[Kota]

Oh ashes, ashes, Dust to dust The devil's after both of us tsusho Kota was many things, but a builder or a craftsman had never been among the collection of titles he'd acquired over the years. Rat, thief, pup, or other unsavory titles--but never a creator. Never an artist. It was not something he'd ever thought to do, he'd not been shown any examples to lead him down that train of thought. His father, after all, had not been a puppet-maker.     The only things that he had been focused on had been, for years, survival and nothing more. There was no need, no exposure, no understanding for art or reading or creation.     But Uemon was a great target of admiration, for Kota.     He'd never considered before that he could like adults, or anyone else, really. Uemon had been the first person ever since he'd gotten lost, that Kota truly felt kinship with. Affection, trust, and admiration--all things that Kota felt toward the man, though he couldn't place or articulate such complicated feelings. All he knew, really, was that he liked whenever the older wanderer gave him encouragement, or said he was smart, or doing a good job.     And, Kota wanted to be like Uemon.     Strong, and brave, and able to do all kinds of amazing things. Being taught and trained directly under the man helped him follow in the other's shadow, but there was still that desire to prove something on his own to the elder of the pack.     It was on one of these days that Kota was left behind to tend to their camp while Uemon was out "hunting". Some kind of mission, or business that Kota wasn't allowed to accompany him with. Most of the time, Kota stayed back and fretted until the older male's return--doing what he could to ease his nerves and distract himself. Today, though, they were close enough to a town that Kota decided to try taking a step forward in his own agenda.     Worrisome as it was, though, remembering well the last time he'd been on his own in a town. It had been around the time he and Uemon had first met, actually.     And to say that Kota had gotten himself into a great deal of trouble was an understatement.     Though, Kota was on his best behavior, today. No stealing. He didn't need to do that, anymore. And no more sneaking onto peoples' carts--because he didn't need to do that anymore, either.     No, instead, the young boy went into town with what little funds he had managed to save up, and spent them on materials.     Glue, bolts and nails and screws. Tree sap and vines were great, but not the best for the new project he'd been trying to work on, and this seemed as good an opportunity as any to actually see... what kinds of tools he might be able to work with given the opportunity and resources that civilization provided.

✜

[tsusho]

    It was never a great surprise where Tsusho may be found on any given day, be it at his personal forge or a country across a cold body of water. Where he rarely chose to set foot however was a country where there was an enemy village, though that didn't mean he would wholly avoid the countries themselves as he was far from ignorant when it came to traveling stealthy enough not to be spotted. For all he would try and stay away from towns, he had found himself in one, mentally ready to flee if need be, but he needed supplies that had been lost, but what he found instead was....surprising.

    Before getting to the town proper, he found what looked to be a camp, and his immediate react was to stay hidden, avoid it altogether, but when he saw a child there, and no sign of anyone else, it was curious. He waited, moved closer and watched, then again a bit closer and watching, seeing no one leaving, no one else around, and no one else approaching, he wondered if this child was on their own. Rolling his neck and sighing, he decided to do the one thing he would have told himself not to do if there was a second of him standing behind him, and stood to walk closer. Immediately he removed his headband and slid it into his large metal backpack, nearly the size of himself. 

    Before he got much closer he stopped and ducked once more as the child looked to be leaving, alone, and though he likely didn't realize it, Tsusho followed him all the way into the town he had planned to go to in the first place. Given the camp he saw, it was strange what he was watching the boy purchasing, and slowly he had an assumption, but, at this point he had to know, he had to directly ask. Walking up now, once more with the intention of talking to the boy, he stood next to them as if he too was looking at the things he was shopping for, and cleared his throat.

"What's all that for? Building something fun I hope."
    

[Kota]

Oh ashes, ashes, Dust to dust The devil's after both of us Kota didn't have much experience in purchasing things, but it certainly wasn't his first time doing so. While he was nervous and skittish around most people, it was only under certain contexts and circumstances--he didn't have many social skills, but he wasn't uncomfortable or afraid to socialize with strangers. So, exchanging some ryo for the things he wanted came pretty naturally, and thankfully the merchant seemed happy enough to help the boy count out the coins--sliding back what coins weren't necessary.     The boy, despite being nine years of age, was still learning how to count properly.     Though, as Kota slid back his change into his pants pocket and waited for the merchant to present him with the paper bag of his new belongings, the boy heard someone speak up--seemingly speaking to him. Glancing up, Kota got a look at the strange individual who had walked up next to him.     A tall, thin-looking man who was covered up in more bandages than Kota had probably ever seen any one person need.     The child was not creeped out, but still stared at the stranger for more than an appropriate amount of time as he considered what was said to him.     "No," Kota mumbled, defensively. "Not makin' something fun. Makin' something scary."

✜

[tsusho]

    He was more than used to the stares, expecting them at this point, given the entire reason he wore the bandages was to throw people off more than any sort of need. It was perhaps the amount of time between him speaking, the staring, and finally a response that caught him off guard a little, but he kept a wide smile the entire time. The tone caught him further off guard as it sounded as if he had asked the wrong question, almost as if he annoyed the boy.

"Oh, I see. Care to tell me what it is? I love making stuff as well."

    Flicking his right index finger he moved towards the exit, mostly to give the boy some space and so he wasn't having this conversation standing in front of a third party he honestly didn't care to interact with. By the time he reached the door he had attached a chakra string to the near human sized backpack he was carrying, as the silver-metallic backpack jumped off of his back and dropped onto the ground behind him. 

    All four legs clattered on the ground as he twitched his finger now and then as if leading a pet, looking back to see if the boy was leaving as well after he was clear of the doorway.
    

[Kota]

Oh ashes, ashes, Dust to dust The devil's after both of us Well, this guy sure was curious, wasn't he? Kota wasn't used to adults asking questions about what interests he was being interested in. They usually wanted to yell at him for causing trouble, or lecture him about being bad. Girl adults were usually much more interested in him than boy adults, always asking about his mother or parents and bothering him about questions he didn't want to answer.     But hunting, or playing, or now building--those were usually things he only did on his own.     So, despite how quick the boy usually was to push strangers away and tell them off... instead, he raised his eyebrows and listened to what the older male had to say. "You're a maker, too?" the boy wondered. Does he make stuff like Masa makes stuff?     Now, he was thoroughly interested.     The boy took the bag of what he had purchased, and turned--his attention now fixed on the stranger--as the bandaged man dropped off his backpack and it changed forms. Sharp legs sprawled out, and the creation looked like a thing of nightmares. Something between a person or a spider, or some other hellish design--it was nothing like the boy had ever seen before.     "Whoah," Kota breathed, his eyes wide as he trailed after the other. "You made that?" the boy asked, bewildered.

✜

[tsusho]

    Moving the pack closer to him, he sat back and the legs bent for a moment, but straightened once more holding his weight with ease. It wasn't as if he was any more heavy than everything else being carried in there, and at least it was carrying him than the other way around for a change. Holding his hand out in front of him, the pack began to walk slowly, as he motioned for the boy to come closer so he didn't have to speak so loud.

"I am."

    It wasn't the most aesthetic of his creations for sure, but it wasn't intended to be. It was meant for nothing more than carrying everything he needed it to, and to take a blow if it came to it as a last resort. A metal pack mule that more often than not he was carrying, not as if he lacked the strength to do so, mind you.

"This and so much more. It's what I do; make things."

    Sitting on the pack at least made him lowering to the ground as far as eye level went, as he watched the curious child with as much curiosity as he had in return.

"I take it that means you are a maker? I started making things around your age, not puppets like this, but armor, weapons, toys."

    As much as he was happy to show off more of his creations, he decided to wait, knowing that it was incredibly unlikely to go over well with anyone else around, given the nature of his puppets. Large metal spiders didn't make strangers terribly happy in his experience, and some of the larger ones wouldn't have fit so well in the area anyways.
    

[Kota]

Oh ashes, ashes, Dust to dust The devil's after both of us Kota drew nearer when the man beckoned for him, swiping his bag of purchases as he did. While he wasn't the trusting sort, the guy didn't read to him as all that threatening--and Kota was assuredly curious. Getting closer allowed the boy to get a better look at the mechanism as well. So, all around, he was more than willing to oblige.     The man affirmed Kota's suspicions, and the boy nodded along in understanding.     So, he was a maker.     His creation looked very different than Uemon's--it was much more metal-ly, and a bit more... complex, in a kind of way. Though, Uemon's looked far more realistic, and Kota was biased because of that factor alone. This guy's creature, however, seemed like the type of thing you could smack with a sword--and your sword would probably bend.     "I'm not really a maker," Kota answered truthfully. "At least, I haven't made anythin' yet. Masa's a maker, and he's really good. An' he said he's been makin' things since he was my age, too, and I wanna make really good puppets and things like him. He's got two really awesome wolves, and..." Kota reached for his wakizashi, then held it out for the man to look over.     Its saya and ito were both a pale white color. The samé covering the hilt beneath the silk wrapping was a tawny shade of light brown. Kiku gata the style of its tsuba. A flower of silvered iron. A few wild trees etched into its face.     "He made that for me, too. He's really the most awesomest," Kota praised, his eyes seeming to light up. "I wanted ta try making a creature all of my own and show it to 'im."     Really, more than anything, Kota wanted to impress Uemon.

✜

[tsusho]

"The moment you start attempting, then you are a maker. We all start somewhere."

    Gesturing towards the bag, then pointing at Kota, he nodded heavily.

"That looks like stuff you use for making. I would know, after all."

    His eyes narrowed, but mostly to match the smile that was stretching the bandages at the mention of puppets. It was like he had at least assumed, and it only further piqued his curiosity. There were so few puppeteers in Iwa; one was only recently starting and a novice, and one was more similar to someone using a dangerous yo-yo than a puppeteer in his mind. Aside from his teacher, he saw so few of them in the world these days, and he cared very little of traveling to Suna even if they weren't at odds.

"Not bad. Can't speak to how well crafted it is without really looking closely, but it's certainly above average I can tell."

    That comment might have come off as if he was saying it was a generic weapon, truly average, but in truth that was about the closest anyone outside of the Tantetsu clan were likely to ever in regards to weapon smithing. He held back from going on his usually spiel about how he could make something better for them, but he was curious to meet whoever made the weapon, and maybe he'd tell them instead.

"Need some help?"

    

    Flicking his finger, a chakra string attached to the leg of his pack closest to where the boy was standing, and a panel opened up. The legs were all fairly thick, but not for walking or for defensive capabilities, but because they were a large part of the storage itself. As it opened there was a near pristine level of sorting inside with built in shelving holding tools and parts specifically for building and repairing his puppets.

[Kota]

Oh ashes, ashes, Dust to dust The devil's after both of us Kota pursed his lips as he listened to what the other said. I'm a maker, too? He didn't think he was quite ready to take on such an amazing title, but if the older male said he was, then perhaps he was. If he could take on the title, even while only being in the beginning stages of the profession, then perhaps it really was alright.     "Yeah, it's definitely really good," Kota bragged a bit about the sword, before tucking it away again on his back with various other belongings of his. It was the nicest thing he had, at least, so obviously that meant it was the best kind of sword there was. When the bandaged man offered to help him with his project, however, Kota raised an eyebrow. Then, furrowed them both in thought.     Really, he didn't know where to even start with making a puppet. Truthfully, he was probably just going to endure trial and error until something finally worked, and he was fine doing so, but it would also be really embarrassing if he tried showing off his puppet to Muramasa, only for it to fall apart because of how shoddy it was.     Kota looked over all of the shiny, fancy tools that the man had stored in his puppet. Just about all of which Kota had neither seen before, nor knew how one would use them. It could be a good opportunity to use tools he may not otherwise be able to get his hands on.     Though, what if there's a break, and I need a tool to fix it that I don't have anymore? It wasn't like this guy was joining their pack. Maybe I could take some of his stuff.     Theft, of course, was never fully off the table for the young boy.     Though, he decided against backstabbing the fellow for the time being. Perhaps, he could get something useful out of the fellow without having to resort to trickery or violence. After all, the bandaged man seemed more than willing to help out, and perhaps any insight or wisdom he had to offer was good enough, alone. Though... he wasn't sure how he felt about bringing the fellow to his camp, where Kota had most of his "collected, raw materials" stored.     Outsiders weren't welcome at their camp, and it was Kota's job to protect it from any outsider that he deemed dangerous. So, even if it was to get help, he was hesitant to lead him back to the camp... though...     Kota looked the guy up and down.      I can probably take him. He was covered in bandages, after all. Even if he was bigger than Kota was, and he had a big puppet with him--he looked pretty weak. Like he was crippled or on the verge of death, himself.     So... he probably wasn't too much of a threat.     "Alright," Kota finally said, after giving it thought. "Follow me back an' I'll show you what I've got planned." He nodded away slightly as he exited the shop and began making his way back out of the town.

✜

[tsusho]

    The pause left room for much assumption from the Tantetsu, likely more than a few thoughts he had himself over the years, especially in his younger days. The way the boy looked at his tools wasn't too much of a mystery either, with a mixture of curiosity and potential sticky fingers. He wasn't the first, and he wouldn't be the last, but it wasn't as if he didn't have more than enough tools at home to replace them. It would certainly be a poor idea if the young boy did decide to reach in without permission, but not something he'd dwell on unless the time came.       

   

    The silence had gone on long enough, and just as he was standing up to speak, the boy spoke first, seeming to offer to take him back to wherever it was he was camped out.

"Need a ride?"

    Flicking his finger the latch on the puppets leg snapped shut, and a pull with a few others had it moving, jumping up as it worked to grab onto him once more. After a bit of adjustment it was back to nothing more than a pack, and yet another pull at his finger showed he had slid the chakra strings around, opening a large compartment on the back.

    A chakra string attached to some sort of mechanism inside that looked to be holding a few fairly large scrolls, one in particular near the size of Kota in fact, but it quickly spun out of sight. Looking back and forth down the street to make sure no one was headed their way, he attached a chakra string to the scroll visible and pulled, as it unfolded, at least partially, and with a quick hand movement there was a heavy puff of smoke, and a thump that shook the ground. Standing behind Tsusho was a large spider, far bigger than the pack by multiple magnitudes, shining in the sun made from pure silver tinted metal, though not obvious what metal specifically. She was casting a shadow over the puppeteer as she was multiple meters tall, and quite a few chakra strings attached from Tsusho's fingers to the puppet. With a wirring sound the scroll was wrapped back up and the latch to the pack shut tight.

    Extending his hand towards the puppet, there was a creaking sound as a compartment opened on top of it, meant to hold Tsusho laying down, but more than enough room for multiple people to stand inside.

"Crawl on up, she can carry us faster than we can walk."

    Making hand movements that looked as if he were pulling an unseen force from the ground, there was a very light rumbling, then one after another, pieces of metal looked to pull from the ground. One after another small steps formed in place, all the way up from the ground to the top of the puppets. Tsusho simply bent his knees and jumped up to the top, looking down waiting.

    

    

[Kota]

Oh ashes, ashes, Dust to dust The devil's after both of us A ride? Kota watched as the bandaged fellow summoned forth another large puppet creature. This one was in the shape of a giant spider--and it appeared magically from a large scroll that the other had been storing inside of it. He can summon giant creatures? The boy wondered, staring with a fairly stone-cold expression. Though his eyebrows didn't raise, and his mouth didn't open and his jaw never dropped, nonetheless, his dark brown eyes stared widely at what unfolded before him. Studious. Amazed, in his own way. But, more than anything, too busy conjuring up an explanation in his head to gasp in surprise.     Making magic symbols on paper that transformed into giant creatures--or perhaps summoning them from another realm with the magic sigils. Something fantastical like that.     Regardless, he hesitated to climb up the stairs onto the giant spider even when he was invited.     Perhaps it would be faster than him--spiders were pretty fast even when they were small, and so being of such a great size with so many legs would surely assure it great speed. But--how was Kota supposed to lead the way if the bandaged guy was controlling it? The boy pursed his lips for a moment.     He was pretty sure his strings weren't strong enough to control or guide it.     "Y'know, I don't e'en need stairs," he bragged as he started stepping up the metal sheets, anyway. "I'm a real good climber. I can climb trees an' probably even a cliff. I've climbed small rock mountains, before. An' buildings--and buildings are really tough." Still, he clambered up onto the metal spider, confidently moving over to sit atop the puppet's head. Then, he pointed in the direction where he wanted them to go. Hopefully the bandaged guy would steer the puppet in the direction he guided--and their joint effort would get them back to the camp. "How you know it's a girl, though?"     The spider didn't look like a girl.

✜

[tsusho]

    Tsusho had more than his own assumptions swirling around in his head as he watched the boy just stare. Was he afraid of the giant puppet, or perhaps he simply didn't trust this strange looking guy to take him somewhere, and if it were either it's not like he could blame him. It was certainly an odd situation for a guy covered in bandages inviting him to ride on a giant metal spider, but to Tsusho it wasn't all that strange, and maybe that by itself was a bit strange.

    Letting the boy take as much time as he needed, Tsusho just waited, watched, even game him his best genuine smile as the boy bragged about his climbing ability. When you are that age everything seems like the greatest of completed tasks, so he couldn't fault him for it, and what was mundane by now for the Jounin would have seemed like impossibilities for years still for this puppeteer in the making.

"Just keep pointing me where to go and we'll get there quick enough. One sec though."

    Putting his palm on the puppets back where he was standing, what looked like two handles shifted out of it on either side of Kota.

"Hold onto those, tightly."

    He hadn't yet answered the last question, as he wanted to get out of the town completely first, using chakra to firmly attach his feet the his puppet, and pulling his arms up with the chakra strings attached to it. The spider's legs bent and suddenly it jumped, completely and easily cleared the nearest building, then once more as it landed, repeating this until they were long clear of the buildings behind them and heading towards where Kota had pointed Tsusho to go.

"I built it. It's not literally a girl, I guess, as it's not alive, it's just a puppet made from steel and other metals. It's also filled with smaller puppets if I need to use them quickly, so I call it a her and refer to her as the mom. She is the biggest out of my puppets currently."

[Kota]

Oh ashes, ashes, Dust to dust The devil's after both of us Kota quickly made himself comfortable on the spider's head, sitting with his legs crossed atop the metallic beast. A look of surprise appeared on his face however, when two handles popped out of the spider's head for the boy to grab onto. Wow, it's really got everything, he thought in wonderment. He wouldn't have minded all that much if he'd just had to hang on the old-fashioned way.     Wouldn't have been the first time!     But it was certainly going to be easier this way, he supposed.     The boy nodded as he grabbed tightly onto the handles, and just like that--they were off. Kota's eyes widened and his mouth gaped open when the spider launched airborne. The wind whipping at the boy's hair and clothing as they jumped high over the buildings and traveled away from the town entirely, heading toward the direction that Kota had initially pointed.     He squealed. Giggling profusely as they traveled and kicking his feet a bit in excitement--gleefully pointing them in one direction or another (perhaps detouring more than they needed to) until they finally arrived near the camp that Kota and Uemon had set up for their stay in the region.     When they landed, and the air no longer rushed in the boy's ears and he was able to more properly listen and have conversation once more, the strange bandaged man explained why he'd considered the puppet to be a girl.     He'd made her--after all. That, and the puppet served a bit as a mother, of sorts. Certainly, having a bunch of baby puppets inside of her wasn't something a boy could do, Kota figured. "I guess that makes sense," Kota agreed well enough. Turning around, he slowly slid down off of the spider--landing on the ground on his feet without falling over or hurting himself (thankfully). "Well, this is what I've got so far," Kota began to explain, shuffling through a bag of his belongings. The child began pulling out a collection of bones, holding up a particular wolf's skull for the man to see. It's sharp teeth were still intact, and there was some blood still stained in the crevices of the bone. "I've been collectin' bones on my travels, since I thought I could probably make something really scary with all the stuff I've been gathering up all this time. But I don't know a thing about how to keep everything stuck together, or how to make sure it can move good when I put my strings on it."

✜

[tsusho]

    He couldn't help but smirk at how excited the kid seemed to be as they jumped, which was certainly preferable to him flying off when they jumped instead. It was hard to know exactly what this kid was actually capable of, and given the context he had gotten so far, he was likely not from a village, so he couldn't assume. The few times they jumped he held on well enough, but when they finally cleared the town they were simple walking the rest of the way, which if nothing else, Tsusho preferred. Jumping on his own like this was one thing, but doing it on a giant metal spider, even if it was one he created and was literally controlling, he wasn't a fan. Feet planted firmly on the ground would always be his preference.

    It only took a few turns here and there for him to realize they were more going on a ride than in a specific direction, but it wasn't as if he had anywhere to be right now. Where Kota pointed he moved the spider, and finally they seemed to be heading in more of a straight line, before the camp he was told about came into vision in the distance. The spider started to move slower now, making sure anyone that might have been in it, if anyone, would see him coming, and not think it was someone coming to attack, landing suddenly right in front of them. There were a few quick leaps to clear a few bigger rocks, and finally they moved closer, but no one else seemed to be there to greet them, which was likely for the best.

    Jumping down next to Kota, his knees barely even bent as the chakra absorbed his fall, patting the spider with a heavy thud,  as he turned back to Kota, curious what he was about to show.

"I met someone one that made puppets out of bones. Not very well, mind you. It was more creepy than useful. Not because of the bones, to be fair, because he was too lazy to put in any effort. It's a good starting point and a good frame if you don't have a lot of materials."

    Slapping the side of his large puppet, he extended a chakra string all the way to the back of it, as a hatch popped open and a metal ball rolled out, before it quickly closed back up. The chakra string then attached to the ball as it rolled all the way over next to Kota and suddenly strange open into a spider closer to the size of Kota, but looked near exactly like the big one they had ridden here.

"Take this. Feel free to crack it open and look at what holds it together. It's more advanced than you are ready to do, but you can learn from it. A lot can go into a puppet, or not much at all, but it's certainly as important to know how to make one than how to control one. When you make it, controlling it is the easy part, because you know how it can move, how much damage it can sustain, all that."

    Knocking on the puppet, he suddenly gripped where it looked like he shouldn't be able to, as he peeled back the thick metal like it was leather.

"You have to think about how something real moves and build from there. If you are using those animal bones, then I assume your puppet will look like an animal, so you need something to build off of, like an animal has a spine. All the joints for leg movements, making sure the joints can move under stress without snapping, what materials you'll be using to hold it all together. Of course what you want it to do is likely where you want to start. Is it for direct combat and needs to take a hit, is it meant to scout, are you going to fill it with poison and attach it to someone. There are a lot of questions, a lot of planning, a lot of failing before you get it right."