First Dance

[Asuka]

Along the path that carved through the park, an orange-haired genin had found seating under a gazebo. The weather was about as close to sunny as the region had seen in quite a while, but not quite so warm that Asuka's coffee-to-go would seem inappropriate. From time to time, she'd take ginger sips, admiring the tranquil setting before her. Of course, Asuka hadn't come to this park simply to take in the views. In actuality, she was summoned here. After a month of deliberation post-graduation, the board made their decision to assign Asuka to her very first genin contract. As it seemed, she'd be the only student, so calling this a team didn't exactly feel accurate. But, still, a contract was something, and perhaps a solo apprenticeship would bear better fruit than having to share the attention with multiple genin at once.

Asuka, having already gotten her workout in earlier that morning and returned home to freshen up, came dressed casually: a blue denim jacket, a white graphic tee tucked into cuffed blue jeans, and high-top canvas sneakers.

 

[Koeru Choetsu]

"♪ dokidoki ♪" As Koeru bounced her way toward the park her excitement bubbled over and out of her and she broke out into cheerful whistling. "♪ chirarichirari ♪" Eager glances shot this way and that hoping to catch an early glimpse of the fresh face she had been assigned to. Her steps were somehow both light and heavy at the same time, not making noise when her feet hit the ground but instead sounding when they pushed off. Somewhere between a skip and simply bobbing to an unheard song, it took all the Jounin had in her to not break into a sprint. This was her favorite time, the first meeting, the initial impression. This meeting would shape many things for the future. It would shape her Genin's introduction into the shinobi world; their first steps into making a name for themselves. It would also shape her. A momentary melancholy note left her whistling lips as she was reminded of the nickname some had taken to calling her. As quickly as it came it left, her tune changing back to one of eager excitedness.

The sky was as clear as it ever got in Kirigakure but thanks to this it was easy to see further; the dense fog that often cloaked the village was thankfully missing today. Rounding a corner that put her on the carved path of the park she noticed the gazeebo she had so often visited in her past. Her bouncing steps stopped as she noticed a head of orange hair and the body that it belonged to. Her fingers fidgeted as she tried to push up her glasses. "Fuwafuwa!" She softly exclaimed, as loud a whisper as she could stifle. She quickly darted off the path, taking a long, arcing path toward the back of the gazeebo. Tiptoeing her way through the park, Koeru couldn't help but shudder. This really is exciting!

Finding herself positioned a few dozen meters behind her new Genin Koeru began to contemplate just what kind of first impression she wanted to make. Her mind moved quicker than most and almost as soon as the thought had completed she had her answer. She flickered for a moment before suddenly landing on the same bench as Asuka. An arm draped her Genin's shoulders as the other arm deftly took the coffee from her hands. Koeru took a generous sip and leaned her head on Asuka's shoulder.

"Yahho, Asuka-chan ♪, uttori!"

 

[Asuka]

Just as the hairs on the back of Asuka's neck began to start tingling, and just as the cogs began turning in her head to react to the strange sensation, suddenly an immense presence plopped into the seat next to her, arm already comfortably hung around her shoulders. No sooner than that did the coffee, still piping hot, leave Asuka's hands and into those of the stranger, who wasted no time having a liberal taste for herself. "Wh-!!" Asuka recoiled, tensing up and looking over just as the stranger lowered their head onto Asuka's shoulder, as though they were sisters or childhood best friends. "H-Hey..!! What's the big idea, pal?!" The genin yelped, scooting over and out of her seat to look properly at whoever had just invaded any sense of personal space she had. "We can be friends, but not like that! And, don't steal people's drinks!" Asuka's expression went sour. "I spent the last of my allowance on that..."

She settled her eyes on the person before her. The stranger, clearly older than her, still looked young enough to be a chuunin at best. Her face was gentle and cute, and her sense of fashion was definitely youthful. Still, it dawned on Asuka that this person had crossed paths with her before. "Did we meet in the academy...? No," Asuka thought. "She's definitely not my age..." After a few more seconds, the truth came to her: this girl was one of the faces she saw in the dais during the graduation ceremony! Asuka, realizing that the stranger had to be a jounin, put two and two together. "W-Wait... are you the person who was meeting me here today..? Does that make you my sensei?!"

 

[Koeru Choetsu]

She giggled as Asuka ran through a myriad of emotions and responses. Her feet kicked freely under the bench as her fingers rapped excitedly against the coffee cup. She feigned mock shock as things finally clicked for her new disciple before hopping off the bench and leaning forward; one finger pointed up at Asuka. "♪ bingo, Asuka-chan! Bravo!" She straightened herself, offering the cup back to Asuka. "No mind, no mind. As your new sensei I will treat to coffee as much as you want dondon, dondon, dondon! Drink and be strong, Asuka-chan!"

She spun on the spot and placed her hands behind her back. "So, Asuka-chan ♪, would you like to do something exciting today or would you rather this be one of those boring teacher student relationships where I get some bells and whistles and we pretend you stand a chance at beating me just so I can get some sense of your abilities?" Peering over her shoulder, the Jounin chuckled teasingly. "But that's not necesary, I already know everything about you ♪."

 

[Asuka]

Quizzical eyes grew wide with surprise as Asuka had her suspicions confirmed. This woman... her sensei? "B-But, you're so... cute...!!" Asuka blurted out, before immediately recoiling as though she had spoken out of turn. "Er— I mean, I guess I just hyped myself up thinking there would be a big scary guy coming, is all! There's nothing wrong with being cute and tough!"

Asuka's eyes darted back and forth, flustered at the situation she talked herself into. "Wait, nono— if you treat me to coffee before every mission, you'll have to let me buy us lunch when we come back. It's only fair! Mama always said not to accept offers like this unless I can reciprocate, after all." She protested, her stance finally relaxing as the tension dissipated. Between the two options presented to her, Asuka definitely thought the first one would be more, well, exciting. Sure, a standard skills benchmark exercise would probably be helpful, but it felt so stale and impersonal. A relationship between a genin and their sensei should be about bonding and growth as a unit, not a transaction. "Let's do something exciting! I wanna get to know you, too! You say you know everything about me, but, um... I don't know anything about you.."

A hand stretched out towards Koeru. "Lovely to meet you, then, sensei! My name is Asuka Nakano."