Sorry for the wait, but it gives you time to read other fanfics ;) Hahaha anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! ~KB

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... it belongs to Kishimoto-san.

Ch 14: Questioning

Manami sat quietly in her chair, maintaining a calm composure. On the inside though, she was far from calm. Holy crap that guy is terrifying, she thought. He could probably tear my limbs off without breaking a sweat! Did he even flinch when he got those scars?

The bulky man just watched Manami, enjoying her inner turmoil. He could see right through her façade and intended to dissect every piece of information from this girl.

"So," he began gruffly, interrupting Manami from her thoughts, "What's your name?"

Manami raised an eyebrow at the question. What kind of a question is that?! I thought he was supposed to get inside my head.

"Will I get a name in response?" she asked.

The man frowned slightly as he pondered her question. "I don't see why not," he replied with a wave of his hand, "I heard about your little run in with Genma-san."

Manami tensed in her seat; this was not a good way to start the interrogation.

"What did you hear?" she asked cautiously.

"First, your name," the man said sharply, "then I will tell you my name. But to tell you what I know about your chase I will need something just as valuable in return. Your fingers should do nicely."

Manami mentally snarled at the man. Oh, he's good. I need to stay one step ahead of this guy.

"Alright," she said straightening in her chair, "my name is Manami."

"Manami? Nothing else?" the man inquired, a growl in his voice.

"Perhaps," Manami replied coolly, "but I believe it's your turn."

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The man smirked at Manami's display of boldness. Getting information from her is going to be a walk in the park, he thought.

"My name is Morino Ibiki," he said.

"Nice to have a proper introduction," she replied, "depending on what you know, you'll know I have a hard time with them around this place."

Ibiki let out a deep chuckle, "I suppose you could say that. But why don't you tell me something about yourself first?" He shot her a dark smile, "Make it good; that right hand of yours would make a fine addition to my collection."

Manami held her hands close in her lap. "You don't have the slightest clue who I am."

"Oh really?" Ibiki said as he leaned back in his chair, quirking an eyebrow, "And what makes you say that Manami-san?"

Manami shrugged it off. "No reason, I guess."

There was a pause in the conversation; Ibiki kept a straight face but frowned on the inside. She's trying to derail the conversation, he thought crossly. Not on my watch.

"Why don't you tell me your side of the story? Or would it help if I tore off your fingernails?" Ibiki asked with a wicked grin.

Manami stiffened in her chair and Ibiki grinned at her discomfort.

"If I knew what you were told it would be a great help in explaining things." Manami retorted back.

"And I said I needed something just as valuable in return," Ibiki argued. "So what hand do you want nail-less first? Left or right?"

Manami held her hands up in defense, "Alright, alright. I get it. My full name is Manami Kiyomizu and I am a-" she paused briefly, as if to stop herself from saying something important. "I'm a Blade Apprentice. Now, it's your turn."

"A Blade Apprentice?" he inquired. What the heck does that mean?

"It means I've been studying to wield a blade." Manami responded.

Ibiki mentally grimaced at the new information. It wasn't what he was looking for but it was still something. Who's to say that's her real name anyway? he thought. Ibiki leaned forward on the table and flipped through the folder he brought in.

"I was told that one of our shinobi spotted you near the suspicious smoke appearance and went to confront you. Upon appearance you first taunted then ran from him. He says you put up a bit of a fight too," Ibiki paused briefly and smirked. "Then you arrived at the gates of Konoha and told the guards someone was chasing you. To me, that just doesn't make much sense."

"Why do you say that?" Manami asked, unease creeping in her voice.

"Didn't you notice the similar uniform they wore?" Ibiki questioned with an evil grin. "Why would you ask help from someone who wore the same thing as your pursuer?"

Manami was backed into a corner. He could see it in her eyes as she frantically searched for an answer.

"I'm not too sure," she finally confessed. Ibiki eyed her suspiciously; he sensed it was an honest answer but in reality it didn't make sense for her to run. She hadn't even attempted to lie. What is she playing at? he thought.

"I admit I saw the uniform," Manami continued, "but he had a weapon and I was defenseless. Basic fight or flight."

Ibiki frowned. "Would throwing your pack at Genma-san really count as defenselessness?" he taunted.

A light red brushed Manami's cheeks as she blushed. "So you know about that" she muttered.

Ibiki laughed at her embarrassment. "Well?" he pushed.

"I had to think of something to get away again," she admitted, "I guessed that he wouldn't actually catch the bag but redirect it and I was right."

Ibiki's eyes narrowed. Manami was smarter than he first thought if she could think of something like that while being chased.

"As for why I talked to the guards," Manami continued, "I had already asked for their help before I even noticed what they were wearing. At that point I was solely focused on getting away from the person with the weapon."

Ibiki analyzed Manami as she talked. Everything she said was true but something about her was off. She's still hiding something, Ibiki thought. He didn't trust her, but she didn't appear to be a threat. If she was an enemy ninja, she was a horrible one.

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Manami sat in silence under Ibiki's scrutiny. She had no idea why she was being so honest but it felt like the right thing to do. She didn't have a fight with these people and needed a place to stay while she figured things out about the Gummi Ship. So long as she kept her secret as a Keybearer, Manami saw no reason to lie.

"So," Ibiki continued, "where is it you are coming from?"

Manami held his stern gaze as she thought of an answer. She couldn't tell him she came from the Land of Departure that would just lead to more questions.

"I'm a traveler," Manami said, "There's no one particular place I come from."

Manami knew that Ibiki could tell she was hiding something. Her answer was only partly true, but the rest wasn't entirely false.

"If that's the case," he pushed, "what do you know about the smoke we saw?"

"Nothing," Manami replied instantly. She had to avoid being tied to anything suspicious, but if they didn't know the smoke was from her ship then she still had a chance of leaving.

Ibiki grinned wickedly at Manami and she shrunk in her chair.

"You're lying," he said blatantly.

So he can tell if I'm lying, Manami thought. Looks like I have to stick with half-true answers.

"Ok, fine," she said, "I saw the smoke. But that's it."

"Still lying," Ibiki said growing impatient. "Tell me what you know about the smoke or I may have to," he paused and grinned evilly, "use other means of extraction. Maybe we should clear that head of yours with some waterboarding. Or perhaps you would like a necklace made of rope?"

Manami gulped. He couldn't know about the Gummi Ship but she couldn't think of a way out of his question. What am I going to do? she thought morbidly.

FIN

Ah yes, throwing characters into situations like this is always interesting. Let me know what you guys think! Any suggestions for future events or what you would like to see are more than welcome. Until next time! ~KunoichiBlade