Chapter Text
The tree rose from the grass; no roots marring the green blades, nor leaves scattered about its surface. The pure emerald ended only where the bark of the ancient trees began. Yawning behind the porcelain mask, Nousagi meandered between the old and mighty trees, her footsteps barely folding the tiny blades of grass.
It was mid morning in the outerwood and all was quiet beneath the foliage with not even a whisper of wind to ease the silence.
Nousagi of course made no noise of her own, besides the clip of her teeth as her yawn abated, leaving her with teary eyes and a wish for her bed, stronger than she thought was possible.
5 weeks away from home had left her more than a little homesick. She missed her bed, and her tiny crappy apartment. She missed the little store that was always open and sold cold sake and cheap apples. She missed her neighbours that yelled at 3am and the cat that would visit in the crest of the morning. If she was being honest, (which was never very likely) she also missed her genin team, and her sensei and that brat that thought he was tough shit and that kid's father.
It had been a long time since she'd seen any of their smiling faces and the deep dread she felt as she hurried her walk, was that she was never going to see them again.
Another yawn cut across her before she could stop herself and coincidently cut off her train of thought.
That kind of thinking was never healthy.
Whistling slightly she glanced back over her shoulder, reaching out behind her with chakra she checked for anyone else. There was a rabbit warren beneath the roots of a tree 40 paces away but she figured none of them cared for her. Although she did note it in case she ever needed a feed on the run.
Still whistling, Nousagi approached the nearest tree.
Standing at its base she hesitated reaching out to pat down the bark. It was only to her (extensively) trained and expectant eye that she saw the slight scuff marks that told off the traffic across its surface. Nousagi gave a huff of irritation.
'Is it really so difficult to jump up the tree trunk like we're supposed to?' she complained to that void in her mind.
With barely a twitch of difficulty she crouched slightly and launched herself straight up the trunk. She was a good 25 feet up before her momentum waned and she leaned back slightly, catching herself on the barren trunk with her feet and one hand planted firmly on the wood. With a grin beneath a rabbit mask she launched herself upwards again, this time at a full sprint, her arms splayed out behind her as she went. She landed deftly on the first branch wide enough to bare her weight, and adjusted the pack slung across her back before she carried on.
The wide and dark leaves of the old wood blurred past her as she picked up speed, her legs and arms propelling herself forward (homeward) without concious thought. In no time at all, she was flying. As free and fast as any wind, as quiet and soft as any shadow.
Naemaru Nousagi embodied her namesake, as the path within the trees opened before her and she bounded home.
***
10 leagues away a man nodded, money changed hands, and the world waited with baited breath to see what came after.