Not many minutes had passed since the two kunoichi had abandoned their lunches, empty bowls and full bowels, with Chiaki promising her prospective partner a 'cute' coat. After this, a brisk hike through the woods. Akaneya couldn't exactly claim that any of this had been her plan when the day had started, and indeed that any of it was what she expected when she accepted the invitation. Nor was it, in her mind, the best way to spend her time. It was hardly efficient, it didn't really better her skills or her health in any particular way. It involved going to the ever-crowded markets, which her sensitive senses loathed at all hours of the day. And yet, Akaneya found herself almost compelled to do it all anyway. What a curious thing.

Chiaki seemed nice, but not in the way that made Akaneya loathe so many. Well, she certainly displayed those traits - the one that the redhead more often than not couldn't stand. Chiaki was kind and considerate and compassionate, all the signs of weakness and decadence, and yet she was also entirely inoffensive to Akaneya. She didn't invade personal space, or force awkward situations. There was no needless prodding for only the sake of it, nor was there a loud and boisterous personality to put up with. By all means, Chiaki had proven an almost ideal companion thus far, and certainly enough that Akaneya had to reconsider whether or not these traits she so often loathed truly were the signs of weakness that she'd always assumed them to be.

As the crowds approached, Akaneya seemed a bit hesitant. Weaving her way past people in her best effort to avoid dense clusters wherever possible, she wasn't entirely aware of where to go. On that, she had to rely on Chiaki. In this complex dance of trying to avoid the overstimulation of the mass of people, and trying to faithfully follow Chiaki with this very market as their intended destination, she could only ask what, precisely, her troubles were going to be worth - "You say you wish to find me something 'cute'. What benefits does 'cuteness' bring? Is there a purpose and a reason that it's a desirable quality?"

Akaneya looked down at her gloves for a moment. A coat to match, that's what she was told earlier. She squeezed one hand, the creaking of the worn-in leather sounding out and, in a way, letting her see where to dodge without needing to see the crowd. That's the benefit of her condition, at the least. It was hard for her to imagine herself in a coat at all, though she supposed one to match - brown leather - wouldn't be the worst. By all means, it seemed at the very least practical if such a thing could be theoretically used as a layer of armor or padding. Leather was, after all, quite a strong material, quite cut-resistant and certainly good at softening blows. If such a thing could keep her warmer as well, who was she to complain?

Chiaki moved through the crowd like water moved through the river rocks, clearly not moving any more than she had to. A woman backed out in front of her, she took one step behind the woman, rocked her hips backward, perfectly mimicking the woman and continued on as if nothing happened. It was a game that she played to help her with her speed and reaction time. She called it, "crowd movement." It wasn't fast, nor was it jerky, it just moved as the crowd did, but with all of the forward momentum that the self-same river would have behind it. She didn't slow for much, except to keep up with Akaneya.

She scanned the crowd with her almost deep blue aqua eyes, her smile was small, pleasant, and not forced. She was enjoying just going shopping with Akaneya. Behind the face though, her eyes darted to and fro, clearly searching for the shop that they were headed towards. One that Chiaki had been to time and again when she needed something in her closet that she didn't have already. it was also, coincidentally, where she had her kunoichi outfit made.

"Cuteness..." She tried to think of the word in its entirety, rather than giving the quick answer. Another man bustled past her, she stepped behind his foot, doing a twirl, almost like a dancer, her back to his to avoid him, her coat billowed around her like a dancer's dress and revealed her dress that she was wearing underneath. A small and secret smile to Akaneya as she moved more towards their destination, "Cuteness is the thing that lets your enemies underestimate your true strength. Cute Kunoichi put your opponents off their guard, you can get in close with being cute, and go for the kill without even being suspected. It makes their hearts pound, their palms slick with sweat. It's honestly almost too easy with some of the more lecherous ninjas out there."

She paused a moment in her speech as she took a side-step, that turned into a bow underneath a carried bundle, her head almost touching the basket that the man was carrying, but by the barest inches it did not. "It also makes you attractive to those who you are trying to impress, and shows a certain professionalism in certain circumstances. But for all intents and purposes, it's fun to dress in a 'cute' manner."

With that, they were at the clothier's shoppe, named "Mr. Kobayashi's Seamster and Repair Shop"

"Here we are." Chiaki gave a small and light smile to Akaneya and tried to gauge her reaction to the shop, and see where she was looking. More often than not, people were born with an innate sense of 'matching' even if it weren't the right thing, it would tell Chiaki what Akaneya's sense of fashion was.

WC: 484

Entering through the door, Akaneya was beset by the range of things to choose from. In but an instant flash, there lay before her a great many options, so many that she might struggle to choose. Taking it all in, she closed her eyes, and then looked back to her hands. She muttered "Matching," plainly and simply, keeping in mind the instructions she'd been given to match her gloves. She didn't quite understand concepts of cuteness or attractiveness - rather, she understood when people found someone attractive, but hardly the reasons why. Such attractions were, after all, unnecessary emotional attachments and weaknesses. Chiaki's own explanation of cuteness was itself a demonstration of exactly why such a thing would potentially compromise one's position, why it might make engaging in any ninja activity at all quite dangerous.

Well, she looked at her gloves, and now at the coats. If she was to match, then she should match, correct? Correct, it had to be, it was simple logic. Now, Akaneya could never understand the rules of fashion or cuteness or whatever Chiaki had in mind, but she could match. This puzzle would be one of the simplest she'd ever faced if that were the case. Scanning the coats present for one to match as best she could, there was one almost perfect. Akaneya walked over calmly, smoothly, and picked it out, maybe even tried it on. A nice brown leather coat, about knee-length, with a belt at the waist. Without closing it and giving that little cinch, she turned to look at Chiaki: "Is this 'cute'?"

With this question, she took a moment to scan the other coats. She hoped dearly that this was the definitive coat, as she had no idea what to do if it wasn't. Indeed, if Chiaki tried to guide her through the process, she feared she'd fall flat as a fashion failure entirely. She could only hope that this was right, and if it wasn't for whatever arbitrary reasons dictated the way people dressed, then at the very least she hoped Chiaki would do most of the work to fix it. Without a firmer hand, Akaneya was indeed lost. Having now scanned the room one more time in but a fraction of a second, she made eye contact with her companion and awaited the response.

Chiaki watched as Akaneya stepped into the shop and got what she called, 'shopper's shock'. Plain and simple there was too much going on in the shop for people to process their first time in, which is why experienced shoppers looked for a rack, and slowly went through the merchandise until they found what they wanted, or in the best case scenario, the shop was organized how their minds were. This shop, however, was eclectic, and as she saw Akaneya look to her hands and mutter 'matching' she knew that she would have to perhaps guide her to a rack and help her along in that process.

She kept quiet, observing how Akaneya went about looking for a coat, seeing if she had a certain style or anything, and as she rounded the corner of the clothing rack, Akaneya made for a B-line for a coat that would go down to her thigh, about, and matched her gloves almost perfectly. Well, that wasn't what she was thinking, but perhaps she could find something to match Akaneya's other attire. She wore mostly black, so Chiaki busied herself with trying to find a black leather coat, as it seemed that Akaneya liked leather a lot. A mental note in the back of her mind to update her own wardrobe to impress Akaneya sprang up, and was brushed aside for now.

Akaneya moved with precision, putting the coat around her shoulders and came back, looking around and asked if it was cute. She gave a small smile and inspected Akaneya, it wasn't that it wasn't cute, but perhaps... perhaps she could find something cuter.

Chiaki asked a simple question in response, "May I?" She reached out for the cinch that Akaneya hadn't wound around her waist and kept her calm eyes on Akaneya's. "I'd like to see it cinched." She had a coat picked out, if this one didn't work out, behind her, and she was going to also show Akaneya some other ones on herself. She would try to, little by little, show Akaneya what was 'cute.'

Perhaps it was the word that rang foreign in her ears, or perhaps it was that Akaneya looked to be hardened by battle and Chiaki wasn't as much so, but she wanted to impart on Akaneya a sense of fun. And it was fun to dress cutely, no?

"You may." Akaneya replied quite simply, as she always did. Lifting her arms so as to not be intrusive, she watched almost impressed as Chiaki fastened the belt with lightning speed. Feeling it close around her waist, perhaps even tighter that the sash she wore underneath, she crossed her arms and looked down at herself. There it was, she supposed. A coat to match her gloves almost perfectly. Isn't that what they set out to do? Or was something wrong? She could tell by the way Chiaki looked at her that she had almost certainly done something wrong here, but goodness knows that she couldn't particularly identify what that was exactly.

"Does this work? Is it 'cute'?" She decided to ask anyway. Perhaps she had misread the signs? Misread her expressions? That Chiaki bothered to cinch the waist at all was, to her, a show that maybe she didn't get it as wrong as she thought. Was the matching a good thing after all? It's around that time that the smell of fresh leather began to swarm Akaneya's nostrils, something she'd never experienced before in such strength. She'd never had so much of it at once, after all. It wasn't necessarily deterring, she could easily stand the smell - but it did catch her off-guard just slightly. A true curiosity, that.

Chiaki belted up the coat and took an appraising look, her brow furrowing as she tilted her head side to side. She was caught off guard by the question and she smiled a bit, "It's cute, but I think we should probably also see what else they have too." She nodded with certainty. Akaneya had picked out one that she liked, and now came the fun part, picking out a couple more!

Chiaki walked around Akaneya, eyeing her from all sides, seeing if she was wrong in her judgement, or perhaps not. She shrugged and picked out a warmer jacket than the one that Akaneya had picked, it was a light brown cotton one, not unlike the one that Chiaki wore herself, except that it buttoned up the middle and came to about Akaneya's  belt rather than cascading down, "This one might suit you and..." She looked around, and saw what she had been looking for, at least for a bit. A black leather coat with a twin set of buttons down the middle sat on a hook and she took it off and handed it to Akaneya.

She picked out a couple of coats for herself, a dark teal one which was down and the inside lined with a microfiber which was soft to the touch, and also one that was a black leather one, much like the one that she handed to Akaneya, though it had zippered pockets and a zipper down the middle.

"And finally, just for fun!" She eyed a bright pink coat that was soft and fuzzy, and light tan on the inside and would come down to below Akaneya's kneecaps and nodded. Picking it up from the rack, she made her lazy way to the changing room where she set the coat down and took the others from Akaneya. "Right, now, judge for yourself too!" She nodded, "What we're looking for is something that accentuates not only your natural born gifts." She squeezed her arms together slightly in front of herself to accentuate her own breasts in explanation, "But also something that you feel comfortable wearing - because if you don't feel comfortable wearing it, then there is no point in buying it." She nodded sagely and smiled a bright smile at Akaneya.

She threw off her own coat and tried on the teal one, feeling the woosh of air as the down let out the air that it had trapped inside. It was as warm as a hug, but didn't match what she had on, and was a stark and glaring contrast to what she was wearing. She still gave it an appraising look and asked, "Does this look alright?" She was hoping to lead by example. first she would try one, then Akaneya, and so forth.

WC: 1357

A handful of different sorts and styles had been thrown her way, including a bright pink one that she would've never expected. Does pink go good with black? With brown? She followed along to the dressing room, having no clear idea of the objective in such variety or where they were headed, only that Chiaki knew all of this better that she did. Being told to accentuate her 'gifts' brought a slight blush to her cheeks, but in no time at all Chiaki had abandoned that and simply tried on one in a lightning-fast instant. Already asking for opinions which Akaneya might struggle to deliver, she tried to think of something to say. Anything, really.

'I...don't know if I am the best person to ask that question. Your choice is...puffy, and does not well accentuate your...gifts? It doesn't match at all, blue and yellow are near opposites, but together..." she paused, "It's almost like a sunny day's sky." This last sentence was spoken with some level of clarity not heard yet this day, as if something clicked in her brain and she, even if still dreadfully lost and confused, at least understood why Chiaki had chosen that particular combination. As it was, it then seemed to be her turn to try something on. Chiaki had seemed excited, perhaps overexcited about the black coat, and so Akaneya undid the belt and took off her brown one, substituting in the black in its place.

Slipping the sleeves over her arms, the inside was initially somewhat chilly. That was, perhaps, a side-effect of being kept in cool indoor conditions all day, not having the heat of a warm body within. Akaneya pulled the coat over her shoulders and began to fasten up the two button columns until it got to the top. It seemed as if it went all the way up, that there was even a small snap to wrap around the neck. When all was said and done, she looked over herself, ran the material between her gloved fingers - making the exercise near pointless - and looked to Chiaki confused and hoping for confirmation one way or another. If there was a belt or a cinch on this one's waist, she couldn't see it, and made it known - "It feels...perhaps too loose. Baggy." With this statement, she pressed on her hips, and ran up to her waist to show how much extra room there was. "You could almost fit two people in this."

The monotony of her voice had broken - if only slightly - and given way to hints of confusion. One shouldn't expect this sudden intonation to be particularly lasting, but at least it offered some variety no matter how temporary.

Chiaki looked down at herself and nodded slightly, her brow furrowing and she chewed her lip once, letting the skin slide between her teeth as she clicked her tongue twice. Her eyes dilated a bit, clearly a thought was going through her mind. What would happen if she decided on this one actually. She pushed on the poofy material and it made a “woosh” noise from the trapped air between the down. She felt the fibrous material beneath the smooth texture of the outside of the coat. She smiled as the clarity showed through the fog that otherwise permeated Akaneya’s person. She wondered whether or not the girl was feeling something or whether something had just clicked with her as to how to design something.

“Yes, I suppose it is like a sunny day. You could say that bright colors are a good thing to wear when you’re in a sunny place. Bright greens and yellows will make you blend in in a rainforest I hear, and muddy browns and dull greys in a swamp. A tan in the desert, and in a city sometimes the brightest things make you blend in more than the most basic attire. In a club you’ll blend in more when you’re wearing something super cute than something that is practical. It’s all about battle-strategy, and knowing your venue as well as your audience.”

She wondered if the overexcitement that she had showed was a bit too much, as Akaneya had taken the brown coat off with some reluctance or was it just a mechanical reaction, she couldn’t tell. Chiaki unzipped the coat she was wearing, letting its material drift to her sides, and it fit snugly around her as she sloughed it off like a warm cocoon.

She watched as Akaneya snapped up the buttons and she couldn’t help but smile, it was a bit too big, but she enjoyed the look on Akaneya, it was a natural look, perhaps they had a smaller size? Her eyes roamed around the room a bit as she waited for the last snap, which made her eyes snap back to Akaneya. Chiaki bit her lip a bit, giving her a look with a quirked brow before giggling and displaying a large smile, “I would climb in there with you, but it looks like the choker would bring us… uncomfortably close.” A blush blossomed all over her face, her cheeks burning red hot and her eyes darted to the ceiling, then the racking, then the floor in rapid succession. A small smile, barely noticeable bloomed on her lips before dying as quickly. Before she got a reply, she started to shrug on the other coat she had picked out, the black leather one. It shone in the lights of the shop, and she had a hard time getting the zipper started, but once she did, it zipped up.

The coat hugged her hips like a lover, caressing her back and sides all the way up to her breasts. It was a female cut coat so it left ample room for breasts, which she didn’t have, but then the zipper came up to her throat, acting as a sort of interim collar. She tilted her head and gave a small twirl in the mirror with her body, her eyes judging her backside, it hugged it and accentuated her curves. Her head tilted back to Akaneya, asking the silent question, ‘well what do you think?’ A small and secret smile, like a soft-spoken word came to her lips.

WC: 1961

Akaneya had not paid much attention as Chiaki began to scramble with a new one. She, instead, looked around for a belt to use. Perhaps, if he had one, this coat might not be so bad. It was simply too baggy, too droopy, and altogether uncomfortable as it was. Akaneya had been long used to a bound waist, it had been nearly her sole style for the greater part of a decade - though she still felt the sash comfortably snug on her main dress, the wideness of the coat certainly did it no favors in her eyes.

She then turned her eyes to her companion, fiddling with the zipper. All done in but a flash, the coat glistened and shined in the light as she twirled to give a full view. Seeing that it fit quite snugly all-around, Akaneya was indeed quite pleased with it in its entirety. She even began to wonder why no such thing was found for her, as at the very least it wouldn't be so horribly loose as the current one. Taking one long, sober glance, she unbuttoned her neck and began undoing the buttons of her own coat as she replied - "It is good. It hugs the form, very utilitarian. It...is cute. I find favor in it."

That's the closest thing to a compliment that Akaneya had ever given. To anyone. Though, one might suppose that since her entire mission here was to correctly identify cuteness and Chiaki had specifically asked her to the occasion, one could expect nothing less than a dutiful adherence to the task at hand. By the definition she had been given, the coat certainly emphasized Chiaki's 'natural gifts'. Moreover, the particular bright shine it gave, like stars on the black night sky, was itself a half-decent distraction. It most certainly had caught her eye, the shimmering light, much different than the dull sheen reflecting off the coat that she now dumped over her shoulders and onto the floor.

What next, then? There were two left. One was by all means technically a jacket, and a cropped one at that. The brown cotton that had been picked out would hardly be especially warm, and didn't quite match the definition of a coat that Akaneya had known. Moreover, the last time she tried brown, Chiaki had not seemed entirely pleased with the choice. That left one, the one that she perhaps dreaded, perhaps anticipated with anxiety or eagerness, one she struggled to define for herself what her actual stances were in truth. A big, fluffy, pink coat, long and bright and fuzzy. Here goes nothing.

On it went, easy. She couldn't really find a fastening for it, and fiddled with the front to see if she could feel one out. Indeed, if one was present at all, it was lost in the dense pink jungle that lay therein, the only thing with more thicket and underbrush than her own head of stark red hair. Indeed, she held a long, tangled lock up to the coat, the faint baby-pink meeting against the strong red in an interestingly complimentary way. Distinct enough to be easily distinguishable by the eye, but similar enough not to clash. That is, at least, what Akaneya felt, for what limited fashionistic merit she might innately hold. Holding the coat closed, feeling the soft textile on the inside strongly contrasted with the fluffy outside, she hugged herself and squeezed her waist.

It fit surprisingly well, too. The cut was much closer to her body, the fit more slim. The leather of her gloves stopped a direct feel of the texture, but it was soft and a bit woolly at the very least. That much she could feel. With her self-hug, it holding the coat closed, she leaned ever-so-slightly forward, and closed her eyes. Pink was such a conflicting, confusing color. She had known it once, long ago. Back when she had her father, when the world was simple and fun and free. She stomped in the paddies with her pink rubber boots, playing around and enjoying her immunity. In the next moment, perhaps she was playing hide-and-seek in those very same paddies, the bottom of her dress getting wet and muddy as she ducked in. That was a different time, when the world was bright and warm and simple. Now, it's cold and cruel and dark.

Akaneya opened her eyes and sighed. It was better she know the truth, anyway. It made her harder. Better. Faster. Stronger. Superior to her old self in every way, and able to recognize how weak she once was, how weak the children around her were. At least, besides Chiaki. No, Chiaki was bright and warm and simple, but she was far from weak. What mystery, what intrigue, the snake in the grass may never understand the songbird and yet it can't help but pause and, rather than leap and devour, instead listen to the song until it flies away, carefree into the sky as the snake stares in awe.

Is that it, then? Was Chiaki truly so aware of Akaneya as she was of her? It certainly seemed to be the case, and yet with that twirl in the light and this soft pink warmth, she could not help but stare in awe. Could she listen to this song forever? Or...would Chiaki fly away?

The world is cold and cruel and dark, and the snake that slithers in the mud knows best that she will never fly except in the claws of a raptor. Akaneya frowned, not that it made much of a difference to her expression.

Chiaki looked to Akaneya as she started to undo the buttons, revealing her frame underneath. She blinked and looked around the room to see what else she could find in Akaneya’s size, now that she had a good gauge of it. She didn’t know what Aka’s size was to begin with. Aka… she wondered if she could call her that or if the nickname would be taken as a sort of annoyance. She didn’t want to be annoying and chase something like what she had with her away. It seemed like a sunbeam, a light that was both fickle and beautiful. The red hair, the reddish brown eyes, the calm demeanour. She started to redden again, bringing more color to her face as she fiddled with the bottom of the zipper and Akaneya started to compliment her.

“I’m glad that you think it’s cute.” She said in a little voice, her eyes tracing some of the grains of wood in the floor, trying to find something to focus on other than Akaneya. She didn’t want to get too excited and disturb the placidity, at least not yet. Or did she? She looked from the floor upwards and gave a small smile, that steadily grew in size as she tilted her head to the side and giggled. Akaneya’s eyes on her made her feel all too much her own form, her own body in the leather. The leather hugged all of her, almost like a lover. She blushed again and grew hot underneath the jacket. She cleared her throat a bit and something caught her eye, perhaps that one? It was a jacket that was much like the one that she had seen before, but perhaps she could point it out to Akaneya after she tried on another coat? Maybe before?

She was a bundle of nervous energy. She was excited, trying to get Akaneya into the mood of buying brought out what she had thought that she had tamed before the date. Was this a date? It certainly seemed like it. Her heart she could clearly hear in her ears as she looked around and then back at Akaneya. Apparently the coat that she had picked out was a bit too much? Perhaps she could step in and say that Akaneya didn’t have to wear it. Maybe it was too big a step? Then she saw Akaneya shrug on the coat and hold it closed with her hands. Apparently not finding the cinch around her waist with her hands she held it closed and looked at herself.

Chiaki stared as well, her mouth opening slightly. It was supposed to be something fun and bright and lovely, and make them both giggle, but it brought out the red of Akaneya’s hair, and her form was clearly defined by the jacket. Was this the one then? When Akaneya leaned forward and closed her eyes in a self-hug, Chiaki gave a very faint and affectionate smile. When Akaneya opened her eyes, she had been a distant ways away, but her eyes seemed… brighter? More alive, perhaps a bit hurt and then the true feelings slid back into the grey that they had been before.

Akaneya looked like one of the gemstones that one would find deep within the mountain. Rubble about, running a hand along the dark and dank cave, a pickaxe in hand. A strike here and there, and one long and drawn out sigh as there was nothing to find. Then a glint, a hint of a glimmer of something out of the corner of the eye that made one look back and take up the pick again. The pickaxe would sound and reverberate and sometimes there would be a pocket. That pocket she saw but briefly, the pickaxe had broken through for a quick second, revealing a geode, the size and beauty of which she had never seen before. Hidden there, a lovely red, a red so deep and profound it brought a bit of moisture to Chiaki’s eyes, which she blinked away without noticing as it left.

The red was that of a deep and hidden trove, a secret hidden deep within the cave. And it was shut off by another tumble of rock.

“Stunning.” She half-said, half murmured, as her eyes took in all of Akaneya, truly she was someone who was worth going out with. What fortune she had in being dealt the hand she had been. To be put on a team with Akaneya and then to share a date with her? Her cheeks reddened once more, but this time, it wasn’t a fleeting thing, it permeated her, and lingered for a long while. “It sure is cute on you Akaneya.”

She seemed to be aware of a feeling between Akaneya and herself. She, in her black leather coat that hugged her form and Akaneya in the pink coat, it drew her in, and as Akaneya frowned, Chiaki’s hand came up, almost touching Akaneya’s cheek as she did so unconsciously. A hair’s breadth from it she hesitated, her eyes bringing a look of concern, empathy, and perhaps something deeper. Her heart thrummed in her ears, a dull roar at this point. It dulled the senses, there was only her and Akaneya in the store suddenly. She was acutely aware of how close they were now, close enough to hug. Did she want to? She did but she… she felt like perhaps this was not the time for it. A small smile bloomed, a little bud of her desire to hug Akaneya clearly displayed on her face.

Even songbirds know when to perch and make a nest, and perhaps now was not the time, but she looked for some sign to either bide her time more, or perch and let her true song be known. She felt hot in the leather jacket, was that just her or was it the shop’s temperature rising?


WC: 2965

The words circled in her head. Stunning, she had said. Chiaki probably thought that Akaneya hadn't heard, but she heard everything. It was trained into her from the day of her birth, by the techniques of her father, her senses were as keen as they could possibly be and, when she entered a meditative trance as she had done, she could see, feel, hear, imagine the world around her to the finest detail. The words that came after were cute, the objective of their little mission here. The two of these words together painted quite a good image in Akaneya's mind, one that meant the given coat would suffice quite well for every purpose that she might need it for. Well, for the most part. There was one nagging detail that proved problematic.

The material was soft, fuzzy, she could feel it so. The internal lining wasn't, but that was beside the point. Being soft and fuzzy might have some perks in terms of warmth, and perhaps some level of cuteness that she still didn't quite perceive, but she'd been led to believe it was often more about color and contour. If that was the case, it certainly had drawbacks. It could get caught on things, would be quite easy to grip, and by all means would not survive the rough life of a kunoichi. It would snap, break, or tear in combat, in camping, in travel. Indeed, Chiaki seemed to like it, but it simply would not do. At the very least, though, she had an image in mind at last, something to go off of.

"If this is as good as you say it is, then we have found a decent base to build from. I cannot seem to find any form of closure, however, which leads me to think it won't be very helpful in either combat, or in warmth. It also seems fragile. Ultimately, you may think it fits criteria, but I worry that it may simply not be enough. Perhaps...if they have one in leather? That is a durable, strong material, and it 'matches' better. Plus, you thought...you seemed to think it would be a better material for me when we first walked in."

Chiaki moved closer to Akaneya as she started to look at her own coat, seemingly lost in the words that Chiaki herself had said, and started to move her hands to the zipper at a slow and steady pace. She nodded as Akaneya started to talk, going over the details in her mind and also picturing what Akaneya wanted in her minds eye, Her hands went to the zipper, right below her thigh and travelled up her front, her one hand pulling at the zipper, while the other kept the pesky bottom of it down so as not to choke the poor girl.

The hand trailing up finally found the top where Chiaki's eyes met Akaneyas for a moment, there was much that was conveyed in that single glance. It was hesitance, a longing for a partner, and perhaps something more than that. The gaze was only there for a split second before it went back to Akaneya's waist, along with her hands. She stepped in closer, if that was even possible and tied the belt tightly, not too tightly, around Akaneya's waist before she smiled and readjusted Akaneya's collar in a smooth motion.

"I agree, you would look lovely in leather, and it would suit you." She smiled and turned to the mirror, bringing her hand to her side in an offering motion. "But could you also take a look at yourself in the mirror and see if you want this coat too? Just to walk around town in?"

She had offered one coat, but was rethinking her decision. Perhaps she could even call it a gift to the girl? A lump raised in her throat which she struggled to swallow down, doubt crept into her eyes, perhaps she was not good enough for Akaneya. Perhaps this would flounder like so many relationships before it. "I'll also look for your leather one, but..." She looked at Akaneya, tilting her head from side to side, "If you like this one as well, I'll get you both."

She gave a small and nervous smile, it was one that asked a question, begged to be loved, but also didn't expect it in return. She wanted to give Akaneya so much, and yet also receive a little back. This wasn't the thing she should be looking for. After all, she barely managed to get out of the academy, she was only a clerk for a long time before trying to get back into the shinobi game. Why should she be any different than anyone else? Why should she be a special someone to anyone?

A small gulp before she giggled slightly and if Akaneya wasn't already headed towards the mirror she would get behind and give a playful nudge in the right direction.

While she was admiring Akaneya in the mirror, and letting her admire herself she rushed off and hunted through the coats, scrambling to try to find a coat that matched the dimensions that she had mentally taken. She wanted to impress upon Akaneya that she could do this, no, that she would do this for her. She wanted to show that Akaneya was worth it, at least to her. What was this sudden feeling? The severity of her falling for this girl was absurd, and it made Chiaki a bit afraid of it herself. She didn't know what to do with the feeling.

A couple of rifling moments later she emerged with a zippered leather coat that had a second snapping button closure, a choker on it, and held it up. It was roughly hourglass shaped, and she wiggled it in front of herself triumphantly, "Think I found what you were looking for!"



WC: 3580

Akaneya was surprised as Chiaki began to do up the coat for her. Indeed, she wasn't entirely certain how to process it. She simply froze up, tense, seeming as if handling a delicate bunny that had just hopped right into her palms - uncertain, stiff, trying not to scare her away. That's when their eyes met, and in Chiaki, Akaneya saw some sort of vague longing. Something she didn't understand. Something she couldn't understand. A deep yearning, but with touches of fear, hesitance, and she began to wonder if Chiaki did indeed understand more than she let on. And...perhaps there was a shared feeling? Akaneya was hoping to establish some sort of friendly relation, and as eager as Chiaki seemed, that hesitance...was she perhaps worried about this going wrong?

If they were both in for a good relationship between the two, then certainly this day would be quite productive indeed. As she zipper came up, the belt tightened, and the collar adjusted, Akaneya took a deep breath. Chiaki muttered something about giving it a looksie anyway and nudged her to the mirror. Well, might as well. Looking herself up and down, the woolly pink covering her form from knee to neck, she noticed that it did indeed accentuate her 'natural gifts', something she'd never thought of before. It fit her form quite well, and she took a careful hold of a lock of her hair and began to stroke it while holding it over the coat. In the mirror, the match was even more pronounced - she could see as others would, and the awfully strawberry appearance the ensemble had together was intriguing to say the least. The brown of her gloves didn't even disturb it, despite all expectation that it would. Pink was hardly an earthy color, and yet it clashed not in the slightest. A surprise, indeed.

Maybe, just maybe, she could get it after all. Chiaki was offering to pay, and she sure seemed to like it. Would everything have to be about combat? Perhaps...at least around her living space, if she felt cold, it might make a nice extra layer. At the very very least.

And then Chiaki called out, and held up a coat that was more or less the ideal. Much like the current one, except in leather. Taking one more look at herself in the mirror, she quickly undid the belt, zipped down the zipper, and let it slouch off. "This one was...alright. You seem to like it. I suppose it would not hurt to get it alongside that one-"

As soon as the coat came off, Chiaki was fastening her into the new one. Once more, she tensed up, but in a flash she felt the zipper all the way up, once again from knee to neck, alongside a snapped-on choker and a belt tightly cinched around her waist. It took hardly a second, or at least that's how it felt, and yet looking in the mirror Akaneya saw much of what she had seen before. All of the same desirable qualities, just in a tougher material. The small, dull shine of the coat was a bit of added flair, one might suppose - more 'striking'. Satisfactory by all counts, "Yes, this...this will do as well. I...appreciate your dedication, Chiaki. Once we purchase these, we can begin our solitary walk in the forest. I would also state that you don't have to pay for me. You've lent your aid by guiding my choices here already."

Chiaki zipped up the leather one, making sure to not hurt Akaneya, but also excited to see how it fit her. Tilting her head to the side, she buttoned the collar and did up the sash and then stepped back. Another, opposite head tilt before an approving beam radiated from her. "This one is super cute as well!" she nodded.

Taking a small sigh she blushed and looked to the floor, perhaps too much? "I uhm... I still wanted to pay for yours, because well... It was my idea to take you out in the first place, and I-" She felt herself at a loss for words, what could she convey in the torrent of her emotions. Too much too soon too big. She buttoned her mouth and swallowed back words that would have otherwise tumbled out of her mouth and there they sat in her stomach like a bag of marbles, warbling around uncomfortably, "I want to get you something nice." She finally said, meting out the words in a nervous manner. She had noticed the scared rabbit freezing and she didn't want to scare away Akaneya, not when she felt the connection between the two of them.

She looked between Akaneya and the coats once more and put a finger and thumb to her chin, "But you know what might last a longer time than just leather alone?" She asked mostly herself, but also Akaneya in a pensive tone, "A reversible denim and Leather Jacket." She looked up to Akaneya and shrugged, "Just for fun, do you want to try one on? They're basically two jackets in one!"

WC: 3870

Akaneya paused to consider the offer. A third one? Reversible, too? Strange, strange, but if Chiaki was so insistent - even that she insisted she pay, well as long as it made her happy. She sure seemed to enjoy dressing her up in all manner of things thus far, but they would eventually get to their lonesome walk surely. She took a deep breath and began to undo the coat - "So it shall be. You may pay as you so insist, and...I shall try this 'reversible' that you offer. On one condition." She held up a finger as she used her other hand to fiddle with the belt of the coat, "You choose what I shall wear for our walk."

Would that be a fun game for her? She liked to play dress-up, it had to be fun. She could practically see the glimmer of beaming excitement already, even though she wasn't even looking at Chiaki directly. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say she anticipated an excited glimmer as she undid the zipper and let the coat fall once more, putting it aside with the woollier one on some convenient nearby chair. As she did so, she held up a hand, realizing a problem she might encounter - "And you will choose which side of the reversible, if you settle on that choice. I won't be left stumbling and unable to decide which is superior."

Akaneya wondered about that. Denim was, of course, quite a coarse material. Would it be simply uncomfortable if it were the inward-facing side? Or, perhaps it might be quite comfortable indeed. She didn't play much with it, not much experience, and so it was only a guess. Would she look 'cute' in denim? Perhaps. That's what Chiaki was for, one might suppose: she had an eye that Akaneya could never hope for match, some paranormal sense of fashion that was able to meet, overcome, or satisfy whatever demands for practicality and pragmatism that she might have. Of course, so much of this 'cuteness' was subjective, her entire reasoning of how it could or could not be practical and useful relied on Chiaki. She supposed that sometimes she had to admit that others knew better than she. Humility was a lesson she knew all too well.

She nodded at the condition and started to walk back to where she had been, beaming all the way and then stopped as Akaneya added on an addendum to her choice. Darnit, she had seen through her clever ruse to get Akaneya to make a decision. A sigh came from her as her shoulders slumped in mock-defeat and she picked out the jacket that she had seen on the rack. She couldn't help a semi-brightly stupid grin from coming to her face as she walked towards Akaneya, but still, she wanted to see the girl in this getup as well.

"Fine, I'll choose, but I want to know what you think when I do." She nodded and proffered an arm. Assuming that Akaneya complied, she would slip the leather-in coat over Akaneya, finding the reversible zipper and then, from behind without thinking would almost rest her head on Akaneya's shoulder while she reached around and zipped her up, much like she would with people who were unable to dress themselves in the medical setting. It was a reaction she had done a hundred times, a million times, and when she looked up, she realized just how close their cheeks were to touching and she burned a bright red, her eyes opening with a panic. Had she overstepped herself in her frivolities?

She cleared her throat and backed off with a murmured, "Sorry." Her feet shuffling backwards. Then she sneaked a peek at Akaneya's back, before wandering around to the front to assess it too. It was a snug fit, and she hoped that it would be amenable to Akaneya's tastes. The Denim was softer than most denims and must have been made out of finer material, especially for the pricetag which Chiaki had cleverly taken off of the jacket before settling it on Akaneya. She would have put it back on of course, but... perhaps they were taking this with them.

Well, Akaneya couldn't deny that it actually looked pretty decent. The blue matched with her red hair in an interesting way, not quite matching in the strawberry theme that the pink coats had, but it worked together decently well. She scooped her arm behind her and pulled the hair out from where it had gotten trapped in the putting-on of the jacket. The leather on the inside was cold, but it felt quite nice indeed. She didn't even mind the cold, truth be told. It was soft, smooth, quite amicable to her comfort and enjoyment.

She gave a "Hm", sounding almost pleasantly surprised as she looked herself up and down in the mirror. Taking a glove off at last to feel the denim, even that much wasn't too much for her sensitive skin. Akaneya tugged the glove back onto her arm, and shrugged. "It is good. You, as before, seem to have an eye for these. A taste I cannot understand." She paused, realizing that Chiaki had apologized, and Akaneya wasn't entirely certain why. Yes, she had gotten close and a bit touchy as she put the jacket on, but for once Akaneya didn't feel particularly uncomfortable in the course of it. Perhaps because it was fully justifiable?

How strange, that thought. She wasn't uncomfortable, not in this new clothing, not around Chiaki no matter how close she seemed to get. Curious indeed. She pulled the zipper down, and placed the jacket with the two pink coats. She held up each item, laying them out separately, and then turned to her companion. The kunoichi quite simply and bluntly instructed her companion, "Make your choice."

Chiaki was dumbfounded, she had just almost kissed the girl and she didn't even flinch. With the reactions that she had earlier, just minutes earlier, she would have thought that she would be swatted, ridiculed, run out of the shop but instead Akaneya turned around and simply told her to make her choice. What now then? Was it really alright for her to be alright with this. Chiaki couldn't help her heart from racing and her mind as well. She liked them all but... but perhaps she liked the leather coat best of all.

Sighing she scratched the back of her neck, trying to calm herself down, her right shoulder slumping a bit and then screwed up her nose and forehead. "I pick..." She drew out the I in pick like some sort of preschooler deciding which ice-cream to get, "that one." She pointed to the leather coat. It was going to be the most practical, Akaneya seemed to like it a lot, and also it was going to be a bit chillier out as the sun started to set on Konoha.

Looking to Akaneya for any sign that she had made the right choice she waited on bated breath.

WC: 4402

"So it shall be."

She shrugged and slipped the leather coat on. The soft, almost baby-pink, color enveloped her once more. She pulled the zipper up and felt it conform quite closely to her form, she wrapped the belt around and hooked it all proper-like, and snapped the choker at the top of it shut. She pulled off a glove to feel the leather and, sure enough, it was indeed as soft in texture as the coloration was in intensity. Once more, she tugged the glove back up her wrist, and once more she was complete. "Not a bad choice. Shall we check out, then? Afterwards, we can begin our walk in the forest."

As the two women approached the door, Akaneya could already start to feel the outside chill again. The coat had definitely been a good choice, and to some extent, she felt glad that Chiaki had insisted so hard on getting one. Well, as glad as Akaneya could ever be, which meant more that she was appreciative in retrospect of the firmness with which Chiaki had acted towards her better interest. Indeed, it was a wise move, full of foresight to make sure they were equipped for the walk. Furthermore, it had been a decisive bonding experience instead of Akaneya just disappearing and coming back with a jacket as the original plan had been. All well and good, then.

Grinning as she saw Akaneya in the leather coat she tilted her upper body from side to side, as well as kicking out her hips in synchronicity, swaying them back and forth in sort of an anti-metronome of her shoulders. She went to the counter paid the fee for the jackets and coats they wore and the ones they didn't were packed into a brown paper sack as she left the building behind Akaneya, closing the door behind them both.

She looked Akaneya up and down as she approached the girl from behind and placed the bag's loops into her less dominant right hand, attempting to sneak her left hand into the hole between Akaneya's arm and body, perhaps interposing herself there with a little outcry of, "brr... it's a bit chillier out here than it was a bit ago, right?" A bright smile would permeate her lips as she looked up at the sky and nodded, "Well, you should lead on."


If her attempt to place her hand had missed, she would simply stuff her hand into her own pocket and bring her shoulders up to cover more of her neck area in a bit of a shiver, if not, she would simply only do the shoulder shrug, trying to keep warm.

The crowds, since it was growing later in the day, started to grow more and more, becoming denser and denser. It would become increasingly difficult for the two to stay together. Chiaki just hoped that her impeding on Akaneya's good nature in the shop wouldn't backfire like some sort of jutsu gone awry.

WC: 4681

The crowds were a dense fog of flesh, as they always were. A sea of stimulation with roaring waves of fumbling fools with no purpose, no direction, and no respect. In a crowd, a person would lose all inhibition and humility and inflate themselves as above all else. They would forget the chains that bound them and grow intense and aggressive. Akaneya had once been a terror to prevent such mobs from forming against individuals convenient to her master, and in her dank cell had known the reality of crowds all too well. Indeed, if she never had to face a crowd again, it would be far too soon. Accordingly, she stopped for a moment to seek out the path of least resistance that'd get her through this mess with the minimum amount of contact.

It was as she prepared to start walking again that she felt a clench around her arm and Chiaki's complaint of the cold. It was, indeed, quite cold. Although she did not enjoy such personal contact, Chiaki was still somewhat gentle and subdued, not bombastic and forceful and willing to throw, push, shove, nay - her slow pace was all well and good for Akaneya. In fact, she felt compelled to respond - "It would certainly feel that way, and the forest will be no better. The heat of the people, the pavement, and perhaps some intentional design elements, keeps the village warmer than the open and shaded trees shall be." She turned to look at Chiaki, "It is good that you thought to get these coats, then. In the Land of Rice, it is far too humid for such things to be of use, but I have noticed that they are quite functional in this country."

Giving a gesture with her head, she began walking the path she'd determined. Expert bobbing and weaving to avoid clusters of people, a sense of determination and a little bit of rhythmic speed in her walk, it might've seemed almost as an art to any observer. The particular way that Akaneya moved to avoid crowds and clusters and clumps was practically a form of jutsu in itself for all the technical technique and dexterous skill it would display. While pulling Chiaki along to boot, she ensured her companion suffered no ill either for the movements, and continued in just such a fashion until they reached the gate of the village with a sigh of relief. At last, a breath of fresh air.

Taking only a moment to collect her thoughts and recalculate the situation, Akaneya began a much more leisurely pace into the grand forest beyond. Just passing through the gate, a chill hit the two women, a frosty breeze from the great green void. Their coats may perhaps flap just a bit in the wind, especially the skirts thereof. Soon enough, though, the wintry gust would die out and leave a stagnant cold in its place. With this, Akaneya continued to walk. She wondered, perhaps, where they might end up. She always found somewhere new when she took her walks, and more often than not she played her flute in those places as her own personal form of meditation. It was cathartic, in a sense, if it was ever possible for her to feel such a thing.

She kept walking, but turned to look at Chiaki, the girl hugging her arm. She said nothing, she simply gave a glance, perhaps curious, perhaps thoughtful. The chirping of birds in the trees pulled her eyes away, and with pinpoint accuracy to the position of those very chirps. The woods were alive, they always were. It was a place of life and vibrance, not as the village was with overwhelming crowds and noise, but in a soft, calm, tender way, a way that anyone could appreciate the natural beauty of. There was, most definitely, a reason why the wild hermit was always the wiser, and why Akaneya could not help but to return again and again in rain and hail and snow to meditate beyond the walls of the village. And now, at a slow and steady pace, perhaps Chiaki could see that reason.

Chiaki hadn't remembered that Akaneya was from the land of rice, a small village that was very nondescript, and probably wasn't warlike at all, but from what it seemed, was a village that was not so cold as Konoha, and probably didn't have as distinct a range of seasons as konoha had. She nodded a bit and said, "I assume that the humidity would make it uncomfortable to wear such, when it's humid here it's best to go around with as little clothing as possible. Sometimes there will be girls that go around in naught but their swimming wear." She grinned and caught the signal from Akaneya that they would be moving through the crowd.

Akaneya was a gracious lead in the dance that happened with the crowd. She didn't steer Chiaki too close to anyone and picked pockets that were all but hidden to Chiaki herself. She ducked around a couple of people, but for the most part exerted no real energy in removing herself from the crowd as Akaneya was an expert on finding the more under populated clusters to wade through. For her part, Chiaki moved much like an otter, flitting to and fro in the crowd, wondering if they were going to get to the forest any time soon.

Just as suddenly as the thought had hit her, Akaneya sighed audibly in relief. Chiaki herself didn't like the crowds and her shoulders relaxed. She released a happy sigh just a little bit after, an anticipatory sigh, one that was full of the possibilities of them walking through the forest. How romantic!

They passed through the gate, and a gust of wind blew open Chiaki's coat, up her skirt and made her teeth chatter and her eyes close against it. Just as suddenly as it came, it died down, leaving Chiaki to shudder off the sudden cold that gripped her, and readjust to greet the goosebumps in places which didn't have them before.

Akaneya was more trained to the chirps of the birds, with each chirp her head would swivel and to Chiaki's surprise, if she followed Akaneya's gaze, there at the end of it, almost as if she held a string from the bird's foot, was the bird itself. The perpetrator of fracturing the frozen silence that permeated each time that the birds would forget the tune to their song long enough for the forest to quiet.

When the birds quieted down, Chiaki liked to listen to the trees talk to one another, the water chitter away in the distance and keep time to its own snare drum that it played across the rocks. The tumble of a rabbit in the underbrush that was rolling around, making a nest for the newcomers of spring to rest in. She oft took walks in the moonlight of the forest, when all was still and asleep, wrapped in the dark and warm blanket of night.

She was infatuated with the still heartbeat of the night in the woods, and was pleasantly surprised by the cacophony of natural noises that happened during the day. It was all in and of itself a metropolis, every inch of it, but this was a natural one, not one that was man made, and that made it all the more precious.

She could definitely see why Akaneya wanted to come here, but kept quiet, almost like her voice would shatter the conversation that the forest was having with itself. Instead, she closed her eyes, listening to the trees complain of the cold, the rabbit rumble around, a barn owl call for its young. This was indeed a magical place, all that one had to do was listen to the sounds, hear the forest breathe.

WC: 5313

The wonderful melody that was the very lifeblood coursing through the veins of the wilds continued its charming song as the two walked silently under the organic orchestra through the cold air that softly flowed like a gentle stream. In this grand euphony it was easy to let the mind wander. At least, it usually was - but Chiaki clinging to her meant that the woman was all Akaneya could dare to think about. Wordlessly, she reached her left hand over, and with only the squeaking of her new coat's leather as warning did she place her thinly gloved hand on Chiaki's own clenching her arm. The touch was delicate, tender, more gentle than the breeze on their faces, and she turned her head to match. In a soft voice, almost a whisper, she spoke - "In my walks, I often leave the trail and disappear into the forest until I find somewhere to stop. I find places that nobody has found before, which are different every time I find them again. I am going to do this again now, for all the benefit of the forest, it is twice more in such places."

With this, she released her hand and ducked into a hidden trail to the side. It was a convenient hole where bushes weren't overgrown, with some grass that seemed to have been long ago trampled to flatness. Most likely, some animal had passed through and made their own path - one that Akaneya would now follow, to find where that animal might've gone. It was a process of careful steps to avoid brambles, overgrowth, and to follow flattened grass and small clearings without brush. It was also much darker than the road had been, covered in the canopy's shade apart from the beams of sunlight piercing through like glowing rain that sparkled as it fell. In this regard, the light was at the very least sufficient, especially for Akaneya and her enhanced senses visual and otherwise. Thus, Chiaki might not even need to be able to see, her guide instead helping her along the entire way.

With a small hop over a babbling stream, little trails of water coursing between rocks and occasionally splashing over, a light could be seen ahead. It was, evidently, some sort of larger clearing. Exactly the sort that Akaneya always sought to find, and always did find with enough effort. With a few more steps, and a bit of pushing some branches and brush aside, they entered the hidden spot. A wave of fresh sunlight would rush forth like a stampede, and then it would come into sight.

A watering hole, so to speak. A softly flowing pond, with water lilies floating thereon. On the surface of the black water appear popping bubbles betraying the fish swimming beneath the dark, reflective surface. The glimmering of sunlight on the small waves accented the brightness of the clearing where the gnarled branches of the forest seemed to halt and make way, leaving only their gentler counterparts to stretch out and let the sun, rather than be blocked, dance with the tiny leaves of a baby branch. The songbirds sang, the chilly air ceased its harshness, and on the other side of a pond stood a deer drinking therefrom. The acoustics of the area excelled in just as marvelous a manner, that the songs of the birds, the slurping of the deer, and the babbling of the pond all could be heard in their fantastic symphony of nature.

Indeed, if she were alone, such a place would be marvelous to play her flute in.

Chiaki removed her hand from Akaneya's own, leaving only the cold breeze as her hand's partner on the walk. Her walking slowed and she listened to the whisper of Akaneya, so close, dangerously close, sensuously close. Chiaki's thoughts of being cold melted away in a blush and she watched as Akaneya wiggled her way into a hole and disappeared. Blinking twice in confusion she scrambled after Akaneya, not wanting to get lost in the thicket that her newfound... She stopped for a moment, a ba-dump! came to her. What was Akaneya to her? The heat of her emotions all but made it hard to keep her coat on as she wiggled into the space and

Shaking herself she pushed on, trying to see in the dark didn't help, as Chiaki wasn't especially used to the dark of the thickets in contrast to the lights of the forest. She kept pressing forward a bit too fast once and Bumped headfirst into some nondescript part of Akaneya with a muffled "Mmmfff" before they pressed on. As Akaneya jumped, so did Chiaki, and thankfully, mercifully, there was light ahead in their little tunnel.

She didn't want to say it, but she was getting a bit scared that Akaneya was leading them into some wild beastie's den, as she was want to do on her own. That wasn't to say that Chiaki always wanted to scare the poor beasts out in the wilderness of Konoha, she was just somewhat weirdly attracted to them. If she went out jumping in the forest, she would always come across a birds nest, spelunking, bear cave, hiking, mountain lion territory, swimming in the creek, otter family territory. The list went on and on and Chiaki hoped that the denizen had cleared off before she trundled in like she was want to do.

It was a watering hole, or at least, it was a pool of water that had collected in a hidden clearing, seemingly devoid of all human traffic since the dawn of the village hidden in the leaves. She didn't know if even the great kages, all of them, were privy to this spot. She looked around and listened to the birds, their song carrying through the clearing and reverberating off of the low hanging branches. Chiaki saw the deer a bit too late and froze, her eyes wide with excitement, wonder, and fixated on the deer. it was the first time that she didn't have something chase her off when she came across it and wondered, briefly, if the things here would accept her.

"How do you ever come by these places, this one is magical?" She whispered in a much too quiet voice, trying not to scare the wildlife off and also trying not to breathe too much. She didn't feel like she truly belonged here, a human that was caught in human ways. Perhaps if she were a bit more wild, "This is incredible, and... and I've never seen something like this. It's so serene, so musical. I feel like I could stay here forever!" The whisper crescendoed along with her eyes to the ceiling of the forest. "Just... beautiful." Her eyes would settle on Akaneya, and if Akaneya were especially perceptive, she would realize that Chiaki meant not only the clearing, but the person who found it.

WC: 5881

"I find them by going off the trail, as I did just now. Animals cross through the forest regularly, and leave traces of their travel. Chief among these are the plants they trample in their path, opening them up to follow. A wise ninja would pay attention to these, as in pursuit it may indicate that the target has fled off the expected path, while in retreat they may cover particularly human movements and prevent suspicious new trails from appearing by the roadside."

The comment of beauty struck her. Yes, she supposed the place was beautiful. Though, in her mind, they always were. All the same, there was a definite point to be made. A stirring feeling came to her heart, and she felt almost compelled to speak to the bewildered woman beside her - "But...that is not why I come to these places. I come to these places most usually to meditate, and to play my flute, which is a form of meditation for me. They are...calming. I rarely find the same place twice, and as I said, they are always different when I do. The serenity that can be found in these hidden clearings is worth the cold, the heat, the effort I must make to find them in the first place. Of that, I am sure you can agree."

She'd never told anyone of these places before. She'd never thought to, nor would she want to. It was almost certain that people understood she was hiking into the forest, but all the same such enclaves were entirely her own. She never wanted or felt compelled to share them, and yet here she was doing exactly that. What did it mean for them? Well, Akaneya supposed, it meant that Chiaki could perhaps be considered a long-term companion of some sort. Not only tolerable, but indeed on good terms. How intriguing indeed that, even now, Chiaki remained quiet and subtle and appreciative, not letting the awe that clearly filled her burst out in uncontrolled revelry. Yes, Akaneya did indeed believe that Chiaki was, perhaps, one of the only people in the whole village that she might consider an almost welcome influence. She was curious to see how this relationship may yet develop in the future.