The Cat
"We will be doing a mission today," Hitomi grinned.
The faces of both Senju Isao and Kurama Yumiko brightened considerably. Suguru kept his expression dull, fully aware of what kind of mission newly-graduated genin were given.
Both Hitomi and Suguru thus had a laugh when the mission was finally assigned. The excitement of the two was apparent when the group walked into the Hokage's office. However, when they heard Hiruzen's next words, their expressions dropped.
"Your job is to find the missing cat, Tora." Hiruzen said, "Remember, this is an important mission given to us by the Fire Daimyo himself. Do it well, and you will be rewarded appropriately."
"..." Isao froze.
"..." Yumiko's lips twitched.
Surprisingly, they held their complaints in their bellies. It was only when they left the Hokage's office that they expressed their dissatisfaction.
"Why won't you say anything, Suguru? Come on. Catching a cat shouldn't be our job!" Yumiko complained.
Isao sighed, "Is this what brother meant by posing no risk to my life? I should have known..."
Suguru smiled in response and glanced at Hitomi.
"Sensei, that cat is famous among Konoha's shinobi, right? It always runs away and gives us missions for our livelihood."
Hitomi was startled. She didn't expect Suguru to talk. "Er— That's right, and that's a surprisingly mature way to put it, you brat. I'll keep your words in mind."
Thus began Team Hitomi's search for Tora.
***
Even with his Kaisugan, Suguru knew that finding Tora would be difficult. He could not hone into its chakra signature, so even if he did use [Clairvoyance], he would still be looking for a needle in a haystack.
Luckily, Yumiko was a sensor. By spreading out her chakra and looking for what could be a cat, the search for Tora would become easier. Furthermore, with her Genjutsu, capturing it would be simple.
All they needed was time.
"There's a chakra signature that feels like a cat over there," Yumiko whispered, "Suguru, it's best if you use the Body Flicker Jutsu to push the cat in my direction. Isao, I'm sorry, but you'll play a supporting role for now."
Suguru nodded while Isao said, "Got it. I'll guard the perimeter and make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Thanks,"
The three genin dispersed.
When Suguru flickered in front of the cat, Tora was startled and leaped before Suguru could catch it. Suguru hurriedly gave chase, but the cat was just too small and nimble. It dashed around the rooftops and through small gaps in the houses.
Luckily, after a few meters, it came face-to-face with a prepared Yumiko.
'Gentle Illusion: Pacify!'
Yumiko's Genjutsu fell onto the surprised Tora, lulling it into a state of calm. With that, picking up the cat and carrying it in her arms became simple.
Isao jumped up and asked, "Is it finally over?"
"Mhm," Suguru appeared beside him.
"Alright, let's tell sensei. We might have another feast waiting for us!" Yumiko excitedly guessed.
And she was right.
After turning in their mission, Hitomi invited the three genin to her house. A feast had long been prepared, and the children ravenously dug in.
It made their grievances disappear into nothing but smoke.
As long as they weren't assigned the same mission again, they would be fine.
Unfortunately for them, the next day, even Suguru choked.
"That damn Tora—" Yumiko was fuming.
They got the same mission again.
***
Having to catch a cat two days in a row made Suguru realize a flaw in his abilities.
'I can see from afar, but I cannot locate targets with equal effectiveness.'
It was a weird flaw to have, but it was a flaw nonetheless.
Even with the Sharingan active during [Clairvoyance], his ability to scout wasn't the best. Perhaps only the Byakugan could comprehensively aid in this regard.
Other than that, the only option was to become a sensor like Yumiko... But that was another issue altogether.
This put Suguru into deep thought while having no solution in sight.
"I guess I can only wait for an opportunity to steal the Byakugan,"
It would've been interesting if one of his squadmates had been a Hyuga... Alas, perhaps fate was kind to the clan descended from Hamura.
***
When Team Hitomi got the cat mission for the third time, Yumiko flipped out. After catching the cat through another hardened search, she requested that the squad take higher-ranked missions.
Hitomi, who had gone through the same process herself, was sympathetic to Yumiko's woes. However, the team had yet to reach her desired standards.
She deflected Yumiko's request, and instead spoke about something else.
"Starting tomorrow, we'll train in some escape-related jutsus to help you with fighting against Kuromaru. You've all made substantial enough progress." Hitomi was decisive.
Thus, the next day, Hitomi taught Isao and Yumiko how to do the Body Flicker Jutsu. She then gave tips for Suguru to improve his already-proficient use of the Body Flicker.
Leaving the genin to practice on her own, she left the village for a mission given to her by Hiruzen.
"Isao. Suguru." Yumiko paused in her practice and said, "Why don't we make our training a little bit more enjoyable?"
"Enjoyable?" Isao raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
"We'll do this..." Yumiko ran and drew a sizeable square on the ground.
"Since Suguru is better than us at flickering, he'll be chasing us. We need to do our best to avoid him while staying in this limited space. Furthermore, we can't move without using the Body Flicker Jutsu. The person who does, is instantly eliminated."
"Our point system will be the following..."
Ten points for touching the head, five points for the body, and one point for any of their limbs. Yumiko and Isao just had to avoid losing points while Suguru had to gain as much as he can.
The one with the most points at the end of the game wins.
"...I like this. Let's do it." Isao saw the value in training this way and acquiesced.
"Un~ It seems like fun." Suguru agreed as well.
Yumiko grinned. "Perfect! Let's start right away!"
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I made a P@treon! Hehe~
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