She had just gotten up to progress through the daily rounds of life once again. As usual, it was a day of planning, but not for training. There was enough training done within the week, so it was more of a relaxed day around the village. And, it was a beautiful day, too. The sun was shining through perfectly unlike other days, and the mist was lighter than before. It brought a certain ray of light to the citizens wandering through the village. “What a beautiful day,” Teru sighed, folding her arms across her chest as she roamed the streets of Kirigakure. She was wearing a simple black shirt underneath a happi coat and dark purple pants. Her sandals left shallow tracks along the road as she walked by her lonesome. The blonde locks of her hair were tied back in a high ponytail with the bangs framing both sides of her face, and her forehead hidden under a Kiri headband. “I actually don’t regret taking the day off.”

The sights and smells were all enticing. All looked like wonderful places to visit, but there were simply too many places to visit. “Dango! Come and get it while its fresh!” a shopkeeper shouted out to the crowds of men, women and children. While most would overlook the inviting sounds of productivity, Teru paid the clerk a visit. As soon as she was able to get passed the people, Teru stood before the salesman handing out loads of sweet dango. “Ah, welcome! Come to taste Kirigakure’s finest supply of dumplings, have you?”

“Why yes,” she laughed, and gave the man a friendly smile. “How much is a small package?”

“For you, it’s on the house,” he chuckled, packing about six dumplings into a small box. It was a kind offering that she couldn’t help but accept, and it sent her down a road of warm feelings. She walked along with the box of goodness in one hand. One was already taken out and in her mouth. ‘Delightful,’ she mentally praised the work done on making the sweet. So far, the day was going great. There were a lot of happy faces down the road, which pleased the wandering ninja as she soon approached a fellow sitting by himself on a bench. It wasn't uncommon for someone to sit alone. Why, even she had her moments of doing that very thing. Nonetheless, whether he wanted to be alone or not, Teru approached him with a friendly air around her. 

She stopped just a few feet in front of him, smiling down at him. "Hi there," she greeted, and glanced down at the spot next to him. "Are you waiting on anyone? If not, I was hoping I could sit next to you and share these dango." Patiently, she waited for a response, hoping that he would welcome her. He was a new face, so she wanted to get to know him better while he was still around. Or, rather, while she was still around. 

Word Count: 507

It could be seen that he was focused on thoughts of his own rather than anything else. He seemed like he had quite a bit on his mind; she could assume that much. But, he noticed her when she came by in hopes of sitting around with him. She was glad that he at least acknowledged her presence instead of shooing her away. And, seeing him smile when she offered to share her box of sweets, it made her smile. As soon as he made the gesture that signaled to her, telling her that she was free to take the spot next to him, she happily took the chance. "Thank you for letting me join you," she thanked him, and placed the box of dang in between them before opening it up for both him and her to reach in for a piece. 

"It's a pleasure meeting you Rei," Teru smiled back at him as he introduced himself. His name stimulated the thinking cells in her mind. She wasn't all too familiar with the Yuki clan, nor the members of it. All she knew was that it was a very cold clan, but that was all she knew of it. This new acquaintance she made was the first ever Yuki she had met. "My name is Teru Uchiha, but you can just call me Teru if you want." She patiently listened as he expressed his surprise. Teru could understand why he was a little surprised, though. As he had stated, people wouldn't normally walk up to just anyone and have a friendly moment together. But, it made her giggle softly. "I suppose I'm a little different in that aspect, then. Maybe I just wanted someone else to have an enjoyable day. Heh, you did look a little lonely sitting here all by yourself."

Teru relaxed a bit and crossed her legs at the ankles. While the streets were noisy, it was still a pleasurable day to sit out in. Men, women, and children. The young and old, and small families. She looked back to Rei with that same smile reflecting every ounce of friendliness in her being while her hand reached into the box and pulled out a dango. "Enjoy," she grinned, holding it out to him. If he would accept it, then she would give him a nod and proceed to take one of her own after having finished off the first bit of dango she ate prior to sitting there. "So, what sort of business has you out on the streets?"

Word Count: 427

Total Word Count: 934

Now that she had gotten a good look at him, Teru could see that he was quite a bit different than the other people she had met. There was no outbursts of anger, nor was there hatred directed towards her. He was certainly kinder than some of the people she knew. How his smile never left made him an interesting kind of person. In a way that she couldn’t quite explain properly, she thought he would be more cold-hearted than anything. Maybe that was just a terrible view. It was certainly proved wrong, so she would have to take it back and adjust her thoughts of him. That, and she would have to do something to get to know this one. She knew of his name, but not really of anything else. Befriending him would have had to be a great start, so maybe she would do just that. Although, she wasn’t quite sure if he was even interested in a friendship. She would find out soon, she supposed. When he spoke up, she listened to his words intently. He was right about it, and there was no real reason to disagree. A person going out of their way just to do something for another, just as Teru herself had done, was certainly a rare thing indeed. And, when he mentioned it being boring around Kirigakure as of late, she couldn’t exactly disagree. For her, though, there have been a few riveting experiences and meetings that she had experienced. But, other than those few things, there was not anything else that could be worthy of any excitement. “I’m glad I did, too,” Teru agreed with Rei wholeheartedly, and laughed quietly. “Otherwise, I would have had to eat all of these by myself, and that would be no fun. At least we can actually have something worth doing now. 

Teru watched Rei for a moment, curious about what he was going to do. He had given her a nod before partaking of the dango alongside her. It looked like he was eating with relish. She hoped that he liked the dango as much as it looked like he did. The food wasn’t fancy, or anything very special. But, she had hope. By the time he was finished chewing and swallowing, Teru was back to listening to his words. Sightseeing, was what he had said at first. It was a convincing statement, so she couldn’t say anything against it. “I’m glad that I could’ve brought on a brighter mood, heh heh,” she said in response to his friendly words. The spotlight was then put over her, however; it was her turn to explain why she was out in town. She thought about it for a moment as she bit down on the dango in her hand. So, what was it that she had come into town to do? “Well, you are right about me not being here just to get some dango. I suppose I was just bored, like you.” Ah, but that couldn’t have been the only reason. It was slipping her mind, and she was letting it. Teru took only a few seconds longer to get her thoughts straightened. “Ah, that’s right. I was taking a break from my training to get a little planning done for what I’m supposed to do next. That’s when I found you here, so I guess finding a new friend is something else.” Teru continued to smile and ate a little more dango. The last one she ate was the last one her stomach could handle, so the rest would be left for Rei to munch on. 

Word Count: 616

Total Word Count: 1550

As she was sitting there, Teru pondered over this meeting she and Rei were pulled into, finding it to be rather… quaint. She could feel in her heart that they were forming some sort of connection with each other. The budding of a new friendship. It really was a special thing. Teru, herself, wasn’t the best at making friends. Sometimes she found herself with a minimum amount of people she could actually call ‘friend’. Of course, she did meet people, and they were nice to talk to. But, she couldn’t necessarily see them anywhere above acquaintance. What she was feeling as she conversed with Rei, that was something she saw as a friendship. He was a friendly one, and she didn’t have to make so much of an effort to return the kind nature. His presence was simply comfortable to be around.

Teru leaned her back against the hard wood of the bench and let out a content sigh. What a pleasing day it was. Being as busy as she was, there wasn’t ever enough time to actually notice how active Kirigakure was. So that was the result of relaxing? How could she ever let that slip her mind? She would have to do things like this more often, she thought. “Hm?” Teru moved her gaze from the tons of people walking off in various directions, hearing Rei bring up the topic of her training. What exactly was she enduring, was basically what he was wondering, and the progress she was making. Everything that she had been through was a bit difficult to put into words. Well, she’d have to put it into words somehow. She couldn’t just leave him in a state of wonder. “I suppose what I’ve been and am doing is all for my physical abilities. While all of my training has been pretty lightweight, I’ve been able to gradually enhance my strength and endurance. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to get the greatest results like I’ve been wanting. Maybe I’m just not working hard enough.” When he had told her that he was actually slacking on his training, Teru couldn’t help but raise a brow-- with a smile, of course. What a silly one he was, she thought. Well, if he wasn’t doing much with his own training, she’d have to try and help out with that if he would allow her to. His seeking of events seemed to be more of a priority, she assumed after he spoke up again. “If it’s something interesting you are looking for, I suppose you and I could find some time to train together. It would certainly do us both some good. There’s just so much that we could possibly do. But I think I’ll leave the decision to you. I’d actually be up for anything, really. Although, if you were to go for something along the lines of training, I’ll have to be entirely honest with you. Holding back isn’t exactly an easy thing for me to do, heh heh.”

Teru stopped speaking for a moment and allowed Rei the time to respond to all of her words. She waited patiently, quietly eager to know what he would say to her. The exciting things that may or may not follow; it was a thought she enjoyed having.

Word Count: 569

Total Word Count: 2119

It truly made her smile when he said that he liked the idea of training together. Deep down, she was very excited about her chance to have a partner who was genuinely interested in training with her. Before, it was usually her training all alone, but it seemed like it was going to be different anytime soon. "Huh?" Teru blinked a couple of times when Rei started to laugh. She didn't recall making any jokes. "Did I say something funny?" Whatever it was, it wasn't insulting. Not even in the least. Despite not knowing what it was that Rei was laughing about, Teru found it a bit amusing. She didn't expect herself to be the unintentionally funny type. At least she was able to subconsciously bring a bit of humor into the moment. A good laugh was always beneficial, even if people would stare at them. After the fun of their time together was more or less over, Teru was relaxing again without any worries bothering her. Well, while talking to him, she wasn't really worrying about anything very serious. She just needed something more than sitting around to do. But, with the company Rei was providing. 

Unfortunately, however, they ran out of dango. Her eyes briefly fell upon the empty box sitting on the bench. She would have to get more when they both are in need of something filling once again. "Hm?" Teru was brought back into attention mode. She heard him out and took his question into great consideration. He was wanting to know about any places that she may have been wanting to visit. That was actually a subject she needed to do some heavy thinking on. Of course, he undoubtedly meant a place in and around Kirigakure. Going to a whole different village would be too much. Although, she would like to visit someplace like Kumogakure at least once in her life, and the rest of the hidden villages out there, for that matter. "You know, I think I'd like to walk around anywhere. I'm not that picky about where I go." Teru paused a moment, realizing that there was one place in the village that she preferred staying away from. She had never been there before, only passing by. Yet, she was still able to understand the poor morality of that place. "Well... maybe that's not entirely true. As long as we don't bother with a certain... place, then I'm fine with anywhere."

He had shaken his head and denied that what she had said was funny, politely, and told her that he thought of it as something amazing. Her confidence, that is. But, that nearly had her laughing. The pause in his sentence made her think otherwise, but she chose to believe what he said. Amazing was something she wanted to be. Anything that she could do to fairly reach that goal would be done. "Well, thank you for that," she said in response to his complimenting thought, and explanation. He certainly had the personality of someone who could be considered amazing. With physical power and skill with jutsu, those had yet to be determined. During a time when they could get together for training, most likely. She would get to see what exactly it was Rei could do. Then he admitted to being one of those people who would not let the glory of winning slip through their fingers. Rei was teasing her, though, which was evident by the hint of a wink given by him. There was, no doubt, truth in what he was saying to her. "Hee, we're definitely going to have to see how we do against each other during a sparring match. I'm certainly looking forward to it."

As for where they were to go for the next time they met up, she still hadn't come up with a sollid idea. Kirigakure had its interesting places to go to, which was why she wasn't entirely caring about where she and Rei were to go in the first place. But, as she had mentioned before, there was one place she would never step foot into. "I suppose I should explain myself," Teru laughed nervously, and rubbed the back of her neck after having heard Rei out. Thinking about the place she hated the most was a pain in the neck. "I was meaning the Siren's Den, when I mentioned not wanting to bother with a certain place here in the village. That place... it is such a disgusting place. I haven't been in there before, but I've heard conversations about it." Teru shook her head and dismissed the thought of the Siren's Den before it could torture her even more. During the quiet moment, she brought her eyes up to stare at the sky overlooking the village. It was still a peaceful day, and early enough for the sun to stay with them. 

She had been relaxing for a little while now, but it was about time that she got back to her duties. The time spent with Rei was certainly enjoyable. Meeting him and sticking around to converse was joyful, and she didn't regret a second of it. So, before it got to be too late, Teru stood up and stretched out her arms and legs. "Well, we're going to have to meet again, Rei," she said, turning to face Rei. "And when we do, we're going to have to train together and do some exploring. See you around, and thank you for taking the time to share the dango with me." A simple and kindhearted wave before walking away into the subsiding crowds of citizens. She had many plans made, but the ones she had with Rei would have their place in her schedule. The day they met again was going to be a very pleasant time; she just knew it. 

Word Count: 576

Total Word Count: 3113

Thread: Exiting