The Tsukami Inn (Private, NK, Ask for Invite)

That was good. Kari did not mess up anything at her apartment which meant she was a good host. Her father would be proud. It was another achievement she could share once she got home. Before that though, they had to make it safely back to Terumi's place. On this trip, everything was much darker outside of the few streetlights and Terumi was extremely quiet. Maybe he was focused as the two weaved through the alleys away from the safety of the light. It was only then that Kari was able to take in the orange moon. It was a pretty decoration in the sky but at last, it was too small to draw. Plus, Kari did not really do color on the go.

Finally, they arrived at Terumi's home. There were no lights meaning everyone was asleep... or not home. It was a note Kari was not worried about. She was not a loud person and Terumi was guiding her in. So she should be warned if some behavior would be bad for the situation aside from the norm of being quiet. Kari followed Terumi after being allowed in, taking off her shoes. The home seemed empty but it was warm, a nice change from the brisk cool air. As her body adjusted, a yawn escaped from her mouth. Her eyes felt heavy for a brief moment as her mind rebooted to better adapt to the warm environment. 
"Thank you," Kari gave one last bow of appreciation for giving her this opportunity and followed the boy around his house. 

WC:260

Miyamoto would show her the living area, where it felt very modest; two couches and a couple of end tables, two large lamps in the corners coupled together with a large hanging light.  Next, in the kitchen, it looked very lived in with foodstuffs in various areas, and a stocked fridge full of nutritious foods to keep up energy.  The stairs next to the kitchen led up to a second living area that seemed to be used more as bookshelves lined the walls with scrolls and books on different medical issues, and some on jutsu of various elemental origin.  Afterward, he showed her the rooms, first, she showed him where his mother sleeps just by tapping on the door really, no opening it, and once they got to his room he was a bit reluctant.  Since she showed him her place it was only fair though, so he opened the door.  

Inside the room, it was very minimalist inside; a large bed in the corner beside a closet.  A weapons rack was mounted on the wall next to a wooden mannequin designed to house all of Miyamoto's shinobi equipment, which was currently decked out with his gear, including his father's items from when he was Kage of Amegakure.  It looked like he was barely around long enough to use the room as he let her look around for a few minutes.

"I..uh...I am not used to this sort of thing, I never had any real friends or a home until we got to the village, but this is where I sleep."  He would say, knowing that it was not probably the most fun place in the world, but it was home.
"If you are ready though, I can show you to your room before I turn in for the night."  He would say unless asked another question.  If nothing happened he would lead her to the spare bedroom that was now furnished to look like a guest room; a large bed with a couple of dressers and a closet.  A nearby bookshelf would show them that there were still history books of the Terumi still around, along with ancient coded scrolls his grandfather held onto.
"This is where you will be staying tonight.  I hope it is alright."  He said as he scratched the back of his head.

WC:390/4,020

Kari followed Terumi through his home. It was bigger than her room but it was not a fair comparison. After all, an apartment was a small piece of a big building. Nothing else really stood out. The home was warm filled with stuff compared to her empty apartment. When he showed off his room, Kari was surprised how minimalist it was. The only decoration was a stand for his equipment. It was nice to see that other people had rooms that were not so decorated. He must not cared about having personality. However, he started acted weird. It was like his confidence was gone for a moment. He also said he did not have friends before. She could only wonder why, that was until she remembered he did have a brokenness in him. Kari remained quiet, unsure what to say. Still, she was curious. Maybe she could use his technique for herself. 
"Yes, I would appreciate it. " 

She followed him to the fully furnished room. It was very decorated, as if someone else lived here. It was weird. Kari walked around inspecting everything until she came across the bookshelf. It seemed to be about Terumi's family. It was then that Kari remembered that Terumi had family. If she met them, then she would be forced to call them all by the same name. Granted, she did call him sempai but she did not want to add confusion. 
"It is alright. Thank you again," Kari gave a deep bow. 

As she stood back up, she took a deep breath, "Terumi sempai, umm... I wanted  to..." For some reason, her voice stopped. There was a feeling in her chest, like something grabbing her heart. It did not hurt but it was uncomfortable and it got worst when she tried to speak her mind. Now, however, she looked as if she just paused mid sentence. She had to say something.

"I want you to know... I ... am grateful for your help." 
She turned around quickly afterwords and hugged her notebook closed to her chest. She wondered why she could not speak. What was that feeling that held her heart? 

WC: 358

Miyamoto stood there as he showed her the room she would be sleeping in. She looked inquisitive and doubled with the fact that she began to inspect everything gave him a feeling of joy. He wished he had someone to talk about his family with, but for now, he would be alright with just this. A smile would creep across his face as she looked around, knowing that there were even things in this room he had not read or seen. Then as she came back to him and bowed before thanking him, still going by the honorifics as Miyamoto sighed. He felt as though they were at least good enough friends to be past all of that so he finally speaks after she offered her thanks.

"Ya' know...you really don..." He was about to say as she began to speak as well. It seemed as if she was choking up a little just like him. However, it sounded different. Something was pulling at her to tell him something, but the words just would not come out. It was odd, but the feeling was new to him.

Then as she seemed to get her voice back she told him that she was grateful for his help before turning around and what looked like that she hugged herself gave Miyamoto a smile. before leaning against the frame of the door. He wanted to tell her that he knew about the incident with Cole, but it would be weird if he said anything...she might even become uncomfortable around him which was something he did not want.

"Listen...I am happy to help, I did not receive a lot of formal training or help as I matured as a shinobi...I instead learned by having my ass handed to me time and time again. However, I met friends on my journey, but what I am trying to get at here...You don't have to be so formal around me...you are...different than anyone else I call a friend. If you would please just call me Miyamoto, even Miya...I would be much more happy than being called by my last name as if I am someone to be looked up to. Anyway, I don't think my mom is coming home tonight, so if you need anything and cannot figure out where it is...then just come to knock on my door. We got a busy travel day in the morning so get some rest Kari." He said as he stopped leaning against the door long enough to give a faint smile before turning back towards his room and begin walking.

If he was not stopped then he would return to his room and begin to undress, throwing his shirt in the laundry basket as he looked in the mirror at his scars covering his upper body. A sigh would escape his lips as he would then pull over an old torn shirt and a pair of comfortable shorts out of his closet to dress into before sitting on his bed and crossing his legs and holding his arms at shoulder length apart as he would begin to meditate. then he would return to his room and begin to undress, throwing his shirt in the laundry basket as he looked in the mirror at his scars covering his upper body. A sigh would escape his lips as he would then pull over an old torn shirt and a pair of comfortable shorts out of his closet to dress into before sitting on his bed and crossing his legs and holding his arms at shoulder length apart as he would begin to meditate.

WC:520/4,540

Kari lowered her head as Terumi started speaking about his training and struggle. She did not enjoy being reminded of her previous spars. In all of those matches, she lacked a powerful puppet which could effectively fight with her much more trained adversaries. This resulted in her having to use cunning or desperate measures just to land a hit. Still, even when she landed the hit, she was taken out or the hit was just ineffective. Why did he decide to talk about this all of a sudden.

Those fights were not on her mind. But now that they were. Kari could only see disappointment, one that makes her question her path and progress. To her surprised, he tried to make it positive before just flat out telling her what he wanted to say. It was a smart move her her eyes cause she honestly was not following where he was going.

It was another reminder of the boys gifts. He read her mind despite her attempt to deflect her motive. She raised her head and her eyes tried to spin around but were blocked off by the limitations of the human eye. His next comment however would be the thing that pushed her head int to motion, turning around and giving one of her eyes a glimpse at the boy. If she called him by his first name or shorten name, then he would be happier. He he was happy then, maybe he would smile. It would be a great reward to fix her miss sight cause from lack of experience being friends with people. There was only one response she give.

As she build up the nerve to speak again, she saw a small smile. Something that would stun her. It glowed without the harsh light. Like a small candle in the dark, it was comfortable and easy to trust. She felt time freeze around her as she admired the site from the corner of her eye. Time continued and boy left. No, Miya left, off to turn in and prepare for the long trip and Kari was to slow to try using his name. When Miya was completely out of sight, she let out a sign. Changing into her dark blue gown. Then she crawled into bed with her notebook. She sketched the grin of Miya though it was a little perfect for a human face, a side effect of drawing from memory. A terrible one because it was not a smile she could learn from. It was artificial, fake, phony, and a waste of time. With that she closed her notebook and pushed it off the bed. It she could not dwell on this any longer. They had a long journey. As she closed her eyes, she practiced saying his name one time.
"Miya."

WC:468

It would not take long for Miyamoto to fall asleep that night as the meditation helped to clear his mind of all the clutter and worries that plagued him that day. His dreams, however, were filled with feelings he did not understand completely; He saw Kari in her outfit from earlier that day, she smiled...it looked genuine as she walked with Miyamoto as he was in first person and everything happened as if it was some sort of railroaded narrative. As the two of them walked inside the village the world seemed peaceful, even a few shops held Kari's artwork. It made him feel happy, which was a relief.

As the sun broke through the window and soon washed his room in its warm glow Miyamoto stepped up from his meditative state in which he fell asleep in. His body ached for a moment before, the pangs of his training that stressed his body and the sore muscles from sitting in one position for over eight hours. As he stood up and stretched though everything began to ease down as his natural energy and chakra aligned to make him feel more at one with himself. He took to the door as he was still dressed in his night attire of a muscle shirt that showed scars on his chest, arms (especially where Kyousuke replaced it) and a pair of loose shorts as he left his room and ventured to the downstairs kitchen.

His mother had left a note, as usual, stating that she was gone and that breakfast materials were in the fridge.

"As usual...ham and eggs it would seem." He would say before opening the fridge to see fruits and various other newer items like instant cups of nutrition shakes and protein bars. He would grab a couple of apples and turn on the oven before setting a couple inside to bake as he made a fresh skillet of eggs, ham, and other veggies that would give plenty of energy.

WC:330/4,870

With Kari staying at his house he believed it was due time he called it a day. Their journey could continue another time. He resigned himself that since they were not going to leave his house INSIDE the village till she said that she was ready to go to the border was all up to her. He had other things to do though and that could not be helped, so he would clean his house in the meantime and make sure that when the time came, at least his mother would return to a clean house.

[EXIT TOPIC (STILL IN HOSHI PROPER)]
[CLAIMING 24 AP
Advanced Sage Mastery 3000/3000]Remaining WC to be applied to mastery of Basic Medical Ninjutsu Level 2
WC:96/4,966

Yeah approved. Make sure you keep track of how much you have towards the jutsu.

As the day came to a end, Kari turned in. It would be only a several hours before the two made the long trip to the inn and hopefully, she could prepare for what was to come. She feel a tingling sensation running through her body, delaying the subtle exhausting that creep over her body. Eventually, She would fall asleep.
(Exit Still in Hoshi)

WC:60

Total WC: 7432
37 Stats
2800 -> Adversary: Hotaru
1000 -> Hidden Arms Tech
3500 -> 7 Stagehand
132 -> Progress for Stagehand