Having survived their first day as official genin, the members of Team 9 settled into a fairly simple routine.
They had group training sessions three times a week, with the remainder allocated for free time and recovery.
They trained in whatever Takeshi decided needed work, which ranged from chakra control to stealth to raw physical training.
Every ounce of it was designed with efficiency in mind: efficiency of movement, chakra efficiency, and even the efficiency of the training meant to make the other things more efficient.
At first, Kusuri wondered if he had some kind of compulsive disorder, but he eventually concluded that Takeshi just preferred efficiency, a trait that he, himself, shared.
Now, that wasn't to say the training was particularly brutal or Guy-esque, but they were certainly pushed hard enough to know their time wasn't being wasted, which was good for their motivation.
After about three weeks of it, however, it became monotonous enough that their teacher decided it was time for the next step.
They were gathered in the eighth training ground as always, which was where Takeshi made his announcement.
"I think it's about time that we go on our first mission."
Taga gasped.
"Seriously?! SWEET!"
Takeshi was quick to lower the enthusiasm.
"Before you start freaking out," Takeshi said, staring at Taga, "you need to remember, you guys are genin. Not only that, you're fresh out of the academy, and that means you guys are getting stuck with D-Rank missions. Speaking of, I've already registered us for one. You guys will be catching..."
Despite Takeshi's warning, Taga and, to a lesser extent, Nori both felt a rush as their first was announced. What would they be catching? Runaway criminals? Bandits?!
"A runaway dog," Takeshi finished.
The two genin slumped.
"Is it at least an Inuzuka's dog?" Takeshi asked hopefully.
"No," Takeshi answered. "No, it is not."
----------
[5 Hours Later]
Tired and disheveled, the two of the three genin found themselves lying in wait behind various objects in hopes of catching their mark unawares.
Both hid at points perpendicular to their target's path, intending to grab the beast the moment their ally maneuvered it into position.
The plan was foolproof.
Well, not really, but they didn't have a better one, so it had to do.
They heard a noise growing louder and louder, and a moment later they saw it: it was Nori chasing the dog at top speed!
Panting her lungs out the whole time, of course, as she was without question the least physically capable of the three, but of course, they needed speed for the capture team, so she just had to suffer.
The beast grew closer and closer, 30 meters... 20... 10... and then the others jumped out from their hiding spots, Taga from a bench, Kusuri from some scattered boxes.
Like their several other capture attempts, that one also failed spectacularly.
The little demon evaded capture once again!
And the captors, or more accurately one captor in particular, were none too pleased.
"Goddamnit!" Kusuri exclaimed, "How is that little bastard so fast?! HE'S NOT EVEN A NINKEN!"
Taga dejectedly put a consoling hand on his friend's shoulder.
"I think we're gonna need to ask him for help."
"I am NOT giving up on our FIRST MISSION! Nori, what haven't we tried?!"
She paused to catch her breath, having just arrived at the pair's location, then paused to think, knocking down fingers with each method.
"Let's see... we tried a wire trap... pitfall... bait... ambush... bait drugged with tranquilizers, aaaaaaand..." she trailed off, trying to place the last one, "Oh! and semi-polite coaxing. Which leaves... uh... nothing, surprisingly enough."
Venting done with, Kusuri let out an exasperated sigh before relenting.
"Alright, fine, we need help."
----------
Their teacher had been sitting on a nearby rooftop as they scampered around and was rather easy to convince once he learned Kusuri had assented to the request.
After doing his stretching routine, he handily routed the tiny monster.
"How can something so small be so evil?" Taga said, giving their now caught prey a once over.
The animal was a shiba, a measly 30 cm tall, and, from the growls it was letting out, made the genin swear it was either rabid, or in Kusuri's case, a jinchuriki.
The angry furball had proven it was not something to be taken lightly. Hell, if not for Kusuri's timely medical intervention, Taga believed he likely would've ended up with the scars to prove it.
In a normal scenario, Takeshi would've made fun of them for it, but the dog had earned even his respect.
----------
'Normally I'd say getting paid nearly 15000 ryo for catching one dog is a bit too much, even splitting it three ways, but in this case...' Kusuri thought to himself, grimacing. 'We should've gotten double.'
The genin, tired, beaten, and hungry, stumbled their way into The Hidden Tealeaf with vacant expressions, collapsing onto their usual table.
A minute or so later, one of the servers arrived, a girl named Mai.
She was one of the most recent hires, having only been there about 2 weeks, but Kusuri, like his grandparents, made it a point to know all of their names by heart.
She looked at the three pint-sized ninjas with a look somewhere between mild amusement and terror.
Mild amusement from the fact that how three kids were reminding her of herself after the lunch rush, and terror for whatever put them in such a state.
She may not have worked at the shop for long, but she knew who these kids were, and that each of them was stronger and had greater endurance than she did.
Terrifying or not, however, they were still kids, so she decided they could all use a bit of a pick-me-up.
"You guys wan't something?"
"Sure," replied Taga, muffled from having his face on the table, "Usuals?"
Sounds approaching assent murmured out from the other two
"That's a milk tea, matcha, and an amazake, right?"
Three thumbs were raised in answer.
"I'll get those out for you three. And I'll let your folks know you're here."
"Thanks," Kusuri mumbled.
Mai made her way to the back, and a few minutes later, she returned with their drinks.
"Your grandparents will be out in a bit."
"Got it."
After Mai returned to her duties, the three genin sat silently, occasionally sipping on their drinks.
"Hey, Kusuri?" Nori asked.
"Yeah?"
"If we ever have to catch that dog again..."
Nori's normally calm face changed into a scowl.
"Break its legs," she stated with utmost sincerity, "It'll be easier just to heal it when were done."
AN: 1 USD ~ 10 Ryo | Everybody else, do your own math from there