In an ordinary flower shop in Konoha, Mizuki sat behind a counter mostly hidden by flowers, completely absorbed in carefully studying the documents in his hands. Every so often, he scribbled notes on a sheet of paper with the pen beside him. His busy demeanor made quite a few customers who had been about to come in and shop hesitate and turn away.
Mizuki had only meant to fill in as a temporary shop clerk until Tsubaki got everything set up, but hiring a permanent employee had gone nowhere. In just a few days, he had become a somewhat well-known flower shop owner in the neighborhood, leaving him terribly conflicted.
Did I get played? Mizuki only realized later that Tsubaki had set him up. So much has happened over the past few months that she can't shake her insecurity just yet. Is she using this to give us something to do together and spend more time living together? Is she still worried I'll follow Orochimaru without a second thought?
A young woman's heart was just too hard to understand. Still, this wasn't so bad. It gave him more time to look around and learn, and spending time with people might even lead to some unexpected discoveries.
Mizuki had been sitting for a long time and was about to stretch when he noticed someone sizing up his flower shop.
"Teacher Mizuki, what are you doing here? Is this your shop?" The person was a pretty blonde girl, Ino Yamanaka.
"Oh, it's you, Ino. This flower shop belongs to my family. But if I remember correctly, your family owns a flower shop too. Did you come to spy on the competition's trade secrets already?"
"Of course not. What trade secrets could a flower shop have?" Ino hurriedly denied it. "I just heard a new shop had opened here, so I came to take a look. I didn't expect you to be the owner, Teacher Mizuki."
"Actually, my fiancée owns this shop. I'm just looking after it for her." Mizuki let the secret slip right away. "I've wondered whether opening a barbecue restaurant might have been better. Konoha has plenty of big eaters like Choji, enough to keep several restaurants in business. But I don't have any cooking skills or recipes worth mentioning, so it wouldn't be easy."
"So you went with a flower shop instead?"
"Yeah. My fiancée is more interested in flowers, and she knows her way around them. I'm completely hopeless, though."
"I can tell you're an amateur just by looking at the arrangement, Teacher Mizuki," Ino teased. "It looks decent at first glance, but you've got a lot of the combinations wrong. You'll lose a fortune running a flower shop like this."
"Huh? No way. They all look more or less the same. How could I have got them wrong?" Mizuki had absolutely no knack for this. He couldn't understand why two flowers with similar colors and appearances weren't the same kind.
Ino, who had been around flowers since childhood, simply couldn't stand seeing Mizuki treat them so carelessly and disgrace them like this. She spent quite a while rearranging the things that bothered her.
"Ino, you don't have to go to all that trouble," Mizuki said as he watched her work. "Tsubaki will be here soon. Let her sort things out."
"Tsubaki is your fiancée? What's she like? You're getting married?"
"What's wrong with that? I'm a grown man, after all. You should worry more about Sasuke. I heard Sakura Haruno and Sasuke have been spending all their time together, and their relationship is progressing by leaps and bounds. With her right there beside him, I don't think you have much of a chance, Ino."
"Nonsense! I'm not going to lose to Forehead Girl Sakura."
"Who knows? Anyway, Ino, don't Genin have missions to do? Why are you so free?"
"I just finished a mission and got back. I'm on leave now," Ino explained. "Aren't you just sitting around doing nothing too, Teacher Mizuki?"
"My situation is a little different, but I'll be busy again before long."
The Genin and their team leaders had all returned to the village. The Chunin Ninja Exams must have been only a few days away.
"Ino, thanks for helping me today." Mizuki couldn't help thinking that girls were more attentive when it came to flowers. "Take this bouquet as a thank-you."
"Teacher Mizuki," Ino said without taking it, "that kind is only used at funerals..."
"Really?" Mizuki gave an awkward chuckle. "Then take this one instead."
"That one's for marriage proposals, Teacher Mizuki. You're harassing me."
In the end, Ino picked out a flower herself and took it with her. Whether it was a rose, a China rose, or some other kind of flower, at least it got him out of trouble.
"The Yamanaka Clan's secret technique... I really want it. It might just solve my problem."
Mizuki knew that getting his hands on a clan's inherited secret technique was practically impossible. But Aoba Yamashiro seemed to have learned a little of it. How had he managed that? The connections between people really were complicated.
Before Mizuki could take another step, he suddenly vanished in a puff of chakra smoke. Immediately afterward, another figure appeared. It was Mizuki again.
"Has the time run out again? Looks like it still won't work. I'll have to think of another way."
The one who had been minding the shop all along was actually a Shadow Clone. To Mizuki, the most important feature of the legendary technique created by the Second Hokage was the strange way the clone's memories and experience transferred back to the original. To figure out how it worked, Mizuki had combined Sealing Jutsu with the Shadow Clone Technique. This had made the technique far more flexible, and chakra distribution easier. It had also made the clone more durable, but after experimenting for several days, he still hadn't found a way around the time limit. It was inconvenient that the clone vanished as soon as its chakra ran out. If only he could develop a better Clone Technique.
For several days in a row, Mizuki had spent nearly all his time working with the Shadow Clone Technique and Sealing Jutsu. He'd also looked into the Summoning Technique, but it was too soon to have much to show for it. More and more strangers were appearing in Konoha, including shinobi from other villages wearing Forehead Protectors. Then, one day, Konoha's mobilization order came. Mizuki looked up at the birds calling in the sky and found he didn't really want to go. But he was involved in the Chunin Ninja Exams, and after all this time taking it easy, he was feeling much better. He might as well go and see what was happening.
Having made up his mind, Mizuki finally made his way to the Hokage Office.
Along the way, he exchanged greetings with a few familiar shinobi. Once he arrived, he found a spot toward the back and kept a low profile. What happened next failed to hold his interest at all. The Third Hokage rambled on and on, then the three team leaders came forward to recommend new candidates, followed by Iruka stepping up to argue with them. Finally came the two sides' debate. What a bore. Was the Third Hokage going to smooth things over next and arrange a preliminary exam?
"I really want to go home," Mizuki said, letting out a huge yawn.
Suddenly, Izumo jabbed him in the arm.
"What?" Mizuki asked, coming back to himself. Then he realized something was wrong. "Why is everyone looking over here?"
"Ahem." The Third Hokage asked, "Mizuki, are you still unwell?"
Why isn't this going according to the script? Mizuki replied calmly, "I'm fine now."
"Good. Do you have any objections to the preliminary exam?"
"None. I'll do as you say, Lord Third." What had they just been talking about? What did any of it have to do with him?
"Since there are no objections, everyone can go prepare."
The others filed out, while Mizuki desperately wanted to find someone who could explain what had just happened.
As Mizuki stood there bewildered, Iruka came up behind him and said, "Mizuki, thanks for agreeing to help me."
"What did I agree to?" Mizuki had a bad feeling that trouble was coming his way.
"Which one are you going to test? Sasuke? Naruto? Or Sakura?"
Did Iruka think it wasn't enough to handle this on his own? Was he trying to drag Mizuki in to help? No wonder everyone had been looking at him. Iruka really knew how to make trouble for him.
"Let's go with Sakura Haruno. She'll be the easiest." Mizuki resigned himself to picking the least troublesome one. Naruto Uzumaki was out of the question. Either he'd have to take Naruto down with one genjutsu, or he'd get swarmed. Either way, Mizuki wouldn't accomplish anything. As for Sasuke, forget it. He didn't get along with moody brats, and dealing with the Sharingan was a headache. Right now, Sakura was still an easy target. If he didn't take the chance to tease her now, he might not get many more opportunities.
"Sakura, then. That works. You've only just recovered from a serious illness, Mizuki, so I'll handle the others. Sorry to trouble you this time. Think of it as repaying the favor you owe me from last time."
"Iruka, I don't come cheap. Are you sure you want to use up your favor on something this small? You're getting the short end of the stick."
"How so? Isn't this fine?"
"Since you put it that way, I can't just go through the motions. I'll have to prepare properly."
"You're the one testing Sakura?" Kakashi suddenly appeared. "I'm suddenly worried about my students' future."
"Relax, Kakashi. You should have some confidence in them, or why recommend them at all?"
"That's true. I do believe in them. It's not them I'm worried about. It's you."
"Don't make me sound like some kind of villain. Just watch and see. Right, Iruka?"
"Just don't go too far. They're all newly promoted Genin, after all, Mizuki," Iruka advised.
"Don't worry. I know where to draw the line."
Seeing Mizuki grin like he'd found a new toy, Kakashi couldn't help worrying about Sakura.
Iruka had only pulled Mizuki in at the last minute to fill out the roster for the preliminary exam, and it wasn't a big deal. But it was a good chance to test the results of his research over the past few days. Sakura Haruno, who wasn't much of an opponent just yet, was a suitable choice too.
"But a conventional test of strength would be so boring. Sakura Haruno's weakness is obvious. I'd feel bad if I didn't take advantage of it."
"As long as I don't take things too far, Kakashi shouldn't blame me. I'll just leave him to deal with the headache. That's what I'll do."
Having made up his mind, Mizuki bit his finger and quickly formed a series of Hand Seals. As the Summoning Technique's markings spread, a figure appeared.
"It looks fairly stable now. Let's see how it performs on its first appearance. It's still incomplete and can only be used as a temporary measure, but it's the best option I have right now."
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