Chronicles of a Self-Made Shinobi: Combustion, Extraction, and Incarceration (chap.2)

There was a sound to her left. Kumiko halted and tried to listen over her raspy breath but heard nothing. Her stumbling grew more frantic as images of nameless fears flitted through her mind. Anything could kill her now; she was broken and vulnerable.

A twig snapped and Kumiko immediately started to run, barefoot across the rough forest floor, working off nothing but her fear. She could feel it. It was him. She reached into her bag and fumbled for Kiseki no Yochi, but found her still hot to the touch, buttons melted and jamming the gears. So instead, Kumiko pulled out a wrench and held it close.

She focused on a tree ahead of her and ran right for it. At the last second she swerved to the right and grabbed hold of its trunk, then swung around to deliver a flying kick to the man who was hiding behind it.

Itachi grunted and fell to the ground, and Kumiko came down after him, holding in her cry of pain as her ankle twisted and she landed hard on her hip.

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"Wake up! Did you hear that?" Lee shouted as he shook Neji. "It has to be her," he said as he frantically woke the others.

"Lee, how do you know…" Shikamaru began, but Neji cut him off.

"It's her," he said, looking off into the distance with his Byakugan eyes. "Only she could have done that."

They were up and running, at first following Neji's eyes, than simply their ears and the red glow ahead of them.

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Kumiko heard a slight smirk from above her and saw Itachi staring down at her, as the fake one disappeared.

"Clever trick you pulled," he said. "But it accomplished nothing. We have dozens of hideouts located everywhere. And, of course, you failed to kill any of the members."

Kumiko swung her arm up at him with all her strength and hurled the wrench at Itachi's head. He simply stepped to the side and smiled. Kumiko then rolled away across the ground as he fell on her with a kunai and plunged it into the ground.

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The Konoha nin came upon the river which had turned into a bubbling whirlpool and started wide-eyed up at the mountain. It was collapsing into itself, spitting out red lava, and looked like a reverse volcano.

"K-Kumiko-chan!" Hinata explaimed and covered her mouth with her hands.

Lee clenched his fists and Neji frantically searched the chaos in front of him. Shikamaru looked around him, and his eye caught a depression in the mud below him and a single melted sandal that was stuck inside. He crouched down to examine it.

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"Stay still so I can kill you," Itachi hissed.

Kumiko brought her good foot around and swiped it under Itachi's legs, causing him to fall over backwards. She was on him in a second, ignoring her pain, and brought the wrench down on his face. Itachi grabbed her wrist and Kumiko struggled to break free but could not.

"You've gotten stronger. Last time you just waited for me to kill you, so I didn't even bother to use a clone, thinking you would be too weak to move."

He applied pressure to her wrist and started to twist it.

"But it doesn't matter. I can still kill you easily."

…………………………………………………

"I can't see her anywhere," Neji said.

"Just keep looking," Shikamaru replied.

Hinata had her eyes trained on the ground, leading the group on a crash course through the forest, hoping to find the owner of the footprints at the end of the road. Behind them the mountain was still glowing and spitting out fire. But the noise was slowly growing fainter, as the canopy eagerly lapped up the sound and light.

"Wait, I see something!" she cried.

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Kumiko dropped the wrench and clutched at her wrist. Itachi had broken it. He had flipped her over and was now kneeling above her. There was no expression on his face.

"This time no one is here to save you."

Kumiko felt herself being forced to look up at him, and started to fall into his Sharingan eyes.

Itachi was right, this time no one would help her. She was miles away from Konoha, amongst darkened trees, unknown villages, without a friend in sight. And where was her miracle that had saved her from Hidan? From the monster within the Forest of Death.

Suddenly Itachi was flung off of her. A dark blur had tackled him and engaged him in a close up battle. The Uchiha snarled, showing his teeth, as the attacker dodged his thrusts and avoided his eyes. Kumiko tried to see the attacker's face, but it was too dark inside the forest. And she felt so tired…

"Chikushou, you were lucky again," Itachi said, as the attacker stood between him and his prey. "But one day you'll be mine, Kobayashi Kumiko. I look forward to when we meet again."

He quickly made a hand signal and then disappeared.

Her savior appeared beside her and lifted her off the ground. "Thank you," she managed to say, before passing out.

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They came upon a patch of broken trees and trampled dirt.

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Shikamaru asked when she looked up from the ground.

"The footsteps are gone," she answered, bewildered.

Lee sat on the ground and put his head in his hands. Neji gazed around him in all directions, refusing to believe the nothingness that he saw. Hinata sniffled.

"Chikushou!" Shikamaru screamed, and kicked at the ground.