[Tokuzō Jiro]

Even Jiro knew that this particular request was a strange one, but since she had gone so far as to say she owed him one this request would be incredibly helpful once he finally managed to set up a lab. Just in case, he would keep his eyes locked onto the young woman, awaiting the moment that anger might lead her to lash out at him with a punch or something; and while anger was indeed the first emotion to take hold of the woman in front of her, she seemed way too busy attempting to process the request to lash out physically. If he could manage to capitalize on the fact that she was putting actual thought and consideration into his request caused the medic to believe that she’d consider it if he worded his explanation of the request correctly.

When she finally calmed down and hesitantly noted that she didn’t understand, he would pause for a moment and let out one of his typical sighs before explaining, "To be honest with you, it’s simply easier to make children than it is to make clones, since the latter will require some extensive testing on my part to perfect the process in my personal lab. The fact the child will have at least half my DNA will help a lot in developing some medical techniques I’ve been working on that focus on altering genetics. The sooner I can start testing these techniques on something with similar DNA the sooner I’ll be able to use these techniques on myself.” Granted Jiro had already been expecting that he wouldn’t be able to start working on his techniques immediately, it’d take him much less time to make a child in his personal lab than a fully developed clone.

Rather than let her think about it too long, he’d try to offer some solutions to any issues she might have with the idea, "I can dramatically reduce the duration of the pregnancy if you’re worried about the whole process taking 9 months; and if me planting or extracting the genetic material medically puts you off, we could always do it more naturally.” It wasn’t his preferred method, since the idea of sexual relations didn’t particularly appeal to him, but he had no clue how Yoko would prefer to give her genetic material to him. Like most people she was pretty illogical, and it was impossible to tell whether she’d be more triggered by doing it medically or naturally. If he hadn’t offered the natural approach she might be offended and think that he didn’t find her sexually attractive enough to do it naturally.

There were other concerns that she could possibly have, but those two definitely accounted for the most common concerns involved with artificial insemination. It was also possible that if she had the child that she’d want to raise it as her own, but that would be a bit difficult for him to promise out of the gate since he practically planned on turning the child into a guinea pig and perfect as much of the medical techniques as he could on a test subject that shard some DNA with him. The closer it was to a clone the better, because creating jutsu to modify genetics could end up being too difficult to utilize on the fly on new subjects, requiring small tweaks based on each individual’s DNA. It was also possible that he was putting the cart before the horse, and she would simply hit him once he clarified what exactly he wanted from her.




@tsukimiyoko

[Deleted]

Yoko thought that hearing the rationale behind Jiro's desire for a child would help things. And it did help--in the way that she was less angry about the proposal. But it didn't make her any less flustered by the idea of it.

"But you'd be contributing to medical science!" logic chimed in.

"Except your body is a beautiful temple," pride shot back. "Not an incubator!"

Also, what kind of techniques would Jiro be testing that he needed someone with his own DNA? What was so precarious that it needed as many controlled variables as possible? Was it something for his personal arsenal or for the betterment of the village as a whole?

Well, now she was actually thinking about it--pure curiosity.

But then the words "more naturally" hit her ears and she felt anger stir in her chest again. Yes, anger, that was it. Definitely not embarrassment or uncertainty or self-consciousness.

"Noooooo," she said quickly, throwing her palms up and shaking her head. "No no no. It's um--" She didn't even know how to word it without sounding strange. "It's not that I wouldn't, um, do that. With you. And I can see the science-y part of it. But I can't do that to my body. Do you KNOW the work that goes into this?" She gestured down to her body with a flourish of both hands. "A child would ruin my figure." She crossed her arms and looked away awkwardly. "I'll give you a maybe. Someday. Maybe." She gave him a stern, sharp look, as if warning him that she was just that close to saying no.

But medical science was her passion, and knowing it was for the creation of techniques, she wasn't sure it was right to say no without hearing about them or knowing the full reach of her contribution. What if her DNA helped create something that could save lives in the field? Or help with some incredible breakthrough with some surgical procedure?

Again, the curiosity.

"What techniques were you wanting to test?" she asked. "Altering genetics? That's so broad." It could have been any of a hundred different things.

---

Tokuzō Jiro ❤ HEX: #c16c88 ❤ No notes!

[Tokuzō Jiro]

Jiro would simply stare at the woman as she processed her own thoughts, even with his explanation she seemed to be stuck on the fact that her body might end up suffering from the procedure. Even the tone of her voice was much more flustered than before, as she asked if he knew the work that went into her body. The head medic's eyes would follow her gesture downwards and assess her physicality in a way he hadn't done before; of course, it'd be impossible to accurately judge based on looks alone, but having seen many bodies in his years he'd actually venture a guess, "You probably spend about the same amount of time as the average shinobi does on their body, but it'd be difficult to tell without inspecting more of your body."

Since she seemed stuck on the idea of carrying the child to term, he'd sigh before adding in his typical monotone voice, "I did say you could donate eggs too, but I'm more than comfortable providing cosmetic surgery to remove any blemishes that might arise from having a child. Either way, I'm not particularly invested in which method is utilized." The point of offering both options was primarily to let her choose whichever one she was more comfortable with. After she thought some more and finally asked what kind of techniques he was trying to test, he'd contemplate whether he should be completely honest with her or present the possible good that could come from the research he was about to do.

With a little thought of his own, he'd let out yet another sigh as he decided to tell her both the truth and the possible good things that could stem from it, "Well, the reason I need something as close to my DNA as possible is because I'd like the option to manipulate my genetics and perhaps toy with the idea of giving myself a Kekkei Genkai. Most of the work I currently have is theoretical, and I'd need similar DNA to my own if I wanted to utilize a jutsu like that on myself as soon as possible. Other positives could also come from it, most medical innovations arise from selfish desires. For example, with additional research I could change people's genetics to largely eliminate genetic diseases."

The primary purpose of the clone, however, was a selfish one. While it would definitely aid in his research, it'd largely pave the way to utilizing a jutsu like that on himself; and given the level of control required to manipulate the genetic information contained within every living cell in the body, it was highly likely that he'd only be able to utilize such an advanced technique on himself. In the end, that kind of answer would only come to him through research though and attempting to alter the DNA of another living creature. With how much changed genetically from person to person, it'd be a massive undertaking to understand the DNA strands entirely.




@tsukimiyoko

[Deleted]

Jiro saying she spent "the same amount of time" on upkeep for her figure as other women did felt like a slap in the face. Her eyes narrowed but she bit her tongue. How could he say that!? She nearly starved herself to ensure she was never overweight. She did three times as much as anyone else just to keep her weight and proportions just right. There was absolutely nothing "average" about her!

The man's elaboration on the methods he was proposing for his little experiments, though, did come as some comfort. So she could just donate her DNA too? She didn't have to do anything physical other than having a few eggs removed? Well. That wasn't so bad. And that was barely an intrusion compared to the alternative...

"But that's so cold," her conscience chimed in. "Could you really do that? Not knowing or seeing exactly what would be done with them afterward?"

Did she even care about what the resulting spawn would be? How could she if she never saw it? But her instincts were that she'd want to be more involved. If it was something as important as contributing to a human life...could she really just send away some cells and be content not seeing the result? Or would it be better to be physically involved and help in the process of raising a child? How much involvement would Jiro even allow if the thing's creation was solely for his lab tests?

Her thoughts and feelings were all kinds of conflicted. It was the logical side of her brain versus the instinctual side. And at the moment she hated both for all the chaos.

And the reason for the proposition in the first place: wanting to genetically manufacture a kekkei genkai? "You really think you can do something like that?" she asked, and there was a certain level of awe in her voice. Had anyone ever attempted something like that? The potential for ridding the world of genetic diseases was definitely possible, and Jiro was right in saying his end goal was selfish in nature, but...could it be done?

"How many subjects would you need for testing something like that?" And she wouldn't use the term "children" because she was drawing that line rather thick in her head. She couldn't keep thinking of them that way if she was seriously going to consider contributing to the project. And now that she knew why Jiro wanted them, her interest had effectively tripled. If there was some way to alter genetics to unlock new power and potential in not just Jiro's DNA but within Iwagakure's military, then it was totally worth pursuing.

Yoko had never looked too deeply into gene studies, but now? Now her ears were wide open. "And how does that affect my contribution?" She didn't mean to phrase it in such a committal way but the sheer scale of what Jiro wanted to accomplish had brought many a new question to mind.

---

Tokuzō Jiro ❤ HEX: #c16c88 ❤ No notes!