"Of course Teacher Mai can, but I think I'm better at this kind of thing than you, so it's better to leave it to me." Aiden said this, then grabbed Mai Shiranui's arm and forcefully took the hammer away.
After that, he glanced at the broken wooden door on the ground. Once he had made a quick plan in his head, he stepped into the dojo.
Yesterday, it wasn't just tea drinking, after dinner, Mai Shiranui had dragged him around the dojo a few times to get familiar with the environment, so he knew there was a small storage room in the backyard with plenty of tools and materials inside.
Very soon, Aiden came back to the gate carrying a whole pile of tools and materials.
Fixing a gate naturally didn't require any blueprints. After thinking for a moment, Aiden started banging away with clattering sounds.
Standing off to the side, Mai Shiranui couldn't help but make a little mental comparison when she saw this scene. She quickly frowned and shook her head.
Then, in a soft voice, she asked Aiden, "Aiden, is there anything I can help with?"
"Teacher Mai, just go rest." Aiden said without even lifting his head.
"But Aiden, if you're working while I just go rest, that doesn't seem quite right." Mai Shiranui sounded a little reluctant.
'What a good girl!'
As soon as Aiden heard that, he couldn't help sighing in his heart.
Then he stopped what he was doing, raised his head, and said to her, "Since Teacher Mai wants to contribute a bit, then prepare me some delicious drinks and snacks. That'll count as my payment from Teacher Mai!"
"Then what snacks does Aiden want to eat?" Mai Shiranui immediately asked.
"Botamochi!" Aiden recalled Mai Shiranui's hobby and said with a light laugh.
At the mention of botamochi, Mai Shiranui's eyes instantly lit up, "Alright, I'll go buy some right away."
With that, she lifted her kimono hem and hurried out the door. Only, this time she didn't need to worry that Aiden would run off halfway.
By the time Mai Shiranui came back, Aiden had already pieced the door together. Dozens of wooden planks were nailed across the door in a crisscross mess.
Though it didn't look nice, it was good enough, anyway, in just a few days the renovation company would be coming to properly repair it.
Wiping away the sweat that wasn't actually there on his forehead, Aiden turned around and said to Mai Shiranui, who was holding two big bags, "Teacher Mai, what do you think?"
Mai Shiranui had many shortcomings. She was quite a contradictory woman, and she shared a number of common flaws with other women, but in temperament she sometimes leaned toward the Yamato nadeshiko type.
She could be gentle, she could be virtuous, she could be cute, she could be cheerful, and sometimes she could be sentimental. In short, yes, she had flaws, but her good points far outweighed them.
Anyway, upon hearing Aiden's words, Mai Shiranui immediately set down the bags in her hands, walked up to him, and then, pulling out a handkerchief from who-knows-where, she tried to wipe the sweat off for him.
Only, seeing there wasn't actually any sweat on his forehead, she froze for a moment, then quickly said, "Aiden, you're amazing! Thank you for your hard work!"
Saying this, she even reached out to pat Aiden's shoulder. But because of the difference in height, she had to stand on tiptoe just to make it look a little less awkward.
Only, this movement brought them so close together that Aiden just had to lower his head slightly to see the abyss beneath Mai Shiranui's kimono.
'Big white rabbits!'
'So cute!'
Since Aiden only snuck a quick glance, Mai Shiranui didn't notice his gaze.
Then she withdrew her hand, pulled him by the arm toward the dojo, and said as she walked, "You must be tired, Aiden. Go inside and sit down to rest for a bit. I'll go brew some tea for you."
"But the tools aren't put away yet!" Aiden shouted back, looking at the pile left at the gate.
But Mai Shiranui didn't give him the chance to argue, dragging him into the dojo, pressing him down onto a seat cushion, then standing with her hands on her hips, looking at him.
She reached out one finger, bent over, and poked his forehead, "You've already done plenty. Leave the rest to the teacher!"
'Alright, the classic anime heroine move. But that angle… tsk…'
Aiden rubbed his nose, nodded, and didn't say anything more.
After that, Mai Shiranui brewed a pot of tea for Aiden, then arranged the botamochi she had bought nicely on a plate and set it before him. Only then did she run to the gate to tidy up the tools.
Not long later, once she had cleaned the area around the gate, Mai Shiranui returned and sat in seiza across from Aiden. At this point, Aiden cleverly poured her a cup of tea and handed her a piece of botamochi.
Mai Shiranui's eyes curved into crescent moons as she accepted the botamochi, sweetly saying, "Aiden, you're so nice! Thank you, Aiden!"
'Yes, so nice!'
'Way better than some irresponsible man!' Aiden nodded inwardly at himself.
After that, the two of them ate botamochi and drank tea together, and before they knew it, it was already noon.
"Eh! Time passed so fast, it's already lunchtime!" Looking at the clock on the dojo wall, Mai Shiranui showed an expression of disbelief.
Before, when she was alone, she had never felt time pass so quickly. Even when she practiced martial arts with that person, under her grandfather's strict training, she still felt time passed slowly.
Glancing at Aiden, who was still holding his teacup with both hands, slowly blowing at the floating tea leaves and drinking like some old man, Mai Shiranui blinked her eyes and thought, 'This must be Aiden's doing. With Aiden around, it always feels like there's not enough time.'
'Mm, it must be that!'
'So, having someone around really is nice. Before, it was Grandpa. Now, it's Aiden.'
A happy smile appeared on Mai Shiranui's face. Ever since her grandfather had passed away, she rarely felt this kind of happiness.
Then she put down her teacup and softly asked Aiden, "Aiden, what do you want for lunch?"
"The same as yesterday is fine." Aiden didn't want to trouble Mai Shiranui too much. That whole morning, apart from fixing the door, it had been Mai Shiranui doing everything by herself.
"Zoni soup! Great." Mai Shiranui smiled brightly and nodded. Zoni was her favorite. She was very happy that Aiden shared the same taste as her, just like how Aiden liked her favorite sweet, botamochi.
"Then I'll go out and buy groceries. Aiden, you stay home and wait obediently for teacher to come back, okay?"
Mai Shiranui stood up and patted Aiden's back like coaxing a child.
Aiden was a little speechless and amused, "Teacher Mai, don't treat me like a kid."
"But I'm the teacher. In front of me, you're a child. Mm, come, let Mommy give you a hug." The cheerful Mai Shiranui joked, then actually hugged Aiden.
At that moment, Aiden was sitting cross-legged. Because of their height difference, he was right at the level of Mai Shiranui's chest, so…
'Facial cleanser sure feels good!' Feeling the softness pressing against his face, Aiden sighed in his heart.
But Mai Shiranui quickly realized this posture was a little too much. After hugging him once, she quickly let go, her face slightly red, and then ran out of the dojo.
———
After lunch, the two rested for a bit, then began Aiden's first training since becoming a disciple.
At this moment, Mai Shiranui had already taken off that loose kimono, revealing the dazzling and skimpy battle outfit underneath. As she stepped toward the center of the dojo, Aiden's heartbeat matched her every step.
'Can't handle it, really can't handle it. Truly worthy of being Mai Shiranui!'
Aiden sniffed again. By body proportions alone, Mai Shiranui definitely couldn't compare with Tifa, not even with a witch.
But this outfit gave her big bonus points. Besides, beauty that's half-hidden is always the most captivating.
"Aiden, what are you standing there in a daze for? Hurry up and come over here!"
Mai Shiranui hadn't noticed Aiden's gaze. Standing at the center of the dojo's training hall, she pivoted on her heel to face him, holding a folding fan called the Hana Chōfan, pointing it at Aiden.
"Coming, coming!"
Aiden jogged over and stood before Mai Shiranui.
"Aiden, looking at your physique, you should have some martial arts foundation. So, show me a couple of stances first."
As a fighter, and the sole heir of the Shiranui style, Mai Shiranui had a sharp eye. Naturally, she could tell Aiden's physical qualities were far beyond ordinary people.
Still, she didn't doubt Aiden's identity in the slightest. After all, that guy named Andy had also entered as a skilled disciple.
That's why, when Aiden came to apprentice under her, she never asked what style of martial arts he had previously practiced.
"Stances, huh."
Hearing Mai Shiranui tell him to show a stance, Aiden felt a bit awkward. He had learned proper military combat techniques before.
Later, he picked up some other fighting skills too. But these were completely different from ancient martial arts.
They didn't really have a "stance" to begin with, since many military combat movements started from nearly the same posture, with basic movements being interchangeable.
After thinking a moment, in the end Aiden settled into the most basic military combat ready position.
"Just military combat, huh."
Seeing Aiden's combat ready stance, how could Mai Shiranui, as a fighter, not recognize it? She tapped her chin, slowly circled around Aiden once, then nodded, "Your posture is very standard."
'Of course, it's the combat stance I've trained for years!' Aiden thought.
Even without relying on his system professions, his fighting skill wasn't bad. Though he couldn't throw energy blasts like the fighters in King of Fighters, in pure technique, he was confident he could trade dozens, even hundreds of blows with anyone.
However, just when Aiden thought Mai Shiranui would have him demonstrate a few moves, unexpectedly she suddenly reached out and pressed his forearm.
At first, Aiden thought Mai Shiranui was checking whether his muscles were relaxed while in stance. After all, fighting consumed stamina quickly.
If your muscles stayed tense the whole time, you'd burn through energy after only a few moves, and your movements would easily lose form.
But what Aiden didn't expect was, after pressing his forearm, Mai Shiranui went on to press his upper arm, then his shoulder, waist, back, abdomen, chest… she pressed all over.
Then, nodding with a faint blush on her face, Mai Shiranui said, "Aiden's body is really firm!"
Men like women with good figures, of course women like men with good figures too.
And Aiden was Asian, his looks perfectly matching Mai Shiranui's aesthetic. Coupled with his tall, strong build, for someone as emotional and beauty-oriented as Mai Shiranui, he truly carried a strong allure.
Hearing her words, Aiden was a little helpless. He lowered his head, sighed, and said, "Then shouldn't Teacher Mai's hand move off my chest now?"
At that moment, Mai Shiranui's hand was still pressing against his chest.
"Cough, cough…" Mai Shiranui quickly pulled her hand back, lightly coughed twice to ease the awkwardness.
After her chest rose and fell heavily twice, she straightened her face and said seriously, "I was only checking Aiden's body to see if it was suitable for the Shiranui style of ancient martial arts. Don't overthink it, okay? Mm, Aiden, now do a few moves for me to see."
Aiden naturally didn't believe that, but he still nodded, "Roger."
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