New Beginning [Private/Yori]

"Oh yes," Yori eagerly answered, turning one of his hands in her own until his wrist was facing up. She leaned down to place a kiss on his pulse, deliberately betraying her burgeoning desires. "I'll take you as my lover...if you can handle it," she challenged, peering back up at him. She wasn't as good at using words as he was, being more action oriented, but she'd try to make him understand. "If you think you can handle the adventure of me loving you, then I see a wonderful forever. When the day comes that you ask me to be your wife, I'll say yes. I can't ask for a potential husband any better than you~" the woman in the kimono purred, locking onto his reddened face. That was an expression she craved, and he was going to wear even more often now since her arsenal of teases had just grown exponentially larger. "I can't imagine a better man to make babies with," she added, very intentionally evil. If she stayed serious too long...she didn't trust herself.

"Hmm... lover..." she mulled the word over, as if it was foreign but exciting. "Hibiya, my samurai lover..." she breathed, turning her face up to admire the ambiance of the scene, though peeking at him with happy blush in her cheeks. "The Land of Iron is a change in pace indeed..."

Nature seemed to approve the match-making, all the cherry blossoms spinning around them for a small moment upon hearing her words. Hibiya's eyes opened as she gave him his answer so casually, a sure victory without her taking a moment to ponder upon it. Did it... Did he just do it? Upon looking towards her, he saw her peering back up at him with mischief in her eyes. The sort that was daring and usually was meant in a playful way or embarassing way, but he secretly loved that part of her personality. "Oh? Is that so?" Hibiya questioned with a genuine smile despite knowing her teasing. "That just makes you all the more exciting and perfect for a wife. Consider this challenge accepted!"

But it didn't take long for him to fall so quickly, her comment on making babies shooting down every bit of confidence he had and reverted him back into his previously flustered state. She got him, this relationship was going to be a wild ride... "Good... Just the way I love her." He thought happily despite his nervousness after the thought of... Making babies with Yori.

The Nishizaka clan will live on through him and her together, and this was the story of how they started. "Absolutely, it is the pace I'd wish to live through forever..." Hibiya explained, turning his head to her to notice her little rosey cheeks possessing a little blush on the surface. Her adorable moments amplified by her beauty made her just that much better. "Anywhere with you though is perfect to me.
And speaking of which... We still have a whole day, don't we?"

"You're so sweet," she grinned, the evil gleam dissipating, much to his benefit. Yori would give him a break, though her own brain was still mulling over this development and how being lovers might change things now. Hopefully all for the better. Either way, she had something to truly look forward to, though she didn't dwell on marriage too much. Not because she didn't like the idea, but she didn't want to get sad at such a nice moment thinking about how empty her side of the ceremony would be.

"It seems we do," she answered him about the day, tilting her head. "Since this is your land, I'm sure you know all sorts of things to do. What else do you have in mind, hot stuff?" she asked, trying out a pet name for him. Despite the newness of it, it seemed she was very confident in herself enough to really take hold of their upgraded relationship and apply herself to figuring out even the most insignificant changes.

What should they do? Hibiya did know he lands a bit since they were in his blood, though he didn't quite believe for things to change as quickly as they did? Well, now that he accepted her into the Ayano family, he might as well teach her their arts in weaponry and perhaps find a way to bless her with the gift of swordplay. Perhaps nothing as extreme as extracting DNA to hand her his chakra blades, but to give her lessons about how an Ayano fought. So he would watch the boat near the edge of the river as they got out from inside of the cave, leading back to a side entrance into the village.

"You're going to be an Ayano now, right?" Hibiya asked rhetorically, placing an emphasis on their connected hands by holding a little more firmly onto them. "I would like to teach you the way of the Blade Dancer. Would you care to dance with me?" The Waltz of the Blade Dancer is the title given to the Ayano clan's main form of attacking. In this case, he used it more as a clever way of offering her the tactics of his family. Together, with the consent of both dances, they could have the most beautiful dance together as lovers. A literal dance as well rather than the technique.

As the boat rocked against the edge, he would let her hands free before stepping lightly off of it and onto the edge. Turning his back around, he would reach his left palm to get her back onto surface with him.

"I would love to dance with you," she replied, taking his hand and getting out of the boat. She felt a little constricted in her kimono, which made stepping to the ground from the boat keep awkward. Hopefully his special Ayano blade dance didn't require too much movement, or she'd have to change her clothes. That'd be a shame, because the kimono was really very beautiful, though definitely not something practical for someone who's occupation was being a shinobi.

Then again, it could be less combat-related and more dance for all she knew. This was his land, obviously. She had only the slightest of ideas about what kind of culture he grew up and and felt most comfortable, just like her own culture was strange to the average Konoha civilian, let alone Hibiya. Actually, on that note, eventually she'd have to teach him the ways of the Nishizaka, since everyone was gone. She may be becoming an Ayano, but that didn't mean her bloodline was any less in her body.

Alone out in the woods with the side entrance barely active, it might as well be the both of them there with the lack of others around. As she replied that she would love to dance with him, he would laugh a little after. It didn't take much for him to want to spoil her rotten with what he knew of his family, he was going to give her a branch to reach out to regardless of the events that happened with hers.

So he would proceed to lead the way towards the village to meet back up with civilization, proceeding to cross the narrow streets with a mighty wave of civilians launching at them from all sorts of directions. Determined to find his way though, he fought through the waves by pushing forward, using his shoulders to bump into one or two people determined to walk in a straight line. Eventually, he would make it to the dojo where he can teach her the tradition of his family.

"I think this will do. I'm sure you will make a great Blade Dancer." Hibiya explained, walking through the sliding double doors at the front of the dojo. Yori may not have Chakra Blades, but that makes her a crucial part of the dance. But before they can do it, he needs to teach her a few techniques that are exclusive to the Ayano clan.

"Oh...a traditional dojo?" she asked, walking in and looking around in interest. "Cool," she breathed, eyeing blades and those that used them milling about. She was in the middle of wondering what this dance would look like when the concerns finally took hold of her. Turning to Hibiya, she tugged his hands to get his attention. "I've never used any weapons other than kunai and shuriken," she told him, brow creasing a little along with her sheepish smile. "I've never held a sword or anything before. That seems like it's important to note."

Learning the dance with a blade suddenly sounded a little intimidating, like she'd mess it up due to general inexperience. Him putting his Ayano heritage out there for her held deep meaning, and it was a bit of pressure that she would make a farce of it. Keeping that small insecurity close to the vest, she moved on to her second concern. "Also...should I get out of this kimono?"

Her tug didn't go unnoticed, his head turning to her as she mentioned herself never using swords or things of the sort. "Oh? You're learning from your Ayano, you'll be a professional when I'm through with you." Hibiya replied with his own smile returned back to her, sounding a bit like a coach as well as a lover when he mentioned he was hers. She was a talented Nishizaka who managed to draw blood from his throat with a blade, he knew that she'll get this. "Besides, you'd look even more amazing with a sword." He quipped, a subtle flirt.

He plucked out two katana blades from the racks, walking back to Yori to offer one to her as he explained about the kimono. "Hmmmm..." If there was one thing he knew about her, he knew that she loved challenges and usually didn't back down from them. But perhaps a kimono would be rather restricting for her. "If you'd like to take the kimono off, feel free." Very bad wording out loud. "Whatever you do, I'll make sure to match it, so don't feel pressured about the choice." He explained as he held his own katana up in front of his body to examine the blade. A real sword, he was going to have to be careful not to cut her with it.

Yori winked at him in thanks for his flirt, releasing his hand and taking her sword. She looked at it, feeling the weight and trying to adjust her mind's way of thinking of how to use it in comparison to the much smaller thrown weapons she was used to. There was no way she'd back down from this challenge, so she might as well get serious. Leaning her sword against the wall, she busied herself trying to figure out how to get out of the elaborate and gorgeous garment. Loosening it, one side drooped off one shoulder. Grinning, she turned to Hibiya, giving him quite a seductive gaze for pure meanness. "Hibiya, come help me get this off~" she purred, then erupted into laughter. "Kidding, kidding," she waved, though the mischief still remained.

"I guess you can just watch~" She kept her eyes on him as she wriggled free from the Kimono, now standing in a tight undershirt and shorts. Ah, much better for something like this. Her range of motion was back to normal, just how she liked it. Picking up her sword, she swished it back and forth while still trying to get a feel for it. Perhaps she should have rounded out her physical fighting skills to include bukijutsu. Then again, she'd have never saw this coming. "Okay, what's my first lesson?"

His hand slapped against his forehead when she playfully asked for him to help strip her of her kimono, he should have full well expected that. Of course, he couldn't help but feel a little ashamed regardless, but then quickly recovered and looked back to see her wearing her informal Yori outfit. Naturally, he loved her look while in a kimono for how much it magnifies her beauty, so seeing her as well-built as she was was a mere treat for the Ayano. Well, he might as well fit with her like he promised. So he took the coat of his kimono off first, then the second layer that covered his whole body.

He wore his normal clothing, a hooded beige jacket with a white v-neck undershirt hugging his body, acid blue skinny jeans, and to top it off, a little necklace around his neck with a sword trinket hanging below his collarbones. "Well, if you insist~" Hibiya explained, walking over to her calmly as he watched her swing her katana around. With straight strikes like hers, he knew she was great with ranged weaponry. The basics were beyond easy for her as this point, he just needed to position her grip and slices and she'll be all set.

So the Ayano stood behind Yori, attempting to wrap his arms over her shoulders down to her wrists. "Grip the handle with both hands, that's how a katana gets all its power." He explained, aiming to motion both hands onto the blade, the dominant hand being on top. "It'll feel weird at first, but you'll find much more controlled slices. Try it." He would then let go of her to let her test it out.

Yori seemed very determined. That wasn't unusual, but it was a bit unusual for her to be the one being taught instead of the other way around. She wasn't so proud as to refuse it or sulk because she didn't know something, though. The Nishizaka was always up for learning new things, and would put all her energy and time into perfecting it. Perhaps that made her a bit of a perfectionist or gave her tunnel vision, but it was a trait she picked up from her challenged childhood. She'd already mentioned this to him before, so now the trait was in full view to her new lover.

Stepping away from him and holding both her hands on the grip, right over left, Yori sliced through the air a couple times in a few different directions. It was a little clunky and awkward, but she could see what he meant about the power and control. However, she still wanted to let go and do it one handed, which would be an obstacle to tackle. She sliced the air some more, then even tried out a couple jabs. Yori was normally graceful and balanced on her feet, but not so much right now. Her bare soles seemed to stumble in response to her swings instead of the other way around. While she recognized it, there were so many factors that were foreign to her it was hard to focus on any one to correct. A slightly frustrated expression wrinkled her features.

"This is harder than it looks," she huffed, taking a short break to turn and look at the blade-gifted Ayano. "Any more tips to make this easier? Or is this where the repeated step-swing practice comes in?" she asked, tilting her head a bit in uncertainty.

Her determination was admirable at the very least, but potential for collapse and disappointment with such pride was evident on her expression. Though he didn't assume she would not quit due to the difficult of the daunting task, the blonde couldn't help but notice that she tried to nail all the details the first time around and took a little hit to the pride for each fallen attempt. Still though, he held his peace until she asked him anything, he wanted to see her mental and physical endurance. Both of them must be trained for the dance.

The poor thing got rocked with every swing of the katana, instantly placing his blue eyes down to her legs. Perhaps she wasn't used to a two-handed weapon, she needed more leverage to push back without facing much retaliation. "Hm..." Now how to word this, he placed his pointer right finger against the tip of his chin as he tilted it to the side. "Try to spread your legs a little. You lose balance with the amount of force the katana uses with both hands. Pretend it's just slightly less than a two handed club weapon." He explained to her, placing his hands on his own Katana, spreading his legs a good half a meter apart, knees bent a little so that they can move and hold their ground.

"Hmph, already asking me to spread my legs.." she huffed in mock embarrassment, before giving him a smirk and doing as instructed. She observed his stance in detail, mirroring hers as closely as possible. She held her katana out, able to tell an immediate difference, though it still felt weird to make her body do such unfamiliar movements. She tried a few more attacks, still awkward but a little better.

If he was looking for mental and physical endurance, Yori was a star pupil. Though frustrated and uncomfortable, she'd been here before. Possibly even a worse place. Having to train her body and mind to keep up and surpass those that had had a clear biological advantages over her in her younger years made for a very focused woman who never gave up. Perhaps at times she was even too focused, striving to master the goal while disregarding what it did to her body. Yori was a product of challenges, for better or for worse, and it'd been a long while since she'd come up against a task that needed dilligant work.

Her hair, moving on its own for the first time in an unusually long while, tied itself up in a bun on top of her head, signifying she was getting serious and in for the long haul. She tried to balance her power and footwork, stepping forward into a downward slice with a "Ha!"

She catches his words and twists them in the worst of ways, already getting thoughts of her... Okay now, moving on! The blonde cringed at the thought, embarrassed as she smirked to him. Even as a teacher, she managed to find some way to place him in uncomfortable yet somehow entertaining flustered states. Still though, he refused to give her any reaction to allow her to be motivated to continue. So he would just keep his lips sealed tightly, though his face was still red from the thoughts she purposely placed into his mind. There was bound to be an opening to catch her off guard as well.

Yori then followed his instructions, her legs opening a little to allow for much better balance and her attempted strike looking FAR smoother upon the launch. But he smirked as she tried to swing it down, his body blurring suddenly as he looked to intercept the swing by moving to her swiftly, blocking the blade with his own. Should be be successful, he would look at his lover eye to eye. "And just like that, you have already opened the dance up." Hibiya explained proudly. Both swords crossing in agreement, it was how the Ayano clan opened up their dances. Now to teach her much more advanced techniques for the dance to be something truly amazing.

If she didn't release her blade from his, he would explain to her the next step immediately. "Try to hit me, attack with your blade around me from all angles. See if you can get a blind side." He challenged, smirk still equipped as he planned to use her prideful nature for his benefit. It was a little complicated technique, but the goal was for sparks to fly. For her to get around him and strike him with the katana successfully would require far more experience and speed. But with every block came a spark, so the more attacks that are blocked... The more sparks. Simply put, he is leading her into a dance move that seems more like a challenge.

Suddenly, he was there. After looking into his eyes a moment, absorbing that she'd unintentionally started this special Ayano dance, she seemed to understand. Or, at least she thought she did. So the dance may be more like an actual spar, lying somewhere on the spectrum of fight and dance combined. Yori imagined that it was probably an intense and graceful visual offering, probably as fascinating to watch as to be directly involved in. Perhaps it would feel as invigorating as a dance, once she learned and was on the same page as him.

But for now, she accepted she would need a nearly impossible amount of practice to ever even begin to catch up to him. This must be how he felt back then, when she cartwheeled over the water with such ease. She definitely accepted the challenge he offered her, and wouldn't hold back in trust that he was just so good that she'd never be able to hurt him, even if that was her goal, which it wasn't. "A blind side..." she echoed, searching for one. She stepped out of their meeting of blades, side stepping and then blinking out of sight. She reappeared to his back left, arcing the sword upward at him, though she knew full well her movements were unskilled and clunky. How she would ever dance on the level his culture deserved, she'd never know.

Her mutter didn't fall on deaf ears as she repeated his step, his smirk refusing to lower as she tried to step around him. As she moved towards one direction, he spun his body in the direct opposite so that they could meet up face to face once again, quickly covering a full 360 degree rotation. Yori tried her best to think quick and slice up, though her inexperience and lack of speed compared to his resulted in him placing his blade neatly above the blade, using the leverage to push it down as he leaned over to her face to face. If there was one thing that was going to motivator her to be a bit faster, it was a little bit of coal to add to the flame.

"You'll have to be much faster than that, love." The Ayano taunted, moving forward swiftly for one swift kiss to her lips, though one filled with far more playful intent rather than romance before breaking away. Though as soft as they were and as sweet a scent as she possessed, he forced himself to get away in time to prevent such temptation from binding him. It was a mere bittersweet sort of taunt that'll likely get her fired up, assuming he did know enough about her to do it. Her mere one attack wasn't enough on it's own, he wanted her to keep moving around with the intent of trying to strike him at least once. Who knows, maybe she'll even find that chance?

But until then, he stepped back and held his katana up again, smiling sheepishly as he felt satisfied for stealing a kiss for fun. It was unusual for his personality, but it definitely felt great.

Yori almost seemed insulted that he'd managed to steal a kiss from her. Not the kiss itself, but more that he was taunting her as slow enough that he could issue such a challenge. Kissing him was so new, she hated the idea that she had had no time to return it! That meant, she'd just have to show him just what she could do. Eyes sharpening with even more determination.

She paused and raised her blade to him as well. "Faster, then," she nodded. Perhaps she wouldn't be fast enough unaided. Before, back before her people were killed, they'd had that really fun day when they took a hang glider to the random island of hostiles. Now that she thought about it, he'd been faster than her back then when she was just running like normal. To just keep up, she'd had to use the swift legs of her hair. It was difficult to consider it, since her mind had gauged his skill on rank rather than actual fact. Even if his chakra control had once not been so great on his feet, he was a samurai. She knew now just how different they were from ninja.

Flickering out of sight again, she was much faster. She used her hair to give her a speed boost, tendrils reaching out and shoving her whichever direction she wished to go before she'd meet his blade and be gone again only to aim another successive attack seconds later from another side.

With such movements so swift, he felt her determination and chakra flow as she struck his blade, taking a lot of his energy to pace with her as well as he did before. Yori was her rank for a reason, he was breaking sweat to keep up with such precise and strong strikes. Despite this being her first time with a two-handed weapon, she was swift and powerful with every move. If she were an Ayano and taught like one, her natural talent would have surpassed his family. As the strikes were more intense, more sparks flew from the collisions and created a circle of light around them from the speeds.

“Very good, you’re getting the hang of this.” He commended proudly, releasing his left hand from his blade to attempt a grip on her two hands during one of her strikes, using as much strength as he could to try to stop all her momentum. He may stumble back a little due to the sheer intensity of her attacks, but hopefully she’d realize his attempt to avoid pressing further. If successful, he would pull her to him so that they stood close, his blade pointed forward by the side of her neck as well as he tried to do the same with her blade by his neck.

“Smooth and connected swings of the blade, rotating every now and then.” Hibiya explain his next instruction, all five chakra blades summoned around her under his will as he intended to spin them around her body wherever she went. “Step lightly as if you were to seduce the crowds with your movements, your sword as a wand that puts them under your spell.”

And with that, he would step back to see if she did it. If so, he would place the back of his katana against his forehead and hang his head down slightly and eyes closed. This was a symbol of the Ayano clan to place faith in their weaponry. He can sense her chakra, controlling the blades to dance around her wherever she went likely served no challenge to him unless she did something to do otherwise.

Hibiya's stopping her surprised her, but she easily ceased her actions. Maybe she'd gotten a little caught up. She blinked at him for a second of bewilderment, but his new instructions were clear. Now that made sense. She may be a novice at bukijutsu, but dancing she understood. As he was learning, seduction wasn't something that was hard for her, either. Though, technically that was usually all in jest or unintentional, but whatever. Dancing in the forest of her home was one of her favorite things to do with all the alone time she used to have.

The way she started moving was drastically different than the abrupt and violent motions from before. She closed her eyes to get a feel for it, as if she was composing her own music for the act from the tinkling of water drops and the hush flutter of leaves. Deer footfalls provided the steady beat, the crickets the strings, the birds the melody. It was bittersweet to think back on something so pure in the place where the darkest tragedy had occurred, a place still being healed and now more sacred as a graveyard than for Mikami's ritual. At least if she never felt this again in the future, the soundtrack was saved in her memories, untouched by the darkness.

Yori's body became fluid and weightless, her motions graceful yet swift. It was a lullaby for a warrior, prideful yet soothing. The sword arched and swished through calming rounded shapes as she spun and stepped with long strides for such short legs, leaping and twisting as if channeling a fawn. In this state, she lived up to her Nymph Sage nickname, possibly moreso than when in full frightening battle mode. Her petite stature and swift grace made her seem quite spritely, as if she could be a mischievous forest spirit doing the ritualistic caper required give life to new plants and bless newborn animals. Tori got lost in it, her long locks coming loose and fluttering around while flowing through a rainbow of colors. Whether she was doing it right, she had no idea, but the emotion was not lost on her as tears formed at seam of her closed lids.

Her dance, whether of the Nishizaka clan or her own movements, they swayed him as he felt the outline of her chakra. Like loyals servants, the blades he casted proceeded to sway along with her body, all five of them acting like extensions of her body and every now any then, circling around her swiftly as if they were guarding her. Hibiya felt touched by her movements, her emotion being expressed through mere motions before he could read said emotions when he felt another new liquid among the chakra pool. Surface of the head, tears were threatening to fall off the ledge of her eyes.

As she took the dance and made it her own, he didn't care about how his family would usually do it. Swayed by her movements, he felt his eyes open themselves instinctively as he continued to sway the blades with her. The urge to reach out to her was strong, but he dare not stop her dance in the middle of her emotions. All he could do was was her movements and admire, despite them being in just a mere dojo. It was as if he could hear the music in his head despite there being none shown.

After a few more short minutes of emotive physical expression, she opened her eyes to appreciate the blades that danced with her. Though she couldn't see herself, the "music" in her mind and the swaying and twirling of the Ayano's special blades were enough for her to appreciate and imagine what she would see from the outside. At last, she brought herself into a tight spin before kicking a slender leg out to come to a stop in a dancer's bow, perhaps aimed at Hibiya, perhaps aimed at his dancing weapons. Yori panted, frozen in place for a few seconds before righting herself. Though her lips held a smile, the tears had finally pushed beyond the dams and trickled down her cheeks. She used the backs of her hands to brush them away. "Sorry. I don't really know why I'm crying," she admitted sheepishly, simply overcome by the release of emotion through dance. She truly wasn't sad.

Now that her vision wasn't blurry from excess moisture, her blue eyes came to rest upon him. It was only after the fact that she realized she'd gotten carried away. If he'd given any other instructions, she had accidentally ignored them. A small part of her was terrified she'd ruined something sacred, especially since she was well versed how sacred customs of clans were considered. "Did I do it at least a little right?" she asked, almost cringing at the question in anticipation of failure.

As she finished her dance, he would clap slowly as he saw her pouring her heart for the performance she gave him. It gave him great pleasure to witness such talent, the practice she's done as a lonely girl was well worth it. Even he felt the emotion and music in him for the moment despite them being in a dojo in daylight, as if she were a whole orchestra in one. The poor thing went docile and asked him if she did it right, in which he would reply by stepping forward to her. At this point, regardless if she was telling the truth about her emotions or not, he was going to seal them all with his approval.

"It is only the second most beautiful thing I have ever seen." Hibiya replied with a smile on his lips, daringly yet confidently placing his fingers below her chin once again. With no permission granted or anything, he just settled his lips on top of hers, this time out of love rather than playfulness. Should he do this successfully, he would break away from the kiss for a moment to softly mutter. "Next to you." And he proceeded to claim her for himself by continuing the kiss again. It was as if they never had the events in Konoha happen.