaze of her son. Souta was gloomy, she found out as she grew older, but he could only look at her with the attachment that a son could give. When he fell, when he was hurt, she was there in a flash. None of the other mothers at the daycare could move as fast as her, but none of them were nearly as young, so they looked down on her anyway.

Parenting took its toll on her energy, time and body. By the end of the first six months, she felt worn down, as if she'd been crushed under a moving grindstone of some kind. But she had a willpower unlike most people in her clan. Her determination to move on surpassed even those in the Senju clan, which boasted the so called "will of fire", in the end.
[3/5]

People laughed, called it "will of the mom". Rather than be stung by such a stupid thing, she took it to heart. If that was what it was, she'd keep it, and keep with it. Even with her busy schedule, sometimes, on certain weekends, she found the time to learn new things, still. Nevertheless, she found that the people she was keeping ahead of before Souta's conception were now catching up to her. The jealousy that would normally have been there, though, was absent now. She had more important things to worry about than mere ninjutsu or the manipulation of space and time using chakra.

One passion she didn't give up was music. There was always time for that, while she took care of her kid. "Come a little closer" was still inspiring for her, and kept her going on the particularly bad days. The voice of that lead was so good! It made her feel like a girl again, which was mostly refreshing at times. Still, while those around her partied and took off with their lives, she stayed with her son and made sure he got the best that she could give, straight out from her own heart.
[4/5]

Her other two children were born, and she gave them no less attention than she gave Souta, as they divided her life in three. An adorable, energetic daughter. Though she, too, had health issues, they weren't nearly as crippling as Souta's had been. A baby son, with eyes still full of possibility and promise. These had been her little brood, her progeny that she had given her life to have for the sake of the clan. And now, they were gone. The girl, crushed and destroyed by the ambitions of a group whose designs were set on the very ends of the earth itself. And the baby, wiped out by the aspirations of someone truly despicable. Kozue cried out, unable to hear her own tears as she somehow SLIPPED through the hand, and with a flash of red, and a blooming of a forbidden flower, she and Souta vanished from the world. No matter how far that bitch looked, no matter how deep, she could never find them now. But to be sure, Kozue would be back. Someone had taken her babies away from her, and she wouldn't stop until the debts were repaid in full. No, more than that. She'd wipe this corrupt village from the face of the goddamn earth.
[5/5]