The White Flash

Eruption

Darkness shrouded her vision and the ground disappeared. Wind whipped through her hair as she plummeted. "AAAAHHH!" Among her flailing, the darkness shifted; small lights dotted the sky and her back met tree branches. They broke on impact, though cushioned the impact of the ground. "Ow..." Rubbing the goose egg already forming on her head, she rose to her knees. "Where?" She was somewhere in the woods. Standing she scanned her surroundings, though the woods looked different at night; her exact location she couldn't tell. The night was deathly still, there was no sound of forest creatures. Not even the breeze that lifted the bangs from her face rustled the leaves. "A Genjutsu?" It had to be. She was just in the inn with Sasuke and Naruto. Itachi was known for his excellence in that area of jutsu; it made sense. Forming the seal, she focused on her chakra and disrupted it. "Release!"

            However, when she opened her eyes the scenery didn't change. "This is a Genjutsu cast by a sharingan user." Ayumi sighed, moving through the woods. Anyone can cast a Genjutsu, Kurenai has become well known for her talent in the area. Although, those cast by an Uchiha were powerful. In most cases they needed two different chakra disruptions. I'll keep my chakra disrupted, she thought as she ventured through the woods, Retsu-san or Jiraiya-san will help me out. "Now, Itachi-san," she whispered to the shadows, "what do you have in store for me?"

            Finally, the sound joined the scenery with the rustling of leaves from three different points. Emerald eyes shifted to the canopy, watching as shadows dashed through the silver light. Ayumi chased after them. People matching with black clothing and grey flak jackets; the white porcelain masks that covered their faces decorated as different animals-the standard of Konohagakure anbu members. However, one was different than the others. One that pulled her to it. A kunoichi whose mask had slits for eyes yet crafted and painted in a pattern resembling a fish of golden gills. The group stopped. Another woman, whose mask and paint resembled a bat, took charge of the operation. Her hands moved in rapid succession.

            "There's no telling what's inside. We go in quick and quiet."

            That's what the signs said. The fish gave a nod and signed back.

            "Easy enough for the two of us. Gotta be careful of.... It'll be like setting a bomb off."

            There was one sign she didn't know. A blank in the conversation. Although, she looked to their third partner, a man with a fox mask that was holding only his middle finger towards her. "Tee hee!" The fish giggled. Ayumi's eyes widened. That giggle!

            "Sh! Don't tell your father!"

            "Don't tell me what?"

            "Oh nothing! Right, Yu?"

            "Yeah! Nothing at all, Papa!"

            "Tee hee!"

            A cheeky smile, a closed emerald eye, and a finger raised with a shush often accompanied that giggle. Ayumi followed the group into a doorway hidden in the ground. It seemed to be a hideout similar to the ones Danzo has stashed throughout the village. The group operated in silence, using the shadows to conceal their presence. Multiple times, Ayumi tried to interact with the group-with her mother who wore the fish mask; however, they never acknowledged her presence. It was like a movie was playing out before her. She shadowed Yachiru as she peered into every room they passed. After a good twenty minutes the group met back up.

            "Find anything?" The fox man asked, a voice she didn't recognize.

            "Nothing," Yachiru said. "It doesn't seem that anyone's been here for a while."