Heylo everyone! Thanks for coming to have a look at the opening of my newly-posted story 'Flower in the Mist'. I've been working on it for over a year now and have editted the first few chapters to death, but I would like to apologise for the slightly stiff (only way I can think of to describe it) writing style: as I said, I've been working on it for a long time and, back when I started, I wrote differently to how I do now.

Oh, another warning. This has an original character. In this universe, Haruno Sakura was never born - doesn't exist whatsoever. The whole premise of this story is that I was fed up of how pathetic and useless Sakura was (in part one of Naruto, although she sometimes still is in part two). I didn't like how the female of the team was, quite frankly, the weakling. That didn't sit right with me. That frustration was what gave birth to this story and one Yuhara Kasumi.

I will warn you that I have used some romaji/Japanese in it - and apologise for it as well. This does include honorific suffixes. If there are any phrases or words that you don't understand, there is a glossary at the bottom.

Now I hope that you will enjoy your reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and sadly never will.


Flower in the Mist

Prologue

The bell was ringing; the day was ended. As children filed out of the door, Iruka picked up his pen and started to work through the papers on his desk, only pausing and waving farewell whenever a pupil said goodbye to him.

He heard them, shouting and laughing in the playground as they ran to meet their parents, and smiled almost wistfully, shaking his head. At times like those, he often was torn between feeling envious and feeling remorseful. Envious of his students' innocence and regret that it would be one of the things that they would lose all too quickly when faced with the reality of what their chosen path really entailed.

Lost in his thoughts, he never truly paid attention to niggling feeling of being watched until the soft rustle of clothing pulled him back to the present. Glancing up, he noticed one of his students, a girl with hair of a similar colour as the lesser periwinkle (It looks almost white with the light shining on it, mused Iruka), hadn't left with the others and was standing a metre or so from his desk.

"Ano sa, Umino-sensei…?" She asked quietly, "I-I wanted to ask you something."

He smiled kindly at her, his dark eyes warm, "Hai, Kasumi-chan? What is it?"

"I was wondering if… What I mean is that I'm not good at Taijutsu and Ninjutsu – I really need to improve," Kasumi took a deep breath here before continuing. "S-so, I was hoping that perhaps you could… tutor me, I guess, a-after classes. If it's alright with you of course, Umino-sensei."

Iruka wondered what had pushed her to make such a request – not because she was proud and believed that she didn't need help, but because she was the quiet kind of person who could work through things alone with almost endless patience and determination. He had seen her training most days after school, pushing herself hard.

He was about to give his answer when she blurted out, panicked, "I-I can give you money! I mean, Sandaime-sama was very kind and lets me help him with some of his paperwork and errands. He pays me, and I know I'm asking you to give up your free time, so…" She trailed off and started to chew her bottom lip, looking askance.

Iruka looked at her, masking the consternation in his eyes after a moment and replied, "You don't need to pay me, Kasumi-chan. You're my pupil, I'd be happy to help you better yourself." He then added when she looked at him, disbelief written all over her face, "It's no trouble at all. Really."

"Sumimasen, Umino-sensei. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu," Kasumi bowed and then, nervously fiddling with the hem of her top, addressed the floor with her next question, "C-could we start today…?"

Iruka briefly glanced at the papers that he was marking. But he gave a minute shake of his head in their direction and stood up. "Alright," he said, "Race you to the training yard?"

Kasumi smiled, running out of the classroom door, whereas Iruka took the window out.


They didn't do much that day. Iruka made her warm up for twenty minutes – running around the track, press-ups, sit ups, squats and stretches. He also taught her an exercise called a 'Thai crunch'.

"You see, it's not too hard to do crunches. However, what makes this one different is that someone hits your stomach after it's fully tightened. I won't punch hard, don't worry," He grinned at her. "All this does is it conditions your core to take hits. Although, you're trying not to get hit in real life, of course."

Soon, when he deemed her to be ready, he asked her to demonstrate what she knew. It was just the basics that he had taught his class although she threw in what seemed to be a few improvisations of her own. He noted that, while she was quite swift (for an academy student), her sleeves and the ends of her trouser legs didn't really 'snap' when she did her strikes. Obviously lacking power and strength… But at least when she develops the latter, the former will improve as well.

So, rather than teaching her what she already knew, he taught her some martial arts – mainly Judo and Karate. It was only basics, just enough for a first day and for her to go over on her own. He taught her how to land properly (she had to throw herself off of some steps and tuck her head into her chest before she hit the ground), how to throw someone by using their momentum against them, basic kicks, strikes and blocks.

He also taught her some of the finer points of chakra control and gave her tips on how to improve the techniques that she was already familiar with. He gave her a few scrolls to take with her, containing simple offensive and defensive jutsu.

An hour and a half later, they called it a day and Kasumi bowed gratefully and thanked Iruka again and again, before running off to the Hokage tower. I'm not late yet but if I don't hurry, I soon will be.


She slowed as she approached the tower; catching her breath and letting the chill, early evening air cool her down. She bowed her head to the receptionist inside as she walked by and then knocked on the door of the Hokage's office.

"Come in," she heard Sarutobi say.

She opened the door and peeked in around it, a faint smile gracing her lips.

"K-konbanwa Hokage-sama. I'm here to help you again. Sorry I'm almost late, I was a little busy."

"Ah, Kasumi-chan," he replied, smiling, "It's good to see you." And, noticing the healthy flush of her cheeks, he added, "You're looking very well."

"Ah, arigato gozaimasu… Eto, I hope that I find you well, Sandaime-sama," she stepped inside and shut the door behind her, sitting down on a seat next to his desk. She subsequently eyed all the papers on his desk and grimaced, mumbling to herself, "All that to sort?" You never change, do you? She added as an unspoken afterthought

He felt a little embarrassed – the reproach had been clear in her voice – being admonished by someone over five decades his junior. But he chuckled and answered, "It is not too much work to do, is it?"

Kasumi merely smiled and shook her head, already reaching to start to sort through the piles of documents, organising them into smaller, categorised heaps. She worked quietly and efficiently, handing him some papers that required a signature whenever he seemed to run out of things to do.

Half an hour later, when he had even run out of files to sign, he started speaking to her again. She was grinning at a joke he had told her, when she was asked, "How's your father, Kasumi-chan?"

Her grin slipped slightly, the sudden emotions in her eyes carefully schooled into an unreadable emptiness. Then the grin was back and she responded, "He's fine. He wasn't f-feeling very well recently; s-so he hasn't been working as much."

Understatement of the year. He was actually fired, she thought to herself, but she never voiced it. She didn't want to make the Hokage worry about her.

Except that he had noticed (it was quite obvious, really) that little slip and already knew about what had happened to her father, yet decided not to comment on it.


She was almost finished working when a little yellow and orange blur of excitement burst through the door. She immediately held onto the mounds at her feet tightly and looked up to see who it was. She recognised the boy from her class at the Academy, but couldn't quite recall the name, despite the fact that he made quite a striking figure and had a memorable face.

He was going on about something or other at a rate of noughts and ended by declaring boisterously, "Take me out for ramen, jiji!"

She just blinked at the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy standing in front of the Hokage's desk; a finger jabbed at said man. Sarutobi was chortling to himself and then looked down at Kasumi, "Care to join us? It would be my treat. And don't worry," he said, looking at how much more organised she had made the place look, "I think you've done enough work today."

She considered for a moment and then nodded, "Okay." She stood up and shyly sidled up to the boy who was looking down at her through squinting eyes. She looked slightly nervous but bowed and whispered, "Eto… M-my name's Yuhara Kasumi. H-hajimemashite."

Wait… The name suddenly came to her. Naruto.

He grinned up at her, almost painfully bright, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! Pleased to meet'cha! One day I'm gonna kick this geezer out of that chair and become Hokage – so don't you forget it!"

The absurdity and unexpectedness of what he said caused her to laugh, a bright melodious sound. "Baka," she light-heartedly joked. He pouted and was away to shout out, "I'm not an idiot!" But, realising that she had said it teasingly and without a hint of malevolence (unlike the villagers), he merely grinned. She then soothed him in the same bright manner when she saw his blue eyes brimming with determination, "I'm sure you will."

She seems like a good person, Naruto deemed and with that, he linked an arm through hers and skipped off to Teuchi's Ichiraku Ramen bar with her in tow.

"Try and keep up, ne jiji?" He cheekily called back prior to disappearing, leaving Hiruzen to grumble about 'kids these days'. He was, however, surprised at Kasumi's reaction to Naruto. She was usually such a reserved girl that her being so open with someone she had just met was an absolute shock. She had actually seemed normal, like most other children her age – joyous and without a care in the world. Perhaps being around Naruto will be good for her, he thought. The look in his eyes then turned sorrowful, especially after…


Kasumi herself only had two bowls of ramen and looked on in barely concealed horror and amazement at Naruto, secretly impressed by how much he could eat.

"How do you put it all away?" She gaped, prodding him in the side, unable to keep the awe out of her voice, "I mean you're so thin!"

The Third wasn't going to mention that that was because Naruto only really got a decent feed there – the shopkeepers and everyone else in town (much to his shame and disappointment) refused to give Naruto any decent produce for him to make a meal out of.

The rest of the evening was spent full of laughter and smiles, despite the foul glares that Kasumi noticed passers-by were directing at Naruto. She glared right back, hiding the slightly uneasy and alarmed feelings that were curdling her stomach. But when she turned back to pay attention to the story Naruto was telling, Sarutobi caught her eye and smiled appreciatively at her. Her gaze was searching and calculating (Do you know what's going on there?); nevertheless she hesitantly returned the smile.

"Oi!" Naruto exclaimed, "Were you two even paying attention? I said…"


Kasumi unlocked the front door of her home, took a deep breath and steeled herself before she stepped inside.

"Tadaima," she murmured wearily. There was no answer, although that was to be expected. Glancing through the doorway of the living room, she saw her father passed out on the settee, several empty bottles of cheap alcohol littering the floor around his feet. A brief look of both disgust and sorrow passed over her features before she shook her head, retiring to her room, managing the stairs as quietly as she could.

She sat down on her bed, staring blankly into space. She had hoped that the pleasant atmosphere that had permeated the air earlier would follow her home, but of course it wouldn't. Not with her father always spending the majority of their money on getting drunk all the time.

But at least he was asleep – she didn't want to have to deal with him asking her where she had been. She silently made her way upstairs to her room, still thinking on her situation. No doubt if her answer hadn't been 'satisfactory' she, by the end, wouldn't have been able to attend the academy for at least two days whilst she healed. It was a reason to be thankful, anyhow.

Shaking her head to dispel such thoughts, she went over to her desk, sighing. Speaking of the academy… She proceeded to finish a report that was to be handed in at the end of the week. And as she did so, she pretended that she didn't notice the single tear that glided down the curve of her cheek.


Glossary

Eto/Ano sa/Ano: these little words are the equivalent of "ummm" or "uhhh" or any other noise that indicates hesitation.

Sensei: teacher or master

Hai: yes

Sandaime-sama: Lord Third (I always thought that sounded lame; I much prefer the Japanese way of saying it)

Sumimasen: can mean "I'm sorry" or "I recognise that this is inconvenient."

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu: this little phrase has a lot of meanings. Kasumi uses it meaning "I am in your debt" or "I am counting on you."

Konbanwa: good evening

Arigato gozaimasu: thank you very much

Jiji: a rather rude and disrespectful way to say "old man"

Hajimemashite: used when first meeting someone and introducing yourself to them. Generally translated to "how do you do?"

Tadaima: I'm back (home). The response to this would either be okaerinasai or okaeri.

Hope that was of some help to you! And thank you very much for taking the time to read the prologue! ^~^