Title: Strength is Not Always Physical

Summary: Kokoro hangs with Juro and spars with Chojuro. Masumi doesn't like her attitude. Also, Kakashi sends a letter?

"You're done already?" Kokoro asked as Junichiro paid for some fish and announced he was finished with shopping. "You still have money left over. There's more than enough to get some more. That can't be enough for you, your dad, and your mom."

"This is all I want to buy," he said as he walked away.

Kokoro caught up to him with a shrug, letting it go as it was none of her business. She wouldn't make the mistake in pressuring her friend despite her unsatiated curiosity. She couldn't betray his trust. They walked together silently before she thought of something to ask him. She didn't think the question was too privy. "Do you go to the Academy?"

"I did. Where do you think I learned so much? I couldn't have learned that by myself."

"So, you already graduated?" Kokoro asked. "Why didn't I see you at the Chunin Exams?"

"You did, or you should have. I don't know how much you were paying attention. I doubt your attention span is bigger than a squirrel's."

"Rude. Not very much though," Kokoro admitted. "It was all so stressful. Did you make it to the qualifying round?"

"I did. You did really good by the way, even during the finals," Junichiro said. His cheeks were a pretty light pink color and his fingers fiddled with the bags in his hands. "I know Enkai is pretty mad about the loss, but you fought hard."

Kokoro stared at him, processing the compliment. "Th-thank you."

"Don't mention it," he said.

"So, did you get promoted to chunin?"

Junichiro gave her a look that said she was the stupidest person in the village. She chuckled nervously and said, "Right, dumb question."

"I heard you made chunin, but you're training with Ao?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah," she sighed. "The Mizukage wants me to learn how to be Kirigakuren genin before she promotes me to chunin. Plus, I have to pass the Chunin Exams all over again!"

"Why are you complaining?"

"Because the Chunin Exams are so stressful and any little thing can happen and make you fail."

"I told you that you did good in the chunin Exams. Do you agree with me?"

"Well, yeah. I gave it my all, and I know if I had been given the opportunity I could have made it all the way to the end."

"Then why does it matter if you have to take the exams again? If you're as good as you say, then it should be no sweat," Junichiro pointed out as he stopped outside a small house. Kokoro stopped and really looked at him. She didn't think he was the encouraging type. He stopped a few steps in front of her and turned in confusion when she wasn't walking beside him. They stared each other down - one in contemplation and the other in uncertainty.

"What?" Junichiro snapped after a moment.

"What?" Kokoro asked.

"Stop staring at me like that, that's what! It's creeping me out!"

"Sorry!" Kokoro apologized as she held her hands up in defense. "You're just actually pretty cool."

"You're just now noticing that?" he asked confidently. Kokoro rolled her eyes and began walking again, hitting the back of his head on her way. He winced in pain and said, "What was that for?"

"For being weird." It was nice having a friend around the village, and now that she had actually talked to him, she felt it was so easy to do so. If only she had tried to make friends with those closer to age first, then she wouldn't have become as downtrodden as she had. Talking with Junichiro was like bickering with a sibling, and he made it so easy. If only everyone in the village was like him.

Hey, Koko!

It's been a while since we last talked! How are things going in Kirigakure? You'll have to send me a letter and tell me all about it!

Dad

Kokoro stood outside with a bokken in her hands. She was in the neutral stance with her knees and elbows slightly bent to maintain blood circulation throughout her body, Her feet shoulder width apart with her left foot slightly in front of her right foot, the heels of her feet elevated to allow her to push off with her toes, her hands gripping the solid, wooden weapon diagonally with her right hand up top and her left hand towards the bottom, and her face set in a neutral expression indicated she was ready to fight. Across from her stood a man of natural nervousness that was just as determined as she was. He had the upper hand as he was more knowledgeable and skillful of weapons, but she would win. She had been practicing, learning how to use the bokken to her advantage in a fight, taking in every single thing that Masumi told her. She had to get better than she was, and with Junichiro's words lingering in her head, telling her she had nothing to worry about, the confidence she held towards her ability to get better was high. Fortunately for her, the blue-haired man was not using his signature Hiramekarei sword. Instead, he was wielding a simple, long sword. Kokoro knew that even though the weapon was simple, Chojuro could use it in a way that was far more advanced than many sword wielders.

Masumi stood off to the side to watch the match. It was their idea to test Kokoro's skills so far. They were afraid Kokoro wasn't getting the best training just sparring with them. She needed more sparring partners and more experience against different types of fighters. They wanted to introduce her to the two remaining members of their squad, but they knew it wasn't a great idea. One of her genin was going through hardship at home, and the other was dealing with self-resentment and a lack of confidence. Masumi had tried to help him through it, but he was being stubborn. He thought he didn't need extra help, that he could succeed on his own. Masumi had no doubt in their mind that he would one day come to that point, but he was still a genin and needed every bit of help he could get.

"Begin!" Masumi shouted.

Kokoro shot forward with speed and swung her bokken down with controlled strength. The wooden stick hit a metal blade that swung up and pushed the wooden weapon up and away. Chojuro retaliated with an attack of his own that swiped a little too close to her face. She flinched back, and he took the opening to attack again. Kokoro blocked it and pulled back quickly to attack. She couldn't be on the defense the entire time or else she'd lose all her energy. She used the light weightiness of her weapon to her advantage and swung from left to right in quick succession, all the while her two hands stayed put and held the weapon tightly. Chojuro was able to block all of them except one, which connected with his head. He stumbled back and groaned in pain before yelping as Kokoro charged him and tackled him to the ground. His sword dropped from his hand a few mere inches from his hand. She held her bokken against his throat and yelled, "Yield!"

Chojuro gritted his teeth and brought his right hand up to grab her weapon and push it away. He struggled as his strength was subpar at best due to his position on the ground. He looked around and spotted his sword. With his left hand he reached for the hilt of the sword while maintaining eye contact with Kokoro. She repeated her command and pressed down further against his jugular. At that moment, Chojuro felt his fingers graze the hilt of the sword, and he grabbed onto it like it was his last lifeline. He brought his left hand up and hit Kokoro on the head with the hilt of his sword, causing her grip on her bokken to loosen. He pushed her away and stood.

Kokoro stood up hastily and searched around for her weapon. Chojuro charged and swung at her. She ducked and rolled to the right as another swing was aimed in her direction. When she dodged, she caught a glimpse of her weapon lying slightly behind her. She lunged for it and twisted her body to avoid a hit. She reached for her bokken before pulling her hand back. Chojuro slammed his sword down in her hand's path. She glared up at him and rolled as he swung downwards again. She cursed as the sword made contact with her clothes and ripped the arm of her sleeve. She rolled once more before lying on her back and rolling backwards so she stumbled to her feet. As soon as she got up, she narrowly missed a swipe by pushing herself backwards. Her back met a tree and she ducked as Chojuro swung at her. She really wished she had her arm guards to defend herself, but she hadn't worn them since she got to Kirigakure. She'd have to ask Masumi for new ones after training. She severely missed them and the protection they gave her.

Fortunately, his sword got stuck in the tree, and as he pulled on it to get it unstuck, she took the opportunity to run for her bokken and sweep him off his feet. She pushed her hands together in the middle of the staff, raised it, and pushed it straight down towards his stomach. She hadn't realized he had dislodged his sword on his dissent to the ground and was disheartened when he used it to block her incoming attack. He used his feet to hook his leg around her ankle and pull her down to the ground. He pushed himself off the ground and straddled her, holding his sword so close to her neck that she was scared to swallow.

"Do you yield?" he asked. Kokoro gritted her teeth and looked away from him before she nodded her head. He relaxed and she pushed him off of her. She stood up and walked off in frustration. She couldn't believe she let him take her down in such a common move. She should have been more aware of her surroundings and of where his body parts were. She could have easily side-stepped his limb and ended the spar. Instead she had fallen to the ground and lost.

"Come and thank your opponent, Kokoro," Masumi said. Kokoro glanced behind her and frowned. She didn't want to. As childish as it seemed, she didn't want to shake hands with him or thank him for beating her. Masumi frowned and repeated herself. With no sign of compliance from Kokoro, Masumi's anger skyrocketed. They grabbed a shuriken from their pouch and threw it so that it grazed Kokoro's cheek. Kokoro grasped her bleeding cheek and turned around.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"For being disrespectful," Masumi said. "Chojuro took time out of his busy schedule to spar against you and you act like a sniveling child. Not only are you tarnishing your image and relationship with other shinobi, you're messing with my image, as well. You are my pupil, and your actions reflect on me. If you can't handle a loss with dignity, then I advise you to quit being a shinobi and find some other career. Now, get over here and thank him."

Sensing she had no choice, Kokoro walked over and quietly thanked Chojuro for sparring with her. He nodded his head and gave her a small, fraudulent smile before bowing to Masumi and rushing off. Masumi regarded her coldly.

"Stand up straight," Masumi ordered. Their voice was rigid and left no room for back talk. Kokoro followed their order and awaited further instructions. She knew she was in trouble. She had heard that tone only once before and it was not a pretty situation. Kokoro had been training and the stress of not having anyone to talk to, training and learning every day with no down time, and lack of sleep had taken a toll on her body and her mind. She had messed up quite a few times and had stopped in the middle of some exercises. When Masumi demanded she continue, she refused.

"I can't," Kokoro huffed out.

"Keep going, Kokoro," Masumi said calmly.

"I'm done doing this!" Kokoro shouted. "I'm done slaving away and getting nowhere. How are some simple katas and moves going to help me in the long run? I'm tired and I can't do this. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever again!"

"You can't?" Masumi asked in a cold voice. "Or you won't?"

"I can't!" Kokoro yelled at them. She turned her back on them and plopped down on the ground with her arms crossed over her chest. She didn't care if she was being disrespectful at the moment. All she cared about was being selfish and taking a break.

"So, instead of following orders, you want to be lazy? Get up."

Kokoro froze as a chill ran through her body. She shivered involuntarily and bit her bottom lip in fear.

"I don't think you want to know what'll happen if you disobey me further. Get. Up."

Kokoro scrambled to stand up with her back turned to Masumi.

"Turn around."

She turned around.

"Perform your katas."

Kokoro went through the motions stiffly, scared to mess up and scared to disappoint Masumi further. When she finished, Masumi hummed and said in a mocking tone, "It looks like you can, Kokoro. I'm sure there are a lot more katas in you. Do it again."

Kokoro did it again, stopping when she performed the last one.

"I didn't say stop," Masumi snapped. Kokoro began another around, and another, and another. "You don't get to stop until your arms and legs fall from your body, do you understand?"

Kokoro nodded her head.

"Speak up!"

"Yes," Kokoro said quietly as tears welled in her eyes.

"I said speak up!" they bellowed.

"Yes, I understand!" she wailed. She didn't stop until hours later when she could barely feel her limbs. They were numb and she felt like her mind was far away, like her body was going through the motions while trying to come to terms with her situation. When Masumi finally allowed her to stop, her body collapsed to the ground and her eyes closed immediately. Heavy breaths fell from her lips and her body twitched occasionally from overuse. She couldn't remember much of what happened after that.

"Bend your knees." Kokoro bent her knees. "Lower." Her legs were bent at ninety degree angles. Her legs burned at the squat, not used to staying in place at such an unnatural position. Masumi took out a scroll and unrolled it, taking out a few rounded weights stashed in it. "Arms out, palms up." Kokoro knew where they were headed. Masumi placed a weight on each palm and on each thigh. The weights were at least thirty pounds each. Kokoro struggled under the weight and tried to shift her position when the weight on her left thigh began to slide.

"Don't drop a single weight," Masumi ordered. "If you so much as drop one, you are going to do ten laps around this village and restart your time holding these weights."

"How long do I have to hold them?" Kokoro asked.

"Until I say so."

So Kokoro stood there with sweat dripping down her face. Her eyes were clenched shut and her teeth gnashed against each other as she tried so hard to keep from collapsing to the ground. Unfortunately, her body wasn't listening to her and her arms fell under the pressure. She watched in defeat as the two weights fell to the ground with loud thuds. She chanced a glance at Masumi and her heart pounded deeply in her chest at the disappointed look on their face.

"Start running."

When her ten laps were up, she was forced to immediately assume her previous position again. She couldn't even take a breather before she was back at it. It took even less time for her to drop weights again and to run her ten laps. She dropped them two more times before tears started falling from her eyes. She couldn't do it. It hurt too much. All she wanted to do was relieve the agonizing pressure placed upon her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she sobbed out as she literally shook. "I won't do it again, just, please make it stop! I can't do this anymore!"

"You can't?"

"I-I mean I- I don't know!" she wailed. "It hurts!"

"So you can continue?"

Kokoro shook her head hastily and let out a cry of desperation as all the weights fell. She looked up at Masumi with pleading eyes, hoping to find some solace for apologizing, but all she got was cold, calculating eyes.

"Go run your laps."

She returned an hour later and fell to the ground as her legs jellified and refused to hold her up. A shadow fell over her and she looked up to find Masumi towering over her.

"Get up and start over."

Kokoro tried to push herself up, but her arms didn't want to cooperate.

"You can't?"

"I-I" Kokoro stuttered out as she tried again.

"You're going to give up? You must not be as strong as I thought you were. You're just like your father, too weak to protect those around him."

Kokoro shook her head and slowly sat up despite the heavy protesting coming from her body. She sat there for a moment before she pushed her body to stand. She wasn't weak. She was strong. She had to be to keep her promise to protect her friends. She couldn't let anything bad happen to them when she could prevent it. She had to be able to climb the highest mountains and brave the worst situations. She couldn't give up. So she stood and let Masumi place the weights back on her. Immediately, her body tensed and struggled to hold them.

Masumi regarded Kokoro before they asked, "Do you know why I punish you this way?"

"Wh-what?" Kokoro asked as she lost her concentration. The weights slid before she jerked herself up.

"Focus while I talk," Masumi said. "You are strong, physically, Kokoro. You have the skills to spar against a jounin and almost win. And what you lack in strength, you hold in intelligence. You might not be the smartest person I've met, but you know how to use your head to think on the spot. The one thing you lack is conviction."

"I'm confident," Kokoro weakly argued.

"I said focus!" Masumi snapped. "Don't speak, just listen." When they were reassured Kokoro wouldn't interrupt again, they continued to talk. "You want to be great, you want to be strong, but so often you want to give up. You want to sulk and self-depricate until you're satisfied you've nagged yourself enough. You overwhelm easily and you shut down and go on the defense when it's not going your way. When you lose, you think you're not good enough, so you want to quit. You'd rather stop doing something than admit something is challenging.

Your mental strength is practically nonexistent, Kokoro, and that is not an option in the shinobi world. We see, hear, and do things not for the faint of heart. You need to be able to bounce back from those things without a hitch. As unfortunate as it is, shinobi are pawns. We are tools used to carry out dirty and immoral things regular people can't handle. You can't just quit and give up in the middle of a mission. We also need to mind the relationships we have with other shinobi. One of the biggest assets to a shinobi is their teammates and the trust they put in each other. You need to work well with others. You can't brush people off like you brushed Chojuro off. Luckily for you, Chojuro is a forgiving person, but if you cross the wrong person, if you rub the wrong person the wrong way, rumors will spring up of your insolence and no one will want to work with you.

I'll help you work on it. I want to see you succeed. You have the potential to succeed, so don't throw it away at the first sign of difficulty. So let me help you and listen to what I tell you. I'm not trying to boss you around, I just want you to understand. Stop."

Kokoro fell and just like her last punishment, her eyes closed and her sight was pitched in darkness. She felt arms wrap around her and pick her up. She snuggled against their chest and fell into a deep slumber. When she woke up, it was night and her alarm clock read 4:28 a.m. A note sat beside her and she reached for it. Her arm flared up and she gasped at the sensation. She scanned the note and sighed in relief at its content. She was given two days of reprieve before she'd have to get back to training. She crumbled up the note and threw it across the room, bearing the pain that shot throughout her body. Masumi's words rang through her head even though she didn't want to think about them. She needed to take her mind off of everything. She eyeballed her desk and the paper sitting atop it. With all the strength she could muster, she sat up and made her way to the desk. She grabbed a pen and began writing.

Gaara,

As always, I have so many things on my mind. I apologize in advance for this letter because it's not like my usual letters. I don't feel like going into detail about why I'm feeling so overwhelmed, but just know I'll figure it out. I just need time to think it over and really contemplate what my mentor has told me. A lot of things have happened in such a short amount of time that I can't help but feel like it's all too much. To help ease my stress, I wanted to hear from you. I know it's weird to be asking you these things, but it's been so long since we've been friends, and none of your recent letters have been so simple as to mention these things, so here we go!

What's your favorite color? I think mine would have to be blue, or maybe green. Both are beautiful colors, especially when they're vibrant with life. What's your favorite food? Is it still salted tongue? I still can't believe you like it. I haven't gotten a chance to taste it yet but it just sounds so gross. Is there something else that's like salted tongue but not an actual tongue? I don't know what my favorite food is anymore. I used to like really sweet food, but after moving here to Kiri, I find myself liking fishier foods. Of course, fish is abundant here and readily available, but it is quite good. I don't have enough money to try the better fish like caviar or lobster, but the cheap stuff is delicious, especially when I pair it with this creamy sauce everyone loves here.

Speaking of everyone, I made a friend! His name is Junichiro, but he wants me to call him Juro. He doesn't like it when I use his first name, hence the nickname. I told him it was only right to give me a nickname in exchange. He came up with Roke. I don't know how I feel about it, but it's the best he could come up with. He's bad at giving nicknames. He's gotta be one of the nicest people I've met here. He cheered me up when I was sulking about having to take the Chunin Exams again. He even complimented me! I never thought I'd see the day when a Kirigakuren my age would compliment me! He was at the last Chunin Exams with us. Can you believe that? I had no clue! Maybe you'd recognize him. He has light brown hair and hazelish eyes. He's kinda tall and he's pretty slim. He's really pale and he has some freckles across his face.

Don't worry! If you can't conjure up an image of him, I get it! I went shopping with him and we got to talk for a bit. He's an amazing person! I hope I get to hang out with him again. I gotta head to bed. I could barely move my hand to write this. (I'll let you know about it in the next letter.) I can't wait to see you again! Write back!

Kokoro

It was so brutal to write Kakashi's letter. It's so short but honestly what is he going to say? The guy doesn't exactly spew his heart out. Can any of you guess why he wrote her? Hint: it's because of a canonical event that happens towards the end of Naruto, not Shippuden.

I'm trying to make my updates more regular, but I don't know how well that's going to go. I'm still writing this story, so if you want, you can always check back every now and then to see how it's going! Thanks for all your support! Stay Awesome!