Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Chronicles of a Self-Made Shinobi ❯ Trouble at the Mist (3) ( Chapter 14 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chronicles of a Self-Made Shinobi: Trouble At the Mist (chap 3)

“Looks like she's coming to.”

A light was shining in Kumiko's face. She tried to shield it with her hands but realized they were tied behind her back. Once the glare was pulled away she found herself in a dark, dank room. To one side was a table with papers strewn all over the surface and several men staring down at them, arguing. In front of her, a young man with silver hair was talking to her.

“Who are you?”

She scowled. “I'm not telling you. Let me out of here.”

The man smirked. “You shouldn't be so confident when you're the one tired to a chair and I'm standing. Ladies shouldn't make such scary faces.”

Kumiko growled and smoke came out of her ears. “What are you saying, huh?”

The man laughed and began to walk away. She yelled after him and struggled, but he ignored her. Kumiko watched the men in the room warily, but none of them approached her, or even cast her a glance. There were no windows in the room, so Kumiko couldn't keep track of the time. The chair was so uncomfortable she couldn't fall asleep, and instead lolled her head to the side every now and then.

There seemed to be a rhythm to the activity in the room. Every once and awhile the men at the table were replaced by different ones. They always came in with dirt on their shoes, and one group soaked from rain. The man who spoke to her earlier, however, remained.

“Eat this.”

Kumiko snapped her head up and tried to conceal the drool that had leaked from the corner of her mouth. The man was standing in front of her holding a bowl of soup.

“I don't want you're lousy food,” she said.

“Fine, starve,” he said and turned away.

“If you want information or something go ahead and ask, I don't have anything important to say. And this place smells worse than my shed.”

He smirked at her and flicked a speck of dust off his jacket. “We're using you as bait. You're from Konoha, correct? You're one of the ninja sent to destroy the Mist resistance. We were following you since you left Konoha to assess your strength. But when you stupidly went out to investigate last night by yourself we just couldn't pass up the opportunity. That one who was with you, he'll come for you. Then we'll catch him and the others will come as well. Who knows how long this will take, so you should eat…”

“You're using me as bait? BAIT? BAKA! I'll kill you!” Kumiko struggled furiously against the bonds.

“Ne, ne, why are you so angry? You don't have to worry; we won't hurt you. We don't hurt innocent people, even if they are ninja.”

“That's not it! You said I was weak. I know what you're thinking… I'm not even a ninja yet, but I could beat you to a pulp. Let me go, I'll tear you apart!”

Kumiko didn't care that the man in front of her could probably kill her in a blink of an eye. She was burning hot with anger.

He furrowed his brows. “Not a ninja? Then why were you traveling with one? Or was that guy you're boyfr…”

“If you don't shut up,” she growled. “I'll really kill you.”

The man sighed. “That scary face again. You're such a hot-head. Perhaps I should take you up on that offer to fight. That'll teach you a lesson. I happen to be a ninja, and you don't stand a chance.”

“Whant to give it a go little man?” she asked with an angry glint in her eyes.

He raised his hand to his face and scratched his nose. “Why are you so angry? You'll be let go once we catch everyone and assassinate the Mist's leader.”

Never taking her eyes off of the man's Kumiko slowly brought the metal rod out from her pocket. It was lucky that they hadn't taken it away; they probably thought it wasn't harmful. “I'm angry, because you think that I'd let others save me. I completed my last three missions, but not before I was saved by someone else. Each time, I would have died if it wasn't for my friends. If I want to become a true ninja, I have to be able to save myself. I'll do anything to prove it.”

The man was turned away from Kumiko, so she couldn't see the faint smile that played on his lips. “Well then…”

There was a sound like the bursting of metal and Kumiko rose from the chair. The man turned around at stared at her surprised. She held in her hand a small metal rod. The room was empty, she hadn't noticed when the other men had left. But it was a good thing; she had a better chance against this one man.

“What are you going to do with that?”

She smiled and flipped a small switch on the bottom. The rod shook and shot out. It stopped four feet in front of her and a small red flag hung from the end, on it said “Kiseki no Yochi” (Miracle of the Earth).

“Unlike the weapons infused with chakra you ninja use, she is made from human hands and the fruits of Mother Nature. The metals of the earth are against you.”

The man began to laugh, holding his stomach. “It's just a pole!” he said. “I'm impressed you made it look so shiny. But do you really think it could do anything against a ninja?”

Kumiko ignored his words, and raised the pole into the air and brought it down with full force. It crashed into the stony ground, and the room began to shake.

“Nani?” the man said, wobbling.

“The Earth contains a vast amount of metal. When I created Kiseki no Yochi, I equipped her with a strong magnetic field. By striking her into the ground, I made the metal in the surrounding area ache to meet her. This room is going to collapse.”

The man glared at her, then cursed as stones began to fall. “Baka!”

He turned and ran out of the room and Kumiko followed, only to find stones blocking the doorway when she opened it. “Ch…troublesome.”

She jammed the pole into the ground and ran her hand along its shaft. Small grooves played under her fingers, so small that one would have to know they were there in order to find them. In the middle she pressed down and the top of the pole opened into an umbrella and grew down to the floor. In darkness Kumiko waited, as the world outside collapsed onto her.

There was a small rumble in the forest and the ground somewhere deep inside fell through into rubble. After all was silent there was a loud crack and Kumiko shot out of the ground, holding the pole above her. She landed on top of a boulder, eyes flitting every which way, searching for the man who took her hostage.

“Oh, so it's not just a pole.”

She turned around and blocked a kunai that was aimed at her head. The man came out of the bushes. “Tell me little girl, what else can you do?”

Kumiko grimaced and pointed the pole at the man's head. She ran at him and he drew his sword, holding it out in front. Right before she hit him a spearhead appeared at the front of her pole and slid down the side of the sword. He grabbed the other end of his sword and churned it, trying to disarm her, but she spun around in the air, keeping a tight grip onto her spear and landed in front of him.

“I'll kill you for underestimating me.”

The spear disappeared and was replaced by a barrel. She aimed it at the man's head and shot out at him. Laughing, he held the sword in front of him to block. As it neared, spikes protruded from its surface. His eyes widened and he rolled out of the way before it exploded in mid-air.

Kumiko fired again, digging a hole in the ground with her feet from the back-lash, but the man dodged every one.

“Is that all you got? How do you expect to become a ninja with those silly moves?”

Kumiko stopped firing and shoved Kiseki into the ground. Her finger brushed against the side and she smiled. “Ninja must be careful not to let anything through their observations. Tell me, did you notice how I surrounded you with the shells of my exploding bullets?”

The empty dead shells lay around in a perfect circle and the man looked at them confused. The top of the spear opened and made a loud cracking sound as smoke poured out of the top. The man stared up at the sky, waiting for something enormous to come falling onto his head. Nothing happened.

He grinned. “Look like your mechanics failed you. No miracles today, eh?”

All of a sudden, the empty bullet shells rose in the air and went screaming toward him, and Kumiko fired off another five bullets. There was nowhere for him to run, so he jumped, but the bullets followed. He twisted to the side and they turned their flight as well. They zeroed in, crashed into him, then exploded. Only jagged pieces of metal fell onto the ground.