Seicho yawned quietly, it was an early morning for him and he hadn't expected to be able to have the time to get to studying again. He had recently been put into a new squad with Hanza and Jinx, led by the Uchiha jounin, Amaya. They were great people, and he enjoyed being in a squad with them, because he felt they would be good for him to get into working with others instead of sitting alone studying all the time. The problem was that he enjoyed studying and wanted to continue studying the effects of Mokuton and medical chakra being combined. With missions and squad meetings for training, it was hard to find the time to do such anymore. It was on a nice saturday that Seicho found himself without a squad meeting or mission to do, which gave him the time he needed to be able to get back out and continue his study of medical applications of various flora and fauna.

Seicho was in the small forest to the south of the village hidden in the leaves, crouched over a slew of fungi that could release paralyzing spores when touched. He was quietly staring at them, studying the different colourations and patterns on the top of each, writing down anything he thought was necessary. He still hadn't actually gotten to learn more about cryogenics, nor anything to do with how plant reacted in the cold or different environments. The Senju was getting restless for some sort of out of village adventure to learn how plants in other parts of the world could survive. Konohagakure no sato couldn't be the only place with thriving wildlife and flora or fauna, right? At least fungi and trees or an underbrush! There had to be something more out there.

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It wasn't unusual for Shizuka Houkyaku to be out wandering in the hours around dawn. In fact, these days it had been quite a common occurrence around the outer reaches of the village to see the young chuunin slink out of her shoe box like home at an ungodly hour and wander off. Just start walking in a random direction and not come back. At least not until the sun had well and truly breached the forest tree line. After that though, what she did during those early hours, where she would end up, how she got there? No one knew. And truth be told, she didn't know either. The only constant was in the why? 
  See, for a while now, the porcelain pale female had been having trouble staying asleep. It was easy enough to slip in to the realm of restful unconsciousness, all she ever had to do was close her eyes, let her mind go and it would just come naturally; Unfortunately though, her time in the dream world would never last long. After a mere couple hours she would be awake once more with a deep feeling of restlessness gripping her slight form. And so would begin the cycle. Sleeping. Waking. Sleeping. Waking. Until eventually she would relent to the sensations and venture to the outside world. 

It was following that same routine when she first saw him. 


It was cool out. A gentle breeze carried a bite that could only come from air not yet warmed by the sun and the musky scent of last night's rain. She could still feel the dew left to gather on the grass around on her ankles and the dampness of the soil beneath her feet. The imagined pale grey that covered the world around her. This was a time where the humans had yet to rouse but the creatures of the forest had already begun to stir. It was to them, their watchful eyes and keen senses that she wandered towards this time. This time though something else was there.... or rather... someone. 
   Shizuka was a decent way in to the forest (at least she thought she was), when she heard something highly unusual. A sort of scratching, the kind that didn't come from animals. No, it was far too precise for that. As impossible as it sounded, it was almost like someone was...drawing, writing?  The young female found herself taking a seat on a nearby felled tree and casting her mind to air around her. Sheer curiosity, urging it to the limit of it's reach. Find it. Find them, she wished. But all that she could find, was a rabbit. Hiding in a patch of clover a couple of meters away. It was enough. Even the smallest part of her mind almost filled the consciousness of small animals, so it was no strenuous task to urge them in a particular direction. And that's exactly what she did. From her place on the tree, she directed the young rabbit to follow the sound. What ever it could be.


He wasn't too far away, as it seemed. Still inside her jutsu range, just further away than what the rabbit had been. It wasn't like she was being careful. If he was paying attention he may have even felt the slightest touch of her chakra on his skin, but it was doubtful. She had honed in on the first breathing creature she could find. And now that creature had brazenly hopped it's way in to the clearing and was staring at him. Still chewing it's load of clover, it watched with uncharacteristic curiosity. 
If... if he happened to meet the creatures eyes, he would feel a slight pressure in his mind. Gentle. Deliberate. Almost as if it were asking permission to enter before stepping in. Giving him the opportunity to dissipate the genjutsu before she jumped from the rabbits mind in to his. 

If... and only if he was open to it, if he allowed her entry in to a small portion of his mind, she would then activate a second jutsu, one that would allow her to speak telepathically to him. To ask what he was looking at. What he was writing. 
If he refused though, then the genjutsu would fall away and the rabbit would scurry back to where it came from. And the moment would go back to the way it was before, as if nothing had changed in the world. 

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The Senju was quietly writing still, trying to ascertain any secrets he could from the mushhrooms he was staring at. They had to have something in them that he could use for his medical jutsu, either as an anesthetic, or a paralysis inducing poison. There would be something here that he was missing, and he could hardly bear it. He had not more than an hour taken to studying the fungi in the forest and he felt as though he was being watched. By something or someone. He couldn't tell who, and the scratching of his pencil was not loud enough to drown out the feeling he got that he was still being carefully sized up. It was unlikely to be a predator, as he'd scoped ou this part of the forest many times, making sure it was safe for him to do research in. Few ninja ever ventured out so far, so why did he feel as though someone was out her with him? Waiting and watching as it were, perhaps looking for a weakness? Or looking to make some easy ryo off of the genin? No, something not malicious but there was still something there. He was getting a bit spooked, and needed to know exactly what was going on.

Seicho silently looked up from his notes to take a glance around the area. He didn't see anyone, no eyes in the bushes, no figures in the trees. He was completely alone in his environment, but something had to be there or he would not feel as he did. His green hues slowly came to rest upon a small creature, a bunny rabbit, staring up at him. Their eyes met and the Senju titled his head at the  curious mammal that still seemed to be enjoying its breakfast. He felt a small pressure on his mind, it was gentle to say the least, but deliberate in whatever intentions it had. Curious to the nature of such a thing, he did not resist, and instead welcome the feeling in. He was curious enough to allow whatever this feeling was inside his mind, and the rabbit seemed satisfied, jumping off into the underbrush it had come from.  Seicho was confused more than anything now, and was ready to get back to his studies, to which he turned back to the mushrooms, looking at the notes he'd been compiling. Something in his head felt questioning, curious, and he felt a question.. no two, being asked in the back of his mind.

What are you writing..? What is it that you're looking at?

His mind interpreted the words differently than they may have been asked, but it was obvious whatever he had allowed in had these questions for him. Without thinking much on it, he spoke, both in mind and body, answering the questions. "I'm studying the fungi and forest of the areas in and surrounding Konohagakure no sato, trying to learn about how they do what they do. To see if I can somehow alter them for my own purposes and for use in jutsu. I wanted to see if I could move them to different biomes by digging up and replanting them in different locations, to see how it would affect their growth. So far the results are inconclusive but I'm sure with a bit more time I can figure it out. I'm currently writing notes on everything I do and observe while conducting these studies and experiments, which mostly lead to me describing what the flora and fungi look like and what they've been known to do. These mushrooms used to be near the river, but it seems me planting one here a while back caused them to spread a small amount. I need to be careful, they're known to let off poisonous spores that paralyze anyone who breathes them in." He pointed with his pencil's eraser at the fungi as he spoke, noting the coloration changes and their spots.

After a while, his curiosity got the better of him, and he had a few questions of his own to ask. "Who are you? What are you? Where are you? I must admit I've never experienced this sort of thing and it was never my intention to. But what I could note of this strange presence you have told me it was not meant to be malicious or to do me harm. I simply have a curious mind and couldn't help myself when the opportunity arose to learn something new." After speaking, he waited for an answer, calmly taking notes as he did so. He wanted to detail the experience he was having as well as he could, to possibly work out how it was done.

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The process was seamless. Perfect. Practiced and performed thousands of times until it came as naturally as breathing. Until it just happened. No control or focus. As soon as their gazes met, the wide curious spheres of the lesser and the inqusitive green eyes of the greater; the piece of her consciousness that was inhabiting the rabbit slipped. Exhaling in to the air for the briefest of moments; before gently creeping in to be with him. Him, with his complicated mind and thought. His intense focus on such seemingly simple and mundane specimen. There would be no direction for this one (it wouldn't work anyway), only a quiet question posed to a place only here could hear. Harmless. Curious. Innocent. What was he doing staring so intently a the ground? What was he writing? What was keeping him so focused when there was so much colour and life happening in the forest around him? She had to know. And so she asked. 

And so he answered. Bringing an unseen smile to the young female's pale features and swell of understanding. And perhaps, an admiration for this young being's passion for learning. After all, there was not many who would venture out at this early hour to study the life of this beautiful place.

"Oh, I see" she had said after a moment of thought at his answer.
"By studying the way things work and their processes, you can figure out how to replicate them and even alter them to make them do something different. How interesting and clever. What differences have you found so far with the mushrooms? Did they not spread like they have done now,  ad they still create those spores you mention? What if you were to also put them in the shade or direct sunlight...?"
Her voice inside his mind trailed off for a moment as if she were trying to ascertain the answers herself and further imagine the other ideas he might be able to try. Other experiments to further their curiosity. Her curiosity. It seemed that even though her Mind Step technique did not have the side effect of reading and feeling other people's emotions, she was genuinely interested in whatever he was interested in. Perhaps her ability was just growing as she was.... or maybe it was because she could see the potential of doing her own experiments which lead to a sense of excitement that she imagined he was also feeling. Whatever it was, Shizuka wasn't going to run away from this... or him. And so she in turn answered his own questions.

"What am I? Well, that would depend what you are referring to. If you  wondering about what exactly is in your mind: then that would be a portion of my consciousness. I however am just a chuunin. My name is Shizuka Houkyaku and I am seated just east of here.... I think. Within a one hundred meters or so either way".
A slight pause and Shizuka shifted her attention back to the rest of her for just a moment by moving her fingers slightly against the bark of the fallen tree she had been seated on. Focusing on the sensation of movement and touch as opposed to what she was hearing and thinking. It was a strange feeling to be in two places at once, but it was something she had quickly gotten used to. Figuring that it was just the inconsistency of what she was seeing compared to her other four senses that was confusing. 
  "You are quite right though," she continued on. "My technique is not designed to harm but to merely communicate and observe. And to learn just as you are doing. More importantly though it's how I get around. My sight isn't perfect these days so I rely on the vision of others to help me find my way"

What the Houkyaku didn't mention though; was she wasn't just hard of seeing. She had no eyes at all. Other than the simple blue yukata she was often seen wearing and in contrast to her snowy pale skin, the dark haired female wore a blindfold. A coal black, heavily woven piece of fabric that was tied firmly across the scarred empty sockets to mask the true extent of her disability, and to provide some sort of comfort and feeling to a place where she now had none. However, this didn't matter as much now after having worn it so long she barely noticed it there. What did matter though, was that even though she could see through the eyes of others, it did nothing to help her sense of direction. Shizuka see, was infamous for getting lost and so wearing the coverings also help to curb side the questions that followed whenever she asked directions. Even to him, this stranger that she instantly taken to for some reason, explaining her situation was something she never wanted to get in to. 

"So then, is there any other plants you have studied around here? On my way to this spot, I found a flower that smelled just like honey with rough petals and leaves as thick as leather. I've never come across anything like it before. And a softer grass that smelled like lemon. It's amazing isn't it, how similar plants are to people. How they are so individual and ever changing depending on the situation and as you are discovering, their environment. I apologies if my questioning is too much....

It's just.... you're very focused and dedicated. I've lost a bit of that in myself and... I find you a little inspiring".

Right at the end there, her voice in his mind  dropped away to be a whisper, and instead was projected through the forest from somewhere close by. It was true, Shizuka had lost much of her motivation for her quest over the last months. But people like him, who would bother to go out of their way to stare at plants, made her want to keep going... keep looking, keep trying.

Keep working until she had got the answers she sought. 

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The voice spoke and it appeared to have questions of its own, possibly understanding the scientific method of breaking something down and trying to unravel it to increase one's understanding.  It would ask questions of him and Seicho would hear it out, listening and nodding along as he did. They were great questions and truly played into what he was hoping to accomplish by studying the plants before him. Fungi were interesting specimens on their own, given that they could grow in the darkest and dankest of places, but now that he was adding outside stimuli into the mix, they would undoubtedly do much more for him. Seicho broke his focus upon the fungi, however, and listened to the voice as it answered his line of questioning with information he would not have received if he hadn't such a curious mind. The voice had a name, Shizuka Houkyaku, a chuunin of one of the five villages, possibly Konohagakure no sato. As he listened, Seicho realized that the voice was feminine in nature and it was rather rude to mentally keep referring to the voice as an 'it' as it appeared she could read what he was thinking, at least.. some of it? He had no idea how such a technique would work and he couldn't begin to even fathom what it took to learn such a thing.

With the words of the voice lingering in his mind, Seicho pondered and took notes on what was being said. If Shizuka had bad eyesight, it would make sense for her to use such a technique to get around and see the world. While taking notes, he would also write down different stimuli to introduce to the fungi before him using the suggestions and thoughts of the girl in his head. It was such a strange way for the scientific process to work, by listening to a little voice in one's head, but it wasn't bad by any means. Whoever she was, Shizuka seemed rather inquisitive in nature, much like the Senju she had decided to speak with. The Senju spoke to the voice of Shizuka once more, writing as he did so, to make sure he didn't lose track of what he was doing. "The fungi I'm studying do in fact release the spores still, they also seem to release an increased amount of them, otherwise they wouldn't be able to reproduce so rapidly. I think I'll have to add a bit of my chakra to cull their growth rates so they don't become a hazard to the ecosystem I've introduced them to. I do have notes on a few that I've exposed more to direct sunlight as opposed to dark and dank places such as caves one could usually find them in, and the results were horrible for my studies.  The fungi died out much too quickly and couldn't reproduce under the normally bountiful glare of the sun. No matter what I did, or if I enhanced them with my chakra, they still died out so quickly. I'm trying to figure out exactly why that is and it seems that these things, unlike other plants, thrive in the darkness. They depend on it really. I do have some wolf's bane I planted not far from here that I needed to check on as well, to see how it survived its new environment."

The Senju looked around as he finished speaking and taking his notes, trying to see if he could find the girl that spoke into his mind. He couldn't actually see her no matter the direction he looked in. With a sigh and a shrug he didn't bother with it too much after that.  The Senju's thoughts, however, were back on the girl almost instantly as she spoke again, giving him vivid pictures of what he could only imagine had to be great discoveries for someone to find. He only wished he'd been with the girl when she made the discoveries she did so that he could catalog them for himself. "It is interesting, yes, the plant life you are describing to me sounds like something out of a dream. I only wish I could have been with you so I could catalog them and take notes, maybe to see how they work, their effects and discern future uses in medical practices. Did you know that tree sap from certain trees around Konohagakure no sato have medical applications? They're said to have the long since dead Hashirama Senju's chakra in them still and cause wounds to disappear almost immediately. For something like that to be true would be so inspiring, as a Senju and a medic myself, I aspire to such heights. My name is Seicho, by the way."

He smiled as he spoke the last few sentences, getting more inspired as the conversation went on. A curious mind such as his was always at work and always thinking of the next best thing he could do in his field. He'd almost missed when the voice spoke in just above a whisper, saying how he was focused and dedicated, something she'd lost in herself and that she found him.. inspiring. The senju's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment form such a thing being communicated to him. He wasn't used to flattery at all, nor compliments that would call him such amazing things as inspiring. For another ninja with a curious mind to say such things to him was just.. it was too much for him to formulate the words to describe. He was taken aback at the comment and felt a smidge of pride from what the girl said about him. He hadn't felt such a thing in a long time, not since his academy days when he'd grasped things quicker than other students.  Still, he wouldn't let it go to his head, and spoke with the humility befitting someone of his nature. "I appreciate you saying as much, though really I'm just me. Inquisitive minds aren't always in good supply anymore, with people thinking that anything worth knowing or discovering has been discovered and is known. We must always push the boundaries of what is and find out what truly is. At least, that's how I see it." The Senju was still mildly flattered and embarrassed and went about doodling absent-mindedly.

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