[Mikatakujira Ruto]

Na no Kuni is a lush land, with a wide variety of wild plants growing all over the place. There is a reason for the name. It is like the nation itself is a garden. The wild root vegetables and herbs are of the greatest interest to Ruto, though the budding flowers are also intriguing.

None of the plants are quite like the ones in his previous residence. This land is more field and forest than jungle, acquainted with a more moderate climate instead of a high humidity. None of these are as special as the plants found in Bonchi no Kuni. Still, he can use them to make small tinctures. Part of his wandering "work" is as a pharmacist, lending aid to the poor ill who might not be able to afford to drag their grandfathers across the country to a nation staffing medical nin. There are so many things in nature that even without the delicate machinery of a professional lab can be used as antibiotics, antihistamines, analgesics. 

He spends the early morning going around gathering what he can. The best find is willow bark of a specific sort. He uses a blade to strip the bark from the tree and then finds somewhere to sit and grind some of the bark. He seems somewhat distracted, like he could be easy pickings if one assumed he was just some resting traveler. He thinks of how strange medicine is. It's all poison, made useful by a tolerable concentration. 

[Gakido]

[googlefont=Milonga]

Gakido had come to Na no Kuni as a favor, his goal was to collect some herbs that were quite rare in their own lands. He was armed with absolutely no knowledge of medicine and only a scroll with a bunch of pictures of desirable plants on them. Gardening wasn't something that his clan was exactly known for either.

He was having a rough go of it so far. Whenever he thought he found one of the plants, there was something not quite right about it compared to the picture. The shapes of the leaves would be different, or the color would be off, or... he'd accidentally completely destroy it when trying to harvest it.

It was a new morning though, and Gakdio hadn't given up on his quest. He walked the beaten path until he spotted a figure in the distance, sitting around.

He moved a bit closer as quietly as he could, getting close enough to spot some of the things that the person gathered. He brought his scroll up to his eyes, and then back down. It looked like the stranger had some of the things he was after.

Creeping up as slowly as he could at first, and then making a sudden mad dash, Gakido packed a bit of wind in his hand and grabbed for the bundles of plants with extreme speed.

Sucked to be the stranger, but Gakido was the King of Thieves. Unless you were a friend of Sunagakure, you were fair game.

SPOILER: Click to show

-Future Time Release Seal: Shakuton: Buton Taku [Scorch Release: Gas Smoke ] stored on forehead concealed beneath bangs.

Relevant SA.

King of Thieves
In his early life Gakido struggled to survive with his family in the clans desert hideaway deep in the desert. Even after coming into wealth, thievery had already been set into his ways. Although it is normally a very simple technique, his use of Onkyō: Gōsutosunatchi is extremely difficult to overcome. He is much better at disarming bukijutsu users than he should be, and his slight of hand for grabbing loose items is even better.

Enhanced Speed
As a chunin Gaki wanted to get cut, so he ran barefoot through the desert every day wearing weights on his legs. Over time he naturally developed a faster running speed than one would expect for a shinobi of his rank and lack of specialization. Even without using jutsu to speed himself up he is troublesome to keep a distance from.

Enhanced Reflexes
From looking for the perfect opportunity to snatch and item, abusing openings in melee combat, and avoiding projectiles Gakido has honed his reflexes. He has a better reaction time than his peers, giving him a slight edge in many facets of combat where timing is crucial.

NAME: Onkyō: Gōsutosunatchi [Acoustic: Ghost Snatch]
RANK: D
CHAKRA USAGE: Very Low
CLASSIFICATION: Taijutsu
ELEMENT: Fūton
HANDSEALS: 0
DESCRIPTION:
A simple thief technique used to quickly steal an exposed item, equipment, weapon. The user must be within arm's reach of the target, roughly a 1 meter at most. Using Fūton chakra, the user speeds their arms to the point where it looks like the wind blows as the snatch the item inconspicuously. Another drawback is the strength aspect, a wallet everyone can snatch. A two-ton weight. Nope, not unless you have the required strength and skill to even carry it.

[Mikatakujira Ruto]

All at once, Ruto's quiet peace was interrupted. From seemingly nowhere, a figure suddenly burst forth, making off with the collection of herbs he had spent the whole morning gathering. It seemed like such an odd thing to steal. Plants that grew naturally in the environment? Who would thieve something like that? Was it someone just attempting to be bothersome, or someone not from the area at all? Perhaps a thief would believe that if it was worth gathering, it must have some degree of monetary worth. That was true, but it still seemed so odd. 

He pushed to his feet to give chase, frustrated by the inconvenience. He wasn't quick enough to keep up, though. It wouldn't be long before they lost the man entirely. If they wanted any chance at getting their hard work back instead of being forced to go through the whole gathering process again, they would have to try some method besides chasing. 

"If you needed medicine, you could've just asked," Ruto called after Gakido. "Do you even know what those do? You'll get yourself or someone else killed, trying to use them without knowing what they are." Maybe playing the concerned and friendly medic would get more of a response than the angry target. Who doesn't want to talk to the person who was thieved from and was still, shockingly, kind? 

[Gakido]

[googlefont=Milonga]

Gakido seemed like he was getting off scot-free, he had easily snatched the herbs and was outrunning the dark-haired stranger, albeit he was fairly agile himself. It wasn’t his speed but his words that eventually stopped the jounin of the desert. The man warned that he might get people hurt just taking random herbs. He thought that they looked like what was on the pictures, but he had seen them from a fair distance away. Plus there was a whole bunch of other plants that he was supposed to find and it all felt futile.

He stopped and pivoted.

"Hmph, you might be right,” Gakido said as he quickly tucked the herbs into a tattoo on his right arm. He converted them into energy and stored them, using his own body like a scroll to put it away. He grinned and pounded at his chest. "Tell you what, if you help me get the stuff that is on my list… I’ll give you back the stuff you gathered for yourself. What do you say?”

His odds of finding all the right things were relatively low on his own. There was a chance that the stranger might try some funny business, but he figured his odds were still higher with the help.

"No funny business though, I’ll know if you are lying,” he fibbed. "It’ll be more than some lost herbs if you cross me.”

SPOILER: Click to show

-NAME: Karada Fuinjutsu [Body Sealing Technique]
RANK: B
CHAKRA USAGE: Low
CLASSIFICATION: Fūinjutsu
ELEMENT: -
HANDSEALS: 0
DESCRIPTION:
An upgrade to the Hikin Fuinjutsu [Generic Sealing Technique], the user creates a seal on their own skin for which a multitude of objects can be stored. If cast on the user themselves, the seals become reactive to the body's own chakra, and it becomes more difficult for others to forcibly draw items from the seal. The closer the mark is made to the center of one's chakra coil, at the pit of their gut, the stronger this protection becomes.

Directly attuned to the user's chakra, seals take up half the space they ordinarily would. And in the case of it being sealed on the user, items can be released via small chakra burst rather than touch.

[Mikatakujira Ruto]

Oh, there went all the herbs he had gathered, tucked away into that seal. It was an interesting technique. Not especially complex, so it didn't guarantee it was a shinobi from a village, but Ruto had a feeling. This was at least someone who had some decent learning experience, even if he was a wandering shinobi and not someone from a village. What was it with these types? Always feeling so entitled to other's belongings. Ruto should get into stealing. It would make his life significantly easier if he went around snagging whatever he wanted, too. Oh well. Maybe that was something to do later. 

"I don't intend on picking any fights with someone like you," Ruto assured. They somehow imagined that they would be at a disadvantage in that fight, given the stranger's speed he demonstrated earlier. "I'd rather help you. You must be fairly desperate, if you're looking to steal herbs in a place like this, where they grow everywhere." They folded their hands in front of each other, smiling serenely, pretending that was meant to be a neutral comment and not the mildly rude insult that it was.

"Here, show me what it is you're looking for. I'm sure I can help you locate it." Luckily, they were somewhat expert in this sort of thing. Ruto had always cared more about pathology than botany, but still. 

[Gakido]

[googlefont=Milonga]

Gakido approached Ruto. This was a personal favor and not a mission, so nothing he was doing was classified or anything. He got close enough to hand the scroll forward. He stood just a bit taller than the man, but he could tell that they had a good degree of physical fitness.

"That is smart of you," Gakido said, pushing the informational scroll over. "I keep finding plants that look a lot like these but there are things like differences in the colors and the shapes of the leaves... and I don't know if that matters or not. Like I found the one with the white spots on the leaves, but the leaf was purple instead of green."

The scroll had medical herbs on it that would be fairly common for most iryo practitioners to be familiar with.

The purple leaf that he was referring to was a component of a form of doku poison. It definitely wasn't on the list of things that he was supposed to collect but it was more valuable and rare than actually on the document.

For one who knew where to look the other herbs wouldn't be too much trouble, though a bit time consuming to find throughout the biome.

SPOILER: Click to show

-Mikatakujira Ruto

[Mikatakujira Ruto]

Ruto took the scroll and opened it to look at the materials requested within. He was quite familiar with most of these, at least enough that he could probably find them amongst all the plants growing here without too much trouble. With this guide now in hand, he began to walk, picking his way carefully through the grasses to find spots where these would be likely to grow. He remembered seeing one of these not too far off. 

The purple plant... was poisonous. It would be rather amusing to tell this man that it was perfectly acceptable to bring home as a medicine so that he would get chided by whoever requested these, but he didn't need an angry thief and an angry medic looking for him. Better not to. 

"When it comes to plants, even slight variations are incredibly important. Related plants can have very different effects. One can be helpful and the other can be poisonous and the differences in their look might be small, but pivotal. You were right to be cautious about which you chose." 

He knelt as he found a gathering of herbs and compared against the scroll. Then he nodded and began to pick them. 

"Would you mind showing me where you located the purple variation of this earlier?" They could be useful for developing a poison to keep on Ruto's person. They already have some, but the option of creating more never hurt.

"Who are you gathering these for?"

[Gakido]

[googlefont=Milonga]

Gakido tilted his head to the side while he considered the man’s request to be shown to the plants that were the wrong color. Was it something super valuable that he had stumbled on? He didn’t know well enough to care one way or the other. He decided to humor them.

"Okay... but don't try anything funny," Gakido replied, pointing in the direction of a valley between the hills that was dense with vegetation beyond signs of Gakido's trampling through the brush.

As they walked he wouldn't let the man behind him, at best keeping in step with him several meters apart.

"It's a favor for a friend... sort of," Gakido said. "They didn't exactly ask, but I managed to snag a copy of their wish list. I guess the right word would be a gift. These plants aren't as common back home."

He wouldn't be super specific with a stranger. He didn't particularly care if they figured it out on their own, Sunagakure was the closest land that had a deficiency in vegetation in general so it might have been something they could deduce. They wouldn’t get much with that information alone, especially since he wasn’t on a mission.

"You some kind of botanist or something?" Gakido asked.

SPOILER: Click to show

-Notes go here.

[Mikatakujira Ruto]

Don't try anything funny. Such a paranoid man. He supposed that it was wiser than not being so. There were plenty people out here who would be dangerous to approach as Gakido had approached them. A swift stab in the back to steal back the goods taken from him and then some. Many people would entertain it. Ruto wouldn't. They didn't need to get into any more trouble than they were already in. In their mind, they figured they were quite likely to lose the fight. And even if they didn't and they won, they could have the authorities on their tail. Oh, no. Self-preservation took significant precedence. 

"You're in quite the habit of stealing, aren't you?" They hummed, thoughtful, almost teasing. He had stolen their list to give them a gift. He wondered what this person thought of that. It was hardly his business, though.

"I'm a wandering apothecary," Ruto answered the question. "I travel from village to village providing medicines to the sick. I often come here to search out herbs in order to make my medicines. That's why I was here, actually. There's a nearby village where the children have an odd head cold going about, so I'm attempting to bring herbs to them to ease their aches. So though I'm no botanist, I'm quite well-versed in what plants are and aren't safe," they explained.  

When Gakido finished taking Ruto to the plants, they kneeled to the ground and nodded. Yes, these were quite poisonous. They would gather a few snippings. 

Then they opened Gakido's scroll to continue their exploration, searching out the small plants that were needed with careful slowness. 

[Gakido]

[googlefont=Milonga]

"How noble of you," Gakido replied as he took strides alongside the man carefully. It could be the truth, or it could be a convenient lie to try to guilt Gakido out of taking up the man’s time. A chubby bumblebee darted by his nose, giving him a slight flinch for a moment before a grin crossed his face when he realized it was just a bug. "When I was a boy, I grew up in scarcity. I learned the way the world works early on."

He laughed and stood with his arms crossed as the man extracted parts of the plant that he guided him to. He could tell that they were taking it for themselves and it wasn't part of his bundle. Gakido thought to take them from him as well, they must have been valuable... but if it was something sick kids needed, he wasn't sure if he wanted to further inconvenience the man more than he already had.

"Of course, even with no worry for money some old habits die hard," Gakido said. "...and based on the situation I'd say the rules of the world have not changed much from when I was a lad. You seem awfully well composed though, do you get robbed very often?"

SPOILER: Click to show

-Notes go here.

[Mikatakujira Ruto]

He could understand that. Habits formed in childhood were often hard to break. Habits of theft, habits of cruelty. Though you could attempt to break the mold, some learned patterns were forever. They were certain with enough active effort, this stranger could learn not to steal, but would it really benefit him to? Skills that were maintained were usually reinforced by the current life they led somehow. People didn't keep abilities they no longer needed. Those talents slackened and sloughed off. 

"I live on the road. Contending with bandits is unfortunately very commonplace for me," Ruto replied. "I don't tend to carry much money, though, so they always leave disappointed. You're the first to ever steal a selection of plants off of me," they laughed. "I would probably be far less relaxed than I am if you were confrontational, though. I'm not much of a fighter, you see. Rely mostly on running or avoiding the fight altogether. You seem like an amiable person, so I have no reason not to be calm." 

Intermingling truth and lie tended to make for the easiest method of weaving a narrative. They knew they could at least do mediocre in a fight if they had been forced into the situation, but they would rather be seen as some frail medic.