藤原の紫です。

Murasaki stood in the doorway of the Yoake shrine, watching the blood red sun rise slowly from the dusky hills. She let out a sigh in the cool morning air, clutching her broom tighter in her hand as an uneasy feeling settled in the back of her stomach.

Yesterday had been the Shosai festival day for the spirit Ame no Uzume, the goddess of the dawn.

As expected, worshipers had tracked dirt and mud all over the place and left food and incense all over the shrine. Abandoned or forgotten fortunes and omamori 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. And of course, most of them would be hung over from the ceremonial sake that was not for drinking… She cleaned the shrine first, taking special care not to tear the braided shide charms attached to the shimenawa ropes of the shrine. Murasaki was polishing the Inari statues as dawns first light began to turn 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, running out onto the kaguraden to meet her friend. Obito waved from the trees and leapt down.

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

"I didn't know you wanted to come. I thought that Hatake-san said 'a shinobi needs no religion…'." Murasaki said, picking up a couple pieces of paper from the 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 would have even polished my headband!" He pointed his thumbs at his forehead where the headband shone crimson in the growing light. Murasaki smiled quietly, leaning her broom against the support beams.

"Well, maybe it's 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 told.

They sat together on the floor in the darkness of the small hut while Murasaki read his fortune, looking down at the jumble of stones and twigs on the mat before her. Over and over in her head, she told herself the grim reading of the signs were due to her inexperience at telling fortunes, but his ensuing misfortune was there as plain as day. Murasaki took a deep breath, wondering if she should warn him.

"What, what does it say?" He asked, leaning closer to her and making the jinja girl's face grow hot. The girl hesitated slightly, looking away.

"Nothing important... I'm just a miko, so it's not like I can really tell fortunes anyway."

Obito sighed, sitting down again. "It's was bad, isn'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, and once again, got the same grim reading.

"Hey, that looks the same as last time!" The loud brunet scoffed, crossing his arms. "So what does it really mean, anyway?"

Murasaki closed her eyes, trying to find her voice. "Ah…it means that…you'll die old and have many children!" She said, lying almost blatantly.

"Really?" He asked, dark Uchiha eyes shining with pride. "Does it say who with? Am I going to marry Rin?"

"I don't know…" Murasaki said quietly, feeling a slight pang of jealousy at the mention of the other girl's name.

"Heh, I bet I am, and she and I are going to like, have ten kids…" Obito said with a grin, adjusting his headband and standing up.

Murasaki was silent as they both left the hut, 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 impulsive teammate.

"But, Kakashi-san…" Obito whined. Kakashi's steely grey eyes stared coldly at the pair, scolding them silently.

"You better go, Obito-kun." Murasaki whispered, as she heard a wooden door slide open somewhere downhill from the main shrine. She didn't want to be on Noriko's nerves today…

"I'll be there in a second, Kakashi-san." 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 jounnin today, now he thinks he's better than everyone, not that that's anything new."

"I'm sure you'll become a Jounnin soon, too, Obito-kun." Murasaki said brightly, a red tinge spreading across her face. Obito turned around and smiled, oblivious to her blush.

"Nah, it's 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 and thinking sadly of his fortune.

It was then she remembered the omamori she had made special for him. Perhaps, by some small chance and a great favor from the Spirits, it would spare 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-sama, we heard you coming before we saw you." Kakashi snapped, stressing the honorific with heavy sarcasm. Murasaki bit her tongue, determined not to act out against him.

"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-chan…" She said quietly, smiling to herself at the feminine honorific. Kakashi turned around, surveying her with blatant disdain and embarrassment. "Omedetou." She said with a Kakashi was turning bright pink.

"Doomo Arigatou Gozaimasu." He said formally with a stiff bow, before turning away. She watched them disappear into the distance as the sunlight turned the skies a pure shade of blue, the bad feeling festering down at the pit of her stomach. Obito's fortune had left a bad taste in her mouth, even after she had given him the protective charm.

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

"Murasaki, where are you, brat!"

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. The shrine is a pigsty."

"Gomen nasai, Noriko-sama. "

xXx

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 with the character for 'Fire'. Murasaki sighed, squaring her shoulders. The weight of the layers of her clothes were 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 she 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.

"This is the first time we meet, I'm Murasaki, please regard me with favor..." Murasaki bowed back.

"Please regard me with favor. It's an honor to finally meet you, Murasaki-sama. Please, come into my husband's 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, thinking back to the fortune as she began to tremble.

She stepped slowly forward into the room full of people she didn't know, people who were shinobi, who stared strangely and whispered behind their hands as she neared the desk. Tears were now flowing freely down Murasaki's face, making faint pink lines appear on pale skin as she trembled like a leaf.

"M-Mi-na-to-sa-sama." She whispered, trying to keep her composure. He stood up from his desk and came around the front, taking 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. Yondaime clasped her hands in between his. His hands were shaking and his honest blue eyes were full to the brim with tears.

"Murasaki-dono, 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 misfit 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 Yondaime'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. Murasaki's long brown ponytail was dripping with bile and partially digested rice as she completely lost it there on the office floor. "I'm so sorry!" She moaned, not daring to look into the startled Hokage's face. She got up, scrambling for the door, slipping 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 probably already hated her for being a Jinja girl.

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, sobbing into her vomit soaked sleeves and wiping her eyes with a clean didn't sense the wild, white haired man approach and sit down next to her until he put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's going to be okay, kiddo." He said in a deep, gentle 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 in an uncomfortably familiar manner."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 man pulled her closer to his chest, rubbing her shoulder in that oddly familiar manner that made her even more uncomfortable.

"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 dried her eyes with a handkerchief and stared blankly at the man. "I think you and I, we are a lot alike; I can see it in your eyes. You've got a lot of fire and a lot of fight in you. Now come on, let's give it another try. It would be a shame to hide such a pretty face from the village." 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 shoulder and the walked back towards Konoha, but before entering the gate, the man stopped and turned to her.

"As for your name, sweetheart, what is it?"

"Ah…My clan name is Fujiwara…I am Murasaki. Fujiwara no Murasaki…" She said quietly. He smiled and nodded.

"It's a pleasure to meet such a beautiful young lady. I am the Sage of Myobokuzan Mountain, Jiraiya…" He said kindly, his hand never leaving her shoulder. "Now, we have a Hokage to see, Murasaki-chan."

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A/N; Ah, here it is, my duckies, the long awaited re-write. I had originally stopped writing all together because of another author (coughLadyDetiacough) that decided to make life difficult for me, but thanks to one very faithful young lady by the name of Animechick247, and my beloved male counterpart, Pein/Kakashi/GodricGriff, and my good friend Kelli, I was given the strength and courage to pick up my stories again.

This is going to be quite different from the original tale, though Murasaki has changed very little. I've been going through and de-marysueifyng her, and there's less of the Japanese language and more cultural and literary references. Hopefully you'll like it more this time around!

I got the name 'Eiga Monogatari' from Fujiwara no Michinaga, who chronicled the rise of the Fujiwara family during the Heian era. Eiga Monogatari means 'The Tale of Flowering Fortunes' in an older form of Japanese (citation: Professor Peter Tillack, Montana State University)

Ahem, key:

kaguraden: Danceing platform at shrines used to perform the kagura and other cerimonial dances.

Omamori: Good Luck charm/talisman

Ame no Uzume: goddess of the dawn

Shosai: minor Shinto festival, usually reserved for local holidays.

Miko: Shinto Shrine maiden, a lot of stress is put on purity in Shinto, things like death and blood loss makes one impure (hence Noriko's dislike of Shinobi). Traditionally, the onset of puberty meant that a girl would be stripped of her Miko title, though now a Miko has the right to maintain her title until her virginity is lost. In pop culture, the miko appears as the 'perfect woman', and often had certain spiritual powers associated with her diety. In the case of Murasaki, I chose to play on more pop-culture than tradition, though a certain degree of tradition still makes itself known.