"Naruto, wake up." Ayakashi shook him lightly, trying to wake him up. "We have to go get our new mission."
Naruto jolted slightly, moving to a sitting position as he rubbed his eyes. "MIssion? What for?"
Ayakashi shook her head, already dressed as she handed him his clothes. "Just get ready and meet me outside."
Naruto heaved a sigh as he got out of bed, throwing on his clothes. He met Ayakashi outside, nodding as they headed to meet up with the others.
After receiving their mission, the five of them headed out, moving to their positions as they prepared to start the mission.
"Sasuke. I'm in Point B." the voice came over the headset, ringing in Ayakashi's ears as she hid underneath of a bush, waiting.
"Ayakashi, Point D." she replied, waiting for confirmation.
"Sakura, I'm in Point C." The buzz of the headset was muffled.
"Naruto. I'm in Point A! Believe it!"
"You're slow, Naruto." Kakashi's voice came through, causing Ayakashi to laugh quietly. "Okay, Squad 7."
A dark figure suddenly jumped out of the trees. "The target has moved! Follow it!" It darted past Ayakashi's hiding spot, causing her to sprint out of the bush, instantly following its trail. It jumped into a bush, making her skid to a stop as she jumped behind a tree, bumping into Naruto as the four of them peeked around the trees.
"Over there." Naruto murmured. They sprinted forward as Ayakashi fell to all fours, standing behind Sakura as they looked out towards where their target was.
"What's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked.
"Five meters." Naruto replied, sticking his head out slightly. "I'm ready, just give the signal."
"I'm ready, too." Sasuke said quietly as Sakura agreed with him. Ayakashi remained quiet, tail flicking against her side as he waited, eyes wide.
"Okay." Kakashi said, trailing off before snapping back to attention. "Now!"
The four of them jumped from their positions, all aimed for the target. Naruto reached out, his arms wrapping around the cat they were after as it started to struggle. "I got it, I got it!"
Ayakashi watched as the cat scratched at his face, sighing as he walked over and took the cat from him, shushing it as she calmed it down. She heard Kakashi's voice come through the headset. "Can you confirm it's the right target?"
"Affirmative. We've got a positive ID." Sasuke replied.
"Right. Lost pet Tora captured." Kakashi said. "Mission accomplished.
"Can't we get a better mission than this!?" Naruto exclaimed into the mic, causing Ayakashi to jerk her headpiece off. "I hate cats!"
Ayakashi chucked the headpiece at him, causing him to fall back as she turned to the others, face twisted in slight pain. "Let's get back to Kakashi-sensei."
"Right." They nodded, heading towards the rendezvous point as Ayakashi turned back around.
"Try not to yell like that while I have a headpiece. I have sensitive hearing." She explained, holding out her hand as she pulled him up, still holding the cat. "Let's go."
They met up with the rest of the team, heading to the ninja academy to call the mission a success. Naruto chatted idly with Ayakashi as they lagged behind. Soon they reached the academy, walking towards the respective room as they entered. The client was waiting for them, a huge smile appearing on her face as her eyes rested on her cat.
"Oh! My poor little Tora! Mommy was so worried about you!" She reached for the cat, causing her to cling to Ayakashi's clothes as she pulled her away, nuzzling the furry animal.
"Stupid cat." Naruto laughed. "That kitty deserves to be squashed."
"No wonder it ran away." Sakura said, slightly surprised.
"Now then." the Hokage started, holding up a piece of paper. "For Squad 7's next mission we have several available tasks. Among them, babysitting the chief counselor's 3 year old, helping his wife to do the shopping, digging up potatoes and-"
"No!" Naruto groaned, causing Ayakashi to elbow him slightly. He grunted, continuing with what he was saying. "I want to go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting, not this little kid stuff! Come on, Old Man!"
Iruka suddenly stood up, leaning over the table. "How dare you! You're just a brand-new Genin with no experience! Like everyone else, you start with simple missions to develop your skills and prove yourself!"
Ayakashi stepped back, falling in line with Sasuke as the commotion continued. "Are you serious!? Babysitting is not a mission! It's just a stupid-"
Kakashi knocked him in the back of the head, causing him to fall forward. "Will you put a lid on it?"
"Naruto!" the Hokage started as Ayakashi crouched down to help him off the ground, staying next to him as he remained seated on the floor. "You don't understand the tasks you have been given. Listen, many kinds of requests come into our village everyday. From babysitting to assassinations. These requests are to be carefully recorded, analyzed, then ranked A, B, C or D, depending on their difficulty."
Ayakashi kept her eyes forward, listening to the Hokage speak as her hands rested on Naruto. "We ninja are also ranked by ability. Hokage at the top, Jonin, Chunin. and Genin at the bottom. At the highest level, we select the missions and assign them to the ninja who have the appropriate skill and experience. If the mission is successful, we receive a fee that supports our village and our work."
They watched as the woman from earlier handed one of the others seated at the table some money, hugging her cat with a smile.
"Since you are untried Genin just starting down the Shinobi path. You are given D level assignments, of course." the Hokage stopped as he stared with a slightly surprised expression. Ayakashi had sat down next to Naruto as he had turned himself around, starting a story as she frowned. "So I had this taibatsu ramen yesterday and I'm thinking miso ramen today-"
"Silence!" the Hokage exclaimed, causing the others to look at him.
"Oh, sorry." Kakashi smiled lightly.
Naruto spun around, an irritated look befalling him. "You always lecture me like you're my grandfather or something! But I'm not the little brat who used to play tricks all the time! I'm a ninja now and I want a real ninja mission!"
Naruto puffed out his cheeks, folding his arms as he turned back around, resting against Ayakashi slightly. She stared at the Hokage, locking eyes with his. Kakashi raised a hand, rubbing it against the back of his head as he hummed. "I'm going to hear about this later."
Iruka started to smile as the Hokage chuckled, causing Ayakashi's ears to prick forward. "Naruto wants us to know he's not a brat. He's a former brat and he wants a mission. So be it."
Naruto's eyes widened as he straightened, lifting himself off of Ayakashi. Ayakashi smiled, tail wagging as she waited for more. The others raised their eyes to the Hokage, all seemingly surprised as he continued to speak. "Since you are so determined, I'm going to give you a C-ranked mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey."
Naruto twisted his body, a smile plastered onto his face. "Really? Yes! Who, who? Who are we guarding? A princess? Or some counselor?"
"Don't be so impatient. I will bring him in now." The Hokage turned slightly, calling to what seemed to be another outside the room. "Send in our visitor!"
Five heads turned towards the door, all waiting expectantly to see who they would be guarding. The door slid open, revealing a man holding a glass bottle. "What the? A bunch of little snot-nosed kids?"
The guy started to drink from the bottle as Naruto stood up, helping Ayakashi as well. She stuck close to him, wary of the newcomer as they all stared. She could smell the alcohol from the bottle as she glared lightly. "You, with the idiotic look on his face. You really expect me to believe you're a ninja?"
Naruto started to laugh, his hands on his hips. "Who's the little one with the idiotic look on his-"
Ayakashi looked up at him as he froze, face falling into realization as the others turned to him, stepping closer as Ayakashi slid back. Naruto groaned in annoyance as he figured out it was him, eye twitching slightly as Ayakashi laughed quietly. Kakashi suddenly grabbed onto the back of Naruto's jacket as he went to dash forward. "I'll demolish you!"
"You can't demolish the client, Naruto. It doesn't work that way." Kakashi said with a sigh. The guy took another swig from his bottle, a serious look overcoming him.
"I am Tazuna, master bridge builder. I must return to my country. I'm building a bridge there that'll change our world and I expect you to get me there safely. Even if it means giving up your life."
Ayakashi's eyes widened as he spoke, feeling like something was wrong. She kept quiet as they finished their exchange before following them out of the building, heading towards the village gates.
Naruto suddenly turned around, causing Ayakashi to smack into his chest as he raised his arms. "Yeah! Alright!"
"What are you getting so excited about, Naruto?" Sakura asked, placing a hand on her hip as she stood next to Sasuke and Kakashi.
"This is the first time I've ever left the village! I'm a traveller now, believe it!"
Tazuna turned to Kakashi, an irritated look on his face. "Hey, am I supposed to trust my life to this runt? He's a joke!"
Naruto suddenly stopped his chatter, face twisting in anger as Ayakashi placed a hand on his back, worried. Kakashi let out a chuckle. "He's with me and I'm a Jonin. You don't need to worry."
Naruto spun around, glaring at Tazuna. "Hey! Never insult a ninja, it's a big mistake! And I'm one of the greatest ninja ever! Someday I'm going to be Hokage and you'll look up to me! My name's Naruto Uzumaki! Remember it!"
Ayakashi sighed as Tazuna started to speak once more after taking another drink. "Hokage are powerful and wise. You are puny and brainless. The day you become Hokage I'll sprout wings and fly."
"Shut up!" Naruto exclaimed, clearly agitated as Ayakashi tried to calm him down. "I'm willing to do anything to become Hokage, no matter what it takes! And when I do, everyone will have to admit that I'm the top ninja, including you!"
"You can become Hokage ten times over, but to me you'll still be nobody." Tazuna replied. "A loser."
Kakashi grabbed the back of his bag, stopping him once more. "I told you, you're supposed to protect the client, not attack him."
Tazuna started walking, causing the others to follow as Ayakashi took over Kakashi's spot, keeping Naruto from doing anything rash. "Calm down, Naruto. This mission will be over before you know it."
