Two weeks later

Yoshiko took a spoonful of the curry. She scrunched up her nose and set the spoon down forcefully.

Sachiko eyed her master. "You're doing very well, Ikeda-sama. I'm sure you'll get it soon."

"No." The word came out swiftly and fiercely. "No. It's not right. It's not right. The spices…" She shook her head. "The spices are pathetic around here."

Yoshiko dropped down to the chair, watching as Sachiko hurried to clean the dishes. She stared up, dazed at the ceiling lights.

"Pack the curry, Sachiko. I'll work on the pretzels."

Two days later

Shikamaru had been visiting Yoshiko every day. Mostly for the free air-con and couch but also to get his mum off his back. Dad had sided with him and for now, mum was satisfied that he was walking at least 10 kilometres a day.

Unfortunately, his brain automatically went into overdrive around her. It was really quite troublesome.

"It's your turn, Nara-san."

Shikamaru made a vague noise of acknowledgement. While he had noticed a slight change in her word choice and general demeanour, Yoshiko was still quite proper in her casual clothing. He could not picture her at all.

"Ikeda-san."

"What is it?"

"What do you think of me? No diplomacy. What do you think?"

There was a 10-second pause that felt far longer than it was. "… Have you ever watched someone who was bad at Sudoku?"

"Yes. Why?"

"You know the temptation to go 'that's a 9' or 'you're clearly focusing on the wrong bit'?"

"… Well… yes."

"That feeling. That sums up my true feelings towards you once you set the fluff aside."

"Everyone thinks I could be doing a lot better. But that's a part of being Nara."

"I know. Your clan has amazingly low willpower levels. I get that feeling a lot around such individuals."

"… I don't understand. How anyone can be so driven?"

"I could list a thousand reasons and do a deep analysis but it all leads back to the same thing." She leaned forward. "I love it. I do it because I love it. I cook, I manage, I calculate because I love it. But do you know what I love the most? Creating the perfect build. The perfect, mathematical solution." She leaned back again. "When I see someone with amazing numbers, my mind races. My heart races. I start to think about all the possible and optimal builds. It's thrilling. It's frustrating."

Shikamaru made a thoughtful noise at the back of his throat. He scratched his head for a few moments before sighing. "Well. I'm sure someone out there would appreciate that."

When he looked back up, he saw Yoshiko sitting there. Thoughtful. Contemplative. "You know what?" She said. "You're right. As long as they appreciate it, there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

"Er... umm… un… I guess."

Shikamaru didn't know what it was, but he got a very bad feeling from this.

One month later

The Ikeda Residence in Konoha

Sachiko opened the door and blinked in surprise before bowing. "Welcome, Osaaki-sama, Atsuko-sama."

The two Ikeda and their servants entered the residence and Sachiko shut the door behind them. "Yoshiko-sama is in the middle of her singing lessons in the main residence. Should I call her?"

Osaaki smiled. "She's hard at work again. When will it end?"

"About 10 to 15 minutes, sir."

Osaaki walked to the sofa chair and sat with Atsuko. "We can wait. How has she been?"

"Yoshiko-sama has been very diligent. She can always be seen experimenting in the kitchen, practising her singing, dancing and instruments as well as reading and writing."

Atsuko frowned a little. "Is she taking care of herself?"

"I think she never rests completely. She visits the Nara for shogi and seems to like cooking. But I think cooking can be stressful for her as well because it's kind of work too. I'm not sure if she's having fun. She cooks so much Satou-san and I have to make one or two trips a day to the orphanages to donate food."

At this, Osaaki frowned as well. "Do you think she cooks so much so she can donate the food? Yoshiko is too kind like that."

"I'm not sure, sir. But I don't think that's the case. If I may give my humble opinion, Yoshiko-sama is a very efficient person who has an obsession- I mean an extreme love of numbers. She hates waste and always goes on about 'min-maxing'. She knows she can make more of a difference by donating money rather than cooking more food. I think she just doesn't want to waste food."

"What are you talking about?" Osaaki asked. "Not wasting things, I can understand. But numbers? And what is 'min-maxing'?"

Sachiko looked surprised. "Yoshiko-sama said it was something like making the best solution with limited things. She's always on her abacus and doing maths."

"Yoshiko likes maths?" Osaaki questioned.

"Yes, sir. She is happiest when she solves a problem. She smiles and looks like a child again. She is never not thinking of maths. She loves to put numbers on everything and mumbles calculations."

"Oh! I've noticed that!" Atsuko exclaimed. "She always says 'that's a level 10' or something. I think she also told me her best subject used to be maths."

"Really?" Osaaki asked in surprise.

"Yes!" Atsuko exclaimed happily. "We have such a smart daughter! She can even do math!"

Osaaki sighed. "If only she were a boy…"

Atsuko shook her head. "That's no point thinking like that. We have been blessed with such a good daughter. Let's be happy with that!"

Osaaki nodded slowly. "You're right. It's not like we can do anything about it. We made the right choice to adopt her." He looked around. "This house is pretty small. Why doesn't she stay in the main residence?"

"I'm not sure, sir. Oh! Maybe because she uses the main residence for work. She only sleeps, reads and does math here."

"I see. Maybe that's it. Could you go get us some tea? I want Houjicha." Atsuko asked.

Sachiko went to go get tea and the two of them sat snacking on tea and a strange crispy, thin biscuit in the shape of a roll. 10 minutes later, the front door rang and Sachiko opened the door for Yoshiko.

"Father, Mother, welcome."

Atsuko quickly wiped her fingers and mouth before walking over to embrace Yoshiko. "Welcome back, Yoshiko. Have you been well?"

"Yes. Thank you. How about the two of you?"

"Your mother and I are very pleased with your work," Osaaki praised. "The restaurant is doing well and you have fostered business and personal connections with the Akimichi and Nara clans. The clan is impressed as well, though they won't admit it. Your tutors have also sent glowing reports about your talent and progress to us."

Yoshiko shook her head. "I still have a lot to learn. I'm far from the 80 mark."

"The 80 mark?" Osaaki asked.

"The 80 mark is where most masters of their crafts operate at."

"Why 80?"

"Hmm…" Yoshiko considered her words. "I have the talent to see the talents and skills of others. When I look at someone, sometimes I'll think: that person is a 64 and their highest level is in metalworking. That kind of thing."

Osaaki stared at Yoshiko. "Haaaah…"

Yoshiko smiled. "Yes! Out of the arts, your highest levels are in literature. You have some talent in singing and you've tried the koto for a while but didn't really succeed."

Osaaki stared at her harder.

Yoshiko continued. "I have been blessed with very strong instincts and they are never wrong. Shikaku-sama and Shikamaru-san think it's a character quirk of mine. Apparently, things like that aren't that abnormal."

"Is… that so?"

"Yes!"

Atsuko smiled enthusiastically and planted a fat kiss on Yoshiko's forehead. "That's amazing! Isn't our daughter talented?"

"Yes… yes, of course she is… Yoshiko, how detailed are your abilities?"

"It just pops in my head but when it does, it can be pretty detailed."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

Yoshiko blinked. "It never came up and it's kind of weird to just suddenly say that. It's not that important. Besides, I told Mother already."

Atsuko pulled back. "You did?"

"Yes. When we first met, remember? You asked me how I knew I was a 57 and I told you."

Atsuko's face scrunched up in thought. "Ah… I kind of remember that."

Yoshiko separated herself from Atsuko. "Never mind that, did you enjoy the love letters?"

Osaaki startled. "What?"

"The biscuit."

Osaaki slowly relaxed back into his chair. "Oh. It's very tasty. You made this?"

"Yes."

"But why love letter, sweetie?" Atsuko asked.

"Instinct. I have five more dishes for you to try. I could cook one or two for you now. I have dance lessons in 2 hours but I can cancel it."

"It's fine," Osaaki said. "It's not urgent. Are you sure you're not working too hard? You seem a little pale."

Atsuko nodded enthusiastically. "That's right! You should rest now!" She dragged Yoshiko down to the chair. "We brought gifts for you!"

Yoshiko's smile turned slightly childlike. "Really? Thank you! You really didn't have to."

"You're my daughter!" Atsuko dismissed. "Daughters are to dote on."

They spent the next 40 minutes just opening some of the boxes. Clothing, hair pieces, handbags, cushions, a new koto, three cartons of music sheets and many more.

"Thank you, Father, Mother. It must have been expensive"

Atsuko shook her head. "It's fine! This is nothing! We will get you everything you want!"

Osaaki nodded. "That's right. We could buy you a hundred more houses if you want and it wouldn't put a dent. Is there anything else you want?"

"Actually… there's something a little inconvenient."

"What is it?" Osaaki demanded. "We will get rid of it."

"Sometimes I see someone with a lot of potential. Say, a chef. I want to hire them for our restaurant. It happens a lot more often than one may imagine. But I am still a child under the eyes of the law. I can't withdraw a lot of money from the bank. I can't hire anyone. Not even a new maid. If I see a nice house or I want a new dance studio, I can't buy any land. I was actually thinking of building a new orphanage and I wanted to surprise the two of you but they won't even let me look at the prices. Every time I feel like I want to do anything big, I can't. I have to rely on you. I have to send a letter back and wait and hope for two weeks. It's a… it's a really helpless feeling." Yoshiko got out of her chair and kneeled before her father, taking his right hand with both of hers and looking up at him pleadingly. "I don't want to trouble you. But I have so much now. I really think I should be giving back. I want to do all those big things by myself. Please?"

Atsuko shot out of her chair to embrace Yoshiko on the floor. "There's no need for that!" She cried, the slight strain in her voice showing how touched she'd been. "We told you we'd get you everything you wanted. It's just signing a few papers. Right?"

Osaaki seemed a little lost. "But isn't getting emancipation a little… drastic? You could just tell us."

"It takes two weeks for a reply!" Atsuko argued. "She's had to ask us to hire dance teachers and get approval for house renovation. The bank mailed us a bunch of times to approve her purchases. She shouldn't be troubled by such little things. She's been such a disciplined and good child. It'll fine!"

"But still…"

"I've done all the research, father! I know all the papers we need and I know how to fill them. I'll do all the work. You just need to sign the paper and get a judge to be a witness. We can get it done before you leave Konoha!"

"That's right, that's right!" Atsuko agreed. "See! She's done so much hard work already! You know how important doing charity work is for her! It's just a small thing, nothing compared to a hundred houses!"

Osaaki sighed. "Well, I guess I did promise to give you anything."

A brilliant and excited smile stretched across Yoshiko's face as she jumped up to hug her father and kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

3 weeks later

Yomogita Village, half a day's walk from Konoha

The villagers whispered and stared at the rich young lady and her two servants followed behind her. Yomogita village was a small village of 300 people and they rarely had visitors, much less nobles. The young lady was dressed in a fine kimono, tall heels and thick makeup as she strode in with a smile and wandered about the village, stopping to look at buildings and picking up and feeling random bits of dirt.

"Umm… Hello? Are you lost?"

The lady turned to face him. "Greetings," she said to a young teen. He stood a little straighter. "Would you be so kind as to direct me to the village leader or any such authority?"

"Yeah, sure. Watanabe-sama should be at home."

"And where would his home be?"

"It's in the center over there. You go straight then you… umm… I don't know how to describe it well but I could show you?"

The lady dipped her head. "I would be grateful for your guidance."

"Right. Then… let's go." They began walking to their destination. "Soooo… what are you doing here?"

"I'm interested in building an orphanage."

"Here? Why?"

"Konoha land is incredibly expensive but there are orphans everywhere in Konoha. I've noticed that there isn't a school here so I'd like to build one as well as a few playgrounds for the children."

"You're from Konoha? How is it?"

"It's a very busy and rowdy place. It's a military base, tourist trap and center of commerce all rolled into one."

"That sounds exciting. Why here then? There aren't many people here. There are other towns."

"I've walked through them. The people aren't as nice and the community isn't as tight and welcoming. Yomogita seems like a lovely village with a nice environment, people and atmosphere for children to grow up."

He smiled. "Thank you. This village is small but all of us are good people. But aren't you a little young to be doing this sort of thing?"

"How old do you think I am?"

He squinted. She was a little on the short side but she had a very mature way of talking and a lot of makeup on. "15?"

She laughed. "Well, thank you."

Around 2 weeks later

"You're in a good mood," Shikamaru commented as Yoshiko lost gracefully for the fifth time in a row and set the board up for round six. He'd gotten a little better at reading her moods but one didn't have to be a genius to sense the smug satisfaction floating around her.

"My orphanage is complete."

"What?! Since when were you building an orphanage?"

"Since two weeks ago. But I've been thinking about it for a while."

"You're ten."

"And?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Overachiever."

"I am not an overachiever. Most everyone else is an underachiever. Too scared or too lazy to do anything with the talents and resources they've been blessed with. It isn't very difficult to make a big difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Just a hot meal can mean a lot to someone."

"You're doing a lot more than average."

"Only because the average is garbage. What everyone else is doing is irrelevant in my decision to help."

Garbage? Unusually strong language implying strong emotions. An attachment to her philanthropy. Which made perfect sense, of course, but… even though Yoshiko had given him no reason to assume she was anything more than a productive and charitable member of society, he still couldn't shake his feelings of unrest around her. Sure, she was skilled at business but that wasn't morally bad in any way. After all, she needed to make money if she was to continue donating food, clothes and other supplies to orphanages.

If he wanted to make a difference, he would've done the same thing. Start a business to make lots of money and donate some. Keep enough to grow the business to make even more money so he could donate even more. But in order to ensure his donations would be used well, he would want oversight which meant creating his own organisation and in her case, her own orphanage to ensure its success. If he leveraged his fame as a philanthropist, which Yoshiko hadn't done yet, more people would support him which meant more money to donate.

It all made sense. There was a clear, systematic approach to her charitability and systematic approaches always produced better results than blind faith and empathy. He could understand the rationale completely but why-?

"Nara-san. What is it?"

"I… have a bad feeling."

She looked him in the eye and he knew she understood him. "I've met a lot of people in my life from all around the globe. When I speak to them of the plight of starving children and shivering puppies in the cold, their hearts melt easily. But speak to them of the organisations helping them and the results you get are very different. People are like that. When they save a drowning child, they have an instant and rewarding human connection. On the other hand, huge financial operations like charity organisations seem cold and mathematical. Prone to dirty corruption and deception. Completely disconnected from the instinctual empathy that drove them to donate. If the death of a child would save the lives of a hundred others, I would shoot that child myself. The best end result is clear. It's so simple. The fact that one is greater than a hundred can't even be called a math problem but so many would hesitate and miss their chance to save 99 lives."

"That's…" What she said made perfect sense. And indeed, as a future ninja, he would have to kill to save others. He would have to make that call. But there still existed within him that instinctual urge to cry 'no'. To cry that everyone could be saved and that there were other ways. He was aware that that feeling was naïve and childish but he couldn't help what he felt. "That's really cold."

"The astute tend to sense that around me. The results of my actions may mean hundreds of children are clothed, fed and sent to school but in order to create the most effective plan possible and to maximise the number of children that may benefit, I cannot afford to think with empathy and compassion before reason. Most people understand that conceptually but it still feels wrong."

"You spend a lot of time thinking about this."

"I'm sure your mind would've sorted this all out eventually. I've just gotten a little more time to ponder than you have."

"You're only a few years older than me."

"Only 'a few years' older and born into nothing. Yet look at me. What have you done?"

Unnaturally aggressive. Shikamaru put a pin in it and pushed aside his sense of discomfort. "And you think that my… feelings to you are caused by that?"

"You've been studying me. That much is obvious. There are other escapes from your mother but you still walk 5 kilometres to play shogi with me. Flattered, by the way. It's been almost three months since you've been regularly popping over but your affection for me is still very low. You don't trust me. There's no logical reason for that so it must be instinctual."

"No logical reason?"

"Unless you're one of those paranoid nutters who sees spies everywhere and thinks every oddity is a potential threat to national security. Which isn't very rational."

'Nutters'? Colloquialism. Why? A slip-up? But could it-

Yoshiko made an unrefined noise of irritation. "If I'm formal, I'm hiding something. If I'm casual, I'm being manipulative. I know you don't get much brain exercise but overanalysing will do you no favours."

"…" She was right, to some degree. Shikamaru could not really pin down a proper reason as to why he didn't trust her. Sure, he wasn't a particularly trusting person to begin with but he trusted his peers a lot quicker. Why not with her? Was it because she was so different from him and his way of life? People had an innate distrust of the foreign. Her speech, dress, accomplishments, everything was just the opposite of what he was used to. But distrust of the foreign was fairly shallow and disappeared with familiarity. He'd gotten used to her formality pretty quickly. But despite the apparent familiarity, he still felt like he couldn't quite grasp her. Not even at his beloved shogi board could he picture his opponent. He couldn't picture her, he couldn't see her, he couldn't reach her-

Just like that, a moment of perfect clarity crashed down on him and the stars clicked into place.

I see.

The next morning

"Good morning."

Hearing this, Nara Yoshino turned to see her son. She stared, glanced at the clock to confirm that it was indeed 6.30 am before turning back to her son. "You're up early."

"I wanted to catch dad before work."

The mother paused for a few seconds before nodding. "There's still leftover rice. I'll cook some fish for you. Go talk to your father."

Shikamaru nodded and walked to the dinner table where Shikaku was shoving food into his mouth with one hand and hastily scribbling and stamping paperwork with the other. Shikamaru set fidgeting for half a minute or so, elbow on table and cheek in palm before Shikaku paused in his food consumption to speak.

"Is there something?"

Shikamaru tapped his finger against the table incessantly. "I was overconfident. I thought I could figure her out quickly and analyse her like all the academy kids. But she has a lot more going on than those simple kids. She is a lot more complex. She is a lot more troublesome than me. When I'm with her… I feel like I'm nothing. I just… can't trust her."

Shikaku considered his words carefully, putting down his brush and stamp. "You've never been a prideful boy but I'm still glad that you can acknowledge your mistakes and be honest with yourself. That's the most important thing to learning."

Shikaku looked to the kitchen. "I felt the same thing, when I first met your mother. I was stronger than her. I had a better social status, mission record and intelligence. By all of society's metrics, I was her superior. But I was a stagnant fool, content to lounge about and rest on my laurels. I thought I knew everything. I thought I had everything figured out. She thought I was an idiot and brought me to this strange nightclub. She introduced me to 15 new people that night, half of whom had far less potential than me but had achieved more than I had ever aimed."

Shikaku smiled. "Then she gave me that look. You know the one. The one that told me that I was an idiot worth nothing in her eyes. That look stuck with me. I was irritated by it. What followed was three years of me chasing her around for answers that she continually spat in my face but that I was too stubborn and lazy to accept."

Shikaku sighed. "I'm going to be frank with you. You feel like you're nothing when you're with her because you have done nothing compared to her. You recognise that you should be better than her but that you're not. Potential is meaningless if you're not going to use it. You've been a big fish in a small pond up until now. You're intellectually above all your classmates and you're just now realising that she is of the ocean. In terms of life experience, she's stronger than you. Humans are very sensitive to differences in social power even if they can't always articulate it. That unbalanced power dynamic is one of the reasons you can't trust her."

"That's… not very easy to correct."

"I wasted the first twenty years of my life doing nothing, Shikamaru. Do not make my mistake. Correct it now or that emptiness will follow you." Shikaku paused for a second, considering. "Talk to her. Tell me her response."