Chapter 11: I Don't Like Being Kidnapped

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They had found her. 

It was sprinkling lightly and the faint reflection of the waning moon's light gave off a gleam to the edges of their kunai's.

"Over here!" A hoarse voice shouted close behind.

The sound of dogs barking didn't help to ease Kintsugi's concentration as she ran through the trees sensing for any underground openings she could use. Though their barking seemed to amplify her surroundings, it didn't help to know that they were closing in on her.

She hadn't slept for the past two days and she had hoped that some physical exertion would have helped, although this was not what she had in mind.

"Now!" The rapid whooshing of a blade passing by her ear made her pump her legs all the more, each step digging into the dirt for more traction, and each minor slip making her painfully aware she could get caught

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"Now!" The rapid whooshing of a blade passing by her ear made her pump her legs all the more, each step digging into the dirt for more traction, and each minor slip making her painfully aware she could get caught.

She turned her hand slightly hearing the oncoming spray of what she knew wasn't just water, bending it away before a single drop managed to land on her. 

For the past ten minutes, the Inuzuka clan had engaged in a rather energetic chase. Unfortunately for her, she couldn't kill any of them, not with a business deal on the line. They weren't necessarily trying to kill her, but she knew they wouldn't hesitate to hurt her. 

She was a liability to them, a stranger.  She was someone who had entered the village without anyone knowing, someone the Interrogation Force wanted to "talk" with, so desperately it seemed, on several occasions and yet managed to go undetected, but above all, someone who was damaging the Hyuga and Inuzuka clan's reputation.

"If any of you let her get away again, I'll get rid of your meat for every week you don't catch her!" 

"Oh please, my schedule is already full," she scoffed. 

The ground was becoming wetter and she was more than overjoyed when she managed to find a dry enough hole for her to tunnel down into. 

She could hear heavy paws attempting to dig the earth she kept bending to compact.

Tunneling away and collapsing the dirt behind her, she managed to head back to the old birch tree.

The smell of old meat and dry sweat lingered on her body, the stench making even her gag as she wiped the dirt off her face. It was troublesome. 

She knew she couldn't stay for long. She needed to get rid of the smell, but the ache from her muscles after having spent the whole day earth bending as she tried to literally hide underneath everyone's noses had worn her out. 

I can't rest, can I?

Her head seemed to spin as she stood up, her body now acting on its own as she dug further down to the unfinished underground spring she'd recently been creating. She could rest there.

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