Ch. 12

The Academy and New Friends

1 year and 6 months later, Year 2 in the Elemental Nations

Jiraiya sighed tiredly as he lay on his side and watched the hyperactive child zip around the room. 'Naisho' was running around the onsen room in his excitement for the news that had just come. Jiraiya slapped a privacy seal down in time for the outburst that he knew was coming.

"I'm going to be a ninja! I'm going to be a ninja just like Moriko-nee and Raiya-Oji!" the boy squealed before surprising Jiraiya as the boy tackled him in a hug. The older man grunted as he was rolled onto his back while the excitable child hugged him. The door opened and the blonde paused in the doorway as she stared down at the two. Jiraiya looked worn out and Naisho looked gleeful before the child leaped to his feet and began zipping around the room doing little kicks and punches as if he was fighting invisible enemies.

When he started making sound effects she began to giggle behind her hand. She shut the door and leaned over Jiraiya as she suddenly smirked, sweeping her long blonde hair over one shoulder. He realized he had been caught staring at her face and looked away sullenly as his face flushed red. Moriko poked his cheek playfully from where she was crouched.

"What's on the agenda today Sensei?" she chirped as she released the appearance seal, blonde hair returning to bright red. He groaned at the thought of another excitable Uzumaki before pouting at her.

"Come on, I need the break, kid. Besides it's not like you don't have fifty shadow clones training outside town while you go relax in the springs," he whined as she tapped a thoughtful finger on her chin.

"It's up to sixty now," she said cheerfully as his expression grew baleful.

"What do you even need me for? You got all those jutsu from the Uchiha," he whined as she grinned widely.

"Come on Sensei, I want something really impressive when we get to the village to show the Hokage, teach me more elemental transformation jutsu," she wheedled as he groaned.

"Or maybe a spar where I release my gravitational seal?" she asked grinning as he grimaced, rubbing his ribs as he remembered the last time.

"Or maybe-"

"Alright, enough! Here!" he said reaching in his stuff to rifle around before finding something that might interest her.

He returned to where he was laying before passing her a book on medical ninjutsu. Her head tilted in interest as she began to look through the beginner's guide to the healing arts. He waited with bated breath as she went through the first page. When she didn't say anything but settled down to read, flipping to the next page, he sighed in relief, Naisho still zipping around the room.

When the child zipped by close enough Jiraiya slapped a mild gravitational reversal seal on the boy before slapping a strengthening seal on the room before settling down for a nap. The excited child, already knowing the rules quieted down as he began to float with every jump. He bounced off the ceiling so he could kick off a wall next, his sound effects much quieter now. Content that the two Uzumaki were now entertaining themselves, Jiraiya dropped off for a contented nap.

...

Hiruzen puffed on his pipe looking highly amused at the two excitedly bouncing Uzumaki and the exhausted Jiraiya that stood behind them.

"Alright, enough you two, scram," Jiraiya cut in before Naisho or Moriko could start chattering the Hokage's ear off.

"Yatta!" Naisho squealed as he leaped in the air doing a fist pump. The young woman caught the airborne child by his pack easily and held him aloft as the child tried to dash out of the office.

"Manners Naisho," she chided as the child beamed.

"By your leave, Jiji-sama," he said cheerfully as Hiruzen grinned fondly.

"It was good to see you again Naisho. I look forward to seeing you at the entrance ceremony tomorrow," the old Hokage said as the child beamed happily back giving an actual bow this time though still airborne. Moriko gently set him back down before he raced off. Chuckling she bowed her respect before racing off after the child when she got into the hallway. Sighing tiredly Jiraiya sat as the old Hokage began to chuckle at his student's plight.

"Uzumki's," Jiraiya grumbled. The old leader choked on his tobacco smoke when he laughed. The younger man smirked at his hacking teacher.

"I've still got it," he laughed as Hiruzen shot the younger man an annoyed look.

…

The next day the group found themselves in front of the Ninja Academy, an excited Naisho bouncing from his place beside Jiraiya and Moriko. Moriko grinned down at the excited child as the child vibrated in place.

"Remember what I told you?" she asked as the boy nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, the first classes are going to be boring but they will create the foundation of the cool stuff later on so I need to listen for the other stuff to make sense. That I should go to the library and do research to find areas of being a ninja that might interest me, then check out the scroll on those areas of interest. That I need to do my exercises and practice with my weapons and taijutsu every day. That if I have questions I should ask Hokage-jiji at dinner and have my homework done by then so he can look over it and go over what might be issues with my schoolwork," he said excitedly as Moriko nodded.

"Good job! Now remember what I said about self-study?"

"That the more I learn, the more the boring classes will be interesting because I can apply my outside knowledge and the boring stuff in class in my head to something more useful."

"Good job. Got your strategy book? Notebooks and pens?"

"Yup!"

"Sealing scroll? Your Lunch?" Naisho began to nod before he froze, eyes going wide. Moriko sighed before giving a rye chuckle.

"Make a shadow clone then. Have it deliver your scroll or lunch then send it to the library to go study on mission preparation and why it's important for missions," she said as the boy wilted slightly with a wry grin.

"Yes Moriko-nee," he said creating a couple of shadow clones. She quirked her eyebrow and the boy shot her a rueful grin before the clones dashed off to go do as they were told. Hiruzen chuckled as he approached them, before patting Naisho on the head.

"Ready for the first day Naisho?" he asked as the child beamed.

"For sure Hokage-jiji!" He cried excitedly causing the older man to chuckle warmly.

"Naisho! Hey Hokage-sama!" cried a young voice as an excited pinkette and a couple of dark-haired children ran up to join Naisho. They waved excitedly to the Hokage and began chatting happily, glad to see their friend was going to be there more often than a week here and there randomly in the village.

Moriko, Jiraiya, and Naisho posed in front of the Academy to get their group picture taken as the boy grinned widely. Soon the children filed inside and Naisho hugged Moriko, Moriko pulling a partly unwilling Jiraiya into it. There was the click of a camera and Moriko looked up to grin widely at Makoto who had her camera still lifted. The group grinned as Makoto took another photo and Moriko shot her a thankful look. She would need to get a camera of her own one day.

...

After the ceremony, they went back to the Hokage to his compound only to run into a young man at the entrance. The young man and Hiruzen seemed to share an uneasy silence as the Hokage refused to acknowledge the young man just moving past him into the building. The young man's fists clenched in anger before he began to stomp inside.

"Hey wait up!" called Moriko as she ran to catch up. The young man shot her a confused look as she ran up before giving a quick bow.

"I'm Moriko Uzumaki. I've seen you going in and out of the compound a few times but we've never had the opportunity to talk," she said with an easy grin as the young man looked at her with uncertainty. Finally, he bowed back.

"Asuma Sarutobi," he muttered back, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

"So you're a Sarutobi then. Any relation to the old man?" she teased causing the young man to shoot her a sardonic smile.

"You could say that," he muttered as they began walking.

"Must be hard then," Moriko murmured shooting him a sympathetic smile. The young man seemed to relax a bit.

"Yeah, it can be," he muttered. They walked in easy silence as he continued shooting her furtive glances causing her to grin as she look up at the clear sky above.

"So what brings you to the compound? I see you here a lot whenever you're in town," he finally asked as the young woman looked at him. She shrugged before grinning.

"Well, we kind of live here whenever we are in town. It's well protected and it makes it easier to talk to the Hokage," she said as he frowned.

"You and Jiraiya?" he asked. She nodded.

"Are you two...?" Asuma asked uncertainly causing the young woman to break into snickers.

"Not at all. Want to see something funny thought?" she whispered, perking Asuma's interest. She turned to face Jiraiya who was trailing them at a distance as he scribbled in his book clearly deep in thought.

"Hey, Sensei?" she called causing him to look up.

"I'm really glad we met," she said. To Asuma's surprise, the toad sage's face glowed with his blush as he puffed up in self-righteous fury.

"I- it- you-" he swiftly turned before leaping onto the roof and disappearing. The young man broke into surprised laughter that seemed to grow seeing the devious look on the young woman's face and soon they were laughing uproariously as they struggled to stand.

"Wow, never thought Jiraiya would ever take on such a pretty student and be so averse to her advances," Asuma teased as Moriko chuckled.

"He knows that I'm not really hitting on him, just giving actual compliments and that seems to really embarrass him a lot for some reason. He likes the compliments, I've caught him smiling a few times after and he complains but his eyes always light up. I don't think he's used to having people say nice stuff to him, so I usually pick something nice every few days or at the moment when I notice something," she said with a sad smile as Asuma frowned thoughtfully. It was quiet for a minute before they sat on the back porch looking over the gardens where Moriko had found Itachi that night. The young man finally spoke.

"Does the old man ask you for advice? You said it's easier to talk if you are close by," he pointed out as she grinned, giving one of his longer hair strands a playful tag.

"He does sometimes. Nobody picks up on that. Wow, you're one smart cookie," she said and Asuma to his mortification felt his cheeks dust pink. Her smile became sad.

"Not as bad as Jiraiya but still not used to hearing it then," she said softly as Asuma looked away.

"Do you do it just to figure people out?" he asked as he watched the breeze blow through the trees.

"No. It makes me happy to make other people happy. Being able to understand what it means wouldn't make me sad otherwise," she murmured and the young man nodded, remembering how her smile had fallen a moment ago at his reaction.

"Did the old man send you to talk to me then?" he finally asked as she regarded him curiously.

"Huh? No, you just both seemed rather unhappy. Sometimes I can help, sometimes I can't. What happens between people is between them but I can offer a listening ear or quiet company," she said with a shrug before standing.

"Or... a fun distraction from the line of your thoughts," she said standing grin suddenly mischievous. Before Asuma could get the wrong idea water splashed his head making him yell at the cold and silent surprise. The young woman was stifling her laughter as he looked up with murderous eyes. She tossed him a scroll and out popped a bag containing balloons filled with paint. His grin turned evil.

"You are so dead," he laughed evil grin still in place. She gave a gleeful shriek and took off in a shunshin that had Asuma giving immediate chase.

...

"Hmm? Did you say something?" asked a young man wearing an Anbu uniform.

"Darnit Kakashi! you are too hip and-" Gai was cut off as a balloon filled with paint exploded all over his green suit. The two blinked in shock at the neon pink before looking up to spot two frozen paint-splattered shinobi. They immediately pointed at each other.

"It was her/his fault!" they yelled before the guy lobbed a paint ballon at the woman who shrieked in glee before taking off over the roof. Kakashi and Gai immediately gave chase, Kakashi struggling to contain his snickers while Gai yelled.

"It's rude to throw paint at a damsel! Or the great green beast of Konoha!" Gai yelled as he sped up, Kakashi matching him if only to see how this would end. They went on a merry chase through the village as the young woman got Asuma with water that appeared above him and Asuma pelted her with paint balloons when he could.

"Water bucket no jutsu!" they heard. Suddenly water splashed all over Kakashi as he leaped into the spot Asuma had just vacated. He stiffened at the frigid temperature as he sputtered when the water got in his mask. He glared at the two ninjas, a young woman with red hair and Asuma, who both looked mildly horrified. She took off much faster this time. Kakashi upped his speed quickly gaining on the young woman who was dashing into the old clan's district.

"Sensei! Help! I've made a mistake!" she yelled as she leaped onto the roof of the old Sarutobi compound.

"What the hell did you do this time Moriko?" Jiraiya groused from where he stood. Kakashi appeared and it turned into a game of keep-the-toad-sage-between-them as the young woman started talking rapidly.

"I might have tried to cheer up Asuma and it got out of hand! I accidentally hit a random Anbu with water and now he's going to kill me!" she cried as she kept dodging Kakashi who was still trying to grab her.

"Now now, I just want to have a friendly chat," Kakashi said with a murderous smile, his anbu uniform still drenched. Jiraiya just sighed tiredly looking to the sky as if for asking Kami for patience as the two ninjas ran around him.

"You don't sound friendly," she squeaked as she continued to dodge him. Jiraiya just face-palmed as the two ninjas continued to run around him.

"Kakashiiiiii!" came a yell as Gai landed. Asuma landed as well and flung a paint balloon at Moriko who dodged into Kakashi's grip. The neon pink paint balloon exploded into the toad sage's hair and the group of ninjas froze, eyes wide as Jiraiya's face slowly started turning red in anger as paint began dripping onto his shoulders.

"Run," Moriko hissed and the group scattered as the toad sage began yelling obscenities.

...

They all ended up hiding out in a training ground that was a bit out of the way.

"Hopefully it will dispel soon or he'll find us and he's going to be pissed," Moriko hissed as she and the other four ninjas landed on a tree.

"Till what dispels?" Asuma hissed as she peaked out from behind a branch and stiffened.

"Oh shit! Hold hands and don't make a sound!" Moriko hissed as she held out her hands to the other ninjas. They swiftly complied before stifling sounds of surprise when the group went invisible. Jiraiya landed on the branch above them, looking murderous.

"Where the hell did they go? I'm going to teach those brats to throw paint in my hair," he grumbled before leaping onto the branch of another tree in their sight.

"I know you're somewhere around here Moriko! I've put a tracking seal on you after that incident with the Yakuza, remember!" He yelled. Moriko could almost feel the invisible eyes of the others on her as the toad Sannin kept grumbling.

"You get kidnapped by Yakuza one time," she muttered and froze when the sage began looking around having heard something. Suddenly there was a poof of smoke and the paint that coated Jiraiya's hair disappeared. He looked startled before he realized his hair was paint free. He looked to where there was a poof of smoke that had come from their group from Gai's hidden form and leaped for them. Moriko managed a shunshin in time to get the group out of there but was a bit winded by the drain of the effort. She wobbled upon impact, face going pale. Seeing she was not fit to run, Asuma slung her on his back and the group took off this time heading into the restaurant district.

"Transform," he called, and the group swiftly applied henge as Moriko used her seal to change her hair and face. They found themselves in a bar called the Rusty Kunai and began laughing as they entered, exuberant from the mischief they had caused for the day.

"Kami girl, you know how to get into trouble," Asuma chuckled as the others laughed.

"What can I say? I don't find it, it finds me," she said tiredly as he deposited her into a booth before sliding in. They soon had food and a round of drinks as they settled in.

"So what exactly did we happen upon earlier?" asked Kakashi dryly as he sat back in his seat with crossed arms as Gai gave the two their attention. Moriko grinned mischievously.

"This one needed some cheering up," she said.

"How did you get the water to keep appearing over my head?" Asuma asked as he turned in his seat to face her. Kakashi perked up in interest.

Moriko grinned mischievously before touching a strand of Asuma's hair carefully before finding what she was looking for and pulling it. He yelped before she threw it out of the shop.

"Water bucket no jutsu," she called as water appeared over the hair. Asuma's jaw dropped as did the rest.

"And that, is what started this whole mess," she said with a wink as the others regarded her with surprise.

"So you're a seal master being trained by Jiraiya?" Kakashi asked as she shrugged.

"His apprentice, yeah. He's training me after... well, he took me and my brother in and Naisho just started the academy today. I should be taking the Chunin exams in the next couple of months," she said digging into her food.

"How did you know the paint would disappear, young lotus?" Gai cried.

"I used Hokage-oji-chan's shuriken shadow clone jutsu on a scroll. It created a duplicate of my pranking supplies so there's never a mess to clean up and I never run out," she said with a shrug as the others looked impressed or confused.

"So the old man taught you that technique?" Asuma asked, face darkening. Moriko snorted and shook her head.

"Keep in mind Sensei used to be his student once," she said giving his shoulder a nudge. The other two traded looks.

"So you pranked Asuma then gave him none-destructive ammo," Kakashi surmised and Moriko nodded. Asuma grinned as he shot Moriko a look.

"You're right, it was a good distraction. I had a lot of fun today," he said as she smiled back, genuinely pleased. Asuma sighed looking torn as the group took in his change of mood.

"Do you know privacy seals?" he asked. Moriko blushed and applied one to their table.

"Kind of have to with that hot mess around," she muttered as Jiraiya walked in the door, looking around. The Sannin seemed to sigh before making his way to the bar as the group watched him.

"Why?" Gai asked. Moriko blushed.

"Reasons," she muttered. After a moment Kakashi got the implication and nodded.

"What's this I hear about you getting kidnapped by yakuza?" Asuma asked as he seemed to relax. Moriko grimaced and took a deep swig of her sake.

"This was after Jiraiya had already agreed to take me on as an apprentice with the blessing of the Hokage and we hadn't been gone from the village for more than a week so I had almost no training besides some basics. I was being hassled by some guy and told him where he could stuff it. He was pretty pissed, trying to intimidate me for not putting up with or going along with it. I broke his nose when he didn't back off and he left. Turns out he was the son of some big-shot mob boss, Gato, or whatever. I was snatched by some missing-nin working for them so they could make an example of me. The big guy over there realized I was missing after an hour and came after me," she said gesturing at Jiraiya with her chin as the others shot her surprised looks.

"After that, he tends to keep an eye on me in case I get into trouble though I'm a lot stronger now. I'll be back in just a moment," she murmured before sliding out and going over to her sensei dropping her disguise. He looked miffed but relieved as they began talking an arm going around her shoulders, his eyes fond.

She got another sake jug for their table and the Sannin gave her a quick one-armed hug before she left, returning to their booth as they dropped their disguises. Wanting to change the subject Moriko turned to Kakashi and Gai with a grin.

"I'm sorry you two get caught up in the pandemonium, but I hope you two at least had fun," she said. Gai puffed up.

"For sure young lotus! When is a good run through the village, not the best? We must enjoy our springtime of youth!" he cried as Moriko's eyes widened at his exuberance before she grinned back.

"Yeah, enjoying life while we have the ability to do so is important. Do you enjoy exercise then?" she asked as Asuma and Kakashi groaned.

"Of course! How else will we flame our powers of youth?" he cried before draining his sake cup. Moriko laughed, clearly entertained as the other men died from secondhand embarrassment.

"Are you any good in Taijutsu then? I could use a sparring partner that isn't leagues above me," she asked as the other two men shot each other incredulous looks.

"YOOOOOOSH! YOUUUUUUTH! WE WILL FAN OUR FLAMES OF YOUTH EVEN HIGHER TOGETHER MORIKO-CHAN!" Gai yelled as Moriko drew back eyes wide.

"Of all the people to ask," Asuma laughed as Moriko shot him a panicked look. Kakashi groaned, his face in his hand.

"What have you done?" he groaned as Gai began ushering them from the bar. The panicked look she shot Jiraiya was met with the sage's amused grin as he took a sake jug to go.

AN: If you had 20 clones working minimum 8hrs a day, in a month's time that is 3,200 hours and the average amount of hours you work in a year is 2080 hours.

With just 20 clones a day, she has gotten a year's worth of training done in a month.

In a year she would complete 12 years of training.

In eight years that makes it 96 years of training.

And that's only if she had had 20 clones a day working eight hours a day, five days a week. The closer estimate would probably be closer to 200 years of training.