The same morning.
The same student.
A different experience.
Rin Nohara had gotten up early after tossing and turning all night. Once again, she was making breakfast today.
When she was very young, Jiraiya had hired a home economics tutor specifically to teach her how to manage a household. After all, traditional expectations for women in the Shinobi World were rather harsh.
Jiraiya had money and good intentions, but he believed that essential skills still needed to be learned.
Still, if his child did not want to learn, he would not force her.
Today, Rin Nohara prepared a simple breakfast and packed lunches.
First, she rolled slices of cheese into sticks.
Then she laid out thin slices of pork belly, sprinkled them with seasoned salt, placed the cheese sticks and a few perilla leaves in the middle, and rolled the meat up.
She dusted the meat rolls with cake flour, placed them in a pan, and fried them over low heat until golden on all sides.
Once the meat rolls were cooked through, she added barbecue sauce to the pan and cooked it down.
She took the meat rolls out, cut them into pieces, and plated them.
Next came the pan-seared salmon...
It took a little time, but Rin Nohara put real care into making this breakfast.
She arranged the meat rolls, pan-seared salmon, and fried eggs in lunch boxes already filled with rice, then sprinkled sesame seeds and shredded kelp seasoning over them and added a perilla-pickled plum.
With breakfast ready, she finished packing two lunches as well.
Rin Nohara woke her adoptive father, and the two sat across from each other, eating breakfast in silence.
After the meal, they sat holding their teacups.
Jiraiya folded his arms and suddenly asked in a low voice, "Rin, how are things