Misaki Akibana

is a kunoichi of Kirigakure. She is a chūnin level shinobi, a very adept user of flower ninjutsu, and a member of Team Saizō.

Background
Misaki was born in Kirigakure to two shinobi parents, Megumi and Ren. From an early age, Misaki had a penchant for flower-related activities, as she loved gardening and learning about different types of plants. When she was nine, Misaki's parents were sent away on a deep-cover espionage mission, and never returned. When it became apparent that Megumi and Ren were not coming back, Misaki was sent to live with her uncle, Hogyo, a former member of the Cult of Devilish Swordsmen. Hogyo had been driven insane by the experiences of war, but had managed to conceal it from all but a few of his closest friends. He frequently beat Misaki until her skin turned black and blue, and the latter never revealed what was being done to her as she was too scared of what might follow if Hogyo found out. Misaki endured this torment for nearly a year, yet she still managed to remain cheerful and find time for her hobbies. One evening, Hogyo forced Misaki to perform a demented version of the Trial of the Long Knives. The Trial of the Long Knives is a ritual performed by members of the Cult of the Devilish Swordsmen when a person desires to overthrow the leadership of the order. The two people, the current leader and the would-be usurper, cut themselves with daggers starting from the elbow joint and going down to the wrist. The person who can survive the most cuts is the victor. Usually, the practice is carried out with a medical-nin standing by to stanch the bleeding and remove the scars, but in Misaki's case, this was not so. Threatening her with a katana, Hogyo forced Misaki to cut herself nine times; six times on her left hand and three on her right, before she collapsed from the pain. Hogyo threatened to behead Misaki if she spoke a word of what happened to anyone, and Misaki could not even have a medic remove her scars because she would have to explain how she received them. After weeks of healing, Misaki began to wear forearm coverings, and returned to her normal activities. One afternoon, she showed a little girl her scarred forearms, and the little girl shied away from her. From then on, Misaki never removed her forearm coverings in view of other people. At some point during her tenure in Kiri's ninja academy, Misaki met a boy named Arashi Karai, when her class was given an assignment to study and grow a plant of their choosing. Arashi had an irrational fear of carnivorous plants such as the Venus Flytrap, and Misaki showed him how to handle the plants and overcome his fear. The two later became good friends, and Arashi began to develop feelings for Misaki. Misaki, however, did not feel the same way about Arashi, and their friendship deteriorated after Misaki was made aware that Arashi liked her. Upon Misaki's promotion to genin, she was placed on Team Saizō with Arashi, Asai Urakata, and their sensei, Saizō Asagiri. The ninja developed a strong bond during their time as genin, and Misaki was able to reconcile with Arashi, though his feelings for her remained unrequited. When Team Saizō was disbanded, Misaki trained extensively, in order to improve her flower ninjutsu. She took the Chūnin Exams, and was promoted to Chūnin at the age of 15.