Sai, or Saisho as her parents called her, was born just before the first war with Konoha in Kiri, both of her parents were shinobi of the Kiri village. In the first war her father passed away on the front lines. In the second war her mother passed away in a flash of light when the super weapon accidentally vaporized some of the kiri troops along with those defending Konoha. This left Sai orphaned and alone.
She has but a few items left over from her parents, one is a golden necklace with a locket with their pictures in it, left behind by her mother when she went off to fight, the two pictures are from her parent's wedding. The second item is a bracelet that is simple woven silk if different colors creating a rainbow effect, nothing special about it but to her. The last item though is her real inheritance.
Her mother, when Sai was still just 4 years old, was already teaching her daughter her own skills in puppetry, by creating for her an apparently simple puppet in the form of a stuffed animal, in particular a stuffed panda bear about a foot tall. While appearing to be a simple stuffed animal it is in fact a highly advanced puppet created by her mother who was a master puppet maker. While the puppet is loaded with tons of tricks, advanced abilities, seals, scrolls, and in particular specially created gemstone eyes, to all but the most advanced chakra senses it would appear to be nothing more than a simple stuffed toy.
To Sai, TsuTsu is her 'friend'. She learned the basics of making it walk on its own with her efforts, and still talks to the panda which she has named Tsutsu. She is unaware of all of the secrets inside her stuffed toy as her mother died before she could pass this information on to her. She is aware that something is different about it and she knows her skills as a puppeteer would force her to join the academy if known so she has, up to this point, attempted to hide it as she doesn't want to be forced into the army and die like her parents. In her mind she associates being a shinobi with death, not an unreasonable association from her experiences.
Due to her lack of formal training, Sai lacks the basic skills any shinobi would have, and in fact is seen as a villager by most. She lives at an orphanage at night, which is little more than a homeless shelter for war orphans of a sort, but at least it gives her a roof over her head and two meals a day, plus basic schooling such as reading, writing and other simple skills. Sai has no living relatives in Kiri, but in fact has an Aunt who still is alive in Suna, although she has not met the Aunt and the Aunt does not know that Sai was even born as communication was difficult in the confusion around the two wars. Sai knows the first name of her Aunt but little more and has no way of getting a message to her nor traveling to Suna, which to her is on the other side of the world.
Shortly before turning 6 she was 'discovered' by Doihara Ishino, and after a rocky start was adopted by his parents, with strong encouragement by Ishino. Since then Ishino has been the big brother Saisho never had. She looks up to him and after living with him for a while decided that she actually should join the academy. Since then she has been working hard to impress both her big brother, her teachers and even the Mizukage when she can, if she can.
5/2/4 A.F. - Saisho's father is killed during a war with the Land of Fire.
2/27/7 A.F - Saisho recieves the puppet named TsuTsu, a stuffed panda bear as a birthday present from her mother while her mother is on a short leave. This is the last time Saisho sees her mother.
3/6/7 A.F. - Saisho's mother is killed in the last days of the second war with the Land of Fire.
4/1/7 A.F. - Saisho is placed in the Kirigakure orphanage for war orphans. An attempt is made to contact her Aunt in Sunagakure unsuccessfully. Indications are the Aunt may be deceased.
5/13/8 A.F. - Saisho first meets Ishino.
6/8/8 A.F. - Saisho is presented with adoption papers by Ishino, eagerly accepts.
11/20/9 A.F. - Saisho discusses with Ishino the possiblity of joining the academy despite earlier misgivings about the shinobi life.
1/15/10 A.F. - Saisho starts at the academy for the spring semester, has a rough start both due to starting mid year and playing catch up and for having a stuffed panda as a toy she carries around. She starts hiding TsuTsu from view most of the time.
6/1/10 A.F. - Saisho starts construction of her first puppet. Her diagrams and research take months before her first step with physical construction is taken.
7/3/10 A.F. - Saisho completes a proto-type armor glove for her new puppet as proof of concept.
8/11/10 A.F. - Saisho contacts Okumo Sei and procures special black spider silk cloth for her new puppet.
9/27/10 A.F. - Saisho requests and is granted permission to travel in search of piezo-chakra crystals and travels with Okumo Amata to find them. The search is successful.
10/14/10 A.F. - Saisho makes a second request to travel to a location for yet more material for her puppet. Permission pending.
11/2/10 A.F. - Saisho gets permission for her second mission and starts planning. 48 hour window of time from leaving the village to get back so lots of prep to do before going!
Saisho can often come off as shy or reserved. She is a bit of a book worm and is rather self conscious about her slightly small size, young age, and the fact that she is technically an orphan. The days of making do at the orphanage and the fact her parents were killed in two separate wars means she was very hesitant to join the academy despite her skills with her plush panda, TsuTsu.
She often talks to TsuTsu as if he were alive and while some may see this as something to tease her about or find it cute due to her age, to her it is almost a surrogate for her deceased mother. Since joining the academy she has taken to hiding her stuffed panda but still keeps it around.
She is very eager to impress all around her. She feels strongly she has a lot to prove and fears if she fails to perform or act properly she might lose those she cares the most about. Deep down she still thinks that perhaps she did something wrong that caused her mother to die. Not a logical thought but she still believes it deep down and it is a core motivation for her desire to be the best at whatever she does and to never let those around her down if she can help it.
Due to her parents deaths she is rather leery of combat that can result in death. She knows she will have to be willing to kill as a shinobi of the Kirigakure village but this thought haunts her at times. While she accepts she will have to do that, she has made a private pledge to herself that if she does have to do it, she will always try to make it as quick and painless as she can for those she must fight or kill. She is not the type to take pleasure in the suffering of others.
Standing at roughly 110 centimeters, or just over three and a half feet tall, Saisho is about the right size for her age, which is clearly on the young side, perhaps 7 or 8 years old at best. Her complexion is a tad dusky for Kirigakure but hints more at a Sunagakure heritage. Her hair is a rather plain brown and loosely tied back to keep it out of her face but otherwise fairly unkempt most of the time, but still kept clean. Her eyes are a light brown with perhaps some streaks of dark green making them almost look like a greenish hazel. Her face is a bit thin, almost a tad elfin in appearance overall. Her overall figure is a bit on the willowy side. Around her neck she wears a gold locket, but this is typically concealed under her clothing.
From her outfit it is possible to conclude she must be a student at the academy, as she has a pair of tobi shoes and a full body suit of dark material that is probably black but maybe a hint of blue. It's so dark it is hard to tell. Over this she wears a pair of dark blue pants with black leather strips woven up along the legs to keep the pants from being too loose. A black belt holds a belt pouch resting on her right hip for easy access. A vest is worn over the bodysuit at the top with similarly colored dark blue with black trim. The vest has quite a few handy pockets and several built in kunai holders, although a few of them seem to be empty most of the time. On her back she typically wears a backpack that seems to contain something a bit lumpy, but only one thing from the size and shape and how it sits on her back. It's more a sack with straps that can easily be slipped off in a hurry.
Closest to Saisho, got her adopted into the family. Puppeteer and Seven Swordsmen.
Fujikujo Akane
Ishino's WIFE!
Saisho is actually happy for Ishino and how he gets along with Akane. But she does tease Ishino about it and is likely to tease them about kissing or being all romantic. Still she considers Akane now part of the family and is generally trusting towards the woman.
Doihara Tatsuma
Adoptive Brother
Older than Saisho but youngest biological child of the Doihara family.
TsuTsu
Stuffed Panda Bear
Saisho's closest friend, even closer than Ishino. Saisho considers this to be her most important thing left to her by her mother and considers it more than a toy or imaginary friend. It really is family to her.
Helped Saisho on a mission to help collect materials for a puppet and proved herself to be a friendly and encouraging person. Saisho has quite a bit of respect for this woman, and hopes to continue contact and become closer friends.
Okumo Taree
Friend
Helped Saisho on a mission to collect materials for a puppet and was very helpful in general. Seems like a good person to know, and Saisho is glad to consider her a friend, even if she doesn't know Taree all that well yet. Maybe just a distant friend but she did seem nice!
Saisho is both afraid and respectful towards the Mizukage. She has hostility towards the old Mizukage who lead Kirigakure into war but respects the current one for his lack of a desire for conquest and his ability to seem to make the village simply work better.
As a representative of the Land of Fire, Saisho distrusts and dislikes this man although she has never met him. She knows he was not in charge at the time of the wars and knows the wars were not started by the Land of Fire but she still holds a grudge.
Name
Relationship
Notes
Akata Chitsu
Academy Rival
Female student, two years older than Saisho and jealous of Saisho's mind so picks on her physically.
Koto Hasen
Academy 'Rival'
Male student one year older than Saisho. Actually likes her but shows it in pranks and teasing.
I am writing things cause teacher said it'd be good. I am learning to write. I live at a house with lots of other kids who have dead parents like me. My name is Tsuko Saisho. I am all alone now. TsuTsu is my panda. He is still with me. So I am not all alone. But I am lonely. I want a family. I miss mom.
7/18/7 A.F. Saisho is four years old at the time of writing this. It is crudely written.
I have met a nice man. He has a strange old man that follows him. I think he is a puppet. I think he is like TsuTsu but bigger. He seems like a nice guy. I just wonder why he noticed me. Did he see me playing with TsuTsu? Maybe I need to be more careful. I already had to cheat on the academy exams to make sure they didn't make me go there. I don't want to die. I don't want to be close to anyone else who is going to die. It'll be my fault all over again. I hope he doesn't die. He seems nice.
5/27/8 A.F. Saisho is five years old at the time of writing this. It shows marked improvement from the previous entry.
Ishino, Doihara Ishino is his name. He came to adopt me! I am at his parent's place now. I am being very careful to hide the journal. I'm scared I will do something wrong. That they will send me away. His parents are the ones who actually adopted me but they did it cause he asked them to, I know. I guess he's my Onii-chan now, not my father. I guess he's kinda young to be a father. Still he's waaay older than me. I hope I don't let him down. I can't show him what I can do. I think he knows. He's really smart. Maybe as smart as me. Maybe even smarter! I don't think I have met anyone smarter than me before. I'll have to be double double careful. I think he knows about TsuTsu. I won't try to hide that so much from him. Maybe if he thinks he knows bout that he won't go looking for other secrets.
7/19/8 A.F. Saisho is still five years old but this again shows improvement in writing style.
I think it is a fine thing to live above a clock shop. The clocks go tick tick tick all day long. At first I thought it would make me crazy but now I like it. If I listen to TsuTsu really carefully sometimes he goes tick tick tick too, when I make him move. I wonder if he has a clock in him some where? I know he's a puppet but I don't know how he works. I just know that I can make him move and see through his eyes. I wonder if Onii-Chan can see through Time Keeper's eyes. That's the name of the old guy who follows Ishino around. He's really a puppet. But he's a good puppet, like TsuTsu, just like I thought.
Good news! Ishino says I won't have to go to the Academy if I don't want to, and he seems to mean it cause he hasn't asked again. I'm going to school and watching him work in the shop and helping around the house. I also still have to go to school. That's not so bad. At least it isn't the academy. I wonder if I'll learn to make watches like my adopted mom, Doihara Iyo.
4/27/9 A.F. Saisho is now six years old. Her writing looks almost adult at this point.
I changed my mind. I know it's dumb but I want to be able to protect those I care about. I want to help the village. I don't want anything else to be my fault. Maybe if I learn to be the best shinobi ever I can stop anything bad from happening again that is my fault. Maybe I can keep any family I have from dying ever again. Do you think that's even possible? At least I will try very hard not to disappoint Onii-Chan, because I would hate to make him mad at me, or think I wasn't a good person. I'm scared if I do the wrong thing he might not love me anymore or he might go away. Maybe that's silly. I love him. I don't want to lose him. Not like Mom and Dad.
11/22/9 A.F. Saisho is still six years old. The entry gets shaky at the end. There are signs of some water spots on the paged that dried.
I know it's been a while since I wrote. I'm making my own puppet! The kids at the academy are mean. They don't like TsuTsu and think I'm a baby for having him. I know he's not silly. But the teachers made it clear we aren't to hurt each other outside of supervised spars and I don't want the teachers to know what TsuTsu can do. So I am hiding him now. But I am making my own puppet! I started with a glove. It has some neat stuff in it. I can use it to make a better puppet cause it has all kinds of tools. I also figured out how to use scrolls. I think the teachers don't believe me cause I am learning things really fast. I think maybe they think Onii-chan is doing some of the work for me. He isn't. I won't tell them I already figured out Tree-Walking. I think they would be really mad for some reason.
6/12/10 A.F. Saisho is seven years old. She has been at the academy just under 5 months and already is mastering advanced techniques. She has started to hide things from her teachers so as not to be thought of as a freak.
We had a big project, or I did. I got permission to go search for crystals for my new puppet from the Mizukage! And I got help from an Okumo named Amata. She was great. She was very encouraging and even when I was a bit frustrated cause I wasn't sure what I was doing she helped me figure it out. She said I should never give up and keep trying and figure out a better way if it wasn't working.
I think she was a bit impressed with my ideas. We figured out the best place to find the crystals and after some work, got them all, or well enough for my ideas. I had to swim down to get them. It wasn't easy but I hope all the hard work pays off!!
I also got an Okumo named Sei to help by giving me special black silk cloth. With these I've got a great start. I have some more ideas but I need to do more research. I spend almost all my time in the library these days when not in class or working on studying outside the library. Feels like things are /never/ done, but I'm working really hard. I think some of the kids think I'm a snob or a book worm or something. I keep having to hide things cause I don't want them to know what I've figured out. Have to hide from the teachers too, even if it means my grades might not be as good as they could be.
I found it! A lot of digging through old reports but I found the record of a battle site that involved a lot of Kaguya and bones being used. I think this is it. It's an old abandoned village on an island not that far away. I asked Mizukage if I could go and this time I took Amata and Taree, both Okumo. I think the Okumo clan is pretty neat, even if the spiders are a bit creepy. Not spiders themselves but the idea of them living inside you is creepy to me.
Anyway, we got to the island and there were pirates there!! We fought and captured a bunch of them. I had to fight too. I think I killed some, maybe three? Not sure. I'm trying not to think too much about that. At least I made sure none of them suffered too much when I had to hurt them. And they would have killed me if I hadn't. I think that killing isn't good. I still don't want to do it but I will if I have to. I have to be strong. My parents were strong like that I bet.
Anyway, we captured the ship! And found gold and silver and all, but then Amata made the pirates help dig for bones and I got a bunch of those too! It was great, and it sure was fun sailing into port in that big pirate ship with all the prisoners and stuff. I know Amata probably got all the credit cause she's the leader on this mission but I have to think it's pretty cool my idea to go look there found them and that we got to bring all that stuff back and still get my bones for my new puppet!!
Well, I've taken a bit of a break from the puppet building. Cause I'm waiting on a part from Suna. I special ordered some glass work for a visor, and ended up ordering three. I know it will take a while for them to be finished. I can't go help build them or pick them up, but I got Mizukage's permission to invite the maker here, even if she is a Suna council member. Sure is good things we are on good terms with Suna!! Anyway, not sure when she'll arrive but until she does I'm working on other things.
I've been working on mednin stuff a lot lately. I have to do this on the side when no one is watching. I don't want them to know. I got Akane to start teaching me, and that was good. She freaked out a bit and I think she was not herself. But she also was… I don't know. Later she said she had more than one person inside her kinda, and that some of it was pretty scary and mean. I worry about her, and Onii-chan. I know he's gonna marry her but if she hurts him… I don't know what I'd do. But I have to try to be cheerful. I don't want him to know how worried I am.
I got to be the flower girl at Onii-chan and Akane's wedding! The dress was kinda frilly for me but it was like a small version of Akane's so that was really neat. I dressed TsuTsu up in a cute tux and I had him carry my dress train. I think it was so adorable. I saw some of the people giggle and point but I think they just thought TsuTsu was so adorable, and he was!
I'm not sure I'm happy about the wedding though, I won't probably see as much of Onii-chan now that he's married. Plus I think Akane can be pretty scary at times. When she started teaching me mednin stuff and later I asked her about it, she said she kinda had more than one person in her and that one of them was pretty mean and could hurt people. I worry she might hurt Onii-chan. But… he seems to know about this already so I haven't bugged him. I do hope they are happy. I'm still a bit sad about it all. I hope Onii-chan won't forget about me now that he's married…
Well, Ishino and Akane are gone, or were for a while. I think it was a Honeymoon. It's strange having Akane around all the time. I mean she was around before but now it's more… I don't know. It feels odd. She was like a good friend, but now it's like she's a big sister or something. I don't know how I feel about that. It's strange. I mean, Ishino has got other siblings. And I talk to them sometimes but… I don't really feel like they are my family as much as Ishino is. Is that strange?
I've been working hard on training and my new puppet. Also studying the medical stuff Akane got for me. I've researched some special blood I got from a genin who had this strange blood healing jutsu. I also tested some of the materials for the new puppet armor. I'm trying hard to keep it a big secret. It is really complicated. I hope it works right. I know there are going to be some bugs. I just hope I don't make a fool of myself when it is done. But… I guess that's how you learn, right?
I think the puppet is mostly done, the armor that is. I hope I got the way it works together right. If I'm right the crystals will charge things and the bone and spider silk will actually grow with me. The visor is in place but I can't really use it completely. I'm going to have to train with it. Maybe it'll help me see people and things. I have to figure out how to funnel chakra through it to make it work the way I want. Itami said she put a layer of something on it and showed me a few things but I can't quite do what I want yet. Still the armor is going well…
I hate the academy. Too many of the students are idiots and bullies. And I'm not allowed to hurt them. That doesn't seem fair. I know they say it's just words and all, but I have to do my best to blend in. I really want to just… show them all what I can really do. But then they'd really tease me. But once I'm a genin I'll never have to listen to the insults from students or other genin again. Not if I'm better than them. I think… At least there are no rules about not fighting like there are for students. Plus the teachers are rather stupid too. I mean, either they seem to be trying to kill you or if you're too smart they get mad because they want to lord over you how much they know. Either way it is pretty dumb. When the puppet is done and I can use my medical knowledge better I'm going to ask for my exam as soon as possible.
Puppet is done. I think. Tested it a bit. But I had to be careful cause I didn't want anyone to see it. But it looks really cool at least. I am trying to put some things in it. I know it is enhancing my strength and all but I don't think it's making me stronger than some normal genin. I need to work on that. But it is really neat. I hope Ishino likes it. Onii-chan has been so busy… I know he's important and all but I feel like he's forgotten me. That's not fair. I'm busy at school and he's a swordsman and important in the village and all but he keeps going on missions and then he wants to spend time with Akane of course…
I guess I'm just jealous of Akane. I mean, I love Ishino. Not /that/ kind of love. But.. I don't like having to share him I guess. Is that bad of me? And I worry Akane might go crazy on him. She's… nice but not very stable sometimes I think. I worry about her. Both for those around her and her too. I wish I knew how to help her more. Maybe when I learn more about medical stuff.
Ishino got hurt! There was an accident in the hidden workshop. Akane had left to get some things and one of the kunai went off, a broke spring and it hit Onii-chan right in the shoulder. Good thing it wasn't poisoned or he'd have been in real trouble. But… I… healed him! Well, mostly. Akane came back and helped with the stuff but I stopped his bleeding and helped mend the wound. I guess he knows I'm learning healing /now/. I mean, no way that he couldn't know. But it felt great being able to heal him, even if Akane had to help finish up the healing. I stopped the worst of the bleeding and all. Maybe I can be helpful after all?
That's it. I've filed the paperwork requesting the graduation exam. Now I just wait. The teacher I turned it in to looked at me like I was crazy. I don't think he has a clue what I know. I don't know any other students who can control chakra like me, or who can already water walk, or tree walk even. And I taught myself medical jutsu with the help of Akane. I built my own puppet armor with special materials and with only a bit of help from some really nice people around the village and approval of the Mizukage Meruin.
I'm worried about the exam but kinda excited too. I know it'll be hard. I've heard stories about how hard they are. I've even watched a few. But I'm pretty confident. Just not sure how much I should 'show off' in the exam? Would it be bad to show off a lot? I kinda want to. Wouldn't that be cool, in front of a crowd and be like 'Wow!'. Would really show the teachers a thing or three. None of them would believe what I can do if I told them. They'd probably say I was lying. Hehe…
Intended to steal small items, not just from pockets.
D
Puppet Arc Discharge
Electrical attack based on overloading a cutting tool built into a puppet.
E
Henge
Stealth attack based on changing appearance.
E
Stealth
Basic Shinobi Technique.
Rank
Name
Notes
D
Basic Puppet Perception
Use of a puppet to detect stealth by increasing line of sight.
D
Puppet Armor I
Use of a puppet, typically partially worn, to block an attack.
E
Clone Technique
Creates a simple clone to confuse one's enemies.
E
Genjutsu Perception
Basic Genjutsu Defense.
E
Puppet Block
Basic Puppet Defense, involves putting the puppet either in front of the attack as a block or replacing the puppet for the defender.
E
Replacement Technique
Standard Shinobi Defense, involves trickery and hiding an object as yourself so that the attack hits it instead of you.
Rank
Name
Notes
C
Kugutsu no Jutsu II
Represents the second level of puppet mastery.
D
Tree Walking
Allows the user to walk on any solid surface, even hanging upside down at times.
D
Water Walking
Allows the user to walk water.
E
Escape
Basic technique for getting out of tight spots and breaking free of attempts to restrain the user.
E
Henge
Basic skill used to conceal the user as someone else. Requires the Henge attack to be used in any meaningful way however.
E
TsuTsu's Eyes I
This skill allows the user to see from the perspective of the eyes of the puppet TsuTsu with effort.
Name
Notes
Chakra Shaping
A style that allows the user to control chakra more exactly and create things with other styles not normally possible.
Kugutsu Style Ninjutsu
Puppeteer primary style, used to control puppets and activate puppet defenses and attacks.
Kugutsu Style Taijutsu
A complimentary style used in conjunction with Kugutsu Style Ninjutsu to allow taijutsu moves while using a wearable puppet.
Seal Mastery
A common style used to place seals on objects to store jutsu or energy. Can be used for things like exploding tags and to create barriers and other effects.
Scroll Mastery
A common style used to store objects inside scrolls for rapid retrieval, often used by puppeteers to hide weapons and other items inside puppets that could not normally contain the quantity or size of the objects required.
Rank
Name
C
TsuTsu
This puppet appears to be a relatively small plush panda bear. He stands just over a foot tall and was the last birthday present given to Saisho by her mom, the last time she saw her mom before she died. TsuTsu is a very special puppet and friend to Saisho. The puppet itself was a masterwork created by Tsuko Hisa, a master with puppets in her own right. This puppet represented the culmination of years of work in combining micro-scrolls, seals, and complex internal workings making this puppet not the most powerful but the most helpful for Saisho in learning how to use puppets as well as hopefully something for her to grow into.
The puppet TsuTsu is formally registered and on file with the Village of Kirigakure as a highly hazardous puppet, with undefined abilities. It was noted on the registration application that the puppet was intended for training. The capabilities section is marked classified with a note to speak directly to Tsuko Hisa if there are any questions. Of course she is now dead so any formal record of the exact abilities has been lost.
Two of the most important details about the puppet TsuTsu are that first of all to all but the most careful examinations it appears to be nothing more than a stuffed panda doll. It has been carefully crafted to hide most of the latent chakra signatures left by seals and other devices internal to the puppet so even chakra sensing is unlikely to detect the latent powers in the doll. Second the puppet has unique eyes that are a pair of specially prepared crystals. The only known ability of these eyes at this point is that they can allow Saisho to see through these eyes with effort. However considering how complex the are it is unlikely this is the only function intended.||
Rank
Name
D
Power Glove
This is an early attempt by Saisho to do a proof of concept for a much larger puppet. This is part of a line of wearable puppets she is working on. The concept is relatively simple, create a suit of armor that is effectively a puppet to increase reaction times, strength, and to protect the puppeteer directly. The glove has a strong powered grip and several tools concealed inside it, including an arc cutting torch which she has figured out how to weaponize. She is working hard currently on developing an entire suit based on the power glove concept.||
Busy Busy Busy Song: Saisho spends a great deal of time studying and working on puppets. Although she often feels busy and this song reflects that, it is a good busy!
