A shoe. A freaking shoe. Nagare felt reduced to a small child, rather than a ninja. Ninjas don't find shoes. But he was 3 missions away from Chuunin, and if he did this, only 2 more. So he gritted his teeth and began searching the streets.

Horui didn't mind as much. They were still getting paid for it. He licked on a popsicle casually while he looked through alleyways and crevices. The man who gave them the mission was looking for his son's shoe. His son described the shoe as black, and small. He also claimed that he lost it nearby his home, so that helped narrow down the search substantially.

Nagare and Horui looked everywhere; bushes, behind buildings, in the streets, and in shops. But sadly, no sign of a shoe was found. A little girl approached them, bearing a mischievous smile. "Are you guys looking for a shoe, perhaps?"

"Why, yes. Do you know where we could find it? It's small and black, belonging to a boy named Fudomaru." said Nagare. The girl simply giggled. Horui gave her a confused look, but she was focused on Nagare and didn't notice.

"I might happen to know where you can find it, but it'll cost you."

Nagare was already irritated with her, and he clenched his fist. "I see your game here. How much do you want?"

"I want 10,000 ryo."

Nagare laughed only because it was such a ridiculous request. "How about...no. Tell me where it is, or I'll destroy you."

Horui scolded Nagare for such a threat. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? People don't just go around threatening to DESTROY LITTLE GIRLS! he thought.

Nagare thought back, I'm just intimidating her for the information we need. It's no problem.

But it was a problem. The girl screamed, and began crying as she ran away to her house, dropping something as she went. Horui walked over to it and picked it up. It was a thin, white piece of paper that had scribbles on the back. Horui silently read the words. How to make 10,000 ryo. 1.) Get the shoe you found and sell it. Don't forget, you left it in the top of the tree near the Academy.

Nagare fiddled with his hair, and said, "But I thought I checked all the trees over there. I mean, there's only a few of them."

They turned in unison toward the Academy, and were facing the back of it. One tree stood alone, taller and thinner than the ones in the front.

"Have you checked that one?" Horui shook his head and mouthed the word no. "Oh." The two began walking toward the Academy, passing small children and soon-to-be-Genin. Nagare approached the tree, gave it a solid shake, and a shoe fell from its branches. "Well that was easy." Suddenly, a tall muscled man came forward, standing in front of the Nagare and Horui. "Which one of you threatened my daughter?"

Nagare paused for a moment, assessing his options. Based on the man's tone of voice, he wasn't happy, and his physique read powerful. Despite this, his eyes were sincere enough. Nagare started, "Well, she was withholding important information from us. Information that was required to complete our mission." The man didn't listen, but instead began to crack his knuckles. Without another word, Nagare ran, and Horui followed.

Once they managed to lose the guy, they returned the shoe to the boy, and his father paid them accordingly. An easy mission, really.

{Mission Complete, Thread Closed}