"Huh? Sabuko-kun?" Ino said as he walked into the pet shop. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh." He waved as he came over. "What's up, Ino. I'm not Sabuko, I'm his clone."
"His CLONE?" Her eyes went wide. "Like, a shadow clone?"
Sabuko nodded. "Yeah. I came to ask the shop owner what they know about cats."
"Y-right." She blinked a few times, then tilted her head, holding some kind of green bag. "You're adopting one?"
"Nah." He shook his head. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm on a mission. I gotta catch this cat, so I'm doing some cat research while the original and the other clones search outside the village."
"Is it Tora, by any chance?"
"Y-yeah, actually. How'd you know?"
"He's run off MULTIPLE TIMES," she said, hands on her hips. She sighed and glanced out the window.
"I can't even count how many times we've had to catch that stupid cat. He really hates his owner."
"Hey, more money for the village," Sabuko said, pursing his lips.
Ino covered her mouth and giggled.
"Well, sorry to disappoint you," the shopkeeper cut in, "but I don't know a thing about cats."
"Aw, damn. Guess I'mma go somewhere else..."
Ino whipped around to face the shopkeeper. "How does that even make sense!? You run a pet shop!"
"Well, your family runs a flower shop! Does that mean you know every flower, young lady?"
"I DO, ACTUALLY! ALL OF THEM, BECAUSE I LOVE ALL FLOWERS!" she shot back.
"Gehh...!" The shopkeeper recoiled.
"Sheesh, how disappointing." She rolled her eyes.
"Well, Ino. I'mma catch you later," Sabuko said, turning to leave. "Gonna find a library or something..."
"Oh, you're going to the library? Let's go together. I'm running errands for my family's shop, and it's on the way."
Sabuko's brows shot up. "Cool."
Soon enough, the clone and Ino were walking side by side through Konoha.
"What were you doing in a pet shop, though?" Sabuko asked, eyeing the bag she was carrying.
'I don't think she had a cat in the anime.'
"Oh, this?" She glanced down at it. "I figured it'd help to draw cats to the shop. Make it more appealing."
"Oh, a flower that attracts cats?"
"Yup!" She nodded with a smile. "It's a plant all cats love. It's called catnip." Then she sighed.
"I learned about it after the fifth time we had to hunt down Tora... damn that cat. Asuma-sensei shudders whenever he hears the name, you know?"
"Huh," he said. "Maybe I should bring a cat next time to scare him..."
"Who IS your jōnin, anyway?" she asked as they walked.
"It's a secret."
"Ugh, don't try to be mysterious. I really hate that!"
"I'm not!" Sabuko said. "I just really can't say right now!"
"..." She pouted.
'Naruto knowing who's training me is one thing, but telling everyone Guy sent me on an unauthorized mission is just dumb. Gotta change the subject...'
"S-say, you said you love all flowers." Sabuko cleared his throat. "Don't you have a favorite?"
"Who doesn't have a favorite!?" she grumbled. "Mine's the purple bush clover. It blooms in early autumn, and the flowers are these tiny little purple things that cover the whole branch. It's so pretty! Just a shame I have to wait until autumn to see it."
'What a weird-sounding flower,' Sabuko thought.
"You don't have it in your shop?" he asked.
She shook her head. "We only carry in-season flowers, since we pick them ourselves... It's a shame, but I'm patient."
"Anyway." She waved it off.
"Are you doing okay?" she asked. "None of us have seen you since that day."
"Ah... haha," he chuckled. "I'm not Sasuke, you know. You don't have to force yourself to ask."
"Huh?" Her brows furrowed. "I'm not asking about Sasuke-kun. He's obviously fine, he's way too cool not to be! I'm asking about you."
"A-ah... n-no, you just, like..."
'Well damn. Kid's got me there.'
Sabuko scratched his head.
"I'mma be okay, I think." He looked down. "Especially if I manage to catch that darn cat. Think you could lend me some of your catnip? I'll even buy it off you if you give me a discount."
Ino blinked at him, then smirked.
"Hehe, you're really shameless, Sabuko-kun. Asking someone from another team for help with your mission? People are gonna laugh at you."
"I mean," he said, looking up at the sky, "it's not against the rules, right?"
"..." She blinked again.
Then she shrugged.
"Help me carry this to my family's shop," she said, handing him the catnip bag, "and I'll tell you how to catch Tora easily, without even using this catnip. Even though I already told you."
Then she hurried off ahead of him.
"Hey, that's not fair!"
'This damn kid...' Sabuko sighed. 'Well. I've got until sundown, and it's still early. Guess I'll follow her around for a bit.'
"I'm stopping at this clothing shop, Sabuko. Wait outside with the catnip so Sasuke-kun doesn't hear any weird rumors."
'Regretting it already.'
'She even lied about already telling me how to catch the cat. Brat.'
---------- ELSEWHERE, OUTSIDE THE VILLAGE ----------
Sabuko sat in the Mist ninja's pool of blood, slumped against a tree, eyes half-lidded. He tapped his foot, making little splashes in the blood as it soaked into the dirt.
'My foot stopped bleeding too. Guess it was just... some unimportant artery or something?'
"So, did you feel anything after drinking from the one labeled 'ANTIDOTE. INGEST.'?" Sabuko asked his clone.
The clone shrugged.
"Alright... give it here."
Sabuko drank the rest of the vial.
"Ah..." He sighed. "Guess I'm alive."
'Tastes like plain water, but whatever.'
He looked at his bandaged wrist and bandaged foot, then at the bandage wrapped around his torso, sealing the cut on his back.
"Good thing we looted those fuckers," Sabuko said, clearing his throat.
'If I live through this, I'm packing bandages next time I go on a mission like this.'
A few seconds of silence. He looked at the corpse beside him, then at the surviving Mist ninja, tied up from head to toe.
"...W-what now, original?" the clone asked. "Should we bring him in, or..."
"You all go find that fucking cat," Sabuko rasped.
"I need to question this fucker about who sent them. I'll stab him wherever I need to. After this, no jōnin's gonna be able to keep me from being a genin, not once they find out I took down two Mist ninja."
His lips trembled.
"But just to be safe, we still need to catch that fucking cat. Got it?"
"Right!"
A beat.
"I fucking won't," Sabuko added.
"I fucking won't be homeless."
The clones scattered to search.
Sabuko stood up and kicked the Mist ninja in the head.
"Hey. Wake up."
No response.
'Not falling for that again.'
Sabuko pulled out his kunai and immediately stabbed the man's arm.
"GRAAAH...!!! WHAT ARE YOU...!?"
"If you won't talk, I'll just kill you like your friend," Sabuko said, ripping off the man's mask and yanking him up by the hair. "So tell me who sent you, and where they are."
"You'll... you'll just kill me anyway!"
"I won't," Sabuko rasped with a sigh. "If I hand you to the Hokage wrapped up like a present, alive and willing to talk, I get rewarded. So I won't kill you if you tell me."
"...!! You think I'd betray my village?!"
"You already betrayed your mission," Sabuko shot back without missing a beat. "You went on about being paid to kidnap me, then tried to kill me. So c'mon. Cut the act. I know you're not all that patriotic about the whole ninja-way bullcrap."
"Tch...!"
A beat. The Mist ninja glanced at the empty vial lying in the dirt.
Then he smirked.
"Whatever," he muttered. "I never really liked that guy anyway. I'll talk."
'Good.'
---------- TWO HOURS LATER ----------
"Original!" The clones came back to find Sabuko watching the Mist ninja closely. "We found him!" One of them was holding the cat, a gold bell hanging from its neck.
"He was lying in some weird flower field, rolling around in it all lazy. Didn't even run when we walked up to him. Even wanted a few pets," the clone said. The cat looked like it was smiling as it purred in his arms.
"We were sure he'd run off like in the anime... Guess he only hates Naruto and his owner?"
"Haaah... whatever. Doesn't matter. We've got the cat." Sabuko stood up and pointed at the two Mist ninja. "Carry both of 'em. We're going to the Hokage's office. Give me the cat."
"Original...?" one of the clones said. Sabuko's expression looked...
Wrong.
"W-what did he say?"
"He said enough."
'That fucker's not getting away with this.'
The surviving Mist ninja said nothing. He just watched Sabuko, his expression unreadable.