He held me in his arms

And he taught me to be strong
He told me when he's gone
Here's what you do
When trouble comes to town
And men like me come around
Oh, my daddy said shoot
Oh, my daddy said shoot

-Daddy Lessons; by Beyoncé

Deep breaths. In and out. Don't rush it; keep it even and steady. Meditation is all about keeping one's self calm and focused. To come to some understanding on the workings of the mind and body, maybe even the area surrounding them. Don't get distracted, don't allow one's self to get sidetracked from intrusive thoughts or outside forces. Unless those outside forces were threats, then breaking from meditation would be necessary.

Grimacing, Masumi shook her head a little, a few strands of hair falling in her face. Taking in a deep breath, the young girl let it out. She needed to refocus. She couldn't let her mind wander, she couldn't. That was one of Masumi's problems during meditation — she couldn't keep herself focused for very long. That was why, whenever she went out on nice days, she'd mentally rehearse what she needed to do during her sessions. That ensured the likelihood of her being able to sit through her meditations for the given amount of time.

When Masumi finally found herself starting to refocus, she started to sense something a bit off. It wasn't the usual calm that filled the park she was at. It was an energy, an intrusive, thick energy. Almost like chakra. Sure, the occasional shinobi may decide to take visit the park, mostly to relax, and Masumi would be able to pick up their distinct charka. Theirs would be controlled, a lot of the time maybe even hidden, but there was a certain air shinobi held that allowed the young girl to detect them. But the disturbance Masumi felt. . . .it was unlike any chakra she'd felt, but it held a bit of familiarity. The sensation itself allowed her to feel raw, untamed energy; overwhelming and unnerving. That was when the familiarity started to make sense. A name popping into her head and quickly exiting her mouth.

"Naruto," she murmured, opening her eyes.

Naruto Uzumaki. The Leaf Village's infamous orphan. The young boy who claimed on more than one occasion he'd be the village's next Hokage, that it was his destiny to fulfill. Masumi had no doubt that Naruto could achieve great things, but Hokage seemed to be a bit of a stretch. It was just. . . .the young blonde was so reckless, so headstrong and stubborn. He acted before he considered the consequences. No amount of reasoning could get through that thick skull of his. Masumi had a bit of experience in that, as did a majority of the village's ninja. Naruto's recklessness caused a lot of problems, which meant that shinobi would have to either clean it up, or hunt the blonde down themselves and make him clean it up. The latter wasn't always easy, considering Naruto always put up a fight.

Slowly standing up, Masumi tried focusing her senses to locate where Naruto might be. It was a skill she learned, to hone her senses, even focusing on someone's chakra, in order to locate them. The skill became very useful for Masumi when the young girl started to go blind. At a very young age, Masumi's eyesight began to fail her. Not long after her ninth birthday, her sight had disappeared altogether. But just because her ability to see was diminishing, didn't mean she couldn't find advantages. She worked on heightening her other senses, allowing herself to really pay attention to what was going on around her. Chakra, for Masumi, was something she could easily pick up on the more she practiced; and once she got more familiar with it, the more she started to rely on it. Naruto's was relatively easy to pick up on, considering his was so unruly.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Masumi focused solely on Naruto's chakra. If he was passing through the park, then chances were he was either trying to hide from some prank he'd pulled, or he was looking for something to do. It was hit or miss with him. He was either running from something, or looking for something.

There! Masumi's eyes opened. Naruto's chakra led her to a park bench. That was a usual place for shinobi and other citizens to go if they wanted to cool down. Shuffling away from her usual meditating spot, Masumi followed the chakra trail to where Naruto was currently located. Maybe she'd be able to keep Naruto company, if he wasn't doing anything stupid. The last thing she'd want is for people to think she was a troublemaker, too. Masumi had done a pretty good job at keeping a relatively low profile in the village, something she prided herself in. But there were some unfortunate circumstances that she faced from time to time. One of them being citizens of the village — both seasoned shinobi and civilians — voicing their concerns about whether or not Masumi would ever be a kunoichi. Because of her blindness, it meant any hopes of her becoming a kunoichi were put on hold. It didn't matter if she could hone her senses to find targets, or if she had a basic understanding on how chakra worked. Masumi's father wasn't at all ready for her to become a kunoichi, even if she believed she was.

As Masumi continued following Naruto's chakra trail, she felt her chest become heavier, her face contorting into a scowl. Her blindness seemed to be the one thing people defined her as being. It seemed none of her other notable attributes caught their attention. Masumi acknowledged that her lack of eyesight does make up a good part of who she is, but it isn't the only thing about her. There were so many other things about her that people generally overlooked. They were so focused on such little, unimportant details, that it seemed as though nothing else about her mattered. Masumi just wanted to be recognized as an equal, not the helpless little blind girl. She didn't want to be pitied, or seen as pathetic, or even have people sympathize with her. Masumi just wanted people to see her, to look beyond her blindness and notice that she could have potential to be something bigger. Something greater. Becoming a kunoichi would be a way for her to achieve that dream. If she received the proper training, then she'd be able to obtain the respect and acknowledgement she greatly desired.

-D.L.-

Masumi Tanaka had been born in Kumogakure, to a young single mother named Uma. The identity of the father had never been released, though there were those who speculated it was a Leaf-nin. Nearly everyone in the village Masumi grew up in whispered about how Uma spent time with an ANBU Leaf shinobi around the time of the young girl's conception. Due to the ANBU always wearing a mask, his true identity was nearly impossible to make out. Once the shinobi was gone, that was when Uma found out she was pregnant. After Masumi's birth, the young mother swore she'd never speak of her baby's father. Not only to keep him safe from potential enemies, but out of anger for leaving her alone with his child. The people in their village often wondered why Uma was so upset over his abandonment; they believed she would have known better than to get attached to a shinobi, let alone an ANBU. Maybe it was because of her ignorance, considering her village didn't have any ninja so she wasn't accustomed to how they worked. Or maybe it was because the ANBU was the first man to ever show her attention. Either way, it left Uma feeling bitter in the end.

So for the next four and a half years, Uma and Masumi lived in their little village, peacefully and normally. They had their routines, and the young mother tried to make everything as enjoyable as possible for her young daughter. But when Uma started to notice Masumi's vision problems, it worried her. She had planned on, in a few years, sending her daughter to the Kumogakure Ninja Academy, believing her daughter had potential to be a great kunoichi one day. But Masumi's worsening eyesight was proving it wouldn't be possible. Both broke Uma's heart. As a result, she decided to not enroll her daughter in the Academy, instead, she'd raise her daughter to the best of her abilities. Sadly, though, Uma's promise wouldn't last long. Not long after discovering Masumi's problem, the young mother died from illness. It was about as sudden as her death, leaving the Tanaka family heartbroken and stunned. Uma was very healthy, always exercising and making sure she never ate or drank anything that would be bad for her health. She always made sure Masumi ate healthy, too. So news of her illness and death didn't settle well with anyone in her family. Especially Masumi, who was not only too young to understand, but was now parentless. At least in Kumogakure. In Konohagakure, she still had a father. One who didn't know of her existence.

As a result, Masumi's grandfather, Hisashi, decided his granddaughter would be sent to live in Konohagakure. The Land of Fire was wealthy, the perfect place for the toddler to grow up. As hard as it was for the Tanaka family, they knew it was in Masumi's best interest. The only problem? They didn't know who the father was. Only that he was an ANBU. Would that be enough information for the Hokage? Would Masumi even be allowed entry into the nation? Those were things that were discussed frequently, things that worried the Tanaka family immensely. The last thing they'd ever want would be for Masumi to be denied entry. Ideas had been thrown around — what about smuggling her, illegally, into the country? Send one of the Kumo shinobi to bring her to a Konoha orphanage. They wouldn't know she's Kumo-born. Ask the Raikage to ask the Hokage permission to bring the toddler into the village. It couldn't be that hard, right? Eventually, Masumi's uncle, Raiden, chose to take her to the Raikage and request safe passage to Konohagakure. The Tanaka family didn't have much money, but the request was desperate, and Raiden was willing to do whatever it took to pay off whatever remained. The request was accepted, and a Kumo shinobi went along with Masumi and Raiden on their journey.

It took weeks for the mission to be completed. With little to no problems from bandits or rogues, Masumi was successfully delivered to the Land of Fire. With the help of some Konoha shinobi, and his own Kumo escort, Raiden was able to find the Hokage's building to request a moment of his time.

Hiruzen was, thankfully, willing to listen to the young man's story of his niece. He took into consideration the possibility of Masumi having a Konoha father, though while he studied the young girl, he could see some resemblance to one of his shinobi. The coloration of her hair, the shape of her eyes, and the general expression on her face — it made Raiden's story believable. Though Hiruzen wanted some tests performed just to be safe. Blood tests were performed on Masumi and her possible father, and it took a number of weeks for the results to come back. When it did, it showed a match. Hiruzen's suspicions had been confirmed. Paperwork had been filled out and the Hokage thanked Raiden for his contribution before being sent back to Kumogakure. All that was left to do was unite father and daughter.

(A/N):

Hopefully this chapter was at least a little interesting. Let me know what you guys think. Constructive criticism is always welcome. If you think the chapter's fine the way it is, then let me know what you thought of it in general.

Nothing in the NARUTO universe belongs to me. All I own are my OCs and the subplots I put in.

The story's set in the very first NARUTO series, when he was around 12. If I end up getting anything wrong, character-wise or whatever, don't hesitate to let me know. I'd hate to find out later I got it all wrong.

Thanks a bunch.

Vienna Lane