Chiaki had asked Takao to brunch today, and she bolted upright in bed, shaking her dreams away in a hurry and looking at the clock. Apparently, there was this little cute place, in the middle of the village called the Yakiniku Q. Her mother had talked about it and it was where her father had taken her on a first date, when he got the hint that was. She rubbed furiously at the corners of her eyes, the feeling of sleepy grit was not pleasant, but at least she was getting rid of it before she was overtaken by a sudden urge to stretch. She lifted her arms high above her head, feeling her nighty pull at her back and groaned with her mouth closed in a refreshing, “Mmmm” to greet the day.

The clock had said that she woke up at 7, plenty of time before their brunch date at eleven. She nodded to herself and scratched the back of her head before yawning. She hadn’t picked out an outfit yet, and wanted to look good for the Hokage. He had made an impression on her, and as much as she hated it, he actually looked quite handsome when she had the chance to actually look at him last mission that he did. Looking around, Chiaki found herself in a mess of unfolded clothes and hanging linens. She had been too lazy to pick up her laundry last night, and she regretted it as soon as she looked around. What a mess.

Scurrying out from under the covers, she bent low and picked up the clothing, tugging her nighty down to remain decent for… well if she had anyone over, that’s who it would be for. She sighed deeply and looked around, a lonely place. But she had a friend now. Nodding to reassure herself she tidied up, stuffing her laundry into the hamper and clambering out of her nighty she hung it back up and took a look at herself in the mirror. The recent activity, mission in the hospital, and mission with Takao had given her reason to look. Well, she didn’t see anything wrong with the way that she looked now, she had built some muscle, but her chest had reduced somewhat. Perhaps she should eat some more sugary foods to keep them up to par? Otherwise, she would have to buy all new underwear. Grumbling to herself she pressed against them to see if she could wear anything that might show a little bit of cleavage, and came up short.

Then again, everything in her life came up short, and it seemed like no man would ever take her seriously as long as she was the height she was. She had a job at the hospital now, thanks to the last mission, and a steady source of income from Doctor Hui and from her missions. She had a lot to offer, or at least that’s what she told herself before deflating with a sigh. No. There wasn’t much to offer from a shorty with no real body or talent to speak of, living in a one bedroom apartment with no stable income. She didn’t have a regular job after all, and she would constantly be in danger.

“Oh well.” She looked herself up and down and nodded, “This is probably as good as it is going to get anyhow.”

Humming a tune idly, she stepped into the shower and shaved everywhere, just in case he wanted to go for a swim or to the onsen. Carefully shaving every bit of hair off of her lower body, she made sure to get her underarms as well and nodded to herself, giving a once over with a twist of her back from side to side, looking over each shoulder and then down. Better, she supposed.

Scrubbing her hair and body came next and then as she stepped out to dry, her phone rang. Of bleeding course it would at this time. Grumbling and wrapping her towel around herself she scrambled to the phone to pick it up.

“H-hello?” She asked, not able to see the caller ID before she picked up.
“Hello honey bunches!” Came her father’s voice through the speaker, “How’s my little girl doing.”

“I’m alright, I am going to go get brunch with a friend.” She nodded, though the gesture couldn’t be seen through the phone.

“Anyone I know?” She heard his plaintive voice as he made small talk, and tried to weasel his way into her personal affairs, like he always did.

“Mmmm, maybe?” She shrugged, “He helped me with my last mission, and I thought that I would at least treat him to brunch to say thank you, and perhaps get to know him better.”

“Ohhh a boy.” Came her mother’s voice over the phone, a conspiratorial tone in her inflection. Oh great, she was going to think-

“I’ll just remind you to always be safe.” Her father’s voice came over the phone again, a lovingly wary tone adopted now.


“Dad!” She scolded softly, “He’s just a friend, and yes I always am. Don’t worry.”

“Yeah.” Her mother backed her up, “She is a grown woman now, she always knows to use-”

“I-I-I don’t need to hear about it!” Her father reiterated and sighed into the phone, “Well sweetie, you have fun with your friend and we’ll talk with you later.”

She exchanged pleasantries and hung up the phone. Next was drying her hair and finding something to wear. She looked through her clothing, trying to pick out something casual but also a bit dressy. She didn’t want to wear what she always wore, that was bland and tasteless, and she didn’t want to go too formal. Frazzled she sifted through the closet with a shake of her head to some, and a tilt of her head to others, considering them before ultimately moving on. Finally, she came to a bright yellow sun dress that she hadn’t worn in years. She smiled and tossed it over her head, letting the fabric nestle against her. It was flowy, didn’t require much upkeep, and quite cute. She also didn’t have to prepare much for it.

Slipping some underwear underneath the bright sundress she looked at herself in the mirror and tamed her wild hairdo, deciding to go for a singular long braid, rather than her twin tails that she was so fond of. Wrapping this braid into a bun she smiled at her reflection in the mirror. Perfect.

She looked at the clock. Even though they had said eleven and she made reservations, she didn’t know what to do with herself until then. It was only ten o’ clock. Chiaki sighed and looked around the house, there was nothing more to tidy, nothing more to get into unless she wanted to be late. Well, she could leasurely stroll there.

She decided that was what she would do. Grabbing a small dulled yellow clutch she crammed her keys and other essentials into the small thing along with some Ryo for her meal and locked the door behind her. Chiaki passed by some stores on the way, and decided to buy a ribbon for her hair from a woman who was selling them to children. It was a bright blue and caught the morning’s sun with glitter worked into the stitching. She tied it in a small bow and let it stream from her braided bun on her head as she walked towards the grill.

She arrived ten minutes early, after dawdling and window shopping, holding her clutch with both hands in front of her and looking expectantly into the crowd, waiting for Takao.

WC: 1305

Chiaki looked up from where she was, momentarily distracted by the people around her at the person who had greeted her. It seemed like Takao had brought a furry friend. Chiaki wasn’t a dog person, but she did love animals. She smiled and extended a hand to the dog as she looked up and nodded a greeting to Takao, “Takao-sama. I hope that today is treating you well. I thought that I would treat you to some barbecued things today to celebrate a mission well done, and also to thank you for helping with the litterbugs. I don’t think I could have done it without you.”

She looked down at the dog, who was busying himself with his master, or friend, however dog person relationships worked, and nodded, “I don’t mind. We’ll probably have to sit outside though. I ah.” She reddened a bit and looked down at herself and then got a good look at him in his outfit, “I hope I am not overdressed. I got a bit nervous.” She gulped and let the dog do what it would with her proffered hand, as she shook her head to his comment.

“You didn’t make me wait long, I just get to everywhere early. I ah, I get that from my mother. I am just glad that I have the common sense not to do what she did to my dad.” She gave a little grin, “But that’s a story for another time, shall we?” She gestured into the restaurant with one hand and raised her eyebrows in the question. She hoped that he wouldn’t take the overdressing the wrong way. She didn’t want to make him nervous or anything. It wasn’t a date after all, it was a thank you for helping her with the mission. But what if he thought the wrong thing? So stupid to have overdressed. She mentally beat herself up on the way to the door, her eyes going flat. Not for long though, as they would enter, it would be like a passing storm on the sea.

WC: 1659

Chiaki noticed the faint lopsided grin that permeated his face for a bit and she gave a bit of a sheepish smile back. Nodding to his mention of not to sell herself short, she caught a moment of hesitation in his free arm. Perhaps he was wanting to give her a handshake or something of the sort? Or reassure her in some other way. His eyes seemed to go to a thousand mile stare for a moment before snapping back to her and the present moment. Then they trailed to the dog, leading her to the self same mammalian companion.

Kaoru, by his name, was sniffing her hand and she giggled, “Well, I just… I am used to doing things on my own so it’s nice.” She gave a soft smile, most of it to Takao’s kindness, but it was aimed at the dog, so she felt certain that he wouldn’t notice. Kaoru nuzzled her palm and she gave him a couple of scritches behind the ear, making sure to give him a positive response to the good behaviour. It was nice that he had brought Kaoru, a good third wheel if ever there was one, and cute besides.

“Inuzuka. The ones with the big dogs?” she asked, her head tilting to the side as she asked, “I didn’t have one in my class, but they grow to be as big as horses, or so I’ve heard.” She gulped. “Ferocious in battle or…” She trailed off and laughed, interjecting into her own sentence, “Or so I’ve heard. I guess there is a lot that I have heard, but not experienced yet.”

The comment that she looked fine to him brought a bit more color to her face as she tried not to overthink it. After all, he probably had someone like everyone else, and she didn’t want to get excited over nothing.

They were greeted at the door by a gentleman that was dressed as a waiter and the sounds of bustle, sizzling meat, and general good-will. They were guided past a couple of stalls with people that were laughing and talking about missions, their day at work yesterday, and how the state of the hidden leaf was just ‘appalling to say the least.’ She grinned at this, remembering the over the top woman that they had talked with, Uyehara-san, and thought that even people like her would enjoy a place like this.

"So, it's been a minute. How've you been?" Takao asked as they were seated, the dog doing his own thing in the meantime. She sat down and introspected for a moment, her eyes raising up and to the right, recollecting the past two weeks or so.

“Well, I have completed another three missions.” She started slowly, “There was a group of bandits that attacked a village and I had help from a kunoichi that used lightning and was a real sweetheart to subdue them.” She started, wondering how much detail he was wanting, she could go into more detail, but didn’t want to bore him.

“I also managed to secure myself a position in Konoha General Hospital with the use of my guanyin techniques. I treated a couple of patients there using my medical ninjutsu and guanyin needles, which seemed to help out doctor Hui at the hospital. He encouraged me to come back, but I haven’t had the courage yet.”

She stopped and sighed, “You see, there was a life threatening wound that I didn’t catch that almost killed an old woman while I was there, a punctured lung. Ah, but probably shouldn’t talk about this over lunch.”
“Oh and I completed a mission, and almost got charged with public indecency.” She grinned as the waiter came up to the table and asked for her orders. She deferred the option of lunch to Takao, wanting to have him order first. She wasn’t picky and, after all, she was treating him to brunch.

672+1659= 2331

This is the exit post: Using Takao's boost to training, as per him: "30% off all jutsu/40% off 2 jutsu/50% off 1 jutsu"

So I would like to use the word count for training my C ranked jutsu:
Guanyin Stem Cell Boost -700 words (1631 remaining)
Guanyin Scalpel -700 words (931 remaining)
Guanyin Cureall -700 words (231 discarded at end)

2,000wc going toward training Senjutsu from D to C-Rank.
85wc discarded.