The Mentor (Yajirobe and Jemima)

[Silverknight]

New came down fast, that he was going to get a shinobi to mentor. The rules made sense, though they were in a time of peace, things could go badly at any point, and they had to make sure they had a group of shinobi ready to deal with any issue that might come up. Why he was picked to tutor a younger shinobi he had no clue why at all. He let out a sight as he rubbed the back of his head. Senju Kito, ot just Kito to his friend was one of the last Senju clan member members still alive, he stood tall with a strong build, he had white hair that was kept neat and short at all times. He stood with a his gray eyes showing confidence in everything he did. He held two swords at his sides as well as he thought about the situation that he happened to be in. He knew nothing about the woman who was going to come and meet with him. She would be staying with him as he trained her, it seemed simple enough to him.

Kito looked at the name Mai, a solid common name, it didn't tell him much, nor did he know her by her surname either. He let out a sigh as he fixed himself and wondered over to the door of his home and stepped outside, he stretched himself out as he looked down the street, looking at the various shinobi, he knew that a number of them were going to meet with their mentors to work on plans for their training. He knew that this training would be based around her skills as well as most likely real mission or two just the two of them going out into the world to face whatever danger that might pop up. He sighed, why didn't the file come with a picture. His gray eyes scanned the field as he noticed to many people walking by to pick or even guess just who she was from where he was standing at. It was annoying but it was just one of those things that happened he figured. He rubbed the back of his neck hoping she would figure out who he was so they didn't miss each other or something.

 

[Jemima]

Mai adjusted the small pack containing what few belongings she cared to bring. It felt uncomfortable resting against the two blades crossing her back. It was a relief to know that the village was at peace - Mai's weapons would be dangerously restricted if attacked then. She couldn't rely on ninjutsu alone in battle, particularly with her mediocre chakra skills. Mai hoped that her mentor would change that. If the village was forcing her to train - and live - with a man she'd never met, she wanted to make the most of it.

Mai glanced at the address scrolled at the bottom of her assignment letter. It was all she knew about her mentor aside from his name, but that didn't tell her much either. The Senju clan wasn't as populous as it had been before the Fourth Shinobi War. Like many others, it's numbers had dropped drastically. Mai glanced at the buildings around her, vaguely wishing for a welcome sign to point her in the right direction.

Instead, she found a man standing on his doorstep. She quickly referenced the address to the small numbers next to his door. It looked like the right place, at least. Mai glanced over who she supposed to be her new mentor, an athletic man with unusually white hair. His smoky eyes seemed to be scanning the crowd of faces bustling past but hadn't noticed her yet. Mai adjusted the hair tie restraining her voluminous brown hair and approached him, somewhat less reluctant than before - she had almost expected the Hokage to assign her a strict, elderly man with a beard longer than her arm.

"Excuse me," Mai cleared her throat politely and extended her assignment letter. "My name is Yoshino Mai. I'm looking for...Senju Kito?"

 

[Silverknight]

Kito looked at the crowd as his eyes scanned over them, noticing a brown haired woman standing looking around herself, perhaps that was the one who was looking for him too. He looked at her measuring her up, she looked pretty average to him, nothing to much stood out actually to him as he judged her from first glance for her shinobi skills as he stood there in his white and light blue robes his arms crossed in front of himself as he leaned just a bit against the wall by his door. He watched her calmly as he figured that the hokage had sent this woman to work with him, meaning he would have to figure out her strengths and weakness as well as ways to help her.

Kito smirked a bit as he noticed her fixing her hair as she walked over, but said nothing at all as she approached. He waited for her to introduce herself to be sure she was who she said she was. "Yes, Mai, I amd Senju Kito," he said as he pointed to his collar which had the senju symbol as did his door and a number of other things within his own house.

"Follow, we shall go over our introductions inside, it is much nicer to go over such things in the comfort of a home then outside," he mused calmly as he moved towards the door and opened it for her as he stood there welcoming her into the house, which was pretty decent in size, it had 2 bedrooms a office, and a large backyard area which he had turned into his personal training area. The living room was large with a mix of old and new furniture as well as the hall that led to the other rooms to the left.

 

[Jemima]

"Sure," Mai nodded. She stepped over the threshold and into her temporary home. Things appeared neat, orderly...the kind of living room she expected of a skilled shinobi with a prominent bloodline. She wondered how much time Kito actually spent at home. Mai only kept her house tidy because she was never there. Chunins were continuously dispatched on menial missions - peacetime did have its disadvantages. Mai was getting sick of saving cats and playing messenger for lords.

Mai stood in the entryway, surveying the home with her pack dangling from one hand. She turned to her mentor and again noted how serious he appeared. Were all high-ranking shinobi so formal? She had to admit, however, that he was attractive. A nice build wasn't uncommon on a man in a shinobi village but Kito appeared more composed than some of his hot-headed companions, and his solemn gray eyes kept her wondering what he may be thinking. Mai gestured at the room and said, "You have a nice home. Thank you for sharing it."

Mai took the opportunity to learn more about her assignment and continued, asking, "The Hokage did not mention the duration of this arrangement. How long are we to train together?"

 

[Silverknight]

Kito looked over at her for a moment and paused, she seemed a rather reserved young woman, a trait that wasn't bad, especially for a warrior of the shadows as they were. He looked her over, she seemed to have two blades on her, she also seemed to have a fit body, so working her into shape wasn't going to be the biggest focus most likely. He looked outside, and thought about the training he could start with her. He wanted to test her out, and get a good idea of what she could an dcouldn't do. That would wait for a moment, but most likely not to long.

"Okay, you are to train with me for one year, going on missions with me over the course of that time," he explained as he looked at her answering her question first and foremost.

Pointing down the hall with his hand he looked right at her, "Well, Mai, your room is down that hall to the left, only door to the left, the kitchen is at the end of the hall and the bathroom is the second door on the right, we will figure out a time plan on when we can use said bathroom, so that we don't overlap and cause any type of scene that might happen if we were to go to the bathroom at the same time, I prepare lunch if I am at home each day around 12:30, and dinner around 6:30, if you wish to make your own dinner go ahead, if you wish to join me, just tell me in advance or if you wish to cook, likewise," he explained as he looked at the brunette telling her the situation of the home, directions and everything else she would need to know.

"Today, you can unpack, the first thing we are going to do is spar, don't worry, I won't take it hard on you, I just want to see what you are capable of, so that I can design my training to your abilities, and match your talents in the best possible ways," he explained, "you may unpack your things, when you are ready for your sparing match I will be outside, that is where training happens," he said looking at her,leaving her to explore as he went ouside and stood against a training dumby relaxing as he waited for the woman to get her stuff in order.

 

[Jemima]

A year? Mai concealed her astonishment behind a polite nod. She had expected weeks, months...but not a year of living with a strange man, enduring what would undoubtedly be arduous training. Well, he won't be a stranger very long, Mai assured herself. She had a feeling that, over the course of their year together, she would come to know Kito quite well. Otherwise, it would be a very long, uncomfortable year.

Mai glanced down the hallway as Kito pointed. Thankfully, his home's design was simple enough. Mai hadn't considered sharing a bathroom with him and appreciated his thoughtfulness in scheduling shower times to avoid any mishaps. She listened carefully as he explained the rest of the house rules, including meals, and nodded. Again, quite straightforward and highly structured (unsurprising for a shinobi of his rank) but Mai could get used to it. Her biggest struggle would be refraining from taking advantage of his cooking - she normally made all the meals in the home she shared with her father due to the time he spent lost in archives. It was a refreshing change to see someone else in the kitchen.

"Thank you. I'll meet you outside after I unpack, then," Mai said. She walked down the hallway to the first door on the left and gently opened the door. The room appeared to be a simple guest room equipped with all the basic furnishings: a bed, nightstand, and a small closet for her other clothes and equipment. Mai tossed her pack on the bed and considered following suit, but decided better of it. Kito was likely waiting on the training grounds already. She also resisted the urge to peek out the window, wondering if it gave her a view of the training grounds or the village streets. Instead, Mai quickly arranged her clothes in the closet and stashed her extra equipment in a small dresser before walking outside to meet her new mentor.

Mai stood across from Kito, leaning against a training dummy, and watched him expectantly. Sparring she could manage - it was her ninjutsu that she felt anxious to be tested on. Mai nodded to Kito and said, "I'm ready when you are."

 

[Silverknight]

Kito looked into the room as he watched Mai, the side of her room faced the training grounds and he had done this somewhat on purpose, mostly so he could see people coming towards his home on his side of the house though so he would know how to be prepared if he was laying in bed. He looked at the training grounds for a moment after he looked in at the young woman.

The grounds were simple in some respects, with three sections. The first was closest to the door it was here where the weights and gear was arranged for a person to use in their training outside, each held properly in its proper place measured out equally from side to side over the course of the wall, giving a person some space to do simple exercises as well nearby. The second zone was the field, open and pretty large in all directions with a couple of old trees that were protected by ancient seals from damaged, they were put in place by his ancister, Hoshirama Senju, the first hokage. He looked around for a moment longer as he saw that the grounds were well kept and it would be here that he would spar with Mai. He looked at the far side, which was just at the edge of his viewing range and saw the targets and post lined up for extra training.

Kito moved from the dummy and stood up as he looked at her and motioned her to her right, "now, normally you would put on some weights, but for today, you don't have to do this," he said as he walked into the field and motioned her to come into the field as well, "I want you to attack me, with whatever you have, with the purpose of killing me, I want to see your attacks first hand, trust me, you can't kill me," he said his tone confident perhaps somewhat if one didn't know him sounding arrogrant as well as he walked out and stood in front of one of the two large trees that dominated the open field. "Now come attack, let us see how well you were trained."