Ties That Bind (Lexandria & King Serperior)

[King Serperior]

Ties that Bind
^{Lexandria and King Serperior}


Table of Contents
Character Refrence
Prologue:  First Friend

[King Serperior]

Character Quick Reference

Kino Isako (KS's Character)

Age: 9
Gender: Male
Clan:  Puppet Ninja
Rank: None yet
Eyes: Slightly narrow, amber eyes ringed with grey
Hair: A blonde so pale that it appears almost white, cut short and ragged in a way that it looks natural.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Has a Kanji-like tattoo mark above his right eye meaning "Sacrifice."

Midori Yuhara

Age: 9
Gender: Female
Clan:  None
Rank: None yet
Eyes: Large, wide, and gray in color
Hair: Cut short in a haphazard and choppy style, black in color
Distinguishing Characteristics: None

[King Serperior]

Prolog: First Friend

"....and this one?" asked the woman as she pointed at a bright green plant with thin, pointed leaves that turned red about halfway up and then black at the very tips.

Kino smiled confidently, "Easy!  Dragonroot.  Chewing on the leaves after boiling them for ten minutes can help keep up a shinobi's concentration for extended periods of time.  Crushing the leaves into paste also soothes burns.  However, one shouldn't touch the root with bare hands as the root can cause severe skin irritation."

The woman smiled and nodded, "Great job.  I'm so proud of you, Kino.  You described the effects of the Dragonroot's specific parts.  However, you misidentified the plant before you.  At first glance, this does look like Dragonroot, but if you look more closely, you'll notice a faint, cloying, sweet scent.  Dragonroot doesn't have that.  The plant here is actually a cousin to it called Drakestem.  If you chewed on these leaves, you would quickly discover that it has the effect of causing numbness.  Crushing those leaves into paste would also give that same feeling.  The root, however, is full of nutrients if cut and cleaned correctly.  Look carefully at the base of each stem and you'll see these little thorns.  They are easy to miss."

And so it was.  Drakestem instead of Dragonroot.  How could he have missed such an important difference?!?  Kino stood there mentally kicking himself.  He knew the differences, but he had been far too eager to finish his mother's weekly lessons so he could go out and explore the village.  That frustration must have shown on his face as the woman laughed, "Okay, I'll let you off this time, Kino, but you have to do better next time.  Before you know it, you will be enrolling into the Academy, so you can't afford to make mistakes.  Next week, we'll be learning about some of the most valuable healing plants.  Now, run along and have some fun, okay?  Young men like yourself should enjoy playing as much as you can."

Kino smiled and stood up, happy to finally be done, "Thanks, Mom!"  He turned and began running out of the greenhouse, one of several located behind his family's home.  As he ran out, he heard his mother's voice call out behind him, "Be careful!  And hurry home before dark!"

____ ___ __ _

Once Kino had escaped the botany lessons of the week, he made a beeline straight to his room.  At nine years of age, he was finally starting to receive the basic training that all ninja of the Puppet Clan received.  He'd just turned nine around five months ago and just three months ago, he was able to manifest his first chakra string.  From there, he was able to spend the next weeks after practicing to form as many strings as he had fingers.  As of now, he was only able to form six strings, but he was working on forming the seventh!

As soon as he was able to form the first five, he'd been given a special training puppet by his father, who was an ambassador from Sunagakure that now lived in Konohagakure.  This puppet was small, only about a foot tall, and was very simple in design.  It had no weapons, no tricks, no modifications of any kind.  The head was smooth and where the face would have been, there was the painted symbol of the village hidden in the sand.

In any event, this little training puppet was Kino's most prized possession and one he practiced with often.  The arms and legs weren't nearly as articulated as those of the kind used by full-fledged Puppet Ninja, but it was better than nothing.  He'd been practicing with it for a little over a week now, trying to strengthen the seventh string so he could begin working on the eighth.  It was hard work, but he was determined that he would be the best Puppet Ninja, better even than his Uncle Kankuro!

So, without wasting a beat, he attached the puppet to the strap that it came with and slung it over his shoulder before rushing out and into the village proper.

____ ___ __ _


Kino had a little spending money, but wasn't sure what he wanted to do with it yet.  He'd thought about perhaps getting some paints and coloring the puppet to make it look better, but he wasn't sure his dad would approve of that.  No, for now, it would be best to keep it how it was.  In the meantime, he'd just discovered a nice, quiet place a few days ago.  It was perfect for practice and there was a large tree there too!

As he ran through the streets, dodging and weaving around the people going on their daily lives, no one really questioned seeing the pale-haired boy with the puppet on his back.  He'd been born there in the village nine years previously and was, by now, a rather common sight.  Most of the adults didn't seem to mind him and accepted the fact.  After all, Kino's father was an ambassador who was there to keep the peace between the villages and his mother was a kind healer.  The other kids about his age, however, were another story.  For the most part, they always seemed to exclude him from their games or find ways to avoid him.  That wasn't to say that this was always going to be the case, but that was how it was now.

So, that's why Kino found himself coming to a halt in the little, quiet clearing that always always seemed to be empty.  It was a little off the beaten path with soft, green grass and a thin walkway made of sanded stone leading to a couple of benches under a tree.  Only once did he find an old woman there, resting, so that day he'd left the area alone.  She wasn't there now, though, so he'd have some fun.

Kino slid the small puppet off his shoulder and detached it from the strap.  Just as he was about to attach his chakra strings to it, he heard a faint mewling sound from above.  Leaving the training puppet sitting on the ground, he slowly walked towards the tree and looked up.  Sure enough, there was a small cat in the crook of a branch about ten feet up.  He wasn't sure he could quite climb the tree though, so he tried to see if he could coax it down by calling it.

So focused on the small cat, he wouldn't have noticed anyone coming into the little area unless they called out or were almost standing next to him....

[Lexandria]

“Midori.. you should go outside to play. Don’t you want to make new friends?” Slowly, the small girl tilted her head to look up at the woman speaking, her fingers stilling from the distraction she’d been making for Sunako while practicing her calligraphy. The small ball of fur that would one day, theoretically, become a cat needed to be distracted or she’d start playing with the brush again. Already there were a few partial kitten-prints on her practice sheet.

The woman, Uncle Kanetaro’s wife Jinmi, waited a beat, the moment was growing more and more awkward but Midori couldn’t quite decide how she was supposed to respond, before she continued, “I know you miss your Father, but you do need friends your own age.”

Father used to say that, too, every time he would leave her at a playground while he went to go work. But approaching the other kids when they were rowdy and loud and did not want to welcome someone new was difficult, so mostly she had just waited for Father to return. If she was good and patient, maybe Father would decide that she was not such a bother and when he came back, she could go with him again. Like before. Like how it was supposed to be.

“…yes, Miss Jinmi.” she finally spoke, her voice soft as she scooped up Sunako before she managed to stick her paw in the ink again, though she’d managed to bat the brush so that it spun around, dribbling an odd spiraling circle all over her practice sheet. Kitten in one hand and brush in the other, Midori took them both to the sink. The brush was washed, the kitten was contained, and soon her mess was sorted out and put away.

And maybe she’d taken a bit longer than necessary to do it. Maybe she hoped that Miss Jinmi would forget, though that was unlikely. Either way, though, Midori emerged from the washroom to find Miss Jinmi waiting for her, a small sack in her possession that was quickly handed over, “I made you a snack; just make sure you get back when it starts getting dark. If you get lost, ask one of the shinobi to bring you either here to Civilian District B, or to the East Market District, which is where Kanetaro’s shop is. Can you find your way back if they bring you here?”

Hesitantly, a small hand reached out to take the bag from Miss Jinmi as Midori found herself nodding. Soon Uncle Kanetaro’s wife had lead her outside, “Now, that way” she pointed, “Is a playground, which is a good place to start, right? You should leave Sunako with me, though, she’s very small and—“

Instantly, as the woman reached for the kitten, Midori stepped back out of her reach, holding the little purring furball closer to her chest, “Sunako can come with me. I don’t want her to feel unwanted because she is left behind.”

That brought Miss Jinmi to a stop, and she nodded, suddenly looking sort of sad, for all the woman was very forcefully friendly since Father had left.

“Okay Midori. You don’t have to stay out until dusk, but please try to make a friend. You can stay home all day tomorrow”

Nodding again, Midori took her snack and kitten and set off down the street, hoping the playground would be empty.

____ ___ __ _

The playground was full of people, lots of kids were running around and shrieking and throwing things and yelling and laughing and…

Well, it was just far too much.

After about ten minutes of trying to figure out how she could meet someone, or even where she could just sit alone by herself, Midori decided this was not a good place. Not for her, anyway, so, after much debate about doing what  Miss Jinmi said and going over her words, Midori moved on down the street. After all, the woman hadn’t said she had to stay at the park, just that it was a good place to start. And it took a lot of walking until there were much fewer people around, and no playground either, but that was okay. There really were too many kids around places like those. It was too loud. Too unpredictable.

So, she moved away from the civilian districts, and away from most busy streets, more where there were trees and less and less people. By this point, Sunako was awake and trying to crawl up to her shoulder, but every time the kitten got up there and Midori let go, the little thing would have the worst time holding on, even with her tiny needle-like claws.

“Sunako, I don’t think you’re very good at hanging on yet. But we can practice, you’ll get good at it soon.”

Talking to the kitten was easy, and true to her word, Midori let the little thing keep trying to hang on, even if she kept her hand ready to catch her every time she wobbled on her perch.

Finally, she found a good, quiet place to be alone. There was a tree, and behind it she could see some benches and a path. Maybe she could sit there and just wait for it to get late enough to walk back? And play with Sunako, of course. The kitten needed lots of attention, after all.

As she approached the tree, though, Sunako became rather agitated, tilting her head back with a soft “Maaah? Mruu!” and wiggling around as she got nearer to the tree.

“Sunako, I don’t think you’re big enough to climb that. You can’t even climb me yet, and I’m holding you.”

“Mu?”

It was then that she heard an answering mewl, louder than Sunako had ever made before, but still rather soft. Tilting her own head back, Midori searched the branches, moving around the tree and not really paying any attention except upward. For all she wasn’t paying attention, it still surprised her when she ran into something, or someone, with a soft yelp and a thump as her rear impacted with the ground once she lost her balance and toppled over.

“Oh! I’m sorry!”

“Meuuuh!” Midori held out the sand-colored kitten to inspect to see if she’d come to harm from the fall, even though she’d been holding her securely, but mostly Sunako was just trying to climb up her arm again.

There was a boy under the tree with her, though, and Midori wasn’t sure what to do now that there was someone else here. “Umm… is that your kitten?” she looked up again while remaining sitting where she’d fallen, “I… think they look stuck? Do you think maybe we should get them down? Do you want help?” If Sunako were stuck in that tree, Midori knew, for sure, that she would want help from anyone willing to give it…

[King Serperior]

Kino stood under the tree, looking up at the orange furred cat in the branches above.  It wasn't quite full grown, but it also wasn't quite a kitten either.  Who's cat was it?  Or was it a stray?  Kino never had a pet before, but he wasn't sure just what he would do with one.  Between his training to become the best puppet ninja and his mother's teaching him about various plants and weeds so he could identify helpful and harmful ones, he barely had time to play, let alone take care of one.

The nine-year-old boy's hand rose to his chin in a similar fashion to his father when he was thinking.  There had to be an easy way to get the cat down.  He was sure that simply calling out to it wouldn't work.  Perhaps he should use his training pup....

About that time, something bumped right into Kino!  Whatever it was came from the side and behind, his blind spot due to him looking up and being focused on the little, furry animal in the tree.  Kino was staggered and fell to one knee, his numerous weeks of practice keeping him from sprawling prone on the ground.  Then again, what hit him wasn't very big nor very fast moving, so that attributed a lot to his successful save.

“Oh! I’m sorry!”

Kino blinked for a moment before he turned to face what ran into him.  That was a girl's voice!  What was a girl doing out here?  He thought that this was too far away from where most of the girls preferred to play.  At least a few streets from the usual places anyway.

The pale-haired boy stood up and looked down at the girl sitting there.  About that moment was when he noticed the small, fuzzy thing she was trying to hold onto.  It was a tan kitten, smaller than the one in the tree.  It appeared to be squirming a lot, trying to climb the girl's shirt.  The girl didn't seem to notice that much and seemed to be focused on the cat in the tree.

She asked if it was his kitten, but Kino shook his head, "Not mine.  Might be someone else's though.  I didn't have a good look at it before you ran into me."  He didn't speak like he was angry, but he did raise a questioning eyebrow like his mother often did.  The girl then asked if the cat was stuck, if they should get it down, and if he needed any help.

Kino tilted his head to the side before reaching his hand down, "It sounds like the cat's stuck.  No idea for how long though.  I was just thinking of ways to try and get it down before you came here.  If you're offering to help, maybe the two of us could do it.  But, don't you think you should get up first?"  He wiggled his offered hand as emphasis on the last part.  If she accepted, he'd help her get onto her feet again.  If not and he saw her getting up on her own, he'd simply shrug and go back to the tree.  In any case, once she was up, he'd ask, "Ever got a cat from a tree before?  It's pretty high up, but at least it's not so high that it would be too dangerous to climb."

He kicked at a small rock, skipping it along the ground, "If only I could walk up the side of a tree like my dad can.  It would be so easy to get it down...."

Kino shook his head and glanced over at her.  The girl was about his height.  He couldn't tell what clan she might be from, but she had pupils, so she wasn't one of the Hyūgas, one of the strongest clans in Konohagakure.  In any case, he then said, "I'm Isako Kino, but you can just call me Kino.  How about you?"  He couldn't just keep calling her 'girl' in his head, so asking her name was the most logical solution.

[Lexandria]

Oh no, she had hit that boy!

Sometimes, the kids she had seen in playgrounds, those visited while traveling with Father, anyway, didn’t react well to being run into. So, Midori stayed on the ground even when the boy stood back up, really wanting to cause the least amount of trouble possible. That, and Sunako needed to get situated first before she could hoist herself back up to her feet, anyway. Not that the kitten was doing that great a job at that, since she couldn’t seem to decide if she wanted to climb up Midori’s shirt or jump into the grass. And climbing her shirt was fine, but there was no way Midori was going to let the tiny kitten into the grass to fend for herself. She was too little.

Also, focusing on Sunako meant she didn’t have to look at the boy she’d run into, since that would make her nervous. Except when he spoke, she looked his way automatically. Just in time to see his expression, which was… not pleased, she didn’t think.

"Not mine.  Might be someone else's though.  I didn't have a good look at it before you ran into me." 

“I.. I wasn’t watching where I was going… I’m sorry. I was looking at the cat… not.. not my cat. But the one that is stuck…” and she stayed sitting down, perhaps holding Sunako a bit more securely to herself as she began to feel more anxious. Right up until he offered his hand as if to help her up.

She did take a moment to decide to do so, but did shyly reach out to take his hand and hoist herself up. It was easier to keep Sunako stable that way, too.

“Thank you” It was very nice of him to help her. And, also, he didn’t seem quite so.. intense as the children in the park were.

"Ever got a cat from a tree before?  It's pretty high up, but at least it's not so high that it would be too dangerous to climb.”

Midori shook her head, eyeing the tree a bit, “I’ve climbed a tree before: Father taught me how.” he had said it was incase she needed to get somewhere safe or hide, but nothing bad had ever happened while they were traveling. Midori eyed the tree again. She’d need something to stand on to get tall enough to get a good hold on one of the branches, though: it was wide enough she’d have trouble hanging on to only the trunk. When he spoke of his dad climbing a tree, she looked back over at him curiously, “like shinobi can do?” she did not know how to climb a tree like that, though.

"I'm Isako Kino, but you can just call me Kino.  How about you?”

“Oh! I’m sorry, it was very rude of me not to introduce myself.” Father had been clear about that: it was polite to introduce oneself to other people you want good relations with. “I am Yuhara Midori. Um… I think maybe I can climb to the cat, but I need something to stand on because I am too short to reach the lowest branch. Um… also, I worry that Sunako will get hurt if I fall… And I do not want to take her into the tree with me, or for her to get lost if I set her down. Can you climb trees?” It was easier to focus on the problem of the cat in the tree than to worry about how poorly she was doing interacting with someone her own age. Talking with adults was so much easier…

[King Serperior]

It turned out that the reason the girl had run into him was because she had been too busy looking up at the cat in the tree.  Kino supposed that it wasn't too big a deal since he had also been preoccupied looking up at it.  His guard had been let down and his field of vision was too narrow.  It meant that he'd missed someone coming up from behind him and, just like that, he could have been attacked!  Kino was lucky that this time it was just someone bumping into him.  This meant that he needed to work harder so that when he enrolled in the Academy in a couple more years that he wouldn't be attacked from behind.

After he helped her to her feet like his mother taught him, she thanked him, to which he nodded.  It was an important rule, after all, being nice to girls.  Well, be nice to them if you're not fighting them.  Luckily for the girl, they weren't fighting now.

When he asked if she had ever gotten a cat from a tree, she shook her head, but did say that her father taught her how to climb.  Kino nodded approvingly.  That was a good first step.  He could climb trees as well, but it was much slower than how a trained, skilled ninja could.  When he mentioned his dad walking up a tree, she asked if he meant like shinobi.  Kino nodded, "Yeah.  Dad's well respected and was given the opportunity to move here before I was born to work as an abassa-something.  Someone who helps the Village hidden in the leaf and the Village hidden in the sand work better together.....or something like that.  Dad went on a long explanation, but I wasn't really paying attention."

Kino's pale cheeks colored faintly at that as he avoided eye contact, "Ah, but my mom can also climb trees like that.  She was, and still is, a Medical-nin.  We live on the edge of the Nara Clan's forest where she keeps various plants for medicinal purposes.  We're on decent relations with the Nara Clan because she provides treatment at reduced prices in return for being allowed to cultivate the plants on a portion of the forest."

After he introduced himself, the girl apologized yet again and said her name was Yuhara Midori.  Kino cocked his head to the side when he looked at her, "You apologize a lot, don't you?  Well, in any case, good to meet you, Midori-chan."

After the introduction, she started talking about how she could climb the tree, but she was too short and too worried at the small kitten she carried around.  Then, Midori asked him if he could climb.

"Ah...yeah, I can climb.  I mean, I'm not the greatest and I'm not any taller than you are.  Maybe I can hold onto your kitten and you climb on my shoulders?  I think you might be able to reach the lowest branch like that.  The branch with the trapped cat is in arms' reach from there.  I think I can catch you if you should fall though."

[Lexandria]

“Um… do you mean ambassador?” Midori offered softly as the boy, Kino, began to talk about his father. As she understood it, an ambassador was like a trader, except they traded peace and understanding between two places, rather than goods and services. That was how Father put it, anyway, when he explained it.

But the boy went on to talk about his mother next, and about where they lived and what his parents did. Was that part of introducing herself? Should she do it too, then? Father hadn’t said about that, but… maybe that was normal? Reciprocation was a good thing, it was what friends did, she thought. So, Midori reasoned, she should try it too.

”You apologize a lot, don’t you? Well, in any case, good to meet you, Midori-chan.”

“U-uhhm, yes? It is good to apologize when you have wronged another. I did not mean to run into you, but I did. And then I was rude to not introduce myself… It is good to meet you too Kino-kun. My… um… I am living with my Uncle and his wife in Civilian District B. Uncle Kanetaro has a shop.. he is a merchant.”

But they moved on to other things, now. Mostly about the problem of the almost-cat in the tree. At first, Midori thought maybe she could help Kino into the tree without putting Sunako down, but he seemed to have a different idea. And it made her nervous, the thought of leaving Sunako with him. What if he took her? But… But he was right that it would be safer if she left the kitten with him, and she climbed up the tree. Especially if he said he wasn’t very good at it. She wasn’t great either, but Father had made her practice quite a bit, until he was confident she could get to safety if she needed to.

“I… o-okay. Sunako is very small, she does not know how to keep her claws in. I am sorry if she pokes you with them.. she does not mean it.” after another moment of hesitation, the small girl held the kitten out towards him. For her part, Sunako made a softly inquisitive sound and began squirming to try to climb back towards Midori, not particularly caring for being held in the air as she had to be in order to be passed over to the boy.

“How… umm… how should I climb to your shoulders?” it seemed really weird to just.. climb up his back like he was a rock or something…

[King Serperior]

“Um… do you mean ambassador?” asked Midori while Kino's face was scrunched up trying to remember the exact word.  When she said it, he pounded his fist into his palm with a low smacking sound, "That's it!  I can never remember how that word goes."

After that, Midori spoke about she lived with her uncle and that he was a merchant.  Kino wasn't sure he'd been to District B before.  Most of the time, he was running around the village's outskirts and training.  Well, he considered it training anyway.  His parents mostly thought it was playing.  However, he did get his own training from them when they had the time, but it was pretty much only learning the basics.  His mother always liked to add in a surprise or two during his studies of the various herbs.  Meanwhile, his father had stated that until he mastered the most basic of training puppets, his training in the Puppet Arts could not proceed any further.

Kino tilted his head, "A shop?  What kind?"

Once she'd answered, they turned back to the stuck cat in the tree.  Eventually, Midori agreed to let Kino hold the kitten she held close to her and held it out to him.  He carefully took the squirming ball of fur and held it at arms length.

"Easy there, kitten.  I'll give you back to Midori-chan just as soon as we get this other cat out of the tree.  Can you wait a little bit?"  Kino tried to speak gently, but the kitten seemed more focused on getting back to the girl.  However, the squirming eased, if only just very slightly.  That was when Mirdori spoke.

“How… umm… how should I climb to your shoulders?”

Kino looked back towards her, "Oh, ah, let me crouch down under that lower limb.  You can then climb on my back and hold on carefully.  I'll slowly stand and then you can climb onto my shoulders.  I think that you can reach that limb from there.  What do you think?"

Kino obviously thought it was a good idea.  Midori was likely a bit lighter than he was, so it made perfect sense.  In fact, he went ahead and crouched down under the limb, carefully holding the little cat in his hands.  He jerked his head slightly, "Well, come on.  Who knows if or when that cat will get down if we don't help it, right?"

[Lexandria]

Midori jumped and barely stifled a yelp as Kino struck his palm with his fist, her eyes wide for just a moment, and his exclamation startled her just as much, if not more. He was a very passionately energetic boy, which made the small girl nervous. The other kids were like that too sometimes: very rambunctious and difficult to interact with. Mostly he seemed sort of nice, but that had her worrying that, maybe, she had read him wrong earlier.

“It’s a big word… hard to say.” Midori nodded when he said he could never remember the word.

”A shop? What kind?”

“Umm… mostly they sell goods that Father brings from other villages, so lots of different things. Father and I were in Sunagakure last, so there were lots of spices and some pottery, some books, but also before that we were at a village that specialized in tea, so Father traded some fancy calligraphy scrolls for the tea, and we brought some of that too. It is lots of different things that we—“ she paused a moment, trailing off before correcting herself, “It is lots of different things that Father gets. I do not go with him any more. Uncle Kanetaro also has other traders he gets goods from, I think, because there is more in the shop than what we— than what Father brings. Uncle Kanetaro is good at knowing how to get the thing that someone is looking for, even if sometimes it takes a while to get it. He sells to other shops too, I think, when they are looking for something, or helps them to get what they need, anyway. Father calls it ‘being a good Middle-man?’”

But his attention returned to the kitten in the tree, and Midori found herself worrying for it more. But they seemed to have an okay plan to go about it, and she’d reluctantly handed Sunako over to the boy, watching him hold the small kitten awkwardly.

“Her name is Sunako… um… she likes to be held close to your chest, and not so much out like you have her.” Still, though, the kitten seemed to mostly want to get back to her.

He went over how to get on his shoulders, and she nodded a little, a bit worried that they might fall. But if she could climb a tree, she could climb a person, right? Maybe? “Uhmm… okay. Let me know if you think you might fall? That way I can get down and maybe we both won’t end up on the ground…” With that, he crouched down like he said he would, and told her to hurry. Carefully, Midori climbed onto his back holding onto his shoulders and wrapping her legs around his middle so he could stand up without having to support her. Once he stood, she planned to hoist herself up to sit on his shoulders, then grab the low branch and pull herself up that way. The last thing she wanted was to have to stand on his shoulders: that seemed like that would hurt a lot…