I own neither Watchmen nor Naruto. Anyway, this is an experiment in characterization, dialogue, and writing in present-tense.
Wednesday comes.
At sunrise, Reika-sensei leads Team Four in five brisk laps of the village, saving the long upward slope on the border of Flare District for the end of each lap. The Genin finish the last uphill climb sweaty and breathless. Walter's limbs want to shake but he does not let them.
A silver eyebrow raises as she surveys her panting students.
"Get used to it as fast as you can." She advises. "We're building stamina at both ends of the day. As soon as you can make this run easily, we'll add weights to the equation. You get ten minutes for water and rest, and then it's three on one sparring, capture-the-flag style. D-Rank mission distribution begins at eight-thirty, so we've got two hours to spare. The three of you are going to try to get the bandana, which will be tied around my arm, thusly." She pulls a lilac cloth out of her hip pouch, securing it to her arm. "This is to evaluate your combat skills both as an individual and as a team."
After ten minutes, Walter's breath comes easier, the stitch in his side more subdued. His fellow teammates look a little worse for the wear. Hiko's pale face has lost its unhealthy, almost-purple flush.
He really does have poor stamina after all, Walter thinks.
"Come on, get up!" Reika-sensei chides, spreading her feet into an easy stance. "You've got an hour and a half to take the flag from me, and then its mission time." The trio stands up straight, muscles tense and coiled, waiting. "Ready? On my mark… GO!"
Walter has seen the mission room in the Hokage's Tower before, on a field trip in the first year of Academy. But he's never been here to take a mission. The room is well-ventilated; fans blowing the moist heat of late spring away, bringing with it the distinct smell of cedar, ink and paper.
Team Four gets in line behind a battered Jounin in black. Walter tries not to stare at the man – who is missing an ear.
As the line moves, Michiyo is favoring her right leg, from when Reika-sensei kicked her during their bout of capture-the-flag sparring. Hiko pops his neck with a sinewy crack and sighs in relief. At one point the Hyuuga was swept onto the ground, landing full on his back, winding him. Walter fared better than the other two, but nonetheless, he can feel the bruises forming under his clothes, spreading purple and black like the colors on his uniform.
The line moves quickly, and it takes little time to reach the mission desk.
"You took your time deciding on your team, Reika." The Third Hokage smiles, all wrinkles and tanned leathery skin. He looks like a battered but well-loved glove, Walter thinks. "Was the decision worth the wait?"
"It's worth taking the time to make the right choice for an important decision, my Lord." Reika-sensei smiles back.
"And how is your boyfriend, that student of mine, doing? I have not heard from him recently." Their sensei frowns in confusion.
"Boyfriend? Oh, you must mean Jiraiya. Ah, he's doing fine, teaching that speed-nut student of his – what was it? Arashi… no, Minato. Minato Namikaze." She shrugs. "We're just fooling around. I expect we'll break up as soon as Tsunade-hime makes up her mind about him."
Walter's not sure what to think of that, that his teacher might be a loose woman. So far she has shown nothing more than competency, intelligence, and a far better understanding of how to teach than most Academy teachers. Even Jounin are not perfect, apparently.
"Very well then. Here for your first mission Walter?" Walter blinks. Is the Hokage on a first name basis with all of his ninja?
Apparently not, as the Third goes on to acknowledge his teammates.
"Miss Kagami, young Hyuuga. Hm… I have one D-rank here, to retrieve the Daimyo's wife's cat."
"Oh that," Reika-sensei dismisses with an airy wave of her hand, "That isn't work."
"Some might disagree with you." The man chuckles.
"I meant no offense. We'll take it, my Lord. Take a nice, easy mission for our first day."
"In that case, I shall hand this over to you, and good luck on your team's first mission." Reika-sensei takes the mission scroll with a bow, then turns to her students.
"Let's go." Obediently, they follow her out. She walks briskly down the narrow hall. The trio of Genin squeeze into a single file line to allow others room to walk. "Let's head to the roof."
The sunlight glares down at them when they leave the dim interior of the building for the heat-soaked terracotta tiles.
"Take a seat." They obey. "Alright, speech time again. Pay attention, please."
Michiyo giggles.
"Each mission has seven parts. First, we receive the mission from the mission desk. This is Mission Assignment. Then, before every mission, it is important to plan it out. This is called Mission Briefing. After we plan things out, we do it. This is Mission Execution. And once we complete the mission, we discuss what happened, and how it did or did not go as planned. This is Mission Debriefing. Then, finally, we write our report, turn them in to the mission desk to complete our mission, and receive our pay. These are Mission Report, Completion, and Compensation.
"So, we've been assigned our mission. Team Four is to find, and retrieve the cat belonging to the Fire Lord's wife. This is as standard a retrieval mission as there is. There are three parts to a simple retrieval. One, locate the target. Two, obtain and secure the target. And last, transport said target from its current location to the determined location written in the mission scroll.
"Now. First of all, who knows what cats are like?"
"Used to have one." Walter grunts.
"Hiko, Michiyo? You know anything about cats?"
"No."
"Not really, sensei."
"Well, that's two of us at least. You'll need to watch out for biting, and more importantly, scratching. Cats are not like dogs – they don't like being told what to do, and they won't accept a leash. So now, we decide how to go about filling this mission. Let's begin at the end, where we've found the cat. How do we transport an unhappy cat without getting shredded to pieces? Any ideas?" Hiko's hand rises. "Yes?"
"Trapping it in a box or a basket?"
"Yes, that's good. And how do we get the cat into the transport container? -Michiyo."
"Use food, or a string. Or catnip?"
"Again, a good idea. It would be easiest to trick the cat into getting into the container of it's own will. …You have something to add, Walter?"
Walter nods, a sharp jerk of his head.
"Use genjutsu on cat. A mouse, or trick cat into sleeping."
"That, is a very good idea, Walter. Keep in mind that cats – normal cats, at least – have the approximate intellect of a two-year old. Could you do the genjutsu you just described?"
"Yes."
"Good. That will be your task for this mission." Reika-sensei orders, then turns to Hiko and Michiyo. "Can the two of you track down the target?"
"Of course." Hiko says, but Michiyo bites her lip.
"Hiko can do that way better than me with those darn eyes of his. I'll… get a basket and carry the cat back, 'kay?"
"That will do. I'll rent the short-frequency radios that will help to coordinate the team's efforts."
"We can rent supplies for missions? Really?" Michiyo wonders.
"Yes – radios, cameras, tape recorders, mostly electronics for surveillance missions. You have to be a Chuunin to rent them, though."
"Neat!"
"Well, everyone has a job to fulfill now. Good. Then let's begin. Starting with those supplies… For the basket, we'll stop by my apartment – I have one perfect for this kind of use – Flicker District is near the section of forest where the cat was seen last."
(Excerpt from transcripts recorded from Konoha Short-wave Radio Frequency Fourty-Two, rented from 8:51 to 12:25, Wednesday, April 29th, Year of the Fruitbat. Shinobi recorded speaking are Jounin Reika Gintaki, and Genin Team Four: Hiko Hyuuga, Michiyo Kagami, and Walter Kovacs.)
Buzz…
Tap.
Tap, tap.
A huff of breath.
[Seen it yet, Blue?]
[The target is thirty yards away, North-east-east from your position, Green.]
[Move quietly.]
[Yeah, yeah, Mr. Monochrome.]
[Codename is 'Black and White', Green.]
[Pft. Whatever. Who thunk up these code names anyways?]
[…You did, Green.]
[Oh. …Yeah.]
[Focus, children, and begin the approach.]
[Thank you, Purple.]
[It's what I'm here for, Blue.]
[Ready yet?]
[Yes.]
[Begin approach now.]
[Monotone-]
['Monochrome', or 'Black and White.' Just make up mind!]
[Well, the shoe fits, an' it's not like you don't talk that way, right?]
[Ye gods…]
[I see the target. We've got the right cat, this time at least.]
[Genjutsu is ready now.]
[Okay, okay, I'm really serious now. Let's do this.]
[Am beginning genjutsu as of three… two… one.]
A crackle.
[…Looks like it was successful, good job Monochrome.]
[Just let it sleep a little, Green, to make sure it's really out cold.]
[…It's definitely out, like KA-POW. Can I go now, Purple?]
[Go ahead, Green.]
['Kay, goin' in now…]
Thump.
Rustle.
[It's in.]
[Target contained. All that's left is transport. Right people, let's head out.]
[Yes, sensei.]
[Radios off, so you don't wear out the battery. The rental department fines you if you come back with an empty battery. And if they do, I won't have the cash to treat Team Four to lunch.]
[Really?]
[Yeah, really. Offline, now, kiddos.]
['Kay.]
Click.
Static.
If you are confused who is speaking during the radio section, it is: Michiyo, Hiko, Walter, Michiyo, Walter, Michiyo, Hiko, Michiyo, Reika-sensei, Hiko, Reika-sensei, Michiyo, Walter, Hiko, Michiyo, Walter, Michiyo, Hiko, Michiyo, Walter, Michiyo, Walter, Michiyo, Hiko, Michiyo, Reika-sensei, Michiyo, Michiyo, Reika-sensei, Walter/Hiko, Reika-sensei, Michiyo, Reika-sensei, Michiyo.
And if you haven't noticed yet - Michiyo is the clown of the group. She is very noisy, but Walter is still the main character!
Please review!