Chronicles of a Self-Made Shinobi: Trouble At the Mist (chap 1)
“Come on. You need fresh air or you’ll rot!” Lee said, tugging on Kumiko’s arm.
“Wait, there’s a smudge on her left side,” Kumiko replied, straining to break free.
Mikomi was finally revived after an entire two weeks of work. Kumiko practically lived inside of her shed, never seeing the light of day.
Lee finally yanked her out into the sunlight and she blinked. “Ow…it hurts…”
Lee giggled. “You’re like a vampire,” he said.
“Shut up, Lee!”
Running away from her, Lee led Kumiko to an open field. In it, most of the Konoha genin were sitting on the grass or running around. Kumiko plopped down in the circle of girls next to Hinata and sighed.
“Kumiko-san! You’re out of your shed.”
Hinata was the opposite of Kumiko, quiet, shy, but they were good friends. Also, she was probably the sanest out of the rest of them.
“The hermit is finally awake!” Ino said, pointing at Kumiko. “Did the sunlight burn your eyes?”
“I thought she was more like a vampire,” Lee commented.
Kumiko threw a handful of grass at Lee’s head and he pouted and ran off to play with Kiba and Naruto. She told Hinata all about the new Mikomi and offered to give her a ride, but Hinata turned red and shook her head no. A few minutes later a shadow blocked the sun and Kumiko looked up to see Shikamaru.
“Hoy, Shika-kun,” she said, shielding her eyes.
He stood above her and scratched the back of his head, with the signature look of boredom on his face.
“What’s with that face?” she asked.
“Troublesome…I just wanted to say hi,” he stated, then walked away and flopped into the grass, staring at the clouds.
Kumiko shrugged and turned back to Hinata. “I think he likes you,” she said, pressing her index fingers together.
A frisbee knocked Kumiko in the head as Hinata spoke to her and she fell over backwards. “OW! Who threw that?”
On the fields Kiba and Naruto were laughing and pointing at Lee who stared at her. She stood up and chased after him and a look of horror on his face. Naruto stepped on Shikamaru in the process and he joined the battle.
After Kumiko’s encounter with Itachi, her border patrol system was received as an official part of the village. She was the head engineer and creator, but it was given over to other ninja to man. Times became idle, so she shut herself in her shed to create new things, and most importantly, fix her flying machine. She was bored, and eager to be called back to the Hokage mansion.
The rough-housing stopped as the sun reached noon and it grew too hot. Kumiko returned to Hinata.
“Kumiko-chan…you’re so carefree. Everyone likes you; I wish I could be like that.”
Kumiko smiled and drank water from a bottle. “You don’t have to be loud like me for people to like you. I’ll bet Kiba and the others would do anything you asked…especially Naruto.”
Hinata blushed and stuttered and Kumiko laughed at her. “Besides, not everyone likes me…” She turned slightly to glance at Neji sitting cross-legged on a rock with a frown on his face. She couldn’t tell if he was looking at her so she stuck out her tongue. When he furrowed his brows more she smirked and turned back to Hinata. “…like you’re cousin.”
“Neji? A-actually I think he…”
Hinata was cut off when a hand touched Kumiko’s shoulder and she turned around.
“Come,” Shino said.
Lee stopped his one-handed pushups and ran to her. Shino led them over to the Hokage mansion and into the Fifth's office. She sat at her desk flicking little pieces of paper across the table. Kumiko cleared her throat.
“I’ve got a mission for you,” Tsunade said, still flicking the paper.
“Ne? What’s that? A mission for a non-ninja. Gasp! Is that legal?”
Tsunade growled and flicked a piece at Kumiko’s head and it left a small red mark. “If you come back from this one successfully…I’ll consider letting you become a ninja.”
“What?” Kumiko shouted. “That’s what you said last time. Am I a ninja yet? I don’t think so. Find yourself someone else…”
“A ninja never refuses a mission,” the Fifth countered, staring Kumiko in the eyes. “This one…it’ll determine whether you’re fit to become a ninja or not.”
Kumiko crossed her arms and pouted, but on the inside she was bursting with excitement. Of course she’d take the mission! She just had to remind the Fifth about her promise.
“Someone is causing trouble in the Mist.” Tsunade said. “There’s a group trying to kill the Elder of the village. I already dispatched Kakashi to find the entrance, but unfortunately it’s nothing like we’ve seen before. We need…”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Kumiko cut her off. “You need me to figure it out. Jeeze, why don’t you send Shikamaru on easy stuff like this? My skills should be reserved for the really tough things, you…”
“QUIET! You’re going on this mission. Shino will give you more details on the way. Now, get out of here before I change my mind!”
Kumiko opened her mouth to argue but Lee grabbed her wrist and yanked her out of the office, shutting the door behind him.
“Baka, bakabakabaka…” she said annoyed, brushing herself off. “Let’s get ready Lee.”
“Ano, Kumiko-san. I’ve been assigned another mission.”
She looked at him, then growled angrily.
“Be careful,” he said placing a hand on her shoulder.
She smiled. “I’m always careful Lee!”
As she ran away he hung his head. “You’re not…that’s the thing.”
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