Mission name: Target: Doku (One-time)
Mission rank: B
Objective: The unification of the Unmei and the Spider Clan is about to happen!
Location: Any
Reward: 500 ryo

Mission Description: Recruit or kill Doku

Mission Details: 2500 wc
No interest in improving the Spider Clan, Doku left to carve her own path. Her fascination for the Unmei's ability to transform and the Henge no Jutsu has driven her to become a hobbyist tattooist as well as a surgeon with a mastery in face changes. Living the rogue's life she has not looked back one time from where she came, preserving a neutral and mostly uncaring stance about her origins.

---

Name: Doku
Age: 5 (spider age)
General Appearance: [x]
Personality:
Goals: Reputation
Abilities: B rank ninjutsu, iryojutsu & Unmei KKG, B rank fuuton, doton, raiton
Strength: B-0, Endurance: B-0, Speed: B-2, Perception: B-0, Reaction: B-0
Items: A set of B rank senbon

It was all a matter of killing off the few rogues that roamed around Kirigakure. Most of these were easy targets for the trained assassin but here and there a few had proven to be quite tedious. Her new target remained a mystery. All Haka knew was that the woman in question was an Unmei, not inherently evil. She had mingled among humans quite well, using the meticulous precision of spiders to work as a tattooist and facechanger somewhere in the darker streets of Kirigakure. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, the Tyrannis of the Spider Clan was of a mind such abilities could be an asset to the clan as tattoos reminded her of Fuinjutsu while face changing was clearly an Iryojutsu art. As such, the arachnid warlord had made her move to meet up with this Unmei, unannounced of course, to give her a one-time proposal - join the Spider Clan who had been reunited under a single banner, that of Sero Osada and ruled by Haka Osada, or die at the hands of the daughter of Sero herself as the girl's devotion towards the eradication of any rogue Unmei would not be denied.

Appearing in a flicker, a faint mist would linger around Haka's figure before the full encompassing presence of her monstrous aura would cloak the immediate vicinity around her and instantly raise the hairs in the back and on the arms of nearby civilians. Their eyes would turn to look at Haka's sudden presence, taking note of the Kirigakure headband wrapped around her front and deciding it was better to mind their own business than to meddle in the affairs of shinobi. The blue fabric of the headband would partially disappear in the long, flowing white hair of the girl, red apathetic eyes taking in the scenery of the building briefly before focusing her attention on the female Unmei before her - Doku. The deep red haori worn over a black kosode and hakama bore two distinct kamon in the front, namely that of the Osada Clan and that of the Unmei clan, and bore the kamon of the Kirigakure's notorious Spider Sage on the back in large. Clearly making her allegiance to Spider Island visible to all. Attached with a chain to her ninja belt, a black leather book with eight beady eyes rested against her hip.

Seconds would pass as Haka allowed her monstrous aura to chase off the little flies that were the villagers, the wolf spider in disguise not interested in dealing with them. Then, as most of the area was cleared of unnecessary presences she would speak.

"I found you, Doku. I'm Haka Osada, daughter of Sero Osada. I've come with a one-time offer.", her voice would speak with a soft, cold tone like the mists of Kirigakure themselves. Always straight to the point and speaking with stated facts rather than leaving doubt, like she had noticed Sero doing. The disdain Haka generally held for humans wouldn't seep through in her apathy, the girl only expecting to be heard before she decisions were made.

---

521

Spoiler:

The night prior was to say the least eye opening for Xiao Guan and yet so many questions still remained. He had watched his first ally since becoming a shinobi cut down a horde of men but these were not mere ruffians nor were they an assortment of bandits that were out for blood. They were but a small political party, one that was unsatisfied with the current establishment of Kirigakure and the desire to bring about a more colonial and democratic version of Kirigakure. Though Xiao Guan was far too young to understand such complex issues, and by all accounts upheld freedom beyond anything else thus putting him in opposition of these ideals the truth was that the head of these shinobi cut down so easily like the dogs they were was Xiao Guan's own father, Shizi Guan, the lion of the mist. A man from a far off country of Knights and Kings where the stone of Gelel ruled supreme and yet here in the borders of kirigakure the land of his mother, the land of shinobi, he was but a stain on the sidewalk. Samuru had cut him down without a second thought, without hesitation and it showed the little genin what the world of the shinobi truly was - action without conscience and ruthlessness without understanding.

Still stained with his fathers blood the young shinobi had stumbled his way home, his feathered jacket given to he by his mother was tarnished by both rain and the blood of his own. He was in trauma, cold shards of ice feeling as if they had embedded themselves in his lungs giving every breathe he took as painful and sharp. He was lost, somewhat, stumbling through the streets without any war of knowing or rather fully being aware of what was going on. He had arrived back to the familiar smell of his mothers cooking of one of her combination dishes. She had a real knack for taking aspects of the vegetables and meats she could find in their adopted land and attempting to create a hybrid of the dishes common in their homeland and in their adopted land. Xiao Guan's eyes almost wept as he continued to move forward towards his familiar door his eyes welling with emotion. His heart was pounding as he walked inside grasping the door and gently pushing it open. "Hey! Duǎn zi, come, come help!" she called out to her son across from the kitchen, carrying a large pot in her small hands supported by a very similar frame to the shinobi of the hidden mist himself. That was until she saw him, bloodied, wet and traumatized. Slowly putting down the pot she looked onward to the little crow "What happened?! Were you bullied!?" she barked rushing forward to her young son and grasping his shoulders, almost shaking his lifeless body "What happened!? Why did you ruin your jacket!?" she called gently slapping her sons face that caused the little shinobi to sink deeper into his mind. It was his mothers habit to always worry about the material before the person, if he fell and scrapped his knee she would worry about the scuff of his pants before considering the wound but she still cared deeply, it was her way simply of defusing the situation, of distancing herself from it. He didn't want to break her. He didn't want to harm her but he needed to say it. He needed to say the truth of the matter.

Dad...is dead

The words echoed throughout the house as the woman stopped shaking her son. They stood there, in silence, entirely devoid of any movement or sound with only these words as comfort between the two. The man he loved had passed on, the son she had raised with him was covered in blood before her and of course...the news of her true home land's great war was slowly coming to a close with the Osada clan taking the reigns of control. As time went on, the silence was only interrupted by something that Xiao Guan did not notice...movements, small movements in the corner of the house upon a web. A message that time was up, a message to start moving, her clan had lost the war and demanding back up. It was now or never, move or stay hidden as a traitor for more. She took a moment holding her son, still bloodied and with tears in his eyes steeling herself. Only a furrowed brow showing how she truly felt, she truly did love her husband and she truly did love her son but this was something that could cause her to lose even more. This could cause her to lose not only the man she loved, but so too lose the son she cared of so deeply. "...I...I should tell the Mizukage..." she muttered as her son simply nodded "Duǎn zi...Go...wash yourself. Please..." she stated as she began to push her son gently towards the shower room. Taking his feathered cloak given to the small boy by her husband, now labelled with his blood. Could it be that the Osada clan had struck down her husband? She had moved on from her former life, she was a surgeon and an accomplished artist, a mother and a lover to a human knight of gelel, a revolutionary as well as a key part of the mist and yet she was being called back to that life she had thrown away so long ago.

She cursed her blood, cursed where she had come from, why was she not born as all women had been in this village with the body of human form and human history? Instead, she was stuck with the curse of the great 'momma'. The curse of being not entirely there. It was what drew her to her husband in the first place, two people in a world filled with chakra wielding shinobi finding themselves alone and yet drawn together through this loneliness and now she had her son. She knew he was coming of age, aging more like a human than what she truly was but none the less he was still branded with the curse of being an outsider without ever truly knowing it.  He was, though it was a rare case, a hybrid after all and being a hybrid would mean not only a life of being an outsider but a life that would be connected deeply with the island of webs.

As she sat the young boy down in the shower he began to stroke his hair before leaving to make her way out into the streets of Kirigakure no Sato. If she could keep him safe, then maybe she would have a reason to continue her life, perhaps she would even be able to make her way away from the village itself and be drawn out into another life of safety. Without her husband her heart began to pound faster and faster, yes she was sure of it, she was sure it must have been that clan who had slain her son. Kirigakure would not do this, Kirigakure couldn't do it but they were not like the walled city, they were not like the shinobi she had grown to call friends. She needed to make it to the Mizukage, make it to some form of authority and get an answer. Why was her husband dead - and why was her son involved? It was then she heard the words. Words than ran cold up her spine as she heard them uttered.

I found you, Doku.

Her true name. Her name of the spider. She was caught in Haka's web and once in that web, there was no escape. She was unfamiliar with the voice but whoever this was...it was bad news for her. She let senbon fall in between her knuckles as she pretended not to hear. The 'girl' introduced herself, she had an offer but the recent widow was not in the right mind to play now. She needed a clear answer, she needed some semblance of stability and if this was in anyway linked to the harm and horror her family had been taken so suddenly by this would mean the one thing she feared so deeply - perhaps her time among the humans, among the family she had made and the ones she loved was coming to an abrupt end. "I...see. What is it you want daughter of Sero Osada" she spat back almost venomous in her words, her senbon still gripped between her knuckle in case there was need to bring about her own justice.

Spoiler:

----

Xiao Guan kneeled as the water splashed about his head, his fathers blood spiralling down the drain as he watched the liquid spiral downward his eyes grew cold. He felt the tile on the floor, the cold stone felt...different. Strange and different to the shinobi...as if he was feeling it for the first time and yet it brought him comfort. It brought him a sense of stability, something he could cling to. A simple bathroom tile. That was enough right now to center himself. He began to breathe deeply, in and out allowing his lungs to be filled thoroughly as he thought threw things. How his father was gone, how his mother was off to inform the mizukage.

The Mizukage

His mind rushed. It clicked. His father had been cut down as a political dissident and now his wife was about to serve herself up to the government that had cut him down for all but her son forgetting to inform her of the reality of the situation. The reality that it was that very government that had cut him down. His eyes bulged as his fist tightened, rushing from the shower he leaped to his bedroom looking about for something he could wear. There was nothing he could find that made him look intimidating, no flak jacket and knives, no feathered coat. No, now he had nothing more than his dark red hooded jacket and blue shorts. Grasping wrappings he began to wrap his hands and made his way out the door as fast as he possibly could. Rushing out he was unsure of what to do exactly, of how to track his mother and yet there was something...like a scent, like a trail he was drawn to.

It would take him time but the little shinobi was determined to find his mother, determined to find her before the same fate that had taken his father would find her.

Spoiler:

She had a senbon in her hand, her posture prepared to fight. Haka remained unmoved, wondering if her name and deeds on Spider Island had reached this far already that those no longer wishing to be affiliated with the Clan had come to fear her. An amusing thought for the spider adored it when others crawled away. She was a spider, after all. A predator of the weak that would come to serve as her sustenance. But here, she had no immediate intention to strike the woman down. Her eyes rest briefly on the senbon to acknowledge its existence before she raised her eyes up again to meet that of the Unmei.

This Unmei certainly had embraced her human nature... The emotions were easily readable on her face, body trembling by rage and fear. Curious. Haka was not one to pursue the human nature to that point but she had come to understand the emotional necessities that came with it. Haka was well aware of the emotional turmoil the woman suffered. The continued presence of Verdandi's empathy had taught her to read emotions of others and Noiralane had shown her how to use and manipulate emotions to achieve her goals - just another weakness to exploit in the eyes of the natural hunters.

In this case, Haka was not out to hunt the Unmei down... yet. A four year old spider herself, she could have been a brood mother since long if she had the opportunity to be one. Instead, she had opted to abide by Sero's will and walk in his footsteps to some extend. The Unmei were Momma's children and Sero's second blade, the leader of the Seven Swordsmen merely having to point where he wanted them to strike and Haka making sure his death mark would be seen fulfilled. It was only with the recent unification that Sero's rightful claim and power was restored, however.

"You reveal a lot of fear and anger. Why is it you judge me with such hatred?", she asked quietly, revealing not the slightest hint of worry or care upon her stoic face. All she wanted was to understand where it came from as few were the rogues familiar with her existence and rise to power. Haka would grant the mother all the attention to tell her tale, ultimately giving a slight nod that she understood what she had been explaining.

The Spider Clan is no longer divided, united under Sero's banner and under my command. You are Unmei yet you do not affiliate yourself with Sero. Whichever reason for this decision, I can not accept the Spider Clan to be divided any longer.", she said calmly, voice bringing simple facts to the table. "Unlike other rogue Unmei, your talents are rare and useful. Since you never opposed our Creator, Haka offers you the choice between rejoining the Clan or fighting for the rights to live on."

Such was the way of the Spider Clan, as shaped by the Creator Sero. Survival and domination. Meticulous planning and weaving the fates of their prey strand by strand. Haka's offer was not negotiable but the spider, true to its nature, was a patient being who didn't jump quickly to conclusions. She would hear what the woman had to say, whether these were objections, requests or decisions from her side.

---

562
Total: 1083

OOC: The 'war' happened on Spider Island among factions of the Spider Clan. Some acknowledged Sero, some didn't. It's nothing grand scaled but human casualties could have happened during the chaos. It's fine if you're aware of it, Unmei, shinobi or unfortunate survivor, someone's bound to have perceived and talked about it.

The woman was relieved as the Osada explained her case, it was a sigh of both relief and comfort, a small light in the hope of everything that allowed her to take a break from the great storm that was forming about her life like a thickened fog that choked out the happiness she so sought out to bring her some semblance of a life line she could grip to in the midst of this desasterous day "Oh thank momma..." she stated almost to her self as her hand followed up to her heart with a large sigh to follow "Oh...I am so sorry, I was startled..." she remarked as her eyes began to dart downward to show her shame, avoiding the eyeline of the Osada born as best she could shaking her head in disbelief "My husband...It's too much to explain..." she muttered allowing the girl to speak and explain the situation they were currently in.

The clan was united, finally and this brought the elderly Doku a great pleasure though she felt of two worlds. It had been sometime since she had 'retired' from her former life, moving into the human world entirely and walking among them as an artist and that of a mother. She had a family now, she was of two worlds torn between the two. She, in her heart, felt that she was a human now and her life was behind her but she could not deny who she was and where she was from. "It pleases me to hear this...Sero will rule well and rule with my support...but I must admit I am torn." the woman stated twisting her silken garb as she thought over how she would phrase exactly it was that she wished to say "I have...a life here, a life where others are...unaware of my past. I have not turned my back on the past, but rather I have embraced a new future...though even now...perhaps that future has faded..." she remarked "I don't mean offense...but...Can I continue here...Can I continue to care for my son...and if not, may he return to the island with us?" she stated calmly, though still in somewhat of a haze after the great stress she had dealt with. She wasn't sure on the policy, she wasn't sure if Sero would agree or disagree but she knew she would have to come clean eventually whether it would curse Xiao Guan or keep him alive. She needed to state the truth. "My...husband...was cut down by the mist...or perhaps...you see I thought it was you. I thought it was my old life chasing me but now I see...now I see" the woman chattered, sounding almost fearful as she spoke, her brows furrowing in distress as her eyes traced away from the Osada Clan Member and viewed the great building of the Mizukage, one of the literal gods of the shinobi world. "...It....It must have been her..." she stated, her words like a salad of mixed components with no real attachment to one another

"You see...I have birthed...a hybrid...I was playing a game that I couldn't win..."
--

Looking for his mother, Xiao Guan continued to leap throughout the town, trying to find something to follow. Perhaps she was at the Mizukage's office already? It was hard to know, hard to know anything, his body felt lighter than before, more open than before, something like he was free and floating through the air. It was if there was something deep inside of him. He couldn't quite explain it, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something had changed within him. Something had shifted and whatever it was...it was causing the young shinobi to feel as if the webs of fate were pulling him elsewhere.

Spoiler:

An explanation would follow. Broken pieces of a puzzle. Patiently, the spider awaited the slow revelation of the entire picture. Leaving the clan was why she was considered a rogue. Not a decision Haka would hold against her since it happened at a time before Haka had united the clan, yet neither one she could allow to exist in these new tides. Her request to remain here among the humans was thus a delicate one. Haka was of a mind to deny it but before she spoke the thought of having an external contact in the streets of Kirigakure was not that bad an option, though it would require a token of loyalty to do so. And as if the devil was behind the scene pulling the strings, she revealed a secret that could easily serve as leverage for that choice - an offspring.

The catch about this offspring was him being a hybrid. A half-blood spider, human. An odd things to perceive within the eyes of the spider-nin who wasn't sure how to interpret this idea. To her, if the boy could change into a spider then he was clearly Unmei. If he could not, he was a Human. There was little else to say about his nature as his skill would determine his place within the Spider clan. The only question Haka had on that account was if her son could change or not.

"The Unmei are spiders. If your son holds Momma's essence, he is an Unmei like you and part of the clan by birth right. If he's a mere human, he would not survive the clan. You know that much. Bring him to me and I will test him out."

Haka would fold her arms as the woman continued about her husband. A situation that the spider was not familiar with. She hardly dealt in human politics and from what she cared to know about it, the most involved she'd get was executing missions. Mostly because Sero expected her to deal with them as an outstanding member of the community he was himself. Though his wishes were her command, it didn't mean she had to be interested in Human affairs. So the mist having cut her husband down... If it was already Kirigakure's meddling in that, Haka would not bother to deal with it.

"I had other business to attend to. If I did not kill your husband, who then do you believe to be the assassin?"

The arachnid would wait patiently again for her answer. There were few people that were of matter to her anyway, but even the slightest possibility that the assassin was one she knew about had to be eliminated from the regions of doubt. Statements and facts. The rigid mind of the spider, meticulous in its approach would accept nothing less.

---

478
Total: 1561

The woman of the spider clan gave out a sigh of relief as Haka Osada confirmed as such that Xiao would be safe. "I am relieved...Admittedly, I am unaware of whether he is or not but what I do know is that he certainly has displayed our traits..." the spider mother stated calmly as she twisted her clothed sleeve in her hand nervously as she gazed upon Haka. The ruthless sword of Sero was something of a thing to be feared if only Doku knew, but being a mother and a working woman meant that the important aspects often eluded her scope of understanding or sharing. She was by all sense of the word in a moment of utter trauma, unsure of what to do. If the Spider-Clan was not the one to strike back at her husband and did not seek to punish her, then and only then it would mean and leave only one other.

Either it was another village who had opted to slaughter a humble merchant or Kirigakure had discovered her husbands 'dissident' ways. Her husband was a kind man, but perhaps too kind hearted, in the Isles of the Gelel Stone he had found comfort in their chivalrous ways and protection of the weak. The shinobi isles offered no such comforts and she knew it was a matter of time before husband would grow tired with their rather cold ways in comparison with his old values. Though he was a good man, he was still fool hardly and she knew this deeply to be true. As Haka asked the difficult question she was hoping would be avoided at all costs.

Folding her arms gently she bowed her head. "I am in quite the troublesome situation, daughter of sero..." she stated oddly calm as she spoke "My husband was...taken from me. Taken from me by those who...well, I assumed it to be you, but if not then that only leaves the village itself all things considered..." she continued, once again eerily calm and collected for the situation she was in.

"What this means...is that to restore my husbands honor, I must strike out against his murderer but all at once this means that I will put the clan in danger of yet another war. This could bring a harsh punishment on us all. Someone must pay this debt of blood. Call my crimson avenger...but I also know that with this action I damn far more than any other." she explained calmly to the spider "We are alike, though I have moved more into the nature of humans, I understand the logic and I'm sure as do you. My mind cannot be changed. This is the justice I must commit but all at once...if you are to strike me down, this would mean that the village was saved by one of our own who opted to take down the wife of a dissidant within Kirigakure. That looks good for you, Sero and of course...my son."

Doku glanced to Haka with a great determination, a fire in her eyes and yet a gracefulness. As she proceeded to grasp a small scroll from her robe, her techniques and tatooed artistry, a journal of sorts but mostly a note for those who may need it. "This is...everything." she stated with a soft smile, shaking her head at the silly human emotions she had grown so attached to, almost totally removed from her original insect like mind "...Daughter of Sero...I elect you my Kaishakunin but I beg you with this last one request. My son...Please, raise him to be of use to Sero and explain my blessing, but decision, to that of the grand lord of spiders who I happily with my dying breathe give my favor." she remarked bluntly to the sword of the spider clan

--

Xiao Guan was still trying to find his mother, looking about and hunting without any true direction. Unsure of where to go he began to instead try the main city hub areas, the taverns and bars, perhaps she was so depressed she went to drink herself silly? It was hard for the little shinobi to truly know.


693

Her choice of words concerning her son were strange. She was unsure of his nature yet could say for sure he had displayed traits. Haka tilted her head lightly as if that'd help to clear the confusion but nothing better came out of the frantic woman. Not even her son's name. As if she wanted to protect and preserve everything about her family to the very last second of her life. Such an overprotective demeanour made the spider lose a tad of her respect, believing it to deny the boy's ability to develop true endurance and survival instinct. The Unmei of Spider Island were everything if not ruthless.

As Haka's second question came, again the woman would resort to avoiding the true name of things. 'Daughter of Sero', taken by 'those'. The way she danced around clear answers was something the spider-nin was growing tired off, and to add insult to injury the humane Unmei having decided to walk the road of emotions and humanity still considered herself as similar in nature to Haka. A hint of annoyance would flicker in Haka's red eyes at that notion, the wolf spider not considering alike at all but in their origins. A woman having succumbed to the madness of her own emotions was nothing if not a weak creature whom would not find the strength to claim her place among the Clan of Spiders. Not a hint of strength or domination. No, this woman was not like Haka at all. In fact, she had come to a similar conclusion as Haka - her death would be a better choice.

The woman would dig up a scroll from her robes and give it to Haka, who accepted the scroll and stowed it in her shinobi belt pouch. As she prepared herself to be slain by the 'kaishakunin' she had elected, by sheer strength of will two pair of additional limbs would be formed from chakra and turn Haka into a six-legged creature despite the human shape. Almost invisible, the created appendages of thick chakra would float around the spider-nin, one of the claws shaping themselves in the image of a blade.

"If such is your wish.", Haka would reply to her request to raise her child. Though Haka was not the sort to keep promises, feeling no allegiance to others but the Spider Clan, the boy she'd be given in her custody would be tested on his ability and potential. If he proved to be weak, there would be little other choice than to slay him and let his soul join that of his mother. If he could grow into an Unmei worth her time, he'd be welcome as a full-fledged members of the Spider Clan. It'd be up to him.

The woman would eventually kneel and nod she was ready to fulfil her chosen destiny of death. To her, a price in blood to be paid for the safety of her son. To Haka, the culling of a weak Unmei who had chosen a life of weakness than one of strength. In one swift motion, the bladed chakra arm would tear through the mother and end her life without any resistance. Her life taken. Her destiny left to be fulfilled by the boy she left behind. A half-breed of which even she was not sure what potential he harboured. Haka ran a hand through her long, white hair and closed her eyes just for a moment as she allowed the thoughts of this entire scene to play out again. The words, the choices, the decision.

What fate would her son weave now that he was all alone in the grasp of the Tyrannis of the Spider Clan?

---

627
Total: 2188

Chakra=320/350:

She was already dead, in some semblance of the word anyway, she was no longer the spider that she would once be, she was a shame to her clan and with her husbands subordination and turning his back on the village this would so too indicate that she was a shame to her village. She had the promise to take out those who would strike down her husband, who struck down her love that had shown her the way of empathy compassion and love and shied away from the ruthless bug like mentality her clan held. Xiao Guan, her little crow, he was just like her and the possibility that he might become one of the bloodthirsty weapons did tend to worry her but she knew in her heart he would be a bridge for the clan and the village. A bridge between the two that would cement a greater understanding between beast and man.


As she watched the scroll collected by the blade of the spider clan she knew that her worth was gone. What she was, or rather, what use she could be was entirely devoid now as her secrets were forfeit. She knew, that perhaps, the concept of a new fledgling would be enough to save her son's life and give him a clan to protect him in ways that she could not. To explain things in ways she could not. Tears welled in her eyes, a human emotion once more, perhaps it was being in this human form for too long, perhaps the act of appearing to care was becoming real or perhaps it was real all along. The thick arms of judgement were birthed out from Haka as she gazed in a sense of finality, not terror or fear but rather an understanding that this was the true end of all things to come.

She knew that her son would need to push harder, faster against the tearing torrents of the spider-clan. That he would need to not only be the best he could be but so too adhere to their rules and regulations. Though she may have damned him to this life, it was a kindness, a way for her to entrust his protection under a clan she knew could fight against the mist if they wished to further investigate the family of dissidants that were plotting it's destruction. It was a bargaining chip, a harsh bitter kindness but one none the less.

She closed her eyes, bowing her head as her hair fell into her face and with a deepened sigh let loose one final breathe that carried on the name of her son "Xiao Guan...." she muttered "...Always remember...what your mother said." before the sound of breaking flesh could be heard and with it the echo of soul leaving with the final breathe of life.

What could not be seen though was the arrival of the young boy standing atop the roof, gazing down in his red hooded jumper as his mother was beheaded infront of him. Destroyed utterly by what appeared to be a monster. He had lost his father...The village had forced the hands of those he could not compete with and now his mother too...This world was nothing but pain and the pain of others. He had endured so much, too much and it was driving him to the point of exhaustion. He knew if he screamed, he knew if he yelled it would alert the beast but he no longer cared. He didn't care whether he lived or died any longer. All he knew was that his entire life was a lie up until this point in which his parents were not the patriots he thought, the village was not a clear mist but one of a bloody demeanor and that true monsters existed in the child weapons these villages created. He hated shinobi. He hated this world and all it was but he pushed it down. He pushed it down as he always had done as he gazed onward with a clenched fist, breathing heavily before a great boom left his chest "What are you doing...?" he stated emotionlessly towards Haka as he leaped down from the buildings rooftop staring coldly at the sword of sero, his emotion numb, his feelings numb and everything that he had once known utterly destroyed.


731

Unmei. Weavers of Fate. Was it not funny how every little strand woven always ended up connecting with another? One Unmei had died after a life long weaving their life distanced from the clan itself and yet, at their last breath, pulled in the fate of another Unmei deeply anchored within Spider Island. Connecting the future of a hybrid with that of a full-blood living by the Spider School's Ways. To Haka, such things did not come as a surprise. Even if humanity had an odd way of taking leaps and bounds around normal destiny, even they ultimately ended up caught within the web of the Fate-Weavers. It was merely a matter of harbouring more patience than normal but the result eventually ended in the same story. Fates were connected. They always were.

The presence of the genin on the roofs would not go unnoticed. Even if he was a genin, his breathing was laboured from running and he had not paid attention to the noise he made as he ran towards his mother. A fatal mistake should he be dealing with enemies. Long seconds would pass before he decided on jumping down to face Haka in person with the eyes of a boy who had just lost something more valuable than life itself. Cold, murderous intent would flicker in his eyes, emotions numbed but not lost, a quiet wrath waiting to be unleashed as he asked her a simple question. A good question.

"Fulfilling the wishes of your mother.", she said calmly. A simple truth as her death was one that had been requested by the woman herself. "Though humane she might have been, she proved to be more Unmei than most I have met."

Haka would take out the scroll that the woman had offered her and hold it up before her. A scroll without bloodstains, much like the woman had shown no signs of struggle in her last moments. A willing parting instead of a violent one.

"Your heritage and your life were left in my custody by your mother. She offered her life to protect yours. Prove your mother she was not wrong in doing so and I'll give you this scroll with whatever she left behind for you. Fail her and you'll regret it."

The scroll would be stowed away again as her apathetic gaze rested on Xiao, analysing his reaction to the statements given. He was free to question his mother's choices or Haka's words. In the state he was, Haka didn't expect him to have the ability for proper reasoning anyway. Perhaps the boy would understand nothing of what transpired, of the fates woven, how his mother had both protected and condemned his life to one of hardships and nightmares. A half-breed Unmei he may be, the Spider Clan would draw out the full power of his lineage.

Forming a series of single hand seals, Fuinjutsu symbols would appear in the air to form a small gate. As it achieved completion, the dead trees of Spider Island could be seen within its domain. Arachnid silhouettes lurking in the shadows of the wooden guardians. A single ominous manor of dark grey stone lording over the area much like Haka's aura did over this area. The first of tests revealed - embracing the nightmares inherent to his hidden nature.

"Choose. Enter the gate to find your new home or die along your mother's side."

---

OOC: If you want more details about the manor and its environment, click the 'manor' link in my signature. It contains all info about Sero's manor and Spider Island.

579
Total: 2767

Fufilling the wishes of his mother was the best statement Haka could have chosen. It wasn't as if Xiao Guan stood a chance at all, but rather the concept of eradicating an entire family in a day may not have looked good for the Unmei Clan in the future. The little shinobi cocked his head to the side as he heard those words, almost comforting in their formation, something cling to even if there was naught but chaos all around.

The little spider shinobi held his wrist gently, a reflex in hopes of 'grabbing' something to keep him emotionally stable at the time. It had been a big two days, two days of pure hell and agony that he couldn't get away from and yet that was what numbed him, that was what allowed him to keep going. The village killed in cold blood, his father was a revolutionary and his mother was some form of fugitive too. What hope did he have now to become that of a shinobi to defend the village that had taken the lives of his parents? How could he even be a shinobi now? He didn't have time to think nor did he wish to and instead opted to merely 'go with the flow', to act almost like a zombie so to numb himself further from the agony he would normally be experiencing.

The word Haka used was confusing, he had never even come across the term before save in passing from students who told stories of the 'cursed' island. "Unmei?" he muttered, almost to himself as he rose an eyebrow. Perhaps it was the name of the organisation his father, Guan Shizi, had established? It was hard to know truly as having a foreigner father meant quite a lot of terms were lost on Xiao Guan.

As Haka took out the scroll, unravelling it and holding it thustly he looked on to the spider with folded arms. She spoke of promises to protect him. Was his mother truly doing this? To grant them her life so that she might spare his? Was this an equal exchange or rather was this an exchange he could even fully accept? One life for another, the way of the shinobi, the way of the eternal death and the cycle of eternal war. Xiao Guan merely gave a nod as Haka spoke, out of character for him to be sure but at this moment there wasn't much of 'him' in there at the time. "...Very well." was all he could manage to utter. It wasn't cold or apathetic as Haka's own way of speaking but rather something deliberate and chosen purposefully.


As Haka bbegan to string hand signs together he looked on in wonder, amazement rather, he had a real admiration for the arts of the ninja world having grown up hearing those stories of those who melded and mixed chakra as if it was a second language. The seal appeared in the air forming a doorway of sorts, something he could not fully decide and within it a gateway to a harrowed ground of twisted dead trees and cold webbings. Xiao Guan lowered his head cautiously as he gazed onward, not entirely sure of what he was agreeing to but knowing - in his heart at least - it was the right thing to do. "Impressive..." he said, almost as if his old self was coming out from his deepened zombie like state and yet it still rang hollow and weary as if a feeble reaching hand of a sickened man on his death bed.

"Choose. Enter the gate to find your new home or die along your mother's side."

Those words meant everything to Xiao Guan. Gone were the days of indecision and attempting to run from the concept of good and evil, black and white, heroes and villains and the embrace of a world that was something far more realistic. The world of monsters was real, and Xiao Guan as one of them. Stepping forward slowly he didn't say a word but rather closed his eyes firmly giving a nod of approval as he began to march forward towards the seal and once inside to the view of a cold masoned courtyard with cobbled web and twisted trees that darkened and dimmed what little light may have been able to crawl forward. A twisted treeline, for a twisted reality. Xiao Guan pressed his thumb to his palm as he looked it over, feeling pain for a moment purposefully as he looked onto the new world. It was one small step for jutsu users, but for Xiao Guan, it was one giant leap to a new world.

--
787
[Mission pretty much over so training from here]

Spoiler:

And so a new life began. The boy stepped through the gate, followed closely by Haka. Both would find themselves on Spider Island, Fuin Gate closing right after. What little warmth and joy the city had offered was now gone, replaced by an ominous forest of dead trees. The shadows danced, the wind carried the incessant chittering of spiders tall and small. Osada Island, a nightmare island belonging to Kirigakure, was one of ill stories and nightmares giving shape. Carrying the lessons of the Spider School in every square meter. Survival of the strongest. Curious spiders would inch closer along the edges of Haka's monstrous aura. An aura otherwise heralding her arrival now serving as a protective cloak for Xiao, her tyranny well known. Every spider belonging to Haka, recognising her as the true leader and heiress of Sero Osada, the Creator.

The spider-nin walked towards the manor in quietude, leaving the secrets of the arachnid speech for Xiao to unravel. An Unmei could understand the words whispered here. Words of hunger, power and survival. The spiders always looking for a new prey to devour. The moment he had stepped through the gate his lessons had begun. The first lesson of consistent vigilance. A training in 360° awareness as the horde of spiders could arrive from any direction at any moment. To them, Xiao was but a human. Even if Haka was around they knew they had a chance... Humans were food until proven otherwise. Hungry eyes would watch him for a moment of weakness, a single second they could abuse to still their hunger.

"The Unmei only respect strength. The strong survive the weak. Prove yourself strong and you can do as you wish. But know this son of Doku... Sero's purpose is the Spider Clan's purpose. Create a rift in that purpose and you'll find death like all the others that have opposed my father's wishes.", the aranean queen explained as they marched on along the earthen path. "Now, what is your name?"

The front garden of the manor would eventually be reached. The grey stones of the fountain and the gargoyle statues greeting them with an imposing presence. A lifeless presence. What little plants and flowers grew in the garden were either withering or survived with little frills and bells, the dead leaves being cleaned up by a lone servant tending to the flora at this moment. He'd lift his eyes for a moment and greet the two in kind before he continued his work dutifully.

When the wooden double doors of the manor were reached, Haka opened the door and stepped inside. Another servant running up to them, bowing lightly and closing the door once Xiao too had entered.

"Welcome back, Lady Osada"
She'd nod. "Arrange a room on the second floor. This boy is our guest."
"It will be done."
"Is my father around?"
"He is in his private quarters last I know."

Haka nodded again, signing the servant could move on and turned around to face Xiao.

"Every of these servants are Unmei, I'll leave it to you to figure out what this means. You will be given your room on the second floor to sleep in, the baths being at the end of the hall. As a guest you may request food and drinks as you see fit, but the third and fourth floor are off limits unless Sero Osada deems you worthy. You are free to go outside the manor at your own risk.", she'd explain the situation in brief. "Before I tend to my own duties, do you have any questions?"

---

610
Total: 3377

He was somewhat afraid, not due to any deepened suspicion of the spider shinobi who had enticed him so simply but rather of what his life was slowly becoming, a passion of his was that of history and mythology and it was becoming all to easy to see that the web of fate had begun to start to weave a tale that he had not anticipated. Once before he was simply a shinobi who had done naught but passed his Academy Exams with great difficultly. He was, by all sense of the word, out of his depth and being guided by the hand of the great weaver herself, someone who could influence the remainder of his life so utterly easily as was evident with her ability to open gates on a whim and the aura of utter cold calculated ruthlessness she exhumed.

Now on the shivering isles of the Osada Island it was almost as if even the nature about them hummed a dirge that beaconed all about it to twist and contort to the will of a spider's web. A cold and isolated world in which even the icy touch of the wind felt warm in comparrison to the hallowed haunted ground. It was evident that this was not the world of heart filled speeches nor the world of half measures but instead the world in which reality or rather the reality that was slowly seen by Xiao, the survival of the fittest and the need to push beyond ones self to ensure not just a good life but to ensure that you kept that life in the first place, a lesson Xiao would need to learn now more than ever. He was always the anchor, the weak link, and it was time for him to grow, time for him to actually rise out of the ashes of his old body and become something more. He had a desire to be more than himself more than ever. The little crow filled with hope was dead with his mothers dying ambitions and though not completely erased he could feel that part of himself was slowly dying off, part of himself was being pushed away.

As he gazed about the grand ghastly yet regal estate the little shinobi couldn't help but feel as if he had stepped into the grand manor of dragul or Orochimaru or the other monsters that existed to give birth to nightmares to children to ensure they stayed in line. The Unmei clan were the embodiment of this wish, effeciency through fear and ruthless power, and Xiao though of a different temperament and a different background knew perhaps there was effort in this. He could flip about the area and quip to his hearts desire but it would not allow him to do what he wished to do - to gain a power and an understanding of his true self that he could use to further cement himself in the halls of the shinobi.

It was as if more voices echoed through his mind, words of warning and yet affirmation, words of struggle and defiance, words of pushing beyond the limits of the mortal coil seemed to be the underlying message of these echoes of these murmurs of the spider clans halls. He felt the coldness echoing throughout his chest.  As he followed Haka he couldn't help but think of the possibilities of the girl, she emitted this utter aura of power. True power, not brutish strength or a power fueled by nefarious desires but true strength. The ancient strength of confidence in ones self and ones own ability. A power that Xiao so desperately seeked.

As Haka explained to him the fundamentals of the Unmei Clan Xiao couldn't help but feel his heart palpitate from the pressure of the words though they were true they still held a bluntness that his mother always shared. Perhaps this is where it stemmed from, her clear cut bluntness may have been that of her clans own bloodline personality striving through much like the Uchiha's own tendency to be bound by fate or that of the genius of the Nara clan. It was all becoming too clear to the little shinobi clad in a red scarf that things may have been different, far more different than he thought. She asked him his name, but the truth was he hardly could figure out just what he was any longer. His father was Shizi Guan and his mother Doku Guan...Xiao Guan, that was the name he was supposed to have and yet here he was in a place that had revealed to him that everything that made up 'Xiao Guan' was false. Everything that he was in fact was a falsity, everything that he assumed to be was actually an illusion of peace used to serve the purpose of extinguishing the flames of rebellion. Did that mean he even WAS Xiao Guan? Was he that person or was he something else? If a name was a label to identify something and Xiao Guan was a normal boy with normal parents and a normal future then the concept of being from a deadly and regal clan meant that perhaps he was not Xiao Guan.

"Frankly, I'm having a hard time to determining that myself. Xiao Guan...that's my name...but...It just doesn't seem to fit any longer." he remarked calmly to Haka, he had opted to be as honest as he could, hiding no secret intentions nor ill will and instead deciding to simply carry on in his near zombie like state to ensure that every word uttered in the presence of the great arachnids was that of pure honesty.

As they made their way through the gothic garden thoughts of the possibility of poisons, cures and salves that could be created from these sprang through the mind of Xiao Guan, it could really be that everything he had fought for was here. The ability to become a great help to the village, the ability to heal the world may have every well been found here in his true homeland.Though his father bore the blood of the knights of Gelel, Xiao Guan instead found a familiar feeling as he walked along the hanging and sprawling dead garden.

As they entered the doors, Xiao Guan would keep his head lowered, avoiding eye contact as Haka spoke regally. She commanded power, and Xiao truly admired her ability to speak with authority and yet remain regal and composed. She was beauty, deadly beauty and Xiao in his adolescent mind couldn't help but feel as if the hand that guided him was one that would need to be balanced perfectly, if it would tip too far in one way or the other it could mean certain doom but if he continued to show her the respect she deserved then, then Xiao would perhaps know the true history of his clan and the truth of his existence. He had lost his purpose and Haka would be his guide to finding a new reason to live.

As Haka informed him of the great benefits and boons to bestow on him the little shinobi looked shocked as he bowed low as she spoke them out "I...don't feel worthy enough to take of your food and board...but I thank you for the offering, I will ensure I am not a burden..." Xiao stated deliberately and with a great caution. The third and fourth floors were off limits, much to Xiao's understanding not that he knew why they were off limit but rather he had deemed that it was a wise idea to do simply adhere to the advice of the Clan.
"If it's not too much trouble...I do have one question, Lady Osada. I know nothing...and I promise that whatever this new life may be I will dedicate myself to it entirely...If this is my mothers wish, then with great power so must come great responsibility and thus I will adhere to her will as well as your own. My question is simply...advice. Where should I begin? How does one...begin to understand the concept of Unmei and more importantly...what would you ask of me to do?"



1387

Xiao. A name he no longer considered rightful. It wasn't an every day thing Haka got to hear and she had to think for a moment what it meant and what she'd have to do with it. A name gave someone an identity. Had this boy lost his identity? Or was he still shaken by all that had transpired until now? Haka would say nothing, merely keeping the name in the back of her mind until Xiao would decide on a new name. Until he had made a decision of his own, she'd call him by the name he had given her - Xiao.

"If you dislike your name, find a new one. Until you have found a name that fits you, I'll call you Xiao.", Haka answered to his honest doubt. There was little reason to advance to a new name if he had yet to choose one. A weak pillar would only succumb under the weight of a new identity if it wasn't strong and stable.

At the manor, little Xiao proved smart. A spiderling willing to listen to the words of Sero's teachings and to the essence of Momma herself. A young shinobi of Kirigakure throwing himself before the spiders to be taught as if he was newly born. His question was a good one. Where to begin? Spiderlings began their journey learning how to hunt and prey. Weaving webs, seeking shelter. Survival to live another day. With Xiao having stated he felt not worthy of food and drink, he had handed Haka the perfect start for his lessons.

"You say you don't feel worthy enough to eat our food and drink our water. Then make yourself worthy.", she'd move her hands to grab his and lift them up before his eyes. Her grasp was gentle yet firm, her hands warm despite the cold-blooded nature she held. "These are the weapons of an Unmei. Hands, feet, fangs, ninjutsu. Abandon all other weapons. You will live outside the manor during your training. Hunt and forage for food on the island, find water and create your own shelter. Make daggers and spears from the branches if you have to. Slay those who attack you and kill them without regrets. Make the powers you fear your own. This is what Unmei do when they are born. They survive or die trying. Survive the island for a month and you'll be worthy of Sero's food and drink. Then we move on to the next lesson."

She'd let go of his hands and take a step back, gauging his reaction, his determination. A lot of humans believed themselves fit to survive the wilderness and harsher lands of the world. Many had proven wrong as they ate the wrong herbs, poisoned themselves on berries and mushrooms or were hunted down by hungry animals. On Spider Island, the spiders were always hungry. Good food was scarce and was bound to result in a skirmish between the arachnids to see who was entitled to the prey. Naturally, cannibalism among spiders was not uncommon either. Dead trees bore no fruits but there were herbs, roots and seeds aplenty to eat from, if one knew which ones to pick. Of all the places one could go, spider island was the least forgiving to those not used to survival in the wilderness.

Moving over to the double doors they had entered through, Haka would open the door. Patiently waiting for Xiao to muster his courage and start his survival on the island. One month living through venom and web, through giant eight legged horrors. If after this he still lived on, he'd already be more entitled to his genin headband than most other shinobi of Kirigakure.

---

630
Total: 4007

His name was ill fitting in the way one might find a familiar room with the furniture rearranged, everything was in it's place and familiar and yet something was off or shifted. This was the feeling he had when he thought on his own identity, a moment in which things were all at once the same and yet askew. That was the reality of the situation, that everything was slanted, irregular and yet all at once the same. The little spider-nin found himself nodding as Haka told him she would opt to continue to use his name, as it was it made perfect sense to do so and he hadn't the need to change his identity radically but instead he found himself in something of a cocoon like phase, something inbetween the past and the future as it currently was. He was inbetween it all, inbetween what it meant to be the crow and the spider.

As she grasped his hands he felt...anchored. Supported in a sense by the princess of the webs, something that he could hold on to if for but a moment. She was elegant and deadly, she was light and darkness rolled into one creature and the embodiment of what a shinobi should be. It was something Xiao could not help but truly admire about her. Her words were exactly what he was searching for, the shinobi had lost his sense of identity and lost his drive. Everything he knew was backwards and everything he had opted to do was reversed as if he had stepped beyond the looking glass into a world he didn't fully comprehend. If he didn't have a purpose, if he had lost his sense of self then he would need to make his own, he would need to make himself worthy. That was something that he could respect and it made so much sense. It grounded him to reality, made him realize that being part of the Unmei Clan wasn't just to be that of a ruthless killer it was about utilising power and in turn the responsibility associated with that great power to make yourself worthy of the name Unmei. "That...Yes, you're right." he stated almost still in a haze as he spoke but still feeling as if dazed and confused. As if this nightmare had become reality he would need to embrace it fully as part of himself for a man with no shadow was no man at all, he would embrace that shadow, he would embrace what it meant to be truly...well, not human but Unmei.

She instructed him to return, in a sense, to a primitive state something he nodded along in agreement with though not fully comprehending the taxing efforts needed to do such a thing.  He wasn't entirely sure of how he would survive, or if he would in fact survive, but it was something he needed to experience if he was to truly be born again in the beautiful light and make himself worthy to the blade of Sero. Though he was still collecting himself, he had been pledged to this girl and in truth his sanity was linked to her web and will to allow himself to keep focused on what was important. "Understood..." he stated but felt compelled, something in himself that was attributed to his hybrid nature, he had emotion - strong emotions at that - that dictated him and with that came a strong morality and a strong code of honor "...I know, it might not be my place...or it might not make much sense, but thank you. You didn't have to do this...but you did..." he stated calmly gazing into Haka's eyes with a determined fervor and aura exuding from his person "...I will do, everything I can. Everything I can to bring honor to this gift." he said honestly once more wishing to hold nothing back in these small moments of exchange to bare his true self, to show what he was without a mask or without the illusions of composure that many shinobi held.

As she let go of his hands he looked to her with a fierce look upon his face, resembling in a sense his father the great lion of gelel isles. He was a Spider with the heart of a lion and would use this as a motivator to complete the task of what he wished. As he made his way to the grand door he gazed upon Haka in a way he had never looked at another before, not as a threat nor as someone who may bring about his end whether by kunai or jutsu but rather as a savior as someone, frankly, that he admired. Taking his first steps outside the door he looked back one moment to the manor as he made his way to the gardens gently trudging downward to the great forest below.

---

As he had wandered somewhat aimlessly about the forest he wasn't entirely sure how to prove himself, to survive was his objective and said objective held with it a great weight. Hours had passed since he had left the estate and the forest truly reflected the ways of the Unmei, it was harrowed and dark that emitted a gothic 'vibe' like a drawing dirge that continued to draw out the darker thoughts in his mind. The webs of the spiders laid gently upon the crooked trees as their chattering could be heard in the dark. He needed to stay on edge, stay focused on what was important. To stay safe, stay alive and yet at the same time avoid falling into the trap of becoming that of what he hated most - he needed to avoid becoming a victim to his new 'family'. He would opt to become something that was different from a regular being. If a man walked with a shadow, then surely the spider reveled in what it meant to have a shadow in the first place.

As he made his way through the channels of the deepened forest the words rang true, to try and find a way to prove himself would mean surviving this accursed place, his new home. What did it mean to be a spider anyway? He found a twisted treeline where barren and broken birch blissfully rested in a silent state that gave an eeriness to the forest itself. Walking towards the tree he proceeded to place his hand upon it, feeling the broken bark that had long aged and hollowed. His eyes watching over the splintered tree. The grooves that showed age were something that Xiao Guan had not thought of before, something that he had often overlooked. The world as it stood was an every changing ship of argus and in a sense so was he. As he gazed upwards he watched as small spiders danced upon the webs they had fashioned, gently wavering in the wind as they lived their life but this elegant dance was not as it seemed. They were not simply relaxing, they were not relaxing nor were they 'at peace with nature', they were hunting.

Their swinging back and forth was not an indicator of relaxation but rather was that of a method to entice insects to inspect the wavering feelings and thus be drawn in to their web and it worked a treat. As insects would flutter by, gently sticking to the web as if like clockwork. The truth was that when it came to down to the nature of the spider they were not simply there to bring chaos and nightmarish visions on others nor were they there to better the world, they were creatures that were aware of their place in the world. Aware that nature was indifferent. To eat of flesh was to exchange one life for another, to ingest anything really was simply the taking of energy and absorbing into ones own body. That was the rules of nature and Xiao Guan would need to adhere to that. The Rules of nature, the time had come, it was what nature had planned and what Xiao Guan would have to learn.

As he rested crouching near the great broken tree he began to try and establish what it was he would need to do, an assessment of the fundamentals of survival. Shelter, Food, Water. He knew it may have been the will for Haka to have Xiao Guan opt to give in to his desires and devour the flesh of the spider but when it came down to it he still could not break his rule - he would never take a life intentionally nor did he ever wish to break this code. It was a personal lesson, though one he was unsure that the Unmei would approve of. Instead he would need to find a way to eat and drink. Shelter would something he could work on quite easily but he needed to prioritize what was before him. As he proceeded towards the tree he began to tap upon it's mighty trunk. Hollow as he had expected and good enough for the time being, perhaps a permanent home for the future if the way of the spider would accept him so. Making his way across to a stone he grasped a thinner stone and a thicker stone and began to sit firmly scraping the stone again and again against one another to ensure it sharpened.

He would proceed to walk, attempting to find something he could use for the collection of rain water. Though he would prefer to find a stream or a pond he knew such things may bring with them disease especially in a place such as this. Boiling the water may have been an option, and of course that would rid the water of most if not all infective properties. The boy mused, he did need to build a fire most likely as soon as possible. As he wandered he made sure to walk in straight lines, it was easier to find his way back to the great tree that way and in turn would find it easier to find the direction back to the manor from said tree a habit he had learned as he had a tendency to get lost quite easily due to his rather erratic attention.

He proceeded to keep an eye on the grass land, though dead and cracked there needed to be some semblance of water to allow the flora to continue to sprout or survive even in a short way and thus he would try and eye saplings and lusher forms of the dead plants though in this monochrome forest it was indeed hard to find any that fit such a description at all. Food was another option, he had opted never to take a life purposefully but with that being said finding what he could or could not eat would be a difficult task. The best option of course would be to focus on finding those that would seem delicious and enticing but rather stick to what he knew. Stone soup was always a good idea when it came down to the hungry wanderer.

The little spider's eyes lit up as he found something familiar. A small half carved log. Perfect. Though rainwater may be scarce it was an option to collect water in an idle fashion as opposed to needing to actively scout every day thus expending much needed energy. It was all an exchange in the rules of nature. The bark was browner than other trees indicating somewhere around the island was a source of water. He began to walk deliberately moving and weaving as he examined the textures of the forest ensuring that if he strayed from his 'straight' path he would mark a tree with a small arrow with the rock he continued to mark his way. Placing the small half cut log upon his back he continued to manuever his way until there he spied it. A small pond littered with green algae and cattails sprouting about it.

It would be unwise, highly unwise to even touch this water less facing an early end. Instead he proceeded to crouch next to the pond. Using the half carved log to funnel water into a balanced collection. Water sputtered from side to side as the green algae piled on top that made the little shinobi wince as he attempted to balance the water. It wouldn't do without some form of container and thus he knew he would need to work on another tool. Giving a deep sigh he proceeded to make his way towards a thinner tree and pressing his leg upon it spent an hour or so slowly cutting it from it's root then forming through the process of carving with his makeshift knife.

It looked crude, a hollowed log with a bottom was all it was. It was not made for boiling just yet but it was going to serve the purpose needed. Without tin or steel it would be hard to boil the water but coming up with a solution may prove useful later. As he took the small make shift bucket and dipped it deep into the algae ridden water he proceeded to then gather as much of the cattail as he could. He hated the taste of cattail and the root could quite easily absorb properties of toxicity around it but the benefit of the flora was it's diversity and a cooking method would not be all so difficult. As he made his way back to the hollowed twisted tree he proceeded to lay all that he had collected down upon it. Taking his fashioned knife he began to carve into the large trunk. It was difficult to get through, and night was coming fast but soon the hollowed tree would make a good home and the shavings of it's tree would be decent kindling as all dead and dried wood had.

He proceeded to prepare his fire, using the tride and true method of the 'spark of life' striking a stone time and time again. Though without magnesium it would take some time and indeed it did. Striking time and time again as finally the dead wood took light. That single spark was enough as he allowed the fire to grow, placing stones about the kindled flame he proceeded to take the cattails and preparing them for consumption - rolling the seeds into a powder and then mixing said powder with water he would make a makeshift ill tasting dough. Though the water held a high toxicity rate when it came down to it cooking the bread would be enough to actually become edible. He looked heavensward as the smoke and scent of food began to attract the curious spiders that watched the shinobi with their thousand eyes. He didn't, honestly, wish to affect their ecosystem at any time but rather he would need to learn how they existed.

He looked upward to them, knowing there would not be a direct desire for those who only opted to devour flesh but the site would be enough to entice any hungry animal. Those who hungered were oft to resort to some of the most beastial of practices to survive and no honorable man lived for very long in times of survival. Xiao Guan was like water though, versatile in his practice and attempts to deal with situations. Always trying to find a path of least resistance that he could then in turn optimize upon. The little spider-clan member proceeded to roll his dough and then proceeded to gather the deep soil about him forming something of a trench. Taking the soil he began to shape it into a flat plate that laid over heated stones placed in the fire. As the soil began to cook he would begin to shape it using larger sticks that he could into that of a flat stove of sorts. As it solidified into that of something of a block the little shinobi opted to prop it above the flames utilizing sticks to make a makeshift stand that in turn allowed the concave 'stove' to hover above the flames. Placing the dough upon these he proceeded to cook the dough into this starched and rather ill tasting bread and as it cooked would proceed to take each piece walking inside of the hollowed tree and placing them about. Bread tended to last a while. Pouring the algae water into the makeshift bason he proceeded to use a stick to slowly move out the scum that floated to the top with the bason throwing it to the side. It would lose it's toxicity so there was no use collecting the scum, rather it would only serve to make his food taste horrible.

Dismissing the scum he proceeded to place the cattail roots and leaves into the pot allowing it to boil out the impurity as well as create a broth. He sat inside the hollowed tree, would this be his life? Was this what it meant to be a spider? To live in a world in which you took what you wished and if you found an issue to solve this in the most optimal way possible?

He mused on it as he watched his broth cook. What did it mean to follow the rules of nature? Was it to be ruthless and act as a monster or perhaps it was to adhere to those laws. Perhaps being human was having the ability to act civil. It was said that a perfect being was perfect in function and to understand ones function was to understand if one had the capacity for ones function, thus if a human could be honorable peaceful civil and sociable thus a perfect human defined by these traits could see themself as a 'perfect' being if the functions were met to the capacity they held.

Xiao Guan's mind went to his state though, as a hybrid did this mean he had two perfect functions or rather was he something entirely new? Perhaps, he was denying a part of himself, denying an inner part of himself. Denying the part of himself that was...different. He had never thought about it much but...perhaps...perhaps it was time to embrace that jungian shadow of his personality to truly become 'perfect'.

He looked upon his hands...they were smooth, silken and frail just like he was...but was this nature or was this simply a form taken to please others? Was this who he was or was this who he assumed he should be? The question wasn't how to be a shinobi any longer, it was the question of how to prove to be true to ones self. Who was he? A Shinobi? A weapon? Was he a man? Was he a spider?

No. He was both. He was neither and all, he was two halves made one. He was hybrid. He was spider. He was human

He.
Was.
Spider-Man

And with that revelation he watched as his flesh began to peel away as he let out a deep howl heard all over the forest. It didn't hurt nor did he feel immense pain instead this howl was a primal howl. A howl to cement what was happening. A howl to tell the world that the new form was here.

His mind delved back to the days with Verdandi the Ice Princess and her training to uncover his 'blood', to discover the secrets of ninjutsu. The visions of spiders devouring his flesh were now made clear. Now evident that what he was running from was not his death by the hands of a thousand spiders, no, it was a rebirth, this was the rebirth of a shinobi who had no place in this world into that of a being beyond that of the limits he had placed upon himself. His body began to be covered in a great webbing, cocooning himself as the webs grew, faster and faster spinning like a tornado in the depth of that great husk tree.

Webs began to sprawl out of the large web cocoon spreading outward and sticking throughout the interior of the tree as spider felt the rhythm of a new heartbeat they began to crawl towards the large cocoon, crawling into and joining their web to the larger husk. Xiao Guan's mind went to the darkness, went into a state of unrest. It was if someone had grabbed his head and dunked it time and time again then grabbed him and began to run at full speed down a high speed rollercoaster as colors and flashing lights passed him.

The Cocoon rocked and turned and after some hours...and out sprang no man but a beastial visage of eight limbs and fangs. The superior ability...the spectacular rush...the amazing rush of power that he could feel...

The next month was a rush of memories lost to Xiao Guan, unsure entirely of what had happened only moments in a human form. An image of crawling up the side of a tree on all fours. Images of his teeth, now fanged, sinking deep into warm fur. Images like a drunken stupor or a fever dream of his coming whole. He was not sure of time or space, nor what happened to his belongings, all of his time becoming that of a blur. Weaving webs and hunting prey, marking his body with the earth and native plants, gathering the natural resources he could find, webs upon webs making that twisted tree his own.
----

The month had been long...far too long...and from once there was a fur coated shinobi of a higher upbringing who looked as frail and pale as a ghost now stumbled a boy who was marked across his body with trophy and trinket, his shirt tattered into something of a cloth and his pants scuffed and ripped into what appeared to be a tunic of sorts. He was wild. Unhinged and yet he felt whole. Using webbing to create gloves and the like the now more tribal boy made his way up the humble estate, his hair longer than before and the once styled undercut of hair was loose and wild sweeped downward with flecks of twig and stone upon it, ash covered his body from his time from the warn fires and his knuckles had grown course and firm from the constant shifts of his body.

As he made his way forward, back towards that large intimidating manor he smiled to himself. Whatever he was now, whatever he was before, it didn't matter, all that mattered to him was this feeling. This feeling of being whole. This feeling of being both spider and human. A united hybrid. An Unmei.



3825

Thanking her for sending him through the first of nightmares. She'd frown, one of the rare moments of emotional expressions one would see on her face.

"Don't disappoint now.", she'd say, running her hand through her long white hair, as if ticked off by the thought of being thanked for something that was both her burden and her duty. After all, even if she looked only seventeen, the spider was actually four years old, having lived through three generations of spiderlings. Relatively speaking, older than a 'great grand-mother' if she had to translate that into human equivalents. And now both the tyrant and the 'brood mother' of the Unmei, even if none of the spiders under her command were her actual children - they were Momma's.

She'd watch him take the first steps outside, encouraged. A hint that he believed in his own survival. It'd be a matter of seeing how he'd do now. For now, the arachnid had other things to tend to, leaving his first days, and the hardest, of enduring the nightmares of Spider Island to him. Perhaps in a week she'd check upon him. Maybe two...

~ ..:: ::..~

The mist wraith would wander through the island in search of the hybrid on occasions. Blending in with the mist and the boy's eyes untrained still to perceive through the stealth technique of the arachnid, she'd remain unnoticed from his senses as she observed his degradation from human society pampered habits to more base instincts. Water, food, shelter. The boy understood that much as he attempted to build up a new life from nothing to something acceptable to live in.

To get to that point was, expectedly, harder than thinking about it. The opposition to catch the slightest bit of nutrition was hard but where most spiders were bound to insects and larger prey, Xiao had the benefit of being a hybrid. He could sustain himself on roots, plants, algae, seeds and 'stone soup', refraining from killing other spiders to feed himself. A lifestyle other spiders didn't abide by in the slightest. Much like Haka's decision of him being Unmei was spread quickly, so too was his 'vegetarian' lifestyle something that became quickly known Names as 'the fangless' or the 'formless', the 'weakling', the 'hybrid' and others even less respectable were quickly used to substitute the name he had decided on dropping.

Things changed slightly when the survivor within Xiao eventually peeled away the last of his human shell and transformed into his own spider form. His herbal diet made room for food that every arachnid respected. Sustenance. And with it, rivalry raised in recognition to his newfound power. He was an Unmei now. The clan no longer saw him as the hybrid or a human but as one of them. With it would come a sense of threat as it meant one more Unmei with the ability to lay claim on more power than other members. They had seen Haka's growth and claims. Would he follow in her wake and claim more than they could too?

~ ..:: ::..~

A weak hybrid had grown into a strong Unmei. A genin, the sort of which there were thirteen in a dozen, grown into a member of Kirigakure's society that could have survived the Blood Mist if it still existed. The sort Unmei worthy of respect even if his potential remained mostly untapped. It had been more than a month now since he had left behind the room offered to him, and as he set his mind to returning, Haka's spiders would herald his movement. By the time he'd reach the front garden of the manor, Haka would be sitting on the stairs that lead to the double doors in the front. Eating pudding as she waited for his return. Once he'd be close enough, she'd raise to her feet, apathetic eyes resting on his newfound looks.

"So you survived.", she said matter-of-factly. "Died a human, reborn an Unmei. You left behind Xiao, so tell me who stands before me now."

---

687
Total: 4694

There she sat, his salvation, his adoration, his new mother, his new queen. The broodmother had welcomed him into her...spiked bosom and he embraced the pain. Love and pain were synonymous in the world of the spider and even for the passivity the little shinobi spider couldn't help but feel invigorated, entirely tired and feeling as if he had been through the trials and tribulations of Dante himself and yet here he stood feeling at peace, feeling as if all things mattered not as long as she the princess of the webs was there to guide him. Xiao Guan was gone, lost, traumatised but in it he had found himself, he had found the humor, the laughter that comes with nightmares, the feeling of sweat on the body as you tremble in pleasure and fear. Xiao Guan was no more and yet Xiao Guan had been born but that name was a concept now gone, now eviscerated and burned up in the light that was the grand Osada Clan. As he looked to the beauty of the web a crooked smile painted across his face. Kneeling before her as he looked to deep into her eyes, never breaking said glance, his eyes now burned a firey auburn as she stated with pure logic that he had survived and he had been reborn an Unmei.

"We...are Orb-Weaver."

He stated with a delightful grin as he looked to Haka Osada extending his hand in a subjective way as to say that he offered his life. "My life for the clan...My life for you, my lady." he responded softly, bluntly and other worldly, though in reality he was more a quipping joke of a shinobi in this moment, on this island and after these circumstances the spell was hard to break, the spell was indeed difficult to truly break and thus he embraced it fully. Two minds, one body, The Orb-Weaver and The Human, The Poison and The Blood, The Web and The Chakra. Two were one now and whatever may come...he would embrace it so.

-
350

Orb-Weaver. A type of spider, so she knew. The cocoon he had spun in rebirth to becoming an Unmei, a Weaver of Fate as was the actual meaning of their clan's name. Haka would smile faintly as this revelation. A well-chosen name for a member of the clan but a silly one to use within the confines of humans. Still, with a motion of her hand chakra would form a set of symbols into the air - 球体 - which would imprint themselves into the black spidersilk headband she took out of her pocket. On one side, the symbol of Kirigakure identifying him as a shinobi of the Village, on the inside the name declaring his newfound identity and allegiance.

"A fitting name for an Unmei. The Unmei will know you as Kyūtai-no-okō-no-Unmei, the orb of the weavers of fate. Or Kyūtai for short, meaning orb. Around humans, you are free to use your Unmei name as I do or your old name."

That having said, she handed him the new headband, observing the actions he would take towards it.

"I will teach you a few Unmei techniques at a later time. For now, enjoy your deserved food an drink, restore your wounds in the medical baths and rest in your private room. I'll remind you not to be seen on the third or fourth floor."

With those words, Haka would open the front door of the manor and leave it open for Xiao, or Kyūtai for that matter, so he could finally indulge himself in a hard earned new home.

---

[EXIT]

269
Total: 4963
-3500 All Stats: B-0 -> B-1
-1400 A-rank Ameya [1400/4000]

As he watched on as the princess of the web weaved her magic seal he couldn't help but feel utter amazement at her actions, she truly had limitless power when it came to these skills of hers. Limitless abilities of both she and the blood of the unmei that allowed Xiao to truly appreciate and understand the words great power as well as great responsibility. This power was indeed a great one and thus would need to be treated with the utmost respect. This was his life now. His family. This was...everything exactly what it meant to be home. A place that Xiao Guan had been miles away from for so long.

He was grateful, deeply grateful for the marker of his heritage, he almost felt like weeping but something deep within him refrained him from doing so. He mouthed the word as she spoke, Kyutai, it fit and something deep within him resonated with it. Yes. Kyutai. That was his identity, that was who he was in his heart that was what the masked symbolised.

"Thank you...Lady Osada..." he stated calmly holding the new headband in his hand as his heart soared with triumph, finally feeling connected, finally feeling as if things were starting to come together. He had lost his purpose and yet found it once again in the bosom of the Unmei.

As she reminded him of the law of Sero he simply nodded and agreed, too tired to argue or to defy her words he instead opted to merely adhere to her words and obey. She was the broodmother, she that he wished to follow to the ends of the earth and this trial by fire had shown him the truth in what that meant.

Taking his headband and wrapping it firmly around his head, he stepped forward into the light, saying goodbye to Xiao Guan and hello to Kyutai.

-
[Exit]
Word Count: 317

Total Word Count: 10, 156

Mission - 10156/2500
STR D - D3 - 4812/1675
Taijutsu C to B 3137/3000
Taijutsu B to A 3600/3000 (banked)

637 to the graveyard