Sorry for the huge time gap between chapters! School has been working me so I haven't had much time to write. Thanks again to all those who have reviewed!
Chapter 4: Missions and Rivals!
Sarada, Boruto, and Heishi stood outside the Academy waiting for Konohamaru. It was early in the morning and some of the academy students were arriving for school.
"Where is he!? He said to meet him at the Academy! Dattebasa!" Boruto shouted. Heishi sat on the floor next to him in silence, meditating. Sarada leaned against the wall with a book in her hand titled Genjutsu: The Third Ninja Art.
"Just be patient Boruto. Find something to pass the time." Sarada spoke without lifting her eyes off her book. Boruto looked at the book in Sarada's hand cringed at the thought of reading.
"I don't know how you read those. I would rather train." Boruto commented as he crossed his arms.
"Well a real shinobi is strong in both body and mind Boruto. It wouldn't kill you to pick up a book every now and then." Sarada lectured and turned a page in her book, all while never looking up at Boruto.
"Yeah yeah yeah, body and mind, whatever. Who needs books when you've got the strongest ninjutsu in the world!" Boruto said, making a ridiculous dramatic pose that made Sarada roll her eyes.
"Sarada!" A voice called out. Sarada and Boruto looked to see a girl running toward them. She had long brown hair that was styled into two long braids and a flower placed behind her left ear. She wore a brown crop top, blue shorts, and brown calf high ninja boots. Her Konoha headband was wrapped firmly around her right arm.
"Tsubaki!" Sarada shouted back, closing her book and running toward the girl and hugging her.
"It's been days since I've seen you! Glad to see you made it as a genin too!" Tsubaki said.
"Yeah ninja life has been a time killer." Sarada smiled as the two began walking back toward her team.
"Hey Boruto." Tsubaki greeted and said boy waved back. She looked down at Heishi and frowned. "Is he awake?"
Sarada shrugged. "Who knows. Where's your team Tsubaki?" She asked.
Tsubaki turned around as if she was looking for something. "That's weird. Hitoshi and Sanagi were both just right behind me."
As if on cue a boy came running from where Tsubaki had just come from. He had long brown hair and white eyes, signifying his possession of the Hyūga clan's Byakugan. He wore a gray shirt with dark brown shorts. Under his shorts he had bandages wrapped around his legs down to his calves. He ran up to Sarada and held out a fist of flowers with dirt still falling off of their roots.
"I didn't know I would see you Sarada-chan, so I ran and got you some flowers from the Academy garden." The boy said as he panted.
"Oh that's, uh, nice. Thank you Hitoshi-kun." Sarada nervously muttered and took the flowers.
"Back off Hitoshi! I told you before that she wasn't interested!" Tsubaki shouted and grabbed her teammates collar before pulling him away from Sarada.
"Now that I'm a shinobi I can prove myself to her!" Hitoshi shouted at Tsubaki while Sarada awkwardly watched.
"As if Hitoshi!" Tsubaki retorted and released the boy. "Where did Sanagi go?"
"Hes over there." Hitoshi pointed at the trees. In the shadows of the trees stood a dark figure. Sanagi wore a dark gray hooded jacket and black pants. Due to the dark sunglasses on his face the only thing visible was his mouth. He stood in the shadows in silence. Hitoshi turned to Boruto and a cocky smirk appeared on his face. "So they let you graduate Boruto. Shame they would allow a Hyūga without the Byakugan to become a ninja." He smugly taunted.
"Shut it Hitoshi! I'll kick your ass here and now without the Byakugan! Dattebasa!" Boruto shouted and got in the young Hyūga's face.
"Hey hey hey you two! This isn't the time for your childish fighting." Tsubaki said as she came between the two. Boruto took a step back before taking a deep breath and reverting back to his previous demeanor.
"You're right, I'm not gonna let this guy get to me. I know who the stronger one of us is!" Boruto confidently boasted, causing Sarada and Tsubaki to sigh.
Changing the subject, Sarada turned to Tsubaki and spoke up. "So, uh, are you guys meeting your sensei here too?"
"Yeah Moegi-sensei is supposed to meet us here for our first mission." Tsubaki answered. She then looked around. "I guess shes late."
"Konohamaru-sensei is late too. We've been out here for half an hour." Sarada sighed. "They're probably together."
"Do you think Konohamaru-sensei and Moegi-sensei have a thing going on?" Boruto asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
"Well they have known each other for a long time." Tsubaki mentioned.
"Hey isn't that them!" Boruto exclaimed, pointing at the Academy yard entrance. Konohamaru and Moegi were both holding cups of coffee as they strolled into the yard. The two were so deep in their conversation that they failed to notice the genin standing at the entrance to the Academy.
"Sensei!" Boruto and Tsubaki shouted. Konohamaru and Moegi jumped in surprise, almost spilling their coffees.
"Oh you guys are already here. Lets go on in!" Moegi said nervously. Hitoshi and Tsubaki began to walk in with her while Sanagi began walking from the shadows to join his team. Moegi waved from the doorway. "See ya Konohamaru."
"See ya." Konohamaru waved back. Once Moegi was gone, Boruto began to snicker uncontrollably. "What are you laughing at?"
"So is she your..." Boruto trailed off. He suddenly jumped up close to Konohamaru with a wide grin on his face. "Girlfriend!?"
"Don't be ridiculous Boruto! She's just a good friend of mine!" Konohamaru yelled, pushing the boy away from him.
"You're blushing sensei." Sarada calmly noted as she leaned against the wall with her book open once again. Konohamaru frowned and pulled his scarf up over his nose, covering most of his face.
"I'm not blushing! This coffee is hot so it made my face warm!" Konohamaru tried to defend himself from behind his scarf. Boruto's grin widened.
"Whatever you say sensei!" Boruto began snickering at his sensei's embarrassment.
"Lets go in and get our mission." Konohamaru said, changing the subject. The genin all grabbed their belongings and followed Konohamaru inside. As they walked they passed by Moegi's team who had just left the mission assignment room. Moegi waved at Konohamaru and Konohamaru waved back, which caused Boruto to burst into laughter. Konohamaru punched him in the back of the head to silence him as the team walked into the room.
"What was that for sensei!" Boruto shouted as he massaged the back of his head. Konohamaru shushed him and smiled at the desk of people before him. In the center sat Naruto wearing his full Hokage attire. To his left sat his trusted adviser Shikamaru Nara and to his right stood his assistant Shizune. Seated next to Shikamaru was a man behind a computer who was typing at incredible speeds.
"Ah, nice to see you guys are as lively as ever." Shikamaru stated as he grabbed two files from the stack labeled 'D-Rank'.
"No no no, give us a mission from that pile!" Boruto exclaimed, pointing at the stack labeled 'A-Rank'.
"Don't get ahead of yourself Boruto." Konohamaru muttered to the boy.
"I'm afraid Konohamaru is right Boruto. You guys aren't ready for those missions." Naruto explained as Shikamaru handed him one of the two files. "All new genin are given D-Rank missions in order to give them more experience."
"Yeah yeah whatever but this better be a good one." Boruto murmured.
"Oh it is!" Naruto opened the file and turned the page around so the genin could read it. The three genin moved in closer to examine to paper in front of them. "Its a very important mission!"
"Um, I don't mean to be rude Hokage-sama but..." Heishi began but was interrupted.
"This is a stupid search mission!" Boruto shouted.
"Be quiet Boruto!" Sarada scolded and elbowed him in his side.
"This is a very important search mission. Ryoga Inuzuka noticed some of the Inuzuka clan's puppies missing this morning. His mother Hana has asked that you assist him in finding them. Its believed that they ran away." Shikamaru informed.
"We're finding puppies? How is that important!?" Boruto asked.
"Ninja hounds are very important members of ninja squads. We treat these hounds like we would any other ninja in the village." Naruto lectured. "Just think of these puppies as academy students."
Boruto sighed. "Fine. But we better get something cool after this!" Konohamaru grabbed the file off the desk and bowed to dismiss himself. The team left the mission assignment room and began walking to exit the building.
"So where do we look first?" Sarada asked her sensei.
"Well first we should head to the Inuzuka compound and talk to Hana. Maybe she can give us a little more information." Konohamaru answered.
Inuzuka Compound
Team 3 arrived at the compound to find a young boy waiting outside the front gate for them. The boy looked very worried, as he paced back and forth in front of the gate.
"Hey Ryoga!" Boruto called out to the boy. The boy looked up and ran toward them looking relieved.
"I'm glad they finally sent someone!" Ryoga exclaimed.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Konohamaru asked.
"Well I went to feed the puppy hounds this mornin' and half of 'em were gone! I must have left the door open last night! My uncle is going to freak when he finds out I messed up!" Ryoga began to panic.
"Relax Ryoga-kun. I'm sure your uncle will understand that it was a simple mistake." Sarada tried to comfort the boy.
"Can you show us around the compound so we can look for some clues?" Konohamaru asked and walked toward the large gate.
"Sure thing." Ryoga pushed the large gate open and walked inside. Inside the compound they walked up to a large house which was built for the current head of the Inuzuka clan. Traditionally the head of the clan oversaw the training of the ninja hounds and took care of them but due to Kiba being away on long missions, his sister Hana temporarily held the position of Inuzuka Clan Leader. So Ryoga and his parents lived in the house alongside Kiba's wife and daughter.
Team 3 walked into the house to find a small girl running after a cat. "Kaori-chan I told you not to chase the cats like that!" Ryoga scolded his cousin. The small girl stopped her pursuit of the cat and turned to her cousin. The four year old girl had long brown hair and light brown eyes. Her wild bangs were keep out of her face with little red clips. On her cheeks were the distinct red fang markings of the Inuzuka clan.
"I'm just trying to invite him to my big tea party Ryo-nii!" The small girl whined.
"He doesn't want to play with you Kaori-chan. Go have a tea party with your toys or something." Ryoga said. Kaori pouted and ran off down the hall. Ryoga led Team 3 into the kitchen to find Kaori's mother, Tamaki.
"Hey Aunt Tamaki, the shinobi are here to help me look for the dogs that are missing." Ryoga announced. Tamaki wiped her hands off and turned her attention to the shinobi.
"Is there anything you can tell us about the dogs that would help us get an idea of where they may be?" Konohamaru asked.
"Well I cant think of anyone who would want to kidnap untrained puppies. They may have just ran out if I'm being honest. They're all puppies so they like to get into trouble. Most of them have started training but have only gone through the basic response training, so they pretty much only know own their names. They haven't gone through physical training so they shouldn't be in any hard to reach places." Tamaki explained.
"How many dogs are missing?" Konohamaru asked.
"Six of them. I can show you where they were held if you want." Ryoga replied.
"That would be great." Konohamaru said. Ryoga led Team 3 down the hall and out the back door. Behind the house was a row of 5 long buildings. Behind these buildings was a large field of neatly cut grass. Ryoga walked to the building on the far left with a sign that read 'Puppies' on it. Once inside, the remaining small puppies in cages all began barking uncontrollably. A row of six empty cages sat on the left side of the room and the remaining six puppies were caged individually on the right side.
"They're usually allowed to roam free in here but after some got out I had to put them in their cages to keep track of them." Ryoga explained.
"This is the only way in or out?" Konohamaru asked, pointing at the main doors. Ryoga nodded in response. "What about scents? Have you been able to pick up anything out of the ordinary?"
"My nose isn't as sensitive as the other Inuzuka's but I don't smell anything unusual. And the whole grounds smell like dogs so I cant smell the puppies out." Ryoga replied.
"So they could possibly still be on the grounds? Alright, Boruto and Heishi, you two take Ryoga and check the other four dog houses for clues. Sarada I want you to look around in here once more. Ill go check the surrounding area outside of the compound for anything." The team all nodded in response and left the dog house, leaving Sarada to investigate.
Sarada walked up to the caged puppies on the right side as they excitedly barked at her, thinking she was going to let them out. "Sorry little guys, but I cant let you out. I have to find your friends." Sarada apologized to the small dogs. Sarada turned and began to carefully examine the room. She looked at the ground for footprints, but all she saw were small paw prints, nothing human to be found except for her own. She turned to the puppies once more and pouted. "Bye little gu-" Sarada stopped short when she noticed one of the puppies chewing on something. She opened his cage, which caused the other puppies to go wild and begin barking even louder. She struggled to open the dogs mouth but once she managed to get it open, the item he was chewing fell to the ground. She picked it up and closed the cage, leaving the puppy inside upset that he had nothing to chew. Sarada inspected the item and despite the bite marks that warped its shape, was able to determine that it was a hair clip.
"This looks like..." Sarada thought. Sarada walked out of the dog house and walked into the main house. She walked into the kitchen to find Tamaki cooking once again. "Tamaki-san, can you tell me which room is Kaori's?"
"Uh, its down the hall, second room on your left. May I ask why?" Tamaki responded. Sarada held up the small hair clip.
"I found one of the puppies chewing on this and I wanted to ask Kaori how it got there." Sarada answered. Tamaki's eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh dear. I hope Kaori doesn't have something to do with this. This way." Tamaki led Sarada down the hall. Tamaki pushed the door open to find Kaori sitting at a small circular table surrounded by six puppies and a cat. The animals all sat obediently and they were all lapping at small teacups set in front of them. "Kaori! What is this!" Tamaki shouted, startling her daughter and the animals in the room.
"Its my tea party Mama!" Kaori responded cheerfully.
"You know you cant take those dogs without permission! Why did you not tell anyone you had them here?" Tamaki walked in and took her daughters wrist in her hand.
"I just wanted my tea party! Papa promised he would have a tea party with me but he left again!" Kaori shouted with tears forming in her eyes. Tamaki's eyes saddened and she released her daughter.
"Oh Kaori, I'm sorry." Tamaki whispered. She bent down and hugged her daughter. "I know you miss your father but hes doing really important things right now. I know he wants to be here but he cant." Tamaki tried to calm her daughter.
"But he promised!" Kaori cried.
"I know Kaori. I know." Tamaki hugged tighter as tears began forming in her eyes as well.
Sarada looked on from the doorway, tears threatening to fall from her eyes too. The two in front of her reminded her of herself and her mother when she was a child. She never understood why her father would leave her and never understood why her mother always cried when she cried. Watching your child in pain was something that would bring any parent to tears.
"Uh, Tamaki-san, can I speak with Kaori?" Sarada asked.
Tamaki looked up and wiped her eyes. "Sure." She released her daughter and turned her to face Sarada.
"Hey Kaori. I know exactly what you're going through. My dad and your dad go on missions together, so I don't get to see him very often either."
"R-really?" Kaori whimpered.
"Mm-hmm. My dad missed quite a few tea parties too. My mom would always offer to join me but it wasn't the same. Eventually when my dad and I finally had our tea party, it was the best tea party I ever had." Images of her father sitting down to have a tea party with her came to Sarada's mind, causing her to smile.
"The best ever?" Kaori asked, wiping her tears away.
"Yep. All the waiting made it really special when it finally happened. I know that your dad will have the best tea party with you when he comes back. But until then I'll have a tea party with you whenever you want. Does that sound good?" Sarada asked.
Kaori wiped the tears from her face and smiled. "Yeah!"
Sarada sat down between two of the dogs and took a tea cup from the center of the table. Tamaki smiled at Sarada and left the two of them to enjoy their tea party. She walked back out into the kitchen to find Ryoga, Heishi and Boruto walking back inside.
"You two don't have to look anymore, we've found the puppies." Tamaki informed cheerfully.
"EHHHH where were they?" Boruto loudly shouted.
"Sarada-chan figured out that Kaori had them in her room. She just wanted to have a tea party with them." Tamaki explained. "Please don't be upset with her, she just misses her father."
"I wanted to be the one to find them! Damn Sarada always stealing the spotlight! Dattebasa!" Boruto complained.
Heishi ignored Boruto's tantrum and headed for the front door. "I'll go get sensei."
Boruto frowned and crossed his arms. "So much for a fun first mission."
Mission Assignment Room - One Hour Later
"So how did it go?" Naruto asked Team 3.
"Sarada managed to discover where the dogs were. Turns out that Kiba's daughter Kaori had taken them from their cages for a tea party." Konohamaru informed.
"Ah. Nice work Sarada." Naruto complimented.
"That was the most boring mission ever! All I did was search through dog kennels! And Sarada ended up having a tea party!" Boruto shouted at his father.
"You've taken your first step into adulthood Boruto. Every small mission is experience needed to become a powerful shinobi." Naruto lectured.
"Most genin don't get very exciting missions. Not until they're stronger and more experienced." Shikamaru added.
"You old guys just love to lecture don't you?" Boruto muttered while crossing his arms.
"Watch your mouth Boruto! If anyway knows how to become a powerful shinobi, its your father!" Konohamaru scolded the boy.
"Yeah yeah I know. The whole started from nothing story, I've heard it all before. I get it." Boruto said and rolled his eyes.
Naruto let out a loud laugh. "If you get it then you wont mind getting another D-rank mission tomorrow! Dismissed!" Naruto shouted and stamped the file in front of him as complete.
End
I hope you guys like the third team of genin. Hitoshi is a Hyūga and has the typical cool Hyūga attitude until he gets around Sarada, then he becomes a big dork. I also imagine some of the Hyūga looking down on Boruto for lacking the Byakugan, so that's the reason for his attitude towards Boruto. Sanagi is an Aburame, but is NOT Shino's son. I just really like Aburame's and I feel they never got to show their real potential in the actual series. Tsubaki was added so that Sarada had another gal pal besides Chōchō. I plan on expanding on all nine genin throughout the story so sit tight!
I also hope you liked their first mission. I wanted it to be like Team 7's mission where they had to find that cat. While doing that, I also wanted to introduce Kiba's daughter to show that Sarada isn't a unique situation in terms of an absent father. I also plan on having Sarada be somewhat of a big sister type to her, since she is the same age as Sachio. I also made Kaori really young and not the same age as the other next gen kids because it seems really unrealistic to have EVERY next generation kid be the same age. Plus Kiba didn't seem to have kids in Chapter 700.
Speaking of Chapter 700, that brings me to Lee's son/student. He was originally going to be a genin along with the other next gen kids, but it didn't seem like he was in the Academy like the other kids. I feel like Kishimoto might be planning on putting him with Himawari as sort of an ode to Neji and Lee's relationship, so I will do the same.