Harue caressed the laminated paper pinned onto the notice board. The words ‘Enrolment’ in capital letters, printed in large, bold, Times New Roman text, stared back at her as her index finger traced the horizontal line on the ‘T’. Her eyes then dropped down to see the extremely long list of students, spanning five pages, who had got into Diamond Heights University with honors, eyes glancing down the first page and skimming through each name as her finger subconsciously also traced the edge of the paper.

It was her dream. Or, it would have been her dream.

Had she had the opportunity to enrol here when she was younger, she would have jumped at the chance, seizing it with more greed than she would have anything else. Knowledge wasn’t just power to her, it was life, and to study at the newly-opened Diamond Heights University would have been a dream for any pioneering sixteen-year-old who couldn’t get enough scholarly material in her backward village to sate her thirst for intellectual mastery.

Her eyes flickered to the left portion of the notice board. While the middle portion had been dedicated to welcome the new students and allow them some prestige and pride in their achievements, the section on the left had been demarcated from the others to boast the many, many programs and courses that Diamond Heights University offered, and Harue’s eyes lingered for one moment too long on the course that she would have just simply died to get into.

‘Advanced Chakra Theory’.

The brief description beside it, in the column adjacent, had the words ‘deeper understanding of chakra’ and ‘lectures by renowned professor Yoko Mutsu’... Harue ignored all those. She didn’t need her attention captivated; it was the only course she was truly interested in anyway. Many people preached the importance of engineering and technology but she knew better than anyone intuitively that the future was and always had been chakra.

She felt a pang of sorrow grip her heart as she reminisced her younger days when her waking hours had been filled with dreaming about working on chakra, discussions about the more advanced uses, of how fire chakra and water chakra interacted on a chakra level and how this contrasted with how the elements reacted, of the opposite and adjacent recomposition theories behind advanced elements, of the rarity and processing of chakra conductive materials… She could remember each and every paper she had written out in her free time for entertainment, pretending that she was getting somewhere with her level of knowledge, knowing Takara didn’t have the means to send her to an official institution in the Land of Fire, much less in another country.

Such memories were nothing more than faraway dreams now, she thought, as recent events caught up to her. She was a fugitive, hiding from her potential pursuers in the village she hated the most, yet standing in the place she most wanted to be. Harue let a disappointed sigh escape her lips, betraying none of the regret or fear in her heart as she continued down the hallway, dressed in a blue frilly dress with a matching purse hanging by her right shoulder, topped off with white wedges, matching the colour of her hair which draped down her back in curls.

She looked like any other civilian, like any other student, but within her bag she kept the few ninja items that she had brought with her, just in case. Always just in case now, even when most of her belongings were in the hotel she managed to rent, Her short vacation in Iwagakure, taken despite her initial rush, was nothing less than a blessing, finding a local bank to support her financially while having a roof over her head in one of the less popular hotels on the edge of the village. It had given her some well-needed rest, but even she couldn’t keep herself from gravitating to the one attraction in the village that normal tourists didn’t opt for.

Sadly, like all tourists, one could not indefinitely stay, and she silently bid both the university, and the course, goodbye as she walked down one of the thousands of corridors in the building.

WC: 712

Karumo slid the notes into a brown leather briefcase, already filled with other papers and a few other folders and papers sloppily filled the case. He tossed them in and slid a pen into a small slot before closing it up and slinging it around his shoulder. He exited a small conference room along with several other professors and a department head, mathematics. He loved the science itself but as for these meetings of bureaucracy and updating himself on the department and staff, it was pedantic and almost unnecessary. But he was required with the upkeep of the school and making everything run smoothly, even if he knew nothing of the current events within every field and updating the subjects to guarantee the most current information and techniques were being taught but there were fields he did care for and kept himself updated on. He shook each of their hands as they exited the room, a long sleeve, white button up with a black jacket and black dress pants on. He himself cleaned up quiet nicely, if he did say so himself, but as he shook each of their hands and generically agreed to lunch with one of them, telling them to talk to his secretary, only one thought crossed his mind and distracted him. My fingernails are getting a bit long. I should trim them...

Once each of his staff had departed he pulled the briefcase by it's strap over his shoulder and began to walk down the hallway with a sigh. Students walked by him, some smiled and waved and others walked by without a second thought, as if they had never seen their headmaster. A new semester and more classes enrolling, he entered a stairwell and headed down to the first floor. The main building of the campus was always busy, filled with students and staff turning in paperwork or perhaps checking on their enrollment or going to pay their tuition and such. Each of them had their own story and Karumo loved to hear and learn the lives of others. There was always something to learn from the lives of others and he believed that adamantly, he would often meet with students, heads of organizations and discuss their issues and ideas. Often times he would get lost in the small talk or talk of their projects or the little details of their ideas and complaints rather than the bigger picture, maybe it was a fatal flaw of his.

With the beginning of a new semester just getting underway, he wondered what sorts of adventures these students would get into on campus. Those there to learn and become future engineers and doctors would begin interesting studies, research projects, and design projects. While others, ninja like himself, would further advance their skills in specifically tailored courses to making them better and more skilled. Teaching them to be quicker thinkers, better analyzers, and better tacticians. That was where Karumo excelled; not the best by any means, but he prided himself as being one of the best in the art of deduction and analysis. It was that skill alone that had kept him going this long, with a lackluster set of physical skills, it was his mind that kept him alive and kept him advancing the ladder.

He glanced around the corridor, taking in the smiling faces, when he caught a younger girl at the notice board, maybe only a few years younger than Karumo himself, running an apathetic finger over the list. Was melancholy the right word to describe her appearance? Or perhaps it was regret that was gripping at her, perhaps she didn't receive honors that so many others did or perhaps a class was filled too early to enroll. The struggles of a student were never ending and ever amounting stress constantly created that feeling in many students throughout the semester. Especially as finals and term papers begin to flow in. He walked a bit more slowly, his eyes followed to her as she turned and walked away from the board.

Now heading in his direction, he stepped over slightly, perhaps he was feeling inquisitive today. Perhaps he was just bored and his mind set off in a tangent to wander by a barrage of the most boring meetings he could imagine. But whatever the reason, he made it his goal to step into her path, cut her off in some sense and bring forth a simple question, "I hope that board didn't bring too much bad news to you." he would speak once he was within a few feet of her, loud enough to hopefully catch her attention even if she wasn't paying attention. His right hand would hold the briefcase to his shoulder, a smile as genuine as he could provide would dawn his face. He would continue on, "Even if it did, there's always next time to buckle down and reach whatever goals you set."

Assuming that she didn't just walk off or ignore him completely, or even tell him off like the stranger he was. After all, prying eyes and gossip was the bane of all, but hopefully she would see that he was genuine about his approach. He would extend a hand to shake hers, offering a simple greeting, "You can call me Karumo, if you'd like." his goal to get all of the formalities out of the way before they got into anything. Again, assuming that she didn't ignore him right off as he might deserve, no harm done in that case, but if she stuck around. He had a bit of a curiosity he would like to satisfy.

[946 words]

Harue’s tour through the university was stopped when a very familiar looking man stopped in front of her.

His skin was very clear, with only slight tans visible if one squinted closely, and she could make out the muscles underneath his suit, loose as it was. Despite his unkempt and uncut hair, she in no way mistook him for anyone unprofessional, and it wasn’t even because of the sleek, packed suitcase that he had slung over his right shoulder. His shaven face aside, there was another much more prominent reason why Harue had recognised this man as important almost as soon as she had spotted him, which was roughly the same time that he had intercepted her path.

This was Karumo Sekuro, the headmaster of the university that was currently her touring grounds. If she hadn’t noticed him by the very recently updated portrait she had seen of him on the university’s brochures, then she certainly would have noticed the pictures of him hung up around the university, framed by intricate golden works to pay tribute to the man who led the most prestigious university that she had even come close to hearing about. And, if she didn’t know anything about him, a few visits to the shops surrounding the university, and within the university itself, as well as, embarrassingly, the girls’ toilets, would have left her with enough to follow up on.

There were many rumours going around about one Karumo Sekuro, and it was hard to glean what was fact from what was fiction as most of the news spread by word of mouth tended to get corrupted more so than its written counterpart, especially since what she had heard had been in said cafes or in the university’s female washrooms, whether it was frustrated students complaining about his lacklustre command of the university’s hierarchy over a cup of coffee in a cold environment for the former case, or if it was a pair of girls giggling in the toilets as they drew him up to be a superstar equivalent, all the while ignorant of the red-faced Uzumaki in the cubicles who tried to shut out their more… inappropriate topics.

She had been so surprised that she had bumped into him out of the hundreds of thousands of people in the university (of course, if she hadn’t been as dumbfounded by the situation, she might have picked up that he was the one who had bumped into her) that his question and advice had almost slipped her, with her registering it seconds later than she could’ve. Also at the same time, she closed her agape mouth, staring at the man who stood in front of her.

“N-not so much bad news as you might think,” she answered, scratching her head in embarrassment at having been caught. “I’m not exactly a student of this university. Too busy a schedule to attend, after all.”

When he introduced himself, extending one hand cordially, she would reach out for it with her right hand, grasping it tightly and giving it a firm shake, a mild smile plastered on her face. All sense of embarrassment had washed from her features as she only barely contained the excitement she had at one of the leading figures in the university’s science department. “I know who you are! Esteemed headmaster of Diamond Heights University at the young age of twenty-three-years-old, handpicked by the Tsuchikage to run the most advanced tertiary educational institute found in the Elemental Nations, lecturer for most courses founded upon the science of things,” Harue recited off the top of her head the information she had gleaned, the only ones she had thought were even close to factual, when she had been reading up on Diamond Heights during her first few days in the village.

“My name is Harue Nakazawa,” she would introduce, realising she had yet to give her name, “But you can call me Harue, if that’s okay with you.”

WC: 676 + 712 = 1388

Too busy, huh? That's a shame... he thought as he listened to the girl embarrassingly scratching her head. He was always a firm believer that education was the great equalizer, the thing that could bridge a gap between anyone hoping to do anything. But being too busy to learn or study, seemed like a boring and tiresome journey, even though most students would probably disagree. There are much worse things than studying and bettering oneself. So what was it that made her too busy, whether that just be the general troubles of life or perhaps caring for someone, there was so much to deprive people of their dreams and goals and education was one way to reach any and all goals. However, there are a lot of assumptions there, perhaps she just used 'too busy' as an excuse to avoid another subject or avoid speaking of missing her goal.

Or perhaps, school just wasn't her thing, so a university might not be the place for her. Everyone was different after all, or perhaps it was some other burden that prevented it, so many things to limit a person and so few ways for people to get by and succeed. It really was the perfect stepping stone for life, and the perfect irony for preparing people, students and others for the real world.

She took his hand and shook it firmly, both of them smiling before the soon to be rant or fanaticism, if that is how it could be described. Karumo listened as she rambled on about knowing him, a dumb chuckle as he listened to everything she recited off. He scratched the back of his neck as she listed off what she knew, it seemed that she might know more about him than he would know about himself at times. It was a weird experience, someone knowing who he was before even he did, and it would be worse if ordinary people learned that he was captain of the Oracles as well. But still, having someone recite his record, however short it may be, was interesting, a thing he would probably never fully adjust to.

Then came her name, Harue Nakazawa, a name nor surname he had ever heard but that was also common for the university. People from across the world came to study here, or to stare at the course listings and such in the hallway, he supposed.

He readjusted the strap on his shoulder, letting it slide further up to his neck rather than sitting on his shoulder before speaking up, "Harue is perfectly fine with me." he gave with the dopiest smile. "You certainly seem to know a lot about me and the university for not being a student and all." he asked bluntly.

His curiosity had grown but a little while he thought about it, the bag weighing into his shoulder, not inconvenienced but aware of its presence as he spoke. He looked around for a moment, a few unfamiliar faces passing by, he wasn't really sure how to go about this next bit, whether to maybe poke a bit of fun at her. But then that could end up going horribly for him, or to maybe just genuinely ask, or perhaps a middle ground? If such a place existed, he was curious as to why she was here. Someone too busy to enroll or take any courses, but obviously interested in the subjects of some kind or perhaps in studying in general.

He coughed, breaking his train of thought and the speaking up, "But what about you?" a short pause to let the idea gauge itself within her mind. "Are you someone who hopes to study in the sciences or perhaps a liberal art of some kind, or even the shinobi studies?" he added on, the a slight smile coming over his face. "Or do the course listings and honor rolls keep you sated?" a quiet laugh bordering on chuckle followed after. He was his own funniest person after all, but hopefully he wouldn't be pushing any boundaries or testing any soft spots with Harue. His joke not meant to offend in any way, hopefully she'd see that he was genuine enough with that.

[706 words, 1652 words total]

OOC:

A lot of students huh.... that could be a good or bad thing. as she chuckled along and gave a nervous smile. The gossip of people had typically been of little concern but he was aware of the affect of crowd thought and how that could prematurely shape the image of someone, even before they've met. However, it didn't seem to be that she had found anything negative or anything negative that she'd care to share openly.

He listened to her reply thoroughly, first with a repetition of his question, thinking about what to say, her eyes rolling away from him. He was rather interested in what she had to say though. She started out rather, was unsure of herself the way to put it? Taking time to think while she spoke, he listened intently, a rather blank expression on his face. Dabble, was the word that most caught his attention. Many would probably key in on the lack of formal education, but Karumo was a believer in that anyone could learn anything at any point through a variety of means. However, she made it seem as if her studies were less than serious, whether a bit of humbleness or humility or even her lack of formal education, Harue certainly had caught hold of his attention. But his interest wouldn't stop there, her focus being in chakra theory, something he held his own fancy for but it not being what he truly focused in.

He listened on as she spoke about her interest in it, trying to apply what her knowledge would most closely relate to in the courses and such. She seemed to have a very intimate knowledge of where her understanding would match up in the grand scheme of things, he was very intrigued as no earlier she wrote her interest of as, dabbling. But even more so, to learn it on her own through experimentation, he was very interested indeed, as she nervously laughed away her bit about not understanding and such. Karumo cracked a smile, almost even chuckling as she laughed. He spoke up not long after she finished, "So you're telling me that you know all this about chakra theory and learning it through experimentation on your own time!" he may have been getting a bit eccentric with his tone so he reeled himself back some. "And you're worried about not having a formal education?" he said with a set of sarcasm to it.

In all honesty it was probably nothing to be truly ashamed or embarrassed of, but more something she should be proud of to say the least, or to acknowledge her own intuition. But Karumo's interest wouldn't be sufficed with just words on the topic, he would dig a little bit deeper and add on to the story where he could, "So learning that much about chakra theory. Would that make you a shinobi as well? It would explain the interest in experimenting with chakra and such, trying to create new and more powerful jutsu..." he led on. It was a simple question but it held a lot of implications, but her answer to that wouldn't truly affect anything, she had talked about her own skill and part of him wanted to see that prowess in action. "But before you answer that, how inclined are you to show me how much you really know? If you know more than me then it's the perfect chance to really test it, and if not then you have a chance to potentially learn a lot more. And if you really do have, as you put it, 'some semblance of an interest' then I wouldn't pass this opportunity up!" he said with a sleek smile and a calm tone. His expression would be only that of his smile, returning to normal when she would begin talking, hoping for a chance to put this to the test.

If she accepted his offer of showing him what she knew then he would take the two of them to the small training ground behind the school, where there was plenty of room to work and only a few others to bother them. Besides, standing in the middle of the hallway in all the traffic was a bit rude, even if they had only been talking for a short moment.

However, if she should decline his offer, then maybe he could convince her in another way? Or just let her be about her way, he was really at her mercy here, even though he was really interested by this girl.

[771 words, 2423 words total]

Not exactly a shinobi. It seemed, and Karumo questioned, on whether Harue was truly anything, he wondered if she would give a response about not being formally educated in being a person or something else along that. It was a ridiculous notion, but she seemed entirely unsure of it, perhaps to nullify expectations or hopes, or to just not boast in front of the headmaster of the university. Karumo supposed both scenarios were fine, but it was peculiar how much value she placed on education but on how much she seemed to grasp at these subjects in her life. He almost felt like interjecting here, but he let her continue on, anything he could add would be nothing closer or less than argument or seeking to challenge a notion. And there was no one in their right mind who would want to argue with a stranger over nothing and ideology, except maybe Karumo, but he wasn't normal by almost any standards.

He continued to listen onward, her denial of wanting new and more powerful jutsu, but to go into her love of the application of it, the science behind it. A notion he could respect, he also new lots of chemistry and biology and could big and new weapons or explosives capable of great destruction, but that's not what he studied for. He studied for the love of it, where he had time and motivation to study of course. The current dilemmas of his schedule and affairs were always putting that at odds with what he wanted to do, but the notion of her wanting to study the science of chakra, even though she could have the potential to develop jutsu that would bring countries to its knees, was admirable in his eyes.

She then went on to ponder on his question, the more interesting bit of the adventure so far, and a question without direction and quite vague. But, she inevitably accepted! Whatever machinations in her mind led to the decision, he dared not question for he now got a chance to avoid working and to further indulge his interests. A rare chance indeed and for as busy as he could be at times, these rare intellectual discussions were a delicacy in which he could never get enough of. Karumo smiled as they begin to set off, adding one last bit before they made their way to the fields, "Oh, I tend to find those with the most humility and best outlooks on life have the most to teach. I'm sure there's plenty in that mind of yours to keep a conversation going for days." he held his smile and led the way through the university, down the winding corridors and through the research wing.

The exit though, was to a nice open field, ripe with the scars and marks of training and testing. He smiled looking at the field, some fresh burns marks on the ground, Karumo took up a nearby bench which was set up to over look the grounds and set his briefcase flat upon the table surface and draped the strap on top of it. Then he himself would take a seat in front of his bag and stretch his arms across the table and leaned back as Harue prepared herself. She took aim at the wall and formed her hand with her finger pointed out and thumb upwards, focus on the white and scarred wall ahead of her. Small charges of lightning fired to her fingertips and exploded outwards, wasting no time at all for explanation or discussion, Karumo simply elected to watch and take in the sight. She spoke as she began to monologue on the current chakra model accepted for the use of her jutsu, continuing on as he watched and listened in to her. He leaned back up into a straight stance, letting his arms rest in his lap as he closed his hands together and leaned in slightly, contemplating on her words.

The jutsu ended and Harue returned to address him, his eyes wandered up to hers from her hand that had been surging lightning just a moment ago, "Impressive..." he spoke to himself, Especially considering her lack of formal education. She continued on her rant, rather than interrupting he let her recall the names of famous researches and pioneers in the field, but that wasn't his focus, instead he keyed in on a small statement lost in the flurry of words. "Built a more personal model." It was the kind of sentiment that true interest could draw, and it caught his attention as he leaned back slightly, he could tell he was in for a ride, he could only hope that he could keep up.

And journey would be of little consolation for the lecture he was receiving, he followed along intently and nodded appropriately where necessary. Otherwise he listened intently to her bring about her point, making several mental notes along the way of potential discrepancies and whatever else would catch his attention. It was certainly a great attempt at dumbing down the complexity of something like chakra theory, and despite her own claims that she could be horribly incorrect, he understood the logic behind it.

Harue then scratched her head and apologized for the messy nature of her explanation, Karumo simple smiled and chuckled slightly. After all, she was right, no one probably expects to lecture the headmaster on any random visit to the university. And as leisurely as he was taking it, he could imagine some degree of nervousness and anxiety for her, after all, pitching self discovered ideas and conundrums to someone is nerve-wracking in its own right. He held his smile through the laugh and spoke up, "No no, you've done very well. For someone who places so much value and merit in the official sense of things, you've cultured quite the mind on your own. I think I'd be interested to see where you'd be if you had that supposedly important official education." he smiled a bit more and stood up and stretched some.

"I'm afraid you'll have to forgive me as well, I'm not very good with any of your mass based jutsu either. I'm more a fan of things like fire and a bit of wind based jutsu. But, I think I followed along well enough to what you're saying, and I'll have to say, I'm a bit surprised." he added, his tone a bit serious as he cracked a bone in his neck. "Surprised, you see, in how much you do know. I came here thinking that we'd be discussing about the combinations of mental and physical energy in jutsu and simple concepts like that. But you've really taken me for a loop, you could probably go toe to toe with some of the actual professors here. But maybe I can add some comments that will help clarify or move your thoughts in a better direction." he coughed and cleared his throat up some.

"First off, I'd like to say that for as good a shinobi as I am and even having a unique Kekkai Genkai of my own, some of the concepts you're exploring escape me. However I do know science at least better than the average person, so I'm going to approach this from a mostly scientific standpoint. But first, I know that chakra doesn't apply to the same laws and such, but when chakra is applied to an object or left outside the body, there must be some of that which is lost to the surroundings or expended in transfer, so in practice you'll never get a one hundred percent retention. Much less over one hundred percent." he laughed to himself with a heavy smile his facial expression matching along. "But perhaps you notice the change is because the change in form for those mass jutsu is already there. Think about it like this. Someone who can create a lightning bolt versus a wall using the same amount of chakra. A person who makes that wall already has his material where as a lightning bolt needs to be formed, it's more time to lose chakra to the surroundings and expended in changing its form. Which you've already covered yourself and it's a bit obvious, but I think that as long as we fail to be able to measure the efficiency of chakra expenditure we are forced to accept that as a the answer to the problem. Until a system is developed to truly measure conversion and apply the statistics to it."

"However the thought process behind it is interesting, but most of our research here is into the more applied side of chakra. And I myself could be simplified to only really knowing how to make the fire I breathe out hotter and greater in size, but that is equivalent in that if I want to do either thing or even both, it's going to take more chakra. Another obvious bit..." he sighed.

He laughed and scratched the back of his own head embarrassingly now, "I'm afraid there's not really much I can add for you, unless I'm perhaps missing the point?" he wondered, a very possible reality for him and all the technical jargon. It would be too easy to lose the real question or problem in it all, and for as advanced as Karumo was, it was obvious that he wasn't putting enough time into studying chakra and advancing his skills in the proper way.

Perhaps he would stop thinking about battle strategies, puzzles, and riddles and focus on more applied skills. Maybe...

[1630 words, 4053 words total]

Karumo sat and listened to her explanation, he knew that his comment wouldn't be enough and it was this response that showed him her true interest on the subject. She rebutted his comment about chakra merely manipulating of surroundings, and he smiled at the thought, only briefly as he knew that he was a bit out of his league here. She was right though, there had to be some equivalent exchange if it was simply manipulating the surroundings, a detail that had slipped his mind entirely. He he sighed a bit, even he should know that much or be aware of that affect, especially for someone so vested in science in general. Karumo listened in again though, holding his attention as she went into the details behind it all, absorbing the rant, with hopefully a little more clarity and with a chance for a better response.

He then listened in as she began to go into the system for measuring chakra using fuinjutsu, an art that had taken his interest as of late but he had been left with so little time to study it or to actually learn anything of it. The rest of this escaped him in almost its entirety, he wasn't expecting so much detail and so much clarity on the fine points so quickly. Even if her reasoning and basis was, as she claimed, baseless, it seemed that she had enough knowledge to know if her ideas were absolutely ridiculous or not. In fact, Karumo just nodded and listened in, it almost felt like she lost track of him even being there for a moment as she went into detail and rapidly shot out the mechanics for such a seal.

Continuing on she re-assured him that he hadn't missed the point, continuing on about how she was a bit dismayed at the University's lack of research in the particular field. But Karumo's thoughts ran tangent, a bit of melancholy shot through him, Great, stayed on point, just didn't know what I was talking about... but his appearance would differ from his thoughts. He smiled and spoke up, "Well, it's not that we have no interest in the field, but the parts of research that lead to application keeps things funded. But that business nonsense probably doesn't interest you at all..." he chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I won't even pretend though. As much as I've been meaning to learn the fuinjutsu arts, I haven't had the time and won't dare comment there. However, it seems that you know a lot about it, so much so that unless you're just totally BS'ing your way through this, you should have some idea on whether or not your ideas are absolutely crazy." he added on with a bit of smile, looking towards her to watch her reaction before continuing on.

"You know if you'd like, I could put you in touch with some of the professors here, they'll certainly know more than I do and can offer much more to your theories and ideas..." he led waiting to see how she would take the idea itself. "I could put in a good word, and maybe if you leave a good enough impression..." he left off with a pause thinking before he spoke. "Well, I do know every department is looking for research fellows and things of that nature. The positions don't pay well, but tuition and such is waived in return for your dedicated research." he thought. He wouldn't say that leaving a good impression was all she would need to get the position, but if she were interested in applying and interviewing for the job, a little experience and a good impression would certainly go a long way with the board that selects its candidates.

It would be up to her though, perhaps his comment and potential offer would be over the line, taunting someone who may or may not be able to accept with dreams of researching and realizing these ideas. Hopefully though, she would hear him out and not hate him immediately, for any potential transgressions he might have caused. But his mind was focused on the potential of her mind, and how her presence at the university could bode a lot of good down the line.

[733 words, 4786 words total]

She continued on, confirming his suspicion about her indifference towards politics and bureaucracy. Then continuing on with trivial details about fuinjutsu, but that would be quickly overshadowed by his next offer, to which she seemed taken aback by. The short pause as he could see her mulling over his offer was met with a quick transition in her mood, what seemed as excitement faded away. Her smile faded away and was replaced with one of the most melancholy looks. Karumo watched her appearance unfold and took his seat back upon the bench, crossing his legs. His breathe had become a little more elongated as he awaited what she would think.

Rejection, she had to pass on his offer, not only for a chance to join the university but also to even speak to more knowledgeable people. Citing that she was after all too busy to attend the university, Karumo sighed a bit as he spoke up, quietly, “That really is too bad…” he said just audibly enough. At the same time, she grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder, desperately trying to get ready to take off. Then came her departure, late for whatever thing would take her away from here, Karumo stood back up in case she would need help finding her way and because it was the courteous thing to do.

She was already leaving though, before he could even finish his sentence but he spoke up anyways, “Take care, Harue. And if you ever find the time, we’ll be here.” He said as he watched her depart from his presence. Karumo watched her head to the exit and take off, he stood and waved, not that she would see it, and then with a slower pace would begin to walk back into the building. It was really a shame, she seemed to have a lot of potential, hopefully whatever was keeping her away from her interests was important enough.

[324 words, 5110 words total]
[Exit Thread]

Training: