Sato Hibiki - Some Strings Attached

Hibiki ‘s alarm went of 2 hours earlier than usual and he leaped out of bed after slapping the alarm off. He changed quickly and quietly as he sneaked downstairs and began covertly completing his chores for the day. First the had to put away the dishes and utensils that had been washed and dried overnight and then he wiped down each of the tables before sweeping the floors of excess dust and dirt, directing it towards the backdoor where he could sweep it with his smaller dustpan and brush before depositing it in the bin. He double checked that every thing was looking good and then gathered up his spare clothes, rucksack and some food he had prepared. He left a note on his bed letting his parents know he would be away for two days or so on a trip before quietly slipped out through his bedroom window before setting of to Amaya’s cave. When asked by Hibiki previously Amaya had been unable or unwilling to name the cave or explain how it was made or who by. Hibiki had taken to simply calling it Amaya’s cave within his head, for the location was still a  guarded secret.

He wondered what he might learn this time. So far much of the instructions had been on the basic and then more complex movements of the strings and various techniques to manipulate the puppets. Hibiki had become quite proficient with eh use of controlling the various test puppets that Amaya had let him use and had gotten close to defeating Amaya once or twice with their puppet sparring. The goal of the puppet sparring was to use your puppet to defeat Amayas puppet, both of them were crude in design and had no inherent mechanisms that Hibki was aware of so the contest was purely decided by the skill of the string manipulations and creativity to outmanoeuvre the opponent. It had so far been the most enjoyable aspect of his training with the old man and Hibiki had shown considerable improvement form their first sparring match.

The clouds thundered overhead and there was faint lingering smell of ozone in the air, pre-empting a storm. It was not at all uncommon in the mountains surrounding Kumogakure as they were after all in the Land of Lightning. It was more worrying if large passages of time occurred without any storms and many of the villagers his parents included would hasten to leave offerings at the shrine to Raijin and Fujin. There would be much celebration when the crash of thunder and flash of lightning would eventually erupt over the darkening skies of the village. Hibiki often wondered if the other hidden villages had gods that watched over them as well. It would certainly be strange if they didn’t. the thunder broke some distance away and Hibiki sped up along the route, gauging that he should be able to just reach the cave before the storm broke and hit fully. He smiled as the small flashes of violet lightning shined in the distance, his own chakra affinity made him feel as though he had a link to Raijin directly though he knew that many people outside of the village also had the same affinity. It seemed a more personal thing within Kumogakure and was one of the very few things that his parents were proud of in relation to his desire to be a ninja. They seemed to believe their wa s a connection to their gods as well.

Hibiki arrived at the cave just as the rain began to blanket the entrance and Hibiki shook off some of the water once inside the cave and stood to listen to the thunder boom for a few minutes before heading inside. It was going to be a big storm this time and hopping around the mountains might be a little more dangerous than usual in this kind of weather for if Raijin brought thunder and lightning, Fujin whipped up mighty winds that could blow strong enough to push an inexperienced or unaware ninja from the cliff face. Hibiki headed carefully into the depths of the cave, hands in front of him to prevent himself from walking into the rocky walls of the winding corridor as he walked in the almost total darkness. He had made the journey several times now and was becoming more familiar with the passage but was still impressed by the cave nonetheless. The second time he had arrived it still took him 5 minutes to even find the entrance by walking along the cliff face backwards until he saw the thin sliver of darkness in the rock.
When he entered Amaya was already drinking his tea just as he had been every other time Hibiki had arrived. No matter how early Hibiki or fast he travelled Amaya always arrived at the cave first and refused to tell Hibiki precisely how he achieved this. Often Hibiki would leave first and Amaya would already be at the inn, seemingly for several hours. Hibiki couldn’t quite figure out how the old man was doing it. So far as he could tell the old man interacted with everything normally. If it had been a clone it would have been more obvious by now. Besides, Amaya at the inn clearly remembered everything he had taught Hibiki at the cave and vice versa and clones couldn’t do that. At least none Hibiki had heard of could.

Hibiki moved over to his seat and accepted a steaming cup of tea which he drank quickly, savouring the taste. He had developed an enjoyment of tea during these training sessions. “I just missed the storm coming in, Raijin and Fujin seem to be having a great time out there today.” Hibiki sorted through his back and took out his sleeping bag, setting it near the fire to warm up. Amaya snorted at Hibiki’s comment about the storm but did not say anything further, leading to some confusion for Hibiki. Perhaps he just sneezed?. Amaya finished his tea whilst Hibiki prepared his equipment a short distance away and set his cup down. “You brought the tools I gave you boy?” Hibiki turned back to look at the old man and smiled with excitement rooting through the waterproof lined section to retrieve his precious tool kit. Amaya had not mentioned them in the previous sessions but now it seemed he might teach him more about making puppets and Hibiki could barely contain his excitement.

“Good. Come over to the work bench lad and we can begin.” Amaya set a large cloth bundle on the smooth stone worktop and rolled it open, reaching nearly the length of the table and displaying expertly crafted tools free of rust or blemish. Hibiki was certain that Amaya must have cleaned and oiled them after each use to maintain such a good condition. Hibiki took great pains to maintain the tools he had been gifted but even so he had not been able to prevent some nicks and slight rust spots developing over the last few years. “You are proficient with the chakras strings, more so than I thought you would be by now. So over these two days I am going to teach you how to make a puppet as well as…” “But I already now how to make a puppet! You already taught me that!” Amaya clapped his hands together loudly, the sound echoing in the cavern. It was a chastisement and a command to listen rolled into one and Hibiki went quiet. “Sorry.” Amaya nodded in acceptance of the apology and cleared his throat before speaking again. “As I was saying, I will teach you to make kugutsu puppets as well as the mechanisms that make them truly unique, effective, and deadly in the hands of once who knows how to use them. Today we will begin making a puppet of your own design. Remember how I tested you with the chakra strings when you first came here? Well now I shall be testing your capability to create and build a kugutsu puppet. Many Kugutsu masters will simply hand down one of their old creations to their pupils but time is short and I have no interest ins a student that is only good for mimicry. I told you the first day that creativity is and creation of the puppets itself was a vital talent. Now I wish you to show me how creative you can be. Before building a puppet you must consider not only its purpose but its appearance and your personal style.”

Amaya produced a scroll with a sealing mark and placed it on the worktop before activating it in a large puff of white smoke that quickly dispersed and cleared. In its place was a large assortment of materials, sections of wood, metal, leather and many  odd springs and other bizarre components that Hibiki could not name. “These are the physical components but first you need to think abut what you wish your puppet to do, how you would like your puppet to do it and how it will look. Personally I prefer puppets that tell a story or are based on fables but every puppet master tends to have their own flair. Think hard on what you enjoy or perhaps something you wish to see the world. Once you have an idea we can begin.”

Hibiki moved over to the pool in the centre of the cavern and sat down to think, staring into the clear water and watching all the small creatures an fluorescent plants moving slowly as if to some unseen current though Hibiki could see nothing that would cause such a current to occur.  Hibiki spent the next hour (or at least he thought it was around an hour) thinking about the kind of puppet he wanted to make. His thoughts drifted thinking of stories and legends when he was truck by inspiration. The first ghost story his grandpa had taught him. A lady that was secretly a spider and would entrap people before carrying them away. Hibiki smiled and ran over to Amaya’s quickly explaining his idea for the puppet and listing lots of ideas but uncertain how to implement his thoughts. Amaya let him talk until he stopped of his own accord, exhausted form the effort of trying to convey his thoughts and imagination.

“Sounds like you have a clear image and a solid idea boy. Come I will help you create it but pay close attention, I do not want to repeat myself with every step and should assemble each piece with care. I will guide you through process and answer any questions you have but this puppet will be made by your hands alone. When you are ready you can begin.” The Hours bled together for Hibiki as he worked. He started with the basic configuration or shell of the puppet, two arms, two legs a body and a head. He assembled the pieces and with Amaya’s guidance was able to create a more refined feminine humanoid figure that would serve as the framework for the puppet. Hibiki explained how he wanted the puppet to work, to capture people just like the story. Amaya advised on the construction of the mechanisms and pointed out the correct pieces to use, pausing occasionally to test the mechanism through each stage to ensure it was working correctly. By the time Amaya send Hibiki to get some food and sleep the puppet had taken shape and now had the first mechanism completed. Hibiki had struggled a little with the complexity of the mechanism in the arms but with Amaya’s guidance he had succeeded. True to his word, Amaya had not actively taken part in the physical creation of the puppet, he had handed pieces or held and arm whilst Hibiki threaded the internal wire system but none of the actual construction.

Hibiki slept deeply and woke early, at least it felt early to him in the timeless cave. He discussed different mechanisms and puppet types over breakfast as Amaya lectured on their construction and materials. Hibiki was engrossed and absorbed the knowledge as best he could as he ate but was eager to return to his work, glancing at his own half completed puppet as he listened. The puppet itself was bigger than himself, taller than his own mother in fact as that’s how he imagined it to be, lithe and elegant yet dangerous and deadly. Hibiki began work on the second mechanism and Amayas himself had been caught a little off guard at the audacity of the idea form his student, betrayed by his own childlike smile. Amaya explained enthusiastically and a few hours later the shell of the puppet itself seemed to be complete though bare to look at. It walked a thin line between being beautiful and monstrous, exactly as Hibiki had wanted. Amaya looked over the puppet and seemed satisfied. “Fine work for your first creation boy. I am curious about the secondary mechanisms function, gather some water from the pool to fill it up and lets see how it goes, can’t say I have ever made anything precisely like it but it should certainly work in theory.”

Hibiki moved the puppet with his chakra strings, making it walk besides him like a strange guardian. He could have made it float but wanted to practice using it like a normal puppet before showing it off to his parents and the other patrons of the inn. Once the mechanisms were tested and they were both happy Amaya turned to Hibiki. “Congratulations pupil, it appears to be a success and I am satisfied with your aptitude in its construction and the concept behind it the only thing left is to name it.” Hibiki smiled and looked at his new creation and spoke with pride. “It is the first of Sato Hibiki’s Kaiden Series, the Jorogumo!”

WC: 2,321

Claiming 2287 towards creation of Kaiden Series: Jorogumo - 4900/4900

Claiming puppet: Kaiden Series: Jorogumo

Sato Hibiki wrote:
WC: 2,321

Claiming 2287 towards creation of Kaiden Series: Jorogumo - 4900/4900

Claiming puppet: Kaiden Series: Jorogumo

Approved