Welcome to Gaia! ::

Westly was, at present, in the workshop, tinkering away at his secret weapon. Midori had, about a week prior to his untimely death, shown Westly his notebook regarding the construction and use of Chakra Puppets, which had inadvertently made Westly one of perhaps two ninjas left in Gaioh who knew such techniques.

Westly still thought that the very idea of fighting using a puppet was absurd and inefficient, and he had next to no actual experience with it besides... but he'd be damned if he was going to let such a rare technique go to waste. Simply put, if next to no one used a technique, next to no one had any experience in countering it. If Westly kept this project in secret, it could add an unforeseeable factor to his repertoire.

And so he hammered away, ever tinkering. The room had no windows, and the only door was closed but unlocked. A number of unidentifiable tools sat on the workbench within arm's reach, and, as always, the room was filled with an obscuring mist, just in case someone felt like peeping at the door.

When he heard the knock, Westly was in the study, jotting something down in his journal.

...felt by the user of the Gyakugan is felt by the target instead, overriding all attempts to block it out. This could only be possible if a 'link' or 'similarity' were created between the user and the subject. The key, then, is reversal. Does this 'link' go both ways? Can I take on the pain of others? What's more, can I expand it to encompass things other than pain? Can I use the Gyakugan to show others my thoughts? My memories? My perceptions? My emotions? And if it can be reversed, can I know theirs?

He put his pencil down and answered the door. "Grace! Come in, come in! How are you? Have a seat. I was just working on some of my research."

"Alright, well. Training," he said. "Where do we start?"

He tapped his foot, thinking.

"Show me what you can do. Your moves. Your jutsu. Show--" He paused suddenly. "Not in my study, actually. In my study, please just list or describe them for me. You can show me later, when we're not in danger of trashing my beautiful book collection."

"I see," said Westly. "That's..."

He moved over to a bookshelf, and snatched up a tome entitled Obsure Ailments of the Mind and Spirit.

"I've heard of this before... ha! Found it! ...oh dear." Westly looked at Grace, remorse overwhelming his eyes.

"There's no easy way to say this... you have Sakura Syndrome. It's a rare condition, though still more common in women than in men. It's characterized by ninjas who don't know a single jutsu, and who have spent an inordinate amount of their screentime never participating usefully in battles. Worse, it's also resistant to the standard treatment: it says here that the Patient Zero for the condition had a lifelong rival. Rivals ALWAYS make each other stronger... but in this case, it caused a mutual co-infection, spreading the condition back and forth between both patients.

"There is hope, though. I can probably handle the psychological and tactical training necessary to make you a skilled combatant, but you're going to need someone to teach you a few things. A few jutsu. I'd do it myself, but more than half of my techniques are Water-based by way of Mist." Westly tapped his lip, thinking.

"I... don't think I know any Wind-nin. I mean, sure, there's Nekage, but he doesn't teach Genin anymore. Aona is Water, Sachi is Fire, I think Atsuma is Nightmare-elemental, and pretty much everyone else I can call in a favor from is Earth. I saw Kei whip up a decent tornado, but I think I owe him, if anything. Oh, right, and then there's--" Westly suddenly turned pale.

He looked over Grace at length. It looked like he was trying to memorize how she looked. "I just remembered something I need to do," he said, a shade of fear in his voice. "I'm such a terrible host, I'm sorry. Help yourself to some snacks or books, if you'd like. I'll be back in about ten minutes."

The only wind ninja I can get things out of is Sheena, and she's currently really REALLY pissed off at me. Gods, the one time I decide to tease someone for the sake of humor, it comes back to bite me. Well, I've got more than one trick at my disposal. I'm Morigana Westly, Jack of All Trades and Passing Skillful at a Few!

As soon as she got back from spying she stretched out on a couch. She decided to take a nap so Westly would be less likely to suspect her for spying on him. Hardly a minute passed before she was out cold. She never slept much because of the cafe, so it was nice to lie down for once.

Grace was snoring loudly as Westly walked in. It was odd that he hadn't noticed she was sleeping when he walked in. As Westly spoke, she began to wake up a little. She turned and looked at Westly, "Why are you talking?"

"Alrighty," Grace responded. She got up off the couch and stretched.
"You took forever. I had to do something," She laughed as she said it. Westly's face was a little tired, "What were you doing anyway?"