Hey everyone! This chapter has been at the back of my mind since the very start of the story (for about 10 months!), it's practically my baby at this point lmao.
Uzushiogakure, in my mind, is a bright, affirming, matrilineal village and I think its customs and ceremonies should reflect that. This chapter shows the women's coming of age ceremony for Uzushiogakure, and I'm so excited for you to read this! There will be another author's note at the end about another ceremony that I may or may not write, but I don't want to spoil anything here!
Alright, sorry for the long author's note, just wanted to share some of my thoughts going into this chapter! Thank you so much for all of your support!
Trigger warnings: there are mentions of sexual assault and forced seduction missions.
"Alright, Kiku-chan," Kairi says. I blink hard, my eyes still blurry from sleep. I've spent the last week stuck in the small room in the Uzukage tower. "Today is the last day you can lock yourself in here."
"I've gone out a few times-"
"Only for necessary things," Kairi says. "You need to rest for more than a few hours. You're acting as bad as you did when you first got to the island." I look at the seagull and feel myself deflate. I was so excited to read the history of Uzu. And then I was even more excited to learn new techniques.
But I've broken the promise I made to Kairi. I haven't been taking care of myself.
"I'll just take a look at one more of the genjutsu seals and then I'll start taking things back to the house," I say as I sit up on my cot.
"You can stay the day, Kikuko," Kairi says but I shake my head.
"I still need to do my coming of age ceremony, too."
"You do," Kairi nods. I stretch out my arms in front of me and extend my back.
"Actually, I think I'll go eat breakfast, do my ceremony, and then look at the genjutsu seal."
"You will sleep in your actual bed tonight, Kikuko."
"I was planning on it, this cot is killing my back." Ichika snorts as she walks into the room.
"You're finally going to do your ceremony?" She asks. I feel my cheeks burn.
"Yes," I say as I stand up from my cot. There was a scroll with a brief overview of the general ceremony. It wasn't bad. But the optional part of the ceremony has had me putting it off for days.
"You don't have to do the optional portion, Kiku-chan," Kairi says as she lands on my shoulder. I walk out of the room into the Uzukage's office and then down the stairs before I answer.
"I know I don't, but-" I pause and take a deep breath. "It's probably for the best with me being in Konoha." I feel Ichika nudge my hand with her nose and smile down at the mountain lion. She and I used to be close in height when I first got to the island, but now I'm taller than her. It still feels weird to be able to drop my hand on her head rather than raise my hand up.
We take our time walking through the village. Over the last year or so I started to remake the Uzushiogakure symbols that used to hang above each doorway. It took over six months, but I was eventually able to replace them all with the help of a few clones.
Most of the buildings have new coats of paint as well. No matter how hard I tried to get the blood from some of the building's walls, it never fully went away. I don't know if it was just in my mind or not. But the new coat of paint helped, regardless of the reason.
The village looks so much more alive as we walk through it. I tried to keep things the same for when others came back to the island. So they could have the same experience of coming back to the home of their family like I did.
But most of their homes had been attacked.
I've replaced countless curtains, sheets, rugs. It's taken a long time even with the help of at least a few clones a day. But it's been worth it.
"You know, you'd probably have the most completed D-ranks in the history of the village if we kept track of the work you've done," Kairi muses as we walk up the dirt path to our home.
"I'd take it over a single Tora mission any day 'ttbane," I say as I slip off my shoes at the genkan. I walk down the hall and run my hand along the quilts that now hang on the walls. I put up the one Hiroto-ojichan made for mom as well as the quilts I made for Shinya, Kahana, Hiroto-ojichan, and Minoru.
Teams were family in Uzushiogakure. Just like my team is my family.
"You'll need to go on another supply run soon, hime," Ichika says as we enter the kitchen.
"Don't remind me," I groan as I open the fridge. I grab a few eggs, leftover rice, some chopped onion I froze before my birthday, and a few condiments. Kairi flies from my shoulder to the perch I made out of driftwood. I smile at her before I turn to work on my breakfast.
"Should I make a bento?" Ichika snorts and Kairi cackles.
"What? I don't know how long the ceremony is!"
"Don't worry about food," Ichika says. "Your cousins sent some in a stasis seal for when we finally get to celebrate your birthday."
"I did celebrate!"
"Rushing through opening your presents before running out the door does not count as celebrating," Kairi deadpans. I huff but focus on my food in front of me. For the next few minutes the only sounds in the room are the distant sounds of the waves outside and the sounds of me cooking.
I put my egg fried rice on a plate before I quickly chop up some green onion to add on top. Soma flies into the kitchen as I sit at one of the stools to eat my food. He and Kairi bicker as Ichika naps on the floor. I take my time eating, not wanting to rush into wearing formal clothes.
They're not as restrictive as the formal clothing in Konoha, but there's so much fabric. I feel like I'm going to turn into a puddle from how much I sweat wearing them. Kairi almost pushes Soma off the driftwood perch, causing me to snort as I start to clean my dishes. I clean them quickly before I turn to look at Ichika.
She opens one eye to look at me before she stretches. She stands up and walks out of the room without another word. I roll my eyes but follow her down the hallway, up the stairs, and down the other hallway to my room. Fabric is already thrown on my bed and a small bag sits beside it.
"Clothes for your after party," she grins as she nods at the bag. I send her a grateful smile as I start to shed my clothes and step into the new ones. There's a few layers of fabric that sit below the colorful embroidered skirt that I pull up to rest on my hips. I slip on a bright white shirt with poofy sleeves before I put a velvet embroidered vest over it.
I form the tiger seal and a water clone comes to life beside me. I toss it a book I looked through the day before my birthday. I already chose the hairstyle I want to wear today. I would be alone throughout the duration of my ceremony. Just like I would have been if the island was still full of people.
The party will happen after I complete my ceremony.
I walk over to my dresser and reach into the small jewelry box I keep on top of it. I'm not big on jewelry, but I love my hair pins. I have hair pins with a variety of designs from animals to flowers.
"Kikuko," Kairi says as she flies into the room.
"Yeah?" I ask as I turn from my hair pin collection.
"You can wear some of Kahana's," she says as she settles on my desk.
"Are you sure?" I ask as I look at the seagull.
"Of course," she says. "It's what she would have wanted, you're so much like what her daughter would have been." I feel tears prick at my eyes. Kairi rarely talks about Kahana. But she never talks about what Kahana's children would have been like. Shinya was the only one other than Kahana or Kairi to know about them.
"Thank you," I whisper.
"Come, let's go get them," she says as she flies out of the room. My feet feel like they are weighted down by the strongest of weight seals as I walk from my room to Kahana and Shinya's.
I've never been in their room before.
The door is already open when I get to it. I take a tentative step inside of the room to see Kairi sitting on top of a dresser identical to my own. A simple bed with a driftwood frame fills up most of the space. The sheets are a deep ocean blue, but on top of them sits a deer pelt blanket, much like the one Shikamaru gave to me.
I reach out and pet it softly. My vision turns blurry and I blink away the tears quickly as I turn back to Kairi. She waits for me patiently on the dresser. I walk over to her and stop just in front of her.
"Kahana loved hair pins as much as you," Kairi says. "So much so that she outgrew her jewelry box within a month of Shinya moving to the island."
"Really?" I ask, I feel a ghost of a smile on my lips.
"Really," Kairi says. "The boy could never tell her no," she rolls her eyes as she motions with her beak down at the dresser. "The first drawer is filled with them." My eyes widen as I carefully pull the first drawer out. She was right. It's filled with hair pins of all shapes and sizes. They're perfectly organized.
My eyes are immediately drawn to two different designs that sit beside each other. One is of seagulls. The other is of mountain lions.
"Those were the ones she wore during every major event," Kairi says gently. "You can wear them if those are the ones that call to you."
"Are you sure?" My voice cracks.
"I'm sure, Kikuko," she says. I nod as I reach down for the pins and hand them to the clone that's followed us into the room. Kairi motions for me to sit down on a small stool by one of the large windows in the room. I sit down, carefully moving the fabric of all of my skirts before I relax into my seat.
The clone starts weaving my hair into an intricate wave design. Ichika joins us in the room, the bag with my clothes for later rests on her back as she sits beside the door to the room. I close my eyes as the clone does my hair and focus on the sounds of the ocean.
And for once, I allow myself to feel content.
Kairi sits on my shoulder as Ichika and Ai walk on either side of me. All the summons are more energetic than usual. We haven't had a party since I've come to the island and they're all super excited to have something to celebrate after so long.
Apparently people in Uzushio threw a party for everything.
I normally hate all of the attention, but I don't complain when we're stopped by a chatty summons. I don't complain when we have to wait for a couple of summons to carry tables across our path. They deserve this. We all deserve this.
I just wish I could open the island to my family.
"Soon," Kairi says as if she's reading my mind. I send my gratitude to her through our connection. Since signing the contract I can really feel what Kairi's feeling if she wants me to without relying on her chakra, and I can communicate with her with my emotions as well.
"We're here," Ichika says as she stops at the beginning of the path to the women's temple. I bite my lip as I pull my bag from her back and hold it in my hand.
"Thank you for bringing me," I say quietly. If things had been different, mom, grandma, and Kahana would have been the ones to walk me here. But having Ai, Ichika, and Kairi bring me here is enough. Ichika nuzzles my hand as Ai bumps against my other side. Kairi sends her pride through the link before she hops to Ai's back. The three summons walk back the way we came and I'm left alone amongst the trees.
You can barely see the path ahead. Flowers, vines, and different plants grow along it and over it. I take a step forward, and then another, and soon I'm walking up the winding path. I pass a small pond filled with whirlpools before I come to a simple building.
No one thought to come here during the destruction of Uzu. It's so out of the way and unassuming on the outside. If there's anything I learned from being in Uzu for so long, it's definitely not like this on the inside.
I drop my bag outside the front entrance and look up at the seashell wind chimes that hang from either side of the entryway. I hear the shells move with the wind as I walk into the dark entryway. As soon as I'm inside I feel a flash of chakra. I turn behind me and there's now sturdy doors in the once open doorway I'd entered.
A warm light fills the room and I turn back around to see a place to take off my shoes. I carefully peel off my shinobi sandals and slip into a pair of simple chanclas that sit right above the genkan. I look around the room I'm in and it seems relatively empty. There's two doors, one on the right and one on the left.
The door on the left has a sign above the door that says girls, while the door on the right has a sign that says women. The wall without doors directly across from the entrance is a dark, charred wood. In the center is a large painting of the mountains I've been to multiple times in the last couple of years with Ichika for my training. I give myself another moment to look at the painting before I close my eyes.
I take a deep breath and turn towards the door on the left. If I choose to do the optional ceremony, I'll go through the other door later. I slide the door to the side and step inside the next room, closing the shoji door behind me. When I turn around to look into the room, my mouth drops open.
The walls are the same charred wood as the wall outside. The lights are dimmer in here than they are in the entry hall. But this space is much larger than what you would assume when you look at it from the outside. Next to me is a stand with a large book sitting on top of it. I walk closer to it to see that it's filled with names.
I flip through the pages and read the names of the girls who have come here before me, and I immediately feel more at ease. I take the pen that sits on the stand and dip it into the inkwell before writing my name.
Uzumaki Kikuko
I carefully place the pen back on the stand as I step away from it. I turn to face the rest of the room and am briefly overwhelmed. The far wall is a continuous waterfall. Lights illuminate it from the background and the sounds of the water comfort me.
In front of the waterfall is a large statue. It's as large as the water fountain in the center of the courtyard outside of the Uzukage tower. But this statue is of a woman. She has no distinct facial features, a headcovering obscures her face. It's the only clothing she wears. Her body is large, her hips are wide. Her breasts are full and her body is covered in scars.
She looks like me.
My heart begins to beat faster as I walk closer to the statue. I look around at the rest of the room, but it's empty. The only thing in the room other than the statue is a fuinjutsu table that sits in front of it, as well as a simple blue cushion. I carefully sit down and place my hands on the fuinjutsu table.
It comes to life beneath my fingers. The once empty table flares with chakra and soon an aged scroll sits under my hands. I carefully unroll the scroll on the table. When I do, it's blank. I look at it closely, it feels like there's chakra running through it, but there's no visible seal.
So I do the one thing you're not supposed to do in a situation like this.
I place my hand over the seal and push some of my chakra into it. Nothing happens at first, but then words begin to appear on the scroll. All of it is written in Uzu. Just like all the scrolls I've been looking through this week.
Welcome, Uzumaki Kikuko.
My eyes widen as I look down at the words. The words fade quickly before they're replaced with new ones.
Your journey has not been easy. You have already seen many things a child should never have to see or experience.
The only things I can hear are my shaky breaths and the running water in front of me. Those words fade just like the first did.
You have made your ancestors proud.
I let out a choked sob as I feel a gust of wind in the once still room. I don't feel alone like I had when I first entered the building. I feel protected. The words linger for a bit longer than the last ones before they, too, fade.
As of a week ago, you are a full kunoichi of Uzushiogakure. You are now able to leave the island for missions and non-necessary travel.
I vaguely remember Ichika saying something similar before I signed my contract with the mountain lions. You weren't allowed to leave the island until you were fifteen. The rule was the same for girls and boys. Uzu never wanted to force her children into the darker parts of the shinobi world.
Today is a day to celebrate you. It is also the day for you to dedicate yourself to both the village, and yourself. My hands start to shake on my lap as the words begin to fade.
Read and repeat the following lines for your dedication to Uzushiogakure. I take a shaky breath and nod to myself as the line begins to fade.
I, Uzumaki Kikuko, Yondaime Uzukage, Princess of Whirlpool, daughter of Uzumaki Kushina, granddaughter of Uzumaki Kazumi, dedicate myself to Uzushiogakure.
I take a deep breath before I speak.
"I, Uzumaki Kikuko, Yondaime Uzukage, Princess of Whirlpool, daughter of Uzumaki Kushina, granddaughter of Uzumaki Kazumi, dedicate myself to Uzushiogakure."
I dedicate myself to the waters. Both still and violent. May their currents guide me in moments of peace and war.
"I dedicate myself to the waters. Both still and violent. May their currents guide me in moments of peace and war." I hear the water in the fountain practically roar.
I dedicate myself to the mountains. Tall and always present. May their constancy remind me to keep faith in moments of darkness.
"I dedicate myself to the mountains. Tall and always present. May their constancy remind me to keep faith in moments of darkness." The lights in the room dim.
I dedicate myself to the wind. From the soft breeze to violent storms. May their gusts carry my dreams when they become too heavy for me to shoulder alone.
"I dedicate myself to the wind. From the soft breeze to violent storms. May their gusts carry my dreams when they become too heavy for me to shoulder alone."
My mom's laugh in the wind when the island was restored rings in my ears as I struggle to breathe.
I dedicate myself to the whirlpools. Unrelenting and all consuming. May they bring me comfort in times when I have lost control.
May they carry me home in this life as they have the last.
"I dedicate myself to the whirlpools. Unrelenting and all consuming. May they bring me comfort in times when I have lost control." I take a shaky breath, "May they carry me home in this life as they have the last."
I am Uzumaki Kikuko, Yondaime Uzukage, Princess of Whirlpool, daughter of Uzumaki Kushina and granddaughter of Uzumaki Kazumi. I am a kunoichi of Uzushiogakure. A descendant of the waters, the mountains, the wind, and the whirlpools. I am my ancestor's wildest dreams.
I stare at the words in front of me for a minute. I take longer to repeat them than any of the others. But I finally speak.
"I am Uzumaki Kikuko, Yondaime Uzukage, Princess of Whirlpool, daughter of Uzumaki Kushina and granddaughter of Uzumaki Kazumi. I am a kunoichi of Uzushiogakure. A descendant of the waters, the mountains, the wind, and the whirlpools. I am my ancestor's wildest dreams."
The room around me practically comes alive. I feel a breeze through the room as the lights brighten once again. The waterfall behind the statue in front of me runs steady. I almost forget to look back at the scroll.
Read and repeat the following lines for your dedication to yourself. I fiddle with a hem on my skirt as I wait for the lines to fade.
I, Uzumaki Kikuko, belong to no one but myself.
I will love myself, always.
I honor my life's path.
I stare at the lines for far too long before I repeat them.
"I, Uzumaki Kikuko, belong to no one but myself. I will love myself, always. I honor my life's path."
I will care for my body.
I will give my body nourishment.
I will give my body rest.
I will give my body pleasure.
I will give my body comfort.
I will give my body protection.
"I will care for my body. I will give my body nourishment. I will give my body rest. I will give my body pleasure. I will give my body comfort. I will give my body protection," I say, my cheeks burn.
My body is not property to trade or barter.
No village shall take ownership of my body.
No individual shall take ownership of my body.
My body is mine, and mine alone.
Memories of hours spent in kunoichi classes in Konoha flash in front of me. In Konoha, we were taught that our bodies are weapons, and that women's bodies are often used as weapons and as spoils of war. I always felt sick after kunoichi classes the last couple of years I had to take them. They've always stewed at the back of my mind since I left the village.
"My body is not property to trade or barter. No village shall take ownership of my body. No individual shall take ownership of my body." I take a deep breath. "My body is mine, and mine alone." I feel something settle in my chest, but I don't know exactly what.
I honor my life.
I honor my family.
I honor my ancestors.
I honor my village.
I honor Izanami.
"I honor my life. I honor my family. I honor my ancestors. I honor my village. I honor Izanami," I repeat. I knew the values of Uzushiogakure before this ceremony. But I hadn't fully felt them fully until this moment.
I am the daughter of the waters, the mountains, the wind, and the whirlpools.
"I am the daughter of the waters, the mountains, the wind and the whirlpools."
And now, you must finish your dedication on your own. I'm confused when I don't feel immediate panic. Normally I would be freaking out when put in a situation like this. Worried that I would mess something up.
But I can't mess this up. Because this is for me, and for me alone. No one will ask me about my dedication. I can share it with others if I wish, but I'm not obligated to tell anyone.
I stare at the scroll in front of me for a few minutes as I close my eyes. When I open them, I take a deep breath before I look up at the statue in front of me.
"I am Uzumaki Kikuko, Yondaime Uzukage, Princess of Whirlpool, daughter of Uzumaki Kushina and granddaughter of Uzumaki Kazumi. I am the daughter of the waters, the mountains, the wind, and the whirlpools. And I will not fail."
My hands shake as I move back on my cushion before I bend down to bow in front of the statue. I feel like I'm floating on a cloud. I'm present, but not really here. My head swims with the dedications I made earlier as I stand in the room, alone. A gust of wind comes suddenly, pushing me towards the door. I hear a mischievous laugh. One that I've only heard once before. Tears burn at the back of my eyes as I smile at the direction the wind came from.
I move quickly, knowing another gust will push me over next time if I don't move fast enough. There's a chorus of laughter as I stumble out of the room, but I don't feel annoyed. I feel loved.
I stand out in the entry hall for a few minutes, just staring at the door across from me. I take a deep breath and walk into the room. It looks identical to the other room. I almost walk back outside to double check, but the lack of the sign in book as I first walk into the room stops me.
I walk over to sit at the fuinjutsu table. As soon as I'm settled I look around the room again and see a few doors on either side of the room. I almost move to go look through them when I feel chakra in front of me. I rest my hands on the table and soon another scroll appears under my hands.
I unroll it and it's just as old as the scroll from before. I put my hand over the seal on this scroll and words begin to appear once again.
Congratulations on completing your coming of age ceremony, Uzumaki Kikuko. I smile down at the scroll as the words begin to fade.
In a moment, a guide to a seal will appear on this scroll. Do not share it with anyone. This seal is one that has been used by women from Uzushiogakure before this island was ever discovered.
My heart begins to beat wildly in my chest. What type of seal is this? Why can I not share it with anyone?
This seal is a form of contraception.
Oh. That explains why I shouldn't share it.
No man knows that this seal exists. It is a seal created by women, for women. Keep it secret. Keep it safe.
It is your choice, and your choice alone to use this seal. It may be removed at any time, and its effects will stop immediately. Using other forms of contraception on top of this will not harm you, or the seal. It is best to use another form of contraception if you are in a village outside of Uzushiogakure in order to keep the seal a secret.
As soon as the words fade, a pen and inkwell appear, as well as a diagram for a seal. I read through the diagram easily. I'm not great with medical ninjutsu, but the bio fuinjutsu I began to read in the last week comes to me as easily as breathing.
I undo the buttons on my vest before I shrug it off and fold it up beside me. I then pull the white shirt I wear over my head and fold it on top of the vest. I pull my skirts down slightly so the bottom of my stomach is visible. The last thing I want is for the fabric to shift and obscure my vision mid seal.
I grab the pen from the fuinjutsu table and dip it into the inkwell before I bring the pen to the lower part of my stomach. I draw the outer circle first to create the stabilizer. I then move to the center of the circle for the first array. I take my time adding in the next few arrays before I connect them. I put the pen back on the table in front of me before I turn back to the seal.
I push chakra to the tips of my pointer and middle fingers. I carefully place my fingers on the two main arrays before I turn them one hundred and eighty degrees counter clockwise. I feel the flare of my chakra as the seal activates and smile.
When I'm ready to deactivate the seal, I just need to turn the arrays back to their original position. You can't really do that with normal seals. The ability to move and change arrays exists solely in bio fuinjutsu.
It's so cool.
I turn back to the scroll after my clothing is back in its original place. The pen and inkwell are now gone once again.
Now you must decide whether or not you would like to complete the secondary ceremony.
My cheeks burn once again at the mention of it.
This ceremony was created after the first invasion of Uzushiogakure as a precautionary measure for women in the village. Many young girls were specifically targeted by men from the invading nations. The attacks caused both psychological and physical pain.
My heart aches as I remember how I found Kasumi's body. Her cut shorts. The blood on her legs.
Those events have followed the victims throughout their lives. Their right to a safe, consensual, and affirming first sexual experience was taken from them violently. So we created this safe space for future generations.
Should you choose to continue, you will find soundproofed and secured rooms on the sides of this one. Safe places where you can explore your body without shame. There are informational booklets and other resources for you.
Regardless of whether you choose to use this now, at another time, or you choose to share this experience with another, know that your body is yours and yours alone. There is so much shame placed on girls by men for taking care of their bodies. Ignore it. They do not own our bodies like they think they do.
Congratulations again, for completing your coming of age ceremony. May the waters guide you, the mountains remind you, the wind carry your dreams, and the whirlpools bring you comfort and carry you home.
My cheeks no longer burn as the scroll rolls itself back up and disappears back into the fuinjutsu table. I don't even hesitate as I move back on the cushion to bow to the statue once again.
Before I know it, I'm standing and walking towards one of the doors on the side of the room. I take a deep breath and push it open before shutting it tightly behind me.
I won't let Konoha take this from me, too.
And that's another long ass chapter! I hope you liked it!
I'm debating whether or not I'll write the secondary ceremony, as I don't know if I'll include sexual content in this fic. If you have strong feelings either way, let me know!