It was something that stirred him to his very core, something that made his stomach churn, it wasn't the site of a disembodied corpse nor the betrayal of Kirigakure but an old friend. No, these things Xiao could have justified with ease, Xiao could have atleast come to terms with these things if they were so but the truth of the matter was far from these readily fixed issues. This issue was far deeper. Far greater.

Haka had an apprentice - and she hadn't told Xiao

Xiao made his way through the forest, webslinging as per usual as each flick of the wrist would cause a protrusion of fluid to fly across the sky and stick firmly upon whichever target it might strike whether it be that of a tree or loose rock it mattered not, all that mattered was Xiao covering the most ground he possibly could to find this....this usurper. This false prince. Xiao was supposed to be the adoptive son of Haka Osada and though he was not jealous, Okay he was jealous, but his primary motivation was to find this apprentice and seek them out to understand the type of person Haka praised. The type of person that Haka would care for deep enough to take under her wing. Would he be a towering brute? A meek genjutsu user? It was hard to tell but the masked spider who named himself Kyutai continued to weave through the island trying to find the boy they called Kaito.

Whoever he was, the described by the spiders on spider-island had identified him as someone who...finishes the job quickly. That could be a threat to Xiao, of course but primarily he had no ill will rather he needed to prove to himself that Kaito was no more special than he and if he indeed was...well, then the newly dubbed Kyutai would need to emerge and assess the situation logically.

324

Walking along, a small lantern attached to his red and white montsuki, as Kaito carried two buckets on either end of a bamboo staff. Unlike a normal carrying pole, which was designed for this task, Kaito had been told to use the simple bamboo staff to help him learn balance. The genin understood the intent, but it seemed odd still, considering he had been trained in such things long ago, even before attending the academy, much less since graduating. Still, Kaito had obeyed his orders as they were seen fit to be given to him. He was to wash the courtyard around the large deadened tree in front of the manor. Scrubbing the stone walkways clean of whatever filth and grime he found there. This was set to be the dozenth or so time he'd hauled fresh water out here from the well, and he'd already cleaned a little over half of the courtyard.

Spider Island was proving to be a rather odd place, as the name implied, there were of course spiders everywhere, but Kaito had seen little else safe for the few servants and the ever present mist. Osada manor was more than a decent place to be staying too, luxurious even, but Kaito was beginning to miss the simple comforts of his own home and the sound of the waves crashing on the coast in the distance. Other than doing odd chores for the servants, Kaito had yet to do much more training beyond the initial few stages with Haka Osada, not that he was complaining, if anything Kaito was glad for the rest, even with how busy the servants had been keeping him. Scrubbing away dirts and old spider webbing wasn't an issue, and the constant presence of the spiders no longer seemed to bother him. Occasionally he'd catch a glimpse of the spider from before, the one that had trapped him in the genjutsu when Kaito first came to Spider Island, but it had made no more moves to hinder the genin.

Continuing toe scrub the sidewalk of the courtyard, brushing hardened dirt into a liquid mud like substance, Kaito dipped the brush back into the bucket of water before going back to his taste. There were strange sounds out in the mists, and despite their intriguing nature, Kaito wasn't foolish enough to run off after them for fear of one of the servants finding his tasks unfinished. Kaito had already been made aware that the most foul and deadly creatures on this island resided within the manor, not on the grounds or beyond. Once he had a good sized area scrubbed down, Kaito formed the dog sign and spewed forth a trumpet of water, washing away the the muddy residue left over from his cleaning.

Something was coming, Kaito could hear the strange noises of something swinging from tree to tree in the distance. He hadn't heard this sound before, so it suprised him. The sound of crows getting caught in the web of abnormally large spiders, the whispering of spirits in his ears, and the insistent crawling of spiders everywhere had already made themselves known to the genin, whatever or whoever was making this noise, had yet to show themselves to Kaito. Standing, and dropping the scrub brush into a bucket of soapy water, Kaito wiped his hands on a spare cloth as he peered off into the distance to see what was coming, hoping to cause a glimpse of it before it meant itself to be seen, but Kaito knew enough to ready himself for anything.

Theme song

A small lantern in the light was all he needed to draw his eyes in, a light that beaconing him inward like a moth to a....light. So similar situation really and possibly same intellectual capabilities. Xiao would be entranced by the light as he continued to make his way forward hoping in his heart of hearts that it was what he sought out. The dastardly apprentice of his mother, the one who stole his well deserved attention. As he drew near he watched the light grow closer and closer still, the language of spiders whispering their curiosities as the young were oft to do, it was a habit of many of the tiny spiders to be curious about humans but most brains were not as developed as others resorting merely to the notions of Food or not food and the way they looked at Kaito the words that were uttered time and time again by these young were "forbidden food". So the light was most definitely linked to a protected, linked to someone who was connected with either Sero or Haka and Xiao knew of this first hand. After all, Xiao was one of the inhabitants of Spider Island now living in a hollowed oak tree and had befriended many of the spawn-lings.

As he made his way closer to the courtyard, that Gothic designed twisting grim courtyard that seemed to emanate a dirge even in silent moments. The little Spider twisted the strands of silk that hung from his clothing as he gazed out to a young....well, older boy. Was that him? Was this the secret apprentice of Haka Osada? No. He was scrubbing. Sero must have simply hired a janitor. Xiao sighed with relief as he wiped his head, he was thankful for a moment as he had already started to enter his combat 'state' feeling his heart start to race but the prospect of making a new friend was enough to make Xiao relax somewhat. Perhaps he could even gain information on who this secret apprentice was in the first place, a question that Xiao admittedly should have answered himself before seeking him out but Xiao didn't tend to think with his head but rather his heart far too often.

That was until the Janitor proceeded to...throw up on their courtyard!?. Though it was a water trumpet the truth of the matter was that Xiao was a foreigner born into this world with a mother who knew little of humanity and a father who didn't even know what a jutsu was. This meant that jutsu of all types were both thrilling to the shinobi...and utterly confusing. "Did this ningen really throw up on our courtyard...after cleaning it? What the hell..." Xiao stated as he leaped down from the crooked tree, mid fall creating a web zip-line that hurled him towards the courtyard as he gracefully soared through the air like a venomous ballet danger, twisting and arching his thin yet toned body and looking rather handsome whilst doing so.

Xiao proceeded to land gracefully upon the courtyard's cracked and warn floor some feet away from the assumed janitor to which he gave a wave "Hey there, Are you the new Janitor? ...erm, Custodian?....ah..." he tapped his chin trying to think of the word exactly that was the 'correct' term not wanting to offend anybody, it was hard to keep up sometimes, with every alteration there was always another complaint and thus terms never seemed to stick for long and so Xiao opted to try and invent his own 'professional' sounding term for a laborer "...Trash....Conqueror?" he remarked with a raised eyebrow leaning forward deciding to hide his mistake quickly changing the subject "Uh, anyway, I'm Kyutai, Haka's baby boy, could you give me a hand? Word on the web is that she's taken a ningen as an apprentice." Xiao casually stated as he proceeded to scratch his jawline looking around the courtyard slowly "Kyuubi knows why, but hey, She's the boss."


680

Well damn, it was a child, an oddly dressed child, and even stranger was the method they were using to get around, but the small boy was still just a child. Kaito gave the boy a narrowed glance as he referred to the genin as a janitor. As if the child was somehow blind to the headband on Kaito's head, then again, he could be blind for all Kaito knew, there were definitely stranger things happening on this island than blind children flying about on webbing. Webbing. The webbing intrigued Kaito, as he had never seen any jutsu used in such a way. Not wanting to cause the little boy any distress about leaving his webbing all over what Kaito had just spent the last four hours or so cleaning, the genin decided to continue his narrow gaze as the child continued on with his demeaning of the Kiri shinobi.

Kaito wasn't blind himself, as he had already taken notice of the symbol of Kirigakure adorning the child's odd little outfit as he allowed the boy to ramble on and on. "A Ningen? You mean that mermaid monster thing? Are those even real?" Kaito asked, moving past the child to take a closer look at the webbing he'd left behind. "Sorry, I didn't know children were on this island. My name is Osoroshī, Kaito." Kaito offered, crouching down to examine the webs, covering his hand in medical chakra to see what sort of information he could find. This definitely isn't ninjutsu or some sort of elemental technique. From what Kaito could tell, the webbing was real, organic and produced without the use of jutsu. How strange. Kaito had definitely heard rumors before, but no one really believed such fantasies. It made sense for the Hidden Mist though, considering the country's past, that spiders would ally themselves to Kirigakure.

"I didn't know Haka had children, she seems so young to have a son your age." Haka Osada appearance told Kaito around seventeen, this child looked to at least be ten years old, Kaito had already guessed at Haka being older than she appeared, but this was just to much. Not that it was his place to question the Osada, but still, Kaito was more than a little concerned at this revelation. "Regardless, I'm not aware of any such apprentice, I came to Spider Island a few days ago to seek out training, Haka was the one that received my audience and granted me what I sought, so if your seeking me now, then I guess you've succeeded, congratulations." Kaito spoke while going back to his bucket and moving to clean the fresh webbing from the sidewalk he had just cleaned. Some little boys could just be so careless with their messiness.

Kaito watched the boy out of the corner of his eye, he sure as hell knew better than to turn his back to a member of the Osada household, if not to offend, then simply for the sake of not being killed at least. If truly born of Haka, Kaito could only guess what this child was capable of. Kaito's face contorted into a twisted expression at the thought of what kind of mother Haka could have been, the simple imagery sent shivers down his spine. She seemed more the type to eat her young after all.

"So, what were you looking for me for anyway? I'm not sure what I can do for you, but if you were looking for a playmate then you can help me finish up here and then we can go entertain ourselves." It'd been a long while since Kaito babysat anyone, but if he had to do it for Haka then he would. Besides, it would be interesting to learn more about what sort of secrets the Osada held, if that webbing was any indication, Kaito had a lot left to learn about Spider Island.

"A Ningen? You mean that mermaid monster thing? Are those even real?" the snow haired shinobi stated in quizzical tone which the little spider didn't fully comprehend. Perhaps, as usual, Xiao had used a word in an incorrect manner or perhaps Xiao had missed the point of a word which he was want to do often in part for his own lack of study. Xiao looked to Kaito with a curious look "....Ningen, y'know..." he stated looking around shyly before pressing his palm to his mouth and whispering the latter of "A human" he stated quietly as if a child, which he was, uttering a cursed word but before he could explain himself more Kaito had already moved towards the webbing much to Xiao's surprise. He was on spider island, the name in itself gave a clue to the inhabitants of such a place but this man acted as if he had never seen the organic webbing of the tribe...or perhaps it was no webbing? Perhaps, it truly was that he had no concept of the Unmei clan? If so then why would he be cleaning their courtyard? Xiao decided to put it to rest, for whatever his reasoning, Kaito was intrigued with his web and Xiao somewhat saw it as flattering.  

"Sorry, I didn't know children were on this island. My name is Osoroshī, Kaito." the man stated, not coldly nor in a way that emanated a sinister aura but rather it was a fact and thus it was stated as such, something Xiao could never do even if he tried his hardest to do so. ""I didn't know Haka had children, she seems so young to have a son your age." he stated, once again in a factual way without any hidden agendas. Xiao began to rub his neck as he looked back to Kaito with an embarassed smile "Yeeaaah....well, I mean, she's not my real ma, she just adopted me n' all" Xiao stated calmly but jittering slightly as he spoke not knowing any true terminology or approved dialogue as, when it came to it, he was only a 12 year old child.

"Regardless, I'm not aware of any such apprentice, I came to Spider Island a few days ago to seek out training, Haka was the one that received my audience and granted me what I sought, so if your seeking me now, then I guess you've succeeded, congratulations." Kaito spoke while going back to his bucket and moving to clean the fresh webbing from the sidewalk he had just cleaned. Some little boys could just be so careless with their messiness. Xiao began to bound from one foot to the other slightly through rocking, he wasn't getting restless, rather he always found that his body had to be doing something at all times rather than standing idly by, he never fully knew why but he had his suspicions that perhaps he just had more energy than he had attention.

Xiao was quite confused at the suspicious attitude held by Kaito, though he was acustom to such things. When it was the Unmei people were dealing with they were never one to simply be accepting and allowing people on their merry way, no even Xiao was only spaired due to a blood oath sacrificed by his mother. Her life for his and something he could never fully let go of but just like anything in his life this fear and worry mutated within him, often changing from that of crippling depression to the need to constantly talk, to constantly entertain because once the laughter stopped, once the noise stopped all was left was the hurt and the trauma and the memories and Xiao's body could not deal with such things. Luckily the silence was cut short soon enough to calm Xiao's nerves as he was asked another question.

"So, what were you looking for me for anyway? I'm not sure what I can do for you, but if you were looking for a playmate then you can help me finish up here and then we can go entertain ourselves."

"Well, Actually, I kinda wanted to meet for a reason...well two reasons" Xiao thought for a moment before shaking his head roughly from side to side and counting on his fingers "No, no wait, three. First of all, y'know, why did you seek out my mother? Second...The chuunin exams, they're coming up...so I'm trying to spend the rest of this year finding people who are powerful to combat. Not because I think I can win, because I want to see...y'know...how others do this stuff. My mother is the strongest person I know apart from Mr. Sage...so her apprentice has to be atleast equal to her right? So....I want to ask, y'know" he looked down to his shoes and gently kicked a rock as he looked up to Kaito with his large shining eyes that adorned a cuteness to his kyutainess. "Maybe...you could fight me, y'know, test me? Xiao looked to Kaito fluttering his eyelashes and smiling sweetly.

He proceeded to then ruin the mood with his third, rather blunt question "Oh and three, What does a custodian want to do with the Osadas anyway?" Xiao stated scratching his head in confusion followed by a shrug.


906

Kaito stopped what he was doing to listen to the child ramble on. Eventually, Kaito stood up and moved away from the buckets and the boy, he was heading off into the woods calling behind him. "First of all, an apprentice is not as strong as their master. Your mother is far stronger then I am." Kaito offered hoping the kid followed him. If they were going to spar, he sure as hell didn't want to mess up the courtyard he had just cleaned. "Secondly, I am not a custodian, I prefer to earn my keep because I am not a mooch, so I help the servants with chores." Kaito spoke with a bit of bitterness on his tongue, either this boy was a fool, or really good at insulting people. "Lastly, if we are going to spar, I want you to know I don't plan on going easy on you, even if you are Haka Osada's adopted child." Kaito spoke now with a smile. After meeting Haka, Kaito wasn't particularly inclined to believe she'd want him to do anything but give his all to her son.

Once the two of them were of sufficient distance from the manor, so they didn't risk breaking any windows or making a mess of the courtyard, Kaito would look at the boy before speaking one final time. "Nod when your ready boy." Kaito said before waiting for the signal to begin. In the meantime, he pulled a stick of gum from his back pokent before he started to chew it, micing chakra into the malleable substance. As soon as Kyutai gave the go ahead, Kaito would begin by forming the Boar, Hare, then Rat Hand Seals even as he sent chakra into his hair, Kaito began to blow multiple bubbles with the gun. His hair on the other hand grew, before solidifying and shaping into pointed needles. A total of six bubble gum mines would be produced, each a meter in diameter as Kaito's hair split from his head and formed fifty floating senbon.

While the bubble gum mines floating outward, remaining withing five meters of him, the senbon instead stayed within 2-3 meters of Kaito's body. The genin realized that this boy could take to the trees for an advantage, so with the bubble gum mines providing a low level barrier, and the senbon standing at the ready to strike, Kaito was comfortable grabbing a pair of kunai from his back pouch, one in each hand as he popped a small bubble with the gum in his mouth. He had no idea what to expect from a child of Haka, but considering how small the boy was, Kaito wasn't expecting much of a fight. He would allow the boy to strike first, before more than likely countering and bringing the match to an end.

There was no real reason to strike first, allowing the kid to go first served Kaito's interests two fold. One the one hand, it'd give Kaito the chance to see what the boy was really capable of, but it would also give him the opportunity to study the strange abilities of the Osada more closely. Kaito wondered how Haka would respond if he asked her about everything he'd seen so far, if he played it off casually he stood the best chance of not being killed, but if what he thought was true, it was doubtful Kaito's method of questioning would matter in the end. It would really be a waste to end up being killed by a fellow Kiri-nin though.

Chakra 225/250:

As Kaito made his way to the woods the little spider scurried behind him stroking his chin and nodding as Kaito scolded the little child. Whoever this shinobi was, he was quite to the point and matter of fact speaking bluntly which was drastically different from Xiao who liked to boast and bumble his way through even a basic sentence due to his brain rapid firing like a pinball machine that wasn't helped of course by his lack of sociability spent with spiders most days who oft only spoke of food or shelter. Kaito was a shinobi by every sense of the word, poised, reserved and stoic. A trait that Xiao actually respected quite a lot if only he could achieve such an attitude himself. Following the shinobi who stood so stoicly but also so elegantly Xiao wondered if Kaito was to become something of and older brother to him in the future. Something about Kaito emanated a rugged and yet proper attitude, a combination of civility peace and yet danger, a perfect mixture with a slight bite like a spicy curry.


As they made their way to somewhat of a clearing in which the two could commence their battle the small shinobi observed the shinobi with a grin. He was told to 'nod' when he was ready, unsure if his nod would be seen my Kaito or what type of nod to do much like what type of bow or handshake many wished to have presented to them Xiao, admittedly, was a little worried he would end up doing it wrong causing Kaito to brutally beat him down but all at once Xiao was content with the concept that Kaito was a friend to the Osada and thus would not bring too much pain upon Haka's latest pet.  Giving a slight nod and getting into something resembling Haka's own fighting stance he then watched as Kaito proceeded...to blow bubbles!? Xiao was amazed. Was this really something someone could do with ninjutsu? Why was he unaware of such abilities? To Xiao this was an amazing technique, something that truly astounded the little boy as his face lit up and his eyes widened with a grin. "That is so cool! Wow! Did you come up with that yourself!?" Xiao stated happily jumping from one foot to the other as he observed the bubbles appearing from Kaito with astounded delight as his hair began to seem to grow. Xiao was enthralled, this custodian was a true entertainer and someone Xiao could watch for hours. Xiao proceeded to stare in amazement at the bubbles floating towards him, honestly wanting to touch one - or lick one to see how they would taste. Would they taste like gum? Did chakra even have a taste? He couldn't tell without trying it but at the same time he knew it was, well, probably a bad idea. With the bubbles being roughly 1-metre in length it meant that Xiao could hit them quite easily to pop them, unsure of what they would do but knowing that when something expanded like that it often meant an engulfing or trapping technique despite how wrong he was this time. He proceeded to grab a bundle of stones off the ground.

As the bubble gums began to flow forward, drifting softly the little Xiao opted to spring to action "Kaito-San, Do they taste of gum or is it something else?" Xiao stated as he began to state at the moving bubbles....as he realized they were getting closer he opted to start doing an inherent skill every child has, the bolt, a different 'technique' than running in which a person literally lunged out of the way and made great strides to escape. Running at top mark speed as he could he watched as the bubbles mines proceeded to fall, taking a mental note of where they were he quickly utilised webbing to ensure he would zip-line to the top of a branch, throwing a stone at one of the bubbles to see what would happen as he proceeded to zipline once more to another branch "Kaito-san, that's so cool! Really!" Xiao exclaimed as he began to try and suss out the techniques and possibly origin of the shinobi so that he might be able to come up with. As Kaito grasped his Kunai, Xiao proceeded to laugh "Do you have enough weapons yet? haha, Oh Kaito-San don't worry! Don't worry! I'm not scary!" he remarked as he gazed to Haka's apprentice.

As Xiao proceeded to look at Kaito, warry of the senbon as well as the bubble gum itself he made a note of the reaction. If the bubble reacted to his handful of rocks he had a strategy, if not, he would have to improvise. Ah. That's what he'd do. Having a bit of an idea he smiled to himself and proceeded to cling to the trunk of the tree as he looked to Kaito and proceeded to make a string of hand signs, Tiger > Dragon > Bird > Hare > Bird > Dragon > Tiger before yelling out "Secret Spider Style: Instant Death Jutsu!" he stated with his pebbles in hand and proceeded to throw one directly at Kaito's head with as much force as he could produce. This was a feigned attack, something to see what Kaito would do, how he would react and more importantly - how Kaito thought.


913

This kid talked to much, Kaito had never been much of a talker during combat, even in a sparring session. It was a waste of breath unless taunting your opponent to throw them off their game. Though, it the boy was as curious about the taste of the gum as he seemed to be, Kaito would just offer him a piece once all was said and done here. It was peach flavored, though Kaito also had some that tasted like green tea. Kaito made sure to keep his eyes on the little spider monkey, despite the boy's goofy attitude, Kaito wasn't fooled, he was testing the older genin's defenses. As the pebble connected with one of the Bubblegum Mines, it would burst into a harmless gush of air. Kaito was still looking for the right method to turn the bubbles into a more destructive force to be reckoned with, but for now it served him well enough by alerting him to the presence of others, as well as blocking attacked from making their way to Kaito himself.

Kaito wasn't here to play around though, as soon as Kyutai began forming his hand seals, Kaito leapt forward, the bubbles and hair sebon following him until he was within fifteen meters of Kyutai. Coating his one of his kunai in chakra to deflect the small pebble so as not to take any risks with whatever jutsu the child had used. Kaito wasn't the type to pace himself very well, the quicker combat came to an end the better, as despite his skill and ability to go the extra length when duty bound him to, Kaito actually disliked combat for the most part. It wasn't until Haka had put him under that genjutsu that he had ever felt such a thing as euphoria when spilling blood. How his mother would have been ashamed of him if she had lived to see such a thing.

He would begin by launching the hair senbon at the child, five of them at a time until all fifty had been used. Kaito's intent was to keep the boy on his toes to the point that even if he could didge the first set of senbon, he wouldn't be able to dodge the following nine rounds. Not wanting to kill him however, Kaito would ease up once the boy was injured, though should Kyutai manage to dodge all of the attacks, Kaito would follow up with a round of his acidic foam to coat the boy in the searing mixture. Infusing the chakra and saliva in his mouth even as he gave chase to the child he was sparring. He'd had half a mind to set up the Hidden Mist Technique in the hopes that Kyutai had no means of tracking him through the jutsu, such as his mother did, but that seemed like a bit of an overkill given the circumstances.

Kaito's tactics mirrored those he would one day utilize as a Hunter-nin, assaulting his targets, forcing them on the defensive, before overtaking them through shear force, before a swift execution. Kaito had no intention on going as far as the last part though, as Haka would likely be displease should he kill her child, adopted or not. That wasn't something Kaito was willing to risk, especially considering the questions he already had that might prove dangerous to his well being. Luckily though, Kaito was a trained medical-nin, and as such he would be able to tend to Kyutai if the spider child ended up injured. The same was true if Kaito managed to get injured in some way. Being a skilled medical expert was always a blessing it seemed.

205/250:

The bubble dissipated, making a mental note Xiao would feel quite pleased, they were simply just that and if a pebble could eliminate them it would mean that Kaito perhaps utilized this as a distraction. It was good to know for future reference as Xiao had been through enough as of late that he could barely function when it came to combat let alone think of training it. He was behind in terms of training, in part his own fault for focusing far too much on attempting to discover his true self and in part due to circumstances beyond his own control but it didn't mean he was going to give in. Rather he had elected himself as "mandatory training party" for Kirigakure No Sato, someone who would strategize, scout and ensure his cities morale was always kept at it's peak, that was his ambition - to be useful. Not to be strong, not to win, not to become some legend but rather he had learned it far better to simply be a help to those around him.

As the chakra coated kunai deflected the pebble Xiao nodded in agreement "Hey, it was worth a shot, wasn't it?", he was precise, he got his job done in effecient ways that was the 'vibe' he was getting and the closer Kaito moved so too did Xiao trying to keep distance between them swinging further into the forest using his webbing to then grapple between two trees, dead and weakened, and tethered them with his organic webbing, as the senbon would fire forward he would snap the two tree trunks and hurl them forward as he ziplined downward to the lower trunk on all fours scittering around it as the senbon struck the two logs directly shielding Xiao from the assault. "Cool trick, you should teach me that sometime, Needles are pretty creepy and works with this places hole vibe dontcha think?" he stated with a humorous tone about him showing that he was somewhat trying to aggrevate Kaito.

As more senbon began to follow the darting and weaving shinobi, he started to fall short as several senbon pierced his foot, the boy began to lose his grip on the webbing, falling downward and rolling upon the ground kicking up dust for a moment as he gazed back up at Kaito as another assault came, not wanting to be hit in the face the shinobi quickly utilised his webbing to grasp- no, too late, the senbon struck him along the back causing him to cry out in pain for a moment as he began to lose his sense of being he began to crawl into a sprint, stumbling somewhat as he attempted to keep the distance between Kaito and himself despite the senbon embedded in his foot and back the little spider decided to keep pushing him. This was a trained shinobi and Xiao needed to ensure that Kirigakure was giving their best...He had to keep going. He had to ensure that in these upcoming exams he had a sane estimate of the abilities of each of the weapons of Kirigakure were ensuring that they gave their best even if pitted against impossible odds. "That's....That's it? You throw needles?" Xiao stated further taunting Kaito as he felt the pain surge up his back "I mean...Wow...It's like a Grandma with killer knitting needles, not really all that scary...." Xiao stated  as he eyed Kaito with a fierce grin, aching from the stinging pain but knowing if he did not keep going it was a pointless endeavor to try and find the apprentice of Haka "Candy and Knitting Needles...heh...Kaito: The Grandmotherly Shinobi!" Xiao stated throwing his hands wide as if to 'present the show' of his insult in an attempt to get Kaito riled up and angry.

Xiao, feeling the stinging pain would proceed to fire a web high so that he might find a swinging arc aimed towards Kaito with his legs outstretched, one filled with senbon as it may be noted, directly swinging towards Kaito. "Come on my Grandma, you got any hardcandy for me or just more knitting needles?" Xiao remarked hoping his constant beration would be enough to have Kaito attack with full force charging his jacket, the red flak jacket, with chakra as he rushed full on towards Kaito.

--
715
-5 Chakra
245/250 Chakra

Spoiler:

The little spider monkey was fast, at least fast enough to evade multiple strikes of the senbon Kaito had thrown at him. Leaping from tree to tree, branch to branch, with Kaito on his heels, the boy had managed to thwart the older shinobi's efforts nearly to the last. It was impressive for one so young, though Kaito expected nothing less from a Kiri-nin, much less the child of Haka Osada, adopted or not.

As Kaito moved after the boy, he paused to see if Kyutai could still go on before continuing his assault. with clear injuries to his foot and back, Kaito would have let the spar end there to take care of the boy's wounds. Alas, the child seemed eager to get a rise out of Kaito, too eager perhaps, and overlooking his own coming defeat, Kyutai pressed on. Unfortunately for the boy, Kaito had already prepared a another attack had he been given the the opportunity. Spewing forth his acidic foam, Kaito caught the boy right as he was about to counter attack, hitting him dead on and covering his entire front side in the potent mixture.

Not wanting to injure the young shinobi anymore than necessary, Kaito quickly formed the Dog Hand Seal, holding his hand up to his face to now spit water at the boy. He wouldn't aim directly for him, but instead just over his head, so that the water would rain down and wash the painful foam away. It wouldn't matter to Kaito if the boy wanted to fight on anymore, enough was enough. Kaito had won and now was the time to heal.

Kaito moved nearer to little spider monkey, even at this distance, the medical-nin could see the damage he'd done despite the rain he had used to wash the foam off of him. Kaito made sure not to get any of the residual foam on him as he got closer to the boy. "You clearly never met my grandmother. Now, let's get these senbon out of you and I'll start the healing process." Kaito spoke softly, before removing one of the senbon and leaving a trace amount of chakra behind to cover the small wound and keep Kyutai from bleeding. Once everything had been removed, he would begin by coating his hands in healing chakra and taking the pain from the child's face, before moving down his neck and delicately handling his arms.

Much like a grandmother might, Kaito took care to ease the pain and suffering he had brought the child in his grasp, after all, medical-nin still needed a proper bedside manner when they served as medics and doctors. "Let's get you cleaned up, then I'll help you back to the manner so you can get some rest, deal?" Kaito asked with a smile. Kyutai was tenacious, though he needed to learn to stop all that talking while fighting, it would only serve to distract him from his enemy, especially one that was adaptive enough to ignore such petty insults.

170/250:

In a flash it covered his body, a sizzling assortment of unsavory solution that covered his side burning him deeply all over his body as he began to roll back and kicking up dust as he felt his entire side of his body burning in pain. He didn't scream, nor did he yelp but the pain was enough to allow him to feel the toxic sting of Kaito's foam. His hot bubbling fluid spraying all over Xiao's young face as his eyes buldged out in utter shock at the sheer force and weight of the fluid covering his body, he laid there shaking in pain through instinct alone as the fluid dripped along his body stinging with every slither it made across his pale flesh marking it with a deliberate brand.
Soon the pain began to stop as water gushed over Xiao, cleansing him of the painful foam mixture of Kaitos as the apprentice of Haka stated forward  "You clearly never met my grandmother. Now, let's get these senbon out of you and I'll start the healing process." Kaito stated as he removed the senbon to which Xiao stated with a slight smile "I didn't mean it...just...wanted to get you angry so you'd fight harder...you're cool big brother...you're cool...big brother..." Xiao stated as he then proceeded to fall into unconcioussness, completely and utterly knocked out and utterly unable to continue and yet resting though battered and bruised smiling that he had found another of Haka's chosen.

-
TWC: 3185
3185/2575 - Endurance C - B
610 = Discarded