It was late afternoon, and the sun was getting closer to the horizon; the colours of the world toning down under the hue of an orange sky, as the dark sky crept up from the other side, and Naruko was walking down the main street of Konoha, her long red and black fiery high collared cloak over her orange and black jacket flapping behind her in the breeze, covering her tight black shorts, all form fitting to her curvy athletic toned body; a body aimed and heading to the Hokage's office to report in the end of her mission.
It had been another long mission, one beneath her current skill level; yet, anything lower than an 'S' rank seemed to be below her of late; and those were far and few between.
Often, she was away on lower ranked mission when the long awaited 'S' rank came in, making her see the missions she was truly fit for slip by her even more.
Usually, she didn't mind. Any ranked mission had been enough for her, before; 'B' and 'A' class missions were her playgrounds, and she only assisted on anything lower if she was assigned to cover for a sick Jounin sensei.
But lately? It has been bothering her more.
She walked in to the Hokage's office with a sigh. "Any today?" She asked.
Tsunade looked up to her, blinking. "And Hello to you too." She said, sarcastically. "And no, no 'S' ranked missions." This statement, despite being half expected, still made Naruko sigh. "Naruko, you just got back, have a rest before you try and get another mission."
"I can't believe this!" Naruko groans. "Couldn't you for once just hold one back for me?"
"Naruko!" Tsunade frowned. "What do you think this organisation is, your personal mission bank? We have missions, we hand them out, that's it, if you are not here, it's not my fault. If you come back, and immediately take the first highest rank mission you can!"
"I have training to consider!" she said. "I'll be hokage one day, and I need the challenges to keep me sharp!" Naruko moved forward, and slammed her hands on the table. "I'm not just gonna have it dropped in my lap, I have to prove myself!"
Tsunade shoots to her feet, slamming her hands down too, the two of them eye to eye, the sparks sparking between them, as they stare each other down!
"Always the brat!" she cried.
"Well, sometimes acting like a brat is the only way to get anything!" she said. "It's working for most of my life!"
"Well, you should grow up!" Tsunade cried.
"Shut up!" she cried, stepping back, a tear in her eye. "I've looked after myself since day one, so don't tell me to grow up, when I never really had a childhood."
Tsunade blinked, not expecting this kind of reaction from Naruko.
"Naruko…" She began before interrupted.
"I'll keep going the way I always do, MY way." She said, turning. "I'll be back for another mission soon."
And with those final words, Naruko was gone, slamming the door behind her, and leaving Tsunade a little shocked.
She sighed, and sat back down in to her seat. "That could have gone a lot better." She muttered to herself.
Naruko left the building frustrated; All she wanted was an S-class mission, was that so hard to ask for?
Her hasty pace through the streets began to slow, step by step, and soon, she had calmed enough for it to become a gentle pace, strolling through the village.
She sighed, heavily, and stopped.
"DAMN IT!" she cried, wanting to hit something, the people around her stopping and staring at her for a moment before continuing on. 'Losing my temper like that was not a good idea!' she thought to herself, moving onwards again.
She walked for a while, taking her time, and trying to relax herself, before heading home. It was getting dark by this time, and the night life of Konoha was preparing itself.
She often wondered about taking a day off and enjoying herself out and about with her friends, but with all the missions, and all the training, she had kind of slipped out of that. 'all for the path to hokage' she thought to herself; a reminder she always played in her head when she got the urge to forego any play time fun.
Not that she never spent time to relax; She still spent her lunchtimes at Ichiraku's, talking to old man Teuchi and his daughter, and more often than not, his former team-mates; Sakura, who was now a leading instructor for the ninja medical corp; Sai, who led his own team of genin. And many of his other friends.
But beyond her lunchtime habits, she spent the majority if her time with her roommate, Hinata.
Naruko had invited Hinata to stay while she was away for a long mission, once, so the plants would be looked after, and the house kept clean, and with all the missions Naruko would take, Hinata simply moved in; and Naruko enjoyed the company, just someone to relax with after a hard day of training, or to find her home warm and inviting after walking for hours following a mission completion.