Dog Runaway! [Mission/Closed]

[Sarutobi Mito]

This was the day! Her very first mission. Her mother and father had told her that it would be one of the best experiences of her life, something that she should (or rather would) never forget. Her mother further explained that her first mission as a genin would be the true starting point to her being able to call herself a true kunoichi of the Hidden Leaf. Graduation and training was nothing compared to this, she proclaimed.

Mito had some mind to believe her mother, and the same enthusiasm as the two combined - at first. But once she received the details for the mission that she would be assigned, her expression of happiness flipped and morphed into something reflecting more of a disappointed tone. It wasn't that she was expecting something dangerous and more adventurous, but her task was catching a dog. It seemed like something that didn't really require the attention or help of a shinobi (or kunoichi in her case), more like a task for the dog owner themselves.

Mito was filled with a little bit of frustration, but to her parents, and even her surprise, she just laughed abruptly. She couldn't believe how some people were just too lazy to do even the most simplest of task. They rather spend money on a task that would only require a few hours of their day. It was perfectly fine with her though! She would get money for this mission, so it didn't matter.

The mission was said to only require one genin, and Mito fit the bill perfectly, being that her team was basically undone. So, since she was free, she was allowed to take on the task. It just sucked that she had to do it on such short notice. She had to go now!

She had all of her stuff packed with her at the time. That included her pouch of ninja tools, and her casual fighting clothing. She stopped in a store while outside to pick up something that she figured would aid her search with the money that her parents gave her. After all, from the advice she was given from her mother, it was always best to let your prey come to you if you have the chance. So Mito used the little money she had to buy doggy treats. Once she grew close to the dog, she was hoping that she could lure it in with the treats.

If she was to rate herself based on the preparations she planned prior to the actual mission, she would probably give herself a ten.

Back to the task at hand. She was told the details to what she was looking for: a small dog, mixed in fur colors - brown and white. From what she was told, the dog sounded like the cutest thing ever. The owner must have been one bad owner to have such a cute dog run away, Mito felt somewhat bad that she would be the one to return the dog to such bad conditions; if her hunch was even correct.

"Hm... Where to find a dog?"

The child would begin her search in the center of the village. For some reason, she figured that she would have better luck in the most crowded place of the village. She was on the mindset where she thought that if she went to a place with a lot of witnesses, it would be better to catch the dog. Besides, she was also told that the dog was stealing from food stands. There weren't many of those in the village, and the majority were in the center.

She walked up to one pedestrian on the street. She was nervous to be talking to a stranger, but she took a gulp and spoke up. After all, as a genin, she couldn't be afraid of such a small task.

"Excuse me, have you seen a stray dog running around here?"

She stood and waited for a response. The man looked a little puzzled at the girl, almost as though he didn't know what she was speaking about. He took a second to think, but he finally shook his head and replied, "Nope, sorry kid. I haven't seen any dogs..." Finally, she thought. All that time just to say that.

Well that was great. A good ten seconds of her time wasted on asking the wrong person the question. Well, Mito lived and learned, that was how the process went. She thanked the man regardless for his time and made her way over to someone else. She repeated the same question in the same exact manner, and received a similar reply.

She started to guess that maybe she has chosen the wrong place to start her search. Why would a dog come to the most crowded place in the village if it was trying to run away?

With that question in mind, Mito performed a set of hand seals and created three intangible clones of herself. She couldn't do this mission in such a large village all by herself. With that being said, she would send her clones out to do personal surveillance while she would continue to ask other villagers if they saw the dog. This time, however, she would walk down to find a less crowded part of the center.

Nearing the end of the center of the village, Mito walked up to her sixth or seventh person and asked, "Have you seen a small dog running around anywhere?" The woman placed her bags down and nodded yes. She used her hands to described the size, "Are you talking about a dog this size, with brown and white fur?" Mito's face glowed as she nodded. She explained the she seen it run by just a few seconds earlier, and pointed to her right.

Finally! Mito thanked her much and ran off. She directed her clones to do the same and they all met up at the same place just a few seconds later.

"Gotcha,"

After a full two hours of running around and getting outran, Mito spotted the dog once more at the beginning of an entrance. What the entrance was for, she didn't know and didn't honestly care. She just wanted to catch the dog already. She sent two of her clones in the opposite direction and then started running after the dog, forcing it to run down.

When Mito caught up to the entrance, she realized that it was an entrance to an alley... with a dead end, meaning that the dog would now be stuck. To keep from getting attacked, the girl took out the bag of dog treats and shook it softly. "Come here, doggy. I'm not here to hurt you, honestly...." She saw the dog look as though it wasn't believing her.

Mito closed in on the dog, taking notice of her clone at the top of the wall. The clone dropped to the ground, in attempt to scare it into place, or at least have it run towards the real Mito.

But the dog didn't run. Instead, it seemed as though it was gearing to attack the clone. Although the girl knew that the dog couldn't actually attack the dog, she knew that she would need to calm it down eventually to catch it. With that said, she took out as treat from the bag and threw it, making it land directly in front of the dog. All that target practice came to good use, she thought. The dog sniffed the treat only an inch away and slowly reached in to take it. Afterwards, he started eating it and when he finished, he barked loudly and wagged his tail. In the meantime, Mito had reached the dog's position to hand the dog another one. He was just so cute, how could she not award the dog for listening so well.

Mito picked the dog up and dispersed her three clones. They did a good job, but she didn't need them anymore. In the position she held the dog in, he continued to lick the child's face, which forced her to chuckle a bit. The dog was playful, that was it! He probably ran away as somewhat of a joke, not because its owner was mean. That made a lot more sense than her first thought.

When the girl reached the mission request lady's house, she handed the dog to the woman. "Oh my god! Thank you so much, little one! I am so grateful!" Mito could see the honesty and sincerity in her eyes. She truly loved her dog and probably was scared nuts for it. That was another factor which made her first thought obviously wrong and crazy. "I know why your dog ran away, miss." She said informatively, "Its very active and playful. If you keep it in the house all the time, it's going to try running away to get some play time." The woman nodded, truly engaged in what she had to say. Once Mito finished, the woman again thanked her and closed the door.

Two and a half hours of working, but now she could say that her very first mission was completed. She didn't like the idea at first, but it actually helped her with two skills she would need as a kunoichi. Tracking and shuriken training. She could honestly say that the mission was worth the time and effort, besides, she made a new dog friend!