Disclaimer- Is chocolate a vegetable? No? Then it's not mine.

Authors Note- I had to fight tooth and nail to have the computer long enough to write this chapter so you better be grateful. Well I guess you don't need to be… Either way I hope you enjoy. I changed it to Yamanaka-san because the site kept deleting his name. I hope it doesn't throw you off too much.

Chapter 7- Nightfalls Embrace

It was nice to finally be excited about the prospect of school. Before I was homeschooled in my old life I had been forced to go to one of those uber-religious ones. The teachers were terrible, and the students were shallow. In the end I had faced school with a very passive mindset. I never tried, never failed, I didn't try to be good, but I was never a troublesome student either. All in all, I was just there.

In the beginning I went with every intention of learning as much as I could, but over the years I felt my will to learn just die. It was different now though. I wasn't going to school; I was going to the academy. I wasn't learning about the Fertile Crescent I was learning about the Great Shinobi wars. There was no thirty minute gym; instead we incorporated physical activities almost everywhere.

It was exciting to be at a place of learning and actually gaining knowledge from it. My teachers treated me like all the other children but I could tell they were pleased that I wanted to learn. They soon noticed that the other children never got along with me. To them I was different weird. They never picked on me or bullied me; I don't give off the air of someone easy to pick on, but they stayed away.

It was almost laughable really. In my old life I made myself seem unapproachable to most because I didn't want to know them. Their every day worries mad me sick. Here I was in a place where I may have been able to make friends and I'd already scared them away. I was content to be the way I used to be. Just the kid in the back of the classroom reading a book. And there were so many books.

There were books about all subjects, about the wars, and about Jutsu, fighting styles and great shinobi both dead and alive. There was so much to learn about I felt like my head might explode just trying to cram it all in. Over the past six years my whole world had revolved around my house, backyard, playground, the market place, and the Yamanaka's house. I forgot how much more there was out here.

At age six there is not much a child could do with their chakra, so instead of practice they would cover chakra theory. We learned all about the chakra points, and physical and spiritual chakra. We learned about the proper balance we would have to have inside our bodies to properly perform Jutsu. Up until that point I had just jumped to my own conclusions and taken things I remembered from the show to help me. It was refreshing to get a full description.

My favorite part of the day by far though, was meditation. During that time most of the kids would cause trouble because it was hard for them to sit still for so long, but I loved the chance to retreat into my own mind and think about what I had learned.

I don't know if you could call it my mindscape. In my old life as a preteen I had always been unsettled and on edge. To calm me down a friend of my mothers had taught me to build a workshop. She talked me through the process and the end result was interesting to say the least. I had been there so many times by now I could easily close my eyes and see my space. But the first time was different. I had to build; I had to find my way there on my own.

It's like navigating the corners of your mind until you find a spot comfortable enough to relax. So I walked the hallways, opened the doors, and found myself in front of a stair case. It reached so far down I couldn't see the end, but I followed it anyways. It was long and winding and sometimes I could have sworn I was going up rather than down. It was hard to keep track after a while.

Eventually the stairs dropped me off at a door. Turning around I found the staircase to be missing, as if their only purpose had been to drop me off at this very spot. Normally I'd be wary of something like that but for some reason it had felt right to go through the door. Like it was mine and I belonged there. So I went inside. And it was beautiful.

It was a wide forest clearing, the trees lining it on all sides in a giant circle. The dark forest, instead of feeling foreboding, felt like a barrier. They were there to protect me from what lay beyond. I could see the sky high up above me, baby blue with just a few wispy clouds. And there in the center of the field was a chair. Not just any chair, a squishy armchair. In the middle of a forest no less. I had always known I was weird but now it felt like my mind was just rubbing it in.

The chair back was to me so I stepped forward, eager to see what it was facing. It was facing my fears. There was a small raised platform that the chairs front was facing, and on the platform was a door labeled fear. The door scared me back then but now I know what lies beyond because I had been there before.

Behind that door was my family, both old and new. Behind that door was the future. Behind that door was me. And I had long ago come to terms with that. Its why this chair was here; but it wasn't all bad and scary. There was another door as well. Behind that door was my happiness. It contained my friends, my family, all the silly moments that my life consisted of. Behind that door were feelings of contentment and happiness. That door hadn't always been there.

When I had first discovered this place there had only been the fear door. When I had first discovered this place I had been at such a bad point it my life. But I had found it; my inner peace. And now this place was my inner peace. It was here that I would think through decisions, and come to terms with grief. It was here that I would settle my frayed nerves and calm my harshly beating heart.

Everything here was alive and I soon realized that it always had been. This feeling of life was the same I got from plants. I had never noticed that before. I wondered if I could grow the things here inside my mind. I gently lay my hands on the ground and felt my chakra pulse beneath me- loud noises were pulling me out and, opening my eyes, I had to gape.

What had once been the packed earth of the school training field was now overgrown with flowers of all kinds. Flowers, weed, vines, bushes; everything was all cramped here in this area. Some of the kids were screaming, others were laughing, and more still were staring at the teachers demanding an explanation. But the teachers were just as bewildered as the students. If any of them had been paying attention they would have seen my red face and known; but they weren't.

I pretended to be confused like the rest of the kids as the teachers ushered us inside. Despite how stupid that was of me, I really wanted to laugh. It was hilarious. The poor teachers were at one moment trying to get the children to sit still and think and the next moment there in a flower field teeming with life. And their bewildered expressions were priceless.

By the time I got home I could barely contain my giggles. I decided to talk about it to Kotetsu and Izumo. I'm sure they would get a good laugh hearing about what I have now deemed the Flower Incident. I was right. By the end of my explanation the two of them were caught in a fit of giggles just imagining what their old teachers must have looked like. And that's how my father found us, all hunched over on the floor giggling uncontrollably. By the time we calmed down and had dinner, I finally noticed how tired I was. Whatever I had done must have taken a lot of energy.

It was getting dark but it wasn't quite my bed time yet so I went outside to stare at the sky. It was beautiful to watch the blues fade into the orange, and the red cling to the clouds still in the sky. It was peaceful here, not as nice as my workshop, but nice enough to fall asleep. I felt like I was floating through my dreams that night and when I woke up I was in my bed. My father must have carried me in.

My peaceful feeling stayed with me that morning all the way up until I got to school. For the first half of the school year we had focused on the basic fighting style that everyone was taught and that everyone used until they added onto it or found their own. And today was to be our first day of sparring with each other.

In my old life I had never been able to fight even when I took karate. I just can't do it. I would go up and instead of hitting my opponent I would joke around and play the stupid fool so that I didn't have to fight. I would give up before I began so that I didn't hurt myself. But I couldn't do that here. I had to fight my classmates and I tried to apply what I knew to the battle, but for me the moment the fight begins I forget about all my training and the instinct to hightail it out of there kicks in.

They always say that it comes down to the two basic instincts of fight or flight. I always chose flight; I knew I was a coward. So there I was faced off against one of my classmates, every instinct telling me to run while my determination and my pride tell me to stand and fight. The end result was a sloppy stance and excessive dodging, before landing on my butt on the ground. It was really embarrassing, and only rubbed in my former assessment. I can't fight.

Sure I could get in a punch here and a kick there, but they were never well aimed and I hesitated. When someone went to hit me I backed up, flinched, and closed my eyes. No matter how many times I got up, no matter who I fought, I always ended up in the same place; the ground.

In the beginning of the year I had the advantage. I had been training my body for two years by that point. But in only half a year the other students had already caught up. So not only were they equal to me in strength, they had more of a fighting spirit. I'm a, get a distraction out there and hide, type of person whereas they are the, fight until you win, type. And the deference in the strength between us was all too clear.

Even after spending the next half a year pitting myself against them, I only learned to dodge. But maybe that's all I needed. I spent the entire summer vacation trying to think of a way to fight. Everything I came up with would only ever make me get really good at escaping. I could think of a way to use my Green Disposition in battle but that would bring way to much danger. Besides what good would tripping enemies with a plant do?

I would only hold someone off and even then not for long. If they were good they could easily cut through or burn any vines that got in their way. I sighed wearily; I really wasn't cut out for this. My gloomy thoughts were interrupted when I saw an equally gloomy, Yamanaka-san heading in this direction.

"Is something wrong, Yamanaka-san?" I enquired politely. He sighed as if greatly stressed before answering.

"You know about my clans farms outside the village, yes?" I nod my head. The Yamanaka clan grew all different types of plants outside the village. Many were sent to the hospital for medicine while even more was turned into poisons to be used by the shinobi of the village.

"There was a bit of a problem by one of them and now we have a shortage. The hospital won't be too happy about that," he tried to make it sound like it was no big deal but I knew how bad it must be if he was this upset. Upset enough to talk to a seven year old girl about his problems. Yikes, it must be bad.

I thought for a few moments, trying to come to a decision. He already knew about my Green Disposition. He had only seen it small scale and not for over a year, but he knew all the same. Maybe I could help him. No one had attacked or kidnapped me yet so I assumed I hadn't done anything wrong by existing. I had to gather my courage before speaking and even then it was in a quiet voice.

"I could help,"

"What was that?"

"I could help," I repeat, louder this time. He gave me a long look, as if measuring if it was worth it. He seemed like he was at the point where it couldn't get any worse and nodded his head.

"Why don't you go get your shoes while I tell your parents where you will be," he then begins in the direction of my house.

"I don't need my shoes so I'll go with you," the amused, raised eyebrow was enough to prompt me into elaborating.

"It's easier to feel them when a part of me has contact with the ground," and it was true. I could now feel the plants with shoes on but it was so much easier without them. I don't think he quite understood, but he nodded his head all the same. After a quick word with my father who was at the house at the time, we were off.

It was an hour away at the civilian pace, outside the village gates. Two Chunin guarding the way nodded at Yamanaka-san and let us throw. I had to suppress a laugh at the thought of one day seeing Izumo and Kotetsu sitting there.

"Is something amusing Suikazura?"

"Ah no. I was just thinking that they seem a little bored,"

"Even I will admit to disliking gate guard duty. It isn't the most sought after mission and I must say I am glad my Chunin days are over," this time I did laugh. Just the thought of a bored Inoichi sitting at the door with his equally bored teammates was funny.

We eventually made it out of the heavily wooded area and in the distance I could see neatly organized rows of flowers. I could feel it too. Stretching my chakra out from my feet I could feel all of the happily growing plants. The problem lay on the other side of the building. Where more rows of plants should be, there was what felt like a gaping hole.

Turns out my description was spot on. After turning the corner I stared openly at the site before me. It looked like a meteor storm landed here. There were dents in the ground, and charred plants all over the place.

"What in the world happened here?" I couldn't keep the incredulity out of my voice. I must have looked amusing because Yamanaka-san had to stop laughing before he replied.

"It was an accident. Two Chunin strayed a bit too far from the closest training area," said two Chunin looked exhausted. I realized that Yamanaka-san must have made them stay to fix the damage done. They were both bent over picking up weapons and disposing of dead and destroyed plants. It was with a revelation of amusement and slight horror that I realized I was looking at a seventeen year old Asuma and Guy sensei. The horrifying part was the green spandex.

"Alright you two if your done here get going so I can get the experts in," Asuma looked relieved and then annoyed as guy replied.

"We shall never be done as long as we have our youth-"he was cut off by a smack to the back of his head.

"We will be going them Yamanaka-san," they both bowed politely and in a flash were gone.

"I know I said I would help Yamanaka-san, but there isn't much I can do with a blown up field,"

"I don't expect you to do anything yet. Someone should be here soon to fix the damage. If you manage to get even just a few of them growing afterwards that would be a huge help. At first I thought I would have to re-grow everything. That would have been a nightmare," I just nodded my head in reply.

While waiting I decided to sit and see how all the other plants were. I could tell they were well taken care of but there was something about chakra, or my chakra to be a little more specific, that just made them grow. I only leaked the tiniest bit towards the other plants but the grass around me was trying to reach my elbows. Then a thought occurred to me. If I could give life to plants could I take it too?

A little hesitantly I reached out to the grass under me, but this time instead of pushing I pulled. For a moment I felt unbalanced. It was as if the whole world had tilted on its axis but my body soon began to adjust, and when it did… I could feel everything.

I felt not only the plants in this area but the entire forest. I could feel the man jumping through the trees in this direction as well as the outskirts of the town. There was so much for my brain to process and I couldn't keep up. I immediately cut off whatever I had done and fearfully opened my eyes. The grass surrounding me was dead as if I had sucked the life right out of it, which in a sense, I did. I looked up and my eyes caught Yamanaka-san's. He was openly staring at me in shock and I fearfully stared back, neither of us blinking. Oh man, that can't be good.

Our miniature staring contest was interrupted as the person I had sensed approaching arrived. He still hadn't taken his eyes off of me as he addressed the man.

"Inari, I am sure you know what to do by now. Please head over to the destroyed area and begin. I will be with you shortly," the man- Inari looked hesitant at first. I can see why. What must it be like to stumble upon a Jounin having a staring contest with a little girl? In the end he just nodded his head and jumped away.

"Suikazura, walk with me," I didn't even bother protesting. Getting up I quietly followed behind him.

"What did you do just now?" and in a small, fearful voice I answered,

"I-I don't know," but I did know. Somehow through some sick twist of fate, I had accidentally drawn on nature chakra. I was lucky to be alive, had my body not adjusted fast enough I'd have been turned into an animal. The grass around me must have died because I was focusing on it when I drew the chakra in. The shock at what had happened had a numbing effect on my emotions.

"What you did was dangerous. Even I do not know what may have befallen you. I expect you are smart enough not to try something like that again," his voice was stern like he expected nothing less than my full cooperation.

"Of course Yamanaka-san,"

"I believe after what happened today we may need to have a talk with the Hokage," well that broke the numbing shock.

"W-what?" I sputtered. He looked at me sternly as he responded.

"Stop panicking. I spoke with the Hokage a few years ago when I first learned of your abilities and was told to watch your growth. I have. There is someone in this village with similar abilities to yours. Though he may not be the perfect teacher he should be able to help you better than most right now," well that was surprising. I hadn't thought they would give Yamato up long enough to train me.

It made sense though. If they could have me master my power than I would be helpful to the village. They will be disappointed when they find I have no talent for fighting. With no other choice I just nod my head. We were now heading back towards the destroyed area, or what had once been the destroyed area. Now it just looked like someone had tilled the ground in preparation of planting.

"Yamanaka-san, I've finished with the field. Is there anything else you need from me?"

"No no, you're good to go. Suikazura, are you still up for helping?"

"Yes," I wanted to fix what I'd broken. Standing there in the middle of the field I wiggled my toes in the dirt and extended myself into it. It felt like I was giving off roots and I attached parts of myself to all of the un-grown plants. I sent out an extra part to the circle of grass I had destroyed, I didn't want to leave it like that. Once I had connected myself to everything I started letting my chakra slide through my unseen roots. And then I blacked out.

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ToeGirth,

Signing Out