"Do not be afraid; our fate

Cannot be taken from us; it is a gift."

― Dante Alighieri, Inferno

In the mountains the proud Yamanaka clan lives quietly…at least they usually do. Today, the peace of the clan home is disturbed by ceiling shaking screams of pain. Curses fly wildly, most pertaining to castration of a particular husband of hers...anyone who could here the words coming from the Yamanaka's birthing room would never believe her to be the quiet, demure housewife they knew…or, well that was who they thought she was anyways. Everyone except her husband of course—he knew the truth. She was headstrong, with a mean slap and a commanding presence over him…and he loved her more than anything. And now he would, hopefully, have a child exactly like her which he could cherish just as much.

He, Inoichi Yamanaka, was going to be a father…and he was terrified.

Terrified that she would die, terrified that his child might die, terrified of a future without either of them. They had tried for so long, had tried to have a child, and each time…each time they had died. Four times now over the past seven years, and none of his children had lived. But his wife was strong, and this time…this time he just had this feeling. Like everything would be okay.

Or at least that was what he'd been telling himself repeatedly for the last three hours he'd stood beside the door to the birthing room.

He closed his green eyes and swallowed heavily as another scream erupted from behind the sliding screen door of which he leaned against. Clenching the cloth of the black Hakama he wore, he told himself to resist the urge to peek inside the room…he had a feeling he'd be irreparably scarred if he did that.

An even louder, straining, scream almost made him reconsider this but then…then there was silence.

His eyes snapped open and he quickly rose from his place beside the door, his legs aching from the long period of time spent in the traditional seiza. He didn't have to wait long for the door to slide open, and then there in front of him stood the midwife and his long time friend, Tsunade. She looked startled that he was still there, directly outside the room, but then her eyes warmed and she quickly bowed as she made way for him. He barely paid her a glance before he was rushing past her to crowd the bed his wife lay in.

"Inoichi! Give her some space; she just went through three hours of labor for Kami's sake!" Tsunade huffed in annoyance.

But Inoichi couldn't hear her. All he could see was the beautiful sight of his wife, glowing and with a tired but amazed smile on her face, holding his newly born child. He put a shaking hand on the babies small head, laughing in unadulterated joy as the child's blue eyes—as blue as her mother's; so strong, beautiful, alive—opened to look straight up at him. His wife's head leaned against his shoulder as tears silently made their way down her face, identical to his own.

"Inoichi…" He looked towards his wife, kissing her cheek, her forehead, her smiling lips, "It's a girl…"

She looked a little hesitant when she told him, but he was quick to assuage her fears with more kisses. "A girl…a beautiful perfect little girl!"

"But…but Inoichi…I may not have another child…what about an heir? What about the clan?"

He shushed her as he pressed his forehead to hers, "I don't need my child to be a boy to love it. She will be as cunning and strong as her mother…that is all I need."

She wanted to say more, wanted to voice all her fears for her child's future…but she couldn't find in within herself to do anything except revel in this happiness she felt.

Four children. Four children dead and buried and—and now…finally finally they had a child—a perfect beautiful child.

The midwife Tsunade—the best in the land of fire, and friend to Inoichi for as longer than he could remember—smiled at the couple from the doorway. She nearly felt tears of her own form at the scene, wishing that she too could find such happiness again one day…

"Hiromi! Where are you—wait, it's much too soon to be—!"

"Inoichi, enough! It's been two weeks since I had our child, I'm fine! And besides, I've been stuck in this place since I was seven months pregnant because you wouldn't let me leave! I can't spend another minute in this household, I have to do something…or I swear husband I will go crazy. And you won't like it…trust me."

"But what about Ino? What if she gets hungry or…or has to—oh kami—what if she well…you know…"

"Husband…are you seriously telling me you're scared of changing a diaper?"

"No! No…well…well maybe a little…"

She sighed. She really had just wanted a little time to herself but…Ino really wasn't old enough to—no! No she was getting out of this house dammit!

"Hiromi? Hiromi, what are you…wait, you can't take her with you!"

"…and why not?"

"…"

"…Well?"

"…"

Sigh…

"…I'm leaving. And stop being so overprotective!"

The streets were filled with vendors already, despite the early hour, but the crowd was exactly what Hiromi wanted. She needed the street dust in her eyes, the smell of cooking food (not made by her for once) wafting from outdoor ramen shops, the loud bartering at every stall and general feel of activity. She'd been sitting around doing nothing for too long, and she'd been feeling increasingly anxious to get to the market and see her friend.

Ino gurgled on her shoulder, watching with wide eyed wonder at all the colors and sounds and smells of the market place. She smiled at passer-byers, who in turn smiled back with little waves or a bow before going back to selling their wares. Some stopped to congratulate her, ask about her health and her child's health. They complimented and compliment—"Such a beautiful girl, just like her mother. And that smile." "She has Lord Yamanaka's smile, she does. She'll make a fine heir one day, no doubt."—and Hiromi basked in pride for her Ino. Her worries weren't assuaged completely however…just because she had a beautiful healthy child—with a smile that lit up a room, and keen intelligence already appearing in her eyes—did not mean that the elders of the clan would except her as easily as the towns people did. A woman heir was extremely rare, and such a path would not be easy for their daughter if she decided to take it—and Hiromi would make sure she had a say in the matter; they weren't going to force their daughter into anything without her first knowing the consequences—and even if she did become heir…well she would definitely be met with a lot of opposition. Their family had always had a foot into military affairs, the heir especially—usually as a high ranking Samurai in the Imperial army, as Inoichi was and his father and grandfather before him—and with a female heir…well, it was impossible for Ino to become a samurai. It was taboo. Forbidden.

Females were allowed three distinct professions; Medical, Merchant, and 'Entertainment.' To be the head of a house hold was one thing…but to be a warrior as well? No. No, it would never happen. It was against the law, and if she was found out…

Death.

It was what she feared most of all in her life. To lose another child…she wasn't sure if she could take it.

"Hiromi-sama! It's good to see you out of the house again, it's been too long!" The call brought the woman out of her thoughts to realize she'd stopped at a little display of Kanzashi. She smiled immediately at the dark pink haired woman who'd called out to her."

"Naomi-chan." She grabbed the now standing woman in front of her in greeting. "It's so good to see you."

They shared a warm familiar look before Hiromi's eyes glance to her back, meeting the curious green eyes of gurgling baby. "Hello there! Well, aren't you just a cutie!"

Naomi giggled but it seemed sadder than it usually did, looking over her friends shoulder as well. "I heard you had a daughter as well, Hiromi-sama. Just two weeks ago and already out in the markets again?"

Hiromi scoffed, "You too? Two weeks is plenty enough time to recover. Besides, Inoichi would barely let me out of the house for anything other than the simplest of errands for three months before I went into labor! Ugh, I felt like a caged bird."

"Hiromi-sama, you know he was only thinking of your and the child's health. Don't be too hard on him…most husbands wouldn't take the time to care so much…"

"…Yes. Yes, of course I know that Naomi-chan. I'm sorry." She swallowed at that, feeling terrible now. She had no right to complain in front of this woman—even if it was just in a teasing way—that had gone through so much more than her. She'd known her for several years now, and was reminded every time they met of how lucky she had gotten when she married an honest, loyal, and loving man such as Inoichi. If fates had been different…she wasn't sure she would have the courage to be as strong as Naomi Haruno was.

"There's nothing to apologize for Hiromi-sama, and—If it means anything—I'm glad to see you here again; and not just because you are my wealthiest customer either." She gave a laugh and squeezed her friend's hands with a strength that betrayed her fragile appearance. "I've missed you, Hiromi-sama…"

She'd missed her as well. Even if the weekly visits were the only times they saw each other, she'd missed the easy camaraderie they'd shared at those times and the little jokes about life and marriage had given her a sense of friendship she hadn't had since a child.

"I've missed you too. Even with as wonderful a husband as Inoichi is, he isn't a woman who I can talk to about…well, woman things." They shared a laugh at the memories of Inoichi's quick escapes from the Kanzashi stall whenever he and his wife stopped at it, terrified of getting stuck there listening to them 'prattle on about flowers and hair-pins and the newest promiscuous love triangles in the neighborhood' as he liked to say.

Finally, they separated and Naomi went to sit behind her laid out display as Hiromi took a look. Handmade silk flowers stitched into perfect chrysanthemum, plum and Sakura petals or decorative maple leaves with delicate silver loops curving through them. Dangling little blossoms from ornate blooming flowers trailing nearly 20 inches down, or a toothed comb heaped with red ochre flowers and embroidered with gold silk and one inlaid pearl white bead. Maybe a dozen Kanzashi were arranged neatly on the covered ground where she sold her wares, all neatly made and perfectly beautiful. Naomi was one of the best Kanzashi makers in the Land of Fire and, if not for her husband and his constant gambling and prostitutes and general stupidity for anything having to do with economics, then she may have been as rich—if not richer—than the Yamanaka clan.

She trailed her finder tips along the five tiny metal bells that hung from the dangling lines of pale peach and pink petals of one particular Kanzashi. "Is this a new one?"

Naomi looked surprised for a moment, but hid it quickly, "Yes. In fact, I just put that one out today; only minutes before your arrival."

"It's beautiful…"

"It's the second one I've made, actually." She said, gaining Hiromi's attention, "The first was for my daughter, but then it came out so beautifully I decided to make another one that was similar."

"Similar but not the same?"

Naomi nodded, and pulled a long box from the cloth bag beside her. She set it next to the Kanzashi Hiromi had admired, opening it to reveal a slightly differently colored one but of similar design and beauty.

"I keep it with me at all times now. I don't want my Husband selling it in one his gambling sprees. It was made for her, my daughter, and I want it to stay that way. And well…the reason I made the second one was so he wouldn't notice this one missing but…well, that's really only what I told myself afterwards."

"What do you mean?"

"I…don't know really. It's just…both of these Kanzashi feel so precious to me for some reason. I made this second one not only because the first had turned out so well but because I felt I had to, and at the time I really didn't think much on why I was making it at all only that it felt right. It felt like I had to do it—like I couldn't stop until both were finished. Honestly…it frightened me a little, that I could have so little control over what I was doing and no understanding as to why I was doing it at all."

Hiromi had no response to that, so she instead looked to the two Kanzashi with amazement. They looked so perfect next to each other, like a set that should never be apart.

The two sets lay parallel to each other, the one with dark pink Sakura blossoms and white and peachy Plum flowers still lying in the dark box Naomi had hidden it in. The other had identical Plum flowers but with pink salmon colored chrysanthemums nestled there beside it instead of Sakura blossoms, giving it less of a contrast but a brighter feel to it. Both had long trailing lines of pale peach and pink petals on their Hana Kanzashi's, and nestled in the center of both the long-pieces and the small comb-like ones there lay one finely embroidered sun of golden thread, from which one gleaming white pearl stood. Attached at the top of the gold suns were clusters of deep red ochre beads that hid the thick pin on which a bright yellow silk butterfly flew.

They captivated her.

"Naomi-chan…when did you say you had your daughter?"

"Hmm…about two weeks ago, on the 28th of March. Why Hiromi-sama?"

"I…That's…" Hiromi was speechless for a moment, surprise lifting her gaze from the beautiful set, "That's the same day I had Ino…"

"R-really?" Naomi placed a hand to her lips, thinking back a moment, "It was dark when I had Sakura, exactly midnight…did you…?"

"Yes." She said with amazement, "Exactly midnight..."

"How…odd. To think that such a coincidence could happen…"

"No." Hiromi grabbed Naomi's hand, which had been fingering a Sakura blossom on her daughters future Kanzashi, "I don't think it was coincidence Naomi-chan. I think its Fate."

"…Fate."

"Yes. I…ever since Ino has been born, I've been so frightened. She will be the first female heir to the Yamanaka clan, and the future my daughter will have to endure because of that…I was afraid of it. Afraid of so many things, but mainly that she wouldn't be happy, that she'd be lonely and that she'd meet her future alone with no one beside her. No one to hear herfears like Inoichi has done for me…but now, as I look down at these two Kanzashi, I feel that fear dissipate. I don't know why or how, but I feel like our daughters are fated to be together. To be tied somehow, together like the silk butterfly and its flower. I feel like now I know she won't meet the fate I've feared since her birth…"

"Hiromi-chan…it's just a birth day. Nothing more." Her friends' voice was oddly hard when she said this.

"No, no it is fate. I'm sure of it." She stared hard into Naomi's eyes, trying to make her understand. "I didn't tell Inoichi but…when I was pregnant I felt this undeniable urge to come to this market and find you. I would have dreams, of blades and death and Sakura trees in the spring…and of these two Kanzashi in our daughters hair."

"Hiromi-sama...you're mistaken, you couldn't have seen such a thing. Maybe you should return to Inoichi-sama and rest...I think it really was too early to leave the household."

"NO, no I'm not crazy Naomi-chan! I couldn't remember until I saw them, but I'm sure now that they are the ones that have been haunting my dreams for months." She gave a great sigh at her admission, breathing deeply and giving a small laugh, "Now, finally, I don't feel afraid of the future. I feel like everything will be alright now, because they'll have each other. They will meet the fate given to them together, whatever it is."

"Even if that fate is in Konoha's Hanamachi, Hiromi-sama?"

The softly spoken words cut through her like a knife. She stared at Naomi speechless, her mouth agape. Naomi gave a bitter laugh at the reaction.

"…Konoha's Hanamachi…you mean he's going to—?"

"That's right. He plans to sell her off to the Okiya there once she turns seven." Naomi swiftly shut the lid of the box that held the Hana Kanzashi, and stuffed it into the cloth bag once again. A bitter mix of sadness, resignation and anger clouded her actions. "He wanted a son. One that could do work, take over the farm...and instead he got a girl. And girls can only be useful by selling themselves off, so he can keep gambling! When I first had her...he wanted to smother her in the sands with opium...sometimes I cant stop laughing when I realize that the Geisha house may actually be the better end of the deal!"

"Naomi...Naomi-chan I'm so sorry..." Hiromi felt her chest tighten as she looked at the bright green eyes that peeked over Naomi's shoulder, looking up at her with innocent incomprehension. Oblivious to the fact that she would be ripped away from her mother, her home, her life all because of that awful man she would call father. "Perhaps...perhaps he will change his mind. He might grow to love her Naomi-chan, I mean, how could he not? She's beautiful..."

"Being beautiful would not make it better, only worse!" She swallowed heavily at the implication, "And I know better than to think he can love anything except his drink and his cards..."

Her shoulders slumped, her whole posture filled with resignation for her daughters fate, and yet Hiromi still could not feel fear for the child. She could not shake this feeling that everything would be alright, as long as they had each other. And they would. They would find each other in the end, she was sure of it.

"Is your dream of the future so beautiful now? Knowing my daughter is being sold into servitude, do you still think they are fated?"

"…Yes."

She gave an angry scoff, but Hiromi saw the tears in her eyes. "Always so stubborn."

A small weak smile, "…I know."

A moment of silence passed, and then Hiromi traced a finger around the Kanzashi that seemed so lonely without its counterpart. "I want to buy this one. For Ino."

Naomi sighed, but began to wrap the set as Hiromi passed her the money. She gave her the wrapped Kanzashi and whispered, a little brokenly,

"I'm sorry Hiromi-sama, but a Geisha—if she ever does become one—could never be the equal you see standing beside your daughter. They are too far apart..."

"I know. I understand but…I can't help but feel you're wrong…"

Naomi clenched her jaw and swallowed hard.

"Hiromi-sama, you say you're not afraid anymore, that you know she'll be alright…but I—I am terrified. How could I be anything but terrified? How could I ever be sure she will be alright? She will be taken from me, taken somewhere that I won't ever be able to reach. Lost to me forever.*/"

"You don't need to be afraid, Naomi-chan." Hiromi smiled sadly at her, and patted her hand,

"Their fate is their gift, I'm sure of it now."

As she left to return home, leaving her friend behind to think on her words, two pairs of eyes stared at each other from the backs of their mothers. One blue and one green, they held each other gaze and reached out across the growing crowd with chubby little hands...even as the distance between them grew by miles and their future threatened to pull them apart forever.