Summary: Michiko visited her daughter and met her new friend. (Continued from Chapter 8)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything afflicted with any other video games, anime, manga or comic.


Michiko waltzed into her room unannounced.

"Mother!" Masumi exclaimed in surprise. Her new friend went stiff.

Michiko smiled at her six years old daughter who currently was on her bed. She was surprised when she received a message about her daughter being hospitalized from a messenger from the one of the smaller clinics that shattered all over the clan village. She quickly came to see her daughter.

"Hello daughter and... may I know your name?" Michiko shifted her attention from her daughter to another girl her age. Michiko examined her appearance with the curiosity.

This little girl wore a typical sleeveless green top kimono, a black knee-length legging and plain sandals. A dark blue obi wiped around around her waist. Her hair bound into a simple, messy bun, and her hair bangs is fashioned in a typical hime style. Her hair color, oddly, reminded her of the asparagus. Her sharp eyes easily noticed that a girl's milky blue eyes indicated that she was blind.

"Er...I am Ishiko from the house of the Seventh Daughter. Nice to meet you, Michiko-sama." Ishiko bowed stiffly, sounded like if she was not accustomed to greet a person formally.

Ah. So, Ishiko was that person's daughter and resembled her greatly except her hair coloring and eye color.

Ishiko fidgeted uncomfortably under Michiko's stare. She did not like the adults give her a weird look whenever she gave her given name and status.

"I see, nice to meet you, Ishiko-chan. I'm glad that my daughter made a friend her age." Michiko shifted her attention from Ishiko to her daughter. "Masumi... Care to explain why you winded up here?"

Masumi blushed in embarrassment. "Uhh... you see...I..."

Ishiko interrupted, "I challenged her to eat jalapeno to prove that she is a wimp or not. And she ate several of it in one sitting! That's why she ended up here."

"I-Ishiko! I'm not wimp!" Masumi squawked indignantly.

Michiko simply raised her eyebrow in amusement as she watched them bickering with each other. She was pleased to see her daughter act her age. Her daughter frequently acted mature than her age. She always focused on her kunoichi training and learning the new skills.

Sure, her daughter could socialize and play with the children her age. After all, her status as the clan heiress required her to get acquainted with her young clan members that she would one day become their Clan Head in the future.

It also had a hidden function; to find a clan member her age that a clan heiress can rely on as her best friend. A clan heiress's best friend tended to end up becoming her personal bodyguard, confidant and right hand woman. The older clan members with their hidden motives tried to encourage their daughter or granddaughter to get closer to the clan heiress.

That's how Mai from the house of the Third Daughter and Asami from the house of the Sixth Daughter became her best friends, confidants and personal bodyguards when she was a child.

But, despite the Shihion children's high intelligence, they still were children. Masumi's mental maturity was way advanced than her peers. It resulted that Masumi had a hard time to connect them on the emotional level. So, Michiko had to consider a potential best friend's compatibility with her daughter.

Michiko had to meet them in person to see if they had her approval or not. If she approved them, she would allow them to come over her personal home and spending with her daughter regularly and anytime. She even offered to train her daughter's best friend in the combat and politics personally to support Masumi as her loyal bodyguard and best friend.

That action sent a message to other older clan members that a clan heiress's best friend position had been claimed.

Out of all the clan members her age, her daughter chose Ishiko as her best friend? How odd!

Inwardly, she wondered about the older clan members' reaction to her daughter's interesting choice in friends.

Michiko would bet with the amusement that the clan elders had an aneurysm over a fact that their Clan Heiress pick an insane kinslayer's daughter as her best friend over their granddaughter.


A/N: Oohhh! We did learn something new about Ishiko; her mother is an insane kinslayer. Being that person's daughter made her a bit outcast.

We also learnt that the position of the Clan Heiress's best friend is important in the Shihoin Clan for many reason. From the political view, that position provided the power to their influence over the Shihoin Clan and their Houses have "a bragging rights" over being closest to a future Clan Head. In other hand, Have a best friend as a confidant eases the Clan Head's emotional burdens.

So, from the political view, a clan heiress and a kinslayer's daughter being best friend can be... preplexing.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy it!