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The training had gone well for the most part and Misaki was in a good mood.

Misaki took the rest of the day off and drank in the sights and sounds of the village. The buildings of Konoha were splashed in bright colors and its people were friendly. Misaki wondered if it had been too much to ask the universe to had just remained here all her life with her family. Would her mother and father still be alive if they had stayed in the Hidden Leaf? It was futile reasoning, but it gave her a position to stand on.

However, when she approached her door, someone was already waiting when she arrived home. It was a bit disturbing to see two figures over her bed.

Already, Misaki understood that Sakura considered her a friend. It would just make it worse when she had to leave unexpectedly.

"Here she is!" Sakura declared. "Ino-chan, this is Morino Misaki."

The girl was blonde like her and dressed in purple. Her long ponytail shone in the sunlight that beamed through the open window.

"Misaki-chan, this is Ino-chan."

"Pleasure." The other girl extended her hand.

Misaki cautiously took it. She had grown unused to any sort of human contact mind. Unbidden, her mind ghosted over to Kabuto and his touch. He haunted her still. The pale man's right hand man would be pleased to know that.

Did she...miss him?

Clearly, she had not inherited her uncle's common sense.

"Another blonde! It seems that we share a bit of a resemblance," Ino went on with a giggle. "Of course my eyes are blue while yours are green."

And Ino was an actual kunoichi. She and Sakura were actually skilled and they were younger than she by a year or two. Where had Misaki been all this time?

"Her family owns a flower shop," Sakura put in.

"Yeah and Sakura tells me that you adore them. What's your favorite one? Don't be shy."

Misaki relaxed. It seemed that she could trust her.

"Churippu. Tulips."

"Well, we're pretty far from that. Maybe you could see them in the spring," Ino smiled.

Misaki would like that, but it was already October. She doubted that she would be here in April. Flowers hibernated in the winter and she often wondered under which soil she would rest.

Would Misaki be here all that long? It all hinged on the pale man. The Otogakure was where she rightfully belonged, wasn't it?"

Or was it here? Could it be here?

"Come on. You want to see it."

Misaki agreed.

Ino graciously gave them a tour of the Yamanaka shop and its greenhouses. It exploded with flowers. There were roses, lilies, anemones, and many varieties of chrysanthemums All of them were so lovely. She hadn't seen that many flowers since...before she had been brought to Orochimaru-sama.

Desperately, she tried to vain to grasp and keep the memory, but it eluded her. She was left staring bewildering at the spidery blooms of a fall chrysanthemum.

Now, she was rather tired, but Misaki wanted wanted as much fresh air as she could breathe. Misaki wandered away from the village and smiled to herself as she sat back against a tree. Before she could properly relax, she spotted a little white snake nearby. White snakes themselves were rare, especially one so small. Catching her stare, it lifted its head as if to acknowledge her before slowly slithering away.

Misaki was sure that she was being watched by Kabuto-kun or Orochimaru-sama. But where were they? In the outskirts of the forest, Misaki thought of her dream and half expected to see Kabuto-kun behind her picking flowers.

Quietly, whisper soft, she called their names.

Something rustled nearby, but there was no answer.

She knew nothing as always. Just the way the Otogakure preferred her.

Idly, Misaki pulled out a clump of grass. She was trapped.



---



Kakashi slowly approached Ibiki as he sat at his desk. The older man was filing an endless mountain of paperwork apparently without blinking. Kakashi was aware that the other man's focus was brutal.

"So how did it go?"

A file escaped Ibiki's fingers. He seemed ready to vent, and Kakashi braced himself.

"Her jutsus are deplorable. If it wasn't for that flower trick, she would have none. Her sensei has no excuse...where she was all these years?"

Kakashi smirked under his mask. Ibiki was as blunt as usual.

"The Kusagakure," Kakashi replied mildly

Ibiki shook his head. "I'm looking at another Idate," Ibiki scoffed "I swear I'm the only level-headed one in the family. Everyone else...just leaves."

"But she hasn't betrayed you yet," Kakashi pointed out.

"No," Ibiki admitted with a frown. "Not yet."

Even from his own bloodline, Ibiki-san was too suspicious. But that was how life had shaped him.

The cup of tea nearby steamed into spontaneous yet unpredictable patterns.