Today was a good day, like any other, but today, Akihiko was going on an adventure. This is something he had to wait till he returned home to do since what he was looking for was in his own country. It was a contract beast, though really he personally had no preferences, he wanted it to be from his home country, whatever that might be. Akihiko got up early in the morning, washed up, got dressed and headed out the door. Spring was here, the trees had new leaves, and the air was crisp, fresh. It wasn’t too cold, or too hot, the perfect day for an adventure. “Today is the day I get a buddy!” He stated on his way out of the house. He was still with his parents, but that was gonna change soon, he was already getting ready to sign a lease on an apartment in the village.
“Where are you going?!”
Akihiko froze and turned to look at his father.
“Today you are helping out with the farm! Like you are supposed to!” Hisashi, his father, was practically yelling.
“Uh, I never said I was helping out at the farm. I have ninja stuff to do, sorry papa.” Akihiko stated, he didn’t want to go back and forth at the moment so he jumped into the trees and waved at his father, and to the rest of his family that was pouring out of the house to see the commotion.
Every day started like this since he came back, his parents assumed he would retire from being a shinobi, and work on the farm, and at their flea market stall. He had no interest in the farming business, his parents had 13 other children to help them out, so he was not worried. He did feel bad about leaving his father in the dust like that, but he had been through this every day since he had been back.
After dashing off Akihiko went into the deep forest a few miles from his home. He took an extra two to make sure none of his siblings tried following him out here. The forest was thick, and could almost be considered a jungle if it was more moist.
Akihiko stopped and leaned against a tree on the ground. He sighed and wiped his forehead. “I’m going to get an ear full later tonight.” He muttered to himself. His father was an enforcer in the family and his mother… Well, she can shake the ground and can make one's ears ring for hours. “But I need to speak out, otherwise I might end up getting stuck.” He whispered. He’d get stuck with his parents walking all over him, they didn’t want him to be a shinobi at all. He was following his dream one way or another. Once his moved out it’d be easier to do what he needed to do, he planned on moving into his new place next week.
Akihiko sat up straight, and pushed himself off the tree he was leaning on, “Oh well, time to do what I came out here to do.” Akihiko stated and he started to walk through the forest. He focused and started to tune into the different animals all around. The noises, scents, and sights. It was like a whole different world from the village. It was nice and almost relaxing. The forest melted away his worries and made him feel better.
Akihiko came into an opening, ruins filled it. Most of the buildings were overgrown with plants. It had been three years since Akihiko was in this area, this area used to be a smaller settlement, a few families lived here until bandits ransacked it. He came here with a medical team to save the place, but they got here too late. This is where he became chuunin and saved a woman's life. He didn’t know if she was still alive, but he hoped so. “I thought I’d never see this place again...” He mumbled under his breath, he remembered it was like yesterday. He didn’t know it was abandoned now. Settlements didn’t last long out here, Leaf was still new, and the village was settled but out here? No Bandits still dominated the forest, unfortunately. It was almost like a war on bandits, but for ninja, it wasn’t too hard to knock them out.
[WC: 728]
[Using my newly acquired purchase of Discovery Contract of Your Choice to find..... Plant!]
There weren’t many lands like this in the realm, but they were most abundant in the Land of Fire since the civil war all those years ago. Civilizations built by mankind from lumber and stone were left uninhabited, and in time, were reclaimed by nature through the aggressive overgrowth. However, a war spanning a decade and ransacking by bandits couldn’t have given way to the discovery Akihiko made today. Fully-grown trees can take a human’s full lifespan to produce, yet they stood in this forgotten village, piercing through old buildings in every perceivable way. Thick vines strong enough to suspend bridges grew along each crumbling wall, evening holding many of those structures in the process. Why did Akihiko come, and what did he expect to find in this place? It was a valid question, yet no one was present to ask it— or was there?
Ririko and Hosuzu were a pair of identical twins sisters scavenging in a shop just up the path from where Akihiko entered the area. They were an adolescent pair on the verge of adulthood, both with lithe physiques, and silky auburn hair styled to separate tastes that helped define the sisters individually. Ririko had a long braid which hung over her shoulder, and Hosuzu had a shorter, more conservative bob cut. Both had deceptively sweet smiles and innocent amber eyes; Ririko wore glasses with bright pink frames. If Akihiko followed the sound of the disturbance breaking the silence, he’d discover Ririko standing in the entrance of that shop, standing watch. She was posted up in the doorway, draped in a vibrant yellow coat with the hood up— there were puppy ears on the sides, simply too cute. She had a navy-blue, flared skirt peeking out from beneath the coat, with black knee-high socks and brown shoes. Her traveling sack had a single strap that crossed over her shoulder. Once she spotted the wandering shinobi the girl called to her sister and ran inside the shop, shutting the door behind her.
The photos on the floor depicted a large humanoid figure embedded in the thick bark which covered a fair share of the wall. It was as if an entire person had become one with a large tree and stayed there in an eternal slumber. Protrusions in the bark marked the bits of flesh, and there was a face with closed eyes. A mop of bushy hair was on the statue’s head. The pose of this sleeping wood-person resembles a prisoner handing on a wall or cross. Along the wall grew twisting vines and pink flowers with a hint of gray in the pedals. 
Akihiko was looking around the ruins, this place was almost unrecognizable... Who knew so much fauna could grow in such a short time. Though it was offsetting, it had been a few years since he was in this once lively village, but he was sure a tree was not growing out of that building when he was last here. He was no botanist, but it didn't take one to know tree's that big usually took a lifetime to grow.