Ino, standing naked in the mikveh room, unscrews the earrings Asuma-sensei had given her. She releases her hair from its usual ponytail and takes out her hairslides. She has a quick shower.
This is it. The final leg.
She'd been nervous about going before the Beth Din, especially considering that Rabbi Gaara was sitting on it. Although Sunagakure and Konoha were allies now, and the Reverend Uzumaki and Rabbi Gaara had been in charge of an interfaith initiative between the two villages, she still remembered that strange and frightening boy from the Chuunin Exam days. But he'd been civil enough, as had the other two rabbis, both of them from other hidden villages, who'd introduced themselves as Rabbi Aida Munashi from Kirigakure, and Rabbi Darui from Kumogakure. They'd all asked her questions about her background, how she came to Judaism, her relationship with Chouji, whether she was prepared to deal with the threat of anti-Semitism, what changes and sacrifices she'd had to make, what parts of Judaism meant the most to her, and so forth. For her Hebrew passage, she'd picked the blessing to be said over the Torah, and read it slowly and carefully, without a hitch. Then Chouji had been invited in and the three rabbis had given her a certificate that had her Hebrew name on it. Shoshana bat Avraham. Now I'm a rose instead of a pig, Ino had thought.
Then Rabbi Nara had come and accompanied her and Chouji to the mikveh, and now here she is, at the final leg of the journey.
It's time.
She walks down the small staircase into the mikveh. It's not freezing cold like she expected, but warm. She thinks of it like amniotic fluid; after all, she's about to be reborn.
"How're you doing?" Rabbi Nara calls.
"I'm just about to go under," Ino shouts back, and she takes a deep breath and ducks under the water in the foetal position, her long blonde hair flowing around her like waterlilies. The warm water embraces her.
Then she rises, says the blessing and the Shehechiyanu with Rabbi Nara and Chouji shouting, "Amen!" Her voice bounces off the tiles.
I'm Jewish. At last, I'm Jewish.
She towels herself off, brushes her hair, gets dressed, and walks out of the door and into Chouji's arms, and Chouji immediately bursts into tears, which sets her off in turn. Rabbi Nara smiles. He's used to converts being emotional.
"Welcome to the tribe," she can hear him say, as she and Chouji bury themselves in each other. All she can say is, "This little piggy is kosher now. I love you, Chouji. I love you."
Author's note:
- Shoshana bat Avraham: the name that would be used when Ino is participating in religious activities within the synagogue e.g. being called to the Torah, although she still keeps her original name for every day life. Converts to Judaism traditionally have Hebrew names ending in 'ben/bat Avraham' (son/daughter of Abraham), as Abraham was the first convert
- Shehechiyanu: Jewish prayer said on special occasions, including all festivals