Konoha's Maelstrom

8

It wasn't until around 8 A.M. that Meiko sensed an approaching chakra signature.

Kakashi came into view and Sakura shouted at him for being late, then she finally realised something. "Wait, Meiko's later than you."

Kakashi looked at Meiko, behind the two, and then looked back at Sasuke and Sakura. "Meiko's literally right there."

Sakura and Sasuke turned to where Kakashi pointed to see Meiko, a smirk on her face and her eyes still closed. She gave a lazy two-fingered salute. "Yo."

"B- but when did you get here?"

"I've been here a while, just sitting in the tree," Meiko replied.

"What?!"

Sasuke just "hn"ed and moved on. Sure, he was jealous of Meiko and her skills, but he wasn't going to pester her because Meiko had a weird habit of turning up and never giving a straight answer.

"Great, you're all here. Our first mission is..."

"...fixing a fence. Seriously!" Meiko threw up her hands angrily.

"Yes! Welcome to the wonderful world of D-ranks!"

鳴戸

Meiko hated those words.

She hated them with a passion. It had been a month of D-rank mission after D-rank mission after D-rank mission, and she was dead tired of the cycle.

Menial tasks such as fixing fences, taking dogs out for walks, manual labour on farms... Meiko was confused as hell as to how these tasks could be labelled in the same category as missions. She was sure Sasuke and Sakura were too.

In those four weeks, Meiko had also finally done the fourth level of the simulation her father left for her. And she was more than surprised at how difficult it was. She may have reached a level in her resistance seals that actually permits her to try all seven levels, but she still received some impressive bruises. It taught Meiko that her taijutsu, while very good, was not good enough. She increased the resistance on her body, believing if she was faster, she would be better.

She tried the fifth level after a week and was pleased to note that the number of bruises she got were significantly less. A sign of improvement. She had also learnt a water jutsu and practised with her lightning. Her red lightning was easy to mould and it felt like an extension of her body. It was, essentially, cool.

They were currently on the mission of retrieving Tora, the feudal lord's wife's cat. This mission, Meiko had absolutely no problem failing.

So far they had already caught it six times. This was their seventh. And she was ready to tear her hair out.

"This is Kakashi, everyone copy?"

"Sakura here, copy."

"Sasuke here, copy."

"Meiko here, copy."

"Does everyone have eyes on the target?" Kakashi asked.

"I have clear eyes on the target. Just waiting for the go." Meiko replied.

"Alright...go."

Meiko shunshinned to the cat and grabbed it. It at first growled and hissed but stopped as soon as she placed a paper seal on its forehead that sent it into a sleep.

"Does it have the red ribbon on the left ear?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura appeared beside Meiko. "Yes Kakashi-sensei," she answered, her voice very irritated, as Meiko held the cat.