Natsumi Date



"The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly"

- Natsumi speaking about her past.

is a mercenary for hire around the shinobi world. At one point in time, Natsumi was a trusted samurai for the feudal lord of the Land of Iron. However, her reputation collapsed when they found the same poisons she breathes in the daimyō's system. Suspected for his murder, she was imprisoned, awaiting a proper trial until a chance of escape exposed itself. Frightened, Natsumi abandoned the snowy north for the sandy dunes in the southern nations, resulting in her title as a being revoked and a hefty bounty forced upon her head.

Without funds, Natsumi fell into a state of thievery, and trickery to acquire her basic needs. However, her former life as an elite samurai spoiled her; possessing enough simply wasn't enough to satisfy the hungers of her former life. Inevitably, she abandoned the former codes of honor she was bound to in pursuit of money, becoming a mercenary samurai to anyone capable of paying her price, and though this provided a particularly steady means of currency, Natsumi simply desired more, leading her to a life filled with claiming the heads of those with plentiful bounties. As a result of claiming bounties, coupled with her underwater residency, several criminals, mercenaries, and bounty hounters regard her as the Jorōgumo (絡新婦, lit mean; binding bride).

Eventually, Natsumi encountered the Jashinist, Kagaseō, and the two became partners in arms. While she searches for the only thing powerful enough to change the world, Money, Kagaseō is a devoted servant to his god,

Appearance
Despite her various attempts to forget her upbringing, Natsumi is constantly reminded whenever she stares into a mirror. Her form is sleek and lithe, carrying very little, if any, bodily fat. Her eyes are calm and cold, indifferent to any of those who lay their own upon her, masked by the dark shades that symbolically shield her from the truths of the world. These codes have been etched into her for decades, and although she has consciously rejected them, her body has been molded to become the perfect warrior. During her time as a samurai, her bright, pink hair was shoulder-length, preventing her opponents from using its length to their benefit, and her breast and bosom were shielded by her clothes. As she rose among the ranks of a samurai, ultimately become one of an elite status, Natsumi's complacency gradually molded her. She became less strict with her comrades, and by extension herself. Over the years, since her skills were polished, she allowed her hair to grow longer, thicker, and more decorative: two frames on both sides of her face.

In her earlier years, Natsumi was known for her desire to wear the appropriate armor. For her, it symbolized that she was held on equal footing with the men samurai around her, especially considering a majority of the Land of Iron's military might consisted of very few women. When she progressed and gained a name for herself, she abandoned this armor in favor for a suit that allowed her to stand out among her comrades. Prior to working for the daimyo, she wore a maroon suit, with a white blouse underneath, completed by brown shoes. Soon after the daimyo employed her to guard him directly, Natsumi's attire changed. Rather than the conservative suit that showered every part of her body, she donned a purple shirt decorated by golden motifs with a large neckline revealing the size of her breast, and a beaded necklace. Long purple pants, with purple high-heel shoes complete the lower portion of the outfit. Accompanying this outfit is a white coat, imbued with golden lining and buttons. Because the sleeves are much longer than her arms, and Natsumi typically wears it draped over her shoulders.

Though she was certainly chosen for her skill as a samurai, Natsumi's appearance was one that initially drew the feudal lord to selecting her. In the presence of government officials, people are either charmed, intimidated, or both. Most cases require these officials to be particularly admirable and approachable. Demonstrating charisma, being particularly talented in all walks of life, and being desirable are among the few things that government officials are taught. The most successful officials are not the ones who solely possess the skills necessary, but are often the ones who are physically desirable. For Natsumi, being attractive is what ultimately assisted her career. When loyalties were questioned, she could pose as an ambassador without raising suspicions of her samurai background, especially in the lower nations which were predominantly shinobi based.

She possesses several qualities that people consider attractive. Her skin is as soft and flawless as that of a newborn baby imbued with a slight tan. Despite her other defining qualities, what most people are instantly drawn to is her womanly figure. Her waist is thin, but her her hips are wide, and her breast are noticeably larger than that of the average woman. Although they are, they do not droop as some of the larger ones do; they remain propped up perfectly. As a warrior first, and a model second, Natsumi understood that makeup emits a scent detectable by others. However, she is still a woman, and she enjoys the eyes of men, just a man enjoys the accompany of a woman. To compromise with her duties as a samurai, and a woman, Natsumi refuses to don mascara, but actively wears a shade of red lipstick. From this, it's obvious that Natsumi's appearance is gravely affected by her background. Though, all of her habits aren't necessarily good. Hardened by war, and conflict, Natsumi has means of coping with the painful memories of the past. Almost constantly, she is seen smoking a cigarette, regardless of the situation.

Personality
Until she was four years old, Natsumi was no different than any beast found in the forest: undisciplined, dirty, disgusting, instinctive. When someone approached, she didn’t communicate, but rather attacked. In the cold, brisk forest of the north, the only thing Natsumi could trust was herself. Though she escaped this environment, she unfortunately didn’t escape a world of loneliness. When she was found, she was placed into an orphanage with several other war-orphaned children. Here, violence, destruction, rape, and possibly every other sin imaginable occurred just a few paces away from her home. Natsumi has come to know the evil nature of humans being, and solely that. Robbed of her parents, purity, belongings, and a foreseeable future forced Natsumi to mature at a pace recognized as mentally unhealthy. Food, attention, clothes, and compassion were scarce, forcing her to rely on violence to attain every bit of those things that she could attain. If she refused to offer herself to satisfy the men supplying her with the food the orphanage required, they would physically abuse her, kill her friends, or simply take the nutrition back.

In these environments, Natsumi had easily come to accept death as natural, and as a child she had grown an resistance to it over time. However, each event that she was subject too left deep scars in her psyche that were only reopened every time she opened her eyes, because then it simply happened again. She alienated herself from the other children, orphanage workers, and a variety of other people out of fear of being harmed again; a fear that in that day and age was a likely possibility. Even years after she escaped the evil that lingered over her, Natsumi was a prodigy, and because of this she was never truly understood. For such reason, Natsumi grew up extremely introverted, in which she never gained the social skills needed to form relationships quite easily. Because of this, Natsumi developed the necessity to function entirely on her own. Self-independence, instead of being a defining trait, became an instinct to her.

As an independent woman, Natsumi rarely ever ask for help of any sort, but she is not afraid of asking others for information to better herself. Determined and assertiveness is second nature to her as she believes that to improve herself and advance beyond her limitations, she must not be hesitant in acquiring the necessary tools to do so. In regards to Natsumi, she follows the motivation that your own life is your own responsibility. Whether or not one appreciates it, is up to them. Her motto is simply that life is for the takers and participators, those who take calculated risk and participate in activities that guarantee success are the ones who will succeed. For this, she is very decisive, for no other word exist within her own vocabulary. Because of this mentality and her upcoming, Natsumi does not have dreams, rarely wishing for anything, instead using her own abilities to achieve what she wants. Responsible for her own fate, a trait engraved into her personality, Natsumi does not believe in complaining. Forced to accept herself as whom she was, a danger to society, forced to grow up in a world that hated her, Natsumi understood that making excuses would rarely change the situation. She had to accept the negative aspects of her life and better them herself, turning the negatives into the positives. Complaining, in her perspective, is for people who do not possess the capabilities to better themselves, essentially those who wish not to try. Those people are the worst kind of people, slackers.

Complaining is simply a waste of energy, believing that this energy can better be served for assessing, challenging and solving the adversities in her life. Natsumi finds it completely implausible that many want success and other rewards in life, but refuses to put in the necessary work and sacrifices to do so and when they do not reach their goals, they blame everyone else. To Natsumi, she finds fault in these types of people and rarely associates with them. Slackers who realize that they won't get far in life, despite not wishing to better themselves, are respected by Natsumi because of their realization in their actions. Natsumi's motto is simple, regarding that what each and every person strives for is what they deserve, nothing more and nothing less. In essence, Natsumi is not one who deals with nonsense, a complete realist. She rarely sugarcoats the situation, however despite being a realist she appreciates life, loves how one can learn positive and negative things, generally enjoying improving herself.

Improvement bestows worth, and nothing comforts Natsumi more than realizing that she is worth something, which she has done through her career as a Samurai, and currently as a Spy. She believes in being a contributor to life, for only then when you experience life, can you truly be referred to as an authentic and full person. A contributor is someone who leaves a mark on the world, making an imprint on life. Making use of her career, Natsumi seeks to exhibit her self worth, displaying her intelligence and talents. When partaking in her career, Natsumi experiences a self-realization, for nothing makes a woman more self-realized and full than a satisfying career. It is the ultimate aphrodisiac and elixir in her eyes. Besides that, having a career means power and power has its own rewards. Being powerful means calling a shot which translates into ownership, and nothing proves more important to Natsumi than being in complete control of her own fate.

More than believing that she should have her own career that successfully embodies her desires, Natsumi also believes that being the best at that regarded career is worth even more. She thrives off of being in charge, the one whom everyone looks to for answer, for being responsible for others equate to power. For this reason, Natsumi believes that being highly intelligent, and prodigiously intuitive is needed for one to truly succeed. Her pride, her desire to release her hidden potential, caused her to develop the mentality that she is the best and that no one can do the job better than she. As a result, it is her job to be a mentor and to help others, cultivating, encouraging, and develop their human potential to the fullest for the good of the village. To her power is an integral part of the human mold, for one has power which means that can be highly proactive and influential to society, something that she embodies. Those without power are often at the burden of others. Natsumi, is one with power, refusing to be on a proverbial leash, only answering to the thing that has proven to provide power universally: money.

Women who are often overly independent often seek to be superior to men, to enslave them and often perceive them as below them.. However, Natsumi, despite being overly independent does not view the opposing gender as such. Seeing everyone as an equal individual, Natsumi simply wishes to be equal to the opposing gender, perceiving men as just regular people, nothing more and nothing less. In her opinion, men are not threatened by a successful woman, but rather would welcome one who has the ability to stand alongside them, capable of working on conjunction and supporting them rather than being a burden to them. However, because she holds such high standards for herself, Natsumi does the same for the men she choose to date, requiring them to be emotionally, financially stable and their abilities to rival or surpass her own. Someone who is insecure, lacking in power, dependent or in possession of a weak motto are perceived as weak by Natsumi, thus are not capable of marrying her.

While she wishes for someone capable of matching her own prowess, financially and abilities wise, Natsumi does not mind if someone she dates is not as powerful or even makes less money than herself. The only requirement is stability, requiring that he contributes to the relationship emotionally and to the best of his abilities. Wishing not to subscribe to such outdated and utterly sexist paradigms and philosophies, Natsumi believes that a person's abilities and financial status is not measured based upon one's gender, but rather on their qualifications. She feels that it is quite normal for a woman to be in a different league than a man, not fearing being the protector and financial provider if the family requires it, though she would prefer to work in conjunction to fulfill the responsibilities along with the one she wishes to marry.

Commonly, those who are extreme feminist, often subject themselves to breaking stereotypes of the "perfect woman", refusing to learn how to cook for certain reason, rejecting certain training methods, and even subjecting oneself to poor hygiene. Unlike these extreme feminist, Natsumi does not mind being wildly and uninhibitedly sexy and feminine. To her, being feminine, beautiful and sexy are not antithesis to being independent, powerful and liberated. Viewing stereotypes as limits to society, Natsumi has not educated herself in the following, thus defying them is near impossible. To attempt to defy a stereotype for the sake of doing so, is simply limiting her capabilities as a human being. Refusing to accept that an independent woman can not be feminine and beautiful, Natsumi takes great pride in her appearance and the manner in which she acts, refusing to see those traits as oxymoron to a liberated woman.

In correspondence with her independent nature, Natsumi's introverted disposition has resulted in her developing a different demeanor than most. Though she embodies a very serious-determined like attitude, Natsumi is truthfully very eccentric and awkward, very far from being elegant. Notably, Natsumi is very goofy and highly active, causing many to find her rather annoying at times. Full of energy, due to her mutation and always active and focused mindset, Natsumi often moves around a lot. Because she is rather impulsive, acting and thinking quickly due to her decisive manner, she can often get herself into trouble, in which she must user her wits and intelligence to save herself. Daring, risking chances, a fun-loving person is whom Natsumi is. Because she has adopted the role of nurturing others to help them succeed in love, Natsumi is often described as caring, and selfless, helping the youth and others. However, because of her eccentricity, normal relationships normally do not form, as small talk and other things do not happen. She generally radiates compassion, hopefulness. Though introverted, thus meaning she derives happiness from her own self, Natsumi does love meeting new people when she can, due to being isolated for majority of her life.

The most influential person in Natsumi's life, with the exception of her parents, is Mifune, despite not meeting him until she was a particularly skilled samurai. Tales of how he triumphantly destroyed entire platoons of shinobi, eradicated entire armies, slain hundreds of demons without even unsheathing his blade were legends she hoped to replicate. Natsumi didn't desire to be him, but she hoped to be better than him. To achieve his level of success, coming from her background, would be the greatest tale ever told in the Land of Iron, and she wanted to be the Queen of it all. She devoted years of her life to perfecting the techniques he practiced. She read the books he published, and exercised using only the methods he recommended; Mifune was her god. When they finally did meet, much of their encounter was drenched in confusion. She kissed his feet, begged him to have his children, and challenged him to spars all within a single encounter.

Unknowingly, she had garnered his respect. After-all, he heard stories of her outstanding progress, and natural physical abilities.

Destined to Die
Natsumi's lineage is tainted with an unnecessary evil. Her ancestors were hunters during the Warring States Period, responsible for the deaths of thousands. A generation later, her ancestors were one of the few survivors of their clan's self-induced massacre. As the clan's number's depleted, their enemies drew considerably stronger, and hunted those who did survive further to extinction. It was in a stroke of luck that her great-great grandparents escaped with their lives, and to ensure their survival they escaped to the forbidden lands of the north. The snow, cold, and presence of the Samurai made it impossible for any mercenary to tread upon, and unfortunately these great-grandparents were indeed mercenaries. To avoid a certain death with samurai, and possibilities of being gutted by their enemy ninja, they receded into the dark caves.

Several generations later, Natsumi was born to these cave dwellers, and like them she devoured the only abundant food source: spiders. To her clan, becoming what you ate was a reality rather than a metaphorical phrase. Through evolution, Natsumi's generation were born with an accelerated affinity towards the genome of the spiders, to the extent that they were brought into this world with extra arms, legs, eyes. Instead of drooling saliva in their sleep, they drooled silk. For the Date clansmen, this generation could have been their chance to dominate the world, but their parents and grandparents were consumed by their clan's ultimate evil: greed.

Upon turning three, Natsumi and her cousins were given the opportunity to see the outside world, and escorted to a river relatively close to the cave they dwelled in. There, they were given their first bath since their birth, and fed all the spiders they could eat. For them, they believed it was their good behavior that garnered this reward, until one boy's mother sank her teeth into his flesh. Shortly after, all of the parents attempted to do the same to their children, and although these infants had more potential than all of them, they were vastly outnumbered and rather inexperienced. Natsumi's mother pounced on her, while her father sank his teeth into one of her arms.

She was almost certain to have perished had it not been for one thing; the death of the hunters. The mother who initiated the conflict screamed in pain and collapsed, then another, and then another. Natsumi's father's face turned a deep blue, and her mother, in an attempt to discern her husband's condition, let her go. Without hesitation, she, and several of the surviving children plunged further into the forest away from their parents. Their fortune was short lived; they came upon a town, but they weren't warmly welcomed. Rumors have spoke of demons dwelling in the forest, and they were accused of being such.

Waves of arrows, explosive knives, and hordes of Samurai slayed a majority of the children, but they continued to stay in an attempt to fight off the invaders. Natsumi did their clan's taboo, abandoning her fellow cousins for her life, and she did escape with it, but none of her family followed. For several days, she hid in the bushes, and trees, eating whatever bug and spider that crawled in the dirt. Eventually, she reached the riverbed where her cousins were almost devoured. Surely, the corpses of those who fell that day, child and adult, still remained. She simply followed the trail of bodies that attempted to flee the scene, until she reached the cave she dwelled in. There, Natsumi discovered that the samurai hadn't stopped at that town. With their arrival, the samurai had proof that demons did exist. They plunged into the forest, turning over every rock, and peeping into every hole, slaughtering any living creature that crawled around in them. The part of the cave which was once her room was littered by the wet corpse of her parents.

Though struck with grief, the first thing she noticed about her parents was they weren't as deformed as her. While she had six arms, they had two, and while she had eight eyes, they had two. It was her primal instincts that told her to change, if she ever had a chance in survival outside of this cave. For several months, she bided her time learning the truth of her powers, and their extent. Her daily routine consisted of feeding accordingly, practicing to change herself, then sleeping. Inevitably, her efforts bore fruit. One morning when she awoke, the extra arms and eyes were gone, when she spat she spat saliva. That same day, she left the cave to pursue life in the real world. She had physically prepared herself for the journey, but not mentally. Whenever a human approached her, or an animal, she attacked before anything else. In most instances, the person could fend her off long enough to escape with their lives, but occasions did exist where they would fall to her wrath. Word of such traveled across the Land of Iron, and measures were taken to secure the harmed child. She was captured by several forces of samurai in the brisk of the night, and taken to an orphanage with other psychotic war orphaned children.

The conditions were no better; the food, attention, clothes, and affection were as scarce as rain in a desert. People rarely donated to the orphanage, but those who did often required something prior to doing so. Natsumi was a female, and these old perverts, despite her extremely young age, found her satisfying. Every time they appeared, she would be given a bath, fed, and then indifferently given to the orphanage's suppliers. The children didn't prove understanding, caring, or even grateful for her actions. They loathed her in fact, simply because she was taken better care of. When the constantly seeking eyes of the adults wandered elsewhere, children would take the time to attempt physical harm to Natsumi, and they ultimately returned harmed themselves. However, she was never in trouble; the owners of the orphanage felt horrible for giving a four year old girl to perverted old men. Unknowingly, they were being played.

Whenever Natsumi was being pulled into these rooms with the donators, her body activated a special pheromone that placed anyone within her immediate surrounding in a state of attraction, allowing her to coerce them into avoiding certain activities; as a little girl, she obviously had very little comprehension of sexual activities, thus her commands were simply never to harm her. Regardless, she never let tales of the truths escape the room to maintain the levels of grooming she was given. She played the victim, and reaped the benefits; she was the queen, but like all great empires her too did fall. Being uncomfortable, and frightened was her greatest defense, and her arrogance had taken that defense away. When one of the donators arrived, her complacency forbade her body from naturally activating the pheromone, unbeknown to her. She turned around for a moment, and in that second she was pounced upon. She screamed, cried, pleaded for him to stop, but he didn't stop, until she bit him.

In a brief moment, his arm came too close to her mouth, and out of fear she sank her teeth into his flesh. A mild discomfort is what it should've have been, but it proved much more when bits of his arm dripped onto the floor. With haste, she leaped through the window of the orphanage and ran, without a second glance backwards. She was safe for a few days, but the rich donator's men were skilled trackers. They found her in the middle of the forest, in the brisk of the night, but they had wandered into her trap. It was dark, vegetation plagued land, and it was perfect for a spider to strike. Using the darkness, and her ability to perfectly navigate at night, to her advantage, she slayed every member of the tracking team. When their comrades arrived, they found their friend's corpses in exchange for the little girl's. By the time they had come however, Natsumi had long disappeared further north.

Even with her normal physique, she hadn't attained a haven, or a place to call home. Humanity rejected her, and in that case she would reject it. She stayed in the woods for weeks surviving off nothing but the spiders that crawled around in the dirt with her. But, she hated this life. At the orphanage, she was a queen, and the power she emitted was felt by everyone. In the forest, she was just another creature attempting to survive; it wasn't sastifying. On day, she wandered into a town where she overheard tales of the samurai liberating a town from the hands of shinobi mercenaries, and the power that echoed drew her towards them. Within days, she joined the samurai forces of the Land of Iron, and was shipped off to the capital of the Land of Iron to perfect her skills.

Apprenticeship
Unlike most of the samurai in training, Natsumi's only experience with a blade was when they were being thrown at her, and her fellow clansmen. Fortunately, the first day of training involved running, weight lifting, and other physical activities to gauge the power of each apprentice. Natsumi proved successful. Her bloodline limit supplied her with the proportions of a spider: she could lift eight times her body weight, run three hundred and thirty times her body length, and various other proportions. She was a child with the physical ability, and maturity, of full grown samurai. Because of her natural gifts, on the second day Natsumi showed similar abilities, garnering her a promotion. The third day, she was placed into a class of young adults, but unlike the previous two days they instructed her to pick up a blade.

She expected it to be a wooden one, or a dull one at least, but it was sharper than any steel she had ever wielded. On the other end of the room, another warrior dressed in armor rested. A block of wood hit the floor, and the warrior charged. Inexperienced, but physically adept, Natsumi managed to hold her own for a few moments. Her swordplay was absolutely terrible, and her opponent picked up on rather easily. It would've been easier to end the battle by disarming the child, but Natsumi's opponent found it better to strike the blade against her hip. The child collapsed onto the floor, dropping her own sword with the expectation that the battle would end, but she was rather disappointed when her opponent's blade was jammed into her thigh. After that, she lost consciousness.

When she awoke, it was in a bed with white sheets. Her thigh and hip were heavily bandaged, and who awaited her when she regained consciousness was the same warrior that dealt the injury bearing a smirk that mocked her. This warrior, a girl just like Natsumi, arrogantly elaborated on the child's weaknesses. At that moment, she experienced the curse that consumed her clan—greed. She desired her skill, the abilities she had, but deep down she knew that it couldn't come from consuming her. Afterall, the last time she saw someone attempt to eat another person, they began spewing up blood. Hard work seemed to be the only option. Natsumi devoted herself to the way of the sword. In class, she offered her attention to the master, taking in all she could learn, and on her free time, while others socialized, she honed her skills.

Within a few short years, Natsumi’s intuitive aptitude, and dedication bore fruit. Her swordsmanship was astounding, her physical abilities as well, and unlike the rest of the samurai she seemed to have a grasp on her chakra. Afterall, she had unknowingly been manipulating it for years simply by altering her appearance from the monstrosity she once was. For her, she had thought she obtained the power she needed, but another spar with the same woman that crushed her so many years ago brought back memories; she was crushed again. Nothing had changed. Yet again, she was forced to undergo intensive training.

Her intensive training ultimately lead Natsumi to becoming one of the most skilled Samurai for her age, evident by her achievements. At the age of twelve years old, her physical abilities, chakra control, and swordsmanship were among the greatest. Inevitably, they were forced to grant her the title of Seieibushi (a title equivalent to a jonin). Just when she thought she had achieved success, the lone warrior reappeared, and challenged her to another duel. Unlike the other battles, Natsumi was able to keeping pace with the warrior, and after several minutes of a clashing, her enemy pulled out another blade.

With two blades, she quickly made work of Natsumi, but when she hit the ground, she didn't find a blade slammed into her flesh. What awaited her was a warm smile, and a hand extended to help her up. The warrior revealed herself as Hibiki Yamajaki—a seieibush herself, and the chosen master for Natsumi to learn under. Her intentions were to push Natsumi to grow, and only when she proved herself determined would she be professionally trained. Offering her an opportunity to learn under her, Hibiki informed Natsumi that they would embark on a journey across the world until she had obtained a power of her own. Obviously, she accepted Hibiki's tutelage, and that night she departed the capital of the Land of Iron with her mentor.

Modern Warfare, Beginning
After six years of travelling the world, and training with her mentor, Hibiki, Natsumi returned to the capital of the Land of Iron just in the nick of time. During her tenure from home, the samurai had encountered a resistance with the technological revolution occurring around them. With newly devised firearms, civilians now had the ability to protect themselves, and thus Samurai were becoming void. People wishing to claim the daimyō's head took advantage of the situation, and hoped to lead an army against the samurai. However, the feudal lord remained firm in his decision to employ the samurai, and tension slowly built as civilians began amassing an army to ultimately rebel against their feudal lord. When Natsumi returned, she was welcomed with a smile from her friends, and an assignment from her superiors to join thousands of her samurai in guarding the daimyō's eight-hundred acre estate. Though threats were thrown, they were often empty, and lacking any real motivation. For months, Natsumi and her samurai brethren stood watch casually, without encountering any real resistance. While they grew lazy, and complacent, the enemy planned. When they launched their attack, the samurai weren't expecting it.

Natsumi had been fortunate to have had the day off when the revolutionaries attacked. She was in the daimyō's private training facility that he had constructed for the elite squad of samurai that protected him. When word of Natsumi's elite skills spread across the army, the daimyō's squad personally invited her to a training session. It was then that she clashed with the best that the Land of Iron had to offer, and she surprisingly was able to match their own techniques with her superior Iaidō. Unfortunately, her interview was interrupted with an announcement that the forces in the northern forest were being slaughtered by thousands of revolutionaries. Natsumi, and the daimyō's elite squad, marched out to the forest immediately to combat their opposing forces, but the revolutionaries were no idiots. Their attack was a calculated one, designed to instigate fear, and paranoia into the army of samurai, rather than an attack to claim their feudal lord's head. Unfortunately for the daimyo, their plan worked.

Most of Natsumi's orders were to watch, and kill anyone who attempted to desert. These people were valuable to the revolutionaries, because they had layouts of the fortress. That information was critical. She had no problem fulfilling her duties. Any samurai that illegally attempted to cross the border were struck down by her blade, and their bodies were burned to a crisp. Morality mattered very little to Natsumi, until, one day, the person that would attempt to cross the border in the brisk of the night revealed herself as her former master, Hibiki. Dumbfounded, startled, anger, and a variety of other emotions materialized themselves in Natsumi's words. Despite her speech, Hibiki was moved very little. Her reasoning was simple: the revolutionaries were going to win, and she didn't want to be another casualty in a war against the corrupt. Natsumi attempted to sway her again, but was forced to confront her master once Hibiki drew her blade. The end result was a tragic one for Natsumi; she threw her sword into Hibiki's heart, and with her last dying breath, she praised her student for the first time.

Modern Warfare, Middle
Following the incident with her instructor, Natsumi was promoted to a front-line division which were set on eliminating all rebel forces per the daimyō's order. Determined, she worked hard at her new opinion, slaying hundred, if not thousands of rebels during her tenure. For a large duration of this time on the front lines, she built a reputation of working, and scouting alone. Eventually, she developed a group of friends that she grew close to, and she worked with them against the rebel forces. It was only natural that she was stronger than the members; afterall, she was one of the few seiseibushi in the entire division. She spent time educating them, honing their skills, just as her mentor had. It was a time where she could express her love. After receiving orders to investigate a potential rebel stronghold in the mountains, Natsumi and her comrades left alone to complete the task. But, it was a trap, and one by one the group were slaughtered, except for Natsumi. She wandered back towards her camp, half-dead, to absolutely nothing, but the corpses of the entire division. Eventually, she made her way back to the capital as the sole survivor, detailing the events that occurred with her squad. Her service granted her a temporary discharge to recover.

Because she was a samurai, and being a samurai in a country split in rebellion was dangerous, Natsumi chose to remain in the capitol for her temporary vacation. One day, while sitting comfortably in her apartment, the commander of the samurai forces knocked on her door to meet with her. She offered him tea, coffee, snacks, alcohol, and he gracefully accepted her hospitality. Thanking her for the comfort, he offered her the chance to come and have a meal at his home. The next day, she arrived at his condo, and engaged in a meal. When she drank the water, she felt her body go limp. Seconds after collapsing, a knife dug into her thigh.

Abilities
As a Date Clansmen, Natsumi has been gifted with their clan's bloodline ability Hiroigui resulting in a manipulation of her genome and soul to incorporate traits of the food she devours. A large majority of the time, Date Clansmen become greedy and often attempt to assimilate thousands of animals at a time, and in some cases human beings to acquire their powers, but it always results in failure. Natsumi descends from a line of Date who escaped the self-induced destruction of their clan and fled to the north where the caves provided the warmth and shelter they needed. In these caves, the only plentiful food were spiders which they devoured daily to survive. As a result, Natsumi particularly only cares for spiders; evolution has gifted her with an accelerated affinity towards them, and occasionally when she does devour other food she becomes sick. Her mind, spirit, and body have been molded to incorporate her diet into her identity, garnering her the epithet Black Widow (黒後家蜘蛛,Kurogokegumo).

Chakra and Life Force
The Date Clan were recognized for their unique ability to assume the traits of the animals they devoured, but more than anything they were renown as the ultimate predators. They could chase a prey for miles without much issue, and engage in battles with entire prides. It was obvious that they were gifted with tremendous chakra reserves. After-all, with each meal they devoured, they assimilated its physical and spiritual energies. Despite this, the foods they eat make up barely a fraction of their tremendous levels of chakra. In fact, it seems that their ability to stabilize the chakra and life energy they receive was a result of their tremendous chakra, and it is. Descending from Ōtsutsuki Clan directly, and several generations of inbreeding have proved beneficial in preserving their bloodline, the Date Clan were recipients of an incredible source of powerful chakra allowing them to remain conscious after assimilating the body, mind, and spirit of the creature they devour.

This large amount of powerful chakra is a blessing; they can sustain themselves for hours on end. However, most who possess large reservoirs of power rarely show much control, and why would they? Even without it, their reserves are large enough for them to use several S-rank techniques in succession without showing fatigue. To normal shinobi, even those who have relatively good chakra control, they tremble in fear of facing monsters such as these. Despite evidence that suggest most with wells of powers lack control, those with perfect control and large chakra reserves do exist, and they have proved dominant over all shinobi. The Date Clan were once dominant. Although their chakra was powerful and plentiful as the sea, the abilities they gained from these animals were often deadly. Surely, they were beneficial when it came to killing their enemies, but without control they killed one another. It was the reason why infants were constantly under surveillance, and why they were properly instructed of chakra almost as soon as they could walk. For them, chakra control wasn't a luxury, but rather a necessity.

Natsumi inherited the entirety of her clan's chakra feats, and perfected them to the point where she could physically manipulate whether she showed signs of the beast she devoured. For her, having an extra eye, arm, or even a shred of scaly skin was enough to have her stoned for being a demon. She spent months in the cavern alone following her parents death, practicing, and sometimes she lost control and nearly became a spider on several occasions. For several weeks on end, she had eyes on her feet and hands, arms where her legs should've been, and a face that she found horrifying when looking upon her reflection. What she suffered through proved worthwhile with what she gained in understanding, and the plateau's of power she inevitably reached as a result, evident by her ability to use the bare minimum amount of chakra for the most difficult of techniques.


 * Tarantula Soul: Elixir of Life: Having devoured thousands of spiders in her lifetime, Natsumi would eventually encounter the Tarantula. Whereas other spiders die within a year, a tarantulas don't reach adulthood until their six year old due to a dramatic enhancement of their telomere through genetic evolution. Upon devouring spiders of this genus, Natsumi's life span too found itself enhanced beyond all measures. While not to the extent that a tarantula is capable of living, as they can live for at least twenty times that of a normal spider, Natsumi sees a noticeable advantage regarding her own age. Extending one's telomere is impossible, and granting someone life energy is an abomination to god. For that reason, Natsumi's life span hasn't doubled, nor tripled, or increased in the slightest. What has changed is how quickly she will age; Natsumi has been blessed with the ability to stay in her youth and prime much longer. Naturally, because of the life force she inherited from her clan, she is blessed with a life span surpassing that of a normal person, drastically increasing the gap between how long she stays young for. Capable of living two at least one hundred years old, with relative ease, Natsumi will stay in her prime approximately until she is seventy years old.
 * In addition, tarantulas are able to continue molting eve into adulthood, allowing them to regenerate lost limbs, and organs for the rest of their lives. Their cells are pluripotent, and are able to proliferate and regenerate until they eventually die. Similar to lizards, and jellyfish, scientist have attempted to use tarantulas as a means of acquiring eternal youth. Tarantulas, just like Natsumi, are incapable of extending their telemores, but what they both are able to do, credited to the tarantulas ability to molt for eternity, is produce more stem cells. The human body has a reserve of stem cells that it can use whenever it needs to grow, or heal the body. Because people suffer injuries, this often causes the reserve to be used more quickly, until they eventually run out. Stem cells are the cells that proliferate, and become tissue for other organs. Without the ability to heal these organs, the human body fails to function, and dies. Whenever natsumi uses a stem cell, before it leaves for duty, is undergoes mitosis and replaces itself with another. When this occurs, the body essentially creates another cell that can be used, supplying Natsumi with an infinite supply of cells for the rest of eternity. Coupling this reserve with the slowed aging process of her own life span, Natsumi has achieved a unique form of eternal youth. Her cells function at their prime for as long as they can, then towards the end of their life cycle, stem cells proliferate to replace them, and mature. As a result, Natsumi doesn't grow younger, but rather stays the same age.

Taijutsu
The Webbed Fist: A samurai is defined by their swordsmanship. Their ability to use a blade correctly, and almost supernaturally is why people cherish their services. To them, a blade is an extension of their body, and for their sword to be powerful, their body must be equally strong. During her time as an apprentice, and even after she became an elite samurai, Natsumi conditioned herself by battling the elements. Standing nude in deep snow, voluntarily going without food and water, and sometimes extreme drinking were some of the practices used to increase endurance and vigor. Although she went through this training, and while it did raise her natural abilities quite a bit, a majority of her strength comes from her lineage. Even prior to becoming a samurai, she was physically gifted, and capable of feats that most adults weren't. Inevitably, she devised a style that incorporated the blessings she received.

Webbed Fist-Blacklight: Gained from years of devouring spider, Natsumi developed an unique form of eyesight that allowed her to see into the ultraviolet spectrum, and a fourth primary color. Whereas a human is born with a single layer of photoreceptive cells, the retinas in Natsumi's eyes have four photoreceptive layer, in which the two of the layers contain ultraviolet-sensitive pigments. As a result, sees the world as if it's constantly under black light. Besides authenticating antiques, enjoying paintings severely more than the average person, detecting bacteria and plague, and seeing through counterfeit money and unofficial documents, Natsumi sees through any forms of invisibility. Though, many shinobi often use techniques that allows them to control how light bends around them, they often fail to control light that they are, simply put, unable to see. But, what Natsumi truly benefits from is a near immunity to genjutsu. Genjutsu is a manipulation of the senses through fluctuating one's chakra, and while Natsumi is partially resistant due to her rather unique nervous system which makes manipulation slightly more difficult, her eyes become her best friend when placed under this deception. Because people are incapable of seeing four primary colors, or ultra violet light, the world appears differently. A black shirt to them, is a violet shirt to Natsumi, and a green one becomes a blue one in her eyes. Because genjutsu is limited by what one knows, truly devising a genjutsu world that incorporates what is visible to Natsumi is nearly impossible for anyone without her eyes.
 * Webbed Fist-Satellite: Natsumi's_eyes..gif In addition to her ability to see ultraviolet light, Natsumi's eyes are essentially telescopes. Her two Anterior Median eyes are extremely long, and tubular, allowing for higher magnification. The eyes are composed of a lens towards the front, a large tube, and a second lens at the end which, unlike the outer lens, is very flexible. By adjusting the shape and angle of the secondary lens, Natsumi is capable of focusing and zooming in on whatever she wants to. It is without a doubt that her eyes can pierce even the farthest of objects, however because of how they are arranged, being more like telescopes than eyes, the field of vision is Natsumi's_field_of_vision.pngdibly low, ranging from two to five percent. It was for this reason that Natsumi actively followed her opponent, and never let them out of her sight. Although they were quick, her visual acuity allowed her to see their every moment and track them accordingly. However, in cases where she was facing multiple opponents, or an opponent to quick for her, she was helpless. Eventually, she concluded that she'd need to tap into her bloodline limit if she were to progress any further, and her master helped her do that. Succeeding her six years training, Natsumi returned with the ability to manifest the extra eyes that her genetics blessed her with. With another pair of eyes on her face, and two pairs towards the back of her head, she effectively solved her issue. Though, obvious by the lack of a tube, they lack the extraordinary resolution of her Anterior Median Eyes, each pair of eyes has a broad field of view that nearly supplies Natsumi with three-hundred and sixty-degree vision.
 * Webbed Fist-Seismic Sense: Proven by the Hyūga Clan, absolute three hundred and sixty degree vision is truly impossible, and Natsumi is not an exception to this rule. Though she comes particularly close, they're exist blind spots in her field of sight. Unlike the Konohagakure shinobi, Natsumi's blind spots can be seen with just a bit of effort. In her body, she possesses an organ capable of detecting vibrations; the organ consist of parallel slits of different lengths, similar to the strings of a harp, which detects movement by opening and closing depending on the force exerted upon it. These slits are directly connected to the nerves that relay the information of the vibrations to the brain, which processes it and determines the size, and location from the creature creating the force.
 * Webbed Fist- Herculean Exoskeleton: The Palpimanus gibbulus is a spider renown for its ability to hunt other spiders. With ease, it can burrow into its fellow predator's home, destroy their colony, eat their children, and return entirely unscathed. The reason is that it is more durable than the food it eats. Similar to this spider, Natsumi has tissue almost five times stronger than the normal samurai: skin, muscles, bones, etc. As a result, she has increased levels of durability allowing her to withstand damage, and pressure. Most arachnids, and other small insects, carry leaves, rocks, minerals, and even birds for long distances without tiring. Often times, these materials weigh several times their body weight. It was only natural that Natsumi, just as she had with every other attribute the spider offered, was blessed with a similar skill. She is largely capable of lifting one hundred and seventy times of her own weight, and exerting a force similar to that. In addition, because her muscles are five times the density of what they would be without the Palpimanus soul, and since she is already capable of lifting five times that of the her weight with the amount of muscle mass she would have if she was born without the extra muscle mass, she is blessed with the ability to lift eight hundred and sixty five her own weight.
 * Webbed Fist-Speed Force: The fastest arachnid in the world is capable of running a little over eleven miles per hour, meaning it runs approximately three hundred and thirty times its body length. By the time, she was three years old, Natsumi was capable of running on water without the assistance of her chakra. Unlike these camel spiders, Natsumi is gifted with five times the muscle mass, amplifying her proportions to one-thousand, six hundred, and sixty five times that of her body length. Even without her samurai training, simply growing taller was enough to improve Natsumi's speed, but she had trained, and that too had an affect on her physique. Samurai were trained to counter ninja; they can naturally run several times the speed of an average person. Unlike shinobi, a samurai's training rarely involves relying on cheap tricks such as switching places with a log, and creating an illusion. Instead, it was heavily concentrated on improving the body, and its natural capabilities. While a shinobi was surely more versatile, a samurai's body was stronger. She gained the proportions of a spider. When she zips through the world at 580mph, Natsumi does not leave afterimages; she's simply too quick. Instead, whether an opponent is looking or not, she is simply gone. During combat, she is effectively invisible.

Ninjutsu
Scuba Suit: The Diving Bell spider is the only arachnid known to live its entire life completely underwater, but what makes that impressive is that they don't have gills, nor any way of taking the oxygen from the water directly into their bodies. Most people assume that they frequently return to the surface to get more air, but a diving bell spider surfaces only once every twenty four hours. Using the tiny hairs on their body, air naturally gets stuck to them, and when they submerge again a huge bubble encompasses their body due to the presence of the air. They then take this bubble to a web spun between vegetation, in which they live. Because the bubble is supported by the web, most of the area of the bubble is just air-water interface between the fibers of the web, allowing for gas exchange. There is a net diffusion of oxygen into the bubble, and carbon dioxide out of the bubble. Natsumi has managed to engineer the same creation herself, albeit her bubble is often much larger. Her webs are spun in the form of a scuba-suit more than anything, allowing for her to stay submerged underwater while also being capable of maneuvering.

As she descends into greater depths, water pressure increases, but due to the outer membrane being webs—a silk that is nearly fifty times stronger than steel—the bubble is able to maintain itself, and Natsumi is protected from even the most intense of pressures. Regardless, the concentration of the oxygen in the water is severely less than that in the atmosphere, in some regions of the water, and normally this is why the arachnids are forced to return to the surface once a day. Natsumi is different. Her ability entirely dependent on her ability to gather oxygen through an artificial gill, but lie in her ability to decrease her metabolic rate ultimately decreasing her need for oxygen to extremely low levels. Because of this, she is able to survive with minuscule amount of oxygen, allowing her to stay underwater indefinitely as long as she has access to her scuba suit.

Camouflage: The female crab spider is one capable of changing its color by altering what light the pigments that it can absorb, resulting in a natural repulsion of any other color. By rejecting other lights, they can blend seamlessly into their surroundings. Natsumi is capable of doing the same, however she possesses an obvious weakness, that being, her clothes don't change. To compensate, she encapsulates her gear in an aura of spider webs that, since they comes from the chakra and materials in her body, are able to change colors just as her skin. Of all the colors she can choose from, Natsumi favors the one color she sees better than anyone else: ultraviolet, resulting in her becoming entirely invisible to the naked eye.

Blood Pressure Manipulation
Like most critters, Spiders possess an exoskeleton that protects their outer body, resulting in a simplified muscular system that contains only one set of muscles. Because of this, without other means, spiders would be unable to move properly, or at all. They have muscles that allow them to bend their limbs, but to extend them they make use of their own blood. By increasing the pressure of blood in their cephalothorax —the round, bulb-like midsection to which all the legs are connected—they are stretched, and to bring them back in, they simply decrease the pressure. What amazes scientist is how quickly the spider is capable of doing this, as they require only a fraction of a second to do so. Because Natsumi has an endoskeleton—thus has muscles that help her move—accelerating her blood flow has an entirely different effect.

When increasing her blood pressure, Natsumi's body receives more blood directly supplementing her cells with more oxygen and nutrients, increasing her speed, and power as a result. This technique, however, uses up these nutrients, making it particularly strenuous to maintain over long periods of time. Natsumi, because her tissues are five times as dense, has the ability to accelerate her blood flow six times its normal flow. Anything more will result in serious internal injuries, and if accelerated too much, will end in death. Whenever her blood pressure goes above five times its normal rate, her body temperature increases dramatically, evaporating her sweat into steam.

Venom Techniques
Poison Generation: Several species of spiders have organs that produce venom, and so does Natsumi. Naturally, she has also produced poison, and for much of her early life those around her were forced to inject themselves with antidotes or wear respirators in her present to avoid being poisoned. As she matured, she learned to control this ability, to the extent that she can control which poisons she can generate. Through her chakra, she is able to disperse these toxins in a variety of ways: through her fangs with a bite, emitting it as a poison mist, a tsunami of liquid, etc.
 * Venom Techniques: Brown Recluse: The Brown Recluse is one of the world's most dangerous spiders. Its venom is one that targets the proteins of cell membrane's and destroys them, resembling an acid more than a conventional poison.
 * Venom Techniques: Wandering Spider: Unlike the brown recluse bite, this toxin resembles a conventional toxin rather than an acid, and is actually one of Natsumi's most powerful toxin to date. Because of how potent it is, and the effects that it has on her opponents, the only possible method of injection is directly from the venomous sacs at the roof of her mouth. Depending on the potency of the poison, it will have a different effect on the unfortunate recipient. When at its lowest possible concentration, the toxin only affects males of any species. A component of the venom known as Tx2-6 is one that causes Priapism, which can ultimately lead to death if it not dealt with in time. Aside from this using to this ensure her own satisfaction, Natsumi tends to rely on this toxin when attempting to assassinate someone discreetly. She'll creep into the bedroom in the brisk of the night, and sick her fangs onto their flesh, injecting them with the poison. By time morning comes, these men are dead in their homes. The second form of this toxin is when it's at its highest concentration, affecting both genders of any species. This form of the toxin contains a very powerful neurotoxin that affects calcium uptake, glutamate release, and glutamate uptake in neural synapses. A result of this since, since glutamate is an amino acid highly involved in neural activation, certain parts of the body experience a loss of function. For most, they lose control of their muscles, rendering them paralyzed. In addition, the muscles used for the respiratory system experience a dysfunction, leading to severe breathing issues which results in an inevitable suffocation. The final symptom is perhaps the most agonizing; it excites the nerves, resulting in intense pain, and severe inflammation.
 * Poison Breath Technique: Because of the amount of venomous sacks that are in her body, due to being an algamation of several poisonous spiders, Natsumi had troubles in her youth with determining when these poisons were released. Whenever she was afraid, her body would naturally activate her venomous organs and sacs as a means of defense, imbuing her breath with small portions of venom.

Pheromone Generation

 * Aphrodite's Forgiveness: Several species of spider's naturally release pheromones that sparks a reaction in other insects, or arachnids. Naturally, Natsumi has a similar ability, and by amplifying it with chakra she can exponentially multiply the effects of the pheromones. This specific pheromone was one that she subconsciously triggered whenever threatened, as it was one that virtually allowed her to hypnotically control anyone exposed to it through scent. This pheromone is one with a chemical factor that places the victim in a state of high suggestibility, allowing her to introduce ideas rather easily. Because it is chemical, anyone who inhales it into their body, since pheromones are often introduced through scent, find themselves under her spell. This pheromone is not scentless however, but by the time someone deduces the smell, it is already too late.
 * Athena's Arachnophobia: For years, Natsumi has relied on this pheromone to paralyze her enemies, or cause them to simply submit to her will out of fear. This secreted chemical is one that induces a fear of arachnids. Dependent on the amount of pheromone inhaled, the intensity of the arachnophobia increases. If inhaled in small amounts, the only visible effects are anxiety, and a discomfort. If moderately inhaled, the target becomes mildly paralyzed out of fear, but when largely inhaled dying from fright becomes a likely possibility. Because of her spider-related abilities, Natsumi serves in the stead of the spider, through spitting webs, or growing extra appendages to resemble the monstrosities. Those exposed to moderate/high levels of the pheromone can undergo a self-hallucination of their own deaths, or suffering from the spider.
 * Illusorily Pheromones: Though she never desired to be a shinobi, and despite the fact that she was trained to specifically kill ninja, Natsumi couldn't help but admire their ability to cast illusions. Bringing ones imagination to life was something she desired, and while she was imprisoned, she cast pheromones on herself to craft a world where she was happy, free, and alive. When she escaped, she held onto this skill, and began using it against her prey, and hunters across the world. Through this chemical, Natsumi can send false perception signals to the brain, causing small illusions: time, balance, sight, smell. She can control how quickly one perceives time, whether they can see certain colors, what they hear, etc.

Web Techniques
Several times stronger than steel and kelvar, as flexible as a rubber band, as sticky as the craziest glue, and as regenerative as a zebra fish is the mystical, mysteriously crafted spider-silk. For years, people have attempted to replicate it, or to generate it in mass amounts, but to no avail. Spiders use it to craft traps, build nest for their young, to go scuba-diving in the depths of the ocean, etc. Because of her bloodline limit, Natsumi is able to create the same silk that humanity has sought to produce for thousands of years. She is able to weave intricate patterns that radiate beauty as it glimmers in the sunlight, annoy those that run into the invisible webs, and capture her prey with their adhesion.

Unbeknown to most, Natsumi's favored usage of her webs are to ball them up and plant them on a bleeding scrape and wound. Because the silk is composed mostly of proteins, and because it is especially rich in Vitamin K, it stimulates the body to heal itself. The body heals itself in various steps: the blood vessels constrict to reduce blood flow, blood cells clump together to make a plug along the injured vessel, then clotting proteins ensure the plug is held until the wound is effectively healed. Spider silk is sticky, composed of proteins, and rich in Vitamin K. Because of this, it's able to stop bleeding almost entirely on its on. The Vitamin K protein slows the blood flow, and helps clot the blood. The adhesive properties of the silk serves as a plug as well, and its antibacterial proteins quickly disperse of any bacteria that may have infected the wound.

When the threat of blood loss and infection have been quelled, the body naturally focuses on healing and rebuilding. Cells gather at the site and begin dividing until it reforms the damaged area. Unfortunately, spider silk can not proliferate into these new skin cells, but what it is capable of doing is serving as a home for these cells. The biological molds used to grow tissue outside of the human body are chemically identical to the makeup of a spider web, allowing the spider-silk to serve as a material where cells can proliferate, and divide quickly, but safely. By weaving the silk in different patterns, thus changing its chemical makeup slightly, it can attract a different type of cells. With this, the silk is used to speed up the recovery rate of the human body drastically. Natsumi has studied this, and mastered the craft to the point where can cause her body to regenerate cells on command.

Iaidō
A samurai is defined by his swordsmanship, and their philosophies revolve heavily around the blade. How one advances through the ranks is not through proving their physical abilities, devotion to bushido, but whether they have good sword-techniques. Everyday, Natsumi trained with bamboo—a plant blessed with the same density as human bone—to cut it perfectly. If the end was slightly curved, it meant that her technique was flawed; one precise cut is the way of the samurai. She would start over until she was able to cut one perfectly, then would continue to cut the others in rapid succession to create fluidity. But, in the Land of Iron, a samurai's swordsmanship is measured by their proficiency in their most favored art: Iaidō. Though, despite what many think, Iaidō is not a technique meant for combat. In fact, the samurai view using such a technique as impractical, however many have used it effectively in combat. It uses a combination of feigns, speed, and reflexes. Fortunately, Natsumi's Hirogui blessed her with two of those things

The simple truth behind a spider's nervous system is that it is much less complex than that of a human, coupled with their size, allowing them to send electrical signals nearly twenty times that of a human. Natsumi inherited a relatively simple nervous system, or some aspects of the arachnid, however she is the normal size for a human, albeit a little shorter than the average female her age. As a result, her body is only able to send electrical signals ten times as fast as a normal person instead of the twenty that spiders seem capable of. Whereas most people have reaction times of two-hundred and fifty miliseconds, and since shinobi/samurai are often on the higher end of the scale with reflexes with reflexes of one-hundred and twenty miliseconds due to training to hone them, Natsumi herself holds a record-high reaction time in the samurai forces with a simple twelve milliseconds.

Among her fellow samurai, her reflexes were recognized as virtually instantaneous, and in truth they are the closest one can get. The human brain processes images at a rate of thirteen miliseconds, thus the time it takes for one to see a picture and recognize what it is, Natsumi can react to an attack consciously. The benefit to this isn't just that her reaction time is superior to most, but because one can not react before perception, her ability to perceive is increased tenfold as well. Within two miliseconds, her brain can process images, giving her literal computer like perception. The world around Natsumi appears to be moving in slow motion, allowing her to decipher movements, techniques, and any other kinds of tricks with relative ease since she can detect changes within a literal millisecond.

Taking advantage of her computer-like reflexes, Natsumi uses the essential principle of Iaidō: feigning. By pretending to move in one direction, she forces her opponent to respond, then as they are responding she switches her position to surprisingly deal damage with proper Kenjutsu techniques. Her Iaidō is so spontaneous, and quick that she renders molding handseals nearly impossible in her presence. Whereas samurai that use Iaidō pick their attacks carefully, Natsumi tends to blitz her opponent with a barrage of sword-techniques, relying on her incredible reaction time, and her ability to sense vibrations, to accurately detect and respond to an attack should an opening present itself. Because she uses offense to attack, and to defend, Natsumi naturally prefers to use more than one blade, and is among thousands of other samurai that do so. Since her reflexes are superhuman, even for these elite master swordsman, Natsumi rarely finds splitting her concentration between two blades more dangerous than using one. Whereas they have to be more careful, despite having an increase in offensive power, Natsumi simply doubles in power.

Equipment
Summoning Scroll: Before an animal summoning can be performed, a contract must be signed by the perspective summoner with the regarded species. The contract comes in the form of a scroll, on which the contractor uses their own blood to sign their name and place their fingerprints and once signed it is valid even after the contractors death as long as the contract itself remains intact. After this, they need only offer an additional donation of blood on the hand they signed the contract with, mould their chakra with hand seals and then plant the hand they signed the contract with at the location they wish to summon the creature. Because, Natsumi is genetically half-spider, and half human, resulting in an entirely new species of her own. Being part animal, she can be summoned as if she was an animal, just as long as she has a contract. Though, beneficial for those who have a contract, very few people have them, and only Natsumi's trusted employers are allowed. Just as they can summon her, Natsumi is able to reverse summon them equally.

Creation and Concept
Natsumi is an article that I, Berserkchart486, had been trying to create for a few months now after I was inspired by the Fishman species from one piece. She originally was Arlong, in appearance, and a combination of sharkboy from the movie Sharkboy and Lava girl. The character was named Kinokosame Hoshigaki, in relation to Kisame, and was a member of the Date Clan. Instead of having a tragic past, or as tragic as Natsumi's I should say, he was a happy child whose boat unfortunately crashed and stranded him on a rock in the middle of the ocean. To survive, he hunted and devoured sharks, eventually turning him into one. So, in short, the character wasn't great, and because he wasn't, I got bored of him pretty quickly. Natsumi was then my second attempt after I joined the One Piece Fanon run by Daz, and created my own character Daddy L. Legs who utilized the Kumo Kumo No Mi, a Zoan devil fruit created by me.

Partially, Natsumi is intended to be my anti Sannoto. Many of you users know who Sannoto is; the savior of the world, the one who will protect the world from all evil and darkness. He's to date, one of my strongest characters, but one who practices restraint and defers from fighting unless it's absolutely necessary. He typically watches until his influence is required. Natsumi bears a similar trait, but she watches, not out of restraint, but whether she is paid to interfere. She's my first attempt at an actual mercenary/shinobi, since most of my ninja are either purely evil, purely good, or just pretty neutral morally and interfere when their village is challenged. Mercenaries are almost solely in it for the money, from what I've learned by reading Japanese and Chinese history, so I devised a rogue samurai to befit that role.

Out of all my characters, Natsumi is indeed my favorite, even over that of Sannoto, though the margin is really low to the point where I would never ever sacrifice either of them for anything in the world. The reason is not because she's basically the queen of everything spider, but because of her story. Sannoto has a pretty fucked up childhood because of the people around him, and the fact that he was born in the middle of an era where war was inevitable. Natsumi was born into a relatively stable situation, and was destined to live her life out in a cave, but her parents were the ones that tried to kill her, and from that point she was hated by the world. She is, truly, my Kakashi (If you don't know, Kakashi is my favorite Naruto character).

Kakashi's father killed himself, then his friend obito "died", then rin killed herself, then his sensei and wife died. Kakashi's life is that of a true warrior. People who live these lives die, and that's a fact. The same is with Natsumi. Even after she becomes a boss-ass samurai, her friends still die around her, and like Kakashi she has to live with their deaths and keep moving on. Where, I think the similarity between the two is particularly evident is between the fact that their reputation were nearly ruined. Kakashi became the friend killer, and Natsumi was cursed for killing the daimyo, and both didn't do it. However, they ultimately recovered and garnered respect. In Natsumi's case, she defected and became a badass mercenary.

Kakashi wasn't the only influence in Natsumi's upbringing however. I particularly care for Chinese mythology/Japanese mythology, and what I have yet to create is a Yōkai, which is basically Japanese for a spirit/demon/monster/whatever other variation you can conceive. If you notice, or if you go and read the Jorōgumo page, Nastumi is very similar. She's attractive, a spider creature, and lives underwater. She is virtually this legend, and at first, most of this stuff accidently happened just from me knowing what a Jorōgumo was, and within a few days I realized that I had subconsciously crafted one. So, part of that is why I wound up making her a creature capable of being summoned; just as a yokai, and a spirit can be summoned, so can she. I thought it'd be a pretty cool weakness/strength, sort of like how in the tv series, Supernatural, many of the hunters do that even to the strongest of creatures as a means of capture.

Trivia

 * Natsumi's "central" quote is actually from the amazing novel, The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Quotes
"Underwater? It's just simple down there; I don't have to worry much about bounty hunters trying to kill me, children egging my home, or the foolishness of neighbors. Probably the best place for a longer like me."