Many Worlds

The trip to the Heavenly Emporium from the evacuation site was thrilling and Zoe cherished every adrenaline filled barrel roll that Ren performed. The three of them had completed a mission successfully, ensuring the safe evacuation of civilians in the Land of Earth, and all things told she was in a fairly good mood. She had been worried for Seigi, as he had been so exhausted he had fallen asleep in the airship as they had travelled back. Every so often during the flight she had taken a moment to look back and make sure that he was still safely strapped in, assuming he hadn’t woken up from all the barrel rolls.

She was happy to be going back to the Heavenly Emporium, she had very much enjoyed her first visit, and the suggestion of dinner on her part had been well received. There were so many things she still had to try, like apples and pumpkins. Never having eaten on her planet had left her with a wealth of foods to try. And in typical Zoe fashion she was excited to try every one of them, and of course record her thoughts and experience in her notebook.

As the floating city came into view Zoe would yell excitedly. “We made it!” As though it wasn’t already obvious to the pilot who was flying them there. She would be practically vibrating in her seat as they approached, the only thing keeping her from bouncing around the cabin being the belt that she was smart enough to wear to get the full effect of Ren’s daredevil flying. She would twist in her seat to get a look at Seigi, her blue eyes bright and cheerful. “Seigi! We’re here! Where should we eat? Oh, and should I call you Seigi or Baku once we’re around other people?” Her voice was filled with warmth and enthusiasm as she called out to him.

As the ship made it's approach towards The Heavenly Emporium, Ren would turn around and bang on the side of the cockpit, a single loud strike of metal that woke Seigi from his sleep. He had slept fairly soundly, despite the crazy flying of his insane pilot and Zoe's squeals of delight every time the small shuttle went upside down.

"Oi, wake up boss, we're almost there." Ren would say, his attention fully on finding a clear spot for them to land. There was a small and worn platform on the edge of the island that looked ideal, and Ren would bring them in closer. As he did, Seigi would unbuckle himself, standing up and holding onto netting that hung from the ceiling to get a look at the city. Just like this airship, it was a marvel of engineering and effort, a floating city that housed hundreds, if not thousands, with enough support for buildings and even a skyscraper. Seigi would love to learn their secrets someday.

Zoe's question stalled him for a second as he thought, before grinning to her.
"Just go ahead and call me Seigi in here. They know me here." He wasn't so sure if that was a good thing or not, however. He had a few.... business deals that hadn't gone quite as he thought they would, so he was expecting a visit while he was in town. As the ship began to slow, then stop as it hovered above the platform, Seigi would pat Ren on the shoulder, a silent thanks for his good flying. Without acknowledging Seigi, Ren would slowly land the ship on the platform, the metal creaking beneath them, but holding more than steady. Ren would let out a sigh as he put the ship down, looking to Zoe as he did.

"Like a glove." He would grin again.

Opening the side of the ship, Seigi would step out of the hull and place his feet on the platform, stretching his arms and assisting Zoe from the ship if she needed help. Ren would shutdown the ship, the final one to exit the shuttle. He would begin to walk around the ship, inspecting it, but the sound of someone fake coughing would get Seigi and Ren's attention as three people approach the platform, not shinobi, but still armed to the teeth. Each of them bore a symbol on their robe, a single circle with the kanji for "Storm" on it, and each person held at least 3 swords on their person, hanging on their sides. The middle person, an older woman with an eyepatch, was the person coughing to get their attention.

"This is isn't a landing zone, Seigi." They would say. A sly smile would creep along their face.

Best. Day. Ever.

Meeting Baku, saving people, meeting Ren, meeting Seigi. And then flying in an airship. Not necessarily all in the specific order, and there were other things splashed in there as well. But overall Zoe was having a wonderful time, which was made all the more wonderful when Seigi got up after Ren banged on the side of the cockpit. It wasn’t how she had pictured waking someone up, but Seigi didn’t appear to be bothered by it. Carried away by the excitement of the moment Zoe chimed in with Ren’s wakeup call. “Yeah! Wake up boss!” She would laugh and then shake her head at her own silliness. “They know you here? That’s intriguing, how do they know you?. And don’t worry, I won’t call you boss again. Unless that would be better?” She had no idea what sort of relationships Seigi had developed at the Heavenly Emporium, for all she knew it might be more appropriate to be considered an employee, but regardless her curiosity was piqued.

As the ship set down Zoe would chuckle at Ren’s comment and hold up one pale hand as an example of a ‘glove’ and give Ren a wink. Remembering to unbuckle herself this time around she would leap up from her seat and bound after Seigi, using him to balance as she bounced out of the airship and onto the platform. For a moment being nearly as tall as him before landing on the ground beside him and having to look way up to see him clearly. “I should carry a box around or something. I don’t know which of us has it worse, me having to look up all the time or you having to look down.” She grinned while she spoke clearly not the least bit embarrassed about her height, or apparent lack thereof.

She nearly missed the three people approaching the platform, lost in her trivial chattering as she was, but as the unknown group caught Seigi and Ren’s attention she would turn hers as well. They were warriors of some kind, or very badass looking sword merchants, but Zoe doubted the latter was true. The symbol on their robes was interesting and although she recognized it as the kanji for ‘Storm’ she couldn’t place where it was from exactly or why the three of them would be wearing it. Fearless with Seigi by her side and the neutrality of the Heavenly Emporium as a safety net, Zoe would take a few steps forward towards the one eyed woman. Holding out her hand in greeting she would smile and introduce herself. “Well met! I’m Zoe, a friend of Seigi’s. And you are?” She was being friendly for three reasons; firstly she always was friendly, secondly she gathered that these people knew Seigi and she wanted to be sure what that meant, and thirdly she had never yet been in a dangerous encounter of any kind and while her intelligence dictated that she should probably know better than to offer her hand to strangers, her experience and therefore wisdom was sorely lacking.

The woman would scowl at first, her dry and intimidating gaze finally giving way after the moment Zoe introduced herself, unable to stay mad at the situation when Zoe's innocence broke the ice.

"I am Captain Zanosa. This is Miri and Hiri," She would point to the two other swordsmen, who would bow slightly to Zoe. "I'm not sure how you managed to get in with Seigi, but be careful, he's trouble."
"Hey, that's rude." Seigi would speak, crossing his arms. "That last job went bad because YOU gave me bad intel!" He would yell, obviously worked up, but there was a slight smile on his lips that would let Zoe know that everything was okay. "Captain Zanosa and her band of merry men are mercenaries. Formerly samurai from the Land of Iron, now they fight for whoever pays." He would explain, just in case Zoe wasn't sure what mercenaries were. "And sometimes she passes jobs onto me."

"HA!" Zanosa would chuckle, her gaze cast back to Seigi. "Maybe not anymore, I've got The Land of Grass breathing down my neck because of you."
"Once again, you gave me bad intel. The guy you wanted gone wasn't there. Hadn't been there." Seigi was getting frustrated now, but Zanosa would just smile and shrug her shoulders.
"I guess you can't win them all." Zanosa would retreat from the subject, turning her body slightly to talk to Miri. ".....Remind me to not get intel from Kaneda anymore." She would whisper before turning back.

"Anyways, I'm not here to berate you. Found a lead on that thing you were looking for," her eyes would shift to Zoe, unsure if she was to be talking about this in front of her, "come by the bar when you have a free chance. I'd wink, but you know." She would point to her own missing eye, grinning again. "And.. Zoe, was it? I'm sure you and I will see each other again real soon. Don't let Seigi get you into any more trouble than he already has." She would begin to step away, Miri and Hiri striding along with her. Seigi would nod to her as hse stepped away, not speaking again until she was out of earshot.

"God, that woman scares me sometimes." Seigi would mutter, shivering as he did. Ren would only start laughing, getting back to the ship to begin working on it.

"So, Zoe, before I take you wherever it is we're going next, I want to pick your brain. Mind if we grabbed some food first?" He would ask, beginning to step into the same direction the captain went. "I know a great spot here with the best Fried Octopus Balls in the world."

Zoe was happy that the woman, named Captain Zanosa apparently, seemed less angry when Zoe introduced herself. She was equally happy to see a very slight smile on Seigi’s face, letting her know that although their words seemed combative, the situation was likely anything but. Zoe would awkwardly bow to the three, lowering her hand and not really knowing what to do with herself. Seigi definitely knew these people, and from what she could gather he had done at least one ‘job’ for them before. What the job entailed she wasn’t certain, but in this particular case it seemed to involve ‘bad intel’ which had resulted in Seigi not being able to find someone? Zoe was fairly clever, but following this conversation was a bit difficult even for her.

As Zanosa addressed her directly, Zoe would perk up and pay attention, a cheerful smile still on her face. “Oh yes I’d like that! And Seigi isn’t-” She didn’t bother finishing her sentence as the woman was already walking off. Turning to face Seigi once more she would look at him quizzically, she didn’t believe for a second that anything scared him. “You’re not trouble. And you haven’t gotten me into any, don’t worry about that. But I have to ask, what are you looking for? If it’s something I can help with, I’d like to. I can be helpful, and I’m at least good company. Or well, not terribly awful company.” She would look up at the tall swordsman with a hopeful and pleading smile on her face, looking back at Ren for support. “Plllleeeeeaaaaaassssssse.” A laugh came out after her long and drawn out ‘please’, she knew it was ridiculous but the idea of more semi secret adventures was too good to pass up.

Seigi would smile and the duo would head toward Seigi's favorite spot.

___________________________________________________________________
The small shop wasn't far, sitting right on the edge of the road towards the center of the city. It was manned by a single chef, a man with a prosthetic hand but instead of a hand, it was a torch for cooking things on the fly. Seigi would hold up two fingers as they sat down, and the man would nod, a silent interaction between the master chef and the regular. In no time at all, he began cooking.

The chef would place two orders of octopus balls in front of Seigi and Zoe, the steam coming off of them beckoning to be plucked from their basket, the smell of the fried flesh filling the nostrils of the two shinobi. Seigi would breathe it in, letting out an exasperated "Ah!" as he picked one up, tossing it into his mouth.

"Oh, too hot, too hot!" He would say, forcing it down, steam coming from his mouth as he chuckled.

"So, Zoe," He would say, coming back to the woman in front of him, taking another bite, "Can I tell you a secret?" He would say, finishing the second ball. "I'm not from this planet either, technically." He would say outright, fairly blunt about it. "I mean, I am, but I'm from an alternate dimension altogether. I've been searching for others like me, trying to figure out more about the strange dimensional energy that brought me here." He would look down at his food, his expression struggling between happiness but also nervousness. He didn't tell many others his secret, but... he trusted Zoe. He needed to. He couldn't explain it, but he was compelled to try and join forces with her to figure this out, and perhaps this could even help with the relations between the two villages.

"I want your help in researching the ways we both got here. If you're interested, that is."

Zoe happily walked along with Seigi towards the center of the Heavenly Emporium. ‘Walked’ was perhaps inaccurate, since mostly she pranced, with the occasional stumble due to her terrible coordination.

It didn’t take them long to get to the food vendor and Zoe watched excitedly as the chef set down two orders of octopus balls. Zoe grabbed them immediately of course, since she was far too excited to consider for one second not being impulsive. She copied Seigi and grabbed two of the octopus balls, throwing one back into the basket as it was too hot but not being quite fast enough to realize that if it was too hot for her hand it was definitely too hot for her mouth. It was absolutely delicious, and the sensation that accompanied burning was fascinating. She wasn’t sure she liked it, but also she’d never been burnt before so it was interesting and she would make faces as she hopped a bit while trying to eat the searing hot snack.

“That was really good! Hot food is really interesting! And is that pain?” There were tiny tears collecting in her eyes, she wasn’t crying, it was apparently an automatic response to pain that she wasn’t aware existed. There was still a bright smile on her face as she looked up at Seigi and nodded as he asked if he could tell her a secret. She loved secrets, and she was excellent at keeping them, at least when she knew they were secrets.

Her eyes grew wide with wonder as he admitted to not being from the world they were both currently in. Now she understood why he was so interested about the concept of portals and dimensions before. She would lean in and whisper conspiratorially. “Don’t worry Seigi, your secret is safe with me! I think that’s wonderful! Not that you’ve been searching for others like you, gosh. That must be lonely. I’m so sorry! But it’s okay, cuz now I’m here and you don’t have to feel alone anymore.” She was not exactly from another dimension, and she had found Earth nothing but entertaining since she’d first arrived, but she could imagine that eventually she might feel homesick, or want to talk to somebody who understood her. Taking the second octopus ball in her hand she would bite off a small bit, chewing and swallowing before answering. “I would love to help you. Really I would. See, my whole life which has been very, very long by the way, I’ve just been an observer. And that’s all well and good, watching I mean. But I’ve always wanted to explore! To really interact with the world, with people! It would mean so much to me to be able to help you. I hope you don’t mind me writing some things down. Well. . . I already have, I hope that’s okay.” She would pull her notebook out of her boot and offer it to Seigi to look at. She hadn’t considered that people might not like being written about until she was standing face to face with the person she was actively writing about.

Seigi would laugh as tears poured from Zoe's eyes, but when she asked if that's what pain felt like, he couldn't help but lose his composure. The fact that so many experiences that Seigi had taken for granted were completely new to Zoe blew his mind. There were so many things in this world he wanted to show her, simply to gauge her reactions to them.

"Yes, I think that might be pain. Try not to do that too much, okay?" He would say, chuckling as he did so.

Hearing her confirm that she was onboard with trying to help him was a relief, feeling as if the weight of the world had been eased off of his shoulders. With her assistance, he was sure that harnessing that dimensional energy was within his grasp. Zoe's only request seemed to be that she wanted to write everything down, the same as she had been. Seigi would nod to this request.

"Of course, Zoe. Document as you wish. For all we know, this is new grounds for Shinobi Science. What we do may change the course of the world as we know it. It's very fortunate that our paths crossed. I'm not one to believe in fate, but perhaps there is some kind of external force pushing our paths in the same direction."

Zoe laughed happily along with Seigi. He had a good laugh and if she was going to be going on at least one more adventure with him she would try to make him laugh more often. Even if she didn’t exactly know what they were laughing at or how to recreate it. The second octopus ball was nowhere near as hot as the first one had been and she managed to actually taste something other than heat. “Don’t worry, I won’t do that too much if I can help it. It wasn’t the worst thing ever, but I don’t know that it was exactly fun. It was definitely worth experiencing though! I’ll probably need to do a bit more experimenting to really get a grasp of it, but I’ll try to be careful.” Zoe would pull out her notebook and jot down her thoughts on the food.

‘Hot food causes pain, which interestingly also caused tears! I’m unsure if the pain was a direct result of that specific food, or if foods other than octopus balls might also cause pain. I do not enjoy pain as a note, though the balls were delicious. I believe more experimentation is required, I’ll be sure to be more careful in the future though.’

She got a gleeful smile on her face as Seigi mentioned this being new grounds. She loved new things, and since virtually everything was new for her, that meant she loved just about everything. But to hear that this was new for not just her, but also Seigi and Shinobi Science was thrilling. When he mentioned ‘fate’ as a concept she would shake her head as she spoke. “I don’t know that fate is real, or if it isn’t for that matter. In all the centuries I spent watching everything I saw plenty of instances where it was believable that some outward force like ‘fate’ had to have been involved. And other times there was no evidence of it at all. Fate is a curious and mercurial creature, assuming it is one, and I don’t exactly know where I stand on that matter. I do know that meeting you has been wonderful and between the two of us I’m sure we will figure out answers to all your questions. So where should we start? What do you already know?” She was eager to begin solving the mystery that Seigi had laid out.

"I'm going to be honest with you, my research has been pretty limited so far." Seigi would speak up, clearing his throat as his eye glanced around hastily. "With only my own perspective, I've been unable to find any kind of pattern, but I have a theory." He would retrieve a small scroll, and by channeling chakra into his finger, would begin to draw on it. He didn't create a seal using this technique, but a diagram, featuring stick figures, a swirly portal, and a line.

"In my universe, I was on the brink of death when my Fuuingan brought me here. I think it activated as a self-defense measure, ensuring I would be safe from danger. Why this universe, I'm unsure. But when it did this, it drained me of all of my power. I was once the Host of the Bijuu Chomei, The Seven-Tails, and among with my Magnet Release, I also had characteristics from other Kekkai-Genkai; The Regeneration and Wood Release from the Senju bloodline, and the Shikotsumyaku abilities of the Kaguya line. To be honest, my Magnet Release was also unnaturally implanted into me, but was all that remained once I crossed the boundary. I believe that in order to create that portal again, we would need immense power and a conduit, but at the moment, that is impossible to achieve." Seigi would sigh, taking another octopus ball into his mouth. "We don't have enough power and the conduit I had last time was my eye...." Suddenly, as if a lightbulb had appeared over Seigi's head, and idea sprung forth from his mouth.

"But wait... Maybe we don't need the eye.." He would begin to scribble on the scroll again, jotting down another diagram and a small algorithm.
"Maybe, if we power-cycled our chakra into a seal, and that seal would allow the user to theoretically "jump" to different spots in space-time... we just apply the math of how much chakra it took to jump here the first time, but instead of one massive concentration of chakra, we channel it across the body...."

Seigi drew a new picture now, an outline of the human body, then tracing lines up and down the body, focusing on a center point on the chest.
"That's what we can do. I can be the conduit, you draw the chakra from me as I collect it, and form it into a gateway. We don't need to be the power source, just what it travels through!"

Zoe listened and watched eagerly as Seigi took out a scroll and explained how he had arrived on Earth the first time. She completely understood the excitement, though hers had been from the other end. From what she could tell, Seigi was more excited about the world he had come from, while she was more excited to be here. She would lean in and watch him draw diagrams with chakra, her blue eyes lit up with wonder as he spoke of his former world. It seemed clear to her that he missed it, and her heart went out to him. She wanted him to be happy and if getting back to wherever he came from would make him happy, then she definitely wanted to help.

She would reach a small hand towards the chakra drawing and trace her index finger along the lines he had made, trying to put together the pieces of his story. Her brow began to furrow in an unusual look for her; seriousness. Zoe was very intelligent, not that most people could tell as wisdom and intelligence were simply not the same thing. But now as she started to form a picture in her mind, her cheerful manner was replaced with intellectual curiosity and the need to solve a problem. The problem being that Seigi was trapped somewhere he didn’t want to be.

From what she could understand, the Fuuingan was his eye. In the past tense. He still had it, but it sounded like it no longer held power. His theory about using himself as a conduit to create a portal seemed sound, though a bit dangerous and she would frown as he suggested it. "I can certainly help with that. Although I'm worried about what that might do to you. Ultimately it's your choice, but if the last time this happened you lost your eye, I am concerned about what the price would be now. I trust you and your judgment Seigi and I will do everything in my power to make you happy. Where should we go to try this? I don't think 'in the middle of the street' is the safest place." Her hand would move from the scroll to his hand as she attempted to give him a reassuring pat. She wasn't worried for her own safety, being centuries old and never injured she had no concerns about her own mortality. His though. . . She didn't want to see him hurt if she could help it.

"To be honest, it may kill me." Seigi would say bluntly. "But as long as you're taking the chakra as quickly as it flows into me, then I think I'll be fine. So, no pressure!" He would say, giving her a thumbs up. There was actually lots of pressure here. "And as for location, I really have no idea. I suppose we'll need somewhere with an open space and secluded..." He would speak, tapping his chin to think.

"Oh! We could use Zanosa's Bar!" Seigi would say, grinning eagerly. "I'm fairly certain she'll say yes, especially if you come with me." Seigi would reach down to his final octopus ball, tossing it into his mouth, swallowing it whole. "She did say she had a lead for-"
He was caught off guard by Zoe's hand touching his, and as she did, he would begin to pull his own hand back before stopping.

"It's okay." He thought to himself, looking down to Zoe's pale fingers as she pat him. His instincts wanted him to pull away, and he would force himself to remain still.
"Not everyone is out to get you." He would remind himself, looking to Zoe and smiling. He knew she was worried about this, even if she did trust him. Truthfully, there was probably a great chance of failure here that he was denying out of ignorance; He had told himself that he would do anything to get back home and he was sticking to it, no matter the costs. However, he didn't want to dissapoint Zoe. After all, he had promised to take her wherever she needed to go and he couldn't do that if he was dead.

"....And after we finish at Zanosa's, then I'll have Ren take us to Kiri so you can get home."

"To be honest, it may kill me."

Zoe’s eyes widened as Seigi spoke those words, fear plainly visible on her face which was in stark contrast to his rather cavalier thumbs up. She wasn’t sure if he was joking or not, but decided that it would be better to treat it as dark humour rather than an inevitability. “But I only just met you, and we’re friends now. You can’t die yet, I forbid it.” She pouted and then smiled as she spoke, there was no way she could actually forbid someone from dying. But she wished she could.

As she laid her hand on Siegi's she noticed him start to pull away and she would look up at him questioningly. “I’m not going to hurt you Seigi.” was all she said as she smiled back at the white haired man. He had mentioned that when he had come to Earth he had been badly injured, and she wondered if that was what caused his reaction. She knew from studying people’s reactions that sometimes when they were hurt they would carry that hurt forward with them and see it in everything around them. ‘Is that what I’m seeing in him? Who hurt him?’

His suggestion of experimenting in Zanosa’s bar brought a small laugh from her, his enthusiasm about the whole idea was hard to ignore and it helped calm some of her worry. “The scary woman with the eyepatch? I thought. . . did I misread that? I wasn’t sure if you were friends with her.” Having an observer's perspective on social cues was not the same as having experience with them and although he had been smiling during the exchange, she had noticed some tension. “Kiri isn’t my home, I don’t really have a home yet. I guess the whole Earth is my home now, but Kiri is as good a place as any I suppose. But you have to promise to visit me. A LOT. Or I could come visit you, either way I would be sad if I never saw you again after this.” Zoe could feel the sadness coiling in her stomach as she thought of saying goodbye to Seigi and she didn’t like it. She knew there were more people to meet and go on adventures with, but she hadn’t expected to get so attached. She felt in many ways that Seigi was a kindred spirit, another displaced person on this planet that could understand how she viewed the universe. Losing that would be heartbreaking.

"I don't think your village likes me much, if I'm being honest." Seigi would half-joke, but it was the truth. Shimiko had told him stories from the "real" Seigi, how he had waged war on Kiri and gained the moniker "Demon of the Hidden Cloud". "But for you, I will try."


Zanosa's bar wasn't far from them, just a few blocks away. As they approached the building, you could see from the outside that the bar was dead, occupied by only Zanosa herself, a bartender behind the counter, and a couple of shady-looking shinobi huddled in the corner, whispering amongst themselves. Miri and Hiri were nowhere to be seen, probably off running errands for Zanosa. Opening the door, Seigi would allow Zoe to walk in first, then would lead her to the bar, where Zanosa was sitting. Taking a large swig of her drink, she would wipe her mouth, before turning to Zoe and Seigi as they approached. Her grin was back and there was a bit of redness in her cheeks from the alcohol.
"It's not even noon yet." Seigi would berate her jokingly and she would simply wave it off.
"Didn't I just see you? What do you want?" She would joke right back in an almost flirty tone. Seigi would sit down next to her, gesturing for two drinks.

"Ever had alcohol before?" Seigi would ask Zoe, seemingly ignoring Zanosa's question for a moment, but would seem to have no issue holding both conversations at once.
"You told me you had a lead. I also need some space to perfect a fuuinjutsu." Seigi would tell the Merc. Zanosa's smile curled again.
"You're right, I do have a lead for you, but it's gonna cost you." Her eyes would shift to Zoe momentarily.
"Actually, the both of you could help me. Do this one job for me, here in the Emporium, and I'll give you your space and the location of the person you're looking for."

Zoe was a bit confused about why her village wouldn’t like Seigi, but that confusion was set aside as he said he would try for her. She didn’t pretend to understand the inner machinations of the political environment of the world. She knew that not everyone got along, but she didn’t exactly understand why. Given enough real life exposure to the world and it’s inhabitants she imagined she’d understand one day, for now though it was good enough for her that there was some hope of seeing her friend again.

As they walked to the meeting place, Zoe immediately recognized a small and virtually empty bar of sorts. Much like the one she had wandered into in Kirigakure the first time she had tried alcohol. She went in first, taking a second to let her eyes adjust to the dimly lit interior. There were few people inside, a bartender and a couple people keeping to themselves in a dark corner. And then there was a woman who, based on the grin she gave the approaching Seigi, was most likely Zanosa or at least someone who was expecting to see the white haired swordsman.

It would take Zoe a couple tries but she would hop up on the chair next to Seigi, turning to give him a smile as she answered his question. “I have had alcohol once back in Kirigakure, it was beer which was. . . bitter and if I’m being honest, not very good. I truly don’t understand the appeal of beer.” Zoe then turned her attention to Zanosa, taking in the redness on the woman’s cheeks and trying to figure out what difference it made if it was before or after noon. This was Seigi’s mission so she didn’t want to intrude on any of the details, but she did perk up when Zanosa said she could help. “Oh! Yes, I like helping. I don’t know what I could possibly help with, but I’d like to.” She would turn to look at Seigi questioningly as she finished speaking, a look that seemed to be asking for confirmation that she was doing the right thing by offering her assistance. She had noted the ease with which Seigi could carry on multiple conversations, a skill developed only by the more intelligent, and that sort of intelligence was something she could trust in easily.

As much as Zoe wanted to help, she did know she had to be back home before long, and there didn’t seem to be an immediate urgency to the task. She’d had a wonderful series of adventures with Seigi, but she also had a whole wide world to explore. So with a bright smile she would turn and look up at the sky, speaking wistfully as she did. “I would definitely like to help, and when you need it I’ll be around. I’ll be in Kirigakure most likely, and if I’m not there then someone there will know how to find me.”

With a parting curtsey (which was not graceful by any standard) she would leave Seigi's side and head off on another adventure, traipsing towards the loading docks.

She made it about halfway there when a strange sensation overtook her. The sun was out and shining brightly, but the light for her had dimmed and with it a cloud had settled over her mind. . . a voice. . . no a thought that was not her own came into her mind and pushed.

Grow. . .

It was a strange command for a person, even an alien like her. But as she heard it a sharp tingling overtook her entire body as she began to feel a physical change. There were gardens everywhere in the Heavenly Emporium so without any trouble Zoe was able to locate a quiet flower garden tucked away behind a wrought iron fence covered in ivy and more flowers. There was no one around in the secret garden so she sat down on a patch of grass and leaned against the fence, delicately clutching at the flora as she tried to make sense of what was going on. Her skin and hair lightened drastically and an alien alabaster cast settled over her features. Where she had once been blonde and had healthy looking pink skin; she was now as white as the flowers that surrounded her. And while she could not see it, her brilliant blue eyes lightened and shifted to a stunning violet hue. She had no concept of what had prompted the change, though if she’d had more accurate information about the circumstances surrounding her creation she would have realized that the close proximity to Seigi's interdimensional energy had been the catalyst for an inevitable change that should have taken millenia. Zoe was indeed part plant. . . it was the nature of which plant that held the key to her destiny, a fact that had been quite intentionally hidden from her by her creators.

After a few minutes of mild discomfort the tingling stopped and Zoe felt the invasive thought in her mind pull back. She could once again see the sunshine as it sparkled against the glass and metal of the floating city, the dimness retreating with the voice. Like most things, Zoe was unworried about what had just transpired. With a happy sigh the tiny alien woman would breathe in the fragrance of the flowers around her and rise to her feet once more. “That was strange. I wonder if that’s what saying goodbye is supposed to feel like.”

Brushing the bits of grass from her knees she would continue to the docking area and make her way back to Kirigakure, excited to continue her adventures and meet more friends.  

[Exit Thread]