Isai...Wasn't a runner. And, ironically, making him lighter wouldn't make him run any faster! Hatsu didn't quite know how physics worked! Just because something is lighter doesnt' mean that it could run against the wind all the easier and, without its weight, utilize it's own body for landing and useful muscular activities such as, well, jumping from branch to branch. In fact, it threw Isai off! He couldn't get used to the sensation of being lighter than what he normally was. It was like he was obese before and had an impossibly unhealthy lipo operation moments before, but no time to get used to just how skinny he was now. His muscle memory was torn to shreds as he was stumbling and even, only once mind you, ran clean into a tree on accident.
At least, being lighter, it didn't hurt as much when he fell into the dirt. It still hurt though. He landed on his back, banged his head a little, and felt a small pebble dig into his left shoulder. He'd be sore for a while now and he wasn't happy at all about it. Then again, who was happy about falling a dozen feet out of a tree? Hatsu probably got a laugh out of it and the thought of him smiling about it frustrated Isai. Still, he didn't want Hatsu to outright leave him either.
"H-Hey!" Isai would call, his back full of dirt and leaves, "Dude, listen tah me!" Isai would say, as loud as his little voice could carry, which wasn't all that far. He was demanding that Hatsu stop. There was no point in leaving Isai behind. If they became separated then Hatsu was on his own. Was that what he wanted? Isai wouldn't have a problem with it if Hatsu outright said that. It wasn't like Isai was the one that was going to be hunted down, probes stuck in him, then have his soul partially ripped out for fun. Isai wasn't the one that was in the most danger of being found out then having to fight, all by himself, a the Hokage himself! Hatsu was a rouge loner, but this was probably the one time when having someone to watch your back would probably be slightly beneficial.
Isai looked down at his feet. Isai slowly raised his right leg before pressing it down. It was easy to lift his leg, due to the ultra-slim jutsu that Hatsu carelessly thought to share with an ecstatically willing Isai. However, as Isai put his leg down, aiming to press down into the earth, he found that he lacked the same strength and force that he had when he held more weight in his leg. Lighter, but not stronger. This wasn't his technique, nor did he like it. It was probably beneficial for the user, as they could probably make things lighter or heavier as they willed, but for someone caught in the grip of the technique it just made him feel the same strength as when he was numb. It wasn't an advantage to Isai. It was a weakness.
But...It's not like Isai couldn't take advantage of this.
Isai dusted himself off. He didn't like being dirty...This was apparently clear as he aggressively fought the mud and grime sticking to him even letting out a childish growl as the leaves dared to question his authoritative hand. Isai fought with the dirt and, eventually, threw his arms with a groan of defeat and pulled out a single kunai. It was the only kunai that he had. Isai hoped that Hatsu at least, with his caring heart, decided to pause a moment so that Isai could prepare this. If Hatsu was a complete jerk and left Isai then Isai would have to count his losses, as he was nowhere near as fast as Hatsu was even if Hatsu had a leg cramp.
Cutting his right index finger, Isai would perform a few seals and summon a single scroll with the letter A on it.
If Hatsu was a good guy and did decide to meet his teammate half way then Isai would call him over.
"I don't know ya very well, monkey, so I think now is the time. We ain't need to be getting to the Leaf too soon. We don't need to rush. I wanna know what ya can do, 'sides being a monkey, so that I can make plans right. Ya should ask me what I can do too," Isai would state, looking around a moment. For a split second his dull, cool eyes lit up and glowed. They looked as if they were energized with electricity, causing the double ringed iris to become a fuller, brighter gold. He was using his sensory ability to see if anyone was in the immediate area. Even though the skill was powerful and useful, it was limited in range and could only detect electricity in an individual's body, thus if they were using chakra to conceal themselves, and all the electricity in their body, he wouldn't catch them. However, such an advanced concealment technique was one that Isai had never seen before...Shadow aside.
"Nobody around. Now, lets talk." The little high strung, disrespectful, cocky brat was actually talking to Hatsu as a potential equal? It seemed like even Isai could get serious...Somewhat. Then again, like he said, he just wanted to know what Hatsu could do so that he didn't do unnecessary things and so that they wouldn't be awkward in a fight.
"No Ryou...Thank you," Kii would say, looking at Ryou, seriously in the eyes. This is why Kii relied on Ryou. Even if Kii was a good planner, he really was just like Shira. He was impulsive and brash. Being a good planner was nothing if you didn't have someone there to remind you that you were about to make a mistake. If there wasn't someone there to tell you to calm down, reassess, and replan. Ryou was the glue that kept any invention Kii ever built together and that was through his empathetic reasoning. Ryou had a strong heart. A stronger heart than Kii. Kii knew, as he was running and thinking about everything that had happened already, if Ryou were in Kii's position that Ryou had the strength of character to even forgive Taiho. Ryou could see the logic behind the situation, even consider Taiho's side of the equation, and make a decision based on the whole of the prediciament, not just his own side. Sure, Ryou would probably fight Taiho, but he would never want to hurt Taiho the way Kii did.
The way Kii still did.
"I trusted him...I really did..." Kii whispered, though Ryou would hear it. Ryou would hear the pain in the words of the young teenager. The betrayal weighed heavy on him. This was the first time he put his trust in someone and, instead of helping, they tried to destroy him. It really did hurt. Kii thought back to all the times he laughed with Taiho and studied with Taiho and ate with Taiho and then placed all that side by side with the fact that Taiho just handed Shira, who had the sweetest heart, to the enemy to do with however they pleased. It was almost as if Taiho didn't care. As if he didn't care about Kii.
That really hurt.
The bugs led both Kii and Ryou down an alleyway. It was tight, dark, and not very spacious.
"Lets hurry and-" Kii started, however they were blocked by a ninja that was waiting for them. The ninja would look familiar, as it was the same exact ninja that had carried Shira off and handed her to the Hokage. When Kii and Ryou passed the corner into the alleyway he performed a single seal and an explosion hit both sides of the building causing rubble to block both the exit behind them and the path ahead of them. The two boys were trapped in between the rubble with a chakra infused metal wire above them. There was a lot of purple smoke that came just as the explosion finished.
The air! This smoke was poison. It made Ryou and Kii's skin feel numb immediately upon contact and would make them both feel dizzy. That ninja, clearly a poison specialist, was trying to incapacitate them with such a straightforward trap! Taking a long drag of air, Kii turned around and, his fist glowing red, ran into the rubble at their rear, away from where the ninja had been waiting, and punched it.
There was a hefty, loud explosion between those two buildings, thus being the third explosion. Rocks and rubble, searing red, was sent flying into the building clear across the street. Pedestrians screamed and cried as flaming hot rocks were being tossed about carelessly. The explosion was nothing small, in anyway. It was about twice as large as the explosion from the explosion tags and about three times as destructive, due to the specialized chakra. It was a mighty attack coming from such a young and inexperienced Genin, but it came with costs.
Kii stumbled.
He was dizzy and felt a tremendous loss of chakra run through his body. Exhaustion tugged at him and made all the running he'd done before feel like miles upon miles. Kii was quickly breathing heavy, sweating, and barely managing to keep himself on his feet with his slightly numb legs and arms. The world spun a little as he was trying to recover form the speedy, improperly executed, costly attack's recoil shook him. He seemed almost paralyzed in place by the shock on his body from the abhorred misuse of chakra. They needed to move though, as that enemy ninja wasn't that far off...Yet Kii just stood there in front of a decimated blockade and beside two large wholes in both neighboring buildings.
