Vines and Butterflies

I woke up to the beeping of my alarm clock. Glancing at the time, I smiled. 'Time to start a new day.' Good morning, my name is Mitsuru. I live in Konoha, and I'm thirteen years old. (My sensei held my team back for a year so I'm still a gennin, and I'm older than most of the gennins in Konoha) I have long forest green hair that goes down to my knees and I have side bangs going to the left. As for my eyes they are a bright lime green. This is my story.

As I got dressed in my usual green zip-up jacket, (much like the one Hinata wears in the Naruto shippuden) a fishnet top that goes under the jacket, black ninja styled kaprees, the usual black ninja styled shoes, and a forest green kunai/ exploding tag pouch, I noticed that my necklace and forehead protector weren't where I left them. I started to panic and search around the room frantically, not for the forehead protector but for my necklace. As you can see my necklace means a lot to me. Why? It's because it belonged to my mother. She had given it to me before she passed away the very second I turned two. How I remember small things far before a normal child should I have no idea, but that’s how I was born I guess. Although that's not the only reason why it's special. Yes, my necklace has some kind of power that has helped me throughout the years. I couldn't go a day without it before and I'm not going to start now.

After looking everywhere my necklace could possibly be I almost gave up. My room is always clean it shouldn't take this long just to find my necklace. I looked in one last place that my necklace was least likely to be which was under my bed. I know most people might look there first, but as I said before my room isn't and never was that messy so nothing ever ends up under my bed and besides the beds here are more like mats, and very thin mats at that. But aside from my reasoning there it was, my light green necklace and Konoha forehead protector. I snatched it up as quickly as I could. My necklace that is, I only picked up my forehead protector when I was sure that my necklace was secure around my neck. How it ended up there I have no clue to this day.

Once I had tied my forehead protector around my neck as well I tucked my mother's necklace under my top. As you've probably figured out from that, I don't want anyone to see it. Don't ask why because even I don't know the answer. My mother told me never to show it to anyone even my father. Although she died early in my life I never disobeyed that one order, and I don't plan on it either.

Well enough about my necklace. (Although it does play a big part in this story and in my life) If you're going to hear about me you might as well know my personality. Since I can't tell you what my personality is like myself I asked how other people thought about me for the sake of the story, and here is what they said:

Uzumaki Naruto: she's nice she eats ramen with me all the time ever since we met at the chunnin exams

Haruno Sakura: I agree with Naruto she is nice, but she can be a bit dense, but the best news is that she doesn't like Sasuke!

Uchiha Sasuke: she's pretty and she doesn't drool over me like Ino and Sakura. She's also very kind and feels sorry that Itatchi killed my clan. I guess she understands in a nutshell how I feel.

Nara Shikamaru: Oh Mitsuru I guess we're friends. *yawns* She always watches the clouds with me and doesn't scream in my ear to wake me up like some people. *looks at Ino and Naruto*

Yamanaka Ino: She's great! She doesn't like Sasuke, she gives me fashion tips, we go to the mall together all the time, she's extremely nice and best of all she doesn’t like Sasuke. (Author: you already said that Ino)

Choji: I like her. She's very nice to everyone including me and she doesn't bother me about my weight, she even said that I remind her of a teddy bear. She's pretty to.

Hyuga Hinata: we're friends I don't get nervous while talking to her and she helps me talk to Naruto. Somehow it seems that although she has a sad life no one can imagine her without a smile on her face, she's strong too and she'll listen to anyone's problems no matter what they say or how much time she wastes while listening. I think she'd rather die than ignore someone in need. She is a bit dense and is somewhat of a ditz though. (Authors note: Mitsuru would listen to anyone with problems even if they're stupid problems that don't need much attention. Hinata knows the most about her because she was the closest to her before Shino came)

Kiba: I'm glad that Shino found someone that he cares about a lot especially one that loves nature as much as he does. She is pretty, and nice, she gets along with Akamaru too. We always take him for walks and play with him in the park. But nobody's perfect. Like Hinata and Sakura said she's kinda dense and she's a bit of a ditz too. During the second part of the chunnin exams she looked at the forest and saw the giant snake and said "how beautiful!" and she wasn't even sarcastic she was dead serious!

Aburame Shino: (Authors note: I'm sorry but you'll have to wait until the end of the story to find out about what Shino thinks of Mitsuru.)

Hyuga Neji: She's strong, beautiful, kind, respects others and their concerns, and I don't think she'd care if the person was an S-rank criminal she'd still listen to what they'd have to say and forget about their crimes. For all I know she'd probably consider an S-rank criminal her best friend if they'd open up to her.

TenTen: I admire her. She's pretty, strong, and even though most of the guys think she's pretty -which she is- the girls can't get mad at her since she's so nice.^^ Although I've heard that she's kinda dense from Neji. u_u Oh well.

Rock Lee: So youthful! I first thought it was strange that Shino liked her because he hardly ever talks. I was a bit disappointed too she's so pretty. Oh well I guess I still have a chance with Sakura. She even told me that to!

Subaku no Gaara: she's kind and she never thought of me as a monster but as a person who needed a friend. I know the bug guy will probably get mad at this but she helped save me from the Shukaku. She's one of the few people I talk to frequently and I guess you could call us friends since we watch the stars sometimes. I like that she wasn't scared when she saw my face when it was part of the Shukaku. I admire that she doesn't care if the person is homicidal or not she'll listen to their problems like she did with me (Author's note: Gaara doesn't know Shino all to well. All he knows is that he beat a Sound ninja during the exams and that he also beat his brother Kankuro.)

Subaku no Temari: She's nice to everyone and she helped Naruto calm Gaara down. We're not friends or that close. We're more like good acquaintances since she's friends with Gaara. (Author's note: Temari is Gaara's older sister. She's also the oldest sibling. Gaara's the youngest)

Subaku no Kankuro: Meh… she's okay I don't talk to her much because I don't want Gaara or the bug kid to get mad. *D**n she's hot!* (Author: Hey Shino! Guess what Kankuro is thinking!) Wait no don't tell him! (Author's note: Kankuro is Gaara's older brother and he's the middle child like me)

Made up Characters

Kaoru: She's cool! Although I only know her through Kiba she and I are buds. We fool around and exchange manga books all the time! (Author's note: Kaoru is Kiba's girlfriend I'll write another story about her later. She's also one of the Jinchuriki. She's the two tailed wolf. Kaoru has a pet wolf named Umi which means ocean in Japanese. She's also obsessed with manga like Mitsuru.)

Uchiha Tori: Well…. I guess she's okay. I haven't talked to her much… or at all, but I've heard from Sasuke that she's really nice, strong and she feels bad that our entire clan is dead except for me, Sasuke and Itatchi. *Smirks thinks* 'Heh Sasuke has his first crush' I did fight her in the chunnin exams though; she beat me too. I'll admit she's strong. …I guess I did talk to her once. *looks down* (Author's note: Tori is Sasuke's older sister and Itatchi's younger sister. Meaning she's the middle child. She was acknowledged even more than Itatchi though. It was because she had invented her own technique as well as obtain the sharingan so it's vital that she's flustered at how Mitsuru beat her. She's Neji's girlfriend. I'll write another story about that too.)

Rini: She's awesome!!!! I know her through Kaoru who knows her through Kiba! I know her through Naruto too since we all go out to get ramen together. (Author's note: Rini is Naruto's girlfriend. I'll also write another story about them. She's possessed by one of the Jinchuriki the three tailed golden tiger to be exact. Rini is always really hyper so she shouts most of what she says and she loves ramen. Go figure. She's Naruto's girlfriend so it's practically vital.)

Yuri: *yawns* She's on my team so I see her a lot. She's always trying to be friends with me and I think it's working. Shikamaru's trying to convince me to be friends with her too since he's always watching clouds with her when I'm not there or to tired to move. She's pretty nice I guess. (Authors note: Yuri's Shikamaru's girlfriend. She's also one of the Jinchuriki as well. She's the five tailed grey panda. Don't worry I'll write a story for her and Shikamaru. Mitsuru actually helped set Shikamaru and Yuri up with the help of Ino and Temari. She has a necklace that's very important to her as well as a deceased mother just like Mitsuru. Her necklace is never to be taken off because if she does the demon will go berserk. Even if it's only a panda and it only has five tails the grey panda is the third strongest next to the eight and nine tailed foxes)

Tsuki: She's friends with Gaara and she taught me how to trust people. I guess if I talk to her more we'd be friends. (Authors note: Suki is Gaara's girlfriend and I'll write a story about that too so don't bug me whoever's reading this. Suki is also one of the Jinchuriki she's possessed by the eight tailed fox so she's the second strongest next to Naruto and has had a pretty rough life since she only came to Sunakakure nine years after her entire country died. She's also on Gaara's team. It's said that the eight and nine tailed foxes were partners and maybe more than that that's why Tsuki and Naruto immediately knew that each were possessed and were drawn to each other as friends, and Gaara is a bit jealous because of it. Suki always tells him that she and Naruto are only friends so he won't get mad)

Kyo: Um…. She's on my team. She's strong, beautiful, kind, and I don't feel the same way I do around other people. Wait did I say that out loud? *Blush* (Author's note: Kyo has a huge crush on Mitsuru or at least he thinks he does. Since he has a crush on her he's a little overprotective of her. He also fights with his sensei all the time and it annoys Yuri a lot. So much that she'd rather train than listen to them fight and that's saying a lot since she's really lazy.)

End of opinions

So that's what they think of me. Just to go over it apparently I'm kind, I listen to people's problems no matter who they are, I'm dense, I'm a bit ditzy, I love nature, I'm strong, most of the guys think I'm pretty, and I'm great friends with Team eight. (Authors note: team eight is referring to Hinata, Kiba, and Shino.) Just to let you know I control vines so that's the reason why I love nature so much. That's also why I thought the forest was beautiful. I also met everyone during the chunnin exams so this was all said a few years after Naruto left to train.

Anyway back to the story. Once I had tied my forehead protector around my neck I had heard my father call my name so I rushed down stairs. "Yes, dad?" I asked. "I was going to tell you that you left a few kunai sitting on the couch." said my father "I also left your obento box on the table by the door." he finished. "'Kay thanks dad." I said running to get my kunai. As soon as I had stuffed my kunai into the pouch strapped to my right leg I ran to the door and grabbed the lunch that my father had made for me and rushed out the door saying goodbye to my father. Picking up my speed I reached the forest and leapt up into the trees and jumped the rest of the way to my team's training ground.

Once I was almost there my foot went right through a branch and I began to fall. 'An illusion?' I thought. I shot my hand up in the direction of another branch and a thick green vine shot from my hand to the branch that my arm was pointed to and rapped itself around it. A sigh of relief slipped out of my mouth along with "I'm saved"

I glanced down at the grassy ground to see that I could've died if I hadn't used my vine to act as a rope. When I looked back up and to the side I slowly stretched my arm to the closest branch to the side of me and another vine came out of it. This one was thicker, and it was just thick enough to hold my weight. The vine disconnected with my hand, and I began to swing from side to side with my 'rope-branch'. Once the swing was strong enough I disconnected my hand from it and leapt to the bridge-like branch. Once I was safe sitting on my branch I thought of my branch being sucked back to the original one that I didn't make and it did the exact same way that I thought.

Now I was sitting on the branch safely. Another sigh passed through my lips, and I heard a tap on the branch next to me. I looked up and there she was Haruka sensei. "Very well done Mitsuru," she said. I smiled "Thank you sensei." I replied. Haruka had long straight silky, silver hair and deep silver eyes. She was average height and very pretty in most guys' opinions.

I heard another tap on another branch, and I turned to see Kyo and Yuri, my teammates. Yuri yawned, "Yeah nice job," she said and turned to Kyo and added, "I guess you don't have to worry about her anymore, Kyo." "Shut up!" shouted Kyo and then looked at me "Are you okay? No scars or anything?" he said with a worried look on his face. "I'm fine. Thanks for worrying about me." I said still smiling. Kyo blushed. He's always worrying about me and always blushes around me. I wonder why. (Author: Do you see at what they mean by dense?)

Yuri on the other hand is always yawning and she always has a bored look on her face. Her hair is silver and her eyes are a very pretty ocean blue. She also fights with a katanna. I think that she couldn't care less about being a ninja or about life no less. Although sometimes she can be very smart and she pulled us through many narrow escapes. I've heard that she has one of the Jinchuriki sealed inside her, the five tailed grey panda I think it was.

Sensei smiled at Kyo. Even if her student was a bit dense she sure wasn't. "By the way sensei did you have a jutsu set up for Mitsuru to save her if she fell like you did with us?" asked Kyo. "No, I didn't" Haruka sensei replied. "What?!! She could've died if she fell!" yelled Kyo. "Oh I knew she wouldn't fall," said Haruka whose smile was getting bigger. Kyo sighed and glared at his sensei. "What? Didn't you think she could've done it?" asked Haruka with her smile morphing into a smirk. "O-of course I did, b-but just in case she did fall," stuttered Kyo in almost a mumble.

"Hey! I hate to break up another one of your mini fights, but don't you think we should start training." said Yuri in her usual bored tone and her hands resting behind her head. Kyo had an I-forgot look on his face, but sensei just smiled. "Yes, you're right Yuri we should start training." she said.

Once we had gotten to the actual training ground our sensei turned to us with a smirk that looked like it wouldn't ever leave her face even if she wanted it to. "All right, Yuri, Kyo and Mitsuru, my students I'm sure that you've all seen the hawk that's been flying around the village haven't you?" she asked. Yuri yawned again and nodded and Kyo did the same thing, without yawning that is. Haruka turned to me as I just started to look back at what I had seen that morning. Then I remembered it a dusty brown hawk flying in the sky. (Author: *gasp* no way!)

I quickly nodded my head. Haruka smiled at me again. "And I'm sure that you recognize that hawk from a year ago." added Haruka. The other two began to think as well as I was. Then it hit me "Now that you mention it, it is kind of familiar." I said. "Really? And why is that?" asked my sensei. "It's the same hawk that flew around on the day that the chunnin exams were announced last year," I replied. "Very good" said Haruka clapping her hands. "Wait… so that means that it's time for the chunnin exams!" shouted Kyo. "Ow! Don't shout when she's right there. We can hear you!" said Yuri. I just giggled at that. "Yes, the chunnin exams will begin tomorrow," said Haruka.