In mid-April, the mission counter opened early as usual.
Steam rose from the breakfast stall at the alley entrance. A handcart from a stall that had packed up rumbled over the paving stones toward the bridge.
Team 7 stood at the front of the line.
Kakashi took the slip, glanced over it, folded it into his pocket, and told them to finish before dark before heading down the steps.
The slip still had the word "weeding" printed on it.
Behind him, Naruto swung his kunai pouch until it rattled. When no one paid him any attention, he chased after Kakashi.
Team 8 arrived right after them.
Their Jonin wasn't with them. Kiba had taken charge of fetching the mission slip, with Shino in the middle and Hinata bringing up the rear, all three standing in an orderly formation.
The Chunin behind the window stacked the two slips and stamped them. His hand rose and fell, and neither team gave the other's slip a second look.
The wall repair job was in the residential district up by the Hokage Mansion. The reason was stated plainly: damage caused by a cat.
The back listed the damage: half a wall down, a stretch of broken roof tiles. The figures weren't large, but the repairs would be fiddly.
Kiyoshi stood on the steps and saw Hinata look his way first.
By the time he turned his head, her gaze had already shifted to the slip.
Half a beat later, she lifted her eyes again, sent a glance his way, and quickly withdrew it.
Two slips, one window, each team taking its own job.
A small blackboard had been newly nailed up beside the window. It read "D-rank missions processed in parallel, one slip per team." The stamps all went in the same spot.
Two