Ukiyo waited in the rolling hills for her contact from the Inuzuka clan. She heard she would get to work with animals today, something Ukiyo was truly looking forward to. She had even gotten up early to meditate in the fields where the mission was supposed to be. The cold wind of the morning chilled her skin; she’d be shaking if not for her deep concentration. As the sun made its way up the sky, the air began to take on a comforting warmth. The grass around Ukiyo began to dry up and, as she sensed this, Ukiyo lied down in the comfort of tickly grass. She rolled around in place slowly, giggling at how astounding the grass felt against her skin. Ukiyo heard footsteps walking up the hill, and opened her eyes. She was still lying down when she saw Kota appear before her. She sat up quickly with a huge smile, “Kotaaa!!” Ukiyo and Kota had been in the same class at the academy, and it was nice to see him again. She always knew him as being intense; always shouting and making commotion when someone would accidently push his buttons. He wasn’t mean, though, just intense, as Ukiyo found out. The two of them trained together frequently; his natural talents as an Inuzuka allowed him to an interesting challenge for her and helped her practice Taijutsu. This was a pleasant surprise that she’d be doing this mission with a friend. Kota’s eyes and mouth were gaping,

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”I can’t believe they didn’t trust me enough to walk the dogs. I’m Inuzuka Kota! I don’t need help from another Genin. . .This is humiliating. The last bit was accompanied by his head falling in embarrassment. Kota would normally be mad at someone for insulting his talents, but couldn’t help but feel embarrassed that it was his own clan that had such little confidence in him. Ukiyo popped up to her feet and closed the gap between them in an instant. She threw an arm around Kota and began shaking him while she smiled and laughed,

“Kotaaaaa don’t be such a baby! Or do I need to walk you to?” Kota’s face grew bright red and he threw her hand off his shoulder,

“What?! You couldn’t find a leash in all of Konoha strong enough to hold me! And I’m not being a baby,” He said with a pout, “I just hate that no one in my clan will acknowledge me.” Ukiyo gave a warm smile and spoke softly,

“Relax Kota, they will. It takes time, and we’re still just Genin after all.” Ukiyo leaned in to kiss his cheek, but Kota reacted in terror, putting his hand on her face and pushing it away.

“Gah! Don’t come near me with that again!” Ukiyo grinned devilishly, glad he recalled last time.

“Oh come on Kota, not even the neck?” She leans in, pretending she’s going for his neck this time. Kota jumps back,

“Very funny. Now come on, we gotta walk these guys.” He says and suddenly a large group of dogs walk up behind him. They are led by an elder dog that has a leash in his mouth connected to the rest of them. He says something inaudible seeing as his mouth is full. Kota takes the leash and begins walking, Ukiyo next to him. ”See? I can walk the dogs. It’s not like it’s a challenging-“ Suddenly a small dog slips loose and begins running away. Ukiyo, without a word, goes off after him. The dog is surprisingly fast, having the advantage over Ukiyo because of the terrain. It takes a few minutes to catch up to him, but eventually; the ninja dog is in Ukiyo’s arms. She’s holding him on his back like a baby, and the dog looks miserably humiliated. Ukiyo’s smiling and rubbing his belly.

“Aww I’m sorry little guy. Next time don’t run away though! We can’t have a bunch of pups scattered around these hills now can we?” Ukiyo turns to see Kato just behind her with the rest of the dogs. Apparently her little chase took up far more distance than she had thought, and they were already close to the endpoint.

”I got it from here Ukiyo, thanks.

“But, but… I feel like I hardly did anything.” Ukiyo said with a pout. Kato grinned,

”Well as I said, I didn’t really need much help with this. You’re welcome to come over and play with these guys back in the village if you want.” Ukiyo considered the proposal tentatively.

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