It was deep in the evening. Scattered clouds flew softly over the dense forest surrounding Konohagakure, and the bright gibbous moon lit the forest floor in patches. A light breeze rustled through the trees in the otherwise quiet night.

A fine night for a romantic walk with a handsome boy or girl, but Kaida would never have noticed. She had personal business out the woods tonight. She found a small clearing between four large trees and unpacked the canvas she'd brought with her. It took several minutes of work to hang them all up, but there was no sign of interlopers. Still, better safe than sorry.

Kaida climbed one of these trees and reaching a branch near the top, bid steel from her hand. She gave it a sharpened serrated edge, lined her hand with it, and then checked her surroundings for other people again. Finding none, she began to cut through the base of the branch. In short order, it cracked away and fell through the tree, striking the ground with a tumble.

Welp, that would do it. If there were anyone nearby, they'd come for her now. Cursing her lack of foresight, she made her way back down the tree and examined her catch.

Eight feet long, several inches in girth, and easily more than two hundred pounds of wood. Not bad. She set into the wood with her saw-like hand again, cutting the branch apart into several pieces, each about the size of her torso. Standing at various points in her makeshift enclosure, she noted several locations in the boughs of the trees she could see from her little room. No one up there, either. Good.

Five minutes later, the wooden sections she'd collected were gone, and Kaida finally felt a little safer in the clearing she'd selected. It now sported canvas walls on all sides, and left Kaida with several routes of escape, should she need them.

She took a deep, cleansing breath and let it out slowly, attuning her senses to the forest around her. Now she could begin.

Kaida withdrew a scroll from the pouch on her side and laid it out on the forest floor. A series of fuinjutsu seals kept even more scrolls within this one, but those weren't storage scrolls. They were her family's jutsu scrolls and other secrets that she had made away with during that night. With any luck, she'd find the secrets to unlocking the katana she'd taken among these.

She released the first scroll and began to read.


* * *

The scroll she had selected was long. It went on and on about the history of some kind of art, but there was nothing in it on unsealing clan weapons. Patience was never one of Kaida's virtues. She spent equal parts of the evening reading from the scroll and banging her head against the trunk of a tree, groaning about how long it takes to read. She had no envy for whoever had to write this garbage.

That was until she got into the meat of the treatise when the scroll mentioned a kind of chakra she'd never heard of before. Her interest piqued, she immediately went back and started re-reading the scroll in front of her, trying to glean more on the mention of this strange chakra. The text was dense, written by someone who'd clearly never heard of writing organization. She caught her eyes skittering off the page several times, but at some point late in the night, long after the moon had disappeared behind the clouds and Kaida had swapped to a more modern light source, she finally grasped what the scroll was talking about.

The realization did not come with a click or a eureka moment. It was a slow, grinding process that forced Kaida to re-write most of what was there to get a second perspective on the information. "Okay," she breathed. "I can do this," the young kunoichi told herself. She sat down in the middle of the clearing and took a long breath in through her nose, held it for a moment and experienced stillness, and then let it out from her mouth. Meditation was something her mother had her learn when she was very young, and she had practiced it every morning before the morning meal was served.

In. Stillness. Out.

In. Stillness. Out.

In. Stillness. Out.

Eventually, her breathing changed, and she became more still than active. She could hear the early morning calls of the birds and other animals nearby, just on the other side of her canvas walls. "Nature" chakra. According to the scroll, it was all around her, she just needed to tap into it somehow. It made sense. All living things were supposed to have chakra. Why shouldn't the world itself? It could be considered alive.

Before that, though, she had to find it.

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“Did the package come in?”, Daremo asked the receptionist, receiving a nod from the other male, and watching them as they got up from their comfortable chair, and disappeared around corner bend, presumably going to retrieve what was asked. Leaning against the corner, he shifted his body to look at the small amount patients within the waiting room. Surprisingly there were not too many people waiting to see the doctor on call. If they had come forty minutes earlier, he would have been the one on call, but, the shifts had been changed now, and a fellow colleague would be the one to see them.

Citrine gems twitched with amusement upon seeing, and making eye contact, with familiar faces. The men, women, and children all being patients of his. He knowing them better than most would have assumed from a doctor of his caliber. It did not take him much to have a guess while they were here. Their alignments beings one of several others memorized by him, including the majority of their medical file. Certain patients were memorable, and a joy to treat, needless to say, those who medical files were memorized fell the in the category. Just as he were about to make his way over to them, engaging in small talk while waiting for the receptionist to return, the aforementioned man returned, carrying a parcel in.

“For Senju Airi, yes?”, Nodding to confirm who the box was for, he took the square container and held it in his left hand. “Thank you.”, Daremo spoke, walking away with the package, nodding and acknowledging those in the waiting room. Stepping outside, the door shutting behind him. The black haori hanging from his shoulders, letting the light grey kosode tucked in black hakama pants, protected him from the light chill within the early morning air. It was too early for the majority of the people to be out and about, only night-owls, and shinobi would be wandering the village this time of the hour. Nevertheless, he had a package to deliver and knew the recipient would be up, at least he hoped so. Walking through the deserted streets of Konohagakure no Sato, Nanashi headed towards the gates which were the entry to the Dense Forest.

Though generally friendly to everyone, Nanashi did not particularly care for a majority of the habitants living within Konohagakure no Sato, many of them were just a means to an end or amusement for the silver-haired male. He did what was necessary to keep up the image of a kind and caring doctor when that was further from the truth of the matter. He could count on one hand the number of people he liked within Konoha, and that number currently sits had three. One being his girlfriend, the other Senju Airi, and the last being his wayward student Shizune. Unfortunately, he had yet to see Shizune, but had the chance to talk to Airi, and was currently heading to her resident to deliver a package. A small gift he got his hands on through some questionable means, using the backdrop of the hospital to not raise suspicion. He hoped she would enjoy the “thank you” present for her teaching him things about plants, and their medical properties.  

Knowing some of the dangers that lurked within the forest at night, and not wanting to deal with them, Daremo instinctively went into his Sage Mode. His skin turning slightly paler than it once was, and his hair now being a bone white in coloration. The physical changes were minute to the aura that he gave off, warning any other animals to back off due to their being a predator amongst the foliage. Walking through the forest, Daremo head turned to the left, having sensed a small surge of natural chakra that was no similar to anything he was familiar with. Dismissing the signature, for now, he continued his trek towards the Senju’s forest home.

Having delivered the package, and stayed for a small cup of tea, Daremo left the homy home of one of his friends and began wandering towards the ping he felt earlier. Making it to the clearing, yellow, reptilian eyes spotted a peculiar horned woman sitting in the middle of it. Still, in Sage Mode, he watched as the woman attempted to connect with nature, “If you trying to learn Senjutsu, it is more complex than just meditating.”, He spoke, his voice loud enough for the unidentified woman to hear. It was interesting to see someone else trying to learn the Sage arts, and he wondered what would make her different than those he already encountered?

---

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“If you trying to learn Senjutsu, it is more complex than just meditating,” someone spoke, their voice just loud enough to cut through Kaida's meditative focus. She frowned.

She'd been caught out, but there were several details she didn't know about the situation. It might be foolish, but she had several options at this point. Out of them, she chose to stay. Her first outward reaction would have been to chastise whoever'd had the audacity to interrupt her training, but just that one sentence revealed a few juicy tidbits of information.

First, someone knew what she was doing. Second, no one had attacked her, yet. This meant that whoever it was likely had no connection to her family. Third, she was doing it wrong, but not wrong enough that her visitor didn't recognize what she was up to. All things considered, that was a pretty good sign. Fourth, she could deduce that if the man knew what she was doing and had taken the time to tell her, there was a chance that he was more experienced with the exact art that she was trying to learn. Fifth, and by no means the least of her observations, she hadn't noticed him arrive, and now that she had, there was the strangest tightness in her chest.

She might only be a genin, as far as the Hidden Leaf was concerned, but she was no slouch. If he were a normal person, she would have long since noticed his arrival. This meant he was likely another ninja, and the aura like curdled death that radiated outward from him gave even Kaida pause to consider her life. She felt the need to choose her next words wisely and opened her eyes such that she could see out above the roofless forest room she had created. She needed to be ready, in case this encounter turned sourer still. It was better to keep the situation cool and friendly, then.

...how does a person be friendly? She swore silently to herself and cleared her throat. "Thanks for the advice," she said, pushing as much geniality into her voice as she could muster. "I can't see you clearly over there. Why don't you come into my light so we can meet properly?" It was obvious that she was already out of her element, feeling awkward and exposed, but that she was doing her best to be presentable.

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Resembling those of a reptilian, citrine color eyes pierced through the darkness of the night, allowing their own to see the frown adorning the horned woman’s face. Though he was not a mind reader, it could take a guess why the frown appeared. No one in the right mind would enjoy being disturbed from meditation, or whenever they have a moment of peace to themselves. The unexpected interruption can sour the mood of most people. This incident was probably worse due to what the woman was practicing.

Senjutsu. There comes a big risk when learning the difficult art. To those who have the old texts, or visit the realm of which they are aligned with, they learn even the slightest disruption during the drawing in of chakra can lead to terrible consequences. From textbooks, one know of the toad summons turning into stone statues, forever trapped in the image of the masters they were learning under. Other books talking similar things happening to the practitioner of other summon’s variety of the natural act. Books made sure to cover the risk that comes with leading the art.

If the roles were reversed, and she had interrupted him while seemingly knowing about the art, he, too, would have frown in displeasure. Yet, considering he did not know the individual, therefore, he had little concern of what comes from the interruption. If the person was not someone of familiarity, or in his inner circle, he cared very little for them. A good man he was, only in the recent of times.

Fortunate for the horned woman, she seems not to suffer any adverse effects from trying to meditate and drawing in Senjutsu. His eyes never left the woman. While some others might have strayed, and take a look at her figure, he did not. He already had a significant other waiting at home for him, who was above all but a few. Besides, there was something else that had caught his attention about the horned woman.

The presence alluded was not something to take lightly. It was a deadly mixture of death and the sickly presence of a plague. The eluded aura was who he was at his core, a plague who promotes death. He knew she felt it. Her pause did not escape him. Instead of advancing further, the silver-haired male waited patiently for the woman to find her words. It did not take long for her to speak, thanking him,  in a gentle tone which did not suit her outer appearance. He did not bother in reply to that. He gave the advice if it can be called that, more on a whim did anything else.

When asked to step further into the clearing, he did not respond verbally, instead, did what was asked of him. Bone white hair, that not of his true appearance, fell just passed his shoulders, and cover a part of his youthful face. A face which betrayed his age of being nearly forty years of age, old enough to be the father of some of the upcoming genins. The none white hair matched against his pale skin, which caused his citrine eye tone too stand of even more. If the woman was perceptive enough, she would note there being faint scales around his eyes; the light green scales standing out amongst his pale flesh.

“Didn’t mean to disturb you, but, I find it odd to see someone attempting to learn Senjutsu without a guiding hand unless I am mistaken?”, He asked, making sure to keep a respectable distance between him and the unknown woman. Speaking of wish, “My name is Eishi.”, He spoke, giving a name that only he will no is fake or not. While he had one pointed had no problem in telling strangers who he was, the times are changing, and with him have precious people to protect, that is defenseless, well, he can not be too safe. “I’m a wandering medical-nin who used to originate in a village within Tsuchi no Kuni.”, He continued, “And you are?”

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Hmm. Kaida had to stop and think about her answers. There was this man, if a being in such a state could really be called that, with the figurative stench of death oozing off him. But he otherwise seemed genial and intellectual. He had pegged her instantly. She was, in fact, out here learning a potentially dangerous art without a real person to guide her start and progress. All she had were the family scrolls, and her collection was incomplete, to boot. They might have been sufficient for picking up the less chakra intensive arts, but she had to admit that there were some of them she ought not to be looking at on her own. She just didn't have anyone she trusted with that information.

Her best option for surviving this encounter would be honesty. Just not too much. "My name is Horikita Kaida," she said clearly, standing up from her meditative position to bow in recognition of her guest. She had built something that resembled a home out here, after all. She could be this man's hostess. As she stood again, her eyes darted about, checking the positions of the chakra-charged wooden rounds she'd created. And if anything went wrong, they were right there.

"I'm a refugee from Sunagakure, currently under the banner of Konohagakure," she explained. "And yes, I am attempting to learn the art of Senjutsu from a scroll which describes its practices and execution. Since coming to Hi no Kuni, the scrolls are all I have ever needed to learn new and advanced arts." Since he had walked into the light, she took the time to look him over, assessing with her more concrete senses exactly what kind of threat he posed. Her family had frequently dealt with powerful ninja in the past, but Kaida was never allowed to interact with them directly. When she questioned her mother about it, Ichika calmly explained that those lessons would be handled when she was sixteen. It occurred to Kaida now, that her mother had no idea how right she was. It felt like a trial by fire, but then again... what wasn't?

She openly glanced over toward the pack and small kitchen she'd set up; she had been prepared to stay out in the forest for quite some time to learn this particular new art, and along with the tools to survive for extended periods, brought herself a few small treats to remind her of home while she'd be out here. "It's an honor to meet you, Eishi. I believe I have some tea in my pack... if you would care to join me for a while?" she swept her left hand out and turned slightly as she spoke, inviting him into the space she had created. However, she did not otherwise move, waiting for her guest to take the next step in their exchange. It felt dirty and awful, mimicking the behavior she'd observed from her mother while watching through the crack in the door, but she had no other point of reference for this situation.

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Never was he a man to take things on face value, even when playing along with others, there was always some form of skepticism lurking within the far corners of his mind, as such when the woman introduced herself, Eishi perceived as a fake. Something that was just used for the time being, to get through introductions, and see where this conversation would lead. If their talks were fruitful, maybe he could learn her real name, if Horikita Kaida wasn’t it. Did she give him any reason to assume her name was fake? No, but in the shinobi world, one must be cautious about those met, and take any information giving with a grain of salt. “It is nice to meet you, Kaida.”

Cautious. Although his eyes did not follow her’s, Eishi did notice how Kaida was looking around the surrounding. It being refreshing to see someone checking their surroundings when faced with something unexpected, as in a stranger intruding on them. How many conversations done he had when the other individual did not even look at their surroundings? Making sure that an escape route was plausible in case of things when pear-shaped?  How many people have he dealt with who did not make sure something was close enough that they could defend themselves if he decided to become aggressive? Not many, a lot of them were too sure of their abilities to even remotely think about making sure things were nearby in case the worse happens. So, it was a pleasant surprise to see her, something he is presuming,  checking her surroundings.

Eishi did not show any surprise at Kaida’s mention of being a refugee of Sunagakure no Sato. While he did not she was from the destroyed villaged until she mentioned it, Eishi assumed that a lot of the refugee’s was either apart of a village or still looking for one. “Senjutsu is one of the few arts that, for most, require a teacher of some kind to guide them through the process. Rather the teacher being a summons who the user has an affinity for or a person who understands the art, a guiding hand is needed.” He spoke. There were only one clan who he knew that had an innate ability for Senjutsu, and that was the Jugos. He having a personally relationship with a couple of their members, thus, was some knowledgeable about them.

Eyes looked in the direction of Kaida’s, spotting some of her stuff, and noting it seemed she was camping out here. “The honor is all mine.” He spoke, debating on rather he should accept her offer for tea, “And tea would be nice right about now.”. As he took a step forward, the feeling of death and sickness alluding from his body disappeared. Such an uncomfortable presence would not do well when having tea with another. “How long have you been reading the books about Senjutsu? And, what is your opinion on the skill?” He asked, wanting to get a better feel for who he was talking to.

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