An Unexpected Invitation [Req. Osu]

[Siu]

"Medical Branch..." The young Genin mumbled musingly on her way to the universally renowned medical facility. It was a thought she'd never even considered before, neither one which she'd ever assumed she 'needed' to consider. These past few weeks had definitely been full of all kinds of unexpected surprises, and the letter she'd received at her door from Kiri a few days ago was one of them. The previous days spent sitting at home in an attempt to consider the best possible decision for her future own her own, did nothing more than mentally fatigue her and give her a minor headache. It was quite difficult to effectively weigh the pros and cons of something you'd never even experienced the reality of before. Therefore, she'd require a firsthand explanation detailing exactly how all this would play out, before being able to make a clear decision for herself.
Interestingly enough, it was not so much as the Medical Branch itself which drew the young girl's intrigue, but moreso her actual inviter. The personality behind the letter she'd read seemed far different from most shinobi she'd been used to encountering; This person actually appeared to possibly have a 'soul' of some sort, with living and breathing emotions. And furthermore...

"What 'kind' of books, exactly?" The young kunoichi continued to muse upon with burning interest, as she make her entrance through the hospital doors, her eyes looking upward somewhat in thought. "And just 'how' many books?"

"Good morning! May I help you?" Inquired the nurse from the counter.

"Yes, I umm...am here to see a..." The youth began with an awkward pause, reaching into her back pocket in order to unfold a paper and read through it's contents. "Chi..go..kai..Osu..te..na." She eventually informed. The nurse blinked a few times with a rather blanked faced expression in response; Had she pronounced that correctly?

"Do you have an appointment?" The nurse eventually would inquire.

"Appointment?" The youth repeated back, as if the word were entirely foreign to here. She needed an appointment?

The nurse looked away from the teen in order to organize some papers, seeming almost to nonverbally dismiss her immediately after the inquiry. "Appointments must be scheduled before every meeting. Our employees are quite busy." The woman continued in what appeared to be a rather routine like fashion.

"Ah. I apologize. I wasn't aware that--"

"If you'd like to schedule an appointment, please check your available times on this sheet." The nurse continued, handing a clipboard with quite a few papers attached to it in front of the young girl in order for her to look over, along with a pen.

"Oh, um..I thank you very much. However I--"

"Please, also ensure to include your name and contact."

"Erm, well I--"

"As well as a short summery of the purpose of your visit."

"But I.."

"For further inquir---

"No, look!" Interrupted the young Genin, having lost her patience, as she held out the previously read letter in front of the nurse to get her point across. The kunoichi, although it very well could have appeared otherwise, hadn't quite meant to come off as aggressive. Her outburst was more along the lines of a suppressed child who desperately needed to express something. Even so, the youth's sudden outburst resulted in a fair number of heads within the surrounding area turning towards her general direction, causing the young girl to guiltily blush.

Surprisingly enough, aside from a somewhat started flinch, the woman at the counter appeared to remain predominately calm. Perhaps, she was quite used to such occurrences? Calmly eyeing the held document for a bit, the nurse's pupils dilated in recognition, before she gave her attention back to the young kunoichi.
"Ah, a formal request! Well, why didn't you say so earlier?" The hospital worker nonchalantly replied with a faintly curled smile. The youth found herself rather speechless Reaching into a drawer under the counter, and rustling through a few papers, the woman eventually removed what appeared to be a miniature map of the establishment, and laid it out across the counter for the young girl to see. Pulling a marker from the pen cup, and shaking it a few times, the nurse then popped the cap and drew a line on the map from the younger female's current location, to her desired destination. "Once you read this this hallway, a few doors to the left you should see the nametag on the door for their office." It wouldn't be a short walk...

"T-Thank you very much. I'm sorry..I--." Siu replied with a formal and apologetic bow, before turning away to walk towards her destination, her face still bright red. The kunoichi could not even remember the last time she'd been to the hospital. For general ailments, such as the usual cold, she generally just took herbal medicine, drank hot tea, and slept the day away. Rarely did she ever have a purpose to visit the medical facility; That was...until today at least.

Navigating through the gigantic medical facility, while observing the establishment's various hospital employees go about their busy work, everything looked so foreign to the young girl. This kind of work and routine seemed completely beyond her, as if she were from an entirely different realm. It made her more fervently question why in the world anyone would invite, and furthermore, even trust someone like her to work in such a field as this, where everything appeared almost completely unrelated to any of her currently known talents and specialties.
Upon finally reaching the door of her destination, the kunoichi tightened her fist as her heartrate began to nervously increase. What should she expect?

"Just tea for now.." The young girl reaffirmed herself, before mustering up the courage to raise a hand, and finally knock upon the door.

 

[Osuteno]

“Come in,” called a feminine voice from inside the office right as Siu’s hand was about to connect with the door. When she entered the room she would find an office lined wall to wall and then some with file cabinets and a large oddly industrial shelf along one wall completely filled with books. A desk was partially hidden by a combination of file cabinets, scrolls, engineering paper filled with sketches and calculations, and more books.

Behind the desk a purple haired individual wearing a Yukata looked up from what one might assume was a book filled with ancient and cursed knowledge based on the cover (if one had an overactive imagination that is) and put it aside with a pleasantly surprised expression.

“I wasn’t sure to expect you this soon. Come in, come in and have a… oh here let me move some of these books to let you have a seat, pardon the mess. Do you prefer Jasmine or Matcha?”

A couple red strings came out from under the desk, one started clearing a seat and the other turned an electric tea kettle on.

After getting Siu’s preference and getting the tea started Osu leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk, and face leaned slightly above clasped hands. “You’ve read my letter, and you are here, so let’s just skip to the part where you have a number of questions to ask.”

 

[Siu]

The youth slightly jumped at sound the sudden invitation, startled. Her presence was obviously known before she'd even knocked on the door. Remaining motionless for a few seconds, she'd eventually muster enough courage again in order to turn the door knob and finally enter. To the kunoichi's surprise, what she'd entered into looked more like a file storage room of some sort, rather than her mental image of what a medical office would be like.
Eyeing the array of file cabinets, her young mind inquired what sorts of documents and records could possibly be inside to require such a number of them, before turning to take notice of yet another unexpected sight, her pupils dilating with great interest. "Books!" The youth mentally exclaimed. Many, many, many, books. Her young heart immediately raced with enthusiasm, yet she quickly composed herself; outwardly anyways. She was here for a purpose.

“I wasn’t sure to expect you this soon. Come in, come in and have a… oh here let me move some of these books to let you have a seat, pardon the mess. Do you prefer Jasmine or Matcha?”
As the kunoichi's eyes eventually rested upon the image of her invitor behind the crowded desk, they widened in great surprise. "Wow, she is so pretty!" The youth inwardly complimented. "Is she..really, a shinobi?!" It was hard to believe someone could still manage to maintain such a beautiful appearance, despite the life-threatening missions and rigorous training such a life demanded.

Witnessing as two red strings suddenly emerged from under the desk and went about various task, seemingly having a mind of their own, Siu's mental inquiry quickly found itself answered; They were definitely a shinobi. Though, such a jutsu, if it were even to be referred to as that, was definitely something the young kunoichi had never witnessed before.
As time passed, the young Genin eventually realized that she'd literally just been staring at the Medical-Nin in outward silence the entire time. "Oh!" She suddenly noised, before quickly performing a formal bow of introduction. "Please, forgive my impoliteness! It is a wonderful pleasure to meet you, Osutena-san!" Rising up, she took a moment to carefully consider her next response. "And um.." She continued with a pause. "I'll have, Jasmine tea!" Fortunately, her host seemed to have good taste in tea selections.

Taking her seat, Siu was expecting the usual formalities and introductions to take place. However, the older shinobi had jumped straight the heart of matter. The young kunoichi, while she did not mind usual formalities, couldn't have agreed more with the Medical-Nin. Indeed, Siu definitely had a number of questions.
Nodding in response to the statement, a nervous smile curled upon the young girl's lips. Where to start? What to ask? How to word her questions? "Remember why you're here.." She mentally encouraged herself, before looking back up to her host.

"Yes, I received your letter." She eventually acknowledged, reaching back into her pocket in order to remove the said paper again, as if it'd somehow help her to better decide which questions to ask first. "Mr. Kiri-san did not goof off." She naively continued, with a solemn tone.
"I've actually read your letter many times, and i've been thinking a lot about your request. Yet, please forgive me, if I cannot really understand..." Pausing, the youth's eyes slightly traveled downward, her expression appearing rather nervous. "Why 'me'? You know, I was not the best student in the academy, and on top of that, I know absolutely nothing about medicine, hospitals, surgery, or any of those kinds of things. I've never even thought about them before. About the only thing I can decently perform as a shinobi is ninjutsu, and even that i'm not perfect at. So I...I can't really understand; Why would you choose someone like 'me' for a specialized branch such as 'this'? I believe there were many much...better candidates."

 

[Osuteno]

Osu closed his eyes and shook his head with a knowing smile. “It’s actually Osuteno to start off but feel free to call me Osu, I am quite used to it at this point. Why you? Hmmmm.”

Osu opened his eyes to glance at the ceiling, brought one hand up to hold his chin, and the other to hold the opposite elbow. He kept that position as if deep in thought for about 20 seconds before suddenly returning his gaze to Siu and raising the index finger of the hand that was holding his chin up and forward. “It actually has very little to do with your previous educational merits and in fact I couldn’t really care about those other than a mark of how much I need to get you caught up on. I also don’t really mind you knowing anything about medicine or what we do here for the time being, again I can just teach you that. Your skills with ninjutsu will increase under my watch as well will your chakra control, have no doubt of that. None of those things really have anything to do with why I might want you as my direct disciple if you think about it, I thought that would honestly be clear from my letter.”

Osu checked the temperature on the kettle from across the room and started pulling tea leaves out from a container in his desk.

“I grew these myself, among my favorite hobbies is collecting tea plants from here and there and breeding them in a greenhouse I rent. Now with all those silly modest excuses aside the reason is quite simple.

But before that let’s talk a bit about why you came here. It certainly isn’t the medical branch that brought you here, you just said yourself you had never considered it before. It isn’t directly myself either, for you know nothing about me most likely, I am only well known within the walls of this hospital and in certain circles, for better or worse. The reason you are here is that you have yet to really find a path for yourself. None of your teachers thus far have really been the type of shinobi you could imagine yourself being am I correct? You are not battle or strength obsessed like a good number of shinobi around here. You are academic, but you would honestly rather spend your time learning than teaching I would wager. Even among the close competition you had in your exam, Kyo and Suika, you are quite different from. Kyo is logic driven but far too cold, and Suika has an attitude of real concern for her fellow shinobi, or rather people in general, but I fear for her if she ever has to make a choice between doing the right thing and protecting her conscience, for the consequences either way may break her. It isn’t like I would have chosen one of the other two if you weren’t there either, I haven’t even been looking for a general disciple, much less a direct one. I was even asked last minute to be a judge so perhaps some form of fate is involved.” Osu chuckled a bit as if he had told a clever joke, but quickly realized he was starting to go off on a tangent.

“But you were there, and I chose you, in part, for exactly the reason you came here. Whether you realize this yet or not, you thirst for questions. Kyo and Suika and all those teachers you met have their answers for the most part, answers they are content with. I must be strong, I must protect others, I must uphold justice, I must prove myself, I must care for others, I must get rich, I must find comfort, I must be recognized… So many people simply try to get their answer and live by it when they don’t even stop to think what the question really might be. Even worse they think there is only one question. Oh the tea is about ready.”

Osu’s red threads started clearing his desk and setting things up for tea as he finished the preparation of the Jasmine tea with his own two hands and was making sure everything was perfect with a measured eye before serving it as he continued again, holding saucer and a cup towards Siu, the tea in the cup actually rising above the rim but there was precisely enough to form that situation where the liquid doesn’t flow over, instead forming a dome like shape.

“You don’t want to sate your curiosity. What would become of you without it? You want your curiosity to thrive, to be boundless and deep, rich in quality and flavor, and filled past the brim with the spice of life and experiences. You want to take a sip from that cup for once, even with the risk of it overflowing and scalding you if you aren’t steady enough.” Osu held the cup perfectly steady as he held it forward for Siu to take a sip before handing it to her.

“And the other reason I want you as my disciple is that I believe you won’t misuse the questions and answers you find along the way. That you will use your knowledge and experience to do not what is just, or efficient, or profitable, or logical, or kind, or anything like that… I believe you will do what is correct, even when it pains you, even if you hate it or hate yourself for it, because that is the sort of feeling I have of your character, and that you have the sort of determination that will keep you in one piece after you go through such a bitter hell without doubting yourself. Of course I could be wrong, but that is just the sort of kinship I felt from hearing you speak. As for why the medical branch, it is because I will have much more freedom over your schedule to teach you and many of the first questions I am going to help you find are about people and knowing how they tick gives you much insight, not to mention a direct and concrete way to see the results of your knowledge. Oh, sorry, I got a bit ahead of myself. That I would help you find if you become my disciple. Your next set of questions then. Oh I always love the sent of Jasmine.” Osu began drinking from his own cup, obviously pleased with how the tea turned out.

 

[Siu]

With a nod, the young girl blushed in embarrassment, as the older shinobi corrected her mispronunciation of their name. On the bright side of things, however, at least saying Osu was a lot easier than saying Osuteno. As the Medical Nin showed signs of preparing to answer, the youth's eye sparkled in suspense. However, an almost teased expression appeared upon her face, as she observed them unexpectedly pause and delay in what appeared to be deep thought. Though, the act had only been about 20 seconds, Siu, greatly yearning to hear the answer, felt as if it had been hours.

The manner in which her various shortcomings as a kunoichi were easily dismissed, was greatly surprising to the Genin. What she'd assumed to be rather significant flaws to take into consideration, the Medical Nin before her overlooked as basically non-factors easily mended with enough time and training.
Through her host's pause to gather tea leaves, Siu received a few additional moments to more deeply ponder upon their words, as well as connect them with the words written in their letter. While things were beginning to make a bit more sense, she still could help but to ponder; If it obviously wasn't outward talent and skill they were looking for or interested in, then 'what' exactly?

Fortunately, her host would eventually go on to tackle the core of Siu's question. And as they did, the youth could only stare with bug eyed amazement, whilst nodding her head from time to time in nonverbal agreement. It was almost as if they were reading into Siu's very soul. The older shinobi chuckled upon the mentioning of fate, yet Siu couldn't help but to seriously ponder; could this truly have been some form of fate?

“You don’t want to sate your curiosity. What would become of you without it?"
The kunoichi's young mind took a few moments to register the newly introduced logic; An explanation concerning her dilemma she'd neither ever received, nor ever considered. Indeed, it seemed as if every shinobi she'd met, already seemed to have their 'answer'; "This is why I am shinobi." "This is why I fight." "This is what I must protect." Yet Siu, had never find her answer in any of it. When she attempted to adopt such answers to herself, in an attempt to fill that void, something still always felt missing, something still always felt lacking, wanting. As a result, she'd always assumed that something was entirely wrong with her, seeming to be the only one without a clear answer or purpose. Yet, what if not having the answer, 'was' her answer? What if, that very unsated desire to know, 'was' her purpose?
Breaking away from her deep contemplation for a moment, the kunoichi suddenly find herself quite surprised at the realization of just how deeply the Medical Nin's words had sunk into her heart, despite this only being their first conversation together. What, exactly had she walked in to? 'Who' exactly had she agreed to meet? Siu had met many a shinobi before, yet never one like this.

"You want your curiosity to thrive, to be boundless and deep, rich in quality and flavor, and filled past the brim with the spice of life and experiences. You want to take a sip from that cup for once, even with the risk of it overflowing and scalding you if you aren’t steady enough.”
Siu's eyes sparkled as the older shinobi finished their rather eloquent metaphor. Her captivated expression communicated a look as if she eagerly desired the say something, yet nothing seemed to escape from her lips. Observing the perfectly filled tea cup, the youth eventually leaned over, taking a moment to observe her reflection in the liquid, before blowing some of the steam away and taking a sip. Like the metaphor, the tea was quite delicious. Thus, she received the cup

"Do what is...correct." The youth's mind meditated upon, as her host went on to further describe the possibilities of the future. Siu could guess from their explanation, that despite the fact that the Medical Branch was commonly considered less dangerous due to the fact that they were less combat orientated than the other branches, that wouldn't mean that it would be any less morally agonizing. Additionally, she was quite surprised by the confidence the older Medical Nin seemed to have in her; confidence which Siu didn't even have in herself.
Despite the fact that the explanation had finally reached it's conclusion, Siu continued to gaze as the older shinobi in wide eyed silence, perhaps attempting to mentally digest everything. Undoubtedly, she'd received much to contemplate on. A single blink communicated her return back to the present moment, as the girl finally opened her mouth to speak.
"Osu-san....you're..." The youth began, sounding as if she were in a daze. "...You're different." She pithily, or perhaps rather awkwardly, described. "How..did you become a shinobi? Are you searching too? Searching just like..me?"

 

[Osuteno]

Osu gave a slightly embarrassed smile and a light chuckle when he was told he was different, “I’m never terribly confident of that being a compliment when i hear it. But… Mmmm why did I become a shinobi and am I searching? Well, I became a shinobi because I was found to be chakra sensitive when I turned 8 and I was moved from one of the several village orphanages, the one on the west side of the market district, to the academy. Within a few months I passed an examination with the medical branch and became a MiT just before I turned nine. I suppose that answers how… but assuming you want to know why I am a shinobi… The freedom I suppose? Most don’t really think about it but what if I were an orphan elsewhere? Would I have received an education comparable to that if the nobility’s? Would I have time to read or would I have been stuck on a farm or working in some sweatshop or moving cargo on a ship? What if I was also still chakra sensitive and was found by someone else? Would I have ended up in one of the daimyo’s armies? They try to beat Kumogakure to everyone they can and they mostly see us as freakish mutants only useful in war. Maybe snatched up by Marsh spies and trained to terrorize Lightning by striking at the civilians and farming communities like they do. Being found in one of the Tenouzan Church’s witch hunts would have me tortured into confessing deals with demons and such before being burned in a pyre in some city square to the praises and jeers of hundreds or thousands. Many people think of this village as a prison they were kidnapped into and forced to join an army against their interests… but honestly those of us who know are a little afraid of the world outside for ourselves and those like us. Yes we put up a strong and seemingly invincible front, and are a bit heavy handed when collecting chakra sensitive children… we even hide our insecurities behind the excuse that it is a recessive trait and we need them to keep operating, which would be true after like… four to six generations if we stopped today so it is somewhat of a necessary evil on several fronts until the world is different…” Osu stopped talking as he realized he was rambling before taking a long slow drink from his cup before returning his look to Siu.

“In this world, despite how wide it is… or perhaps it is because of that, that people don’t get the choice of where and who they are when they first start on their path. When I first had the ability to make my choices I believed the most prudent thing to do would be to take my small stipend to rent a small room above a tea house instead of staying in the academy dorms so I could be alone and focus on studying. When I had advanced through nearly all of the coursework in a few months, I decided the branch that would give me the widest range of options for my future would be the medical branch, so I tracked down the then sennin and showed myself to be a worthy disciple. When others were forming bonds with one another I was foolishly dedicated to over-training and taking missions to prove myself… I nearly died many times before I had even turned ten, even registered the completion of my first S-rank before then… though that was a series of flukes and desperation rather than any sort of skill and ability, and even then I was barely in breathing shape. Still, after about a year of recovering from my injuries on an assignment as a undercover house guard, no one suspected a crippled maid-in-training to be a shinobi after all, I was promoted to full Mednin as I turned eleven. But it was around that point that I realized I had achieved every goal I had set to finish before I became an adult... before I was even twelve. Could I have advanced further? Probably. Might have even been qualified to try for a promotion since I was about 13 without putting extra effort in. But I realized I was suddenly at probably the freest I would be for my shinobi career unless I managed to live to retirement decades down the line.

So… I had no idea what I should have been doing. None. At all. Lost as I could be. So the first thing I did was travel a bit. A series of complete disasters to be honest, I seem to have terrible luck when I leave the country and my luck inside it was already pretty bad. I… cannot say I regret them. I started learning much more about things outside of medicine when I came home from that nearly fatal mission but the journeys I made taught me a great deal about myself… and other people. I started seeing what pushed other people forward and… well none of it felt right or complete for me. There always seemed to be something missing and that bothered me for a couple years until I took probably my most disastrous trip outside of the village that would keep me in much pain and torment for months and away from home for about two years… but I had a lot of time to think in between the agonizing hours.

I had kept asking myself ‘what is the missing piece to this’ but one evening when I was 13 going on 14 I asked myself ‘what even is it that I am trying to piece together here?’ Was it what it meant to be a shinobi? Was that the whole puzzle... or just a small piece? How much of being a shinobi is who I am? How much of it is being a doctor? How much of it is being human? What was I even wanting to do with this information and what was at the core of it all? Exactly how many pieces am I missing?

… A few months later a piece came and found me, rescuing me from that place, and has been a part of who I am since… and a major clue in my search for answers… and questions. So many questions. I had the opportunity to not come back and run off with them to get lost in this big world of ours, play at traveling doctor to get by… but we came back here to start our little family. It was because I knew that here I could use the tools of my education, training, and environment to best progress on my search for questions and answers to one day do what is correct for more than just myself. That here I could eventually gain a position that would supply me the resources and manpower to progress my research and search for the proper questions and answers and use them how they need to be used… but that is a different discussion for a different day.” Osu poured himself more tea at this point and refilled Siu’s cup as well.

“But of all the things that I appreciate about having been raised as a shinobi are the skills and information I now possess that can save lives. So many people only think of shinobi as mystical warriors and tools or monsters of war, but the knowledge we possess on how the body works is far ahead inside the village compared to the rest of the country, and our methods with or without chakra are far superior. So among the first questions you would focus on and find the answers to is ‘how do I heal lives’ and it is quite useful on your search for others. Hmm, I think I also answered if I am searching as well, Next questions.”

 

[Siu]

There were a multitude of things to consider, once again, after the older shinobi's discourse. Siu not only found herself greatly surprised by the shinobi's abundant experience in the profession, but also their perspective of it. Like her, they'd been drafted into the shinobi forces, yet their outlook of the experience was completely different, practically the opposite of Siu's own outlook.
Beginning the path of a shinobi from the age of 8?! Though Siu was considered a latecomer to the academy, still most of the other shinobi she knew of were usually no younger than 10 years old. Yet, before most academy students had even opened up their first academy textbook, the older Medical Nin had already been doing S ranked missions. Siu imagined, that even if she had been enrolled at the academy at such a young age, she still very likely would not have studied or trained as diligently as they did in did in their own youth; Undoubtedly, it required a certain drive and dedication which she herself just did not have.

A detailed explanation, regarding how the involuntarily drafting of shinobi could actually be viewed in a more positive light, was a logic entirely foreign to the young girl's ears. She'd always assumed the life of shinobi to be heavy chains of legal slavery for people like her, yet, the Medical-Nin spoke about 'freedom'; One of the very last words she'd ever associated with something like shinobi-hood.
For people of wealthier backgrounds like her, who enjoyed rather comfortable lifestyles to begin with, as well opportunities for a good education, being involuntarily sent to the academy had seemed something almost like condemnation to a lifetime of slavery; the very death sentence for all previous hopes and aspirations. However, this was the first time she'd been compelled to consider the outcome upon the less fortunate; The case of the less wealthy, whom had no such educational opportunities to begin with, neither any hope for the future in the first place, such as orphans without a penny to their name. It was something to heavily consider. Was she perhaps too naive in her views?

Listening to the sudden 'stump' the Medical Nin had hit, amazingly, during the same age as her, was truly enlightening. Despite the fact that the Medical Nin had accomplished far more feats and accolades than her by the same age, it seemed that even they could not escape the questioning of purpose. The feeling that something constantly felt missing, despite one's best efforts to mend it through a multitude of answers and explanation from others, was a feeling the young kunoichi knew all too well.

"… A few months later a piece came and found me, rescuing me from that place, and has been a part of who I am since… and a major clue in my search for answers… and questions."
The youth's eyes widened with great interest, upon hearing the mentioning of 'piece's and 'major clue's. What was this mysterious 'piece'; this defining 'major clue'? She greatly desired to know; No, better yet, she 'needed' to know.
Her pupils dilated in suspense, at the thought of perhaps being able to hear the answer to this mystery. Yet, like the writer of a compelling play, where the audience eagerly awaited to witness the storyline's final conclusion with great anticipation, he left the plot at a cliffhanger for another time. Her expectations shattered, the young kunoichi convinced herself she'd surely have to further inquire upon the matter in the future, if she ever received the opportunity; No, rather 'when' she received another opportunity.

"Focus on how to...heal lives'?" The youth inwardly mused upon. Attempting to mentally register the introduction of yet another foreign explanation to her ears.

Once the older shinobi had fully completed their second discourse, the youth once again took the time to meditate upon their words in another round of silence. Looking downward into her refilled tea cup, the young girl stared at her reflection in the liquid again, as if searching for answers in it, before looking back up at the Medical Nin to speak again.

"You were also drafted like me." She began in musing tone, "Yet you, view this path so differently.."

"'How much of being a shinobi is who I am?' & 'How much of it is being human?';I...I also desire to know these answers." Confirmed two sparkling eyes, filled with great eagerness.
"And if things are correct, yet I am naive, then I want to know I am naive, and no longer continue to discriminate against them. But if things are wrong, then I want to know that too." She continued, her eyes and speech becoming more passionate. "And if I am bound to this life, then I want to help those who are also struggling to find a purpose as I walk it, people like me. Therefore, if healing lives is the first step I should take in finding answers, then I...I want to heal people too, Osu-san. However.."

Raising a hand, she placed it across her chest where her heart was located. "The feeling where something is supposed to be there, yet it's not, and no matter how hard you try replace it, something always still feels missing; I know it too."
"Even if I passed the entire exam and became Chuunin, I still don't know whether I would find the answers I am seeking for. Even if I qualified and became Jounin, I still don't know whether I would find the answers I am seeking for; The answers to fill that empty space in my heart. The desperate need for purpose, it feeIs like it's even become a sickness of some sort inside of me, tormenting me everyday. Healing others is the first step to the answer. However..." The youth suddenly paused. "..Can I truly heal others when I cannot even heal myself?" She concluded, before looking downward.

 

[Osuteno]

"You were also drafted like me. Yet you, view this path so differently.." Ahhh, so that is what this sprouts from. Osu sighed internally, making wishes that would take great time and even greater effort to fulfill, with far too costly penalties for failure for how high the risks were.

"'How much of being a shinobi is who I am?' & 'How much of it is being human?';I...I also desire to know these answers." Oh something seems to have clicked there. Though he felt sure that Siu didn’t question her sense and fact of humanity the same way he did, it was still a good line of introspection.

Osu listened on as he thought of where to best start to clear a few thing up for the girl. “While inexperience and a lack of knowledge of the full situation does contribute, I don’t want you to make the mistake in believing that because your answer might be incorrect means your sense of right and wrong is incorrect. What is correct is like solving an equation, it has nothing to do with whether you like the answer or if you hate it or if you even find it repulsive. It is simply the best solution. If you don’t like the solution, if you find it morally wrong or simply heartbreaking… you have to change the equation, the situation itself, to where the solution you desire is correct. Trying to force a solution that doesn’t balance the equation, no matter how just, sensible, or well intentioned it may be, can bring far worse consequences than the wrong you might have been trying to replace, and it would be entirely on your hands… but never let that be a reason to give up.

As for this life you are bound to… I won’t lie, you are chained to this life. The chain is long enough to where you can go most places but it is still there. However the same things that bind us can also anchor us, while Kumogakure expects us to bear our responsibilities, it also provides us… well a mountain of support for a lack of a better term.” Osu grimaced a bit at his own words. A mountain of support… goodness that was painful.

“In the very sense you say you want to help others find purpose you would be contributing to that support, healing lives as well. But as for not being able to heal yourself…”

Osu sipped a bit more of his tea with an amused smile. “There is a huge difference between being broken and being incomplete. You don’t need repairs, you don’t even have all your parts yet. Speaking like you have already finished developing as a person, perhaps I should first teach you not to get ahead of yourself.” Osu gave a small chuckle as he leaned across the desk and ruffled Siu’s hair a bit.

“But don’t worry, you will actually learn a lot about yourself as you go about helping others, and I don’t really mean that in some cheesy fashion. Think of it a lot like learning from the mistakes of others as well as a practical test of applying the knowledge you have gathered… I realized I might be getting ahead of myself again, but it sounds like you may have made a decision about my offer?”

 

[Siu]

Siu listened intently as the older shinobi began to make a distinguishment regarding what was 'moral', and what was 'correct'. Through the Medical Nin's more expansive discourse, the youth was able to connect their previous explanation concerning why they had specifically chosen her from the various group of Chuunin examinees, as well.

"That you will use your knowledge and experience to do not what is just, or efficient, or profitable, or logical, or kind, or anything like that… I believe you will do what is correct" Reflected the words of one the Medical Nin's previous discourse in the young kunoichi's mind.

"What is correct.." The youth inwardly meditated, "Is not always moral.." So 'that's' what they had meant regarding 'doing what is correct'. Depending on how one viewed this knowledge, it could have either been the most comforting revelation, or the most devastating heartbreak.
On one hand, while this further reinforced the fact that the kunoichi was practically doomed to continually accept and make decisions she found morally torturous, for the sake of doing and maintaining what was 'correct', it also sprouted a new potential hope. She had always assumed the most 'moral' decision and the most 'correct' decision to be one of the same. Therefore, because of this, she assumed that in order to truly accept and make the morally torturous decisions of a shinobi, she'd be required to change her morality altogether. Yet, if this knowledge was true, then perhaps there was still hope for retaining her morality despite walking this arduous path. Kyo had also made a distinguishment between monsters and shinobi. Was it truly possible to walk such a bloody road, while still retaining one's humanity?

As for her chains, the older shinobi also basically confirmed the bitter reality she was already aware of, yet still had difficulty accepting oftentimes; these chains would bind her for the rest of her life. As depressing as that reality was, the Medical Nin did manage to add a flavor of optimism to the bitterness of the situation. While the situation was unfavorable, perhaps that didn't necessarily mean it had to be utterly hopeless and miserable. Rather than continually lamenting in her misfortune, perhaps she could use this as an opportunity to find something else meaningful to do with her life, something like supporting and healing the lives of others. While she could not be certain whether this was the perfect solution or not yet, for now, at least it was 'something'. Besides, it didn't seem all that bad of a route; Siu has no quarrel against helping and healing others.

Not broken but..incomplete? Well, that was definitely another new logic. Yet, it sounded miles more comforting than her previous assumptions. Two consoled eyes stared back at the Medical Nin after the ruffling of her hair. Oftentimes, she'd forgotten that she still was not fully grown yet, and had so much more development to go. In a world which practically required young children to attain the mindset of the perfect killer as quickly as possible, youth were pushed to witnesses and experience situations which forced them to grow up pretty fast. However, the older shinobi did still have a point. Indeed, Siu had no idea of the kind of woman she'd be in 5 or so years from now; There was still so much to learn.

Then came the golden question.

"I realized I might be getting ahead of myself again, but it sounds like you may have made a decision about my offer?”

The youth's eyes widened in surprise after the question, before she blushed a bit, somewhat embarrassed by how obvious she'd made her intentions. The 'formal' thing to have done, would have been to reply that she needed additional time to go home and further consider the matter. That likely, might have even been the more logical route. Yet, at this point, Siu already knew that whether she verbally spoke her decision now, or postponed it until later, the conclusion would very likely be the same. Inwardly, she was already convinced of her next decision. The moment she'd walked through that office door, her fate had been sealed before she'd even consciously realized it.
She could've went home and further contemplated between the pros and cons of each branch in a more logical manner, yet what was the point? With her own lips, she confessed it herself; Even if she reached Chuunin, would it guarantee she'd find the answers she was seeking? The Medical Nin before her had promised her answers, and that was far more valuable than any rank she could ever achieve. There was nothing more to reconsider, nothing more to decide. The next choice was clear. Thus...

"I have." The Genin plainly answered, a suddenly resolved expression upon her face. "At this point, there is no longer any reason for me to remain in Main Branch." She bluntly stated." I'd like to..."
Placing her teacup upon the table, she moved her chair back in order to fully stand, before performing a formal bow in front of the Med Nin. "I'd like to register for the Medical Branch, and train under you as a direct disciple; If you would have me, that is! I am lacking in many ways, however, I promise will make my best efforts not to disappoint you!"

 

[Osuteno]

That was fast! He wasn’t expecting this to happen this quickly! At her age he would have had to go home and think about it for a few days… Actually he would have needed more convincing overall before he agreed to become someone’s direct disciple without really knowing anything about them. Wait, why was he questioning her decision to trust and follow him? This must be that selling himself short thing people kept telling him he had to be more careful of. Didn’t he call her here because he thought himself the most suitable teacher for her?

“Very well, I will handle the paperwork, the transfer itself may take a few days but that doesn’t mean we have to wait that long before getting you started… ah first thing first… I know I have a copy around here somewhere…” Osu’s arm that seemed inhumanly smooth and lacking in blemishes suddenly started stretching towards the bookshelf. It seemed to be coming apart at the seams and became uncountable numbers of tiny red threads that seemed to feel the room around them searching for something before just as suddenly reeling back forming a gentle looking arm once more but now holding a terribly massive book as if it didn’t weigh anything. The time itself was intimidating to say the very least, the spine almost two feet wide. Osu’s desk creaked as he placed the book on it despite being of a sturdier sort. “This is the medical text known simply as Anatomy. It… well basically some mad person decided a while back that we should gather as much non-classified knowledge of the body, illnesses and medicine into a single, highly-organized source. This monstrosity is the result of that. This is actually my copy but I have everything committed to memory already… I would normally give you a new copy but… well these things are insanely expensive to have made and this is the newest edition anyway… just be very careful with it. It weighs over 30 pounds and someone was killed once when a MiT threw their copy out their window in a brief moment of insanity and it fell on someone’s head. Before you ask, no I don’t expect you to memorize all 7,642 pages of material plus my notes inside it. I will however assign sections for you to demonstrate a mastery over before we move on, such as I will expect you to be able to name every bone, major artery, the major parts of different organs, the major systems and be able to label each on a chart before you can open up and explore a cadaver without my supervision. As I told Kiri some years back, that is when I will start instructing you on the more fun things. Of course you won’t be able to do anything to a living breathing human that I haven’t you do correctly to a cadaver a few dozen times without failure, from sticking a needle in them to replacing a heart, which I am told becomes tedious and boring but I am sure it is preferable over what I will do if I learn a patient is harmed over a simple or careless error. That said the pace at which you advance is up to your learning speed, if you need help I will gladly provide it if you ask, and anything not related to medicine you can go ahead and come ask me about as well…” Osu suddenly seemed to have something dawn in him as he checked the clock on the wall.

“Though I believe it should come to no surprise to you, as my disciple I will occasionally ask you to take care of some task or chore to free up my own work from time to time. With that in mind I hope you don’t mind following me for a bit to the nurses’ station to meet a pair you will be working with from time to time.”

Osu pushed his chair back and it was at this point Siu might start to wonder if Osu was going to hop over the desk because with all the file cabinets and such that seemed to be the only way of getting in or out. Betraying all expectations however Osu started stepping around the desk with his body somehow becoming flat enough to move between a gap in the filing cabinets now now would seem to be there for this precise purpose.

“Don’t forget your book,” Osu reminded as he opened the door as gestured for Siu to follow.

It would only take a couple minutes to make the journey to the nurses station, but the duo that awaited them were not staff at all.

Twin toddlers sat in the middle of the area with the nurses giving them a wide berth, one or two nurses occasionally approaching them nervously to check on them as the twins played with their bunny dolls and colored. They seemed content in their own little world for the most part but when they saw Osu they grabbed handfuls of pictures and rushed over to show their art off.

“Oh very nice, this one looks like Raiden’s battle with the Thunderbird, very nice Kurasuko” Osu commented on an odd assortment of mostly yellow scribbles as the child with black hair nodded excitedly.

“And this is… the advertisement we saw at that very fancy sushi place we can’t come close to affording… and a reminder that your fourth birthday is coming up in a few months… very… very nice Yukiko.” The child with the white head of hair nodded more calmly. It was actually almost a perfect crayon copy of said advertisement, and if someone held the two side by side they would find that almost the same number of rice grains had been drawn, though the picture as a whole was at a smaller scale.

Osu stared at the advertisement with a troubled face before taking a peek inside his money pouch to feel a fierce blow. “... I need to start putting some money aside now if we even hope to have dinner there for their birthday….. oh right, girls, I have a new disciple so you will be seeing her around a lot from now on. This is Siu-Chan, make sure you are good for her alright?” The twins nodded obediently for three year olds before staring at Siu with all of their attention, as if committing every bit of her existence to memory.

Osu turned to look at Siu, “Siu these are my daughters, Yukiko and Kurasuko.”

The white haired Yukiko was the first to give a slight bow and turned to her sister before asking, “Suko, do you think Siu-Neechan is more reliable than Kiri-Niichan?”

The black haired Kurasuko and gave a slight bow before turning to reply to her sister, “Hard to say Kiko, but I doubt Siu-Neechan will be in the timeout corner as much as Kiri-Niichan, or cry as much.”

The twins started circling Siu to get a better look at her and asking a string of questions like what was her favorite color, if she was ever was in Scouts when she was little, if she liked board games and a number of other such questions. Osu smiled as he picked the two up who quickly snuggled up in Osu’s arms but still both keeping a curious eye on Siu.

“They can be a handful at times but I hope you can get along with them.”

 

[Siu]

Raising back up from her formal bow, the young girl nodded in acknowledgement to her acceptance as a disciple, before watching the older Medical Nin's arms suddenly...

...extend?

The youth's eye widened with great surprise at the foreign sight of something akin to countless red threads searching about the office. While she was a shinobi who was no stranger to jutsu, this had been the very first time she'd ever witnessed anything like the sight before her. Amusingly enough, even this strange phenomenon wouldn't become the main center of her attention, but rather the very object which the outstretched abnormalities had actually bought back to place on the desk in front of her, sounding an audible creak from it's weight.

"That's..." The youth mentally attempted to register, "..A book?!" Could it even be referred to that? How much time would be required to even reach reading 'half' of such a massive text? Siu had read a number of books and novels in her past, yet this was by far the largest collection of writing she'd ever seen in her life. A rather worried expression appeared across the young girl's face, as the Medical Nin went into detail concerning a story of how the massive stack of text had even almost managed to kill someone when thrown from a window. " 7,642...pages?!" How many full novels was that even equivalent to?!
Bones, arteries, organs and like; these would now be the things she'd be diligently studying in order to qualify for her new line of work. They were all foreign concepts to the young kunoichi. Yet, at the warning of sure consequences should she mistakenly harm a patient, the young girl somewhat fearfully gulped. She made a resolution then and there that that'd she'd do her best in order to avoid experiencing such said consequences. Furthermore, the very thought of being the very reason for another's harm or even their death was also a guilt she did not want to live with.

Moving over to make room as the older shinobi eventually stood from their seat, Siu pondered whether she might have had to assist in moving one of the file cabinets aside, in order for them to escape through the huge blockage of various files and documents. Yet, once again, the Medical Nin proved to still be full of endless surprises.
A slightly disturbed expression came across the young girl's face, as she witnessed her mentor squeeze through the file cabinets almost like squashed jelly or a flat piece of paper. Just what kind of jutsu 'was' that? The kunoichi definitely would have to ask them one day.

"Don’t forget your book,”

The youth gazed at the object with a blank expression for sometime after the reminder, a slight bead of sweat running down her forehead. As she made an effort to pick up the object, her pale skin turned slightly red from the sudden strain of the book's underestimated weight. Would she really be carrying this thing around everywhere? That alone was almost like some form of Taijutsu weight training in itself.

A short walk through the medical facility would eventually reveal the appearance of two toddlers. The young kunoichi seemed somewhat perplexed at their appearance; What were children as young as them doing in the hospital? They didn't appear to be sick.

“Oh very nice, this one looks like Raiden’s battle with the Thunderbird, very nice Kurasuko”

Siu's eyes narrowed in order to better view the drawing after the comment. Perhaps, she had bad taste, or lacked an artistic eye, however, the kunoichi felt pretty certain that all she could see written upon the said paper was just a bunch of yellow scribblings. Holding her judgement, she turned her attention to the second drawing, which appeared a lot more convincing of it's interpretation than the previous.
The identity of the young duo would eventually be revealed, as Osu made them known to be their daughters. Siu immediately became more alert and stood up more straightly upon being informed of this, now wanting to ensure that she made a good impression in front of her own sensei's children.

“Suko, do you think Siu-Neechan is more reliable than Kiri-Niichan?”
“Hard to say Kiko, but I doubt Siu-Neechan will be in the timeout corner as much as Kiri-Niichan, or cry as much.”

"...Timeout corner?" The young Genin repeated back, a slightly baffled expression on her face, before being assaulted by a barrage of questions.

"B-black." "..N-No I have not." "Sometimes, er...well, it depends." The young girl hastily struggled to answer, in an effort to keep up with the barrage.

Siu's mind meditated back upon the mentioning of Kiri from Osu and the children. The memory of his image from her few times spent with him, formed in her mind. From her outside impressions of him, he'd appeared to be a rather solemn man. Therefore, it was quite difficult to picture the image of a full grown man like him crying. No matter how Siu tried, the image continually looked awkward in every way within her mind's eye. Worry again came over her in her contemplations....just how difficult would this Medical training be, if it caused her own Chuunin exam proctor to cry? Could it have been far more difficult than she could have possibly imagined?

"Osu-sa---Er sensei." The young kunoichi hastily corrected in a somewhat anxious manner. "Kiri-san....how long ago was he your pupil? How old was he?"

 

[Osuteno]

Osu thought for a moment, “I was 15, so that means Kiri was… 17 when he became my student. Such an awkward and clumsy young man, but his heart is usually in the right place. Has a tendency to get mixed up in things though, should have focused more on teaching him caution… and common sense.”

Osu took a minute to stare at Siu at this point and seemed to be in deep contemplation as the twins continued to snuggle and throw peeks at Siu. “Mmmm I will make sure this one grows up to be a healthy adult,” Osu finally concluded.

Osu put the girls on the ground who began holding his hands and nodded for Siu to continue following him. As Osu removes the twins from the room the nurses collectively seemed to relax as if a great danger had just passed them.

“Nee-Chan, Nee-Chan do you like bunnies?” Asked Yukiko as they walked along the corridors.

“Nee-Chan, Nee-Chan do you like dolls?” Karasuko posed her own question.

““Nee-Chan, Nee-Chan... do you like fortune telling?”” The twins asked in perfect unison, a weird red glint briefly appearing in their eyes as they turned their heads back towards Siu mirroring each other’s movements perfectly.

“It is cute you two are so excited, but don’t bother ‘Nee-Chan’ too much. Make sure you listen to what she tells you two as well.” Osu said it like he was giving the two a light scolding but he was obviously smiling at the stoic little bunnies being so talkative. The twins had casually turned back toward the front seeming like perfectly normal toddlers and even a bit bashful at daddy saying they were cute. Nothing at all would suggest they had just given Siu an unusual experience.

They soon began tugging on Osu’s sleeves again who picked them up with a resigned sigh, “Perhaps I should mention that 16 is not a good age to become a parent as one of our first lessons in being a healthy adult. I wouldn’t change anything if I could but it has provided some trials. Hard to provide for a family on a single Chuunin-level salary, particularly with the rent where we live. The first couple years were particularly rough.”

Eventually they came to an elevator where Osu has to insert his ID card to open it and again on the inside to select a floor. As the elevator went down they picked up a pair of guests who did the same and looked at Siu with questions in their expressions and Osu just silently motioned for them not to mind it. One expressed some hesitation before the other pat them on the shoulder and just nodded, a silent message to wave off their friend’s doubt before giving a slight bow in Osu’s direction.

Osu and company reached their destination floor first and stepped off into a quiet, red-lit corridor. “Some of us can get a little carried away down here and forget to leave our labs for a few days so these lights are meant to give us some time to adjust before heading to ‘the realm of the normals.’ ...We also have a number of dramatic people hidden away down here. Friendly enough for the most part unless you disturb their work and it is best not to ask them or let them start talking about what they are working on unless you have a few hours of free time. Always take caution when passing this third door on the left, it sometimes explodes off its hinges. There is a good reason the walls are so thick and the labs so spaced apart. Up ahead, the sixth door on the right, is a little space that has been reserved for my projects for some time though I haven’t used it as much lately since most of my research is reading rather than practical application these days. Might be a bit dusty. I will lend it to you as a study space after we get your transfer and identification card processed and also use it as our classroom for the most part. If you haven’t noticed the labs are completely soundproof so I actually enjoyed using it as a study space at one point when I wasn’t as used to how sensitive my hearing is. They are each basically our own little worlds or deserted islands, completely cut off from the outside… don’t stay in for more than a day at a time and no more than 40 hours a week. Taking a nap may be fine, but you are not allowed to sleep here overnight.” Osu finished with some rules meant to keep Siu from adopting some of the stranger aspects of this floor’s typical residents while unlocking the door to the lab with his ID.

It was indeed dusty inside. More than Osu had expected.

“Kiko, look how fluffy the room is,” commented Karasuko in amazement.

“Very fluffy indeed Suko, I haven’t seen a room this fluffy since daddy yelled at Auntie Saeko for how messy her room was,” nodded Yukiko.

Osu was at a bit of a loss, it can’t have been that long since he used this room… or… actually it had. Well.

“It seems this room is several seasons late for a spring cleaning. A bit of storage clutter is one thing, all this dust is another. Can’t possibly study if you can’t breathe through all of it… but since this space is going to be mostly yours for a time perhaps this would be a good opportunity for character building. I will prepare some cleaning supplies and my notes on effective cleaning methods and in a couple days you can work on making this space yours. As a reward for getting this space spick and span, I can attempt to provide you a few books on a subject of your choosing to start filling your own bookshelves there in the back.”

Osu closed the door, which automatically locked back after twenty seconds of being closed, and turned to Siu. “Well Siu-Chan… that is really all I have for you today. I would normally start your first day off with letting you watch as I work on a research cadaver but it is rather late in the evening and I am a bit hesitant to have the girls around for that. Besides, I need to go home and make dinner… actually… do you want to come as well? Tonight is-“

““Curry Night!”” The twins exclaimed, giving off an odd intensity while somehow maintaining their stoic faces, Yukiko in particular was slightly swinging her legs and had a bit of drool at the corner of her mouth, which Osu wiped off with the corner of his sleeve using a red thread.

“... Yes tonight is curry night. We would be happy to have you though please don’t feel obligated if you don’t wish to come.”

 

[Siu]

Siu found herself surprised to hear that the Medical Nin had actually taken a pupil older than themselves. In general society, age was quite an important factor when determining qualifications for such things. Such a scenario further exhibited the fact that the shinobi world was far different from the 'normal' world. Undoubtedly, there were far more numerous factors involved in determining the case of mentorship among shinobi.
Now in the midst of becoming a Chuunin soon herself, Siu meditated on the thought of leading and instructing children not much older than herself and, possibly even full grown adults. The idea seemed quite awkward.

“Nee-Chan, Nee-Chan do you like bunnies?” “Nee-Chan, Nee-Chan do you like dolls?” The younger girls inquired, breaking the kunoichi's musings.

"Hmm, bunnies.." Siu mumbled, now on an entirely new train of thought. "They are quite cute. I never have really been interested in dolls, though. I like books are better." She concluded with a timid smile,

“Nee-Chan, Nee-Chan... do you like fortune telling?”

"Well I---" The girl began again in preparation for another reply. However, she suddenly found herself abruptly pausing as her honed shinobi eyes caught an unusual glint of red emitting from both of the younger girl's eyes, the Genin's pupils dilating in response. The occurrence had been so brief, that Siu had to question whether what she witnessed was reality, or simply her own imagination.
The two twins turned back around as if nothing unusual had happened, yet Siu could not help but continue to ponder upon the odd occurrence throughout the remainder of the walk to the elevator. The younger children's rather inhuman unison also didn't help to make the situation seem any less peculiar.

The older Medical Nin then began to inform the young girl about parenting. "16?!" The kunoichi mentally exclaimed. That was not too much older than herself.
Siu's eyes traveled upward in thought, attempting to visualize herself in the same scenario, before strongly shaking her head in order to erase the existence of the very idea. She could barely take care of herself as it was, having a child at 16 was too much to imagine.
A concerned expression did appear upon the kunoichi's face, however, at the mention of difficulty in supporting the younger girls. Siu felt somewhat guilty about the unfortunate case for some odd reason, although logically she really hadn't a reason to. The young girl never really had to concern herself with such worries, considering she'd grown up in a wealthy background where her family had pretty much provided everything she'd ever required up to now.
Perhaps in the future, she could purchase the two children a really nice and expensive present? Yes, that seemed like a possibly good idea.

The girl's arrival to the elevator was also met with another rather peculiar occurrence, as she suddenly found herself attracting the attention of questioning eyes. Looked downward nervously, Siu turned to view her reflection on the elevator wall. Was there something on her face? Did she still have leftovers of the dumplings she'd eaten on the way to the hospital on her mouth? Did her hair look weird today?

Once the elevator had finally reached its destination, the older shinobi would then provide a sort of tour of the floor. Occasionally nodding in acknowledgment as they briefed her on various details of the area, the kunoichi found her eyes pausing on the 'third door on the left' "Ex..plodes..? The youth mentally recited somewhat worrisomely.

Soundproof rooms, cut off from the world outside? Well, that didn't sound bad at all; She might be able to get used to this new lifestyle more quickly than she previously thought.
The older shinobi then used their ID card in order to open their own quarters, revealing a rather dusty disaster. Siu sneezed in response to the wealth of dust particles contaminating the air. Nodding again in acknowledgment to the older shinobi's assignment of her task, the young girl's eyes sparked with great intrigue at the mentioning of books on a subject of her own choosing as a reward.

"I--would love to have dinner with everyone! I very much appreciate the invitation, Sensei!" She wasted no time accepting with a bow. The girl was usually never one to turn down food, although she found herself quite surprised to be invited to her own mentor's home. Usually, her teachers and instructors tended to keep what felt like an unseen barrier between their students; Perhaps, in concern of possibly losing respect from their pupils if the relationship became too friendly?

As she rose back up from her bow, her expression revealed her to be in deep thought. 'Sensei' The kunoichi continued after a few moments of silence, looking up with bright eyes. "Are there any books on...chakra? Perhaps concerning the origins of chakra, and how it functions throughout the human body. I...would very much would like to learn more about this subject if possible."
If all medical books were anything as detailed as the 30-pound mass of text Siu was still holding on Anatomy, the young girl considered she might find herself growing to actually enjoy this profession. There was a wealth of knowledge to possibly be received. The Academy itself had taught courses on chakra, however, it was a rather general course; nothing quite like what Siu was asking for. She desired to know the deepest aspects of the subject.
"And you don't have to worry about the price." She added, "I can pay for the book myself."

 

[Osuteno]

Osu looked up as if in thought for a moment before saying, “There are a number of theories on the origin of chakra, although a grand majority of them are more in the realm of religion and mythology. Most accredited researchers won’t write on how chakra sensitivity originated, mostly due to the complete lack of evidence at hand. I am not talking about a lack of recorded first hand accounts or broadly accepted history, I mean that there is a complete lack of any sort of data within a thousand years of the first chakra created structures. Nothing. Even the oldest stories we have mention things about “long ago in the time of our forefathers” or such… Though now that I think about it probably my favorite collection of such stories would be ‘A Dull Father’s Take on Fantastic Bedtime Stories’ by Hinode Fumio. Hinode-San is a widower who raised triplets in addition to being a cultural anthropologist so he made a large collection of stories in the first half of the book filled with delightful illustrations for children and in the second half of the book he revisits each story with educated guess as to the influences that led to each story as well as a thorough analysis of the specific cultural groups that each story originated from. We have a copy at home the girls love for bedtime stories that I will encourage you to look through.

As for the more medical side of things there are a few sections in that book you have there… pages 1178-1325 cover the basics of just the chakra system in the body and open records of chakra related diseases should be around pages 6219-6389 and diseases and complications intentional inflicted through jutsu use are about pages 7042-7115. There is a lot more but remember that book is a collection of things that aren’t classified… though…”

Osu seemed to tease with the idea of something. “I suppose if you are good and can keep just a little secret between the two of us, I can let you look over some of the articles written by a former researcher named Toyoshima Tetsukai. His studies focus most on the genetics surrounding chakra sensitivity and the mutations surrounding chakra usage. Though I will ask you to not mention his name in the company of most people as he and his research took a rather dark turn when he was found guilty of kidnapping and killing a number of test subjects. It was a bit of a fiasco at the time since a number of our more passionate doctors were given temporary jail time for trying to kill him in the halls of the hospital when they learned he had kidnapped and effectively tortured a few patients to death after giving them false bills of good health and released them from the hospital. Most of his research was either hidden away or destroyed by order of the shogun, but… well knowledge shouldn’t be tossed aside and left unused, more so if the means used to obtain it involved so many sacrifices, so at the time of the arrest and investigation I took advantage of my sensei being the sennin and… using her access code to sneak in and copy as many of the documents as I could.” Osu tapped his head with an embarrassed expression, “Though sensei eventually figured out I had done something at the time… well that aside, you will benefit from a bit of his research notes though unlike most things I will ask you to thoroughly destroy the copies I make for you when you are done reading. There are stupid people who would attempt stupid things based on those notes and stupid people who would make stupid accusations of you if they find that you have them, well intentioned perhaps, but stupid all the same. I will find the time to make a scroll for you in the coming week or two of some of his earliest research…

Also I will have to ask you to humor me a little and not ask to pay for your own rewards, most of the more interesting tomes aren’t ones you would find in a bookstore anyway… well unless you find a really good bookstore or a really really illegal one I haven’t managed to track down outside of the village at least. Most of the prizes I will provide you are things I will copy down from memory to be honest… though nothing the size of Anatomy, when you factor in time as well it is simply cheaper to have a copy printed.”

As Osu started to lead everyone back to the elevator he got a ring on his headset and had a quick conversation with someone as he walked off just a few steps leaving the twins with Siu. The twins were humming their curry night chant until Osu came back. “It seems like it will just be the four of us for dinner tonight, work has called in for everyone else… well I suppose that is just less groceries to buy. Come on, there is a time sale in about 12 minutes so we will be using the rooftops as a shortcut. Make sure to keep up Siu.”

And so the quartet flew across the rooftops into the evening where Osu taught Siu the finer points of getting proper bargains and using a bit of light medical jutsu to anesthetize some of the other shinobi who were competing for the same bargains while the twins cheered on, normal human bystanders providing commentary on the sight in such a fashion to make it clear they came for this specific spectacle rather than trying to get in on the deals themselves.

The apartment building where Osu and his family and flatmates lived was the nicest on the Seki district, the nicest part of the village, hinting at the reason for their troubles paying the rent when someone wasn’t on time within their four bedroom, two bath and full amenities apartment. The public places of the flat were clean and rather homey, stray books and stuffed rabbits alongside more officials looking golfers and documents, some of which Osu straightened up and put away as he passed by them. Osu let the twins show their mythology book to Siu while he made them all a mild curry which the twins soon ate excitedly while showing Siu the pictures they drew based on the bedtime stories… one’s drawings being world’s ahead of the other’s admittedly but Osu could tell exactly what everything was supposed to be at a glance (even the weird collection of many different colored scribbles that turn out to be a flowering treant in spring next to a brook) and they both earned places on the fridge (where Siu could see even Kiri had a self portrait with some mildly strict grading on the fridge). It was in all a nice dinner and soon Siu was sent off so Osu could put the twins down for the night.

The End (topic complete)