The Tale Of Flowering Fortunes

A/N: Sorry, I know O.C's are ten a penny, but this is how I unblock writers block for other fics. Ryming's not good, I'm not a poet...
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Murasaki stood in the doorway of the Yoake shrine, clutching her broom in her hand. Yesterday had been the festival day for the local sprit, Asa.
So, as expected, worshippers had tracked dirt and mud all over the place and left food and incense all over the shrine. Abandoned or forgotten fortunes and charms littered the ground, blowing in the early morning breeze.
As the youngest miko, naturally, that meant she was to clean up before her superiors awoke, which by Murasaki’s experience, would be about noon.
She cleaned the shrine first, taking special care to polish the red arch that sat just inside the sliding doors.
Now she was sweeping the porch as dawns first light began to lighten the skies.
Movement caught the corner of her eye and she looked up to see a dark haired boy with a Konoha forehead protector.
“Ohaiyoo gozamasu, Obito-kun!” Murasaki called through the cool morning air. Obito waved from the trees and leapt down.

“Did I miss the festival?” He asked, looking around, clearly disappointed.

“Yes…I didn’t know you wanted to come. I thought shinobi were Buddhist.” Murasaki said, picking up a couple pieces of paper from the porch.
Obito sighed, leaning against the railing on the porch.
“I still wanted to come…” He muttered quietly. “I’d never been to a Shinto festival before. I even wore my good clothes and polished my headband.” He pointed his thumbs at his forehead where the headband shone in the growing light.
Murasaki smiled quietly, leaning her broom against the porch.

“Well, maybe its for the better. Noriko-sama doesn’t look kindly upon shinobi…”
Obito stood up, snapping at the elastic on his trademark orange and blue goggles.

“Since you’re here, I could tell your fortune.” Murasaki offered, taking the Uchiha’s hand and dragging him towards a small stand where fortunes were sold.
They sat together on the floor in the darkness of the small hut while Murasaki read his fortune to herself.

“A life of danger you will lead,

Watch your feet, and this fortune heed,

Your loyalty will inspire a friend,

But in that loyalty, life will end.

You will not get your wish.”

Murasaki crumpled it in her hand slightly. Obito tried to grab it from her, but she pulled it away.

“What, what did it say?” He said, still trying to grab it from her.
The girl hesitated, before tucking it in her white kimono.
“Nothing important. Its not like these are very accurate anyway, besides, I’m just a miko, so its not like I can really tell fortunes anyway.”

Obito sighed, sitting down again. “It was bad wasn’t it?”

Murasaki sat back down across from him. “Do you really want to know?”

“I don’t know, do I?”

“How about I try it again?”
Obito nodded and Murasaki tried again.

“Something that is long awaited

Will come soon, so it is stated,

But alas, you’ll not have it long,

You’ll use the gift to right a wrong
.
You will not get your wish.”

This time, Murasaki couldn’t hide it from Obito, who had used a shadow clone to read over her shoulder. He let out a sigh and the shadow clone dissipated.

“The other one was the same, too, wasn’t it.”

Murasaki sighed and nodded, handing him the first one, too. He folded both the fortunes up and handed them back to her.
“I’ll let you hang on to these. I’ll lose them If I keep them.” He said with a bright smile. They both stood up and left the small hut, making their way across the yard towards the main building.
A silvery blur shot out, stopping them in their tracks.

“Minato-sama is looking for you. We have to go.” Kakashi said, staring down the young miko and his teammate.

“But, Kakashi-kun…” Obito whined. Kakashi’s steely grey eyes stared coldly at the pair.

“You better go, Obito-kun.” Murasaki whispered, as she heard a wooden door slide open somewhere downhill from the main shrine.

“I’ll be there in a second, Kakashi-kun.” Obito cautioned, his face a mixture of emotions. Kakashi nodded and the boy leapt off through the trees. Obito turned to Murasaki, all signs of mischief that had once been on his face now replaced with a slight tinge of jealousy.

“Kakashi became a jounin today, now he thinks he’s better than everyone, not that that’s anything new.”

“I’m sure you’ll become a Jounin soon, too, Obito-kun.” Murasaki said brightly, a red tinge spreading across her face.
Obito turned around and smiled, oblivious to her blush.
“Nah, Its not that important to me.” He said, dismissing the lie with a smile and a wave of his hand. “Anyway, I should go before we get caught.” He laughed, starting towards the trees. “See ya later, Murasaki-chan!”

“Ganbatte, Obito-kun!” Murasaki waved, putting a hand to her chest. It was then she remembered the omamori she had made for him. “Wait! Obito-kun!” She ran through the trees after the young shinobi. Crashing through the bramble and almost stumbling over a rabbit hole, she made it out onto the road where Obito was just joining his team.

“God, Murasaki-dono, we heard you coming before we saw you.” Kakashi snapped.

“Ohaiyoo gozamasu, Murasaki-chan!” Rin called brightly from beside her sensei. Minato smiled at the young shrine maiden, who had stopped to gasp for air.

“Ohaiyoo gozaimasu, Rin-chan…Minato-sama” She gasped.

“Now what?” Kakashi hissed impatiently.

“I…forgot…to…give…Obito…this…” She handed Obito the blue fabric charm. “I…made…it…yesterday. Its supposed to bring you luck.”

“Wow, thanks Murasaki-chan!” He said, glomping her. Murasaki turned six shades of scarlet to mach her hakama and Obito let go as Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

“Murasaki-dono, are you feeling alright?”

“I...I’m fine.” She said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Ganbatte.” She said bowing slightly.
Obito thanked her again and the team turned to go.“Oh, and Hatake-san…” She said quietly.
Kakashi turned around, surveying her with cool surprise.

“Omedetou.” She said with a bow.
Now Kakashi was turning bright pink.
“Arigatou gozaimasu.” He said quietly before turning away. She watched them disappear into the distance as the sunlight turned the skies. She had a bad feeling down at the pit of her stomach. One of them was not coming back.

“Murasaki!”
She heard a voice calling through the trees that brought her back to reality.

“Murasaki, doko desu ka.”
Murasaki went back into the trees.
“I’m right here, Noriko-sama.” She said quietly.

“Where were you?” The middle aged priestess snapped, taking Murasaki roughly by the arm.

“I head a noise.”

“Well, you’re supposed to be cleaning. You should get back to work.”

“Gomen nasai, Noriko-sama. “

A few days later, an ANBU messenger from Konoha arrived at the shrine, requesting Murasaki's presence before the hokage. The message was short and somber, and Murasaki knew almost instantly what had happened.
Without asking Noriko’s permission, or even telling her, Murasaki donned her ceremonial vestments and took off with the young man, who was wearing a cat mask.
The sun was deceptively bright that day, as Murasaki for the first time, entered the massive wooden gates of Konoha.
The cat man made her sign a log-in book at the front before he led her towards a large red building marked Fire.
Murasaki sighed, squaring her shoulders. The weight of the layers of her clothes was making her sweat on the unusually fair September day.
Her blue-grey eyes roamed the village as they made their way towards the building. She saw a couple of kids a little younger than herself ran past her, laughing on their way to a building marked Konoha Academy.
Murasaki sighed, thinking about how lucky they were to pursue their dreams of becoming shinobi. Her breath hitched in her chest as they bypassed the guards with a nod and they opened the massive double doors.
The waiting was the worst part, standing outside the Hokage’s office in the darkened hallways. The cat man had left her after opening the door and announcing her arrival.
The young miko sighed, leaning against the wall and digging her hands into the red folds of her hakama. A pretty redhead opened the door to the Hokage’s office. Her deep green eyes were red and puffy around the edges.

“You must be Murasaki?”
Murasaki nodded, staring at the quite pregnant young woman.
“I’m Minato’s wife, Uzumaki Kushina, .” She bowed politely.

“Hajimimashite, I’m Murasaki, dozo yoroshiku.” Murasaki bowed back.

“Doozo youroshiku. Its an honor to finally meet you, Murasaki-dono. Please, come into my husbands office, he has something he wants to tell you.” The tone in Kushina’s voice told Murasaki enough as the redhead put a hand on her shoulder.

“Obito’s dead, isn’t he?” Murasaki said, stopping in the doorway. Kushina looked surprised for a moment, her eyes filling with tears. Slowly. Painfully, she nodded.

“How did you know?”

“Just a guess…” Murasaki said quietly, beginning to tremble as she stepped slowly forward into the room. It was full of people she didn’t know, people who were shinobi, who stared strangely and whispered behind their hands as she stepped slowly towards the desk. Tears were now flowing freely down Murasaki’s face, making faint pink lines appear on pale skin.

“M-Mi-na-to-sa-sama.” She whispered, trying to keep her composure. He stood up from his desk and came around the front, taker her hands between his while Kakashi and Rin, clothed completely in black, looked on. Murasaki noticed at first glance that a fresh bandage wound around Kakashi’s head, covering his left eye. Yondame clasped her hands in between his. His hands were shaking and his honest blue eyes were full to the brim with tears.

“Murasaki-chan, I’m so glad you could make it…” He slipped a piece of fabric into her hands. Murasaki stared openly down at the blue silk charm she had constructed for the Uchiha. A wild-looking white haired man stared intensely at her from next to the windowsill, making her suddenly want to throw up.
And she did.
All over Yondame’s open-toed shoes, all over the polished wooden floor, all over herself. She gasped, propping herself up weakly on her palms.

“Shitsuree shimashita!” She wailed, scooting away from the startled shinobi’s feet and almost backing into Kakashi’s knees. Her long brown ponytail was dripping with bile and partially digested rice.

“I’m so sorry!” She moaned, not daring to look into the startled Hokage’s face. She got up, scrambling for the door, pushing past Kushina and her swollen belly.
She had to leave. She had dishonored Obito at his own funeral, her best friend, her crush, in front of his friends and family, who already hated her for being a shine maiden. She pushed past the double doors and out into the traitorous sunlight, making a beeline for the front gate, even knocking down a couple black-ops in the process.
She paused for breath in a large, open field near the cemetery, collapsing to the ground and sobbing into her arms.

Obito, the only person who had ever treated her like an equal, was dead. She shook like a leaf, sobbing into her vomit soaked sleeves and wiping her eyes with a clean corner.
She didn’t sense the wild, white haired man approach and sit down next to her until he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Its going to be okay, kiddo.” He said in a deep, soft voice. Murasaki wiped her eyes and stared at him. He had a kind smile on his face, one that met his eyes, unlike the people who had been staring at her in Minato’s office.
He put an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder.

“You know, It takes a lot to startle a shinobi…” He said, a deep chuckle beginning in the pit of his stomach. “You really had Minato there for a moment.”

“It’s not funny.”

The man stopped laughing after a moment. “I think Obito-san would have been proud.”

“I threw up all over his sensei!” Murasaki wailed.
The man pulled her closer to his chest, rubbing her shoulder.
“What you did, in even coming into this village, exhibited an amazing amount of courage, and being able to walk right up to the Hokage, with a room full of shinobi, and vomit on him…now that took guts, kid.” He said.
Murasaki dried her eyes and stared blankly at the man.
“I think you and I, were a lot alike. Now come on, lets give it another try.” He stood up, offering his hand to her. Reluctantly, she took it, noting how small hers looked against his. He put his arm around her and the walked back towards Konoha, but before entering the gate, the man stopped and turned to her.

“Now remember, miko-san, if anyone here try’s to mess with you, you tell them that I,” He leapt out onto the road ahead of her. “Jirrraiya, the Mountain Sage, have sworn to protect you!” and as he shouted this, he grabbed the sides of his head and tossed his hair back, leaping to the side. The whole scene was so comical, Murasaki couldn’t help but laugh slightly. Jiraiya straightened up, putting his hand back on her shoulder. “Now, we have a Hokage to see, Murasaki-chan.”


They got back to the red building and Kushina met them halfway down the hall.

“Come on, Murasaki-dono…” Kushina said quietly. “Lets clean you up.” She said softly, leading Murasaki away from the Toad Sage and down the hall to a different room.
It was a locker room, and Rin was inside waiting quietly for her.

“Murasaki-chan, I hope you don’t mind borrowing some civilian clothes from me until we can clean your clothes up.” She said quietly handing Murasaki a pile of black clothes. Murasaki accepted the black kimono and quietly changed behind a dressing screen. She couldn’t help but think about the look on Rin’s face…It was so lost and haunted….
Kushina took the soiled clothes from her and Murasaki came out, tying the obi behind her back.
Here Rin took Murasaki’s hair and dipped the vomit soaked ends in running water while Kushina poofed away quickly, only to reappear moments later.
“Feel better?” She asked, eyeing a couple of crumpled papers that lay on the floor. “Rin could you pick those up for me, my baby wont let me”
Rin handed the redhead the paper just as Murasaki figured out what they were.

“Wait!”

“What’s wrong?” Kushina said, smoothing out the papers and reading through them.

“Those are Obito’s…I read him his fortune before he left…he told me to hang on to them or else he’d lose them…”
The entire room was silent for what felt like an eternity. Rin sobbed slightly, covering her face. Kushina smiled a soft, becoming smile and handed the papers back the Murasaki.
“Then you should hang on to them, shouldn’t you.”
They walked slowly, silently together down the halls and outside, but they didn’t head towards the cemetery. Instead they turned east, towards a large open field. Kushina hung back and chatted politely with Murasaki, who stared at the ground with her hands folded. She hadn’t worn civilian clothing since she was four, and that had been almost seven years ago.

“Um, why aren’t we going to the cemetery?” Murasaki asked, shielding her eyes from the bright sun.

“Because, were going to the memorial. They were unable to recover Obito’s body…” Kushina said, keeping her voice low so Rin couldn’t hear. Murasaki nodded, continuing to stare at the ground as they approached the leaf-shaped stone.
The ceremony began as Kushina handed Murasaki a chrysanthemum to set on the memorial, beneath a smiling picture of Obito. Silently, she watched Kakashi step foreword, no emotion visible on the exposed part of his face. His silvery hair shone in the sunlight and at that moment, Murasaki felt something stir in her heart.

No… she thought to herself, I liked Obito, I cant like Kakashi, not at Obito’s funeral!
Silently, she strode forward behind the Uchiha’s cousin, his wife, and their toddling son, Itachi. Murasaki took a deep breath and glanced around as she stepped forward. Everyone was staring at her again.

I have a right to be here! She thought furiously, stepping forward and placing the flower on the pile beneath the picture, wiping her tears from her eyes as she stepped away. Jiraiya nodded with a smile.
Afterwards, she was left to stand alone with Kakashi and Rin by the memorial.
Kakashi was kneeling on the base, running a thumb over his teammates name.

“I’m so sorry, Rin…This is my fault…” He whispered.
Murasaki withheld gasp when she heard his words. They were so…unlike him….

“Kakashi-kun! No, don’t say that.” Rin sobbed, throwing her arms around the teens neck. Murasaki felt her heart sunk lower as she watched the two. Of course…Obito liked Rin, and she liked Kakashi…now with Obito gone...
Murasaki backed away, being extra careful to be silent. She could say her final goodbye later.
She made her way across the field, looking to the edge and seeing Minato, with his arm around Kushina, talking to Jiraiya, who was holding…the Konoha log-book?
Murasaki slowed down, quietly assessing the situation. As she drew near, she could hear them talking.
“I’ve suspected since I first saw her. She has the same eyes…” Minato was saying.

“But she looks so much like her mother.” Kushina said quietly.

“I’ve thought the same, too, but now I know it. The coincidences are too uncanny.”

“So what are you going to do, Jiraiya-sensei?” Minato asked quietly.

“I’m going to test the waters first, then if possible…”
Murasaki stopped short of their circle as Jiraiya spotted her and nodded, indicating her presence to the other two, who stopped and turned around.
“Hello, Murasaki-dono!” Kushina said, waving brightly. “We were just talking about y- “
Minato interrupted.
“Our baby. She’s due in about a month.”
Murasaki smiled and walked forward, taking a place beside Jiraiya.
“You want to take a guess at how much she’s going to weigh?” Kushina finished lamely. Quietly and gently, Murasaki reached out and placed a hand on either side of Kushina’s belly, closing her eyes. For the first time in her life, pictures flashed rapidly through Murasaki’s mind, making her feel sick and swear never to touch a pregnant woman again.

“First of all…” Murasaki said softly, removing her hands from Kushina’s belly. “Its not going to be a girl, Its going to be a boy. He’s going to look like his father…but act like his mother…his future…is shrouded in shadow and fear…but I sense hope…” Murasaki said, quietly looking at the ground, feeling stupid for saying what she had said. The small group was silent, staring at her.

“I guess we should start looking into boys names, then!” Kushina said brightly, “Because she predicted Obito-kuns future perfectly!”
Minato stared at his wife like she was crazy.
“O-okay, honey…”
Jiraiya chuckled and clapped a hand on Murasaki’s shoulder.
“That’s my girl…”
Murasaki blushed, thinking back to the conversation she had just overheard.

“Did you know my mother? I just overheard your conversation as I was coming towards you…It sounded like you knew her..”

“Well, sort of. Your mother was Fujiwara no Yuriko, correct?”

“Yes.”

“The actress?”

Murasaki cleared her throat. “Yes. I barely remember her. She left me in the care of Yoake shrine when I was four.”

Jiraiya’s grip on her shoulder tightened slightly. “I supposed you need to get back to the shrine soon?”

“Yes…I left without Noriko-sama’s permission…but I wanted to say one last goodbye to Obito first…”

“Why don’t you go do that while I go get your clothes…” Kushina said with a smile.

“But…Hatake-sans still there.”

“I’m sure he wont mind…” Minato said, giving Murasaki a small push in the small of her back as she turned to face the memorial.
She walked slowly towards the stone where Kakashi knelt, glancing over her shoulder at the adults.

“Um…Hatake-san? Are you going to be long?”

He ignored her, but she continued to stare. After what felt like an eternity, he stood up, but didn’t get out of the way.

“You know…Obito was an idiot.” He said coolly. Murasaki’s head snapped up. Who the heck would say that about a friend who had just passed away?

“I mean it. I-”

SMACK!

Murasaki didn’t know what possessed her to hit the silver-haired teen, who could have easily just killed her on the spot. She watched in slow motion as her hand collided with his masked face, sending him flying sideways onto the trampled green grass.
As she watched him flop around and land on his ass, she felt like vomiting, or running away in shame, but for the first time, she found the courage to stand her ground.

“Don’t ever say that about Obito-kun!” She said quietly.
Kakashi just stared at her in surprise, his grey eye wide. For the first time, she saw the pain and sorrow of loss on his face. He got up, dusting himself off, and silently he left her standing at the stone.
Murasaki stared at the place he had been sitting moments before, feeling all kinds of horrible.
She had just slapped a shinobi. She had just slapped a jounin. She had just slapped Hatake Kakashi.
She turned to look at the stone.

“Please, Obito-kun…wherever you are…please forgive me.” She bowed, brushing a finger over his name before turning and leaving.
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!!!!SPECIAL SEQUIL TO AUTHORS NOTE FROM BEFORE!!!!
A/N: I wrote this last fall when I was first learning Japanese, hence all the stupid Japanese phrases. I don't know much about Shinto, which is probably obvious, but I am working on learning more about it.
I had to edit it quite a but because it's was originally written for a more kid-friendly site.
It gets more violent as time passes.
Sorry, I know O.C. are ten a penny, but this is how I unblock writers block for other fics.