Mission Spree

It was early in the day when June had agreed to meet with Kiigan. It was hard to know what shape he'd be in or how he'd feel after their last big outing, she hadn't actually met him since then... she just managed to get someone to deliver a message.... But still, she was determined to make this a fun experience for both of them! After all the pain and misery they'd gone through, they needed that much.

A sly smirk crossed her face as she glanced down at the stack of note cards with written objectives and mission details from assignments she'd accepted. This would work... it HAD to work! Back when they found a cat, things were awkward, but it was fun. They ended up growing closer and having a nice time back then. So if it worked with just a few missions, then why wouldn't it work better with more? She had agreed to basically anything she could think of, so if they could just do it all at once then they'd be able to get to more missions and have even more fun with this, right?

The nightmarish torture of an overly packed workload had yet to truly begin....

Kiigan showed up, looking a little sleepy like he'd just woke up. Accurate, since it was early morning and normally he avoided them like the plague. At least she should take to heart that despite that, here he was just as she'd asked. Yawning, he rubbed one of his eyes and looked at her. "I got your note," he mumbled, missing the obviousness of the statement. Obviously he got it. He was here.

The man looked pretty good considering. He'd seemed to have left his jacket at home in his sleepy state, so the bandage that was still wrapped around his middle was visible. Both of his eyes had the shadows of healing bruises. Judging by his walk, he didn't seem to be in any pain, so it seemed everything was healing nicely. Once he started to actually wake up, his brows lifted. "Oh. Hey. Are you alright?" Kiigan wanted to know, remembering that clot she threw up and still being worried about it. After the hospital stay, he hadn't been able to contact her.

After blinking a few times, June finally remembered what the man was talking about "Oh, that. I... it was nothing." She admitted as she recalled the short time she was at the hospital. "I don't think any of them really knew what the problem was, but I had some form of infection. I didn't completely understand it, but it was something about complications from some problem with my blood.... I think by the end of it, the doctors had more questions than I did.... But... that doesn't matter, because whatever it was is gone now, so I should be fine. Right? It's...."

For a moment, the woman glanced away. "It's fine now.... Everything is fine." Before she could get too wrapped up in the situation, she quickly held up the cards to steer the conversation to something else. "But that doesn't matter because I've got our list of missions! Nobody knows what we'll be doing today! Are you ready, Kiigan!? And the first one is...." Before he could object, June intensely shuffled the cards, glaring at them angrily as she did so, gritting her teeth as a slight grunting noise could be heard before she finally pulled one out and went back to her normal demeanor.

"Pretend to be a significant other for a day!" She declared, excitedly. Then, June stopped as she looked back at the card. "Wait, what?" After a moment of carefully reading the text, she slowly handed the card to Kiigan with a slight blush on her face. "I'm so sorry...." The ninja muttered under her breath. "Do you... think you can actually do this, Kiigan? If you're not up to this, we can draw something else. But... can.... Is this alright? Because this feels very personal."

Spoiler:

Kiigan didn't trust her first words that she was really okay. An infection that stumped the doctors and had caused her to throw up clots? Even someone like him could tell that wasn't right, but she looked alright for now, and she was too stubborn to press it. All he could do was keep an eye on her and hope it really was some sort of one-time illness.

As she shuffled the cards, he smirked in amusement. June was being funny today. She'd gone overboard and signed up for god knows what, enough to shuffle like they were playing a game. Credit where credit is due, she was at least trying to make their profession fun. How bad could it be?

Oh. That mission? She signed up for that one? He'd been avoiding that one like the plague! The girl looked like a dumpling masquerading as a human wrapped in a seaweed robe, with enough make-up that she should have been able to sculpt herself a more pleasing face! Kiigan grimaced, but went along with it. June had gone to all the trouble, and honestly he figured he'd have to do that one or worse for rent money at some point. "Yeah, it's alright," he admitted in defeat, grabbing his flask from his side and unscrewing the top. "I just need to get drunk really fast," he added, tipping the flask up and chugging the liquor down. "Lead the way."

"Alright, this way." June brightly stated as she perked up slightly, making her way to the poor woman's house. "You know..." she began, not sure exactly how to bring this up. "It feels a little weird that you're so eager for this, you know, Kiigan? I mean, you're even getting drunk to loosen up for her."

Not even trying to give him the chance to defend himself, her eyes closed slightly as she turned around to look up at him with a smug grin. "It should be around here, this is the right address." Without changing expressions, she bowed slightly, motioning the man to a normal looking, seemingly unordinary, house on his right with a bright red door. "Are you ready... Pervdog Kiigan?"

Nope. He would never be done with that nickname. Ever. Just as soon as it seemed to be gone, it once again returned to torment him in bold new ways that he could probably scarcely imagine. The nightmare had finally begun.

(1/1)

"I've been told I'm more charming drunk. You want this to work, right?" he asked with an easy smile, pleasantly buzzed and ready to get this over with. "Wait until you see her," he sneered at June, strolling up to the red door and giving it a knock. A man opened the door, and it was immediately clear why his name was Mr. Egg. His head was actually egg shaped and hairless. Now it made sense why the daughter looked like she did. "Are you here for Inaba?" he asked, beady black eyes looking Kiigan over with heavily judgmental father eyes. "Yes, I am, sir," Kiigan replied with a smoothness not naturally in his voice. And this the sushi-dressed dumpling girl appeared, drinking Kiigan in like a starved dog in a butcher shop.

"Miss Inaba, are you ready for our date?" he asked, offering his arm out to her with a wink. She took it, shooting her dad an excited glance as Kiigan ushered her down the sidewalk and onto the street. "Where to first, dear?" he asked, meeting back up with June.

Inaba giggled loudly. "Let's get dumplings, badboy~"

"Oh, my manners. I'm Kiigan. And if the lady wants dumplings, we'll get dumplings," the red-head grinned, leading his homely date down the street to a nice restaurant. One hopefully with more booze.

June had to force herself to hold in a snickering laugh at the scene. "Badboy" she whispered to herself as she covered her mouth to keep from making any noise. This poor girl didn't seem as bad as he let on, but she was just so confident about this. She was way more into this than they could have ever expected, but Kiigan was getting drunk, so it should be fine... right? .... At least he seemed into it?

"Good luck, 'badboy~'" The white haired woman teases as she waved goodbye to Kiigan for a bit. For now, she had her own thing to do. This stack of missions wouldn't take care of itself! A light sigh escaped her as she drew the next card. "Couldn't be less jealous." She mused before reading the prompt.

Spoiler:

Just a thief? He's not even a ninja? This should be pretty easy then. Without even stopping to question Kiigan's wellbeing, the kunoichi tossed the card aside and rushed off. This would only take a moment if she used Puu to track the guy. All she had to do was go to the shopkeeper then catch the scent of the same type of item they stole. And it would be even easier if they left some type of evidence behind.

Apparently Kiigan's mere existence in her proximity boosted Inaba's confidence. After they ate their dumplings and did some light flirting (and some heavy drinking in Kiigan's case), they left to take a walk in the park, arm in arm like a proper date. She really was sweet, even if she wasn't the least bit attractive to the man. She wanted to sit on a bench and talk, so he obliged, having no idea what was coming next. She pounced! She grabbed his face and laid one on him, proceeding to kiss all over his face and neck. It was a little alarming, but Kiigan was most compliant when hammered. Not that he was hammered, but he was feeling pretty chill. Her thick lipstick left ghost images over his face. This was the mission. She needed to enjoy herself, and turning her down for kisses would probably piss her off or hurt her feelings...but man! She was handsy!

"AAIIIEEE!" a shriek ripped from nearby. Kiigan turned to look, forcing a pouty Inaba to do the same. That's when things worked out for both of them! A man stood a few feet away, tears streaming down his face. "I-Inaba....how could you?" the scorned lover asked.

"Well! We aren't together anymore, remember? You felt it was too fast! So I've found someone more my speed!" she replied with attitude, though her eyes lingered on him. He was no hunk, but the two seemed to compliment each other. Kiigan was the odd one out here.

"I was just scared! But..But I can't take seeing you with...with him..." the ex lamented, breaking into sobs. "I still love you, Inaba. I still love you! I'm sorry!"

Inaba turned her face from the man, but not to ignore, but to examine Kiigan. She cocked her head. "Do you cry?" she asked oddly. "Are you sensitive?"

"Hmmm...well, you called me a badboy. And badboys don't cry and usually aren't sensitive, right?" he answered with a question.

That seemed to confirm it. Inaba got up off the bench with a nod, smiling at Kiigan. She bowed. "Thanks for the lovely time, but I need someone with more passion! I know what I want now. You understand, right?"

"Sure," Kiigan smiled, getting up as well. He winked at her and wandered off with his hands in his pockets.

***

Eventually he found June again. She seemed to be working another mission, looking for something or someone. He decided just to follow her and watch. Hopefully she wouldn't notice.

June finally caught up with the man's trail as Puu sat on her head, effortlessly pointing the way with his tail. Eventually, after a short big of walking, the woman finally passed by a seemingly ordinary box in the alleyway before having her head lead back to the object by her companion's tail physically pushing it in the right direction. Her eyes slowly blinked a few times at what the fox seemed to be telling her before it finally sunk in.

"Hey! You!" She suddenly shouted before jumping into the air and landing her butt directly on top of the box, forcing almost the full weight of her body down onto it as it rattled slightly in a panic. "Listen... I know you're in there. You took something, didn't you? That's why you're hiding, right?"

The box rattled slightly in response.

"It's okay...." The white haired woman re-assured the thief. "Listen. I'm a ninja. So... if you could please, you know.... Just give me what you took.... Then all of this will be over and you can go back to... whatever you do.... Okay? I don't want to hurt you, and I don't think you want to take this risk."

Slowly, almost on-command, the box lifted up slightly as a small golden chain necklace was slid out effortlessly.


"... Good criminal...." June muttered before carefully picking up the stolen accessory and turning around to spot Kiigan. Without thinking, she immediately hopped off of the box to jog over to meet him. "Kiigan!" She exclaimed. "Did your date go well? I caught the thief, so we can easily drop this off for the shopkeeper next, if you want. But until then, it's time to...." Before he could even respond, she instinctively picked out another card from the stack and read it off. "Test Mr. Egg's food...." Slowly, June stopped as she looked back up at Kiigan. "Oh, yeah, that should.... Well, I just hope your date went well?"

Spoiler:

Kiigan, still unknowingly covered in some bright pink lip-shapes over his face, shrugged lazily. "I guess. I think she was just using me to make an ex jealous. They got back together before she could eat me alive. She was happy enough," the man informed her with a grin, running a hand through his hair and turning to head back the way he came. He was pretty sure Mr. Egg's restaurant was near the park, so even with his directional handicap he knew that was the way he'd come from.

Since it wasn't far, they arrived there in no time. The jinchuriki paused in front of the store front, turning to look at June. With a smile he offered her his arm. "Might as well make this a date as well," Kiigan commented, giving her a cheeky wink. Though there was little indication that he was drunk, his cheeks were slightly flushed and he was quite a bit more amicable, which was good for her since they were doing so many annoying missions in a row. "I hope his food is good. He looks like he eats well."

June's body stiffened at the words. A... a date? Did he know what he was saying? Was this just the alcohol talking? Her face slowly turned red at the idea. Nope. She definitely wasn't ready for any of this yet. "A-... a dat..... I don't know, I really don't think-" Before she could even make a point, they were already there. Right at Mr. Egg's shop.

"Oh- Mr. Rolls! Pleasure to meet you I just don't-" She began, her body still completely tense as she forced herself to look away. "Sorry, I just don't eat eggs- I mean, I do but I don't.... This is random and I didn't know your daughter would be eating my boyfriend- I mean meeting this not.... I don't know Pervdog, I barely know what I'm even saying!" Reflexively, she grabbed Puu from her head and held the fox tight, hiding her mouth behind his fluffy body.

"Please don't food now okay? Okay.... I called you a roll earlier, didn't I? .... Kiiii-chan! You know what I mean... right? I just thought this would.... Did you know elephants can't jump?" Without even getting a response, the woman immediately turned around and began to awkwardly shuffle away from the disaster of wordsalad she had just created. Please Kiigan, please Kiigan, please Kiigan.... Please make some sense out of this for her!

Kiigan watched her with intense amusement, barely able to not erupt into laughter. "I'm sorry. She's just really hungry...I think. Either that, or she's having a stroke," she said to Mr. Egg, who seemed as concerned about June's word vomit as he was with the kiss marks on Kiigan's skin that matched the lipstick his daughter had been wearing when she left with him not too long ago. He opened his mouth to say something Kiigan was actually quite sure he didn't want to hear, so he rushed to speak first. "So! We took your food tasting mission you had posted. Just bring us whatever it is we need to taste, and we'll let you know how it is. We'll be sitting over here, okay?" Kiigan pressed, moving away from he affronted father and steering himself and June to a small table near the door. You know, in case they needed to escape quickly.

Not understanding that it was him that had caused June's pseudo-aneurysm, the man leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table and leaned toward her a bit. "Hey...what's the matter? Is your sugar low? Maybe you'll feel better after some food. You did just get out of the hospital," Kiigan fussed over her, sympathy all over his face. His general countenance was very soft, lacking all the rough edges she was probably used to.

Mr. Egg showed up with several plates of food for them to sample, giving Kiigan a nasty look. "Did you and my daughter have a good time?" he asked stiffly. "Her lipstick is all over you."

"Yep. We had fun. I accomplished your mission pretty well, since she had the confidence to get back with her ex right away. I think she just wanted to make him jealous," Kiigan answered lightly, glancing nervously at his food. Was his poisoned?

Mr. Egg still frowned, handing Kiigan a napkin. "Wipe her lipstick off your face then, son," he demanded. Crossing his arms, he looked between the two. "Let me know when you finish. Don't leave without giving me feedback, or I won't pay you, plus I'll turn you in for stealing food." With that, he turned and walked away.

"He doesn't seem to be in a good mood today..." Kiigan sighed, pouting a little. Why was he acting like Kiigan did something wrong? At least all the kiss marks were confined to his face...

The entire time, June seemed to lay her head on the table helplessly as, if one happened to look close enough, they could possible see the fictitious tuffs of steam puffing off of her still embarrassed scalp. Her hands slowly covered the back of her head as it shook slightly in despair before she finally glanced back up at the man, still a little read in the face at the situation she had been forced into.

"Kiigan...." She muttered. "I'm glad you're trying to help.... Really... I genuinely am.... But.... This...." A deep breath escaped her as her head went back down, forcing the rest of her thought to come out in a muffled tone. "This doesn't mean anything at all." Why did this even bother her so much? She enjoyed being around him. He was nice and good looking. He treated her well and wasn't a bad person at all. But still... for some reason... somehow she just didn't want to even give him a chance. At least... not like this.... Maybe it was because she didn't feel like she deserved it or maybe it was just too much for right now. But, either way, it just felt... odd.... Not necessarily bad, but just... different.... Was love supposed to feel this awkward and offputting? Because, if so, it didn't seem to be nearly as great as people tried to make it sound. Or maybe it wasn't that. Maybe it was more guilt than anything else? Guilt over everything she kept putting him through.

Slowly, she lifted her head slightly, resting her chin on the table, padded by her folded arms as Puu simply nudged her cheek slightly from her left side. "Honestly.... I've never been on a date.... So... I don't know...." The woman rambled, without any real direction. "What do we even do? Just talk about our feelings or something? Besides... there's still so many cards.... So.... Many........"

"Oh, right. The date," Kiigan said, as if just remembering it again. "Is that what's wrong with you?" he chuckled, picking up some sort of meat on a stick and gnawing at it. "Naaah. I was just kidding. I had just gotten done with Inaba's date and was thinking about taking someone that really matters. But mission day isn't a good day for that, now is it?" he asked, tilting his head and seeming thoughtful. His fingers nudged some assorted kebabs toward her, non-verbally encouraging her to eat something. It seemed Mr. Egg's shop specialized in kebabs now.

After a second of thought, Kiigan's eyes came to rest on her again. "You've really never been on a date?" he asked in disbelief. It was a surprise, but now that he thought about it, it seemed about right. She was the laser focus type. And with how down on herself she usually was, even if it did cross her mind, there's no way she'd let herself. That made the man frown. "On a date, you just have fun and enjoy each other. See if things click. Should be natural. You get to know each other. Or if you already know each other, you get to know each other differently," he shrugged, picking up a different stick to taste. Making a face, he sat that one down. That flavor was just not right. Bitter. "Let's finish this so we can get through those cards."

June sat still in thought for a moment. That did sound right, taking someone to have fun and just enjoy things together. But at the same time it felt... weird. It almost seemed off. Too general of a description, maybe? Or maybe that just didn't feel special enough. Maybe that was what she was missing all along? Just the feeling that it was 'special' enough? Or maybe she just felt awkward because he was growing closer, whether he realized it or not....

Suddenly, the genin snapped out of her trance as she noticed Puu casually eating the food off her plate. "Wait, don-" she started before quickly giving up partway through. What was the point? He already had his mouth all over her meal, there was no going back now. For a second, she looked down despairingly before glancing back up and quickly rubbing the fox's cheeks with a slight smile. "If only you knew how cute you were you little punk~" She teased the animal before turning her attention back to Kiigan.

"Uhh... anyways!" She started, pulling out her stack of cards. "We're actually starting to go through quite a bit of the deck. We might actually get through all of these.... So our next mission will beee......." She glanced at the card as she drew it, curious how much different it would be. "Stop the fight? Well, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. How good are you with kids, Kiigan?"

Spoiler:

"I love kids," Kiigan grinned, turning to motion for Mr. Egg. After giving a thorough analysis of his opinion on each of the dishes, he rose and exited the building.

Apparently the kids were fighting nearby, so he headed there next. In an alley near the park...did they think they were some thugs, hiding their fight? Being a brawler himself, he already knew words weren't going to halt this fight. Blood was boiling. Adrenaline was pumping. Both had pride to lose. Even if He or June could somehow talk no jutsu them out of their disagreement, it would only happen again as soon as they left.

Running at them with no warning, he jumped in between them just as they parted and use Cherry Blossom Impact on the ground, cracking it and sending rocks up into the air only to flutter back down upon all three of them. "Boys!" he said, standing up and crossing his arms. "You're wasting your energy, fighting with each other like a couple of bums over the last crumb. Why don't you put that energy into training and becoming strong like me. Make it a competition to prove who is better. You can spar to test yourselves, but fighting in anger like this is pretty lame," Kiigan monologued to the stunned children, who seemed both scared and impressed with the jinchuriki. After looking at each other, they nodded. "Now, go home and get cleaned up, or I'll be sent after you again, and next time I won't hit the ground."

As the two scampered off, Kiigan turned to look at June. "Okay, what's next?" he asked, smacking the dust off his hands.

June simply stared, wide-eyed, as the kids rushed off. "Uh- Oh! And drugs are bad!" She shouted at random just before the two could leave the range of her voice. Kiigan really knew kids well. In fact, he was way better at it than she'd ever imaging him to be.... Then again, he was still dealing with anger. Maybe that was just his forte? At least, that seemed right from what she knew of him....

"Have you dealt with kids often?" She suddenly asked, seemingly out of nowhere. "I don't think I've ever heard much about your past or who you really hang around. So I just sort-of usually imagine that you're out there, patrolling the streets and stopping alleyway muggings! And then the muggers are just like 'Oh no, it's that guy' and you're like 'Well, are you feeling lucky? Because I've got a number and it's five. Five fingers!' and then you just start ruffing them up and you throw them into the trash because that's where they belong before the victim runs away in fear because of your imposing silhouette before you go back home to your lair and lament the fact that your code prevents you from killing and yet that also means that you'll never be truly safe from the darkness that lurks at the shadow of those dark nights on the streets while you go out to brave the void once again... all in the name of your dark justice!"

Before he could respond, she swiftly pulled out the next card. "Oh, hey, we get to stock shelves."

(1/1)

Spoiler:

"I've got a little sister," Kiigan answered her first question, though he wasn't sure if she'd heard him. She started on a tangent, and the man knew better than try to interrupt. She'd never heard much of his past because she'd never asked. And if he thought she was asking now, he was mistaken. June had made up something for his past that was much more exciting sounding than reality, so he'd let her have that head-canon about him if she wanted. It was amusing at least. "Sure," he shrugged, walking along side her with his hands in his pockets.

They arrived at the convenience store after a short walk, since they were in the heart of town and everything was located pretty close together. "This guy has broken his arm several times lately. If you ask me, he's just being lazy," said the man, bitter about doing this job a few times already. He'd needed the rent money and was glad such a simple task was being offered, but there was a bitter tinge in his voice. "If he'd have just hired someone full time to do this, it'd be easier and more reliable," Kiigan huffed. It was obvious he'd been the someone that tried to find a job here before he resorted to being a ninja again. Either way, he called out to the boss. "Mr. Itoh! We're here to stock!"

The young man appeared, arm in a sling. He didn't seem much older than Kiigan and June. "Oh, the boxes are waiting in the isles. I didn't want to put everyone out too much."

Bobbing his head, Kiigan moved into one of the isles, starting to place things at a pretty good speed. "this shouldn't take too long. The store is small. What's after this?"

Completely ignoring his question, June simply shuffled through her ever shrinking stack of cards before trying to hand the man a can to make sure that she would get something for the mission. "I never knew you had a sister." She openly admitted as she began to rethink her view on him just a little. Her backstory for him might not be accurate, but she'd be damned if she wasn't going to try to fit what she now knew about him into her own fictionalized overblown lore while he was out actually completing objectives for her!

"I bet she's super important to you!" The woman randomly declared. "I can see it now... I bet she was the one you grew strong for. Living on the street. Alone together as you had to grow strong to protect her from 'the darkness' as someone to protect. Until finally, one day, she grows sick and that's when you realized your vampire grandfather is somehow causing it from Suna and you needed to go on a globe-trotting expedition with your band of friends and associates to take him down as 22 different assassins try to stop you every step of the way with their own weird and unusual powers! But not even boat-manipulating gorillas can stop your righteous journey...."

Without waiting, she drew the next card. "Looks like we have to test some thrown weapons. Think we can keep going, Kiigan? Because I've got a good feeling about this one."

(1/1)

Spoiler:

Noting her distinct minimal effort into these missions, he narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing. While the buzz was certainly wearing off, it was still present enough to make him docile about it. Arguing would only waste time, and she still seemed to have a decent amount of cards left. Too bad making up crazy backstories for friends wasn't a paying mission. June would be golden. She did get something right. His sister was super important to him, though he didn't exactly know how to show that. The rest of it was nonsense, though. "Oh, how did you know?" he responded to her in a deadpan tone, speeding up he product placement.

Finishing up the last box of items, Kiigan raised from his crouched position and turned to give her a suspicious look. "Why do you have a good feeling? Are you going to use them on me?" he asked, waving to Mr. Iroh as they went outside and headed toward Kiri's newest blacksmith. Once there, they were directed to a box of kunai and shuriken in an area set up for practice. The red-head lifted one of the shuriken, feelings its weight and testing its sharpness on his finger. When it pulled blood, he nodded and then threw it, but it ended up arcing into the air and sailing right into the blacksmith's backroom window. Kiigan cringed.

As the woman picked up the next Kunai, she nodded at Kiigan. "I just have a really good feeling about this." She stated openly. "You'll see!" Before he could respond, June tried her best to throw the weapon only for it to spin uselessly in the air and land barely two feet away with a whimpering clank of disappointment. Slowly, her head nodded again in acceptance at the result. "Well, I've never been good at throwing weapons, that's why I don't carry them ever. BUT maybe I'll get good at it one day and if that ever happens, I'll let you know!"

Suddenly, she grabbed a handful of shuriken. "Arc shot!" She shouted as she tried to throw them, just for all of them to uselessly fall into the dirt. "I'll get this eventually! Until I do...." With extreme purpose, she left the stack of mission notes on a nearby stump before she continued on with her Shurikenjutsu 'training'.

(1/1)

"I think maybe it's less us sucking at this and more that these weapons are unbalanced. I think he needs more practice," Kiigan concluded after throwing it and watching it wobble in the air again. He went to speak to the blacksmith and tell him their findings, returning to pick up the stack and pull one from it. "Entertain the kids," he read off. His brows drew together a little. Why on earth were so many parents hiring ninja to watch small children? He knew being a ninja was a very popular profession, but being trained to kill from a young age didn't seem like the best criteria for caring for a bunch of pre-ninja little ones.

Either way, away they went to be nannies to a group of whining kids. But, like before, even pretty much sober Kiigan was actually good with the little tykes, further demonstrating his soft spot for them. If anyone could keep the kids occupied without scaring them for hours, it was surprisingly the jinchuriki. His dancing blue flames and all the different things he could do with them was even better than a puppet show. He had each kid sitting on stumps outside as if they were in a theater, and he stood before them juggling fireballs, turning his fire cloak into various things, and even doing tricks like hopping in and out of a flame. The kids seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Spoiler:

June simply stared blankly at Kiigan as he managed to put on a puppet show featuring fire and voices and a complex plotline she was almost certainly reading way too deeply into for the basic on-the-spot thing it was intended to be. Kiigan was really going for this stuff... was his rent really that bad? Or was he just desperate to be done with all of these cards?

Then, she stopped as she looked over to see Kiigan back behind the crowd of kids along with her. A blank expression crossed her face as she turned back to the stage. Who was doing the show then? Well, it didn't matter. At least they managed to put in their time. "Okay!" She finally stated. "Well then, lets go on to the next one! Next mission...." She swiftly drew a card in an overly dramatic fashion, glancing it over as she dd so. "We need to find something. Luckily, we have Puu, so he can just sniff it out quickly. Should be simple enough."

(1/1)

Spoiler:

Kiigan was starting to wear down. As they wandered to the old lady's house for Puu to get the scent, the older genin started to grumble. "I've never done so many of these in one day," he sighed, stretching his arms over his head. At least on this one they didn't have to do much. Puu got the scent and lead them on quite the adventure around the village, often going through places they couldn't so they'd have to race to get around and catch up before he got too far ahead. He thought it was strange that the scent pattern was so erratic, as if the locket was moving on its own.

Puu lead them to a tree and suddenly it made sense. Up in the branches was a squirrel. the Sight of Puu spooked it and it ran into a hole in the trunk. Barely visible was a gold chain, hanging from the hole and gleaming in the sunlight. "Ah, I see it," he said, climbing up the tree to retrieve it with little trouble.

"Where ever she dropped it must have been near the squirrel and he took it back to his nest," Kiigan said as he thumped back to the ground, holding the subject of their mission out for June to see. "Seems to be in good shape. Let's get it back to her."

"Ohh!" June uttered impulsively. Kiigan was so fast to figure this entire thing out. Against her original impression, it seemed like he really had his stuff together. He could figure out how Shuriken were unbalanced, he was good with kids, he understood food well...ish? He was really pulling out all the stops today without any sign of slowing down. Sure, this was more than he usually did, but compared to their previous struggles with fog and catching cats, this seemed like a whole different person. In spite of their incompetence, they were somehow on a roll!

As Puu hopped back onto her head, June proudly lead the way as they swiftly found the path to the old woman's quaint brick home. With only a moment of hesitation, the kunoichi knocked on the door as the client approached them, a large woman with greying hair and a kind smile across her wide wrinkled face. "We found your locket!" The yellow eyed woman bravely announced as Kiigan handed her what he had found.

"What?" The woman replied. "This isn't a locket, it's a charm. A locket is an object that opens to reveal something inside, usually an image or photograph of some emotional significance. This is just an object that is tied to a chain in a locket-like fashion with no other purpose than pure decoration. Sorry, dearie, but my locket's a heart shaped object that opens up to show a picture of my dog, Mitsy Mittensworth."

Awkwardly, June stared at the woman as she quietly observed a heart-shaped object hanging out of her left picket. "Would that be it?"

"MITS-EY!!!" The elder responded as she grabbed the object with joy.

Slowly, June turned to Kiigan, who hadn't even examined what he found. It seems like Puu just wanted to chase a squirrel and Kiigan just didn't think that far through. Even now, it seemed like he still got some things wrong time to time. "Well, whatever. Next up, we have...." She shuffled what few cards were in the deck further before pulling out the next objective. "Clean up trash and rubble. Well, that sounds easy enough."

(1/1)

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