Previously:

He lived in the main house, where the ruling family had lived before, and where he'd grown up. He lived now in the same room he'd lived in when he was a little boy, before Itachi had betrayed and destroyed everything. He should've moved into the master suite, where his parents had lived but he couldn't bring himself to. IT was too big for one man, and too frightening. He wouldn't admit to anyone he was scared of the room however, so the people who knew where he stayed simply assumed he liked the room better.

Sasuke sighed and dropped back onto his bed. He stared at the ceiling for several moments before he finally found himself succumbing to the blissful ignorance of sleep. The darkness lulled him and closed around him, drawing him deeper within it's depths until he was dead to the world. Even his deaht wouldn't have awoken him then.

Note: Someone pointed out that I forgot to note the colour of Mikoto's hair in the first chapter. It's black. It's mid-back length black hair that she likes to keep up in a loose ponytail. If I can, I'll draw a picture of her and post it somewhere. I have drawn her but I haven't the capability to post up pictures yet.

.: Chapter Three - First Day of Training :.

"Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon!"

-Hermione Granger.

Uzumaki Naruto awoke with a low moan. His head throbbed rhymically and his body ached. He sat up slowly, glancing around the room through half-lidded eyes. Why was he on the living room floor? He asked himself silently as he set his hand on the table and hauled himself up. Whatever had happened the day before was far from his mind now as he headed into the kitchen to start breakfast. Mikoto needed her energy for her first day of training today.

That was when it hit him. The realization knocked him backward quite a few feet and he let out a sort of groan-gasp. Of all the things that could have happened, of all the ways he'd prepared himself to hear the name he hadn't expected that. He wasn't allowed to be her teacher, he'd figure it out.

There you go again. Why can't you just tell the man? His inner voice always chose the most inoppotune moments to make himself known. This was one of those times. He obviously had to comment on the fact that Naruto wanted his daughter as far as he could keep her from Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto mentally shook his head at himself and spoke in clipped tones. I'm not going to tell him, or her. There is no way that I can explain that whole far-fetched thing you explained to me all those years ago! And moreover, I don't want Mikoto finding out half of her life hates her. It would break her fragile heart. I want Mikoto growing up loved from all sides, even if there is only me to love her. She will not be resented. End of conversation. He closed himself off from the voice that seemed to enjoy tormenting his thoughts. He'd never signed up to have another being inside him and he certainly hated dealing with it some of the time.

The blond man turned on the radio and let the music quietly occupy his thoughts while he set about to making Mikoto a healthy breakfast and a large, equally healthy lunch. He started off with mentally labelling off food groups and stacking ingredients to accomidate the group. Then he began making the assortment of grub, carefully cleaning and cooking everything properly. When he was a child all he'd eaten was ramen noodles and it hadn't helped him in the least. His daughter needed more strength than he did.

Just as he was finishing the last dish he heard a very ditinctive thump upstairs and a loudly voiced explective. As per morning ritual Naruto yelled up the stairs at his daughter to mind her language and that if she went back to sleep she'd be late. It was the same every morning. She really neededto learn to wake up on time, if she didn't she'd end up like Hatake Kakashi-sensei: always late.

The ten year old girl came thundering down the stairs and stumbling into the kitchen. She was likely following her nose, Naruto mused. He'd found out right after she was born just how much of an accomplished cook he was. He signed at he watched her tug up her shorts and pull back her hair at the same time. He really needed to figure out how the female species had learned to do that. He couldn't even walk and eat at the same time.

Naruto was shaken out of his thoughts when Mikoto yelled out. He frantically began asking her what was wrong. She was galring resentfully at his freshly made meals.

"What kind of idiot are you?! I'm not allowed to eat today!" She shrieked angrily, her temper was extreme and always shocked Naruto.

"What do you mean?" He asked confusedly. "All you said was who your teammates and your sensei are. You said nothing about no breakfast or lunch."

"Of course I didn't! You should know! Uchiha-sensei wants us to do the same thing his teammates and he did when they were genin under Kakashi-sensei. He said that we can't eat anything until we get there! If I eat that I'll ruin it! Otousan, you're so dumb sometimes!" She wailed.

He was obviously supposed to have read her mind. Women were so difficult to understand. He mentally sighed in defeat. "Okay, Okay Mikoto. I didn't know that. I'll wrap these up and you can take eat them tomorrow. Now, get going before you're late."

She laughed heartily and threw her arms around her father, her mood changing almost instantly. "Thankyou Otousan! You're the greatest!"

She was out the door before he could even begin to comprehende what had happened.

"Women." He breathed and shook his head.

thisisaline

Sasuke stood before his three students in the field. They were grumbling about the run he'd just made them do, a simply ten laps around the training field, and the lack of nourishment. If he was completely honest it was only Mikoto who grumbled, the other two were relatively silent. He hushed the girl with a raise of his pale hand and began a short explanation of what they were going to do that day.

"I want to test your abilities," He began obviously. "I asked you to come here without having eaten and you'll notice on the stump over there, "He motioned vaguely to his right, "there are two boxed lunches. Using any and everything you know you must remove one of the two bells from my waist-line. Begin." He stepped back a few feet and waited as they digested his directions. He watched Mikoto carefully, fully expecting her to come at him first but he wsa surprised to see her make a calculated escape and disappear into the trees. Ichirou, in fact, was the first to attack as Hinako ran to shield herself and Ichi in the trees.

Ichirou, much like his father, was well-versed in taijutsu and speed but was quite allot stronger, true to his mother. He had no stamina however and quickly ran out of energy. Sasuke desappeared into the air and reappeared on a tree fifty feet away to let the child catch his breath. He collapsed in the grass rather than hide in the trees; clearly he wasn't the brightest tool in the toolbox.

Sasuke waited patiently for about ten minutes, when nothing happened he went back to the center of the field, where Ichrou had fled only moments before and bellowed out, "You can accomplish anything by hiding." No sooner had he said it than a flash of black and blue had ghosted from the trees past him into the other trees. He lips twitched lightly, the beginning of a small smile as he heard the faint jingle of the bells hanging from his utility belt. Both remained attached however, and Sasuke wondered what the girl was scheming.

He hadn't had much time to think before she ghosted by again, moving faster than a genin should be able to. She had been training since a very young age and must be something of a prodigy, much like Itachi had been. He wanted to activate his sharingan that he could analyze her technique further but he also wanted to remain an easy target.

thisisaline

Mikoto Uzumaki watched her sensei from the cover of the trees. She was behind him now. She had carefully watched him throughtout the beginning of the lesson and figured out it was a test of teamwork. There would be no way only one of them should be able to remove a bell because he was much too skilled. She could get them but then her teammates would lose out on lunch, and they all needed it equally. She searched the treeline carefully for the other two, ready to reveal the lesson's secrets to them. She found them not four feet away, making their way to her as quietly as they could.

Mikoto motioned for them to stop and she ghosted over, she didn't know how but she had always had some capabilities that even her father didn't and he always seemed upset rather than proud when she revealed them. She addressed her teammates very nearly silently/

"The object is teamwork. Look, Hinako-san I want you to use whatever you can do to distract him. Ichirou, you go in and attack him directly but stay away from the bells. When he's completely occupied I'll run in and grab the bells. We'll split the meals. Got it?"

The other two nodded and Mikoto pointed toward opposite sides, where they were to go and attack. Hinako went of to the right and ran at their teacher, then away, then back at him, playing a game of tag with herself while Ichirou came at his left doing much the same thing.

Mikoto stayed behind and watched for her opening, red swirling in her eyes.

thisisaline

Sasuke watched in wonder as two of his students began running around him like idiots. What was their plan? Had they already figured out the meaning of the lesson, they way his team hadn't when he was a kid? He was impressed. They caught on quickly and would probably amount to greatness, with allot of practice that is. He stood still, pretending ignorance of their plan.

Somewhere here Mikoto was going to appear and take the bells, she was the only one quick enough to. He almost laughed when she appeared beneath him in a flash of blue and black and red ?Suddenly the barrage of juvenile attacks ceased and Mikoto was standing there.

She had an in-your-face look on her face and was holding the bells.

"Next time you should try harder not to be a Baka!" She exclaimed pridefully.

"Next time don't make your plan so blantantly obvious." He countered. Her face fell and he wanted rewind the moment. She looked so down and dejected, as though she could never accomplish anything. "It's good that you figured out the point of the lesson though, even I didn't do that when my sensei did this with us." She brightened up immediately, her smile shining with innocent happiness. She reminded him so of Naruto.

"Really? That's so cool!" She leapt at Sasuke, engulfing him in a childish hug. He froze for a moment, utterly confused then accepted the hug and returned it. She dropped to the ground after and ran to the lunches. "Can we eat now?" She asked as her stomach made a loud growling sound.

Sasuke chuckled lightly, "Sure."

.: End Chapter Three - First Day of Training :.

To everyone who likes this story I hope I'm not breaking any hearts. I am just writing it out how it feels like it should move. To everyone who still likes it than that is so awesome! Also, I don't have a spell-checker so if there are allot of errors I'm really sorry. I'm using a computer that technically doesn't belong to me so I can't download anything. Anyways, enjoy it if you can =)