Fresh Off the Block (Training/Team Mas)

It was that time again. Far be it for Masuyo to doubt she would be dumped a batch of Genin the moment she settled down. Training was something she was naturally good at. Being a professional instructor she was granted the title Headmaster in Iwagakure by twenty-two, and her technique has only improved since then. Masuyo dressed in her standard gear. Her footwear consisted of standard black sandals fitted for comfort and security. With the toes and heel left exposed they provided additional balance, while the rest of the foot up to the ankle was protected by the thick nylon material of the sandal. The soles of the sandals are reinforced with hardened material to resist heavy impacts and weathering. She wore a pair of loose fitting black pants with the bottoms near her ankles taped securely in white bandage wrap. This provided balance and reinforcement to her ankles while closing off the ends of her pants. In addition, more bandage wrap was wrapped around her right thigh which allowed a navy blue holster to be strapped over comfortably. Around her waist she wears the basic utility belt which carries two green holsters on her right side along with two tool pouches around her back side.

A titanium mail shirt is worn under a common long sleeve black top having a red seal of fire placed on the outsides of each sleeve towards the upper arm. Over that was a fitted green flak jacket provided by Konoha's armory and fitted with steel plated inserts making the jacket like a more flexible breastplate having the steel in all parts of her leather. The jacket was zipped up and secure firmly on her body. She wore a pair of banded steel arm guards which protected the backs of her hands and down to her elbows with a narrow soft spot on the backs of her wrists to allow freedom of movement. Lastly her forehead protector was worn around the neck like a collar with the steel plate facing the front showing Konoha's symbol proudly on the plaque. Masuyo has straight, dark brown hair which extends down to her mid back. She stands at 5'9 weighing approximately 145 lbs. Her fair skin is complimented with her voluptuous form which is completed with a pair of hazel eyes.

There was no doubt she was a local favorite in Konoha given her earlier years, but as she matured she no longer pursued her past reputation. Life was fulfilling as it was, with no desire to uphold her old tradition. She stood within the heart of one of the dozens of training grounds that dotted Konoha, the city taking pride in its military strength by offering many utilities. This was the stereotypical training ground which was her favorite among all other. It offered no advantage one way or another. Plenty of dense foliage provided by the Senju trees and other local shrubs gave lots of light defense and concealment. A twelve meter wide stream ran along side the forty meter clearing in the woods. This offered a spring source for some light water Ninjutsu, given the river was a good six meters deep offering a strong, constant source of water to utilize.

Lastly there was the requisite three training posts which have all seen better days. Each of them were covered in cuts and dents from numerous Taijutsu exercises. The day was rather warm, nearing ninety degrees and at high noon. A natural breeze helped take a lot of the edge off of the heat making today rather nice to be out. Masuyo sat upon the middle training post with her legs freely dangling with a slight swing to them as she found ways to entertain herself. It seemed odd to enjoy the day without a drink or something to nibble on. That was a habit which unfortunately stuck during her time away.

It was about time that Auro was assigned to a team, and he was more than curious as to who was to be his sensei. Sure Masuyo was formerly a kage as much as Ash was aware of. However he doesn’t actually know her, and he’s never met her before. Still he didn’t have any gear on him, not even armor. He simply couldn’t afford it, and he’s done a couple of missions already this month. Still not enough to get the basic necessities.

At any rate, Auro wears a short sleeved white shirt with sand-colored shorts. His feet are lightly protected non-armor wise by a pair of leather brown sandals. The forehead protector that holds Konohagakure's symbol on the steel plate is on his forehead. His short silver hair appears to be soft as Auro's red eyes scanned the pathway. The kind of eyes that had an so-called invisible pupil.

The light sounds of his feet connecting with the earth and the rustling leaves was pretty much the only sound coming from Auro. Walking down the familiar path to one of the diverse training grounds as instructed earlier. In truth he wondered if he might be the last one, but Ash dismissed those thoughts. Even if he is last, so long as he is not late then there shouldn't be a problem. If they do have a problem with it then they might have a stick up their ass. Which means more of a nuisance than an ally.

Upon entering the 40 meter clearing of the forest, Auro scanned the area to look for this new sensei. It wasn't exactly hard to nor did it take longer than a glance to see that someone else was there. She's certainly a beauty and is geared enough to put most of these guards to shame. Certainly puts him to shame, but being more of an expert in taijutsu he isn’t really comfortable with other weapons. Still having even a kunai or a shuriken is much easier and faster than having to weave handseals together. Which reminds Auro that he needs to do at least three more missions before he can have enough for a full gear set that he’s been saving up for.

At any rate, Auro’s lips curl into a smile on his carefree expression while approaching Masuyo with both hands in his pockets.

”You’re Masuyo Kaede, I presume?”

Yui had prepared herself grabbing her bow and arrows as she went toward the training grounds, she made sure she had all her gear set in order. She would place the final load of laundry into the wash before heading out, giving a light bow to the master of the house she was at before heading off. She would make her way toward the grounds spotting another genin it appeared as well as Masuyo, she knew who she was from rumors alone. She was a tough and strong woman you certainly didn't want to be on the wrong side of. She approached the two giving a light bow before lifting her head and smiling kindly toward the two, she seemed so calm and very much appeared to be passive.

"Good day both of you my name is Uchiha Yui and it is my pleasure to meet both of you, I hope for a good day of training."

She was very different than what one would expect of a genin but she did have a visible bow on her back as well as quivers of arrows, so she was some sort of bow user for sure. She was also in her maid outfit still, one would think it would hinder her in combat, but she used it to actually hide how physically fit she was so her opponents would underestimate her.

It was a bit of a shock to find out that he had been assigned to a team. It hadn’t been something that Nikoban had signed up for or expressed interest in, as far as he knew, and so the news had caught him by complete surprise. It wasn’t something he was particularly against, of course, but the sudden shift had caught him off guard all the same. If anything it was a positive event to be looked forward to. A team would mean cooperation for missions, training, and an easy outlet to socialization that would prevent him from having to go at these things alone. An enforced support group, if it turned out well.

Standing at 5’8”, Nikoban was taller than his feminine and lithe appearance would imply. Still, he did make an effort to dress the part. The low-cut red shirt he wore exposed his collarbone and was surrounded by a black hooded jacket that was covered with a variety of mismatched patches. Below that he would only be wearing a short cut pair of denim shorts, which were perhaps an odd choice for training. A pair of long black socks traveled up above his knees, leaving only a small patch of skin visible between where the socks cut off and the shorts began. Around his neck would be a small collar with a blank charm hanging down from it, a stylistic decision that made a lot more sense when his feline features were taken into account. Nikoban made no effort to hide the cat ears or tail that he had, both clearly visible at the top of his head and poking out from his lower back respectively.

His expectations would be destroyed as he approached the designated meeting place. He was met by two beautiful, voluptuous women and a rather handsome looking young man, something that normally would have made him excited. The problem was that he already knew two of these three, even if not by name. Memories of past interactions flooded his head. Masuyo, of when she casually suggested he be beaten up while helpless in that bush. Yui, when she gave that frightening and sadistic looking smile after his offer to help her training. Immediately Nikoban wished he had scouted ahead with his Byakugan before coming here, to at least see who would be waiting for him in advance. The fact that he hadn’t was a startling error in judgement that he was now mentally kicking himself for.

“...Oh.” It was the first thing that came out of his mouth once Nikoban saw who he was meeting with. He had been the last to arrive, perhaps even a bit late.

First impressions were everything, and Masuyo had a handful to deal with. One by one her squad would arrive, each bringing their own unique cultures to the fray.

Casual...Fetish........Fruit.

Auro seemed nonchalant and easy going. Masuyo figured the boy would be difficult to open up at times. The second newcomer Yui, a woman sharing the same of her former student ironically enough, but hailing from the Uchiha. They were prestigious and proud, so Masuyo figured Yui would hold herself to high regards and have a refined elegance to many things. Lastly there was Niko, a gangly looking feminine boy that looked the least bit convincing. To top it off, Masuyo knew him fairly well. He was nosy, but not much else. She questioned how much he took being a ninja seriously, but only time will tell. But with all of her students gathered, it was time to start.

The Jounin slid off the log she sat upon and landed on both feet in a springy step. She held this grin on her face as she approach Auro, the first student to arrive. Reaching into her front pocket she retrieved a small sticker sheet with four rows and five columns. Taking a glittery, golden star from the first row she'd jab it rather enthusiastically on the young man's shirt. "That, is an attendance sticker. Whenever we have missions or team meetings I will reward the first arrival with a golden star. The first one to five stars gets a fabulous prize." Masuyo said trailing off with a wink. Taking a deep breath she paced around Auro and started clearing a bit of distance between her and the group, stopping roughly five meters from their location with her back turned against the river.

"I am Masuyo Kaede, your new instructor. It is my job to teach you all the fundamentals of being a real ninja. That's right. You are all not official yet. A Genin is more or less an internship kind of position. It is when you reach Chuunin are you truly considered an independent ninja. So until then, sit tight. Lets get the specifics out of the way first. You know my name already. In addition, I'll tell you all a little about me. I was originally apart of Iwagakure until its collapse. I moved to Konoha when I was twenty-two. I served as Jounin Commander for two years before becoming Hokage. Afterwards, I ended up stepping down to take a...rather long vacation. So here I am now. I just got back three weeks ago. Currently I'm at the ripe age of thirty, but don't let that fool you. I'm still a very capable fighter. Now, each of you introduce yourselves like I did. Then we can get into today's activity."

The next two newcomers to Auro’s perspective were quite the variety. One of the sort resembles very much like a maid equipped with a bow and arrow at the back. The name Uchiha rang a bell as it should for many people living in Konohagakure. Both Hyuuga and Uchiha have some rough history, centuries worth even. As much as Ash would love to pretend that everything was fine, he’s aware that there are some Uchiha who are kind of stingy about it. Surprisingly he didn’t encounter that kind of tension with Akari, but not anyone is the same as the other. The same can be said about his own family, but that’s a rather touchy issue.

”A pleasure to meet you as well.” Auro replied to Yui with a dip of his head. More than a nod, yet not a bow. The last person to arrive has a peculiar face, and didn’t really say much at all. In fact, Niko looked like he’s walking into a situation that he didn’t like. Auro gestures with a small wave of his hand for Niko to come closer as his carefree expression remains the same with a smirk on his face.

”Why are you all the way over there? I won’t bite, I promise.” A light chuckle escaping his lips as he made a dry joke. Although whether Niko steps closer to the group or not is up to him, and once Masuyo started talking Ash paid attention with both eyes and ears. Well, and touch too when Masuyo jabbed a golden sticker on his shirt. Auro wasn’t aware there was such a thing as attendance, so he raised a curious brow as to what the prize was.

After she put a small distance between them, Masuyo introduced herself and included a brief summary about her. Including what she’s been up to, although Auro doesn’t say anything. Just shut up and listen to what she was saying. When she was done, Auro felt the torch so to speak was passed onto him. Both hands were tucked into the pockets of his shorts as he turned to the group as a whole before starting.

”I am Auro Hyuuga, but just friends call me Ash. I’m seventeen, and I’m not some big shot in the clan or anything. I’ve technically been a Genin for a year now, but some issues came up and deterred the career a bit. Sometimes I gamble, not just poker or blackjack either. Gambling to raise the stakes of even the dullest missions makes it more exciting, or it does for me. Other times you’ll more likely find me busy with something else. Depends on the mood i suppose, but more likely I’ll be eating at some restaurant or helping with the locals here.” Auro shifted his eyes to the side as he was debating on what else he should say here. He’s more or less covered the rest of it, but perhaps a more personal thing would help here.

”Oh, and also if you guys happen to find anything that has peacock designs or feathers I tend to collect them. Would you three mind if I ask to inform me if you find anything like that?”

Yui would watch as the last member arrived, it was that stupid perverted cat again, her eyes would scowl in his direction making it very clear to him she wanted no part in dating him or even being near him. As Masuyo introduced herself a lot of this information she knew as the Uchiha families she watched and cleaned for talked about the kage changes. Ash seemed like a normal person and he appeared to be a Hyuuga this was good news as at least one member of their clan wasn't some cat boy fetish weirdo.

"The name is Uchiha Yui and I am a maid and protector of the Uchiha clan, I don't take risks if their reward isn't greater than the non-risky plan. I also don't like jokes or weird people that are perverts. I am a genin now because the house I watched the children for had all grown up my master decided maybe it was time I trained to be an actual shinobi, not just a trained person to watch children so here I am."

Her glare never left the perverted boy, he would likely realize she was quite a serious person the complete opposite of himself. She seemed to lack the ability to joke, her life as a maid and protector didn't allow for her to joke so this was something she clearly sucked at.

Nikoban would find himself peering at the situation apprehensively, without really being able to help it. Introductions were rung out, one after another. The only one who Nikoban didn’t immediately recognize and treat with this apprehension was Auro, who he would rush over to upon the taller male’s comment. Standing beside Auro, the Hyuga would be used as a shield from these two scary women. Of course, as things started to be said Nikoban would find himself almost unable to help himself.

“Thirty?” He found himself whispering it under his breath as Masuyo mentioned her age. “I don’t believe it.” It was impossible that she was that old looking like she did now. Or maybe there were some tricks involved. With everything he had seen when he had last spied on her Nikoban would have guessed a good deal younger. Following it would be his other two teammates’ introductions, and Nikoban would find himself rolling his eyes somewhat at the comment of Yui not liking ‘perverts’. The glare that followed it would cause Nikoban to avert his eyes, shifting a bit to hide behind Auro.

The whole introducing yourself to a team training exercise was pretty bog standard, and almost stereotypical. Still, it was hard to think of things to say in the moment. Quick thinking wasn’t exactly one of his strong suits. For how chatty the catboy normally was, all of the sudden his lips were shut tight like a clam.

“My name is Nikoban. I’m eighteen, and  I’ve been a Genin for maybe four or five years now. I spend most of my time taking walks and looking around the village for anything that’s interesting.”

His eyes would flash over to Yui for a second, and then to Masuyo.

“And I’m not a pervert.” He felt the need to address the implication here, even if he probably shouldn’t have.

Masuyo rose an eyebrow following Auro's introduction, the Jounin placing both hands on her hips as she sized up the boy. Seventeen and gambling? Something didn't seem right about that. Part of her wanted to reprimand and scold the boy for dabbling into such risky habits. But that aside, he was a Hyuuga and had an odd hobby of collecting peacock feathers. "The Hell you say?" Masuyo said with full confusion and a bit of a taunting tone in her voice. She'd follow with a brief giggle before allowing Yui to introduce herself. She was another odd one to say the least. Maid AND Vanguard of the Uchiha, huh? Certainly the Uchiha had stronger active members than a Genin, and surely she could afford to swap out of her maid outfit before tending to her ninja duties unless she was close on time. Finally there was the feminine cat boy who turned out to be a career Genin, never showing any room for improvement. Overall she was unsure if the synergy of the group would work, but there was only one way to find out.

"Well...you all managed to find your way in this training ground. So congrats. Seeing that most of you are absent of any ninja tools, despite some of your's extended time as a Genin, suggests neither of you are ready for a real training exercise. So today we will simply work on team building. In order to work in a squad you must be comfortable with each other. This introduction was sort of an ice breaker so we know a little bit about each other, but this only gets us so far. Now we must improvise. As Captain I will be orchestrating today's team building event. The winner of this event will be crowned squad leader. Squad Leader has authority when I'm not around."

Forming three hand signs her chakra focused into her hair. To the untrained eye nothing would appear to happen, though as she reached into her brown mane she'd grab a few strands between her fingers and pull, yanking out what would appear to be several senbon between each of her fingers. They were stiff and seemed sharp like actual ninja tools, but made entirely out of her hair. The hair that would've been lost was immediately regenerated by the technique. There, Masuyo had roughly thirty senbon to play with.

"We will be playing a game of 'Masuyo Says.' The objective is simple. I will start to give commands, starting simple and progressively getting more challenging. You all follow them. Failure to follow my commands correctly or outright refusing them will result in a single senbon stabbing. The number of senbon doubles for every failure or refusal. This exercise helps practice each of your abilities to follow directions as well as helps reinforce the importance of following your commanding officer's orders. Because a team that doesn't want to cooperate is bound to fail. But with that out of the way, let's begin!"

Grabbing three senbon from the stack she had she would stash the rest in her front pocket. Caressing the smooth needles between her digits she kept a watchful eye over the three Genin before her, all no more than five meters from her standing location. "Masuyo saaaaaaaays...hug the person to your right!" Quickly she'd gesture her senbon-holding hand to form the half Tiger seal. With her coordination is was done so casually that nobody would notice without advanced perception, but in that moment she created a shadow clone of herself standing to Yui's right.

Yui would listen to the woman she seemed like someone that was tough as nails, this was fine with her she was used to following orders. The other two however likely would suck at it, she has always had good discipline it was time to see just what the pervert and the other odd Hyuuga could do. One had confidence in himself and the one was a pervert for sure, he likely peaked in hot springs and baths using his eyes.

The order was given as Yui dreaded the thought of hugging one of these males but to her right was Masuyo, she was relieved clearly letting out a sigh of relief. She would move toward her and attempt to give her a hug, her hug would be gentle and warm like a mothers touch, it was clear she had a very caring and giving personality despite her rough exterior. She had been a mother basically to all the children she helped raise and it showed in the way she was so gentle yet embracing with care. She would wait until ordered to let go, she knew there had to be a catch, would it be to last as long as they could she did not mind hugging the woman she was soft and warm herself.

EXP: 15X3=45

-Exit Thread-

Having the lack of shinobi tools be pointed out made Nikoban blink, and then take a look down at himself. Of course, he already knew that he didn’t bring anything, but having it pointed out like that required a self-analysis that only his own eyes could provide. He was completely unprepared for shinobi work, if you took into account how much he was carrying with him. More than anything he was dressed overly casually, and the girl in the maid outfit beside him made it clear that he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t prepared for the way this seemed to be going. Although he was never one to use tools like that much in the first place. With his Byakuan and Gentle Fist his fighting style was more hand to hand, and didn’t have room for spare kunai and shuriken. There was still value in carrying them around, of course, along with stuff like wire and all that, but was he supposed to carry them around always and sleep with them? This was just his casual clothing. If they were going to be doing weapon training he would have expected a bit more of a forward warning than just expecting them to all be locked and loaded.

It seemed that the choice of event would be a game instead, one with simple rules that she would explain. Follow her orders or get stabbed. Simple enough. Then came the order. Hug the person to your right. The clone that was quickly formed gave Yui someone to hug, but that left Nikoban with only the maid-girl to hug. He would hesitate.

She already thought he was a pervert. If he hugged her, it would only make it worse. Although the idea of hugging her was pretty appealing too… It was a difficult decision to make.

It was only a moment of hesitation. Nikoban would wrap his arms around Yui, giving a gentle and soft hug to her in the same way that she was hugging the Masuyo clone, a somewhat smug grin on his face as he did it.

[EXIT]

The remark Masuyo said regarding what Auro asked didn’t really phase him. Rather he shrugged his shoulders as Ash didn’t demand it nor expected them to. It was an odd hobby, and Auro was once in a bad crowd which painted a suspicious grey mark on him. He’d rather not go into that detail however unless it became relevant, but gambling was part of the reason Ash was known for dealing with thugs. Hopefully that part of him won’t be brought up, but in the case it does Ash technically didn’t lie to them. Just neglected to tell the real reason behind it.

The other two of Auro’s teammates were quite interesting, and Ash even found Niko’s comment to be amusing when he claimed not to be a pervert. Granted the way Niko placed himself a bit behind Auro from the two women suggests to Auro that they were already acquainted. What were the odds here? Auro felt disconnected as he thought to himself.

Seems like fate has a twist in here. I wonder how this will play out. Alas he was brought back to reality with a blink of his eyes from Masuyo briefing them on what’s going on. Teamwork building apparently, but with tension already wedged between the other two alone. Auro doesn’t think they can get teamwork down overnight. With Yui’s distrust towards Niko, and Niko had moved over to hug Yui. He senses that a scene was going to be made. The better question will be if this Uchiha is disciplined enough to cast aside her emotions for the sake of the job.

Auro shifted his pupil-less eyes between the three for a moment, including the clone of Masuyo. Usually Auro doesn’t walk up to hug anybody, and since Niko was to Auro’s right. Auro would need to hug Niko. However Niko moved over to hug Yui who was also hugging Masuyo’s clone. A slight curl on the corner of his lips suggesting a smile forms on his expression before he approaches the trio. Attempting to place one hand on Niko’s shoulder and the other hand to place around Masuyo’s shoulder. Auro attempts to bring them into a group hug of sorts as it was a reminder that they’re a team now. It’s also to see how well the other two reacts and witness Masuyo’s judgment based on what unfolds. Technically Auro is still hugging the person that was on his right, but he took a step further and more or less attempted to bring them into a group hug.