Running the brush through her hair for the umpteenth time, the raven let out the biggest, most overdramatic sigh of ever, zeroing in on the stray strand that stuck out like a sore thumb and refused to mingle with the other curls.

Bad hair days weren't fun and for good reason too. The comb got stuck about fifty times at the very least before finally meeting its demise. Discarding the broken bits of plastic and entangled hair that she had ripped from her scalp in frustration, she looked towards the window, sunlight pouring in through the cracks of the shade.

The most important question dwindled in her head – pigtails or braids?

Pros of pigtails : There wouldn't be a scalding pain in her head which could add to the migraines she commonly experienced. Cons : Hair would be everywhere. And trust when she said so, in food, clothes, water — everywhere!

Pros of braids : The crazy hair would be under control, somewhat. Cons : The searing on her scalp would be unimaginable, irking her throughout the day's chores, missions, vocal lessons and that was one of if not her most horrifying nightmares.

In the end, as she'd expected, her indecisive self couldn't make a choice. Collecting her dark tresses into a pearl clip, she shrugged dismissively at her own reflection in the vanity mirror. Good enough.

Collecting the empty plate laying on the desk, she took a once-over at the room, nodding to herself as her fingers flicked the switch off, locking the door for however long she would be away.

There was already a mountain of dishes in the sink, every singular drop of water that seeped out of the faucet reverberating on the china with a pop.

Getting the sponge from the cabinet took a jump for her to reach it, but before she could, the door opening captured her attention. Sachi spun around on her heel.

"I'm home", a head peeking into the hallway that connected the front door to the kitchen called out.

"Wlecome home", Sachi mirrored her mother's smile. Sakura always had a natural calming effect on the people around her. Maybe it was the bubblegum hair or the mesmerizing eyes tinted like a frothing ocean but the weight on her shoulders instantly vanished. Indeed, Sakura wasn't only gifted in medical ninjutsu, she held the power to lift mountains, both literally and metaphorically.

But Sachi's smile fell at the face of deep circles around Sakura's eyes. No wonder she didn't hear the front door opening the night before like it usually did, a little past three. "Mama, did you get any sleep at all? You... look like a panda."

With a roll of her eyes, the woman fully stepped inside, still clad in her spotless white coat and the smell of various disinfectants and preservatives oozing from it. "Not really, no", she answered, smiling lopsidedly.

Crossing her arms over her chest like Sakura often did in the middle of a lecture, Sachi's lips curled up into a smirk, "How are you a doctor if you can't even take care of yourself?"

With a roll of her eyes, Sakura tugged at the refrigerator door, assembling the freshly bought groceries from the tote bag. "Yeah, just this was left. My own daughter doubting my abilities."

She chuckled then, "I appreciate the concern but I'm fine, I promise. By the way, weren't you telling me your team is taking quite a few missions today?", gesturing at her wrist, tapping the glass of the pearl embedded wristwatch with a smug smile playing on her face.

"Shoot!"

Eyes growing wide, she realized she was indeed late, by half an hour too! Grabbing the green jacket that finished her gear, Sachi gave a last peck to her mother's cheek before dashing out the door, speaking in what were almost indecipherable syllables. "Sarada's out on some mission, I think. Don't wait on me at dinner. Love you lots, bye!"

Futility lay in reaching out to the speeding blur of black and green and Sakura instead opted for yelling the directions because, God, her daughters were half Sasuke's and it showed in the absolute lack of patience. "Don't forget to return the bento to Amajiki-san! Also, burgers and soda is not considered lunch!"

"Got it! See ya later!"

Rubbing the spot on her face that glistened with the remnants of smudged lip balm, the rosette sighed contentedly, whispering at the thud of the closing door. "Love you too."

It was moments like these that washed away any lingering insecurities. When Sarada and Sachi were born, Sakura had sworn that she would do her best with them; that she would raise them to be splendid human beings, if not anything else.

All the talk down she'd received from her mother which had rooted nothing more than saplings of self-loathing and a distorted idea of freedom, not an inch of that she would use on them.

And then seven years had passed in the blink of an eye. Both the girls grew to be very different yet lovable all the same. But most of all, Sakura was glad both of them had learned the real meaning of independence. It wasn't solitude but the ability to thrive with and reciprocate the earnest help they were offered. In that sense, she supposed she did get lucky with the twins.

Turning towards the bathroom, a comical irk mark formed on her brow. Hanging her head at the sight of a pile of impulsive clothing changes thrown into the bin labeled 'Laundry (•_•)' in a mess of cursive, Sakura curled her hands into twin fists. "Do your own laundry for once, shannaro!"

The mission desk was by far the busiest venue right from the crack of dawn till the arrival of dusk, not to mention the border patrol that was on duty 24/7. All in all, Konoha did not have a lack in any possible measures to ensure a functional working environment. Hell, bar the main marketplace, half of the village gathered there for their work.

There was a separate counter for mission requesting, mainly availed by civilians and an entirely different one for ninja to choose their missions. These were divided by status — a genin could take simple D ranks to small scale B ranks; a chūnin usually opted for B ranks unless they were physically unable to or simply lacked interest; and finally, jōnin accepted missions ranked anywhere between S to D ranks.

Slipping past the automated glass doors at the front of the building demarked with the kanji for 'fire', Sachi made a beeline past the long grumpy queues and towards the comparatively vacant part. People in colorful attires — locals and tourists alike buzzed with energy. That was the downside of being charka sensitive, crowds were a menace.

It didn't help that the Mission Desk was simply a quarter of the actual architecture. On the topmost floor was the Hokage's office and the next was occupied by the Special Ops team and high ranking officials such as the Jōnin Captain, ANBU Head and relative advisory. On the left flank was the village's archive. From old ninjutsu scrolls to new virtual documentaries, everything was logged there with complete access solely inherited by the Librarian. The right side was where the missions were distributed. But this all was merely touching the surface.

Underground was where the technical stuff took place. Majority of the space went to setting up the Sensory Department, headed by the Yamanaka clan head — Yamanaka Ino. Right beside that was one of Doctor Katasuke's many laboratories, containing gadgets much, much ahead of Sachi's understanding.

Squinting her eyes, she spotted a familiar duo and headed towards them sluggishly. "Yo. Sorry I'm late. Didn't feel like coming."

Inojin quirked a brow, his pale blue eyes drifting towards the giant clock that rattled the building with each tic. 07:57 "See that, Shikadai? Pay up."

Grumbling something about troublesome teammates, the Nara boy let go of the crisp hundred yen note, turning to Sachi next, "You could have been just three minutes late and I would've had a good lunch. I sincerely hope you get a visit from your sleep paralysis demon."

Smirking at him, Sachi stuck out her tongue. "Too bad. Anyways, where did sensei run off to?"

"To pick up the mission scrolls", Inojin pointed a thumb behind him where she easily identified the head of maroon hair and a feral grin that was almost symbolic of Kitamura Naomi.

The woman sped towards them, a bunch of beige and green rolls tied neatly with a crimson knot held in her arms. Seeing Sachi, her smile widened, if that was even possible. "Good, you're all here. There you go", she placed three scrolls in each of their hands and perched her own on her hips. "Since last week was only training, we will take missions for three days and then back to training. You can each choose three for today."

Shikadai held up the one on the left and Inojin went for the extreme right. For the sake of uniformity, Sachi chose the one sitting in the middle. Naomi took the rest and sealed them away, gesturing for them to reveal their fate for the day.

Unfurling the mission scroll, Inojin groaned, voicing his apparent displeasure. "Yard work."

Even Shikadai eyed the parchment as if it were a poisonous serpent; ever the hater of fieldwork. "What a drag. Is it from the Sakonji household again?"

"You kids sure do hate housework", the redhead whistled innocently. "Read it aloud, Inojin."

Sachi listened intently as the blonde cleared his throat and started with a lackadaisical lilt to his tone, "Mission : Cleaning the barren barn beside the Maki river. Reward : 4000 yen. Rank : D - class." He looked up, "Sensei, this is too easy. I heard Team Seven took on a few bandits last week. Can't we do something like that?"

"I agree, sensei", Sachi chimed up. "We've been genin for over two months now but we have yet to take a mission outside the village. These D - ranks are practically a joke."

Naomi smiled a little to much for anybody's comfort but that statement seemed to have hit a nail to the head. Turning around, she let her short hair twirl with the wind, the eagle feather accessory in it adding a modest aesthetic to the style. "Is that so? Follow me, then."

Sharing a look between each other, they trudged behind their teacher. Shikadai raised a hand to pinch her side as Sachi yelped. "You run your mouth too much."

The Uchiha shrugged. Inojin heaved a sigh as the woman disappeared around the corner by the entrance. "There's no use regretting now. Hurry up, we'll lose her."

No sooner than five minutes later, Team Ten was standing before a golden patch of about two acres that contrasted the lush grass swaying on the other side of the clear river. "What now?" Sachi asked.

Instead of giving a verbal reply, Naomi set out towards the leafless tress forming a border around the dry scape. "Inojin, do you remember the complimentary jutsu you selected at the Academy?"

"Uh... of course", the Yamanaka replied reluctantly.

Naomi beckoned him over, placing her hands on his shoulder as they faced the treeline. "I want you to perform it on those. Focus on the land, no need to aim at the trunk. Go it?"

Glancing over at his teammates, he saw Sachi give a thumbs-up and Shikadai already sitting down, eyeing him. He went over the handsigns in his head, acting out the same. "Water Release : Orca! " Waves shot out from his palms, blooming like a King Lapis as it headed straight for the earth, morphing the dirt into a drenched swamp.

Naomi gave satisfied huff. "Shikadai!" Said boy jolted upright, scratching his nape and stood beside Inojin. "Use your Earth Style. Go!"

"Earth Release : Gravel " The ground ripped apart only to reform into a mess of coarse particles, dust flowing everywhere. Mixed with the moisture in the mud, perfectly hydrated soil had replaced the cracked one. The after-effect was the green-eyed boy breathing heavily.

Already expecting her turn, Sachi wasn't fazed when her name was called next, swiftly taking her place beside the rest. "Fire Style on wild grass. Burn them to ashes."

Boar, snake, rat, tiger. "Fire Release : Flurry! " Sparks of fire lit up to encircle the mass of weed, flakes of flames tearing through the green, incinerating it. Soon there was nothing left but a charred ground and the smell of smoke.

"That's enough", the mentor called out. "Gather around." The panting teens sat in a circle around Naomi who had conveniently spotted a cut-off tree to use as a stool. Faster than they could blink, their forehead received a hard flick. "Only one basic jutsu and you're acting like you have run across the Five Nations. Tell me, when you face real enemies, do you think they will wait for you to take your sweet time recovering?"

None of them could answer, or rather, they did not dare answer. "Jutsu is a projection of chakra and by extension is a part of your physical prowess", she continued. "If you try to use one that your body cannot handle, you could risk burning through every chakra reserve you have from forceful exertion. It would benefit you as much as picking a fight with Lord Seventh would!"

Receiving silence, the redette smiled wistfully. "Hey, this is my first time teaching and I swear I'm trying my best to keep you three entertained but you need to realize that rushing things won't help. Sure it may seem other teams are always a step ahead but that's for their sensei to assess. My job is to warn you about these tidbits that no book will provide. Are we on the same page, kiddos?"

"Drop the 'kiddos' part and we will be", Sachi answered causing her team to break out grinning.

"Alright", Naomi clapped her hands. "Team leader for today. Any volunteers?"

"Inojin wants to", Shikadai clapped the boy's shoulder, smiling coyly at the sharp blue glare.

In the end Inojin accepted his fate, stepping forth, "Shikadai's in charge of the inside cleaning. Sachi, you can cut down the trees or burn them. I'll take care of the irrigation. And sensei can you plant the new seeds?"

"Sure thing. You heard the man, cadets; chop, chop, get moving!"

Sachi paused mid-way through starting towards the riverbank. "Sensei, why do you take part in the missions? I mean, it's not like you need to."

"How else am I supposed to get my salary?" No one made a comment. At their confused front, Naomi let out a gasp in realization. "Right, you wouldn't know. Okay, let's look at it this way, how many members are required in a team?"

"Three, not including the leader", Shikadai answered.

"There lies the answer, my dear charges."

"But how does that answer anything?" Inojin countered.

"I get it. Since there is no additional funding to hire the team leaders, after dividing the earnings between three genin, the rest goes to the jonin", the Nara heir guessed, looking to their sensei for confirmation who nodded.

"Well, there are a lot of additional factors working behind it but that's the gist of it. After ninety percent is divided equally, we receive the remaining ten percent."

"Sensei", Sachi started with a teasing glint in her mismatched eyes, staring the woman up and down. Their sensei was in no way an eyesore, quite the opposite really with her sturdy yet soft features, sporting a smart bob. "Don't hesitate to ask for help in case you're having, y'know, financial problems."

"Why would I-"

"It kinda seems like you need it."

A beat of silence later, Sachi dashed. And she didn't look back, as if her life depended on it. "You little brat! Come back here, I say! A thousand laps around the village for all of you!"

"Sachi, you dumbass..."

"Idiots never change."

Ah, their sensei was really cool but perhaps a little too tempting to tease. Hehe.

Maybe I'm being nitpicky but I really don't like how Team Ten was planned out, especially since Cho-Cho was to be the next gen's Ino (I love her). To all the Cho-Cho fans, she will appear in the story but in a different way? Aah, just stay tuned! Also, yes I did skip the inauguration but in this timeline Sasuke still hasn't come back so that drama is pending. See you later with another installment! Byee~