[Graded] Hello Fellow Weapon User!

[TyDie]

"What do you mean you can't handle an order that big? I have the Ryo, come on man..." Aiya could be heard arguing with a certain smith from pretty much anywhere in the building. It wasn't that she was being loud, it was just a really small shopping space, with most of the building being devoted to an actual forge. The grumpy old man, shirtless with a long bushy white beard and raggedy white hair, simply waved his hammer at her in response. "I told ya lass; Yer askin for upwards of twenty to thirty weapons there. Even if I could manage to make em all, d'you have any idea what that'd do for the rest of me business? I can't just devote to one single job like that, not one that large. Ye'd be lucky to see half of em by the end of the year. Y'need a private smith to hand that many tools of yer trade, and I'm not it."

"Ugh... Can you at least sell me some Kunai and Shuriken then? You at least have the standard fare available I should suspect." With a grump she crossed her arms as the man rolled his eyes, reaching under a counter to produce a few different boxes and pointing to each one. "Shuriken. Makibishi. Kunai. Take yer pick and leave me to help others." The old man would walk away towards another new customer who had walked in during their conversation, while Aiya was left to peruse a series of 'run of the mill' throwing weapons. "Wrinkly jerk... heat from the smithy cooked his brains I bet..."

[Tsedas]

The raised voices could be heard just outside the shop as a white haired youth paused while reaching for the handle. Perking up, he listened for a moment before gripping the handle and silently pulling the door open to the best of his ability. Stepping in, he saw the old smith was busy explaining something about a big order or private smithy for the girl he was talking to. As he closed the door behind him and stepped into the shop, Takamori Jubei browsed the wares on display until the smith was available. Glancing up, he saw the older man gesturing him over and he approached. Meeting at the counter, the bearded weapon forger looked down at Jubei. "Let me guess, here for your sword, Jubei?"

"You'd be correct. I trust a simple bit of maintenance and sharpening wasn't too much out of your day?"" The Genin was given eye roll at the comment before the man reached behind the counter to pluck the cloth wrapped weapon from its perch and set it on the counter. Jubei reached for it but the smith pulled it back before extending his empty hand. "What? Don't trust me to pay?"

"I'd prefer to make sure you have the Ryo first, then you can inspect it."

"Fair enough." Digging through his white robes, Jubei produced a small pouch of Ryo and set it in the man's calloused hand. The sword traded holders as Jubei began to untie the cord that held the cloth sheath around the weapon before he pulled his sword out. The handle and sheath were elegant and well maintained, the guard was simple and overall the weapon felt personal yet didn't stand out as overly flashy. Drawing the blade, Jubei used his sleeve as a rest for the weapon's length as his emerald eyes examined it.

[TyDie]

Aiya had picked out a handful of Kunai and shuriken, putting her own stack of weapons on the counter in return. It was a simple recycling program; her weapons were dinged and nicked, and could be properly restored at less cost to the smith. So, turning in her old stuff got her a reduction on the kunai and shuriken she wanted. A local helping hand would take her older weapons and ring up her newer ones for her while the smith went to another customer, a white haired boy by the name of "Jubei" if her ears served her. She didn't think much of it at first, but as she heard the telltale sound of a blade being drawn from it's sheath, she turned to eye the blade herself.

It was beautifully made; simple, yet flashy. Elegant, yet functional. Truly, a masterwork weapon. Aiya couldn't help but take a closer look as the boy examined it himself. "That's a fine blade. Never been one for Katanas myself, but I do love the craftsmanship that goes with them. Some of the most beautiful weapons you can find, and that one is a cut above... no pun intended." She winked a little at the end, making clear that the pun was definitely intended. "I'm Ibakuro, Aiya. Sorry, I didn't mean to impose, but that weapon caught my eye. You're fortunate to have it, I hope it's served you well."

[Tsedas]

Jubei examined his blade, after a moment of messing with his grip on the blade. Resisting the urge to perform a few test swings, he opted to begin resheathing it as the young woman spoke to him. After the tip of the blade was inserted, he began sheathing it as his eyes met hers. "Katanas have a special place with me, too many bedtime stories as a kid." He stated plainly as she began to introduce herself. With the weapon put away, he pulled the cloth up around the sword and tied it shut. The name lingered on his mind for a moment as it was familiar before he made a sound of understanding.

"Ibakuro, the clan my father is helping out in growing their numbers. It's no inconvenience that you speak up, I can only hope this blade lasts me for many years."" He nods to himself as he had a few other stops to make after his business here was finished. Turning to the smith as they counted the Ryo, Jubei raised a hand, one finger extended to point upward as if making a point about something. "Excuse me, do you have a whetstone? I need one if I'm going to start maintaining Juzumaru myself."

[TyDie]

Aiya watched the boy put his blade away with a satisfying "clink", explaining that there was a romantic attachment to blades like this, which she completely understood. "There's something to be said about a katana, sliding through the air with no resistance, cleaving through the enemy without spilling a speck of blood on the blade. I mean, I'm pretty sure it rarely happens that way in reality, but the stories are beautiful that's for sure!" She scratched the back of her head a little, turning back to the shop assistant who had tallied up her costs for all of her weaponry after turning in her old stuff. And she was about to go and pay for her stuff to leave, but as the boy spoke of her clan, she was stunned for a number of reasons. Her head turned back to the boy and she did the mental math to realize who his father was... and by extension, who he was.

"Ohhh... You're that Jubei. Takamori, Jubei! Yes, your father has been instrumental in the development of our clan. In fact, my father was voluntarily inducted into the clan by your father, so without him, I wouldn't be an Ibakuro." She smiled at the boy, giving him another once over and again putting two and two together before speaking up again. "So, given who your father is and that you're here getting your sword managed... it's safe to assume you're a shinobi too, yeah?"

[Tsedas]

"I'm not going to have any stories written about me anytime soon. I'm still a novice with Juzumaru and I need to make time to practice. Battojutsu isn't something one learns overnight after all." Jubei stated while watching the assistant help complete the girl's transaction. Turning back to the smithy, he saw the man holding a whetstone with an impatient look on his face. Trading Ryo for stone, Jubei slipped the item into his robes to use later on when his blade was in need of some attention. When Aiya spoke about recognizing who he was and his father, Jubei just gave a nod at it all. "Correct, I've become a genin. However, I'm not even remotely learned in iijutsu like my father. From everything he's described to me, manipulating the body with jutsu is quite a feat in and of itself."

Raising his cloth-wrapped weapon, he let it rest upon his shoulder as he glanced over to see if she was finished with her transaction. "Judging by the outrageous amount of weapons you were trying to order when I came in, your clan, and the tools you're getting now, I can safely assume you're a shinobi too? I'll be honest, I don't really know what your clan does or is. Something about spiders, right?"

[TyDie]

"Of course not. But you're also still young, and have nothing but room for growth. I've no doubt that you'll be the talk of the village after a few years time." The girl gave a wink and chuckled, looking back to the shop assistant and stepping away for a brief moment to pay for her new weaponry. Once that was squared away, and Jubei had his whetstone, the two began talking again, and he revealed that he wasn't quite the medic his father was. "Pshh, that's okay. My father is all about ninjutsu techniques, barely knows how to throw a punch. Meanwhile, weapons and taijutsu come to me as naturally as breathing. We don't have to be our parents to succeed."

She smiled as she gripped her stone quarterstaff, pulling it off of her back and holding it vertically against the ground, displaying the weapon for Jubei to examine. Of course, her tonfa were also clearly visible on her legs, also made of gray stone. "Yup! Born to be a shinobi if I'm being honest. And you're right, the Ibakuro clan has a lot to do with spiders. Mostly we just kind of... become them. Extra arms, extra eyes, extra armor. Lots of extra, all of it useful. Maybe we could train together sometime and you can see it for yourself." She wouldn't think to flourish her weapon in the store for fear of damaging something, but just holding it out wouldn't cause a fuss. She'd turn to the smith once more and give her thanks before heading for the door, turning to Jubei before she passed the threshold.

"Feel like taking a walk? It'd be nice to learn more about the son of the man who helped give rise to my clan. Who knows when I'll get the chance to actually meat Saigo himself, right? Plus, I feel like we could help each other improve!" With a cheery smile and her fingers extended in a "V", Aiya waited for the boy's answer.

[Tsedas]

Jubei scoffed at her words about being young and room for growth. The faint trace of a smile showed it tickled him amusingly for some reason as she paid for her things. Aiya's words about them being different from their fathers made a little thought fly through his mind about how right she was about that. When she thunked the end of that staff against the ground and showed it off, Jubei examined it and pondered what the possible benefit could be to using a stone staff like that. When she spoke off her clan and it's abilities as she affirmed her shinobi status, Jubei looked perturbed by the 'extra' comments.

Watching her begin to head to the door, he pondered if that would be the end of their meeting when she turned and asked if he wanted to take a walk. Her fingers extended made him mimic the gesture and stare at his hand before looking at her and muttering 'oro' in quiet tone. Making his way towards her, he kept his grip on his weapon while letting it rest across his shoulder still. "Sure, a walk couldn't hurt. But if you're hoping to meet my dad I'll have to burst that bubble because he's at the hospital today and he's probably swamped with patients right now."

He said before reaching the door and holding it open. The swordsman knew that if he didn't hold the door open, one of his parents would receive some psychic signal and come lecture him.... parents were frightening sometimes. "But I'm curious as to what you could possibly wanna know about me. I'm kind of.... plain."

[TyDie]

Aiya smiled as the boy held the door for her, giving a slight bow as she left the store with her new weapons and new friend in tow. She shrugged as Jubei mentioned his father's busy schedule; meeting Saigo one day would be nice, but it wasn't on the top of her to do list. "Eh, someday. Truthfully, I'm just happy to meet someone that doesn't run away when I mention all the spidery oddities of my bloodline. That alone puts you a cut above the 'plain' folk of our village, Jubei." She'd punctuate with a wink and a giggle as she made her way down the village streets, her staff digging into the dirt every so often as she used it as a walking stick.

"Besides, I'm sure there's more to you than meets the eye, Jubei. Perhaps something even you haven't figured out yet. I'd say it's hard to be the child of such a powerful shinobi and not have something unique about you, perhaps even impossible. No, there's something deep in there... And I hope to be there when you find it." She'd stop, turn, and point at the boy's chest as she mentioned something being 'in there', making clear that she felt there was a lot more to this young swordsman than simply being a swordsman. "I'm not all that well versed in swordplay, but how far have you come in your Iaido training? Being just north of Tea Country, I'm sure you were able to find a decent mentor in the art."

[Tsedas]

Jubei watched Aiya step out before following her, letting the door shut behind him as he moved to walk along side of her. Her mention of spider aspects making people made the youth just shrug in kind. "Kind of surprised people are so squeamish about something like that. There's stranger out there from what I've heard from Jounin around the village. Although, I suppose the civilians around the village would be a bit more perplexed by our abilities than the shinobi. To them it must look like magic and monsters doing battle. I know they'd view what my father and I can do as frightening.""

A thoughtful expression crossed his features as he pondered on her words as she spoke, her finger pointed at his chest. He stared at the finger before raising his gaze towards hers. "Well, I have only just begun to explore what I can do... but I do have my final gambit should I ever need to use it. As for my Iaido training, I've learned the fundamentals and from there I can proceed to set the foundations for a focused style of training that'll hone my skills. My sensei for Iaido was a Special Jounin, he's been to Tea country a number of times to train but he's not a master of the style. While he lacks the higher echelons of knowledge, he is able to help me build an understanding of what the style does. Eventually I'm sure I'll need to go to Tea Country to train... course I'll need to be a bit older, doubt they'll send a Genin there just to train."

[TyDie]

Aiya shrugged at the mention of squeamishness in the village, knowing full well that some of the ridicule she'd gotten was from other shinobi. "Yeah... My people and the Aburame, for some reason, get the short end of the stick. Which, I think Aburame are cool too! People just don't like bugs for some reason. Go figure, the fuzzy ones get all the love, like those damn Inuzuka..." She had made clear to many others in the past that the Inuzuka, primarily dogs in general, were not her favorite animals to be around. They smelled bad, they were loud, and those teeth! "But enough about them and their smelly ninken, I'm happy to find that there are at least a few out there happy to work with us bug lovers."

She listened to every word of the boy's training as they made their way through the village streets, nodding in understanding as he spoke of having a mentor to learn from. Truthfully, she was jealous; most of her techniques were self taught, or learned through a book. "Hey, master or not, a teacher is a teacher. It's always good to have someone you can at least compare to, as a means of understanding how much you're growing with their aid. Myself, I learn most of my stuff alone. Sometimes I'll spar against my dad but... he's not much for Taijutsu. He makes a good punching bag though!" She laughed at her comment, knowing her poor father just put up with her attacking him so she had a live target to swing at. "How about you? Ever get the chance to beat up on Saigo?"

[Tsedas]

"Not a fan of them I can assume?" Jubei scoffed in amusement as they walked. As she went on to talk about her encounters with training against her father and using him as a punching bag. Her self-taught ways made him ponder that as he'd yet to reach the stage where he made his own techniques and such. How would her own experimental ways fare against the tried and true of an established and traditional style like his? While he did chuckle at her comment about fighting her dad, he quickly heaved a powerfully heavy sigh and shook his head.

"My father is a bannin. His skills extend beyond iijutsu. He has Ninpou techniques that baffle me, sensory capabilities, and a hand to hand style of taijutsu of his own making. He's apparently even gone as far as making iijutsu techniques that inflict harm instead of healing. Trying to fight him is more like trying to tease him to go beyond merely utilizing ninja tools and taijutsu. He's a conservationist in combat, saving his chakra so he can perform iijutsu and support others in the field. From what I hear, he will use a big technique now and then right out of the gate to make it clear he isn't someone you wanna target or to thin the numbers. I definitely need to find someone more on my level to practice with, even when I land a blow he can deflect a bulk of the damage it would do with ease."

[TyDie]

Aiya chuckled at the thought of being friends with the Inuzuka. It was true that she had made strides with Minako, one of the Jounin who had taught her and taken her on missions, but she was so far an exception to the rule. On the whole, dogs and dog people weren't high on her list of likes. "No, not by a longshot. Dogs kind of freak me out. Plus, I don't like the favoritism they get. Everyone's always quick to put down insects and spiders as 'creepy crawlies', but dogs are far more dangerous if they get ahold of you. You'd be hard pressed to find a spider that could do more damage than a dog, and even then, they're usually easy to avoid. A fast dog can catch you and tear flesh with ease, but everyone thinks they're 'sooooo cute'. Blah."

She waved her hand dismissively towards the end, making clear how she felt about dogs. The Inuzuka as a whole weren't to blame, but they tended to like their ninken more often than not, so it was hard to find one that she could really get along with. The boy went on to describe his father's abilities a little, and how training with Saigo was useful but also hard to really learn from. After all, it's not like he would ever land a hit on a shinobi of Saigo's level, not at this point in his life anyway. But the thought occurred to her.

"Y'knoooow, I'm probably a bit closer to your level, Jubei. If you ever want to train together, feel free to contact me. I can't say I've ever sparred against a swordsman really, but all the more reason right?"

[Tsedas]

"So I suppose the only question remains.... what do you think of rabbits and cats?" He cracked a smile jokingly as they walked. As the Spidergirl mentioned they could train together, he tilted his head as a hum audible escaped him in thought. Sparring against someone who wielded various weapons might help him hone his skills against a variety of styles and learn the reach of these weapons. He could see the value of having someone his own age as a training partner. "It couldn't hurt to give it a try. I'd probably learn how to counter different weapons if you managed to learn how to use all that stuff you wanted to buy back in the shop. Although, I think before we spar we should have a little exhibition of our skills, just so we know where the other is in terms of skill or prowess so we don't get blinded sided during training and risk injury or worse. Iijutsu can heal a lot of wounds, but I've found it's also a good thing to let the body heal naturally in some cases. So what do you think? show each other our skills as shinobi than we can figure out the best way to start training with each other?"

As he walked, Jubei pulled the sword from his shoulder and untied the sleeve before removing it to show his sheathed weapon clearly. Black with golden trim running along the top and bottom, the hand guard a simple white disk with golden trim along the edge. Slipping Juzumaru into his waist sash, Jubei began rolling up the carrying sleeve before tucking it away. "But I suppose the next question I have is, do we show off our non-Taijutsu related skills as well? Because I have one that's always active."

[TyDie]

The two made their way through the village streets, eventually happening upon a training area to their left. The question of cats and rabbits made her frump for a moment before letting out a small chuckle. "Cats I could do without, but they're not as bad as dogs... usually. And rabbits taste good, if that counts for something, ha." Truth be told, neither of the other animals got to her the way dogs did, but she could tell Jubei was just poking some fun at her, so her answers were meant to be in line with that. At the mention of training though, the young swordsman seemed happy to take a look at each other's skills now as opposed to later. Which worked fine for Aiya... "Well, aside from getting turned down by every smith in Konoha, I didn't have any other plans today. So sure, let's check out this area over here, see if it's empty."

As the two moved to the smaller training area, it was indeed empty - A 25 meter diameter patch of ground that was fenced in, with a few rocks and trees for cover, but otherwise devoid of any notable features. "This'll do." She said with a nod of her head, turning to view the boy's sword in more detail as he produced it. It really was a work of art, far better looking then her slate gray weapons of stone. "It's beautiful... In comparison mine are so plain and boring, haha. But, they've always gotten the job done." She produced her staff as she spoke, once more showing the boy the stone weapon and giving it a small flourish with a single hand, twirling the weapon so that the sound of it slicing through the air was audible. At the mention of non-taijutsu though, Aiya's eyebrows rose.

"Well, you already know I'm from the Ibakuro clan. I suppose that's worth showing. So, how's the phrase go? 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours'?" She smiled at the boy as she concluded, her naivety and lack of world experience clearly showing, as she had no idea what the true connotation of that phrase was...

[Tsedas]

Her expression didn't escape him but her answer made him let out a short huff of amusement as they walked. Her comment about cats and rabbits seemed pretty normal to him but it made him ponder if there were any typical animals people found cute, adorable, or enduring that she couldn't stand. Was she just that big into spiders? Having never owned a pet or encounter many Inuzuka outside of the academy, he held no strong opinions of the clan or their favored animal in one regard or another.

When it became clear his suggestion was a good idea, the Ibakuro girl began changing course and Jubei followed behind. Passing through the designated entrance that enters into the fenced off area, his green eyes scanned to make sure they didn't have any other people to be aware of for their exhibition of abilities. Glancing about, Jubei noticed that the trees and rocks and bushes provided a natural barrier that helped keep training matches discreet. Either it was a method of saving face or blocking out the watching world to let the people focus on their training, he couldn't quite tell.

When she spoke, his gaze refocused on her as he heard her speak of his weapon. Looking down to Juzumaru, he placed a hand on it and smiled. "A sword is the soul of a samurai... I'll probably cry when this thing breaks." He stated before watching her swing her stone weapon about. It seemed.... inelegant to him, but effective. He didn't voice this opinion however as he'd yet to see the weapon put through it's motions. As she spoke of showing hers if he showed his, the innuendo went over the prepubescents head as he shrugged. " I might now the name, but I truly don't know what your clan does. I've not meet many in person, you're the first.... but if you want to see Ninjutsu, then I suppose I can start us off."

Drawing his sword, Jubei casually tossed it away. As the weapon soared through the air, his hands quickly shifted through hand seals before he thrust his arm out to the side. As he did the weapon poofed out of the air before ejecting itself from his sleeve and his hand shifted, grasping the hilt before rapidly sheathing it again. "Should I show what few others I have, or are we going to do some back and forth with this?"

Jutsu usedShow

[Ninjutsu • Hidden Blade]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
After performing the correct hand seals, Jubei will focus chakra into his hand and his sword if it's within 10 meters of his position. The sword will be summoned from his sleeve and into his hand. Should he be disarmed in the heat of battle, this is a quick way to retrieve his weapon.

[TyDie]

Aiya let a moment of sadness wash over her as Jubei considered the eventual fate of his sword - to break one day. She wanted to give the boy a sense of hope, maybe taking care of the weapon would prevent such an event from transpiring. But she looked at her own staff and realized this was at least her 5th stone staff. At least in her case it was easy to make more, being that she could use Doton to do so. But for such a beautiful blade to shatter... She'd cry too if it were one of her own weapons. "Believe me, I know how it feels to get attached to a weapon... But even if it breaks, it can be reforged. Or if not enough is left, the steel can be reclaimed and used for a new weapon. There's always some way to use it, even if it's broken."

Jubei seemed fine with seeing the Ibakuro clan, and demonstrated a little trickery of his own utilizing Ninpou. It was brilliant despite it's simplicity, and she gave a small clap in response. "Very clever. Too many focus solely on the use of the weapon, not thinking about how to use their ninjutsu to compliment it. I for one utilize Doton to change the uses of my weapons. Like so." As she spoke, chakra would gather around her and flow into the staff in her hand. Before he knew it, Jubei would watch as the top end of her staff grew out and took the shape of a sharpened blade of rock, appearing more like a Naginata than a staff now. "I can also do a simple spear head, or turn one of my tonfas into a shield to protect myself with. That's part of why I deal with their heavier weight - the versatility is too good to pass up."

Leaving her staff protruding from the ground for a moment, Aiya would step away from it and allow chakra to flow through her body again. "It works even better when you consider what my clan can do..." With a small smirk, Jubei would watch as Aiya's hair fell out of her head to the ground in a pile, and her skin turned black. All along her bald head, several slits would form before opening, revealing themselves to be eyes. All along her body her hair would elongate, while underneath that hair, thick chitinous armor would form along her flesh to protect her. From her mouth, two large fangs would protrude down towards her chin, and finally, four additional arms would sprout forth from the sides of her torso. By the end of it, the woman hardly looked like a human being anymore - she was far more spider than person now.

"Ta da!" She let out a cheery exclamation, her voice slightly distorted by the spider form's influence. "Six arms, eight eyes, and a whole lot of protection. That's the main benefit of the Ibakuro clan."

JutsuShow

[Doton • Sharpened Edge]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
Aiya will perform a series of hand seals before grabbing hold of either her quarterstaff or her tonfas. She will then course chakra through the weapon, allowing her to shape and mold the ends of the chosen weapons into sharpened points, effectively turning her staff into a Naginata with a 10 inch blade or giving her tonfas bladed edges to cut by sharpening their blunt edges. The additional modification has strength equal to Aiya's [Control]. She can revert the weapon to normal by performing this jutsu a second time.

[Tsedas]

Holding up his blade, Jubei's eyes wandered over it as she spoke of sympathy for the feeling of having a weapon break. He didn't want Juzumaru to ever break but he might as well ask people to stop being mortal. He accepted the finality of things and that all must end in one way or another. However he could appreciate them while they were there and that's what mattered in his mind. When Aiya spoke of how she used Doton on her weapons, the young swordsman looked up and watched the staff morph into a naginata. "That would explain the stone weapons completely. Hadn't thought of that but honestly... Bit enamored with the weapon and style I have. But if you ever need inspiration or a sparring partner to test things, let me know. I'll certainly approach you with new techniques and such from time to time if I can."

Watching the Ibakuro shinobi move away and start transforming, his expression was one of steely neutrality... on the inside he was screaming as her hair feel out all at once. Then the transformation continued. When eyes appeared his internal screaming went to pointing out the obvious like 'She has more eyes now... more arms... is that armor plating? Dad what did you do?' until she spoke and his brow furrowed. "Why did you voice do that? I don't even wanna contemplate what my father had to do to make this bloodline a reality, the work load alone sounds far too tedious for me to comprehend."

Jubei sighed for a moment thinking about the endless night that Saigo must have been awake working on this ability before he realized he was being rude. "Oh! Sorry! I'm being incerdibly rude aren't I?! You numerous weapons makes sense now though, you have plenty of limbs to use with them.... wait.... what happens when you transform back? Do the eyes and limbs and armor just dissolve away or do they retract? I have so many questions..... Ah! Rude! Sorry!" Jubei seemed flustered and definitely confused in that moment as he didn't know how to approach talking about Aiya's body or her transformation without seeming crass in some way.

[TyDie]

Aiya was admittedly stunned that Jubei's reaction was one of curiosity and recognition of utility, as opposed to fear and loathing like so many others. If anything, it was refreshing that he had so many questions for her to answer - If there was one thing the Ibakuro clan could appreciate and value, it was an inquisitive nature. Letting out a small laugh that had a slight gurgle to it, Aiya crossed four of her arms over her stomach and torso, leaving her natural arms at her sides as she spoke. "Haha, Don't worry about the inquisition Jubei, it's not rude at all. It's preferable to things like "ahhhh!" or "Get away from me you freak!"" The girl shook her head and smirked, her multiple eyes closing and opening at alternating intervals so she was never truly without sight for even a moment.

"Now then, to answer those questions, yes the multitude of weapons are put to great use with this many arms, though simply having the arms doesn't make it any easier to coordinate them. More than once I've injured myself rather seriously. The extra arms simply retract and vanish when I've tapped into my bloodline for too long, as do the eyes and armor. Oh, and my hair comes back, don't worry about that, haha!" She let out a little giggle about the hair, never really being too attached to it herself but she totally understood why a mass of hair suddenly falling out of her scalp was cause for alarm.

"As for your father's involvement... It's actually not too extensive as far as I know. You see, the spider stuff is our bloodline trait, passed down from the first Ibakuro only a couple years ago. I'm third generation myself - My father willingly entered the clan, his genes were spliced with the clan leader's DNA by your father. Then he and mommy made me! Other then that, your father basically made sure we didn't age to death in less than a decade. The way it was explained to me, we Ibakuro naturally age much faster than normal. I'm technically only two years old by 'normal' time standards, but we age at about the rate of 1 year per month... if that makes sense. All Saigo did was create a serum that lets us age like normal."

She had been instructed not to tell these sorts of things to anyone really, given that they were technically clan secrets, but... the kid could just go ask his dad and get the answers anyway! It didn't bother her, she didn't see how such information could really be dangerous to her people, especially in the hands of an ally.

[Tsedas]

Juzumaru was guided back into it's sheath as any further demonstration of it's abilities would require it to be there anyway. However their show and tell seemed more Ninjutsu centric at the moment. Her words made his features twist a bit, an expression of befuddled concern. If people reacted like this regularly to her abilities, it must be quite disheartening... but at the same time he could see that being used to one's advantage. "Have you ever considered using the transformation as a kind of faux Genjutsu? Make the enemy think you've turned into a spider person as a kind of fake out?"

With the Ibakuro girl speaking on how she reverts, he seemed to shake his head as he didn't really want to know how his father manipulated a person's ability to age. The words "two years old" made Jubei look at her a bit vacantly. Shaking his head more visibly now, he let out a sigh as he slipped his arms into the sleeves of his robes. "Well... certainly have the most interesting, if not complex ability among the two of us. The most advanced thing I have is something my father gave me."

Closing his eyes, he focused for a moment before opening them. The green of his eyes giving off ethereal wisps of chakra as they glowed, his irides taking a distinct pattern similar to a three petaled flower. Chakra started to coalesce around his body, the energy forming together as quickly as it could to form a ribcage around his person. This ribcage was large enough for him to shift his arms. Looking to Aiya, Jubei removed a hand over his sleeve and gestured to the ribs around him. "My ace in the whole defense.... I still have another technique like this."

Jutsu UsedShow

[Ninjutsu • Abara]
D-Rank Ninjutsu
Utilizing his body mod, Jubei will focus on his ambient chakra before activating his chakra anchors. This will force his chakra to manifest around him, creating a skeletal ribcage that has a maximum size of 15 meters that he simply calls Abara(Rib), the size can be increased upon creation depending on his [Control] accordingly. These ribs are centered upon his person and follows his movements. The strength of this ribcage shield equal to [Control] and lasts as long as 5 posts as a base timeline. Should Jubei require the ribcage beyond the base 5 posts, he can dump more chakra into the technique to extend its existence. This insta-dump of chakra will be worth the same amount of chakra to cast the technique originally and add on another base time frame to it's post count(Meaning another 5 posts).

[TyDie]

Aiya crossed four of her arms over themselves as the boy mentioned genjutsu, then her other two arms rose in a shrug as she let out a small sigh. "Eh... Not really. Not that it's not a great idea, I'm sure it would be very useful to make people think I had transformed. After all, I can only maintain this form for a little while right now..." As if on queue, her skin began to lighten again, as her extra arms began to retract into her body and her extra eyes closed before disappearing entirely. Her hair suddenly regrew to it's usual long length, and the chitinous armor fell off all around her to the ground before dissolving into nothing. Before Junpei stood the normal Aiya once again.

"See what I mean? I can only use it in short bursts unfortunately, at least for now. Stronger, more seasoned members of my clan can maintain the form for longer, but it takes a lot of training to stay that way for longer than a couple minutes." She cleared her throat and shook her head, having gone off on a tangent, so she circled back to Genjutsu. "Sorry, you were talking Genjutsu. Yeah, I'm sure that would be useful to do, but I uh... Kinda suck at genjutsu, haha. I understand the basics of it and all that, but it just never really jived with me. Hell, even Ninjutsu is hit or miss sometimes - No, it's pretty apparent that my skill lies in Taijutsu, especially if it involves a weapon. Might as well play to my strengths, right?"

That was her philosophy - Understand enough to not get completely destroyed by something, but if it's not your forte, don't play too far into it. Focus on your strengths and make your opponent play your game, that was her preferred approach. It seemed Jubei had something more to showcase though, a unique power given to him by his father? This should be interesting, and it surely was as the boy manifested what looked like ephemeral ribs around his body. Her eyes lit up with surprise and wonder, surely such a thing would prove to be beyond useful! "Wow... That's incredible! And, sure, it may just be a ribcage right now, but don't you dare tell me you can't expand on that! Why, with enough practice, I'm sure this 'defense' could manifest into an incredibly powerful offense if you could end up creating an entire skeleton to control."

A sly grin crossed Aiya's face as she took a few steps towards the ribs, running a hand over them as she felt their strength. Without warning, she'd rear back and punch one of the ribs - Not too terribly hard, only a small amount of her full strength (5 strength total), but enough to give the ribs some wiggle and see how well they stood up to damage. "Yeah... this could definitely grow into something as wondrous as my own ability. You've got a gift here, Jubei; Don't you dare squander it."

[Tsedas]

"Genjutsu isn't something I have in my wheelhouse either... at least not yet. I haven't taken into consideration if it will be something I will focus on, but we'll have to wait and see"" Jubei gave a scoff at the unknowns of the future. Slipping his arm back into his sleeve, he looked to Aiya as she seemed to show surprise at his display. As she speculated and and predicted he dismissed the ribs with a blink of his eyes as the glow of chakra faded from his irides and the ribs dissolved away. "That's the end game of this ability. My father has shown me his once... it's massive and towers over trees. It looks like a shinigami tengu warrior, for lack of a better way to describe it."

Taking steps forward, he twists his features into one of deep thought for a moment before looking to the Ibakuro girl with a quizzical expression. "If we ever train together, I'm going to expand my knowledge of Iaido first. I'm still quite the novice."

[TyDie]

Aiya nodded to the boy as his spectral ribs vanished and his eyes returned to normal, crossing her arms as she listened to the young Takamori go back to his swordsmanship, or rather lack thereof in his eyes. "Mmm, don't be so hard on yourself, seriously. You may only be a genin, but you made it through the academy at least. Not everyone does. Clearly that's indicative of some talent and skill, right?" She uncrossed her arms and gave a small chuckle as she held out her right hand to her side, arm outstretched at a right angle with her body. A moment later, a brief channel of blue chakra would engulf her, and a white poof of smoke would take shape in her hand.

As the smoke cleared, a large circular shield was gripped in her hand, it's polished surface not unlike that of a mirror. "Come get a swing or two in, let me see what you can do and maybe offer some criticism. Don't be afraid of hurting me either, I wanna see what you've got." She'd then ready up with her shield, waiting for the boy to come at her with his Iaido skills and put them to the test.

JutsuShow

[Augment Fuuinjutsu • Multi-Storage Access Seal]
D-Rank Fuuinjutsu
Prerequisite: Storage Fuuinjutsu • Multi-Storage Seal
These seals, tattooed on Aiya's palms, are directly linked to the prerequisite seal placed on her back. Therefore, by activating the access seal via Kai, Aiya can retrieve any weapon or equipment stored within the Multi-Storage Seal without having to reach behind her to touch the fuuin on her back, significantly reducing the amount of time and effort required to retrieve gear from her storage seal.

*[Basic Jutsu • Chakra Kai]
D-Ranked Ninjutsu
A jutsu used with the purpose of activating seals and a range of devices and weapons, this technique begins with a single handseal. Once this has been performed, the user will focus a dollop of their chakra into what they are looking to activate in order to complete the task. Seals activated with this technique must be within 10 meters of the user's position.

[Tsedas]

Jubei watched as Aiya pulled a shield out of thin air and told him to test his skills against it. Stepping back several paces, the Genin watched as she readied herself, he briefly took note of the distance, calculating his draw speed before he shifted his legs. Adjusting the sheathed Juzumaru upon his waist, his thumb flicked the blade loose as his right hand shifted to hover near it. Lowering his torso and spreading his legs, he felt his muscles tightening as he focused his gaze upon the shield. It was a target for him to strike after closing the distance between them. For a solemn moment he stood there, poised to begin his sprint towards her before drawing his blade. He closed his eyes and his breathing changed. His tense body felt like it was relaxing and for a moment it seemed like the world was drawing to a stand still.

When his green eyes shot open, the Genin leaned his weight forward and looked as if he was about to fall forward before his leg kicked off. Dust burst up from under his foot as it moved, shifting forward rapidly to catch him as he kept heavily leaning forward. Using the motion of falling forward, he propelled himself towards her, trying to use gravity and his forward momentum to boost his speed as his hand shifted rapidly to grab the handle of his katana. Reaching the Ibakuro lass, the young man's grasp on the blade helped him pulled it forward, a soft SHINK was drawn out before the blade arced through the air before him, carving through the air before it slid along the shield's surface. The blade finished it's arc as his swift slice through the air came to a close as he held the weapon off to his right, the blade tip pointing away from both of them.

Just as quickly as he had drawn the blade, Jubei shifted his wrist and started to pull the blade back to himself. The Takamori boy's body twisting as his form started to return to that of the one he held before the drawing of Juzumaru. The blade tip found it's home, guiding the rest of the sharpened edge back into the sheath before the swordsman was back into his draw pose once more. His stance looking almost identical to the one held mere moments ago before he'd started his advancement on Aiya and her shield. However as soon as the blade was sheathed, he quickly pulled it once more, striking upon the shield again as the blade sliced against the shield, making the sound of steel on steel ring out through the air.

With his second strike completed, he once returned the blade to it's sheath again, the same speed as his drawn while twisting his body back into that singular pose.

475/800 words for Speed

[TyDie]

Aiya braced herself for impact as the young white haired samurai darted forward, gripping his sword firmly as his face almost hit the ground before he pushed off with impressive speed. He shot across the distance between them with nary but a few steps, kicking up small plumes of dust as he drew closer. As the sword was drawn, Aiya flexed and push slightly into the slash, the metal of his blade singing as it bounced off of her shield. The vibrations of the strike flowed into her hand and forearm - Commendable, but nothing she hadn't dealt with before. Her shield was barely scratched by the impact, it's reflective surface gleaming in the overhead sun.

He resheathed his blade effortlessly before unsheathing it once more in a powerful strike, ringing true against her shield again as she rolled the blow away this time, parrying the blow along it's path of travel with a resounding "SHWIING" as she took a step back and smiled. "That wasn't bad at all, Jubei. See, I knew it, you've been lying to me this whole time! Selling yourself short like that, shame on you." She giggled and gave the boy a small wink as she rested her off hand on her hip, cocking it to the side with a sudden shift of her weight.

"I did notice one thing that might help you achieve a little more speed. I don't know much about Iaido, but I do seem to recall that the Saya plays an important role in your draw speed, right? As I've seen it performed, the swordsman would pull both blade and saya out at first, drawing both a few inches forward before harshly yanking back on the saya and pulling forward on the blade. The idea is that this movement generates much needed torque, which results in a faster draw speed. Perhaps you could get used to incorporating that extra movement into your draw?" She remove her hand from her hip and ready herself again, knocking against her shield with her hand before motioning for Jubei to come and give it a go.

"Once more, with some feeling this time!"

[Tsedas]

Relaxing his posture, he listened to Aiya's words about how he'd been holding out on her. He was about to open his mouth to correct her when she told him about extending the saya and then drawing it back as he drew to increase torque. When she readied her shield, his posture tightened once more. His thumb pushing the blade loose from the sheath with a click as he draw the sheath out from his waistline more. Closing his eyes, he kept the coil in his muscles tight, aiming to maximize the draw speed without sacrificing the accuracy. It was probably one of the toughest challenges to mastering battojutsu like these as the speed was key, but if it wasn't controlled enough to be accurate then it was worthless.

Jubei's hand shifted back to hovering over the handle as he stood before Aiya, ready to slash at her shield once more. There was a clacking noise has his hand grasped the handle of the katana, the blade shifting against the sheath as he pulled upon it. Coaxing it from the case it called home, the blade started to emerge and the Takamori boy pulled back on the saya like Aiya suggested. His blade exited the sheath a fraction faster as his arm moved through the air before him, extending and arcing wide as the blade followed along, hastily moving through the air until it's edge caught the shield and started to sing. As the tip of the blade ran along the surface of the shield, it give the final notes of their song of steel clashing with steel before flicking out through the air and coming to a halt, pointed out and away from the pair as his swing came to it's conclusion.

Pulling his arm back, Jubei shifted the weapon and with practiced fluidity brought the sword back into it's sheath. The blade hissed softly before a clinking back into place, the speed of which was matched by the speed at which is was drawn. The swordsman's grasp of this technique showing he only needed to work on how to pull the blade quicker than the time before while still maintaining his accuracy.
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839/800 for Speed
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"I wouldn't get too excited though, I said my knowledge of Iaido was lacking and that's still true. The technique I just used is the most basic of the battojutsu that one learns. I've only got the basics down, I need a deeper understanding of the style and possibly find a way to make the style more flexible." Jubei stated while standing up. He shook his right hand as if he was trying to wake the muscles up or something, clearly the callouses hadn't developed on his hands yet.

[TyDie]

Aiya once more braced for the impact of the bow's sword against her shield, and was impressed with the speed he was able to generate with this next slash as he followed her advice, pulling back on his sheath as he drew the blade forward. There was a notable difference in draw speeds this time, she could clearly see it as sparks were tossed from the clash of steel. With a grin she pulled back again and looked at her shield, noting the deep scratch that Juzumaru left in it's face. "Haha, much better!" The girl gave a nod of satisfaction as she once more glowed with chakra, the shield poofing away in a white cloud of smoke as it was returned to her fuuinjutsu.

"I know, I know, you're still getting used to the basics. It's not like I'm saying you're ready to travel to a dojo and learn an Ougi Jubei. But you've clearly got a knack for this, a natural talent with that blade, and I guarantee you that you'll get better faster than you think you will." She would motion back to the village proper as she gave a small sigh, walking past Jubei and expecting him to follow along - It was time for their day together to end. "I'll need to be heading home now, but come find me at the Ibakuro compound sometime. I'd be happy to train some more with you. Stick with me, and we'll get you Ougi-ready in no time, right?" She'd reach for the boy's neck, aiming to wrap her arm around him and pull him close while ruffling his white hair.

The two shinobi would make their way back into the village, continuing their discussion of training and the life of shinobi, before eventually parting ways as Aiya headed to the dimly lit forest of the Ibakuro Clan.