The Flower in the Snow

WOW!!! That's a lot of reviewers! Okay, I guess I'd better reply to some and answer a few questions, right?

OOO

TheGreatChan: Okay, here's the thing: I'm not really used to that form of writing anyways, and anyone else objects to it I'll probably stop using that method anyway. I was trying to find my boundaries, all in the name of self improvement. Glad you like it thus far!

Hikari Mitsukai and Tetri: Okay.

Ribbon-chan03: Wolves for Hinata? That could be interesting… I'll see how I can fit in Hina/Shino as well, but I can't promise it'll get mentioned much if at all…

ADD Kyuubi Naruto: Wow, okay… um, you do realise this is fanfiction, right? Okibimaru gave me some pointers when I started on You don't always have to make sense, so long as it works in the story.

2. Following Canon is advisable at first, but better fanfics split from it at some point or another.

3. Go with the flow. If it doesn't seem right, then it isn't.

So that's the point of that difference: not because I want Humans to seem more powerful, (and because I didn't describe the sealing method you can't really say I didn't involve Shinigami for the sealing, just that I didn't describe the sealing well enough.) but because I put value on the soul's existence. I actually reflected some of my spiritual values in that. Also, about Kyuubi and Orochi, Orochi is just a plot device I used to introduce the idea of Shikifuujin, it has no impact on the story, and Kyuubi can't have INFINITE chakra, reason being that if the chakra was infinite in the true sense of the word, then Kyuubi's killer intent could kill off every human on the planet when tested. THIS HAS OBVIOUSLY NOT HAPPENED YET AS OF A RESULT OF ANY DEMON, LET ALONE KYUUBI. There's a big difference between being pseudo-immortal and having infinite chakra. Shukaku's existence within the canon story proves this. If you want to debate it, then PM me and I'll send you my MSN address so we can discuss it over messenger.

Blood-angel 666: Okay, you have a good point there… best I can do is say this: the more popular characters for summons so far seem to be Naruto (with foxes and/or spirits), Hana (at least I'm guessing it's Hana, with dragons), and Hinata (with wolves). They are the most popular voted characters thus far, and they'll probably be the first (if not only) ones to get summoning contracts. It's important to note that I've gotten further though the canon story now, and due to my friends I'm aware there's a time skip. This means that although some of them will get summoning contracts, THEY WILL NOT GET THEM AT THE SAME TIME. Any characters who might have summoning contracts wouldn't get them until or after the time skip. The sole exception to the 'they don't have summoning contracts yet' rule is HANA. She already has a summoning contract I thought of before I called the poll, and it's quite freaky-I'm sure you'll love it (if you keep reading to find out, that is).

L is 4 LOVE: I have to assume that you like this fic, if you wanted the second chapter that badly! Sorry, but my internet was down for a while. (T.T)

As for the summon poll thing, you add to the end of your review what character you want to sign a summoning contract, then what contract they should sign. I'm happy with up to 2 contracts for each person, and if more suggestions than 2 are made, I'll choose the ones that have the most votes, or fit best into the story if they have similar numbers. Does that help?

Novak 112: Umm… thanks, I think… anyway, you want more chapters? Here's 3, and I'm currently working on 4 (this is the last pre-prepared chapter). I'm also try to do the totally inadvisable and balance this fic with my Bleach fic (Teenager for the Week)-not a good idea, but fun to do. Sorry if it annoys or inconveniences you in any way.

scione: How to explain this… Naruto couldn't go because he didn't have to go. The village council and the Hokage probably wouldn't have allowed it unless they absolutely HAD to. It's a good idea to keep an untested seal close to someone who could correct any problems with it. That's actually probably the only reason that Naruto's training away from the village by Jiraiya was allowed to go on for nearly 3 years in the canon story; Jiraiya's a seal master, so it shouldn't be a problem for him to change much if something happened to the seal holding Kyuubi.

A mask? This is a plot point that bugs me too… Should it be a mask, or his actual face? Okay, so I've got this decided already, but you'll have to read on if you wanna know.

Finally, what do you mean by 'dragons'? I know you are referring to summons here, but which character are you on about? Do you mean Hana, or Sasuke? Sakura or Shino(Scary thought)? I need to know the character that signs the contract. That's going to help me with deciding some points of the plot.

OOO

Anyway… back to my other form of writing.

…Well I've got to vary it to catch interest, right?

I don't own Naruto or any of the familiar characters, but I do own Rangiku and Hana. Blah blah blah.

You get the idea…

OOO

The Flower in the Snow: Chapter 3: Sakura Gets the Replacement Treatment

Training Ground 7:

Sarutobi had asked Kiba to bring his mom and sister to see him in his office later on. He turned his attention to Team 7 and Hana.

"As of tomorrow, Sakura Haruno will no longer be on team 7. Hana Uzumaki will be her replacement."

"3…" (Kakashi)

"2…" (Sasuke)

Everyone except Sakura in the immediate area blocked their ears.

"1…" (Naruto)

"WHAAAAAATTT!!!!?????!!!!!"

In Kyuubi's Cage:

The great fox itself had four of its tails stuffed into its ears at that. It removed them and grumbled.

"Damn bubblegum-haired banshee…"

Back on Training Ground 7:

Naruto removed his hands from his ears and joked:

"Can you scream that any louder Sakura? I don't think they quite heard you in Iwa…" He got bopped on the head for that. A large lump formed.

"Why the big reaction? It's not like you like one of these two dorks, right?" (Hana)

Sakura said nothing to that, instead giving Hana a harsh glare. Kakashi whispered to Hana:

"Sakura's performance in a controlled environment is extremely high, but she shows little to no skill in an actual battle, and her tendencies to pay attention only to Sasuke most times I'm not addressing them has also made the team as a whole fall behind. If the Chuunin exam is anything like I think it's going to be, it's quite possible she could get herself or someone on her team killed. She's a Genjutsu type, but I have almost none to teach her, save for the standard academy clone jutsu that she's already perfected." (1)

"So that's why she has to go? You can't think of what to teach her next?" Sometimes she loved making people's lives awkward. It was something that ran in the genes, because she knew Naruto loved to do it too. Unfortunately for Hana, Kakashi had a comeback for just such an accusation:

"The person she'll be learning from can solve that problem, as well as teach her some other skills, too. Very few-if any-of my jutsus I've learned are suitable for a Genjutsu type. It's for her benefit."

Sakura looked a tad uncertain.

"So I'm learning from someone else now?"

The aged Hokage nodded.

"She is a trustworthy Kunoichi of considerable skill. She will teach you well. You will be escorted to meet her by two very adept ninjas."

Said adept ninjas poofed into the area behind the Hokage.

"Hokage sir, are you alright? We heard shouting…"

Everyone sweatdropped at the new arrivals except Naruto, who turned pale and started pointing at one of the ninja, who had dark spectacles and a dark bandanna.

"Y-you!!!" The ninja simply smiled and pushed his shades up his nose a little further, then spoke in a ridiculously posh voice;

"Sorry, but I have a personality which doesn't allow me to remember skill-less brats. Who are you again?" Tick marks appeared on Naruto's head. Sasuke, Kakashi and even Sarutobi all backed off. They thought they knew full well what was coming, but they didn't; Instead of performing two jutsus like they thought he would (Sasuke and Kakashi fell victim to it when Naruto got frustrated in a training session)(2), Naruto argued back with what may as well have been Ebisu's death sentence;

"At least I'm not a closet pervert!"

Sakura looked around, then seeing no argument in return, she just asked;

"If he's a pervert, then why am I trusting my life to his protection? I'd rather not have him-"

"I would never do such a thing!"

"THAT'S WHAT THEY ALL SAY!!!"

The aged Hokage just sighed. Now he had to play peacemaker.

Damn Naruto's loud mouth… damn it to hell…

Hokage's Office; after Naruto arrives with Hana:

"You're here Naruto! And Hana as well! Excellent!"

"Like hell I'm gonna leave you high and dry, old man!"

"You expected us not to show up?"

"That's not the case, but I'm sure he wasn't expecting to see me here right now…"

"SHIORI'S BLISTERS!"

"WHAT THE HELL!?! KAKASHI-SENSEI'S ON TIME!?!"

And the other Jounin who should have turned up is late… what a reversal… (Sarutobi)

Suddenly the Hokage monument shifted three inches to the left. Konohamaru was overjoyed; he'd just won 10 ryou from Udon in a bet that the Hokage monument would move three inches to the left if he asked it to. He laughed as Udon handed over 10 ryou.

"Ha ha! Sucker!"

Sitting outside a certain corner shop, Hana's special Jounin trainer sneezed.

Back in the Hokage's office, Naruto looked over at Hana.

"Who's Shiori?"

"I'll explain some other time." The Hokage cleared his throat audibly, getting their attention.

Forgive me Arashi, but I may not get the chance otherwise… my health won't last much longer than this year, at best…

"Tell me you two, what do you know about Arashi Kazama?"

OOO

All footnotes are from this fanfiction's Naruto universe, so it's all my opinions on why it is the way it is.

1) The regular academy clone is a Genjutsu, as it is only represented using 2 out of the 5 senses. It can only be seen and heard. It cannot be touched because it's set up in the mind instead of a physical manifestation such as a shadow clone or water clone, which is much harder for most people, and counts as a Ninjutsu. It's the opposite way round for Naruto because he has so much chakra and so poor a level of control: he can't form Genjutsu properly because it takes a horrendously high level of control for him, when he has near superhuman chakra levels, and he is lacking in the necessary control. Shadow cloning is easier because the control is dealing with large amounts of chakra as opposed to small amounts for the regular clone. Naruto probably would show talent in water or sand cloning, if he knew how perform them, as well.

2) All true fans of Naruto should at least know what this Jutsu is. I promise it'll make an appearance sometime soon. I also have a personal version of this lined up, but I won't write its name until it's used, or it spoils the surprise. It should also be noted that Naruto simply won't use any variant of this around Hana.

The poll suggestions currently:

Naruto: Foxes (1) or Spirits (1).

Hinata: Wolves (1).

???: Dragons (1).

You know I love it when you review…

Ja ne!

blazeflare01