The blank ink had swallowed the two of them whole and brought them into a new world that knew few visitors - the Spider Realms. Hidden within a network of tunnels with unnatural darkness cloaking sight and hope alike, there always seemed to be something lurking in the corner of the eyes, glistening bulbs vanishing as soon as heads were turned. The distant hiss and skittering of little legs within the shadows were hard to pinpoint, stress and discomfort rising with every step deeper mortal men would take.The Spider Realm was not a place for the living. It was a place where only two kinds ventured: those of the brood and those who came to die.

Arm still broken but finally home, Haka's human guise would melt away within the shadows and leave a giant misty grey wolf spider behind. Four pairs of beady black eyes watched the Unmei next to her, her hollow gaze glistening in the dark. Four pairs of legs resting tenderly against the earthen underground and stone tunnels alike despite two of them feeling no need to cooperate with the whole of the body.

"This is the Spider Realm. Welcome home, Kyutai. Welcome to where it all began."

Haka's voice would be a mere whisper echoing throughout the myriad of tunnels, her language no longer that of humans now that the queen had taken her true form. The arachnid of the mist would tiptoe forward through the tunnels, expecting Kyutai to follow her as she oriented herself within the homelands of the Spider clan. The road to Noiralane was not all that far, if one knew the way. The world naturally defended with a maze of tunnels and lingering genjutsu stupefying the mind's sense of orientation. Merely threading here was a battle of concentration in its own right, subtly explaining exactly why the Unmei were generally mentally stronger in comparison to their frailer looking spider forms. Domination was all about the mind. After all, as long as the mind is willing it can command the body.

Crawling through the tunnels, Haka would lead her brethren towards the Mind Weaver that kept the place organised, if such a word even applied, and maintained the natural defences of the world. While there were other Mind Weavers under Momma's influence, Haka had only bothered with one. From the few encounters the arachnid had learned that such visits where the sort of humans would compare to a visit with the dentist. An unfortunate necessity if it happened, and preferably avoided as long as it was physically possible. Though Noiralane's arts were to be considered benevolent to the clan, her forceful approach and sadistic glee were not eagerly seen in the same way. But the recluse care none. As a brood mother she had other worries to tend to than the thoughts of miserable miscreants.

The two Unmei would eventually reach the cavern that harboured the massive spider. Makeshift bookcases formed out of bone, wood and web strands were lined up against the irregular walls of the cave, creating half a circle as they stood one next to another. Unlike Sero's library, they were not as filled, leaving plenty of space for smaller species of the spiders to make their cobwebs and lurk from the relative safety of its niches. From the half-circle of bookcases, webbing spun much in the shape of a net was attached to the centre pillar of the cave that consisted out of a stalagmite and stalactite kissing each other just barely. The centre pillar was in turn lightly cocooned in black webbing and further connected to other areas of the cave through the same sturdy weave that bound the library section and the centre. Around the centre pillar stood a few shabby cupboards, kept in place mostly with strands of black webbing. Mostly empty, they did serve as a proper means to uphold a couple of thick candles and bleached bones but were otherwise bare. In front of those, on the opposite end of the library, stood a king size bed. It's wood had seen better days, even suffering from quite some wear and tear, yet sported perfectly draped silken bed sheets of a dark green hue. Whereas the entrance was mostly devoid of furniture, the back side was truly cluttered with chairs, a desk, a couple of rusted weapons and even a dirty painting hung up to the wall.

And somewhere within that semi-human looking room rested a massive spider within the webs, its large eyes observing the intruders to her personal lair with caution and sadistic interest.




"Ah, if it isn't our princess and the one supposed to be fangless. Why don't you come over here, Kyutai, so that I can finally have a look at that fangless mouth of yours."
"Kyutai, this is Noiralane, one of Momma's brood mothers."
"And one of the few that do not simply abide by the queen's wishes, mind you. Perk of being mother's chosen, I reckon, though equally surprising to have the Father make a choice for a change. What sinister future does he have in mind, I wonder?"
"Ask him and you'll know."

The spider would move its rear. Slowly. Moving closer with measured step while her eyes never left theirs. Her interest fixated on the Unmei who had become the talk of the clan lately, her mouth seemingly grinning at the thought of having that little one woven within her web.

"Tell me, how are you feeling... Kyutai?", the recluse would ask, her hiss almost a whisper as if it had been meant only for his ears.

---

947

Fuuinjutsu. A beautiful art in which Xiao consistently found an elegance...and a memory. The memory of his mother, the tattoo artist, the loving carer and more importantly to that of Kirigakure...The Spider. It was something he felt was truly beautiful and perhaps it was due to his habit as an orbweaving spider to derive beauty from the strokes and presence of fine and well placed lines. Perhaps it was a longing to be closer to his mother but all in all Xiao merely knew one truth: Fuuinjutsu was a beautiful thing to see and once more just as he had always done, he obeyed Haka and walked deep within the beautiful void of ink.

We are right to fear her.
I do not fear her.
We do. She is like...a sister? We love her and we fear her. An interesting combination.
She is one of our- My! One of my masters...and she's family, we're the same clan, heck I think she technically is my sister...or aunt? Whatever. Of course I love her. That's not fear. That's respect.
Then why are we silent? Where are our jests at reality? Where is our second mask, Kyutai?
...It's respectful.
We fear disappointing her. Allow me to speak with our silver tongue.
OUR SILVER TONGUE? You speak like a robot that just discovered a speak and spell. Sorry Hal 9000 no can do....how could I do that anyway?
Just agree. We will follow our desire. We know our body."
I'll think on it.

It was like a starry night sky of endless horror, a true lovecraftian horror that caused the skin to crawl even with one such as Xiao who was a spider himself, this would be that of the land of spiders. The land of those who ate the flesh of beasts and roared with thunderous vengeance on those who attempted to harm their own. This was the world of absoloute survival and with the noise of skittering and shuttering Xiao's hair on the back of his neck shivered with fear. Almost frozen from the sensation.

Enough. Kyutai does not know how to transform. Give it to me. Let brother Kaine help.
Kaine...? Oh. Hey. You gave yourself a name.
We need a way to explain ourselves.
Yeah if only we had words like 'I' and 'Me'...Oh wait.

As the two minds bickered back and forth Haka proceeded to shed her skin, an amazing fete if not gruesome to some degree atleast psychologically. Xiao began to shake, trying to figure out just how to transform and yet he still had the same issue not fully understanding how to do so. His eyes darted to Haka in her spider like form as he began to worry further, anxiety building as he attempted to work out just what to do.

Kyutai!
Okay okay! Uhh, I give you permission to take control!? Uhh Switch!

And with that Kyutai or rather the boy who played at being a spider became a spider masquareding as a man. The once neurotic and eccentric facial expression that was the furrowerd brows and smirks of Xiao even his stance seemed to transition into a mear robotic like relaxation based around determination and an air of ruthlessness about the boy who then followed suit of his mentor shedding his ningen guise. With a slight waver of his flesh his body of the once small Xiao eho barely scraped 5 foot was transformed into the titanic, the enormous....10mm Gasteracantha cancriformis spider adorned in bright reds whites and blues that resembled Xiaos own costume, with two large markings around what would be a multitude of eyes resembling Xiaos own mask. The small spider scurried next to Haka looking up to her with that same determination despite his size.

Wait...Uhhh did we shrink?
Indeed.
So...uhh...Why?
We are in our true body.

Kyutai paused...within his own mind, an icey silence that held for a time as Kaine steered the body to move in a way to 'bow' in a sense to Haka as a sign of respect, it was a typical thing among the spiders to do a strange clicking or radial noise to acknowledge another but as Kaine knew that Kyutai was more human than Spider for they were indeed one in the same the spider had opted to "nod" in a sense to continue the ruse that everything was fine.

So wait wait wait. Hakas true form is a horse sized wolf spider and we are what? A 6 inch spider!?
10 millimetres.
WHAT!? Whats the point of having a spooky spider form if we literally just turn into a spider!A baby spider!
Nature does not select our form like fashion or clothing. We are us due to our history. To our blood. Our family. We are the size we should be because there is no other us to be. We are functional, thus, it is sufficient. There are many advantages of being so small.
[color=red]Well...Hey, I mean atleast I could eat a cake for an entire year at this size.[/color,]

Following Haka through the constant weaving tunnels the little 10mm spider could scarcely keep up though found the advantage of being the size of the brood. Though the brood were just as small as he, they knew the cracks and secrets of the tunnels, places to seep through and 'skip' to keep up to Haka and thus Xiao or rather Kaine followed them so without question, assimilating and yet keeping his focus. One in one hundred unmei would develop sentience and Kyutai or Kaine rather was one of them. He was able to think, to dream and more importantly to actively transform but whilst his monkey brain had transfigured into Kyutai the dormant reptillian or rather arachnid side of Kyutai was always surpressed. Waiting. Biding his time as the clown of the mist humiliated their body. Watching as the boy took the things of the world.that were serious as jests. It was true, Kaine was not a demon, nor bijuu or remnant of an ancient god. He wqs a developped personality that resided in Xiaos core germinating in Seros curse until finally forming its own conciousness through the breaking of Xiaos mind.


Haka's voice was if his mind was playing tricks on him, coming from all sides of the tunnel and echoing out as it rang into Xiaos mind. The phrase where it all began certainly holding enormous weight when it came to what it could mean. Was he going to meet Sero? To meet Momma!?
Deep inside Kaines mind Kyutai could not contain his excitement.

Is this it?! Are we merting Grandpa Sero!? Or Grandmomma!?! Oh wow! Ive dreamed of this day! Oh oh how do I look?Oh...Right. 10mm Spider with crayon coloring. No, yeah, totally as good as a suit...yeah...

The brood swarms so too provided the small spider with routes to take with the large wolf spider infront never far from his relative Haka as the spider side of Kyutai focused in on being one with the swarm, an individual lost to the crowd and yet clinging to his identity firmly for it was indeed the first time he jad spread his wings in his life. The first time in control and yet unlike power mad humans or greedy ningen, Kaine did not feel a need to steal this away from Kyutai instead opting to view his temporary freedom as just that, temporary joy.

And as they crawled out from those tight cracks to once more see the arachnid laden skies of ferocious gnawing mandles and maws in the darkness attached to swarms of deep pools of oil black eyes looking onward. The bone bookcases simpluy made Kyutai amazed at such a sight, though on the island he had met the Builder, an Orb Weaver known to Xiao as Old Tom and the smaller brood he had not met many Unmei at all outside of Haka and her famialiar.
The emptiness of the shelves made the hidden Kyutai tut in concern for the grand spider.

Trapped in a hellish nightmare realm and barely any books? Shame on you Sero...Kaine, remind me to buy her some books! Next time we come we are bringing a library for this grandma!.


The recluse spoke as an old dignified woman and Xiao, both of them, instantly resonated with just this. Kaine feeling the bond of blood and Kyutai excited to meet a spider that may knit him.a sweater and offer him hard candy. The little 10mm spider stood stoicly next to Haka as it looked the grand recluse, a spider that was often mistaken for venomous and hostile due to the size and infection rates of their bites and frequency of attack but were just as misunderstood as the docile tree spider or daddy long legs as they were merely big balls of nerves and anxiety that wished for solitude.

Kaine spoke outward lacking the manerisms ofKyutais tendency to follow a stream of conciousness with his words speaking as he thought rather than thinking before he spoke. His words deliberate, determined and somewhat regal. "If this is due to my defeat during the Chuunin Exams I this failure though wear the burn on my.human form as penance. Regardless, I survived and accomplished my purpose of the exams.gatheringa large range of intel on a variety of shinobi. Kaine stated bluntly almost entirely emotionlessly as he answered I am here. I am.alive. That is what matters. i am functioning normally. I am growing in strength." Kaine replied as he gazed up at the dazzling recluse and the eccentrically hobbled and uet beautifully designed home.

"If this is due to my defeat during the Chuunin Exams I this failure though wear the burn on my.human form as penance. Regardless, I survived and accomplished my purpose of the exams.gatheringa large range of intel on a variety of shinobi. Kaine stated bluntly almost entirely emotionlessly as he answered I am here. I am.alive. That is what matters. i am functioning normally. I am growing in strength."

For exactly three seconds, the recluse would eye the itty bitty tiny spider. A pointed stare of eight eyes weighing his answer as if she was judging his whole worth by the selection of his words. Then, she'd rise a leg and tap the ground with it. Her eyes shifted to meet Haka's, then back to Kyutai

"No, little Kyutai. I doubt the Tyrannis cares much for your defeat. Survival is more important than victory. If your prey escapes you, try another. But if your life escapes you, now that is another matter. That said, if you want that burn healed we can... arrange something. Niamh is always eager to try out new surgical practises on willing targets.", she'd chitter gleefully. "No, the reason for your visit is exactly this duality. Your usual loose approach to things worsens by the week, and look at you now... This inhumane side... Haka has all reasons to believe there might be something not quite... bound within your mind."

The recluse's legs reached for Kyutai as she spoke, as if she intended to grip his cheek solidly so she could take a good look at him. Like she was inspecting a horse's health. Or a future patient ready for the torture bank. Setting her leg back on the ground with another tap, the giant arachnid would fidget in place as she restrained herself from having a little too much fun with her prospective target for mind therapy.

"I know you have not lost your human side after your rebirth. Seeing such cold pragmatism is... unusual if not intriguing. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, so why don't you indulge me and explain what exactly is going on. Is there something you'd like to talk about...? Something you can't share as easily with others...? Hm?"

Stretching a leg, she'd invite the spiderling to hop on it so she could bring him closer to herself. Place him upon her back like brood mothers did until their young were old enough to fend for themselves. Noiralane was not as familiar with Kyutai's past the way Haka was. She had not been there. But the Mind Weaver was not easily fooled, reading the members of the spider clan like an open book. Recognising the individual in every spider small or tall, no matter the count of the swarm.

"Haka does not have to know if you worry about that.", her voice thrummed within Xiao's mind, continuing the conversation. "Just a little secret between you and me."

---

505
Total: 1452

The small orbweaver gazed back to the titan in a formless way, no hint of anger or sorrow but instead utter complacency. He was numb, not calm though a large difference between the two was the fundamental of it's origin point. Calm was the outcome of needs being met, of safety and care but numb? Numb was the counterpoint. It was when all became far too much to the point that the little orbweaver had since become less of a calm night but instead remained in the eye of the storm - calm on the outside or those who were lost in the temporary refuge but soon would be met with an even large collision on the horizon. He was lost in that eye of calm as it currently stood, it was that numbing venom coursing through his veins that stopped him from completely running amock with his antics. To keep the gnawing and germinating nihilism from utterly consuming him.

"Indeed." Kaine, the 'other' side of Xiao, stated calmly and as he continued to listen to the words of the wise spider who then offered their particular medical benefits much to the intrigue of both Xiao's. Kaine's own for the possibility of discovering a far greater understanding of his own shared biology and Kyutai's own for the possibility of forming a deeper understanding of what the heck a spider hospital would look like. "You have my thanks. I'd graciously accept this testing. I'm already an anomaly in my origins as an Unmei so I'm sure honorable Niamh will enjoy the experience." as the large spider spoke of his debilitating mind set Xiao couldn't help but agree. He was becoming more and more nihilistic, more removed, more unhinged and needing more to keep himself from stopping. To keep himself from actually thinking about the present. Because if he stopped then he would have to admit a fair amount of things to himself. He had just turned thirteen years old before the Chuunin Exams and even Xiao himself had forgotten this fact or rather chosen to do so purely for the point that he knew at least subconcioussly that this would be the first time in his entire other than recent normal and dull life that he would not have his mother come and wake him with birthday noodles. That he would not meet with his father and go and select out a toy. That he would be utterly alone with naught but their memories. It was why he reached out so often and so firmly, he just wanted something or someone out there that would tell him that it was all okay. That he was loved and that it was okay to be afraid but when it came down to it he was far too nervous to admit this sorrow and thus he pushed it down by joking not to entertain others but to entertain himself, to trick himself into thinking that everything was fine because as long as he kept joking perhaps even for a moment things would seem like they weren't complete hell for the little spider.

The sense of having something bound was an oddity. It would explain 'Kaine's birth of course, perhaps a gestation of Sero's chakra? A remnant of the sage himself? or perhaps Xiao was just losing his mind and his mind was finally deteriorating to the point of auditorial hallucination which was a prominent trait of psychosis though all at once this voice had been quite...helpful to Kyutai in his coping and thus the question arose would the removal of such a thing be wise for Xiao? Could the little orbweaver survive as two in one or was he a fractured being that needed to be whole?

He felt the spindled hairs of the leg stroke his own distorted spider face much to his enjoyment but this enjoyment came with a pain. He had not been touched in a familial way since his mother's passing. The enjoyment became something of a panic enducing force, his body jolting slightly as he felt that comfort almost as if his body was ensuring it was not a threat having become far too familiar with losing that which gave him pleasure. Emotional pain and physical pain tended to have the same affects on reflexes and the way that Xiao's body moved was a child that knew all too well that indeed the stove was hot and hesitated in hopes of not feeling that sting again. To keep the wounds at bay, to hold back that dammed emotional waves that would overrun the boy the little spider kept his cold demeanor in the form of Kaine, the other, the one who held him together

"My human side remains ever present. I am simply...adjusting. I have not seen such...empathy from Unmei. Are you like myself?" Xiao asked his voice at times wavering as he attempted to collect himself, his voice moving like a flag in the wind flapping and creaking as loose wind emitted from his...lips? He was still having trouble with the spider anatomy. Regardless, his voice wavered as he spoke showing the hidden emotion beneath the surface of his words. As he watched the enormous brood mother Xiao continued to try and hold his own...emotionally at least.

Clambering on the leg and adhering thustly to the interaction the little spider with the spiked and rounded body laid gently on her back feeling somewhat at home and yet that pain continued. A pain he could not describe, it was loss but more than just that of loss, it was a phantom pain, a longing for something he could not have any longer. A longing for his mother's laughter, for his father's stories. A longing to come home and sit around the table like a family once more, his mother jesting that he would need to eat more as he was so spindly and skinny and his father hoping to teach him the way of the Gelel Knight. He missed it so and yet it was gone now, forever and Xiao could do nothing about it but continue to survive. If Haka knew just how much he was 'surviving' perhaps she may be proud. As he heard the voice echoing through, well, their heads the two began to panic. Was it a third entity? Was he truly losing it now.

Well...I'm not one to keep things from Lady Osada, by all means tell her...If you think it's useful, y'know.
Providing a weakness even for allies only serves to leave openings in our defences. This is unwise...though honesty is always meant for family so I can empathise with the sentiment.
Oh wow, you can empathise now? Jeez you're really changing.
We. We're the same entity. Dear Brood Mother I'm assuming you can hear our thoughts. I am Kaine and this is Kyutai, as you know. My assumption is I am a coping mechanism that somehow gained...a semblance of sentience though I'm unsure how.
Ha! You said I, I told you we were different.
Regardless. This is the situation. Any light shed on such aspects would...mean the world. Though my human side does not seem to wish to admit it he has lost too much to cope with. Orphaned. Betrayed by his village. Friends passing. These are standard for a shinobi but Xiao is from another land where normality rains thus is coping...poorly.
Also? I have not found a good place to cut my hair and y'know, that's important too...

Honourable Niamh. Why, that was a way of calling her no one ever did. The surgeon-spider was hardly honourable, all tunnel-vision when it came to medical knowledge, dissection, analysis and evolution. Science, she would call it, much to the lack of comprehension of 99% of the Spider Clan. Devoted to it to a maddening point, her interest only roused when it came to her particular field of interest. Nothing else. Unless it was stripping someone of life for ruining her masterwork. Haka and Niamh oddly understood each other on that matter, Ameya often bringing in corpses for the surgeon to play with when she was summoned to join forces with the Tyrannis. But then again, despite Haka's apathetic approach in life, the girl understood many things. Connected them all within the Web that was the Spider clan. But none would correct the little spider in his strange formulation, leaving it for him to discover by himself how 'honourable' Niamh truly was.

When Kyutai mentioned he had not seen such empathy from Unmei, Noiralane chuckled lightly.

"I am no Unmei, Kyutai. I am a brood mother of Momma. A simple spider watching over her swarm. A caretaker, compared to Haka being a leader. We all have our place in the Web of Life. It's just a matter of claiming it for yourself and fending off those who would jealously steal it from you. Besides... There are empathic Unmei. You are one of them. So is our princess."
"Why don't you crawl in a corner and die, Noiralane."
"Still not keen on your human side, I see. Spider at heart you may be, but Kyutai is not."
"I do not expect him to be different than his nature. His human heart has yet to disappointed me."

The brood mother would nod knowingly as the tiny spiderling positioned himself upon her back. She knew the two Unmei around her were very alike in their nature, struggling to find balance between the ever-pragmatic, calcified reasoning of the spiders and the volatile, emotional ways of the human. Haka was simply the greater power when it came to hiding that struggle. Those who could look beyond her apathetic gaze and her cold, seemingly indifferent attitude knew there were people who could stay her hand from disregarding them. Admittedly, they were few. But they existed.

Focusing on the conversation with not one but two entities within the spiderling on her back, the truth about Kyutai quickly became clear. The human nature and the Unmei nature had somehow been split in two separate identities, making the boy's struggle between the two natures clearer and more expressed. An interesting find of which the Mind Weaver believed it brought different benefits and flaws in comparison to Haka's mental unity between the two natures.

"A more distinguished manifestation of your opposing natures. It is a first time I encounter it but I do not believe it is harmful. Rather, you'll have to work harder to cooperate and get along with each other. But perhaps, the two of you may find a better balance than Haka whose spider-mind rules most of her reasoning. We have a mind-weave that conditions the mind... Brings forward hidden power... Breaks what is unnecessary and mends which is broken... ", the recluse's voice continued to thrum, the last few sentences betraying more of her sadistic delight in prodding the mental world of others. "But I stray... Your past is different than that of Haka. Heavier to bear for the humane. Why are you hiding your pain? Allowing it to fester in the depths of your mind... Festering wounds do not heal, Kyutai. You may have lost much but you have gained the clan. Do not see them as a threat despite their venom and fangs. See them as potential towards growth and evolution. Do not weave your demise, little one, but weave life-force within your destiny."

The recluse gave the two entities a moment so that her words could sink in. Working on his mind. Working her way into his heart to set the gates open he had shut for so long. If the world had to drown into a wild river. So be it. The spiders would survive or die trying. If the world had to burn to ash, so be it. It would burn the weak and leave behind the strong. After all, how many times did the weaver not loose its web and the husks of prey it had drained of nourishment? Losing what weighed one down. Cutting loose what was no longer needed. Growth, survival and strength came in many forms.

"Have you ever told Haka of your pain?"

---

788
Total: 2240

He thought on the question for sometime, perhaps too long but in the realm of the mind who knew, outside his spider like body would nestle deep within the extended barbed fur of the grand brood mother who seemed to be exactly what he wished to be with right now. He was lost and had lost so much, lost so much of not only himself but so too the path that he wandered. He once wish to be a grand swordsmen of the mist, guarding the walls of Kirigakure with the beautiful sights along the horizen as he would save the mother city from yet another day of reckoning from all who might assault her ever present stoneward spirit...but that changed when Xiao stood along side the man he called friend, Samuru of the Lightning, The Stormbreaker, The Oncoming storm and with but an inaction watched as all at once the man who was his father was cut down for his insurgency towards Kirigakure. At that time Xiao couldn't act knowing that if he did so that it would in turn cause his fate to be sealed as his father's had. He spent sometime tracking answers, from the likes of the monstrous hoshigaki Komodo, the living lightning Raijin and of course the rampaging rhino that all lead him to further answers and yet all he could obtain was that his father worked for a man named The Goblin and yet that trail grew colder by the day since his last encounter with the dastardly duo of the Chameleon and his ally known only as Vulture and as things progressed things seemed to increasingly grow colder with now only the location of the Land of Iron as a hint.

On top of the loss of both his father, Kyutai had so too lost his mother by her own hand as she had sworn vengeance against the Mizukage for her husband's death and thus had opted for suicide at her own kind's hand rather than bring down the wrath of Kirigakure on to Xiao's head. A vengeance that could only be satisfied with blood was satiated with her passing but so too was Xiao further pushed to his breaking point. His mind decreased further and further with the increase of situations that turned his stomach so. From discovering he was not even human, to the loss of his first love and most recently of course the chuunin exams failure. Xiao was a mess of a person, a spill God had left uncleaned, and as time went on it wasn't anger that built in him, nor sorrow or melancholy but instead it was a growing 'darkness'. If he were perhaps in a world of Keys and Hearts one would say Xiao's heart was turning to the darkness and laughing all the way. A growing, gnawing nihilism that made him more and more unhinged with his actions and ideals. Why save a village that killed your parents? Why take the leader of lightning seriously when we would all be dust one day anyway? Why care about the chuunin exams if he was always going to be overlooked by others no matter how hard he pushed himself. He was embracing the pointlessness of life not begrudgingly but rather breathing it in, absorbing the embodiment of nihilism at it's core. Nothing mattered, and Xiao found it funny because if he didn't then he would crumble. He was doing what Haka instructed more than she could know, he was surviving.

As the brood mother spoke on their nature the two sides of Xiao couldn't help but agree entirely, they at first had a hatred for one another but had in time grown to somewhat rely on each other. They were learning slowly, or rather just then to switch, but prior to the experience had found refuge in one another. They had been supportive even if their natures were the direct opposite, Kyutai helping Kaine in pragmatic ways and Kyutai aiding Kaine in his creativity and yet both acknowledged that they were in fact one in the same.
"Because if I let it out I'm afraid it's going to be too much. Because before I graduated...Before I became a genin...y'know, I was a kid. A normal kid, My father cooked noodles and my mother did tattoos and tapestry. We had dinner together. We laughed and we shared our days together. As soon as I had this headband placed upon my head the world crumbled and now I know if I stop to let it get to me everything will fall apart. Kyutai stated as calmly as he could, his voice wavering at times but never shying too far away. It had been the first time he was honest in years, the first time he truly admitted what was happening to him. "Frankly...The Unmei have been the best thing that happened to me...Well, they and my team...and our masters. Haka, Verdandi and Chigetsu have lead me to discover what it means to be a mist shinobi...and my brother's Yoshito and Kaito have been there since I got my first mission...It's not that I'm distant from kirigakure or don't embrace myself...It's that I'm, y'know, a fish being told to fly. It's new to me...I didn't even know I could weave webs...and yet, here I am every day doing it - but does that make an Unmei or just someone with a gimmick?" Xiao continued as his small spider form curled deeper, nestled into the brood mother as their minds thought, Kaine being silent due to the fact that he essentially was content with existing and had naught to add.

Xiao gave a deep sigh as he thought "I'm surviving...In my own way...I can't look at my face without seeing my parents...so I wear a mask. I can't deal with reality...so I laugh at it...I'm weaker than the rest, so I don't even try to fight...I am alive. I am functioning...but it's not the way Sero would. It's not the way Kaito does." He mused over what he was saying trying to fully articulate his feelings but finding the words difficult to fully put into words. "Like, Ryo...Do you know why I didn't use my advantage? It wasn't because of anything like honor or keeping my word, It's me, why would I care...I did that because the guy was all power this and that...so why not show him another way? Why do I have to be this stoic, ruthless shinobi when it's just not who I am? I'm...me...and for some reason that disgusts everyone around me...so why not laugh?" Xiao concluded as the brood mother's words of Haka were enough to make him think once more.

"Because I love her. " was the best answer he could come up with as human as it may be. It was true, he loved her in his own way and with that came the need whether wanted or not to protect her. She was the princess of the web, and he was a literal 11mm spider, why trouble royalty with the pain of a clown? "Because...to survive I need to laugh...so I laugh to survive...and I survive to laugh. Otherwise...I, whatever that means, truly will not survive and instead something...hollow and filled with bitter venom will continue..."

"You lack self-esteem, little one. You are not weak despite what others say, neither are you supposed to be Sero or Kaito. Even Haka, who comes close to the Dark Father, is not Sero at the core of her existence. There is a reason why she denies Ameya the joy of slaying you, she does not expect you to be a grey mouse. She does not like torture, ending life swiftly. She does not kill without reason. Neither does she hold loyalty to Hidden Mist, unlike what her headband would tell you. Wearing this... trinket of Kirigakure means nothing other than the value you put into it. What does this forehead protector mean to you? As a shinobi you have the potential to shape the world, as an Unmei you weave fates. So if the world crumbles around you, build it in your image. Weave your web. Weave your destiny and give your headband the value you want it to have. The Creator asks not to destroy Kirigakure, while Haka requests the spider clan to remain whole. What do you desire...?"

"Pudding.", Haka would suddenly throw in the quietude of the moment.
"What?"
"You lack pudding. Did I not tell you to give it a try?"
"This pudding does not provide us with nourishment, Haka"
"It does not but it is an agreeable taste."
"Why are you even thinking about pudding?"
"Your brain is about to burst from mental activity. I may not have your mind-weaving power but do not take me for a fool, Noiralane. You are the one who showed me how to read emotion and the body language of humans."

A few seconds would pass as the two spiders' gazes measured each other. Under a low hiss Noiralane would give way, and chuckle at the girl's persistence of will. The recluse remembered those lessons. The calcified mind refusing all intrusion. How lang had it been that the brood mother was forced to lure and trick the Unmei to a point where she could crack down rigid thinking in favour of emotional creativity?

"You are right. I should not. Since that is the case, I suggest you spend some time with Kyutai on a less... tyrannic level once we are done here.", Haka's head with move ever so lightly to the side rather than raise an eyebrow at that suggestion. "Those ruled by human reason require a different approach to certain matters."
"He could have pudding too, if he just asked."
"Could he have pudding with the Tyrannis in private?"
"Reveal your riddles, brood mother, or remain silent."
"What have you done to acknowledge his human nature? To acknowledge your own and share a similar trait?"

Eating pudding, obviously. Though no words or thought of that sort were mentioned by the spider. The lessons on human emotions she had been taught through Phantasmagoria surfaced from the depths of her memory. Fear, blind rage, discomfort, desire. It had been years ago, the spider merely using them as tools to reach her goals. Assassinate pirates. Steal a piano. Get her desires known. But Noiralane was not wrong. Emotions had been nothing but a tool of manipulation for the Unmei, not a means to bond or push those up that were of value. Even Sero, generally apathetic, had shown more affection with her 'pony' Tribute and his left arm bearing the essence of Boil Release, and that was saying much from a demonic entity as him.

At this point, Haka would have brushed her hand through her long hair if she had been in human form. A habit of sorts she had taken up every time she seemed to contemplate something requiring some careful thinking. What had been the mind-weaver's words again at the end of the day? She would not be spared from future shaping? Heh. So this was Noiralane's next lesson for her? Turn emotions into more than just a weapon or disguise? Tyrannis or not, it was clear she had still much to learn despite her respectful power. Mostly about how the mind-weaver's manipulations worked.

"I see what you are hinting at. If you believe this will benefit the clan, or Kyutai specifically as a member, I will give it a try."
"Yes. Very good."
"In return, you will have tried pudding by the time we meet again."
"I believe humans would consider this a childish reaction, Tyrannis."
"Bite me. My pudding for his human affection."
"... So be it."
"I'm glad we agreed. You may continue your lessons with Kyutai, Mind Weaver."

The wolf spider slowly moved over to the black webbing, dragging two painful legs all the while, and settled down in an unspoken sense of peace. Eyes fixated on the two other arachnids of the clan. Whatever conversation between the two would continue was not for her mind to read, Noiralane now merely waiting for Kyutai to pick up where they had left.

---

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Xiao, or rather Kyutai and his 'other' Kaine, paused for a moment in contemplation. What the mindweaver said was indeed true. He was an Unmei and he often held back purely for the sake of self doubt and concern, It was true that he was far different from the other shinobi that populated Kirigakure and he had always felt as an outsider playing at pretend of being one of the mighty 'mist' legends but the revelation that Haka was somewhat the same as he had caused Xiao to realise perhaps the mist shinobi were not as strictly blinded by loyalty as the propaganda and instilled fear of the academy would have one believe. Often told that their disloyalty would render them worse than dead, forgotten and their past erased. Xiao had been dealing with that demon quite severely as of late but when it came to figuring out how to tackle the issue it always seemed so 'far' away that he would have to actually make the choice, a lie he found utter safety in. The concept of finding a value was something that made Xiao really focus in. On one hand, he had been wronged that was true but he harbored no ill will to the village but the pain was still present. The concept of revenge on them was never in Xiao's mind, nor was his loyalty ever in question, but the reality was he had become disillusioned with the concept of warring with others purely for an aspect of the self one could not choose.

What it means to me...and I know it may sound naive...but it's not Kirigakure like the posters and speeches say. It's not the 'feared greatest village of all time'...the band represents the people I love. It'll remind me of that. To fight for the people that mean the most to me...For my brothers and sisters, for my family...It's a reminder of what I need to do. the little spider contemplated, thinking clearly what he meant though being quite young still struggling to fully articulate what that meant or what he hoped to imply which simply was that he was not loyal to the concept of the nationalistic and power of kirigakure, nor thought he better or superior for his birth rite but rather had a love for those who made up kirigakure by every sense of the word feeling an ever constant need to reach out and aid those that may need it but so too to nurture those that may need the aid of a spider with a heart that held people above all others.

When I think about it. In all honesty? I just want to unite...everyone. I know...again it's stupid, it's childish and naive but...I have so many friends from so many places. I have so many people that I honestly just want to see grow...to see them happy...so as a weaver of fate, as the orb weaver...I want to create a web of unity...something that ensures that we can all make it through this. I know it's been hundreds of years but we know there is life outside this planet hostile to us...so why are we still squabbling when we should be preparing for their return? Why should I declare Kirigakure the lord of all the land when an ancient guy can fly down, put a tree in the middle of the Mizukage's office and kill us all without even thinking of it, y'know?...I just want to create a web where everybody can stand together against the real threats of the world...I can't protect everyone, I know that, I can't convince everyone...but I'm darn well going to try my best.

The little spider admitted slightly shaking as he thought over his answer. Would it be offensive? Seen as pathetic and dismissed or perhaps it was far too grand of a personal quest to create a united front against the greater threats of the world. A team who would not just try to save that world, but so too avenge it if they ever failed to keep their word to protect it. His other, Kaine, had remained silent for some time and yet finally he uttered something, something simple and small but enough to show that the two sides of Xiao were 'merging' in a sense.

We will try our best.

Kaine's words may have referenced the old exchanges of arguing singular and plurals but his words were clear. The two had a united goal and they could atleast agree on that. On their loyalty to the ones they loved. As Xiao 'left' his mindscape, or rather finally began to move in the world he began to scurry along the body of the brood mother admiring Haka for a moment who claimed to want pudding, possibly the most human thing he had seen her do. Making a mental note of her love of the substance...though it appeared more as allegory. Haka was definitely more spider than human but all at once she was still very much held a heart as Verdandi had often shown Xiao.

The two talked back and forth, the brood mother acting...well, as a mother in Xiao's defense causing the small spider to feel safe for the first time in quite a long time. "Lady Osada. I...just want to say...y'know...don't take it the wrong way but..." the spider began to say, not stammering but rather knowing that such words may bring discomfort in the pragmatic beings of the Unmei "I really appreciate all you do for me, and I know this is strange to say, but I want you to know I love you and I'll always...at least try... to protect you in the best way I can. I listen to you because of that..y'know. You're like pudding to me." he decided to blurt out, still in his strange blue and red form that resembled his own masked face perhaps a little too much but the sentiment was there regardless of his bizarre form. He wanted to end with 'because I know you think it's just because I'm afraid' but he opted not to complicate the message to much instead wishing to try and directly speak to her...especially from the top of a brood mother's head who he hoped would aid him in his articulation.

The recluse listened to the words carefully. She understood the first part of his tale but not the second. Creatures of an outside planet, able to plant a tree and kill everyone? That was knowledge that went beyond the mind of the mind-weaver. She was hardly a decade old and not familiar with the most detailed history of human society. Perhaps Sero would be able to understand, maybe even Haka, but not her. This was well beyond her. Even then, the spider was not dumb. She might not understand where he got that little fairytale but she understood his worries. His search for unity. To think that he, Kyutai of the Unmei, would be thinking about such an odd concept when the answer to that rested well within the spider clan itself.

"Do not look so far, Kyutai. Within this very room you will find three members of a clan that are none different than the world. Spiderlings fight to grow, spiders hunt down their own to survive. The entire Spider clan is a mass that does nothing but fight among each other. And yet, at the call of one person, the entire clan rises to strike at what the queen considers a threat. Or nourishment. It is none different with the human world. They fight to prove their worth, they kill to survive. Should there ever be a threat as vast as the tree you described, all humans will unite to devour what stands in their path. Had they not done so before?"

A moment of silence would follow as unasked questions were answered. Visionary spiders; their eight eyes served another purpose other than watching prey. The Weavers of Fate envisioned the future.

"What you seek to create, Kyutai, our Tyrannis achieved within the Spider Clan. We have not always been united under a single banner. Many Unmei sought to overthrow Sero, to rule the Spider Clan for their own desires or even forgot about their clan and desired humanity to crush our kind. If it is your desire to unite the world, learn from the one who united the spiders. But while you see the greatness of our clan, do not forsake to see the dangers that come with such unity. Deal in truth and you'll know your limits. Evolve, and you might yet succeed in your visions."

With this, the recluse closed her mental conversation and left the attention to the two Unmei. To Kyutai expressing a sense of care that left Haka to shift her head. The wolf spider had expected less discomfort from his side, him being more humane, but a hint of doubt slipped in his words. Equally, him saying she was like pudding made her wonder if he even understood what pudding meant to her - a substitute nourishment closest to the wolf's spider diet of draining the softened innards of her prey. Still, understanding his intentions rather than his misunderstood comparisons.

"Your care is appreciated, Kyutai, but it would be better you develop your own skills and solidify your power first. Do that for me and I might yet allow you to join the Ananasi, my personal guard, so you can truly protect me. Perhaps even Sero might bestow you his personal favour at that time. But until then, know this: you are a valuable member of our clan. Even if I remain strict in the presence of others, do not doubt that I am proud about your growth and evolution. Don't let Ameya tell you otherwise."

The wolf spider tapped her legs playfully at that. The only sort of body language she was capable of in her current form.

"I'd say there is nothing wrong with Kyutai. He just needs some guidance and support. Human things, mostly. He is young, both as spider and as a human. I'm convinced he will get there."
"Of course he will. He is Unmei. It's only a matter of finding his place in the world.", her voice said calmly. "Let us go home now, heal our wounds and get some pudding. The day has been long."

---

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OOC: Next stop: Kyutaikage.

He was a boy of two worlds, one of the unmei and the weaved fates of the spiders and one of the realms of the Gelel Knights, the historians, those who sought out the truth of all things and in that truth found solace. His father, working for the six united clans that sought out the ultimate truth had shed light on the past, various aspects though interwoven with mysteries and fables to make the tedious more exciting and the deadly far more tame, to give shadow and light to the greys of reality was part of a historians task, to make sense of the chaotic world that had naught but random chance to motivate it's constant movings and dealings. He had recounted fables of blessed stones that housed gods and spirits that found themselves trapped between and yet was grounded in the reality and limitations of what it meant to be a shinobi, of what it meant to be a mortal in a plane of mystics.
"The Clan...is what I seek, that much is true...I have much to learn about this half of my life...this half of what makes me whole but where to start is troublesome...Unifying the clan is the first steps to the future I want to create...The first steps to a unified world..." Xiao stated softly not entirely sure where his words would take him but knowing that what he said he meant, truly, the fate weavers, the unmei, those who used the web of life to create the future and with that web Xiao so too could find a way to unite the world but first he would need to understand what it meant to be a fate weaver, he had learned to be spider, he had learned to be man but to be something more - to be a man who weaved fate itself.

"Evolution...That's what I shall do...I shall..." Xiao stated considering the possibilities, he knew of one possibility, one way to do just this that he had glanced upon during one of his clashes with the grand illusionist of the shinobi six who had spoke of dragon ravines and breaks in reality, a possibility for Xiao to find a way to evolve beyond that of a man, beyond that of a spider "I will serve you well...I will try my best...Always." Xiao murmured to himself in contemplation of his next steps to becoming a weapon of the unmei, to becoming of use to the spider clan. "What...would you ask of me to do, to begin to prove that worth?"

He had a request. To be shown the road to what would make him worth in her eyes. Sero had once done something similar by telling Haka she had to learn about humans. Spar with them, talk with them, join them on missions. The same lesson could not be applied to Kyutai, who was more than familiar with such a life. But she could steer him.

"Your current shinobi position denotes you are a student. First, reach chuunin, so you are no longer a student of the hidden arts but a power that has grown accustomed to the ways of war. Secondly, prove to me you are capable of commanding the elements. At your age both water and flame were under my will. Show me you have tamed two elements of your choice and I will acknowledge your versatility and will to evolve. Then, we will fight each other. To truly be capable of protection, you must be able to oppose those who would mean harm from within, no matter their power. While the worst enemy ever remains yourself, opposing your friends and allies requires courage just as much. Do this, and you'll be made Ananasi. Do this, and I might request Sero to grant you access to the third floor."

A purpose was given. A position of worth within the clan that would acknowledge his power. And possibly even a full acknowledgement of Sero himself, if the man allowed Kyutai access to the third floor - the floor where each of his acknowledged progeny had their own high quality private quarters. Next to Miyu and Haka, the third one in the line. Not quite a decision for her to make, but few were the Unmei that rose above the others since she had assassinated the strongest members of a once shattered clan.

"Do you believe yourself capable?"

His answer would be heard, her reply kept to herself whether it was a good one or a bad one. To the arachnid, any answer simply fulfilled its purpose to her question. There was no consequence if he considered himself incapable other than the fact he would merely fail himself. After all, as long as he lived and remained loyal to the clan, he did what Haka truly expected of him. The power he achieved with time was one to be put to good use or disregard. A cogwheel within the larger plans of the Nightmare Court.

When he had given his answer, Haka would drool black ink onto the floor. It would swirl and writhe into position, reforming the marks of the Kuchiyose no jutsu they had used to come here. This time it would bring them back to where they had come from - back before the remnants of the cleaned out Jashinist lair. Back in Konoha, greeting fresh air and living trees. Back to where Xiao could enjoy his own road again.

---

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[EXIT]

OOC: Let's say B-rank in elements is more than good enough?

Spoiler:

The small spider weaved his web down from the grand mindweaver's body, someone he knew that in time perhaps he would be able to call his own guide but that time as of yet was far from his current stance as it stood now he was simply unweaving what it meant to be himself and with his current 'room mate' it would be hard to fully understand what it meant to not only be a shinobi but so too what it meant to be a sane person in this day and age. He hadn't much of a plan set out before him to gain power, having heard rumblings of needs in Kumogakure and of Iwagakure from those he had faced in the Chuunin Exams but so too were there personal needs he would have to focus on before attempting to help the world. His father had planned a coup de'tat, his mother aiding him, and with it came a grand mystery revolving around seven entities. Seven names he needed to pursue and seven leads he would need to actually follow up on. He may be a human, but when it came to experience Haka was right - he was holding himself back and he knew just why that was. He had no closure. This second voice, this unfocused way he held himself, the way he was losing his grip, it was all revolving around that closure and perhaps in a personal quest he may be able to find it.


"Chuunin, Two Elements, Sparring. Hey it won't be easy by any matter, but I'm definitely going to give it my all. I'm going to make you proud..." Xiao stated his mandibles clacking together as they shifted, an unusual feeling he had but something that he would definitely need to get used to. He had some semblence of an idea, something that he could do to truly engage in her tasks, the seven. Tracking and hunting them down may be enough to show her that he was ready and having already chased down two of the seven may be enough for Xiao, but between he and the mindweaver it was obvious this simply was not enough closure in the slightest. The next target, the Mysterious Illusionist would be next and Xiao would give it his all to prove to Haka that he would be more than just a joke, that he would become a grand guardian for her.

"We will succeed." Kaine interrupted Kyutai's own need to self depricate and avoid the issue, stating the fact in their shared voice so to get to the point rather than dancing around the issue much to Xiao's own tendency to never speak straight and directly. The two, or rather two halves, watched as Haka's drool formed the inken symbol bringing them back to the point of entry causing Xiao's body to twist and contort as it formed back into a human shape, the masked form of Xiao that had been a familiar form to all those who had entered and participated in the Chuunin exams. Forming a webline, Xiao looked to Haka with a smile "I promise you this, Next time you see me? I'll be a whole new guy...spider....spider-guy....Thing...." Xiao stated fumbling his 'badass' one line that could have been an impressive comment but unfortunately fell short. Xiao awkwardly stood for a moment, still holding his webline as he cleared his throat "....Yeah....uhh...I'll make you proud." Xiao reiterated as he gripped the line sending himself skyrocketing high, his body twisting in the wind as yet another webline fired sending him off in a secondary trajectory, leaping and bounding from webline to webline and off to hunt...off to prove himself to Haka.


[Exit]

When he had given his answer, Haka would drool black ink onto the floor. It would swirl and writhe into position, reforming the marks of the Kuchiyose no jutsu they had used to come here. This time it would bring them back to where they had come from - back before the remnants of the cleaned out Jashinist lair. Back in Konoha, greeting fresh air and living trees. Back to where Xiao could enjoy his own road again.