Silent Serenade [Private]

[Kazumi]

The rushing sound of wind beating against the reinforced glass walls of the large square greenhouse echoed soothingly throughout the plant filled chamber. Small trees, tall grasses and flowers of a multitude of different colors, shades, types and shapes dotted the carefully arranged and organized offshoot of the main Koizumi storefront and abode. It was not the most ideal of locations, sitting in the middle of a desert amidst a ranging sandstorm, but the quality of its construction and the know-how of its caretakers had the eight-hundred square foot botanical haven well cared for. It was for that purpose that one of the family was nearly always performing maintance, experiments or general upkeep of the botanical residents.

Without hesitation, I believe in this love and live on
I'll tightly embrace your unbandaged wound​

<i></i>

For this evening it was our intrepid aspiring shinobi, Tsubaki who had this shift. Although she genuinely enjoyed the task, the quality time of focusing on the care of plants who ranged from nearly miraculous in their curative abilities to toxins that could kill in minutes. That did not mean she did such in silence, which ws otherwise uniform for the self-ordained mute. Infact, her voice echoed with the intensity of her singing as she recited the entrancing lyrics that resonated from her headphones. Her azure evening skirt swayed with her every move and her hair bobbed and jumped with each emphatic motion of the spellbound singer.

And together we'll keep on walking, because we can't go back
Even now, the inerasable sin deep in my chest hurts, but-
Darling​

<i></i>

For one who never spoke to anyone but family, and even then only under rare circumstance, she had a smooth husky tone that belied her feminine figure. Each word seemlessly flowed into the next as she momentarily lost herself in the song to which only she could hear. There was a genuine emphatic joy in her timbre which was quite clear, strong and commanding to silent plants that listened. This was her alone time, away from the world and away from her disability. She didn't know why she could sing but not speak, but in this moment as her hands deftly plucked withered leaves and broken stems, she could not have cared less.

For example, even if I sacrificed something, I'd only believe in one thing
The color of the bloomed flowers in the instant when your straightforward eyes reflect​

<i></i>

 

[Samejima]

Delivering papers was an important duty that genin were sometimes entrusted with, especially when there are new citizens who are actually going to directly contribute to the village. They were in a big official-looking envelope with official-looking seals to be sure no one's tampered with them, and a genin who's known for being a stickler about official-looking business was sent to deliver it. For now, she was making her way through Project Rebirth to find the destination those papers were to make their way to, the Koizumi residence. There was absolutely no reason why she couldn't get some training done on the way however, and it was sight-training night today. Naoki loosened her headband and pulled it down to rest around her neck, opening her eyes and concentrating on the gate.

Once she got near the front of the Koizumi residence, she knocked to see if anyone would let her in, before her sight kicked in and she saw that no one was around. Hmm... Might need to keep looking around. I do need to get these to them... So she circled around the back, figuring it would be somewhat rude to knock in the middle of a meal or something this time of the night, when she caught sight of a movement out of the corner of her eye. Oh, there she is. I can probably just drop them off with her, maybe ask if she wanted to go someplace tomorrow after classes! It seemed like she was mouthing something to herself. Through the glass, Naoki couldn't hear too much... But the closer she got, the more sure she was that the young lady tending to the plants in all her gracefulness was... singing.

The genin was hoping that said young lady was too focused on her task to notice her approach what appeared to be the door to the glass house structure, as she had her back to it during Naoki's approach. Cracking it open with as little sound as she could, just to hear what she could of her friend's vocal escape, she was quite pleasantly surprised by what she heard, to say the least. Powerful and confident, coupled with an emotional expressiveness that sounded just about ready to break her heart, the eavesdropper couldn't do much more than stand and stare, eventually gripping the handle of the door less to keep it from making a sound and more to keep her sense of balance, losing the ability to see once more as she focused on the song, the voice delivering it... and the songstress whom that voice belonged to.

In that instant, Naoki felt... something. Goosebumps, but it wasn't from the wind. Heart beating fast, but it wasn't because she sensed any sort of danger. Rather, she felt like she needed to leave. Quickly, before she was noticed trespassing on this time alone... But she couldn't tear herself away from the melodic twists and turns that voice brought. Simply put, it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever experienced, and she would stay, to absorb as much of it as she possibly could before inevitably being discovered... and even then, the only thought on her mind would have been to hear it once more.

 

[Kazumi]

Even if I'm powerless, I'll live on strongly in this destiny
We'll join our hands and our warmths will melt together forever
If so, even if the sins of more things to come will be painful​

<i></i>

Tsubaki was not only to the storms that raged outside, the slight soreness of ear eardrums as the vibrated to the pulse of the beat and even to the curious genin who had only came to deliver a letter to her family. The songstress continued to sing to her heart's content. It as a strange emotional outlet. Unlike most, she did not have the mental reprieve that others attained as they rested. Retelling old memories, the events of past days or even the dark whims of the unconscious mind. In a way, she did experiance them, though they were not her own. Forced to live through the dreams and nightmares of others, compelled to consume the deepest and most frightening of terrors that plauges others. It was something she had grown accustomed to over the years, but she never felt quite the same after that fateful event.

For example, if as long as I'm with you,
even if we just turn against the waves of the world...​

<i></i>

This was not the only song she knew, there were quite a few, though she never graced any others with them. She thought she sang well, but a tinge of irrational fear compelled her to keep such a secret. Might she somehow lose her ability if others knew? It was irrational, but superstition and the nightmares of others sometimes tainted her waking worries. Would others question why she did not speak? It was a hassle to others as much as it was hers, but she could not bear herself to do such, barring the most dire of circumstance. Perhaps she was not as adept as she assuned? Pride did not paint her confidence in her melodic abilities, but she felt no shame in weaving words in melodic tunes along with the idols that reverberated in her ears.

Without hesitation, I believe in this love and live on
I'll tightly embrace your unbandaged wound​

<i></i>

Her movements began to catch up with the tune, becoming more daring and grandious as her voice seemed to fight against the booming in her ears and the howling of the sandy dunes outside. Tossing the plastic squirt bottle in the air as a line ended, letting it hand in complete silence a moment before she caught it as the words began a new. Rows of hanging planters and aisles of brush, petals and leaves blocked her view of the onlooker, though she had no concerns of anyone bothering her in this turbulent sandstorm that forced all but the bravest or most foolish into the safety of their shelters. She twilied once more and began to mist a small delicate looking flower with the fainty tinted droplets, giving it slow and careful attention as to not drown the defenseless experiment.

Without hesitation, I live in this destiny and live on
If I'm with you, surely we'll be connected forever
And together we'll only look forward, even if nothing came to be done
Nevertheless, I'll keep on protecting you with my hands by all means-​

<i></i>

Finally her words began to slow as she lowered her voice and continued to swing, taking the bottle and bringing it closer to her lips as she imagined it as some style of microphone. The last desire on her mind was to perform, if she had her way no one would ever hear her tune. The silent flower of the Koizumi that fluttered along the winds of change, bending to the needs of others as she continued along her own journey of discovery and adventure. Her song was of the soundless, meant to only be heard by those with no ears and no souls for which to feel. Though, here and now, swept up in the moment of passionate expression she could not help but imagine herself along side her idols, spreading the weight of her soul across the thousands of hands that would scream and cheer... Though such was never to be, and as she opened her eyes and smiled, staring at her floral audience, she stepped one foot back and gave them a grateful bow of gratitude for her devoted and tireless audience as she almost whispered the final word...

Darling...​

 

[Samejima]

A bow... Was it over?

The last word was at a volume barely over a whisper, and yet it carried a longing and weight befitting the final note of a dramatic aria, never to be heard again. Compelled to express her overwhelming feelings of awe and newfound adoration, she gave the door a push and stepped inside, clapping as loudly as she could. Her expression was one of absolute wonder, and if she could still see she would have taken the sight of that bow in like she was never going to see it again... because she probably wouldn't, after interrupting like this, even if the song had ended. Tears had started to well up as the girl in the flora reached a point where her voice was conveying as much as it possibly could with volume, and by the end where volume played no part in the conveyance, the one uninvited member of the audience had to make sure they were held back so they weren't mistaken for negative sentiments. One did end up escaping, but the clapping would continue, until it faded out and hands fell to the sides to approach the young lady with the squirt bottle.

Well aware that she had been eavesdropping, the moment she arrived at a decent speaking distance a deep bow was made, and without lifting her face she apologized, "I-I'm sorry for eavesdropping! Please forgive me!" Such was the emotion she felt from the song she heard that she felt it was something private, something that should never have been shared with another, and there she was taking it by force. "I knew I was doing it and I kept doing it anyway, but..." She paused, trying to express in words what she felt mere moments ago, and without changing her posture she continued. "That was just... it was... wow." She cringed at her lack of words for the performance. Was that all she could come up with? "It was..." Magnificent. "Umm..." Exquisite. "I-it was..." Heart-rending. "..." Incredible. Nothing worked. Nothing could express how she felt, hearing someone she couldn't imagine ever actually hearing make such a wonderful rendition of a song she'd never heard before, not knowing what to expect nor preconceptions on how it 'should' have been sung. Because those preconceptions would have been wrong. That just now was exactly how the song was to be sung. With that tone, those movements, those subtle moments of emphasis in her voice, and most importantly...

"Um! I'm supposed to deliver these. They're copies of land and permit arrangements to be signed and sent back. I'll just leave these here."

Most importantly.

"I'll just go now, sorry for interrupting!"

Most importantly... that she was the only one who heard it.

As soon as that thought flashed through her mind, she began a dash towards the door, completely forgetting to snap to find her way out and just using her memory... which, while admittedly pretty good, was decidedly not photographic. A step of hers caused her to narrowly miss a pot on the ground by jumping somewhat high, as was her normal jumping height, and essentially headbutt one of the hanging planters. She was losing consciousness fast. But at the very least... mission complete...?

 

[Kazumi]

Just as she began to turn back towards the plant she was tending, having let the spirit of the music subside its hold of her for the time, a sharp clapping sound caught her attention. At first she assumed it was part of her music, but she reached up and pulled her headphones down off her ears and the sound continued. Silent horror struck her as she hesitantly turned towards the source of the applause. There, between the folds of foliage and off to the far side she caught sight of the trespasser.

A stark icy chill stabbed into her spine, all of her irrational fears surfacing and grinding their claws through her mind as it raced around in terrified circles. Encased in a sheet of ephemeral crystal, her body was unable to force itself to move any further with her face looking over towards Naoki with frozen confusion. As the applause finally subsided and the shinobi began her approach, the imaginary casing that half her began to crack as she averted her gaze from the other girl. Some part of her clung to the surrealistic ideal of: out of sight, out of mind. However, as Naoki began to spoke, such hopes faded into the oblivion from whence they came.

Gratefully, her expression continued to hide the effects that Naoki's presence during her private performance had on the girl. A small sliver of her mind swelled with pride ad Naoki's strange attempts at expressing her delight of her attempt to sing along with the disembodied voice that now sung quietly around her neck. That part was ostracized and exiled for the time being, as the rest of her struggled to keep itself perfectly calm and in control. Her eyes followed the papers that Naoki set upon an open spot on one of the tables before her mind could process it.

Eventually, her hand began to raise to offer halfhearted thanks for the compliments, but it was too late as the other girl broke into a retreat towards the door she had infiltrated in through. Why was she fleeing? Was she going to go tell the entire village? The most likely case was that she had other duties to attend to and it was unlikely that this delivery was the only one she had been tasked with; rationality didn't hold a strong sway with her at the moment, and the possibility of the aberrant reasonings had a firmer grip on her mind.

None of that mattered though, as her mind continued to both freeze in place as thoughts struck through it faster than they could be understood. Mere moments later she saw the slumped body of the unconscious girl plop onto the ground, the ceramic planter that hung overhead swaying vigorously from the impact of the poor kunoichi's head. With her mind still feeding itself a recurring loop of worries, her body leaped into action as she rushed forward and knelt down by the unconscious girl.

Carefully rolling her over she inspected the impact sight on her head. It was not serious, enough to knock her unconscious from the impact, but not enough to break bone. She was no doctor, but she was the daughter of two of the most successful botanists she had ever known. Segmenting her consciousness, part of it delegated to the irrational worries and needless concerns, the other slows down and began to think through all of the plants that were available to her in the greenhouse.

After only a few seconds of processing, she stood and began to hurry herself around the room. Quickly and gracefully she carefully plucked a few flower petals from this plant, sliced an offshoot stem from this other, and slid a knife through the dirt of a third as she pulled out a section of roots. As she collected a few more of the ingredients she rushed over towards a mortal and pestle that resided at a long workstation nearby to where the girl lay on the ground.

Tossing half of the ingredients into the bold, she began to grind them up with the pestle as quickly as she could manage, adding a few drops of water from a small bottle on the table. In less than a dozen seconds the mixture had devolved into a greenish red paste that lined the interior of the mortar. With that attended to, she took the remainder of the ingredients and did the same in a separate mortar and pestle, not wanting to accidentally mix their contents.

With the two bowls in hand, one with the thick red paste and the other with a more watery pinkish hued goo she knelt down by Naoki once more. Taking the red in her hand, she softly applied it to the area below Naoki's hairline, softly brushing the hair aside so she could apply the mixture across the reddening circle of impact. Them, wiping her hand on her own skirt, she slipped a single finger into the pinkish liquid and then slid it under Naoki's nose, leaving a wet trail of color across her upper lip.

If she had done it correctly, the paste on Naoki's forehead would reduce the swelling and dull the pain. It couldn't affect the damage to the brain, but it would help the damage to her head. The viscous liquid under Naoki's nose had a very string bitter scent, working to try and awaken her as she inhaled the fumes. With luck it would be absorbed into the blood and would help her body repair damages from the concussion. That scent was also strong enough to wake the dead, but it had a strange sickly sweet smell that lingered under the thicker bitter surface.

Sweat covered her brow, slightly winded from her rushing around, and her silent breaths caused her to be unable to kept herself perfectly still as she stared down with concern towards the trespasser. This was her fault, after all, in a sense. Hopefully this would help to alleviate some of her guilt and assuage the part of her mind which still roiled with worry and self-indulgent concerns.

 

[Samejima]

Unconscious at first, Naoki's face was at peace as she laid on the ground, not a trace of the inner turmoil that had been going through her head up until just now. She hadn't turned to try and look back at the girl whose time and home she'd barged into, certain that she wouldn't still be willing to talk to Naoki, let alone be okay with it. It just seemed like such a delicate, intimate moment that she was spending on her own, and even to show her appreciation Naoki should not have interrupted the silence... and yet there she was, laying on the ground after her pathetic attempt to patch the situation up. Her brain became aware of a certain strong smell, and the genin jolted up an inch or two before slowly returning to her senses. After the smell, she first became aware of her head feeling slightly painful, then the feeling of the ground under her, the sound of a quickened heartbeat nearby and a dry taste in her mouth. Oh, it was open.

Naoki instinctively closed it, and sat herself up carefully, eyes closed as if she still had the headband over them. The last few minutes before she blacked out were lost to her for the time being, and as she tried to remember what had just happened, the source of the earlier heartbeat finally registered in her mind. "Oh, Koizumi-san..." Where am I...? I was delivering papers, then no one was home, so... I was checking the rest of the area? And then...

All the memories then came rushing back, forcing her eyes open with surprise, and she sat stock still there for several seconds, expression becoming more and more troubled until it was borderline panicked, and she finally decided to try and hide her face in her hands with an audible smack, forgetting that area was recovering from that concussion her foot and poor planning put her through. Well, there goes plan A... What can I do now? And what is this goopy stuff? It hadn't occurred to her that the very girl whom she thought now resented her would have been the only one capable of making and using the 'goopy stuff' to help her feel a little better (incidentally, the stuff on her upper lip had not yet been wiped away), given the velocity at which her head decided to try and reach for the sky, falling short and ramming into a planter instead.

"You... have an amazing voice," she murmured, head down, not daring to look at the owner of said voice. It was more out of habit than anything else, not wanting to show her eyes to someone who should be rather upset with her as an acknowledgment of guilt, she would still have been able to hear things if something nearby made a sound. If Tsubaki moved, she would try and snap her fingers to make sure she caught every word, at least as much as she could understand at this stage. If it was something short or nothing happened, she would continue, "I really am sorry about just barging in here like that, but I wanted to..." She trailed off for a second or two, the right word to describe her feelings at the time escaping her. "I wanted to thank you, I guess, for singing... I-I mean, it's not like it was for me or anything, I just... Felt like I should. Because umm..." If Tsubaki hadn't interrupted by now with all the pauses in her speech, Naoki was grateful that she was being heard out at all, and would gather up all the courage she currently had to finish her sentence, sitting up straight and locking eyes with the object of her attention. "B-because... listening to you made me feel like I've been deaf all this time, and that was the first time I've ever heard... anything... Anything so magical, in my entire life."

A pause came by, and as it left it took Naoki's composure away for about the third time tonight. "S-sorry! I was being weird wasn't I? Sorry, I- um, I didn't mean to get all creepy like that, ahahah!" It seems this time Naoki has resorted to laughing her social difficulties away. This might work better than running from it in any case, preventing her limbs from flailing all over the place. She would try to change the subject if Tsubaki didn't seem like she wanted to talk further on the subject, otherwise she'd stay quiet and just listen closely. "S-so, uh, yeah! Sorry for coming by so late, that's gotta be mailed in as soon as possible and... Uh, what else... Oh! Do you wanna check out some of the old thrift shops underground? There's some pretty cool stuff coming in every week, and the shopkeepers are mostly nice..."

 

[Kazumi]

Tsubaki continued to kneel down beside Naoki as the herbs began to have their affect on the unconscious girl. As the bild genin tried to shoot up, it was Tsubaki's hand that helped keep her from rising more than a few inches as she gently pushed to urge her back down to lie prone. She had to make sure the girl was alright before she was allowed to move around. Although she was no doctor, tending to her sister had given her more than a few opportunities to make sure no serious damage had been done to a person due to unintended injuries.

Content that Naoki was not going to try to force herself up, Tsubaki relaxed her hands away from the other girl and rested them in her lap, looking down at the cuteness and smiling. That segmented part of her brain continued to run rampant, but her mind continued to keep it walled off as securely as an iron gate. Then, as Naoki began to speak, Tsubaki flinched as her friend smacked her own forehead. In an almost chastising manner, Tsubaki reached over and pulled her hand from her face, allowing her to speak without difficulty, aside from a stern glass for the reckless smack.

Sitting there silently while Naoki seemed to lavish sudden praise on her, the iron will of the Koizumi began to falter. Her gaze shifted away from Naoki as a faint flush tinged her face. The bars on the mental gate began to bow outwards and she tried to resist the urge to become flustered from what sounded to be such a sincere volley of praise. Once Naoki finally finished and the silence ensued, the bars finally broke and what once was that raging storm of worry and confusion had died down to a stiff breeze of uncertainty. Perhaps it wasn't as bad as she had feared, and it was nice to have someone outsie of her family compliment her, but it all seemed a little over dramatic to be sincere... surely?

Forcing composure to regain itself, Tsubaki looked back over towards the other, her flushed features only faintly visible as she smiled and nodded appreciatively. She made a dismissive gesture before she eventually nodded in acceptance of the lavished compliments. It was not anything special. KuroInu did a much better job at singing than she, perhaps Naoki simply had never heard her perform before. Eventually, as Naoki's defensive laughter faded away, Naoki listened to the apology and suggestion before faintly covered a smile on her lips with her hand. She then gestured towards the glass wall that separated them from the raging winds that seemed to blow sand across the glass walls of the greenhouse that they would be polished to a perfect sheen if they had not already done so many months ago.

 

[Samejima]

I don't think I've ever really paid much attention, but... At this point she was able to sense Tsubaki's general figure, and with a few snaps that would have been necessary to figure out what any of the gestures meant anyway, she focused a little more on the girl's face, taking in the expression of calm and the faint smile that crossed her face. Refreshing to say the least, Naoki remembered the past few times she'd seen Tsubaki smile along with the slight flutters that resulted. She hadn't been too bothered by not being able to see, but after catching those few glimpses she's felt like she needed to keep those eyes open whenever she was around the young lady of flowers. Hmm... Maybe smiles are just better when they're seen and not just sensed? Somewhere deeper in her mind though, she doubted this statement held true for everyone.

Heartbeats at this point were likely melding together in their speeds, though likely moreso for the young genin than her savior. The thoughts racing through her mind were likely going at rates fast enough to power several windmills, hoping the random topic change didn't turn the smile she'd been given into a frown or anything worse... "Huh? Umm... I kinda have to charge up my sight again... Is something over there?" Naoki didn't seem to be getting the point of the gesture, unless she had been wanting to just head outside. She did start trying to get her sight back for the second time tonight, and unless she was distracted in some fashion she'd regain it in a minute or so. "Also, uhh, can I get up yet? It's a bit awkward, talking up like this hahah..." Though it's actually... not bad... Looking up like this was actually quite the rare experience, it gave her the feeling of relaxation only truly available to those resting their bodies and allowed one to just focus on their surroundings... and in this case it was one Koizumi Tsubaki, who seemed slightly flustered judging by the heartbeat... no doubt from the creepiness the genin had just demonstrated. Act natural, natural! What're you doing, creeping your friend out! She mentally chastised herself, trying to act a little less nervous and more bubbly, not realizing that she was already beyond natural levels for those aspects of behavior.

 

[Kazumi]

Her head tilted itself in confusion after Naoki spoke of charging up her sight. That was something that needed to be charged? There still seemed to be a great deal about Naoki, and the shinobi arts in general, that she still didn't have a full grasp on. That mere though excited her adventurous side and would only fuel her desire to learn more in the coming weeks and months. For the time being, she simply let out a small breath of amused annoyance at Naoki's lack of understanding of her gesture.

In order to both diffuse some of, what she assumed was nervousness, from the girl and to try to get her point across, she took a moderate breath, pursed her lips and blew out at Naoki. Thankfully for them both, her breath smelled something closely akin to a faint mint that was a common ingredient for toothpaste as it fluttered some stray strands of Naoki's hair. If the girl still did not seem to understand then she would make the handsigns for sandstorm as well. How Naoki had not noticed it earlier was a mystery, or perhaps that was simply part of her training? In either case, Tsubaki had no intentions of traveling outside in that gale of buffeting sand if she could help it.

She then pushed herself onto her feet and stood up with a quick hop upwards, landing fully onto the heels of her feet as she sprung to a stand. Then, she knelt back over once again to offer a hand to the prone kunoichi, though the offer was more of gesture of friendliness than it was any actual offer of aid. Naoki could get up without her without any shadow of a doubt, but manners were a strong part of her upbringing and if Naoki took the offer she would gladly help pull the girl to her feet.

 

[Samejima]

And the efforts to see once more were quite literally blown away as Naoki tensed up further from the sudden flow of air. "Wh-wh-whai-uhh what was why-" As she attempted to stammer out a question, lying completely still but moving her ankles as if she was struggling to get up, she caught the gesture for 'sandstorm' and the light finally clicked in her head. "Ahh no, I didn't mean now, it's pretty late out too so it'd probably be better for you to stay here until it stops before heading home... But it really isn't that bad, never mind haha..." She stopped for a short while, assessing the importance of sleep versus leaving the conversation gracefully and finding that social interaction would be best carried out to their conclusion before any attempts to sleep were made. She already passed out once after all. "Ah, thanks..." she mumbled, propping herself up with her elbow before taking the girl's hand, after which she was able to stand up easily. Despite having passed out just now due to headbutting an inanimate object.

She then attempted to make conversation, because what else could she really do in this situation? "Oh, so umm what're you doing? Overtime or something?" It seems like there was just so much to do in order to take care of plants, bunches of fertilizer types and the squirt bottle vs watering can debate... Or at least that was as much as she'd heard a random customer complaining about at noon. "Shouldn't someone be around here to help out?" she asked, thinking back to the first afternoon where she met the littlest brother and the eldest Koizumi.

 

[Kazumi]

Tsubaki cracked a small covert smile at how Naoki tensed up as she blew on her. It was strange but cute, though she didn't really know what to expect as far as reactions went anyway. As Naoki admitted that her plans were apparently clearly for some other time, a tinge of embarrassment flopped itself across Tsubaki's face as another grin, that she tried to hide, appeared. It was a natural mistake, she told herself. She had just been spied on and nearly allowed herself to spiral into a panic attack, so a little leeway was in order.

Finally as Naoki asked her about what exactly she was doing alone here, working in the greenhouse, Tsubaki relaxed her head to one side and thought. She did not have anything to write with, and it would be a little long to try and sign to Naoki, given her unfamiliarity with sign language. An idea popped into her head and she firmly nodded to herself before she held out a hand and gestured for Naoki to move closer. Assuming she obliged, Tsubaki would place her hand onto Naoki's head as she had a few times before.

The Koizumi's eyes closed and she began to try and clear her mind and focus. She reached out, through her hand to try to connect Naoki's consciousness with her own. The act felt strange to her, but not necessarily foreign. As if she was born to be able to do this, but just had never had the opportunity or need. Once the link was slowly established, she tried what Shigeru had attempted to each her a week prior. Words were simply to transfer, but words did not need to be used when experiences could be shared. Full complex thoughts could be passed through this... telepathic link, and it was as they said, a picture was worth a thousand words.

It was likely quite strange to Naoki at first, something that seemed closer to a slideshow of frozen images, vague feelings and emotions. Although difficult at first, the stream became clearer as the pair began to sync more closely. Images gained context. Disembodied words acquired tones and patterns. Emotions became distinct and more understandable. Overall, it was not very complex: Her parents and other two siblings had gone out for dinner in the underground portions, which left Tsubaki alone to tend to the greenhouse to herself. She didn't resent being required to stay, as it was her own idea. In fact the thought of staying was wonderful, as she could sing to her heart's content without worry of either of her siblings spying on her.

Only a few seconds had actually passed as she removed her hand from Naoki's head, the weak-blooded Yamanaka's breath sightly ragged with her hand faintly trembling from the strain of something that was both incredible simple and indescribably complex all at once. To Naoki the experience likely felt like a number of minutes, or perhaps longer as her mind worked to process the new rush of information and play it back to her, distorting her own internal sense of time for that brief few seconds as it struggled to adapt to the new experience.

 

[Samejima]

In a way, Naoki was slightly happy things had turned out like this. They were alone together, and this meant no one would be judging anything if they'd started on another one of their seemingly one-sided conversations. After all, not everyone knew about sign language, and that included Naoki a few short weeks ago. Thankfully, she picked up languages rather quickly, and Tsubaki herself seemed to have a way with understanding how one picks up the language in question as far as Naoki could tell. Either way, being alone like this allowed Naoki to relax some after the initial surprise, the images started forming in her head, along with a few voices that seemed to blur their words together into one tone at first before gaining some meaning little by little. The images did much to help her understand what was going on, but she found that she was relying much more on sound than she used to back before she lost her sight.

What was much more interesting, at least to the genin, was that she was able to feel what seemed to be Tsubaki's feelings on the matters she was being shown. Hmm... Anticipation...? She didn't quite understand the source of these feelings at first, but connected the dots quickly enough after a little more time with her buddy's thoughts. "You don't want to sing in front of your siblings? Why?" she asked, unaware that one could really be shy about being able to do something so well. Head tilted to one side, she'd wait for an answer but had hoped that Tsubaki would do that again and project her own voice this time, wanting to compare it to the now crystal-clear memory of the singing voice she'd witnessed first hand a long while ago. That, or try and make her laugh. Recalling at least one past instance, Naoki was now hard at work trying to think up a joke to pull... And one came to her! "I mean, at least it doesn't sound like you were choking cats whenever you make music... I'm supposed to be attuned to sound and I can't even play an instrument right, unless you count cat-choking as one..." Ugh, that sounded better in my head... And it seems like she might be self-conscious about it for some reason or another, was that bad phrasing...? To try and alleviate the mood some more, she let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of her head, after shifting her initial grimace at the attempt into sheepishness.

 

[Kazumi]

Closing her eyes, Tsubaki tried to quell the trembling in her hand. She had never attempted to do that on another living person outside of Shigeru, and he always somehow made it easier for her to sync with. Even so, it was easier than he had led it to appear, although it was just as taxing. Her attention piqued and a worried expression tinged her face as Naoki spoke of Tsubaki's reluctance to sing in front of even her family. SIlently, she cursed herself for the failing. The hardest part of establishing the link and transmitting through it was not what information to feed through, but how to limit what actually was.

Grimacing, she kept her eyes away from Naoki, not really wanting to answer or admit that she had not meant to let Naoki in on that tidbit of information. Perhaps she needed to train more, but as Shigeru had said, few people felt comfortable having their minds touched by an outsider. Her internal toil suddenly broke as she understood what Naoki had said in her ill-fated attempt at humor. Choking... cats? Surely that was not literally what she meant, but what else could she have meant. Without any signs or words, Tsubaki looked up and gazed over towards Naoki with a slightly confused look which hinted at the uncomfortable wording that the genin had chosen.

 

[Samejima]

She would've commented on why Tsubaki seemed to have been so troubled about something, and possibly have asked further about the subject, had Tsubaki been more positively responsive to the random joke she attempted to pull. Unfortunately, Uh... Awkward silence. Bad attempt. Veeeery bad attempt. Abort! "I-I didn't mean it literally! Uh, um... It'd really be faster to show you but it really is embarrassing hahah..."

She did in fact carry her bag and the rest of her effects everywhere she went, so as to avoid being underprepared, and the kokyuu which she still has not succeeded in learning was slung across her back along with her backpack, sticking out from under the cloak she wore out. "See this thing on my back? I've wanted to play this since I was a little kid!" she said with a grin, remembering old days when she believed she could do anything at all when she put her mind to it. Nowadays though this mindset was limited to whatever she did for shinobi training. "I dunno what happened exactly, but during a big battle I kinda hit my head on something and... well, I was able to play it before but currently it would sound like I was literally choking cats if I tried." She punctuated the sentence with a wry grin, pupils going off to the side as if she could even see through them at this point of mass confrazzlement.

"E-enough of that though, did you have anything to eat? Since, y'know, the rest of your family's gone out and stuff for food... Oh and speaking of which, you have a sister?" That was as far as she could tell, having been shown a memory. She recalled visual details less readily, but there did seem to be another one in those memories that wasn't either of her parents nor her little brother.

 

[Kazumi]

She had been tempted, or perhaps drawn, to comment or prod further on Naoki's curious choice of words on her ability to play said instrument. Though what interested her more was the sudden loss of ability to play an instrument after suffering a hit to the head. She assumed it must have been brain damage, but it appeared that Naoki did not want to speak of the subject and so, being the person she was, Tsukino would not press the issue. Instead, she simply shook her head and then proceed to nod. She gestured that she was not hungry, and then began to sign letters. "M A O. My sister." That was followed by a proud smile and an eager nod.

"She is now attending the academy. Mother was not happy, but Mao and father insisted. I do worry that she will be okay." She certainly had reason to worry. Mao had a tendency to push herself further than she should have, but for good reason. Without her or her parents there to make sure she did not get in over her head, she would continue to worry. She did admire most of the faculty at the academy, and so they should be able to take good care of her. Shinobi medicine was far beyond anything she had seen before, and if she hurt herself they would be able to tend to her... right? "You have no siblings. Yes?"

 

[Samejima]

"Siblings? Ahh no, mother and father had their hands full with feeding one, let alone two... And if I had one I bet they'd wanna be a shinobi too, which woulda made it really hard for them to make ends meet..." Naoki explained this cheerfully, as if she wouldn't have it any other way. She had wanted to know what it was like to have a younger sister however, or an older brother, one to protect and one to look up to... at least figuratively. But the reality was that their family couldn't afford another, so she'd just have to have enough grandkids to make her parents happy threefold, for the siblings she never had. She doesn't think about this very often however, having not even thought past becoming a jounin at this stage.

"Hmm... Mao-chan? Sounds like a cute name," she noted, nodding. As far as she remembered, she hasn't heard that name as a first one before. Maybe they're into progressive naming? Or maybe I just haven't met a lot of people... Yeah, I need more friends. She then realized that she'd instinctively gone with a -chan honorific as opposed to its more formal cousin, and realized that she probably had a stigma for younger siblings being cute.

A few more moments of thinking got her to wonder if it would have been alright for her to call Tsubaki by her given name at this point... Her being younger didn't exactly make it easy to ask however, despite how close she felt to the older girl at present. It should be okay right? I mean, there isn't that much of an age difference, and at the very least I can still call her with the -san honorific, so it wouldn't be disrespectful or anything... She'd been taught that the way one addresses another was important to how one is perceived, and of all people she didn't want to mess up her chances of actually becoming friends with the eldest Koizumi... But she did in fact feel like they were friends already, with what interactions they've had together. It wasn't like it'd be out of the blue, and would feel somewhat more natural when or if they hung out together more.

"U-um... Koizumi-san. Can I ask you something...?" Naoki hesitated a little, and proceeded with much caution, turning her torso to fully face Tsubaki. "I don't mean to be... too forward or anything, but um," she took a deep breath.

"Would it be okay if I called you by your first name?"

Naoki's eyes closed tightly, as if she was bracing for impact. This whole thing was rather important, at least in Naoki's perspective, and the heartbeat that had slowed since just after that delicate yet well-worked hand last touched her head sped up once more.

 

[Kazumi]

"She is cute. Strong will and determined. Did not think she would want to be shinobi. Not sure if I regret giving her the idea." She signed, thinking to herself as she did the gestures in a slow measured manner, as they were almost second nature to her, as Naoki was to talking. As he own thoughts seemed to drift away, Naoki once again refocused her attention with a call of attention. As the younger girl tried to work through her confidence issues, she simply looked down to her and smiled reassuringly. It reminded her of her youngest brother, that sort of timid reluctance to ask even the silliest of things. It was quite adorable after all. She gestured, "go ahead." in a patient manner as she looked down to Naoki, somewhat curious as to what had the talkative girl tongue tied.

When she finally revealed the less than earth shattering question, Tsubaki could not help but softly giggle in amusement. Resettling herself, she reached out and gently tapped Naoki on the forehead to try and get the girl to open her eyes. As soon as she did it, she was reminded as to why such a gesture was entirely unnecessary. Pushing the urge to be embarassed aside, she nodded and sweetly smiled, "of course. N-san." Naoki hopefully would recognise the shorthand that Tsubaki had created for her name, as was typical in the language.

 

[Samejima]

It really was nice to get smiles, Naoki noticed. She hadn't really been paying much attention to others' grins of amusement, but it seemed to her like any sign she was saying or doing something right was very much fulfilling when seen. Such was her want to actually catch these smiles that she decided to try and refocus her attentions on her sight once more, after the huge sigh of relief that escaped her once she heard that it would be fine. "Tsubaki-san..." she tested the name out, how it sounded and whether or not the girl in question would have any sort of reaction to it being used for the first time. The sound of the giggle from earlier ran through Naoki's mind, making her wonder if she would ever be able to hear that giggle when she meant to as opposed to doing something silly and causing a giggle at her silliness.

She then laid back down on the ground, vaguely wondering what her name would sound like when said in that voice, the one that sounded like how dewdrops in the morning sun looked, while watching the glass panes above some into focus. "Did you have much more work to do? If you didn't, umm... Wanna watch the stars with me?" Otherwise, the genin would offer to help, however clumsy she was. At the very least she'd be another pair of hands to do the mundane bits of work.

 

[Kazumi]

Talking a look up towards the clear glass ceiling, she noticed that the storm outside had begun to subside, or at least she could see more than a thick blanket of fuzzy brown from the stream of sand that buffeted the walls. A moment of thought passed and she shook her head, "Lot of work to do before family returns. Many plants to tend to and little time. My sister and I's time away at academy only increases work." She paused before eventually adding, "welcome to stay and relax until storm clears. Should not be too long." It would be nice to have company, even if it did mean that she couldn't really sing. Logically, she could of course, but it was still hard to bear, the thought of someone else having heard.

With that she gave another nod to the prone girl before she tuned and walked herself over towards the workbench she had prepared the salve and ointment on earlier, as she started to clear up the mortars and pestles she had used along with the other remnants of the herbs. Thinking as she glanced over her shoulder towards Naoki, it was nice having had her experiment work. Everything she knew indicated it might, but theory and practise were only distantly related... something that sometimes caused one of the few times of strife between her parents.

 

[Samejima]

The shapes were starting to come into focus, and though her initial offer was turned down, she was still all clear to be spending time with Tsubaki in her element and that in itself was something to be appreciated whenever possible. "Really? Thanks! ...actually..." she hopped up, wondering if she could be of any use. She was able to watch Tsubaki clear everything up, little pinkish mustache of goop still slathered across her upper lip, now likely dried and slightly itchy. Hovering about but trying not to get in the herbalist's way, she would remain for quite some time before either being dismissed for the lateness of the hour or for being a bother by hovering around so much.

If Naoki could help it though, she would've hung around for as long as possible, quipping about the strangeness of the plants' appearances or questioning their scents, sometimes asking where each plant came from and what their flowers looked like as if quizzing the young botanist, despite not knowing the answers at all. A notable difference was that Naoki seemed to be much less inhibited, her voice coming across bouncier and the topics in which she took the conversation becoming more and more nonsensical, a quality which while pointless to the conversation itself, would let more of Naoki's boisterous sense of humor shine as she tried to elicit more little giggles here and there.

Once she returned home (hopefully on a good note with Tsubaki), reflections would be done and the most important lesson to take from it would've been to never start running around in a greenhouse... wait no, it's don't eavesdrop. Though in this case it did turn out alright, it was still not a nice thing to be doing, and she should cut the habit at its roots before it got worse, especially given her exceptional capability to have that habit blossom.

As they parted ways for the night, with Naoki having done her best to cut down on annoying Tsubaki while still not exactly allowing for much silence, she would turn back and wave a little, "Until next week then, Tsubaki-san!" with a signature little carefree grin on her face.

[Topic Concluded?]