Chapter 42: Tora
"Point A, in position."
Tucked away in a narrow back alley, Sakura kept her body low and out of sight, murmuring her position into the radio earpiece clipped to her ear.
Across the way, hidden a short distance off, Sasuke wore the same grim expression as he transmitted his own:
"Point C, in position."
Their eyes met across the gap. A full exchange of intel passed in that single glance.
In the same beat, both turned their attention — carefully — onto the target.
A sleek, athletic frame that broadcast pure speed. Powerful limbs that promised raw strength. Every so often a low snarl rumbled out from its throat, and there was clearly something clamped in its jaws.
Crunch. Crunch. Sharp teeth sheared straight through bone, and the prey vanished down its gullet.
Without question, an exceedingly formidable enemy.
"Naruto, are you in position?"
Sakura pressed two fingers to her earpiece, voice taut.
"Point B, in position-ttebayo!"
The sheer volume that exploded out of the radio was enough to make both Sakura and Sasuke yank their earpieces off on pure reflex.
A streak of orange dropped from above and dove straight at the target!
The target, looking up to see Naruto plummeting toward it, let out a piercing screech.
"Naruto, you idiot!"
Sasuke's stomach dropped, then his face twisted into a snarl as he launched into motion — terrified the moron was about to let the target slip away. He converged with Naruto from the opposite angle, sealing off the escape route.
Caught in the pincer between Naruto and Sasuke, no matter how vicious it was, the target wasn't escaping the demonic grip of two shinobi.
"BWAHAHA — GOT 'IM!"
Naruto hugged the target to his chest, grinning like he'd just landed an S-rank.
"MRRROOOWWW!!"
The target promptly unsheathed every claw it owned and went to absolute town on Naruto's face.
"Don't let go — we worked too hard to catch it."
Sakura strolled out with the mission slip in hand, glanced at the cat clamped to Naruto's chest, cross-referenced the photo on the slip, and gave a satisfied nod.
Mission Target: Tora Client: Madam Shijimi Mission Rank: D
Naruto's face was a picture of misery as he stared down at the giant tabby with the pink ribbon tied to its ear — currently the artist responsible for the bloody scratch graffiti now decorating his cheeks.
"Well well, nicely done."
Kakashi materialized out of some random corner, smiling at his three little shinobi, and reached over to lift Tora out of Naruto's arms by the scruff of its neck — that universal off-switch.
Naruto, freed at last from the rage-tabby's strike radius, sagged in relief.
"You dummy. You could've caught it without going off like a bottle rocket."
Sakura sighed at the claw marks on his face, pressed him down onto a nearby step, and let her hands kindle with green chakra. Naruto's natural healing was already absurd; combined with her medical ninjutsu, scratches like these would be gone in moments.
"But this cat's run away a bunch of times, right?"
"Why's it so determined to be a stray?"
Naruto sat very still under her hands, eyeing the thoroughly defeated cat dangling from Kakashi's grip.
"Hm, who knows~"
Kakashi's visible eye crinkled into that signature happy little arc.
Konoha Mission Assignment Office
"Ohhh~~ my Tora~~~"
"Mommy missed you SO much, sweetie~~~"
"You mustn't run off again, do you hear me~~~"
A generously proportioned noblewoman scooped up Tora and crushed him to her bosom with a truly suffocating love, mauling his fur with affection. The expression on Tora's face transcended species — it was the pure, soul-deep resignation of a creature who has given up.
Naruto watched the cat being smothered and felt the corner of his mouth twitch. Suddenly, three serial escape attempts made a lot of sense.
"Excellent work. Konoha shinobi really are efficient."
The noblewoman tossed down a thick stack of bills and was about to sweep out — when she spotted Sakura standing next to Naruto. Her face lit up, and there was a distinct note of ingratiation in the smile.
"Lady Haruno! I had no idea you were on this mission~~"
Sakura met the noblewoman's gaze with a polite, formulaic smile and a touch of professional distance.
"Yes. Madam Shijimi."
"Well, if Lady Haruno is busy, I'll be on my way. Do come by and visit sometime~~"
As the woman swept out, Naruto turned to Sakura, baffled.
"Sakura-chan, you know her?"
"Crossed paths a few times on past missions."
Madam Shijimi was the wife of one of the noble houses that had sided with Konoha during the resource wars; their paths had brushed by coincidence more than once.
Naruto scratched the back of his head, decided not to think too hard about it, and immediately swung the conversation barrel toward the man seated behind the desk — Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Every single day it's the same garbage D-rank chores! Old Man Hokage, can't you give me an S-rank for once?!"
"These D-ranks aren't even hard!"
Hiruzen looked at the blond gremlin caroming around in front of him and felt a familiar headache settle in.
"Naruto, you are a freshly minted genin. D-ranks are exactly what you should be doing."
"I don't care, Old Man Hokage — you're giving me a high-rank mission today, and that's final!"
Sasuke, off to the side, didn't speak — but the subtle expression on his face made it clear he was firmly in Camp Naruto on this one.
Tuning out Naruto and her teacher's bickering entirely, Sakura wandered over to the water cooler and poured herself a cup.
It had been five days since Kakashi's so-called "evaluation," and they'd been on D-rank duty the whole time. Sakura herself didn't care — but she was honestly surprised Naruto had lasted five days before snapping. She'd given him three, tops.
Hiruzen, having reached his Naruto threshold, slid a meaningful look toward the entirely-uninvolved Sakura, cleared his throat, and said:
"Sakura, why don't you come pick something appropriate for the team?"
Sakura caught that loaded glance and her mouth twitched.
Oh, fantastic. Just punt it straight onto my head.
Old man, I haven't even settled the score for you firing me yet~~
She walked over and started flipping through the mission roster on the desk.
"Sakura-chan, pick a high-rank one — I swear I'll protect you no matter what!"
Naruto bounced eagerly at her elbow as she browsed.
"There. This one."
After a few flips, Sakura tapped a finger on a job entry.
Clearing trash from the river.
"Eh?!"
"Why that one?!"
Naruto deflated on the spot like a punctured balloon.
Kakashi looked at the river-cleanup job, considered it for a moment, then smiled.
"Mm. Actually, it's a good pick."
Hiruzen chuckled.
"You're all genin right now. You'll be cleared for C-ranks once you've completed your share of D-ranks."
"Don't overthink it. Just put your heads down and get it done."