Prologue "Morning Glory"
Inoia stared at the beads of dew that had formed and now ran down the arched lilac petal of the and dripped off as the asagao flowers bobbed up and down in the soft breeze. Her father was suggesting something about improving the likelihood of the new jutsu they were developing together. One that could put their small clan on par with their powerful and dangerous neighbors. It was versatile and did not need to be just used for shinobi combat since they were treacherously new in that field.
Ironically the heir to all this knowledge had her thoughts consumed by different sorts of fields. The ones where these purple flowers had been plucked from, and now living the rest of their life in a simple cup of water. They probably had something to do with her father’s presentation but she was distracted by the hue, this color and shade of purple that is just too similar. She wanted to reach out and touch, to imagine soft strands under her fingertips that were hers to comb through and to cherish, to be able to move her hands down and cup the soft face with hardened eyes. Plant kisses on the creased forehead and smoothe the stress away and soothe the busy mind.
She had presented herself as an innocent friend to the Kunoichi and had pointed out all the useful herbs in the field they met, talking nonstop like a chatterbox. Directly quoting her friend from the Nara clan down the river; neighboring deer hunters who practiced medicine while spending days if not weeks hidden in the shadows of the ever reaching trees learning the secrets of the forest like no other.
She acted like a simple excited village girl, not the clan leader she would one day be or mind controlling ninja who’d make even the likes of the Uchiha and Senju grovel at her knees. Oh how she’d been tempted to reveal her secrets and relate, to draw the closed off mind to full attention. Had she turned on her she could have perhaps cast her imperfect jutsu and pressed her against the tree and…
“INOIA!” She startled from the violet hazed daydream at the sharp sound of her name by her father’s irritated voice.
“ Asagao,” she instantly responded, thinking he’d asked her a question and feeling warmth dush her cheeks.
“ Huh? The flower? Jin picked them for you… Oh I see young love<3” Her father’s romantic heart got the best of him as he speculated about her thoughts and cousin. As the future head it was essential to do as the other clans did, keeping their blood pure and in the clan along with the jutsu. If she were a male ninja she’d track down her purple haired kunoichi. If the girl was of a clan of import it could serve as a beginning of an alliance and she could remain head of her own. She could theoretically marry any man less powerful than her yet she simply wasn't interested in running the risks. Besides Jin was a kind shy young Yamanaka man with soft features and satisfied with her minimal attention.
“ You were saying?” she asked, taking advantage of his fanciful distraction to catch up on the lesson while making it seem he was holding it up.
“ Ah yes, Where was I? As you’ve duly noted, this jutsu, although we’ve managed to take control of another’s mind, comes at the cost of leaving your own body susceptible which has led to severe headaches in the aftermath at best..” The fair haired girl grimaced, staring at the calm watery blue eyes of her father to keep her grounded and thoughts from wandering to the less fortunate victims.
“ Nara mentioned various species of mushrooms that grow in the depths of the woods which can alter thoughts and cause hallucinations. Perhaps there are more plants with this sort of effect on the mind, even calming and healing variants which we could combine into a draught to administer as we progress with ironing out the kinks of our new jutsu.”
“Hmm, tricky work that is. The forest is dangerous besides the wild beasts or flora, it's the shinobi who are roaming that worry me. The Uchiha and Senju have once again been hired to fight against each other, and we're not the only ones experimenting. These exchanges have been more bloody for the Uchiha since the younger brother of the heir Tobirama’s innovations against his rival and the increased quality of the Senju healing nin.”
“ The Nara haven't discontinued their hunting, perhaps we could team with them and go unnoticed as civilians.”
“ That would require a great deal of diplomacy, secrecy and trust which I'm afraid may not extend to the entirety of this…clan.” Her old man was unsure of how to refer to these ‘Naras’ as he’d only heard of them through his daughter’s recounted acquaintances and gathered they were a step behind them in the making of a ninja clan.
“Perhaps, as for your earlier concerns, they escort another clan who’s also making 'medicine' for enhanced ninjutsu.” He frowned.
“ How have you come by all this information?”
“ Friends of friends, Father I propose we ally ourselves with these smaller clans amongst the giants since we have matching ends. I've already done half the work with Nara. If clans can constantly go to war, why can't we make long standing alliances? ” She proposed, very keen on spending more time in the woods, away from the calm safety of the village, to experience freedom and maybe even her. She pursed her lips. Her father’s somber face broke into a proud smile.
“ Look at you, already thinking like a leader.” She smiled, she was naturally charming.
“ Let me be the one, I will be the one to bring these propositions to Nara and Akemichi. It will be my first proper ninja mission as the most seasoned in the clan.” Not only would it cement herself as worthy of respect and consideration, despite being a young girl she far outclassed her kind old father in such dealings. For he’d agree to giving up his right hand after a few drinks. He was the sort you’d never expect to be as competent behind the scenes, to allow rather immoral and stomach churning experimentation.
He nodded solemnly understanding as well as his daughter that she was the most suited to go out, after all she was the one who had befriended the Nara boy in the first place.
And so they spent the rest of the morning going over plans on how to enchant and entice their new potential allies. By late afternoon when it was time to train. As Inoia cleared her workspace, stacking her writing and maps she caught the glimpse of withered asagao.