Kushina's mother was going to test her knowledge in kanji and the young redhead was quite eager to begin.

The setup was similar to many kindergarten games she played as a child. On the side of the cards facing up there was a kanji symbol and on the side facing down, there was the meaning. The task was easy, pick the right translation and her punishment was officially over with but if she got any wrong, it would continue.

Which meant if she won, she could finally advance beyond her simple training regime quite like Michiko was already doing. Kushina had the sneaking suspicion that her 'BFF' didn't get a punishment as harsh as hers. In fact the girl had come to visit her once to see if she was free to play.

Kushina was done with not being able to script seals, she had gone an entire year learning only theory and practical lessons in kanji. She wanted more and she wanted it now.

Determined to win her freedom once and for all, she nodded to her mother who sat off to the side of the table perched on some cushions.

"I'm ready kaa-chan." Kushina said, straightening her spine into a titanium column.

Her mother inclined her head to her and turned to Kushina's new tutor, Jan, who she had hired to teach her in their stead. Her parents had gotten progressively more busy over the few months so they had little time to indulge her.

Facing forward she looked over the first card that was set before her and grinned because she knew the answer.

日

"Sun." Kushina said and when she was rewarded with a 'correct' she had to resist the urge to fist pump and instead settled with a clenched fist.

力

"Power."

自

"Oneself."

合

"Er-putting togeth- NO! Combining! To combine!" She corrected, realizing how close she was to messing up and blowing her chances. Oh, her mother almost got her, that sly devil. Fiddling with her yukata hem, she let out an even breath and moved onto the next one.

人

Now this one was tricky. This kanji had a near look-alike double that meant something different. Steeling herself she stared long and hard at the slip of paper before hesitantly giving her answer.

"Person?"

"Correct."

入

Ah, this was the clone kanji she had almost confused the previous one with. Since there was no other similar option she was confident.

"Enter."

"Correct."

Kushina grinned, happy at her success. Thank Kami she had an eye for detail. A part of her had been angry for having studied both Chinese and Japanese literature and knowing little about the characters used in the sealing arts until she realized something very important. In her old world, she didn't need to learn these outdated and irrelevant letters.

In her old world, no one but kanji specialists knew these because back in Japan it was unnecessary. People didn't use them in books, signs, or media so she hadn't needed them to pass her classes. But here she had to learn the older kanji. Maybe one day she could combine her more modern knowledge to her fuuinjutsu scripts and make something entirely new. Wouldn't that be a challenge?

Leaning closer to the table she looked at the next card and blanched. There were two cards on the table this time. Facing down.

Looking up at Jan in confusion, Kushina scrunched her nose.

"Choose which character means what."

Reaching out slowly Kushina flipped it over.

綱

"Oh that's easy." She sighed with a grin because here she thought there would be a challenge. It meant rope.

"Don't be so hasty Kushina-hime," Jan rebuked with a disapproving frown. "Look at the other first before making a decision."

She did as she was told and as a result, her mouth fell open.

網

It. Was. So. Similar.

Sweating a bit, she peaked at her mother and gasped at the dark look of satisfaction plastered on her usually amicable face. Did she want her to fail or something? Nevermind scratch that, she probably did.

Whipping back around she looked at both cards with a groan. She knew one meant rope and the other net, but they were so alike that she couldn't pick one and be sure. Nervously biting the tip of her tongue, Kushina loathed to admit she was caught between a rock and a very hard place.

"Tick tock Shina-chan, hurry up and make your choice." Her mother smiled, honeyed voice dripping with something devious. "We don't have all day."

Kushina was despairing. Hadn't she suffered enough this past year? Must her own mother torture her so?

Swallowing her trepidation with a pinched expression she lifted one deadened, trembling hand and pointed at the second card. It was now or never.

"R-rope?" She whispered, her free hand clenched over her knee and she swore the whole village could hear her frantic heartbeat.

There was a slight pause before her mother hummed.

"Incorrect."

Jan flipped over the cards and revealed the blank underside before she sent a burst of chakra into the paper. With a puff of smoke the answers were revealed, much to Kushina's consternation.

She had her guess right the first time. The first card was rope the second card was net.

"So you haven't won your way off of punishment." Hisagi said with a raised brow. "Perhaps you'll do better next time."

Letting her hair fall around her face, Kushina bowed her head as her shoulders shook with a contained force.

Jan, seeing this, set a soft hand on her shoulder, trying to provide comfort to the seemingly devastated child.

"You don't need to be upset Kushina-hime," The young tutor said softly. "it was a difficult symbol, all blossoming students have trouble with it."

Muffled words drifted from behind the curtain of her hair.

Jan's brow puckered and her head cocked to the left. "Kushina-hime?"

"It's not that." She said, louder this time so that her teacher could hear her without. "That's not the problem."

"Then what is?"

The red haired heiress bolted upright with an indignant expression on her round face.

"That I let that a few stupid little brush strokes that I couldn't remember keep me from winning!"

Jan, the poor dear, looked confused. "K-Kushina-hime?"

"Look!" She pointed, index fingers placed on the middle of each kanji. Where they both took on new meanings.

"This is what makes rope, rope, and this net, net!" She explained. "I hesitated when you showed me the other one and doubted my right choice. Now imagine that being the difference between 'bomb' and 'barrier'! I could ruin an entire seal array or kill someone I was trying to protect and that-" She crushed the two cards in her hands. "-is the problem."

Turning to her mother, Kushina bowed formally in respect before rising to her full but unimpressive height. Placing a hand on her cocked hip the young heiress pointed one hand imperiously at her mother.

"Next time I'll get every one of them right!" She declared her mouth set in a grim line. "Just you wait, then you'll have to stop punishing me!"

Her mother looked amused at her vehemence and she flashed her a grin.

"See that you do Shina-kun." Gesturing for Jan to follow her, they swept from the room. "I'll leave you to study my character book then so that you'll have a fairer chance of winning."

Oh no, she did not just try to give her a handicap. Gritting her teeth Kushina narrowed her eyes.

Oh, it was on.

"I'll do you one better! I won't leave this room until I have that whole book memorized and down pat!" Kushina promised stoutly and her tutor's eyes widened at the declaration.

"Kushina-hime!" Jan gasped, surprised that she would go so far. "That book is over three hundred pages long! How could you possibly-"

"Are you sure you could handle such a high level book?" Her mother teased interrupting a still shell shocked Jan as she raised a single eyebrow and Kushina stiffened her upper lip.

"I'll do it!"

"Then you'd better get started," Her mother said with a chuckle. "it's very big."

Kushina's frame swelled with confidence.

"I definitely won't quit until I reach the end!" She vowed. "I swear!"

Six hours later.

Kushina oh so desperately wanted to quit, more than anything. But wait, she couldn't because she challenged her mother, a fuuinjutsu master, to a kanji learning contest. Yeah, she couldn't believe it herself.

Her and her stupid, impulsive big mouth. It was always running and getting her stuck in situations like this! Clutching the book she stared down at the page with a dark scowl and a reddening face.

"Who even invented this kanji!" Kushina shouted, tugging at her hair in frustration. "What would I even use a kanji like 'discombobulate' for?! I studied literature for Christ's sake, shouldn't this be easier dattebane?!"

As soon as the blasted quirk left her lips, Kushina slammed her tiny palms over her mouth and stared wide eyed at the tips of her fingers peeking over the tip of her nose.

"W-what the hell was that datteba-" She rushed to muffle the rest of her sentence before it could escape and Kushina felt an expression of horror blossom on her face.

Oh Kami, please no! It couldn't be!

Willing herself to settle down, she took a calming breath before opening her mouth.

"I-it's not really there." She said slowly, her eyes darting around as she laughed hollowly. "I didn't just say that ridiculous forbidden word. Nope of course I didn't dattebane."

A silence drifted over the room as her skin paled to a sickly pallor.

Kushina surged to her feet, her head shaking in either denial or refusal, which was it she didn't know. No no no! It was only cute when she wasn't Kushina! It didn't even have a meaning as far as she knew!

Clutching her hair again, she tugged and tilted her head towards the ceiling.

"Ugh, really?" She ranted with a growl. "Right now is when you decide to pop up and make my life horrible? Who do you think you are sounding so cute and ugly at the same time dattebane?"

Her self deprecating rant went on for a while until the sound of wooden doors being opened drew her away. Spinning to face the door, the red haired girl glared sullenly at the teen now standing in the room.

"I have brought your dinner Kushina-hime." Jan smiled, setting the steaming tray of rice, soup, and meats on the table.

Kushina's eyes narrowed in calculation, disregarding the dinner for a moment as an idea occurred to her.

She was pretty sure her mother never said she had to learn the book by herself and so she wouldn't.

Falling forward into a dogeza in full flourish - with her forehead on the floor and everything - she pleaded her case.

"Jan-sensei will you please help me with that accursed book?" Kushina begged making sure to inject equal parts self-pity and reverence. "It's too much for me to handle by myself!"

There was a fond sigh which prompted Kushina into sitting up.

"If you knew you would just need help then why would you take it upon yourself to do this?" Jan questioned, looking at Kushina from behind her glasses.

"I'm the clan heiress I need to be able to tell the differences between kanji. I can't use fuuinjutsu to protect my family if I don't know the characters and so I had to take the chance." Leveling a hard stare on Jan, Kushina asked one more time. "So will you help me?"

Sighing, her fellow Uzumaki reached over and picked up the book.

"You might as well eat and get comfortable, we'll be here for a while."

"Hai Jan-sensei!"

Michiko and Jan are going to be quite frequent in this story so I hope you guys can grow to like them.

Out of curiosity how do you guys think Minato and this Kushina will get along?

Edit: 3/20/16