A mother's love [Barlow]

Mission:

It was noon at the bustling market of Kumogakure no Sato. Despite their designated booths, sellers were carrying out their fresh products in baskets whether that be fruit, vegetable, or fish; eagerly yelling their prices at the people who pass by.
  The absurdity, Mineko thought, how can people tolerate their obnoxiousness? Perhaps it was not absurd or obnoxious, it was Mineko’s flaw, she had been lacking human interaction for so long yet it does not come into mind. It had surely been a few months since she had visited the village. Civilization. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be in one.

Naturally, Mineko was able to sniff out distinct scents --using her chakra by focusing it within her nose-- but because the market produced such potent aromas it became difficult to do so. The air became a mixture of different odors. It had blinded Mineko’s best senses. She couldn’t wait to finally leave this place.
   Mineko wore a heavy cloak that hid her from head to toe but it did not stop wondering eyes turning to her direction. She was not oblivious to it but she understood their curiosity; without having to see them, she knows a few eyes were watching her as she ambled along the Kumo market. She did her best to ignore them.
   Indigo found it difficult to make himself comfortable cramped in between Mineko’s tight clothing and her bosom. He kept moving his small limbs to stretch, and upon doing so he lightly scratched her skin with his paw. She felt it and halted her pacing, to quickly check underneath her collar. “Indigo...” Mineko whispered harshly “Could you please?” she warned him, eyes downcasted to her chest. The particular strangers who had her attention noticed, then awkwardly turn their heads away.
   Indigo frowned and grunted in response. Mineko heard yet chose to ignore it, she frowned and reluctantly brought her eyes back up to her surroundings.
  “We can’t afford to gain any more suspicion.” She whispered. He grumbled in a somewhat sardonic tone which made Mineko’s forehead wrinkled in disbelief. “I can’t believe you.” She muttered to particularly no one.

“Hey there!”-- a voice of man crept up behind Mineko’s shoulder, disgustedly feeling the warmth of his breath which startled Mineko to shudder. And already she had the impression she would despise him. -- “Could you cut that out?” She growled as she abruptly turned her back to face him.
   “Oh”-- The man was Makamoto Toshiro, a genin of the village hidden in the clouds-- “Sorry…”
    Mineko flickered her eyes up and down at him and let a few heartbeats pass until she broke the silence…
  “I heard you needed help about a tiger.” it wasn’t a question.
   “That’s right!” He grinned, an obnoxious smile or so Mineko thought.
   Toshiro aged a few years older than Mineko but not old enough to have wrinkles form just yet. He wore the standard genin uniform; with his shinobi headband and a small bag that was carried around his waist, presumably containing shurikens and kunais. Standard shinobi look. She twitched her mouth.
   “All right. Ten thousand Ryo. Upfront.” Mineko demanded grimly. “How big is this beast?” she cockily arched a brow in interest.
   “Hey”-- Toshiro warned, with a hand gesture that tells her to keep quiet. “Don’t be so loud. No one can know I’m asking for… assistance from you guys” He moved an inch closer to Mineko.
    “You guys…” She echoed to a question. She bat an eye to Toshiro warning him to be cautious about the next words he’d venture out his mouth.
    Toshiro regretted his choice of words then again he should have informed her way earlier ago. “Yeah…” he said reluctantly. “Kokoro’s been missing somewhere in the past few days and I’ve heard he’s grown since. I miss him.” -- Mineko sized him up once more. “Get to the point.”
    “Well, you see… I’m not sure if I’d ever get to see him again. Truth is other shinobis have tried retrieving him back to me” — her brows furrowed, she hated being corelated to that word. “but they’d return with scratches, blood oozing out of them.” he frowned.
    Mineko looked at him, his eyes beginning to water but Toshiro resisted the tears. You don’t have to be vigilant when you’ve lost a loved one, Mineko felt. The ends of her lips curled up an empathetic faint smile suggesting it will all end well but quickly faded away.
     “We have to wait for the other show up.” He sniffed.
     “Who are they?” She questioned.

The markets of Kumogakure possessed an appeal that was always lost on Barlow. The noise of its general activity served as a reminder to some of the heart of Kumogakure itself. The persistence of the sellers in peddling their items directly mirroring that of their shinobi allies when out on the battlefield. The fiery spirit of Kumogakure burning its brightest in the heart of the village.

That was exactly the type of bullshit he heard anytime someone spoke about their love for their village. In Barlow's eyes, the village itself was merely a means to an end, and all the people who lived their lives in servitude due to their love of the village were merely wasting their lives. He could never say these things aloud as the knowledge of his true feelings of disdain for both the village and those within it would undoubtedly put his goals at stake. His best option was to just continue on as he had, doing missions for his village in order to gain both experience and strength.

Today, as he sat cross-legged in an alley near the markets, he considered how he planned to go about completing his current mission. He had been tasked with finding this tiger named 'Kokoto' for some snot-nosed loser. Barlow had no desire to actually help the kid; a person who could just lose a tiger is the last sort of person Barlow believed should be training with such dangerous creatures. Despite this, he found himself signing on to complete this mission the moment he read it; strangely filled with the desire to find this creature. Barlow had always loved cats and had only ever seen the housepets that seemed to roam the village at their leisure. A tiger was a different beast entirely, one that Barlow wanted to stare directly in the eyes.

He knew it was only a cub of course, but he still had to see it. Even a baby tiger would be cooler than any cat he had ever seen hanging out in the alleyways of his village. He knew other genin had undoubtedly signed on to complete this mission as well, and he was sure they were all over the village. Barlow doubted any of them were hanging out in these alleys though, as it wasn't the most popular area, and plenty of people must've started looking in the more common spots which they knew like the back of their hands. Barlow was a bit of an animal himself, and if the tiger was any bit like him, it would be roaming those same alleys, searching for food in the places where it would be the dominant predator, away from the admittedly dangerous shinobi which roamed the majority of the village.

He technically was supposed to have met up with the other genin participating, but he had neglected to actually show up. It was fine, they would eventually stop wasting their time waiting for him, and as long as he showed up once he found the tiger, there'd be no reason to complain about him not showing up to hear some sob story about why he should be looking for the tiger. It was a job, and he did it because he would be paid; getting to see an actual tiger in person was just an added bonus.

After Toshiro and Mineko’s brief discussion of the task, Mineko expected for this certain genin to appear. Allowing over half an hour, minutes she will never get back, to pass. What a cunt. She snarled. Before frustration started to simmer, she had no reluctance to leave soon after.
  Decided she found no use to a companion for this mission other than her counterpart, Indigo. She, especially, was not interested to make an acquaintance to yet another shinobi. She partook in this mission for the reward and that alone.
   Barlow Barlow; she echoed in her mind, the name of the certain genin that Toshiro gave her. What an odd name; She scoffed.

Mineko and Indigo leaped from roof to roof on all fours with ninja-like feathered steps, they did their best to not grab the attention from the people who walk below the streets.
  Mineko focused her chakra drawing it within her nose to further enhance her sense of smell. Few minutes have passed searching for the tiger cub yet no traces of its presence shown anywhere in the streets, or, not even, its scent lingering to detect its whereabouts. Where could this lost cub have gone? Mineko’s patience was growing thin as time passed. Perhaps, Barlow Barlow had already retrieved it; her eyes slightly narrowed in concentration. No. She breathed deeply. But it was most likely he had gotten an earlier start for not showing up when he was expected.
 
It was quite impressive how Indigo could catch up with his partner’s long legs, up ahead there were several more roofs to pass. Mineko’s determination for this search almost started to dwindle until Indigo’s eyes shifted over to his shoulder, to his left, there presented, the edge of the forest near Kumogakure no Sato. At least 70 meters away. He halted his sprint safely as he could, then loudly barked to call out Mineko who continued on. She heard and cocked a brow at it, she abruptly rolled her body to ease the halt of her unrelenting speed. At her knees, with both palms laid down—
  “What is it, Indigo?” Mineko spun to face him. “If we search for the cub now then we can rest as long as we want, later.” She told him dryly. Indigo lightly nodded his head at the forest’s direction and gurgled something as he did. She glanced at the vast trees that guarded the forest’s edge.—
  “You think so?” she considered. It was a far travel for a cub but Indigo’s suggestion was entirely possible. The question had arisen. Why would the cub go into the unknown? Was it escaping from something here? She had to admit she couldn’t blame the cub for leaving Toshiro. Or was it searching for something there...
  Mineko’s gaze lazily drifted to beyond the forest’s edge. Indigo barked once again. She twisted her head to him “All right. Let’s go, then.” she said quietly, glancing back into the forest. And posed into a runner’s stance, they began their venture.