Four Featherless Bipeds (Saya)

“Well, new ideas are a bit hard to explain on my end.” She would wave her hand, stretching out her sore muscles for a moment. “It’s a lot of theoretical stuff involving space time ninjutsu, as well as theories regarding the nature of dimensional. Honestly, it’s really dry stuff. I wouldn’t want to bore you with it. Still, wooden bullets could be useful! Being able to attack at distance even from within your Nativity of Trees would be incredibly useful.”


Listening to the three speak about their upcoming modifications to their fight routine, Kikuko would watch with no small degree of wonder. The idea of fighting alongside her summons was one she had considered, but ultimately had chosen against considering her lack of utility. Still, Ai had a point. Why couldn’t she fight alongside Principe if riding on top of him? Once she was able to learn more techniques for long distance fighting, it would become more of a combination act than a tag out. To be far, but not too far. How long would it take from her to find that ideal range? It would probably have to be a game of practice.

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[4341]
“But yeah! I’ve had a lot of fun, even though I’m really sweaty now.” *Spinning in place, she would bend down to touch the wooden floor that had formed during their conversation. It was undoubtedly wood, and most certainly real. If she hadn’t seen it being made, she would have thought it was here to begin with. “What are you looking to do now? Want to grab a spot in the spa? It’s also fine if you’re looking to part ways here. I have a lot of time on my hands today, so I’m kind of free!”

saya costume change:

Ai costume change:

"I like boring minutia!!!!! It's like one of my favorite things. " Saya did not like boring minutia. The moment she spoke, Pinochio gave her a look like "what are you talking about", followed by Ai and even coach. Several moments would pass with the three staring in confusion as they tried to understand what the heck she was actually talking about. Thankfully after what was only a slightly uncomfortable time period, Kiku would interject asking what to do next.

"I... Uh. Little sister... Can we go in the spa?" Ai was hesitant at the suggestion. They'd talked about it earlier, and Saya had been all too excited at the idea of a nice relaxing spa day, but each of the wooden puppets in turn questioned the idea.

"Oh yea. You're fine Ai. Made ya real good so water isn't really a problem.... Pinochio though..." She didn't even need to finish the thought. The small puppet scoffed the moment the question was asked.

"I will NOT be putting myself in a situation where im submerged fully in water for a long time, engulfed in steam, or just generally have to deal with the problem of waterlogged wood. You three go have fun. Come on coach. We'll go do cool uh. teacher stuff. Yea. hang out in a lounge and look at cups of cofee we can't drink because of a lack of human anatomy. It'll be fun." With a shrug the coach puppet placed the box he'd carried down beside saya, and the pair headed towards the back of the facility. Finding one of the smaller training rooms, they entered and disappeared as the lock clicked.

"Oh!!!! Frey can absolutely go in water too! COSTUME CHAANNNGGEEEE" Once more she'd form the seals for her storage displacement jutsu. What came out was a large metal structure with some sort of cloth covering and springs at each joint. With a flick of her wrist, the contraption opened up making a circular changing screen. A few minutes passed as the sound of rustling could be heard. Finally the changing screen closed, reavealing Saya in comfortable swimwear and a purple umbrella. Across her belly was a string of painted symbols that meant absolutely nothing, but were almost definitely for aesthetic. Her hair had been braided into a ponytail, and with the last fixes to her newest cosplay, she tied a red bow into the back of her hair.


"Lead the way!!!! This is gonna be so awesome!!!! I haven't had actual like. rest activity in.....three months? Maybe more. "

The changing screen was opened again, this time around Ai. Fully changed and ready she was donning a pink one piece with matching swim cap. It was impressive how she just happened to have something for absolutely every possible situation that could be thought of. Storage displacement was good, but still limited in use, but through the power of planning and a little role playing magic, she found the intuition to always have on hand exactly what she might want.

(TWC 3531)

Costume Change:

Now that was a strange little beat. A moment of misunderstanding between the three? How did that work? It was tacit that information was stored between all three, but at the same time their tastes were varied. Perhaps this was among those disconnects that existed? For a moment, she considered going into the first lessons of understanding dimensional space and how it relates to to the physical plane along with the nature of chakra. However, she would end up being saved by the bell through Ai’s suggestion. Maybe she would bring it up again later.


“Oh! A spa moment sounds delightful. A nice soak would really push away all of my aches and pains right now.” Watching as Pinocchio would march himself out of the room, she briefly wondered what would happen once he disappeared from sight. Would Saya disconnect her chakra threads? Or would she ‘pilot’ the puppet the entire time, even as they were in the bath? The answer wasn’t certain, considering who she was interacting with in the moment. “See you around, Pinocchio!”


Watching with amazement as Saya would unveil the contraption and step into it, Kikuko would realize that she should probably change into a more suitable outfit. While normally she would have prepared an outfit in a bag, she hadn’t considered this to be the events that might have happened today- and thus had no outfit. Thankfully, however, she had the power of ninjutsu on hand. Forming the requisite hand seals, she would be briefly consumed in a poof of smoke before stepping out of it, clad in one of her old bikinis...and a yellow pool floatie? Oops. She hadn’t meant to summon that, that was for certain. She’d have to practice the technique more on her own time, she reckoned.

“I like your outfit, you two!” To Saya, unless she had noticed the smoke, it would have been as though Kikuko had magically changed without unsealing any clothes whatsoever. “The pink and black give a nice contrast. Ready to go in?”

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[4679]

"Yessss!!!! spa daaayyyy just the twins and their new best friend Kikuko! " She was bouncing with excitement at what would happen next. She'd been to many spas in her time, but had never really been old enough to enjoy them. They would visit high end places and her nanny would always end up letting her play in the spa or pool, but she was too hyper and ended up being a bother to the patrons. now that she was older.... realistically she was probably still going to splash around, play, and annoy the other patrons. The girl could do with a bit of chill.

Pinochio waved back as he headed towards the room. Oddly enough talking could be heard from inside until the point when the trio got far enough away that they were out of earshot. Could coach actually.... No. I mean he never has right? That has to be intentional. There's no way Saya gave coach his own voice and personality and has just been keeping it completely off camera as some sort of prank. That would be rediculous. Invisible chakra strings slid through the cracks in the shipping container that Coach had dropped off. for a moment there was a sound of flexing wood cracking beneath a great pressure, and then the top flew several meters in the air as the new Freyja puppet stood up. With delicate steps she found herself out of the prison and glanced upon Saya and her friend for the first time. She said nothing.

"wh. NO FAIR!!!!" She spent a little too much time checking out Kiku's swim suit, studying the colors and build, memorizing the seams and generally making a mental note as to the style that her friend had chosen. This would be important later when she used her photographic memory as a means of determining the perfect outfits to make her new friend as a thank you for not calling me wierd gift. "Your suit is waaaayyyy cuter then mine!"


"It is very cute, but I believe I win in the cutest suit competition." Ai would chime in, turning left and right to show off her fit before motioning to the swim cap with a white flower on the right site that finished the look. "we apreciate the compliment though. Saya will probably comment once she gets over the clothing envy. Please, after you" While Ai knew the way she was built, she was still a little aprehensive about getting into hot water. Everything they'd planned confirmed it would have no affect on the wood and metal in her body due to the full synthetic skin covering that make her look lifelike, but there was always that bit of doubt amplified by Pinochio's intense reaction to the suggestion. She motioned with her hand to allow Kiku to go in first, and then her sister, before she would finally follow the pair in to start what she hoped would be a long uneventful time of rest, relaxation, and pampering.

(TWC 4031)

"YES! Theres something very wrong with it! It's way cuter then mine. I'm gonna have to have order a new shipment of high end fabric as soon as I get home! Tonight is gonna be a no sleep night for team puppet." While she had lovingly used the name in her head many times over the past few weeks, this was her first time actually saying it....probably. This was her first time saying it that she remembered. It fit. SHe considered all of the people she'd met since she aquired the headband that sat in a chest at the foot of her bed. Were they all to be one big team or should she name each group individually? She'd need to brainstorm ideas and start listing groupings.

"You mean another no sleep night for team puppet. YOU rarely get to bed at a decent time, despite both of us hounding you to get into bed so you won't wake up late. Also i believe you mean you'll have to send Pinochio to order the fabric. You are going to lock yourself in the captains quarters when we get back and just have him get whatever you need. " She was smiling genuinely at the back and forth. This was a rare moment when she actually had the time to enjoy her sisters eccentricity. Usually it presented when they had tasks they needed to complete, and she couldn't allow her to go off on tangents. Ai was always grateful for moments like this when she could live out the end of her childhood and reclaim what was stolen in her youth.

There was an eerie silence following AI's comment. Anyone who knows our dear protagonist knows just how bad that is. The trio of team puppet entered, and all was quiet as Kiku tested the water before slowly slipping down beneath the steaming pool. Then, all at once there was a sound of feet tapping agianst the floor that preceeded a single yell and loud splash. In what is not a swimming pool, but a very expensive spa meant for leisure, Saya chose a cannon ball as her method of entering the hot water. Ai knew immediately what would happen when her sister got quiet, and was already through the hand seals for five feeding sharks before the small girl left the ground. As she slid into the waters herself, her body practically melting into the welcoming warmth, despite not actually having any way to enjoy the tactile sensation, the water she'd displaced rose up as five sharks and found itself back in the spa.

"You know. We haven't actually been in a spa since Saya was a small child....well. Smaller child Pinochio would say. It's really nice. I'm surprised at how warm the water is. " As ai leaned back against the edge of the spa, the Freyja puppet floated forward, her feet not touching the ground. She'd dip a single foot into the water before finally allowing her form to simply float down into the warmth. At the edge of the pool her shield sat, the chain ringing as it slipped beneath the water with her.

(TWC 4556)

"yanno." Saya paused mid-sentence. While she considered the two puppets more family than tools, and often forgot that they weren't people she was fully aware of their inability to see things that she didn't. It was rationalized in her subconscious as a blindness that was subverted by her own ability to be in the area they were in. Given that she actually had to consider the full weight of the question posed. "I... I don't know how he does it. That's a really good question."

"Ah. Well. actually that's part of the agreement with the tofu shop owner. We only send Pinoch out at night so that Aya can take some time to do things she wants without being bugged with additional training or extra curricular activities so generally it has been timed after the shop has closed but before the lady goes home. Pinochio walks her home so she can feel more safe, and on the way they hit the textiles shop at the edge of the shopping district. I write him a note to give to the worker because his hand writing is not exactly the greatest and they know to get everything as quick as possible and have it sent to our house--well. To the ship currently. We need to take some time to rebuild one of these days. " Ai, as usual had the answers. It was a combination of the puppet duo who figured out the most effective way to be useful at points when the puppeteer wasn't actually in sight of them. She stopped for a moment, lost in thought about an idea before finally continuing.

"You have skill in fuinjutsu right? Can you make a seal that allows her to see through our eyes or projects what we would see onto a pair of glasses or something? That would be wildly helpful" Freyja watched the exchange between the two girls and the puppet, her head turned in intrigue as she took in the world around her. At current she looked almost like a very large adult shaped child trying to understand what was going on. Mentally Saya was building her personality profile, taking in how she would react to the stimuli, and trying to find the propper pitch and timbur for her voice, but there was a huge factor that was missing before she could truely personify this magnificent creation.

"Why would anyone ever take a cold shower? my metal would compress. it would be quite uncomfortable. Honestly I think the ocean wouldn't be great either. Lots of grit to wear down on my skin. I don't understand how yalls skin can stay so pristine under the conditions you put them through. It's a true marvel..." She'd allow Kiko to respond before her intrigue got the better of her. In the space between her words and an awkward silence following the response she'd continue. "What is it about the ocean that you enjoy so much? Was it because you were raised in the waters? Can you feel the call of suiton within the seas like we do through ninjutsu?"

(TWC 5071)

"Honestly that was my thought." Ai paused for a moment mid thought, which was a rediculous thing to consider given her existence. This was the power of Saya's mind. She shifted through three different thought patterns in unison, none overlapping, and each coming into their own unique considerations simultaneously. " While it would be really convenient to be able to have them work directly by some means, I figured we would need to put the feed into an item that can be worn in order make the fuinjutsu formula easier to apply. We can get some materials for you to work with if that's useful, but it would be a great help if Saya could see what we see at some point. " Kiku went into some more particular details about the dangers of not taking your time in the creation and application of fuinjutsu techniques and Ai nodded along. Saya dipped her head under the water, completely checked out from the convorsation and glanced up at the new freyja puppet while blowing bubbles at the water's surface.

"If explosion is your worry let me know. I could be the application point for testing new seals. If you accidentally screw up my body we have the materials to make repairs. Honestly we could also just tell pinochio that you need training that requires him to wear a blindfold and then you can apply them on him before he realizes what's going on. I feel like that would be much funnier. " She was giggling even as she considered throwing Pinochio to the wolves. realistically they would use coach instead, though the cost of repairs on pinoch was much lower than that of the higher ranked pupets. Oddly most of the convorastion would stay between Ai and Kiku for now, allowing the small pupeteer to play in the water. Released from responsibility her youth became abundantly clear. She splashed about and blew bubbles, fully indulging in the joys she wasn't alloted when of age for that to be normal. Ai apreciated her getting the chance to actually enjoy something.

"I... Well. We don't know what cortisol is, and I cannot say that i recognize the idea of things going against your skin making it healthier. Silicone, while impressively realistic, does not work in the same way as real skin. Maybe one day I'll understand it though. " WIth this portion of the convorsation shifting to something different, It was finally saya's turn to enter the convorsation again. She stood up, her small stature still barelly removing much of herself from the edge of the water in the center where she'd been playing.


"I... I never thought about that. Like. I've always felt this call to suiton. Within water I could be more calm than before, and while using mokuton feels natural and right, theres something about the manipulation of suiton that feels less like i'm using crazy ninja magic and more like an extension of my own self. I've always seen the world as small though. I guess it's a difference in our personalities. I've always felt so much larger than life that its like everything is so intricate and amazing. I love how small the detail can get. "

(TWC 5605)