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Naruto Saga » Mizu no Kuni » Mizu no Kuni Wilderness » [Spider Sage World | Solo | Plot] Venom of the Mind

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Haka Osada

Haka Osada

Retired
Evolution Through Envy
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu"

The gloomy world of the Spider Clan revealed itself once again. It had been a year since Haka had set foot in here, but the web-filled rooms seemed to have known no change at all. The crude rooms were as dark as ever, the webs hiding most of its real size, woven in such a way that countless little spiders had their own little pocket to live in. By sheer guess alone, the room Haka stood in could easily count a three thousand of her minor siblings, lurking, skittering, waiting until prey would rush in like a fool. And this was hardly the end of the arachnid's native world. There was a whole forest out there, dense in canopy, unsure whether it was leaf or web that prevented sunlight to enter. Various underground lairs claimed by broodmothers, guarded by their own warriors, rested safely underground, the network of tunnels a real maze to all but those who were born there, or those who had come to be accepted by the clan.

Today, Haka returned to an old familiar area. Her three years old existence as a spider of the clan worthy of great praise since 75% of the spiders didn't even make it through the first year of their lives. The Spider Clan was anything if not cruel in its drive for survival and domination, and this counted double for their own kind. The sheer amount of rivalry just to find a morsel to eat was unbelievable. One prey hunted by a thousand arachnids, yet only one would tell the tale. It was only natural that those of the Spider Clan were remorseless.  Haka was not different, although one could say the human world had made her more... understanding of her surroundings. Not exactly empathetic, but she had perspectives. Here, all but the most foolish or most powerful would oppose her now, her monstrous aura heralding her arrival and expressing her cold-hearted nature and forcing the inhabitants of this webbed room to stay away.

Haka had been 'summoned' here. A call from another great spider of the clan. It was not surprising that summoning Ameya, or any other spider surviving the summon for that matter, would also serve as the eyes and ears of the greater spiders and the broodmother known as Momma - Haka's own mother. The clan would already be aware of what Haka was doing in the human world, the humans she killed, the culling of the weak, the assimilation of more power for the benefit of the Spider Clan. Yes, much like Sero had come to recognise her as his daughter, the clan had come to understand she was deserving of her own little place - if Haka would come to claim it, at least.

Stepping through the hallways of a deeply dug out tunnel network, Haka moved to find the spider named Niamh. A spider, so it was said, with sharp intellect and great envy for a life she couldn't have herself. Niamh would have loved being an Unmei, hold the ease with which they changed into humans and the potential to wander in a world where she would not be recognised. All that for her experiments and games. Catch a prey and toy with his body and life like she was a goddess. A morbid goddess with the dark desire to become human so she could turn them into monsters and little puppets for herself. So it was not surprising when Haka entered Niamh's lair that she found the room riddled with cocoons holding up humans - of what remained of them.

Niamh's room was oddly neat for a spider. Her own web was spread out over the walls much like wallpaper rather than a random heap of webbing. The wall-web was thin in composure but woven tightly together to leave little sight of the original wall that formed this large cavern. On one side, cocooned prey were stabled on each other like flasks of wine - row upon row until they almost reached the ceiling. The other walls were oddly bare, with the exception of one nest that indicated her resting place and a the remains of a cocoon that must once have harboured a nest of her own younglings. Other than that, the room was filled with operation tables and various surgery tools of which Haka was fairly certain humans would be greatly adverse to having those used. Even Sero would most likely feel annoyed at the sight of the rust spots and their dull blades, preferring to melt the tools down in favour of new and better quality.

Niamh herself could not have been any weirder. Haka had expected a house spider, but the creature looked strangely humanoid. It's spindly body was almost anorexic, thin legs hidden by robes and four arms wielding senbon and more than a dozen of nigh-visible thin strands. The way she handled the strands with one hand, wove into the flesh of a human with two other, pressed that same human down with her last hand would have made any surgeon green with envy. She did it with such precision and speed she made surgery look like child's play.

"There, there... It'll be over soon...", she hushed at the moaning man on the table. A specimen having turned pallid in fear, delirious by fever and venom, barely conscious by the pain and the atrocity she was currently making him experience. Niamh was sewing the man back together as microscopic spiders moved about his chest, making him the experimental host of still growing younglings.

"It might hurt a little, but I bred this spiders with the purpose of eating away your worries.", she cooed as she continued her work. "If you're wounded, they'll weave strands so thin no one will see your wounds get knit together. Infections will be eaten, venoms will be absorbed even if it might kill them in the process. You'll be fine though, they are small. Nothing bad can happen from their deaths..."

A soft cry escaped the man. Haka stepped to the side to get a better view of the man, wondering why he wasn't screaming harder. The revelation of his mouth sewn to a close revealed why, leaving the spider-nin questioning if this was a more efficient way than her own fuinjutsu for a moment, until she put it into a battle perspective.

"I call them nanospiders. Don't you think that's a fitting name? Living organisms so small they can live within a host to heal them. They'll probably die in the long run, but such trivial things are but sorrows for later. They are prototypes and in need of testing before I can improve upon them, and you have the honour to be the first one in line to try them out."

Finishing her work, she would instantly turn around to face the Unmei, her arms putting away needles and gathering the remaining strands all together as the man on the table was still squirming in quiet agony. Tears ran from his cheeks, eyes rolled back in his sockets, and inkling of blood quickly cleaned off by the spider surgeon.

"Haka... You look so much smaller than I had expected... Do you eat enough?"

She nodded.

"I guess you do. Look at you... So eager to hear what I have to say. What do you think about the little spiders healing up the human?"
"A weak specimen should not be preserved."
"Oh, but of course... He's just a test subject. A dummy, before I try it out on those deserving proper treatment."
"He won't survive."

The house spider turned around, assessing the man on the table who was already experiencing his death throes before watching the white-haired girl before her.

"Hnnnnnnnnooo... He won't."
"Don't waste time on the weak. Kill him."
"Don't you dare to interfere with my work, Unmei.", she glanced around to see the man already dead on the table. The wound, though sewn, had been healed up by the spiders inside him as Niamh had wanted them to do, but the inhumanity of the surgery and his general weakened state didn't allow him to survive the ordeal. "He's already dead. Only the strong of mind might survive these nanospiders... Perhaps someone stronger would do the trick."

She gave Haka a pointed stare, her meaning clear even to the wolf spider. Haka stared back, disinterest just as obvious.

"You asked me to come."
"Ah, yes, so I did. Ameya brought in a juicy specimen to play with, and as you know I'm quite intrigued to try out a couple of things on these humans. My reserves are dwindling, what remains is old and weak. I require new... potential."
"Haka is no transport."
"Ohoh, I would never suggest something like that even if the thought occurred to pop in my mind. I can't trust you to understand the delicate nature of the DNA I am seeking."

The house spider moved to her remaining cocoons with trapped victims. She plucked a strand of hair from one them, holding it up as if wishing for light to illuminate it.

"All life holds value. A secret locked in every sort of growth. The Unmei already know this, strengthened by the Creator's chakra to take on a human form as they please, but... the Spider Clan, though powerful in its own right, doesn't have that power. We need to discover it for on our own, copy, steal and experiment until we can recreate something similar."

She dropped the hair, walking back to Haka and cupping her face between her two upper arms. A thin, eerie smile would reveal itself as her eight eyes looked down upon the quite smaller human appearance before her.

"Why don't you give me some of your blood? I would be able to analyse it, learn from it, assimilate it to become something more. Certainly you understand my desire to evolve, don't you?"
"Haka's blood is fine where it is.", she replied, breaking the grasp of the house spider. "Power is to evolve by your own means."
"But the Unmei are of the Spider Clan, so your blood is as much mine as mine is."
"Haka's blood belongs to Haka alone."

The aura of the irritated wolf spider would flicker as the hunter's desire to end a rival slowly rose, but the house spider remained unimpressed. In her own lair, she was at the advantage, her webbing by nature stronger than the copied versions of a chakra wolf spider. Niamh merely chuckled.

"I'm a researcher, not a fighter. Let's not start fighting as that might jeopardise my curios. I'd prefer to agree that we disagree on this peculiar approach. Why don't we strike a bargain instead?", seeing the wolf spider not dispute her words, the house spider continued. "You already have a Contract. You have Ameya willing to kill for you, and you showed yourself willing to give a body once in a while to appease her. Rumours have it that you're growing stronger, but some say there are humans stronger than you still... Humans able to wound you..."

The house spider would gauge Haka's reaction, which seemed to grow colder by every word spoken. She disliked the idea of being defeated even if the humans had proven too weak to finish her off so far. Her understanding of the 'claws of man' was going too slowly to her liking, always ending up short in knowledge or insight on how to deal with them in an acceptable fashion. She hated it, but she equally learned ways to grow stronger and evolve from it. It was only a matter of time before she figured out a means to nullify weapons completely.

"So here's the deal. I'll tell Noiralane you can summon me to heal you, or whoever you find interesting enough to preserve, torture, or whatever you wish to make of it. But anytime you do... I take something for myself to continue my experiments. A mutual benefit, if I do say so myself"
"Why would I want this?"
"Survival, growth of the Spider Clan. Just two spiders contributing to the greatness of our own clan, each in our own way. Think about it, come back later. For now, I have other matters to attend to."

At those words, the house spider walked over to her stash of humans once again, pulling one of them out with relative ease despite her seemingly weakened body, and dragged it over onto the table. Barely covered by rags, the countless cuts the woman suffered were apparent, her conscious too barely present as poison and medicine sedated her. Once set, Niamh would wave Haka away, urging her to be left alone with her next research.




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Last edited by Haka Osada on Tue May 15, 2018 9:24 am; edited 1 time in total

Haka Osada

Haka Osada

Retired
Mirrors of the Mind, part I
Spoiler:

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.

Lurking in the darkness, Noiralane quietly wove her web into a well-preserved human specimen. Its skin bleak and lifeless, it was no secret the human was but another corpse among the many that were used as food for the clan. The body was essentially naked, cloaked by a dress of dusk webbing, armoured by Noiralane's spidersilk. As if she was dressing up a puppet for her amusement. Eight oceanic eyes, cold apathy reflected, were focused on the task at hand as Haka entered the room. She did not cease her activity, eyes looking at the body and turning t around within her bladed legs to view it from all angles. Considering it sufficiently approved, she hung it to the ceiling with a strand of her silk and moved to meet her visitor.

"Unmei... It's been a while. How is your progress, little one?"
"Haka is good."
"You are still alive, a feat worth of praise. Now what brings you here?"
"A contract with Niamh."
"So you accept... I'll make sure to do the necessary. Niamh will be happy to hear you are offering new opportunities as well. New allies within the Clan, Momma will be pleased her young one is growing."

The spider skittered back to her play doll, taking it along with her and made it dance before the Unmei, displaying the mastery of preservation and choice of physique, allowing the silk spider clothing to glisten in the dim light. She looked expectantly at the wolf spider, hoping for some comment to be made, but Haka merely watched. She didn't quite grasp the expectations of compliments, the need for humane affections still a strange concept.

"I see...", Noiralane began. "You still haven't given up on your spider instinct. Good, good. But not quite. You're meant to understand the finer nuances of human interactions, Haka. Not just the simple things such as food, bathing or sleep. There is more. Emotions, bonding, expressions."
"I don't need those."
"Is that so..? Do you think Sero is of a similar mind? How do you aim to become the weapon he wants, if you don't assimilate the world he shows?"
"Haka is not Sero."
"How defiant...", she hissed with feigned offence. "Perhaps you believe to have learned everything yet?"
"No. I'm no human. Emotions are not needed in a hunt."

The giant widow would approach, skittering around her like she was assessing the spider. She grabbed her skirt at some point, lifting it up slightly like it was dirty, then dropping them again.

"You wear clothes."
"Yes, as diguise."
"OoooOOoh."

A leg would caress the hairband she wore, down her hair and neck until it touched the silver necklace and rested there. It left an odd sensation on her skin, the cold chill of Noiralane's touch close to sending her shivers down her spine.

"How pretty... Do you like this?"
"I don't care. It only improves the disguise."
"But humans care, Haka. Girls look at you, curious, where did you get it? Boys look at you, blushing. You're such a pretty girl..."

She watched Haka's apathetic gaze. The wolf spider really didn't care what others thought about her. She knocked away Noiralane's leg and stared back.

"Some prey can't be defeated by weapons. Some must be defeated through subtle layers of manipulation. Love. Lust. A little game played with their hearts, Haka. Humans learn to steel their skin, they master their weapons, they learn to protect their physical weaknesses.", Noiralane lingered, watching how the wolf spider's silent treatment softened in agreement. "But the heart always remains vulnerable. If you can't reach it with a sword, trick their mind. If you can't trick their mind, tug their heart strings. No matter how good they are trained to fight you, no human can ever shield his heart a hundred percent, for if they did they would be mere monsters hunted by their own kind."

The spider moved to a darker corner, pulled back a layer of the black webbing that cloaked it in darkness and revealed a large impeccable mirror. She beckoned Haka closer, and as the spider neared to watch her own reflection, Noiralane continued.

"As you grew in size, you needed more food. As you'll grow in power, you'll want stronger prey to hunt. In such moments, it will be important to know who you can play as a puppet and who you should kill. Which prey can be defeated by skill and venom, which one should be lured to his death. There are many ways to hunt, Haka. You are Unmei, the envy of most spiders. Sero wants you to become even better than you are already. Not just as spider... but also as human. Can you see the girl you are?"

She nodded, watching in the mirror's reflection how the large widow moved her head closer, resting it on her shoulders if she so could before she heard a ghastly whisper in her ear which released the invisible chakra of the genjutsu the widow had build up surreptitiously.

"Mind Weaving Technique: Phantasmagoria."




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Haka Osada

Haka Osada

Retired
Mirrors of the Mind, part II - Within the Phantasmagoria

Softly blinking the girl regained consciousness. The floor was uncomfortable close. Dark brown, with pools of deep red slowly filled up the ridged in between the wood. Her body ached, bruised everywhere. It responded slow. Too slow to Haka's liking. Wrists bound together on her back, heart beating. Fear? The spider-nin didn't understand that emotion, but here it was. Cold sweat, deep breaths, adrenaline rushing. What happened? Trying to her hair out of her eyes, someone suddenly brushed it out of her face. An unfamiliar touch, a gloved hand. The picture that revealed itself was a small living room running into a kitchen. A fight had broken out, utensils and decorations scattered and cluttered all over the place. The body of a woman laid dead before her. Not someone she was familiar with, but the sight of the dead person made her heart beat even faster in panic as she realised the blood pool originated from her decapitated body.

"You're next~", the voice said joyfully. "I just wanted to give you the chance to say your last goodbyes to... whoever... might... be listening."

She wanted to shake her head, but it felt so heavy. She didn't want to breath. Playing dead seemed to be a better idea, but a lingering rationale stated that would be pointless. Why couldn't she take control over her mind? Why was her body so feeble, so... delivered to this nonsensical emotion? Haka didn't know fear. The Spider Clan refused to accept fear. There was only hunt or be hunted. Living life to its fullest every second. But now...

"Do you smell this, Haka? This is human fear.", a voice resonated through her mind. Noiralane's voice. That much the spider-nin was certain off. "Fear is an emotion that makes humans weak. It saps their strength, their will to fight. Learn it well, so you know how to use it well."

Noiralane's voice died away as the stranger grabbed her by her hair. Fear made her yelp. She wanted to get away but her strength was gone. Beaten out of her, the fear running through her veins having send the rest away. Tears pricked in the corners of her eyes. She wanted to escape, but she couldn't. Her body was turned around, the face of a man man eyeing her with a most strange look in his eyes.

"How pretty you are. Too bad I'll have to cut that perfect shape to pieces. Don't you think?"

Once again, her body refused to respond. She wanted to scream, shake her head. It denied her. Fear denied her. Without power, she was delivered to the antics of this man. His blade came closer, caressing her cheek, then her neck. Hairs raised. A dreadful touch, a prick. Barely any pain to be felt, and yet her whole body suddenly cramped up, eyes bulging. His face approached hers.

"Sleep tight..."

Then breathing stopped...



As if waking from a nightmare, Haka found herself in bed, bathing in her sweat. She looked around to see where she was. Osada Manor. Not the Spider World she had been in. Did this mean she was still within... whatever Loiralane had done with the mirror? A dream? The feeling of fear was gone, melted out of her heart like snow before sun. Haka clenched her teeth in rage. She jumped out of bed, the desire to destroy something without remorse boiling with every passing second. She pulled open the door, stronger than she had intended, but without any care. Blazing eyes looked in the hallfway of the second floor. The floor where guests slept. Humans. Despicable humans who were granted life by her Creator rather than to be turned into a plaything. Her anger rose to a blazing heat in her veins. Her muscles seemed to burn with increasing strength and vigour. Katon. She remembered having seen Sero use it, and she knew she had been able to imitate its effect to some extend but now...

She felt like she could burn down the entire manor with this rising power.

And not just fire. She was Sero's creation. Her blood was made from his chakra, the unique acidic composure granted by his Boil Release KKG. Her bites were venomous. Whether through liquid or flames, the idea of burning everything down enticed her. A flicker of hatred and pure rage apparent in her eyes. If Sero wouldn't eradicate the feeble species known as Man, she would. If he didn't want to impose his superiority over them, she would. Her vision turned red. Even the spiders having grown accustomed to their human form, forgetting what they truly were. They too would perish. And as the spider-nin gathered up all her chakra, molding it into one vast nexus of cataclysmic power, her last thoughts decided even Sero would perish under her undeniable wrath.

With one huge explosion and an unholy scream, she unleashed all of it. Every inkling of her chakra, every bit of the burning hatred in her heart, every blazing desire to extinguish all life forms.

The whole world perished.

And then there was nothing. Just an excruciating exhaustion, a blackened world around her. Ash and solitude wherever she looked. No manor, no servants, no humans, no Sero. Even her gifted pony... all was gone, a soft whisper echoing as she stood alone in the world.

"Rage is a powerful and dangerous emotion. It gives Man unbelievable power... at a high cost."

No longer able to stand up, exhaustion overwhelmed her, her soar muscles could not hold her up. Helplessly, Haka crashed into the ground.



Unknown time passed as she lifted her head again. The world had become a barren place after her cataclysm expulsion of chakra.  The manor was a portrait of ash and bone, the earth scorched and without life. The sky was bleak, the trees turned to brittle coal as far as she could see. A sense of regret overwhelmed her. Not so much regret for the destruction in itself, but the loss of some presences that seemed to have held more sway over her than she had anticipated. These pitiful humans had somehow succeeded at making her dependant on them.

Nova and her fruit wine. The spider puppet she commanded. She hated the idea of having her command spiders as much as she admired her skill, but she would not be able to antagonise the human now. A similar feeling of pain shot through her heart, if not even stronger, almost seemed to cripple her when she thought about Verdandi and her swords. The digusting claw of man, the shame of their existence, the symbol of their pitiful need to rely on other tools than their own skill... Haka couldn't even come to understand why now, of all moments, she desired to see the Ice Queen rise from the ashes to point her katana at the spider-nin and grin in exhaustion, as if to say she would not go down so easily. Just the thought of being able to see her run away once more from the terrifying spider... Haka grabbed her face as the pain welled up to bitter tears.

But most of all there was the thought of a strange attachment to the most apathetic being she ever met. Stupid man and his pony. Stupid Momma and her eight legs. Why had they been too weak to stop this blazing acidic inferno of hers? Of all the creatures, they were supposed to be better. Momma, the shining example of a monster raising expectations to the highest point for her new spawn. Sero, the enigma urging her to learn and grow, his apathetic gaze a constant expression of near-acceptance. As if he meant to say she was close, but not quite yet to what he wanted her to become. Even if Haka knew she had carved her own path since a spiderling, the oppressive presence of her Creators eternally reminding her to move on her dark path.

"The feeling of loss cripples even the mightiest of humans. The stronger a human's bond to you, the weaker his resistance against your desire to hunt him becomes."

Noiralane's sudden voice almost seemed like a god-sent gift. For a moment, the spider-nin would rise up from her pain, only to realise this only meant one thing. Her "phantasmagoria" was far from over. If only she could find that damned spider and get out of this mental nightmare...



Jumping up from the ashen terrain, Haka started to sprint towards the Torra gate. Her mind had a hard time keeping up with the fleeting visions of the genjutsu, her memory of the scenes already fading, and with it, all notion of emotion was being pushed out of Haka's apathetic existence. She was running to find the spider somewhere in this fractured world, through the mist, through the streets, until she arrived at the only place that boomed with life in this false universe. Haka was fairly certain that it was just as much part of the genjutsu she was trapped in, part of Loiralane's twisted mental lessons. Even if she knew this was all just a game orchestrated by the Widow, her focus was waning as mental fatigue was taking its toll. She was too easily distracted, her innate ability to multitask now becoming a disadvantage as the loud noise of the discobar, the laughter and joyfully whooping of people seemed to demand her attention all at once.

"One more lesson, my dear. One more emotion to understand... Enter, go have some fun."

As if puppetted by an invisible force, her body would move into motion to stand in the row of crowd of people wanting to go inside. The crowd moved slowly as each and everyone of them was being checked by the bouncer, their age and inclination towards trouble verified to make sure there would be no troubles for the establishment. As the bouncer made eye contact with Haka, he stopped her for a moment to double-check her.

"Age?"
"Three."

He raised an eyebrow at her, the truth of her answer coming over as a sassy retort. She moved her hands to her back with a quiet apathy that hardly did her apparent fifteen year old looks any credit. She was too calm and self-assured for him to doubt she was younger than her looks, swaying his thoughts into the direction she could easily be 17, perhaps 18, while looking like a brat. With his thumb and a tilt of his head he nudged her to enter, and so she stepped inside the boom box that would soon reveal its true chaotic nature.

A barely lit corridor would lead her into the immense dancing room. A bar was strategically placed at the entrance nearby, large and crowded by ten bartenders at once, running all over the place to pick glasses, bottles and ice cubes as they shook and stirred the cocktails demanded by the countless patrons surrounding them and shouting their orders. Right next to that, somewhat tucked away in the corner was the entrance to the toilets boasting a strange sort of popularity as both the needy and the sick crawled their way in to bring forth a cacophony of awkward sounds during their visit. All else that remained was one huge dance floor with an impossible amount of people swinging, shaking, twirling and waving as music blared out of giant speakers.

"Music. One of the many 'arts' humans provide, and one powerful enough to bring together humans for various reasons. Like-minded people, synchronised beating hearts, unity in spirit."
"Such chaos...", she muttered, her voice unable to be heard by the music's volume.
"A creative power able to sway the masses and the hearts. A good choice of music helps in the manipulation of human emotion."

She would step into the crowd, her fatigued mind barely registering the bumps from the dancing people around them. Smiles, grins, sultry glances, assured face, attempts to impress, shared weirdness. The diversity of facial expressions was enormous, leaving the spider-nin and her pragmatic mind overwhelmed in what she was seeing. If she had ever considered having experienced unpredictability and illogical actions, all of it was washed away by the crowd she was walking through. Nothing could have prepared her for something that possibly could not be grasped by a calcified mind as hers. The overload on her senses, the chaos, it all washed over her like a sudden migraine.

"Are you alright?"

Through the mental pain, she opened one of her eyes. A young man looked at her, worry and curiosity visible on his face. She nodded, but did otherwise little more than that.

"Looks like you need some fresh air. Come, I know a good spot where it's quiet."
"Not interested"
"I'm trying to help you."
"No need."
"Are you sure...? You look really pale and in pain."
"I'm fine."

Another wave of agony washed over her, forcing her to the ground as her body cramped up. The mental exhaustion of the jutsu was  tearing rifts into her concentration and willpower, making her unable to react when two hands grabbed her firmly by an arm and guided her through the crowd. Haka couldn't see the first few moments, the dimly lit area too dark for her eyes to pick up anything. It was only when they exited the crowd and walked through the corridor that she could catch a glimpse of familiarity. The heat created by the dancing bodies was quickly replaced by the cool night outside, the difference so big that her senses suddenly snapped awake. There were small groups of people outside, the bouncer was gone, and the area gave the strong impression it was already late in the night. The feeling that something wasn't right was strong, but her mind failed to link the drastic changes to Noiralane's tampering.

"Feeling better?"

Right. With the heat, the noise and the chaos gone, Haka recovered her senses. Her cheeks were red from the ordeal, her mind still a puddle as it tried to endure the mental assault, but before her she could see a boy about her age, perhaps a little older. Black torn jeans, simple buttoned shirt, a checkered scarf around his neck. He looked young, but his grey eyes had something cool about it. As he noticed her staring, he briefly broke eye contact as if discomforted.

"Yeah, so... What's up?"
"What do you want?"
"I... You looked uncomfortable, is all. First time going out? I know it can be overwhelming."

There was a strange feeling. Her mind said she had to punish him for the way he had dragged her all over the place, so brazenly claiming the right to come near, but ... she couldn't bring up the desire to take down this human. Not receiving a reply from the spider-nin that had been staring at him all this time, he looked around him a little unnerved.

"Hey, look. I'm not going to do anything to you. I mean, you're cute, don't get me wrong, but I'm not that kind of person."
"What do you mean?"
"You know...? The forceful type?"

Haka merely blinked, lacking all notion of context to what he meant with that. He seemed forceful enough to drag her out of it, though hadn't been such a bad thing if she was honest. In fact, perhaps his lack of fear and decisiveness was the reason why she was reluctant to punish him for his behaviour.

"So... You're the quiet type, huh?"

She leaned back against the wall, resting her head against the cool stones of the building. The music went still loud inside, but all that could be heard was a muffled booming from where she stood. The quiet type. So humans divided people into types much like weapons were given categories?

"I guess so."
"That's okay. It makes you mysterious.", he would rely with a smile before a brief pause settled in again. "What's your name anyway?"
"Haka."
"Nice. You can call me Rover, it's a nickname."
"Why Rover?"
"'cause I'm like that. Wandering the streets, doing as I please, no attachments."

He smiled again. A warm smile that seemed to drive away the cold of the night. He was a human, but something about him hinted at a feral approach in life. Wandering without attachments? She could appreciate that sort of life. A wild force passing through the land, paving his own future as he spend the day. Rover grinned, making her realise she was staring at him, upon which she averted her eyes with a slight frown. Why did she feel like her cheeks were burning red? Rover inched closer, placing his hand next to her head with such a casual expression it was almost discomforting. Almost, as in fact her heart skipped a beat again by his bold action.

"So... Will you come here again?"
"Doubtful. I didn't really like it inside."
"Too crowded, too hot?"
"Yes."

He nodded in understanding. A city wanderer like him knew what it was like, wouldn't he?

"The cool air, the quiet solitude. No one bothering you in your adventures."

His gaze was distant as he saw something Haka could not. Again, red amber eyes staring at this... intriguing? personality. She pulled her gaze away with mild effort, his human nature too captivating to her liking. He was a human, he could only serve as dinner to her and yet there was a strange aching to keep him alive. Not quite like what she had with Fuyuko or Verdandi, who served as models for her analysis on the human species. Different. Alluring in such a way that her heart made itself known. He smiled again, charmingly.

"I could give you a good memory before you go...", he suggested, his voice slightly lower, almost whispering. She wanted to shake her head, tell him she would kill him, but she couldn't. He inched closer, ever so slowly, eyeing her lips suggestively. Her breathing rose, she remained still. Not like usual, where she lurked to take down her prey. Anticipating, expecting. He pressed his lips against hers, the sensation nudging her to close her eyes and enjoy the feeling to its fullest.

As he pulled his lips back, Haka's determination flickered in her eyes like a suddenly awoken flame. To think humans could have that kind of power... She would take it for her own like she had taken the power of water and fire for her own. Banishing all emotions out of her existence, the boy would take a step back in sudden fear before Haka shifted into her natural form and devoured him with such fierceness nothing of him would remain.




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Haka Osada

Haka Osada

Retired
Mirrors of the Mind, part III - The end of fantasy

Finally. She was freed from the atrocious genjutsu, standing in front of the mirror once again. Haka again. The mental fatigue was still there, heavy enough for her body wishing to collapse but before she allowed her body to do so, Haka would stare at Noiralane, cold desire for vengeance reflected in her red eyes. Not quite impressed with Haka's tone, the Mind Weaver continued her practise undisturbed by the growing menace that her aura was to be.

"Love. Lust. Two human emotions that make or break the human species. If there is a reason why they came to rule the world, Haka, it is not because of their weapons. A single man could defeat an army if he so much as believes a woman will recognise him upon his return. A shinobi could grow stronger than the sum of his fears if his love for the Village drove him to protect it."

The giant spider tip-toed away to cover the mirror once more, the black spider silk fabric allowing the mirror to fade into darkness once again. She then crawled into her own web, watching the exhausted wolf spider fall into one knee as her body could barely resist the mental fatigue trying to push her to sleep.

"That same emotion is also the one that causes the greatest pain. A man goes blind with rage, a woman drowns in agony. Jealousy, envy. All of them grow blind for the fangs you harbour if you can enamour them, make them believe they are precious to you. They would call it betrayal, of course, but is it not just another way of luring your prey into an invisible web?"
"I do not care for emotions. They would only slow down the hunt."
"That is correct. You do not need to have them, little Haka. You need to learn how to feign emotions and use them as a weapon. Their crafted weapons are dangerous, but we are not without retaliation as no weapon can hit us when we turn their hearts against them. It may take time to influence their heart to suit our needs, but the result is more often worth the time than not."

Haka glowered but couldn't deny the truth in those words. The game Noiralane had played with her was not one she would allow to happen again, but the emotions that had been woven into her mind during the genjutsu did show her a different aspect of humanity. The source of their unpredictability. The spider doubted she had what it took to weave webs of influence of that level, and at this very instant, couldn't even care about them either. She wanted to rest.

"We will continue your lessons later, but do not believe you will be spared from future shaping, young one. As Unmei, you should already understand why."

With those words, the mind weaver would return to her previous occupation as Haka left her room. It was a lot to brood on as the spider knew the rules of the Clan. The strongest spiders determined the direction of the clan by right of domination. If Haka wanted to shape up the Unmei, she would have to claim her dominance wherever she could both over the Spider Clan as the humans. A future she was alread working on, but one that had proven to be harder than she had expected.



[EXIT]

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Naruto Saga » Mizu no Kuni » Mizu no Kuni Wilderness » [Spider Sage World | Solo | Plot] Venom of the Mind

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