Chapter 7: The BIG Mission Intro Part 1

Soon Team 14 engaged in some missions. Of course, such an inexperienced team wasn't given any missions, involving risks or danger. Nope, it was just your average D-ranked assignments. They handled dog walking to trash cleaning to doing household errands for the wealthy people. It was boring, and Tsuzuku made sure it was known. She, like most kids her age, craved to be involved into a highly classified adventure and save the day, not delivering a message from Hyuuga-sama to an elder of Konoha…

"This blows…," said Tsuzuku as they are walking home from their latest mission. "I mean they should hire servants for these kinds of jobs we do, not shinobi. We're meant for fighting, not this boring junk. Don't you guys agree?"

"Well, I'm kinda fine with this set-up. Doing all these low-ranked missions will probably help us prepare for the tougher ones, right Shikamaru-sensei?" inputted Xin.

"Huh? Oh, not really. We're just helping the village gather funds…," said Shikamaru casually. "Well, I'll see you kids tomorrow, same time and same place as usual." He turned right into an alleyway and departed from the others.

"Hmph, whatever. Yin probably knows what I'm talking about, right? Without any challenges, our skills will rust, and by the time we're given "real" missions, we won't be ready at all!" she spoke loudly to her comrades.

"I usually train once I get home, so that's not a problem for me. Also, as long as I'm helping our village in some form, I'm satisfied…," he replied.

"God, nobody understands me!" she yelled.

Soon, they all parted ways to return to their respective homes. Three genins came to bed with different thoughts running through their heads. Tsuzuku hoped that they would at least experience a C-rank mission tomorrow. Xin prayed that tomorrow will be another successful mission without any casualties, like every night. Yin slept with no burdens, worries, or expectations. He care more about the present at the moment, and since the day was done, his state of mind was totally relaxed. Well, except for one thing…

The next day, the young shinobis arrived at the training grounds at the usual time. As usual, their jounin-sensei is the first to greet them once they came.

"Hey, you lil' brats, let's go on to our next mission and get it over with."

Tsuzuku's eyes brightened as she saw the possible possibility of excitement. She was about to ask him a question to confirm if her woman's intuition kicked in yet. Today, she felt it was time for Team 14 to be on the next step to test their strengths and show everyone that they have no weaknesses.

Before she could start, Shikamaru quickly replied, "No…"

"Not even a little…"

"No…"

"How about…"

"Nope…"

"Ah, but there's always…"

"God damn it, he said no!" Yin outbursted. The others looked at him surprised. They usually go through this ritual every morning, and that exchange would last about 5 minutes every time before one side gives in (usually Shikamaru, because continuing would be too troublesome…).

"You okay, Yin?" Xin asked in a concerned tone.

"No, it's nothing…," he quickly replied. He attempted to change the topic with, "Let's get on with this mission already."

"Yeah, we'll get to that… If you aren't 100, go home and rest. Although this mission has a low possibility of any danger or threat, I don't want any of my men distracted. I want them at their best and nothing less."

"Hai! I'm fine…, really."

"Okay then, let's get on with the mission briefing."

"Let's see, what we're gonna do today? Buy groceries for old people or clean the alleyways of grafitti? Ooh, how about dumpster diving to find a lost, extremely-valuable-but-ain't-worth-nothing bracelet? How fun…" Tsuzuku said sarcastically.

"Well…, not even close. A rich family by the name of Fuugen decided to fund our village on the account of that we pick up their kid from the park everyday. Today, Team 14 is on the case, so let's get this troublesomeness over with."

Shikamaru led the way as they casually walked to the park. As usual, on their trip to their mission location, Tsuzuku eliminated the silence and dullness with her complaints, goals, expectations, concerns on current events, stories about her past, and somewhere along the line, the mission at hand.

"So, what does this kid look like? Boy? Girl? Short? Tall? Fat? Skinny? Blonde? Brunette? Light-skinned? Dark-skinned?" She was about to continue on and on, but Yin interrupted her.

He didn't want Yin to outburst again and get sent home. "Umm…, we got the point, Tsuzuku. So Shikamaru-sensei…?"

"The basic description is a short, blue-eyed, brown-haired, 3-4 feet tall boy with the age of 5 and three-quarters. He won't be hard to find though. Apparently, he's playing in a private park owned by his family. He doesn't have any friends, so he'll be very easy to find."

"Wow, their family must be loaded!" Tsuzuku spoke loudly with enthusiasm. "I wonder if we will get any bonuses from them outta this. There's this very nice brace knuckles I've been wanting, but with my allowance it'll take ages to get it!"

"Well, there's also the salary we get each month," Xin stated.

"With what they're paying us, all of that money would be gone by the time I eat a bowl of ramen!"

"So…," Yin changed the subject, "Are the guards at the gate aware of our visit?"

"What do guards being at a gate have to do anything with our mission?" she asked dumbfoundedly.

"Yes," Shikamaru answered, "I see that you have noticed Fuugen Park at the edge of town before."

"Yeah, I walked by there a couple of times," he replied curtly.

Tsuzuku was fuming with impatience being ignored. Shikamaru noticed her expression at the corner of his eye and decided to explain. "Fuugen Park is a private park for Mr. and Mrs. Fuugen's son. And to make sure their son is safe and isolated from bad people, there's a big fence surrounding the acre of land ("It's not that big," commented Yin softly) with two guards supervising the front gate. Understand?"

Tsuzuku nodded as she was getting more and more excited to see the place. "Oh my God, will there be a pool? I would love to go swimming on a nice day like this!"

Soon, they arrived at the private park, but something wasn't right with the place. They had an eerie feeling as they walked around to approach the front gate. "The guards are unconscious…"