If it wasn't for Howl's Owls, this chapter would be very much compared to mumbo jumbo! Many kudos to her for revision!

I also recently (Well not recently, but still) discovered that a lot of character names actually mean something. Quite a coincidence!

(Ex - Zenaq, the founder of the Hugeato clan is actually a Japanease watch company in real life. Crazy!)

I'll post more in the coming chapters, but for now, enjoy the 26th!

"The Land of Pine...? How?" I looked around in question; it DOES look like a large island... And we were even standing on sand, and I do see pine trees. But how'd we get to an island from... A cave? Shikamaru carefully took some sort of a plant in his hands and lightly took a scent.

"What is that?" I asked, what's he doing smelling a plant? Curious, I scanned my environment; it's still before noon if my sun-reading skills didn't fail me. Clouds dotted the sky in groups; they were mocking me with their fluffiness. This makes me want to be in Nen's comfy bed right now...

"This plant is a Bichi-Miki, it's a unique flower that only grows in the Land of Pine and gives off a spicy odor." So... A tan-colored flower that only grows here that releases a fiery odor? This land is weird already! I think when he said he was able to 'smell' the exit when we were still in the cave; he actually smelled the flower from far away. The flower did look... Cool, I guess; Kemari would like it.

"They also use the flower for medical reasons. They might actually help your cousin ease a little." Really...? Hopefully it'll actually do something to Nen!

"Well, let's go to the village then!" Nen can't wait all day! I had to carry Nen over my back again, which was quite the exercise. Sometimes I feel that his eyes, even while closed still have the completely gray eyes and they're just staring at me... Sends shivers down my spine! Shikamaru had to lead me to the village were we'll find someone who'll help Nen and meet Bosen Bodo, who we'll need to talk once Nen is okay.

The village was actually pretty large which made me wonder about the size of the island itself. The buildings had a distinctive architectural style; it appears that fine pine wood had made most of the buildings, and some of them decorated with jagged stone. Pine trees marked almost every corner of the village; it was hard not to see one! Although there wasn't a single road in the village, the sand was dug like a path so it made "sand streets". There weren't as many people that filled the streets of this village compared to the streets of the Leaf Village, but still the settlement is pretty large. We finally reached the clinic, which stood out because it was connected to the Main Centre; it's the tallest building in the whole village. Once we entered, I instantly felt my feet transitioning from a soft sandy ground to a rough stone floor.

"Sironar," Shikamaru whispered next to me as we slowly strolled down the main hall of the clinic, "I forgot to mention earlier, in this village it's disrespectful if you have any kind of clothing covering your face." I looked at him in slight disbelief. Say what? Who makes rules like that? I had no choice but to use my free hand to untie my black bandanna that was covering my mouth and partially my nose and left it hanging on my neck. If I want them to help Nen, I guess I gotta follow their rules.

We finally reached a free room that was available and requested that the nurses try something on Nen. We told them about Nen's strange condition and they took him off my exhausting shoulder. The room reminded me of the Leaf's emergency room when Nen was being operated on by Lady Sundae. It had a ton of equipment but it was a fairly small room overall. The main nurse asked her assistant if she retrieve a batch of Bichi-Miki extract. After, she continuously rubbed her gloved hands together to create some sort of static. Then, like a professional, she stroked the oil-like substance (Which was probably the Bichi-Miki extract) on her gloves and completely covered Nen's eyes. She applied pressure while pushing down on him, although I have no idea what she was doing at all, I hoped it would work. After releasing her hands, she mentioned that we had to wait a little for the oil to dry; meanwhile she asked us why were Leaf ninja here. We mentioned we were to perform a mission sent by your head trade operator, Bosen Bodo, well Shikamaru said that.

"It's dry," the nurse mentioned, "your friend should be fine." I was looking out the open window to the side of the room, which was providing a great view of the ocean when I heard this. I instantly ran to check on Nen. Many questions exploded in my head, probably more than what a volcano would have exploded!

"What'd you do to him?" I curiously asked, peering over Nen like I'd had been given a new plaything or something. My voice sounded fairly different without the mask covering my mouth. It was more... Clear, and not shady.

"It's a common technique used on the elderly when they begin to lose their sight." She responded, and quite fast too. Nen ain't old; he's fourteen, will it work the same? Nevertheless, I was hopeful of Nen's recovery. She then told us to wait until he awakens, which would be in a few minutes.

...

"Nngh..." That's Nen's growl! I was so glad to see him that while he was sitting up I just ran to hug him from the back!

"What the... Siren...?" Nen spoke in a soft and cracked tone, as if something had damaged his voice. That's when I stopped; he sounded serious and I didn't want him to be more confused.

We took the time to explain what has happened, where we are, what the nurses did to him, and what the heck happened to him. He hopped from the operating bed and strolled to the open window. (It wasn't really a window, there were no glass; it was just an open square.) He had to squint his eyes from the brightness of the sun, but finally, he realized that we're at the Land of Pine. It took me a while to realize that too.

"I'm ready... Let's go see Bosen Bodo." Nen concluded.

Just to clarify a bit, Bichi-Miki is actually Japanese. Bichi mean's beach and Miki means plant stem. So, in English, it would be translated to Beach-Plant Stem I believe. It's based off the Butterscotch Rose. (Except for the scent.)