Dawn of defense

[CDF]

"Sir?"

Part of his mind heard the assistant, but the rest of his consciousness was too focused on the day. He sat in his personally-designed chair, facing away to look out the large, thick windows he had installed behind him so that he could look out into the village. His mind was working its magic, using the full extent of his imagination to play out the many simulations he was considering potential results from his meeting today.

He was running at optimal commitment. For the last three months, a sense of foreboding had come over him. A intuitive feeling that something was going to go wrong. He was usually the type to dismiss such vague feelings, but experience had taught him to trust his intuition. The mind was capable of piecing together invisible clues and pieces of information to warn of what may come, and in a mind such as his, that could at times be as good as getting an tiny peek into the future.

The feeling only grows with each day, and as it grows, so does his desire to ensure the village is ready for anything, including his death. He began with Kiyori, she was his first instrument of stability. She would lead the new SoS that he envisioned to help fulfill his dreams for information sharing and also exporting Suna's culture to the rest of the world, along with serving as a launching point for some other plans of his that weren't quite worth fully fleshing out yet.

For now, it was time to look inward. He was fulfilling to objectives today: further securing the village and gaining another trusted lieutenant. Kiyori was to be his replacement, though she did not know it, but both the current and next Kazekage will need a new generation of carefully groomed and utilized set of shinobi. With his ability to pick out talent and mold it, he needed to begin recognizing, promoting and delegating the more talented among his troops.

And that's why he had sent out for young Shigekuni. He knew the shinobi's history well and they have worked together before. Hito knows potential when he sees it, and this task was one meant for somebody special, with a promising future.

Clearing his throat finally, startling the assistant who had been patiently and quietly waiting, he spoke.

"Yes, sorry. Don't send out invitations to the Eidolon recruits, I'm going to want the leader to bring them in personally. I do want more information, though. It's vital that we know as much about these recruits as possible, so quietly get more information including interviews and family bios so we can know everything about what makes them tick. And make sure nobody disturbs me for the next two hours, this is going to be an important meeting. Leave the door open."

And with that, he waited, simulations still abuzz.

[Tsedas]

Tufts of white sailed across the blue sky above Sunagakure, the cooler air coming in from the North told Tenjirou Shigekuni that the seasons were due to change. While it wouldn't make too much of a significant impact in the desert, it sure made some days a little more bearable during the mornings and evenings. Like now for instance, the Sun was past it's peak in the sky, the clouds were trying to blot it out behind them, and the afternoon was cooler because of it. A perfect time to finish his training regime and relax for a minute before he went about looking to indulge in his next item on his current to-do list.

Reaching his home and going about getting a quick shower, Shigekuni stepped out into his apartment and dried himself off before grabbing pants and slipping them on. With a fluid and practiced motion, he buttoned it up and grabbed his shirt before he heard a knock at his door. Turning his head he stared at the thing before a voice called through saying they had a summons from the Kazekage. Telling them he'd be right there, Shigekuni's head turned and he saw himself in the mirror. It still made him clench his teeth as he saw himself, one arm missing from the shoulder. Pulling his shirt on, Shigekuni unclenched his jaw and opened his front door. The person outside handed him the summons and promptly left as Shigekuni used his teeth to grip the tie around the scroll and pulled it open with his teeth and read it as it dangled in front of him.

Once again, Ouji Hito had left the details vague and he knew he'd only find out once he arrived at the Kage's office for his meeting with him. Setting the scroll on his table, the Chuunin gathered up his things and headed out, locking the door behind him.

-----------------------

Arriving at the Kage's office, Shigekuni navigated the building from memory until he found himself outside the man's door. The assistant was about to rise and go let Hito know his appointment had arrived but Shigekuni didn't bother waiting, he merely walked over to the open door and knocked on the frame. "You sent me a summons?" Shigekuni asked, but it came out more like a statement.

[CDF]

Once he heard the voice at the door, he was immediately reminded that he was getting way of ahead of himself. He had a habit of acting as if his plans were already a success and at times forgot to account for the now. Correcting himself in the moment, he stood up and walked towards the door.

This wasn't the candidate he envisioned for the leadership position. Not yet. This was currently the young shinobi he had read about in his reports, confused, lost and withdrawn.

"Shigekuni-kun! I did indeed, please come in," He gave a small bow before motioning to a chair in front of his desk and returning to his own seat, looking him straight in the eye. "Before we begin, how are you? We haven't spoken in a long time, and a lot has happened since then." Hito knew Shigekuni was of his type in the sense that he much preferred cutting straight to the point, but still, some beating around the bush was necessary. He had to get a better feel for the young shinobi's mental state before he pressed forward.

[Tsedas]

Shigekuni returned the bow, holding his a little longer before righting himself. Noticing the Kage motion toward a chair before sitting down behind his desk, Shigekuni approached and removed his kasa hat as he sat down, placing the head covering between his legs to keep it from just flopping over on the floor. As they were seated, Hito started with small talk and asked him how he was. Keeping a stoic expression, Shigekuni stared at the village leader before one of his eyebrows twitched, almost like it wanted to raise itself in a question nature. "Kage-sama, even when you're busy with dozens of pet projects and plans, you've never failed to do some research on something. If you called me here, I'm sure it wasn't just to catch up. Frankly, if you haven't looked into what I've been up to since our last meeting before this one, I'd be rather shocked."

Reaching up, Shigekuni undid the clasp on his cloak before letting it fall off his shoulders and crumple up around him on the chair. Doing so revealed the dangling sleeve on his left side, showing he was lacking something at the shoulder most people had. "I've lost an arm, I've lost Yosei, I've had to retrain almost everything I knew about combat from the basics on up and I had to learn how to perform one handed seals in order to utilize Ninjutsu again. I've spent months and months getting myself back up to mission ready status and even then I've had to undergo countless examinations and evaluations in order to regain my status as a shinobi thanks to the incident that almost killed me. That's my time in a nutshell."

Shigekuni felt a twinge of pain in his left hand and had to bite the inside of his cheek a little to try and ignore the phantom pain that rose up now and again.

[CDF]

Despite the severity of the situation, Hito couldn't help but smile. He loved this kind of attitude, though most with his level of authority despised it. Somebody who could cut through the bullshit, even though he was considered a god. Somebody that knew what they felt and made those feelings clear. This was a promising start, if not a bit of an abrasive one. Good. This was more like the person he had in mind for the job.

Hito's appearance changed slightly in response, oddly, he looked more comfortable all of a sudden. His smile remained and his tone was now more casual:

"Fair enough. I have been briefed, and I do know your situation. Your evaluations have been informative, but lacking. I hear that you've adapted spectacularly and as strong as most of your two-handed counterparts, yet reports also tell indicate low confidence and self esteem. So tell me, what do you think you still have to offer the village?" The tone was casual, but the content was anything but. He figured this was the best method with Shigekuni. He had to first know how he felt about himself and see if it could be reversed.