One of those Days (open)

Salzem sat cross legged in the training grounds, clad in his signature massive pointed floppy had and blue jacket. He meditated there for over an hour and still hadn't had total control over his chakra, not even for an instant. He was not phased however. If being tormented by the elder kids have taught Salzem anything, it was that being persistent gets what you want. At least, for a little while. It seemed as though his body disagreed, however, as evidenced by a sharp pang of burning exhaust zipping through his body. Although he wasn't tearing his body apart with taijutsu, the mental strain on the kid alone was enough to make him fall on his back, heaving his chest as he sucked in the gracious provision of air. Mind over body, some would say. The mind is a powerful thing and if its straining, the body might as well be too. He felt so tired... Why was manipulating chakra so..... tiring...?

He felt his exhaustion tear at his consciousness, threatening to lull him into sleep. As if responding to this feeling, Salzem's hat slipped over his face a little, blocking his view of the sky above. Maybe just... a little sleep.... would... be... al.....right.........

Salzem's breathing became deeper, more regular, as he drifted into a soft napping state, his body graciously repairing itself as it did so. Even if anyone could see his face under his hat, they'd see nothing but shadow, not even the glow of his yellow eyes present.

Mai Yamanaka was definitely your pretty girl type she acted and felt like she was better then everyone just becasue her after was the head of the Yamanaka Clan. Her father sent her here to practice her jutsu she would much rather be selling flowers or talking to her friends she never very much wanted to be a ninja. Her hair was a pale blonde she had sun kissed skin probably from the almost non extant clothes she wears. She wore heeled sandals that were about three inches making her that much taller . "Okay Dad you want me to practice what ever."

It had seemed Salzem had only been asleep for little more than a few minutes before the words of someone pulled him out. It was a girl, but that was all he could tell before he opened his yellow eyes. Salzem picked himself up slowly, holding onto the edges of his hat with his hands, nervous. Who could be approaching? It was early that morning so he never expected anyone to show up. That's when he saw her. His eyes grew wide as his yellow glowing eyes fell upon a gorgeous blonde around his young age, an annoyed expression on her face. She was at least 3 inches taller than him, but his hat made up for that height difference. She was thin and wore chain around her chest and upper legs, leaving her belly and lower legs free. Her feet were clad in red, high-heeled ninja sandals, complimenting her unique green eyes, the symbol of the Yamanaka clan. Of course, next to her, Salzem must have looked like an abomination of the word "Fashion." Now, 'twas not that Salzem immediately fell in love with her on sight that he stared, rather, it was because he hadn't expected anyone, let alone someone like her would come out THIS early to train. Salzem's face was obscured by shadow, but his body language spoke for him. His experience with other kids had taught him to be afraid, to not approach them. Because he was smart enough to listen to himself, He immediately broke eye-contact with the newcomer and sat himself down again with his back to her, adjusting his hat anxiously. All that faced him now was the trunk of a large tree, but that's all he needed to see if that meant avoiding trouble.

Mai would look over and make eye contact with Salzem. She had never seen him before seeing how strange he was she would have been able to point him out of a crowd. Mai broke the eye contact and looked at the ground then turned swiftly from him to a training log. "Yellow eyes is he sick." The girl then looked back at him only to see him shifting his large hat over his face. Staring is rude is one of the first things she was taught but it does not matter to her he was strange and she needed to know more about him. "Um...Whats your name." She was also a rather blunt individual.

Salzem froze upon hearing her voice, anticipating the worst. It seemed that she only wanted to know her name, but still... Salzem felt a shiver of fear arch across back. She seemed more confused than spiteful, alleviating some of his natural fear, but not really that much. Salzem looked back at her, turning his head at such an angle to that the rim of his massive hat obscured most of his face. Combined with the shadow flushed over his face, there was little to see other than the underside of his yellow glowing eyes.

"M...My name...?" Salzem asked, almost too quiet to hear. Why did she want to get to know him? He was nobody interesting or anything like that. Surely, a girl such as her had many more important things to do than talk to someone like him. Salzem was practically shivering, a combination of nervousness the fear previously stated before. No girl had ever approached him before, always talking and snickering behind his back just loud enough for him to hear. They were always the most painful.

"M-my name is Salzem... Uchiha..." He introduced himself, an invisible, hopeful smile on his face. Just about everyone knew him at this point. Not really as a person, but as the Jinchuuriki. The person with a monster of a creature trapped within his being. Why did you think he hid under such baggy clothes with none of it revealing his human features? It was easier to make them think they were right. Path of least resistance.

"You're an Uchiha?" She looked around suspicious of him. "I do not see the Uchiha crest on you?" She did not care much for appearance just that he was who he said he was for all she knows he could have been a ninja from another village trying to kidnap her for her Clans secrets or something along those lines. "Look I have never seen you before and trust me I would notice you." She said reassuringly.

"I t-tend to keep to m-myself..." Salzem managed to say, his voice almost tripping over itself. Now she had a look that told him that she didn't believe a word he told her. That hurt. Made his heart beat send a pulse of aching sorrow every time one completed. No one had accused him of being a liar before. She didn't need to day it. He saw it in her eyes, on her face. Maybe he could convince her otherwise. Maybe he could do that...

"I-I know I don't look like other uchiha or wear the crest... I am one though..." He didn't know how else to convince her. He was born without the biological ability of the Sharingan, or so he was told. He didn't have the dark, hate filled evil in his soul that most uchiha are credited with. He was one who bared the name with nothing more of his clan. Regardless, Salzem's large yellow eyes curled upwards, indicating a small smile beneath the shadow his hat cast over his face.

"What's your name?"

"I am Mai Yamanaka, you've probably heard of me. I am heiress to the Yamanaka clan." Mai stated with a cocky smirk. "Since you are here you must be a ninja right? Do you have any skill or should I just  assume not." In honesty she is not trying to be mean this is just her personality harsh. It was the reason she did not have many friends and the fact that she is spoiled does not take away any. "I mean its just you do not strike me as the Ninja type you trip over your words you wear baggy clothes that could get caught on things like branches but what do I know.

Despite recognizing the lack of malice in the girl's words, Salzem couldn't help but feel a tad put-down at her words. Yeah. He was told he could never be a ninja, what with his clumsiness, his kind and sweet nature and his lack of tight, form-fitting clothing. And yet, he was here, a genin of the village where some of those kids were still back in the academy. Salzem had done what he needed to do to pass the exams and now that he was a ninja, people still laughed and doubted him. They must have all thought it a fluke. That it wasn't and the attempts he made to prove otherwise only made them laugh at him even more. What was the point of even trying to justify it to her? If she didn't even need to make her words venom to speak the common truth, then he was already lost, wasn't he? Salzem sighed deeply, his smile turned into a small frown of misery.

"Nice to meet you..." He said. "And....I know..... I know I don't look l-like a ninja...." His voice going from nervous to conceited. "I passed the exam...... I became a n-ninja..... I-Its okay if you don't b-believe me... No one does..." At that, Salzem gave an ironic chuckle before going back to his skulking, no longer able to clear his mind for meditation, for focus. None of that was going to happen anymore. Salzem turned back around so that he was facing his tree, back facing the yamanaka.

She would smile as he began to grow a backbone she wanted to push him to a point where he was no longer the timid scared child he was a few minutes ago. "I was only messing with you I was in your class at the academy. You probably wont remember me but I was a little less pretty in thosee days in wore my hair in a long ponytail. Ring a bell?"

With what Mai said registering, Salzem turned back around, his hands clutching at the rim of his hat, confused. He looked at her closer, squinting his glowing yellow eyes to catch her meaning. They'd shared the same class in the academ-...... His eyes widened suddenly and he turned fully around and jumped to his feet, literally falling on his face and nearly losing his hat in the process. Although that stung a bit, the shock covered up most of the pain, allowing the little kid to jump up to his feet again, keeping his balance for the sake of his dignity. MAI WAS IN HIS CLASS! How could he have forgotten? A better question should have been "how could he have remembered?" His life as a jinchuuriki was rough, especially after having his dream of not being torment crushed after his Genin exam. Salzem just hadn't been able to catch anything resembling a break and yet, someone from his past walks in and Salzem remembers her after a very brief reminder. On top of that, it filled him with some kind of joy. If his memory served him correctly, Mai was one of the few who DIDN'T torment him during his academy years. That there was enough to put her on Salzem's friends list, even if the feeling wasn't exactly mutual.

"I remember!" Salzem exclaimed. "How have you been, Mai? Is everything treating you okay?"

"Im nice to the kid once and he thinks we are friends oh good grief." She thought to herself in an inner voice. "Well I am doing well I guess I have to do special training to learn the clans hiden jutsu which is like no fun at all. But its nit like you would know you dint have to pressure of your entire clan on you or even something like that." She had not noticed what she said and how it could be offensive

Salzem's smile fell, once again, into a frown, but this one was more thoughtful than anything else. No, he didn't suppose he would know anything about a whole clan's existence riding on him. Especially with him lacking the signature bloodline of his own clan. He could relate though. Having a Bijuu trapped inside yourself... waking up in the morning to be reminded of what power you have locked away in your body... It was... horrifying. Salzem was constantly reminded that if he even let a little leeway to the monster inside, it would spring forth and reign destruction over the land. Maybe he could relate to her on that regard. Then again, it wasn't something Salzem liked to admit. How many friends would you get if you told them you were the jinchuuriki of the 7 tails? Salzem knew that answer already. People left him alone as soon as they knew, but fear was worst than hatred, really. At least when they hated you, they came up and talked to you, even if it was for the soul purpose of ruining his day.

"No. I guess I-I wouldn't know..." He admitted quietly. "I-I'd n-never be chosen for that m-much responsibility..."

"She finally realizes what she said and looks away from him ashamed that she was so so self centered and did not try to make up an excuse for her error. It was a rather awkward moment between the two so she would jut hope and wait for the tension to die down a little. "Mai would then reach down to her mid thigh and reach into her kunai pouch pulling out one of the knives she recently sharpened, she would then throw it at Salezem not at him but more so just above him she had pretty good aim so there was a very good chance it was not going to hurt him.The knife would land right above his hat and would be stuck pretty deep into the tree. "Your a ninja you should train like one too. Lets train together." She was rather persistent on the matter she would stand with her hands on her hip and her head cocked sightly to the side. "Well what are you waiting for Sal" She decided to give him a nickname regardless of if he liked it or not.

Salzem recoiled as she tossed the Kunai at him, eyes squinting shut in anticipation for the cutting pain to enter his body. It never did. In fact, the impact noise was several inches above his head and at least one above the point of his hat. He slowly opened one eye, then the other, his body quaking with reactionary fear. She just threw a deadly weapon at him! She stated that he was a ninja and that he should train like one. She then offered to train with him. Although this sort of act would normally send Salzem running, he didn't this time. He knew that she was just trying to help him and that she didn't really intend to hurt him. How did he know? She hadn't hit him or threatened him yet. Although she threw a Kunai knife near his head, it flew way above it's supposed mark. He slowly got to his feet, nearly knocking his head on the knife still imbedded in the tree. He pulled the curved Oak staff he kept on his back out of it's holster, adjusting his grip on it anxiously. He looked at it and smiled sheepishly.

"I-Its not a conventional n-ninja tool... I-it works though..." With that being said, lightning began to crackle from the tip of the staff as if it anticipated training. Salzem would only smile as Mai coined him the nickname "Sal." She was being so kind to him when she didn't have to be... It touched his heart... In all honesty, he wanted to give her a hug, to show his appreciation for how kind she had been to him. He almost did it to, but his intuition got to him first. It told him that it would make this awkward situation more awkward, that it would just scare her affections away. He listened to it.

"W-what kind of training d-did you have in mind...?" Salzem asked as he looked up at his new (and possibly first) friend.

Mai has been trying to learn the Mind Transfer technique and nothing has been working for her so maybe training with Sal will be the perfect. "Just your average training nothing too special. She did not want to tell him becasue of the dangers of the technique if he found out who knows what could happen."Just fair warning I am a pretty good ninja!" She would shout to him. There was no one ese present so there really was no need to shout she just did. "Now come at me with everything you got and I will show you the power of the Yamanaka Clan. She pointed at him and grinned ever so sneakingly.

Salzem cocked his head, unsure how to proceed.

"E-everything...?" He asked. "Okay...." When he said that, he raised his staff to the sky, chakra flowing from his hand through the wood and out the point into the sky above Mai. He'd strain to focus as his chakra coagulated the atmosphere above the girl, a dense black cloud forming over her. Thunder would crash, although not quite as loud as a full size thunder cloud would be. It grew larger and larger before a bolt of blue lightning fell from the massive dark cloud at a speed of 20, crashing down upon the Yamanaka with likely enough force to cause pain and temperary paralysis, but nothing that she wouldn't shake off in a manner of minutes. Salzem would take a step back, eyes wide at the blast the lightning had created. He was afraid he'd gone overboard, hurt her too much too soon.

Mai would jump out of the thunde bolts way at a speed of 20. "Your quick." She would rush toward him at a speed of twenty jumping in the air lifting her leg higher getting ready to drop kick Sal with a strength of 10. Mai was not the strongest but she was smart and quick which definitely made up for it in the long run.  She did not see an opening but she knew she would have to separate the kid from his staff in order to get him off his guard. "I see."