Snakes in the Garden

[Hiko]

It rained the night Akemi became an orphan.
Within the tiny room used for clan inductions, the girl could hear the heavy fall of wet drops splashing against cold soil. As thunder crashed in the distance, Akemi felt the urge to cry again. Her aunt placed a steady hand on her shoulder and squeezed, bending low to her ear to address her.
“Children cry, Kemi. Loose your tears tonight. In the morning, you will be Chidoku. Tears do not come for us.”
Not understanding, the child looked up at her aunt. The woman's eyes were red, raw. If tears didn't come, why did she look on the verge of crying herself?
“Aunt, what does it mean to be Chidoku?”
“Sacrifice.” The older woman's tone was bitter, and Akemi felt it best to leave the matter be.

The violet-haired child was decidedly uncomfortable in the getup the elders had insisted on. Takako, too, looked vaguely displeased with the attire. The kimono was thick, stiff, and padded in ways Akemi had never before thought were possible to endure. Akemi was slathered in black, and she was fairly certain the hem of the outfit was lined in green snakes, though she didn't feel up to looking down at it. Her head ached from the preparation that went into her hairstyle. Akemi took a hand and gingerly touched at her scalp. The wax that had been combed in was thick, and the girl wondered if it would ever come out. Takako frowned down at her, and Kemi dropped her hand.
Takako's own mofuku was black, plain, and thin in areas. In it, she looked a ghost. Her somber mood did little to aid the appearance, but Akemi felt it suited. When the elders beckoned the pair of them up toward the little table, Akemi grasped at her aunt's hand in sudden worry. What if she didn't do everything the way the elders wanted? Would they not accept her? Would she be left to try and return to the Noiru, who feared keeping her? She knew of children, homeless and displaced after the deaths of their parents. She couldn't bear the thought of living in the streets. And where would she go but the streets, should neither family claim her? Takako must have sensed her fears, for the woman squeezed the girl's hand, though she said nothing.

They sat across from one another, and an older woman brought a tray bearing several cups of sake to the table. Takako took three sips from her cup before passing it to Akemi, and gestured for the girl to do the same. The wine was bitter and hot on Akemi's tongue, and the aftertaste made the girl feel ill at the stomach. She passed the cup to her aunt and hesitantly took up the cup that was passed to her. Three different sets of cups later, Akemi felt the room shift. She stayed planted in her knelt position, however, for the elderly woman that had brought the tray spoke.
“Takako, do you understand the responsibility you bear for this child, first as her leader and then as her second mother?”
“I do,” her aunt responded in a flat tone.
“Do you agree to raising the girl as your own heir, until the time you should come to bear a child of your blood?”
“I do.” The box knot in the woman's hair showed a small unravel as she bent her head a second time.
“Noiru Akemi.” The girl nearly jumped at the sound of her name.
“Y-yes?”
“Do you agree to live by clan law, until the time of your death, as the charge of Chidoku Takako?”
“I-Y-yes. I do.”
The elderly woman grunted. “Do you understand that as Takako's heir, you bear the responsibility for the future of the clan, until the time she should come to bear a child of her own?”
“I do.”
“Then rise and leave the table as Chidoku.”
“That may be easier said than done, Kayo,” Takako coughed, “The girl's barely able to sit steady, with all the sake in her.”
“Then aid your daughter, Takako. In the morning, Akemi, you will begin your clan training. Rest well tonight.”
“I-Yes.”

As Takako slipped Akemi's arm around her own waist and aided her into the rain, she muttered. Kemi, not hearing her, looked up. Wet drops fell onto their faces and soon ruined Takako's knot.
“She could have at least given some recognition of Kotone's death.”
“Aunt?” Akemi kept walking beside Takako, though her pace was unsteady.
“Kayo was your mother's tutor, when we were children. She'd even argued to our mother for Kotone's chance at leading. But tonight? Stone-faced and bland-tongued. My sister isn't even cold in the ground, and that woman's already acting like she never existed. Kotone was a lot of things, but forgettable?” The bitterness in her aunt's voice was as clear as it had been earlier that night. Akemi shivered.
“You'll sleep in my rooms tonight, Kemi. I doubt you want to return to your old futon.”
“I don't want to return to that room at all, Aunt.”
“Neither do I, Kemi. Neither do I.”

[Hiko]

“Akemi, come inside.”
The girl, who'd been failing outstandingly at throwing senbon at a target-riddled tree, looked back behind herself. Her aunt looked tired as she waved a beckoning hand toward the room in which she was situated. Akemi placed the senbon on the deck, removed her shoes, and walked inside.
“How well do you read and write?”
Akemi laughed, “It's the one thing I am good at, Aunt.”
Takako chuckled. “You've more my blood than it seemed, child. I take it we can skip calligraphy, then?”
“Mm,” Akemi nodded, “Mother always said I had the best handwriting in all the Noiru compound.”
“That speaks little for your own ability and much on their's, I'm afraid. But nevertheless, I'll take it. Ceremonies?”
“W-what?”
“Tea, wedding, funeral. How well versed are you on ceremonies? You were shaken during the induction.”
Akemi frowned. That had been months ago, and Mother had just died. Still, she couldn't in good conscience say she knew much of formalities. “I can't say I know them well, Aunt.”
“You'll have a tutor, then. You know the older women in the north of the compound?”
“The ones the elders don't like?”
“The same. Ai and Hana - the pair of them are sisters. They never gained Dokunochi, and left when they were young to make names for themselves outside of the village.”
“Did they?”
“As geisha.” Takako grinned at Akemi's wide-eyed response. “You'll go to them for traditional studies. Ceremonies, proper dressing – if you're lucky, you might even get one of them to teach you that fan dance I know you're so enamored by.”
Akemi squealed delight. Takako raised a hand to silence the girl. “Keep it down, Kemi. We're not done yet. You're still failing basic academy work. I'll be taking that on myself – I can't say I'll be soft on you.”
Still too pleased at the thought of learning from actual geisha, Akemi ignored the idea. “I can handle it, Aunt.”
“Mother, remember. It's an annoyance to hear from Kayo when you don't use the proper term.”
“Sorry.”
Takako rose and gestured for Akemi to follow suit. She led her outside and picked up the senbon on the deck. Akemi watched her aunt with curiosity as she planted her sandals back onto her feet.

“It's in the wrist, not the fingers. You focus too much on what your hand's doing when your wrist is weak. Flick them. Senbon aren't the greatest tool you have at your disposal, but they can be effective in used in an array. Don't worry about hitting the target as much as hitting the tree – once you can land a needle into the bark, then focus on the targets. In humans, it matters less where one pierces as it does that you can actually pierce flesh.” Takako flicked a handful of the senbon at the tree. Four landed in bark, while two cut through paper targets. Akemi frowned.
“But, Au-Mother, what's the point of the targets if you don't hit them all?”
“What's easier to hit on a person, Kemi – the throat or the chest?”
“The chest. It's wider. But the throat's more deadly!”
“Yes, but the chest will momentarily stop an advance – giving you time to put another in the throat. Practice on hitting the tree, then worry about finite details.” She handed the remainder of the senbon back to the child and waved her on. “We'll keep at this until sunset. If you haven't successfully implanted the needles into the bark by then, you'll go without dinner.”
“What?”
“I told you I wasn't going to be soft.”
“But, I haven't had lunch! I've been practicing the entire time!”
“That's a shame. Now flick.”

[Hiko]

Thwack!
Akemi grunted.
Thwack!
Another grunt.
Thwack!
She whirled in place, slamming her kendo stick into her aunt's – thin air?
Thwack!
Takako's stick slammed against her neice's back. Akemi fell to the floor, crying out in pain.
“Get up.” Takako's tone wasn't that of malice, but of feigned interest. She wasn't decidedly cruel in her lessons, but she took no notice of her charge's pains or discomforts. “You're failing hand-to-hand. How are you to graduate if you don't press yourself?”
“A-all right, Mother.”
“Good. Now, strike to kill.”
Akemi charged, but watched her aunt's motions this time. When Takako took the step to the side, Akemi caught her ankle, tripping the older woman. Before she could make the pinning final move, however, Takako rolled away, smacked her neice in the shoulder blade, and rose while Akemi staggered.
“You're learning. Again.”
–
“You look beat, Kemi,” one of her classmates leaned over his desk to poke one of Akemi's many bruises. “Old Takki still giving you hell?”
“I just need to get better.”
“You're one of the best justu users in the class! How can you get better than that?”
“Aunt says I need to practice my hand-to-hand.” Akemi slumped into her seat. The girl to her left – Fujimiya? Fujikawa? Akemi didn't speak to her often enough to keep track of the girl's name – scoffed. “Why should you have to practice anything? You'll be head of the clan, won't you? You can have other people fight for you.”
Akemi scowled at the girl. “If you're ordering a death, you should also be capable of giving it.”
“You sound like our teacher, now!” The girl laughed. Akemi kept the scowl on her face. It made sense to her, regardless of what her peer thought. Instead of replying, Akemi looked out the window and watched the villagers walk by. She noticed a boy, one that couldn't be much older than herself by the look of it, stride by with a foolish grin on his face. Black hair, dark-eyed and goggled, she didn't need to see the sigil to know he was an Uchiha. He was clanned, and seemed content. Why wasn't she? Good houses, access to the best tutelage one could want, and bloodlines that were craved by all – that made happiness, didn't it? Akemi sighed and turned back to the lesson at hand.
–
“I don't see why I need to continue this practice. I've got my own team now.”
Takako let out an uneasy sigh. “Akemi, you barely use Dokunochi. How are you to refine your abilities if you never use them?”
“They make me feel sick.”
“And they always will.”
“So I just won't use them!”
“Akemi!” Takako's tone was sharp. The girl flinched. “I don't care what team you sit in, or who your instructor is, you will learn your bloodline's limits first. Now take up a senbon.”
Akemi did as instructed, though she scowled the entire time. Stupid abilities, stupid name.
“Envenom it.”
Akemi hesitated, then pricked her thumb with the needle. A drop of blood ran down the metal.
“Flick it at the heron.”
“Th-The heron? The one in the pond?”
“Nuisance, he's been eating the koi. Flick it.”
Akemi gaped.
“Flick. It.”
The girl obeyed, though her skin crawled. The heron made a pained noise, then flapped off.
“Track it, Kemi. Come back with its corpse. I want to know how long it takes for you to kill.”
–
Between Toshiro and Takki, Akemi didn't know whose lessons she hated more. Takako's tutelage was mentally and physically exhausting. But when Jotaro was around, there was peace – and the man had been coming around more often as of late. Her aunt's frame was filling out, and Akemi had an idea as to why – and it concerned her. If Takako was pregnant, Akemi would lose her place in the clan. She remembered vividly how Kayo had responded to her mother's death years ago. Would Takako take the same stance with Akemi, if she no longer seemed useful? There would be a place for her in the clan, that was certain, but where? She couldn't stay in the compound anymore, could she?
“Akemi, pay attention.” Toshiro stabbed at her shoulder with a kunai. The cut wasn't deep, but it made her jump.
“Sir.”
“The enemy is here,” he pointed at the map he'd apparently spread out while she'd been musing, “here, and here. I can take two out easily enough, but we need the last one for interrogation. The southernmost one seems jumpy. We'll use him. The other two-”
“You want me to take on the coward?”
“You know how best.”
Yuudo Toshiro was a skilled poison artist. None of his weapons went without some sort of lacing, though he preferred the garrote. The man was a master at silent kills, but keeping captives? Three years under his leadership, and Akemi had never seen him take a prisoner. The young woman brought out a kunai and licked it, grinning at the man. “Careful.”
“You first.”

[Hiko]

“Is there something going on between you and Toshi?” Suguwata had her pinned against a tree. Akemi shrugged.
“Does it look like there is?”
“That's not an answer and you know it. I thought we-”
“Mifune, you were cute when we were kids, but we're almost chuunin now. We've barely survived a war. Even if there were something between Toshiro and me, wouldn't that be my business?”
Mifune slammed a fist against the trunk. “I've been after you for years. First you get all red-faced about that Hatake brat, and now you're aiming for an old man? The hell is wrong with you?”
“Toshiro's not that old, you know.” She'd dealt with Sugawuta's teasing for years over Hatake – she wasn't about to let him have another go today, not with his rage over their instructor. “Look, Haruno's been giving you twenty different signals all week. Chase after her if you want someone interested. You're... You're like a brother to me.”
“And Yuudo should be like a father. What next, are you going to go after that lover your aunt kept arou-”
Akemi planted a kunai at Mifune's throat. “Talk about my family again.”
“They aren't your family anymore, Kemi.” Ballsy as ever.
“I'm no longer heir, no. I don't stay in the main house, no. I don't have anything but a family name, you're right. But don't bring up dead men. Not if you want to keep that neck.” She let up, and Mifune stepped back.
“Tch, you'll be sorry.”
“Probably.”
–
“So~” Akemi purred as she curled up along Toshiro's side, “Will I see you rooting for me at the jounin exams tomorrow?”
Toshiro laughed, “Only if you're fighting me.”
“Pah! Like you'd stand a chance.”
“I think I hold up fairly well against you.”
“In bed, perhaps. On the field~?”
“Don't make me bend you over my knee, girl.”
“Don't make me like it.” Smack! “I said don't make me like it, sir.”
Toshiro sat up in bed and tousled the girl's hair. “How's the compound?”
“Well enough off, I suppose. Ayana's four now, can you believe it?”
He trailed a finger along Akemi's hip, “Kids, how they grow so fast.”
“Pervert.”
“Says the girl in the bed of a man she barely tolerates.”
“I tolerate you just fine!” Kemi sat up, not bothering to cover herself.
“Oh, don't pout. You and I both know you don't love me any more than I love you. This is fun at best.” He tweaked a nipple. “Convenience at worst.”
Akemi scooted back a few inches, frowning. “You're ending it, aren't you.” It wasn't a question.
“I'm heading out to Taki tomorrow. It's a permanent placement.”
“Waterfall? And you're just now telling me this?”
“Are you more mad that I'm ending us or that I didn't inform you of my choices?”
“Both!”
“Neither, I think.”
“Y-” Akemi faltered. “No, you're not wrong. This has been coming on for a year now. I know you've been wanting to settle down.”
“And I know you've had your eye on ANBU. We'll both be happier this way. You know that.”
Akemi grunted agreement. She rooted in the dark for her clothes. “Good luck.”
“Like I'll need it, Mimi.”
“Suguwata's going to have a field day with this, you know.”
“Just remind him that he's failed.”
“He hasn't even taken the exam yet-”
“And?”

[Hiko]

Akemi slumped onto the deck outside Takako's offices. Inside, the woman was enjoying her morning tea. Incense smoke wafted from the adjoining room – had she already lit Jotaro's shrine? Kemi leaned her head back against the sliding door of the office. A white-haired child clamored into her lap.
“Memi!”
“Akemi, Ayana-sama. It's Akemi.”
“No! It's Memi!”
“One of these days, you'll stop being adorable.”
“Never,” Takako chuckled as she slid the door open. Akemi abruptly moved her head. “Taka-sama.”
“Just back?”
“Mm, and if I never see Iwa again-”
“I know how you feel, Kemi.”
“Memi!” Ayana protested.
“Ayana, say her name properly. If she's bound to you, you should at least do her the honor of saying her name correctly.”
“Mmph, fine. Akemi.”
“That's better. Now go and practice your hand signs. I'll be along shortly.” Ayana scampered off, obviously more enthused about hand signs than names.
“Aunt,” Akemi asked, “what did you mean, bound to her?”
“Well, you're branch family now. You've been branched ever since she was born – I assumed you understood what went along with that.”
“Servitude.”
“In the strictest sense. Oh, you're free to still carry on in ANBU – I wouldn't ask you to give up Ogumo so easily. But, while you're here...”
“I think I understand. Is that why you called me in?”
“Why else? I don't have much need for you, these days. Unless you're offering to sit in for Ai?”
Akemi paled. “I... No. I don't think I'd do well teaching that child.”
“Perhaps another time, then.”
–
“Happy twenty-fourth, Kemi.”
“Ogumo, Shiohi. You know that.”
“It's Sugu-Oh, fine. You're all business today.” Suguwata folded his arms and leaned back against the heavy bark of the tree. Kemi shifted her weight to keep balance on the branch.
“I'm all business everyday we're near Iwa.”

The mission was simple enough: find Arai Gin and dispose of him before he could sell Konoha secrets to other villages.
They hadn't expected him to make it all the way to Earth Country before catching up with him.
And there he was, walking right under their tree.
Akemi landed on him. She'd expected an outburst, but not the one she received.
“Ogumo!”
“Y-what?”
“Oh God, I knew this day would come!”
“Y-what?”
“We had to! Jotaro, he told us to kill you! Save the brat, kill the bitch!”
“What?"
“Takako, she wanted your kid in the compound. Said we'd have to do anything necessary to ensure you didn't take her away. We had to! She had Jotaro wrapped around her finger!”
“What. Are. You. Saying.”
“Y-You're not Kotone?”
“I'm not my mother.” Akemi pressed a kunai at the man's throat, “And you're not telling me everything.”
“D-do you mean the Bull?”
“Sure. Let's start with that.”
–

The sliding door to Takako's office slammed open.
“Takako.”
“Akemi, what a surprise. Back so soon?”
“You had my father killed.”
Takako didn't even have the grace to flinch. “Whoever told you that, child?”
“Arai.” Akemi slung the satchel at her back into the office. Blood seeped from the pores of the bag. “You remember, Jotaro's brother? The funny one, with the fake tooth.”
“Gin.” Flat toned, Takako opened the bag. “What did he tell you?”
“Who is the Bull, Aunt? Why did my father get into a fight with him? I want to hear it from you.”
“Y-Of course. Your mother needed to be separated from the Noiru. She refused to leave, and you were at risk there. It was a simple case of need over want.”
“The Bull.”
“An old ally of your father's. Horrible drunk, that man. The two of them fighting? That was hardly my plan at all, but it did work out.”
“You conniving old bitch.” Akemi stared at her aunt. “You took me in, convinced the elders to take a special interest in me, and then killed my parents.”
“I did not want Kotone's death, girl.”
“You took her life all the same, though, didn't you? She was your sister. What was it that time?”
“You – you don't remember?”
“I remember running, and water, and screaming. And then Jotaro took me back here – why?”
“She was going to take you out of the country – turn you both into refugees. She was going to get you killed, just so you wouldn't be Chidoku.”
“Liar, she never would've-”
“She did. I wondered all those years why Kayo didn't care for your mother's death. Now I know. Jotaro must have told her what happened.”
“She was my mother.”
“And what am I?”
“A monster.”
“A redeemer.” Takako stepped forward. “I gave you a life you never would've had with the Noiru – assuming you'd lived long at all. You were given the best training, all you could ever desire!”
“Except my parents. Those didn't factor into your plans.” Akemi drew a blade.
“Put that away, child.”
“Doubtful.”
“Put it away. You're going to wake Ayana.”
“Do you really think I don't want revenge?”
“For what, years of love and affection?”
“Years of – your lessons were horrible!”
“You healed. You became the best in your class.”
“Of my own accord, not your-”
“We each see things how we will.”
“Y-Take a weapon.”
“No.”
Akemi pressed on. “Take a weapon. Fight me.”
“What will it solve, Kemi? It's the past. It's what anyone would do for the good of their clan. Had you been killed, had Kotone been taken captive – other villages could have found out our clan's secrets. Why did you go after Gin, if not to protect the village? I did the very same.”
“You protected your own interests! Fight me!”
“No. Do not ask me again. I am your leader – your second mother. You will obey me.”
“Never again. Not after this.” Akemi took action and flew at her aunt, laced dagger in hand. She'd taken up one of the last kunai Toshiro had left with her. It felt right, using it on a viper like her aunt. It felt – pain. Pain and blood. Pain and blood and choking on spit.
“Naimaku no Tantou. You see, child, I've no need to fight. I knew eventually this would be discovered, and though I'd hoped you'd understand why I did what I did, there was always an whisper of your mother in you. I have to protect myself and my own, you know.”
Akemi lay on the rugs of the enclosed room, coughing.
“This is a warning, Akemi. Your mother received one once and didn't heed it. I should like to think you smarter than that.
“Never strike me unless you plan on killing me or die trying to do so. Take comfort in the fact that you will live – none of the blades that pierced were in vital locations, and none were poisoned.” Takako took up the blade that Akemi had been holding and tucked it within a sleeve. “You are still Chidoku. I will always be here to protect you – even if it means protecting you from yourself. I'll have Ai bandage you. In the morning, resign. Take up teaching – it may just do you some good.”
“Y-” Another cough.
“Yes, Taka-sama,” Takako offered.
Akemi said nothing.
“I'll take that silence as agreement.”