The year they turned five was when their training began to become more strenuous. Their carefully kept schedule was changed, and their world began to widen just a little bit more.
The sisters attended lessons with the older children of the village, most of whom were the children of Otogakure's shinobi force. There, they began to learn the basics of different martial arts from across the land and had lessons on survival, first aid, and weapons, in addition to their literature and writing classes. It was a strange mesh of so many subjects, each one taught with an emphasis on how these skills they were learning would make them better shinobi and would one day help to make their village stronger. It was very organized, somehow managing to feel like a very formal school experience despite the jingling of bells and the fact it was being held in an underground cavern.
Though it was nice to be around other people, neither of the girls had much luck making friends. Most of the children that attended the class were a few years older than them and had no interest in interacting with the – admittedly creepy – babies of the group outside of spars. Even then, it was sometimes a struggle. After all, there was probably something rather unnerving about small children who acted as mature as the twins did.
"I don't understand why no one ever chooses us when we're allowed to pick our own partners," Hiroko said, frowning as she used the wall to help her stretch her leg above her head again. Around them, the others were similarly preparing themselves for their spars or choosing partners by shouting across the echoing cavern. Mayuri shrugged as she rolled her shoulders, trying to rid herself of the ache in her muscles.
"Maybe they just assume we want to partner up with each other?" she suggested, though she didn't sound too convinced. She didn't really see why it mattered. "I mean, the Fujiwara brothers always choose to spar against each other."
Hiroko shrugged, but otherwise didn't respond. Mayuri rolled her shoulders again, feeling the bones scrape against one another. She frowned.
"Hey, Hiro, can you do something for me? Put your ear against my shoulder and just listen when I move it."
Her sister complied, leaning into a graceful backbend, one leg still braced against the wall, high in the air. Her long hair tumbled around her flushed face, loose and tangled. Mayuri moved so that she was sitting close enough for Hiroko to be able to listen without changing her position any further. She repeated the motion a few times, feeling the strange grinding as her bones moved and rubbed against one another in ways she was fairly certain they shouldn't.
"That sounds disgusting," Hiroko announced cheerfully, her cheek squished against Mayuri's shoulderblades. "You should probably have someone check that out."
Mayuri hummed, rolled her shoulders again just because, and snickered as Hiroko pulled back with a look of delighted disgust. Hiroko shoved her lightly and she rocked back and let herself fall, arms spread wide and a rock digging into her back. She stared at the shadowed ceiling, grinning.
"Thank you, doctor. I'll be sure to pass on your professional opinion on to the next medic I see."
Hiroko huffed out a laugh and righted herself, switching legs as she did. She pulled her hair over her shoulder, combing her fingers through it as she turned to look at Mayuri again. They locked eyes and grinned.
"Well, I was going to school for veter–"
Hiroko cut herself off suddenly, mouth snapping shut with an audible click of teeth. Judging by the look on her face, Mayuri already knew who she had just approached. There was only one person who put such a gentle expression upon her sister's face.
Still, she followed her sister's gaze, head tilting at an uncomfortable angle. She found herself staring at the upside down form of one of their classmates.
"Did you do something to your arm?" Dosu asked, leaning forwards slightly.
His dark eyes were shadowed and the bandages around his face were beginning to unravel. The strangely textured red and white scar tissue could be seen beneath it. He cocked his head, his arms dangling loosely in front of him. If she was being honest, Mayuri couldn't help but think that he looked really creepy as he loomed over her.
She stood so they were closer to the same level, spinning on her heel to face him. Hiroko came to stand by her side, a gentle smile on her face. Mayuri did her best to match her sister's expression.
"I'm fine," she said, waving one hand. "Just noticed something funny with my shoulder, but it's no big deal."
Dosu's head tilted further, the bandages shifting and unraveling more as his brow creased. He slowly stood up straighter, drawing himself to his full height. It wasn't much taller than the girls, but Mayuri was still acutely aware that he had enough bulk and additional experience on them to hurt them, if he really wanted to. She spread her legs slightly to give herself a firmer footing and crossed her arms over her chest, meeting his gaze evenly.
The boy looked a little uncertain, blinking at her with dark eyes. She felt Hiroko's elbow digging into her side, but refused to look away until Dosu did. After a long second, he broke eye contact, lowering his gaze to the floor and bringing up a hand to rub uncertainly at the back of his neck.
"I just, uh, wanted to know if either of you wanted to be my partner?"
His rough voice was so soft and garbled, Mayuri wondered for a second if she had misheard him. It wasn't like they never spoke – at this point, she might even tentatively consider him as close to a friend as they could find, given their situation – but this was the first time he had suggested they train together. He was talented, and usually paired with someone who was closer to his skill level and age.
She and Hiroko shared a look, raised eyebrows and the minute narrowing or widening of eyes conveying an entire conversation in a matter of seconds. Hiroko made a face, the expression stuck somewhere between wide-eyed pleading and a threat contained in the twist of her lips. Mayuri huffed, but stepped forward to address the boy before them, who was looking more and more embarrassed as the seconds ticked by.
"We'll both be your partners."
She could admit that the surprised widening of eyes, immediately followed by a grin so big it showed from beneath the bandages, was horribly endearing. From her position a few steps behind her, Hiroko spoke up. Her voice was firm.
"As soon as class is over, though, you need to get washed up and change your bandages. If you leave 'em dirty you'll end up making yourself sick. If your mom's out on another mission, we'll help you."
He made a choked noise, eyes widening again. The bandages stretched again as he opened his mouth to protest, but something on Hiroko's face must have warned him that any argument would be useless. He shut his mouth.
Crossing his arms, head drooping in what could either be defeat or the beginnings of a truly impressive sulk, he grumbled out a begrudging, "Fine."
Mayuri heard her sister huff out a soft laugh, and she couldn't help but smile as the three of them found a place to train. She hadn't quite figured out the dynamics of her sister's relationship with him, but it was still so nice to see her getting along with Dosu, seeing her happy. Even so, she was still wary around him.
Dosu was really the only other child who would give either of them the time of day. Mayuri couldn't help but think that maybe he only paid attention to them because he himself didn't have many friends. Despite living in a shinobi village, most of the children weren't very accepting of anyone who was too different.
Dosu, with his bandages and scarring, was a perfect example of that. He seemed smart and strong, more so than most of the other students. That didn't help his case at all, though. If anything, it might have made the other children resent him even more.
She took a step back, letting Dosu and Hiroko move to face each other. Hiroko cast her a quick look, a question and a warning rolled up in one. Mayuri rolled her eyes, but turned her attention to Dosu, grinning cheerfully.
"I get to fight the winner, alright?"
With the way his eyes scrunched up, she was fairly certain he was smiling back. He nodded before turning his full attention back to Hiroko. As Mayuri watched, they both got into ready stances.
There was a tiny flare of worry, a protective instinct that was confident that if anyone other than herself sparred with Hiroko, her baby sister would end up hurt. She knew that that was ridiculous, because though her sister hadn't taken any martial arts Before, she still had the quick mind of an adult, and truly impressive speed and flexibility to accompany a nasty left hook.
Well, her abilities were impressive for a child. She wouldn't have a chance against an adult, not with how tiny and inexperienced she was. Against Dosu, Mayuri already knew that she wouldn't be giving it her all. Would he take advantage of that fact?
With a quick shake of her head, Mayuri pushed the thoughts away. Hiroko could take care of herself, and though she didn't really trust Dosu, she was pretty sure that he wasn't going to attempt to kill his classmates in the middle of class. Even if he did, she was there to at least get his attention away from her sister long enough for someone stronger to step in and stop him, if she couldn't.
It wasn't that she didn't like Dosu. He had never done anything other than be nice to them both, wide-eyes and sincere in every one of his eager interactions. It was just that she didn't trust anyone in this world to have their best interests at heart, and she didn't want to get tangled up with anyone who could cause problems or hurt them in any way later on.
The first time he approached them after a class, Mayuri had wanted to brush him off right away. She figured that they didn't need to get wrapped up in anyone else's business, and after a year of only talking with a handful of other people, she didn't see why they would need to open up their world any more than that. It seemed like it was only asking for more trouble and pain.
After all, they had already caught Orochimaru and Kabuto's interest. They were the two most powerful people in Otogakure and would play huge roles in the future of this world. It was dangerous enough to have their attention on them, so why would they want to open themselves up to anyone else?
Hiroko, surprisingly enough, had been the one to greet him and ask if he wanted to eat dinner with them. She had been confident when she spoke to him, the anxiety and fear that Mayuri was so used to seeing gone so suddenly. She had smiled, soft and sweet, and that had been enough to silence any protests that Mayuri might have had.
So she had sat quietly back during the meal, watching her sister talk easily with Dosu, and only contributed to the conversation when she was asked something directly. It was nice to see Hiroko relaxing, smiling, letting conversation flow as easily as it would have in another world entirely. Her sister had always made friends so easily despite her anxiety, and had always loved so freely. Mayuri had been worried that a year without a social circle would have set Hiroko back too far to ever recover from. She was glad to see that that wasn't so.
Despite that, though, she had still been wary of becoming too friendly with Dosu. Underneath the soft smile that had found its way onto her features, her mind was spinning as she watched them interact.
She had studied his bandages, the way he slumped and the sleeves that draped past his fingers. There was something familiar about him, stirring the same half-remembered dream feeling in her mind she had felt those first few times she had looked at Orochimaru and Kabuto. She wasn't sure if that meant he was a canon character, or if he just reminded her of one. She wasn't sure if it was smarter to end this relationship before it started or to cultivate it and hope that he wasn't someone who died horribly and would drag them down with him.
Like so many times before, she had found herself really, really wishing that she had paid more attention to the anime when she had had the chance.
In the present, Mayuri winced as she watched Dosu flip Hiroko over his shoulder with a truly frightening amount of ease. Her sister landed flat on her back with a painful sounding whump.
"Ouch. You alright, Hiro?" she called, the cheery tone of her voice not quite matching the way her hands curled into fists at her side.
Hiroko groaned, but gave a shaky thumbs-up from her spot splayed out on the ground. The spar had barely lasted a full minute, but Mayuri was quite certain that her sister would be feeling it for days. Dosu was ruthless and, despite his wounded appearance, dangerously strong.
"I guess that means it's my turn," she sighed, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet as she waited for Hiroko to gather herself enough to move out of the way. She wondered if Hiroko was regretting holding back, and whether she should give it her all or not during their spar.
He was just a kid, but he still scared her. Everyone did, really. There was a constant ugly fear, a creeping "will you hurt me, too?" that seemed to linger in the back of her mind every moment of this new life. That fear practically demanded that she not give Dosu a single opening to harm her, even if he was a child, even if this was just training.
Dosu nodded and readied himself again. His movements were graceful, which was a little strange, considering how stiffly he moved on a regular basis. Maybe the pained winces she had noticed he made sometimes were an act, but she somehow doubted it. She noted with a pout that he wasn't so much as breathing hard. Adrenaline, maybe?
"You ready?" he asked, hands held loosely and his expression unreadable behind the mussed bandages.
Mayuri barely had time to nod before he was upon her, long arms reaching, eyes intense. She yelped and scrambled back a few steps, ducking his hands. She whirled to get behind him, reaching to grab a handful of his shirt and yank him down just a few inches, just enough to reach him more easily. If she could get him in a headlock, then maybe—
Before she could even finish the thought, Dosu was spinning to face her, leg sweeping to knock her feet out from under her. She fell backwards, just barely managing to catch herself with her hands before the rest of her hit the ground, and kicked out at him. Silently, she thanked Juro-sensei for drilling them so much in their flexibility lessons, because she would not have been able to get her leg high enough to actually reach him otherwise.
She saw his eyes narrow, the bandages around his mouth unravelling a little further as he frowned, revealing more of his damaged skin. His lips were mostly gone, nothing but a stretch of scarred skin, pulled back in a few places to reveal his teeth. If not for the adrenaline pumping through her veins, the sight might have been enough to give her pause.
As it was, she didn't stop to stare. Instead, she jumped up, head lowered slightly as she charged him. He caught her easily, but she heard the way he choked as she impacted with his torso, knocking the air from his lungs. She spun, her back pressed almost against his chest as she prepared to put some space between them again. Before she could move, though, he snaked an arm around her neck, faster than she had thought him possible of. With a hissed curse, she turned her head and tucked her chin to her chest to make sure he couldn't fully cut off her air supply.
She wriggled, twisting her torso so she was halfway behind him, just enough to be able to reach up and around to sling an arm over his shoulder. Her fingers just barely found purchase at his throat and she dug her fingertips into vulnerable flesh. Even in the midst of their little spar, she was mindful not to hurt him with her nails. His arm tightened, and she coughed.
Even with her head trapped just above his waist and the awkward position of her body, she knew she could kick the backs his knees from this angle. It would be enough to unbalance him, at the very least. If she was lucky, it would be enough to force him to loosen his grip on her neck.
She dug her fingers harder into his neck and grabbed his wrist with her free hand. She made sure one foot was planted firmly, then kicked out with the other, aiming for the backs of his knees.
It was Dosu's turn to yelp as he went crashing to the ground. Unfortunately for her, though, his grip didn't loosen for even a second. The air whooshed out of her lungs with an ugly sound as his full weight landed directly on top of her.
Before she could catch her breath, he had risen only to twist and immediately settle his full weight upon her again. He straddled her, legs on either side of her thighs and most of his weight resting on her torso. His forearm was pressed to her throat and his face hovered just inches above her nose.
She met his eye as he grinned down at her, triumph shining in his dark eyes. She coughed and snarled, straining against his weight on her chest. She snapped her teeth, mere inches from the exposed flesh of his throat, and some buried part of her wondered how hard it would be to tear out his jugular with her teeth alone.
She ignored the distant thought, struggling to focus on the techniques they had been taught instead of blind instinct. It was in that moment that she realized she hadn't kept her chin tucked. All he needed to do was change angles slightly, press his arm down harder, and—
Her spinning thoughts were stopped as she heard a lazy voice call out, "Foul!"
Dosu froze, the pressure on her neck lessening. Together, they turned their heads to face Hiroko, who was frowning as she rubbed at the back of her own head. She probably had a pretty nasty bump from when it had impacted with the hard cave floor during her own spar with him.
"What do you mean?" Dosu asked, head tilting to the side. Mayuri was a little relieved to find that he didn't sound upset, simply curious.
"I mean that today's sparring was supposed to be focused mainly on Tanuma-sensei's Wind Country fighting style. You two seem to be using the grappling from Earth Country that Kenji-sensei was showing us last week."
Dosu blinked a few times, head tilting. From her angle beneath him, Mayuri could just barely see the way his twisted lips turned down into a slight frown and how his throat moved as he swallowed. She wondered what he was thinking.
"Huh. I guess you're right."
And with that, he stood, yanking Mayuri up with him and relieving the literal and metaphorical pressure that had been building in her chest as he did so. She looked between him and Hiroko, her brow furrowed.
"So...who won? Was it Dosu?"
"I think that it was definitely his win, considering he had you pinned. Besides that, he was the only one who even attempted to use the right style," Hiroko said, cheerfully.
Dosu shrugged, but he was grinning. There was an eager light in Hiroko's mismatched eyes as she watched him. She stretched her arms over her head and wet her lips. When she spoke, her lisping little voice had the slightest hint of bite to it.
"I guess that means that it's time for our rematch!" Hiroko grinned and strode forward, not waiting for Mayuri to get out of the way. "I'm not going to go easy on you this time."
"Easy on me?" Dosu snorted. "You're kidding, right?"
Hiroko's grin turned devilish. Mayuri rolled her eyes, but scrambled what she deemed a safe distance out of the way. She settled herself cross-legged on the ground, watching the two as they eyed each other. She was curious what her sister was planning, now that she had apparently decided not to hold back.
Now that the adrenaline was beginning to fade from her system, Mayuri could feel each stinging scrape and muscle ache. Her throat hurt from being squeezed and her head was pounding. Somehow, though, those aches and pains seemed more distant than usual, almost muted. She rolled her shoulders and listened to the muffled scrape of her bone, and watched as Hiroko readied herself to face Dosu again with a smile on her face.
"Ready?" Mayuri called. They both nodded. She took a deep breath and said, "Begin!"
Dosu was stronger than them both, and he was faster than Mayuri could probably ever hope to be. It made him a dangerous opponent, and she knew that he would one day use his strength and his speed to become a deadly opponent on any battlefield. He would probably surpass both of the sisters as they all grew older. Now, though?
They both leaped into action, but compared to Hiroko, he might as well have not be moving at all.
There was no awkward grappling or hesitation as she kicked out at him, leg coming straight up to land a solid strike beneath his chin. Before he could so much as stumble backwards, before her foot could touch solid ground even, she was twisting to kick out at him again. Then an open-palmed strike to his left shoulder, and a fist just barely impacting with his sternum as he jolted back.
Hiroko's strikes weren't particularly powerful, but the sheer number of hits she could land were debilitating. Combined with the basic medical knowledge of vital points and her uncanny ability to hit wherever she was aiming, she was a formidable opponent. Mayuri was infinitely glad that her sister very rarely was angry enough to actually want to hurt her, in their spars or their daily lives; she was well aware that Hiroko could take her down, easily.
Mayuri watched with a vindictive sort of enjoyment as the smug expression that had been apparent on Dosu's features despite the bandages melted into one of shock. By the time he managed to put enough space between them to avoid her strikes, Hiroko was out of breath and Mayuri had lost count of how many hits she had landed.
Dosu's dark eyes were wide as he watched Hiroko, brimming with sudden uncertainty and maybe a hint of newfound respect. He looked to be swaying on his feet, and his bandages were almost entirely useless, dripping off his frame like a poorly-wrapped monster-movie mummy.
"Do you yield?" Hiroko gasped out, sweat collecting on her brow. Dosu was panting as well, though his revealed skin appeared to be mostly free of any telltale gleam of sweat. Mayuri thought that it was likely a side effect of being covered in scar tissue.
Dosu met Hiroko's eyes, frowning. The skin around his mouth seemed to move strangely, and Mayuri leaned forward slightly, squinting. He was hesitating.
"It's smart to surrender sometimes, if it will let you live to fight another day!" Mayuri called helpfully, still grinning. Even from this distance, it was easy to tell that Hiroko was rolling her eyes just by the dramatic flip of her hair.
"Thank you for the wise advice. I'm sure he appreciates it," she called back, sarcasm dripping from her tone.
"I live to please."
Dosu was looking between the sisters, bewilderment slowly turning to amusement. He shook his head and huffed out a soft, rough sound that Mayuri was pretty sure was a laugh. Hiroko turned her attention back to him, bringing her hands back up in case he decided to continue with the spar. He just shook his head again.
"I yield. Class is over, anyways."
"Well, in that case, I guess now's a good time to get you all cleaned up, right?" Hiroko's voice was sweet as honey, but her expression brokered no room for argument of any kind.
Mayuri climbed to her feet, brushing the dust from her butt and ignoring Dosu's grimace as she went to stand at her sister's side. They smiled at him, the same expression stretched across two separate faces. Dosu sighed, but there was a hint of a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"I'll meet you in the public infirmary in 20 minutes?" he asked, shoulders slumping.
"Yep! That sounds good to me. After that we can grab some dinner," Hiroko said, the menacing air gone as soon as it became apparent that she was going to be getting her way.
Dosu nodded, and turned to go. Before he got too far, though, he hesitated. He spun again to face them, and the few patches of undamaged skin on his face were tinged pink.
"You both fought really good," he announced, the words almost unintelligible in his rush to get them out. "Thanks for letting me be your partner!"
And with that, he raced from the room without waiting for a response. Mayuri and Hiroko shared a glance, then Mayuri burst into laughter. Hiroko sighed and made to follow Dosu's example, heading to their shared room to bathe before they had to meet him again.
"I think he's got a crush!" Mayuri yelled after her, barely able to get the words out as she gasped for breath.
Hiroko froze, and Mayuri began to laugh even harder as she watched the back of her sister's neck turn bright red.
"Don't be so dumb!" she yelled back, not turning to face Mayuri. "For that, I'm gonna make sure the water for your shower is cold."
Mayuri's laughter stopped immediately, replaced by a shriek of horror as Hiroko sprinted from the room. Mayuri race after her, already knowing that it was a lost cause; she would never be able to beat Hiroko in a race.
After that day, something seemed to shift, and the three of them ended up spending most of their time together.
Dosu helped them with their academic tasks, teaching them more advanced words and how to read the kanji they struggled with. In return they helped him with his flexibility exercises, mostly by standing on his legs or back and laughing good naturedly when his face scrunched up in pain. He got the food that they were too short to reach in the cafeteria and in return, they sat with him during their mealtimes. They helped him to rewrap his bandages when they got stained with blood or dirt or what little sweat his damaged skin could produce. All three of the children quickly got over any embarrassment over their bodies they might have once had around one another. He was the one to show them around the base, once they were cleared to have free reign to wander and explore their "home."
Mayuri thought that he must have been lonely. From what she had gathered, his mother was one of Otogakure's top kunoichis and was often gone on missions. He was left alone a lot, and though the citizens of Otogakure all seemed to have a "we look after our own" mentality and made sure that his physical needs were taken care of, most of them were too busy to give him the emotional support that children his age needed.
With the other children mostly avoiding him, it would make sense that he would latch onto the only ones who treated him with some decency. Though he could be a know-it-all, smug as hell and bossy to boot, he seemed genuinely sweet and both of the girls very quickly found themselves coming to see him as not only a friend, but also a kid that they wanted to protect.
Mayuri wondered if he thought the same thing about them.
Hello again everyone! I know that this chapter was a long time coming, but unfortunately, it might be like that for a little while.
I've been battling depression and have had a lot of family tragedies happen in a very short period of time. I have recently been living halfway across the country, away from my family, living with and caring for my grandma while my grandpa is in the hospital. On top of that, I've been caring for my baby cousins as well and my whole family is grieving the loss of my uncle. So I'd really appreciate everyone's patience with me because updates will probably just be posted as I get chapters done and there won't be much of a schedule until things settle down. Sorry about that.
And now, actual chapter notes! I'm not too confident in my action sequences, so if anyone has any critiques or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. There's a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter, so hey, I hope you kept an eye out as you read! This chapter, to me, feels sort of stilted, but I figured I'd put off posting it for long enough and you guys deserve an update. :)
As always, I love to hear people's thoughts. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed!
