*Trial Run*

"Taichō, can we go on another mission?" Keita asked.

Saeko arched her eyebrows "We just returned from one yesterday."

"That one was boring" Retsu chimed in.

The third genin shook his head "I would prefer training actually, I think I'm close."

"You are actually right. I was thinking on giving you a basic yet versatile suiton jutsu" the Uchiha announced with a slight grin.

Ryouta's response didn't disappoint "Yahooooo!"

Retsu patted her friend on the back with a smile and Keita offered his hand for a high five. Saeko thought it was precious. The Uchiha often underestimated the joy of learning a new jutsu, those with the sharingan anyway.

"You two go and play with genjutsu, me and Ryouta will work on the Water Bullet" Saeko said in dismissal. The boy in question practically hopped in excitement. Keita and Retsu shot him a thumbs up and left for their own practice.

Saeko sat down and patted the ground in front of her in invitation. The genin obliged and looked up at his temporary sensei as though he was waiting for some holy words. The Uchiha started explaining all she knew about the Suidan no Jutsu. She made a point of stressing that the next suiton control exercise is still necessary.

Two demonstrations later Ryouta was ready to try. Saeko observed closely the chakra buildup in his stomach with her sharingan as the boy made his first attempt.

Confident that he wouldn't blow himself up Saeko left her student to it and hopped on a nearby tree. Half-laying comfortably on the branch she unsealed her copy of Icha Icha Violence.

Teaching isn't so bad after all, plenty of free time if you mimicked Kakashi and having minions isn't half-bad either. One just has to develop some resistance to the puppy-dog eyes when they want something.

Looking up to the sun Saeko decided to announce "Genin, front and center!" The students obeyed immediately and the brunette gave them an hour for lunch. The grateful trio skedaddled and Saeko unsealed an apple for herself, not pausing her reading.

After her quick lunch Saeko used fuinjutsu once more to summon her pipe. She was thoroughly enjoying her holiday – she had a wonderful spar with some of her Uchiha clansmen, she was comfortable, the book was surprisingly good and she was home. What more could a woman want.

"Hello taichō"

Saeko looked up from her book and smiled warmly "Yuuko, wonderful to see you!"

The Yamanaka grinned "Anko told me you're back and teaching. How goes it?"

"Surprisingly well" the younger kunoichi replied.

Yuuko hopped on the same branch the jounin was laying on and sung her legs merrily. The two girls talked, they bantered and flirted as always. A fact even her genin noticed when they returned to the training field. Saeko eyed them sharply and ordered "Resume what you were doing in the morning. Off you go."

The students snickered and saluted. Yuuko observed as they started training and then looked at her friend "They are cute."

"They are temporary" Saeko shrugged.

"Anko said they have a Nara teacher, nice to see their work ethic is not corrupted."

The Uchiha smirked "So I am a target of gossip, huh?"

"Always" the blonde smirked as well.

The two of them looked at the genin training for a little while then Yuuko spoke up once more "The girl you were spy-banging, you tired of her yet?"

Saeko was a bit affronted "I told you that was not the case but yes, we are no longer together."

"I'm T&I, I wouldn't judge either way but I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that" Yuuko apologized.

"That's alright, you'll just have to make it up to me" the sharingan user smirked.

Yuuko chuckled "Hai taichō."

Before they could say more an excited shout reverberated through the clearing "I DID IT!"

Saeko looked at the beaming Ryouta and then shifted her gaze to the wet tree devoid of bark, result of his brand new jutsu. She smiled encouragingly "Good job! Do it again."

"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!"

The scarred jounin examined the result "Very good indeed. It just needs more power but you got it. That still doesn't mean it's battle ready, you got to play with it some more."

"I know" the boy replied, not dejected at all.

"Well, that is my cue, go be the sensei, I need to go to the Detention Facility anyway" Yuuko grinned mischievously and pecked Saeko on the cheek.

The genin 'awwwed' as Saeko bid her friend goodbye. Turning to face her students she put on the icy Uchiha façade "Quit gawking my cute little genin, it's speed training time Anko style!"

"Anko style?" Retsu asked.

Saeko smiled sadistically "Quick tip: start dodging."


Outside the Hyuuga Compound

"Well, that was fun" Saeko said with a sigh.

Neji just shrugged "You knew what you were getting into when you accepted the invite."

"Yeah, a Hyuuga tea ceremony sounded like a blast right from the start" the kunoichi joked.

"Just as an Uchiha tea ceremony I would wager" the chuunin countered.

"Touché"

The Hyuuga smiled as much as he was able "Well, Hiashi-sama actually said you are one of the few Uchiha he could somewhat respect."

"Oh yeah, I noticed I only got a raised eyebrow or two and a slight sneer here and there" Saeko said in a faux-impressed voice.

"See? Progress"

Saeko laughed "You just made a joke! Are the heavens falling?" Neji's lips quirked upwards and the girl had to smile at the fact, he really changed for the better. "So Hiashi and you still seem to be getting along, training and all. He also looked quite proud when he mentioned you are could be a candidate for jounin soon."

"That's a long way away, I practically just made chuunin" the shinobi countered even if his voice was tinged by pride as well.

"You were held back for chuunin. Besides, now you don't have the weakness you had before – if someone knew you just a little bit they could make you fly into a rage with the right trigger."

"I know" Neji said sullenly, well aware of his shortcomings.

Saeko smirked to lighten up the mood "Also it just wouldn't do if only the Uchiha prodigy was jounin and not the Hyuuga one."

"I'll make sure to tell the Hokage" the pale-eyes ninja shot back.

The brunettes laughed "Another joke, my my, you have really changed. I like it. Good, my jounin commander looks better and better."

"Jounin Commander?"

Saeko smirked "You and Shika can duck it out."

Neji had to laugh "That would be too troublesome."

The duo said their goodbyes, Saeko had to go back to her genin and Neji had promised to help Hanabi with her juuken.

Sighing the Uchiha tugged on the collar of her formal kimono – she was not used to it after wearing only the Hogwarts uniform and the shinobi one, even if she had to dress like this for Clan council meetings and other events when her father was in power. The worst part was that one of said meetings was the day after the next so she would have to put on the Uchiha poker face and a up once more.

Once at home she quickly changed, it was time to play sensei again. When she was back in her uniform she pondered what to do with her minions that afternoon. She hummed when her gaze passed a gift she received few days ago from a distant cousin she sparred on occasion.

Finally Saeko took the sealing scroll and calmly made her way to the training grounds.

When the jounin arrived at the field her temporary team was using she spotted her three charges eating lunch. As her stomach grumbled slightly she thought "Time to abuse teaching privileges."

"Good afternoon, my darling subordinates" Saeko greeted the trio and took an egg roll out of Keita's bento.

"Hey!" the boy protested. The kunoichi only smirked and stole a piece of fish. Then she turned to the suiton user she hummed "Onigiri, my favorite. And you have enough for me too, how thoughtful of you. Thank you!"

Ryouta just pouted and looked sadly as his teacher ate part of his lunch. Seeing what fate befell her teammates Retsu practically inhaled her own meal before it could be taken away. It was Saeko's turn to pout "I'm cranky when I'm hungry, just so you know. And we will be sparring today."

"Then why didn't you eat?" Retsu asked in trepidation.

Saeko sighed "I was making nice with the Hyuuga."

"They didn't feed you?" asked the disgruntled Keita.

"Nope, just the usual stuff that accompanies a tea ceremony" the Uchiha shared, "That means you three are treating me to ramen when we finish today."

The students groaned.

"Now," Saeko grinned, "we begin! Retsu you will go first, you boys stay and observe. Everything goes so you two get to plan a bit, I want to see some strategies since you have such a huge advantage."

Keita and Ryouta nodded and hopped on the branch that Saeko often used to overseer their training. In the meantime Retsu drew her blade and prepared herself.

The jounin nodded in approval and took out the scroll she had been gifted. Looking at the sealing array inside she warned her opponent "I'll be trying out a new weapon so be careful."

Retsu gulped.

Saeko spun her new weapon, getting a feel for it. It was a glaive – it was a heavier naginata-like weapon with a differently shaped blade. The Uchiha prodigy seldom used pole weapons if one discounts the giant fan she used to enhance her fire jutsus, but this one was truly beautiful.

The sensei let Retsu look at the weapon for quite a while so she could get an idea what to expect but then she attacked, no sharingan and with chuunin speed.

At first the genin was ecstatic that she could keep up with Saeko but as the jounin grew more accustomed to her new weapon Retsu began frowning more and more.

When Saeko used the blunt end to trip up her student Retsu exploded "That's so not far! I only had some semblance of a chance against you when you used a weapon you are untrained in and then it took you like five minutes to become a pro in it anyway!"

"Lightening Country folks sure knows how to make their weapons" Saeko said in lieu of an answer. Naturally she didn't share the Uchiha clansman who gifted it to her showed her some moves he observed out of the previous owner. Well, before ending him that is. The sharingan is truly is an excellent tool.

The genin murmured something just on the edge of hearing. It involved words like 'smug' and 'shit'.

Saeko smirked "I am a jounin you know."

Retsu's eyes narrowed and she shot up from the ground, trying to take the jounin by surprise. Saeko parried effortlessly but stayed on the defensive, observing her charge. The genin was very good with a sword considering her rank but that was it. She fought more like a samurai then a kunoichi, a big disadvantage. Since her time with the brats was almost over she decided against talking about adding a new skill but she was determined to mention it to their regular sensei. But then again he was a Nara, he must've thought about it as well. Just kenjutsu and basics could be enough for chuunin promotions but she would need to be exceptional and have some brilliant strategies to compensate…

As Saeko knocked Retsu on her ass again she nodded and shouted "Next!"

Keita and Ryouta looked at each other and both shook their heads simultaneously. Saeko tapped the ground impatiently. The boys argued briefly and then played jan-ken-pon to determine who would go first.

Ryouta lost.

Saeko smiled as creepily as she could, just for kicks, and spun her glaive around.


Training Field 6

It was raining, pouring even, but the life of a genin student would not stop because of something small like that. Jounins on the other hand had much more freedom. As that was the case Saeko sat on her usual branch under an umbrella while her students were doing push-ups in the mud.

"And now jumping jacks!" the Uchiha shouted from atop her perch.

The genin gritted their teeth but obeyed – they knew better. Once when they were 'too unruly' she asked Guy to take them for a training session. Needless to say that the trio now knew what a wonderful and sane sensei she was in comparison.

As she cackled in her corner Saeko thought that the Sorting Hat had been right to push for Slytherin. But then again every jounin who had been assigned wet behind the ears genin found an immeasurable amount of glee in torturing them.

Her gaze settled on the trio hopping in the rain. "Hmm, where would I put them? Keita would be a Snake for sure. Retsu? The girl would be a Gryffindor, and a trouble-making one like the Weasleys to boot. Ryouta would be tougher to sort. But then again he is the glue that holds the team together, always ready to lend a helping hand – he would do well in Hufflepuff."

"Laps!"

"Shika and the whole Nara clan are easy – Ravenclaws. Naruto is as well, a typical Gryff" Saeko thought about her friends in Konoha, "Chouji is a Puff, Neji? Slytherin, he's got their passive-aggressive manner down pat. Anko is a snake as well funnily enough. Itachi is hard. Hmm, loyalty and hard work are big with him but some of his plots and genjutsu are downright vile…"

"SENSEI!" three young voices bellowed in joy.

"Troublesome" the man replied as he got a hug from his genin, the smiling despite his words.

Saeko smiled at the scene and hopped down from her spot. Calmly the Uchiha made her way to the hugging team to greet Nara Hiroshi. The man caught her eye, nodded and turned back to the genin "Weren't you just doing laps?"

"Sensei!" the trio shouted again, this time in poorly concealed horror.

"I believe it was time to switch to chin-ups" Saeko grinned wickedly.

"Taichō" the genin said dejectedly and marched towards the tree line. The two jounin chuckled.

While the soaked students were working out, Saeko briefed the Nara about his team. Despite the always-bored expression of the typical Nara, Hiroshi seemed quite happy about the team's improvement. The Uchiha was very proud that her first teaching experience was a success.

After the discussion was finished Hiroshi thanked profusely the sharingan user and went to his team.

"Mission accomplished, now let's get me some sake"

X

Takeji's Bar

It seemed the weather has chased the majority of Konoha into various bars. Saeko's favorite was packed as well. In one corner she could see Asuma ad Kurenai enjoying talking with each other, oblivious of the surroundings, aka Guy and Kakashi who were engaged in another one-sided competition. Other than that there were several ninja she had worked with before but wasn't particularly friendly with. Saeko was pretty bummed out that her two favorite kunoichi from the T&I department were nowhere to be found.

Finally Saeko's eyes found Genma drinking alone at the bar. The brunette sat beside him "Are you drinking away your sorrows or are you up for some company?"

"Nope, just drinking for the sake of drinking" the senbon user replied with a smile.

Saeko ordered a drink as well and turned to her friend "Where are your pals? I know Aoba is away but at least Ebisu should be in village."

"Ebisu is with his brats doing the teaching thing. Speaking of which how are your brats?" the man asked.

"Having a joyful reunion with their sensei" the Uchiha explained.

Genma arched his eyebrows in surprise "Wow, that sounded bitter."

"What can I say, they grew on me. Who will I torture now?" Saeko laughed, "But really, I'm glad that things will be returning to normal. That said I won't protest too much when Hokage-sama saddles me with my eventual genin team."

The shinobi hummed "Good for you. Me, I'm glad I'm just a tokujō."

"If you put in a bit of effort you would be a full jounin already" Saeko said dismissively.

The Hokage guard chuckled "Thanks but no thanks. Tokubetsu jounin is the best rank you can have – high enough for great pay and excitement but not that high-profile, it's ideal."

"Lazy bum"

"Attention whore" was the quick reply.

Saeko laughed "What can I say, I love being on the top."

"Oooh, do tell me all about it" said another voice interrupted the conversation. Saeko looked back and smiled at the sight of Yuuko. The blonde sat down beside the Uchiha and grinned.

Genma looked at the blonde appreciatively and winked at Saeko "Friend of yours?"

"Yep" Saeko grinned and immediately ordered two more drinks.

Yuuko grinned and nodded in thanks at the glass "You're the best taichō."

The senbon-user let out a laud laugh, obviously enjoying the flirty banter. Saeko smirked and introduced the two.

"Shouldn't be with your brats just about now?" the Yamanaka asked.

Saeko shrugged "I'm brat-free."

"Excellent!" Yuuko exclaimed, "I'm off the clock and Genma-san is free as well. Let's drink!"

"You're late for that party" Genma said and pointed to the empty glassed in front of them.

Yuuko frowned "We can't have that. Barkeep!"

Both Genma and Saeko eyed the huge bottle the blonde interrogator ordered in dread. The man whispered to his friend "I hope someone comes this way and saves us. If we drink this just the three of us we will be puking into next week."

Yuuko obviously heard him "Pussies. But if you are really that concerned Anko and some guys from T&I might come by later. Even Ibiki might join. Now, bottoms up!"

The duo drank quickly, not to look bad before the blonde chuunin.

X

"Truth or dare!"

"Truth" Genma replied, wobbling slightly.

Yuuko frowned, trying to come up with a good question. Then her eyes lit up "I have it! Have you ever kissed a man?"

The tokujō blushed but said nothing. Yuuko and Saeko hooted and high-fived. Genma blushed harder "It was more or less an accident! It was for a mission and I honestly believed he was a woman!"

At this both girls erupted in laughter. Genma drank another shot "Whatever, it's my turn! Yuuko, truth or dare!"

"Dare!"

"I dare you…" said the man, eyes looking frantically about. His eyes found Guy and he smirked deviously "to say to Guy you are not youthful enough and join him and Lee for a morning work-out!"

Yuuko's eyes grew wide in horror "I would rather drink this entire bottle before those words crossed my lips."

Both jounin laughed. Yuuko downed her shot quickly "Saeko, truth or dare?"

"Dare!"

The blonde kunoichi smirked "Kiss me. Properly."

Saeko smirked as well, not sparing a look at the more than interested Genma on her right.

A few beats of silence later Genma grew more uncomfortable than excited. "Guys. Guys!"

The two girls ignored him completely.