Pulling on Harichimo’s hand as she hurried out of the cafeteria, Sayuri couldn’t help but to laugh in excitement. She was so often told that her ideas or games were childish, or inappropriate, to have someone willing to play along was glorious. As they entered the hallway she would stop and take a good look at the statues that filled the room. As far as climbing surfaces went, they were a bit on the small side, seeing as she normally enjoyed climbing the tallest of trees or mountains - but they had some interesting looking hand and footholds that she felt might provide a challenge. Moving to the closest one, she finally released Harichimo’s hand and sprung upwards to catch her hands on the statue’s outstretched arm. She didn’t think much about her current state of dress until she was halfway up the carefully carved piece of stone. Didn’t think at all until her soft shoes slipped on the statue’s smooth surface. Fortunately, this was not the first time she had gone ill equipped on a climbing adventure, and it was something she was used to so the slip wouldn’t end up in a fall. It did however lead to more bouts of laughing as she finally ascended the stony monolith and let out a cheer from her new perch near the ceiling.
She would look back, hoping to see Harichimo climbing with her, or at least encouraging her own misadventures. And then suddenly realize that the whole reason she was even in the University in the first place was to learn. Hopping down to the floor, breaking her fall with a graceful somersault, she would motion again to Harichimo and scurry back into the cafeteria to grab the stack of books. They could probably look at them in the room they had just had dinner in, but she wanted to be outside. She always wanted to be outside, where there were no walls or ceilings to trap her. Books in hand, and barely pausing to make sure that Harichimo was following, she would dash up the stairs, through the lobby and out the main doors into the receding daylight. Picking what looked to be a rather lush looking patch of grass she would plop herself down and then lovingly lay the books on the emerald coloured vegetation. Taking the topmost book in hand, she flipped it open to the first page, trying to make out anything in it before Harichimo arrived. She was intent on getting this right, and she wanted to impress her teacher with at least her willingness to learn, if not her actual accomplishments as of yet.
Sayuri would spend the rest of the evening with Harichimo, studying and practicing reading. It was occasionally frustrating, but on the whole she kept a cheerful demeanor, not wanting to invest negativity into the task at hand. She deeply enjoyed the time that Harichimo spent with her, he was patient and fun, as well as quite knowledgeable. While initially she had been saddened to be sent away, she was now glad of it. As it happened there were plenty of things here in Iwagakure to enjoy, and new and wonderful people to meet. Using the time that she had with him, she asked the question that had been bothering her since she had arrived here at the University. Something that had not actually bothered her most of her life, but then gaining comfort and having it taken away again was probably worse than not having it at all. “Hari? Um, do you. . . I mean, are you-” She would take a deep breath before continuing again. “Sorry, this is difficult for me to word properly. I don’t want to seem needy or anything. Do you, uh, live here? In the University I mean. I guess I’m just wondering if, there’s a chance that uh, I’m going to be here all alone.” She would blush slightly at her partially admitted fear. She knew she was vulnerable and afraid, but she didn’t like to admit it, in some ways it made it a bit worse. “I just am, well, I got used to living with other people, and now I’m not sure if I will be. So I’m just. . . a bit worried I guess.” Waiting for Harichimo’s answer, she would tug absentmindedly on her long white hair, knowing full well that either way, she would have to deal with one of her fears. Being alone in a building - or being in a building with other people.
With a small sigh and a chuckle she realized that no matter the answer, she was still tired and sleep she had found could cure a lot of things. After hearing Harichimo’s reply she would nod sleepily, gather up her books and carefully retie them with the golden coloured ribbon. “Thank you Harichimo. For spending so much time with me. I’m sure you have other, more important things to attend to, so I really, really appreciate it. I look forward to many more lessons! However now I must sleep, it has been a very long day, and I don’t think I can really absorb too much more knowledge.” Pulling herself reluctantly to a standing position, she would hug the books to her chest and meander back inside the University and down the stairs, waving sleepily at the statues as she passed them by. Pulling on Harichimo’s hand as she hurried out of the cafeteria, Sayuri couldn’t help but to laugh in excitement. She was so often told that her ideas or games were childish, or inappropriate, to have someone willing to play along was glorious. As they entered the hallway she would stop and take a good look at the statues that filled the room. As far as climbing surfaces went, they were a bit on the small side, seeing as she normally enjoyed climbing the tallest of trees or mountains - but they had some interesting looking hand and footholds that she felt might provide a challenge. Moving to the closest one, she finally released Harichimo’s hand and sprung upwards to catch her hands on the statue’s outstretched arm. She didn’t think much about her current state of dress until she was halfway up the carefully carved piece of stone. Didn’t think at all until her soft shoes slipped on the statue’s smooth surface. Fortunately, this was not the first time she had gone ill equipped on a climbing adventure, and it was something she was used to so the slip wouldn’t end up in a fall. It did however lead to more bouts of laughing as she finally ascended the stony monolith and let out a cheer from her new perch near the ceiling.
She would look back, hoping to see Harichimo climbing with her, or at least encouraging her own misadventures. And then suddenly realize that the whole reason she was even in the University in the first place was to learn. Hopping down to the floor, breaking her fall with a graceful somersault, she would motion again to Harichimo and scurry back into the cafeteria to grab the stack of books. They could probably look at them in the room they had just had dinner in, but she wanted to be outside. She always wanted to be outside, where there were no walls or ceilings to trap her. Books in hand, and barely pausing to make sure that Harichimo was following, she would dash up the stairs, through the lobby and out the main doors into the receding daylight. Picking what looked to be a rather lush looking patch of grass she would plop herself down and then lovingly lay the books on the emerald coloured vegetation. Taking the topmost book in hand, she flipped it open to the first page, trying to make out anything in it before Harichimo arrived. She was intent on getting this right, and she wanted to impress her teacher with at least her willingness to learn, if not her actual accomplishments as of yet.
Sayuri would spend the rest of the evening with Harichimo, studying and practicing reading. It was occasionally frustrating, but on the whole she kept a cheerful demeanor, not wanting to invest negativity into the task at hand. She deeply enjoyed the time that Harichimo spent with her, he was patient and fun, as well as quite knowledgeable. While initially she had been saddened to be sent away, she was now glad of it. As it happened there were plenty of things here in Iwagakure to enjoy, and new and wonderful people to meet. Using the time that she had with him, she asked the question that had been bothering her since she had arrived here at the University. Something that had not actually bothered her most of her life, but then gaining comfort and having it taken away again was probably worse than not having it at all. “Hari? Um, do you. . . I mean, are you-” She would take a deep breath before continuing again. “Sorry, this is difficult for me to word properly. I don’t want to seem needy or anything. Do you, uh, live here? In the University I mean. I guess I’m just wondering if, there’s a chance that uh, I’m going to be here all alone.” She would blush slightly at her partially admitted fear. She knew she was vulnerable and afraid, but she didn’t like to admit it, in some ways it made it a bit worse. “I just am, well, I got used to living with other people, and now I’m not sure if I will be. So I’m just. . . a bit worried I guess.” Waiting for Harichimo’s answer, she would tug absentmindedly on her long white hair, knowing full well that either way, she would have to deal with one of her fears. Being alone in a building - or being in a building with other people.
With a small sigh and a chuckle she realized that no matter the answer, she was still tired and sleep she had found could cure a lot of things. After hearing Harichimo’s reply she would nod sleepily, gather up her books and carefully retie them with the golden coloured ribbon. “Thank you Harichimo. For spending so much time with me. I’m sure you have other, more important things to attend to, so I really, really appreciate it. I look forward to many more lessons! However now I must sleep, it has been a very long day, and I don’t think I can really absorb too much more knowledge.” Pulling herself reluctantly to a standing position, she would hug the books to her chest and meander back inside the University and down the stairs, waving sleepily at the statues as she passed them by. It was a bit out of character for her to be as friendly as she was, normally she would ignore people as best she could - even if they were statues - in order to go unnoticed. However in her sleepy state she was barely aware of the feeling of the hard stone under her feet, or the lingering scent of their delicious meal hanging in the air. Had she been more awake she might have noticed the remnants of their meal had been carefully placed in a small paper box, for eating at a later time. As it was though, she did not, and she would walk past the cafeteria in a slight daze while fondly remembering the plethora of desserts she had just had there. Once inside her bedroom she placed the stack of books down just long enough to carefully remove her pale blue dress, opting to lay it over the dresser as opposed to tossing it on the floor or into the waiting basket in the corner of the room. She had learned enough about finer things to understand that treating them with care was what prolonged their life. Something she had never considered before, her previous ‘clothing’ had been scraps that she had poorly hand sewn together. And it wasn’t until she began dressing more appropriately that she had even cared at all for what she looked like. It had been one of the things that was definitely on the bottom of her priority list, and when she thought of it at all it was in terms of keeping herself warm in the cold climate of Kumogakure. Many a storm and blizzard came and went in those mountains and fashion was not something that mattered as the harsh wind and pelting ice ravaged the land. Her mind was filled with memories as she put on the soft linen shift that she used for sleeping in, memories both sad and happy. Sad as she thought of the things she had lost or left behind - friends and family both. But also happy as she considered what she had now, warmth and food and new friends. It was a relief to her to know that now when she slept, she would be safe. She would wake up in the morning and be warm and cozy in bed, not covered in frost or dirt. And she would be safe - there wasn’t anyone here that was seeking to cause her harm, and a smile would cross her features at the feeling of comfort that brought her. She was barely able to keep her eyes open as she dressed for bed, and with one final sleepy sigh she fell onto her ‘bed’, books still in hand and drifted away to sleep.
1381/4539
{Exit Thread}
Training: Medical Ninjutsu (learned from Harichimo) -> None to C-Rank 4500 words
39 words discarded