[Ōshi Shigeru]

Shigeru still couldn’t believe it, if he was being honest. Having the honour of being his clan’s head was special enough, but having been contacted by none other than Lady Shimako was another thing entirely. He hadn’t thought she’d remembered their talk of weapons the few times they’d met, or even him, given how important of a figure she was within the village. She had to be very busy with her duties, and had to have met many people! It was exciting to know he’d been remembered. Though he wasn’t entirely certain why she’d contacted him! He supposed he’d have to find out, he mused, walking to the spot he’d been asked to meet her. 

The place was relatively quiet, out of the way enough that few people visited. Little chance for interruption this way. He approved, whatever was to be discussed today sounded quite serious and at least a little urgent. Worth listening to what she had to say, at least. As the head of the Ōshi it would be quite rude to ignore the summons of his village’s sage, no matter what the matter was. He would not ignore her, he had more class than that.

He’d brought his equipment with him in case it was to be another discussions on weapons. His large scroll was on his back, the smaller of his scrolls hanging from his hip. Even his weapons pouches had been strapped to his thighs, though his outfit didn’t have the usual short pants he wore as everyday wear. He’d opted for longer, more fitted clothes today, albeit still formal enough to befit his status. Now, all he had to do was wait for the person he was meeting. He did hope she wouldn’t be late, her thoughts on weaponry had always fascinated him.

[Arai Shimako]

As much as Shimako hated to admit it, she wasn't getting getting any younger. Sure, she still had a long life ahead of her, but she'd been contemplating her own mortality more and more since that last rough mission she'd had. If she were to die out on the field, there would be no one who had been fully trained in the way of the hawk. It was about time that she selected a protege or two, some people she believed she could entrust with her abilities, and someone who she thought could tolerate the spirited hawks.

There were many bright pupils within Sunagakure, but one in particular came to mind when she began to consider this topic - a genin she'd met with on a few occasions, Ōshi Shigeru. He shared her fondness for weaponry and had a lot of mechanical skill, something which might allow him to make unique use of what the hawks had to offer.

So she summoned him to meet with her. She arrived right on schedule, deciding that being fashionably late wouldn't exactly suit the seriousness of the conversation she was about to initiate.

"Hello! Good morning," she greeted, chipper as ever, unsurprised to see someone so self-serious as Shigeru had shown up just a little ahead of schedule. "I'm glad to see my summons reached you. I was almost worried you'd be too busy with your clan affairs." Testing the waters. She doesn't want to put him under the strain of apprenticeship if he is already overwhelmed.

[Ōshi Shigeru]

”Good morning, Lady Shimako. It is an honour to speak with you again.” He responded, sweeping into a bow that was perhaps a touch lower than strictly necessary. Politically speaking he had a decent amount of power, but it paled in comparison to their one and only sage. He respected her a great deal, and bowing this low was a sign of utmost respect. Straightening up, he noted the second half of her words. It was true he was busy, but making time for important meetings was easy enough. ”Please do not worry yourself over it, Lady Shimako. It is true I’m busy as the head of my clan, but delegation is an important skill to learn. I can afford to set aside a few tasks and take the morning off.”

His reply was smooth, though inwardly he was about three seconds from spontaneously combusting in excitement. She’d really remembered him, and even his position within the clan! It made him happy to know.

”Might I ask what you have called me here today for, Lady Shimako? It is always wonderful to speak with you, but I must admit I find myself curious as to why you’ve summoned me. It sounded rather important,” he said, folding his hands neatly to await her answer. He was unsure as to her reasons, but it wasn’t as though he minded the summons. Paperwork grew boring after a while, since he couldn’t exactly help in the production of their glass beyond basic supervision.

[Arai Shimako]

The low bow didn't take her that off guard, but there was always going to be a part of her that was surprised by that kind of respect. Shimako had started from very humble beginnings, growing up outside the village in desperate circumstances. She didn't come from any fancy clans or anything like that. Working her way up to her position and gaining the respect she had had been a lot of work. Some days it still amazed her that she had reached the point where someone, especially a clan leader, would do such a thing.

"I've been hearing a decent amount about your progress as a shinobi," she said. Shigeru was competent, collected. Someone with a good head on his shoulders. It was the kind of thing that was needed to engage in sage training and, well, survive it. Shimako didn't want to bring just anyone into the study because it could go wrong very quickly if someone didn't have the proper self-control. She trusted Shigeru to be a good student.

"Your weapon expertise is developing soundly and you seem like you have a good career ahead of you. It was for this reason that I wanted to extend on offer. To ask if you would like to train with me. Not just in weaponry, but in the knowledge of senjutsu." A rare offer. Possibly an intimidating one - it wasn't the kind of thing everyone on the planet wanted to learn.

[Ōshi Shigeru]

If Shimako was paying attention, she’d see the exact moment when Shigeru’s mind ground to a halt. Golden eyes widened, every inch of him sporting the same stunned, surprised expression. Shigeru may have had excellent composure for his age, but at the end of the day he was still a boy. Even he would falter when asked such a question by someone he respected a great deal. Shimako was at the top of his list, above even their kage, who he’d never met. Such an offer was enough to make him freeze entirely.

It took a few moments for the boy to collect himself, stunned as he was. Reigning in his emotions, Shigeru recovered enough to manage to look directly at Shimako, at least, ”You would ask this of me, Lady Shimako? Truly? I’m honoured by your offer, but are you certain of this?” he asked, not quite managing to wipe the shock and slight excitement off his face. This couldn’t be real, could it? Lady Shimako wanted him as an apprentice? ”I would love nothing more than to accept your offer, if you’re sure of this. I’ve looked up to you for quite some time now.” and indeed he had looked up to her. While puppetry wasn’t quite the same as specializing in Bukijutsu, it was similar enough to draw interesting parallels. Puppeteers needed a good understanding of weaponry themselves, after all. Both areas of expertise were well paired with the village’s sage contract. This was something that would only elevate his power, if he were to pull it off.

[Arai Shimako]

That look of surprise was very gratifying! Shimako had never been sure if she wanted kids herself, but seeing a young one so starry-eyed certainly opened her mind to the possibility. Legacy first, that kind of silly worry later, Shimako. It was important to keep herself in the moment and to discuss the full ramifications of this offer with Shigeru.

"I've been thinking about it for a while," she assured him. He was clearly surprised, shocked at being extended such a prestigious offer. She needed to build the young man's confidence! "I had to consider carefully who I wanted to teach. Learning to manipulate senjutsu is not something that comes naturally to everyone. It's a very delicate practice. I needed someone who was mindful, detail-oriented, responsible. Someone I got along with well, also, of course," she joked.

"I think that you have what it takes to make an excellent apprentice. And I think that with our similar interest in weaponry, I can teach you very well how to make the best use of it." Even if their styles only slightly overlapped.

"However, as I said, it can be a very difficult thing to learn. I don't want to distract you from your other important business. Thus why I wanted to speak to you about it. I wanted to know if you had any questions or concerns about the process." She wanted him to be knowledgeable going in!

[Ōshi Shigeru]

It took a few moments, but Shigeru managed to completely regain his composure as he listened to Shimako speak. His mind was whirling, turning over all the possibilities in his head as she explained to him. Really, this was quite the offer to be extended! Surely nobody could blame him for being surprised, right?

Clearing his throat, the boy gave his own response to his would-be mentor. ”I’m not sure I’d you’re aware of this, my lady, but I’ve been bounced around from sensei to sensei since I became a genin. While my work with my clan is definitely not small, I’d welcome a steady mentor, regardless of how difficult the subject being taught is to learn. I have some confidence in myself and my abilities and would love to learn from you. I’m sure you’ll be an excellent sensei, Lady Shimako. Though I suppose my biggest question would have to be regarding allegiances. I know you are an ally of the village, but not necessarily beholden to it. How would that work with me, since my clan is more involved in the village? We’re already expected to be relatively neutral, but would I be expected to distance myself from village politics that aren’t related to my clan?”

Pausing to take a breath, the genin took a moment to look up at Shimako. Senjutsu was an extremely unique and powerful thing, and being able to learn it was practically a dream come true. However, he had to be certain he would still be able to work with his clan. It wouldn’t do to abandon them just because he got a mentorship offer, after all! No matter how prestigious the offer was.

[Arai Shimako]

An interesting question! And a very fair one. Shimako had always interacted with village politics in a very peculiar way. Sages were meant to be neutral forces, acting almost as balancing agents to their villages in a way. A shinobi village answered to its Lord, who answered to the Daimyo, and while a Sage would coordinate and help either, their primary allegiance was to the natural order and to themselves. Still, most sages did not get so involved with village organizations as Shimako. Being a part of the puppet corps already set her apart in the world of sages, she was aware. Of course, she had joined those ranks because of her fascination with the topic and enjoyment of the world, not for political reasons...

She contemplated it for a second, tapping her bottom lip with her nail as she considered all the intricacies. At the end of the day, a sage was free.

"It's not my duty to tell you what you can and cannot do with your life," she decided on. That seemed like a fair assessment to her.

"I know your bond with your clan and its politics is important, and you cannot ignore the rest of the village's politics if you want to be the best leader you can be. So, so long as you believe you can successfully balance both, I don't mind if you continue to be involved in politics. You might even learn important lessons as a sage that will make you better. ...Just don't try to become the Kazekage," Shimako joked.

[Ōshi Shigeru]

”I think I’d die if I became Kazekage in addition to apprenticing with you and being a clan leader. I’d surely never sleep!” Shigeru joked right back, laughing just a little. It wasn’t exactly wrong, either. He was busy enough, and that would only add more onto his plate. Maybe in another life, where he hadn’t become the clan head… but certainly not now. He had much more important things to focus on. His clan was far above the village in his books, though he did love his home.

”I’m relieved that my duties won’t get in the way as long as I keep up, though. My clan is far too important to me to abandon, even for an opportunity like this one,” he added, looking thoughtful. Oh, it would still be hard work. There would still be times when he was too tired to move from all the work he’d have to do. He’d have to learn the art of delegation as well. But, he wanted to do it. Surely his clan, and his uncle, would understand how much this chance meant to him? Even if they didn’t, the former leader would back him. He was going to do this if it killed him! There was no way he’d pass it up.

”I’ll have to think on other questions, but that was my biggest one. I’ll let you know if I have any others! Miscommunication in instances like these could lead to pretty severe consequences, after all.”

[Arai Shimako]

Probably! Being a shinobi was already such busy work. Shimako herself juggled a decent amount with her two positions and even then she was hardly among the busiest in the village. She did not envy the work of the Kazekage and would never seek a role like that herself. She thought of herself as a reasonable and competent person, but certainly wouldn't want to deal with all that pressure. Too many early grey hairs for her taste.

In any case, she was glad that they had worked that one out. Miscommunications in this case could have really severe consequences, he was right about that.

"Good. I'll be happy to answer anything you're curious about as we go through this process!" The hawks she had basically grown up beside would have ideas on how to tutor, she was sure. She'd never had much reason to teach the art of senjutsu herself, so working with her girls was going to be crucial for developing lesson plans. 

Wait - speaking of the hawks...

"As a first step in going down this road, I should probably introduce you to the hawks who taught me senjutsu. You'll be working very closely with them, because they'll be helping with the training as much as I will. Would you like to do that now, or would you want more time to prepare?"

She wouldn't want to spring it on him. She could get a little excitable. And the hawks she summoned most often could have slightly overwhelming personalities.

[Ōshi Shigeru]

”Well, if I am to work alongside them, I should probably meet them early on, no? I certainly wouldn’t say no to meeting the hawks, I did ask someone to take over for the full morning, I have plenty of time.” he responded, neatly folding his hands in front of him. Of course he wanted to meet the hawks who’d trained his new mentor! After all, she was the coolest, and if the hawks had trained her they had to be really strong as well. Even stronger, probably. They were sage animals after all.

The teen smiled up at Shimako, plenty eager himself. His eyes were practically sparkling, he wondered if they’d be able to get some training in. Or would Shimako be too busy? He hoped not. She was so strong, getting her to train him for a little while would be excellent. Though now that he’d accepted her offer he’d probably have plenty of chances, huh? Being trained by her, and by extension the hawks, was a dream come true. He’d make it work, even if that meant forgoing leisure time. Maybe he wouldn’t sacrifice his sleep yet if he ever wanted to be taller, but he could deal with getting rid of hobbies.

”How much time do you have today, sensei?” he asked, using the title of teacher for Shimako. He hoped she didn’t mind that too much.

[Arai Shimako]

Sensei? She hadn't been called a sensei before! That was a strange new feeling. She'd been called a superior officer and such, naturally, considering her position within the military, especially with regards to the Puppet Corps, but she'd honestly never directly trained anyone up before, at least not as thoroughly as she would have to with her sage training. That would take some adjusting to. It wasn't bad, though, being called that. It already made her glow with a bit of pride - she was such a sucker for kids!

"I have plenty of time," Shimako said, beaming at Shigeru. It seemed he was as eager to meet the hawks as she was to introduce them, and she was more than happy to spend a little extra time doing that this morning rather than waiting on it. Maybe she should start with one of her more mild-mannered hawks, rather than bringing in the big guns immediately. That seemed like a reasonable idea to her.

"Here, let me call on them and we can have a proper meeting," she said. She bit her thumb to draw her blood, then performed a series of five hand seals, before holding her hand out and sending out a pulse of chakra.

Her call was answered by Gaman, a silver hawk with metallic blue accents about her neck and striking red feathers on her wings, who stood startlingly tall for a hawk. She was sixteen feet at her full height and her wings were very large. In her spot next to Shimako, she tilted her head at Shigeru, leaning down. She exuded a steady confidence, and her voice was smooth.

"Well, hello there, little one," Gaman greeted. "You must be one of the shinobi Shimako has told us about."

"That's right. This is Ōshi Shigeru. And Shigeru, this is Gaman."

[Ōshi Shigeru]

Shimako certainly didn’t waste time, the genin was beginning to find. It seemed almost as quickly as he had answered her, she was responding back on her own and then summoning a rather large hawk to meet him. As the hawk seemed to bend down to examine him, the blue-haired teenager swept into the same respectful bow he had for Shimako- after all, these were sage animals. They deserved a certain kind of respect as his master’s summons and as the village’s connection to having a sage of their own.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Gaman. I am Ōshi Shigeru, a genin and the head of the Ōshi clan,” he said, returning to his proper upright posture after a couple of seconds. Studying the hawk, the genin couldn’t help but note how big she was. Shimako had probably summoned one of the lower ranked ones for the sake of demonstration, and if even the lower ranked hawks were this big, how big were the boss summons? He already felt short next to Shimako, but these guys were massive!

He wondered how soft their feathers were for a second before shaking the thought out of his head. He needed to focus! There would be time for that later. Right now he was meant to be making a good impression on the hawks. Shimako had chosen him, but that was no guarantee that the hawks themselves would allow him to sign their contract, nor agree to help teach him sage mode. Their approval meant just as much, if not more, than Shimako’s.

”May I ask what your specialties are? I’ve never met a summons before, let alone summons who are contracted with my village’s sage! It’s fascinating to imagine how differently you must fight from any normal companion animal.”

[Arai Shimako]

"Straight to business," Gaman joked mildly, tilting her head at Shigeru. She had a bit of a piercing gaze, not unlike a vulture, but she didn't seem unfriendly. "I can see why you chose this one, Shimako. He seems responsible." The great bird ruffled her feathers, standing up straighter. "I focus primarily on physical combat. Taijutsu, you humans call it. I excel in ninjutsu as well. Many of us hawks train in the realm of trading talons."

"She's a very agile foe, too. If you ever need to practice your aim, or your reaction speed, she's a good partner," Shimako informed Shigeru, patting Gaman's wing. "No need to worry about hurting her, because she's also very tough."

Gaman laughed. "You're already sicking the kid on me?"

"Not yet," Shimako hummed. "Do you think Kin and Gin will approve of him signing the contract?"

Gaman ruffled her feathers again. "You know how they are. You're practically a daughter to Gin. She'd let you get away with anything. Kin will throw a fit, but he threw one when you were brought in, too." She leaned down to be at eye-level with Shigeru when she spoke. "If the old bird offers to train with you, it's a trick. He'll try to kill you to make you prove you're strong enough."

"He tried that on me," Shimako confirmed, with a sigh. "I won't let him do that to you, though!"

With the blessings of at least one of the hawks extended, Shimako produced the contract of the hawks. She was the only name currently upon the contract - the hawks did not trust humans lightly. She extended it to Shigeru.

"It requires a signature in blood. I'll have to introduce you to the elders and Agana another day, when we begin your training." Usually she wasn't the type to say better to ask forgiveness than permission, but she'd been speaking with the hawks for a while about her intent to train apprentices. This wouldn't really come as a surprise to any of them, even the grouchy old Kin.

[Ōshi Shigeru]

”Interesting. If the rest of you have similar specializations I think we will work well together. I use wind-enhanced weaponry, mostly twin longswords and a longbow. Luckily, getting my body into better shape shouldn’t be much of an issue!” Shigeru mused, sharp mind already fixing on a few ideas of how he could work with the hawks if accepted. ”Agile as well, you say? I might just have to test Kazaha against you in a spar sometime, then, if you are amenable. Fuuton helps to lighten the blade, in turn making my swordplay much faster than one would expect from a sword nearly as tall as me.”

Much of his thoughts were divided into two directions. Half of his mind paid attention to Shimako and her words, noting a "Kin” that might be a problem if he made any missteps during the introductory phase. The bit about trying to kill him Gaman had said did produce a spike of worry, but he crushed it down ruthlessly. He had no place for fear, if he was to walk the path that seemed to be sprawling out before him. It would be difficult, no doubt, but since when had he ever been one to back down from a challenge? He wasn’t clan head for nothing!

He nodded along to both hawk and summoner’s next words, only raising an eyebrow when the contract was produced in front of him. ”Blood, you say? May as well show you my main weapon to do it then.” He stated, reaching one hand behind his back to slowly unfurl and unseal the scroll that held his weapons. Kazaha emerged into his hand after moments, which he did not hesitate to slice across his finger in order to sign the contract with. A clean cut was much easier to keep from becoming infected. His movements were precise, not hesitating as he moved to place his own signature on the contract. Only after finishing and stepping back did he wipe the blood off his blade, the shallow slice he’d made already slowing in bleeding. He didn’t put it away, yet, giving master and summons both a chance to look at the blade. His main type of weaponry was something he’d discussed with Shimako in the past, but he had yet to show her the custom Fuuton blade.

Golden eyes were now fixed carefully on the hawk and on his new master, bowing once again. ”Thank you for this chance. I will study diligently.”