1 week later

Yoshiko's secondary residence

"You were gone for two weeks and you managed to build a dormitory, learn horseback riding and get attacked by an S-class ninja. How."

"You like to over exaggerate. The last one is really out of my control and the dormitory plans were well under way already. I just gave the go ahead. I also didn't learn horseback riding. That takes a few months at the very least. I just bought a horse and managed to hire a teacher to come to Konoha to teach me." She thought for a second. "I also bought a place for my horse, of course. She's a cutie. Do you want to meet Koko-chan?"

"That's not the important bit! Do you know the things Reonarudo has done?"

"The police were a bit hesitant but they did let me look at the file."

"And?"

"He's done a lot of things."

"You just met a monster."

Yoshiko hummed. "Monsters have feelings too, you know. They have their own goals, ideals and rationales that guide them. In other words, they are predicable to some degree. For that, I need to stay calm."

"You weren't afraid?"

"I won't say that. I'm human too."

"How did you escape?"

"He had no real intention to hurt me in the first place. If he decides to… well, there's really not much I can do."

"… You're not normal."

"It isn't as if I have no fear. I used to be a scared little girl too, once upon a time. But then I realised that being paralysed and scared gets you nothing. When that realisation was hammered and seeped to my bones, I started fighting."

"You're still a little girl, you know."

"Not really."

"Why are you in such a rush to grow up? Just enjoy your time. Once you're an adult, there's no going back."

"I know. But it can't be helped. When you grow up, you grow up. Isn't that right, Nara-san?"

"Shut up."

Yoshiko sighed. "In time."

"… Are you happy?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Are you happy?"

"You want to talk about feelings?"

"Are you happy?"

"… You're troublesome."

"Yoshiko."

She sighed again. "I don't know. I'm content, to some degree."

"And what would make you happy? More money? More orphanages?"

"…" She looked at him, face somewhat blank, somewhat melancholic. "Life is suffering and one should stop desiring what is out of their grasp. I'm grateful I get to do what I do and I do actually love much of it but… some things are just…" She hesitated, looking side to side before sighing. "No, it's nothing."

"Nothing? Don't expect me to believe that."

"Maybe later."

"You'll just dodge again tomorrow."

"Maybe sometime in the future."

"You just don't want to answer, don't you?"

"In the future."

"All that talk of me not trusting you… you don't trust me either."

"It can't be helped. You're ultimately loyal to your clan and village. Your affection for me is limited compared to that."

"In other words, you want me to take the first step."

"The risk for you is much lower."

"What secrets do you hide?"

"What are you talking about? I'm a perfectly ordinary and pleasant civilian girl who loves sunshine, flowers and all things small and fluffy."

"You can't expect me to believe that."

"Why don't you?"

"I don't know. You're just very… cold."

"But I do good things, don't I? And my… 'coldness', as you like to put it, helps me do that."

"At the very least, you are not normal."

"You really like to exaggerate. It's true that ninja children don't usually dabble in property but if I were a son, having a few building projects and businesses is hardly unusual. In fact, I have not done anything extraordinary."

He sighed. "I guess I'll have to adjust my sense of 'normal' around you."

The next day

The Konoha Ninja Academy

"What are you thinking about, Shikamaru?"

He turned to see Chouji walking over with his school lunch. "Nothing much."

"You've been thinking a lot."

"I always think a lot."

"But you don't hang out with me as much."

"… Actually… I've been visiting Ikeda Yoshiko a lot."

"That name… sounds familiar."

"The girl you saw at the Akimichi feast."

"Oh! You're friends?"

"Not exactly."

"But you visit her a lot?"

"Yes."

"You talk to her a lot?"

"Yes."

"You like her a lot?"

"… She's just… a little different. Apparently normal but…"

"So you like her?"

"… I guess…?"

"But you're not friends?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I… We don't trust each other."

"Why not?"

"… I feel like there's a lot she's not letting on. I feel like she's keeping a lot of secrets."

"Then ask her."

"She won't tell me."

"Then don't."

"That doesn't solve the issue."

"But Mum says all ninja have secrets and sometimes it's rude to ask."

When it was put that way… if he didn't accept that she had some things she just didn't want to tell, he'd never make friends with any jounin. But it was just…

"I don't like what I don't know. I don't like that I can't know."

It was shameful, voicing and putting it like that. It sounded like such a silly and childish concern: the fear of the unknown. No, not a fear. He was lazy and unfriendly. He wasn't particularly strong combat-wise. The only thing he had going for him was his intelligence. It was the only thing he had. Perhaps his ego just couldn't stand that he didn't know something. He'd always looked down on overly prideful ninja but perhaps he'd been one of them, wrapped up in maintaining superiority. He just valued a different type of superiority.

"Is it okay to not know?" He asked, not really expecting an answer.

"That sounds complicated. Do you want to be her friend?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? Do you want to or not?"

"I… want… to?"

"Then be friends." Satisfied, Chouji sat down and opened his bento, happily munching on the tonkatsudon.

"… You're happy."

"Of course!"

"Why?"

"Because mum cooked one of my favourites today! Look at this egg!" He said, excitedly showing how the pork and egg drippings seeped into his rice.

"That's too simple."

"You're too complicated, Shikamaru."

That strange strangling of a smile was gone in an instant and replaced with a dainty bat of the lashes. "My sweet summer child, the world is as complicated as you make it out to be."

"I… like to make things very complicated, don't I?"

"Yes!"

"Should I be her friend?"

"If you want to, just do it! If you love it, just do it! That's what Dad says!"

"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."

Shikamaru snorted. How simple. It was so simple yet he'd been so stupid. He was supposed to be the smartest yet Chouji had so quickly, so easily, so instinctively grasped what everyone had been trying to hammer into Shikamaru.

Emotions were what drove and fulfilled humans. Not logic.

And for some reason, Shikamaru had assumed that he was above that.

"I want to be your friend. I want to do something."

Yoshiko's astonished look was almost insulting but the beautiful smile that followed was worth it.

"Not a moment too soon, Shikamaru."

The next day

"So… I talked to her."

Shikaku quickly swallowed his rice. "Good job. It only took you…" he thought for a while "… 2½ months."

"I get it. I'm slow on the uptake."

Shikaku shook his head. "No, genuinely. It took me around 4½ years to have a proper conversation with Yoshino. 2½ months is good."

"… I think you're just slow, Dad."

Shikaku rolled his eyes. "So? What happened?"

"Somehow, I got a job."

"… As in?"

"An actual job. I've been hired as her part-time personal assistant."

His job honestly wasn't very hard, glamorous or particularly important but a week in and Shikamaru couldn't help but appreciate what he had been given.

Yoshiko's complete schedule.

No more dodging, no more cryptic messages, Shikamaru knew exactly what she was doing at any time on any day and it was crazy. Dance classes, singing classes, koto classes, horseback riding, calligraphy, painting, maths, history, art appreciation, science and those were just some of the classes. All 3 hours long and many twice a week. Only after attending, practicing and doing the homework for those classes did she make time for paperwork, planning and business. She made more of an effort in some classes and didn't even bother doing her sewing homework but still.

She also had a very particular way of doing things.

"Just send a letter home saying you hate sewing."

"I don't want to."

"Why? It's obvious you don't value it. If something isn't valuable, get rid of it."

"It'll hurt my image."

"It's 6 hours of your time a week. That's 13 full days a year. You already take like…" he counted mentally "…10 lady classes already. Dropping one is no problem. You'll still be a good filial daughter. Your image won't be ruined. You worry too much."

"I suppose."

"Also, you have 12 hours of lady classes on Saturday. Drop one of them."

"Father is very set on me learning the koto and shamisen. Singing is my speciality and art appreciation is necessary for a lady."

"None of it is necessary."

"Image and reputation is everything to a lady."

He sighed. "Then just cut down the class time. Not every class has to be exactly three hours long."

"3 hour blocks look much nicer on the schedule."

"I don't care if it looks nice! 1 or 2 hours is still a perfectly fine amount of class time!"

"But it'll be obvious that I don't value it."

"It already is! You have 3 math classes a week and 1 flower class!"

"Flowers aren't that important."

Shikamaru sighed. "Look, you can hire and fire without your parents' permission and your teachers don't send reports back home. I don't think your parents even remember how long your classes are so cutting them won't raise an eyebrow."

In the end, he got her to cancel one of her sewing classes, reduce art appreciation to 2 hours and flowers to 1 which freed up 6 hours off her schedule. She still had 12 lady classes a week totalling 33 hours. No wonder she dazed off so much and was so tightly wound. Seriously, how much was there to learn about flowers and looking at art? He'd try shorting it again next week.

Other than convincing her to be less conscious of her image, he did menial stuff like drafting letters, cancelling classes and periodic checks on her establishments so most of his time was spent running around the village talking to people. He knew patience was a virtue and he would need it when he dealt with difficult civilian customers as a ninja but some people were just ridiculous.

"Sayuri-chan doesn't need to read!"

He crossed his arms, still in his adult henge. He'd taken to wearing it whenever he was dealing with people. "Her prospects are severely diminished if she doesn't."

"Look at her! She's a perfectly beautiful and fine girl! She doesn't need to learn that hard stuff! What she needs is a better attitude!"

He looked down at Sayuri's head, poking out from behind his leg as she clung to his trousers. "Look, lady. If you don't like her, I can find another place for her somewhere else. I can always have her transferred to a different orphanage who would be willing to let her learn." Technically true, but it would require a lot of paperwork, a few threats and some convincing.

"What are you saying? I'm only looking out for her! You may be a weirdo but most men aren't like that! If Sayuri wants to get adopted, she has to quit dreaming and focus on proper studies!"

He sighed. Why couldn't she see that marriage wasn't a guarantee no matter how pretty the woman and that a backup plan was better? "I'll send over the transfer papers tomorrow. The Konoha Orphan home is a government institution. Sign them or I'll cut your funding." He couldn't actually do that, but he could get Yoshiko to stop sending money to his particular orphanage. He couldn't control the money the government sent them but he could cut food donations from other organisations. The woman did sign the papers and threw them back in his face. He didn't understand why she was so vehemently against it. Learning to read wasn't that hard or rare.

But apparently it was. It took another few weeks of dealing with the lowest class of civilians for him to fully comprehend just how different life was for them. Reading and going to school was frivolity. Food and money were constant issues and their mind set was extremely rooted. Working women were assumed to be poor women, being forced to work because their family needed extra income. The logic behind why the handler hadn't wanted Sayuri to acquire job skills was a lot easier to understand in context. Working meant Sayuri was lesser.

Stupid. Stupid, but he could see how it made sense in their heads.

All this rubbish and arguing took up a lot of time and he skipped school more days than not. Dad, taking an extremely hands-off approach and having gone through the classical Nara experience, was supportive of him finding the will to do anything. And since 95% of ninja work was dealing with civilians, travelling and filling out paperwork, Mum thought spending hours running on rooftops, talking to people and shuffling through a ridiculous number of official documents was better practice than sitting in class. As long as he kept up his physical practice, came in on test days and got above 90%, they were fine with it.

"There's a test on Tuesday," Chouji said as he handed Shikamaru his notes and a summary of the week's lessons.

Shikamaru grabbed them and instinctively begun to scan them. "Thank you."

"…"

"…"

"… Shikamaru, how are things going?"

Eyes still on the paper, Shikamaru nodded. "Fine. Troublesome. Useful."

"…"

"…"

"… Are you busy, Shikamaru?"

"… Yes."

It was a half-lie. He was busy, but he could certainly afford to come over more than once a week. He just found scouring the village and newspapers for opportunities and putting together business proposals far more interesting. He still enjoyed Chouji's company, it was just…

His world looked very different now.