[tsusho]

    As hidden as Tsusho's featured tended to be, he himself stuck out in a crowd walking around the village some days. He was a bit less obvious today at the very least, not wearing his entire armored out equipment, but the large backpack strapped to his back certainly tended to draw attention. Anyone with even the most minimal amount of knowledge of rocks and metals, so most people in Iwa most likely, would know just by looking that it was made with high quality materials.

    Usually it was tightly strapped to his body, but he was moving things between his home and a shop on the other side of the village, which meant a lot of back and forth and putting it on and taking it off. The straps were hanging off of his shoulders, but the metal legs were hanging down at the side. As he walked up to the shop he grunted as he lifted it off, setting it near the front door and began stretching. It was the last trip back and forth this morning, but after nearly a dozen he was mentally done with it, the mundane walking back and forth with the extra weight.

    Emptying one of the thick legs that hung down off the pack used for storage, he carried the the materials inside, only to walk back out to see a uniquely dressed person picking up his pack. Making a slight motion with his hands, he stopped, watching them curiously before acting.

aihara ryoko

[aihara ryoko]

Ryoko could be sneaky if she chose, but she had no need to be. Not within Iwa, this was her home. She feared nothing while behind its walls.

Standing rather plainly she investigates the odd new stranger, the top flap of their strange mechanical backpack opened as she peers inside of it. She couldn’t quite make sense of the contents, though they didn’t seem directly of interest. Odds and ends that added up to more than she cared to imagine.

She doesn’t mind being observed, making little "hmm” sounds as she pokes through pockets, and amused, somehow condescending snickers at what might be puppet parts or something. Hard to say, she was no tech expert. Maybe she was a thief?

"The heck is all this junk?” she asks, louder though not loudly, loud enough to be heard by the onlooker.

"Metal rods and bolts and gears and it’s all clanky. Smells like grease and everything is all orderly and taken care of. Kinda boring, you make boats or something?” Boats did not seem the obvious choice for a craftsman in the mountains...

Her lips don’t leave their slight, and more than slightly mocking, smirk. Objects she discards never strike the ground, that would be rude. Instead they go into an idle orbit around her, joining a slowly growing electron cloud of mechanical odds and ends. They weren’t the only thing there, Ryoko also remained unafraid because she was clearly well armed.

The Doomstar also hovered behind her, loyalty watching her back while she picks through the bag. Four feet of razor sharp steel, the X shaped blades did not look safe to approach from almost any angle. Thankfully she did not need to touch it with her hands.

[tsusho]

    As he watched, whoever this was was going through his stuff rather openly, which surprised him to be honest. He wasn't too sure who this was by name, but he had certainly seen them around enough, and the way they were dressed made it obvious they weren't a stranger in the sense they weren't from around here. Why was another shinobi from their village opening and going through Raba? The more they tossed things out the more his eyes narrowed, finally twitching his fingers as the "backpack" seemed to start moving.

    With a few more movements, he lifted his arms, and the legs that hung down off of it planted into the ground as it stood up and began backing up. So far it was only extra parts and junk he had been too much of a pack rat lately to clean out that they had removed, not getting to any of the scrolls thankfully. Making a few hard jerking motions, the metal puppet gave a bit of a jump a few feet from them, making metallic scraping sounds as it hit the ground.

"Is there a reason you're going through my things?"

    Pulling at his pinky the compartment they had opened and started going through clapped shut, grumbling more at the idea of having to pack all those things back inside than them being removed. Looking over at this curious character, his teeth were showing from how wide he was smiling, only his hair hanging out from all of the bandages covering him otherwise, with his hood dropped down. Moving closer as he moved the puppet back some, he finally stood closer, patting the metallic creature with a heavy thud as if petting a dog.

[aihara ryoko]

"Whoa, hey!” Ryoko shouts at the suddenly animated bag, sneering some flicking a little dismissive backhand towards it. She hadn’t expected it to come alive like that, though she also hadn’t not expected it. She might be pretty dumb, but she wasn’t stupid.

She cackles with amusement as the bag retreats from her, the gesture of her hand guiding the varied objects she still held in her thrall away from her and back over towards the now distant bag. Each object in turn might have been returned when her curiosity was sated, but for now the ground would have to do. Each one goes thud as she drops them near and around the wrapped stranger. It should seem fairly obvious to a puppet user what Ryoko is doing, though she does make it seem easy, with only subtle motions of her fingers.

As she always does, she ignores the question leveled at her.

"Not boats, definitely not wagons. You should look into wagons. Walking bags, though you gotta carry em yourself? You got some pretty cool lookin’ doo-dads in that thing, makes me wonder what else you got. You make weapons? Toys? Got anything fun?”

Her smile grows more genuine than amused, though it does little to add to her charisma. Or her lack thereof. She turns her eyes more fully on the jounin, though they’re lost in all the shadows under her cowl. Little can be seen but her mouth, while her hood stares blankly with a pair of big glossy buttons.

With a little beckoning gesture of her right hand the doomstar hovers closer, always behind her but rotating like so manner of slow moving windmill. "I like toys and weapons and fun things like that. More into breaking than I am making, though.”

"Who are you, anyway?”

[tsusho]

    Looking between this curious person and his stuff, he pulled his index finger inward as the earlier door opened back up. Nothing she had pulled out would have been terribly hard to replace, for the most part, but it didn't mean he wanted to all the same. Keeping his attention split between her and his things, he began stuffing them back inside the puppet, the large grin contorting by the time he was stuffing the last of it back in and calmly shutting the door once more.

"What?"

    It was a little delayed, but it was all he could immediately think to say in response to whatever that was she just said about boats and wagons. Surely it was a response to something with some context, but it mostly felt as if she was continuing an internal monologue with an audible sharing in his direction followed up with questions.

"It's not a bag. Okay, well it's kind of a bag, but it's not just a bag. It's mostly a bag. Anyways, thanks."

    Putting his hand over the upper hatch, he looked suddenly very protective. Moving his fingers a bit more, now clearly moving the puppet with more visible chakra strings, it moved behind him, attaching itself to his back, as the four legs wrapped around his body to secure itself in place.

"I have quite a few things in there, some I'd rather not share. I can make weapons in general, yes, as well as armor. I suppose I could make toys, though I never have. Aaaaaaand it depends on what you consider fun. It's where I keep most of my puppets."

    Reaching back, his knocked against the metal, as the fairly bulky pack looked as if it weighted little to nothing given how comfortable he stood with it, despite it being decently heavy and very solid. While she talked, and just as much when he did, his eyes kept shifting to her weapon, seemingly floating behind her.

"What's that?"

    His head tilted as he leaned forward, trying to get a look at it without getting any closer to her than he currently was.

"Oh, well my name is Tsusho, Tsusho Tantetsu. Who are you?"

[aihara ryoko]

”huh..” she mutters "I mean, things that do damage are fun, and fun things are toys. Oh, I like explosions, too.”

She gives a little gesture with her right hand, index finger lifting and then pointing in Tsusho’s general direction. The huge shuriken glides lightly and silently, zipping from behind her to between them, then closer to the other. She plants the thing in the ground a couple meters away so he can have a better look.

"That’s the doomstar. Big old shuriken, used to be way sharper but it’s seen some use.  Gotta say, pretty mean.  Not a fun way to go.” she says as she gestures at the thing. It was true, its hardened steel surface pitted with scratches and dings from rather rough play.

She thumbs at the steel plate on the collar of her cloak, proudly showing off Iwa’s symbol. "I’m Ryoko. Kunoichi around here. I do missions and stick my nose in places I dunno about. I can fly too, so that’s pretty fun. You’re a puppet user huh?

That’s pretty neat. My family sort of does stuff like that, but like.. Yeah, we don’t bother with making puppets. They wouldn’t last long enough, we like to smash things, and crush our enemies to bits. Or grind them up with big steel blades.

So you made a puppet to hold your stuff? That’s pretty smart, I gotta keep all my toys in dumb old scrolls. Only the doomstar is always around, making me carry it everywhere.”

She points at the thing again, the hefty weight of thick and durable steel seeming less dangerous when it’s not in motion, though still lacking anywhere safe to really hold it.

[tsusho]

    His eyes trail from her hand to the moving weapon, already inspecting it before it got much closer. For all he should have been more cautious of a weapon moving in his direction, he was caught up in the weapon itself. Taking a few steps closer, he got lower to the ground, ever closer and ever lower, till he was face to face with the weapon trying to get a good idea of just what it was made of. It at least looked to be a solid material, good color, no obvious burn marks or visible folds.

"Sharpening is easy enough."

    Reaching out, he gave it a light tap to test the sound, then leaned to the side to let the light strike it better, nodding and giving it a slightly harder knock with his knuckle and another nod. His first thought was, much like any other Tantetsu, unimpressed despite being impressed, and vocalizing it.

"Think I could have made it better, but not bad all things considered. This one side is slightly sloped down here more than the other sides, could lead to balance issues."

    If there was a flaw, they were obvious, and anything else was likely from use and not craftsmanship issues. the longer he looked the more engrossed he became, as if it was the weapon he was meeting and conversing with, not the person who had introduced it to him. When Ryoko spoke again, he almost didn't notice, standing up to force himself to pay attention and take a few steps back.

"Fly huh? I can't do that, but I can move around pretty quick in my own ways, and yes I'm a puppet user, puppet creator, puppet fixer, puppet designer, and so on and so on."

    He wasn't too sure what she meant by "stuff like that", but he was certainly curious. The first thing he thought was just what she was referring to and if he could use it himself. Ever since he met his current master he had become somewhere between a knowledge sponge along with obsessed with all things puppets, for better or worse.

"Designing and creating them is the hard part, don't let anyone tell you different."

    

    His head tilted as he thought to himself just how reckless he would have to be to break one of his puppets, and perhaps her idea of a puppet was different than his.

"I've seen the puppets those from other villages create, and I'm not usually too impressed. They are well designed from a mechanism standpoint, but the ones made out of wood, plastics, all of those more flimsy materials seem pointless to me. Mine don't break so easily, no matter how much you smash them or smash things into them. They are made out of some of the strongest metals you could find."

    Turning some at her comment, he pointed a thumb back over his shoulder and nodded, then fully opened his hand as the four arms that had just moments earlier attached around him detached once more. The puppet jumped down as he maneuvered it back around to the front of him. Giving it a heavy pat on its back, he moved his fingers more, as the legs looked to plant heavily into the ground to let it stand with full stability on its own.

"I have a lot to carry. All of my other puppets are stored within, in scrolls, but all the same. It's very sturdy, and in emergencies can tank more than a few solid hits."

    Narrowing his eyes for a moment, he looked her over before responding once more.

"You know, there are ways, permanent ways mind you, but ways to store things without carrying scrolls. You would have to find the right people willing to do it, but you can using sealing techniques to seal items on your body. If some of these puppets weren't so large I'd do it myself but, well I'd be covered head to toe in tattoos. No safer way to carry things. When you are covered up as much as the two of us are, also near impossible to know they are there."

[aihara ryoko]

”Yeah, I know how you feel.” she mutters, and nods a little. She offers a small shrug afterwards.

"I got a lot to carry too. I don’t really deal in complexity, just force and numbers. I like a battlefield to be pretty littered with weapons and stuff. Gives me a ton of options. But for some reason I don’t really like the idea of storing things in me. It’s just kinda weird. Old friend I had used to do that sort of stuff. Then she sort of split and ran off to do her own thing.”

She smirks a little at the play on words but doesn’t bother to explain her previous gooey partner. It'd been with her since her first steps as a genin, and it shows the years of wear. It was sturdy, though, Ryoko's toys had to be. Heavy, too, and she handles it like it was just a shuriken.

"I’d rather have them stored in something I can wear or hold, but at that point may as well just be in a scroll. I always keep a weapon ready.. But like, having to get my stuff out of scrolls is one of my only real weaknesses. And even then, I can make room if I gotta. It’s not real sharp, but once that thing gets moving it can cut people right in half.”

She offers another little nod, a smirk. "I guess puppets kinda like that too. Tend to end people in pretty brutal ways. More than just a sword through the chest, usually all sorts of stabbing going on. Course I’m just goin’ off things I’ve heard, I’ve never really seen puppets in a fight. Wouldn't mind watching that happen some time.”

[tsusho]

"I like to have a full battlefield myself, very different circumstances though I imagine. I like to call it controlled chaos. Chaotic for the opponent, controlled by me, imagine all those weapons lead to something similar, huh?"

    Giving a bit of a laugh, he shrugged with full wide arms and all. then gave a knowing nod.

"It's not for everyone, and it's not something you'd decide on a whim. Tends to be very specialized use, not just because you don't like carrying a backpack to be fair. Surprise and fuinjutsu and all that. I don't pull off surprise well with a backpack as big as most other shinobi shining in the sun, so I wouldn't mind it now and then."

    His gaze kept falling to the weapon, as a craftsman he couldn't keep his eyes off it, not because of his fascination with weapons, but more so curious if he could simply replicate it if he tried. The idea was certainly intriguing. and it wasn't as if it was the first time he'd seen a unique weapon and wanted to make one of his own for no other reason than to make it. The number of blades he had created over the years then simply scrapped afterwards would make most bukijutsu and kenjutsu users scream.

"I could probably make you shouldn't similar to Nemu here. I doubt you'd need it near as big, of course. It's this size for two specific scrolls in particular if I'm being honest. They are big and I didn't want to walk into a fight looking like a library covered in scrolls."

    Scratching at his head, he made a bit of a face, as he didn't tend to carry too many weapons, at least not in the literal sense. He had a katana once upon a time, but ended up breaking it and just never bothered repairing it given how little use he got out of it anyways.

"Ah, see that's something Nemu here helps with; easy access to scrolls. Though it's partially just me whipping scrolls out with chakra strings, so I guess a pocket could pull that off. I don't see you carrying around a big moving backpack though, but maybe that's just me."

    Slapping the top of Nemu with a loud metal thud, then a slight knock again the top panel, he looked down proudly at it.

"I bet I could make one to hold all sorts of weapons, even make it launch them out at you if needed. Wouldn't take too much modifying."

    Tapping very lightly afterwards on the lid, it opened, revealing a rotating scroll holster with fairly large scrolls compared to the ones most carried around in pockets. These were the kinds you had to strap to your back, otherwise they weren't coming with you in most cases.

"A few of my puppets have some rather sharp edges on them where needed. If you ever need that thing of yours, what did you call it, Doom something, worked on and repaired, or just resharpened..."

    He grinned extra wide as he trailed off, pointing both his thumbs towards himself much like a cheesy salesman.

"Since we are showing off toys as you call them, wanna see one of mine?"

    Lightly his fingers stroked one of the large, but not ever close to the largest scroll inside the belly of the beast, and one he certainly wouldn't be showing off in the middle of town.

[aihara ryoko]

”uh, Doomstar.” she mutters, a somewhat sheepish grin forming on her lips. A little snicker precedes her words. "I named it when I was like 12, so.. Yeah.”

She eyes the backpack on legs again. It was a pretty cool toy, but not really her thing. Her eyes travel back to the bandaged nin and she offers a little shake of her head. "Nah, I like to keep my hands free. Sides, if I gotta pull a scroll outta somewhere, I still gotta pull a scroll outta somewhere. That step is the annoying part, but I’m pretty used to it.

Pretty often I can just rely on my doomstar. I got a bunch of pretty useful ninjutsu to pair with it, but like, when push comes to shove, if I need more I just gotta get a scroll out.”

As she mutters she shifts some, arms under her cloak moving about as she draws a scroll from her belt. She offers it up for inspection for a second, then gives it a little flick. Gravity assists in its unrolling, and as it strikes the ground the exposed seals each pop into little puffs of smoke.

Three more huge shuriken suddenly appear and clatter noisily to the ground. Each one is larger than the Doomstar, but only because they’re made from wood instead of steel. Reinforced at their centers with an X shaped brace of iron, they were otherwise dull, thick, and likely more painful than fatal. They were a matched set, though each of the three came painted in different colors. Silver, Gold, and Black.

"I think I’ve had a lot more trouble picking weapons that won’t outright kill. Like, there’s some finesse in my art, but it’s hard to hit someone with 20 pounds of steel and not leave them in more pieces than I found them.

That’s what I need, something for capturing people alive, or at least not outright killing them. And also, yes. Yes I would like to see more of your toys. And yes, those things also have a horrible name. I call 'em Mercystars.”

[tsusho]

"Hey I'm not judging. Some of my technique names are more than a little unique."

    The majority of his technique names as well as his puppet names were mundane on the surface, but some were more than a little flamboyant.

"You wouldn't have to use your hands unless you are moving it around. Otherwise those big legs you see there, well they strap around my chest to help it hold on. It's just a tad heavy."

    Giving the thick metal a hard thumb, it was no doubt more than just a little heavy, even Tsusho had to lighten the weight for longer trips if he didn't want to have to walk it behind him like a metal pet. It was not the easiest to move around with however, and it certainly wasn't the most attractive piece of equipment he owned, but function over form in this case.

"Whatever works for you. Sometimes I wish I had learned to just carry around a big stick or sword or whatever, but then I remember I like to not be the one people are swinging the big sticks and swords at."

    His eyes are immediately drawn to her movements, looking at the produced scroll, and then a raised eyebrow at the method used to move it and open it. As the weapons fell out of the scroll his eyes fell along with them, and immediately his mind went back to that default of wanting to improve them somehow. You don't spend your life in front of a forge without the idea slipping in every time someone produced a weapon.

"I get that. My puppets pack a punch, but they aren't usually meant for killing, but capturing. I'll let you in on a little secret..."

    Stepping forward, he spoke quiet, as if he had a real secret, even though it wasn't all that secretive.

"These bandages aren't just bandages. I can use them for all sorts of fun things. I've interlaced thin strips of metal into the ones around my arms. Little throw here, a little jutsu there, target is incapacitated."

    Standing back up straight he backed up to where he was, and slapped his hand on top of his puppet.

"All else fails, well there is a big boy in here that I can just shove someone inside of. So, you need something for capturing, now that I can do. It's what you might call a specialty of mine."

    His voice suddenly changed to far more excited than it previously was, rubbing his hands together as if someone had just offered him a steak.

"What are you looking for, a bola, a metal whip, a throwable bear trap, handcuffs, maybe a good'ol iron maiden?"

    Suddenly reaching over towards the exposed scrolls he grabbed for one and tossed it into the area dramatically, holding out his hands as a puff of smoke came from it, and multiple chakra strings shot out from his fingers. Taking a jump backwards, a line of six metal spiders landed in between the two of them, all approximately the size of a large dog.

"These are my broodling. Their mama puppet is a bit too big to show off here unfortunately. Could unintentionally cause a bit of damage rather easily."

[aihara ryoko]

”Yeah...” she mutters quietly, though she doesn’t sound convinced.

"I gotta use my hands for other stuff, not workin’ some back pack. A big stick though.. Huh..”

She nods some as she ‘listens’ to the jounin. It is fortunate so much of her face is hidden, her expression going somewhat blank as the gears inside her head get to turning. Slowly, but they still get turning. A stick could be pretty fun, actually.

Trap puppet, pretty neat, but she blinks back to reality as she is grilled with questions and options. "Huh? Oh.. uhh.. Like, none of those, I guess. I dunno.” She trails off, vague as ever with her reply and somewhat surprised by his sudden action.

"Hey, what are you.. Oh hey, cool! You got spiders!” she squeeks happily, laughing a little afterwards. With the sudden appearance of more puppets, however, ryoko gives a little subtle flip of her right wrist, and wiggle of a pair of fingers. All three mercystars join the Doomstar in coming to life, lifting off the ground and moving closer to Ryoko. Only a hand is needed, this is rather basic stuff.

The doomstar takes up its position behind her, ever at rest watching her back, while the three wooden ones interpose themselves between herself and the new puppets. Ryoko smirks happily, the large wooden crosses wheeling in place at different speeds and directions.

"Can they like, shoot webs at people? Or are they more the run on the ground and jump on you sort of spiders? Spiders are pretty cool, though.. Fragile, being one isn’t really worth the risk. Angry sparrows come down and take a bunch of legs off, that won’t end well.”

[tsusho]

    The puppets he had control of moved around a bit as if they were actually alive, though anyone paying attention could easily see the twitches from Tsusho's fingers. To someone passing by, it might have looked like the two were squaring off to fight, given the way they controlled their tools, but it was more like two children showing off their toys to one another.

"Sticks are easy to make. Not exactly hard to make a big club out of just about anything though. Not terribly exciting."

    The audible thought was someone amusing given their was the equivalent of a large club, or more so eight of them, attached to each of his puppets.

"These little guys don't do that, no. They are created more for overwhelming opponents, clubbing them into submission and what not."

    Spreading his fingers out, the puppets all jumped to spread out in kind to show how quickly they could surround and opponent, standing in a wide arc in front of and to the sides of Ryoko.

"They are based on tarantulas, so more of the jumping, climbing, running, grabbing types. Would take a fairly big bird to take one of these down. Truth be told I don't use them in these type of formation often. They have a much bigger brother and a far bigger mama puppet. Even just these little guys can cause a lot of chaos against one person however. Even if you take out a few, you still have a lot more jumping on you. Controlled chaos."

[aihara ryoko]

"Yeah, but there’s some big birds out there.” she mutters with a little knowing nod. She gives a little dismissive wave with her left hand at the idea of birds.

"But yeah, not like those sticks. Like.. something more like a walking stick. Like a monk’s staff or something, pretty and ornate, but able to poke people if needed. I don’t usually need, getting close isn’t really my thing. Be better if it could be a scroll. So I can already be holding it. Oh or some kinda shield or something. Something I can already have around me and not need to get a scroll out.

Hey can you seal stuff inside of other stuff? I never tried that. I know the jutsu, but I guess I only ever used it on a scroll. Guess I could just seal things inside of my Doomstar. That’s always around.”

While she muses she straightens some, the approach of the spiders drawing a grin and further warding with her four huge shurikens. She was already surrounded, three wooden ones at her front and flanks, and a big steel one at her back. Her still empty left hand lifts some and begins to work through seals.

"I don’t got puppets, but I can have my own lil pack if a need.” she says, while forming the ten seals required. Around her pop five little clouds of summoning smoke, surrounding her for a moment in their brief haze.

When the smoke clears five large wolves now stand with Ryoko, each in a rather playful, if fearsome, bow. Grey pelts and large feet, sharp eyes and keen noses all seem quite alert as they survey the puppets and puppeteer. Tails up, at least, and wagging made them seem somewhat less intimidating, but they still seemed like wolves. Sharp fangs and all.

[tsusho]

"Don't worry, I have ways of dealing with pesky birds if they get too curious."

    Raising his eyebrow he just looked at her for a moment, wondering what exactly a shinobi would need a walking stick for, but really who was he to judge given some of the random assorted items he'd created over the years.

"I mean, I could probably make something like that. Can't say I've ever made a fancy stick before, but couldn't hurt to try. Shield though, that's easy stuff, but you want one thing that can be used for another? See now that's my forte."

    Pulling at one of the spiders, it jumped backward, the arms partially retracted at the joints to become a solid piece, and the body bending a bit as all of the legs were pointed outward. The back of the spider opened up as Tsusho held out his arm, catching it in mid air as it was stuck to his arm like some type of large gauntlet. Moving his fingers inside of the puppet, the legs moved a bit as he swung it a few times like a boxing glove.

"All of my puppets have built in features like this. I can use these guys as melee weapons. Another I can turn into a fairly large tower shield. One acts as a large set of full body armor. You've already seen the backpack. The big one, well can't exactly carry that one around, but...uh...that's a little harder to explain."

    The gauntlet didn't look ridiculous in design, aside from essentially having eight legs inside of five fingers, but it was certainly large than your typical gauntlet, and if Tsusho was a smaller person they certainly might have leaned towards oversized.

"Uuuh? I mean, kind of. The larger the thing you are sealing away the more surface area you need to cover for the actual sealing text. It's why scrolls vary in size. These puppets in front of me aren't tiny, but they aren't exactly big either, and the only reason this scroll isn't smaller is because of the amount of hold in it. Then you have the scrolls inside Nemu over there, they are almost as big as a scroll can be."

    Tapping at his chin with the gauntlet covered hand, he sighed and looked up thinking for a moment.

"You can carve seals into things for use in jutsu, and you can have sealing tattoos for storing things on your own body. In theory you could, depending on the size of both items. Your Doomstar might be harder given the design and not a lot of surface area to properly carve the seals."

    Shaking his arm, the puppet jumped off and landed back in front of him, moving back into the place it was before. Watching her carefully, he gave a bit of a light laugh as he realized immediately what she was doing, pulling back his spiders as he did. They all hovered over the scroll he had opened earlier, as he made a single handseal before the puppets disappeared in a cloud of smoke much like how they had appeared, Tsusho moving up to kick the scroll closed as it rolled along the ground, before bending down and picking it up.

"So, we are doing summoning now. Interesting."

    Looking between her wolves and Nemu a few times, he finally shrugged and sighed, extending a chakra string then a few more, moving the pack puppet in front of him. With one of the attached strings he opened the top compartment, reaching in spinning a mechanism inside, the partially lifted a very large summoning scroll, giving it a pat. Quickly running his thumb across the edge of the compartment lid, he cut it just enough to make it bleed, quickly performing five handseals, and pressing his hand to the ground. There was a massive puff of smoke, completely covering his body for a moment, but as it began to clear, there was Tsusho standing there, arm held out, and what looked like possibly the most adorable, as far as spiders go, creature, no more than a foot long.

"This is Sachi. She's a good girl. Unfortunately her family isn't as kind as she is or I'd introduce you to them."

    Staring at Ryoko with multiple big eyes, she raised one of her legs and gave a wave, crawling up closer to Tsusho's shoulder.