Invite: Hanbei

Konoha's forest on a cloudy day was a soothing place to be. The silent guardians stood quietly next to each other, their leaves blocking out most of the pressing warmth of the sun as they cloaked all those under it in shadows. Here and there, the sun beamed through, bringing a clear reminder why the leaves were needed. Animals were busy hunting, birds chirped happily and various insects were buzzing off on an endless quest for nourishment.

Airi wore nothing but a simple dress, as was typical for her. A bright green one, this time, with the lower parts depicting patches of grass, coloured in a dark green/turquoise. A brown bag filled with herbs and a few flowers was thrown over her shoulder, doing little to hide the content she had gathered so far. Naturally, sandals were of no use to her, as her callous feet loved to feel the earth and grass below her feet, and so she was running around bare-footed this time as well.

As was often the case with such good weather, Airi was rummaging around in search for flowers, medicinal plants and roots. She mostly used those for tea, herbal medicine and various sorts of concoctions to create natural shampoo, tonics, skin balms and more. She liked nature and it's bounties, and preferred therefore to stick to the most natural products as possible.

Walking from one spot to another while humming, Hippie-chan analysed the plants carefully, seemingly deciding on a whim which ones would do or not. Diligently, she put them in her bag and then moved on to yet another spot in an endless search for whatever ingredients she considered missing.

She had been foraging for hours now and was glad to see a familiar clearing rise up in the distance. Just a little more, and she'd take a break of it all to see down and sniff the scent of the wild flowers that grew there, have a bite and sip some of her self-made ice tea. Then after a bit of leisure relaxing, she'd return the same path and work on finishing a few of her balms and concoctions - she was quite eager to try out a new recipe for hair nourishment.

Finally finishing the last bit, Airi walked over to the circle of stumps that made the 'seats' in the clearing, removed her herbal bag and placed it against one of them before sitting down herself. She rummaged in the bag, digging her fingers between all the roots and stems, and pulled out a prepared meal box and bottle with a translucent yellow drink in it. With a smile, and a softly growling stomach as if on cue, she took a sip of the lemon tea, enjoying the sugared sour taste as it refreshed her thirsty body before digging in her meal.

wc 479

Hanbei over the course of her first few days in fire Country had spent the vast amount of her time at the Inuzuka compound that had been so kind as to let her in... The 'pack,' supposedly led by Kenta Inuzuka, the current Hokage, had been a wild rumpus of non stop energy and chaos from the moment the new-comer stepped within feet of the door. The young ninken that roamed the compound pounced like they had set a long awaited trap, and seemed to be a mystical font of infinite energy that defied all reason and logic. However, as friendly and amazing as the group was, and as kind and welcoming as they all had been, Hanbei's deep thinking soul had begun to feel claustrophobic of late. The energy and Feng-Shui of the site was completely out of sorts, to the point that Hanbei had begun to feel physically ill, prompting the girl to temporarily take her leave, waving a friendly farewell to Yuki and her ninken friend as Hanbei and her compatriot Daji left on their own to find themselves some peace and manage to center themselves before returning as promised later in the evening.

In looking for a place in the city that was a little bit more secluded, Hanbei was having a hard time finding anything at all. All of the major and minor parks were filled with people and prospective ninja, children and others going about their daily life. Though as she looked she could not help but stare in wonder as the spirits here seemed to live in peace with the human world. She stared at a child gazing up at the likes of an Inugami that slithered across the grass to float up and touch the child lightly on the forehead which spurred a spontaneous burst of laughter. Kamaitachi seemed to rest upon the grass while Nekomata and Shisa watched from the rooftops, taking care of the citizens they were chosen to care for without warring in the slightest. This world was the universe in balance the way it was meant to be... it was such a shame that the rest of the world had found it difficult to follow the example of the way of fire. Hanbei sighed a deep and complex sigh through her delicate lips as she took her leave and attempted to find a place where there were a few less people.




It took hours of walking before reprieve seemed to find the Guanyin, moments before the last vestiges of hope seemed to drain from her mind as a solitary creature within the heart of the road waved in the young girls' direction. Perking up for a moment, the Guanyin would follow the creature with her striking violet eyes as it would fade away before her. Intrigued, Hanbei would move to where it once was, and look around, the creature seemed to be no taller than a few inches, white in colour with green shades to its skin... moderately humanoid, but its face and arms were in odd sizes and did not at all seem in proportion or even surfaced. As Hanbei came to its former location, he would look around for any sign of it, turning left he would see it yet again in the center of the road, one hundred meters from him and waving yet again. Instantly, Hanbei could only think of something bad happening. Without hesitation, the girl would follow the odd looking spirit wherever it led, hoping that everything was ok...

Seconds would turn to minutes as the city would go from dense to rural, and from rural to farmland before finally, that cultivation land gave in to the seemingly infinite forest that surrounded Konoha. Deep within the labyrinth of trees and foliage, Hanbei huffed and puffed, her body, although she had largely recovered from her wounds, was still not quite up to the standard it should be. Hanbei had seemed to be led to some sort of clearing, upon a stump in the middle of it all, the creature stood twirling in a circle as if happy with itself that it had led the girl to this specific location. Hanbei would find her eyes searching the horizon for why the creature had taken her here... but nothing was ever easy when it came to dealing with spirits. As she attempted to look back, opening her mouth to ask the white doll like creature a question, it was suddenly gone, leaving Hanbei in the center of the clearing alone. A light wind whispering through the trees that put a chill down the Guanyins' spine.




Taking a deep breath, the girl sat down against one of the solitary stumps, crossing her legs and overlapping her hands in her lap. Within moments her stirring soul began to still as her many thoughts that called out within her mind in a cacophonous of sound began to slowly quiet. Finally, she was alone.




As time passed, the Guanyin girl moved from sitting meditation to standing forms, her arms swaying in circular patterns slowly, yet steadily, like a river rolling around the many rocks in the way of its current. Surrounding the boy the strange spirit from before had returned, bringing with it a few of its friends... but there wasn't but a few of the strangely shaped humanoid creatures, there were thousands of them. Hanbei began to understand that the little guys were forest spirits, kodama. There was one for every plant in the forest, meaning that there were likely millions of them surrounding konoha, all servants to the greater forest spirit of the nation. As Hanbei practiced, there would be a sudden disturbance, the snapping of a twig as all of the Kodama in a wave would wivver and vanish from existence, prompting Hanbei to hide, ducking low behind one of the larger stumps.

There was no threat, a young girl walked out from the forest in a green dress, Hanbei peaked out from behind his stump as the girl approached, taking a seat a few meters away and rummaging through a bag. Hanbei could feel a light prod at his side as he turned to see a kodama holding what appeared to be a flower with almost luminescent gold sap pooling at its center, placing it in her hand before fading away with another wave. 'Cheeky little thing,' Hanbei thought to herself before she saw the collection of flowers and herbs the green dressed girl seemed to have collected... this flower must be a present for her. Awkwardly the girl dressed in long and loose layered silks of fine make and colours would step out from hiding, opening her mouth to greet the girl without startling her. Flower behind her back as she would cautiously make her approach.

"Um, Hello there~ Hi. I'm Hanbei, and uh, this is for you..." Hanbei would say nervously moving a little closer and drawing the flower from behind his back, its roots still intact within a small amount of soil. To one learned it would be a sight, an uncommon flower from the deeper parts of the forest, its gold sap known for aiding in the relief of fevers and inflammation, however the Guanyin was utterly clueless of this fact as he smiled hopefully.


[1296 words training]

While hungrily eating her rations, something moved into the corner of her eyes. Well, not something but seemingly rather ... someone. Airi looked at the girl in front of her, most curious that she had not spotted her when she arrived, and watched as Hanbei approached to give her a flower rather timidly.

The loose and layered silk clothing the girl was wearing made Airi wonder if she was some sort of nobility. A samurai's daughter, maybe, or at least from a family who could afford such quality. The colours of the garb, combined with the white hair and the lithe, if not thin, build of the girl gave her a sort of natural elegance much akin to an orchid, or so Airi compared. Elegant and graceful.

Airi accepted the flower, looking at it with a hint of curiosity and interest, trying to identify what flower it was. Noticing the luminescent gold sap within the flower, she blinked. Was this...? She looked at Hanbei, wondering how exactly she had procured a flower that grew much deeper in the forest. Or even how the girl knew she could use a flower such a this one.

"Thank you, Sister. It's a most lovely gift.", she said with a bright smile. "These usually only grow much deeper in the forest, and are quite difficult to get as well. How did you know I was looking for these?"

While the flower was beautiful, the sap was what Airi needed to create a few of her balms and lotions. Most of the sap went into balms that reduced fever and inflammation and could, with consistent treatment and a few other ingredients, even hasten the healing on burn wounds. To a lesser extend, and mostly because women liked to maintain their looks, she used the sap for a lotion that allowed the hair to really shine through. It was a popular product, but one Airi had precious few in stock off considering her priority to healing.

Without much hesitation, Airi poured out the content of her lemon tea, using some suiton to rince it and carefully filled it back up with the sap of the flower. There. Even if it wasn't much, the little she had would be put to good use, since Airi currently couldn't travel to the deeper section of the forest. It was a most welcome gift that would be appreciated by several other people.

As she stood up to replant the flower into the earth, she introduced herself. "Your flower may have saved a life today, uuhm... What's your name? Mine's Airi.", she asked, unsure if she had ever met the girl.

Walking up to an empty spot in the flower bed, Airi dug a little hole with her hands. Considering the plant still had its roots, replanting should work fine even if this wasn't the most ideal place for the flower in question. If anything, it'd remain alive and nourished until she could make the actual trek to the deeper area of the forest to give it a proper place. She placed the flower in the hole, and buried its roots under the earth. Placing her hands together a brief moment, she channelled her mokuton chakra and placed them around the flower, nourishing it with water and Yang energy. If it was even more possible, the flower seemed to regain some of its vitality.

570 + 479
= 1049

'Hanbei would watch carefully, studying every move and motion.'

The young ninja took great interest into her reaction to the flower, her immediate body language rather than being open and flowery about the gift like Hanbei's inuzuka friend, it seemed a lot more refined and inquisitive, looking to study the plant and observing before seemingly recognizing what the plant was and finally thanking Hanbei for the gift, parting her lips into asking where she managed to find it, while also calling her sister... a word that the Guanyin was not entirely used to hearing often. As much as Hanbei wanted to convey that the spirits of the forest seemed to want to give it to her, whether it be because she was a friend to the forest itself, if she'd done something to help them, or if it was a gift to Hanbei to help her make a friend in this particular case. Whatever the case, Hanbei felt like telling her the truth would not be the best idea, while there were many people who were openly spiritual in the world, the girl had one too many encounters with the more modern identity that was somewhat ignorant on the nuances of the spiritual world...

'though this meant that Hanbei was somewhat put on the spot.'

"Uhm, you see, I uh, came from that way, saw the flower and it was really pretty, which is funny cos, you know, you're also, like, kinda pretty. So, I thought it would just be-a-good-idea-at-the-time-to-ya'know-give-it-to-you... I'm going to be quiet now," She would stammer as anxiety would quickly catch up, pushing her speech faster and faster until she realized that she was rambling and needed to hit the breaks hard least this tail-spin result in a spectacular social kamikaze. So, smiling cheezily and scratching the back of her head she would wave the whole thing away as she would watch the Senju toss out what seemed to be some kind of tea before extracting the sap into the newly cleaned container. Enraptured by the process Hanbei would lean close to get a better view of what exactly she was doing as she moved to replant the flower in the open plane. Cocking her head to a side she would be fascinated as Airi channeled Mokuton chakra, Hanbei could literally feel life flow into the earth for a moment as he was standing close enough to feel some of the energy, revitalizing the plant and the others nearby.

It was amazing!

Thoroughly impressed, Hanbei would beam at the altruism and kindness of Airi as she would introduce herself to Hanbei. Who would smile broadly, clasping her hands behind her back and shifting her weight playfully between the heels and balls of her feet as she did so. "My name's Guanyin, Hanbei, Son of Guanyin, Kanbei, it's really nice to meet you Airi! If i uh, can ask, how did you do that with the plant? I don't think I've ever seen chakra like that before, it felt like healing chakra kind-of, is it some kind of yang healing special to konoha? I'm a medical ninja! So I'd love to learn it if i could!" She spoke so excitedly, ignorant to Airi's mokuton release entirely, however, not entirely out of lack of education... she had heard stories since her youngest days of the mighty Senju clan and its legendary members and ancestry, but she had never come into contact with it, and, without knowing her families name...

how was a girl to know?

[652 + 1296 = 1948 words]

Hanbei's reply on how she got the flower was... an odd one. Airi could feel there was more to it, but considering the sudden flow of words, she guessed it might just have been the girl being shy. She did seem like the timid and delicate sort. Airi giggled some. Hanbei seemed rather adorable.

Though she had stated she'd shut up before, her curiosity took over when she saw Airi return the plant to the embrace of the earth, embedded with the other flowers around her. She introduced herself as Hanbei Guanyin. She had heard some rumours about Guanyin, but nothing solid to know exactly who they were. All she knew was that they were a little bit everywhere. The clan's name was known, much like a legend was known, but the truth behind the name remained hidden in mystery.

Finishing the care of the plant, she stood back up and looked at Hanbei's eagerness with a smile, upon which she explained the nature of her chakra. "That was mokuton chakra. An advanced release from the Senju clan, and as you spotted, it is quite rich on Yang energy. However, I'm no medical shinobi despite my knowledge of herbalism. However, I'm afraid it might be impossible to teach someone outside the clan, but if I can be of any inspiration to you, let me know?"

Airi didn't really wish to crush the girl's dreams on learning the chakra manipulation for her own healing repertoire, but keeping her trapped a lie wouldn't help her either. She could understand why Yang-rich chakra would be beneficial for a medical nin, since she had been thinking about picking up that specialisation, but since mokuton was a KKG to her clan it also had the discomforting disadvantage that it couldn't be shared with others. Sensei potential was strongly diminished if the jutsu made plenty of use of the mokuton chakra.

That said, Airi was curious what sort of healing arts Hanbei used if she was so intrigued by the mokuton chakra. Did this mean hers was quite different? And was the girl open to alternate healing solutions such as herbalism?

"What chakra do you generally use for your healing? Is it very different from the one you just saw?"

She knew of Yin and Yang, of course, but she had no idea exactly how Hanbei or the Guanyin manifested their healing chakra. To be fair, she hadn't really been paying attention to the traditional healing classes as much as she should have been, ever busy writing discoveries down on herbalism and concoctions of all sorts. Besides, those traditional healing practices made far too much use of chemical and industrial means.

wc 457 + 1049
= 1506

She couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Although her laugh took any and all disappointment from her, almost melting her very soul to the point that she could not help but beam. Now being told that she was using Mokuton chakra, Hanbei began to understand that she was indeed a senju, the legendary founding clan of the ninja nation that they were standing in. It was like traversing the uncanny valley, Hanbei had expected that to stand in the presence of a Senju would be daunting, like staring up at a mountain bearing over you with such primal power and authority, but rather there was this meek, tender, loving girl who to Henbei's eyes, didn't look as though she could harm anyone. The disconnect threw the Guanyin girl for a moment as she sadly commented on it being impossible to teach any of her learned arts, but, the fact of the matter was, it was an advanced release. Hanbei knew she would never be able to use it, though its likeness was something that fascinated her, to the point that she would love to study it some.

The conversation moved on from statement to question as Airi asked Hanbei about her own personal skill set as a medical ninja. The Guanyin felt perplexed for a moment brigning a finger to her lips as she would hum audibly while she thought about their very unique yet advanced healing process, but also the conversion of chakra that they were also capable of. Opening her mouth Hanbei would begin to disclose what she felt like she was able to describe... "Hmmm, what we do is really interesting, we use almost purely yang chakra with our healing technique, at least 90%, it's pretty strong but can get rather tiring. But our chakra, changes when it touches something to heal it... lots of other techniques heal over wounds, but, our ones... reverse the wound, i think. Here, it's easier to show you..."

Llooking to another wild-flower in the clearing, Hanbei would move over to it and kneel down, drawing a senbon she would with a single swift strike nick one of the leaf stems from the plant allowing the severed leaf to fall to the ground. Hoping that the act would not offend the Senju and her connection to nature. Hanbei would begin to focus and channel her chakra Hanbei would begin to explain. "Now, most healing techniques would just close up the wound, but ours..." Chanelling his chakra into a lesser variant of the Dharma needle no longer than a few inches, Hanbei would align its point with the flower and press into the stem of the flora with surgical precision. As soon as the tip breached the surface of the flower, almost like an injection, the chakra would flow from the needle shape into the flower itself, making the flower glow turqoise as the charka would circulate around its form, healing any sleights from weathering and hazards.

But the best was yet to come.

Like the chakra was filling a mold, it would expand out from the hole where the stem and leaf had been snipped, taking the form of a leaf in its place before the glow would fade, leaving behind a not simply healed, but whole flower, looking in far better overall condition it once was. "Some people call it stem-cell chakra, it adapts to the patient and restores their form to what they're genetically meant to be. But only if the wounds still there." She said with a proud smile with her small demonstration, though, at the moment she felt like he should leave out the chakra conversion technique of the Guanyin... the thought of converting Yang chakra to Yin chakra to a Senju may frighten them in no small fashion. Hanbei knew for sure the concept frightened her.

"So you see, our techniques aren't too dissimilar, if you think about it." She finished with a light chuckle of her own

[717 words + 1948 = 2665]

Airi listtened to the explanation of the Guantin's healing methods, the Yang heavy chakra and how abouts their healing techniques actually worked. Reversing a wound... It sounded like she could make it so as if the wound was never happened. In a way, she could see the regrowth of plants and lizard tails in it, but this went... further still? She tilted her head curiously, wondering what exactly she meant and was quite happy she didn't even have to ask. Hanbei was eager to show it to her.

She walked over to the flower Hanbei was looking for and kneeled to take a close look. Her senbon severed a petal from the flower, and she rested her hands to channel her chakra, she could see turquoise energy sort of reform the missing part. It recreated the missing part, much like a lizard did with its tail. Airi beamed. While it was no mokuton, the effects of their chakra were somewhat similar in application.

"You are right. I wonder if it's related to the heavy Yang energy...", she mused somewhat. "Not that it really matters. I'm just glad our techniques seem so alike. It's giving me hope to pick up the healing arts and try to apply mokuton chakra to it."

Airi knew her chakra could revitalise plants and animals to a minimal extend, but she had never really attempted to regrow anything bigger than that since she had always been told since childhood medical jutsu was a delicate procedure requiring intense training and pin-point control of one's chakra. Yet, looking at Hanbei's performance, it seemed so... easy.

"Did you had to train hard for this? I mean, I always heard healing was all about precision and chakra control, but you make it look so easy."

It was just a small flower in the end. Perhaps application on animals and people was increasingly more difficult? Not that she could grasp why since regrowth was well... regrowth. Plants, animals or people, they all used a similar basic principle. Their cells grew, died and were replaced with regrown cells. Airi knew that much, at least.

She listened to Hanbei's words as she stood back up and caught a glimpse of her herb satchel. Right. Time moved on and she had yet a lot of plants to harvest before she could go back. A bit reluctant to just walk away while this conversation was getting interesting, yet knowing well enough she couldn't stay in this place for too much longer, Airi was curious if the new girl wouldn't mind tagging along for a bit.

"Would you like to accompany me as I harvest? I still have a lot of herbs to gather, but this conversation's real pleasant. Perhaps I could show you a few of the plants as we pass, teach you a few herbal tricks and recipes?"

She wasn't sure if Hanbei even relied on herbal medicine since she had already her own form of healing, but it was worth a shot, and Airi was always happy to teach others a few simple tricks to stave off the first signs of a fever or a cold.

536 + 1506
= 2042

Airi was like a bountiful beam of sunlight.

Hanbei hadn't expected to be feeling so close to a person at this particular moment, who knew that the spirits would have pulled her here of all places, to meet Airi of all people. konoha was beginning to feel more and more like a home away from home between the inuzuka making Hanbei feel at home, and healing the wounds that she had suffered that even she was a little too inexperienced to heal herself. Airi here seemed to mimic her on a couple of levels when it came to caring about life and the living world, her eyes filled with a deep level of wonder and mystification. She seemed to want to pick up the healing arts, Hanbei could not help but beam at the thought that she had inspired a ninja to take a path that he walked down. Though, when she mentioned the thought of adding mokuton chakra to the medical field, Hanbei thought to herself about the potential applications of such a fusion... and the revelation of its insanity came to light. A herbalist who was able to grow their own medicines, medical ninjutsu was not just about knowing the anatomy of humans, should that be applied to plants on a deep rooted scientific level, she would, in theory, be able to genetically craft any plant from its infancy to be chemically and genetically whatever she wanted it to be. Bear chakra enhanced fruit of whatever medicinal property she could dream of...

Hanbei's vision of the possibilities of that application, expanded out around her into a world where even the Legendary Guanyin healing techniques were obsolete... and it felt overwhelming.

Part of Hanbei wanted to keep the information to herself, jealousy brimming at the surface before realizing that the healing techniques at his disposal, regardless of her potential versatility would likely be more effective in a regenerative sense, but also, the guanyin always had the red needle... Sighing inwardly, though outwardly, Hanbei would quite astutely display her deep thinking process upon her face, her brow furrowing and her eyes moving as she pondered absently within the small break of her speech, in fact it was her question that pulled Hanbei back to the living world as she was questioned whether or not Hanbei had to do a lot of training in order to learn medical skills. Raising a finger to the underneath of her chin, the girl began to think to herself aloud for a moment with an audible hum.

There was a bit of training, it's more precise, but less... powerful. You don't need to blow up a mountain, but you do need to be able to move cells inside a person. So i guess it's hard in the opposite way. But, unlike ninjutsu, there is lots and lots and lots of reading and learning involved. I did more reading about anatomy and stuff than i ever did in training. But i mean, you grow plants from nothing, so, you must be pretty used to that micro level focus. If i plant a seed, and you grew it to a bush in full flower, that must take focus to ensure that it grows right and has the nutrition it needs... otherwise you'd just kill the plant, right? So, many of the skills you learn to use mokuton are likely transferable in some way." She spoke plainly and simply, looking to her feet as she talked before looking in her direction with a confident and kind smile.

Awaiting some small reaction to her small speech, Hanbei would nod in agreement to accompany her new friend as they began to stand and move. Some silent moments would pass before the guilt deep within Hanbei would begin to well up... "I have to admit, your mokuton makes me jealous. I mean. Medically, if you could control plant cells and processes like medics can control the cells and processes in people, you could literally do anything. You'd become a god, in the truest sense. Able to create entirely new species at a whim and tailor it genetically however you wanted. Its almost scary..."

Hanbei's eyes seemed to glaze for a moment, her thoughts elsewhere as she unravelled whatever truth Airi had brought to light with her words and deeds. She could see Hanbei's eyes roll around, expression eminent as she seemingly considered unknown possibilities surfacing in her mind. Whatever cataclysmic world Airi had created within the girl's mind, it had to be pretty... enlightening. Airi couldn't help but be somewhat curious, wishing she could read minds just about now.

As she listened to the explanation of the training, she quite understood what Hanbei meant. She saw the whole deal about micro-managed focus and precision, and what had always seemed to normal to her was suddenly pulled into a new light. What she did with plants, the feeling, the affinity, the ability to grew flowers out of nothing, was just about the same what medical shinobi did with people. This meant that the possibility to become a healer had only grown. Airi smiled, quite happy with that thought.

"Yes, without proper focus, the flower would wither, vines would shrivel up and trees would rot.", she confirmed, thinking that, seen from a third person's point of view, that what she did would probably look just as difficult as what she thought of Hanbei's healing arts. Maybe she was a natural at it. Or maybe Airi just imagined it far more difficult than it actually was.

She smiled when Hanbei decided to walk with her, glad to hear that she wouldn't lose a new friends to the duties that called her. The words she followed with, however, were a different matter. Mind-boggling. A god? She spoke of possibilities that Airi had never even bothered to think about. Sure, sometimes she wished she could grow plants that were more durable in the winter or required less care to bring more fruits, but... new species? Tailor them to her liking? Even if it sounded lovely on first sight, Airi wasn't sure she wanted to be dubbed a goddess. Gods, for all their power, were always blamed for something. They expected things without wording them, they seemingly were never there and people were never satisfied with whatever god they followed. Who, then, would want to be a god?

"It is scary... I never thought creation of flowers or trees could be the first steps towards being a god. I'm not even sure why I would want to tailor plants to my whim,  there are already so many to discover and learn, I'm not even sure I'll ever get to know them all.", she paused, thinking it all through once more. "Most people only seem to see the power divinity brings... But what would you do, if you were to be a goddess?"

Airi lead the two of them further into the forest as they talked, her eyes searching for the next root or herb she required. Occasionally finding one, she assessed the plant and picked what she needed. Sometimes, she seemingly left them for what they were. After a few picks, she explained what the green herb was she was looking for, "The long pointy leaves of the fern, though seemingly common, softens the pain of joints and rheumatism when turned into a balm. It's not exactly a cure, but elders like to have them around so they can enjoy a walk with their grand-children, for example."

She taught Hanbei how she could recognise the good leaves from the bad ones, the minimum size required so as to leave budding plants plenty of growth opportunity or which ones of the 'elder' plants could miss a few leaves and be just fine, and why ill-struck leaves were better not used. Picking fern leaves was a simple and often menial task that didn't exactly bring much reputation to a healer, but it had to be done nonetheless. If anything, seeing the elders smile as they walked about with their family was all Airi needed.

wc 670 + 2042
= 2712

Hanbei didn't know the answer the the question, but she did answer her other points and give insight into her through process; "True power stems from ones ability to master the simplest things to the point that they themselves would be considered an art form. Many who seek power and strength race for the finish line and more advanced skills without spending time with the utmost basics. My father, before I ever learned how to stitch a person, would have me sew with silk, stabbing my fingers with needles thousands of times to the point my fingertips were are numb even now. For over two years we just sat and spin silk into clothing while i read my textbooks at night. Until finally, when it came to sewing a wound, re-stitching veins and arteries and tendons, everything was so big, so... easy in comparison.

He taught me to master your foundation and master the skills on the way up...

He said, 'every man builds his tower to reach the heavens, a man hungry for status will build his tower as high as he can, as fast as he can. But even a master builder building at speed cuts corners simply to gain height. So focused on his goal, he forgets the present, his tower, although his foundation is stable it thins at the neck, so he will quickly find he cannot build any higher least his tower crumble. A humble man on the other hand will make strong foundations yet only build as tall as he needs before finally settling, never truly seeking greatness. But a smart man focuses on perfecting all sections of the tower, that it may support itself no matter how high it grows, though it may take him far longer to finish than either one who is humble or passionate... he will surpass them both, in time."

Hanbei smiled as they continued there walk, Airi showed him a fern that seemed to help with aches, and Hanbei absorbed the knowledge like a sponge. Her eyes wide with wonder as she would ask questions like an excited child. Asking how you tell the difference between it and other ferns, how you would prepare it, where it lives and grows if at all outside of konoha. Crouching down she would inspect it from top to bottom before realizing how silly she must look before laughing it all off.

The day would slowly begin to wind down before the thought of Airi's question a couple hours ago would linger in her mind, finally, Hanbei thought she finally had an answer.

"If I were a goddess... I'd end the world... ... "

[exit thread]

(3700 words: Trained 2 B  rank jutsu 3000/3000)

A waterfall of words flowed out of Hanbei as she explained what she'd do as a goddess. Or rather, an elaborate explanation of what Airi had poured into a single, simple sentence. The different perspectives she brought about the tower and the people that wanted it constructed was an interesting intake on the stories, and quite correct. While Airi preferred it to compare it with trees, the baseline was such that patience was a virtue. Those who had the patience to see things through, to see plants grow at their own pace or towers be build given its proper time, would see it become stronger and more complete than those who didn't bother with reality.

Moving along the day, what had first been a simple explanation on the fern, had turned into a real thorough lesson just about that single plant. A lesson upon which she hadn't all the answers herself, unfortunately. While she could richly teach about all that happened in Konoha forest, her knowledge on fauna and flora outside Konoha's forest wasn't one she could affirm as easily - genin weren't allowed to travel by their own. The things she did know, were easily shared as Airi found the eagerness of Hanbei quite welcoming.

As the day slowly came to an end, and Airi's satchel was filled to the brink with herbs, flowers and roots, Hanbei suddenly revealed an answer she must have been thinking about for a long time. An answer that quite shocked Airi, as she was unsure where it came from and had been under the impression this entire time that the two were rather about life than death.

As a goddess, she would end the world.

[Exit]

288 + 2712
= 3000

Training: