The White Flash

To Find the Next Hokage

The white kunai were held delicately in her palms, pouring her chakra into the stone. It glowed a soft orange with small flames flickering along the edges. They weren't normal kunai, they weren't as sharp and took more force to stick into anything, Although, messing with them for a few hours brought forth their special property. Flames rose from the grass and burned the wooden targets around her. "Too much chakra and the flames are out of control." She mumbled to herself as she inspected it, "not enough and the stone doesn't do anything." Emerald met the matching orbs of a shadow clone who wielded Onimaru.

            Training against oneself can provide the most take away. Able to see your own progress and able to catch your own openings and correct them. It was a tactic Hisaya taught her. Subtle thunks of metal on wood rung from the sky, plates falling to the grass though only few were struck with black arrows.

            "Kohei watch where you're shooting those!" Ayumi frowned, waving her hand towards said archer, "this is my area!"

            "Sorry!" He shouted back, "I can't get the hang of quick draws like Sensei showed me." He had stacks of wooden plates at his feet, clones of himself holding multiple in ready hands. "This is harder than it looks!"

            "Oh?" Curious, Ayumi ventured towards him. It's been years since she last shot a bow, she went hunting with Kakashi when he was showing her basic survival tactics. "Let me try." Pocketing her kunai she reached for the bow.

            Kohei nodded, "alright, fine. For once, I can't wait to see you fail."

            "I might," she acknowledged fixing the quiver to her hip. Taking a calming breath she adjusted her hold on the bow and gave a nod to the clones. Four plates were thrown high into the sky. Raising the bow with a delicate hold, the arrows slid from the quiver, into the notch, and were released in rapid succession. Three out of four hit their marks in various parts. The last sliced through the canopy of the forest, bringing a surprised scream and a form of blue falling from the trees. "Yeah...." She sighed, shaking her head, "I'll stick with swords."

            "I hate you sometimes."

            "Huh?" Emerald moved to her teammate who was steaming at the collar, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

            "You're ridiculously good at fighting. It's irritating."

            "Don't mind. Don't mind," she chuckled patting his shoulder.

            "Don't give me that!"

            "WHO SHOT THAT ARROW?!" Hiro bellowed, racing towards them. A thin line cut across the bridge of his nose. "I almost died!"

            "It's just a scratch," Ayumi dismissed with a smile, "you'll be fine."

            "That's not the point! I was enjoying a nap!"

            "Why are you taking a nap at the training grounds anyway?"

            "She's got a point there, Hiro," Kohei agreed. "Don't you need to train more with your kusarigama?"

            "I was taking a break," he informed crossing his arms. "I train hard when you two aren't around!"

            "You're kidding, Waddles-san scares the shit out of you."

            Hiro spun to him, "he attacks me!"

            "Pussy." Kohei jumped to the side as Hiro struck out. "Missed!" He took off further into the training grounds with the other hot on his heels. Ayumi simply watched them go, her gaze flickering to the bow still in her hands.