Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Naruto manga. Everything else that's not in there is mine.

"Sprint you brat! I don't care how tired you are, finish these 3 laps!"

Nao could feel her tears flowing as she forced herself to push her legs forward. She knew these laps was little for even Academy students to run daily, not even that taxing for them to sprint throughout. It doesn't change the fact that her body was not used to such activities.

Mito-shishou had been back from her vacation in Uzushiogakure for around a week now, and had just grabbed her from the orphanage to the Senju clan compound's training ground that was situated behind the main building and conveniently hidden behind tall and huge hashirama trees that conveniently blocked anyone from sneaking and peeking due to the way they interlocked that did not have enough space for a person to hide in between.

The training grounds was not huge, but sprinting a total of 6 km throughout on uneven terrain and what appeared to be a mini obstacle course made with logs and rocks and avoiding or detaching herself from spider webs was a bit too much for her 5 to be 6 (for quite a few months but she hated being this young) year old body.

The moment she hit the 6 km mark, Nao fell flat on her butt, only to be picked up again and forced straight into breathing exercises and stretches. Thanking her shishou, Nao gratefully drank the lightly salted water handed to her before following Mito who was walking towards the clan's dojo.

"Start with your yoga, then your clan's dance, then end with yoga and meditation." Nao was thankful for her handy inventory now, as the yoga mat she got during her previous birthday was far too heavy and bulky for her to carry around. Pulling it out and placing it on the floor, Nao quickly wiped it down and started with her daily routine.

After the last pose of yoga zen, Nao opened her eyes to almost shriek when she noticed Mito-shishou glaring right at her.

"You… brat." Nao gulped, for some reason she really got her pissed off. A quiet Mito was infinitely scarier than a loud one.

"I have quite a few matters to bring up with you. First, what have you been doing with your calligraphy? I have been gone for months and you have it only up to level 45! Secondly, all your other skills progress are dismal. What. Have. You. Been. Doing. With. Your. Time."

- Chapter Stats * Chapter 5 – Nao * Aa -

The sensu that landed on shishou's palms with each word seemed like a threat of impending horrible pain regardless of her response. And it seemed like Mito wasn't looking for one.

"Not to mention that everyone has told me that you are withdrawing from social interactions! That you're getting quieter and closing up! Now, explain!"

The final tap of her sensu landed right on the tatami mat in front of Nao's thighs, a sign given that she was not allowed to walk away and hide anymore.

Clenching her fists to stop it from trembling, Nao gazed at the angry eyes in front of her. She had wanted to ignore her turbulent thoughts, it seemed far easier that way. Despite knowing that such a method has never worked for her. Keeping her problems buried will cause it all to explode with far more serious consequences. The best method would be to talk it out, with her counsellor obviously. She found that she seemed to have lost the ability to think calmly though.

Knowing that there was no other way out of this, Nao sighed as she might as well take a leap of faith and trust in her shishou to care.

"It's just… a few weeks ago a pair of girls from the orphanage approached me and said… some things." Nao suddenly found the sleeves of her hakama extremely interesting, they were coming off at the ends.

"They said that everyone… was just… using me… for my strengths…" The last few words were said with a mumble as she ducked her head.

Mito sighed as she kept her sensu into her sleeves and grabbed her cup of tea. "And what are your opinions?"

Nao froze as she looked up at her. No one in this life have asked her that before. Wasn't she… a female… and too young?

"My… opinions?"

Mito sighed again as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Those idiots…" She swiftly slammed her palm on the floor and a fuuin briefly shone on the floor before all the doors of the dojo closed and a red pulse flashed once around the whole room.

"If I had no idea about your reincarnation I would have thought that they were gutless idiots for leaving you alone to your thoughts, but since I had to drill the information out from them, they aren't gutless anymore, but definitely idiots."

Suddenly the glare intensified. "And you! You did not think to inform me of the predicament you are in, nor did you tell me when your birthday is! And you talk about people using you?"

Nao could feel the tears welling up around her eyes again, the implications of Mito's words sinking in. Was she… using others too?

"What do you understand of relationships anyway? Family, couples, team, friends, comrades, acquaintances etc."

Nao slowly started to realize what Mito was getting at, and could feel the shame welling up inside her again. She was so quick to judge and anger, and terribly shallow. "It is a relationship between two people… where everyone gives something… to obtain something? If that's what you mean…"

"Explain."

"In a relationship… people give their time, effort, love, money… for the joy and happiness and probably others that they get from their joy or safety. Possibly even more. It could be an emotionally fuelled relationship, a materialistic relationship, a mutually beneficial one, or a one-sided one… depending on how you see it. Everyone is using others in a way, while getting something in return… It's the memories and joy that we obtain with each other during it that matters most… right?"

Nao gave a watery smile as she took a deep breath. This was a concept she knew and thought of in her "previous life" Everyone always had a reason when making contact initially, and most of the time it's to make use of someone. That did not mean that the other is not earnest and honest in making friends however, their intentions could change.

She was not innocent in this either, she felt betrayed but she wasn't close in the first place. She had never let them in. An indication of friendship in this culture was a sharing of birthdays and getting rid of the -san. From the start, she kept a professional relationship with everyone she met.

"Those idiots though… you're an idiot yourself! I don't care that you have extra memories from your previous life. That doesn't change the fact that you are physically 5, with a 5-year-old brain. It is normal to feel emotions, you are still finding yourself. Your forebrain is only fully formed at 16, you can't constantly force yourself to keep calm and think rationally. That does not mean you can't train yourself to, you just need time."

Nao could only nod at all these, giving a brief shock at the 16 years. She thought it would be in the early 20s, but apparently, the physiology of this world is different.

"Next, why are you not improving at the expected speed for your skills? Especially calligraphy? I do not have the time to wait for you to max it out."

Nao finally slouched, suddenly feeling tired from the current topic. She could think of a lot of reasons, but at the same time she could think of none. It all boils down to a lack of motivation. As much as she liked brush calligraphy, she far enjoyed playing with different nibs, papers, nibs holders and inks, exploring the textures and effects. The preparation of all the equipment needed, with back light and making a makeshift inclined table, along with the guidelines.

She loved the times when she went around shops to look at materials, to cut them and file them into shape, before drilling and creating the items that she designed.

All these were not possible here, all the metals were taken to creating weapons and armour, furniture here used traditional wood joint techniques, with wool as the common cushion. Ceramic and glass was used in all potteries, and there was no indication of plastics. At. All.

Nao slouched even further before gathering up enough confidence.

"I just… miss using the equipment that I usually use for calligraphy."

"And?"

"And they are not available here…" Nao twitched at the sudden sensu-induced smack on her fingers.

"Just because they are not available, so you concluded that you can't get them anymore? Didn't you have the knowledge you gain from your previous life, and I heard that you were rather ingenious and driven then. That you made things when they are not available. I know you aren't the same person back then, but make use of all that you know!"

Even more light smacks rained down on her fingers, slightly distracting her from the growing shame at her own inaction. There might not be any nibs here, but she could easily cure quills. She knew how to make the ink. She could do simple joinery to make the inclined table. If she found herself needing funds for her projects, she could sell the ideas.

She knew now what her shishou was frustrated about. Yes, she was training. But she was only training the bare minimum, going through her schedules as per normal. She did not train smart, to find out what she had mistakes on and train specifically for them, and find new ways to improve. She was just going through the motions again and again. It was no wonder why she was only improving slowly.

"So what do you need?"

A bright grin shone on her face as she looked at the prettiest quills she had ever made. It was one of the violet feathers that she found on the road (she still was a little queasy about violence towards animals, and dread the day when she was forced to kill for food) and she immediately grabbed all of them as she knew she had to have one with colours that represented the clan.

It was a fruitful week after the emotional wreck that was her training with shishou. She immediately went to sleep after showering that night, with a promise from Mito that she would get her the wood she needed. She just had to get the dimensions ready and Mito would cut it for her on the spot.

The next day she went to the matron and offered to teach everyone how to make pens from feathers, and they decided on a field trip in the afternoon where everyone gathered feathers around the village. Everyone took turns cutting the quills with a kunai under the watchful eyes of the helpers and happily dipped them in the calligraphy inks once the shaft was cleared.

Seeing some of them struggle with writing had given her an idea on how to make friends in the orphanage, and she excitedly went to the matron to offer to teach them calligraphy in small groups. It was conditionally approved though, where they need to be able to obtain enough inks and paper and lessons were given priority to the school aged orphans. Nao then decided to find out if the various ways of making inks are still applicable here, and to start teaching them. They could easily make block kinds where they can store and only use what they need.

She was also pleased that even without using a brush, she could still train her calligraphy skill with the new quill. She loved that she could now make finer lines that she couldn't before. Her skills were now improving at a much faster rate once she realized what she needed to do, despite wanting to stop giving her brain the mental workout that it probably needed.

She thanked Mito-shishou twice for the wakeup call that she needed and told her her birthday, September 2nd, and was told that she still had to call her shishou. She later apologized to Inorei, Shikaso and his wife, Fumiko and the Hokage for her horrible attitude the previous weeks and shared her birthday too. She didn't know what to feel about the easy acceptance.

Apologizing to Shikaku was not possible though. She was still slightly miffed at his insincere apology and grudgingly accepted that she was one who held a grudge. She tried to make up for it by teaching him how to make a quill, but he was apparently too lazy for that too, and ended up making him one in front of him and Shikaso, with her eyes twitching throughout.

Regardless, she felt like she was finally able to see what she wanted to do with her life, and probably, bit by bit, coming to terms with her memories.

The only dark spot was the abysmal rate of growth to her income. She's only able to buy a stick of dango and a cup of tea with her current amount of ryo on hand.

She knew that at the moment, her income source came wrapped in a small little grumpy boy and his slowly returning reluctance to work on his calligraphy as the guilt of his actions wore off and his attention span dwindled. She knew there was a reason her daily quest was what it was, and it didn't disappear even after they returned to their lessons.

She had hoped that the quill would peak his interest and motivate him to practise more, and it did; during the first 5 minutes. When he realized that the positioning of the hands were different from what he initially learnt, that the force and muscle groups needed were also different, and that he needed to dip the quill in the ink more often than before, he gave a frustrated sigh and placed the quill back on the wooden block placed to hold the brushes.

It was then when Nao realized that she needed to learn how to make a fountain pen or something that would act as a reservoir just so that Shikaku would find it much more convenient for use. Maybe combining the brush and the quill, since the animal hairs used are able to absorb quite an amount of ink…

"Here's all the wood you need!"

Nao gulped at the forest that she was dropped into. She thought that Mito would bring the wood, cut into more manageable sizes to her. Not bring her to the forest!

Giving into the impulse to pull her hair, she took out the papers where she did her drawing templates on.

"So.. I need this number of wooden planks, and have them cut into these sizes."

Grinning again at her adjustable table stand with a holder at the sides and a slot at the surface where she could put her templates on and light up the mini kerosene lamp underneath so that it will show up on the paper.

"First tool complete!"

- Chapter Stats * Chapter 5 – Nao * Bb –

It probably needed a coat of lacquer but it was fully functional and she could feel the excitement brimming inside her.

"I am able to do something now!"