A/N: This chapter includes what is likely to be the first of many montages which I am uses instead of time skips. I've already written two, and that's less than twenty chapters into what is looking to be a very long story.
Chapter 9: Training
Having finished the 'bell test' Sasuke headed straight home with a mission in mind. She knew that shops either didn't let Naruto in, or they charge him at ridiculous expenses. Of course, he wouldn't have this in the two ninja shops that he would need as a genin (which she made a note to ensure he visited after receiving his first payment). This meant that the orange jump suit Naruto was wearing was likely the only thing with any kind of resistance to it since its original purpose was for construction workers before the idea was scrapped along with the fabric. The Kunai and Sharikan he had been using during the test were old, dull and chipped. Sasuke didn't know how he got them, but they were no longer fit for purpose.
Then there was Sakura, who had gone for style over substance. She hadn't brought any equipment to replace what was standard for academy kids. Although Sasuke had no doubt that she would be going to buy those items that evening in preparation for the next day, she would only buy one pack. No backups, no excess.
Sasuke, however, lived under the principle of 'prepare for anything'.
It was this line of thought that brought her to the 'ninja storage shed' which was located under what used to be a sewing shop in the Uchiha district. Over the years the clan had been stock piling equipment, all of it of extremely high equality. This meant that Sasuke never had any reason to go and buy any new tools since she need only visit the storage and pick up a new pack. She had already had to replace her Kunai and Sharikan twice and her ninja wire once due to the strain she had put them under during training. The metal of her old weapons was donated to the weapons shop so that it could be repurposed since the metal hadn't been damaged through chakra and so could be re-fordged. If they had been damaged by chakra then the metal would have gone to the jewellers.
Sasuke filled one storage scroll with five packs of Kunai (five kunai in each pack), ten packs of Sharikan (twenty in each), two coils of ninja wire (each was thirty metres), a set of training resistant bands (5%, which were put around each ankle and wrist), some bandages for the legs and arms, and a tanto (25cm long). This scroll would be for Naruto. She wasn't sure he would want to learn how to do Kenjutsu, but she figured that if he had the tanto and saw what Sasuke was capable of he might be intrigued enough to give it a go. If he did decide to train with the weapon then it meant she had someone to practise against besides her sensei.
The second scroll had two packs of Kunai, five packs of Sharikan, a coil of ninja wire, a set of resistance bands (again, 5%), some arm and leg bandages and a scroll on genjutsu. Sasuke included less for Sakura because the girl had parents who would be able to buy her equipment for her and she would also be buying some that night. The scroll on genjutsu would give Sakura something to work with both offensively and defensively while she was improving her physical capability. After a moment's thought, Sasuke grabbed some basic books on first aid and a first aid kit for both of the scrolls, but added a book on introductory medical ninjutsu (which included step by step instructions on how to use the mystical palm technique and the chakra scalpel) and a book on biology and the chakra pathways for Sakura's scroll. She figured that with Sakura's high intelligence when it came to paperwork and her small chakra reserves it would be a good idea for Sakura to learn some medical jutsu. Sasuke new basic first aid, and she could heal small things, but it would be better if someone on their team could do more.
With the equipment sorted, Sasuke moved onto the next storage vault which contained clothes. To Naruto's scroll she added five blue, five black and three red long sleeved shirts and the same number of short leaved shirts. Then she added two pairs of black trousers, a set of fingerless orange gloves and, after a moment of hesitation, two clocks which were red with orange stitching and inner layer. She didn't know why they had such a thing in their clan storage but figured that Naruto would appreciate them. All of the fabric was highly resistant to damaged, with thin mesh inserts, and the cloak could be warmed or cooled by challenging chakra into it for when they had missions in other climates. She also threw in a scarf and some googles – just in case.
Instead of adding clothes straight into the scroll she was going to give Sakura, Sasuke decided to simply make a third scroll for her that she would keep on her person. If Sakura didn't change her wardrobe, then she was going to find her clothes tearing and if such a thing happens Sasuke would give her the scroll with clothes in. Sakura needed to learn to have the right equipment on her person – and that included her cloths.
Since the woman of her clan valued appearance despite being ninjas, there was a large variety of clothes for Sasuke to choose from. She knew that Sasuke's favourite colour was pink, but such a colour didn't appear in high abundance in storage nor was it practical for a ninja wardrobe to be made of it. The colour would stand out to well no matter the setting, and unlike Naruto, Sakura wasn't used to dampening the colour of her clothes with chakra nor was she used to moving stealthily. With all this in mind, Sasuke selected clothes which were primarily purple, light blue and white. Although these would be harder to hide in woods with, they blend in well with water and the sky. Of course, she also added a couple of grey, green and black long-sleeved shirts and coats (just encase). There were no skirts in the assemble of clothing – only trousers (which were all black, dark purple or blue) and battle kimonos.
*****Scene Change*****
The next morning Sasuke completed her normal exercise routine before making breakfast for herself. She also took the time to make some snacks – a dried fruit and nut mix and biscuits – for the entire team, and bento boxes for everyone. She added more fruits and vegetables to Sakura's bento with less rice and a larger portion of fish, while ensuring that Naruto's box had the smallest amount of salt possible. Sakura would hesitate to accept a bento box with high carbs, while Naruto already had too much salt in his diet from the amount of Ramen he ate.
Since Kakashi said their training started at seven, Sasuke arrived at the training ground at quarter to. She took the time to go through her warm up's ready for when Sakura and Naruto arrived. Having observed their warm-ups the day before she had several ideas on what they could change, and she would be better set to help them work through a warm up if she could demonstrate the actions instead of just talking them through it while doing her own thing.
Naruto was the first one to arrive just before seven, followed by Sakura. Naruto was yawning every other step and rubbing at his eyes, clearly not happy with the early hour. While Sakura had been up for a while judging on the way that her hair was perfectly brushed and styled and the light makeup she had on (something she had been doing for the last two years, despite Sasuke's opinion that they were too young for makeup).
"Why don't we do some warm-ups while we wait for Sensei to turn up?" Sasuke suggested after their morning greetings "We should always make use of our time in a productive manner."
"Sure," Naruto agreed, nodding his head rapidly and his tiredness seeming to disappear with his endless energy taking hold.
"If you think that's best." Sakura agreed.
"Yesterday I noticed that there were several improvements that could be used for your warm-ups. Naruto, your warm-ups don't seem to include any flexibility exercises?" Sasuke questioned.
"Oh yeah. Um, I was supposed to include those but I didn't know how?" Naruto admitted sheepishly. "There wasn't any pictures of what I was supposed to."
"Alright, I'll run through your warm-up with you, that way you can watch me and see where I add the stretches into your routine. If you have five clones do the warm-up with you then you have a greater chance of committing the moves to memory." Sasuke suggested before turning to Sakura. "Sakura since you need to increase your stamina and endurance, I suggest you jog around the training field ten times at a consistent speed before you do your stretches."
"Ten?" Sakura squeaked; her eyes wide in horror.
"That's quite low. At this stage in your training, I would expect you to be able to run at least two miles as a warm up. Running this training ground ten times is the equivalent of a mile. As your stamina increases, you will have to get around the circuit faster and do more laps. I'll run the first lap with you before doing Naruto's stretches so that I can set the pace I believe that you can reach right now. If I see you slowing down, I'll throw a rubber ball at you." Sasuke said, uncompromising on this. Sakura needed to get better and if she couldn't even run a mile, then she wasn't prepared to leave the village.
"Should I do some laps as well?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke titled her head in thought for a moment. "Do you think you have a good understanding of your current level of endurance and stamina?"
"I think so." Naruto answered hesitantly.
"How many laps do you think is appropriate for you to run within thirty minutes?" Sasuke challenge. "At the same speed."
Naruto span on the spot for a moment, taking in the size of the clearing. "Thirty five." he answered after a moment of thought.
"I'll keep track of the time for you. We'll start at the bolder, every time you run a lap tap the bolder. This will help you keep track of the number of laps. Once again, if your speed changes I'll throw something at you. If I believe that you can do the track faster, I'll tell you when we're finished and tomorrow you can work on this new pace." Sasuke decided.
"Awesome," Naruto cheered.
"Sakura, make sure that you stay at my side." Sasuke reminded as they lined up by the bolder – Sasuke furthest away since she didn't have to tap it. "Three, two, one, go."
Naruto shot of from the start point. He was going slower than Sasuke currently ran for her morning run, but faster than most genin would for their workouts. For Sakura, Sasuke set the same pace that she had started jogging at when she got out of the hospital. Hopeful this was a pace that Sakura would be able to keep up with, and yet it would also push her limits as well. Because you couldn't improve until you pushed past what you were currently capable of.
Once she'd finished a circuit besides Sakura – having been over taken by Naruto two times - she set herself up in the middle of the field. Opening a scroll with rubber balls (the same once she used to use when training dodging and sensing with Shikamaru before they moved onto his shadows or kunai and sharikan), she stacked them at her feet and kept a close eye on her team mates.
After thirty minutes Sasuke called Naruto to a stop. He was sweating very lightly and his breathing was slightly deeper than normal, other than that he showed no signs of being warn from his workout. He'd managed thirty-eight laps. The next day, Sasuke was going to run besides Naruto for a lap to set him a faster pace since his current one wasn't enough to push him. Sakura finished her ten laps three minutes later, huffing and puffing. She was also covered in sweet. Sasuke gave her a water bottle to drink from before ordering her to do her warm-up stretches while she worked through Naruto's new routine with him.
Naruto had very good core strength, and despite not doing flexibility exercise in his warm-ups, he was still quiet flexible. His face – and the faces of his clones – were pinched in a cute frown as he focused on making sure he copied her moves exactly.
Once they'd gone through their warm up exercises, Sasuke decided to give Sakura a little bit of a break and handed out the scrolls with seals on that she had gotten the day before. She explained what was in each seal, explaining why she'd included medical information in both but more advanced things in Sakura's and why she'd included genjutsu in Sakura's.
"Sakura, you have a smaller chakra capacity, and high chakra control. This makes you ideal for using both medical ninjutsu and genjutsu. The more you use these skills, the more your capacity will increase although you will never have the same chakra capacity as me, let alone Naruto. Medical ninjutsu will also be something very useful for you to know since me and Naruto are likely to get hurt out on missions. Of course, as a consequence, this means you're going to have to focus a lot on dodging. Once our enemies know you can use medical ninjutsu they will focus on taking you out first. Which is why I know first aid, and it's a good idea for Naruto to learn as well, just encase." Sakura paled drastically at this information. Before then she'd been looking at the medical book in interest.
"As for genjutsu, you need to increase your offensive and defensive skill and this is a good way of doing that. You can practise on both me and Naruto, which gives us both the opportunity to learn how to identify and dispel genjutsu which is something that Naruto is very bad at. With enough practise you can learn how to form genjutsu's without hand signs which will be really useful in battles. Especially if we're on a protection mission. Changing your opponent's perception just a little could be enough to save yours or the client's life."
Sakura's eyes hardened in determination and her back straightened. Her Sasuke-chan had faith that she could learn this, and so she would. She would show him that she could be a great Kunoichi and maybe then he'd look at her with something other than annoyance or indifference.
"Naruto, I know that your taijutsu was second best in the class to only me, but we can work on improving that. You are an extremely unpredictable opponent, even more so with your use of clones, but you can always get better. I'd like to work on fighting with you in formation, I was limited yesterday because I struggled to actually engage Kakashi-sensei in a fight because of the clones. We need to work on that. Further, we can work on facing multiple opponents because you can be our opponents. Which means you need to learn different fighting styles. So, that's something you should ask Kakashi-sensei for. I've included a tanto in your equipment since I know how to fight with a kantana, and Kenjutsu is a useful skill to have. There is only one kenjutsu master in Konoha so our opponents would not expect us to fight them with a sword."
"I've never used a sword before." Naruto admitted, swinging the tanto around experimentally. "But it seems like fun."
"Alright, I'll teach you. And I'm sure that sensei knows a thing or two about the use of a sword since he is from a samurai family." Sasuke announced. "And since we're still waiting and we're warmed up, we might as well train. Naruto, can you create two clones?"
"Sure." He agreed, confused.
"Okay, you two," Sasuke pointed to the two new clones, "You're going to be helping Sakura with her dodging. You'll be taking these rubber balls," she pointed to the balls she'd been using earlier, "and throwing them at her. Sakura, your aim is to dodge them as best you can. Every time you get hit, will be one more push up you have to do. You'll be dodging for thirty minutes. Naruto-clones, you will have to keep count of the number of hits and replenish the balls as you go. Don't keep the dodging to one isolated area. Make her move."
"We can do that." The clones said together, picking up some balls and turning to Sakura who quickly put some space between them.
"Thirty minute's starts," Sasuke looked at her watch and paused. "Now." Immediately the clones released their ammo at Sakura who screamed and threw herself out the way.
Turning to the real Naruto, Sasuke hummed thoughtfully. "We're going to be really abusing your ability to make clones to ensure that you learn as much as you can as quickly as you can. What's the maximum number of clones you can make right now?"
Naruto actually paused to seriously consider the question. He'd never thought about the number of clones he could make, and simple just kept making them as he needed them. He knew that he needed to evenly split his chakra into each of the clones that he does make, so how many times could he split his chakra in one go?
"500. But if you need more, I can make them in batches. That way I can make more than three thousand." Naruto answered thoughtfully. If any of his clones pop due to damage he got both the excess chakra that clone had and their memories back, so when he loses them in fight's he's not fighting with a chakra shortage.
"That is impressive. And the more you use the chakra, and the older you get, the more you'll have access to. Which means you'll be able to make even more. With enough training, you could be a one-man army." Sasuke whistled impressed. She'd discovered the day before that Naruto could make a lot of clones, but she hadn't really thought about the number until that moment. Naruto practically beamed at this news.
"Alright, I want you to create five hundred clones. 50 of them will be working on the first aid book I gave you. Another 50 will be working on reading about chakra and chakra control. Have one of those clones henge as me and walk to the library in order to pick up as many scrolls and books on chakra theory and control as you can. 100 clones will be working on dodging, with fifty of them throwing the balls and fifty of them dodging." Sasuke pulled another scroll from her pockets which contained more rubber balls. The clones working with Sakura had fifty balls between them, whereas this scroll contained two hundred balls. "Another 100 clones will be working on taijutsu training. I'll be coming among them in order to correct form. 100 of you, including the real Naruto, will be working on level one of Kenjutsu. The final 100 will be working on meditation."
"Meditation!?" Naruto exclaimed (all of them), half confused and half annoyed.
"Yes. Mediation will teach you patience. It is also the first step in learning how to feel your own chakra which will be useful for learning ninjutsu and in learning chakra control." Sasuke explained.
"Right, split up." Naruto ordered his clones who all called 'yes boss' and went to do as ordered. One clone, henged as Sasuke, ran off towards the village in order to collect the books he needed. The 50 who were meant to be studying that information decided to join those practising taijustsu.
Turning to the 101 Naruto's who were holding a tanto, Sasuke pulled out her own tanto and began showing them the first kata. She went through the form three times before leaving the Naruto's to it. Instead, she unsealed a ruler and started running, cartwheeling, flipping, jumping and rolling through the collections of Naruto's. Every time she saw a mistake she would stop to verbally correct the clone in question or to tap the erroneous body part in question with her ruler. Moving as she was through the Naruto's helped train her situation awareness while not moving in a traditional sense, and it also helped train endurance and stamina.
******Prov Change******
Kakashi will be the first to admit – if only in his own mind – that he didn't have the faintest idea of how to go about training his genin. For the last five years the Hokage had been throwing genin at him and he had failed all of them. Not one of them demonstrated the characteristic that he valued above all others – teamwork. A characteristic that couldn't be taught, only understood. But now he had a team which had worked so well together that they had actually managed to past the test.
Other the last two days, hidden from the genin, he had been watching them. The way that Sasuke broke his stoic silence to learn about his team mates while he waited. The way that he ensured they had eaten breakfast before training, and then devised a plan good enough to face against him when he was limited to high-chunin level. The way Naruto observed what was happening in a fight, and adapted to ensure the best outcome possible. This team had the potential to be great, and although he wasn't sure about how to make that happen, Kakashi was determined to try.
It seemed Sasuke was determined to see them succeed to.
Although he didn't reveal himself to his little genin, he watched as Sasuke began working on errors in his team mate's previous training. Pushing them beyond their current limits and knowledge, and inspiring them to do better. He was even pushing Sakura, who had clearly never put work into her physical fitness, beyond her present limits. He was utilizing Naruto's clones in order to help the other boy learn. And yet, he wasn't neglecting his own training.
With the genin working on their individual skill sets, Kakashi could work on their team work. Give them exercises which forced them to work together and develop their other skills. And then, they could apply those skills to the D-rank missions. He knew of Naruto's financial situation, so they would have to take a mission every day in order to help him out with that. If they could do a mission a day, perhaps even two, and they continued training as they are and with his team training, then they could be ready to take a C-rank mission in as little as two months. Of course, if he didn't have to train Sakura, then they would be ready to take a C-rank mission in only a month.
With a hum, Kakashi pulled out a note book and started planning. He had so many ideas! His cute little genin were going to hate him.
******Prove change*****
When Sakura finished her dodging exercise, Sasuke called Naruto to a stop as well and got out the snack box she had packed. With the amount of energy they had already exerted it was a good idea to take a break, have something to eat and drink. Sakura was hesitant to do so, but she was so exhausted she eventually caved and had something to eat in the hopes of restoring some energy.
Once their break was over, Sasuke set Sakura to studying – she didn't want to push the girl anymore since she still needed to be in a good enough condition to do whatever Kakashi wanted of her. She had Naruto make three hundred clones, one hundred of which continued with the kenjutsu practise, another one hundred started on a taijutsu form that she taught them (based mostly of the Aikido style that Jane had known since this style suited Naruto the best and he needed something other than the academy style). The final one hundred joined Naruto in a spar against her.
They'd been training for three and a half hours when Kakashi finally appeared. Immediately, Sasuke signed for Naruto to stop and dispel his clones. Once he'd done so they turned their attention to the man who was supposed to be teaching them how to be proper shinobi of Konoha.
"I'm glad to see you spent your morning productively, my cute little genin." Kakashi announced brightly once he had all their attention and the number of Naruto's had been reduced back to one. "Your training with me will be split into two parts, D-rank missions and team formations."
Sasuke suddenly got a very bad feeling in her gut. Like that time her brother had decided to train her by tying her hands behind her back and ordering her to run an obstacle cause. That day had been hell…
****Scene Change****
Mission 5: Capture Tora
It wasn't a well-known fact, but there used to be two summoning contracts belonging to the Uchiha. The first, and the one that her brother had signed, was the Crow contract. He'd signed the contract when he was twelve, and was the first one to be accepted by the Crow's since the time of Madara. That contract now resided in Sasuke's office draws, the one that she had hidden under several traps and genjutsus. Sasuke new that this contract would be very helpful for her, and allow her to contact her brother, but she didn't resonate with the Crows in the same way she resonated with the other contract.
The second contract belonging to the Uchiha, was the Cat contract which hadn't been signed in near a hundred and fifty years. The cats were extremely picky about who they allowed to summon them. The cats valued a summoner who had an independent spirit, was clever and actually used that intelligence, was curious and cautious and knew the true meaning of darkness. Not long after Sasuke had regained her memories as Jane, she had noticed that more cats then was normal had started taking residence in the compound. At first, she thought that it was simple because the compound was empty, and then she realised that they were watching her.
So, instead of simple ignoring the cats, Sasuke had made a home for them in her compound, ensuring that they had everything they might need. Their home was built close to her own, so that they could continue to watch over her. It wasn't unheard of for her to sit and simple play with the cats, or curl up in the sun with them on a Sunday afternoon. She learnt the different likes and dislikes of the cats, and their personalities. She was even granted the honour of giving them names. At the last count, she had thirty-five cats permanently living in her compound.
When the time was right, Sasuke was going to sign the cat contract. But she wanted to complete her first C-rank mission first since she knew that the cats would be a greater help to her on missions outside of the village then D-rank missions. She was also hopeful, in time, that the cats would allow her to also sign the Crow contract as a secondary summons for the purpose of ensuring that her brother was safe. She knew that cats valued family very highly, and the fact that both Itachi and her had been forced to separate in such a dark hour might be enough for them to allow what they never have before.
Being the future summoner of the cat contract meant one important thing – Sasuke knew cats. She knew how to work out what they liked and what they didn't, and how to hunt them down when they went missing. So, when they were giving the retrieve Tora mission for the first time, Sasuke took charge.
"Sakura, go and buy some fresh fish – preferable salmon. Naruto, I want you to go and grab a blanket, one which hasn't been near anything with a strong or distinctive smell. Get a very small amount of cat nip – no more than a half a tea spoon – and rub it gentle into the blanket. Then, both of you, as quietly as possible are to meet me at the edge of training ground seven. Do not approach me quickly, simple roll the items I asked for in my direction. I'll go and find Tora." Sasuke rattled of quickly before disappearing into the streets.
It didn't take her long to find Tora. He was sat, sun bathing, on the roof of the onsen. Instead of approaching the cat with the idea of capturing it, Sasuke stop at the edge of the roof with plenty of distance between her and the cat.
"Hello, Tora." Sasuke greeted softly.
Tora opened one yellow eye, before closing it and dismissing her.
"I see you've found a very warm spot, there in the sun. But I know of an even better place. My friend, Gera, tells me that the rocks at the edge of training ground seven are always warm because the sun falls on that spot for the majority of the day. And there are no artificial smells of perfumes. Or loud, squealing voices to hurt your ears." Sasuke spot softly, granting the cat the same assumption of intelligence as she would a human being.
"Meow." Tora open both its eyes and glared.
"I know that you don't like your owner. And I won't force you back. That's your choice. But, it's my mission to see you safely returned. I won't attack you, or capture you. But I'd like to keep you company until you decide you want to go home. And I'd rather do so somewhere we'd both be comfortable."
"Meow." Tora got to his feet and stretch before slowly making his way to Sasuke. With another demanding meow, Sasuke smiled and picked the cat up. Just as she promised, Sasuke took the cat to training ground seven instead of the Hokage tower.
She sat by the cat, removing the horrendous bow that had been tied around his neck, and ensuring that his fur was perfectly clean and removed of the scents that his mistress had bathed him in. While Sasuke was grooming the cat, he sat relaxing on the nice warm rocks.
Sakura and Naruto both stayed back, at the edge of the clearing while they watched Sasuke slowly convince Tora it was time to go home. Gifting him the blanket as a piece offering.
It took them three hours to complete the mission, and they were the first genin to do so without a single scratch or hair out of place.
****Scene Change****
Training: the obstacle cause from hell
Sasuke was used to running obstacle causes. Between Shikamaru and her cats she'd gotten quite good at it; using her experience as Jane running assault causes helped with this endeavour. But she had never run an obstacle cause as a team, nor one set up be a sadistic Jonin sensei before.
"Naruto, left." Sasuke ordered sharply, the blond in question immediately dived and rolled left to avoid the brace of kunai sent at him.
"Sasuke, step ladder." Naruto was the next to order, creating a clone with a half seal which linked hands with the original. Using the spring of their hands, Sasuke launched herself up to the top of the spiked wall so as to dismantle the trap and allowed her team mates to join her using the wall walking exercises (which she had ensured they had learnt on day two of training because it was a basic, and very useful skill).
"How… far… to… the… end…" Sakura panted, taking a moment to rest at the top of the wall. Her fitness levels were steadily improving but she still wasn't close to where Naruto and Sasuke were.
"Three miles." Naruto answered, being the best at keeping track of distance.
"Naruto, take point from here." Sasuke said, looking over the rest of the cause that she could presently see. The start of the cause had mostly been testing their ninja skills, but the introduction of traps meant that they needed someone like Naruto at the front. Although Sasuke was capable of spotting traps, she needed time and to be able to completely look over the area. She could spot and respond, once they were activated, but Naruto could spot them before they were activated. It would take Sasuke more time to learn that skill, and she was hoping that talking through the cause with Naruto once they got out of this alive would help her.
****Scene Change****
Mission 23: Parental responsibilities
Sakura, despite being 'girly' was far to opposed to dirt to willing hold a crying child or change its diapers or otherwise interact with the child. Naruto, despite being very good with children (as proven by his interaction with the Hokage's grandchild) wasn't experience with infants or toddlers, which means he was greatly out of his depth. And Kakashi, well he was Kakashi.
Jane had never had children, and Sasuke had been too young to be given babysitting responsibilities. But, during her endeavours to learn all their names she had interacted with many of the women of the clan, and therefore the children. She had held babies, fed them and comforted them while they cried – all under the supervision of their parents. But this, this was the first time she was left the responsibility of a child without a parent.
"Um…. What do I do?" Naruto asked, holding the child under its arms and as far away as possible.
"Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I know." Sakura panicked, backing away from Naruto.
Sasuke shot a long-suffering look at Kakashi, who was stood reading his book and ignoring the chaos.
"Give me the baby." Sasuke ordered.
Naruto handed the baby over like it was going to explode. Sasuke moved her arms so she was cradling the child against her chest, with the head resting supported against her shoulder.
"Naruto, please go to the kitchen. There will be some milk powder in the cupboard, follow the instructions on the box to the letter and make a bottle of milk. Sakura, go to the nursery and tidy it. Ensuring that you change the bed sheets and get a change of cloths out. Kakashi-sensei, did Madame Grantis give you Aika-chan's daily schedule?" Sasuke gave orders to her team mates who immediately went to do as asked, while she started gentle rocking the child who immediately quietened now that she was being help properly.
"Bookshelf." Kakashi directed.
****Scene Change*****
Shikamaru: Time out
"How's your team training going?" Sasuke asked, sitting next to Shikamaru against a tree in their training ground. They'd finished training, but instead of getting the Shoji board out they simple decided to sit and talk.
"It's fine." Shikamaru answered with a sigh. "Ino is still loud and not taking her training seriously. I'm having trouble motivating Choji. He does exercise in the morning, but it's not enough and I don't think it will be enough until we go on a mission and he realises that I'm not good enough to protect all of them. Asuma, well Asuma is nearly as lazy as a Nara." Shimamura admitted with a twist of his features.
"And it's too troublesome to motivate them." Sasuke finished.
"Words wouldn't be enough. And all I have are words." Shikamaru corrected. "What about your team, you kicked Sakura into shape yet?"
"Well, physically she's getting better. Mentally, well her crushing isn't overt anymore. But I may have, slightly, facilitated a couple of dreams by being good with babies. I'm going to have to wait until after our first mission gone bad to completely the break her obsession." Sasuke admitted.
"So, basically, the only way our teams will get better is if they face a dangerous situation." Shikamaru muttered. "Which means, it will be down to us and our sensei's to protect them."
***Scene Change****
Training: Curse of the hounds
"This is why I prefer cats." Sasuke growled under her breath, glancing back briefly to ensure that the dogs weren't on their tail.
"If we head into the main streets, they might lose our scents among the other scents that are there." Naruto suggested.
"I'll send clones to find Sakura, they can escort her to us." Naruto made the clones.
"Do your clones carry your sent?" Sasuke asked, getting a sudden brain wave.