As is tradition, Ai was named after his father Aizen, an elder councilmen of the Shima clan. The particular division that his father provided oversight for was the one pertaining to the Daimyo Court. So, his childhood was vastly different than most. Instead of being brought to work for a day off, he was brought to court to learn how to sway people with his words. He would follow his father around with a smile, and was often used as a prop in his deals. For some, it’s much harder to raise there voice and verbally abuse someone while a young child was beside them. His father was good at his job, and that was what his father intended for him to do as he grew up. Unfortunately, as Ai grew older and more rebellious he would look for any opportunity to do the opposite of what his father wanted. This is what brought him to Kumogakure.
Ai is from Raidens Eye originally, and his father was usually out of the house for business alot. When he went to his mother with the request to go and become a Shinobi, she was torn. She knew her husbands wish for young Ai to follow in his footsteps, but a mother’s love for her child is strong. The night his father returned they sat down to have a long discussion. There was yelling, misunderstandings, and stubbornness. But after Ai’s mom soothed her husbands nerves an idea came to mind. He reached out to his brother, the head of the Shima clan, and sought advice. Turned out his own daughter had wished to become a kunoichi herself. After some long and complicated letters, Ai was given permission to go and join the academy far to the north of his home. But it was without a long hug around his fathers waist. Ai promised he would make the clan and his father proud with his work, and that he would be back to do his part in the court. Though the latter of those promises wasn’t intended to be kept, time has a funny way of changing things.
Like most Shima, Ai had no unique bloodline to call on in the academy. He had no training from his home to bring with him. All he knew was how to speak eloquently; which had it’s uses, but not in an academy full of children whom couldn’t comprehend the words he said. He began to look down upon them, as if they were unintelligent buffons. To some degree, they were.
He stayed at the Shima estate in Kumogakure, working on his skills in private and getting to know his family who lived in the village. The clan head’s daughter had already graduated so he didn’t really have anyone to lean on when it came to academy business. He only knew he had to try his hardest to make his family proud. That sense of loyalty and pride was only strengthened by Harukaze in his time staying at the estate. Conflicting messages from the academy and his uncle confused him but eventually it ended up sticking in his mind: Family first. Country Second.
While being of the Shima family had it’s advantages, it also included some disadvantages. One of those disadvantages was that having the very name made you a target for certain groups. A target for kidnappings for example. But in his case, Ai was being sought by another group amongst those in the political scene. The Titan Corporation. As soon as he joined the academy, they had their eyes within the academy keeping an eye on him, waiting for the opportune moment to make the approach. The moment their teacher realized a change in his attitude as exams neared, he made his move. As predicted, Ai was fearful of letting down his family by not passing the brutal tests that students were put through for graduation. The agent approached as a friend, offering to give him some private tutoring. Ai had no reason to distrust one of the sensei who had been teaching him to past few months and agreed wholeheartedly.
But this training was different. It was nothing like the academy. The training at the school had made him physically fit and able to perform generic shinobi tasks, but his sensei had other things in mind. Unlike normal tutoring, Ai was requested to meet him in the Ancient Forest. He arrived to find both his tutor and a man with a black bag on his head, hands tied behind his back. Questions were asked. Answers were given, whether truthful or not. His teacher basically said real shinobi go on missions, and the only way he was going to pass the test is if he was willing to kill for it. Taking a knife, the masked man’s binds were cut and he was pushed towards the forest, tripping and stumbling along the way. Ai was tasked with killing him.
It took hours. The masked man had tired himself out with all the blind running he had done and was a now just a motionless target. But Ai still struggled, despite all the training of the academy. He was ready to give up when his Sensei approached with a new weapon: a crossbow. “Just pull the trigger and think nothing more.” he said. Ai aimed the weapon, then averted his eyes, his finger trembling. He slowly squeezed and the bolt finally released after what seemed like an eternity. The sound of the metal going into the flesh was different than he expected, and the man made no more noise. It was a fatal wound. Turning his head, it seemed like nothing had happened. Except there was a bolt sticking out of the body. “Was it a real person or a clone?” he asked himself. He was soon pulled away by his teacher and congratulated. “You now have more experience and know how than anyone else in your class. Why don’t you keep the bow for yourself, and bring it tomorrow night for your next lesson.” the older man said with a smile. He continued to praise Ai for killing his target… but Ai felt like it was something he shouldn’t have been praised for.
This training continued, Ai grew more and more confident in the way he took down his targets, and made sure to do it with one shot. Eventually his Sensei began to let his targets fight back, and then multiple targets were introduced. The more challenging the situation, the more Ai surpassed his expectations. It turns out that where Ai had believed himself unskilled due to the academy teaching, it really was just that the academy was never requesting him to do what he was truly good at: taking life. After weeks of these sessions, Ai’s attitude and nature began to shift; where before he felt regret for taking life, he now looked forward to the new tests these targets brought him. He grew to enjoy it, thoroughly. As an addict might get a high off of narcotics, Shima Ai’s blood raced when in the heat of a hunt. His spirit soared with each pull of the trigger, and there was no better feeling than watching the final body hitting the floor.
When exams finally arrived, Ai was a different person than his classmates knew him to be. While he remained a rather go-lucky person and continued to be amazingly friendly, they didn’t know the moment his directive was given that he turned into something else. They were taken to the Ancient Forest, that place where he was most familiar. There were twenty-eight students who would be trying to graduate to the meager rank of genin that year. Ai planned to be one of them. However, like most exams, theirs was not the same as last year. No, this was something special. They were split up into seven groups of four and told to get to know each other. Ai quickly got to know the others and they figured out their strengths and weaknesses as they assumed they would be sparring against the other squads in the forest. But once gathered, their mission was told. “There are no rules. Only one person is going to graduate from each group. Fight for your place in the army of Kumogakure.”
Ai looked to the three next to him. So they weren’t going to be paired up, instead pit against each other to see who was the strongest… Their expressions seemed to darken, the other three looking toward him. During their planning, he had purposefully omitted the knowledge of his training with Tachibana-sensei and had simply revealed that his strengths included learning about his enemies and capitalizing on their weaknesses. The others however… he knew their strengths. But he couldn’t out a confident vibe. He needed to remain meek.
The groups were split and all taken to different areas of the forest. They had to find and dispatch their group members somehow. Some in the group he was in were making pacts to help each other disable their group members together, but no one approached Ai. He was left alone. While friendly, no one thought he would be much help in a fight. How wrong they were. Ai decided to follow pair of his classmates up in the branches, keeping his vantage point as he had learned was crucial.
The pair found a few of their group mates and broke one of their arms with a jutsu and ended up tying another up with ninja wire and hanging him from a tree. Ai’s heartbeat remained slow as he followed along, and as expected they eventually came across one of his own squad members. It seemed he was alone. They appeared to be exchanging information, and then what seemed to be an offer for the lone student to join their duo. Before the answer was given, a bolt landed squarely between his eyes and the blood shot out towards the two he was talking to. Cries of panic and confusion echoed momentarily as they looked for their assailant. When their eyes failed them, they decided to move quickly in case the shooter was after them as well. Ai followed silently behind.
The sun set, and the game was still afoot. Ai had hardly had a challenge and failed to come across the other two with whom he was ordered to dispatch. But it was not a time for rest. He assumed that the more intelligent of his targets were waiting for the cover of night. That’s what he would have done if he didn’t have these two being the perfect distraction. They were loud and reckless. To be honest he was surprised they weren't dead yet. They had even set up camp with a fire an everything, giving away their position. Soon other students began to arrive, checking whether or not their group partners were around the fire. Eventually it was basically a safe zone. Students were agreeing to leave the fighting till morning came once again. Not for Ai. No his two targets were amongst the rest of them. However from his position, he didn’t have a clear shot.
After reloading his crossbow with specific piercing ammo, Ai took aim. It happened quicker than most people could react to. One of his targets was dead in an instant, bolt to the base of the neck. However, his other was hiding behind another student. As his first victim slumped onto the ground and people’s attention seemed to perk, his second bolt was away through the ear of the boy in front of his squad mate and into the throat of his intended target. Shouts of pain and the gurgling of blood alerted the rest of the group. Some quickly vacated the area, others took a defensive posture. Ai quickly leapt from the comfortable spot he found in his tree and was approaching the what remained of the ‘safe’ zone.
“Hiya everyone!” he said with a chipper expression while walking over. It had been boring and hardly as difficult as anything his Sensei had prepared for him. But he guaranteed his graduation. Leaning over, he slipped the bolts out of their bodies and put them back into place in the quiver at his hip. Voices sounded around him. Words of disbelief only made his grin wider. He turned to the others and slung the crossbow around his shoulder. “Any of you need help taking out your squad mates? I’ve already got all of mine so I can help a few of you out before I take off.” he offered with a very upbeat tone to his voice. Some shook their head quickly, wanting nothing to do with him. Others came to stand beside him quickly. ”Looks like there is more work to be done…” he thought, a dark grin flashing before he set off into the forest once more, his posse behind him.
After the exam had concluded and all the headbands had been passed out, the crews were to sent in to find the remaining students left behind. When they found the first dead bodies, it didn’t raise any alarms. Some deaths had been predicted and even expected. But then more and more began to surface, all with similar wounds. By the end of the search for students, it had been discovered that Ai’s bolts were responsible for ten of the twenty eight students deaths. Some serious concern was raised among the staff at the academy, especially since seven of those deaths were not people he personally needed out of the way. Ai didn't seem the type to be a cold psychopath who could kill without a second thought. He was called in to speak with a counselor. By the end of their meeting, he had the young man baffled as to why someone so...happy go lucky would have killed ten other students. By the end of the investigation, the only thing that the new professional could figure out was that he might have done it to gain friends. After learning that Ai wasn’t really a popular guy, the explanation was that he was helping the other students so they would think he was cool somehow. A wrong assumption, but the investigation was ended with that. No one really looked into where this average student got so good at killing.
Life resumed for Ai, that whole funny business put behind him. Graduating wasn’t as great as he had believed it was going to be. The missions he were sent on were practically useless, just a way for the village to make some quick cash, he assumed. Life as a genin was boring, and Ai found himself returning to his sensei for more training. Unfortunately, there was nothing his old teacher could do for him except point him in the direction of a possible opportunity. For the next year, Ai was busy trying to get a reputation in the shinobi corps through missions involving killing rodents, finding peoples lost possessions, and doing chores for old people. Needless to say, it was an impossible goal. So he listened to his old teacher and went to the Titan corporation in search of work. He found that the company was much more willing of giving him jobs more suitable to his particular... skills. (To be clear, they did not recruit him. They just hired him like they do regular ninja. Just under the table)
In time he found himself as a chunnin, without much of a reputation to note. Big names in the shinobi community were usually made during wars. In times of peace, it was much less likely to become a household name. So, it was at this point he decided to finally go back home to see his family. There wasn’t much that changed. His parents seemed much more tired and older, but his father was still the workaholic and his mother doted upon him like he had never left her. While he was practically interrogated about his life since he left, he told the story with a smile on his face. Unlike with the counselor, he was forthright with his parents. He explained how he got private training under a tutor, and the reasons behind the killing in the forest. It wasn’t just to kill a bunch of students. It was to gain the trust of the others who would be graduating with him, so they knew what he was capable of doing for them… and what he was able to do to them. It was a play to establish his power over the others. His father seemed proud, even saw a bit of himself in the boy. His mother on the other hand showed concern and worry. But the subject was changed soon enough and that night came to a conclusion.
The next few weeks included Ai being brought to court to shake many hands, getting to know quite a few of the important people of lightning country. The best part of the whole time there was how his father would introduce him. “And this is my son, Ai. He’s a fully fledged shinobi from Kumogakure.” It usually went something like that. But there was something being planted here that Ai picked up on. Some of the men he met seemed very fearful when he was introduced, and others seemed quite pleased. Allies and enemies of his father no doubt. And with the thought that Ai was a shinobi for him to use added some real pressure against the others. But Ai didn’t mind. He was here to get to know people and getting contacts. He didn’t plan on being a shinobi forever. Once retired he needed a new job, and following his father didn’t seem like to bad of an idea.
Ai’s contact with his father continued ever since he visited home. They began to work together to further the family legacy and to do so meant getting more involved with the politics of Kumogakure. What better way to learn everyone’s dirty little secrets than to be apart of the main branch's Intelligence Service. Coincidently, it was his cousin who was in charge of that division. They had known of each other but never really met or conversed, so this would be their first meeting. And that’s where past meets present. The End.
