The Tale Of Flowering Fortunes

She woke up to the sound of her father coming into the apartment quietly. The sun had risen and was shining traitorously bright over the village.

“Murasaki, wake up…” He said quietly. Murasaki saw he was holding a small white bundle.

“Naruto?” She asked, looking up at him with worried eyes. Jiraiya nodded. “Yeah…I’m his godfather…” Jiraiya said, handing her the bundle gently. Murasaki took it, supporting the head like she’d seen mothers doing when they brought their newborns to the shrine to be recognized as members of he community.

Naruto looked positively adorable in the morning light, he had dark eyelashes that were closed in a peaceful slumber, skin that looked sun kissed, even though he was a newborn, a thick thatch of straw colored hair, and whisker marks that made him look a bit like a kitten.

The kyuubi’s chakra was almost undetectable under the boys own, but it was defiantly there.

“He’s cute…” Murasaki cooed over the sleeping form, suddenly remembering the letter Minato had given her. She cradled Naruto on her lap while reaching into her pocket and handing it to Jiraiya. “Yondame-sama told me to give you this…” She said before retuning her attention to the baby. Jiraiya read the letter with a sad smile, before nodding and putting it in a box on a shelf above the television.

“I’m going to get some sleep. If he wakes up, come and get me…” He said, just as there was a soft knock on the door. Naruto stirred, but didn’t wake.

It was the lady named Tsunade. She gave Murasaki a scornful look as she stepped into the apartment, a young, brown haired girl not much older than Murasaki in tow.

“We brought over the things from their apartment…” She said, her voice taking on a strangely soft tone. Jiraiya nodded and followed her outside, leaving Murasaki with the dark haired girl, who looked at her reproachfully.

“Can I see him?” She asked softly

Murasaki nodded with a smile, holding Naruto out proudly for the girl to see.

“He’s cute, isn’t he?” She asked with a smile. The girl nodded, stepping away slightly.

“I’m Murasaki.” She said, frowning inwardly.

“I’m Shizune…dozo yoroshiku…” The girl said with a polite bow.

“Dozo yoroshiku…” Murasaki replied, bowing back. There was a strained silence.

“Are you really Jiraiya’s daughter?”

Murasaki nodded, blinking slowly and looking down at the kyuubi.

“Are you Tsunade’s daughter?” She asked, tilting her head and blinking.

The girl blushed and shook her head. “No…she…was my uncles girlfriend…” She said sadly. Murasaki nodded, adjusting her grip on Naruto.

“Do you want to hold him?” She asked, offering Shizune the sleeping bundle of joy. Shizune looked horrified.

“He’s the kyuubi!” She said, backing away as the door opened. Murasaki opened her mouth to protest, but fell silent when Tsunade came in carrying a basinet by herself. Jiraiya followed quietly, carrying a basket full of toys and baby supplies.

“I hope you don’t mind sharing you room with Naruto.” Jiraiya said, setting the basket on the table. Murasaki nodded, following him into the back room. Tsunade set the basinet in corner underneath the window, brushing her hands off and turning to look at them.

“Okay, let’s see the brat.” She said, holding her arms out to take Naruto from Murasaki, who handed him over somewhat reluctantly. Once outside the safety of Murasaki’s arms, Naruto woke up and began to wail loudly. Tsunade frowned at the boy.

“Brat…” She sighed, laying him down in the basinet, where he continued to cry.

The two sannin left and Murasaki went over to the basinet, peering inside and bumping her head on the toad mobile, making the soft music start up as the toads rotated slowly. Naruto quieted down almost immediately, his azure eyes focusing on the mobile.

The tone was a familiar one to Murasaki, a lullaby called the ‘Lullaby of Edo’. She began to sing the words slowly, amazed at how much she remembered;



Nen nen kororiyo okororiyo

Boyawa yoikoda nenneshina



Boyano komoriwa doko it ta

Anoyama koete satoe it ta



Sato no miyage ni nani morata

Denden taikoni sho no fue

Sho no fue…





Naruto quieted down, cooing softly as he looked up at her through endless azure eyes. She heard someone shift against the doorjamb and she turned around. It was Tsunade, followed slowly by Jiraiya.

Tsunade smiled and she sat down on the bed.

“I think he’s going to be okay here…at least Jiraiya’s got you to keep him in line.” She said with a grin. Murasaki nodded, looking up at her father, who was leaning on the door, grinning.

“We’ll take good care of him…”



A few days later, Murasaki woke early in the morning to the sound of Naruto crying. It had been three days like this, and she felt worn out. She lifted the baby out of the basinet, trudging into the kitchen to heat up some formula, singing the Edo song softly as she went.

“You gotta widen your song list…” Jiraiya mumbled, coming out of his room.

“It’s the only one I know…” She said desperately, handing him the baby and testing the milk on her arm.

“The academy is re-opening today…you should get ready for school…” He said, taking the bottle from her and offering it to Naruto. Murasaki nodded and trudged into the bathroom, catching a glance at her reflection. She was surprised the mirror didn’t shatter into a million pieces. She sighed and began to get ready to go.

A few minutes later, she was kissing Naruto and Jiraiya goodbye and running down the broken street towards the academy.

She took her usual seat next to Gai, looking around for Iruka.

“He’s not going to be here…” He whispered.

“What happened to him?”

“He’s in the hospital…someone said he’s got a really bad cut on his face…”

Murasaki nodded, thinking back to the night the kyuubi attacked, seeing him covered in blood.

She shivered, looking around the room. Several students were missing, including Hebeko.

Yokoi-sensei looked around, his disappointment obvious.

“Okay, everyone line-up here!” He said, pointing to the front row. Murasaki glanced over at Gai, but followed him up to the front.

“Due to recent events and the need for new gennin, you’re all going to graduate…” He said, looking a little more than irritated. A whisper ran through the group, and Yokoi-sensei held up his hand to silence them.

“But you have to pass a test first. You need to be able to do a standard ‘henge’…transform into me.” He said, putting one hand on his hip. Murasaki glanced over at Gai, who’s chakra control wasn’t even close to good. He looked a little worried, but said nothing. One by one, each of the students tried, some passing, but even more failing. Murasaki took a deep breath as her sensei called on her, putting her hands together and transforming.

At first, Yokoi sensei looked impressed, but his face changed at a closer look.

“Get rid of the lines, you can’t mess up like that on the battlefield.” He said irritably.

“What lines?” She said, putting a hand on her hip and mimicking his body language. A tick formed in his eyebrow.

“The ones beneath your eyes, Fujiwara, stop messing around…” He said impatiently. Murasaki closed her eyes and tried again, but was unable to get rid of them. Yokoi sighed irritably, handing her a headband.

“You pass, barely…” He said, moving on to Gai.

Murasaki grinned, tying the headband on beneath her bangs; She was a real, certified kunoichi now!



Bursting with pride, she ran home after Yokoi-sensei dismissed them. She turned a corner and almost crashed into Hebeko, who was not alone.

“Hebeko-san? Why didn’t you come to class today?” She asked, brushing herself off and blinking at the older girl. Hebeko tossed her elegant hair over her shoulders, her deep brown eyes scanning Murasaki with a hint of distain.

“I was put on a special mission…” Hebeko said, raising her head slightly and regarding the girl with a cool distain. “I heard you’re playing mommy to the kyuubi now, you look like something the cat dragged in…”

Murasaki frowned.

“His name is Uzumaki Naruto…” Murasaki said, adjusting her headband as the person Hebeko was with came around the corner. It was Kakashi. “And he’s not the kyuubi. He’s a baby, a regular baby.”

Kakashi smiled slightly when he saw the gleaming headband on Murasaki’s forehead.

“Hey…” He said, raising his hand in a half-assed greeting. “You’re a gennin now…”

Murasaki nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, I was just headed home to tell dad…”

Hebeko snorted. “You think one to the sannin is going to be impressed by a mere gennin?”

Murasaki frowned. “Yeah, actually, because…he’s my dad…” she suddenly realized what was going on, but said nothing.

“My father said when I become a jounnin I can come work under him…” Hebeko said, playing with a lock long black hair. Murasaki nodded.

“Good luck.” She said brightly, trying to mask the fact she felt kind of bad for Hebeko. Hebeko smirked, grabbing Kakashi’s hand.

“Come on, Kakashi-kun, let’s not waist any more time with this toad spawn…” She said, leading Kakashi by the hand down the street. Murasaki watched them go, her heart sinking. He didn’t even look back…

“Kakashi-kun?” She asked quietly, frowning. Were they together?

She sighed and trudged home.