All Together Now~!

The Jounin summit had passed and squads were assigned, during that assignment all those not present due to other duties or jobs were mailed notes, and their subordinates were also informed of the new stations.

Yamamoto Kensai was one such subordinate, having courier duties that interfered with his assembly to the Jounin summit, as a potential Genin team member, it was almost surprising to Kensai that he was even selected with two new academy classes graduating recently, with many prominent students coming to join the ranks. Still he wasn't going to complain. Active Genin made far more than couriers, even good ones. Even the time of the meeting Eight a.m. gave him enough time to run a few last packages for his boss and inform the man that he was losing one of his best workers.

Honegakure was weird, most places had many large training grounds each devoted to one team, Honegakure's training grounds were sub-divided into six grounds each a triangle within a hexagon. It was a very efficient, way to hack up training area, when you needed only a little space, or needed much space. However it seemed as though his new teacher, with a familiar name seemed to want them to meet at Training ground 1-4. It was still several thousand square meters of swamp, more than enough for basic training.

Well timed as ever, Kensai would arrive at the dictated part of Training Ground 1-4, a few good minutes before Eight in the morning. Maybe he could, meet with the teacher a little before and see if it was the man who he had met a few weeks before. If so that meant he knew of Kensai already, and would explain the reason Kensai was chosen just as easily as someone fresh from the Academy.

"You know I was a little younger than you when I took my first life," a familiar voice said from above Kensai. As the genin looked around, he'd see Raphael sitting on a branch, his back against the trunk of the large tree. "It shook me as I saw the light leave his eyes, but it made me realize that I had power. I had the power to change fate, destiny, the course of history itself if I devoted my time to it," Raphael said before standing up. He was wearing full leather armor, only a few small patches of metal covered areas such as his heart or other vitals.

"That was when I chose to became a warrior. Being here though, it's amazed me how different your culture is from mine back home. To have children perform killings or other tasks for money...it's fascinating really," Raphael concluded before looking down at Kensai. "It is good to see you again."

Kojiro entered the sub-training ground shortly after Raphael finished speaking, and seeing the two figures already there rushed towards them anxiously. "Sorry I'm late! I-" Was he late? There was two of them there already, but was there supposed to be a third genin? He didn't know! "-tried to take a shortcut here and it ended up.... not being short. Didn't realize this training ground had a wall around it."

He skidded to a halt as best he could in the swampy ground, looking between the two of them, unaware that he wasn't actually late. He knew the name of his teacher, though it sounded rather... foreign, but nothing else. Better introduce himself. Snapping to attention, he gave his teacher a smart salute "Nara Kojiro, sir!" Wait was that too formal? Shit, too late now.

Kensai listened to his new teacher talking about killing, really the thought of killing someone sent shivers up his spine, and made his stomach tighten a little. "I guess your culture would be fascinating as well." Kensai responded, eagerly to the second half of the question, he'd really not formed an opinion on killing yet. The fighting that broke up his village was killing, but so was the fighting that kept his family safe from bandits. He was also in the business of killing, by choice.

That would be when his team mate skidded up to them, asking something about being late, considering that Kensai had just arrived, the kid was far from late. And babbling something about trying to take a shortcut into the training ground. He also started with a high strung salute and introduction. "I'm Yamamoto Kensai." Kensai introduced himself to the newcomer, with a short but polite bow.

Raphael turned his head as he saw another genin approach. Excellent, they were all here then. At least for the time being. With the village being short on shinobi, they apparently were only going to assign Raphael two genin. He couldn't blame them, and he knew that they didn't really trust him. While the village was made for taking in misfits and runaways, they still seemed to be cold to foreigners. They'd warm up to him eventually...hopefully.

"Raphael, a pleasure to meet both of you," the knight said as he looked the two boys over. "Decent muscle tone, both sets of eyes seem sharp...I like what I see boys. Whatever you two have been doing to train up to this point, I can tell that it's working," he acknowledged. They looked better than most boys from his country at their ages. They must start training at a younger age.

"So tell me, how do you two fight? What is it you want to learn? Chakra manipulation isn't my strong suit, but I still have some things to offer."

Smiling, Kojiro returned the bow to Kensai, good he hadn't been too awkward with the salute, then turned back to the teacher- Raphael. The praise helped remove any of the leftover apprehension from his late arrival, flattery might not get you everywhere but it would get you somewhere with him, at least.

He glanced swiftly at Kensai again to see if he was answering, then when he wasn't immediately, he went for it, "I currently use the Nara clan's shadow binding technique and a mix of ranged/up close taijutsu attacks. I'm working on developing the shadow in a different directions though, so far I've managed..." He formed a quick series of hand seals, causing his shadow to ripple, and then a small section of it around his hand to change shape, rising upwards out of the ground in the shape of a kunai. The shape rose, stopped, wavered, and faded, the shadow returning to normal. "...that. Not really any good at all yet." He grinned rather sheepishly, turning between Raphael and Kensai, wondering who would speak next.

Kensai let Arata go first, passing off the proverbial speaking stick with a little nod to him, the young Nara seemed most energetic. "I'm a little more traditional." Kensai responded. "I'd like to think of myself as a Weapon-Type Shinobi." He held his hand out, letting the liquid metal pour from his skin into his palm before forming a dazzlingly intricate blade, seemingly etched as though a master artisan had spent years forging and detailing a masterpiece. A quick movement to hold the blade aloft caused the weapon to sing, as if a struck like a tuning fork. "I'd like to think I have an edge on the competition, not needing to summon new weapons as the situation dictates."

"And as far as basic training is concerned, I simply meditate and run packages for my courier job." It wasn't bragging per-say but he was oversimplifying his work, practice, and his meditations quite a bit. If he wanted to brag, he'd bring into the mix that he'd unlocked the first gate, but that was something he wanted to save for a rainy day.

"Fascinating, I've heard of the Nara clan but I've never faced one or seen them fight, the manipulation of the shadow is amazing," Raphael commented. He almost seemed more in awe of his student's capabilities than his own. They were worth learning from, at least the example was. Without Nara blood, he'd never learn the techniques. "How do you fight at night though?" Raphael asked curiously.

As Kensai showed off his weapon, Raphael was intrigued about where the sword came from. He had never seen anything like it before, and he wished his own weapons were forged in such fashion. HE always summoned or carried multiple weapons on him. A blade like that would likely save him a great deal of chakra. "What's your preferred style of fighting? There are many different weapons and techniques to choose from, but you must favor one over the others?"