Tsuneko looked down at the paper in her hand and back up at the of the large, beautiful house that she stood in front of. ’Looks like this is the place,’ she thought as she folded the paper up and placed it back in the pocket of her charcoal skirt. Straightening her sleeveless, crimson shirt she opened the gate to the client’s home and walked down a neat pathway through a well-manicured lawn to the door. She used the antique brass knocker to rap three times upon the door before taking a step back to wait. A few moments later, a rather round, elegantly dressed woman answered the door.

As Tsuneko stood at about the same height as the short woman, the Kirigakure forehead protector was one of the first things that Madam Chiasa noticed about her. Before she could do more than open her mouth, the lady cut her off. ”It is unfortunate what happened to your village, sweetie, but I don’t have any hand-outs for you.” Chiasa started to close the door on her, but Tsuneko stepped forward and placed a hand on it. The woman seemed affronted by her forwardness, and Tsuneko quickly explained, ”I’m not asking for handouts, Ma’am. I’m here under Konoha’s direction to find your missing cat.”

Her explanation, while it stopped her immediate dismissal, did little to endear herself to Madam Chiasa. The woman looked disapprovingly at her and grudgingly said, “Come, and be sure not to get dirt on the floors; the maid just cleaned them.” Turning her back on the genin, Chiasa led the way into a lovely, richly carpeted hallway. Sitting under a portrait of a younger Madam Chiasa and a handsome, young man was a small, narrow table on which a photograph of a cat resided within a fancy frame. As she picked the picture up and turned it over to fumbled with the catches on the back side she maintained a one-sided conversation with Tsuneko. ”It’s all well and good that you are trying to earn your way instead of living off of the Hokage’s generosity, which he is giving away far too liberally, if you ask me, but I have heard stories about your Bloody Mist Village…” She fixed Tsuneko in her gaze as she warned her, ”If anything happens to my Maybell, I am holding you, personally, responsible.” Turning back to her task she continued, ”That young Inuzuka lad will be the death of us all. Back when Alfred was alive, there was none of this taking in stray ninja. Back then each village survived or disappeared based on their own merit.” There was no doubt that she thought that Kirigakure deserved to have been destroyed. Tsuneko took the criticism silently, nodding respectfully as Madam Chiasa warned her about ensuring the cat’s welfare. She couldn’t help but be glad that she had covered her Kaguya marks with her forehead protector today. If she knew that Tsuneko was a Kaguya, known for their blood-thirstiness, there was no doubt that she would have been refused the mission and kicked out of Chiasa’s home. The lady, finally successful in removing the picture, handed it to Tsuneko and ushered her to the door. ”Hurry up. I want Maybell back with all haste.”

After Chiasa closed the door on her, Tsuneko made her way through town to the Dense Forest, where she had been advised by the mission description that Maybell liked to hide. As she walked, she looked at the picture in her hand. ’What an ugly cat… Atleast its distinctive.’ Assuming that an inside cat was likely to stay near the paths, Tsuneko started along a trail, keeping her eyes and ears open for anything. Very attuned to any noise, she spun around as she heard a bush rustle. Tensed and ready to grab whatever came out, she was very disappointed to see that it was just a rabbit. Continuing on her way, she spent a few hours wandering the forest and calling for the cat every few minutes, although not expecting for the cat to come to its name.

She looked up as she shadows in the forest got even darker. It looked like the sun would be setting soon, and she knew that she had no chance of finding a cat in the dark. Speeding up, she startled something out of a bush and, having already scared birds, rabbits, and even a deer already, she didn’t realize that the creature was a cat until it had already scampered out of reach. Knowing that she couldn’t outrun the animal, she decided to make it come to her. Summoning a clone with the Bunshin no Jutsu, she sent herself off in to the side to loop around and cut off the cat. As her clone-self found the creature, she identified that it was, indeed, Maybell, and had her clone run at it.

Maybell ran in the opposite direction…right to where the real Tsuneko was waiting. Tsuneko scooped the cat up and was rewarded with a two sets of claws digging into her belly as the cat tried to jump out of her arms. She managed to keep a hold of the cat and holds it tight against her chest, one hand holding its two back legs together and at an angle that would make a similar attempt impossible. Although not hurt, Maybell expressed its displeasure with mournful cries.

Ignoring the unhappy kitty, Tsuneko managed to carry it back through the village to Madam Chiasa’s house without too much difficulty. Using her knee, she knocked on the door again and handed Maybell and the picture over to the lady when she answered the door. ”What took you so long?” Chiasa demanded as she looked Maybell over for any injuries, cooing over the cat. ”Maybell was just having too much fun out in the woods to want to come in,” she answered politely to the non-listening lady. Assured that Maybell was in one piece, Chiasa finally looked at Tsuneko. ”It looks like you didn’t hurt my sweetheart, so I suppose you deserve the full reward.” She handed Tsuneko an envelope and, without waiting for a reply, closed the door on her.

Tsuneko opened the envelope and, assured that the money was in there, went on her way. She didn’t need a thank you; she did the job and got paid, which was all she needed. After all, Chiasa was right; she didn’t want to live off of the Hokage’s generosity. On her way back to her room, Tsuneko lifted up her shirt and frowned as she saw a few short, shallow scratches on her stomach. Luckily, Maybell hadn’t gone deep enough drawn blood, so some soap and water when she got back should be sufficient to take care of it. Smoothing her shirt back down, she continued on her way.

[Chakra: 75/80]

Spoiler:

[Word Count: 1,137/600]