Chronicles of a Self-Made Shinobi: Hold Your Breath (chap.1)
Kumiko tripped and fell a number of times as she ran back to her shed from the middle of town. She was eating rice balls and green tea for lunch when Shikamaru burst through the restaurant entrance and grabbed the edge of the table. After a few seconds of catching his breath, without saying a word he grabbed her arm and yanked her from the table and pulled her along the streets of Konoha.
"A runner collapsed at the village entrance this morning," he shouted back at her. "We brought him to the Hokage and found he was from the Village of Rain; he had been running for three days. A group has kidnapped forty villagers and taken them to a hideout somewhere in the surrounding area. They demanded that the elder of the village step down or they'd kill all the hostages. But the elder is stubborn and refused. The resistance plans to kill them within two and a half days. Team Gai has been dispatched and they're running there now."
They rounded the corner and came skidding to a halt as they reached the door to her shed.
"Get your flying machine. We're going NOW!"
Immediately Kumiko wrenched her arm away and flung open the shed doors. She barked orders at Shikamaru to ready the machine while she hastily packed her bag and threw some things into the storage area in Mikomi. Shikamaru was struggling to unhook the tarp and Kumiko ripped it off and threw it away onto the work bench.
"Push!"
The two chuunin huffed their way out of the shed, along the path, and up the Hokage Mountain. They reached the summit by sunset. Kumiko strapped her goggles onto her face and helped Shikamaru squeeze into the back part of the cockpit. Then she ran to the sides and let the wings out, and around to the front to crank the propeller furiously until it caught. The plane started to inch forward and she leapt into the cockpit in front of Shikamaru and grabbed onto the levers.
"Hold onto my waist," she instructed, and Shika immediately obeyed. "I haven't given her a test run since she fell at the Sand but I'm pretty sure she's okay."
"NANI?" Shikamaru croaked.
"We should be fine. But whatever you do, don't let go!"
The plane gathered up speed and leapt off the side of the mountain. It nosedived and Kumiko pulled back on the altitude lever with all her strength and Mikomi caught the up draft and bounced harshly into a steady glide.
Shikamaru was squeezing the life out of Kumiko so she poked at his fingers until he relaxed his grip.
"Okay, the hard part's over," she said, taking a breath. "We should get there by sunrise tomorrow. I'll land somewhere out of sight of the town so as not to reveal ourselves. From there we'll have two days to find the hideout and free the villagers. "
Shikamaru was silent.
"Oi baka, you listening?"
"Hnn…so peaceful," he said, not hearing her.
……………………………………………
The night fell coolly on the two shinobi. Kumiko was wearing her flying jacket but behind her Shikamaru was shivering (they had run off so suddenly after all) and she could feel his slight tremors on her stomach where he was holding onto her.
"Open the hatch behind you I think I have an extra blanket."
One of his hands released her and a few seconds later he wrapped the blanket around both of them.
"Ahh…that's better," he said and yawned.
Konoha was far behind them and no lights shone in the forest below. The trees were too high to allow light from a campfire through, and if you were smart you wouldn't have one lit anyway so deep on the forest.
"Shika, why were you put on this mission?"
He grunted. "Don't think you're the only smart one here. They called for me all panicked and told me to figure something out. I suggested we use you and your flying machine."
Kumiko smiled. "Thanks."
"Ne? Well, it was the most practical thing. No one could get there faster than you!" he replied, flustered.
A few minutes later Shikamaru had fallen asleep on Kumiko's back. She rubbed her eyes and took out a cold flask of green tea.
……………………………………
The Hidden Rain Village came into view over the horizon at sunrise. Kumiko quickly veered to the right and flew until it was out of sight before looking for a safe landing. Soon she spotted a small lake ahead and aimed toward it.
"Hold on!"
Mikomi started falling toward the ground, and just as she was about to hit the water Kumiko yanked her up so the back wheels skimmed the surface. They started to sink under, but then connected to the banks and Kumiko jammed on the breaks. The bank was small and the first line of trees into the forest was coming up fast.
"Watch it!" Shikamaru screamed unhelpfully.
Kumiko yanked on a lever and they swerved to the right, missing a large oak by a few inches. They continued to ride around the lake in a bumpy circle until they came to a halt. The dirt on the bank was flown everywhere half-way around the lake, making two dark grooves where the wheels ripped it to pieces.
Shikmamaru sighed. "Troublesome… "
They tumbled out of Mikomi and began to push and pull her toward the forest and under cover of the trees. It was impossible to hide her there but hopefully no one would be snooping around those parts anyway.
Once Mikomi was out of sight Kumiko turned toward the lake. The side they landed on was shallow and sandy. If she squinted she could make out the other, much deeper, side, full of jagged rocks. "YOSH! Let's go! We need a direction, we need a plan…"
She staggered then fell backwards and landed on her backside.
"Whoa take it easy," Shikamaru said, stepping out from the trees. "You need to rest first."
Kumiko protested and tried to stand but Shika nudged her back down. "You won't be any help if you're tired. Rest, and don't worry about a plan. Did you think I was sleeping that whole time on the flight?"
"Um…yes?" she replied.
Shikamaru sighed, mumbled, and walked to the edge of the lake. "Team Gai should be here by sundown. It's our job to find the entrance to this hideout and come up with a strategy to get in and out by the time they arrive."
Kumiko nodded, trying vainly to keep her eyes from drooping. "I'm sorry."
Shikamaru scrunched his face into an annoyed frown. "Ch, don' t apologize. I knew you were going to be tired after the flight and I worked it into our schedule. You really need to rest. I figured that I'd find the entrance myself while you rest and once you wake up we'll both come up with a plan, after all, you're the one with the equipment. So stand up, get in that cockpit, and sleep."