Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Chronicles of a Self-Made Shinobi ❯ Riding the Wind to the Starting Point (2) ( Chapter 2 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chronicles of a Self-Made Shinobi: Riding the Wind to the Starting Point (chap.2)

At noon the next day a small group of people was standing a little ways from the machine. Kumiko opened her eyes to find Lee energetically pointing and gesturing at the machine and her name being mentioned many times.

The sound of displaced air popped behind her and she turned to face the famous copy-ninja, Hatake Kakashi, crouching beside her.

“That's quite a thing you got there,” he said and gazed up at the flying machine.

Kumiko smiled and stood up, then hopped into the cockpit. “It's a flying machine. I made it myself.”

Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

“It's a success,” she added.

He scratched his chin. “Really, now?”

Kumiko frowned and started wiping clean the levers with a cloth. “I thought it would be useful for messages or something like that. It flies faster than a bird and swifter than a ninja on foot.”

The crowd parted for a figure that approached the flying machine. Tsunade stomped over to Kumiko and pointed a finger. “What's all this commotion about?” She then noticed the machine. “What is that?”

“It's my flying machine,” Kumiko said quickly. “I built it, and it's fast and in working condition. I made it for the village, and I'll take it wherever you need it to be!”

Tsunade's face softened and looked down at Kumiko, her face dirty and sleepy. “Her name is Mikomi,” Kumiko said softly.

The Fifth's eyes looked sad and she turned away. “Kumiko, I know how much you want to become a ninja. This machine is impressive, but we simply cannot let non-shinobi take on our missions. I'm sure you're flying machine will be a great help to us, but not for the ninja.”

Kumiko looked to Lee and the crowd that was listening raptly to everything he was telling them. She remembered watching him train at the academy, enduring the nickname of drop-out, continuously failing to perform any sort of ninjutsu. She remembered the day he graduated, with everyone else in his class, not one step below, but right there with all of them. She also remembered when he found her in the shed later that day.

“Why do you look so sad, Kumiko-san?” he asked her, sitting down.

She turned her face away to hide the tiny droplet of water than rolled down her cheek. “Why would this town need me, when it's got all the ninja here to protect it? Why do you need me anymore, now that you've become a protector, and I've been left behind?”

Lee giggled. “Is that why you're sad?”

She turned back at him, surprised. Why was he laughing?

“You have a dream don't you? You have a big one. I know, it because I have one too. How about we make a promise? We'll realize our dream together. In the future our names will be spoken with awe to all those people who have dreams to be what others think they shouldn't. We'll be the team of self-made shinobi, the team of will and hard-work. What do you say, ne?”

He gave her a thumbs up and smiled with a glint of his teeth. She giggled at his silly pose and he laughed.

Kumiko hopped back into the cockpit and propped her feet up on the nose of her flying machine, then sighed. “Well, sooner or later I'll become a shinobi. You won't be able to deny it forever. Look, already I have my own fan club,” she said and pointed to the crowd.

The Hokage agreed to let Kumiko keep her plane on top of the mountain. Once the crowd dispersed and Lee left to train she trekked back into the town for lunch. She whistled to keep her hopes alive; she would show everyone.

She entered a small shop and sat down at an empty table, then furrowed her brows. What is hedoing here? The figure rose from the table across the room and approached her, paying her no attention. She turned away and looked at the menu on the wall.

“I admire your perseverance, but your destiny cries out against you from all angles.” Hyuuga, Neji.

“What I do is none of your business.”

Neji placed a hand on the table and stared out the door onto the busy street. She always avoided his eyes, knowing they could see right through her. He always found a way to tear her hope to pieces. His face was expressionless, as always. Who knew what he really thought? Maybe those who can see through others learn how to conceal themselves. He was always there, waiting for her when she got too full of herself

“Neji,” she said and he turned to look at her. “If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.”

He frowned and marched out of the shop and down the street. If there was anyone she wanted to prove wrong, it was Hyuuga Neji.

For the rest of the day she watched the clouds on top of Lee's dojo and listened to his lonely training. Tenten came in the later afternoon, probably out of pity, and sparred for awhile. Soon his shouts turned into snores and the sun fell behind the trees. The stars emerged one by one, two by two, then flickered all at once. Kumiko turned to the Hokage mountain and tried to locate Mikomi, but it was too dark.

Impatiently she tapped her finger on her stomach. Soon, soon…