Meeting New Friends [P, Kiigan, June]

"I dunno if you can talk to her or not. She rarely talks to me. But I can feel her smirking at everything I do and say," he started, huffing. "The monster always thinks she knows a better way. Wants to talk things out before action, blah blah..." he trailed off, seeming to have an inward moment before his lips twitched into a crooked smile. "I don't think she likes to be called monster, though."

It made him feel better when Matatabi was the one frustrated for a change. Always diplomatic, peaceful, and righteous...a big time waster. What a mismatched pair they'd been forced to be.

"But, Kirito," Kiigan started, looking from June to the chuunin. His expression betrayed his curiosity. "How would I access her chakra, though? I don't know where to start."

Kirito couldn't help but release a sigh. "I'm sorry June-chan, but you wouldn't be able t enter the seal to meet the Nibi. Even I can't enter until he is in his last phases of training. But, to start, you just have to meditate and focus on getting into your seal. You then have to come up with some form of agreement with the Nibi. This could be any number of things, or you could just demand its chakra, though this isn't a good way to form a good bond with your tenant. Either way, if you feel ready, you can begin that now." He would then turn to June, "Do you wish to continue training in bukijutsu, or is there another area you want to work on?" It was a simple question, and he was ready to help to the best of his ability. All she had to do was ask. He was also ready to answer any questions Kiigan might have about accessing his seal, or getting along with the Nibi. But, it was all really in his own hands until he got access tot he chakra.

Was there another thing she could help with? Her eyes quickly darted to Kiigan for a moment before immediately looking away again as she tried to go back to her train of thought. It had to be really hard for Jinchuriki. They were just forced to live with someone they might not even like and they had no other options but to work with that for the rest of their lives.... It was hard enough for people to find that kind of connection when they had all the options in the world to work with, but to be forced into that situation and just forced to live together no matter how much they might hate eachother.... That had to be pure torture for some people.

"So what can I actually learn?" June carefully asked, unsure what else to really say. "I really don't know what I even can work on, myself.... I mean, I guess I could learn some lightning techniques, that would be really useful because I fight with a metal weapon. Or maybe I could learn some water style! That's what you're good at, right, Kirito? So you probably know all kinds of strong moves to stop people with! Or... I don't know, if you know any special sword attacks, that would be helpful, I think."

Awkwardly, the woman scratched the side of her head, still sitting on the ground as she did so. "Sorry, I just never put much time into thinking of what I want to do. And you seem to think I've got some potential or something, right? So... I don't know what you see in me, but maybe it would be best if you just picked something for me to learn? Because I just don't really know."

"I'll leave you guys to it, then," he muttered awkwardly, turning to find a quiet place. Peering down at his seal, it seemed to darken when he paid attention to it. He'd never really tried to communicate with Matatabi on purpose, and she sure as heck had never loaned him any chakra. His sensei in school had only the most shaky theoretical knowledge of bijuu and jinchuuriki and how it all worked, so it wasn't something someone else without first hand experience could teach him...since he hadn't figured it out on his own.

He hadn't been interested anyway. Being seen as a powerful tool to be used by everyone else but himself had turned him off to the thought of it. But now that it seemed to make it outside the family business would require him to be a shinobi, he could be his own tool, right? He could learn to benefit himself, and only himself.

Okay, since he was going to have to meditate and get through his seal, this required the utmost of calmness. Scowling, he reached up for the cigarette behind his ear and stuck it between his lips. His last one...this better be worth it. Lighting it, he puffed a couple clouds of smoke before he sat down, legs criss-crossed.

Closing his eyes for several minutes, he started to visualize the seal as if it was a heavy wooden door. He knocked on it. "Let me in!" he called to it in his mind, but there was no response. "Really? You're gonna be that way? Come on!"

[1/5 unlocking Nibi]

It seemed that June was still somewhat nervous, but that was alright. Kirito nodded to Kiigan as he walked off to begin his meditation. It was time to get things done here. Turning his attention back to June, he would take up a thinking pose. "Hmmm, What elements do you know, June-chan? That would be your first order of business. Next would be your actual skill in Ninjutsu, if you don't have much skill, you probably won't be able to learn much more than a D-rank technique in any element. Though, as I said earlier, I don't know any real Bukijutsu techniques other than what I have with my steel release that I could teach you, so I'm of little more use than just a sparring partner. But, we could do that if you wanted. I'd be happy to let you work on your style against me." He didn't have much else that he could offer the girl, other than potentially teaching her an element. This was somewhat upsetting to him, he wanted nothing more than to help, but he was really unable to help her to the fullest of his ability until she herself got stronger.

As June stood up, her face suddenly turned blank at the kid's words. "What elements do I know?" She repeated, more staring through him than anything else as she tried to process what he meant. "I.... You can learn anything, right? So... do I have to specifically 'know' an element? I don't.... How would I.... I thought you just had to learn the jutsu hand signs and you'd just be good to go, isn't that how it works?"

Her head seemed to actively become warmer as she focused intensely at trying to think back to remember any feint details of elemental knowledge she might have heard from the academy before she zoned off like usual. Didn't people start with an element they were capable of using? Wasn't that something people were born with? Or was it something else? "If I do have an element, then... how would I know? Is there some way to check for that? Or do I just have to kind-of try out a bunch of jutsu and see what works?"

Irritably tapping his knee against the dirt and snorting smoke out his nose, the inner conflict continued.

It was dark here, in front of the wooden door that wouldn't budge. Matatabi remained silent, though after a while a large copy of his seal appeared on the door. "I'm not leaving until you make a deal with me," he grunted, sitting in front of the door just as he was in real life. Finally, she broke the silence. A keyhole appeared in the center of the door, just big enough for him to see black and blue swirling flames and to hear an echo-y voice.

"Kiigan-san, the deal is supposed to be mutual, not just from me to you," she chided him.

"...After all this meditating, that's what you say first?" Kiigan responded, frowning.

"I didn't get a formal greeting from you, either..." reminded Matatabi, polite but also sharp.

"It doesn't matter. This know-it-all kid said he made a deal with his bijuu and they work together with chakra. You've been in here my whole life and never helped out once."

"You consistently do things that hurt your body, despite my urgings, young one. My favors require a good host that isn't trying to send us both to an early grave," purred the beast, her golden eye appearing in the keyhole to examine his body, zeroing in on the cigarette he brought with him into his seal world

"What're you going on about?" he asked slowly.

"For one, carcinogens," she quipped.

Kiigan was taken aback, blinking as he put it together what she was talking about. "You've got to be kidding me! I smoke so we can't work together like adults?"

"I need my host body to---"

Kiigan's eyes flared open, and suddenly he was on his feet going back to where Kirito and June were. "This ain't gonna work. She's pissed because I'm smoking and won't open the door! Totally disagreeable!"

[2/5 unlocking bijuu]

Kirito chuckled slightly at the girl's response. "June-chan, of course you have to HAVE the element to be able to use the jutsu! But that's no problem, I can help you learn a new element should I not know the one you already have. As it would happen, I have a couple chakra sheets. These will help you to know which element you have. All you do, is take one in your hands and channel your chakra through it. The various things that happen to the paper will tell you chich elements you have access to without needing to train them. Here, like this." He would hand her a page and take one himself. Holding it between his hands, he sent his chakra through it. The page cut into six sections. One section got wet and fell apart, one section crumpled up, another section turned to dust, yet another section burned up, the second to last section turned to steel and the final section turned to light and faded away. This revealed the seven elements that he had access to. He wondered which element she would be naturally attuned to, since she seemingly had no training in elements before now, this should tell her natural element.

Kiigan broke from his meditation and made Kirito sweatdrop. It would seem his stubbornness was inhibiting him from making a decent pact with the Nibi. "Kiigan-san, perhaps look at iy in terms of compromise? Nibi is giving you access to its chakra and all you have to do is not smoke. Its a pertty fair deal really, considering the power the Nibi is said to hold." He was sad that he couldnt do more to help, but alas, this was something Kiigan had to figure out alone.

As June took the paper, she carefully held it out in front of her, slightly worried about potentially getting wet if the paper did happen to turn into water. Her attention shifted to Kiigan as he started going on about a disagreement he was having with his Tailed Beast. So he wanted to smoke and his monster didn't want him to do it.... That felt a lot more mundane than she expected this to be, but, at the same time, it could be hard for someone to stop smoking... so that was pretty much out, wasn't it?

Without paying much attention, June finally started channeling chakra into the paper as instructed. "That sounds like a pretty big problem, Kiigan." She admitted, openly, still looking more at the ground then at him directly. "Maybe you could find a compromise, though? I mean, shouldn't.... I don't know.... Maybe you could let her do something unhealthy if she lets you do something unhealthy? Like if you can smoke then maybe she could eat junk food- Wait, can Tailed Beasts even have junk food? I know cats and dogs can't digest specific things...."

Awkwardly, the woman shook her head at the thought. "Okay, how about this!" She chimed, enthusiastically. "Maybe you could find something she likes to do and you could let her do it if she lets you smoke. That way everybody wins, right?"

"But what if she likes to kill and eat a thousand babies or something?" asked the jinchuriki, knowing that probably wasn't the case, but feeling the need to point it out anyway because he was aggravated. And honestly, he was teasing her a little since she'd been so wary of them at first. "I mean, I guess I could, but that seems like a very unequal compromise."

He turned, finding these two of little help. If Matatabi really wanted to make sure they both survived, she really should just give in and let him use her chakra. The stronger he was, the safer she'd be, right? She wouldn't have to worry about his questionable health choices if he was so weak the first real challenge killed him. "Compromises...right..." he grumbled to himself, then wandered back to his spot to continue his moody meditation.

"Yo, I'm back," he shouted at the door.

The Wraith's eye appeared in the keyhole again. "Are you willing to be reasonable now?" she asked, hoping the Sanbi and his jinchuriki were able to talk some sense into her difficult host.

"I'll be honest. I can't promise not to smoke. You should know better than anyone that only a couple things help me," Kiigan answered. "I don't know what I can offer you. You and I understand things in completely opposite ways. All I can do is say I'll try to work with you. I'll control you if you'll cooperate."

The Nibi sighed. "Oh, Kiigan-san...You'll need more than women, drink, and smoke to fill the void..." she said sadly, quiet and truly sincere. Her host had no idea just how well she knew him. Way better than he knew himself.

"What?" he asked, not following. Then he seemed to toss it away, chalking it up to more babbles of wisdom he didn't care to dwell on. "If it's so important, I can try to cut back?"

"The point is I need you to make good choices and listen to reason. You need to change."

"Why can't anyone accept me how I am?!" he roared, standing in his mental seal scape and rushing the door, glaring into the keyhole.

"You aren't a teenager anymore. To become acceptable, you need to accept that others have something you can learn from them." Sagely advice from old mother two tails.

"I can try. But so far, everyone else just wants to use me as a tool. Including you. That changes now."

[3/5 unlocking Matatabi]

The moment that June put chakra into the paper, it seemed to glow orange before melting into a pure lava-like state. So, it was going to be difficult then? Fine. "Wow, June-chan, I think that's Lava Release. It's pretty rare for someone outside of the Terumi clan, though I've heard that the Yonbi Jinchuuriki also has this ability. I honestly don't have anything that can help you train this as I have no experience in dealing with it, even in combat yet, so I can only guess at what it is capable of. Maybe I can be of assistance elsewhere? Taijutsu? Senjutsu might be a bit advanced... do you know how to break out of Genjutsu?" It was really all he could offer considering he himself had trained hard and was forced to grow strong fast due to his circumstances of being evicted from the Land of Iron. But, he would do his best to help these two in any way that he could.

Immediately, June gasped as she stumbled backwards without thinking as soon as Kirito drew her attention to the super heated glob in front of her. Instinctively, she dropped the paper as the mass of lava on the ground slowly bubbled, sending a stream of smoke out from it as it casually began setting small fires around the nearby blades of grass before it slowly began to grow dark and harden. Against her will, June could only stand still and stare at it in wonder, unsure of what to think of the unusual phenomenon she happened to have created.

Water would have been fine. Lightning would have been fine. Even something like fire or even steel would be alright. At least those were elements she understood.... At least those were things she knew how to carefully deal with. But lava?! That felt genuinely unpredictable. This was very much an element specifically capable of killing people in an unbelievably horrible way if she didn't use it right. This was a big responsibility... and one she didn't fully know if she was ready for....

Before she could dwell on it any longer, her mind forced itself to bounce to the next topic she could think of. "Y-yeah! Genjutsu, I should... I should learn how to break out of that. That sounds useful.... Yeah...." Her eyes couldn't help but wander back down to the now stone-like mass on the ground. It probably wasn't even safe to touch yet... was it even alright to just leave something like that here for someone to step in? Without thinking, June shook her head before turning to Kirito.

"Is it... difficult to learn how to break Genjutsu? How does it actually work? I mean, can all Genjutsu be broken? And if so, then why do people use it? I mean... this.... This will keep me safe from pretty much any Genjutsu I come across, right?"

"I'm not so petty, Kiigan-san," Matatabi contended tiredly. "How can you see that this is not truly about the simple vices you love? My asking you to stop smoking was just the smallest example of getting you to take a moment and be introspective. Think before you act. Listen to others, for they may save you some trouble and offer a better solution."

"Feels pretty petty to me," Kiigan grumbled under his breath, about half listening.

Her eye twitched, but she didn't dignify such immature behavior with a response. Of course those Ikigai zealots would seal her into such a difficult host. She bet all the other jinchuriki would give and do anything to get their bijuu's power, like that sensible Kirito. Never had she dealt with a host like Kiigan.

"Okay. The first compromise. I'll give you a little bit of my power, but you have to be more open to me," the wraith offered, now peering at him with her green eye. Kiigan was the type to learn by doing, not by talking it over or using reason. Perhaps if she was the one who gave a little first, he'd understand and be much more pliable next time.

Kiigan stood, thinking it over. Was it a trap? He was suspicious that she suddenly wasn't making any big demands. Was him being open the big demand and he wasn't seeing the depth to it?

"You came here to make an agreement with me. I'm agreeing." The keyhole in the door grew a little, blue flames starting to leak out past the seal. "Come here and take it. I'm giving this little bit to you," she told him.

She was right. And maybe he was a little too confident, but if it was a trap, he could just ignore her and reject her chakra, right? This is what he'd come for, and frankly, he was tired of meditating and arguing about it. He'd take what he could get.

Kiigan stepped forward, reaching his arm into the keyhole.

[4/5 biiiiijjuuuuuuuu]

Thinking back on his own time learning this in the Land of Earth, where he, admittedly, made a majority of his progress into the Shinobi that he was today, Kirito smiled kindly to the girl who was at least five or six years his senior. "Breaking Genjutsu isn't all that hard. There are a majority of ways to accomplish it, you can cause physical pain to yourself to break it, though this method is usually a last resort. Most commonly, the 'Kai' technique is used, this is done one of two ways. The first way, is to momentarily halt the flow of chakra through your body to break free, the second way is to send a burst of chakra through your system to overload the technique. Either way works, and is done using the 'Kai' technique which can be done most easily using just the ram seal." He felt like this was a decent amount of explanation that she should be able to attempt it now. He could also feel Kiigan pushing through on his talks with the Nibi. He could feel the boy gaining access to the Bijuu chakra that was so similar, yet so different to his own.

Carefully, June nodded her head at the explanation as if she understood it despite feeling a little foggy and under-prepared on the specifics of dealing with Genjutsu. But it probably didn't matter much, anyways.... Just one hand sign? She could do that. It seemed simple enough. If she could summon an animal, then she should be able to figure out how to just pulse chakra through her body... right?

With a deep breath, the genin finally formed the hand sign as she closed her eyes and focused intently on her energy. Trying as hard as she could to think of the task at hand. A bead of sweat rolled down her face as she gritted her teeth in strain, putting every ounce of effort she could into this one task before finally stopping and glancing up at Kirito.

"I think I did it?" The white haired woman muttered in a confused tone as she tilted her head slightly, unsure what to think about the task overall. "Hey, Kirito... have you ever encountered a Genjutsu you weren't able to dispel on your own?"

Spoiler:

"Prepare yourself," Matatabi warned last minute, just as Kiigan reached his arm into the keyhole. Blue flames wrapped his arm, coming out and wrapping up to his shoulder before straight up blasting out the hole like a flame thrower. The black and blue flames engulfed him, overwhelming him completely.

Back in the real world, Kiigan's meditating form erupted into the same blue flames

"Uh...?!" The feel of the new chakra surprised him, so much so that he had no control over it at all. The wrappings on his arms and his pants started to burn away, and a strange animalistic feeling came over him.

"This is your first lessen. Listen to me. Merge your chakra with mine and you'll have more control," she instructed, already presenting her first test of their compromise. "If not, I'll take control of you." A little motivation...

Kiigan balked. "But HOW!?" he roared, more alarmed now.

"Look. Visualize your chakra. When you can see it, you'll see mine," the Wraith purred, trying to stay calm so maybe he'd stay calm.

It was hard to do, but he did start to see his chakra. It was the blue, currently beaten down by an overwhelming black chakra. Kiigan started concentrating, rising his own chakra up to try and fight back the black before it could drown him. A part of him could tell as much as Matatabi was being genuinely helpful and polite, a part of her really did want to take over, break free of her host, and run free again. She was angry deep down about being continuously imprisoned, which he could understand. They shared an anger and unsettledness, if nothing else.

After just a bit of time, his own chakra rose up and contained hers, meshing with it and forming it to his will. Only then could he relax. His clothes stopped burning up, thankfully before he was completely naked.

"Shew..." he huffed.

"Okay. This time, the deal is accepted. You get this little bit as long as you listen," she reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah," he waved her off, breaking his meditation and opening his eyes. He stood, walking back toward the other two while his new blue flames danced around his fingers. Interesting...

The breeze was what alerted him to his lack of clothing. He looked down, seeing only shreds of his pants over his luckily only singed underwear. "...wonderful."


[5/5 BLUE FIIIYAAAH]

Kirito watched intently as the girl focused very hard for a while. She seemed to be focusing on manipulating her chakra, so Kirito remained silent and simply waited for her to complete her first task. After a few minutes, she said that she thought she did it, and if he were to be honest, Kirito would admit that he had never really used this technique and had only learned it in response to a Genjutsu that Senju had put him under. "Perhaps, try it again June-chan. You are almost there! I have been caught in a Genjutsu i was unable to escape only once. It reversed my movements and was rather annoying to deal with in the heat of combat, but generally harmless." Upon seeing his other companion be engulfed in blue flames, Kirito assumed he finished his unlocking of the Nibi's chakra. "I take it you two managed to make an accord, Kiigan-san? Do you need to find an extra pair of pants?" He couldn't help himself but to chuckle at the older mans predicament.

The woman's attention suddenly shifted as she turned to face Kiigan's flaming body before he suddenly stopped burning to find himself just a few wrong moves away from potentially exposing himself. After awkwardly staring at the sight for a moment, June blinked a few times before finally realizing what was going on. Okay, so this must be the work of Kirito, right? She was trying to train an anti-genjutsu technique but wasn't quite getting it, so Kirito must have cast a genjutsu on her for her to break out of, right? That made way too much sense to not be true.

A slight smirk crossed the white haired woman's face at the realization. So that's what was happening? But now that she knew it was an illusion, she wouldn't be phased by this at all no matter what happened. All she had to do was break through this genjutsu and she'd definitively have mastered the technique! With a renewed sense of enthusiasm, she put her hands together as she focused her chakra into one, solid, burst! "Kai... release!"

After a short wait, June took another deep breath. "That didn't work, but I'll get this right next time."

Spoiler:

"Eh...seems like I might," Kiigan replied to Kirito, looking down at himself. He didn't seem embarrassed in the least, since he wasn't fond of clothes anyway. Standing in the training grounds in little more than his underwear was a little weird, but whatever. "I doubt yours would fit me, though," he smirked at the kid. Nice of him to offer. "I'll get a pair when I get home. I don't live far..."

His attention was drawn when he noticed the weird girl squawking something about kai. Whatever it was, she said it didn't work. He didn't see anything happen either, so he was inclined to agree with her. "What are you trying to do?" he asked, looking around as if there was a target she was supposed to hit or some other physical hint.

Kirito had to stifle his laughter as June seemed to think that Kiigan's lack of proper clothing was in fact a genjutsu placed by Kirito himself. "June-chan, this isn't a genjutsu. I'm afraid that Kiigan-san has in fact actually burned off his pants. But, it also seems to me that you have indeed mastered that jutsu. May it serve you well in your future endeavors." He finished with a smile. Turning back to Kiigan, "So, it would seem you have made it to the point that you should be ready to begin the first real phase of your training in utilizing the Nibi's pure chakra. Just let me know whenever you are ready to start this training and I will be sure to help you with it. It is my duty, after all, we share the same burden." He finished this with a solemn look directly into Kiigan's mismatched eyes with his own deep blue eyes. He was actually excited to train with another Jinchuuriki, it was a rare occasion, seeing as there were only nine in existence at any one time, so it was something to take advantage of when the opportunity arose.

"Huhh?" June muttered at Kirito's comments as she tried the technique again. No, there was no way this was real, she had to just be messing up while trying to do this. That explanation made so much more sense than what she was seeing that it had to be the right one. But, then again, why would Kirito make an illusion of him lying about making an illusion? In fact, why would he even make an illusion of something as weird as this in the first place? Why would he... why would....

Ohhhh....... Ohhhhhh nooooo......

The woman froze as her eyes widened in shock before she quickly put her hands together again and gave it a fourth try. "I-.... Release...?" Without looking away, her face suddenly blushed a bright red as her eyes widened. An odd, low, confused, noise involuntarily escaping her at the situation. It was hard enough to avoid looking at his bare chest, but this was... it was pretty much everything....

Still paralyzed in shock, she once again impulsively tried to unleash another burst of chakra to make sure. Nope! It still wasn't an illusion! As bad as she was, there was no way she could be this horrible at a technique so simple, right? Finally, she managed to stop her weird noise as she focused enough will to speak up. "Someone help... I don't think I can move.... Please...."

"There's more? What's the first phase?" the red-head asked, meeting Kirito's eyes for a second before his attention was stolen by June's muttering. What was that spaz up to now? As he crossed his arms over his chest, the jinchuuriki gazed at the woman, just as appraisingly and slightly put off as he had before.

"Don't," Matatabi warned.

"Don't what?" Kiigan asked, as if he could hide his thoughts from the other living trapped inside him.

"Mess with that girl," the two tails supplied tiredly.

"She is kinda nice to look at... When she's not having a weird meltdown.." the man mused.

"Women are not playthings--"

"Screw off!"

Kiigan was derailed from Kirito's other words for the moment. It occurred to him suddenly that June couldn't handle seeing his body. And that meant...from his experience, she probably thought he was attractive. He didn't understand much emotionally, but he was at least familiar with this.

Or at least he thought he was. The more he watched her, the more he also noticed that her flustered reaction had morphed into something more peculiar that he wasn't so sure about. That sound she made, and now she couldn't move? The women in the tavern were never this odd. Maybe whatever Kirito taught her had some unintended side-effect?

Being closest to her, the singed man approached her with brows furrowed. He reached out to touch her shoulder, slowly as if she would spontaneously combust. "Are you having a stroke?"

Kirito immediately noticed something off about June. Then, she said she couldn't move. Moving closer, his hand would begin to glow green, a medical ninjutsu that would speed up her body's natural healing factor. If there was anything wrong with her, this would help her get over it, it would also help him to discern the issue at hand. After a few moments, should the technique help any, he would step back. moving back around five meters, he would turn to Kiigan. "THIS is phase one." With that, he would activate the three tails V1 cloak, coating his body in the bubbling red chakra with three tails swaying behind him. His pupils became slit and his fingers grew claws and his canines enlongated. His hair was standing a bit spikier, giving him an overall much more feral appearance. "With this form under your control, your strength, speed and durability are increased exponentially, your normal jutsu are also given a boost." Allowing it to die back down, he would approach, "If you are interested in learning that, just let me know." Looking to June, "I hope you are alright, June-chan."

The moment Kiigan touched her, June's entire body shuddered as she reeled back in surprise. Why would he just run up and try to touch her in a situation like this?! Didn't he realize how indecent he was right now?! As she prepared for some form of comeback, she was forced to suddenly stop as Kirito suddenly just walked up without talking and put a glowing hand on her leg.

Without thinking, the woman froze as the kid just stood there, doing something she didn't understand with ninjutsu. Without any context, June could only watch awkwardly in silence with widened eyes as she stared down at the infamous monster rookie doing... something.... Should she say something? Was he waiting for her to ask some form of question or was this a training thing? Questions upon questions flooded her mind without any answers in sight at the unusual situation she found herself in. Did she do something wrong? Was he trying to get her to do something? All she could do was stand still and wait as her eyes carefully blinked. Then, as awkwardly as he walked over, he suddenly stopped whatever he was doing to walk away before suddenly beginning a new explanation about some form of form Jinchuriki could take to become generally stronger.

"I hope you are alright, June-chan" Kirito finally stated while June simply stood off to the side with her head tilted slightly in confusion.

"I... don't know...." The white haired woman randomly responded without thinking. "Oh! That's right!" She suddenly chimed, somehow shrugging off the awkwardness of the previous moment. "Yeah! I forgot to summon Puu back! I hope he's not mad at me... he's not used to being away from me this long, normally. He's probably worried sick that something bad happened." Without hesitation, the genin casually pulled out her summoning scroll as she quickly cut her hand, wincing at the pain, before dripping the blood on the paper to activate the technique. "Okay, come back Puu!" She excitedly announced as a large burst of smoke exploded from the scroll!

As she stood there, an intense uneasy feeling sunk into June's stomach as she quickly began to realize something was incredibly wrong. But... what could it be? She did the summoning correctly, right? Her eyes suddenly focused as she realized what it was. The cloud of smoke... that was way too big to be Puu! But... if she didn't summon Puu, then... what did she........

This couldn't be right.

Suddenly, a loud, snarling, voice rang out from the smoke! "NIIIBBIIIII!!!"

Almost immediately, the white haired woman clutched her stomach as she felt increasingly more feint until she fell to her knees. June suddenly found herself gasping for air as all strength seemed to leave her, her face breaking out in a cold sweat as her vision began to blur. Wait, why... why did everything suddenly feel so cold.... Why did she feel so drained.... It was almost as if something had just sucked most of her soul out all at once. Was that because of the summoning? But... why....

Suddenly, the smoke was fanned away by a giant fox's tail, easily wider than Kiigan was tall, covered in white fur with the end dyed black and carrying some form of clay jar, all while some form of ink dripped off of the appendage's end as the rest of the fox's gigantic body quickly came into view. Its fur, while well groomed, began to stick up on end in rage as its limbs spread themselves across the ground. Its front legs ending in a series of three thick human-like fingers and some form of disproportionately small thumb despite its back legs being normal animalistic paws. Slowly, the creature's head moved forward, a massive face with scars scattered across its nose with some form of especially thick scar running down a seemingly useless left eye. A heavy huff of air escaped the beast as it blinked a disproportionately large right eye, almost yellow in color with a bright green pupil, all framed by a dark purple ring of exposed skin that seemed to bag under it while the eyelid abnormally warped to stretch over the shape before finally settling on forming an upward curve that, combined with its newly forming smile, gave the giant fox a sense of savage glee as it faced from several feet away.

A hoarse chuckle escaped the monster from behind its asymmetrical set of sharp teeth as it lifted its head slightly, its neck clearly several feet over Kiigan's reach as it effortlessly looked down on him. "So, we meet again at last, Matatabi! I've waited countless years for this moment. Planning and calculating my revenge! And yet, after all of that, you've already found yourself imprisoned in another PUP!"

Another wheezing laugh came from somewhere deep within the summon before it continued. "You probably never expected to meet grand Sodai'namoso again, did you, Matatabi?! You probably thought I'd just crawl in a hole and die somewhere after our last battle! But look.... Since then, I've stolen Grandmother's eye! You might have blinded me, but as long as my family exists, I will always have new parts to fix myself with, Matatabi! That's why the moment I sensed your presence I had to come here. Because I refuse to die until I finally destroy you! What do you think about that, NIBI!!!"

Spoiler:

June hadn't answered his question regarding the stroke, but she seemed to be as okay as she was capable of being for the moment. Stroke-like symptoms might be her normal, for all he knew. Kiigan knew nothing about the woman, and that was starting to feel like a blessing. He moved away from her.

Turning back to Kirito, his eyes lit up as he watched the transformation come and go. Interesting. More power was something that always sounded good, but was probably a lot of work. Considering how much crap he just went through just for Matatabi to give him a little bit of her chakra, all these ridiculous deals and compromises, he was sure whatever deal she'd want for that level of power was something he wasn't willing to do. She'd probably want him to become some boring, prudish monk...

"That's cool, but maybe later. I don't see what I'd need with that much power," Kiigan said, only able to look as far enough ahead as having enough skill to earn money on easy missions. One thing was still clear to him; if he became too powerful, Kirigakure would want to use him. He was no one's tool, nor was he a symbol of power to be flaunted.

When Kirito asked if June was ok, he tossed a glance her way again, though not as fully as before. He was done here, right? Kirito could stay and get back to whatever he was doing, and June was now muttering about poo, which seemed a good as time as any to escape before something annoying happened. "Thanks for your help, kid. See you arou---"

His farewell wasn't hasty enough. Something annoying and ridiculous just had to happen. Kiigan froze with wide eyes as he and the general area was engulfed in a cloud of summoning smoke. Before he could even see what caused it, an uneasiness rose in his gut. The hairs on his arms and the back of his neck instinctively stood on end, muscles poised to spring even though he didn't know why.

The loud snarl calling for the beast sealed in him rattled his bones. Matatabi seethed within him, banging against the wooden door like a caged animal. The smoke cleared, and before he could even process it he found himself hissing. Hissing! He clamped a hand over his mouth to stop it, though his eyes seemed just as feral as they looked up at the monstrous fox.

A monstrous fox that apparently had beef with the demon he was unfortunately imprisoning and vice versa.

Matatabi's usual calm and cool demeanor was gone. She felt more akin to his spirit now, which he thought he'd like, but it was actually terrifying. Kiigan felt like he was full of boiling bubbles. Blue flames flickered irritably around his body, not burning him but uncontrollable. He uncovered his mouth to ask June what the heck she was doing, but all that came out was another hiss that edged toward an inhuman roar, which he stifled again. It was all he could do to fight back the nibi's chakra with his own, and it was draining him. Sweating, he fell back onto his butt, eyes full of confusion and fear. And anger. what the heck was she thinking?! The red bubbles seeped out of his seal, mingling with the blue flames and becoming purple in some places.

"Tell that fox she's going to wish she had crawled in that hole and died after all. Tell her to come back when she's not so cowardly as to to nearly kill a little girl to get here!" the wraith seethed.

Kiigan resisted.

"TELL HER!"

He had no choice but to relay the message. Kiigan snarled, hating being told what to do, especially in this case. He lowered his hand slowly, grateful he had at least regained control over the hissing.

"She says.. you're gonna wish you had actually died in that hole and to come back when you don't have to be a gutless chicken and kill a girl to get here!" he called, the animalistic growl tainting his voice.