Chapter 2: Chrysanthemums

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Yo my shinobi miraculers!

Welcome back to chapter 2 of :sparkles: ezzie :sparkles: and mine’s collaboration Naruto alternate universe fanfiction!

Thank you all so much for all the the love and ive comments on the last chapter! It really made writing this chapter a lot more rewarding!🖤

A quick note that this series is rated PG-13 since it will have coarse language and violence, but I’ll keep it as mild as possible. :blush:

Credits to the miraculously talented shann for the Naruto AU art cover. Her Instagram is @shannanigans_and_such so be sure to check her out! I have asked permission to use her art :point_down:

Be sure to listen to the beautiful first ending theme from Naruto, “Wind” (Waindo) by Akeboshi that I linked below while reading!

Wind - Akeboshi

Happy reading my miraculers, dattebayo! :joy:

(Goes on a writing spree to give you the chapter two days early. Your welcome. *bows swankily :joy: )

Next Chapter->

Edit: Wait a second! How and when did this get featured?! Tysm!🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

***

Chapter 2: Chrysanthemums

-2 Hours Later-

Marinette wandered the almost empty village streets aimlessly, feeling nothing but anxiety for the perplexing, yellow-haired boy she had saved earlier. She itted that she may be overreacting, but all she could was feeling the need to puke our her insides at the afterimage of his crimson blood on her hands.

The moment she was certain that he was still alive, the bluenette had immediately checked his heartbeat like her father had taught her just in case. His pulse had been soft, but stable enough. She tried patching him up as best as she could, ripping off chunks of her now torn shirt to use as temporary bandages for the gushing wounds.

Almost near the brink of panicking, the ten-year-old gently lifted the surprisingly lightweight golden-haired boy onto her back with his head and arms lolled over her shoulder. Their body heats mingled with one another, enjoying the comfort of each other’s fervor. His raw skin was frozen from the chilled river making Marinette shiver as she trudged through the deep forest’s untamed thickets.

“Mom...Save me...” Marinette’s body instinctively went rigid. Slowly, she curved her face to meet his; his cracked lips almost speaking inaudibly.

“Mom...I’m scared...” The bluenette’s heart panged with comion and she sympathetically patted his albino strands.

“It’ll be okay,” She murmured soothingly. “I’m here. I’ll protect you.” His toughened hands flimsily gripped the collar of her shirt, burying his face in the crook of Marinette’s neck. She tensed at the sudden touch, but then immediately relaxed.

He must be dreaming, Marinette thought as she gazed a few years ahead at the hometown that condemned her.

Taking a deep breath, the onyx-haired girl recited in her head the three rules her father always told her to obey when she was outside, roaming the bustling streets alone without him.

1.) Keep your head down and avoid as much eye as possible

2.) Don’t get too nosy or curious about other people’s business, just keep walking no matter what you hear

3.) Keep your cool no matter what

Closing her eyes for a moment to mentally prepare herself and ed that she was risking the consecutive hurt to save someone’s life. She pushed the inscrutable boy up her back for better leverage and forced her jelly-like legs to move.

Practically tumbling down the callow valley hills, the midnight-haired girl bolted past the chaotic-colored, ranchers glares that stared at her and direction of the building that she was heading toward as she zoomed by.

“Is that the demon girl you were telling me about earlier?”

Those hushed whispers.

“Hush now, the demon girl might hear you!”

Those voices that treated her as some sort of pariah.

“Ugh, why couldn’t the Hokage have gotten rid of that pesky bastard and wretched traitor of a father back when all this bloodshed and war had ended? Now, we have to deal living with both of them around with that-“

Marinette gritted her teeth and focused a fierce glare at the chatty women, intimidating them to carry on with their affairs. Those villagers were walking on thin ice with her. She could care less what the people thought of her, but to insult her kind-hearted and selfless father after all he did for this ungrateful nation was crossing the line. But, she kept her composure, knowing that she did not want the comatose boy on her back getting lumped in with her problems.

So she pretended not to hear. They weren’t worth her precious time. She had a life to save. She blocked out their disgusted mutterings and kept racing against time for the Konoha Hospital.

The health institution was several stories tall made with ivory white quartz and stained glass windows with teal-colored curtains. It had simple structural design, but also had a professional look to it. The beryl-eyed girl glanced upwards at the translucent, towering doors and waltzed right in.

The next few minutes were mostly a blur and mix of confusion at why she was carrying someone who did not come from the village into the hospital, the desperateness to get the unknown boy on a stretcher to one of the resting rooms, and the nurse at the front desk’s unusual fear and shock at Marinette’s cloaked red clothing as if she had never seen blood before.

The growing mass of shouted dialogue ceased almost as quick as it began. Before long, the lonesome bluenette was abandoned and forgotten once again in the desolate reception room.

Here she was now, in a solivagant stroll toward the twin square to buy herself some fresh, toasty chocolate-drizzled croissants. Marinette pulled a few euros from her ripped capris, glad that she had pocketed some extra change from her monthly allowance. She counted the amount she has and gleefully raced toward the village’s sweets store until a saffron object behind some cerulean window frames catches her eye.

Her feet slid to a stop as she stared, bedazzled at the golden flowers. The cluster of blossoms were bundled in an elaborate circular arrangement with its greenery stalks wrapped in tight, ruby red ribbon. They were placed in a plastic, violet vase; the yellow and purple colors contrasting each other, making them both pop out.

Her mind whirled back to the mysterious boy whose hair rivaled that of the sunshine-colored mums. The seven-year-old’s brain conjured up another old memory of her five-year-old self asking her father why he was buying flowers for some of the hospital patients.

The amber-eyed man had smiled at her gently at her curiosity. “Because my little macaroon, it helps the patients recover their hopes so that they’ll get better. It’s also people’s way of saying get better soon!”

The raven-haired toddler had tilted her head to the side, blinking twice. “Get better?”

Tom chuckled at his little girl as he ruffled her messy pigtails. “You’ll understand one day when you’re a bit older.”

“Okay! But Papa, If I ever get sick, will you bring me flowers?”

“Hoho! Of course, my dear!” He guffawed.

The bluenette smiled at the distant, cheerful memory. Without another thought, she reached for the bronze door handle and alighted herself in. The shiny bell attached to the spruce wood door jingled as she opened and closed the entrance.

The flower boutique was gorgeously furnished with a variety of at least a hundred, diverse blooming bouquets ranging from unique mixtures of multicolored tulips, lilies, daffodils, and more.

“Coming!” A cute, high-pitched voice sings-songs from the back room staircase. Petite footsteps trampled through the store’s gateway as a pretty, indigo-eyes girl entered.

She had sandy-colored hair styled in an adorable pixie-cut, round twinkly irises, and was wearing a frilly, fuchsia dress that twirls every time she danced. In Marinette’s eyes, the youthful girl resembled the cheerful aura of a happy fairy with her bright smiles and the way she floated on her feet as she walked like she had the wings of a butterfly.

“How may I-“ The blonde stopped spinning as she realized who her customer is.

Oh no, I completely forgot! The villagers here hate me! I have to get out of here, Marinette thought frantically.

“Um...I’m sorry! I-I was just looking and I didn’t want to intrude! I’ll just be-“

“Help you!” The ocean-eyed girl finished her sentence from a few seconds earlier and continued to pirouette like a ballerina.

The bluenette blinked twice, not processing the words she heard correctly. “Um...Eh?”

“Oh!” The girl noticed Marinette’a confusion and slowly stopped revolving. “I’m sorry. I was just caught off guard there for a second...Has anyone ever told you that you’re really, really, REALLY pretty before?”

The midnight-haired girl scanned the storeroom and pointed at herself to make sure the other girl wasn’t talking to some other random girl with the same colored hair and bluebell eyes. “Who? Me?!”

The golden-haired girl giggles. “Of course, silly! I mean...Look at your silky-looking blue hair. Your gorgeous eyes and fair skin! Ooh, you’re making me so jealous!”

“O-Oh. Thank you,” Marinette sputtered, bewildered that the straw-haired girl didn’t pay her bloodied, ripped t-shirt and noticeable bruises any attention. “N-No one’s ever told me that before. Other than my dad that is.”

Marinette was astonished. Here she was, the most loathed girl in the entire village, the daughter of the most loathed man of the village, talking like friends to another civilian. The blonde seemed indifferent to popular belief. She wasn’t sure if the blonde either was ignorant of who she was or plainly didn’t care.

Nevertheless, it was heartwarming to actually talk to another kid her own age without the constant bullying and horrified murmurings. The bluenette was still painfully shy since she was not use to speaking with others, but it couldn’t be helped.

“Really? Well, they should! Because you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen! People these days, seriously,” She said genuinely. “Name’s Rose by the way! What’s yours?”

“Uh...Um...Marinette.” She stammered.

“Nice to meet you, Uh-Um-Marinette!” Rose chirped. “So like I said, what would you like today?”

Without a word since the bluenette was too timid and afraid of mes her next sentence too at the first person she’s ever properly spoken to other than her father, she directed her pointer finger to the golden flower behind her displaying on the windowsill.

Rose leaned forward in astonishment on the mint green desk at Marinette’s choice. “Oh, the chrysanthemums? You’ve got my approval on that! Those buds are probably my favorite in this entire shop! Other than the roses of course because well, they’re my namesake.”

She hopped down from the cash podium she dangling from. “How many would you like?”

“Just one is good enough.” The ebony-haired girl replied.

Rose nodded in affirmation and began to loosen the knot on the scarlet bow and plucks out one of the leafy stems. “My favorite flower for my new favorite customer.” She smiled and handed Marinette the butter-colored blossom.

“Thank you.” The beryl-eyed girl grinned and tenderly clutched the gift. She started to reach for her leftover money until Rose stopped her.

“No payment needed. Consider it a present from me.” The pixie-haired girl stated insistently.

“But-“

“No buts! When I say don’t pay me, I mean it. Just don’t tell anyone though. Mom and Dad will kill me if they find out since they don’t want the whole town demanding for free shipments on flowers now,” Rose said innocently with a finger on her rosey lips.

“You have my word.” Marinette promised.

“Great! By the way, what’s the flower for anyway?” The young shopkeeper queried with honest interest.

Marinette hesitated for a moment before replying. “It’s for someone whose in the hospital right now...”

“A loved one?”

The bluenette blushed a crimson red at the thought of the boy actually being someone she loved. “Not exactly...It’s for someone I saved today, that’s all.”

Rose gasped, her mouth in an ‘o’ shape. “You saved someone today?! Can you get anymore amazing?!” She squealed like a fan girl obsessing over her favorite celebrity.

“Shh!” The midnight-haired girl hushed. “Keep it down! It’s not that big of a deal! I don’t even know the guy...”

“Sorry,” The blonde apologized. “But, gotta give me the details sometime! I would love to hear all about it! Oh! Is it also okay if I call you and my best friend up one of these days? I’m sure that she’d like to know about it too! I don’t know if you know her or not. Her name’s Juleka. Tall. Purple-black hair. Says the word ‘awesome’ a lot. Anyways-“

She resumed her incessant rambling chatter making Marinette smile softly until she spotted and began to freak out at what the time was on Rose’s hazelnut brown grandfather clock. Her curfew was 5:00 P.M. and she still had to run back to the hospital to give the cryptic boy the chrysanthemum.

Why do these things always happen to her?

“Gah! I-I’ve gotta run, Rose! It was nice meeting you! Thanks for the flower and everything!” The coal-haired girl said rapidly before gently pushing by her new friend and slamming the boutique door.

The flummoxed, but understanding Rose shrugged nonchalantly and pranced back upstairs before anyone could notice that she was there.

Racing against the ticking clock, Marinette’s legs sped up at will toward the health institution before the sun can start to set with the sunshine yellow flower clasped in her mini hands.

***

Okay, I really liked writing this chapter due to the “blossoming” friendship between Marinette and Rose, #proskills with the low-key pun there. :joy:

Previously, this chapter was supposed to have some Adrien in it, but I didn’t want the chapter to turn out to be over 1000000 words so I digress. :joy:

Sorry since it’s so lengthy with dialogue, but I hope you like their interactions nevertheless!

Thanks so much for reading! Bug Out!

-PrettyQueen325 :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: