The Cat-Catching Mission

"Is it really okay for us to just stand here and watch?" Hyuga Izumi asked, holding a skewer as she watched Tōyama leap around after the cat.

"What's wrong with that? He needs the exercise anyway. We're giving him the opportunity, so he ought to thank us," Hyuga Gen said matter-of-factly. Then he took a bite of his skewer. Delicious.

"Don't stop. Hurry up and eat, or it'll get cold. I'll buy some more after we finish." Hyuga Gen nudged Uchiha Izumi with his left elbow, urging her to finish the skewers in the paper bowl she was holding.

The bowl was rather large, and there were quite a few skewers inside. It also held some dumplings, which Uchiha Izumi loved.

Hyuga Gen had gone out of his way to buy all this. Well, actually, they'd just happened to pass by while chasing the cat, so he'd picked some up. Mostly, he thought it would be pretty satisfying to eat skewers while watching Tōyama run around.

"Mhm, these grilled skewers are pretty good, but I still like my dumplings better." Uchiha Izumi picked up a skewer of dumplings and took a bite, her eyes closing happily.

Uchiha Izumi had to admit that eating while watching from the sidelines was pretty nice.

The cat-catching mission looked simple, but catching the cat wasn't easy. Cats were light and nimble, quick on their feet, and skilled at climbing trees and squeezing through holes. They also couldn't hurt it, so honestly, catching it alone was quite a challenge.

Hyuga Gen had tried earlier, and it had taken him a while. Of course, his Byakugan had helped a lot by saving him the time it would've taken to find the cat. Otherwise, it would've taken even longer.

Izumi had tried too, and she'd caught the kitten without much trouble. In the interest of fairness, Tōyama ought to get a chance to catch it as well, so they let the kitten go again.

Then Hyuga Gen settled in to watch the show. He was being a complete jerk about it. When Izumi had been catching the cat, he'd helped her search and block its escape routes. But now that it was Tōyama's turn, he just sat back and watched. He'd even dragged Uchiha Izumi away from helping.

The cat seemed to have had enough. "You caught me, but you're not turning me in to complete the mission. What are you even up to? And you've let me go twice. Are you looking down on me or something? Do you think I'm easy to catch? Fine. I'll show you!" It was out for revenge now, and it caused trouble at every turn.

It ran past the women's bathhouse, squeezed through narrow gaps, and knocked all the goods off the shelves in a shop.

The spectacle along the way had been great. When Tōyama saw Hyuga Gen watching with an amused look on his face, he'd wanted to run over and beat him up. Unfortunately, he knew he couldn't win.

"Here, this is for your efforts. That's enough for today. We'll take it from here." Seeing Tōyama looking miserable, with a red handprint on his face, Hyuga Gen felt a little sorry for him. It was getting late, too.

"Izumi, let's go." Hyuga Gen headed northeast. He'd just seen the kitten run that way, and it would be a good chance to walk off the food.

At least you have a conscience. Tōyama thought this as he accepted the skewers Hyuga Gen handed him. But when he saw that the paper bowl was full of nothing but wooden sticks, he felt wretched.

By then, Hyuga Gen and Uchiha Izumi had found the kitten and cornered it in a narrow gap. Hyuga Gen couldn't understand why the houses had such a tiny space between them. Either leave no gap at all, or leave enough room for an alley.

The kitten licked its paw and gave Hyuga Gen a mocking look. "You can't get in, can you? I'll just wait here and see what you can do."

"It won't come out. What should we do?" Uchiha Izumi asked, looking across at Hyuga Gen.

Just then, Hyuga Gen crouched down and produced a dried fish as if by magic. He held it in front of the kitten, waving it around and making a "here, kitty~" sound.

"Wow, that dried fish smells so good!" The kitten started drooling. It could smell the fish, and as it stared at the one in Hyuga Gen's hand, longing filled its eyes.

"Hmph. You think you can tempt me with one little dried fish? Dream on, kid." The kitten thought disdainfully, but it couldn't take its eyes off the fish.

"Maybe I should just go over there. It's no big deal." When it saw Hyuga Gen pull out another dried fish and wave it around, the kitten hesitated. Its paws, however, carried it two steps toward him on their own.

"No. I have to stand firm. How can I let myself be swayed by just two dried fish—"

"All right, I'll go over. They're not bad people, and it's time to go home. My owner will be worried." When it saw Hyuga Gen bring out a third dried fish, it walked over without hesitation, then jumped into his arms.

"Where did you get the dried fish?" Uchiha Izumi asked curiously, watching the kitten sit docilely in Hyuga Gen's arms.

"I saw someone drying them along the way, so I borrowed a few," Hyuga Gen replied calmly.

"That wasn't very nice of you." A few dried fish weren't much, and the cat might have stolen more than that anyway, but Uchiha Izumi still felt it wasn't right.

"It's fine. I left some money there, so you can consider it a purchase." As he spoke, he took out a few more and fed them to the kitten.

Their first mission ended perfectly. Hyuga Gen knew there were plenty more missions waiting for them, and they might get harder each time.

Lying in bed and thinking things over seemed to have become a habit for Hyuga Gen.

Yesterday, he'd gone to see Hyuga Natsu, and then they'd visited Yu Zhihui together. When he learned that Yu Zhihui had joined the medical corps, Hyuga Gen had secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Joining the medical corps was a good choice. It could be tiring, but it was relatively safe. They rarely left the village for missions, mainly helping out at the hospital and learning Medical Ninjutsu.

Konoha's medical care really wasn't very good at the moment. Few people joined the medical corps because the work was exhausting and it was hard to make a name for yourself. Getting promoted wasn't easy, either.

There weren't any particularly skilled doctors yet, and they couldn't treat many illnesses or injured people. As a result, they were often mocked and berated by patients' families. The higher-ups also hadn't given the medical system much attention.

But Hyuga Gen knew that in a few years, the medical corps would become highly sought after. Everyone would want to join, and there might not be enough places for them all. That was because the famed medical ninja of the Ninja World, Tsunade, would return—the Fifth Hokage.

What he didn't know was that Yu Zhihui had also chosen to join the medical corps because of Hyuga Natsu. Earlier, Hyuga Natsu had told her, "I've actually been thinking about joining the medical corps."

When Yu Zhihui asked why she felt that way, Hyuga Natsu's answer had moved her:

"If I learn medicine well, then if something happens and Big Brother Gen gets hurt, I'll be able to help him."

"I know I might never be able to surpass Big Brother Gen in strength, so..." She didn't finish, but Yu Zhihui understood what Natsu meant.

"Today's mission is done, too. For a while, we'll probably keep doing D-rank missions in the village. We likely won't get any C-rank or higher missions until next year."

By next year, he'd be twelve. There were quite a few things he wanted to do.