Hello! I'm really sorry for making you all wait. Hope you enjoy this chapter and the more that will come! ^^

One month later, Team 7 gathered at the Hokage's chambers, it would be the first they had seen each other since Naruto and Sasuke were discharged as they were both on a one month medical leave due to the injuries they suffered. Tsunade was actually surprised to see Kakashi on time with them but decided it was for the better. The faster she told them, the faster she could rid herself of the problem.

Kakashi was indifferent until he saw that his blonde student had changed wardrobe. Instead of the usual blue and orange ensemble he usually wore, Naruto wore a blue open jacket with an orange rimmed detail on the collar and the sleeves, chest fishnet mesh armor with his necklace in clear view and a much more fitted orange pants. Hence in overall, the new uniform would be more easier for Naruto move about in and a lot less orange much to the jounin's silent relief. The jacket however in particular was oddly reminiscent of his former teamate's uniform and with a pang, Kakashi remembered how much Naruto reminded him of Obito when they first met. Naruto still donned the Uzumaki symbol proudly on his arm sleeve and back of his jacket but still the blonde looked so much like Obito that it scared him. He shakes his head irritably, trying to think of other things.

"I have 3 things to tell you all which may affect certain people more than other."

Tsunade studies them carefully but sees nonchalant expressions on all of them except Naruto who looked slightly nervous.

"But before that, Naruto how do you like your new guardian so far?"

Whatever nerves Tsuande thought she saw disappeared in an instant and was replaced with a huge grin and a excited twinkle in his big blue eyes. Naruto just gushed about his new nee-san and his cute cousin. He went on and on about his new house with his big new room, the big backyard garden, all the good homemade food he was eating and the fun he was having with his new family. After a while, Shizune reluctantly stops him, as much as she loves seeing the boy happy, the Hokage had work to do.

"Now, first thing; it is no secret that the Uchiha compound has been vandalized repeatedly since Sasuke has been discharged. The report has become a concern for the council who have come to a decision in regards to Sasuke Uchiha's safety."

Sasuke frowns, his gut feeling telling him that he was not going to like whatever the Hokage was going to say and tried to inject that he could take care of himself but Tsunade shot him down irritably. Ever since Sasuke came back, the Hokage had very little patience with anything that concerned the avenger.

"By order of the council, Kakashi Hatake is now assigned as Sasuke's legal guardian and caretaker until Sasuke's punishment is over."

Sasuke deadpanned at the announcement but turned to see Kakashi's reaction with everyone else.

Kakashi blinked his eyes once, then twice and then one more final time before smiling politely beneath his mask, "Hokage-sama, with all due respect, I must turn this down, I am not qualified to take care of him."

"There will be consequences if you reject this Kakashi."

The jounin raises his visible eyebrow, slightly irked which only made the blonde woman smirk.

"Naruto-kun, what has Sasuke learned from Kakashi?"

The spiky-haired genin wondered what brought this out of the blue but answered truthfully, "Kaka-sensei taught all of us teamwork exercises, some neat camping tricks, climbing trees and usually he makes us go through a really tough physical regimen!"

Sakura blinked, surprised Naruto Uzumaki used a word like 'regimen' but continues listening to Naruto.

"Sasuke learned all sorts of stuff from Kaka-sensei like his chidori, fire jutsu, his Sharingan and taijustu!"

Sasuke nods confirming it but is more confused when Tsunade presses on and asks what did Sakura learn.

"Sakura-chan learned a bit of genjutsu and some taijustu."

"And what about you Naruto?"

Naruto frowned, folding his arms as he really thought about it, "Ermmm...Kaka-sensei taught me the Thousand Years of Pain jutsu!"

It was then Kakashi realized what was going to happen and face palmed.

"Anything else he thought you Naruto?"

"He made me practice the basics most of the time because he says I'm really bad at them and I have weak form."

Kakashi noted that Naruto looked sad as he answered and made a mental note to talk to his student later but first he needed to defend himself.

"Tsunade-sama I can explain-"

"-there is nothing to explain. I can file a mark on your record for playing bias on your genin and failure to properly train your student. These charges more than warrant for a review."

"But-"

"Which is why you will concede to becoming Sasuke's caretaker."

Before Kakashi could further protest Sakura speaks up, "It's not Kakashi-sensei's fault that Naruto sucks at training!"

Ouch, Naruto looked visibly hurt at the remark but oddly says nothing much to Tsunade's chagrin.

"Sakura, if Naruto really sucked at training then Naruto wouldn't have been able to defend himself much less defeat people like Kabuto Yakushi who is one of Orochimaru's top agents might I add."

Sakura closes her mouth, muttering something along the lines like dumb luck. Tsunade shakes her head and turns to Kakashi again.

"Well? Have that bias mark on your record forever or live with Sasuke for a year or three? Which would you rather deal with?"

Kakashi knew a bias mark on his record will look bad for him, worse he would not be allowed to lead anything much less a team. That's when it hit him, if he gets this bias mark-

"Tsunade-sama, if I get this bias mark then that means I can't be Team 7's sensei anymore right?"

"Correct."

The genin was shocked, the Hokage was blatantly blackmailing their jounin sensei right in front of them.

"Baa-chan, don't-"

"Sorry Naruto but this would have happened eventually."

Naruto tried to argue and it touched Kakashi that even though he didn't give Naruto much individual training, here the blonde was trying to defend him whereas Sakura stood there dumbly watching while Sasuke looked like his mind was elsewhere. He could also see that Tsuande and Shizune were unhappy that Naruto was arguing with them but it wasn't like Kakashi blamed them. He had to admit that he didn't treat the kids fairly and was devoting much of his time to the Uchiha. With a heavy sigh, Kakashi relents much to Sasuke's annoyance.

The avenger watches in disdain as his sensei signed the legal papers. He turns to Naruto and nudged him irritably to glare at him even though it was clear as day that Naruto was bothered by the whole ordeal as well.

"Now the last thing, Kakashi you are demoted to assistant genin sensei so there will be a replacement for the jounin sensei. Also, you will have a new genin member joining you so once the two months punishment is over, Team 7 will go on the higher ranked missions as a full team as they should excluding Sasuke of course."

To say he was appalled was an understatement, Kakashi was pissed, "I just signed the damn papers so I could remain as the team's sensei!"

Shizune answers for her master, smiling coyly, "You will still be an assistant sensei to the team so you will still be teaching them."

"Why am I being replaced?" Kakashi demands, visibly frustrated but more calmer.

"It is so that you have less distractions so you can focus more on Sasuke to make sure he doesn't do anything else stupid."

Sasuke scowls, unhappy with what the short-haired woman said but she doesn't give him any face. Instead she went on to to tell them that they had already arranged for Sasuke's things to be moved to Kakashi's apartment so they won't have to worry about the hassle of moving. The grey-haired jounin felt a little annoyed that they had already moved Sasuke's things in before he signed the papers but decided it best, it was not worth to make a point out if and instead focused on what was at hand.

"So who is replacing me?" Kakashi asks, curious.

"Yo"

Kakashi turns and stares as Mashiro Rina enters the room with Karin in tow.

Rina wore a black midriff baring top with tight mesh long sleeves hugging her slim arms, army green 3/4 pants that had fishnet detail around the knee area, her Konoha headband tied firmly around her tiny waist and black heels similar to the ones Shizune wore. In addition, she wore her mint green hair high above her head, showcasing its volume and length with curly bangs framing her heart-shaped face along wore a whistle around her swan-like neck that rested nicely on her plentiful buxom.

She smiles warmly with Karin at her side, looking nonchalant. She wore a fishnet body stockings under a purple skirt and a white short sleeved crop top with the Uzumaki symbol on the side where her heart was supposed to be along with blue sandals on her feet. She also had the Leaf Village forehead protector on her forehead.

"Team 7, meet your new members. Uzumaki Karin and Mashiro Rina."

Naruto sped toward his family and hugged his guardian first, "Nee-chan!"

Rina giggled, ruffling the boy's hair, "Hello Naru dear."

"You threatened to report Kakashi's biases when you got the dobe's guardian and his cousin on the team?! How the heck is that fair?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes at the Uchiha, "Life isn't fair brat besides Rina-san gave me her word that she will give all of you her equal attention and I trust her."

Sasuke mutters something under his breath while Sakura frowns too, silently agreeing with Sasuke that it is unfair but knew better than to argue with the Hokage.

"Meet us at Training Ground 47 in 10 minutes or else."

Naruto watches Karin wave goodbye at him before the two disappear in a puff of smoke.

Clones!

Suddenly Kakashi grabs the boy by the collar before Naruto could properly react, "Training Ground 47 is all the way on the other side of the village, we need to get moving now. Come on, your Nee-san will never let me hear the end of it if any of us don't meet the deadline."

At Training Ground 47

Rina sits on the log, with one leg crossed over the other and Karin by her side sitting cross-legged on the ground, nonchalantly plucking petals off a daisy she found. At the moment she plucks off the last petal, the foursome had arrived so Rina presses on her timer.

"8 minutes 48 seconds. Hn, I expected better."

Sakura looked pale and wanted to fall over and rest but noticing that the others weren't panting as heavily as her, she thought it best to just power through and raises her head to meet Rina's gaze.

"All of you sit, let's introduce ourselves to each other yeah?"

"Why did you take my job?"

Rina looks up and sees the look in his eye, much to her amusement. She gestures to him to seat next to her on the log and Kakashi sits with her and silently observed that Rina seemed to be covering her ANBU mark with bandages underneath the mesh sleeve.

"I didn't mean to take your job Kashi. After my demotion, I intended to work full time with the interrogation unit but thanks to this, I have been assigned genin sensei so I can only work part-time there. I'm sorry that this makes you uncomfortable but I didn't ask for this and is it really that bad to see me again? Did you hate the last time we worked together?"

Kakashi faltered, memories of his time with her flashing in his mind. They had been in ANBU were friends since they first met but ever since their last undercover operation together two years ago, Kakashi had left ANBU and they haven't spoken since then, "No. In fact, I'm glad to see you well."

"So you two do know each other?" Sakura asks as she moves to sit on the ground with her two male teammates who had been watching the adults curiously.

"We worked together a couple of times. I haven't seen Kashi in 2 years though so it is nice seeing you Cyclops."

The grey-haired jounin rolled his eyes, unamused, "It's good to see you too Siren."

Rina flushes, embarrassed at the old nickname and smacks his arm but Kakashi merely smirks at her beneath his mask.

Sakura looks thoughtful watching them while Sasuke who sat by her, decided to take the chance to ask a question of his own, "How old are you?"

"I turned 21 early this month."

Sakura's jaw drops in shock, whatever she was thinking off beforehand gone and replaced with the startling that their new sensei was looked only to be 5 years their senior! How does she look so young?

"Why do you ask Sasuke?"

Sasuke frowns, studying her, "You seem familiar."

"Well I only met you once but you were small so I doubt you remembered. I was once upon a time a good friend of your brother."

Sasuke's eyes widen in surprise. Taking advantage of the fact that he seemed to be at a loss for words, Rina claps her hands together."So, since I am the new sensei, I want to get to know all of you. Each of you introduce yourselves, starting with Kashi."

"But you already know me." he mumbles, lazy.

She flicks the back of his forehead, smiling at him, "But I'm sure the genin don't. Come on now."

The grey-haired jounin irritably rubs the back of his head in his introduction, "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like reading, training and rice balls. I dislike bossy people and people who treat their friends like scum. I don't have a dream."

Sasuke scoffs at the end of it, "That's much more informative compared to the one you gave us when we first met."

Sakura raises her hand as if to ask a question. Kakashi calls on her and was surprised by the pinkette's bluntness.

"Kakashi-sensei, don't you want a wife? A family eventually? Don't you have a girlfriend or something?"

Rina purses her lips in amusement and turns to see Kakashi's reaction but seeing that look in his eyes, she realized he was remembering something.

Flashback

Kakashi zips up the back of her dress and tenderly kisses her neck causing his companion to giggle as his naked fingertips brushes against her smooth neck.

"Tomoe!"

"Not my fault you have such nice skin."

"Idiot"

Kakashi chuckles, wrapping his arms around her, "Have you ever thought about actual marriage one day Natsume?"

"One day sure. I do want to have spawns of my own yes. Why?"

He looks up at the mirror, seeing her smiling coyly at him, "Would you possibly consider me?"

He watches as a blush creep onto the younger girl's face and smirks widely before resting his chin on her head gently as she stutters something about waiting till she was 21 or so.

End of Flashback

Kakashi grinned for the first time that day as he answered, "There may be somebody but provided she remembers my proposal."

From the corner of his eye, he sees Rina's ears turn slightly red and smirked, pleasantly surprised that his former lover remembered. He gestures Sakura to introduce herself next before she tries to pressure to know more about what he meant. She pouted but knowing her sensei, she doubted he would give in so she complied and began.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like reading, sweet things and losing weight. I dislike fatty foods, Ino-pig and people who look down on me. My dream is-"

She turns to Sasuke blushing shyly and Karin rolls her eyes, realizing she had a fangirl on the team. She turns to look at Naruto who had been oddly quiet since their arrival and notices that he pulled out his picture cards, looking through them studiously. She smiles fondly at him, proud of Naruto for trying his best.

Rina however was focused on looking at Sakura, concerned.

"Sakura, what's your height now?"

"148 centimeters"

"Weight?"

"35 kilograms!" she answers enthusiastically, obviously proud but Kakashi knew better. He saw the look of worry on Rina's face and apparently everyone else. Naruto had stopped looking at whatever he was hiding in his arm and watched him speak up for the first time since they arrived at the training grounds.

"Sakura-chan, are you sure you're 35 kilos?"

"What's that supposed to mean?! You think I'm fat is it?!"

Sasuke's frown deepens before Naruto could answer, "Sakura 35 kilograms doesn't sound healthy."

Karin nods, speaking loud enough for the team to hear her, "By my calculations, you're underweight and that is not healthy for a kuniochi."

"Sakura-chan, why do you like to lose weight? You're plenty slim already." Kakashi tells her, slightly concerned.

"No I'm not! My face is chubby!"

For dramatic effect, she pinches her cheeks and Naruto shakes his head wildly, "But Sakura-chan! You were the prettiest girl in our cohort! Plus your face isn't chubby at all!"

Sakura shakes her head violently, still dissatisfied. Seeing this, Rina pulls out a stack of pocket-sized notebooks from her satchel and passes one each to the team. Naruto's was orange, Sasuke's was blue like his shirt, Sakura's was pink like her hair, Kakashi's was black and Karin's one was red like her own hair. Rina pulls out hers, which was amethyst in colour like her eyes. She jots something down and everyone looks at her, wondering why she had given them a notebook and a black pen each.

"From now on, If I give you guys instructions to do later or to practice, I want you all to jot them down. Kakashi, write the following in your notebook. Arrange for an appointment with Okuda-sensei at Konoha General Hospital for physicals and nutrition consultations for this week for Sasuke and Sakura ASAP."

"But I'm fine!"

"No you're not!" Rina raises her voice for the first time, much to her two ward's surprise but stays silent

The green-haired young woman steadies herself, speaking in a more calm manner, realizing that she had startled her wards, "Sakura you are a growing girl and you need the mass for you to grow up healthy and strong not to mention the fact you need the right levels of calorie intake so you can have the energy you need to carry out your day."

"But I am healthy!"

"Are you sure about that? This is for own good Sakura."

"But I want to be slim!"

"Which is more important? Being slim or being healthy?" Rina inquires patiently, looking at her student.

Sakura falters, looking disheartened at the look her new sensei was giving her, "But sensei, you're slim and you're incredibly beautiful."

Now this caught Rina off-guard, she was surprised that Sakura had used her for an example but after a moment to recollect herself, she takes the pinkette's hand in her soft one, choosing her words carefully before speaking, "Everyone is beautiful Sakura. I take care of my eating habits and exercise regimen because it is important for me to be in shape yes and to be honest with you, looking good does make one feel good but being fit and healthy is what makes me happy. Being happy and healthy is the most important thing, do you understand?"

Sakura practically melts in her Rinai's soft gaze and nods her head meekly, unsure of what else to do or say until Sasuke speaks up suddenly.

"Why do I need to go for the appointments too?"

Rina draws back, sitting back comfortably on the log with Kakashi before answering, "It's just for my own peace of mind that you're healthy Sasuke. Naruto and Karin went for their appointments in the first week they joined my custody and will have their nutrition check up tomorrow morning."

Naruto nods and turns to Sakura and Sasuke, "Okuda-sensei is really nice! She gave me and Karin chocolate chip cookies before we left too!"

Sasuke rolls his eyes, folding his arms until Kakashi calls on him to do his introduction and reminds him not to be vague like last time.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like vegetables and training. I dislike stupid people. My ambition is to avenge my clan and rebuild it to the glory that it once was."

"Ewww, you like vegetables?" Naruto repeats, grossed out.

"Only idiots would find vegetables disgusting, they are good for you dobe. Since you don't eat them, that's probably why you're a shortie."

"Hey!"

"He is right though" Karin adds on randomly much to Naruto's frustration.

The blonde looks ready to argue but Rina stops him, looking at Sasuke curiously, "Shouldn't your ambition be in reverse?"

"What?"

"Well if let's say you don't succeed in killing Itachi, what will you do then? The second half of your ambition is gone forever."

"I will not lose to him."

Rina couldn't help but smile in amusement at the boy's fierce demeanor, "Sasuke, every ninja must have a contingency plan. My advice to you is to have a son first before you run off to assassinate your brother."

"No."

"Why?" Kakashi asks, interested.

"I do not want Itachi to repeat what he did."

Rina softened, hearing Sasuke but before she could say anything, Kakashi interrupts her, "Then have a strong and capable wife that is able to defend herself and the child. That isn't hard now is it?"

"Itachi took out an entire ninja clan. Itachi is a monster. No ordinary ninja can fend him off easily."

"Then marry an extraordinary kuniochi" Kakashi answers plainly.

Suddenly, Sasuke feels a hand on his shoulder and sees Naruto grinning at him, "I can help to look after your family while you're gone too you know! So you don't have to worry!"

Sasuke blinks surprised, and in a soft tone he asks, "You would really do that? After what I did to you?"

"Sure! We're friends!"

Sasuke was dumbstruck, he had almost killed Naruto at the Valley if the Waves but here he was offering his protection to look after his future family. Rina smiles softly at the pair before gently reminding Naruto it's his turn, she kind of hated to interrupt an emotional moment for the Uchiha but she needed the session to continue.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, the plants that I garden, my family and my friends. I dislike the 3 minutes I have to wait for my ramen to cook, vegetables and snobby people. My dream is to become Hokage and make my Nee-chan proud!"

Rina resisted every fiber of her being to pick up her adorable ward and hug him tight and with almost a pained expression on her face, she encourages Karin to go next quickly.

"I'm Uzumaki Karin. I like drinking tea, meditating, learning new things and spending time with my new family. I dislike people who are rude to Naruto and fan girls. My dream is to become the dean of medicine at Konoha General and make my onee-sama proud."

Kakashi tilted her head at her, interested and asks if she knew medical ninjutsu and she replies that Kabuto had taught her a few things when she was under Orochimaru and that she will joining as an apprentice at Konoha hospital in a month. She adds on telling him that she is already in the advanced medic class with Hinata under Shizune.

"Karin is awesome and super strong!" Naruto shouts suddenly much to her cousin's amusement and to the surprise of everyone else. From what Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke could gather, Naruto and Karin seemed to get along well despite the fact that Karin seemed a little cold.

Rina claps her hands suddenly, calling attention to herself and smiling to indicate it was her introduction next.

"My name is Rina Mashiro. I like reading, exercise, cooking and music. I dislike rude, narrow-minded and undisciplined people. My dream is to raise my wards the best way I can so that they may lead content lives as happy and healthy individuals. Also, as far as the rest of you are concerned, I want you all to refer to me as Mitsukai-sensei."

Naruto was surprised, "Ehhh but you said you don't want to be called that in public? You kept shushing me every time I did it!"

"Yes but in this case, I would prefer myself to have a codename. I don't need so many people knowing my real name Naruto."

"Why?" Sakura asks curious.

"The best ninjas are the one who are known by code names not by their actual name." she answers with a wink. "Oh and if any of you including you Kakashi who calls me by my actual name or nee-san when we are all together for training or on a mission will be punished severely by me that also includes my wards."

Sasuke scowls, "I am not calling someone Mitsukai."

"Fine, then call me sensei. Now, all of you go do Kakashi's usual workout routine. Naruto brief your cousin as you do them. Hop to it!" she stands with her hands on her hips watching her genin grudgingly get up and jog away. Slightly irritated, she blows on her whistle and Naruto and Karin speed up much to her satisfaction. Seeing them, Sasuke and Sakura follow suit, wondering what kind of discipline training the Uzumakis had with their guardian.

Rina turns to Kakashi, smiling as she lets down her long hair from her ponytail. "Kakashi you stay here. I got somewhere to go."

Before the grey-haired jounin could protest, Rina forms a handsign and changes her clothes in a henge. She now wore a pastel blue, off-the-shoulder top with sweetheart neckline, a ruffle detailed bottom hem and ruffle sleeves along with a pair of dark blue drainpipe jeans adorning her long legs and pastel blue bow sandals on her feet. She wore large golden hoop earrings, a long gold chain necklace and three gold rings on one hand with a black wristwatch on the other. Kakashi stands, noting the light makeup on her face too.

Rina picks up her satchel and carries it, her eyes still on Kakashi, "I'll be back soon. If I am running late, I will send one of my summons down. Ja ne."

"Hold it"

She turns just in time to feel a familiar set of lips press against his cheek, "We should talk soon Natsume."

The 21-year old blushes prettily, hating how he was the only other person that could sneak up to her like that, "I know Tomoe."

He smiles, putting his mask on at hearing her call him by his former undercover name.

"Come back soon Rina-koi."

She sticks her tongue out at him childishly before walking away leaving behind a satisfied Kakashi.

I did miss you Natsume

Hope you liked the chapter! Please rate and review! Thanks! ^^