Several people carried the dust-covered Moriyue over to Yugito Nii. Even with his front paws pinned, Moriyue still refused to lower the large tail shielding his front. He stared blankly at Yugito Nii's faint smile with a pair of dead-fish eyes.
His gaze seemed to say: Satisfied now? It's all thanks to you that we ended up this miserable.
Yugito Nii seemed able to see through his thoughts. Taking the tuxedo cat from the others, she brushed the dust from Moriyue's body. Pale blue flames rose from her palm, and she used their heat to burn away the dust caught between his fur. Her hand felt warm, yet it did not scorch Moriyue's fur. It was quite miraculous.
Feeling the warmth from Yugito Nii's palm, Moriyue unusually did not resist. Perhaps it was simply a cat's nature, but he felt a little sleepy.
"You did well. Although I originally intended to test your teamwork..."
Once they heard that Yugito Nii had meant to test their coordination, they thought back carefully. They truly had only gotten the chance to catch that guy after working together along the way. That cat was incredibly sly; without cooperation, there was no way it would have fallen for their tricks.
She glanced at the obedient tuxedo cat, then nodded.
"Still, your teamwork was excellent. Let's leave it at that for today. Come back at the same time tomorrow, and we can officially begin training."
"You mean...?"
Kazeki looked up at Yugito Nii. She and Ando had originally been reserve members of Darui's squad. Unlike an official member like Moriyue, they were, putting it nicely, merely ninja a little stronger than ordinary Genin. Reserve members were reserve members—so long as they were not official members, they could be ignored.
"You two performed well this time. Although