When Shizuka Houkyaku first ventured in to the tightly woven forest of Konoha ga kure, she had no idea of the world she was stepping in to. 
The brightly shaded greens and the rustic bronze tones. The flecks of amber and speckles of orange. The wonderfully fleeting feeling of warmth as the wind swayed the brightly coloured giants out of the sun's path. Her sightless senses were so set on following that fast fading blood trail... on the shredded soles of her feet, scraped skin and the frozen fingers wrapped tightly around that charred kitchen knife. She was so utterly focused on her prey that the young female didn't even notice the pristine notes of those brave little creatures creeping close or the musty earthen scent of an on coming rain. She couldn't even sense the complicated mix of danger and safety as her footsteps made a trail further.... deeper in to the emerald and chestnut tangles. No..... No all she knew was the feelings of cold, the taste of iron and the colour black hiding everything in sight.  

But that was a long time ago now. Just over twelve months had past and the chuunin was all too aware of the nature of the village's almighty protector and what lay inside it. The colours and the creatures, the warm breeze and chilled shadows. What it liked to take and what it had to offer. It was perhaps this reason, why she kept coming back to this place. Why, just after dawn that morning, the  chuunin had left the safety of her present day home and wandered blindly in to the forest once again. 


Maybe it was something else



She had not been sleeping much lately, which was starting to become usual for the Houkyaku female. Half the time, she would just lay there. Empty eyes closed, quiet, curled snuggly under the warm darkness that the heavy pile of blankets provided. The other times, the other nights... well... it just somehow felt right  to just wait by the shadows of the window and watch the memory of the night time sky until the warmth of the sunset crept slowly... deliciously across her skin. It only felt natural to want to wander out to that maple warm air and fresh chilled breeze, following its whispers to the familiar edges of the ever growing mass. It didn't matter if she got a little lost or spent a little longer getting back, by the end of the day, she would always find her way back to the same path.
Sometimes though.... it wasn't that easy.
The place the kunoichi had wandered too, was not too far from where she had been before. She recognized the sharp scent of pine mixed with clove and she remembered the feeling of the softer mulch beneath her toes. But when she started making her way back... when she tried finding the path.... it wasn't there. Instead, there was something else. An anomaly in the clearing just ahead. An unusual distinction that planted a gut deep pit within her waif like form. And the more of the area she saw.....

With cautious footsteps, and wary hesitations, Shizuka slowly crept through the opening of the clearing and made her way towards the distinctive stone formation at it's far end. 
Now, usually, a rock in the forest was nothing special. Not even a group of them together. But this inexplicable creation was important enough that she remembered every inch of it. The unnatural crimson colouring, faded yet still painted half across the cold grey surface. The iron dust adding to the withered grass and dead lands. The barely noticeable chip on it's perfectly smooth service and the scrapes where the two mini monoliths met. The dry metallic scent just touching her tongue, the bite in the air causing goosebumps to erupt over her exposed forearms. Nothing made her shiver more than the small indent in the ground below the nearby tree where they had found her the previous ye.......

Someone was coming

Quicker than she knew she was able; the female Houkyaku turned and ducked behind a nearby tree; once again finding shelter in the shadows of the elongated limbs and keeping well out of sight. Then, with the ease of breathing she allowed her chakra to slip out on to the ground around her. Filling the clearing with a thin, fragile pool that would be difficult for someone even of the higher caliber to detect. And even if they did happen to feel it; it would feel more like a process then an attack or an intrusion. Either way, the moment someone stepped in to the area, her genjutsu would take affect. The piece of her self that fell away with the essence of her being would slip in to their mind and rest there like a forgotten thought. And she would stay there until either called back... or forced out. But she would allow neither to happen until she knew that the one who was approaching through the trees was not more of a threat than the dangers that were already surrounding her. 

"Who are you?" 

The quietly feminine voice echoed throughout the area like a whispering ghost, dancing around the trees from every direction.

"What are you doing here? What do you want in this place?" 



Why would you come to this place?


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