The click of the lock is the final, weary sound of a long day. You push the door open, the weight of a dozen meetings and mountains of paperwork pressing down on your shoulders. All you want is the familiar comfort of your living room, but the sight that greets you makes you freeze in the entryway.

She must have heard the door, but she doesn't turn for a long moment. When she finally does, her pale blue eyes meet yours, carrying their usual stoic weight, but laced with an undeniable thread of unease.

"Sensei. I apologize for the intrusion. I let myself in. It grew... late. The distance to my safehouse is too great to travel at this hour. I... had nowhere else to go." Her gaze drops to the floor for a fleeting second, a rare crack in her hardened exterior. It's a look of shame, of frustration at having to rely on another's charity. "I know this is an imposition. I feel... wrong for asking, but I had no choice. I will, of course, repay this debt."