Spiderdragon!

[TyDie]

Aiya was practically skipping through the village in the early morning light, the dew from last night gently coating her legs as she made her way to the same tea house she had been to the night before. Just yesterday, she had met the most incredible Sushi chef, who also just so happened to be a Bannin from the village of Sunagakure. And after talking about a myriad of things, the two left each other yesterday with the plan that she would meet up with him again tomorrow, and participate in a healthy spar so that she might learn a thing or two from a Bannin of another village. But, mostly, it was because she genuinely enjoyed spending time with the man, and she wasn't afraid to admit that.

And so, rounding the back of the tea house and heading up the stairs to the man's apartment, she'd give a hearty knock on the door and wait for an answer, a silly smile on her face. "Hope you weren't expecting to sleep in, haha."

[Willoria]

Souta was up early every morning, just as he was when he was when living back in Suna. He always spent the sunrise practicing a variety of formations and stances with his sword. He'd been up a couple of hours already and back at his apartment by time he heard a knock at his door. Unlike the night prior when he was working as a chef, today he was dressed in his traditional garb and actually looked the role of the Bannin he was when he opened the door and saw Aiya standing there. When she made her quip the man grinned as he stepped outside with her and shut the door behind him. "Oh I've been up for a couple of hours." he replied with a chuckle.

He led the way down the stairs and back outside with a shrug. "I would have invited you in but Hana still has free run of the place. She hasn't calmed down enough to introduce to you yet I think."

[TyDie]

Aiya was a little shocked at how early the man was up. It was only like 7 in the morning or so, so to think that he had been up since at least 5 was rather stunning for Aiya. After all, she had only been awake for like, a half hour or so. "Haha, well I guess I need to catch up then huh? What are we waiting for!" She merrily strode down the stairs with Souta, wrinkling her nose as the man mentioned his fox, Hana. "Eh, i'm sure we'll meet some time. But, yknow, maybe when she's tired. If that ever happens, that is, ha." She had never seen a fennec herself, but just judging by what she had heard from Souta the other day they sounded like boundless balls of energy. The exact kind of dog she wasn't fond of. Well, that and big dogs.

Aiya would lead the man to one of her favorite training areas; a slightly secluded training area, lined by trees instead of a fence for a little extra obscurity. There were a few rocks, a couple trees, and the whole circular area was maybe 40 meters or so in diameter. But the trip would take a little while, so that left plenty of time to talk. "Hey, if you have the time sometime, I would love to learn how to make Sushi like you. I feel like it'd be a great treat to make for myself after days like today."

[Willoria]

Souta smirked a bit at Aiya's reaction to how early he had already been up. He was used to younger shinobi being shocked by how well fit he still kept himself, it never seemed to occur to them just how much work that took. Some day he knew Aiya would realize that, this was just going to be the first time she saw a bit of that in action. He walked along with her, nodding as she mentioned making sushi. "I could definitely teach you that." he admitted. "I used to teach cooking at an orphanage in Suna sometimes. It's probably a class I can pick up teaching to some kids here even."

He hadn't really thought about that class in awhile. It was one of the ways he had connected with Sakaki and gotten to know her before he'd known she was really his daughter. "Sushi isn't overly complicated, but its more than just food. It's a good way to relax as well as preparing food. It's a good way to unwind after training."

[TyDie]

Aiya beamed with delight at the knowledge that she'd be able to prepare her own sushi soon... but not before learning how the man fought of course. That was much more important to her. "Great! After you whoop my ass, you can teach me to make sushi! Today is gonna be a good day." She threw a hand in the air with happiness, not even caring that she'd probably be sore after all this. "So you never actually told me what kind of hand to hand you specialize in. I'm gonna assume based on the litany of weapons I can see that blades are your preferred weapon choice though. Kinda funny actually, of all the weapons I've gotten good with, swords isn't one of them."

A few more minutes and they would arrive at their destination, and with a hop and a skip Aiya would put a couple meters of distance between her and Souta before she started to stretch. "Oh, by the way... I should probably warn you before it happens but I have something unique to myself. Something none of the other Ibakuro have." She proceeded to smirk before spitting a glob of saliva on the ground to demonstrate what she was talking about. "My saliva contains venom. It's not deadly, but it's got a very strange feeling, sort of like 'pins and needles' in the afflicted area as it drains away your chakra. But for someone of your level, you'll probably hardly notice."

[Willoria]

Souta outright laughed as Aiya mentioned him kicking her ass, an outright guffaw really. "Relax, I'm not going to kick your ass." he assured her. "I told you, I only ever had one student that I ever had to do that too. His name is Rokuro, he'll be visiting soon actually so you might understand why when you see him. But he has this condition... he actually can't register pain at all so getting him to stop is.... well he's an asshole. He deserves it." he finally just laughed again and shook his head. "As for the hand to hand I'm good at, it's called Bone Breaker, another reason I won't be kicking your ass. Full strikes from me to you would be far too dangerous. I can teach you plenty without striking you very hard though." he assured her.

Once the man stopped laughing a bit though, he listened as Aiya explained further about herself and her venom. It was an interesting detail and the older man couldn't help a raised eyebrow. It wasn't a dirty thought per se, she was a child in his eyes and he couldn't think of her that way. But he couldn't help a thought he would've had were it his daughter before him. Would it cause her issues when she's older and interested in having a love life? "Interesting. Is it something you can turn on and off then? Or just an effect you're stuck with no matter what?" he asked curiously. "You're probably right, I may not notice it. But I've worked with some strange effects in the past, maybe I can help you figure out exactly what it does. If I can't, I'm sure a medic can."

[TyDie]

Aiya was glad she could get a good laugh out of the man, but she was interested to see this "Rokuro" sometime... maybe a spar with him would be fun. "I'd be interested in sparring with him too sometime! Anything to learn a little more about the way you Suna ninja fight." She was happy to get some training in with someone who's style would no doubt be so much different than Konoha ninja. But as he mentioned a style called "Bone Breaker" she shuddered. "...Yeah. That doesn't sound fun. Please leave my skeleton in tact, eh?" The girl nervously laughed, not really putting together that she was about to spar against a freaking Bannin. She'd never even directly met one of Konoha's Bannin.

Her head tilted as he seemed interested by her venom, and she happily spit a small glob of saliva onto the ground at her feet. It looked like regular old spit, no coloration or anything. "Not that I know of, pretty sure I'm just stuck with it. Hasn't proved to be too much of an issue though, it only works internally so as long as you don't go swallowing my spit you'll be fine, ha. Not that... you'd be in a position... to swallow my spit OKAY AWKWARD!" She clapped her hands together at the end and turned way from Souta, a bright blush forming on her face as she realized her social misstep and wanted to die right then and there.

"...Maybe you should kick my ass. At least then I might not feel so damn embarrassed, ha..."

[Willoria]

Aiya's eagerness to meet Rokuro, and her fear at hearing the words 'Bone Breaker', honestly made Souta laugh outright. "Don't worry, in a spar I would never use my full strength." he tried to assure her again, still chuckling a bit. "And Rokuro isn't much fun though he can be.... well, interesting at least." he mentioned, shaking his head. He knew Rokuro's unique ninjutsu and weapon would probably be interesting for someone like Aiya but his temperament was a whole other story.

As the girl spit on the ground Souta raised an eyebrow, finding it odd that something that was supposed to be so unique and have a unique effect honestly looked so normal. Though as she went on he couldn't help another laugh. She was so awkward and clumsy in her words, it really did remind him completely of Sakaki at that age. "Well I would have assumed you meant internally as in getting it into cuts or something until you directly mentioned swallowing." he replied, grinning as he couldn't help teasing her. He crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head as she mentioned being embarrassed. "Don't worry I have heard a lot worse, and said worse by accident in front of my daughter."

[TyDie]

Aiya cleared her throat and tried to physically shake off her embarrassment, flicking her wrists to get herself right again. "Hey, interesting means learning right? The more you learn, the better prepared you are for the future. So what if he's an asshole as you said?" She chuckled as she drew her staff out and began twirling it in a single hand, slowly but methodically rotating the weapon around her wrist and palm before performing a few rotations of her boy, pivoting in the dirt and building the speed of the staff up more and more until it was audibly flowing through the air. The mention of her venom again brought a slight blush to her face, but her spinning kept her distracted enough that she didn't facepalm again.

"Well y'know, it'll work in the blood too. You know what, before we get into the spar, do you want me to just demonstrate the feeling? I've never experienced it so I can't rightly describe it beyond what I've been told. Which is a mixture of a tingling sensation like pre-numbness and like your very essence is draining away. Not sure what that means, but any analyses that have been done on it all turn up the same; no idea what's causing it. So I can either show you now, or we can do a little friendly sparring and if I get you with it then I get you." Her staff was twirling the entire time she spoke, it was admittedly a fine display of her own familiarity with the weapon and it's control. When she finally stopped, she planted one end in the dirt at her feet and cocked her hip out, waiting for Souta's response.

[Willoria]

Souta merely shrugged at the mentions of Rokuro, knowing it was definitely something she'd just have to see for herself. The man was an experience all himself after all, and it was hard to explain both his nature and his deformities without just showing him to someone. He watched the girl spin her staff with interest and saw how comfortable she was with the weapon. It was an extension of herself already, clearly a favored piece. But she went on to talk about the venom and Souta finally shrugged.

With a shift of one of his shoulders he freed one of his arms from his haori and held it out, whether she cut him or however she chose to introduce it was up to her. "Go ahead." he told her simply. "I'm no medic but maybe I can help you understand it better at least, or figure out something to help relay to a medic to help you understand it better. Never know, I've experienced some unique things in my life."

[TyDie]

Aiya lifted the staff up and planted it a little harder into the dirt this time, enough that when she let it go it would stand up straight without her holding it. As he gave her the go ahead, Aiya would reach behind her into her pouch and withdraw a single kunai, then gave it a small lick as she ran it across her tongue to coat one edge in her venom. "Now, I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume you've probably been cut once or twice. But that said, I'll try to make this quick." She walked closer to the man with her blade drawn, and as the man produced his arm, she'd take just the point of the blade and carefully press it into his arm; enough to draw blood, but only a drop or two at most.

"Now, it starts with a slight tingling sensation that leads to a 'pins and needles' feeling. Then the ... 'drain' sets in. The tingling is like a mild anesthetic, but it's the drain that no one can seem to identify." She sat with almost bated breath and big eyes, hoping that maybe today was finally the day she'd understand more about her venom.

[Willoria]

Souta chuckled as Aiya drew a kunai and licked the blade, making her comments about him having been cut before. "You could say that again." he remarked as he waited for her to just do it already. She made a very small cut on his arm and the man didn't even react. He didn't even bother covering it. When the cut was made he slid his arm back into his haori and looked to the girl as she explained the effects before he went on to explain his earlier comments as well. "I've been laid up with some horrible wounds in my time... including a time when my own daughter stabbed me in the chest." Though he did pause after he said that and made a face. "It's a long story but uh... she wasn't herself when she did that." he said, chuckling almost nervously before he felt the effect start to set in.

A puzzled expression started to cross his face before he looked down at his arm where the cut was now hidden by the fabric of his own clothing. "That feeling is familiar actually." he told her. "Too familiar." he added quickly before looking at her a moment. "That isn't just any drain, kid. That's soul damage. Literal spirit and soul damage.... how the hell did you end up with access to that?" he asked, suddenly extremely serious.

[TyDie]

Aiya was a bit stunned to realize that the man's own daughter had stabbed him in the chest... Her eyes widened as he spoke about it, saying she wasn't herself, and she had to know more. "Okay that's really weird out of context Souta. What on earth could've lead to that?" Before she could get an answer to that question though, the air got very tense as the man's face contorted into an incredibly serious expression. He said the feeling was familiar, but after that he lost her... All she knew is it felt like a grievous accusation.

"S-soul damage? I have no idea what you're talking about Souta. Some of the best shinobi in the village have looked at my saliva, no one has ever said it damaged the soul. I didn't even know that was possible..." She looked up at the man with a mixture of confusion and fear as he asked about her being able to do it, and she just shook her head harshly. "I don't know, okay!? I was born with it, it's been a problem ever since I can remember, I don't know how it started or what causes it! It's not even genetic!" Tears began to well in her eyes as it became clear that she was getting much more scared as Souta's presence bore down on her... what had she done wrong?

[Willoria]

Souta held up a hand and took a deep breath as he took a step back from Aiya. He didn't want to seem like he was towering over the girl and he realized pretty quickly that he was scaring her. "I'm sorry, Aiya, I'm not trying to frighten you." he told her quietly. He motioned for her to follow him as he walked over to a bench not far from them and at the edge of the training ground. He sat down first and waited for her to either join him or at least come over to him. "No one here would know what Soul damage is, or feels like. Or at least very few would." Souta told her, holding out a hand, palm up, offering to hold one of hers if she'd let him.

"I'm not trying to upset you, or accuse you of anything, Aiya... but... to answer your questions, I have to share with you secrets from my village." he told her, swallowing hard. "There are very few people in my village even that know the specifics the way I do... frankly Aiya, I'm one of only a few who can give you all the answers you need."

Souta swallowed hard. "But answer something for me first, it's nagging at me more than ever now. You said you were technically two years old... exactly how old are you? To the day?"

[TyDie]

Souta seemed to back down, allowing Aiya a moment to breath, though she was still quite visibly shaken by the sudden shift in the tone of their conversation. "It's okay... I don't know what's going on exactly but I get it kind of. Clearly something is amiss, you say no one in Konoha would know what this is. But... That implies that you know what this is." She followed him to the bench, but preferred to stand rather than sit, still clearly shaken by all of this. However, she was close enough that, when he held up a hand, she gulped and extended her own hand, interlocking it with his. Frankly, the rest of what he said didn't really help her either, explaining that it was secrets that very few in his own village knew either.

"Gods, why all the secrecy? What's the big deal, my venom is just tingly! Or, that's what I thought..." His final question made things even more serious, she could see that there was actual pain in his eyes as he asked her when she was born. Exactly. To the day. "Well... By normal time, I was born 2 years, 9 months and 15 days ago. I was 12 by the end of the first year, drank the Concoction of life on my twelfth birthday, and I turn 14 in a few months...So yeah. I think that math is right." She looked at Souta, trying desperately to understand just what was going on... what he was saying, and why he needed to know all of this.

"Souta. Be frank with me. What is going on?"

[Willoria]

Souta went visibly pale as Aiya told him the exact day she was born, and he motioned to the bench next to him. "You need to sit down for this, Aiya." he told her quietly. He let go of her hand and sat leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "You were born the day my daughter died." he added, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "My daughter was special to my village she... she was a genma host, a Jinchuuriki. This means that the village made her into a weapon by sealing a strong spirit into her which gave her a special ability, in her case this meant she could control souls."

Souta fell quiet for a moment, unable to even look at Aiya as he felt the tears coming. At first they only clouded his vision but it didn't take long before they started to simply drip down his face, as he felt the pain no father should know. "Because of this power when the host dies something unique usually happens. The host before Sakaki, my daughter, was left in a kind of limbo. Her Soul was trapped in our world and unable to move on, my daughter led a mission to rescue her soul." Of course Souta wasn't going to tell the part where rescuing her soul meant making her into a zombie.

He looked over at Aiya finally, still fighting, and failing to fight, tears as he talked about all of this, the root of his hurt. "Your venom's effect is soul damage, Aiya. That means that somehow you came into contact with this spirit, which isn't possible unless.... unless somehow my daughter's death touched you. After she died I looked for signs of her soul and couldn't find them. She was simply gone. It's possible that in her death her soul somehow touched or affected you because you were born the same day..." Souta suddenly stood and stepped away, pacing as he himself tried to understand.

He couldn't bring himself to give words to his full thought on the matter.

He was certain Aiya was Sakaki reincarnated.

[TyDie]

Aiya was silent the entire time he spoke, but she couldn't help but noticed that the man had started crying as he mentioned the death of his daughter. His daughter that died the same day she was born. His daughter that could apparently manipulate the very soul of a living being... the very same sort of thing that her venom did, apparently. She wasn't sure what the hell a "genma" was, but she had heard that other word before... "JInchuuriki... I heard that word in Aroma country. Some brown haired, green eyed shinobi that could shapeshift asked if I was one. I told him I didn't know what he was talking about... are you saying he had a spirit inside of him? That your daughter had a spirit inside of her?"

This was all so much to handle, and she hadn't even gotten to the implication he had made... That her soul was somehow touched by his daughter's soul. "Do... Do you have any idea how insane this all sounds, Souta?" She began to shake her head, standing from the bench as tears began forming in her own eyes. "I'm me though... I don't get it. You're saying I was touched by your daughter's soul in some way, that my venom is a remnant of this spirit's power, but... that would mean that I'm... not me? I don't understand. I'm Aiya." The tears continued to flow, as this had clearly become less about her venom and more of an identity crisis. Was she really who she thought she was? Or was she some sort of rebirth of this man's daughter? Were her parents even her parents? Was she really Aiya? Or was she actually this 'Sakaki'?

She didn't know, and that scared the hell out of her.

[Willoria]

Souta turned and looked at Aiya, realizing that the girl was starting to tear up. He hadn't meant to upset her at all, in fact he hadn't thought about how all this information would affect her at all. "Yes you are, you're Aiya, you're you." he tried to assure her. "I'm not saying you aren't you." he added, walking back over to the bench and sitting down again. He rested his elbows on his knees and looked at her, his face wet from his own tears as he thought about it all. He missed his daughter terribly, and he wanted to see Aiya as her, but she was right, and so was he. Aiya wasn't Sakaki, even if Sakaki's soul was in her.

"It's possible you two share a soul." he said quietly. "But that doesn't make you her. It doesn't change who you are. It just... it makes you more unique. It means you have a gift that no one else does." Souta swallowed hard, turning his head to look down at his feet as he ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry if I scared you, if this all scares you. But... hopefully this gives you the answers you needed. You know what your venom is now, where it comes from. But don't let what I've told you scare you, Aiya. You're still you, this doesn't make you anything or anyone different."

'Sakaki is really gone...' He thought to himself. 'I thought if I found some sign of her maybe she had a chance of coming back, just like Sachiko but.... but this.... no. She died in my arms, and she really is gone... forever. I guess she made sure she'd never come back. Or Shishire did.'

[TyDie]

Souta did his best to reassure her that she was still herself, that her life and growth up to this point was her life and growth, but at this point her mind was basically turned off. The tears streamed, but she didn't sob or sniffle; just like a water faucet that had been left on. "I..." She started, her voice quiet and deflated. "I'm going home." She finally got it out, slowly putting her staff behind her on her back again. "I need to think about this. Talk to people. Figure out what this means... going forward." She knew it wasn't his fault; in fact, she was partly thankful for the revelations that Souta had just given her. The mystery of her venom's source was something she thought would never bee figured out.

But still, the overwhelming truth she had just been delivered shook her to her very core. That would take time to recover from.

She would walk closer to the man, who's face was also wet, and grab his hand in hers. "You'll see me again. I don't know when, but you will. Don't leave the village yet if you can help it. I just... I need to process this." She'd then let the man's hand go, walk past him, and whisper once last thing. "...I'm sorry."" She knew he had pain in his heart too, and she wasn't in a place where she could help him with that right now. She had her own problems to fix, and until her head was on straight again, she could be no help to anyone... not even the father of the girl who shared a soul with her.