Pakin shuffled into the large office, immediately feeling a little trapped without any wall windows. A small, unlit fireplace on the right wall did relieve some of the cramped atmosphere, while the many book and scroll shelves, massive carpet, and dark, calming tones added a more homely vibe.
The most striking element of the room was the massive stone mural carved into the wall behind a large desk. The central focus of the mural was a hollow mountain covered in dozens of clouds. Inside the mountain, stylized shinobi were depicted holding up the entire stone structure from within. At the bottom of the mountain were two lines of people, entering the mountain and adding to the horde inside. It was gorgeously stylized, with the shinobi inside looking both stoic and proud, the clouds carved in the style of the Kumo emblem, and the background depicting a varied landscape of huts and buildings.
Osako made her way past Pakin and sat down behind the large hardwood desk, the mural above her giving added weight to her presence. She motioned to two plush chairs in front of the desk and said, “Please have a seat, Pakin.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He obliged and sat carefully in one of the seats provided. His bruises were almost entirely yellow, but he still felt pretty stiff.
Osako folded her hands onto her desk and said, “You’re in the program now, Pakin, so you can call me Director or Director Osako.”
Pakin almost replied automatically, but stopped himself as he digested her wording. “I’m sorry, Director Osako, but I thought I was being interviewed in order to join the program.” The older woman smiled knowingly at him, and the expression sent a shiver down his spine.
What was that?
His discomfort must’ve shown on his face, because Osako quickly tried to ease his anxieties, “It’s alright Pakin, this isn’t some test or trick. Normally, the process would be, I give you a quick interview and ask if you’d like to join the program. However, ” She reached into a drawer under her desk and retrieved a folder. “You are a special case.”
Pakin patiently waited as Osako opened the folder and began reading from the files inside. “Born in the village of Fuwayama, to Gakin and Mera. You were diagnosed with chakra wasting at birth and given an expected life expectancy of eleven years. Miraculous recovery at the age of ten. Recruited by Chunin Gera based on praise from your neighbors and family, as well as her own assessment.” She looked up from the folder and asked, “Correct so far?”
Pakin mutely nodded as he started to sweat a little. What the hell, why does she have a file on me? No, wait. That’s stupid, you’re joining the program. Of course, she’d have a file on a prospective student. He breathed out and tried to calm down, but the paranoid part of him screamed that he was about to get thrown in a cell and interrogated for body snatching.
Osako didn’t react to his discomfort this time; instead, she read from the folder in her hand. “Chunin Gera subjected you to a test of endurance to gauge your seriousness about the program. You passed, and she was rather impressed. She then began instructing and training you to prepare for the Academy. She marks your diligence and comprehension skills as ‘adequate’, while noting your absorption of theoretical material as ‘freakishly good’. Care to comment on that part, Pakin?”
Oh shit. Pakin could feel himself starting to sweat as he blurted out his usual response, “Back home, I spent a lot of time learning from my neighbors. They taught me all kinds of stuff, about science, math, history, and stuff like that.”
Osako nodded sagely at his answer and replied, “You’re lucky to have such knowledgeable neighbors. When I was a kid, most of my neighbors could barely read and write. That was a different time, though.” She seemed lost in the memory for a moment before continuing her summary, “After your first two weeks of training, Chunin Gera adjusted your schedule and curriculum to accommodate a harsher training regimen. She noted that you took to this new schedule well and showed exceptional growth during this time. She also notes an incident in Yoshiwara. I won’t make you go into that, but I would like to tell you that the person who took you to that bar is being investigated as we speak.”
Pakin’s breathing slowed as the news brought him closer to reality. Oh, he thought, she’s just checking on me. I guess some crazy stuff did happen while we were traveling. He meekly replied, “That’s good.”
Osako smiled briefly, but grew serious as she broached the next topic. “Now, there’s also a report here about another incident. You stopped in the town of Ide and continued your training as usual. However, Chunin Gera discovered a rogue sensory-nin in the area and decided to apprehend him.”
She set the file down and looked directly at Pakin for the next portion of her summary, “After multiple days of back and forth, the sensory-nin, for reasons unknown, decided to hide in the room she had rented at the local inn. You woke up and heard his weapons rattling nearby, so you tried to exit the room and wait outside for Chunin Gera to return. Instead, the criminal was alerted to your awareness and chased you through the hotel. You received multiple injuries, and the criminal was killed by Chunin Gera.”
“Yes, Director Osako, that’s what happened.” Left unsaid by Pakin was how all that related to him getting into the program.
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“Tell me, Pakin. How was your training with Gera? Was it difficult?” Osako asked, leaning back in her chair.
“It was very difficult, Director. Probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever done in my life.”
“Then why did you continue to follow the regimen?”
It was a simple question with a simple answer. “Because I needed to, Director. I’m sure it says so in my medical records, but my body is still affected by the years of illness. So, I need to work hard to become a good shinobi.”
“Fair enough,” Osako replied. “Now, tell me how you gained access to the red light district in Yoshiwara.”
I guess that’s not technically asking about the incident. Pakin frowned, but answered her question regardless. “I watched the streets leading to the district for an hour every day after the first time I was turned away by a store owner nearby. I figured out that the shopkeepers and homeowners nearby took shifts keeping watch over the streets and shortcuts that went to the district. I noticed one homeowner who fell asleep about thirty minutes into the start of her watch, and after confirming the pattern the next day, I snuck past her into an alleyway that led onto the district's main street.”
Osako nodded at his answer, like he’d said the correct thing. At least, that’s what he hoped she was doing.
“Okay. Tell me about the night you were attacked. I’ve gotten Chunin Gera’s report, but I’d like to hear it directly from you.”
Pakin sighed as he remembered his stupid mistake and the resulting injuries and chase. He quickly recounted the events of that night, feeling the cut on his cheek tense up as he described the chase.
“Then I felt something bounce off my shin, and Gera scooped me up. After that, Dr. Hari patched my cheek up and made sure I wasn’t gonna bleed out. That’s about it.”
He left out the moment he and Gera had shared outside the inn. That was personal and ultimately unimportant to someone like Osako.
The director stared at Pakin briefly, reminding him of Kintaro’s judgmental stare from last night. Her gaze relented without any bowing or scraping required, and she spun her chair around to gaze at the stone mural on her wall.
“You showed tenacity, sticking with such grueling training without any prior experience in the shinobi arts. You showed cunning and a bit of cheek, getting past the watchful folks in Yoshiwara. You showed intelligence, forward thinking, and an incredible amount of luck in handling that missing-nin.”
She waited a moment, and Pakin figured she was waiting for a response, so he said, “Thank you, Director Osako.”
“You’re welcome. Each of those traits is desirable in any shinobi. All of them together, though? That is a recipe for a great shinobi.” Osako turned around in her chair and continued, “I created this program, in part, to alleviate the gap in quality between our recruited genin and other villages' recruited genin. However, the main reason I created this program was to take kids like you and give them the chance to become something more than a goat farmer, or a miner, or a blacksmith’s son. I created this program to create great shinobi and add more of my recruited brothers and sisters to the rank of Jonin.”
Pakin’s heart swelled with Osako’s speech. Could I really become a Jonin? He’d imagined learning impressive jutsu and completing exciting missions, but nothing as concrete as becoming a Jonin. The Jonin in the show were monsters that could change the tide of battle merely with their presence, or complete missions that saved the village from destruction. Could he really become someone like that?
“That is why you are already admitted to the program, Pakin. Because I believe in your potential to become a Jonin like me.” She beamed at Pakin from across the desk, and he found himself smiling along with her.
“Does that answer your question, Pakin?” Osako asked him.
“Yes, director! It does!” He replied, almost saluting before remembering shinobi don’t do that.
“Good! Now, if you don’t have any questions for me, that concludes your interview.”
Pakin tried to think of something to ask her, but found his mind coming up blank. He was so excited to start that he wished they could start lessons right away. “No, director. Not that I can think of right now.”
Osako slapped the top of her desk enthusiastically and rose from her seat. “In that case, you’re free to leave.” She walked with Pakin to the door and asked, “Do you need me to walk you back, or do you think you can find your way to the office?”
She’s probably busy. I can find my way back, I’m Jonin material after all! Pakin laughed internally at his bravado and said, “I remember the way, thank you, Director Osako!”
He left feeling better than he had in a while.
Osako waited for Pakin to round the bend towards the connecting hallway before shutting her door and returning to her desk.
Well, that went better than expected. Osako had been worried that Pakin would see through all her praise and vague questioning, but he’d gone along with her story. He's smart, but a kid’s still a kid.
She got hot in the face, remembering how unprepared she’d been when Goro had knocked on her door. Stupid fucking Musashi. Wasting electricity, what a joke. She reached into the same drawer she’d pulled Gera’s report from and pulled out the papers she’d hastily thrown inside.
She reread the paper's title, ‘A Meta Study of Chronic Chakra Illness in Shinobi: Correlations Between Unique Bodily Constitutions and Amplified Physical Energy.’
A fucking mouthful, but I’m glad I found it. Gera had worked as an educator for half a decade, so she understood the importance of investing in potential early. Laying the groundwork could only benefit her in the future, since each successful student was one more point in favor of her program. Each of those points meant more funding and more accomplishments on her resume. It was hard to climb the ladder as a Jonin, but Osako was very driven.
