Another Day, Another Punching Bag

Of all the things she could have done, Chika didn't expect this. Due to clan politics, his sister finding out his team was on suspension, and his desire to not be impeded by his clan, she had manipulated events so that he was now the head of the Hyuga Clan. Or at least in namesake. Due to his lack of knowledge in clan politics as well as desire to not partake in said politics, it was really his sister, one little miss Satowa Hyuga was really in charge of the Clan, but his name was on the paperwork, so for the time being he'd have to play the part. He...didn't know how to feel about all of this. On one hand, the fact she manage to perform a coup d'etat in such a fashion was impressive, but now that that he was Clan Head, at least on paper. She had also made a joke about puppeteering the puppet master to him, and it hit a bit too close to home.

But now, the two of them were back at his little home. Since she was the figurehead she'd still stay at the main compound, but he was still allowed his home, with some guards there in case someone tried to attack. But there weren't at him some for some simple tea and crackers, no. She was here with some scrolls that detailed clan techniques he was going to have to learn.

First was Palm Bottom. While it was a simple technique for any Hyuga as it was just injecting chakra into a target, unlike his practice with puppets he had to rely on a teacher this time as at his current skill level he couldn't create a puppet with an artificial chakra system. It had a similar movement to vacuum palm,with Chica thrusting up the palm of their hand forward, but the amount of chakra he wanted to exert out of his palm wasn't something he was used to. What was most frustrating about it is that his sister was already picking up on how to do the technique, and while she wouldn't be able to do so for a while, the fact that she was understanding it's better than he could was a little demoralizing. Taking the gentle fist stance once more, he'd faced the teacher and perform several thrusting motions with his hands and arms, attempting to inject chakra into him. Each time the man would redirect his attacks, but after a while he grabbed Chika arm and nodded. While his form wasn't perfect and he wasn't able to land a single hit on the man, he'd had his Byakugan activated and was watching intently, keeping an eye on the amount of chakra Chica was thrusting out of his palms. It would have to do for now.

Next came the One Blow Body, and since he already knew palm rotation, he already knew the principles of how the technique worked. The problem for him though was the amount of force he'd need to expel the chakra at. Watching the instructor he'd note the smaller differences between the two techniques. Rotation required less chakra to be put out at once, but put out about the same amount over time. Heck, even his sister, while not as adept as himself, could pull off a variation of it by fudging rotation.  However unlike the previous technique he was already getting the hang of it. The teacher motioning to a fairly durable clan's member that was often the punching bag due to his durability, the punching bag would the lightly grab Chica, giving him a soft squeeze to indicate that he should use the Jutsu. Nodding in understanding, Chica would activate all of his tenketsu points and expel a large amount of chakra from all of them. The force of all these spell chakra would remove the man's grapple, and his teacher would nod, glad to see that the 'new head' of the clan was picking up some of the bloodline specific jutsu.

Unfortunately, despite his efforts he couldn't pull off 64 palms yet, but instead he could practice the White Haze Heavenly Dance. He had found it buried in some of the scrolls, and felt that it'd be invaluable for close combat next time he sparred with Ari. The premise was simple, cover your hands in chakra, then after several attacks there'd be enough chakra built up to cause a small chakra explosion. When he had proposed to learn this Jutsu instead of 64 Palm, the teacher was initially against it, but after some pestering the man had relented, as the ability to create a small explosion would help in case the user was surrounded but couldn't spin. Take a look at his sister, Chica was a little glad that his sister couldn't quite understand how to pull off the Jutsu yet, and probably wouldn't be able to for a long time. Taking the position next to his teacher, they both face two parallel training dummy and practice the technique. The Chica surprise, he pull off of the technique before his teacher could, as when his explosion landed it had pushed the other training dummy out of the way. As such, he could consider that a win. Practicing the technique several more times after retrieving the dummy that have been launched, he noticed that there was a small flaw in it. Unlike the 32 Palm technique, the strikes are slower, more deliberate, and potentially leaving the one being attacked small opportunities to end the technique prematurely.

Now came the hardest one he had been working on in his spare time. Ever since his fight with Ari, he'd been trying to think of a way to counter the inherent flaw of rotation's stationary fighting style as well as the flaw of chakra zipline being able to possibly kill him if he wasn't careful. Over the week he had formulated the idea of combining the two, and with his dummy set up and both his instructor and sister there to give their thoughts, he'd try it out. Quickly firing off his chakra strings in a spiral from his hand he'd also begin the spinning motion for rotation in the opposite direction. As soon as the strings hit he'd kick off, he'd properly expel chakra from his body, going from a complete sphere of chakra into a drill-like shape. the expelled chakra would continue to help him spin as the instructor raised an eyebrow, however the true show began once it hit the dummy. The dummy fought a valiant fight as it was mage of decent quality Senju wood, but when compared to the combined impact and power of a chakra 'drill', it didn't hold for long. Once he ended the technique, Chika would look behind him and see the destruction it caused. The puppet was gone, it's splinters displaced all over the small homely area. There was a linear divot in the ground where he traveled over, as he had aimed a little too low and caught the ground. but what impressed him the most was that the instructor had gone from an eyebrow raise to a raise with a smirk.

---

Palm Bottom (掌底, Shōtei) 229/200
Gentle Fist Art One Blow Body (柔拳法一撃身, Jūkenhō Ichigekishin) 202/200
White Haze Heavenly Dance 254/250
Eight Trigrams Palms Drill Haven 273/250

One after another, Ari has gone to each member of Team 10 and not only apologized to them. But the girl helped them grow as a result of it. Starting with Ashitaka, then to Nyguyen. Now the last person on the list happens to be the worst one. Ari is pretty sure she earned herself to be put in Chika’s shitlist if he has one. Although from what Ari has seen of Chika, he more than likely does in her opinion. A sigh escaped from her lips as her stormy grey eyes were staring up at the Hyuuga district.

Ari is garbed in a steel chain shirt with a pair of steel arm and shin guards. Around her shoulders is a pair of leather pauldrons as her faulds and cuisse protect the midsection of her torso down to her thighs. Attached to her arm guards on the outside are kunai mechanisms as both are loaded with a kunai. The headband that bears the Konohagakure symbol remains tied up around Ari’s head which seems to keep her silver hair away from her eyes. Otherwise she is wearing a black tank top with black leggings. Of course, Ari is also wearing a leather belt around the waist just over the apron-like armor where a hip pouch contains her other tools.

”The door is not going to knock itself with me standing here…” Ari muttered before she strides up to the door of the Hyuuga district. With the clank of metal lightly shifting with her raised hand. Ari knocks on the door a couple of times before taking a step and patiently waiting. This was a lot easier to find than it was to find Nyguyen. Still, she was debating on what exactly Ari should say to him.

After a few seconds a middle-aged Hyuga woman cracked opened the door. "One moment please." The door would be shut, and some sort of writing could be heard for a few seconds before the door was completely opened. "You must be Miss Dokuma. Lady Satowa had assumed you'd eventually come to discuss matters with...Chikamatsu. Please, follow me." She'd motion for Ari to follow, as the path to where Chika lived in the district wasn't well known.

~~

Meanwhile, Chika had cleaned up a good portion of the mess he caused, though unfortunately none of them knew any Doton techniques to clean up the divot, so it'd have to be fixed at a later date. The instructor had done his work , and as such had gone back to the main clan building, though his sister remained, having pulled out Faithful and propped it up so she could sit in it's lap. Chika himself had gone and grabbed the spider summoning scroll as he needed to practice a few jutsu that were written inside.

The first was simple and one he was a bit afraid to learn as it could very well put him into the jaws of death: the reverse summoning jutsu. It was pretty simple, and thankfully it had notes saying what could be offered if one was just learning how to preform the jutsu: meat. In his short moments where he had summoned one or two, they had sometimes conversed with him, and boy did they like meat. He had visited a butcher shop the day before and got a large boar to practice on for this moment. Having set the large boar next to him, he perform the hand seals as well as the chakra lattice, then after spitting a little blood onto the lattice he pressed the lattice Into the dead boar. A large puff of smoke with appear and he felt no resistance on his hands anymore. After a few more seconds of the smoke would dissipate and they would reveal that the boar was now gone. In its place a small note was left, with the words 'sacrifice accepted' ominously written on it. "God I hate their notes." Just once he wished that they wouldn't leave ominous notes, as by this point they were just mocking him.

Looking up from her drawing book, Satowa would speak up. "So brother, I took a look at your blueprints, and that samurai woman seemed to have an impact on you. You aren't thinking of replacing me with her, are you?" Without skipping a beat, Chika would reply.  "She's my teammate, so I have to make sure that the next models can replicate all of them in case we need a diversion. You know I can't replace you no matter how many times I've tried to." She'd chuckle, and she'd continue to draw. She had planned something, and he didn't like it. Problem was she was an enigma to him and wasn't sure what it was.

Moving on he'd focus on the evolution to the reverse summon made specifically for puppets. It required the same movements and everything, but the difference was intent. Instead of using the reverse lattice to provide a sacrifice, the user was to envision the circle of life of all things. Supposedly it was to represent the reuse of puppets, though that felt like a diversion or lie. Still, if it got the job done he's still envision it. This time instead of providing meat as a sacrifice, he was supposed to provide a small spider doll. Performing the lattice once more, he briefly looked to his sister, wondering if he could a sacrifice her, but he knew he couldn't as the reverse have been required someone to be willing, and he couldn't exactly assault her without consequences, and I saw cheat up place the lattice on two of the small curio. Like the boar before it, smoke, a release of pressure, and an another annoying note. This time though the note also had a picture of a spider in a trench coat, implying that if you wanted to get the curious curio back can I properly learn a specific spider summon, and he wasn't looking forward to that.

---

Reverse Summon (Spider) 211/200
Reverse Puppet Summon (Spider) 207/200

Ari wasn't exactly expecting to be expected in all honesty. From Chika she could understand, but whoever this Satowa was someone Ari had never met before. Perhaps she was Chika's superior? The greeter was hard to get a read on their face, but Ari nods her head in acknowledgement. Either way, Ari enters the district upon the Hyuuga's indication to do so.

"Who is Lady Satowa?" Ari questioned the Hyuuga as it was what Ari considered to be a natural question. Frankly this was way easier than what Ari had to deal with at the Uchiha District, and it made her wonder if she considered the Hyuuga wrong. Still the girl follows the Hyuuga and her stormy grey eyes wander from side to side. Taking in the view of the place, and frankly she noticed some similarities to the buildings back in the Land of Iron. Albeit where she came from most of the houses were built in the mountains.

"Has uh… has Chikamatsu always been difficult to approach?" Ari followed up as they walked. She was curious if Chika was always like how she met him, or maybe it was just him having a bad day. Hopefully the latter, but that also depends on if the Hyuuga are willing to discuss such things. Gossip was never in the favor of Hyuuga so she was told. Still Ari inquired about her teammate to get a better understanding of how he behaves.

Deciding that it was a good time for a break, Chika had dragged his sister and his puppet into the house as they'd set up for lunch.

~~

Meanwhile, the Pale-eyed woman only looked forward as she responded to Ari's question while they walked. "I'm surprised you don't know given that you are his teammate. Lady Satowa is Chikamatsu's sister, and she's taken an interest in you." She'd turn a corner.

"As for Lord Chikamatsu, I wouldn't be able to say. I myself have only met with him a few times, and that was only due to Lady Satowa's regular visits. I would ask her for more information if you get the chance, as she pays more attention to the clan's opinion on others more then most." She'd say the word 'lord' with a hint of disgust, and just kept looking forward. While she was trying to keep up a sense of indifference, it wouldn't take an expert to recognize she had some unfavorable opinions on him.

Turning another corner, a long path would be presented, the sides mostly barren with a small house and equally small workshop at the end of it, with an unsightly large divot next to the workshop. She'd walk dowwn the path, and gave a quick knock on the workshop. No one answered, and she'd them move to the house. "Here we are. Please wait here for someone to let you in, and let Lady Satowa know that I will be taking the rest of the day off." She'd give a quick knock, then began to walk away, leaving the Grey-eyed girl at the door.

~~

Chika had finished setting his humanoid puppets down at the table and began putting facemasks on each of them. Loving had a mask that resembled Ari's face, Uptight with Ash's face, Mocking with Nygugen, and Faithful's face didn't need a placeholder mask, with Satowa sitting at one end of the table next to Faithful. Before he had a chance to fully sit down though, a knock was heard and his sister spoke up, smiling.

"Hey Clan Leader, I think someone's at the door You better go check it while I go get lunch ready."

He'd turn his head back to her, confused, briefly seeing her byakugan activated. Since when did she make food, or better yet, actually use her byakugan casually? Getting up and going to the door he'd open it up, his face filled with confusion. "Dokuma? What are you doing here?"

Truthfully Ari didn’t expect Chika to even have a sibling, let alone a sister. Then again, Chika and herself were too busy arguing and throwing hands to ask questions like that. They were barely even teammates in all technicalities, but Ari was not sure on how this sister of his had taken an interest in herself. It was strange, the earth devil thought. The rest of it was something Ari sort of expected. It was generally better to just approach the person in question herself, but Ari wanted to try to understand him beforehand. Perhaps Ari never will understand him, but she still feels like she has to try.

Ari’s vision shifted to the ground in front of them as it led to a workshop and a house. It was rather secluded from the rest of the district. Ari can understand that someone wants to maintain their level of privacy, but this is more of a left alone unless someone exclusively knew the route already. In a sense Ari felt like she might be invading someone’s privacy here, yet she didn’t let it deter her. Ari came here with an objective, and frankly the ultimate goal here is to unify Team 10 before their second official meeting. Not like Ari is going out of her way to be the team leader, that’s someone else’s job.

Ari politely bowed to the lady who led the young Dokuma thus far. Ari then turned her gaze over to the door of this house, this place that Lord Chiakmatsu occupies. Frankly this is the last person on the list so to speak that Ari has to overcome. Something tells Ari that this endeavor will involve lots of cursing and yelling. More than likely they will probably fight again, and this time they won’t be interrupted by their sensei. Ari heard the steps approaching the door before the mechanical click from the door, still when it opened and lord behold it was Chika himself. Of course he was confused as Ari never announced her presence nor gave him a heads up.

”Normally I would say that I hoped you haven’t been slacking in your training, but it’s actually about our last meeting. Mind if I come in?” Ari couldn’t hide her smirk, but at least this time she’s not bluntly insulting him upon the first glance at him. Still whether Chika allows her to come in or not doesn’t really deter what Ari came to say. Still, Chika was equivalent to a noble around here while she is just some foreigner that’s no better than a filthy peasant in a lot of people’s eyes.

With that in mind, Ari simply knelt down before leaning forward to press her forehead on the ground. Both of her hands were curled into loose fists as they were in contact with the ground side by side of her. Ari’s eyes were on the floor as well, and frankly this was rather humiliating as it was. However the Samurai would sometimes grovel in respect to their Shogun, or in Ari’s case with her hands poised side by side in the form of loose fists and her forehead touches the ground. It’s also a form of the humblest apology. The other one is actually a low bow with both hands overlapping in front of them, not side by side.

”I came here to formally offer my deepest apology for my unjustified behavior towards you and our team. I was wrong to act in such a wrongful way, and it was never my intention to come across as if I was better than all of you. But I simply wished to know for myself if the team was fully prepared for what might come. In the end however, it was I who was the weak one, and for that I admit that misjudged you.” With that speech laid bare before him, Ari honestly expects him to lash out in anger. Did she pity him? No, but what she intends and what is received is not something she can personally control. Often she is misunderstood, and often it has gotten her into a lot of trouble including picking fights with other genin. Sometimes it wasn't started by her, but she usually finishes the fight and they would play the victim card. Ari just hopes that Chika won't do that.

Chika would continue to stare in confusion as he looked at his guest. Why was she here? Did she come back for another fight? Sure their team meeting wasn't exactly good, but he'd been going over it several times using his puppets yet he couldn't figure out what went wrong. But while he hadn't seen his mistake, he would start to get a better idea as Ari began to apologize on the ground.

"*Sigh.* Get up Dokuma. Just because you made a mistake doesn't mean you need to apologize to this degree. We all made mistakes that day, and if you were really weak you wouldn't've come here to apologize. Also please get up; I've a long week of people prostrating themselves to me for asinine requests and I'm starting to wonder if it's worth the trouble." He was glad he had bought the book on making yourself seem smarter in speeches. About half of what he said was him bullshitting his way through what he thought would sound deep. He really was tired of people acting submissive to him, at least when they fought back he didn't need to act humble.

"Anyways, come on in. We were about to have lunch and we can sort things out there, then train and physically vent afterwards." before he could properly turn around though, a voice would come from the house. "Ah, welcome Miss Dokuma! I hope your trip here was pleasant." A small girl that was about Ari's age appeared from around the corner. She was a few inches shorter then Chika, had long black hair put into a ponytail, and was wearing traditional Hyuga wear. Her byakugan weren't activated anymore, though some of the muscles around her eyes were twitching a little.

Chika's small bravado deflated and the small shimmer in his eyes dulled. He'd give a thumb point behind him. "Oh yeah, this wonderful bag of sunshine is my sister, Satowa. Don't mind her, she's often plotting something." She'd puff her cheeks out. "How rude. And to think I helped you become clan leader as well as making grilled cheese and tomato soup. I can see why you felt the need to put him in his place. No respect for the other gender, not even his widdle baby sister."

A pained noise came from Chika as he looked back at his sister. "If you keep saying things like 'widdle' I really will treat you like a child." He'd look at Ari. "Like I said, plotting." He'd motion to Ari to follow him inside, lightly taking a hold of his sister by her face and having her walk backwards and oh god she was licking his palm. Sending a pulse of chakra through his palm, he'd numb her tongue and sit her down in her chair.

If Ari did follow them inside, the house interior was nothing special. Since Nyguyen had visited, the once 1-room home had expanded slightly as to make the living room and kitchen separate from the bedroom, now 3 rooms instead. On the walls were several pictures, a good chunk being of puppets, but one of them was of Chika, Satowa, and 3 other Hyuga. two of them were adults, but one of them was an adult female who looked more like an Amandi with her brown hair and eyes. But what would probably draw the most attention was the table, as 4 puppets humanoid puppets took up half of the seats. "Please, take a seat while I grab the food and make sure she hasn't spiked the tomato soup."

Luckily Chika waited to hear Ari out before he started to make a short speech. Even throwing in a compliment if there ever was one that she wasn’t weak because Ari wouldn’t even be here. Ari eyes slightly narrowed at the thought of it.

But I’m not really strong.... Ari thought to herself before she blinked away the doubt that encroached in her mind. The girl straightened herself as she stood to her feet. Dusting herself from whatever small layers of dirt that attached to her clothes.

”Well that just means that business is booming I suppose. At least, I assume that it’s because of your puppets.” Ari started to suggest a different perspective, but decided against it and went with a soft closure. It wasn’t really her place to correct him about family matters, nor will it ever be her place. Simply listen and only offer subtle advice unless Ari is directly asked about the matter. The girl has gotten into trouble on some occasions back in the Land of Iron. Infringing on matters that did not concern her nor was she in any authority to question their ways of life.

Still, what Chika thought to be a bit annoying was the later introduced Satowa. The way they acted to each other, Ari wasn’t exactly expecting it and prompted Ari to genuinely laugh. Not in mockery of them, but because Ari found humor in their interaction. She was quick to stop and clear her throat before speaking to Satowa even as she was being carried away.

”Well it is great to meet you as well Satowa. I envy you Chika as I never had a sibling to be perfectly honest. Still, congratulations on making it into the clan leader Chika. I’m sure your family is proud of you.” Exchanging pleasantries as Ari followed them inside of the building. Of course Ari closes the door behind her as she takes off her shoes before catching up to them. Policy was drilled into her head to never walk around in a house unless it’s for emergencies.

Upon arriving at the dining area, or so Ari assumed. She couldn’t help except to notice the number of puppets along the hallway and even seated at the table. It was kind of creepy to Ari, yet she keeps her opinion to herself. As Chika walks off to check the tomato soup, Ari nods her head in acknowledgment. Once Chika was in the kitchen area however, Ari leaned over to whisper to Satowa.

”These puppets aren’t going to start talking are they?” Ari asked in a jest manner, yet Ari has heard of some horror stories revolving around this particular scene and it was giving Ari a sense of dejavu. Either way, Ari will take her seat that was across one of the Hyuuga puppets. Kind of eerie, but really as long as they don’t start moving Ari was fine.

While Chika inspected the food, using his knowledge of poisons to determine if his sister really had spiked them, said sister chucked when Ari asked about the puppets. "As long as you don't make any sudden movements, they should behave. I don't think he's installed any vocal boxes yet, but he can already make puppets that move without him controlling them, so it doesn't hurt to be a little on guard." She'd give another grin, this time a bit more shit-eating then before.

Satisfied that he wouldn't have another blackout to wake up somewhere he'd rather not be, he'd carry out the ceramic cooking pot filled with the soup and set it onto a hot pad on the table before grabbing the grilled cheese sandwich plate and setting it next to the soup. He'd then get some bowls filled with the soup as well as spoons for the lunch, his habit of eating alone having him bring out the extra first showingAfter setting everything down, he'd realize something that he had missed. Ari was the first non-hyuga to see the puppets at the table.

"Oh, right. You probably are a bit unnerved by them. Give me a few seconds to move them." Putting in a little effort he'd have some strings come out of his hand and would move the humanoid puppets into the bedroom one at a time, theeir movements a bit more mechanical then when he would normally use them. Unlike his normal strings these were clearly visible as he wasn't putting much effort into thinning them. He's keep Loyal Karakuri in it's place though, the Komainu-like puppet actually meshing well with the home. Thankfully he had left Dutiful in the workshop, as even he couldn't calmly eat with that thing around.

Satowa would give thanks before taking a few grilled slices and dipping it into her soup. "So Miss Dokuma, how did you learn to use jutsu without needing hand seals? Is it a bloodline thing, or just years of practice?" Chika gave a small nod in agreement, though he'd also raise an eyebrow. Sure his sister had showed up once the meeting was over, but was she also watching it all go down and he missed her despite being in divination range? Was that how she knew? "And no need to worry about eating too much, I always make sure to make extra."

Ari giggled with Satowa's response regarding the puppets. It didn't take that long before Chika returned with bowls of food.

Do they normally eat this much? Or were they waiting on me? Of course the Hyuuga who escorted her did mention that Satowa was expecting Ari. But how exactly? Did Chika spoken of their ill encounter? So many questions, yet they were silent as Ari didn't want to disrupt the flow of this conversation. Chika seems to have picked up how unsettling the puppets were to Ari. Truthfully this was the first time Ari actually sees Chika manipulating the puppets. Sure Chika brought Faithful in their meeting, but Ari never got to see him use it.

"Well that's a neat skill to have." Ari commented as Chika manipulated the strings to move the puppets out of the room. Well, save for one, but that was alright for Ari. Still, Ari placed her hands together almost like she's about to pray before she lightly bowed in respect to them.

"Thank you for accepting me." It was part of her tradition albeit there was another way to show respect to the host. That was to eat almost everything except for some of the rice. Ari was always reprimanded by sensei about it, so it's kind of like natural to her. Then of course the young girl will begin to eat as Satowa asked Ari about her ability. Yeah no, Chika definitely had to have said something. Satowa wasn't even there, Ari thought.

"It's not something I was born with. It took a lot of work, and ya know when you try the same thing over and over expecting different results. Sometimes it ends up working after years of practice." Ari briefly explained as it did take a lot of effort to perform Seal-less Ninjutsu at all. Her stormy grey eyes shifted to the left as her mind grew distant for a moment.

"Unfortunately I can only do Seal-less with Doton. I can't do it with non-elemental or Suiton, but it's alright with me." Ari then shifts her focus back towards them with a small smile on her lips.

"What about you two? I unfortunately don't know much when it comes to their bloodlines. Just that one clan has glowy red eyes and the other is pale." Ari inquired before she takes a grilled slice and dips it into the soup. Then she takes a bite at it as she listens to them.

Chika would give a nod to Ari's thanks, not knowing it was a cultural thing, but thankful for it all the same. He'd make a quick motion of thanks as well before digging in himself. For something that his sister had cooked, she had outdone herself this time. Her comment on his chakra strings did stick as he ate, wondering why it wasn't a widespread technique.

"Oooh, that's cool. Big Bro can't even do elemental techniques. The elders say it's punishment for him picking up kugutsu, but they also said that he'd never become the head of the clan, so they could be wrong about that." She'd take another bite into her grilled cheese, somehow not staining her clothing despite how white it was. Chika on the other hand was using his spoon to catch dripping tomato sauce in the rare occasions it did drip. Maybe the reason why Chakra strings weren't widespread was the same reason he couldn't do sealless jutsu: it took a lot of training and they both just happened to have the right mindset for their respective skills.

He was at a bit of a loss on what to bring up next, but thankfully Ari had something already prepared, and Chika an answer. "Ah, yeah that's something I was a bit surprised about when you didn't understand how Nyguyen caught you in a genjutsu. See, there's something known as the 'Three Great Dojutsu', being the Byakugan, the Sharingan, and the Rinnegan. While there are other kinds of Dojutsu, these there are the most well known, and their abilities are easily recalled by a phrase I once heard: The Byakugan sees all, the Sharingan understands all, and the Rinnegan knows all." He'd take another bite of his food while Satowa moaned in pain, knowing what was coming next as Chika had done a lot of research on Dojutsu.

"While I couldn't tell you what the Rinnegan does as mentions of it are rare, the Sharingan is able to both copy techniques by seeing the flow of chakra as well as inflict powerful Genjutsu effects on those they make eye contact with, though supposedly it can do more. The Byakugan on the other hand is able to see everything around it, and yes, I do mean everything: Chakra, Tenketsu Points, whatever you ate and hadn't digested, everything. All can be seen withing a very, very large radius. But, and you should remember this, Dojutsu all need to be activated to work, just like any other jutsu. If a person's eyes are normal, you're safe.

Satowa would pipe up. "Think of how he was surprised that you were at the door, yet I knew you were already at the door. His Dojutsu were off, mine were on at the time." She'd pick up her bowl and downed the rest of the soup in her bowl. Setting it down, Chika would sigh and maneuver some strings to refill her bowl with the ladle. "You really need to slow down and show a little respect to our guest 'towa as well as saving some as an offering. Just because you snuck up and watched the meeting from afar doesn't mean you're a part of the group dynamic and can act casual. But her example is an apt one."

Despite what Satowa or even Chika believed, having no elements isn’t such a bad thing either. The limitations are narrowed compared to someone who does, but Ari doesn’t see any reason on why Chika would get discouraged for it. The girl didn’t make a direct quip about it, but instead Ari offered some consolation.

”Sometimes you’ll find people who won’t use an element. There’s really nothing wrong with it as you can still work with it as Chika demonstrated with his puppets for example. I’m just uh… a bad matchup to him since my focus is known to crush things with overwhelming force.” Ari admitted as earth and water is something that can’t be easily overcome. Not by raw power at any rate unless they’re clashed with something greater. That’s a thought Ari didn’t want to crop up in her head, and that reminded her of those boulders that she launched at Chika. Perhaps the Hyuuga could’ve gotten out of it, but still Ari didn’t even consider whether Chika was to get hurt from it at the time.

When Chika began explaining about the three Doujutsu, Ari was paying attention in full as he described the three eyes of power. It was a bit creepy to know that the Byakugan could see everything, but that does get Ari to think.

”In other words, you saw the chakra building up within me before I even launched the technique. Not a bad gift to have I must say.” She didn’t even mention the Sharingan, but something Ari found a bit humorous is that her name can be found in ShARIngan. Something that a small smile spreads across her lips as she keeps that joke to herself. Ari pops another grilled slice in her mouth and chews on it before speaking again.

”That reminds me, how’s your training coming along Chika?” A curious question on her part, but on the same token Ari is curious if he needs a sparring partner. After all, it’s to get a fair assessment of her teammates’ capabilities. Ari already gathered enough information from Ashitaka, and really Ashitaka just needs to refine his agility and he should be fine.

”I noticed you could move that kunai pretty quick, and I’m certain you could do the same with those puppets there. But what about if somehow your opponent bypasses all of that and engages you in close quarters?”

"For me it's less of won't and more of can't. Apparently it has something to do with my mother's bloodline that I inherited that prevents me from doing nature transformations. We've even tried the paper test to double check, and it just filled with chakra with no change. But I'm not too worried about it. Since I don't need to spread my focus over as many things, I should be able to refine my other fields even more." Sure it wasn't optimal, but he had wondered on occasion if his desire to pick up puppetry was some sort of instinctual response to not having an elemental affinity.

He'd nod, glad that his explanation was sufficient. "It has it's ups and downs." Even though she was his teammate, he didn't want to reveal the two major downfalls of the eye; the needle-like blind spot and the limited daily use. Thankfully with Ashikata having sensory abilities he wouldn't need to use it outside of combat much, but it was still a flaw all the same.

When asked about his training, he'd shrug not exactly happy about the answer he had. "It could be better. I was working on some technique earlier, but other then that I've had little time to practice due to clan politics. Outside of today, the best I've been able to manage is strengthening my contract, and even then not much." With all the chaos of a new leader his mind was mostly on paperwork. He didn't mind the paperwork, but it cut into the time he'd normally work on puppets, so it technically cut into his time for training even more.

Satowa gave a small snort when Ari asked how he'd fight up-close. "Oh my, you really don't know much about any of the clans here, do you? While he certainly isn't the best at it, the Hyuga are taijutsu specialists." He'd nod as his sister stood up and took her plate. she'd make a 'you done?' sort of movement to Ari, and if she was she'd take the dishes before moving over to Chika.

"My sister is correct. If it weren't for our sensei stepping it, I was fully prepared to take you on in close-combat. If you want I can demonstrate -yes 'towa, I'm done- right now with a good sparring session." With his lack of training as of late, he wanted to see how well he could do against his teammate.

It was interesting to say the least that Chika simply can’t learn any of the elemental aspects of chakra. It was quite rare from what Ari understood, but still it wasn’t something to be ashamed of. As Ari herself discovered beforehand; find what they’re good at and focus on it. Eventually, through months if not years of training, whatever they’re training for will become known. And it will make each of them strong in their own right.

Ari continued to eat the rest of her food while listening to both Satowa and Chika. The young Dokuma wasn't joking when she said that she didn't know much about the clans here. Just that they're high on status, wealth, and power. Of course, it's not like Ari had the option to learn about the major clans in depth, and she had no knowledge beforehand to discern rumors to be false or not.

"Well when I first arrived here in the city, the only thing my grandfather kept chanting about was to establish my career. So I didn't have a lot of time from going to the Academy and training." Ari admitted to them, but it was a bit pleasant to know that the clan as a whole train vigorously in Taijutsu and apparently their use of eyes too. Kind of makes Ari envious of them, but it was a power she doubted to ever truly understand. Not without using it herself, and that would require Ari to have the Byakugan or something else to use as well. Regardless, Ari nods her head towards Satowa’s gesture, and there was only a thin layer of the soup remaining.

”I’m down with that, but this time I promise not to spit rocks at you.” It was a joke about her using the Stone Pistol technique that shot multiple boulders at him before. Technically Ari was never given a chance to really demonstrate her prowess in close quarters combat to the team beforehand. Albeit she did demonstrate that bit against Ashitaka a short while ago, and technically to Nyguyen as well. Every spar Ari has been in, she learns and grows from it. Maybe one day, she can even overcome her own flaw regarding Genjutsu.

”Although if we do spar, I suggest not this room. Preferably in a more suitable location such as a training room or even taking it outside?” Unfortunately Ari has to say this as there are some real ruthless people who won’t hesitate to invite them for tea only to throw a hot kettle full of boiling water on them. It can make anyone a tad bit paranoid, but Ari doubts Chika will be the sort to pull something like that.

With his sister disappearing into the kitchen Chika nodded as Ari gave a pretty good reason as to why she didn't know about the sharingan. Her grandfather sounded like a very smart individual,

"Your grandfather had the right idea as it gave you a foothold, though I'm surprised the academy didn't briefly go over Konoha's Kekkei Genkai." While a good chunk of his time was being taught at the clan compound itself, he was still required to go to the academy when he was younger. "Oh well. Better that you learned it now and be prepared then later when it could decide your fate without your input."

A loud clatter and a simultaniously relieved & joyful "Saved it!" a few seconds after came from the small kitchen. Chika just sighed and prayed to whatever god there was that she wouldn't be injured. "I hope you didn't try to touch the jade dragon teapot. You know that that's off limits, even before I became Clan Head." "Nope! just the gold lion teapot." Well, it was better then her toughing the dragon pot.

When Ari mentioned she'd rather not fight inside, he couldn't help but give a hearty laugh. "Well of course not in here, I live here! We'll take it outside, the front area should be fine. With everything going on it needs redecorating anyways." Sure there was the divot, but if he was going to be head of the clan, he was going to make this area a proper workshop & testing area instead of just a small shed and psuedo-apartment. "And you can use whatever techniques you'd like to use so long as you keep it from destroying too much property."

With that he'd get up and straighten one of his photos, having noticed it was slightly tilted. "Now then, Satowa, whatever tea your making, please stop. Time's just about up and you need to get to class. I'll clean up later and we can discuss...things later." Satowa popped her head out and opened her mouth to retort, but Chika would look back and raised eyebrow. Closing her mouth her shoulders lumped and she nodded, heading out the front door.

Looking back to Ari, he'd give a small bow. "Apologies, but sometimes she gets too invested in social gatherings, even ones as small as this. As soon as you're ready I'll grab my puppets and we can have a proper duel."

The interactions between Chika and Satowa never failed to bring amusement to Ari. It’s not really so much as she thinks they are comical, but rather she views how well connected they are. Some siblings simply couldn’t get along with each other no matter what they did. There were even some cases where they tried hurting each other pretty badly. Ari was glad none of that was the case here.

”Heh, well that does limit what I can do, but I’ll come up with something.” Although her not destroying too much of the property was rewarded with a giggle.

”Besides, this isn’t exactly the training grounds. Not that creating dragons is taxing, they’re just big and change the terrain.” In which case technically by law she can’t use those techniques. Some ninjutsu was fine, but it couldn’t be dangerous or large unless it was for emergency purposes only. After Satowa took her leave, Chika actually gave a small bow as Ari stood up to her feet. It might seem to be a small gesture, but with her upbringing it was a sign of progress. Perhaps they truly weren’t so different as they originally believed.

At any rate, Ari proceeded to make her way outside. It was relatively nice weather-wise as it wasn’t too hot yet there was still a cool breeze to make it bearable. Ari took a deep breath as she relaxed her body. Both of her hands were raised with open palms before they flowed in front of her like water. Eventually settling for having both hands half extended in front of her, yet none were even cupped into fists. Ari’s stormy grey eyes becomes more detailed as if a thin veil of chakra coats her eyes.

”Ready whenever you are.” Of course the traditional distance was 10 meters, but if Chika chose to come closer then Ari wouldn’t object. Currently she does nothing except to wait for Chika to give the cue.

[Training for Dance of the Water Dragon 250/250]
[Activated Eagle’s Eye -5CP | +1 tier Perception & -1 tier Constitution]

Strength: D
Constitution: C > D
Stamina: C+
Speed: B > B+ (Dance)
Coordination: B > A (Dance)
Intelligence: D
Perception: B > A (Eagle Eye)

Stamina: 127/135

With Satowa gone and Ari going out soon after, he'd finish moving the dirty dishes into the kitchen and would grab his puppets with his strings, leaving their gear in the room for the time being as he'd rather not kill his teammate by arrow impalement.

Moving outside, he'd see Ari had already taken position in a good area, the same area where he had practiced earlier that day in fact "I'm fine with a terrain change, that needs to happen anyways." he'd motion to the divot, still sitting there like a sore thumb. "I'm more concerned about my home. the Earth is free game though."

"Very well. I guess I'll make the first move." Taking up his personal fighting style, he'd flex his fingers before taking up Faithful, Loving, Mocking, and Uptight Karakuri with his chakra strings. Each of the four puppets were a meter away from him in the four diagonal directions, while Loyal and Dutiful stayed by the house. He'd honor the tradition of combat and also start 10 meters away, and all five of them would preform the Seal of Confrontation to mark the start of the duel, and would wait for her to do the same.

As soon as she made the Seal, he'd speak. "You're within the range of our divination." And his eyes would activate. He'd make a mental note that she now had both an Earth and Water Affinity now, and wondered what sort of tricks she had up her short sleeves. The four puppets would take a stance that was more or less Gentle Fist, but as they had no way to replicate the ability to close tenketsu it was a more for show, though that didn't mean they weren't still effective.

The two front puppets, Faithful and Loyal would attempt to move towards Ari, Faithful moving behind her and making a leg sweep towards her back leg, while Loyal stayed in front and went to try and do a straightforward palm strike to her gut. At the same time Mocking and Uptight would move in front of Chika, acting as bodyguards to block off Ari's view of him to make any jutsu she wanted to perform that much harder. He wouldn't go all out with their speed yet as he still needed to be able to track his puppets, but a 2v1 opener felt like a good way to set the stage for the practice spar.

---

135/135 CP
Way of the Spider; -3 CP
Nimble Fingers; -1 CP
Puppet Technique; -1 CP
Byakugan Stage 2; 0.4 CP
129.8/135 CP

Strength: D
Constitution: D
Stamina: C+
Speed: C → C+
Coordination: B → A++
Intelligence: C
Perception: C
~~
Puppet Stats:
Strength: C
Constitution: B
Speed: A++ (currently moving at A)
Coordination: A++

The puppet’s movements weren’t difficult to track for her enhanced eyes, but that didn’t mean her body could counter the same speed even if she wanted to. As much as Ari wanted to use just Suiton and see how well it played out. After she saw how quick the puppets were moving, Ari came to the conclusion that there was really one thing she could do. Being still like water, yet her core was building up doton chakra without her doing so much as breathing.

Everything about Ari darkened as she remained calm, and as Loyal approached with a frontal palm to her gut with Faith coming up at Ari’s rear. Doton chakra coated every part of her body, and Ari pivoted while leaning away from Loyal’s palm strike. Ari feels the connection on her leg, and while it didn’t even hurt the girl Ari didn’t have the strength to resist such power. Ari doesn’t let this opportunity slip by her however as Ari’s feet were swept under her. Ari will use the energy from her falling by attempting to slam a strong fist against Loyal’s shoulder in the form of a left hook. Her own strength might not affect Loyal much, but the damage from her doton technique added additional force behind her strength.

Like a graceful dancer of water despite practically being encased in stone. Ari slams her palm onto the earth with extra doton chakra charged up. Upon contact, a dome of earth will erupt as it pushes Ari up while attempting to trap both Loyal and Faith into a dome of earth. Normally this dome will suck any chakra within it, but seeing as how they’re just puppets it’ll only sever the chakra strings from Chika’s fingers. It didn’t help the fact that her strikes happened in lapses, blurs even according to his perception. If successful, Ari would succeed in removing two of Chika’s puppets from play which would leave the other two puppets. To which Ari will kept her keen eyes on Chika, as reacting to and perceiving high speed is something Ari is capable of doing.

---

Upkeep Dance of the Water Dragon -3CP
Used Earth Spear -10CP (Affinity)
Learning Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness (367/250) -5CP (Affinity)

Strength: D
Constitution: D (UA)
Stamina: C+
Speed: B+ (Dance)
Coordination: A (Dance)
Intelligence: D
Perception: A (UA)

Stamina: 109/135

{Thread prematurely ended}