Rina entered the kitchen to find Sasuke in his apron, frying eggs at the stove. She was surprised to see him up so early. Rina wanted to make breakfast for them since she was the guest.

"Good morning Sasuke."

He doesn't look up from his cooking, "Morning, Aneue."

Rina smiles at the address before slowly approaching him and kissing his head, "You sure you don't need any help?"

Sasuke blushes slightly at how close she is and tilts his head to look at her. Rina wore one of Kakashi's blue shirts and a pair of his black joggers. Rina's long hair was in a plait, and her face was void of any makeup.

"I'm all right. I'm finishing soon anyway; you can wake up, Kakashi."

Rina ruffles his hair and leaves after thanking him, and Sasuke peeks at her retreating.

The Uchiha had to admit he felt safe and warm. He couldn't explain it, but he always thought he had to keep his guard up since his clan died. Knowing that Rina, who always had his best interests and cared for him as a child, was in the house, Sasuke felt calm and relaxed.

Having her around would help him, Sasuke thinks.

Ino took a deep breath; she spotted Naruto and Karin training by themselves and hid behind a tree. She was amazed at their stamina and closeness in their back-to-back partner exercises. Naruto and Karin constantly moved in tandem - it was as if they had been training together since birth. Naruto wasn't wearing his jacket; he left it hanging on a tree branch - wearing only his mesh shirt and orange pants.

Ino tried not to drool at how his shirt rid up repeatedly as he continued his workout with his cousin. Karin, meanwhile, kept her clothes on, but her short hair was tied into a ponytail, probably because the heat was atrocious today, and she didn't want her hair sticking to her neck, thanks to the sweat forming on her skin.

After fifteen minutes, the two cousins stopped for a water break, and Ino took her chance. "Morning, you two!"

Naruto and Karin turned to wave and greet simultaneously as Ino approached, "Ohayo."

"You two work well together."

Karin nods, "Onee-sama teaches us this stuff so we can work together as a two-person team. The Uzumaki kazoku needs to stick together."

"That's cool. Rina-nee san is a perfect guardian for both of you. I'm happy for you, Naruto."

The whiskered blonde grins, "Thanks! I guess something good came out of that fire after all, huh?"

Ino's face falters, and she remembers the aftermath of that fire. Naruto's house was torched entirely - it was fortunate that Rina came through with the adoption just in time for his hospital discharge to provide him with a home and support for his recovery.

"Anyway, Ino, what are you doing here? Training by yourself?"

Ino blinked, organizing her thoughts before replying to Karin, "Ah no, I came too early for Team 8 training. Do you guys want to have lunch with us in the afternoon afterwards? Asuma-sensei will pay!"

Karin smirks, "No sane person would say no to free food."

Ino beams widely, "Great! Can't wait!"

Naruto smiles back at her; Ino's enthusiasm is always infectious. "We'll see you later then, Ino!"

They watch as Ino waves them goodbye before running off, but they do not miss her sneak a peek at Naruto as she hurries away. Karin turns slightly and sees a tender look on her cousin's face.

"You like her?"

Naruto falters, blushing slightly, "W-well, it doesn't matter - she wouldn't go for me anyway!"

Karin snorts, "You don't realize the charm you have yourself, Naru. Your family sees it, and I think Ino can too. You need confidence."

Naruto rubs the back of his head, blushing at the praise.

Sakura was irritated, she had no idea what happened between Sasuke and Rina, and because she was so curious, she couldn't sleep. As she walks onto the training grounds, Sakura sighs deeply, exasperated and sees Rina with her two wards whispering in a corner.

Rina notices her first and greets her cheerily - Sakura responds in kind, coming closer - wondering what they are discussing.

"How did it go yesterday?"

Rina smiles mischievously, "Nothing."

Sakura's eye twitched, and the mocking expression on Rina's face bugged her to no end.

"Good morning, everyone."

Sakura turns to see Kakashi entering the clearing with Sasuke at his side, so she immediately rushes over. "Good morning!"

"Morning", he replies calmly.

"How was everything yesterday?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "Why do you care?"

Sakura's face paled, "I just-"

He ignores her and walks past, causing Kakashi to pat Sakura's head in sympathy.

Rina cleared her throat and clapped her hands, catching everybody's attention, "So everyone! I want to let you know that I have amended our current training regimen to include tracking. Moving forward, we have basic training on Mondays. Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have D-ranks, and Fridays, we'll have tracking training instead of the taijutsu spars we've been doing."

Sasuke frowns and folds his arms, "I rather not lose our taijutsu practice. Do we need to do D-ranks on two days?"

Rina smirks, "We could do just D ranks on one day of the week, but that means it would take up almost the whole day rather than just the morning. Would that be fine with all of you?"

Karin and Naruto voice agreements. Seeing Sasuke being okay with it, Sakura wisely kept her mouth shut. Rina then confirms that Team 7 will do D ranks on Tuesdays and move tracking practice to Thursdays instead so they can keep their taijutsu Fridays.

Sakura suggested changing the training day from Friday to Wednesday instead so they could have a more extended weekend. Rina took the opportunity to explain to the genin that training would never occur on Wednesday because Karin and Rina have hospital duty.

Sakura pouted but could not argue, so Rina ordered them to start their warm-up stretches before heading to the Hokage Tower for their first D Rank assignment of the week. Kakashi moves to sit next to his girlfriend on the stone, watching his students stretch in sync.

Previously he never imagined them working together cohesively. It takes a disciplinarian to whip them to shape.

Kakashi turned to see his girlfriend watching the genin; he could practically see the gears turning in her head. He wondered what else she had planned for them.