To Meet a Master ft Saya, Niko

When Niko saw the girls face light up he knew he was in trouble and as the chakra strings flew at insane speeds towards him he could do nothing but watch them attach to the joints of his body. suddenly the threads twitched and his body flew at speeds over double what he would be capable of before and he found himself performing the task that he interrupted upon his arrival to the room. In mere moments his body was back in the other side of the room with more than a few bottles of water laying upon his arms. In this moment he had felt something new something he had not felt in his admittedly short life, fear. Niko's face was nearly frozen in shock in fear though it did little to express the true emotions he was feeling at the time. Though over the brief seconds it took for Niko's emotions to switch from fear to glee he had noticed that the still present Saya had begun her explanation. Apparently this skill was a must have in the field of puppetry, how had his mothers scroll not covered such a basic essential. Thinking upon the topic for a brief moment then disregarding it he noticed that Saya had offered him a scroll which she had said was the blue print for the child like puppet that she used before. Taking the scroll slowly as to show respect and gratitude, then said " Thanks for the lesson Saya, though i must ask, what do I have to offer you for such valuable knowledge?" He honestly had no idea why this Saya had imparted her teachings and skills unto him. He then took note of what the Ai puppet had said, this girl had an eidetic memory that was extremely rare, what he would do for such a memory himself. Putting that aside he stood there and awaited the girls response.
(Word count 320)

"Oh stop. She had full control the entire time. I swear. Some of these ninja just aren't cut out t--ACK" Once again Pinochio's slightly rude rant was cut off as a hand beat on the chest of the coach puppet. This time it was coach himself who glanced between the slats of his chest to give the smaller puppet a discouraging shake of his head. In order to ensure they were no longer interupted by the clearly disgruntled small child's story inspired creation Coach gave a nod to the puppeteer and walked across the hall to close the door to room 14.

"He is right though. I had control of you the whole time and I even peeked out into the hall so that I didn't run you into anything. Its imperative when using puppets to remember that even though they have their own thoughts and personalities their eyes dont really... like... work? So you can move them to places to an extent through memory, but they can't see if they're going to run into anything. If you aren't paying close attention you can accidentally run them at high speeds into several important load bearing pillars of the house that you live in causing the slow but inevitable colapse of the entire structure. That costs quite a pretty penny and will leave you stuck sleeping in your gallion at the docks for several weeks before the construction crew can build you a new home. " Ai chimed in here. As often was the case her statement suggested it was a stab at his reaction, but her tone was so matter of the fact that it ended up not suggesting any rudeness at all. That was the major difference between Ai and Pinochio.

"Right. Thanks Ai. But yea. Skillful artistry is pretty important for alot of reasons. Same with ventrilloquism. Thankfully neither actually require hand seals so they're super easy to set up and use. I fought this higher rank shinobi like my second week into my genin promotion who had cool snake jutsu but I was able to use skillful artistry to grasp his body and force him into submission. My first sparring win ever!" It was an art in and of itself the way that Saya shifted from neutral expression to bouncing about in her seat, eyes dinner plates at the sheer joy of explaining what would be the minutia of convorsation to most. The sheer animiation of her form was a spectacle all of its own, but as quickly as the excitement came, it left as Niko asked his question.

"Uh. Wh. Need in return? Is that how you think the world works? I help people because it's what's right not because I want something. If we only did things to get a benifit from it we wouldn't be any better then the evil ninja who steal and murder. I mean if you had a jutsu or something I didn't I hope you'd help me learn it but it kinda seems like you're a fresh genin, and I couldn't imagine not helping someone who isn't at my level. If you died in a mission and I could have taught you a tech that woulda let you survive i'd feel horrible. "

(TWC 2795)

Niko's mind was racked for a few seconds, was she lying. No that seems unlikely due to her previous actions. But if not how could such a pure and nice soul exist in the world that took his parents from him such a thought was common in the ever crowded brain of Niko. He took notice of the stories he heard finding the former too to be incredibly detailed, maybe too detailed. But what really made him think was the use of the technique, so theocratically if your ability in the technique was great you could turn your enemies against each other.
"I must admit this technique and your proficiency in it is simply marvelous, especially at such an age." The young girl or Saya as she is called was quite skilled at her specialty remarkable so its no wonder kiri has been a dominant village for so many years. Noticing the change in emotion after telling of her story he did take the time to smile too, usually he would ignore the vibrant display or simply smirk but such a infectious scene caused him to act as much. 
"though I must wonder how one such as yourself came to the idea of joining the shinobi forces" He had taken notice of the happy and innocent nature of the shinobi, though Niko has a great dislike for pacifists he could see himself getting along with the weird puppeteer girl. Maybe she would be friends with him, the thought made a great deal of sense so he expressed it.
"i must ask as my admittedly lacking social sphere is not growing if you would be friends with me, i mean having a friend would be nice think of all the benefits umm there's" He then trails of what where the benefits of friendship anyways, choosing to disregard such a train of thought he awaits her reply.
(315 words)

"Yea it's not a big deal. I'm technically a genius. Like mom sent me away because I wasn't genius enough to make up for everything BUT my tutors said I had 'and aptitude for learning that far outstretched that of any they'd ever met if they could just get the blasted girl to focus on one things for to kami damned seconds'. I learned my first element at like.... five?" She turned to her sister, giving her a questioning look as she continued to sew feathers into the garment in her lap. She'd gotten a swatch about a foot square done in the center of the cloak. She still had alot more work to do though.

"It was six. Just after your birthday they finally realized that they could use a treat system to get you to focus for short periods of time, and you proved the ability to mold chakra from yin into Suiton. You still had no idea how your chakra points worked, how many you had, or the relationship between each and the element they're meant to focus, but you definitely knew "if i put chakra here and make a bubble I get a cookie. " The convorsation between Saya and Ai always felt so natural. The two were twins, even if just in appearance, but to Saya that meant something so much deeper then one would assume. She looked at Ai and saw so much of herself. It was Ai who comforted her when she thought of home. It was Ai who helped her through frusterations and gently pushed her towards the goals she needed to accomplish. Where Pinochio was stern and pushed boundries Ai smoothed the fabric of their family until it was a warm quilt.

"Right. Not really supposed to talk about my family stuff though. Danger and whatnot. All I can say is I got sent to the village to enroll in the academy about a year ago. Can't believe it took me a whole year to prove mastery of the fundamentals required to get my head...ban.... Ai, where IS my headband?" She checked her bag before double checking her outfit. There was no Kiri headband in sight.

"I believe you left it on the bedside table. You aren't a fan of the way the metal bounces against your knee when you run so while you want to wear it so people realize you're a ninja, you often conveniently forget to put it on because it clashes with everything." They gave a brief pause for Niko to continue his portion of the convorsation, but he'd only gotten out about three words before Ai interupted again.

"Yes. Don't need to even ask. I like friends. They're like. My favorite thing in the whole world! And we can share puppetry stuff and get stronger together--well you'll be getting stronger first but eventually you'll probably catch up with me and then we can get stronger together and it'll be so cool. Think of what we can do with both our puppets combined. Once I finish this puppet I'll have four, though I really should make some more. I need a hand to cast jutsu so half my strings are kinda not that useful but I still have a whole twenty five, and I only really use twelve right now."

(TWC 3347)

Niko was saddened when he heard Saya's story, he lost his parents but what if they pushed him away the thought itself was crushing. Though knowing that Saya learnt her first element at six was eye catching. That fact alone meant that, the two friends had more in common then either of them had realized. Seeing the interaction between the girl and her puppet she could see why she developed attachments to the puppets they where similar to her family. In a way he could understand that some nights when he was traveling he would talk to his puppets but unlike Saya's his did not talk back.

"When if, no when I get to your level ill be sure to share with you my success and techniques your help so far i know will be instrumental in my rise" He unlike most things he said did not sugar coat it he truly would share his techniques, and he did believe that her help would be incredibly useful in not only his rise but also his revenge. The thought itself brought him down to earth, maybe having friends and power are almost the same thing.

"At the time of my arrival to Kiri I was clueless on where to begin i had learnt how to craft and control puppets for self defense primarily against the bandits, eventually I knew that the path to strength and knowledge the very same strength I need for my goals was in the shinobi corp my mother had told me about when i was young. But after enlisting I hit a wall I lacked the skill to complete any real missions, and without the money I could not develop and create my puppets. But now I know I made the right choice thanks Saya" his heart surged with emotions he had not felt since he had last talked to his father. 
(Word count 315)

"Good! Honestly thats like. One of my biggest goals as a ninja. So this might be heavy, but one of the early missions I was sent on was to go gather intel at an old battlefield and it was kind of tough. Seeing so much death and destruction around me was enough for me to resolve to do better. I swore I wouldn't continue the cycle of hatred and violence so I want to help teach people and grow stronger together so that we don't have to be afraid, but have the power to be able to stop the cycle of young lives being taken because of a war they had no part in yanno?" Her features softened visibly as she began. It was rare for Saya to show any emotion but joy and the occasional bout of fear, but the depth by which her entire body recoiled, her posture lowering and her shoulders dropping when she spoke of the plains of death she'd witnessed, spoke far more then her words ever could. She'd hated to think of the friends she'd made lying lifeless against the earth. Hated the idea that they would be drawn to kill and die for something that could be solved by another means. Saya was a protector, and she would do what it took to find a way to save lives instead of taking them.

"Yea that is a tale told quite often." It was Ai who spoke up this time. She could feel the recoil from Saya's previous explanation and wanted to give the girl some time to finally process what she'd felt. It was too often that Saya allowed things to just roll of her back. The pain of her family was just a story about how she got to become a cool ninja. The general disinterest in her during her years in the academy only fueled her to get better so that people could no longer pretend not to see the outsider girl born with a silver spoon. If they wanted to tell her she was too much she would dare them to dream bigger. She would be grander, louder, and impossible to ignore. Then they would see the light behind her eyes.

"We definitely have power, and Saya has been blessed to have crossed paths with people that make things much easier. Most of the people in the vilalge that she has met have ended up being good friends and they often help her with various things. Honestly she's kind of remarkable like that. " AI formed a few seals, and once more the black void of her storage displacement jutsu swirled into existence. From the spiral of black abyss she pulled several large pieces of wood. Setting them down on the table beside her she'd offer a hand for Niko to come over and check them out.

"This was what we had leftover. Until Saya finds another spark of influence we'll be working with the puppets she has now plus this new one we're working on so if you need materials I'm glad to offer it. It's wood crafted from one of her personal techniques. She accidentally made a forrest a couple weeks ago so we needed to harvest it to not get in trouble. "


(TWC 3891)

Niko was conflicted to say, while that she had set for her self was an admirable one at worst, he abhorred people who cant fight or simply wont. Niko has a massive dislike for pacifism as pacifists ruined his perfect family, so how was he supposed to feel when his first friend wanted to end warfare. Did that make her a pacifist, in Niko's mind no, she had fought and spilled blood, just like him, or perhaps even more so. So then who was he to dictate who she was and what goals she would have. Niko also realized that her dream if brought to fruition, would save people like him from physical and mental pain.

Filling his heart with resolve Niko responded with "That is an admirable goal, and I hope for your sake and for the sake. And for the sake of generations to come that you are successful." Ever so slightly drifting closer to the master puppeteer. He then continued with "if one does not affirm there heart with goals, they will fall in this grotesque environment we call a world". Sighing he turned around and meeting eyes with the young puppeteer he addressed Saya.

"A forest you say, well that must mean you are of the famed senju clan" Turning to meet eyes with the puppet that looks identical to the puppeteer, he then continued with, "watching a master at work, consider me honored he then sat down. Watching for a few seconds and mentally comparing the qualities of the wood with his own he took the wood in his hand and asked for a knife from the tiny girl. 

Awaiting a response he would continue with "may i ask, how did you get into the art of puppeteering" waiting a few brief moments to process he then continued with "i myself, got into the art as more of a necessity but eventual the ability to spark 'life' into objects was fascinating and i found myself in pursuance of the specialty." After finishing speaking he would wait for a tool to begin working on the blueprints he had recently been given.
(Wordcount 355)
(TWC 2,902)

"Honestly same. I'm telling you Niko. It's something else to look upon a war scarred land. Some of the fallen didn't even get graves, and we were out there picking through the last remnants of peoples lives like rats. But like not cute rats like icky rats." She gave a bit of consideration to his next statement. What did he mean? As far as she'd seen there was conflict and fear in the world but overall it was a bright and vibrant place.

" I mean. I've always been one to set goals for myself but I couldn't imagine the world being a grotesque enviroment. Sure theres some bad stuff but you gotta take the good with the bad yanno? Me for instance. Sure my parents were kinda butts and didn't really like. Love me at all or even acknowlege me as someone worthy of love and instead just kinda tried to weaponize me for clout, BUT if that hadn't happened then I wouldn't have had time to study so many things and found out that puppetry was a thing. As soon as I heard the stories of puppet masters making lifelike creations I knew that was my chance. Really I wouldn't have the family I have now if it werent for my other family being butts. " WIthout realizing it she answered one of his questions. That is a topic for later, when he took the time to actually ask it though.

"I um. Yep. I'm not really supposed to talk about that tho. I did get this cool pendant as a reward for all my training and getting stronger! check it out. It's like a silver and it's got the symbol for the island lands on the outside, but here on the inside in black is my clan symbol. Or at least thats what I was told my clan symbol was. Haven't really seen it myself. She'd lean forward, pulling a silver necklace from beneath the line of her dress and hold it out. As she described the metal would glint for a moment before coming into view showing the intricate details of these two parts of her life combined together.

Ai glanced at Niko when he asked for a knife. He couldn't be serious. Had he really used a knife in order to create his puppets before? That would explain why they'd broken so easily when he was attacked. From the messenger style bag at her side she pulled a large leather wrapped parcel. Spinning the tie around several times she'd unravel it and show its contents. Within were about twenty different tools, each fastened into the satchel by a strip of leather that stopped them from rattling around. There was absolutely everything a puppet master would need to carve and detail their creations, down to the most minute details.

This was the part where we finally catch up. While she'd technically answered the question without it being asked, now that the words were breathed into existence she spoke with greater fervor.

"Well. I find interest in anything artistic if I'm being honest. I kinda bounce back and forth between hobbies. Then I found that I could use jutsu to make them talk and that was exactly what I needed. I determined quickly that if my family didn't have the strength to love me I'd just make one that could and here we are i suppose. " There was no emotion in her explaination. There was no pain or sorrow hidden behind her eyes as she recounted the tale of her family a second time. It was a part of her past that led her to this place, and that was all it needed to be for saya.

(TWC 4509)

Niko was slightly confused had the girl not just talked about how this cruel world the one that took his parents and his innocence, also contributed towards her parents abandoning her. Disregarding such a outlook he then thought onto what she said about the bodies that stretched across the warzones, he was proud of his ever increasing kill count when it came to mediocre bandits, the amount of bodies he had strewn over the landscape in his travelling days was large. 

Weaponizing your children was sadly common in the ninja world, he only escaped such a fate due to his parents vehement refusal. Though ironically he still went on to be a shinobi. Her reason for adopting puppetry was similar to his own in many ways, similar to his own. He himself knew that had he been any more vulnerable after his father killed himself he probably would have made his puppets into family as well.

Taking a glance at the symbol he could tell it was the Senju clan symbol from sight alone he had memorized most of the symbols and bloodlines of the world to be prepared for the future. "You would be correct in your assumption that is in fact the Senju clan symbol" Thinking further on what was said he could guess why her parents had given her to the shinobi program.

After seeing the intricate tools laid out he answered the obviously unsaid question, "Ah, so these are the tools of the trade." he had known such tools existed but there cost was just barely out of his reach. "During my travels I used a knife to carve and whittle away what would be my puppets, i could never afford the tools that you have. That's part of my reason for becoming a Kiri ninja."

Seeing the the young puppeteer answer his question once again. He noticed the expressionless features of the ninja. Whether this was to hide the trauma or pain was unknown. Hell maybe it was just how she felt about the situation. Nodding and reaching for on of the tools. He awaited any response or continuance from the girl.
(TWC 3259)

"Yea I thought so. I was taught about it when I was really young but I didn't really retain any of the information directly. Wierd Eidetic memory things. Pinochio says that I've taken in so much knowlege that in order to actually decipher the volume of what I was taught I had to compartmentalize it. Something about how believing that it's held between three people makes it easier to access and sythesize something something something. It's alot of words I don't really care about. The short of it is I was taught the history of my family when my mother realized it could be useful. I wasn't old enough to get it then so the lessons stopped and I was sent here so they wouldn't have to deal with me. " She gave a shrug. Still she explained the situation not like a traumatic event, but instead as passing convorsation.

"That. That's abysmal. You will never get finely crafted creations if the only thing you have is a knife. Well, I suppose you could but it'll take so much longer. Thankfully now you have these. We have a few sets, And Ita has access to suppliers of quite a bit of fine materials because it's directly the trade she uses to make a living, so we won't mind passing one along. See to it that they're taken care of. There are sharpening tools on the far end to ensure they don't go dull. " While it was true that as a ninja she'd made quite a volume of money, it was never something they considered. She got a more then generous stipend deposited in her bank account because her mother assumed she would live far beyond what she was now accustomed to. Instead of putting the cash into luxuries that they'd had back in the island country Saya found herself spending it on whatever she found interesting. She already had a house, though it had recently found itself beyond repair, and her ship had come as a missions reward after they managed to defeat the crew without damaging it, so she had expendable income for whatever her heart might desire.

"Do you like it? Being a ninja I mean. Is it just a means to get money for stuff or is it something you find passion in? I've always believed one should never engage in a task that they aren't passionate about. Pinochio hates that about me. It's always like pulling nails to get me to do ninja stuff becuse sometimes it's fun, and I like that I can meet new people, but the minutia of lower ranked missions is so drab, and thats really all I'm supposed to be doing most of the time. " She held the cloak up, studying the crafstmanship with keen eyes. She felt confident that they would hold, but could they be infused with the neccessary chakra to get the effects she needed? It was tough to say, and the more she looked the less confident she felt in her work until it was like a warm hand was placed on her shoulder and her worries fell silent. SHE was here with her.


(TWC 5035)