Chronicles of a Self-Made Shinobi: Hold Your Breath (chap.2)
She woke up to someone shaking her shoulders. It was a little past noon and Shikamaru's head blocked the bright halo of the sun. Kumiko sat up, a little dazed. "Did you find it?"
"I did, but you're not going to like it."
Shikamaru led her around the edge of the lake. On the other side he looked around then turned and walked straight into the forest. He stopped in front of a large boulder. "Under here. Apparently we almost landed right on it."
Kumiko stared up at the boulder. How convenient. But not even Lee could lift that thing.
"How do we get inside?"
Shikamaru snorted. "I don't know, that's what we have to figure out…how troublesome."
Kumiko thought for a moment that maybe she could blow it up, but then again it probably had an alarm or something worse attached to it. Besides, the whole place would be notified of their entrance and they'd never be able to save the villagers.
"I found it pretty quickly."
Kumiko turned to see Shikamaru leaning against the boulder. "So I had some time to look it over carefully. The ground feels different when there's a large space under it, such as a hideout. So I paced around this boulder. Within a five foot radius I can feel the difference in density, so I walked farther out into the forest and it stops abruptly just another five feet away. But back toward the lake it keeps going, going…" he left the side of the rock and walked back toward the lake, with Kumiko on his tail. "…and it's still there, right here on the edge of the lake. Now, trying to dig an underground hideout that connects directly to the lake it just plain stupid. The whole thing could become water-logged or simply collapse at any moment. So…" he crouched down then leapt out onto the nearest rock that jutted out from the lake. It was a little too far for Kumiko so he reached out his hand and caught her, then pulled her onto the top and held on. "…I figured it couldn't be man-made."
Shikamaru pointed into the clear water and Kumiko followed his index finger. Hiding beneath the water, between boulders, fish, and rock formations, was a small hole at the very bottom of the lake.
"It's a cave."
The two shinobi stared down into the water. "I'd say it's about 30 feet down."
Shikamaru trained his eyes on Kumiko's face. She couldn't see him, nor anything else anymore. Just the lake and the cave. He held onto her waist and leapt back to the banks and set her down and she immediately began to pace back and forth. He smiled a bit, remembering this exact same look during the time at Waterfall.
Suddenly she turned and started marching back toward the side of the lake where they had hidden Mikomi, and Shikamaru followed. It felt strange to him, not to be the one figuring out a plan, but this was Kumiko's territory. They had stepped into something he didn't know much about. Only she knew what was hidden in the depths of her amazing flying machine, and more importantly how to use them.
She thrashed through the bushes and leapt into the cockpit and started to rummage through the storage hole in the back. Random objects flew every which way and Shikamaru had to duck a few times to avoid dangerous things with sharp edges. Kumiko surfaced a few minutes later with two wrenches and tossed one to Shikamaru. He caught it and followed her to the front of the flying machine.
"Help me get this propeller off."
Shikamaru didn't say a word as the propeller came off and other parts of the plane were disassembled. He couldn't imagine what Kumiko must be feeling, taking apart her most beloved invention that she had just put back together. But he caught a glimpse of her face, which said that the mission always comes first.
A few minutes later various parts were lined up in the sand by the edge of the lake. Kumiko was circling around them and staring at each one in turn. Shikamaru waited until she plopped down and started to tinker with the objects, then stood next to her in case she needed anything. It would be, he thought, a very long afternoon.