Ukiyo walked through the dusty streets of Sunagakure, largely unimpressed with the village as a whole. I've seen cactuses, sparse weeds. . .and that’s it. Nothing but sand everywhere I go. Sand and rocks. You would think the natives would at least try to put on the illusion of life in this wasteland. I truly don’t know how they survive. Ukiyo grew and retracted grass in her palm, sprouting a flower every now and then among them. She was walking barefoot with a trail of grass behind her where her feet touched the ground. She plucked blades from her hand and tossed them in the air, trying to blow them away before the wind did. She has yet to get one. All wind and no humidity. All sun and no shade. Straaange land. Ukiyo stared up into the sky as she thought this and gave a little twirl as she got lost in the thought. Before she knew it, Ukiyo tripped over a rock protruding from the ground and fell onto the sand hard. She picked herself up on her knees, rubbing her cheek. She wore a frown like a child who had just scraped their knee; her eyes welled up but did not look like they would tear. She lifted her head up, determined to continue walking without tripping this time. When she looked ahead, however, she saw a sight of unimaginable beauty. A greenhouse! There stood Sunagakure’s medicinal greenhouse in all its glory; tinted clear windows on one side revealing rows of beautiful, lush greenery. Ukiyo rushed inside, completely forgetting her resolve to be more careful. Ukiyo entered with a smile as wide as her cheeks could go without tearing. She breathed deeply through her nose and was overcome by a rainbow of new scents. She had never seen many of the species here and was beside herself with joy. She excitedly ran over to one row and began examining the plants closely. She rubbed the leaves of some, the petals of others, and the stems of a few. She smelled many of their different parts and even licked a couple when no one was looking. Ukiyo giggled; she was a kid in a candy shop. Ukiyo took a handful of the soil from one row and dove her nose into it. After a moment she lifted it back out and picked the specs of dirt from her nostrils. Bizarre, bizarre! What wild plants they have here. Their anatomy is nothing like Konohagakure’s and even the soil is strange. Who knew in a land of such dry, barren earth one could find a soil so rich! I…I need one of these plants to study. It would be invaluable research. I’ll just take one…or a couple…or a few. I won’t take enough that they can’t be regrown, at least. Ukiyo looked around; besides the two medical nin on the far end of the greenhouse extracting nectar from some flowers, there was no one around. She concentrated as she placed her hand besides a row of different species. In an instant, Ukiyo’s hand swiftly grasped several plants, which she then hurriedly stuffed into her “pockets” she repeated this a few times, concentrating her chakra into her arm/hand, then letting it out in a burst of speed. Who knew this technique would ever come in handy? Ukiyo thought with a smile as she turned around, put her hands in her pockets, closed her eyes, and proceeded to roam the greenhouse, enjoying its aromas.

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