Ballroom Setting:

Haka's Music:

Sero's ballroom might as well have been one of the few truly majestic rooms despite the cold grey stones that formed the manor. The red curtains, banners and carpets gave the large, open room some inkling of warmth, the candles against the walls peacefully flickering as their light spread and illuminated the area. Even the spider webs that were generally found back in almost every corner of the manor were strangely minimal in amount compared to the rest of the manor. But perhaps that was just an illusion created by the size of the room in the first place.

It was late. The sun was setting outside, the night soon to fall. Supper had come to pass and the few guests were preparing for the night. Desert, bathing, an evening chat in recollection of the day that would soon come to pass. Even the servants and the spiders-in-disguise were cleaning up and preparing for a peaceful night's rest. For as far as such a thing existed on Spider Island. But as usual, Haka, solitary creature, had not bothered with late company. She had stepped inside the ballroom, a small girl dressed in a plain white dress, a silver necklace dangling around her neck, bare feet standing on the soft carpet. Step by step she moved deeper inside the large room that only seemed to grow bigger as she approached the peculiar scales. What their purpose was, the spider-nin didn't know. Sero had never explained them, nor had he ever used them while she was around. It mattered not. Haka had not come for those.

Halting before the scales, she would unseal one of her scrolls and reveal a grand piano, black in colour, the light of the candles against the wall reflected in its polished shine. Quietly she would take place on the small stool that was part of it, and stroked the ivory keys with one of her spindly fingers almost affectionately before she allowed the instrument to express its first tones. Softly at first. Searching for the right tones. Then, fluently, her two hands would dance over the keys with an elegance not often expected by those who knew Haka for what she truly was - an assassin, a hunter by nature, raw and powerful in her own right driven by a no-nonsense attitude. Yet here, soft, dark tones would echo through the large hallway as she allowed her fingers to dart over the ivory and black keys of the grand piano.

'Lady Osada'. As one of the few Unmei recognised by Sero as his daughter, had grown a lot since the day she had come to find her Creator. In many ways. There was no doubt that the small flicker of her aura had become an imposing presence of its own. Not quite like that of Sero himself, but not as easily discarded as when she was but a budding genin. Much like her, the spiderling had become a young adult whose power was not easily bypassed, making interactions with humans more difficult by the day. Yet, rather than to kill them on the spot for their weakness and inability to cope with greater powers than them, Haka had mostly refrained from ripping their hearts out in frustration. The reason for this came down to two names - Noiralane and Verdandi.

The first one being a brood mother of the Spider Clan, a Mind Weaver who had thrown her into a powerful genjutsu with intent to break down the calcified mind of the spider to such extend the Unmei's very reasoning had changed sufficiently to allow some room for unpredictability. Granted, she was still a creature relying on structure and strategy but she was able to cope much better with 'humanity' as a concept and the emotional fickleness humans experienced. In fact, her comprehension had grown to such an extend the spider was able to mimic 'perfect' human behaviour. Her playing the piano was but one of the few proofs of that change.

The second person, Verdandi, had been the perfect companion for the spider to learn a more humane approach to things. No blind killing, signs of affections such as hugs and gifts, and long conversations concerning art and humane topics that mostly  consisted of Verdandi talking and Haka listening (somewhat) had taught the Unmei a lot more than she might have expected herself. Together with her and Chigetsu, they had ultimately made a curious sort of squad, taking on a variety of missions. Three different creatures, three different ways of dealing with things. It had taught Haka was truly mattered. But it had not dissuaded her from continuing her plans with the Spider Clan.

As her hands continued to dance over the piano's keys, each moving as if they were separate entities, Haka's thoughts moved on to her future and that of the Spider Clan, the Unmei and the Ahoban. She had a feeling there was yet so much to do and learn, and all together an unknown pressure nudged her to take action soon. It would be a future of bloodshed and pain, the sombre thoughts weighing sufficiently to bleed through in the heavier tones she played on the instrument at her disposal. Tones that would fill the whole ballroom, and linger broodingly as the next ones filled up the empty space.

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While Fuyuko spent a lot of nights at her own home since she had started dating Takao, a shinobi from the village hidden in the leaves. She sometimes still spent the night in that dreaded manor of the coast of Mizu no Kuni’s main land. It was a decent distance to travel and so whenever she would make it too late with her trainings Fuyuko would stay the night in the manor. How long had she been staying at the manor now up to this point? She had come in contact with this place when she had only just graduated from the academy and now was reaching the point where she could soon rank up to the rank of special jounin. A place she never thought she would reach so quickly. She knew she had skill and the talent to reach these heights, but not at the speed at which she did so. It had always looked like a longer harder ‘battle’ in her mind.

However even if she was ranking up through the ranks faster then expected it was only the halfway point in ranks. It was definitely not the halfway point in terms of how much work she would need to do in order to keep on advancing. In order to gain more strength and power to obtain her goals.

“What are my goals…” she pondered as she let herself slide deeper into one of the many baths in the manor. It’s healing properties were immense and they still baffled her even after all this time. Besides it’s healing properties which made it a unique bath in it’s own, the feeling of bathing in this ‘water’ was also quite a unique experience. It wasn’t liquid in which you bathed, or maybe it was. But it felt more like you were laying in a syrup like substance. It wasn’t an unpleasant experience at all, it was just… strange, much like most of the manor and its inhabitants.

The question about her goals wasn’t necessarily about the end result she wanted to achieve, yet at the same time it was. Fuyuko had reached a point where she wasn’t sure about the path that she wanted to be walking on. Or better said she wasn’t sure which path would eventually lead to which result. She wanted power, no, she needed power to be able to change the way her village worked. There was a lot of potential at this manor, the lord of the manor was quite powerful and would certainly be able to teach her a thing or two. But would she stay the person she wants to be in the process? And if she walked her own path, away from this place. Would she obtain the power she needed but staying the person she is.

Fuyuko let out an audible sigh in the vast empty room. Several of these healing baths were placed here next to each other, but no one was using them besides her. Everything in this manor was spacious and grand, although she found it to be somewhat monotone. A singular simplistic theme ran throughout the entire manor. While there was nothing wrong with that, it had grown a little dull once she became accustomed to the feeling of the manor. The manor that in the beginning of her stay felt like it was going to eat her alive at any given moment. She wouldn’t walk around without being on edge at any given moment, but now didn’t care as much. However she wasn’t quite sure why that was. It shouldn’t be because of the power she had gained, while she might survive against most of the inhabitants, the lord would swallow her whole in an instant. Perhaps it was of how emotionally taxing this place felt on top of her own emotional doubts.

It would be a trail of thought she would pursue later on. Fuyuko raised herself out of the bath, the slick syrup like substance slowly sliding down her curves and smooth skin. Not leaving a single drop of the substance on her naked body. Another strange property of the baths or rather this particular one of the baths. Slowly she walked over to her clothes with a decent sway in her hips. She wasn’t very lady like in her normal demeanor, however when she was alone she didn’t mind to act like it once in a while. She gracefully leaned forward before putting on her opaque white sleeveless nightgown.

With nothing but her nightgown on Fuyuko would slowly make her way out of the room and stroll down the hallways to her designated room. But along the way to her room something piqued her interest. Someone was playing on the piano somewhere. Seeing as she had nothing better to do Fuyuko simply started walking towards the origin of the sound. With every step she took in the direction the notes became louder and louder. It wasn’t the most uplifting or happy music, but that came hardly as a surprise. This more dark themed music suited the place much more as well after all.

Fuyuko placed her hands on the doors of the room from which the sound originated and slowly pushed one of the two doors open. Before her was a room that she hadn’t been in before. While she had stayed at this place for a couple of months by now, she never adventured into rooms she didn’t have any business in. With the door open wide enough Fuyuko stared down the room onto a clad black piano with a person dressed in white playing on it. It was Haka who was playing on the piano, which came as a small surprise.

Haka didn’t seem as the type of person to be interested in such things, at least that’s what Fuyuko had gathered from their last interaction when they ‘talked’ about eating and cooking. But even that interaction had been quite some time ago. Fuyuko grabbed onto the door and slowly closed it behind her so that the acoustics of the room would be disturbed less. When she had slowly closed the door she’d take gentle steps towards Haka before pausing a couple of meters away. While Haka didn’t seem the person that would attack her based on their last interaction, it appeared she had changed a decent bit and so Fuyuko felt it was better to be safe than sorry.

If Haka had still not realized that another person was present in the room Fuyuko would circle around to the opposite side of the piano and stand there and watch Haka play until she did notice her. In either case the moment Fuyuko realized that Haka had noticed her she would open up the conversation between them. “Hey there Haka, how have you been doing?” she said with a gentle smile while brushing a bit of her hair behind her left ear.



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Undisturbed in their muse, Haka's hands continued tickling the ivory keys, her mind flipping through the pages that formed her plans with the Unmei. Names would reveal themselves. Names of other Unmei older than herself. Names of Unmei that had ditched the clan for their own desires, some of them discarding Sero and Momma as if they held no value in their lives. They were wrong. While Haka cared not for their decision to carve their own path, she cared for their lack of respect towards those that had stood at the origins of their lives. Everything they were up to everything they would become was impossible to imagine without Sero and Momma. Itami, Doku, Dainashi and Fuhai. She would seek them out one by one. Some would have their lives ended, some would be offered the chance to return to the Spider Clan, but ultimately every stray would be returned to the masses that were the spider horde.

The soft creak of the ballroom's door would be picked up by Haka. Perhaps not so surprising, someone was coming in. The general quiet of the manor would draw in those curious enough to hear what was going on. Still undisturbed the spider-nin would maintain the dark tones that resonated through the large room. The visitor would halt behind her for a moment, perhaps taken aback by her monstrous aura should they not be familiar with it by now. Letting the tones speak for her, the sound of the piano would shift from a dark brooding atmosphere into a lighter and softer tone that expressed a hint of saddened solitude as it explored the edges of forlorn loneliness. The visitor would then move into view, revealing Fuyuko to Haka's surprise. Red amber eyes would follow every of the girl's steps from the moment she entered the corner of her eyes until the point she settled into her position on the opposite side of the piano, the tones kept strangely genteel as if they were meant to delicately introduce the human to the stage.

“Hey there Haka, how have you been doing?”

Haka's eyes would rest on Fuyuko's brown gazers, fingers still dancing across the keys of the piano. Not surprisingly, Haka would remain quiet for a couple of seconds as she weighed her words, no matter how simple they were supposed to be. Fuyuko. How long had it been since she had talked to the human? A year? Maybe two? Time was rather difficult to keep track of for a creature such as her. She was about to step into her fourth year of existence, her body revealing an age that came closer to the age Fuyuko had when they had met in the kitchen.

"Hello Fuyuko. It's been a while.", despite everything, Haka's voice was still as soft and cold as the mists of Kirigakure. She lowered her gaze to watch her fingers move to new keys again and smile faintly in response to Fuyuko's greeting. "I've been well, and by the looks of it you have come to terms with Spider Island's eerie nature. How are you doing these days?"

She was home here, and that meant she had no need to change anything about herself. Words feigning care, the human masquerade upheld by the spider was just that - a mask. The apathy in her eyes had not changed in the slightest since the day of her 'birth' even if they had gained a red colour due to the katon chakra flowing through her. Aside from the faint smile, Haka's face preserved its stoic expression as it always did. Humanity had become another tool for the spider to weave its web, the difference being that Fuyuko was not intended as a fly. She was still a guest here by the grace of Sero and so she would still not lift a single finger upon the girl as long as she was not given right or reason to do so.

Fuyuko's ease of mind, on the other hand, was new to Haka. She remembered how the girl had seem stressed, almost skitterish at the idea monsters lurked in the darkness. Watching. Waiting. Always so hungry. That had come to pass. Fuyuko looked calm, self-assured and perhaps even sporting a hint of apathy for the sombre emptiness that generally shrouded Spider Island. Fuyuko had changed after all this time. Not so much physically, but certainly in mental resilience and maturity.

"What tasty dishes have you been preparing lately? You still cook, don't you?"

A reminder of a past, awkward encounter. At least mostly for Fuyuko it was a discomforting moment as she had no idea how to deal with the spider before her. Now things could be different, as Haka barely recognised the spider-nin she used to be. So much has changed. Transformed by fire and mind.

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Despite Fuyuko revealing she was in the room with Haka, Haka opted to continue stroking the keys of the piano. It was actually the option that Fuyuko preferred. Even if the tone of the play was somewhat on the sadder side, it was a fitting piece for the manor. Their eyes gazed upon each other as Fuyuko awaited a reply from the young girl. It seemed that after all this time not all that much had changed about her. Still as quiet as she used to be, not one that enjoyed the practice of speech.

However that idea would soon be shattered. Haka's initial response was short and to the point, just like how Fuyuko would have expected it, but it was followed up by a well structured long sentence. It was a good attempt at making a conversation with someone, but it was obvious that there wasn't too much of an interest in the answer. The little emotion or maybe better said complete lack of it made it still feel like any answer would suffice and that the young lady would forget it in a moments notice.

"It certainly has been a while. I'm doing alright, I suppose. Just going through the daily motions of life, figuring out what is and what isn't the right path to follow. Nothing extremely special. It's good to hear you're doing well yourself. As for me coming to terms with this place, I suppose I have. I hadn't really noticed it myself." she replied while looking into the bright eyes. While their color might feel alive, the gaze that came out of it didn't particularly feel that way.

A 'normal' conversation was being held between the two of them, even if Haka didn't seem all too interested in it. Fuyuko recalled the last time the two of them spend some time together. The young lady was very intent back then on learning the practice of eating with utensils and other things that came along with eating. After the eating practice the two of them prepared a turkey which turned out alright in the end. However what Fuyuko had noticed during that encounter was that if she spoke a lot of words the young one would be overwhelmed, but that didn't appear to be the case anymore. She seemed more accustomed to the practice of conversing with another. This was quite evident by the long sentences she was now constructing.

A small chuckle left her mouth as Haka posed another question. It was funny that that topic was chosen to talk about next. Just a small coincidence that she was just thinking about it herself. If Haka were to inquire about it Fuyuko would explain it, otherwise it would be left as it was. "What tasty dishes have I prepared, huh?" she spoke aloud as she tapped her lips with her right index finger while staring into the distance. "Nothing fancy really, just some normal meals. Chicken and rice, some soups, meat vegetables and potatoes. Just your normal daily things I suppose?" she answered in a normal tone.

"Why the sudden interest in what I have been cooking?" she asked while staring back at those fire red eyes. Fuyuko would await an answer before posing another one of her own. "What have you been up to lately?" she questioned with genuine interest in her voice and facial expressions.



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So she wasn't the only one contemplating what path to take. A crossroad had appeared for the two of them, choices had to be made, the future road paved. If one path was taken, the other one was lost. She knew to some extend what her roads offered and what they would make her lose, but Fuyuko's were different. She had been part of the Chuunin Exams. She had come to train here. The spider knew nothing about the human's past, but what about her future? Was she striving to become immortal? Unforgotten? Did she fight for her family? To become the next Mizukage? Humans tended to have the strange desire to reach the top of the mountain, surpass their limits, and then be at a loss what to do up there, all alone. Was Fuyuko that kind of person? Haka certainly wasn't.

"The right path is where you're feet stand, Fuyuko.", her answer was as pragmatic as ever. Much like Sero, she left little room for doubts. The thousand paths that lead before them were pointless if one's feet knew where to go. Then again, fickle was the human heart and easily swayed their mind. Doubt was a destructive seed easily planted within a human's brain, and that was why she would be picking up genjutsu whenever she had the time for it. "One can plan ahead but the heart leads the way, does it not?"

A rhetorical question. Her fingers would pick up the pace again, the soft lonely tones walking a determined path. Dark, strong. Like an encroaching darkness breathing down the neck of the fearful, forcing it to make a choice. The spider found it ironic that such a humane thing as musical art had been winning her over. One set of keys but they offered so many ways of expressing intent, subtle hints. Music swayed the hearts of the people. It pulled their heartstrings and puppetted them by weaving their emotions in the layers the virtuoso wanted revealed. Or sealed.

Her question about food would be answered. Just a normal answer. Human food didn't appeal much to her palate, it offered little sustenance for the spider with a different diet, but there were some dishes that she had come to accept. Pudding, mostly, as it texture was very alike to the food she absorbed as a spider. But yes, why the sudden interest?

"The servants served the turkey you made to the guests, indicating you are good at making food. Raiton and cooking is all I know about you, so there is little else to start a conversation with."

Haka played a last couple of notes on the piano, letting the last one die out naturally. As if all was said and done with that. She would run her hand through her long, white hair and stand up as Fuyuko asked her a question in return. An old game they once had been playing. One question answered, one question posed. Amusing how she used to put so much value in such a little thing. As she stepped away from the piano, the chair invitingly empty for a new maestro to assume its musical throne, Haka would return her gaze on Fuyuko.

"What an odd question, Fuyuko.", she would walk around the piano, her finger trailing over the instrument with an unexpected playful allure. She would position herself before Fuyuko, not even a meter in distance between the two, her red eyes piercing into Fuyuko's warm brown eyes for a second before she'd slowly curl her lips into a smile. "I've been practising on this piano, for one. You once told me art helped you relax, so I searched for what art meant."

Turning her gaze to the piano and stepping to the side, a path to the maestro's chair would open. Inviting.

"Would you like to give it a try?"

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“The heart leads the way… huh?”. It was an interesting statement that Haka made. Although Fuyuko’s heart has always had a lot of influence on her life. More often then not it was her rational mind that made the decisions. Omitting the input she got from her feelings and heart to make room for the cool headed and calculated processes. Perhaps she should let her heart decide more in her life. It was at least worth a shot, maybe that would give her a more clear direction in which she would need to walk. A path unblocked because she turned off the filter that always shut that option off before her conscious mind could even consider it.

The young lady picked up the pace at which she played the instrument after posing that statement. It wasn’t obvious to Fuyuko if an answer was required or not, but decided she would want to keep it to herself regardless and just pretended to not have heard it. Instead she just payed attention to where the play was going. It had once again returned to a more dark and sinister tone. There was something about it, for some reason it seemed to resonate deep inside of her. The feeling made a chill run down her spine, why did the tunes seem to echo with something that resided in the core of her being. It made Fuyuko feel a little bit angsty. She had not expected these feelings to be boiling inside of her and it was certainly something worth investigating when she was alone. Was this perhaps a path she was going to walk down?

Her thoughts were interrupted luckily by Haka starting to talk again. Another small smile appeared on her face as she watched long sentences leave the lips of the girl. “Is that all you know?” Fuyuko replied a little bit surprised. However when she thought about it, it was the same for her. “Then again… I don’t know all too much about you either. Except that you have or perhaps had a real interest in the more mundane things of the human world.” she stated. Fuyuko followed it up with a couple more of the general things about her, her most liked and disliked things her other element and specializations. Just so that Haka had a slightly bigger picture of who she was. If she was interested in learning more about her, she would simply only have to ask.

The play would finally end and Haka moved elegantly over to where Fuyuko was standing. There was something about her stride, the posture she carried. The way they were staring into each other’s eyes. It was almost as if some sort of charm was being cast upon her. Fuyuko shook her head slightly to snap out of the allure Haka was moving about with and focused instead on the reply she was given.

“I’m glad to hear that you have found a source for your own relaxation and it seems you’ve become quite good at playing the instrument.” Fuyuko was a little dumbfounded by the follow up question that was proposed to her. However she didn’t flat out deny it. She slowly walked down the opened up path for her. Sliding her fingers gently from left to right over the keys as she walked by them to the end before turning towards Haka again. “Thank you for the offer, but I’ll have to decline it. I for one, don’t know anything to play. I could just randomly pick notes but it would sound horrible. Further I don’t really have a sense of rhythm. So all in all, it would just sound really bad.” She said with a small chuckle in her smile.

Fuyuko wasn’t quite sure where to go next with the conversation and so decided to throw it in the completely other direction from where it had been going. “So tell me Haka, what are your plans for the future?” she asked as her eyes gazed over the young ladies face again. With this question the two of them were sure to learn more about each other, for better or worse.



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The spider-nin would observe the contradictory approach of the human who walked up to the piano's seat, stroking the ivory keys as if intrigued by the thought of being seduced into a little try-out of a talent that might be hidden somewhere, yet denied the offer as she explained the reasoning being she had no sense of rhythm. Haka would remain quiet for a couple of seconds, finding the reasoning odd as to her everything could be learned or picked up if one was remotely willing to give it a try. Even if she would not be able to achieve the skill Haka had shown, the spider-nin was fairly certain rhythm was something that one could pick up as it was just as much an attribute found within a mission or a battlefield. An unspoken sense of momentum that allowed one to flow in one movement after another. How had Verdandi called this again..? A battle dance?

Did it really matter though? Fuyuko and Haka were two very different people from an equally different world. The human and the monster. One belonged to the world of humanity, the other one only mimicked it out of a sense of preservation and survival. One tool among the many other shinobi were being trained to use. Playing the piano was just a small aspect of that masquerade. With Fuyuko denying her invitation towards the piano, Haka would seal the instrument back into its scroll as she mulled over the question that had been asked. What were her plans for the future? The truth of that answer was not something the spider wanted to reveal yet a hint of what she truly was would have to be revealed.

"Domination.", she would say, allowing the word to linger in the air for a moment. It was the blunt truth of her future, the context purposely left away to reveal a hint of the monster she was, and emphasise the difference between Sero's apathy and power and that of herself. That single-worded revelation would then be woven into a single layer of context which was not exactly a lie yet missing the full picture of her plans all together. "The Spider clan is scattered in purpose, it's true power crippled by several stronger members tearing it apart. I aim to end those powers and bring the clan under a single banner."

An internal civil war on a smaller scale. Not large enough to impact Kirigakure too much, large enough for those who were part of it to feel the difference. Spider Island was their battle field but to visitors it would make little difference if one spider was out to kill them or the other. To the spider-nin it meant everything yet it was still but the first step stone of a much greater future she had been working on. A future that was not to be shared with those who had no business or name within the clan. She would soon have the power to pose a real threat to those that had torn the clan's power and when she had come to that point, the arachnid assassin would move. Consolidating the clan into one concentrated force, asserting her dominance and assuming control over it until it became an extension of her own will. A shattered family reunited, another tool added to Haka's growing options.

"What about your future? Are you seeking a power that could destroy an entire village? Perhaps a prestige that equals the kage's hat? Or do you seek other directions?"

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Domination. That’s the answer that Haka gave to Fuyuko. It was an answer that Fuyuko had not anticipated in the slightest. What could she possibly want to dominate? It was also somewhat of a vague answer and ultimately just left her puzzled. Most people had much more practical desires. Become the richest person the world had ever known, become the best sword user. Have your art immortalized through the eons to come, but domination. Domination was such a vague reply. Fuyuko would wait for a bit to see if Haka was going to elaborate a bit on her answer or if she was going to stay the way she was, mysterious and silent. Luckily she wouldn’t have to pry for more information as the young lady started to explain further. However as she heard the explanation she was unsure if it was really something that she wanted to know. A shiver ran down her spine as she started to utter her next words. “S-s-spider clan?”

While having stayed at the manor she has had some encounters with spiders that roamed the island. Initially they scared the living shit out of her, but as time went on she grew slowly ‘accustomed’ to it. At least she was capable of standing her ground and not almost wet her pants at the dog sized spiders. But hearing Haka say that she wanted to reunite such a clan those initial feelings started to creep back to her. Why would such a clan even exist and why was Haka interested in uniting such a thing. If it was up to Fuyuko the clan should let itself torn apart. It was however wise to not state such things in front of someone who seemed intent on doing things for that clan. That would most likely only lead to a lot of trouble, trouble she didn’t want to get in while wearing nothing but a thin layer of clothing. To not seem to rude by it all Fuyuko would follow it up with a rather generic reply with a somewhat forced awkward smile. “Well I wish you the best of luck with that.”

And just as expected the young lady would give her the same question back. What did she want for her future. A question she has been struggling with ever since before the chuunin exams even had started. “I… I’m unsure what I want.” She said as she held on with her left hand to her right arm. Her hand tightened its grip as she continued giving her response. “My feelings are conflicting and I don’t know which to choose. On one hand I want to serve my village and follow the orders that are given to me. However they conflict with what I feel in my heart. I often feel like what I’m doing is wrong. So on the other hand I seek power. Power to topple the existing system and overthrow it. Be so strong that I can take on anyone that dares to defy the system that I want to create.” A tear or two would be forming in her eyes without realization as she continued talking. “The current system… it’s effective but it’s unfair. How are you supposed to learn from your mistakes if you end up dead. Yes people should be punished for their wrong doings, but I feel like outright killing them is wrong. So do I shut off my heart and become a slave to the system or do I keep my heart and try my best to overcome the system with a possibility of destroying myself. I don’t feel like…”

Fuyuko cut her sentence of as she started to realize what she had all just said. What was she doing. She was in the home of the man that could crush her skull with a pinky. One of his daughters that followed her fathers words like they were her own. And here she was throwing everything out to his other daughter. Talking about overthrowing the system. “I’m sorry.” She said without looking as she ran for the door and to her room. She had to go.


[Exit Thread]

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[3060/4000] A > S Suiton done here: http://www.narutosaga.com/t26272p25-taking-roll-taking-toll-death-camp-invite-only#215549
[4000/4000] A > S Suiton
[1500/1500] learning B-rank jutsu; Moderate jutsu sealing

Discarding 712 words

To Haka's surprise, Fuyuko briefly blanched when Haka mentioned the spider clan. The first time they had met, the discomfort for spiders had been apparent but that the fear of the arachnids was still there after all this time was a curious thing to see. Would one not have to be used to the presence or the existence of spiders at this point when the very name of the island she visited carried its name? Sure, giant wolf spiders were a terror not easily forgotten but the girl before her was a shinobi. For one reason or another Haka had been of the impression Fuyuko would have been aware of Haka's inhumane nature. Perhaps such an assumption should not have taken place. Thinking further about it, it was true that Fuyuko's knowledge on Haka's being and skills were just as limited as what she knew. Raiton, suiton, railgun. The spider held little knowledge concerning the intricacies of the human, but that relation was mutual. Still, despite unfamiliarity and fear, Fuyuko proceeded to wish her good luck. A typical human reply that betrayed a kind heart. Such people loathed the idea of hurting others one way or another. Haka often wondered why such people walked the path of the shinobi, since such a road only ended in death.

But did all of this really matter? Fuyuko's road was not hers. Where Haka sought domination over the clan and the Unmei to unite them under one purpose, Fuyuko's desire to develop her shinobi skills were different. Her emotional rant laid bare her perceptions on the world and why she had taken a road of hardships like that of a shinobi. Injustice. To straighten an unfair world. To tear down and reform a system she experienced as failing. She wanted to find the power to change the world around her. Haka would not have expected a person so burdened by emotions and kindness to harbour the hidden desire to dominate the world around her in her own way.

Haka had always considered Fuyuko as weak. Not because she lacked skill but more so because her emotions denied her the ability to press on and forced her into situations she had a hard time dealing with. It made her hesitate, much like it stopped her now from following the path that laid awaited her next step. Yes, Haka had said that the heart would show the way, but that was just a phrasing humans regularly used to do as they pleased instead of following discipline. The spider didn't believe in an emotional road. She was a wolf spider by nature, driven by instinct. Emotions were a liability. Intellect was a tool to greatly improve a hunt's change of success. The greatest difference being that the human society thrived on success and, as Fuyuko pointed out, left little options to learn from failure. Animals were used to the fact a hunt had only one chance in ten to succeed. Haka was used to this. Failing a hunt was not a sign of weakness. Failing to evolve was. And Fuyuko, describing the failure of the system she perceived, confirmed Haka's general line of thought. Humans, their society, had ceased evolving since long and as such were riddled with signs of weakness.

Perhaps more than she could ever come to understand, Fuyuko followed a path Haka respected.

Yet the underlying truth of Fuyuko's desire to dominate her own society and force it towards evolution would remain clouded. Fuyuko refused to face that truth, her humane reasoning considering it wrong. The conflicts she suffered were not her fault. Her reasoning had been calcified in a layer of denial by the very society that refused to evolve. She was not fighting herself, she was struggling with the idea of opposing her society at its very foundation - the masses that formed that society. So as Fuyuko apologised and ran to deal with her overflowing emotions, Haka remained quiet and watched her run out of the ballroom as tears stained the marble flooring, thoughts wondering if Fuyuko would find the strength to step forward on the road that tried to remain hidden no longer.

---

[EXIT]

703
Total: 3670
- 1000 C rank: Sea of Nightmares
- 1000 C rank: Spider Suicide Squad
- 1500 B rank: Tapestry of Life