-- Week 1 --

The tokubetsu jonin was just about to depart from Iwagakure to head for Kumo; however, he had wanted to stop in first with Professor Ivan, one of the masters of the Order of the White Lotus. When he had got to the man's room in Diamond Heights, he found a messenger hawk in a cage.

"Kashizudoto Sarutobi," he recalled the professor addressing him, "This is going to be your messenger hawk for communicating with other members of the Order of the White Lotus. It knows the scents of all five masters of the Order of the White Lotus, so you will be able to send a message to any chapter of the organization that you wish."

"Wait, this changes everything!" he remembered telling the professor, "I need to go train him!" He had never had a pet before, and the idea of him having a messenger hawk that could assist him in battle sounded cool to Kashizudoto.

"Train him?" the professor had responded to him before letting out a hearty laugh. Apparently nobody else had ever trained a messenger hawk to fight, but Kashizudoto would become the exception to the rule.

"Ya, you'll see all the progress I can make with him sooner than you'd realize!" the tokubetsu jonin had promised excitedly, already contemplating how he was going to arrange his training schedule with the bird to assure that it would be ready for combat at all times to assist Kashizudoto, "I'll name you Hawky!" With that, he had totally compromised his plans for traveling to Kumo and instead had made his way to the Land of Earth's Valley of Mountains with the hawk perched on his shoulder the whole way.

"RAAAAAHHHHH!" screamed the hawk when Kashizudoto found a suitable place in the valley to train and gestured it to leave its shoulder. It began to jump off Kashizudoto's shoulder and spread its wings, taking flight. It turned to face Kashizudoto, its wings still flapping and keeping it up in the air.

"Alright, big guy," said the tokubetsu jonin, "I'm going to train you to fight. Let's start simple: try to dodge my blows." If he wanted to go all out on the bird at first, he would've taken out his katana and slashed at it; however, he was trying to teach the bird some of his skills, not to turn it into a meal. Instead of going full force, he, with the speed half of that of an Academy student and little force, made a punching gesture at the hawk. He threw another punch, this time a little faster; Hawky dodged it this time, but his evasive maneuver was too sluggish and sloppy to be executed in a real fight. The tokubetsu jonin continued moving closer to the hawk and throwing slightly faster and faster punches every time, only for the hawk to respond by dodging them; each time he increased in speed, the closer the dodge was to failing. Eventually, Kashizudoto's punches began to have the speed and strength of an Academy student, forcing Hawky to make his dodging maneuvers more calculated and strategic. The hawk began to learn how to sidestep Kashizudoto's attacks as a form of evasion instead of simply moving backwards, as it paid off a few seconds later after the maneuver when the hawk would have more time to react as a result of the position that he moved into.

The tokubetsu jonin decided to raise the bar a little higher, striking with a greater speed and strength than last time; this time, the punch made contact with Hawky's right side and sent it flying sideways to the left, although the hawk was able to regain his balance mid-air to stop itself from crashing to the ground. This was all a part of training; Kashizudoto couldn't go easy on the hawk if he was to eventually help the tokubetsu jonin in his battles. Soon, the sun began to set, so Kashizudoto and Hawky went out to hunt for some food, the latter being the most successful at the task because of its role in the ecosystem as a bird of prey. They had a nice and long sleep, very unlike what Kashizudoto had during his adventures in Iwa.

A full week went by of training like this until Kashizudoto was able to throw genin-level taijutsu strikes at the hawk and begin introducing complex sequences of punches and kicks without the hawk getting terribly creamed, although every now and then Hawky reacted a little too slow and got himself hit.

WC: 770

-- Week 2 --

The tokubetsu jonin didn't feel all that confident with using his sword yet to train Hawky, even though they were in their second week of practicing. He truly was worried about Hawky's life; he'd feel so guilty if he killed his animal companion in training! Heck, he'd feel guilty if the hawk died in any circumstance, not just if it was his fault. He felt that they were bonding fast, although it'd be impossible to read into Hawky's mind if all he did was yell "RAAAAAHH" in response to everything, although Kashizudoto was slowly beginning to understand how the inflections in tone and volume revealed what the hawk was trying to express. A loud and sharp yell meant a battle cry, for example. He was sure that he'd be able to communicate with the hawk even more efficiently as they bonded further.

"Ok, let's kick this up a notch," he told Hawky before throwing a punch that was a tier over that of the average genin fresh out of the Academy. Of course, it was much slower and weaker than a normal punch Kashizudoto could throw, but, as was expressed earlier, he didn't want to kill the bird. Hawky needed to build up his body's endurance more before he could take on some of those hard hits that tokubetsu jonin could deal at full strength. The punch hit the hawk and knocked it back in the air a bit, but Kashizudoto, who usually stopped punching once he had hit the hawk once, continued as he would in a normal fight, delivering a kick to the bird that shot it upwards into the sky. He felt bad for doing this, but emulating a real battle experience meant that he would have to continue pommeling the hawk like a real enemy until it could get the fuck out of his way. After a series of punches and kicks in the air, the hawk darted to the bottom left, avoiding Kashizudoto's assault and then scratching Kashizudoto's left arm with its talons before ascending once again into the air above Kashizudoto. So... this hawk was ready to be on the attack, eh? Hawky was learning quickly; he reminded Kashizudoto of himself.

"Alright Hawky," yelled out the tokubetsu jonin to the hawk, "If you can use your talons, then I can use my sword!" He pulled out his Tentetsutou from its bamboo sheath, the meteor blade glimmering in the sun. However, he wouldn't be slashing at the bird, as that would be too risky; he would only use his weapon to block Hawky's talons during the onslaught. It was the bird's turn to be on the attack, and its excitement was evident in its eyes as it swooped in to attack the tokubetsu jonin. This would be very good for training.

WC: 1253

The talons came down upon the tokubetsu jonin from up above; he parried both with his Tentetsutou. In response, the bird used the surface of the sword to push back into the air with his talons. As a maneuver, Hawky quickly swooped to Kashizudoto's left and then attempted a sidewards scratch on Kashizudoto's hip; however, the tokubetsu jonin readily blocked both talons with his katana pointed vertically.

He felt that the bird was ready to deal with some preliminary sword swinging at this point, so the two entered a transitional fight where they'd both be able to go on the attack and the defense with their respective weapons; Kashizudoto decided to swing his sword at the level of an average genin, but he knew that if he went too far with his swing, he'd maim or even kill the bird. Thus, the week progressed with long nights for the two to sleep and then this kind of high intensity weapon practice for them in the mornings.

"I think you're ready for some jutsu, Hawky, the tokubetsu jonin yelled to the hawk during one of their spars somewhere in the middle of the second week of practice. He knew that he couldn't go with anything super advanced yet, or Hawky would be toast. Therefore, he decided to start off with a D-rank jutsu, a simple one that wouldn't be too punishing if Hawky was hit.

"Ninja Art: Tile Shuriken!" he yelled in advanced so that he could give the hawk a little more time than usual to prepare; he usually didn't like screaming out his techniques unless it was for a good reason (like specifically alerting someone to what you're doing). Suddenly, ten pebbles levitated in the air behind the hawk, compressed into shuriken, and thrust themselves straight at him.

The hawk heard them coming with its hearing, so it dodged the first one to come at him; however, it couldn't react fast enough, so three more pebble shuriken barraged his back, causing 1/2 inch cuts and making him lose balance and fall into the tokubetsu jonin's arms.

"RAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" the hawk screeched as Kashizudoto pulled out the pebble shuriken lodged in its back. The two rested for a while before Hawky got back up in the air. Clearly, he wanted some more practice. Well, Hawky either wanted that or just some payback for how shamefully he lost. It swooped in to attack the tokubetsu jonin, who quickly got up and sidestepped to the right. However, the hawk didn't go crashing into the ground; it instead swooped back up to initiate a series of attacks on its owner with its beak, its talons, and its wings, which Kashizudoto dodged with the speed of a very experienced genin; this hawk was getting real good, real fast thanks to the attention that Kashizudoto was giving it daily.

The tokubetsu jonin blocked with his sword, causing the hawk to respond by swooping to the left of Kashizudoto and scratching his leg with his talons. Though it was a very weak scratch, the fact that he got a hit was good progress. The tokubetsu jonin swung his sword at the flying hawk with the speed of a genin, which was promptly dodged with a barrel roll on Hawky's part. Talon met blade as the two clashed.

They exchanged more basic strikes, each being able to block the one of the other. Still, it felt really slow to the tokubetsu jonin, who wasn't tiring out at all; however, the hawk was having the workout of its life. Suddenly, the hawk's talons grasped the Tentetsutou's blade as Hawky utilized it as a takeoff platform to fly straight into Kashizudoto's chest with its beak, causing Kashizudoto to crash into the ground upon impact as Hawky performed an aileron roll. However, the hawk wasn't just about to miss its window off opportunity here; it began a series of strikes at Kashizudoto where it would swoop down with its talons and scratch him at all angles. Of course, the tokubetsu jonin could've easily ended it there with several different options; however, he wanted to stick to fighting with the hawk at a genin level for now, at least until Hawky could build up his physical skills to the point where he could face a chuunin on fair terms. Throwing genin-level punches at Hawky while he was on the ground being attacked by the bird, Kashizudoto finally scored a hit on it and got up in that time frame.

The rest of their second week of practice was dominated by this kind of intense sparring between the two; by the week's end, the hawk was ready for Kashizudoto to fight it at a chuunin level.

WC: 2059

-- Week 3 --

The tokubetsu jonin really kicked their training up a notch for the third week, as the bird could now compete roughly at a chuunin level. On the first evening of the third week, after extensive training, Kashizudoto and Hawky went out to hunt before going to bed. However, it didn't seem as if they'd get the opportunity to rest..

Hawky had just swooped caught a fish from the river (as a bird of prey, it was normal for him to have strong perception) when they both spotted a bonfire in the distance, with five men sitting around it laughing. Were these criminals? A large sack of something could be found next to them. They looked suspicious, so he wanted to check them out; however, he instead looked at this as an opportunity to further Hawky's abilities.

"Hey, Hawky," he whispered to the bird, who had now perched himself on top of Kashizudoto's right shoulder, "Go rip open that sack; this is all you bro." Only after his command did he realize how inconsiderate he was being in doing so; if these suspicious figures were innocent, then he would've made it a lot harder for them to transport the goods in that sack!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" the hawk screeched as it left the shoulder of the tokubetsu jonin and flew into the air. Obviously, the suspicious figures noticed Kashizudoto and Hawky now that the latter had just alerted them to their position with a loud noise. The hawk swooped down to go and tear through the bag with his beak, but the men defended their bag with passion, getting in front of the hawk. They threw punches at the hawk, only for it to barrel roll away and then swoop down to tear through the bag. Hawky then proceeded to perform an aileron roll in the air to dodge any more attacks before flying straight up into the sky. What were the contents of the bag? Gold. Now this was looking really suspicious.

"Where'd you get that bag?" the tokubetsu jonin inquired as he walked up to the group of men. He had his arms crossed; he wanted to let Hawky handle the fight if one erupted.

"Why's it your business, punk?" one of the men screamed, his cry echoing throughout the valley. He then proceeded to charge at Kashizudoto, who remained in the same stance with his arms crossed; if he wanted to, he could dodge at any time.

"I'll assume you stole it then," he spoke calmly, "Hawky, show him what you've been training for!" The bird listened to his owner's commands loyally, swooping down at the man and nailing him in the back with his beak. Meanwhile, Kashizudoto watched as the other four men grabbed the torn sack and ran off with it, gold constantly leaking out of the bag.

"Hawky, chase 'em down!" he ordered. The hawk immediately performed a half-roll upon hitting the man, heading straight for the runaways. Theoretically, Kashizudoto could've just stopped them then and there with a simple jutsu; however, he wanted to see how far this hawk had come. It'd be a... test of sorts.

WC: 2595

Kashizudoto followed closely behind as the hawk chased the four remaining men through the valley, although first he had to tie up that one man on the ground with wire so that he wouldn't escape. The hawk swooped in on the man with the bag (which was still leaking gold) and attempted to peck him in the head; however, one of the men next to him noticed and punched the bird in its abdomen before it could do so. Hawky went flying back in the air, but he continued to stay adrift, flapping his wings desperately to stay up after the attack. However, the hawk wanted to give some good old fashioned payback, it seemed.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH" screeched the hawk as he swooped in on the man who had just punched him, his talons descending upon his foe, who was still currently on the run with his friends. Both of his talons scratched through the man's back, cutting in deeper than kunai. He fell flat on his face with a thud, but the three remaining suspicious men just kept running as if something happened. Their undervaluation of their comrade was despicable. As the hawk continued to hunt down his prey, Kashizudoto tied the man up with wire so that he couldn't escape any time soon.

The hawk swooped in with maximum speed at the man carrying the sack, now half empty due to how much it had leaked on the way. Hawky ended up nailing the man right on the head, flying right through and then performing a half roll to attack the other three men. One of them picked up the sack and ran to the right while the other two threw punches at Hawky, who readily dodged them by flying downwards and towards the direction of the man with the sack, so the two men began chasing the hawk.

Kashizudoto watched as Hawky, with his superior speed, was able to catch up to the man running with the leaking sack. He eventually managed to hit the man's back with his beak, pushing him into the ground with great force. The bird performed a half-roll in the air so that he could encounter the two remaining men who were after him. He began spinning violently in the air, charging through the air into the chest of one of the men, pushing him down to the ground. By now, Kashizudoto had used his wire to tie up the third man that Hawky defeated in battle. He began walking over the the site of the battle between Hawky and the fifth man so that he could tie up the fourth man and, soon, the fifth man to be defeated by Hawky.

The man threw a punch at Hawky; however, the bird defended itself with his wings before opening them back up and swooping down into the man's legs, knocking him off balance. He then proceeded to do a half-roll afterwards and scratch the man in the back with his talons, causing the man to land face flat. By then, Kashizudoto had finished up tying the fourth man.

"Good job, Hawky, this is what I trained you for," the tokubetsu jonin spoke as he tied up the last man, "Can you go over and drag all of the people that we captured to this spot so that we can question them?" The hawk did as he ordered; after about an hour, the hawk had been able to drag all of the captured men over to that spot.

"Now will you tell me where you obtained this sack of gold?" questioned the tokubetsu jonin.

"Bah, we stole it from the gold miners..." admitted one of the men, "They'll be back to reclaim their treasure soon, especially because we left a trail of gold leading right to here. Damn you!"

"Fine then, we'll wait here for them to come by," declared the tokubetsu jonin, "You can watch Hawky and I practice in the meantime. However, it is nighttime right now, so we're gonna all catch some Zs for the timebeing. Besides, after doing such a splendid job of catching you delinquents, Hawky needs some quality rest. They would all sleep under the beautiful stars of the valley and wake up the next morning. When would the miners come and claim their gold?

WC: 3322

He heard the stomachs of the bandits growl with a great intensity; they must have not eaten! Then again, Kashizudoto and Hawky hadn't eaten much either, as their hunting was interrupted by the big bandit chase.

"Hawky, how 'bout you bring some things for these poor folks to eat," he would order the hawk, who obeyed and flew out to go hunt as was asked. He couldn't leave these people starving.

"Even for us bandits?" one of them would ask, "Why help people as despicable as us?" It was a tough question, but the boy had an answer.

"Well," he responded, "There's obviously a reason that you did this. You're living beings, after all, and you deserve respect. Now tell me... Why did you steal the gold? What are your stories?" Perhaps he could change these people. Or maybe not.

"We five are actually just simple gold miners ourselves..." the same man explained, "Of course, 75% of what we mine goes to those damn corporates. We can't even feed our families! So one day, we told our wives and children to move to Iwagakure using our life savings, and they did as we asked. Then we made off with one of the sacks of gold to go start a new life over there. You can call it stealing, but what our greedy boss is doing to us is much worse! He's exploiting the shit out of us! Since we live in such a poor town, there's nothing else we could fucking do to earn money! The town is practically run by those demons! They have a monopoly on everything!" He felt empathy for the man, understanding his sad tale. A small town being taken over by shady corporates was nothing new in the shinobi world, and it was a scary and anti-competitive practice that hurt so many people. At this point, the hawk returned from the sky with two fishes in his beak

"In that case," the tokubetsu jonin told them as he untied them, "Take a modest share of the gold, as well as the fishes, and head off now for Iwagakure to start a new life with your family. I'll deal with this." They did as he asked and ran off into the distance. He would wait for the search party to come, telling Hawky to scour out the perimeter from the skies and warn him of an upcoming arrival.

WC: 3733

It wasn't long before the miners came, searching for their gold; however, there were no corporate cronies or their goons along with them.

"KID, you're gonna get it!" an angry miner yelled. Oh shit, that miner thought that the thief was Kashizudoto.

"Is it true that your town is being run by corporate goons? Tell me," he spoke calmly, pretty sure that people would hesitantly nod their heads. However, that did not happen. Instead, a look of confusion came upon all of them.

"No, the same angry miner declared, "We've got some great leadership that serves our needs fine. Now stop blaming our leaders for your thievery, you filthy little rascal. Don't you know that gold is our livelihood you thief!?" That was when Kashizudoto realized that he'd been completely duped. Those bandits were lying about the corporates so that they could get pity from Kashizudoto and make off with the stolen money. Damn it, he got tricked!

"SHIT!" the tokubetsu jonin screamed as the hawk returned to his shoulder, "We gotta find those bastards, Hawky! Lead the way with your sense of smell! Let's track them down! Don't worry, miners, we'll get back the rest of your gold!" He felt so stupid, but he wanted to right his wrongs before it was too late. The hawk took off, with the kid following closely. Meanwhile, the miners, absolutely clueless about what had just transpired, simply collected their gold.

Eventually, the tokubetsu jonin and his hawk rounded up the bandits pretty easily and dragged them back by their ears to the nice town where the miners were (thanks to Hawky's tracking skills, they were able to locate the town using the scent of the miners). After clearing up the confusion with the miners, Kashizudoto and Hawky went back out to train as usual.

The week went on with a lot more high intensity spars between the two; by the end of it, the hawk was competitive enough so that he could fight Kashizudoto at 100% of his abilities, as long as the spar only involved basic strikes, that is. Their training was cut short, however, when a messenger hawk arrived and delivered a message from Professor Ivan to Kashizudoto.

Lord Buma, a master of the Order of the White Lotus, has lost contact with us entirely after one distress message. Use your messenger hawk to locate Buma's manor in the Land of Lightning and help him out in whatever way you can.

- Professor Ivan

Upon receiving the message, the two immediately embarked for their new task in the Land of Lightning, trained and ready for the tasks ahead.

WC: 4180

[Exit]

Hawky: E -> B: 4000/4000