The Land of Plains and Sea

[Golnax]

How far could freedom take a person? For Aimi Kaguya, there seemed to be no limit to where he could go! It had been several weeks since he had left Kirigakure after his participation in the Bloody Mist festival, short and impactful as it had been, and from there had had soared through the skies of the world as he pleased! He flew over the ocean between Water Country and Fire, marveling for the first time in years at the vast geographical difference between the misty island he called home and the vast swathes of forests where shinobi of Konohagakure roamed. From these skies he decided to head southwest, following the coast line, stopping as he pleased. He landed on the ground and explored when he felt like it, stopped in towns he saw in order to eat, to sleep (if he was welcomed of course, he didn't dare stop in places where he knew Kirigakure shinobi would not be tolerated) or just to take a break from flying. He passed over the harsh, vast desert of Wind that seemed to go on and on and on, stretching not just beyond where his eye could see but well into other countries as well!

Indeed the further south he wen the less he realized that he was not in fact in lands that he was aware of. He was travelling over countries that he had never heard of and, though he was not aware of it at first because of the desert of Wind stretching into other lands, it took him several days before he actually realized that he was in fact in lands truly uncharted! To say what small adventures he had once he knew of this would take ages, but suffice to say that the curious Kaguya took every opportunity that he saw fitting to stop, smell the flowers, look at the world and take from it what he could before moving on. Thus it was that several weeks into his journey - how many he couldn't say, for he had long since stopped keeping count (he had no need to keep count anymore!) - he saw a massive mountain, in fact the largest that he had ever seen!

Flying so high up as that everything down below seemed small, the long haired Kaguya marveled at the height and width of the solitary peak that was so different to the mountainous ring that surrounded his own village. Deigning it as something that he simply had to see up close the winged shinobi turned his course towards the peak and began his decent to the ground below. As he drew closer he saw a faint pillar of smoke rising up from the mountain and from this he determined that it was in fact a volcano! Delighted all the more by this he made his descent and touched down on the ground by falling out of the sky, his bone-feathered wings flapping vigorously to slow him down enough to land safely. Landing in a crouched position at it's base, Aimi stood up straight and stretched his wings wide while turning his head skyward to look up at the smoky peak.

'Such a large Volcano...!' He thought to himself in wonder, stepping forward up onto the great slope and reaching a hand out to place it onto the stone. It was warm to the touch and he smiled at this revelation, rubbing his fingers over the warm stone. Standing back up straight he turned away from the volcano to look out onto the land he had come to. What he saw was a vast, swirling ocean of green grass that danced around in a warm breeze that came east from the sea. His hair billowed as he looked out into the distance. To his right, stretching out as far as he could see was flatland, dotted with sparse, skinny trees whose branches gently bent back and forth in the wind. To his left were rolling hills that climbed up and seemed to scramble over themselves, disconnected from the volcano under which he now stood but likely related all the same. The smell of salt on the wind let him know that the ocean wasn't far away but the hills obscured any sort of view to the sea and stretched on as far as his eyes could tell. Far off in the distance he could see a small herd of deer in the waving grasses.

'It's like a bowl,' he noted, realizing that he was probably a couple dozen meters below sea level at least. He turned his head back away from the hills and off into the distance before looking back up at the volcano. He briefly considered scaling to the top of it and seeing what the world looked like standing up there. He hadn't seen any opening to suggest that there was magma right at the surface after all. Yet he ultimately decided against it, reasoning that he'd seen things from much higher than the peak. Instead he looked back out on the grasslands before him in wonder and asked himself, what could be in this new land I've found?

With excitement brimming in his chest Aimi flapped his wings and took back off into the air, off to explore to his hearts' content and realizing before he went too far away from the volcano that this was by far the furthest south he had ever been, and the knowledge made him glad!

[Trubbishguy]

Hiroki sat in his garden. Even though he was always surrounded by nature, it was in these moments that he felt encompassed by it. Never overwhelmed, though, simply gulfed. Everything was peaceful for a moment, and he could breathe and think over his progress. Every day he was getting stronger, smarter, faster, better. He had a mission to accomplish, and he couldn’t do it unless he was improving, or resting like he was now so that he could push himself further the next day.

One day, there would be blood on his hands.

Today was not that day. He mostly spent the day focusing on the techniques with his mushrooms. He had been improving his clouds at an alarming rate, and soon he surely would be able to walk in and choke out a room in an instant. It was those kinds of feats, the ones that were truly magical in nature, that he needed. He would get to be strong enough soon, but he was but one man. Every skill and every trick up his sleeve would help him.

But one man.

It was silly to think of oneself as an individual. Every accomplishment, skill, and action he could ever put under his belt was owed to a much more significant tree than his own identity. His motivation and prowess had roots in his mother, his fellow clan members, and even the enemies he hoped to strike down one day. Seeing one as isolated was strange because of how little sense it made, yet everyone did it because they could only feel and think for themselves. Every now and then, Hiroki saw a glimpse of something beyond himself. He had the patches on his shoulder, and the garden he was in to thank for it. They were constant reminders of his greatest teacher in life, and the words she spoke never felt at risk of being lost.

He could be at peace. He breathed in the world around him, and felt at ease with it all. He was one with it all, and a tiny, tiny fraction of a much larger picture. So were the Suisen. That was why it was unfortunate he needed to cut them off. Weeding was necessary, though. Nature was beautiful, but not sympathetic. The Suisens were a menace, but menaces always got corrected.

Most importantly, Hiroki understood that in chopping them down, he was simply pushing along the way of the world. Vengeance was cruel, but a part of the movement of man. There was a fruit there that one could bite into and be satisfied. There was no need to stress, because that also meant that everything would happen as planned. He would grow, then he would hurt everyone who had hurt him.

And it would be just.

As the Kinoko began to finally relax with these thoughts, he began to lean back, feeling the dirt against his cloak. Most of his clothing held stains from the friendly earth, and this one would be no different. He saw it as a mark, a sign of hospitality. The ground treated him right, just as he did the ground. Everything was right in the world, and if it wasn’t, it would be.

Then, something wasn’t. Something that most definitely was not a bird was flapping across the skies in the distance. He sat up to take notice of it. It resembled… a person? That couldn’t be right though, he’d never seen something like this, and had never heard stories of flyers before. Perhaps as he was blessed, there were others? Regardless… a piece of him was stirring because of it. He had an objective to focus on. He had growth to accomplish. He had people to hurt.

But, he was nowhere near that point yet. It was going to take a long time, and maybe, just maybe, this flying thing could provide something for him. Every bit of knowledge could help him, and being able to fly would surely provide an advantage over the Suisen. Then he could choke everyone out, and then dash off into the skies before repeating the process. Hiroki could pick off the members in small groups.

Then there was the idea that this flying thing could be dangerous. It could harm him; many could. Was the risk worth it?

He pondered for a moment, going over some of the infinite variables that factored into the decision. There was potential for a superweapon. Those Suisen knew about his family’s fungal techniques, but they wouldn’t expect flight in a million years. If the situation became tense, surely he’d be able to escape it, as many didn’t expect to be surrounded by spore-shooting mushrooms. While he couldn’t deal any major damage with them yet, they were typically able to provide enough of a distraction that he could bolt if he really needed to.

So he started on his way, waving an arm slowly in the air as he began travelling towards this unidentified flying object.

[Golnax]

From the volcano Aimi flew north, more gliding than actually soaring at this point, feeling no need to climb skyward given his terrain. Sunagakure was the westernmost shinobi village in the world and, by his loose reckoning, he was far past their sphere of influence now. If there was anyone out here it was unlikely that they would know what a ninja village was; and if they did he doubted they'd know which one he was from. More than the politics though was the fact that there were no real trees to speak of. The thin, spindly, almost mushroom shaped trees that he flew over couldn't have been any taller than 10 feet or so and they only seemed to grow in isolation. There were no forests in this land, only a never ending sea of grass.

So he flew at a leisurely pace, cutting a line diagonally northwest from where he had landed at the base of the volcano and flying straight from there. He would occasionally look back to see the peak shrinking behind him, but even as he got miles away he could still easily see it. Below him he also saw a few animals - deer mostly though he did see a pack of what he thought might have been wolves cutting a line through the tall green grass. Aside from this though there didn't seem to be too much to see here! Just grass, grass, the occasional tree, an animal or two, and more grass. He was beginning to suspect that this was a boring place devoid of people (not knowing, of course, that if he diverted his course east for a few miles or headed further south that he would invariable run into signs of civilization around the borders of the country or at a particular pink lake!).

That is until he saw the waving.

The person he didn't see at first but rather their house. Small and homely, the sort of thing he'd expect to see in these parts. Thatch roofing with bundles of grass for outer walls, the inner walls perhaps made up of dried mud or the like. At least that was his assumption given that there didn't seem to be any large woody trees around to build things with. As he got closer he noticed the garden, taking it as a small farm perhaps and then he noticed the person waving him down. Curious as to who this could be signalling him and realizing that he hadn't actually talked to anyone for a few days now, a pang of loneliness crept up inside of the Kaguya. He decided to change his course and head over towards whoever it was that was waving him down to have a conversation if nothing else. It wasn't as if he was afraid that this person could hurt him or anything!

With a flap of his wings the bare chested ninja changed his course and flitted over towards the waving person as quickly as he could manage without rushing, likely appearing to simply disappear mid air before falling out of the sky a few feet in front of them and landing in a crouched position in the tall green grass. Aimi stood up and fanned his feathered wings out before folding them behind his back and looking over towards whoever it was he was about to meet... although he couldn't help but glance down at the grass he'd just landed it. It was taller than he expected, the blades coming up to and past his hips! It had to be about three feet tall! With that noted he turned his blue eyes to this new person and raised his hand in greeting.

"Guten tag!" he greeted, using his made-up language that he hadn't really used in a while to start things off. "Were you waving me down?" he asked and no sooner had the words left his mouth than he noticed the persons' eyes. They were pale, empty, devoid of an apparent gaze and frankly unsettling to behold, like a pair of translucent jellyfish that stuck out from the dark skin. 'Those aren't normal...' he thought to himself, suddenly finding himself a bit on edge where he had just been exceedingly eager to talk with someone new.

Jutsu UsedShow

Death Bone Pulse • Skeletal Wings
A-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
The user will channel to ossify bone in their shoulders, growing a pair of skeletal wings at a speed equal to the users’ [Speed]. These wings have strength equal to the users’ [Strength]. These wings then ossify further as thin, hollow bones are added, mimicking the structure of keratin in the feathers of birds. These wings allow the user to fly, giving them a maximum speed equal to the users’ [Speed] while in the air and a maximum height of 30 meters.

[Trubbishguy]

Those aren't normal

Hiroki couldn't help but stare and think about the wings as he watched the man descend. When the strange white-haired man landed, the Kinoko was able to see the web of bones sprouting from his shoulders in a clearer view. The initial bones were thick and wide, but they shrunk down and sharpened as they went down. They mimicked a bird's wings, and it was fascinating to see something like that had actually worked to create flight. Could wood be used in a similar fashion for Hiroki? Or even better, could he manage to thicken his mushrooms in order to fly? That would work wonders against the Suisen! For now, Hiroki had to focus on what was in front of him. This man, whoever or whatever he was, was able to glide through the air and fly using his very own body by manipulating his skeleton. That was unnatural. That meant that there might be others like him who could do unnatural things.

Hiroki was a bit shocked to see his waving had actually worked. He hadn't thought about what he'd say or do when the thing in the sky had dropped down to meet him. Yet here they were, face-to-face. What was he going to say? What was he going to do? Should he focus his energy and get ready to make a cloud, just in case? After all, this man wasn't necessarily a friend. Were men from the sky friendly? While his gut was telling him he should get ready to puff up the area with spores and bolt in the instance that things went sour, his wit told him otherwise.

No. You shouldn't get ready to escape unless you absolutely have to. If he can fly, he can surely catch you, and he can surely hurt you.

So the Kinoko straightened his back as much as he could while the man rose up from the tall grass to face him. He went through a few possible scenarios in his head, before getting ready to open his mouth. He would say something simple, while addressing the fact that he was flying. After all, that is the main reason they were speaking, there was no need to pretend it was something different. He would also poke around to see the interests of this flying man. There had to be a reason that he stopped, right? He wouldn't just drop down to see someone waving at him. He must have been busy! The Kinokos could make special potions and medicines, and they found themselves to be quite busy because of it. Someone with the ability to fly (and who knows what else was up his sleeve) must have been a heavily requested worker. So finally, Hiroki went to talk, but it was, fortunately, too late.

"Guten-Tag! Were you waving me down?"

Well, it looked like he was friendly enough to break the ice. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Hiroki loosened his posture a bit in an attempt to seem more friendly. While he couldn't pass all of his fears aside, he could relax a bit more now. "Hello there! Yes I was. It isn't every day that you see someone flying in the sky. I-..." He had a moment to reflect on what his initial intentions were. I wanted to use the strange thing flying as a weapon. I didn't even know what it was! The Shroom-Boy hid a sigh under his breath, then continued, "And I had never seen anything like you before. You're flying." He said it with a tint of marvel in his eyes. The way the last word fell out of his mouth showed Hiroki's awe escaping his otherwise passive expression.

[Golnax]

Aimi smiled brightly at the other mans' obvious wonder. He was quickly able to deduce that he wasn't a ninja, had never even heard of one more than likely. Ninjutsu used for flight wasn't entirely uncommon within the shinobi world, just about ever ninja must have heard of a few ways to create flight. Growing a pair of wings was certainly one of the more uncommon methods, but still, the idea of flight was basic stuff for ninja. That and the wonder in his voice told him that much about the man anyways. He glanced back behind him and saw his garden, the tall grass he was standing in nowhere to be seen and the small house not far away from it. Not a ninja, but organized; homely. His eyes might have been strange but then again so were a Hyuuga's regardless of whether or not they possessed a Byakugan or not. He rationalized that the man before him may well have had nothing special about him in terms of kekkei genkai, just a pair of eyes that seemed strange to him. He relaxed.

Never one to shy away from an opportunity to show off the Kaguya held his arms out to his side and fanned his wings wide. "Impressive, yeah? Grew 'em myself," he jested with a light chuckle. "They're nothing too special, truth be told, just... something no one thought up before." His modest bit of boasting over with the Kaguya began to retract the wings back into his body, recalling the bones thick and thin back into his person and turning the calcium back into various bits of inane body.

"I hope I didn't frighten you or anything. Truth be told I can be quite scary when I want to be! But uh, today I was just flying. Doing some exploring and what not, you know?" he asked, his arms lowering back down to his sides. He was being sincere with this complete stranger because, truth be told, he had no reason not to be. Most shinobi, especially those from Kirigakure, were taught mistrust as a second nature. Suspicion. Paranoia. Covert behavior, these were a ninja's bread and butter. But with the man before him? There was no need. He was hundreds if not a little over a thousand miles away from the closest ninja village he imagined, not to mention he was a bannin who had free reign to behave as he liked for the first time in his life. Showing off, acting jovial and cozy with a complete stranger; these were parts of himself that he usually had to repress. Now he had the chance to flaunt these parts of himself and Aimi was not one to pass up a good opportunity.

[Trubbishguy]

You know, nothing too special: just flying.

He was exploring with his wings. This bone-bird-man could, and most likely did, explore worlds that Hiroki wasn’t capable of dreaming of. The Shroom-Boy watched as the bones slid back into the man’s body, and his eyes couldn’t help but go wide at the sight. Hiroki began to ease up even more. Maybe Sky-Man wouldn’t be able to help him take out the Suisen (what a foolish thing to think of), but he would provide a perspective on the world the Kinoko hadn’t heard of. There was always value to be gained in broader understanding. The Kinoko had managed to build up a small stack of books in his own house by traveling to markets and trading some of the ‘crop’ mushrooms from his garden for them. While they taught him practical things and some information on the flora and fauna and weather of the world around him, they had borders in their scope. The Kinoko might have been able to identify all sorts of fish and birds, but his books didn’t tell tales of white-haired men with skeleton wings, nor of all the things they’ve seen.

”I see.” There was a small pause before Hiroki realized he didn’t know the mysterious stranger’s name. ”I’m Hiroki of the Kinoko family, by the way.” Then, before the man could answer, Hiroki had an uncharacteristically impulsive moment where he continued, [/color=forestgreen]”And if you needed to rest, I can brew you some tea and provide you with a small meal. It would be my honor- visitors aren’t too common.”[/color]

Hiroki gave the man a chance to talk. While thinking through what he could make in his head, he realized that the man might be a bit caught off guard by the Kinoko’s Gift. Would be really be surprised though? The thought seemed to build on itself. Honestly, the only reason it would be shocking is because he kept it hidden under his cloak. This man must have seen a million things just like it. Were his bones passed down through his family? That would mean that elsewhere in the world, there were others who had special traits and talents. There were endless possibilities of what was out there! But that also meant that maybe Hiroki wasn’t alone in his special abilities. Before meeting this man, apart from a few seemingly unnaturally bulky men and animals the Suisen kept around for protection, he’d never met anyone who didn’t appear normal (and those barely counted). The Skeleton Bird-Man meant that there were other people who weren’t standard. Suddenly, the fungi growing on his arm which acted to isolate him from many others found a way to connect Hiroki to this complete stranger.

Does that mean I am like him?

[Golnax]

Hiroki introduced himself and Aimi continued to smile. He was about to give his name as well when he was interrupted by Hiroki offering him some rest and tea. Truth be told he wasn't all that tired - flying was actually fairly leisurely once you got off the ground and high enough that the wind could do most of the work - but he could use some tea. Being a ninja of Kirigakure he was used to strangers offering him these sorts of small kindnesses and so, naturally, he replied, "Yes, I'd love some tea," as he stepped forward through the grass towards Hiroki and his abode. Stepping out of the tall grass and walking over towards his host, he gave a closer look at the garden he had noticed earlier.

It was a bit odd, he noted, now that he was giving it a closer look. He didn't immediately recognize any of the leafy plants that were growing and so assumed that they were herbs of some sort. What he could recognize were the various sorts of mushrooms - though that was as far as his recognition got him. The garden was situated under a rudimentary thatch roof with two sheets of woven grass on the back, the side facing towards the house, and the left. He realized that it was set up this way to provide shade for the growing fungi, but that it would let enough light in that whatever other plants were growing wouldn't die from lack of sunlight. The ground looked fairly damp, all things considered, and well tilled. Aimi could tell that Hiroki cared about this garden.

Looking away from the well tended earth he looked back at his host the bare chested man said, "My name is Aimi. Aimi Kaguya, at your service." He smiled, relieved that he didn't have the obligation to use that ridiculously long title that all ninja were expected to use in Kiri. He got away with not using it there by mostly avoiding people who were his superior in rank or title. Now that he was a bannin and he had no equal, aside from the Mizukage, and he was out and about in the world, he found even less reason to resort to such a long-winded phrase for introduction. All the same he had mostly avoided talking with people, although a couple of people did come to mind. He briefly thought about the young Hyuuga who had lead him to Konohagakure and that strange man from Lightning Country...

"By all means, lead the way," he said, raising his arm and gesturing towards the house that he assumed was Hiroki's. By the size of it he also assumed that it would be about as comfortable as the shack that his parents lived in back in Kirigakure and that would be well enough for a short while. Aimi wasn't exactly a man who was expecting luxury, after all.

[Trubbishguy]

Aimi of the Kaguya family Hiroki envisioned an entire clan of bone-men and bone-women, all flapping their wings and doing whatever they could imagine with their own skeletons serving the same purpose as wooden beams or stone structures. There was a world of possibilities at their fingertips, as they could invent anything with a material they could pump out of their own body. Was it possible to take these bones out, or did they necessarily have to be in the body? If one could generate them at will and remove them from their body, one could theoretically make their own weapons, tools, and even buildings from a part of them. They could feel connected to everything they used. They could be within themselves every time they walk in their own home.

The Kinoko wished he could say the same. His home was not made from the very mushrooms that grew on his body, and thus he couldn’t feel like it was his own. Hiroki also didn’t build the house. Once many moons ago when a younger Hiroki had asked his mother about the origins of their abode, she told a story of a trio of Kinoko siblings who had made it their art. As the present-day Hiroki walked through the door, he felt a bit of an emptiness. This home was his, but only because it was passed down to him. He was the head of the household, though it came too soon. The Kinoko wouldn’t shut the door, and it would stay open to invite the guest in. Hiroki went to the small cooking area and grabbed a large ceramic teapot. On it was a fabulous scene depicting Himawari’s Death. The tale of Himawari’s Death was an old one, and while some speculated it was fiction, it was still present on much of the artwork from the Keru tribe’s pottery. As the story goes, Himawari was chosen during a festival to be a sacrifice for the Blind Idiot God. He (who the Keru claim came from their ranks) fought it, saying he had hands too gifted for them to be slain. Himawari could apparently breathe life into his paintings, and was said to have made large boars in order to protect himself against the warriors forcing him into sacrifice. All the fighting would be for nought, as he inevitably would come to face his own fate, realizing that at some point he would have to face the Blind Idiot God himself. As such, he asked for them to give him one more painting before taking him.

Himawari’s Death, specifically the final scene (the same which was painted on the teapot), ends with him painting a beautiful flower which they could remember him by. He breathed the last of his life into the flower, passing away as he brought the first sunflower to life.

There are lessons in it. Many poets have interpreted it in a myriad of different ways, romanticizing various elements of it. It was a common scene put on pottery, and Hiroki didn’t mind. There was something that lured him to it. The idea that a death could be that meaningful, so much that it took everything away to bring life to the world that would grow and live on forever. Sunflowers spread, and all of that was because he had one final chance to make his work last, and he did. He gifted the world something beautiful in his dying breath.

Every time he saw the teapot, Hiroki reflected a bit on it. Now, he couldn’t think much, and opted to just admire it for how pretty and simultaneously deep it was while he began preparing tea. He was making his own blend, with the focus being the strong vanilla-taste from chaga as a base, with a hint of assam that he had bargained for at a bazaar. He would brew it twice, and as the bone-man entered, Hiroki would turn to pull out the only chair with a back at the small, dinky table that sat at the center of the shack. “You can sit here!” The way the Kinoko went about moving in the small house was a bit graceful in its own way. It was no dance, but it felt smooth as he ducked his way through trinkets and pots hanging from the walls while also never hitting the ceiling a short-arm lift away. He went back to brewing the tea, which wouldn’t take too much longer.

[Golnax]

Aimi followed his host into his small house and looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary or indeed nothing extraordinary in the entire place save for perhaps the ceramic tea pot that was being used. He didn't look down on Hiroki for it though. His parents' shack was arguably even less luxurious than where he was standing in now. As his host pulled up a single chair for him, the only chair in the house it seemed, his thoughts did briefly dwell on his mother and father back in the slums before he dismissed the thoughts with a smile. "Very kind of you," he said, accepting the seat and turning to watch Hiroki flutter about his own home. He could see the grace of practiced movements within the abode, little things that had been done a thousand times before to the point that it was nothing that Hiroki likely had to think about.

He also saw that the two of them were apparently alone. No wife or children from the looks of things and while he hadn't been looking from up above necessarily he couldn't recall seeing any other houses near by but was open to the possibility that he was wrong about that. For the moment at the very least the two of them were alone. The Kaguya wondered if he had stumbled upon a hermit perhaps who was desperate for company? As he thought he moved his right hand up and tucked his long bangs behind his ear. "So, seems like you live alone here," he said, trying to spark up some conversation. "No children, no wife, no family. Is that why you flagged me down? Were you just a bit lonely?" he half teased though his question was in a more serious tone. Getting tea from strangers was nice and all - in fact this was the sort of treatment that he was used to back in Kirigakure - but there must have been a reason why this man had waved him down from the sky.

It occurred to Aimi that there might not have been a reason, that Hiroki had no more expected him to be a man from up on high than he had expected to be drinking tea very shortly. In which case this was all a very happy coincidence and his host was simply being gracious... but that didn't set well with the bannin. There was something in the frantic grace of Hiroki's movements that was telling Aimi that he had something to say, perhaps something to ask him. "More to the point," he asked, "Why am I here?"

[Trubbishguy]

"No children, no wife, no family. Is that why you flagged me down? Were you just a bit lonely?

Hiroki was a bit taken aback by that. There was a brief moment where a quick eye could spot him slowing down, though he resumed his standard, rushed pace immediately after the pause. He grabbed two ceramic tea cups and placed them on the table. The Kinoko had just grabbed the teapot and cautiously carried it over when Aigi of the Kaguyas doubled down, applying a bit of pressure to the conversation. ”More to the point… Why am I here?”

After hearing it, the Shroom-Boy sighed as he dropped down to kneel at the table. “I don’t mean for anything harmful. I just… Want to know more about you. Everything about you. At least about your wings, and your bones, and all of that. You’re special. You’re not like anyone else around here, and I just have to know about it.” He poured the chaga-mix into one of the small, dark brown cups, “You’re the first person who I’ve met outside of my own family that was wasn’t normal.” Hiroki carefully picked up the cup with his thumb and middle finger, clawing it from above. He lowered it at the same pace in front of his guest. Before he poured himself a cup, he began to fiddle with his collar. After a moment, he lifted the hood that rested on his shoulders up, and above his right arm his secret was out. The colony of fungi that lived on his body was now on display.

“My people can do things, things that others can’t do. We’re respected for it, valued for it. We’re mostly safe from others. If we go, so do our antidotes, our herbs, and everything else we provide. For many, we’re the only ones who are special. We stand out. But so would you. You’ve seen my home, but where are you from? Is the Kaguya family the only special one? Or are there more like us?”

[Golnax]

Things pretty quickly escalated in the small shack; much quicker than the Kaguya could have anticipated. While he was served tea and it was explained to him why he had been flagged down he reached up and moved his long hair out of his face and tucked it behind his ears. Afterwards he picked up the small, simple brown cup and held it aloft for a moment before bringing it to his lips and taking a sip. The ninja smacked his lips and looked down at the tea, pondering over it. It had a heavy earthy taste to him, and was that... mushroom he was tasting? Was he drinking a mushroom based tea? It occurred to him that that was a weird choice to serve to a guest but Hiroki's reasoning became apparent shortly after. Something his guest said caught his attention and made him look up from his tea. 'Outside of my family?' he thought.

That's when he saw it; the fungus growing on Hiroki's shoulder. His brow furrowed and his eyes locked on to that colony of whiteish-brown stalks growing there next to his neck. Slowly Aimi stood up as Hiroki talked and explained himself, his eyes fixed on those mushrooms of his host. He listened and what he was describing was... a kekkei genkai. A kekkei genkai that he had never heard of and there was a good chance that Kirigakure had never heard of either. Following that logic, there was a halfway decent chance that no ninja village had heard of it! If that was the case then he was looking at something - someone - who was completely unique for the first time in his entire life!

He didn't hesitate. More than that he rushed at the chance to see and experience this for himself. From his seat in front of Hiroki he would dash around the table with such speed that the fungal host wouldn't be able to keep track of him! One second he would be in front of him, the next, he was behind him. "Sorry, I'm just gonna -" he said and without waiting for permission or even asking he tore the hood away from Hiroki's shoulders and immediately after ripped the shirt on his back in half, revealing to him not just the mushrooms growing on his shoulder but those on his back and arms as well!

"Incredible..." he said quietly, his eyes wandering over the dark flesh of his host and seeing clearly that the mushrooms weren't just growing out of him, they were a part of him! Where flesh met stem was nearly indistinguishable because of the sheer number of clusters both big and small that were stemming off of one another. There were isolated fungi here and there and the main colony was definitely on his shoulder but each and every stalk and cap facinated the Kaguya. He reached out and placed his hand against the Kinoko's back, running it over his skin and brushing up against a pair of mushrooms growing out from near his spine.

"You're right of course; we are special. You, me, your whole clan is..." he paused, realizing something: He'd never had to explain what a kekkei genkai was before! Everyone he knew already knew what such a thing was, so how was he to explain the concept to someone who was entirely unversed in ninja culture? He took a step back away from Hiroki and began to think to himself, trying to find the words needed to breach this subject as quickly as possible. After a few moments of contemplation he turned back around and faced Hiroki and, without a word, began to sprout bones from all over his bone. Rib-like bones slowly grew out from his chest, back and shoulders, arm bones bloomed out from his sides and stomach, two additional skull faces pushed themselves out from his hair and looked blindly out at the world. The display was surely horrifying in a fashion, but it was the easiest way to show off his own kekkei genkai without causing damage to the shack. He couldn't even grow his wings properly in there there was so little space!

"Hiroki, what we have is called a kekkei genkai, and you're about to learn more about yourself than you may have even thought possible," Aimi said, his voice solemn as he retracted all of the bones back into his body. The Kaguya then proceeded to tell him... everything. To the best of his ability he explained chakra, what a kekkei genkai was, what ninja were, what his kekkei genkai could let him do and how he had gotten it, where he was from, the larger world outside. For several minutes - close to an hour really - the bannin talked and talked and talked and just... spoke freely as he had never done before. He wasn't afraid of this information getting out to Kirigakure or any other village, and why would he be? He was close to two thousand miles away from his village at the very least and half a world away from the closest other ninja or rather the closest person period who might try to reprimand him for speaking freely. He talked with a fervor and an excitement that would lead one to think he might have been hopped up on sugar or some sort of energy giving drug and he divulged all. He was finding out with each word that passed through his lips that which he had known deep down for a while; he enjoyed teaching, and Hiroki was a completely blank slate for him to teach all he knew if the dark skinned host would deign to know.

[Trubbishguy]

“I…”

Hiroki was taken back, to say the least. He’d just heard of so much that was… otherworldly. It made sense, while simultaneously being the craziest thing he’d ever been told. The possibilities of chakra and all that it could do pointed to an uneasy conclusion though: the Kinokos, nor the Kaguyas, were that special after all. Sure, they had something unique about them that others may not have possessed, but there were other families out there that had them. There were enough ‘special’ families that at the end of the day, none of them had anything truly different about them except the flavor of their oddity. The Kinokos were supposedly blessed… but this discovery poked a bit too many holes in that narrative. If what this man was saying was true, the ‘world of ninjas’ were filled with people like Hiroki. Here, the Kinokos healed because they were simply the best. There, one could become the best doctor in the world simply by willpower, experimentation, and persistence.

What he had was no gift. The mushrooms that grew on him were like this man’s bones. They were a part of him, but they were tools that he could manipulate and utilize. That was great and all, but it meant that what he’d be told, what he’d been taught, and what many people still believed in because they didn’t know of these ninjas was a lie. Even if there was a Goddess, was she really special, or was she simply skilled in the art of chakra?

That would still mean something, right? If one could become a master at using it, they could still impact the world and make great changes, perhaps even bringing about new ways of life. Or maybe there was still a Goddess who gifted the Kinokos with their mushroom bodies so that they could heal in ways that were considered miraculous to non-ninjas. That idea tottered the edge of being a hopeful way of spreading good to the world and being a selfish way to establish a legacy for oneself by bringing a sort of magic to those who couldn’t understand it. Hiroki opted not to dwell too much on that now; it was all speculation after all.

Hiroki saw the light in the Bone-Man’s face, and tried to put up a smile of his own, but the facade was too difficult to keep up. Sure, there were now a million new things to learn and discover, but something didn’t sit right with him about all of this. If the people even knew about ninjas, their lives would be revolutionized. Even if only a handful were capable of it, it would still be enough to change everything. The waters could be cleaned, the crops could always be fertile, and nobody would have to fear getting attacked by a wild animal again. There would be no reliance on the Kinokos, because anyone could get healed by a skilled enough medic. Just as Hiroki’s own mushroom could take away cuts and scrapes, he pictured a land where healers could restore broken bones with a wave of their hands. His mother wouldn’t have died if just one of those ninjas who were powerful came down and offered their services.

“This is a lot to take in. Th-thank you for it, though. I… I think I have a request. Could you bring me books? Lots of books. About anything. Mostly about this stuff, and what can be done with it, but anything. I can trade in return. Whatever kinds of plants you want, really. I’ll make sure to get them as long as I can!”

There was a definitive good that came out of Hiroki’s world being shattered: the Suisen weren’t going to have any knowledge of this, and Hiroki was going to use everything he could to bring them down. He initially wanted the man to bring him the gift of flight against the mobsters, but the Bone-Man gave him so much more. Once he learned all about how to utilize his ‘kekkei genkai’ and chakra properly, he would make himself impossible to take down, and then he would strike.

[Golnax]

After nearly an hour of speaking non stop Aimi was left out of breath and sitting back in the chair that had been offered to him, his hands on his knees and his heart thumping heavily in his chest. He'd gone over the basics of everything without going into too many specifics for fear of confusing Hiroki (or rather confusing him more than he probably already had!) yet it still felt as if there was so much to tell him. Naturally there was, he realized as he sat there, because while he had mentioned that things like ninja academies existed in the east from there he had neglected to go over how many years it could take someone to complete said academy and all of the information that was crammed into a person during the course of their education. Even now he himself was still constantly learning and improving, he realized, and because of that fact he began to worry that he hadn't done a good enough job of explaining just how big of a world being a ninja really was...

None the less he found himself being thanked by the dark skinned mushroom host across from him. He smiled and perked up in his seat upon hearing that, his posture straightening out. Aimi listened as Hiroki made his request and the posture he had straightened immediately began to shrink as the smile faltered from his face. "Oh..." he said simply, processing for a couple of moments before continuing. "Oh I see... I'm sorry to disappoint, but no, I don't think that's something I can do at this time," Aimi said quietly as he got up from his chair and turned his back on Hiroki, bringing the butt of his right palm up against his forehead.

"You have to understand - there's a reason why you've never heard of any of this until now and, while I'm sure it's not the full reason, a large part of it is that the five Hidden Villages don't want this knowledge distributed. If everyone can use chakra then it makes them obsolete I'm pretty sure is the reason they tote. There's more to it than that, but for now you'll just have to trust me: getting you books and scrolls on this stuff wouldn't just be difficult, it'd be dangerous." He finished speaking for the moment and let out a small sigh. He hadn't wanted that to be the answer he gave after divulging all of that information but it was the truth. If Hiroki were to get his hands on books telling him how to use his chakra (assuming he could understand them and apply them practically of course) then it was always possible that he would get discovered by a ninja that wasn't him who might bring the information back to their village who might then send people out to find Hiroki, getting their hands on him, his kekkei genkai and potential information on how he had gained his knowledge of chakra, meaning information on Aimi. The bannin was fond of Hiroki for his curious nature if nothing else, but he wasn't about to risk his own skin in order to educate him.

Turning back around Aimi looked at Hiroki and placed his right hand on the back of the chair. "Enough about that, though. Why don't you tell me about your clan, hm? Tell me abo-"

"Hey, Hiroki!! Why don't you come on out of there!"

Aimi was interrupted by the cry of someone from outside, a man whose voice Hiroki would recognize and would cause the Kaguya's head to snap towards the door. Unbeknownst to the ninja though they were, the Kinoko would recognize the voice immediately as a regular 'customer' of his, a local warrior from several miles away who periodically paid a visit to Hiroki's hut in order to bully him for some free produce. More words were spoken that Aimi didn't understand, the native tongue of the land, Nachtuatish, being spoken by the man outside. Hiroki would likely recognize the words as "I want my mushrooms, fungus-swine!"

Even though he did not understand what was being said he did recognize the tone. Aimi looked back over towards Hiroki and raised an eyebrow. "Friends of yours?" he asked before turning and walking over towards the thatch door of the hut and opening it a crack. He peered outside and saw three men approaching the hut wearing headdresses that he at first mistook for wolves or coyotes but were, in truth, blind jackals. They were all three of them bigger than either Hiroki or Aimi and at least two of them were armed with spears that they were using like walking sticks as they cut a path through the tall grass.

Thinking himself perfectly capable of defusing the situation or fending the men off if need be Aimi pushed the thatch door open and stepped outside. His appearance made the three men stop in their tracks. Slowly Aimi closed the door behind him most of the way though it stayed open a crack. "Who the fuck is that?" asked the man on the right in that foreign tongue that the ninja couldn't understand.

"Looks strange. Why's he half naked?" another man asked in the same tongue, jutting his spear towards Aimi as an indication. The third man stepped forward. He barked. "Hey! Who the fuck are you!?" in the language that Aimi knew.

"A visitor, to this house and this land," Aimi said simply, eyeing each of the men in turn. "I was just having a talk with Hiroki... I'd rather it not be disturbed."

"A foreigner all the way out here? How'd he get past the border?" the man asked, turning to look at his two companions and speaking in his native tongue. "Ninja?"

"We have business with Hiroki. Stand aside," the lead man ordered, taking another step forward threateningly.

"I don't-" Aimi began to say but was cut off by a sudden, swift jab of the butt of a spear into his gut! The third newcomer had dashed forward through the grass at speeds that were, quite frankly, shocking to Aimi! Their dress and choice of weapons suggested some sort of savage tribe to the travelling bannin, but this speed and, more importantly, the strength with which he had delivered the strike! Aimi's eyes widened as pain radiated from his gut and the breath was knocked out of him! He coughed and fell down to his knees only when the spear butt had been removed from his stomach. Two of the men laughed while the third raised his spear and jabbed the end of it into the back of the Kaguya's head, driving his forehead into the ground!

"Keep an eye on him," his assaulter said to the second man while he and the lead stepped forward around Aimi and pulled the door of the hut open, stepping in to have their talk with Hiroki and leaving the bannin stunned for the moment on the ground!

[Trubbishguy]

No, not again! Not now! It’d been a while since this last happened. It was still, unfortunately, common enough that he’d expected it. While most of his mushrooms and herbs provided profit at a market, proving valuable enough to earn him a variety of crops and meats he didn’t farm on his own, some had to go to the extortionists. The Land of Plains and Sea were still mostly uncivil, and the dominant force was that who held the power. If, for instance, a group of warriors from a nearby tribe wanted to bully a Kinoko into giving them mushrooms, they could as long as the Kinoko couldn’t do anything to properly defend himself.

This Kinoko could do nothing to defend himself.

He did make the best of the worst situation, though. While he always walked out of these encounters gaining nothing, he managed to set up a system that mitigated the damage. As the intruders barged their way in through the door, the Hiroki grabbed at a basket hanging from a corner of his hut. In it were different mushrooms that were already separated with small, written descriptions that described what they were and what the benefits of each was. The Shroom-Boy held it out, and the leader of the pack grinned as he snatched the basket away from Hiroki. His buddy still had to make sure to let out some aggression or whatever reason people bullied for the sake of it, and he sent a stiff shot to the Kinoko’s stomach. Hiroki keeled over in pain, and internally reminded himself that pain was the root of growth for humans to justify getting beaten up, and the pair looked at each other in a bit of surprise at how easy and smoothly it went. The last time, they had to wait with him as he went out and picked out the plants one-by-one to ensure they were what they wanted. Now, as the leader flipped through tiny notes on each mushroom, they seemed to have what they were looking for.

[Golnax]

The thugs were skilled, there was no denying that. To have been able to blitz up on Aimi and to knock the wind out of him showed an impressive level of physical capability that usually wasn't found outside of ninja villages or country with a ruling class of samurai. It frankly had caught the bannin off guard... but here's the thing about ninjas and bannin especially; they're a lot tougher than they look. So while the two brutes were inside of Hiroki's shack robbing him of mushrooms (which Hiroki, not that Aimi could see, had smartly prepared for just such an occasion), Aimi Kaguya was getting back up on his feet and preparing to fight.

The first thing he did was to push himself back up off of the ground slowly, slow enough that the jackal-headed guard who had been left to watch him didn't feel the need to react aggressively towards his rising. Next he thrust his arm forward and from the palm of his hand came an unnaturally long length of bone that shot forth and grabbed a hold of the spear-totting mans' throat. Before he could properly react to this the Kaguya was lifting him up off of the ground and with a twist of his arm was sending him slamming down into the dirt and grass hard enough to make the ground shake in their immediate area and for blades of grass to go flying in all directions!

Next, as the slammed mans' companions were turning around to see what had occurred outside, Aimi turned and took a step forward towards the shack before extending his arm out and grabbing a hold of the face of another one of the thugs. Wordlessly he stepped forward and to the side and flung the man behind him out of Hiroki's hut and into the field of waving grass nearly a dozen meters. By then the third thug was dropping the basket of pilfered goods and readying his spear for a thrust. Aimi, in response, broke off the bones extending from his palm and spun around, bringing his arms out wide and clapping his hands together in order to catch the blade of the spear as it came to pierce his gut! With a simple twist of his wrists he broke the end of the spear and with a small dart forward he drove his fist into and up in the stomach of the last bandit, lifting him up off of the ground before spinning around on the spot and flinging him back into the world outside to join his friends.

This entire exchange, every movement and decision made by all parties involved, would take place in the course of under five seconds.

Letting out a huff of air with a small cough, Aimi Kaguya turned away from Hiroki and back out of the hut, stepping forward towards the grass where already the men were beginning to get up and drawing his sword. He planted the blade into the ground directly in front of him and placed both of his hands on top of the pommel. "Not another word, not one step closer. Leave or I will end you," Aimi threatened ominously, glaring out at the men as they turned towards him, the one who he had slammed into the ground with a skeletal arm ripping the now limp appendage from his throat and tossing it aside. "Your one and only warning."

Wordlessly the men slunk back into the grass, lowering themselves further and further as they stepped backwards and kept their eyes on Aimi and their remaining spears raised. It didn't take long for them to vanish into the tall grass entirely and Aimi could see the trail that they made as they dashed away, once again displaying their downright impressive speed. The Kaguya let out a small sigh of relief and brought one hand up from the pommel of his blade to his chest, rubbing over it as he did. It seemed as though he had scared the men off for now, though he had no idea if there would be any consequences for these actions... if there were he was resolved to deal with them as they came.

Once the three were entirely out of his sight Aimi turned back around and looked back to Hiroki, pulling his sword up from out of the earth and letting it rest on his shoulder. "Anyway... you were about to tell me about your clan... the Kinoko, right?" he inquired without missing a beat, despite a small cough.

Jutsu UsedShow

Death Bone Pulse • Reach
B-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 25 Strength
The user will ossify bone in their arm, holding their arm out and extending from their palm a skeletal hand and arm, segmented by many joints which allow it to bend, turn and curve. This skeletal arm moves at a speed equal to the users’ [Speed] and grabs onto objects with strength equal to the users’ [Strength]. This arm has strength equal to the users’ [Strength]. The distance that this arm can travel is 40 meters.

[Strong Fist Style • Chokeslam]
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
A grappling slam technique, the user reaches out and grabs the opponent by the throat, squeezing tightly. The user then lifts the opponent up into the air by their throat and slams them down onto the ground, keeping a hold of them until the technique is complete.

[Strong Fist Style • Dismiss]
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 15 Strength
A counter grapple technique, the user waits for an opponent to strike at them before stepping out of the way. Once the user has successfully dodged the attack, they will extend their arm forward and grab a hold of the targets' face. The user then takes a step to the right or left, depending on what arm they used - a step to the right for the left arm, a step to the left for the right - and tosses the opponent back behind them violently.

[Strong Fist Style • Broken Toy]
C-Ranked Taijutsu Maneuver
Prerequisite: 15 strength
A combination strike and throwing technique, the user must first drive their fist into an opponent's stomach. Once connected, if the user's Strength is greater than the opponent's, the user will use their great strength to lift them up off of the ground just enough that the user may turn around while carrying them and throw the opponent away.

[Trubbishguy]

He just did that. He just took them out.

They’re going to come back. They’re going to be angry. And Aimi of the Kaguya won’t be here forever.

Hiroki took a deep breath while the Bone Warrior approached, being careful to return to his passive stare by the time he got close enough to read the expression. He’d figure everything out later. It might take a lot of bartering, but he would deal with it, surely. Or Hiroki could figure out how to stop the extortionists, just like Aimi had. The thought passed his mind. It was appealing sure, but it was unreasonable. This was a ninja, and one who seemed accomplished. Not only that, but he refused to teach any of the jutsus that he could do. Hiroki didn’t have access to the biggest tool in the Kaguya’s arsenal. While there were countless possibilities available with the bones, having access to one’s ‘chakra’ or whatever the energy was meant the only limit was one’s mind and hardwork.

Hiroki had quite an aptitude for both of those areas. He’d be a force to be reckoned with if he could just get his hands on the forbidden knowledge.

”Anyway… you were about to tell me about your clan… the Kinoko, right?” Aimi asked, ignoring a cough that showed the altercation did have some harmful impact on him, even if he dealt with the attackers pretty seemlessly. It felt a bit odd to be talking about the Kinokos and all that made them up to someone who teased power through information but refused to provide. However, he had given him a basic idea of everything, and that meant pursuing the answers he needed would be easier. He knew who to look out for now, where as before he hadn’t known the powers were even possible. That was a fair exchange, then.

“Yes. We were blessed,” Hiroki internally cringed a bit. His entire thought around being blessed was different. He may have been unique, but their clan had thought they were one-of-a-kind. That was thrown out the window now. “... We’re connected with nature in a different way. It is a part of us in unique ways. We are gifted with fungal bodies. Just as your bones are a part of you, even when you pull them out…” Hiroki lifted a finger to point at the remnants of skeleton that were left on the ground after the fight. “Nature is with us. Specifically fungi. They seem like average plants to many but they… they aren’t. They move, and breathe, and even think a bit. They’re the stand-out in the world of plants and animals. Just like we are… Or, well, thought we were… the stand-out of people.

That means different things to different people. Some of us aren’t so passive around those who demand we use our gifts. Some are reclusive and think of our gifts are powers for us to use however we please. A larger portion of us see what we have as responsibilities. We make elixirs and antidotes. We provide healing mushrooms. We feed families.

I… I don’t know. I’m no grand leader or anything, but I’ve got my thoughts on everything with us. But this puts it all in a new light. I had thought we were destined for servitude. And maybe we still are. Why shouldn’t we serve those less fortunate?

But if our fortune is luck… And it’s luck that we have access to it… And if many could use chakra... Well, I think you’d put a lot of people out of steady food supply from market trading. But I think you’d put even more food in people’s bellies. I guess nothing will change for us though. Especially if you don’t come back.

…

I don’t know if I want you to come back, Aimi. Of course, it isn’t my decision. But…” The Kinoko looked towards the direction the men scurried off to, “They’re going to come back. It’s a lot deeper than just a few bullies here and there. That’s just the way things work around here. Even our most powerful members don’t do much about it. They can defend themselves, but they don’t cause too much of a ruckus about when they invade weaker members’ houses. Everything here is a bit too… uncivilized. I’m sure things don’t work here as they do in those Ninja Villages. And if you can’t teach me your tricks…” The Kinoko put a hand on his shoulder, and a growing mushroom started to form there. With his free hand, he began brewing another two cups of tea, still leaving the stool to his guest. “Then you’re just protection while you’re here. And when you leave, I’m left defenseless, with the wrath of a bunch of scared men who just wanted food and only know to fight for it. And they’re extra scared, because now they know that there’s something different and stronger at my house. Or at least there was.

I… I know they’ll come back.

It’s not your fault. Truly, I don’t blame you. Things are different everywhere. The markets I travel to are a fresh breath of life from what living here is. But I do live here.

Sorry. If you’d like some more tea, I can provide. I can also send you with some to go!”

Hiroki pulled the mushroom off of his shoulder and popped it into his mouth to chew on it. The pain from the light beating he had to endure wasn’t much, but he had no need to live with it, so he used his natural medicine to take it away.

[Golnax]

Aimi listened intently as Hiroki described the Kinoko, making mental notes of it here and there as he went along. The pain in his stomach and the back of his head was quickly fading as his body worked to heal itself and that gave him more time to listen carefully. Much of what he said was insightful, but much felt like it was being left unsaid. The more he listened the more he became sympathetic with Hiroki and his situation - especially when it came to the thugs who had come to rob him. The truth was things were not so different in Kirigakure. Ninja could go into the Untouchable district when they pleased and do as they pleased. He had no idea who those men were or who they represented but he understood the mindset very intimately - the strong can take from the weak, and the weak can do nothing about it.

Some things stuck out more than others though. As his fungal host stated that he felt his clan was destined for servitude, and intrusive thought popped into his mind: 'Why not serve me?' He had no idea where the thought had come from but there it was and there it stayed. Try as he might to have it dismissed it kept popping back into his mind like a mosquito that refused to quit. Aimi was able to quiet the thought at the very least but he could only do so much to ignore it. he tried to tell himself that perhaps he could incorporate the Kinoko into Kirigakure... but the very thought made his stomach turn for some reason. Through Kirigakure, these mushroom people could learn about chakra safely. They would learn how to defend themselves, how to use ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu and more! At what cost, though?

Many intrusive thoughts flooded his mind. It was enough for him to narrow his eyes and furrow his brow, his fingers twitching as the desire to hit himself in order to clear his head rose over him. He had no way of dealing with these sorts of thoughts besides violence, after all, but before he could dig his fingernails into his palm or smash his fist against his thigh Hiroki said something that cut to the very core of him - That he wasn't sure if he wanted him to come back. His expression cleared and his sharp blue eyes focused more on the dark skinned young man before him and he frowned. Had he truly caused so much trouble for him? Had he been wrong to give him the broad picture of what Chakra was and not pledge to help him learn about it? It was the sort of question that seemed best answered by a swift kick on a hard surface in order to purposefully hurt his foot and get his mind back to more simpler thoughts. Yet it, like so many others, simply quieted down and joined an ever growing chorus in the back of his mind: 'Why not serve me?'

Once Hiroki was finished speaking Aimi stepped forward slowly and took a seat on the lone chair that was still being offered to him. He gathered his thoughts and then he began to speak slowly.

"Kekkei Genkai come about in various ways. Some are born from experimentation. Others occur naturally. Mine is the result of a disease, and a ritual to cure it. Yours sounds like it might have been the result of some distant ancestor of yours having an encounter with a spirit of some sort, perhaps. Spirits, you know, like Yokai are ghosts. Some are powerful enough to be called 'gods' I suppose but... well, I've already given you a lot to chew on without explaining spirits. Suffice it to say that just because there are other kekkei genkai out there, doesn't make yours any less special, Hiroki."

He paused and took in a deep breath before continuing. "I am sorry about any trouble I may have caused you, I truly am. I'd like to make up for it. Perhaps there's something I can do to help stop those guys from coming back? None of them were seriously injured after all. Perhaps I could just talk with them and smooth things out, so they wouldn't come back for you... when I'm gone..." He trailed off and furrowed his brow. Why had that been so hard to say?

"Maybe... there's something else I can help you with? I'm not comfortable taking the risk of teaching you more about chakra, but perhaps I could be of service in some way? I am a ninja after all, and we are for hire! If there's something you need or want me to do, name it and I'll do what I can to help!" he declared, looking up at Hiroki and smiling... a sad smile. Much like how he did not understand why he couldn't confront certain thoughts or questions without using violence as a tool to silence them, the bannin had no real idea why he felt sad at that moment. The only thing he could think of was...

He didn't want to be pushed away by this strange new person he had only just met.

[Trubbishguy]

Hiroki could see a hint of desperation in the man. He never meant to cause problems, though oftentimes that was how problems went. People rarely sought out to cause others problems, especially strangers they were getting along with. After a bit of sitting and thinking, the Kinoko had a potential solution. "During that confrontation, you showed a lot of prowess in physical combat. My people do not tend to be warriors too often, tending to value strengthening of the mind over the strengthening of the body. It is because of this that we often become victims, as fighters can come to bully us.

I don't think you could stop them on your own, Kaguya. And even if you could, I don't think I'd like the method it would require. I don't want those people dead, or even hurt beyond repair. In fact, I think we'd only heal them up to take our stuff again.

But if you strengthened us... Taught myself and others hand-to-hand fighting tricks and methods of dealing with them... Even at a basic amount, it should be enough to hold our own when combined with our gift. I think it would be a worthy exchange, as they'll probably be coming after us more now. I could provide a bit of payment in mushrooms, and while I'm sure we have reserves, we don't tend to keep around too much material wealth that might go to contracting. I also would like to keep our gifts a bit secret, if possible. I don't really want a whole village having knowledge of us, at least not when we can't even defend ourselves. It would be good for us, I think."

Hiroki smiled.

"You know, it'd weird to think about. I don't want to hurt those people that come and take from me. I would probably give them their supplies and mushrooms anyway. Most of them are doing it because it's their only way to get food, you know? They don't know anything but hunting, and when the animals run low, they freak out. Nobody knows how to gather, because if you do it wrong, you die. It's an interesting dynamic.

Can you tell me, are there jutsu users who can make food?"

He sat, with his white eyes focused a bit uncomfortably on his guest. They were in an odd position now.

[Golnax]

Ah, compromise. Such a wonderful concept and a way to settle most problems. He listened to Hiroki explain the obvious - that the Kinoko weren't fighters and he began to piece together what he was suggesting at around the same time that he began to speak it. Aimi sat up straight in his seat and took in a breath as Hiroki said he didn't believe he could take on the whole thugs. The bannin thought to the contrary. He'd faced superior numbers before that were likely as unorganized as those animal skin wearing guys had been. They always lacked the sort of teamwork that would be required to dog-pile someone as trained as he was. It was always a simple matter of picking your opponent one at a time and dealing with them as they came. Even when facing a group of highly trained samurai this principle seemed to hold true for the Kaguya, though he didn't feel the need to say this. It would have only been bragging after all.

As his host finished making his suggestion, Aimi stood up slowly and held his arms up over his head to stretch. "Pretty sure there's some clan somewhere that can make vegetation and thus food, yeah. I don't want your mushrooms, though. Lovely as they are. If I do this, I'll just withhold the right to claim payment as I see fit since your clan is apparently hard up on cash. I'll figure something out," he claimed, letting his arms fall back to his side and turning to face Hiroki. He noticed his eyes and was slightly unnerved by them. They really did look very much like they belonged to a corpse... and the sort of lop-sided way they were sitting in his head didn't help with that visual at all.

"I can teach you taijutsu," he said after achieving a bit more focus. "Or martial arts if you prefer. Easily enough to defend yourself. You and your kin. You just need to take me to see them and we can get started," he said with a more genuine smile on his face now. The thought of training, of teaching people, of physical effort aimed towards a goal of self improvement, of fighting did wonders to calm the intrusive thoughts in the back of his mind. Teaching people how to use their arms, legs and the rest of their bodies to kick a little ass was as familiar to him as his own bones were. A comfort zone. A familiar place to get lost in. If this was what Hiroki wanted of him, he would be happy to oblige.

[Trubbishguy]

”You know,” Hiroki smiled once more, ”That isn’t so bad of an idea. I think we could use that a lot. While we aren’t concentrated, I can take you to some of the bigger households of the Kinokos and introduce you. I believe they’ll appreciate the help you’re trying to do.” Hiroki took a brief pause before continuing. ”And thank you… for not needing payment right now. We will work something out. But if you train us, we’ll be able to build bigger farms, for sure. Maybe we can even build a bit of wealth for ourselves.” The Kinoko’s grin grew a bit, before he brew himself and his associate another cup of mushroom tea. Then, he walked out, leading the way.