The Cloud Over The Leaf

The next morning, the three meet near the Hokage office with....barely any excitement.

"It's our first mission! I bet it'll be boring~."

"Almost guaranteed."

"Well, you never know. It could be fun."

The three waited near the entrance for Yamato to appear.

"Alright, everyone is here."

Yamato flickered in front of the three with a grin.

Shizuka put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"Sensei, be honest. The mission is going to be a chore, isn't it?"

"Every ninja has to start somewhere. At least we aren't at war now or your first mission could be your last. Just take it easy and let's go see what we will be doing."

The three nodded as they followed behind Yamato and made their way to the Hokage office.

*Knock Knock*

"Enter."

The four stood in a line in front of the Hokage desk.

Minato sat at the desk with multiple files around him, his eyes heavy with exhaustion.

Shizuka gave him a small wave and quickly stood with her hands behind her back.

Minato gave a quick chuckle and cleared his throat.

"Welcome, Team 9. Congratulations on becoming Genin."

Minato gave a tired smile as he found one file in front of him and lifted it up.

"To be Ninja of Konoha means we must do jobs for the village to make sure everything is in order. The difficulty ranges from D rank, C Rank, B rank, A rank, and S rank. Genins all start out with D rank missions to get used to the procedures. Your group will be no different."

"We will do our best, Hokage-sama."

Yamato gave a small bow towards Minato.

Shizuka leaned to her side and whispered in Maka's ear.

"Sensei seems like...he knows what's coming?"

Maka discreetly nodded her head while Hii shook his.

Minato was having a hard time keeping a grin from his face as he tried to ignore Shizuka's mischief on the side.

"Your first mission is to help a restaurant post flyers in eye-catching places around the village."

Yamato nodded his head with determined eyes.

"We'll get it done."

'....Flyers?'

'Flyers?! Really, Dad?!'

'....Haaa. Flyers, huh?'

The three Genin held an array of faces  as they looked at Minato and Yamato.

The two older ninjas ignored the kids as they discussed more details about the mission.

********

"....So why do we have to carry all the flyers?"

Hii held a large stack of flyers for "Yakiniku Q" as he followed behind the two girls.

Each girl had two rolls of tape in their hands.

"We'll put them in good places while you just have to hold the stack. You really have the easiest job."

Hii sighed as he looked over to his left.

"Don't worry, Hii-kun. I'll support you as well!"

Yamato walked next to him with his own stack of flyers.

Maka looked back at the two, then over to Shizuka.

"Shizuka, maybe we should take some as well."

"No, this way is easier. We'll just put them in good places fast so we can lighten their burden. There's a spot there!"

Shizuka grabbed a flyer from Yamato's stack and flew over to a nearby pole and placed it with tape.

She came back to the group with a smile on her face

"See? We can even make it a competition if you want to help them out faster. That is, unless you're scared~?"

Maka face scrunched up as she looked at Shizuka's smug face.

"You're on."

"Great~! You take Hii's stack and I take Sensei's! Count us down, Hii-kun!"

Hii shrugged and decided to play along.

"Ready?! Set!"

The two girls braced themselves as they found targets.

"Go!"

The two began to quickly zip around as they grabbed and posted the flyers at different sections in the town in nearly an instant!

The two looked at the placement of the flyers with a nod and stared at each other.

"Not bad!"

"Hmph! I'll clearly win in the next district!"

"Ha! We'll see!"

The two darted towards the nearby district at high speed!

"Hey wait!"

"Haha! Guess we gotta follow them quickly, Sensei!"

 Hii and Yamato quickly followed behind them!

"Slow down! We can't move that fast with these flyers!"

"They won't listen to us, Sensei! We have to keep up with them!"

Hii was rather excited as this boring job became a bit more interesting!

The two men followed behind the girls, making sure no flyers were lost in the wind on the way.

**********

"Haa. Haa. You. Didn't win!"

"Haa. Haa. I'm. Sure I did!"

The two girls glared at each other as they caught their breath.

Yamato and Hii laid down on the ground behind them.

"You. Haaa. Okay, Sensei?"

".....Yeah. I'm....okay."

Yamato slowly got back up as he caught his breath.

"I guess...the mission has been completed. Good work!"

"Grrrr!"

"Hmph!"

Yamato tried to pacify the two, but the girls merely recovered and went back at each other's throats.

"Good work, Sensei."

Yamato shook his head as only Hii seemed to have team spirit at the moment.

"Haaah. I hope the next mission can be a bit better."

**********

A few months and a dozen miscellaneous missions later, the team was once again in the Hokage office.

Yamato was drenched in a cold sweat a bit as Minato looked at him with a wry smile.

The entire office was quite tense as Yamato held the file with the mission his team was meant to do today.

"Helping....farmers with chores?"

"Yes."

Yamato felt immense pressure coming from his back, but he tried his best to ignore it.

"Do we have a certain number of farms to help?"

"Yes. Two of them have requested assistance for today. This mission will be a bit tiring, but do your best to assist with whatever you can."

"Y-Yes, Sir! We'll have it done!"

Yamato bowed with a grim face.

The squad of Genin said nothing and bowed before they just followed behind Yamato. 

Yamato glanced back slightly and quickly turned back around.

'Ugh! Their glares have gotten stronger!'

The two girls held a dangerous glare as they stared daggers into Yamato's back.

"I'm sure Sensei once said we would definitely get a mission with some action soon."

"I believe he did say that. I wonder how many missions we've done since he said those words?"

"I'm pretty sure it was after our second mission to catch that cat. I believe this is...our 15th mission?"

Yamato held his tongue as he stoically led his group towards the farms. 

'It seems like even with a team, I'm still getting all the missions for village infrastructure...'

Yamato knew that although his squad haven't had any true combat, he believed they were a bit more competent than the other squads of their grade. They should've gotten a mission to deal with bandits or rogue ninjas by now.

The problem was Yamato was always considered mission like this because of his Wood Style.

This became apparent as the group seemed to only get missions for repair or agriculture jobs in the village.

They paid well enough, but they weren't quite the missions the young ninjas hoped for.

His only saving grace was that Hii didn't complain much about the jobs. He always seemed to find something fun or interesting about the mission he was doing. It was also Hii that managed to keep the girls from rampaging out of boredom.

"Haaa. I have to thank Kaya-san next time I see her."

"Hmm? You have to thank my mom? Why?"

"No reason! Let's head over to the farms!"

"Yay."

"Fun."

Maka and Shizuka were "ecstatic" to go to the farms. Hii turned to them and smiled.

"Don't be like that. If we go to a cool farm, we might be a able to see some baby animals! Wouldn't that be fun?"

The two girls realized they could possibly see cute baby animals and their eyes started to sparkle with energy!

"Alright! I hope they have baby chicks!"

"For the chicks!"

Yamato sighed in relief for Hii's addition to his team.

'Thank you for this kid, Hokage-sama!'

*********

Minato watched Yamato's group head off to their mission from the window.

"Haaa. Sadly, Yamato is needed in a lot of places in the village. I hope this doesn't make the kids volatile."

*Knock Knock*

"Enter."

Shikaku came into the office with a wry smile.

"Did you send Squad 9 to do more agriculture jobs?"

Minato sighed and nodded his head.

"What a drag! Those kids are probably bored out of their minds!"

"I know, but Yamato is useful for a lot of jobs. Sadly, he's the only one that can use that technique."

Minato sighed and sat back down at his desk.

"Well, what is it?"

Shikaku's face became serious as he placed the file on the desk.

"The Akatsuki has made some moves recently."

"!"

Minato quickly grabbed the file and opened it.

"It seems the movements of the group have expanded to just about everywhere. As Akumu mentioned, they do mercenary work for smaller nations at a high price. They have a pretty credible record as well, giving them an incredible rate of demand. As far as we can figure out, the most recent area they've come near is-"

"The Land of Water."

 Shikaku nodded and pulled out a scroll from his pocket. He unfurled the scroll and laid it out on the desk.

"We've pinpointed the most recent area of activity, but it looks like it's close to the Land of Waves."

"Didn't we receive a mission recently in that region?"

"Yes."

Shikaku put another folder on Minato's desk.

Minato opened the folder and read the information.

Once finished, he closed his eyes and sighed.

"It seems easy enough, but this mission will take time."

"Sadly, yes. Possibly a week or two depending on the situation."

Minato took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

"We don't have many teams to spare. The other countries have been moving strangely for a while now, putting pressure on us."

"We can probably send 1 or 2 teams."

Minato nodded his head and began to think.

"....."

"...."

Shikaku said nothing as he waited for Minato to come to a decision.

"Haaa."

Minato sighed and looked at Shikaku.

"The only squads who will be free in time is 7 and 9. We'll have to send them to complete it."

"...Are you sure, Hokage-sama?"

Minato looked at the mission folder once more and nodded his head.

"I'm sure. I'm not a fan of sending my kids that close to danger, but Akatsuki shouldn't be concerned with the group.  No one should be aware of Naruto or Hii right now. I believe Kakashi and Yamato should be able to handle any strange situations in case something does come up. Plus, Yamato can help them build the bridge much faster as well."

Shikaku nodded in agreement. 

"Shall I inform the client of the changes?"

"That would be a good idea. No change in the commission needed. We'll pay the other team the same amount from my pocket. Consider it a last minute change on my end."

Minato looked at the files and map once more.

"It's the least I can do. They can finally stop complaining at home about a proper mission now."

Shikaku smiled as he collected the files.

"I bet that must be quite a pain."

Minato shook his head with a smile.

"You have no idea. The kids complain about wanting to fight in real danger while their mother doesn't believe they're ready yet."

"Sounds rough."

Minato smiled and shook his head.

"I love them all, so I just have to tolerate it."

********

"I'm home!"

Hii took off his shoes as he stepped into his home.

"Hey, Hii-nii!"

Moya came up to him and planned to give him a hug, but stopped halfway.

"Eww! You smell like a barn!"

"Well, I just came back from one. Let me clean up first."

Hii started to go past her, but suddenly gave her a tight hug from behind!

"Ewww! Get off! Get off!"

"Hehehe! I missed you too!"

"Geez!"

Hii chuckled as he headed towards the bath.

Hii quickly cleaned himself up and came back out to find Yozora, Henda, and Di standing near the bathroom.

"Hey guys."

"Nii-san!"

"Hey, son! So you were in the bath! I should've just hopped on in."

"No, you did not want to go in with me! I was smelling pretty bad!"

"Rough mission?"

"Haaa. I went to go help out on a farm."

Di started to chuckle and shook his head.

"You should've just stayed home. I could've used an extra set of hands with the orders coming in."

"Next time, Grandpa! So? Who's going in first?"

Henda looked at Yozora and Di with a smile.

"You two head in first. I wanna chat with Hii for a bit."

"Okay."

"Sure. Don't take too long."

Di and Yozora headed into the bathroom while Henda put his arm around Hii's head.

"My son has the same look his Mom has after a mission! Tired and bothered! You're a true ninja now!"

"Ack! Stop, Dad!"

Hii no longer smell the scent of soap. Only the scent of sweat and smoke choked his senses!

Hii finally broke out of his grip and waved the scent away.

"Phew! You don't smell much better than I did earlier!"

"Ha! That's what hard work smells like!"

"Like smoke and armpits?"

"Exactly like that!"

Henda laughed and rubbed Hii's head.

"Jokes aside, has everything been going well?"

"Yeah. Same old boring missions. Why?"

Henda nodded his head and looked relieved.

"I was just a bit worried about you. We've been having a lot of orders recently. Some of the ninjas told me that movements been happening in the other villages."

"Well, it probably won't have anything to do with me."

Henda nodded his head and grabbed some towels nearby.

"I hope so. Stay safe, son."

"I will, Dad."

Henda nodded his head and headed into the bathroom. 

Moya came next to him once again and gave him a quick sniff before she hugged him from the side.

"Geez, Dad is such a worrywart."

"Remember when he cried when I got my headband? That's how he shows his love."

Hii gave her a quick hug and looked at Moya.

"Hmmmm."

"What?"

Moya's curly blonde hair was starting to grow longer while her figure was shaping up.

"Geez! My bratty sister is becoming a lady."

"Hehe! We're growing up, Hii-nii."

"I guess Dad and I will have to fight off boys soon enough."

"Ew! No one in my class needs Dad's or your attention."

Moya shook her head and looked at Hii with mischevious smile.

"Speaking of relationships, how are you and Maka-nee doing?"

"...Fine?"

Moya sighed and pointed at Hii.

"Nii-san! You gotta seal the deal! You two have been dancing around it for  long enough now. If you don't settle it soon, you might lose her!"

"...I'll get right on it."

"You better. I wonder how the wedding will go? Oh! I wonder if Dad will be crying more or Mom?! Hahaha!"

'You're already thinking about the wedding?!"

Hii watched his sister fantasize about his wedding with a cold sweat.

*Bang*

The two turned to the entryway and saw Kaya standing frozen at the doorway. Her eyes were staring blankly at the two of them.

Hii and Moya looked at each other and looked back at Kaya.

"Um? Welcome back?"

Kaya just focused her gaze at Hii and calmly took off her shoes.

Moya silently backed up from Hii slowly.

"Hmm?"

Hii turned to look at Moya, but suddenly felt a chill crawl down his back!

He looked around to find the source, but it was too late!

"My baby's back!!"

Kaya launched herself onto Hii and hugged him with all her strength!

"Uwah!"

Hii fell to the floor as Kaya locked her limbs around him!

"Gah?! Mom?! What's wrong?!"

"Aah! I'm so happy my baby is back!"

Kaya continued to squeeze Hii while Hii looked to Moya for assistance.

*Clap*

Moya clapped her hands and smiled.

"Sorry, Nii-san! Yozora and I had to deal with her ever since your schedule clashed with hers. She hasn't seen you for a while, so you just have to bear with it!"

Moya quickly disappeared into her room, escaping out of sight!

"What?!"

"Hmm? What happened?"

Yozora, Di, and Henda came back out from the bath and looked at Hii's situation.

"..."

""...""

"My baby~!"

They stared at each other in silence, then each of them slowly disappeared into their rooms!

"Wait! Help me!"

"Sorry, Nii-san."

"Can't help you with that one, son. She's been missing you for a while now."

"Consider it training in patience."

All three of them dashed away, leaving Hii on the living room floor alone with Kaya!

"Hehehe! My baby!"

"...Haaa..."

Hii sighed and just calmly wrapped his arms around his Mom.

"Hehehe~!"

Kaya giggled in delight as her grip tightened a bit more.

Hii just patted her back as she held him close.

"Long time no see, Mom."

Riku came into the room and walked past the two.

"Oh? You're both back? I'll make some food then."

"Thanks, Mom!"

Hii silently reached out to Riku, but she just shook her head.

"She'll drop off in about 15 minutes. Just wait patiently."

Hii watched Riku disappear into the kitchen and sighed.

'I gotta stay home more often.'

*********

The next day, Hii headed over to the Hokage office while rubbing his back.

"Mom has a death grip. I guess I hadn't seen her in a while, but..."

{Mothers always worry about their kids.}

[Well, most do.]

Hii continued to massage his back as he made his way towards the Hokage office.

"Hm?"

Hii looked up and noticed Maka and Shizuka looking rather excited.

"Hey! I made it. What happened?"

Shizuka turned to Hii and made a peace sign.

"We finally have a C rank Mission! No more farming!"

Hii was shocked at first, then a big smile came on his face!

"Awesome! Do we know what we're doing?"

"Not yet! Dad told me a bit about it yesterday! We're just waiting on Sensei to come now."

Hii nodded his head and clenched his fists.

'We can finally get out of the village for a bit.'

{I wonder where we'll go?!}

[....]

'Akumu? You okay in there?'

[I'm fine. Just stay vigilant out there.]

'Of course.'

Hii stretched his back as he waited for Yamato with Maka and Shizuka.

"Sorry for the wait! Let's head in!"

Yamato appeared in front of them and quickly started to head into the Hokage building.

Maka smiled as she followed after him.

"Hehe! Even Sensei is fired up!"

"I can't blame him. Not after all those dull missions."

Hii shook his head as he followed behind everyone.

The group came close to the Hokage office door and soon heard yelling nearby.

"Alright! We finally get a C rank mission!"

"Shut up, Loser! Stop embarrassing yourself!"

"Hey now, guys. Chill out!"

Hii heard some familiar voices ahead of him and saw Maka and Shizuka shake their heads.

"...Haaa. Those two..."

"Can't get along."

"You two are only slightly better."

The two turned to give him a mean look, but Hii just turned and admired the pictures on the wall.

"Hey guys! You getting a mission too?!"

Hii turned to see Naruto waving at them in front of the Hokage office door.

"Yeah. It should be a higher ranked mission."

"Alright! We should be getting one too!"

Hii waved at Sasuke and Sakura, then slightly bowed to Kakashi.

"Good to see you, Senpai."

"Glad you made it, Tenzo."

Yamato frowned and folded his arms.

"I told you not to call me that."

"Ah. Right. Well, let's head on in."

*Knock Knock*

Kakashi knocked on the door once everyone was near.

"Enter."

The group headed inside and stood behind their Squad leader as they lined up in front of the Hokage desk.

"Good. Glad you made it."

Minato smiled as he looked at everyone for a moment.

"Hehe!"

He could see Naruto grinning from ear to ear and Shizuka smiling mischievously.

'Haaa. I hope they'll be alright.'

Minato closed his eyes for a moment and looked at them seriously.

"I have a C rank mission for you two groups. You'll be heading to the Land of Waves to protect a contractor building a bridge."