Minoru looked down at the tribal snake winding around his left wrist and smiled softly.

"It makes me happy..." he replied. "Snakes do. They always have. It's hard to explain, but I've always felt some kind of connection with snakes."

He'd grown up enjoying summers in Japan, helping Uncle Sasuke care for his many snakes. (Breeding them was a hobby for him.) He'd visited the temples where snakes were seen as guardians of shrines and finding a snake skin was seen as an omen of good fortune.

"Wrapping around somebody for a big hug. Shedding your skin, like always growing, always changing, it's okay if you fail because you can try again tomorrow. Isamu thought it was hilarious that after trying many odd jobs during his freshman year, I wound up working at a hospital and absolutely loving it. Because snakes are basically the symbol of modern medicine. Like I should have been there all along."

And of course, he had Kazumi, his pet butter ball python - his pride and joy.

For someone who spent most of his time climbing like a monkey, Minoru definitely had an affinity for what slithered.