[THIRD PERSON POV:]

"SPTOO!"

Ichiban spat out the dirt caught in his mouth as he face-planted onto the ground, turning his head up and glaring hatefully at a small creature that wriggled its tail, almost as if it revelled in the pain it inflicted onto the poor boy.

Team Guy had reconvened for their first mission, the three, save Aoki, were all hoping for a quest that would truly test their resolve as a ninja and allow them to begin their journey with a meaningful accomplishment.

Unfortunately, their hopes were for nought.

Ichiban cursed under his breath and jumped towards the dog, although this may have seemed foolish, Kuroda had positioned himself behind the dog to catch it once Ichiban scared it away; after failing by themselves, the two had begun working together in harmony to capture the pest.

*SMACK*

The dog jumped high above Ichiban, leading the boy to miss the dog and jump straight into Kuroda's outstretched arms. Both the boys were shocked as they crashed into one another.

They both pushed each other off and jumped away, silently thanking the gods that Aoki hadn't been here to witness it. The little they knew of the boy led them both to believe that he wouldn't allow either of the two to forget what just happened.

"Hey there puppy! Tch tch! C'mere!" A voice sounded out from behind a nearby bush.

The dog had jumped onto a branch and looked at the intruder with slitted eyes, deciding that it wasn't going to be anything worth his while, he buckled his legs and jumped away.

*sniff, sniff!*

Mid-jump, the puppy caught the whiff of a strong delectable smell emanating from the voice, he twisted his body and jumped back to the ground, inspecting the smell with a renewed vigour.

Aoki's figure, hunched over on the ground and holding a chicken leg came into view from the bush, he gently waved his hands to waft the enticing smell onto the dog.

There was nary a thought, nor even a hint of one, as the small dog jumped forward with an open mouth, his small frame rocketing towards the drumstick.

"GOTCHA!"

Ichiban leapt forward, intercepting the pup's trajectory and clutching the thrashing animal between locked arms.

Kuroda appeared from behind Ichiban and opened the carrier box meant to hold the puppy, without wasting a second, Ichiban thrust his hands carrying the pup into the enclosure and snapped it shut, a malicious smile on his face as the puppy clawed to get out.

Guy flickered in front of the group and congratulated everyone, giving special props to Aoki who found a smart solution to the predicament; Inuzuka ninken were trained from birth by their litter mates, parents and members of the clan to perfect their movements. The skill displayed by the pup outclassed most beginner genin.

Ichiban smiled wickedly as he grabbed the drumstick from Aoki's hand, changing his position so the pup could see through the small caged flap.

"Mhm, this is soooo yummy!" Ichiban said, waving the chicken near the cage.

*NOM!*

The Fuma almost unhinged his jaw and ripped a large chunk of flesh off the bone, chewing it obnoxiously to get revenge on the salivating pup.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"You should've told me if you were hungry, Ichiban, that leg's been sitting in the garbage for a few days now!" Aoki revealed, interrupting Ichiban's feast.

The boy's face grew a sickly green, his stomach churning in disgust. The boy was close to throwing up before Aoki soothed him with a "Just kidding!", causing Ichiban's emotions to flurry between, relief, satisfaction and anger.

To be safe, he dropped the chicken leg on the ground with a small glare at Aoki.

Kuroda picked the chicken leg up and opened the carrier's flap, tossing it inside much to the joy of the pup.

The three filtered out of the forest, with Guy giving Ichiban and Kuroda a few tips on how to better capture an enemy and some strategic callouts that the two should memorise, Aoki himself wasn't free from the lecture either, he had left the two with only a brief explanation as to what his plan was; Guy told him to practice clearer communication.

"Alright, young men! Since you've all finished the mission earlier than expected, let's train until the day ends!" Guy said, jumping in front of the group with a wide smile.

Ichiban and Kuroda's eyes twitched upon hearing this, they had suffered through two days of Guy's "training", which to them both, was closer to torture than anything resembling practice. Kuroda shivered at the memory of doing lunges across the Leaf's marketplace, while Ichiban's memory was flooded with the chuckling faces of his clan mates as he was forced to don the green jumpsuit.

His grandfather was an old-fashioned man, not wearing your teacher's gift to the first mission was "disrespectful" according to him and Ichiban had been forced to wear it the day Shisui's death was announced.

Ichiban wasn't wearing it now; all three of his jumpsuits had been "misplaced". Only the young Fuma knew where they were stashed away.

"Guy Sensei, I'm meeting up with Yakumi soon, can I be excused?" Aoki asked as they made their way into the village's main streets.

*****

[AOKI POV]

'Hehe.'

I resisted the urge to smile as I ran away from Ichiban and Kuroda, the two looked at me as if I was a lover who betrayed them, throwing them to the sharks as I escaped. I felt bad for Kuroda, working out was harder for him but the boy's willpower was nothing to scoff at, Ichiban on the other hand needed to be knocked down a few pegs.

My resistance broke and a smile crept up on my face as I heard Guy shout "20 LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE!" from behind me, I beelined towards the Uchiha compound with a greater speed afterwards.

Over time, I had grown a little closer to the two. Kuroda was generally a chill dude to hang out with. Other than his tendency to be meek and let others stomp over him, he's a well-adjusted ninja for his age. The same couldn't be said for my other teammate.

During my last conversation with Yakumi yesterday, he revealed to me that it was Ichiban's older brother who was the clan heir of the Fuma, yet he had declared himself to be the heir.

Ichiban acts out strangely and for no reason, considering his strange family situation I assume he's immersed in a family drama that I'm unaware of. I don't believe that people are bad for the sake of being bad, rather, I think that most people are just a reflection of the environment they're brought up in, Ichiban likely acts the way he does due to this.

Even if I know this, I can't help but tease the kid from time to time. I may not be inconsiderate enough to bully him, but I'm no saint either.

I reached the Uchiha compound and the guards let me enter the compound with a small nod, they had gotten used to my visits over the past few days. Whenever I wasn't stuck with missions or training, I did my best to be within the clan's walls.

A small part of me felt like I was intruding, or that it was "shameful" of me to visit as often as I did, but I had learnt a long time ago that shame was a luxury I wasn't strong enough to afford yet. I must embrace the shamelessness.

*Knock knock!*

I rapped on Yakumi's door until the boy himself came over and opened it, giving me a scrutinising look before inviting me inside.

I'm sure he was suspicious, or at least wary of how brazenly I was "intruding" on him and his clan the past few days. I couldn't afford to pay much attention to his worries though, integrating myself as much as I possibly could was a necessity for the plans I wanted to put in place.

It would be easier to find an excuse as to why I did it in the future, rather than give a reason in the present.

"Yo Yakumi, wanna hang out?" I asked with a small smile.

"No." He replied curtly.

'How rude.'

His reaction made sense, we weren't close enough for me to barge into his home and demand his time so freely, but there was always a way to influence people when you have something that they want.

"Right then, how about we train?" I asked, this time with an offer carrying clear benefits to the boy.

Yakumi's growth in Taijutsu had come to a grating halt once I left the academy, it was more than passable enough to graduate, but someone as competitive as Yakumi wouldn't care about "passable" levels of skill, rather, he cared about how he measured up against others.

The boy gave a nod and briskly walked to his backyard without sparing me a glance. He didn't like me very much at all, but that would soon change.

'Operation Yakumi into Ya-Homie has been initiated'