Chronicles of a Self-Made Shinobi: Spelunking (chap.1)
In Kumiko’s dream she was surfing on a turtle. Of course, it was the most normal thing in the world, for a dream. She was riding a monstrous wave when the turtle began to thrash and shout her name. “Kumiko-san! Wake up!”
She shot her eyes open and grabbed whoever was shaking her and shook him. “What’s the big idea?”
“The Fifth…calling for you,” Lee managed to spit out.
Kumiko let him go
The incident with the Sand had spread throughout Konoha. Everyone knew how she flew in on her self-made machine and saved the town single-handedly. It made her somewhat famous. People came to her either to hear her tell the story herself, or ask her to fix something for them. But even this little bit of fame was not enough to make her a ninja.
“What are you doing?” Lee asked frantically. “Hurry up!”
She sprang out of bed and flew into the bathroom. Lee paced her flat impatiently until she emerged and rummaged for her pack.
“Lee?” she asked tightening the straps. “How did you get into my room?”
He sweat-dropped, blushed, then cleared his throat. “I, well…I sort of…um kicked down your door.”
“Nani!” she yelled, just noticing her door lying on the floor of her room.
“No time, let’s go!”
Lee grabbed her arm and flew out of the flat and sped off down the streets of Konoha. Kumiko stumbled after him, who pulled her faster than she could run.
“Lee, wait!”
He yanked on her arm so she fell forward and threw her onto his back, then sped away, creating his own breeze when he passed people by.
He leapt four by four up the stairs of the Hokage mansion and burst through the doorway, tripping on the rug and flinging Kumko head-first onto the ground.
“Baka…” she groaned and stood up shakily, adjusted her pack, then looked to the Fifth, whose eye was twitching.
“Kumiko…” she began.
“So you finally admit that you need me, ne? Finally realized my abilities?” Kumiko cut her off and grinned.
Tsunade cleared her throat. “Well, it depends. We’ve got an interesting request here. The Hidden Village of Waterfall sent us a messenger. He told us that odd things were happening in their western forest. Sometimes people walk through and never come back, other pass without incident, and most said strange things flitted about their vision in the night. Thinking it was a band of ninja causing trouble with genjutsu, I sent Kakashi and his ninja dogs to the forest. He’s been wandering around for three weeks and hasn’t found a thing.”
Kumiko stood, arms crossed and legs apart, nodding her head. “You want me to figure out what’s going on.”
Tsunade nodded. “I feel as though we’ve been searching for the wrong thing, and that maybe you could look at it from a different angle.”
“Well, it’s no problem, under one condition,” she smiled. “Make me a ninja if I succeed!”
Tsunade grumbled and tapped her fingers on the table. “How about I’ll consider it.”
“Deal,” Kumiko replied immediately, and turned to go.
“Kumiko-san,” Lee said weakly from the ground where he was still laying face-down.
“Oh right, and he’s coming too.”
“Whatever you need,” Tsunade replied. “But, I’m assigning the leader of this mission.”
She pointed to the back of the room. “I knew it, how troublesome.” Shikamaru grumbled stepping into the middle of the room.
Wait a minute!” Kumiko yelled twirling back around. “I’m the leader of this mission! You called me because I’m the one who’s going to figure it out!”
“You’re still not a ninja. This is a ninja mission needing a ninja leader!”
Kumiko marched up to the table ands stuck her finger in Tsunade’s face. “Do you always follow the stupid rules?”
Tsunade growled and stuck her nose in Kumiko’s face. “If the Hokage doesn’t follow the rules, then who will?”
Kumiko humphed and spun around, then stomped out of the room, followed by a terrified Lee and Shikamaru. When they were gone, Tsunade hid a smile.
Kumiko huffed all the way back to her shed and flung open the doors.
“Listen up. You may be the leader but if you don’t do what I say we’re not going to find anything. Got it?”
“YOSH!”
“What a drag…”
By mid-afternoon they had loaded up a cart and rented a mule. Shikamaru took a seat on top of the pile and stared up at the sky, Lee insisted on walking alongside and Kumiko sat on the mule. Before she closed the shed lifted up the tarp that was covering Mikomi, and promised to finish fixing her when she returned.
“We’ll just follow the path to Waterfall. In one day, Pakkun will meet us and bring us to Kakashi-sensei.”
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