Motive

Renri held the kunai in front of her face. Modified kunai would be more apt. It came as a set of three. Thin blade and delicate handle, a groove ran down the center from mid-blade to tip. She debated the use.

Above all, the material… She let chakra seep, metal greedily accepting it.

Why?

Ring at the handle, she spun it around her finger, watching it blur into a circle.

Water nature didn't seem particularly useful. Really, she had no techniques that would benefit from the slight range increase a kunai-sized chakra blade offered. Clearly, these were meant for another use.

"Aadda," she called, letting the momentum spinning the blade die, "why did he give me these?"

The snake turned her head, short hiss a scoff. Bathing in the single sunbeam, Renri's reading spot stolen, the snake lazily flicked her tongue. "Leave me alone, child. I'm not here to answer silly questions." She dismissively waved the tip of her tail.

Kunai stabbing ground, Aadda startled rod-straight with a cut hiss. Renri quickly covered her mouth as Aadda whipped around, reared up like she wasn't knee-height at best, and hissed every death threat in existence.

If not water…

Fangs pierced. Renri raised her hand away from her mouth, smile remaining. "Release," she muttered. Aadda's hissing tapered. The snake dropped the twig she was mauling, then furious it wasn't actually Renri's hand.

This was exactly the type of behavior that earned Renri the silent treatment.

Yin. Genjutsu. A chakra blade could carry it. A subtle seal like the one she had made while covering her mouth could activate it at a distance.

"How dare you wound me," Aadda hissed through bared fangs. Renri snorted in an attempt to hold back laughter. The trigger had been sight and proximity, no contact necessary. Aadda slapped her tail down to raise a puff of dirt. She knew that. Perhaps resented that the all-powerful Aadda had been fooled by a seven-year-old's genjutsu. A very basic one at that. "I swear," she complained, slithering back to her sunbeam, "I would rather deal with Manda than this psychotic child."

"Psychotic?"

Another hissing scoff, Aadda refused to elaborate hyperbole. Her tail hooked the handle of the offending blade to hurl it at Renri.

She caught it. She tired to not look surprised she had.

Genjutsu proved the theory, but she could see the intended use when combined with the rest of the scroll's contents: the basics of applying juinjutsu. Her technique still needed practice. She needed to use a medium to anchor her chakra to a target, ink entry level, blood a next step- interestingly, hers, opposite to the typical use of the target's. A fully-realized curse mark needed only chakra. Mimicking paper bombs helped her understand how to create a simple effect- though the excessive power behind hers remained a mystery also tied to her blood. Another physical medium to offset difficulty, though. Using the kunai as he intended would require her chakra to be able to form both mark and effect.

Aadda's head snapped to the side, tongue flicking. Renri's grip on the kunai tightened as she hopped to her feet. She whipped around.

Her head tilted, grip slackening as she dropped her arm to her side.

Brown hair in a braid over her shoulder, permanent scowl breaking to feature wide brown eyes. One of the last people Renri would expect here.

Mariko.

Mariko froze at the edge of the small clearing. A beat passed as she realized she wouldn't be dodging a kunai thrown from a surprised Renri. Then, brown eyes stared holes into the ground. Her lips pressed thin at words kept back while her hands clenched into tight shaking fists.

She stepped into the clearing Renri claimed as her practice field. Eyes still not meeting Renri's, Mariko opened her mouth only to snap it closed with a bitter scowl pinching her brows.

"Good afternoon," Renri said plainly in a sad attempt at breaking silence. As Mariko's face started to redden, it struck her. Itachi, after startling her from whatever had her full concentration, amusement in his eyes, often greeted her just as blandly. Renri thought it was funny. Well, Mariko wasn't her, and Renri sort of wished she was Itachi. "Did you follow me?"

Renri shouldn't be allowed to talk to people.

"How else would I have found you?" Mariko half-shouted, irritation winning whatever emotional battle she was fighting. Yet valid point. Mariko shifted to cross her arms over her chest, red face about to steam. Lips pressed thin, she held back.

"I should have asked why," Renri mumbled. Apology on the tip of her tongue, she bit it back.

That's why.

What had rubbed her wrong when Itachi had apologized for telling Shisui, he had never meant it as an apology. He skipped that. He went right to asking for forgiveness with no expectation of it being granted because she had reacted. He hadn't expected her to. The ultimate goal in telling Shisui, someone Itachi trusted, was to eliminate a threat to the village while ending the disappearances associated with the case. He thought she would instantly understand that. She should have but…

Her apology to Mariko would be fake without so many leaps.

"I'm sorry!"

…

Renri stared. Nearly shouted, the words seemed to echo in her skull more than settle in the awkward silence narrated by birds. Mariko's face flushed, hands clutching her arms as she hugged them to herself.

Anger warped. Mariko sniffed hard.

"I'm sorry," Mariko repeated, voice raised, but equally furious and remorseful. "For ignoring you during the exam and-" She sucked in a sharp breath.

Renri froze. Should she say something? What? She'd never seen Mariko be anything but mean.

"And for the stuff I said during it." Mariko finally broke down to wipe her nose on her sleeve. "I just don't- Don't understand why you'd-" Voice rising to crack, her eyes shone with tears she refused to let fall. "Why would you help me? After all the mean stuff I've said and done to you, why…?"

Renri had no good answer. That had been made clear again and again. Orochimaru and Renki both agreed she should have used Mariko to escape.

"I'd been so scared that- that I couldn't do anything!" Mariko wiped a hand under her eyes, a hard sniffle killing the tears before they dared fall. Helplessness… "I ran away and left you to die and you-" Something accusing in her tone, she again held back. Renri almost wanted to correct her. To say she had only saved her to make herself feel better. "And you haven't said a word about it. You have to hate me, right?"

"No?" She barely considered Mariko at all before this. Mariko had no interest in her beyond insulting her, and Renri held no interest in working to change her opinion. That had been their dynamic. Renri had come to terms with that the first time Mariko dumped a carton of milk on her head. Mariko now standing in front of her in near tears, concerned with Renri's perception of her, baffled her.

"I am really sorry," Mariko repeated, quieter, emotions simmering to calm relief now that she'd spouted out her confession. "I was… jealous of you, I guess. It isn't fair." A familiar frown returned to her face. "Kids like you and Uchiha have all the attention while I've worked just hard and I…"

"Want to be recognized."

Had Mariko been trying to apologize for weeks? The thoughtful looks that morphed to glares when caught, had that been her working up the courage? Or her trying to shove aside the ugliness that came with jealousy long enough to apologize?

Renri would have never approached her.

"It's okay," Renri added. She understood comparison stung. The fact she was grouped with Itachi felt almost flattering, being she wasn't at his level either. He had it much worse. The resentment. The weakness and insecurity he made others see in themselves by simply existing as he was. She had been terrified of being treated the same. That the academy had been a mistake. "I mean that," she tacked on, realizing she always came off as dismissive. "It's not a jab at you or anything. I understand, now."

"You always sound insincere." Sharpness in her glare and words, she meant it, and maybe it was true. She firmly added, "You should be upset. It doesn't make sense that you aren't."

Renri tried to keep the twitch of a smile from her face. She failed. "Our argument during the exam, you said the same thing." Bland reactions to obvious provocation, Mariko may have picked up on her apathy and resented it as a sense of superiority. "I'm just bad at talking."

"Bad at emotions."

"At performing both as expected."

Both Mariko and Aadda scoffed at that.

Mariko's attention shot to the snake, suddenly aware of how out-of-place the bright red-yellow snake was in green Konoha. She edged a step away despite the distance. Aadda remained in place, listening, but in no way invested in the conversation enough to join. The sound must have come off as a hiss. Renri had been enamored the first time she saw Aadda, let alone heard her speak; the conversation would turn to Aadda if that happened again- and the snake barely had the patience for Renri.

"That was the first time I'd seen you get upset about anything," Mariko said, pulling her attention from the snake after a scrutinizing pause. "When I threw the scroll at you."

Upset? She had been annoyed. Upset was when Mariko refused to leave when first told.

Still wary of lazy Aadda, Mariko gave a wide berth on her path to a second log across from Renri. One Renri had only dragged over to accommodate Itachi. Mariko plopped down, making herself cozy as she wiped her face with the hem of her shirt. Renri reluctantly sat back down.

She took to fiddling with her sleeve the next second.

Mariko had apologized. Renri had accepted. The conversation should be over, Mariko leaving to return to the status quo. She shouldn't be looking around the clearing at all the stuff Renri had managed to drag out over the day.

"Do you come here to train whenever you're not at the library or chasing after Uchiha?"

The mention reminded her of her screaming leg muscles. New part of the torture regiment included trying to keep up with the jerk as he quite literally ran circles around her. The route they decided, she could barely make it around once without feeling like death, meanwhile Itachi was lapping her. She could see why her taijutsu sucked.

"You never stick around after school," Mariko continued. "I've never seen you, like, out shopping or at the park or anywhere fun. Don't you do anything fun?"

It took her a moment to realize Mariko's version of shopping didn't mean going to stuffy teashops and fabric stores filled with gossiping grandmas. Her definition certainly didn't include grocery shopping. "Not really." Renri shrugged. "I like reading and training." And attempting to hand-stitch patterns like her mother had, but that was an embarrassing, useless, hobby to keep to herself. And all the grannies that called her cute at the fabric stores.

Mariko made a face. Then promptly bit back whatever knee-jerk insult sat on her tongue. She really was trying to carry on a civil conversation. Why? What did she still want?

Mariko glanced at Aadda while Renri tried to stomp out her suspicion. Mariko flinched like she'd been bitten when Aadda's tail twitched. Snakes were supposed to be scary, Renri tried to remind herself. Renri was just highly desensitized.

Quietly, in that rumor-spreading whisper Renri greatly disliked, Mariko asked, "Is it true?" She leaned closer, eyes still on Aadda and a hand cupped to hide her mouth like the snake cared what she had to say. "Is he actually a snake that took over a human body?"

"What?" Oh. Oh no. She absolutely refused to entertain this. "I…" And how disconcerting that she had to put thought into an answer! "I don't think so."

"You don't know for sure?"

"Anyone could be anything?" Renri didn't like not knowing, but she also hated rumors. No more.

Mariko seemed determined to be Renri's enemy. "Is it true you're his daughter?"

"No!" Not biologically. Maybe legally? It was a little unclear what had to be done to keep her in the village, but she assumed something more like legal guardian, not adoptive parent. Hilarious affair, apparently, but- Beside the point! She refused to think they were anything alike. "You've never even seen him before, have you?"

"Nope." Mariko looked a little too pleased for someone in striking range. It couldn't be that fun to get a reaction out of her- although it must be since everyone tried. "Everyone talks about the Legendary Sannin, but if they're so important, how come none of them are Hokage? After…" She trailed off, fingers curling into her pants leg. "After, you know, what happened," she quickly, vaguely said before running from the subject. "No one ever answers any questions about that. Even Sensei dodges it."

That was strange. All three were alive. Out of the three, Orochimaru may actually be the one in the village most often. Surely all three had been considered when picking a fourth. Yet none become the fourth. None became the fifth, third reinstated instead.

"No more rumors," Renri mumbled, afraid to dig too deep. She had enough issues through proximity.

"Can't blame anyone for being curious and asking you," Mariko shot back with a huff. "You're not as scary."

She was any amount of scary? Interesting. Yet…

Mariko wanted something. Renri felt her patience thinning. "Why are you still here?"

"Because I can be!" Another snap and immediate cut, Mariko sheepishly looked to the ground. "I…" An exasperated sigh, a stomp of her foot, and she finally spat out, "I wanted to ask you to help me with some ninjutsu stuff."

"But you're the best in class?"

"And you're better!"

Renri had to resist a twitch of a smile, Mariko more volatile than her paper bombs. She looked ready to jump up and deck Renri in the face, being she had nothing to throw. Renri figured she would have been pelted by the nearest book if they were sitting in class. She knew Mariko wanted something.

"Your control is better than mine," Mariko mumbled, pride wounded, quick to cover insecurity with insult. "I don't get why you suck at medical ninjutsu. You could see teacher die a little on the inside when she was picking fish guts out of her hair."

Wounded pride, Renri kept her comments to herself. Perfect scores on written tests meant nothing when she failed practical use. Every. Time. Another layer to the disappointment… He had said that another capable medic would have been useful. Rubbed salt right into the wound as he so enjoyed doing. It also made her want to try harder despite having no talent in it. Running in a vicious cycle of doubt… He was good at making her do that.

"We can practice during break time," Mariko continued, oblivious. "Or after school. You're not always following Uchiha around."

She got it. "You don't like him." Decidedly not a question.

"I don't get why anyone would." Decidedly not a question, answered.

Her tone slipped, heat burning, "He's nice."

"Of course, you do. You're both overachieving, stuck-up weirdos that-"

Mariko flinched.

Aadda snapped her head around.

Renri swallowed the emotion, trying to ease the sharp glare she aimed at Mariko. One more insult towards Itachi- She unclenched her jaw. Relaxed her grip on the kunai forgotten in her hand. Wide eyes reflecting intimidation, Renri forced her attention elsewhere.

"He's my friend," she said, flat voice a final warning. Mariko could say whatever she wanted about Renri. She didn't get to insult Itachi behind his back and in front of her.

Aadda let out a long hiss. A sigh. Overdramatic. A warning. Watch your temper.

"Sorry. I didn't… I shouldn't have said that." Mariko awkwardly chewed on her lip, stubborn as ever. "So, what do you think? If it doesn't work, we go back to ignoring each other."

"Why?" They could barely hold a productive conversation. Training together? What made her suck up her pride enough to even ask? "You clearly dislike me." And the feeling may be returned if she kept pushing.

Taken aback, Mariko snapped her mouth closed when she found absolutely nothing beyond insults. Moments passed. Renri was losing interest.

Eyes shifting to her hands folded in her lap, "Because I'm not going to get better alone," Mariko quietly admitted. "I… I see that I need to work harder. Next year, the year after, I'm not going to be able to keep up. Not when so many others have their shinobi parents and relatives training them."

She… didn't?

Renri fiddled with the kunai.

That… made sense. Mariko shouted insecurity at the Uchiha clan prodigy and at the snake Sannin's pet. Again and again, she asserted that she had earned her grade herself. Were her parents not shinobi? Dead? Renri couldn't even remember her last name. She knew incredibly little about her classmates outside of the classroom.

She was too afraid to answer questions in return.

"I'll do whatever is needed to protect the village." Resolute, spoken to herself more than Renri, Mariko glared into the distance. "I'll be as good of a medic as Tsunade-hime, but I won't abandon the village."

Renri accidentally poked the kunai into her finger. A drop of blood caught in the groove. Ah.

"Fine."

Mariko blinked. "Seriously?"

"If you help me with taijutsu." She could use someone besides Itachi before her confidence finished dying. Mariko had boasted, and now she could prove it. Sensei's matchups were far from random. He never had them spar, likely due to Mariko's open declaration of war, but they shared a number of opponents. "If either of us find the arrangement unhelpful, we stop."

Mariko stood, hands on her hips, smug look on her face like she had negotiated a difficult deal. "That works." She was just lucky Renri was curious and had a use for her. Because she doubted Mariko would just ignore her if she said no. "I'll kick the snot out of you any time you want." Tiring. But said with an edge of humor, that may just be Mariko's version of a friendly jab. Stance shifting, arms crossed over her chest, Mariko's eyes darted to the side. "And, um, thanks." Another glimpse of sincerity, Renri didn't understand. "For the exam and agreeing. See you tomorrow!"

Mariko left no room for Renri to argue or come to her senses. She sidestepped Aadda before running off into the trees, a wave over her shoulder, smile still beaming, as she disappeared from sight.

Renri grabbed her bag. A glance at her finger and kunai… Good. Not dried. She fished out a notebook, opening it to a random page.

"You're wasting your time," Aadda huffed, not bothering to look Renri's direction.

Renri hummed, more interested in her project. Tip of the kunai to paper, gentle pressure not to cut through, she made a line. Rather clean and neat, for blood and metal. Almost like a dip pen.

She popped her bleeding finger into her mouth. Shouldn't be using fingertips though.

"I'm just curious," she answered. The taste of blood faded quickly.

As she said, if it proved unproductive, then they'd stop. If she wasn't lying, even then Renri would gain something: Mariko leaving her alone. And, well, she was curious now.

After all, she'd learned friendship required mutual effort. This seemed like a riskless opportunity to test that.