Despite the cloudless sky and agreeable temperature, Konohagakure's parks seemed to be quite empty of visitors today as people seemingly collectively had decided it was now a good time to mow the grass and take care of a few choirs that had been pushed towards the bottom of the list time and time again. Airi, on the other hand, had decided today wouldn't be a day of hard work. She had already been preparing for the future trip out of Konohagakure in the last passing days, and she found herself deserving of a break for a change. Of course, her breaks happened outside, and as the people seemed to wish to leave the parks undisturbed today, Airi found it to be a perfect spot for her spare time.

Laying on her belly in the verdant grass, legs swaying slowly and chin resting on her arms, the Senju had decided on reading the herblore journal of her grandfather once more - probably for the 137th time by now. With the warmth of the sun blanketing the area, even when wearing nothing more but simple deep blue dress, Airi had more than sufficiently warm. The fountains who were far enough not to hamper her, yet close enough to have their vivid splashing be heard as a constant background noise, added a hint of delayed refreshment to the area. Without any clouds on the sky, however, it was quite dangerous to get a sunburn at a day as this.

The park was further decorated with a well-kept step-stone pathway made of grey and blue stones, all of them resting gently in a sea of grass. Several bushes dotted the surroundings, and various trees such as willow, sakura, birch and oak stood tall to offer shadows as shelter to people wanting to snuggle up against their trunk. Though more intended to walk through, seating was provided for those who preferred to avoid sitting in the grass and sully their clothes by doing so. Airi didn't care much for those, however.

Leisurely flipping through the pages of the journal, the brown leather book had its pages turning to a soft yellow. While still solid, Airi took the utmost care not to tear any of them as they contained not only the well-drawn pictures of various plants, but also her grandfather's notes on their beneficial uses, toxicity, appearance and locations. A real treasure trove on information in her eyes since she wanted to follow in his footsteps.

Her eyes slowly gliding over its content, Airi was taking in all the information she could, of which many were all too familiar to a point she could easily recite what they were by heart. Naturally, as she had been picking the plants in Konoha's forests for years now and turned them into various medicinal curatives the older she became and the more she understood of the journal. Not that it was all curatives the journal contained, but that had been its main purpose originally. Holding various other recipes, upon which Airi added hers in time, she had made her grandfather's popular apple and cinnamon tea this time. The bottle with the tea rested next to her within grasping reach, but was pushed towards the back of her mind as she was reading.

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The day today is a great day for reading outside. There isn’t a cloud in sight, and the sun is blazing as if it ruled the skies which it kind of does. There are many suitable places to read a book during this kind of weather like on a roof or sitting in a tree outside the village where one could enjoy the nature and the solitary setting. Today though, the park was chosen due to its close proximity to Poe’s home. He’s feeling particularly lazy today and is not in the mood for any sort of long walks. Besides. The park today seems to be quite empty even though the day is perfect for a trip to the park.

Even though the day is perfect for a park trip, one should still be wary of what they wear. Too much clothing could result in a heat stroke with how the sun was heating up the atmosphere. That is why, today, Poe decided to wear a simple plain blue shirt with simple khaki shorts. He looked a little strange with his black short cloak on with the hood over his head, but the cloak’s hood was a great way of keeping the sun off his head. In his right arm, he held a book. The book was just a short novel about a ninja who couldn’t do any ninjutsu. The story describes the life of a kid who was ridiculed for being unable to perform any type of ninjutsu or genjutsu, but through hard work and determination, the young lad became a taijutsu master and became a well-respected ninja among his peers and the village. The story seemingly was based on a true story and caught Poe’s attention due to his dream of wanting to become a taijutsu master. Maybe he can find some inspiration in this story.

His blue eyes wander around as he attempts to find a suitable spot in the park after entering the area a few moments ago. There are many trees, and seats around the park he notices as his feet carry him along the well-kept stone pathway. Although, he has yet to find a spot that he thinks perfect for him to settle down and read at. He soon notices how the place seems oddly empty. Odd considering the perfect weather. One would think that many children would take this day to play around, but for some reason they may have something else to do on this day. That’s all right for him though. He’ll enjoy the quiet open space around him.

Something off to the side catches his eye, and he turns his head to get a better look. It seems he’s actually not alone in the park, for he sees what looks like a young girl laying the grass a little way off the path. His eyes sparkle slightly as he looks harder. Her lustrous hair seemed to match the grass around her perfectly making it seem as if she was one with the ground beneath her. Not only that, but he also notices the book under her that she is extremely occupied with. The book is just as interesting to him as the young female. He notices the yellow page signifying the books age and the care at which the girl takes at turning the pages. His curiosity over the contents of the old book causes him to step off the path and walk closer to the unsuspecting female.

His feet move softly along the ground as he gets closer and closer. It is probably a good idea to let the girl know he is coming near her before she sees him stalking and get angry or something. He raises a hand to greet her, but then his foot hits a stray rock sticking out the ground, and the only sound that comes from his mouth is a startled yelp as he faceplants onto the ground. He mutters to himself as he pushes himself onto his knees and wonders what the girl’s reaction is to his sudden noise. He looks up slowly to see what she’s done.

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The surroundings seemed to have faded out of existence as Airi's attention fully went into the book. If anyone already decided to walk the path running through the park, she doesn't notice it, her thoughts churning with the familiar knowledge on herbalism her grandfather left behind. So too didn't she notice when Poe approached her, until a sudden yelp nearby and the sound of dull thud somewhat broke her train of thoughts. Blinking slowly as she returned from the book's world into the real one, Airi turned her head to see an unfamiliar boy about her age raising to his knees with a mutter. As he raised his eyes to look at her, her eyes reply with a sparkle of amusement. From his positioning and need to assure her reaction, she wondered if he had intended to visit her.

"You shouldn't take falling for a girl so literally.", she quipped in her typical laid-back attitude, but even if she was quite sure he hadn't really hurt himself, she asked him with a slight hint of sisterly concern nonetheless, "Are you alright?"

Realising her book was still open, Airi closed it to protect its content, putting her index in between the sheets to make sure she wouldn't lose track of the page where she arrived. Not that she would forget easily that she was currently reading up about the milk thistle and its benefits on the liver, but one could never be too cautious when it came to their favourite book.

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[Sorry for the short post]

He can tell from her eyes that she found some amusement from his little moment of clumsiness. At least someone enjoyed it. “If ya read romance as much as I do, you’ll know it’s quite easy to fall in love with someone.” He jokes as he stands up and dusts himself off. “I’m fine.” He looks to the side frowning. “Although, my dignity may have been dented.” He then realizes that the book that was between his arm was no longer there. He eyes the ground and sees it laying on the ground. “Crap. Please don’t be too dirty.” He mutters as he reaches down and picks it up sweeping any dirt on it off with his hand. After making sure the book is okay, he returns his attention back to Airi. Well, mostly to her book actually.

He eyes the book curiously and takes a step closer for a better look before speaking. “I’m sorry for my little intrusion of your reading space, but I was just interested in the book you have right there.” He points it out. “I can see that it is quite old but in good condition. Is it some sort of family book? Is that why it is in such a condition? What information does it have within its binds?” He stops and closes his eyes taking a deep breath. “Okay. Let me start over.” He opens his eyes and chuckles nervously. “Sorry. I guess my adrenaline spiked a little from that fall. I should begin by introducing myself first before barraging you with questions.” He bows slightly. “Poe Sarutobi at your service.” He rises and smiles. “Now I ask your name, so what’s your name?”

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A romanticist, huh? It wasn't quite often she heard guys dream about the things that affected girls most of all. Emotions, friendship, love~. There were exceptions, naturally, much like Airi was not exactly the romantic type. She was more the hands-on, down-to-earth realist that would sooner plant the rose and cultivate it, than pluck the rose and dream away with it.

The romanticist proceeded to pick up his book, which he had dropped during his fall, and Airi pursed her lips while she frowned in empathy. Even if she wasn't the romanticist this stranger was, dropping a good book would fluster anyone. She didn't dare to imagine what she'd feel if her favourite journals were dropped like this.

As he eyed her book, he showered her with questions about her journal until the point he realised that, perhaps, he was asking quite personal questions while not even having presented himself. Correcting himself, he presented him as Sarutobi Poe.

"I'm Airi". she replied with another sparkle of amusement in her eyes. "Sarutobi, huh? So you're member of one of Konoha's great clans as well? I'm a Senju, nice to meet you."

Deciding her casual laying in the grass wasn't quite the way to hang around a stranger, Airi rose to her knees first, dusing off her skirt a bit before sitting down and wrapping her arms around her legs. Then, looking around for a bit, she decided sitting against a nearby tree would be even a better way of being comfortable, and so she scooted over to rest her head and back against the mighty trunk of a nearby guardian of nature.

"It's a family book, indeed.", she revealed, patting the journal she had rested safely against her knees and into her lap. "My grandfather wrote it. All he ever discovered about plants, he wrote down in his journals. As a herbalist, I learned everything from him and regularly refresh my mind by reading his notes."

Airi beckoned Poe to come over and sit with her. If they were about to talk books, it would be quite... lame, if he would just be standing there in the middle of the path rather than sit comfortably in the park to enjoy the grass.

"What's your book about?"

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A romanticist? Poe is far from a romanticist. He just reads a lot. It doesn’t matter what genre the book is which means he reads horror stories just as much as he reads romantic novels. Anyway though, this makes Poe quite detached from the Earth. As much as Airi is attached to the Earth, is about as much as Poe is flying above the Earth in daydream land. That makes them two very different people fundamentally, but that’s what makes meeting new people fun. It’d be boring if Poe ran into people just like him. They’d probably be too focused on reading to ever have a conversation. That’s another thing about Poe which Airi may have figured out about him already. He’s not the best at meeting new people. He may be a nice guy, but being nice is worthless if one has no one to be nice to. Poe has made it one of his goals to be more outgoing and friendly with others. He’s obviously still working on it though since he decided to sneak up on her instead of saying anything first.

“It’s nice to meet you Airi. I’ve never met a Senju before.” Enough of the wall of text as Poe’s interest in Airi grows. A Senju huh? The Senju clan is probably the most prestigious clan in Konaha. They were the ones who started Konaha along with the Uchiha clan. It’s a big honor to get to talk to one. Although, he did kind of sneak up on her at first. A small blunder on his part. He watches her move at first, but then looks away at a nearby tree. Watching a girl so intently like that is kind of strange, and he’s already ruined their first encounter enough. He does turn back to look at her after she starts speaking about her book. “Oh. I guess a Senju being an herbalist makes a lot of sense huh? Your grandfather must have adventured a lot to have made a book that size all about plants.”

He would have preferred to learn more about the contents within the book, but first he moves over to sit beside her under the tree like she wanted. Sitting next to her is a little nerve racking. Too be honest, he actually found Airi a little attractive. Probably any teen boy his age would feel a little awkward sitting next to a girl around their age with Airi’s looks. Although, his small fascination of her is shadowed by the topic that they are talking about. “My book isn’t much. Just a short novel about a guy without any ninjutsu or genjutsu skills who want to be a ninja.” He turns the book around in his hand before turning his attention back to her. “I’m more interested in your family’s book. Like, how many different plants did your father document in it, or did he discover any new species of plants.” His head tilts slightly as his mind continues to generate questions, but the one’s he asked at the moment should be enough for right now. He wouldn’t want to bombard her again with his drabble.

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A Senju being a herbalist made sense? Perhaps it did. Airi never had thought about it in that way since she knew plenty of Senju who really weren't nature oriented like she was. Thinking about it, she wondered if that wasn't kind of... prejudiced from his side, but eventually dropped that thought. She guessed it was natural that the Mokuton clan was easily associated with anything nature, even if the Senju could easily be found in just about every place.

"Grandfather did wander a lot. So much, actually, he never really ranked up past special jounin simply because he wasn't interested in the awe it brought. I'm sure he was strong enough to rival a jounin, though he just didn't like it much."

To say he was a pacifist would push it a little far. Her grandfather was more like a mighty oak. A living, flexible, might oak, then. Left alone, he'd be doing whatever he wanted to do, growing at his own pace while watching over his little part of the ground. When annoyed, his branches would swat away the pests, and those dumb enough to trip over his roots... well, they'd just hit the dirt.

"From his stories and his journals, he went to every great country there is just to take note of the fauna and flora. He was so into it, his team usually didn't pick him when dealing with politics and other missions requiring a sort of societal affinity."

Airi guessed that part of her personality was something she had inherited by her grandfather. Or maybe she had just picked it up unconsciously after all the time she had spend together with him. It was funny how one life always influenced that of others some way or another.

Poe proceeded to describe his own book as not 'being much', which Airi found an odd thing to say. If Poe didn't like it, why then proceed to read it? She guessed there was more about the book than he let on, but she frowned at his words anyway.

"That sounds like an interesting read, if only to see how he goes about it. Maybe he ends as a taijutsu specialist, or a bunraku puppet master... Does he end up being a shinobi?"

Much like it was the case with every wolf in the pack, that shinobi too would have his own skills and end up finding his own place in the pack. It wasn't power that mattered in life, it was acceptance of one's life, flaws and strengths which would ultimately lead to certain positions. Her thoughts got interrupted as Poe once more allowed his curiosity to lead him to her grandfather's book. Airi smiled, happy to hear someone else was seemingly intrigued by the marvels of nature.

"I... I'm not sure how many plants exactly he wrote down. I can only say one journal wasn't enough to hold all the notes and drawings. And since I'm not as familiar with the currently existing species, I can't say if he discovered new ones. He did discover new uses and effects in plants that were often forgotten or simply not applied by most, but that's probably as far as it'll go when it comes to discovering something new. The earth has so many things to show it's simply impossible to know them all."

And what a world it was, that of Mother Gaia.

Opening her book again on the page where she had placed her finger, she showed Poe the hand-drawn pictures her grandfather had left behind. This old journal wasn't another copy of an existing book, manufactured for the masses, but a hand-written memory of countless stories. There was plenty of scribbling under and next to it, in such a disorderly fashion it betrayed exactly how personal the journals had been to the man.

Unfortunately, her grandfather's hand writing wasn't as beautiful as his drawings.

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He looks down at his book and turns it around in his hand. The book wasn’t bad so far, but he’s read many like it before. He can pretty much guess what may occur, but every book has its own plot twists within them. This book is really just to pass the time. “I suspect he’ll just become a taijutsu master. Something like that.” He looks away from his book and into her book. “Wow.” He mutters as he studies the picture.

His mind then wanders. Not only does he wonder about the life of a ninja. All the traveling that one will have to do. The danger they will no doubt face. He thinks about how her grandfather’s life as a ninja must have went. He wasn’t focused on serving, but more on exploring. He did what he loved just like how his dad did what he loved which was to fight for Konaha, and Poe respected that. Not everyone has to aspire to become a legendary ninja. “I think an apology is in order.” He says looking up from the book. “I think I said something pretty ignorant by saying that it makes sense for a Senju being an herbalist. A person can be whatever they want regardless of clan. I mean, you’re probably the only Senju I know that’s an herbalist.” Not like he knows any other Senju, but he’s read about Hashirama and the Senju clan.

He looks away and sighs. “Anyway. The Earth is pretty interesting, and I’m sure you’ll make a great herbalist one day. You already have a great book for reference.“ He goes quiet and enjoys the scenery of the park. Being more adept at reading than talking, his ability to keep a conversation going is not as good as it should be. Hopefully, Airi will pick things up before the awkward silence moment begins.

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