[Edited] *whispers* Rui's back, my lovelies~

missfites - Well, I would not exactly call it as Nao coming out of her shell, but she's getting there slowly~ I mean, it's only a month after that incident, right? *wink wink* And Kakashi! That guy—LOL.

Dark Rose Charm - Heh. We'll see~ But they definitely have a hate relationship right now—no love. Hihi. The timeline is still before Kakashi's dad died, so... stay tuned! *insert evil laugh*

fluffpenguin - Aww, thanks! I'll keep that in mind, and make sure to double-check. I often get the tenses mixed up, but I'll do my best to fix that. And Kakashi, yeeeeh~ I have a lot of things I want to explore in this. Hopefully, I do justice to my ideas. LOL.

Thanks for the reviews, you lovely people~ *sends virtual hearts*

Back to the story!

"Oh, you're here Nao-kun?" Yamanaka Inori greeted, as a lifeless Naoko walked up the pathway to the said Yamanaka's compound.

She had bags under her eyes that indicated her lack of sleep. And her pale, red orbs seemed hazy to him. The said man was currently sitting at the front porch with a steaming hot tea beside him.

"Good morning, Inori-sensei," came her automatic and monotonous response. Inori only managed to raise an eyebrow at the child's questionable actions.

"Did something happen?" He asked, just for good measure even though he knew that Naoko would dare put up a façade in front of him of all people. He could easily see through her. After all, he's the current head of Konoha's Intelligence Division.

At that question, the five-year old's head shot up. An obviously fake smile was suddenly plastered on her childish features, as if to cover up her earlier behavior.

"No, nothing happened! Nothing at all." She shook her head rapidly, while waving her hand in front of her.

However, Inori knew better than to believe the child's words. He had been in charge of her mental health for more than a month now, so it was a no-brainer not to think otherwise.

"Mind telling me about it?" With the look that he was currently giving her, Naoko knew that she had no choice but to tell Inori what had happened. She sighed in defeat, and sat beside him.

The child told him all about her dream—or more like, her nightmare that came back to haunt her at night. Inori just listened in attentively to the child, as she let out all the pent-up emotions in her heart.

Never had he seen nor heard Naoko talk so much and showed her hidden emotions all at once. It was the first time he had seen her looked so heart-broken ever since she had stepped foot in Konoha.

"I-I miss my mother and my father... I miss everyone," the child clenched her tiny fists tightly that were lying on top of her thighs. Droplets of tears were sliding down her now pink-colored cheeks.

"...Even the cranky elder who always scold me for acting someone unbecoming of my pedigree.I miss them."

Inori laid a gentle hand on top of her head, as he watched how Naoko tried to wipe her tears away, only to be replaced by a fresh batch. In the end, he could only watch and try to console the girl as she suffered silently without anyone knowing the pain she was going through.

He wondered if anyone would be as strong as she was after all the things that she had gone through.

Kakashi arrived at the training ground that he had trained at with his teacher and fellow student from yesterday. Speaking of yesterday's training, his mind drifted off to the new girl who had enough guts to make fun of him during their little outing with their teacher.

There was a reason why he did not liked showing his face in front of people. Hence, why he is using clothing that hid his face. And he did not understand, why in the world Naoko found it fun to tease him by making him show his face.

And no, he was not ugly. His face was very much normal. Actually, he looked so much alike his father, in his opinion. Not that he had seen or remembered his mother very much to be able to compare their facial features from each other.

He clucked his tongue as he recalled the events, while he waited for Minato to arrive. As if he had known that Kakashi is now present, Minato had arrived a minute later after the young boy did.

"Good morning, Kakashi," the blonde ninja greeted his student with his usual smile. Kakashi tried to look as indifferent as possible as his eyes tried to search for something—or for someone rather.

"If you're looking for Nao, she's currently with Inori-san," Minato explained shortly, as if he can read his student's mind.

The smile never left his face, instead it only seemed to grow wider. And that somehow irritated the silver-haired boy.

"Whatever," he responded. Inside his head, however, he had a lot of questions waiting to be answered.

How come Naoko was with one of the best sensors of Konoha? Or why she was under his sensei's tutelage as well? He had never seen nor heard of her, before their first meeting yesterday.

He decided not to dwell on it anymore. Kakashi didn't want to make his teacher relish in the feeling of having fun at his expense anymore, so he dropped the topic.

"What are we doing today, sensei?" Kakashi asked, trying to change the subject of their conversation. Minato observed him carefully, before nodding his head.

"You can ask her tomorrow. She'll be training with us then." Minato said, ignoring his earlier question, which annoyed the hell out of Kakashi.

"But for now, we spar for a bit and then we'll see if you can further improve your tracking abilities."

Then, his teacher went into his fighting stance, as Kakashi jumped away to put some distance between them. The teacher and student then clashed.

It was almost an hour and a half before Naoko was able to finally calm down. Her eyes were now puffed up. Simply put, she looked like how someone her age is supposed to look after bawling her eyes out.

Inori stayed by her side in the duration that she was crying. And the young girl was glad that he just listened to her. He didn't ask any questions nor pry her for answers.

"I'm fine now, Inori-sensei," Naoko wiped away the last streaks of her tears, and smiled up at the older man.

Inori nodded his head, observing her carefully and trying to gauge the child's current mental health.

"Seriously, sensei. You don't have to look at me with a scary expression like that. I'm fine now," the little girl dead-panned, now back to her no-fun personality that he had known her for.

"Alright, alright." Inori chuckled and ended up ruffling her head for being cheeky.

"Let's start your training then." He said, and he saw how her eyes gleamed in excitement.

Naoko had always enjoyed her training sessions with Inori because it was fun and interesting. Aside from being taught psychology, he had told her last time that she will be learning something completely new. That bit excited her more than Inori could imagine.

"So today, I'll make you get the hang of the basics of sensing chakra. This might be a bit complicated, but I believe you can do it."

And there it was—the wide grin spreading on the child's lips, as she turned to face her sensei fully and sat in a cross-legged manner.

Inori sighed in defeat, as he smiled helplessly at the eager girl before him. She had always seem to like being praised, even if he only did it in a subtle way just now.

"The basics of sensing chakra is to be able to focus on your surroundings, and not let yourself be distracted by the smallest things. You should not let your feelings get the better of you. In short, make sure to keep your emotions in check. Otherwise, it would simply disrupt your concentration." Inori explained, while Naoko nodded her head repeatedly waiting for more explanation.

"Now, close your eyes and take a deep breath," Naoko did as she was told.

"Inhale slowly, and exhale slowly. Then make the hand seals to mould chakra. Spread your chakra, and think as if you are part of your surroundings," she heard him say, seeing nothing but darkness.

However, she could see herself being cloaked with dark red chakra, standing in the midst of the space in her mind.

Then slowly, several colored wisps of smoke popped out in different directions. One in front of her, and a few more in the distance. The one in front of her was in the color of white with a tinge of blue and green. She slowly reached her hand out and touched it.

"Very good," she heard Inori say once again. Naoko started to get tired and breathed heavily as she released the hand seal she was making. Instantly, her concentration snapped and she opened her eyes, seeing Inori smiling proudly at her.

"As expected of your student, sensei." Naoko laughed, for the first time—proud that she had succeeded on the first try. And Inori was glad that he had taught her the basics of chakra sensing.

"You could get used to it by practicing, and you'll slowly be able to widen your range. However, for now, you'll be doing it under my watch so you won't push yourself too much."

The child playfully pouted, trying to show her displeasure at the set up that her sensei had decided on. Inori stared at her, as his blue-green eyes seemed to bore holes on her head.

"...I get it, sensei." Naoko said in defeat, as she continued sulking.

The rest of the afternoon, Inori had made her refine her chakra control so she'll be able to mould her chakra more smoothly, which would help her get a better grasp of sensing chakras in the end.

Afterwards, the two of them had talked to each other some more about different techniques that she could possibly learn, as well as the different things she could take advantage of by using the human mind—like, observing the likes and dislikes of her possible opponents.

When Naoko went home that day, she felt as if a heavy burden was finally lifted from her shoulders. Despite being a child, she had a firm grasp of her reality despite her occasional bouts of childishness. Pale, red orbs stared at the slowly darkening sky as she made her way back home.

Talking to Inori earlier and being able to cry freely made her feel as if she had sprouted wings. Maybe—just maybe, she would be able to finally accept what had happened in the past and use it as a way to propel her forward. To be able to use it as a means of strength, rather than a shackle to keep her from living the life she wanted.

As Naoko arrived home, someone barreled towards her as soon as she opened the front door. She landed on her back, and the young Higanbana groaned in pain. She sat up and saw that someone was in the same situation as her.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch," Naoko heard the person she bumped into, muttering in pain. It was a girl, about the same age as her with chin-length, brown hair. She also had purple, rectangular marks on her cheeks like some sort of face paint. Somehow, she looked familiar but Naoko couldn't quite put a finger as to who exactly the girl was.

"Are you alright?" Naoko asked as she stood up and made her way to the girl who was still sitting on her behind. She reached out a hand and the unknown girl took it with a grateful smile.

"I'm sorry for running into you. I was rushing since Shinju-san asked me to buy something," the brown-haired girl laughed sheepishly, as she rubbed her nape shyly.

"Do you want me to accompany you?" The brunette child's eyes widened in surprise at Naoko's offer, and she smiled widely at her.

"Sure thing! Actually, I'd love it if you came with me," she responded.

"Oh, I'm Rin by the way-Nohara Rin."

Naoko took her outstretched hand and shook it, while introducing herself, "I'm Higanbana Naoko. But you can call me Nao if you like."

"It's nice to meet you, Nao-chan!" Rin grinned, as she happily shook Naoko's hand before dragging her out the door.

"We should go now, since Shinju-san needed the soy sauce as soon as possible."

The red-haired girl snorted, before she had burst into a fit of giggles. She found Rin funny in a way, because of how random and hyper she seemed. At a glance, she looked like the type to be meek and quiet, but that wasn't the case at all.

"You laughed, Nao-chan," Rin pointed out, staring at her in amazement. Naoko hadn't noticed that they had already stopped walking. Her cheeks slowly turned pink, as she looked away out of embarrassment.

"W-Well, I could laugh if I feel like it," the young heiress muttered, as her shoulders dropped sulkily. Rin just smiled at her newfound friend's actions.

"I've never seen you laugh back in the orphanage," the brunette trailed off, still staring at Naoko with her big, brown eyes. In turn, the latter just sighed as she scratched her head bashfully with her free hand.

"It's just-" Rin cut her off before she could continue, squeezing Naoko's hand in reassurance, "You don't have to force yourself to say anything Nao-chan. But from now on, you can talk to me if you want to since we're friends now!"

The brunette's smile and words warmed Naoko's cold, cold heart. And for the first time in a long while, she was able to finally smile happily from the depths of her heart.

It caught Rin off-guard, like when she had seen and heard Naoko laugh earlier. And in her perspective, Naoko looked like she was freed from something and it made her seem prettier.

"Friends," Naoko declared softly, the smile never leaving her face even when the two of them continued their journey to buy the ingredient they needed for dinner.

Even when they have returned to the orphanage which they call home, the smile never left Naoko's face as she finally found something—someone—whom she could call a friend for the first time in a long while.

[A/N]: Greetings, my lovelies~ ヾ(*' ˋ*)ﾉ *insert crazy laughter*

I figured I shall deny all of you (for now) the moment you are waiting for: Obito and Nao-chan's meeting. And put up with Rin x Nao meeting for now right? Hihi~ (๑'ڡ'๑)

On anoooother note, Kakashi's still left wondering about Nao's identity. And I shall, soon, bombard you all with surprises. LOL. Please bear with the slow development of the story at the moment. *wink wink*

Thank you for your continuous support! I hope you liked the recent update.

So long, my lovelies~ (‿)