[Gurē An]

gurē an

kirigakure no sato

The day started out as usual. An had been awakened by the alarm clock. "Mhm," a muffled, unhappy, and completely heavy-eyed An was trying to find the alarm clock with one of her slim arms while her eyes were still closed. She was still exhausted from the previous day, and no matter how early she went to bed, she never felt fully refreshed in the mornings. I found it! She turned off the irritating noise. Her nose remained buried beneath the futon blankets, and she wasn't moving much.

It was a Saturday. Normally, kids would sleep in on their off days, but not in this family. As far as she can remember, she had never slept in, no matter what day. She was to wake up with the alarm, and if she couldn't in the next five minutes, her grandmother would come in and wake her up, or more accurately, take her out of her warm and cozy sleeping arrangement. I still have five minutes.

Five minutes seemed like one second to her. She closed her eyes one moment and was lifted up by the elder female the next, while another much younger was packing and putting the futon away. "Go on and brush your teeth and wash your face, An-chan," her grandmother nudged her. The world was still blurry, the sun was bright, and the crickets were loud, but her body, her muscles, moved on their own to the bathroom that was located just across her room.

[attr="class","lyrics"]LET ME SEE WHAT SPRING IS LIKE ON JUPITER AND MARS

[attr="class","notes"]NOTES:
WORD COUNT: 248
@tagged

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[newclass=.lyrics]font:9px calibri;color:#aa88bb;text-align:center;margin-bottom:-10px;letter-spacing:3px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.notes]font:9px calibri;color:#4d4b4a;height:0px;text-align:center;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]
[newclass=.lyrics:hover .notes]height:50px;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]

[Gurē An]

gurē an

kirigakure no sato

The cool splash of water on her face had jolted her awake as she continued to brush her teeth, occasionally flashing a bright smile to admire her white teeth. It appears to be clean. She gargled the water a few times in her mouth before spitting it out and returning to her room to dress.

An wore a rather loose-fitting kimono on her days off. Even though it was not a full-on kimono, some assistance was required for the nine-year-old to properly wear it. As the young girl took off her pajamas and dressed into it, her grandmother was their to help her out. "Good morning," she greeting the elderly female, remembering to be courteous to her beloved grandmother, as she had not yet properly greeted her this morning. "Good morning to you too, An-chan," her grandmother answered with a smile on her face.

After greeting everyone she met on her way to the dining room with a cheerful good morning and eating a hearty breakfast, her schedule was fairly simple: take out a few books on fungi from the house library, go into the study/practice room, study and practice. After she was finished with her practice, she should do some Academy homework before retiring to her futon, dearest. Overall, it was quite a laid-back day.

[attr="class","lyrics"]LET ME SEE WHAT SPRING IS LIKE ON JUPITER AND MARS

[attr="class","notes"]NOTES:
WORD COUNT: 217
@tagged

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[newclass=.lyrics]font:9px calibri;color:#aa88bb;text-align:center;margin-bottom:-10px;letter-spacing:3px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.notes]font:9px calibri;color:#4d4b4a;height:0px;text-align:center;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]
[newclass=.lyrics:hover .notes]height:50px;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]

[Gurē An]

gurē an

kirigakure no sato

She could feel the smooth movement of her chakra flowing from the inner part of her to the tip of her finger. That's exactly what she wanted. Pushing it slightly out of the fingertip into the open world, while her gaze was solely focused on a page in the book about mushrooms and a live example of it. The page contained a vibrant image of a fungus, the enoki mushroom, with the sample laying right next to it. It was one of the simplest looking fungi, white in color and small in size or so she taught.

The reality, on the other hand, was anything but simple. Being born in the Gurē clan meant that the young girl's body was genetically more similar to that of fungi than to that of humans. In essence, members that were blessed with the clan's ability are able to produce any kind of fungi from their own bodies just by using their chakra as a life force for them.

But, like all abilities, this inborn proclivity improves with practice; the more time you spend training and honing it, the better you become at it. An was still a beginner, as evidenced by the simple practice her grandfather had assigned to her this morning. Forget about being able to perfectly replicate all of the characteristics of the given fungus; An had enough trouble controlling the small amount of chakra that was about to leave her body to form the enoki.

[attr="class","lyrics"]LET ME SEE WHAT SPRING IS LIKE ON JUPITER AND MARS

[attr="class","notes"]NOTES:
WORD COUNT: 245
@tagged

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[newclass=.lyrics]font:9px calibri;color:#aa88bb;text-align:center;margin-bottom:-10px;letter-spacing:3px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.notes]font:9px calibri;color:#4d4b4a;height:0px;text-align:center;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]
[newclass=.lyrics:hover .notes]height:50px;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]

[Gurē An]

gurē an

kirigakure no sato

Another flop. An's chakra dissipated into the thin air that surrounded her the moment it left her fingertip. Again. Again. No matter how many times she tried, the outcome was the same. Her body was becoming stiff from sitting in the same position for so long, while her pointed out finger was slowly but steadily folding down, as if gravity itself was pulling it down with an invisible string. Her blue eyes were not faring any better, having become dry from staring at the same two objects for the past few hours.

I'm going to take a short break because this isn't working. An stood up, nearly tumbling down as her legs gave out from sitting for so long. Phew. That was a nail-biter. I nearly stepped on that mushroom. She looked under her foot, which was handing in the air just a few millimeters away from the dry-looking enoki mushroom that her grandmother had given her as a tool. Being able to mimic the appearance of the fungus was only a small part of what An had to do. A picture in the book would have sufficed for that task. However, a real example was required to truly mimic the smell, texture, color, and all of the small nuances of the specific mushroom.

[attr="class","lyrics"]LET ME SEE WHAT SPRING IS LIKE ON JUPITER AND MARS

[attr="class","notes"]NOTES:
WORD COUNT: 214
@tagged

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[newclass=.lyrics]font:9px calibri;color:#aa88bb;text-align:center;margin-bottom:-10px;letter-spacing:3px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.notes]font:9px calibri;color:#4d4b4a;height:0px;text-align:center;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]
[newclass=.lyrics:hover .notes]height:50px;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]

[Gurē An]

gurē an

kirigakure no sato

As she walked out of the study room into the bright hallway, she grabbed the sad, dry-looking mushroom that had been oxidized for far too long. She went down the stairs straight to her grandparent's room, where her grandmother was at the moment, doing some kind of needlework. "Can I get another mushroom, Obā-chan?" An revealed the dry example when she opened her clenched palm. "Of course! Go to the kitchen and ask Aki-chan for one," she said sweetly as she looked back at An, who was now making her way out of the room heading straight to the kitchen through the wooden corridor.

Aki was a sixteen-year-old girl and one of the two helpers that were employed by the elderly couple. "Aki-chan, obā-chan told me to take some enoki from here," she said as she placed the one she was holding on the countertop. "This one went dry," An said, taking a bunch of fresh mushrooms from the basket nearby and quickly leaving the kitchen before the other girl could respond.

An returned to the practice room after gently closing the sliding door behind her. She placed the fungi next to the open book and grabbed a cushion from one of the low chairs that were around the table, and placed it under her feet for a more comfortable experience. Sitting on the tatami floor for hours was a form of training in and of itself. Thought why the young girl preferred torturing herself on the tatami floor when there were two perfectly fine chairs and a table there, was a mystery in itself, that even the said girl could not explain. Nevertheless, she was ready to tackle this training again after moving around a little and sitting on a comfortable cushion.

[attr="class","lyrics"]LET ME SEE WHAT SPRING IS LIKE ON JUPITER AND MARS

[attr="class","notes"]NOTES:
WORD COUNT: 293
@tagged

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[newclass=.lyrics]font:9px calibri;color:#aa88bb;text-align:center;margin-bottom:-10px;letter-spacing:3px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.notes]font:9px calibri;color:#4d4b4a;height:0px;text-align:center;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]
[newclass=.lyrics:hover .notes]height:50px;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]

[Gurē An]

gurē an

kirigakure no sato

She decided to try something new this time. As her previous experience had taught her, looking at the picture and the complicated text next to it didn't help. She ripped one of the mushrooms from the stem, holding it in one hand and channeling her chakra with the other. The process was slowed because she had to multitask. Her tactile senses were focused on the enoki's shape and texture, while her mind was attempting to process everything and guide her chakra from her core to the tip of her pointed finger.

This was somehow coming along, as she repeated the process several times over the time of an hour, An adapted to the feeling of doing multiple things simultaneously. The process became much smoother and faster compared to when she had begun. Nonetheless, she was still unable to sustain the chakra in the surrounding air in order to form any kind of solid shape. "Why isn't it working? What am I doing wrong?" she mumbled quietly under her nose, frustrated.

"Are you having problems?" An was slightly startled when a manly voice from behind her spoke, as she had not heard her grandfather enter the room and stand behind her.

[attr="class","lyrics"]LET ME SEE WHAT SPRING IS LIKE ON JUPITER AND MARS

[attr="class","notes"]NOTES:
WORD COUNT: 200
@tagged

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[newclass=.lyrics]font:9px calibri;color:#aa88bb;text-align:center;margin-bottom:-10px;letter-spacing:3px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.notes]font:9px calibri;color:#4d4b4a;height:0px;text-align:center;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]
[newclass=.lyrics:hover .notes]height:50px;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]

[Gurē An]

gurē an

kirigakure no sato

"Ojī-chan! You scared me,” she exclaimed, simultaneously exhaling a sigh of relief. The elderly man giggled "So?” The blue eyes turned to look attentive in the eyes she was so familiar with "Mhm… I seem to be doing fine with understanding the enoki, and moving my chakra, but when I push it out of my finger it just disappears…” "Exactly, you have the answer,” An tilted her head, not quite understanding where exactly the answer was. "You claimed to have pushed it out, but An recalls this. We are not like other people; we are more like fungi, and as such, you should not be pushing anything out. But trying to... grow it," he said with a small smile. A moment of silence as both people continued to look into each other's eyes.

"Ah!” An exclaimed. "I got it! Thank you!” She hugged her grandfather from a half-sitting position before the elderly man left the room. Grow it. This time around An tried to image and feel the enoki growing out of her, not just barbarically pushing out the chakra, but actually having it being a part of her. The same way she observed her plants grow, little by little - budding.

When she opened her eyes, something, not quite a stable enoki, but something, was on the girl's fingertip. She couldn't believe her eyes.

[attr="class","lyrics"]LET ME SEE WHAT SPRING IS LIKE ON JUPITER AND MARS

[attr="class","notes"]NOTES:
WORD COUNT: 224
@tagged

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[newclass=.lyrics]font:9px calibri;color:#aa88bb;text-align:center;margin-bottom:-10px;letter-spacing:3px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.notes]font:9px calibri;color:#4d4b4a;height:0px;text-align:center;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]
[newclass=.lyrics:hover .notes]height:50px;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]

[Gurē An]

gurē an

kirigakure no sato

She pushed it a few times to feel the solid texture, which was wobbly and out of shape, but it was progress! I finished it! But how do I remove it? The girl went completely still for a few seconds. She was told how to make it grow and appear on her, but she forgot to ask how to make it disappear. Should I just remove it? Pluck. Her hands were faster than her thoughts. WHAT DID I DO!? An panicked slightly at the speed her hands had moved this time around.

Fortunately for the young Gurē girl, the mushroom-shaped thing did come off, just like any other fungus. I should ask how to get rid of them in the future, she collapsed slightly exhausted. This will suffice for now. An lay down on the floor for a few minutes before getting up and leaving the room, not forgetting to take her first-ever fungi-shaped trophy with her.

The Gurē mushrooms did not appear out of anywhere; they were sustained by the chakra, the life force of the host; as a result, young and inexperienced users like An were frequently exhausted by even the most basic techniques involving their own bodies.

After her initial success, An tried the exact same thing with other types of mushrooms that had been mixed into her hand when she grabbed some from the kitchen. Now that she knew how it worked, she had no trouble doing the same thing with other types after a few tries and misses.

[attr="class","lyrics"]LET ME SEE WHAT SPRING IS LIKE ON JUPITER AND MARS

[attr="class","notes"]NOTES:
WORD COUNT: 253
@tagged

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[newclass=.lyrics]font:9px calibri;color:#aa88bb;text-align:center;margin-bottom:-10px;letter-spacing:3px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.notes]font:9px calibri;color:#4d4b4a;height:0px;text-align:center;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]
[newclass=.lyrics:hover .notes]height:50px;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]

[Gurē An]

gurē an

kirigakure no sato

She had to go around and show her success to the entire household, seeking out everyone who was at home at the time - her grandmother, grandfather, and the two helpers. It was already getting dark. She returned to her room after a hearty dinner to complete some Academy homework before being summoned to take a bath. The bath was filled with various types of herbs as a special reward for her success to help soothe her sore limbs and slightly tired body.

A long, relaxing bath was exactly what she needed. When she returned to her room, Aki was already preparing her futon for An to sleep on. "Please remember to dry your hair, An-chan" the young female said, before leaving the room. "Mhm," An replied with a sleepy tone in her voice. She didn't like drying her hair because it took a long time to remove the dampness that her silky smooth white-blue hair could absorb.

She was about to slip into the warm futon after she was satisfied with the dryness of her hair when she remember that the light was still on. An had to turn off the light before returning to her rolled-out futon, and closed her blue-hued eyes, it did not even take her a minute to drift off to sleep, proud of her accomplishment today.

-E N D-

[attr="class","lyrics"]LET ME SEE WHAT SPRING IS LIKE ON JUPITER AND MARS

[attr="class","notes"]NOTES:
WORD COUNT: 221
@tagged

MADE BY NIGHTBLOOM

[newclass=.lyrics]font:9px calibri;color:#aa88bb;text-align:center;margin-bottom:-10px;letter-spacing:3px;[/newclass]
[newclass=.notes]font:9px calibri;color:#4d4b4a;height:0px;text-align:center;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]
[newclass=.lyrics:hover .notes]height:50px;-webkit-transition: all 1s ease; -moz-transition: all 1s ease; -o-transition: all 1s ease;[/newclass]