Wood You Be Mine

(I'm about to go on a tangent Nova so you can skip until three paragraphs down)
Ever since his meeting with his young Senju friend Saya he had wanted no needed the element of wood. Its practical ability was to die for and its versatility was to be respected. But when he did some self-research he found out that the element was a bloodline one that he did not possess. Niko was shocked and enraged the element which he coveted was locked behind his blood his accursed blood. His mother had told him when he was younger that some people were more suited for the shinobi lifestyle than others he had originally thought that she had meant in mentality, and while that may have been the meaning Niko now thought it had a different meaning. That being one's bloodline.

 After learning of the legendary Kekkai Genkai that roamed the earth he did some studying looking to find out more info for combat purposes. But what he was not expecting was to find out that he had a bloodline himself. This being of the Zetsu clan. A clan of nomads that had mythological roots in shinobi society. They had apparently been humans transformed into plants by a legendary tree. Some believed that they were escaped experiments though Niko was more inclined to believe the latter he was thoroughly surprised. When looking into special skills and elements the clan had he had sadly found none apparently shinobi members of the clan were able to manipulate their flesh in certain ways but that was the limit. 

Saddened but still curious Niko looked further into his clan. Finding one line of text from a Zetsu clan member. "The Legends of old all had amazing abilities whether that may be special skills they possess training methods they have mastered or bloodlines. We Zetsu are thieves of the highest caliber so well that we can even steal one's own blood and make it our own." Niko was confused about what did this mean, could Zetsu steal people's blood like vampires or even steal one's bloodline. Hoping it was the latter he looked further into the topic focusing on Ninjas that could use elements limited to clans but would narrow this down for the key features of the Zetsu that being green hair and pale white skin. He hit many many matches. Believing this to have confirmed his theory he hatched a plan. Having remembered that he had met another Senju one that was far more childish and sane than the generally crazy Saya. He had a theory maybe if he ingested the blood of a Senju he could learn to use the coveted wood release.

(Okay my tangent is over this is the relevant stuff, Nova)
Walking from the bathhouse to the military training area would not be that hard. Nor would it take long. Making sure to check and see if the smaller ninja was following him. he would arrive at the area. Walking into room 13 his favorite room he would then begin speaking.

"I have done some studying into my own bloodline. I have something akin to a copycat bloodline and I believe that if I can borrow a portion of your blood I too can learn the legendary wood release. I know this is asking a lot so I won't just simply ask for it. Name your price fair noble." Niko would then put his arms to his side and await the Senju's response
(555)

The happy Senju gently followed her friend across the Village and towards the training area. Niko had seemed pretty bothered about something earlier and he had told her that he had something he needed from her. Dana didn't have the slightest idea what the boy could want from her but, as always, she was happy to help a friend in need. When he made sure to check she was still following, the young woman gave him one of her most radiant, happy smiles and a big wave. She wasn't the kind of person to just abandon someone when they obviously needed her help and would be very rude to just walk off when someone was obviously expecting her to follow them.

The two entered a room in the Training Facility - the same one that they'd trained in all that time ago - and Niko turned to face her. While he talked, the girl's face would be completely stoic and completely impossible to read. Was she angry by his request? Happy? Apathetic? All of these were very much possible whilst one looked at the Senju during these tense seconds. Suddenly, Dana did a small jump and started clapping with a big smile on her face; she'd just been trying to 'scare' the poor boy beforehand. For one, it was such a tiny request that she was completely happy doing it for free. The second reason was that Niko had remembered to call her a Noble and that made her very happy.

"Of course, Noble Kazan." She did a short respectful bow, "How much blood do ye require? Not enough that it'll kill me, I assume?" She said with a small wry grin. In truth, the girl was completely happy giving the boy as much blood as needed, even if she ended up passing out or worse. The concept of self-preservation wasn't one that had ever taken a place in her brain. She also had recently learned a Medical technique that would allow her to probably survive losing most of her blood anyway.

"As for my payment..." She tapped her chin, considering it. She was fine doing it for free but there was always something to gain in a transaction like this, "How about a favour? Something I can call on any time, any place. Something appropriate, of course, but not something irrelevant."

Her voice took on a strange, distant timbre to it while she spoke, like her mind was only half-focussed on the situation. She didn't know what favour she'd end up asking of Niko, but she'd make sure it was worthwhile.

WC: 435

Upon hearing the girl's positive remark a bolt of excitement danced across his face. His grim look (haha get it grim) turned elated. Though the fact that he was part plant still haunted him Niko had achieved his first step towards his goal. He had acquired the chance to test his hypothesis though Niko doubted he was correct a good start would be to try the most simple solution as that was most likely the answer. he thought that the older Zetsu's passage was quite literal. Niko may have needed to take the other shinobis blood to steal her bloodline. Francticly Niko would begin to speak.

"That's great, great. I don't need much just enough to fill a small vial. That should be enough for the procedure to go through though you may have to teach me how to wield it should the procedure go correct." Nico would then pull out an ounce vial. Handing the vial to Dana Niko would smile. He would then Gesture for the smaller ninja to fill the vial however she pleases. This was the moment Niko had been waiting for and he could not hold in his excitement even though it was unlikely that this would work it would at the least give him clues on how to start with the copycat procedure.

"A favor? Consider it done just don't ask me to betray the village or anything as such. That is completely out of the question. But otherwise, you have a deal friend." Niko would offer his hand for a handshake Dana had done him a favor one that cost her part of her uniqueness and her blood itself a favor was a small price to pay. Niko never went back on promises this favor could be costly but what was death or two for the price of power. To Niko, they were barely in the same league. Niko would eagerly await the young Senju's response.
(TWC 878)

She accepted the small vial into her hands with a cheeky grin. It was remarkably small for what it was; a vial of blood that would allow Niko to copy her ability to use Wood Release. Dana assumed that he would need a sizable amount of her blood to do what he wanted, not an ounce or two of it. It looked like she wasn't going to be accidentally killing herself by helping a friend out on this day. That led to the issue of how exactly she was going to get the blood out of herself and into the vial. The much more sensible option was probably pricking a finger or palm, but Dana was in the mood to prank her friend on this fine day. What she'd end up doing was very dangerous, but would also be quite funny. To Dana at least.

"Of course, I said it'd be something appropriate, didn't I?" She teased good-naturedly and accepted his handshake with the hand not holding the vial. She gave him a reassuring squeeze and then let go, stepping back. "Right, time to fill this vial." She tilted her head and considered her options further. She wanted to scare Niko, yes, but how could she do that? Her green eyes flashed mischievously as her right hand went in front of her torso. She proceeded to do just two handseals using only one hand, and a flower sprouted from her right shoulder. Still holding a hand in front of her body, a vine snaked its way down her arm from the flower and then curled around in front of her so it was hovering just in front of her stomach.

"Watch out for the splash," She said in a light, jovial manner and gave Niko a smile. At a speed of 90, the vine then lashed out straight towards her stomach. Her skin was no match for the vine and it ripped straight through her flesh and blood splattered everywhere, though Dana's gentle smile didn't waver. In fact, it was like the girl hadn't been hurt in the slightest. The vine withdrew from her flesh and finally unleashed the blood spurt like a particularly morbid tap. The ground of the training room around her had been drenched in her blood and it was a simple matter for the girl to hold the vial up to the gash in her stomach and fill it up in a few seconds.

She deactivated Great Grasping Vines and let it wilt away, and immediately started doing the handseals for another Jutsu: Bird, Boar, Dog, Dragon, and Hare. Then, all of a sudden, the bleeding stopped. Where there once was a puncture mark that could be seen through her torn cloak, there was now completely smooth skin. She walked over to Niko with a big smile on her face and offered the vial. Due to her wound, the exterior of the vial was covered in enough blood to fill it twice over, and so were her hands. Her little stunt had absolutely trashed her cloak and left the floor of the Training Room in a right state. Why did she do this? Only Dana knew.

WC: 530
TWC: 965

Jutsu used: Bodily Restoration, Great Grasping Vines

Watching the vine snake down the Senju's arm he was not expecting what would come. Niko had assumed that this vine would cut her finger to fill the vial or something such as that but when it lashed across her chest Niko was distraught. Confused and worried for his friend he would yell. 

"What the hell are you doing." Watching the blood fly from her chest he was reminded of the image of his passed mother covered in stab wounds and burnt severely. Niko had no way to save his mother back then just as he would have no way to save his friend now. But that would not mean he would simply stay here and let her die. Throwing his sack down and grabbing bandages he would look up just as she was finishing the hand seals for her healing technique upon which Niko would notice the lack of the previously visible gaping wound in her chest. Sighing in relief he would begin to speak.

"Wha Wha, what the hell was that." Nico would scream in disdain. "You nearly gave me a heart attack" Niko would notice the wound in her clothing and would grab a shirt from his pack. Outstreching the plain green shirt and accepting the vial from Dana he would speak again. 

"I'm not quite sure if you think that was funny or if your just crazy and honestly I don't care just don't do that ever again." Noticing his blood-filled environment he would mutter "How am I gonna explain this" Before he would take the vial and go through with his plan downing the vial in one go.

"Now to the hard part try and teach me a technique we will see if I can execute it." Niko was unsure and still upset about the prior performance but he would not let it show and continue with his plan.
(TWC 1194)

She accepted the green shirt from Niko and cocked her head, confused and concerned at his reaction. Was she... Not supposed to do that? Dana really didn't understand why the boy was acting as she'd just done something really bad, or had she? He had asked for some of her blood so she'd complied by doing so by mixing it with a little harmless prank that, in her mind, was funny. Perhaps she had overstepped and done something completely out of order without realizing it, which would make her very upset. She disliked the fact that she'd accidentally caused distress to a friend, and she hated the fact that she couldn't figure out why even more.

This was something that she'd have to fix! She saw him eyeing the pool of blood that had gathered on the floor and she took off her ruined cloak to reveal an equally trashed vest underneath. She dropped the cloak onto the floor and allowed it to sit for a few moments while it soaked up some of the blood, after that she did a few handseals and extended her hand towards the cloak on the floor.  It then dissolved into hundreds of small particles before disappearing from view entirely, leaving much less blood on the floor than before. There was still a small amount, but it looked less like a murder scene and more like a small training accident now. "That's better." She said with a small smile.

She didn't react when he drank the vial of her blood, but would suddenly bow when he asked if she could show him how to use Wood Release. When she stood up straight Dana had a look of genuine sorrow on her face, "I truly am sorry if what I did was wrong." She started, "I don't understand... Well, people, really. Please know that I didn't do it with harmful intentions and that It'll never happen again." She bowed again and really hoped that he would accept her apology.

Regardless of whether or not he accepted her apology, Dana still felt she owed him an explanation for how to utilize Wood Release. "I don't think there's anything I can teach ye that will actually be useful, but there's a small trick I learned back when I was trying to figure out how to unlock Wood Release." She held out her hand face up, and a small red flower slowly grew from her palm. "This flower will never be useful in combat, but it helps a lot when trying to figure out the Wood Element. Just picture the fluidity of Water and the rigidness of Earth, flowing together into yer palm."

Assuming he went to try figure it out, Dana walked to the other side of the room and summoned an Earth Wall to obscure herself from view. She then quickly got dressed into the plain green shirt that Niko had given her earlier, and while changing she summoned a water bottle with Storage Displacement and cleaned herself off properly. Once fully cleaned and dressed, Dana stepped around the wall to see how Niko was doing with the small flower, assuming he was attempting to do it anyway.

WC: 528
TWC: 1493

Nico would listen to the words of his instructor. While the girl was obviously far less confident than Nico himself he could respect the skill she had with her clan's element, being able to simply make a vine and lash out like that was quite the feat in and of its self. Nico had not even noticed the Noble do any hand seals. This was indeed a neat trick that Nico himself had to pick up but he would do so in his own time. 

"It's really not that big of a deal. Don't worry yourself about it your already forgiven." Nico would assure the young Senju. He did not wish to ruin one of the few relationships he had managed to acquire while in the village. He also believed it was a big deal after the initial shock he was already quite over it. Though he still found the prank unfunny he would make sure to get some payback at a later date.

"Indeed growing such a small flower would be the perfect test for this experiment. I shall indeed try this" Nico would say taking into deep consideration what Dana had said. The fluidity of water and the solidity of earth. Water was perceived as the base of all life everything needed water to live so this one was pretty self-explanatory. The solidity of the earth probably referenced how the earth and living creatures are both solid and earth allows the wood release to have more form than just a simple water technique. Nico firmly believed that understanding theory always worked better than following one's heart such was true with nearly everything in life. 

So Nico would pour his chakra into his palm mixing a bit of earth release and a bit of water release. Unlike his previous attempts at recreating the element. Something happened the chakra that would normally have sputtered and dissipated at such a move instead flowed together and intertwined, Nico then willed the chakra into form, the form of a flower. Opening his eyes which he had subconsciously closed he realized that he had done it, a small rose sprouted from his palm. Nico was delighted it was clearly visible in his eyes.

"See, I did it!" Niko would uncharacteristically yell. He was truly happy at his success.
(TWC 1579)

It was a big relief to the white-haired Senju to hear that Niko had already forgiven her for the terrible mistake she'd made. As of right now, Niko was one of 6 people that she considered a friend in the village of Kirigakure, and it would bring her great sorrow for that number to go any lower. She'd make sure to take great strides in the future to ensure that she never made the same terrible mistake as she had today. Dana hadn't really thought about it until now, but what if she'd attempted the same prank on Saya? Niko came across as more mature and sensible than the smaller Senju girl - would Saya react in a worse way than Niko had? She perished the thought. at least today she'd ended up becoming a lot more knowledgeable about people's barriers and what not to do in a social situation.

After Dana got properly dressed and cleaned behind the Earth Wall, she stepped out just in time to see that Niko had taken her teachings to heart and had managed to conjure a flower. That was incredible! She'd never doubted Niko when he'd told her that he could derive the power of her Wood Release from her blood, but seeing him manage to do it successfully was another thing entirely. It was amazing to see someone pick up something that she'd believed was unique only to herself and a few others in only a matter of minutes. Others would be jealous, but Dana was only happy.

"That ye did!" She said encouragingly, truly happy to see her friend manage to accomplish something. She wished she could teach him more but, alas, Niko's heart belonged to his puppets. Maybe one day in the future he'd become experienced enough to summon vines and trees like Dana could, but today wasn't the day. "If that's everything ye need... I will bid ye adieu fer the day. I... Have some stuff to think about."

Assuming Niko didn't need anything more from her, Dana would then skip up to him to give him a small hug, and then skip away back to her room.

[Exit]

WC: 360
TWC: 1853

Claims:
36 AP
1850 words towards Wondrous Fare

Approved

Niko would listen to the words of the Senju still ecstatic that he had gained a power in which he had wanted for oh so long. Niko would say good bye and head to bed where he was needed.
(TWC 1617)
Claiming 32 ap 1000/1000 for wood release (4k with the 75% off) and 617 added onto 1026/3675 for sen'un