Building The Hermit (Flash Back)

Makoto sat in her dimly lit room, alone with only her puppet "Daichi" for company. She stared the figure down, it's wooden body leaning against the wall, lifeless. She leaned back in the chair she had been sitting in. She raised her hand towards the puppet, chakra strings went forth from her hand connecting to the wooden body. Makoto moved her hand slightly, the lifeless puppet stood up on two legs. Makoto shifted her fingers slightly making "Daichi" stretch out its limbs to imitate him waking up from a deep slumber. Makoto chuckled to herself. The puppet held a special place in her heart, and always made her smile when she was around it. The fond memories of her past always flowed back into her head when she messed around with "Daichi." 

Makoto thought back to the day when she first joined the ninja academy. Her old mentor had high faith in her abilities as a puppet master, and wanted Makoto to advance her skills in the ninja art. She had a deep fascination with puppets and always wanted one of her own after her first encounter with her mentors puppet. She would constantly beg the hermit to teach her how to build a puppet, but he would claim that she wasn't quite ready to learn the ways of puppet construction. However, he did promise Makoto that he would teach her if she tried her hardest in the academy. That was all the motivation she needed, she buckled down and raised her grades and passed as many tests and trials as she could. 

Finally the day had arrived, Makoto had risen in ranks in her class and was ready to create her first puppet. The old man took Makoto's hand as they left through the village gates. She was unfamiliar of the area they were heading towards. Being the desert, there were few forests in the surrounding area. The desert was hotter than usual that morning, and Makoto had grown tired of walking. After a few hundred meters, they had arrived at a very small forested area. "Why are we here?" Makoto asked panting, short of breath from the long, exhausting walk. "We are here because we are going to need quite a bit of wood to make your puppet," the old man said smiling down at Makoto. She smiled widely, then looked at him in confusion. "Wait," she asked, "Why didn't we just buy wood back at the village?" "Because, child. The true puppet master creates his puppets with wood he cut personally. It forms a closer bond between puppet and master." The old man pulled out an axe from his backpack, handing it to Makoto still smiling. She took the axe from the old man and asked, "Wait...Why do I have to chop the tree down?!" "Because, silly," the hermit replied, "It's your puppet. You need to be the one to harvest the wood." Makoto sighed then walked to the biggest tree she could find and took a heavy swing near its lower base. The axe edge burrowed deep into the wood. "This is gonna take longer than I thought it would," she thought to herself. Makoto didn't give up though, her determination and will forced her to swing harder. She wasn't going home without the materials she needed.

The day was almost over and nightfall was soon to come. Makoto was exhausted but had nearly cut the tree down. The old man was resting nearby keeping an eye on Makoto to make sure she didn't injure herself. She was almost there, just a few more swings and the tree would fall to the forest floor. She took one last mighty swing then a loud crack echoed throughout the forest. The tree came down with a hard crash. The old man stood up as Makoto turned around with the largest smile on her face than he had seen in years. All of the sudden, much like the tree, Makoto started to fall down from exhaustion. The old man quickly rushed to her, catching her before she hit the forest floor. He laughed as he lifted her up to his back, she had fallen asleep. Then he tied some rope around the large tree, and began to haul it back towards the village. It would be a long trip.

Makoto woke up in her room, she was back in the village and the sun was rising. The last thing she remembered was the tree crashing down to the forest floor. She got out of bed, and walked towards the kitchen where the old man had was making breakfast. "Good morning, Makoto!" the old man said with cheerful smile. Makoto let out a loud yawn, "Good morning," she replied. She sat down at the table and they ate breakfast together. Today was the day that she would make her first puppet. She had never been more excited about anything in her life. After they finished eating, they proceeded to the old hermits workshop in the basement. The tree had already been cut into smaller pieces, the old man must have been up all night working at making the wood more manageable. Hours passed and they had carved the wood into a basic body, and had just finished attaching all of the limbs and head. It had gotten late and the old man decided that they would finish the puppet the next day after Makoto returned home from the academy. Makoto went off to bed, looking forward to finishing her first puppet the next day.

Makoto was sitting in class, the day seemed like it would never end. All she could think about was finishing her puppet. Lunch had arrived, she only had a few hours of class left. The class was returning inside from there after lunch break. She was nearly to the classroom when she saw two tall shinobi, her teacher looked at her with a look of pity on her face. The two shinobi walked over to Makoto, asking her about her guardian, the old man. "Is something wrong?" she asked. The taller of the two shinobi told her that the old man had passed away. Makoto felt her eyes begin to water up. Tears ran down her face as she slowly walked backwards, then turned around and began running towards the exit of the academy. She ran as fast as she could to her home, busting through the door only to find an empty house. She fell to her knees and began to cry. So many emotions ran through her, she was all alone again. She slowly walked towards the old mans room, he had moved the puppet they had been working on to his room the night before. She wanted nothing to do with the damn thing anymore. She exited the room, slamming the door behind he, then went to her room. She sat on her bed burying her face between her knees, crying. 

Many months had passed, and Makoto's grades had dropped in the academy. She had fallen into a deep depression, and wasn't sure if she would ever get out of it. Her passion for puppetry had died with the old man. She began to push everyone away, leaving her with no one to rely on. She had returned home late one night from the academy, she was constantly getting lectured by her superiors for her lack of ambition at the academy. She went to the old mans abandoned room, and began tossing every breakable thing she could get her hands on. Finally she came to the puppet, it had gathered a thick layer of dust from the months of neglect. She wanted to destroy the thing but couldn't find it in her to do so. She hugged the wooden manikin close to her body, tears running down her cheeks. Suddenly a secret compartment opened, revealing a letter. It had Makoto's name written on it. She picked it up from the ground, and began to read it. The note stated that the old man was proud of her for her work in the academy, and that he saw her as his own daughter. The letter also stated that he knew his time was coming soon and he was afraid he wouldn't get to see her graduate from the academy, and that he knew she would give it her all and pass with flying colors. Makoto looked down in disgrace, ashamed of her immature actions. She stood up, wiping the tears away from her face. Then she picked up the unfinished puppet, taking it down to the workshop in the basement, and began finishing up the final details on the puppet. A few hours passed, Makoto had installed a surveillance system, and dressed the wooden figure in the old mans traditional kimono, and topped its head with a straw Kasa. The puppet resembled the old hermit, she smiled and gave it the name "Daichi" in honor of the old man. Her first puppet had been completed.

(Puppet Built TWC: 1502)

okay cool thanks...does it matter which category the stats go into since i didn't specifically train in a certain area?