"Hail the Aranean Queen.", were not the words one would hear now that Spider Island had been purged of the influences which intended to oppose Sero, but a quiet acceptance that Haka Osada, Unmei by nature and Daughter of Sero, stood at the top of the food chain of the island's spiders was apparent. Even when the spiders continued their usual hunt for anything edible setting foot on the island, their chitter fell quiet when her aura made itself known. Every spider had come to recognise that dreaded expression of the wolf spider, and so every spider left possible prey to the unspoken queen.

But power begets power. Haka would have to get used to whole hordes of tiny spiders running behind her like a crowd in need of worshipping something greater than them. Always lurking from the shadows, thousands of tiny, beady eyes gaped at her in reverence as the dominating force and in quiet analysis for a sign of weakness they could exploit. Success had its drawbacks. An unforeseen drawback to the greater benefit she had been calculating. Nothing too unexpected since  it was the very nature of the clan to do so but the spider had felt exhausted lately and had hoped for a moment of peace. Peace in mind and in body.

The luxury build-in hot spring of the manor was barely visible as the steam of the heated water filled the room. Within the warmed baths sat Haka by herself, mind going through all that had been done and all that had yet to be done. The stains of blood and dirt on her clothes were just as visible on her lithe body. The bath would do her body good, the earthly fragrance of pine giving off a rich scent while relaxing the muscles, but the exhaustion wouldn't leave her.

Was she getting old? Was this why Shi had not minded being bested in their hunt? Old, tired and exhausted despite the talent he bore and the expertise he had shown her? It once again brought her to the question how long spiders tended to live... and yet the arachnid lady felt like her destiny was not fulfilled yet. Perhaps all she needed was just a tiny break. Getting things cleaned up here before she hunted down the last of the rogue Unmei. Haka sank a little deeper in the waters, just keeping her nose above the surface so she could breathe. The last time she had soaked in water like this was years ago, when she had found Sero and he had sent her to the medic baths. How time had flown...

---

441

Verdandi was crossing the borders of the mist with the ferry to the oh so famous spider island. She had but two goals. First, she wanted to visit Haka and see how she was doing. Haven't really seen her since the squad missions in the sand. It would be nice to go visit her friend for a more casual get away. However, Verd would find herself in a strange aura emitted by the place. The Sensory ninja would use her eye and keen, fine tuned senses to get a picture of the island. It was unusually… quiet. The growls of larger monsters in thee trees seemed to have dumbed down. The masses of little spiderlings seemingly all concentrated to linger at the mension and around it. The woods and ashen pathway to the building was still coated in spiders that yet didn't seem to mind Verdandi's entrance much. The cold aura she emitted seemed to put them at ease. Cold-blooded creatures as they were. Verdandi's aura made them feel comfortable and some smaller ones casually followed the visitor to enjoy the freezy breeze. Some of the larger ones eventually detected Verd as a potential snack. But Haka had clearly shown her last time how to deal with them. One must clearly exhale a superior aura make it clear to them that messing with her would most likely just lead to their own doom. She had to exhale her chakra limiter a few times to send smaller shockwaves of her energy over the island.

While it did shoo away the potential nasty biters. It also announced Verdandi's presence rather clearly to anyone in the mansion. Including to Haka whom would easily notice Verd's frosty aura. Probably well aware why she was forced to boast her chakra a bit around to get past the friendly 'guards' that naturally made their nests all around the island. Verd could feel something was odd. She was aware that Haka was busy with some personal things but seemed to lack deeper knowledge over what exactly was going on here. Not like Haka was the type to go around and tell her friends 'hey guys did you hear what I did last night' or so. Often leaving Verd and Chi absolutely clueless as towards what she was up to in her free time. Verd would knock the mansion's door. The maids that would open well familiar with the icy princess by now. Quickly offering Dandi a walk into the building. Kindly she'd be informed that Haka was in the hot spring. Verd quickly curled her fingers together in contrast to being able to catch a bath. She nodded excited and followed the servants to the changing rooms. Quickly dumping most of her stuff in one of the locker baskets. Sliding but a towel over her otherwise naked frame. As she passed through the lids into the hot spring area. She would casually wink at Haka. Testing the heat of the bath with her foot for a bit.

She dropped her towel at the entrance rail and stepped slowly into the heat. One would visibly see how Verdandi's icy layer of frosted skin would casually melt down a seemingly automatic protective layer on her body. Making a few gushing noises as her cold collided with the heat. But soon allowing her to get herself comfortable in the tub. Making her way near Haka to find her in a seemingly exhausted mood.

"What's up pretty spider girl. You look especially glowing today. Got a snack or saw a handsome spider boy?"

600

Ignorance. After spending so many years as a comrade of Haka there was still so much Chigetsu was blissfully unaware of about her. That she was a spider masquerading as a human was probably the biggest and most extreme piece of information that he wasn’t privy to. Although it was something much more superficial of a secret to Chigetsu than it might be to others. Heidel. The Hansa. Sunagakure. He had seen to much for something like that to phase him now. She was reliable and he could trust her with his life when it came to fighting together as comrades, and that was all that mattered. Chigetsu wasn’t anything close to a detective genius either, and so it would be a secret he would be unaware of until the point another revealed it to him. There was more, of course. When he had first come to this island in search of training the moment his eyes caught sight of her Chigetsu had been interested and curious. It had partially been from his envy over the pudding she had been eating at the time, but once that hunger passed she remained a curious puzzle that remained in the back of his mind.

Now it would be something he returned to. Not Haka, but the ignorance. Back before his life had been so complicated, when he searched out a special training exercise because he wanted so desperately to feel important. It felt like age ago. After that first round of training when he played dead in order to step away from the chaos he felt like maybe the biggest fool there was. He was a mess for the week after. The inhospitable Spider Island become a bit of a second home for him temporarily after that. It was better than his pathetic little apartment which he could barely afford on his genin pay. There had been times he slept in the mansion unannounced after failing to meet rent payments, likely without being noticed at all by its occupants. Rather than taking a room to himself he would bed in one of the mansion’s many baths. He much preferred sleeping on a porcelain tub anyhow, allowing himself to revert back to his true liquid form while resting. Beds weren’t generally made to be Hozuki friendly.  

That was his intention when he entered. To take a long rest and forget, returning to think about simpler days. Ignorance. Things usually don’t turn out as he intend for them, though. The hot springs, perhaps the most luxurious napping spot for the young Hozuki, were wandered into without a thought. He would be completely undressed, having abandoned his clothing without a thought in the changing room. Somehow he must have slipped past any maids before he could be given a warning. His eyes were already weighted heavily with the strain of his stress, and the aroma of the bath waters would do much to draw him inwards. The warmth radiated out to reach him as he drew near, reaching out from the liquid to gently caress at his cheek. Perhaps all that he needed was just a tiny break. A short rest. He would nap here tonight and then return to his normal self in the morning. Yes, that was what he told himself as he melted down into the hot springs.

He only noticed the two girls as he was melding with the water. It was just before he had slipped under, and so his eyes would open and stare now that awareness had returned to him. He was a fool. The situation he caught himself in was terrifying. Verdandi and Haka together, undressed in a hot spring. He could only imagine what they were now thinking. He would stare down into the water now, averting his eyes after realizing what he was looking at. Rather than reveal his foolishness, Chigetsu would remain silent. It would be played off as if this were all intentional, and so he would adopt a serious face to hide his shame.

---

[677]

A maid would disturb her tranquillity. The only spiders of the clan who didn't abide by Haka's rule, standing directly under the lord whose power still peaked far above hers. They were loyal to Sero and him alone, but Haka didn't mind that. The whole gathering of the clan under one banner was primarily to have the whole clan abide by Sero's desires. The maid, another Unmei under human disguise, told her that a visitor had approached. Verdandi. Haka nodded, acknowledging the presence of an Ahoban and admitted the young woman to join the baths. A privilege as it were, since the 3rd floor was reserved to Sero's acknowledged progeny. Not that Haka cared much for such noblesse. Rather than the lady she was supposed to be as the daughter of the land lord, she profiled more as a warlord executing the lord's orders. A second in command at this point, but mostly an enforcer of Sero's will.

It didn't take too long before the human body of the Ice Princess slipped into the hot waters, the cold of her presence clashing with the katon infused waters. A nifty system put in pace with Fuinjutsu. Haka's eyes would as usual hold their apathetic stare, mouth shut until there was a need to talk. Even now, the human assimilated spider was not the most talkative even if she was long past the calcified mind she once held. Verdandi would speak, mentioning she was glowing. As if. Spiders didn't glow. Spiders were brooding terrors, little nightmares of gnawing teeth.

"The one that was worth my attention died at my hands.", she replied to the question on the spider boy. Shi would have made a good partner for a brood but the Unmei considered himself too old for the drastic changes Haka was bringing on the island. His legacy could have lived on and fuelled the growth of the spider clan but the spider was old, wishing to die during his own hunt. She had granted that wish and stolen the last of his breath in return. "What brings you to the manor?"

Her attention would be pulled by another familiar face. His presence, generally believed to be that of goo, was mostly disregarded as he waddled through the hallways and baths. It had been a while since Haka had seen him around the manor but it was a first time she saw him crawl into the baths on the 3rd floor. The way he seemed to slumber about, not even noticing the two girls in the baths made Haka stare at him something fierce, her desire to know his blatant intrusion wordlessly expressed with it. It seemed to wake him as he suddenly came to realise he wasn't alone after all, and he averted his gaze.

"Chi. Ge. Tsu. What are you doing here?", she asked him, voice calm and quiet as the mists of Kirigakure. The question not exactly asked because she felt offended he had been staring or because he had slipped into baths with the opposite gender but rather because the 3rd floor was not considered open to anyone but Sero's brood and he appeared unannounced. Disregarding the rules of the lord warranted was a walk on thin ice, his only rescue on that matter being that he was well-known by the spider-nin enforcing Sero's rules. "Sero's spiders might eat you if they find you here."

The irony behind the words would most likely be lost to Chigetsu who still didn't know Haka was a spider but Verdandi would be able to realise that, despite the dead serious tone of Haka's voice, the joke laid in the very fact there was currently a spider questioning him in the baths. Whether she would actually eat him was harder to figure out since Haka tended to devour humans as her go-to form of sustenance. Chigetsu was fortunately not considered a human in Haka's eyes, the spider-nin so used to see him as a mass of blob she had come to believe that he was much like her - a monster disguising as a human.

---

703
Total: 1144

Verdandi would planch a bit around the water. Take a swim left and right. Carefree as always. Behaving as if Haka was her best buddy and best friend, as always. Potentially one-sided friendship. But being the one supposedly to be gotten 'rid of last' had long since been interpreted as 'you are my friend' by Verdandi whom happily enjoyed it to twist reality a tad if it made her feel better. Since she was now here, in the girls bath with her trusted friend, she could let go and linger in deep breaths of joy and relaxation. That Verdandi's supposedly teasing question would be answered by a dead serious side note of how Haka potentially must have slain a rather formidable foe to speak of him like that… ahhh it was not really surprising for the ice princess. Having spent quite a few years now in the spider's presence to know that her daily lifestyle was more likely a bit more brutal or morbid than the one the princess was living. She had met Sero, the entity of darkness. She had been to Hansha before. Experienced its cruel nature. She had seen the spider in her real, scary appearance. But still, just as she did when they first met. Despite finding her scary as hell, Verd adored scary things because they were fun and interesting. Potentially one of the less princessy perks of her personality. But she was a ninja, an especially valuable resource to Kiri and hence was granted lots of space with being a weirdo.

"I was going to see if the Hansha Gate was open today. I wanted to visit Pebbles! Haven't seen the little rascal in a few moons… I really miss him…" Verd sniffed for a second. Getting overly attached to cute little monsters was sort of part of her personality. She couldn't help but think of the glorious days of having her little golem monster chase after the trio and casually demolish houses and kneecaps in the forgotten village. She also had a personal interest into checking up on the village itself as they were still in constant danger over there. Having put so much effort into helping them and defending them she felt it'd be a waste if they did just rot away a few weeks later. Seeing as how Sero seemed to keep the portal going every now and then, however it depended a lot on him either being around at all or having any interest on letting the annoying princess bother him enough to open the gate again. However, as much time as he probably spent in there himself, he might as well secretly enjoy the fact that Verd was a bit obsessed with the place. In due time, Haka's attention would quickly shift from Verd however, gazing upon a rather visible, zombie-like walking chi that half-asleep descended all nakid into thee pool and started to dissolve himself. Verd started to giggle at the view while Haka seemed more annoyed at first.

"Awww its darling! Did you miss me so much you came to stalk me? That's alright. Though you could have just sent me a messenger bird." Verd was joking. Giggling to herself as she shameless approached her shy lover boy. Not failing to notice the absolutely shameless pun that Haka just made about the spiders eating him. "Hmmm I wonder if they could eat you… you seem a bit hard to digest darling." She nodded before she started to spread her arms and walk towards Chi, potentially snugging him in a rather lewd way despite their lower body parts being wonderfully censored thanks to the water level being well above hip height. If he'd struggle, Verd would chase him through the baths. She would surely catch up to him in time so she could throw her arms around him and take him down into the bath like a rugby player tackling their target. Moreso in a very playful way however. Verd was still in an insanely good mood after all.


680 / 1280

Blood began leaking down from his nose. It trickled down his face and lips, dripping down from his chin into the bath waters. He was staring very blatantly. At the same time he didn’t know where to look. His attention was divided by the two women in front of him, and he nearly went cross eyed for a moment. Snapping out of it, Chigetsu would raise a hand up to cover his eyes for a moment before reaching down to his nose instead, instead turning his head down to look down into the water. The flow of blood would be staunch, and as he regained control over his mental facilities he would do his best to reabsorb the liquid into his body. He hadn’t noticed the girls until it was too late. If he had even an inkling of them being in here he wouldn’t he come into the bath, let alone strip naked before walking in. Despite how tired he was before now he was very much awake. Fleeing was his first thought, but that would mean exposing himself again and that wasn’t something he particularly wanted to do. He was trapped.

He would be unable to respond to their questioning. His mouth opened but nothing came out. He temporarily turned up again to look in their eyes as he addressed them, but that completely paralyzed him. Any excuses or defenses he might have been able to come up with slipped away instantly. It didn’t get any easier either, especially as Verdandi came close. Once she began wading through the water he would stare at her with wide, incredulous eyes. The nosebleed he had would start up again, and he would freeze completely in place as she hugged him. He was stiff as a board as she snuggled into him, although the heat of the bath eventually worked its mind and allowed him to relax himself slightly. With Verd’s body snuggling against him it was difficult to think clearly and properly, especially with Haka staring at him from across the bath. It was too much for the poor boy. His face was nearly scarlet by now.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you two in here. I wouldn’t have come in if I had...” He couldn’t exactly leave as he currently was. He would stutter it out quickly, trying to get the apology out before he lost confidence. Now with Verdandi’s arms wrapped around him he couldn’t flee, and so he would forced to stay here until she released him. Either that or until she put him out of his misery. He would let out a long sigh. “I came here to take a nap. The bathrooms in this mansion are more comfortable than the one in my apartment, and then I smelled the pine and came up here.” The inlaid threat that Haka had in her questioning went completely unnoticed. He was still completely oblivious. Chigetsu would clear his throat. “I’ll wait until you two are finished if… if Verd will let me.” He couldn’t exactly leave as he currently was.

---

[526/1203]

Verdandi would swim around in the baths like it were a swimming pool. Considering the size of the 3rd floor baths it wasn't that far off but the back and forth swimming was nonetheless an odd thing to perceive in the eyes of the spider. It's use wasn't registered yet she couldn't exactly attribute it to humanity either. Anything thrown in the waters would attempt to swim for survival. That was normal. But Verdandi didn't swim for survival. She swam for joy, as if the pine scented waters only gave her more reasons to be active and about.

Her reason for being around would reveal itself as easily as the hot waters of the bath scrubbing off the dirt of one's body. Hansha. Haka would lean back some, looking at the ceiling as she called upon the memories pertaining to that area. The domain was a creation of her father, Sero, and only opened with his will. Haka knew where it was, the gate never truly having vanished ever since its first opening to the public, but Sero had closed it as she went on her conquest through the island to take down those that she considered a threat. She hadn't bothered checking upon the gate at this point, assuming it would still be closed. Meaning, if she wanted to have Ahoban enter the gods forsaken pocket domain, her father would have to be bothered for this.

"Hansha's gate was closed a few weeks ago. To reopen it, you'd have to see my father as he alone knows the Fuinjutsu keys of the prison.", she had yet to tell Sero that the island had been purged but that was easily done. The question remained if he would care to bother since the man had been digging through scrolls quite often lately. Reading up on things, figuring out solutions to unshared problems, fatigued by the war in Suna or still dealing with whatever a man of his status had to do to maintain it even now. Sero things, only known by Sero. That's how simple it was to understand. "You could ask him after bath if he is not occupied."

With Chigetsu in the baths staring blatantly at the two of them in full feminine glory, blood would slowly drip from his nose and into the baths. Haka was well aware of the relation between men and women, and rather amused at his discomforting position, but why this sort of attraction caused him to bleed was not something she understood as well. Were men not only supposed to bleed during such moment of arousal when their manhood was dealt with in a rather brutal way? Probably so, but then again, in the eyes of the spider Chigetsu was not exactly as human. So human biology might easily function differently for him. That said, Haka was a spider by nature. So even if Chigetsu had some sort of sexual attraction, the arachnid would not return the interest.

"Pervert.", she said nonetheless after he finished a perfectly fine reason for his presence, breaking eye contact to reveal a cold disapproval of his behaviour. Not that she was truly offended, but such was the general reaction of kuudere girls being watched by boys in supposedly discomforting situations. She'd sink a little lower in the waters, leaving only two apathetic red eyes above its surface to watch Chigetsu with a gaze that could easily be misinterpreted as a glare. As if at any moment she would be cursing his existence with the worst of things the Hozuki could imagine.

Spoiler:

"Oh stop wasting time on the humans and kill them already", the hissing voice of another woman would coldly berate the almost sub-aquatic arachnid. From the shadows a slender female would step into the bathroom, naked body wrapped in a white towel. She wasn't all that tall but her figure was jaw-dropping nonetheless, were one to disregard the feral glint in the brown eyes of the woman. It was clear. The words spoken in the arachnid's native language were not meant as a joke. Despite that, she moved to the other end of the baths, ignoring the two guests Haka had allowed inside and slipped out of the towel and into the waters with little regard for judgemental glares. "Or would you want me to do that?"
"You are not to touch them. They are Sero's guests."

Hearing the name of the Creator, she'd shot Haka a mean glare as her little game was instantly denied without leaving much else to retaliate.

"This is Ameya, my right hand. You might remember her as the black widow I summoned through Kuchiyose."

---

791
Total: 1935

Verdandi wanted to snorkel around a bit but the situation was quickly disturbed by continuously growing awkwardness. Chi was helplessly losing himself in his embarrassment. Haka's curiousity over both of their show-ups was bluntly repelled as usual and now another, basically naked girl joined the fray. Her character and aura as cold and joyless as Haka's own. Verdandi's eyebrows would rise. Was it another Unmei? She had never met one in person yet. They weren't really known to be super social in the first place. Specifically, towards normie humans. While Chi was starting to slowly melt and dissolve from his own failure to cope with the whole situation. Verd tried to keep him snugged tight, or whatever was left solid of his goo'ing form. His nosebleed clearly showing off his distress and discomfort over the situation as a whole. To be fair. It was silly of him to slither in here like this. Verdandi could buy and build him a pool if he wanted one. There was no specific reason as to make all the way to spidey island. But probably he felt somewhat comfortably at home here. Maybe it had something to do with him feeling a bit more like a monster that belonged to the outcasts of terrifying creatures. Verd wasn't sure. But her dissolving little dumdum was a poor thing today. He didn't deserve so much negative attention. Verd would pet the gooey mass on what was left of Chi's head before he could sink away completely.

"Now now. All of you be nice to Chi-chan. He's not a bad boy. Just a cutie perv!" She'd grin content and nodded. That the new spider lady would exhale a rather deadly aura and spit out words that were clearly unfriendly at first didn't seem to worry Verdandi the slightest. In situations like these she was clearly as crazy as any other nutjob that was currently in this bathtub. Her values and empathy overshadowing her natural fears. Her strong-willed mind seemingly immune to normally imposing and scaring emotions. Then again, she had spent ages in the company of Haka already. As months if not years pass by, one gets certainly used to the aura of the Unmei. Starting to slowly relate the monstrous fearsome scream of emotions with thee subtle warmth of knowing that a friend was nearby. It was a strange thing to explain to oneself. But despite that the initial shudders still creeped up on her skin whenever, Verd started to thoroughly enjoy the long-term exposure of the Unmei's offensive and seemingly unlikeable presence. Another quirk added to the long list of unusual habits of the icy princess. Verd's brain gears started to rattle. She was certain there would be a way to fix this problem. She snapped her finger as a memory returned to her mind, about their last experience in Hansha. Dandi formed a few hand seals and slowly raised a water clone, completely made of scented bath water. She pushed her palm into the dissolving puddle that was Chi.

What followed seemed to be a rather brute act of force. The clone seemed prepared and started to curl itself compact into a ball shape. Dandi lifted the water ball and kept her other hand on the puddly Chi. With a sudden burst of energy from her body she slammed the water ball onto Chi and once again enforced the same situation that had once before occurred in Hansha. Chi's body shape would return once more. But instead of male body parts his curves would more likely fit Verdandi's own. Adjusting slowly to his very own femme proportions though. "There, problem solved." Verd would say and grin. Pretty content with the fact that she once again had found a very straight forward solution over a simply gender induced problem.


650 / 1930

The conversation and questions about the Hansha passed through him. In one ear and other the other. There were too many distractions right now for his feeble mind to focus on that. Even though he was interested in returning back to that unfinished business, well… He would have to hope that Verdandi took care of that somehow while he was still frozen in his embarrassment. The fact that he was unable to stop staring at them was nearly killing him with it. He was sure at any second now the heat in his body would boil him and he’d evaporate away. Especially as the word pervert was lobbed at him, tossed like a grenade across the bath. He sunk down in Verdandi’s grasp, going limp and soft against her.

Too caught up in himself, he almost found himself not noticing the presence of the other woman who suddenly approached. Another attractive and barely clothed lady suddenly materialized out of nowhere, adding to Chigetsu’s luck. Had she not immediately began hissing like an eldritch horror perhaps Chigetsu would have died from his timidness right there on the spot, but instead the strangeness caught his interest. Rather than his two squadmates he would be staring at her, only looking away as she dropped her towel. The female form proved yet again to be one of his weaknesses. He could only pray that it would never be used against him one day in combat, or that one of these two would be there to save him if that ever did happen.

“Ameya… I remember. So she’s just a spider transformed to look like a human then…?” Chigetsu would let out a bit of relief as he heard this, glancing over to the revealed arachnid woman once again. For some reason knowing that she wasn’t human made him less horrified about her nude presence in the bath. Spiders surely couldn’t understand where his embarrassment was coming from, or the human social elements regarding nudity. He quickly rationalized away his nervousness by convincing himself that her beautiful appearance was just a false image. That he was the most relaxed about the presence of the one who seemed to have the most dangerous aura was an irony that was lost on him in the moment. Perhaps under a clearer head he would have noticed it, but right now his perception was anything but. “I guess… I have nothing to be embarrassed about if it’s just an illusion. Spiders probably don’t understand that sort of stuff anyway…” He would mutter to himself, trying to calm his own nerves.

It didn’t help as Verdandi stabbed him in the back by admitting him to be a pervert as well. Chigetsu flinched from being sold out so hard. “H-Hey! I am not a pervert!” He was quick to protest this time. Haka calling him that he couldn’t contest without making a fool of himself, but he had a bit more sway with Verdandi. As he turned around, twisting his slime body in a swirl to face her with a pout, only to freeze in place once he saw what she was doing. Chigetsu would be caught with a face full of hand seals, and just as his mind processed what was happening they would be completed. He would fall beneath the waters as the clone was shoved into him, unable to sputter out anything more than a meek meep of surprise. The goo churned into him violently, and for a second it would appear as if the Hōzuki was dissolving. Anything resembling a human form was lost for a second, with his body reverting to a formless and nearly translucent blue-green slime with a smear of the color red running down the center. The curled water clone would squish around his undulating mass, wrapping around it like a shell even as he struggled. It was just as happened in the Hansha, but the lack of speed and force in comparison made the entire process look much more violent.

Chigetsu would return to humanoid form, this time a feminine mirror of his former appearance. In truth he was never the most masculine male. Being mistaken for a female was somewhat of a common occurrence for him now,  but the presence of Verdandi’s figure turned him unmistakably and undeniably into a woman. Now reformed Chigetsu would look down at their own body, starting with a confused perplexity at his (her?) chest. It was difficult to understand. Experimentally he would reach up and feel at his form, obviously baffled. After feeling that her new breasts were in fact real and not some trick of the light, Chigetsu would toss strange glance towards Verdandi.

“I-I… I’m not sure if this solves the problem, but…” She didn’t want to complain, and instead would relax back into the baths again. “I guess if it makes you all more comfortable, it’s okay…” Her cheeks were still a bit flushed, although admittedly less so than before. The strangeness took a bit of the edge away from this situation.

---

[858/2061]

Verdandi would step in to 'protect' Chigetsu against the teasing of rather morbid spiders, forcing him into a feminine form with a clone of hers. Disregarding the strange intrusion upon his physique, Haka was not quite sure if turning into a female would change anything about his male mind but the spider said none of it as she caught Chigetsu uttering the same suspicion about the situation. She'd observe the whole scenario with an unrevealed smirk, his discomfort not having changed in the slightest.

Comical moments aside, Haka had not forgotten about the comments on the spider clan. His suggestion that Ameya had turned into a human form was correct but his believe it to be an illusion was not. Likewise, that spiders didn't understand 'that sort of stuff' was a misplaced believe as well, as the animals knew very well what males and females were about. And Haka, having been forced to learn about humanity at Sero's command certainly knew more than most Unmei about their sexual relations. All of this wrong intel would not so much have mattered if it was anyone outside of Ahoban but here, at this moment, Haka found it... unfair? After all the time the three had spend together as a team, she found that the human blob was entitled to know about her true nature.

"We do understand that sort of stuff. Female spiders breed with worthy males. It's not that different with humans, your kin usually being affected by what you call emotions and attraction.", Haka clarified. To her it was just sharing the correct information with a squad member, the discomfort that it could bring being disregarded as she cared little for emotions. "There are females among humans who act nothing short like spiders. They find a male, get pregnant, ditch the male and live on to raise the kids. Such is the base nature of every animal."

Her words were spoken as if Chigetsu already knew she was a spider. Deliberately she distinguished herself as a spider rather than a human, dropping hints in her phrases to allude she too was a spider in disguise. The sort of female who would find a male, get pregnant and ditch the guy afterwards, if she didn't eat him all together. Perhaps with these words, the pieces of the puzzle spread through the years would connect. The web weaving, the summoning of spiders, living on Spider Island, the apathy. Small strands of a woven truth which easily terrified humans. A spider in disguise, walking among mere men. Running her hand through her white hair, she'd brush the wet mass of tangle aside, waiting for Chigetsu's reaction as she contemplated a close future.

Hansha. A prison for the weak for all she knew. Verdandi being the only one of all those who had entered once now requesting to go back. The spider could only wonder why this was the case, and more so what Sero's thoughts on that were. Was it her father's wish for them to go in and protect his subjects, or was that an unexpected turn of events that had yet to trigger his disappointment? He had said little about Hansha after opening the gate, too occupied with his personal affairs to care.

Deciding she had sufficiently soaked in the bath, Haka would rise up and step out of the water, using her suiton to drain all the remaining humidity from her body and out of her hair before moving to the dressing room to don the fresh clothes that had been left there by the servants. Slipping into a simple yet elegant white dress, she'd pick up a comb and ran it through her hair as she peeked back inside the baths.

"I'll see if Sero is available to open the gates to Hansha. You two know your way around the manor, if you need anything.", she's state, leaving the baths in their hands with those words. Shifting her gaze at Ameya, the black widow too had decided to leave the baths, not quite interested in lingering around humans for longer than was needed. There was better company to be found elsewhere.

---

704
Total: 2639

Verdandi kept her feminized boyfriend or… girlfriend… close despite the changes, eventually snugging into Chi and making sure he felt well protected. At least that was her intention. Considering how he usually remained awkward about slightly lewder moments she couldn't really tell if he was feeling better or worse through her closeness. Ameya seemed to simply observe and leave the talking to Haka. Verd understood that while summons were usually servants to their caster, they always had a mind of their own. Knowing well that she too had difficulties taming the dragons she was supposed to be their sage and master of. If the spider dared to wish and kill Chi, Verd wasn't sure if Haka's intents alone would be enough to stop a free and wild spirit such as the gorgeous looking spider lady. Hence she felt a bit put at ease as Haka's words seemed to be reason enough for Ameya to follow suit and remain passive for now. It became rather clear that both Unmei weren't all too pleased by Chi's muttered and half spoken words. Even though he most likely only said it to himself to calm his mind, they heard what he thought about Unmei and their human form. Verd had spent most of her younger shinobi years in Haka's company and was well informed about their laws and nature. She felt at home on spider island despite the cold hearted and deadly killing intent that always lingered around the parts of this dark place.

Verd remember that Haka used to be surprised at Dandi's unusual fascination with dark and dangerous places. How the princess that hated to get dirty was looking through the swamps only to search for a little emotional joy trip as she used to be fascinated by monsters, snakes, giant insects and most of all, giant spiders. Despite the fact that Haka's first appearance had terrified the young kunoichi back then, becoming somewhat friends with her under the said circumstances said a lot about Verd's rather uncommon joy and fascination towards anything related to the Unmei or their predatory lifestyle. Having become part of Haka's investigation into how humans behave and at the same time trying to learn from her about the laws of nature and the survival of the fittest. Nowadays, when Verdandi entered the island she'd try to mimic the powerful aura that Haka was born with and to exhale her chakra like a radient shield of power and superiority. Showing the weaker monsters of the island that they are welcome to try and best her and that she was indeed ready to slaughter them all if they dared to come and try. She had great respect from the Unmei though, seeing them as the pinnacle of evolution in this case. Creatures she knew better than to simply mess with. But her respect wasn't born from fear but rather from a strange understanding of their life and their way to go around and work with humans as they saw fit in need to serve their own purpose.

Chi seemed lost though. He knew little about Unmei, in comparison to the studied and experienced Verd and it just dawned on Dandi as she would muster Chi's reaction and Haka's hints that her squiddly boyfriend had little knowledge about Haka's true form either. Something that completely escaped the ice princess for potentially years now. Could it be that he had never seen her change into her natural form at all? Could it be that he thought that she was truly an Osada, not an Unmei from birth, that she was but a crude child that simply acted abrasive because Sero, her father, was of similar type in personality? Verd chuckled a bit. The idea of the mind-blow that Chi must experience now was amusing. Verd had seen Haka dozens of times in her true form. Fought alongside her spider self in many battles and even spared and fought multiple times against Haka's true appearance whilst they were Genin. She had to admit, as time passed and Haka became stronger and more powerful, she spent more time in her rather… limited human appearance. Seemingly finding no reason to fully turn herself into her monstrous appearance or maybe sometimes because they were surrounded by too many humans that would not understand Haka's change of form the way Verdandi did. Leaving Chi to his shock after the revelation, Haka and Ameya would make their way from the bath and leave the two cuddle butts behind.

Verd would sit down in a benchy corner of the tub and tug the feminized form of her boy toy close to sit next to her. Allowing him to rest his head against her. At some point she felt a liiiittle bit of guilt creeping up her back as she realized that, her knowing it and he didn't, would have most likely asked for Verd to sometime inform Chi about Haka's true nature. But hopefully he would be too busy trying to cope with his mindblow as to actually conclude that there were grounds to blame Verd for not doing so. Gently she'd wink after the two Unmei ladies despite their usual emotionless reaction to it and start to rub her palm against Chi's shoulder. He was a cutie pie in either form and gender. Verd blushed a bit, placing a kiss on Chi's cheek.

"Now now. Don't be like that. I'm sure neither of them holds a grudge against you. Haka seemed pretty confident that she just had to clarify their point of view. Spiders usually don't tend to hold our awkwardness towards them against us. They care too little for human matters. Then again. Maybe you should say sorry. From all Unmei, Haka is the closest thing to a human I've ever met. Maybe a part of her would appreciate it after all."


1000 / 2930

Many unexpected things happened today. Walking into this bathhouse to find it filled with naked women was definitely seemed to have started a chain reaction of strange events. Getting turned into a woman was odd at first, but it really ended up not particularly bothering him as much as it might the normal person. Since it had happened before it wasn’t as if it was that shocking, and Chigetsu had always been a bit in touch with his (her?) feminine side anyway. Those were unexpected and a bit uncomfortable, but not really anything too far. It was that way that he was being lectured on spider reproductive functions by Haka now that was confusing him. Was this a dream? That would make sense, given what’s happened so far. That in itself was strange, but the manner in which she did it was questionable as well. ‘We’. He hadn’t caught it at first but as her words processed in his mind, it was something he focused on a bit. Chigetsu knew of the spider infestation on this island and Haka’s connection to spiders through her techniques, but this wasn’t something he didn’t know entirely how to handle. The casual way in which she mentioned how there were some female humans like female spiders provoked an entirely different set of discomfort in addition to the confusion. He stared blankly across the bathwaters towards Haka has she explained. Words began to form in his throat, but his mouth would just open for a few moments before closing as he realized he didn’t know what to say.

It was a predicament. Haka and Ameya left the baths before he could ask her to explain exactly what she meant. He wasn’t quite sure that he could put to words the question he wanted to ask right at the moment either. Rather than asking what he wanted to ask he would just end up watching the two women leave. Immediately his body would relax, but that strange feeling remained with him. Being naked around a naked Verdandi wasn’t something he was as uncomfortable around. It was mainly the idea of it around a naked Haka that had him still with shock. The bleeding from his nose had thankfully stopped. Instead of dwelling too much on those strange questions he had now Chigetsu would simply relax and let out a big sigh.

He probably got out of that situation lightly. Not having his head bitten off for walking in on them naked probably was as good of an outcome as he could hope for. Verdandi would allow him to rest his head against her and he would happily, closing his eyes. He was content to be left with that confusion. Chigetsu was naturally oblivious, and admittedly not the smartest there was. Even with what Haka hinted at he would have likely let it go and returned to ignorance had it not been for Verdandi spelling it out for him immediately afterward. As soon as she explained the situation to him explicitly and the words clicked together in his head Chigetsu would return to the state of shock he had been in earlier. This time he wouldn’t be bleeding from the nose and bright red but rather a pale white with wide staring eyes.

“Wait. She’s… She’s a spider? You mean…” He would pause for a moment, trying to wrap his head around this. “Has she been a spider her entire life? How did I not know this…” He would mumble the words to himself, Verdandi only being able to hear by virtue of being so close to him. Important things seemed to happen in group bathing situations like this. It was how he met Verdandi in the first place, and now how he was revealed to Haka’s true nature. Chigetsu would shiver. It wasn’t exactly the realization that bothered him. He wasn’t particularly afraid of giant spiders, and their intelligence was proven to him when he met Ameya. It was the idea that he had known Haka for all these years and never had the slightest bit of an inkling towards the fact that she was an Unmei that had him stuck still. It was a devastating blow to his perception of his own intelligence. Questions about her true relationship with Lord Osada rose to his mind but they were quickly shoved to the back. It wasn’t his place to ask them, but now he couldn’t help but be curious.

“Y-Yeah… I should apologize. For a few things, probably…” Nodding to himself, the feminized Chigetsu would nuzzle into his partner and give Verdandi a gentle kiss to the cheek. After a bit of continued cuddling with Verdandi in the baths Chigetsu would rise up from the waters. Reducing himself to goo and then traveling in a streamy water-snake was a very convenient way of traveling, but at the same time moving in those less than human ways was something he tended to do less and less lately when in the presence of others. He would simply stand, leaving the bath waters as soon as Verdandi relinquished him from her embrace. There was the issue of the Hansha sitting in the back of his mind as well though. Returning to that hell world would be interesting, especially given their increase in strength. With the three of them together right now it would certainly be interesting if they could open the portal again. As he began redressing himself he would turn over to Verdandi, watching her. “Why exactly did you want to revisit the Hansa again? I don’t think I caught all of it.” Part of him asking was to delay the point where he would have to apologize, which he was sure would be another awkward situation, but also he was legitimately curious.

---

[985/3046]

The manor which had seemed so simple only moments before would suddenly begin to rumble. Windows would rattle as the waters churned and dust fell from the walls. The whole manor seemed to quake as a pulse ran through the manor itself. A wave that rid the world of color for a single second. Bathing everything in simple grey. All the life ripped from the world in but a fraction of a second before the pulse passed and color returned once more. Those caught in the pulse would feel something dark and powerful from within it. A sense that whatever had generated it was either no longer human in nature or had never been. Some taint within it would resonate with two of them though. Calling them to power and giving them a sense or energy within them. Haka and Chigetsu were connected to this pulse. This dark thing seemed to reach out to them and whisper unspoken words of raw but dangerous power. The likes of which none of them yet hoped to control. However as they had grown they had grown closer. They would be able to sense its limitations now. Somehow almost within reach. Far more so than it had been when they first encountered it. When his power seemed to know no limits or constraints.

Sero was within his throne room. At the center of the manor on the first floor. A thin and pale man with long white hair spilling around his shoulders down to his chest and back. Around his body was white robes with silver lined thread dancing through out. A metal breast plate adorned his chest with the Kirigakure shinobi village symbol on the front. His feet were bare beneath his robes. The sleeves wide though on his left side it would hang painfully empty from the shoulder down. Simply left to its own designs as it would dangle there. From his left shoulder to his left waist though was a line of pure snow white fur. He had arrived shortly after they had left the throne room. He had felt the remains of them but knew them well enough. Each he had met before but a single time so he would have been more cautious and hunted them if not for the stronger sense Haka had left behind. He trusted her more than any other being. As much a part of him as anything. An extension of himself as any of his blades were and his daughter to the world.

He had come to the throne room to test himself. His wound he had inflicted on himself had healed thanks to the baths but now he was testing his limits. He had regained his balance with his sword stances but now he needed to test something else. He could sense his power had dwindled since he had removed his limb. He could tell it was lesser but he knew not how much. So a test was in order. He had gathered himself after resting as scheduled now in the throne room. His bare feet against the stone floor. He supposed it would be cold but he didn't feel it. Instead he would focus his chakra. Closing his eyes as his cloak bristled around him. In the center of his forehead a half moon would form before it would slowly open revealing a third, crimson eye. His normally dead grey eyes opening to reveal the same blood red gaze. His sage mode, though incomplete without his fathers scythe, was active. His remaining arm would lift as his palm turned upwards. Concentrating all his chakra there.

Slowly a tiny black ball would form there. Turning barely at first but gradually gaining in both size and momentum. At first but a pebble and rapidly growing to be much much larger. As it approached the size of himself the pulse would burst out from it and rid the room of color for a moment. His feet lifting from the ground as it pulled him up into the air. Holding him there as the throne room continued to shake, as the manor continued to shake in response to its lords power. The walls and ceiling seemed to writhe with hands of stone pressing against it like a thin surface barely holding the dead at bay. The floor itself would reach up as a hundred hands stretched out for the hovering being as if to pull him back to them. However Sero would frown. His power was lesser now. Considerably. However much he had gained now he had lost. He was equal now to someone of the same rank even in sage mode. It was troublesome. Still he had his power which suited him. Even if it had dwindled he was still the lord of the island. He simply could not afford to do so again. Haka would be the only one of his children to hold his power. That wasn't to say another Osada couldn't be used....

Still it would take a moment for him to reduce it and absorb it once more. Slowly the rumbling would halt as he would lower to the floor. The ball reducing in size as he commanded it to. The rushed pulse that flew out returning as once again it would rid the world of color only as it passed for but a moment. His feet would touch cold ground before the ball would fade entirely and his hand would clasp shut. For now he would find a way to make his chakra grow again to its former glory. For now his center eye would turn separate from the other two. Peering through solid stone walls above to the three present there. Able to see their chakra clearly now. The third he recognized. Verdandi had been her name. Niece of Ayakashi and now she had passed the gate once more. Come to his island likely by invite of his daughter. For what purpose he wondered. His third eye watching their progress as they moved. Giving them each the sensation distinctly of being watched.

Like a wraith herself, white hair cascading over an elegant white dress with nothing more, Sero's child walked down the stairs at the third floor and moved purposefully towards the lower grounds. Behind her, a shorter female waded within her monstrous aura, wearing a simple black leather outfit to cover her humane form and wielding natural menace within her eyes.  The baths had done Haka good physically and yet she felt still weaker than she should have. The question if the long battle on Spider Island to bring all Unmei under one banner had left her more exhausted than it should have yet unanswered until now. Just as her feet were about to touch the stone floor on the second level, the world around her was cloaked in dark shades, colour drained as if life itself had left the world. For a brief moment, one bare foot would linger just above the stone floor, immobile without touching it as if it had been frozen in place. Then, when the wave had come to pass, it would soundlessly rest upon the floor.

"Something the matter?", the Summon behind her would ask, a bemused sneer rather than expressing concern. Ameya not being an Unmei had not felt the passing of corruption, spotting only the fraction of immobility Haka had expressed.
"No."

Her answer had been short, leaving no doubt to the spider that she disliked the hidden hint at an opportune moment to strike in what the spider had believed had been a moment of weakness. Remaining quiet for the rest of the path towards the throne room in where she now instinctively knew Sero to be seated, the two would move without sound until they had arrived. Or so they thought, as once she was about the reach the first floor, the disparate desaturation of the world occurred again, and once again Haka would cease motion for the duration of an eye blink.

"You really seem to doubt the stones under your feet. Perhaps I should... help you?"
"The Creator's watching us, that's all."
"The...? Sero?"
"You are free to lash out under his gaze if you feel so confident."
"Oh... Would he protect you?"
"No. He would watch and see how I rip out your tongue for your insolence."

The first floor would be reached without another word and proceeded as such until the throne room was reached. The two of them would watch Sero, his dark presence having claimed the room for his own, his aura like a watch dog chasing away the weak and feeble-minded. Before she stepped inside, Haka would turn to Ameya, whose warm brown eyes betrayed a hint of caution towards Sero.

"You are dismissed."

At those words, Fuinjutsu Seals would form around the black widow in human form and swallow her up to return to the Spider Realm. With another moment of patience, Haka stepped inside the throne room and into the aura of darkness until she stood a couple of meters before him.

"You embraced another person.", she said matter-of-factly, a mere statement holding no judgement. Only a revelation of her awareness. The Spider School counted many members, not all of them Unmei. Much to Haka's irritation. What Sero did with his power was not hers to decide yet she couldn't help but seek a potential opportunity to eliminate that which the arachnid considered lacking in purity of essence - any human, for that matter. "Is my father pleased with his new find?"

---

587
Total: 3226

Verdandi kept Chigetsu close as he was going through his confusion. Petting his head and offering a few more comfort snuggles and gentle smooches. She chuckled to herself faintly trying not to insult him over his situation. However, Verd had to admit there was a comical taste to the situation that of all people, Chi ended up in a situation of revelation simply because he was unlucky to always miss the moments when Haka turned herself into her full scaled battle form. Then again, it showed Verd that the way Haka interacted with Dandi since their Genin days must still be an unusually close relationship for her. Dandi recalled the fact that Haka had been observing Verd and inquiring many questions over rather basic human things. It was clear to Verdandi now, that back when she met Haka, she was but a young child. Seeing her all grown, curvy and mature would leave Dandi to relish in a moment of pride as to how fare the spider lady had gotten and how well she had embraced all the little lessons of humanity that Verd exhaled into her friend over all these years. Despite her seemingly lacking a proper display of affection and human bonds, Verd was sure that Haka too felt a certain comfort while being in Verdandi’s presence. Seeing as the ice princess had always expressed her joy over the macabre lifestyle of spider island and her deep interest in master Sero and his dark arts and weavings of fate.

Chi would be buried in his contemplation over what he might have done wrong today. Despite it not really being much of a matter, in fact Verd was almost sure that Haka had already forgotten about it. Though. Seeing that new summoning spiderling in service to Haka was an interesting view. Verd admitted that she had to yet unveil her own summoning powers. While Chigetsu would definitely know where she’d have that dragon contract from, none of them witnessed her practice her dragon arts yet. Neither do they know about her abilities with nature chakra. Verd would blink a few times as she already feasted on the joy and attention from her buddies once she exhaled all that power in combat right in front of them. A bit of a show-off wasn’t that bad once in a while, right? At least as long she didn’t start massively annoying her squad members with it. As Chi made his way to move out. She watched him blob and squiddle around in his fluid form. Grinning as it was always a pleasure to gaze upon his magical abilities. Verdandi was as much impressed by his fluid motions as she was overjoyed to be back in Sero’s mansion and on the lookout to finally finish what they once started all these months ago. Suna Reclamation had eaten their attention away. Talking about bad timing. But Verdandi wasn’t one to leave open matters unsolved and just laying around. She was an all or none kinda gal.

Verd was slowly moving from the baths. Grabbing a fresh dry towel that the maids had left for them. She’d use her suiton control to remove the water from her hair but she enjoyed to clean her skin the old fashioned way. There was something comforting in the feel of a warm towel as it runs over her skin to slowly suck up all the water droplets until Verd would feel as clean as ever again. As Chi stepped from the baths and eventually returned to a more humane form she would give him a naked hug and a kiss before placing her palm on his belly and slowly absorbing the foreign chakra she had forcefully pushed into him in a more joking way. With the clone’s influence gone from his fluid vortex within, it was now up to him again which appearance he wanted to shape himself into. Considering that they were going to see Sero if Haka could stir him up from somewhere, Chi would probably be better off in his male appearance. But then again, Verd left it up to him. Chi’s questions about Haka being a spider seemed rather rethorical so they wielded no answer, Verdandi’s facial expression alone would however underline the fact that Chi’s suspicions were true. But her darling fluid-man asked then forth as to why Verd wanted to return back to the god forsaken space that resides within the complexity of Sero’s being. Leaving it up to question as why there even is a dimension inside Sero to begin with.

"I want to see Pebbles again. I miss my little golem. We left him in charge of the village after we gave them arms, goods, food and trained them to fend for themselves. Aren’t you curious if they actually survived up until now? I can’t wait to see if what we invested into that village has come to fruition and actually improved their way of living in this hell hole. However, I still have the map of that place and the scout reports had definitely exhaled many powerful threats. Back then we didn’t have the power to take on these beasts. But they are still out there. I don’t want to just leave it up to chance. I want to go there and crush these creatures. If not for the sake of the villagers. Then for the sake of my own powers. I want to test myself. I want to fight against the worst of these creatures and see if my powers can prevail or utterly fail. Aren’t you curious as to where your limits are? Ever since Suna my chakra is pulsating with power and then again auntie Ayakashi reminds me in our regular sparing matches about how much much more I can still obtain. I want to see this through and once again, obtain a new power. I want to train until the day comes, where Aya has to go all out on me or she’d loose. That’s my wish."

Verdandi kept exhaling her explanations slowly and calmly as Chi would listen in and the two of them slowly getting ready for the move on. Verdandi had her casual black light armor with her and slipped into it after sliding the soft black silk over her skin. From her three katana’s she had two sealed in her arm. The last one, the legendary Kurosawa itself, would be gently tucked to its waist holder. Verd was certain that a man of weapons mastery such as Sero would eventually catch glimpse of the finest Katana that had ever been forged for a samurai ever. The former blade of General Mifune holding but the sharpest of all metals that were ever found to exist. It was irony that, on this visit to Sero, Verd would hold such a powerful blade in her possession, whilst during her first visit here. Sero personally inspected Verdandi’s scrap Katana she obtained in her Genin days as a sparing weapon to train her very first moves with Kenjutsu. Time sure travels quickly. The smirk on her lips didn’t leave her however. Verd would wait to see if Chi was ready and keep blabbering on a bit over Hansha. Grabbing her lovers palm and tugging him along. Them chitter would soon be disturbed by the darkness harnessing and claiming the very color in their surroundings. An implosion of dark desire and heartless perfection. It would go without saying, that Sero had made his presence known to the. As if he was calling for his guests.

In time the two would arrive in the throne room. Guided by the servants along way but also feeling a strange pull towards the location as if the web weaver himself was telling them where to turn left and right until they were on a large pathway that very obviously lead to the main hall and throne room parts. Haka was already there. Ameya seemed gone. Verd removed her palm from Chi’s and slowly moved up the hall to first bow and then bend the knee in front of her elder commander. The words of Verd’s trial and initiation into the ranks that also Sero held should have had reached him by now. But despite their equal service to the Mizukage and to the very Mist itself didn’t blind Verdandi in the fact that Sero was but still a teacher and a far more powerful being than the young ice princess. She’d stand from her hopefully politically correct way of showing her respect in proper manner. Gazing at all parties involved and wondered what was about to happen next. Before she’d instantly start to bloat the room with her rich vocabulary, she’d rather wait and see Chi arriving at the moment as well and hear out Sero first. After all, knowing him, he had probably already heard Verdandi and her intent about Hansha. No real need to exhale it all again just for protocol. It was seemingly left up to him to oblige their request now, or not.


1520 / 4450

Blobbing out of the bath came quickly. It wasn’t a situation he had entered consciously in the first place, and although he had originally desired a bath any sort of prospect of that erased entirely once he came to conscious thought. The situation he found himself in ruined his appetite. He would still need to rest and rejuvenate from his wearies, but that would come another day. Now the moment was tainted with embarrassment and the unthinkable of walking in on a pair of exposed women. Learning that Haka was a spider put the icing on the metaphorical cake, although he much preferred that realization rumbling in his mind than the accusation of being a pervert, which he would surely never be able to forget for the rest of his life. The conversation that he had attempted would be discarded just as quickly and suddenly as it was brought up. Perhaps Verdandi knew that it was only a diversionary tactic by him. Just a distraction. He wanted to be distracted more than anything else. Distracted from this, distracted from that, distracted from his embarrassment, distracted from what he came here to be distracted by. Chigetsu came to distractions like a drunkard, seeking them out as ways to forget. Only rather than intoxicating himself he would seek to clog his mind with mundanity until it was full to the brim.

Although, this wasn’t very mundane at all. There were four naked women in this bath. Two of them were spiders, and one of them was him.

He had to move on to the next distraction though. Staying too long in one place would freeze him into a statue. It was a need, not a want. But the affection came first, grounding him back to reality. Chigetsu would shiver as she hugged him from behind. Verdandi’s hand on his stomach brought a flush to his cheeks immediately, and his mind was clear once more. There was something strangely intimate about it, in a different way than just kissing and hugging. Especially as the chakra that she had shoved into him was slowly drained out. It left goosebumps all over him. He couldn’t describe the feeling, except that the earlier accusation of him being a pervert was beginning to feel more and more apt, as embarrassing as it was to admit. As the chakra she had shoved into him was released so too would his female form, and the liquid that composed his body would revert back to what was his normal human form. Although no longer a female he was hardly any less feminine. Visually speaking, the difference between Chigetsu as a man and woman really was purely in the chest area, and so the change wasn’t extreme in the slightest. This transition was the least strange thing that had happened in the last few minutes, at least through the liquid lenses of Chigetsu’s eyes.

Then, only after that moment of intimacy, she would respond to what his attempt at distracting himself had been. He was reminded immediately of Pebbles, the little golem pet that she had brought back with her, as she mentioned it. If she hadn’t mentioned his name Chigetsu probably would have never thought about him again, just seeing him really as an irrelevant side note to their journey into that hellscape. Although Verdandi likely would have smacked him if he said that aloud. The village itself was another minor note to him. It was the desire to throw herself back into the clutches of the beasts that he related to most.

He almost flinched when she mentioned Suna.

“I’m curious too about how strong I’ve gotten since then, but…” He would struggle for the right words. “It would be nice to fight monsters again, instead of people. It feels so simple.”

It wasn’t much to respond with to her explanation. There were a lot of things he wanted to say but didn’t know how. Asking about her ‘auntie’ Ayakashi and their sparring was something that came to the forefront of his mind. She was sparring with the Mizukage? He knew that they were related, but what an incredibly wild thing to think of. Chigetsu, who had still never really truly met the Mizukage, couldn’t help but feel awed by the thought. He wouldn’t be able to express his emotions that he didn’t understand so easily, and so he would allow Verdandi to dominate the conversation. She blabbed and he would occasionally offer a response to keep the flow of the conversation about the Hansha going as they dressed themselves in their clothing and gear once again. It would continue at they moved on, leaving the bath-

He would twitch. Something in his chest throbbed painfully, and he would grimace immediately. The liquid heart inside his chest beat painfully. The taint within him struck up aggressively. Its influence over him had only been incredibly subtle for the most part, generally only coming out in truth in his actions in combat. The way he was feeling it now was different. Something was reaching out to him and touching him, grasping his heart delicately. Chigetsu swallowed, forcing what was in his throat back down.

They arrived in the throne room. The release of his hand from Verdandi’s came naturally. He would watch her as she kneeled before the thing that had called them. Chigetsu would stand behind the rest, watching as if he were an observer to the others. He was stiff now. Completely solid. Dry. There wasn’t anything for him to say, and so he would speak with his eyes.

---

[946/3992]

At first Sero would remain alone in his throne. A barren throne room void of servants or admirers. He was but a lord of a dead land. A clan that avoided his gaze as his birthright. A clan that had to be dominated into servitude as his creation. Lastly a clan of his own tainted influence growing from those who would accept his invitation. Each of them of their own mind and individuality. He could feel them all but still the room was empty. The manor not so much but this seclusion settled well with him. He was more comfortable like this in silence than he was when he had to visit a village. He had grown up here in this manor with only beasts and men seeking to die. His own mother rightfully fearing him enough so that none in the village knew he still lived until he revealed himself at a young age. Appearing one day in the village to pass the final exams to be what his father had been. More than just a lord over his clan or people. He was a shinobi. His talents with their chakra had created a place for him and now he was content.

Still he could feel the two of them approaching. His daughter. First among her kind and mighty as he may have wished. She was a conqueror and had chosen his side. As a reward he would grant her everything. The clan that feared them. The Osada in their whispering dens waiting for him to pass away now had a heir to fear. The Unmei had been dominated and shown their place and now served as a vanguard for her and himself. Those tainted by his will answered to him and now her as well. The first queen. Mother had her own position of authority as a parent but Haka ruled. None stood closer to his side.

When she entered the room the other presence faded away. A summon removed from his presence. Another thing she lorded over was the spiders outside of the Unmei clan. Soon she would learn the true talent she possessed with that. However she would speak and he would adjust his dead gaze upon her fully. White hair spilling about his face and framing it. She knew he had claimed another and wished to know his thoughts on him. If she were to rule him she would need to know after all.

"I have brought a Kaguya into the fold. Another of this nations main clans. You would do well to encourage him to power within his clan and add the clans power to the manor. For now I have given him to Chigetsu for training. The boy knows more pride than humility though. A child that would challenge me. Be wary that he does not subvert your authority daughter."

As he finished he would feel another coming. The door would open and two would step forward. The one not of his fold he knew from the bridge. He had not extended her an offer simply because her aunt already was part of the fold and he had concerns over her control. If Ayakashi were having difficulties what would another member of her family in lesser standing be capable of? That aside Verdandi had not wished his power before. No reason to assume she would now.

Chigetsu though had been his favorite temptation for a time. The only one he had instinctively embraced. Even now he could feel the boy regardless of what face, body or clothing he would wear. It was all for naught with Sero. She would kneel but Chigetsu would simply watch. How much all three had grown was apparent. Still Sero was one who held influence over both the hunter nin and the anbu. He had led both and now led the seven swords. He of course knew of their promotions.

"You have each found a specialty for yourselves. Ranks within divisions that have without question more power over death than most. I would congratulate you. With that said you have purpose here no doubt. One does not simply seek me out for tea and greetings."

A Kaguya. She vaguely remembered having met someone with that name. Some girl seemingly bent on bringing ruin to others with the power she held. Bone manipulation. Haka had yet to see the full extend of that ability as the girl in question was not heard of again. Perhaps left broken to drown in a pool of water. Perhaps her spine ripped out for expressing her threatening nature without thinking it through. Not all were of Sero's brood. Not all had a sense for survival either. Whatever the fate of the little Kaguya left in Verdandi's care was not something the spider would be troubled by. What piqued her interest about Sero's wording was mostly the subtle hint towards assimilation. Taking in other members into the fold to gather their power and add to that of the clan. She had taken a similar approach when growing up. Dominating the elements and making them her own. Assimilating human knowledge and turn it into a weapon that could be used against them. But her assimilation had mostly been on a personal level. That of Sero sounded... bigger. It left her wondering to what purpose he was doing so.

As the footsteps of two others would be picked up, Haka decided to drop the topic for another day. Like many of her father's mysteries, they left Haka with more questions than answers. Enigmas she would unravel as time passed, the ever patient wolf spider in no hurry to rush things in the slightest if there was no need to do so. Instead, she would pick up on their promotion and him congratulating the two.Then slipping into a sense of business as it seemed they had not come for tea and greetings. Did Sero even drink tea..? Haka could not recall a memory of him ever doing so. Neither did the man seem to eat pudding... But such was his loss. For though pudding didn't offer the sustenance the wolf spider required, at least it had a pleasant texture and taste.

"We'd like to enter Hansha.", Haka replied brief and simple. "You're the only one who knows the Seals. Are you willing to open the Gate for us?"

To the spider a mere 'yes' or 'no' sufficed as an answer, knowing well that the gate to Hansha would open if he gave his consent. And if he didn't want to, then there was little more needing to be said. As the lord of the island, such was his right to decide. Reasons for her request were not given as Haka felt no need to do so, but it was possible Verdandi or Chigetsu would add those to the question left to answer. Humans often reasoned differently about such matters. 'Why' was the keyword which brought understanding about the mind of others to light. Some felt compelled to deliver the 'why' of their actions before questions were asked, others were driven to ask the 'why' after answers were given. Few cared for neither.

Awaiting the answer of Sero on the matter, Haka observed the actions of her squad mates.

---

523
Total: 3749

[EXIT]

Verdandi raised from her position and feel herself into the room. Three of her possibly favorite monsters of Kirigakure were in this very place now. Verd wondered why she always had such an attachment to the unnatural that found its roots within the darkness of the mist. While her path had always been very different from the one Haka or Chigetsu took, she never failed to find reason in a common goal with them and respect both for their own goals and desires. She was certain that her own path of unquestionable justice would not stray too far from the simplicity of Haka’s natural call. The way where the strong dominate the weak and eventually consume them. Or Chigetsu’s more carefree way of being one with the waves that carry him to new shores and accept the things as they were, be them dark, hollow or gentle and at good will. They all had their paths, but combined they were stronger than any other of their generation. None would have dared to question their rise to power or to face them whenever they would show combined, in union and stand for what their own loyalty for Kiri would mean to them.

Verd was unsure what aunt Ayakashi’s past would have been like with Sero. Did she have similar experience as Verdandi had with Haka? Was there an unspoken friendship beneath all the void emotion? She only knew that Aya respected him as much as Verd did and that during her days of peril and weakness, while she was learning to use her new arm in replacement of what was lost in Suna, she would rather have Verd spar with her than show any weakness to the great master of spiders. So at least, she knew there was some pride between them, Aya wishing to remain a pure beacon without weakness. But as for today. Their reasoning was simple and easy. Verdandi had already explained her wishes to Chigetsu at full length. While he must have little love for the people there, Verd was known to be a being of attachment and compassion. Sero would most likely have seen this in her already. Probably a weakness in his eyes. But Verd could accept judgement and critic, she was whom she was in the end without need to bend.

“We have been called to arms to go to war in Suna, what was supposed to be a mission of recreation ended in a bloodbath. While Kiri returns with spoils of war so did it also return with wounds. However, we deem to have unfinished business in Hansha. We would like to face the creatures we have already spotted in their homes. If they are still there to haunt the world of Hansha, we would like to face them in combat and test our spirits once more. We have brought peace and stability to the village in our last visit. But I’m afraid that if we do not complete our sweep through their lands, the people will in time but fall victim of what we failed to slay in time. Allow us to complete our assignment and rid those few sorry fellows from their demons within. We also have obtained new powers in Suna and would like to see them properly tested as of now. Hansha should provide us with more than just a simple challenge.”


550 / 5000

[EXIT]

Chigetsu was uncomfortable. It was a sense of being uncomfortable that he was distinctly aware of though, rather than something that was subtle and subconscious that would plague his thoughts and make him sweat without realizing why. He didn’t have the same relationship with Sero that these two did. Haka very obviously had a divinely close connection, that of father and daughter. Or creator and createe? The revelation of her arachnid nature made what he assumed of their relationship something he needed to reevaluate, like much of what he assumed he knew of Haka. To be fair, he hadn’t ever assumed he knew much about the girl, except apparently that she was human and the child of Lord Osada. Perhaps, was Lord Osada a spider as well? It would make sense. The atmosphere that he gave out was one similar to that of Haka in that it was entirely inhuman. He had no idea what possessed Verdandi to greet him and be so casual in his presence. Perhaps that was in her blood, as royalty. Lord Osada had a rather noble aura around him, as did Haka. Perhaps nobility knew how to deal with nobility, species barriers be damned. Really, he just couldn’t imagine Verdandi being afraid like he was. Not in the same way, at least. He admired her for it. Out of the three of them sometimes it felt like he was the only one who felt any fear.

He still remembered his meeting with Lord Osada in the Hansha. That girl was there too. What was her name? He couldn’t remember anymore. He told himself that it wasn’t important that he didn’t remember her name and barely remembered her face mostly as a way to not think about her eventual fate. As he hadn’t seen a hair of her since that moment, when they last split ways, who knows what happened to her. She could be dead, but he didn’t want to think about that.

Still, the conclusion that he had then was the same as he felt now. Sero Osada was not a man, but rather a beast. Not one that could be reasoned with, except within the pretenses of the Darwinistic predator-prey relationship. He was no more of a man that a demon, a devil, a spider. Perhaps he was an ally now, someone who could even be a benefactor, but Chigetsu would never feel comfortable relying on the man. Not at least while he still valued his life.

He was still afraid of dying. For that reason, he would slink back into the shadows, unresponsive. The others could decide, and he would follow their lead.

---

[EXIT]
[450/4442]