Mikoto left the grocery store with a spring in her step. Not even being asked to fetch some supplies for dinner had put a damper on her mood. She was a ninja now! So what if they didn't have enough potatoes for the new recipe her mom had wanted to try? Still a ninja! Her headband was proudly displayed on her head and it definitely increased the looks of respect she got. Sure it was mostly civilians but that still counts!

As she weaved through the streets to get home she let her mind wander, drifting back to her new teammates. First, there was Sensei, the legendary Jiraiya! Sure he had only had his title for a couple of years now but he is still an insanely powerful ninja and was one of Lord Third's students to boot! Sure he might sometimes be a bit of a pervert, but he knows his stuff. I can't wait to see what skills or Jutsu he will show us! It helps that he can be funny if a bit crude.

Pausing to let a cart of cabbages pulled by a lone oxen pass by, she shifted from the oldest member of their group to the youngest. While she had always known he was a prodigy in some ways, getting constantly beaten by him in tests over the years at the academy had made that clear, he had surprised her by already knowing two elemental Jutsu! Two! If he can put his massive brain into tactics like he does Jutsu, I won't mind him doing the planning. As long as Daichi and I are there to give him some added perspective we are gonna be unstoppable!

Reaching the edge of the commercial part of the village she quickly turned towards her clan's district and headed in that direction. Finishing up her introspection she naturally comes to her final teammate. For years Daichi had just been another random orphan or civilian-born student at the academy. Just another face in the crowd of names she barely bothered to remember, none of them really doing much to stand out and barely passing. Then everything changed at the start of the last year.

She remembered that initially, the instructors had a lot of trouble with Daichi, in the first week of class he was constantly not paying attention or was oddly irritable. She definitely remembered his name then, as whenever he got told off by the instructors there was always such a fire in his eyes, even if he always apologised. Given what he said today, it was likely that he decided the instructors weren't worth the effort of snapping back.

After that he started stepping up in Taijutsu class, getting up no matter how many times he was knocked down. Within two months he was matching her and Hizashi blow for blow during training. Some might have found this random street rat challenging her over and over to be insulting but Mikoto didn't see it that way. His determination inspired me to work even harder and I know Hizashi feels the same way. The first time I found out he had been practising Taijutsu for who knows how long after classes each day, I ran to my father to demand extra instruction. I refused to let him pass me without a fight!

Before Daichi, she put in what she considered to be the bare minimum to be near the top of her class in Taijutsu. Her only rival was the Hyuga and of course, he is skilled in fighting with his hands! That's his clan's most important skill! Daichi had thrown a wrench into that and pushed both the clan ninjas to train even harder. In the end, though, that didn't matter, and Daichi took the top spot in the class.

While she remembered being very annoyed about that fact at the time, in hindsight it was only a good thing. Having a newfound rival who actually had some passion, (which Hyugas rarely displayed, at least according to her mother) only pushed her to work that much harder. If she couldn't pass him in Taijutsu then she would be damned sure to get the best marks she could everywhere else and then come take his top spot! After that, I always put all I had into our sparring matches. The clan elders were very impressed by my Taijutsu! But more importantly, it made my parents proud and when I got named Kunoichi of the year my mother actually cried!

Between that and his pointing out the true meaning of the bell test for them, it wasn't any small wonder that she was willing to call him a friend. Being temporarily shaken out of her thinking, she glanced between the two paths that she took home as the mood struck her. She decided that cutting through the park to save time was the better option than wasting it by taking the long way.

She had friends now! Sure she had many 'play dates' with the other clan heirs but she didn't really connect with any of them. Minato and Daichi however? If they were willing to have her back, not the clan heiress of the Uchihas, but Mikoto's? Then she was more than willing to return the favour!

Shifting out of her musing, she instead took the time to enjoy the quiet of the park. While nominally towards the centre of the village it was the closest one to her clan's district. Turning a bend in the path that would let her see the group of trees that make up its centre Mikoto slowed to a stop and raised her eyebrow in confusion. Why is someone setting up a bed sheet between two trees? You don't see many beggars in the village, as Father said they get encouraged to go to the capital instead. It's too easy of a way for an infiltrator to hide and get around for any ninja village to allow it.

Moving closer to inspect the site she paused for a split second when she got close enough to see who was setting up. Seeing Daichi grumbling to himself as he worked to set up a campfire, she started to run over, surprised to see her teammate there. She knew he didn't have family but she thought he stayed at the orphanage. "What are you doing? I don't think the police are going to let you just have a campout."

Daichi jumped to his feet and spun to face her. Mikoto had to hide a smile as an embarrassed blush soon splashed on his face. It was nice to see her rival and friend act more like a normal person. The past few times he had been embarrassed around her, had happened because of their Sensei so she couldn't have looked at him in the moment. There had been a pervert to correct. Shaking her head to get out of her thoughts she instead looked around the campsite. "You know you can't set up like this right? Somebody is bound to complain and make you move."

Daichi sighed and ran a hand through his fiery red hair. "I don't really have a choice. Turns out that once you officially become a ninja the orphanage kicks you out. I got back from our lunch to find everything I own just waiting for me by the door." His tone quickly changed from annoyed to pissed as he made a fist and glared. "Jiraiya-sensei knew this was gonna happen! I bet he was supposed to show me where the hell I had to go! Miss Fuyuko even mentioned him by name! That bastard had this happen to him and just decided to pass it on!"

Mikoto only raised an eyebrow as she gently placed her grocery bag down. "Are you telling me you won't do the same if you get a team of your own one day?"

Daichi raised his finger while he opened his mouth to speak before snapping his mouth shut with a click when he realised she was right. "Honestly? I would. We are gonna have to get used to sleeping outside so Sensei likely sees it as giving me a leg up on it." He flashed her a mirthful smile and she grinned back. "And honestly? I am sure it's something I will laugh about after the fact. I am still gonna take a swing at him though. Wanna help?"

Mikoto leaned forward to gently punch his shoulder, smirking softly at her reckless teammate. "Only if you hold him down so I can get back at him for all 'those' distasteful comments. If he isn't careful he is gonna have a reputation as an old perverted leecher long before he gets old!"

Daichi snorts and shakes his head as he turns to look back at his little campsite "The white hair doesn't help with that eh?" Moving over to the fire he was trying to set up he let out a sigh before knocking the sticks over lightly. "So, any ideas on what I should do for the night? Would the police mind if I slept up in a tree? I don't know how that would go."

Mikoto paused and she glanced away while she thought. From what Mother and Father have said they likely would. Wouldn't be the first time some over-eager person caused trouble. I could just- Looking back at Daichi she smiles ear to ear and points at him. "You could just spend the night at my house! I am sure Jiraiya-sensei will be able to help you out tomorrow so you just need a solution for one night right? My parents already said they want to meet you so why not get a jump on that?" She blinked in surprise and blushed softly as the two looked at each other, realising how that could be interpreted.

Daichi looked like he was about to comment but seemed to decide better of it, which Mikoto was very grateful for. Still, it took him a long moment to consider it and she shifted awkwardly before he looked back at her, a warm smile on his face. "Honestly? I would appreciate that, thanks Mikoto, you didn't have to."

Mikoto smiled softly, ignoring the lingering warmth on her cheeks as she stepped forward to lightly jab him on the shoulder again, relaxing. "I couldn't just leave my teammate out in the cold now could I?"

In a matter of minutes, the pair took down the bed sheet Daichi had put up ("It was supposed to be a hammock") and the pair quickly packed his things. Mikoto quickly led Daichi out of the park, thankfully not forgetting her groceries. As she walked there was a growing sense of awkwardness in the air, as she tried to find something to talk to him about, puffing out her cheeks in frustration. It wasn't that hard to talk to him in class or with Minato around! But what do we talk about? The weather?

By the time she made up her mind to say something, anything, the pair had entered the Uchiha district, the housing as they passed through the gate looking much better and the reds and whites of her clan colours popping up here and there. Daichi got a couple of odd looks but most people just smiled and greeted the pair with a nod when they saw who he was with. The rare few glared harder but Mikoto gazed right back, making them one and all back off. Idiots! What is wrong with me having a guest?

Thankfully Daichi didn't notice, or at least pretended not to for her sake. Either way, she appreciated it and soon the pair stopped off in front of the largest building in the district. Mikoto had to hide a smile as she watched his jaw drop as he took in the Uchiha manor, which had been one of the original buildings in the village, not even the Senju had started construction on their manor before. Reaching over with a smirk she gently closed his mouth and simply smiled as he shot a soft glare her way.

Opening the door before her rival could make some snappy remark, Mikoto stepped inside and relaxed her shoulders. Without other guests in the building, she didn't have to be the heiress for the moment, she could instead just be Mikoto. Slipping off her shoes she called out, letting her voice right throughout the large home. "Mother! Father! I am home! And I have brought a guest!"

Daichi froze for a second at her words, looking the most unsure she had ever seen him. Before he could attempt to put his chest down or slip off his shoes footsteps could be heard and her mother and father both turned the corner, likely having been in the kitchen. Objectively she knew that some of the more traditional families in the clan pushed cooking onto the women of the household but her father had told any objectors that what he did in the privacy of his own home was not their business. Instead cooking had always been an entire family affair, though she had no special skill for it.

Both looked over at their stranger in their home with raised eyebrows. Her mother stepped forward first and shot her a chiding grin. The happy sparkle in her eyes though was impossible to miss. "Mikoto dear, this is the part where you do introductions."

Jumping in embarrassment she ignored the redness in her cheeks, very deliberately not looking any of them in the eye. "Mother, Father, this is my teammate and friend Daichi. Daichi, this is my mother and father, Yukiko Uchiha and Kuro Uchiha."

After a quick bow in greeting by all parties (without Daichi having to be reminded of etiquette!), her father was the first to speak, a warm smile forming on his face. "So what brings you to our home young man? With all your belongings no less."

Daichi smiled softly and glanced over at Mikoto. "Well, I just found out that since I am a Ninja now I can no longer stay in the orphanage. Mikoto and I believe that Jiraiya-sensei was supposed to show me where I would be staying but decided not to."

Stepping forward she looked up at her parents and put on her most innocent expression, the kind that let her get away with extra sweets before dinner as a child. Sure it never worked on her mother but it was her father that she was worried about. "I found him trying to set up a camp in the park by the district. What was I supposed to do? Let my teammate sleep outside for no reason?"

Her father just smiled softly and stepped forward to take Daichi's chest from him, pausing for a moment as he felt its weight. Casting Daichi something of a calculated glance he stepped back, easily handling the weight just as well as Daichi did. How much stuff could be in there anyway? "Of course not dear. Typically clanless ninjas without their own homes can get a bed in one of the appropriate bunkhouses in the village." Glancing back at his wife for a moment and doing that twitch of his lips that Mikoto knew was his tell for hiding a smile. "However, given how much I have heard about my daughter's "favourite rival" I know my wife and I would love to get to know you personally. Especially now that you are going to be standing by her as her teammate."

Daichi glanced over at her and a teasing smirk formed on his face. Thankfully for Mikoto's sanity, her mother quickly intervened and came down the steps to greet Daichi herself. She knew objectively that her mother was on the shorter side but seeing Daichi's dawning confusion as he noticed she was already taller than her mother brought a smile to her lips. Her mother even giggled good-naturedly as she got behind the two of them and gently pushed them towards the kitchen. "We just needed Mikoto to get back to put the finishing touches on dinner. I am surprised we got you so early, we were going to start badgering Mikoto to bring you and your missing teammate over in a week or two. What was his name again?"

Mikoto had a soft smile on her face as her father and Daichi discussed the finer points of the academy Taijutsu style over Miso soup. She wasn't too sure why she wanted Daichi to get along with her parents but since he was, there were no worries. The pair laughed at some joke she missed in her musing and went back to their soup. Her mother quickly started placing plates onto the table, along with rice bowls and roasted fish. Daichi froze up at the food being served, clearly not fully expecting a proper serving after getting what he could from the orphanage. Before Mikoto could open her mouth her mother beat her to it with a relaxed smile. "Do you have any experience in the kitchen dear? I find how someone handles the kitchen to be a good indicator of their character."

At the mention of cooking Daichi relaxed somewhat and nodded. "I started helping out occasionally. Given the amount of time I spent training I had to get used to preparing my meals too. Needing more meat for protein didn't help matters. If I didn't learn how to cook at least a bit I would have lost my mind!"

The Uchihas let out soft chuckles before her father spoke up, amusement and teasing shifting into his eyes. "Well, maybe you could show Mikoto a thing or two? We have tried so hard to help her but she has done all but burn water! If you want to avoid having to do all the cooking when you're out of the village she is gonna need some help."

Mikoto turned to her father and glared softly. "Father! Don't say that! I can cook just fine!" She squawked. Daichi and her father both broke out in chuckles and she turned to give her rival a soft glare. Shifting her attention to her food to hide her embarrassment she grumbled softly. Deciding that shifting the target off of her was the best plan she looked up at her mother as she joined them at the table and smirked. "Are you sure that seat is tall enough for you, Mother? I am sure Father could find my old booster seat for you."

Just as planned her mother's face went bright red and she gently jabbed a finger in her face, though as always Mikoto could see the corner of her mouth twitch as the older woman tried not to smile. "You might be taller than me already but that doesn't mean I can't put you over my knee if need be you brat! I know I raised you better than that."

Her father rolled his eyes at the playful banter going around and looked back at Daichi. "You never mentioned any particular trainers or teachers for your Taijutsu. I imagine you mostly taught yourself off of academy scrolls. Well done, it takes more effort to learn something from scrolls than it does from a proper teacher. Well done indeed."

Daichi blushed at the praise and looked down at his plate. Not wanting to see her rival and friend in his head she reached over and lightly pushed on his shoulder. "Don't get arrogant now, I am gonna pass you one of these days!"

Blinking in surprise he shot her a grateful look that was quickly hidden behind a smirk. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

After raising his eyebrow at the pair and clearing his throat to get their attention, Mikoto's father motioned at the food in front of them. "Not at the dinner table, please. I am sure if you are so eager to fight I could spare some time to conduct a brief spar later." Shaking his head at how both his daughter and his guest quickly relaxed, he shared an amused look with his wife before glancing back to Daichi. "Since you are a Genin now you might want to search for my old teammate, Might Duy. Even though some clans might disagree, he is the foremost Taijutsu master in the village. Don't let his rank fool you, in close combat there is no Ninja in the village I would want to stand against less, and none I would want at my back more."

While Mikoto narrowed her eyes at the rank comment in confusion she did notice Daichi didn't. Instead from her point of view, it looked like he already knew of the eccentric man that came over for dinner every few months. She had always assumed he was either a Jonin or Chunin but given her father's comments that was likely a mistake.

She was broken out of her musing by Daichi nodding and smiling softly before speaking. "If you speak so highly of his skills I don't have a choice but to seek him out. Thank you for the advice."

Instead of her father responding her mother spoke up, a soft smirk on her face as she leaned over to pat her husband on the arm. "Don't think he doesn't have an ulterior motive now. The more skilled you get the more his beloved daughter will badger him for more instruction. While my skill in hand-to-hand is decent I specialised in blades so outside of some of the clan stepping in to help her she gets most of her training in that area from her father."

Mikoto didn't need to look at her mother to see the annoyed expression on her face, the scoff from across the table confirmed it just fine. She never approved of the clan elders who came by to offer her instruction or advice, though Mikoto herself didn't know why. They always seemed helpful to her and why wouldn't they care about making sure the future of the clan was strong?

The dinner continued from there for a while longer, her parents asking Daichi about his training more than anything else which Mikoto thought was fair. He hadn't been her friend for very long but even before that, she knew he was something of a training maniac. After dinner Daichi insisted on helping clean up, saying it was the least he could do. Her parents did that thing where they had a conversation with just their eyes that they thought she hadn't picked up on and quickly let him. Sure she didn't know what was being said most of the time but she could tell when her mother and father were being romantic or trying to hide something from her!

Afterward, her father joined the pair outside and decided to give them a small lesson on tactics, not wanting to interfere too much with what Jiraiya-sensei might have planned. Mikoto had a little trouble with some of the more complex scenarios or ideas, but she was a little surprised that Daichi's preferred tactic was to always run in when a fight had to happen. Sure it's not like he had other options right now but it was something to be aware of. Between the two of them, they worked their way through the problems with some difficulty, her Father's brow furrowing with worry. However, he relaxed when Daichi mentioned that Minato was the one to make the plan they had used during the bell test and would likely be their tactician for the time being.

Relaxing by the edge of the house after her father turned in for the night Mikoto rested on the ground with her back to the large oak tree that took centre stage in her family's garden, she looked over at Daichi who was leaning against the tree beside her, her friend oddly tense. After a long moment, Daichi was the first to speak, an honest smile on his normally cocky face. "Hey. I just want to thank you. I have never had anything close to a family dinner before. It was nice."

Ignoring her gut reaction to make some snappy comment she simply glanced up at him and smiled softly. If he was being sincere the least she could do was return the favour. "Hey don't worry about it. It's what teammates and friends are for, right?"

Daichi looked down at her for a long moment before smiling and reaching over to offer her a fist. "Fair enough, though next time we bring Minato. If I had to get interviewed then he is gonna have to as well."

Mikoto just laughed softly, wondering how their socially awkward teammate would handle that. "You know we are gonna have to help him with all that. He isn't gonna be able to have a conversation with Kushina that doesn't involve academics if he doesn't get used to dealing with people, let alone become Hokage one day."

Daichi nodded along as he chuckled, sliding down the tree to sit beside her as they watched the sunset. "Right? How those two got through sitting next to each other the whole year I will never know. I swear Habanero's nickname should have been Rose for how often her cheeks get rosy just looking at the kid. I think the whole academy figured it out before the end! And yet they still don't have a clue!"

Mikoto was outright giggling now and she turned her head to look him in the eye. "You're not wrong! What kind of fools can spend that much time together without realising their feelings?"

The pair shared a long glance before shaking their heads and turning to focus on the sunset. Internally Mikoto let out a relaxed sigh, truly this had been the best day ever. I became a ninja, passed the second test, and made real friends. What more could a girl ask for?

-

Daichi smiled as he jogged up to training ground three with Mikoto hot on his heels, excited to actually learn something worthwhile for a change. The night at Mikoto's had been a pleasant one, much better than having to spend it out under the stars. Before he had gotten his other's memories he never thought much of family, outside of the occasional bitter thoughts he bet all orphans had. Well, ones that didn't remember their actual family anyway, he had heard enough crying in the dead of the night to know his former way of thinking wasn't for everyone.

Meeting Mikoto's family though, seeing them interact? That hit the nail on the head. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about what he was missing in his life. Frankly, he was gonna have to sit down at one point and think this through, it's not something he had time to do before training, and having just left the house he put all the thoughts in his head! Shaking himself out of his introspection he noticed he wasn't the first one to arrive. Minato was already under the central tree reading from a book while he waited. "Hey Minato! What time did you get here?"

The blond in question raised his head from his reading and greeted them with a hesitant wave. "Hey, Daichi! Mikoto! I decided to get my mind warmed up before we got started. Have either of you seen Sensei yet?"

Mikoto gave him a soft glare as she passed him on her way to Minato, likely for jogging ahead of her on the way through the village. "Good morning Minato. He didn't surprise either of us on our way here so I believe he won't show up till it's exactly time to start."

As Daichi joined them he easily slipped into doing his stretches without thinking about it. If they were going to be jumping straight into training it only made sense to get ready for it. Missing the amused look Mikoto and Minato shared, his teammates quickly joined him in warming up. After several minutes of this Minato pauses and looks over at Mikoto with a raised eyebrow. "So did you two run into each other on the way here? I didn't expect you to arrive together."

Mikoto paused mid-stretch to look upwards at her teammate and shrugged. "No, we left my place at the same time. Mother pushed us out the door right after we had breakfast."

Daichi also paused mid-stretch and looked back at her in horror and she froze as she realised what she just did. Minato just looked between the two of them with a raised eyebrow and even opened his mouth to ask a question before booming laughter rang out in the clearing. "Oh ho ho! You got old Yukiko's approval! Good job! I haven't even been your sensei for twenty-four hours and you are already making me proud!"

Jiraiya stepped out from around the tree with a large teasing grin slapped onto his face. Daichi could feel the heat of his blush and from a glance, Mikoto's face was also bright red. And also barely keeping herself from exploding it seems. Sensei gave a soft smile in greeting to Minato before looking back at his older students. "You know when you got kicked out of the orphanage I expected you to just camp out here for the night. But I bet the Uchiha mansion was much more comfortable!"

Mikoto was the first to jump up and yell, her face bright red from the implication. "SENSEI NOTHING HAPPENED! DON'T ACT LIKE A PERVY OLD MAN!" Glaring at him she let out a huff as she glanced over at Daichi, who blinked in confusion at suddenly being the focus of attention. "Besides he is staying with us till he can afford a place of his own. Mother and Father insisted!"

Daichi blinked again in surprise at that statement as it was news to him. Opening his mouth to argue, Mikoto turned her glare onto him and a shiver went down his spine. Sure it wasn't the blazing red of the Sharingan but that dark gaze wasn't one he wanted to tick off. Deciding that going loud wasn't the best plan he relaxed just a hair before speaking. "And you three just made that decision without asking me?"

Mikoto turned to him and dropped her gaze to slide into her more typical smile, though for some reason that didn't make the hair on the back of his neck go down any. "Yes! We have plenty of empty rooms so it would be a stain on our honour if we let you stay in some bunkhouse! You're not going to insult us by refusing are you?"

There was that scary glare again and Daichi shot his hands up in surrender. "N-no! I would love to stay!" Snickering came from the older of the two males watching and Daichi spun to glare at his Sensei. "Don't think I forgot about you! Why didn't you warn me? The matron mentioned you by name so you knew this was gonna happen!"

Jiraiya just raised an eyebrow before understanding dawned on his face. "Oh, that old bat is still alive? Good for her, bad for any poor fools who got on her bad side over the years. I remember getting chased up and down the orphanage before I started going to the academy." Taking a moment to reminisce, Sensei quickly shifted back to focusing on them, a soft smile on his face. "Hey don't blame me for wanting to give you a head start. Once we start doing missions outside of the village you will have to get used to sleeping outside."

Before Daichi could retort, Jiraiya-sensei looked over the group, including a slightly confused-looking Minato who was glancing between his teammates. "Alright, it's time to get to business. The first five days of the week we will be meeting here right at seven o'clock. That might be a bit earlier than other teams but given we have a training maniac we might as well use that to our advantage. Or are you going to tell me to take it easy on you?"

Daichi blinked as he glanced over at Mikoto, who looked exactly as competitive as he expected from her, and Minato who had nothing but fiery determination in his eyes. Looking back at their Sensei he smirked. "Give us everything you got Sensei!"

Jiraiya just laughed and shook his head before continuing. "We will start with a light warmup and stretching before diving into the physical side of it. Laps around the field, push-ups, sit-ups the whole shebang. Once your bodies get used to that we will discuss individually where to go from there on the physical side of things. Depending on how you specialise you might not need as strong a regime on the physical side as others."

The trio nodded along and to Daichi that made perfect sense. He already had plans to talk to Jiraiya-sensei about when he should add chakra weights to his training and he couldn't see Minato wanting to do too much of that. As for Mikoto she would likely be interested but would have to go about it differently since you know, she's a girl.

"After about two or three hours of that, depending on the day, we will switch to general knowledge and skills every ninja should know at least some of. First aid, wilderness survival, camouflage, the works. It doubles as a way to let your bodies rest before we move onto more draining training again." Jiraiya leaned back against the tree as he spoke, seemingly pleased that his students were hanging on his every word.

"From there it's gonna vary depending on the day. Taijutsu, chakra control exercises, Genjutsu and Fuinjutsu for example." Daichi and Mikoto both shared a glance before their Sensei just laughed softly at their hesitation. "Don't worry if you don't end up having too much of a talent or interest in it I won't push too hard. That said no student of mine won't at least know how to make storage seals and explosive tags. They are far too useful not to know and it would be a stain on me if one of my students wasn't at least competent at my specialty. It would be like an Uchiha not knowing much Genjutsu."

At the mention of Fuinjutsu Minato was practically vibrating with excitement and Daichi had to hide a smile. He knew objectively that Minato would go on to be famous one day because of his interest there but it was still good that he was so excited by it. Daichi wasn't sure he would have any skill with it but just knowing how to make storage seals would be more than worth the effort. One glance at Mikoto proved she was also smiling more, likely at the mention of another thing her clan is famous for in Genjutsu.

"Around noon we will stop for lunch. Today I will be treating you but that won't be too often, likely only as a celebration of milestones in your training. So make sure to bring some bentos. After that, we will be headed to the Hokage tower to pick up a mission. Depending on how long that takes we might even take another, hopefully finishing up in the middle of the afternoon." He looked over at Daichi for a long moment with a raised eyebrow before letting out a soft sigh. "You are welcome to train on your own in the evenings if you must but take breaks as you need. If one of you can't get through training because they pushed themselves too far, we are going to have words."

Daichi merely grinned, happy he wouldn't have to try and sneak some training behind people's backs. There was no way in hell he was losing that many hours to train when he didn't have to.

Seemingly seeing right through his student Jiraiya just sighed again and went back to addressing the group as a whole. "On the weekends things are going to be different. The first day will be our day for private training. As needed I will swing by and see how all of you are doing on whatever training you wish to do. I will provide advice when you ask but this day is meant to help you figure out what things you want to specialise in or find new interests. There is no such thing as too much knowledge for a Ninja to possess."

Looking over at Daichi's teammates, in particular, his Sensei smiled softly. "I shouldn't have to mention this but the last day is our rest day. Try to avoid any chakra use or too much physical training. Relaxation is important for the mind and if you push too hard you are going to burn out. Can I trust you two to make sure the meathead doesn't sneak off to run laps around the village or something?"

Daichi quickly glared up at his Sensei. "Hey, who are you calling a meathead?"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and smirked back. "Are you denying it?"

He opened his mouth to start before stopping and closing it with a loud click. After a sigh, he looked off to the side with a rueful smile. "Well, you're not wrong."

Minato and Mikoto both laughed a bit before Minato came forward and hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Well, at least you know where your strengths are?"

Before Daichi could ask if the younger boy was joking or not Jiraiya cleared his throat to get their attention back on him. "That's about it really, I am sure we might have to make adjustments to it over time but that's just how it goes. Now before we get started for the day we have one more thing to do." He reaches into one of his pouches and fishes out three pieces of paper holding them up for each kid to see. Before he could speak though Minato beat him to it.

"Oh! I have used one of those before! It's a chakra nature testing paper! It's how I figured out what my chakra nature is!" Minato reached forward and took one of the three from an amused Jiraiya and took it with both hands. After a moment it split in half and Minato smiled from ear to ear. "The paper has different reactions for each of the chakra natures that it encounters! This one split in half because I have a wind type. It's not very common in Konoha."

Mikoto giggled softly at his enthusiasm and reached forward to take a slip of paper herself. After a moment she channelled chakra into it and the paper burst into flames before leaving nothing but a pile of ashes at her feet. She flashed a smile as she looked back at the boys. "I have known mine was fire since I joined the academy. My clan tests each child when we come of age."

Daichi looked back and forth between his teammates and held back a frown. He wasn't sure how Minato got his hands on chakra paper but he had an idea. Sure it was rare for students at the academy to know their natures but given that Minato learned some elemental Jutsu from self-study he couldn't get too annoyed with him.

While he was lost in his head Jiraiya reached over and flicked him lightly between the eyes. Daichi opened his mouth to snap at him but saw the look of understanding in his Sensei's eyes. Wordlessly taking the last piece of paper from him he then took a couple steps back, glancing at his teammates as he did so. Both Minato and Mikoto smiled at him and gave an encouraging nod. Grinning and nodding back he smiled and began to concentrate on the paper.

After a long moment his paper wrinkles together. That's what it did for Kakashi! That means I have Lightning- His thought was cut off as the paper began to crumble away, leaving a pile of dirt in his hands. Blinking in confusion he looked up at his teammates who were looking back at him in shock, eyes going wide. Jiraiya merely let out a low whistle as he moved over to Daichi. "Well, I will be damned kid. You have a dual earth and lightning nature. That's something you don't see every day!"