The White Flash

A Fragile Balance

A.N. Sorry about the uploads everybody! I've got college taking up most of my writing time, but I'm managing! The picture above is Hisaya-credit is due to whoever drew her!

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Poof!

Another shadow clone finished in the distance. She tried to hush her breathing; calm the rapid beating of her heart before she heard. She swore she could. The same way a bat can echolocate or how a vampire can see the beating heart of its prey. The three were convinced she was anything but human. The two boys were nowhere to be seen, each in their own hiding spots hoping not to get caught.

After a day of chasing warthogs out of a farmer's land, her legs were like lead. Hisaya had decided on a game of hide-and-seek tag. Their objective was to reach the village gates an hour of travel away. They stayed at the farmer's house until dusk before the game began. They just had to reach the village. One hour away.

Well...

It's been four since the sun had set. Ayumi has been spotted, captured, and returned to the farmer's house ten times. She saw Hiro there four times but heard his loud complaints through the forest sixteen. Kohei hasn't been seen or heard since the beginning; it was more than probable he was already at the village.

Ayumi was running low on kunai, stamina, and patience by now. She could always try to outrun her and normally she would but for three weeks Hisaya has been putting her through the ringer with leg workouts. Sore was an understatement of what she felt; her legs throbbed and sometimes stung. She sighed, flinching as she peered through the canopy. The forest was calm. No sign of Hisaya's long ponytail or the poof of more of her shadow clones being disposed of. She looked down. The well-kept path leading to the village was right in front of her. Maybe twenty minutes of walking, ten of running. She could make it. Push through the sting and numbness and make it to the gate. Fuck my legs, Ayumi thought. She took another breath and rocked back. She sent an explosion of chakra into her feet as she jumped forward causing the tree branch to break.

A hand closed around her ankle, halting her escape and turning her body topside to land her face first into the dirt path. The collision to her nose rattled the rest of her head. She groaned with pain while moving tired arms to cradle said feature. "Open your eyes next time, Yu-chan," Hisaya chided standing at Ayumi's feet after popping out of who-knows-where. "You have all of your attention ahead of you which makes sneaking up behind all the easier. I wasn't exactly being quiet."

"That's just because it's you! Us genin can't compete with a Jounin," Ayumi whined rolling onto her back. The air smelled heavy of iron-though that was just her perspective.

"There are no excuses when you fail, Yu-chan," Hisaya placed her hands on her hips. "You can't expect every challenge to be something you can muscle your way through."

"It's worked so far."

"Well now you're a Genin," Hisaya straightened and crossed her arms in front of her chest, pink eyes closing. "Now your actions affect the mission. You need to learn to plan your moves carefully. Think of every possible outcome of your mission then choose the path that enables you to save the most lives..." Ayumi zoned out of her long-winded lecture. I have two kunai left from the mission, she thought, I can use one as a distraction and mark the other to get a head start on running. Carefully Ayumi inched her hand towards her kunai pouch, pausing every time Hisaya opened her eyes to make a point. After five minutes of red light-green light, Ayumi successfully snaked her hand into her pouch. She grabbed both kunai.

In a swift movement, Ayumi threw one kunai behind her and the other towards Hisaya. She didn't wait to see if she mistakenly hit her, focusing on the mark on the kunai her body vanished from where she sat. She caught the kunai from the air and threw it once again. She caught it again, this time returning it to her pouch as she raced for the village gate. It felt like she was running on needles or along a barbed fence, the smell of iron that flooded her senses only fueling the imagination.