Naruto is waiting for Kakashi sensei in the usual spot. While he is waiting, he is reading one of the many scrolls Iruka brought back from the Temple of Joe. Sasuke and Madoka are standing around waiting and getting all bored.
"Why is Kakashi sensei always so late?" grumbles Madoka.
"Beats me," shrugs Naruto. Then he has a thought. "Hey, have you ever wondered what is underneath Kakashi sensei's mask?"
"Well now that you mention it, yeah," says Madoka. "I do wonder what is under that mask."
"What about you, Sasuke?" Naruto asks. "Do you wanna know what's under that mask, dattebayo?"
Sasuke nods.
Naruto grins. "Then let's find out! We will need a plan of action, a backup and…"
"Yo," says Kakashi sensei, appearing beside them. "Sorry I'm late, I had to change my son's nappy and take my daughter to the play centre."
"That shouldn't take Two and a half HOURS!" yells Madoka.
"You've never dealt with toddlers and babies, have you?" says Kakashi sensei skeptically.
"Can we do a mission today?" asks Naruto.
"Sure," grins Kakashi sensei. "But don't throw a hissyfit if we end up helping that old lady again."
Team Seven heads to the Hokage Tower to take a mission. On the way, Naruto and Madoka whisper to each other about ways they could get Kakashi sensei's mask off. Sasuke remains as silent as usual.
The team arrives at the tower and Kakashi leads them to the mission desk.
"Got any missions we can do, Grandpa Hokage?" asks Naruto.
"Well, there are a couple here," says the Hokage. "A nice old lady needs help with her groceries and dog, or you could help the police solve a mystery."
"Mystery," says Naruto.
"Definitely," agrees Madoka.
Sasuke nods firmly.
"We'll help the police," says Kakashi sensei.
"I thought you might," says the Hokage, handing Kakashi sensei the mission brief. "Report to Deputy Chief Kinoko Uchiha."
Deputy Chief Kinoko Uchiha is surprised and slightly terrified when she sees Naruto Uzumaki walk into her office with Kakashi Hatake and the rest of Team Seven. She did not expect this particular team when she requested a genin team to help her long-standing investigation. Sasuke, the pink boy and Kakashi she could have dealt with. Naruto… well, the first time she met him she fobbed him off in the Chief, who got a mustache drawn on his face and hasn't been the same since. Naruto is trouble, but at least it isn't lunch-stealer Hinata whose team got the mission.
Deputy Kinoko does not let any of her thoughts reach her face, however. "So you are the team the Hokage got to help me," she says. "I hope you are up to the challenge. This case has been unsolved for six years."
"So if you guys haven't solved it in six years, what makes you think we can?" Asks Naruto. "We aren't even police!"
"You make a good point, mustache-drawer." Deputy Kinoko turns to the board with the case information on it. "Over the last six years, virtually every cat in Konoha vanished one or two at a time for two or three days. Normally we would not care about such a thing. However, each and every cat disappeared as an ordinary cat and reappeared dressed like a total badass."
"Um, what?" Madoka stares at the case pinup board, which contains before and after pictures of the most recent cats.
"That's so cool, 'ttebayo!" Grins Naruto.
Sasuke doesn't react.
"We need the four of you to find out where these cats go and who transforms them, and why. Do you understand?" Deputy Kinoko orders.
"Yes ma'am!" Chorus Madoka and Naruto. Sasuke nods and Kakashi grins.
"All the information we have is in these folders and on this board. Get to work!"
"This is the wierdest case I've ever seen," comments Kakashi sensei. "I wouldn't be surprised if Tora returned as a punk cat if we let him run away."
"He'd probably become a gang boss and overthrow the fire daimyo," theories Naruto.
"I wonder if there is a pattern to the disappearances?" muses Madoka. "It seems many of the cats disappeared more than once."
"Maybe we should make a timeline of the disappearances," suggests Naruto. "What do you think, Sasuke?"
Sasuke looks up from rifling through the pictures and shrugs. "I dunno."
"Well you're a fat lot of help," grumbles Madoka. "Let's just make a timeline, Naruto. We'll have to note how long it was between each disappearance of the same cat and see if there is a pattern."
"If there are patterns," says Sasuke quietly. "Wouldn't the police have noticed them by now?"
"Maybe, maybe not," shrugs Kakashi sensei. "It depends how much effort they were actually putting into solving the case."
"I'd say not much, considering they don't have all that much information," says Madoka. "Although the amount of evidence is a lot more substantial the more recent the incident is. It seems that from the first disappearance until now, every cat who vanished more than three months ago has gone missing again since then. Some of them vanished more than once. The longer it has been since their first disappearance, the more times the cat has gone missing. See this cat here?" Madoka holds up a photograph of a fluffy grey cat wearing a leather jacket, a necktie and a pair of groovy shades. "This one has disappeared four times a year for the last three years, always on the first Thursday of every third month...Oh my goodness, it is due to vanish again tonight!"
"Then let's track it!" yells Naruto. "Sasuke, we are going to track the kitty!"
"I'm grounded, I'm not allowed out at night," says Sasuke.
"But it's for a mission!"
"My dad doesn't care."
"I am sure just the two of you can handle stalking a cat," says Kakashi sensei.
"What do you mean, 'the two of you'?" demands Madoka. "Aren't you coming with us?"
"Nope," says Kakashi sensei. "I have night duty."
"Night duty?" asks Naruto, screwing his face up.
"Yes," says Kakashi sensei nodding. "I have night duty looking after my babies."
"Looks like it's just us, then Madoka," sighs Naruto.
"Wimps," mutters Madoka.
"Let's find that cat and follow it!" yells Naruto, fist pumping the air.
Madoka and Naruto peek over the ridgepole of the house they are sitting on. Down below them a rather fat grey cat slowly meanders across her front yard. "That's the one," whispers Madoka. "Shadow it!"
"Stealth mode, dattebayo," whispers Naruto, slipping down behind the ridgepole and creeping along the tiled roof. This cat will not know he is there. Madoka follows closely behind and the two boys shadow the cat.
Naruto and Madoka follow the cat into an area of the village Naruto has not really been to before. They creep through the streets, making sure to stay out of sight and smell of the cat. A few people give them odd looks, but Naruto just grins, since he recognises them as nice people. The cat jumps in somebody's open window.
"Now what do we do?" whispers Madoka. "These people don't seem like they would appreciate strange kids jumping in someone's window!"
"Madoka, no one would appreciate a strange kid jumping in their window," says Naruto. "I know because I have done it many times."
"Then what do we do?" hisses Madoka. "We'll lose the cat!"
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asks, frowning. He exits stealth mode and walks boldly up to the front door of the house the cat went into. Then he straightens his collar, brushes some dust off his clothes and knocks politely, just like Grandma taught him.
A lady with long black hair opens the door, sees the two boys and smiles. "Hello there," she says. "What are you doing here so late?"
Naruto smiles winningly. "We are helping the police solve a mystery and we followed a stray cat here. It went into your house, may we search for it?"
The nice lady smiles and stands to one side. "Come on in," she says. "Be careful not to break anything while you're catching the cat."
"Yes Lady," says Naruto. "Come on Madoka! Stealthmode, dattebayo." Naruto slips back into stealth mode and starts tracking the cat.
Madoka follows, seemingly surprised about something. "Do you know that lady?" he whispers as the creep into a very girly bedroom.
"Nope," says Naruto. "But she kinda looks familiar, dattebayo." He can hear the lady laughing down the hall.
"Where did the cat go?" asks Madoka. "There are no windows open in here."
"Maybe in here?" Naruto wonders, pulling open the slightly-opened closet. There is no cat, but the back of the closet is slowly closing. Naruto sees a small panel above the skirting boards sliding into place. "There!" he points to it.
Madoka says, "I feel dirty going into a strange girl's closet. What if she loses it and calls us perverts and beats us up?"
"We are on ninja business," says Naruto, and pushes the panel, opening the secret door again. The back of the closet slides downwards, revealing a ladder. Naruto climbs down it, followed closely by Madoka. The find themselves in a comfortable room, lit with soft lights and decorated with cat beds, cushions and fluffy rugs. The lost cats are playing or sleeping on the floor.
Sitting in the middle of the room, with the cat Madoka and Naruto followed there on her lap, is none other than Sasuke Uchiha. "It's not what it looks like!" blurts out Sasuke.