Suki smiled fairly contently as she sat on a tree branch overlooking the vast grass fields. The grass was ridiculously tall, probably 5 feet tall in parts, if not the whole. She could easily lose herself in grass that height. Being only 16 inches tall at the shoulders, the grass towered over her in a way even human children could not understand. Sure She was 2 feet 2 inches long, chest to rump, so she could stand semi tall with her long legs, but there was no hope to see over the grass. Even accounting a foot or two for leg high, she couldn't hope to stand more than 3 and a half feet, give or take a few inches. And that was a foot and a half shorter than the grass. With her orange and black fur, she could probably blend in semi well as well with some plants. Even standing up, someone over 5 feet tall, seeing over the grass, would likely never see her. She wore a pouch on her lower back, strapped on with a harness. In it were her few ninja tools, a kunai and 3 measly shuriken. It wasn't much, but it was the freebies she had been given upon becoming a genin. With a small intake of breath, she looked over the grass and jumped into the field. She imagined she would probably only find her way out when she found another tree in the vast fields.

The grass took her over immediately. It was somewhat intimidating to be so all enclosed. It was like being underwater almost, very murky water, where you could only see a foot or two in front of your face. She took off then, walking at a brisk pace, looking around hoping to find some of these eggs rumored to be scattered around. She was hoping to find some, that was true. But part of her also wondered what these huge grass fields were like. She had never been in grass quite that high. It was alien to her. She was a little thrilled by it, truth be told. An odd scent, someone unusual in the surroundings tickled her nose, and she wondered what it was. Perhaps she would figure out as She explored. Spiders nests loomed up above her as She past a small cluster of rambles, in which a large black and yellow spider sat, waiting for more bugs to fly into it's webs. Suki twitched her ears as a few birds flew overhead. Her ears rapidly rotating towards the sound of birds flying and singing. They faced forward then as she returned her attention to exploring. She wanted to explore and find some of these great eggs. Surely there were some hidden somewhere in this field! Next came an excitable squirrel which freaked out as it ran nearly into her in the grass. Suki gave chase and ran after it, batting at it playfully until she managed to trap it entirely. Suki smiled, and let it go, before turning and heading off in a new direction, trying to figure out what that odd smell was.

[OoC: feel free to be the cause of the smell or not, it could easily be an unfamiliar plant at this point.]

Word Count: [523]

The unknown and the unexplained. If there were two things in the world that Nanashi truly didn’t like it would be the aforementioned things. Above being a shinobi for Iwagakure no Sato, Nanashi was, surprisingly to those who don’t know him, a curious individual. The world as a whole had a lot of unexplained and unsolved mysteries and questions that were waiting for someone to take the proverbial plunge and attempt to figure them out. They were looking for someone who didn’t mind ruffling the feathers of others in order to get to the bottom of an unexplained event or an unquestioned question. Someone who wouldn’t just take a rudimentary answer that anyone could have thought of. They were desperate to find someone to finally crack, decipher them - letting the secrets they held to be released into the world or into the minds of those who dare bare such information. They cried out to the heavens for someone who would be able to unlock their secrets, and their cries were answered in the form of Guanyin Nanashi.

A twenty-four-year-old man who from the moment he could crawl was already trying to figure out the wonders of the world - around him. His thirst for knowledge and understanding was astonishing for a child. As he grew, matured, so did his thirst for knowledge and understanding to the point where he HAD to know things. The feeling of not knowing, the unknown and unexplained, was something he detested and it propel him to learn more, and more about the world - about everything. An obsession knowledge? He would think not. He simply doesn’t want to be ignorant, and not know something. Simple, right?

It’s was this thirst for knowledge and understanding that landed Nanashi in his current predicament. A few days ago, six days to be exact, his mother told him about the disappearance of some of the geishas. Being someone who was raised by geishas, and was one at a point in his life, they hold a special place in his heart, he seeing them as family, therefore, when he was made aware of their disappearing he immediately went searching for them.  Two days he searched for any clues about their whereabouts with no luck till an elderly man mentioned that these disappearances have been started to occur more frequently as it drew closer to the full moon. When asked if he knew what could cause this disappearance the man replied “A jackal who anger finally reached its breaking point.” Of course, Nanashi asked the man to clarify.

The elderly man went further to explain that this ‘jackal’ wasn’t an animal per se but rather a spirit. A spirit that felt like his actions were overlooked by Sakra, The Lord of Deva who made a mural on the moon of the rabbit that sacrificed itself for Sakra, who appeared as an old man, to eat. The spirit wholeheartedly believes that just because the rabbit made a sacrifice didn’t mean that it should be remember.  That it’s actions, the jackal’s, while not morally acceptable still remember. For who had the cunning ability to pilfered a lizard and milk curd? He did! That’s who. Not the monkey. Not the otter. And damn sure not that rabbit! Until now the jackal didn’t do anything harmful on the days following up to Easter, however, this year was different. This year would mark the thousand year anniversary of the day that the rabbit became immortalized in the moon, and it seemed like the jackal’s boiling part had finally been reaching. So, in order to draw attention away from the rabbit, the jackal began sending unexpected people to another dimension.

Did Nanashi believe the old man? No, he didn’t, however, it was the only lead he had and thus he had no choice in believing the man. . . somewhat. With the given information, Nanashi continued searching for more information about the missing geisha. And it was during the search that it happen; a portal opened up and sucked Nanashi through it before dropping him off in Satou no Kuni.

Having no idea where he was at, Nanashi spent the following three days scouting the foreign land, learning anything and everything about its inhabitants and culture. He learned that Satou no Kuni was and at the same time wasn’t connected with the Elemental Nation. The country existed on a whole other adjacent dimension that never, until now, come in contact with the dimension that holds the Elemental Nation. Asides from finding out miscellaneous information, Nanashi did manage to discover that the only way to get back home is through the portal that will open in two weeks time. Till then he was stuck here. And to make matters worse no had any information about the missing geisha.

With never else left to do, Nanashi went about learning more about the strange land and it’s inhabitants thus leading us to his current location. . .

Peekaboo Paddock. . .

A place where many of the inhabitants come to unwind and have fun with nature. It was characterized by the apple green grass that grew up to five foot in height - being almost as tall as some men and women alike. Forgoing the mentioned detail, Peekaboo Paddock also had a large variety of flora. Many of which stayed hidden amongst the tall grass, only being discovered by those who were actively searching for them.

It ultimately was the flora that cause Nanashi to venture into the place. The silver haired male having a real interest in understanding, and finding ways to use plants in medicines and poisons respectively. While not as enjoying as a tea ceremony, he does find some joy and calmness in finding and documenting new plants.

And it was exactly that what he is doing during right now - documenting and taking a small sample of a tear shaped plant that had a clear, slightly prudent smelling liquid coming off from it's leaves. The smell really didn’t affect him much, Nanashi hardly smelling it at all, although the same couldn’t be said about the wildlife.

---

WC:: 1032

Suki ran forward, examining sights the tall grass hid. To be entirely honest, to some, the grass could potentially hold many scary things. She had passed a spider web already holding a rather large spider, and she imagined there were all manner of less pleasant things the grass could contain. Just as a precaution, Suki had had the foresight to wear a tick repellant, as she felt no desire whatsoever to end up with bug bites from her exploration of the grassy fields. An irksome pungent odor still filled her nose, but she was doing her best to ignore it. She looked to her right at a slight rustling sound near her, only to see a rat of some kind fly past her, a racer snake in hot pursuit. Having time to spare, and nothing to do at the very moment, she pelted after them, weaving throughout the grass in an attempt to keep up and follow the chase. Unfortunately, she wasn't herself As well suited to chasing rodents through tall grass as the snake was, so she began falling behind. So instead, she would have to use her brain, and attempt to predict which way they would go. A rock in their path forced the chase to change directions, and Suki was back in the chase. As she ran she began moved her tail, she unzipped her pouch, which was attached to her via harness, and pulled out a kunai. Having a prehensile tail was a gift, and was one of the few ways the Ninneko clan had differing anatomy from the common feline. The other being opposable and prehensile paws. The end of her tail wrapped around the kunai's handle, and held it firmly. With leap, She jumped into the air and slashed quickly with her tail, nearly severing the snakes head. Another blow finished the job. The side effect being that she cut down a tiny swath of tall grass around her in the process. With the snake dead, she shook blood off her kunai and replaced it. In her jump, however, she had jumped above the grass for a second, and something oddly....white had caught her attention.

Suki grabbed the writhing snake, still moving despite its previous decapitation, and jumped again. There was indeed something white. And this time she got a better look. Someone with white hair. It was an unusual color for a human's hair to be. Suki wondered idly what this person was doing here. Perhaps egg hunting as others were? Suki wasn't sure. Regardless, she ceased Her chase, and instead began walking towards the red haired figure, and the pungent odor.  Suki wondered idly what she should do about the snake. It would make a good meal, but she didn't want to simply walk up to someone carrying a dead snake. At the same time, she didn't want to stow it in her pouch and get blood inside it. Hmm. If she had to, she could discard it, nothing was truly wasted in nature, and if she did, some scavenger would eat well that day. If only she had had a blunt force weapon instead of just a kunai and a fe shuriken. She could have killed It without all the bleeding. But, oh well.

Suki approached the white haired person with some degree of caution. She held the snake still, well apart and behind herself with her tail. She hadn't yet decided what to do with it. She couldn't simply walk up to someone and say "hey There, nice to meet you! Fancy sharing a meal with me? I have plenty of snake to go around." the very idea of doing that made her giggle softly. It was absurd, and would probably freak most people out. Let alone a talking cat was sadly enough to freak many people out in and of itself! Regardless, as she neared the white haired figure, she spoke and dropped her snake a foot or so behind her, obscured by the grass. "Hey, how are you?" She didn't know him yet, but  was no need not to be polite. "I am Suki." Suki wondered wether the person would even see her. She could barely see him/her through the thick and tall grass. Suki, being only 16 inches high at the shoulders when on all 4s, would be harder to spot.

Word Count: [735]
Total Word Count: [523+735=1,258]

The member '~Suki' has done the following action : Dices roll

'Easter Eggs' :

“Such a fascinating plant.”, he mused to himself, scribbling in a small notepad any of the plants unique characteristics. Having only been observing the plant for a few minutes, Nanashi was able to discern one of the plant’s unique traits. Whenever it felt threaten, it produces a clear liquid from it’s leaves that not only have a prudent smell, something that some of the insects find pleasant seeing how they converged on the location rather quickly, but upon contact with exposed skin the liquid causes mild to severe irritation; Nanashi having this out by allowing the liquid to touch his hand and the sequential irritation caused by it being heal via a simple medical ninjutsu. Apart from him wonder if prolong exposure would worsen the irritation or maybe cause something else to occur. Of course, he wouldn’t be testing that out anytime soon - at least not within theses strange lands.

The plant’s defense mechanism only seemed to be triggered by human contact - well that’s not completely true, a simple test of coating his hands in chakra before touching the plant made him theorize the plant doesn’t react to contact but the natural unique phenomenons all humans give off. This line of thinking was further proven correct when a lizard brushed up against the plant without triggering the liquid goo. Indeed, if that was the case, it meant the plant had evolved in a way to ward off humans. But why? What cause a seemingly harmless looking plant to become weaponized in such fashion? What’s so enticing about it that cause people harvest it to the point that it adapted ways to ward them off. More importantly did this plant have other defense mechanisms. . .

Nanashi had to bite by a wince when his thumb slice, albeit not badly, by the under portion of the plant’s leaf that he had absentmindedly stroke to feel the texture of it. The paper thin cut wasn’t painful, it just stung a lot, like a paper cut. He didn’t bother in healing the cut, seeing how it didn’t bleed any which only seem to back up the claim of the thin slice.

Instead, he focused on the leaf that managed to cut him. Seemed like his earlier question about the plant possibly having other defense mechanisms was answered. The plant indeed has such. Removing the leaf from the stalk, Nanashi lightly rubbed the back of it and instantly felt his skin being cut into by sharp grooves. How interesting.

So engrossed into the plant was he that Nanashi didn’t realize he wasn’t alone till voice penetrated his ears. It took him a moment to pinpoint the location of the owner of said voice,  having initially looked straight behind him and spotted no one, and never once downward. Parting the grass, a single yellow eye would stare at the apparent owner of the voice - a cat.

A quite large, but still considerably small, in comparison to the big ones that roamed the Elemental Nation, cat. “Did you just talk?”, Nanashi asked without any hesitation, eyebrow slightly raised as he waited for an answer. He had an irking that the feline did indeed talk, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Now, if Nanashi was anything but a shinobi there might have been a very small chance of him freaking out at the thought of a talking cat. However, being a shinobi for as long as he have has caused him to see some weird shit, and thus, a talking cat, if that’s the case, would be low on the ‘weird shit’ scale.

“If you indeed did talk, my name is Guanyin Nanashi, and I’m doing fairly decent despite the circumstances. You?”, he inquired, pushing down the thoughts of the missing geishas. He will find them. . .And maybe, just maybe this cat could help him.

---

Word Count:: 652
Total Word Count:: 1684

The member 'Nanashi' has done the following action : Dices roll

'Easter Eggs' :

Suki held her tail up in the air in what anyone who had ever owned a pet cat would likely know as an obvious sign of a friendly feline greeting. Suki was indeed in a good mood. So She was for the most part her usual friendly self, perhaps even a little more outgoing than typical. This place had that effect on her, it was a rather strange land. "Yes I spoke. I tend to do that." Suki let out a soft and short giggle, sometimes she was amused by the reactions she got from some people. Some merely did a double take or asked if it was her, others freaked out completely. Suki wasn't entirely sure why a talking cat was so freaky to some. It was quite mundane to her, But then again, of course it was. She was one herself after all. "Nice to meet you then Nanashi. As I said, I am Suki, a genin from Konoha." At that, she unzipped her pouch once again with her tail, and pulled out her forehead protector, and held it up, Her tail wrapped around it to hold it. Another unusual sight perhaps, as your typical cat's tail isn't prehensile. While her tail looked like a feline tail, and matched her body, anatomically it was probably similar to a monkey's tail. She stowed the forehead protector back in her pouch and zipped it up with a flick of her tail. "So what are you doing here? Anything I can be of assistance with? I am not really doing anything, just exploring a bit."

The sugar country was indeed an odd place, the forest had Orange grass and silver trees, this field was covered in 5 foot tall grass. These kinds of places were not found back home in Konohagakure. It was freaky and unusual, but of so fun to explore. Unique creatures and plants, she wondered what she could learn or obtain here to take back home. She could perhaps grow quite a lot in such a place. And that was perhaps why she was here the most. Suki turned her attention then to the stinky plant. "I don't think I have seen this kind of plant before.... Does it always stink so much? I wonder why..." Suki had an extremely active curiosity and scholarly interest in many things. She often spent free time in libraries researching various things. "Do you know what it's called? Maybe I can look it up sometime...hmm" Suki had to refrain herself from asking any more questions, as she carried a half hundred with her wherever she went. "Its not quite as weird as the forests silver trees and Orange grass though perhaps... Then again... I can't really say that as all I know about it is that it stinks..." Suki sighed softly to herself. She was really talking too much. She was going to end up boring Nanashi if she didn't quit. She wondered again why he was here. Her mind also turned to all those Easter eggs she had heard about. She was hoping to find more of them, though her luck had always turned sour thus far. Suki wondered if She should apologize for the dead snake in the grass behind her, but She doubted he could see a snake a few feet behind her considering the grass was so high. No need to bring it to his attention.

Word Count: [577]
Total Word Count: [1258+577=1835]

[OoC: sorry for the short length. My muse is tired today. Truly, sorry. Usually I can do opp words without difficulty.]

Having never personally owned a cat, Nanashi wasn’t the most knowledgeable when it comes to them. Though luckily for him the matriarch of the Geisha house that he was raised in had a couple of small felines around - mainly for the young girls who enjoyed the unbias company of animals. While he didn’t play with them himself, often times too busy, he did manage to learn a thing or two from his sisters and aunts who almost always had a cat in their arms when not on duty. It’s thanks to this small amount of knowledge that he’s able to identify that the feline was in a good mood.

“Though I have read about animals that talk, mainly seijutsu pets and summonings. This is my first time exactly seeing, hearing, and talking to a talking animal. “, he confessed, shrugging his shoulders in admission to never running into a situation like this before. Kind of surprising when you think about, Guanyin Nanashi, a shinobi of seven long years have never had a run in with a talking animal till now.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Suki. I’m also a shinobi, although I’m a Jounin Iwa-nin.”, though he didn’t know how old Suki was, Nanashi hoped that there wouldn’t be any trouble due to his nationality. In the recent past Konoha and Iwagakure, or any nation for that matter,  never really had the greatest relationships with Dengen, a former Tsuchikage, being the cause of much of it. The power hungry fool didn’t much care for alliance or peace, only caring about flexing his ‘might’ and opposing, try to,  his will onto other nations. However, the man met his end when he denied accusations of him trying to assault Konoha, but the damage was already done to Iwa’s representation.  Though he was the only one who dared to attack another nation, the following Tsuchikages did little to rectify the mistakes of those before them - even him, Nanashi, a former Tsuchikage, did little. Thankfully the current Tsuchikage had all but repaired the damage done by Dengen with Iwa’s representation being amended slowly. Despite this, some people still held animosity towards Iwa, and Nanashi hoped Suki wasn’t one of them.

“So you are not a wayward summonings nor some neko equivalent to the Inuzuka clan pet?”, considering the answer was staring him down the question was almost a rhetorical one; the kunai pouch, headband, and unusual prehensile tail that could possibly used like a hand all told him that Siki could indeed be a shinobi of Konoha.

Momentarily forgetting about what he was doing earlier, Nanashi addressed her question “ Well I’m a medic, and I have an interest in flora, and seeing how Sugar Country had so many unique plant life I thought about taking a few samples so that I could study them later. “, showing a few cases that held leaves of different plants, along with a vial of liquid that was collected from the plant beside him, and notes.

“Neither have I.”, placing the cases and vials into a pouch, Nanashi questioningly looked at Suki “ Stink? I just smell a light prudent odor, and even then I can’t match the order to anything I smelled before. What does it smell like to you?” No matter how much humans evolve they will probably never develop a sense of smell like that of a cat - their smell being fourteens times that of a human. Given that, Nanashi hoped Suki would answer his question to give him some insight on the light odor.

“Such an inquisitive feline.”, he mused to himself “Sadly I do not. I didn’t even know something like this existed till I found it. Nor did I know this country existed till I was sucked in through a portal.”, the last part was said in a barely audible whisper “Maybe some of the locals would know what this plant is?”. That surely had to be the case right? The locals must know all the plants within the region. . . right?

Chuckling at her comment about the stinky plant, Nanashi began packing up his stuff “True. I have yet to take a sample from one of the silver trees. Do you want to come? Probably beats staying around a stinky plant.” still kneeling down, Nanashi awaited her answer before heading towards a particularly big silver tree a couple meters north of their direction.

---

Word Count:: 746
Total Word Count:: 2430

Suki wasn't too perturbed to find out She was his first talking animal. It was always that way, even in Konoha, where her clan resided, talking animals were unusual. Her clan wasn't well known, that was clear. Other clans, such as the hyuuga, the uchiha, the aburame, and the Senju, were the clans that got all the fame and attention. But, that said, perhaps it was a good thing really. No one really knew about their clan, so that could make them great at infiltration. All the cunning and training of a ninja, with the appearance of a cat. How do you catch a cat spy? Interrogate all the felines in a nation? So being less known had its share of advantages she supposed. Still, sometimes it could get frustrating. And because She was a cat, she had to get used to discrimination. She was expected to be no smarter than your average pet. She was expected to be weak. She was constantly mistaken for someone's pet. It was something that could definitely get on her nerves. Still, she was generally in a good mood, and thusly, it wasn't nothing her for the moment.

So, he was a jounin from Iwagakure? Kazui had heard of some bad blood about Iowa, but frankly it wasn't something she had grown up around. Her parents had been ninja, sure, but they had been serving a long term mission as a nobleman bodyguards, and thus not as affected by tensions between villages. And while they often talked about it, It never really seemed to affect her. As a result, Suki lacked any real reason to hold some obscure wrongdoings before her time against anyone. Frankly, Suki wasn't well informed on the subject anyway. What she knew was what little she remembered and old gossip and the like. As a result, she was rather uninformed anyway. "To be honest, I have not met many people from other villages. Its nice to meet you." Suki had no reason for any hostility after all.

Suki sighed slightly as he asked about what she was. She frankly wasn't entirely sure if it was rhetorical or not. It Was however, the common assumption among experienced ninja, that she was some summon or seijutsu pet wandering around. The assumption got irritating after so long, and she was weary of it. "No, I am not either of those things. I guess I am not surprised you asked." Suki's voice took a slightly weary tone for a moment, before returning to normal. She resumed her good mood after a moment, with a degree of effort. And after a moment of thought, stepped forward towards Nanashi and would try to bunt against his leg.*

Suki would nod as he spoke of being a medic and taking samples. Suki, despite not being a medic, had always had huge curiosity and interest in anatomy and physiology. Talking to a medic, made it hard not to pester him with questions. Let alone a jounin medic at that! She imagined he must know so much! As a result, she was bursting with questions. What kind of plants had he already taken samples of? What kind of medical work did he usually do? Did he work in a hospital or was he a combat medic? She had heard there were some powerful jutsu that could regrow limbs, was that true? How would that even work? Had he ever performed surgery? Was it hard to get over seeing someone's internal organs? Did it freak him out t first? How long had he been a medic? Was medical training hard? What kinds of things did they do when first training as medical ninja? All these questions and more were barely being held back. "Do you like being a medic?" Suki allowed herself a single question, though her tone of voice possibly betrayed her raging curiosity.

Suki nodded as he questioned her about the smell. "I can't really place it to be honest. Its not something I have really smelled before. Regardless to me at least, it smells...repulsively pungent. If I wasn't curious about it, I would probably avoid it. It was just odd before, though closer the smell is stronger. A defensive mechanism perhaps to keep things that might eat it away? Perhaps it's toxic in some way?" Her attention was quickly averted at his mention of portals. Such a thing existed? How would such a thing be created? It had sucked him in? How could something just suck someone in? Some kind of vacuum? Altered gravity of a sort? What could alter gravity or create a vacuum strong enough to just suck a human in? He had specified that he had been sucked in, so clearly he wasn't blown in by some kind of strong wind.... What could possibly so that? Having already had many repressed questions, this little tidbit was too much to bear. She couldn't help it. "Wait... A portal sucked you in? I didn't know such a thing existed! How could it suck you in? Some kind of vacuum Maybe? But what could create that kind of vacuum? What did it feel like?" Suki blurted these out, and finally managed to restrain herself with what was probably obviously enormous effort. Suki was sure he had at least understood her questions. It was hopefully obvious she hadn't been referring to a vacuum cleaner. "Umm....sorry about that.....feel free to ignore that outburst...." Suki longed for answers but knew better than to expect them. Her head dipped down and her tail lowered in embarrassment. She really needed to put a leash on her curiousity.

Suki nodded when He asked if She wanted to come. She would happily hang out with such a person. She could learn so much! Before following, She gave the plant, and the area around it, a last look over for any eggs.

Word Count: [996]
Total Word Count: [1,835+996=2,831]

*(Bunting is a word for the affectionate headbutting cats do.)

The member '~Suki' has done the following action : Dices roll

'Easter Eggs' :

It surprised him on how little Suki knew about the other nations - specifically their shinobis. Even before entering the Academy, before becoming a shinobi, Nanashi had begun familiarizing himself with the inner and outer workings of the surrounding countries; Hi no Kuni, Kaze no Kuni, Kaminari no Kuni, Mizu no Kuni and even some of the smaller nations were included in his studies, committing only the most crucial information about them to memory which included: noteworthy places, famous shinobi, primary cultures, etc. all that would be invaluable to him in the distant future. He didn’t gain this knowledge alone, no, he had help from his grandmother, mother, aunts and sisters - all helping him in his studies, giving him any crucial information that they picked on the streets or through loose-lipped clients who liked to brag. All of it was done to prepare and ensure their grandchild, son, nephew, brother’s readiness and success in his pursuing career. It’s thanks to them that, when he entered the academy, he had an above average knowledge regarding the world out him and the shinobis that inhabitant; a knowledge that continues to grow to this day.

“Good to see the younger generation hasn’t be poisoned by the venomous words of the old who can’t let the past go. The past should be left in past.“, while there weren’t many who still preached that Iwagakure no Sato couldn’t be trusted - there was still enough to cause tension in certain ‘pockets’ around the Nation. Using their charismatic charm and experience, these radicals(as Nanashi calls them) lure in the unwanted, those who wouldn’t be missed, the mongers, those who crave bloodshed no matter who it might be, the zealous, those who believed that Tsuchi no Kuni needs to be cleansed through bloodshed, and the naive, those who are looking for a place in the world. However, one must not assumed that there aren’t those from Iwa who also preach this nonsense propaganda about the other nations. For there are some out there who until this day fully supported the actions of Dengen and wished the man had succeeded.

He, Nanashi, didn’t have a problem with any of them. Sure, he has encountered his fair share of them other countries and even his own. They had yet to do anything - with those who tried to force their opinion on him meeting an untimely end with their bones being the only thing left to them. He doesn’t tolerate being forced to do something, most of the times doing so ends up badly for the offender.

Nanashi noted the sigh that followed his question about her being a summons or a seijutsu pet. He could only assumed she get asked the question a lot by those who meet her. He couldn’t blame others for asking the same question he did. Besides running away in fright, what would you have done if you met Suki? Probably ask her if she’s a summons or a seijutsu pet, right? They are the only animals capable of speaking, thus the question would be a valid one. Did he feel bad for asking such a question? Kind of, and he was about to apologize till Suki headbutted hi leg. While the impact wasn’t forceful, it did bring his attention back to her.

Nanashi done had a few cats in his past do this to him, and at first he was confusion till his sister explained why the cats did it. Bunting or allorubbing, is a way for a feline to show affection to others. It’s used as a way to bond with others, and tell them that, the cat, sees them as a friend. And for Suki to be doing such a thing, it meant that she viewed Nanashi as a friend. He didn’t have a problem with it cause despite having friends he wasn’t close to many of them - excluding his family, not by blood - , therefore, if Suki wanted to be his friend then so be. He will attempt to help this newly acquired grow into something good.

Reaching down, Nanashi’s right hand attempted to scratch behind Suki’s ear as he gather his thoughts in regards to her question about him liking being a medic “Yeah, I enjoy being a medic. The work is hard, but fulfilling. You get satisfaction in helping others - curing alignments, bring them back from death’s door. At the same time, when someone die under you care, you feel like crap. Especially after having to break the news to the parents or loved ones. You being to question yourself and your methods. Did I do everything right? Was there something else I could have done? What if I did this differently. Would it have matter? Would the outcome been better? But, as a medic, one must continue onward. “, he said, pausing to allow the words to sink in before continuing “I have been a medic for almost seven years now. I have worked my way up from a nobody to Head Director and Owner of Iwagakure’s main hospital. And throughout my time as a medic, I can truly say I love my profession.”

Who would have thought, Nanashi, a sociopath to many, would admit to loving his profession?

Stopping the scratching, Nanashi looked at the plant before turning his attention back to Suki and address her question “Yeah, I figured it’s a defensive mechanism. Though the strange thing is that the plant only exude the liquid when a human comes into close proximity of it. I theorize the plant evolved to combat humans who for whatever reasons sought after it. As for the liquid itself. I will have to run some test on it to see if it’s toxic. “, if the liquid was indeed toxic, Nanashi wondered what type of effects it would have on the body, and if it could be used for medical purposes.

“Well aren’t you a curious feline?”, he said, chuckling in good nature at the slew of questions she asked. He should have known that she would have heard the small tidbit about him being sucked into a portal. After all, she is a cat. “A couple days of ago I got the word about some geishas disappearing into thin air. I investigated the sights and asked around for any information. I eventually obtained information that led me to a town. It was while searching through the town did a portal opened up, and sucked me in. I don’t remember much cause I blacked out immediately only to wake up and found myself within Satou no Kuni. Till that incident, I didn’t believe portals existed either.” he said, coming to a stop at one of the big silver trees sporadic dotting the land.

“So, how long have you been a shinobi?”, he inquired as he went about gathering samples from the tree.

---

Word Count:: 1164
Total WC:: 3594

The member 'Nanashi' has done the following action : Dices roll

'Easter Eggs' :

Suki nodded as he spoke about being glad the younger generation wasn't being poisoned by the older generation's prejudices. Or at least, that's what Suki figured he meant. Suki would do much more research on the other villages on her return to Konoha. Her lack of great knowledge of the villages past made her feel somewhat ashamed. Really, she should know more about this, as it was a somewhat important subject. It wasn't that she hated history, not at all, it was simply that she had been prioritizing other fields of study and had been neglecting that one. One can only study so many things at a single time and get any actual learning done. And history had seemed less useful at the time compared to her studies. It wasn't that she didn't think it was useful, but rather...less useful. She had ran into an odd puppet before ending up in this land, so she had been studying puppetry the most. However talking to Nanashi, she felt She should really spend some time with a history book, or in this situation, some older ninja discussing politics and the villages.

Sure there was the odd jounin or chuunin who had lost a friend to another village and held a grudge, but she imagined every village had some of those. She imagined there were probably people in all the villages who had lost someone to a konoha ninja and held a grudge. So in the end it all balanced out didn't it? There wasn't any need to cause unnecessary tension between the villages. Suki wasn't someone who idolized her own village. Anyone who viewed their own nation as perfect was exposing some degree of idiocy. Every nation was flawed wasn't it? "I guess I feel like....sure there might be some ninja in konoha who lost a friend to a _____gakure ninja, but there are probably some in other villages who lost a friend to a konoha nin right? Maybe I am exposing my naivety, but surely that all kinda equals out right? No nation or village is perfect, As no person, or in my case, feline, is perfect.... Meh I'd like to think I qualify as a person... At any rate, it shouldn't cause unnecessary tension should it? Perhaps I am being foolishly naive." Suki spoke quietly when she spoke of qualifying as a person, a brief aside to herself really. It wasn't meant to be something She intended for him to hear. But she imagined he probably did.

Suki looked up, and he seemed to be thinking. At any rate, that was reasonable. He reached down and scratched behind her ear. Suki immediately began purring. It might seem odd to many people, as to many, she seemed so human. She spoke like a human, she was somewhat intelligent and she would like to think she was articulate. But still, she was a cat. And being scratched there was very pleasurable to her. And cats typically purr when content. She wondered idly what he thought of her odd mix of what many would assume to be human traits, and feline behavior. Was it odd to him? To Suki, it was normal. She had no problems discussing history or science, or any number of topics, while bunting, purring, being petted, or any number of things. She she would like to think she was as intelligent as a human, but didn't mean she wasn't a cat. Contrary to what many humans wanted to believe, intelligence and self awareness, along with morality, and animal behavior could coexist side by side. They were not mutually exclusive. Self awareness, morality, and intelligence were not things that set humans above animals, as animals could exhibit those exact same characteristics. Anyone with ninja experience should know this, as summoning and seijutsu pets often had these characteristics....as well as oddities like Suki's clan.

He began to speak of being a medic. Suki continued to purr, greatly enjoying being scratched. However the purring stopped abruptly as he mentioned losing someone. She could only imagine the kind of feelings a medic must have when they lose someone. Suki knew how she would feel. She would feel exactly as he was saying. She would kick herself for not being better. Suki would wonder if there was something else she could have done. She could only imagine how much a medic must kick themselves after a patient dies. Especially the first handful of times, which had to be the worst. Suki couldn't truly imagine it. Fortunately however Nanashi began steering the conversation towards more pleasant waters. Suki was happy he really did enjoy being a medic, and she was glad for his success. Suki resumed purring as he talked about how far he had come, and his achievements and enjoyment of being a medic. "Sometimes I debate neglecting my studies of Fuuinjutsu and becoming a medic instead. I have always been fascinated with anatomy and physiology, and study it often, despite not being a medic."

Suki nodded along as he spoke about the plants. It all seemed reasonable to her. "Perhaps we should bring some seeds back to our villages? The other medics in Iwa, and those in konoha might appreciate being able to grow them and study them. Perhaps bring some seeds from those silver trees we are headed to as well. We don't know if they will grow outside this country, But we should probably try right? I would hate for these to have medical uses, and for our villages to miss out simply because we didn't think to bring some seeds with us. And besides, if people sought It out in the past, or still do, there must be something beneficial about it right? Or I suppose it could be poisonous and they used it for poisoning weapons.... But I think that's somewhat less likely myself."

Suki was somewhat enthralled when he spoke of geishas and portals. She had never really met a geisha. She had seen one, but never really talked with one before. So she lacked much information about them. They were performers of a sort, she knew that much. She had thought they were supposed to be like living art of a sort with their appearance and being performers....that's about all she knew, and half of that was what she figured, not things she knew for a fact. "I don't really know much about geisha myself... They are performers right? Kind of like living art I think...? They certainly are fascinating though I don't know much. The last one I saw was just outside this the town....she looked abnormally disheveled if that helps. Her makeup was somewhat smudged and she had some grass in her hair, as if she had tripped badly and fallen. I thought geisha were trained to be well poised perhaps as I have never seen one trip, so it stuck in my mind. I didn't want to stare and embarrass her. I was going to ask if she needed any help, but I got the sense that she just wanted to get out of public, so I just kept walking. Besides... I figured she'd probably had a bad enough day, she  didn't need a strange talking cat freaking her out added to that." Suki sighed again, more softly than before, and continued on. However She saw something to raise Her spirits just after that. An egg was resting under a few sticks in the tall grass. She grabbed it with her tail and stowed it away contentedly. "To be honest.... I haven't been  ninja long... I have trained for a few years but I am a rather fresh genin. How about you? I would guess you are a jounin at least.... You seem strong to me."

Word Count: [1,324]
Total Word Count: [2,831+1,324=4,155]

History. As a child, many dismissed the importance of history. Find the lectures of past events to be boring, unimportant, meaningless. What good was it to know about wars already fought? Alliance already made? Treaties already were broken? They held little meaning, nothing in the past can help one of the future, right? This is the general thought of many children who had to bare long hours in class, learning stuff that wouldn’t help or saved them in their career or while on the battlefield.

Even Nanashi, at one point in his life, thought like that. He found history, like many others, to be a complete waste of time. He eventually voiced his dislike of the subject to his grandmother, his teacher at the time, and the response she gave him would ultimately change his outlook on the ‘worthless’ subject.

Many say that Nature is a greatest teacher of them all. I, however, believe that isn’t true. History is undoubtedly the greatest of all teachers. History  shows us the depths of our race, both good and evil. It shows us how we fall into patterns, repeating the same mistakes as our forefathers did with the same or more catastrophic results. And finally, it give us insight into our future.

It wasn’t till some time later in the lecture that Nanashi fully understood what his grandmother meant. She made parallels between events from the past and current - showing how the end results were almost identical. She talked about current events and show instances in histories that were eerily similar with the only difference being they had already been played out. The teachings from her were one of the many reasons why Nanashi try to constantly educate himself about past events. For, you never know when the events of the past would happen again.

A smile tugged at his lips as he listened to Suki’s words. The naivety and untainted innocence of her was a refreshing sight. In a world where everyone and their mother was some jaded and only saw the evil in the world, it did some good to meet someone who wasn’t like that. “Suki-chan. . .” for a fleeting moment, Nanashi truly felt older than he looked. The deeds of a killers, souls of those who ended because of him, had never felt heavier “ Apart of me wished it was that simple. Wish that we could move away from our past, and look towards a better future. I wish people could see things like you do.

However, there are those who don’t want that. They do everything in their power to ignite the spark of hate in the souls of young, gullible shinobi or those who have lost someone to another village. These people have always been a part of our history. They are the dark voices of had their hands in some of the most vileness acts. Suki, killing is what created these people, and they will continue to a part of our history as long as killing continues.”allowing the words to sink in, he continued, if only to clarify something “I’m not saying that killing is bad. I would be a hypocrite for doing so. But just remember, when you do take another human’s life in the name of your village or for some other reason. Just remember they to are human. They too had friends and family. Because, in the grand scheme of things, we are all human.” the lost part being directly spoken to Suki. She might looked like a cat, but Nanashi didn’t view her as such. He saw her a human, just slightly different. Unique.

And said human is currently purring happily underneath his skillful finger ministration. Did he find any of this to be strange? Nope. Felines loved being petted and scratched and seeing how Suki is also a feline, Nanashi figured this, the purring, would happen. It brought a smile to his face and conjured up memories of when he use to so the same with cats at the Geisha house.

“It’s nice you have an interest in the medical field, but don’t neglect your studies in fuuinjutsu. You can also learn the medical art when you hit Special Jounin. And by then you can combine medical and fuuinjutsu together - creating techniques that could do more than either other speciality could do own their own. If you want, I’m willing to teach you medical ninjutsu when you hit Special Jounin. “ He offered.

Nanashi nodded in agreement with her line of thinking in regards to the flora. It indeed made sense to bring sample backs to both villages in order to have them studied. Who knows they might find some medical purposes for them? “I agree with you. I already took an additional sample of the plant from before. I will do the same with the silver trees and give it to you, okay?”

Geishas in Satou no Kuni?  

Nanashi paused in gather samples as he listened to Suki’s words. That’s impossible. There aren’t any Geishas in Sugar Country. He had asked the natives about any Geisha house and was told that there weren’t any. Apparently Geishas wasn’t exactly welcome here. So, the fact that Suki might have seen one earlier could only mean one thing - the missing Geisha did end up here. “Did you happen to see where she was headed?” he asked in a control but the obliviously worried manner, spotting an egg resting at the base of the silver tree; picking it up, Nanashi stored it away.

“I have been a shinobi for seven years, almost eight. Thanks for the compliment, as the former Tsuchikage, I hope I would appear strong.”, he offhandedly remaked, placing the additional samples that he had collected into her pouch.

---

974(4568)

Suki sighed softly. Of course it wasn't that simple. It never was. Things were always needlessly complicated, let alone emotions. For Suki it was fairly simple, holding a grudge did nothing to solve the problem, it just propagated the problem. Suki didn't truly understand the tension between villages and nations. The need for violence seemed nearly nonexistent to her. But, she was a ninja and was used to accepting that that simply wasn't going to happen. The world wasn't perfect, and therefore, violence was inevitable. It was that violence that it was her duty to prepare for by training and growing stronger, so that when the time came, she could hold her own against it, and not become another victim of it. And with luck, even prevent others from becoming victims of it. That was, in her view, the true goal of fighting. No one should ever take up arms to obtain or destroy, but rather always to protect. Again, not everyone shared her opinions on that obviously. It was unfortunate, but inevitable. Nanashi's words rang true in her eyes. Killing and violence was inevitable, and it was better to prepare for it than to hope and pray it never came. In the end, it always does. It is better for it to find you well prepared than for it to catch you totally off guard. Still, it felt like the world should be ashamed that killing was necessary at times. It was not something that should be taken lightly. Definately not.

"I agree, all people have family and loved ones. When a life is extinguished, loved ones must grieve. I think killing is never something to take lightly.... I imagine I will probably have to grieve for the people I am forced to kill..." Suki took a moment to think about the last thing he said. Everyone is human. He had indeed heard her offhand comment. She could feel the directness in that statement. Sure all of it was being spoken to her, but she felt like that was specifically for her in a different way. Explaining it wasn't easy. But she appreciated it greatly none the less. She needed, perhaps, to have heard someone say that. And she was relieved greatly. "Thank you, that was nice to hear. I should probably have more faith in that." Suki wasn't of the opinion that she had it bad, she didn't. Sure explaining that She wasn't a seijutsu pet, and she wasn't a summon again and again could get annoying, but truly she wasn't in a bad way. She received some racism to be sure, but so did others. She didn't have the tragic pasts many had. Her biggest trouble was her parents wrongful imprisonment...but at least they were alive. Many didn't have living parents.

Suki nodded along as he spoke of waiting to invest in medical ninjutsu. It made sense to wait, she imagined. There were so many great fields of study it was hard to just pick a few. She was happy to study all of them, but she only had so much time to train. Which was true for everyone. There was a reason no one was skilled in every field of study. Still, she wished she could. But she imagined it was true. Fuiinjutsu's strength perhaps came in it's ability to augment other jutsu. You could shoot fireballs with ninjutsu, But with ninjutsu and Fuuinjutsu, you could great landmine like glyphs or symbols that detonate in a fiery explosion. So truly, it was a valuable field of study. It was definitely valuable. "Thank you for the offer. Hopefully when the time comes I can gain permission to head to Iwagakure for a bit. I don't imagine village ninja are allowed to simply go where they please. At any rate, thank you for the offer, I hope to take you up on that."

Suki smiled and gave a simple "Thank you, my village medics will appreciate this I bet." Suki was happy he was so willing to do this. Some would horde such things in their own village in the hopes discoveries made from them would give their own village a 1 up on the others. Suki thought all medical advances should be shared. Medical advances belonged to everyone, so that as many lives could be saved as possible. She imagined Nanashi agreed with her. Suki then jumped and began climbing the silver tree to get a vantage point and her bearings. After a minute she jumped down, landing on her feet with the agility of...well...a cat. Having a tail had some advantages. " Just inside the town. As I said I know little about geisha, but being seen in public in such a state must have been very embarrassing...any idea where a geisha would go? Probably somewhere out of public eye.... But that's not very helpful... I can take you to where I saw her, and show you the direction she seemed to be headed in. From there I will try and keep a lookout and find you if I see you?" Suki almost did a double take at his last statement. He was a tsuchikage? Not the current one perhaps, but a tsuchikage regardless! She wouldn't have guessed that much.... The fact that her exploration of the grasses had given her an encounter with a tsuchikage was... Surprising to her to be sure. " Wow... I hadn't known you were a Tsuchikage.... I must say I am thrilled to meet any kage, including former ones. Anyway.... Should we head out so you can see where the geisha was?"

[EXIT]

Word Count: [953]
Total Word Count: [4155+953=5108]

Stats as is (Unapproved thus far)

Str: E0
Spe: E2
Per: E1
End: E0
RT: E1

Training to:

Str: D0 300 wc
Spe: D0 525 wc
Per: D0 675 wc
End: E3 450 wc
RT: D2 1,400 wc

1,283 Left 75 Ryo spent.

The member '~Suki' has done the following action : Dices roll

'Easter Eggs' :

“Why can’t more of the younger generation, and some of the older ones, be as smart as you? These days a lot of people don’t see the value of human life. I, myself, use to and still do at times, lose sight in the value of others. Killing them without much remorse, so casually, like it’s an everyday occurrence. It’s wrong to have such a mindset, but I’m lucky enough to know when and when not to see others like a simple obstacle; something many of this generation lack. If you ain’t a friend or an ally, you are an enemy. This is the mindset of quite a few people both young and old. “, Nanashi said, giving Suki something else to think about though he wasn’t done speaking yet “ Grieve for those who you kill after you kill them. Don’t do it before cause you will lose your composure to commit the act. Only grieve after. And once you have got blood on your hands find a hobby. It doesn’t have to be something fancy or mainstream, just find something you like to do and do it. The hobby will help you in dealing with the consequences of taking another human’s life. It will ease the pain of memory that your hands slain a fellow man. And if you are lucky, you will be one of many who are able to sleep without having nightmares of those you killed.”

Teaching. It’s the responsibility of older shinobis to pass on their wisdom to the younger generation in hopes that it will prepare them for what lies before them. Even if Nanashi didn’t like Suki, he would have told her anyway. After all, it’s the right of the veterans to do so.

“Yes, have faith in humanity but also be cautious. While I see you as human, others will not. They will see you as nothing more than an animal, a common pet. But I think you knew this already?” it was a rhetorical question “Even if they see you as such don’t give them the satisfaction of seeing you angry, hurt. Cause the moment you do, is when they win.”, he said, petting Suki in an attempt to cheer her up.

Seems like he would be getting another student from Konoha. This would be the second one so far. “Your welcome. If you can’t make the trip to Iwagakure, I can always visit Konoha. I know some people in Konoha, along with having investments in Hi no Kuni.  So training you when I’m there wouldn’t be a problem.” he said, making sure the samples of the tree and plant was securely placed in her pouch.

“My reign wasn’t the long due to some complicated reasons. So it’s not that surprising that you haven’t heard of me. Most of my acclaim come from my help in the Seven Bells fiasco in Kiri.” he said offhandedly “Yes, let us go.”

And with that, the pair left.

[exit]

---

515(5081)

my egg

The member 'Nanashi' has done the following action : Dices roll

'Easter Eggs' :

I originally wrongly tried to transfer that wc to another topic and couldn't. So I will use the remaining 1,283 wc here to boost my strength from D0 to D3.

325+400+425
= 1150 my 1,283 is enough to cover this.

150 ryo cost as well.