YOU cook sushi!?

[TyDie]

It had been a very long day for the young Ibakuro, Aiya. Another day of training, perfecting her staff work. Another day of practicing her senses, putting to use some of the teachings jotted down by the leader of her clan, Ibakuro Yosuke. Another day of work, work, work. And as much as she enjoyed toning her body, strengthening herself for the tasks to come, she was also pretty darn tired too. Today, she was going to treat herself. After all, she managed a whole new move with her staff, and to her that was deserving of at least some kind of reward. So, as she made her way home, she decided to stop by a new tea house she had been eyeballing.

You see, recently, they put up a new sign; they'd hired a sushi chef.

The building was two stories, but the bottom floor was the restaurant. As she walked in, there were candles on the walls, dark tables, an overall quiet and comfortable atmosphere. Typically, tea wasn't her way to relax, but she was interested in seeing why a tea house would decide to hire a sushi chef? So, she walked in and took a seat close to the bar in the back of the restaurant, eager to see what was going on with this place. Her waiter arrived shortly after she sat, a beautiful blonde haired man came up to her and smiled warmly. "Good afternoon, and what can I interest you in today?"

Aiya looked at the menu before her for a moment, then smiled back and decided. "Lavender chamomile tea please, I need to relax the muscles. Oh, and also, have this new sushi chef make me whatever he sees fit." The man took her menu with a bow and headed towards the back to put the order in, while Aiya looked around the restaurant.

[Willoria]

Souta was slowly beginning to start enjoying what was beginning to feel like the start of his retirement. He had his mornings to himself and Hana, before beginning his days in the tea house. He had already spent half his day there and was on his break before the dinner rush when a young shinobi came in. Souta was in the back getting several of his supplies together when she got in and he only came back out to the sushi bar after her initial order was taken. He set his tray out beside him and refilled the fresh fish display with several different kinds of fish. He wore a simple pair of dark pants, tucked into his boots and a dark sleeveless shirt. His long greying hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of his skull, and a piece of cloth tied around his forehead to keep any sweat out of his eyes.

He started sharpening one of his knives before turning his attention to the young woman seated in front of him and smiling at her, in spite of him having to hunch slightly where he stood. "Waiter tells me its up to me what to serve you, so why don't you tell me if there's anything you absolutely hate first and I'll figure out what you might like."

[TyDie]

Aiya was holding a shuriken in her hand, spinning the small weapon around while she held it between her thumb and index finger, while she waited for her tea and sushi to come out. Instead, a very large looking man walked out behind the bar and started setting out trays of fresh raw sushi ingredients. At first she just figured he was hired help, setting out the ingredients for the sushi chef who was going to come out and prepare her food for her. Instead, the man started to get out the cutlery, and proceeded to ask her what she didn't like. Aiya's jaw dropped slightly as he did so. "Wait. You're the chef? No way, you look like you could lift this building off of it's foundation!" The girl couldn't believe someone that was that physically fit was a simple chef, there was more to it then that.

"... You're a shinobi, aren't you? Gotta be, with that kind of body. Or if you aren't one now, you were one in the past. It's a wonder you've kept your body up as well as you have given how gray your hair is getting." Aiya gave a small smile as she cracked the code and figured out who this man was, and her naivety made her oblivious to the fact that she had just called him old.

[Willoria]

Souta chuckled a bit at Aiya's blunt remarks as he started laying out a few things and getting to work. He started out making a couple of basic rolls as the girl spoke. Since she didn't immediately start pointing out things she didn't like, he simply started making things he assumed she might, things everyone did. He cut the two rolls quickly, a salmon roll and a tuna roll on a small plate which he passed towards Aiya rather quickly. As she pointed out his grey hair the man couldn't help a snort. "You sound like my daughter." he muttered without thinking much about what he was saying.

He smirked as he passed her those two rolls and looked at her a moment, noticing her strange eyes. "And you're obviously a shinobi, clan I'm guessing by the eyes." he remarked. "Yes, I'm a shinobi. Taking time off from my duties in Suna, thought I'd spend some time here in Konoha, at my own Kage's behest." He kept his explanation short, light even as he did his best to smile. "My name is Souta." Of course, he wasn't going to tell her his rank unless asked directly, didn't feel there was much point in it. "How about you?" He set to preparing another set for her, this time setting up a rainbow roll. Before long passing her a small plate with salmon, tuna, and whitefish across the top in a colorful display for her to try.

[TyDie]

Aiya tilted a head as the man let out a small chuckle and compared her to his daughter, but it seemed like a happy thought at least, so she smiled back in response. The simple rolls were put before her, salmon and tuna, while Souta proceeded to mention her clan traits. "Heh, yeah i'm from a clan. The Ibakuro. My name is Aiya, pleased to meet you." Aiya gave a small bow as she introduced herself, then took a bite of sushi to test the waters. Almost immediately, her tongue was swimming in flavor, as she let out a satisfied sigh and swallowed. "Wow... How does a Suna ninja prepare such amazing sushi? Don't you guys live in a desert? Not that i'm complaining... definitely not complaining."

She punctuated her question by popping another roll of sushi in her mouth, a small squeal rising from her throat as she chewed the sushi. Once she had finished the food, she would continue to press the man about his land of origin. "I've never been to Sunagakure, but I hear there's lots of sand and heat. Doesn't sound very comfortable y'know, how are you enjoying the weather in Konoha?" Aiya would continue to mow through the rolls put before her, digging into the rainbow roll next with a look of happiness on her face. At this point, she didn't even need the tea to feel relaxed.

[Willoria]

As Aiya tasted, and very clearly enjoyed, the sushi he made Souta simply grinned. Other orders came in and he made other rolls as well as sashimi and various bowls and a few other choices. She asked him about how he learned to make sushi in Suna and he couldn't help a bit of a wry laugh. "It's been a hobby of mine for years." he explained. "Of course, in Suna its hard to get decent fresh fish, so I actually had to set up my own small pond to raise my fish." He added, pausing as he saw a server come out to refresh the girl's tea.

"Definitely a lot of sand and heat." he admitted. "Konoha is a nice change, though the humidity takes getting used to. I've lived in Suna all my life, so I'm a bit more used to the climate there. But I think my girl Hana likes it better here so far." He continued. He paused and sat on a stool behind the counter for a moment as the orders slowed down briefly. "Hana is a fennec fox pet of mine. If you ever hear noises from upstairs, it's probably her causing trouble I'll have to clean up later."

[TyDie]

Aiya paused mid bite as the man mentioned raising and preparing his own ingredients for sushi, which explained how he was able to get so good in a place like Suna. "Wow, talk about dedication to your hobby. With this kind of skill and dedication, I think you could've made this your career. This is incredible stuff, Souta!" Aiya would punctuate with another big bite of sushi, chasing the food down with a few sips of her lavender tea, inhaling the aroma of the tea as she drank the liquid down. Between the good food and the relaxing tea, the woman's body was loosening up immensely. Although, she tensed a little as she heard mention of a fox.

"Huh... never been a fan of dogs really. And my mentor has the biggest dog companion you've ever seen. But, I might be able to get along with a little fennec... assuming she's not too much of a troublemaker that is, heh." Canines had never been her favorite creature. She wasn't sure what it was, maybe their boundless energy or their sharp teeth, but something about dogs just rubbed her the wrong way. Especially big dogs. "But I mean, my favorite animal is spiders, so y'know." The woman downed another bite of sushi, leaving the whole 'spider' thing in the air as she did so. "Well you know I have to ask... What kind of stuff can you do? You know, shinobi stuff? I myself am a whizz with weapons."

[Willoria]

Souta had to bite his tongue as Aiya mentioned him turning his hobby into a full blown career. It wasn't just something that had crossed his mind, it was the plan at one point in time. When the war was in full swing he had made that promise to himself, and to Sakaki, that he was done. When the fighting was over he was going to officially retire. He was going to expand his hobby into a business in Suna. He was tired of bloodshed. He wanted to set it all aside, he wanted to watch his daughter grow and maybe even have a family of her own. But just days after making her that promise she had died, and suddenly the idea of such a quiet life in Suna for all his days haunted him.

Instead he had come here, and in a few months he knew he'd move on and travel further. He couldn't retire just yet, he wasn't ready for the quiet but at least he could relax here. But he also wasn't going to suddenly dump all of this information on a child, shinobi or not, that he had just met. "Well Hana is still quite a troublemaker." he admitted as Aiya told him of her dislike of canines. "But she's a small one at least. About the size of my foot. Most of her trouble consists of yips and running around in circles... maybe stealing a piece of food." He chuckled, thinking of how hard it was to make sushi around such an animal. She might have been small but more than once she'd been fast enough to steal sushi or even steal an entire fish before when he was trying to cook. Though as she mentioned her love of spiders he couldn't help but think that maybe introducing her to Hana was a bad idea. After all, more than once he'd seen Hana eat spiders.

She brought up shinobi talents and the large man grinned. "I'm best at taijutsu myself, Iaido specifically, a type of kenjutsu." he told her. "Though I do know quite a bit about hand to hand as well. And some ninjutsu." He caught himself before he went on to mention tenkujutsu, both due to the sensitive nature of potentially bringing up his daughter and the nature of the work he did with it. Konoha was an ally, but aside from Takeo and a few specific others, how many really needed to know about his work with Genma and other spirits?

[TyDie]

Aiya wrinkled her nose at the thought of the little ankle biting fennec fox, but at least it wasn't as big as Minako's companion, Rei. She figured maybe she could get along with the little ones, but that'd have to be figured out on another day. For now, she was content to gorge herself on these sushi rolls, her eyes aflutter with each bite. The Salmon roll was already devoured, and the Tuna roll was half way done now too. "My hand to hand is a bit weak right now, i'll admit. But when it comes to weapons, i don't know... It's just natural to me. Never tried a sword though, strangely enough. Just my staff, tonfas and bow. Heeey, I'd love to learn some stuff from you sometime!" The idea popped into Aiya's head as she put together that, if this man knew how to use a sword, learning from him would definitely be to her advantage.

Drinking some more of her tea, the girl smiled at the older shinobi and wondered what he'd be like in a spar. Surely, being so seasoned, he'd be far more adept than she. But that was part of the fun of it after all; learning from someone better than you. "So, you mentioned that the Kazekage told you to come to Konoha on vacation basically. You've gotta be up there in rank to have a connection to your Kage like that... Jounin maybe? But, why would they tell you to come here on leave? Surely there's other places you'd like to visit, right?"

[Willoria]

Souta couldn't help but to shake his head as Aiya mentioned being weak in hand to hand, and yet listed off three other weapons. "Little wonder you're weak on hand to hand, you hardly need it." he remarked. "The odds of you being disarmed with so many weapons on you would be pretty low. Still, not a bad idea to learn some kind of hand to hand just in case. At the least, if you learn it, you can defend and fight against it better." He crossed his arms and sighed as he remained on his stool, nodding as a server came by and served him a tea as well while he waited for another order to come in. He took a careful sip and nodded towards Aiya's dwindling plate. "Anything else sound good that you want to try?"

He looked at the tray that came with the tea and noticed some fruit, dropping a fresh raspberry in his cup before setting it aside to let it soak a bit before chuckling at Aiya's further statements. "Well. The Kazekage is a friend." he admitted. "I'm also a Bannin of my village." he added. "In truth she offered me the chance to retire but I'm not ready for that yet, so she suggested I travel awhile and start by coming here. We visited here a few years ago and so I have a few friends here. Seemed like a good place to start."

[TyDie]

Aiya let a small grin spread across her visage as the man before her remarked on her litany of weapons, and the fact that being totally disarmed was unlikely given how many she had. He was right of course, but she still felt that she needed to be prepared for such an event if it happened. "Yeah, I don't want to make hand to hand my primary focus, but enough to get by in the event I'm left without any weaponry would be nice. I've been considering Kugapou; defensive and reactive in nature, great at dealing with my own strength in weapons. It'd be good for me to understand how it works in case I encounter someone else who knows it." At this point, Aiya was mostly musing aloud, but if Souta had any advice on the subject she would surely take it to heart... Especially after he identified himself as a Sunagakure bannin

She almost choked on her roll as he said that.

"Wait... One of the most elite of Suna's shinobi... Just served me amazing sushi? I... Don't know how to feel about that, heheh..." Aiya managed to choke her roll down and scratch her head in embarrassment as Souta made his rank, and thus his level of power and skill, clear. Bannin were like one man armies, able to wade into combat against multiple opponents without breaking so much as a sweat. And this one was feeding a young genin spider girl? There was a lot more to this story that wasn't being said; she couldn't imagine Suna would just let one of their bannin wander around without a really good reason to do so. But she'd leave that alone, it probably wasn't her business.

"Uh... I'll try a spicy roll. I'll be honest, this is the first time I've had sushi... ever. So when you asked me if there was anything I hate, I didn't answer because, well, I don't know what I like and don't like. So, I'm open to try just about anything. Although, it's a little weird being catered to by a Bannin, from another village no less, hahah." The embarrassment was pretty clear on Aiya's face, the situation had just grown a lot more tense for her. She started to sit straighter, speak clearer, and ultimately present herself more properly. This was a bannin, a figure deserving of her respect; she felt she had to give that respect.

[Willoria]

Another order came in and Souta stood up, careful not to bump his head, to start preparing the order. It took him awhile, this one being a particular type of bowl of sushi rice with slices of sushimi laid out across the edges. He nodded as Aiya mentioned Kugapou. "I believe I know someone who just started using the style." he mentioned, thinking of his medic Kaede. "Her and another member of my team are going to be here at the end of the week to check on me I think, if you want to pick her brain about it. She's still new to it but she tends to commit to things quickly. What she may not know personally yet she probably knows in theory at least. She's always been the type to study scrolls and theories long before she knows it in practice." he remarked, chuckling. "She's a medic primarily, so I suppose it's a default habit for her."

Of course he didn't miss as he sent out the order of sushi that Aiya almost choked on hers at the revelation about his rank. The man couldn't help a bit of a sly grin and a shrug as her behavior suddenly took a shift. He quickly shook his head. "Behind this counter I'm no Bannin." he reminded her. "I'm just the sushi chef, I'm just Souta." She finally seemed to make a request and he fulfilled it, serving her a small spicy tuna roll but also a small plate of a few sampling pieces. Some looked strange, and some had strong smells to them. "You probably don't want to know what these are until you try them." he said, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Some of these just don't get ordered often, but they're good. They simply scare people off for their oddity. But if you want to try something strange, this is what you should try too." he told her.

As he served it to her a woman with greying hair came around the corner and motioned him over. When he went to her she whispered to him and he nodded. He started removing the ingredients from the bar and turning off the lights in his area to pack it all up, though he didn't leave yet. "Looks like you're the last one to get sushi for the day." he said with a wink. "The boss doesn't like to serve sushi after the early dinner hour, doesn't think people should risk sleeping on it. Too much energy." He stepped out from behind the counter and leaned against it, clearly intent on still holding a conversation with Aiya as she tried the samples he'd given her.

[TyDie]

Aiya didn't respond verbally to the mention of his partner's learning of Kugapou; she was still a little uneased by the man's rank suddenly hitting her in the face. But as he continued to speak, he made clear that he didn't want to be seen that way. He wasn't a bannin here... She'd try to remember that. "Alright. I can try to respect that." She nodded in response, and as the man continued to set down more sushi for her, some of it looking rather strange if she was being honest. But, she did say she'd try anything... popping one of the stranger ones, a small roll of seaweed, rice, salmon and some sort of strange 'orbs' on top. She wasn't sure what they were, but with a shrug she popped it into her mouth... and found that she liked it a lot. Another hum of delight could be heard from the girl as she gorged on more Sushi, giving a nod to Souta as he stepped around the counter.

"Well, you won't find me complaining about being the last to get sushi. I'm happy to have it! It's a strange feeling through, lavender tea mixed with energizing sushi. I find that the combination makes me sleepy, yet also alert." Aiya continued to remark on the food before sliding the plate partially in Souta's direction, motioning for him to take a few as well. "You made far too many for me, haha. Please, take a few as well. It's only fair that you enjoy your own work, right?" She smiled up to the man before popping another of the stranger rolls in her mouth, one that appeared to have a wiggly squid tentacle in it! With a satisfied sigh, she chewed and swallowed the piece of sushi, noting that it was a little rubbery but still quite flavorful.

"I have to ask though... You said you weren't a bannin behind the counter. Well, you're not behind the counter anymore, sooooo..."

[Willoria]

In truth Souta found Shizuo's rule about the Sushi bar a bit strange, but he didn't argue with it. It gave him plenty of time to wind down at night and even enjoy the evenings to himself after work. It left things feeling like a relaxing retirement even if it wasn't quite that yet. Aiya's words about having the last sushi of the night simply made him chuckle further as he thought about it more. He wiped his hands off from the days work and shook his head at her offer. Honestly he wasn't all that hungry himself just yet. He didn't eat much these days, everything still reminded him of Sakaki and it just left him with a pit in his gut that seemed to leave him feeling as if hunger didn't really exist. Here in front of Aiya that pit slowly returned as the girl truly reminded him of her even more.

Her sass just made it worse, though as he had started to feel the sadness her comment managed to bring a laugh out of him. "Well that depends." he remarked, eyeing her seriously for a moment. "Do you want me to be?"

[TyDie]

Aiya had expected that the man would quickly get a little more 'buddy buddy' with her, taking a few pieces of sushi and carrying on a pleasant conversation. But the sudden shift in his tone, the seriousness in his eyes, made it all the more clear that he truly was the rank he claimed to be. With a meek look on her face and an audible 'gulp', Aiya shook her head. "...No sir." Was all she could choke out verbally. She felt he was kidding... she hoped he was kidding. Yet, some part of her forced her to treat it as a serious question until it was proven not to be. Perhaps it was her respect for those higher than her, or perhaps she knew that deep down there was much more to this 'sushi chef bannin' than met the eye. Either way, she'd remain frozen until the air between them was cleared by his next statement.

[Willoria]

Souta watched as Aiya's unease overtook her body language entirely at his words. It was clear she wasn't used to dealing with someone of his rank at all and her need to suddenly become respectful took over her instincts. After she managed to respond to him, he let silence sit between them for a moment but the moment was brief. At that point he couldn't help the wicked grin that spread across his face at that as he laughed. "You can relax." he assured her. "I've never been the type to scare Genin for fun." he told her, winking. "At least not the last few years." he added. The last time he had scared someone of her rank was probably the day he had been assigned as Sakaki's guardian and she had been sealed with Shishire. The pair had butted heads hard that day and he had felt the need to put the fear of the Light in her, so to speak. In truth, it hadn't gotten him anywhere with the girl. Looking back, it had taken him backwards more than a few steps in the relationship he would later build with her.

He picked up a piece of roe sushi Aiya clearly wasn't going to eat and flicked a couple pieces of the little orbs at the girl from the top of it. "You're the first person I've seen enjoy roe in awhile." he admitted, having another chuckle at her expense. "I think I'm going to have a walk before I head upstairs for the night, and I'm guessing you've had more sushi than you meant to, want a walk a little of that off with me? No sense trying to head home both stuffed and hyper right?"

[TyDie]

Aiya had a feeling that Souta was just playing along with her, but the fact that he was able to turn on his "scary side" so easily was a little stunning, even if she had been expecting it on some level. Still, as he told her to relax, she breathed a small sigh and took one last bite of the rainbow roll before leaning back with a defeated, but happy, sigh. "Ooph, I couldn't eat any more if I tried." She pushed the plate away from her, but not before Souta grabbed one of the Roe topped sushi pieces and flicked some of it at her, which caused her to make a face of annoyance in return as she wiped them off of her face. "Roe isn't bad, I guess the texture is strange and if you know what it is that might make it gross. But I mean... Have you ever seen spider eggs? They're not too different, so I'm used to the way they look and feel. Although, I'd never eat spider eggs..." The thought made her shiver in response, but Souta's invitation got her thinking about different things.

"Sure, You can walk me half way to the clan compound! How's that sound?" She nodded with affirmation as she gave her suggestion, then rose from the bar and took one last big gulp of her tea before motioning to the door. "It's not terribly far, but it's enough to wind down I imagine. Or, if you had somewhere else to walk to, that's fine too. I suddenly have a lot of energy to burn off actually."

[Willoria]

Souta chuckled once more as Aiya shuddered at the thought of eating spider's eggs. "Well don't worry about eating spider's eggs here. I'm certain they wouldn't be appetizing and I have no desire of trying to harvest them for it even if they were." he assured her, shaking his head. As she accepted his invitation for a walk the man nodded gladly, finally stepping down from the platform that made up the sushi bar. His apron he left behind on the counter, he would gladly walk with her out the front door, his hands folded behind his back out of habit as he walked.

"I have no particular destination in mind, so half way to your compound sounds just fine." he remarked. "I don't think I'm all that familiar with your clan though the name does sound familiar. I can't place it. Perhaps I met a member of it last time I was here with my team." The thought was almost bittersweet, though he had almost said daughter. The trip had been to bring Sakaki and one of her closest friends after all, but had also meant his entire team came along too. It was strange to be there without them now, but he knew Kaede would have been fussing over his emotions the entire time and he didn't need Rokuro scaring away the local populace.

[TyDie]

Aiya couldn't even entertain the idea of eating spiders, they were far too cute to her to consider a source of protein. Plus... she imagined they probably wouldn't have much meat to begin with. As the man agreed to walk half way with her to her compound, Aiya gave a small bow and smile before leading the way to the door and heading down the street. "I wouldn't blame you for not being familiar with our clan, truth be told. After all, the Ibakuro clan was founded less than a dozen years ago. The founder is still alive; Ibakuro, Yosuke. We don't have nearly as long a history as other prominent families, like the Hyuuga or Yamanaka, but we do our part just the same. Is there anything you'd like to know about the Ibakuro clan, Souta? I can't reveal deep secrets of course, but you're a shinobi from Sunagakure; I don't think i'll get in trouble for telling you the basics."

Despite her young age, much of her time alive had been spent learning the short history and unique oddities of her clan. She wasn't the foremost expert, but she knew a good deal, which was probably the best spot to be in; she was less likely to tell Souta something he wasn't supposed to know. "If it helps, the simplest way to describe us is "Spider Clan". We share blood with spiders, and it gives us a variety of unique traits and benefits. For example..." The girl smirked as the thought came to her, because this one weirded people out almost as much as the Ibakuro's transformation did. "... By most people's standards, i'm only a little over 2 years old."

[Willoria]

'That's the name...' Souta thought to himself as Aiya explained further. He had met Yosuke on his last trip here. He had met the man and his rather pregnant wife. Sakaki had been all too fascinated with the wife and her twins, after all as the host of Shishire she had been able to see their little souls. Getting her to stop touching the woman's belly was quite the task. Souta nodded as Aiya explained and he let out a bit of a sigh as they walked. "Yosuke, that's right. I remember him from my last visit I think. Bit of a dick really. His wife was very kind... very tired and pregnant last time I was here though." He shook his head, feeling genuinely sorry for her. She had seemed so tired and, if anything, fed up at the time. But at least Yosuke had seemed very attentive to her. Honestly the man reminded him of himself, if he'd had the chance to dote on Sakaki's mother during pregnancy he probably would have been the same way.

But Souta had to fight down a cough in surprise as Aiya revealed her 'real' age. His eyes a bit widened he looked down at her in shock. "You're kidding?" he said outright, shaking his head. "So even Yosuke's twins are probably full grown by now..." he remarked, more than a little surprised by the idea. "That's... incredible." he said aloud, though he also couldn't help but find the thought terrifying. The idea of growing so quick, how did they keep it from getting out of hand? The results of a child growing that fast unregulated had to be terrifying. The poor parents if a child was missed or fell through the cracks.

[TyDie]

Aiya paused for a second and turned to puff out her cheeks at Souta as she called the leader of her clan a bad name. "Now Souta, I know you didn't just call the leader of my clan something so crass. I mean, I'd have to go telling someone if that was the case, and it could become a whole incident!" She'd try to maintain that look for a while, but ultimately let the air out of her cheeks in a fit of giggles. "Hahaha, no you're absolutely right. Yosuke is a very harsh person, a "dick" if you want to go that far. But his heart has always been in the right place, and he cares for all of us in the clan as much as his own children. And Mai is a sweetheart, as are their kids. I believe they're both nearing 20 actually..." Perhaps it was because she had never known any other life, but as an Ibakuro who had aged tremendously fast, the thought of them being 20 or so physically didn't really mean much to her.

It struck Souta pretty hard though, as he seemed in total disbelief of the fact. "Yup! Something to do with the spider blood when we're first born, it's like it's in hyper mode. It makes us age incredibly fast at first, and it can actually kill you if you don't get it cured at some point. It's never happened yet, thank goodness, but basically we'll age to death in a matter of like... 7 ish years. Luckily for us, there's a way to slow the aging process... But I don't think i'm allowed to tell you what it is, ha." She got a little nervous as she realized she might be oversharing information. After all, if anyone knew what Saigo did for the clan, they might try and undo it, and then the clan would be in peril.

"So, if you met Yosuke, did you ever... spar against him? Have you seen the Ibakuro's ability?"

[Willoria]

For a brief moment Souta froze in his tracks. When Aiya turned to fake upset at him and puffed out her cheeks there was a moment where she was the spitting image of Sakaki when the pair had first met. He felt like he was staring down at her and just couldn't move. He paled and he was a shell, one hand reaching up slow as if to touch her face. But a moment later and he was back to normal, his hand coming up to pinch her cheek instead and force the air out with a wicked grin on his lips in place of that momentary blank stare. "Nice try." he teased, lifting that same hand to ruffle her hair a moment later. If anyone saw them that had ever seen him with Sakaki in the past it might have been an identical sight, just a different girl at a different height before him.

He was getting better at hiding his moments of sadness though, his instincts as a shinobi taking over to bury them to process later. He knew he'd remember this moment when he'd go to bed later, he knew he'd break down crying until he felt like he couldn't breathe. But in this moment he was okay for now, and that was what mattered. He gave her hair an extra tussle and chuckled again as she mentioned how old the twins must be now and shook his head as his hand returned to his side before he resumed walking along with her. "Okay now that makes me feel older than I am." he admitted with a laugh.

He let things fall quiet as she went on to tell him more of the clan, perhaps more than he was meant to know. But he was a man of secrets. Perhaps a good shinobi would have committed it to memory, written it down and even passed it to his Kazekage in a message. But he would do no such thing. If he remembered it months down the road when he was home maybe he'd remember to tell her, but he knew he'd make no intentional note now. This wasn't an enemy he was grilling for information, this was a girl who was excited to have someone new to talk to. She asked about him and Yosuke and the man shook his head. "No it was just a social visit. My daughter and I had dinner with him and his wife after I met with Yosuke one on one on an unrelated matter. We didn't get a chance to spar so I never saw his form." he admitted.

[TyDie]

For a moment, Aiya thought she saw something more in the man's eyes as she 'tried' to scare him with her playful call out. Something deeper, a kind of hurt that tore into the man's very soul. But an instant later, it was gone... and she wasn't even sure she saw anything in the first place. So, instead of skepticism and prodding, she let it go, and just went along with her original joke. As the conversation moved on, Souta made clear that he had never fought Yosuke; that he and his daughter came and saw them for something else. "He's an interesting man, truth be told. His wires are a sight to behold, the way he maneuvers them with such skill... it's terrifying and graceful. But he was the first to bear the spider blood, and his when he taps into it he gets a little... crazy." While the clan leader's alternate persona, The Broodfather, was no longer a part of his form, Yosuke was still known as a horror in combat. And the Spider Form didn't do anything against that.

"Well... I'd be happy to show you what it's like, but..." Aiya took a moment to look around, realizing not only were they about half way to the clan compound but... there were a lot of people nearby. "...Probably not the best idea to do it so publicly. Sure, most villagers know who we are by now, but there's still a bit of panic when people see an Ibakuro in their form. It can be kind of scary. To some people anyway..." The girl crossed her arms as she finished her last sentence, starting off to the setting sun as she felt a bit of sadness in regards to her bloodline. Of course, she saw it as such a magnificent boon, but some people? They just wanted to see a giant spider monster.

[Willoria]

"I've heard." Souta admitted. "Rumors circulated even to some of us in Suna about him and his Broodfather form. I asked him about it a bit when I was here last." he added, sighing a bit as he looked over at Aiya. He caught a glimpse of her sadness as she spoke of the form, and of her own. He had a hunch at what had her so down and the large man crossed his arms and sighed, smiling almost sadly as he looked at her.

"A few years ago I was cursed you know." he told her quietly, staring off into the sunset himself, looking past Aiya for a moment. "That's what I spoke to Yosuke about. While my daughter fussed over Mai and her pregnancy, Light bless the patience of that woman, it gave me a chance to talk to him about a personal struggle of my own." he said, swallowing hard as he thought about it before turning to look at Aiya. "I got stupid when I was younger, when I was a Jounin. I went searching for death and fought something I couldn't handle. I thought things could never get worse so... she gave me something worse. I was cursed with another form. I don't let many see it, I'm a monster after all. It scares others."

Souta reached out and put a hand on Aiya's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. "Clans like yours, shinobi like myself, like your founder, we all have one thing in common. What some see as monsters, we have to realize are the protectors. No matter how much our village may fear us, when their back is against the wall we're the ones who will protect them. It took me years to find pride in that form, and your founder had a small hand in that. So don't forget it, and don't feel sad." he couldn't help a sly wink. "And if they fear you too much, just make them piss themselves and have a giggle then at their expense for it."

[TyDie]

Aiya stared in bewilderment as Souta explained his own curse; that he too bore some horrible form that was powerful in battle, but nonetheless a scary sight to behold. And truth be told, his take on the matter brought a smile to Aiya's eyes, and small tears began to well up as she looked at the man with awe. "I've never heard it put in such a positive way before, Souta. I... don't know what to say. Other than you're right, of course." She sniffed slightly, reaching a hand out to take the man's hand as she looked to the ground in thought. "It's not easy, but... I'll try to remember that going forward." She paused for a moment, looking up at Souta despite almost being the same height as him, and smiling. "...You ever get the feeling that you've known someone for a long time... even if you only just met? I don't know why but... I feel like I can trust you, Souta."

It was uncanny, to be honest. For some reason she felt like Souta was a close friend, and not some random shinobi from Sunagakure she had met merely an hour or so ago. Letting out a small chuckle, she'd release the man's hand and take a step back. "Still, I don't wanna end our first meeting by freaking out a bunch of random people on the street. What say you and I have a little spar sometime? I know, you're a bannin, you could probably put my butt in the dirt by breathing harshly, but humor me. Maybe I can learn something from you, hm? If you're willing to teach me of course, I don't want to be too presumptuous." She really hoped the man would say yes, her big green eyes looking up at him with a hopeful look as she awaited his answer.

[Willoria]

Souta smiled, more than happy to help someone like Aiya find a good way to look at something like her transformation. Such a thing was a burden for most shinobi to bear, for a genin like her it might feel unbearable. It was something he had struggled with for years and he couldn't help but feel that if he could keep her from feeling the pain he felt for even a little while, it'd be worth it. What he wasn't expecting to get out of it though were the feelings that came with the look she gave him, and her words. He let her take his hand and he felt tears sting his own eyes. For a moment he could swear he was looking at Sakaki again and there was a burning sensation deep in his chest as he thought about her. For a moment he thought he might lose his composure. He forced himself to smile and nod as she spoke. "For as long as our villages are allied you can trust me, Aiya." he assured her, chuckling a moment. "And honestly, if the day ever comes that they aren't, I'll likely be retired by then anyway and you'll still be able to." he added with a wink.

He grinned as she asked about him training her and the man nodded. "Don't worry, I've only ever trained one shinobi by knocking them in the dirt and that's a very unique situation, I won't take that approach with you." he assured her. "You should get home and rest, I imagine that sushi is going to be wearing off soon and you should be near your bed when that happens so you can sleep well. I'm off tomorrow so feel free to knock on my door whenever you're up for that training."

[TyDie]

Aiya smiled up to the man as he assured her that she could trust him, happy to know that she wasn't the only one who felt this way. The thought of him being harsh on another shinobi actually brought a giggle to the girl, wondering what that shinobi did to deserve that kind of training. But the last thing he said, as if on cue, made her suddenly tired. A large yawn escaped from Aiya's mouth as Souta told her to head home and see him tomorrow. "Oh goodness, you weren't kidding. Alright fine, i'm off to bed then. But hey, I'm an early riser! You better be prepared tomorrow." She'd give the older man a small wink before turning her back to the man and setting course for her home. "See you then, Souta. And thanks for talking to me."

As Aiya left the man in the street, a warm smile crossed her face as she thought about the encounter fondly. "Huh... Never expected to make a friend today. Maybe I just need to stick to talking to older people instead of people my age, haha." Was that the answer to Aiya's lack of friends all along? Did she just need more mature buddies who could tolerate her oddities? Only the future could tell...