Team Cybele: The Hare and the Snake

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Youki's right hand is gone, but he otherwise seems stable. His injuries are clearly painful and grave, but none of them are life threatening. Youki does not respond to Yousuke's shouts, but he's clearly still breathing. It's not until Youki's raised up to a sitting position that he finally rouses from his pained slumber to look his grandson in the eye. "D-Did you save it? I-Is... Is it still... Save the... R--" Youki passes out once more, and Yousuke's left holding his unconscious grandfather.

If Yousuke calls for medics, then they take the old man back to the hospital. Youki spends all night in and out of consciousness. It's already morning before the doctors finally inform Yousuke that Youki's stable. His injuries are severe, and they won't be able to reattach his right hand, but he'll survive and eventually make a full recovery. The doctor asks for Yousuke to go see his grandfather, stating that Youki had requested the boy come see him.

If Yousuke does go, then he finds his grandfather inside a hospital room with a few medical ninja nearby. One of them is finishing up the Mystical Palm on him, while the other is just taking his vitals by hand. Youki's bandaged up, but otherwise unmolested by machines and things. Youki motions for Yousuke to approach as soon as the boy enters the room. "Have you seen some of these nurses? They're all quite lovely."

Spoiler

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Yousuke can get a night of rest at the hospital.

Amon

The idea of finding someplace comfortable to sleep grows bigger and heavier the further Amon walks from the mansion. It swells and grows until the weight of it presses down onto the small kunoichi. Eventually, her dragging legs can't keep her upright any longer, and falls down just to drift off to sleep.

Some time later Amon wakes up on an uncomfortable couch. Her entire lower body hurts, and she's come down a splitting headache. She's dressed in a simple white tee-shirt three sizes too big and little else. None of the things she's wearing belong to her, and Amon does not recognize them. The couch she's laying on sits in a ramshackle living room. A glass coffee table rests in front of her couch, and beyond it sits an aging T.V that probably didn't get color. Her things are all neatly folded on top of the coffee table, and she can hear the sounds of someone moving around elsewhere in the house. The sounds of pots banging together and the warm smell of freshly baked cookies tell Amon that someone's cooking. Light streams in through the window nearby.

Spoiler

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Amon has 15 points of non-lethal damage. She also got the effects of a night of rest.

Houshi

The giant genin wakes up late in the morning after a good night's rest. His parents have already left, but his mom left breakfast in the fridge for him.

Spoiler

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Houshi has the benefit of full bed's rest.

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke enters the room with his gaze cast down on the floor, holding a softly bound parcel of cloth in both hands. After the medics had taken Youki away he had spent hours going over the floor of the dojo in search of even the smallest of shards and wrapped it in a carrying silk. He had done his best to save the fragments of the once beautiful sword but the guilt of having been responsible for its destruction weighed heavily on his mind. For whatever reason, Youki had expected him to save the sword and not a minute into his possession he had broken the blade against the mysterious swordsman. Shambling in ashamedly, Yousuke places parcel of the blade on Youki's lap and takes a seat by the bedside, doing his best at avoiding the man's eyes, choosing not to respond to the man's playful remark.

"It is good to see you are well, Grandfather," he says while looking at his lap. Though the extent of how 'well' the man was up to debate. Youki's livelihood as a swordsman was all but lost with his hand in an irreparably state. To imagine one of the greatest swordsmen in the Elemental Countries reduced to using his non-dominant hand made him want to cry. But what bothered him most was that it was all his fault.

[Princess Tracy]

Amon leaps into a sitting position on tyhe couch, instantly fearful of her conditions. It's not until she sees her things on the table that any semblance of understanding occurs to her. With a quick, deep breath she returns to normal, thinking she understood the basic situation. Somehow, it both felt like she'd been hit by a train yet... recovered from it, she guessed. She must have fallen - or been knocked - unconscious and dragged back here. Wherever here was. And whoever else was here must have... dressed her? If they'd kidnapped her, they wouldn't leave her with her equipment in her reach, would they? Nor cook with their backs turned if they thought an angry kunoichi might stab them in the back for their transgressions. This place at least seemed lived in, and it was morning... and she hadn't eaten in nearly 24 hours a rumble of her stomach reminds her. Who on earth was this, though? If they'd found a kunoichi in the middle fo the street and just wanted to help, a call for medics would have sufficed, so they must be hoping to take advantage of her somehow. Feeling around her own clothes, she grabs one of the many, many kunai she keeps hidden on her person at any one time, and finds it quite easy to hide under this ridiculously oversized top. That done, she follows her nose, looking for the apparent other occupant.

Spoiler

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Hide (1d20+7)[27]
Move SIlently (1d20+2)[9]
Spot (1d20-1)[11]
Listen (1d20)[3]

Treat Injury to check self for anything out of sorts; takes 10 for 17.

[Princess Tracy]

Spoiler

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Amon searches teh equipment left on the table for her things, remembering to look and see Cybele's precious crystal is still in her buttoned pocket where she left it. I take 10, for a result of 15, checking for that and anything out of teh ordinary

On her way to 'greet' the other occupant, Amon steels a glance out teh window trying to get her bearings of where she was as she looks outside.

[zeone3000]

In his morning haze, he still calls out to greet his parent in the morning. Finally getting the sleep out of his eyes, he looks at the clock realizing they were long gone, "Man... I was tired." He rummaged through the fridge, finding his breakfast from his mom. He silently thanked her as he sat down to eat.

After finishing, he brushed his teeth, got dressed and immediately left for the training ground to put the finishing touches on the kenjutsu.

[ZeroNumerous]

Houshi

The giant genin arrives on the training grounds to find very few others there. Soragakure's dire need for ninja has likely emptied the grounds out, and everyone is either recovering from missions or on missions. Of the few ninja around Houshi does spot Cybele and the small Camille meditating. The older-looking woman is perfectly still and quiet, but the younger twitches and fusses. Clearly she's never meditated before, and doing nothing agitates her. Occasionally she grasps her chest in pain, but Cybele ignores her. Clearly the older woman is trying to rush her training, and Camille isn't fully grasping the goal of their meditation training.

Both of them wear the sky-nin uniform, but Camille's battle vest seems to be a size too big for her. Cybele's glasses are folded up right in front of the older-looking woman, and she seems to be carrying no weapons or gear on her today. With both their eyes closed and Cybele's glasses off the two of them look like close relatives--twins, almost, if not for the disparity in height. Unless bothered, the two of them continue their meditation training in peace and quiet.

Yousuke

Youki looks at his grandson, then reaches out with his right hand before realizing it's gone. He withdraws the arm, then snaps his fingers with his other hand. "Yousuke. This wasn't your fault. This was the act of a madman." Youki looks at the package, then back to Yousuke.

"That's the sword, right?" Whether Yousuke confirms or not, the old man continues on. "Hm. Just like when your mother first used it." Youki tries to sit up, but the pain in his chest and abdomen causes him to seize up and lay back down. "The Roukanken cannot be wielded by another so easily. Like many sacred blades, taking it requires you to defeat its owner in combat, and that's why your mother left it here, as I had left it with her when I went traveling. Trying to use it otherwise makes it a brittle sword, as its spirit fights against your own. It can be fixed, don't worry. But you did the right thing by not letting him leave with it."

Amon

The window reveals nothing but an expansive sea of clouds. Wherever she's at Amon is unable to see Soragakure. The kunoichi searches her own body, but finds nothing on there. Whomever had undressed her had been quite thorough and left nothing behind in his or her search. However, her weapons and other equipment are left in plain view on the table and Amon can get one of those easily.

As the kunoichi goes searching she discovers the house to be quite rundown, but also quite sturdy. The floor doesn't creak, the walls are straight, and it smells of fresh clean pine. Yet, it carries the appearance of a house that has been around forever. Whomever lives here clearly enjoys the aesthetic of an old building, but requires the stability and safety of a new one. Regardless of the aesthetics, the kunoichi's search ends in the kitchen.

A tall blond woman, around 170 to 175cm, stands in front of a kitchen counter. She's expertly mixing batter for something. Her clothing reminds Amon of a maid: A solid black dress with a white apron over the front. A red ribbon ties up her hair, and the two arms of the ribbon stick out like ears from the top of her head. A big red bow hangs around her neck. Another girl, who could be the first woman's twin sister based on her looks, stands in front of the open stove as she checks something inside it. Her outfit matches her apparent sister's, and she mirrors the woman's appearance in every way except for her much shorter height of around 165cm. Neither of them seem to see or hear Amon.

[Bad Situation]

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Yousuke turns his hopefuls eyes up toward Youki, tensing up a bit when he sees Youki resigned to using his other hand for even the most trivial of tasks. Still riddled with guilt, Yousuke perks up at the mention of his mother and looks at Youki curiously, "Mother broke the sword as well? How did she fix it?" He could scarcely imagine that happening, though it made him feel a little better on the inside. All throughout his life he had been placing her on a pedestal, seeing her as an untouchable entitity that he could never hope of surpassing. The knowledge of their mutual failure, though as embarrassing as it was to admit, made him feel closer to the woman in a way he could not understand.

And speaking of his mother, "Who was the man who attacked you? And what did he want with mother? He seemed to know her..."

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

His grandfather smiles. "How? Well, she decided to play with it one day, but your grandmother wanted her to leave it alone. They fought, and your mother got sent her to her tent." The old man's smile gets bigger as he thinks of Yousuke's mother in her youth. "So, little Youmu snuck out one evening, took the sword, and practiced with it. She broke it somehow, but rather than admit her mistake your mother put it back on the sword stand and pretended it hadn't changed at all. Oh your grandmother was so angry."

Youki chuckles at the story, then just leans back and looks at the ceiling. "As for that man... He was Kirite Rasen. When you were very young so I understand that you don't remember him. He found us while traveling, and wanted to fight to prove who was stronger. I initially refused, but your mother did not. The two of them fought until they were both very hurt, and then I intervened. He injured me before fleeing, and then I realized we couldn't keep doing this."

Youki looks toward his grandson, then sighs. "Your mother didn't want to accept defeat. Like you, she felt losing belittled her. If we hadn't stopped fighting, then the both of us would have died. And I had to think of saving your life. That night was the catalyst for joining this hidden village, because we would not survive on our own. Your mother was naturally quite angry about that, and... well, you know the rest."

Youki looks upon his grandson warmly. "That man represents the path the Konpaku will take without a lord. Even now your mother has incorporated his skills into our style. The path your mother is walking right now is the same as his, and she chases it with all her strength."

[Princess Tracy]

Amon eyes the too, unseen, hoping her errant creaking of a floorboard was truly unseen by the two apparent civilians. Were they maids? They didn't look dangerous, but she knew better than to trust appearances. As near as she could tell she'd probably been knocked out by some sleep technique or other genjutsu. How far had she been dragged and how much time had passed? She didn't want to hurt them if they truly weren't dangerous, but... For all she knew they were inattentive kunoichi. And with the size of this top she was wearing, she wondered if there wasnt' anyone else here

Heading back into the apparent living room, she looks around for the front door and immediately starts picking the lock. Even if her tools weren't among the equipment left, wit her skills a decent sized nail or bent fork would suffice for any regular lock, if indeed it was locked at all. She didn't intend to leave yet, just to see how well she was restrained here. She had a plan to drill those two for information without their knowledge that she was considering, but if it went badly she wanted to secure her escape route

Spoiler

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Disable Device. I have a +14 (a mandatory +15 considering the levelup and my archetype's mandatory/free skills if I count as having another experience level). I take 10 to pick the front door if it doesn't readiy open

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

All of Amon's equipment is accounted for on the table, and the kunoichi can easily retrieve her tools. However the door isn't locked at all, and opens easily. But it doesn't lead outside or to Soragakure. Instead the door opens into a large metal tube with a metal lift inside it. If Amon looks up the tube, then she sees that parts of it are glass further up. She can see the bottom of Soragakure's massive floor, and the multitude of cloud-generating seals used to keep it airborne. The house seems to be hanging under Soragakure, but is attached to it via the elevator Amon is currently looking up.

[Princess Tracy]

Amazing... Amon thinks, forgetting her surroundings for a moment. her hips sway as if trying to catch a mate's attention as she wondders about the technology of it, always having been fascinated by Soragakure's propulsion. Looking back into the house, she remembers herself, resolving to investigate technology later. Still, the outside air does her thoughts some good; quietly shutting the door again as she re-enters the house. I have to be careful now; if these two are something more than humble bakers, Cybele and Houshi and Yousuke won't be able to swoop in to rescue me.

Amon senses chakra on the two women to get an idea of their strength, and perhaps of any unseen chakra-based detail in the house.

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

Both girls share the same chakra signature, and both are Faint. Their chakra feels earthy. Not like Cybele's or Camille's, but like the dirt after a deep rain. Amon's chakra senses don't detect anything outside of the room she's in though. Whereas normally walls are no barrier, these walls and doors seem to block out any attempt to see through them. Both of them continue their cooking if they're not interrupted. The smaller of the two women finally pulls out the tray of freshly baked cookies. She slowly removes and places each cookie on a nearby rack to cool, while the other girl pours batter into the warm pan.

[Princess Tracy]

Specially made walls to block my senses? Is this a means of hiding me better from those that would some to my aid? No, I could leave at any time. Although it would certainly keep me obscured for the night. Perhaps this is someone's hangout away from the eyes of the village, in which case it's odd that they don't seem so powerful they would need such a ward. They do rather seem like serving staff though. A rumble of Amon's tummy as she smells the cookies threatens to give her away as she puts her hand to her mouth in embarrassment and shock at her own lack of discipline. I could possess one of them and ask the other about my circumstances... Or I could introduce myself and hope for the best. Taking a deep breath and hoping she was still unseen (lest they should sidestep her very mind) she forms hand seals and aims for the smaller one, her duties seeming less pertinent. She angles her own body such that it should tall harmlessly when it falls as her soul leaves it.

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Mind Transfer on the cookie laying shorter girl. If she is aware of Amon and of her threat and of teh nature of her technique, she's allowed a DC 20 Reflex save to avoid being possessed. If she's level 10 or higher, she can get a will save of teh same DC

6 chakra expended.

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

Amon attempts to project her mind into that of the smaller maid, and her shot is accurate. The maid makes no attempt to dodge or move, as she's unaware the technique had been performed at all. But Amon's soul strikes the woman's body and rebounds instead of entering it. It's as if she had tried to possess an object, and her soul is immediately sent back into her body. Neither maid moves from her post, and both of them continue what they were doing before.

[Princess Tracy]

Amon quivers as her soul bounces back into her body, immediately crawling away from the kitchen. "What..." she can't help but mutter in bewilderment. That hadn't happened before - not unless she missed, unless she hit some sort of object... But she'd sensed a chakra presence, right? Either her will was so great she effortlessly shrugged off Amon's attempts or else she wasn't human. No, more than that - she'd projected into animals before. Some kind of technique? Like a clone? Going by their signature, perhaps some sort of mokuton technique? Impossible, all the way out here? And how could something without a soul make such nice smelling baked goods, or was that her starvation talking. She thought it was odd they were so silent; the servants at her own house talked readily enough when they thought no one was looking.

I could try walking up the shaft with Tree Climbing, but the elevator might get in the way. Groaning, she sets down the kunai, retrieving instead a smoke bomb in case she had to make a dash for it. She piles her belongings into her bag, slapping on her single boot and leaves the bag there as she hovers towards the kitchen door. Stepping inside, she coughs to announce her presence. "Excuse me... how did I get here?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

The maids turn around when Amon tries to communicate. The one on the left wears a surprised look while her compatriot just frowns. But both of their eyes are dull and... strange. Amon can't quite put her fingers on it, but neither of them have wrinkles near their forehead, and the contours of their faces are just a little too perfect. Neither one makes any move toward or away from her, and they do not respond. Instead, they simply look toward one another, then nod to themselves. The tallest one moves away from Amon and toward the back entrance of the kitchen, and unless stopped she leaves the kitchen. The smaller one smiles extremely slowly, and raises her right hand as if to wave. But her arm doesn't move to side to side, and she doesn't say anything. She mechanically turns around, gets one of the cooling cookies off the rack, then turns back and offers it to Amon. If Amon takes it, then the maid smiles just a bit too widely. Otherwise, she just continues to over the cookie over and over.

Regardless of whether Amon takes the cookie or not the back door opens and the larger maid returns, and a familiar face follows her. "Are you finally awake, Amon-chan?" A blond woman follows the maid. Her familiar blue dress, white shawl, and pink lace brings her name to Amon's mind faster than her blond hair or deadpan look ever could. Alice puts her left hand on her hip, and is carry a familiar black tome in her right. The leather-bound item has the same plus-sign shaped set of chains running across it. "If we keep meeting like this, then I'll start to think passing out in the street is normal for you. Next time I might let you get picked up by whoever wants you."

Alice, who'd never given a last name, just gives Amon her never-changing look of practiced disinterest. Whether the woman cared about anything, or just wasn't surprised by anything, was still up for debate. She turns her deadpan gaze to the cooking maid, then points her thumb toward the room behind her. Alice squeezes past as both maids head into the room she had just left, and close the door behind them. The blond kunoichi goes over to shut off the oven, then turns toward Amon.

"What happened this time?"

[Princess Tracy]

Amon watches the maids' display, finally starting to figure it out when she gets a good look of their eyes. She doesn't stop their antics, and accepts the cookie when offered, ut holds off on eating it just yet. When Alice enters, she sighs sharply, relieved as it all came together - the hideout, the object servants. Who else could it be? This whole Suneko incident must have had me spooked. "Alice-sensei!" Amon greets her, jumping a little. "You had me scared there, I thought I'd been captured. A little incompetently captured, but you know, taht would just make it all the more embarrassing," she laughs, her vigour returning as she bites into the cookie at last.

At talk of leaving her in the street, Amon's expression goes from gearing up to call her mean to a little confused. She was sure for a second this was just some prank on Alice's part, but she just found her lying in the street? "You know, Alice-sensei, if you were worried for my health at finding me in the street, you could have always sent me to the hospital - were you anyone else I'd have taken that as a sign of poor faith. Where did you get this top, by the way?" she adds on a less important note.

As Alice asks what happened this time, Amon finds something to sit on, feeling at her head. "I don't really know... I reported in something to Taro, I left his office and then... I was suffering from chakra depletion, sure, but before that I was still able to walk, but I just kept getting more and more tired and I don't think i got far from the mansion before I passed out. Some kind of genjutsu, maybe?" She pauses. "How did you find me?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

Amon bites into the cookie to find it tastes... salty. It looks like one of the dolls mixed up salt and sugar, and didn't have the taste buds to tell the difference until it was far too late. Alice's deadpan look stays the same as she starts heading toward the living room. "In the commercial district. You were sleeping on a bench there. And you know I don't trust that hospital. There's nothing they can do there that Hourai can't do for me." Speaking the doll's name seems to summon it, as the doll comes out of the kitchen with a pot of steaming tea. Alice just waves off the question about the top. "Don't worry about it."

The thin girl was smaller than even Amon, despite being... maybe older? It was hard to tell. Alice looked to be in her teens, but how far couldn't quite be pinned down. She spoke like an old woman though, and used the same kind of dialect as Taro and other older individuals. "How? I just stumbled on you. You weren't hurt as far as I could see, but once we got you back here I noticed the bruises on your back. But you didn't get in a fight?"

Alice looks toward Amon's things on the table. "You should probably find a friend to stay with. It might not be safe at your home anymore."

[Princess Tracy]

Something's odd about the presence of the top. Amon stores that knowledge away for later - her current thoughts disrupted by what was essentially a mouth full of salt. As she explains her personal nurse, Amon shakes her head in disclaimer. "Like i said, if it was anyone except you. I know you're not the most trusting of people - I wouldn't expect you to leave your student in the hands of someone you didn't trust, after all."

She strokes her chin with her puppet-like finges as Alice explains how she found her. "Well, I got in a fight or two yesterday, but nothing that would give me such bruises." She pulls at her collar, showing her new scar on her neck where the arrow nearly nicked her jugular as they raided the fort. "Except form this and a bit of frostbite from a space-hopping oni I was basically unscathed, so it must have been dealt around the time I lost consciousness. Though recalling the experience it seems like a genjutsu when I describe it to myself, but if I was under some genjutsu, why additionally batter me? And why assault me in the first place? If all my possessions are accounted for and I was not dragged into the night, was it just for sport that they accosted me?" She gives a troubled hum. "If it was yesterday's opponent and she was after revenge - she was already aiming to kill and silence me and my team. If she had me dead to rights, she would not have spared me."

"Although if you undressed me to have me treated, why do I still feel like I've been run over?" Amon snidely remarks before Alice suggests she stay with a friend. "I know. If someone is after me though... there's a good chance they would be after my friends too though. Although, to call my team my friends would be a bit charitable; only Houshi seems to get on with me at all, Cybele is... well, it's impossible to tell what she's thinking. She's kind of like you that way, Alice-sensei. Sorry, I know you don't care particularly much to hear of my social life. Although, if they weren't after my team, and they didn't seem to do anything except me bang me up a bit, who...? And more importantly, it's not just my home, after all..." She's clearly troubled, but shakes it off. "I'll figure something out. I always do."

A few moments pass as Amon eyes the teapot the doll brought in. "Alice-sensei. I think - no. I am ready to be a puppeteer." she says, looking at the other girl with conviction, nay, accepted truth

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

Alice takes a sip of the tea, frowns slightly, then puts the cup and saucer down. "I did say Hourai would take care of me. I didn't say anything about you." Alice was just as snide and sarcastic as Amon, and particularly when things just didn't interest her. Then again, nothing really interested her at all, so maybe she was snide and sarcastic naturally. She waves the doll away, then shakes her head. "They'll never learn how to cook at this rate."

Alice watches her tea when Amon launches into her monologue about her social life. The puppeteer paid attention like she was watching paint dry, but that was normal as far as Amon remembered. "That kind of group is why I stay by myself." Alice remains quiet and distant as Amon goes on, and doesn't say anything even as the genin finishes her story. In fact, it isn't until Amon declares that she's ready to be a puppeteer that Alice reacts at all.

"...What." Alice looks at her with that same deadpan gaze, but based on the rise of her right eyebrow she seems to be actually surprised. "Really. Did you get knocked on the head or something? Or did you suddenly become capable of performing the basics?"

[Bad Situation]

Yousuke's eyes soften at the mention of his mother, sharing a chuckle with the man when he ends the short story of his past. It was difficult to imagine his mother as some unruly brat but he supposed even Youmu had been a child like him. His grin drops into a frown when Youki continues into Rasen's role in his mother's departure. For a second his mind spins with the implications of his grandfather's words. If his mother was truly following Rasen's path, was his mother little more than a sword-wielding murderer now? Had she come to enjoy the misery her sword wrought, like man she seemed to emulate? If so he would not stand for it, for Youki if not for the clan.

Standing up suddenly, Yousuke looks down into Youki's eyes with fixed purpose. "I apologize for leaving you grandfather but I find myself in need of training now more than ever." Time was slipping away quickly and if he wanted to make the most of it before his mother returned he would need to begin immediately. "I will return to your side come evening to keep you company however."

Standing at the threshold of the room he says without looking back, "Have the sword ready for when she returns, grandfather. When mother arrives to test my right to inheritance I will surely prove to her my will. And when the time comes I will succeed the mantle of clan head from her and save both the clan and my mother from her self-imposed ruin."

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If Youki says nothing or does nothing to stop him, Yousuke finds some place to begin training. He will avoid the dojo however, at least until Youki can return home.

[Princess Tracy]

Amon pouts as Alice makes the comment about her doll only being there to tend to her own wounds. "You're mean, Alice-sensei. Don't you care for my health?" she asks rhetorically and a little jokingly.

"I have it down, I swear. I've gotten a lot more sense of myself from being out in the field again and I've been training really hard. I think I've gotten the hang off Chakra Threads now, see?" With that, she concentrates, forming teh mentioned threads as she uses them to manipulate the nearby teapot. Sticking her tongue out in an odd quirk of her concentration, she lifts the pot quite gracefully, swirling the spoons and teabags to make the tea herself, before levitating teh tea over to her, taking with it a saucer as it came to rest in her hand, before taking a sip. "See? Alice-sensei, I know I'm not on your level, but it's a big world out there and I need to be more than i am now. I need you to help show me the advanced forms so I can be a real puppeteer."

[ZeroNumerous]

Yousuke

Youki lets the boy leave. "Don't worry about me, Yousuke. You have your own things to deal with, so handle that before you come back." He just watches Yousuke leave.

The boy is free to train unmolested, but if he goes to the training grounds then he finds Cybele, Camille, and Houshi there.

Amon

"Congratulations. Do you want a pat on the head?" Alice's dismissive nature rises, but the fact that she acknowledged Amon's advances at all proved she was interested. "Hourai. Hourai! Go get one of the Shanghai." The human-sized doll trundles off into the kitchen, and several doors beyond it if Amon's ears are to be believed. She doesn't return for several minutes, but when she does the doll has a very large black and silver case in its hands. Alice motions for the doll to place the case on the coffee table, then opens the case herself. Inside is a small doll in the fetal position. The doll's wearing the same kind of maid outfit as Hourai, except that it's blue and white instead of black and white. It bears a bright red ribbon around it's head. The doll's eyes are closed, and it's beautiful craftsmanship makes it look like a young child asleep inside the box. The child's head is haloed by a series of weapons; A shield decorated in blue, red and gold, a straight edged foreign-looking sword, a thick two-handed lance, a one-handed spear, and a giant two-handed cleaver. The little doll would be like a child soldier with these weapons.

Alice's eyes soften as she displays a minute amount of emotion, then they're back to normal. She manually lifts the doll out of its case, looks at it for a moment, then carefully hands the little blond girl over to Amon. "This is Shanghai #17. She was my first foray into making human-sized Shanghai dolls. If you're serious about this, then you'll need to devote yourself to using Shanghai to her utmost."

Spoiler

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Amon gains 1 Small Human Puppet. It's stats are as follows:

Shanghai
Size: Small
STR: 12
DEX: 16
Bonus HP: +5
Components:
Danmaku Cannon: As Elemental Cannon except as follows: Deals 2d6 force damage on a successful ranged attack roll. Does not require a free hand. Costs 1 point of chakra from Shanghai or Amon per attack. Does not require an elemental scroll.
Adept Body: Shanghai takes no penalty when Amon uses skills through her.
Dexterous Servos: Shanghai may use its Dexterity modifier instead of its Strength modifier with attacks. Its damage is still modified by its STR.
Chakra Accelerator: Shanghai gains +1 HP per 2 HD it's animated with.
Inconspicuous: Shanghai closely resembles a human girl, and requires a DC 15 Spot check to notice it is a puppet.
Shanghai Bomb: Permanently destroys Shanghai(no percentile roll, all components are destroyed as well) to deal 1d6 per point of chakra spent on this component(max 15d6). Explodes in a 10ft radius, and damage is halved on a successful Reflex save(DC 10+1/2 Shanghai's HD+Amon's INT).

Shanghai comes with five pieces of equipment:
Small Shield: One-handed. Grants Shanghai a +2 Shield bonus to defense.
Small Sword: One-handed. Deals 1d6+1+Shanghai's STR modifier in damage.
Small Spear: One-handed. Deals 1d6+Shanghai's STR modifier in damage. Grants Shanghai reach.
Small Lance: Two-handed. Deals 1d8+1+Shanghai's STR modifier in damage. Grants Shanghai reach.
Small Axe: Two-handed. Deals 1d8+3+Shanghai's STR modifier in damage.

[Princess Tracy]

Amon gladly endures Alice's slight mockery, for she knew there was something else to her inflections. Pride? Could it be? Out of respect, she doesn't think too much about it as her doll retrieves the case, sipping her tea (content wih how good a job she managed to pull off - she was quite certain she would crack under pressure and make a fool of herself).

When Hourai returns with her apparent prize, Amon looks with fascination, having been looking forward to this day for quite some time; the day she was acknowledged and deemed worthy of a puppet. Perhaps Alice was just waiting for Amon to know she was ready? She looks at the doll with puppy dog eyes, finding its design adorable - a feeling only enhanced as she sees the veritable arsenal it seems to be hauling around. She takes the doll gently, examining it as it sets in that this was her doll now, her puppet - her own power that her sensei entrusted her with. She nods as Alice commands her to use it to her utmost. "Can we train right now, Alice-sensei?" Amon asks excitably, springing from her chair as she fiddles with her chakra threads, trying to animate the puppet. "I'll make you proud, sensei, since this doll is so special!" She practically leaps with joy

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

Shanghai is easily manipulated despite Amon's relatively poor skill with chakra threads. The little doll goes rigid in Amon's hands, and its beautiful blue eyes snap open. Shanghai's ready to fight so long as Amon gives it chakra.

Alice, on the other hand, remains where she is and waves Hourai off. "No. First, I want some actually good tea. Then I think I'll have a nap. If you're still here, then maybe we can train after that." Alice makes her own tea by hand this time, not allowing Hourai to salt it as she did last time. She casually drinks her tea while watching Amon play with her old puppet.

[Princess Tracy]

"A nap in the middle of the day? I suffered chakra depletion fighting some jounin-level summoner of Oni and her dragon companion, what's your excuse?" Amon teases, wondering how old her sensei was. She spends the time esentially playing with Shanghai, getting a feel for her as she gets used to manipulating the arms and face especially, before setting her down to try walking. She tries her best to make the doll smile, but has some difficulty at first.

"Hello, Amon-chan, call me Shanghai, we'll be best friends and kick everyone's ass," Amon says in her Usagi the Brave voice as she manipulates the girl-dolls mouth. "Well, thank you Shanghai-chan. I'll be sure to show you to the asses you can kick soon enough," Amon reassures her. Caring little for whatever harsh gaze Alice shoots her for goofing around, Amon actually does show good proficiency at mastering the basics throughout her antics - in fact, her little jokes seem to bring with them new strides in development for whatever reason in her twisted mind, making them a little beyond reproach. Shanghai opens her mouth to say something, Amon moves closer to hear as if she was whispering - cupping her hand and nodding as if being secretive before standing up. "Shanghai has something to tell you. Speak up, Shanghai. You should, um, label your salt and sugar so they stop mixing them up, Alice-san," Shanghai 'says'.

If Alice actually takes a nap, she does her best to be a bit more quiet and waits patiently, being redy to go train at the drop of a hat.

[Bad Situation]

In new spirits, Yousuke takes off for the training grounds with unprecedented speed. As unfortunate as the dojo incident had been, he could not deny that it had opened his eyes to the true world of swordsmanship. Two ungodly talented swordsmen had clashed steel that night and even he could admit how outclassed he felt watching them. They were both trained warriors, men who had all but mastered their craft before he had even been born. Both swordsmen had their own flair or peculiarities to their style. Currently his own style was merely a crude imitation of his grandfather's, one that he could not even take full advantage due to the slender physique he had inherited from his mother. If he was going to get anywhere as a swordsman it was time that he struck out on his own.

Landing lightly beside Houshi, Yousuke nods a greeting at the large genin and respectfully bows at Cybele and Camille before settling in somewhere quiet to train. He would begin with a stance, something that he could base his own techniques off of and go from there.

[Princess Tracy]

"Hey, do you actually get reception on hat old TV from here?" Amon asks casually. "You didn't seem like the type for such trivial things like television, but I guess you have to do something when you're not shaking the world as we know it unseen through jsut your progress, right?" Amon picks up the doll. Shanghai SEVENTEEN. That's a lot of dolls for a sort of beta for one of her main aesthetics. "If it's not too disrespectful, you HAVE made a lot of things in your time. Either you work round the clock, and by around the clock I mean outwith the clock through some feat of spacetime, or you're a lot older than you look. You needn't tell me which if either; it keeps the mystery alive"

[ZeroNumerous]

Amon

Alice just looks at the girl without any emotion in her eyes. Neither animosity, nor interest come to her pale blue eyes as she speaks. She either ignores or disregards Amon's comments about the salt and sugar situation. Alice likely had a reason behind both spices being unlabeled, but didn't seem like she wanted to share it. Regardless, the blue-eyed puppeteer does respond when Amon talks about her T.V. "Yes, I do. And it's for guests, of which you aren't one." The most minute softening of Alice's gaze is all the betrays her emotional state when Amon begins talking about Shanghai.

"Ya, I have. And no, I make due with the same amount of time as everyone else." As always Alice doesn't answer or even acknowledge the question about her age. She sips her tea casually, as if she were done with the conversation already. If Amon has nothing more to say in the next few minutes, then Alice just casually tells her: "Hourai will show you out. I want to take a nap, and don't want you in my house when I'm asleep. And before you ask, it's because you're nosy." The shorter doll from earlier stands in the kitchen doorway, and swiftly crosses the living room over to the front door. She bows stiffly, then motions toward the door that leads to that elevator from before.

Yousuke and Houshi

Neither Cybele nor Camille bother either swordsman. Cybele remains in her meditative pose, and seems too silent and still for a living creature. Not a single part of her moves except for her hair fluttering in the wind. Her eyes don't flicker, her chest doesn't seem to rise or fall, and anyone could easily mistake her for a woman who just happened to die in that pose. With that kind of control over the minute movements of her body it's easy to see how she can disappear from sight almost at will.

Camille, on the other hand, struggles to stay silent or still. She occasionally wheezes, sometimes she rubs her chest and breathes through clenched teeth for a few minutes, other times she's rubbing her stomach as if she were hungry, and rarely she's simply fidgeting in place from inexperience at meditation. The girl keeps her eyes closed, and has a set of glasses like Cybele's resting in her lap. The one time she spends longer than five minutes meditating she's interrupted by intense and sharp pain in her chest. That moment marks the only time Cybele speaks.

"Calm yourself. It can't kill you. Not yet. Keep cycling." She speaks calmly and slowly, as if she were talking to a very young child. Camille struggles to do as she's told, and she whimpers and cries as if she were being tortured. Cybele does not respond to her cries of pain, and simply continues on with her meditation. A minute after the initial burst the pain subsides, and Camille goes back to fidgeting and "meditating". But this time she's sweating like she'd just run for her life from a crazy axe murderer. Whatever they two of them are doing is definitely hard on the wannabe-kunoichi.

[zeone3000]

Houshi is very familiar with mediation, or his shishō would put it, becoming one with everything. He didn't quite get it but could very calming at times.

He gives a nod back to Yousuke before continued his training.