Snakes
A yell echoes through the deep of the forest followed suit by a heavy thud, before a girl pulls a kunai out of the holster on her leg to throw it at her attacker, impaling it on a tree.
The raven haired girl pants hard as she rests on the grass, squinting at it, before she rises and approaches said tree to see the kunai she just threw piercing a snake.
Shizune can't help but screw her face up in disgust at it.
If there is a reptile she dislikes the most that would be snakes.
Just the mere thought of them slithering stealthy to attack their preys, snaking over their bodies to strangle them or simply shedding their skins disgusts her, making her shiver at it.
She doesn't have time to keep thinking about them, when the rustling of some nearby trees pulls her out of her reverie, making her turn around to the source of the sound while adopting a fighting stance with a kunai in hand.
Soon, a purple haired girl around her age emerges from in between the trees and bushes surrounding her.
Shizune can only set her jaw tight ready to defend herself, when she purple haired girl looks up, taking out a kunai on her own, before they see a glimpse of the Konoha symbol on one another's forehead protector.
Both girls let out a sigh of relief and put away their kunais, before the purple haired one approaches Shizune, frowning upon seeing the snake impaled on the tree.
- Did you do that? – she asks while examining the snake, before gazing at Shizune to see her nodding – Why?
- What do you mean with why? It was obviously about to attack me – Shizune defends herself, frowning at the other girl.
- I'm sure it wasn't. It's one of my snakes.
Anko answers and Shizune can only look at her confused, before she notices the cursed seal on her neck. Anko upon noticing the other girl staring intensely at it, can only set her jaw tightly.
- You're Orochimaru's student – Shizune states tensely, and Anko can only glare at her.
- Do you have a problem with it? – Anko asks in a warning tone, while Shizune just snorts.
- No. I just don't like him, or snakes for that matter.
Or you.
Those two words are implicit in the way Shizune talks so scornful to her, making Anko set her jaw tighter, before she sees her turning around to walk away. Anko can only watch her retreating with rage bubbling inside her, balling her hands into fists at being disliked because of her former sensei and what he did to the village.
Ever since that day on, it's clear their mutual dislike towards the other, but it wouldn't be until several years later that they wouldn't encounter one another face to face once again.
Shizune is calmly investigating in the forest for new herbs and flowers to make medicine, when she sees something approaching her fast in between the flowers field.
She quickly grabs several shurikens, throwing them to the ground, when something jumps right in front of her. She can't help but let out an involuntary yell of surprise, before her hand automatically grabs one of her kunais and slices her attacker in two, seeing it falling onto the field and covering it with its blood.
She approaches it carefully, only to find a dead snake lying on the crimson grass.
- You really don't like snakes, do you?
A deep voice says while getting out of the shadows, making Shizune whip her head around to see a purple haired girl with a sly smirk playing on her lips. She can only snort, before she relaxes.
- If it's any comfort, I also dislike you – she states, sneering at the other girl, seeing her smirking wider before she lets out a loud laugh.
- And why is that, if I can know? – Anko asks as she keeps getting closer.
- You're a snake, and the student of one of the worst traitors and criminals of Konoha – Shizune spats out, seeing the smirk on Anko's face disappear as a glint of rage and hurt flashes in her eyes, before she launches to attack her.
Soon, the sound of metal clashing echoes in the forest, followed suit by grunts.
- You're exactly like your sensei! – Shizune spats as she attacks Anko who quickly dodges her.
- Shut up!
Anko yells as she does a series of seals to then expel fire through her mouth. Shizune barely dodges it, launching at Anko, but before she can even reach her, both girls find themselves pinned down by several ivies.
- What's going on here?
The third Hokage asks calmly as he appears from in between the trees, holding both teenagers prisoner.
- Third Hokage!
Shizune and Anko yell at the same time, noticing the third Hokage approaching them as he releases them from the hold of the ivies.
- Can I know why were you two fighting? – he asks, seeing both teens lowering their heads in shame.
- She dislikes snakes – Anko mumbles, pausing before adding – she thinks I'm like Orochimaru.
The third Hokage can only sigh heavily as he pats Anko's head in a comforting way.
- Shizune, the fact that Anko was Orochimaru's student doesn't mean she's like him. I can assure you if that was the case, she wouldn't be at Konoha, maybe even alive, and of course, she wouldn't be one of our best ninjas.
- But-
- I can assure it to you, Shizune.
The third Hokage says seriously, not leaving room for reply, before he squeezes both teens' shoulders.
- Now I have to attend other matters, can I go in peace knowing you won't kill one another?
He comments amicably, seeing both teens nodding.
- Good.
He says squeezing their shoulders one last time, before he walks away.
Both girls can only squint at one another, before the raven haired girl talks.
- I… I take back what I said – Shizune mumbles as Anko turns around.
- Whatever. It's not like you're the only one in Konoha that thinks it.
Anko says as she begins to leave, not seeing the glint of sadness flashing in Shizune's eyes, before the latter sighs and keeps gathering up more herbs for medicines.
Their paths don't cross again until the third Hokage dies at the hands of Orochimaru, and Shizune comes back Konoha with the new Hokage, Tsunade.
She's on a mission chasing Kabuto with a team of jounins, when Kabuto sets them up an ambush and several of his snakes attack and bite them.
Shizune quickly tries to counteract the effects of the snakes' poison and heal her teammates before they could die, when a big snake bites her shoulder.
She yells in pain, starting to feel suddenly weak after the bite, while quickly trying to snatch the big snake away from her shoulder, when she realizes she's completely paralyzed, unable to move any muscle.
- Shit.
She curses as her surroundings begin to blur and she feels the poison entering her system, panting hard.
- Good luck trying to survive.
She hears Kabuto saying in the distance, before she falls to the ground, fighting to keep breathing.
She feels her lungs burning as her vision darkens slowly, before she feels another bite, followed suit by more bites on different parts of her body.
- Fuck.
Somebody curses beside her and Shizune can only open her eyes weakly to see a glimpse of purple above her.
- A-Anko? – she asks weakly, feeling the purple haired woman taking her hand to squeeze it.
- Hang on, okay? – Anko says as more snakes get out of her arms to bite Shizune's body.
Shizune notices then small snakes biting every inch of her body, shifting from purple to black before they die, and more and new snakes replace them, sucking the poison out of her system trying to prevent it from reaching her bloodstream.
She feels calloused fingers reaching her flak jacket to open it, before a kunai cuts part of her shirt and the skin of her neck. Then the purple haired woman gets in the field of vision.
- Anko, don't – she says as she feels the other woman's mouth on her neck, sucking it to then spit out the poison.
- Shut up – Anko grumbles as she repeats the action.
- It's dangerous, it's poison – Shizune protests, earning herself a growl in return.
- No shit Sherlock. Do I have to remind you that I'm a snake? – Anko grumbles as she keeps sucking Shizune's neck, and the raven haired woman can already feel tears prickling her eyes.
- But-
- Just shut the fuck up! – Anko yells as she spats more poison, looking at her with angst in her eyes as she and her snakes keep trying to get rid of the poison in her bloodstream.
Shizune can only do what Anko tells her, shutting up as more tears fall down her face, feeling how the woman she dislikes so hard and her snakes are doing everything they can to save her life.
Soon, she hears more rustling around them, seeing movement before hearing Kakashi's and Gai's voices getting closer to them. She can barely discern the worry expression on their faces, before Gai gathers her in his arms and carries her at full speed back to Konoha's hospital where Tsunade quickly removes the small portion of poison still left in her bloodstream.
One of the times she wakes up after have lost consciousness, she can't help but notice warmth over her, looking down to see Anko sleeping hunched over her bed as she takes her hand in hers.
Happy tears escape now her eyes as she smiles relieved upon seeing her being okay, before she falls asleep again.
Time goes off before Shizune finally gets used to snakes without feeling disgusted by them.
Such is the case that she regularly finds herself at the laboratory trying new antidotes in them, when the snake she's experimenting with change of color before it dies.
Shizune lets out a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose upon another failed experiment, when she feels a pair of strong arms snaking around her waist to draw her into the body behind her. She tenses for a moment, before she feels a kiss being left on the back of her neck.
- How's going?
A deep voice asks her, eliciting a smile from her as she relaxes in the embrace of the other woman.
- Badly. I've killed another bunch of your snakes.
She says, hearing Anko laughing as she tightens her embrace around her.
- Haven't you been doing that ever since we were kids? – Anko comments playfully, making Shizune roll her eyes yet smile at her – If I am not mistaken, you never liked them.
She ends up saying teasingly, making Shizune snort.
- Well, let's just say they aren't that bad.
- Oh, so they aren't that bad? That's something new – Anko teases the other woman who can only roll her eyes.
- Nope, they aren't.
Shizune says as she turns around in Anko's arms to pull her into a deep kiss. She feels her smiling against her lips, before her hands snake around her to grab her by the waist and pull her closer.
- That's good to know – Anko whispers against her lips, before she kisses her passionately.
It takes several years, before Shizune realizes that snakes aren't that bad. In fact, she actually really loves a certain purple haired "snake".