Cyclamen
"If you could please wait a moment, Temari-san."
Temari knew well enough that the Hokage wanted her to leave the office to wait, and when she exited she was guided by Shizune, who appeared distracted and offered her something to drink offhandedly. Getting distracted by a very irritated Anbu, Shizune briefly showed Temari into a waiting area, lightly pushing her in before running off again.
Temari sighed, while Konoha was peaceful, it was also in a state of constant rush. She looked at the narrow room she was faced with, it seemed to have once been a hallway that had been redone in an effort for more room, then seemed to have been hastily moved into. Two chairs and a low table, hardly decorated and barely painted.
It was when she sat down that she noticed the portraits across from her, four, one of every Hokage that had since passed on. Though it wasn't until she got to the last one, the fourth, looking at the serious face she felt as though something must be wrong with it. The tight lips weren't normal. It should be smiling. Yes, that was it, if it was smiling it would look exactly like-
"Temari?" Shikamaru leaned against the door frame, staring at the strong willed woman who seemed very close to gaping.
"Hey, do you know who Naruto's parents are?!"
Shikamaru hadn't expected that, but went with it. "He's an orphan, he let it slip once at the academy that he didn't have anybody left. I've never heard him mention any relatives, unless you count Iruka-sensei who's a cross between a big brother and a mother." Shikamaru wasn't interested in her new found interest, but thought it might be rude to turn and leave without answering.
"So nobody knows his father? Or what he did?"
"No…"
Temari gritted her teeth and tried not to look back on the portrait. Seeing that face made her… sad, because it was Naruto's face frowning back at her, no matter who the portrait was originally supposed to be of.
"Whatever, is the Hokage free?" Temari reached for her fan and laid it across her back, she wouldn't bring it into the Hokage's office as a sign of peace, but she hadn't been able to leave it in the room she was boarding.
"If by free you mean has nothing better to do than drink," Shikamaru moved a little slowly out of her way, brushing her side.
"Careful, you don't want to tell another nation's nin the Hokage's weakness."
"Somehow I doubt Gaara cares much about Tsunade-sama's drinking habits."
Ino was working through her latest order of wedding flowers when she tripped and fell against an old cupboard. She groaned and decided to punch the damn thing, unleashing several leather bound books that flopped open at her side. Huffing under her breath she peered at the ancient things, books filled with order after order of flowers and herbs, a book kept in case of pivots in tax demands.
'Order of Orange Blossoms to Uzumaki Kushina, Anonymous.'
"Oh," she sighed, looking over the order, she knew nothing of Naruto's past and assumed that either this Uzumaki was a relation Naruto already knew, or was a complete stranger. She frowned and looked over more of the orders to the same person, all from an anonymous source.
They certainly had interesting taste in plants, each with a special meaning that she was sure the admirer knew. She sat on her work bench and let her mind rove over the plants, remembering their meanings in courtship; Lilac was 'first love', magnolia 'dignity', white tulip 'forgiveness', violet 'faithfulness', and anemone 'fragile'. She could practically see the love story unfold. Their first awkward and romantic meeting, one of them stubborn with dignity and forgiveness for it, a promise to be there, and then the moment their relationship was fragile.
It was such an old book, who knew what had happened to them. She flipped through and only found her name again a month later.
'Order of Cyclamen to Konoha Burial in Recognition of Uzumaki Kushina, Hatake Kakashi.'
Cyclamen, the flower of Resignation and Goodbye.
She didn't know why she felt like crying.
Naruto sat atop the Fourth's head, his claws leaving light gauges in the stone. This was one of those days when he didn't know who he was, Kyuubi or Naruto, or both, somehow seemed to be in charge- and yet not really. It was calming to sit here with the breeze, and though Naruto wasn't fighting back the Kyuubi, the fox wasn't taking charge.
Naruto looked down at his clawed hand when a strange feeling took him, it felt like bitter sadness, and maybe even regret, and yet a stubborn sense of pride was there too. Naruto thought against bringing up the fox's emotions, it was better than the sick lust for blood and mayhem, even if it was confusing and scary to think he could feel the demon's emotions- and that they weren't entirely evil.
He fell back against the stone, his nose twitching as the wind carried scent. In his Kyuubi riddled phase his sense of smell was heightened, and he tried to pick them apart. He managed a few, those of Iruka at the academy nearby, then that of ramen which he could smell anywhere, he breathed deep the smell of floral shampoos from some nearby bathhouse. He frowned, but sitting up he wasn't mistaking it, Temari's scent of a woman's musk and sweat and dessert flowers glided through the air.
He would go find her and ask about Gaara, see if the younger vessel was okay. Until then he'd work his way through the scents. He recognized a scent and somehow it calmed him, cyclamen that was it. He'd seen it in Ino's family shop, having no choice but to face her father's stony glare when he went to get Ino for a mission. He'd remembered it then too for some reason, but didn't know where from.
He left for his apartment, careful not to let anyone see him, not yet ready to go back to being human.
This is merely me exploring with Naruto's past and birth while I work through my writers' block. I'll continue this, if merely to give my other stories some background.
As a first chapter, what do you think? I'm not sure how long this will be, but if it gets big enough I'll give a plot and pairings.
If you review, I'll give you an imaginary cookie!
-Alika613
