'Headband... check.'

'Kunai and shuriken... check.'

'Explosion tags... hm...'

I was still slightly worried about putting explosives in my pouch and carrying them around everywhere, maybe it was just the sensitivities of my past life rearing their head, but I didn't like bombs very much; even if they were useful.

Whatever, it should be fine... probably.

Did I just raise a flag? God, I hope not.

'Stop stalling and get on with it.' I chided myself, noticing that I was rambling on inside my head again. I had woken up nice and early this morning to prepare for my first mission, but I had somehow procrastinated the dawn away.

I grabbed everything I needed, donned my altered outfit, strapped on my armour and tightened my headband.

I was ready.

The sun was glaringly bright, illuminating the streets of the village I had come to call home, it was a sight that filled me with nervous energy. For some reason, I was feeling nostalgic.

'I don't know if you exist... or if I'm here by random chance... but if you do, God, Diety... ROB... whatever you are.... just uh, don't let me die anytime soon, please.'

The prayer I sounded out in my head felt cringe when I was saying it, but it felt like the right thing to do. Today would be an important day.

I beelined to the place formally known as the "Red House", or as it was called by most people, the Hokage's mansion. Everyone's first mission, whether they be a part of a three-man Jonin cell or the Genin corps, would be served by the Hokage himself.

It was probably a small manipulation tactic used to make everyone's first day as a ninja feel more momentous, I guessed that the old man might jam in a speech about the "Will of fire" while he presented us with a mission.

I'm sure he also appreciated having a break from all the paperwork as well.

I greeted some villagers, dodged the cabbage vendor and arrived near the Red House soon after. Even though I made sure to arrive a little early, Kuroda was already there, waiting for me.

The boy's face lit up into a smile as I waved at him, reciprocating the greeting and jogging up towards me.

"Aoki! You're ok! We were all worried, you took quite a few hits back then..." Kuroda said, looking me up and down.

I nodded and smiled back, "All healed and ready for our first mission, how about you? Feeling better?"

Kuroda smiled and assured me that he was fine, he followed up by giving me a few jumping jacks to prove his health. We continued to chat some more; after a while Kuroda took a step back and noticed my clothing, he eyed it up and down before speaking, "What are you wearing? It looks really cool..."

Heh.

Of course it looked cool, I had paid extra for many modifications I thought suitable, plus, the lady who augmented my outfit had an eye for style.

The previously dark green jumpsuit had been dismantled and dyed until it was nearly unrecognisable. The top half of the garment got turned into a dark grey long-sleeve shirt, it was equipped with pockets around the back I could reach to, and small straps with buckles which would be useful in the field.

The bottom half had been stitched into a pair of brown pants, these pants were very uncomfortable to wear when I inspected them in the shop, but the lady came up with an idea to "merge" the two together, creating pants that were flexible and comfortable on the inside, yet hardy and rough on the outside. The pants had an inordinate amount of pockets on them that almost felt excessive, but I was glad to have them nonetheless.

Both the pants and shirt had bracers on the arms and legs, giving my Taijutsu a small increase in effectiveness.

The blue jacket completed the look, layered on top of the grey shirt. I ran a thumb over the clouds as I looked at it with a satisfied smile, I liked this jacket quite a bit. The chainmail mesh I wore underneath it all served as a last line of defence if all my clothes got destroyed.

Last but not least, my gloves made me look more intimidating, the dull grey studs on my knuckles made me feel much cooler than I was.

I gotta admit, I felt a bit narcissistic when I put together this ensemble, it almost felt a little excessive. I played with the idea of going with everything in the greys or camo for the "full ninja experience", but hardly any other character does it, I'd be standing out by trying to blend in; not a very smart thing to do.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Plus, I think that'd be pretty lame.

I explained to Kuroda that a lot of what I was wearing came from Guy's gift that I had altered at a tailor, he was surprised at that revelation since he also got the package but chose not to wear it instead, he told me he didn't think of getting it altered.

We had some more small talk before Guy arrived, greeting us all with a thumbs-up.

"Aoki! Kuroda! You're both here nice and early, good! Punctuality is an important skill that all ninjas should master!" Guy said with his hands on his hips.

'Tell that to your best friend why don't ya? Tokei too.' I replied silently in my head.

Guy looked at us both up and down before he froze in place and looked at me, staring at me with an intense focus, I was about to ask him what was wrong before I noticed where specifically he was staring.

I shrugged off my jacket, exposing my shirt fully. Guy's face cracked into a smile as he saw the unmistakable similarity between his gift and my apparel.

"Aoki! Those clothes... they look perfect on you!" He said, giving a mirthful smile accompanied by a thumbs-up, "And it seems you altered them to fit your tastes, that's the kind of initiative I like to see!" he added on. It was easy to tell that he was pleased by the fact that I was wearing it. Kuroda looked a little awkwardly between the two of us and chimed in, "I'll wear it tomorrow... sorry Guy-sensei..."

Guy laughed a little and patted Kuroda's shoulder, telling him not to worry, "Kuroda, as long as you come to our meetings with a blazing heart full of determination, I don't care what you wear! Although I will admit, those clothes I sent you are the true epitome of youth! Anyone who wears them and embodies their spirit will surely become a splendid ninja!" He said, getting a little emotional as he continued with the speech.

Kuroda nodded, a small smile on his face as he thanked Guy.

Time ticked by and it was only a few more minutes left until 8, the three of us were a little worried. Kuroda asked if Ichiban might still be recovering, but Guy shot that theory down as he had visited the boy a few days ago, and confirmed his health.

Considering how haughtily he carried himself, it was slightly strange that he'd allow himself to be shown up by us two.

I soon found out what the reason for that was though.

*Shoom!*

*tip-toe, tip-toe...*

*Shoom!*

From a great distance away, I spotted a green bean-like shape dart between stalls and cover, making sure that nobody could spot him. Ichiban's long black hair had fallen over his shoulders as his headband was tied around his waist instead of on his head like normal.

'Oh. My. God.'

Resisting every urge I had to crack up at the sight, I pointed at the green visage in the distance and called on Guy and Kuroda. The latter had his mouth hanging open as he noticed what I was pointing to, whereas Guy on the other hand made a flickered to the boy, drawing the eyes of the villagers nearby.

'I'd kill for some popcorn right now.' I sounded out internally, knowing what would come next.

Guy ran at full speed at Ichiban, almost bumping into him as the Jonin arrived in front of the boy, placing both his hands on Ichiban's shoulders.

From the distance they were away, it was difficult to pick up what they were saying, however, my eyesight was sharp enough to catch Ichiban's face morph into the colour of an overripe tomato; clearly embarrassed beyond belief that everyone's eyes were now on him.

Maybe there was something wrong with me, but the sight seemed to soothe my soul.

The pair of green beans walked up to us, Guy having a hand on Ichiban's shoulder looking like a proud mommy duckling haven taken care of her filial child.

I feared that if I spoke I'd break into a raucous laugh or have my voice break so I maintained the most deadpan expression I could, staring right through Ichiban like he wasn't even there.

Unfortunately, I wasn't the only other person there.

"PFFTTT!"

Kuroda slammed his hands over his mouth as a giggle escaped his mouth, his cheeks puffed out as more laughter threatened to burst through. Kuroda turned away from Ichiban to salvage whatever face he could give him, remnants of his laughter still present, evidenced by the trembling of his back.

The boy looked as if he were close to unloading a few thousand explosion tags on the both of us so I turned my attention to Guy and reminded him that we were about to be late. Guy's eyes widened as he grabbed the three of us by bunching all of our hands together in his and ran with us in tow, dragging us into the Hokage's mansion.

I had no time to register the insides of the building as we blitzed past the reception and other ninjas, they seemed to be wary of us at first, but on noticing Guy, they dropped any suspicion they previously had.

Kuroda and I looked at each other, and a solemn vow of understanding formed between us. Nothing would make us laugh and threaten the sanctity of our first mission... not even the fact that Ichiban running made tiny little squeaking noises. For reference, the sound was almost identical to SpongeBob walking.

'I don't think anything can ruin this day... it's perfect.' I thought, my soul filled to the brim with a level of joy I didn't consider possible. I shouldn't be taking such pleasure in a child's misfortune, but I couldn't help it.

We arrived at a large set of doors that loomed over even Guy's head, considering how short most people in the village were, the doors felt a little excessive.

Guy rapped at the door with a hand, to which the Hokage called us in.

I expected to reunite with the smiling visage of "Gramps" whom I hadn't met in a while, but instead, we were met with the face of a solemn leader who looked at us with a twinge of sadness.

Guy picked up on the tonal shift of the room, his usually animated face growing stoic.

Hiruzen pulled his lips into a smile that looked forced, his eyes landed on the Fuma who had abandoned any thoughts about his image and was now standing straight in attention.

"Ichiban Fuma, you've been recalled to your clan." Hiruzen croaked out, his voice sounding much more tired than I remembered it. Ichiban opened his mouth to ask something, but soon after he closed it and gave a nod, breaking away from our team and heading back through the door with no questions asked.

"Gramps, is something wrong?" I asked, breaking the blanket of silence that fell over the room.

The Hokage looked at me for a second as if weighing his options.

"Mm... perhaps you three should know this as well..." Hiruzen said in a sombre tone, his eyes landing on all of us, ending off by resting on Guy's concerned face.

Hiruzen interlocked his fingers and leaned forward.

"Shisui Uchiha has been found dead. All available Uchiha and Fuma clan members have been recalled to their homes... I apologise for the inconvenience Guy, it seems your team's missions must wait for another day."

'Fuck.'