Somniferum Retrogradus

[Nureha]

*This thread takes place in flashback. Please respect the continuity of the story by sending a PM and requesting an audience. As a missing ninja, all reasonable requests will be granted in a separate location.


           

A thin tendril of smoke spiraled lazily to the ceiling, scenting the dimly lit room with the familiar perfume that smelled of poppies and resin. As a general rule, Nureha abstained from partaking in the particular vice that had garnered her an impressive amount of infamy in the past few years. However, a small stash of high quality product was hidden aside for special occasions. Quite recently, Nureha and her 'associates' had successfully...negotiated a larger territory within the Capitol city of Kaze no Kuni; a feat which called for a small celebration. With a final, considerable draw from the porcelain stem, the newly crowned Queen of the Black Market settled in for the night.

Though her body was heavy with the analgesic effects of the midnight oil, her mind began to drift to distant memories of a previous life. Born and bred a shinobi of Sunagakure, Nureha had long abandoned her service to the Kazekage. Still, in a way, she owed much of her criminal success to her ninja training. Without her decision to dedicate many of her formative hours to training as an Herbalist, she would have had no legitimate way to support herself when she fled Sunagakure. Though she would have no doubt been a successful prostitute, that lifestyle was hardly sustainable.

The streets of the slums were crowded with women long past their primes selling any part themselves that would make them enough to eat for the night. Opium production was just as lucrative as a more carnal career, especially since Nureha had developed a particularly potent strain of of poppy that since garnered her a particularly fervent customer base. Her intoxicated thoughts morphed to memories of a previous life, and the very beginning of her career as an herbalist.

*begin flashback*

[Nureha]

 

With eyes full of hope and a smile stretched across her face, the fledgeling genin departed for her first Yakusoushi lesson! Brimming with excitement, Nureha made her way to the market district to meet with the herbalist who had agreed to tutor her in exchange for help around the small shop. Just as she arrived outside, she stopped to take in the sight of it all. Tying her hair up into a ponytail as she walked in, she bumped into a thin and rather ragged paton exiting the small store. Thinking nothing of it, she politely apologized and ducked inside.

”Hello? It’s Nureha! I’m here for my first day!”

Her eyes slowly adjusted to the absence of light within the shop, and the wall full of jars, vials, and tinctures faded into view. The sound of a mortar and pestle could be heard faintly from the back room, though she thought she would wait a few moments before calling out again. Awkwardly waiting for her tutor to greet her, she made her way up to the counter and picked up a small vial containing what looked like a glob of black tar left alone next to the register.

The chatter of hundreds of wooden beads disturbed by motion suddenly filled the small shop and a short, fox faced man appeared from the workroom. Nureha quickly placed the vial back onto the counter and stepped back, a bit flustered by the sudden appearance of her new teacher.

”Hello! I’m here for my first lesson just like I promised!”

Nureha blurted out eagerly. The grey haired herbalist, known simply as Shi, chuckled a bit and stepped up to the counter.

”Yes I remember. Welcome child. I am just finishing up an order for a regular client. I’m afraid I dont quite have the time to give you the introduction I had hoped, but the best way to learn about plants is to, well, be around plants. I’d like you to take this field guide and bring me some Risch. It can be a bit tricky to locate, especially here in the desert, but this book should have all the information you need.”

Eagerly accepting the book and her first task, she smiled sweetly and left the shop en route to a nearby oasis.

[Nureha]

Practically bursting through the Sungakure gates, Nureha scurried towards the nearest oasis as fast as her feet could carry her. The dry wind of the desert relentlessly assaulted the fledgeling genin, and while she would normally have a complaint or two about working in the middle of day in this heat, but the excitement about her first solo assignment as a shinobi kept her in the best of spirits.

Arriving at the oasis after about 20 minutes of top speed travel, Nureha re-opened the textbook given to her by her master. Thumbing through the pages until she found the description she was looking for, she read the description quietly to herself.

“Risch looks like every other blade of grass physically, but a skilled herbalist will know to feel it for the tiny spines that cover its stalk. It is said that potions made with this herb can affect one's health.”

Her eyes jumped from the text on the page to the surrounding scenery. The oasis, in contrast to the rest of the desert, was full of vegetation. Still, the search area was relatively small compared to what shinobi in other lands would have been faced with, and Nureha counted herself lucky to be learning this skill in the desert. Closing up her instruction manual, Nureha set off to work.

The majority of the vegetation clung very closely to the water’s edge, so Nureha began sifting through the tufts of grass by running her fingers gently up and down as many blades as possible.

”Smooth. Smooth. Smooth. Smooth. Smooth. . .

This pattern continued on for what seemed like an hour and Nureha had made her way nearly halfway around the oasis lake. The thrill of the hunt had long since worn off, and the original fervor with which she was searching had slowed to a proverbial crawl. Just when she was beginning to doubt the existence of this plant, a strange, prickly texture tickled her fingers.

[Nureha]

 

!

Eyes that had long glazed over from boredom filled with excitement once again, and Nureha consulted the Yakushoushi guide to confirm that she had finally found a specimen of Risch. Beaming from ear to ear, she plucked a few sprigs of grass so she could finally count this outing as a success. At least. thats what she tried to do. As soon as her fingers closed around her prize, her hand became trapped in the snarling maw of a large desert wolf.

A bloodcurdling scream shot from her lips and her free hand balled into a fist, punching the beast in the head in a desperate attempt to free her hand. A lucky strike bought Nureha a moment to pry herself out of the wolf’s grip as it let out a high pitched yelp and retreated a few steps. Blood flowed freely from the deep wounds left on her palm, and she was sure at least one of her fingers was broken. Thought it wasn't a life threatening injury, it did prevent her from performing handseals and she was anything but skilled in the arts of taijutsu.

Without time to strategize, her enemy let out a guttural snarl and lunged forward, brandishing tooth and claw with malicious intent. Clumsily stepping to the side in a panic, Nureha managed to avoid a direct hit, though the wolves claws still raked across the genin’s right calf. Limping away a few meters, her good arm dipped into her satchel and withdrew the first handful of weapons she could get a hold of. 3 shuriken clumsily found their way between her fingers as Nureha turned to face her attacker.

Nureha was caught off guard and took another hit as sharp claws dug into her right bicep; the wolf not wasting a moment in launching another attack, leaping through the air and narrowly missing it’s targets throat.. Two of the shuriken fell into the sand, leaving the genin bloodied, beaten, and all but defenseless. Fear started to quickly build up within her as she turned to face her attacker once more, a single weapon clenched in her right hand.

[Nureha]

”Could this be it? Could this be...how I die…?”

Tears started to well up and her bottom lip began to quiver. It wasn’t fair. She was trying so hard! How could a day that had started out so perfectly turn into such a nightmare!? The wolf stared her down from a few meters away and could quite obviously tell it’s prey was at the end of her rope. The beast growled through a bloodstained maw.

No.

Inhaling deeply, Nureha clenched her teeth and shot a murderous glare back at her attacker. All of the fear and doubt had instantly been replaced with anger and adrenalin. She was backed into a proverbial corner. Only one of them was leaving the oasis alive. Fueled by desperation, Nureha was seeing red.

It must have been her newfound confidence, because the feral attacker that had caught her so off guard seemed much less ferocious. She could perceive each twitch in the beast’s body and predict each breath and snarl the wolf spat into the air. Suddenly, it’s whole body tensed up as it prepared to clash with Nureha one final time. With a powerful lunge, the wolf raced forward recklessly with teeth brandished and its intent clear; finish what it started. This time, however, Nureha was able to track the wolf’s exact path.

As it moved closer, she quickly calculated each step and confidently loosed the shuriken directly into the wolf’s paw. Hitting as soon as it’s foot touched the sand, the wolf let out a surprised yelp as it lost its balance and tumbled forward clumsily. Not giving her opponent a chance to recover, she reached into her bag and drew a kunai.

With two confident steps forward, her sandaled foot came to rest firmly on the wolf’s body, stopping its roll through the sand and holding it in place long enough for her to deliver a finishing blow. The wolf only had time to spit one last hateful snarl before the blade came down through its neck. With a crooked little smirk, Nureha removed her weapon from the fresh corpse. Blood began to pool on the golden sands below the two foes.

Limping to the water’s edge, the victorious genin knew she needed to clean her wounds before returning to the village. Peering into the oasis, a familiar face stared back at her. Identical in every way but one, she immediately locked eyes with her reflection. Bright crimson shined from where grey eyes usually stared back.

”Sharingan.”

[Nureha]

Nureha knew that her family had ties to the Uchiha clan of Konohagakure, but no one in her immediate lineage had ever presented the Sharingan. In fact, they were so removed from the original bloodline that the surname of the Uchiha carrier had changed several times over. Still in shock over the sudden discovery, it was only the sting of her wounds that brought her back to the task at hand. Pulling herself away from her reflection, Nureha slowly lowered herself into the spring fed waters of the oasis.

Floating through the pond, she felt the cool water flush out the tears and gashes in her skin, hopefully preventing infection long enough for her to reach the village and receive proper treatment. After several minutes, she returned to the Rish plant and snagged a few extra leaves. Though she didnt have the proper training or equipment to create medicine from the plant, she hoped that some of the healing properties would seep into her wounds if she used them as bandages.

After wrapping the prickly leaves around her hand, shoulder and calf, Nureha grabbed a few extras and packed them in her bag. With all objectives complete and no more immediate threats, she began her short journey back to the village to report her successful attempt at gathering the requested herbs.

Though she was well on her way to becoming a talented Yakusoushi, her excursion to the oasis had raised many more important questions about her lineage and birthright that was the Sharinagan.

[Comatose]

+55 / Sharingan 1 Tomoe / Herbalism

[Nureha]

Slowly fading back to reality, heavy eyelids pried themselves apart. Her thoughts were foggy and incomplete and the effects of her high still lingered in her system. The heady perfume of burnt poppy still hung prominently in the air. Groggy and lethargic, she briefly noted why she rarely partook of her own wares while she turned off her oil lamp and slumped back onto her plush chaise lounge before drifting back to sleep.

Nureha tried not to dwell on memories of her previous life, but her altered state of mind couldn't help but dredge up vivid snapshots of her past. Surviving the wolf attack at the oasis was probably the most important event in her shinobi career. Not only had it given her the foundations of herbalism (which was how she now supported herself) but it had unleashed the Sharingan, which had proven to save her life on several occasions.

As she sunk deeper into sleep, Nureha’s mind once again floated back to the activation of her second tomoe and when she learned the truth of the apothecary where she had been working for months.

[☆ F ☆]

+5