Immaterial

"Lady Diana, I'm grateful that you're back and all, but you really should be taking it down a notch, it's bad for your health after reemerging so soon."

Diana, soon after having checked up on both her health and her work was grateful to find that not much hand changed. While she had missed out on being able to attend the Kage summit which was probably for the best as she would not have been in the mindset to deal with politics before. But that was before she had contracted a near-fatal illness and was placed into stasis. That was before she had remembered her life from the beginning. And while her health was that of an average person, she was no longer dealing with average people, was she? No, with the reminder of her mortality fresh in her mind she had gone to work to gain a stronger physique. The crystal had done wonders, having hardened her chakras to the point where she could reliably create a clone with little worry, and preform some of the harder techniques of the clan and not need to immediately catch a breath. But she had to keep going; she needed to learn everything that her birth clans had to offer in addition to the third bloodline that had emerged from her stasis purifying her body and mind.

"Lady Diana I must insist that you pace yourself!"

As such today she had asked her Forgemaster Miss Leveilleur to assist in her training by spotting and other such things. At the moment she was working on the Crystal clan's legendary 'Arrow of Light', using a workaround she had discovered in a scroll so that she wouldn't need to force her twin tenketsu open to use it. It was a very strong technique if used correctly, and with her average constitution being able to deflect weaker blows would be quite useful. She had further enhanced her workaround by using Blast's natural ability to generate heat so that she could slowly work to getting a proper laser like she had with Minerva's Light, something she she had actually based on the Arrow thinking back on it. Right now the biggest issue was keeping both the crystal that surrounded her up as well as firing the beams and keeping them aligned with Shōton instead of a mix of Shōton & Bakuton. A workaround it was, but she was going to get this technique right. Really the biggest trouble was that the Arrow of Light technique didn't require any handseals, just like Bakuton, and having lived all her life using handseals for Shōton it was a strange change.

"Konda forgive me, snap out of it and pace yourself Elena!"

Diana noticed a brief clicking noise, the sound of one of her Iwatomics weaponry discharge a shot and immediately snapped out of it. The beam of hot energy started to destabalize, and Diana was forced to aim straight upwards, the beam of pure crystal-produced heat soaring into the sky. That was close, too close. But she had gotten the beam to work.

"My apologies, it looks like I was too focused again. I guess that is my punishment for being too laidback in work, no middle ground, just hard work or none at all.

"Do not blame yourself, I knew I was doing something risky. Now, take a break and let us talk about something that does not involve work for once."

---

185/185 CP

~Techs Learned~:

~0 WC Claim~:

Training felt far more freeing when one chose to do it of their own accord. Choosing what you were learning or practicing, choosing when and how you were training, Hotaru found that to be the most refreshing thing he’d been able to do in a long time. He’d chosen to come to the training grounds today to test out a few things he wanted to learn, some low level jutsu that any genin of his level should be able to learn. Mostly earth style, but there were a couple normal ninjutsu in there somewhere. He still wanted to learn as many jutsu as he could in order to keep staying independent. It was honestly shocking his parents hadn’t come to drag him home yet. He wasn’t going to complain, though. If they didn’t want to come find him, he’d train quietly on his own.

There was a distinct skip to his step as he walked into the stone yard. Really, he was in a very good mood. He’d managed to be away from home for several weeks already, and he was learning more on his own than he ever did at home. In fact, he was in such a good mood he didn’t notice that the area was actually in use at first. At least, not until he saw two women, one of whom appeared to be shooting a beam of crystalline light straight up into the sky. His eyes widened slightly at this, and he almost debated turning around, before eventually forcing himself to stay. As powerful as the woman appeared, the training area was a public place. She couldn’t monopolize the area, and there was more than enough room for the two of them.

He really needed to work on his stamina, especially. He couldn’t perform many techniques without getting winded, and if he didn’t toughen himself up he’d never be able to perform high level techniques. This in mind, he took up a position some distance away from the two women. The first technique he wanted to learn would bury an opponent alive, or even crush them, and he was eager to try it out. Once he was satisfied he was far enough that they wouldn’t get in each other’s way, he began. First, he slipped into the handsigns. Tiger, boar, and ox. Three simple handsigns he could perform in his sleep, followed by both palms flat on the ground. Once these were accomplished, he could see the ground about 5 meters in front of him collapsing inwards on itself, crumbling inwards with the whoosh of earth and the sound of stones cracking against each other. One small victory cheer later, he was bending over to catch his breath. Yeah, that took a lot of chakra out of him.

Learned: Earth Release: Tearing Earth Turning Palm (200/200)
CP: 20/20

Diana would sit down, her mind unfortunately on her work still as her work partner gestured for her to try and take a break. "So how is the, no that is work related. What about...no that too is related to our work.

Titania chuckled. "You really don't have anything else but work on your mind right now, do you?"

"It is not easy to switch from one thought to another right now, I have a goal in mind and I would prefer to reach it while I still can." Titania handed her a bottle of water, and she graciously took it and began downing it, catching the sight of a boy practicing in the background. Looked to be winded as well, so likely a fresh genin.

"Well, just make sure to pace yourself then. I wouldn't want to see you put back in that crystal so soon after you broke yourself out of it."

Diana would nod as she handed back the bottle. It was a strange feeling, the thought of that crystal, and right now she wasn't a fan of thinking about it. In fact it was probably a good time to focus on the power she had attained while she was inside said crystal, that of the tetsudashi's steel release. even if she could not truly call herself one of the clan, she had the power and they couldn't really do much about that. And while most of their abilities were less then ideal, they had two curious advantages that would be highly useful to her work. The first was that many of their techniques lasted a fair bit, taking longer to fade then normal. The other, while fading quickly was that of the Exo-Suit, something that she knew would benefit her greatly given her (compared to proper shinobi) less then average strength.

Looking around she'd spot a fairly decent sized boulder and would make her way over to it. She'd give it a few small taps to check it's density and to make sure it wasn't one of those 'hollow boulders' some people might place to make people seem stronger then what they truly were. Thankfully the rock was indeed a proper rock and she'd silently activate her sensory, wanting to keep an eye on her own chakra flow so she could get this detail right. Then she began the process. First her skin would be covered in steel, reminding her of the bodysuit she wore for combat scenarios but...no, that didn't matter, it was hers now. Then, she let the skintight armor expand, becoming something more akin to a mechanical suit. gears and pulleys would be visible, and they'd begin to slide and turn as soon as she began to shift as well.

Now or never.

She'd bend down, the sounds of unoiled gears a little painful to her engineering mind but it was working as intended. Then, after she set her hands underneath a small opening she'd lift, the boulder doing it's hardest not to move with gravity's assistance, but it eventually gave after a minute and she turned the thing on top of itself. Quickly releasing the exosuit and armor, she'd sharply exhale a breath she didn't know she had been holding. That was something she'd need to learn to get used to.

---

185/185 CP
Sensory; -0.5 CP
184.5/185 CP

~Techs Learned~
Impervious Exo-Skeleton 250/250

His stamina may not have been excellent, but Hotaru wanted to try a few more things before he’d call it for today and go home. He wasn’t really interested in what was going on on the other side of the training grounds, too focused on pondering which jutsu to try next, but the noise of something heavy being moved had him turning his head. He ended up turning around just in time to see the steel rapidly fading from the woman’s skin. Was he seeing things? No, he couldn’t be. But he didn’t recall seeing this woman before, and he was certain he knew most of his relatives, or had at least heard their names before.

Seeing her standing there after the fact, looking the slightest bit unused to what she was doing, he knew he had to go talk to her. Who was she, and how the hell was she able to use his clan’s steel release? He had to know. Not that he really cared if someone had artificially implanted the steel bloodline into themselves, but he was curious as to who exactly she was. Who knew? Maybe he could even learn from her, if she was willing. That said, he still had to go talk to her.

Bracing himself for the conversation that was soon to follow, Hotaru straightened up and made his approach. His strides were as long as they could be for his short stature, though he was still quite slow compared to some. Yeah, he wasn’t exactly known for speed. Not that he had to be, as an archer. As long as he could aim properly and pull the bowstring back it didn’t really matter how fast he was.

By the time he finally got close enough to speak rather than shout, Hotaru was sweating slightly. Not from exhaustion, not really, but his clothes were thick enough to have him regretting his current clothing choice. It felt gross, but he wasn’t going to leave because of it. Taking a deep breath, he moved to speak. “I don’t recognize you, but you’re using steel. Who are you? I thought I knew most of my cousins by now.”

While she continued to catch her breath, Diana would note how the boy that was nearby was making his way over in her direction. Even with the calmer environment, she properly went over what the boy was capable at a base level and was surprised by what she sensed. She was like him, no, she couldn't claim that anymore now that she could preform 3 advanced elements, and that comparison wasn't fully correct either. He was of two bloodlines, yet had only awoken one of them. The awakened element of Kōton, and the latent element of Shōton from a lack of Raiton, the only way she was able to notice the latter being a Korikane herself. The boy's chakra levels were horrible, almost chakra anemic. It would give an explanation as to his current pool of elements, as well as why he was likely out here to improve his reserves.

"My name is Diana Elena Moneta, head of the Korikane clan and founder of Iwatomics Incorperated; over there is my good friend Titania who runs said shop." Titania gave a small wave before going back to cleaning out the Bolter she had fired earlier. "While I am surprised you do not know of me, my ability to utilize Kōton is recent, though I am unsure if I am properly a Tetsudashi descendent given how it had been obtained." He didn't need to hear her life story, not unless he asked. The events to reinstate her back into power were boring enough, and she didn't need to relive those memories let alone have another do the same with her by proxy. "That is who I am, but who are you young man? I can tell you are of a similar lineage as myself, yet you haven't awoken to the other basic element requires to properly create it."

As Diana spoke & waited for his response, she slipped her hands into two side pouches on her person, letting the Kinjutsu eat up the clay in said pouches to kneed for the next technique she wanted to learn. C2 was an odd beast of a technique, but one that she was sure she both could preform, and wanted to preform as it was one of many techniques she didn't need to upkeep with additional chakra. Since the desired technique required a good amount of kneaded clay, she knew she could take it slowly and both listen to the kid while she prepared the technique.

---

184.5/185 CP
Sensory; -0.5 CP
184/185 CP

~Techs Learned~
C2 105/250

~0WC Claim~
Living Armory
Tetsudashi Steel Generation
Crystal Release: Shard Sanctum

Diana would watch as the boy fell over, the weak chakra signature even weaker and a clear sign of the sickness she had taking over him. Immediately she formed the Boar and Ram handseals, going off of instinct more then anything as she encased the boy while also catching him, activating a weaker Exo-suit to catch him. Sure she didn't know the Crystal Prison tech by heart, but she had been studying it in case she needed to quickly stop her attackers. It was then she noticed that her companion had also been caught, and Diana edged the technique off of her companion. It was a start at least, and hopefully the crystal would protect him like it had her. At the very least it should slow it down as an illness was usually matter, and if it were a chakra illness it'd hopefully have a harder time latching onto him. The question was if the boy had a strong enough constitution to pull through once they got to the hospital.

"I have the boy, I need you to clear the way and guide me as I need to focus on the techniques."

Focus. Titania nodded and began to move, Diana keeping her eyes on her close friend as they made their way to the hospital, the Exo-skeleton technique making life a lot easier. Eventually she'd lose her grip on the crystal technique about halfway through, but his vitals were still there and she didn't have time to preform the technique again, so she'd just have to place her hope in the doctors.

Eventually, once she dropped the boy off at the hospital, she and Titania would return back to the Stone yard to clean up. It took a little longer to clean up then they had planned, but the plague was always a pain to clean up. Best they could do was to place their hopes in those who studied the illness for years and that the boy would pull through.

---

~Techs Learned~
C2 105/250 Nulled
Crystal Prison 250/250

{Exit}