“This is Sasuke. Arrived at Point B.”
“This is Sakura. I’m at Point C.”
“Etsuko, Point D.”
“… this is Naruto. Point A!”
“You are too slow, Naruto,” Kakashi complained. “Okay, Team 7… the target has moved. After it!”
Everyone quietly ran towards it. The target stopped and we quickly hid behind the trees.
“There, he is,” Naruto said.
“What’s the distance to the target?” Kakashi asked.
“Five meters. I’m ready to go,” Naruto said, excited.
“I am too,” said Sasuke.
“Me too,” Sakura and I said at the same time.
“Okay…” Kakashi hesitated. “GO!”
We all jumped forward and Naruto grabbed the cat. It started scratching Naruto all over his face.
“Does it have a ribbon on its right ear?” Kakashi’s voice echoed from the mike. “Is it our target, Tora?”
“It’s our target for sure,” Sasuke confirmed as I watched in amusement as the cat stomped Naruto’s face onto the ground.
“I HATE CATS!” Naruto yelled.
Sakura went forward and gently took the cat. It purred a little and stopped trying to escape.
“WHY DOES THE CAT LIKE YOU?!”
“Okay,” Kakashi said. “Operation: Capture Tora the Lost Pet is complete.”
“ISN’T THERE A MORE EXCITING MISSION WE CAN WORK ON?!” Naruto yelled and I sighed.
...............................................................................................................................................................................................................
“Oh, my cutie Tora! I was so worried about you,” the fat lady said, crushing the poor cat into a hug.
We were back at the academy, giving the Hokage our mission’s report and waiting for a new one. Hopefully, not a lame one…
“Wow,” I whispered, glancing at the lady and the crushed cat. “I can’t help but feel sorry for the cat.”
“What are you talking about?” Naruto hissed. “It’s getting what it deserves!”
“No wonder it ran away,” Sasuke added with a sigh.
Sakura nodded in agreement.
“Now then, Kakashi’s Team 7, your next mission is…” the Hokage flipped through some papers. “Baby-sit for the council, grocery shopping at the neighbouring town, help dig up potatoes at - ”
“NO!” Naruto yelled (obviously). “No thanks to all those!” He crossed his arms in front of him like an ‘x’. “I want to do a more exciting job. Choose something else!”
“You idiot!” Iruka stood up. “You are just a rookie! Everyone starts off with simple duties to gain experience and works their way up.”
“But we have only been doing dumb missions lately!” Naruto yelled.
“How can we gain experience baby-sitting?” I added. I was really impatient of waiting and wanted to move on to the… BRIDGE BUILDER MISSION!!!
Kakashi bumped Naruto’s and mine head together, causing to stumble. “Cut it out, you two!” he ordered.
“It seems like I have to explain to you what these missions are all about,” the Hokage said. “Listen… every day, the village receives numerous requests, from babysitting to assassination. On the request list, a variety of requests are listed on it and they are separated into ranks A, B, C and D according to difficulty. In this village, we divide ninjas into Jounins, Chunins and Genins according to their abilities. And if we complete the mission, we receive a fee from the client. You have all become Genin just recently so D-ranked missions are best for you. Understand?”
“I think I’m going to order miso ramen today. What about you?” Naruto asked me, totally ignoring the Hokage.
“Chicken sounds good to me but maybe - ”
“LISTEN!!!” the Hokage yelled.
Kakashi rubbed the back on his head. “I’m sorry…”
“You always lecture me like that!” Naruto complained to the Hokage. “But I’m not the kid who used to pull pranks anymore.”
“I’m going to get scolded for that later…” Kakashi muttered. I patted his arm reassuringly and he smiled.
The Hokage then smirked. “Okay, I understand.” Our eyes widened. “If you insist, I’ll allow you to take on a C-ranked mission. It’s to a certain person.”
YESSSSS! FINALLY!!!
“Really?” Naruto asked eagerly. “Who is it? The feudal lord? A princess?”
“I’ll introduce him now,” the Hokage said. “Can you please come in?”
The door behind us slid opened to reveal an old man with a towel around his shoulder and a sake bottle in one hand. OLD MAN TAZUNA!!!
“What? They’re all kids!” Tazuna yelled. “Especially the shortest one with the super stupid-looking face. Is he really a ninja?”
“Hahaha!” Naruto said, putting his hands on his hip. “Who’s the shortest one with the super stupid-looking face?”
We all lined up next to Naruto. Four line appeared above our heads to measure our height. Sasuke was the tallest, I was second, Sakura being the third and Naruto the last.
“I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!” Naruto jumped forward. Kakashi and I quickly held Naruto back from attacking the old man.
“Tazuna, can you please introduce yourself?” the Hokage asked.
“Okay. I’m Tazuna, the super, expert bridge builder. I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete my bridge.”
“Good. Then, dismissed! Go get ready,” the Hokage said. “Kakashi and Etsuko-san, please stay for a minute.”
Everyone, including Iruka, filed out while Kakashi and I sat down in front of the Hokage.
“Have you noticed?” the Hokage asked.
“Yes. Since last night,” Kakashi answered.
I cut in. “What’s going on?’
The Hokage turned to me. “You are building up chakras.”
“… … … WHAT?!”
Kakashi nodded in agreement. “It seems like last night’s training had make your chakras reveal themselves.”
“So, you’re saying that…?”
The Hokage smiled. “Maybe it’s time for you to learn some jutsus.”
I gasped… then, jumped up with joy. I grabbed Kakashi, catching him off guard, and started swinging him around while chanting, “I’m gonna be a ninja! I’m gonna be a ninja!”
The Hokage laughed as I continued spinning Kakashi and hugging him. Kakashi was going a bit green in the face and I released him… which resulted in him falling onto the ground, dizzy.
“You’re just like Naruto,” the Hokage commented, still laughing.
Kakashi groaned and got up. “S-She sure is…”
“Okay, okay, okay!” I said, jumping a bit. “Who’s gonna train me?”
“I was thinking….” The Hokage had a thoughtful look. “Me. Because you still need to - ”
“Really?” I cut him off, too excited. “Okay! When do we meet? Where? When?”
The Hokage looked surprised. Then, he chuckled. “You are eager, girl. We’ll meet at the training grounds after you’ve packed your things. Don’t worry, take your time!”
I nodded happily and ran out of the office.